US1094000A - Coin-controlled telephone pay-station. - Google Patents

Description

G. A. LONG. COIN CONTROLLED TELEPHONE PAY STATION. APPLIOATIOK FILED MAR.19, 1913.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914. 1 2 .1. 6

o as 23 M a? 3g 5 llllllllll! IHIII I I I IIIIIIII m Witnesses: 1100010607:

UNITED srArEs PATENT-OFFER A GEORGE A. LONG, or HARTFORD, connnc'ricn'r, AssIG'No'n 'ro THE GRAY 'rnnnrnonn' PAY STATION COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A. CORPORATION OF CON- NECTICU'T.

Specification of Letters Patent.

COIN-CONTROLLED TELEPHONE PAY-STATION.

Original application filed February 19, 1912, Serial no. 078361,, Divided and this application filed mm 1-9, 1913. Serial in. 755,316.

To all whom it may concern:

\ citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of- Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin-Controlled Telephone Pay-Stations, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to coin controlled telephone pay stations. It should be understood that in using the term coin I do so with the object of not only inoludin a piece of money but also with the object o including a check or something of 'an equivalent, character. f The present case is a division'of my application for .patent for telephone pay stations, filed February 19, 1912, Serial No. 678,661, and which matured into Patent No. 1075485, Oct. 14,1913.

A coin or check controlled telephone'pay station involving my invention preferably includes in its make-up, a signal which may be of any suitablekind but which in the present case is of audible type, and a telephone transmitter, and although the transmitter and the signal ma be related in any desirable manner, I pre or that they be in a resonant connection, by reason of which when the signal is operated such fact will through said transmitter and line, be transferred to a central oflice operator to indicate to her that. toll has been paid or some equivalent necessary act performed. The signal to which I have alluded may be operated in any suitable way, although I prefer that this be done by the person at the calling station or the individualwho uses the pay station. One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide means for preventing the operation of the signal until toll for a message has been paid.

The device possesses many other features of novelty and advantage, which with theforegoing will be set forth at length in the following description wherein I Wlll outline. in detail one of the many forms of embodi-, ment of my invention, .this showing-being provided to enable those skilled in the art to practise the invention. From this it will be evident that I do not restrict myself to such showing; I may depart therefrom in several? respects within the scope of the invention set 1 orth in the claims following said description.

a coin has been introduced into the machine the signal mechanism may be released and operated. in addition to this I provide for several calls for one coin or it may be for a an-outgoing local callis five cents. I provide forreceiving a coin or coins of any denomination or denominations and to give in return for the amount a specific number of calls. In the present instance the machine is adapted to receive a twenty-five cent piece,and the person who inserts such on custom.

Referring tothe drawings; Figure 1 is a phone pay station involving my invention.- Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the closed by the casing, and, Fig; 4' is a front elevation of an indicator. 1

out the several figures, which it will be per-= ceived are on difl'erent scales. 3

The different parts of the device are preferably housed in a suitable casing such as that denoted in a general wayby 5, andto 6, after the usual fashion in this art. As already intimated the signal may be of any suitable kind} thatshown is denoted in a generalway by '7 and consists of a gong in resonant connection 'with the said transmitter. This gong may be struck in any 8 on the for-ward stroke of the plunger 9, which plunger extends through a hole or perforation in the casing 5 so as tobeaccessible exteriorly ofsaid vcasing. It might be added that the effect the action 0 the hammer by the user of the station and thatit is retracted bya coiled spring 10 which with'the gong) hammer arev i-nclosed in the casing, I supported by the bracket 11. This bracket plunger 9 having a lateral projection 13 adapted to enter between the branches of the fork 14 of an arm 14" connected wlth the Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

group. of coins or for a given amount ofmoney. The ordinary minimum charge for front elevation partly in section, of a tele v same. Fig. 3 is a viewof the mechanism in- Like characters'refer to likepa-rts'throug which is connected the telephone transmitter.

suitable manner for example by the hammer plunger 9 is advanced, to

11 also car-mesa register or-counter 12, the

In the organization thus shown, as soon as coin into the machine will be entitled to five calls, although this will depend altogether and eing' the forward motion of the plunger 9 the hammer 8 is first swung out and then freed, at which point the operating spring for said hammer moves the latter quickly against the gong 7.

