US984191A

US984191A - Time-switch.

Info

Publication number: US984191A
Application number: US46039908A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles E Campbell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1908-10-31
Filing date: 1908-10-31
Publication date: 1911-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 1928-02-14

Description

C. E. CAMPBELL. TIME SWITCH.

APPLIGATION HLED p01'. s1, 190s.

Patented Feb. 14, 1911.

o. E. CAMPBELL.

TIME SWITCH.

APPLOATION EILED (1071.31, 1908.

Patented Feb.14,911`

2 SHEET S-SHEET 2.

GES.

CHARLES CAMPBELL, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

' TIME-SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 14, 1911.

Application filed. October 31, 1908. Serial No. 460,399.,

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it Vknown that I, CII-munies EJCAii'rr- BELL, Va. citizen .of the United States, residing in Lynn, in the county of Essex and A'State of Massachusetts, have Ainvented an Improvement in 'lliineJSwitches7 oi?-V which the following description, iii connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specificai tion, like let-ters on' the drawings representing like parts. y

rllie present invention relates to a time switch, the purpose of the inventionbeing to arrange the mechanism so that a powerful switch, capable of controlling heavy .turrents can be accurately operated by a delicate clock-work mechanism, without theA expenditure of sufficient the-operation of the clock;

In controlling heavy currentsjit is necessary to employ -a switch having large con Vtact surfaces, and the so-called knife blade switch has been found to be the most prac-' ticable for thispurpose. In a knife blade 'switcln however, the Contact portions are of 425 llarge area, and the frictional resistance to the opening and closingof thel switch is` so large that it' requires considerable power to operate the switch eifentually. Furthermore, it is necessary to have a wide openingV and a rapid movement in opening the switch so as to prevent the formation of ,an

` arc, and consequent destruction 'of the contirets. lt is necessary, therefore, if such a switch isto be controlled by clock work mechanism, to employ intermediate actuat- 4ingdevices which' can be controlled by the expenditure of Very slight the'saiuc time, are capable "o exertingsi- .cient power to operate -theswitcln In aoeordance 'with' the inventiomjtherefore, fthe' movable iiienihei of tlieswit'cli is provided with a powerful spring so arranged as to be neutral when tlielswitcli member is substantially ialf way between its 4open rand closed position, and to be placed under tension when tvlieswitch is fully closed orl fully` open. -lii either position," therefore,l the spring has a tendency to act, and, if the'4 switch is released, the movable member lwill bevgiveii an'impulse by the spring which tendto carry the saine past the 'neutral i position andv to pla-nf the spring und ten sioa againl in the opposite directioi In l order that this expedient may be utilized in connection with a tripping device, the movmeiiibc power to disturbower, and, at,

il of `the sivitcli is connected by 7,1nieiiiber o `to the switch that the link or pitman will be approximately iii line with the axis of the rotating member audits point of connection with the switch member when-the switch is either open orY closed; substantially half a revolution ofthe rotating member constituting a suficientinovement to carry the switch member from one eX- treme to the other. The rotating member', which requires a comparatively small amount ofpowe'r to thi-0W the pitinan off the line and permit the main actuatin spring to come into play, is provided Witi a light spring or equivalent motor, .and is held against the `action of said spring by means ofa stop which is arranged to be acted upon by a movable tripping member directly connected with the clock work mechanism which affords thev timing element. By this expedient, a very slight -4 further feature of: the invention con-A sists in a novelv construction'of the tripping member which is carried by the time eley nient or clock Work' whereby the said trip- .ping' member is automatically held Vagainst backward Ymovement, Valthough capable of forward Ainoveinentfor the purpose of setting the instruii'ient to operate .attlie time desired. .1

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a, time `switch embodying the. invention; Fig. 2-is esY a section, partly iii-elevation, taken 'on line ab? of'Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a perspective View' of jolie. of the tripping members carried by the clock mechanism; and* Fig. 4 is a front ele-- vation, partly in section, showing a modification in. which the switch is submerged in oil.

The switch, which is designed to control currents of high voltage, is shownias of the .so-called laufe-blade type, and is pro- :vided wiltli a pivotally supported yblade with a spring socket b, the blade entering bctween the sides of the socket so as to aiforda large contact surface to conduct the current through the circuit indicated by the conductors l and 25; for example, a lighting circuit for a store. In order to open and close a switch of this type, a relatively powerful actuating device isnecessary in order to overcome the friction between the two members or the switch, and if the switch is to be controlled by delicate mechanism, such as clock-.work of the ordinary kind, it is necessary to arrange the clock so that the clock work can be employed to set amore powerful actuating device in operation, without itself performing the necessary Work. It is further essential tohave a large range of ymovement of themovable member or' the switch in order to separate the contacts'by a wide gap, and prevent the formation of an are during the opening of the switch. To these ends, the switch is providedy primarily with an actuating spring e 'having sufiicient strength to overcome the rictional'engagement between the switch members' a ando, and to start a rapid 'movement o f the -movable member -which will be continued by momentum after the spring has ceased to act. This spring is arranged to be double acting, thatis to say, 'substani tially neutral in an' intermediate position,

and placed under stress when the movable -member a is in either extreme position. -For the purpose of starting theoperation of the spring c, the member' 'a is connected with a ,traveling member d herein shown as 'a' Iotating disk' arranged to .be operated by means of a s rino d2 and the said disk is' connected by means of a pitinan e with the switch member a. The relation of the parts is such that a half rotation of the member d acting through the pitman'e -will carry the movable member a of the switch from its closed to its open position, as indicated in full and dotted lines, Fig. '1, and the member d is so controlled as to be stopped in one-or the other of the positions shown,

