US1794208A - Newspaper-vending machine - Google Patents

Description

V. A. SCOTT Feb. 24, 1931.

NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jun 5, 1928 INVENTOR I ATTORNEY Feb. 24, 1931. v. A. SCOTT NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 5, 1928 I N VENTO R 7m fmwow B Y fij l 30 prevent, to

Patented Feb. 24, 1931 marten srarss ice NEWSPA?EBVENBING MACHINE Application filed June 5, 1828. Serial No. 282,933.

This invention relates to a machine for delivering newspapers and the like, as described in the present specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form part of same.

The invention consists essentially of the novel features pointed out broadly and specifically in the claims for novelty following a description containing'an explanation in detai of an acceptable form of the inven tion.

For the sake of expediency and public convonience, newspapers are now largely sold from open containers orboxes which are placed upon the public highways and left unattend d, the vendor depending entirely upon the honour and honesty of the purchasers for his cash returns; it is well known that the returns fall far short of the sum representedby the number of newspapers removed from the box, thus resulting in an appreciable pecuniary loss. The newspapers, moreover, are exposed to the elements and on exceptionally rainy days are often completely soaked and spoiled, to the inconvenience and disappointment of both purchaser and vendor.

The objects of the invention, therefore, are to build an efficient machine that will great extent, pecuniary loss to the vendor and shield the newspapers from dust, rain. snow and sleet; to construct such a device so that it may, if desired, provide spa e for advertising matter; to reduce the size of such a machine; and enerally, to improve upon the machine shown in applications for patents of the United States of America, filed as Serial Nos. 192,922 and 253,110. r

The mechanism for moving the newspapers and for closing the coin slot is'ordinarily locked and must be released by the insertion of a coin which operates a certain releasing mechanism and a suitable construction for this purpose has been described in a copending application filed under Serial No. 230,001 and is only concerned incidentally in this invention which is primarily operated by the lever which is normally locked.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is perspective view of the device complete.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of Figure 1. 7

Figure 3 is ahorizontal section view taken on lines 33'in Figure 2.

-Figure 4 is a'vertical section view taken on lines 4-4 in Figure 3, with parts broken away.

Figur 5 is a vertical sectiona-l'view taken on lines '55 in Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken onlines 66 in Figure 3.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the various figures.

Referring to the drawings,t 1e numeral 10 designates the device complete. 11 is a suitable housing or casing having the side walls 11A and 11B and the end walls 116 and 11D, and the base or floor 11E. in the end 11C is a slot or opening 12 through which the newspapers are ejected and having the flanges 13 extending" a distance on either side of the opening and protecting said opening from the Weather. 15 is the cover or lid of said casing, hinged as at 16 and having a suitable locking device 17. 18 is a handle or crank rigidly mounted on the shaft 19 which is journalled in suitable bearings secured to the side wall 11A. The shaft 19 extends through the side wall 11A and serves as the main driving shaft for all the mechanisms involved in this invention. 20 is the coin slot or opening formed in the side 11A and into which thecoins are inserted to release the coin-controlled operating mechanism.

The main driving shaft 19 extends through the coin-controlled operating mechanism se cured to the inner face of the side wall 11A and has a circular wheel 23 rigidly mounted thereon and spaced a distance from the coincontrolled mechanism 21.

A crank pin 25 is secured on said wheel 23 and at a distance from the central axis and extends from tiie side 26 furthest from the side wall 11A. The crank pin 25'is reciprocally mounted in the vertical slot 27 in the ejecting member 28. The ejecting member 28 has prongs or fingers 29 carrying needle points 30 and formed on the side of the slot 27 adjacent the end of the casing and bent as at 31 to extend away fromthe side 26 of the wheel 23. The other end of the ejecting member 28 is pivotally mounted as at 32 in the cross head 33 reciprocally mounted in the cross head guides 34. The cross head guides 34 are supported by and secured to the bracket 35. An elongated slot 38 is formed midway in the member 28 and along the medial line thereof. A pin 39 parallel with the base 11E and substantially normal to the side wall 11A and supported by the bracket 40 s"- cured to the side wall 11A, extends through and is reciprocally mounted in the slot 38 and supports the member 28 in a position substantially parallel with the base 11E.

