US987493A - Electric water-heater. - Google Patents

Description

H. N. ROCHE a W. R. RAY,

ELECTRIC WATER HEATER.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG. a, v1910.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

'UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

HERBERT N. ROCHE AND WILLIAM RUTH RAY, F 'SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORS TO THOMAS B. GRAY, 0F vSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA,

ELECTRIC WATER-HEATER.

To all 'whom 'it may conce/m:

Be it known that We, HERBERT N. ROCHE, and WILLIAM R. Raigcitizens of the United States,v residing in the cit and county of San Francisco' and State o' California,have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric \Vater-Heaters, of which the folN lowing is ay specification.

This invention relttes to electric Water heaters,

It is a purpose of our invention to provide,

in an electric Water heater, unens of simple, reliable and effective construction whereby an electric current may be controlled automatically by the operation of the handle of the Water supply, and to so design, the mechn anism as to provide against short circuiting of the current, and which may be easily recal section, partly in elevation. Fig. 3

plan View oll the switch. Fig. l is a sec tional view of the actuator. Fig. is a de tail of the heating coils aud insulators. Fig. (3 shows the coils protected Aby separate tubes. Fig'. shows a ruoditied Atorni ot connection to the valve stein. llipj. tl is a` detail showingin perspective the switch, in-

cludiugthe plates or levers, QQ-Q-, andassociated parts.

The illustrations represent one lormfot or.I invention as actually constructed and successfully operated, in' which- A is a suitable casing` havingl ay crown 2 ou which may he mounted au iucarulescont lign 3 connected io 'the heating circuit ot the a'uiaratus lor thepurpose ot indicating the lion' otf'mureut. The lower cud oi the fusing is .scaled by a, disk 4t, insulated from a. suitahhl hase 5, through which is a eocl; or valve (l having' a handlc-ste1n 7. lhen the stem 7 is turned to open the valve water will 'llow into ari appropriate receiver S in- A suitable nozzle 12.

y specification of Letter-armut, patentar Mar, g1, j 911 Application filed August 3, 1910. Serial No. 575,3G.

sulated from and mounted on the bottom it, and will pass upwardly through parallel, serially connected resistance coils 9 supported in a tubular insulator 10, then the heatedr Water Will flow through a central conduit 11, insulated. from its coil, and pass out to thebottom of the heater through a lit is absolutely necessary in constructing heaters of this class that the transmissions of high .voltage electric current be very carefully controlled, and that all possible chance of electrolysis and short. circuiting be guarded against, and it is to this end that thev coils -9 are connected tothe posts 13, 1i oi a standard snap switch li of well known and epprtn/'edV structure. rlfhe switch blades and- 16 turn inl one direction only, and

are actuated by a' stein 17, which `is `iourneled in the switch so that 'the current may be turned through the posts 13 and lll from lead mains 18 and 19 secured to switch posts 2O and 21.

A particular and important feature of this invention is the means whereby the stem is actuated in a manner in simulation of the pressure of the human hand on the usual switch stein, that is, the stem is turned. by

power applied equally on opposite sides ot' the stem to prevent side thrust of the stem in its bearing and ctmsefpient bindingY of parts, This action accomplished by mounting at the outer end oit the stern independent, loose plates or leaves Q2 and 2215,

having a Walking-heaiu motion thereon, and

each ,carrying restrictive springl` pressed pawls 2% and Le, the iforiner oit which, when movingup, will engage 2G notched at and rastcued on the stein l. 'l`he paul Q5A on lever coacts en its dtm'nn'ard stroke with ay collar also iiolclicd at 2S) and Ltastcucd on 'the stein. 'lhe levers are adapted to roch simulta'ncouslyY in opposite directions, and are coiuuuted to ther valve spindle in `:ucl: relation that the Valve may be opened nearl;v4 tull before the switch clos i the circuit, and may then be nearly closed to shut oli= the water hcliorc Ahrcalu j the circuit so Athat a small volume ot Water may. he allowed to i'low through the coils 13 and become 'highly hea ted, if desired, The relative disposition a cotipcrative collar of levers 22 and 23 to each other is such that as pawl 24, on lever 2Q, .is swung doa n it will freely ride over the ratchet 2G, while the pawl 25, on lever Q3, taneously moved upward and is in operative engagement with and driving the ratchet QS, thus turning the stem 17 a quarter turn, breaking the circuit at blades l5 and 16. rlhe pawl plates 22 and 23 are disposed at approximately a right angle and since they move in opposite directions each pawl 24 and Q5 is etective, when moved clockwise, to engage its ratchet, thus always turning the stem 17 in one direction.

