US1514598A - Slug-vending machine - Google Patents

Description

Nov. A11 1924:v 1,514,598

F. L. BEEAN SLUG VENDING MAGHI'NE Filed April 5, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 1l 1924. 1,514,598

F. L. BEEAN SLUG VENDING MACHINE Filed April 5, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheer 2` Patente Nov. ll, i924.

FRANK L. BEEAN, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 ERNEST H. KOBERGER, 0F

CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS.

SLUG-VENDING MACHINE.

after the insertion of a nickel therein willl effect the ejection or discharge of a telephone slug and the return of a nickel for the slug, in case the purchaser is unable to use the telephone, by inserting the slug into the machine and operating the same.

Another object of my invention is to make the machine simple in construction and comparatively small and compact in size so that it may be conveniently used adjacent public or other telephones or set upon the cashiers desk in a retail store or other establishment for the convenience of patrons andalso to save the time of the cashier in selling slugs and returning nickels for slugs when telephone calls cannot be made.

The invention consists further in the matters hereinafter described and more particularly 4set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. l isa perspective view of a slug vendmg machine constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the machine to the rear of the actuating mechanism and looking at the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of said mechanism at one side vof the machine and in position showing a slug or nickel, as the case may be, ejected into the discharge chute lat the bottom of the machine,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 5 'and 6 are fragmentary vertical sectional views taken on lines 5 5` and 6 6, respectively, of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the ejector plates;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view taken through' the machine to the Arear of the nickel and slug hoppers and looking toward the same; and

Fig. 9 is a view of a detail of construc- .tlon to be hereinafter described. The machine of my invention, as shown in the drawings, comprises an outside caslng having front and rear walls 1, 2, end wallsr3, 3, and top and bottom walls 4, 5. The latter are removable kfrom the casing for filling the supply hoppers with nickels and slugs and for removing the collected nickels and slugs from the collecting chambers, to be hereinafter described. These walls are normally held in place by a locking rod 6 extending through the casing from top to bottom and engaging both of said walls. A

Inside the casing are two vertical chutes 7, 8 secured to the front wall 1, as shown in the drawings.

and the one 8 for slugs. The upper ends 7, 8a of these chutes are separate from the mam portions of the chutes and are offset inwardly therefrom, as shown in Fig. 2.

These upper portions 7, 8a open upwardly.

through the top wall 4 of the casing, and

the latter is provided' with nickel and slug receiving slides 9, 10, respectively. The slide 10 for the slug chute 8 is equipped with a slug protector 11 vso that only slugs of a certain design ma be inserted in the machine. The chutes g, 8 are formed in part by the front wall 1 and this is provided at each chute with a sight opening .covered by a glass panel 12 held in place by a frame 13. These sight openings allow a view to be had of a certain number of slugs and nickels in the chutes.

, Pivoted to the front wall 1 on the inside thereof are two members 14, 14. These are arranged beneath the upper ends 7 a, 8a of the chutes and each has a concave recess .15

therein vto receive and hold the nickles and slugs when dropped into the chutes through the respective slides 9 and 10. The shafts 16,16 on` which these members 14, 14 are mounted vextend through the front wall 1 and are there provi ed with operating handles 17 and 18, as clearly shown in Fig.

1. To normally hold the members 14, 14 .in

positions to receive the coinsand slugs spring 19 extending between an and constituting a continuation for the chutes 7, 8 to their upper end portions 7, 8, respectively.

For each member 14, 14 there 1s a dog 21 pivoted at one end between the plate 2() and the front wall 1. The dogs 21 are normally held in the path of swinging movement of the outer ends of the members 14 bystop pins 22, 22, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. When a nickel or slug, as the case may be, in dropped into the machine onto one of the members 14, thenickel or slug resting in the recess 15 projects beyond the outer end .of the member 14 so that when the latter is swung by its handle toward the vertical portion of the chute, the nickel or slug will first come in contant with the dog- 21, raise it on its pivot and allow the member 14 to be swung far enough to discharge the nickel or slug into the associated vertical portion of the chute, as shown in Fig. 3, and

operate the ejector mechanism, to be hereinafter described and associated with said member 14.V Should a coin or disc, such as a in Fig. 9, smaller than the nickel or slug be dropped into the machine, the small size coin or disc would not project far enough fromthe carrying member 14 to raise the` dog 21,vl with the result that the carrying member would be stopped on contact with said dog, before being swung far enou h to operate the ejector mechanism, but Wou d discharge the smaller coin a into'the chute.

