US1546509A - Indicator - Google Patents

Description

July Z1, 1925. 1,546,509

w. H. PooLE INDICATOR Filed April 10. 1922 jg- `l 1 JJ Z5 28 lil 11 MHIllllln gfx/vanto@ l a convenient Patented July l, 1925.

i 1,546,509 UNITED gs'rivrrs's PATE-Nr OFFICE.

wrLLrAM HENRIrooLE, or PORTLAND, OREGON.

INDICATOR.

Application tiled April 10, 1922.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be itknown that I, WILLIAM H. POOLE, a citizen 'of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented certain vnew and useful Improvements in Indicators, of which the following is a. speci-cation.

`This invention relates to indicators, and the primary objectA of the invention is to provide a novel mea-ns for determiningin and expeditious manner, whether or not guests of a hotel, apartment house or the like, are in their rooms.

In most hotels, the presence of guests in their rooms is generally' indicated by -the absence of ytheir keys from their mail boxes or their designated hooks on a rack or board. Incase of telephone yinquiry for a guest, the exchange operator must either inquire of the clerk or examine the mail box of the guest to see if the key is in place or send up to the guests room. vIn case of verbal inquiry the clerk at the desk must examine the mail or key box or send up to the guests room.

A prime object of the invention is the provision of an indicator board having electrical connection with the mail key boxes of a. hotel Vor the like, each of the mailand key boxes having novel means for closing a circuit through the indicating board, when a key is withdrawn therefrom.

A further object of the invention is the provision of` an'indicator board embodying indicator means for each mailor key box, such as au electric lamp, buzzer or theflike, the'board being sodi'sposed that the samecan be readily seen by the clerk or telephone operatorV of the hotel, each of the mail or key boxes having circuit opening 4and closing means incorporated therewith and connected with its respective indicating means of the indicating board the circuit opening' and closing means being adapted to be actuated uponthe withdrawal or placing of a key from or into its mail or 'key box, the indicator` board rhaving a masterswitch, so that the entire circuit through thc indicator board can be closed or opened when the clerk or telephone operator desires to see if certain guests are in or outof their rooms.r

A further object of the invention is the provision of a means for incorporating each ofthe circuitclosers withyeach of the mail o'rfkey boxes', Aeach of the circuit closers including a metal shelf for thekey having a resilient tongue struck up therefrom, the

Serial No. y551,313.

tongue being normallyadapted to engage a contact terminal interposedin the circuit of the indicating means for the mail andkey box on the indicator board, the spring tongue being adapted to be depressed outof 4engagement with'the contactterminal when the key is placed on the key shelf. f

A still further object of the invention is the provisionof a novel indicator of the above character, which is durable and efcient in use, one that-is simple Aand easy to manufacture, and one which vcan be placed upon the market at a reasonable cost.

IVitli these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will be Vhereinafter more specifically described, claimed and 'illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a'` part of this specifi-I cation, in which drawings:

AFigure l is a fragment-ary section through the mail or key box of a hotel, showing the improved indicator connected therewith, the indicator board and circuit beingshown diagrammatically. v

Figure 2 isla fragmentary front elevation of the letter or key box showing the invention applied thereto.

igure 3 is a det-ail top plan view oone of the key shelves removed from its letter or key box.

Figure 4 is a detail fragmentary r section through one of the mail'or key boxes taken on the line 4f-4 of Figure l.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter generally indicates the mail or key boxes of ya hotel or similar establishment, and B the improved indicator applied thereto.

As shown, the letter or key box A is di-y vided by transverse and vertical partitions 5 andf6 into a plurality of independent mail or key boxes or pigeon holes 7.

Each of the independent mail or key boxes or pigeon holes 7 vare numbered consecutively inv the usual manner, as shown at 8. These numbers conformto the numbers of the lrooms in the hotel. f f

