IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMMUNICATIONS FROM ONE PART OF A BUILDING TO ANOTHER
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Joseph Parkes, of London Street, Paddington,
in the County of Middlesex, Gas Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMMUNICATIONS FROM ONE
PART OF A BUILDING TO ANOTHER."
Sealed the 20th October 1865, and dated the 24th April 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Joseph Parkes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, ou the
24th April 1865.
I, JOHN JOSEPH PARKES, of London Street, Paddington, in the County of
Middlesex, Gas Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMMUNICATIONS FROM ONE PART
OF A BUILDING TO ANOTHER," to be as follows:-
In communicating or signalling from one part of a building to another I
employ wires and cranks somewhat in the ordinary manner, and make the
audible and visible signals by bells or gongs, and numbers represented on
tablets, but instead of pulling the number up by the wire as in ordinary, I
detach the tablet and allow it to drop, and so expose the number as desired.
I effect this detaching and dropping of the tablet by peculiar appliances, and
I further connect the gong or bell with the wires by a peculiar contrivance,
all as herein-after described. The numbered tablets are arranged in series,
by preference in vertical rows, in suitable slides and frames, in which the
numbers are exposed through openings when the tablets are dropped. A
pull apparatus is applied to each vertical row to raise the tablets after being

page_text: dropped. This pull is arranged to lift one or the whole number of tablets at
a time, so that supposing several of them bappen to be dropped at same time
they can be again readily set by the attendant after the signals have been
attended to. For large establishments I group the wires in sets, each set or
series applying to a vertical row of tablets before mentioned; for each set one
gong or bell is provided, with which the whole of the wires of that set are in
connection. This I effect by what I term a cradle or rectangular frame
oscillating on a fulcrum at one side, while the opposite side is in such com-
munication with the wires that any one being pulled will oscillate the cradle
without disturbing the other wires. A wire from this cradle is connected with
a lever arm by which the hammer of the gong or bell is moved, which is
therefore sounded when an oscillation of the cradle takes place. A very
slight motion of the cradle is sufficient, or it may be moved to the full extent,
but with the samo effect as regards the sound produced. As before men-
tioned, the cradle wire is connected to the lever operating on the bell
hammer this operates by an inclined projection on the side of the wire lever
taking effect on an inclined projection on the hammer arm, which it raises
from the bell while moving in the one direction, and releases it so as to strike.
but in the opposite or return movement slips past without any effect. The
communicating wires are connected with the cradle by loops in the wires
encircling a pin or pins thereon, and are thence each connected to the part
operating on its individual tabiet; this consists of a cranked lever having a
pendant arm, with an oscillating catch piece pivotted therein, and disposed
immediately behind the tablet. A pendant weighted lever always presses the
catch piece forward to a stop. When this crank lever is pulled by the
wire it withdraws that arm with catch piece from the tablet, which being sus-
tained on the before-mentioned catch piece, the tablet immediately drops and
exhibits the number through an opening in the frame.
The communicating
wire on being released allows the cranked catch lever to resume its position
(which it does by the pull of a spring from below) in readiness to sustain the
tablet when it is again raised by the attendant. This is effected by a wire
pull as before mentioned, by which any one of the whole row is raised; at same
time they slip past the oscillating catch pieces before mentioned, which recede
with slight pressure and allow them to rise, but when the tablets and small
sliding frames supporting them are sufficiently elevated the catches come
forward and sustain them in position in readiness for the next pull of the
connecting wire.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Joseph Parkes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th October 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
JOSEPH PARKES, of London Street, Paddington, in the County of Middlesex,
Gas Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Joseph Parkes, Her special licence that I, the said John
Joseph Parkes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as 1, the said John Joseph Parkes, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMMUNICATIONS FROM ONE PART OF A
BUILDING TO ANOTHER," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Joseph Parkes, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should parti-
cularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent..
NOW KNOW YE, that 1, the said John Joseph Parkes, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
=
In communicating or signalling from one part of a building to another [
employ wires and cranks somewhat in the ordinary manner, and make the
audible and visible signals by bells or gongs, and numbers represented on
tablets, but instead of pulling the number up by the wire as in ordinary, I
detach the tablet and allow it to drop, and so expose the number as desired.
I effect this detaching and dropping of the tablet by peculiar appliances, and
I further effect communication between the gong or bell with the wires by a

