US3114013A

US3114013A - Time switch with mechanical clutch actuating arrangement

Info

Publication number: US3114013A
Application number: US97216A
Authority: US
Inventors: Morschel Franz
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-03-21
Filing date: 1961-03-21
Publication date: 1963-12-10
Anticipated expiration: 1980-12-10

Description

Q F. MORSCHEL 3,114,013 TIME SWITCH WITH MECHANICAL CLUTCH ACTUATING ARRANGEMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. '10, 1963 Filed March 21, 1961 IN VEN TOR FRANZ MORSCHE L AT ORNEVY 1 llllllllllllllfllII!!!llllfffffllffIlrffl/rI/llllldffl'lflllllI'll/Ill!! Dec. 10, 1963 F. MORSCHEL 3,114,013.

*HME SW-I'IQH WITH MECHANICAL CLUTCH ACTUATING Filed March 21, 1961 E'Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR- FRANZ MORSCHEL i A r 7TTORNEY 3,114,013 TIME SWITCH WITH MECHANICAL CLUTCH} AC'I 'UATING ARRANGEMENT Filed March 21, 1961 F. MORSCHEL Dec. 10, 1963 s Sheets-Shei 3 IN VEN TOR" F5ANZ MORSCHEL A OR/VFY United States Patent C) 3,114,913 TIME SWlTCIlI Wl'iil-l MECHANICAL CLUTCH ACTUATlNG ARRANGEMENT Franz Morsehel, Rue Noereth 15h, Eupen, Belgium Filed Mar. 21, 1951, Ser. No. W316 it? Claims. (Cl. 200 -38) This invention relates generally to a time switch and more particularly to a time switch whose operation is controlled by mechanical means as well as electromagnetic means.

Time switches of the type to which the present invention relates have in the past involved a complicated mechanism for'operating a series of switch contacts. Because of the complicated nature of their construction, previous time switches are rather delicate, hence limited in their use, and expensive to manufacture. I

It is a general object of this invention to obviate the above and other difiiculties by providing a time switch composed of simple and sturdy parts which operate reliably and make it possible to use the time switch'for innumerable different purposes and to adjust it in various ways. Toward this end, the present time switch comprises in general a clock mechanism such as a driving motor and associated reduction gearing, a rotatableshaft, a clutch between the output of the gearing and the shaft, and elec tromagnetic means for operating the clutch to slowly rotate the shaft, In addition, the time switch includes at least one switch and one member for actuating the switch, one of these being mounted to rotate with the rotatable shaft and the other being fixed with respect to the shaft, and one of these being adjustable with respect to a time will be apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing important parts of an illustrative time switch made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view on a larger scale looking in the direction of the arrow II of FIG. 1, showing various parts not shown in FIG. 1; i

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 3 looking in the direction of the arrow IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on line V-V of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken on line VI-VI of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross sectional view through the clutch of the time switch.

The frame of the time switch shown in the drawings comprises an inverted U-shaped bracket 1 and a plate 6 supported above the bracket by a pair of spacing bolts '7 and 8. Mounted within the bracket 1 is a clock mechanism comprising a drive motor 2 and its associated transmission 27. The output of the transmission or reduction gearing 27 is available at the shaft 47 (FIG. 7), which carries at its upper end a clutch member 3.

Rotatably supported in the plate 6 is a shaft 5 carrying at its lower end a clutch member 4 opposed to the clutch member 3. The shaft 5 is axially movable in its bearing in order that the clutch members 3 and 4 may be engaged and separated. Directly above the clutch member 4, a pulley 9 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 5. Near its upper end a disk 14 is fixed to the shaft, the disk carrying a time scale on its upper face. Directly beneath the disk 14, the shaft 5 has mounted on it one or more switch-actuating elements. In the present illustration, two such elements 15 .(FIGS. 13 and 6) and 42 (FIGS. 4 and 6) are shown. It is preferred that the free ends of these elements extend beyond the periphery of the disk 14- so that they may be seen when viewing the time switch from above and adjusted with respect to the time scale on the disk 14.

