Abstract:
The invention relates to known signal appliances comprising chime tubes which are fixed in a circle and chime by means of a centrally mounted, motor-driven striking element. The aim of the invention is to use a novel arrangement that omits striking elements, whereby space is saved, and uses chime tubes of essentially different diameters for producing very big differences in tone levels, whereby said chimes have constant lengths. Five chimes are suspended from a carrier plate. The carrier plate is swivelled around a predetermined area by means of the drive motor and a pinion that engages with the gear ring. The carrier plate is mounted on an axle which is fixedly arranged in a stationary holding device that is fixed to a vertical wall by means of screws. The inventive arrangement is especially useful as door bell or a glockenspiel.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Applicant claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of German Application No. 199 55 343.2, filed on Nov. 17, 1999. Applicant also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 of PCT/DE00/03969, filed on Nov. 14, 2000. The international application under PCT article 21(2) was not published in English. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     The invention pertains to a device for producing signal tones of different tone levels by means of chimes that are suspended from a shared carrier plate in an oscillating manner and chime when striking opposing surfaces. 
     In known devices with chime tubes that are suspended in a freely oscillating manner, signal tones are produced when centrally arranged striking elements of wood or the like impact on the chime tubes. Devices of this type have a decorative purpose or signal windy conditions if they are suspended outdoors. In other known variations, signaling by means of an external mechanical actuation is possible due to an extension of the striking elements. 
     One disadvantage of these arrangements can be seen in the fact that the circular arrangement of the chime tubes is limited to a minimum diameter because a centrally arranged striking element is required. In addition, the differences between the various chime tube diameters is very limited because the striking distance between the chime tubes and the striking element is also limited in order to achieve a minimum sound intensity. This means that significant differences in tone levels can only be realized by utilizing chimes of different lengths. However, the length of the chimes is also limited due to decorative or spatial circumstances such that the differences in tone levels lie in a very limited range. Consequently, these variations cannot be actuated by an electric pulse (e.g., the actuation of a bell button). 
     One proposal for eliminating this deficiency was disclosed in DE-PS 197 31 582. In this publication, the striking element is replaced with a centrally arranged motor that drives  3  clapper lines which strike the chimes with their ends beginning at a certain rotational speed. In embodiments for slower rotational speeds and for a larger-size variations, springable clappers are provided as striking elements. The disadvantage of these arrangements can be seen in the fact that the partially elastic impact of the clapper lines results in a brief imbalance that is also transferred onto the punctiform suspension via the motor axle. This means that the entire arrangement, i.e., the suspension, the chimes and the striking assembly, begins to oscillate. This is particularly problematic if the electric pulse (e.g., the actuation of the bell button) is preserved over an extended period of time because the clapper lines are wound around the chime tubes and vice versa and the arrangement ultimately fails. This oscillation of the entire arrangement is also increased by the initial rotational pulse of the motor which is not compensated by the punctiform suspension. In addition, the brief imbalance of the clapper lines which occurs after each impact of the clapper lines on the chime tubes causes problems in the shaft-rotor connection, in particular, with respect to the durability of this connection. 
     The solution proposed in DE-PS 197 31 582 also does not allow the use of chimes with significantly different diameters for producing substantial differences in tone levels of the chords, namely because the striking distance between the chimes arranged around the centrally situated motor and the clapper lines or springable clappers needs to be constant. In this proposed solution, the differences in tone levels of the chime tubes also can, as described above, only be realized by varying the length of the chime tubes. 
     The present invention is based on the objective of developing a device for producing signal tones of different tone levels which acoustically signals an electric pulse (e.g., the actuation of a bell button) with one or more chords. 
     This objective is attained with the characteristics disclosed in claim  1 . 
     The advantages attained with the invention can, in particular, be seen in the fact that no striking element is required. This means that the structural size can be significantly reduced. Since it is possible to actuate the arrangement by means of an electric pulse, it is no longer confined to certain locations but can be arranged at arbitrary locations as long as sufficient space is available. When using chime tubes as the chimes, the chime tube diameters may differ significantly because the chime tubes no longer need to be arranged in a circle. It is merely required to arrange the chime tubes such that they chime when they strike opposing surfaces during the oscillating movement of the carrier plate or after the oscillating movement of the carrier plate is completed. This means that the attainable differences in tone levels lie in an unlimited range. In order to ensure the function of the arrangement, at least two chimes need to be provided, with five chimes being particularly preferred. In addition, the reproducibility of the chime tube impact is, according to the invention, no longer impaired in the form of an oscillation of the entire arrangement caused by the rotational pulse of the starting motor or the striking of the chime tubes with the aid of clapper lines or springable clappers. One advantageous embodiment of the invention is disclosed in claim  2 . The additional development according to claim  2  makes it possible to utilize a gearless motor such that the price for commercial applications is significantly reduced. However, the utilization of a gear motor according to claim  7  makes it possible to simplify the mounting of the electric chimes and to minimize the structural size of the drive. Another advantage of the arrangement according to the invention can be achieved if an external mechanical actuation of the arrangement by means of a wind force, the arrangement of the chimes above a door or a manual actuation can still be realized claim  15  provides the additional advantage that the energy supplied to the chimes in the form of motive energy can be precisely defined due to the limitation of the electric pulse and the pause between two electric pulses. This means that the attainable sound intensity of the signaling arrangement can be adjusted, and that an uncontrolled oscillation of the chime tube arrangement is prevented. 
