US33926A - Improved hotel-annunciator - Google Patents

Description

i J. H. H. BENNETT.

Annunciator.

Patented Dec. 17,1861.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. H. H. BENNETT, OF HUNTS IIOLLOIV, NEW YORK.

IMPROVED HOTEL-ANNUNCIATOR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 33,926, dated December 17, 1861.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J. H. H. BENNETT, of Hunts Hollow, in the county of Livingston and State of New York, have invented anew and Improved HotelAnnunciator; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being-had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a View of the interior of my invention, showing the principal working parts. Fig. 2 is a face view of the part of same which is placed in the rooms of the hotel; Fig. 3, a section of Fig. 1, taken in the line so a; Fig. 4, a View of the part of the invention which is placed at the bar or other place in the hotel most convenient for the inspection "of the clerk or waiters.

This figure is the reverse or opposite side view of Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The object of this invention is to obtain an annunciator for hotels by which the occupant of a room may make known his wants at once or at the same time that the bell is rung for the clerk or waiter, thereby saving the time now expended by the waiter in going to the room of the occupant in order to ascertain what is wanted.

The invention consists in the employment or use of certain mechanism so arranged and connected with a knob that as the latter is pulled or actuated by the occupant of the room a bell will be sounded anda slide moved, the latter indicating the article desired by the occupant.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a box or frame,which contains the principal working parts of the device. This box may be placed in the vicinity of the bar or in any conspicious place in a hotel most accessible to the servants or waiters. Within the box or frame A there is placed a central partition to, to which the mechanism is attached.

B is a rod, which is secured to the back side of the partition a in an inclined position, and on this rod a slide 0 is fitted and allowed to move freely back and forth. To the side of this slide next to the partition a there is at tached by a pivot b, a plate D, said pivot passing through the plate near its lower end. To the lower end of the plate D there is attached a cord 0, which passes around a drum E, said drum having a coil-spring within it which has a tendency to keep the slide 0 and plate D at the lower end of the rod B. To the upper part of the plate D there is secured a pin (1, which projects toward the partition a, as shown clearly in Fig. 3.

To the back side of the partition a there is secured a series of parallel plates (2, which are at equal distances apart and placed in an oblique line corresponding with the rod B, as shown in Fig. 1. Between the plates e there are placed small bars f, each of which is provided with a neck or projection g. These necks or projections pass through slots h, which are made in the partition a, and are connected to slides F at the front or face side of the partition a. The slots h, as will be seen by referring to Fig. 1, are parallel with each other, of equal length, and have the same relative position with each other as the plates 6 and bars f.

0n the front side of the partition a, behind the slides F, the names of the several articles generally required in a bed-room are painted or marked in any suitable way, so as to be plainly seen when the slides are shoved at one side. Instead of the whole name being used an initial letter might answer, or signs and characters may be employed to indicate the several articles. The number of the room may be put on one end of the slides F, and

these numbers, when the slides are closed,

are concealed by an inclined plate G. (See Fig. 4.)

At the back side of the partition athere is a bar H, which has an inclined position corresponding to the rod B, and is connected to the parallel bars 9 g, the upper ends of which are pivoted to the partition a, as shown at h h. The pivot h extends through the partition a, and has a crank z'atits outer end, and aspring j is connected to the bar 9, said spring having a tendency to keep the bar H out from the plates e and rod B.

I is a bell, which is secured to the back side of the partition a, and J is a hammer which, when actuated strikes the bell I. The hammer J is attached to a rod or lever K, which has its fulcrum at k. The rod or lever K has wire an attached to it.

a spring Z connected withit, which spring has a tendency to keep the end of therod orlever in contact with one end of the lowermost plate 6. (See Fig. 1.)

The upper part of the slide C has a cord or This cord or wire 011, extends upward through one side of the box or frame A, leads into the room of the occupant, and is attached to a slide L, which has a knob M connected to it. The slide L is fitted in a guide N at one side of a plate 0, which is marked at certain points with the names of the articles requiredin abed-room, the names corresponding with those marked on the partition a, and placed at such points on the plate 0, that when an index-point n on the slide L is drawn down opposite a certain name on plate 0, the pin d of plate D will be drawn up in line with the barfof the slide F, which covers the corresponding-name on the partition a. lVhen the occupant of a room, therefore desires a certain article, he grasps the knob M, pulling it till the index-point n is opposite the name of the article wanted, and the spring of the drum E draws the pin (Z of plate D back against the barf of the slide F, which covers the name of the article desired,

and the slide will be moved so as to expose said name, and thereby indicate the article desired by the occupant. The pin d, after the movement of the slide, passes down on the opposite side of the plates e to its original position, the spring of the drum E effecting such result. The slide is moved back to its original position by actuating the bar H through the medium of the crank orhandle i. The plates 6 might be placed in the line of a curve or form of a circle with a guide-rod B of corresponding form; but the operation would be substantially the same as that herein described.

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

The arrangement of the plates 6, slide C, having the plate D attached, which is provided with a pin 61 and connected with the drum E or other spring, the slide L of the knob M, the bell I, and the slides F, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

J. H. H. BENNETT.

Witnesses: I

J. YATES BENNETT, ELIJAH DUNN.

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