US593152A - alexander - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. ALEXANDER & W. E. THOMPSON. 00m AGTUATED APPARATUS.

N0.v 593,152. Patented Nov. 2-, 1897.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. ALEXANDER & W. E. THOMPSON. 00m AGTUATED-APPARATUS.

No. 593,152. Patented Nov. 2, 1897.

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XVILLIAM ALEXANDER, OF BIRKENHEAD, AND WILLIAM EDWARD THOMPSON, OF LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.

COIN-ACTUATED APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,152, dated November 2, 1897.

Application filed April28, 1896. Serial No. 589,453. (No modal.) Patented in England October 26, 1894, No. 20,475, and

November 17,1894,Nos. 22,217 and 22,217".

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it kn own that we, WILLIAM ALEXANDER, civil engineer, residing at 28 Rocky Bank Road, Devonshire Park, Birkenhead, in the county of Chester, and WILLIAM EDWARD THOMPSON, mechanical engineer, residing at 37 Madelaine Street, Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, England, subjects of the Queen of Great Britian, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin-Freed or Coin-Actuated Apparatus, (for which we have received patents in England, No. 20,475, dated October 26, 1894, and Nos. 22,217 and 22,217, dated November 17, 1894,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to coin-freed or coinactuated mechanism, and is specially adapted for use in connection with meters for measuring or delivering fluids such as gas, water, electricity, &c.

The invention consists of certain novel constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts, all of. which will be hereinafter more particularly set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a rear elevation of one form of mechanism constructed according to our invention. Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 represent-s'a detail front elevation of a portion of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents a section on line a a, Fig. 2, with a part of the mechanism removed. Fig. 5 represents a detail central vertical longitudinal section through the cylinder containing the operating spiral. Fig. 6 represents a vertical transverse section on line b b, Fig. 2. Fig. 7 represents a plan view of said devices with parts removed for olearness. Fig. 8 represents a transverse vertical section on line a; :0, Fig. 2.

A in the drawings represents an escapement-wheel which is locked or held in position by a pawl B, pivoted at B to the framework. Said pawl is provided with two arms 3) b, respectively. The arm I) is provided with a lateral projection B that is adapted to be engaged by laterally-projecting pins A A on wheel A, and thus normally prevent said wheel from turning. The arm b is provided with a lateral projection B the office of which will be hereinafter more fully described.

The projection 13 engages normally with projections A on the escapement-wheel A, while the projection B rests under the periphery of a disk or coin-carrier O, provided with a notch or recess G, into which the projection B must enter before the pawl B can be moved and the projection 13 thrown out of engagement with the projection A of wheel A. This notch or recess is so arranged that it will be opposite the projection B when a coin-slot O in the disk or coin-carrier G is opposite the coin-slot D, formed in the frame, as shown. Now if a coin be inserted at D it will rest on the periphery of the disk until the slot in the latter is brought opposite to it, when it will enter the slot and be carried around with the said disk, (which is rotated by means of a hand-wheel E from the outside,) having first raised the locking-pawl out of engagement with the wheel A. The lockingpawl is raised by the coin, which when in the coin-slot bears against the nose of the pawl and when pressure is applied turns it on its pivot B until it is clear of the projection A The wheel A is then rotated by the coin engaging lateral projections A formed thereon through a certain angle, preferablyhalf a revolution, until it again becomes locked by the pawl resumingits original or locked position, the coin falling out of the disk or carrier into a suitable receptacle. The inclined edge of the recess O forces the projection 13 away from the spindle 0 again on the rotation of the carrier, thereby insuring the return of the pawl to its locked position. The operation of inserting coins may then be repeated and the escapement-wheel' rotated for each coin inserted through a further angle equal to the first. The pawl B is so formed that directly after it is raised clear of the projections on the wheel A it falls back again to the back of the projection and the coin prevents any backward rotation of the coin-carrier or the 9 5 wheel as long as the coin remains in the carrier.

