Improvements in Vending-machines.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Vending-machines.
A communication from abroad by JoHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, of Brooklyn, in the
County of Kings and State of New York, United States of America.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster and 323 High Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil 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 relates to vending apparatus, and consists in various features and
details hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.
In the accompanying drawings:
Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of the operating mechanism of a vending machine,
partly in section,
Figure 2, a longitudinal central section,
Figure 3, a sectional view illustrating the operation of the mechanism by means
of which the insertion of a coin into the machine is prevented,
Figure 4, a front face view,
Figure 5, a vertical sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 2,
Figure 6, a plan view of the horizontal portion of the delivery slide,
Figure 7, a perspective view of one of the blocks for supporting the coin when
it is first inserted into the machine; and
Figures 8, 9 and 10, views illustrating a slight modification of the variable or
adjustable resistance.
The present invention is designed as an improvement upon the various machines
represented by certain Letters Patent numbered respectively 18,021 and 18,022
and dated November 12, 1889.
A indicates a supporting frame for the operating mechanism, which frame, in the
present instance, is shown as made of a single casting. The frame comprises a
plate B having a coin-opening a; a block C upon which the articles to be sold rest;
and parallel walls or guides D, which are grooved on their inner faces to receive
the operating slide E and the delivery slide F; these parts being arranged
substantially as shown in the prior Patents before referred to, to which reference
is hereby made for details not contained herein.
The operating slide E is provided with a coin-slot e normally in alignment with
the coin-slot a in the plate B and the outer end of the said slide is turned upwardly
so as to form a handle by means of which this slide may be actuated.
Delivery slide F is provided with an opening f near its front end, and, in advance
of the opening, it is provided with a lug or projection g, as shown in Figures 2,4
and 6; the said lug or projection being located in advance of the arm K secured to
the underside of the operating slide.
A coiled spring G, connected at one end with the delivery slide, and at the
opposite end with the removable back plate J, serves to hold the delivery slide
normally within the machine, while a similar spring I, connected at its forward end
to the operating slide (or its arm K) and at the rear end to a pin or rod b extending
across the frame from one wall D to the other, serves to hold the operating slide
also normally within the machine.
L indicates a
pawl or dog pivoted to the inner face of one of the walls or
guides D, and said pawl is provided with a rounded lower end or tail c and a pointed
hose d, as shown in Figure 2, the nose of the pawl being adapted to engage the
under face of the operating slide E, which latter is serrated or roughened, as at h,
Figures 1 and 2.

page_text: A light coiled spring i extends from the pawl to the rod or stem b, so that, when
the delivery slide is pulled forward so as to bring the cut-away portion; (Figure 6)
beneath the tail of the dog, the latter will be rocked or tipped and its nose d thrown
into engagement with the operating or actuating slide E.
M indicates a bolt, which works through a vertical hole or opening k in the table
or support C, and is provided at its lower end with a head or enlargement. I, which
extends beneath plate B into position to engage the actuating or operating slide E
and prevent the inward movement of the latter. A light coiled spring m encircles
the bolt M and tends to hold the upper end of the latter above the top of the table
or support C against the pressure of the articles to be sold, which rest upon the said
table or support.
The operating slide is cut away at its inner end so that, when the head of the
bolt M is brought to the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, the said slide may move
inward over the head or enlargement l, so as to bring the coin-slot e into alignment
with the coin-slot a. That portion of the delivery slide which moves over the face
of the table or support C has its front edge beveled, as shown at n, Figures 2, 4
and 5, so that, when the slide moves forward over the said support or table, it will
depress the pin or bolt M in case the latter should be up into the position shown in
Figure 3.
In order to vary the relative positions of the slides, E F, and for the further
purpose of limiting or varying the backward or inward movement of the slide F,
the plate J is provided with an adjusting screw O, which is adapted to bear against
the upturned end of the delivery slide, as clearly shown in Figure 2, said screw being
held in its adjusted position by means of a lock-nut o, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
Secured to the delivery slide F, near its inner end, is a device for regulating or
controlling the amount of force required to operate the machine, which regulating
or resistance device is shown as comprising a spring arm P which is provided, near
its forward end, with a shoulder p, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 5 and 6. The free end
of this spring arm rests normally beneath the rod b, so that, when it is desired to
pull the slide F forward, it will be necessary to depress the free end of the spring
arm, or, in other words, to cause the shouldered-portion p to ride beneath the
rod. b=
In order to regulate, govern or vary the force of this spring arm, a set screw y
is provided, which, bearing upon the underside of the spring arm, forces the latter
against the underside of the rod with greater or less force, as may be desired.
