Improvements in Checking Monetary Transactions in Shops and like Places and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Oct., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 13th July, 1891-Accepted, 5th Sept., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Checking Monetary Transactions in Shops and
like Places and Apparatus therefor.
I, PHILIP HENRY BRACHER, of Wincanton, in the County of Somerset,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object a money box or till for holding and checking
money, whereby fraud or dishonesty, of assistants and others, may be detected or
prevented.
My apparatus comprises a box or casing having sliding drawers, preferably
divided into as many or more compartments as there are coins of the realm, whereby
cach description of coin may be collected in a separate receptacle. The said
compartments may be of tin, and, fitting side by side, may each be lifted out
independently of the rest. The top of the said casing has slits of suitable size, cach
adapted to receive a coin of given value, and a slit may also be provided for bank
notes. A coin, on being dropped through one of the slits, falls into a compartment
of the drawer immediately beneath it. The top of the said casing, in which the
slits are, may be hinged, if desired, and may be provided with a suitable lock or
fastening. In one arrangement, the said fastening is on the inside, and, in order to'
release the lid, it is necessary to unlock the aforesaid drawer, remove it completely
from the casing, and then release the fastening by putting the hand under the lid.
It may be so arranged that it is only necessary to do this, in order to fix or remove
the apparatus from a counter. Below the aforesaid drawer is another drawer
Between these two
divided into compartments in a somewhat similar manner.
drawers is a shelf on which the top one slides. Through this shelf are holes or
openings, sufficiently large to admit a screwdriver to be worked in fastening the
till to a counter by means of screws fastened to the bottom of the casing, under and
upon which the bottom drawer works. The bottom drawer may be removed from
the outer casing by lifting out two small rivets from the shelf on which the top
drawer rests. These rivets allow the drawer to pass in and out by notches cut
in the edges of the compartments, excepting the end of the drawer, thus preventing.
its being, by accident, pulled out too far and upset. The bottom or change drawer
is chiefly used for holding money or small coin, to be handed to customers to settle
the balance (if any) paid by them beyond the price of the goods purchased, and may
have a separate compartiment for holding a cash book. The top drawer is preferably
kept locked, the key being held by the proprietor. Any suitable base coin-detector
may be arranged in combination with the apparatus in order to test the money
before it falls into the top drawer.
The mode of operation may be as follows:-
The proprietor, at the beginning of the day, places a suitable amount of money
in the bottom drawer. Suppose, for example, a purchaser tenders £1 100 in
payment of goods, amounting to £1 7 64. The assistant, who receives the money,.
drops the coins through the slits prepared to receive them and they fall into the
He also calls another assistant
corresponding compartments of the top drawer.
who puts down the amounts in the cash book as follows,
Receipts
£1 10 0
Change
£0 2 5
Net Sales
£1 7 6
and hands the customer the balance due to him, namely 2s. 5d. which he takes.

page_text: When the transactions of the day have been completed, or at any other time, the
proprictor takes the book and adds up the columnis, to prove the accuracy of the
transactions.
By subtracting the sum of the figures in the middle column from the amount
placed in the change drawer at the beginning of the day, the balance, remaining in
the said drawer at the close of the day, or at the time when the accuracy of the
transactions is tested, should equal the difference between the two amounts, and the
cheques (if used) given to customers correspond with the record in the book.
The cash book may be provided with carbon paper, and the cheques or portions
torn off and handed to customers may have the following words printed thereon.
"Please examine your change and see if it agrees with the amount on this ticket,"
or words to that effect. A bell may be arranged, if desired, to audibly indicate
the opening of the change drawer. It will be understood that various alterations
may be made in the apparatus without departing from the nature of the invention,
and I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the exact construction
or arrangements herein described.
The following are some of the advantages secured by the use of the invention :-
Its extreme simplicity, there being no rolls of paper or gearing to get out of
order or to be replaced. The cash taken is kept entirely separate from the change.
The change drawer is divided into as many compartments as there are coins of the
realm, thus preventing errors and facilitating the giving of change. The apparatus
can be made of tin, or other metal or of wood, and the coin compartments in either
case are preferably of metal. All silver and gold coins can be tested in passing
through the lid. The apparatus can be sold at such a price as to allow, in large
establishments, one to cach assistant, and it is consequently within the reach of
small tradesmen in towns and villages.
Dated this 10th day of October 1890.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Checking Monetary Transactions in Shops and
like Places and Apparatus therefor.
I PHILIP HENRY BRACHER of Wincanton in the County of Somerset, Manu-
facturer, 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 relates to checking monetary transactions in shops and like places
and apparatus therefor.
The invention is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings, in
which
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the till with the lower drawer open;
Figure 2 a perspective view of the till with the lid open and both drawers
removed;
Figure 3 a perspective view of the top drawer.
In these figures-

