Improvements in or connected with Coin-freed Mechanism.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Apr., 1894
Complete Specification Left. 21st Jan., 1895-Accepted, 23rd Feb.. 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Coin-freed Mechanism.
We THOMAS THORP of Whitefield near Bury in the County of Lancaster
Engineer, THOMAS GARDINER MARSH of 41 Corporation Street, Manchester
in the County of Lancaster Mechanical Engineer, and JOHN HAYNES of 5 Albert
Drive Aintree near Liverpool in the County of Lancaster, Gas Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to prepayment mechanism for automatic delivery
machines and is more particularly applicable to the mechanism for prepayment
gas meters described in the Specification for our Patent No. 23924 A.D. 1892
but may be used in connection with similar mechanism containing a reciprocating
coin carrier operated by a crank or excentric shaft.
Consumers of gas by prepayment meters of this kind have sometimes smeared
the coin to be inserted into the meter with soap or wax so as to make it stick in
the coin carrier and enable them to work the coin carrier operating the delivery
valve forwards and backwards several times with the same coin and thus defraud
the gas company.
The object of our invention is to prevent this fraud.
This we do by arranging a lever fulcrumed on a convenient part of the frame-
plate of the mechanism and extending across the coin slot in the carrier and
causing the lever to bear upon the top of the coin and push it down upon the coin
race and off the same. For actuating the lever we may use a spring pressing upon
the top of the same and a cam formed or fixed on the crank shaft reciprocating
the coin carrier which acts upon the underside of the lever, and is so formed as
to lift the lever sufficiently for the insertion of the coin when the carrier is drawn
back and allow it to follow the edge of the coin as the shaft is turned and the
coin moves along the coin race and to push it off the end thereof. Or instead of
using a spring we may form the lever with a fork or its equivalent extending under
the crank shaft and shape the cam so that by depressing this fork the lever is
made to push the coin upon the race and off the same.
A similar arrangement of lever actunted by a cam or a cam and spring may
be used in connection with other prepayment mechanism in which a coin carrier is
reciprocated by a cam or excentric shaft.
Dated the
dar of & mil 180.1
improvements in or connected with Coin-freed mechanism.
We, THOMAS THOкP of Whitefield near Bury in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, THOMAS GARDINER MARSH of 41 Corporation Street, Manchester
in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer, and JOHN HAYNES of 5 Albert
Drive, Aintree near Liverpool in the County of Lancaster, Gas Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention relates to prepayment mechanism for automatic delivery machines
and is more particularly applicable to the mechanism for prepayment gas meters
described in the Specification for our Patent No. 23924 A.D. 1892, but may be
used in connection with similar mechanism containing a coin carrier operated by
a crank or eccentric shaft with reciprocating motion or returned to its starting
position before the insertion of another coin.
Consumers of gas by prepayment meters or other automatic delivery machines
of this kind have sometimes smeared the coin to be inserted into the meter or
machine with soap or wax so as to make it stick in the coin carrier and enable
them to work the coin carrier operating the delivery valve or mechanism forwards
and backwards several times with the same coin and thus defraud the gas
company or other purveyor. The object of our invention is to prevent this fraud,
which we effect by arranging a lever operated by a cam or a cam and spring in
such a manner that it ejects the coin from the coin carrier during the forward
movement of the latter and lifts the lever into a position allowing the insertion of
the coin during the return movement of the coin carrier.
On the drawing appended hereunto our invention is shewn applied to the coin
freed mechanism for prepayment gas meters described in our Specification
aforesaid as an instance showing how our invention can be carried out, the special
arrangement or mode of carrying out the invention depending on the general
arrangement of the coin freed mechanism in each case.
On the drawing
Fig. 1 shows an elevation of the coin carrier and parts for actuating the same,
with coin ejecting lever operated by means of a cam in conjunction with a spring.
Fig. 2 a plan of the same.
Fig. 3 and 4 an ejecting lever operated by a cam; in two positions.
In applying our invention we arrange a lever a fulcrumed at a¹ in a stud b
screwed to a part c¹ of the frame plate c of the mechanism, which lever extends
across the coin slot d' of the coin carrier d, which is formed with a cross slot d
for the lever to work in. On the shaft e operating the coin carrier we form or
fix a came which acts upon an arm a³ formed on lever à and holds the lever up
as shewn when the coin carrier d is in the position shewn on the drawing as
required for the insertion of a coin into the apparatus. When after insertion of
a coin the shaft e is turned in the direction indicated by an arrow, the lever a
slips off the camel and is pushed down upon the coin by a spring/fixed upon
a projecting part 2 of the frame plate, so that the coin is pushed down upon
the serrated coin race g and is held down on the same and finally pushed off it
by lever a as the coin carrier is moved to the left. When the coin has been
pushed off and the shaft e is turned back in the opposite direction to bring the
coin-carrier into the coin receiving position, the cam e¹ lifts the lever a again
into its starting position at the top of the coin slot d'.
Instead of using a spring, we may effect the descent of the lever by means of
the lifting cam on the shaft e as shown by Figs. 3 and 4. The arm a is in that
case formed with a curved extension a³ reaching round and round in the shaft e.
When the shaft is turned as indicated by the arrow on Fig. 4, the lever is first
released, and afterwards pulled down into the position Fig. 3 by the back of the
cam acting on the curved part. To facilitate the pushing off of waxed or smeared
coins, the sides of the coin slot d¹ may be corrugated as shewn.
Obviously a separate cam may be used for effecting the down stroke of the
lever and the arrangements modified or the parts replaced by their mechanical
equivalents. A similar arrangement of coin ejecting lever operated by a cam,
or a cam and spring or their equivalents may be applied to other prepayment or
coin-freed mechanism in which the coin carrier is operated by a shaft and returned
to its starting position after each insertion of a coin.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
In mechanism operated by means of a coin inserted thereinto the use and
arrangement of a coin ejecting lever actuated by a cam or a cam and spring or its
or their equivalents substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.
Dated the 19th day of January 1895.
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, and 5, Clayton Square, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.