This important feature of-the-present-invention is to be distinguished from that
class of devices wherein there is employed an air cylinder and piston to delay, or to
prevent, the too rapid movement of one of the parts, and thereby give time for the
proper movement of the other parts connected with the first-mentioned part.
QQ indicate two blocks, which are arranged opposite each other upon the inner
faces of the walls or guides D D, immediately below the coin-slot a, as shown in
Figures 1 and 2. Each block is provided, on its inner face, with a lug or
projection having a rounded or curved bearing faces for the reception of the
coin; the curved faces extending downwardly and inwardly from their upper ends,
as clearly shown in Figure 7.
Projecting from the inner face of one of the walls or guides D is a pin or stud R,
which, as shown in Figures 12 and 4, has its inner end beveled or inclined, so that,
when the coin, which is carried by the slides E and F, comes into contact with this
pin or stud, the latter will move the coin to one side and downward, so that the coin
will be thrown out of engagement with the actuating or operating slide.
When the machine is filled with the articles to be sold, the latter, resting upon
the table or support C, depress the pin or bolt M so that the head of the latter
shall be below the bottom face of the actuating or operating slide; or, in other
words, the weight of the material to be sold shall depress the locking bolt M, so
that the coin-slote of the actuating or operating slide may come into alignment
with the coin-slot a in the plate B of the frame A, as shown in Figure 2.
Now when a coin is dropped into the slot a it passes downward and falls upon,

page_text: and is supported at the sides by, the curved faces s of the lugs or projections r of
the blocks Q, and it will also be supported at its upper edge within the opening or
slot made in the actuating or operating slide E, as shown in Figure 2.
It would, perhaps, be well to call attention to the fact that the front wall of the
coin-slot e in the operating slide is cut out, as shown in Figure 1, so as to leave a
narrow tongue or projection to bear upon the coin when the slide is pulled outward;
this tongue or projection being represented in Figure 1.
At the time that the coin is inserted, and before the slide E is pulled outward,
the lower end of the pawl or dog L is in contact with the front wall of the cut-
away portion of the delivery slide F, and is prevented by the said front wall
from coming into engagement with the actuating or operating slide E, as clearly
shown in Figure 2.
By moving or pulling the slide E outward, the coin will strike against the lug g
on the delivery slide and will, by reason of the engagement of the coin with the
slide E and its arm K, be carried off the lugs of the blocks Q, and, as soon as the
two slides E and F are thus locked together by means of the coin, any further
movement of the slide E will cause a corresponding outward movement of the
slide F. But it will be observed that, at the instant that the slide F is moved
forward far enough to permit the small spring i to come into action, the pawl or
dog L will be tipped or rocked and its nose d thrown upward into engagement with
the underside of the actuating slide E and thereby locks said slide in position in
case it shall not have been pulled outward far enough to cause the discharge of one
of the articles to be sold.
It will also be observed that, inasmuch as the coin connects the slides E and F,
this locking of the slide E by means of the pawl L also indirectly effects a locking
of the slide F. Continuing the outward movement of the slide E, the coin is
brought into contact with the beveled nose or inner end of the pin or stud R, and
is moved laterally and downwardly, so that the upper end of the coin is freed from
engagement with the actuating slide E, and, as soon as this is accomplished, the
spring G, connected with the delivery slide, draws the said slide inward to its
normal position, and, as it approaches this point, the front wall of the cut-away
portion of the said slide will strike the tail of the pawl or dog L and throw the
nose of the latter out of engagement with the slide E, and thereby permit the
spring I to draw the said actuating slide inward to its normal position. In order to
actuate the machine; the force of the springs G and I has to be overcome, and, in
order to increase the force required to operate the machine, the spring arm P may
be adjusted so as to press upon the under face of the rod with a greater or less
force, as desired.
If the spring arm P be set up so as to require a considerable pull upon the
slide E in order to actuate the machine, and a lead or other counterfeit be inserted
into the machine, the said counterfeit will not be able to withstand the force or
power to which it is subjected and will, therefore, yield and prevent the surreptitious
working of the machine. This feature is particularly valuable with machines of the
character herein described, that is, in which the two slides are connected directly
by means of the coin, for it is clear that, if the coin or other token be not of the
proper strength, it cannot withstand the strain to which it is subjected in locking
the two slides together.
