Improvements relating to Apparatus for Receiving Coin and for Delivering Goods in Exchange therefor.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Nov., 1892-Accepted, 18th Feb., 1893
[Communicated from abroad by STOLLWERCK BROTHERS, of Cologne-on-the-
Rhine, in the Empire of Germany.]
Improvements relating to Apparatus for Receiving Coin and for
Delivering Goods in Exchange therefor.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake and Co. Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 apparatus for automatically delivering goods in
exchange for coin, the object of the invention being to add to the attractiveness of
such apparatus as a means for inducing the public to make use of the same.
The said invention consists in the combination, with an automatic delivery
apparatus for the delivery of packages, of a toy figure, the said figure being, upon
the insertion of a coin into the apparatus, automatically actuated so as to execute
any kind of movement or movements, preferably such as will appear to have some
reference to the package subsequently delivered by the apparatus.
By way of example I will assume the toy figure to represent a fortune teller
seated at a table covered with cards, and that upon a coin being inserted into the
apparatus the fortune teller will be caused to move her arm above the cards and to
move her head and her mouth as if talking and telling the fortune of the party who
inserted the coin, as revealed to her by the cards before her on the table. I will
further assume each of the packages, containing any article of sale to be sold by
the apparatus, to have a prophetical rhyme or verse printed thereon, which will
thus convey the idea of being the particular prophecy pronounced by the fortune
teller immediately after the insertion of the coin into the apparatus and immediately
before the delivery of the respective package.
In the accompanying drawing I have shown by way of example how my said
invention may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure is a front elevation of the delivery apparatus, the front wall of the
casing being removed to show the arrangement of the mechanism therein and the
front as well as the upper portion of the package magazine being removed.
Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line x-y, Figure 1, seen in the direction of
the arrow 1, the dress of the figure and one of its arms being removed.
Figure 3 is a similar section on the same line, seen in the direction of the arrow 2,
different portions being broken away in each of the figures.
Figure 3 is a sectional view, seen in the same direction as Figure 3, showing a
portion which is broken away in Figure 3.
A designates a casing containing the actuating mechanism for the delivery and
for the toy figure B, the head of the latter being movably mounted above a
standard C projecting through an opening in the top portion of the casing from
below. On one side of the casing and on top of the same is mounted the
magazine N for the packages to be delivered. D is the guideway for the coin to be
inserted which actuates the mechanism of the apparatus. Opposite the lower
lateral opening of the said guideway is mounted a pocket D¹ in such a manner as
to receive the coin upon the latter leaving the guideway. The said pocket is
rigidly attached to the end of the lever E pivoted at E' to the standard F, the
said lever being so balanced that the weight of the coin entering the pocket D' will
depress the forward end of the said lever and cause the opposite end to be raised.
This rear end is provided with a downwardly projecting arm E2 engaging the cam F¹

page_text: rigidly mounted on the shaft G. whilst the other arm engages a lever F4 pivoted
with its lower end to the rear wall of the casing A.
Within the smaller casing H, contained in the large casing A, is mounted a
suitable clock mechanism, the same being so connected with the shaft G as to rotate
the same when the said mechanism is released in a manner to be more fully herein-
after described. It is obvious that the said clock mechanism may be of any of the
numerous and well known kinds for which reason the same need not be more
particularly herein referred to and shown in the drawing. H' is the double winged
governor of the clock mechanism which, in the usual and well known manner,
controls the action of the clock mechanism inasmuch as, when released and allowed
to rotate, it will allow the clock mechanism to rotate and to correspondingly actuate
the shaft G, or, if stopped, will keep the clock mechanism from rotating and from
actuating the shaft G. In the position of rest of the lever E the arm E³ of the
latter will hold the lever F in such a position as to bear against one of the wings
of the governor H' and thus prevent it from operating. At the same time the
arm E2 of the lever E will, in the position of rest of the latter, engage one of the
notches of the cam F¹ of the shaft G, thus keeping the latter from rotating even in
case the governor should fail to operate properly.
