Alarm clock timer
United States Patent 1191 1111 Boyles 1 1 Apr. 8, 1975 1 1 ALARM CLOCK TIMER 3.440.814 4/1969 Reimann 38/19 R x 3.495.396 2/1970 Funaki 58/19 R [75] Inventor: Robert L. Boyles, Wayl n Mass- 3.636.699 1/1972 Marble 1. 58/22 73] Assignecz Genera] Electric Company 3.738.098 6/1973 Schcer 58/22 Bridgeport. Conn. Prinmry E.raminerLawrence R. Franklin [22] Atlm&#39;ney. Agent. or Firm-Leonard J. Platt&#39;. George R. [2]] Appl. No: 391,781 Powers; John F. Cullen 52 11.5. C1. 58/21.l5; 58/21.!55; 58/22 1 1 ABSTRACT 1 1 G041) 13/00 An alarm vibrator control mechanism for a clock 1 1 Field Of Searchm 31115. timer wherein an elongated longitudinally movable 58/ rod extends from an electric motor and a vibrator on one side of an alarm clock to an alarm cam mechal l References Clled nism on the other side of the clock. A unique shutoff UNITED STATES PATENTS lever mechanism is positioned between one end of the 311656 3/1885 CU 58/13 elongated rod and the vibrator for controlling opera- 4 75 m- 9 Made] 5 3 tion of the vibrator at one side of the clock. The alarm 2.459.107 1/1949 Johnson 1 58/19 R Cam mechanism at the other side of the clock includes 2.583.794 1/1952 Parks 1. 58/17 X a unique temporary shutoff interval lever mechanism 2.64 59 7/1953 B er 5331.15 for holding the rod in the alarm off position for a short 2.701.439 2/1955 Junghans&#39; et a1. 511/22 time nan/3L 2.789.411] 4/1957 Bridcvaux 58/21.] 2.946.182 7/1961) Boylus e1 111. 511121.155 13 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEU AFR 81975 snmao q ALARM CLOCK TIMER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a digital clock timer. and more particularly to a unique alarm control mechanism for a digital clock.  
  In the construction of clocks of this type it has been common practice to provide hours. tens of minutes and minutes numerals on drums or wheels which are rotated by an electric motor to bring successive numerals into position behind a viewing window. Thus. the time indicating numerals are generally centrally positioned on the clock timer and the mechanisms for driving and indexing the rotatable drums or wheels from one numeral position to a next succeeding numeral position are located at the sides of the numerals.  
  In my co copending application (6D-4474). Ser. No. 339.2 [3. filed Mar. 8. 1973. and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. there is disclosed a digital clock wherein minutes. tens of minutes. and hours display indicators are rotated by a motor in order to bring successive numerals into position behind a viewing window. Geneva gears 113 and 5 are grouped at the left of the numerals for driving an hours drum 56 and a tens of minutes numeral drum 58. Geneva driver cams [l4 and I16 are also positioned at the left ofthe numerals and include driving projections I22 and I30 for movement into and out of the cusps of the geneva wheels for indexing the tens of minutes and hours geneva wheels. The numeral drums are supported with respect to each other so that they may be driven by a motor 8 which is located at the right of the numerals. With this construction. coaxial shafts extend through the numeral drums for not only driving the drums and their geneva gears and geneva drivers. but also a 12 hour alarm mechanism 160. which is located at the left of the numerals.  
  In my co-pending application the l2 hour alarm cam mechanism inlcudes two coaxially mounted gears I62 and 168 which are provided with interacting cams for causing relative coaxial movement of the gears at a preset alarm time. As shown. the cam gear 162 may be formed with two leftwardly extending projections I63 and I65 for cooperating with slots 164 and I66 which may be formed in a manually adjustable alarm set cam 168.  
  This invention is concerned with a unique relatively simple alarm vibrator control mechanism, and a temporary repeat alarm shutoff control mechanism which may be inexpensively manufactured and readily incorporated in a digital clock ofthe type disclosed in my copending application: however. it is to be understood that my unique control mechanisms may also be utilized in other clock timer mechanisms.  
  Accordingly, it is a primary object of my invention to provide an improved alarm control mechanism for a clock timer. and it is also an object of my invention to provide an alarm control mechanism which may be conveniently operated and which may be easily combined with a digital clock timer of the type disclosed in my above mentioned co-pending application.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one of the aspects of this invention. an alarm clock includes a conventional clock timing mechanism and a cam member which is rotated as a function of time by the timing mechanism and is movable at a preset alarm time to sound an alarm. The clock also includes a stationary supporting structure including a supporting plate and an audible alarm vibrator which is supported in a particular relationship with respect to the plate. A uniquely shaped and positioned vibrator shutoff member is provided for cooperating with the audible alarm vibrator and an elongated longitudinally movable rod which extends between the cam member and the vibrator shutoff member. The vibrator shutoff member includes two pivot arms for pivotally mounting the shutoff member on the supporting plate and an elongated longitudinal groove which is located between the pivot arms for uniquely cooperating with an end portion of the longitudinally movable rod.  
  With this unique simplified construction. the alarm vibrator may be compactly located between the supporting plate and the field laminations ofa synchronous motor for the clock. and moreover. the vibrator shutoff member may be readily formed of low cost plastic material and may be readily connected to a clock structure by simply placing the pivot arms of the shutoff member on an edge of the supporting plate and locating the longitudinally movable rod within the longitudinal groove that is formed in the vibrator shutoff member. Thus. the vibrator shutoff member is conveniently sandwiched between an end of the longitudinally movable rod and an edge portion of the supporting plate without the use of any separate connecting mechanism.  
