US1243512A - Coin-controlled machine. - Google Patents

Description

A, D. 'GROVER.

COIN CONTROLLED MACHWE.

APPUCATION men IAN-24.1916

Patented Oct.- 16, 1917.

M Tm m Np fl 4 E5 v w Wm w n M L2 3 $5 ALBERT n. enovnn,

cnooonnrn COMPANY, A

OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 AUTOSALES GUM AND CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

COIN-CONTROLLED MACHINE.

Patented Got. 16, 1917.

Original application filed December 17, 1914, Serial No. 877,647. Divided and this application filedJ'anuary To all whom it may concern citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin-Controlled Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This application is a division of my copending case, Serial No. 877 ,647 filed December 17, 1914. Owing to an oflicial requirement for division in said parent case, all claims directed to the coin-controlled mechanism were canceled in order to be presented in this divisional application.

The coin controlled mechanism which constitutes my present invention is very simple in construction and operation, consisting merely of a hand-operable member which carries an adjustable connecting ele ment. Normally this element is in an inoperative position with respect to a suitable actuating device, but is adapted to be moved into engagement with said device by the deposited coin, whereby the handoperable member becomes operatively connected with the actuating device to cause delivery of the goods. In the preferred form of my invention I provide means for holding the conecting element in one or the other of its positions during the operation of the hand member. In this way I positively prevent accidental movement of the connecting element from inoperative to operative position or vice versa.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation, with the front wall or door removed, of a machine embodying a preferred form of my coincontrolled mechanism. 7

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section approximately on the broken line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section approximately on the broken line 33 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The casing shown in the drawings for inclosing the parts of the machine consists of a front section tion 2 to which the front section is hinged at 3. I'Vhen the two sections are assembled they constitute a closed casing. Any suitable locking mechanism may for locking the front section 1 in closed po- 1 and a rear box-like secbe provided Serial No. 73,777.

sition. It should be understood that the rear box-like section 2 is intended to be secured to a suitable support, such as the back of a theater chair. So that when it is desired to gain access to the interior of the machine, it is only necessary to unlock the front section 2 and swing it forwardly.

The rear section 2 is provided with a longitudinal partition s which forms with the front section 1 the magazine or chamber M within which the vendible goods are supported. The bottom of the magazine M is closed by the plate member 5 secured to the front section 1 of the casing. To the partition l are hinged goods-supporting shelves 6 and 7. Only'two shelves are shown in the drawings, but it is obvious that the number may be varied to provide machines of different capacities. The hinged connections between the shelves and the partition 4 are indicated at 8 andt). The shelves 6 and 7 are normally held in supporting position and successively actuated into releasing position by the bar 10 which is mounted on wall 11 of the casing forvertical movement by the lugs 12 extending into the slots 13 of the bar 10. This is best shown in Fig. 3. The bar 10 is provided with angular slots 1% and 15. The slot 14 is formed with an angular tripping portion 16 and a vertical rest portion 17 while the upper slot 15 has a vertical rest portion 18 and an angular tripping portion 19. It will be observed that the tripping and rest portions of the slots l l and 15 are arranged reversely with respect to each other, the reason for which will presently appear. The lower shelf 7 is at its right-hand hinge-connection provided with a crank pin 20 which engages in the slot 14 of the bar 10. Similarly, the up per shelf 6 is provided with a crank pin 21 which engages in the slot 15 of the bar 10. Y wall of the A spring 22, secured to the rear section 2 of the casing is at its free end formed with a head 23 which engages in the notches 24B, 25 and 26 formed in the rear edge of the bar 10. The spring 22 thus holds the bar 10 in any one of its operated positions.

The actuating bar outside of the casing through the medium of The lever 27 is pivoted on a pin 28 extending from the rear section 2 of the casing,

10 is operated from the by a hand lever 27 the side the deposited coin.

At its free or outer end the lever 27 is bent forwardly to form a handle portion 29 which extends close to the side wall of the casing and thus provides a convenient means for pressing the lever downwardly by hand. A slot 30 provided in the side wall 11 of the casing limits the movement of the lever. A contractile spring 31, secured at its upper end to a pin 32 carried by the rear wall 01'. the casing, is at its lower end connected to fthe hand lever 27 to hold the same normally in its uppermost position, as shown in Fig. 1. Th hand lever 27 is provided with an upper extension 33 which carries a pin as on which is pivoted the coin-controlled gravity pawl 35. At its lower outer end the pawl 35 is provided with a tooth 36. The actuating bar 10 is at its rear edge formed with notches or recesses 37 and 38 which are in alinement with the tooth 36 of the pawl At its rear end the pawl 35 is provided with a forwardly extending pin 39 which is in alinement with the lower end of the coin-chute indicated as a whole by S. The hand lever 27 is provided with a forwardly'extending pin 40 also in alinement with the lower open end of the coin-chute.

The pins 39 and 40 are so arranged with respect to each other and to the lower end of the coin-chute that the deposited coin rests on the pin e0 between the pin 39-and the edge d1 of the coin-chute. This is clear from Fig. l where the supported coin is indicated by the dotted lines C. A pin 4E2 carried by the hand lever 27 limits the movement of the pawl 35 away from the actuating bar 10. At its lower inner end the pawl 35 is provided with a lug 43 which operates with the fixed guide piece id to hold or look the pawl 35 in whichever path it begins its movement.