It is not a. matter of importance as to what the denomination of the coin or coins is, the object in the construction shown being to introduce into the machine a certain amount of money which prepays for a certain number of calls, and although it is conceivable that several coins ofdifferent denominations might be simultaneously introduced into the machine, I have shown means for simply supplying one thereinto, and although" as previously intimated the denomination of this particular coin may \vary, the parts are so proportioned as shown to receive a twenty-five cent piece. The means for receiving a coin or coins may vary as to construction, although that shown and now to be described answers the necessary conditions.

In the casing 5 there are two cooperating members such as 15 and 16 which are adapted to be coupled by-a coin or its equivalent, the part 15 serving to operate certain de vices within the casing as will hereinafter appear, while the part 16 is directly operable by the user of the machine. Unless a coin is employed to couple these two parts the part 15 cannot be operated when the part 16 is, a coin being necessary to effect such action. The parts 15 and 16 might be aptly considered as skeleton cylinders, the casing 5 having interiorly thereof, means for rotatively supporting the outer cylinder 16, the inner cylinder 15 being fitted within the said outer cylinder, and both having slots which normally register to receive the coin 17 which is adapted to be sustained temporarily by a rest as 18 carried by the outer cylinder. A runway as 19 leads to the normally registering slots in the parts 15 and istering slots in the parts 15 16 and from a slot 19 in one side of the casing 5. It will besuppos'ed that a coin is introduced into this runway. When it is, it travels down the same and enters the regand 16 thereby coupling said parts together so that they can be moved as one,.'by operating in the present case, the outer cylinder orbarrel 16 which latter it will be observed has an out Wardly extending stud 20 supported for rocking motion in a bearing constituting part of thecasing 5. Said stud is shown equipped with a handle or lever 21 by which the same can be conveniently operated and which bears normally against a stop 22 on the casing at which tlme the slots of the two parts 15 and 16 coincide. The inner cylinder 15 is shown providedwith an inwardly extending stud or pivot 23, the casing 5 interiorly thereof being rovided with a bearing for supporting said stud 23 for turning movement. It follows that when the parts '15 and 16 are coupled together by a coin and that when the arm 21 is swung down otherwise operated, to impart a half turn to the outer cylinder or barrel 16, the inner barrel 15 is given acorresponding movement, and when the half turn has been completed the coin 17 will drop from the two parts into the usual coin box 24 in the bottom portion of the casing 5.

- The'machine preferably includes indicating means which in the present case shows both the amount of money that is in the machine and also the number of calls to which a subscriber may be entitled, although neither or both is essential. Although said indicating means may be of any convenient kind it is shown as comprising an indicating I member such as 25 graduated from zero to 60, each graduation represeting five cents or one call. In connection with the indicating member is a pointer or finger 26, the shank of which extends through and moves longitudinally of registering slots 27 in the indicatin member 25 and easing 5 respectively eing connected with a carriage as 28 which in the present case has a movement transversely of the casing 5, being preferably operated as will hereinafter appear, in one direction through the primary agency of the plunger 9 or its equivalent, and in the other direction through the primary agency of the coin-controlled mechanism to which I have alluded already or in somesimilar manner. As shown this carriage is supported by parallel shafts 29 and 30 sustained by suitable bearings in the casing and extending transversely thereof, the shaft 29 being shown as a screw while the shaft 30 is plain. Connected ri' idly with the said carriage 28, is a nut 31 n engagement with the threaded portion of the screw shaft 29, said nut fitting an openiing in the carrier 28 and being held in place by the nut 32. The holding nut 32 engages the feed nut 31at one end thereof, said feed nut having at the opposite end the pinion 33. From this it will be clear that when the feed nut 31 is moved longitu shaft 29 by rotating the latter, the carriage 28 will be similarly operated and at the same time will move longitudinally of the parallel supportin and guide shaft 30. In the construction s own the pinion 33 is in mesh with the gear 34 s lined to the shaft 30 and the hub of whic portion of the said carriage 28 and is in place by the nut 35. Pinned or otherwise suitably connected with the stud 23 is a gear 36 in mesh with the pinion 37 inally of the fastened suitably to one end of the shaft 38 supported by bearings in the casing 5. This fits in the upper ield shaft 38 also carries the gear 39 in mesh with the pinion 40 on one end of the screw inner end of the plunger or equivalent member 9.

