IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND DELIVERING TICKETS PACKETS OR OTHER LIKE ARTICLES.
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Henry Harper, of Redditch in the County of
Worcester for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING
AND DELIVERING TICKETS PACKETS OR OTHER LIKE ARTICLES.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Henry Harper at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th January 1883.
THOMAS HENRY HARPER of Redditch in the county of Worcester. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND DELIVERING TICKETS, PACKETS, OR OTHER
LIKE ARTICLES
"
*
These improvements relate to the manufacture of cabinets or receptacles con-
sisting of one or more shelves divided into compartments and closed by hanging or
other lids or doors. On the floor or bottom of each compartment in the respective
shelves a slide is made to work in the following way.
This slide has a flat bed a little longer than the ticket or packet to be extracted
and has an additional lug in front to handle or manipulate with and a continuation
behind projecting into a slide or recess between the bed and its continuation is a
ridge or projection on the upper surface This ridge is perpendicular to the bed in
front but gradually sloping behind. The mode of action is as follows. Each slide
is pushed back till nothing but the lug or handle projects and the space above
filled with tickets, packets, or other articles, as the case may be (hereafter ticket
alone will be mentioned) The lid or cover of the ticket cabinet is now closed
covering the end of all the tickets except the bottom one.
When a ticket from any compartment is required the slide is drawn out till
stopped by a stop on the slide placed in any convenient position. The perpen-
dicular face of the ridge presses the bottom ticket out. There is no danger of the
slide being lifted up by the action of the hand and thus coming in contact with
the cover and so preventing the ticket from being brought out as its continuation
behind sliding in a groove keeps the motion parallel. The ticket being extracted
the slide is pushed back. The sloping back easily repasses below the tickets the
continuation behind remains in its groove and all is right for a fresh operation. In
place of a sloping back a thicker or raised flat projecting piece with surface uniform

page_text: with the top of the ridge can be used and the shape of the slide can be largely
varied yet be similar in essential principle to the form already described. There
should however in all cases be a slide and guides or other form of parallel motion
a flat or gently sloping back and a vertical or hooked ridge or face to the back of
the ticket bed and a stop to prevent the slide being entirely drawn out. There
should also be a hanging flap or other obstruction in front of the bottom ticket but
one, so as to prevent it from being drawn out with the bottom one.
I sometimes arrange a ratchet or catch on the slide so that it shall at each pull
out register one point on a counting apparatus or arrange in the back part of the
slide an apparatus to catch one shot or other counter placed in a chamber above
and deliver it further on through a hole into a locked chamber below. The
number of shot or counters in the locked chamber shows at once the number of
tickets withdrawn as an independent check. This counting mechanism is not
however a necessary part of my apparatus. Any suitable material may be
employed in the construction of these cabinets &c...

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Thomas Henry Harper in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th July 1883.
THOMAS HENRY HARPER of Redditch in the county of Worcester "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND DELIVERING TICKETS, PACKETS OR OTHER
LIKE ARTICLES."
These improvements relate to the manufacture of cabinets or receptacles con-
sisting of one or more shelves divided into compartments and closed by hanging or
other lids or doors. On the floor or bottom of each compartment in the respective
shelves a slide is made to work in the following way.
This slide has a flat bed a little longer than the ticket or packet to be extracted
and has an additional lug in front to handle or manipulate with and a continuation
behind projecting into a slide or recess between the bed, and its continuation is
a ridge or projection on the upper surface. This ridge perpendicular to the bed
in front but gradually sloping behind. The mode of action is as follows. Each
slide is pushed back till nothing but the lug or handle projects and the space above
filled with tickets, packets, or other articles as the case may be (hereafter ticket
alone will be mentioned) The lid or cover of the ticket cabinet is now closed
covering the ends of all the tickets except the bottom one.
When a ticket from any compartment is required the slide is drawn out till
stopped by a stop on the slide placed in any convenient position. The perpendicular
face of the ridge presses the bottom ticket out. There is no danger of the slide being
lifted up by the action of the hand and thus coming in contact with the cover and
so preventing the ticket from being brought out as its continuation behind sliding
in a groove keeps the motion parallel. The ticket being extracted the slide is
pushed back. The sloping back easily repasses below the tickets the continuation
behind remains in its groove and all is right for a fresh operation. In place of a
sloping back a thicker or raised flat projecting piece with surface uniform with the
top of the ridge can be used and the shape of the slide can be largely varied yet
be similar in essential principle to the form already described. There should
however in all cases be a slide and guides or other form of parallel motion a flat or
gently sloping back and a vertical or hooked ridge or face to the back of the ticket
bed and a stop to prevent the slide being entirely drawn out. There should also
be a hanging flap or other obstruction in front of the bottom ticket but one, so as
to prevent it from being drawn out with the bottom one.
I sometimes arrange a ratchet or catch on the slide so that it shall at each pull
out register one point on a counting apparatus or arrange in the back part of the
slide an apparatus to catch one shot or other counter placed in a chamber above and
deliver it further on through a hole into a locked chamber below. The number of
shot or counters in the locked chamber shows at once the number of tickets with-
drawn as an independent check. This counting mechanism is not however a necessary
part of my apparatus. Any suitable materials may be employed in the con-
struction of these cabinets &c.
In the accompanying drawings in which like letters represent like parts. Fig 1
is a front elevation with the doors removed from on half. Fig 2 a vertical cross
section of the apparatus. Fig 3 is a plan. Fig 4 a longitudinal section of the slide
and Figs 5 and 6 like views of a modified form of the slide..
This apparatus can be made like a cabinet, or fixed to a wall or in other suitable
form or manner-It will be best understood by reference to Fig 2 in which A are the
shelves of which there may be any required number B the divisions forming the