  In addition. with this construction. the supporting plate may include an outwardly extending portion positioned between the arms of the vibrator shutoff member for providing additional guide surfaces for the vibrator shutoff member. Thus the vibrator shutoff member is uniquely held and positioned on the alarm clock so that it may be readily and reliably actuated at an alarm time to release the audible alarm vibrator.  
  Moreover. with this construction my unique temporary repeat alarm shutoff control mechanism may be readily incorporated with the elongated longitudinally movable rod which extends between the cam member and the vibrator shutoff member. An interval lever is mounted adjacent to the longitudinally movable rod for cooperating with a shoulder that is formed on the rod to hold the rod and the vibrator shutoff lever in the alarm OFF position. In accordance with one embodiment of my improved temporary alarm shutoff mechanism. a cam on a tens of minutes geneva driver wheel may be utilized for actuating the temporary alarm interval level.  
  In accordance with a further aspect of my invention. a mechanism may be provided for automatically shutting off the alarm. This is accomplished by the addition of a single lever between the longitudinally movable rod and a reset lug which is provided on a cam for driving the units display indicator of the digital clock disclosed in my co-pending application (6D-4474). Ser. No. 339.2l3. filed Mar. 8. I973.  
  With this unique construction. relatively few parts are required for adding an alarm mechanism. a repeat alarm mechanism and an automatic repeat alarm mechanism to the digital clock mechanism disclosed in my co-pending application (GD-4474). Ser. No. 339.2l3. filed Mar. 8. I973. A unique vibrator shutoff member including two integrally formed pivot arms is readily attached to the mechanism between an end of the longitudinally movable rod and an edge portion of the supporting plate. The addition of a single lever is all that is required as the principal component of a tempo rary repeat alarm mechanism. and the addition of another lever is the principal element that is required for the addition of an automatic repeat alarm mechanism. Thus. an exceedingly simple yet effective and reliable alarm mechanism, repeat alarm mechanism and automatic repeat alarm mechanism for a clock timer has been achieved.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and attendant advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:  
  FIG. I is a front perspective view of a digital alarm clock constructed in accordance with my invention;  
  FIG. 2 is a front top perspective view generally similar to FIG. I with the outer casing removed for purposes of illustration;  
  FIG. 3 is a bottom front perspective view generally similar to FIG. 2 showing my unique vibrator shutoff member and the longitudinally movable control rod that extends from one side of the clock to the other side of the clock;  
  FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded bottom perspective view of the alarm clock illustrated in FIG. 3;  
  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the clock taken substantially on the plane of 55 of FIG. 2;  
  FIG. 6 is a fragmentary left and elevational view of a minutes drum driving mechanism of the clock shown in FIG. I;  
  FIG. 7 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view showing the details of construction of an alarm time cam and an alarm set cam of the clock shown in FIG. I;  
  FIG. 8 is a fragmentary bottom plane view of the alarm clock shown in FIG. 3 with the parts in the alarm sounding position;  
  FIG. 9 is a fragmentary bottom plan view similar to FIG. 5 with the parts held in the alarm set position by the I2 hour alarm cam mechanisms;  
  FIG. I is a fragmentary bottom plan view similar to FIG. with the parts held in the temporary alarm shut off position by my unique interval lever mechanism;  
  FIG. II is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the clock taken substantially on the plane of II-ll of FIG. 2 showing the interval lever being released from the longitudinal rod by the tens of minutes gcneva driver; and  
  FIG. 12 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view showing the details of construction of the alarm selector mechanism of the digital alarm clock shown in FIG. I.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing and first particularly to FIGS. 1. 2 and 3. there is shown a digital clock which includes my unique alarm vibrator control mechanism. The clock includes three numeral display indicators 2, 4. and 6. which indicate minutes, tens of minutes and hours respectively. With reference to FIG. 5. portions ofa geneva cam mechanism for driving the tens of minutes and hours display indicators are shown generally by reference numeral 8 at the left side of the digital clock. and portions of a mechanisms for indexing the units display indicator 2 are shown at the right side of the clock and are indicated generally by referenced numeral I0.  
  The digital clock may be driven by a conventional self-starting synchronous motor [2 having a magnetic core 14 and energizing coil 16. As shown in FIG. 2, the motor may be readily attached to an end plate I7 of the clock by means of screws 18 or other suitable securing means.  
  As shown more particularly in FIGS. 2 and 5, the display mechanism includes a minutes spool drum 22 which is fixed to a centrally positioned shaft 24. a tens of minutes drum 26 which is fixed to a coaxial shaft 28, and an hours spool drum 30 which is coaxially mounted on shaft 28. As shown, the minutes spool shaft 24 extends a considerable distance to the left of the spool and is supported for rotation within the concentric hollow shaft 28 of the tens of minutes drum. The right end portion 32 of the shaft 24 is rotatably supported within a bearing 34 which is integrally formed with a supporting plate 35.  