The switch actuating element 15 is provided with an inturned lip 21, and the element 42 has an outwardly projecting tongue 43. The lip 21 and tongue 43 are adapted to engage a roller 26 of a switch 25 mounted on one side of the bracket 1. Obviously, many different types of switches may be employed. For the sake of illustration a dead-center type switch has been shown including two stationary contacts and a movable contact which moves from one stationary contact to the other past a dead-center position. Thus when the tongue 43 engages and moves past the roller 26, the switch 25 assumes the condition of FIG. 2, and thereafter when the lip 21 engages and moves past the roller 26, the switch assumes the condition of FIG. 3. Mounted on the body of the switch 25 in alignment with the shaft 5 and switch 25 is'a stationary indicator 13. This indicator represents the starting position of the time switch and at the start, the zero'marking of the time scale on the disk 14 is p0- sitioned directly under the indicator. It will be seen that. the actuation of the switch 25 by one of the

elements

15 or 42 will take place after a predetermined rotation of the shaft 5 from its start position depending upon the setting of the element with respect to the time scale. I

The adjustment of the switch-actuating

elements

15 and 42 may be advantageously effected by means of the knob 18 rotatably and slidably positioned on the upper end of the shaft 5. Fixed to the knob 18 is an arm 17 carrying a downwardly projecting pin 20. The free end of the element 15 is provided with a hole 16 and the free end 44 of the element 22 is provided with a hole 45 (see FIG. 5). A compression spring 19 normally maintains the knob in its upper position wherein it may be manipulated to bring the pin 29 directly over the hole 16 or the hole 5. The knob may then be depressed against the force of spring 19 so that the pin enters the hole 45, for example, and then by rotation of the knob, the element 42 may be positioned as desired about the circumference of the disk 14. g

In order that the shaft 5 and hence the disk 14 are not rotated during the adjustment of the

elements

15 and 42, it is advantageous to depress the knob 18 sufliciently so that the shaft 5 itself is moved axially downward to bring the clutch member 4into engagement with the clutch member 3. It is assumed, of course, that the motor 2 is not running at this time, and so engagement of the clutch members acts to brake the shaft 5 and prevent its rotation. 'Should the clutch members already be engaged at the time that it is desired to set the element 15 or 4-2, the knob need not be depressed to this extent.

From what has been said above, it is clear that the switch-actuating

elements

15 and 42 must be mounted on the shaft 5 securely enoughso that they rotate with the shaft and do not move with respect to the shaft when they engage and shift the roller 26. On the other hand, the elements must be adjustable with respect to the shaft 5 in order to set the time of operation of the switch 25. For this reason, the switch-actuating elements are mounted as shown in FIG. 2 wherein they are held fric- 3 tionally between the dislr 14 and a loclmut by means of

spring disks

3f, 32 and 33. It will be appreciated that a multiplicity of such elements may be thus mounted on the shaft 5, one beneath the other.

In FIG. 7, each of the clutch members 3 and 4 is shown provided with a facing, 34 and 35 respectively, preferably of rubber. It is advantageous to make the clutch members concave in nature so that a compression spring 48 may be inserted between them. The spring 48 tends to separate the clutch members at all times, and the shaft 5 must be moved downwardly against the force of this spring in order to bring the facings of the clutch members into engagement. Upon engagement of the clutch members 3 and 4-, the driving motion of the motor 2 will be transmitted to the shaft 5 which will cause the latter to rotate in a clockwise direction in FIGS. 1 and 6. The disk 14 and the

elements

15 and 42, of course, rotate with the shaft 5. In addition, the rotation produces a tensioning of a spring 11 fixed at one end to the pulley 9, at the other end to a pin 12 projecting from the bracket 1, and whose intermediate region passes over an idler pulley ill rotatable on the spacing bolt 8. The tensioning is caused by the winding of the spring lll upon the pulley 9. The pulley i is employed so that a longer spring can be used which will have a more uniform effect on the shaft 5. When the clutch members 3 and 4 sepa rate, the spring 11 will rotate the shaft in a counterclockwise direction and return it to its starting position.

Under normal circumstances, the engagement of the clutch memsers is accomplished by an electromagnet arranged within the bracket 1, comprising a coil 36, a stationary core piece 37 and a movable core piece or armature 38. Mounted on the armature 38 is a bracket 39 carrying an upwardly projecting bolt 46 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The bolt 49 passes through a hole in one end of a lever 23 the other end of which is pivotally supported in the plate 6. The movement of the bolt 40 is transmitted to the lever 28 through a spring 41 surrounding the bolt and pressing against the upper surface of the lever. At about its midpoint, the lever 28 is provided with a hole for accommodating the shaft 5, and the lever rests upon a series of washers supported by the pulley 9. When the coil 36 is energized, the armature 38 is drawn downwardly pulling the bolt 40 with it, thus pivoting the lever 28 downwardly through the spring 41. As a result, the shaft 5 is moved downwardly to bring the clutch members into engagement. Note that since the downward movement of the shaft is produced through the spring 4-1, the shaft 5 can be moved upwardly to disengage the clutch even though the electromagnet is still energized.

