Improvements in Coin-freed Apparatus for Obtaining an Electric Light, and for other purposes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Jan., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Oct., 1890-Accepted, 8th Nov., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Coin-freed Apparatus for Obtaining an Electric
Light, and for other purposes.
We, HENRY SHERLEY PRICE, of 52 Queen Victoria Street, and HERBERT JOHN
DowSING, of 4 Queen Victoria Street, both in the City of London, Electrical
Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates more especially to coin-freed apparatus for supplying currents.
of electricity for definite periods of time, for producing electric light and consists in
the combination, with such apparatus, of means and devices whereby, in addition
to the electric light obtainable for a definite time by the introduction of a coin into
the apparatus, a person may be provided with some other article such as a newspaper
for example, or obtain, if he desires it, the means of lighting or igniting a cigar, a
pipe, or other object, without the insertion of another coin into the apparatus, for each
object or requirement supplied besides the electric light.
For this purpose we arrange mechanism in connection with the devices by which
the electric light is produced on the introduction of a coin into the apparatus,
whereby either the additional article or object is actually delivered at the same time
as the electric light is produced, or a detent is released which enables a drawer, lever,
or other piece of mechanism, to be operated subsequently by the person using the
apparatus, so as to effect the delivery of the said additional article or object at any
time during the period the electric light remains in operation; or the release of the
detent may enable a button, slide, or other device, to be operated so as to make an
electrical contact which will cause a current .of electricity to pass through, and to
heat, a platinum wire, or otherwise produce, for a certain time, a means by which a
cigar, a pipe, or other object, can be lighted or ignited.
When the article or object, additional to the electric light, is to be actually delivered
simultaneously with the production of the electric light, we prefer to employ the coin-
freed apparatus for supplying electric light for definite periods of time, for which
Letters Patent were applied for by us on the 15 March 1889 No. 4530, and to utilize,
for the purpose of effecting such delivery, the rotary motion of the axis carrying the
time regulating device therein described; and the same apparatus may be employed
when the article or object, or means of ignition, additional to the electric light, is not
intended to be actually delivered or supplied simultaneously with the production of
the electric light, but only released or placed in a condition such that it can be obtained
by a subsequent operation on the part of the person using the apparatus. But coin-
freed apparatus, for supplying an electric light for definite periods of time, in
which the time is regulated by clockwork, or otherwise, may also be combined
with automatic delivery or cigar-lighting apparatus, although such clockwork-operated
apparatus is not so well adapted for effecting the actual delivery of articles or objects,
when comparatively considerable force is required for that purpose, as the apparatus
forming the subject of our aforesaid application for patent.
In some cases it may be desired to use the automatic delivery or cigar-lighting part
of the apparatus, without producing the electric light, as for example, in the day time
when the electric light would not be required; we then provide means whereby the
current of electricity may be prevented from entering the electric lamp when the coin
s inserted into the apparatus, or during the subsequent operations, although it is
hereby made available for the cigar or other igniting apparatus, or for other purposes
connected with the automatic delivery apparatus, if required.
The coin-freed electric lighting apparatus may be combined, as above described,
with apparatus for delivering one or more articles, or with apparatus for producing

page_text: means of lighting or igniting a cigar or other object, or it may be combined with both
delivering and igniting apparatus at the same time.
Dated this and der f T1000
Improvements in Coin-freed Apparatus for Obtaining an Electric
Light, and for other purposes.
We, HENRY SHERLEY PRICE, of 52 Queen Victoria Street, and HERBERT JOHN
DowSING, of 4 Queen Victoria Street, both in the City of London, Electrical
Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying two sheets of
drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
This invention relates more especially to coin-freed apparatus for supplying
currents of electricity for definite periods of time for producing electric light, and
consists in the combination, with such apparatus, of means and devices whereby,
in addition to the electric light obtainable for a definite time by the introduction
of a coin into the apparatus, a person may be provided with some other article,
such as a newspaper for example, or obtain if he desires it, the means of lighting
or igniting a cigar, a pipe or other object, without the insertion of another coin
into the apparatus for each object or requirement supplied besides the electric
light.
a
For this purpose we arrange mechanism in connection with the devices by
which the electric light is produced on the introduction of a coin into the
apparatus, whereby either the additional article or object is actually delivered at
the same time as the electric light is produced, or a detent is released which enables
drawer, lever, or other piece of mechanism, to be operated subsequently by the
person using the apparatus, so as to effect the delivery of the said additional article
object at any time during the period the electric light remains in operation;
or the release of a detent may enable a button, slide, or other device, to be
operated so as to make an electrical contact which will cause a current of
electricity to pass-through, and to heat a platinum wire, or otherwise produce for
a certain time, a means by which a cigar, a pipe, or other object, can be lighted or
ignited.
or.
