Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
7B3
This invention relates to motor actuated bell
assemblies.
One prior art motor actuated bell assembly comprises a
housing usually in the form of a box, and a motor actuated
bell accommodated within the housing. The motor actuated
bell generall~ comprises a base, a gong mounted on the
base, and a motor actuated bell mechanism mounted on the
base. The motor actuated bell mechanism includes an
electric motor having a drive shaft, and a hammer
operatively connected to the drive shaft of the motor for
striking against the gong. The gong is connected to the
base by a connecting means such as a C-shaped member. The
~ base is secured to a mounting plate which is secured to
- the housing. Such a conventional motor actuated bell
assembly has been found somewhat complicated in
construction since a separate mounting plate is employed
to mount ~he motor actuated bell within the housing. In
addition, this has increased the material cost.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide
a motor actuated bell assembly which is simple in
construction and assemblage.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention there is
provided a motor actuated bell assembly comprising (a~ a
housing box having a body with an open top and a lid for
closing said open top; and (b) a motor actuated bell, said
bell including a base formed with an integral support
portion projecting from one surface thereof, a motor
driven actuating mechanism mounted on said surface, and a
cup-shaped gong mounted on the distal end of said support
portion, said motor driven actuating mechanism including
hammer means and being accommodated within said gong so
that said hammer means is adapted to be brought into
striking contact with the inner wall of said gong; Ic)
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said motor actuated bell being mounted within said housing
box, said base being fastened to said box body adjacent to
said open top thereof and said motor actuated bell being
accommodated within said box body.
In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the
invention:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a motor actuated bell
assembly constructed in accordance with the present
lnventlon;
FIG. 2 is a plan view partly broken away of a motor
actuated bell;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the motor actuated
bell;
FIG. 4 is a plan view partly broken away showing a
modified base; and
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view of the
motor actuated bell of FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a motor actuated bell assembly 10
constructed in accordance with the present invention. The
assembly 10 comprises a housing 11 in the form of a box
and a motor actuated bell 12. As shown in FI~S. 2 and 3,
the motor actuated bell 12 comprises a rectangular base 13
and a bell mechanism 14 mounted on the base. The bell
mechanism includes an electric motor 15 having a drive
shaft 15a, a cam 16 fi~edly mounted on the drive shaft 15a
for rotation therewith, and a hammer means 17 on which the
cam 16 acts to move a hammer into striking contact with a
gong 18 to produce a bell sound. The hammer means 17
includes a leaf spring 17a and a hammer element 17b
attached to one end of the leaf spring 17a. The motor 15
and the hammer means 17 are mounted on a support member
19. The support member has a rectangular planar base
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portion l9a and a pair of arms 1sb, l9c extending
perpendicularly from the base portion l9a at its lateral
edges. The support member 19 is secured to the base 13 by
bolts l9d and nuts l9e. The motor 15 is secured to the
arm l9b by screws 20, and the leaf spring 17a is secured
to the arm l9c at its end remote from the hammer element
17b. While the motor actuated bell mechanism 14 of the
type described is used in-this embodiment, any other type
of bell mechanism may be employed.
10The base 13 is made of a thin metal sheet and has a
central gong support portion 13a in the form of a hollow
projection of a truncated cone-shape. As best shown in
FIG. 3, the motor actuated bell mechanism 14 is mounted on
the surface of the base 13 on which the projection 13a is
formed. The inner central portion of the cup-shaped gong
18 is mated with and secured to the top wall 13b of the
truncated cone-shaped projection 13a by a bolt 23.
A plurality of indented formations 13c are formed on
- the base 13. The indented-formations are drawn out of the
plane of the base 13 away from the projection 13. As best
shown in FIG. 2, each indented formation 13c is provided
at the area adjacent to a slit 13d. In the illustrated
embodiment, the indented formations 13c are disposed along
the axis of the base 13, and three indented formations 13c
are provided on each side of the projection 13a. The base
13 has screw holes 21 formed through its peripheral
margine.
The housing box 11 is made of metal and has a body lla
with an open top and a closed bottom and a lid llb hinged
to the body for closing the open top. A plurality of
indented formations llc are also formed on the lid llb, as
33
described above for the base 13. The body lla is so sized
that the base 13 is fitted in the body. The housing body
lla has tabs (not shown) adjacent to its peripheral edge
defining the open top of the box body The tabs are
disposed in registry with the respective screw holes 21
when the base 13 is installed in place in the housing box
11 .
For installing the motor actuated bell 12 in the
housing box 11 to provide the motor actuated bell assembly
10, the base 13 is fitted in the housing body lla upside
down, that is to say, with the motor actuated bell 12 and
the pro~ection 13a being accommodated within the box body
lla. In this condition, the screw holes 21 are disposed
in alignment with the tabs of the box body lla. The base
13 is fastenedjto the box body lla by screws 21a passing
- through the respective aligned screw holes 21 and tabs.
The lid llb is then closed and fastened to the body lla by
a suitable fastening means (not shown).
With this construction, the motor actuated bell
assembly 10 obviates the need for a mounting plate for
mounting the motor actuated bell 12 within the housing box
11. More specifically, the base 13 is of such a
construction that it is directly mounted onto the housing
box 11.
According to a modified form of the invention shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5, a base 25 has a central gong support
portion 25a of a trapezoidal cross-section. The support
portion 25a comprises an elongated rectangular metal plate
which is pressed into a trapezoidal cross-section having a
pair of arms 25b and a top wall 25c interconnecting the
arms at their ends, the support portion having a pair of
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flanges 25d. As best shown in FIG. 5, the inner central
portion of the cup-shaped gong 18 i~ mated with and
secured to the top wall 25c of the support portion 25a by
a bolt 23. The pair of flanges 25d is fixedly secured to
the base 25 by spot welding. The support portion 25a is
disposed at the center of the base 25. A plurality of
indented formations 13c are formed on the base 25, as
described above for the base 13. The base 25 is fitted in
and secured to the box body lla in the manner as described
above for the base 13.
By virtue of the provision of the base 13, 25, the
motor actuated bell 12 can be mounted on the housing box
11 with utmost ease.
While the motor actuated bell assemblies according to
the invention h~ave been specifically shown and described
herein, the invention itself is not to be restricted by
the description thereof.
