Year: 1899

page_text: I, WILLIAM RITCHIE BAKER, of 9, Belmont Villas, Wallington, Surrey, Gentle-
man, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My object in this invention is to make a simple and efficient lock for w.c.
automatic machines, &c., that can be opened after a certain weight of coins, in one
or more pieces, has been placed in the slot. When intended for w.c.'s the case
could be made of any convenient size and shape and that part of the bolt which is
inside the case left hollow, with a space of about half an inch between the sides.
The bottom of this space would be occupied by a balance formed by a piece of
metal, pivoted near the centre, and having one end so weighted that it hangs
down and rests on a suitable stop fixed in the sides of the case, until the requisite
weight of coins has been placed on the other end, where it assumes a horizontal
position but is prevented from going further and letting the coins out of the lock
by a stop placed just behind the pivot. The indicator, which may he made hollow
like the bolt, and about two-thirds the width of the case, is suitably supported
above the bolt so that it can be pushed from one side to the other. The words
"vacant" and "engaged" are written on one side, and it may be so acted on by
a spring that it is always kept at one side or the other of the case, in order to fully
expose one or the other of the words at an opening in the centre made for that
purpose. The lever that is actuated by the outside handle is pivoted below the
bolt, and slopes upwards, just escaping the weighted end of the balance, and is
long enough to pass through the bolt and reach the indicator. It cannot be
moved however until the balance is in the horizontal position, when it is pushed
up and the bolt and indicator pushed back at the same time. On the handle
being liberated the bolt springs forwards, but the weighted end of the balance
is caught by a pin above the top of the bolt, when this is about halfway out, and
retains it in that position until it has been pushed back a second time either by
slamming the door of the closet or turning the inside handle. The spindle
attached to the inside handle has one arm on the lok side to push forward the
The front
indicator, and two arms like the spokes of a wheel on the bottom one.
arm is long enough to reach the end of the bolt and draw it back when fully out,
but the other will only reach it when half out, and when the handle is at rest is
slightly raised so that the end of the lock can pass hackwards and forwards below
it. To facilitate this action the bolt may be made to work on a slope.
In some kinds of automatic machines to which this lock could be adapted it
might be necessary to considerably modify the arrangements described above.
The indicator might be altered in form and movement, or not used, and the
apparatus so made as to deliver a ticket or other article or cause an advertise-
ment &c. to appear.

page_text: I, WILLIAM RITCHIE BAKER, of 9, Belmont Villas, Wallington, Surrey, Gentle-
man, 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 improvements in coin-freed locking mechanism and is
specially applicable to the doors of public water-closets, lavatories, telephone call
rooms, and the like, but my said improvements may be employed in connexion
with automatic coin-freed machines of various kinds.
←
The object of my invention is to produce a simple and efficient apparatus which
shall meet the requirements of such a lock more fully than those which have been
heretofore in use.
I will now proceed to describe my invention by the aid of the accompanying
two sheets of drawings which illustrate a lock intended to be applied to the
door of a public water-closet for example. Figure 1 is an elevation with the
inner cover plate removed; Figure 2 is a sectional plan on line 6 of Figures 1
and Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 1 but with the moving parts in
different positions; and Figure 4 illustrates that portion of the inside of the door
which is opposite to the lock which latter is attached to the outside of the door.
The leck is arranged so that it can be freed by one or more coins: for example,
by one penny or two half-pence, the weight of the coins acting to release the
locking mechanism as is hereinafter described.
is the lock case attached to the exterior of the closest door for example in
the following manner. Two screws are first screwed into the door in such a posi-
tion that the notches & formed on the internally projecting flange e on the upper
part of the lock rest thereon and the heads of the screws hold the upper part of
the lock close to the door. The lower part of the lock is then attached to the door
by means of screws passing through holes f in the flanges g. is the hopper or
receptacle for the coins after they have passed through the lock and have effected
their purpose. The upper edges of the hopper or receptacle are passed into a
recess in the lower portion of the lock-case e and the hole in the plate kis
passed over a hasp on the door, and the whole is held securely by a padlock or
other similar device in a well known manner. By these arrangements the pad-
lock is the only visible and accessible means of attachment of the lock and hopper
to the door when the whole are in place.
.
$
7 is the latch or bolt which is guided in its forward and backward movement by
the fixed pin m and slot n, which latter is curved so as to cause the bolt to rise
and fall slightly on its backward and forward movements respectively: is the
handle on the inside, and the handle on the outside, of the door The square
stem (see Figure 2) of the inside handle o carries the three-armed follower r,
and the square stems of the outside handle p carries the arm t. is an indicator-
slide bearing the words " vacant and engaged," one of which words is always
visible from the outside of the door through the opening in the lock-case. This
indicator-slide is capable of being moved to the left hand in the figures of the
drawings (exhibiting the word engaged" at the opening ) by means of the
outside handle and arm t; and to the right hand in the figures of the drawings
(exhibiting the word " vacant" at the opening ) y means of the inside handle
and arm of the follower r. The indicator-slide is also capable of being moved
independently in either direction by means of the index arm (Figure 4) from
the inside of the door. On the spindle y of this index arm is mounted a tumbl-
"

