Improvements in Liquid Dispensing Apparatus.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 28th Mar., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Liquid Dispensing Apparatus.
I WILLIAM MILES FOWLER of Stamford in the County of Fairfield and
State of Connecticut, United States of America, Manufacturer, 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 improvements in liquid dispensing apparatus, in which
provision is made for dispensing any desired number of portions from one or several
supply receptacles, and finally printing a ticket which shall designate the sum total
of the prices of the several portions dispensed under one order, and registering the
sum total of the prices or number of portions dispensed under successive orders
throughout the day, week, month, year, or other length of time, as may be
required.
A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying
drawings, in which,-
Fig. 1 represents a portion of the front of a bar, showing four different
dispensing levers and the printing lever;
Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same;
Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, in front elevation, of the operative parts under the
control of the printing lever, and of the several dispensing levers for printing and
registering;
Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the same;
Fig. 5 is a view of the same, in end elevation ;
Fig. 6 is a view, in vertical transverse section, from front to rear on the line xx
of Fig. 4;
Fig. 7 is a view, in vertical longitudinal section, on the plane of the line y y of
Fig. 6;
Fig. 8 is a view in detail, in side elevation, of the dollar printing wheel and the
pawl and stop which coact therewith.
The bar is represented by A, and is provided at suitable intervals with slots a, a¹,
a, a, for the reception of dispensing levers B, B1, B2, B3, which connect with
suitable mechanism for measuring and discharging a portion of liquid in a suitable
manner.
The several dispensing levers B, B', etc., are arranged to operate a common
shaft C each time any one or more of them is or are depressed, and it is to the
results produced by the rotary movement. of the common shaft C, under the
successive impulses of the dispensing levers, for purposes of printing and
registering, that my present invention is more particularly directed.
At or near the point where the printing and registering mechanism is located,
the shaft C is provided with a spur wheel c, fixed to rotate therewith, and geared
with a pinion d on the shaft D, arranged to operate a set of registering wheels, d',
d², d, d, ds, de; in the present instance, six of them; each carrying a succession
of ten figures from zero to nine inclusive, and representing units, tens, hundreds,
thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands.
The means by which each successive wheel to the left is rotated one step, when
the wheel to the right has completed a revolution, may be of any well known
or approved form, such as is commonly employed in connection with a series of
registering wheels. The arrangement is such, that every time one of the dispensing
levers is depressed, the register will be advanced one unit, so that, for my present
purpose, the register will indicate at any time the sum total of portions which have

page_text: been dispensed. As indicated in Fig. 2, the number of portions which have been
dispensed amounts to 71,474.
In connection with this subject-matter, I would say that, for my present purpose,
my price unit is five cents, and this corresponds to a single portion, so that the
amount of cash which should be paid to correspond to the number of portions, may
be easily ascertained by simply multiplying the number of portions by five. If a
dispensing lever were employed to dispense a portion having the value set at
ten cents, or fifteen cents, or some multiple of five, its connection would be so made
with the shaft C, that the latter would be rotated, when such lever was operated
twice or three times, as far as where the price of the portion was five cents, so that
the number of units denoting the portion would still each represent a value of
five cents.
It is obvious, of course, that any other unit value than the one which
I have adopted may be made use of, if so desired.
Each time the shaft C is rotated under the impulse of any one or more of the
dispensing levers, its spur wheel c acts upon a spur wheel e fixed to rotate with a
shaft E, and therefore rotates a shaft E a predetermined distance. The shaft E
has a frictional engagement with a pair of type wheels F, F1, the former carrying
type-denoting cents, and the latter carrying type-denoting dollars. The type on
the wheel Fis arranged to represent the numbers from zero to ninety-five at
intervals of five, riz.: zero, five, ten, fifteen, etc. The dollar wheel F¹ represents
the numerals from zero to nine inclusive, at intervals of one.
