US1160188A - Signal-transmitter. - Google Patents

Description

c. MILLER.

SIGNAL TRANSMITTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29. 1914.

1 1 60, 1 88. Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

Witneooeo ampe'ntoz MMMM coLulBlA PLANOOIAIH CO WASHINGTOM D. c.

STATES aran r CHRISTIAN MILLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO EDWARDS & 00., A.

CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

. SIGNAL-TRANSMITTER.

Application filed. May 29, 1914.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, in the borough of Bronx and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Signal Transmitters, of which the following is afull, clear, andeXact descrip-' tion.

This invention relates to signal transmitters and more specifically to devices for preventing any further actuation of a signal transmitter after it has once been actuated and until the proper signal has been sent. Devices of this character are more commonly used with electric fire alarm or district messenger boxes to which the pres- 'ent invention has special application. These boxes are generally equipped with a rotary pull lever or crank which, when actuated,

' will set the signal train into operation to transmit to' thecentral station a predetermined code signal and are'provided with some form of device for rendering thepull lever ineffective to operate the signal train by a' further actuation of the same after it has once been actuated, and until the signal has been completely transmitted.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved means for insuring this non-interference which means is of a simple and cheap construction and comprises few parts and with these and other objects in view,-my invention consistsof a signal train in combination with a pawl or dog which is connected to rotate with the pull lever or crank and a rotary member con nected to the signal train with which said dog is adapted to co-act when the parts are in their normal position so that the actuation of the lever or crank will temporarily displace said member to store up energy in the signal train to transmit the signal, which ;.3 member due to its connection with the signal train, gradually resumes its normal position during the transmission of the signal, together with means for continually urging said dog out of the path of said rotary member, and othermeans for throwing said dog into the path. of said member when thespecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

Serial No. 841,761.

pull lever is in its normal position, so that if it is displaced and the rotary member is in substantially-its normal position, the dog will engage with and be held in co-acting relationship with said member to actuate the same upon the further displacement of the pull lever, but if the rotary member has not resumed substantially its normal position after it has been displaced, the dog will be thrown out of the path of said member before it engages the member and further displacement of the pull lever will be ineffective to actuate the'signal train.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 shows my invention in front elevation in combination with the signal train of a fire alarm box, the casing or box being omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 2 is a side view of the mechanism disclosed in Fig.1, Fig. 3 is a similar view of Fig. 1, the parts being shown in the position they assume during the transmission of the signal; and Fig. 4: is a rear elevation showing the signal wheel.

Two spaced plates 1 and 2, respectively, which are secured together by bolts and over which are placed spacing sleeves 3, constitute the supporting structure for the entire mechanism, the plate 1 being provided with lugs having apertures therein by which the same may be secured within a suitable casing such as are now used with alarm boxes of this character. Secured to the rear face of the rear plate 2 are the spring contacts 4., to the terminals of which the wires, which lead to the central station, are adapted to be secured. The bent extension of one of these contacts is adapted to engage a signal wheel 5 mounted on a transverse shaft 6 which is suitably supported in the plates 1 and 2. This signal wheel is provided with the desired number of spaced teeth so that upon a complete rotation of the same the circuit controlled by the spring. contacts will be opened and closed at determined intervals to transmit the desiredcode signal and in the form of signal wheel shown the specific are rangement of the teeth is such that the signal 26 will be transmitted. The signal wheel is driven through a spring actuated signal train comprising a pinion 7 mounted on a shaft 6 which meshes with a larger gear wheel 8 loosely mounted on a shaft 9. A spring 10 anchored at one end to one of the spacing sleeves is secured at its outer end to the shaft 9. Rigidly secured to the shaft 9 is a ratchet wheel 11 which is engaged by a spring pressed pawl 12 carried by the gear wheel 8 This pawl and ratchetconneotion permits independent rotation of the shaft 9 to wind up the spring, which is accomplished in a manner hereinafter referred to, but during the unwinding of the spring forcesthe gear wheel 8 to rotate with the shaft 9 to actuate the signal wheel through the pinion 7 as has been described. The

speed of the rotation of the signal wheel is controlled by any of the usual forms of escapements and in the construction shown consists of a gear wheel '13 mountedon the shaft 9 which meshes with apinion 14 carried on a shaft which has rigidly secured to U it the escape wheel 15 with which a pallet 16 engages. The period of vibration of'the pal let is controlled by the eccentrically mounted disk17, as is common. j