The drawings hereto annexed show, by way of example, our invention applied
to the coin-freed apparatus for supplying electric light for definite periods of
time, for which Letters Patent have been granted to us bearing date the 15th day
of March 1889 No. 4530. The drawings show only so much of such apparatus
as is necessary to enable the application of our present invention thereto to be
understood; and the capital letters of reference in the figures correspond to parts
of the apparatus designated by similar letters of reference in the Specification and
drawings of the aforesaid Patent. The apparatus described in the said Specification is
of the following character:-
A locking and unlocking instrument Y2, actuated by a coin inserted into a slit Y*
and falling down the shoot Y³, liberates an axis A which may be turned a
half revolution when so released, by means of a knob projecting from the front
of the case C. This axis A has mounted on it a double ended vessel of glass, or
other suitable non-conductive material, constructed like an hour glass, and con-
taining mercury or other suitable conductive material that will flow through the
narrow neck joining the two enlarged ends of the said double ended vessel. The
latter is so connected to the aforesaid axis A that either of its ends
may be

page_text: turned upwards by turning the said axis A half round. Electric conducting wires,
one of which E' is shown in the drawings hereto annexed, are fixed in the afore-
said hour-glass-like vessel (which for convenience is called the time regulator) in
such position that when the mercury for example is contained in the part of the
said vessel which is uppermost for the time being and is running through the
aforesaid neck or passage of the said vessel or regulator into the, for the time
being, lower part thereof, the said mercury effects an electric connection between
the conducting wires in the upper part of the time regulating vessel so as to
bring the electric lamp, to which it is desired to apply the current of electricity,
into circuit with the battery or other source of electricity.
The electrical connections of the above described apparatus are arranged as
follows:-I is a conductor leading the current from one pole of the battery, not shown
in the drawings, through the framework J to the axis A, whence the current passes to
the metallic case N in which the aforesaid time regulator is enclosed to preserve it
from injury. The conducting wires, of which one, namely E' is shown in the
drawings, are connected at one end to this case N and at the other are fused into
the side of the glass vessel, the extreme ends passing into the interior of the said
vessel. The wire E', after passing out through the insulating plug K in the side of
the case N, makes metallic contact with the disc P which is carried by the axis A but
is insulated therefrom. Projections Q on the disc P make contact with the brush or
contact spring R connected to the post T, a wire U from which goes to the lamp, not
shown in the drawings. A return wire V from the lamp connects at the post W with
a wire which completes the connection to the other pole of the battery.
Figure 1 of the drawings shows one of the above described electric light apparatuses
with one of our mechanical arrangements applied thereto for the purpose of releasing
a detent which enables a drawer to be operated by the person using the apparatus, so
as to effect the delivery of the required additional article or object at any time during
the period the electric light remains in operation.
a a represent a number of the additional articles or objects piled in a column in the
usual way, b a drawer of the usual construction for drawing out the lowermost of the
articles a when released in the manner to be hereinafter described. c is a cam fixed
on the axis A of the time regulator, d a lever turning on a fixed fulcrum d', and
urged at its upper end towards the cam c by a spring d². e is a catch or pawl
turning on a fixed fulcrum pin e'. e² a spring tending to keep the front end of the
pawl e down so as to lock the spur of the drawer b, e³ is an arm of the pawl e acted
on by the lower end of the lever d which is furnished with an adjusting screw d³.
e is a backwardly projecting tail piece of the pawl e. f is a latch fulcrummed at f¹
and urged by a spring towards the tail end e of the pawl e.
It will now be understood that when a suitable coin is placed in the slot Y,
it falls down the shoot Y³ and depresses the end of the lever Y'; the opposite
end of the latter is thereby raised and releases the axis A. The case N, with
its contained time regulator, is then turned round by its knob a half revolution
and the electric light is produced for a certain period of time dependent upon
the time occupied by the mercury in running from the upper to the lower part
of the time regulator as described in the Specification of our aforesaid Patent.