A cam 42 is formed on the wheel 23 on the side 26A adjacent the side wall 11A. A rocker arm or bell crank 43 is situated in the same plane as the pin 39 and carries the roller 44 rotatably mounted as at 43A and adapted to bear on the cam 42 and is ri 'idly mounted. in the upright shaft 45 journalled in the brackets 46 and 47. On the other end of the bell crank 43 as at 43B is a fork portion straddling the pin 39. A compression spring 48 encircles the pin 39 and is adapted to bear against the fork portion 43B and against the ejecting member 28. A tensionspring 49 has one end secured to the side wall 11A as at 50 and tl eother end secured to the member 28 as at 50A.

In order to elfectively seal the slot or opening 12 against the weather and to prevent forcing the newspapers through said slot when the coin lock is not properly operated, a gate 51 secured to the upright shaft 52 pivotally mounted at its upper end in the bracket 53 and at itslower end in the bracket 54. is adapted to swing across the opening 12 and effectively close said opening when the newspapers are not to be delivered. The gate 51 is made substantially as shown in Figures 3 and 4 and has the straight side wall 51A which will be presented towards the side of the newspaper when same is being ejected from the opening and forms a guide for said newspaper. The side wall 513 presented to the opening 12 is curved substantially in the form of an arc with the centre at 52. In order to swing the gate 51 to clear the opening 12, a crank arm 55 is rigidly mounted to the shaft 45 and adjacent the lower end. A second crank 56 is rigidly mounted'to the shaft 52 and adjacent the lower end of said shaft.

L connecting rod 57 is pivotally conn cted to the ends of the crank arms 55 and 56, as at 59 and 58, respectively.

The rack or magazine in which the papers are stored is formed between the substantially vertical plate 60 on one side and the resilient metal strips 61 and 61A on the other, and is parallel with the side walls 11A and 1113, respectively.

The papers rest on the magazine floor plate 62 spaced a distance from the base plate 11E and parallel therewith. The resilient metal strips 61 and 61A are secured to the wall 110 substantially as shown in Figure 3 and having the other end free. The plate 60 is pivotally carried by two upwardly extending arms 65 pivoted to said plate as at 66. The pivotal point 66 is spaced adjacent the lower portion of the plate. The reason for this is to bring a greater pressure to bear against the folded portion of the newspaper which rests on the plate 62, as this is the thickest part of the newspaper. The bracket 65 is carried on a bar 67 reciprocally mounted on the underside of the plate 62 between said plate ant the bar 68 spaced from and secured to said plate as at 68A, and projects through slots 65A formed in the plate 62. The newspaper to be ejected from the opening 12 bears against the resilient bars 61 and 61A, and as the newspapers are ejected through the opening, the remaining newspapers are brought up to take the place of the ejected paper by means of the plate 60 bearing against the last newspaper to be ejected. Cables 69 are secured to the bracket 65 a slight distance above the bar 67 and are led over pulleys 70 and wound on a drum 71. As the newspapers are ejected, the drum 71 is rotated to draw on the cables 69 and bring the remaining papers into the proper position for ejection. The drum 71 is rigidly mounted on a shaft 72 journalled in the brackets 73. A ratchet gear 74 is rigidly mounted on said shaft 72.

An oscillating arm 75 pivotally mounted on the shaft 72 is actuated by the connecting rod 76 pivotally connected to said shaft 75 as at 75A at one end and pivotally mounted on the crank pin 25 at the other. A ratchet dog 77 is pivotally mounted adjacent the mid-section of the shaft 75. As the shaft 75 oscillates when the shaft 19 is rotated, the ratchet dog 77 engages in the ratchet 74 and rotates same in an anti-clockwise direction, thereby rotating the drum 71. In order to prevent rotation of the drum 71 when the papers are brought into the properposition for ejection, a device for disengaging the dog 77 from the ratchet 74 is provided. This consists of a bar 78 pivotally mounted in the bracket 7 9 having an arcual slot 80. A pin or projection 81 is formed on the dog 77 and adapted to reciprocate in the arcual slot 80. WVhen suflicient pressure is exerted on the papers by the plate 60, the resilient arm 61 bears against the crank 82 rigidly mounted on the shaft 83 journalled in the bracket 84 and the crank 85, thus actuating the connecting rod 86 pivoted to said crank as at 86A and at the end of the bar 78 as at 863 to lift said bar away from the ratchet gear 74 and thus carry the ratchet dog 77 away from said gear 7 4,and the arm 75 may oscillate without rotating the drum 71. In order to retain the tension on the cable 69, a ratchet dog 90v pivoted on the arm 91 engages the teeth on the ratchet 74 and prevents said gear from rotating in an opposite direction. The arm 91 is rigidly mounted on a shaft 92 journalled in the brackets 93. Itigidly mounted on said shaft 92 is a handle or arm 95. A tensioned spring 96 secured at one end to the arm 95 midway of its length and at the other end to the side wall 11A. tends to retain said arm in its normal position, and likewise the arm 91 carrying the ratchet dog 90.

