US635493A - System of calls and signals. - Google Patents

Description

No. 635,493. Patented Oct. 24, 1899. R. J. LOUIS. SYSTEM OF CALLS AND SIGNALS.

. W? I |||||||||||||l|1 Patenteu od. 24, |899.

BMI. LOUIS. SYSTEM OF OALLS AND SIGNALS.

(Application med Apr. 22, 1898.) (No Model.) 2' shouts-Sheet 2.

PAj'rENT f Erica p ROBERT J. LOUIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SYSTEM OF CALLS AND SIGNALS.

lEIFIATlZhT forming part of Letters Patent No. 635,493, datecl October 24, 1899.

Application filefil April 22, 1898. Serial No. 678,484. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, ROBERT J. LoUIs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, inthe county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful System of Calls and Signals, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a system of calls andsignals.

The nature of the invention is to display a signal on the front of a building or in some likeconspicuous position operated by means of a missile -sent from some distant point through proper conduits to a remote'destination in the said conduits, where the missile, preferably in the shape of a ball or disk, will close an electric circuit or control a like potential force-such as pneumatic, mechanical, or hydraulically-operated contrvance-for displaying the signal to which I have referred.

My invention is especially adapted to the use for calling and signaling to drivers of express-wagons or the like from the many and various rooms in large office and manufacturing buildings.

Heretofore the method used to notify one of the common carriers, such as an express company, that their service Was required in a certain room of one' of the large office or manufacturing buildings has consisted in hanging out a card bearing the name of the company wanted. This card has been usually displayed from the hall below. tenant is never quite sure that the card will be seen or that it willremain where he placed' it. A number of such cards danglingin front of or in the halls of such buildings are nnsightly and otherwise objectionable. My system of calls and signals is designed to overcome all of the objections referred to and to provide a neat, convenient, and very efficient' fully apparent from the subjoined descrip- The the same parts in the several figures, and in which- Figure 1 is a Vertical section of an officebuilding, showing my system of conduits and signals installed. Fig. 2 is a section of a receptacle and branch from the main conduit. Fig. 3 isacross-section of adistributer, taken on line 3 of Fig. 1, looking with the arrow. Fig. t is an elevation of the distributer and receivers, partly in section, showing electric connections. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the conduit-tube A, showing the innerelastic tube O. The latter is also shown in the-lower portion of Fig. 2. Fig. 0 is a cross-section of one of the missiles le, having an outside covering of elastic material 82.

Referring to Fig. 1, A represents a Vertical conduit which may be made of a metal tube and which extends from the top fioor of the building to the first fioor thereof, having openings or receptacles B B' B. At the lower end of the tube A a tube O, preferably of soft rubber, is attached and is arranged in any convenient manner, so that the missile descending from a considerable height may have its momentum partially arrested by the effect of the tortuous path thus provided and by the flexible resistance oifered by the elastic tube.

The receivers D D' D DI D have conduit communication with the tubes A andl C through the distributer d. The two receivers D and D/ are shown enlarged in Fig. ll. The conduit-distributer d over the respective receivers is shown in cross-section in Fig. 3.

The missiles a, b, c, d, and e are shown in Fig. 3, and in this instance they are represented to be balls varying in diameter and adapted to roll on their respective ledges a', b', c', d', and e'. Receiver D is adapted for the smallest ball a, this ledge being removed for some distance ahead of the receiver. The bottom fioor of the distributer is continued on an oblique line into the receiver. When the ledge a' is thus removed,the ball a will drop down onto the fioor thereof and roll into the receiver D". The ball b will not fall into receiver D, because being larger it rolls on ledge b', and therefore it will pass freely over the opening made by removing the ledge a' and will in turn fall into the opening which is made in the distributer by removing ledge b' and it will be deposited in receiver D', and so all of the balls in turn will be distributed in like manner in their respective receivers, the largest ball in the receiver farthest removed from the initial point, the smallest ball in the first receiver, and the intermediate receivers will take the balls in respect to their various diameters.

In Fig. receiver D contains three balls, numbered 1,S-l2,369, and 891. Thesenumbers correspond with the rooms from which they were sent. It will be noticed that the first ball, No. 1,842, has displaced a contact-switch f, which is held in by means of spring g. The switch f carries a flexible contact-tongue h, which has made electrical contact with the insulated contact z' as a result of its displacement by the position of the ball 1,8%2. This contact closes a circuit 7a 7d, which circuit containsbatterymand electromagnetn. The latter, being energized by the current fiowing in the circuit thus formcd, has attracted the armature 0 from its back-stop and support o' against the action of the spring 1). The armature closes contacts q and q', which completes the circuit r and i from the source of supply, such as a dynamo-electric machine 8, through the incandescent lamp 25. lt is evident that the switch f and its respective contacts h and could be included in circuit r and r', and it would then directly control the same instead of controlling it through the instrumentality of the devices contained in circuit k and as shown in connection with receiver D'. Referring to receiver D, u is a removable stop contained in the bottom of the receiver, which maybe removed by unlockin g by means of key '0.

Referring now to Fig. 1, 13' is a receptacle that may be placed in the respective rooms of the building. The receptacles B, B', and B are shown placed in the respective halls of the building.

lVhen the receptacles are placed in the rooms, it sometimes becomes necessary to include a horizontal conduit-as, for instance, when the pipe composing the conduit is placed under the floor. For fear that the missile may not attain sufficient speed in dropping through the Vertical portion of the conduit to propel it through the horizontal portion l have provided a piston w,which is held up by the spring a; and the rod 1/. A quick sharp stroke upon the knob forming the upper terminal of the rod y will drive the pisto'n below the oriice formcd in the conduit for the receptacle B', which will compress the air in the conduit and which will add a considerable impulse to the missile while it is traveling the horizontal portion of the conduit. Should this portion of the conduit, however, be given a slight inclination toward the main conduit A, the missile,which, as before stated, may be a ball or adisk, will roll by gravity into the Vertical conduit and the device just described will not be necessary.

