Improvements in Check Tills.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Jan., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 6th Nov., 1897-Accepted, 7th Apr., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Check Tills.
I, EZRA LOFTS, of 32, Station Road, Sandown, Isle of Wight, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to check tills such as are described in my previous
Specification No. 10441, dated 1st June 1892, and is an improvement upon the
tills therein described. As shown in Figure 3 of the drawings accompanying
that specification the coin exhibitors were placed one upon each side of the walls
of the till, thus considerably increasing the width of the till at that part; by my
present invention I am able to reduce the cost of production and also to get rid
of these projections, so that the till is the same width-say for example six inches-
throughout its entire length.
In the said previous specification I described the operating of the roller or
drum which draws along the paper upon which the notes of the amounts entered
are written by means of a frame reciprocating in a vertical plane and carrying
wedges which forced round a toothed wheel having inclined teeth; this toothed
wheel was secured upon the axle which carried the paper drum, and the coin
exhibitors, all of which revolved together. In my present invention
adopt the
same means for rotating the paper drum excepting that the frame reciprocates
in a horizontal instead of a vertical plane, and the coin exhibitors are carried
upon a separate axle quite independent of the paper roller, and are rotated by
mechanism which is a duplicate of that which operates the paper drum, and is
connected with it so as to work simultaneously with it.
In the previous specification the coin exhibitors were drums with peripheral
pockets or recesses, partly closed for about half their width by peripheral exten-
sions, or flanges formed upon the partitions which separated the pockets, the
object of these flanges being to close the money slots in the case excepting at
particular positions of coin exhibitors. In the present invention I dispense with
these extensions or flanges, leaving the pockets entirely open, and prevent access
of the coins except at the proper time by means of one or more bars or stops
moving with the operating frame.
The coin exhibitors as they rotate discharge the coins on to a deflector, which
can be turned so as to throw them either into a separate compartment, which may
be locked by a separate key, or into a bowl in the drawer of the .check till. To
cheapen the cost of manufacture I may form the walls of the case or box which
contains the mechanism preferably of cast plates having all the necessary bosses,
grooves, screws and fittings &c. cast in them, grooved and tongued together and
held by nuts placed upon the inwardly projecting screws.
Suitable provision may be made for the drawer and if desired a separate tray
can be placed above the drawer to receive the coins from the coin exhibitors. A
special drawer may have a long handle to operate it by.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Check Tills.
I, EZRA LOFTS, of 32, Station Road, Sandown, Isle of Wight, Engineer, 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:
This invention relates to check tills such as are described in my previous
Specification No. 10441, dated 1st June 1892, and is an improvement upon the
tills therein described. As shown in Figure 3 of the drawings accompanying
that specification the coin exhibitors were placed one upon each side of the walls
of the till, thus considerably increasing the width of the till at that part; by my
present invention I am able to reduce the cost of production and also to get rid
of these projections, so that the till is the same width-say for example six inches-
throughout its entire length.
In the said previous specification I described the operation of the roller or
drum which draws along the paper upon which the notes of the amounts entered
are written by means of a frame reciprocating in a vertical plane and carrying
wedges which forced round a toothed wheel having inclined teeth; this toothed
wheel was secured upon the axle which carried the paper drum, and the coin
exhibitors, all of which revolved together. In my present invention I adopt the
same means for rotating the paper drum excepting that the frame reciprocates
in a horizontal instead of a vertical plane, and the coin exhibitors are carried
upon a separate axle quite independent of the paper roller, and are rotated by
mechanism which is a duplicate of that which operates the paper drum, and is
connected with it so as to work simultaneously with it.
In the previous specification the coin exhibitors were drums with peripheral
pockets or recesses, partly closed for about half their width by peripheral exten-
sions, or flanges formed upon the partitions which separated the pockets, the
object of these flanges being to close the money slots in the case excepting at
particular positions of coin exhibitors. In the present invention I dispense with
these extensions or flanges, leaving the pockets entirely open, and prevent access
of the coins except at the proper time by means of one or more bars or stops
moving with the operating frame.
