US1200059A - Coin-testing mechanism for vending-machines. - Google Patents

Description

C. S. WEEKS-'64 H..R. EVANS.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

SHEETS-SHEET 1 Y C. S. WEEKS & H. R. EVANS.

COIN TESTING MECHANISM FOR VENDING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-6.1913.

1 ,200,059 Patented Oct. 3,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

mop

.C. 8. WEEKS & H. R. EVANS.

COIN TESTING MECHANISM FOR VENDING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 6. 1913.

1 200,059. Patented 001;. 3,191

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- STATES PATENT OFFICE.

c s. wnnxs, or nnooxmm, AND' HENRY n. EVANS, on NEW ionx, N. 2.,

' reun on or NEW 1031:.

com-'rns'rmc 'mncnnmsm ron 'vnn'nmc-mncnmns.

To all whom it may concern: V

Be it known that we, CHARLES S. WEEKS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn,county of Kings, and

State of New York, and HENRY R. Evans,

such machines. v

Primarily, it should be noted that the mechanism of our present invention has been testing the material of which said check is designed with reference to coin-controlled apparatus for vending tickets or other flat articles in web form wound in reels or stacked in flat form, the length of the stack being preferably the length of five or more articles or tickets of the web. I

' Among the objects of our invention may be noted thefollowing: to provide, in a check-controlled apparatus, a means for made in order to throw out a spurious coin;

. 7 an apparatus for coin-controlled'machines to provide a material. testing device which will prevent the mechanism, through which the device operates, from performing a functional operation except when a coin of the. proper denomination is inserted 1n the machine; to provide testing apparatus which makes it impossible for the machine, with which it is incorporated, to perform its operation with anything other than a good coin of the proper denomination; to provide which will reject slugs, disks, rings, washers and other things in form similar to a coin; to. provide means under control,'so that but one coin at a time can effect the delivery of a ticket or article to be vended from the machine; to provide means which will insure the retention of a good coin placed in the machine and prevent it from being recovered by the vendee; to provide a materialtesting apparatus in a normally open electrical circuit, operated by the insertion of a coin in the apparatus which will close the circuit and start the apparatus mto operation 5 Y to provide a testing apparatus, irrespective of how driven, with a unit mechanism ca,

. Specification of Letters Patent. I Q

Patented Oct. 3,1916.

Application filed November 6, 1913. Serial Ho. 799,459.

' discriminating between a good coin of the proper denomination, and. any other formof check, so as to start the machine, with which the testing mechanism is combined,

into operation for the good coin, and prevent the operation of said machine in the presence of the other form of check; and

asjs'mnons mo KELLEY 'ncxnr mcnmn comm, or mw ydnx, n. 1., Acon to provide novel elements and mechanisms, I

and combinations of mechanisms and-elements operating automatically to produce functions according to a given rule of action imposed thereon by the coins or checks insorted in the machine, and constituting the initial control and impulse.

With the above objects in view and others which will be detailed during the course of this description, our invention consists of the elements, mechanisms, and features, and combinations of elements and mechanisms as hereinafter described and claimed.

In order that our invention may be clearly understood we have provided wherein:

"Figure 1 is a front elevation taken at an angle of 30 to the horizontal, of so.

much of a vending machine as is deemed necessary to illustratethe application of our invention, a part of the casing being broken away to show the coin testing mechanism; Fig. 2 1s a 'side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, the view being toward the left of said figure; Fig. 3

is' a top planview of Fig. 2, taken at 30 from the perpendicular; Fig. i is a front elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, and at thesame angle-to the horizontal, the-parts being illustrated in a different position; Fig. 5 is asectional view taken substantially on the line 5-5, Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 6 is a sectional detail on the line 6-6, Fig. 7,

looking in the direction of the arrow; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of Fig. 6, taken on the line 7-7, Fig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows and showing the coin calipering device.

In the drawings, the back and front plates of the casing of the machine, to which this drawings, 5

testing mechanism is attached and forms a part, are fragmentarily shown at 1, and a fragment of the front plate of the machine 4 is illustrated at 2. Coin slots 3, 4 and 5 are provided and, for'convenienceof manufacture, are constructed in two halves of metal insulated from the front plate 2 in any suitable manner, one method of insulating the same being shown at 6.

