US1210314A

US1210314A - Telephone toll system.

Info

Publication number: US1210314A
Application number: US86947814A
Authority: US
Inventors: Alfred U Hoefer; Henry M Bascom
Original assignee: American Telephone and Telegraph Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1914-10-30
Filing date: 1914-10-30
Publication date: 1916-12-26
Anticipated expiration: 1933-12-26

Description

A. u. HOEFEH & H. M. BASCOM.

TELEPHONE TOLL SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 30, 1914.

Patented Dee. .26, 1916.

ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED U. HOEFER, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW J'ERSEY, AND HENRY M. BASCOM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY,

A. CORPORATION OF NEW 'YORK.

TELEPHONE TOLL SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALFRED U. HOEFER and HENRY M. BAsooM, residing at East Orange and Brooklyn, in the counties of Essex and Kings and States of New Jersey and New York, respectively, have invented certain Improvements in Telephone Toll Systems, of which the following is a specification.

Telephone toll systems in which it is necessary for subscribers to deposit a coin or token before they can communicate with an A-operator, as in the usual prepayment coin boxes, are sometimes found objectionable, in that there may emergencies arise demanding such calls as for the fire department or police, which make it desirable that communication shall be had with the operator regardless of the possession by the callingsubscriber of a coin of the proper denomination. This is met in the present invention, which provides that from substations equipped with toll apparatus instructions may be given to the operator upon the mere removal of the receiver from its hook, but that communication with the wanted substation'is impossible until payment is made or until an act of the operator gives the subscriber free service.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention diagrammatically.

At A and A telephone substations are shown, these having the customary apparatus. There is in addition at substation A a coin box a, in a branch to ground from one side of the circuit and provided with a polarized magnet 10 through which current may be sent in one. direction or the other from the central station to collect or refund a coin introduced by the subscriber. In series with the magnet are contacts 11 adapted to be closed by the deposited coin. The substations are joined to the central station 0 by lines L and L and there terminate in the jacks J andJ and the usual line equipment.

At the central station the A-operators are provided witha suitable number of cord or link circuits for connecting the. jacks of the calling and called lines. Each of these cord circuits, with respect to the'battery B, repeating coil I, answering and calling supervisory relays R and R and their lamps r and r answering and calling plugs P and P operatofls set 0, and her listening, split? ting and coin-collect keys K, K and K in volve no departure from well known pract1ce and need not be particularly described.

The characteristic features of the invention are as follows: In the sleeve conductor l2 of the calling end of the cord circuit is the winding of a relay R in series with the calling supervisory lamp r Relay R at its front contact closes a conductor 13 which includes the winding of a blocking relay R and the normal contact 14 of a release relay R At its back contacts 15 and 16, relay R completes the continuity of the tip and ring sides Z and Z of the cord circuit between the splitting key K and the repeating" coil and between said key and the answering supervisory relay R, respectively. At its front contact 17, relay R transfers the conconductor Z to the winding of a relay R Front contact 18 of relay R joins a toll de' posit signal in the form of a detector lamp r in series with the answering supervisory relay R.- Relay R has two windings, 19 and 20. Through winding 19 the relay may be initially energized by either of two paths over conductor 21 and through the extra or free contact 22 of a coin-return key K and also by way of the front contact of relay R and the sleeve conductor 23 of the answering end of the cord circuit to ground at the cut off relay of the calling line. The winding 20 of relay R is a lockingwinding, its circuit including the answering supervisory lamp r, contact 24 and the sleeve conductor 23. When contact 24 is made, contact 25 of relay R is broken, whereby the winding 20 is substituted for the resistance 26 normally in series with the lam r.

Suppose the subscriber at coin box substation A wishes to converse with the subscriber ,at substation A and that the deposit of a toll is necessary to efiect this. The receiver is removed from its hook at substation A, the line lamp lights and the making of theconnection proceeds in accordance with the usual routine until the calling plug P is inserted in the multiple jack ofthe called subscribers line. Then current flows from battery. through the calling supervisory lamp r conductor 12, wind ing of relay R contacts of the calling plug P and jack J to ground at the cut off relay relay R is energized. There is now a pa.

' Relay R is denergized by for current from battery through the back contact 14 of relay Rf", conductor 13, winding of relay R and front contact of relay R to ground at the armature of said relay. Relay R at once opens both conductors Z, Z of the cord circuit at its contacts 15 and 16, thereby normally preventing communi cation between the connected substations in absence of some special act on the part of either the subscriber or the operator/ By thus severing of the talking circuit, the answering supervisory relay R would be released, causing the supervisory lamp to give a false indication. This is prevented, however, by the connection of the winding of said relay to ground through front contact 18 of relay R and the detector lamp r 1 is illuminated by current in this circuit if no coin has been placed in the box a. If, instead, the toll has been deposited, or is at this time at the request of the operator, a circuit is completed for relay R which may be traced from battery through the winding of said relay, conductor 28, contact 17 of relay R tip conductor Z of the cord corcuit, normal contacts for the splitting, coin-collect and coin-return keys K K and K in series, tip contacts of the plug P and jack J, tip side of the line L, winding of magnet 10 and contacts 11 to ground. Attracting its armature, relay .R furnishes a circuit for the relay R from battery through winding 19, conductor 21, front contact of relay R sleeve conductor 23, sleeve contacts of answering plug P and jackJ to ground at the cut off relay of the calling line. Opening .contact 14 in the circuit of the blocking relay R, relay'R releases said blocking relay. The contacts 15 and 16 are therefore closed, connecting through the talking circuit between the substations A and A so that conversation may proceed. The breaking of contact 18 extinguishes the detector lamp 7, informing the operator of the deposit of the coin and the release of the blocking relay.

contact 17. When relay R released relay R it also looked itself independently of -b relay B through winding 20 and contact 25 to the sleeve conductor 28. Contact 24 closes before the'contact 25 opens and substitutes the winding 20 of relay R for the resistance 26 in the circuit of the answering supervisory lamp 1'. This signal and the calling supervisory lamp 1 are now controlled by the relays R and 11 in the customary'way. Upon the subscribers returning their receivers to the hooks, the lamps r and 1' light, and the operator withdraws the plugs P and P This deprives the relays R and R of current and they release, returning the apparatus of the cord circuit to its original condition.