The coin exhibitors as they rotate discharge the coins on to a deflector, which
can be turned so as to throw them either into a separate compartment, which may
be locked by a separate key, or into a bowl in the drawer of the check till. To
cheapen the cost of manufacture I may form the walls of the case or box which
contains the mechanism preferably of cast plates having all the necessary bosses,
grooves, screws and fittings &c. cast in them, grooved and tongued together and
held by nuts placed upon the inwardly projecting screws.
Suitable provision may be made for the drawer and if desired a separate tray
can be placed above the drawer to receive the coins from the coin exhibitors. Ä
special drawer may have a long handle to operate it by.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a plan of an improved till constructed according to this invention,
and having certain of its upper portions removed to facilitate reference to the
remainder;
Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line 1-1 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a side elevation, with the side of the case removed viewed in the
direction of the arrow in Figure 1, the drawer being released.

page_text: Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section on line 2-2 of Figure 2, the coin-drums
and paper-rollers being removed.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the auxiliary drawer.
Figure 6 is a front elevation of the deflector.
Figure 7 is a side elevation of the same.
Figure S is a perspective view of part of the apparatus shewing a second paper
roll for a purpose hereinafter explained.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
The till is formed with a suitable frame-work or casing A, the four walls of
which are preferably cast each complete with the necessary bolts, bosses, fittings,
etc. so that the whole till may be put together very quickly and with very little
work. Lugs A' are cast on the inside of the long sides of the casing, which serve
to fasten the till to the counter or table.
The bottom portion of the case or box is occupied by a cash drawer B, con-
sisting of a number of cash-bowls B¹, preferably in one casting. This drawer
is provided with flanges-which slide between the ridges A2 and A3 in the side
walls when the drawer is opened or closed. The space above the cash drawer
contains the coin drums, paper rollers and other parts of the mechanism as herein-
after described.
A roll of paper F is provided, carried by a spindle F¹ placed across the box
near the front, the roll being fixed to the spindle by means of a wedge or key F³
or similar device, received in a slot F4 in the spindle. The spindle F¹ is supported
at one end on its lower half only, so that it may be quickly removed. It is kept
in its place by means of a spring F2, which also acts as a brake upon it and
prevents any unnecessary motion of the paper roll F. The paper is wound off
the roll F on to a roller E¹ carried by a spindle E, passing on its way beneath an
opening in the case, and over a bridge piece A9, which forms a support for it
while the amount of purchase is written upon it as hereinafter described.
though in this specification E¹ is termed a roller, and is preferably made as such,
if desired the paper may be wound on to a hollow drum."
Al-
Another spindle D, also placed across the box carries the coin drum D¹, which
consists of one or more drums with peripheral pockets D2, which receive and
exhibit the coins, in the order in which the purchases are made.
Fixed upon the spindles E and D are toothed wheels G and G', the teeth of
which are engaged by wedges or pawls H¹ and H2, on the reciprocating frame H,
which slides between the upper face of the ridge A2 and the lower face of A¹, on
one of the side walls of the box, being kept in place by the plate A6.
It will be noticed that the ridges A2 and A' cast on the side walls of the case,
form guides both on their upper and lower faces, thus simplifying the construction
of the till.
Upon this frame is a square hook H³. A spiral spring I has one end fixed to
the wall of the box at I, and the other end passed over the hook. H³, being so
disposed as to tend always to open the drawer by acting on the frame. The end
of the cash drawer B is furnished with a projection B2 which enters the hollow
part of the hook H³, when the drawer is pushed right home, and consequently
puts the spring in tension; the drawer is shown in this position in Fig. 2. The
frame H carries a horizontal bar H, which extends across the box and is in such
a position that when the drawer B is quite closed it comes directly under the
bar A5 in the top of the box; the bar A5 contains the slots for receiving the
coins, no money can be inserted into the till while the drawer remains closed.
