Improved Coin Freed Game.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Coin Freed Game.
I, ERNEST GEORGE MATTHEWSON, of 31, Palace Road, Upper Norwood, in the
County of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:
The object of my invention is to provide means for playing a miniature game
of cricket with a machine so constructed that it cannot be operated unless a coin
or the like is inserted in the machine. And to carry my invention into effect
I construct my improved coin freed cricket game as follows:-
The general arrangements of case, field, operating handles, coin freed or
operated mechanism and means for delivering the ball upon the field are
similar to those of my football game for which Letters Patent were granted to
me No. 9731 1896 but instead of the cranks attached to the spindles of the
operating handles actuating the legs of two football players, one of the handle
spindles is connected by levers and connecting rods arranged to actuate a bowler
and the other handle spindle is connected by levers and connecting rods to
actuate a batsman and in place of the goals in my football game stumps are
fitted. The shape or contour of the field or ground plate of the machine is
varied so as to cause the ball to run down to a position in front of the bowler
and in front of the batman's stumps there is an opening in the field for the ball
to fall through and if the bowler is so actuated as to cause the ball to hit the
batman's stumps the ball falls down through this opening and is lost to the
players until another coin is inserted in the machine to deliver the ball again
on the field, in this case the ball is led by channels underneath the machine into
the delivery bucket in a similar manner to that in my football game herein-
before referred to. The action of the bowler is as follows:-
One leg is fixed to the field or ground plate and this fixed leg is hinged at
the knee to the thigh which is again hinged to the body, the other leg is in one
piece with the body and is continued by a lever below the foot, this lever passes
through the ground plate and is pivotted just below it, and its extremity is
connected to a connecting rod attached to the crank upon the operating handle
spindle so that when the operating handle is depressed the crank forces the con-
necting rod back which in turn tilts the body of the man forward, the con-
necting rod is carried beyond the position where the lever from the man's leg
is pivotted and the crank on the handle spindle is below the centre and so
arranged that the action of putting the lever from the man's leg backwards also
depresses the extended end, thus. the connecting rod forms a lever as well. To
this extended end a rod is attached which passes up the leg of the man and is
connected inside his body to the bowling arm which is hinged at the shoulder
so that the combined action by one depression of the operating handle causes
the bowler to lean forward which brings the hand of the bowling arm nearly
on a level with the ground and at the same time causes the arm to move sharply
forward which in turn strikes the ball which rolls to a position in front of the

page_text: bowler arranged for this purpose. When the bowler has been caused to strike
the ball, the person actuating the batsman must be ready to actuate the batsman.
so as to strike the ball with his bat. The action of the batsman is somewhat
similar to that of the bowler but in this case both legs are fixed and in one
piece with the lever which passes through the ground, this lever is likewise
pivotted just below the surface so that the movement of the lever causes a slight
rocking motion to the whole of the body of the man. The lever from the man's
legs is connected by a rod to the crank upon the second handle spindle which
is likewise below the centre so that in pushing the lever from the man's legs
backwards the connecting rod is raised. About midway of this connecting rod
another connecting rod is attached and this rod runs up through one of the
legs of the man, the upward movement of the connecting rod from the crank
is utilized to raise this second connecting rod which is carried up the leg and
through the body of the man to one of the arms, this arm is pivotted to the
shoulder and the upward movement of the connecting rod causes the arm to be
thrust sharply forward. In one piece with this arm is the bat, the forearm
of the other arm of the man is fixed to the bat handle and the upper arm is
pivotted to it at the elbow and also at the wrist and shoulder of the man so
that the movement of the operating handle causes the man to lean forward and
combined with this movement is the movement of the arms carrying the bat.
The countour of the field is so arranged that in the event of the batsman being
actuated to bat the ball to the boundry, the ball rolls through an opening in the
ground plate upon a tray supported upon a lever, this lever is in connection
with a scoring board at the back of the case. Behind an opening in this scoring
board a dial is spindled which has a blank space and figures upon it, the tray
lever has a pawl upon it which engages this dial and when the lever is depressed
by the weight of the ball it moves the dial one, notch forward which changes the
score and the depth of the notch or tooth allows the tray lever to fall a certain
distance only, this distance causes the tray with the ball in it to come opposite
an opening in the back of the raised part of the field forming the boundry and
it rolls off the tray through this opening to a position in front of the bowler,
when a given number of boundry hits have been made preferably three the
notch or tooth of the dial into which the pawl falls is cut much deeper thus
allowing the tray on the end of the lever containing the ball to fall to a much
lower position and when this occurs the ball rolls off upon another tray under
the ground plate which releases the coin and returns it to the user in a similar
manner to that of my football game herein before referred to.
