US396297A

US396297A - Vending apparatus

Info

Publication number: US396297A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1889-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 1906-01-15

Description

(No Model.) Sheets-Sheet '1 J. SGHOPIELD. VENDING APPARATUS.

No. 396,297. Patented Jan. 15, 1889;

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet; 2.

J. SOHOFIEVLD.

VENDING APPARATUS,

N0. 396,297. Patented-Jan. 15, 1889.

N. PETERS. FlwhrLiuwgmpher, Walhingmm D. C.

EJNITED STATES PATENT Er ca;

JOHN SCHOFIELD, OF NE HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

VEN'DING APPARATUS.

Z SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 396,297, dated January 15, 1889.

Application filed April 30, 1888. Serial No. 272,314- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN SCHOFIELD, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention which is the subject of the present application is an automatic vending apparatus, and while I have shown it as designed for the sale of cigars, it is obvious that it may be used for the sale of many other articles with butslight alteration and without changing the essential parts of the apparatus. As is well known, machines of this class are operated automatically by the insertion of a coin, which releases mechanism which in turn causes the article which the machine is designed to vend to be placed within reach of the purchaser.

The object of my invention is to simplify the construct-ion of such devices. I also aim to produce an automatic vending apparatus which may be adapted to sell a variety of articles, so as to enable the owner of the apparatus to change it at will from the sale of one article to that of another.

The invention consists, also, in the combination, with a carrier-wheel and means for operating it automatically by the dropping of a coin, of an adjustable circuitous or zigzag reservoir, whereby the said reservoir may be adapted to hold an d feed downward to the carrier articles differing in shape and size.

The invention consists, also,in averticallyarranged reservoir having a zigzag or circuitous channel, whereby the articles therein are.

fed by gravity, combined with a carrier arranged beneath the open end of the reservoir, with means for operating said carrier, and controlling devices for interrupting said movement, the said devices being released by the dropping of a coin, whereby the carrier is allowed to feed forward a single article.

The invention consists, also, of a reservoir, a revolving carrier-wheel having receptacles in its periphery adapted to receive the articles and hold them separate as they are fed to it from the reservoir, and meansfor moving said carrier intermittingly by the. dropping of a coin.

The invention consists, also, of a vertical circuitous reservoir for the articles to be sold, a carrier arranged directly beneath the same for receiving the articles and transmitting them one by one to within reach of the purchaser, means for moving said carrier, and a pivoted lever for controlling the movement of said carrier, the end of said lever extending beneath the open end of a coin-slide, whereby under the action of a coin the lever releases the operating mechanism and allows the carrier to be fed one step.

The invention consists, also, of a suitable reservoir and carrier and means for operating the carrier, .in combination with an adjustable coin-slide. p

Finally, the invention consists in the devices and combination of devices hereinafter fully set forth and specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the inclosingcase. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in front elevation with the front wall broken away to show the interior mechanism, some of the parts being in section. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the conduit and carrier with the side wall of the case removed and the front and rear walls in section. Fig. l is an elevation, partly in section, of the opposite side of the case, the side wall being removed and some of the parts being shown in. section. Fig. 5 represents a detailed view of the coin-slide.

The inclosing-case is marked A, and may be made of any suitable material, either wood or metal, and ornamented in any desired manner. If it is intended to be used in stores, it may be of wood; but if desired for use in public places, as such devices are sometimes used, it may be made very strongly of metal. I have shown upon the front an inscription indicating that the device is to be used for selling cigars; but it will be understood that it may be adapted for the sale of various other articles, and the inscription of course changed accordingly. Referring particularly to Fig. 3, I have shown at B a reservoiror conduit for containing a number of the articles to be sold, the said reservoir being arranged with a circuitous or zigzag passage of f3 tease;

approximately the size in width of the articles to be sold. I have found that by the use of such a passage a reservoir is provided capable of holding the greatest number of the articles, and at the same time no crowding is permitted, which otherwise would obstruct and perhaps check altogether the perfect feed of the articles. Inv order to allow of the placing of articles of different widths within the reservoir, I make either one or both of its walls (indicated at a.) adjustable by means of the elongated slots, through which,by means of pins, the wall is supported against the partition b of the case. The walls of the reservoir may be made of suitable material; but as they sustain but very little weight they may be made very cheaply of sheet metal with end flanges, by which they may be secured to the partition 1). Beneath the open end of the reservoir I pivot a carrier, which has suitable bearings, and has upon its periphery a series of corrugations forming recesses adapted to receive the articles as they are fed down by gravity to the open mouth of the reservoir. These corrugations serve to separate the articles, and as the carrier is revolved it feeds the cigars or other articles one by one within reach of the purchaser.

