US1189407A - Indicator. - Google Patents

Description

o. B. TROT'HER. INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 12, I913.

Patented July 4, 1916.

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APPLICATION FILED AUG. 12, I913- 1 1 89,407, v Patented July 4, 1916.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DONA'I B. TROTTIEB, 0F LEBANON, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

INDICATOR.

Application filed August 12, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, DONAT B. TROTTIER, citizen of the United States, residing at Lebanon, in the county of Grafton and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indicators, of which the following is a Specification.

This invention relates to indicators, and has as its object to provide a changeable in dicator sign designed especially for use where it is desired to display any one of a number of signs exteriorly of a building or other inclosed structure, the device being operated from within the building.

It is one aim of the invention to so construct the device that the person operating the same may determine at a glance the character of the sign displayed exteriorly of the building, the necessity of leaving the building in order to note the sign presented to view, being in this manner obviated.

Another aim of the invention is to provide a novel means for holding thedevice fixed, when properly adjusted, to expose the desired sign, this means, coacting-with the drum which is located within the building and which indicates to the operator of the device, the nature of the sign exposed.

to view exteriorly of the building, the use of a separate pawl and ratchet mechanism being in this manner obviated and the device being rendered less expensive to manufacture and not as liable to get out of order.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of the indicator device embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, parts being shown in section and parts being broken away. Fig 3 is' a rear elevation of the indicator drum and a portion of the mechanism for rotating the sign drum. Fig. 4 is a side ele vation of the indicator drum shown in Fig. 3, the shaft upon which the drum is mount ed being shown in section.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the same is designed particularly for use as an indicator for barber shops, the sign drum carrying a number of sign members bearing various legends, such for eX- ample as Out, 1. Waiting, Next, etc.,

Patented July 4, 1916. Serial No. 784,395.

but it will be understood that it may be equally as well employed as a street indicator for cars and in numerous other relations.

The indicator device embodying the present invention includes a sign drum carrying a plurality of sign members, the drum being mounted within a casing having a sight openlng opposite which the sign members are successively brought as the drum is rotated, the drum being rotated through a sprocket chain connection with a shaft carrying an indicator drum having designa tions thereon bearing a certain definite relation to the sign members and indicating which of the sign members is opposite the sight opening in the casing. Where the de-. vice is to be employed or mounted upon the wall of a building or like structure, the caslng lnclosing the sign drum is supported upon a base, which in the drawingsis indi. cated by the numeral 1 and which is secured in any suitable manner upon the outer surface of the building wall. includes a back 2 which at its edge portions projects beyond the walls of the casing, so as to provide an attaching portion through which and into the base 1 are secured screws or other suitable fastening elements 3. The casing includes side walls 4, a bottom 5 and a top 6, the side walls 4 having their forward edges inclined downwardly and forwardly, as clearly shown in Fig. 2,

and the top wall 6 being relatively narrow The casing is provided with a hinged front having sides 7, and a top 8, which at its rear edge'is hinged as at 9. to the top 6, and the casing is provided at its forward side with a. sight opening in which is fitted a pane 10 of glass or other transparent material.

The sign carrying drum which is mounted within the casing includes in its structure two heads 11, one of the heads being sup-. ported for rotation upon a hollow shaft 12 fixed in one side 4 of the casing, other head of the drum being fixed upon a shaft 13 mounted for rotationin the other side 4 of the casing. The sign members of the drum are preferably in the nature of transparent plates 14 supported at their ends at the peripheries of the heads 11 and extending between and connecting the said heads, there being a number of these sign plates, and the plates being adapted to be successively brought to position opposite the The casingand the sight opening 10, as the drum is rotated. Each of these plates bears a certain legend, as previously stated, and the legends will,'of course, vary, depending upon the use to which the device is to be put. In order that the plates may be illuminated when brought to position opposite the sight opening, a conductor wire 15 is led through the hollow shaft 12 and supplies current to a lamp 16 mounted at the inner end of this shaft.

For the purpose of rotating the drum, a sprocket wheel 17 is fixed upon the shaft 13 outwardly of the casing and trained over the sprocket 17 is a sprocket chain 18, the stretches of which are led through short tubes or pipes 20 which are fitted in openings in the building wall in which the device is mounted, the wall being indicated in the drawings by the reference character W. The chain 18 is also trained over a sprocket wheel 21 fixed upon one end of a shaft 22 which is mounted upon the horizontal portion of abearing bracket 23, the vertical portion of which is secured to the side of the building wall XV. Fixed upon the opposite end of the shaft 22 is a hand wheel 2a which may be rotated for the purpose of rotating the said shaft and imparting like movement to the sprocket 21, whereby to rotate the sign drum. Fixed upon the intermediate portion of the shaft 22 is an indicator drum 25 having a plurality of faces 26 which correspond in number to the sign members 14 and which faces are provided with legends 27 corresponding in character or having certain definite relation to the sign plates. The legends upon the faces of the indicator drum 25 are arranged in order corresponding to the arrangement of the sign plates upon the sign drum and, consequently, when the shaft 22 is rotated so as to rotate the sign drum and bring any desired one of the sign plates in position opposite the sight opening in the casing for the drum, the indicator drum will be correspondingly rotated and the rearwardly presented one of its faces or sides will present to the view of the operator a legend corresponding to that upon the exposed sign plate.

In order that the device may be held with its parts stationary after the desired sign plate has been brought to position opposite the sight opening, a leaf-spring detent member 28 is secured upon the horizontal portion of the bearing bracket 23 at the rear of the drum 25 and normally exerts a downward pres sure on-said drum. The detent at its point of engagement with the drum is angularly bent or offset as at 29 so as to engage with the corners of the drum extending between adjacent faces or sides thereof, and it will be understood that the yieldable engagement of the detent with the indicator drum holds this drum against rotation as each corner thereof seats in the bend or offset 29, and the parts of the device are in this manner held in adjusted position.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is:

A device of the class described comprising a supporting member, a display casing including a fixed section and a movable section, the fixed section being provided with a laterally extending circumferential attaching flange bearing against the adjacent face of the supporting member, said fixed section having its top wall shorter than its bottom wall and having its forward edges inclined downwardly, the movable section being pivotally connected to the free edge of the short top wall of the fixed section and having its rear edges inclined downwardly and overlapping the inclined forward edges of said fixed section, there being a sight opening formed in the movable section at a point opposite the supporting member, a sign-carrying drum mounted for rotation within the display casing, a sprocket wheel arranged on the outside of the casing at one end thereof and operatively connected with the sign-carrying drum, an illuminating device arranged within the sign-carrying drum, an indicating drum, and a connection between the sprocket wheel of the sign-carrying drum and the indicating drum.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DONAT B. TROTTIER. [n s. lVitnesses:

CLARENCE E. HIBBARD, NAP. CLEMENT.

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

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