Improvements in Coin-freed Games of Skill Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION..
Improvements in Coin-freed Games of Skill Machines.
I, WALTER MARGOT, of 22, South Place, Kennington Park, in the County of
London, Musician do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to a new or improved coin-freed apparatus, which consists of
an apparatus for playing a game of skill, which by means of a chute or chutes, a coin
may be rolled down so as to pass through a hole or any opening I may decide upon,
preferably between the rounds of a ladder formed into a sloping grille.
In carrying my invention into practice, I construct a wood case with a suitable
shaped glazed front, this said front is provided with hinges and a lock. At the top of
the said front I provide a slot with a small chute at the back for the purpose of
conveying the coin into the main chute hereinafter described.
Inside the case on the right hand side I pivot the main chute, this said chute is
connected by a hand lever passing through a long vertical slot and projecting some
distance on the outside beyond the side of the case.
On the left hand side of the inside of the case I fix opposite the mouth of the main
chute a sloping grille, of a ladder shape with four openings, and at the back of each
opening of the said ladder I provide chutes, three of which slope towards a vessel or
cup fixed in a recess cut in the side of the wood case, so that if a coin falls from the
main chute into either of the said openings the coin will pass into the cup where the
operator may recover the aforesaid coin.
At the back of the bottom opening, the said chute slopes towards a hopper fixed at
the top of the back end of a counter weighted pivoted horizontal lever, this said hopper
receives the coin which by its weight bears down the back end of the lever sufficiently
to raise the front hooked end above a slot cut in a drawer to release the same. The
drawer slides in a frame above which is the magazine to hold the metallic discs or
cheques, and when pulled outward the cheque is obtainable, and also the lever falls at
the hopper end downwards and thereby the said lever becoines vertical until the
drawer is returned home, when the lever resumes its normal position as above
described and the apparatus is ready for another operation.
On the opposite side to the ladder is a pivot on which the main chute works, and
by the means of the lever arm attached to the main chute and projecting through the
case the said chute may be raised or lowered at will by the operator, after he has
inserted a coin in the slot cut in the front of the case.
For instance, if there are four openings in the ladder which will be numbered
1, 2, 3, and 4, starting from the top, it may be arranged so that the coin rolled into
either of the three openings 1, 2, or 3, the said coin shall pass through a channel or
chute so as to fall into a cup or other receptacle, being so placed as to permit the coin
to be recovered by the operator as hereinbefore described, while if the coin be rolled
into the bottom opening No. 4, it shall so fall as to release the lock of a drawer which

page_text: when opened shall present the operator with an article in exchange therefor as
hereinbefore described.
Dated this 14th day of July 1896.
J. P. BAYLY,
18 Fulham Place, London, W., Agent for the Applicant.
may be rolled down so as to pass through a hole or any opening I may decide upon,
preferably between the rounds of a ladder formed into a sloping grille.
And in order that my invention may be thoroughly understood, I now proceed to
describe the accompanying drawing thereof, reference being had to letters and figures
marked thereon.
Fig. 1, is a side elevation of the apparatus.
Fig. 2, is a side elevation.
Fig. 3, is a front elevation.
Fig. 4, is a vertical section of the chutes sloping grille and other parts.
Fig. 5, is a plan of the drawer, locking apparatus and the magazine. Fig. 6, is a
back view of the chute g with the hand lever broken off. Fig. 7, is the end view of
the chute g.
In carrying my invention into practice, I construct a wood case a with a suitable
shaped glazed front b, this said front is provided with hinges and a lock c. At the
top of the said front I provide a slot d with a small chute e at the back for the purpose
of conveying the coin f into the main chute g hereinafter described.
Inside the case on the right hand side I pivot to a bracket h the main chute g, this
said chute is connected by a hand lever i passing through a long vertical slot j and
projecting some distance on the outside beyond the side of the case a.
On the left hand side of the inside of the case I fix opposite the mouth of the main
chute.g a sloping grille k, of a ladder shape with four openings 1, and at the back of
each opening of the said ladder I provide chutes m, three of which slope towards a
vessel or cup n fixed in a recess cut in the side of the wood case, so that if a coin falls
from the main chute g into either of the said openings the coin will pass into the
cup n where the operator may recover the aforesaid coin f.
At the back of the bottom opening 1, the said chute m slopes towards a hopper o
fixed at the top of the back end of a counter weighted pivoted horizontal lever p, this
said hopper o receives the coin f which by its weight bears down the back end of the
lever p sufficiently to raise the front hooked end q above a slot cut in a drawer.s to
release the same. The drawer 8 slides in a frame t above which is the magazine u to
hold the metallic discs or cheques v, and when pulled outwards the cheque vis
obtainable, and also the lever p falls at the hopper end downwards and thereby the said
lever p becomes vertical until the drawer 8 is returned home, when the lever p resumes
its normal position as above described, and the apparatus is ready for another
operation.

