US3789701A

US3789701A - Timer positioning mechanism

Info

Publication number: US3789701A
Application number: US00307179A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Ditzig
Original assignee: Controls Company of America
Current assignee: Eaton Corp
Priority date: 1972-11-16
Filing date: 1972-11-16
Publication date: 1974-02-05
Anticipated expiration: 1991-02-05
Also published as: AU466279B2; AU5902473A; JPS4981885A

Abstract

When a cycle selection button is depressed, it causes a selected wire to be torsionally stressed to cause the selected pin to be biased downwardly against the surface of the rotary disc. The disc is carried by the timer shaft which is moved outwardly during the selection/positioning operation. The disc has various radially and circumferentially positioned holes into one of which a selected pin may drop to thereby correctly position the timer at the start of the selected cycle. Three holes are provided in the disc on the radius of the ''''soak'''' pin and a masking arrangement covers or uncovers, as the case may be, the ''''soak'''' holes so only that hole which properly combines with the selected cycle is operative. The masking arrangement is actuated by one of the possible cycle pins. Therefore, a ''''soak'''' period may be selected to precede any of a number of cycles while employing only one ''''soak'''' button and one ''''soak'''' pin.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Ditzig [4 1 Feb. 5, 1974 TIMER POSITIONING MECHANISM Albert F. Ditzig, Hoffman Estates, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Controls Company of America,

Schiller Park, Ill.

[22] Filed: Nov. 16, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 307,179

[75] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl. 74/813 R, 74/102, 200/38 R [51] Int. Cl. Fl6h 35/18 [58] Field of Search74/8l3 R, 8l6, 10.2; 200/38 R,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,236 l23 2/l966 Beck et al..l 74/8l3 3.330,l72 7/[967 Putterbaugh et al 200/38 R X Primary Examiner-Benjamin W. Wyche Assistant Examiner-F. D. Shoemaker Attorney, Agent, or FirmMichael, Best & Friedrich [57] ABSTRACT When a cycle selection button is depressed, it causes a selected wire to be torsionally stressed to cause the selected pin to be biased downwardly against the surface of the rotary disc. The disc is carried by the timer shaft which is moved outwardly during the selection/- positioning operation. The disc has various radially and circumferentially positioned holes into one of which a selected pin may drop to thereby correctly position the timer at the start of the selected cycle. Three holes are provided in the disc on the radius of the soak" pin and a masking arrangement covers or uncovers, as the case may be, the soak" holes so only that hole which properly combines with the selected cycle is operative. The masking arrangement is actuated by one of the possible cycle pins. Therefore, a soak period may be selected to precede any of a number of cycles while employing only one soak button and one soak" pin.

10 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures Patented Feb. 5, 1974 3,789,701

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 t 15613} 1 e W ii M Patented Feb. 5, 1974 3,789,701

(5 Slmets-Sheet Patented Feb. 5, 1974 I 3,789,701

3 Sheets-Sheet m M l pars, L 1" 1 TIMER POSITIONING MECHANISM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The basic method of selecting the proper rotary position of the timer is known in the trade as a pin set" mechanism. US. Pat. No. 2,973,672 shows the original concept. With the advent of the timed soak concept in washing, it was a simple matter to provide another pin to give such a feature alone or by electrical switching effective upon selection of both soak" and the cotton" cycle, followed automatically by the cotton cycle. lfit was desired to have soak followed by some other cycle it was deemed necessary for the operator to initiate the wash cycle after the soak period. To provide automatic sequencing was thought to require too many additional selection buttons and pins which, in turn, resulted in an awesome array one the washer panel enough to discourage all but the most determined users. The goal was to be able to select various soak positions with automatically ensuing cycles while presenting the user with but one soak button to actuate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENION This invention provides a masking arrangement coupled with multiple soak positions and actuated by wash cycle selections to limit the effective soak position to the one properly preceding the selected cycle. There are three potential holes for the soak pin to drop into to locate the timer in three soak positions. One hole is uncovered and, if that soak position is not desired, the masking arrangement prevents the pin from entering the hole. The other two holes are masked to prevent entry of the pin unless a corresponding cycle has been selected. In that event the mask is moved to uncover the proper hole. While illustrated in connection with a washing machine timer, the concept is applicable to positioning other devices.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of an assembly ofa timer, selection buttons and the selection mechanism. Only the selection buttons and timer knob are visible to the user.

