US2667921A - Two-speed timer - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 2, 19 54 E. J. DOYLE 2,667,921

TWO-SPEED TIMER Filed Sept. 20, 1951 F/G.5 F/GG 22 /4 2.3262824 28 603824 3nnergtor EDWAPDJ DOYLE ttornegs Patented Feb. 2, 1954 TWO-SPEED TIMER Edward J. Doyle, Hartford, Conn., assignor to M. H. Rhodes Incorporated, Hartford, Conn., a

corporation of Delaware Application September 20, 1951, Serial No. 247,389

8 Claims.

This invention relates to clockwork mechanisms and to timers and more particularly to improvements in multi-speed timers.

By timers is meant a mechanism of the type generally used to measure a preselected time interval. A multi-speed timer is a timer capable of operation at more than one speed, i. e., the timer may be set to operate at a relatively high speed so as to measure intervals up to one maximum and the timer may also be set to operate at a slower speed so as to measure intervals up to a greater maximum.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, compact, and economical timer construction capable of operation at a plurality of speeds and having means for preventing time setting and measuring errors.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multi-speed timer having easily settable speed selecting means and easily and accurately settable interval selecting and measuring means each of which is readily visible to indicate to even the most casual observer the selected position of the timer.

Other objects willbe in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of an interval timer which embodies the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view, on reduced scale, of the dial incorporated in the construction shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. l with the front portion of the encasement shown in cross section so as to reveal elements of the clockwork mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a view taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the clockwork mechanism showing details of the escapement included in the mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing elements of the escapement in operative positions other than those shown in Fig. 5; and

Fig. '7 is an enlarged horizontal cross-sectional view of the front portion of the timer.

For purposes of exemplification, the timer illustrated in the drawings is of the type which includes a clockworks and which is mounted upon a panel I I which may comprise a part of a household appliance, industrial mechanism, or otherwise. The panel supports a face plate l0 and dial l2 adjacent its front surface and a conventional setting knob or pointer I3 is arranged to be manually set in relation to the face plate and dial and to be mechanically driven by a clockwork mechanism M mounted within a bell l5 disposed rearwardly of the panel I I. The open end of the bell is closed by a cover and clockworks frame support It which is attached to the panel by means which will be described hereinafter.

The clockworks i4 is the spring wound type and includes a winding arbor 20 connected to a main spring 2| and extending through the frame support It to the front of the panel and face plate to receive the setting knob I3. When the knob [3 has been moved clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 1, to effect a setting of the timer, the main spring 2| is energized thereby to set into operation a gear train 22 which is operatively associated with the winding arbor 29 to return the arbor and setting knob to the original at rest position.

The gear train or time train 22 comprises a plurality of intermeshed gear wheels and pinions supported by staffs pivoted between front and rear frame plates 23 and 25. The gear train drives an escape wheel 24 at a relatively rapid rate and a retarding member or clutter 26 is pivotally mounted adjacent the escape wheel to retard the movement thereof and prevent too rapid dissipation of power of the wound main spring. The clutter 26 has a pair of ears 28 at its opposite ends which alternately engage the teeth of the escape wheel 24 in the manner of pallet pins in a conventional escapement. Thus,

the clutter oscillates at a rate which is propor-' tional to its mass and the driving force imposed thereon by the escape wheel. The mass of the clutter, of course, determines its moment of inertia and if the clutter inertia is small compared to the driving force of the escape wheel, the clutter will oscillate at a rapid rate and the main spring will dissipate its power at a relatively rapid rate. The moment of inertia of the clutter may be varied according to its mass and in the assembly disclosed, the mass of the clutter is selected so as to permit the main spring to dissipate its power in 6 minutes from the fully wound position. Accordingly then, if the setting knob I3 is manually rotated one complete revolution, it will take 6 minutes for the knob to be rotated at rest or starting position.

The aforedescribed timer mechanism is rendered capable of operation at two speeds by the incorporation of additional retarding mechanism indicated generally by reference numeral 30. The retarding mechanism 30 is arranged to be selectively shifted between an inoperative position and an operative position wherein the escape wheel 24 will be engaged by the retarding mechanism in much the same manner in which the clutter 2G engages.the..escape...wheel. The idetails-of constructionbf the retarding mechanism fiil will be described hereinafter but it should be understood that the retarding mechanism is arranged to re-.: tard the time train so that the main spring will dissipate its power from a maximum wound position to the unwound condition in 1 hour... In other words, when both the mechanismi'3H- and\l5 the clutter 26 are retarding the escape wh'eelfit". will take 1 hour for the setting knob l3 to be mechanically returned one revolution .to :thei atrest or starting position.