Instead of the character of call previously assumed, it might have been that the subthe opening of scriber at substation A wished for a connection for which a toll was not necessary. The operation of the systemwould be as before until the operator received the number which indicates a privileged communication. She would thereupon press the combined return and free key K Since no coin wasinserted in the box a, the coin-return contacts of the key would perform no useful function, but the contact 22 would energize relay R over the following circuit: battery, winding 19 of relay R conductor 21 and contact 22 to ground. Relay R would release the blocking relay and lock itself to ground through the sleeve contacts of the answering plug and jack as before. The action of the system is otherwise as already stated, except that there is no ener coin box, for the operator to depress the key K after each rering to maintain contact 1 of the release relay open. With the present arrangement, this burden is removed from the operator, because the answering plug remains in the ack until connection is takendown, and the relay R is therefore continuously energized.

-We claim:

1. A telephone toll system comprising substations and a central station, lines connecting the central and substations, a toll apparatus at a substation, switching means at the central station for joining substation lines, automatic means acting upon the switching means to prevent communication etween substations'after the switching together of their lines and before the operation of the toll apparatus, and means under the control of a central station operator for rendering said communication-preventing means ineffective.

2. A telephone toll system comprising substations and a central station, lines connecting the central and substations, a toll apparatus at a substation, switching means at the central station for joining substation lines, automatic means acting upon the switching means to prevent communication ineifective, and a signal controlled by said commmunication-preventing means.

3. A telephone toll system comprising substations and a central'station, lines connecting the central and substations, a toll apparatus at a substation, switchin means at the central station for oining su station lines,'a relay operable after the connection of the switching means with the calledline and before the operation of the toll apparatus associated with the calling line to prevent communication between the united substations, an operators signal for indicating the condition of the toll apparatus, and a circuit for the signal controlled by said relay.

4. A telephone toll system comprising substations and a central station, lines connecting the central and substations, a toll apparatusat a substation, switching means at the central station for joining substation lines, automatic means acting upon the switching means to prevent. communication between substations after the switching together of their lines and before the operation of the toll apparatus, and means under the control bothof a central station operator and a calling subscriber" for rendering said communication-preventing means ineffective.

5. A telephone toll system comprising substations and a central station, lines connecting the central and substations, a toll apparatus at a substation, a link circuit for joining substation lines, a relay operable after the connection of the link circu1t with the called line and before the operation of thetoll apparatus associated with the calling line to open the link circuit, a second relay controllin the first-named relay, and a circuit including a central station operators key for controlling the second relay.

6. The combination with substation lines and a cord circuit for connecting said lines, said cord circuit being provided with talking contacts and a sleeve contact, of a relay for governing the continuity of the cord circuit through said talking contacts, a circuit for said relay closed fiion joining the cord circuit with the called line, and. a relay for opening said circuit depending for its energization upon the connection of the cord circuit with the calling line through said sleeve contact.

7. The combination with substation lines,

their line and cut-off relays and a cord circuit for connecting said lines, of a relay for governing the continuity of the cord circuit, a circuit for said relay closed u on joining the cord circuit with the called llne,

a relay having contacts in said circuit,

means for'initially operating the'last-named relay, and a c1rcu1t for continuing the ener- I relay of the calling line.

- fourth day ofOctober, 1914.

gization of said relay including the cut-off 8. The combination with. substation lines and a cord circuit for connecting said lines, said cord circuit having talking contacts and sleeve contacts, of a bloclnn'g'relay and an energizing circuit therefor for govern.- ing the continuity of the cord circuit through the talking'contacts, a relay energized through the sleeve contacts of the calling end of the cord circuit for closing the circuit of the blocking relay, a relay for releasing the blocking relay, and a circuit for said release relay including the sleeve contacts of the answering endof the cord circuit.

9. The combination with substation lines and a cord circuit for connecting said lines, of av blocking relay for governing the con; tinuityof the cord circuit, an energizing circuittherefor,.meansfor closingthe circuit'of therblocking relay, a relay for releasing the blocking relay, an initial circuitfor the release relay, a relay controlling said initial circuit and operatedover the calling line, and a locking circuit for the release relay including the sleeve contacts of the answering end of the cord circuit;

10. In a telephone toll system, substation lines and a link circuit for connecting the same, a"coin-controlled apparatus at a substation, automatic means associated with the link circuit for preventing communication thereover between connected substations, and means also associated with the link circuit for both governing the comcontrolled apparatus and operating the communication-preventing means.

1.1. In a telephone toll system, substation lines and a link circuit for connecting the same, a coin-controlled apparatus at a substation, automatic means associated with the link circuit for preventing communication. thereover between connected substations, and an operators key. having contacts governing the coin-controlled apparatus and contacts governing the communicationpreventing 'means.

12. In a telephone toll system, substation lines and a link circuit for connecting the T same, a coin-controlled apparatus at a substation, a relay for opening the linkcircuit,

and a coin-return key provided with contactsgoverning said relay.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, this twenty- ALFRED U. HOEFER. HENRY M. BASCOM. Witnesses:

. SAMUEL RAsMUsnN, lVIAY QUINN.