Each testingdevice-consists primarily of a frame 7, secured to a ledge or plate 8,

forming a part of the machine to which said testing device is attached. .Said frame 7 can be secured to the ledge 8 in any suitable manner, and as shown in the drawing, is secured thereto by screws 9. The halves 10 and 11, forming the coin-slot plate, are se- .cured to brackets 12 and 13 of the frame 7 in any suitable manner, as by rivets 14, said plates 10 and 11 being insulated from said arms by fiber bushings 15. I

en a coin is introduced into one of the coin-slots, reference being had to Fig. 2 of the drawingswherein the coin is illustrated at 16, said coin contacts on two 'metallic members or rolls 17 and 18. The plug 17 is mounted on an' insulating arm 19, mounted in a-1ever 20, said lever and 'arm being pivotally mounted at 21, Fig. 5, to a boss or hub 22-, forming a part of the frame 7. The plug 18 is secured on an insulating arm 23 carried in a lever 24, said arm and lever being pivotally mounted at 25 on a boss 26 forming a portion of the frame 7, and said insulating block 23 and lever 24 forminga bell-crank, the lever 24 being bifurcated at 'its' end 27, and having a pin 28 secured therein transverse of said bifurcation to cooperate with a slot 29 formed in a projection 30 of the lever 20. Reference being had to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 5 thereof, it can be clearly seen that any rotation of the plug 17 about the pivot 21 will cause a similar rotation of the, plug 18 about the pivot 25 in an opposite direction, and vice versa. The object of the plugs 17 and 18 is to form an electrical switch cooperating with a coin and, carrying out this idea, terminals 31 and 32 are secured to the blocks 19 and 23, respectively, and are held thereto by a turned down portion of the plugs 17 and 18 passing through the fiber blocks 19 and 23 and being riveted over toepieces formed on said terminals 31 and 32.

income stop 38 secured to the frame 7, and will give v to thecoin an impulse in the direction of introduction.

.Secured to a portion-of the frame 7 is a Z-shaped bracket 39 of non-magnetic material, held to said frame 7 by screws 40, or

in any other suitable manner. An electro-- .magnet 41 is mounted on the up-standmg member 42 of said bracket 39, by having-a portion of the core'43 pass through said bracket 39, and afiber block 44, and having a nut 45 at its free end. Said fiber, or other insulating block 44, is provided with three terminals 46, 47 and 48, said terminals being double; that is, having portions above and below the insulating block 44. From the terminal 31 a flexible lead 31 is carried to the lower end of the terminal 46, and from the terminal 32 a flexible lead 32 is carried to the lower end of the terminal 47 one end of the winding of the electromagnet 41 being attached to the upper end of the terminal 47, a lead 46 being taken from the upper end of the terminal 46 to a source of electromotive force, the other end of the winding on the electromagnet 41 being secured to the-lower end of the terminal 48, and a lead 48 being taken from theupper end of the terminal 48 to the opposite pole of the source of electromotive force. Upon the introduction of a coin between the plugs 17 and 18, the circuit is closed and the core 43 of the electromagnet 41 is energized. The function of this electromagnet will be fully described later. To the frame 7 are secured by means 0 screws 49, or any other suitable manner, U-shaped brackets 50 and 51, having unequal legs, said brackets carrying on their free end a plate 52 secured thereto by screws 53. Secured to said plate 52 is a horse-shoe magnet 54 of some high magnetic material, preferably tungsten steel, the securing means for said magnet being shown as ears 55 punched up out of the plate 52 and bent over the magnet. The Norway iron poles 56 and 57 of said magnet are shown as being I riveted into the ends of said magnet at right angles to the plane. thereof. It is essential, to prevent leakage of magnetic lines from the magnet 54, that the plate 52 be of some nonmagnetic material, such as brass or the like.