The mechanical means for actuating the clutch com- 7 prises a cam 29, which may be a rigid bar, oblique to the axis of the shaft 5, fixed to the plate 6, and a pin 39 fixed to the shaft 5 and projecting perpendicularly to the axis of the shaft. The cam 29 and pin 3t) are so arranged, that the pin 30 contacts the lower surface of the cam 29 when the shaft 5 is in its starting position. As a matter of fact, it is particularly advantageous to make the spring 11 sufficiently stronger than the spring 48 between the clutch members to permit the spring llll to continue to rotate the shaft 5 after the initial contact of the pin 30 with the undersurface of the cam 29. This continued movement will cause the shaft 5 to move downwardly until the clutch member 4 contacts the clutch member 3. The angular position of the shaft 5 at this point is made the starting position of the shaft (i.e. the position in which the zero point on the time scale of disk 14 is directly beneath the indicator 13), and the clutch members thereby serve as abutment members for accurately defining the starting position of the shaft 5. Another advantage of this type of arrangement is that since the clutch is engaged when the shaft 5 is in its starting position, if the motor 2 and coil 36 are energized simultaneously, the shaft will begin to rotate immediately with- 4 out any time delay which might otherwise be introduced while the elcctromagnet caused downward movement of the shaft 5 to bring the clutch members into engagement.

After the shaft 5 has moved through about one full revolution from its starting position, the pin 3t) contacts the upper surface of the cam 29. Continued rotation at this point causes the shaft 5 to be moved upwardly aga nst the force of the spring 41 to disengage the clutch mem bers. This marks the position of the shaft 5 at the end of its cycle of operation. The upper surface of the cam 29 and the pin 36 serve more or less as a safety device to separate the clutch members in case the electromagnct is for some reason not deenergized before the shaft 5 reaches the end of its cycle. This prevents a repetition of the cycle and possible injury to the parts of the time switch, despite continued energization of the motor 2.

in practice, the present time switch may be used to control the operation of a piece of apparatus or equipment such as a machine. The electrical connections betwee the time switch and the apparatus to be controlled may be varied in many ways depending upon the circumstances. For example, one of the stationary contacts of the switch 25 could be connected into a series circuit including a source of power, a manually operable starting switch, the motor of the apparatus to be controlled, and the center or movable contact of the switch 25', and the motor 2 and coil 36 of the time switch could be connected in parallel with the motor of the apparatus.

The operation of thetime switch would then be as follows: Assuming the shaft 5 is in its starting position and contact between the movable contact and stationary contact just mentioned of the switch 25, closing of the starting switch will cause encrgization of the motor 2, hence slow rotation of the shaft 5, and energization of the motor of the apparatus. After a predetermined time interval, one of the switch actuating elements will move into engagement with the roller 26 and actuate the switch The apparatus motor will be deenergized as well as the motor 2 and electromagnet coil 36. The spring 48 will thereupon separate the clutch members and the spring 11 will return the shaft 5 to its sarting position. As mentioned above, if for some reason the motor 2 and coil 36 are not deenergized after a full revolution of the shaft 5, the pin 30 riding along the upper surface of the cam 2? will cause the clutch members to separate.

An additional advantage of the present time switch resides in the fact that the

switch actuating elements

15 and 42 may be adjusted even while the motor 2 is running and the clutch is engaged, without the danger of damaging the parts. This is because the switch actuating elements are rotatable with respect to the shaft 5. It should also be mentioned that the elapsed time during any cycle may be determined at any time by comparing the position of the zero point on the time scale with the indicator 13, and the time remaining by comparing theposition of the appropriate switch actuating mechanism with the indicator 1.3.

The invention has been shown and described in pre ferred form only and by way of example and many variations may be made in the invention and in its mode of operation which will still be comprised within its spirit.

t is understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except insofar as such limitations are expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A time switch comprising a rotatable shaft having a starting position, a clock mechanism for slowly rotating said shaft, a separable clutch between them, electromag netic means for actuating said clutch to transmit rotative' motion from said clock mechanism to said shaft, a pair of cooperable switch elements, one of said elements being rotatable with said shaft and the other being fixed with respect to said shaft, said switch elements being relatively adjustable to pre-set the time of operation of the switch elements, and means independent of said electromagnetic means for mechanically actuating said clutch at a predetermined angular position of said shaft, said predetermined angular position being no more than 360 from the starting position of said shaft.