page_text: backs of the spaces or receptacles for the tickets, packets, or other articles. C are
the doors which may be hinged at top, bottom, or end or made to slide or be
secured in some other suitable manner. D is the slide (of which there is one to
each compartment or receptacle) and D' a projection formed in or upon it, and
which must be about equal to the thickness of the ticket or other article to be
drawn out D2 is an opening in the front of the apparatus caused by a recess in
the door C or by its being too narrow to close entirely upon the slide D This
space D2 must be just sufficient to allow the free passage of one ticket etcetera only
at one time. Da is a space left in the division B to allow of the projection D'
passing when the slide is pushed in E are the tickets or packets etcetera.
The operation is as follows: The compartments are filled with the tickets,
packets of needles &c from the front and the doors C closed and fastened-A number
or description of the articles contained in each compartment may be placed upon it
as shown to the left in Fig 1-Thus 7 for the number (size) of the needles contained
in each packet of that compartment; Redditch; to signify the name upon the
tickets and so forth. To draw a ticket the finger and thumb of the operator grasp
the fore end of the slide D drawing it sharply forward when the lowest ticket in
that compartment is drawn forward by the projection D', through the opening D²
and falls into the palm of the hand of the operator, this is clearly shown in Fig 2-
This operation can be repeated until all the tickets in each compartment are
drawn out when a fresh supply can be inserted.
The projecting portions D (Fig 5) run in grooves in the compartments and serve
to prevent the slide from being withdrawn altogether-The projections D¹ are
slanted away to the back so as to present a wedge shape to enable the slide to be
easily pushed back after a ticket has been withdrawn.
It will be readily understood that the exact shape and details of construction of
this apparatus can be modified without departing from the spirit of the invention;
and while the invention is specially applicable for delivering railway and other
tickets it will nevertheless be seen that there are many other purposes to which it
may be applied, such as delivering packets of needles, fish hooks, light boxes and
other articles. In Figs 3 and 4 the projections D* are dispensed with and a
recess F and groove G are substituted a screw or equivalent H serving to hold the
slide down and prevent it from being drawn out or pushed in too far.
Instead of drawing out the tickets by hand a spring arrangement can if desired
be employed but for ordinary purposes the hand is quite sufficient
Having thus described the nature of my said invention and the manner of
'performing the same I wish it to be understood that what I claim and desire to
protect under the hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is.
First A receptacle for holding tickets and other articles having a door which
when closed leaves a space between it and the bottom of the receptacle
sufficient to allow of the passage of one ticket or article only at one time,
the tickets being withdrawn one at a time by means of the slide D having
a projection D¹ of sufficient thickness to catch one ticket or article only,
substantially as set forth and illustrated.
Second-The slide D having a projection D¹ tapering off in wedge form at the
back to facilitate its return when a ticket or article has been withdrawn
substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof I Thomas Henry Harper have set my hand and seal this
twenty fifth day of July in the year of Our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
eighty three