Improvements in or relating to Electric Signalling or Indicating Apparatus.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Aug., 1898-Accepted, 19th Aug., 1899
Improvements in or relating to Electric Signalling or Indicating
Apparatus.
A communication from VICTOR JULIEN BUSSON and EUGENE FRANÇOIS BUSSON, of 15,
Rue des Vertus, Paris, in the Republic of France, Electricians.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111 Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to an improved electric automatic signalling or indicating
device.
The chief object sought to be attained by this device is to place at the disposal of
hotels or other establishments an electric alarm or indicator which can act if desired,
every quarter of an hour or other desired times, and which does away with the
necessity of depending upon an attendant to operate a switch or interrupting device,
and whose forgetfulness might have serious consequences.
But besides hotels, the applications of the invention are very nutñerous, for instance,
for laboratories, burning of ceramic and other materials and for various other
purposes.
The switch boards are preferably arranged for 12 hours but they could also be
arranged for 24 hours, so as to avoid any confusion between day and night signals or
alarms.
The signalling device can be used for any number of rooms and can also call at the
same hour any number of persons.
The apparatus as arranged for use in hotels and similar places is intended to perform
the following operations:-
1. To ring a bell at the selected times in the office of the hotel, in order to notify
the attendant that he must call a guest and to indicate the number of the room
occupied by the person to be called.
2. To ring from the office of the hotel bells in the desired rooms, in order to call
the person occupying them.
3. To control the rounds which the attendant must make in the establishment at
given hours.
The present invention is characterized by an automatic commutator by means of
which a number of switch-boards T T can be worked by three lines J J1 J2 controlled
by a single clock, or the like, and worked by a single source of electricity, for the pur-
pose of each producing, at desired times and if necessary at a distance, simple or
multiple calls, or signals separately or simultaneously, and intermittently marking the
time on each of the switch-boards. Metallic indicator discs are provided with an
angular or conical opening or openings by means of which the circuits can be closed
by simply hanging them on the desired contact hooks of the switch board.
With a view of rendering the description of the invention clear, there is illustrated
by way of example, on the left hand side of the accompanying drawing, an arrangement
applicable to the needs of a hotel, with a central switch-board C constructed to serve
-

page_text: for twelve consecutive hours, by means of which the calls or signals desired can be
produced every quarter hour during that time.
This combination, which, moreover, has the advantage of being adaptable to
the electric bell communication that may already exist, without interfering with the
use or effectiveness of the latter, enables the operator to secure by means of
the central switch-board T, generally located in the office of the building etc., the
automatic calling of one or more persons, simultaneously, at the time required, the
calls being made by bells S placed in the various rooms 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Working of the apparatus :-
.
D is a cam on the spindle d' of the minute hand of the clock H, provided with four
indents or recesses and so arranged that at every quarter of an hour the end of a
lever I pivotted at 2 and drawn downwards by an adjustable spring 2, falls to the
bottom of a recess 2, whereupon a projection 13 of the lever L comes in contact, with
the end of a screw V whereby the circuit of the electro-magnet B through the
lines JJ and battery A is closed, in consequence of which the armature 61
pivotted at 62 is attracted and lifts the pawl k articulated to it and provided with
a counterweight pup and in engagement with another tooth 2 of the ratchet
wheel R.
'
But as soon as the contact between V and 13 is broken, the armature 6¹ falls back
on to the limiting stop u¹ owing to the weight p, and the catch assisted by this
weight causes the ratchet R to advance to the extent of one tooth.
The number of the teeth on the ratchet wheel R being equal to the number of
contacts of the electro-automatic commutator C, and the hand M being fixed on the
same spindle r¹ às the ratchet wheel R, it follows that as the latter advances tooth by
tooth, so the hand M passes from one contact to another. The screws ² serve to 2
fix the ratchet wheel R by means of the catches and ¹ each provided with counter-
weights p and p¹.
From the fact, that each of the 48 contacts t¹ is separately connected by the lines e
with one of the 48 contact hooks E, immediately underneath the 48 hour markings I,
on which hooks E can be suspended metallics discs F having holes f, each connected
with a complete circuit conductor connected to a source A of electricity and to bell S
or the like, it is evident that the apparatus is able to produce calls or signals at each
advance of the hand, i.e. at every quarter of an hour.
Again, since the hand M will naturally occupy, at each quarter hour, the same
position as the clock hour hand h¹ to which it is adjusted on starting, by means of the a
contact G, and since every contact is marked with the corresponding indication of
the hour, or quarters it will easily be understood that the hand M will intermittently
indicate the time, every time it effects a call or signal.
In the case of several switchboards under a single actuating device, the above
description of the operation applies to each one of them.
4
As an example suppose a person occupying room No. 5 informs the office attendant
that he wishes to be called at 4.15. All the attendant has to do is to hang the
metallic disc F bearing the number 5 on the contact hook E arranged below the
plate I indicating 4.15. When the hand M occupies the position as indicated in
the accompanying drawing, the current starting at the + pole of the source A of elec- 4
tricity will travel as indicated by the arrows, passing successively from the hand M to
the contact t¹, the hook E, disc or label F No. 5, through the bell S of the room No. 5,
which it will thus set ringing at the required time, returning finally to the source of
electricity by the pole.
The two series from 9 o'clock to 10.45 on the right-hand side of the drawing, repre-
sent the apparatus so arranged as to call only the individual on duty whenever one or
inore persons have to be called and to indicate to the attendant also the numbers of
the respective rooms occupied by the persons who wish to be called at these times.
In order to effect this it is sufficient to fix on to the switch-board T underneath each
time indicator I, two contact hooks E1 E2 instead of one only, i.e. 48 contact hooks E¹,
each separately connected with the contacts t¹ by means of the line c', and 48 contact
hooks E all connected with the common return conductor y connected to the call bell