hen the reservoir-passage is enlarged to receive articles of greater width, which it may be found desirable to substitute for the cigars, it may be found necessary to use, in place of the carrier-drum shown, another drum having corrugations corresponding to the articles to be sold. As the carrier receives the article in a vertical line with its hub, it must make two movements to the left before it is ready to discharge the article upon the incline c, which is in connection,through a passage, ('1, with a receiving-pocket, c, which is open to the outside and places the cigar within reach of the purchaser.

In order to prevent the cigars from displacement until they are brought directly in line with the incline c, I provide a light spring, f, which bears upon the articles dur ing their first and second movements to the left, the next movement bringing them from beneath the spring and allowing them to pass down the incline to the open pocket.

In order that the condition of the reservoir may be readily seen at all times, so that it may be filled when empty, I provide a heavy glass plate, g, in the door 71, and. through the door the reservoir may be reached and filled when empty. 'Ihrough this glass the purchaser may observe the cigars or other articles as they are fed along, without, however, seeing the mechanism which causes their movement.

The mechanism for automatically operating the carrier (,1 is located upon the opposite side of the partition I), and is shown clearly in Figs. 1 and l. Upon the same shaft with the wheel 0, the shaft extending through the partition Z), as shown in Fig. 1, is a wheel, I),

provided with teeth '1', the movement of this wheel controlling the movement of the carrier, as both are secured to the same shaft and move therewith. This shaft terminates in a spool, it, upon which is wound a cord, Z, extending up over a pulley, m, and has upon its end a weight, n. The shaft 1 of the carrier terminates in a square shank, and upon this a key may be placed to wind the cord Z upon the spool 71:, thus placing the wheel D under the tension of theweight, the constant tendency of the wheel under this tension being to revolve from left to right, as shown by thearrow in 1 ig. 3, which would thus give the proper direction to the movement of the car rier (I. I do not of course limit myself to the use of a weight for thispu rpose, as any equiva lent tension device may be substituted there- I or. Instead of the cord Zpassing over a pulley, as shown, it. may pass to the shaft of a pulley, and the weight be connected to a pulley, and this would render unnecessary an amount of rewinding which would be called for by the simple form of connection shown.

In order to govern the rotation of the wheel I) and to allow it to move only upon the dropping into the receptacle of a proper coin, I provide the wheel with teeth 1', and above the wheel arrange a pivoted lever, 3, whichis provided with a single catch at its end and pressed downward by a spring, a, into engagement with the teeth 1' of the wheel I). The rear end of this pivoted lever extendsbeneath the channel of a coin-slide, E, and has a box with an inclined bottom to direct the coin, and when a proper coin is placed within the slide it falls down the same by gravity, and, striking the end 5 of the pivoted lever, lifts the notched end from engagement with the wheel for an instant, which allows the shaft to turn under the action of the weight, and the carrier 0, turning wi th the wheel, advances a step to feed down one of the articles carried thereby. Before the next tooth is reached the spring a has thrown down the end of the lever 3, and the rotation of the wheel is again checked. A cash-box, (l, is provided at one side, and an incline, 7, arranged beneath the end 5 of the lever, deflects the coin after it'leaves the slid eE into the said box. The coinslide E is shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and is composed of two rails, 8, held together by pins at top and bottom, with springs 1-11: between them for holding the rails apart, and the distance between the rails may be adjusted for different sizes of coins, so that the machines may be used to sell articles of different prices. These rails are supported in an inclined position, as shown in Fig. 4, ways being formed by grooving the inner and upper corner of each of the rails, and the width apart of the rails or the width between the grooved portions thereof must correspondto the width of the coin representing the value of the articles being vended.

