Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1886
Complete Left, 25th Aug., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 4th Oct., 1887.
I CHARLES HENRY RUSSELL of 80 Grays Inn Road, London in the county of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to certain improvements upon the automatic goods selling
apparatus described in the specification accompanying my application for Letters
Patent No. 5493 A.D. 1886. "In that Specification I referred to a certain storage
hopper and delivering device more particularly described in my specification
No. 1500 A.D. 1886, and also to a method of actuating same, whereby the act of
inserting the coin itself into the money admission aperture imparted a first motion
to a rocking lever which was then locked in that position and so remained until
released by a second motion obtained by the weight of the falling coin, by which
double motion through the medium of certain other mechanism one article was
discharged and the whole mechanism returned to normal position.
The object of the present improvements is to provide more efficient and positive
mechanical arrangements adapted for use in combination with the said rocking lever
whereby the same double motion imparted to the rocking lever is in all cases
employed but although I prefer to utilize the coin itself (as described in the above
referred to application) for rocking the lever, yet I find it advantageous in some
cases to obtain the same motion of the rocking lever by an external pulling, pushing,
or sliding device whose internal part is geared or otherwise so connected to the rocking
lever as to impart the same motion, moreover where I use a pull out motion I am
enabled not only to open the slot and lock the mechanism but also to hold the coin
after insertion clear of the mechanism until the return motion of the said device is
effected.
.

page_text: According to certain modifications of my present improvements by the first motion
of the rocking bar its foot is caused to move inwards and engage with one of a
convenient number of teeth upon a part rotatory countershaft placed in bearings in
a position conveniently adjacent to the money shoot and controlled by a light spring
or equivalent, and is thereby locked in an inward position and will so remain until
unlocked. These teeth are so spaced apart as to provide for the varying diameters
of current coin of simalar value. The unlocking is effected by the action of the coin
itself falling down the money shoot. The countershaft is provided with an arm,
which passes through a slot into the money shoot. The coin striking the arm serves
to partly rotate the countershaft sufficiently to unlock the foot of the lever and effect
the second motion of the apparatus when the coin falls into a suitable receptacle ; a
spring or equivalent acting upon the rocking lever tends always to return it to normal
position, and when the coin unlocks its fool as described the spring at once returns
the lever to normal position and simultaneously causes the return of all working parts
by which an article is delivered. The said articles are stored in a separate compart-
ment in a hopper shaped receptacle having a hinged flap or flaps at or about its base
and suitable means of moving it or them are provided in each case whereby the
articles are sufficiently agitated at each action of the apparatus to prevent bridging or
jamming and consequent uncertain delivery.
According to certain arrangements of my present improvements a transverse slot
is provided in the base of the hopper and the delivery device may consist of a single
roller having one groove corresponding to the said slot, both being adapted to the
size of the articles for sale. An arm upon the foot of the rocking lever engages with
a slot in a link of suitable shape fixed to the axis of the roller and by each first motion
of the apparatus the groove is caused to come exactly beneath the slot and receive an
article, and by the second motion to return to normal inverted position when the
article drops to delivery. Or, the delivery device may consist of a pair of adjustable
rotary cylinders covered with rubber or suitable material and suitably spaced apart
beneath the slot of the hopper above described. The cylinders are geared with each
other and their rotary motion is adjustable, the lowest article always rests upon them
in this case the foot of the rocking lever may engage with a sliding bar carrying a
pawl and having a locking bar suitably centred adjacent to it. At each first motion
of the apparatus the bar is slidden the pawl is moved inwards and engages with a
suitable pin on one of the cylinders in which position the parts are locked; by the
second motion the unlocking is effected, when the pawl gearing with the cylinder pin
gives a first motion to both cylinders, whereby the article is delivered and the cylinders
and all parts returned to position by suitable springs or other devices and the coin
falls to a suitable receptacle.
j
Or where economy of space is an object the delivery device may consist of a plate
hinged to the division plate between the two compartments and having its lower
extremity formed with a curved piece after the shape of a sickle.
