US994882A - Vending apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

L; X. SOMERS.

VENDING APPARATUS. APPLIG'ATION nmm'w 30,1910.

Patented June 13, 1911.

2 SHEETS*HEET 1.

Snumvtw E. X. SOMERS.

VENDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILM, AUG.30,19\O4 99%,882, Patented June 13, 1911.

3 luau $01.

UNITE sranns 'r EVERETT X. SOM ERS, OF ST. JOHNSBURY, VERMONT, ASSIGNDR TO AMERICAN NEWS- VENDING MACHINE 00., OF ST. .TOHNSBURY, VERMONT.

- VENDING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented June 13, 1911.

Application filed August 30, 1910. Serial No. 579,631.

To all whom (it may concern:

Be it known that I, Evnnn'rr X. SOMERS, citizen of the United States, residing at St. Johnsbury, in the county of Caledonia and State of Vermont, have invented new and useful Improvements in Vending Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention pertains to vending apparatus of the type characterized by a plurality of,compartments arranged in an upri ht series and each adapted to hold an artic e to be vended, and a gravitatin-g guard adapted to be released by the depositof a check or com or other means and so.

governed that following its release, it will descend a distance corresponding to the height of a compartment-i. 6., sufliciently far to uncover the open forward side of the compartment and permit of the ready re movalof an article therefrom.

The object of the present invention is to provide in a vending apparatus of the kind set forth,.simple, compact, durable and re-' liable means for governing the descent ofv low its upper end.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying illustration of. one specific embodiment thereof, while its scope will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective of my novel apparatus with tho gravitating guard at an intermediate point 1n.its,traverse. Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in sec.-

tion, showing the gravitating guard and the vertical rack thereon, in the front section of the casing. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken in the plane indicatedby the line" 3 3 ofFig. 1, looking downward. Fig. 4 is an enlarged broken frontelevation showing the back section or plate of the casing and the parts parriedby said plate at the forward side thereof. Fig. 5 is a detail elevation taken at a right angle to Fig. land showing the mechanism'for governing the descent of the gravitating guard. Fig. 6 is a vertical prised in the apparatus, and B is the back plate of said casing. The front section comprises a front wall a in which is a large opening I) and a check or coin slot 0, atop wall d, and side walls 6 having inturncd flanges f at their rear ends. In one of the side walls 6 is an opening 9 in which a check or coin receptacle h is removably secured in approved manner. 'It will also be observed that vertical gnidcways 2' are fixed to the rear side of the front wall a, at opposite sides of the large opening therein, and that a sub-wall is fixed in the section A immediately above said large opening 1).

The back plate 13 of the casingis arranged between the side walls 0 of section A and immediately opposed to the flanges f thereon and is suitably connected in a fixed manner to said flanges.

C is the gravitating guard which is movable vertically back (are... front walli'a of section A. and in the guideways i, and D is a vertical rack fixed to and movable with the said guard. I

As before stated, the back plate B forms a fixed part of the casing which is necessary since said back plate carries the superposed compartments E andthe coin chute F as well as the mechanism for governing the step by step descentof the guard C. The

compartments E are open at their forward ends and are designed to be exposed one by one through the large opening I) as the uard C descends. It will also be noted that the horizontal walls of the compartments are notched, as indicated by is in oider to enable a. patron to readily take hold of'and withdraw an article in an uncovered compartment. The coin-chute F is fixed to one side of the series of compartments E,

i into the receptacle ii. I prefer to depress the and its upper end is registered with. the coin slot 0 while its lower portion is provided with a vertical slot Z disposed in the direction of the width of the apparatus.