- in each case the pitman ev being substanpull orpushilpon therpitmane, -so vthat the tially in line with the axis of the member In each case, furthermore, the spring c 1s under tension, butv is resisted by thev direct said spring has no tendency to turn the member d, but, von 'the contrary, is held thereby. A slight rotary movement of the member d, however, will throw the pitmane out of line, and as soon as the pitman crosses the axis of the member d, it is obvious that. the spring c is free vto act and will give a;

strong impulse to .the switch member a, tending to throw the same from one position to the other. As the spring 0 crosses its neutral position.- fnrthermore, and begins to be pnt under tension. the4 pitman is approaching the line between the axis ofthe member d-and the pivotal connection with the member a, so that a very slight impulse imparted to the disk cl will, in this case, be largely multiplied in its effect upon the switch member a. 1n other words, at this point in the operation, the disk CZ and pitman e are in the nature of a toggle joint, so that, 4at the end or' the movement' when the spring c is being put under heavy tension, a small amount of power applied to the disk d will serve to finish the operation.

vThe spring (Z2, therefore, with which the disk d is provided, is shown as a coil spring adaptedto be wound, 'from vtime lto time, and does not require a great amount ot power, and the said disk may be held in 'position against the action or' the spring cl2 by a tri )ping device which can be easily operateh. i

faces d* and d5 at opposite ends7 one or the other of said surfaces normally' lying incontact with a stop f2 on a rocker f which is adapted to be' acted upon by tripping members g and g?, which are arranged to travel contimr ously in conjunction with aclockidial g3. The. pivotal support f3 of the member f is so located that, in the rocking movement of the member f, produced by the action ofthe members g and g2, .it will'carry the stop f2 in a line substantially radial to the axisof the disk d, so that substantially' no compression of the spring d2 is required prior to the release of the member d3.

At each operation, it is necessary that the disk d should make onlya half revolution, that is to say, a movement suiicient to either open or close In theconstructi'on shown, the disk (i is provided with an arm Z3 having engaging suru the switch according to the position in which the switch is when the movement takes place. For 'this purpose, the'member f is provided with a secondary stop 'f so locatedas ,toA

come into the path of the member d3 just after the stop f2 hasreleased the said'mem-` ber, but prior tothe release of thememler f'by the tripping hand g.v As the hand g travels, therefore,

the memberal3 is first rei leased from the stop fl and then arrested by the stop P, after which the member f is released by the `tripping member 'g and restored by means of its4 spring f5, so that the engaging `surface d* will be released in the return movement -of the member f and the engaging surface (Z5 caught by the projection f2 at the end of half a revolution of the disk al. 'Ihe dial g3 is shown' as calibrated to represent hours' and quarter hours, there being twenty-four main divisions, the clock work being-so arranged that the dia-l will l'uake one revolution yfor each 'twenty-tour lunirs.

The actu'a. l time vis'indicated .by means of" a handand the time for operating the switch is determined by the position of the tripping hands y and g2. Taking, for exlill) ample, the control of a lighting circuit, where it is desiredv to have the lights in op-` eration from hall past live to eleven, and automatically turned on and extinguished, the tripping member y2 may be set, as indicated on the dial, between numerals 5 and while the tripping hand g is set opposite i'inmeral 1l. Ae shown in the drawing, the dial indicates the time' as nine-thirty, and the tripping hai-cl g, which is set to operate at eleven oclock, is just eomingjn contact with the tripping lever f'. During the travel of the dial. through a space indicated by cali brations showing one hour land a half, the lever f' will have been rocked on its pivot and released by the tripping hand g, thus causing a halt' rot-ation ot the disk CZ, ae previously described, and throwingthe switch member a from .the closed position shown in full. linee to the open posit-ion shown in dotted lines. The Switch will then remain open. until the tripping hand gi reaches the lever f, and correspondingly trips the same toproduce a movement of the switch in the opposite direction.

