US472169A - Toll collecting apparatus for telephones - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet '1.

J J. KATO &T. H. RHODES.

TOLL COLLECTING APPARATUS FOR TBLEPHON-ES.

No. 472,169. Patented Apr. 5, 1892.

amoambo'cr Us 20.. Puma-mac" mm (No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

J. J. KATO & T. H. RHODES. TOLL COLLECTING APPARATUS FOR TELBPHONESA No. 472,169. Patented Apr. 5, 1892.

ln' 7 f'l A i am Mucus m: mums venns 420., mom'umov, msmmw, n. cy

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JESSE J. KATO AND THOMAS H. RHODES, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

TOLL-COLLECTING APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,169, dated April 5, 1892. Application filed March 28, 1890. Serial No. 345,785. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J ESSE J. KATO and THOMAS H. RHODES, citizens of the United States, residing at Los Angeles,in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toll-Collecting Apparatus for Telephones; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to nickel-in-the-slot machines, and is specially designed for use in connection with telephones located for use at various points in cities-such as hotels, saloons, and stores-where the general public may make use of the instruments.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide toll-collecting apparatus for telephonic systems in which the charges for the use of the telephone are made dependent upon the time the apparatus is in use; but such apparatus as have heretofore been devised and with which we are familiar are more or less complex in construction and expensive in the manufacture and maintenance, requiring the constant attention of an operative or employ of the telephone company to keep the timemovements of such instruments wound and the telephone in working condition.

The object of our invention is to provide a toll-collectin g apparatus for use in connection with an ordinary telephone outfit at a public station or at a subscribers office, where others than the lessee are liable to use the instrument, and to dispense with the services of an attendant or employ of the company at such station. To this end we have provided improved appliances by which the person desiring to use the telephone must first deposit a coin or equivalent device and also wind the time-movement before the instrument can be used, thereby dispensing with the services of an employe of the company in doing this work. The toll or charge to be made for the use of the telephone may be arbitrarily determined and any desired coin or equivalent device representing a monetary value equal to the toll or charge to be made may be adopted. The mechanism is so arranged that communication with the central office or with a subscriber to the telephoneexchange cannot be had until the requisite deposit has been made and the clock-work wound; but another subscriber or an operat-ive at the exchange or central office may at any time actuate the bell or signal at the station where the toll-collecting device is located.

The invention will first be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference are used to designate like parts of the apparatus, Figure l is a perspective view of the invention, with the upper portion of the toll-box broken away, so as to show the toll-collecting mechanism inclosed therein. Fig. 2 is adiagrammatio representation of the toll collector connected with an ordinary telephone outfit. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the invention with the cover of of the toll-box removed. Fig. 4 is a side elevation looking at the toll-collecting mechanism at the left side of Fig. 3, the tollbox or casing being shown in section; and Fig. 5 is a similar view looking at the mechanism at the opposite side of said Fig. 3.

A in the drawings designates the inclosing casing or toll-box, within which is placed the toll-collecting appliances, which box may be made of wood or any suitable material and of any desired style and dimensions. This box is provided with a cash-drawer at the bottom thereof, into which the coins are directed, such drawer being provided with a lock and key by which it may be rendered inaocessible to any one except the person or persons empowered by the telephone company to collect the coins.

The toll-collecting appliances are located in the casing above the cash-drawer, so as to render the same accessible to the employs of the company for the purpose of inspection or repairs without at the same time affording access to the money-drawer.

The box A is provided with a slit B for the introduction of the coins, and below this slit is placed a chute O, by which the coins are directed onto a balance-lever D,which is preferably made in the form of a trough for the purpose of receiving the coin or other circular device in such position that it will roll.

down the trough, which is tipped thereby. When the coin reaches the lower end of the trough,it will drop into a second chute E, by which it is directed into a cash-drawer at the bottom of the box.

The leverD is provided with an adjustable weight or counter-balance d-,bywhich it may be regulated. This lever is supported upon a suitable frame-work at the back of the easing or box, and in front thereof may be secured the frame F, which supports a train of gearing comprising a clock-work of ordinary construction, save that instead of the usual escapement and pallet we provide a fan a, mounted upon a shaft which carries a pinion b, which meshes with the gear-wheel a, connectingwith the train of gearing of the clockwork, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The fan a rotates in the path of a stop-plate G, which is held normally in engagement with the fan by means of a spring g, and which isprovided with a projection h for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

- tion or ledge 11.

