US2913144A

US2913144A - Newspaper dispensing device

Info

Publication number: US2913144A
Application number: US328969A
Authority: US
Inventors: George A Myers
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1952-12-31
Filing date: 1952-12-31
Publication date: 1959-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 1976-11-17

Description

' Npv. 17, 1959 Filed Dec. 31. 1952 cs. A. MYERS 2,913,144

NEWSPAPER DISPENSING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 flENToR y Q QWNEY Nov. 17, 1959 G. A. MYERS NEWSPAPER DISPENSING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed D90. 31, 1952 Z 1.9 "m n E 51E 5 E \n ,w .2 a M g .H im- H L W 5 @Hw g 7 .3 g J, 4 X m 5 {lrl y 1? nBu Nov. 17, 1959 a. A. MYERS 2,913,144

NEWSPAPER DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Dec. 31. 1952 s Sheets-Sme t s m n R m m m d m M W m T U an Q M n I .v a n n a. n M n 9. m g mi m m i 1 i u m u Y r O a Add/ United States Patent NEWSPAPER DISPENSING DEVICE George A. Myers, Bethesda, Md.

Application December 31, 1952, Serial No. 328,969

7 Claims. (Cl. 22'134) This invention relates to a device for dispensing newspapers and the like. More particularly it relates to such a device as may be placed at street corners, bus stops and other public locations, where a purchaser may upon depositing a coin and operating a simple lever, obtain a paper.

While newspaper stands or racks have been used at such locations they have, for the most part, been unsatisfactory. Often the papers will be blown or will become ruined by rain or snow. Moreoften where the honor system of depositing a coin in a cup is employed, the company supplying the papers suffers a loss, not so much from dishonesty of purchasers, but more often because of forgetfulness in making a deposit, making the correct change, or failure to pay later when a paper is taken at a time when the purchaser is either hurried or does not have change.

It is an important object to provide a coin-controlled newspaper dispensing device which is not subject to these drawbacks and which at the same time is simple in construction and easily and reliably operated.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a device which, by simple adjustment at the time a supply of papers is placed therein, can accommodate and dispense with eaqual facility editions or issues which may very greatly in thickness.

The invention has for a further object the provision of a newspaper dispensing device in which the opening through which the papers are delivered one at a time is adequately blocked so as to prevent entrance by a hand or an instrument for the purpose of purloining one or more papers.

These objects of the invention, and no doubt others as well, should be apparent from the following description and claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective of a device embodyingthe invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the inner slide member;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device with the cover open;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 3 and looking forwardly in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 and looking rearwardly in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating the device in its first or rest position;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but showing the device in its second position;

'Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the parts in a third position;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 99 of Figure 3 with the papers removed and with the nearer side wall of the outer casing removed so as to show the mounting of one of'theslide springsin-elevation; and

I 2,913,144 Patented Nov. 17, 19 59 Fig. 10 is a perspective detail of adjusting means used with the invention.

In outward appearance the device may be similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1, where it is comprised of a rectangular box-like casing 10. The casing is mounted on any suitable support, such as the legs 11, so that preferably the forward end slants downwardly.

The casing may be made of sheet metal, plastic or like materials and is comprised of a front wall 12, side walls 13 and 14, a rear end wall 15, and a top cover 16 hinged at 17 to permit it to be opened so that a supply of newspapers may be placed therein. The cover 16 is also provided with a window 18 of any suitable transparent ma terial so that the kind and extent of supply of newspapers to be dispensed from the casing can be readily and conveniently ascertained. The casing 10 is provided with a bottom 19 which requires special mention.

As will be noted from Fig. 6, the front part 20 of the bottom 19 is of single thickness sheet material and is disposed at a level raised from the level of the rear part 21 of the bottom from which it is separated or spaced by a cut-out or opening 22 which (Fig. 3) extends transversely of the casing. The rear portion of the casing 10 is provided with a so-called false bottom above the part 21 as mentioned, comprising bottom 23 spaced a short distance above the part 21 and parallel thereto. The part 23 is provided with raised ridges or corrugations 24 (Figs. 3 and 5) extending from the back to the front edge and the purpose of which is to facilitate the sliding of a newspaper thereover during dispensing of the newspapers as will be later described.

