US2182474A - Support - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 5, 19-39.

G. F. HAUF SUPPORT Filed Nov. 12, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet l [nwbeni'o-r Q'Qcw z Z .15 444W, osMA atmxa-wa G. F. HAUF Dec 5, 1939.

SUPPORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 12, 1937 Am f "REV WV"!- G. F. HAUF SUPPORT Filed NOV. 12, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Dec. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES 2,182,474 SUPPORT George F; Hauf, River Forest, 111., assignor to Chicago Metal Mfg. 00., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application November 12, 1937, Serial No. 174,146

3 Claims.

My invention relates to a support for detachably holding thereon an object, such as a portable vending or game machine. It will be illustrated and described as embodied in a cabinet-stand .5 which not only completely houses the machine when desired, but also prevents its unauthorized removal. As will be later explained, however, some of the features may be utilized in supports that are stands only, that is, stands which are not adapted also to house the supported machine.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved machine-stand of the weight-holding type; that is, of the type wherein a cavity may be filled with weighting material inserted 15 through an opening that is closable by the supported machine when locked in place thereover.

Another object is to provide a stand whereby the supported machine may be turned to render the back side thereof accessible from the front.

20 Another object is to provide a stand particularly well suited for situations where the machine supported thereby is to be located too close to a wall to afford ready access to the rear and yet the back must be accessible for the removal of 25 coins, for charging it with merchandise, or when a machine is to be replaced.

A further object is to provide a stand that will not only serve as a support for a machine, but will also serve as a housing that may be complete- 30 1y closed to prevent access to the machine, or opened to afford access to the supported machine.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings:

35 Fig. 1 is a front perspective of a cabinet-stand with its door closed to prevent access to the machine supported thereby;

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the door open to afford access to the supported machine;

40 Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a section substantially On the line 4-4 of Fig, 1, but looking upwardly instead of downwardly;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 5-4 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a similar section on the line 'l'l of Fig. 3;

. Fig. 8 is a section on the line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 10 is a section on the line Ill-l0 of Fig. 9, and

55 Fig. 11 is a section on the line lI--H of Fig. 9.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 3, the machinestand chosen for illustration is in the form of a cabinet divided by a transverse horizontal partition 6 into a lower weighting-material compartment 1 and an upper machine compartment 8. 5 This cabinet may be constructed in any appropriate manner of any suitable material, for example, sheets of steel welded or otherwise secured together. Partition 6, which likewise may be made from sheet steel, can be suitably anchored in place by flanging its outer edges and welding or riveting those flanges to the side panels of the body, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The lower section of the cabinet below the partition has four sides or panels and a bottom, all per- 15 manently fastened together so as to form a compartment, the interior'of which, as will be later explained, is accessible only through an opening 9 in its top (i. e., in partition 6) and which opening maybe completely closed by the base of the supported machine. This lower compartment is to receive and hold weighting material such as sand or bricks, whereby the stand, after it has been moved to the desired location empty and relatively light, may be weighted so as to render it hard to move.

The upper section of the cabinet above partition 6 has three of its vertical walls or panels and the top permanent, but the front side is closable by a sliding door 10 that may be moved upwardly to close the machine compartment, as shown in Fig. l, or downwardly in front of the front panel of the lower compartment to open the machine compartment, as shown in Fig. 2. As shown most clearly in Figs. 4,5, 7 and 8, door It] has its lateral edges bent perpendicularly to theplane of the door and then back toward the center to form long strengthening and guiding beads l l and I2, respectively. These beads lie in long vertical guideways formed by the channels l3 and It, respectively, which extend from top to bottom of the cabinet along the front edges of the two side channels and are secured to the permanent cabinet walls by welding .or other appropriate means.

Figs. '7 and 8 also show the details of the construction of the locking mechanism whereby the door is retained in its upper or closed position. The lock includes a pair of sliding latch bolts 20 and 2| which have their inner ends pivotally connected by pins 22 and 23, respectively, to a rotatable latch disc 24. Disc 24 is rotatably retained in place upon the back of door H] by a substantially U-shaped stirrup or bracket 25 which has a circular hole in its central yoke 26 to form a supporting bearing for a somewhat spherically shaped crown or cup 2'! formed at the center of disc 2:2. The two feet 28 of bracket 25 may be attached to the back of the door panel by rivets or welding and when so attached the latch disc and the inner ends of latch bolts 20 and 21 are securely retained in place, but are freely rotatable about the axis of the disc by means of an actuating tool or key shaped to fit a socket 29 in the center of the disc.

