Size and Weight in Exchange for Coin.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 26th May, 1887.
Specification Accepted, 8th July, 1887.
Size and Weight in Exchange for Coin.
I, FRANCIS JOSEPH JAMES GIBBONS, of St. John's Works, Church Lane, Wolver-
hampton, in the County of Stafford, Lock Manufacturer, and HENRY OSBORNE, of
176, Penn Road, Wolverhampton, aforesaid, 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:-
The present invention relates to improvements in the construction of machines
adapted to hold a stock of articles of uniform size and weight, and to deliver articles
from said stock, singly or seriatim, in exchange for coin paid in advance into the
machine, singly or seriatim also.
In the automatic delivery machines at present in use, there is no provision beyond
a single shaft for holding a stock of the articles on sale.
Now according to the present invention, we provide two or more reserve or stock
shafts in addition to the one from which purchases are being effected; and from all
of which, in turn, purchases can be made after the preceeding shaft shall have been
emptied.
The series of shafts may be arranged either in a circle above a disc which is rotated
under them by any convenient device around a common axis, or they may be arranged
one behind the other.
We obtain the objects of our invention by means of the mechanisms illustrated in
the accompanying figures in which one modification of our invention is illustrated in
Figs. 1 to 4; a second one in Figs. 5 to 7; a third, in Figs. 8 to 10; and a fourth
in Fig. 11.
Fig. 1 is a part sectional elevation taken on the line Y-Z of Fig. 3.
Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on the line W-X of Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 is a sectional plan taken on the line U-V of Fig. 1, but shewing the weights
at the bottom of their respective shafts.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the locking mechanism.
Fig. 5 is an end elevation.
Fig. 6 is a half front elevation with the door open and the front plate removed.
Fig. 7 is a plan of the drawer and of as much of the locking mechanism as moves

page_text: Fig. 8 is a plan taken on the S-T of Fig. 9.
Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional elevation through the axis of the disc machine.
Fig. 10 is a plan of the drawer.
Fig. 11 is a front elevation of a duplex machine, each half of which is of the
construction illustrated in Figs. 5 to 7ª, but fitted with a single delivery shoot common
to both series of shafts.
Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, A is the outer case; A¹, its door; and B, a transverse
diaphragm or base supporting the distinctive mechanism of this modification of our
invention.
C, D, E are three hollow shafts fixed to the outer case A, each one filled in any
convenient way with the articles to be sold.
Upon the top of each column we place a weight F, of the same outer shape as one
of the articles to be sold, but exceeding it in weight. Each weight F is furnished
with fingers which engage in grooves in the sides of the shaft, and by which it is
guided in its descent.
G is a disc rotated upon the base B, and within the guide g³ fixed to the base A, by
means of a handle g and a pair of gears g¹.
We form four cavities or pockets H in this disc, which, when the disc is in the
necessary position, respectively coincide with and underlie the columns of articles I.
Each column therefore delivers one article into each cavity at a time.
When the handle g is rotated through one revolution, the article in the disc under
the column in the shaft E is moved to the front through a quarter of a circle, and
drops through the opening 6 in in the base B down the delivery shoot J.
The fall of one article from the column in the shaft E is followed by the drop through
an equal distance of each article in the column. As the rotation of the disc is con-
tinued, each of the other columns D and C will fill its respective cavity in the disc,
and the next article delivered down the shoot J will be the one occupying the cavity
in the dise following the one last emptied.
As the column in the shaft E is the first to be drawn upon by the purchaser, it
follows that it will be exhausted first. Its weight F will, therefore, then be at the
bottom of the shaft, but will not be able to drop farther because of its fingers f being
stopped by the bottom of the grooves f
When the last article has been taken from the column E, the one in the disc cavity
under the column D will be under the said column E, and will travel smoothly there-
under because of the presence of the weight F, and so on with the other articles in the
other columns C and D.
When all the three columns are exhausted they are refilled, their respective weights
being raised to the top of the column and left resting thereupon.
The unlocking and locking mechanism to be operated by the purchaser's coin for
the purpose of allowing a single rotation of the motor shaft g³ in the interest of the
purchaser; and of preventing, in the interest of the vendor, a second rotation, is
illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.
K. is a bracket of any convenient shape fixed upon the diaphragm k (attached to the
case A) through which the shafts C, D and E are continued.
Lis the shoot into which the coin is dropped through a suitable opening in the
case A. The size of the opening may be regulated so as to exclude coins or fraudulent
substitutes of too large a diameter or thickness. The box L is conveniently carried
by an extension of the bracket K., The bottom of the shoo is closed by a flap
hinged thereto. A pin projects from the flap for the purpose of maintaining an
engagement between the latter and the lever M.
This lever has its fulcrum at m, and is fitted with an adjustable weight m¹.