A pair of timing disks .32--34 are supported by 2 the arbor 2!! at the end thereof opposite the setting'knob 'li, 'soth'at the=disks are disposed rearwardly of the'frame=25 and'within=the"bell 55.- The disk 32 'is affixed-to the-arbor 28 for rotation therewith andthe disk 34 is rotatable relative thereto 1 a I limited amount determined by a pin and slot lostmotion connection 35 between the disks.: Each of the disksis' provided with a pe rip'heral notch 38 to accommodate a pin pro je'ctin'g'fromabar- 42 pivotally supported'on the 30 reap-frame-plate25? A spring 4| secured'to a post 'on-the frame pl-ate 25 is attachedto the bar 42 so asto-pivot the same towards the disks 32 and 34, whereby the'pin AU will"be--biased into the notc'h: The upper end'oi thebarflz is ar- 3 ranged to thrust againsta clapper 43 pivotally mountedbni 'the frame" support 16 i and when the pinT isLdisposed within-the'disk notches 38,-" the clapper 43 is supportedin an uppermost position.

Int-setting the timerto measure a preselected 4 interval, the setting-knob "I3 is rotated. (clockwiseinFFlg'ure" '1 )2 whereby the arbor and timer disks are"?a1so. rotated so as-to cam the 'pin 46 out'of notches1s38- so that the pin will"'engage the peripheryf'ofithe. :di'sks;tr: When' 'the timer is under thesmechanica-lz. control" of-r the 1 main spring f the disks are' rotated 1 withf'the. 'arborin the opposite directionito return thes n'otches --to' registry with' theipinzdoiwhereupon the spring M snaps the-pin inter the :notchesxv Theisnapsactionf-of the bar thrusts :the' freely/pivoted i 1' clapp er- 'upwardly so thattthe :same will" engage :the :bell 5 to give" anaudible. signal Sat "completion of the time interval: Thus thezsignaleis sounded when -the setting knobvi3- is'returnedio thefat rest or start K5 ing position. a g

Td'rningmow toi'the :ret'arding mechanism '3 5 attention :is r directed rto-tPa-tent 52543 .032; issued- February r27;195B,':to1 Laviana wherein there-is disbldsedzzshiftable retardingxmechanism generally. similar. to the trrrechanism s0. The retarding 60 mechanism iincludessa palletmemben 50 which ismounted'fdrimovement' toward and-from=engagementwith the escape -'-wheel' 24. The-pallet is supported on a staif "5l whichis' provided with a cuto1.1t-- "52 intermediate-theends thereof 'toprovide -cle'arance for passage of 'the. teeth of" the-'escape-wheel: The pallet is provided with" a. pair-of "palletpins '53 which alternately engage the"escape wheel .24When the-pallet is. shift.- 70 ed'towardi the ,same .for operativeeassociation therewithi The pins. 53 engage .the escape wheel teeth;similar. to the. ears 128-0f .theclutter 26 :so as to'retard the speedbfatheiescapewheel and the .associated .timetrain 22. "whereby the rateat 75 which the power of the main spring is dissipated is materially reduced.

The staff 51 which supports the pallet memher is supported at one end in fixed bearing 5 in frame plate 25 and the other end of the staff 51 is pivotally supported in a shiftable bearing 55 which is mounted for sliding movement in a slot. 55in theiother frame iplatezii, The size of the slot Eii-Lof course governs :the movement of the bearing 55 therein and thereby governs the movement of the pallet 50 toward and from the escape wheel 24.

Shifting of the bearing 55 is accomplished by a-lever 51--which.is.piVoted between its ends on a pin5a7carried--.by-,=the frame plate 23. The inner-.endoftherlever. is forked as at 59 to straddle the end of the shiftable bearing 55 which pro- J'ects' th-roughthedrame plate 23. The opposite endofthe lever is provided with a pin 60 which projects forwardly through a slot Si in the frame support l6. Thus, movement of the piniSB within'the slotfil causes the lever 51 to shift bearing.

