Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Mar, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 5th Jan.. 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 12th Feb.. 1889
I, EZRA LOFTS of Bassingbourne House, Union Terrace, Mill Road, Cambridge,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
:-
In the present invention I seek to make a machine or apparatus to check the receipt
and payment of money of a cheap and simple design while retaining all the accuracy
of my older machines. Roughly speaking this machine may be said to consist of a
case or box, a drawer to contain the cash, a strip or roll of paper moved a certain
distance at each opening of the drawer and the necessary mechanism to connect
together the different parts and procure the desired movements.
The case or box I prefer to make of cast iron of suitable size and shape to contain
the drawer and other mechanism and provided with a lid having a piece of glass in it
through which the entry placed upon the paper by the attendant and the last deposit can
be seen. In my present invention I prefer to use a wheel and pinion to drive the paper
placing the handle by which I turn the pinion upon its spindle which runs across the
box and by preference dividing a revolution into four parts. Besides turning the
pinion and so moving the paper the pinion spindle at each quarter turn lifts a detent
which usually holds the drawer and prevents it from being pulled out; a bell also is rung.
A ratchet and pawl arrangement is employed to prevent the spindle being turned in the
wrong direction. An opening is provided at the edge of the glass in the lid through
which the entry is made upon the paper.
It is not essential to divide the revolution of the pinion spindle into four parts; the
revolution need not be divided at all, or other divisions besides four could be used,
and the movements of the detent and bell of course correspond with the divisions or
motions apportioned to this shaft. A palpable stop is provided at the end of each
motion whether inat be a whole turn or only a part.
As it is of importance that the movement of the paper besides taking place with
each opening of the drawer should always be of the same extent never more and never
less, it is desirable that the notion communicated to it should be positive and
unalterable as by the wheel and pinion a worm and worm wheel or the like

page_text: I sometimes employ a coin exhibitor and may for this purpose have an idle wheel
between the wheel and pinion the idle wheel and its spindle conveying the necessary
motion to the coin exhibitor which may be in the form of a cylinder or equivalent
with longitudinal recesses.
Improvements in Check Tills.
I, EZRA LOFTS of Bassingbourne House, Union Terrace, Mill Road, Cambridge,
Engineer, 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:-
:-
In the present invention I seek to make a machine or apparatus to check the receipt
and payment of money of a cheap and simple design while retaining all the accuracy
of my older machines. Roughly speaking this machine may be said to consist of a case
or box, a drawer to contain the cash, a strip or roll of paper moved a certain distance
at each opening of the drawer and the necessary mechanism to connect together the
different parts and procure the desired movements.
In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 is a plan of a complete till constructed according to my present invention
and of which
Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively elevations of the opposite sides of the same with the
side walls removed, Fig. 4 is a plan with the hinged part or lid removed, and Figs.
and 6 are a longitudinal and a transverse section taken respectively on the lines a-b
and c-d of figure 1.
Fig. 7 being a sectional view of a portion of the drum with the paper securing
device applied thereto.
A is the case which is preferably of cast iron and provided with the hinged lid or
cover A a suitable lock (not shown in the drawings) being provided to secure the lid
to the case A. B is the drawer provided with a knob B' or equivalent and against the
rear end of which the spring A² which may be secured to the case A exerts its
influence so as to tend always to force the said drawer out from the case A. B* are
the bowls for receiving the coin, which bowls are supported in the drawer B in any
suitable manner or a drawer without any bowls such as B2 can be used. A³ is a plate
supported by the case A and provided with a transverse opening A* preferably

