Improved Means and Apparatus for Stamping and Controlling the Prepayment of Letters and other Objects Sent by Post...
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Nov., 1888.
Complete Specification Left, 26th Sept:, 1889-Accepted, 26th Oct:; 1889,
.PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means and Apparatus for Stamping and Controlling the
Prepayment of Letters and other Objects Sent by Post...
I, JAMES HENRY HANNAY of 33 Porchester Terrace in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
}
My invention relates to means and apparatus for collecting money. in prepayment
of postage on letters and to save expense incurred by the manufacture of postage
stamps and the time of officials devoted to the marking of letters, so as to denote the
district of origin.
For this purpose I provide at each post office and pillar box an automatic apparatus,
whereby a person desirous of posting a letter is enabled to do so by insertion of a
coin into the apparatus. The operation of the coin releases a handle the first move-
ment of which is to open a receptacle for the letter, this letter is then inserted 'but
does not disappear until the handle has been moved a further distance. This further
movement operates mechanism; causing it to be stamped and then to drop into the.
main receptacle, when the handle is caused to return to its normal position, again
locking the apparatus and making it ready to be operated on by another person.
The stamping of the letter not only serves as an acknowledgement that a certain
value has been paid for postage, but it could also be made to give the date of posting
and the name of the district where posted and if necessary could also give a consecutive
number to each letter, such numbering could be made to control the amount of receipts:
By operating in this manner, the time of officials devoted to the stamping of letters
with the district and date stamp would be saved. The date stamp may either be
altered from day to day by clockwork or by hand. There might also be several
apparatus so arranged for stamping letters according to the different prepaid values.
Dated this 29th day of November 1888.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means and Apparatus for Stamping and Controlling the
Prepayment of Letters and other Objects Sent by Post.
I, JAMES HENRY HANNAY of 33 Porchester Terrace in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman, 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 :-
My invention relates to means and apparatus for collecting money in prepayment
of postage on letters and to save expense incurred by the manufacture of postage
stamps and the time of officials devoted to the marking of letters so as to denote the
district of origin.
For this purpose I provide at each post office and pillar box an automatic apparatus
whereby a person desirous of posting a letter is enabled to do so by insertion of a
coin into the apparatus. The introduction of the coin releases a handle by the move-
ment of which the letter is taken in and 'mechanism is operated causing the letter to
be stamped and then to drop into the main receptacle when the handle is caused to
return to its normal position the apparatus being thus locked and ready to be operated
again.
The stamping of the letter serves as an acknowledgement that postage has been paid
and it may also give the date of posting and the name of the postal district and if

page_text: desired it may mark successive letters with running numbers, thus checking the amount
of receipts.
By operating in this manner, the time of officials devoted to the stamping of letters
with the district and date stamp may be saved. Several sets of the apparatus may be
arranged together for stamping letters subject to different rates of postage.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is an elevation partly in section of a pillar
post to one side of which apparatus according to my invention is adapted, the other
side being reserved for the posting of stamped letters in the usual way. Fig. 2 is
a part vertical section to an enlarged scale of the upper portion of the pillar with
the apparatus therein. A is a handle to the axis of which is attached a toothed
segment B having a stud 6 projecting from its side. An arm C freely hanging
catches over the stud b and so prevents the handle A and segment B from being
moved to the positions indicated by the dotted lines A and B₁ except on the
introduction of a penny or other predetermined coin into a slot at D. The coin d
runs down an inclined shoot until it reaches a stud c projecting from the arm C,
and pushing that stud aside moves the arm C towards the dotted position Caway
from the stud b. The handle A can then be pulled and the stud b travelling
along the curved edge c¹ of the arm C pushes C still farther to the right removing
the stud c so far that the coin d drops from the shoot. By the movement of the
handle A and segment B an intermediate segment E is moved and this acting on
a rack on the under side of a table. F causes that table to be drawn into the dotted
position F¹ taking with it a letter L previously laid on the table F. An arm G
is fixed on a rocking shaft g on which are fixed two arms H each of which comes
under a stud projecting from the stem of a spring stamper which is provided with
suitable inking apparatus in the usual manner. The arm G is moved to the position
shewn by a stud f projecting from the side of the table F, and when moved to
that position it is held by a spring stop M which is linked by a rod m to a pin a
on the segment B. When the handle A is pulled fully over, the table F being
then in the position F¹, the catch M is drawn down allowing the arm G to escape,
whereupon the spring of the stamper K causes it to take the position G', the
stamper itself descending and stamping the letter as it lies on the table F¹. On
a stationary pin p is pivotted a rake arm P on which is fitted a sliding sleeve N
having a notch in which is engaged a projection n from the table F. When the
table is moving back to the postion F1 the rake arm P is kept up clear of the
table but when the sleeve N is brought back to the position N¹ where it is stopped,
the projection n¹ still continuing its backward movement escapes from the notch
in N and allows N₁ to descend, the rake arm P thus descending to the position P¹.
When by raising the handle A' to A the table is brought back to the position F, the
letter L lying on it is raked off by the hook end of the arm P and falls down as
indicated at L, into the receptacle below. The coins d as they drop from the shoot
might be conducted by a second inclined shoot into a tube T, as indicated in
Fig. 1, where they would remain piled on one another in the order in which they
descendeded. The letters, if consecutively numbered by the stamper could have their
running numbers compared with the number and order of coins in the tube T,
and it could thus be ascertained which if any of the letters had been introduced
by means of a false coin or substitute for a coin, the position of the false coin or
substitute in the tube corresponding with the number of the letter introduced by
its means.
I prefer to employ two stampers K one to act on each end or side of
the letter.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The herein described method of stamping and controlling the prepayment of
letters and the like sent by post, by placing the letter on an external sliding table,
introducing a coin and thereby releasing a handle, then moving the handle so as to
slide the table and letter into the interior of a receptacle, effecting thereby the stamping
of the letter and its delivery into the receptacle.

page_text: 2. For operating in the manner above referred to, the combination of a coin
released handle, a sliding table and stamping apparatus, substantially as described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 26th day of September 1889
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.