    
    
     Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the figures. The figures show: 
     FIG. 1, a front view of one embodiment of the invention with five chimes of different lengths; 
     FIG. 2, a complete section through the front view shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3, a detailed sectional representation of the drive assembly shown in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4, a side view of the front view shown in FIG. 1 from the left side; 
     FIG. 5, a completely sectioned front view of another embodiment with eight chime tubes that have the same lengths but different diameters, and with a square carrier plate; 
     FIG. 6, a completely sectioned detail of the drive assembly shown in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7, a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 8, a completely sectioned front view of another embodiment with five chimes that can be turned together with the carrier plate, and with five annular chimes of larger diameter which are stationarily arranged at a distance from said rotatable chimes; 
     FIG. 9, a top view of the front view shown in FIG. 8, and 
     FIG. 10, a schematic representation of the design of the control circuit. 
     FIG. 11, FIG.  12  and FIG. 13 show the technical design of another embodiment that is illustrated in the form of a standard projection according to DIN 6 T 1  and T 2 . The assembled state of this embodiment is elucidated in FIG. 14, FIG.  15  and FIG.  16 . FIG. 17, FIG.  18  and FIG. 19 show the arrangement of the chime tubes. 
    
    
     Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the enclosed figures. 
     FIG. 1 shows a front view of an embodiment with five chimes. This arrangement consists of a wall holding device  3  that is provided with a cover  4  and contains the drive assembly, a carrier plate  1  and the chime tubes. 
     FIG.  2  and FIG. 3 show constructive details of this embodiment. 
     In FIG. 2, the reference symbol  1  identifies the carrier plate, on which the five chimes  2  are suspended by means of mounting screws  7  with the aid of nylon strings  8 . The carrier plate  1  is held on an axle  6  that is rigidly arranged in a stationary holding device  3 . This holding device  3  is mounted on a vertical wall  5  by means of screws. FIG. 3, in particular, shows that the carrier plate  1  oscillates over a predetermined range by means of an attached gear ring  9  that is engaged with a pinion  10  which is driven by the shaft  11  of a drive motor  12 . The carrier plate  1  is held on the annular disk  15 . When the carrier plate  1  is abruptly decelerated, the outwardly moved chimes converge again and impact on one another in the center such that a series of harmonic tones is produced. The force of the impact can be adjusted by the oscillating range which, in turn, is defined by the on-time of the drive motor  12  that is controlled by the control circuit  14  with the aid of the contact elements  13 . 
     FIG. 4 shows a side view of this embodiment from the left side. This figure shows the design of the cover  4  that either consists of a sheet metal part or an injection molded plastic part. The drive motor  12  that is arranged in the wall holding device  3  is drawn in a covered manner in this figure. The reference symbol  1  identifies the carrier plate with the chimes  2  suspended thereon. 
     FIG. 5 shows a completely sectioned front view of another embodiment. In FIG. 5, the reference symbol  16  identifies the square carrier plate, on the corners of which two respective chime tubes are suspended. Four chime tubes  17  that have a greater diameter than the inner chime tubes  2  are suspended on the diagonal of the carrier plate  16 . FIG. 6, in particular, shows that the special arrangement according to the invention is realized such that the drive motor  12  is arranged on the mounting  21  in the longitudinal direction and causes an oscillating movement of the chime tubes  2  and  17  by means of a gear ring  19  that is rigidly connected to the carrier plate  16  via a shaft  20 . The structural size of the gear ring requires an increase in the structural size of the wall holding device  18  such that the wall holding device protrudes over the carrier plate  16 . The reference symbol  14  identifies the control circuit situated underneath the drive motor  12 . 
     FIG. 7 shows a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG.  5 . This figure elucidates the suspension of the chimes on the carrier plate  16 . The chime tubes  7  with the larger diameters are arranged on the outer diameter, with the smaller chimes  2  being situated farther inward. 
