Improvements in Grip-testers and other Coin-controlled Apparatus.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd May, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Feb., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 4th May, 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Grip-testers and other Coin-controlled Apparatus.
1, GEORGE GATTON MELHUISH HARDINGHAM, of 191, Fleet Street, in the City
of London, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention (a communication to me from abroad by Louis Wober, of 152, Nassau
Street, New York City, in the County and State of New York, United States of
America) to be as follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus of the class in which the action is controlled
by means of a coin; such, for example, as grip-testers, weighing, vending or
retailing machines. Such apparatus or machines have certain defects which this
invention is designed to remedy or greatly mitigate.
One of the objects of this invention is to provide against the coin-shoot becoming
choked by the insertion of improper things, and to facilitate the operation of
cleaning it out should it nevertheless become obstructed. This is effected, according
to the present invention, by making the coin-shoot straight and extending it.
through the casing of the apparatus so that a cleaning rod may he passed there-
through. In order that a coin of the proper size may not fall through the shoot,
a switch is arranged across-the-shoot to-direct the coin into a slot in the slide-bar
of the apparatus, where the coin, if of the proper kind, will lodge against the
latch that locks the said slide-bar against free endwise movement; and, when
power is applied as by the grip of the hand, or by the weight tending to move
the said bar end wise-the coin will be moved forward under the lateb and act as
a rolling wedge or cam to raise the said latch and free the bar. If the coin inserted
be too small, it will not lolge against the latch, but will drop through the slot in
the slide-bar and into a shoot leading out of the casing. On the other hand, if the
coin be of the proper kind, it is carried forward with the slide-bar under the latch
and eventually drops through the slot into the casing of the machine.
The switch, by a slight endwise movement of the slide-bar, may be turned so as
to leave the passage through the shoot clear, and thus enable anything that may
have lodged in the said passage to be dislodged therefrom by means of a rod
or wire

page_text: The slide-bar, by means of a rack and pinion, actuates a hand or pointer which
traverses a dial; the weight or power of the grip being thereby registered or
indicated. The apparatus may also be provided with an auxiliary pointer or hand
actuated by the principal hand; the said auxiliary hand being held by means of a
pawl and ratchet at the point where it is left by the principal hand. This device
enables the person who has used the apparatus to observe at leisure the record
indicated. At the next movement of the slide-bar, the auxiliary pointer is released
and is returned by a spring to its normal or zero position.
When the apparatus is employed as a grip-tester, two grips are preferably used,
one at each side of the casing; both being connected to the slide-bar. In one grip,
the fingers pull on the movable bar of the grip, and, in the other, the palm of the
hand presses against the movable bar. When the apparatus is used as a weighing
machine, the upright operating rod of the platform-scales is provided with a rack or
other device for moving the slide-bar end wise.
In some instances, the coin which serves as a rolling cam to raise the latch and free
the slide-bar does not act directly on the latch but on a pendent plate, which, in
moving back, acts on the latch to raise it, thereby freeing the slide bar. Under these
circumstances, the head of the latch, when partly raised, is lifted by an incline on the
movable bar the pendent plate being hereby swung out of the way to allow the
coin to drop. The usual resisting springs employed in apparatus of the kind herein
referred to are retained.
By using a straight coin-shoot as described, the apparatus need not be taken apart
for repairs, should improper things be inserted in the shoot; and, by ignoring the
weight of the proper coin, and by using it as a cam or wedge, the employment of
delicate weighing and balancing inechanism is avoided; the apparatus being thus
rendered simple, strong and durable.
Dated this 23rd day of May 1888.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Grip-testers and other Coin-controlled Apparatus.
I, GEORGE GATTON MELHUISH HARDINGHAM, of 191, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention (a communication to me from abroad by Louis Weber, of 132, Nassau
Street, New York City, in the County and State of New York, United States of
America, Mechanician) 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 of the class in which the action is controlled by
means of a coin; such, for example, as grip-testers, weighing, vending or retailing
machines. Such apparatus or machines have certain defects which this invention is
designed to remedy or greatly mitigate.
