US865555A - Automatic electric signal system. - Google Patents

Description

No. 865,555. PATBNTED SEPT. 10, 1907 E. T. ACKERMAN.

AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC SIGNAL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION TILED SEPT. 26, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

I PATENTED SEPT. 10, 1907.

E. TLAOKERMAN.

AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC SIGNAL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26. 1904,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

EEEEE:

EDWIN T. ACKERMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC SIGNAL SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 10, 1907.

Application file .1 September 26,1904. Serial No. 225,917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN T. ACKERMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Electric Signal Systems, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My inven tion relates to automatic electric signal systems and more particularly to the kind employed for ringing bells or operating other forms of signals in schools, factories, department stores and other places where it is desirable to automatically operate signals in different rooms or places at different intervals for a part of the time and all or a plurality of them another part of the time. United States patents on devices for accomplishing these results in a general way have already been granted to me, but the object of my present invention is to greatly increase the range of usefuln css of my said prior inventions by providing means whereby any signal or any number of signals may be operated at any desired time during any hour or every hour in the day, or, if desired, at any or every hour during the night also; and the pro am or intervals at which the various signals are to ring may be readily changed at will to suit the various requirements so that the apparatus does not have to be constructed with especial reference to any particular program.

With the described ends in view the invention consists in certain features of novelty in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts whereby the said objects and certain other objects which will hereinafter appear, are attained, all as fully described with reference tothe accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawingsFigure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of my improved signal system. Fig. 2 is an enlarged face view of a part of the main switchboard. Fig. 3 a section thereof on the line 33 Fig. 2. Fig. i is a perspective view of one of the hour switches, and Fig. 5 is a cross section of one of the relays.

In carrying the invention into effect it is employed in connection with any regularly moving mechanism having differently timed members, such for example as a clock, a dial of which is represented at 1. One of the said regularly moving members maybe the minutes hand of the clock which is shown at 2, the hours hand being shown at 3, but as it is not feasible to use the hours hand directly for closing circuits or making electrical contacts, I preferably employ a third hand or arm 4, which constitutes the other regularly moving member and which moves slower than the minutes hand 2. It is also preferable to employ this special arm 4- inasmuch as it may be made to travel the circuit only once in 24 hours and thereby adapt the apparatus for use. all night as well as all day since this hand or arm 4 may be provided with a brush 5, which successively makes contact with a circular series of twenty-four contacts 6 insulated from each other and corresponding to the twenty-four hours of the (lay and serving in conjunction with said brush, as will be presently explained, to bring into operation different programs corresponding with the twenty-four contacts 6 respectively, at the beginning of each hour so that the minutes hand 2 will operate the signals during its circuit wherever they are cut into circuit by the action of the brush 5. Arranged around the dial 1 in the path of the hand 2 areas many contacts 7, 8, 9, 10 as there are periods during any hour in which it may be desired to ring one or more signals. For the sake of brevity in description and simplicity of illustration these contacts are shown in this exemplification of the invention only at 45, 50, and 58 minutes on the dial and they are connected separately by wires 11, 12, 13 and 14 with metallic strips 15, 16, 17 and 18 respectively mounted on any suitable switchboard 19, there being one of these strips which may be termed minute strips, for each period in the hour that it may be desired to ring a signal and therefore it is seen that the number of times during the hour that a signal or different signals may be sounded or operated is dependent only upon the size of the dial and the space within which the contacts '7, 8, 9, etc. are situated. Should it be desired to ring the signals every minute or some one signal every minute, sixty of these contacts 7, S, 9. 10 and a corresponding number of the minute strips 15 would be employed.

In the back of switchboard 19, see Fig. 3, are situated a plurality of plug sockets 20, 21, 22, 23, one for each hour in the day that it may be desired to ring a signal when the hand reaches contacts 7, 8, 9, 10 respectively, and these plug sockets are secured to flexible tongues 24 projecting downwardly over the face of but without contacting with the minute strips 15, 16, 17, 18. etc, see for example the minute strip 15 represented in Figs. 2 and 3. Formed on the minute strip slightly below the lower end of each of the tongues 24 is a supporting flange 25 and upon each of these flanges on each of the minute strips rests a sliding bar. These sliding bars correspond with the different hours of the day during which it may be desired to ring one or more signals. In practice if an apparatus is constructed so as to be capable of ringing the signals the maximum number of hours, twenty-four of these bars would be employed but for the purposes of illustration I have shown in the drawing only three of them numbered 26, 2'7, 28 respectively. These bars are composed of any suitable insulation, and it will be seen engage beelectrical contact with the minute strips 15, etc., but