The upper part of this plate is or may be double so as to form a chamber and the
lower articles in the storage compartment rest in it and are supported by a cross plate
attached to a fixed transverse cut off block of the exact depth of an article.
To operate this device the foot of the rocking lever engages with a slot of suitable
shape in or upon the hinged plate of such form that the first motion of the lever moves
forward the delivery plate to locked position and by the second motion as before the
parts are released and all returned to normal position by springs or equivalents, an
article is delivered and the coin allowed to fall clear.
In this arrangement I employ a device to hold up the articles and so relieve the
device of their weight if necessary; the same device also serves to close the money
slot at each action. It consists of a light vibrating frame pivotted on the division
plate having a cover plate for the slot at its upper extremity and a suitable stop near
its base projecting through the delivery plate and normally pressing against and
holding up the lower articles; at each action the slot is closed and an article
released.

page_text: I employ also a device for permanently closing the slot when the apparatus is
emptied of articles. A counting device consisting of a ratchet and pawl arrangement
such as described in my specification No. 1500 A.D. 1886 used in combination with a
cover plate centred at one end and adapted to be turned so as to cover the slot;
normally it is held clear of the slot by a hinged lever pivotted on the frame but when
the last or any desired number of articles has been sold the moving bar of the afore-
said counting device takes against a part of the hinged lever, moving it back and
liberating the cover plate which by a suitable spring is moved over the slot thereby
preventing the introduction of further coin.
Deted this Twenty fifth day of Nawaban 1000

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Goods Selling Apparatus.
I CHARLES HENRY RUSSELL of Portpool Lane, Grays Inn Road, London in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to certain improvements upon the automatic goods selling
apparatus described in the specification accompanying my Letters Patent No. 5498
A.D. 1886.
In that specification I referred to a certain storage hopper and delivering devico
more particularly described in the specification accompanying my Letters Patent
No. 1500 A.D. 1886 and also to a method of actuating same, whereby the act of
inserting the coin itself into the money admission aperture imparted a first motion to
a rocking lever which was then locked in that position and so remained until released
by a second motion obtained by the weight of the falling coin, by which double motion
through the medium of certain other mechanism one article was discharged and the
whole mechanism returned to normal position.
The object of the present improvements is to provide more efficient and positive
mechanical arrangements adapted for use in combination with the said rocking
lever whereby the same double motion imparted to the rocking lever is in all cases
employed.
The invention is subject to certain alternative arrangements which I will now fully
describe in reference to the accompanying drawings in which like letters refer to like
parts throughout.
For imparting the requisite motion to the rocking lever, although I prefer to utilize
the coin itself (as described in the above referred to Letters Patent), yet I find it
advantageous in some cases to use an external pulling pushing or sliding device whose
internal part is geared or otherwise so connected to the rocking lever as to impart the
same motion. One such arrangement is shown in sheet 1 figure 1 wherein an external
piece C is fitted to slide in guides and provided with an arm e projecting into the
box, the end of the arm is connected to the top of the rocking lever B by a link c';
when the piece C is slidden the parts take the position shown dotted, the money slot a
is uncovered and the coin may be inserted. A spring such as c³ is provided so that
when the sliding piece is liberated the parts may be returned to normal position. The
leverage and power required to operate lever B may be varied according to the
position of its centreing. With this arrangement I sometimes use a receptacle c³ in
which the proper coin will rest but anything smaller will fall through a slot in the

page_text: base; upon the sliding piece being released the lever B or a projection thereon pushes
the coin forward to and into the shoot D which is arranged adjacently.