The cam a acts on the upper end of the lever d, causing the lower end thereof
to press the arm e to the right in the figure, raising the pawl e clear of the
spur of the drawer b, and lowering the tail end e so that the latch f springs
over it and the pawl e is thereby held in its raised position. The drawer b is
now free to be drawn out so as to deliver the lowermost of the articles a, but
before the drawer b can be drawn out far enough to allow of the said article
being taken out of the recess in the drawer, the spur 61 comes against the tail
end of the latch fand releases the tail e of the pawl e and the spring e presses
the front end of the pawl e downwards; then, as the drawer b is again pushed
inwards, the spur b¹ passes under the pawl e and is thereby locked in the position
shown in the figure. The parts must be so adjusted that the passage of the
spur ', under the pawl e as the drawer is pushed inwards, cannot raise the front

page_text: end of the pawl sufficiently to allow the latch to catch over the tail end
again, as in that case more than one article could be withdrawn by the insertion
of one coin. Sufficient depression of the tail e lo enable the latch f to catch
over it, can only be given by the lever d and that can only be effected once for
each coin introduced at Y.
Figure 2 of the drawings shows one of the same kind of electric light apparatuses
with one of our electrical arrangements applied thereto for the purpose of releasing a
detent which enables a drawer to be operated to effect the delivery of the additional
article.
a a are the additional articles or objects, and the drawer as in Figure 1. g is a
pawl or catch turning on a fixed fulcrum g¹ and having a double inclined projection g²
which takes into a recess of corresponding shape in the drawer b. h is a latch urged
towards the end of the catch 9 by a spring h', i is a lever turning on a fulcrum .
The upper end of this lever forms the armature of an electro-magnet j from which the
said armature is urged by a spring 2. The lower end of the lever i has pin-jointed to
it a latch which is guided in a slot or fork ² on the upper end of the latch h. One
end of the coil of the electro-magnet j goes direct to the main circuit and the
other end to the wire U so that the said coil forms part of the electric circuit.
It will now be understood that, as described in reference to Figure 1, when a
suitable coin is placed in the slot Y', the axis A is released, the time regulator
is then turned and the electric light produced, the current passing from the battery
by wire to the frame J, thence to the axis A and case N, thence by a wire,
not shown, to the mercury in the time regulator, thence by the wire E¹, disc P,
projection Q, spring or brush R, post T, wire U, and coil j into the main circuit
and returns by wire V and post W to the battery. The electro-magnet j is
thereby excited and the armature on the upper end of lever i is attracted;
this causes the latch to draw the latch h free of the end of the pawl g thereby
releasing the latter. When the drawer is drawn out, the inclined end of the
recess therein acts on the corresponding inclined side of the projection 92 and the
pawl g is raised, and its front end raises the end of the latch thus releasing
the latch which is then pressed by its spring with its face h³ bearing against
the end of the pawl g. When the drawer b is pushed in again, the projection g²
takes into the recess in the drawer, the pawl g falls and the latch / takes over its
end, preventing it from rising and therefore preventing the opening of the drawer b
again until the current is interrupted and the lever i thereby returned to the
position shown in the figure with the latch 3 engaged over the latch h, and even
then the drawer cannot be again liberated until the current of electricity is re-
established which cannot be effected until another coin is placed in the apparatus
and the time regulator given another half revolution. If the drawer b is not
drawn out during the time the electric light lasts, the pawl 9 is not raised, and
the latch is not released from the latch h, so that when the current is inter-
rupted at the expiration of the given time, the springs and simply return
the parts and ½ into the positions shown in the figure ready for another
operation.
The same figure shows the combination, with the electric light apparatus, of devices
by which a cigar or other object can be lighted or ignited.
k is a holder connected to a cable the upper end of which is secured to one end of
a lever m turning on a fulcrum at m¹. The other end of the lever m is drawn by a
spring m² towards a contact piece n which is connected by a wire n' with the post T.
A wire p is connected at one end to the post W and passes thence through the cable /
to one end of a resistance 9 of platinum wire, the other end of which is connected to a
wire. which also passes through the cable parallel with, but insulated from, the
wire p. At its other end the wire r is connected to the lever m. When the holder k
.
is allowed to hang down with its whole weight depending from the outer end of the
lever m, the inner end of the said lever is raised in opposition to the spring m² off
the contact piece n so that no current can pass to the resistance q. But when the
holder is held up in the position shown in the drawing, its weight is taken off

page_text: the lever m and the spring m² then acts to draw its inner end into contact with the
piece n.