The particular meaus which I have adopted for connecting the type wheels with
the shaft E, so that they may move simultaneously or either one move relatively
to the other one, are as follows:-The shaft E has a section E¹ separate from E,
the section E' being provided with a socket e in its end, for the reception of an
extended tongue el on the section E. The section E is provided, at the base of the
tongue e', with a laterally extending flange e, and the section E is provided with a
corresponding flange e, separated from the Hange e2 by an interposed washer or
layer G of some suitable material, such, for example, as leather or rubber, for
increasing the frictional resistance between the surfaces. The wheels F and F are
mounted so as to rotate on the shaft E, when compelled to do so, and are separated
by a disc g of some suitable material, such, for example, as leather or rubber, for
increasing the frictional resistance between the adjacent ends of the hubs of the
wheels. The disc g' is keyed to the shaft section E in any well known manner, as
by a feather and groove, so as to rotate positively with the said shaft section. The
wheel F has, fixed to rotate therewith, a stop wheel or disc H (shown in side
elevation in dotted lines in Fig. 6), and the wheel F¹ has, fixed to rotate therewith,
a stop wheel H' (shown in detail in Fig. 8). The wheels or discs H H' might be
formed integral with the type wheels FF', if so desired. The stop wheel or dise H
has interposed between it and the adjacent face of the flange c³, a disc or layer g
of suitable material, such, for example, as leather or rubber, for the purpose of
increasing the frictional contact between the surfaces. The stop wheel or disc H
has an extended hub portiou h, which is received within a cup-shaped bearing I,
and balls are interposed between the hub and the interior of the cup I, to give
the wheel F a ball bearing at that end. The stop wheel H is provided with one
tooth or abutment h', against which a spring actuated dog 2 operates to prevent
the wheel F from rotating in a backward direction past the point which presents
the zero type on its face in position to print. The said wheel F may, however,
rotate in a forward direction one or more revolutions, without interruption by the
dog h².
The stop wheel or disc H is provided with a series of ratchet teeth h
corresponding to the digits from one to nine, inclusive, and with a square faced
tooth h, corresponding to the zero type. A spring-actuated dog ³, in engagement
with teeth h³, prevents the wheel F from a backward movement past the poin
where its type will print zero, but permits it to move in the opposite direction
freely. A spring-actuated hook pawl is constructed to operate simultaneously
with a corresponding hook pawl h', the two being constructed rigid with respect t

page_text: each other, the one h (see Fig. 8) being in position to engage successively the
ratchet teeth 3 on the stop wheel H' and prevent it, and hence the wheel F¹, from
a forward movement, and the latter being in a position to rest against the
periphery of the stop wheel H. When the stop wheel H has just about completed
its forward revolution, the tooth h¹ on its periphery will rock the hook pawl ha
distance sufficient to carry its corresponding, pawl out of engagement with the
ratchet tooth on the stop wheel H', and will permit the wheel F to be rotated one
step, or a distance sufficient to bring the type with the numeral "1" into position
to print, while the wheel F is making a rotary movement from ninety-five to zero.
The section E of the shaft has fixed thereon a ratchet toothed wheel K. A
pinion (see Fig. 5), under the control of the printing operating lever L, to be
hereinafter more particularly referred to, is loosely mounted on the shaft section E',
and has an arm or plate k¹ fixed to rotate with the pinion, and carrying a spring.
actuated pawl 2, which has a tendency to engage the teeth on the ratchet toothed
wheel K, and when the pinion k is rotated in one direction, to cause the wheel K,
and hence the shaft El, to rotate.
In order to permit the pinion k, and the pawl carrying plate fixed thereto, to
make a complete revolution, and, at the same time, cause the arrest of the pawl, and
its release from the teeth on the wheel K, when the latter has been returned to a
point corresponding to zero on the wheels F F, I provide an arm k³, which hangs
loosely from the shaft E, with a laterally projecting pin 4, in position to engage a
tail piece on the pawl 2 (see Fig. 5), and, at the same time, I provide a
fixed stop k, set in the side frame, and projecting from the face of the frame just
far enough to arrest the loosely swinging arm k³, but not far enough to interfere
with the pawl 2. This permits the arm or plate k', with its pawl k², to be
turned, around the wheel K, in the direction in which the teeth point, a complete
revolution without interruption, and at the same time, when the pinion k, with
the plate and pawl 2, are rotated in the opposite direction, carrying with
them the wheel K, the pawl will be arrested, and released from the wheel K as
soon as the pawl comes in contact with the pink on the arm k³, while the latter is
arrested by the stop
The lever L is provided with a toothed sector 1, of sufficient length to give the
pinion ka complete revolution in one direction, when the lever L is drawn from its
perpendicular position down to its horizontal position, and to give the said pinion k
a complete revolution in the opposite direction, when the lever is returned from its
horizontal to its vertical position. I find it desirable to provide the lever L with
a spring catch 7, to lock it in its upward position, the said catch being in a
position to be readily raised or released by the pressure of the finger upon the
end 12 of its stem.
