US2811870A - Settable dial - Google Patents

Description

- INVENTOR. JDHN P R 0 BER 5 BY 1W ATTORNEY.

Nov. 5, 1957 J. .P. ROGERS SETTABLE DIAL Filed April 27,

United States Patent SETTABLE DIAL John P. Rogers, Liverpool, N. Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to The Murray Corporation of America, Detroit, M1ch., a corporation of Delaware Application April 27,- 1954, Serial No. 425,971

3 Claims. c1. 74-ss3 This invention relates to a manual control knob and settable dial adapted for use on appliance time controls and the like.

In laundry apparatus, particularly, there is generally provided a sequence timer having cams for controlling the various electrical circuits, which timer is manually settable to vary one or more of the time periods. Such timers have a cam shaft adapted to carry on the end thereof, a knob and dial. One form of such timing mechanism is shown in Patent No. 2,313,064. Manual setting of such a timer is generally restricted to advancing the timer to shorten or eliminate portions of a cycle since retrograde movement would likely be detrimental to the apparatus.

In controls for such timers, particularly where an indicating dial is employed, it is important that the dial be accurately angularly disposed with reference to the shaft. Such timer shafts advance in small increments of a degree or two, which increments represent a period of time, so that the angular positioning of the dial upon the timer shaft within a limited tolerance is a necessity.

The present invention is directed to a dial which may be readily set angularly with respect to a timer shaft so that the dial indicia with reference to the marker, may be precisely calibrated in respect to the sequence cams of the timer.

The above and other novel features of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is expressly understood that the drawings are employed for purposes of illustration only and are not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure l is an axial sectional view of the knob and dial mounted on a timer shaft Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 22 of Figure l; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the hub member.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a trim panel mounted on an inclined cabinet panel 12. The cabinet panel 12 supports a timer assembly 14 having a cam shaft 16 projecting through the cabinet panel 12 and through the trim panel 10. The timer is mounted by means of one or more screws such as 18 threaded into the end wall 20 of the timer 14, such screws having spacer collars 22.

The panel 10 may have a radial slit 24 through which light from a lamp 26 may shine, and the dial 28, if transparent, will thus have an illuminated index marker in the form of an illuminated spot or radial line appearing thereon.

The dial 28, with its sleeve hub 30, is provided with an internal annular shoulder 32 adapted to be clamped between an annular plate 34 and an annular seat 35 of a knob-supporting bushing 36. Such bushing has an aperture 38 to receive the shaft 16 and has a radial set screw 40 adapted to engage the fiat 41 of the shaft. The bushing is slotted transversely across its outer end as at 42, and screws 44 and 46 extend from the base of such slot parallel with the shaft 16, and are threaded into the plate 34. The bushing at its outer end has a shoulder portion 48 which is threaded as at 50 to receive a knob 52.

It will be seen that upon removing the knob 52, the heads of the screws 44 and 46 are exposed, so that the plate 34 may he loosened with respect to the bushing 36, to permit angular setting of the dial 28 with respect to the bushing. Once the dial is properly indexed, the screws 44 and 46 are drawn tight and thereafter the knob threaded in place. It will be appreciated that since timers of the type referred to may be manually advanced to vary a wash cycle or portions thereof, but may not be rotated backward without danger of injuring the timer cams and followers, and

likely damage to "the wash or other mechanism, it is desirable to prevent manual rotation of the timer shaft in the reverse direction. For this purpose, the thread 50 between the knob and the bushing is so chosen as to permit rotation of the dial in the advancing direction, when the knob is turned in that direction, but when the knob is turned in the reverse direction, the knob merely unthreads from the bushing so that the shaft cannot be turned in the wrong direction.

It will be seen from the foregoing that there is provided a dial that is readily settable angularly with respect to the shaft and an illuminated index marker, so that the indications of the dial may be set to exactly correspond to the cams Within the timer, and that such setting can be made merely by removing the knob from the bushing to expose the screws 44 and 46, which upon loosening, permit angular dial adjustment.

While the dial construction has been described as applied to an automatic washing machine, it will be readily understood that it may have application to any apparatus requiring a similar control and accuracy in the dial setting with respect to the timer or other mechanism.

Although a single embodiment of the invention with a modification has been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. As various changes in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, reference will be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a settable dial for a manual timer control, a knob and dial-supporting bushing having a shaft aperture adapted to receive a timer shaft, means for rigidly securing said bushing to a shaft projecting into said aperture, said bushing having a reduced diameter threaded portion on one end and an annular seat for an annular dial on the other, said reduced diameter end being transversely slotted, said bushing having apertures extending from the base of said slot parallel to the axis of said shaft aperture radially inward of said seat, an annular dial having a central aperture of a diameter sufficient to embrace said slot base apertures and seated on said annular seat, an annular plate adapted to bear on the back of said dial, said plate having a central aperture adapted to be aligned with the bushing shaft aperture and threaded apertures disposed in alignment with said slot base apertures, clamp screws extending through said slot base apertures and extending through the central aperture of said dial and threaded in said threaded plate apertures whereby to clamp said dial between said annular plate and dial seat, and a knob threaded on the reduced diameter portion of said bushing and adapted to conceal said slot and said screws.

2. In a settable dial for a manual timer control, a knob and dial-supporting bushing, means for securing said bushing to a shaft, said bushing having a reduced diameter threaded portionon one end and an annular-sea-nfor an annular dial ontheothen, said bushing having apertures extendingtherethroughparallel tothe-a-xisof said threaded portion radially inward of said seat, an annular dial having a central aperture of a diameter sufficient to embrace said: parallel-= apertures and: seatedxonsaid' annular seat, a plateadapted' to bear'ontheback of said diaP, said plate having threaded apertures disposedirr alignment withsaid" parallel apertures; clamp screws extending through-said parallel apertures andextendingthrougl'r the central aperture of saiddial and threaded in said threadedplate apertures whereby to-cl'ampsaid' dial betweensaidannular plateanddial seat, and aknob threadedon-the reduceddiameter portion of said bushing and adapted to conceal said- -slot and said'-screws-. V r

32 In asettable dial for'a manual timer controliaknob andt dial-supporting -bushing; means; for securing said bushing to ashaft', sai'cl'bushinghaving-arreduced diameterthreaded portion on one end and an annular seat for an annulandiab on -the other,- said bushing liavi'ngaperturesextending? therethroushvparallelto,the.axis.of.saidrfl1readed portion radially inward of said seat, an annular dial having a central"aperture-of a diameter sufiicient to embrace said References @ited in the file of this patent UNITED: 1 F'PJFENTS' 1,484,893 Lobdell Feb. 26, 1924 1,536,175 Yaxley May 5, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 5,, 1949

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