Improvements in In and Out" and like Indicators.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Oct., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 11th July, 1892-Accepted, 27th Aug., 1842
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
66
Improvements in In and Out" and like Indicators.
We JAMES BROWN of Longfield, Heaton Mersey, in the County of Lancaster,
Draper, and WILLIAM ALBERT SHAW of Oxford Street, Heaton Chapel, in the
same County, Electrician, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention relates to apparatus intended to be used to indicate the presence
of individuals in their offices or places of business and their absence from such
offices or places. In the means ordinarily employed a slide or indicating finger or
part has to be moved by the individual whose presence or absence is to be indicated
or by some person on his account. In the hurry of business there is a great
liability for the required action to be omitted so that the indications often remain
incorrect for long periods and in consequence are not reliable. The object of our
invention is to adopt means which shall not require any extra attention or expen-
diture of time on the part of the individual whose presence or absence is to be
indicated. We employ a movable or a rocking counterweighted hat peg to give
the necessary indications either directly or by acting upon parts which furnish the
indications. When the peg carries a hat the presence indication-say for example
the word "in "is displayed but when the hat is removed the peg rises and the
word "out" is displayed or other suitable indication is given. The hat peg may
be in the form of a rocking lever or may be mounted to slide and be counter-
weighted by means of a load or of a spring. The indications may be upon a part
of the lever or slide or the lever or hat peg may be connected with an indicating
slide or part. We at present consider electrical indicators to be the most suitable
especially in the cases wherein the indicators would be required in large or lofty
buildings as the indicators may be a considerable distance from the room or office
containing the connected hat peg. The hat peg when moving would make and
break the circuit and the connected electro magnet or magnets would act upon an
armature and move it into one position or the other according to the direction of
movement of the hat peg. The armature might carry an indicating disc or shutter
or be arranged to act upon a sliding shutter or indicator or to move an indicating
hand or otherwise to furnish the necessary indication. In a simple construction
the armature is mounted to swing with little friction between two coils and carries
a light disc or screen marked with one indication. The movement of the armature
toward one coil displays the disc at an opening the other movement of the armature
withdrawing the disc and thereby exposing the. other indication. Suitable means
are employed to provide the electric current. In some cases two batteries would
be used one for each indication. In some cases currents derived from electro
dynamos might be utilised. The indicator or a number of indicators may be
placed in any suitable position-as for example near the main entrance of a
building or near the foot of a staircase. We may arrange for a bell to be rung to
indicate that the apparatus is in working order or for other reasons. Such bell
may be sounded by the action of the electric current. It will be seen that the
use of our apparatus requires from the individual only the methodical use of a hat
peg to carry his hat when the latter is not in use.
Dated this 20th day of October 1891.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester, Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in "In and Out" and like Indicators.
We JAMES BROWN of Longfield, Heaton Mersey, in the County of Lancaster,
Draper, and WILLIAM ALBERT SHAW of Oxford Street, Heaton Chapel, in the
same County, Electrician, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement and accompanying drawings :-
:-
Our invention relates to apparatus intended to be used to indicate the presence
of individuals in their offices or places of business and their absence from such
offices or places. In the means ordinarily employed a slide or indicating finger or
part has to be moved by the individual whose presence or absence is to be
indicated or by some person on his account. In the hurry of business there is a
great liability for the required action to be omitted so that the indications often
remain incorrect for long periods and in consequence are not reliable. The object
of our invention is to adopt means which shail not require any extra attention or
expenditure of time on the part of the individual whose presence or absence is to
be indicated. We employ a movable or a rocking counterweighted hat peg to give
the necessary indications either directly or by acting upon parts which furnish the
indications. When the peg carries a hat the presence indication--say for example
the word "in" is displayed but when the hat is removed the peg rises and the
word "out " is displayed or other suitable indication is given. The hat peg may
be in the form of a rocking lever or may be mounted to slide and be counter-
weighted by means of a load or of a spring.
In order that our said invention may be properly understood we will now proceed
more particularly to describe the same reference being had to the annexed sheet of
illustrative drawings.
Fig. 1 shows a simple arrangement of indicating hat peg acting directly upon a
sliding plate so as to indicate in
or out" accordingly as the hat is hung upon,
or removed from the peg.
"
66
Figs. 2 and 3 show a counterbalanced hat peg in conjunction with electrical
means for communicating with the "in" and "out" indicator.