Upon a coin inserted into the guideway having dropped into the pocket D¹ and
lowered the same so far until the latter has passed the lower edge of the said
guideway, the coin, being no longer supported in the pocket, will drop down to the
bottom of the casing A. At the same time, when the rear end of the lever E is
raised, in consequence of the forward end being depressed by the coin, the arm E³
will raise the lever F into such a position as to bring the same out of engagement
with the governor H', thus allowing the latter to rotate under the action of the
clock mechanism which will thus have been released.
Simultaneously with the raising of the rear end of the lever E and the releasing
of the governor and clock mechanism, the lower arm E2 will be withdrawn from the
notch of the cam F thus bringing the shaft G fully under the influence of the
clock mechanism. The said shaft and with it the cam F¹ will accordingly be rotated
in the direction of the arrow 3. Subsequently, that is to say, when the coin,
having dropped out of the pocket D', will allow the forward end of the lever to be
raised again and the rear end of the lever to return to its previous position, this will
be prevented by the arm E2 now striking the peripheral portion of the cam F1,
which will keep the lower end of the lever E, and hence also the lever F4, at such
a height as to prevent the clock mechanism from being arrested.
While the shaft G now continues to rotate and thereby to actuate the other
mechanisms of the apparatus in a manner to be more fully hereinafter explained,
the arm E2 will ride upon the peripheral portion of the rotating cam F' until, upon
the completion of a half revolution of the shaft and cam, the next notch on the
cam coincides with the said arm. At this moment the arm E² will drop into the
said notch, thus preventing the cam F¹ and its shaft G from rotating any farther,
and causing the rear end of the lever E to be lowered under the influence of its
own weight. This will cause the lever F to be lowered likewise so as to project
into the line of movement of the wings of the governor H' and the latter as well
as the clock mechanism will be stopped.
I will now describe in what manner the figure B and the delivery of the packages
from the magazine N are operated during the half revolution of the shaft G.
On the shaft G is rigidly mounted a drum J having an endless peripheral cam
groove J extending in zigzag course all around the said drum. Directly in front
of the drum is arranged an upright shaft K, pivoted with its lower end in a
socket K¹ fastened to the bottom of the casing. The said shaft extends through
an opening in the top of the casing and through another opening or bearing
provided in the horizontal top portion of the standard C. The head of the
figure B is pivoted at K2 to the upper end of the upright shaft C so as to be
capable of being rocked thereon in a forward and backward direction, whilst a
movement on its vertical axis may be imparted to the head by correspondingly

page_text: moving the shaft K. Below the head an arm B2, extending with its lower end
towards the surface of the table B³ in front of the toy figure, is connected with
the shaft K in such a manner as to be likewise moved in a horizontal plane when
the shaft K is swung on its axis. A horizontal arm K³ rigidly attached with one
end to the shaft K extends with its free end into the cam groove J¹ of the drum J
and follows the direction of the said groove upon the drum being rotated. It will
thus be seen that a rotary movement of the drum will cause the shaft K to
oscillate and in turn to correspondingly move the head of the figure B.
J2 are pegs provided on one of the end surfaces of the drum J on opposite sides
of the centre thereof, the said pegs being so arranged with regard to a curved
lever L pivoted with its one end at L' to the bottom of the casing A that during
each half revolution of the drum J one of the pegs will engage the said lever,
pressing it aside during the first part of the rotary movement of the drum and
subsequently allowing it to slowly return to its original position as the respective
peg gradually recedes from the lever again. This lever is hung to the lower end
of a string L the upper end of which is attached at L³ to the head of the figure B.
The result of this arrangement is that the movements of the lever L will be
transmitted to the head of the figure in such a manner as to cause the same to
swing on its pivot K². The head is, in a manner well known in the art of making
toy figures, formed with a movable lower jaw. To the latter is attached at M³ one
end of a string M² the other end of which is fastened to a curved spring M secured
with its lower end at M' to the bottom of the casing A. The free end of the said
spring projects into the line of movement of two serrated lugs or portions J³
provided on opposite sides of the centre at or near the periphery of the drum J.
During each half revolution of the drum one of these serrated portions will engage
the spring M in such a manner as to alternately depress and release the same.
These movements will, by means of the string M² be transmitted to the lower jaw
of the toy figure thus giving the same the appearance of talking.
