IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO SPEAKING-TUBES AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1885

page_text: Connected therewith.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby. declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO SPEAKING-TUBES AND APPARATUS
CONNECTED THEREWITH" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of this invention, is to provide an efficient speaking tube and signal
to be used as a means of communication between the occupants of a carriage, or
other vehicle, and the driver; or between persons at a distance or in different parts
of a building, and it comprises the improvements hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawing.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation showing the invention connected to one of the
sides of a carriage, or to a partition in a building.
Figure 2 is a front elevation of one of the bulbs containing the whistle and
a double acting valve,
Figure 3 is a vertical central section through the speaking or mouth piece and
bulb, and the bulb containing the whistle and valve, and
Figure 4 is a detached view of the valve and the spring for operating it.
a represents the mouth-piece of the speaking-tube, and a¹ the bulb to which the
said mouth-piece is rigidly attached by a screw threaded portion a³, as shown.
The bulb a for holding the whistle a*, is secured by a short tube a to the
bulb a¹, and is provided with a screw-cap b, to which the upper or distant bulb 6',
is connected by a tube 6, which screws into it, or is attached in any other well
known manner.
The cap b, is made removable, for convenience in getting at the valves, and for
putting the several parts in place, or repairing them. This tube b' may be made
of india-rubber, or other elastic material, if desired, and connected to the parts in
any well known way.
The mouth-piece 6' is connected to the flexible tube d. by slipping the end of the
said tube over the neck of the mouth-piece, and securing it with a ring b*, or it
may be secured with a cord or wire wound around it in a well known manner,

page_text: The whistles are secured to the bulbs as shown. The bulbs a¹, a³ are connected
to the side of the carriage, or to a partition or wall, by means of the plates 65 and
screws c.
which
c¹ represents the valve, which is mounted at c2 upon the shaft or pin c³,
latter passes through the bulb, as shown, and is provided with a wheel c, having
a milled edge so that it can be easily turned by the fingers.
c represents a spring for holding the valve down against the tube a, (see
Figure 4).
The valves c¹, are located one in the bulb a³ and one in the bulb b¹ so that one
may be used to close the speaking-tube a, and the other the tube a7, or the
whistles a or a®.
While in their normal condition the valves are held by the springs c, one to the
tube a³, and one to the tube a7, as shown by the dotted lines e in Figure 3. The
spring o is not shown in Figure 1, as the section line being through the centre of
the valves and bulbs, cuts it off, but the construction of this spring and its con-
nection with the valve is fully and clearly shewn in Figure 4 and the construction
of all the valves o¹ and of the springs c* is precisely the same and the operation is
the same in each.
The distant mouth piece when used on a carriage of any kind should generally
be connected to the bulb by means of a flexible tube d which may be connected
to the bulb 66 in the same manner that the mouth-piece is connected or in any
other suitable manner.
d represents a small chain or cord, one end of which is connected by a joint or
pin d' to the flexible tube; the opposite end after passing over a friction roller d³
is connected to the valve wheel c5. The whistle as, it will be seen, is made long
enough to pass through the side of the carriage, or partition, and is connected by
a screw, or by any other suitable means.
The operation of the improved apparatus is as follows:-For instance suppose
a person on the inside of a vehicle wishes to communicate with the driver, tho
valve wheel c of the valve c¹ in the bulb c³ is turned so as to open communication
through the mouth-piece a which operation brings the said valve c¹ into the
position shewn by the dotted lines e in Figure 3, and closes the whistle at.
The operator now blows through the mouth-piece a and sounds the whistle a®
as a signal to the driver, who in response lifts the mouth-piece 63 into the position
shewn by the dotted lines e¹, (Figure 1) or there-abouts, which operation draws
the chain d¹, and turns the wheel c of the valve in the bulb 61 thereby opening
communication through the tube a7, and closing the whistle as by bringing the
valve into the position shown by the dotted lines e² in the bulb 6'. When the
mouth-piece b and flexible tube d are dropped, the valve is forced to its normal
position by the spring c', so as to open the whistle as, and close the tube a?.
The valves are provided with india-rubber projecting faces e³, so as to fit and
make a close joint, see Figure 3.
I do not confine myself to the arrangement of the tubes 62 or d, as in many
cases they will have to be bent to adapt themselves to the position in which they
may be placed. For this purpose I find the flexible tubing answers a good purpose
as it can be bent so as to adapt it to any position required, and the corners where
the bends are can be covered with a metal casing to protect them.
The object of the flexible tube d and chain d¹, connecting with the valve wheel,
is that the driver, can manage both the mouth-piece and valve with one hand while
the other hand holds the reins as will be readily understood.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
First. The combination of a mouth-piece and an alarm whistle attached to the
inside of a carriage, substantially as specified, with a connecting tube leading
to the outside of the vehicle and an alarm whistlo provided with a valve, and a

page_text: mouth-piece attached to a flexible tube having a chain or cord d¹ connected with
the said valve, as, and for the purposes, described.
Second. In a speaking tube, the combination of two bulbs connected together
by a short tube, one of which bulbs is provided with a mouth-piece, and the other
with a whistle and a double acting spring valve for closing either the whistle or
speaking tube, substantially as, and for the purposes, described.
Third. The combination of a bulb a' having a mouth-piece a, with a connecting
tube, and a bulb a³ provided with a wiristle, a spring valve, a wheel or crank for
operating it, and a removable cap b, substantially as described.
Dated this 23rd day of Sentember 1905
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicant.