Timer unit having selectable rest position

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTABLY CONTROLLING THE SEQUENCING AND TIMING OF THE ACTUATIONS AND DEACTIVATIONS OF A TWOCONDITION LOAD DEVICE IN ACCORDANCE WITH A READILY ADJUSTABLE PROGRAM AND, FOR EACH PROGRAM, SIMULATING THE ACTION OF A MECHANICAL CAM-SHAFT TIMER WHICH COMPRISES A BINARY COUNTER OF N STAGES INTERCOUPLED IN TANDEM AND HAVING SET AND RESET INPUT TERMINALS AND OUTPUT TERMINALS, SAID COUNTER BEING PROPORTIONED TO DELIVER FROM ITS SEVERAL STAGES AND IN RESPONSE TO A TRAIN OF INPUT PULSES APPLIED TO ITS FIRST STAGE A SEQUENCE OF 2N DIFFERENT OUTPUT VOLTAGE CONDITIONS, EACH CONSISTING OF N ON OR OFF VOLTAGES REPRESENTATIVE OF A PARTICULAR COUNT OF THE BINARY NUMBER SYSTEM, THE MAXIMUM COUNT BEING A POWER OF 2 IN EXCESS OF 360M WHEREIN M IS AN INTEGER OTHER THAN ZERO, MEANS FOR RESETTING SAID COUNTER TO ITS ZERO STATE ON REACHING A COUNT OF 360M, A NUMBER 2N OF OUTPUT CONDUCTORS, A LOAD DEVICE, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO DIFFERENT PREASSIGNED ELECTRICAL CONDITIONS ON THE ODD NUMBERED ONES OF SAID CONDUCTORS FOR ACTUATING SAID LOAD DEVICE N TIMES IN A COUNTING CYCLE, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO OTHER DIFFERENT PREASSIGNED ELECTRICAL CONDITIONS ON THE EVEN NUMBERED ONES OF SAID CONDUCTORS FOR DEACTIVATING SAID DEVICE N TIMES IN SAID COUNTING CYCLE, THE OUTPUT TERMINALS OF ALL STAGES OF SAID COUNTER BIENG INTERCONNECTED WITH EACH OF SAID OUTPUT CONDUCTORS THROUGH N SWITCHES, WHEREBY THE INSTANTS OF ACTUATION AND OF DEACTIVATION OF SAID LOAD DEVICE ARE DETERMINED BY THE SETTING OF SAID SWITCHES AND ARE PRECISE TO WITHIN 1/M DEGREE OF ROTATION OF THE SHAFT OF THE SIMULATED TIMER.