Improvements in Coin-freed Mechanism.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application,- 22nd Aug., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 21st May, 1895-Accepted, 22nd June, 1895
-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Coin-freed Mechanism.
We, GEORGE FRANKLIN GALE, Machinist, of Winthrop, in the County of
Suffolk, and ARNOLD BOONE HOLMES, Mechanical Engineer, of Newton, County
of Middlesex, both in the State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
do hereby declare-the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:
Our invention relates especially to a coin-released mechanism for dispensing
bulky and weighty articles such as cigars, rolls or plugs of tobacco, bottles of
eau de Cologne, etc.
Heretofore much difficulty has been experienced in constructing a mechanism for
automatically delivering this class of articles; from the fact that it has been deemed
necessary to employ weights or springs which renders it extremely inconvenient
and costly to construct machines of sufficient size to effect the object.
.
Our said invention is designed to overcome these and other objections and in
carrying it out we make use of means which will be understood by those
conversant with such matters from the following explanation, viz:—
We provide an outer case which may be of any form and construction, but
preferably rectangular and provided in its front with a detachable door secured by
a lock at the top. In' suitable positions in the door there are coin and delivery
slots as hereinafter mentioned.
In the rear of the box there is a vertically arranged serpentinė chute for carrying
the goods to be delivered; this form being employed as the grooves take off the
pressure resulting from the weight of the goods at the actuating mechanism. A
glass front preferably covers the serpentine chute.
Running transversely of the case and journaled in suitable supports there is a
rotary shaft. On this shaft is mounted a delivery or periphery-wheel. This wheel
comprises two disks having peripherally-opening segmental slots the partitions
between said 'slots being hook-shaped 'or curved:
The mouth or lower opening of the said 'chute delivers to the slots in this wheel
and slightly at one side of a vertical plane passing through the shaft carrying the
said periphery wheel so that when a roll of the goods in said chute drops into
one of these peripheral'slots it will tend to cause the periphery-wheel to rotate by
gravity.
On the said shaft is rigidly mounted a ratobet or escapement wheel. A ratchet
or anchor provided with teeth or pallets is pivoted in the frame and has a counter-
balance weight which holds one tooth of' said' ratchet'in engagement with the said
escapement wheel locking it against movement in one direction. On an atm
projecting from the opposite side or arm of the anchor or ratchet is mounted a
coin-pan, these parts being so arranged that when the coin strikes' said 'pan the
anchor or ratchet will be rocked' against the weight of its counterbalance thus
permitting the shaft to be driven the distance of one or more teeth on the ratchet
or escapement wheel by the weight of the goods acting on the periphery-wheel.
A stop for the chute comprises an arm fast on a rock-shaft. To the head of
this arm there is attached a plate or lip which' projects across the mouth or lower
opening of the chute and normally holds the contents of the chute from dropping
into the periphery-wheeli
A counter-balance is fast to the said rock-shaft. On the periphery-wheel shaft
there is a ratchet-wheel and on the rock-shaft carrying the chute-stop above

page_text: mentioned there is an arm which bears a cam-pawl engaging said ratchet wheel
whereby when the periphery-wheel shaft is rotated the said rock-shaft will be
actuated as the cam-pawl rides on a tooth of the ratchet wheel throwing the stop
or lip out from the path of the goods in the chute.
A shield covers a portion of the peripheries of the disks forming the periphery-
wheel so that the goods contained in the slots or recesses of the said wheel will not
be discharged until a determined point in the revolution of said wheel.
Under the periphery-wheel is arranged a discharge-chute inclining outwardly.
This chute opens in the cover or door of the case.
Across said chute there is a clapper-valve which will permit the passage of the
article to be delivered but will stop the insertion of wires or other implements from
outside the case.
=
The coin-chute comprises a main-chute having an elbow in it, said chute connecting
at the top with the coin-slot in the front of the case and opening below over the
balanced pan above mentioned.
From the main portion of the coin-chute above mentioned a parallel chute opens,
thus forming two branches separated by a partition at the fork in said main portion.
One branch leads to a receiving box in the bottom of the case without connecting in
any manner with the mechanism heretofore mentioned..
Adjacent to the edge of the partition above mentioned a teat or boss is struck
up from the bottom of the chute centrally. The purpose of this boss is to
prevent the use of metallic washers for operating the machine in place of a legal
coin.
On the periphery-wheel shaft between the branches of the coin-chute a disk is
made fast.
The door of the casing has a segment cut out and glazed so that a portion of this
disk is exposed. Said disk is provided with a series of pockets which will receive
the coin from the pan. The weight of this coin serves to actuate more determinedly
the shaft, and moreover, when a coin is inserted in the chute, it is delivered into
one of the said pockets at the top of the segmental slot or opening and exposed to
view through the glass so that it can be readily seen whether the party operating
the machine has disposed a legal coin therein, or not.
