US681813A - Support for telephone-transmitters or other apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

No. sauna. Paitanted Supt. 3, l90l.

E. E. RIES. SUPPORT FOR TELEPHONE TBANSMITTEBS OR OTHER APPARATUS.

(Application filed 55 1;. 19, 1598.

(No Model.)

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UNTTED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELIAS E. RIES, on NEW YORK, n. Y.

SUPPORT FOR TELEPHONE-TRANSIiIlTTERS or OTHER APPARATUS:

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0, 681,813, dated September 3, 1901. Application filed September 19, 1898. Serial No- 691,390. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ELIAS E. RIES, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in'the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Supports for Telephone-Transmitters or other Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to extensible supports for telephone and other electrical apparatus designed for use in places where it is desirable that the instrument or other device when not in use may be supported so as to be out of the way and whereby it may be brought into effective or convenient proximity to the user without disturbing the circuit thereof.

The object of my invention is primarily to provide a neat, compact, ornamental, and convenient transmitter arm or support for desk and other use adapted to be rigidly secured to the desk or other fixed support in such a manner as to be at all times out of the way of books, papers, &c., that may be lying upon the desk or table and which is capable of being readily adjusted so as to be brought into and out of operative position without requiring the use of a conducting cord orcords for maintaining connections between the movable transmitter and its stationary support.

A further object of my invention is to provide anextensible or folding transmitter-arm of such compact form as to permit of the same being placed, for example, within an ordinary pigeonhole of a roll-top desk in such a manner that the transmitter-mouthpiece will normally be flush with the face of the desk or will project only slightly therefrom, so as to be out of the way of the slide of the desk when the latter is closed, and whereby the transmitter may readily be moved forward, so as to closely approach the lips of the user when he desires to carry on conversation, particularly at such times when it is desirable for privacy or other reasons to converse in a low tone or voice.

In another application filed concurrently herewith, Serial No. 691,389, I have shown and described several types of extensible supporting-arms designed to perform somewhat similar functions. In my present invention, however, I make use of a different type of apparatus, in which the telephone instrument, or preferably the transmitter thereof, is

mounted upon a series of conducting-rods extending between stationary and movable bushings or spacingpieces provided with openings through which certain of the said rods may slide and so arranged as to form an ornamental support or cage when the transmitter-arm is in its normal or closed position and an elongated rigid support for the trans mitter when the arm is extended. I also provide means whereby the continuity of the transmitter circuit is maintained through said conducting-rods in any position of the transmitter and also certain other novel features, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

In applying or carrying out my invention I prefer to combine with the stationary transmitter apparatus the various fixed elements of the telephone outfit, such as the inductioncoil and signaling hell or buzzer, which fixed elements may be placed within the box forming the base to which the extensible arm that supports the transmitter proper is secured and to connect with said transmitter apparatus by means of a flexible cord those portions of the telephone outfit that require manipulationsuch as the receiver, switch, and signaling key or button which may be embodied in a single separate apparatus. I do not, however, limit myself to such arrangement, but mayin some cases secure the base of the transmitter-supporting arm directly to the desk or other point of attachment without directly combining therewith any of its accessory elements, and in other cases-as, for instance, when my supporting-arm is to be used in connection with a Wall instrument-I may mount the various other elements or devices constituting the telephone outfit upon a base-board or within a suitable telephone-box in the usual manner. It will beobvious also that my extensible supporting-arm may be used to hold at its free extremity a complete telephone outfit and that the movement or extension of said arm into position for use may be made to operate the necessary signaling and circuit-changing devices. This latter feature, however, I will not further refer to herein, since it is intended to form part of a separate application for Letters Patent.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of my extensible supporting-arm mounted upon the front of a telephone-box and showing the arm as it appears modified form of my extensible arm and the transmitter supported thereby, showing the arm in its extended position. Figs. 3, 3 3 and 3 are rear and front views, respectively,

'of -the insulating spacing bars or bushings 7 Where the rods D D and G C, respectively,