The short arm of the lever is deflected for the purpose of enabling its nose n to
engage with the snail N. fast upon the shaft g³. O is a catch pivotted to the bracket K
at o, and o² a stop pin. The catch engages, in virtue of its own weight, with the
shoulder, or equivalent projection, m² on the lever M. A stud o² is provided by which
the catch can be disengaged from the lever M by the subsidiary lever P which has its

page_text: fulcrum at P, and is positioned so that its nose p¹ can be depressed by the stud n¹ on
the snail N.
A suitable detent is provided to prevent the handle g from being turned in the
wrong direction.
The weight m' having been adjusted so that the nose n cannot be disengaged from
the snail by a coin of less than the proper weight, the several parts of the mechanism
will stand in the relative positions illustrated until the coin falls upon the flap l. Its
weight depresses the flap, and therefore disengages the nose n from the snail N, when
the handle g can be turned, moving the snail in the direction indicated by the arrow
in Fig. 4.
The nose n will then ride upon the periphery of the snail, the flap 7 fall low enough
to allow of the coin dropping into the cash drawer or any convenient receptacle, and
the catch O be disengaged from the shoulder m², its nose resting upon the top thereof.
When the snail has been rotated through about a quarter of a circle, the stud n'
engages with the lever P, and causes it to raise the catch O by engaging with the
stud o' thereupon and to keep it raised until said stud n¹ has passed the nose p¹ of
the lever P (when the latter will assume its former position) by which the nose n of the
lever M will have dropped down the snail far enough for the catch O to re-engage with
the shoulder m².
The conclusion of the rotation is marked by the drop of an article from the now
front cavity H through the hole b and the reengagement of the nose n with the snail.
The modification illustrated in Figs. 5 to 7 consists in aligning the reserve columns
in front of the one from which deliveries are being effected.
Qis a case divided by partitions q into three shafts q', q, q³. Pairs of bars are
fixed to each side of said shaft, and to the door q, to provide guides q' in which the
pins of the weights F can engage. The guides q, weights F, and pins fare identical
in purpose with those illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 and described therewith.
Strips 9 are fixed to the fronts of the partitions to prevent the columns of articles
falling forward when the door is open, and these strips are cut away, as shown.at q' in
Fig. 5, to facilitate the chargeing of the shafts..
R is a bottomless drawer capable of being moved in and out from the case Q upon
the plate r.
The cavity is equivalent in area to that of the shafts in the column Q.
The front portion of the drawer, as well as the back, are solid. Notches are
formed along the edges of the sides to receive the pins of the weights.
S is a plate fast to the drawer. It carries the releasing mechanism T, which may
be of any well-known type, provided that a coin of the proper size and weight dropped
into it will disengage a detent from the drawer, and so allow of the latter being drawn
out of the case far enough to deliver an article from the drawer and whereupon the
drawer shall be stopped, and require to be pushed into the case again before a further
delivery can be effected.
The releasing and locking mechanism illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, accordingly,
operates as follows:
When a coin is dropped in at t, a detent t¹ is disengaged from a rack & projecting
up from the plate t to which it is bolted, through the opening t* in the plate S.
The above described modification of our invention operates as follows:
The shafts q', 9, 18, and the drawer R are filled and a weight F placed upon the
top of each column of articles.
As soon as the drawer R is released from the detent, it is drawn out, pulling the
three articles in it forward, and dropping the front one, i.e., the one that was under
the shaft g, down the delivery shoot U, and bringing the back of the drawer under
the articles in the shaft q'.
The major part of the solid front is now outside the front of the case Q, and the
drawer stopped by the rack t* (or its equivaient). The drawer is then pushed back
into the case.
When the drawer has been pushed back, the two articles in it, formerly under the
shafts q', q, respectively, will be left under the shafts 92, 93, and another will drop from
the shaft o into the drawer.
-

page_text: This process will be repeated until the shaft q' has been emptied, when its weight F
will drop into the drawer as shewn in Fig. 7 where it will perform the office of the
solid drawer end r³.
The contents of the shaft q2 will then be drawn on, and its weight F in time fall
into the drawer next to the one from the previously emptied shaft. And so on with as
many shafts as there may be. When the case and the drawer are full, the contents of
the latter are first delivered and then those of the shafts, beginning with the back one.
The modification illustrated in Figs. 8. to 9 is a combination of the discs, shafts,
and releasing-and-locking mechanism of Figs. 1 to 4 with the drawer of Figs. 5 to 7.
Therefore we shall in describing parts identical with those already described make use
of the same reference letters as before.
A is the outer case shewn as circular in plan, although it may be square as illustrated
in Fig. 3; and B, the transverse diaphragm in which is formed a step bearing for the
axis G¹.
Only the back shaft C is shewn.
G is the revolving disc fast upon the vertical axis G¹; H, H, the cavities therein;
and k, the fixed disc in which the sides of the shafts terminate, and upon which the
releasing and locking mechanism is carried.
