US394812A - Grip-tester or similar coin-controlled device - Google Patents

Description

(NoModeL) 3 sheets-Sheet 1.

P. BEETZ. GRIP TESTER 0R SIMILAR 00m CONTROLLED DEVICE.

Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

flttorney,

n PETERS, Photo-Liihogmpher, Washington, D. c,

(No Model.)

T 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. P. BEETZ.

, GRIP TESTER 0R SIMILAR COIN CONTROLLED DEVICE.

Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

INVENTOR:

WITNESSES:

- flttorney.

Nv PETERS, PhnIoLiUlographBr. Washington. D. C.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

P. BEETZ. GRIP TESTER OR SIMILAR COIN CONTROLLED DEVICE. No. 394,812. Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

I-NVENTORZ WITNESSES: Li

u, PETERS, Halo-Lithographer \Vashinglon, D, c.

NITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

PETER BEETZ, OF BROOKLYN, NEIV YORK.

GRIP-TESTER OR SIMILAR COIN-CONTROLLED DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,812, dated December 18, 1888.

Application filed April 4, 1888. Serial No. 269,561. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PETER BEETZ, a citizen of Germany, and a resident of Brooklyn, Kings county, New York, have invented certain Improvements in Grip-Testers or Similar Coin- Oontrolled Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of devices for rendering service-such as grip-testers, weighing machines, vending apparatuses, &c.wherein a coin of the proper kind inserted at a coin-slit in the casing of the ma chine serves to render the device operative, and particularly to that variety of such machines wherein the inserted coin, interposed edgewise between moving parts, serves vto unlock the device.

The object of the invention is, in part, to provide the machine with two connected gripping devices or grips, in part to provide a coin-chute that may be convei'iiently freed from obstruct-ions, and in part to provide means for controlling the pointer that is auxiliary to the ordinary poi'nteror dial-hand.

My invention will be fully described here inafter, and its novel features carefully defined in the claims.

In the drawings I have shown my invention embodied in the best form with which I am now acquainted and as applied both to a griptester and to a weighing-machine.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a rear view of the device as embodied in a grip-tester, the back plate or door of the casing and a part of the coin-chute being omitted from this view the better to illustrate the operative parts. Fig. 2 is a vertical mid-section of the device or machine. Fig. 3 is a front view showing the dial. Fig. 4 is a sectional rear elevation of the coin-chute detached and on a scale about one and one-half times that of Figs. 1, 2, and 23; and Fig. I is an edge view or elevation of same. These views also show some of the adjacent parts of the device for illustrative purposes. Fig. 1 is a plan or top view of the coin-chute, and Fig. r is a transverse section of same on line 4 et in Fig. 4. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a detached portion of the mechanism that Will be hereinafter described. Figs. 6 and 7 are detached detail views, on a scale double that of Fig. 4, illustrating the mechanism for 'ing.

controlling the movements of the auxiliary hand or pointer. Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating the application of my device to an automatic weighing-machine.

I will first describe the mechanism as constructed to serve as a grip-tester, premising that the alterations to adapt it to a weighingmachine are merely such as are within the knowledge of any skilled mechanic.

A is a box or casing for the mechanism. This box may have any form and may be constructed of any suitable material. It has a dial, A serving as a front plate, and a door, A, at the back. This door will or may be provided with some suitable lock or fastening to prevent access to the interior by unauthorized persons. The casing A may be mounted on any kind of base or be set up and supported in any manner desired.

At the center of the dial is mounted rotatively an arbor, a, on which is fixed a pinion, 1), inside of the casing. *ith this pinion meshes a rack, 0, carried by a longitudinally slidingoperating-bar, O, which has a suitable guide-bearing at a: in the wall of the casing A. At its inner end this bar C is furnished with a cross-head, C, the ends of which slide on two rigidly-fixed spring bars or rods, D D, on which are springs E E. On the outer or projecting end the bar C is provided, also, with a cross-head, G which plays in a guide frame or bail, F, rigidly secured to the eas- These parts (seen at the left in Fig. 1) constitute a grip. Now, if one grasps the cross-bar of bail F and the cross-head O and grips them in such a manner as to draw the latter out toward the former, he will cause the cross-head C to compress the springs E E, the amount of compression of said springs being the measure of his gripping-power, and the movement of the bar O endwise in testing his grip causes the rack c to rotate the pinion b and arbor a, and this causes the hand or pointer on the outer end of the arbor to traverse the dial, and thus indicate the grippingpower in a well-known way. My improvements in relation to the pointers or hands will be hereinafter described.

