Year: 1896

page_text: We, THOMAS WILLIAM DOUGHTY, of St. John's Villas, Upper Holloway,
in the County of London, Mechanical Engineer, and CHARLES ARTHUR
BARRETT of Beech Street, Barbican, in the City of London, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a novel construction of coin-freed race game wherein
movable figures, such as horses, ships or the like, can, upon the insertion into the
apparatus of a coin for each figure to be operated, he moved forward by the
action, outside the apparatus, of crank-handles or levers; the mechanism being so
arranged that the figure which first reaches the winning point operates a lever
whereby a coin is thrown outside the apparatus through the slit corresponding
with the winning figure and whereby all the figures which have been moved
forward are automatically returned to the starting point where they are locked
until the insertion of fresh coins.
In practice we have found that a suitable arrangement for carrying out our
invention is as follows:-
Within a suitable case we arrange a number of bars or guides upon which the
figures slide, and in connection with each of these bars is a pair of racks, one of
which is fixed whilst the other is adapted to have a slight reciprocating movement
communicated to it by any suitable arrangement outside the apparatus, such as a
crank-handle.
The base of each figure to be operated is provided with two pawls one of which
engages with the reciprocating rack to cause the forward movement of the figure
whilst the other engages with the fixed rack to prevent the rearward movement of
the figure whilst the rack is moving back to take a fresh hold or until the figure is
released in the manner hereinafter described.
To provide for placing the pawls of the figures in connection with the racks,
the bars carrying the figures are mounted in a frame adapted to be moved
towards the racks, which movement is effected by suitable means such as through
the medium of a push-rod or a lever from the exterior of the apparatus, such push-
rod or lever being normally locked and only being released upon the insertion into
the apparatus of the two or more coins necessary for releasing the corresponding
number of figures. When the said rod is pushed in, it is held in its inward
position by a tumbler bolt or a suitable spring device, and in connection with this
bolt or spring device a series of arms or levers is arranged in conjunction with the
bars upon which the figures slide, which levers are connected by suitable chains,
rods or the like with tappets or lever, arranged in such a manner that when one or
the other of the figures comes into contact with its corresponding arm or lever at
the end of its bar, the corresponding tappet or lever is operated to disengage the
device or catch hereinbefore mentioned and allow the push-rod to fly out, where-
upon the movable frame will be released and move under the action of a spring
to release the figures which are then drawn back to their normal position by means
of cords or chains on spring barrels or the like.

page_text: To provide for placing the screw-nuts of the figures in engagement with their
respective screws, the bars carrying the figures are mounted in a frame adapted to
be moved towards the screws, which movement is effected by suitable means such
as a push-rod or lever actuated from the exterior of the apparatus, such push-rod
or lever being normally locked and only being released upon the insertion into the
apparatus of the two or more coins necessary for releasing the corresponding number
of figures.
When the said rod is pushed in, it is held in its inward position by a tumbler
bolt or a suitable spring catch, and in connection with this bolt or spring catch a
series of arms or levers is arranged in conjunction with the bars upon which the
figures slide, which levers are connected by suitable chains, rods or the like with
other levers, arranged in such a manner that when one or the other of the figures
comes into contact with its corresponding arm or lever at the end of its bar, the
corresponding lever is operated to disengage the device or catch hereinbefore
mentioned and allow the push-rod to fly out, whereupon the movable frame will be
released and move under the action of a spring to release the figures which are
then drawn back to their normal position by means of bands, cords or the like on
spring barrels or the like.
In order that a coin may be returned to the operator of the winning figure, we
employ an arrangement of pivoted curved levers forming a receiver and between
which one of the coins drops and which are adapted when operated by the winning
figure to throw the coin on to a knife edge or pin so as to deflect the said coin to
one side or the other of the said pin according to which lever is moved by the
winning figure.
To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe it by reference to
the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a sectional front view of coin-freed apparatus constructed according
to our invention, the said apparatus being shewn as arranged for racing between
two horses:
Figure 2 is a sectional plan of the same:
Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1:
Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1:
Figure 5 is an underside view of part of the mechanism:
Figures 6, 7 and 8 are views of details.
Similar letters indicate the same or corresponding parts in the several figures.
a is the case of the apparatus and b, b the figures (in the drawings shewn as
representing race horses) the said figures being mounted upon rods & secured at
their lower ends to blocks or slides & provided on their undersides with half
nuts 6, 63. 64, 64 are the bands attached to the rear ends of the slides 62, 63 and
wound upon bands or drums, & having springs which tend to keep the bands wound
upon them so as to normally retain the horses in the position shewn in Figure 1.
c, c, c are the bars upon and between which the blocks or slides 62, 62 are supported
and adapted to slide and c' is the frame on which the said bars c are mounted. is
the fixed frame to which the frame el is pivotally attached by means of the links, c
so that the said frame e can, by suitable means as hereinafter more particularly
described, be moved towards or away from the fixed frame e. is a spring
connected to the two frames c' and e' for normally holding the frames apart, that
is to say, in the position shewn in Figure 1, ex, ex being stops on the two frames for
determining this position. e, are the screws for propelling the figures b the said
screws being mounted in the frame directly underneath the nuts b³ on the
slides 6 so that when the frame c' is moved downwards towards the frame c' the
said nuts 63 are caused to engage with their respective screws whereby when
the said screws are rotated the nuts 63, and consequently the figures b, are
caused to move forward as hereinafter more particularly described. The screws c
are each provided at one end (in the drawing shewn at opposite ends of the apparatus)
with a bevel wheel, Figure 2, which gears with a bevel wheel mounted
loosely on a spindle o' to which is also fixed a crank-handle arranged outside the

