US971531A

US971531A - Stamp or ticket vending machine.

Info

Publication number: US971531A
Application number: US50855909A
Authority: US
Inventors: Henry D Ebert
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1909-07-20
Filing date: 1909-07-20
Publication date: 1910-10-04
Anticipated expiration: 1927-10-04

Description

H. D. BBER'I. STAMP OB. TIGKT VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1909.

y Patented Get. 4, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H. D. EBERT.

STAMP 0R TICKET VENDING MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1909.

Patented Oct. 4, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H. D. EBERT.

STAMP 0R TICKET VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1909.

Q/LSL Patented 0613.4,1910

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

H. D. EBERT.

STAMP 0R TICKET VBNDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY Z0, 1909.

Patented 0011.4,1910

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articles may be carried in the forni oft a HENRY D. EBERT, .oFBALDWINsvILLEQ MassAcHUsE'r'rs.

STAM 0R TICKE'J,` VNDING MACHINE.

avisar Specific-ation of Letters Patent.

Paten-ted Uct. d, 1910.

Application ledJuly 2Q, 1909.' SerialNo. 508,559.

To all whom 'it maycoacerri:

VBe it known that l, HENRY D. Eisnirr, citizen of the United States, residing at Baldwinsville, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stamp or Ticket Vending Machines, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an' apparatus for vending postage stamps, postal cards, tickets, or other articles capable of being arranged within the apparatus in the t'orin ol a strip or ribbon, said articles being sepaated by perforatiens or weakening lines in such a manner as-to permit the article to be torn from or broken away from the strip with which it is connected.

The object of the inventi` i is to provide a simple and etlicient apparatus of this character which will .feed one or more stamps, tickets or other articles, upon the insertion ot' a certain prescribed coin or coins, and the particular object vis to provide an apparatus which is capable of adjustment for the use ot' any desired coin, or for the use ot' a plurality of coins, and which Will remain inoperative until the com or coins ot' the required dimension are inserted.

further object is to. provide a mechanism In which the stamps, tickets or other gfolded" strip and be successively delivered as desired.

A still further object is to provide means whereby 'the coin opening may be closed when the articles to be vended have been exha usted.`

Further advantages depend upon the par ticular arrangement of parts and details of constructioi'zi, as will be set forth in the accompanying'-'specification and more particularly statedjinthe appended claims.

' For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof, `andto -acquire a knowledge of the detailsv of' construction, reference to be -had to the -followingydescription and aceonipanying drawings, "in which:

Figure l is a side view of my vending machine, parts being in section; Fig. 2 is a like view i'roiiil the opposite side of the inachine; Fig. 3 is a perspective enlarged detail showing the locking wheel and its connected parts; Fie'. -l is a 'fragmentary detail showing the means whereby the conducting chute is supported ou the standards; Fig. 5

' the radial.notches-11.

is a detail perspective view showing-'the Tshaped locking pin; Fig. 6 is avei'tical section through the case and `transverse t0 the section in Fig. l, showing the position oit the various parts; Fig. 7 is-a horizontal section; Fig. S is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the locking wheel and coniiected'parts; Fig. t) is a perspective view ot' the discharging rollers and their gearing; Fig. 10 is an inner face view of the discharging rollers and the frame in which they are mounted; Fig. 1l is a perspective fragi'nentary view showing the coin chute and its coin-testii'ig inechanisinilfig. l2 is a perspective detail view showing the stop for preventing the introduction ot' coins when the machine is empty; Fig. 13 is a perspective detail of the stop detached from its supporting mechanism; Fig. 14 is a fragmentary horizontal section of the front wall of the case, showing a portion ol the coin chute and the stop; and, Fig. 15 is a detail perspective of the yoke whichsupports the discharging rollers.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the saine reference characters.

Referring to the drawings,"2 designates a v case within which the mechanism and stamp compartment are supported. The exterior of the case, upon its front face, is provided with the coin opening 3 having the form of a vertical slot., the stamp delivery slot 4 and the actuating knob 5.

Mounted upon the floor of the case are the opposed standards (i of any desired construction, having in their upper ends bearings for .a shaft 7.. The upper end of one of the standards is provided with a transverse bar 8 upon which is supported the opposed approximately triangular frames 9, the base bars of which extend across on a level with the upper e'nds of the standards (i. Mounted upon th'e end ot' the shaft 7 and located be` tween the opposed triangular frames 9 is the locking wheel '10 having in, its circumference The outer face of the wheel between the notches is ground away so as to'forni a series oi teeth 12-having.

ratchet or cani-like faces.

