Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 15th July, 1837
Complete Left, 19th Mar., 1888
Complete Accepted, 18th May, 1888
I, ROBERT WILLOUGHBY VINING of 8° Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
-
This invention relates to that class of automatic delivery boxes now commonly
employed at railway stations and other places from which upon inserting the necessary
coin the specified article is obtained.
In my present invention I employ a clockwork relay with escapement mechanism
so arranged that when started it moves the discharging mechanism to a limited
extent only and then stops; this relay operates the discharging mechanism, the coin
merely starting the mechanism. The present apparatus is designed for the delivery
of match boxes sweets and other articles which are contained in a convenient number
-say three of vertical casings or hoppers arranged about a common centre
coincident with which is the axis which carries the delivery arm and closing disc
which revolve when driven by the clockwork. The disc has one opening which in
turn comes under one of the openings in an intermediate disc or plate which has a
number of openings equal to the number of hoppers of sufficient size to pass the
match box or other article but placed so as to lie between the hoppers and not under
them. The bottom article in each hopper therefore rests upon this intermediate plate
the hopper stopping short of the plate and leaving clearance for the article to pass
and as the arm comes round it sweeps the article forward to the opening in the inter-
mediate plate through which it falls passing also through the opening in the closing
disc and onto a tray or shoot draw shelf or equivalent from which the purchaser can
take it.
The precise form and size of the box or case and working parts may be varied
to suit circumstances.

page_text: I, ROBERT WILLOUGHBY VINING of 8ª Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, 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 :-
My invention relates to apparatus for receiving payments and delivering value 5
in exchange therefor.
According to my present invention I employ a clockwork relay with escapement
mechanism so arranged that when started it moves the discharging mechanism, to a
limited extent only and then stops, the coin merely starting the mechanism. The present
apparatus is designed for the delivery of boxes of matches sweets and other articles.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown how my said invention can be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of my improved apparatus, the box or
case being shown in vertical section, and
1
Figure 2 is a plan of the said apparatus, the box or case and other parts being 1
shown in horizontal section.
Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line x, x, Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a horizontal section on the line ¹, a¹, Figure 1.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is the box or case of the apparatus B is the frame to which the mechanism 2
is attached, C is the aperture through which the boxes of matches or other articles
are delivered.
a is a barrel provided with a spindle b and containing a spring similar to those.
usually employed in clockwork. The spindle b is carried in suitable bearings in the
plates c and c; the end b¹ of the said spindle 6 is square and extends through the 2
plate c¹ and frame B, so that the spring within the barrel a can be wound up by means
of a key fitted upon the said end 6. The plates c, c¹ are united by distance pieces c
and are firmly attached to the frame B. On the barrel a is fixed a toothed wheel d
gearing with a pinion e fixed upon a spindle f. This spindle f is provided with
a toothed wheel 9, gearing with the pinion h, upon another spindle i. The said 3
spindle has fixed thereon an escapement wheel, working in combination with an
escapement to regulate the speed of the mechanism when the latter is working.
The spindles f and i are carried in bearings in the plates c, c¹, and one extremity
of the spindle passes through the plate c and has fixed upon it a disc baying a
projection, which under normal conditions engages with a pin m upon an arm 3
or lever m² fixed on a spindle n also carried in bearings in the plates c, c².
or lever m¹ is moreover provided with a pin or projection m³ for the purpose
hereinafter referred to. The spindle n is provided with a spring n¹, to retain the
said catch m against the disc l. A bracket o is fixed upon a spindle o¹ carried in
bearings in the plates c, c' and an arm or lever p having at one extremity a counter- 4
balance weight p² and at the other end a projection or shoulder p³ is pivoted to the
i
The arm