This mechanism is substantially identical with the one illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, & 4,
and described therewith. Instead of standing across the diaphragm k as illustrated
in Fig. 3, with the lever M parallel with the fronts of the shafts, it is fixed with the
said lever radial to the axis G¹. The snail N is replaced by a disc N¹ on the top of the
axis G¹, and in this disc are four slots n² in which the nose n of the lever M engages.
in turn. The lever P is caused to raise the catch O by four studs o³ on the under side
of the disc N¹. There are the same number of studs o³ as of slots n³. The other
members of the releasing and locking mechanism are as described with reference to
Figs. 2, 3, and 4.
upon
The drawer R has a pawl protruded by a small spring (shewn in dotted lines in
Fig. 10) from a box on the side of the drawer. As the drawer is pulled out of the
case, the pawl engages with the ratchet wheel V fast on the axis G¹, and rotates
the disc G in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 8, through a quarter of a circle the
fixed diaphragm v, which has one opening v cut in it. By the time the cavity H that
was under the right hand shaft is over the opening v¹, the cavity in the drawer R is
over the opening b and the delivery shoot J, through and down which the article will
accordingly drop from the cavity in the disc.
Any suitable stops for the purpose of preventing the drawer R from being drawn
out too far, as well as for preventing its return moving the ratchet wheel V, are
provided.
The fourth modification of our invention, illustrated in Fig. 11, is intended to
prevent fraudulent abstraction of the contents of the shafts, aligned one behind the
other, after the drawer has been opened in the manner hereinbefore described.
The construction of the machine illustrated in Fig. 11 is a duplication of that
illustrated in Figs. 5 to 7 and described therewith.
Instead of providing a delivery shoot U under each drawer R, we provide two
declines R¹, leading from under the drawers to a central opening U¹.
We do not confine ourselves to either the angle which these declines make with the
vertical, or to their length, but it is an essential feature of this part of our invention
that they should be long enough to prevent a piece of wire inserted at the central
opening U being pushed up into the cavity r¹ of either drawer.
The inclines R are of sufficient cross section to pass the articles delivered into them
by their respective drawers, and they are made steep enough and smooth enough to
allow of the several articles to slide easily down into the central opening U¹.
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 :
1. The combination of a series of shafts arranged around the axis of a disc having
pockets positioned therein to correspond with the said shafts, a delivery exit, an

page_text: external handle for rotating the said disc between the shafts and the delivery exit,
and a releasing and locking mechanism, substantially as set forth with reference to
Figs. 1 to 4.
2. The combination with hollow shafts delivering into pockets in a disc rotated
thereunder, of weights engaging by means of pins in guides formed in the sides of
said shafts, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination of shafts arranged around the axis of a disc, the disc rotated
intermittently thereunder, the pockets in said disc communicating with said shafts and
a closing disc under said rotating disc, in which there is formed an exit over which
each pocket is in turn brought, substantially as set forth with reference to Figs. 1 to 3.
4. The combination of a lever caused to engage with a snail upon the motor shaft
by a counterpoise and released therefrom by the purchaser's coin, with a catch locking
the lever when the latter is engaged with the snail, and released therefrom by a lever
actuated from the snail as the latter is rotated with the motor shaft during the act of
delivering an article, substantially as set forth with reference to Figs. 2 to 4.
5. The combination of vertical shafts arranged behind each other, weights sliding
therein, and engaging by means of pins in grooves in the sides of the columns, with a
bottomless drawer capable of being moved backwards and forwards between the
bottoms of the said shafts and a plate, into the cavity of which drawer the columns
deliver, and a delivery shoot into which the front article in the drawer is delivered by
the act of pulling the drawer out, substantially as set forth with reference to
Figs. 5, 6, and 7.
6. The combination of bottomless drawer having a solid front part keeping the
drawer opening in the case closed, and a solid back part which supports the contents
of the back shaft when the drawer is drawn out, and its edges notched to receive the
pins of the weights from the several shafts above it, substantially as set forth with
reference to the accompanying Figs. 5 to 7*.
7. The combination in a bottomless drawer, the cavity of which is proportioned to
the reception of one article or the corresponding weight from each of the shafts
standing over it, of a solid front part keeping closed the opening in the case through
which it is moved backwards and forwards, a solid back part supporting the contents
of the back column when the drawer is withdrawn and connections by which it is
brought into co-operation with a locking and releasing mechanism actuated by
the purchaser's coin, substantially as set forth with reference to Figs. 5 to 7.
8. The combination of a series of fixed shafts arranged round the axis of a disc
having pockets therein and rotated under said shafts upon a fixed disc having one
delivery exit therein, with a bottomless drawer, a pawl and ratchet device (the ratchet
wheel of which is fast upon the axis of the rotating disc) operated by the act of
pulling out the drawer, and a releasing and locking device (consisting substantially of
a lever disengaged from a notched disc) upon the top of the axis of the rotating disc
and re-engaged therewith by a counterpoise on said lever after the drop of the
coin into the till, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying
figures 8 to 10.
9. The combination of two drawers and two declines with which said drawers
communicate when they are pulled out, and which declines lead to one opening common
to both substantially as described with reference to the accompanying Fig. 11.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Patent Agents,
22, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.