US1774653A - Waxwork, robot, and like figures - Google Patents

Description

a. u M 0 p 1930. E. J. MARRIOTT E AL WA XWORK. ROBOT, AND LIKE FIGURES Filed Sept. 14, 1929 m ME Patented Sept. 2, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWARD JONATHAN MARRIOTT, OF LONDON, AND CYRIL FRENCH, OF KINGSTON-ON- THAMES, ENGLAND WAXWORK, ROBOT, AND LIKE FIGURES Application filed September 14, 1929, Serial N o.

This invention relates to improvements in the disposition of the parts of telephone equipments, and is particularly applicable to installations wherein it is desired to provide calling stations which will readily attract the attention of would-be users.

The object of the invention is to provide such an equipment which will require the minimum amount of skill to use and which in will enable a single operator at a remote point to answer enquiries from each of a number of stations while creating to some extent an illusion of personal attention at the calling stations.

In accordance with the invention, such a telephone equipment consists of a devlce representing or caricaturing a human being situated at a number of communicating stations and furnished with a loud-speaking 2o telephone arranged so as to create the illusion that the figure itself speaks and with a microphone.

In order to establish communication from a communication station, a calling device in- V corporated in the figure is operated. In its preferred form, this device consists of a press-button which when operated closes an electric circuit and thereby produces a signal to the attendant at a central station who J .30 thereupon makes the necessary connections.

The microphone receives the words of the caller which are transmitted to the central station in any suitable way, for instance through an electrical circuit and an ampli-- r fier to a receiver at the central station.

Similarly, a transmitting device at the central station is connected to the loud-speaking telephone through a like arrangement so that the attendants words are reproduced in lifelike manner by the figure at the communieating station.

Such an arrangementis particularly useful at exhibitions, large. stores, etc. where people are constantly needing information. One of its chief advantages is that the reply is made audible to all who happen to be in the vicinity and in order to increase this advantage still further, the back of the head of the figure may form a sounding board.

The figure may also be provided with a 392,638, and in Great Britain October 4, 1928.

device of any suitable design which will indicate to the caller that communication with the central station has been established.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, a system arranged in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 shows diagrammatically one of the figures and the circuit connections to that figure from the attendants ap aratus and the branch lines to three other figures; while Figure 2 is a diagram of connections of the attendants apparatus vwhich can be plugged into the main wiring.

In these drawings, the figure shown at A is a grotesque human figure intended to follow the popular conception of a robot. It may be carried out in waxwork or in painted wood or other material, for as will be seen, it is not a figure made up of complicated surfaces. It is shown with a loud-speaking telephone receiver in the head shown conventionally in dotted lines at S behind there mouth of the figure. A transmitting microphone is shown conventionally in'dotted lines at M embodied in the chest of the figure, while in the neighbourhood of the Waist is shown a press-button switch P for calling purposes. s The press-button switch is connected to com plete, through conductors a and b the circuit of a battery B through an indicating lamp L The battery Band the lamps are placed at the attendant station so that when anyone presses the push switch P, the lamp L will light up and call the attendants attention. The system illustrated is wired to accommodate four figures, and there is similar wiring to eachof the figures; for example, there are conductors a and Z2 going to the push-buttonswitch in the second figure which is not shown. Similarly, there are conductors 0: and b for the third figure, and conductors a and btfor the fourth figure. The, attendants switchboard K, besides carrying the lamps L L L L has four sets of sockets F F F and F each set comprising four sockets spaced apartso that 1.1:

they can be engaged by the four plugs G belonging to the attendants apparatus.

For convenience of description, the plug G can be assumed to be plugged into the sockets F thereby connecting up the figure A ready for communication. First of all, the conductors 0 (Z connect the microphone M with the upper two sockets F and therefore by means of the upper two sockets and two plugs G, the microphone is connected through a low frequency or audio frequency thermionic amplifier T to a loud-speaking telephone instrument or a pair of head telephones H for the attendants use. The filament and anode batteries for the amplifier T are shown at N. Consequently the attendant, seeing the lamp L illuminated, plugs in the plugs G into the corresponding sockets F and then he can hear what a customer or any other person says in the neighbourhood of the figure A as the speech is reproduced in the instrument H. The attendant then replies, and for this purpose, his microphone is connected through a low frequency amplifier Q to the lowermost of the plugs G which are plugged in to the lowermost pair of sockets E which are connected by conductors e and f to a loudspeaking telephone S in the head of the figure A. The filament and anode batteries of the amplifier Q are seen at R. Consequently the attendants reply is given out by the loudspeaker S and appears to come from the mouth of the figure A.

It will be appreciated that the plugs G can be plugged into the sockets F F or F and then the attendant is connected to reply to anyone speaking to the figure 2, 3, or i. The conductors 0 d 0 CF, and 0 are connected to the microphones of the respective figures in a similar way to the connection of the conductors c (Z Further, the conductors 6 f 6 f and 6 f", are connected to the respective loud-speakers in the heads of the difi'erent figures just as are the conductors 6 f It will be appreciated without further description that when the plugs G are inserted in the sockets F F or F", conversation can go on between the attendant and anyone speaking in the neighbourhood of the figures 2, 3, or 4-.

lVe claim 1. A telephone equipment for selectively connecting a plurality of calling stations with a central station, comprising a device consisting of a representation of a living figure disposed at each of said calling stations,

a loud-speaking telephone incorporated ineach of said devices, amicrophone incorporated in each of said devices, and connecting lines from said telephones and microphones to the central station.

2. A telephone equipment for selectively connecting a plurality of calling stations with a central station, comprising a device consisting of a representation of a living figure disposed at each of said calling stations, at loud-speaking telephone incorporated in each of said devices, a microphone incorporated in each of said devices, calling means incorporated in each of said devices, and connecting lines from said telephones, microphones, and calling means to the central station.

3. A telephone equipment for selectively connecting a plurality of calling stations with a central station, comprising a device consisting of a representation of a living figure disposed at each calling station, a loudspeaking telephone incorporated in each of said devices and in proximity to the mouth thereof, a microphone incorporated in each of said devices, a manually-operated calling means incorporated in each of said devices, and connecting lines from said telephones, microphones, and calling means to the central station.

4. A telephone equipment for selectively connecting a plurality of calling stations with a central station, comprising a device consisting of a representation of a living figure disposed at each calling station, a loudspeaking telephone incorporated in each of said devices and in proximity to the mouth thereof, a microphone incorporated in each of said devices, a manually-operated calling means electrically connected to the central station and incorporated in each of said devices, a telephone receiver at said central station, electrical connections adapted to connect said telephone receiver to said microphones, and an amplifying device incorporated in each of said connections.

5. A telephone equipment for selectively connecting a plurality of calling stations with a central station, comprising a device consisting of a representation of a living figure disposed at each calling station, a loud-spcaking telephone incorporated in each of said devices and in proximity to the mouth thereof, a microphone incorporated in each of said devices, a manually-operated calling means electrically connected to said central station and incorporatedin each of said devices, a telephone transmitter at said central station, electrical connections adapted to connect said transmitter to said loudspeaking telephones, and an amplifying device incorporated in said connections to each loudspeaking telephone.

6. A telephone equipment for selectively connecting a plurality of calling stations with a central station, comprising a device consisting of a representation of a living fig ure disposed at each calling station, a loudspeaking telephone incorporated in each of said devices, a microphone incorporated in each of said devices, calling means electrically connected to the central station and incorporated in each of said devices, a telephone receiver at said central station, electrical connections adapted to connect said receiver to

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