page_text: arm furnished with a radial slot into which takes a pin 2 on the indicator
slide u, a spring 3 bearing on the tumbling arm = ensures that the indicator-slide
shall not rest between the two extreme positions indicated in Figures 1 and 3.
4 is a balance-beam centred at 5 and weighted at 6 so as to ensure its assuming
the position indicated in Figure 1 when at rest in its normal position. The
balance-beam 4 and arm t are situated centrally in the thickness of the back
portion of the latch or bolt which is hollowed for this purpose from end to end
as shewn in Figure 2. The balance-beam 4 is furnished with a pin 7 projecting
on either side thereof and engaging, as hereinafter more fully described, with the
notch 8 in the two walls of the hollow-latch or bolt 7.
The action of the mechanism is as follows:-Supposing the door to be closed,
and it is desired to obtain admission, the various parts standing in the position
indicated by full lines in Figure 1, and the word " vacant
the opening
exhibited through
The person desiring admission places a penny (or two half-pence)
through the slot 9 in the top of the lock case c.
indicator-slide u and hollow-latch or bolt until it reaches the balance-beam 4.
The penny falls through the
The balance-beam 4 is preferably slotted as shewn at 10 in Figures 1 and 2, the
length of the slot being such as to allow anything smaller than the prescribed
coin to fall through the slot without actuating the balance-beam. The balance-
beam is brought temporarily to rest and the penny is prevented from falling
off the same by the pin coming into contact with the inclined cut-away portion
of the latch or bolt 7 as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1. The person now
turns the outside handle in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1 causing the
arm to move in the opposite direction. This movement of the arm causes the
indicator-slide to move into the "
engaged position indicated on Figure 3,
the spring 3 and tumbling arm z assisting such movement in the manner hereinbe-
fore described. The same movement of the arm brings it into contact first with the
specially shaped weighted end 6 of the balance-beam 4 at a point above the pin 5
and forces such end 6 upwards until the pins 7 enter the notches 8 on the latch or
bolt 7. The arm then comes into contact with the cross-bar 11 of the latch or
bolt 7 which is thereby forced backwards free of the bevil of the hasp on the door-
frame, and leaves the door free to be opened. At the end of the stroke of the
arm the balance-beam 4 and the said arm will have assumed the position indi-
cated in dotted lines in Figure 3, and the penny will have fallen into the hopper
or receptacle h.
"
The operator now releases the outside handle p, the arm is returned by its
spring 12 to its normal position indicated in Figure 1 (and in full lines in
Figure 3), and the latch or bolt 7 is forced outwards by its spring 13 until its
movement is checked by the pins in the notches 8 in the said latch or bolt,
whereby the latter is retained in a "half-latch" position, that is to say, the latch
or bolt 7 is not permitted to return to the position indicated in Figures 1 and 2
but is held in the position indicated in Figure 3 by the pins 7 of the balance-
beam acting upon the notches 8 in the latch or bolt. The operator having entered
the closet, for example, he closes the door after him, the bevil of the hasp on the
door frame forces inwards the latch or bolt 7, releasing the pins from the
notches 8, and the balance-beam 4 returns by gravity into the position indicated
in Figure 1 ready for the reception of the next penny to be introduced into the
slot 9 of the lock case. As soon as the latch or bolt 7 passes behind the bevil of
the hasp. it is again forced outwards by the spring 13 and the pins 7 being no
longer opposite to the notches 8, the latch or bolt is free to return into the fully
atched position (see Figures 1 and 2). Should the operator however, instead of
lamming the door behind him after entering the closet for example, turn the
nside handle in the direction of the arrow (Figure 4) the short arm 14 of the
ollower will then engage with the cross-bar 15 of the latch or bolt and will
withdraw the projecting forward end of the said latch or bolt, releasing the
alance-beam 4: and the effect upon the mechanism will be the same as if the
oor had been closed by slamming. The partial rotation of the follower
will