The outer ends of latch bolts 29 and 2| are retained in place by slidably passing through holes in L- shaped guide brackets 35 and 36, respectively, that are welded to the rear of the door panel. These ends, when the door is fully raised, register with and enter holes or sockets 3i and 38, respectively, provided in the guideways l3 and I4; and as long as so positioned hold the door in its upper or closed position. By means of a suitable tool or key inserted in the socket 29 of latch disc 2 the latch disc may be turned about its axis to withdraw bolts 25 and 2i from sockets 31 and 38 and thereby to unlatch the door so that it may be slid downwardly in its guideways to open position. Rotation of the latch disc in the opposite direction by means of the tool will serve to extend the bolts and cause them to enter sockets 3? and 38 when brought in register therewith, to latch the door in its upper or closed position, although I prefer to make this operation automatic. This automatic operation is accomplished by providing a biasing spring 39 which surrounds one of the boltssay bolt 2l-and bears at one end against a pin 40 that is tightly fitted into a hole through bolt 2 I, and at the other end against a fixed stop M. This spring 39 urges bolt iii and also bolt 25 outwardly so that when, in raising the door to closed position, the ends thereof come in register with the cabinet sockets ail and 3% they automatically move outwardly into latching position. These latch bolts may be withdrawn to release the door by inserting the tool in latch disc socket 253 and rotating it in the proper direction against the tension of spring 39. In order to prevent the latch disc from rotating too far, limit stops 322 and 43 may be provided thereonfor example, by bending out small portions thereof in the form of tongues-to strike stirrup 25 and thereby prevent further rotation.

The socket 29 may be reached by the operating tool or key inserted through-an aligned opening it; in the front panel of door It. Normally this opening is closed by a removable closure that may be removed so as to permit the insertion of the tool by an authorized person. A tubular locking bushing 45, having an enlarged head 4'1 and an externally threaded shank 48, fits through hole and is anchored in place to the door panel by suitable means, such as a lock nut 49, which may be turned upon the threaded shank 48 tightly to clamp the rim of opening 55 between the nut and bushing head 47. The bore of bushing 46, which serves as the opening through which the latch socket is made accessible to the operating tool,

accommodates the removable barrel 50 of a suitable lockwhich is shown as of the keyactuated type although, of course, other appropriate types of lock may be used. The barrel bushing and usual latch mechanism of the lock are arranged in the customary manner so that the barrel may be removed only when the appropriate key is fitted thereto. When so removed, the socket 229 of the door latch is accessible and a suitable tool may be inserted to rotate the latch disc and withdraw the bolts 28 and 2| to unlock the cabinet door as hereinbefore described. Otherwise the hole through which the tool may be applied to effect withdrawal of the latch bolts is closed by the lock barrel.

Although the front of the game or vending machine is visible and its operation-initiating devices are accessible to customers when cabinet door I is open, it is customary to arrange the coin compartment and sometimes also the charging or loading mechanism so that they are accessible only from the back of the machine.

L When, however, the machine is located in a cabitable mounting for the machine, as will now be described.

As previously explained, the partition 6 has a circular opening 9 therethrough whereby, when the game or vending machine is removed, the lower compartment may be loaded with suitable weighting material to render the support heavy and difficult to move. The circular rim of partition 5 about opening 9 forms the stationary sup port for a revoluble machine-carrying mounting, as shown most clearly in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. This mounting includes an annular bottom plate 55 below partition 5, an annular spacing and centering plate 55 in the plane of partition 6, and a rectangular top plate 5? above partition 6. The top plate has an aperture 58 therethrough which registers with the hole 9 in the partition so that the weighting material may be applied to the lower compartment when the machine is not in position. These three plates are secured rigidly together by suitable means, such as a series of screws 59, which pass through and have their heads countersunk in the top plate 57!, pass through intermediate plate 55, and thread into tapped holes in bottom plate 55. Thus, the top plate, which serves to carry the machine as will be presently described, is revolubly anchored to the center partition of the cabinet. If desired, the turntable top plate 51 may be provided with a series of concentrically arranged embossments 57 to contact the top surface of partition 6 and thereby render the parts sufficiently tight to prevent rattling and yet to permit ready rotation of the top plate.

