US2913544A

US2913544A - Timer

Info

Publication number: US2913544A
Application number: US704571A
Authority: US
Inventors: Louis H Goddard
Original assignee: Globe Industries Inc
Current assignee: Globe Industries Inc
Priority date: 1957-12-23
Filing date: 1957-12-23
Publication date: 1959-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 1976-11-17

Description

NOV. 17, 1959 GODDARD 2,913,544

. TIMER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1- Filed Dec. 23, 1957 INVENTOR LOUIS H. GODDARD 74 4 HIS ATTORNEY Nov. 17, 1959 L. H. GODDARD TIMER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 25, 1957 INVENTOR. (CU/S H. GOOG/PED BY wfw 1959 L. GODDARD 2,913,544

TIMER Filed Dec. 23, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. ZOU/S H. 6000550 United States Patent TIMER Louis H. Goddard, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to Globe Industries, Inc., Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 23, '1957,Serial No. 104,511

' 7 Claims. (Cl. 2041-35 This invention relates to an improvement in an adjustable delay timer. Such timers are self-resetting, so that when current is discontinued or fails, the timer will automatically be re-set to its initial position.

It is one object of the invention to provide a timer with means for instantaneously re-setting it when current is discontinued. It is another object of the invention to provide a timer in which the delay interval can be adjusted in a continuous manner over a pre-determined range. A still further object of the invention is to provide a timer in which the timing cycle is repeatable so that the precise timing interval will be attained for each cycle of operation.

These and further objects and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent upon a reading of the description following hereinafter, and upon an examination of the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded view in perspective showing the preferred embodiment of the timer of the invention,

Figure 2 is an exploded view similar to Figure 1 but of a modification of the timer,

Figure 3 is a plan view of a portion of the modification of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view through the assembled timer of the modification of Figure 2,

Figure 5 is a partial exploded view of a portion of the timer of Figure l,

, Figure 6 is a plan v'ew of a portion of the adjustable interval means of the preferred embodiment of the invention,

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 77 of Figure 1,

Figure 8 is a view taken along line 8--8 of Figure 1,

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Figure 8, and

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the carrier plate of the modification of Figure 2.

The timer of the invention comprises an electric motor Y running at steady speed and arranged for delivering to a driven device, such as an electric switch or switches, a cyclic or periodic repetition of brief actuations, after the lapse of a predetermined time interval. The timer of the invention employs a synchronous motorwhich Thus, when the clutch or brake is actuated by the employment of a gearing arrangement which posi- :tions the mechanical elements, which in turn determines the length of actuation interval. The timer also employs a spring to return the elements to normal or unactuated position when the clutch or brake is de-activated.

Devices of the type with which this invention is con- 2,913,544 Patented Nov. 17, 1959 cerned have been known previously, however, in one such device the ring gear was locked by a pawl or detent element which engaged a series of teeth on the external surface of the ring gear, and was actuated by a solenoid. In such a device, after the switch was actuated, and when the return spring operated to reposition the cam element, the ring gear was moved, so that if the timing cycle were to be reinstituted, the teeth on the ring gear may be in such a position that the solenoid actuated pawl would strike against the crown of a tooth, thus delaying the start of the timing cycle, until the pawl engaged the flank of the tooth and preventing repeatability and accuracy of the timing cycle. In addition, in this old device, the length of the timing cycle could not be continuously adjusted over a predetermined range, but only selected fractions of a predetermined range could be used.

As shown in Figure 1, the timer includes a synchronous motor 2 the output of which is modified by a gear reduction 3. At the end of the output shaft 102 of the motorgear reducer is a sun gear 104, which may be a separate gear mounted on the output shaft, or else a gear hobbed on this shaft.

As shown more clearly in Figures 5 and 7, the output shaft 102 from the gear box 3 has a gear 304 on its inner end, which is the last gear in the gear box. The output shaft 102 passes through the cover plate 300 for the gear box. This cover plate 300 is formed With an outwardly extending hub 302, which serves as a bushing for the shaft 102. The hub 302 is slotted at its outer extremity, for a purpose as will be explained more fully hereinafter. The gear 104 serves as the sun gear for a planetary system, and meshes with three

planetary gears

106, 108 and 110, mounted upon studs affixed to a carrier plate 112. On the underside of the carrier plate 112 is a projecting pin 192 which serves as an anchor for one end of the return spring 138, i.e. the loop 139 of the spring 138 is wrapped around the pin 192. The inner end of the spring 138 has a bent-over portion 140 which sits within the slot 306 in the hub 302. The relative positions of the spring, carrier plate and planet gears is indicated clearly in Figure 7.

