Improvements in Guards for Coin Controlled Apparatus.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in Guards for Coin Controlled Apparatus.
I, CHARLES PETTER MAYER, residing at 44, Gilbert Ave., New Haven, in the State
of Connecticut, United States of America, Inventor, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention, and in what manner the same is to be perforined, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement
My invention relates to coin controlled apparatus generally and has for its object
to provide a slot cover or guard which normally covers the coin receiver, which, after
the guard has been raised, prevents the coin receiver from being moved until the
guard has been closed again and which, after a coin has been inserted and the guard
has been closed, cannot be opened again until the coin has passed out from the com
Ieceiver.
With these ends in view, I have devised the simple and novel construction which
I will now describe, referring by numbers to the accompanying drawings forming part
of this Specification, in which
Fig. 1 is an elevation illustrating the application of my novel guard to the casing
of a coin receiver.
Fig. 2, a section of the casing on the line x, x in Fig. 1, the mechanisin within
the casing appearing in elevation
Fig. 3, a section on an enlarged scale on the line y, y in Fig. 1, the position of the
parts corresponding with Figs. 1 and 2, that is, the guard being in the closed
position with no coin in the coin receiver
Fig 4, a similar view showing the guaid in the open position, and the com
receiver in position to receive a coin
Fig 5, a similar view showing the position of the parts after a coin has been
inserted and the guard returned to its normal position, the coin, indicated by dotted
lines, not having been expelled
Fig. 6, a partial elevation on an enlarged scale, the position of the parts correspond-
ing with Fig 4, a coin, indicated by dotted lines, having been inserted
Fig 7, a diagrammatic view illustrating the normal position of the connecting
lever and the notched disk, the position of the parts not shown corresponding with
Figs 1, 2 and 3
Fig 8, a similar view, the position of the parts not shown coresponding with
Fig 10 and either Figs. or 6, that is, showing the position of the connecting lever
and the notched disk after the lever has been placed in engagement with the disk
by the insertion of a cou, and either before or after the guard has been closed, said
view also showing the ratchet and pawls.
Fig. 9, a similar view, the hatchet and pawls being omitted, showing in
exaggerated form the position of the connecting lever and the notched disk after a
coin has been inserted and while the parts of the mechanism which are held against
n
17

page_text: backward movement by the ratchet and pawls, are strained by the engagement of
the cam with the plate on the operating shaft while the guard is being closed, i.e.,
moved from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position in Fig. 5, and
Fig. 10 is a view on a reduced scale, the barrel and com receiver being in section
and the connecting lever held in engagement with the notched disk by a coin and
acting to connect the controlling shaft with the operating shaft, the position of the
coin receiver being substantially at right angles to the position in Fig. 1, and the
coin in the position it occupies an instant before it is expelled
A indicates a casing and B a coin holder below the casing 1 denotes a shaft
journalled in the front wall 2 of the casing, and 3 a shaft journalled in the back wall 4
of the casing. Shaft 1 18 provided externally to the casing with a hand piece 5 and
within the casing with a plate 6, provided with a coin slot 7. For convenience in
description, I will terin shaft 1 the operating shaft and shaft 3 the controlling shaft,
for the reason that it extends beyond the casing A and controls the operation of
mechanism for vending or other purposes, which, however, forms no portion of my
present invention and is not shown in the drawings. The controlling shaft is
provided within the casing with a ratchet wheel 8, which is held against backward
movement by spring controlled pawls 9. In practice, this ratchet is made with a large
number of very fine teeth so as to hold the controlling shaft at all times against the
slightest backward movement. This shaft also carries a notched disk 10, by means
of which connection is made with the operating shaft, as will be more fully explained.
11 denotes a barrel which 18 provided with a vertical, or approximately vertical slot 12,
and with recesses in its ends which receive the ends of the controlling and operating
shafts and 18 held concentric with said shafts by arma 13 secured to the casing.
C denotes the coin receiver as a whole, which consists of two side plates 14, the outer
ends of which are rigidly secured to plate 6, leaving a space c between them, said
space being in alignment with coin slot 7. Side plates 14 are shown as provided
with flanges 15, which are riveted to plate 6 The inner ends of the side plates
are held the required distance apart by a strip or block 16 and are riveted to the
ends of metallic strap 17, the central portion of which encloses the barrel, see
Figs 2 and 10. 18 denotes a lever which we term the connecting lever, and
which is pivoted between the side plates as at 19. The rear or inner end of
this lever is adapted to be placed in engagement with the notches of disk 10 by
a coin 20, thereby connecting controlling shaft 3 with operating shaft 1. 21 denotes
a cross-pin near the outer end of lever 18, the outer ends of which pass through
slots 22 in the side plates and are engaged by springs 23, the other ends of said
springs being secured to the side plates, in the present instance to studs 24.