The top of the casing is provided with the coin-entrance slot l5 which communicates with the coin-chute S. A permanent mag-. net P may be arranged to form part of the coin-chute and to deflect magnetic slugs out of the coin-chute through the opening 46.

The operation of the coin-controlled delivery mechanism abovedescribed is as follows: Normally the parts are in'the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3. It will be seen that in this position of the parts, the crank pin 20 of the delivery shelf 7 is at the bottom of the tripping portion 16 of the slot 14:, while the crank pin 21 of the upper shelf 6 is at the bottom of the rest p'ortion'lS of the slot 15 inthe bar 10. It will also be seen that the tooth 36 of the pawl 35 is out of contact with the bar 10, and that the lug 43 is to the left of the fixed guide piece 44. If the hand lever 27 is pulled down without the previous insertion of a coin, the pawl 35 will'move in an inoperative path that is to say, the tooth 36 will remain out of engagement with the recess 37 in the bar 10. "During this movement of the parts the lug l3 of the pawl 35 will travel to the left of the guide piece 44, whereby the pawl is held locked against accidental movement toward the actuating bar'lO. Without the provision of some such locking means as the guide piece id, it might be possible by shakingor striking the casing a sharp blow to cause the gravity pawl 35 to rock forward into engagement with the bar 10, which would result in the delivery of a package of goods without the deposit of a coin.

Let us now suppose that a proper coin has been deposited into the machine through the coin-entrance slot 45. The coin descends through the coin-chute S into the position shown in dotted lines at C in Fig. 1. As the lug 39 of the swinging'pawl 35 is normally in the path of travel of the coin, the descending coin strikes the same laterally enter the way. This causes a forward rocking of the pawl sufiiciently to bring the tooth 36 into engagement with the recess 3? of the bar 10. This coin-actuated position of the pawl 35 is indicated by the dotted lines 35 in Fig. 1. This actuated position the operative or connecting position of the pawl because it thereby establishes an operative connection between the hand lever 27 and the actuating bar 10.. The lug %O on the hand lever 27 is so arranged with respect to the lowerinner edge 41' of the coin-chute Sthat the deposited coin is sustained infposition by and between the lug L0 and the edge 41. ll hile the lug 39 on coin C, it does not, strictly speaking, assist the lug 4-0 and edge ll in supporting the coin. When the hand lever down after the proper coin has been d posited, as above described, the pawl 35 pulls the actuating bar down with it because of the locking engagement between the tooth 36 of the pawl and the recess 37 of the bar 10. The movement of the parts is so limited that when'the hand lever 27 strikes the lower end of theslot 30, the bar 10 has been moved the distance between the notches 2d and 25, so that atthe end of this movement the head 23 of the. spring 22 engages the notch During this movement of the bar -10 the angular tripping portion 16 of the slot 14L rocks the lower shelf 7 from horizontal or supporting position to vertical or releasing position, through the medium of th'ecrank.

pin 20. Thistrippingof the shelf 7 causes the package supported thereby to fall to the bottom of the magazine where it is supported on the plate 5 for removal bythe purchaser through the lateral delivery opening &7. f 7

t will be seen from Fig. 1 that when the pawl 35 is in coin-actuated position, the lug 43 is thrown to the right of the fixed guide piece 44. Consequently, during the' subsequent downward movement of the pawl 35 that lug and forces the pawl engages the M 2'? is pulled the guide piece at holds the tooth 36 of the pawl in locking engagement with the actuating bar 10. This absolutely prevents accidental disconnection between the bar and the handle 2'? when the latter is operated after the deposition of a proper coin. When the lever 27 reaches the end of its downward movement, the lug 13 is slightly below the guide piece 44. Upon release of the lever the pawl 35 immediately swings to the rear (to the left, as viewed in "Fig. 1), so that during the return movement of the pawl 35 the lug -13 travels along the left of the guide piece at. To facilitate and insure this path of movement of the lug 4.3 during the return of the hand lever 27, the fixer guide piece lrl is beveled at its lower end as indi cated at s14. It will be seen from this that during the return movement of the parts, the guide piece ed compels the pawl 35 to travel in an inoperative pate, and thus prevents accidental engagement of the tooth 36 with the recess 3310f the bar'10, which remains in its actuated position.

When the bar 10 is in its first operated positionthat is to say, afterthe first package has been ejected the crank pin of the tripped shelf 7 is at the bottom of the rest portion 17 of the slot 14, while the crank pin 2-1 of the upper shelf 6, which is still in supporting position, is at the bot tom of the tripping portion 19 of the slot 15. It will be understood that during the first downward movement of the bar 10 there is no tripping of the shelf 6, because the pin 21 engages in the rest-portion 18 of the slot 15. During the next operation of the machine after the deposit of a proper coin, the downward movement of the bar 10 causes tripping of the upper shelf 6 because of the engagement of the crank pin 21 in the tripping portion 19 of the slot 15. This second movement of the bar 10 is not interfered with by the crank pin 20 which engages in the vertical rest portion 17 of the slot 14.