The inside of the casing 10 is provided with a transverse partition 25 which divides the casing into a rear compartment 26 in which the newspapers are disposed for dispensing and a smaller forward compartment 27 which houses some of the operating mechanism as will be described. The partition 25 extends from the top edge of the casing 10 to a point spaced above and to the rear of the rear edge of the front bottom part 20. The partition 25 is secured in place to the side walls 13 and 14 of the casing by means of the flanges 28 and rivets 29 or the like. a

The rear compartment 26 of the casing 10 is also provided with false side walls 30 and 31 which are parallel to and spaced a short distance from the side walls 13 and 14 respectively of the casing 10. These false side walls 30 and 31 are provided with front and

rear edge flanges

32 and 33. The front flanges 32 are joined by rivets 34 or the like to the partition 25 (Fig. 3), and the rear flanges 33 to the rear wall 15 of the casing.

- The principal purpose of the false bottom and false side walls, as described, is to provide a support and guide for the slide 35 shown in Fig. 2. The structure, arrangement and disposition of this slide will now be described.

With reference to Fig. 2 it will be noted that the slide 35 there shown is provided with a front wall 36 the lower edge 37 of which is provided with a rectangular cut-out 38. The side walls 39 and 40 each have an upper edge in the same plane as the upper edge of the front wall 36. A forward part 41 of each side wall 39, 40, is of a depth equal to the depth of the front wall 36, but the rear part 42 of each side wall 39, 40 is of greater depth.

The slide 35 has no rear wall, and the bottom 43 only:

The manner in which the slide is disposed within the.

casing for sliding movement therein is perhaps best ap-- preciat'ed from a consideration of Figs. 3, 5 and 6. It will be seen from these figures that the side walls of the slide are disposed between the real and false side walls,

of the casing. Thus the side wall 39 of the slide (Fig. 3)

.3 is disposed between one main side wall 13 and the false side wall 30 of the casing 10, while the other side wall 40 of the slide is disposed .between the other main side wall 1.4 and .its ffalse side -wallfil. .From Fig.6 it will be observed that the bottom 43 of the .slide 35 is disposed between the main bottom -2l.of the casing and itsdfalse bottom 23. The front-36 of the slide is disposed forwardly of the partition 25.

Secured to the front wall 36 of the slide 35 (through means which willbe described later) is an operating rod 45 which extends forwardly through the front wall 12. The front end of the rod 45 (Fig. 6) is connected by a slot and pin connection 46 to an operating handle 47 pivoted .as at 48 .to a bracket 49 on the front wall 12.01? the casing .10.

IDownward movement of thehandle 47, it will be seen, will result in movement of the slide 35 forwardly within the casing 10, .from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that of Fig. 7 as will be described. Upon release of the operating handle 47 the slide 35 is returned to its normal position of rest (Fig. 6), by means of the springs 50 and 51 (Figs. 3 and 9) which are joined at their forward ends to the slide 35 by means of eyescrews 52 or the like, and .at their rear ends to the rear end wall 15 of the casing by means of the links 53.

,.A most important feature of the invention resides in the provision of aseparator or divider. In the embodiment shown this .divider54 iscomprised of a plate (Figs. 3 and 6-9) of sheet metal or the like. This plate extends transversely of the apparatus and, intermediate its front and rear edges, is hinged as at 55 to the front wall 36 of the slide. As seen in Fig. 4 the hinges 55 are located in the rectangular cut out 38 in the lower edge 37 of the front wall of theslide.

The portion 56 of the divider 54 extends rearwardly of'the front wall 36 of the slide and this portion slopes downwardly (Figs. 6-9) to a separating nose edge 57 and then is'bent forwardly and downwardly to form a paper directing guide58.