H designates the main shaft of the clock mechanism, to which the usual mainspring is attached, and H is a crank-handle, which may be detachably secured to said shaft for the purpose of winding the spring.

Tothe shaftHis securedacam-shaped disk or dial-plate I, the peripheral portion of which for about one-third of its circumferencaas from 0 to 0, is formed with a projecting por- The dial-plate I may be indented or preferably cut at J ,and the cut portion bent upwardly from the opening thus formed in the plate, so as to form an incline lip j, overhanging said opening.

Beneath the dial-plate I is pivoted a springpressed lever K, whose upper end is pressed normally by the spring against the under side of the dial-plate. When the dial-plate is thrown into the position shown in Fig. 1, with the end of the lever K resting in the opening beneaththe overhanging lip j, the opposite cam-shaped end 7c of said lever will drop below the projecting portion h of the stop G, so as to permit said stop to engage the fan a and arrest the movement of the clock-work; but when the dial-plate is rotated the end is of the lever K will be elevated and engage the projecting portion h of the stop and release the fan, so as to set the clock-work in motion. This motion of the clock-work will continue until the upper end of the lever K is forced into the opening J beneath the lip j, whereupon the stop G will be released by the lever and will engage the fan so as to stop the clock mechanism.

arm Z resting against the back of the casing in position to engage an inclined plate (1, secured to the end of the balance-lever D when the latter is tilted by the deposit of a coin. The pivoted arm or pawl l is sustained in a vertical position upon the arm Z of the lever L by means of a spring Z which spring allows the pawl l to rock backward upon its pivot,

so as to permit the pin 01 upon the dial-plate to be turned back without affecting the lever;

plate the pin will engage said pawl and rock the lever L upon its pivot, so as to cause the arm Z of the lever to raise the end of the balance-lever D and restore the same to its normal position after having been tipped by the deposit of a coin.

M M designate two contact-springs, which are held normally in contact by the. balancelever D, but which will separate when re- ,leased by said lever. {trically connected with the binding-post N and with a brass plate at, which may be secured to'the frame of the clock-work, as shown in Fig. 3, by means of an intervening insulat- Zing-plate n of rubber or other suitable ma- Iterial. The plate at is provided with a contact-spring M, which is arranged in such relation to the peripheral portion of the dial- ''plate I as to make contact therewith only dur- The spring M is elecing about one-third of the revolution of the latter and while impinging upon the projecting portion or ledge iof said plate, being held normally out of engagement therewith during the remaining portion of the revolution of said plate. The spring M is electrically connected with the binding-post N, as shown in Fig. 3, and when in contact with the spring M the current will pass from the bindingpost N to the spring M, thence to thespring M, and thence to the binding-post N, taking a short circuit through said springs, and when the contact-springs are disconnected and the clock-work not in motion the current will pass from the binding-post N to the springM, thence to the brass plate at, through the contact-spring 91 to the dial-plate I, and thence through the intermediate electrical connections to the wiring connecting with the binding-post N, it being understood, of course, that during this time the ledge t of the dialplate will be in contact with the spring-n It lbut upon the forward movement of the dial- IIO will therefore be understood that with the usual telephone outfit connected with the tollcollector, as indicated in Fig. 2, electrical connection may be established with the telephone through the local circuit in the toll-box, so as to permit the operator at the central office or a subscriber at any station upon the system to operate the magneto call-bell; but before the person desiring to use the telephone at the place or station where the toll-collector is located can do so it will be necessaryfor him to deposit a suitable coin or equivalent device of a predetermined character and value in order to open the local circuit and break the electrical connection through the contactsprings and the dial-plate, which can only be done by depositing the requisite coin and turning the crank II, so as to cause the ledge upon the dial-plate to disengage the spring a and simultaneously wind the clock-work. By this means the user ofthe telephone is compelled not only to deposit acoin before using the telephone, but also to wind the clock, so that to keep the toll-collector in operative condition it is only necessary to keep the instrument in perfect working order without the annoyance and expense incident to the use of a collecting device, the time-movement of which must be kept in working condition by an operative or employ of the telephone company.