Any suitable and appropriate means may be employed to connect the valve spindle and the switch stein, and one form is to fasten on the spindle 7 a pinion 30 and on the opposite side of it mount racks 31-39. in a guide B3 so that when the gear 30 is turned with the spindle 7 it will simultaneously reciprocate its complementary racks, one upwardly and one downwardly. rthis motion of the racks is transmitted to the levers by links,one pair of which, as 34w35, diverges r'om racks 31 and connects, one with a pivot Y36' on lever 22 and the other with a pivot 37 on the opposite end of the other lever 23.

, will rock at each movement of the spindle when the water is let into the receiver 8, one set of links moving up and the other set moving down so that the force applied to turn the stem 17 in one direction acts through the pawl which is moving in the direction in which the stem is designed to turn, clockwise in this instance. The diametrically opposite notches in the collars 26 and 28 are set at quarters on the stem 17 andas the valve spindle 7 is turned upwardlya quarter revolution the pawl engaging its respective collar will turn the stem 17 and at the end ot the quarter turn will snap the switch. The side st ain of .the actuating pawl on the spindle is neutralized by the simultaneous lreverse action of the oppositely moving lever.

In this way the oppositely oscillatedilevers being positively connected to the spindle 7 act as bearings in which the sten. or shaft 17 may turn, thus dispensing with one fixed bearing and the resultant additional friction. When the valve stem is being turned to cut oil the flow of water, the pawl Q5 will engage a notch of the collar and before the water is entirely cut ott the switch blades will snap away from the posts and break the circuit instantly. Y

A very simple and easily operated form ot connection between the spindle 7 and the is being `iinullevers comprises, in place of the racks and pinion, a single lever 4Q, fastened on the spindle and directly connected by the links lo the walking beams and 23.

The insulator l() may be of any suitable material and form, as in separate tubes 10, and is here shown as having a plurality of longitudinal perfor-ations in which the coils 18 are strung, each coilbeing connected 'in series and having its bridge wire countersunk in small slots 43 across the ends of the insulator so that they are flush therewith, thus preventing the chance of short-circuiting at this point. The ends of the insulators are provided with slotted cups 44 to space the member within the receiver and allow a tree circulation of water', and in order to prevent electrolysis and conserve heat, the bodv of the insulator is insulated from the receiver wall by a thin sheet of mica or other 'i .to turn the switch stem.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters'- Patcnt, is-

l. The combination in an electric water heater, out a rotary snap switch adapted to complete an electric circuit throu' h the heater, and a switch o'perating mec ianism comprising a water valve stem, a lever secured thereon, a pair of independent, loose walking beams on the switch stem adapted to rotate the stem when oscillated, and connections between said lever and the walking beams, whereby the latter may be actuated when the valve stem is moved.

2. The combination in an electric waterheate'r, ot' a rotary snap switch adapted to .send an electric current through the heater, and a switch-operating device comprising a valve shank, a lever secured thereon, a switch stem, a pair of independent rocking plates loosely mounted on and rotating the switch,

opposite directions, and pairs of links connecting said plates and the lever on the valve shank for operating the plates.

3. The combination in an electric `water heater, ot' a rotary electric switch and its stem, a water controlling valve, and means connecting said-valve and said switch, said means including a pair of oppositely oscillating plates loosely` mounted on the switch set our hands in the presence of two subsoribmriy be actuated, one pair of said links 10 oppositie ends of the links simultaneously.

steni,pmv1s carried by the lplates and enlng Witnesses.

gaefible with the iatchets fast on the stem whben the Aplatesinove the pawls in the' saine HERBLRT N' ROCHE direction, and pairs of links connecting the WILLIAM RUTH RAY' plates and the valve, whereby the switch fitnesses as to H. N Roche;

' `CILmLEs EDELMAN,

FREDERICK E. MAYNARD. Witnesses as to W. R. Ruy:

.M. 7. YOUNG, 7. M. READ.'

efective to push on opposite ends of the plates and the other pu.' effective to pull on In testimony whereof We have hereunto

Images