US 4,381,431 AGranted

Hand set timer

AssigneeGulf & Western Manufacturing Company

InventorsDonald R. Ritzenthaler, Thomas J. Bottelson

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Abstract

In a hand set timer of the type including a housing, a constant speed motor mounted on the housing, a switch actuating element in the housing and driven by the motor through a drive shaft between a manually set position and a switch actuated position, and a manual means, such as a knob, for moving the switch actuating element independently of the motor from the switch actuated position to the manually set position, there is provided an improvement wherein the housing is formed from two separate components which are held together by a locking means carried on the motor so that assembly of the motor onto the housing performs the function of locking the two housing components together. In addition, the improved hand set timer includes a switch formed from two or three contacts mounted in the housing itself so that the contacts can be moved into an operative position by the switch actuating element movable by the motor within the housing.

Claims21

Dependent claims

In a hand set timer including a housing, means for mounting a constant speed motor onto said housing, said motor having a driven output shaft, a drive shaft supported for rotation in said housing, a switch actuating element in said housing and driven by said drive shaft between a manual set position and a switch actuated position, means connecting said output shaft to said drive shaft for driving said switch actuating element in a first direction by said motor from said set position to said switch actuated position, manual means connected to said drive shaft for moving said switch actuating element, independently of said motor, in a second direction between said actuated position and said set position, the improvement comprising:

said housing including first and second complementary housing components, said first component having a first outer surface facing outwardly and forwardly in a direction axially of said drive shaft, said second component having a second outer surface facing outwardly and rearwardly from said housing in a direction axially of said drive shaft, said first and second housing components having interlocking peripheral edges, and locking means comprising cooperating locking shoulder means respectively affixed to said motor and to said first housing component and engaged with one another for locking said housing components axially together and locking said motor onto said housing at said second surface.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.