Along its two sides and normally front end, top plate 51 is provided with upstanding flanges 85,

,6 I and 62, respectively, that have their upper edges first bent inwardly to form the inturned horizontal flanges 63, 54", 65, respectively, and then slightly downwardly and outwardly to form the lips 66, 5?, 68, respectively, that lie slightly spaced from and substantially parallel to'the'horizontal flanges 63", 64, 65. the top plate and the sets of permanent flanges flank its two sides and normally front end and form a bottom or floor and three sides of a channel-shaped frame section for accommodating and embracing three edges of a substantially rectangular base 15 of a game or vending machine I l. The fourth or normally rear side of the machine base embracing frame is formed by a detachable substan tially til-shaped holding plate or section 72 of channel cross-section. The ends or legs 73 and 14 of this removable section and its base are so able actuating tool or key.

dimensioned relative to the open side of the permanent frame section, that the movable section may be rather tightly but slidably telescoped within the open side of the fixed section, completely to close a channel-shaped frame upon all four sides of the machine base. By removing the frame section '12, the frame may be opened so that the base of a machine may be positioned upon the turntable or a machine already upon the support may be slid therefrom for removal. A machine may be applied to the support by simply sliding the base thereof into the pocket formed by the three permanent sides of the frame and then the frame closed by placing the removable section in place and moving it telescopically with respect to the fixed section until the base of the machine is sufiiciently embraced within the frame channel on all four sides.

The turntable is provided with a locking mechanism so that it can be rotated to expose the back of the machine only by an authorized person. Likewise the movable section of the machineholding frame of the turntable is equipped with a locking mechanism so that it can, only by an authorized person, be loosened and removed to release a supported machine.

The turntable locking mechanism is shown most clearly in Figs. 5 and 6. For convenience it is assembled upon and carried by a lock base plate l! which may be made of sheet metal and welded or otherwise fastened to the underside of partition 6 at one side of the turntable. Weld-ed to the underside of this base plate is a substantially U-shaped stirrup '58 which, in the center of its yoke, has a circular bearing hole '59 therethrough. At opposite corners of the yoke, tongues and 8! project inwardly from the legs of the stirrup to provide, between their upper edges and the underside of the yoke, a pair of slots for accommodating the edge of a circular latch disc 82. Latch disc 82 has a central domeshaped or somewhat spherical projection 33 that has a bearing fit in the hole 19 of yoke 18 and is provided with a socket 84 for receiving a suit- When mounted upon the underside of partition 6, the socket B l aligns with a hole in the partition so that the actuating tool or key may be inserted through the partition hole to reach the turntable latch disc socket. If desired, this hole in partition 5 through which the turntable latch may be operated, can be closed by a removable lock barrel in the same manner as hereinbefore described in connection with the cabinet door latch. Latch disc 82 may, as previously described in connection with the latch disc of the door lock, be provided with tongues 86 struck therefrom and adapted to engage the yoke of stirrup 13 to limit the amount the latch 'disc may be rotated by its actuating tool.

Latch disc 82 has a radially projecting arm 9!] rigidly secured thereto and this arm is in a position to engage a lug 9! that extends downwardly from a latch bolt 92. Latch bolt 92 is guided and held in place by a pair of parallel guide bars 93 and 94, which are welded or riveted to base plate 11, and a cover plate 95 that may be riveted or welded to the guide bars. The forward end of latch bolt 92 may be projected into a slot or latch bolt socket 96 provided in the'periphery of the bottom turntable plate 55 when the turntable has been rotated so as to bring this notch in proper register therewith. When so projected into its socket, the latch bolt 92 prevents rotation of the turntable; when the latch bolt has been withdrawn the turntable may be rotated in order that, for example, the rear side of a game or vending machine mounted thereon may be ex-, posed to and made accessible from the front of the cabinet. The latch bolt 92 may be biased to locking position by a spring 91 which is anchored at one end to the stationary stirrup l8 and atv the other end to the projection 9| on the latch bolt. In this manner the projection of the latch bolt into its socket in the turntable may be made automatic to lock the turntable against further rotation when it has reached the position in which the front of the supported machine is in the correct relation to the front of the cabinet.

The locking of the turntable against rotation adds an element of protection to the mounted machine and its contents because the means of access to the cash box, to the merchandise compartments, if the machine is of the merchandise vending variety, and to the lock for the mechanism whereby the machine is anchored to its support and the opening to the weightingmaterial compartment is kept closed may, as herein described, be located at the rear of the machine. Consequently, if these means .of access can not be moved to the front, because the turntable is locked against rotation except by an authorized person, it will be, of course, harder to tamper with them.