Other openings may be made in the ground plate through which the ball may
be lost to the players besides the one in front of the batsmans stumps if desired,
the contour of the ground being made to cause the ball to run into them if it
falls in certain places, fielders would preferably be fixed in these positions and
the result would be the same as if the ball had been caught, wherever the ball
goes through it is led by channels to the delivery bucket so that upon the in-
sertion of another coin the operation of the handle delivers it again upon the
field.
If preferred the scoring board may be done away with and in this case I
modify the arrangement of the machine as follows:-
Instead of the coin operated mechanism operating upon the insertion of one
coin or the like I construct it to require the insertion of two as follows:
Opposite the coin slot inside the machine a special coin shoot is arranged just
above the ordinary shoot for delivering the coin between the discs which in
this case is slightly lowered, the purpose of this special coin shoot is to dispose
of the first of the two coins necessary to operate the machine. This special coin
shoot is pivoted so that when in its normal position opposite the coin slot, the
end nearest the coin slot is the heavier and it rests in that position, but when a
coin is inserted, it slides down the special shoot and is retained at its opposite end
by a projecting wire and being held in this position it causes the end farthest

page_text: from the coin slot to overbalance by the weight of the coin and consequently
the special shoot that covered the ordinary shoot is raised out of the way so
that the second coin when inserted falls down between the discs in the ordinary
way and allows the mechanism to be operated. The action of the loose disc
which partly revolves when a coin is between the discs, through the operation
of the handle outside the machine, is used to release the clip on the far end of
the special shoot, when tilted by the first coin, so as to release the first coin
by withdrawing the clip and this allows the first coin to fall off the end of the
special shoot and it falls by its own weight to its normal position ready to receive
the next first coin. The lower channels described in my football game patent.
conducting the ball direct back to the delivery bucket, are dispensed with and
the upper channels only retained, thus causing the ball to go into the tray of
the lever which returns the coin to the user every time it comes through any
of the openings in the ground or over the boundry, the channels being arranged
for this purpose, so that in every case the first coin inserted is retained by
the machine and the second coin is always returned to the players, thus it would
be claimed by the bowler if the ball hits the stumps and falls through the hole
in front of them, or if the ball goes through any of the holes in front of the
fielders and by the batsman if the ball is batted over the boundry.
Dated this 13th day of July 1800
H. T. TALLACK,
Agent for Applicant, 10, Great Turnstile, Holborn, London, W.C.
I, ERNEST GEORGE MATTHEWSON, of 31, Palace Road, Upper Norwood, in the
County of Surrey, England, Engineer, do, hereby declare the nature of this in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:
1
The object of my invention is to provide means for playing a miniature game
of cricket with a machine so constructed that it cannot be operated unless a coin,
coins, or the like are inserted in the machine and to carry my invention into
effect I construct my improved coin freed cricket game as follows, reference
being made to the accompanying drawings of which Fig. 1 Sheet 1 is a front
elevation with the front of the case of the machine removed, Fig. 2 Sheet 2
is a plan of the machine taken under the field, Fig. 3 Sheet 3 is a plan and
Fig. 4 Sheet 3 an elevation of the field, and Fig. 5 Sheet 4 is a general view
of the complete machine; Figs. 6 and 7 Sheet 4 an elevation and plan of bucket
lever for disposing of 1 coin when two are required to operate the machine.
Figs. 8 and 9 Sheet 5 are side elevations of the figures of the batsman and
bowler respectively and Figs. 10 and 11 are two further views of the bucket
lever for disposing of the first coin; Fig. 10 being an elevation of the lever and
one side of the coin bucket which is in one piece and Fig. 11 being the other
side of the bucket which is pivoted to the former. Fig. 12 is a diagram show-
ing the action of the bowlers arm.
The general arrangements of case, field, operating handles, coin freed or
operated mechanism and means for delivering the ball upon the field and con-
ducting it from the field to the delivery mechanism are similar to my coin
freed or operated football game for which Letters Patent were granted to me
No. 9731 of 1896, but instead of the cranks A and B attached to the spindles C
and D of the operating handles actuating the legs of two football players, one

page_text: of the handle spindles is connected by its crank A to levers F and G and con-
necting rod H arranged to actuate a bowler I and the other handle spindle
is connected by its crank B to lever K and connecting rod E and connecting
rod L to actuate a batsman M, and in place of the goals in my football game
stumps N N are fitted. The shape or contour of the field or ground plate 0 of
the machine is varied from that of my football game hereinbefore referred to
and is made as shown at Figs. 3 and 4 Sheet 3 the arrows shown upon the plan
Fig. 3 indicating the direction of the various slopes. These slopes cause the
ball to run to different positions as required by the game, and the circular
holes P and P₁ shown are heles through which the hall may be lost to the
players. For instance, when the ball is delivered upon the field by the operating
handle after a coin, coins, or the like have been inserted in the machine the
contour of the field causes it to roll to a position in front of the bowler I, and
when by repeating the movement of the operating handle the bowler is caused
to strike the ball it is sent in the direction of the batsman M. Should the
person operating the batsman fail to bat the ball it will hit the stumps and fall
down through the hole in front of the stumps and be conducted by the channels Q
to the delivery bucket R and the game is lost to the batsman. Should, however,
the batsman be made to strike the ball it may go to any part of the field and
by the peculiar contour of the ground or field it will always run either back
to the bowler to be played with again or to one or other of the holes through the
field, those at the extreme ends counting boundary hits and those in the other
parts counting caught out; in either case when the ball goes through either
hole it is led by the channels Q back to the delivery bucket ready to be rede-
livered upon the field upon the insertion of a coin coins or the like, in a similar
manner to that in my football game.