97 is a bar pivotally mounted to the bar 7 6 as at 98 and reciprocally mounted through the bracket 99 extends downwardly from said bar 78. A finger or arm 100 is rigidly mounted to the shaft 92 and is adapted to bear against the end of the bar 97 when the shaft 92 is sufficiently rotated in a clockwise direction.

An extension or lug 91A is formed on the arm 91 and adapted to bear against the ratchet dog and limit its rotation in an anti-clockwise direction. In order to release the ratchets 77 and 90 from the ratchet gear 7 1 to allow the cable 69 to be unwound from the drum 71, the arm is depressed, thus drawing the arm 91 carrying the ratchet 90 away from the ratchet gear 7 1. At the same time, the finger carried on the shaft 92 bears against the bar 97 and lifts the bar 78, thus lifting the ratchet dog 77 away from the gear 7s. The drum 71 is now free to rotate,

In order to draw the plate 60 back to its initial position. a tensioned spring has cables 106 attached to either end, said cables being led over pulleys 107 and attached to the bar 67 as at 108. As the plate 60 is drawn towards the resilient arms 61 and 61A by the cable 96, considerable tension is exerted on the spring 105. On releasing the dogs 77 and 90 from the ratchet 7 4, the tensioned spring 105 contracts and draws the bar 67 'arrying the brackets 65 back to i s starting position. In order to effectively seal the coin slot after all the papers have been withdrawn from the machine, a bar 110 pivoted in the bracket 111 is adapted to swing into the path of the coins in the coin slot adj acentthe opening 20 and thus prevent the coins from being inserted in the coin slot.

The bar 110 is actuated by a rod 112 reciprocally mounted in the bracket 111 extending inwardly and adapted to bear against the side of the paper which is to be ejected. \Vhen all of the papers are ejected, the bar 112 is adapted to pass through an opening 11% in the plate 61 to pivot the bar 110 into the path of the coins in the coin slot. A roller 114A may be mounted on the end of the bar 112 to prevent said bar from binding or retarding the passage of the papers into the slot or opening 11%. A tension spring 115 secured at one end to the bracket 11 and at the other end to the bar 110, tends to retain the locking bar 110 normally in its closed position. 1 In order to prevent the gate 51 from being swung into its open position when the coin operating mechanism is not properly unlocked, a locking bar 116 is adapted to bear against the back of the crank arm 55. The bar 116 is pivoted in the bracket 117 and a tensioned spring 118 is adapted to act on the bar 116 to retain it normally in its locking position. A bell crank 119 is pivoted in the bracket 117 as at 117A. One end of the bell crank carries a roller 120 adapted to'bear on the cam 41 2, and the other end of the bell crank bears on the upper edge of the locking bar 116, as at 121. The roller 120 is adapted to be raised by the ca n 42 before said cam actuates the rocking arm 13. As the roller 120 is raised, the other end of the bell crank 121 depresses the locking bar 116 and allows the crank arm 55 to rotate in a clockwise direction when the shaft 15 is rotated by the bell crank 13.

In the operation of this invention, in filling the magazine with newspapers, the lever 95 is depressed until the ratchet dogs 77 90 disengage from the ratchet gear 7%, thus allowing the tensioned spring 105 acting on the cables 106 to draw the plate 60 back to its starting position. The papers are then inserted in the space between the late 60 and the resilient bars 61 and 61A and the folded edge of the papers are inserted first, so that they will rest on the plate 62 Sufdcient pressure is now exerted on the papers by the plate 60 by oscillating the lever 95 to rotate the ratchet gear and the drum 71 by bringing the ratchet dog 90 to bear against said ratchet gear 7 1-. The machine is new charged and ready for delivering papers.