  The minutes drum 2 may be indexed from one numeral position to a next succeeding numeral position by a ratchet wheel mechanism 36 as shown more par ticularly in FIG. 6. As shown, the ratchet wheel 36 may be integrally formed with the minutes drum 22 for incrementally moving the drum. A drive finger 38 is eccentrically mounted for rotation with respect to the ratchet wheel 36 to engage and move one tooth of the ratchet wheel for each revolution of the drive finger 38. The drive finger 38 may be integrally formed on a reduction gear unit 40 which is positioned between an output shaft 42 of the electric motor I2 and the ratchet wheel 36. With this construction, the output pinion 42 of the motor drives a gear 44 of the integrally formed reduction gear unit 40 to move the drive finger 38 at one revolution per minute.  
  The details of the mechanism for driving the units drum 2 do not form a part of this invention and are de scribed and illustrated in greater detail in my copending application (GD-4473), Scr. No. 339,4l9. assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. However. in accordance with the instant invention. the same reduction gear unit 40 which is utilized for driving the minutes drum 2 is also utilized for actuating my unique automatic alarm shutoff mechanism, and thus, it should be appreciated that the reduction gear 40 is rotated at one revolution per minute.  
  The minutes. tens of minutes and hours drums are supported for rotation between the previously mentioned supporting plate 35 and a supporting plate 50 which is arranged generally parallel thereto. Both of the supporting plates 35 and 50 are preferably formed of a suitable plastic material to include a plurality of outwardly extending spacer posts 52. S4, 56, 58. 60, 62 for supporting a motor mounting plate I7 at the right side of the clock and a mounting plate 64 at the left side of the clock. As shown more particularly in FIGS. 2. 3 and 5. a plurality of spacer posts 66, 68. and 72 are positioned between the supporting plates 35 and 50 for securely connecting the plates to each other and for providing a convenient means for mounting other components to the clock mechanism.  
  The gcneva mechanism 8 for driving the hours and tens of minutes drums 30 and 26 is positioned between the supporting plates 50 and 64. As shown. the mechanism includes a pair of gcneva driver cams 74 and 76 which are arranged coaxially with each other and are supporting on a common shaft 78 for driving the hours and tens of minutes geneva gears 80 and 82. respectively.  
  With particular reference to FIG. 5, it can be seen that a gear 84 is fixed to the minutes shaft 24 for driving the geneva mechanism 8 to advance the hours drum 30 one increment every hour and to advance the tens of minutes drum 26 one increment every IO minutes. Gear 84 is arranged in mesh with a gear 90 of the tens of minutes driver cam 76 and with one driving finger 92 on the geneva driver cam 76. the gearing ratio between the gears 84 and 90 will enable the timing motor [2 to rotate the tens of minutes geneva driver cam 76 once every minutes. Thus. once every 10 minutes the geneva drive finger 92 will be moved into one of the cusps of the geneva wheel 82 to rotate the tens of minutes geneva wheel one increment every l0 minutes.  
  The details of the geneva mechanism for driving the tens of minutes and hours indicator drums do not form a part of this invention and are described and illustrated in greater detail in my co-pending application (6D-4474). Ser. No. 339.213. assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. However, in accordance with my instant invention the drive finger 92 on the tens of minutes geneva driver is utilized for actuating a repeat alarm mechanism lever. and accordingly. it should be recognized that the geneva driver cam 76 is rotated at one revolution every l0 minutes.  
  In accordance with the illustrated embodiment of my invention. the geneva mechanism 8 is utilized for driving my unique alarm mechanism. With particular reference to FIG. 5. it can be appreciated that the hours geneva driver cam 74 is driven at six revolutions every l2 hours. and thus. it is utilized for driving a 12 hours cam gear 94 ofa 12 hour alarm mechanism. To achieve this. the hours geneva driver cam 74 is fixed to an elongated shaft 96 which extends through the tens of minutes ge neva driver cam 76 and a conventional gear 98 is integrally formed on the left end portion ofthe shaft 96. As shown in FIG. 5. the gear 98 is arranged in mesh with the 12 hour cam gear 94 to drive the cam gear 94 at one revolution every 12 hours.  
  Conventional l2 hour alarm cam mechanisms include two coaxially mounted gears which are provided with interacting cams for causing relative axial movement of the gears at a preset alarm time for actuating a switch or other alarm mechanism. Thus. as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. the cam gear 94 is formed with two leftwardly extending projections I00 and 102 for cooperating with slots I04 and I06 which are formed in a manually adjustable alarm set cam 108.  
  In a prior U.S. Pat. No. 3.636.699 to Chester B. Marble. dated Jan. 25. 1972. and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. a mechanism is disclosed for translating movement from an alarm cam gear 64 at one side of a digital clock to an alarm vibrator II4 which is located on the other side of the clock. The mechanism includes an elongated axially movable rod 76. a lever 78, positioned between the rod and the axially movable alarm time cam 64 and a bell crank lever 18. A generally similar mechanism is utilized in the instant invention.  
 ALARM CONTROL MECHANISM According to this invention there is combined with the aforedescribed digital clock elements a unique shutoff lever mechanism generally indicated by reference numeral [10 which is arranged between a longitudinally movable rod II2 and an alarm vibrator I I4. As shown more particularly in the bottom exploded perspective view of FIG. 4. a resilient magnetic vibrator H4 is positioned between the vibrator shutoff lever mechanism and field laminations N8 of the electric motor I2. The vibrator is operated by leakage flux from the motor and is arranged to have its free end portion 116 vibrate against the stator lamination 118 and produce an audible alarm at all times when the motor is energized unless the vibrator is prevented from vibrating by my unique vibrator shutoff lever mechanism As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the vibrator 114 may be formed of a single piece of sheet metal and connected to the upper portion of the motor supporting plate 17 by means of rivets I20 and 122. The vibrator is generally L-shaped and includes a transverse arm I24 for receiving the rivets I20 and I22 and a downwardly extending arm 126 which is uniquely positioned between the motor coil I6 and the motor gear reduction unit I30. As shown more particularly in FIG. 4, the downwardly extending arm I26 of the vibrator is formed to include a transversely extending projection I32 for cooperation with my unique shutoff lever mechanism I I0.  