Secured to the brackets .50 and 51, in any suitable manner, and as illustrated by screws 58, are bearing blocks 59 and 60, of insulat lis es a .wh ich c oses the circult between the elec :tromagnet41 and a source of electromotive ing material, in which are mounted a rod or shaft 61. Mounted on said rod 61 is a U-shaped hanger 62 having eyes 63 formed on theends thereof, and adapted to coiiperate with the rod 61 and swing therewith. Mounted on the rod 61 is a plate 64 bent into an inverted U-format 65 to partly encircle the rod 61 and to straddle thehanger 62 and which is rigidly secured thereto by the Swedish iron bolt 67 having the disk-shaped head 66 and nut 68. Any movement of the said bolt 67 about the axis 61 is directly imparted to the U-shaped hanger 62 and the plate 64 with which, through the U-sha ed mounting 65, it forms an integral part. e

plate 64 has two ears 89 and 90 encircling the bar of hanger 62 and rigidly secured thereby by soldering, or in some other suitable manner. Rigidly secured to the 'plate 64 in a predetermined relation thereto is a hook-shaped arm 70, the function of which will later be described. A portion of the downwardly extending plate 64 is bent into a toe-shaped ledge 71 which forms with a ledge 72 on a plate 73, a continuous run-way, under certain conditions, for a coin. Said plate 73 is pivotallymounted at 74 to the bar of the hanger 62, and is free to swing thereon under control of alink 75 pivoted to a lug or ear 76 punched up out of saidplate-73, and to a pin 77, carried in an 1nsulated bearing block 78, secured to the bottomof plate 52 by rivets 79, or in any other suitable manner. Encircling the rod or shaft 61 is a spring '80, one end of which bears against a projection of the bearing block 59,'and the other end bearing against the bar of the 'U-shaped hanger 62, and hold ing the same normally in the position shown in Fig. 4 of the. drawings. 1

The functions and operation of the above described mechanism are as follows: Upon the introduction of a 'coin in the slot- 5, for example,.said coin engages the plugs 17 and 18 and by being forced therethrough estabod electrical connection therewith,

."r'orce, and thereby energizes the'core' 43 of said magnet, whereupon the disk 66 is attraeted iand thepplate 64 and its appurtenances-tare drawn over into the position shown Fig.1 of the drawings. The coin then ,passes along the ledge, 71 and by the side :of said; plate 64 adjacent to the hook secured thereon, and after the greater diameter' of the coin has .passed between the bite or nip of the lugs 17 and 18, it is forced inwardly,,ow1ng to the tendency of said plugs to approach closer to each other under the impulse of the spring 37 and the connecting joints and levers. Just as the coin passes out of contact with the plugs 17 and 18, its motion is arrested by an abutment 81 bent up from aplate 82, in Fig. ,5,

adjustably secured in a slide-way 83 on the frame 7 of the device, by a screw 84, the plate 82 having an elongated slot 85 for that purpose. .As the circuit between the source of elect-romotive force and the magnet 41 is now broken, the core 43 of said magnet loses its magnetic energy and the U-shaped hanger 62 and the plate 64 and its appurtenances are thrown into the position illus trated in Fig. 4-of the drawings, under the impulseof the spring 80. The coin then clears the abutment 81 and, if it be a good J one and of the proper denomination, rolls by gravity along the ledge 71 of the plate 64- and the ledge 72 of the plate 73, andinto the operating mechanism of, the machine to which latter this device is attached.

If the object introduced into the slot 5' .were a washer of electro-conductive material, the magnet 41 would be energized, and

upon the breakingof the circuit, the U- other cycle, when it would fall into a recep-' .tacle provided for that purpose, or into the body of the casing of the machine.

' If the object introduced into the slot 5 of the 'niachine is a non-metallic substance, such as a fiber, or rubber, or card-board disk, it will pass between the plugs 17 and 18, and

as no closing of the circuit can take place,

due to the non-conductivity of such disk, it

will fall directly into said receptacle, or into the body of the casing of the machine.

- If the check or object entered through the slot 5 meets the requirements of conductivity and passes the test for washers or the like,

and starts on its path toward the operating mechanism of. which this device forms a part, yet is thinner than a coin of the proper denomination, it will slip through the slot 86, formed in the ledge 72, ofthe plate 73, and drop into a receptacle provided for th'at purpose. See a,Fi 7.

If-a check or ob ect, introduced into the slot 5, meets the requirements of conductivity and passes the test for a washer or the like, but is smaller in diameter than a coin of the proper denomination, said check or object will fall through the "opening 87' in the plate 64 and drop into a receptacle provided for that purpose, or into a chute which would return it to the outside of the machine. See I), Fig. 7.

