US2417205A - Coin controlled mechanism - Google Patents

Description

`Mmch 11, 1947. 1111 1111111101111 2,411,205

COIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM Original Filed OGL 16, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet l 'Haruyfl/ arL'mOre,

I BYM; 'Cm 01% Mardi 111.19472 H. T.' LARIMORE COIN CONTRLLED MECHANI'SM Aorigina1111ec1 oet. is, 1941 5 Sheets-Shet 2 March 11, 1947. H. T. LARIMORE 2,417,205

COIN coNTRoLLED MECHANISM origial Filed oct. 16; 1941 5 sheets-sheet s INTOR. Harz/yllarmre, Bi@

March ll, 1947. H T, LARIMQRE com coNTnoLLED MECHANISM 5 minets-sheetv 4 Original Filed Oct. 16, 1941 JEQ 200 March 11-, 1947. H. 'r. LARlMoRE COIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM Original Filed Oct. 1,6, 1941 5 sheets-sheet 5 INVENR- BY HWfl/yfam'mom Patented Mar. 11, 1947 l COIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM Harvey T. Larimore, Congress Park, Ill., assigner to Kalva Venders, Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Original application October 16, 1941, Serial No.

415,250, now Patent No. 2,389,442, dated November 20, 1945. Divided and this application March 13, 1945, Serial No. 582,543

s claims. l

'This invention relates to coin controlled mechanisms and more p-articularly to coin controlled mechanisms of the type especially suitable for use in conjunction with vending machines. As hereinafter described and as represented in the drawings, the coin controlled mechanism embodying the present invention is shown in connection with a vending machine of the type for liandling unit articles as for example bottled beverages, and is constructed and arranged so that beverages of more than one flavor can be selectively dispensed from the same machine.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an improved coin controlled mechanism for use in conjunction with dispensing mechanisms of a vending machine arranged for effecting handling of one article at a time selectively from one of a plurality of dispensing mechanisms.

Another object ci my invention is to provide an improved coin controlled mechanism for use with a vending machine of the type for dispensing unit articles wherein the articles are caused to be moved partly by manual operation after the deposit of the coin and wherein mechanism is provided to insure complete cyclic functioning of the machine after the delivery has once started so that only a single article will be dispensed to the purchaser for each coin deposited in the coin control mechanism.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved coin controlled mechanism for a vvending machine which is simple in construction, positive in operation and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. Y

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of various parts of my device whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a'top view of a vending machine provided with the coin controlled mechanism embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top View of-themachine, partly in section and partly in elevation showing the coin controlled mechanism together with the indexing and delivery mechanism.

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectionalview taken substantially as indicated at line 3'-3 on Figure 2. Y

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of a modified form of coin controlled mechanism embodying the present invention.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view partly in section showing the modified form of coin control mechanism represented in Figure 4.

`The present application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 415,250, filed October 16, 1941, and entitled Multiple flavor vending machine, which has matured into Patent No. 2,389,442, granted Nov. 20, 1945.

In the design of vending machines, it is frequently necessary that the purchaser of the articles to be vended be given some selection as to the particular article which he desires to buy. This is especially true in machines designed for vending bottled beverages. The taste of the public is usually such that more than one iiavor of beverages must be dispensed by a machine if it is to have customer appeal. Machines have been designed in the past for making different beverages available to a purchaser by his own selection but it has been found that most machines of this type are quite cumbersome and expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, machines designed for dispensing a multiplicity of flavors of beverages, in the past whenever they have been constructed so as to be manually operated require so much force to shift the mechanism through numerous operations or such an amount of time delivering a single article to the purchaser that they have frequently been discarded as too' cumbersome for practical operation.

