US1234874A - Telephone-index. - Google Patents

Description

, F. W. COLBY TELEPHONE INDEX.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 27. 1916.

1,234,874. Patented July 31, 1917.

Fig". 2

Inventor. Frederick W. Colby WWZW ATW 5.

FREDERICK W. COLBY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TELEPHONE-IN DEX.

Specification of Letters .Patent.

Patented July31, 1917.

Application filed April 27, 1916. Serial N 0. 94,025.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. COLBY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Telephone-Indexes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to an improvement in a telephone index.

The function of this novel organization is to provide a device whereby a'large amount of data such as names with their respective telephonic designations are presented in readily accessible form. While this particular device is here disclosed as adapted to be employed as a call number index for telephones, it is to be understood that its 7 uses may be as widely variant as those men- I vention constitutes an improvement.

The general object of this invention is to provide such a device which is compact, durable, efficient, simple and easily operated.

A more specific object is to provide such a 7 structure having few parts which are simply and inexpensively formed and can easily and rapidly be assembled by unskilled labor.

Other objects of the invention will more fully appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the annexed claims.

There has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings a selected embodiment for the purpose of illustration of this invention. This embodiment is that preferred form which is adapted for use with an ordinary type of telephone instrument, but it-is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact features shown, 'as various changes may be made within its reasonable scope.

In the drawings, 7

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a telephon instrument showing the novel device secured thereto;

F ig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section on the line 66 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a cross-section of the cylindrical handle and stud;

Fig. 8 is a cross-section of the handle at right angles to Fig. 7 and showing strip as secured;

Fig; 9 is a perspective of the transverse strip ends.

- In the disclosure herein the index is shown as attached 'to the desk type of telephone in common use. Its attachment and use does not involve disarrangement or change of the instrument in any manner. The cylindrical casing 1 is demountably fastened to the upright 2 of the instrument by clamping means 3, a preferred form of which is hereshown. This casing 1 is preferably formed of va light sheet metal entailing, from a practical standpoint, the advantages both of great durability and lightness of weight. A rotatable member which is designated .as a spool 4 is operably supported withinthe casing. The spool 4 is similarly preferably formed of a light, sheet metal. The indiciabearing member, preferably a strip '5 of flexible material is secured at one of its transverse ends to the spool 4. The material of which the strip is formed is preferably a fabric in order to provide lightness, strength and durability. The .Spool is rotatably supported within the casing under such suitable tension that the strip is normally retained wound about the rotatable spool, but, projecting through a longitudinal slot in the casing, may be withdrawn against the tension to present the desired indicia to view. The other strip end is-provided with ahandle 6 of such size that it may not .enter within the casing slot.

The fabric strip 5 at eachof its transverse ends, here shown as vertical, is folded and retained as by stitches 7 to form substantially a welt 8. The rotatable member or spool at has a longitudinal slot 9 which extends substantially its length. The transverse end portion of the strip 5 is slipped upwardly into the slot 9 so that the welt 8 is interiorly held Within the spool. The spool has an upper head 10 and a lower head 11. These heads may be similarly stamped out, reducing production costs, and as shown each is formed with an annular flange 12 by which the upper and lower end portions respectively of the spool are tightly embraced. The spool is preferably formed from a substantially oblong piece of sheet metal having slightly enlarged end portions so that, when rolled into tubular form, the enlarged ends will be brought into contact while the major longitudinal edge portions of the metal sheet will thus, in cylindrical form, be spaced apart and form the slot 9. Thus the heads 10 and 11 respectively retain the slot ends closed and the welted fabric after insertion is securely but ,demountably held. The handle 6 comprises preferably a piece of sheet metal formed to constitute a longitudinally slotted cylinder, the outer transverse end of the fabric 5 being similarly welted and slipped within the slot. The fabric is therein held by means of a tapered plug or stud 13 which, when pressed within the end of the handle, functions to wedge the strip welt 8 betweenits tapered face and the inner face of the handle and hence demountably to hold the strip therein. A'pin 14; is preferably transversely inserted in a hole through the lower portion of the stud and is afforded freedom of movement by means of the apertures 15 longitudinally made in the cylindrical handle. This pin has the function of preventing the removal of the stud from the handle with its consequent liability to misplaeement and also of facilitating manipulation of the stud in the insertion and removal of the strip.

The spool is rotatably mounted preferably in upright position, i. 0., substantially parallel to the position normally assumed by the telephone instrument to which it is affixed. lVhile the spool may be so mounted in various ways and by various means, it is preferably held in rotatable suspended position through bearing means in the upper portion of the'casing. The lower end of the spool is provided with a guiding means and such is the function of the annular head 11. The outside diameter of the head 11 slightly less than the inside diameter of the casing 1 so that upon rotation of the spool within the casing 1, frictional contact of the two surfaces is reduced practically to a minimum. The upper head 10 is apertured to receive a post 15 therethrough by which the spool is supported. A novel means of effecting such support is to provide the post with a transverse boring adjacent its lower end and to insert therethrough a pin 16. This upper head 10 is centrally apertured and radiating.

The post 15 is preferably cylindrical and is rotatably mounted and held under adjustable rotative tension within the spring chamber formed by the cap 19 and spring tension means are positioned within this chamber to cooperate with the post and thus to govern normally the spool movement so that the strip may be retained wound thereabout. A coiled spring 20 is preferably employed, one end being held in relatively fixed position while the other end is secured to the rotatable spool post 15.