Referring in the first place to Fig. I the hat peg a a' is in the form of a double
lever and is pivotted at 6 on a bracket c attached to the wall or door or other con-
venient part. To the lower end a' of the hat peg lever we connect a horizontal
rod d which is directly attached to the plate e which slides in ways at the back of
a board and which appears in dotted lines. The board has an exposure
opening with "out" painted behind it. The rod d carries a spring g which tends
always to keep the peg a in the position shown in full lines in which position the
intimation "out" is displayed. As soon however as a hat is hung upon the peg as
shown in dotted lines the spring g is overcome and the peg drops forward pushing
the rod d so as to slide the "in" plate into the exposure opening so as to cover the
word "out" and substitute the word "in." When the hat is removed from the
peg the spring moves the rod d back to its former position and again uncovers
the word "out" and conceals the word "in." This is a very simple form of our
invention suitable for use where there is no great distance between the private room
and the general office.
Where the distance is greater or where other causes exist we employ electrical
means to communicate with the indicator. Figs. 2 and 3 show such an arrange-
ment. In this instance the peg a a¹ is counterbalanced by a curved contact
quadrant a Spring fingers hextend from each side of the box containing the
quadrant piece a as most clearly shown in Fig. 3 the tip of each finger resting
lightly on each side of the face of the contact quadrant. The face of the quadrant
carries two filling pieces of wood i and j so that the side of each face composed
half of metal and half of wood so as to make and break contact as the quadrant

page_text: revolves. These spring fingers h' are connected by wires to buttons on the
front of the box. From the same buttons wires m connect to a double coil n
provided with a pivotted armature o which is rocked from one side of the coils to
the other when the current is changed. The armature o carries a disc having the
word "in" printed thereon and capable of being swung in front of the word "out"
which is printed at the back of the exposure aperture in the plate p. The coils n
are connected by wires to a battery and the same battery is connected by a
wire s to a button on the front of the hat peg box, the said button t being con-
nected by a wire s¹ to the jaw or bracket c by which the hat peg is pivotted to the
box. Thus the hat peg lever itself is by metallic contact capable of transmitting
the current from the spring fingers and quadrant to the wires or vice versa thus
completing the circuit. When the parts are in the position shown in the drawing
the current runs one way so as to throw the armature into the position shown in
Fig. 2, but if a hat is hung on the peg a so as to cause it to drop, the metallic
surface slides from beneath the finger and is replaced by a wooden surface
cutting off the current there-while on the other hand the wooden surface beneath
the finger is replaced by a metallic surface thus setting up the current on that
side. The consequence is that the armature swings towards the other side of the
coils and the disc it carries enters the exposure aperture covering the word "out"
and substituting the word "in." On removing the hat the parts return to their
former position. It will be evident that we might arrange the hat peg to slide
downwards under the weight of the hat and so communicate directly or by electrical
or other means with the "in" and "out" board. It will also be understood that
the arrangements springing from our invention would be infinite and would be
largely governed by the circumstances of each case. For example the indication
"in
<
от out" might be exhibited at several parts of a large establishment simul-
taneously or a hat peg might be provided for each of the chief employees and
their names with "in 01* "out" be exhibited in the private room of the chief or
general manager of a firm.
"
""
"
We may arrange for a bell to be rung to indicate that the apparatus is in
working order or for other reasons. Such bell may be sounded by the action of
the electric current. Instead of electricity we might employ any other con-
venient means for establishing communication between the movable hat peg and
the "in" and "out" board. For example we might use a pneumatic arrangement
and transmit the force by air or fluid pressure or by vacuum. It will be seen that
the use of our apparatus requires from the individual only the methodical use of a
hat peg to carry his hat when the latter is not in use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A pivotted, sliding or movable hat peg, communicating in any suitable
manner with "in" and "out" indicating means so that when a hat is hung on the
peg the word "in" or its equivalent is exhibited and when the hat is removed the
word "out or its equivalent appears.
"
"
2. As a means for indicating whether a certain person is "in" or "out &
pivotted hat peg connected by a rod with the indicating plate and board and
governed by a spring or weight so that when a hat is hung upon the peg the word
"in" appears and when the hat is removed the word " ❝ out is uncovered substan-
tially as described and shown.
دو
3. The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the pivotted
hat peg and electrical means for indicating "in" and "out" substantially as
described and as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.