Also mounted on f the shaft '7 at one side of the wheel 10 isfthe y ratchet wheel 13', and upon the shaft 7 v"is" mounted thebifurcated hai" 14. 'lhe rear end ot this bar is connected by a spi-ing 15 with the cross bar 16 on the-standard.' The iic ratchet wheel 13 is mounted between the bifurcated bar so that the bar straddles the ratchet wheel. Pivoted within the closed end of the bifurcated bar is the pawl 17 which is pressed by the sp1'ingv18 into engagement with the ratchet wheel 13. The bifurcated bar is guided in its movement by a guide plate 19 mounted upon a cross bar 20 which is attached to the standards and projects upward from the side thereof. This guide plate is cut away as at 21 so as to receive the bar 14 and to limit its movement as well as guide the bar in its travel and hold it from any lateral play. The extremity of the bar 14 is reduced as at 22, and attached thereto is a chain 23 which extends downwardly and is attached to a small winding drum on a shaft 25. This shaft is mounted in bearings on a bracket 26 and extends out through the front wall of the case and carries the knob 5. Thus, upon turning the knob 5, the drum 24 will be rotated and wind up the chain 23I which will thus depress the bifurcated bar or lever 14, and this, through its pawl, will rotate the ratchet wheel 13, thus rotating the 'shaft `7 Y and rotating the wheel 10, provided this wheel isunlocked by the coin-operated mechanism, as will be later described.

Mounted upon the extremity of the shaft 7 is the gear wheel 27 which gears with a pinion 28 on a shaft 29 which is carried in a vertical frame 30. This shaft carries upon it a ber roller 31. Also mounted in the frame 30 and immediately beneath the roller 31 is the roller 32 on a shaft 33 which shaft carries the pinion 28 and is driven therefrom. Thus, upon a rotation of the gear wheel 27, the roller 31 will be turned downward and outward, while the roller 32 willJ be turned upward and outward. The stamp or strip to which the stamp is attached is drawn out by' the rotation of these rollers.

, In order to cause the rollers to grip the strip upon which the stamp. or other object is formed, I provide shiftable bearings for the lower roller 32, which bearings, designated 35, are formed in a yoke 36. This yoke slides between the side pieces of the frame 30 and is preferably formed with projecting lugs 37 which extend out into slots 38 in the side pieces. A bolt 39 projects down from the yoke 36 and passes through a cross bar 40. The lower end of the bolt is provided with a wing nut 41, and a compression spring 42 is located between the cross bar and the yoke, so that the yoke is forced yieldingly upward, and thus the rollers 3l and 32 will vengage the stamps or strip of tickets between them.

The carrier for thevstamps, tickets or other articles, is designated 43. It may lhave any desired shape. As shown, however, it comprises a vertical receptacle, oblong in cross section, and having a curved upper end or cover 44 which is hinged to the body of the receptacle. It also has a hinged door 45 which closes the side of the receptacle. The upper end of the receptacle is formed with the outwardly extending lip 4G whose upper surface is inv alinement with the upper surface of a delivery plate 47 supported upon the frame 30. The cover 44 is provided with the extension 48 forming the upper face of 'the delivery slot, or in other words, covering the, delivery plate 47 but Aspaced therefrom sufhcieiitly to permit the passage of the strip of stamps or tickets to the delivery rolls 31 and The stamps, tickets or other articles are intended to be placed within the receptacle 43 in a folded condition. In the illustration the receptacle is shown as of suiicient vdepth to permit the stamps to be folded,

three in each length or fold. The stamps or tickets are to be made in a strip of'any desired length and are to be folded asabove described together Vwith a strip of waxed paper to keep the stamps from sticking. It will be obvious 'also that any number of strips might be folded together and placed within the receptacle 43 so that two or more stamps might be delivered upon one actuation of the machine. The reason for having the strip folded is that I find in practice that the folding of the strips avoids friction, and the cover of the stamp compartment or ticket 'compartment is made half round for the same purpose and permits the free delivery yof the stamps and avoids the,y likelihood of the proectin folds of the stamps or tickets contacting w1th the top of thev receptacle.