The normal action of these springs is to hold the outer end of the connecting lever
downward, see dotted lines Fig. 10, partially in the path of a coin as it is passed into
the comm receiver, and to hold the inner end of said lever in a tilted or raised
position in which it is out of engagement with the notched disk. 25 denotes an
elongated opening in the front wall 2 of the casing, and 26 a slot which intersects
said opening. 27 denotes a guard for opening 25, which closely fits and fills said
opening as indicated in the drawings. This guard is carried by a lever D, which is
pivoted to the face plate as at 28. One arm of this lever serves as a finger piece,
which I have indicated by 29, and the other comprises cam faces 30 and 31, and in the
normal position of the parts wholly fills slot 26 in wall 2 of the casing, see Fig. 3, and
in the receiving position enters slot 32 in plate 6.
•
The operation is as follows The guard is shown at its normal position in
Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The operating shaft, and with it the coin receiver, may be oscillated
freely in either direction by means of the hand piece, there being no connection with
the controlling shaft The guard, however, cannot be raised until plate 6 and the
coin receiver are in the position shown in Figa. 1, 2 and 3, for the reason that when
plate 6 18 in any other position than that shown in said figs., cam face 31 of lever D
will engage the face of plate 6 as indicated in Fig. 5, so that the guard cannot
be raised. As soon, however, as plate 6 is turned to the position shown in

page_text: Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the guard may be readily raised for the reason that slot 32 in
plate 6 will now register with alot 26 in wall 2, and will receive the end of lever D
having the cam faces when the lever is raised to lift the guard as clearly shown in
Fig. 4. 33 denotes a stop upon the inner side of front wall 2, which is engaged
by the coin receiver to stop the hackward movement of plate 6 and the coin receiver
at just the position at which slot 32 registers with slot 28, so that the end of lever D
can enter slot 32. Comparing Figs. 1 and 3 with Fig. 4, it will be noticed that in
Figs. 1 and 3, cofu slot 7 in plate 6 does not register with elongated opening 25, but
that said coin slot lies obliquely to the horizontal plane of said opening and partially
below said opening. It is an important feature of my invention that the coin slot
in disk 6 must be moved from its normal position to the receiving position, the
purpose of which will presently be explained. The mode in which disk 6, and with
it, of course, the coin receiver, is moved from the normal to the receiving position, 18
through the engagement of cam face 31 with the end wall 34 of slot 32. The effect
of this engagement 18 clearly illustrated in Fig. 4. Cam face 31 comes in contact
with end wall 34, while the parts are in the position illustrated in Fig. 3, see also
Fig. 1, and the continuation of the movement of lever D until it reaches the
position illustrated in Fig. 4, oscillates disk 6 and with it, of course, the com
receiver from the position illustrated in Figs 1 and 3 to the position illustrated
in Figs. 4 and 6, in which it will be seen that coin slot 7 in plate 6 lies parallel
with opening 25 in wall 2 and approximately at the center thereof. The parts
remain locked in this position by the engagement of the end of lever D with slot 32
in disk 6 until the guard is returned to the closed position, 2e., lying within
opening 25 in front wall 2. While the parts are in this position, a coin may be
passed through opening 25 and coin slot 7 into the coin receiver as indicated in
Figs. 6 and 10. The coin, as it is passed into the coin receiver, acts to tilt the
forward end of the connecting lever and places the inner or rear end of said lever in
engagement with notched disk 10, thereby connecting the controlling shaft with
the operating shaft It will be noted that this lifting of the connecting lever 18
against the power of the springs which hold it at its normal position, these springs
now acting to hold the edge of the coin pressed firmly against the barrel. As already
stated, however, the controlling shaft cannot yet be operated, although it is
connected to the operating shaft, for the reason that the parts are still locked in
what I have termed the receiving position, by the engagement
of the end of lever D with slot 32 in plate 6 on the operating
shaft. The operator now
closes the guard down into opening 26 in front
wall 2 of the casing In order to do this, however, it 18 necessary
oscillate plate 6 backward from the position shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in
Fig. 5, before the end of lever D can pass out from slot 32. This backward
oscillation of disk 8 18 accomplished through the engagement of cam face 30 on
lever D with end wall 35 of slot 32. It should be borne in mind, however, that the
operating shaft, plate 6 and the coin receiver are not free to oscillate, for the reason
that the parts are still connected through the engagement of the connecting lever
with the notched disk on the controlling shaft, as clearly shown in Fig. 10, and that
the controlling shaft is held against the slightest backward movement through the
