US1988786A - Coin controlled electrical clock - Google Patents

Description

h- 1935. T. A. FOSTER 1,988,786

COIN CONTROLLED ELECTRICAL CLOCK Filed April 20, 1955 17 INVENTOR.

BYW

ATTORNE Y5,

Patented Jan. 22 1935 UNITED STATES 1,988,786 m CONTROLLED ELECTRICAL CLOCK Thomas A. Foster, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Herbert Carl Bernsten, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application April 20, 1933, Serial 120,667,092

10 Claims.

"This invention relates'to an electrically operated' clock which shall at the same time be used as a'savings bank by the owner or user, and is primarily designed for use by banking institutions, insurance underwriters, and the like, as an advertising and business-stimulating medium.

An important object of the invention is to provide an electric clock which shall also be a good medium for encouraging regular saving of small amounts of money for specific purposes as well as for general purposes, inasmuch as the same is constructed so as to be inoperable unless coins are regularlydeposited therein.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a very novel coin-operated switch which is of simple construction and efiicient of operation, and'not likely to get out of order, even under .long continued use.

Other and further important objects of the in.- vention will be apparent from the disclosures in the accompanying drawing and following specification.

. The invention, in a preferred form, is. illustrated in the drawing and hereinafter more fully described. 7 t

In the drawing:

Figure l is, a front elevation of an electric clock constructed accordance with the principles of this invention, the dial and front wall of same having been removed. I

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 31s a top plan view of the clock mechanism when removed from the casing.

As shown in the drawing:

The reference numeral lo indicates' the outer casing of an electric clock, in which is shown positioned a clock chassis 11 mounted over a drawer or compartment 12 for the reception and storage of coins.

The clock design employed to illustrate the present invention is a type generally known and readily available in the market. It will be obvious, however, that the invention can be applied to other clock movements as well. The drawing,

, therefore, shows only such parts of the regular "clock movements as are essential in disclosing this invention.

' Mounted between the dial (not shown) and the clock movement, and securely attached tothe chassis 11 of the latter, is a coin chute 13 of metal, the upper open end of which isin registration with a corresponding slot opening 14 cut into the upper portion of the clocks cabinet 10. The lower opening of the coin chute 13 is located at and securely attached to the coin compartment 12. 7

Two notches 15 and 16 are cut out of the material of the coin chute 13, at an angle to each other, as shown in Figure 1. e I

Mounted on the forward wall of the coin chute 13 is a long leaf spring 17 which is securely anchored to the chute by means of rivets 18 and 19, at its upper and lower ends respectively, between which points it is flexed as best shown in Fig- '10 Also mounted on the forward portion of the clock chassis is a lever assembly composed of two metal lever members 20 and 21. The lever 21 is pivotally attached to the upper cross member 15 -22 of the clock chassis by means of a screw or the like 23. The other lever member 20 extends horizontally from the member 21, to which it is pivotally attached at 24, to a point in conjunction with the leaf spring 17. At this point the 20 lever 20 is provided with a pair of insulated projecting studs or'the like 25 and 26, between which projections the leaf spring 17 is arranged, as best shown in Figure 1.

' Themember 20 also rides between a pair of pins- 25 27 and 28 extending outwardly from a diagonally positioned chassis frame member 29.

Integral with the member 20, and extending downwardlythereirom is a V-shaped projection 30, the lower left edge of which is adapted to con-' 30 tact a stud or the like 31 projecting forwardly from a small timing gear 32 located on the main driving shaft 33 of the clock movement.

The lower end of the member 21 is tapered, and its right lower edge is adapted to contact a stud 35 with When the clock movement is in operation the "gear 32 moves clockwise, while the second'gear 35 40 rotates in a counterclockwise direction. Thus it will be noted that when the stud 34 has contacted the lever member 21 while the clock is in opera tion, this lever will be forced toward the left, the stud 26 of the other lever 20 in turn forcing the" leaf spring 1'7 toward the left and across dead center, whereupon the spring 17 suddenly moves into the flexed position shown by the dotted lines at 36 in Figure l. The assembly 20-2125' 26 30 and the ears 32 and 35 with-their attached projections will then have assumed the respective positions shown by the dotted lines in Figure 1. 5

The return of the spring 17 and lever assembly 2021 to-their original position is accomplished os when the stud 31, which travels with its gear in a clockwise direction, contacts the V-shaped member from the left, whereupon the forcing of the spring 1'7 toward the right and across the dead center by the stud 25 causes the same to move suddenly into the original position shown by the solid lines in Figure 1.