The operation of the mechanism, as thus far explained, is as follows:- When
one or more of the dispensing levers B, B', etc., are operated, their action is
communicated, through the shaft C, spur wheel c, spur wheel e, and shaft E, E',
to the type wheels F, F1 as follows:-
When,
The type wheel F, which denotes cents at intervals of five, will be advanced
step by step by the frictional contact of the shaft E with it, and will tend to carry
with it the type wheel F, but it will be prevented from doing so until the proper
moment by the engagement of the hook pawl h of the stop wheel H'.
however, at any time, the type wheel F shall have advanced to the step from
ninety-five cents to a dollar, the type wheel F will be released as hereinabove
explained, and will rotate from zero to one dollar, as the wheel F completes its
revolution. In the same manner, the wheel F will, when it again reaches the
position ninety-five, rotate the wheel F another step, or from one dollar to two
dollars, and so on. The wheels F and F will therefore present, in position to
print, in the present instance at their uppermost points, a combination of figures
representing dollars and cents, which figures indicate the sum total of the prices
corresponding to the portions of liquid which have been dispensed in response to an
order.

page_text: The downward movement of the printing lever L, for the purpose of printing a
ticket representing the sum total of the prices of the several portions which may
have been dispensed, will rotate the pinion k, and with it the pawl-carrying plate,
and pawl, a complete revolution, so as to enable the pawl, when it engages the
ratchet wheel K. to return it a complete revolution. The return movement of the
printing lever L to its upright position, will rotate the pinion k in the opposite
direction, and will carry with it the ratchet wheel K, and hence the shaft section E',
a complete revolution. This return movement of the shaft E', by means of its
frictional engagement with the wheels F, F1, will return them to their normal
positions, or with their zero type uppermost. The wheels F, F¹, will rotate
together on their return movement, until the wheel F¹, is arrested by its dog h³,
and the wheel F will be carried on, provided it has not reached its normal position
at the same time with the wheel F, by the additional frictional contact between it
and the shaft, which is obtained by the friction disc g2. On the other hand, if the
wheel F should reach its normal position first, the wheel F would be carried on
independently of the wheel F, by the rotary movement of the friction disc g',
which is keyed to the shaft. It follows, therefore, that the operation of the
printing lever L will return the type wheels F, F to their normal positions,
from the position which represents the sum total of the prices for the several
portions dispensed.
The printing is effected as follows:-A pressure plate
or platten M is hinged on
a pivotal bar or pintle m, so as to swing towards and away from the type on the
wheels F, F. The lever L is loosely mounted on the shaft C, preferably by means
of a sleeve, which sleeve is provided with an excentric or cam portion (see
Fig. 6), which works on, or within a socket m¹ formed at the back of the pressure
plate or platen M, so that when the lever L is thrown from its upright to its
horizontal position, the pressure plate M will be forced towards the type ou
the wheels F, F, and when the lever L is returned to its upright position, the
said plate M will be moved away from the type.
The strip of paper from which the tickets are to be cut is denoted by N,
and is drawn from a suitable supply roll, not shown. It passes between a pair
of rollers O and O', which feed it, from time to time, between the pressure plate M
and the type wheels. The roller O' is mounted on a spring support o, in order to
closely hold the strip N between the two rollers, and the roller O is positively
operated to advance the strip by means of a link P connected at one end with
the sector on the operating lever L, and, at its opposite end, with a pawl p,
hung from the shaft or spindle m, on which the feed roller O is mounted, and
provided with a spring-actuated nose p', adapted to engage the abrupt ends
notches in the face of the disc p³, fixed to rotate with the feed roller O. In the
present instance, I have provided the disc with four notches, and the feed
roller is of such size, that a one-fourth revolution will feed the strip N far
enough to form the length of a ticket. As the lever L is depressed, the pawl p will
swing idly into engagement with a previous notch p², and when the lever L is thrown
into an upright position, it will advance the feed roller O, and feed forward the
strip N.
of
The movable pressure plate or platen M is provided with one blade, Q, of a
cutter, the opposite blade, Q, being fixed stationary to the frame at a point near
the opening which is provided at the front of the bar for the discharge of the
printed tickets. This opening I prefer to form by a notch A', having a
downwardly and rearwardly receding wall a', and a floor a, as clearly shown
in Fig. 6.