Our toll-collector is also adapted to be used in connection with any ordinary telephone outfit by simply connecting the same with the wiring thereof in the manner indicated, the toll-box being placed beside or underneath the telephonic apparatus, and the circuitconnections being so arranged that the local circuit through the toll-box must be broken before the call-bell or other signaling device can be actuated. The deposit of a coin or the winding of the clock-work alone will not suffice to establish electrical connection with the line, so as to permit the telephone to be used, for the reason that when the local circuit is broken by depositinga coin only, without winding the clock, or vice versa, the circuit will still be established, in one case through the springs and in the other through the parts N n a I N, so that by the use of this double circuit any person desiring to use the telephone must not only deposit a coin, but also wind the clock before the necessary circuit connections can be made, and it is therefore impossible for designing persons to use the telephone by simply winding the clock without at the same time droppingacoininto the slot. As long as the current is closed through either of the double circuits in the toll-collecting apparatus no current can be generated, so as to actuate the magneto callbell. lVith the arrangement shown our timemovement is regulated so as to run only five minutes, at the end of which time the electric connections will be reestablished, so that a subscriber cannot call another subscriber or ring up the central office without droppingin another nickel. It will be understood, of course, that the time-movement maybe regulated, so as to run fast or slow, by any of the well-known means employed for regulating clock-trains, and thereby increase or diminish at pleasure the time during which the telephone may be used by the deposit of a single coin.

It will of course be understood that various modifications may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinbefore described without departing from the essen tial features of our invention, and hence We do not desire to be limited to the exact construction and arrangement shown and described; but

lVhat we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with a telephone, a tollcoliecting apparatus comprising a coin-receiver, a norm ally-closed local electric circuit, means for breaking said circuit by the deposit of a coin, asecond normally-closed local electric circuit, clock mechanism, and connections for breaking said second circuit by winding the clock, and means whereby said clock mechanism is adapted to simultaneously close both of said circuits at a predetermined point in its movement, substantially as described.

2. In combination with the telephone, the toll-collecting apparatus comprising a balance-lever, a clock-movement for resetting said balance-lever when tipped, and normally-closed double-circuit connections through the toll-collecting apparatus adapted to be opened, the one by the deposit of a chin and the other by the winding of the clock mechanism, substantially as described.

3. In combination with the telephone, the I toll-box, the contact-springs, the balance-lever for holding said springs normally in contact,

and the double-circuit connections adapted' to establish electric connection with the telephone through said toll-box in either of two positions of the springs through the same when in contact and through the dial-plate of the clock-movement when the springs are separated, substantially as described.

ai. In combination with the telephone, the toll-collecting apparatus comprising a suitable casing, a coin-receptacle in said casing, an inclined chute for receiving the coin, a balance-lever, an electric circuit through said casing adapted to be broken by the tipping of said lever, a clock-movement, and a second electric circuit adapted to be broken by winding said clock-1novement, whereby the local circuits through the toll-collecting apparatus can only be broken by depositing a coin and winding the clock, substantially as described.

5. In combination with the toll-collecting apparatus, the clock-movement, the dial-plate on the main shaft thereof, the electric circuit adapted to be established through said dialplate, the fan connecting with the gearing of said clockwork, the stop-plate for arresting the movement of said fan, and the lever for releasing said stop-plate when the clock is wound, substantially as described.

6. In combination with the telephone, the toll-collecting apparatus comprising abalance-lever, an electric circuit adapted to be broken by the tipping of said balance, a clock-movement for resetting the balance, a stop for arresting the movement of the clockwork, mechanism for releasing said stop by winding the clock work, and mechanism adapted to be actuated by the movement of the clock mechanism, so as to restore the balance-lever to its normal position at a predetermined point in the movement of the clockwork, substantially as described.

- 7. In combination with an ordinary tele- I cult connections with said telephone through the toll-collecting apparatus for establishing an electric circuit therethrough when the balance-lever is tipped, and mechanism for breaking said circuit connections by winding the our hands this 17th day of March, 1890.

clock-work, substantially as described.

8. In combination with-a telephone, a tollcollecting apparatus in electric connection therewith, coin-controlled devices for breaking the clectric'circuit through said connections, clock mechanism for resetting said coincontrolled devices, circuit connections normall y closed by said clock-work, and means for breaking saidcircuit connections by winding the clock, substantially as described.

9. In combination with a telephone, a tollcollecting apparatus connected therewith,

double circuits connecting said telephone through said collecting apparatus, coin-controlled devices for breaking one of said circuits, and clock mechanism for breaking the other circuit, substantially as described.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set JESSE J. KATO. 'IHOS. H. RHODES.

Witnesses:

JOHN T. J ONES, R. O. CARLTON.

Images