all of these bars 26, 27, 28, which may be termed hour bars, are provided with electrical contacts 29 arranged on both sides thereof and flush therewith so that the bars may slide longitudinally to bring their contacts 29 between the tongues 24 and supports 25 and thereby electrically connect one or more of the tongues 24 with the minute strips 15, etc. across which the bars extend. These contacts 29 are preferably so arranged or spaced that all of the contacts on any one of the bars will simultaneously engage or disengage all of the tongues 24 projecting over that bar. The hour bars are given this longitudinal movement for alternately shifting their contacts 29 into and out of engagement with the tongues 24 by any suitable electro responsive mechanism arranged in circuits respectively each comprising one of the contacts 6 and he moving member or minutes hand 2.

By reference to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the upper one of the hour bars 26 has secured to its ends two armatures 30, 31 and these are arranged opposite the cores of two electro magnets 32, 33 respectively. One terminal of the electro magnet 32 is connected by wire 34 to a contact 35 arranged on the clock dial in position to be engaged by the minutes hand 2 when the minutes hand completes its circuit or arrives at the end of the hour, the sixty minutes point, on the dial. The other terminal of magnet 32 is connected by conductor 36 to one of the hour contacts 6 and it will be understood that these contacts 6 are of sufficient length to keep in electrical connection with the brush 5 during the entire time which it may be desired to ring one or more signals during any hour, preferably during the entire time that it takes the minutes hand 2 to make its complete circuit. The magnet 33 has one terminal con nected by wire 37 to a contact 38, which is arranged contiguous to the contact 35 and adapted to be engaged by the minutes hand after the latter leaves the contact 35. The other terminal of magnet 33 is connected by wire 39 to that one of the contacts 6 which is imme diately contiguous to the one to which the wire 36 is secured so that when the brush 5 passes off of one it will engage with the other, the contacts 6 being arranged immediately contiguous to each other so that the intervals of time that elapses while the brush is not in contact with either will be as short as possible. The minutes hand 2 is connected by wire 40 to one pole of bat tery 41, or other electrical source, and the other pole of this battery is connected by wire 42 to the hand or arm 4 which is insulated irom the clock movement or from the hand 2 by any suitable insulation 43 or other means. Thus it will be seen that assuming the hours bar 26 to be in the position shown in Fig. 1, it will be shifted toward the left and all of its contacts 29 carried out of engagement with the tongues 24 as soon as the minutes hand 2 engages the contact 35 when the current will pass along 42, 4, 5, 6, 36, 32, 34, 35, 2, 40 and to the battery 41, thus energizing magnet 32 and pulling the hour bar 26 toward the left as stated, where it will remain until the brush 5 makes its complete circuit and again arrives at the contact 6 immediately preceding the contact to which the wire36 is connected or in other words until it arrives at the position shown in Fig. 1 where it rests upon the contact connected to wire 39. When it reaches this contact, the hand 2 will be in engagement with the contact 38 an d thereby actuate the cut-in magnet 33, shifting the bar 26 back to the position now shown in Fig. 1, by a current passing from 41 to 42, 4, 5, o, 39, 3s, 37, 3s, 2, 40 and thence to battery 41. Hence it is obvious that as long as the hour bar 26 remains in the position shown in Fig. 1, and it will remain in this position until the hand 2 reaches the cut-out contact 35 as before described, the various circuits 11, 12, 13, and 14 will be closed successively as the hand passes over the contacts 7, 8, 9, 10, the current passing successively into the plug sockets 20 behind each of the minute strips, through their respective conductors 11, 12, 13, 14, the minute strips 15, 16, 17, 18, the supports 25, contacts 29 and tongues 24. From the plug sockets 20, which belong to the hour bar 26, the current is conducted for actuating the various signals as will be presently explained, and which signals will be operated as many times during the hour in which the brush 5 is connected with conductor 39, as there are contacts 7, 8, 9, 10 in the path of hand 2. When the brush 5, however, passes from the contacts 6 connected to wire 39, at which time the hand 2 will be in engagement with contact 35, the next one of the hour bars or bar 27 will be thrown from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position now occupied by the bar 26 or shifted to the right until its contacts 29 engage the tongues 24 which overlap bar 27. This will be accomplished by an electro magnet 44, having one terminal connected by wire 45 to the wire 36 and the other terminal connected by wire 46 to the wire 37 so that when the hand 2 reaches contact 38 and the brush 5 is on'contact 6 with which wire 36 is connected, the current will pass from 41 to 42, 4, 5, 6, 36, 44, 46 37, 38, 2- and 40 back to battery 41 thus energizing magnet 44 and attracting armature 47 on hour bar 27. When the hand 2 makes a complete circuit, passing over contacts 7 to 10 and sending a current successively along wires 11, 12, 13, 14 to the plug sockets 21 belonging to the hour bar 27, and finally reaching contact 35 which is the cut-.out contact, the hour bar 27 will be returned to the position now shown in Fig. 1, carrying its contacts 29 away from the tongues 24. This motion is produced by a magnet 48 acting on armature 49 and having one of its terminals connected by wire 50 to the wire 34 and its other terminal by wire 51 to the next succeeding one of the contacts to which the wire 36 is connected. Consequently the brush 5 being on contact connected with wire 51 the current passes from 41 to 42, 4, 5, 6, 51, 48, 50, 34, 35, 2 and 40 back to battery 41. The nxt one 28 of the hour bars is controlled similarly by two electro magnets 52, 53 and armatures 54, 55 on the ends of the bar 28, and so on indefinitely with as many of the bars 28 as there are hours in the day in which it may be desired to ring one or more bells. One terminal of the cut-in magnet 53 is connected by wire 56 to the wire or cut-in circuit 37 and the other terminal of magnet 53 is connected by wire 58 to the wire 51 so that when the hand 2 reaches the cut-in contact 38, the brush 5 being on the contact 6 to which wire 51 is connected, the current passes lrom 41 to 42, 4, 5, 6, 51, 58, 53, 56, 37, 38

