Improvements in Cash and Parcel Carrying Apparatus.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 16th May, 1888
Specification Accepted, 6th July, 1888
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cash and Parcel Carrying Apparatus.
1, HENRY LINCOLN LOVEJOY, of 3 West Adams Street, in the City of Lowell,
and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the United States of America, Surveyor,
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 consists of cash and parcel carrying apparatus and consists of the
means hereinafter described of propelling the carrier upon the track or way, means of
retaining the carrier upon the track, means of attaching the cash and parcel receptacle
or pouch to, and of readily detaching the same from the carrier proper, and in the
devices and combinations hereinafter described and claimed. The object of this
improvement is to provide a cash and parcel carrying apparatus especially adapted to
be used in long, low-ceilinged rooms where the track cannot well be inclined
sufficiently to cause a rapid movement of the carrier to be effected by its own gravity
and also to enable the carrier to be impelled up an incline against the resistance of
its own weight to a cashier's desk or central distributing station and to be returned
therefrom by gravity.
In the accompanying drawings, figure 1 is a front elevation of my invention,
showing the carrier at rest; figure 2, an enlarged front elevation of the windlass and
pulley block, shown at the left of figure 1, figure 3, a side elevation of the same,
figure 4, a vertical section on the line in figure 3, figure 5, a front elevation of
the carrier, part of the same being in section; figure 6, a vertical cross-section of the
carrier on the line y y in figure 5; figure 7, a plan of the lever-stop or buffer and its
holder, and a horizontal section of the lever-segment; figure 8, an isometric
perspective view of the carrier-buffer; figure 9, an enlarged isometric perspective
view of the cash and parcel pouch; figure 10, a similar view of the wire frame of
the pouch.

page_text: The means hereinafter described of propelling the carrier are applicable to a firack
consisting of a single wire, a double rail, or a trough, but the track herein shown is a
single wire A, each end of which is carried over the curved surface of an arc, A¹
preferably of metal, and provided with a groove a, in its curved surface, in which
groove the wire is laid, the wire being tightened by any usual means arranged beyond
the travelled portion of the track A. The means shown in the drawing for straining
the wire consists of a windlass or shaft C turning in suitable bearings bb, in a
block B, said shaft having a hole e in which the end of the wire is inserted and an
enlarged flat-sided head c¹ to which a wrench may be applied, to rotate said shaft and
wind the wire thereon. The block B, is provided with a circular boss concentric
with said shaft C, and provided in its outer surface with radial grooves 6², and said
shaft is provided with a hole c², at right angles to its axis, through which a pin is
driven, said pin lying in one of the radial grooves 62, to prevent the shaft from
turning backward and the wire from unwinding from said shaft.
The arc A' is supported by horizontal studs d d', one of which projects from the
hanger and the other from the stretcher D2 which connects the hanger D' to
another hanger D, said hangers, depending from the ceiling M. The depth or
vertical thickness of the are is greater than the thickness of the wire to secure
sufficient strength, and the lower side of the upper end of the arc, is bevelled upward
nearly to said wire, at a', to allow the carrier to enter upon the are more easily, that
is, in order that the carrier may not strike against the upper end of the arc.
The carrier E consists of a suitable vertical frame, provided with wheels e¹ e² having
horizontal axles e³e which turn in said frame, the wheels being grooved, as shown
at e in figure 6, to admit the track. A part of the frame on one side of the carrier,
below the wheels is cut away, at e, to allow the carrier to be hung upon the track.
The under side of the carrier is provided with a longitudinal groove e³, and into
this groove projects from each side thereof pins e e¹ to support the pouch F.
The pouch F is represented as consisting of a spring wire frame (figure 10),
covered on its sides nearly to the top of the same, and on the bottom by a suitable
covering of cloth, sheet metal, or preferably, of leather, while the ends are closed
by any flexible material f, to allow the upper sides of the frame to be pressed
together or towards each other and when released to spring outward by their own
elasticity. The cash or parcel is placed in the pouch F which is then secured to the
carrier, by pressing the sides of the frame toward each other, inserting the top of
the pouch in the groove e, and allowing the horizontal upper parts of said frame to
spring outward above the pins e eo above mentioned. The pouch is removed from
the carrier by pressing the sides of the pouch toward each other and drawing said
pouch downward out of the groove e8.
At the centre of the arc A¹, on the hanger D¹, is pivoted, at g, the lever G, one
arm g¹ of said lever being long enough to strike against the carrier, when the carrier
is on said are, the other arm of said lever being substantially a sector of a circle
and being of sufficient weight to hold the lever in a vertical position when the carrier
is not resting upon it. The curved surface of the sector is grooved, at g³ (figure 7),
to admit a cord H, one end of which is attached to the sector and the other end of
which is provided with a handle or pull adapted to be grasped by the hand, the cord
between its ends passing over a pulley 1, supported in the block 13 above mentioned,
and turning upon a horizontal shaft i. When the carrier rests against the lever G, as
shown at the left of figure 1, if the pull be drawn steadily downward the lever will
be turned on its pivot and its long arm will push the carrier along the are and the
carrier will be caused by its momentum to travel along the straight portion of the
track and on to the arc at the other end of the track, depressing the lever at said last
named end of the track into a nearly horizontal position.
The pull and its cord H, may be used without the pulley I and might even be
dispensed with on very short lines, the lever in that case being moved by applying
the hand directly to the short arm or sector of the lever, but the construction shown
is much more convenient in use. To lessen the noise caused by the carrier and lever