As the said disk is rotated and a pocket passes the vertical centre of the shaft or
approaches said center the coin falls out from the pocket and is discharged into a
chute leading to the coin-receptacle.
In the use of our improvement, the serpentine chute above mentioned is filled
with the articles to be dispensed. To render the operation of the machine more
perfect and prevent such articles from catching in the said chute we preferably
enclose them in small wooden or paper cylinders. These are stopped and held at
the mouth or lower opening of the said chute by the plate or lip on the stop-bar as
above mentioned..
A coin being inserted in the coin-chute it falls onto the balanced pan and thence
into a pocket of the disk as described.
The pan by contact of the coin drops, releasing the escapement.wheel and permits
the weight of the articles which have previously been disposed in the notches of the
periphery-wheel to rotate said wheel the distance of one tooth, at the same time
the ratchet wheel on the periphery-wheel shaft engages the cam-pawl rocking the
rock-shaft and throwing the stop plate or lip out of the path of the article which
drops into the successive empty notch of the wheel. The counterbalance immedi-
ately reciprocates the rock-shaft forcing the stop-plate or lip across the chute-mouth
again and the counterbalance reciprocates the anchor thus locking the escapement
wheel against further movement until the pan is again depressed.
All the necessity of employing springs for tensioning or reciprocating the parts
is avoided by our improvements and the delivery or periphery wheel as will be
seen is actuated entirely by gravity.
It will be understood that several of the peripheral notches in the periphery-
wheel at the descending side of the shaft thereof are at all times filled by the
15
=

page_text: articles to be dispensed and that as the machine is operated and the delivery-wheel
advances the distance of one of these articles, the lower article passing the shield
drops from the wheel into the delivery chute and sliding therein opens the clapper-
valve and is delivered from the mouth of said chute through the cover.
We do not confine ourselves to employing the coin-pocket disk on the periphery
wheel shaft as it may be dispensed with, if desired, although we deem its use
preferable. Nor do we confine ourselves to employing any particular form of
receiving pocket or notch in the delivery or periphery-wheel, nor to any special
form of wheel. The serpentine-chute may also be substituted by a straight-chute
if desired. The branch of the coin-chute may be entirely dispensed with, the
mouth of said branch being simply a hole through the lower inclined wall of the
main chute or a plain coin-chute may furthermore be employed without departing
from the nature of our invention, a salient feature of which is comprised in a
delivery or periphery-wheel which may be actuated by the weights of the
articles to be delivered and a coin-released locking mechanism for said wheel.
Dated this 22nd day of August 1894.
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.
We, GEORGE FRANKLIN GALE, Machinist, of Winthrop, in the County of
Suffolk, and ARNOLD BOONE HOLMES, Mechanical Engineer, of Newton, in the
County of Middlesex, both in the State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
do bereby 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 :-
Our invention relates especially to a coin-released mechanism for dispensing
bulky and weighty articles, such as cigars, rolls or plugs of tobacco, bottles of
eau de Cologne, etc.
Heretofore much difficulty has been experienced in constructing suitable
mechanism for automatically delivering this class of articles, from the fact that it
has been deemed necessary to employ weights or springs which render it extremely
inconvenient and costly to construct machines of sufficient size to effect the desired
object.
Our said invention is designed to overcome these and other objections, and, in
carrying our invention into practice, we make use of means which will be readily
understood by those conversant with such matters from the following explanation,
reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this Specification,
in which
Figure 1 is a front elevation of our improved machine ;.
Figure 2 a transverse section on the line, 2, 2, Figure 1;
Figure 3 an elevation partly in section on the line 3, 3, Figure 2; and
Figure 4 a sectional view illustrating the operation of the coin-chute.
Like letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the
drawing.
A represents the outer case which may be of any suitable form and construction,
that shown being rectangular, and provided in its front with a detachable door, B,
secured by a lock b, at the top. In a suitable position in the door there is a coin-
alot d.
In the rear of the box there is a vertically arranged serpentine chute C for
carrying the goods to. be delivered; this form being employed as the grooves take

page_text: off the pressure resulting from the weight of the goods at the actuating mechanism.
A glass front.f, covers the serpentine chute.
Running transversely of the case and journalled in suitable supports: there is a
rotary shaft, g. On this shaft is mounted-a delivery or periphery-wheel, D. This
wheel comprises -two discs having peripherally-opening segmental slots, 'h, the
partitions,., between said slots being hook-shaped or curved as best shown in
Figure 3.
