Patent GB-799720-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to coin controlled vending machines
IPC: G07F5/20
Filed: 1956-07-10
Abstract: 799,720. Coin-freed vending apparatus. NATIONAL VENDORS, Inc. July 10, 1956 [July 14, 1955, June 7, 1956], No. 21381/56. Class 27 A coin-freed machine for vending articles of different prices has dispensing members R operable by the purchaser, latches L-1, L-2, L-3 operable by the dispensing member and movable from a locking position permitting only limited movement of the dispensing members to a tracted position permitting full movement and a mechanical totaliser which adds up the value of deposited coins and prevents the latches from being moved to retracted position if the full required value of coins has not been deposited. For each article magazine, of which there are three or more there is a pull-out rod R and locking means (not shown) is provided to prevent more than one rod being pulled out at a time and to prevent pulling out of a rod if the respective magazine is empty. The articles in each magazine bear on a head 33, Fig. 3 at the end of each rod and, when the rod is pulled out, the head moves from under the stack and the stack drops down so that on return of the knob, the bottom article is pushed off into a delivery shoot 5. A draw bar 13 extends across the machine and is engaged by a web 35 on each head 33 so that it is pulled forward when a knob is pulled out, the forward movement operating a lever 55 that dispenses a book of matches and also rotating a lever 59, Fig. 4, counterclockwise. Full movement of the lever 59 is, however, prevented by the coincontrolled latches L-1, L-2, L-3 but, if the latches are retracted a pawl 93 engages teeth 89 on the lever and compels fullstroke operation of any rod R once it has been pulled out far enough for engagement of the teeth with the pawl. The latches are rotatable on a rod 107, Fig. 7, and the latch L-1 normally lies in the path of the lever 59 but the latches L-2 and L-3 are normally held retracted by levers 135 and 149 respectively, engaging lugs on the latches. The levers 135, 149 are connected by rods 189, 197 to shafts 155, 157 journalled below the pull-out rods and, for each rod, an arm 169 is provided on the shaft 155 and an arm 171 is provided on the shaft 157. The arms are slotted for adjustment of their position on the shafts so that the pull-out knobs can be set to sell articles of different prices. As shown, the two rods at the left of the machine are set for vending articles of a first price (say, 25 cents) and are positioned to lie out of the path of ribs 167 on the pull-out knobs so that neither shaft 155, 157 can be rocked to release the latches L-2, L-3, the third rod from the left is set for vending articles of a second price (say, 30 cents) by setting only the arm 169 in the path of a rib 167 so that the shaft 155, link 189 and a cam 183 raise the lever 135 to release the latch L-2 and the fourth rod from the left is set for vending articles of a third price (say 35 cents) by setting only the arm 171 in the path of a rib 167 so that the shaft 157, link 197 and cam 191 raise the lever 149 and also, through a linking wire 199, the lever 135, so that both latches L-2 and L-3 are released to locking position. Inserted coins are directed by a selector and testing device to side-by-side nickel, dime and quarter shoots NC, DC and QC, Fig. 9, and to come to rest, respectively, on shoulders 289, 291 and 293 of a lever 285 mounted on a shaft 256. The shoulders are angularly staggered so that when a spider wheel 261 also on the shaft 256 is rotated one of its three coin-pushing fingers 267 rotates the lever through a small angle if the coin is a nickel, though twice this angle for a dime and through five times this angle for a quarter. These movements are totalized by a ratchet 301, driven from the lever 285 by a pawl 303 against the action of a zeroing spiral spring 345, Fig. 12, A pawl 353, Fig. 6, normally locks the ratchet 301 against return to zero and a pawl 367 for preventing override of the ratchet is normally held disengaged from a second ratchet ring 347 by a lever 373 but any one of the three fingers 267 is adapted, prior to coming to a stop, to engage a roller 383 and raise the lever to release the pawl 367. Both the locking pawl 353 and the override pawl 367 can be released by the upward movement of a re-set rod 359. An inserted coin in any one of the three shoots depresses the finger 337 of a lever 335 and through a link 325 removes a detent 315 from one of the fingers 267 of the coindriving wheel so that the wheel can be rotated by a cocking bar 279, Fig. 19, which is biased downwards by a spring 283 and is connected to the wheel by a rack 282. one-way clutch 277 and gears 275, 271 and 269. The totalizer ratchet 301 has an outwardly projecting hub 401 on which a graduated price-setting disc 403, Fig. 12, is rotatably mounted but keyed to the ratchet by a lug 409 and notch 407. Discs carrying lobes of which the ends form stops S-1A, S-2A and