An Electric Contact Maker, Particularly Applicable for Use in Conjunction with Coin Freed Apparatus.
Year: 1887

page_text: An Electric Contact Maker, Particularly Applicable for Use in
Conjunction with Coin Freed Apparatus.
I JAMES SALTER FARMER of Adelphi Street Iron Works Salford in the County
of Lancaster Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for AN ELECTRIC
CONTACT MAKER PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE FOR USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH COIN
FREED APPARATUS, to be as follows:-
My invention consists mainly in the construction and arrangement of an electric
contact maker which is particularly applicable for use in conjunction with a coin freed
apparatus to be employed at telephonic call offices or elsewhere when advantageous or
desirable.
In constructing an electric contact maker according to my Invention I employ two
hollow vessels which are made of glass or other electrical non-conductor and are
preferably pear shaped in form. The necks of these two vessels are united by a metal
collar made in two pieces insulated from one another by suitable insulating material
but with a central hole forming a passage between the two vessels. Each portion of
the metal collar has an arm formed with it and these two arms act as pivots upon
which the contact maker which resembles an ordinary hour glass is supported and is
free to turn. Each of the two line wires for the electric circuit is connected one to
each arm of the contact maker within which are placed a number of
very small copper
pellets or other metal or other suitable material or liquid preferably of high electrical
conductivity. I propose to exhaust the air from the two glass bulbs so as to form a
vacuum within the contact maker.
The action of the contact maker is as follows:-When the two glass bulbs are in a
vertical position with all the metal pellets or equivalent in the lower bulb the electric
circuit will be broken but by turning the contact maker on its pivots and reversing
the position of the two bulbs the pellets or equivalent will flow slowly from the upper
bulb through the central passage into the lower bulb thereby completing the electric
circuit as they touch the two portions of the metal collar until all the pellets or
equivalent have passed into the lower bulb.

page_text: In combining my contact maker with a coin freed apparatus I propose to place a
crank or equivalent on one of the pivots so that when the right sum for working the
coin freed apparatus has been introduced the position of the two bulbs will be reversed
automatically or otherwise to permit the electric circuit to be completed by the action
of the metal pellets or equivalent as above described.
The contact maker combined with a coin freed apparatus is particularly adapted for
use in telephonic call offices and other places where the public by payment of a
prescribed fee are entitled to the use of the telephone or other electric apparatus for a
certain specified time. The time allowed for the use of the instrument regulates the
quantity of pellets or equivalent employed to complete the electric circuit.
Dated this 22nd day of November 1887.

page_text: An Electric Contact Maker, Particularly Applicable for Use in
Conjunction with Coin Freed Apparatus.
I JAMES SALTER FARMER of Adelphi Street Iron Works Salford in the County of
Lancaster Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
My invention consists mainly in the construction and arrangement of an electric
contact maker which is particularly applicable for use in conjunction with a coin freed
apparatus to be employed at telephonic call offices or elsewhere when advantageous
or desirable.
In constructing an electric contact maker according to my Invention I employ two
hollow vessels which are made of glass or other electrical non-conductor and are
preferably pear shaped in form. The necks of these two vessels are united by a metal
collar made in two pieces insulated from one another by suitable insulating material
but with a central hole forming a passage between the two vessels. Each portion of
the metal collar has an arm formed with it and these two arms act as pivots upon
which the contact maker which resembles an ordinary hour glass is supported and is
free to turn. Each of the two line wires for the electric circuit is connected one to
each arm of the contact maker within which are placed a number of very small copper
pellets or other metal or other suitable material or liquid preferably of high electrical
conductivity. 1 propose to exhaust the air from the two glass bulbs so as to form a
vacuum within the contact maker.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect I will describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings reference being had to the
figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation taken on the line A B, Fig. 2 and Fig. 2 is an end
view of an electric contact maker made according to my Invention. Fig. 3 is a
sectional plan of the central part of the apparatus taken on the line C D Fig. 1 and
Fig. 4 is a side view of the same part.
In these views.-a a are the two glass vacuum bulbs which contain the mercury or
other electrical conductor. The neck of each bulb is fitted and cemented or otherwise
secured in a recess in the metal collar 6 which is made in two parts divided by a piece
of lignum vitae c or other suitable insulating substance the two parts being held
together by collars d d and the piece c being cut away centrally to leave a central
passage in the metal between the two bulbs a a the passage being contracted in the
centre as shown in Fig. 1 so as to check the too rapid flow of the mercury.
Each portion of the collar is formed with an arm 61 and these arms are fitted in
bearings e which rest upon insulating pedestals g to which the bearings e are secured
the pedestals being bolted to a plate g¹. The circuit wires are secured one in each
bearing e by the screws i and a screw j is shown to hold the collar b and the bulbs a a

page_text: in the desired position while the mercury or other conductor is passing from one bulb
to the other but a spiral spring or any other suitable device may be employed for the
purpose.
The action of the contact maker is as follows:-When the two glass bulbs a a are
in a vertical position with all the mercury metal pellets or equivalent conducting
material in the lower bulb the electric circuit will be broken but by turning the
contact maker on its pivots bib and reversing the position of the two bulbs the
mercury metal pellets or equivalent will flow slowly from the upper bulb through
the central passage into the lower bulb thereby completing the electric circuit as they
touch the two portions of the metal collar until all the mercury metal pellets or
equivalent has passed into the lower bulb.
In combining my contact maker with a coin freed apparatus I propose to place a
crank or equivalent on one of the pivots so that when the right sum for working the
coin freed apparatus has been introduced the position of the two bulbs will be reversed
automatically or otherwise to permit the electric circuit to be completed by the action
of the mercury metal pellets or equivalent as above described..
The contact maker combined with a coin freed apparatus is particularly adapted for
use in telephonic call offices and other places where the public by payment of a
prescribed fee are entitled to the use of the telephone or other electric apparatus for a
certain specified time.
The time allowed for the use of the instrument regulates the quantity of mercury
metal pellets or equivalent conducting material employed to complete the electric
circuit.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is―
1. An electric contact maker consisting of two vessels such as the bulbs a a
containing mercury or other electrical conductor the metal collar or equivalent part
made in two pieces insulated by the piece c each piece being in electrical
communication with one of the circuit wires and the whole being so arranged that
when the mercury or other conductor is in the lower vessel and the position of the
two vessels is reversed the flow of the said conducting material from the upper into
the lower vessel completes the electric circuit substantially as and for the purposes
herein described and as illustrated by the Drawings annexed.
2. The construction combination and arrangement of parts constituting an electric
contact maker substantially as and for the purposes herein described with reference to
the accompanying Drawings.
3. The combination with a coin freed apparatus for telephonic or other purposes,
of the electric contact maker, substantially as herein set forth for the purposes
specified.
3600