On the other hand, automatic machines have likewise been designed utilizing a power-actuated device built into a selective machine and the necessary mechanisms have become complicated to such a degreev that the cost of construction is prohibitive. The vending machine represented herein is constructed to operate in a way Which may be termed semi-automatic but which depends partly upon the manual operation of the purchaser to start delivery of the article purchased. The machine is simple in its construction and depends upon gravity to complete the delivery operation. By keeping the parts substantially simple, a plurality of conveyors each provided with a different flavor. for example, canbe assembled in one machine without unduly multiplying the cost.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, the vending machine includes an insulated housing I0 within which all of the articles to be vended may be kept prior to delivery. A storage space Il may likewise be provided for a reserve supply of the articles to be vended. Within the housing there are provided three separate and independently operated endless conveyors identified by 3 the characters I2, l!! and I6. These conveyors as shown in Figures 1 and 3 have horizontal tracks II, the rear ends of which are mounted upon a cross frame i8 and the front ends upon a cross frame 2D. The rear ends of the conveyors are each provided with a toothed wheel 22 rotating about a stub shaft Zft. At the front end, each endless conveyor is driven by a toothed wheel 26 which is secured to a drive shaft 23 ournaled at the bottom in a bearing Sil on 'the cross frame 2t as shown best in Figuref. .Each track I'I terminates at the cross frame 2Q which is adjacent the point of deflection of the conveyor` chain by the toothed wheel 25. Each co-nveyor likewise is provided with a series of lpins 32 spaced along the convey-or at intervals.slightlyhgreater than the width of articles which are to be-.carried upon it. As illustrated in Figure l, these .articles may be bottles 30, having a substantially cylindrical shape at the point where theyv are in contact with the pins. g 1

The insulated casing Iii is provided withia top 36 which covers all of the endless conveyors. .Above the top there is provided a sheet-metal housing 38 which supports a frame carrying the tioned a coin controlled mechanism embodying the present invention which comprises a co-inactuated trip device which enables the coin to release the manually controlled indexing and delivery mechanism. The coin-actuated trip device consists of a movable coin slot element ill *which has acoin slot d in vertical alinement 'with the coin slot leadingfrom the coin-selector mechanism as best shown in Figure 2. A bracket at is attached to the coin slot at one end.

For holding coins in the coin slot there'is pro- 'vided a somewhat U-shaped rocker arm i8 which vhas a plate at the left end as viewedin Figure 2 extending partly beneath' the coin slotd and in fact forming a movable bottom for the slot. The rocker arm is pivotedN about'the'ele- Ament 5l. At the other end, the rocker arm is yprovided with a stop aim'52 which is designed to .abut against a shoulder 53 thereby limiting rota;- tion yof the rocker arm in a counter-clockwise direction. Avoluntary coin return is also provided' iol', consisting of a push button (not shown) adapted to rotate the plate 5t in a clockwise direction around 5I, allowing plate 5E! to swing wide enough for the coin to drop past it by gravity into return chute and roll out the casing at 43.

Likewise pivoted about the point 5I is alever .element 5d which, has attached ,to its left end, Vas viewed in Figure 2, a cam .element 55 pro- -vided with a slop-ing face 55.v Also secured to the lever 5:3 is a latch 5l positioned adjacent a shoulder 58 with .which it may engage and disengage during certain steps in the vending operation. At its other end the lever is provided 'with an arm `59 secured by a coiled spring Sil to a pin Si.' By means of the coiled spring the lever is normally retained in the po-sition shown in Fig- The operatic-nef these various parts will be de- A ries the yshoulder 58, previously described, and

has also secured to it the bracket 46. Secured to the bracket 4S at one end isa long coiled spring fit which at the other end is fastened to a pin (i9. The spring normally tends to urge the slide 'grasped by an operator.

bar toward the right as viewed in Figure 2. This action tends constantly to keep the coin slot element irl urged toward the right to its normal position as 'shown in Figure 2 where it can receive a coin from the coin selector. A single coinactuated mechanism is provided for operating all 'ofthe plurality of endless conveyors.

The manual indexing and delivery mechanism for the conveyor nearest the coin slot includes a rod'll provided with a handle 'Il adapted to be The rod is slidably mounted at the point 'I2 in the housing 38 and at a corresponding point at the rear of the housing. Normally, lthe rod is held by a coiled spring I3 in a retracted position as shown in Figure 2. -On one side of the rod is a toothed rack "M and this is designed to mesh with teeth i5 of a toothed wheel 16. .The wheel in turn rotates vfreely on a stub shaft l'I which is journaled at two points, one on the topv36 of the casing and rthe other at the iiat plate 55 forming a part of the frame within the housingv 38. It will be noted that the teeth 'I5 occupy approximately two-thirds of the circumference of the wheel l5. rIhe otherone-third of the wheel consists of a similar series of Ateeth forming projections and depressions I8 and the smaller section of the circumference is separatedfrom the larger section by a pair of recesses 'i9 and I9 having a depth slightly greater than the depth of either the space between the teeth or the depressions. Ad-

Yjacent each wheel Iii Ythere is provided a ratchet itil pivoted at the point 3l and retained by a :coiled spring 82 in the positions shown inV Figure 2. It will be noted that the ratchet extends Sinto the recesslQ in each of the wheels i6 when in normal position. There isalso provided above .each wheel amembe'r pinned to .the respective lstub shaft and having thereon a series of three .shoulders 83 spaced substantially 120 degrees i from each other. yOn the upper surface of each wheel is a pawl 84 pivoted about the point 85 the wheel and the stub shaft during a forward movement of the rod l.

