IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TILLS
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Low Edward at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th December 1883.
JAMES LOW EDWARD of Kennington in the County of Surrey IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TILLS
This invention has for its object improvements in the construction of tills in
order to prevent mistake or fraud and combines simplicity of construction with
great effectiveness
I proceed as follows: I make a framework consisting of two or more uprights a
top and bottom cross rail or rails and a hollow plinth
Between or in such uprights I mount two or more plates of glass either
perpendicularly or inclined and of equal or various size which form front and back
plates
These plates rest on the plinth or elsewhere and are screened at the top by a
face piece hinged or otherwise attached to the frame
Between these plates I fit two or more vertical or inclined slides each having an
equal number of curvilinear arms either grooved or plain
When two slides only are employed one is stationary and the other is a working
slide but when say three slides are employed the two side slides are working
slides and the centre one stationary
When the slides are in position the extremities of their arms are opposite and
close to each other
Each working slide is furnished with a lever arin whereby it can be raised or
depressed-Formed in the outer edge of each such slide is a shoulder by which
when so depressed a coiled spring or springs mounted on a vertical rod or rods
fitted in a groove or grooves in one or more of the uprights is compressed-When
the lever arm or arms is or are released such spring or springs recoil and force the
slide or slides back into position

page_text: A slot is formed in the back of each lever arm to allow of such arm or arms
travelling over a pin or pins fixed in the top rail-which pin or pins prevent the
slide or slides being withdrawn surreptitiously from the frame. Or such pins may
be dispensed with
The bottom of each working slide is fitted with a small arm which projecting
obliquely therefrom when the slide is depressed comes in contact with and deflects
a spring fitted inside the plinth-This spring is so adjusted that at a certain point
in its downward travel it disengages itself from the arm and rebounding strikes a
gong fitted inside the plinth thus giving an alarm whenever the working slide or
slides is or are depressed
The stationary slide is similarly secured by a pin or otherwise and all the slides
can be drawn out when desired by loosening a stud or spring or other suitable
device fitted in the top rail and removing or shifting the face piece
A button or other suitable equivalent is fitted to the top and bottom cross
rails which buttons serve to hold the front and back plates and slides in position
One or more slots is or are formed in the top rail through which the Coins are
dropped
When the slides are in position their curved arms form one or more series of
heart shaped hollows The operation of my invention is as follows A coin being
dropped through one of the slots in the top rail it lodges at the bottom of the
topmost hollow
When the working slide is depressed such coin falls into the next
hollow where it remains until the slide is again depressed when it falls into the
next hollow and so on until it falls through the hollow plinth into the till drawer
Any number of hollows may be employed
The advantages of this improved construction of till are
1° It ensures giving correct change as the coin taken remains visible through the
front and back plate or plates
2° It prevents fraud as the money once placed therein it cannot be taken out
without breaking the apparatus save by the person who has the pass key of
the till.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Low Edward in the Patent Office on the 28th June
1884.
JAMES LOW EDWARD of Kennington in the County of Surrey IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TILLS
The object of this invention is to prevent either mistake or fraud-My improved
till may be made either with a single or double action-The single action till will
take every coin that is of less size than a florin-The double action till will
take every coin-And in order that my said invention may be better understood
and readily carried into effect I will now with the aid of the accompanying
drawings whereon similar letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding
parts proceed more particularly to describe and ascertain the same
Inasmuch as the construction of the double action till possesses many features in
common with that of the single action till I will first describe and illustrate the
construction of such single action till so as to avoid needless recapitulation
when describing the double action till. Figs 1-2 shew front and back elevations
and Fig 3 a side elevation of my improved single action till. In these figures as also
in Figs 9-10 presently referred to portions of the casing at the bottom and side
are shewn removed so as to allow the internal mechanism to be more clearly seen―
Such single action till consists of two uprights a a¹ secured at the top by front and
back cross rails b b and cased in at the bottom so as to form a hollow plinth c.
On the inner face of the upright a¹ near the front edge is a longitudinal groove d
which extends from the top to the bottom In this groove is fitted a metal eye e
which is placed just above the top of the plinth-A detail view of this grooved
upright a¹ is given in internal elevation at Fig 4 shewing the metal eye fitted
therein and a detail view of such eye with its shoulder plate is given at Fig 5
The front cross rail b is either fitted with or shaped so as to form a suitable
ornamental terminal while the back cross rail b' has a face piece g hinged thereto.
This face piece is fitted with a lock and key h-i-the bolt i¹ of the lock i taking
into an aperture in the back of the terminal This arrangement allows of the till
being locked up and rendered perfectly secure thus preventing any tampering
therewith unless violence is used. A slot or opening j is formed between the cross
rails b, b¹(See Figure 6 which shews a plan view of the top of the till through
which the coins are dropped into the till-and through which I insert two
plates of glass placed either perpendicularly or on an incline which form
front and back face plates kk-The front plate k is kept in position by
a beading ² and the back plate is secured at top and bottom by blocks k³
which are screwed or otherwise fastened to the bottom of the back cross rail b¹ and
the top of the plinth c-See Figs 2, and 10-Between these face plates I fit two
slides each having an equal number of recessed curvilinear arms formed thereon
and each terminating at the top in a handle by which the slide can be drawn out
or pushed in-One of such slides viz' the one marked is stationary and the other
being that marked l² is a working slide It is not however necessary to adhere to
this particular arrangement which may be reversed as either slide may be made
the stationary and the other the working slide-A detail view in front elevation of
the stationary slide is given at Fig 7. 3 is a notch or recess formed in its base to
allow of its fitting over and resting on a block fixed inside the plinth- is a
passing perforation formed in the neck of the handle to allow of the lock bolt i¹
passing through into the back of the terminal as already mentioned-By this
means when the till is locked the stationary slide is secured and cannot be with-
drawn without breaking open the till-A detail view of the working slide
in