5 understood that.thepallet.5iiioperativelyengages the escape wheel simultaneouslywith. the clutter 26 so that it is the combined mass .and moment of inertia ofthe. clutter and pallet which determines the. maximum time. intervalto .be measured 0 by. the aforedescribedJ-timer mechanism.. Ac-

cordingly then, when the .palletfifl' is disengaged from the escape-wheel-fthe .timermechanism will.

measure a .maxirnumintervalof. time of. 6 min utes and when the pallet 50 engages the escape.

wheel, thetimer. mechanism will measure a maximum intervalof .60 minutes In. accordance. withmthei present. invention ineansare providedfor conveniently shifting the retarding. mechanism vMitoselect. the rate of operation .of. the .timer. .and -.to readily. indicate the selected. condition of. the timer and to facilitate accurate setting ofwtheatimer tomeasure the desired interval. The means referredtoabove includes the. dial llWl'liChrislTiOlll'ltEd for limited rotary movement.relativetorthe panel and face The: dial I2 is.

plate, as will appear hereinafter. provided with.a peripheral notch .65 which straddles the lever. pin 50. projecting throughthe notch 6| provided in the frame support and through an aperture provided-in the-panel. As will be notedfromthe drawings; the dial is disposed between. the front face of .the .panel and the face plate i9 isprovided withe a'plurality of evenly circumferentially spaced dial: viewing apertures 66. provided :with :diametricalhz; opposed notches 61 which accommodate movement of a pin 63 affixed to the dial i2 and extending forwardlytherefrom. Thus; the pin 68imay be engaged or gripped by ones fingers to effect shifting of the dial. relative to the face plate andpanel. When the dial isshifted by moving the pin Slibetween the opposednotches 161, the side walls defining theperipheralnotchviidengage, the lever pin 6!] so as to-move fthe same within the :slot -6i and The lowermost of these apertures 66a is' effect the aforedescribed movement of the pallet 59 toward and from the escape wheel 24.

The dial is provided with two sets of numerical indicia 8i viewable in sets through the face plate openings 56 corresponding to the position of the dial and the position of the pallet. The first set comprising the numbers 1 to 6 is viewable when the pin 58 engages the righthand notch 6'! which corresponds to the lowermost position of the lever pin til whereby the pallet 58 is disengaged and the timer may be set to a maximum interval of 6 minutes. When the pin 58 is in the lefthand notch 6?, the set of indicia comprising the numbers 10 to 60 are viewable in the openings 65 and the lever pin 53 is in the uppermost position whereby the pallet is engaged with the escape wheel to render the timer capable of a maximum setting of 60 minutes.

The dial is arranged to be shifted in the aforedescribed manner by providing the same with an outwardly extending annular boss 'li) which defines a central opening H. The face plate 10 is provided with a peripheral flange 12 which engages the panel ii so as to space the face plate therefrom and the face plate is also provided with an inwardly facing boss it having a generally cylindrical periphery l which fits within the dial opening H so as to journal the dial for rotation therearound. However, rotation of the dial relative to the face plate is limited to the two viewable positions as described above.

The face plate boss 13 is provided with a central opening M which receives a forwardly extending threaded nipple 16 secured to the frame support H6. The nipple l6 accommodates the forwardly extending end of the arbor 25 so that the setting knob and pointer I 3 may be secured thereto in any conventional manner. Thus, the settin knob is is positioned to sweep the face plate and may be viewed in association with the dial indicia to indicate the set position of the timer and to indicate the time remaining in a selected interval. To this end, the face plate may be provided with calibrations ll arranged between the dial viewing openings 66 for greater accuracy in setting and reading the instrument.

The aforedescribed elements of the timer are secured in assembled relation by threading a nut on the nipple 16 against the front surface of the face plate. The face plate is provided with a pair of rearwardly extending ears (8 which engage within panel openings E9. The openings 19 also receive cars 89 extending forwardly from the frame support It so as to engage against the face plate ears in side-by-side relation and thereby prevent rotation of the face plate and rotation of the frame support relative to the panel.

Accordingly then, there is provided in accordance with the present invention a multi-speed timer having a dial which may be manually shifted to effect changes in the speed of operation of the timer and to simultaneously change the viewable dial indicia whereby the timer may be accurately set to measure a desired interval of time. The set condition of the timer as to speed of operation and as to the selected interval will be apparent to even a casual observer whereby errors in conditioning the timer and in setting the timer are substantially eliminated.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above 6 description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a timer having means for shifting the operating speed thereof, a movably mounted dial having a plurality of sets of indicia thereon, means interengaging said dial and speed shiftin means to move said shifting means from one operative position to another when said dial is moved a predetermined amount, a face plate covering said dial and having a plurality of spaced apart apertures, and manually operable means associated with said dial for moving the same relative to said face plate whereby said indicia may be brought into registry with said face plate apertures in sets and said interengagin means will cause the speed shifting means to be moved into the operative position corresponding to the set of indicia in registry with the face plate apertures.