Likewise in this particular embodiment, there .is a pinion 88, pinned to: the stub shaft 'I'I Aand meshingwith a vsecond toothed wheel 83,' as

shown to best advantage in lFigure 3. The second toothed wheel is pinned to the drive shaft 23.

LAS viewed inFigure 1,1-the opposite parallel Vsides Vof each' endless conveyor are separated by a partition wall 94. There are also provided outside `walls IGS set back from the front and it will be noted that the partition Wall extends beyond the drive shaft 28 toward the front end of the *.machine where a portion i915 ofthe partition wall overliesthev pins :i2-as they roundthe bend at 'the iront end ofv the endless conveyor.

It is-also important to note that the partition wall extends ^5 only to e. point substantially abovethe tops of the pins so that they vare free to pass beneath it as they pass round the bend.

Adjacent the front or delivery end of the conveyor the housing I is provided with a delivery pocket 96 which is formed by the walls of the housing l0 and the top 36. There is likewise provided a bottom 91 for the pocket closing the space between the front wall of the housing It and an intermediate wall 98 located rearwardly with respect to the front wall. In the bottom is an aperture 99, somewhat greater in diameter than the diameter of the largest bottle or cylindrical article to be dispensed. This aperture is located slightly to one side and near the front end of the conveyor as viewed in Figure 1. A trap door |66 hinged at the point ||l| is spring pressed' to a closed position as shown in Figure 3. A delivery passage |62 leads from the trap door downwardly and then outwardly toward the front of the housing. At the front, guard plate |63 partly closes the passage but has in it an opening 64 through which a delivered article can pass. At thelowerside of the opening there is provided a shelf which is designed to catch and retain an article after it has been delivered.

When the machine is set up to dispense more than one flavor of beverage, an interlocking mechanism is provided in order to prevent operation of more than one conveyor at a time. In addition to the slide bar 64, there is provided a slide bar ||ll and another slide bar |32 in longitudinal alinement with each other. For ex ample, the lefthand end |i| oi slide bar lib, as Viewed in Figure 2, abuts against the righthand end of slide bar 54 and the righthand end H3 of slide bar |||l abuts against the lefthand end of l|4 of the slide bar H2. Another end H5 of slide bar I I2 abuts against a stationary portion of the machine. It will also be noted that a portion of the righthand end of the slide bar 64 is cut on a slant providing an oblique face 61%'. Similarly slide bar H0 has an oblique face ||6 at the left end and ||8 at the right end. Similar oblique faces |20 and |2| are provided on opposite ends of the slide bar H2.

Below the rod 16 there is attached a plate 65 which extends along the lower1 surface of the rod and lies in the same plane as the slide bars. Similarly the slide rod 16' has a plate 65 attached to it and the slide rod 16" has a plate 65"? attached to its underside. Each one of the plates 65', 65 and 65" has an oblique face |22 which has the same direction as the adjacent oblique face of the slide bars on the left as viewed in Figure 2. The rlghthand edge |23 of each plate 65', 65 and 65" extends in a direction parallel to the rods 10, 16 and 16 so that it can pass by the end of the slide bar on the right side of each respective rod.

The sloping surfaces ||6 and |26 are to provide a beveled edge soV that there will be no possibilityof stopping the bars ||U and H2 in case of looseness of rods 10 and 16' when the slide bars ||6 and ||2 are moved respectively from` 14 and 5 as that described in connection with Fig- W6 ures`1',2 and `3 except'tha'tthe' movement of the conveyor is in reverse direction, made necessary by theabsence of a reversing gear in connection with the manually actuating portion of the device. A bottle is tipped oif the conveyor by means ofv an extension of the partition on to a trap door in the same manner as previously described.

