US2986148A - Coin dispenser for automotive vehicles - Google Patents

Description

May 30, 1961 P. VOGL com DISPENSER FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 16, 1957 INVENTOR: PAUL VOGL May 30, 1961 voGL 2,986,148

com DISPENSER FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES Filed May 16, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR:

PAUL VOGL AGENT May 30, 1961 VOGL 2,986,148

COIN DISPENSER FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES Filed May 16, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 590 I 573 591 J). g i )1 DIMES QUARTERS INVENTOR:

PAUL VOGL AGENT United States Patent 2,986,148 COIN DISPENSER FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES Paul Vogl, 4050 Denman St., Elmhurst 73, N.Y.

Filed May 16, 1957, Ser. No. 659,581

Claims. (Cl. 1331) My present invention relates to a coin dispenser adapted to be installed in an automotive vehicle for use upon passage through a toll gate.

Existing toll stations at highways, bridges, tunnels etc. generally comprise one or more booths each manned by a collector whose task it is to receive the money handed to him by an occupant of every passing vehicle. The occupant, in turn, must reach out through the open window of the vehicle to hand out the toll while the vehicle is brought almost to a standstill to facilitate the transaction. This results in substantial delays to traffic and inconveniences to the driver and the passengers of the vehicle, especially during inclement weather.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a novel coin dispenser adapted to be operated from inside the vehicle without necessitating the opening of a window.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dispenser of this character which is rendered operative by the movement of the vehicle to which his attached, thereby enabling the driver to pass through a toll gate without coming to a near or complete stop and without taking either hand off the wheel.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser which does not need a human operator to collect its contents but may be discharged, at a predetermined location, by a stationary object positioned alongside the path of the vehicle.

A feature of my invention resides in the provision of a dispenser comprising a chute to which an extension is pivotally secured for swinging movement in an inclined plane; this extension is provided with a discharge opening, remote from its pivot, which is normally closed by a shutter adapted to be retracted upon swinging displacement of the extension from its normal position of alignment with the chute.

With this arrangement, a coin dripped into the chute and stopped by the shutter will be released into the hand of a human collector who grasps the extension and swings it about its pivot by merely holding it fast while the vehicle carrying the chute moves slowly past. In accordance with another feature of my invention, however, there may be provided alongside the path of the vehicle an upright pole which engages the chut extension and causes it to swing in order to clear the pole, this movement releasing the coin into a receptacle provided next to the pole.

Because an inclined chute permanently projecting from the exterior of an automobile would not only be in constant danger of being damaged but also constitute a hazard to pedestrians and external objects, means may be provided, according to a further feature of my invention, for normally maintaining the chute withdrawn into a non-projecting position, either inside the vehicle or close to its outer surface, and for operatively positioning the chute with its extension when a toll gate is approached.

The modification of conventional automobile bodies to accommodate a dispenser according to my invention does not present any major problems since only a narrow channel need be provided at a suitable location, preferably above the drivers seat, through which the chute may slide in and out, Such modification, however, may not be economical on cars already'manufactured, hence it is a still further object of this invention to provide a dispenser of the character described which may be installed in an automotive vehicle of the prior art practically without requiring any structural changes in the latter. In accordance with this feature of my invention, I provide a dispenser housing adapted to fit into the frame of a window on the vehicle in such manner as to occupy only an insignificant portion of the window aperture and to enable the window to be tightly closed or opened as desired, the chute being retractable into the housing or extendable therefrom without any change in the position of the window.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of my invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an automotive vehicle equipped with an operatively positioned dispenser according to the invention, together with an automatic collector therefor;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side-elevational view of the vehicle of Fig. 1, showing the dispenser installed in the window frame of a vehicle door;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, drawn to a larger scale and showing the dispenser with its chute in a retracted position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2, but with the frame omitted, drawn to the same scale as Fig. 3 and showing the dispenser with its chute in an extended position;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the chute taken on the line 5-5'of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view, drawn to a still larger scale, on the line 66 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 shows, in longitudinal section, the forward part of a chute and its extension in a dispenser similar to that shown in Figs. l-S;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing, on a somewhat larger scale, an inversion of the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 1-6;

