US1221588A - Letter-conveyer. - Google Patents

Description

A, A PUCCINI 81 D. EVANGELIST.

LETTER CONVEVER.

APPLICATION HLED APR. 17. I915.

Patented Apr. 3, 191?.

2 SHEETS-SHEET i.

A TTOlM/EY ms NOIVRIS mums can PHom-urmz. wAsumc mul a c AURELIO A. ruccmr, or coaonn, AND Dominion EVANGELIST, or'nnw YORK, n. Y..

LETTER-CONVEYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

Application filed April 17, 1915. Serial No. 22,089.

To all whom it may concern:

and DOMiNICK EVANGELIST, both subjects of the King of Italy, and residents of Corona, county of Queens, and State of New York, and of New York, county and State of New York, respectively, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Letter-Conveyers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to a class of apparatus adapted to be used in buildings and like structures.

Our invention has for its object primarily to provide a conveyer of an electrically operative type designed to be employed in buildings and the like where persons reside especially in apartments whereby letters, cards, and similar articles may be received at a given station, for example on the main floor of the building, and then transmitted to the apartments of the persons to whom the various articles belong without requiring personal deliveries of the articles. The invention consists essentially of one, or a number of chutes arranged at a given station in the building so that one chute extends to each apartment thereof, and each chute has an inlet for admitting the article to be transmitted as well as having an outlet through which the article is discharged into the apartment to; which the chute leads. In each chute is a movable carrier, or box for receiving the article passed through the inlet of its chute, and the carrier is then electrically transmitted to the outlet of the chute at which time the article is caused to be discharged from the carrier through the outlet of the chute into the apartment of the person to whom the article belongs, the person being notified of the delivery of the article by causing an alarm in the apartment to be sounded.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a motor; to provide mechanism operable by th motor wherebye ach carrier may be independently transmitted; to provide a normally open circuit adapted to operate the motor when closed; to provide a normally open sub-circuit adapted to be closed for sounding an alarm when article is discharged from the carrier; to provide trips which are operated by contact with the carrier to cause the circuit to be opened for stopping the operation of the motoras well as disconnecting the carrier from the operative mechanism to permit the carrier to return to its station following the discharge of the article.

With these and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings forming a partsof this specification in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and will then be pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view, partly fragmentary and partly in section, showing the manner of using a number of letter conveyers embodying our invention in conjunction with a building.

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly fragmentary and partly in section, of one of the conveyers.

' Fig. 3 is a side view of the conveyer shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view, partly in section, of the opposite side of the conveyer shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a section, partly in detail, taken on the line VV of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper part of the chute of the conveyer, showing the manner of discharging an article from its carrier, and

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the elec- 'tric circuit for operating the conveyer to gether with the sub-circuit.

One or any suitable number of the letter conveyers may be used in a building or other like structure, as 10, having one, or a number of apartments on separate floors, as 11 and 12, and all of the conveyers are alike in construction. When more than one conveyer is employed they are preferably arranged in a single group to lead from a suitable receiving station preferably in the main entrance, or on the lower floor as 13, of the building so as to be accessible to the person v the front wall of the chute under the outlet is a shelf 22 on which thearticle is received after passing through the outlet.

Interiorly of each of the chutes 14 is a carrier, or box 23 for receiving the article passed through the inlet of its chute so as to be transmitted for being discharged from the box through the outlet of the chute. Each box is of a size soas to be freely movable in its chute, and the box has a front wall 24, rear wall 25, top wall-26, and a bottom wall 27. Through the wall of the box at the .intersection of its top wall and front wall is an opening, or inlet 28 adapted to be nor mally in register with the inlet 19 of the V chute'when the conveyer is not in operation so as to be positioned for receiving the article inserted through the inlet of the chute, and through the front wall of the box is an outlet, or opening 29 adapted to register 7 with the outlet 21 in the door 20 of the chute when the box has been transmitted to this part of the chute to permit the article to be discharged into the apartment. To the top wall 26 of the box is connected one end of a line 30 which is wrapped around a transverse shaft 31 journaled in the upper parts of the side walls of the chute, and this shaft is of a length to extend some distance beyond the chute. In order to cause the article to be discharged from the box after being transmitted to the outlet 21 of the chute, in the upper back corner of the box is pivoted the rear edge of a transversely disposed plate 32 which is of a size to be freely movable in the box as well as having its forward edge movably disposed in the outlet 29 of the box.

