US398245A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

B. S. FORD.

VENDING MACHINE.

Patented Feb. 19,1889.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(NoMddeL) E. S. FORD! VENDING MACHINE.

No. 398.245. Patented Feb. 19, 1889.

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UNITED ST TES ATENT prion.

EDIVARD S. FORD, OF HOXTON, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO OSCAR UI-ILMAN, OF BAVARIA, GERMANY.

VENDING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 398,245, dated February 19, 1889.

Application filed October 16, 1888- Serial No. 288,250. (No model.)

mechanism is freed or actuated, so as to de- 1 liver or release for delivery an article or com modity 1n exchange for said coin; and it relates more particularly to apparatus which comprise a goods carrier or drum divided into compartments and rotated by means of a spring to an amount corresponding with one compartment when an escapement is temporarily freed through the action of the inserted coin. I

My invention provides an improved coinl slide so constructed that any coin of less diameter than that prescribed-which is, for eX- ample, a five-cent piece-falls out before reaching the chute or guide for conducting the coin to the point where it is to act upon the releasing mechanism. It also provides a separator or divider in connection with the drum, which, as the latter rotates, enters the goods-compartments successively and separates the outermost article therein from the other article or other articles, so that the drum can be supplied with two or more articles in each compartment and deliver them separately, whereas in apparatus of this de script-ion as heretofore constructed the whole contents of a compartment, whether one artij cle or more, have been delivered at once. This separator or divideris capable of adj ustment, so as to adapt the apparatus to articles edges that, while a coin of the prescribed size of different thickness.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a similar View, but with the door, which constitutes the greater portion of the front, removed. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1, looking to the left. Fig. i is'a section 011 the same line as Fig. 3, but looking to the right, and with the drumspring and escapement removed. Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5, Fig. 4,, showing the coin-slide.

Fi s. 6 and 7 are res ectivel 1 a side view and a plan of a distance-piece used in adjusting the separator or divider.

dis the outer boX or case of the apparatus, which in the preferred form is rectangular, as shown.

1) is a door at the front of the box, secured thereto by hinges c c, and fitted at d with a lock of any ordinary construction.

In the preferred construction the central portion of the door is cut away, the opening thus formed being backed up with a sheet of glass, 6, which is held at top and bottom by clips or holders ff. The goods in the drumcompartments can thus be ceen'from the outside. The part of the glass which is in front of that part of the drum which extends from the center to the inner walls of the compartments is preferably silvered on the inside, so as to give a neat appearance to the apparatus. In the door I) is the coin-slit h, which is just large enough to allow of the insertion of the prescribed coin. This slit is inclined, as shown, to correspond with the sidewise incline of the coin-slide, hereinafter described.

In the door. Z) is also the goods-outlet 1', with flanged shelf j, for arresting the article which falls from the drum, and which is conducted by the guideway, hereinafter described, to said outlet 1'.

in is the coin-slide. It is inclined toward the right hand, as shown, so that the coin inserted through the slit h, which has the same inclination, may enter the slide in an inclined position, as seen in Fig. 5, in which Z represents the coin. The lower edge of the coin runs upon the ledge or flange m of the slide. In the side of the slide. is cut an opening, '21, of such width between its upper and lower will run along the slide with its upper part leaning against the side of the slide above said opening 71, a coin of smaller diameter will notbe supported by the slide above said 9 opening, and will therefore fall sidewisewith its upper part entering the opening. In so doing it will rock over the lower margin or shoulder, a, of the opening, (which is lower than the center of gravity of the smallest coin that may beinserted in the apparatus,) whereby the lower part of the coin will be thrust to the left, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, and its lower edge will consequently slip off 5 over the edge of the ledge m, and the coin will therefore fall down into the box 0 below without reaching the coin-chute. The coin-slide It is inclined from front to back, as clearly seen in Fig. 4, so as to cause the coin to run to the back end and enter the coin-chute.

is the coin-chute, down which the coin (of the prescribed size) 011 reaching the back end of the slide 7; falls, so as to strike and depress the end of the lever q, after which the coin drops into the box 0. The other end of lever q bears against one branch, r, of an anchor, the other arm, 0*, of which normally .takes into the teeth of the escapement s. Theescapement is fixed on the arbor of the drum 2, on which is a spring, '11, wound up by rotating the drum.

