About Doorbells
Doorbells greet visitors, they occasionally play a role in practical jokes and they have been incorporated into company slogans. The choice of the doorbell can be a reflection of the homeowner's personality or a mechanism that is ignored and forgotten. It can be trendy or generic. Many homeowners simply inherit the doorbell choice by the previous owner or the home builder. Does this Spark an idea?
-
Identification
-
The doorbell is typically a button placed by the front door of a residence. When the button was pushed on an original doorbell, an electrical current was carried from the button to generate a mechanical strike on a bell. The sounding of the bell informed those inside that someone was at the door. Today, that doorbell might signal a chiming sound or music, or may be part of an intercom system that allows the person at the door to have a conversation with someone at the other end of the intercom.
Features
-
A doorbell is a low-voltage appliance that uses a transformer to convert house current to low voltage. The circuit that supplies power to the doorbell is where the transformer is placed. The doorbell mechanism includes the button, wiring, transformer and chime or bell. The appearance of the button might be modest, with metal framing around a circular or rectangular button, or it might be elaborately designed to enhance the decor.
-
Types
-
Doorbells have come a long way since they were invented more than 175 years ago. The variety of available sounds and music is one element in their evolution. The appearance of the doorbell's button can vary greatly. It might be in the center of a bronzed gecko, which appears to be making its way up the front wall of the home, or it might be a nondescript circular button. Today, there are wireless doorbells and doorbells that are incorporated into voice and video intercoms. You can even get doorbells that cater to the needs of the family pet.
Function
-
While most doorbells simply announce the arrival of a guest, some have other uses. The pet doorbell alerts pet owners when the animal gets close to the door. A mechanism is attached to the pet's collar and when the pet gets within a specific range of the doorbell, it triggers the bell to ring. Other pet doorbell systems use a floor mat instead of a collar attachment to signal the bell. When a pet or a person steps onto the floor mat, the bell sounds.
History
-
The original doorbell was an actual bell placed near the main entrance of a building to signal there was a visitor. Manual doorknockers were also used, creating noise as the visitor hammered the knocker. American scientist Joseph Henry, who was the first director of the Smithsonian Institute, invented the electric doorbell in 1831. Doorbells evolved from buzzers to musical chimes in the early 1900s. Musical chime doorbells became a popular fad and many new patents emerged during the 1930s. By the late 1960s the musical chime doorbell was no longer in demand.
-