In the embodiment of Figure l, the planet carrier plate 112 serves as a triggering or firing means for a switch or

switches

36 and 38. The switches are fired on the release of the switch actuator button since the release cycle is more accurate than the depress cycle. The carrier plate 112 has a pin projecting from its peripheral surface, and this pin 190 cooperates with an actuator plate 222 to release the actuator buttons 37 on the

switches

36 and 38 as clearly shown in Figure 9. The actuator plate 222 is slightly bent as shown in Figure 9 and is formed with a pair of opposing flanges 224 and 224a (see Figure 8). A pin 225 holds the plate 222 in a fixed position to the flange 4 of the timer and also holds a mounting plate 35 to retain the

switches

36 and 38 in position. Additional screws or fastening means 39 and 41 also serve to retain the

switches

36 and 38 in position upon the plate 4. The pin 225 serves as a pivot for the plate 222. The inner end of the plate 222 carries a pair of adjustable actuator buttons 227 and 227a which are adjusted to bear upon the actuator buttons 37 of the switches to normally retain them in depressed position.

Actuator plate 222 is urged into the position shown in Figure 9' by the spring 228. When the bent portion of the actuator plate 222 is contacted by the pin 190 mounted upon the disc 112, then the plate 222 will pivot about its axis 225 and release the actuator buttons 37.

The contacting means 227 and 227a each comprise a screw and lock nut so that they are adjustable towards and away from the contact buttons 37 on the switches.

In the modification of Figure 1 the micro-switches are in fixed position and are not adjustable, so that the end of the time cycle is fixed. However, the beginning of the time cycle is adjustable. In order to adjust the beginning of the cycle in a very accurate manner, there is provided the Worm 210 and worm wheel 212. By using a worm gear arrangement there is obtained a very large multiplication factor, which means that the beginning of the time cycle can be very accurately located. Pin 192 is mounted on the planet carrier plate 112 and depends therefrom. This pin locates the starting point for the timing cycle. The pin 192 travels within the sector race 193 in the gear 212. Actually, the pin 192, at the beginning of the timing cycle, rests against the edge 193a of the race 193. By adjusting the worm 210, the relative position of the surface 193a is changed. An angle bracket 194 is fixedly mounted on the plate 4 by a pair of screws 196 and-1 98. The worm 210 fits through the angle bracket 194 and rotates within

bores

204 and 206 in each of the legs of the bracket 194. One outer end of the shaft which bears the worm 210 has a slot 214 thereon so that the worm can be adjusted. A lock nut 208 is also mounted on the shaft of the worm'210 so that once the worm is adjusted into the desired position it can be locked therein by rotation of the nut 208 against the angle bracket 194. The plate 212 is mounted on the hub 302 and is rotatable thereon. Stop pin 216 is fixedly mounted on the plate 4 and the sector gear 212 is positioned so that the stop pin 2'16 lies within the sector race 193. The stop pin 216 provides an end point to the rotation of the sector gear when the surface '193b bears against the pin 216, and in this manner limits the length of the timing cycle; however, if desired, this interval can be increased by increasing the length of race 193 or making it an arcuate slot. The pin 216 stops the rotation of the planet carrier 112 by means of pin 192 striking against the pin 216. The longest timing interval will occur when the sector gear 212 is positioned so that the surface 193b bears against pin 216 while the pin 192 at the beginning of the timing cycle rests against thesurface 193a. In order toshorten the timing cycle the sector gear is rotated so that the pin 192 is carried, by the repositioning of the surface 193a to any desired new starting position for the timing cycle, "that is, the difference in distance between'the surface 193a and the pin 216 is shortened. By vibrating sector gear 212 the 'Worm 210 is not moved since the jam nut 208 locks it in position. This aids greatly in increasing the accuracy of the operation regardless of the degree of vibration to which the unit is subjected.