One modification of my present improvements is shown in figures 2 and 3 wherein
by the first motion of the rocking lever B (whether effected by the insertion of coin
or the sliding of the part C) its foot is caused to move into the position shown dotted
and engage with one of a convenient number of teeth e upon a part rotatory counter-
shaft E (best shown in figure 14) mounted in bearings conveniently adjacent to the
money shoot D, through a slot in which a short arm e fixed to shaft E projects and is
held back by a light spring e'. In this position the mechanism is locked and will so
remain until unlocked as hereinafter described; the teeth e on E are so spaced apart
as to provide for the varying diameters of current coin of similar value. The articles
are stored in an adjoining compartment in a hopper H having a hinged flap or flaps
h, h at or about its base which at each action of the apparatus are vibrated to prevent
bridging or jamming of the articles; a transverse slot is provided at the base of the
hopper in which the lowest articles rest. The delivery device consists of a roller I
having one longitudinal groove i adapted to the size of an article and normally resting
in the position shown in figure 3. The spindle i¹ of the roller I projects through the
central partition and upon its extremity a curved and slotted link J is fixed, in the
slot a stud fixed on the foot of lever B engages; a lever K rests on the couvex side
of the link J centred on a part rotatory spindle k passing through below the flap k
and having a lever k¹ of suitable shape fixed to its other end.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-
On insertion of a coin to position 2 the lever B is moved, the stud 64 on its foot
carrying over the link J as shown dotted; the part rotation imparted to the spindle
brings the groove i of the roller I up beneath slot ' as shown dotted and an article
drops into it, and that of spindle k raises lever k¹ and flap h to position shown dotted,
and all parts are locked in the position by locking tooth e: The coin then falling down
shoot D to position 3 of figure 2 strikes the arm e³ and partly rotates the shaft E
releasing foot of lever B and the parts are returned to normal position by
spring, the article falls through delivery orifice ♬ and the coin falls into a
receptacle d'.
Another modification of my improvements is shown in figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 wherein
the delivery device consists of a pair of rotary cylinders I l' covered with rubber or
suitable frictional material and suitably spaced apart beneath the slot h¹ of the hopper H
above described. The cylinders 11' are geared with each other by cog teeth at one or
both ends, and the article next to be delivered rests between them. By the part
rotation of both rollers II' in an inward and opposite direction an article is delivered,
and this is accomplished in the following manner :
The money slot and rocking lever arrangement described are placed in a compart-
ment A adjacent to the hopper. The foot of the lever B engages with a slide bar G
of the form shown placed in guides 9 9 upon the upper side of which lock teeth e e are
arranged; these teeth move beneath corresponding teeth e¹ e' formed upon the under
surface of a lock bar P, pivotted to the central partition at its other end at p, and
constantly pressed backwards by a spring p². A pin or projection p³ is fixed at the
free end of lock bar P passing through an aperture into an outer compartment A¹
into which also the lower part of the money shoot D is led. A lever Q is centred in
compartment A' one end of which passes into the money shoot D (as above described
for the short arm e figure 2) and its other end rests normally below the said
projection p². The slide bar G carries a pawl g' whose motion is controlled by
stops and upon one of the rollers I¹ a pin is placed. The distance of travel of
the rollers 1 I' is determined by the length of a slot cut in the partition .e in which
travels the pin fixed to roller 1. A spring is attached to one of the rollers as
illustrated for the purpose of returning them both to normal position after operation.
The operation of the mechanism is as follows:-When the lever is moved forward to
dotted position either by the coin when in position 2 or by the device shown in
figure 1, the slide bar G is forced up against the action of spring p², its pawl g' being

page_text: carried over roller pin 13. One of its teeth e then raises bar P and locks with a
corresponding tooth e¹ thereon; until a coin of proper weight descends the shoot D
the mechanisin will remain in this position, but when this occurs the coin (at
position 3) striking the end 9 of lever Q raises its other end and pin p³, thus raising
also bar P and releasing slide G which is returned to normal position by spring p';
during the return the pawl g' gives the necessary part rotation to the rollers II' at
the completion of which it slips over the pin and the rollers are returned to normal
position by the spring . The article is thus passed between the two rollers II' and
rolls down inclined plane to delivery orifice, while the coin falls into the
receptaclo d¹.
The required vibration is imparted to the flaps hh for the purpose indicated
by means of pins affixed to slide bar G on its inner side which work through
slots in the partition upon horizontal pieces fixed to the flaps h h as shown
figure 6.
To prevent tampering with the internal parts by passing anything through
aperture a plate and light flap valve may be arranged if desired as shown in
figure 4.
I employ a device for permanently closing the money slot when the apparatus is
emptied of articles or when any desired number has been sold such as is described in
the specification of my Letters Patent No. 5493 A.D. 1886 (and not No..1500 A.D.