The current then, instead of passing through the lamp, passes from the post T
to the piece n, thence by the lever m, wire r, resistance q and wire p to post W and
thence back to battery. The current takes this course because the resistance at g is
less than that of the lamp, but the resistance at 9 being sufficient to cause the current
to render the platinum wire incandescent the latter can be used when in that
state for the purpose of lighting a cigar or other object, the lamp meantime either
going out altogether, or becoming less luminous according as the amount of current
taken from it is greater or less.
When the weight of the holder k is again taken by the lever m, the connection of
the latter with the piece n is broken, and the whole current again passes through the
lamp, restoring it to its full brilliancy.
It is obvious that instead of the rotation of the axis A being caused to merely
release a drawer or other instrument so as to place it in a condition such that
it can be operated by a separate act of the person using the apparatus, it may
be caused to effect the actual delivery of some articles simultaneously with the
production of light, advertisement cards for example, but we have not considered
it necessary to describe such an arrangement further, as many of the well known
apparatuses for effecting the actual delivery of articles on the introduction of a
coin, without any further action on the part of the person using the apparatus,
may be readily combined with such axis A.
It is also obvious that our improvements can readily be applied to coin-freed
apparatus for supplying electric light for definite periods of time in which the time is
regulated by clockwork or otherwise, as all that is necessary is to provide a revolving
axis operated by the clockwork or other means which shall perform functions in
respect of our improvements similar to those above described in connection with the
axis A.
In some cases it may be desired to use the automatic delivery, or cigar lighting,
part of the apparatus without producing the electric light, as for example, in the day
time when the electric light would not be required, we then provide means whereby
the electric lamp can be cut out of the circuit, although the current is left available for
the cigar or other igniting apparatus, or for other purposes connected with the
automatic delivery apparatus, if required.
For this purpose we employ arrangements such as are shown diagrammatically
in Figure 3 of the drawings, in which H represents the battery, N the mercurial
time regulator, G the lamp, ka cigar lighting apparatus of a kind similar to
that shown in Figure 2 for example. ; an electro-magnet for releasing the detent
of the drawer b as in Figure 2. s is a switch inserted in the main circuit but so
placed and arranged, as shown in Figure 1 for example, that when the time
regulator N is rotated the latter closes the said switch automatically, but the
latter is provided with a button s¹ by which it can be opened by hand if and
when required. Instead of being closed directly by the time regulator N the
switch may be closed automatically by any suitable mechanical means operated
by the axis A or otherwise. It will now be understood that if it is desired either
to obtain an article from the drawer or to use the cigar lighter, the coin is
inserted and the time regulator rotated half a revolution; this closes the switch s,
and the lamp G will be lighted; but if it is not required, the switch s is opened
by means of its button, and the current will then flow through the mercury in
the time regulator N, through the cigar lighter k, if its switch is closed, and round
the coil of the electro magnet which liberates the drawer b, the lamp G being
cut out by means of the switch s. The next time the apparatus is used, the
time regulator N closes the switch s and the lamp will be lit unless the switch s
is again opened by hand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :-
T
..

page_text: electricity for definite periods of time, of apparatus whereby, in addition to the
current of electricity obtainable for a definite time, a person may be provided with
some other article, or obtain a means of lighting or igniting a cigar, or other object,
without the insertion of another coin into the apparatus, substantially as hereinbefore
described, and illustrated in the drawings.
Second The combination with a coin-freed apparatus for obtaining currents of
electricity for definite periods of time, of the mechanism for unlocking and relocking
the drawer or other piece of mechanism for effecting the delivery of some article,
substantially as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings.
Third-The combination, with a coin-freed apparatus for obtaining currents of
electricity for definite periods of time, of the mechanical and electro-magnetic devices
for unlocking and relocking the drawer or other piece of mechanism for effecting the
delivery of some article, substantially as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in
Figure 2 of the drawings.
Fourth--The combination, with a coin-freed apparatus for obtaining currents of
electricity for definite periods of time, of the mechanical and electrical devices for
obtaining means by which a cigar or other object can be lighted or ignited substan-
tially as herein before described, and illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings.
Fifth In a coin-freed apparatus for obtaining currents of electricity for definite
periods of time, combined with electrical devices for obtaining delivery of some
article, or means of ignition, of the arrangement whereby the electric light can be cut
out of the circuit if required by means of a switch so arranged as to be closed again
automatically substantially as herein before described, and illustrated in Figures 1
and 3 of the drawings.
Dated this 2nd day of October 1800.