Claims
- 1. An electro-mechanical pulse generator for producing electronic pulses for setting or correcting an electronic digital display, comprising:
- a first assembly including several pulse-generating components which are arranged substantially at regular intervals within a circular track, concentric with an axle of rotation;
- a second assembly, rotatable relative to said first assembly at variable speeds in a desired direction, including several sensing elements which cooperate with the pulse-generating components of said first assembly to actuate pairs of electrical contacts which are spaced relative to one another so that rotation of said first and second assemblies relative to one another causes at least two pairs of electrical contacts to be separately closed to directly produce at least two pulses which are displaced timewise, wherein the frequency of the pulses is proportional to the relative speed between said first and second assemblies and the phase shift of one pulse relative to another is dependent upon the direction of rotation of one of said assemblies relative to the other;
- an UP-DOWN counter;
- control logic for determining the phase shift between pulses and controlling the forward or backward actuation of said counter in response to the pulses; and
- a latching device coupled to said axle of rotation, said latching device maintaining all of said pairs of contacts open when the pulse generator is not actuated; and wherein said pulse-generating components of said first assembly and said sensing elements of said second assembly are angularly offset about said axle of rotation with respect to each other so that said at least two pulses which are directly produced by closure of said two pairs of electrical contacts upon actuation of the pulse generator will partially overlap in at least one direction of relative rotation of the assemblies.
- 2. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said at least two pairs of contacts is included in a switching section which further includes a portion of said control logic which is connected to an input terminal of said UP-DOWN counter.
- 3. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 3, wherein said switching sections are connected with a voltage source by their respective pair of contacts and a common wire.
- 4. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 3 wherein the control logic is used to determine phase shift and for the suppression of the bouncing effect of the pulses which can be produced upon the closing of the pairs of contacts, said control logic comprising two bistable flip-flop circuits which are logically interlinked with each other and are arranged within one switching section each.
- 5. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 5, wherein the two bistable flip-flop circuits are logically interlinked with each other by several gates and can be reset by the same.
- 6. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 5, wherein a reset contact is provided which co-acts with the pulse-generating components of the first assembly and which is connected to the reset inputs of the two bistable flip-flop circuits.
- 7. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined by claim 1, wherein the pulse-generating components of said first assembly are formed by contact surfaces arranged statically at an insulating supporting plate, and the sensing elements of said second assembly are formed by spring contacts which can be turned and which are connected to the axle of rotation.
- 8. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 1 wherein said first assembly comprises two groups of four contact surfaces each, the first group of contact surfaces being arranged within an outer circular track, and the second group of contact surfaces being arranged within an inner circular track, the contact surfaces of each group being conductively connected with each other as well as, by means of a common wire, with the control logic, wherein each of the contact surfaces of the first group is radially offset by approximately one third of one contact surface width relative to the contact surface of the second group of contact surfaces that is radially adjacent to it, and
- the two spring contacts of the second assembly are attached in the form of bent leaf springs to an electrically conductive central part which is connected with the drive of the pulse generator, the outer free ends of the two leaf springs being located at a straight line running through the center of the axle of rotation and engaging the two circular tracks of the contact surfaces,
- further wherein there are provided two additional spring contacts which are designed like the two other spring leafs and are molded to the central part at rotational symmetry being offset by 180.degree. relative to the first-mentioned springs, and
- there is provided a contact plate, shaped in the form of a sector of an annulus and connected to one terminal of the voltage source, with the spring leaf pairs resting alternatively on said contact plate.
- 9. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 8, wherein said second assembly is formed from a single piece and is fastened to a drive wheel made of insulating material which is mounted at the axle of rotation and is equipped with a pinion and a click-stop serration to be engaged by a latching spring to define rotational steps.
- 10. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 8 wherein said first assembly comprises two groups of four contact surfaces each which are conductively connected with each other, with the first group of contact surfaces being arranged within an outer circular track and connected with a first input of an UP-DOWN counter into which said control logic is integrated;
- said second group of contact surfaces being arranged within an inner circular track and connected with a second input of said UP-DOWN counter which forms a counting pulse input, each of the two groups of contact surfaces having a circular track that is located inside a sector of approximately 150.degree.;
- wherein these sectors overlap within an end zone of approximately 60.degree. and the contact surfaces of the inner and the outer circular track located within this zone of overlap are offset laterally relative to each other without overlap;
- said pulse generator including a contact plate which is connected with a terminal of the voltage source, said contact plate overlapping at a slight lateral distance from said contact surfaces the ends of the sector delimiting the contact surfaces,
- further including two contact rails crossed at, and fastened to a turnable drive wheel, said two contact rails having different linear measurements, each corresponding to the diameter of the inner or respectively outer circular track of the contact surfaces, and resting on the contact plate which is common to both;
- said first contact rail being rigidly fastened to the drive plate and said second contact rail being attached loosely to the drive plate to permit rotation with respect thereto, this rotation being limited by tappets which engage elongated holes in said second contact rail, allowing the two contact rails to turn relative to each other at a change in direction of rotation so that said at least two pairs of contacts can be closed in succession independently of the actuating direction of the pulse generator, and, upon actuation of the pulse generator in one direction of rotation, there are produced pulses which do not overlap each other, and, upon actuation of the pulse generator in the other direction of rotation, pulses which overlap each other partially are produced.