The number of recesses 37 and 38 in the bar 10 will depend, of course, upon the number of supporting shelves 6 and 7, there being a recess for each shelf. After the first or lowermost shelf has been tripped, the recess 38 comes into alinement with the engaging tooth 36 of the pawl 85.

The gravity pawl also acts as a cointester by testing the deposited coin as to size and weight. If the deposited check or coin is of less than the prescribed diameter, the pawl 35 will either not be rocked at all or not sufficiently to cause engagement of the tooth 36 with the bar 10. The position of such a deficient coin is indicated at D in Fig. 1. Should the deposited coin be of insuflicient weight the same result will occur as with the coin D. The weight and position of the pawl 35 are so calculated beforehand,

that it takes a coin of predetermined size and weight to actuate the pawl into connect ing position. It should be noted that when the hand lever 27 is pulled down after the deposit of a deficient coin or check, the lat ter is automatically discharged or ejected out of engagement with the pawl and hand lever before the parts reach the end of their movement. As soon as the gap between the edge d1 of the coin-chute and the supporting lug 4:0 of the descending hand lever 27 is sufficiently widened, the coin or check falls to the bottom of the casing. And this automatic discharge of the coin takes place with a good coil as well.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description of my new coin-controlled mechanism that 1' have provided a device of ex treine simplicity of construction and operation, functions which in prior constructions necessitated separate or additional devices. Thus, the coin-controlled mechanism of my invention, consisting of merely two members-a hand-operated member and a coin-actuated member-not only affords connection between the hand-operated member and the goods delivery mechanism, but it also tests the deposited coin as to size and weight, and furthermore effects the automatic discharge of the coin.

lVhile I have herein shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, 1 wish to be understood that 1 do not intend to be limited to the details herein set forth, as it is obvi us that in its broad aspect my invention may be mechanically carried out in other ways than that shown.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a coin-controlled vending machine, a C0111Cl111t8, a downwardly movable pivoted lever provided with a coin-support arranged to cooperate with said coin-chute to sustain the deposited coin in proper position, an operating device normally disconnected from said lever, a coin-engaging element movably mounted on said pivoted lever and adapted to be moved by the deposited coin, and means whereby the movement of said coin-engaging element by the coin automatically connects said lever with said device, said coin-support being so arranged relatively to said coin-chute as to cause automatic discharge of the coin by gravity before said lever reaches the end of its downward stroke.

2. In a coincontrolled vending machine, a downwardly movable pivoted lever provided with a lug or projection, a fixed part cooperating with said lug or projection to sustain the deposited coin in proper position, a vertically slidable member normally disconnected from said lever, a coin-engaging element pivoted on said lever and adaptwhich performs several important engaging element by able downwardly by ed to be moved by the deposited coin, and means whereby the movement of said cointhe coin automatically connects said lever .with said device, said lug or projection being so arranged relatively to said fixed part as to cause automatic discharge oi the coin by gravity before said lever reaches the end of its down ward stroke.

3. in. a coin-controlled vending machine, a

vertically slidablebar, a pivoted lever movhand from the outside of the machine, a fixed part, means on said lever arranged to cooperate with said fixed partto sustain the deposited coin in proper position, a depending pawl pivoted at its upper end to said lever and at its lower end provided with a tooth, said tooth being normallyout of engagement with said ha r, and means on said pawl adapted to be engaged by the deposited coin to swingsaid tooth into engagement with said bar, said fixed part and said coin-engaging means being so arranged relatively to each other that the coin is automatically discharged by gravity before said lever reaches the end of its down ward stroke.

4. In a coincontrolled vending machine, a vertically slidable bar, a pivoted lever movable downwardly by hand from the outside of the machine, a fixed part, means on said lever arranged to cooperate with said fixed part to sustain the deposited coin in proper position, a depending pawl pivoted at its upper end to said lever and at its lower end provided with a tooth, said tooth being normally out of engagement with said bar,

ea ers means on said pawl adapted to be engaged by the deposited coin to swing said tooth into engagement with saidbar, said fixed part and said coin-engaging means being so arranged relatively to each other that the coin is automatically discharged by gravity before said lever reaches the end of its clownward stroke, a projection at the lower end 01. said pawl and a fixed guide piece with which said projection cooperates to lock said pawl in its operative and inoperative paths of travel.

5. In a coin-controlled vending machine, an operating device, a pivoted lever adapted to be operated by hand, a swinging gravity pawl pivoted at its upper end upon said le-' ver and normally out of engagement with aid device, means on said pawl adapted to be engaged by the deposited coin to swing said pawl into engage-n ent with said device, whereby said lever becomes operatively core nected with said device, a projection at the lower end of said pawl, and a fixed guide member arranged to engage said projection. on one side and the other to lock said pawl in its operative path of travel. at the downward stroke of said lever, and in its inoperative path on the return movement of said lever, said pawl swinging into its return path by gravity. i

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 10th day of January, 1916.

ALBERT D. GROVER.

lVitnesses:

F. E. LANG, A. L. DEANE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. Q.

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