page_text: striking each other. I secure to each end of the carrier, a buffer J of rubber or other
suitable elastic material, the shape of these buffers being shown in figure S, each
buffer being provided with a tongue j secured in a corresponding recess in the end of
the carrier, and having a rounded notch to receive the long arm of the lever. The
long arm of the lever near its free end may also be surrounded by a sleeve g' of
rubber or other elastic material to deaden still further the noise and diminish the wear
caused by the carrier striking the lover. The sector-arm g² of said lever is provided
with an opening y, and into this opening extends the arm & of the buffer-holder K
which holder consists of said arm and a collar which surrounds the stretcher D
and is prevented from moving thereon, by a set-screw turning in said collar and
thrusting against said stretcher. To the free end of the armi k are secured en opposite
sides thereof buffers, of rubber or other suitable elastic material, which lie in
the plane of the lever, within the opening g thereof, and receive the shock of the
lever and limit the amount of its movement. Another buffer 5 is secured in the top
of the block B in the same vertical plane with the lever, bat so low down as not to be
struck by the falling lever until after the sector has come into contact with, and has
compressed the buffer and the movement of the carrier has been checked thereby,
the lever and carrier being finally stopped by the buffer 5, the buffer-holder K being
adjustable on the stretcher when the screw is loosened.
To prevent the carrier from rocking as it leaves the arc for the straight part of the
track I use a guard-rail L secured to the hanger D' above the track, one end of said
guard-rail reaching over the upper end of the are and the other end thereof reaching
over the wire A beyond the upper end of said are and in the same vertical plane with
said arc, the guard-rail being near enough to the track to enter the grooves of the
grooved wheels e¹ e² but not near enough to touch the bottoms of said grooves when
the carrier is running steadily.
The lever and are above described serve also as a means of elevating the carrier to
the straight portion of the track or track proper, and allow of the track being at any
elevation above the head of the salesman, provided the radius of the arc be sufficiently
increased and the angular length of the are remain the same, or the length of the arc
may be increased to a half circle, or both these expedients may be resorted to.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is;
1. The combination of the track or way, having a straight section, and an arc-
shaped end-section, a carrier adapted, to travel on said way, and a lever, having its
fulcrum at the centre of said arc, and adapted, when turned upon its fulcrum to
propel said carrier along said are and from said are on to said straight section, as
and for the purpose specified.
2. The combination of the track, and a carrier adapted to travel thereon, said track
having an arc-shaped end-section, a lever, having its fulcrum at the centre of said
arc, and stops to limit the motion of said lever, as and for the purpose specified.
3. The combination of the track, a carrier adapted to travel thereon, said track
having an arc-shaped end-section, a lever, having its fulcrum at the centre of said
arc, oue arm of said lever being adapted, when said lever is turned upon its fulcrum,
to move said carrier along said arc, and the other arm of said lever being provided
with an opening, and buffers arranged in said opening to receive the shock of said
lever and to limit the motion of said lever, as and for the purpose specified.
4. The combination of the track, a carrier, adapted to travel thereon, said track
having an arc-shaped end-section, a lever having its fulcrum at the centre of said arc
and adapted to be turned upon its fulcrum when struck by said carrier, and elastic
buffers adapted to be successively struck by said lever, to first check and then stop
said lever and carrier, as and for the purpose specified.
5. A carrier, adapted to be hung upon a suspended track and to travel thereon
and extending below said track, and provided with a groove in its under side,

page_text: pins or projections, extending into said groove from the sides thereof, and a pouch
of flexible material having a spring frame adapted to be compressed at the top,
to pass said pins and to spring outward over said pins and to be retained thereby,
as and for the purpose specified.