If a check or object, introduced into theslot 5, passes the test of conductivity and the test for a washer or the like, and is of some material readily attracted by a magnet, such as iron, steel or the like, it will c me in contact ith the terminals 56 and 57 of the horseshoe magnet 54, a slot 88 being provided in the plate 73 for that purpose,

whereupon its course will be arrested and it will beheld in that position with its edge resting upon the ledge 71 of the plate 64,

cept when in actual contact,- -and will drop into the body of the machine.

It is evident from the above of the mechanism and description of the functional operation and arrangement of parts that this device will test and eliminate .washers, -rings and the like; also disks of electrically non-conductive or of'magnetic material; that it will test for the thickness of a coin or check; and that it will test, for the diameter of a coin or check any disk or coin of greater thickness or diameter than the coins for which the device is designed being unable to enter the slot 5, this being the Initial test. It should also be noted, at this point, that the extension of the lever 20,

as shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, is for the purpose of cooperating with connections and establishing a connection between the cointesting mechanlsm and a locking-device in the vending machine for the purpose of ac tuatingsaid locking-device for each movement of the said lever 20;-that is to say, in the vending machine, a device is Provided by means of which the other coin-receiving devices are locked from operation when one of said devices is set in operation by a check passingbetween the lugs 17 and 18, and the lever 20 is the element of the testing mechanism which helps to establish connection between the latter and the locking means in the vending machine. The said locking means has not been illustrated- -nor particularly described herein, as the same forms no part of our present invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: D

1. A coin-testing mechanism for vending machines comprising a pair of movable electrically conducting members between which the coin is entered; and electrically controlled mechanism for receiving the coin after passing said members, comprising a plurality of means for subjecting the coin to a plurality of different tests.

2. A coin-testing mechanism for vending machines comprising a plurality of movable electrically conducting members between which the coin is entered; devices constituting an open electric circuit inwhic a the receiving means.

description members are included and mechanism for receiving the coin after passing said members, comprising a plurality of means for subjecting the coin to various difierent tests.

3. A coin-testing mechanism for vending machines comprising movable electrically conducting means to be actuated by a coin; receiving means for taking the coin after passing the movable means; and a device cooperating with the receiving means forming a connection' to a locking mechanism in 'the' vending machine, whereby said device and the locking connection may be set in action upon the acceptance of the coin by 4. A coin-testing mechanism for vending machines comprising a supporting-frame structure provided with a face-plate having a slot through which the coin may be passed; movable electrically conducting members arranged adjacent the face-plate between which the coin passes after passing through the face-plate; and a receiving mechanism for the coin for taking the latter after passing the movable members, including a plurality of. devices for subjecting the coin to several difierent tests.

5.A coin-testing mechanism for vending machines comprising a plurality of movable electrically conducting members between which the coin passes upo entering the ma- 7 chine; a 'pivotally-suppo d coin-receiving device normally held'out of cooperative relation with the said members;'means for moving, the coin-receiving device into cooperative relation with the said members when the latter are moved by the entry of a coin; and means carried by said coin-receiving device for subjecting the coin to a predetermined test.

6. A coin-testing mechanism for vending machines comprising a plurality of spring. pressed movable electrically conducting members between which the coin passes; a coin-receiving device movably mounted so as to be capable of moving into and out of coiipe'rative relation with said movable members; means for normally holding said device out of such cooperative relation; and magnetic means for moving said device into such cooperative relation.

7. A coin-testing mechanism for vending machines embracing movable electrically conducting means operably connected with electro-magnetic means for controlling the direction of movement of the, coin; and mechanically connected with means for determining its disposition within the mechanism, together with 'magnetically-controlled means for determining its further disposition dependent upon whether the coin 'i'nserted is the proper coin the machine should receive or not.

' 8. A coin-testing mechanism for vending machines embracing a plurality of movable conducting members, electrically connected with electro-magnetic controlling 'mechan ism and mechanically connected with each other in such manner as to impel the coin after it passes between the movable members, in combination with mechanism for mechanically determining the ultimate disposition of the coin as it advances, and additional means for further determining this condition when the coin inserted is non-magnetic.

9. A coin-testing mechanism for vending machines embracing electro-magnetically controlled means operably connected with mechanically controlled mechanism which determines whether the coin is of proper weight, and additional means which determines whether it is of proper thickness, together with magnetic means which acts to reject the coin if the same is of magnetic material.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES s. WEEKS. HENRY R. EVANS.

Witnesses:

ANNA M. WALL, CHAS. M00. CHAPMAN.

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