  In accordance with my invention the longitudinally movable rod II2 for translating movement from the alarm time cam gear 94 and a lever I36 at one side of the clock to my vibrator shutoff lever mechanism 110 at the other side of the clock is uniquely mounted for slidable movement within apertures I38 and I40 that are provided within downwardly extending projections I42 and I44 which are integrally formed with the supporting plates 50 and 35. respectively. As shown. a collar 146 is fixed to the longitudinally movable rod II2 at the right side of the clock and a spring I48 is positioned between the collar I46 and the outwardly extending portion 144 of the mounting plate 35 for urging the rod 112 to the left as shown in FIG. 4 into engagement with a lower arm portion I50 of lever I36.  
  As shown. the lever I36 is generally T-shaped and includes a generally transverse upper arm portion I52 which is provided with pivot apertures I54 and I56 for pivotally mounting the lever on rightwardly extending projections I58 and I60, respectively. which may be integrally formed with a left supporting plate 64. A rightwardly extending collar I6I is integrally formed with the alarm time gear 94 for cooperating with a left surface of the lever I36 in the vicinity of its notched out portion 164. Thus it can be appreciated that spring I48 will urge collar I46 and rod II2 to the left against the downwardly extending arm I50 oflever I36 to urge left surface of the lever I36 into engagement with the collar I6I of the alarm time gear 94. Accordingly. at the alarm time when the projections I00 and 102 line up with the slots I04 and I06 that are formed in the manually adjustable alarm set cam I08. the spring 148 will urge the longitudinal rod 1 12. lever I36, and alarm time gear 94 to the left to release the alarm vibrator I14 unless the longitudinally movable rod 112 or the lever I36 are prevented from such movement by mechanisms to be described in more detail hereinafter.  
  My unique vibrator shutoff lever mechanism IIO which is positioned between the right end portion of the longitudinally movable rod II2 and the vibrator 114 will now be more particularly described, As shown in H6. 4, the vibrator shutoff lever 110 is uniquely designed so that it may be formed ofa low cost plastic ma terial and readily connected to the clock mechanism previously described. It includes two integrally formed pivot arms I70 and 172 having notched out portions [74 for receiving an edge portion of the supporting plate 35. As shown in FIG, 3, the pivot arms are positioned to straddle the outwardly extending portion 144 of the plate 35 with the notches I74 and 176 being positioned over edge portions of the mounting plate 35 on opposite sides of the outwardly extending portion 144. The lever 110 also includes an elongated longitudinal cam groove [80 positioned between pivot arm 170 and 172 and extending rightwardly therefrom for receiving the right end of the longitudinally movable rod 112. As shown more particularly in FIG. 4, the cam groove I80 includes a generally downwardly extending cam surface 18] for cooperating with the end portion of rod I12 so that the lever 110 may be readily pushed upwardly when the rod 112 is moved to the rightv The shutoff lever H also includes an upwardly extending finger portion 182 which is integrally formed at its right end for engagement with tab 132 of the vibrator [14 to hold the vibrator from sounding against the field laminations ll8 when the rod H2 is pushed to the right.  
  With this construction, the vibrator shutoff lever may be readily and quickly mounted on the supporting plate 35 by simply locating the pivot arm 170 and 172 on the plate and rotating the lever downwardly about its pivot arms until the groove 180 is positioned over the right end portion of rod 112. Thus, with this unique arrangement of parts the alarm vibrator H4 may be located between the motor supporting plate 17 and the field laminations 118 of the motor. and moreover. the vibrar tor shutoff member 110 may be readily and conveniently sandwiched between the end of the longitudinally movable rod H2 and the edge portion of the supporting plate 35 without the use of any separate connecting mechanisms. in addition. the ourwardly extending portion 144 of the supporting plate 35. groove I80 and rod H2 provide guide surfaces for the vibrator shutoff member H0. Thus, the vibrator shutoff member is uniquely held and positioned on the alarm clock so that it may readily and reliably actuate the audible alarm vibrator H4 at an alarm time.  
 REPEAT ALARM MECHANISM In accordance with my invention, a repeat alarm mechanism may be readily added to the alarm clock timer with the addition of relatively few parts. With such a mechanism. the vibrator may be shut off and then a timing mechanism may be automatically operated to resound the alarm a short time after the original sounding, just to make sure that the user has not fallen asleep.  
  As shown more particularly in FIG. 4, the principal component of my unique repeat alarm mechanism is an integrally formed interval lever 200 which is positioned between a collar 202 that is fixed to the longitudinally movable rod H2 and a driving finger 92 ofthe tens of minutes geneva driver cam 76. As shown more particularly in FIG. 4, the repeat alarm interval lever 200 is formed to include a collar portion 204 having a centrally located circular aperture 206 for mounting the lever on the lower rear spacer post 72. The lever also includes a forwardly extending arm 208 for cooperating with the collar 202 on the longitudinal rod 112 and an upwardly and leftwardly extending arm 210 for slidable engagement with the tens of minutes geneva driver cam 76.  
