Automatic Delivery of Goods in Exchange therefor.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Oct., 1886
Complete Left, 25th June, 1887
Complete Accepted, 30th Sept., 1887.
RESERV
Automatic Delivery of Goods in Exchange therefor.
We, ROBERT WILLOUGHBY VINING of 8A Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, and WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON of 6 Lord Street, Liverpool,
Patent Agent for the said Robert Willoughby Vining do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows :-
In the ordinary apparatus for delivering cigarettes etcetera in exchange for pence,
the fall of the penny has either to do the entire work, or the penny liberates the
machinery and the hand is employed on a press knob to deliver. Now the first plan
has never been found to operate satisfactorily as a penny falling a few inches does not
give out sufficient power to overcome the friction in all cases; and if a press knob be
used, some men dont understand it, and others strike it with great force especially in
case of misdelivery, thereby spoiling the apparatus.
Now our invention consists :
1st. In using a relay in the mechanism itself to do the work, the penny in falling
merely setting the relay temporarily in operation. We prefer clockwork for the relay
but it is obvious that electro magnetism, a small water or compressed air motor, or
other suitable relay could be used, if clockwork be used the penny in falling strikes
a lever which disengages the stop on a notch wheel, and the clockwork runs on
liberating the cigarette or other goods till the notch comes round to the stop where the
stop can again fall into it. If cigars are sold and three pence or four pence charged,
the clockwork is arranged to deliver a cigar for every three (or four as the case may
be) times the lever is pushed forward and the stop freed by a penny.
2nd. The receptacle for cigars or cigarettes is preferably half round and has a trap
or flap door at the bottom connected with two ratchets on the drum, and each movement
of the relay causes the flap or door to lift up allowing a cigar or cigarette to pass and
at the same time stirring the cigarettes and preventing them from jamming.
3rd. We form a wheel or drum immediately below the hopper with a series of
grooves each large enough to hold one cigar, cigarette, or other article of goods. This
wheel moves round one groove for each delivery. The spout down which the goods fall
from the hopper is only wide enough to let one article go down abreast, thus only one
can fall into each groove. Where two or more can fall abreast against the wheel as in
our earlier attempts to effect this object the cigars were found to jam now and again.
4th. We form the slide down which the pennies slide with an orifice just the size

page_text: for a penny and the slide is formed of two curved grooved channels just clipping the
edges of the penny so that if any other sized coin is inserted it falls through into
the box without disengaging the stop. A spring tongue is preferably placed above the
centre of the slit so that if the penny is pushed in with impetus the spring shall
prevent it flying out of the groove.
5th. We may arrange our clockwork to only deliver say two hundred articles, and
so construct it that as the two hundredth is delivered a plate marked "Empty" rises
covering the slit. By taking care at start that over two hundred articles are placed
in the box, we thus guarantee that no unpleasantness shall arise from persons dropping
coin into the slit and not getting articles in exchange.
6th. We make the hopper with a door forming the upper part and also construct a
door in the other side of the box to discharge the pennies when required and a small
opening and ledge is used for the article bought to fall into. The box is locked of
course when left in action.
7th. We prefer in some cases to place an indicator on the side of the box to show
how many articles have been used, or to place spy holes with or without reflectors to
show the same.
8th. In places where there is little or no regular supervision of boxes we apply to
the boxes a penny slide which shall oblige the purchaser to drop the penny through
several inches of exposed slide above the box, or to form the slide so that each penny
in turn lies exposed in a window, or remains separate till the fall of another penny
liberates it. By this means men putting in lead pennies can be detected.
Dated this 1st day of October 1886
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
Patent Agents for the Applicants.
Automatic Delivery of Goods in Exchange therefor.
We, ROBERT WILLOUGHBY VINING of 8A Lord Street, Liverpool in the county of 30
Lancaster, Engineer and WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON of 6 Lord Street, Liverpool,
Patent Agent for the said Robert Willoughby Vining, 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 :-
In the ordinary apparatus for delivering cigarettes and other articles in exchange 35
for
pence, the fall of the penny has either to do the entire work or it liberates the
machinery and the hand is employed to act on a press knob and effect the delivery.
Now the first plan has never been found to operate satisfactorily as a penny falling a