By referring to the drawings, Fig. 8, it will be seen that the coin-carrier O is rigidly mounted on a spindle c and that the wheel IOO A is loosely mounted on the reduced end of said spindle. The wheel A is connected with the .supply and registering mechanism by means of an improved form of gearing, which when the said wheel is rotated liberates or sets in motion the supply apparatus, and when the quantity of gas, water, &c., paid for has been delivered orregistered shuts off the supply. In this case the esca'pementwheel A has teeth F on its face, gearing with a bevel-wheel G, mounted loosely on a spindle G. F is a tube or cylinder also mounted loosely on the spindle G at one end and carrying a toothed wheel F at the other end,

said wheel gearing with the ordinary indexgearing of the meter, asshown at Fig. 6.

H is a helix or spiral fixed at one end 11', Fig. 5, to the aforementioned bevel-wheel G and operated thereby on the insertion of a coin.

H is a stop or projection mounted on the spindle G, so as to be free to rotate, but havin g no longitudinal movement thereon, which stop passes through a slot F in the cylinder F. Thus if the escapement-wheel A be rotated by the insertion of a coin it will cause, by means of the bevel-gearing F and G, the helix or spiral II to rotate also, and the stop I1 which engages in the coils of the helix, will be moved away from a catch J, which operates a valve J, (see Fig. 4,) thereby libcrating the supply mechanism. The stop or' projection H is guided and prevented from rotating during this movement by engaging the slot F in the cylinder F, which latter, as before stated, is geared to the meter mechanism, but it will be obvious that other guiding devices may be employedsueh as, for instance, parallel bars. When the stop or projection H has traveled a distance proportional to the number of coins inserted, the cylinder F is then rotated by the meter mechanism in a direction similar to that in which the spiral or helix was rotated, thereby causing the projection II to travel along a spiral path back again to its original position, thereby shutting off the supply.

In Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings a catch J is shown, which the projection or stop 1-1 in its backward spiral movement engages and raises so as to close the valve J. This closin g may be eifected by the catch J engaging a flange on the end of a vertical valve-spindle, suchas shown.

' the price of gas, electricity,

If a change in 850., takes place, the corresponding adjustment of the mechanism may be effected by changing a wheel in the gearing between the wheel A and between the meter or time-keeping device and the stop mechanism. In the drawings such a wheel K is shown carried in a movable bracket or bearing K, which bracket moves in a slot K and is secured in any desired position by a set-screw K L is a pointer moving on a dial L (shown only in 1) and attached to a rod Z, which works in harmony with the stop H on spindle G and indicates its position at any instant, and therefore the amount of gas, 850., still unconsumed. Moving with the rod L and spindle G is a bolt L which, when a predetermined number of coins has been inserted, enters the coin-slot D transversely and prevents the insertion of any more coins until under the action of the meter the bolt is withdrawn.

It will be understood that the arrangements herein described may be reversed, and the portions described as being driven by the coin mechanism may be driven by the meter mechanism or time-keeping device, or vice versa, but we prefer the arrangement shown in the drawings and herein described.

What we claim as our invention is- 1. In a coin-freed mechanism, the combination of a rotatable coin-carrying disk having a coin-receiving slot and a notched periphery, an escapement-wheel, a pawl engaging said wheel and having a portion located underneath the notch of the coin-disk and gearing whereby the rotation of the escape ment-wheel releases the supply mechanism, the construction and operation being such that the escapement-wheel is released from the pawl when the coin-disk is in such a position that said portion of the pawl can enter the notch, substantially as described.

2. In a coin-freed apparatus, the combination of coin-released devices, a spiral rotated by the said coin devices, and a slotted cylinder operated by the meter mechanism, a projection engaging in the coils of the spiral and locking with the slotted cylinder whereby when the latter is rotated the projection is moved along the axis of the spiral or helix a given distance in one direction and when the slot-ted cylinder is rotated such projection is moved back again along the spiral path, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to'this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM ALEXANDER. WILLIAM EDWARD THOMPSON.

lVitnesses:

G. O. DYMOND, W. H. Bnns'ron.

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