S-3A are rotatable on the hub 405 of the disc 403 and are coupled to each other and to the disc 403 by teeth 411. The stop discs can be adjusted separately to different price settings by moving them outwardly on the hub 405 against a spring member 417 and rotating them so that the ends of the lobes occupy different angular positions. This adjustment determines the degree of rotation of the totalizer ratchet before the ends of the lobes clear a shoulder 479 on each of three sliding latch-release plates P-1, P-2 and P-3, Figs. 2 and 6, which are connected by links 471, 473, 475, levers 435 and bars 421 423, 425, Fig. 19, to lugs 121, 129, 143 on the latches L-1, L-2, L-3. A shaft 49, Fig. 2, carrying the lever 59 that is operated by the movement of the pullout rods also carries a lever 515, Fig. 6, on which is a roller 517. engaging cam edges 519 on a lever 503 and a cam edge 521 on a lever 501. The roller 517 jointly rotates these levers clockwise and a shoulder 507 on the lever 503 engages a roller 509 on a lever 493 coupled to the three latch plates by separate springs 499. The cam adge 519 is longer than the cam edge 521 so that the roller 517 can release the lever 493 before the lever 503 is fully raised. Coins that have been moved through the coin shoots fall into a V-shaped hopper having right-and-left-hand gates 531 and 529 on a common pivot 533. When one of the pull-out knobs is pulled forward, a stud .23, Fig. 7, rocks a lever 585 counterclockwise and after an interval of lost motion (which is sufficient for the ratchet teeth 89 to engage the full-stroke pawl 91, Fig. 4, a roller 589 pushes down a lever 579 and through a link 583 rocks a lever 571 so that rollers 575 and 577 raise the re-set rod 359 and cocking bar 279. The lever 579 later engages a roller 592 on a sliding bar 543, and lowers a finger 545 from below the hopper gate 531 so that the gate swings down to release coins into a collecting shoot 553: Operation. A nickel falling in the nickel shoot NC engages the trip 337, Fig. 14 to' release the detent 315, thus freeing the coin wheel 261, and drops into engagement, with the shoulder 289 of the lever 285. The coin wheel is then rotated by the spring 283, Fig. 19, pulling down the cocking bar 279 and a finger 267 drives the nickel downward, thus rotating the lever 285. The coin wheel is restricted to rotation through a third of a revolution by the engagement of the detent 315. with the next finger 267 and because of the short angular extent of the land behind the shoulder 289 the lever 285 is rotated only sufficiently to move the totalizing ratchet 301 by one tooth space. The deposit of additional nickels results in rotating the ratchet one more step from each nickel. Nickels and quarters operate similarly, engaging the shoulders 291 and 293 respectively and rotating the ratchet two or five steps. When the ratchet has been rotated five steps by a coin or combination of coins, the stops S-1A is clear of the shoulder 479 on the plate P-1 but the other stops S-2A and S-3A are still not clear of the shoulders on the other plates P-2 and P-3. If a 25-cent rod R is now pulled, the lever 59 is rocked by the drawbar 13 to rotate the shaft 49 and lever 585. Rotation of the shaft 49, through the crank arm 515, Fig. 6, raises the levers 501 and 503 and thus rotates the lever 493 to act through a spring 499 and pull the plate P-1 rearward. The other plates P-2, P-3 are blocked by the stops S-2A, S-3A, but their springs 499 yield to permit movement of the plate P-1. The movement of the plate P-1 causes one lever 435 to retract the latch L-1 and, as the latches L-2, L-3, are in retracted position, the 25-cent rod can be fully pulled out and returned to its original position in order to dispense an article. When the roller 517 on the arm 515 escapes from the cam edge 521 on the lever 501, the roller 509 is free off the shoulder 507 and the lever 493 and plate P-1 can return to their original positions. The lever 585, as previously described, raised the re-set rod 359 and cocking bar 279 and opens the gate 531, Fig. 21, of the coin hopper for collection of the coins. If 25 cents only has been deposited and a 30- cent rod R is pulled, the rib 167 on the rod will rotate either the shaft 155 or 157 and so bring either the latch L-2 or both latches L-2, L-3 into into position for blocking movement of the lever 59. The action on deposit of 30 cents or 35 cents is similar, 30 cents freeing both plates P-1, P-2 for rearward movement and 35 cents freeing all three plates. Coin return and clearing. A coin return bar, 593, Fig. 21, can rotate a lever 605 clockwise to raise the re-set rod 359 and cocking bar 279 and, by means of a finger 631, can lower a bar 535 so that a finger 537 is lowered from below the left-hand gate 529 of the coin hopper, thus releasing the coins to a return shoot. The lever 605, through a finger 633, Fig. 14, also rotates a spring-loaded pivoted plate 615 so that a finger 619 on the plates clear jammed coins from the sheets. A lock-out lever 557, Fig. 6