page_text: few inches does not impart sufficient power to overcome the friction in all cases and if
a press knob be used some persons do not understand the use of it and others strike it
with great force especially in cases of non-delivery thereby spoiling the apparatus.
The object of our invention is to construct a machine which shall be free from the .
defects above described and also embody other features of novelty.
The construction of the apparatus will be readily understood on reference to the
accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 of which represents an end view thereof with the casing in section to expose
the operating mechanism.
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the opposite end of the apparatus, no outer casing being
shown.
Fig. 3 is a plan.
Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are elevations of a machine constructed to deliver only on the
insertion of three separate coins.
A is the receptacle for the cigars or cigarettes in the bottom A¹ of which is formed
an opening extending from a to a¹. This opening is normally closed by means of a
swinging flap or shutter B attached to arms B₁ which are pivotted to the shaft C
extending from one side of the receptacle A to the other. In the shutter B is an
opening 6 large enough to allow one article to pass through at a time. The shutter B
is connected by means of an arm D to a jointed rod D' connected with a one toothed
ratchet wheel D³. On the shaft of the ratchet wheel is a pinion d gearing with a toothed
wheel d' on the axis of which is a pinion d gearing with teeth d³ on the spring
barrel which actuates the delivery mechanism. On one end of a shaft E is fixed a
detent e which engages with the ratchet wheel D³ and on the same shaft is a lever
arm e¹ which projects over the face of the ratchet wheel. On the other end of the
shaft E (see Figure 2) is a bell crank lever, one arm F of which extends underneath
the mouth of the shoot G down which the coin passes. The other arm F¹ is under the
influence of a helical spring F which tends to keep the detent e at the other end of the
shaft in contact with the periphery of the ratchet wheel D³. The action of the
apparatus is as follows:-
If a coin of suitable size be dropped into the mouth of the shoot G it will travel
down the incline and fall onto the lever arm F. The impetus acquired by the coin in
its descent will cause it to strike the lever with sufficient force to overcome the
spring F and the shaft E will be turned partially round thereby disengaging
the detent e from the tooth of the ratchet wheel. The latter, under the influence of the
clockwork d, d', d³, d³, and d' commences to revolve, the speed of revolution being
regulated by balance wheel D' on the shaft of which are pallets acting on an
escapement wheel in the usual manner. As the ratchet wheel revolves the shutter B
will oscillate beneath the opening a-a' in the receptacle A and when the opening & in
the shutter arrives opposite the opening a-a¹ a cigar or cigarette will fall through the
opening 6 on to the tray H and on the return motion of the shutter the vertical side 6'
of the opening b will sweep the cigar or cigarette off the edge of the tray and it will
then roll down the incline H¹ into the delivery trough H'. Thus an article is delivered
for each revolution of the ratchet wheel and to ensure the detent e engaging therewith
and arresting it as soon as the revolution is completed a pin e' is inserted in the face of
the ratchet wheel, which pin comes in contact with the lever arm e¹ and moves the
same sufficiently before passing it to throw the detent into gear with the wheel so that
the stoppage of the latter is effected positively and is not dependent upon the action of
the spring F⁹.
The different positions of the shutter during the delivery operation are shown in
figures 4, 5 and 6 representing a machine for the delivery of threepenny articles or
articles requiring three coins of some denomination or other. The mechanism in this
case differs only in the construction of the ratchet wheel D' which instead of having
only one tooth as in figure 1 is formed with three teeth with each of which the pawl
engages in succession and can only be liberated on each occasion by the insertion of
the requisite coin the delivery taking place immediately after the insertion of the last
After delivery the machine will remain in the position shown in figure 4.
one.

page_text: '
The first penny inserted into the shoot will release the ratchet wheel and this will
revolve until the detent engages with tooth No. 1 when it will have performed about
a quarter of a revolution and carried the opening in the spring shutter towards the
opening in the bottom of the receptacle A as shown in figure 5. A second coin will
cause a similar movement and bring the openings b and a-a¹ opposite to each other
permitting a cigar or cigarette to fall onto the tray H as shown in figure 6.
The
ratchet wheel D has now performed half a revolution and if a third coin be inserted
the next half revolution will be performed whereby the shutter B will be returned to
its original position of figure 4 and the article delivered. By making the opening a-a
wide enough two or three of the cigars or cigarettes are always in contact with the
shutter and are agitated when the same is moved thereby obviating the possibility of
jamming' and consequent non-delivery.
In order to prevent the machine from being set in operation by coins of improper
value the bottom of the shoot is cut away at the upper portion as shown in figure 3
leaving only a very slight ledge g at each side to support the coin which if not of the
proper size will fall through the shoot on to a ledge or shelf L and remain there until
the casing is opened; or an extra shoot may be provided and the improper coin
allowed to pass out of the machine into a trough provided therefor so as to enable the
owner to recover the same.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :-
1. In an apparatus such as described the combination with a receptacle A open at
the bottom of an oscillating shutter such as B having an opening wide enough to
take in one of the articles contained in the hopper and operated by clockwork
mechanism substantially as specified.
2. In an apparatus such as described the employment with the clockwork mechanism
for delivering the goods of an escapement wheel such as D' having two or more teeth
or equivalent for the purpose of dividing a complete revolution into two or more
separate movements substantially as and for the purpose specified.
3. In a machine such as described in which the delivery is effected by clockwork
mechanism set in operation by the fall of a coin the combination with a ratchet wheel
such as D² of a detent lever e¹ and pin or pins e for imparting a positive motion to the
detent e substantially as described and illustrated in the drawings.
Dated this 23rd day of June 1887