In the modification of Figure 2, a motor 2 and gear box 3 are mounted on a plate 4 with the output shaft of the gear box extending through the plate 4. The adjustment of the time delay is accomplished by a means 6 which comprises a shaft 8 having a knob mounted on the outer end thereof (see also Figure 4). The shaft 8 is spring loaded by spring 9 so that any end play is eliminated; the spring 9 bearing on one side against the knob 10 and on the other end against the bushing 7 in the housing 1. The other end of the'shaft 8 extends through a bushing similar to 7 and a gear 121s mounted on'the inner end of the shaft 8. Thisgear 12 meshes with a sector gear 14, whichin turn is mounted upon a plate 16 by fastening means 18 and'20. The sector plate '16 carries the actuatorplate 22, which is pivotally mounted on a post 24 fixed to the sector plate 16. The plate 22 is-provided with an actuator detent lug 26 which cooperates with the planet carrier plate 112 in a manner to be shortly described. The position of this lug 26 can be adjustedby rotating shaft8 which then positions sector plate 16 tothe extent of the-teeth on the sector gear 14. Also, the switches 30, which are mounted upon sector plate 16 by two screws 32 and 34 are positioned together with the actuator lug 26. The switches 30 comprise a bank of three

switches

36, 38 and 40 as 4 shown in Figure 4. As shown 'in Figure 3, the actuator buttons 184 of the switches 30 are released when the detent lug 26 drops into the slot 180 in the carrier plate 112.

The entire timer unit is mounted within a housing which consists of a cylindrical member 1, which is mounted to a base member 28, and affixed to this base plate by a series of mounting screws 50. The base plate 28 is formed with an upstanding hub portion 29 which forms a pilot for mounting the cylinder 1. Also, the mounting studs '42, 44 and 46 serve to position the plate 4 with respect to hub 29. The studs *42, 44 and 46 mate with

corresponding slots

43, 45 and 47 in the plate 4, respectively, to retain the assembly in position; and appropriate fasteners are used (see Figure 4) to fixedly mount plate 4 to the studs 42, etc.

Mounted upon the hub 29 is a clutch or brake 52. The clutch comprises a coil 54 which is embedded within a housing 72; The housing 72 is also provided with an opening 74 into which an armature 56 may be piloted. The armature 56 is in the shape of a 'disc with a shaft mounted centrally thereof. In one method of fabrication, the armature 56 may consist of a disc mounted to a T-section shaft. The central portion of the armature 56 consists of the shaft 60 which pilots the disc 58 into the internal gear 64 of the planetary gearing 100. The disc 58 is of ferro-magnetic material and the T-shaped shaft '60 may be of brass or other non-ferro-magnetic material. The top or T portion of the shaft 60 is indicated at 62 in Figure 4. The upper portion 62 of the T-shaped shaft 60 is formed with a piloting hub 66 Which locates the external gear 64 upon the armature of the clutch. The armature 56 is so mounted in relation to the stationary part of the clutch that there are formed two air gaps 68 and 70. Air gap 70 is larger than air gap 68 in order that the torque or the braking torque 'occur at the maximum radius (more torque will then be generated to lock the external gear 64 in position and prevent it from rotating when power is applied to coil 54). The engagement "of the disc 58 with the housing 72 is always on the outer edge with the arrangement of air gaps as shown in Figure 4. When current flows in coil 54 the plate "68 is attracted to the base 72 and held there until the power is turned 011. Of course, the base 72 is also made of ferro-magnetic material and this serves as the return path for the'flux. The bore 74 in the member 72 receives the shaft 60 and forms a pilot therefor- The ball 88 provides a friction-free pivot and bears against the surface of the hub 29. The hub 29 is slightly beveled as at 83 at its outermost surface. The clutch housing 72 is affixed 'to the hub 29 by fasteners (not shown) extending through flange 80. Centrally of the element 72 and extending from the bore 74 is a cavity 82. 'The ball 88 is held within the cavity 82 by .a spring follower assembly consisting of a spring 84 seated within a cavity of the shaft 60, and a spring follower 86 whichhas an inwardly cone shaped lower portion to bear against the ball-88 in order to captivate the ball but still permit it to roll. The loading upon the spring 84 may be controlled by an appropriate shim assembly 76. Also, the dimension of the air gaps 68 and 70 are controlled'by the shim mounting 76.

