Improved Means for Preventing Theft from Letter, Money, and Coin-freed Boxes or other Receptacles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 7th July, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 7th May, 1895-Accepted, 7th July, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Preventing Theft from Letter, Money, and
Coin-freed Boxes or other Receptacles.
ELIJAH CADMAN Commissioner of the Social Wing of the Salvation Army
272, Whitechapel Road London, E., do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
A contrivance to prevent the abstraction of coins, paper, or other articles from
money or letter boxes, coin freed machines & other receptacles fitted with this
invention.
The square box contains a bell-shaped pendulum, giving sufficient space to allow
articles to pass, but so arranged as to absolutely prevent abstraction. The
pendulum is suspended on a bar (& is provided with a slot) giving it a vertical,
lateral, or angular motion according to the machine to which it is fixed, which
automatically closes the receiving aperture on the box being tipped.
The box is arranged so that the bell-shaped pendulum rests on the sides as soon
as the box is tipped, thus effecting an automatic closing.
For money boxes it is claimed that the shape of the bell & the arrangement of
the wings absolutely prevents the insertion of a knife or other instrument.
The box is provided with wings fixed to the sides, so arranged as to prevent
articles from passing out into the receiving aperture, & also teeth are provided to
the appliance which prevent the abstraction of articles by string, wire, or other
such.
Improved Means for Preventing Theft from Letter, Money,
Coin-freed Boxes or other Receptacles.
and
ELIJAH CADMAN, Commissioner of the Social Wing of the Salvation Army,
272 Whitechapel Road, London, 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 :-
A contrivance to prevent the abstraction of coins, paper, or other articles from
money or letter boxes, coin-freed machines, and other receptacles fitted with this
invention.
I claim that it is impossible to extract letters from letter boxes for the following
reasons:-The bell-shaped pendulum being provided with serrated edges and with
vertical movements, would on an attempt to withdraw anything attached to a string,
which may be put into the letter-box, immediately rise and close the aperture
against the wings at the sides of the box. The dome shape of the pendulum
making it impossible for a string to be pulled without raising dome, as to get a
string in the body of the letter box, it has to make nearly a right angle with the
anartur

page_text: For money-boxes, the bell-shape of the pendulum prevents money being extracted
by the use of a knife, as on the insertion of same the dome would take it to the
side of the box instead of the aperture for receiving the money, and also if the
money box be tipped, the pendulum will at once come forward and automatically
seal the receiving aperture. The action for coin-freed boxes and other receptacles
would be the same as in the above cases, but would have to be adapted to suit the
requirements of the various articles it was applied to. The dome or other parts
can be made in tin of every description, also from leather, wood, paper or other
materials, capable of being moulded to take certain shapes.
For money boxes the apparatus would be used as follows :-
Fig. 1. To the top of the money box A with an aperture F for inserting coin is
fixed the apparatus B containing the dome-shaped pendulum C having on two sides
the wings EE. The pendulum C hangs on the pin D on which it has an angular
and vertical motion. On the coin being inserted at F it passes into the receiving
box A on either side of the pendulum С past the wings E. E. Should a knife be
inserted at F to abstract the coin, the dome shape of pendulum C will at once
throw the knife across to wing E, thus preventing the entrance of the knife into
the body of the receiving box A.
Fig. 2. Should the box A be tipped or turned upside down to abstract the coin,
the pendulum C at once falls forward until it rests against wings E. E. Fig. 3 thus
effectually and automatically closing the aperture for receiving the coin.
For coin-freed apparatus the box B is provided with a lid similar to A with an.
aperture F. This is placed under the receiving aperture in coin-freed_apparatus
and connected from the aperture in the apparatus to aperture in box B at F by
shoot or grooves when the action of pendulum etc. is the same as for money-
boxes Fig. 2.
For letter boxes, the box B containing the bell-shaped pendulum C provided with
the wings E E is placed under the aperture for letters in letter box. The letters pass
the pendulum C in the same way as money in the boxes for the reception of coin,
but in the event of anyone attempting to abstract letters or articles of any other
description by means of string, wire, or other such mediums, these would at once
catch in the serrated teeth of the bell-shaped pendulum (with which teeth it is in
this case provided) which would rise directly the string or wire was pulled closing
the aperture, cutting the string or wire and thereby effectually preventing letters
being abstracted.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the value of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
That it is impossible to abstract coins, paper, or other articles from money or
letter-boxes, coin-freed machines and other receptacles fitted with the above
invention, as I have shown by Figures 1. 2. 3. & 4 that after the coins, letters or
other articles have passed the aperture provided for their insertion passing from
there through the apparatus, as before described into the receptacle, it is impossible
to abstract said coins, letters, or other articles except by the outlet provided for
the purpose.
CM1005