It will thus be seen that during the half revolution of the shaft G which takes
place upon a coin being deposited in the apparatus, the toy figure will execute the
following movements, that is to say: It will slowly move its head backward and
forward, it will turn its head alternately to one side and the other and let its arm
pass over the table alternately to one side and the other, and it will move its lower
jaw as if talking.
The delivery mechanism of the apparatus is arranged and actuated as follows,
that is to say:
The package magazine N consists of two compartments N' and N2 containing the
cylindrical packages one on top of the other. Each of the compartments has a
lower opening sufficiently large to allow one package to drop through the same.
Immediately below the openings is arranged a carriage P, the same being rigidly
attached to the upper end of a lever Q pivoted at Q to the side of an inclined
guideway T, the latter being designed to convey the packages to the outside of the
apparatus where they may be taken by the buyer. The said carriage P has the
shape of a curved frame both lateral portions of which are connected by a cross
plate or piece P¹. The latter, in the position shown in Figure 2, supports the,
packages in both compartments and prevents their falling through the lower
openings in the latter.
The top of the guide-way T is partly covered by a plate T¹ which, in the position
shown, closes the carriage P from below sufficiently to prevent any package from
dropping therefrom into the guideway T below. The lower end of the lever Q is
formed with a guide slot Q2 which engages the crank R of the shaft G. Thus,
when the shaft G executes a half revolution in the direction of the arrow 4, Figure 2,
the upper end of the lever Q and with it the carriage P will move to the right.
The cross piece P₁ on the plate will accordingly recede from the lower opening of
the compartment N¹ and allow the lowermost package in the latter to drop into the
position indicated by O' in which position, however, the said package will, during
the further movement of the carriage to the right, be prevented from dropping into

page_text: the guideway T below by the plate T¹, whilst the package 02, which during a
previous movement of the carriage to the left has reached the corresponding
position (to 0) in the other side of the carriage, will, as soon as the carriage has
moved sufficiently far beyond the right hand edge of the supporting plate T¹, drop
down into the guideway T below to be conveyed by the same to the outside of the
apparatus and there delivered to the buyer.
By this time the shaft G will have completed a half revolution and the mechanism
will be stopped as already described. When the carriage upon the insertion of a
fresh coin begins to move to the left again the next lowermost package in the
compartment N2 will assume the position indicated by O2 and, upon the carriage in
its further movement to the left arriving sufficiently far beyond the left edge of
the plate T, the package O¹ will drop over the left edge of the plate T' and will
be conveyed outside the apparatus in the same manner as already described with
reference to the previous package.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents I declare that what I claim is :-
First. An apparatus for automatically delivering packages in exchange for coin,
having a package magazine and a package delivery mechanism, a toy figure
normally held in a position of rest and means as described for imparting a
contemporary movement to the said toy figure and for subsequently actuating the
delivery mechanism by the weight of a coin inserted into the apparatus, substantially
as and for the purpose described.
Second. In an apparatus for automatically delivering goods in exchange for coin
the combination, with a package magazine and mechanism for causing a package or
packages to be discharged from the same upon the insertion of a coin into the
apparatus, of a toy figure normally held in a position of rest and means for
imparting a temporary movement to the said toy figure from the said mechanism,
substantially as and for the purpose described.
Third. In a casing the combination, with a shaft mounted therein, of a clock
mechanism adapted, when operated, to rotate the said shaft, means for temporarily
operating the clock mechanism by the weight of a coin, a drum such as J adapted
to be rotated by the said shaft and a carriage such as P adapted to have a
reciprocating movement imparted to it from the said shaft, all substantially as and
for the purpose described.
Fourth. In an apparatus for automatically delivering goods in exchange for
coin, the combination, with a package magazine having two lower discharge
openings for the packages, of a carriage or frame, means for temporarily moving
the latter below the said openings alternately from one side to the other, means for
retaining the package discharged from one of the magazine openings during each
passage of the carriage into one of its end positions and means as described for
causing the respective package to drop from the said carriage upon the latter being
moved into its other end position again, substantially as and for the purpose
described.
Fifth. The carriage P having a cross piece P¹ substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to Figure 2 of the drawing.
Dated this 25th day of November 1892
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.