US932399A - Fire-alarm system. - Google Patents

Description

W. B. KLAHRE.

FIRE ALARM SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1, 1906.

Patented'Aug. 24 1909;

11v VENTOR WiTNESSES KZAHRZ;

' "UNITED sT TEs PATENT ornron;

WILLIAM B. KLAH'RE, OF JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

' FIRE-ALARM sYsirEM;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM B. KnAHRE, a citizen of theUnited States of America, residin at Johnstown, in thecounty of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented'certainnewand useful Improvements in Fire-Alarm Systems, of whiohfthe following is a Specification, reference being had,therein to the accompanying drawing.-

This invention relates to fire alarm systems, and the invention relates more par ticularly to an electric fire alarm operated in connection with the telephone circuit of a central energy telephone. 1

My invention has for itsobject the provision of positive and reliable means for effecting an audible and visible signal in a central telephone station, whereby an alarm of fire can readily be observed and reported to a fire department.

Another object of this invention is to pro vide a device which in conjunction with a suitablethermostat, will transmit aplurality of impulses of a short duration to an an I 1 lllustrated diagrammatically a thermostat 1 nunclator or notification device.

which will more readily appear as the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts to 'be presently described in. detail, illustrated and specifically claimed.

Referring to the drawing forming part-of this specification, like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts th-roughout the'several views, in wh1ch:-

Figure -1 is a front elevation of my 1fmproved device, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a fan governor,l*ig. 3 is an edge view of a peg contact, disk or wheel, Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the same,-

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of my device as used 1n "an electric alarm system, 1n conjunction with a central energy telephone circuit, and, Fig. 6 is a plan V16W of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. .1.

Briefly described, my device consists of a wooden case containing a small motor, two dry batteries, and a'train of gears which reduces the speed of the motor, the speed of the motor being also regulated by an adjustable. fan-governor on the motor shaft; this motor when started operates the train'of' gears to revolve a brass disk or wheel mounted in the ease, WlllCll dlskcarries a desired number.

pegs set in such amanner as to represent'a This disk or wheel is electrically connected to one of the wires 'of a central energy telephone. An arm of spring to come in contact with the pegs in the aforesaiddisk .or wh eel Whenthe latter revolves. This arm is electrically connected Q0 brass is fastened to the side of theicase and. lnsulated therefrom, and is so positioned as Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug; 2 4, 1 909. Application filed August 1, 1906. Serial No. 328,742.

series of circumferentially-arranged brass l through a wire to the other wire of" the aforesaid telephone, and, as the device is connected to the telephone in multiple, and

as'the disk or wheel when not in motion is 'set so that the brass arm does notv touch any of the pegs, the tele hone circuit is not short circuit-ed or inter ered with in anyway. The batteries in the case are for operating the motor and cause the revolution of-the peg-carrying disk or wheel, the motor circuit being kept normallyopen by a thermo:

stat or thermostats and closed by same in case of an excesslve rise in temperature.

Inthe accompanying drawing, I have adapted to be locatedin a building. 'This thermostat is of a conventional form embodying possibly a bi-metallic strip adapted to expand by excessive: heat or'a rise in the temperature of the compartment iii which the thermostat is located and will thus complete an electrical circuit through-batteries 2 andwires 3 and 4, and a motor 5 theb'atteries and motor being arranged Within. a suitable casing 6, located at any. desired point. The batteries ,2 are of sufli eient strength to operate the motor 5, when a circuit is completed through said batteries.

- Upon the armature shaft 6 of the motor 5 is mounted a pinion 7 and a fan governor 8', the formerbeing one of atraln of gears for reducingthe speed of the motor, while the governor is of any ordinary type which.

can be adjusted to further regulate the speed of the motor. The, pinion 7 meshes w th a gear wheel 9 mounted upon a shaft 10, our

naled in .an arm 11 of a depending bracket 11 carried by the casing 6. Upon the shaft 10 is mounted a pinion I2 adapted' to mesh. I