If the gears 32 and 35 are provided with only one stud each, it will be apparent that the reciprocatin'g motion of the'spring '17. will take'place whenever the gears 32 and 35 have completed one full revolution. I

Situated near the lower end of the coin chute 13 and fastened to the lowerci'o'ss member ofthe clock chassis 3'7 but insulatedltherefro m is a bifurcated metal element 38 pivots-on shaft 1 39, one end of which shaft acts as a binding post for contact with one end 40 6f: an eleotiic'line' lI the other end 42 of which is grounded to the clock chassis at another point 43, all as best illustrated iin l ure An additional .w e 4 onv ys electrio current from the element 38. to a coil or. the

ike 45- The element 38 has an upper prong 46 and a lower prong 47 which extend into the notches 15 and. 6. e pec iv y of h c i chute 13. and m ve nt or. out o the. same accordin .to the motion .9 the; eltlment 38 upon its shaft 39 and within the limits imposed by a pair of studs 48 and 49 which project frQ n. the insulation block 50 which is. po-

sitioned between the element 38 and the chassis cro s membe 33 I'he ro s 46. and 4'? are of lesser thickness than. the width of the coin chute interior, so that they at no time directly, contact the latter.

. T9 he u p r-prong 46 of the element 38 is rigi ly xed a, latera l ofi et arm or the like, 51,

q he. extre e. ut r end i w ich are. attached We stud 5 a d 53, betw en w ch the spr n m rt-flanged, a be own. in Eisures 1 and 2.

It w 'be. o y us, r f elthatt rowing i e prina owa d he eit willcause thebiiur ated elemen a d. pronsstoas umethemslo i i 1d i u ate em nt or osi the circuit and allowing current to be supplied to hecl ck mo me he mech sms nsu te at Q.-.55 6 n to voi clo in f e e trical circuit through means other than the coin co nec o It is; intended thatv the necessary connection shall be made by a coin, which theowner or user of the clock-bani; desires to. deposit therein as avin s cc m n h u o e h Mention. also rqy dts by a single mechanism,

. cgins to be delivered to the coin'oompartment 12 at enua t. is esite lto e n-used the kh v pri 17 dappu enanc smaybei either of the positions heretofore specified, and a qnnect qah rips p e Qudrh m ab h by eqenqttinstht l c r Pe il 4. to ase r w the clock may be operated. To start the clock movement it is then only necessary to manually impart-motion to the flywheel 60 through a slight manipulation. of the-proper handle provided at tliebac liof .thejc l oe'k by the manufacturer.

The clock will then continue to run for a predetermined period-of time regulated by the position of the studs 31 and 34 on the gears 32 and 35.

When the time has arrived for deposit. of the first coin into the coin receptacle 12, thispwillbc accomplished by the stud 34 throwing thetlevers 20 and 21 and the spring '17. into thepositions-as illustrated by thedotted linesin Figure 1,.whereuponthe element;.33 will pivot so as to withdraw its lower prong 4'7,- from support of thecoinand alowing the upper prong 46. toincline toward .the interior of the coin chute 13. The coinsoreleased will, of course, fall out of contactwiththe element 38 and into the, receptacle 12. and. the

electrical circuit. will thus. be broken, stopping the clock movement, unless therebe a second coin above it in thev coin slot, the. latterconditionbe- ,ing indicated in Figure. 1 by. the positioning ot a second. coin therein over. the first coin as. shown by the. dotted lines, in which case thev upper coin would immediately become obstructed from further. descent by the. upper. prong 46 which has enteredthe slot 13. at thesame time the lower prong 47 was withdrawn. "The action of the pronged element 38 is so rapid during the change in coin contacts that the momentary disconnection of power does not stop the clock movement in the interim, as the flywheel 60 causes the movement to proceed uninterrupted for-severalseconds afterthe first electricalcontact is broken.

The action is preferably timed to permit the *clock movement to run for twenty-four hours in one cycle and the dropping of-coins into the coin receptacle ats'ome'suitabletimein the interim.