The drawer B is kept closed against the tension of the spring I by means of
the pivotted lever J which falls by gravity and engages in a recess or gap in the
front of the drawer. When the knob J at one end of the lever J is depressed
the bolt constituted by the opposite end of the lever J is raised and the drawer
under the action of the spring is forced outwards and can be pulled out to its
full extent if desired. The tension of the spring I must be at least sufficient to

page_text: ensure the frame H being brought far enough forward to cause the wedges H³
to fully engage the teeth of the wheels G and G¹. The drawer B has upon its
upper surface a projection B³ which upon the drawer being opened catches upon
a bell-lever K, forcing it back against the influence of a spring L. On opening
the drawer still further, this lever is released and thrown back by the spring to
strike the gong M, thus giving audible notice that the drawer has been opened.
A deflector N is placed at the back of the till one of its purposes being to catch
the coins as they are discharged from the coin drum and shoot them into the coin
bowls at the back of the drawer B a further purpose of the deflector being to
retain while the drawer is out any coins that fall on to it from the drum. The
said deflector has two slots N¹, in it, which are placed over the studs projecting
from the back walls of the box, these studs being prolongations of those which
fasten the case together. N is a small spring fixed to the back of the deflector,
which forces it forward when the drawer is out, so as to retain until the drawer
is shut again any coins falling from the drum. The lug or projection N3 upon
the bottom of the deflector is caught by the back of the drawer which, when fully
home, forces the deflector back, compressing the spring N2. The paper roller E¹
is preferably made of wood and provided with a thin strip of brass or other
material, formed so as to spring against it. The end of the paper is inserted
beneath the strip and folded back upon itself above the strip.
The roller E is arranged to have a large amount of end play so that by moving
it towards the side of the till opposite to the frame H, the toothed wheel G may
be entirely disengaged from the driving wedges H¹ H2, and the paper unrolled
or adjusted as desired. To keep the wheel in gear when the till is working, a
lever A is provided, which takes up by its width, the superfluous end play, and,
to lessen the friction, is fitted, where it bears against the end of the paper roller E',
with a small round projection A³.
The drawer B is fitted with a stud B5 which drops loosely into a hole at the back,
and, projecting slightly, catches against the front of the box, thus normally
preventing the drawer from being entirely withdrawn. The coin bowl at the
back of the drawer B, has another bowl B4 placed inside it, which is removable
and retained in its place by pins fitting into holes in the drawer B, the mouth
extending over half the area of the top of the outer bowl, so that while coins
falling say, to the left hand of the centre line, would be received into the bowl B4
those falling to the right would enter the larger bowl B¹.
The bowi B is so shaped that although the area of its mouth is equal to half
that of the larger bowl, yet its cubical contents are much smaller; thus providing
a larger space for, say, silver, than for gold.
A cross bar A5 is provided with two slots one on each side of the centre line,
the coin receiving drum is divided into two separate portions, as seen at D³, Fig. 1,
and the deflector has also a central rib dividing it into two compartments, thus the
till may be used for two kinds of coin, for instance, gold and silver, both classes
being kept distinct all through the operations of the till.
O is an auxiliary coin drawer divided into two compartments 01 and 02 and
having a long handle 0³; it is placed in the box at the extreme back end, and
the coin drawer B inserted afterwards; its purpose is to receive the coins if they
are not intended to be used as change, in which case the deflector N is removed,
thus allowing them to drop directly into the drawer O. If desired one division
of the deflector may be cut away, thus allowing say, the gold to fall directly to
the auxiliary drawer and the silver to be deflected into the bowl B¹, and used as
change.
The top of the till may be formed of glass or partly of glass and partly of cast-
iron, or other material of which the case is made, arranged to slide in grooves
in the sides, preferably so that one sliding piece in the front secured by means
of a lock serves to retain any sliding piece that may be used thus preventing any
access to the interior of the till.