The improved indicating device B vincludes an independent circuit closer C for each of the mail orkey boxes or pigeon holes 7 and an indicator board, upon which are disposed suitable indicating devices D. These indicating devices D have been llO v lampsand these' lamps Y consecutively as at way, of example to. be electric can be'numbered 9, and these numbers conform of course, to the numbers on the mail or key boxes or-pigeon^holes 7:* *The shown,

indicator board is connected by means. ,oil

l'atz'li'egii;l the circuit closingdevices C inrcludesessentially-@ keyf Shelf 15which is preerably. --formd @of .electric conducting material Ysu'chassheet brass-.or the like, and this shelf ils substantially U-shaped in cross section, as .clearly ,shown -in-:Figureifof lthe drawingsgend; includes @body portion r16, the upstanding iiangesfgl, ajnlthe; attachf '@athenes-195@Whhficanehe 'secured tothe partition\ 11, Y by means'4 of Vfastening eleshelves 15 has struck up fromjthesamdfa affresilient@contactl making ,and breaking tongue 21; Qwingftothe resilient inherency of the metal, the resilientJ tongues 21 is norinally adapted to engage a: contact'yboltl22, whcheisealsorutlzed asV afbnding, post aS willV be hereinafter more fully described. The contact; bolt o'r binding post 2 2-is-"se- 'cured in any3preferred'mganner textile-*partie tion plate 11 The body portion 16 of'feach key shelf is alsogprovided withfafseco'lnd binding postV 23. r rThe f electrick f connecting nieans includes apair of .line wires 25and'26f, which can lead4 *tof any suitable source of electrical energyfsuch'. as abattery 27; As clearly shown in the drawings,gthe ,line wire-25l is electricallyconnected `to the indicating-devices VD by; Suitable branch wires 28. The

' otherYcontactsofV the devices have connected thereto wires'i29gfwhichre'xtend to thel'bindingV postsv 22 of their respective boxes or pigeon holes 7. The linefwire 26 has electrically connected thereto Ybranch wires 30 i which lead to the binding posts'23 oi' the Vpigeon holes orA boxes 7 .v While I have shown the wiresBO connected by binding posts'23, to the shelves 15,-it is to be understood that the Asame can .beconnected thereto inlany other way suchasby solderor the like. .f -f l S .be..closed in"engagement with their binding posts 22.

lamp controlled by f Y 1,546,5o

Either one of the line wires 251er 26 may have'fa master switch interposed therein, and as shown the wire 25 is provided with a switch Sland whenthe switch is closed, the circuit throughthe-indicating lamps D may when the resilient tongues 21 are In operation ofthe improved device, when a key, which has been indicated inthe drawings by the reference character Fis'inserted on itskey shelf, the tongue 21, will be depressed asl clearly shown Vin Figure l of the drawings; eldgthus more the z tonguefout ,of engagement with its binding post 22, thus` breaking .theV circuit throughv an indicating thecircuit closing n' and opening `device incorporatedwith the ,linentioned--pigeon hole or mail 'or key box 7 Whena keyfiswithdrawn, however, froinits shelhfthe tongu'e21 will spring upward into engagementwith the ybinding v post-22 `and thus close the circuit through :its indicating lamp, `providing the switch-'31 is closed. Now, whenritisV v guest is in hisroom, theclerk or telephone -operatorclosesthe switchV 31/ andif any of the keys of the guestslarenotin their mail or key boxes, thehindicating lamps yofsthe mentioned -mail or letterboxes will .be illuf minated, thus indicating atV once which guests.'Vv aref in 'theirJ rooms,V and the VAlamps lwhich do 'not light .indicating whichfguests' are out. U v @From the fo of exceptionally i, simple.. and durable f con; Astruction, by means-of which va person can be at once informedf whetherl cert-ain guests desired to see .if a ycertain are` in or .out of their` rooms, Without i-nec'esf sitating telephoning y. to their rooms or examining-themailfor key-boxes,... Changesv in detilsmay be` made, without departingfiromVthefspirit or scope ofthis invention;butIclaimz.;` y l 1.'In a circuit closer, a .support of nonconductinginaterial, a conductor engaging binding post carried'by said support, a shelf forming metal plate positioned'beneath' said support and having its sideV portions prof vided.' with upwardly extending attaching iianges secured to saidsupport, a tongue be-y ing struck from said plate between the ilanges and "ntermediate theV ends/0f the late and bent to extend upwardly' and normally engage. said binding post,V and Vmeans for connecting a conductor with said plate, insertion of an article between the plate and support with ing between to move the tongue out of lengagement with the-binding post. v v I 2. In a structure ofrvthe4v character Vde*- scribed, la supporting strip of insulating ina-V terial having an'o-pening provided therein, a

a. portion of the article extendtheV support and tongue serving in the opening formed in said strip and having its lower end disposed for engagement by said tongue when the tongue is in its normal position, said tongue being adapted to be moved out of engagement with said binding post by an article inserted between the tongue and strip, and a binding post carried by said plate.

WILLIAM HENRI POOLE.

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