Improvements in or relating to Electric Guest-calls or the like.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Electric Guest-calls or the like.
A communication from abroad by ALEXANDER STRIEMER, of the Village of
Sleepy Eye, in the County of Brown and State of Minnesota, United States
of America, Clergyman.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both
in the County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be perforined, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
The invention relates to devices intended for use in hotels for ringing a bell in
any room or apartment automatically at any hour desired, and the invention consists
generally in a device having a series of circuit making aud breaking projections, or
a circuit making and breaking strip arranged to make and break electric circuits at
certain intervals of time as desired. The call bell of any room is adapted to be
placed in circuit with such circuit make and break device, so that at the desired
hour the bell in the room will be rung for a given time and will then stop ringing.
The circuit make and break devices are arranged to conform to uniform divisions
of time. Means are also provided whereby the call in any room may be repeated
as often as desired, and means by which the bells in all of the rooms may be rung
at once, as when it is necessary to sound an alarm of fire.
In the drawings forming a part of this Specification:
Figure 1 is an elevation of the improvement with the front walls broken away to
show the several parts.
Figure 2 is an end view showing the ratchet wheel, the bifurcated lever and the
electrical connection with the clock mechanism.
Figure 3 shows the manner of moving the electrical connection of the bell
circuit.
Figure 4 is a detail of the springs showing the manner of arranging them.
Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a slightly modified arrangement, and
showing the means for repeating the call to any room, and also the means for closing
the circuit and simultaneously ringing the bells in all the rooms.
In constructing this device it is preferable to use a metal cylinder 2 adapted to
be rotated upon suitable short shafts 3 and 5 secured thereto and having suitable
bearings in the main frame of the device. A ratchet wheel 10 is turned by the
bifurcated ratchet lever 17 which is moved in one direction by means of the
magnet 19 in an electrical circuit with the battery 20, and in the other direction
by a spring 47.
Upon the cylinder 2 is arranged a series of projections 23 one for each division
into which the twenty-four hours may be divided, as shown in Figures 1 and 3,
these projections being arranged so that as the cylinder 2 is rotated each successive
projection is brought into the same longitudinal plane previously occupied by the .
preceding projection. Alongside the cylinder 2 is arranged a series of metal
springs 25 secured in any suitable manner to the frame 7 and adapted to register
with the projections 23 on the cylinder and to be successively struck by said
projections as the cylinder 2 is rotated. Instead of using the series of projections 23,
as shown in Figures 1 and 3, a spiral rib 24 may be used for the same purpose,
arranged upon the cylinder 2, as shown in Figure 5. As the cylinder is rotated,
contact is successively made with the springs 25 by the rib on the cylinder.
These contacts are made at regular intervals of time, as for example, every

page_text: niteen minutes. The springs may be marked to denote the intervals of time a
represented in Figure 4.
An electrical circuit is formed by a suitable wire 27 from a battery 30 to the
cylinder 2, and by a wire 28 from the battery 30 to the metal spring 25, to which
it is connected by a hook or loop on the end of the wire that engages a stud or
hook 37 connected to the spring 25. The wire 28 passes through the room desired,
where it is provided with an ordinary electrical call bell 34. Several wires and
bells for each room may be connected to the same battery and all have a common
connection with the cylinder 2, as shown in Figure 5. When the projections 23
are used upon the cylinder, said projections are preferably arranged in a spiral roll
forming one complete circuit of the cylinder in passing from one end to the other,
thus dividing the circumference of the cylinder into forty-eight equal parts, so that,
if the cylinder is caused to rotate on its axis once in twelve hours, this division
would cause one of the projections 23 to come in contact with the spring 25 adapted
to register with it every fifteen minutes, or, if the cylinder is caused to rotate once
in twenty-four hours, then the successive contacts between the projections 23 and
springs 25 would be thirty minutes apart. There being the same number of springs
or strips 25 as projections 23, the cylinder 2 is then placed so as to bring the first
projection against the first spring at any desired hour, as six o'clock, and that
spring numbered for that hour, and each successive spring fifteen or thirty minutes
later, as may correspond with the rotation of the cylinder. In order to operate the
cylinder so that it will rotate at a speed to correspond to the time designated by
the several contact springs 25, a magnet 19 is provided adapted to operate the
ratchet lever 17, the upper portion 45 of the ratchet lever acting as the armature of
the magnet, so that, as an electrical current passes through the magnet, the
armature 45 is attracted, throwing one arm of the bifurcated end of the ratchet
lever out and the other in, and thereby rotating the cylinder 2 one half the distance
from one notch to the next of the escapement wheel 10. When the current is
broken, a spring 47 draws the ratchet back to its former position, completing the
step movement of the cylinder and causing one tooth on the wheel 10 to pass.
When the spiral rib is used in place of the spirally arranged projections, the
operation is substantially the same as that already described, each portion of the
spiral rib taking the place of one of the projections on the cylinder.
The magnet 19 is arranged in the circuit from the battery 20, one of the wires 49
therefrom terminating in the contact spring 50. The other wire 53 from the
battery terminates at and has an electrical connection with the metallic circuit
maker and breaker 51 which is arranged upon a shaft 52 adapted to be rotated by
any suitable lock mechanism connected therewith, its time of rotation being
arranged to correspond to the construction of the device herein before described.
When the circuit closer and breaker 51 is provided with four arms, as shown, and
makes one revolution every hour, the electrical circuit will be closed and the
cylinder rotated one step every fifteen minutes.
In operation, suppose that any bell 34 is desired to be rung at 8.45. The wire 28
connected with this bell is electrically connected to the spring representing that
hour, which, in the arrangement herein described, where the first spring forms a
contact with the cylinder at six o'clock, would be the twelfth spring. Then when
the cylinder 2 has revolved so as to bring the twelfth projection 23, or the portion
of the spiral rib corresponding thereto, in contact with said spring, the circuit will
be closed, causing the bell 34 to ring. The ratchet wheel 10 having the same
number of teeth as there are springs 25, it is obvious that contact will be made with
one of the springs 25 every fifteen minutes, as the wheel is turned but one tooth at
each forward and back movement of the ratchet wheel, and this movement is caused
by the closing and opening of the circuit by the wheel 51 which makes a revolution
every hour and in so doing closes and opens the circuit four times.
This guest call may be used in any hotel or other building provided with a return
call from each room by means of which the occupant of the room will notify the
clerk or person at the office or central station that he has heard the call, and it is

