US842778A - Telephone-exchange system. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED JAN. 29, 1907.

` i B. 0. FOX.

TELEPHONE EXGHANGE SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.11,1905.

W/TNESSESf THE NuRRls 'Ps1-Ens co.. wAsHmaraN. n. c4 l UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

BENJAMIN O. FOX, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MICHAEL S.- SHERIDAN, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

' TELEPHONE-EXCHANGE- SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 29, 1907.

Application filed December 1I, 1905. Serial No. 2921.177.

To @ZZ whom it' may concern;

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN O. Fox, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Telephone-Exchange Systems, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to improvements in private telephone-exchange systems.

The obj ect of my invention is to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive telephone-exchange system by which parties located in the several different compartments of a business establishment are able not only to communicate directly with the stations located at the diderent compartments, but may also control the electric circuits between such stations without rst calling up a central station, whereby the central station heretofore employed for closing vthe electric circuits between the several subordinate stations of a system is dispensed with.

The construction of my system and the devices located at the several stations of a system are explained by reference to the' accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a vertical section drawn on line :c of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 represents a vertical section drawn on line y y of Fig. l. Fig. 3 represents a horizontal section drawn on line a z of Fig. l, and Fig. 4 represents a diagrammatic view comprising two stations of a single system. A

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

Each station of a single system is provided with similar apparatus for receiving and transmitting messages, and each apparatus comprises, among other things, a transmitter 1, receiver 2', both of ordinary construction, supporting-frame 3, receiver-supporting arm 4, arm-supporting pivot 5, and a plurality of push-buttons 6. When a person at any given station-for example, at station A wishes to call up a person at any ofthe other stations in the system-for example, station B-he first moves one of the push-buttons 6 inwardly to the extreme limit of its movement, whereby the conical-shaped flange 7, connected with said push-button, is brought in contact with the circuit-closing arm 7 and said arm 7 is broughtv in contact with the conductor 8, whereby an electric circuit is closed between the station A andv the signal-bell at station B through the following conductors: beginning with the switch-arm f 7", conductor ll, receiver-hook 4, conductor 40 (the receiver-hook being down normally) to the bell 41A, from thence through the conductor 41",- battery 42, conductor 43 to the conductor 8 of station A, thus completing the circuit, when the bell at said station B is caused to ring so long as the i insulated portion 6 of the flange 7 is in contact with said circuit-closing arm 7. When, however, the push-button at station A is released, it is thrown back by the recoil of the spiral spring 8 until the pawl 9', which is pivotally connected with theV supporting-frame, engages the retaining-flange 10. It will be understood that the flange l0 is electrically connected with the receiver 2 at station B through the push-button 6, flange 7, circuitclosing arm 7, and conductor l 1, switch-hook 4, and conductor 46, and the circuit is closed from said receiver' 2 back to the switch-arm 7 through the conductor 41, conductor 13, conductor 47, receiver 2 at station A, conductor 48, switch-hook 4, conductor' 49, push-button 6, flange 7, and from thence' to said arm 7 thereby completing the talkingcircuit. This being done, the parties can carry on a conversation in the ordinary man'- ner. When they party at station A has finished his conversation and has again placed the receiver upon the supporting-arm 4, the pawl 9 will be thereby brought out of engagement with the flange l0, when said pushbutton will be thrown back in its former' position by the further recoil of said spiral spring 8.

It will be understood that the apparatus in each of the several stations is provided with a push-button for each of the stations in the entire system with which it is desirable to communicate and that each of the push-buttons is provided with a separate number orcharacter indicating the particular station with which it is connected, whereby, for example, when a person at station A wishes-to call up station 5 he would push a button at such station which has a number corresponding-` with theV station number 5. So in like manner when a person wishesk to communicate with any other station he will push in a button having a number corresponding with the number of such other station with which TOO he wishes to communicate, each of the several stations in the system being in like manner equipped with a separate push-button for each of the other stations and a separate electric conductor communicating between such push-button and such other station.

It will be further understood that the pawl 9 extends entirely across the supportingframe 3 in close proximity to the several pushbuttons, whereby when any one of said buttons is pushed in it will be caught and held in place by said pawl 9 until said pawl is disengaged therefrom by the weight of the receiver 2, acting through the arm 4. The pawl 9 is retained in'its raised position preparatory to engaging the flange 10 of the several push-buttons by the spiral spring 15. Motion is communicated from the receiversupporting arm 4 to the pawl 9 through the angular bar 16, which bar 16 is pivotally connected to the arm 4 by the screw 17. The lower end of the bar 16 is slidably connected with the frame 3 through the bracket 18, in which it has a vertical movement as the arm 4 is moved upwardly and downwardly. The arm 4 is moved upwardly by the recoil of the spiral spring 19 and downwardly by the weight of the receiver 2. It will now be understood that, assuming that one of said push-buttons has been pressed inwardly and caught by the pawl, it will be thus retained until released, as stated, by the downward movement of said arm 4; that as soon as the receiver 2 is removed from the arm 4 said arm 4 will be drawn upwardly by the recoil of the spiral spring 19, as stated, whereby the bar 16 will be drawn upwardly above the pawl 9, that as soon as said receiver 2 is again suspended from said arm 4 and said arm 4 moved downwardly by the weight of the receiver, as stated, said bar 16 will be brought against the upper lside of said pawl 9, whereby said pawl will be forced downwardly and thrown out of engagement with the retainingflange 10 of the push-button and said pushbutton will be released, when it will be thrown back to its normal position by the recoil of the spiral spring 8. When said arm 16 is being forced downwardly by the weight of the receiver, it will be simultaneously carried toward the left by contact of the angular bend or bearing 2O with said bracket 18, whereby when said pawl has been thrown out of contact with said iiange 10 said bar 16 will be moved to the left and thrown out of engagement with said pawl and will remain out of engagement therewith until it is again raised by the upward movement of said arm 4, when the receiver 2 isremoved therefrom.