page_text: The operation of the improved till is as follows, starting with the parts in
position in which they are illustrated in Fig. 2, where the drawer is closed :—
A purchase having been made, the attendant writes the amount upon the portion
of the paper passing over the bridge piece A³, but cannot insert the coin tendered
in payment, the slots being closed by the bar H. He then depresses the knob J₁
and releases the drawer, which together with the frame H, moves forward under
the influence of the spring I into the position shown in Fig. 3. The forward
movement of the frame H causes the wedges H² to engage with the teeth of the
wheels G and G¹, consequently the paper roller E' and coin drum D¹ are rotated
in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3, through an angle, equal in this
case, to one-half that of the pitch of the teeth. The slots are simultaneously
opened by the movement of the bar 114 from beneath them in company with the
frame H and the coin being inserted, passes into the topmost receiving pocket
of the coin drum D¹; the drawer may be pulled further out, until stopped by
the stud B and the necessary change taken from the coin bowls.
The drawer is then shut, and the wedges H¹ now engaging the toothed wheels,
the roller E and coin drum 1' are moved further onward by the same amount
as before, that is to say, the total motion produced by opening and closing the
drawer is equal in amount, as the toothed wheels and driving wedges are in this
instance arranged, to the space of one tooth.
The paper being fastened to the roller E', with each movement of it a small
length of the paper is wound off the roll F, on to the roller E¹. It will be seen
that as soon as the drawer is released the portion of the paper with the amount
of the purchase written upon it is drawn over the bridge piece A9 and out of
reach of the attendant.
The coins placed in the pockets D³ are not discharged until the coin drum has
been moved through about 90°, with the result that they are visible through the
glass top in the order in which they were received while several subsequent
operations of the till are completed.
The coin drum may if desired, be cast complete in one piece, with spindle, drum
and toothed wheel, but I prefer to cast it in two halves, and secure them together,
the adjacent sides of the casting forming the transverse division between the
pockets as at D³. Figure 1.
The drum may also have any number of transverse divisions so that the till
can be used for more than two classes of coins, or for coins and tickets.
If it is desired to hand the customer a statement of the amount of his pur-
chase, I may employ two rolls of paper as shown in Fig. 8, where a second paper
roll F5 is provided carried upon a spindle F, placed in the box below the
paper roll F, the two spindles being geared together by a band F7 or similar
device; this second roll may be composed of perforated paper which after passing
over the bridge piece A³ emerges from the till, and may be torn off and handed
to the customer. The bridge piece, is, in this case, provided with a strip of
carbonised ribbon A10 placed between the two papers, thus a carbon copy of any-
thing written upon the upper paper is produced upon the lower one.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In a cash till, a reciprocating driving frame, with two sets of driving
wedges, one set controlling the coin drum and the other a paper roller, which
turns about an axis different from that of the coin drum.
2. In a cash till the combination with a coin drum and paper roller, rotatable
about different axes, between the side walls of the till, of a driving frame, wedges,
and wheels, substantially as and for the purpose described.
3. In a cash till a frame driving or controlling the coin drum and paper roller
whose axes lie in the same horizontal plane the frame reciprocating horizontally.

page_text: 4. A reciprocating frame such as H carrying driving wedges, operatively con-
necting two or more shafts, carrying wheels such as G G¹ substantially as
described.
5. In a cash till, a reciprocating driving frame operated by a spring, when the
cash drawer opens; and by the drawer overcoming the spring when the drawer
closes substantially as described.
6. In a cash till a permanent or removable yielding deflector plate such as N
for the purpose described.
7. In a cash till the combination with a cash drawer of a yielding deflector
plate such as N.
8. In a cash till a sliding shutter such as H4 carried by the frame H sub-
stantially as described.
9. In a cash till the combination with a paper roller E¹ of a spring strip such
as E2 with the aid of which the end of a paper ribbon is secured in the manner
described.
10. In a cash till a removable receptacle such as B4 substantially as and for the
purpose described or illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
11. In a cash till, the combination with the cash drawer of a removable stop,
for the purpose described.
12. In a cash till the combination of two paper rolls such as F F5 geared or
connected together substantially as described so that each is driven and operates
in the manner and for the purpose specified with reference to Figure 8 of the
accompanying drawings.
13. A metal cash till having its separable walls screwed together by bolts or
studs and nuts, without the drilling of any holes.
14. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete cash
till substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in Figures 1
to 7 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this Fifth day of November 1897. .