page_text: back elevation is given at Fig 8 by which it will be seen that a shoulder 15 is
formed on or affixed to the back thereof at the top This shoulder is fitted with a
rod 6 whereon a spiral spring m is mounted. The lower end of this rod takes into
and works up and down in the before mentioned metal eye e fitted in the
longitudinal groove formed on the inner surface of the upright a¹ as previously
described the object of so forming such groove therein being to allow sufficient space
for the easy play up and down of such working slide-A slot m' is formed
in the face of such grooved upright and fitted with a slotted face plate m²
Through this slot a spindle having a threaded end and fitted with a knob or its
equivalent is inserted and screwed into a threaded hole 17 formed in the top of the
working slide Such knob and spindle form a hand lever by which this slide can
be worked up and down-When the slides are in position the extremities of their
arms are immediately opposite and close to each other thus forming a series of
heart shaped hollows as shewn in the Drawings A slotted plate o is fixed in the
plinth which carries a lever arm p mounted obliquely on a spindle q-carrying a
coiled spring controlled by a check pin -This spring is placed within a gong
bell z fixed by a nut z¹ on the end of the spindle q. Such gong bell and nut are
indicated in the drawings by dotted lines only to permit the other parts of the
mechanism placed thereunder to be clearly seen. A catch pin or stud (1) projects
from the front of the lever arm p at its upper extremity and works up and down
in the slot formed in the plate o when the working slide is operated a downward
motion being imparted to the lever arm by the base of the working slide coming
in contact with this catch pin (1) and the recoil of the spring imparting an
upward motion to the lever arm when such catch pin presses against the bottom of
the working slide and so assists in restoring the slide to its normal position-A
second catch pin (2) projects from the back of such lever arm and catches a loose
lever (s) also mounted on the slotted plate (o)-This loose lever is likewise
furnished with a catch pin (3) which catches the rod t of a hammer t when the
loose lever (s) is operated by the working slide being depressed thus causing the
hammer to strike the gong and give an alarm
The operation of my improved till is as follows-Upon a coin being dropped
through the slot in the top of the till it lodges in the first hollow or recess - When
it is desired to place another coin in the till the working slide is depressed thereby
ringing the bell and causing the first coin to fall into the next hollow where it
remains until the slide is again depressed when it falls into the next hollow and so
on until it drops through the hollow plinth into the till drawer over which the till
is fixed-Any number of hollows may be employed
The modifications required in the construction of my improved single action
safety alarm till in order to convert it into a double action till suitable for the
reception of every coin are few and simple. They consist in increasing the width
of the space between the two uprights a, a', so as to allow of a central stationary
slide u and two lateral working slides v. v being fitted therein as shewn in front
elevation at Fig 9 and in back elevation at Fig 10-These two working slides are
made arranged and fitted in a similar way and have a corresponding action to that
already herein before described with reference to the working slide in the single
action till A detail view in front elevation of the central stationary slide u is
given at Fig 11 by which it will be seen that such slide has a recess x in its base to
allow of its fitting over a block fixed centrally in the front of the plinth while it
is furnished on each side with a corresponding number of recessed curvilinear arms
so that when placed in position with the two working slides v, v, they together
form a double series of heart shaped recesses of various size, one series being for
large and the other for small coins-Two lower arms y. y. are fitted in the plinth
being mounted obliquely on a slotted plate o carrying a gong bell -a coiled
spring and a loose lever s-all respectively made fitted and arranged and
working substantially in a similar manner to that already hereinbefore described
with respect to the construction of the corresponding portion of the mechanism of
the single action till, so that when either of the working slides v is depressed the

page_text: 8
pins on the loose lever s catches the rod t of a hammer t' and so causes it to strike
the gong and give an alarm-This dual arrangement of levers is illustrated at
Fig 10 In order to prevent the coins being caught in the mechanism as they fall
through the plinth into the till drawer and so preventing such mechanism working
properly I fix a shield plate w on the back of the block that supports the stationary
slide by which shield plate the coins are guided in their descent direct into the
till drawer In the accompanying drawings this shield plate is shewn applied to
the double action till only for which it is requisite it may however also be adopted
in the single action till In order also to allow the sound of the gong bell to be
distinctly heard I make suitable perforations in the back board of the plinth as
indicated at w in Fig 12 which figure shews a view in elvation of such back
board.
The advantages of this improved construction of till are as follows:-Firstly It
ensures giving correct change and prevents dispute as the coin taken remains
visible through the front and back plates. Secondly It prevents fraud as the
money when once placed therein cannot be taken out without breaking the till
save by the person who has the pass key
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention of improvements in the construction of tills and the manner of carrying
the same into effect I would have it understood that what I claim as novel and of
my invention and desire to secure by the herein before in part recited Letters
Patent is
Firstly The improved construction of single action safety alarm till hereinbefore
described having the various parts combined arranged and fitted substantially in
the manner herein before specified and shewn
Secondly The improved construction of double action safety alarm till herein-
before described having the various parts combined arranged and fitted substantially
in the manner hereinbefore specified and shewn
In Witness whereof I the said James Low Edward have hereunto set my hand
and seal this twenty eighth day of June in the Year of Our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty four
Witness
ELT & Co
Agents 33 Southampton Buildings
Holborn
London.
JAMES, LOW. EDWARD. (L.S.)