Coin Freed Apparatus for the Automatic Production of Photographs.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Apr., 1893-Accepted, 17th June, 1893
[Communicated from abroad by ALEXANDER KAHN, of 58, Frankfurter Strasse,
Bockenheim, Germany, Engineer.]
Coin Freed Apparatus for the Automatic Production of
Photographs.
I, ABRAHAM STRAUSS-COLLIN, of 22 College Hill, Cannon Street, in the City
of London, Commission Agent, 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 the automatic production of photographs
which is put into action by the introduction of a coin into an opening.
I will proceed to describe the said apparatus with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which
Fig. 1 shows a vertical section of the apparatus,
Fig. 2 a plan of the coin lever 3, and parts in connection therewith, and
Figs. 3 to 6 are other detached details.
The coin is introduced into the shoot 1 below which is a two armed lever 3
pivotted at 2, which is acted upon by a counter weight 4 so as to cause a pin 6
thereon to lock the fly 5 of the clockwork mechanism. Near the counter weight 4.
the lever 3 carries a second pin 8 which takes into a recess 9, Figs. 1 and 2, of
the toothed wheel 10.
When the lever 3 is turned on its pivot by the weight of the coin introduced, the
pin 6 firstly releases the fly, and at the same time the pin 8 is withdrawn from the
recess 9 of wheel 10, so that the clockwork 7 can now be set in motion by
the weight 11.
The pin 8 is then raised by means of an incline 12 next the recess 9, whereby the
lever 3 will be turned so far that the coin can fall into the receptacle 13. When
the pin 8 has passed beyond the incline, it slides on the surface of the wheel 10
until, after a complete revolution of the wheel it again drops into the recess 9,
whereupon the clockwork will be stopped, the pin 6 engaging with the fly.
The wheel 10 is fixed on a vertical shaft 14, which carries a hook shaped arm 16
that can turn vertically upon a pin 15, while at the upper end of the shaft 14 there
is a small shaft 18 carried by a bearing 17, and connected with the said arm 16 by
a crank 19 and connecting rod 20. The upper bearing of the vertical shaft 14 is
formed by the boss of a bevil wheel 21 which is fixed to the bottom 22 of the plate
receptacle 23 and which gears with a toothed wheel 24 on the shaft 18.
If now the shaft 14 with the arm 16 and shaft 18 revolve, the wheel 24 will roll
upon the wheel 21, thereby turning the shaft 18 which causes the arm 16 to move
up and down so that the end thereof performs a serpentine curve, part of which is
shown at Fig. 4, which is closed in itself.
In the before mentioned plate receptacle 23 are varnished sheet iron frames 38,
Figs. 1 and 5, each one of which contains one of the sensitive plates. The former
are arranged in a transporting device which consists of 4 rollers 25 provided with
helical threads Figs. 1 and and which are rotated from the shaft 14 by means of
the bevil wheels 26 and 27 in such manner that at each revolution the shaft 14
brings a new plate before the object lens. The sheet iron frames 38 with the
sensitive plates are situated during the exposure in a vertical guide 28 Fig. 1 in
which they are held at the proper height opposite the object lens by means of the
pin 29 of lever 30. Immediately after exposure this lever is released by striking
against the arm 16, so that the frame 38 can slide down on to the tray 31 in which
position the metal back of the iron frame is situated uppermost.

page_text: As shown, the vertical end of the arm 16 is converted into an electro-magnet by
means of a wire coil 32, and the circuit of this coil is closed shortly before or at the
moment when the pole 33, in consequence of its serpentine motion, Fig. 4, is situated
closely above the iron frame lying on the plate, 31 so that it will now attract this
and carry it along with it. For effecting the closing and interruption of the electric
circuit at the right moment for this purpose, spring sliding contacts 34, Figs. 1 & 3
and contact rings 35 are employed which are of course insulated both from each
other and from the shaft 14. The one ring is provided at corresponding points
with notches under which the insulating material is thus laid open, so that when the
hook shaped end 36, Fig. 3, of the corresponding spring is situated in such a notch
the circuit will be broken. Of course any other well known arrangement may be
employed for the above purpose.
The frame held by the pole 33 is now led consecutively in a suitable manner
through the consecutive baths 37, of which only one is shown at Fig. 1 for the sake
of clearness. After passing through these baths the arm 16 with the plate then
arrives over an inclined channel, (not shown on the drawing), which leads to an exit
opening, and the plate is then either simply pulled away from the pole by a suitable
detacher or the electric circuit is interrupted at this moment, so that the plate can
then pass to the outside.
It should be mentioned that the employment of an electro magnet is not
absolutely necessary. An ordinary steel horse shoe magnet may be employed with
the same effect. In this case the removal of the frame with the photograph must
of course always be effected by means of a detaching device.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An apparatus for the automatic production of photographs wherein the
sensitive plates brought before the object glass by a transport device and vertical
slide, are carried, after exposure, onto a tray 31, from which they are taken up by
a revolving and vertically reciprocating arm 16, which, by means of its serpentine
motion, carries the plates through the baths 37, the serpentine motion of the arm
being produced by carrying it upon a vertical shaft 14 actuated by driving gear 7
and carrying also a horizontal shaft 18 having a toothed wheel 24 which is rotated
by gearing with the fixed wheel 21 and which imparts an up and down motion to
the arm 16 during its rotation, by means of the crank 19 and connecting rod 20,
substantially as described.
2. In apparatus such as is referred to in the first claim, effecting the picking up
of the exposed plate from the tray 31 by means of a steel or electro magnet 33
which carries the plate through the baths and to the discharge opening, substantially
as described.
3. In apparatus such as is referred to in the first claim, effecting the transport of
the sensitive plates towards the object glass by means of revolving horizontal
parallel rollers 25 which propel the plates forward by means of helical threads, and
deliver them into the vertical slide 28 that leads them before the object glass,
substantially as described.
4. In apparatus such as is referred to in the first claim, carrying the sensitive
plates in frames 38 composed partly or wholly of iron, in order that they may be
seized by the magnet 33, substantially as described.
Dated this 14th day of April 1893.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.