- 11. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 1, wherein the pulse-generating components of said first assembly are formed by contact surfaces which are fixedly arranged at a supporting plate which insulates, turns and is connected with the axle of rotation of the pulse generator, and the sensing elements of said second assembly are formed by spring contacts which are statically fastened to a stationary support.
- 12. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 12 wherein the contact surfaces of said first assembly are molded radially to the outer side of an electrically conductive slip ring on which rests the outer free end of a contact spring which is connected to a terminal of the voltage source, and
- the two spring contacts of said second assembly are formed by leaf springs which are clamped down on one side, said leaf springs being placed parallel to each other and engaging with their outer free ends, spatially offset with respect to each other, the circular track of the surfaces of said first contact assembly so that the at least two pairs of contacts can be closed in succession.
- 13. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 13 further including a reset contact formed by a leaf spring which is clamped down on one side and which engages with its outer free end the circular track of the contact surfaces of the first assembly to reset two bistable flip-flop circuits of the control logic when the at least two pairs of contacts are open.
- 14. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 1 wherein the pulse-generating components of said first assembly are designed in the form of mechanical contact cams and are fastened to a cam plate which is connected to the axle of rotation of the pulse generator, and the sensing elements of the second assembly are formed by spring contacts which are arranged stationary at a supporting plate and which engage, spatially offset relative to each other, the cam track at various points of the cam plate such that two contacts can each be diverted in succession by a cam and pressed against counter-contacts which are connected to the control logic.
- 15. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 15 wherein the spring contacts are formed by leaf springs which are clamped on one side and connected with one terminal of the voltage source to function as latching springs, and which have V-shaped projections which extend into a gap between two adjacent cams, said spring contacts sliding eccentrically as well as in direction of rotation relative to each other.
- 16. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 1, wherein at least the mechanical parts of the pulse generator are arranged within a housing which is traversed by the axle of rotation, which is connected with the revolving components of one of said first assembly and second assembly by means of a transmission gear, and further including a bearing axle, for the support of said revolving components, which forms the theoretical axle of rotation for the revolving components of one of said first and second assemblies.
- 17. An electro-mechanical pulse generator for producing electronic pulses for setting or correcting an electronic digital display, comprising:
- a first assembly including several pulse-generating components which are arranged substantially at regular intervals within a circular track, concentric with an axle of rotation;
- a second assembly, rotatable relative to said first assembly at variable speeds in a desired direction, including several sensing elements which cooperate with the pulse-generating components of said first assembly to actuate pairs of electrical contacts which are spaced relative to one another so that rotation of said first and second assemblies relative to one another causes at least two pairs of electrical contacts to be separately closed to produce at least two pulses which are displaced timewise, wherein the frequency of the pulses is proportional to the relative speed between said first and second assemblies and the phase shift of one pulse relative to another is dependent upon the direction of rotation of one of said assemblies relative to the other;
- an UP-DOWN counter; and
- control logic for determining the phase shift between pulses, for controlling the forward or backward actuation of said counter in response to the pulses, and for suppressing the bouncing effect of the pulses which can be produced upon the closing of the pairs of contacts, said control logic comprising two bistable flip-flop circuits which are logically inerlinked with each other so that an output signal from each flip-flop affects an input signal to the other flip-flop; wherein
- each of said at least two pairs of contacts is included in a switching section which further includes a portion of said control logic which is connected to an input terminal of said UP-DOWN counter; and wherein
- said two bistable flip-flop circuits are arranged within one switching section each.
- 18. An electro-mechanical pulse generator as defined in claim 17, wherein the two bistable flip-flop circuits are logically interlinked with each other by several gates and can be reset by the same.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
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Kind |
2658105 |
Dec 1976 |
DEX |
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Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 861,444, filed Dec. 16, 1977, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
861444 |
Dec 1977 |
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