US2116787A - System of control for electric ranges - Google Patents

Description

G. H. HART SYSTEM 0F CONTROL. FOR ELECTRIC RANGES Filed June 15, 1933 May l0, 1938.

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Patented May 10, 1938 PATENT o-Frics SYSTEM F CONTRL FR ELEZ'R-IC RANGES George H. Hart, fest Hartford, Sonne, assigner to The Hart Manufacturing Company, Eartford, Conn., a corporation o @earnest-lont Application une i5, 18339 Serial No, (titi fi Claims rI'his invention relates to electric ranges and has particular reference to aniinproved system of control whereby several of the electrical ele` ments with which the range is provided may be 5 selectively associated with a. timing device to permit the current to be automatically thrown onto and olf of the selected element at apredetermined time.

The aim of the invention is to provide an irnproved. simplied and economical system -oi this 1 4sort which may be easily installed and by means of which the several elments may be selectively associated with the time controlling device in a very ready and convenient manner.

i5 The invention contemplates generally the prof vision of a single switch which may be termed.,

for convenience, a clock selector switch associated on the one hand with the time controlling device and, on the other hand, with a plurality of electrical elements of therange, such as the heating unit of a hot plate, the heating unit oi an oven, and a convenience outlet or receptacle, the clock selector switch being so constructed and associated with the several instrumentalities that any one' of thc selected electrical elements may be placed under the control of the clock, and the elements which are not under the control of the clock may be independently connected to the source of electrical current. With this arrangement, in order to place any one of the selected elements under the control of the clock. it is merely necessary to move the clock selector switch to the desired position and, in which position, the other of the elements are manually controllable in the usual manner through appropriate switches.

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

'I'he invention accordingly consists in the fea- 40 tures of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which' will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein is shown, for illustrative purposes, one of the many embodiments which the present invention may take:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic or schematic view illustrating the system,with the selector switch in the position where the three electrical elements of the range are divorced from the timing mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the selector switch in a position for associating of the oven with the timing t is =`ite view showing hot plate as g me control of the timing mechanism;

' A may, as usual, be divided into two parts. There may be associated with the unit a manually opera'ole switch vD of a type for selectively connecting the parts of the unit to the power lines in such manner as to produce high, medium, and low heats, the switch also having an off position. The speciilc construction of the switch 25 is not illustrated as it may be. of any suitable kind; for example, it may be constructed in accordance with the switch shown in the patent to Blakesley No. 1,626,221. The heating unit B may be located adjacent the bottom of the oven and 30 is herein termed, for convenience, as a bake unit, Provided in the top of the oven may be another unit E, here referred to as a broil" unit. The oven units B and E are under the manual control of a switch F which may oe of any suit- 35' able construction, it being shown in Fig. 2 as having three levels respectively provided with switch plates i8, i9 and 2li. These switch plates and their respective terminals are so arranged and associated that, in one position of the switch, 40 both oven units are oil, in another position both units are on so as to give a high heat and thereby prelieat the oven, in a third position only the bake unit is on, and in a fourth position, only the broil unit is on. 45

In the present instance, I have shown the sourceo power as being of the three-wire type but, obviously, my improved system may be employed as well in connection with a two-wire power system. lt may be assumed that there may 50 be a potential of 220 volts between the lines 2| and 22 and a potential of 110 volts between the neutral wire 23 and the two main lines. One side of the outlet C is connected to the neutral wire 23 by a lead 24. Two of the terminals of the 55 line and the neutral by the leads and 26. Two contacts of theA switch, Fare respectively connected by leads. 2l and 28 to the two main lines 2l and 22, respectively. Interposed in the lead 28 may be a thermostatically operated switch 29 'of any suitable construction,. this thermostatic control being effective in all positions of the clock selector switch.

The timing mechanism for automatically conl trolling the times `at which current is thrown* onto and off of the selected unit may be of any suitable construction, mechanisms of this sort usually having a clock or recorder movement and a switch controlledthereby. Inl the present illusf trative disclcsure, this mechanism is schemati cally shown as the particular construction thereof forms no part of the present invention. It is v designated generally by the letter yG and is shown las having aclock controlled mercury switch 35.

One side of the mercury switch is connected to I the line 22 by a lead 36. The other side ofthe till) Til it to iterminalvill.

arranged so as to' selectively connect the terminal Y i3 with the several terminals 55, [it and di in mercury switch 35 is connected to the selector switch by a lead or wire 31. Leading from the lead 36 to the selector switch is also a shunt wire or connection-38 through which the current may pass to the several units without passing through the'mercury switch where itis desired that the particular units be not under the control of the timing mechanism.

