Patent ID: 6914204

Claim:
A time switch comprising: a switch case; a dial rotatably attached to the face of said switch case, said dial rotatably driven at a uniform speed through a gearwheel transmission powered by a motor rotating at a uniform speed; scheduling clips including finger portions which project from the perimeter of said dial to determine a desired operating time; a cam shaft supported by said switch case; first cams projecting from the perimeter of a scheduling cam rotatably supported by said cam shaft, said scheduling cam rotatable through contact with respective finger portions of said scheduling clips; second cams projecting from the perimeter of a switching cam rotatably supported by said cam shaft, said switching cam rotatable in one direction together with said scheduling cam; contact points that switch between on and off positions relating to the rotation of said second cams on said switching cam; a ratchet mechanism provided within said gearwheel mechanism that does not slip when torque transmitted from the motor is sufficient to rotatably drive said dial, and slips when said dial is manually turned while being rotatably driven by torque transmitted from the motor; and a control knob provided on the cam shaft and external to said case, said control knob configured so that manual rotation of said control knob switches said contact points between on and off positions.