  The repeat alarm lever 200 may also include a rightwardly extending arm 212 for receiving one end of a spring 214 for biasing the lever in a counterclockwise direction about the spacer post 72 into engagement with the longitudinally movable rod 112 and its collar 202. As shown more particularly in H65. 3 and ll, the other end of the spring 214 is anchored to a tab 2l6 which may be integrally formed with the plate 50.  
  With the construction thus far described, it can be appreciated that at the alarm time when projections 100 and W2 become aligned with the slots 104 and 106 of the alarm set cam, spring 148 will move alarm time cam 94 to the left, arm of lever 136 to the left, and the longitudinally slidable rod 112 to the left to the position illustrated in FlG. 10. Then the tens of minutes geneva driver cam 76 will move interval 200 to release it from collar 202 to allow spring 148 to move rod 112 to the left to the position illustrated in FIG. 8.  
  In this position. the right end portion of the longitudi nally slidable rod 112 will have been moved far enough to the left within the cam groove I80 of the alarm shutoff lever 110 to permit the alarm shutoff lever to pivot downwardly by gravity about its pivot arm I70 and 172 to thereby release the end portion 182 of the vibrator shut-off lever from the vibrator to permit the vibrator to sound.  
  in order to shut off the vibrator for a short time interval. it is merely necessary to move the longitudinally slidable rod 112 to the right from the position illustrated in FIG. 8 to the position illustrated in FIG. l0. ln moving to the position illustrated in FIG. 10 it may be appreciated that the collar 202 of the rod [[2 will slide on the forwardly extending arm 208 of the repeat alarm lever 200 and that as soon as the collar 202 is moved far enough to the right. spring 214 will move the forwardly extending arm 208 behind the collar to hold the longitudinal rod H2 in the alarm OFF position illustrated in HO [0.  
  in accordance with my invention. a relatively simple mechanism is provided for moving the longitudinal rod 112 to the right to permit arm 208 to engage the left surface of the collar 202. To achieve this. the lever 136 is simply formed with a leftwardly extending tab 220 for engagement with a downwardly extending portion of a repeat alarm pushbutton 222. Thus, upon depression of the manually operable pushbutton 222, tab 220 will be pivoted downwardly about its pivots 154 and I56 to move the lower portion of lever 136 and rod 1 12 to the right to permit the interval lever 208 to hold the longitudinal rod I12 in the temporary alarm shut-off position. As the units numeral 6 comes into view, the lug 92 on the tens of minutes geneva driver 76 will have moved through the position illustrated in H0. ll, and as illustrated in PK). 11, it will have rotated the interval lever 200 clockwise far enough to release the push rod 112 and its collar 202 to thereby permit the rod 112 to move far enough to the left under the force of spring [48 to resound the alarm. With this construction. since the geneva driver cam 76 rotates once every 10 minutes, the repeat alarm cycle can be repeated every 10 minutes until the projections and 102 of the alarm time cam 94 are driven out of the slots 104 and 106 of the alarm set cam 108.  
  It can be appreciated that when a clock is provided with my repeat alarm mechanism 200 the first sounding of the alarm at the alarm time will not occur at the instant that the hour gear 94 moves toward the alarm set cam 108 but when the tens of minutes geneva driver re lease interval lever 200 from the side surface of collar 202.  
 AUTOMATlC REPEAT ALARM AND SHUTOFF MECHANISM In accordance with my invention. an automatic alarm shutoff mechanism may be added to the alarm clock timer in order to automatically shut off the alarm 11 short time interval after it has been sounded. The automatic shutoff and repeat alarm mechanism accomplishes the same function as the tab 220 which is formed on the lever I36. That is, it moves the longitudinal rod I I2 to the right from position illustrated in FIG. 8. to the position illustrated in FIG. to permit the interval lever 208 to hold the longitudinal rod 112 in the alarm shutoff position for a short time interval. As previously indicated this unique mechanism can be readily actuated by the same reduction gear unit 40 which is utilized for actuating the minutes display indicator 2.  
  The principal component of the automatic repeat alarm mechanism is a single lever 300 which may be readily formed from a piece of sheet metal. As shown more particularly in FIG. 4, the lever extends between the spacer post 72 and the longitudinally movable rod II2, and it also includes a rightwardly extending arm portion 302 which is arranged for engagement with a rightwardly extending lug 304 which may be integrally formed on the reduction gear unit 40. As shown, the lever includes a lower saddle-shaped portion for pivotal engagement within a groove 306 which is formed in the spacer post 72. The upper portion of the lever is provided with a curved slot 308 for receiving rod 112 and the left surface of collar I46, and the rightwardly extending arm 302 is passed through a slot 3I0 in supporting plate 35. as shown in FIG. 6. Thus the automatic repeat alarm lever 300 is designed so that it may be readily held on to the clock structure without the use of separate connecting hardware. and moreover. it is uniquely positioned so that an automatic repeat alarm feature can he provided by the addition of the single automatic repeat alarm lever 300. Naturally, it is to be expected that the outwardly extending lug 304 of the reduction gear unit 40 which is preferably formed of plastic. may be readily formed on the reduction gear unit at the same time that the teeth and other portions of the reduction gear unit are being formed.  