As indicated previously, the hub 66 serves as a pilot for the internal .gear 64 of a planetary gear system, This gear 64 is fastened to-the plunger 56 by a

series of'fasteners

90, 92, 94 and 96. The heads of these fasteners are embedded in plate 58 as clearly shown in Figure-4. Thus, the internal gear 64, the shaft 60 and the armature 56 are assembled together as an unitary member.

. ;T-'he plainetary-gear train consists of a sun gear 104 which is hobbed on the end of shaft 102 (which is the output shaft of thesgear reducer 3); a series of

planetary gears

106, 108 and 110 (which are mounted upon a formed on the carrier plate 112, and the planet gears are mounted on these studs and held in spaced relationship from the surface of plate 112 by a spacer 116. The planetary gear is freely rotatable upon this hub 114 and is retained'thereon by a screw 118, which bears against a washer or spacer 120. The ring gear 64 has teeth 122 only on the internal surface thereof.

Plate 126 is the flange of the gear box 3, and it is afiixed to plate 4 by fasteners 128. Pilot hub 130 is integrally formed with the flange 126. The pilot hub 130 will accept the sector gear 14, that is, the circular portion 160 of the plate 16 is piloted on thehub 130.

The

screws

132 and 134 go all the way through the plate 4 and connect the gear train to the motor. Hub 136 is also mounted upon theoutput shaft 102 and forms the mount for the spring 138. The inner end 140 of the spring 138 is affixed to the hub 136 by a screw or other fastener extending into the bore 142. The outer end of the spring 138 is formed into a loop 139 whichis mounted to a pin on the back end of the planet carrier plate 112 (see Figure Plate 152 is a retainingplate for the spring '138 and 150 is a stop pin. The spring fits within the opening 162 in the plate 152.

The sector gear plate 16 has an opening 160 which fits around a pilot hub 130 and locates the switches with respect to the cam or flange. The hub 130 thus forms a base for the spring to retain it in place. The inner surface of the opening 162 in retainer plate 152 thus holds the spring in place upon the hub 130.

As shown in Figure 10, on the backside of the planet carrier plate 112 there are two

pins

170 and 172. The loop 139 on the outer end of the spring 138 is dropped over stud 170. The stud 172 contacts the stop pin 150. Pin 170 is radially closer to the center of the planet carrier 112 than is the pin 172. The purpose of the stop 172 is to give the spring something against which it can recoil and thereby establish the zero point. In other words, if there were no stop, the spring would unwind until it reached an equilibrium position and it would there locate itself. In order to have accuracy, the spring must recoil from the same point each time and it therefore recoils into the stop pin 150. The reason for placing the

pins

170 and 172 at different radial distances is to enable the location of stop pin 172 without touching the spring retaining pin 170.

As indicated previously, the switches are released When the lug 26 falls into the slot 180 on the planet carrier plate 112. The side 181 of the slot 180 is radially oriented. When the lug 26 drops into the slot 180 the buttons 184 on the micro-switches are released. Normally, the buttons 184 are all depressed and held in depressed position by the lug 26 riding on the outer peripheral surface of the plate 112. The plate 22 being pivotally mounted can release or actuate the buttons 184 according to the relative position of the lug 26 and the plate 112. The switches are Wired so that they will be actuated upon the release of the button 184.

Although certain modifications have been described hereinabove, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a time delay relay, switch means having a switch contact actuator, an electric motor, planetary gearing drivingly connected to said motor and including a normally stationary planet carrier element and a ring gear, said planet carrier element providing means to engage said actuator, an electromagnetic brake, said ring gear being of paramagnetic material and constituting one element of said brake, means for energizing said motor, means for energizing said brake simultaneously with said motor, energization of said brake serving to instantaneously lock the normally rotating ring gear against rotation and cause the carrier element to planetate, said switch means including means for deenergizing said motor when the actuator engaging means contacts said actuator, enerby storage means operatively associated with said planet carrier element adapted to receive energy when said planet carrier element rotates and adapted to release its energy when said brake is deactivated, whereby the timing cycle will commence immediately upon energization of said brake and motor and will be repeated in exactly equal timing intervals upon each energization cycle.