The locking mechanism, whereby the machine may be securely anchored to the turntable, will now be described. As previously explained, the base of the machine may be enclosed on all four sides by a channel-shaped frame having a threesided fixed section 63, 64, 65 and a removable section '12 that may be telescoped into the open side of the fixed section. The top plate 5'! of the turntable is provided with a pair of parallel ratchet bars I00 and Ill! rigidly attached thereto. The backs or smooth edges of these ratchet bars are adapted to engage corresponding guide bars I82 and IE3 carried by the removable frame section 72, and thereby facilitate the proper positioning of the removable section. The teeth on the front edges of the stationary ratchet bars are adapted to be engaged by complementary teeth on the outer ends of two movable locking bars lu l and H35 that are carried by the movable section, that are adapted to slide in and out between guides H36, i9! and I 68 and are retained in place on the movable section by a cover plate ms.

Latch bars H34 and 105 are urged outwardly to locking position by a spring H5 that, at its center, is held by a pin 8 l5 and has its two spring legs bearing against the rear edges of the latch bars. The latch bars maybe retracted out of engagement with ratchet bars 100 and NH by a pair of levers Ill and H8. The forward ends of levers l H and H8 movably fit into notches H9, I 29 near the rear ends of the latch bars lildand I85, respectively. The rear ends of levers H1 and H8 are provided with upstanding wings HI and I22 that are engageable and operable by cam-shaped lugs I23 and I24, respectively, of a lock H25. A pin I26 may be secured through the Walls of the bars of section 12 in the path of the ends of spring M5 to serve as a stop therefor and to assist in keeping the spring in proper place.

Normally spring H5 extends latch bars W4 and W5 so that the teeth thereof engage but ride idly over the teeth of ratchet bars Hill and Hill, respectively, when the removable frame section is applied to and pushed inwardly relative to the fixed frame section. On the other hand, movement of the detachable frame section inthe cpposite direction is prevented by the interlocking of the teeth of the latch and ratchet bars. Thus, the movable frame section may be moved inwardly until its channel fits tightly against one edge of the base of the machine the otherthree edges being embraced by the three sides of the fixed section-and the machine is anchored to the turntable. An authorized person, however, may, by the insertion of a proper key, rotate lock so as to rock levers i Ill and M8 to retract latch bars I04 and H and thereby free the section I2 so that it may be drawn out to any desired extent or even removed entirely.

Inasmuch as the bases of game and vending machines are not always of a uniform thickness, I make provision to insure a tight fit between the turntable frame and the machine base regardless of such variations. This adjustable feature is shown most clearly in Fig. 6. Below the horizontal flanges 63 and 54 of the turntable frame are a pair of elongated vertically movable baseengaging brackets I3I) and I3I. These brackets, which may be formed from sheet metal, have horizontal shelf sections I32 and I33, respectively, for engaging under and supporting the opposite edges of the machine base I3, and channel-shaped portions l3l and I35 that lie between the edges of the machine base and flanges 69 and 6!, respectively, of the fixed section of the turntable frame. A series of screws I35 and I3? that project through the horizontal flanges 63 and 64, respectively, and thread into nuts below the parts I34 and I35 or. if the bracket material is sufiiciently heavy, into tapped holes through channel-shaped portions I34 and I35, respectively, of the brackets, serve to raise the brackets against the under surface of a machine base and then to raise the machine untilits base is tightly clamped against the lips 56,61 and 63 of the inturned upper flanges 63, G4 and B5 of the machine-holding frame. When the screws are turned in one direction, brackets Q36 and I3I are pulled towards flanges 53 and M to clamp the machine base tightly therebetween. Turning the screws in the reverse direction unclamps the machine base. The adjustable brackets, although they do insure that machine bases of different thicknesses may be tightly clamped in the turntable frame, do not have anything to do with the anchoring of the machine base to the turntable frame and, consequently, the adjusting screws thereof need not be concealed or otherwise guarded againstunauthorized operation. The brackets, by bringing the base of the machine tightly up against the inturned upper flanges of the holding frame, effectively close any gap between the frame and the machine base into which coins might fall and be lost to the person operating the machine.