  With the automatic repeat alarm mechanism. after the drive finger 38 of the units driver has moved the units drum 2 and the units gears 84 has moved the geneva drivers 76 and 74 to move the alarm time gear 94 to sound the alarm at the time which has been preset by alarm set cam 108. the gear reduction unit 40 will continue to be rotated by the drive pinion 42 of the electric motor and before the drive finger 38 of the reduction gear unit causes the units drum 2 to be moved an additional increment. the reset lug 304 on the reduction gear unit 40 will move into contact with arm 302 of the repeat alarm lever 300 to pivot the lever in a clockwise direction about its pivot groove 306 to move the longitudinally movable rod II2 against the force of spring I48 to move the rod II2 far enough to the right to permit the interval lever arm 208 to engage the collar 202 to hold the longitudinally movable rod 112 in the temporary alarm shutoff position. With this construction. it can be appreciated that the positioning of the reset lug 304 with respect to the drive finger 38 on the reduction gear unit will determine the length of time that the vibrator H4 is allowed to sound before the automatic shut off occurs.  
 ALARM SET MECHANISM A relatively simple alarm control mechanism may be provided for setting the desired operation of the alarm. In order to achieve this, a tab 404 is provided on the lower front portion of lever I36 for operation by a manually movable cam 402. As shown more particularly in FIG. 4, the cam 402 may be integrally formed of plastic along with a lever 400 that may extend through an enlarged aperture 408 in the front face of the clock casing. As shown in FIG. I2, the lever 400 and its integrally formed cam 402 may be readily pivoted to the clock by means of a pivot shaft 4I0 that may be supported on plate 50. It can be appreciated that when the lever 400 is rotated upwardly to the alarm OFF position. its cam 402 will be rotated against the tab 404 to move the tab 404 and the lever I36 to the right to thereby move rod 112 to the right against the force of spring 148. During this movement the right end portion of rod II2 will also be moved to the right within the longitudinal cam groove 180 of my vibrator shut-off lever 110 to shut off the alarm and hold it in its shutoff position. In order to set the alarm for automatic operation by the I2 hour alarm time gear 94. the lever 400 is moved downwardly to the position illustrated in FIG. 4. In this position the cam 402 is removed from the tab 404 of lever I36. and the left side surface of lever I36 will ride on the collar I60 of the alarm time cam 94 to thereby follow any leftward movement of the alarm time cam 94 at the alarm time. and thus allow the rod II2 to be moved to the left to sound the alarm.  
 OPERATION If. for example. it is desired to have the alarm ring at 7 o&#39;clock in the morning. the operator rotates the alarm cam I08 to the appropriate 7 AM position, as indicated in FIG. I. Then the selector lever 400 is moved down to the alarm position to move cam 402 to allow pivotal movement of lever I36, as illustrated in FIG. 9, thus. the cam surfaces I00 and I02 of the incrementally ro tated gear 94 will ride on the inside surface of the time set cam 108 as the gear 94 is rotated by the hours geneva driver cam 74 of the digital clock.  
  At 7 o&#39;clock in the morning the abrupt cam surfaces and 102 become aligned with the abrupt cam slots 104 and I06 of the alarm set cam 108 and the spring 148 acting through collar I46 of the longitudinally movable rod II2 and the lever 136 rapidly moves the incrementally rotated gear 94 toward the alarm set cam 108 from the position illustrated in FIG. 10 to move the left side surface of collar 202 against a side surface of arm 208 of interval lever 200 to continue to hold the rod 112 and lever 110 in the alarm off position. Six months later the lug 92 on the geneva driver passes through the position shown in FIG. II and rotates the interval lever 200 far enough to release the collar 202 of push rod 112 to allow spring I48 to move rod II2 to the left to the position illustrated in FIG. 8 to sound the alarm vibrator II4. During this movement. it can be appreciated that my unique vibrator shutoff lever 110 will be allowed to pivot downwardly to release the vibrator 114 as the right end of the movable rod &#34;2 is moved to the left within the groove 180 of the vibrator shutoff lever.  
  When the alarm has sounded the operator may permanently shut off the alarm by actuating the lever 400 to the alarm off position. To achieve this, the selector lever 400 is moved upwardly from the position illustrated in FIG. 1 to thereby cause rearwardly extending cam 402 to engage the tab 404 of lever 136 to move the lever 136 and rod 112 to the right to thereby slide the end of rod 112 within the groove 180 of the vibrator shutoff lever to move the vibrator shutoff lever M to the alarm off position illustrated in FIG. [2.  
  If. for example. it is desired to temporarily shut off the alarm for a short interval of time as soon as the operator hears the alarm sound. the operator may manually depress pushbutton 222 to thereby press tab downwardly to pivot lever 136 to the right to enable the interval lever 208 to move behind collar 202 to hold the alarm in the temporary alarm shutoff position illustrated in FIG. 10. A short time interval thereafter, the lug 92 on the geneva driver cam 76 will move to the position illustrated in H6. ll to pivot the repeat alarm interval lever in a clockwise direction to release the interval lever arm 208 from the collar 202 to resound the alarm.  