' In the event the first coin is insertedwhilethe apparatus isin the position shown by the dotted lines'inFigure' lfthe coin would, 'of course, come to rest uponthe'upper-prong of thefmemb er 3 forming, the ecessar electrical contact, At

m rrow the? et r m w iia s ve' i ys t ete" em pe ed. h i e would w th mechanism to assumethe position shown by the a I 60 solid lines in Figure '1, and the coin w u d "thus droppast the upper prong 4 6 and-come to rest p nt e owe P one t r m tueh 2954 tion 'until theclose of the given twenty-four hour eri d, at whichtime it. wouldbe released by the action fof the stud 34 upon the lever assembly Z'QfZl anddropped into the coin receptacle.

""Ifhecoin ireceptaole or drawer 12is referahly equipped with a lock arrangement which would t hq ze i' t ee Lam awarethat. many changes may, be made PI Pl .W l of e mt tat e iisb t and. numerous details" of cqnstructign aried throughout a wide rangewithout departing ifrom il? tifi' tles ii h s m e is aand wart medo not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A coin-controlled electric clock, comprising the usual clock mechanism including gears, and means for delivering current to the mechanism for a predetermined time, said means including a coin chute, and a combined coin supporting and delivery means adjacent the chute, together with elements for operating said coin supporting and delivery means, said elements including pins on the clock gears, a. leaf spring associated with the coin supporting and delivery means, and a system of links and levers operatively associating the gear pins and the leaf spring.

2. A coin-controlled electric clock, comprising the usual clock mechanism including gears, and means for delivering current to the mechanism for a predetermined time, said means including a coin chute, and a combined coin supporting and delivery means adjacent the chute, together with elements for operating said coin supporting and delivery means, said elements including pins on the clock gears, a leaf spring associated with the coin supporting and delivery means, and a system of links and levers operatively associating the gear pins and the leaf spring for flexing the same into and out of coin delivering position.

3. A coin-controlled device, including a coin chute, coin supporting and delivery means adjacent the chute, a leaf spring connected with said coin supporting and delivery means for shifting the same into and out of coin supporting and delivering position and means for instituting a snap action of the leaf spring.

4. A coin-controlled device, including a coin chute, coin supporting and delivery means adjacent the chute, a leaf spring connected with said coin supporting and delivery means for instantaneously shifting the same into and out of coin supporting and delivering position and means for instituting a snap action of the leaf spring.

5. A coin-controlled device, including a coin chute, coin supporting and delivery means adjacent the chute, and a leaf spring connected with said coin supporting and delivery means for shifting the same into and out of coin supporting and delivering position, and means for operating the spring.

6. A coin-controlled device, including a. coin chute, coin supporting and delivery means adjacent the chute, and a leaf spring connected with said coin supporting and delivery means for shifting the same into and out of coin supporting and delivering position, and means for operating the spring, said means comprising a system of links and levers.

7. A coin-controlled device, including a coin chute, coin supporting and delivery means adjacent the chute, a leaf spring connected with said coin supporting and delivery means for shifting the same into and out of coin supporting and delivering position and means for instituting a snap action of the leaf spring, and electrical means associated with the chute whereby the insertion of a coin thereinto completes an electrical circuit.

8. A coin-controlled device, including a coin chute, coin supporting and delivery means adjacent the chute, a leaf spring connected with said coin supporting and delivery means for shifting the same into and out of coin supporting and delivering position and means for instituting a snap action of the leaf spring, and electrical means associated with the chute whereby the insertion of a coin thereinto completes an electrical circuit, and whereby the dropping of the coin therefrom breaks the circuit.

9. A coin-controlled device, including a coin chute, coin supporting and delivery means adjacent the chute, a leaf spring connected with said coin supporting and delivery means for shifting the same into and out of coin supporting and delivering position and means for instituting a snap action of the leaf spring, and electrical means associated with the chute whereby the insertion of a coin thereinto completes an electrical circuit, and whereby the dropping of the coin therefrom breaks the circuit unless two or more coins are in the chute.

10. A coin-controlled device, including a coin chute, coin supporting and delivery means adjacent the chute, a leaf spring connected with said coin supporting and delivery means for shifting the same into and out of coin supporting and delivering position and means for instituting a snap action of the leaf spring, and electrical means associated with the chute whereby the insertion of a coin thereinto completes an electrical circuit, and whereby the dropping of the coin therefrom breaks the circuit unless two or more coins are in the chute, said delivery means allowing of the dropping of a single coin at a time.

THOMAS A. FOSTER.

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