engagement of the pawls with ratchet 8. It follows, therefore, that the backward
oscillation of plate 6 while the connecting lever 18 in engagement with the notched
disk can only be accomplished by straining the parts. This necessary strain is dis-
tributed between slot 32 in disk 6 and the pawls 9 which engage the ratchet wheel,
there being necessarily some torsion of the connecting lever which we have indicated
in exaggerated form in Fig. 9. This torsion or strain of the parts continues until
the end of lever D has passed entirely out of slot 82. The instant this torsion or
strain is relieved, however, by the passing of the end of the lever out of slot 32, the
parts will all spring back to their normal, 2 e. their unstrained position, the effect of
which is to carry plate 6 from the position to which it was carried by the action of
cain face 30 on wall 35 (such position being practically the position in which said
to

page_text: plate appears in Fig. 3) to the position illustrated in Fig. 5, in which it will be noted
that it is now impossible to lift the guard or to move lever D, for the reason that the
end of said lever will bear against the face of plate 6, slot 32 having passed upward
out of alignment with the end of said lever It results, therefore, owing to this
special construction, that, having placed the coin in the coin receiver, the operator
cannot move the coin receiver until he has closed the guard, and having closed the
guard, he cannot open it again until an additional operation has taken place, this
operation being the expelling from the coin receiver of the coin which has been
placed there, and the consequent disconnection of the operating shaft from the con-
trolling shaft. As the guard fits down closely into the opening in front wall 2, which
is much larger than the coin slot, it is rendered absolutely impossible to tamper with
the coin in the coin holder in any way, either by inserting an instrument from the
outside, or by attaching a thread or fine wire to the coin before it is placed in the
con receiver
The operation of expelling the coin from the coin receiver forms no portion of my
present invention, but will be briefly described in order that the operation of my
novel guard may be clearly understood. The operation of the controlling shaft, the
expelling of the coin from the coin holder and the consequent disconnection of the
controlling shaft from the operating shaft are moreover described at length in my
pending application for patent for automatic gas vending apparatus
While the coin is still in the coin holder and the controlling shaft and operating
shaft are connected, the operator, by means of the hand piece, may turn the
operating shaft and with it the controlling shaft from the position indicated in
Figs. 2 and 6 to the position indicated in Fig. 10 As soon as the coin receiver with
the coin therein has reached the position shown approximately in Fig. 10, that is the
position in which the space c in the com receiver registers with the slot in the
barrel, the springs will act to throw the connecting lever from the position shown in
full lines in Fig. 10 to the position shown in dotted lines in said fig., and will
instantly expel the coin from the coin receiver and project it through the slot in
the barrel and into the coin holder The instant the coin begins to move downward
toward the coin holder, the connecting lever will be disengaged from the notched
disk 10 on the controlling shaft and the latter will thereby become disconnected from
the operating shaft, so that further movement of the operating shaft in either
direction will have no effect whatever on the controlling shaft and the mechanism
operated thereby. The only way in which the controlling shaft can be again
actuated is by returning the coin receiver to the receiving position, raising the guard,
inserting another coin in the coin receiver, then closing the guard and then
operating the controlling shaft by means of the operating shaft while said shafts are
held in connection by the connecting lever and the coin in the coin holder.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same 1s to be performed, I declare that what
claim is :-
1. The combination with a controlling shaft, means for holding said shaft against
backward movement, an operating shaft, a coin receiver and a plate having a slot
carried by the operating shaft, and coin operated means for connecting the controlling
shaft with the operating shaft, of a casing having an opening with which the coin
receiver is adapted to register, and a lever carrying a guard adapted to fit said
opening and having cam faces 30 and 31 adapted to enter said slot, so that when the
guard is raised, cam face 31 will engage one end of said slot and move the coin receiver to
the receiving position, and after the shafts have been connected by the insertion of
a coin in order to close the guard the parts must be strained by the engagement of
cam face 30 with the other end of said slot until said cam face passes out of the
slot when the parts will spring forward again throwing the slot out of alignment
with the lever and rendering it impossible to open the guard again until the shafts
have been disconnected.

page_text: 2. The lever D carrying guard 27 and having cam faces 30 and 31, substantially
as shown, for the purpose set forth.