One of the objects of this invention is to provide against the coin-shoot becoming
choked by the insertion of improper things and to facilitate the operation of cleaning
it out should it nevertheless become obstructed.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is an elevation of the back of a grip-tester
embodying the present improvements; the casing being mostly removed to expose
the interior of the construction. Fig. 2 is a face view of the dial. Fig. 3 is a
vertical section, in the plane of the central arbor, of a portion of the apparatus drawn
to an enlarged scale. Fig. 3. which is also drawn to an enlarged scale, is a
sectional elevation of the rear side of the brake-device. Fig. 4 is a plan and Fig. 5
a rear elevation of the operative mechanism; the scale being the same as in Figs. 1
and 2. In these views, the moving parts are shewn in different positions to those
seen in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail view drawn to the same scale as Fig 3. Fig. 6
is a view illustrating an alternative arrangement of the coin-shoot.
a represents a circular casing of the ordinary description provided with a suitable
base. The casing contains the operative mechanism and has a door at the back
to afford access to the interior; a part of the door being shewn at a* in Fig. 1. On
the front side, the casing is furnished with a dial c, (Fig. 2). An arbor c* (Fig. 3)
is mounted in the casing opposite the centre of the dial, and carries a spur-wheel d,
which gears with a rack e mounted on a longitudinally-sliding operating bar f
To the
which projects through a bearing at x (Fig. 1) in the side of the casing a.
inner end of this bar is secured a cross-head f1, the ends of which slide on two
parallel rods gg fixed in a frame-work a¹ inside the casing. The rod fand cross-
head 1 are maintained in the normal position by coiled springs hh surrounding the
parallel rods. The projecting end of the operating bar fis provided with a handle i,
which, with the handle secured rigidly to the casing a and frame a³, produces a
well-known form of "grip." I prefer to add to the apparatus on the opposite side
of the casing a second " grip" consisting of the rigid handle j and a movable

page_text: handle the branches of the latter being secured to the cross-piece f¹ and
playing in apertures in the casing. It will thus be seen that on one side of the
casing the outer handle is fixed and the inner one movable; whilst, on the other
side of the casing, the outer handle is movable and the inner one fixed. The
operating bar is normally prevented from sliding longitudinally by means of a
latch hinged at y to the framework a'. The latch is provided with a stud / for
engaging with a notch * in the upper edge of the rack e. Inasmuch as the latter
is secured to the bar f, the engagement of the stud / with the notch in the rack
normally prevents end wise movement of the bar. A second stud m on the latch
engages with an angular slot n* in a coin-detainer or cam-like plate n pivotted to the
casing above the latch. The detainer falls into a slot o (Fig. 3) in the operating
bar f.
The coin-slit p, which is of the proper dimensions to admit a coin of the right kind,
is situated in the top of the casing and communicates with the coin-shoot. The latter
is formed with a vertical receiving part q, a lateral and nearly horizontal part q', and
a vertical delivery part q The coin inserted through the slit p passes down the
part g, then along the part q¹ to the part q", and thence down into the slit o in
the harf, where it lodges between the end-wall of the said slot and the edge of
the detainer n.
A coin of less diameter than that for which the apparatus is designed
will not lodge against the detainer but will fall through the slot into the casing of
the machine. In Fig. 1 a coin of the proper size is represented in dotted lines as
having lodged between the detainer n and the end of the slot o.
The rack e (Figs. 4 and 5) is not fixed rigidly to the barf but is attached to the
side of the bar by means of two screws or pins ex e*. The latter pass through slots
in the rack; the slots allowing the bar to play longitudinally to a small extent. Thus,
when the bar is moved end wise by the person testing his grip, it travels a certain
distance without disturbing the rack e; which is held stationary by the engagement of
the stud with the notch *. The independent movement of the bar is, in a machine
of the usual size, about one-fourth of an inch. The free end k³ (Fig. 4) of the latch k
is hevelled and stands in the path of a bevelled shoulder fx on the bar.
When no coin is lodged in the slot o, the bar f can only be moved longitudinally
to the extent allowed by the slots in the rack e; but, if a coin of the proper size has
fallen into the position indicated by dotted linos in Fig. 1, end wise movement of the
bar is communicated through the coin to the detainer n, which is thereby swung or
moved over (towards the left in Figs. 1 and 5) until the angular slot n* has acted
through a stud m, projecting from the latch k, to lift the latter high enough for the
pin to become disengaged from the notch *; thus unlocking and freeing the bar f.
The bevelled end of the latch then engages with the bevelled shoulder f* and is
thus thrown upwards; the stud m acting on the detainer n and moving the latter
away from the coin, which thereupon drops into the lower part of the casing or into
a suitable box arranged therein to receive it.
The latch k may be kept down either by gravity or by a spring. Friction
may be
relied upon for holding the rack e in place for receiving the stud on the latch when
the grip is released and the bar freturns to its normal position. In Fig. 4, the rack
is broken away on the right-hand side to shew the slot with the screw ex passing
therethrough. In Fig. 5, the bar fis partly broken away to expose the slot o and the
lodged coin.