As the platen M is depressed, the printing takes place, and as it is elevated
from the type, the printed ticket will be forced forward between the blades Q, Q',
which blades will finally sever it from the strip, just as the lever L approaches its
upright position. The severed ticket will fall on the floor as of the notch A¹, and
may be handed to the customer at pleasure.
I may either depend upon forcing the strip N into contact with pronounced

page_text: ype, to make the print by indenting the strip, or I may, as I prefer to do,-use
an inking ribbon for the purpose of printing the amount in ink on the strip. The
nking ribbon leads from a spool R, which is provided with a retracting spring r
over the face of the type which are to print, between them and the strip N, and
thence to a spool R', housed within a projecting chamber A2, at the front of the
bar, and preferably immediately below the notch A. The spool R¹ is provided
with an ordinary pawl and ratchet, and its shaft projects from the chamber A2,
and is provided with a thumb wheel r, for the purpose of winding the ribbon
from the spool R onto the spool R, at such intervals as the case may require.
The inking ribbon may be permitted to run back from the spool R onto the
spool R, by releasing the spool R¹, and permitting the retracting spring »
to act.
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 combination, one or more liquid dispensing devices, independently movable
type wheels under the control of said liquid dispensing device or devices, to
indicate the sum total of the prices of several portions of liquid dispensed, a
printing mechanism for making a record of said sum total, and means, under the
control of the said printing mechanism, for moving the said type wheels, either
simultaneously or independently of one another, to return them to zero or normal
position, after each printing, substantially as set forth.
2. In combination, type wheels, a divided shaft on which the type wheels are
mounted, the wheels being arranged to rotate either with the shaft or relatively
thereto, as may be required, means for operating the shaft at intervals, to advance
the type wheels, and means for operating one section of the shaft, to return the
type wheels to normal, substantially as set forth.
3. In combination, type wheels, a shaft on which the type wheels are mounted,
the wheels being arranged to move either with the shaft, or relatively thereto, as
may be required, one of the wheels being under the control of the other, both to
advance and release it, means for advancing the shaft, and means for returning the
wbeels, substantially as set forth.
4. In combination, liquid dispensing devices, a divided shaft under the control of
the liquid dispensing devices, to be rotated in one direction, type wheels, mounted
on the divided shaft, and arranged to be moved in one direction by one section of
the shaft, and in the opposite direction by another section of the shaft, a printing
platen, a lever for operating the printing platen, and a connection between said
lever and the shaft section, for returning the type wheels to normal, substantially
as set forth.
5. In combination, a divided shaft, type wheels mounted on the shaft, means for
rotating the shaft sections in one direction, means for rotating one of the shaft
sections in the opposite direction, the type wheels having a frictional engagement
with the shaft and with each other, and means for taking an impression from the
type wheels, substantially as set forth.
6. In combination, a divided shaft, type wheels mounted on the shaft, means for
rotating the shaft sections in one direction, means for rotating one of the shaft
sections in the opposite direction, one of the type wheels having a ball bearing
with the shaft at one end of its hub, and a frictional engagement with the shaft
at the opposite end of its hub, another type wheel having a frictional engagement
with two shaft sections, and means for taking an impression from the type wheels,
substantially as set forth.
7. In combination, a divided shaft, type wheels mounted on the shaft and having
a frictional engagement with the shaft and with each other, means for rotating the
shaft in one direction, means for rotating one section of the shaft in the opposite
5 direction, stop wheels fixed to rotate with the type wheels, dogs for arresting the
movement of the type wheels in one direction, and a pawl for holding one of the

page_text: type wheels against movement in the opposite direction, the said pawl being under
the control of a companion type wheel, to release it, substantially as set forth.
8. In combination, type wheels, means for operating them, a movable pressure
plate or platen, means for operating it, a feed roller, means for operating it, a
stationary cutting blade, and a movable cutting blade carried by the platen,
substantially as set forth.
9. In combination, type wheels, means for operating them, an impression plate
or platen, a lever for operating it, a gear on the lever, a pinion loosely mounted on
the type wheel shaft, adapted to intermesh with the gear on the lever, a ratchet
toothed wheel fixed on the type wheel shaft, an arm fixed to rotate with the pinion
and carrying a spring actuated. pawl in position to engage the ratchet wheel, an
arm loosely mounted on the type wheel shaft, and provided with a stop to arrest
the pawl and release it from the ratchet wheel, and a fixed stop in position to engage
the stop-carrying arm, to arrest it, and hence the stop which releases the pawl,
substantially as set forth.
Dated this 25th day of February 1896.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.