page_text: peculiar contrivance herein-after described. The numbered tablets are
arranged in rows or series, by preference in vertical rows, in suitable slides
and frames, in which the numbers are exposed through openings when the
tablets are dropped. A pull apparatus is applied to each vertical row to raise
the tablets after being dropped. This pull is arranged to lift one or the
whole number of tablets at a time, so that supposing several of them happen
to be dropped at same time they can be again readily set by the attendant
after the signals have been attended to. For large establishments I group
the wires in sets, each set or series applying to a vertical row of tablets before
mentioned. For each set one gong or bell is provided, with which the whole
of the wires of that set are in communication. This I effect by what I term
a cradle or rectangular frame oscillating on a fulcrum at one side, while the
opposite side is in such communication with the wires that any one being
pulled will oscillate the cradle without disturbing the other wires. A wire
from this cradle is connected with a lever arm by which the hammer of the
gong or bell is moved, which is therefore sounded when an oscillation of the
cradle takes place. A very slight motion of the cradle is sufficient, or it may
be moved to the full extent, but with the same effect as regards the sound
produced. As before mentioned the cradle wire is connected to a lever
operating on the bell bammer; this operates by an inclined projection on the
side of the wire lever, taking effect on an inclined projection on the hammer
arm, which it raises from the bell while moving in the one direction, and
releases it so as to strike, but in the opposite or return movement slips past
without any effect. The wires communicating are connected with the cradle
by loops in the wires encircling a pin or pins thereon, and are thence each
conducted to the part operating on its individual tablet. This consists of a
cranked lever having a pendant arm, with an oscillating catch piece pivotted
therein, and disposed immediately behind the tablet, a pendant weighted lever
always presses the catch piece forward to a stop. When this cranked lever is
pulled by the wire it withdraws that arm with the catch piece from the tablet,
which being sustained on the before-mentioned catch piece the tablet imme-
diately drops and exhibits the number through an opening in the frame. The
communicating wire on being released allows the cranked catch lever to
resume its position (which it does by the pull of the spring from below) in
readiness to sustain the tablet when it is again raised by the attendant.
This is effected by a wire pull as before mentioned, by which any one or the
whole row are raised at same time; they slip past the oscillating catch pieces
before mentioned, which recede with slight pressure and allows them to rise,
when the tablets and small sliding frames supporting them are sufficiently

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a front elevation and part lateral section of the indicating
apparatus arranged according to my Invention, which, as before mentioned, is
operated by means of wires communicating from one part of a building to
another, the apparatus being intended simply to show the desired indications,
and used as a substitute for a series of bells or other means of signalling
usually employed. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of Fig. 1.
In Fig. 1 a series of openings a, a, a, a, a, are represented in the front a of
the case containing the apparatus, each one being for the purpose of exhibiting
a number or other sign corresponding with the number or index of the room
or place to be communicated with, such numbers being on tablets b, b, placed
in slides c, c, behind the front x.
In the Drawing I have represented the indicator tablets arranged in vertical
rows of ten, and in all corresponding with thirty rooms; each row of ten tablets
communicate respectively with one of the groups of ten wires 1, 2, 3. These
thirty wires 1, 2, 3, are conducted to the several places to be communicated
with in the manner of ordinary bell wires, but where grouped together I
prefer to lead them through tubes. The wires communicate with the tablets
through cranked levers h, h, h, which being all alike it will be sufficient to describe
one of them. 9 is a bracket fixed to the backing of the apparatus, on which
is mounted the cranked lever h at tho fulcrum i, to the back end of lever h
a wire e is connected, being a continuation of a wire of one of the groups
1, 2, or 3, which pulls the lever h upwards and into the position shown dotted
when the wire of communication is pulled; a second wire led downwards
connects lever with the lever of the bell spring k, which returns the
lever to its normal position, when the wire e of communication is released.
The lever his cranked at the fore end, so that its fore arm depends in a
vertical position behind its respective tablet. This part of the lever is double,
and has disposed between the parts of such double arm a little catch piece
A, seen separately at Fig. 3; it is jointed to lever h at the point m,
and oscillates freely thereon, but has a stop p to limit its forward motion, and
a cross-pin stop r to limit its backward motion. It is constantly pressed
forward towards the tablet by a little weight o suspended from an inclined
arm pivotted at the angle of the lever. The tablet 6 when up rests by its
projection n at the back on piece A, during which time the tablet is
obscured by and behind the front. When the wire e is pulled the lever his