'shownin Fig. 3:and their contact-springs.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings,iA is a 'box'adapted to be secured to the inner back} wall of a roll-top desk or other fixed support and adapted to contain the transmitter in% duction-coil, 'buzzer, and such other acces- 'sorytportionsof the telephone outfit as may 'be desired. To the front of this box myex tensible transmitter-arm is secured in'such 'alpositionthat when the arm is extendedthei mouthpiece 'F of the transmitter E will come approximatelyopposite the lips of the sub-@ scriber or user.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the sup-Z zporting-arm'proper consists of three sections The rodsofi each section are placed at equidistant points; around a circular line'passing through all the% rods and are so shifted or disposed with relation to the rods of the other sections that; when the supporting-arm is closed the vari-@ ous rods form'a cylindrical cage, as shown ati or'groups of three rods each.

G, Fig. 1.

In 'the form ofrm-y invention shown in Fig. 3'each section of thesupporting-arm consists of but two'rods,-and the rods ofeach section are so spaced *relativelyto each other that when the arm is closed'all the rods will be grouped together atapproximately equal dis- 1 tauces apart-inthe same vertical plane.

. The construction of myimproved supportin-g armwill be more clearlycomprehended byreference'tothe'modification shown inFig. 3 and in the detail=viewsFigs. 3, 3 3, and 3 Themodification here shown,'although simi larin principle, is of a more simple character, and will therefore be first described.

The transmitter E, having at its forward end the mouthpiece F, is supported bythe metallic rods DD, forming the forward section of theextensible support. The forward endsof these rods are threaded and enter at diam etrically oppositepoints the plug e,form-v ing theprojecting rearportion of the transmitte'r E and constituting one of itsterminals. Thelower rod D is insulated from the plug 6 and is provided with a spring-finger e, that makes contact with the center terminal e of the transmitter, as shown in'Fig. 3. The rods 'D D are arranged to slide with a;

piece a withthe same. middle rods'C Oafter passing freely through slight degree of friction through the two in ner holes formed in a spacing-piece c of hard rubber or other insulating material and are provided with screw-heads d d at their rearward extremity,which act as stops against the piece and serve to prevent the withdrawal of the rods from said piece when the arm is fully extended. Into the rear face of the spacing-piece c, at points slightly above and below the rods D D, respectively, are firmly driven or otherwise secured the forward ends of two additional rods 0 0, forming the middle section of the supporting-arm. By reference to Fig 3, which shows a view of the rear and front faces, respectively, of the spacing-piece c, it will be seen that the rear surface of the piece c is re'cessedat the points enter it. Within these recesses are located double eyelets or twin sleeves j j, "formed of spring-brass orother metal adapted to maintain constant electrical contact between each pair of the rods D O. Thesecontact eyelets or sleeves j j arerso arranged as to flexibly bear upon and permit the rod-s D D to slide freelyin and out within them, while at their opposite ends they are soldered to the ends of the rods OO and'driven into the spacing- The rear ends of the a fixed spacing-piece b are driven into or otherwise made fast to a sliding spacing-piece c. Fig. 3:shows a rear and front viewof the spacing-piece b, through which the rods C 0 pass before entering their spacing-piece c. It will be seen that the rear face of the spacing b is recessed similar to that of c and contains contact-springs j j, which are fixed upon the ends of the rods B B, forming the rear or first section of the arm, and make sliding contact with the arms 0' 0 of the iniddlesection as they pass in and out through the piece 1). The rear ends of the arms B B are driven into another spacing or base piece I), which in Fig. 3 is shown as being provided with trunnions b b, having upper and lower bearings in a frame a, fixed to the base a.