     The reference symbol  22  identifies the housing part that consists of a sheet metal part or an injection molded plastic part and protects the drive assembly from becoming soiled or damaged. 
     FIG. 8 shows another embodiment in the form of a completely sectioned front view. In this embodiment, five chime tubes  2  of identical diameters are mounted on the carrier plate  24 . Five additional chime tubes  23  of greater diameters are stationarily mounted in an oscillating manner on the wall holding device  25  at a distance from the chime tubes  2 , namely in the form of annular arrangement. A striking element  26  of wood is arranged centrally referred to the inner chime tubes  2 , with said striking element making it possible to mechanically actuate the arrangement in its idle state due to an extension achieved with the extension element  27 . The circular arrangement of the chimes  23  and  2  on different diameters is elucidated further in the top view shown in FIG.  9 . The reference symbol  28  identifies the housing part of the device. 
     FIG. 10 shows the control circuit of the arrangement with an external voltage source that may be selectively realized in the form of a classic bell transformer  37  or a battery (not shown) the circuit consists of a flip-flop arrangement with an RC-element for delay purposes. The rectification is realized with a Graetz circuit  35 . Once the control circuit is connected to the bell transformer  37  when the switch S (bell button)  36  is closed, a current flows trough the resistor R 2   30  and the base-emitter path of the transistor T 2   33  such that the voltage supply of the motor M  12  is ensured via the collector-emitter path of the transistor T 2   33 . After a duration that is essentially defined by the resistor R 1   29  and the capacitor C 1   34 , the capacitor C 1   34  is charged to such a degree that a significant current also flows through the resistor R 1   29  and the base-emitter path of the transistor T 1   32 . This renders the base-emitter path of the transistor T 1   32  conductive such that a current is able to flow through the resistor R 2   30  and the collector-emitter path [of the transistor] T 1   32 . This results in a nearly complete drop of the supply voltage on R 2   30 . This also terminates the current flowing through the base-emitter path of the transistor T 2   33  and consequently the voltage supply of the motor M  12  via the collector-emitter path of the transistor T 2   33 . The resistor R 3   31  is switched parallel to the capacitor C 1   34  in order to achieve a faster regeneration of the circuit and a smooth discharge of said capacitor. The maximum current of the collector-emitter path of the transistor T 2   33  limits the switchable power. All other components are not critical and can be realized with standard components. 
     FIG. 11, FIG.  12  and FIG. 13 show another embodiment in the form of a standard projection. FIG.  11  and FIG. 12, in particular, show that the special arrangement according to the invention is realized such that the carrier plate  1  is directly held on the axle  38  of a gear motor  40 . When an electric pulse is delivered, this gear motor carries out a rotational movement, the duration of which Is defined by the control circuit  41  (FIG.  13 ), and thusly causes he carrier plate  1  to carry out an oscillating movement together with the chime tubes  2 . The gear motor  40  is mounted on the wall plate  43  that serves for mounting the entire arrangement on the wall of a house. 
     FIG. 13 shows that a battery holder  42  for a 9 V block battery is arranged adjacent to the control circuit  41 . This battery ensures the function of the arrangement if a domestic power supply is unavailable. 
     FIG. 14, FIG.  15  and FIG. 16 show the previously described embodiment in the assembled state. The design of the cover  44  is chosen such that it is seated on the wall plate  43  in a precisely fitted fashion (FIG. 12) and thusly reinforces the wall plate in the vertical direction. The cover  44  is realized in the form of an injection molded plastic part in order to maintain the total weight of the arrangement as low as possible. However, this simultaneously serves for achieving a damping effect with respect to the noise level of the gear motor and the rotational pulse, with the user also being protected from the rotating carrier plate  1  (FIG.  11 ). The 
     The arrangement of the chime tubes  2  is shown in FIG. 17, FIG.  18  and FIG. 19 in the form of a standard projection. The chime tubes  2  are mounted on the carrier plate  1  by means of nylon strings  45 . The reference symbol  46  identifies a pressed-in threaded insert which makes it possible to mount the carrier plate  1  on the drive axle  38  (FIG. 11) of the gear motor  40  (FIG.  12 ). FIG. 19, in particular, shows the arrangement of the chime tubes  2  according to the invention. The chime tubes  2  are arranged on the circumference of a square in such a way that the chime tubes  2  continue to oscillate and simultaneously impact on one another after their initial impact that is caused by the rotational movement generated by the gear motor, with the chime tubes thusly producing a reverberating effect. This arrangement of the chime tubes also makes it possible to realize very slight impacts because the chime tubes already impact on one another when the carrier plate carries out the slightest rotational movement.