The mouth or lower opening, j, of the said chute, C, delivers to the slots in this
wheel, and slightly at one side of a vertical plane passing through the shaft, g, so
that, when a roll, k, of the goods in said chute drops into one of these peripheral
slots, it will tend to cause the wheel, D, to rotate by gravity.
On the shaft, g, is rigidly mounted a ratchet or escapement wheel, m. A ratchet
or anchor, p, provided with teeth or pallets is pivoted in the frame and has a counter-
balance weight, q, which holds one tooth of said ratchet or-anchor, in engagement
with the wheel, m, locking it against movement in one direction. On an arm
projecting from the opposite side or arm of the anchor or ratchet is mounted a
coin-pan, t, these parts being so arranged that, when the coin strikes said pan, the
anchor or ratchet will be rocked against the weight of its counterbalance, q, thus
permitting the shaft to-be driven through the distance of one or more teeth on the
ratchet or escapement-wheel, by the weight of the goods acting on the periphery
wheel, D.
A stop for the chute, C, comprises an arm, c, fast on a rock-shaft, w. To the
head of this arm there is attached a plate or lip 2, which projects across the
mouth, j, of the chute, C, and normally holds the contents of the chute from
dropping into the periphery-wheel.
A counter-balance, 15, is fast to the rock-shaft, w. On the shaft, g, there is a
ratchet-wheel, 16, and on the rock-shaft, u,.t
.there is an arm, v, which bears a cam-
pawl, 17, engaging with said ratchet wheel 16, whereby, when the shaft, g, is
rotated, the rock-shaft, w, will be actuated as the cam-pawl 17, rides on a tooth
of the ratchet-wheel, 16, throwing the stop or lip, z, out from the path of the goods
in the chute.
A shield, 20, covers a portion of the peripheries of the discs forming the
periphery-wheel, D, so that the goods, k, contained in the slots or recesses, h, of the
said wheel will not be discharged until they reach a determined point in the revolution
of said wheel.
Under the periphery-wheel is arranged a discharge-chute, F, inclining outwardly.
This chute opens at, 21, in the cover or door B.
Across the said chute there is a clapper-valve, 22, which will permit the passage
of the article k, but will stop the insertion of wires or other implements from
outside the case.
The coin-chute H comprises a main-chute 25 having an elbow 26 in it, the said
chute being connected at the top with the coin-slot, d, in the front of the case, and
opening at 27, over the pan, t.
From the main portion 28, of the coin-chute, H, a parallel chute, 29,.opens, thus.
forming two branches, 25, and, 29, separated by a partition, 30, in the said main
portion, 28. The branch, 29, leads to a receiving box, J, in the bottom of the
case without connecting in any manner with the mechanism hereinbefore
described.
Adjacent to the edge of the partition, 30, a teat or boss, 35, is-struck up from
the bottom of the chute.centrally. The purpose of this boss is to prevent.the-use
of metallic washers for operating the machine in place of a legal coin.
On the shaft, g, between the. branches, 25 and, 29, of the coin-chute, a disc, 75,
is made last. This disc is shown by dotted lines in Figure 1...
The door B of the casing has a segment, 76, cuts out and glazed so that a portion
of this disc, 75, is exposed. The said disc is provided with a series of pockets, .7.7;
which will receive the coin from the pan,t. The weight of this coin serves to
actuate more determinedly the shaft, and moreover, when a coin is inserted in the

page_text: chute, it is delivered into one of the said pockets 77, at the top of the segmental
slot 76 and exposed to view through the glass, so that it can be readily seen whether
the party operating the machine has disposed a legal coin therein, or not.
As the disc, 75, is rotated and a pocket, 77, passes the vertical centre of the
shaft or approaches the said centre, the coin falls out from the pocket and is
discharged into a chute, 78, leading to the coin-receptacle, J.
In the use of our improvement, the serpentine chute, C, is filled with the
articles to be dispensed. To render the operation of the machine more perfect
and prevent such articles from catching in the said chute, we preferably enclose
them in small wooden or paper cylinders. These are stopped and held at the
mouth of the said chute by the plate or lip z on the stop-bar as above described.
A coin being inserted in the coin-chute, H, it falls onto the pan, t, and thence
into a pocket of the disc, 75, as described.
The pan by contact of the coin drops, releasing the escapement-wheel m and
permits the weight of the articles, k, which have previously been disposed in the
notches, h, of the wheel, D, to rotate the said wheel through a distance equal to
one tooth, at the same time the ratchet-wheel, 16, on the shaft engages with the
cam-pawl 17, on the arm, v, rocking the shaft, w, and throwing the stop-plate or
lip, z, out of the path of the article, k, which drops into the succeeding empty
notch of the wheel. The counterbalance, 15, immediately reciprocates the rock--
shaft, w, forcing the stop-plate or lip across the chute-mouth again, and the
counter-balance, q, reciprocates the anchor p, thus locking the escapement-wheel, m,
against further movement until the pan is again depressed.