FIG. 2 is a split, enlarged view of the extreme left and right portions of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation from line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view of the pin and disc arrangement from line 44 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective of the disc and mask assembly.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the manner in which the mask is actuated. This is a meandering section on line 66 of FIG. 10.

FIGS. 7-10 are similar views showing the relative positions of the mask, disc and selected pins for various possible soak positions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The various selection buttons at the left in FIG. 1 are used to select the desired function or cycle of the machine. The four right-hand buttons do not select a rotary position of the timer but electrically modify a selection in the case ofthree buttons and the cancel button cancels all previous selections. The pre-wash and soak buttons can be selected in combination with certain other buttons. The remaining buttons are mutually exclusive in that depressing and latching one will cancel a prior selection from among that group. Each of the ten buttons on the left will actuate or set a pin which functions to select the rotary position of the timer at the right of FIG. I. The details ofthc timer are not shown in the drawings. The timer may be any desired type. It is only necessary to understand that in the 360 rotation of the timer a number of washing cycles are available depending upon the starting rotary position of the timer. Normally at the conclusion of a cycle the washing machine is shut off. But if soak is selected in combination with a cycle there are switches which modify the circuit so the timer will bridge the off" position and continue from soak into the wash program. When a button is depressed it latches in the depressed position. The latch mechanism is not shown. As may be seen in FIG. 3, there is a stiff wire 10 journaled in supports 12 positioned along the lower edge of panel 14. One end of the wire is bent to hook into plate 16 actuated by the soak button journaled on shaft 18. When the button is depressed (dashed line) the wire I0 is torsionally stressed so the right end of the wire which engages the hole in the soak pin S is biased towards the panel. Each of the ten pins is reciprocally mounted between the

triangular plates

20,22 fixed on the panel to overlie the disc 24 fixed on timer shaft 26. The timer shaft is reciprocable by means of knob 28 which is also employed to rotate the timer manually. When the knob is pulled out (FIG. 4) the timer line switch is open and the disc is positioned close to plate 22 where a de pressed pin will project down far enough to fall into the proper hole in the disc when the disc is rotated to position the hole under the pin, thus positioning the timer in the proper position. The knob is now pushed in to start the operation and disengage the disc so the timer can be rotated by its motor.

The pins are denoted by letter designations on the drawings to simplify orientation to the holes in the disc, the holes being designated by similar letters which correspond to the selection buttons. Thus the soak button selects pin S which will find" hole S. Each pin has an enlarged central portion between the

plates

20,22 which is engaged by the associated wire end. The ends of the pin guide the pin and the lower end engages the disc. A bearing plate 30 is fixed to the underside of disc 24 by

screws

32,32 with the radial keys 34 engaging slots 36 in the disc and the central bushing 38 serving to mount the disc and plate on the timer shaft. The plate mounts on the disc with rim 40 against the underside of the disc so annular lip 42 is spaced from the disc with the hub 44 of stamped and formed member 46 captured between the disc and lip 42 for rotational movement relative to the disc. The member has a depending finger 48 engaged by the end 50 of spring 52 coiled around the bushing 38 and engaging pin 54 fixed in the bottom of the hub. This biases the member clockwise to the limit position determined by engagement of the vertical front faces of actuators projecting up through slots in the disc.

The member 46 has arms supporting actuators. Actuator 56 projects up through slot 58 and another actuator 60 projects through slot 62. These two

acutators

56,60 lie on the radius of Knitted Fabric pin KF and will be engaged by pin KF if it has been set. When so engaged, member 46 is restrained from moving with the disc and various masks (80,82,84) are moved relative to certain holes (S, PP+S, KF+S) in the disc. As movement continues, the sloping face of the actuator will be engaged by the end of the slot to cam the actuator down and disengage the mask for return to its normal position, its function having been served.

There are two Permanent Press cycles. The soak position for both is the same. Selection of either can cause the masks to function. When pin PPW has been set, it can engage actuator 64 projecting through slot 66 or actuator 68 (slot 70) and pin PPC can engage actuator 72 or 74 (projecting through

slots

76,78, respectively).