'The position of the divider 54 can be adjusted so that its separating nose 57, as will be described, can divide and guide newspapers regardless-of the thickness of the particular edition or issue to be dispensed. This adjustment is accomplished by means of the following mechanism. Secured to the front wall 36 of the slide 35 is a bracket 59 on which is secured a cylindrical element 60. It is through this element 60 that the operating rod 45 is secured to the slide. Passing through the bracket 59.and element '60 is a threaded bolt 61 the upper end of which is connected to a dial knob 62 marked with graduated indications. The forwardly extending portion 63 of'the divider 54 is provided with a slot through which the bolt 61 passes. Threaded on the bolt 61 is a nut element 64 comprised of two spaced enlargements 65 on a hollow internally threaded portion. The slot 63' in the portion 63 of the divider 54 engages this portion of the nut element between the spaced enlargements 65. A detail in perspective of this is shown in Fig. 10. With thisarrangement it will be noted that turningthe dial knob 62-will cause the bolt 61 to turn thus moving the nut element 64 and the portion 63 of the divider upwardly or downwardly so as to effect a complementary upward or downward movement of the separating nose 57 of the div'ider54.

Since the width (from folded edge to the free edge) of a newspaper will vary depending upon the number of pages'in the issue, it is preferable .to provide means for adjusting the front to back dimensions of the rear compartment in which the newspapers are placed. This may simply be effected by providing an adjustable rear parfition 66 adapted to be slidably disposed, selectively, in one or the other of several sets of

grooves

67, 68 in the false side walls 30 and 31.

The device functions in the following manner. A batch of newspapers 69 .of a given issue .is placed .in the rear 4 compartment 26 of the casing by means of raising the top cover 16 after which the cover is locked to prevent removal of the papers by unauthorized persons. The papers 69 are then in the position shown in Fig. 6, with the folded edges of the papers forwardly and with the forward lower edge portion of the bottom paper resting on the downwardly sloping portion 56 of the divider 54 directly above the opening '22. In such position, it will be seen that it is impossible for anyone to remove a paper through the opening 22. It will also be noted that the papers in this position rest also upon the false bottom 23 of the casing 10.

Newspapers 69 may be removed from the device only by moving the operating handle 47 downwardly. Some suitable coin-controlled mechanism (not shown) is employed to prevent movement of the handle unless and until a proper coin is deposited. There are numerous such known devices which could be used for this purpose. They form no part of the present invention and therefore will not be described here.

Assuming it is desired to remove a paper, after the proper coin or coins are depositedso as to permit movement of the operating handle 47, the handle is moved downwardly to the position shown in Fig. 7. :Such movement results (through the rod 45) in moving the slide 35 forwardly. This causes the divider 54 to be moved forwardly and .clear of the newspapers 6? so that the forward portions of the newspapers are supported .by the forward edge portion of the bottom 43 of the slide which has now moved forwardly so as to block the opening 22. .In this position the bottom 43 of the slide prevents removal of any newspapers through the opening.

The forward movement of the slide 35 as described is effected against the action of the

springs

50 and 51. When the handle 47 is released, these springs cause the slide to move to its rearward position. In so moving, however, the separating nose'57 of the divider 54 is forced between the folded edges of two newspapers, as seen inPig. 8, thus causing the folded edgeof the lowermost newspaper to be forced downwardly through the opening 22 in the casing by the paper directing guide 58 so that it may be grasped and pulled completely out by the purchaser. The removal of this paper is facilitated by the corrugations or ridges 24 on the false bottom 23. Rollers or other suitable means (not shown) could be employed in place of, or to supplement the ridges. Moreover, a roller or the like (not shown) could be provided along the forward edge of the slide bottom 43. After a paper has been removed the papers above drop down so that they occupy the starting position shown in Fig. 6.

The advantages of providing a divider '54 the nose of which is adjustable vertically should now .be apparent. Since editions of newspapers vary in thickness depending on the number of pages and sections thereof, and since the divider, during operation of the device, is adapted to be moved (with the slide) rearwardly so as to separate the lowermost newspaper from the one just above it, the vertical position of the nose of the divider should besuch that it will move directly between the papers. The arrangement disclosed herein iseasily and simply adjusted to accommodate editions or issues ranging from small to the large Sunday editions.