All the necessity of employing springs for tensioning or reciprocating the parts
is avoided by our improvements, and the delivery or periphery wheel, as will be
seen, is actuated entirely by gravity.
It will be understood that several of the peripheral notches in the periphery
wheel on the shaft, g, are at all times filled by the articles to be dispensed, and
that, as the machine is operated and the delivery-wheel advances the distance of
one of these articles, the lower article, k, passing the shield, 20, drops from the
wheel into the delivery-chute, F; and sliding therein opens the clapper-valve, 22,
and is delivered from the mouth, 21, of said chute through the cover.
We do not confine ourselves to employing the coin-pocket disc, 75, as it may be
dispensed with, if desired, although we deem its use preferable. Nor do we confine-
ourselves to employing any particular form of receiving pocket or notch in the
delivery or periphery wheel, nor to any special form of wheel. The serpentine
chute may also be substituted by a straight chute if desired. The branch, 29, of
the coin-chute may be entirely dispensed with, the mouth of said branch being.
simply a hole through the lower inclined wall of the main chute, H, or a plain
coin-chute may furthermore be employed without departing from the nature of our
invention, a salient feature of which is comprised in a delivery or periphery wheel
which may be actuated by the weights of the articles to be delivered and a coin-
released locking mechanism for said wheel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1st. In a coin-operated dispensing machine, a wheel provided with devices for
receiving the article to be dispensed, in combination with a coin-released locking
mechanism for the said wheel whereby the wheel may be rotated automatically by
the weight of the said article and discharge the same, substantially as set forth.
2nd. In a coin-operated dispensing machine, a dispensing wheel provided with a
receptacle for receiving the article to be dispensed, a chute for the said article
adapted to register with the said receptacle, and a coin-released locking mechanism
for the said wheel and arranged to operate substantially as specified.
3rd. In a coin-operated dispensing machine, a wheel provided with a receptacle
for receiving the article to be dispensed, in combination with a chute discharging

page_text: into the said-receptacle, the coin-released locking mechanism for--the said wheel,
and a chute disposed in position to receive the said article when discharged from
the said wheel.
4th. In a coin-operated dispensing machine, a wheel adapted' to receive the
article to be dispensed, in combination with a chute for delivering the article to
the said wheel, a stop for the said chute, and a locking mechanism for the said
wheel, the said stop and locking mechanism being conjointly actuated by the impact
of a.coin.
5th.. In a machine of the class described, a coin-chute.provided with an opening
in its bottom and a boss or projection on the said bottom adjacent to the outer end
of the said opening.
6th. In a coin-operated dispensing machine, the chute, H, provided with the
partition, 30, and buss, 35, substantially as and for the purpose set'forth.
7th. In a coin-operated dispensing machine, the combination with a coin-chute,
of a rotary-disc provided with pockets for receiving a coin from the said 'chute, the
said pockets being adapted to be consecutively displayed through the casing of the
machine.
8th. In a coin-operated dispensing machine, the combination, with a coin-chute,
of a coin-released rotary dispensing mechanism, a disc having coin-pockets and
rotating conjointly with the said mechanism, and an opening in the case for
consecutively exposing the said pockets, substantially as described.
9th. In a coin-operated dispensing machine, the combination, with the coin-chute
and the case having the glazed opening, 76, of the rotary disc, 75, provided with
coin-pockets consecutively displayed through the said opening, and devices for
conducting a coin from the chute to the said pockets, substantially as described.
10th. In a coin-operated dispensing machine, the combination, with the case and
a coin-operated dispensing mechanism, of the vertically arranged serpentine supply
chute for delivering the articles to the said mechanism.
11th. In a coin-operated dispensing machine, the gravity dispensing wheel, D,
having peripheral pockets, h, for receiving the articles to be dispensed from a
supply-chute, in combination with a coin-released locking mechanism for the said
wheel, substantially as set forth.
12th. In a-coin-operated dispensing machine, the wheel, D, and chute, "C
discharging into said wheel, in combination with the coin-actuated ratchet.or
anchor engaging a ratchet or escapement wheel on the shaft of the said wheel, D
and a stop for the said chute actuated by the rotation of the said shaft, substantially
as-set forth.
13th. The improved machine constructed substantially as described with reference
to the accompanying drawing and operating as, and for the purposes, above
specified.
Dated tho Olot.dow of M
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12 Southampton Buildings, London, W:C.,
Agents for the Applicants.