Referring now to the selector switch designated generally hy the letter- H, the same is interposed between the timing mechanism and the severalelements to be controlled thereby and,

in part, is interposed between one of the lines' and those elements, in shunt relation to the. timing mechanism. This selector switch may be of any suitable construction, but it is here shown l as having three levels respectively provided with switch plates ll, lil and 42. rliflfre upper level has a'terminal dllconnecte'd tothe mercury switch,-

and terminals 45, M5 and fil. The middle level has contacts i8 and 49, and the lower level has contacts 5U, iand 52. nected to the shunt wire 3B and to the terminal All. The terminal 52 is connected tothe terminal liti, the terminal 5l to terminal 65, and terminal The upper switch plate lll is the several positions of the switch, and to conitact with the terminal i3 only when 'the 'switch is in the ofi position shown in Fig. l. The middle switch plate di' is adapted to'connect the terminals and i9 in all positions of the switch except that shown in Fig. 2. The lower switch plate l2 is adapted to connect all of the terminals 5l and in two positions of the switch, the terminals E@ and 5l inanother position, and the terminals c@ and 52 in a last position. It is to be understood that this selector switch is located at any convenient position on the range, and the several switch plates are all carried by :1 Asingle spindle having an operating member, .such as a handle. v A

The operation is loriey as follows: rhe iull lines show those units which are under clcclt or autom the units ich are under manual control when the other unit is being automatically controlled. when thc selector switch is in the position shown in Fig'. l, none of the electrical elements are under the controlof the clcclr or timing mechamsm] in this case, the upper switch plate lil hit-airs the connections, and,V the lower switch The contact 50 iscon-I able sort and, if desired, they may be having means for throwing the current on and i construction and many apparently widely d" 'if'if' control, and the dotted lines show plate connects the line 22 through theshunt 38 to the wires or intermediate connections 55 and 56 leading respectively to the convenience outlet and the switch D. The middle switch plate 4I connects the switch F to the line 22. In this positionv of the selector switch, the unit A may be manually controlled in the usual manner by the switch D, and the oven units B and E may be controlled by the switch F; also, current will pass through the electrical appliance plugged into the convenience outlet..

When the switch is turned to the position shown in Fig. 2, the bake unit B is placed under 'the automatic control'of the. timing mechanism Awithout aiecting the normal operation of the convenience outlet and the hot plate unit A. In this case, current will ilow from the line 22 `through the lead 36, mercury switch 35, the upper switch plate 4,0 of the clock selector switch, the wire or intermediate 5l and the middle switch plate of the switch F, through the bake unit B, the lower switch plate of the switch F and the lead 28 to the line 2I.

In the next positionof the clock selector switch shown in Fig. 3, the hot plate unit A is under the control of the timing mechanism while the receptacle and the oven unit are under manual control. The upper switch platel 40 connects the wire56 .to the timeI controlled mercury switch, the middle switch plate 4l connects the switch F to the shunt 38, and the lower switch plate connects the shunt to thewire 55.

' In the fourth and last positionoi`| the clock sclector switch, the convenience outlet is under the automatic control of the timing mechanism, and the hot plate unit and oven plate units are un der the manual control of the switches D and F.

respectively. In this position of the switch, the upper switch plate 40 connects the outlet receptacle to the mercury switch, the middle switch plate 4i connects the shunt wire 38 to the switch F, and the lower switch plate 42 connects the .shunt wire 38 to the switch D.

It will be seen fromthel foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, that by means of a single clock selector switch any one of several units may he selecthe units may he connected at the same vtime 5 through the-selector switch, thus placing them simultaneously under the control of the timing mechanism, the other unit or units being under manual control only. As previously stated, the manually operable switches may he of any suitof a type oi" and thermostatically controlled means for maintaining the instrumentality at the predetermined desired heat.

As many changes could be made in the above jli) all oi the generic and specific features oi.' the invention herein described and all statements o! the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an electric range, a plurality of electrical elements, lines for supplying current to said elements, a time controlled switch connected to one of said lines, a selector device comprising a single switch interposed between said time controlled switch and the elements and having an oil position and a plurality of operative positions for selectively placing said elements under the control of said time controlled switch, and a connection between said mentioned line and said selector switch'device in shunt relation to said time controlled switch, said selector switch device being so constructed and arranged as to enable a supply of current to flow therethrough :independently of said time controlled switch lto the elements which at any one time are not under automatic control.

2. In an electric range, a plurality of electrical elements, lines for supplying current to said elements, a time controlled switch connected to one of said lines, a selector switch device interposed between said time controlled switch and the elements and having an oil position and a plurality of operative positions for selectively placing said elements under the control of said time controlled switch, an individual intermediate connection between said selector switch device and each of said elements, and a connection be-` tween said mentioned line and said selector switch device in shunt relation to said timecontrolled switch, said selector switch device and connections being so arranged that in each operative position of the selector switch device one of said elements is placed under the automatic control of said time controlled switch and the other elements may he'connected to said shunt connection.

3. In an electric range, a plurality of electrical elements, two at least of which comprise electrical heating units, an independent manually operable switch associated with each heating unit, lines 'for supplying current to said elements, a time controlled switch connected to one of said lines, a selector switch device having a plurality of rotary switch plates and interposed between said time controlled switch and elements, a connection leading from said mentioned line to said selector switch device in shunt relation to said time controlled switch, and an intermediate conn nection leading from said selector switch device to said elements, said manually operable switches being interposed 'between said last mentioned connections and electrical units, said selector switch device and connections being so arranged that in on position of the selector switch device each of the intermediate connections are connected to said shunt connection and in each operative position of the selector switch device the shunt connection is connected to the intern mediate connections except the one leading tothe element which is under the automatic control ci said time controlled switch.

e. In an electric range, the combination with a plurality of current consuming units, of con,

nec-tions for supplying current to said units comn prising manually operable switches for turning the current on and oi said units selectively; a time controlled switch operative automatically tc close a circuit at a time predeterminable at wilt and to open said circuit again at a later but predeterminehle time, and a single selector switch operable to piace any desired one only of said. units under the control of said time controled. switch. z

GEORGE H. HART.

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