I have described only the grip seen at the left hand in Fig. 1; but I prefer to provide another grip also, as seen at the right in said figure. In this grip a T-piece, G, is fixed rigidly to the casing A for the fingers to grasp, and the bail F has its ljiranches secured rigidly to the. erow-head (1, before described. \Vhen the cros. bar of this grip and the T- piece G are gripped,the bar 0 is pushed endwise. The interior mechanism actuated is the same in both cases; but some persons prefer to use one form and some the other form oli grip. 'lheretore I prefer to use both forms.

I. will now describe the means employed For locking the bar against: endwise movement, and the means whereby the insertion of a coin ot' the proper kind enables the device to be operated.

On the bar 0 is a shoulder, (7. (Seen best in Fig. 5, which is a perspective view of this part of the bar.) Over the bar is arranged a gravity or spring latch, c, adapted to play in suitable guides and to rest at its lower end on the bar C- just in front of said shoulder (.7. This latch elt'ectually plevents the etiective movementendwise of bar (until the latch is raised high enough for the shoulder to pass under it. I utilize the inserte(l coin as a medium for raising the latch.

'lhrough the bar (3 at one side of the shoulder I form a slot, j", wide enough to pass the coin and having at its one end an incline, g. This construction is seen in Figs. l and 5, the former showing this part of bar C in section. The coin 7 in Fig. 4 falls from a coin-chute into the slot f and would roll down the in.- cline g and drop into a coin-chute below; but it is arrested by a projecting stud, c, on the latch 6. This position of the coin is seen in full lines in Fig. l. Now, when an effort is made to move bar endwise, (toward the left in the drawings,) the coin is carried forwa rd by the incline g on the bar C andv pushed under the stud c. in the mannerof a wedge, thus raising the latch e above the shoulder (7 on the bar and permittin the latter to move on. The coin drops through the slot f as soon as it is pushed beyond the stud c and falls into the casing A, or into any desired receptacle therein.

I will now describe the construction of the coin chute or chutes with especial reference to Figs. -l, 4:, t, and i ll is the main chute, which I make,by preference, perfectly straight, extending down from the coin-slit 7:, where the coin is inserted through casing A, and opening out at e the bottom ot' the same at 1'.

ll is a branch chute, which leads from the main chute to a point directly over the slotf in bar C, so that a coin dropping i'rom said branch chute must fall into said slot.

j is a hinged track orswiteh mounted in the main chute ll, and arranged (see Fig. 4-) to switch or direct the coin from the main chute into the branch chute 11.

Should a coin of less diameter than the proper coin be inserted at the slit 71, it will pass down the branch chute ll, fall into the slot f, and, being too small to catch against the stud c, it will drop through the slot fand where it may be recovered.

into a pocket, Il on the main chute 1t, and pass thence down and out ol the chute at 1', A coin larger than the proper coin cannot be inserted in the slit 71. It a proper coin be inserted, it will pass down the branch chute and into the slot .7; but the stud c will detain it, asbeloredescribed. \Vhen it is carried forward with the bar 0 under the stud c, it will pass over and beyond the pocket il and thereli'm'e when it falls it. will not fall into said pocket, but down into the casing A.

lly inspection of Figs. 1 and -lit will be seen that the shoulder (7- stands normally a little way back from the latch c, whereby a little endwise movement of the bar (3 is al lowed when the latch is in itslocking position. The object of this will now be explained.

The hinged switclnj is held up to its place by a l)racket-piece, 7., or other projecting piece carried by the bar t. This piece 7,: bears on the switch so close to its hinging-point that a very slight movement of the bar (3 suffices to allow the switch to fall, when said switch will. assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fi r. Th is leaves a straight passage through the chute ll from top to bottom, and in case this chute should get choked or stopped it is only necessary to grasp the grip with force enough to bring the shoulder (7 up to latch 12, when the piece 71; will be pushed. back far enough to allow the switch to fall. A red may then be passed down through the chute to clear it out. The slit, 7i is of less dimension than any part of the chute, and hence there will be little liability of any obstacle becoming wedged in the chute after it has passed the slit.

I prefer to rely on gravity to operate the latch e and switchj; but they may of course be actuated by springs, these latter meansbeing known equivalents of the former in this class of devices. If desired, the stud a may have a rolling sleeve on it to lessen the lriction.