  If. my digital alarm clock is provided with the automatic repeat alarm lever 300. after the alarm has sounded and the operator does not wish to immediately shut off the alarm. the alarm will continue to sound until it is shut off by the automatic shut off lever 300. It can be appreciated that the reset lug 304 on the gear 40 will engage the lever 300 to pivot the lever 300 in a clockwise direction about its pivot groove 306 and thereby move the lever 300 against the collar 146 against the force of the spring 148 to position the collar 206 to the right of the forwardly extending arm 208 of the interval lever to temporarily shut off the alarm. Biasing spring 214 will then move arm 208 behind the collar 202 as shown in PK]. 10 to hold the alarm in the off position for about ten minutes until the interval lever 200 will again be rotated by lug 92 to release rod 2. This sequence will be repeated until the alarm is either permanently shut off by selector lever 400 or the projections I00 and 102 of the alarm time gear are driven out of the slots in the alarm set gear 108.  
  From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that my unique alarm control mechanism is achieved with the use of relatively few parts which may be readily incorporated with a digital clock ofthe type described in my co-pending application (6D-4474) Ser. No. 339.213. assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. The principal component of the alarm vibrator control mechanism is a unique shutoff lever 1 l0 which may be formed of a low cost plastic material and readily attached to the supporting plate 35 in order to reliably control the alarm vibrator ll4. In order to achieve a repeat alarm function with this mechanism. a readily formed unique repeat alarm lever 200 is simply positioned over a spacer post 72 and located between the longitudinally movable rod 112 and a lug 92 on an hours geneva driver mechanism 76. The automatic repeat alarm function is also achieved with the use of a single lever 300 which is positioned on the same spacer post 72 and arranged between the longitudinally movable rod 112 and a reset lug 304 which is formed on the reduction gear unit 40. Thus, an exceedingly simple and reliable alarm control mechanism is achieved with the use of relatively few parts which may be readily connected to each other.  
 What is claimed is:  
 I. An alarm clock comprising:  
 a. an alarm vibrator;  
 b. a clock timing mechanism;  
 c. a member actuated by said timing mechanism and movable at a preset alarm time;  
 d. a stationary supporting structure including a supporting plate;  
 e. a vibrator shutoff lever having an alarm on position for releasing said vibrator and an alarm off position for holding said vibrator. said vibrator shutoff lever including two pivot arms for pivotally mounting said shutoff lever on said supporting plate and an elongated groove located between said pivot arms;  
 f. an elongated axially movable rod having two ends mounted on said supporting structure. one end of said rod being arranged for longitudinal slidable movement within the groove formed in said vibrator shutoff lever;  
 g. said pivot arms having contact surfaces located on one side of said vibrator shutoff lever. and said elongated groove being located on the other side of said vibrator shutoff lever. so that the vibrator shutoff lever is sandwiched and held on the supporting structure between the elongated axially movable rod and the supporting plate; and  
 means positioned between said member and the other end of said rod for permitting said rod to move longitudinally within said groove at the preset alarm time to thereby reliably release said vibrator at a preset alarm time.  
  2. An alarm clock as defined in claim 1 wherein said supporting plate includes an outwardly extending portion and said pivot arms are positioned on an edge surface of said supporting plate with the outwardly extend ing portion of said supporting plate being positioned between the pivot arms of said vibrator shutoff lever whereby said vibrator shutoff lever may be readily and quickly mounted on said supporting plate and may be accurately and positively guided for movement on said supporting plate in order to positively control operation of the alarm vibrator. i  
  3. An alarm clock as defined in claim 1 wherein said supporting structure includes two supporting plates which are arranged generally parallel to each other and are held spaced apart from each other by a plurality of spacer posts and both of said supporting plates include integrally formed outwardly extending portions having apertures formed therein for receiving end portions of said elongated axially movable rod in order to accurately guide said rod within the longitudinal groove formed in said vibrator shutoff member.  
  4. An alarm clock as defined in claim l wherein said vibrator is arranged generally perpendicular to said vibrator shutoff member. said vibrator shutoff member includes an outwardly extending portion for engaging and holding said vibrator in its off position. and a spring is positioned between said longitudinal rod and said supporting plate for resiliently urging said rod and said vibrator shutoff member to the alarm sounding posi tion.  
 5. An alarm clock comprising:  
 a. an alarm vibrator arm;  
 b. a supporting structure including a support plate:  
 c. a vibrator shutoff lever having an alarm on position for releasing said vibrator and an alarm off position for holding said vibrator;  
 d. an elongated vibrator shutoff rod slidable on said vibrator shutoff lever for holding said vibrator shutoff lever in an alarm on position or an alarm off position;  
 e. a collar fixed to said rod adjacent to said support plate;  
 f. a spring coiled around said elongated rod and positioned between said collar and said supporting structure for urging said rod and said vibrator shut off lever to the alarm sounding position;  
 g. a rotatably mounted alarm time cam member mounted to be axially movable at a preset alarm time;  
 h. a control levcr pivotally mounted on said clock positioned between said rod and said alarm time cam for moving said rod against the force of said spring and for permitting said spring to slide said elongated rod axially to thereby release the alarm vibrator to sound the alarm at a pre-set time when said alarm time cam has been moved axially; and  
 i. an automatic alarm shutoff lever positioned to transmit a force to said collar on the elongated vibrator shutoff rod from a reset lug which is rotated as a function of time by said alarm clock for moving said automatic shutoff lever, said collar, and the elongated vibrator shutoff rod a short time after the alarm has sounded in order to automatically shut off the alarm.  
 6. An alarm clock as defined in claim wherein said automatic alarm shutoff lever is pivotally mounted on a spacer post of the alarm clock and is positioned within a slot that is formed in a supporting plate of the alarm clock in order to support the automatic alarm shutoff lever without the use of additional supporting components.  