There are three masks which serve to permit or block entry of the soak pin S into one of the three available soak holes. Thus mask 80 is normally adjacent but not blocking hole S at the soak only or soak plus the Cotton, Linens, White" cycle. This mask must be moved into blocking position for the pin S to bypass the hole. In FIG. 7 the pin 5 is designated as actuated by being shaded and is shown in the hole 8. It will be noted the pins KF, PPW, and PPC are on the same radius as

actuators

60, 68 and 74, respectively. Had any of these pins been set, it would have engaged its associated actuator to move mask 80 across hole S to prevent entry at that position to bypass that potential position. Subsequently the engaged actuator would be cammed down to release the pin. ln FIG. 8 both CLW and S have been set. The soak" position is the same. Thus soak only (FIG. 7) or soak plus Cotton, Linens, White (FIG. 8) result in pin 5 finding the same starting point.

The proper starting point when soak and either Permanent Press cycle are selected in combination is the hole PP+S which is normally blocked by mask 82. This is illustrated in FIG. 9 where the set pins are PPW and S and mask 82 has has been moved away from the hole. From the drawing it is clear that if PPC had been set instead of PPW, the result would be the same. At this position, if any other pin has been set, there is no need for an actuator responding to it the hole PP+S being normally blocked.

The third soak pin hole KF+S which is normally blocked by mask 84 which is moved to its inoperative position by pin KF engaging actuator 56 as illustrated in FIG. 10.

From the above it will be seen that pin S, PP+S find" the proper hole from the three potential holes, 8. PP+S and KF+S. When approaching the normally open hole S with any of pins PPW. PPC or KF set, the associated actuator (68, 74,60) will move mask 80 to block hole 5 and bypass the position. lf, on the other hand, only S or S+CLW have been set, pin S will drop in the hole to position the timer. If S has not been set, normal positioning is effective. Pin S should drop into hole PP+S only if one of the two Permanent Press cycles has been selected. Therefore, mask 82 should be moved to expose PP+S only by pin PPW or

PPC engaging actuator

68 or 74. No other pins will move mask 82 to its inoperative position. Similarly, hole KF+S can be exposed only by pin KF engaging actuator 56 to move mask 84 to its inoperative position.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for selecting a desired position of a member movable over a prescribed path.

a plurality of selectable means mounted adjacent the member for movement between active and inactive positions.

a plurality of stop means on said member engageable by said selectable means when in active position, each of said selectable means having an associated stop means whereby a selectable means in active position will engage its associated stop means at a predetermined desired and selected position in the path of movement of the member,

one of the selectable means having a plurality of associated stop means whereby a plurality of selected positions exist in conjunction with said one select able means,

certain of the other selectable means being operable in combination with said one of the selectable means,

and means responsive to specific combinations of said one selectable means and which of said certain selectable means is operable to determine which of said plurality of stop means will be effective while rendering the others ineffective.

2. Apparatus for selecting a desired position of a device including a rotary disc,

a plurality of pins positioned adjacent the disc and movable between an inactive position and an active position in which the pin is urged against the disc,

selecting means for urging selected pins to active position,

each of the pins being at different radial distance from the axis of rotation of the disc whereby there is a separate rotational path on the disc for each pin,

stop means on the disc in each rotational path engageable with a pin in active position,

one rotational path being provided with plural stops means whereby the specific pin associated therewith potentially has plural positions in which it engages a stop means,

and means responsive to actuation or non-actuation of certain selecting means in combination with the selecting means associated with said specific pin to determine which of said plural stop means is effective whilst the remainder of said plural stop means is ineffective.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said responsive means comprises masking means associated with each of said plural stop means and movable between active and inactive positions,

actuating means engageable by certain pins to actu ate said masking means between said active and in active positions.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which said stop means comprise a hole in the disc into which said pins may project,

said plural stop means comprising multiple holes at equal radial distance from said axis and circumfer entially spaced,

said masking means being operative to prevent entry of a pin when in active position.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which the masking means associated with one of said multiple holes is normally in inactive position and is moved to active position by engagement of any of certain selected pins with the actuating means.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which the masking means associated with another of said multiple holes is normally in active position and is moved to inactive position by engagement of a certain selected pin with the actuating means.

