US1715519A - Annunciator - Google Patents

Description

June 4, 1929.

L. SCRIVEN ANNUNCIATOR Fiied Feb. 21, 1924 I N V EN TOR. LEW/.5 5cm VE/V.

Z? ATTORNEY.

LEWIS soRIvEN, or BROOKLYN, NEW YOR Patented J une 1929.

QANNUNCIATOR.

- Application filed Febr ary 21, 1924.. Serial No. 694,344;

} 3 i ff 51,215,519

This invention relates to annunciators and similar apparatus and more particularly to electrical operating means for such apparatus. v

V Inthe usual commercial types of annunciators, an annunciating, target isso arranged and controlled that it is locked in announcing and in silent position by means of 'I an electrically controlled lock or catch: and

is prevented from moving out of such position until the lock or catch is released.

I When the catch is released, .the target is moved into announcing position by electric means associatedflwith the catch device. This arrangement not only renders the mechanism complex, and correspondingly eX-' pensive, but the mechanism also tends to chatter when used with alternating current, owing to the vibration of the lock or catch device and the other mechanism as the magnetic field changes-with the alternations of current v I These disadvantages and defects are obviated by my present invention, an object 'of which is to. provide" a mechanism which will operate equally well and noiselesslywith;

' f1s so proportioned and mounted that it is either alternating or direct current. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive annunciator operatingmechanism in which the annunciator target is moved to, and retained in, its positions Without the use of a locking means. Further objects 'of the invention are, to provide an electric operating means for annunciators which may be very efficiently operated with-a minimum of current, and to provide a mechanism in which the magnetic flux produced by an energizing current may be brought to act on a tilting or moving armature Without loss or diminution and without causing end thrusts on. the armature bearings.

WVith these and other objects in View, the

invention comprises the mechanism described and'set forth in the following specification and claims. 7 g I l Y The various features of theinvention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: r

ing shown in announcing position'in full llnes and in withdrawn or silent position 1n brokenllnes,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an. annuir, I ciator drop embodying a form of myin-x ventionythe target of the mechanism be- F ig.'2 is a sectional view of the annunciator taken on line 2 -2 of Fig. 3, V r

Fig. 3 isa plan view of the anunciator drop, 5

Fig. 4: is a sectional view of the annunciator taken on line ofFig. 2, and,

Fig. 5 is'a diagram of, a wiring arrangementillustrating an installation of .the annunciator. g l y In my present nvention,the core of an electromagnet for actuatingan annunciator drop or target is mounted in an iron frame which serves to conductthe entire magnetic flux of the electromagnet from one end, of the coreof the magnet to wlithin a short distance. of the other end, forming in the short spacefbetween the frame and the end of'the core, an air gap and magnetic'field through whichsubstantially the entire mag netic flux of the electromagnet passes. A

tilting armature,carrying an annunciator target, isso pivotedon the frame that it' is attracted and drawn into, the air gap by the attraction of the magneticfield and is thereby tilted to bring the target into 1 view or into announcing position; Thearmature overbalance'd on itspivot and when itscenter of gravity passes over the 'centerline chanical device or an electromagnet similar to the actuating magent but actingon the 0pposite end of the armature. When reset,

the. armature, remains in position until positively actuated by theelectromagnet; Besides acting as a flux conductor, and support for the ele'ctromagnet cores and armature,

the frame may also'support astop for the armature, a card holder and; other devices: Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, an actuating elec tromagnet 10 is provided with. a core-7, 12,

I which is mounted at one end on, and n direct .or close contact with, the rear endlt of a supporting frame "16, of magnetic material such as iron. The frame 16 extends, at

18, at one side ofthe'electromagnet 10, to a front wall or member 20extending in front f of, and spaced slightlyfrom, the front end of the-core .12 to form a shortair gap therewith' The frame thus serves-to conduct the magnetic flux fromji the rear end diminishedintensity across the air. gap,'

of the core 12 to within a short distance of its front end, from which it passeswith uncreating therein a magnetic field of the maximum strength from a given amount of electric energy.