From :thedescription so far given of Fig. 3 it will be seen that the spacing-pieces b b and the rods B B constitute the first section of the extensible arm,the spacing-pieces c c and the rods 0 G the second section, and the rods DD, with the projecting piece e of the transmitter, thethird section. -When the arm is contracted by pushing back the transmitter E, the piece 0, carrying'the rods C 0, slides back upon and is guided horizontally by the rods 13 B. The backward movement of piece a continues until it abuts againstthe face of the piece I), at which time the forward piece 0 of the middle section will likewise come to rest against the face of the-spacingpiece I). The rods D D of the front section will also slide along the forward spacingpiece c, passing through clearance-holes in the pieces I) and 0 until the heads cl (1 rest within the piece '0 or against the front face of the rear spacing-piece b. During this process the electrical continuity of the circuit between the line and the microphone terminals is constantly maintained through the upper and lower series of rods, respectively, by means of the connecting-springsjj andjj within the spring-pieces or bushings.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the base-piece Z) of my extensible arm is contracted at its rear portion, (see b in Fig. 2%) so as to form a seat for the ornamental base-piece c, which is preferably of spun or stamped metal. The base-piece b is secured firmly in the position shown upon the rods B B B of the rear section, and the rear ends of these rods, which pass through the base a, are threaded and provided with clamping-nuts g g g, to two of which the @011- ductors k 7c are led. The forward ends of the rods B B B are spaced by the terminal piece I), which is of circular shape, as are all the other spacing-pieces or insulating-sleeves shown in this figure. The rods C G C of the second section are fixed, respectively, in the spacing-sleeves c and c. The sleeve 0 is capable of sliding on the rods BB B of the first or fixed section, its rods 0 O 0 being guided horizontally during such movement by the openings in the piece 0, through which they pass, and by the rods B B B, passing through similar openings in the piece 0. The forward sleeve 0 is made somewhat thicker than the others in order to permit of its being recessed at both ends and at the same time to constitute a sufficiently long and rigid bearing for the rods D D D of the third or forward section. One of the rods D is insulated from the projection c of the transmitter and makes connection with the center terminal 6" of this transmitter by means of a projecting spring 6 in the manner already described with respect to Fig. 3. By referring to the detail views, Figs. 2 2, 2, and 2 which show, respectively, a rear and front view of the successive spacing-disks b c b c, it will be seen that the front of the disk 0 is recessed to accommodate the projecting spring 6 and center terminal 6 when the arm is fully closed, as in Fig. 1. The rear end of the disk 0 is also recessed and provided with contact-springs M, which are fixed to two of the rods 0 O O and bear upon two of the corresponding or adjacent rods D D D. These rods are shown in Fig. 2 as having the screw-heads (Z (Z (Z, which limit the forward movement of the rods and which are capable of passing freely through openings shown in the disk Z) and of nesting within the shaded depressions or holes cl d d in the front of the disk 0 (see Figs. 2 and 2 when the arm is fully closed. The overlapping of the rods of the various sections and the contact-springs if t" c", by which electrical contact between them is maintained, is clearly shown in and will be made apparent by an inspect-ion of the different detail views.

The friction imparted to the various sections of my extensible supporting-arm by the spacing-sleeve is preferably such that when the arm is extended from the closed position shown in Fig. 1 by grasping between the fingers and drawing forward the mouthpiece F or the transmitterE of which it forms part the outer or third section will be first to move forward, the rods D D D sliding through the sleeve 0 until their further motion is arrested by the screw-heads (Z d d coming in contact with the same. Upon continuing the forward pull upon the transmitter the rods 0 O C of the second section will be drawn out by their forward sleeve 0 until their rear sleeve 0 has traversed the rods B B B, constituting the first section, and abuts against the forward sleeve 6, when the arm will be fully extended. In closing the arm by pushing against the mouthpiece F the rods D D D will take their places beside the rods CC C, and these two sets in turn will then take their places beside the rods B B B of the rear section until the cylindrical cage shown at Gin Fig. 1 is again completed.

By virtue of the equidistant circular spacing of the rods of the various sections a neat, strong, and attractive transmitter-support is obtained that is graceful in appearance, effective in operation, simple in construction, and economical in manufacture. By reason of the sliding contactmade between the rods and contact-springs efficient and permanent connection is established between the microphone-terminals and the clamping-nuts g g, to which the conductors 7c of the transmitter-circuit lead, without the use of a flexible conducting cord or cords. The movement of the arm being in a horizontal direction and the rods'and spacing-pieces constituting the same being of comparatively small dimensions readily permit of its being placed within a convenient pigeonhole of a desk or used in any other location to which existing types of telephone instruments or transmittersupports are not applicable.

