Improvements in and relating to Vending Machines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Dec., 1894-Accepted, 6th July, 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Vending Machines.
1, THOMAS SAMUEL WHEATCROFT, a citizen of the United States of America,
residing at Rush in the County of Susquehanna and State of Pennsylvania, one of
the United States of America, Merchant, 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:-
My invention relates more particularly to certain new and novel improvements
in automatic vending machines, commonly called "penny-in-the-slot" machines;
and it consists essentially in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the
various parts constituting the mechanism for automatically vending the article, and
also in combining with said mechanism a device indicating the number of sales
made; a device displaying advertisements, and, in case the apparatus is employed as
a peanut vender, a roasting machine, as will be hereinafter more fully described
and specifically set forth in the claims.
The principal object of the invention is to produce an apparatus, of the character
above mentioned, for vending, automatically, irregular shaped articles such as all
kinds of nuts, confectionery, etc., and the mechanism by which I accomplish this
object is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which—
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my improved vending machine, with a
peanut roaster attached thereto; Figure 2 a longitudinal vertical section of the
same, showing the sale indicating and advertising mechanism in side elevation;
Figure 3, a front elevation of the machine, showing the roaster attached;
Figure 4 a transverse vertical section of the machine, looking from the rear ;
Figure 5, a modification of the vending mechanism;
Figure 6 a detail of the advertising mechanisms;
Figure 7, an enlarged detail of the upper slide or gate, its operating mechanism,
and the sales indicating mechanism, and
Figure 8 a plan of the upper gate.
For convenience I will describe the detailed construction and operation of the
several mechanisms under the following heads, namely, Vending-mechanism, Sale-
indicating mechanism, and Display-advertising mechanism.
In the drawings, like letters and numerals of reference indicate like parts
throughout the several views.
The letter A indicates the receptacle within which the several mechanisms are
arranged to operate, and the said receptacle may be constructed of any suitable
material and of any desired shape, and is preferably mounted on wheels, as shown
in the drawings.
THE VENDING-MECHANISM.
The numeral 1 indicates a tube which is situated in the front central part of
the receptacle. The upper end of this tube is provided with a suitable hopper 2,
by means of which said tube may be readily filled or supplied with the articles to
be vended. A cover or door, 3 is hinged to the bopper, and any suitable locking
device may be employed to secure said cover, and thereby prevent unauthorized
persons from attaining access to the contents of the tube. The tube is divided
[Price 8d.]

page_text: into two compartments, a, and a', which, for convenience I will designate and
bereafter refer to as the supply and measure compartments, respectively. A third
compartment, ³, designated a package compartment, is arranged immediately
beneath the tube 1, but, in this case the front wall of the compartment is flush with
the front wall of the receptacle and is provided with a knob X. The package
compartment is fitted with a false bottom, 5, which is provided at each corner with
a pin 6; each pin projects through a vertical slot, 7, made in said compartment,
and to each pin is attached one end of a spiral spring 8, the other end being secured
to the upper end of the compartment, the purpose of which will be hereinafter
explained.
Between the supply and measure compartments a transverse slot 9 is made in
the rear wall of the tube, through which slot a gate 10, is caused to reciprocate in
suitable transverse guides made in the side walls of said tube. The rear end of
the gate is hinged to a spring-actuated lever 11, fulcrumed on a shaft 12, journaled
in bearings made in or secured to the side walls of the main receptacle. The
gate is preferably constructed with a flat oblong base, from one edge of which
projects double tines, as shown in Figure 8. The advantage of this form of gate is
obvious.
The rear edge of lever 11, near its lower end, is provided with an eye, 13,
through which passes the end of a curved arm 14, secured to rock-shaft, 15,
journaled in bearings made in or secured to inner side walls of the main
receptacle.
Between the measure and package compartments, through a suitable opening, is
arranged another gate 16, which is secured to a rod 17, pivoted in brackets secured
to the walls of the tube, and said gate is provided with a rearward extension, 18,
carrying a lateral arm, 19, to be hereinafter more fully explained.
The letter C indicates a slot-way, supported in any convenient manner, and
extends in an inclined position, from the front of the main receptacle to near the
rock shaft 15. The upper end of this slot-way registers with a slot, 20, made
through the front wall of the receptacle and the lower end with a short tube 21,
rigidly secured upon said rock-shaft, the purpose of which will presently
appear.
Pivoted on a shaft, 22, is one end of an operating lever D; the other end of
said lever extends through a vertical slot, 23, made in the front wall of the
receptacle, and is provided with a handle, 24. Rigidly attached to the upper side
of the operating-lever, in close proximity to the short tube 21, is a hook, 26, and
between the center and outer end of said lever is secured one end of a spring, 27,
the other end of said spring being secured to the upper wall of the main receptacle.
The under side of the lever is provided with a luge, which engages the arm 19 of
the gate 16.