\Vhen the electromagnet is energized.

and a magnetic field formed in the air gap 22, it tends to draw downwardly into this field an arm 24 of an armature 26mounted on a rock shaft or pintle 28 extending between the front and rear ends 14 and the frame 16. Tofacilitate the action of the magnetic field, the end of the armature arm 24; is provided with a depending tail 30 which extends into, or to the edge of, the

magnetic field of the air gap 22 and increases in width up to the main portion of the arm 24,- which 'is widened, as at 32, to correspond with the area of the air gap.

QVVhen the armature has reached its-proper position in the air gap 22, further movement is prevented by stop 3 f, mounted on the front end of the frame below-the armature, onwhich the lower edge of the armature and the inner edge of the tail rest when the armature reaches its" proper announcing position.

To'reduce the resistance in the magnetic circuit toa minimui n, the width of the air g gap 22' is made just sufficient to'permitthe insertion with sufficient clearance, of the armature arm 24 and tail 30. As all of the 'magnet-ic flux of the electromagnet is conducted through the frame without diminution or divlsion, the magnetic attraction be tween the front face of the armature and the frontend of the frame is equal to that between the rear face of the armature and the front end of the core. These forces,

therefore, which act longitudinally or axially on the armature, are balanced and all rend thrusts on the armature bearmgs are I rendersthe action of the 'elect-romagnet's' eliminated. Through this arrangement the frictional resistance to the tilting of the armature is greatly lessened, which,together with the strengthening of the tilting force very efficient. 1 1

, An upright arm or standard 36 1s mounted centrally, and preferably integrally, on

i the armature '26 and carries at its upper end r to thepivotal-support on the shaft28 and, accordingly, as the arm 36 moves to one side or theother of the vertical line 44l atarget 88 so positioned as'to come into View as the armature is tilted into the an-- nouncingposition as indicated in Fig. 2.

'lThe upright 36 is preferably offset forwardly,to bring the target more prominently into view. The armature 26, upright 36, and

target 38 are so proportioned that they are ina state of unstable equilibrium relative through the axis of the pivot, the target tends to fall further from the center line nets by means of-lead' wires 70. contact jacks 172, and lead wires 74 are pro 76 for The armature and target may be reset by any suitable mechanical means or by a second electromagnetism positioned on the.

opposite side of the shaft 28in a manner similar to that of the electromagnet v 1(),"the

frame, in this case, havingaj'suitable side extension 42 and rear face -14, the electro' magnet and core'being so proportionedas to form a suitable air gap e6 into which the opposite arm 48 of the armature 26 may tilt when the e'lectromagnet 40 is energized.

The arm 48 is-provided with a tail 50 and 1 an enlarged portion52 similar to the tail- 30 and enlarged portion ,32 of'thearm 24',

and is otherwise symmetrical with the arm 24 so that, as the target 38 swings pastthe center line 44,-

will "continue tov move until, the lower edge of the arm 48 reaches the stop 3% The frame 16 is mounted at its rear-end on asuporting plate 54 'by'mea'ns of'screws .56, whlch also serve to secure the cores of the electromagnets 1Oand 40 inthefra'me. The rock shaft 28 is supported in a bearing opening 58 inthe frontwall 2O oft-he frame, in which astepped neckportioh 60 of vthe shaft projects, and an aligned opening 62 "in the plate"5.4:,.a brass plate 64 being in :serted between the coned end of the shaft and the opening 62 and udented into the,

opening 62Ito form a suitable bearing.

Current 1s conducted to and-from the electromagnet 10 through suitable contact' jacks 66 mounted on a depending portion, of insulating-material, of the rear washer 68' of the electromagnet, and connected to themag Similar videdon a depending. collar member the reset electromagnet40.

A card holder'TS may be :mounted on the front end ofxthe frame lG'by means of a bracket 80 to hold a carddndicating the number of the annunciator drop or other suitable deslgn-atlon.

