Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 7th May, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 7th Feb., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 27th Apr., 1889
We EDWARD SAMUEL FORD, of 35 Upper John Street, Hoxton, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer and JAMES CONSTANTINE DUKE, of 91 Queen Victoria Street,
in the City of London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
This invention has reference to automatic coin freed apparatus, that is to say: to
apparatus in which by the insertion of a coin certain mechanism is freed so as to
deliver or to release for delivery an article or packet of goods or so as to enable
weighing appliances or electric or other appliances to be brought into action.
The first part of the invention relates to the coin shoot and has for object to so arrange
it that any coin or article of smaller diameter than that of the prescribed coin shall pass
through without acting on the mechanism while any article such as a cardboard disc of a
diameter equal to or larger than that of the prescribed coin but of less weight than
such coin will also not act on the mechanism. For this purpose we employ what we
call a rotary coin shoot. It is composed of 2 discs mounted on a spindle or centre and
facing each other so as to leave sufficient space between them to readily receive the
prescribed coin, say a penny. At one point near their periphery the 2 discs are
connected together by a stud or rivet the distance between this rivet and the central
spindle being sufficient to allow a French penny or any smaller article to pass through,
but not sufficient to give passage to an English penny. At another point the discs are
counterweighted, the counterweight normally keeping the discs in proper position to
receive a coin inserted through the usual slit. Upon an English penny being inserted
it is caught between the stud and the central spindle and being unable to pass between
them it overbalances the discs, causes them and their spindle to turn until it falls over
the outer edge of the stud when it proceeds to act on the releasing mechanism. When
the penny has thus fallen the counterweight returns the discs to their normal position
ready to receive another penny. If on the other hand a French penny or other article
of smaller diameter than an English penny is inserted, it drops through between the
stud and the spindle and does not proceed to the releasing mechanism.

page_text: Again should any article of as large diameter as an English penny but of less weight
be inserted it is unable to turn the discs sufficiently to fall over the outer edge of the
stud but it will cause the discs to turn to some extent so as to bring a plate connecting
together a part of the peripheries of the 2 discs below the slot so as to prevent the
insertion of another article.
Another part of our invention has for object to enable those automatic machines
which comprise a rotating drum or endless band with goods-holding compartments
around its periphery to hold more than one article in each compartment but not to
deliver more than one at a single action of the machine.
Hitherto the number of deliveries has been equal to the number of compartments.
With this object we fit at the delivery or outlet point of the machine a separator which
as each compartment arrives at such point enters between the outermost article therein
and the others so that only the outermost article is delivered.
The separator in the preferred mode of construction consists of one or more stationary
fingers so placed as to project at the proper height through the side of each compart
ment as it comes round, the side of the compartment being cut away so as to clear
the fingers; thus as each compartment reaches the fingers they enter between the
outermost article and the others in the same compartment. The fingers are preferably
made adjustable so as to be capable of being adapted to articles of different thickness.
For this purpose they may be carried on a plate which can be moved further back or
further forward by the insertion or removal of a distance piece. Instead of employing
stationary fingers vibrating fingers can be used or several sets of fingers can be fitted
on a spindle which rotates at the same time as the compartment drum so as to bring
the sets of fingers successively into action.
The drum can be made to revolve by causing the coin to release an escapement in
the manner well understood.
711

page_text: Improvements in Automatic Coin Freed Apparatus.
We EDWARD SAMUEL FORD of 35 Upper John Street, Hoxton in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer and JAMES CONSTANTINE DUKE of 91 Queen Victoria Street
in the City of London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention has reference to automatic, coin feed apparatus, that is to say, to
apparatus in which, by the insertion of a coin certain mechanism is freed so as to
deliver, or to release for delivery an article or packet of goods.
Our invention has for object to enable those automatic machines which comprise a
rotating drum or endless travelling band with goods holding compartments around its
periphery to hold more than one article in each compartment, but not to deliver more
than one at a single action of the machine. Hitherto the number of deliveries has
been equal to the number of compartments. With this object we fit at the delivery
or outlet point of the machine a separator, which as each compartment arrives at such
point enters between the outermost article therein and the others or separates these
from the outlet, so that only the outermost article is delivered. The separator, in the
preferred mode of construction, consists of one or more stationary fingers, so placed
as to project at the proper height through the side of each compartment as it comes
round, the side of the compartiment being ent away so as to clear the fingers; thus as
each compartment reaches the fingers they enter between the outermost article and the
others in the same compartment.
The drum can be made to revolve by causing the coin to release an escapement in
the manner well understood.
Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings represent an apparatus constructed
according to our invention in its preferred form. Figure 1 is a front elevation of the
apparatus; Figure 2 is a front elevation with the door or front removed; Figure 3 is
a vertical section on the line 1-1 of Figure 1 looking towards the left; Figure 4 is
a vertical section on the line 2-2 looking towards the right. Figure 5 is a front
view of the escapement mechanism.
a is the outer box or case of the apparatus which is rectangular in form; though the
form is optional. is a door at the front of the box secured thereto by binges c c and
fitted at à with a lock of any ordinary construction. The central portion of the door
is cut away and the opening thus formed is backed up with a sheet of glass e which is
held at top and bottom by clips or holders ff; the goods in the drum compartments
can thus be seen from the outside. The part e' of the glass which is in front of that
portion of the drum that extends from the centre to the inner walls of the compartments
is preferably silvered on the inside so as to give a neat appearance to the apparatus.
The front of the box may, however, be made without the glass covered opening if
desired. In the door is the slit h for the introduction of the prescribed coin. In the
door is also the goods outlet with flanged shelf; for arresting the article, which falls