page_text: י
cause its long arm w to act upon the cross-bar 16 of the indicating slide u, which
will thereby be partially moved into the position exhibiting the word "vacant,"
but the rotatory movement of the follower will not be sufficient to cause the
acting pin 2 to pass the turning centre of the tumbling arm z, and consequently
the spring 3 will return the tumbling arm, and thereby the indicator-slide u
into the engaged" position after the handle o has been released, and the fol-
lower returned into its normal position by its spring 17. It will be understood
that the slightly upward inclination of the bolt in its backward movement, caused
by the pin m and curved slot n, assists in ensuring that the short arm 14 should
engage with the cross-bar 15 of the latch or bolt 7. The latch or bolt now being
released from the balance beam, is shot out to its full extent, and any movement
of the outside handle will be ineffectual for moving backward the arm & and
latch or bolt 7, the former being dogged by the weighted end of the balance-
heam 4 as shewn in Figure 1. If however the inside handle o be moved in the
direction of the arrow (Figure 4), the follower will be rotated and its long
arm w will come against the cross-bar 16 in the indicator-slide u and will push
the said slide over from the "engaged" position (Figure 3) into the "vacant
position (Figure 1), the tumbling arm z facilitating such action after the pin 2
has passed the turning centre of the said tumbling arm. By the same movement
of the follower the arm 18 will be brought against the cross-bar 15 of the latch
or bolt (the arm 14 being free of such cross-bar when the latch or bolt 7 is in
its forward position) and will draw the said latch or bolt back clear of the hasp,
when the door may be opened. On the handle being released the springs 13
and 17 restore the latch or bolt 7, and follower into their normal positions, the
indicator slide remaining in the vacant position, ready for another cycle of
operations. It will be seen that the coin slot 9 in the lock case e coincides with a
corresponding coin passage of suitable shape in the indicator-slide a whenever the
latters stands in the "vacant" position, but that the coin slot 9 is closed by the
upper table 19 of the indicator slide whenever the latter stands in the "engaged"
position thereby preventing the insertion of coins excepting when the said slide
is in the "vacant" position.
"
11.
"
It will be understood that the index arm on the inside of the door is normally
self-acting and points to "bolted" whenever the indicator-slide u is in the
engaged position: and will point to unbolted" whenever the indicator slide u
is in the "
vacant position, there being no necessity for the operator to touch
the index-arm under ordinary circumstances. But should he for any reason
open the door by the inside handle o, or wantonly turn such handle, the indicator-
slide will be moved into and remain in the vacant position, rendering the
entry of another person possible by the introduction of another penny into the
slot 9. But such movement of the handle o will also have caused the index-
arm to point to the word "unbolted," and the operator can then turn the said
arm over to the "bolted" position, which will at the same time move the indi-
cator-slide into the "engaged" position without interfering with the position
of any of the other mechanism in the lock.
For the purposes of cleaning the interior of the lock, more especially the
balance-beam 4, I provide a hole 20 in the front of the lock opposite the axis 5
of the balance-beam 4, through which hole the pin 5 may be removed, and the
balance-beam 4 will fall out through the bottom of the lock. A brush may then
be passed up into the various parts of the lock, and the balance-beam being also
carefully cleaned may be replaced in position and the pin 5 again inserted. The
lever 21 centred at 22 to the inside of the lock may be made to cover or uncover
the hole 20 as desired.
The usual provision for the insertion of a master-key by an attendant is made
on the outer side of the lock opposite to the spindle of the follower 2.
In cases where a coin-freed lock is required of a cheaper and simpler construc-
tion than that hereinbefore described, I may omit the short arm 14 of the
follower r, the notches & in the latch or bolt 7, and the means for imparting an

page_text: inclined movement to the said latch or bolt; but in a lock so modified it is obvious
that the indicator-slide u will be moved to the "vacant position by the first
operation of the inner handle o to draw-back the bolt.
In some kinds of automatic machines to which this apparatus could be adapted
it might be necessary to modify the arrangements herein before described. The
indicator might be altered in form and movement, or not used, and the apparatus
so made as to deliver a ticket or other article, or cause an advertisement to appear.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
First. The coin-freed locking mechanism which consists of the latch or bolt /
having notches 8, the balance-beam 4 having pins 7 engaging with the notches 8
in the latch or bolt, the indicator-slide u, the arm t actuating the indicator-
slide and the latch or bolt, the three-armed follower actuating the
indicator-slide and the latch or bolt, and the tumbling arm z with or without
the index arme, the whole combined, arranged and operating substantially as
described with reference to the drawings and for the purposes specified.
Second. In a coin-freed lock, mechanism whereby the latch or bolt can be
drawn back by the inner handle without so acting upon the indicator as to alter
the indication from that exhibited by the movement of the outer handle, com-
bined and operating substantially as described.
Third. In coin-freed locking mechanism the latch or bolt with notches S and
the balance-beam 4 with pins in combination with the three-armed follower r
and indicator-slide u, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
Fourth. In coin-freed locking mechanism the indicator-slide actuated by the
arms and in combination with the spring-urged tumbling arm substantially
as described with reference to the drawings.
Fifth. In coin-freed locking mechanism the indicator-slide a with a coin-
passage and an upper table 19 in combination with the coin-slot 9 in the lock-
case c, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
Sixth. In coin-freed locking mechanism the indicator-slide a in combination
with the spring-urged tumbling arm, substantially as described with reference
to the drawings.
Seventh. In coin-freed locking mechanism the means whereby the balance-
beam may be withdrawn and the interior of the lock cleaned without removal
from the door, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
Eighth. In coin-freed locking mechanism the latch or bolt adapted to move
in an inclined direction in order to bring it within the path of the short arm 14
of the follower r, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
Ninth. The coin-freed locking mechanism which consists of a latch or bolt, a
balance-beam having pins which act upon the said latch or bolt, an indicator, an
arm actuating the said indicator and latch or bolt, a two-armed follower actuating
the said indicator and latch or bolt, with or without a tumbling arm and index
arm, combined, arranged, and operating substantially as described.
Tenth. The coin-freed locking mechanism combined and operating substan-
tially as described.
1
3
1
1.000