2. A time switch according to claim 1 including a disk mounted on said shaft and carrying a time scale correlated to the starting position of said shaft and the speed of rotation of said shaft, and wherein said rotatable switch element is adjustable circumferentially of said disk whereby after rotation of said shaft from its starting position through an angle corresponding to the setting of said rotatable switch element with respect to said disk said rotatable element will engage said fixed switch element.

3. A time switch according to claim 2 including means for adjusting said rotatable switch element with respect to said disk comprising a knob rotatable on and movable axially of said shaft, an arm fixed to said knob adapted when said knob is moved along said shaft to engage said rotatable switch member and rotate the latter as said knob is rotated, and a spring tending to return said knob along said shaft in order to disengage said arm and said switch element.

4. A time switch according to claim 1 wherein said clutch comprises a member secured to said driving means and a member fixed to said shaft, and said shaft is axially movable to engage and separate said clutch members.

5. A time switch according to claim 4 including a spring between said clutch members tending to separate them.

6. A time switch comprising a frame, a shaft rotatable in and movable axially with respect to said frame, a clock mechanism for slowly rotating said shaft, a clutch member secured to said clock mechanism, an opposed clutch member fixed to said shaft, electromagnetic means for moving said shaft axially to engage said clutch members and thereby transmit rotative motion from said clock mechanism to said shaft, a pair of cooperable switch elements, one of said elements being rotatable with said shaft and the other being fixed with respect to said shaft, said switch elements being relatively adjustable to pre-set the time of operation of the time switch, a detent projecting radially from said shaft, and a cam member having a surface oblique to the axis of said shaft arranged in the path of travel of said detent whereby upon contact between said detent and said surface continued rotation of said shaft will be accompanied by axial movement of said shaft.

7. A time switch according to claim 6 wherein the surface of said cam member faces away from said clutch members, and said clock mechanism rotates said shaft in a direction tending to bring said detent into engagement with said surface whereby upon such engagement continued rotation of said shaft by said clock mechanism will cause axial movement of said shaft to separate said clutch members.

8. A time switch according to claim 7 wherein said electromagnetic means moves said shaft through a spring thereby permitting said detent and cam member to dis engage said clutch members regardless of the condition of said electromagnetic means.

9. A time switch according to claim 7 wherein said cam member is provided with an additional oblique surface facing said clutch members, and including a spring for rotating said shaft when said clutch members are separated, said spring rotating said shaft in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of said clock mechanism thereby tending to bring said detent into engagement with said additional surface.

10. A time switch according to claim 9 including an additional spring between said clutch members tending to separate them, said spring for rotating said shaft being sufi'iciently more powerful than said additional spring to move said detent along said additional surface so as to cause axial movement of said shaft until said clutch members engage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,409,879 Manley Mar. 14, 1922 1,597,851 Weusley Aug. 31, 1926 2,073,756 Osten-Sackeu Mar. 16, 1937 2,521,837 Digman Sept. 12, 1950 2,675,536 Schlaf Apr. 13, 1954 2,891,617 Wharton June 23, 1959

Claims

1. A TIME SWITCH COMPRISING A ROTATABLE SHAFT HAVING A STARTING POSITION, A CLOCK MECHANISM FOR SLOWLY ROTATING SAID SHAFT, A SEPARABLE CLUTCH BETWEEN THEM, ELECTROMAGNETIC MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID CLUTCH TO TRANSMIT ROTATIVE MOTION FROM SAID CLOCK MECHANISM TO SAID SHAFT, A PAIR OF COOPERABLE SWITCH ELEMENTS, ONE OF SAID ELEMENTS BEING ROTATABLE WITH SAID SHAFT AND THE OTHER BEING FIXED WITH RESPECT TO SAID SHAFT, SAID SWITCH ELEMENTS BEING RELATIVELY ADJUSTABLE TO PRE-SET THE TIME OF OPERATION OF THE SWITCH ELEMENTS, AND MEANS INDEPENDENT OF SAID ELECTROMAGNETIC MEANS FOR MECHANICALLY ACTUATING SAID CLUTCH AT A PREDETERMINED ANGULAR POSITION OF SAID SHAFT, SAID PREDETERMINED ANGULAR POSITION BEING NO MORE THAN 360* FROM THE STARTING POSITION OF SAID SHAFT.