I will now describe the operation of my call and signal system. I will suppose that the system has been installcd, as described, to be used for calling the representatives of the various forwarding express companies to the rooms of the building for parcels or packages that are designed to be shipped by the tenants therein. I will describe the operation of a single-tube system wherein balls are used as missiles.

Each room in the building is provided with as many balls as there are receivers in the system, which may correspond with the number of express companies for which the system is intended. The balls are of various sizes-that is to say, all of the balls for express company D are of a uniform size, but are larger or smaller than those for express company D', which are also of a uniform size, and so on. A complete set of balls, one for each company, is placed in each office. The number of the room in which they are placed is stamped on each of the balls, and all of the balls are painted or stained. For instance, all of the balls for D may be red, those forD' may be green, and those for D maybe blue, and so on. The lamps or other signals on the outside of the building may be eolored to correspond to the color of the balls, and the receivers into which the respective balls are deposited in the lower hall may also correspond in color with the balls which they are to contain and to each of their outside signals. Suppose now a tenant located in room 1,842 wishes to call to his room a representative of express company D. He will drop red ball No. 1,84l2 into the receptacle, which may belocated in his room or in the hall, as shown. The ball will descend with considerable Velocity until it strikes the rubber tube C, Fig. 1, which will act as a cushion, by means of which it will have its line of motion delected several times, which will greatlyimpede the ballls Velocity, and it will then slowly roll over the distribnter until it comes over receiver D, into which it will drop for the reason heretofore explained. lVhen it drops to the bottom of the receiver, it displaces switch-level' f, thus closing circuit 7a 7.1' by means of contacts h and the battery m energizes magnet n, which attracts the armature 0, which in turn closes contacts q and q', and thus lights the red lamp t, which is placed on the outside of the building and which is in circuit i' r', coming from the source of supply 8. There may be four or more such lamps in the same circuit, one on each corner or side of the building, or they may be located in any position where they may be easily observed by the expressmen from the street. Instead of lamps there may be any proper signal operated by the instrumentality of the missile. The respective receivers may each be large enough to contain a number of balls. The first one will always IOO IIO

operate the signal device, as shown. When the expressman is attracted by the lamp or other signal,which he may know by the proper designation, such as its color, is a call for him, he will unlock the receiver D by inserting key o into the removable button u and remove the same, when the balls contained in the receiver, each having the number of the room from whence they come thereon, will drop out, after which spring g will cause the lever f to break the contact between the tongue h and contact i, the magnetic will become denergized, and the armature o Will be forced up by spring p, breaking circuit r r' at contacts q and q', thus extinguishing the lamp t. I-Ie will then go to the rooms corresponding to the numbers on the several various balls, restore them to their respective places, and perform the service for which he Was called. Room No. 1,842 may at the same time, if he desires, call a representative of D' by inserting a blue ball, as shown, or any or all of the companies for which the system has accommodation.

In order that the balls when moving through the conduit may not make a disagreeable noise, I prefer to line the interior of the tube or have it entirely composed of a soft yieldin g material, such as a soft-rubber tube, or to cover the balls with a like material for this purpose when a metal tube is used.

It is evident that a separate conduit for each set of balls may be employed, or that disks may be used instead of balls, and many other Variations may be substituted without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I have shown and described what I consider a preferred form; but I do not wish to be coniined to the eXact construction shown, but

wish to reserve to myself all proper use andl form of construction for which my system is adapted.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A system of calls and signals, consisting of a conduit; a missile adapted to pass through the said conduit; in combination with a signal displayed at a remote point, by a means set 'into operation by the said missile, substantially as shown and described.

2. A system of calls and signals, consisting of a conduit; a missile having an elastic or pliable surface, and adapted to pass through the said conduit; in'combination with a signal displayed at a remote point, by a means set into operation by the saidmissile, substantially as shown and described.

3. A system of calls and signals, consisting of a conduit, having an interior elastic'or pliable surface; a missile adapted to pass through the said cond uit; in combination with a signal displayed at a remote point, by a means set into operation by the said missile, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a system of calls and signals, a vertical conduit provided with one or more receptacles; a missile adapted' to pass through the said conduit; in combination with a curved, fieXible tube composing a part of the said conduit for checkin g the flight of the said missile, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a system of calls and-signals, a conduit provided with one or more receptacles; a missile adapted to pass through the said conduit; a receiver for the said missile; in combination with a signal device located at a point remote from the said receiver, and a means for controlling the said signals by the instrumentality of the said missile, substantially as shown and described.

6. In a system of calls and signals a building; a conduit extending from fioor tofioor therein; a missile adapted to pass through the said conduit; a means for 'checking the fiight of the said missile in combination with a signal displayed at a point remote from the conduit, the said signal being controlled by the instrumentality of the said missile, substantially as shown and described.

7. In a system of calls and signals, a conduit; a missile adapted to pass through the said conduit; a device for introducing compressed air within the said conduit for propelling the missile in combination with a signal, displayed at a remote point from the dest-ination of the said missile; and a means for controlling the operation of the said signal by the instrumentality of the said missile,

vsubstantially as shown and described.

In witness whereof I hereunto Subscribe my name this 12th day of April, 1898.

ROBERT J. LOUIS.

Witnesses:

L. O. WILSON, A. H. Louis.

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