2. In combination with a timer having means for shifting the operating speed thereof from a relatively fast rate to a relatively slow rate, a rotatably mounted dial having two sets of indicia thereon, one of said sets of indicia representing a period of time corresponding to said fast rate of speed and the other of said sets representing a period of time corresponding to said slow rate of speed, a face plate covering said dial and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart apertures, means operatively connecting said dial and the speed shifting means and manually operable means on said dial for rotating the same relative to said face plate whereby said indicia may be brought into registry with said apertures in sets.

3. In combination with a timer having means for shifting the operating speed thereof, a rotatably mounted dial having circumferentially spaced apart indicia arranged in sets along one side face thereof, a face plate covering said dial and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart apertures, means operatively connecting said dial and the speed shifting means, and manually operable means associated with said dial for rotating the same relative to said face plate whereby said indicia register with said apertures in sets corresponding to the speed of operation of the timer.

4. In combination with a timer having means for shifting the speed of operation thereof including an actuating lever, a rotatably mounted dial having circumferentially spaced indicia arranged in sets along one side face thereof and having a peripheral notch straddling the actuating lever, a face plate covering said dial and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart apertures, and manually operable means associated with said dial for rotating the same relative to said face plate to shift the actuating lever whereby said indicia register with said apertures in sets corresponding to the speed of operation of the timer. 1

5. In combination a timer of the type having a clockwork mechanism mounted on a frame and having control means for changing the speed of operation of the mechanism, a face plate se- 7'31" cured inmpacederelation; orsaidrframepsaidrface: plate havingnavcirculanboss; adjacent theiframe; a 1 generally annular dial interposed:betweenrsaid faceplate andsaid frame and-journaledon said bossn said: dial-having indiciacircumferentially spaceclqalong one side face thereof and arranged ralityi of w circumferentiallyspaced :openings for;

viewing the aindiciain. sets,- manuallyoperable means on said dial extending through oneof said openings for shiftingi the-dial between a plurality of viewable positions; and -means interconnecting said dial and; ;thecontrol means :whereby movement ofthe dial effects a change in the speed of operation ofthe clockwork mechanism.

d A-multi-speedtimen comprising a frame, a clockwork-mechanism mounted on the frame and including an escape "wheel operable ltoucause said mechanism :to -.operate. at a, predetermined speed, a pallet selectively. movable into engagement with the escape wheelto :retard the movement thereof wherebysaid-mechanism:will operate at a speed slowerethan said predetermined speed, means for shifting saidpallettoward andfrom said escape wheel includingmotion transmitting means movably supported: by said frame; a dial movable relative to said frame betweenia plurality of viewable--.-positions,: and-meanson said dial engageable withrsaid motion transmitting means where by movementof. said ;dia1 willefiect movement of saidpallet.

7. Almulti speed timer comprising .a frame, a clockwork mechanism mounted on the frame and including eneseape wheel operable. to cause said. mechanismrto operate at. a predetermined speed. apallet selectively movable into engagement with said .escapelwheellto. retard the movement there of. whereby said.. mechanism,.will. operate at a speed slower: thanisaid predetermined speed; a dial moveablexrelative tosaid frame, means-associated with said dial having a plurality of openings for viewing1the :same;:said dial being movable betweenta plurality of positions relative to said last mentionedmeans; and means interconnectingssaid dial and .said pallet whereby movement of'said'sdial .willieffect movement of said pallet;

8. A multi-speed' timer comprising a frame, a clockwork mechanism mounted on the frame and including an tescape'wheel operable to cause said mechanism to operatexat a predetermined speed, a palletselectivelymovable into engagement with theescapewheol to retard the movement thereof wherebysaid mechanism will operate at a speed slower than said predetermined speed, a dial rotatably mounted relative to said frame and having circumferentially spaced indicia arranged in sets alongoneside facethereof, a face plate covering saiddial and having a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced openings for viewing the indicia, said dial being movable relative to said face plate between a plurality of positions whereby said indicia are viewable in sets, means interconnecting said dial and said pallet whereby movementpf said dial will effect movement of said pallet, and manually operable actuating means on said dial for rotating the same.

EDWARD J. DOYLE.

References Cited inrthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date" 1,99%);126 Gardner Apr. 23, 1935 2,5e3,032 Laviana Feb. 27, 1951

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