Secured to the front plate 1 is a stud 18 upon which is loosely mounted a sleeve 19 having extending from its inner end a radially disposed flat arm 20. The outer end of the sleeve is reduced in diameter and the socket of a pull lever 22 fits there'over and is fastened to it by a pin 23, which pull lever is provided at its upper end with a curved portion or hook 24 which is adapted to be engaged by the finger of the person desiring to actuate the device. Loosely mounted on the sleeve and lying fiat against the upright arm 20, is a segment gear 24, thetoothed portion of which is adapted to engage with a pinion 25 mounted on the shaft 9 to wind up the spring, 10. Secured to the pinion 25 is a disk 26 having a lug 27 which in the normal position of the mechanism is adapted to abut against a pin or stop 28'carried by the front plate 1 and hold the spring 10 under the desired degree of tension in the normal position of the transmittingmecha- IllSl'IL' The disk 26 is of somewhat-larger diameter than the pinion 25 and its outer annular surface servesas a guide to maintain the segment gear wheel 24 pressed against the arm 20, and thus hold the sleeve 19 and the pull lever 22 correctly positioned upon the stud shaft 18. H Surrounding the sleeve 1.9 is a coiled spring 29, one end of which is anchored to the sleeve and the otherend of which fits into a groove in a pin 30,

' projecting. from the front plate 1, which spring normally urges the pull lever 22 and arm 20 to their normal position in which the arm rests against the pin 30, as will be clear from Fig. 1.

The arm 20 carries at its upper end a pin 31 upon which a pawl or dog 32 is pivotally mounted. The opening or hole 33 through which the pin 31 passes is slightly elongated as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, which permits a slight bodily up and down movement of the pawl for a purpose which will be hereinafter referred to. Surrounding the" pin is a coiled spring 34 one end of which fitsinto a slot in the end of the, pinfwhile the other end is hooked around the tail of the pawl, which spring continually urges the pawl to a position in which its tailjportion abuts a lug or stop 35 projecting from the arm 20, as is shown in Fig. 30f the'drawing. The tail of the pawl, however, is provided with a cam surface 32 which is adapted to engage with a stop o-rpin-36 mounted on the plate 1 which, when the pull lever-22 and arm 20.are in their normal positions, will lift the tailportion of the pawl out of engagement with the stop and throw the point of the pawl into the path of a shoulder 37 formed on the segment gear 24. The pin 36 and cam surface 32 are so arranged that thepawl is only maintained with the point of the pawlin thepath of the shoulder 37 while these parts are in contact, which 00- curs only while the pull lever 22 is in its normal position and duringa slight'initial movementof the same in a direction to actuate the device. The shoulder 37 is so arranged on the segment gear 24'that when the segment wheel is in its normal position this shoulder will .be adjacent the point 'ofthe pawl, the purpose of which will be clear from the operation.