In this improved form of index, there has been provided novel and improved means for securing the fixed end of the coiled spring in relatively immovable position within the spring chamber, and for stabilizing and holding the post in approximately vertical position during its movements. In the former types the relatively stationary spring end was anchored in openingscut in the casing cap or the spring end was provided with a key-hole slot and hooked to a projection in a stamped outportion of the casing. Herein, such devices are dispensed with and the attendant production operations and labor are obviated and the speed and simplicity of assemblage and detachment are augmented. As disclosed in this elected embodiment, the spring 20 has secured thereto at the outer end, as by a rivet 21, a complementary spring member 22. This complementary member is preferably wider than the spring so that a longitudinal portion may be seated in the anniu lar recess 23 formed in the interior of the cap by turning the circular wall of the "cap upon itself. Thus not only is such annular recess formed but also there is provided a flange by which the cap so fits the casing end that it is held against the torque of the spring in operation and yet may be manually turned to increase or diminish the effeetive spring tension acting upon the post. This complementary spring member is of similar, resilient metal material and the spring end is so secured thereto (wide Fig. 4) that, when the member is seated in the annular recess, the lower longitudinal edge of the coiled spring is substantially on the closed in Fig. 2. The complementary member, when in position, tensionably bears throughout its width against the inner face of the cap and thus is held in constant frictional engagement therewith against any tendency to rotation induced by the torque of the coiled spring. By such novel frictional means is the stationary end of the post spring held.

The post 15, projecting upwardly into the spring chamber formed by this cap 19, has preferably a transverse end slot 24 into which the other or inner spring end is passed. A collar 25, having a rounded edge opening 26, is placed upon the post and not only functions to hold this spring end securely in position but the rounded edges of the opening 26 afford substantially a spiral guiding media to the entrant spring portion, thus minimizing any unusual bending stress which would be present were the turn sharply defined. Novel means are also interposed to retain the post in substantially upright position so that it may not assume an angular position with respect to the aXis of the spool and tend to jam. A simple means of achieving this purpose is the stabilizer which comprises a perferably sheet metal disk 27 having an annular flange 28. The disk is centrally apertured and receives therethrough the upper portion of the post 15. The diameter of this disk is such that it does not contact with the adjacent inner face of the cap but is retained in substantially horizontal position by contact with the plurality of coils of the spring and with the collar 25. The stabilizer disk 27 is retained upon the post as by a cotter pin 29 which is positioned within an aperture therethrough. The height of the disk flange is such that it does not contact with the cover 30 of the cap 19.

The spring-controlled spool is thus rotatably suspended within the casing in such manner that only a modicum of friction is entailed by the moving parts. The head 11 at the lower end of the spool which functions, as stated above, as a lower guiding means, freely turns in the casing. This lower casing end is so protected and reinforced that distortion under working conditions is obviated. These protecting instrumentalities function also to close the outer casing slot 83. Such instrumentalities may be removable or may be permanently affixed to the casing. But, they are preferably positioned with a driving fit, the finish of the casing being thereafter applied so that a substantially foolproof closure is thereby attained. A flanged cap 31 is inserted within the casing end and assumes a position as shown in Fig. 2 such that its base can not contact with the cap 11 of the spool end. This cap 31 is of such dimensions that it functions to preserve the inside gage'of the casing end. As a matter of simplification of production of parts it may be noted that the cap 31 and the stabilizer disk 27 are similar and made by the same operation, the parts to be used as the disk being apertured to receive the post. The cap 32 is fitted to the casing end, its flange upwardly projecting to embrace tightly the casing end portion so that such portion is doubly'protected and retained in the desired shape and gage against factors tending to its distortion under the most severe service conditions.

Facility of operation and of maintenance is assured by the construction provisions minimizing friction between the moving parts. The manufacturing costs have been greatly reduced and the production of the parts and the assembling thereof into the completed unit have both been simplified while efficiency has been increased. More particularly, the construction of the spring chamber, formed by the casing upper cap, has been simplified and the anchorage of the relatively stationary spring end portion has been made more efliciently simple both in production and in rapidity and ease both of assemblage and of demounting for replacement, repair or other contingencies.

It is to be understood that the construction disclosed herein is illustrative but not restrictive and that the same may be modified within the meaning and scope of the claims which follow.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described, a cylindrical easing having a longitudinal slot, a member rotatably secured in said casing, a cap for said casing, a spring, said cap having an annular recess to receive and frictionally to retain one end portion of the spring, means for securing the other springend portion to the rotatable member, and a flexible indicia-bearing means secured to said rotatable member and adapted to be drawn out through the casing slot against the tension ofthe spring and thereby returned when released.

2. In a device of the class described, a cylindrical casing having a longitudinal slot, a member rotatably secured in said casing, a cap for said casing, an annular flange on said cap presenting an interior annular recess, a spring having one end secured to said rotatable member, and the other end portion frictionally retained in the cap recess, and a flexible indicia-bearing means secured to the rotatable member and adapted to be drawn out through the casing slot against the tension of the spring and thereby returned when released.

3. In a device of the class described, a cylindrical casing having a longitudinal slot, a member rotatably secured in said casing, a cap for said casing, said cap havlng an interior annular recess, a spring havmg one end secured to said rotatable member, a complementary spring member semeans secured to the rotatable member and adapted to be drawn out through the casing 19 slot against the tension of the spring and thereby returned when released.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my 7 name to this specification.

FREDERICK W. COLBY.

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

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