A slot is formed in the front of the case, as shown, and the coin-slide is supported so that IIO ' the grooves at its upper end are in direct line with the said slot. The lower end is directly above the part 5 of the pivoted lever, so that when a coin of the proper width is inserted it slides down within the grooves in the rails 8 and drops directly upon the rear end of the lever, thus causing the action hereinbefore referred to. In case, however, a coin of less width is inserted in the slot, it will drop between the rails and upon a board, 9, provided with an inclined shield, 10, extending-beyond the rear part, 5, of the lever, and thus deflects the coin over the same int-o the cash-box without operating said lever. In case a coin greater in width is inserted it slides down upon the top of the rails S, and at a suitable point on the upper part of one of the rails I secure a deflector, 11, extending across to the other rail, but disconnected therewith, so as not to interfere with the described adjustment. This deflector is wedge-shaped, so that when the coin reaches it its effect is to lift the coin from the rail and turn it to an inclined shield, 12, extending between the coin-slide and the rear wall of the case, which in like manner to the shield 10 deflects the coin above the end 5 of the lever into the cash-box without operating the pivoted lever. In case the coin, after being deflected by the deflector 11, should return to the rails, I have provided a second deflector, 13, similar to 11, operating in the same way. IVhile I prefer to make the slot in the front of the case of a width just suflicient for the entrance of the proper coin, still it may be desirable to make it of larger size and to adjust the machine for usewith larger coins. For instance, in case it should be desired for use in the sale of three cigars for-a quarter, the coin-slide would be adjusted to allow'the insertion of a quarter, and in order, in this case, to allow for the uninterrupted movement of the wheel D and carrier 0 until three cigars have been fed out, I provide the wheel D with pivoted teeth i, and these teeth may be thrown down when it is desired to feed more than one of the articles under the action of a single coin, and in the case of the sale of three cigars for a quarter two adjoining teeth would be turned down, so as to presentonly the smooth periphery of the wheel, and in this case the wheel would revolve so as to empty three pockets of the carrier C before the hooked end of the pivoted lever would engage one of the teeth of the wheel. It will be readily seen that this variation can be carried out to a greater or less degree.

The machine may be used to sell many kinds of small articlessuch as jewelry, tickets, &c.-by the use of boxes of any shape in cross-section which may contain the articles, and these boxes may be fed along the reservoir and carrier, as described.

I do not wish to limit myself to the precise form of carrier shown and described as used in combination with a single circuitous and continuous reservoir and as having a'step-bystep movement to bring the pockets separately and. successively to the mouth of the reservoir.

I claim 1. In combination, in an automatic vending apparatus, a reservoir for storing the articles, a rotary carrier-wheel arranged directly below the reservoir and provided with recesses entirely around its periphery to receive the articles from the mouth of the res ervoir and a weight for givin the carrier-wheel forward movement to bring said recesses successively and separately into line with mouth of the reservoir upon the introduction of coins, substantially as described.

2. In combination, in an automatic vending apparatus, a reservoir for storing the articles, said reservoir being circuitous in form, a rotary carrier-wheel, G, arranged directly below the reservoir, provided with recesses entirely around its periphery to receive the articles from the mouth of the reservoir, and having a step-by-step movement to bring said recesses successively into position beneath the reservoir and a toothed wheel, D, the pivoted lever 33, the coin-slide, and a weight tending constantly to move the carrier, substantially as described.

3. In combination, a vertieally-arranged reservoir for holding the articles, having a single continuous circuitous passage, with walls on each. side of said passage situated at a distance apart, to confine the articles and direct them one after the other in proper order, and a carrier having recesses adapted in size to one of the articles, arranged directly below the mouth of the single passage, said carrier having a step-by-step movement to bring the recesses separately and successively in line with the mouth of the single passage, substantially as described.

4. In avending-maehin e, a reservoir formed of two parts, one of said parts being adj ustably supported to adapt the reservoir to dif- 'ferent -sized articles, substantially as described.

5. In an automatic vending apparatus, a reservoir, a carrier beneath the same, a toothed wheel in connection with the carrier, a weight, a pivoted lever having a single catch to engage directly with the toothed wheel, a spring for pressing said catch into engagement, and a coin-slide in line with the rear end of the pivoted lever, substantially as described.

6. In an automaticvending-machine, a coinslide having a channel adapted in size to a certain-sized coin, provided with a deflector, as 13, extending across and above the channel, whereby coins too large for the channel. will be deflected above the same, substantially as described.

7. In an automatic vending-machine, a coinslide formed of two parts, one of which is adjustable toward and from the other, whereby i eeezse 9. A vending apparatnscomprisingthe reservoir, the earrim' arranged directly beneath the same and provided with recesses for receiving the articles, a pocket to one side in the wall of the casing, an incline betweeii' said pocket and. the carrier, and aspring a]? ran aged between the reservoir and the incline for applying pressure to the articles, substan iially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN SCHOFIELD.

\Vitnesses:

F. L. MIDDLETON, CHAS. L. STURTEVANT.