The operation; of the mechanism is in part obviousfrom thedescription, but will be briefly described. Assuming that the parts are in their normal position as shown in 1Fig. 1, and it is desired to send in a signa in .a counterclockwise direction, and the point .of the pawl, since the shoulder is closely adjacent thereto, will engage with the same before the cam surface 32 on the The pull lever or crank 22 is rotated 5 tail of the pawl moves out of engagement with the pin or stop 36. Upon further rotation of the pull lever the pawl will carry the segment gear 24 along with it to wind up the spring 10, since the frictional engagement between the point of the pawl wheel 11 are preferablyso spaced'that the winding of the, spring 10 a rotary distance corresponding to the'sp'ace between the two teeth will,tlirough the'gearing previously described, actuate the signal wheel through one revolution, so that should the pull lever 22be pulled do'wnwardly 'suflicient to permit two or three of the teeth to slip under the pawl 12, as is generally the case,'upon rotation of the signal wheel due tothe unwinding of the springs, the signal will be repeated a plurality of times at the central station. The parts are now in the position shown in F ig'. 3 and assuming that the pull lever has been released and has returned to its normal position and a second attempt is made to actuate the mechanism by again pulling on this lever. As soon as the tail of the pawl is free of the stop 36, the coiled tension spring 34 will draw the tail of the pawl down against the stop 35 and since the shoulder 37 is no longer in a position to engage with the point of the pawl before this occurs, the pawl will be thrown to the position shown in Fig. 3 in which the point of the pawl is out of the path of the shoul-.- der 37, so that it can not co-act therewith to further displace the segment gear and interfere with the proper actuation of the signal train which continues to rotate under the energy which it has received by the winding up of the spring 10. As the signal wheel continues to rotate, the segment wheel will, through the pinion 25, be gradually returned to its normal position, but until the contacts 4 have passed over the last notch of the signal wheel, the shoulder 37 is not in a position to engage with the point of the pawl before the tail of the same clears the stop 36 from which it will be clear that in order to actuate the signal mechanism the pull lever must be in its normal position and the segment gear have returned toward its normal position, or to the position it assumes after the signal has been sent, which is preferably the normal position of the same.

Referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that if the pull lever should be held down until after the segment gear has returned to its normal position and then released, the cam surface 32 on the tail of the pawl will engage with its stop 36 before the point of the pawl is clear of the shoulder 37, which parts would therefore constitute a lock and prevent the pull lever from resuming its normal position unless the pawl is permitted to move bodily upwardly a slight distance, for which reason the opening 33 in the slot is preferably made slightly elongated as has been described.

While I have shown the shoulder 37 integral with the segment gear 24:, yet itis obvious that this is not essential since the pawl could co-act withany rotary member which is connected to rotate synchronously with the segment wheel 24:. The stop '36 which engages with the cam surface 32 on the tail of the pawl may also, instead of ing evident that these features of construction are clearly within the purview of, this invention and are intended to come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a signal transmitter, transmitting mechanism comprising a rotary member which is adapted to be displaced in one direction to store up energy to transmit the signal and to gradually resume its normal position during the transmission of the signal, said member having a shoulder thereon, a revolubly mounted lever adapted to be actuated by a pull lever, a pawl pivoted on said first named lever and having a limited bodily movement thereon, resilient means urging said pawl to one limit of its bodily movement and the point of the pawl out of the path of said shoulder, a relatively immovable member with which said pawl is adapted to engage in the normal position of the lever for throwing the point of said pawl into the path of said shoulder, said shoulder being arranged to be initially engaged by said pawl only when in substantially its normal position, and said shoulder passing beneath said pawl upon the return of the rotary member to its normal position and striking said pawl after it has been en gaged by said relatively immovable member, whereby said pawl is momentarily bodily displaced, permitting the rotary member to complete its return movement and thereafter the point of the pawl to be engaged by the shoulder.

2. In a signal transmitter, transmitting mechanlsm comprising a rotary member which is adapted to be displaced in one direction to store up energy to transmit the signal and to gradually resume its normal position during the transmission of the signal, said member comprising a segment gear having a shoulder thereon adjacent one end of the segment, a revolubly mounted lever adapted to be actuated by a pull lever, a pawl pivoted on said first named lever and having a limited bodily movement thereon, resilient means urging said pawl to one limit of its bodily movement and the point of the pawl out of the path of said shoulder, a relatively immovable member against which said pawl is adapted to engage in the normal position of the lever for throwing the point of said pawl into the path of said shoulder, said shoulder being positioned upon said segment gear to be initially enher to complete its return movement and 10,

gaged by-said pawl only when said gear is thereafter the point of the pawl to be ento itsnormal position after the pawl has in its substantially normal position, said gaged by the shoulder. shoulder passing beneath and striking said In witness whereof, vI subscribe my signapawl upon the return of the rotary member ture, inthe presence of two witnesses. i CHRISTIAN MILLER.- been engaged by said relatively immovable Witnesses: V 7. member, whereby said pawl is momentarily 5 MEHHOFF, v bodily displaced, permitting the rotary mem- LOUIS H. SPIER.

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