US2074754A - Recording device for telephones - Google Patents

Description

RECORDING DEVICE FOR TELEPHONES Filed Nov. 19, 1952 s Sheets-sheaf 1 HAROLD F. MURPHY Mafia-Mm ATTORNEYS.

March 23, 1937. MURPHY 2,074,754

RECORDING DEVICE FOR TELEPHONES Filed Nov. 19, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HAROLD F. MURPHY ATTORNEYS.

March 23, 1937. H, MURPHY 2,074,754

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ES glled N v 19, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

HARQLD F. MURPHY fid/wwq ATTORNEYS.

March 23, 1937. F MURPHY 2,074,754

RECORDING DEVICE FOR IELISPIIONES Filed Nov. 19, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR HAROLD F. MURPHY ATTOR NEYS Patented. Mar. 23, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a recording device for recording or registering or counting calls made over a telephone employing the so-called dial type of instrument.

In many places, such as ofiices, factories, or business houses the number of total calls made over a given telephone in the course of a certain time as for example, a month, is ofttimes exceedingly surprising, and although strict rules may 10 be promulgated as regards making calls, the total number of calls is often very high with no apparent explanation therefor.

The present invention aims to provide a mechanism which may be attached to a dial type of 15 telephone instrument so that each call may be recorded or registered. The mechanism involves operable parts and the power necessary for operating the parts is obtained by a mechanical connection with the dial or some part which moves with the dial incident to the actuation thereof by the person operating the instrument. While the device may be in the form of an attachment yet in its full developed form it may be manufactured as an assembled unit together with the instru- 25 ment. In one form of the invention the particular call numbers may be accurately recorded so that it may even be ascertained where the calls were made; in another form of the invention the calls may be merely counted and preferably kept 30 totaled.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an attachment associated with a dial instrument with some parts cut away for the purpose of exposing 35 certain structural features.

Fig. 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic view illustrating certain of the structural features.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the instrument illustrating some of the parts shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing these parts in another position.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view in illustration 45 of certain pawls for operating on a ratchet and effecting a driving action on some of the parts.

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing the parts in a different position. 7

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are similar sectional views 50 with Figs. 8 and 9 taken substantially on lines 88 and 9-9 of Figs. 6 and 7 respectively, showing some of the parts in different positions.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail view with some parts shown in section.

m Fig. 12 is a view of a strip of paper or the like illustrating how the markings may be made thereon.

Fig. 13 is a perspectiveview with some parts cut away showing a modified form of the invention.

Referring to Fig. l, the base of the instrument is shown at I, a removable member having a mouth piece and ear piece at 2, and a member which may be here termed a contact plate is illustrated at 3, the purpose of which, as is well known, is to make and break the contact for the instrument as the member 2 is placed upon the contact plate or removed therefrom. The dial is .shown at 4.

Since the dial which is operated by a user of the phone is used as a power means, the same may be provided with gear teeth 5. Meshing with the teeth 5 is a gear 6 which may be mounted upon a stub shaft 1, and which in turn carries a gear 8 which meshes with a gear 9. This gear 9 in turn has its teeth meshing with the teeth of a rack bar If]. A spring H may be associated with the parts, as for example with the shaft 1, for aiding the usual Spring associated with the dial in order to return the same to its normal position after the dial has been released. This spring may be necessary in order to aid in the movement of the several parts thus described. The rack is guided in a track member I2 and it has secured thereto a suitable stylus which may take the form of a roller 13. Now it will be appreciated that as the dial is rotated clockwise by an operator that the rack is shifted from left to right (considering Fig. 1) and that when the dial is released it returns to normal position and the rack returns to normal position.

The attachment may comprise a suitable base l5 having walls l6 and a supporting rod I! may be carried thereby, and upon it may be mounted a roll of paper l8. This paper is directed through certain instrumentalities and may be wound in the form of a roll 19 onto a rod or spool 20 and it may be pulled onto the spool 20 by suitable means, as for example, a coil spring 2| which may be wound up by a suitable key 22.

The run of paper between the two rolls is shown at 25 (Fig, 5) and it may extend under a guide 26 over another guide 21 between two rolls 28 and 29, over a table 30 and under another guide 3!. The stylus l3 engages the paper and presses the same while the paper is supported by the table 30. The roll 28 may have suitable characters on it, for example, numbers from 1 to 9 inclusive and 0, and raised portions or rings separating the characters. These characters are illustrated at 33 and the dividing rings at 34. The paper which is used may advantageously be a graph paper with a delicately retreated surface which shows markings thereon wherever it is subjected to pressure by a suitable marking means. The marking means herein comprises the stylus, the characters, and rings on the roll 28. The roll 29 may act as a. platen for backing up the paper as it is pressed by the indicating devices on roll 28. A

suitable number of manually operable devices,

such as spring pressed plungers 35, may be pro vided, each having suitable indicia thereon in the nature of type or the like carried by a block 36, and which blocks may be located over the table 36 so that when these are pressed the markings a pear on the paper.