In this class of machines, serious trouble is met with owing to the insertion of
sticks, paper, etc., and, when the coin shoot leads directly to the mechanism of the
apparatus, such obstructions can only be removed with difficulty. The object in
making the coin-shoot as previously described is that the receiving part qi may be
provided with a pivotted switch s held in place by a suitable counterweights'. The
pivotted switch is arranged to open directly over the cavity in the casing a, but
remains closed during the regular working of the machine: Should, however, the
part-q become obstructed, the switch s readily yields to permit the obstruction to be
pushed onwards and down into the hollow of the casing a (without interfering with
$

page_text: a
the mechanism of the machine) by means of an instrument inserted through the coin-
slit. The part q is arranged nearly at right-angles to the part 7 so that, although
circular coin will readily roll from the part 7 to the part 2, the passage of paper or
other obstruction is arrested and the delivery part q kept clear.
The hand or pointer is held where it is carried by the power of the grip (until
liberated as hereinafter explained), so that the force exerted may be read after the
handles are released. On the outer end of the arbor c* is secured the main pointer t,
which, when the machine is at rest. points to zero on the dial. On the arbor c* is
also mounted a sleeve-like shaft. (Figs. 3 and 3) on the outer end of which is
placed an auxiliary pointer t¹. A pin or stud c¹ projects from the pointer t and
engages with the pointer so as to compel the latter to move with the former
round the dial. The main pointer t is, however, arranged to return to zero inde-
pendently of the pointer t¹ means being provided for holding the last-named at
the point to which it has been carried until the next operation of the machine. To
accomplish this end, a friction-brake (Fig. 3) is employed. This comprises a disc
or wheel d fixed on the tubular shaft b. A brake-lever e¹, pivotted to the
casing a', bears on the periphery of the disc aforesaid. When the shaft bis
rotated by reason of the main pointer t engaging with the auxiliary pointer t¹, a
coiled spring is wound up to a corresponding extent; one end of this spring
being secured to the casing and the other end to the shaft b'. When the pointer t
returns to zero, the pointer is held at the place to which it has been carried by
the pressure of the brake-lever e' on the disc d'. In order to relieve the brake and
allow the spring h¹ to cause the pointer t¹ to return to zero, a laterally-projecting
stud u (Fig. 3) on the operating bar is added. This stud, when the machine is at
rest, stands in a fork in the free end of a pendent lifter v, which is pivotted to the
brake lever e¹. The lifter is inclined and rests against a stud or pin vx in the
casing. When the machine is operated, the stud on the barf moves horizontally
under the downwardly-inclined end of the lifter », and causes the latter to move
longitudinally, thus slightly raising the brake-lever e¹ and releasing the disc d', as
indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3; the pointer t¹ thereupon immediately returns to
zero. The stud then travels on, leaving the lifter, which snaps back and allows the
spring g to again set the brake. When the grip is released, the springs hh cause
the bar to return to its normal position, the stud u meeting and turning back the
pendent lifter until the latter snaps past the same and the parts again assume the
normal position. This action of the stud on the lifter does not affect the brake-
lever e. Although the bar fis, for convenience of manufacture, made up in sections,
in order to form the shoulder fx and slot 0, it may be in one piece.
A somewhat different arrangement of the coin-shoot is illustrated in Fig. 6. In
this construction, there is no counterweight to hold up the switchs, which is supported
instead by a piece on the operating bar f. The latter may be slightly moved longi-
tudinally, even when locked; and, when the grip is seized without a coin being
inserted, the said bar may be caused to travel far enough with the piece to leave
the switch s unsupported and allow the same to fall; thus permitting any material
which may have lodged in the coin-shoot to be forced out.
By a suitable arrangement of the accessory parts, the present improvements may
be applied to weighing machines and other coin-controlled apparatus.
By using a coin-shoot of the kind described, the apparatus need not be taken apart
for repairs, should improper things be inserted in the shoot; and, by ignoring the
weight of the coin, the employment of delicate weighing and balancing mechanism
is avoided, the apparatus being thus rendered simple, strong and durable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I claim :-
-
1. The improved coin-controlled grip-tester constructed and operating substantially
as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. In coin-controlled apparatus, the employment of a vertical or nearly vertical
coin-shoot formed with a branch and provided with a switch for diverting the coin

page_text: from the direct passage to the branch passage; the said switch being so mounted
as to yield under pressure and to permit of foreign substances obstructing the shoot
being forced past the same, the switch subsequently reclosing so as to lead the coin
to the branch passage.
3. In coin-controlled apparatus, the employment of a dial and two pointers as t t¹ 5
arranged to operate substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
4. In coin-controlled apparatus, the employment of brake-mechanism arranged
substantially as described with reference to Fig. 3" and operating to hold the
auxiliary pointer after the main pointer has returned to zero.
Dated this 23rd day of February 1889.