page_text: On the opposite side to the ladder is a pivot w on which the main chute g works,
and by the means of the lever arm i attached to the main chute and projecting
through the case the said chute g may be raised or lowered at will by the operator,
after he has inserted a coin in the slot d cut in the front of the case.
For instance there are four openings in the grille or ladder which are numbered
1, 2, 3, and 4, starting from the top, it is arranged so that the coin / rolled into either
of the three openings 1, 2, or 3, the said coin shall pass through a channel or chute m
so as to fall into the cup n or other receptacle,-being-so placed as to permit the coin
to be' recovered by the operator as hereinbefore described, while if the coin be rolled
into the bottom opening No. 4, it shall fall down the chute m¹ into the hopper o 80
as to release the lock of the drawer 8 which when opened shall present the operator
with a cheque in exchange therefor as hereinbefore described.
The object of obtaining a disc or cheque, is that the operator of the game of skill
may receive goods to the value of three pence from a tradesman who has one of these
apparatuses fixed to his counter for the purpose of his customers amusement. The
game is carried out as follows:-
Place a penny in the slot d, raise the arm sufficient to roll the penny down the
main chute g, and through any desired opening between rounds of the ladder or
grille. The object is to roll the penny into each of the four openings in four tries
starting from Nos. 1. No. 1, 2, and 3, return the penny in the cup n on the left
hand side of the case. When the pnney is rolled into No. 4, opening the coin f rolls
down the chute m¹ into the hopper o above described, which permits the operator to
pull out the drawer, and receive the value of three pence for the disc or cheque at the
counter. In this case the coin f after it has passed through the apparatus, falls into
the inside left-hand part of the case marked m' in Fig. 4, and is not returned to the
user.
At the front of the back part 2 of the main chute g I fix a small chute a² in
order to guide the coin in its fall from the slot d into the chute g; also I cut a
circular hole a large enough to permit a coin f to fall through and into the bottom
of the box m² of the right-hand of the inside of the case as indicated by arrows and
dotted lines in Fig. 3. Coins which thus fall through the hole al to the bottom of
the box m² are not recoverable by the operator.
The only coins that are returned to the user are those that pass through the
chutes m and fall into the cup n.
Coins which do not reach the chutes 1, 2, 3, and 4, pass into the box m².
Undersized coins are rejected from the chute g by falling through the hole a' into
the box m².
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare, that what
I claim is :-
1. In coin-freed games of skill machines, the combination of the various parts of
mechanism fitted up into a case, substantially as above fully described in this
specification for the purpose specified.
2. In coin-freed games of skill machines, the combination of the various parts of
mechanism or their equivalents, substantially as described in the above specification.
3. In coin-freed gaines of skill machines, the combination of case a glazed front b
lock c slot d chute e main chute g bracket h hand lever i vertical slot j grille k
openingschutes m cup n hopper o lever p hooked end q slot drawer a frame t
magazine u pivot w hole al and chute a, substantially as herein described and
according to the accompanying drawing.
4. In coin-freed games of skill machines, the combination of the chute a' hole a¹
main chute g pivot w bracket h and lever i, substantially as herein described and
according to the accompanying drawing.
5. In coin-freed games of skill machines, the combination of the ladder or grille k
5 openingschutes m cup n magazine u frame t hopper o counter weighted pivoted

page_text: horizontal lever p front hooked end q slot and drawer s, substantially as herein
described and according to the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 14th day of May 1897.
J. P. BAYLY,
18 Fulham Place, London, W., Agent for the Applicant.