It will be assumed that a twenty-five cent piece 17 has been inserted in the machine and is resting on the support 18, and that the members 15 and 16 z are, therefore,

coupled together by such coin. In this event said parts 15 and 16 can be operated as oneby the handle 21, and on such m0ve .inent the said parts 15 and 16 will be given a half rotation and when they are inverted the quarter 17 will gravitate therefrom and thereby uncouple said parts. It will be understood that although the inner cylinder has a continuous step-by-step movement always in the same direction, that the outer ,.cylinde1; is capable simply of a half turn, being limited by the stop 22 already described and thec'ompanion stop 21'. On

the turning of the'inner cylinder 15 the stud 23'is given a similar movement, and I y the screw shaft 29 through the interposed gearing already described is correspondingly moved whereby the carriage 28 will be advanced or as shown, moved tothe right in Figs. 1 and 3. If prior to. the'operatlon already described the pointer 26 was opposite zero on the indicating'memberor scale 25,- said pointer at the conclusion of said operation wbuld be opposite the five mark. If a second quarter were introduced thev pointer through the movement of the carriage and thepa-rts already described, would position until the signal '7 be carried to the ten mark on the pointer and so on,-so that if twelve quarters were employed the pointer would finally be opposite the sixty mark, indicating that $3.00 was in the machine, and in such a case the" carriage 28 would be shifted to the extreme advanced position and would remain in this position or in any intermediate advanced was operated on makin a call.

' It will be assumed that coin is in the machine and that a call is to be made. In

I making a call the central oflice operator requires the subscriber to operate the signal,-

andbefore the signal can be operated it is necessary to thrust the plunger 9 rearward. On such motion of the plunger the pawl 42 through the intermediate described parts is moved one step thereby imparting a correobtaining hence the gear 33 and nut 31 will be similarly operated so as to retract said nut 31 and therefore the carriage 28, the latter being retracted or drawn backward one step and consequently moving the pointer 26 from a higher toward a lower number on the scale 25, If the pointer happened to be opposite the five mark on the scale. the same wouldtbe moved opposite the four mark on said scale, when 'theoperation just described was concluded. It will be assumed that there is twent -'-five cents in the machine. When each call is made the carriage. 28 is retracted one step. and when the five calls have been made the gear 34 will be brought substantially and solidly against the hub of the ear 41 so as thereby to effectually lock t e ratchet 41 against move-.. ment and therefore prevent the plunger 9 from being moved to effect the operation of the signal .7, it being necessary to insert acoin before 'thesignal mechanism can be operated.

I have described in detail the construction shown in the accompanying drawings, which is highly advantageous. make it clear that I can depart from this construction in many respects. I may if de- I wish to V sired provide means for handling coins of different denominations.

Although the counter or register 12 is desirable, it, like certain other parts already described, may in some cases be omitted and in similar manner equivalents may be em ployed instead of certain of: the members already described within the scope of my invention. A register or counter, however, is advantageous in that a check is had upon the subscriber, so that the subscriber must of necessity pay for the calls which have been registered, notwithstanding the fact thata slug or slugs may have been used in one or more of such calls. WhileIhave termed my invention a coin controlled telephone pay station, it is not impossible that I might use some or all of the features in connection with other kinds of apparatus.

What I claim is:

-1. The combination of a signal, an indicator, coin controlled means for advancing said indicator to a degree proportionate with'the amount of money employed in the operation of said coin controlled means, and

signal operating mechanism having means for retracting said indicator.

2. The combination of an indlcator, coin cator varying distances and in proportion with the amount of money employed in operatmg said com controlled means, a signal, and signal operating mechamsm having means for retracting said indicator.

- 3. The combination of coin controlled means advanceable to various extent-s and in controlled means for advancing said indiproportion with the amount of money utilized in the operation thereof, an indicator advanceable with the coin controlled means, a. signal. and mechanism for intermittently retracting the coin controlled means, each intermittent movement being a fraction of the amount of advancing movement, said mechanism having means for operating said signal on each of said intermittent movements and for also retracting the indicator.

t. The combination of a telephone transmitter, an audible signal in resonant connection with the transmitter, an indicator, coin controlled means for advancing said indicator to a degree proportionate with the amount of money employed in the operation of said coin controlled means, and signal

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