page_text: 8 is a disc
from the drum and is conducted by the guide-way hereinafter described to the said
outlet i. kis the coin-shoot down which the coin inserted through the slit / falls so
so as to act upon the releasing device. The shoot may be of any desired construction
and be provided with means of the well known character for rejecting all coins except
those of the prescribed kind. is a lever which constitutes the releasing device; it
has its fulcrum at m and the coin which falls down the shoot strikes and depresses
the outer end of this lever and thereby causes the other end to rise and to act upon
and release the anchor n of the escapement p. The escapement is fixed on the arbor
of the drum g on which is a spring r wound up by rotating the drum.
on the drum arbor with thumb and finger recesses t t to enable it to be readily rotated
so as to wind up the drum. The drum has at its periphery radial compartments u u
for containing the goods or articles to be delivered singly; they are shown as containing
cigarettes, three in each compartment. The drum moves within a fixed casing at
one part of which is an opening to above an inclined guide-way a leading to the
outlet i already described. Consequently as each compartment u comes in turn to the
opening to the contents, so far as they are not prevented by the separator hereinafter
described, will fall through the opening w, be conducted by the guide-way a to the
outlet and be presented on the flanged shelf j.
I will now describe the separator which prevents the delivery of more than one
article at a time from a compartment. This separator is composed of stationary
fingers y (of which two are shown but one will answer if sufficiently broad) which
project at the proper height through the side of each compartment u as this comes
round to the opening w, the sides of the compartment having openings z (Figure 3)
so as to clear or pass the fingers. As will be seen on reference to Figure 2 the height
of the fingers is such that they come between the outermost article in the compartment
and the other article or articles therein and thereby hold up such other article or
articles until the compartment has passed the opening w, therefore only the outermost
article falls through this opening and is delivered.
ゲ
In order to prevent the spring from being overwound I fix on the drum arbor a
pinion A, which gears with a wheel B having as many times the number of teeth in A
as the number of revolutions required to wind up or unwind the drum, which in the
arrangement shown will be three. The spindle of the wheel B carries a plate or arm C.
As the drum is being wound up the pinion A drives the wheel B, and when this has
made one revolution equal to three revolutions of the drum, the plate C comes against
the drum arbor and stops any further winding. On the other hand as the drum turns
in the reverse direction during the discharge of the goods from its compartments the
wheel B turns in the reverse direction, and when it has completed one revolution,
equivalent to three revolutions of the drum, the plate C again comes against the drum
.arbor and stops further movement of the drum in the samno direction.
Figures 6 to 11 represent how we apply the separator to drums in which the goods
compartments, instead of being parallel to the axis of the drum as in the modification
shown in Figures 1 to 5 are inclined thereto, so that the goods, when they come
opposite the delivery outlet, slide directly out of the drum to the delivery outlet
instead of first dropping vertically from the drum on to an inclined guideway
which conducts them to the outlet as in Figures 1 to 5. Figure 6 is a side
elevation of the drum with the door 6 in section. Figure 7 is a fragmentary front
-view of the door. Figures 8, 9 and 10 are front views of the drum with the
separator in its three several positions. Figure 11 shows the separator detached.
This separator is a plate y fitted in a frame y in which it can slide; the frame y¹ is
attached to the inside of the door b. Each compartment u is divided into three spaces
to hold three articles, say cigarettes, and when a compartment in the revolution of the
drum comes opposite the delivery outlet i all the three articles would slide out unless
prevented by the separator. The separator at starting, that is to say when the drum
is full, is set so as to cover the two inner spaces of each successive compartment (see
Figure 8) and consequently only the cigarette from the outermost space then slides
out; the separator is kept in place by the pin 1 which rests on the ring D forming
part of the drum, the ring in its rotation moving between the pins 1 and 2. When,

page_text: however, the drum has all but completed its first revolution and the outermost cigarette
of all the compartments has been delivered, the opening or gap E in the ring D comes
opposite the pin 1; consequently the separator y being no longer supported by the
ring slips down the frame y' until the pin 3 is caught by the ring D (see Figure 9);
in this position the separator uncovers the second or middle space in each compartment
as the compartments successively come round during the next revolution of the drum.
When the gap E reaches the pin 3 the separator drops into the position seen in
Figure 10, thus uncovering the innermost space of each compartment during the
next or final revolution of the drum. One space in each row must at starting be left
empty (see Figure 9).
It will be evident that our separator arranged as above described can be applied to
apparatus in which the goods holding compartments are arranged upon an endless
travelling band moved forward intermittently by the automatic action of the machine
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 in
respect of automatic coin-freed apparatus is :-
1. The combination with a rotating drum or endless travelling band having goods
holding compartments to hold more than one article, of a soparator which, while
allowing all the articles in the apparatus to be delivered in succession, prevents more
than one article being delivered at a single action of the apparatus, as hereinbefore set
forth.
2. The arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
Figures 1 to 5 of the annexed drawings for preventing the delivery of more than one
article at a single action of the apparatus.
3. The arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
Figures 6 to 11 of the annexed drawings for preventing the delivery of more than one
article at a single action of the apparatus.
D
1
1
Th 1
1000
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Patent Agent.