' The plate 32 is normally swung upwardly so that its front edge is in contact with the upper wall of the outlet 29 by a spring, as 33, having one end connected to the underside of the plate 32, and the other end connected to the inner surface of the rear wall of the box adjacent to the bottom thereof. In this manner when the transverse plate is swung downwardly its movement will be against the tension of the spring 33, and the outer free edge of the plate will rest on the lowerwall of the outlet 29 of the box. When an 'art-icleis received through the inlet 28 of the box after being inserted through the inlet 19 of the'chute at the main station of theconveyer the article will rest on top of the yielding transverse plate 32, and when the box has been transmitted in the chute so that its'outlet 29 is in register with the outlet 21 of the chute the plate 32 will be contacted Through the door 20 by a rod 34. The upper end of the rod 34 is secured, at 35, interiorly of the chute, and this rod is arranged in the path of movement of the box so that its lower end will enter the inlet of the box, and contact with the yielding plate 32, adjacent to one edge of the latter and the corresponding side Wall of the box due to the close relative position of the rod to the inner face of the chute so as to depress the plate without contacting with the article on its top especially when the article is in the form of a letter, or the like. The plate 32 will then be swung downwardly against the tension of the spring 33, to cause the article to be discharged by gravity and when the upward movement of the box is checked, as will be hereinafter more fully explained, the article will-slidably pass from the plate for being delivered through the registered outlet 29 of the box and the outlet 21 of the chute into the apartment to which the article belongs immediately preceding the movement of the box on its downward course through the chute.

To cause the carrier, or box 23 to be transmitted in its chute, an electric motor of any suitable type, as 36, is preferably employed, and when a number of the convcyers are employed in a building, or like structure, all of the carriers or boxes may be operated by one motor from a common drive shaft 37 main station of the conveyers. On the drive shaft of the motor 36 is a pulley, or sprocketwheel 38 over which is guided a belt, or sprocket chain 39 passed over a pulley, or sprocket wheel 40 on the drive shaft 37 and to permit the carrier, or box to be independently transmitted in its chute for the delivery of articles, each conveyer is provided with a separate mechanism, as 41, adapted to be operated by the shaft 37 when driven by the operation of the motor 36.

The operative mechanisms 41 of each of the conveyers are correspondingly constructed, and each mechanism has a clutch 42 which may be of a well known form having two cooperating toothed members 43 and 44. The toothed member 43 is held stationary on the drive shaft 37, and the toothed member 44 is slidable on the shaft so as to be shifted into and out of engagement with the member 43. On the slidable toothed member 44 is a sprocket wheel 45, and to this member is also connected one end of a suitable hand lever 46 adapted to be moved back and forth laterally for shifting this toothed member into and out of engagement with the toothed member 43 so that the clutch 42 and sprocket wheel 45 will be rotated when lever. Over the sprocket wheel 45 is guided a sprocket chain 47 which is disgosed upwardly alongside of the chute 14, and the sprocket chain is guided over a sprocket wheel 48 rotatable on the projecting end of the shaft 31 in the upper part of the chute. Also on the shaft 31 is a clutch 49 which may be similar to the chute 42 having two cooperating toothed members 50 and 51. The toothed member 50 is held stationary on the shaft, while the toothed member 51 is slidable thereon. Formed integral with the toothed member 51 is a collar 51 also slidable on this shaft 31, and on this collar is integrally formed the sprocket wheel 48, the sprocket wheel with the collar and the toothed member 51 of the clutch bein g thereby slidable together on the shaft 31.

Serving to actuate the motor 36 for operating the mechanism 41 of each conveyor, to transmit the carrier, or box 23 of each conveyer independently, we provide a normally open electric circuit 52, and when more than one conveyor is used in a group all the circuits may receive their current from a single source of supply, such as a battery, as 53, which may be of any suitable type. From one pole of the battery 53 is a wire 54 leading to one terminal of the motor 36, and from the second pole of the battery 53 is a wire 55 to which is connected a wire 56 terminating with a contact 57 arranged in proximity to the inlet 19 of the chute of each conveyer. Also contiguous to the chute of each conveyer is a switch 58 the central part of which is pivoted, at 59, so that one end is disposed toward the chute while the other end is adapted to be swung into engagement with the contact 57 of the wire 56, and to the pivot 59 of the switch is connected a wire 60 leading to the second terminal of the motor 36. When the conveyer is not in operation the members of the clutch 42 are positioned out of engagement, and the members of the clutch 49 are positioned in engagement with each other, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In order to close the circuit 52 for energizing the motor 36 to operate the mechanism 41 of one of the conveyers for transmitting its carrier, or box 23 to deliver an article when received therein, the lever 46 of the trans mitting mechanism is manually directed to move the toothed member 44 into engage ment with the toothed member 43 of the clutch 42, and the switch 58 of the electric circuit is then swung so that one of its ends will engage the contact 57 of the circuit. The circuit will thereby be closed from the battery 53, over the wire 54 to the motor, and also from the battery over the wires 55 and 56, to the contact 57, through the switch 58, and over the wire 60 to the motor. The motor will then be energized for driving the sprocket chain 39, and the drive shaft 37..