A section of the paper is shown in Fig. 12 where it will be noted that the rings 34 form parallel lines thereon and the characters on the roller 28 mark their likeness on the paper while the stylus, as it reciprocates back and forth crosswise of the paper, makes certain markings thereon. The plungers 35 may include such indicia as the word Date; the abbrevation No ans meaning that there was no answer to a particular call;

the word Erro'. or the word Busy. Where the plungers are used the information applies to the markings of the stylus opposite the same.

Means must be provided for moving the paper preferably with the step-by-step movement which corresponds to the dial movements. Such means may comprise a ratchet 40 shown in Figs. '1. 6 and 7, the shaft 4| of which carries a pinion 42 meshing with the pinion 43 on the shaft of the roller 29. Accordingly; paper will be pulled from the roll H as the roller 29 is rotated while the spring 2| serves to maintain a tension in the run of paper and to wind the paper into ;the roll |9 as the same is fed through the rolls '28 and 29.

To operate the ratchet, certain pawlelements may be associated with the rack Ill. be two of such pawl elements 45 and 46, and the pawl 46 may be acted upon by a spring 47. Inasmuch as pawl 46 is acted upon by the spring 41 each time the rack moves from left to right, this pawl will engage a tooth on the ratchet 40 and give it a certain amount of movement, thus providing a step-by-step movement of the ratchet. In order to make it possible to separate the dial numbers or, letters of different calls the pawl 45 is employed, but this pawl and its associated mechanism is designed to function on the ratchet only when the first number or letter of the call is being dialed. The pivotal movement of the pawl 45 towards the ratchet may be limited by a stop member 48. The normal position of the pawls at the beginning of the dialing vof a number is as shown in Fig. 6. The pawl 46 will grasp one tooth of the ratchet and move it ag'iven distance and then the pawl 45 will grasp another tooth of the ratchet and moveit a given distance. However, upon the return movement of the rack the pawl 45 is rendered inoperative. In this return movement of the rack the pawl 45 is cammed on its pivot by a ratchet tooth, then means are provided for holding the pawl out of the way. This means is shown in enlarged form in Figs. 8,9 and member 56 which carries a rack 51.

There" may erably, however, pawl 45 is moved further on its pivot than it can be moved by the inclined side of the ratchet tooth, in order to insure clearance so that it will not grasp a tooth on the ratchet during the next dial action. For this purpose the plunger 50 may be pointed as shown so as to provide an inclined surface adapted to engage with an inclined surface of the recess 5| so that as the plunger shoots into the recess 5| pawl 45 is rocked further on its pivot to the positon shown in Fig. 10. Thus the pawl 45 is positioned now so that it will not function on the ratchet wheel. As the next number is dialed only the pawl 46 acts upon the ratchet wheel and the pawl 461s the only operative pawl until the receiver 2 has been replaced on the instrument.

After the call has been, made and the receiver or member 2 is placed on the instrument the pawl 45 is again positioned for action upon the ratchet by suitable means interconnecting the contact bar 3 and mechanism acting upon the pawl. Refer to Figs. 2 and 3: Contact bar 3 may have connected thereto a rod 55 in turn connected to a The teeth of this rack mesh with the teeth of the gear 58 and mounted upon the shaft of the gear 58 is another gear 59 which meshes with the teeth of a rack 60. The rack 60 may-carry a bracket 6| which in turn supports an actuating member 62 which is preferably spring pressed as by means of the coil spring 63, and the member 62 is designed to contact with. the pawl 45. The contact bar in Fig. 3 is shown in its upper position, and

,when the receiver is placed on the instrument the contact bar is depressed and through the mechanism just described the actuating member 62 moves to a position as substantially illustrated in Figs.4 and 11. when it contacts with the pawl 45 and pushes it back into the position shown in Figs. 6 and 8. This is illustrated in Fig. 11.

A cycle of operation is as follows: A user lifts the phone member 2 from its support at which time the actuating member 62 recedes to the position shown in Fig. .3 and then the number is dialed. The movement of the dial 4 for the first character of the number, whether it be a letter or numeral, causes both of the pawls 45 and 46 to move the ratchet member 40 with the result that the paper is advanced a relatively great distance and the stylus makes an angular line on the paper as illustrated at A (Fig. 12). On succeeding numbers only the pawl 46 operates the ratchet since the pawl 45 has been rendered inactive, with the result that the paper advances a shorter distance so that the stylus makes an angular line B. The relatively great space indicated by the line A serves to separate different calls. The rack bar with its stylus traverses the paper a distance corresponding to the number dialed and in doing so makes lines on the paper as indicated at C. These li nes terminate in the columns formed on the paper and indicate the number. For instance, the severalv linesC positioned below the diagonal line A, second from the top of Fig. 12, shows that the number dialed was 628970. 'The 6 may indicate'any of the letters MNO and the 2 may indicate any ofathe letters ABC. The lines C are substantially equally spaced apart indicating the characters of a called I number, and between called numbers there is-the greater spacing indicated by the diagonal line A, as above mentioned. After the-call the operator replaces the member 2 and the contact plate is depressed, thus causing the actuating member 62 to again position the pawl 45 so that the next time a number is dialed the stylus makes the diagonal line A.

