US1067464A - Annunciator. - Google Patents

Description

. Zfliiiitaaea I G. M. CAGLE.

ANNUNCIATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. s, 1912.

1,067,464, Patented July 15, 1913.

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ISO

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CARTER M. CAGLE, OF DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA, ASSIG-NOR 0F ONE-THIRD TO A. G.

HAYWOOD AND ONE-THIRD T0 GRACE HAYWOOD, BOTH 0F DOWNEY, GALI- FORNIA.

ANNUNCIATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 15, 1913.

To all whom 2'25 may concern Be it known that I, CARTER M. Gnome, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Downey, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Annunciators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to annunciators, and it has special reference to means whereby the web containing the announcements may be regularly and positively brought into position and reversed.

It also provides a simple and eflicient means for applying the web and operating it within a case, so that the street number or ither announcement which is exposed may be readily seen, as will now be set forth in detail.

The invention is applicable not only for use in street cars, but also, railroads, signaling purposes, railway crossings, cab calling devices, or other purposes where announcements are desirable and serviceable, but it is particularly applicable for announcing stations or localities connected with transportation service.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a front view of the annunciator, partly in section. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section of the annunciator on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end view of the annunciator with the end of the case removed. Fig. 1 is an end view of the annunciator with the operating cord and lever to illustrate the movement of the ratchet lever and yoke, and Fig. 5 is an end view of the rollers and one of the elastic belts which keep the roller and drum in proper relation with each other.

In carrying out my invention I prepare a case, which comprises a base 6, ends 7, 8 and a shell 9, the members 7, 8, 9 being secured together and attached by screws 10 to the base so that the mechanism within may be exposed. At the operating end of the case is a vertical opening 11 in the lower part of the end 8, so that the inclosing shell may be withdrawn without interference from the projecting shaft. At one side is an opening which has a glass closure plate 12. Within the inclosing shell, and secured to the base at each end is a vertical post 13, and on each side of this post and spaced apart a suitable distance is a side post 14: held in alinement at their upper ends by a cross connecting bar 15, and a longitudinal bar 16 extends from end to end securing the upper ends of the vertical posts together. Midway between the upper and the lower ends of the posts 13 are the journal bearings for a large drum 17, this drum extending from end to end of the shell between the end posts. At one end the shaft 18 terminates substantially flush with the outer sur faces of the bearing post, and at the other end the shaft extends beyond the end 8 of the shell. Above and below the drum 17 are rollers 18, 19, each provided with a shaft 20, the ends of these shafts resting in vertical slots 21 formed through the main posts 13, so the rollers may move to and from the drum 17 a limited distance, and the shafts are j ournaled at each end through a pair of cross bars 22, which overlap both sides of the posts 18, 14. These cross bars are secured to blocks 23 which slide in the guide ways formed between the posts. Between the upper and lower block in each guide way is a spiral spring 2a. to draw the blocks together, and thereby bring the two rollers into intimate contact with the drum 17.

The web 25 which has printed thereon the names of the streets successively or any other announcements desired by the user, and the web, is wound on one roller in one direction, and wound on the other roller in the opposite direction, the web engaging with the drum 17 as it passes from one roller to the other, and in order to cause the web to wind up on one roller as fast as it is unwound from the other roller I employ an elastic belt 27, Fig. 5, at each end of the drum which passes around the two rollers 18, 19, the body of the belts intermediate the' rollers resting against the drum, so that by frictional contact the elastic belts turn the rollers and assure a positive movement of the web proportionate to the travel of the drum, and the motion of the wb is not, therefore, dependent 011 the motion of either of the rollers 18, 19, as hereinafter pointed. out.

The forward projecting end of the shaft 18, which carries the drum, carries thereon a toothed gear 28, a yoke 29 being provided with its limbs projecting down on opposite sides of the gear, and through which the shaft 18 passes. This yoke is normally in a vertical position and its pivotal point at the shaft 18 is near its lower end, and a spiral spring attached to the lower end of this yoke, having its lower end secured to the base of the case, serves to keep the yoke substantially in. vertical position.

Above the gear 28, and pivoted to the limbs of the yoke 29, is a ratchet lever 30, the teeth of which are adapted to engage with the gear 28; and a pair of operating cords secured to the upper end of the ratchet lever, as at 32, have their ends extending downwardly and passing through guide loops 33 at the lower end of the frame. In operation, therefore, if one end of the operating cord is drawn downwardly the result is that the ratchet lever swings over and one tooth of the ratchet engages with the toothed gear 28, and the upper end of the yoke is carried over and transmits a revoluble mo tion to the drum, the movement being so regulated that when the drum turns theprinted street or announcement on the web will register at the glass covered opening in the case. hen the web is fully unwound from one roller the motion of the drum is reversed by using the cord 31 on the other side, thus enabling the user to expose the numbers successively, and in a positive manner.

The elastic belt has a very important function when wound over the rollers and in con tact with the drum as herein shown, for the following reasons: It is obvious that, as the belts 27 are carried around theends of the rollers 18, 19, and are also in frictional contact with the intermediate drum 17,. the two rollers will, in the absence of the web 25, travel at the same rate of speed. Since, however, the web travels from one roller to the other, it is clear that the web will gradually decrease the diameter of one roll, and increase the diameter of the other. I have found in practice that non-elastic belts used in this connection, will not positively feed the web the predetermined distance each time, but that, on the other hand, the elastic belt will produce a uniform travel of the web at each turning movement of the drum, for this reason 2 That portion of the body of each belt which is in direct contact with the drum 1'( has a greater grip than than part of the belts which pass around the rollers, so that the elastic belts actually slip on the ends of the rollers when theweb ac cumulation is greater than the diameter of the roll hence, the web is carried forward the rate of speed determined by the drum, and not by the speed or speeds assumed by the rollers.

It has been found, in practice, that where there is an intermittent motion imparted to the rollers, the tendency is to loosen the web on the driven rollers, where a non-elastic belt is used; but with an elastic belt, the web, as it accumulates on the roller, endeavors to turn the driven roller faster than it is normally being driven at the contact point between the driving roller and the accumulated web; hence, the elastic belt has a function, not found in the use of the non-elastic belt.

What I claim as new, is

1. In an annunciator, a drum, a pair of rollers on opposite sides thereof, a web, the opposite ends of which are attached to the respective rollers, said web being in contact with the drum, and the rollers having at each end an endless elastic belt which extends around each roller and is in contact with the same side of the drum with which the web contacts.

2. In an annunciator, a drum, a pair of rollers diametrically smaller than the drum, one above and one below said drum, a web with its ends attached to the respective rollers, and in contact with one side of the drum, and an endless elastic belt which extends around each end of the rollers and contacts with the drum on the same side where the web engages therewith.

3. In an annunciator, a drum, a pair of rollers, diametrically smaller than the drum, one roller being above and the other roller below the drum, an elastic belt at each end of the rollers and around the same, and 8X- tending past one side of and contacting with the drum, and a web, one end of which is wound around the upper roller and the other end wound around the lower roller and in intermediate contact with the drum, the windings on the rollers being in opposite directions.

4. In an annunciator, a case, a drum, a roller above and a roller below said drum, an elastic belt at each end which extends around the rollers and engages with only one side of the drum, a web around the rollers and in contact with one side of the drum, said web having printed announce ments thereon, and the case being provided with an exposure opening at one side.

Signed at the city of Los engelcs county of; Los Angeles State of California, this 1st day of May, 1912, in the presence of witnesses.

CARTER M. CAGLE. Witnesses EDMUND KAsoLD, J. Z. ZERBE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents. each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,-

' Washington, D. C.

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