It will be apparent that instead of constituting each section of three rods in the type of arm shown in Fig. 2 I may use a some what larger diameter of spacing-sleeve and provide four rods for each section or may make use of a variable number of rods in the different sections and may also when the occasion requires it use more than three sections in the construction of my extensible arm. here each section consists of four rods, I may connect them into two groups of two rods each by means of contact-springs, so as to obtain increased conductivity, particularly at the sliding contacts.

It may sometimes be desirable in special locations to fold my transmitter-arm sidewise when it is in its contracted position. To permit of this, I have shown in Fig. 2 a form of swiveled base which may be used instead of the rigid base shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

By reference to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the rear spacingapiece l) of my extensible arm have their bearings within a frame a", se-' cured to a base a. These trunnions or extensions may be in electrical connection with the rods B B, respectively, and the frame a may be divided into two parts, each connecting with one of the conductors k 70 of the transmitter-circuit, by which construction direct electrical connection between the bearings a a of the frame and the rods 13 B of the arm may be maintained through the trunnions or extensions 19 12 either with or without an additional spring-contact, thus dispensing with the use of separate conductors. I prefer, however, in order to secure greater simplicity to utilize the nuts g g upon the threaded ends of the rods B B as a means for attaching the conducting-wires k k, as shown in the drawings, although it will be obvious that other means for maintaining such connection may be employed. The mounting of the arm I) not only permits of folding the transmitter sidewise when the arm is closed, but also of swinging it into more convenient position for use when the arm is extended. The type of arm shown in this figure, although not perhaps quite as ornamental or symmetrical as that illustrated in Fig. 1, has the advantage in addition to its greater simplicity of being more rigid, owing to the gradually-increasing vertical distance between the rods constituting the successive sections of the arms from its forward or transmitter-supporting end toward its base.

While I have herein shown and described my extensible arm as applied to telephone apparatus, it is obvious that the novel construction embodied therein may be advantageously utilizedor employed in connection with other apparatus, and I therefore do not desire to limit myself to the particular construction and application of my invention herein specified as the same may be materially modified without departing from the spirit of my invention embodied therein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a telephone apparatus, the combination with a base-board or box for carrying the stationary portion of said apparatus adapted to be secured to a desk or other support, of an extensible arm mounted upon and proj ecting from said base-board or box and consisting of a series of groups or sections of conducting-rods insulated from each other, said groups being capable of relative motion in the direction parallel to the common axis of es ers the groups, a telephone-transmitter mounted upon the outermost group of said rodsand contact-pieces between certain rods of the several groups for maintaining asliding electrical connection between the transmitter and said stationary portions of the telephone outfit through the rods of said groups.

2. A supporting-arm for telephone-transmitters, comprising a stationary section and one or movable sections each consisting of a number of separate parallel rods, insulatingpiecesfor spacing the rods of each section, openings in said spacing-pieces for the entrance or passage of the rods of other sections, and contact springs or bushings within certain of said spacing-pieces for efiecti'ng a sliding or frictional connection between rods of the fixed section and corresponding rods of the movable section or sections whereby said rods form the circuit to and from the transmitter.

3. An extensible supporting-arm for the purpose specified, consisting of one set of two or more rods secured together at their ends by blocks of insulation, and a set of parallel rods also secured together at their ends by blocks of insulation, one of which slides upon the rods of the first section, while the rods of the latter section slide through holes in the insulation at one end of the first section, contact-pieces for maintaining electrical connection between adjacent rods of said sections for the purpose specified, and a frame in which said arm is mounted to swing, substantially as set forth.

4:. A supporting-arm for telephone-transmitters consisting of a series of sections composed of rods arranged in the several sections as elements of a cylinder, insulating-pieces for spacing apart the rods of each section, the rods of one section adapted to slide through openings in the spacing-pieces of an adjacent section whereby said arm may be extended or collapsed at will and when collapsed said rods will form a cylindrical mass, and contact springs or bushings within certain of said spacing-pieces for effecting a sliding or frictional connection between rods of adjacent sections whereby said rods form the circuit to and from the transmitter, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 8th day of September, 1898.

ELIAS E. RIES.

Witnesses:

WM. H. OAPEL, HATTIE HOFFMAN.

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