The device permits of establishing a date on the paper as indicated, for example, just below the 5 top line A in Fig. 12, where the numbers dialed are l--1532, meaning October 15, 1932, and opposite this the user may depress one of the plungers 85 to stamp the indicia Date on the paper.

On one of the numbers dialed, as illustrated in 10 Fig. 12, there was no answer and the paper is so stamped by one of the plungers; on another number dialed an error was made, and the paper is so marked by use of one of the plungers; and on one of the other numbers the line was busy and 15 the paper is so marked.

A modified form of the invention is shown in Fig. 13 wherein the dial is shown at 10, the same being geared up to a gear H on a shaft on which is a gear 12 the teeth of which mesh with a rack 20 13 arranged to move in a guideway II. On this rack is a pawl 15. This pawl actuates a ratchet 16 with step-by-step movement, which through a set of gears comprising a gear H, a gear 18, a gear 19 and a gear 80, actuates a beveled pinion Bi which in turn operates a bevel pinion 82 on shaft 83. A beveled gear 84 on the shaft operates a beveled gear 85 which in turn actuat'es meshing gears 88 and 81 which operate the rolls of a counter 88. This device preferably functions only 30 upon one actuation of the dial during the calling of a number and the pawl I5, therefore, may correspond to the pawl 45 in that it is rendered inoperative after the first number is dialed. A construction like that shown in Figs. 2 to 4 may be employed for rendering the pawl 15 again active when the receiver is replaced and; as shown in Fig. 13, the rack 60 carrying a pawl actuating member 82a is shown. This actuating member 82a pushes the pawl I back into operating position every time the receiver is replaced on the phone instrument. The rolls 88 are counter rolls arranged to be manually operated through the means of a member 90. Since the counter rolls 88 are actuated on the first actuation of the dial in the dialing of a number, a count is made although the complete call may be not completed or the connection not made by reason of a busy line, an error, or other contingency. It is in a case of this kind that the rolls 89 may be actuated in order to register what may be termed minus calls". In other words, ifya call is not completed for any reason, the rolls 89 may be manually set up a point so that after a period of time in order to obtain the number of actual connections made, one need but subtract from the total number shown by rolls 88, the number of incomplete calls or erroneous calls shown on rolls" 89.

I claim:

1. A device for recording calls made on a telephone instrument having a dial, the operation of said dial requiring a forward and a return movement thereof, a receiver removable from the instrument and a movable contact member which supports the receiver and which moves when the receiver is moved therefrom and placed thereon; comprising in combination, a movable marking device, dial actuated means for causing movetil ment of the marking device to make a record of the number dialed, a record sheet to be marked upon by said marking device, means operated by said dial upon each forward movement thereof for shifting the record sheet, additional means operatively positioned by movement of the contact bar when the receiver is placed thereon, coacting with the shifting means to effect double shifting of the record sheet, and means responsive to return movement of the first dialing operation of a call to disable such additional means from coacting with said shifting means, whereby only single shifts take place on dialing operations succeeding the first.

2. A device for recording calls made on a telephone instrument having a dial, operation of said dial requiring a forward and a return movement thereof, a receiver removable from the instrument and a movable contact member which supports the receiver and which moves when the receiver is moved therefrom and placed thereon;

comprising in combination, a reciprocable marking device, dial actuated means for causing reciprocation of the marking device to make a record of the number dialed, a record sheet to be marked upon by said marking device, means operated by said dial upon each forward movement thereof for shifting the record sheet transversely to the direction of reciprocation of the marking device, additional means, operatively positioned by movement of the contact bar when the receiver is placed thereon, coacting with the shifting means to effect double shifting of the record sheet and means responsive to the return movement of the first dialing operation of a call to disable said additional means from coacting with said shifting means, whereby only single shifts take place on dialing operations succeeding the first.

3. A device for recording calls on a telephone instrument having a dial, operation of said dial requiring a forward and a return movement thereof, a receiver removable'from the instrument, and a movable contact member which supports the receiver and which moves when the receiver is removed therefrom and placed thereon; comprising in combination, a reciprocable marking device, dial actuated means for causing reciprocation of the marking device to make a record of the number dialed, a record sheet to be marked upon by the marking device, a ratchet operable to shift therecord sheet, means including a pawl operated by said dial upon each forward movement thereof for engaging the ratchet to shift the record sheet transversely to the direction of reciprocation of the marking device, another pawl operatively positioned to engage the ratchet by movement of the contact bar when the receiver is placed thereon, and arranged to coact with the ratchet to effect double shifting of the record sheet, and means responsive to the return movement of the first dialing operation of a call to disable said second pawl from coacting with the ratchet, whereby only single shifts take place on dialing operations succeeding the first.

HAROLD F. MURPHY.

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