The first paper to be ejected against the roller 11 1 and reciprocate. od 112 in the bracket 111 to pivot ch out of its locked position in the coin slo coins may now be inserted to unlotk tn ating mechanism. The crank or hanr It) may now be actuated to rotate the shaft 19, thus driving the crank pin 25 which reciprocatcs in the slot 27 in the ejecting member 28. The cam 42 bears first against the roller 120 to release the locking bar 116 from the crank arm 55. The cam then lifts the roller 10 to actuate the bell crank 13, thus bringing pressure on the spring 48. This forces the e'ecting fingers 29 carryingthe needle points 30 towards the pap er so that the needle points 30 will engage with the paner and it towards the slot 12. As the pa'ner is carried forward by the ejecti g arm, the crank arm 55 on the shaft 45 acts on the crank arm 56 through the connecting rod 57 to swing the gate 51 clear of the'o'pening 12 and allows for the paper to be ejected through said opening by the ejecting arm 28 being carried forward on the crank pin 25.

At the same time, the arm 7 5 is oscillated by the connecting rod 76 being carried at one e ba ice

su'ficient pressure is brought to b ar on the papers by the plate 60, the resilient bar (31 bears ti -inst the crank 82 to rotate the so t 83 carr the crank 85, thus ra di i connecting rod which in turn raises the bar 78 and the ratchet 77 so that no further tension will be exerted on the cables 69 until it is necessary. As the shaft 19 completes the revolution, the different working parts are brought back to their normal starting position ready for the coins to be inserted and for the releasable locl ing mechanism to eject the next paper.

hat I claim is:

1. In a machine for delivering newspapers and the like a magazine having resilient gripping members and a vertical ejection slot at one end and adjacent said resilient gripping members, a second grippii member distanced from said resilient gripping members and adapted to be drawn towards s members from an initial starting position distant from said members to a final position adjacent said gripping members. a closure for said slot, an ejecting finger adjacent said resilient gripping members and adapted to be forced towards said newspaper and to engage the nearest paper thereto and progress same through said ejection slot, and means for opening said closure before said ejection fingers operate to progress said paper through said slot.

2. A newspaper vending machine comprising a casing having a vertical slot and a magazine supporting the newspapers in an upright position, a wheel journalled in said casing and operated by a crank lever and controlling a cam mechanism having operating means for opening and closing the slot coincidently with an ejecting mechanism controlled by the movement of said wheel.

3. A newspaper vending machine comprising a casing having a vertical slot and a magazine supporting the newspapers in an upright position, said magazine being formed of a fixed plate supporting the papers and having a movable plate engaging therewith and operable coincidently with the movement of a wheel ournalled in said casing and operated by a crank lever and controlling a cam mechanism having operating means for opening and closing the slot coincident-1y with an ejecting mechanism controlled by the movement of said wheel.

4. A newspaper vending machine comprising a casing having a vertical slot and a magazine supporting the newspapers in an upright position, said magazine having a fixed plate forming the newspapersupport and a movable plate having resilient metal strips, said movable plate being pivotally secured to a pair of projecting arms engaging at their lower ends with transverse slots formed in said fixed plate and forming a pressure on the movable plate against the newspapers and on the other side resilient metal strips secured at one end to an end wall of the casing and having their other end engaging with the newspapers, said movable plate being operable coincidently with the movable wheel j ourna-lled in said casing and operated by a cam mechanism having operating means for opening and closing a slot coincidently with an ejecting mechanism controlled by the movement of said wheel.

5. A newspaper vending machine comprising a casing having a vertical slot and a magazine supporting the newspapers in an upright position, said magazine being formed of a fixed plate supporting the papers and having a movable plate engaging therewith and operable coincidently with the movement of a wheel j ournalled in said casing and operated by a crank lever, operating means for opening and closing the slot coincidently with an ejecting mechanism havingfingers engaging each paper in succession and progressing it through the slot and controlled by the movement of said wheel.

6. A newspaper vending machine comprising a casing having a vertical slot and a magazine supporting the newspapers in an upright position, a fixed plate forming a part of the magazine and supporting the ends of the newspapers and a movable plate abutting one side of the newspapers and pivotally secured by projecting arms extending through the fixed plate and operated by cables controlled by a crank mechanism to draw the movable plate from an initial starting position ,to a final position adjacent a pair 01 resilient bars adapted to engage the other sides of the newspapers and fixedly secured at one end to one of the casing walls, said crank mechanism being operated by a crank lever controlling a cam mechanism having operating means for opening and closing the slot coincidently with an ejecting mechanism controlled by the movement of said cam mechanism.

Signed at the city of Toronto, this 28th day of May, 1928.

VERNON ALBERT SCOTT.

lBU

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