Year: 1898

page_text: I, WILLIAM HENRY ROMAINE-WALKER, 6, Old Bond Street, London, W.,
Architect, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to improve the present system of electric and other
bell services and more particularly to improve the bell connection between the
principal rooms of a house or building and the servants' offices and apartments
without duplicating the wiring.
According to the system in general use each push or lever rings on to a common
bell or service of bells with suitable indicators situated in some central position,
but no provision has hitherto been made whereby a person occupying a given room
may be put into direct communication with any other given place or room or
with their servant occupying a room in the servants quarters.
According to my invention I divide the rooms of a building into two classes
viz., of those who ring bells and of those who answer them. The former I will
call A rooms, the latter B rooms. Normally all A rooms would be connected:
For example, by the existing connections (in the case of a house already wired) to
a common bell or group of bells and indicators as heretofore situated at the usual
most convenient point, but there is further provided a device whereby any given
room of the A series may be disconnected from the common bell and directly
connected to any required room of the B series or connected to both if desired.
Again, for example, a lady arriving at a house or hotel may be put into room
say No. 50 of the visitors' or A series, and her maid into No. 17 of the servants'
or B series, the required connection being made, the two rooms are put into
direct communication so that the lady can at all times directly call her maid
either by the bell ringing in B 17 or by the common bell, thus having her bell
answered in half the time and without taking the other servants off their duties.
In applying my invention to electric bells the connecting device may consist of
a switch board whereon the wire from each of the A series terminates in a
flexible wire and plug which may be put into electrical connection with any one
or series of contacts corresponding to each of the B rooms, the contact socket or
other device being so formed as to allow more than one A plug to be connected
to the same B room in case more than one servant should occupy the same room.
The wiring may be arranged so that the indicator is always in circuit, or an
alternative series of contacts may be provided for connecting the flexible wires to
the indicators while disconnecting them from the B series and vice-versa.
It is evident that my system is also applicable to front door bells enabling
them to be connected at will into day or night bells, or to be caused to ring
upstairs or down according to the disposition of the servants at any given time.
In applying this invention to pneumatic bells a flexible tube and plug forming
an air tight joint with a series of sockets will take the place of the electric device
above described; the alternative sockets being provided with a non-return valve
to prevent leakage when only cne is being used.

page_text: In applying this invention to ordinary lever bells, the device may take the form
of hooks on the A series capable of engaging with one or more eyes on each of
the B series or other equivalent services; one series being, if required, placed
radially with respect to the other and in a plane at right angles to it so as approxi-
mately to equalize the distance between the connections of the opposite series.
Dated this 16th day of February 1898.
A System of Alternative Connections for House Bells.
I, WILLIAM HENRY ROMAINE WALKER, of 6, Old Bond Street, in the County
of London, Architect, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to he particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
The object of my invention. is to improve the present system of electric and
pneumatic bell services and more particularly to improve the bell connection
between the principal rooms of a house or building and the servants' offices and
apartments without duplicating the wiring. According to the system in general
use each push rings on to a common bell or series of bells with suitable indicators
situated in some central position, but no provision has hitherto been made
whereby a person occupying a given room may be put into direct communication
with any other given place or room or with his servant occupying a room in the
servants' quarters. According to my invention, I divide the rooms of a building
into two classes, viz.:-the rooms of those who ring the bells and the rooms of
those who answer the bells. The former I will call A rooms, the latter B rooms.
Normally all A rooms will be connected for example by the existing connections
(in the case of a house already wired or provided with pneumatic connections) to
a common bell or group of bells and indicators as heretofore situated at the usual
most convenient point, but there is further provided a device whereby any given
room of the A rooms can be disconnected from the common bell and directly con-
nected to any required room of the 13 rooms, or connected to both if desired.
lady for example arriving at a house or hotel may be put into room say No. 50
of the A rooms and her maid into No. 17 of the B rooms, the required connection
being made, the two rooms are put into direct communication so that the lady can
at all times directly call, and have her bell promptly answered by her maid
without taking the other servants away from their duties.
A
In applying my invention to electric bells, the connecting device may consist
of a switch board whereon the wire from each of the A rooms terminates in a
flexible wire and plug which may be put into electrical connection with any
contact in any series of contacts corresponding to each of the B rooms, the con-
tact socket or other device being so formed as to allow more than one plug of
the A room series to be connected to the same B room in case more than one
servant should occupy the same room. The wiring may be arranged so that the
indicator is always in circuit, or an alternative series of contacts may be provided
for connecting the flexible wires to the indicators while disconnecting them from
the rooms and vice versa. It is evident that my system is also applicable to
front door bells, enabling them to be connected at will into day or night bells
or to be caused to ring upstairs or downstairs as required at any particular time
such as downstairs by day and upstairs by night or whilst the servants are upstairs
by day.
Having described the general nature of my invention I will describe with 5

page_text: reference to the accompanying diagrams arrangements by means of which my
invention may be put into practice. In the arrangement shewn in Figure 1 the
bell pushes a are each connected with a wire a leading to a flexible connection b
provided with a plug 62 by means of which connection can be made with either
of three series of holes c d e in a board f. The holes of the series c are in electric
connection with an indicator g so that when a plug is inserted in either of the said
holes the indicator g can be operated and its bell rung. When a
plug is inserted
in either of the holes of the series the other indicator g² and its bell can be
operated. The holes of the series are connected by wires to different
stations h h h h, such for example as servants' individual rooms, so that by
placing either of the plugs in either of the holes in series e its corresponding bell
can be rung.
e
In the arrangement illustrated by Figure 2 the plug board f is provided with
two series of holes c d leading each to an indicator (g g2) and with a rotary
switch I by means of which all the pushes can be simultaneously connected with
one or the other indicator. This is accomplished by connecting each leading-in
wire a with a three-way connection j which, when operated by the switch I, can
make connection with either of three contacts k l m. When contact is made
between and k the pushes will be connected with the ends of the flexible con-
nection and contact can be made with holes in either series c or d to put either
indicator in connection with the pushes a. When contact between jan.lis
made the indicator g is directly connected with the pushes a and when contact is
made between j and m the indicator g2 and its bell can be operated.
In applying this invention to pneumatic bells a flexible tube and hollow plug
forming an air-tight joint with a series of sockets will take the places of the
electric device above described for joining up the alternative lengths of communi-
cating tubes, the alternative sockets, in cases where it is necessary, being pro-
vided with a non-return valve to prevent leakage when only one is being used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
-
A system of electric, or pneumatic, bells, provided with alternative connections;
substantially as, and for the purposes, hereinbefore described.
Dated this 9th day of August 1898
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX.
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.