- In the alternative construction, there vis shown a housing and a conveyor |l3| beneath the housing on which are positioned pins |32. The conveyor is driven by a toothed wheel |33 which is pinned to a drive shaft |34 mounted within the housing. A manually actuated rod |35 is mounted by means of brackets |36 and |31 to the housing extending through the front wall and is provided with a knob |38, by means of which it can be operated manually. A coiled spring |39 is secured by means of a screw |40 at one end and to a stationary bracket |4| on the machine at the other end for automatically returning'therrod to initial position.` On one side of the rod is a rack |42 which meshes with teeth |43 of a pinion. The pinion rotates freely about the shaft |34. On the pinion a pawl |44 is pivoted at the point |45 and is continually urged in a clockwise direction by means of a leaf spring |46. The pawl is carried by and rotates `with the pinion `when it is rotated by means of the rack. When rotated, the Apawl engages shoulders |41 which extend outwardly from a sleeve |43, in turn xed to the shaft |34. The space between shoulders is equal to the amount of movement of the conveyor necessary to deliver one article. There are likewise provided a series of depressions and projections |49` similar to those previously described, cooperable with a ratchet V|5|l in order to prevent return of the delivery mechanismV until a complete delivery cycle has been completed.

The rod is provided with a plate |51 von the bottom side as described in connection with Figures 1, 2 and 3, which is adapted to slide between slide bars |52 and |53. The slide bars in turn are held by keepers |54 and |55.

Likewise within the casing, there is provided a coin selecting mechanism designated generally1 by the character |60 and within the mechanism is a coin slot |6| into whichv coins are deposited after having passed through the selecting mechanism. Beneath the coin slot is an elongated coin supporting element |65 pivotally mounted4 by means of a pin |66. The coin supporting elementhas an extension |61 at the other iside of the pin |66. A coiled spring |68 attached Vto a bracket |69 continually urges the supporting element to the normal position shown in Figilele 4; which is directly beneath the coin slot On the slide bar |52 is a block 10 pivoted at the point |1| to the block and provided with a coin contacting linger |12, the end of which lies adjacent the coin slot. On the stationary portion Aof the machine is a locking element |13 adjavcent the path of travel of the slide bar |52 On the block is provided a similar locking element |14 adapted to engage the first locking element. There is also provided an abutting end |15 which normally rests on top of the first-mentioned sta tionaryY locking element.` A coiled spring |16 attached at one end to `one side of the block and at the other end to a pin |11 normally holds the block so that the locking elements are in potential engaging positions. A second coiled spring |18 attached tothe block at one end and `to astat'ionary portion of the frame at the other ""7 normally holds the slide bar |535in a retracted or normal position.

Likewise on the coin contacting linger |12 is provided recess |19, the function of which will be described under the topic Operation.

In Figure are shown `details of a coin return mechanism attachedtolthe side of the coin selecting unit |60. The coin return mechanism consists of a manually depressible element |80 pivotally mounted atthe point |8| to the coin selecting mechanism. and provided with a spring |82 for maintaining in a normal position. Attached tothe manually depressible element is a reciprocating lever .|88 pivotally mounted at the point |84 at one end and having an elongated slot |85 at the other end within which is positioned a pin |86, in turn secured to a pivoted arm |81. The arm |81 is pivotally mounted by means of a pin |88 to the side of the coin selecting mechanism. A coiled spring |89 is attached to the lowermost end |90 of the lever |83 and to the pin |86 on the arm |81. A coin return passage |92` is shown rat the lower leithand side of Figure 5, which is adapted to receive coins which are to be returned to the purchaser. Coins roll down the slot and pass outwardly from the machine to a return receptacle |83. Likewise adjacent the bottom of the slot |8| is a coin retaining purse |84 within the machine which collects coins which have been accepted forv the sale of articles whichare vended.

Operation of Figures 1, 2 and .3

In operation of the rst described embodiment of my invention, a coin or slug is deposited in the coin slot l2 and after passing through a suitable coin selecting mechanism passes into Lthe coin slot i5 in the'coin slot element 4d as best shown in Figure 2. The coin while in the coin slot i5 rests upon the plate 50 in operative position. After the coin has been thus deposited, the