page_text: preferable to provide means by which, in case no response is heard from any room
when the circuit is closed by the wires leading through that room by the cylinder,
the call to that room may be repeated.
For this purpose, a metallic conductor 63 is preferably arranged as shown in
Figure 5, consisting of a plate, although it would be readily understood that a
conductor in the form of a bar or wire would answer the same purpose. The plate 63
is arranged upon an insulated support and for convenience is mounted in front of
the instrument and above the hooks or studs 37. The wire 27 leading from the
battery is connected with this plate. By touching any one of the hooks upon the
bell wires to this plate, the circuit will be closed through that particular wire and
the bell will be rung as long as the contact continues.
It sometimes occurs that it is necessary to ring the bells in all of the rooms at
once, as in case of fire. For this purpose, means are provided by which the circuits
to all of the rooms may be simultaneously closed. This device consists preferably
of a rod or bar 65 preferably arranged upon a hinged support above the hooks 37
and having connection with the wire 27 from the battery. This bar, when not in
use, will be turned up to the position indicated by dotted lines in the drawings.
When it is desired to sound the bells in all of the rooms, the wires from the roonis
will be connected to the hooks 37 and the bar 65 will be turned down to make
contact with all of said hooks and the bells in all of the rooms will then be rung.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, 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 :-
1. The combination, in an electrical call bell, of a rotating cylinder having a
spiral rib or series of contact points arranged spirally around said cylinder, a series
of contact springs arranged to be successively engaged by said contact points, an
electrical circuit connected to said cylinder, and adapted to be completed through
any of said contact springs, a call bell arranged in said circuit, and suitable
mechanism for causing the rotation of said cylinder so that the successive contacts
with said contact spring will be at regular intervals of time, for the purpose
specified.
2. In an electrical call bell, the combination, with an electrical circuit, of the
bell 34, cylinder 2 having a spiral rib or series of contact points, a series of contact
springs representing successively stated intervals of time all electrically connected
substantially as described, and an electrically actuated ratchet controlled by
mechanism adapted to regulate the rotation of said cylinder so that said contact
springs will be successively engaged at such stated intervals of time.
3. The combination, with an electrical circuit having an electric bell arranged
therein, of contact springs 25 adapted to be placed in said circuit, cylinder 2
arranged in said circuit, having a spiral rib or series of projecting contact points 23
arranged thereon adapted to engage said contact springs successively as said
cylinder is rotated, ratchet wheel 10, bifurcated ratchet wheel 17, spring 47, and
magnet 19 arranged in an electrical circuit adapted to be opened and closed at
stated intervals of time, substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
4. In an electric guest call comprising call bells, electric circuits in which said
bells are located, a cylinder, a series of circuit closers adapted to close said circuit,
a ratchet mechanism for operating said cylinder, a magnet for operating said ratchet
mechanism, an electric circuit in which said magnet is located, and means for closing
said circuit at stated intervals of time.
5. In a guest call, the combination, with an electric circuit and guest calls located
therein, of mechanism for successively closing said circuits, and electro magnet for
operating said mechanism, an electric circuit in which said magnet is located, and
means for closing said last-named circuit at stated intervals of time, substantially
as described.
6. In a device of the class described, the combination, with a rotating cylinder,
of a series of contact springs, with which contact is successively made by said

page_text: cylinder, call bells, and a battery in partial circuit with said cylinder, wires adapted
to be connected to said springs, and an insulated conductor connected to said
battery and adapted to have said wires from the call bells brought into contact with
it, for the purpose of repeating the call in any room.
7. In a device of the class described, the combination, with a series of contact
springs, of a rotating circuit closer adapted to successively make contact with said
springs at predetermined intervals of time, a series of call bells and battery in
partial circuit with said circuit closer, wires from said call bells adapted to be
connected with said springs, and a conductor connected with the wire from the
battery with which any one of said wires from the call bells may be brought
into contact for the purpose of repeating the call in any room, substantially as
described.
8. In a device of the class described, the combination, with a series of call bells,
of a series of contact springs with which the wires from said bells are adapted to be
connected, a rotating circuit closer having a battery connection, and adapted to
successively make contact with said springs and means connected with the battery
for simultaneously closing the circuit through all of the wires connected to said
spring, substantially as described.
9. In a device of the class described, the combination, with the call bells, of the
rotating cylinder having a battery connection, the series of springs with which said
cylinder successively makes contact, the hooks connected with said springs, the
wires adapted to be connected to said hooks, and the hinged bar having a battery
connection and adapted to be brought in contact with all of said hooks, for the
purpose specified.
Dated this 1st day of January 1891.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.