page_text: said bracket o. One extremity of the spindle o extends through the plate c¹ and
frame B and is fitted with an arm or lever o³ also provided with a counter-balance
weight o. The arm or lever o³ is situated directly under the chute g down which
pass the coins inserted in the aperture q¹.
One extremity of the spindle fextends through the plate c and has fixed thereon a
bevel or mitre wheel r which gears with another bevel or mitre wheels fixed upon a
vertical spindles carried in the bearing. t, attached to the frame B. Upon the
frame B are placed the hoppers vand below these hoppers is placed a circular
receptacle u in the bottom u¹ of which are apertures u³, of such dimensions as to
allow of the boxes of matches or other articles contained in the hoppers v passing
conveniently through the same. The apertures u are so placed as to be between the
hoppers v and not directly beneath the same. Three hoppers are provided in the
apparatus shown; any other convenient number of hoppers can however, be employed,
and the number of apertures u³ must correspond with that of the said hoppers.
Underneath the bottom u¹ is a disc or plate w having an aperture 2. The disc or
plate w is fixed on the lower extremity of the spindles by means of a screw s³ or in
any other suitable manner, so that it will rotate with the said spindle. The spindle s¹
moreover has firmly attached to the same an arin x the upper part of which is provided
with a friction roller x¹. The arm x turns inside the receptacle u when the spindle & is
rotated, and is placed in such a position that it will follow the aperture to¹ in the disc
or plate w and whenever the aperture w' coincides with one of the apertures u³ in the
receptacle u, the said arm will push one of the boxes of matches or other articles so
that it will fall through the said openings. A tray or chute y is provided for the
reception of the articles which fall in this manner so that they can be easily removed
by hand through the aperture C.
In order to ensure the descent of the articles in the hopper I prefer to employ
weights which I place upon the top of the columns of boxes of matches or other
articles in the said hoppers.
For closing the aperture g¹ when all -the-boxes-of-matches or other articles are
delivered from the hoppers v, I provide a rod z carried in bearings z¹ attached to the
frame B. To one extremity of the said rod z is attached an arm or lever which
projects into the hoppers v, and to the other extremity is fixed a crank whose
movement is limited by a stop z fixed upon the bearing 21, and which is provided with
a spring whereby it is held against the said stop. The crank is connected
by means of the rod with a plate q2 pivoted at q behind the lower end of the
aperture q. When the hoppers v contain any boxes of matches or other articles, the
latter will bear against the arm or lever and hold the same down so that the
flattened portion of the plate q is kept in the position shown by dotted lines
in Figure 1, and the aperture q' open. When the boxes of matches or other articles
are all withdrawn from the hopper v and pressure is thus removed from the arm or
lever the crank 23 will be drawn up against the stop by the spring, and
consequently the portion q' of the plate q will be moved in front of the lower part of
the aperture so as to prevent the introduction of a coin into the same.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows, that is to say-When a coin of the
proper size is inserted in the aperture q' it passes down the chute
and drops upon
the arm or lever o which is thus depressed so that it partially rotates the spindle o¹.
The projection or shoulder p' upon the arm or lever p is thus caused to depress the
projection or pin m², on the arm or lever m' and raise the pin m upon the other end of
the said lever sufficiently to allow the projection upon the disc to pass. The said
disc is then actuated by the clock-work and the plate w beneath the receptacle u is
partially rotated. The aperture w¹ corresponds with one of the apertures u² in the
bottom of the receptacle u during the rotation of the said plate w and the arm a
causes the lowermost box of matches, or other article from one of the hoppers v to fall
through the said apertures wo', u' as hereinbefore described, into the tray or chute y
from which the said article can be removed through the aperture C.
... If a coin of improper size be introduced through the aperture q¹ it will fall through
an aperture q* in the chute 9 into a receptacle q provided for the purpose.

page_text: 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 claim :-
First. The employment of an arm arranged to be intermittently rotated beneath
the hopper or hoppers for the purpose of delivering the articles successively there-
from, as above specified.
Second. The combination with one or more hoppers, of a receptacle beneath the
same having an aperture or apertures in the bottom thereof, a rotating arm, and
a rotating disc provided with an aperture substantially as, and for the purpose,
set forth.
Third. The combination of parts comprising the clockwork mechanism provided
with the disc having the stop or stops for engaging with a catch, and the means for
releasing the said disc and permitting a complete or partial revolution of the same
substantially as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Fourth. The combination with a plate or shutter, of a connecting rod, a crank and
spindle, and an arm or lever, substantially as described, for closing the coin-aperture
when all the boxes of matches or other articles have been delivered from the hopper
or hoppers.
Fifth. The improved apparatus consisting of the parts constructed and combined
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings and operating
as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Dated this 19th day of March 1888.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.