operator grasps the handle 1| of the rod 1B and pulls it forward against the tension oi' the spring When the rod 1l] moves forward it engages the slide bar fl and by means of theoblique face Sil forces the slide bar in a direction from right to left as viewed in Figure 2. Movement in this direction forces a coin held in the coin slot l5 against the sloping surfacet or the cam 55 and action oi the coin against the sloping surface thereby pivots the lever arm 54 in a clockwise direction about the pin 5|. The lever arm being thus pivoted causes the latch 51 to be raised out ofcontact position with the shoulder 58 before contact is actually madey and permits continuedV free movement oi' the slide bar in a leftward direction. The bar continues moving leftward until the coin slot elementpasses beyond the leftmost edge of the plate 58 and at that point the coin drops down into a, collecting purse (not shown). This occurs at the outermost thrust of the rod 1o and simultaneously with delivery of an article from the end of the conveyor. The operator can then release the handle 1l, the spring13 will return the rod to initial position and the spring 58 likewisereturnthe slide bar 5d `and attached mechanism to its normal position wherein it will beloched against a subsequent, vending operation vby reason of the latch 51.being in potential engagement with the shoulder 58. It will be apparent that unless a coin is dropped into the coin slot l5 so that it Acan engage the sloping surface-58, there will vbe no unlocking of the slide bar El! and it will be impossible to-pull the rod 10 outward through an indexing and delivery operation.

Furthermore, the relationship of the teeth on the wheel 15 with the rod 18 is such that for each reciprocating movement of the rod, the conveyor is advanced a distance just sucient to push one article from the delivery end into the delivery pocket. As the rod moves forward in the manner just described, the rack 14 by reason of meshing with the teeth of the wheel 18 rotates the wheel 16 in a clockwise direction. Since the pawl 84 is carried by the wheel 15, clockwise rotation of the wheel 18 will rotate the pawl 84 and force it against the shoulder 83. Rotation of the member carrying the shoulder 83 will rotate the stub shaft 11 and the pinion 88 which in turn will rotate the second wheel 89 thereby imparting'to the wheel 89 counterclockwise rotation. This means that the drive shaft 28 rotates counterclockwise and causes the leftmost parallel track of the endless conveyor to move from the rear toward the front of the machine as Viewed in Figure l.

As the conveyor thus advances, one of the articles 34 carried by it is pushed by the respective pin 32 into the delivery pocket 95. The article is prevented from continuing on around the end of the conveyor by reason of the interposition of the portion 95 of the partition wall. The article strikes against the wall and is thus knocked from the conveyor into the delivery pocket. In the pocket the article falls upon the trap door |88 and due to its own weight, forces the trap door open and passes downwardly into the passage |02, through which it is conducted by gravity to the shelf |85. Here the operator can take hold of and remove the article from the machine.

During the indexing and delivery operation as the wheel 16 rotates, the ratchet 8|! is pivoted about the point 8| in a counterclockwise direction and the end initially received within the recess 19 successively engages the projections 18 on the smaller section of the wheels circumference. The ratchet thus serves to prevent reverse rotation of the wheel once the delivery operation starts. The wheel 'i8 can only be rotated in a clockwise direction until the ratchet 88 is received in the second recess 19' at completion of a single vending operation.

After this has happened, the ratchet can be pivoted in a reverse or clockwise direction as the wheel 18 reverses and returns to normal position. During the return rotation of the wheel in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figure 2, the pawl 814 is carried around and eventually pivots over the top of the next successive shoulder S3 and engages it on the opposite side preparatory to the next vending operation.

As shown in the drawings, the vending machine is set up to dispense three diierent flavors of bottled goods, though it is, of course, to be understood that any reasonable number of dierent flavors could be included equally well. In order that only one article from one conveyor` may be delivered for the deposit of a single coin, aninterlocking mechanism between the respective manually operated indexing and delivery mech anism if necessary. When in operation, the locking mechanism is so shifted that when one rod 'It is pulled forward, neither of the other rods can be pulled forward at the same time. This is accomplished by means of the previously described sliding bars 64, H8 and |62. When, for example, thefrod Eilat the leithand'end ofthe machine is pulled forward, setting in operation the indexing 9. and .delivery mechanismV for its respective conveyor, th'eslide bar 6l is moved from right to left. This `is accomplished by means ofthe coacting oblique faces on the line 64. It will be observed that theplate |55',l fastened to the ul)- perside of the rod 1G, is drawn forward with it when the rod is pulled forward. Thefplate thus moved will be .drawn past the left-end face of the slide bar H8 and the bar will remain locked in position. Similarly, the slide bar H2 by. reason of having its lefthand end lit abutting against righthand end H3 of member Hc, will be locked in position. When this is true, neither of the rods 18 or 10 to the right of the rod 18 can be drawn forward by reason of the fact that their respective plates 55" and 85' will abut against the oblique ends of the stationarily held slide bars which thereby lock the rods in normal position.