 7. An alarm clock comprising:  
 a. an alarm vibrator arm;  
 b. a supporting structure including a support plate;  
 c. a vibrator shutoff lever having an alarm on position for releasing said vibrator and an alarm off position for holding said vibrator;  
 d. an elongated vibrator shutoff rod slidable on said vibrator shutoff lever for holding said vibrator shutoff lever in an alarm on position or an alarm off position;  
 e. a collar fixed to said rod adjacent to said support plate;  
 f. a spring coiled around said vibrator shutoff rod and positioned between said collar and said supporting structure for urging said rod and said vibrator shutoff lever to the alarm sounding position;  
 g. a rotatably mounted alarm time cam member mounted to be axially movable at a preset alarm time;  
 h. a control lever pivotally mounted on said clock positioned between said rod and said alarm time cam for moving said rod and said time cam for moving said rod against the force of said spring and for permitting said spring to slide said vibrator shutoff rod axially to thereby release the alarm vibrator to sound the alarm at a pre-set time when said alarm time cam has been moved axially;  
 . an interval lever resiliently urged into engagement with said elongated rod;  
 j. an abutment collar formed on said elongated rod for cooperating with said interval lever to hold the rod and the vibrator shutoff lever in the alarm off position;  
 k. manually operable means movable into engagement with said control lever for moving said control lever and said rod to the alarm off position; and  
 l. timing means for moving said interval lever against the force of its resilient means after a short time interval to release it from the abutment collar formed on the elongated rod to thereby release the vibrator arm after a short time interval.  
  8. An alarm clock as defined in claim 7 wherein a tens of minutes geneva driver cam is provided for moving said interval lever to release the interval lever from the abutment collar to release the vibrator arm at the alarm time.  
  9. An alarm clock as defined in claim 7 wherein the clock includes two supporting plates arranged generally parallel to each other and a plurality of spacer posts located between the plates for securely connecting the supporting plates to each other and wherein the interval lever includes a bearing aperture for pivotally mounting the interval lever on one of the spacer posts.  
 l0. An alarm clock comprising:  
 a. an alarm;  
 b. a clock timing mechanism;  
 c. a stationary supporting structure including two supporting plates and a plurality of spacer posts extending between the supporting plates;  
 d. an elongated rod extending between said supporting plates and axially slidable thereon. said rod being axially slidable in one direction to release the alarm at a preselected time and axially movable in an opposite direction to shut off the alarm;  
 e. an actuating lever pivoted to said supporting structure in engagement with said rod for moving said rod in said opposite direction to shut off the alarm;  
 f. first spring means positioned between one of said supporting plates and said axially movable rod for moving said rod in said one direction to release the alarm;  
 g. an interval lever pivotally mounted on one of said spacer posts. said lever having a latch arm extending toward said elongated rod;  
 h. second spring means extending between said lever and said supporting structure for resiliently urging said lever into engagement with said axially movable rod;  
 i. an abutment collar fixed to said elongated rod for cooperating with said interval lever arm to hold the elongated rod in the alarm off position; and  
 j. said interval lever including an actuating arm positioned for engagement with said timing mechanism for moving said interval lever after a predetermined short time interval against the force of said second spring means to release the latch arm of the interval lever from the abutment collar on said elongated rod to sound the alarm after the lapse of a short time interval.  
 H. An alarm clock as defined in claim 10 wherein said clock further includes:  
 a. a rotatable tens of minutes drum;  
 b. a geneva wheel fixed to said tens of minutes drum for driving said tens of minutes drum;  
 c. a tens of minutes gcneva driver cam mounted for f. means for moving said rod at an alarm time; and  
 meshing engagement with said tens of minutes geg. an interval lever resiliently urged into engagement neva wheel for driving said tens of minutes geneva with said rod for holding the rod and the alarm wheel. said tens of minutes geneva driver wheel indi member i h alarm ff position, id i Cludlng driver Projection for movement lmo the 5 terval lever including an arm portion positioned in cusps f E wheel for driving lens the path of the driving lug on said tens of minutes minutes geneva Wheel? f F geneva driver cam whereby said geneva driver cam d. the actuating arm of said interval lever being posi- Said interva lever to release the rod to tioned within the path of said driving projection on the tens of minutes geneva driver for actuating said y interval lever once every ten minutes to thereby release the elongated rod within ten minutes of time to sound the alarm after a short time interval.  
 12. A digital clock comprising:  
 a. a timing mechanism including rotatable tens of minutes drum having a shaft fixed thereto;  
 lease the alarm sounding member at an alarm time.  
 13. A digital clock as defined in claim 12 and further including an automatic alarm shutoff mechanism comprising:  
 a. a minutes gear rotatable by said timing mechanism for actuating a minutes drum of the digital clock;  
 b. a reset lug integrally formed on said minutes gear;  
 b. a geneva wheel fixed to said tens of minutes shaft and f driving said tens f minutes drum. c. an automatic alarm shutoff lever positioned bec. a tens of minutes geneva driver cam having a drivtween the shutoff rod and F lug ing lug mounted for meshing engagement with said reset lug may move the flulomallc alarm shutoff tens of minute geneva h l; lever to move the rod to shut off the alarm a short (I. an alarm sounding member having an al on time after the alarm has sounded in order to autosition and an alarm off position; matically shut off the alarm and re-engage the inc. a rod for moving said alarm member to its on or its terval lever.  
 off position;