An example of the manner in which the annunciator may-be used i'si-ndicated in Fig. 5. In this case the electromagnets 10 of annunciator drops 82, 83, and 845 are connected through respective lead wires 86, 87, and88 and respective switches or push buttons, not shown, and a main -89, to one"ter-. minal of a-source of electric energy 90;, The.

currentisupplied to the electromagnets -10'is returned to a common mainor'bus bar .91

and-from'this wire through a lead Wire. 92,

buzzer.93,and lead wire 94, to a mainlor bus bar 95 connected to the oppositeterminal of the source of electric energy 90 by means of a conductor 96. To ensure a stead'ycurrent for the electrogmagnets a shunt 97 of suitable resistance is placed about the buz- Zei 93 between thewires 92 and 94.

One end of the reset electromagnets 4:0 is connected to the bus bar 95 and the other. terminal to the opposite terminal or pole of the source of'electric energy 90 through lead wires 98 to amain or bus bar 99 and thence through a conductor 100 and reset key or switch 101. i

As the frame 16 is made of soft iron, it changes or reverses its-magnetism very rapidly with alternations in'current in the electromagnets and there is a substantially steady field in the air gap 22. The armature 241 is drawn into this magnetic field with equal force regardless of the polarity of the field and therefore independently of the type of current used in the electromagnet coils. As the entire flux of the electromagnets is concentrated in this air gap 22, a very effective and efficient utilization of the current is obtained and a very small current may be successfully employed.

As there are no moving parts other than 1 I the armature and parts moving with it,

there is no noise or'buzzing sounds when the target is reset electrically, nor. is there any movement of the mechanism when current 'is sent. throughthe electromagnet 10 when the drop is in announcing position.

As changes of construction could be made within the scope of my 1nvent1on,-1t 1s desired that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: V i, .1. A device of the type described which comprises, a frame ofmagnetic material, an

electromagnet and core mounted on said frame, said frame forming an undivlded magnetic circuit for the flux of said electro- I magnetic circuit magnet and forming an air gap with one end of said core through which substantially the entire flux of said elcctromagnet flows, a pivoted armature havlng a portion adapt-' ed to swing into and out of said gap and a target mounted on said armature.

2. A device of the type described which comprises, a frame of magnetic materlal, an electromagnet and core mounted 1n said said frame forming an undivided frame A for the flux of said electromagnet and forming an air gap with one end of said core through which substantlally the entire flux of said electromagnet flows, a" pivoted armature having tail pieces targetmounted on said armature 3. A device of the type described which adapted to extend into said air gap and a comprises, a frameof magnetic-material, an 7 I electromagnet 1 and core mounted in said frame, said frame forming a magnetic cir'- cuit for the undivided. flux of said electromagnet from one end of saidco r'e'to within a short space of the-oppositeend of said core andforming an air gap therewith, a

pivoted armature-adapted totilt into said" air gap,'an'd a target mounted on said armae pivotal support frame, said fr'ame forming a magnetic cir- Y cuit for the undivided flux of said electromagnet from one end of said core to within a short space of the opposite end of said core and forming an airgap therewith, a pivoted armature adapted to tilt into said air gap, a targetmounted on said armature,

the center of gravityof said armature and target being above the pivotal support of said armature, and means for tilting said armature out of said air gap.

5. A device of the type described which comprises, an electromagnet 'having' a core,

a magnetic circuit from oneen'd of said core to a plate spaced from the opposite end of the core to form an'air gap ln'themagnetic circuit therebetween through which the un-.

divided flux'of said core passes, an armature pivoted to. swing into said gap, a target on said armature, and means for tilting. said; armature out of said gap.

e. A device of the type sea ed which;

comprises an electro-magnet, a corefor said electro-magnet, a frame to which one end of 1 said core is-"secured,'jsaid frame extending about said electro-magnet to. overlap the opposite end of said electro-magnet and slightly spaced from said end to form a complete magnetic circuit with said core, and having a short air gapv insaid circuit between theend, of said core and said frame, and a tiltable armature having a portion adapted to enter said air gap, and an indicator target on said armature. I

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

Lewissoarvnn; 4

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