In ap 'ilving my improvements to a weighing-machine it is only necessary to remove the grips, arrange a vertical rack to engage the pinion b, (in addition to horizontal. rack c,) and connect the actuating-rod of the plat :lorm-seale with this rack. in Fig. 8 I have shown this (:(mstruction. In order not to ob seure the other parts, I have in this view, as

in Fig. T1, not shown all of the coin-chute. c

is the upright rack, meshing with pinion. 7), and I is the operating-rod commonly emiloyed for connecting the mechanism under the seale-platform with the indicating device in weighing-machines of this kind. This rod 1 is attached at its upper end to the rack 0. Thus the weight of the person on the platform is made to rotate the pinion (I, and through this to operate bar 0.

In. devices of this character it is desirable to have two pointers, both. of which move over the dial to the proper numeral. Then, when the grip is released, one iointei.- returns at IIO once to the zero-point, while the other remains. I provide a device of this character, and so construct it that th e last-11am ed pointer will stand at the numeral indicating the grippingpower until the grip is again seized, when said pointer will be released and instantly returned to zero by a spring. This device is illustrated in the detached views Figs. 6 and 7. In these views, J represents the main pointer or hand, which is fixed on the arbor a, bearing pinion b. ()n this arbor a is a sleeve, a, which bears on its outer end the auxiliary pointer or hand J and on its inner end a ratchet-wheel, m. A pawl, 02, mounted on the back of the dial-plate A engages the teeth of the ratchetavheel. A light volute spring, 0, is coiled around the arbor, one end of said spring being attached to ratchet-wheel m and the other to some fixed part of the casin g. The pointer J has a pin or stud, p, at its back, which takes behind the pointer J, whereby, when the hand J is moved over the dial to any numeral thereon, it is made to carry pointer J with it. 'lhismovement of pointer J rotates ratchet-wheel m and winds up spring 0. \Vhen the grip is released, pointer J instantly returns to zero, but pawl n holds the ratchet-wheel, and thus holds pointer J at the numeral indicating the g1-ipping-power. To return pointer J to zero, I employ the device that will now be described. The pointer J will remain where set (in Fig. 3 it is shown in dotted lines as standing at numeral 11-0) until the grip is next seized. \Vhen this is done, the first movement of bar 0 causes a beveled trip, q, of an L shape, pivotally mounted on the rack or on the bar 0, to take under a pin, "1-, in the pawl n and raise said pawl out of the teeth of the ratchet-wheel, thereby set-ting the wheel free and allowing the spring to instantly return pointer J to zero, or nearly so. The trip q is carried on by the movement of the bar C, and when the grip is released and the trip returns to its original position it again strikes the pin in the pawl, which latter has again engaged its ratchetwheel; but in moving back, the trip, on striking said pin, will be tilted on said pivot, so that it can pass under the pin without disturbing the pawl. It will be at once returned to its upright position after passing the pin bya light spring, 8. (Seen in Fig. '7.) To be exact, the pointer J will, under the conditions named, have started in its movement over the dial when the pointer J is released, and consequently the latter will only return to pointer J and not to zero.

I may say that where two racks, as c and 0, (see Fig. 8,) are employed, both engaging pinion l), it will only be necessary to make the pinion long enough to properly receive both racks.

I have not shown the trip q on the rack in Fig. 5, as this view ismerely designed to illustra-te another part of the machine.

In Fig. 4 the advanced position of the coin is indicated in dotted lines.

I do not claim, broadly, a cl'iin-controlled device wherein the coin t-hatis inserted forms a part of the unlocking mechanism; nor do I claim, broadly, a grip composed of a fixed and a movable handle. These features are not new in griptesting machines.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a coin controlled apparatus of the character described, the combination, with the inclosing-casing, of the straight coin-chute extending across said casing from top to bottom and openin out of thesame at both ends, and provided with a branch chute and a hinged switch for directing the coins into said branch, the operating-lntr provided with a projecting piece which holds the said switch in place, and the springs E, all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

2. In a coin-controlled apparatus of the character described, the combination of the casing provided with a dial, the operatingbar, and rack 0, carried thereby, the arbor a, the pinion I) on said arbor and meshing with said rack c, the pointer J on the outer end of said arbor, provided with a stud or projection, p, the sleeve (1 on said arbor, the pointer J on the outer end of said sleeve, the ratchetwheel m on the inner end of said sleeve, the spring 0, the pawl 42, engaging said ratchet and provided with a stud, r, and the trip q, pivotally mounted on the rack c, all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof Ihave hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PETER BEETZ.

\Vitnesses:

J. D. CAPLINGER, CHARLES EALY.

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