Fig. 10 is a sectional top view of the forward part of a chute and its extension in a modified dispenser accord ing to the invention;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line 1111 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary elevational view of the interior of an automobile equipped with two dispensers according to the invention;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary top plan view of a vehicle equipped with still another dispenser and automatic collector embodying the invention; 7

Fig. 14 is a front-elevational view of the vehicle and the automatic collector of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary top view (partly in section) of the dispenser of Figs. 13 and 14, showing the coinfeeding mechanism thereof;

Fig. 16 is a sectional side view of the feeding mechanism taken on line 1616 of Fig. 15; and

Fig. 17 is a circuit diagram of the feeding mechanism of Figs. 15 and 16.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown an automotive vehicle 20 having a door 21 with window frame 22 within which a glass pane 23 is vertically slidable by means of a 3 handle (not shown). The frame 22 has the usual recess 24, lined with a cushioning material such as a rubber strip 25, to receive the top of pane 23 when the window is closed.

In accordance with this invention I mount within the frame 22, close to its upper edge, a coin dispenser generally designated 26, comprising a housing 27 with an upper ridge 28 fitting snugly inside recess 24 in lieu of the pane 23. Opposite ridge 28 the housing 27 is provided with a groove 29 which conforms to the recess 24 and is lined with a cushioning strip 30 to receive the pane 23. Housing 27 may be held in place within frame 22 by a variety of suitable fastening means, e.g. screws 31 (only one shown).

Extending longitudinally within housing 27 and completely across its width is a narrow, inclined slot 32, of parallelogrammatic cross-section, which is normally occupied in its entirety by a chute 33 having an extension 34 pivotally connected thereto at 35. The chute 33 and its extension 34, together constituting a tubular slide for coins 36 inserted into the chute at an inlet 37, are bodily swingable into an operative position transverse to housing 27, illustrated in Fig. 5, by rotation about a fulcrum constituted by a pair of inclinedly aligned screws 38, 39 received in threaded bores 40, 41 of the housing. When operatively positioned, the tubular slide 33, 34 is so inclined that its inlet 37 is at the high end of the chute, as readily apparent from Fig. 4, from which a coin 36 is thus adapted to slide toward the outlet 45 on the underside of the free end of extension 34 which is normally blocked by a retractable shutter 42. The coins are supported in their travel by a partition 43, bisecting the interior of chute 33, and by an extension 44 of this partition, bisecting the interior of chute extension 34; a coin traversing the channel formed by the tubular slide comes to rest on the shutter 42, above outlet 45, until the shutter is withdrawn underneath partition extension 44 by mechanism to be described hereinafter.

A stop 46 at the inner wall of housing 27 limits the outward rotation of chute 33, in a counterclockwise sense as viewed in Figs. 1 and 5, to an angle of 90; this rotation may be brought about merely by gravity, in view of the inclined mounting of the pivot 38, 39, or may be assisted by the provision of a light spring 47, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6. In order to return the chute to its normal position within the housing, an occupant of the car 20 need only press upon the inwardly projecting end of the chute in the direction of arrow 48 (Fig. when the chute 33 is fully restored, a spring-loaded catch 49 enters a hole 50 therein to lock it in place until this catch is retracted by means of a lug 51 projecting from housing 27 underneath stop 46.

The swinging movement of chute extension 34 about its pivot 35 is limited in clockwise direction (as viewed in Figs. 1 and 5) by an abutment 52 so that only counterclockwise rotation is possible from the aligned position illustrated in full lines in Fig. 5. Such rotation may be brought about by a movement of the vehicle 20 past a stationary pole 53 which rises from a collection box 54 and engages the extension 34 as the vehicle moves past, thereby swinging this extension into a disaligned position as illustrated in Fig. l and in dot-dash lines in Fig. 5.