It will be readily understood that each time the lever q is acted upon by a falling coin it will by pushing up the arm 1' temporarily re- 2 5 lease the arm 7 from the escapement s, so that the drum will move round the distance allowed by one tooth of the escapement and be then again caught and retained by the arm r. The drum 6 has at its periphery o radial compartments 7; 2., for containing the goods or articles to be delivered. They are shown as containing cigarettes, three in eachcompartment. The drum moves within a fixed casing, to, at one part of which is an 5 opening, 00, above an inclined guideway, 1 leading to the outlet 1', already described. Consequently as each compartment t" comes in turn to the opening a the contents, so far as they are not prevented by the separator or 40 divider,hereinafter described,will fall through the opening at, be conducted by the guideway y to the outlet i, and be presented on the flanged shelf j.

I will n ow (hrscril re the separator or divider,

5 which prevents the delivery of more than one article at a time from a compartment. flhis separator is composed of stationary fingers z, (of which two are shown,but one will answer if sufiiciently broad,) which project at the proper height through the side partition of each compartment '0 as this comes round to he openingwr. The partitions are formed with openings A A, Fig. 3, so as to clear or pass the lingers. As will be seen on reference to Fig. :1, the height oi the fingers such that they come between the outermost article in the compartment and the other article or articles therein, and thereby hold up such other article or articles until the compartment has passed the opening '1'. 'lheret'ore only the outermost article falls through this opening and is delivered.

In order to make the separator or divider adj'ustable, so as to adapt the apparatus for delivering articles of different thickness such, for instance, as cigars-only two of which can be placed in a compartment capable of holding three cigarettes, I adopt the following arrangement: I fix the lingers to or form them in a piece with a plate, B, which I secure by a mill-headed screw, C, to the block y, in which the guideway y is formed. Between the block y and the plate B is a spring, which tends to push the plate away from the block, the plate pivoting on the pin D. For the smallest size of goods to be deliveredsay cigarettes-the plate B is screwed up to the full exam against the block. When, on the other hand, the apparatus is required to hold and deliver larger articles-say cigars-the screw 0 is unscrewed, and the spring then pushes the plate B outward, so that the fingers 2 rise. A distance-piece, E, (shown separately in Figs. 6 and 7 and in dots in Fig. 3,) is then pushed through a guide, L, so as to enter between the plate B and block 1 and the screw 0 is then screwed up so far as the piece E will allow. This has the effect, by slightly loweringthe fingers from the position to which they had risen, of bringing them to the proper height for separating the two cigars in each compartment as it comes round' The piece E is forked or slotted, as seen in Fig. 6, to allow the screw 0 to pass through it. In order to prevent the spring a from be ing over-wound, I mount on a horizontal arbor a piece, F, having as many teeth G (say three) asthe maximum number of articles that a compartment of the drum is intended to hold. 0n the face of the piece F is apin or stud, H. Onthe drunrt is an arm, J, which, upon the completion of every revolution of the drum, comes against one of the teeth G and moves the piece F round to the extent of one tooth. When at the end of three revolutions of the drum the piece Elias been moved to the eX- te'nt or. three teBlLthe pin H comes against a stop and prevents further movement of the d 11in, and therefore any further winding o'f the spring a. As the drum rotates in reverse direction during the discharge of' the goods from its compartments, the arm J acts on the piece F in the contrary direction, and thereby puts it in position to allow of the spring ubeing again wound up.

WVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an; automatic coin-freed or coin-actu Y atedi apparatus, a coin-slide comprising an in clined side against which the coin leans and a bottom ledge or flange upon which the edge of the coin runs, said inclined side having an opening of such height that a coin of smaller diameter than that of the prescribed coin will not be supported by the inclined side, but will fall into said opening, and of such width that its lower side shall form a shoulder beneath the center of gravity of the coin, over which shoulder the coin on falling into the opening shall rock, so that its lower edge will be thrust off the ledge and the coin will drop out on the side opposite to said opening, substarnti ally as set forth.

2. In an automatic coin-freed or coin-actuatcd apparatus .l'or delivering goods in exchange for coin, the combination, with a goods carrier or drum having radial goods-compartments around its periphery and caused to retate to the extent of one compartment for each action of the apparatus, of a separator I and with the fixed casing 11, having an open-- ing, 00, of the stationary fingers 2, arranged to enter the openings A in the sides of the com- 20 partments, whereby the latter are caused to clear or pass said lingers, substantially as set forth.

4-. The combination of the plate 1-3, having the fingers .2, with the adj listing-screw O and 2 distancepiece E, suhstamially as and for the purpose set forth.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

EDWARD S. FORD. l'Vitn esses:

JOHN C. MEWBURN, GEORGE 0. Bacon.

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