If, for example, the middle rodJG is being pulled'through an' indexing and delivery move,= i ment, the two outside rods 10 and 10" will fbe locked in their respective normal positions. The rod 1li will, of course, be locked by reason of slide bar ||2 being held in normal position when the plate 65" is moved past the end H4. Movement of the plate 65" in a forward direction will push the slide bar I from right to left by action of the oblique faces at 65 against each other. When slide bar moves underneath the rod 18, it will be placed in the path of the plate S5 and thereby prevent the rod from being pulled forward. Therefore, only the middle conveyor mechanism can discharge an article to its respective delivery passage. Movement of the slide bar 5A by the endwise thrust of the slide bar |||J will actuate the coin mechanism ln the regular way.

When there is no coin in the coin slot |35, the slide bar B will be locked in position as previously described by reason of the shoulder 53 coming into engagement with the latch 51. When the slide bar 64 is locked in position, it will like-wise lock slide bars H8 and ||2 inpositionand none of the manually actuated rods can be pulled forward through a dispensing operation.

Operation of Figures 4 and 5 In order -to vend an article by operation of the alternative mechanism shown in Figures 4 and 5, a coin C is inserted into the coin selecting mechanism from which it passes into the coin slot which in this ,instance is stationary at all times. There the coin is supported edgewise on the coinsupporting element |65, as shown both in Figures 4 and 5. When the coin has reached this position, the knob |38 is drawn outwardly, moving the rod |35 and rack |i2,`which in turn rotates the conveyor mechanism and advances an article on the conveyor to a delivery position. Meanwhile, the plate |5| on the underside of the rod 35 shifts the slide bar |52 along a path on the upper surface of a. supporting plate 200 from right to left in the manner described in connection with Figures l.; 2 and 3. As the slide bar moves toward the left, the coin contacting linger i12 engages the side face of the coin C before the locking element il!! engages the corresponding locking element |13, As the finger contacts the coin, the block |19 is rotated in a clockwise direction about the point |1|. The locking element |15 is lifted out of position where it can engage the element |13.

As the slide bar continues to pass toward the left, a side element |95 of the coin slot extends 10 into the recess |19 and engages the coin contacting" finger. As the finger, together with the slide barf|52 continues to move toward the left,` contactof the side of the coin slot with the finger lifts the finger out of engagement with the coin. The coin thereafter remains entirely free within the slot ll. AAs the slide bar passes to the lefthand end of its movement, it engages the extensionV |81 of the coin supporting element, moves it from the solid `line position shown in Figure 4 to the dottedline position there shown. With this movement, 'the coin supporting element passes from beneath the slot |6| to the lefthand side thereof, as viewed in Figure 5 and the coin 'released from this support, passes into the purse |94'for collection.

As soon as the vending operation has been completed, the spring |18 returns the slide bar |52 to its initial position andthe coiled spring |16 rotates the block |10 back to its initial position Where the locking elements |13 and |14 are again in position for potential engagement.

If no coin has been inserted and the manually operated rod |35 is pulled outwardly, the coin contacting finger will move to a position where the side |95 of the coin slot is positioned within the recess |19. This will not occur before the locking elements |13 and |14 become engaged. The mechanism will, therefore, be locked against a delivery operation.

Under the circumstances Where the prospective vendee, after depositing his coin, does not wish to complete a vending operation, the coin maybe voluntarilyv returned to the purchaser by manipulation of a suitable means. When return of the coin is desired, the operator depresses the manually depressible element by means of a push button |91. This in turn shifts the lever V|83 downwardly, as viewed in Figure 5. During its movement downward, the lever shifts the arm |81 in a counterclockwise direction about its pivot point |88 until the arm assumes the dotted position |81 shown in Figure 5. At this point, the coin supporting element |65 will be in the dotand-dash position |65' shown in Figure 4. When thelcoin Supporting element has been moved to the right-hand side of the coin slot 6|, as viewed in Figure 5, support for the coin C will have been removed and the coin will pass out of the slot into the coin return passage |92, down which it will roll to the coin return slot-| 93.