The locking means `for normally preventing the actuation of the machine without the previous deposit of a prescribed coin f' frames 9, the locking arm being pivoted between said frames and immediately over the locking wheel 10. The forward end of the locking arm 50 is provided with the downwardly depending "ishaped locking bar 51, and the forward end of the arm 50 is weighted by a weight 52 which will act to throw down the forward end of the arm so that the bar 51 will extend` into the notches l1 so that the wheel 10 is prevented from any rotation until the locking arm has been operated to raise the bar from the notch. The rear end. of the locking arm 50 is provided at its extremity'with theV-shaped chute 53. The rear end of the arm 'and the chute extends into the space between two opposed' guides 54. A slot 55 located toward the lower ends of these guides and extending into the space between them, passes throu l1 a partition 56 and opens adjacent to a\su1t able coin receptacle 57.

Each triangular frame 9, at its apex, is provided with the downwardly extending the movable chute 53. The forward end of the chute63 has upwardly and forwardly projecting-.wings 64., Attached to the forward end of the chute 63 is the downwardly weight 76 and at the other carries a later projecting plate 65 which at its lower end has the inwardly turned lips 66 adapted to engage with the posts 61, thus permitting the chute 63 to be detached or to be raised or lowered and adjusted to suit the movements of the movable chute 53 and properly receive the coins from the coin-introducing chute 7 0.

The coin chute `70 comprises two opposed 1plates 71 and 7 2. The plate v7 1 is solid, while the plate 72 is cut away to form a side opening 7 3.' A longitudinally extendingv bar 74 1s mounted between the plates 71 and 72 immediately beneath the square opening 73 and forms a floor therefor so that coinsy `supported thereon will topple over through theopening 73 ,and will not actuate the machine.

Pivotally mounted on the inside face of lthe casing 2 isthe weighted arm 75. This,

at one end is provided with the adjustable ally projecting plate 77. .The plate 72 is slotted at its forward end to recelve the arm 75. Theprojecting plate 77 on the endl of the arm fills the 'space' between the two plates 71 and 72. The weight 76 acts to raise the opposite end of the arm 75 so that its projecting portion 77 is supported 011 a level with the lower end of the coin slot 3 and onV a level with the bar, 74. The weight j '76 is adjusted so that it will be counterbalanced byla coin of the proper denomination, but will not be counterbalanced by a liohter coin.` Thus, any lighter coin 'which is placed within thel slot 3 will not depress the plate 77 but will be guided thereby tothe bar 74 and will topple out of the opening 73. A coin of the proper weight,I however, will depress the arm 7 5, and the coin will be lowered to .such position that it will reach the runway 78 formed at the lower edgesof the plates 71 and 7 2. Mounted in the extremity of this runway is the magnet 79. The outer end of-the chute 63 is spaced from the chute a sulicient distancel so that a slug orother 'metallic blank attracted bythe ma net 79 will drop downward between the c ute 70.

and the guiding chute 63. j A genuine coin,

however, as for instance a nickel or a cent,.

will. acquire sufficient .momentum in rolling down the chute 70 so that it will jump the gap between the inner end of the chute 70 and the outer end of the chute 63 and thus will be guided down into the chute 53.

It is of course necessar in devices of this kind to provide means or preventing any attempt at actuating the vending a paratus when the commodity to bevendedh exhausted. To this end, I provide a spindle 80 pivoted in bearings on the inside of the a's been caslng adjacent1 to the coin slot 3. L This spindle -hasprojecting from it and into` the coin slot a T-shaped arm 81, vProjecting opl positelyfrom thespindle and-into the casing is. the arm 82. Against this arm operates a

sprin

8,3 which acts tojnormally turn the spind e upon its bearings so that the T- shaped portion 81'will be shifted into 'a recess formed in the side of the coin slot so that it will be out of the way of lthecoin when inserted. Connected to the extremity of the arm 82 is a cord 84 .which passes over an eye or pulley 85, then extends to an eye or pulley 86 upon the rear wallof the case yand then depends downwardly through an eye V87. The lower end of thecord, after passing through the eye 87, is conducted into the stamp compartment 43,' and the end of the cord is attached to a blank stam or blank ticket attached to the last one-ot the stamps or tickets contained within the stamp or ticket receptacle. Attached to the cor v84 is a Weight 88 having a link -89 at its u lper end. A pin projects out from t e rear wall of thc case upon'which the weight 'is adapted to be hung. The weight, vwhen so hung, upon the pin, is entirely clear of the bottom of the case.