7. In combination with a washing machine timer which provides a plurality of washing programs within 360 rotation of the timer depending upon the rotary position of the timer when it is energized, the timer being provided with a disc and a plurality of pins engageable with the disc to stop manual rotation of the timer at a desired rotary position determined by actuation of a selected one of a plurality of program selec tion means to render an associated pin effective, means for selecting a function not a normal part of any of said programs and operative when actuated alone to render an associated pin effective to stop the timer at a position which provides said function, the improvement comprising,

means for providing said function prior to and as a part of a plurality of said programs and being responsive to actuation of both said function selecting means and one of the program selection means to cause a pin to engage the disc and stop the timer at a position other than that normally provided by the program selection pin alone or by the function selection pin alone.

8. The combination of claim 7 in which the pin associated with the function selection means is potentially engageable with the disc at a plurality of positions,

said means responsive to actuation of both selecting means being engageable by the pin associated with the actuated program selection means and operative to render only one of said plurality of positions effective 9. The combination of claim 8 in which the disc has stop means at each of said plurality of positions and said responsive means comprises a masking device movable between an active position masking a stop means and an inactive position in which the stop means may be engaged by the pin associated with the selected program.

10. The combination of claim 9 in which the masking device is engageable by any of a plurality of pins asso ciated with programs and the masking device includes different masking portions associated with each of the stop means whereby the operation of the masking device relative to each stop means is determined by which of the programs has been selected.

Claims

1. Apparatus for selecting a desired position of a member movable over a prescribed path, a plurality of selectable means mounted adjacent the member for movement between active and inactive positions, a plurality of stop means on said member engageable by said selectable means when in active position, each of said selectable means having an associated stop means whereby a selectable means in active position will engage its associated stop means at a predetermined desired and selected position in the path of movement of thE member, one of the selectable means having a plurality of associated stop means whereby a plurality of selected positions exist in conjunction with said one selectable means, certain of the other selectable means being operable in combination with said one of the selectable means, and means responsive to specific combinations of said one selectable means and which of said certain selectable means is operable to determine which of said plurality of stop means will be effective while rendering the others ineffective.

2. Apparatus for selecting a desired position of a device including a rotary disc, a plurality of pins positioned adjacent the disc and movable between an inactive position and an active position in which the pin is urged against the disc, selecting means for urging selected pins to active position, each of the pins being at different radial distance from the axis of rotation of the disc whereby there is a separate rotational path on the disc for each pin, stop means on the disc in each rotational path engageable with a pin in active position, one rotational path being provided with plural stops means whereby the specific pin associated therewith potentially has plural positions in which it engages a stop means, and means responsive to actuation or non-actuation of certain selecting means in combination with the selecting means associated with said specific pin to determine which of said plural stop means is effective whilst the remainder of said plural stop means is ineffective.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said responsive means comprises masking means associated with each of said plural stop means and movable between active and inactive positions, actuating means engageable by certain pins to actuate said masking means between said active and inactive positions.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which said stop means comprise a hole in the disc into which said pins may project, said plural stop means comprising multiple holes at equal radial distance from said axis and circumferentially spaced, said masking means being operative to prevent entry of a pin when in active position.

7. In combination with a washing machine timer which provides a plurality of washing programs within 360* rotation of the timer depending upon the rotary position of the timer when it is energized, the timer being provided with a disc and a plurality of pins engageable with the disc to stop manual rotation of the timer at a desired rotary position determined by actuation of a selected one of a plurality of program selection means to render an associated pin effective, means for selecting a function not a normal part of any of said programs and operative when actuated alone to render an associated pin effective to stop the timer at a position which provides said function, the improvement comprising, means for providing said function prior to and as a part of a plurality of said programs and being responsive to actuation of both said function selecting means and one of the program selection means to cause a pin to engage the disc and stop the timer at a position other than that normally provided by the program selection pin alone or by the function selection pin alone.

8. The combination of claim 7 in which the pin associated with the function selection means is potentially engageable with the disc at a plurality of positions, said means responsive to actuation of both selecting means beIng engageable by the pin associated with the actuated program selection means and operative to render only one of said plurality of positions effective.

9. The combination of claim 8 in which the disc has stop means at each of said plurality of positions and said responsive means comprises a masking device movable between an active position masking a stop means and an inactive position in which the stop means may be engaged by the pin associated with the selected program.

10. The combination of claim 9 in which the masking device is engageable by any of a plurality of pins associated with programs and the masking device includes different masking portions associated with each of the stop means whereby the operation of the masking device relative to each stop means is determined by which of the programs has been selected.