Under these circumstances a linkage between the relatively movable parts 33 and 34, concealed beneath partition 44, retracts the shutter 42 so that a coin 36 resting thereon drops through the outlet 45 into the box 54. It will be understood that, in lieu of such automatic collection, a human operator may grasp the end of the extension 34 and hold it as the car 20 passes by, the coin 36 then dropping directly into his hand. For manual operation it will, of course, be desirable that the projecting edges of the dispenser be well rounded and/or cushioned to protect the hands of the collector; thus, the chute and its extension are advantageously made of a non-metallic, resinous material which may be transparent to enable visual ascertainment of the presence of a coin in the dispensing channel, as specifically illustrated in Fig. 9.

Reference will now be made to Figs. 7 and 8 for a description of one form of retracting mechanism for the shutter of a dispenser according to my invention. In these figures I have shown a chute 133 having an extension 134 pivotally joined to it by a pin 135. The swingable member forming the extension 134 carries the abutment 152 to limit its rotation, relative to its chute-forming support 133, to a counterclockwise displacement from a normal position of alignment. Slidably carried in lateral slots 155 of this member is the shutter 142 overlying the outlet opening 145 in the normal position shown in Fig. 7 and in full lines in Fig. 8, the shutter being urged toward the free end of member 134 by a pair of springs 156 engaging a cross-bar 157 thereof. A flexible wire 158 is tied to a ring 159 on this cross-bar and slidably passes through a first guide 160 on member 134 as well as through a second guide 161 on member 133, an enlarged terminal 162 preventing the wire from slipping completely through the guides. When the chute 133 and its extension 134 are disaligned as illustrated in dot-dash lines in Fig. 8, wire 158 slides in its guide 160 and pulls the shutter 142 to the rear, underneath partition 144, against the force of springs 156 to uncover the opening 145, these springs thereupon serving as a means for restoring the members 133, 134 to their normal relative position.

In Fig. 9 I have shown an inversion of the mounting previously described in which a dispenser 226, having a housing 227 with slot 232, is so positioned in the window frame 222 of a vehicle door that its pivot lies close to the front end of the slot, rather than at the rear thereof as in Figs. l-6. When the slide 233, 234 is swung outwardly into its operative position illustrated in this figure, a spring-urged detent 263 acts upon chute member 233 to prevent its return to retracted position when a human or an automatic collector tends to swing its extension 234 counterclockwise as previously described. Detent 263 may be similar to catch 50 (Fig. 3) but is preferably dome-shaped at the top, as shown, in order to yield to excessive pressures if, for example, an object such as the pole 53 (Fig. 1) engages not the extension 234 but the chute 233 itself. In addition to providing this safety feature, the modification of Fig. 9 has the further advantage of facilitating the loading of the slide by the driver and enabling his ready observation of its operation in discharging a coin 236.

Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate a further shutter-retracting mechanism adapted to be used in the embodiments of Figs. l-6 and 9 in lieu of the mechanism shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The pivot 335, by which the extension 334 is swingably fastened to chute member 333, carries an arm 364 from which a lever 365 extends toward an intermediate point on a crank 366 having a fulcrum 367 offset from the median line of the dispensing channel. Since the length of crank 366 exceeds that of arm 364, the swing of its free end, from which a second lever 368 extends toward shutter 342, is considerably greater than the swing of the free end of arm 364 relative to member 334 when the latter is displaced from its normal position (Fig. 11 and dot-dash lines in Fig. 12) to a position of disalignment (full lines, Fig. 12). This serves to retract the shutter 342 underneath partition 344, within its guiding slots 355, so as to uncover the outlet opening 345 for the discharge of a coin 336 previously positioned on the shutter. A coil spring 369, anchored to arm 364 and to member 334, serves to restore this member as well as the shutter 342 to their normal positions.

Fig. 12 shows the interior of a car 420 wherein above the windshield 470, Within easy reach of the driver and of a passenger sitting next to him, there are provided brackets 471a, 471b forming guide channels accommodating respective dispensers 4260, 426b each consisting (as shown for the right-hand dispenser 426a) of a chute member 433 and its extension 434 interconnected in '5 the manner previously described. By means of a knob 472a, 47% the corresponding dispenser may be slid bodily outwardly in its channel, as illustrated in dotdash lines for dispenser 426a, whereupon a coin inserted into the chute at a respective inlet 437a, 437b, by way of a suitable access opening in bracket 471a, 471b, may be recovered at the discharge end of the chute extension by a pivotal movement of the latter as fully set forth above. It will be apparent that the arrangement of Fig. 12 makes it optional for the driver or his companion to pay at either the right-hand or the left-hand side of the vehicle, depending on the location of a toll booth or collecting device. After the toll gate has been passed, the dispenser is retracted into its housing by means of its respective knob 472a, 47%.