The mechanism for maintaining the package-compartment in locked position
until a sale is made, consists of the following mechanism, to wit:-
:-
Fulcrumed on a rod r is a catch-lever L, held in contact with a keeper, k, by a
spring, s, a stop Z serving to limit the movement of the catch-lever. One end of a
spring, S, is secured to each corner of the package compartment (only two shown)
and the other end to said posts p p. A curved spring S' is secured to the floor of
the main receptacle with its curved end pressing against the inner end of the
compartment, the purpose of which will be explained later on.
The operation of the above described mechanism is as follows:-
Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Figure 2, and the supply-
compartment filled with, say, peanuts, when the requisite coin is dropped in the
slot it will immediately slide down the inclined slot-way, and passing into the short
tube 21, will be caught and held by the hook 26, in the position shown, i.e., with a
portion of its diameter in the short tube, the remaining portion being engaged by
the said hook. In this position the coin forms a rigid connection between the two
parts, in other words, it locks the said parts together. To enable the person who
has dropped the coin into the slot to obtain his purchase, the operating lever must

page_text: be pushed down. As this lever descends, the rear end of the short tube, owing to
its locked connection with the hook 26, is caused to tilt downward, and as said
tube is rigidly secured to the shatt 15, the latter is caused to turn in its bearings at
the same time. As the shaft 15 turns, its curved arm 14 exerts a pulling force on
the lower end of the lever 11, drawing it back, and with it the forked gate.
At the same time said gate is being drawn back the gate 16 is being raised to
receive the nuts which will be permitted to descend from the supply compartment
as the gate 10 moves backward. The rising of the gate 16 is effected by the
pressure of the operating-lever and its lug c on the arin 19 of said gate. It wil
thus be seen that the backward movement of the gate 10 and the upward movemen
of the gate 16 begin simultaneously, but immediately after each has reached the
limit of its movement, the coin will have been entirely withdrawn from the shor
tube 21, which freed from its engagement with the ho k 26 will be instantly
returned to its normal position by the action of the spring-actuated lever 11, at the
same time the gate will be forced forward through the nuts to its normal position,
In the meantime
and the requisite quantity of nuts is separated from the supply.
the operating-lever, through its lug e has been holding the gate 16 in its horizontal
position, but as soon as said lever reaches the limit of its downward course and is
released, the spring 27 will instantly return it to its normal position, and the gate 16
being relieved of its pressure will drop back into its normal position, letting the
nuts drop into the first nest of packages supported upon the false bottom within
the package compartment. To enable the purchaser to obtain his package, he pulls
on the compartment-knob, overcoming the pressure of the springs, and takes out
his package, as soon as he lets go of the knob the said springs will return the
compartment to its locked position, the unlocking of which has been accomplished
in the following manner :
An arm, W, depending from the operating lever contacts with the rear end of
the catch-lever, L, pressing down said end and raising the other end out of
engagement with the keeper k, and immediately the disengagement takes place the
spring St, which exerts a pressure slightly stronger than the pull of the springs S,
will push the compartment out just a sufficient distance to prevent the catch-lever
re-engaging the keeper before the purchaser has obtained his package. As soon
as the knob X is released the tension of the springs S will pull inward with
sufficient force to lock the compartment.
It will be observed that the springs, 8, tend to feed the false bottom 5 upwardly
a sufficient distance to compensate for the taking out of the successive packages
of nuts.
The rear end of the short tube is slotted, as shown at W, Figures 2 and 7, s
that the hook 26 may play freely up and down, should the operating lever be, at
any time, pushed down when a coin is not present.
In the modification shown in Figure 5, the gate 16 therein employed is a
reciprocating one, the same as gate 10, and it is hinged to the lower end of a
lever 30, fulcrumed on a shaft 31; the upper end of said lever terminates in
a slotted yoke, which is adapted to receive the lower end of the lever 11, and a
loose connection is formed between the two levers by a pin 32, passing through the
end of lever 11 and working in the slots of the yoke. The front wall of the
measure compartment is provided with an inclined offset 33 to lessen the size of
the opening in the travel of gate 16, so that it may close the opening before the
gate 10 is fully withdrawn from the tube. The operation of this mechanism is
obvious: The normal position of the gates is that shown in the drawing, as gate 10
is drawn backward gate 16 is forced forward, and the opening closed before gate 10
is completely withdrawn. As soon as the coin is forced from the short tube, in the
manner heretofore described, the spring-actuated lever will cause the short tube to
assume its normal position; force the gate 10 forward through the nuts, as in the
first described operation, and, at the same time, withdraw gate 16 by forcing the
yoke end of lever 30 forward. In using this form of mechanism, I prefer to make
gate 16 like gate 10 to prevent cracking or mashing of the nuts or other articles.

page_text: THE SALES INDICATING MECHANISM.
The letter D indicates a reel carrying a paper tape, d, the free end of said tape
passes over a roller, d' and is secured to a shaft E. Mounted on said shaft is a
ratchet wheel e, which is engaged by a pawl, el, pivoted to the spring-actuated
lever 11. A marking or cutting-die F, is rigidly secured to said lever at a point
directly opposite the roller d', and said die may carry any character that will
indicate on the paper tape a sale made. The operation is as follows: When the
proper coin is passed into the slot and is engaged by the short tube 21 and hook 26,
locking the two together, and the operating-lever pushed down to withdraw the
gate 10, as soon as the coin is forcibly withdrawn from the short tube the spring-
actuated lever will assume its normal position, and, in doing so, the die will strike
the tape and record the sale, but before the impression or cut is made the pawl el
will have pushed the ratchet wheel one turn.