- 28 in its chute will be transmitted from the receiving station to its destination for discharging the article therein, as above explained.

To notify the occupants of the apartment that the article has been delivered, an alarm, as 61, is caused to be sounded simultaneously with the discharge of the article from the carrier, or box by closinga normally open electric subcircuit 62 which also leads from the battery 58, the sub-circuit and the alarm of each conveyer being similar when a number of conveyors are used in groups. The alarm 61 may be of any well known form of an electrically operative bell, or buzzer, and the alarm may be arranged at a suitable location in the apartment. The sub-circuit 62 includes a wire 63 leading from the wire of the battery to one pole of the alarm, and from the second pole of the alarm is a wire 64 leading to a contact 65 adapted to be engaged by-a switch 66, and to this switch is connected a wire 67 which leads to the second wire 55 of the battery. The switch 66 is arranged on the back of the chute of its respective conveyer, and this switch is made of spring metal having a curved free end 68, Figs. 2 and 5, movably disposed through an opening 69 in the back of the chute so as to be in the path of the movement of the box for contacting with the switch, and this switch is insulated from the chute.' The curved end of the switch extends interiorly of the chute, and when the carrier, or box is transmitted to its destination for discharging its article the box will at the same time engage the switch which in turn will be moved into engagement with the contact 65. The alarm of the conveyor will then be sounded by the sub-circuit being closed from the battery over the wires 54 and 63 to one pole of the alarm, and also'from the battery over the wires 55 and 67, through the switch 66, through the contact 65, over the wire 64, and thence through the alarm. The alarm will thereby be sounded to notify the occupants of the apartment of the delivery of the article.

To cause the circuit 52 and the sub-circuit 62 to be opened for stopping the operation of the motor and the mechanism 41 as well as stopping the sounding of the alarm 61 whereby the carrier, or box 23 of the conveyer being operated will be returned to its main station, we provide in each conveyer two trips, as 70 and 71, these trips of all the conveyors being similarly formed and alike in arrangement. The trip 7 O has a bracket 72 of substantially the shape of a U to provide two spaced arms 73 and 7 1, and this lever 7 6 having the free end part of its vertical arm pivoted to a bracket 77 extending laterally from the chute. The free end part of the lower arm of the lever 7 6 is movably disposed interiorly of the chute through an opening therein so as to be movable upwardly and downwardly, and this arm of the lever is of a length as well as being so disposed that the carrier, or box 23 will contact therewith simultaneously with the discharge of the article from the box. The trip 71 has a lever 78 movably extending through an opening in the lower part of the opposite side wall of the chute, and this lever is disposed in proximity to the main station of the conveyer for being contacted bythe box 23 as well as supporting the box in its normal position for receiving an ar ticle for. transmission. The outer end of the lever is pivoted to a bracket 79 projected from the chute to permit the lever to be swung upwardly and downwardly, and to the central part of this lever is pivoted one 7 end of a rod 80 which is disposed upwardly.

The upper end of the rod 80 is pivoted to a lever 81 having its central part pivoted to a bracket 81 extending from the chute, and the upper end of this lever engages the collar 51 of the toothed member 51 of the clutch 49, this lever serving to slidably move the collar as well as permitting the collar to be rotated independently thereof. The lever .81 is of a form; as shown, so as to extend downwardly and so that its lower portion will be disposed on an incline through an opening in the chute. The free end of the lever 81 extends some distance interiorly ofv the chute in the path of movement of the box 23, and this end of the lever is on alinement with the lower arm of the lever 7 6 of the trip so as to be contacted by the box when the lever 76 is contacted therewith. When one of the letter conveyors is operated, and its carrier, or box 23 is transmitted in its chute for delivering an article, as hereinbefore explained, synchronously with the discharging of the article and with the sounding of the alarm 61, the box will engage the lever 81 of the'trip 71 and also engage the lower arm of the L-shaped lever 7 6 of the trip 70. The lever 76 of the trip 7 0 will then be swung upwardly for directing the rod and swing the upper arm 74;