page_text: extending the width of the exhibitor hereinafter described and which constitutes the
only inlet for the coin from the upper part of the case A to the drawer, all other parts
of the drawer being covered in by the said plate. A is the glazed portion of the
lid A the glass thereof being advantageously in three pieces as shown so that between
such pieces slits A7 and A8 may be left, the former admitting of the introduction of
the coin and the latter for enabling registers of sums received to be inscribed on the
paper band C which is held up against such slit A by the "table" Aº over which it is
intermittently caused to travel as hereinafter described. The "table" is preferably
provided with legs A³ (most clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 6) the lower ends of which
fit into sockets A10 secured to the case A so that when the lid A¹ is raised the
paper C will not be disturbed. D is a bracket on the upper ends of the arms of which
is carried the plate D¹ the lower part of the said bracket D resting on the top side of
the plate As being connected to the plate I² at its underside by suitable studs or their
equivalents which by passing through slots enables the bracket D and plate D² to be
together moved from the position in which they are shown in full lines to that in
which they are indicated in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 5, 13 being a spring which will
pull the bracket D into the latter position. The plate D is formed with a trans-
verse slot D¹ and with preferably two projections D one at each side of the said plate
and in such position that projections B³ formed on the sides of the drawer B will
engage them when the drawer is pushed in, this arrangement being such that
when the drawer is pushed "home" the plate D' will be under the money slit A
and prevent the insertion of coin while the slot I will register with the slot A¹
giving free communication between the upper part and drawer of the till. In the
reverse manner when the drawer is open the bracket D will have been drawn by the
spring D³ into the position shown in dot and dash lines in which the plate D' being
removed from below the money slit A leaves it free to admit coin being introduced
while the slot D will have been moved from below the opening A* and will thus
have cut off communication between the upper part of the till and the drawer B.
annular
E is a sleeve upon which is slipped end wise a roll of paper C to he afterwards
used for marking upon it the entries of cash takings the said sleeve as shown more
clearly in figure 6 being supported upon the spindle E to which it is preferably secured
by a removable pin E which secures the spindle E¹ in position but by its removal
will readily admit of the sleeve E being lifted out from the till for the insertion into
the till of a fresh roll of paper when required. The sleeve E is provided with
flanges or collars E' one of which is normally held in position thereon by the pin E2
but is removable to admit of a roll of paper being slipped on to the said sleeve. E
and E are gear wheels capable of rotating around the spindle E' but preferably sup-
ported by the wall of the case so that they will retain their position although the
spindle E may have been withdrawn. A suitable way of effecting this is by
providing the wheel E³ with an elongated boss E' and connecting the said boss to the
wall of the case by a pin or screw E which engages with an
groove in such boss but presents no hindrance to its rotation. The wheel E³
gears with the wheel F which is preferably cast in one piece with the
sleeve F extending as shown in fig. 4 nearly the whole width of the till case
and carried loosely, that is to say so as to be capable of rotating upon the
shaft F2 which itself is fixedly carried in the walls of the case A. F³ is the drum
secured preferably by brackets F to the wheel F, on which drum the paper bearing
the record of the money receipts is coiled. F is a hook pivoted to the adjacent wall
of the case so that when its hooked part is laid over the shaft F2 it prevents the
Sleeve F from moving longitudinally thereon and thus maintains the wheel F in
gear with the wheel Es but when it is desired to throw these wheels out of gear with
each other for the purpose of unwinding the register of takings from off the drum F3
the said hook is disengaged from the shaft F' and the wheel F may then he moved
sidewise out of gear from the wheel E³. The means by which secure the end of the
band of paper C to the drum F preferably consists of the rod F5 which fits into a
recess formed longitudinally in the said drum and at its ends is provided with pierced

page_text: lugs F extending radially towards the axis of the shaft F2 and through both of which
is passed the wedge or tapered rod F7 which when pressed "home" bears against the
inner periphery of the drum as shown most clearly in Fig. 7. The before-mentioned
wheel E gears with the pinion G which is fixed to the spindle G' also supported in
the walls of the case A through one of which walls one end of the said spindle projects
and has secured on it the hand-wheel or handle G. To this shaft are also fixed the
money exhibiting cylinder G, the ratchet or click wheel G+ and the ratchet wheel G'.
The cylinder G³ is divided by longitudinal vanes G into say four or as shown in the
drawings six compartments a like number of teeth being provided in the click
wheel G' so that for each revolution of the cylinder G³ six (or otherwise as arranged)
audible signals and palpable shocks as subsequently explained will be given. In place
of six divisions the cylinder may be divided into any other desired number of com-
partments or troughs or indeed it need not necessarily be divided at all one vane G
being all that under certain conditions may be required, the click wheel in all cases
corresponding to such construction. With the teeth of the ratchet wheel G engage
preferably two pawls G7 which are pivotted to the case, so that one pawl will rest
at the bottom while the other rests on the top of a tooth thus preventing any appre-
ciable reverse movement being imparted to the till mechanism. H is a detent or catch
lever which as shown in figs. 3 and 6 is pivotted at H' to the case and which at one
end is provided with two catches or detents H2 H3 the former for engaging with the
click wheel G' and the latter for engaging with a recess B formed in the laterally
extending rib B on one of the upper longitudinal edges of the drawer B. To the
opposite end of the lever H is connected the spring H which tends always to
throw the catches or detents H2 H3 into engagement with respectively the wheel G¹
and recess B the other end of the spring H being secured to the casing. I is a
curved plate for directing the coins through the openings A and D into the
receptacle B below.
The manner of operating the before described till is as follows :-
-
Let it be first supposed that the sum tendered by a customer corresponds with the
amount to be recorded on the paper C that is to say no change requires to be given,
the assistant receiving the money enters the amount on the portion of the paper C
exposed beneath the slit A but before he is able to get the money into the till (the
money slit A' being at the time obstructed by the plate D¹) be must turn the band-
wheel G in the direction indicated by the arrows. This operation by one of the
teeth of the click wheel G forcing down and passing over the catch H2 will result in
a sharp click or audible signal when after the tooth has passed, the detent H under
the influence of its spring H returns sharply to its normal position as in Fig. 3 by
which time the catch H will have been released from the recess B and the drawer B
have been forced outwards by the spring A2. The bracket D and its connected
plates D1 and D2 will also have been moved under the influence of the spring D³
so that the money slit A will be opened by the removal of the plate D' from under-
neath it and the slot A be closed by the plate D moved beneath it.. The assistant if
even otherwise inclined will now find it necessary to put into the till the proper
amount received for the written record made in the full view of the customer, will
through the gearing G, E4, E3 and F have been moved one complete stage onward from
beneath the slit A to a place inaccessible to him but yet fully exposed to the view of
the customer and others through the glass A. He therefore passes through the money
slit A the full amount received which by dropping into one of the compartments or
troughs of the coin exhibitor G³ will be exposed to view through the glass top until
the next transaction has been effected. The drawer B is then again pushed "home"
when the detents or catches H2 H3 will engage respectively with the click wheel G*
and the recess B and the slots A+ and A² will have been respectively opened and
closed.
If however the sum tendered by the customer exceeded that to be recorded, for
example assume the amount of the purchases to be sixteen shillings and the sum
tendered a sovereign, the assistant as before will note down on the paper C the sum to