By making a resilient, loose connection between the lower end of the lever |83 and the pivoted arm |81, a freedom of movement is provided which prevents binding of the parts, especially under circumstances where the manually depressible element is given a sudden blow in order to effect return of the coin.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my device without departing from the rea1 spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a coin-controlled latch mechanism, an element having a coin slot, a shiftable coin supporting element releasably held in normal position beneath said slot for supporting a coin in the slot and having an operative position wherein a coin is directed to a receptacle, a shiftable slide bar including a coin contacting finger movably mounted on the slide bar having a portion thereof extending to a position adjacent said coin germes slotan'd adapted to contacta coin therein; com...

plementary locking elements Abetween '.saidl .slide bar and a stationary point normally in -position. for engagement on movementI of `said slide' bar; said finger having an initial operative position in Contact with a coin in saidslot when said slide bar means is in an intermediate position wherein said locking elements are out of position forengagement on movement ofv said slide bar, `said finger having an advanced operative position in contact with a stationary point and out of contact with the coin element, said slide bar having an advanced operative position wherein'the bar engages said coin supporting element forshifting said last element to said operative position, and means for automatically'returning.` the bar to normal position.

2. In a coin-controlled latch mechanism', .an element having a coin slot and. a, receptacleadjacent said slot', a pivotal coin supporting ele-` ment releasably held in normaLposition beneath said slot forisupporting. va coin. in the slotand having an; operat'n/e position wherein .a =coin is operati-ve position in contactz with a side-.of said.

slot-and4 out Iof. contactwith the coin,y said slide bar having an. advanced operative .positionwherein the bar is contact withan. extended. portion of..said coin supporting element forshitingsaid last element tosaid operativeposition,v` andmeans for automatically returningl the. bar.A tonormal position.

3. In a coin-controlledlatch. mechanism,.a stationary elementhaving a slot, a coin.. receptacle, and a coin.` return passagenadjacent said s1ot said.

mechanism; comprising a pivotal Vsupporting. ele-v ment releasably held in normalpositionibeneath said slot yfor Ysupporting `a coinin the slot and having a rst operative position .Whereinza coin is directed to said receptacleand a second operative position wherein a coin is directedto. the, return passage, a reciprocating slide bar-,a coin contacting finger pivotallymounted. on said slidebar and having a portion thereof .extending to a position adjacent saidslot and adaptedto. contact-.a coin therein, complementary locking elements .on said iinger anda stationary point. normallyy in position for engagement on movement .of saidslide bar,

said; finger-shaving. an. initial operative'position in.

contact :with a `coinzin said slot when said slide bar isin an intermediate position wherein said locking elements are out .of position for engagementi on movement of said slide bar, said finger having anv advancedoperative position in contact with the coin, saidslide bar having an advanced operative position .wherein the bar is in contact with an extended portion of said coin supporting element for shifting said last element to the rst operativeposition, meansv for automatically returning the bar to normal position, and separate manually actuated means normally retained in an initial position for shifting said supporting element to the second' operative position and having a spring element. thereon for returning said separate means to initial position.

4. In a vcoin-controlled latch mechanism,V an element having a slot, means for .returning coins to an operatorzprior vto a vending ,operation includngA -a manually actuated means forshifting said: element .toa c'oinreturn. positionr comprising a manually'depressible element,r a lever arm pivoted atione end thereto, an arm pivotally mounted and extending into contact with said coin supporting element, and a resilient extensible connection between said lever and said arm adapted to urgesaid arm together with said coin supporting element to a coin. return position upon de pressing said manually depressible element. g

5. `In a coin-controlled latch mechanism, an element having a slot, a movable coin supporting element beneath the slot, means for returning coins to the operator prior to a vending operation including a separate manually actuated means for shifting the coin supporting element to a coin return position comprising a manually depressible element, a lever arm pivoted at one end there.. to, a slot .in saidlever arm adjacent the other end, anA arm pivotally mounted and extending into contact Wthsaid coin. supporting element, a pin on said. arm engaged in said slot, and a spring attached between the end of said lever and said pin forming a resilient connectiony therebetween when said lever is depressed to. effect movement of the coin supportingelement to a coin return position.

HARVEY T. LARIMORE.

REFERENCES CITED The, followingreferences are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 473,264 Quittner Apr. 19, 1892 1,001,438 Pfohl Aug. 22, 1911 1,778,833 Norris Oct. 21, 1930 1,848,755 Steiner Mar. 8, 1932

Images