The operation of this ortion of my inven-l Vshen the last stamp,

tion will be evident. ticket or other article has'been vended, the cord 84 will be vpulled suiciently to draw' the weight S8 ofi' from the pinf 90. The weight will thus fall, and through the cord 84 will retract

thearm

8,2, thus throwing the T-sha ed bar 81 outward and blocking the coin s ot, thus reventing the insertion of a `coin. vWhen t e stamp receptacle isl once Amore lilled, it is'only-necessary yto lift the weight 88 and hang it once more upon the pinof course previously attaching the end of the cord to the blank at the extremity of the strip of stamps or tickets.

As a. means of preventing thelifting ofthe locking arm 50 suiciently to permit the actuation of the wheel 10 until a coin or j coins of lsuflcient weight have beenfdeposited, 'I provide th'e rear end of the locking 4arm with the projecting screw-threaded rod 91 upon which is screwed the adjustable Weight 92. By ladjusting); this weight upon the screw-threaded rod, the locking arm may be very delicately counterbalanced so that it will only tip Vor fall upon the deposit of a coin rof the properqweight or of a plurality of coins which together make up the proper weight. As a further means to this end and preventing the fall of the locking arm to its iinal position until the deposit of the second coin (where a plurality of coins are required), I provide the pivoted counterbalanced supporting arm 93. This, at its outer extremity, is provided with a. hook 94 adapted to engage with the locking arm when the latter is depressed to a proper degree. rl `he middle of the arm 93 is pivoted upon a bearing formed on one of the frames 9, and the rear end of the arm is provided with the weight 95. A pin 96 normally projects over the frame 9 to support the weight.

The ,operation of my invention is as follows: The parts being in their locked position and the stamp or ticket receptacle being filled with folded tickets or stamps, a coin is deposited in the coin slot.` If it is a coin of the required dimension, it will pass through the coin slot and will be shot into. the guiding chute 63 from which it will be delivered into the movable. chutef 53. If the coin is of s uilicient weight, it will counterbalance the locking arm, and the outer end of the locking arm will descend. As it descends to the full extent, the T-shaped locking bar 5l will be raised partially out of the notch in the wheel 10. As soon as the locking bar has been raised sufiiciently from the notch, the knob 5 may be rotated. This will draw down upon the chain 23 operating the stepby-step ratchet wheel which will rotate the shaft 7 to a definite extent, or until the next notch in the wheel 10 is reached. As the' shaft rotates, the rollers 31 and 32 will be rotated, drawing out one or a lurality of tickets from the receptacle and) delivering them at the delivery slot 4 where they may be torn 'olf from the body of the strip. The rotation of the shaft 7 rotates the wheel l0, and the curved faces of the teeth l2 willv act to lift the locking bar 5l so as to permit the easy rotation of the wheel. When the next notch is reached, of course the locking bar drops into it, for by this time the movable chute has reached the slot 60 and the coin has dropped out into the coin receptacle.

I do not wish to be limited to the use of a casing or box for inclosing the stamps or u tickets to be sold, as it will be obvious that I might use a reel or other device upon which the strip of stamps ismounted and from which it may be drawn off. ,I prefer, how.- ever, the form of stamp or ticket receptacle shown, as I believe that there is less friction incident to its use than there is wherel a reel is used. 'Y

I do not wish to be limited to the details of the coin-receiving and testing portion of my device above described, as it is obvious jiat other mechanism may be used for reeiving the coin and testing it.

My apparatus is simple, cannot easily get out of order, will only operate upon the deposit of a required` coin, and may be adapted for use with one coin or a plurality, as required.

Having thus described the invention, whatV jacent to the ratchet wheel, a pawl mountedl on the arm, engaging with the ratchet wheel, a handle exterior to the case, a connection between ysaid handle and the arm, a locking wheel mounted on the shaft and having a series of radial notches, acounterbalanced lever pivoted adjacent to the circumference of the wheel, a locking bar carried by the lever, engageable in any one of the notches, a chute-like receptacle adapted to receive a coin carried on the end of the lever, and a guide in which the outer end of the receptacle moves, the lower port-ion of said guide being provided with a coin-receiving slot with which said receptacle will register when the locking lever is moved to its lowest position. Y

2. In a vending mechanism, a case, a shaft mounted' therein, means whereby articles may be vended upon a rotation of the shaft through a definite distance, a handle on the exterior of the case, mechanism whereby an actuation of the handle shall cause a definite rotation of the shaft, a locking wheel on the shaft having a' series of radial notches, a counterbalanced locking lever pivoted adj acent to the wheel and having a locking bar entering the notches, a 'coin-receiving chutelike receptacle carried on the end of the lever, and a guide in which said receptacle moves, closing the end of the receptacle, and a coin-receiving slot at the lower end of the guide with which said receptacle registers when the lever has been `moved to its lowest position.