Without doubt changes may be made in the structure and arrangement of the parts shown without departing from the invention, which should not be limited except as indicated by the language of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A newspaper dispensing device comprising, a casing in which a supply of newspapers is adapted tobe placed, said casing having a rectangular opening therein through which said papers are to be dispensed one at a time, said casing being in the form of a rectangular box with said opening in the bottom thereof, a partition dividing said casing .into compartments .onemf which is substantially of the dimensions of a folded newspaper and is adapted to receive a supply of newspapers, said opening being at one end of said newspaper compartment and adjacent said partition, that portion of said bottom forming the bottom of said newspaper compartment being comprised of two spaced parallel members, a slide disposed in said casing for sliding movement therein, said slide including a plate member mounted between said spaced parallel members for sliding movement into and out of said opening, said slide also including a transverse element disposed in the other compartment, a separator and guide plate carried by said transverse element and, in normal position extending rearwardly to block said opening, and to support the folded edges of the newspapers of a supply in said casing, means operable from outside the casing for moving said slide so that said separator and guide plate is free of engagement with said newspapers and in a position in which it does not block said opening while said plate member moves to a position blocking said opening and supporting the folded edges of the newspapers in the casing, the position of said separator and guide plate being such that during return movement of the slide it will separate the lowermost newspaper from the next adjacent newspaper and forcibly guide the folded edge of the lowermost newspaper out through said opening where it may be grasped for ready removal.

2. A newspaper dispensing device as defined in claim 1, and means for adjusting the vertical position of said separating and guide plate so that the same may be used for separating editions or issues of different thicknesses.

3. A newspaper dispensing device as defined in claim 1, said separating and guide plate being hinged intermediate its front and rear edges to said transverse element, and means for adjusting the vertical position of the rear end of said plate, said adjusting means including means movable in a vertical direction and engaging the front edge portion of said plate.

4. A newspaper dispensing device as defined in claim 1, said separating and guide plate being hinged intermediate its front and rear edges to said transverse element, and means for adjusting the vertical position of the rear end of said plate, said adjusting means including means movable in a vertical direction and engaging the front edge portion of said plate, the rear portion of said plate sloping rearwardly and downwardly to a nose portion from which the plate slopes forwardly and downwardly to form a guide portion.

5. A newspaper dispensing device comprising an outer casing in which a stack of newspapers is adapted to be placed, a partition dividing said easing into compartments one of which is of dimensions suitable to receive a stack of newspapers, a rectangular opening in the bottom of said stack-receiving compartment, a transversely reciprocating slide member comprising a slide plate and a separating and guide plate disposed on opposite sides of said opening such that said opening is alternately covered by said slide plate and said separating and guide plate, a false bottom over a major portion of the bottom of said compartment and separating said stack and said slide plate and normally supporting the bulk of the Weight of said stack, said separating and guide plate being mounted for movement in a horizontal plane and spaced above the plane of said slide plate and having a V-shaped nose portion, the upper surface of said portion normally supporting the forward portion of said stack, the surfaces of said nose portion being at angles extending upwardly and downwardly from said nose and with said horizontal plane, said upwardly extending surface separating the lowermost paper from the remaining, said downwardly extending surface disposed to forcibly push the forward edge of said lowermost paper out of said opening with movement of said separating and guide plate in the direction of said stack, said device further comprising means for actuating said slide member.

6. A newspaper dispensing device as claimed in claim 5 and further comprising a transverse element disposed in the compartment other than the stack-receiving compartment, rigidly attached to said reciprocating member and comprising means for pivotally supporting said separating and guide plate, and further comprising an adjustment means for adjusting one end of said plate in a vertical direction.

7. A newspaper dispensing device as claimed in claim 5 and further comprising false side walls parallel to the side walls of said outer casing to support said false bottom and a false rear wall adjustable in the direction of motion of said slide member to accomodate differently dimensioned newspapers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 472,492 Begg Apr. 5, 1892 704,466 Overpeck July 8, 1902 742,804 Rupley Oct. 27, 1903 913,151 Neher Feb. 23, 1909 1,022,680 Johnson Apr. 9, 1912 2,255,538 Cameron Sept. 9, 1941 2,382,959 Cameron Aug. 21, 1945 2,488,897 Blane Nov. 22, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 20,220 Great Britain Sept. 19, 1903