page_text: inwards until the coin has passed the upper arms when both arms return to their
normal position.
By this arrangement only one coin can be placed at a time in each bucket as the
insertion of a second coin would force the lower arms against the coin in the bucket
and thus prevent the upper arms moving from under the coin slots f³, f. The
coin receiver for retaining the coin to be returned is formed of two curved
levers 9, 9 Figure 7, pivoted to the frame of the machine at 9, 9' and having
recesses for the coin, and normally held by the spring g' with their lower ends in
contact with a ping projecting from a plate 9 fixed to the frame of the machine.
The plate is provided with a second pin g in alignment with the pin g so that
when the coin drops from the money bucket, as above described, into the receiver
it is retained between the two levers g, 9 centrally above the pin 9. By this
construction it will be obvious that, when one of the levers g is rotated on its pivot
(as hereinafter described), the coin will drop from the receiver on to the pin go and
will fall to one side or the other according to which of the levers g is operated and
is thereby deflected into one or other of the outlet slits 9 which correspond
respectively with the two horses b, b.
To operate the levers g, g they are each provided with a rearwardly extending
pin g' which are each in contact with an arm h of two bell-crank levers, Figures 5
and 6, respectively mounted loosely on the spindle d", the other arms h¹, h¹ of
which levers are connected to the inner ends of spring rods h³, h the other ends of
which are connected to levers h³, h³ fixed to the lower ends of spindles h, h. The
upper end of each of these spindles is provided with an arm Figure 2 having a
downwardly extending pin h against which pins the front ends of the blocks 6' can
strike so as to displace them and thereby operate the levers g, g. The bosses 1° of
the bell-crank levers are each provided with a notch designed to engage with a
pin * on the spindle d upon which the catch d is rigidly mounted so that when
one of the levers h is operated by one of the sliding blocks 6 the catch d" is also
caused to leave the notch d¹³ in the push-rod do thereby leaving the said push-rod
free to resume its normal position under the action of the spring d¹¹ as hereinafter
more particularly described.
The push-rod do is operated by the external pusher i, Figures 2 and 4 through
the medium of the rod j which is attached to cranks pivoted at j', to brackets,j²
secured to the fixed frame of the machine. By pushing the pusher i inwards the
rod j is pressed against the outer end of the push-rod do and at the same time
comes in contact with two levers k, k pivoted at /¹ to the brackets j³ and having
lateral extensions, which, when the said rod is pushed inwards, push collars c¹³
on the spindles so as to remove the pins c out of engagement with the notches
on the bosses of the bevel wheels whereby the said pins are kept out of
engagement with the notches until the push-rod is secured in its operative
position, when the rod j springs backwards under the action of a spring 7 and
allows the pins c to re-engage with the said notches. The surfaces of the
levers k, k with which the rod j comes in contact are as clearly shown in
Figure 3 so curved that the lateral extensions ka are only operated during the
first part of the movement of the rod j.
1, Figures 1 and 2, is a plate, which, when the money buckets are pushed
inwards by the push-rod is forced forward by a spring so as to come between
the lower ends of the spring levers fo, f in order to prevent coins being pushed
through the slots f, f until the money buckets return to their normal position.
m, m are buffer springs on the guides or bars c, a to receive the slides 6, 62 when
drawn back by the spring drums 6º, 6º.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-
The mechanism being in the position shewn in the drawings a coin is inserted
in each of the money buckets and the pusher i is then operated so as to push
inwards the rod ; which acts upon the push-rod do so as to push the money
buckets f, inwards. The coins in the buckets being prevented from falling by
the pins fo, act upon the undersides of the arms of the bell-crank

page_text: 6. The combination and arrangement of parts forming the improved coin--
freed race game, herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated the 7th day of November 1896.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.