3. I In a vending mechanism, a case, a shaft mounted therein, article-discharging mechanism connected to the shaft to be operated upon a rotation thereof, a handle exterior to the case, mechanism actuated by the handle whereby the shaft may be rotated a certain definite distance, a locking wheel on the shaft having a series of radial notches, a counter'balanced locking lever'pivoted ad.- j'acent to the wheel, a coin-receiving chutelike receptacle carried on the outer end of the locking lever, a guide in which said receptacleA moves and closing the open end thereof, said guide having a coin-receiving slot at its lower end with which the receptacle willregister when the locking lever is moved to its lowest position, a rod pivoted adjacent to the locking lever, one end of v said .rod being so formed as to be engaged by the locking lever as it moves downward, the other end of the rod being provided with a counterweight, and a stop for preventing the unweighted end of the rod from engaging with the locking lever when the latter is in its uppermost position.

4. In a vending mechanism, a shaft, discharging mechanism connected to the shaft to be actuated upona rotation of the shaft, a handle, mechanism engaged by the handle for rotating the shaft in one direction to a definite distance, a locking wheel on the shaft having a series of radial notches, the teeth formed between'said notches having inclined faces, a locking lever pivoted adjacent to the shaft, a locking bar carried by the lever and intersecting with the notches, a receptacle` on the end of the locking lever adapted to receive a coin to counterbalance the locking lever to depress the same to raise the locking bar from the notches and permit the actuation of the machine, and means whereby the coin may be discharged from the receptacle.

5. In a vending mechanism, a rotatable shaft, discharging mechanism connected to the shaft to be turned upon a rotation thereof, a handle exterior to the case, mechanism connecting the handle with the shaft, whereby the latter shall be rotated by an actuation of the handle, a locking wheel having a series of radial notches, a frame located on each side of the locking wheel and having notches adapted to coincide with the notches in the wheel, a counterbalanced locking lever pivoted in said frame, a transversely extending locking bar on the lever, engageable in any one.- of the notches, a chute-like receptacle on the outer end of the lever, and a guide in which said receptacle moves, said guide having at its lower end a coin slot with which the receptacle is adapted to register when the lever has been moved to its lowest position.

6. A vending mechanism for articles on strips,including a case, a shaft mounted therein, a gear wheel on the shaft, discharging mechanism operated from said gear wheel, a handle exterior to the case, mechanism whereby the shaft may be rotated a definite distance upon the actuation 0f the handle, a locking wheel on the shaft having a series of radial notches, a pivoted locking lever having a bar engaging with any one of the notches in the wheel, a chute-like receptacle on the outer end of said receptacle, a coin-receiving chute', and an intermediate chute mounted between the coin-receiving chute and the chute-like receptacle and spaced from the former whereby a coin may with the device, a support for the weight' so arranged that when the weight is supported thereon, said cord shall be slack, and means connectingl the weight with the last end of the strip, whereby the weight may be pulled from its support and allowed to fall upon a movement of the last end of the strip.

8. 'In a vending mechanism for articles on strips, an outer casing having a coin slot, an inner receptacle for said articles having a delivery mouth, a bar normally held away from but adapted to be moved into a position to close the coin slot, a weight, a cord connecting the weight with the bar, a projecting support for the weight on which the weight is adapted to be hung and so located that the cord from the weight to the said bar shall be slack, and a cord extending from the weight into said article receptacle and-there attached to the last end of thestrip, whereby when said last end of the strip is moved, the weight will be drawn from engagement with the support and allowed to fall, therebymoving the said bar into the coin slot.

9. In a vending'machine, an outer casing, a rotatable shaft, discharging mechanism connected to the shaft, a ratchet wheel on the shaft, an arm projecting from the shaft and radially mounted thereon, a pawl on the arm engaging with the ratchet wheel, a radial handle mounted exterior of the casing and extending into the same, a winding drum actuated by the handle, a liexible connection from the winding drum to said pawl-carrying arm, counterbalanced locking mechanism normally preventing the rotation of the shaft, and means whereby, upon the deposit of a coin, said locking mechanism shall be operated to permit the rotation of the shaft.

HENRY D. EBERT. [n s] Witnesses: p

GEORGE F. BALooM, CHAS. A. PERLY.