page_text: many or more compartments as there are coins of the realm, whereby each
description of coin may be collected in a separate receptacle. The said com-
partments may be so constructed that they fit together side by side, and may each
be lifted out independently of the others. The top or lid a of said casing A has
slits of suitable size, each adapted to receive a coin of given value and size, and a
slit may be also provided for bank notes. The coin, on being dropped through one
of these slits, falls into a compartment of the drawer B immediately beneath it.
The lid a of said casing A may be hinged, if desired, and may be provided with a
suitable lock or fastening, such as D, preferably on the inside, whereby, in order
to open the lid, it is necessary to unlock the drawer B, remove it completely
from the box or casing A, and then release the fastening D by putting the hand.
under the lid a.
The drawer C is divided into compartiments in a somewhat similar manner to the
drawer B.
Between the two drawers is a shelf b, on which the top drawer B slides. Through
this shelf are holes or openings sufficiently large to adimit the insertion of a screw-
driver to be used in fastening the till to a counter by means of screws passed
through the bottom of the casing A. The bottom drawer C may be entirely with-
drawn from the outer casing A by lifting out the two small rivets E from the
shelf b. These rivets E allow the drawer C to pass in and out by notches e cut in
the sides of the compartments. They are not cut, however, in the end of the
drawer, thus preventing the drawer being by accident pulled out too far and upset.
The bottom or change drawer C is chiefly used for holding money or small coin to
be handed to customers to settle the balance, if any, paid by them beyond the price
of the goods purchased, and may have a separate compartment for holding a cash
book.
The top drawer B is preferably kept locked, the key being held by the
proprietor.
A suitable base coin detector, such as F, may be arranged in combination
with the apparatus adapted to simultaneously weigh and gauge the coin before
it falls into the top drawer, thereby immediately deciding whether the money
is counterfeit or genuine. No claim is made by me to the use of this detector.
The mode of operation is as follows:-
The proprietor, at the beginning of the day, places a suitable amount of cash in
the bottom drawer C. Suppose, for example, customers tender £1 100 and
£420 in payment of goods amounting to £176 and £16 respectively, the
assistant, who receives the money, drops the coins through the slits prepared to
receive them in the lid a, and they fall into the corresponding compartments of the
top drawer B, the value of the goods sold and the change given is put down in a
check receipt book, and the balance due is handed to the customer, namely 2s. 6d.
and Gd., which he takes from the change drawer C. If it be desired merely to
give small change, say for a sovereign, the coin is passed through the sovereign
elit in the top drawer B and the equivalent in small coin taken from the change
drawer C, or, if it were desired to pay railway carriage or a bill, or make a
payment for any other purpose, the necessary money could also be taken out of the
change drawer."
The respective entries in the check book would be as follows:-

page_text: When the transactions of the day have been completed, or at any other period,.
the check books are added up and 'the totals carried to the petty cash book, where-
absolute proof of the accuracy of all cash transactions over the counter can be malle
in a few minutes by balancing.
When ledger accounts are paid, the necessary entries can also be made in said
petty cash book under their respective'heads as shewn below.
Money paid for ledger accounts is shewn in the first column, discounts, stamps
and contra accounts in the second column. The figures in columns 3 and 4 are
exact facsimiles of the totals in the check books of the respective assistants. In
column 5 are entered the net sales, being the difference between the cash received
and the change given. The gross receipts are ascertained by adding columns 1
and 3 together, and these should agree with cash in the top drawer after deducting
amounts taken therefrom during the day to replenish the change drawer C. The
net sales are ascertained by adding up column 5. To ascertain the contents of the
change drawer C, add columns 2 and 4 together and deduct the amount from
the change placed in the drawer at the commencement or at other given times of
the day, and the balance should agree with the cash left in the drawer.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I wish it understood
that I make no claim for the base coin detector F shewn in Figure 2, but that
what I claim is :-
The herein described apparatus for and system of checking monetary trans-
actions in shops and like places, whereby fraud or dishonesty of assistants and
others may be detected or prevented substantially as set forth.
Dated this 11th day of July 1891
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, and London, Patent Agents.