In Figs. 13 through 17 there has been shown a further embodiment in which a device according to the invention is located wholly on the exterior of a vehicle. Mounted on the hood of car 520 is a dispenser 526 whose housing 527 forms an enclosure about several solenoids 573, 574, 575. A chute 533 and its extension 534 are hingedly secured to the housing at 576 and normally depend vertically from the latter alongside the vehicle body, as illustrated in dot-dash lines in Figs. 14 and 16, so as substantially not to project therefrom to any greater extent than do the usual external molding strips. When the solenoid 573 is energized, a link 577 between its armature 578 and the chute 533 erects the slide 533, 534 into an inclined position (Fig. 13 and full lines in Figs. 14 and 16) in which'the extension 534 may be deflected, as previously described, by a pole 553 rising from a box 55 4.

The solenoids 574, 575 form part of a feeding mechanism for the chute 533 which comprises a pair of branch channels 579, 580 converging at the entrance 537 of the chute. A magazine 581 for smaller coins (e.g. dimes) 536' rises above the narrower branch channel 579 which accommodates a pusher member 582 forming an extension of the armature 583 of solenoid 574; a second magazine 584, adapted to contain larger coins (e.g. quarters) 536", rises above the wider branch channel 580 accommodating a pusher member 585 which forms an extension of the armature 586 of solenoid 575. If either of these solenoids is actuated, its pusher dislodges the lowest coin from its stack within the corresponding magazine and allows it to slide toward the free end of chute extension 534 whence it will be discharged, in the manner previously described, as illus trated at 536 in Fig. 14. Cover 587 of housing 527 may be provided with a suitable lock 588 so that access to the magazines 581, 584 may be denied to unauthorized persons.

As illustrated in Fig. 17, the solenoids 573, 574, 575 may be energized from a power source 589, which may be the battery of the vehicle, by means of normally open switches 590, 591 which in practice may be in the form of push buttons mounted on the dashboard of the vehicle 520. When switch 590 is closed, it completes a circuit for solenoids 573 and 574 in series, there by erecting the slide 533, 534 and simultaneously directing one of the coins 536' from magazine 581 into the chute; when switch 591 is closed, solenoid 573 is energized in series with solenoid 575 so that erection of the slide coincides with a delivery of a coin 536 from magazine 584. It will be appreciated that additional magazines, with coins of still other denominations, may be provided at the feeding end of chute 533 and may be operated by other solenoids in an analogous manner.

Although only certain specific embodiments have been described by way of illustration, it is to be understood that modifications of, for example, the shutter and other elements of my novel dispenser will readily occur to persons skilled in the art and are intended to be embraced in the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an automotive vehicle, in combination, a window having a pane mounted for vertical movement, a frame having an upper recess aligned with an upper edge of said pane, an elongated housing having an upper surface provided with a ridge received in said recess .and further having an underside provided with a groove adapted to receive said edge in a position of closure, said housing having a longitudinally extending slot, and a tubular member normally received in said slot for swinging movement, through an angle of substantially between a retracted position within the housing and an extended position substantially perpendicular to said slot, said member being provided at opposite ends with an inlet and with an outlet for the delivery of a coin from the interior of the vehicle to an outside collector, said housing and said pane together sealing said window substantially completely in said position of closure and with said member in its retracted position. 2. In an automotive vehicle having a body enclosing a drivers seat, in combination, supporting means on said body adjacent said drivers seat, a coin-guiding slide of flattened tubular configuration movably secured by said supporting means to said body, said slide being displaceable by the driver on said supporting means between an extended and a retracted position, said slide in said extended position projecting outwardly from said body'at a downward inclination, said slide including a chute adjacent said supporting means and an elongated extension of said chute pivotally linked with the latter for swinging movement relative thereto in an inclined plane upon said slide occupying said extended position, said extension being freely accessible from outside the vehicle in said extended position, inlet means on said slide adjacent said supporting means and accessible to the driver, said inlet means being adapted to receive a coin for delivery to the lower end of said extension in said extended position of said slide, said extension being provided with an outlet for said coin at said lower end, retractable shutter means on said extension normally blocking said outlet, and link means interconnecting said chute with said shutter for the retraction of the latter from said outlet upon swinging rearward displacement, with reference to the direction of vehicle motion, of said extension from a position of alignment with said chute, thereby enabling the discharge at said lower end of a coin deposited at said inlet means.