Find with respect to the back plate B, the coin chute F and the series of compartments E and arranged immediately below the latter is a frame G, and carried by the said frame is the mechanism for governing the descent of the guard D. The said mechanism comprises a vertically-swinging lever 1 fulcrumed at an intermediate point of its length and having one of its ends disposed in the slot Z of chute F so as to be depressed by a coin moving downward through said chute,-

and provided at its opposite end with a depending portion 2; a shaft 3 having fixed thereon a spur pinion a which is intermeshed with the rack D of guard C, a comparatively-large toothed disk 5 which is mounted in a loose manner on the shaft 3 and is provided with a spring-backed pawl G to engage a ratchet disk 7 thatis fast on the shaft 3; and a pendent lever 8, fulcrumed at 9 ,on the frame Gin position to swing to and fro in a plane parallel to that of the toothed disk 5 and having lateral portions 10 at opposite sidesof its center of movement, designed to alternately enter an interdental space in the disk 5.

The practical operation of mytnovel appa: ratus is as follows: When a com is deposited in the slot 5, it -drops through the chute F and momentarily depresses the outer arm of.

the vertically swinging lever 1, after which it drops from the lower end of chute F and outer arm of lever l by the deposit of a coin as stated, but do not desire to be understood as confining myself to the same, inasmuch as the said outer arm of lever 1 may be de pressed by any means without involving dc parture from the scope of my claimed inven tion. The depression of the outer arm of lever l, raises the depending portion 2 there of out of'an interdcntal space in the spur pinion t and releases the gravitating guard C which then descends, and through its rack D turns the pinion 4, shaft .3 and toothed disk 5. The pendent lever 8 normally hangs free and hence when the disk is turnedas stated, the said lever is caused, by its portions '10 being engaged by teeth of the disk 5, to oscillate. This oscillation of the lever 8 effectually assures a pause or dwell in the rotation of the disk and spur pinion l following the initial movement thereof, and the said pause or dwell enables the depending portion 2 of the lever l to enter the interdental space.- in spur pinion l that is back of and next to the space it formerly occupied. From this it follows that when (l, the said guard will "descend a suflicient distance to uncover the front of one compartment E but no more, and then the guard will be locked and will be held against further gravitation until another coin is deposited in slot 6*.

I loosely 'mount? the disk 5 on the shaft 3 and connect the said disk with the shaft through the medium of the described pawl and ratchet, or any other suitable means, in order to assure the disk 5 turning with the shaft 3 in the direction indicated by arrow in Fig. 6, and yet permit of the guard C being raised by hand and the spur pinion 4 and shaft 3 being rotated, during said rais 'ing, in the direction opposite to that indicated without interference from the disk 5 and lever B; it being necessary after the articles to be vended are placed in the compartments E, to raise the guard C from its lowermost position to its uppermost position by hand in order to place the apparatus in condition for operation.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that in addition to being simple and compact in construction and reliable in operation, my novel means for governing the step by step descent of the guard C, is strong and durable and is therefore well adapted to withstand the rough usage to which vending apparatus is ordinarily subjected.

While I have shown and described one form of my invention, it is to be understood that- I am not limited tothe details or the form or relative arrangement of parts disclosed, but that modifications may be made therein, within the scope of the appended claim. 0'

Having described;iny'iinvention, what I claim and-desire to secure by-Letters-Patent,

In a vending apparatus, the combination of a casing, an -=upright series of compartmcnls therein, a gravitatingguard movable in the casingtand provided with a rack, a spur-pinion mounted in the casing and internu-shcd' with the rack' of the gravitating guard, a lever having a depending portion positioned to enterthe-interdental spaces of the spur pinion and also having anarm adapted to he'moved, a shaftto which the spur pinion fixed, a-toothed disk loose on the shaft, means intermediate said toothed disk and the shaft for assuring rotation of. the disk when the shaft is turned in one direction by gravitation of the guard and for 'iermitting rotation of the shaft in the oppo-, site direction independently of the disk, and

a pendent and free-hanging lever pivoted at my hand in presence of two subscribing wita point above the toothed disk and in a1inemesses. ment with the center thereof and having at opposite sides of the vertical center of the EVERErlT SOMERS disk, portions adapted to alternately enter Nit-messes:

Amos W. SCOTT,

an interdental space of the disk.

HENRY A. Sco'rr.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set

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