THE DISPLAY ADVERTISING MECHANISM.
Attached to
An endless band G is passed over the shaft E and rollers g 9 g.
each side edge of the band is a chain, g', which passes over sprocket wheels H, H,
mounted on said shaft. A given number of advertisements are printed on the band
and are displayed through an opening I in the front of the main receptacle. As
the sprocket-wheels are mounted on the same shaft with the ratchet-wheel e, it will
be obvious that at each turn of the shaft, by the pawl or ratchet, the sprocket-wheels
will feed the belt with a step-by-step movement, and at every turn of the shaft a
new advertisement will be displayed. The number of advertisements inay accord
with the number of sales the supply-compartment will contain; by adding one more
space for the word "Empty" and arranging the band to start with the advertise-
ment immediately following said word, the public will know when the supply of
nuts or other articles has become exhausted.
When peanuts are to be vended, a roaster K, may be attached to the vending
apparatus, so that the nuts may be roasted and placed in the supply compartment
in a warm condition. A trought may be employed to feed the nuts from the
roaster to the hopper, when the latter is uncovered.
Various modifications may be made without sacrificing the spirit of my invention
or departing from the principle thereof.
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 a vending or coin controlled machine, the combination, with a suitably
supported coin-slotway, of a tube provided with a vertical slot in one end and rigidly
mounted on a rock-shaft, said tube forming an extension to said coin slotway, and a
pivoted lever provided with a hook adapted to operate in the slot in the tube when
no coin is present and to engage the coin, when present, to rock said shaft and
tube, substantially as described.
2. In a vending machine, the combination, with the supply-compartment and a
reciprocating gate, of a spring-actuated lever having one end connected to said
gate, a coin-slotway, a rock-shaft carrying a slotway extension and provided with
a curved arm engaging said lever, and means for turning said rock-shaft when a
proper coin is present in said slotway extension, substantially as specified.
3. In a vending machine, the combination, with the supply compartiment, a
reciprocating gate, and a spring-actuated lever moving said gate in one direction,
of a slotway, a slotway extension rigidly secured to a pivoted shaft, a connection
between said shaft and said spring-actuated lever, and an operating-lever for
moving the gate in another direction when a coin of proper denomination is
present, substantially as specified.

page_text: 4. In a coin-controlled vending machine, the combination, with a supply-
compartment, a gate formed with double tines and adapted to reciprocate in said
compartment, and a measure-compartment having a gate arranged therein, of a
spring-actuated lever having one end connected to the reciprocating gate, a coin
slotway, a rock shaft carrying a slotway extension and provided with a curved arm
engaging said lever, and a pivoted lever provided with means for engaging the
gate in the measure compartment, and means for rocking said rock-shaft when a
proper coin is present in the slotway extersion, substantially as specified.
5. In a vending machine, the combination, of a supply-compartment, and a gate
reciprocating therein, a measure compartment situated beneath the supply-
compartment and having a gate arranged therein, and a movable package
compartment beneath the measure compartment and a lever arranged to operate
both gates, when a coin is present in the slotway, and deliver a measured quantity
of the contents into the package compartment, substantially as specified.
6. In a vending machine, the combination, with a supply-compartment, and a
gate reciprocating therein, a measure compartment and a gate arranged to operate
therein, mechanism for operating both gates when a coin is present in the slotway,
and a package-compartment held in locked position by a pivoted catch and released
by the operating lever, substantially as specified.
7. In a vending machine, the combination, with a supply-compartment and a
gate reciprocating therein, a measure-compartiment and a gate arranged therein,
and a movable package-compartment, of a slotway, a slotway extension rigidly
secured to a rock-shaft, and a spring-actuated operating-lever provided with a
hook, whereby both gates are operated when a coin is present locking the slotway
extension and operating-lever together, substantially as specified.
8. In a vending machine, the combination, with the supply-compartment, a gate
reciprocating therein and a coin-slotway, of a rock-shaft carrying a slotway
extension and provided with a curved arm engaging said lever, a lever operating
said rock-shaft when a coin is present in the slotway-extension, and a sales
indicating device, substantially as specified.
9. In a vending machine, the combination, with the supply-compartment, a gate
reciprocating therein, and a coin-slotway, of a rock-shaft carrying a slotway
extension and provided with a curved arm engaging said lever, a lever operating
said rock-shaft when a coin is present in the slotway extension, and a display
advertising mechanism, substantially as specified.
10. A machine for vending irregular shaped articles, comprising a main
receptacle, a supply-compartment, a measure compartment, and a movable package-
compartment contained in said main receptacle, mechanism substantially as
described for delivering the specified quantity to the package-compartment, and
mechanism for delivering the said quantity in a package to the purchaser, substan-
tially as specified.
1004
JENSEN & SON,
77 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.