with-a di.k or wheel 14;,which is mounted upon a shaft 15 journaled 111 an arm 11! of the bracket 11. The disk or wheel 14 'is p1o- 'vided with a plural-it of, circumferentially arranged screw threa edopenings 16 and in some of sald openings are detachably mounted pegs-17, theobject and arrangement of" "also equipped with a night bell which can be '10 Switched in or out at will. I'V hen a sub- 'scriber raises the receiver 'on his telephone, the circuit is closed, and the miniature lamp over his number becomes lighted, and if'the call comes at night,and the operator has the night bell cut in, it will ring at the same time. the lamp is burning. If the operator does not answer when called, it is customary to rattle the receiver hook which causes the lamp to flicker and attract the attention of the o erator. In *ig. 5, I have illustrated a central energy telephone circuit'consisting of a lamp or lamps 18 as being in circuit with an electric ni ht or alarm bell 19, a telephone 19 25 and a attery 20., these elements being eonnected to the transmitter by wires 21. and 22. The wires 21 and 22 are connected to the ordinary wires of a telephone, employed to connect a telephone with the central station, as shown in Fig. '1. The wire 21 is connected to a binding post 23, which in turn is connected by a wire 24 to the disk or wheel 14:, preferably by a contact arm 24 as shownnn Fig. 6. ,The wire 22 connects with a binding post 25, which connects with a spring brass arm 26, carried by and insulated from the case 6, saidarm contacting consecutively with the pegs 17 of the disk or wheel 14, as thelatter is rotated. It is cus- 40 tomary to provide a switch 19 by means of which the signal bell 19 may be cutout at any time desired. The pegs 17 are arranged in the ordinary manner of devices of this character, as for instance, for the purpose. of illustration, the pegs are grouped to represent "a call-box designated as two-four-- 'five or two hundred forty-five, that is to say, a group of two of the holes occupied by pegs'then a vacant hole and then four of the holes occupied by pegs and then another vacant space and then live of the holes "occupied by pegs.

Since the current of the batteries 20 intermittently passes through'the disk or wheel 14, I have found it necessary to insulate the wheel 12 from the shaft 10, as at 27, it being understood that the binding posts are suitably insulated from the casing of the device. 4 Should the thermostat 1 be located in a Q compartment or station known as two-fourfive, the device to be used in connection with the thermostat is set by arranging the pegs 17 in the openings 16 in three groups,-

shown, one group of two pegs, one of four building or compartment in which the 14. As the wheel or disk. l lrevolves, th-.75. I

pegs 17 make and break contact with the arm 26, and complete circuits of short duration through the batteries 20, lamp or lamps 1 '18 and bell 19, producing anaudible signal and a visible signal, the latter being in the form of flashes. The telephone central operator by observing the'number of flashes can readily ascertain the number of the thermostat is located, and can forward the same to a fire department. The flashes of the lamp or lamps 18 are somewhat similar to the Morse system, in so much that suflicient interval occurs between the groups of flashes to distinguish the different numbers of the alarm. After the alarm has been repeatedly sounded, a switch 28 in circuit with the battery 2 can be opened to break the circuit, said switch normally remaining closed.

A particular feature of my invention resides in the fact that I use the ordinary telephone circuit thereby incurring no additional expense in maintaining separate wires. In this manner provide an unfailing night watchman for fire, at a smalladditional cost above the regular telephone rates, and without interfering with the day usefulness of the telephone.

Lamp 18 is the regular telephone call signal, and the bell 19, and batteries 20, are the ones regularly in use'at the exchange, con 'sequently it will be observed that all that is necessary to install my device is to connect same up by the wires 21 and 22 to the telephone wires. "If the lamp at the exchange were to light up and remain lighted, the'op-. era-tor would answer the call, and, under ordinary conditions would probably conclude the line was short circuited, but when'my device is installed on a line, and the trans-' mitter-mechanism starts to work due to a circuit having been closed through the motor 5, the lamp starts to flash, and the operatorknowing the device is installed on that line, will be informed that there is a fire, and can immediately notify the nearest fire company if the device be set to signal numbers as herein illustrated, the operator will know at once what company to call.

It is thought from the foregoin descrip". tion that my improved fire alarm evice and system will be readily understood, and I wish it to be understood that various minor changes in the material, size, arrangement 130 ing peripheral teeth, said disk being formed and minor details of construction may be re- What I claim and ters 'Pate11t.is:- i

In a fire alarm system, a motor, a circuit therefor, a pinion driven bythe motor, a transmitter in'the'motor circuit, a disk havdesire tosecure by Let- With'a plurality of circularly arranged apertures disposed transyersely'of the teeth, prearranged contact pins 're'movably secured in the apertures, a casingTha ing top, bottom and side walls inclosing the motor and disk,v a depending bracket operatively supporting the disk and pinion, said bracket being by a'second right angular endto side walls of the casing, insulation for the 'minal for the contact arm.

formed T-shaped and secured by a fi h v angular end to the top wall of the'casing'and one of the ..1 j 7 second right angular end, a terminal .CdIl-f nected with the bracket,- a spring contact arm havingla right angular end secured thereby to the-said side wall and engaging at its free end the contact pins, and a ter: 'In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence-of two witnesses.- v WILLIAM B, 'KLAHRE. Witnesses: I v y A. ,L. GRA i M, '-HARRY HQ Krr'ro.

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