Located in the casing to the rear of the chutes 7 and 8, are two lioppers 23, 24 designed to hold a supply of nickels and slugs,

the nickels being in the former and the slugs in the-latter. Each hopper is provided with a vertical outlet chute 25, 25 openingfat its lower end into an upright tubular projection 26 on a horizontal plate 27- extending across the machine. Spaced below this plate is a horizontal plate 28 to provide aslidewa eac )hopper chute 25.

Each slide 29 is provided with an aperture or hole 30 ada ted to be moved into and out of register wit the bottom of the respective hopper chute 25 and of a size to receive the coin )or slug, vas the case may be, in the associated hopper chute. :The slide 29 is pro- "videdfwith an upwardly projecting lug 31 to which is pivoted a link 32. The upper end of this link is pivot'ed to the lower end of a swinging arm A33, which in turn is pivoted at its upper end to a bracket 34 on the adjacent side wall 3 of the machine, as shown in Figs.- v2 and 3. The associated pivoted carrier 14 is provided with a 'depending arm 35 carrying a pin 36 operating for the ejector slides. 29, 29, one for in an elongated slot 37 in a link 38 pivoted at its lower end to the'arm 33 between the ends of the latter. The slot 37 rmits the member 14 to be swung into ischarging position before operating the associated ejector slide 29. Thus When a smaller coin,

as a in Fig.'9, is dropped into the nickel chute, said member 14 may be moved to discharge said coin into the chute 7 without operating the slide 29.

Normally, the ejector slides 29, 29 occupy positions with their apertures 30 in register with the lower ends of the hopper chutes 25,

25, and the rest of the mechanism occupies the positions shown in Fig. 2. When the handle of one of the carriers 14 is turned to deliver a coin or slug to its associated chute 7 or 8, the arm 38 is raised upward causing the slide 29 to be moved toward the discharge chute 39 carrying theI coinl or slug, as the case may be, in its aperture 30 into position to drop into said discharge chute 39 through an opening 40 in the bottomplate 28, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3 and in dotted lines in Fig. 4. The discharge'chute 39 opens through the front wall 1 of the machine through a vertical slot 41 and into a cup 42, as shown in Fig. 1. The discharge chute 39 is common to both hoppers 23, 24, and consequently nickels and slugs are ejected from the machine into asingle cup 42.

Each ejector slide 29 is provided on one sidewith a projection 43 operating under the lower end of its associated coin or slug chute 7 or 8 to control the discharge of nickels and slugs from said chutes into collecting chambers 44, 45 at the bottom of the I when the ejector plates 29 are operated, I

provide for each of the chutes 7 and 8 a pivoted dog 46, 46. These are pivoted'to a fixed part of the machine casing and have their lower ends extending into the path' of movement of the projections 43 on the ejector plates 29. The upper ends of the dogs arc weighted so that they normally tend to drop into inoperative position, as shown in Fig. 2. Each dog 46 is provided with a forwardly projectn part 47 to extend into the associated chute g, 8 when the ejector plate 29 isl in position dischargin a nickel or slug'into the discharge chute 39, as shown in Fig. 3, for the purpose of preventing the plurality of -nickels or Aslugs in th chute above. the dog from dropping into t e collecting chamber below the particular chute,

