US388559A - Store-service apparatus - Google Patents

Description

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H. HEBE'R-TQ STORE SERVICE APPARATUS. No. 388,559. Patented Aug.j28, 18 88.

' a iil' w/ms8s.- INVENTOR.

' By I -3 J A ATTORNEY.

v STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

No. 388,559. Patented- Aug. 28,1888.

"- FETERS "Mb-Limit". WW EC- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUBERT HEBERT, OF LAKE LINDEN, MICHIGAN.

STORE-SERVICE APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 388,559, dated August 28, 1888.

Application filed March31, 1888. Serial No. 269.114. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HUBERT HEBERT, of Lake Linden, in the county of Houghton and State of Michigan, have invented a new and Improved Store-Service Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved device specially intended for stores for conveniently carrying cash, messages, or parcels from one place to another.

The invention consists of a track on which is held a carrier provided with two compartments and having a bottom adapted to slide alternately under the said two compartments, and of means for forcing the said carrier from one place to another and back again.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details, and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter, and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improvement. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same on the line as 20 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is alike view of the same with the carrier in a different position. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of the carrier. Fig. 5 is asectional end elevation of the same on the line 3/ y of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a similar view of the same on the line 2 z of Fig. 4, and Fig. 7 is an inverted plan view of the same.

The improvement is provided with the two posts A and B, of which the post A is lo cated in some part of the store and the other post, B,is located near the office or the cashiers desk, said posts A and B being secured either to the ceiling or to the counter, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Between the two posts A and B is stretched a track, 0, formed of a rope or strip of any suitable material, and on the track (3 is held to travel a carrier, D, having a horizontal plate, E, on the top of which are mounted the grooved wheels F, traveling on the track 0.

On the bottom of the plate E are secured the downwardly-extending compartments or boxes G and G, both open at the bottom and provided near the top with side openings, G, for conveniently inserting the money or the parcels to be carried.

On the lower ends of the two compartments G and G is held a bottom, H,adapted to cover alternately the lower open ends of the said two compartments G and G. The bottom II is mounted to slide longitudinally on the two guideways H, secured to the front and rear of the two compartments G and G. The bottom H is so arranged that when it closes the lower end of the compartment G the lower end of the other compartment, G, is open, and vice versa. .The bottom H is locked in place under the compartments G and G by the bolts H and H held to slide vertically between the said two compartments on a suitable device secured to the plate E. The lowerend of each bolt H or H is beveled, and is adapted to pass into a corresponding notch, H, formed on each side of the bottom H.

On the front and rear of the bottom H are secured the downwardly-extending lugs H adapted to engage the front and rear edges of plates I and I, secured to the postsA and B, respectively. Said front and rear edges of the plates I and I diverge from each other, as is plainly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In the said plates I and I are secured the short tubes J and J, adapted to register with the open lower ends of the compartments G and G,as is plainly shown in Figs. 1 and 3-that is, the compartment G is adapted to register with the tube J and the compartment G is adapted to register with the tube J. Slots I and I are formed longitudinally in the plates I and I,

respectively, permitting the passage of the lower ends of the bolts H and H, respectively-that is, the bolt H can pass intothe slot 1 of the plate I and the bolt H can passinto the slot 1 of the plate 1'.

On top of the plate E,in front of the grooved wheels F, are secured the slotted lugs K, which fit over the track 0, and against which operate the free ends of the springs L and L, secured to the posts A and B, respectively. The middle parts of the springs L and L are acted upon by one end of the levers N and N, respectively,fulcrumed on the posts A and B, respectively, and held in an uppermost position by the springs N". The outer ends of the levers N and N are connected with the ends of the ropes O and 0, respectively, passing over the pulleys 0 mounted to turn on the posts A and B, respectively. On the lower ends of the ropes O and O are secured the balls or handles 0 and 0, respectively. The ropes O and 0 also pass through eyes formed in the outer ends of the catches P and P, respectively fulcrumed on the posts A and B, and each of the said catches P and P is provided on its inner end with a hook, P", adapted to engage corresponding grooves, E and E", formed in the outer ends of the plate E of the carrier D. The catches P and P are held in a locked position by springs P, as is plainly shown in Fig. 1. On the ropes O and O is also secured a block, Q or Q, held a short distance above the eyes of the catches Pand P, and adapted to operate said catches P and P in order to release the carrier D.

WVith the rope O is connected one end of a rope, R, passing under a pulley, It, mounted to rotate in suitable bearings secured to the post B. The rope R then extends upward to the top of the post B, and passes over a pulley, It, mounted on the said post,and from this pulley R the rope Pt passes to and overapulley,R,mounted to rotate on the post A. The rope R then extends downward and passes through an eye, R, secured on the post A, and on the lower end of the said rope is secured a ball or handle, R for operating said rope from the neighborhood of the post A.

On the post B is secured a screw, S, which extends inward and is adapted to open the clamp T, secured to the compartment G of the carrier D, and provided with a spring, T, for holding the jaws T of the said clamp shut. 0n the posts A and B are secured the elastic blocks or bumpers A and 13, located directly under the catches P and P, and serving to prevent the eyes E and E of the carrier D from receiving injury.