hand 2 in making its excursion over the contact 7, 8,

9, 10 will successively send a current to all of the sockets 22 extending longitudinally of the bar 28 and will finally arrive at the cut-out contact 35 whereupon the cut-out magnet 52 will be energized. One terminal of cut-out magnet 52 is connected by wire 59 to cut-out circuit 34 and the other terminal by wire 60 to the next one of the contacts 6 contiguous to that one to which wire 51 is connected. Hence when hand 2 reaches contact 35, brush 5 being on contacts 6 connected to wire 60, the circuit passes from 41 to 42, 4, 5, 6, 60, 52, 59, 34, 35, 2 and 40 back to battery 41.

Having described how the current is conducted successively to the plug sockets 20, 21, 22 behind any one of the bars 26, 27, 28, I will now explain how such current is conducted from these points or from as many of these points as may be desired to mechanism for actuating the bells or signals. For the purpose of illustration I have shown four bells or signals 61, 62, 63, 64 which may be situated at any desired place or places where the signals are to be used, in respective signal circuits 65, 66, 67, 68, it being, of course, obvious that any number of signals may be arranged in each circuit if it should be desired to sound a number simultaneously. Each of these signal circuits is preferably provided with its own battery or source of electrical energy, indicated at 69, 70, 71 and 72, the terminals of each signal circuit are connected respectively with separable contacts on a number of relays 73, 74, 7 5. The fixed contacts of the relay 73 are shown at 76 and they are connected respectively to the circuits to 68, those of the relay 74 are shown at 77 and connected also to the circuits 65 to 68 respectively, and thoseof the relays 75 are shown at 78 as connected respectively with the circuits 65 to 68. The movable contacts of relay 73 are in the form of L shape circuits 79, 80, 81, 82 and relays 74, 75 are provided with similar contacts 83, 84, 85, 86 on relay 74 and 87, 88, 89 and 90 on relay 75 A detail section of one of the relays, all of them being similar in construction, is shown in Fig. 5 and it consists of a magnet 91 having magnetic casing 92 to which is hinged an armature 93 having a non-conducting facing 94 to which the movable contact members 80, 81, etc. are secured and connected respectively to the circuit 65 to 68 so that when the magnet 91 is energized the armature 93 will be pulled inwardly and the movable contacts brought into engagement with the fixed contacts 76, 77, 78. The current for energizing the relays or the magnets 91 thereof is taken from the plug sockets 20, 21, 22, belonging to any or all of the hour bars 26, 27, 28, by a plural series of cords 95, 96 97 belonging to and connected with the magnets 91 of relays 73, 74, 75 respectively, by wires 98, 99, 100. The other terminals of the magnets 91 of relays 73 are connected to the battery 41 by branch wires 10]., 102, 103 respectively and a line wire 104. The cords 95, 96, 97, any desired number of which may be employed for each of the relays, are provided with plugs 105 whereby the cords of any one of the relays maybe connected with any of the plug sockets 20, 21, 22 and inasmuch as the sockets taken in vertical series or crosswise of the hour bars correspond to the horn of the day time or night time and when taken in longitudinal series or lengthwise of the hour bars, correspond to the different periods or minutes in each hour that the signals are to ring, it will be seen that each or any one of the relays may be energized every time the minutes hand 2 passes over the contacts 7, 8, 9, 10, by simply carrying one of the cords 95, 96, 97 to the plug sockets in the longitudinal series belonging to that one of the hour bars which is in electrical engagement with its tongues 24 whereupon all of the relays will be energized and caused to successively close their movable contacts against their fixed contacts and consequently close bell circuits 65 to 68 successively; and it is also seen that if any one of the relays be provided with a suiiicient number of the cords this relay, 2'. c. the ringing of the bells at any hour each time the bell passes contacts 7, 8, 9, 10 would result if one of such cords be carried to each of the sockets 20, 21, 22 belonging to that one of the hour bars which has its contacts 29 shifted into engagement with its tongues 24. But since it is desirable in many cases that while some bell or signal be sounded each time the hand 2 passes one of the contacts 7, 8, 9, 10, it is not desirable and in fact would defeat the purpose of the apparatus for many uses to have them all sounded at the same time. For this reason a rulinber of the relays are employed and their movable contacts are equipped with means whereby any one thereof may be held out of engagement with their companion contacts while. the armature 93 draws inwardly. Hence each of the movable contacts as shown in Figv 5 is provided with an adjusting screw 106 arranged to impinge the back of the insulation 94. Therefore it will be seen that by an intelligent manipulation of these screws 106 the relays may be so adjusted that even though they