page_text: caused to oscillate on its fulcrum and assume momentarily the dotted position
shown. The catch A is thus withdrawn from the tablet, which losing its
support falls, and is exposed at its respective opening and discloses the
number or index to the room or party to be waited on. At the time of pulling
the wire e a bell B is sounded; this is effected through what I term a cradle
C, being a rectangular frame (one for each fifteen or may be other number
of wires) mounted on a fixed fulcrum atq; across the face and free
end of the cradle is a small rod s fixed thereto, which a loop on each
communicating wire e encircles, so that when any of the wires are pulled
the rod and cradle is lifted at that point, and so oscillated on its fulcrum,
but without affecting either of the other wires of the group. A wire
connects the cradle C with a lever D mounted on a fixed fulcrum at u.
This lever D has an inclined projection von its side of an oval-like form,
but sharp at each extreme, (see separate view Fig. 4,) which oval pro-
jection comes in contact with a like inclined oval projection won the spring
arın of the bell hammer y; this is slightly raised from the bell by the upward
movement of the lever D, but projection w slips off projection v, and so
releases the hammer, which strikes and sounds the bell simultaneously with
the fall of the tablet ; at the return movement of lever D, which is effected by
a spring at its fulcrum, the projection v slips past w at the back or opposite
side from that of its contact in rising. The spring arm of the bell, of course,
always assumes its proper position when free from contact of lover D, as well
understood in bell apparatus. In Fig. 2 the upper five of the tablets are
represented down (and as exposed) and released from lever h, while the lower
five are up and sustained by their levers h. In order to return the tablets to
the raised position a wire F is carried up behind the cases or slides in which
they slide, which wire F is threaded through the projections n on the back of
the tablets, but has enlargements d at intervals, which lift any or all the
tablets if such happen to be down when such wire is pulled upwards. This
wire F, or it may be a cord, turns over a pulley at top and descends through
the bottom of the case, and has a handle H whereby to pull it when required,
that is to say, immediately after one or more tablets may be dropped, or until
The wire F is at all times returned to
the call may have been attended to.
position when handle H is released by a counterbalance weight. When a
tablet is raised by the pull or lifting of the wire F, its projection n presses
against the tongue or catch A and thrusts it backwards, raising slightly the
weight o, which returns the tongue A forwards so soon as projection n rises
above A, and on which it rests, when wire F is released, and with its stops
returns to the lower position.

page_text: Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be
protected by the berein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the combination and arrangement of apparatus herein-before described
and represented in the Drawings annexed for making a visible signal of com-
munication transmitted from one part of a building to another.
Secondly, I claim the arrangement of the cradle and parts connected there-
with communicating its motion to the bell hammer, in combination with a
series of wires, all as and for the purpose herein-before described.
Thirdly, I claim the combination of the apparatus communicating by audible
and visible signals from one part of a building to another, as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Joseph Parkes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JOHN JOSEPH PARKES. (L.S.)