2. In a time delay relay, switch means having a switch contact actuator, an electric motor, planetary gearing drivingly connected to said motor and including a normally stationary planet carrier element and a ring gear, said planet carrier element providing means to engage said actuator, means for holding stationary said ring gear whereby said planet carrier element is caused to rotate, means for energizing said motor simultaneously with said ring gear holding means, said switch means including means for deenergizing said motor when the actuator engaging means contacts said actuator, energy storage means operatively associated with said planet carrier element adapted to receive energy when said planet carrier element rotates and adapted to release its energy when said brake is deactivated, and means for fixedly adjusting the relative normal position between said actuator and said planet carrier element means in a continuous manner over a predetermined range.

3. In a time delay relay, switch means having a switch contact actuator mounted upon a movable plate member, an electric motor, planetary gearing drivingly connected to said motor and including a normally stationary planet carrier element and a ring gear, said planet carrier element providing means to engage said actuator, means for holding stationary said ring gear whereby said planet carrier element is caused to rotate, means for energizing said motor simultaneously with said ring gear holding means, said switch means including means for deenergizing said motor when the actuator engaging means contacts said actuator, energy storage means operatively associated with said planet carrier element adapted to receive energy when said planet carrier element rotates and adapted to release its energy when said brake is deactivated, and means for fixedly adjusting the relative normal position between said actuator and said planet carrier element means in a continuous manner over a predetermined range, said fixedly adjusting means including a rack affixed to said plate member, a pinion in engagement with said rack, and means for rotating said pinion to adjustably position the actuator with respect to said planet carrier element.

4. In a time delay relay, switch means having a switch actuator, an electric motor, planetary gearing drivingly connected to said motor and including a normally stationary planet carrier element and a ring gear, said planet carrier element providing means to engage said actuator, means for holding stationary said ring gear whereby said planet carrier element is caused to rotate, means for energizing said motor simultaneously with said ring gear holding means, said switch means including means for deenergizing said motor when the actuator engaging means contacts said actuator, energy storage means operatively associated with said planet carrier element adapted to receive energy when said planet carrier element rotates and adapted to release its energy when said brake is deactivated, said planet carrier element being provided with a depending stop means, a pair of abutments juxtaposed to said stop means for determining the rotational movement of said carrier element, and means for fixedly adjusting the relative normal position between said actuator and said planet carrier element means in a continuous manner over a predetermined range including means for fixedly adjusting the position of at least one of said abutments in a continuous manner.

5. In a time delay relay, switch means having a switch contact actuator, an electric motor, planetary gearing drivingly connected to said motor and including a normally stationary planetfcarrier element and a ring gear, said planet carrier element providing means to engage said actuator, an electromagnetic brake, said ring gear being of paramagnetic material and constituting one element of said brake, means for energizing said motor, means for energizing said brake simultaneously with said motor, energization of said brake serving to instantaneously lock the normally rotating ring gear against rotation and cause the carrier element to planetate, said switch means including means for deenergizing said motor when the actuator engaging means contacts said actuator, energy storage, means 'operatively associated with said planet carrier element'adapted to receive energy when said planetcarrier element rotates and adapted to release its energy when said brake is deactivated and means for fixedly adjusting the relative normal position between said actuator and said planet carrier element means in a continuous manner over a pr'edetermined range whereby the timing cycle will commence immediately upon energization of said brake and motor-and will be repeated in exactly equal timing intervals upon each energization cycle.

6. The time delay relay of claim 5 wherein said switch contact actuator is mounted upon a movable plate member, and said fixedly adjusting means includes a rack affixed to said plate member, and a pinion in engagement with said rack, vmeans'for rotating said pinion to adjustably position the actuator with respect to said planet carrier eler'n'ent.

7. The time delay relay of claim 5 wherein said planet carrier element is provided with a depending stop means, a pair of abutments juxtaposed to said stop means for determining the rotational movement of said carrier element, means for fixedly adjusting the position of at least one of said abutments in a continuous manner.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,157,863 Ow May 9, 1939 2,566,945 Laze-' Sept. 4, 1951 2,631,664 Poole Mar. 17, 1953 ,792,468 Kozikowski May 14, 1957 2,820,859 Davies Jan. 21, 1958 2,820,860 Kozikowski Jan. 21, 1958