may be successively energized by a current passing over their respective cords 95, 96, 97 from the wires or circuits 11, 12, 13, 14, all four of the bells may or may not ring each time the hand 2 passes one of the contacts 7, 8, 9, 1.0. For example supposing the bell 61 to be the bell which is employed at quarter of nine and which alone should ring in some particular use of the apparatus and the bell 62 should ring say at contacts 8 and 10 while bells 63 and 64 should ring simultaneously at contacts 8, 9 and 10, the relays would be adjusted in the following way. Contacts 80, 81 and 82 of relay 73 would be thrown out of action by their screws 106, contacts 83, 85 and 86 of relay 74 will be thrown out of action by their screws 106 and contact 87 of relay 75 would be similarly thrown out of action. N ow one cord from each of the relays will be carried to one of the plug sockets 20, 21, 22 in the longitudinal series belonging to that hour bar which is in the right hand position, for example the top bar 26 and according to which example one cord of each relay is connected to one of the sockets 20 in the top row as now shown in Fig. 1. Therefore when the hand 2 reaches contact 7 it will energize the relay 73 and operate all of its movable contacts but only the contact 79 will be affected and only the bell 61 will ring; when the hand 2 reaches contact 8 relay 74 will be energized but only those of the bells which are connected to the effective ones of the movable contacts belonging to this relay will ring and so also with the relay 75. It is also seen that if it should be desired to repeat the ringing of any one of the bells as for example to ring the bell 62 on contacts 8 and 10, the movable contacts belonging to relay 74 would be adjusted as before described and the two contacts 8 and 10 would be connected to that relay through the intermediary of the cords 96, the wires 12, 14 and the minute strips 16 and 18 to each of which latter one of the cords 96 should be carried.

In the particular example shown in the drawings the cords 95 belonging to relay 7 3 are carried to the two end strips 15 and 18 and consequently this relay 73 would be energized when the hand 2 passes contact 7 and again when it passes contact 10 and all of the bells would be simultaneously sounded or as many of them would be sounded as are in the circuit with their respective batteries 69 to 72 through the movable contacts 79, 80, 81, 82 that are not thrown outwardly by the screws 106. In short it will be seen that all or any number of the bells may be sounded every time the hand 2 passes one of the contacts in its path, providing one of the relays be connected with all of the minute strips 15, 16, 17, 18 and the movable contacts of that relay be adjusted to correspond to the number of bells that are to be sounded. Again it is obvious that by carrying some of the cords of one of the relays to some of the plug sockets belonging to each of the hour bars, that is to say for example some of the cords to the sockets 20, some of the cords to the sockets 21, some to 22 and so on down, the bells controlled by that relay from which the cords extend will be sounded every hour that one of the hour bars be in its right hand position with its contacts 29 in engagement with the tongues 24 corresponding thereto. Thus one of the cords 95 might be carried to socket 20 belonging to strip 15, two more of them to sockets 21 belonging to strips 15 and 16 and a fourth one to socket 22 belonging to strip 18 and it relay 7 3 be left in its normal condition all of the bells will ring in the first hour when hand 2 passes contact 7 and in the second hour when it passes contacts 7 and 8 and in the third hour when it passes contact 107 In other words it will be understood that any desired program may be made up by a proper placing of the plugs 105 belonging to the various cords, and the proper adj ustment of the movable contacts of the relays, assuming that the contacts 7, 8, 9, 10 are arranged sufliciently close together throughout the circuit of the dial to provide for the closing of the minute circuits as often as may be required during each hour and the minute strips 15, to 18 be correspondingly increased in number and the hour strips being of a number equal to the number of hours during the day that signals are to be sounded. It only remains then to increase the number of cords 95, 96, 97 of each relay to meet the requirements of any particular use, it being obvious that the cords of each relay might be so increased in number as to have the cords of any one relay leading to it of the entire number of plug sockets 20 to 23 if desired so that it would be possible to ring all or any number of the bells every minute in every hour during the day or even at periods of less than a minute apart if the contacts 7 8, 9, 10 be placed close enough together. It goes without saying therefore that the variations in the program that may be made up with an apparatus constructed according to this invention are practically unlimited and that the apparatus is adapted for universal use and may be constructed without regard to any special program for which any particular apparatus is to be used.