of the bracket 72 likewise in upward directions. As the lower arm 73 of the bracket 72 is swung upwardly when the switch 58 of the electric circuit 52 is moved into engagement with the contact 57 to close thls circuit, this lower arm of the bracket will be reversely moved by the operation of the trip 70 for freeing the engagement of this switch with this contact, and the circuit will then be opened to cause the motor and the transmitting mechanism 4:1 to be stopped. The contacting of the box 23 with the lever 81 of the trip 71 will also swing this lever together with the rod and the lever 78 upwardly, and with this movement of the lever 81 the toothed member 51, the collar 51 and the sprocket wheel 4-8 will he slidably guided on the shaft 31 for freeing the engagement of the toothed member 51 with the toothed member 50 of the clutch 49. The rotation of the shaft 31 will thereby be checked for winding the line 30 of the box thereon, and the hand lever 46 of the transmitting mechanism 41 is manually swung to disengage the toothed member 1 1 with the toothed member 13 of the clutch 4-2. By making the box 23 of each conveyer of sufficient weight. the box will cause the sh aft 31 to be reverselv revolved, and the line 30 will be unwound therefrom for permitting the box to be lowered by reason of its own weight in its chute. When the box has arrived at the main station of the conveyer it will. contact with and rest on the lever 78 of the trip 71, and this lever with the rod 80 and the lever 81 will be forced downwardly. In turn the sprocket wheel 48, the collar 51*, and the toothed member 51 of the clutch 49 will be slidably guided on the shaft 31 for moving the toothed member 51 into engagement with the toothed member 50, and the convever will be in readiness to be again operated.

In the foregoing description, we have embodied the preferred form of our invention, but we do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselves thereto, as we are aware that modifications may be made therein without departing from the principle, or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention; therefore we reserve to ourselves the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

IfIaving thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a letter conveyer, a chute adapted to be arranged in a building so as to be disposed from a station to an apartment therein, the said chute having an inlet at the station, and having an outlet leading into the apartment, a box slidably mounted in said chute and provided with an inlet for receiving an article inserted through the inlet of the chute and an outlet for discharge of the article through the outlet of the chute, a spring retained plate inside the box for supporting the article when received therein, means for raising and lowering said .box, and means for causing the plate in the box to be yieldingly moved for discharging the article simultaneously with the outlet of the box being registered with the outlet of the chute.

2. In a letter conveyer, a chute adapted to be arranged in a building so as to be disposed from a station to an apartment therein, the said chute having an inlet at the station, and having an outlet leading into the apartment, a box slidably mounted in said chute and provided with an inlet for receiving an article inserted through the inlet of the chute and an outlet for discharge of the article through the outlet of the chute, a spring retained plate within the box and having one edge thereof hingedly attached thereto when received therein, means for lowering and raising said box, and means adapted to contact with said plate for causing it to be yieldingly moved for discharging the article simultaneously with the outlet of the box being registered with the outlet of the chute.

3. In a letter conveyer, a chute adapted to be arranged in a building so as to be disposed from a station to an apartment therein, the said chute having an inlet at the station, and having an outlet leading into the apartment, a box slidably mounted in said chute and provided with an inlet for receiving an article inserted through the inlet of the chute and an outlet for discharge of the article through the outlet of the chute, a spring actuated plate retained transversely inside the box for supporting the article, means for raising and lowering said box, means for causing the plate in the box to be yieldingly moved for discharging the article simultaneously with the outlet of the box being registered with the outlet of the chute, together with means for automatically cutting oif said raising and lowering means when the box has arrived at either the inlet or the outlet of the chute.

4. In a letter conveyer, a chute adapted to be arranged in a building so as to be disposed from a station to an apartment therein, the said chute having an inlet at the station, and having an outlet leading into the apartment, a box slidably mounted in said chute and provided with an inlet for receivingan article inserted through the inlet of the chute and an outlet for discharge of the article through the outlet of the chute, a spring actuated plate retained transversely inside the box for supporting the article when received therein, means for raising and lowering said box, and a finger mounted in said chute and adapted to contact with the plate in said box for causing same to be yieldingly moved for discharging the article simultaneously with the outlet of the box being registered with the outlet of the chute.

5. In a letter conveyer, a chute, a carrier mounted within said chute, said carrier having an inlet and an outlet, a plate within said carrier and hingedly connected thereto, resilient means engaging said plate whereby it is adapted to act as a yielding support for an article inserted within the carrier, means for causing said carrier to travel back and forth in said chute, and means for engaging said plate at a predetermined point in the travel of the carrier, whereby said plate will be swung downwardly and the article resting thereon will be permitted to pass through the outlet in the carrier.

6. In a letter conveyer, a chute, a carrier in said chute, means for causing said carrier to travel back and forth in said chute, an inlet and-an outlet in said carrier, a plate hingedly connected to said carrier and normally disposed to lie in a plane intermediate said inlet and outlet, means for causing said plate to cut off communication between said inlet and outlet and act as a support for an article inserted within said carrier, and means for engaging said plate at a predetermined point in the travel of the carrier whereby said plate will be moved to permit the article resting thereon to pass through theoutlet in the carrier.

This specification signed and witnessed this sixteenth day of April, A. D. 1915.

' AURELIO A. PUCCINI.

DOMINICK EVANGELIST. Witnesses: V

Boer B. Amzorr, M. DERMoDY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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