When the articles to be sold are all exhausted, the coiled spring m throws the
pin or bolt M up into the position shown in Figure 3, the head or enlargement 1 of
the said bolt coming up into alignment with the actuating or operating slide E, so
that the coin-slot e of the latter will then be prevented from coming into alignment
with the coin-slot a in the frame A. By this means, the insertion of a coin into
the machine is prevented, unless the machine be provided with the articles to be
sold in exchange for the coin.
By turning the screw O in such direction as to cause the slide F to move forward,
the lug g thereon will be carried far enough in advance of the coin-supporting
lugs to make the space between said lugs and g wide enough to permit thin

page_text: counterfeits and dummies to pass through into the money box instead of remaining
in engagement with the slides E F.
g
The relative position of the lug to the curved faces of the coin-supporting
blocks is a matter of considerable importance in adapting the machine to the
rejection of counterfeits, which are frequently inserted through the slots a e.
The curved faces s of the coin-supporting lugs are so shaped that an irregularly
shaped piece of money (or thin bogus piece) will be tipped and its lower edge
carried forward over and in advance of the space formed between the lugs and g,
so that its lower edge will not be engaged by the lug g.
If the coin or bogus piece be of regular (circular) shape, but is too thin, it will
not be tipped, as just above described, but will fall straight down through the
slides E between the lugs and g.
The rejection of counterfeits is further ensured by the formation of the tongue,
which forms the front wall of the slot e of the slide E, as it is clear that, if an
angular coin or token be inserted into the machine, it will be tipped as before
described, and its upper edge will be brought out of line with this narrow point.
Of course,
if the slide E be pulled outward while the coin is in this position, the
lower edge of the coin will (possibly) strike against the lug g, but, as soon as it
does this, its upper edge, being unsupported, will be thrown forward, and the coin
will fall into the box without locking the slides together.
By these various devices, the surreptitious working of the machine is effectually
prevented.
In Figures 8, 9 and 10, there is shown a slight modification in the construction
and arrangement of the resistance device, the separate spring arm P being, in this
plan, dispensed with.
Upon reference to these figures, it will be seen that there is a coiled spring G to
hold the delivery slide normally within the machine, and a similar spring Gcon-
nected at its forward end to the operating slide, and, at its rear end, to-the upper
end of a pivoted pawl or dog W
1
Lindicates a pawl or dog pivoted to the inner face-of the frame, and i a spring
which extends from the pawl to a lug, as in the construction shown in Figure 1.
The pawl W is pivoted to the frame and extends-downwardly-through a slot or
opening in delivery slide E, and, when in its normal position, the lower end of
the pawl W bears against the rear end of slot a.
When slide E is moved outward-with coin connecting the slides-the pawl or
dog W will be rocked or tipped against the tension of spring G, and, when the
--slide--has-been pulled outward far-enough-to-eject-an-article, the pawl will be
found to be out of the slot .
This has the same effect as the spring arm P, shown in Figures 1 and 2. It is
not, however, capable of adjustment as in the first mentioned arrangement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a vending machine in which the strain necessary for the actuation of the
machine comes upon the coin inserted in such manner as to tend to bend the same,
the combination, with the actuating slide of such a machine, or parts connected
therewith, of an adjustable resistance device constructed and arranged substantially
as shown and described, whereby the strain put upon the coin or token inserted
may be increased or diminished.
2. In a vending machine, the combination, with a slide, of the fixed bolt or pin b
and the spring arm P on the slide, all arranged substantially as shown.
3. In a vending machine, a pair of coin-supporting blocks Q, each provided with
a lug having a curved faces extending diagonally across it, substantially as
described and shown and for the purpose specified.
4. In a vending machine, the combination, with a delivery slide and an actuating
slide adapted to be connected by means of a coin as described, of a fixed piu or

page_text: stud R having a beveled inner end, to dislodge the coin after the slides have been
pulled outward far enough to eject an article, substantially as described.
5. In a vending machine, the combination, with a fixed frame having a coin slot
and an actuating slide having a similar coin slot, of a detent M adapted to be held,
by the articles to be sold, in such position as to allow the said coin slots to come
into alignment, and a spring or equivalent counterbalancing device, so arranged as
to throw the detent into position to prevent the alignment of the coin slots when
the supply is exhausted, substantially as described.
6. In a vending machine, the combination, with an actuating slide and a delivery
slide adapted to be connected therewith by means of a coin, of a pawl or dog
arranged to act independently of the retracting springs of the slides and adapted
to engage one of the slides or a part moving therewith and to be automatically
disengaged as described by the return movement of the other slide or a part moving
therewith, substantially as and for the purpose described and shown.
Dated this 22nd day of December 1890.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.