3. The combination according to claim 2, wherein said supporting means comprises a housing extending generally parallel to the direction of movement of the vehicle and adapted to receive said slide in said retracted position, said housing being provided with an inclined fulcrum for said slide and stop means for arresting said slide after a rotation around said fulcrum by substantially 90 from said retracted position.

4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein said housing is provided with a resilient detent normally preventing rearward rotation of said slide from its extended position and adapted to yield to excessive rearward pressures upon said slide in said extended position, said slide being rotatable from said retracted position in a forward direction.

5. The combination according to claim 2, wherein said supporting means comprises a housing forming a channel inside the vehicle lying substantially in a plane perpendicular to the direction of movement thereof, said slide being fully withdrawn inside said channel in the retracted position thereof.

6. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said body is provided with a window having a frame, said supporting means comprising a housing lodged in said frame and open toward the exterior of the vehicle, said chute and said extension being normally received in said.

housing and being bodily swingable outwardly from said housing into said extended position, said housing being provided with stop means for preventing said chute from following the rearward swing of said extension.

7. A vehicular coin dispenser, comprising a holder on a vehicle body, an elongated chute movably supported on said holder and adapted to be displaced from a retracted position substantially Within the outer boundary of the vehicle body to a projecting position substantially perpendicular to the direction of motion of the vehicle, an extension pivotally secured to said chute for relative swinging movement, said extension and said chute being provided with respective coin-guiding channels aligned with each other in a normal position of said extension relative to said chute, the channel of said chute opening into said vehicle body in said projecting position thereof, said extension being provided at the end of its channel remote from said chute with an outlet traversable by a coin, said extension being freely accessible from outside the vehicle in said projecting position, shutter means on said extension normally blocking said outlet, and link means between said shutter means and said chute for withdrawing said shutter means from said outlet upon a swinging movement of said extension from said normal position to an off-normal position, thereby enabling the discharge at said remote end of a coin deposited at the opposite end Within said vehicle body.

8. A dispenser according to claim 7, further comprising spring means urging said extension into said normal position and said shutter means into outlet-blocking position.

9. A dispenser according to claim 7 wherein said link means comprises a flexible elongated element, anchor means for said element on said chute and guide means for said element on said extension, said guide means being ofiset from the pivotal axis of said extension.

10. A dispenser according to claim 7, wherein said link means comprises an arm rigid with said chute and lever means interconnecting said arm with said shutter means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 9,067 Bailey Feb. 10, 1880 513,845 Valentine Jan. 30, 1894 913,835 Matlak Mar. 2, 1909 1,121,804 Coulson Dec. 22, 1914 1,141,759 Bochenek June 1, 1915 1,252,121 Jacobs Jan. 1, 1918 1,371,383 Lewis Mar. 15, 1921 1,534,108 Glass Apr. 21, 1925 1,647,572 MacDonald Nov. 1, 1927 1,816,515 Brandt July 28, 1931 1,944,313 Brandt Jan. 23, 1934 2,659,470 Du Pont Nov. 17, 1953 2,728,434 Fry Dec. 27, 1955 2,783,865 Cleave Mar. 5, 1957 2,805,675 Noyes Sept. 10, 1957 2,853,083 Roedelheimer et al Sept. 23, 1958 2,868,414 Pryor Jan. 13, 1959

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