Improvements in or relating to Automatic Delivery Boxes.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Oct., 1887
Specification Accepted, 25th Nov., 1887
Improvements in or relating to Automatic Delivery Boxes.
A communication from FERNAND BISSON, of No. 15, Rue de la Chappelle, Paris, in
the Republic of France, Mechanical Engineer.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E. 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 improved automatic delivery boxes consisting
essentially of a wheel provided on its periphery with an annular helix of one or more
turns in which are formed compartments of equal size for the reception of the articles
to be delivered.
By means of this wheel articles of all kinds and form either loose or wrapped up in
paper or placed in boxes of any suitable or desired form may be delivered.
The apparatus is placed in a casing of wood or metal or other suitable material and
the wheel carrying the compartments can be easily removed when it is empty and
replaced by another previously supplied with the articles to be delivered.
The automatic movement of this delivery box may be produced by means of weights,
springs, the two combined or electrically in fact by any suitable motor; and this
movement is started by the fall of the coin of the weight and size representing the
value of the price of the article to be delivered.
When the whole of the articles contained in the compartments of the wheel are
delivered i.e. when all the compartments are emptied an automatic slide or other
suitable device covers the slot for the reception of the coins.
In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 represents a back view of the apparatus the door being removed.
Fig. 2 represents a vertical section of the apparatus on line A B of figure 1.
A wheel a is formed on its periphery with a helicoidal groove of one or more turns
which is divided in a series of compartments of equal size by means of partitions e.
This wheel a turns loose on a spindle 6 fixed to the front part of the case and this

page_text: spindle is provided at its end with a pin c which may be withdrawn to enable the
wheel a to be removed when all its compartments are empty and to be replaced by
another wheel previously supplied with the articles to be delivered.
Notches d are formed in the middle of all the partitions e and the successive notches
form a helicoidal groove for the reception of the cord of flax, hemp indiarubber or
other suitable material which is wound round the wheel a and retains the articles to
be delivered in their respective compartments. This cord may be replaced by a flat
band of metal or other suitable material covering tightly the whole of the compartments
if it is necessary or desirable.
The cord or band is fixed to the wheel a with one end in a compartment reserved
for the purpose by means of a ring or any other suitable device g and it passes from
left to right in the notches d over all compartments of the wheel a and thus retains
in the latter the articles to be delivered. It passes then round a pulley or roller
which limits the delivery and then over two guide pulleys i and j. The other end of
the cord is fastened into the top of the case after passing around a loose pulley
to which a weight n is attached by the hook m. This weight stretches the cord and
holds it in contact with the wheel a.
The delivery of the articles is obtained as follows: A coin representing the value
of the article to be obtained is inserted through the slot o formed in the upper part of
the front of the casing, and glides down the slide p which is inclined at its com-
mencement and vertical for the other part, and the coin falls upon the outer end 7 of
a lever of the first order q r s mounted on a knife edge. This lever q?s commu-
nicates the movement by its ends to another similar lever t u v the end of which
is connected with the end y of a third lever y z w by means of a cord rod or wire a.
Presently the third lever y z w by its extremity w raises a vertical pawl a¹ sliding
between guide pulleys to diminish friction.
This pawl a once raised leaves the cam disc c¹ free to turn, giving five successive
stoppages by the five serrations formed on its periphery. This cam disc c¹ is integral
with the pinion the latter being driven by the wheel e¹ which is fixed to the heli-
coidal wheel a constituting the magazine of distribution because the wheel a is set in
motion by the traction exercised by the encircling cord and the motor weight n
which cord in unwinding exposes or opens a compartment of the magazine the
merchandise from which falls into the delivery trough f.
During the above described motion of the apparatus the piece of money after
having disturbed the extremity 9 of the lever qrs which has given the initial move-
ment to the said apparatus; has fallen into a receptacle g' by an opening h. The
piece of money having become inactive the levers return to their first position of
equilibrium and the vertical pawl a forming a stop piece falls upon the cam disc c
which is in motion in consequence of its connection with the pinion d¹ gearing with
the wheel e' fixed to the magazine wheel a and the pawl a meeting the succeeding
tooth of the wheel e¹ stops the movement of the whole of the apparatus.
On introducing another piece of money by the opening o the movements of each
constituent part of the apparatus are reproduced identically and a new article of
merchandise of some sort will be delivered through the opening of the delivery
trough f¹.
The
When the helicoidal wheel a forming the magazine contains no more articles of
merchandise to distribute the opening o closes automatically and it will be impossible
to introduce another piece of money to work the empty apparatus that is to say to
obtain nothing in exchange. This is effected as follows: Upon the front face of the
helicoidal wheel a is fixed a finger n¹ intended to enter the forked end of a bell
crank lever once every complete revolution of the helicoidal wheel a.
object of the finger n' is to make the end of the bell crank lever travel an
equal fraction of the number of turns that the wheel a ought to make to empty itself'
of its contents. So that if the wheel a forming the magazine contains no more
objects to deliver on its second turn as is indicated upon the drawing hereto annexed
the finger n' upon the first complete turn of the wheel a will have caused the
extremity of the elbow lever to move one half of its course necessary to

page_text: close the orifice o and at the second complete turn of the said wheel a the finger n¹
will have caused the extremity k¹ of the elbow lever jk¹ to move the other half of
its course necessary to ensure the obstruction of the opening o intended to receive
the pieces of money. For the intermediate passage between two complete turns a
heel spring retains in place the extremity of the elbow lever jk. The finger n¹
completes the closing by introducing the extremity of the lover against the
opening o. When the wheel a is withdrawn to replace a similar one full of objects
to be delivered the finger will disengage itself from the fork and the spring
will pull back half way the end then with the finger of the hand this end kis
withdrawn from the heel of the spring in order to return it to its original position
and thus make the opening to the orifice o complete.
The number of helices being increased it will suffice to give an equal number of
teeth to the fork of the lever . In consequence of the number of cases
contained in the crown of the wheel a will be a multiple of the number of generating
spirals contained upon its periphery.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner the same is
to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In an automatic delivery box a wheel such as a provided on its periphery with a
series of compartments formed by partitions in a helical channel in or upon the
periphery of the wheel substantially as described.
2. In a wheel a such as described the notches & formed in the partitions forming
the compartments for the reception of a cord or band wound helically round the
periphery of the wheel containing the compartments substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
3. The cord or band f acting as a driving belt and serving to retain the articles to
be delivered within the compartments of the wheel substantially as described.
4. The method of imparting rotation to the wheel a by means of a counter weight
acting through one or more sheaves or pulleys according to the number of the turns
of the helix on the magazine wheel.
5. In an apparatus such as described the progressive closing of the money slot when
the magazine wheel is empty the replacing of the magazine wheel by a similar one
previously supplied with the articles to be delivered.
6. The combination of the levers mounted on knife edges and acted upon by the
fall of a coin the size and weight of which is predetermined and limited by the size
of the slot for its reception.
Daind A L 1
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