The action of the bowler I is as follows. The lower part of one leg is pivoted
to the field or ground plate and is hinged at the knee to the thigh which is
again hinged to the body; the other leg is in one piece with the body and is
continued by a lever G below the foot. This lever passes through the ground
plate and is pivotted at G¹ just below it and its extremity is connected to a
lever attached to the crank A upon the operating handle spindle so that when
the operating handle is depressed the crank actuates the lever F which in turn
tilts the bowler's body forward. The lever F is carried beyond the position
where the lever G from the man's leg is pivotted and the action of putting the
Jever from the man's leg backward also depresses the extended end. To this
extended end a connecting rod H is attached which passes up the leg of the man
and is connected inside his body with the bowling arm which is hinged at the
shoulder so that the combined action by one depression of the operating handle
causes the bowler to lean forward which brings the hand of the bowling arm
nearly on a level with the ground and at the same time causes the arm to move
sharply forward which in turn strikes the ball which rolls to a position in front
of the bowler arranged for this purpose.
When the bowler has been caused to strike the hall the person actuating the
batsman must be ready to actuate the batsman so as to strike the ball with his
bat. The action of the batsman may be similar to the bewler or both legs may
be fixed to the ground as shown in the drawing and the action of the crank B
attached to the handle spindle causes connecting rod E and the lever K to first
slightly raise and then draw down the connecting rod L which is carried up
through one of the legs of the batsman and actuates the upper part
of the body which is pivotted at M' in the centre and carries with
it in one piece the arms and bat. This action causes the bat to be first put a
little backwards and then brought smartly forward thus imitating nearly the
action of a man batting. Models of fielders may be placed near the holes P¹
if desired.
If it is desired to make the machine so that two coins are required to free or
operate if I arrange a special lever between the coin slot through which the

page_text: coins are put into the machine and the discs between which the coin falls in the
ordinary way as described in my football game patent, the object of this lever
is to carry a special bucket to dispose of the first of the two coins that are
necessary to operate or feed the machine and it is constructed as follows. A
lever S is pivotted near its centre parallel with the front of the case and one
end has a special bucket T attached, the lever is weighted so that the bucket
end is the lighter consequently is kept raised in a position opposite the coin
slot of the machine so that when a coin is inserted it falls straight into this bucket,
the weight of the coin causes the bucket end then to be the heavier and it consequently
falls down below the coin slot so that the next coin inserted goes over the top
of the bucket and falls in the usual way between the coin discs and allows the
mechanism to be operated. Having disposed of the first coin to allow the second
to operate the machine in the usual manner it is necessary to further dispose
of the coin in the bucket to make room for the next and also to release the
weight so that the lever may bring it up again opposite the coin slot and this
is done by having one side U of the bucket hinged or pivotted at V and this has
a projecting piece W which is caught by one of the pins on the coin discs upon
being partially rotated by the operation of the handle spindle, and this opens one
side of the bucket and allows the coin to fall out into a suitable receptacle and
it is retained by the machine.
When this arrangement is used the ball on leaving the field is made to always
pass into the tray for delivering the coin to the user as described in my football
patent and the lower channels conducting the ball direct to the delivery bucket
described in my football game patent are done away with so that with this two
coin machine one coin always retained by the machine and the other always
returned to the user thus it would be claimed by the bowler if the ball goes
through the hole in front of the stumps or through either of the holes in front
of the fielders as caught out, and by the batsman if it goes through either
boundary hole or the hole behind the batsmans stumps.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to he performed I declare that what
I claim is:—
1. The use in combination with coin or the like freed or operated machines
of models of men to represent a cricket bowler and a cricket batsman these said
models being actuated by cranks levers and connecting rods substantially as
herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. The use in combination with coin or the like freed or operated machines
of an undulating field so formed as to cause the ball to roll to the various posi-
tions required substantially as herein described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.
3. The use in combination with com freed or operated machines of the balance
lever Scarrying bucket T having a moveable side U for the purpose of dis-
posing of the first coin when two are desired to be used to allow the machine
to be worked substantially as herein described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.
H. T. TALLACK,
Agent for Applicant, 10, Great Turnstile, Holborn, London, W.C.