The operation is as follows: When the apparatus is in the position shown in Fig 1 and the operator in the middle of the store desires to send a message,aparcel, or money to the cen tral office or to the eashiers desk located near the post B, he places the message between the jaws 'I of the clamp T, and the parcel or money is deposited in the compartment G of the carrierD, said compartment G being closed at its lower end by the bottom H. The operator then pulls on the handle or ball 0 so that the rope 0 causes an upward movement of the inner end of the lever N, whereby the said inner end of the lever N presses the spring Linward, so that thelower end of the said spring L exerts a heavy pressure against the lug K of the carrier D. A further downward movement of the rope 0 brings the block Q in con tact with the eye of the springcatch P, so that the hook P of the said spring-catch P disengages the eye E of the plate E, whereby the carrier D is forced forward on the track 0 by the force of the spring L exerted against the lug K. The force of the spring L is sufficient to move the carrier D to the post 13, so that the hook P of the catch P engages the eye E of the plate E, and at the same time one arm of the clamp T swings against the head of the screw S, so that thejaws of the said clamp T are opened and the message drops out and into the hands of the person standing near the post B. Vhen the carrier D in its forward movement nears the post B, the lugs H come in contact with the diverging edges of the plate I, so that the bottom His prevented from moving with the carrier D, and as the latter moves forward and its compartment G registers with the tube J, said bottom H remains in front of the tube J. The bottom H is then under the lower end of the compartmentG, as illustrated in Fig. 3. When the carrier D moves over the plate I, the beveled edge of the bolt H, which is in its lowermost position, comes in contact with the plate I, so that the said bolt 1-1 is raised and passes in front of the bottom H and into the slot H 011 the said front part of the bottom H, thereby locking said bottom under the compartment G. The parcel or money deposited in the compartment G then drops through the tube Jinto the eashiers hand held below the said tube J, or on the counter in case the cashier is absent; The cashier can then return the carrier D to its former position by pulling on the handle 0, so that the lever N exerts a pressure against the spring L, the free end of the latter being held in con tact with the lug K. As soon as the block Q operates the spring-catch P, so that the hook P of the said catch disengages the eye E" of the plate E, said carrier D is sent back to its former position by the force of the spring L. The carrier D can also be moved back from the cashiers desk by the operator standing near the post A, in the following manner: Said operator pulls on the ball or handle R so that the rope R causes a downward movement of the rope O, and the latter operates on the lever N in the same manner as above described.

'In case the cashier has to send back change, he

deposits it in the compartment G, and when the carrier D moves over the plate I the lugs H come in contact with the diverging edges of the said plate I and prevent the bottom H from moving with the carrier D, so that the said bottom H remains at one side of the tube J, while the compartment G registers with the said tube J, and the change deposited by the cashier in the compartment G passes through the tube J into the hands of the operator standing near the post A. Thus it will be seen that the carrier D can be used for convenient] y sending messages, parcels, or money to the cashier, and the carrier can be forced back either by the cashier or by the operator who originally sent the carrier to the cashier.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a storeservice apparatus, the combination, with a carrier provided with two openbottom compartments, of a bottom for alter- IOC ceases 3 nately closing the lower ends of the compart ing on the said spring to give it the necessary ments carried by the carrier, and means for preventing the bottom from moving with the carrier as it nears the end of its route, substantially as described.

2. In a store service apparatus, the combination, with a track, of a carrier provided with two compartments and a bottom adapted to close said two compartments alternately, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a store-service apparatus, the combi nation, with a carrier provided with two openbottom compartments, of a bottom fitted to slide on.the carrier and provided with downwardlyprojecting lugs, and a stationary plate with which the lugs of the bottom engage to prevent it from moving with the carrier, substantially as described.

4. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with atrack, of the carrier D, provided with the plate E, having the upwardly-projecting lugs K K, and on which are mounted the wheels F,traveling on the track,the springs L L for engaging the lugs K K of the carrier, the pivoted and spring-held levers N N, and the cords O O, substantially as herein shown and described.

5. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with a carrier provided with two compartments and a track on which the said carrier is held to travel, of a spring-catch at each end of the track for locking the said carrier in place at either end of the track, a spring operating on the said carrier to force it from one end of the track to the other, a lever acttension, a rope connected with the said lever, a block secured on the said rope and adapted to operate on the said spring-catch so as to release the carrier after the said spring has received the necessary tension, and a second rope connected with one of the said ropes and extending to the other end of the track, substantially as shown and described.

6. In a store'service apparatus, the combination, with a track and two fixed plates held at either end of the said track, of a carrier provided with two compartments and traveling on the said track, and a bottom adapted to close alternately the lower ends of the said two compartments, said bottom being held to slide on suitable guideways secured to the said two compartments, substantially as shown and described.

7. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with a track and two fixed plates held at either end of the said track, of a carrier provided with two compartments and traveling on the said track, a bottom adapted to close alternately the lower ends of the said two compartments, said bottom being held to slide on suitable gnideways secured to the said two compartments, and vertically-sliding bolts operated by the said plates and adapted to lock said bottom in place under either compartment, substantially as shown and described.

HUBERT HEBER'I.

Witnesses:

GASPARD O. GIRARDIN, PETER GETZEN.

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