Briefly reviewed, the operation of the various features of my support is as follows: When the cabinet door Iii is down and, consequently, the machine compartment is open, the turntable may be unlocked for rotation so as to render the rear or removable side of its frame accessible. This is accomplished by the insertion of a proper key in look 85, the removal of the lock barrel from the opening in partitionfi, and the insertion and operation of a proper tool to withdraw latch bolt 92 from socket 955. Now the turntable can be turned so that the back of any machine attached thereto maybe accessible from the front for the removal of coins or for the reloading of the. machine. When the turntable is revolved a complete revolution-or turned back ahalf revolution latch bolt 92 automatically snaps back into its socket 96 and the turntable is latched in proper position. Upon removal of the actuating tool and the replacement of the lock barrel, the turntable is locked against unauthorized rotation.

During the time-the turntable has been moved so as to bring its removable frame section 12 to the front of the cabinet, that front section may be unlocked by the insertion of a proper key into lock I25 and the turning of the key to cause the retraction of the toothed latch bars I M and H35.

With the removable frame section 12 pulled partly or all of the way out, depending of course upon the size of the machine base, a machine supported on the turntable may be removed for repairs or replacement. While the machine is removed, the filling opening through partition 6 into the lower weight-holding compartment is open for the application or removal of weighting material. After a machine has been slid into the fixed frame section, the removable section I2 may be applied and pushed into place so as properly to engage the machine base and anchor it to the turntable. The teeth of latch bars I04 and I05 will ride over the teeth of ratchet bars I00 and IBI as the movable section I2 is pushed into place, but will prevent movement in the reverse direction. After the machine base is properly anchored and the key removed, the machine cannot be taken from the support and, since its base closes the filling opening for the weighting material compartment, the weighting material cannot be removed or tampered with.

Either before or after the movable frame section '52 has been applied and moved into baseretaining position, the base of the machine may be very tightly clamped to the turntable by turning the adjusting screws I36 and I31 to raise the clamping brackets I30 and I3I tightly against the underside of its base.

When it is desired to close the cabinet it is only necessary to raise the door I0 until latch bolts 2k) and 2| register with their sockets 31 and 38. Thereupon the latch bolts automatically snap into their sockets and the door is held up in closed position. It can be opened only when a key is inserted into the lock, the lock barrel 5!] removed, and a suitable actuating tool is inserted through the hole uncovered thereby and turned to withdraw the bolts 20 and 2|.

Of course, it will be readily understood that y the upper or machine compartment part of the cabinet may be omitted and only the lower or stand compartment utilized if it is not deemed necessary or advisable to provide a housing for the machine. Likewise the support, either of the cabinet or simple stand variety, may be provided with several turntables, all controlled by a single locking mechanism, so that one stand will serve to support several machines.

Having thus illustrated and described the nature and preferred embodiment of my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A support for an object comprising a hollow cabinet having an opening in its top through which access may be had to the hollow interior, a multi-slded frame having an opening registrable with the opening in the top of the cabinet and having at least one of its sides movable toward and away from another side so that the object to be supported can be clamped by the relatively movable frame sides in a position to close the registering openings in the cabinet and frame, and a hollow bearing for securing the frame to the top of the cabinet with the frame rotatable about a vertical axis, the opening through the hollow bearing registering with the 5 registered openings through the cabinet and frame so that access to the cabinet interior is possible or impossible depending upon the absence or presence of a supportable object in the frame.

2. A support for an object comprising a hollow cabinet having an opening in its top through which access may be had to the hollow interior, a multi-sided frame having an opening registrable with the opening in the top of the cabi- 15 net and having at least one of its sides movable toward and away from another side so that the object to be supported can be clamped by the relatively movable frame sides in a position to close the registering openings in the cabinet and 20 frame, a hollow bearing for securing the frame to the top of the cabinet with the frame rotatable about a vertical axis, the opening through the hollow bearing registering with the registered openings through the cabinet and frame 25 so that access to the cabinet interior is possible or impossible depending upon the absence or presence of a supportable object in the frame, and a lock for preventing unauthorized relative rotation between the cabinet and the object clamping frame.

3. A support for an object comprising a hollow cabinet having an opening in its top through which access may be had to the hollow interior, a multi-sided frame having an opening registrable with the opening in the top of the cabinet and having at least one of its sides movable toward and away from another side so that the object to be supported can be clamped by the relatively movable frame sides in a position to close the registering openings in the cabinet and frame and removal of the object from clamped position will uncover the openings, means for securing the frame to the top of the cabinet so that the frame is rotatable about a vertical axis and registrability is maintained between the opening in the frame and the opening in the cabinet top, and a lock for preventing unauthorized rotation of the frame.

GEORGE F. HAUF.

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