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

1. In an electric signal system the combination of a time piece, a circuit adapted to be closed thereby, a relay included in said circuit and comprising a plurality of circuit closers, a corresponding number of signals electrically connected with said circuit closers respectively, and means whereby one or more of said circuit closers may be rendered inactive independentlyof each other.

2. In an electric signal system the combination of a time piece, a plurality of circuits adapted to he closed thereby, plurality of relays included in said circuits, said circuits comprising means whereby either may be connected with either of said relays, said relays comprising a plurality of circuit closers, a corresponding number of signal circuits connected with said circuit closers respectively of each relay, and means whereby any one or more of said circuit closers may be rendered inactive.

In an electric signal system the combination of a time piece comprising a minute circuit closer and an hour circuit closer and two series of contacts arranged in the lines of movement of said circuit closers respectively, a plurality of series of connected contacts connected with said minute contacts respectively, a corresponding plurality of series of disconnected contacts, longitudinally movable bars having means for electrically connecting said connected and disconnected contacts in each series, electro responsive device for actuating said bars respectively, cut-out and cut-in contacts arranged in the line of movement of one of said circuit closers, circuits connected at one terminal to said hour contacts respectively and including respectively said electro responsive device for operating said bars and also including said cut-in and cut-out contacts, a signal actuating device electrically connected with said minute circuit closer and transposable means for connecting any one of said disconnected contacts with said signal actuating device.

1. In an electric signal system the combination of a.

time piece comprising minute and hour circuit closers and a succession of contacts arranged in the line of movement of each, a plurality of series of connected contacts connected with said minute contacts respectively, a corre sponding plurality of series of disconnected contacts, a plurality of relays each comprising a plurality of circuit closers, a plurality of signal circuits each connected with each of said circuit closers of the relays, means for rendering the circuit closers of said relays inactive at will, independently, transposable means for connecting each of said relays with any of said disconnected contacts, means for connecting all of said relays with said minute circuit closer, and a plurality of means connected with said hour contacts respectively for respectively connecting each of the disconnected contacts in each series with one of the connected contacts in the same series.

5. In an automatic electric signal system the combination with a time piece having two differently timed mem bers, a series of hour contacts, arranged to be engaged by one of said members, a series of minute contacts arranged to be engaged by the other of said members, cut in and cut out contacts arranged to be engaged by one of said members, a series of signals, signal circuits therefor, and a relay for controlling said signal circuits; of a series of hour bars each comprising a plurality of contacts, a series of minute strips each connected with one of said minute contacts and each comprising a plurality of contacts adapted to be engaged by the contacts on said hour bars respectively, a plurality of electro magnetic cut in devices for shifting said hour bars independently and each having one terminal connected with the said out in contact and its other terminal with one of the first said hour contzicts, a series of electro magnetic cut out devices each having one of its terminals connected with said out out contact and the other with oneof the first said hour contacts, an electric source having one pole connected with one of said differently timed members and the other pole with one terminal of said relay and the other member, and transposable connections whereby said relay may be connected With any of the minute contacts on said minute strips.

6. In an electric signal system the combination of a signal, a signal circuit, a relay included in said circuit and comprising a helix, a core therein, a magnetic casing l inclosing' said helix and connected with said core, an armal0 ture hinged to one side of said casing contiguous to said helix and carrying the movable contact 0t the relay, a time piece and means opcratively connected with the time piece and relay for energizing said core.

EDWIN T. ACKERMAN. Witnesses FRANCIS A. Hormxs, A. M. UHER.

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