page_text: be recorded viz.: sixteen shillings, will turn the hand-wheel G², drop in the sovereign
through the then-unobstructed money slit A' and before finally closing the drawer B
will take out from it four shillings and hand them to the customer.
It will be seen that by the before described arrangement a strong check is afforded
over the assistants for even supposing that one was desirous of surreptitiously
abstracting money from the till the drawer B would first have to be opened and in
doing that he would besides making an audible signal which would attract other
attention also cause a blank space to be left on the paper C which would prac-
tically indicate by its relation to the records entered before and after such omission
at what part of the day's transactions the fraud took place, and the wheel G* and
catch arrangement H2 causing a palpable stop to be made at each correctly divided
operation (in the example shown a sixth of a revolution) the assistant could not in
ignorance turn the apparatus so as to cause a blank to be left on the paper. If however
an assistant desired fo fraudulently withdraw money from the till when it was operated
for recording a genuine transaction that must necessarily be done in the full view of
the customer or others who would have had their attention attracted by the audible
signal previously given.
In some cases I prefer to longitudinally divide the coin exhibitor G³ by partitions
or the like into three different parts respectively for gold, silver and bronze or copper
coins and arrange the drawer B below with shoots or the equivalents which will
conduct the said coins to their respective receptacles.
In addition to the click wheel G and catch H for giving the audible signal there
may also be employed a suitable gong or equivalent device which would preferably
be operated upon by a hammer carried by the tail end of the detent lever H.
I am aware that in check tills it is not new to use a drawer normally held in the
till-case by a catch upon the release of which a spring forces it outwards nor to use
a glazed top through which can be seen the records of former monetary transactions
inscribed on an intermittently moving band of paper as well as the money tendered
in payment for some of such transactions and that neither is it new to sound a bell
during any one operation of the till and therefore do not claim any of these features
separately.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A check till in which by the operation of a single handle or equivalent the record
of a transaction is moved to an inaccessible part the money entrance to the till is
thrown open an audible signal given and the drawer released and opened automati-
cally the whole of these operations being performed simultaneously substantially as
berein described.
2. In a check till a coin exhibitor such as G³ into which the coin enters radially from
the periphery and which revolves upon a horizontal axis substantially as herein
described.
3. In a check till the combination with the shaft which causes the release of the
cash drawer of mechanism by which the paper is caused to travel one complete stage
by the same movement which releases the drawer substantially as herein described.
4. In a check till the combination with the cash drawer and detent such as H of a
ratchet or click wheel such as G for the double purpose of releasing the drawer and
giving an audible signal and to the hand of the operator a palpable check or shock
substantially as herein described.
5. In a check till the combination with the same shaft of a click wheel such as G₁
and rotating coin exhibitor such as G³ the latter having the same number of divisions
as the click wheel has teeth constructed and operating substantially as and for the
purpose herein described.
6. In a check till the combination with the cash drawer of a spring controlled detent
such as H having two operating catches such as H3 and H for the purpose of engaging

page_text: the one with the cash drawer and the other with the click wheel G substantially as
herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
7. The complete check till consisting essentially of a drum such as F³ for "taking
up" the used paper C gear wheels E3 E F and Ġ for transmitting motion to the said
drum a removable sleeve or drum E for carrying the roll of unused paper a coin
exhibitor G³ click or ratchet wheels G and G³ pawls G' catch lever or detent H shutter-
operating bracket D and drawer B substantially as herein described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.