It will be understood that the spring 20 has a tendency to throw said bar 16 toward the right and above the pawl 9 as it is being raised and the angular bend 20 ofthe bar 16 has a tendency to throw said bar 16 toward the left and out of contact with said pawl as accomplished by forming a plurality of slits 21 in one end of said circuit-closing arm 7, when the conductor 11 is passed through said slits and between the respective 'lingers 22, formed by said slits 21, when said fingers are clamped around said conductor and retained in place by contact with the bar 25, which is secured against said fingers by the retainingscrews 26. Then the end of the conductor 11 has been thus clamped between the fingers 22, it is carried downwardly between the wall of the inclosing frame 3 and the clamping-bar 27, when said clamping-bar is secured in place against said several conductors 11 by the retaining-screws 29. It will be obvious that by this arrangement any movement which may be communicated to the conductor will be resisted by the clamping-bar 27, and the tendency to disengage such conductors from the circuit-closing arm 7 will be entirely overcome. The pawl 9 is pivotally connected at its respective ends with the respective sides of the frame 3 by a rod operating in the supporting-bearings 29. The arm 4 is pivotally connected with the supportingframe 3 by the bracket 30 and the pivotal bolt or pin 5.

It will of course be understood that all stations in the system are equipped in the same manner and that station B or any other station may call up station A in the same manner as station A may call up station B.

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

1. In a telephone-exchange system of the class described, the combination with each of the push-buttons of the several stations, of a contact-bearing adapted as said push-button is forced inwardly to move a circuit-closing arm in contact with the terminal of a conductor leading to a signal at a distant station, a second contact-bearing adapted as said button is released to be brought in contact with a retaining-p awl, a retaining-p awl adapted to engage the second contact-bearing of all the push-buttons in a single station and hold the same in a circuit-closing position until the receiver at such station is placed upon its supporting-arm, actuating means connected with the supporting-arm of a receiver for throwing said retaining-pawl out of engagevment with the contact-bearings of the several IOO IIO

IIS

push-buttons as said receiver is placed upon 1ts supporting-armand means for releasing said pawl from engagement with the actuating means connected with said receiver-supporting arm as soon as said push-buttons have been released from said pawl, whereby said pawl may be drawn back to its normal position as soon as the contact-bearings of the push-buttons have been disengaged therefrom.

2. In a telephone-exchange system of the class described, the combination with the main supporting-frame 3, of the pawl 9, pivotally connected at its respective ends to said frame, a plurality of push-buttons 6, slidably supported in said frame, each provided with radial flanges or contact-bearings 7 and 10, circuit-closing arms 7 adapted to be thrown to their closed position by contact with said flange 7 as said push-buttons 6 are moved inwardly, pawl 9 adapted as said push-button is released from the hand lof the operator to be brought into engagement with the flange 10 with any one of the push-buttons at such station and retain the same in circuit-closingI position until said pawl 9 is disengaged therefrom, spring 8 adapted by its recoil to throw said push-button back to its normal position when released by said pawl, receiver 2, receiver-supporting arm 4, vertical bar 16, pivotally connected at'one end with said arm 4, actuating-spring 19, adapted, when the receiver is removed from said arm 4, to move the latter to its raised position and bring the bai; 16 above the pawl 9, bracket 18 having bearings for the angular bar 16 and bar-actuating spring 20', said bar 4 being adapted to be raised by the action of said spring 19 when released from the weight of the receiver whereby said bar 16 is brought above the pawl 9 and in position to contact therewith as it descends, said bar 16 being adapted as it is drawn downwardly by the weight of the receiver to throw said pawl out of engagement with said push-buttons, and said bracket 18 being adapted when said pawl has been thrown out of engagement with said pushbuttons to draw said bar 16 out of engagement with said pawl, whereby when said push-buttons have been thrown to their normal position said pawl 9 will be free to move back in its normal position, substantially as set forth.

3. In a telephone-exchange system of the class described, the device herein described for connecting the several conductors 11 with one end of the several circuit-closing arms 7 consisting in the combination with the one end of said circuit-closing arms, of a plurality of retaining-lingers 22 adapted to engage one end of said electric conductors, a clampingbar 27 extending past the several circuitclosing arms 7 and the several electric conductors 11 of a single station and adapted to simultaneously clamp all the conductors of a single station andhold the same independently of the respective connections between. f

said conductors 11 and said circuit-closing arms 7, all substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

g BENJAMIN O. FOX. Witnesses:

O. R. ERWIN, JAS. B. ERWIN.

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