page_text: device S for this purpose generally located in the office of the hotel. Finally the
discs F¹ bearing the corresponding room numbers and used for closing the circuit
are provided, in this case, with two holes f¹ by means of which they are hung up on
two hooks E E' instead of on one only.
When the attendant is expected to call several persons at one and the same time,
all the corresponding dises F are hung up on the contact hooks E E¹ below the time
decided on.
The ringing of the call bell St stops as soon as the contact between the hooks and
discs is broken, the latter indicating to the attendant the numbers of the rooms
occupied by the persons who wish to be called at that particular time.
It has been found that contact pieces provided with circular holes seldom ensure a
good contact between the two parts, as the contact only takes place at one point,
therefore according to this invention a conical instead of a circular hole is used,
whereby a wedging action takes place and a much more perfect contact is obtained.
The arrangement with a separate clock C as shown in the drawings is of undoubted
utility in large hotels, offices schools, convents, barracks, hospitals, palaces, works and
so on, where the main clock regulating the general service of the establishment is
often at a considerable distance from the office or offices in which the switch board or
switch boards are arranged.
But it is chiefly for large public works and establishments that this arrangement is
the simplest and most convenient in fact as shown in the accompanying drawing it
would be sufficient to have at the central station a source of electricity and the clock
in order to control all the subscriber switch boards T¹. This can be effected by
means of 3 wires at the utmost, or 2 wires only if the earth is used as a common
pole.
On the other hand besides an indicator of a construction that the subscriber may
choose, each subscriber would have the exact time intermittently indicated on the
dial.
Finally whatever be the construction chosen among those of which our apparatus is
capable the exactitude of signalling, the facility of its instalation, necessitating a much
sinaller number of wires than usual and the facility of all manipulations and the
reliability of its working favourably distinguishes it from all other signalling and
indicating devices.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
:-
1. In an electric signalling or indicating apparatus the combination of a source of
electricity a switch board controlling clock, bells and conducting wires, substantially
as described.
2. In an electric signalling or indicating apparatus the combination of a source of
electricity a switch board clock, bells, conducting wires and commutator as herein-
before described.
3. In an electric signalling or indicating apparatus the combination of a source of
electricity a switch board: clock, bells, conducting wires and a metallic contact dise
for automatically closing the circuit at a given time by suspending it on one of a series
of contact hooks of a switch board whereby the manipulations of a commutator or
interrupting device are done away, substantially as described.
4. In an electric signalling or indicating apparatus the combination of a source of
electricity a switch board clock, bells, conducting wires and a metallic contact disc
with a wedge shaped opening enabling an intimate contact and wedging on a metallic
hook to be effected, substantially as described.
5. In an electric signalling or indicating apparatus the combination of a source of
electricity, a switch board clock, bells, conducting wires, and a dial indicating inter-
mittently the exact time as shown in the central dial, substantially as described.
6. An electric signalling or indicating apparatus comprising the parts hereinbefore
described in their different combinations with or without modifications in shape

page_text: form and dimensions of the apparatus and their arrangement substantially as
described.
7. Electric signalling or indicating apparatus arranged substantially as described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 92nd day of August 1900
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.