The disk (l is connected by keys al with an extensiony d? from a spring druml als which 'contains the spring (Z2, the .said extension bearing in the front frame plate 9, the winding 'shaft alle extending through. the drinn d, and bearing at the opposite end in the back frame plate d. One end of the spring d2 is connected with the Winding spindle which is provided in the usual way with a ratchet (Z13 acted on by a pawl il pivoted on the frame plate all".

ln order to cushion the shock when the vrotation of the disk is arrested by the stops on the lever f, the arm da lsshown as loosely supported on the hub of the disk al where it is held by a collar all, and the ends of said 'arm bear against plungers all in sockets all? containing spiral springs. In order to prevent the arm `from leaving the ends of the plnngers and allowing them to fall from the sockets, a stop d is employed, against which the other side of the arm bears.

lt is essential that the tripping hande g and g2 which are carried by the clock dial, should be' prevented v-irom slipping bak, since they actnpon the tripping member f in the forward movement, and 'it is also neeeesary that ,theyV should be easily movable .t'or the purpose of setting the switch for operation atdierent times.- In order to se' cure the hands against backward movement., the said hands are constructed ne shown in Fig. f-l, being provided with an annular hnb portion y* which surrounds :i boss 'formed on the face of the clock dial, the two hands being separated by a washer g5., and held. in

Yplace hy a washerg. These washers serve to retain the hands, but do not bear 'against them with sufficient friction to prevent the loin-ard movement ncceseai'y .to set them.

The annular'portion y* is clit, as indicated at gl, the clit being inclined in direction, as shown, so that the divided parts 'will be forced together by any resistance to the backward movement of the hand, thus causing the aiinnlar part to bind on the hub. The forward movement lof the hand tends .to sepai'atetlie two parts, and to enlarge the can' be Shown in Fig. 1,' extending downward,

through an opening of the casing into 4theoil tank,l The switch mechanism, which is .not shown in -F ig. 4, may be identical with .that previously described,` the pitinan el", however, being somewhat longer in order to provide for the lower position of the switch. The tank m is shown as provided with plugs m2 and m3 for putting in and drawing oit' the oil respectively.-

Claims:

l. In a time switch, the combination with a' clock movement provided with a traveling calibrated dial; of a pointer stationary with relation thereto to indicate the time, a tripping member mounted on. and, carried by said dial; a switch member provided with a main operating spring arranged to be under tension when the. switch member is in either extreme position; 'a rotating member con- .nected by means of a pitman with said switch member, said pitman being so proportioned as to be in line with the axis ofA said rotating member when the Switch is in either of its extrime posit-ions; a secondary spring adapted,l to canse said member to rotate and thereby move said pitnian out of line with 'the axis of said rotating member to permit the operation of the main operating,r spring," and a "stop for said member adapted to lie-tripped `by the eloclcworlc nliecl'ianisin, siibstantially as described. Y

2; The combination with a knife blade switch; of a stiff spring connected with the blade member, said spring being under tension when the blade member is in either its open or its closed position; a spring actuatednrotating meinberconnected by a pit-- man with .said switch member said pitinan when the. switch is open or closed being in line with the axis ot said rotating member; a pivotally supported stop member to hold said rotating member stationary against the operation .of its spring; a clock dial pro` vided with two adjustable hands adapted to Lio trip said stop member successively, and a time indicator stationary with relation to said clock dial. 4

3. In a time switch, the combination with. the switch; of a spring for operating the same; a tripping device to control the operation of said spring; a clock dial; and a hand mounted on said clock dial to actu'ate said tripping device in the travel of the dial, said hand having an annular portion having a diagonal out therein, substantially as and lfor the purpose described.'

4:. The combination with a. clock dialv pro` vided with a tripping hand;'of a pivotally sl'lpported tripping member adapted tol be operated upon by said hand; a rotating member provided with a spring; said rotating member being caused to make half a revolution through the operation of the tripping. device; a disk having a cushioned connection with said rotating member; a pitman connected with said disk; av knife blade switch member connected with said pitman and a spring connected with said'swi'lzeh member and adapted to be under tension when said member is in either oi. its extreme positions, substantially as and for the purpose described. i

5I In a time switch, the combination with a -knife blade switch; of a receptacle for oil in which said switch is contained; clock Work mechanism' carrying a tripping device; a. rotary actuating member controlled by said tripping' device; a pitman connecting said actuating member with thev movable switch member; and a spring connected with said switch member and 'arranged tov be the combination with of a receptacle for oil yin. Which said switch vis contained; a spring connected with said switch and arranged to be under tension when said switch member is in either its open. or its closed position; clock work'mechanisn'i carrying atripping device; Ineans for setting said tripping de vice to operate at any desired time; a springactuatedI rotary member adan'ed to bereleased by said tripping device and permitted to make half revolution; and a pitman connecting said rotary member with the blade of the switch.

7. In a time switch, the combination withA :i pivota'liy supported knife blade switch member; member; said spring` being under tension'except when the switch member is in. an intermediate position; a rotary member' connected by a link or pitman with said switch member; a second spring acting on said rotary member; a tripping device controlling said rotary member and arranged to permit a half revolution thereof;'a clock dial; and adjustable tripping hands carried by said dial to cooperate with said tripping device.' In testimony whereof, I have signed my ot a spring connected with. said name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses CHARLES E. Writnesses:

M. E. CovENn-Y, Jes. J MALonnY.

CAMPBELL;