1886 as referred to in error in my Provisional Specification.
In the arrangement shown in figures 8 to 14 a stud 6 on foot of lever B works
in a slot 6 in a second lever 6 centred on the partition and carrying a locking
pawl 68, the lower end of the lever 6 engages in a slot 7 formed in a plate L of form
best shown in figures 10, 12 and 13 fixed to the back of the delivery device.
The shoot D and shaft E having locking teeth e are arranged as before described
and when the coin is inserted as at 2 the lever 6° is moved, and the pawl 68 engaging
with tooth e is locked as shown figure 10. The goods are stored in hopper H
arranged as before described with reference to figure 3. The lower part forming the
delivery device consists of a chamber M hinged to central partition at 6' in which the
lower articles rest, the lower part of the chamber M is formed of a rectangular or it
may be a sickle shape as shown at m, a fixed transverse cut off block m¹ with slot m²
is provided, which block in normal position supports the articles as in figure 8. One
end of a lever K is pivotted near the base of chamber M and engages with a slot k
formed in a projection on the hinged flap h. On the coin being inserted to
position 2 by first motion the lever B is moved to position shown in figure 10 and
the parts are locked as described and the lowest article is retained on the lower end
of plate m figure 12. The coin then falling to position 3 and striking the arm eas
described releases all parts which are returned to position by spring cand
the article falls though slot m³ to delivery orifice and the coin is deposited in 4
receptacle d¹.
The money slot closing arrangement consists of a rectangular frame O pivotted at o
and having a cover plate o' at its top. A pin or projection o' figure 8 is fixed on its
lower member which passes freely through an aperture in the back of the hinged
chamber. The frame O is balanced and the pin o' rests against the lowest article so 4
that the plate o¹ is normally held back and slot a open as in figures 8 and 11; the
light pressure of o³ also tends to hold up the articles and relieve the weight; when
the last article is delivered the balance of O is such that the pin o³ passes into the
chamber M and remains there, thus moving the cover plate o' over slot a and
preventing admission of further coins.
By the hereinbefore described improvements it will be seen that except when an
external operating device constructed and applied substantially as setforth in reference
to figure 1 is employed the apparatus described are all purely automatic in their
action, that is to say the act of first inserting a coin of proper size and its subsequent
action in falling through the money shoot to the coin receptacle will deliver an
article without further operation on the part of the purchaser,
J

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :—
1. The improvement in automatic goods selling apparatus consisting of the
combination with my rocking lever of an external device for actuating same
constructed and arranged to operate substantially as set forth in reference to
figure 1.
2. The improvement in automatic goods selling apparatus consisting of the
combination with my rocking lever of a part rotatory countershaft having locking
teeth and an unlocking arm so disposed as to be operated by a falling coin
all constructed and arranged substantially in the manner and for the purposes
setforth.
3. The combination with my rocking lever of the arrangement of locking and
unlocking mechanism operated and operating as setforth in reference to figures 4 to 7
of the accompanying drawings.
4. The improvement in automatic goods selling apparatus consisting of the
combination with my rocking lever of a single roller delivery device and the
mechanism for operating the same all constructed arranged and operating
substantially in the manner and for the purposes setforth in reference to figures
and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
5. The improvement in automatic goods selling apparatus consisting of the
combination with my rocking lever of a double roller delivery device and mechanism
for actuating the same, all constructed arranged and operating substantially in the
manner and for the purposes setforth in reference to figures 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the
accompanying drawings.
6. The improvement in automatic goods selling apparatus consisting of the
combination with my rocking lever of a hinged delivery device with slotted
cut off block and the mechanisin for actuating the same all constructed arranged
and operating substantially in the manner and for the purposes setforth in reference
to figures 8 to 14 of the accompanying drawings.
7. In an automatic goods selling apparatus arranged and operating as set forth and
claimed in (6) the use of the slot closing arrangement hereinbefore specified adapted
to act in the manner, at the times, and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this Twenty fifth day of August 1887.
J. C. CHAPMAN,
70, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agent for Applicant.