the movement of the ejector plate 29 back to i normal position on the release ofthe operating handle, the dog 46 by its weighted end drops inward and downward and swings its projection 47 from'the chute and allows the to convey the nickel to the nickel chute 7` and dro it into the same. In'such movement of the parts, the ejector plate 29 is moved to discharge a slug into the discharge chute 39 and from that the slug rolls out through the slot 41 into the cup 42 at the front of the machine. As soon as the handle 17 is released, the parts immediately move back to their normal positions throughl the action of the spring 19 to be in readiness for the next nickelinserted in the machine. The nickel at the bottom of the chute y7 drops into the nickel receiving chamber 44 and the nickel just dropped into the machine appears at the top of the sight opening of the chute 7 and is visible through a glass plate 12 over the same, as shown in Fig. 1,. To have a column of nickels visible back of the glass plate l2 in the manner just described, the storekeeper or owner of the machine fills the nickel chute with nickels to the number required before allowing the,

public to operate the machine. In like manner the slug chute is filled with slugs, as shown in Fig. 1.

Should the purchaser of the slug find the telephone in use or fail to make a connection and thus beunable to use the slug, a nickel may be secured from the machine for the slug by inserting the slug into the slug slide 1'0 and turning the handle 18 outward and downward to-actuate the ejector plate 29 associatedv with that handle and dischargea nickel from the hopper 23 into the cup 42 at the bottom jof the machine in the same manner/as the slug.v` 2

Should a smaller coin, such as a dime or penny, be dropped into the machine through the nickel chute, it will be delivered into the nickel chute 7, without operating the ejector mechanism as heretofore de.

n' ejector side 29` for the nickel chute and desk in a store or other place where telephones are used and slugs sold for them. The machine does not require the attendance of an operator and thus frees the cashier from selling slugs and returning nickels for unused slugs, as heretofore. The machine is simple in construction, easy to operate, and allows the telephone user to purchase slugs and have nickels returned for unused slugs without delay.

While I have shown and described herein in detail a vending machine of my invention, it is of course to be understood that the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be variously changed and modilied without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a vending machine, the combination of a chute, a hoppe-igan ejector for said hopper, said ejector having a part to close the lower end of said chute, a pivoted member at the entrance end of said chute and having a concave recess to receive the article dropped into said chute and for delivering "f the same to the portiony of the chute below said member on turning said member toward said chute, said ejector being connected with said member to 'be operated thereby and open the lower end of said chutewhen ejecting an article from said hopper, and means operable through said ejector for preventing the articles above the lowermost one in said chute from dropping through the lower end thereof when opened by said ejector.

2. Ina vending machine, the combination of a chute, a hopper, an ejector for said hopper, said ejector having a part to close the lower end of said chute, a pivoted member at the entrance end of said chute and having a concave recess to receive the article dropped into said chute and for delivering ythe same to the portion ofthe chute below said member on turning said member toward said chute, said ejector being connected with said member to be operated thereby and open the lower end of said chute when ejecting an article from said hopper, and a pivoted dog operated by said ejector and having a lpart to project into said.L chute to prevent the articles above the lowermost one in said chute from dropping through the lower end thereof when -opened by saidl ejector.

3. In a vending machine, the combination of a chute and a hopper, an ejector for said hopper, a pivoted member at the entrance end of said chuten and having a concave recess to receive the article dropped into the chute and for delivering .the same to the portion of the chutebelow said member, an arm pivotedat one end to a fixed part of the machine, a link connecting the lower vend of` the arm to said ejector, a link pivoted at its lower end'to said arm between its ends and having. an elongated slot at its upper end, an arm on said member and having a pin in said slot, a handle for operating said member, said ejector member having a part movable across the lower end of said chute for discharging articles therefrom, and a ivoted dogl operated by said ejector for al owing the dropping of articles one at a. time from the lower end of said chute.

4. In a vending machine, the combination of a chute and a hopper, an ejector for said hopper, a pivoted member at the entrance end of said chute and having a concave recess to receive the article dropped into the chute and for delivering the same to the portion of the chute below said l member, a pivoted dog in the path of movement of sald member to stop the same and raised only when the article carried by said member projects beyond the same, means connecting said member with said ejector for operating the,

latter b the former, and means for actuating sai member.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I affix my signature, this 28th day of March, A. I). 1922.`

FRANK' L. BEEAN.

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