US2492025A - Collector for money bags and other articles - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 20, 1949 E. D. ZECHER- COLLECTOR FOR MONEY BAGS AND OTHER ARTICLES Filed. Oct. 24, 1946 INVENTOR HIWWIHII,

Em'lfli Zeclter HTTORNEY Patented Dec. 20, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COLLECTOR FOR MONEY BAGS AND OTHER ARTICLES Application October 24, 1946, Serial No. 705,471

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to portabl collectors for the collection of bags of money and of other articles of value. Among the objects of the invention is to provide a collector in the nature of a strong box which can be trundled over the floor of a department store and employed to provide security for money collected from a number of cash registers,

Another object of the invention is to provide a strong box having an opening through which articles may be deposited to the interior of the strong box, and a movable gate normally closing the opening and automatically operable under the weight of an article to deposit the article into the interior of the strong box while at the same time restricting access to the interior of the strong box by a person extending his arm through the opening and reaching articles that have been deposited. The relationship of the gate and the chute which delivers articles to the gate is such that the expanse of the opening to the interior of the strong box is always restricted to prevent human interference with the contents of the strong box, whatever may be the position of the gate within its limit of movement.

Other objects of the present invention will be hereinafter set forth in the accompanying specification and claim and demonstrated by the drawings which show by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the principle of the invention and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a strong box embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the gate rocked from its normal position;

Fig. 4 is a section showing a detail of construction on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The strong box illustrated in the drawings is in the form of a rectangular casing l having rounded vertical edges. The strong box is preferably made of sheet steel throughout. The casing is mounted on a pair of rollers l l and a pair of casters I2 fastened to the bottom l3. The upper edge of the casing is finished with a combination bumper and hand rail 14. Finger slots l5 and I6 are provided for convenience of an attendant.

One of the side walls I! is provided with a door I8 having a lock I9. The exterior of this door is flush with the outside surface of wall ll so as to avoid any projecting edges under which an instrument could be inserted for gaining access to the interior of the casing through the closed opening 20. Opening 20 is provided for permit- 2 ting authorized persons to remove articles from the interior of the casing.

The horizontal projection of the upper portion of the casing is closed off by a ledger compartment 2! flanked by a wall 22 at one side from which a ledge 23 extends to wall 24 of the casing, and by a similar wall on the other side also having a ledge 25 extending to wall I! of the casing. The ledger compartment has a vertical transverse wall 26 opposite wall 2'! of the casing l0, and a bottom wall 28. The ledger compartment is provided with separated strips 29 and 30 and a bar 3! for allocating the positions of record books within the compartment.

A chute 32 is attached at its upper edge to wall 25 of the ledger compartment and also along its side edges to walls I! and 24 of the casing ID. This chute is inclined to convey bags of money or other valuables under the force of gravity and discharge them over its lower edge 33. A shelf 34 is attached at its end edges to walls I! and 24 of the casing and at its rear edge to wall 35 of the casing. The free edge 36 of the shelf preferably overlaps the discharge edge 33 of the chute 32 in a higher plane. The ledger compartment, chute and shelf extend across a horizontal projection of the upper end of easing i 0.

A gate for receiving articles from chute 32 and for depositing them within the casing is located Opposite the chute and the opening between the discharge edge of the chute and the free edge 36 of the shelf. This gate comprises a crescent-like wall 31 of sheet steel having a lower apron portion 38 and an upper lip portion 39. The free edge of lip portion 39 is preferably provided with a finishing strip 40 which serves to limit the rotation of the gate in a clockwise direction (Fig. 2) and thereby establish its normal position. The gate has parallel sides 4|, one of which is shown in the drawings. Each side is attached to the curved wall 31 and the gate is pivotally supported by trunnions extending from adjacent walls: of the casing. One of these trunnions is shown in Fig. 4 as constituting a bearing screw 42. The gate is so constituted as to normally assume the position illustrated in Fig. 2 under the action of gravity. In this position it is so located with respect to chute 32 as to receive articles from the chute. Articles leaving the chute are received upon apron 38 and cause the gate to rotate counterclockwise and automatically to discharge the article into the strong box, as illustrated in Fig. 3. A plate 43 is provided to guide the articles descending thereon and to lodge them at a point within the strong box remote from the gate.

The open face of the gate between apron 38 and lip 39 is normally positioned to receive articles from chute 32. The opening to the interior of the casing corresponds in elevational expanse to approximately the distance between the free edge 36 of shelf 34 and the discharge edge 33 of chute 32, but as the gate rocks under the weight of an article, this opening is diminished by the changed position of lip 39 and the gate effects such diminution of the open area as to restrict access to the interior of the strong box by anybody trying to reach through the opening for the purpose of withdrawing deposited articles. Any convenient arrangement may be provided for limiting the rocking movement of the gate, but in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings the gate is so positioned as to contact wall 35 of the casing in the manner illustrated in 3. In its position of maximum displacement or in any intermediate position, the gate restricts the passage of a persons arm and prevents meddling with the contents of the strong box.

What is claimed is:

A collector for money bags and the like comprising a mobile strong box enclosing a compartment for receiving articles for safe-keeping, said compartment having side walls and an interrupted upper wall including superior and inferior fixed partitions extending towards each other from opposite side walls and terminating inwardly thereof in edges displaced one above the other and thereby providing a substantially vertical opening to the upper part of said compartment, the inferior fixed partition including an inclined chute for conveying an article by gravity into said opening, a pivoted gate located below said superior fixed partition and opposite said opening and balanced normally to close said opening, said gate being crescent-shaped and having a lower apron portion with its edge normally disposed proximate the discharge edge of said chute and having an upper lip portion with its edge normally disposed proximate said superior fixed partition, said gate being constructed and arranged to receive on its lower apron portion an article from said chute and automatically to tilt under the weight of the received article to deposit the same into said compartment as the upper lip portion thereof advances across said vertical opening, the lower portion of said compartment having an opening through which articles deposited therein may be withdrawn, and a lockable closure for said lastnamed opening. 7

EMIL D. ZECHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 89,474 Fitzgerald Apr. 27, 1869 149,947 Moses Apr. 21, 1874

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