US892322A - Coin-collector. - Google Patents

Description

No. 892,322. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908.

B. H. SMYTHF- COIN COLLECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 0 T.20, 1905.

O 5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E H 'SMYTHE COIN COLLECTOR. APELIOATION TILED 0CT.20,1905.

No. 892,322. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908. B.'H. SMYTHE.

COIN COLLECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.20, 1905.

5 8HEETSSHBET 3.

No. 892,322. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908. E. H. SMYTHE. COIN COLLECTOR. AYPLIGATION NLRB 001. 20. 1905.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

JUNE 30, 1908 PATENTED B. H. SMYTHB,

0011 COLLECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 00120, 1005.

5 HBETSSHEET 5.

entr e (EFFIKQE.

EDWIN H. SMYTHE, OF OHIO-\GO, ILLINOIS, A SSTGNOR TO ll'lfiSTllltN ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A OORPORATIOX OF ILLINOIS COIN-COLLECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 30, 1908.

Application filed October 20, 1905. Serial No. 283,621.

To all whom it may coin-c772:

Be it known that I, EDWIX ll. Sur'rnn, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of (ooh and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and. useful Improvement in Coin-Collectors, oi which the following a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to a coin collector for subscribers stations oi' telephone exchanges. and its object is toprovide im proved mechanism for ell'cct ing the proper disposition of a deposited coin under all the vaeving conditions which arise in practice The coin collector is designed particularly for use in connection with party lines, and is intended especially to provide against the loss ot' a coin deposited to call the central ollice when the line is alread in use by an other subscriber.

The invention is also intended to provide for the return of the coin in case the line is out of order or the operator does not rcspend, and also to provide for automatically directing the coin into. a permanent cash box without any special act on the part of the operator when. a connection which has been successfully completed is taken down.

The coin collector is also constructed in such a manner as to prevent the coin from being fraudulently returned The. invention will be described in detail by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a vertical sectional view showing the coin chute and the various stops: Fig. 2 is a view oi the mechanism ol' the box in front elevation, the box being shown in section; Fig; I; is a side view oi the mechanism ot' the toll box: l igi -t is a plan view ot the mechanism. the box being shown in section; Fig. :7 is a sectional plan view on line 5 5 of Fig. 2%: and l ig. (t is a diagram illustrating the electric. circuits of a tclephone line with which the coin collector of my invention is associated.

The same letters ol' rcl'erencc designate the same parts throughout the drawings.

The coin collector is provided with a coin 5O chute having a discharge outlet (1 into the cash boxf, and a ret'und passage u leading to a refund tray 1.1" outside the box. The receiving portion 1 of the coin chute leads truth the top of the box diagonally downward toward the rear, where it turns again at o and continues in the )assage a leading dit-igonally downward and .t'orward to the return passage A by-pass (1-"lea dsfrom the receiving chute (1 directly into the return passage a; but the entrance to this by-pass is normally closed by a guide or sto l) which forms a movable portion of the 001' of the chute (1. Similarly a pocket or temporary coin-receiver c o )en's oil the continuation (1' of the coin chute, the entrance to this pocket being normally blocked by a movable guide or stop (I. When the guide (I is removed, a coin passing through the chutewill drop into the pocket 0, where it will be held by a removable sto e forming the lloor of said pocket. From the pocket 6 two exits are provided, one into the return passage (1 and the other into a )ass'age a leading to the permanent cash box When the stop is is witlulrawm a coin in the pocket c will ordinarily be discharged through the passage a into the cash box; but a guide or sto g is provided which may be interposed at the entrance of the passage a to divert the released coin into the return chute a An electenl contact is arranged to be closed by the coin soon after it enters the receiving chute. A coin iassing down the chute will be retarded at t to turn a; and a eontact-iwtuating linger 71. is located on the inner side of the chute at said turn. The engagement of the coin with said linger will therefore be prolonged, so that the mechanism controlled by said linger will be given time to act before the coin moves any appreciable distance beyond the'turn. The tinger It is carried by a lever It, which is arranged to operate contact springs /i. As the coin engages said linger I! the lever it will be rocked upon its pivot to move the contacts 11 into engagement-with each other. This contact It controls a circuit 7 through one winding A" of a magnet k which operates the three stops 1) (l and e. The stops 1) and (l are normally interposed in the chute, but are withdrawn when the magnet 7c is excited; while the stop 6 is normally withdrawn from the chute, but is interposed therein win said magnet /t' is excited. The fourth stop 9' is operated by a magnet Z, be-

' With will pass first ing normally Withdrawn adapted to be interposed therein when the magnet lis excited.

.T he particular arrangement of mechanism by which the magnets is and Z operate the stops b d e g, in the preferred form of my device, is shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5, but is only indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 6. reference to Fig. 6, it will be noted that two views of the coin chute are shown, With dotted lines connecting the stops shown in the side view, with the stops shown in the edge view.'

ihe magnet 7c is provided with an armature k which in its movement operates certain relay contacts, in addition to moving the stops. The stops 1; and d are rigidly mounted upon the armature 15 so as to project into the coin chute when the armature is unattracted. A stop e is formed at one end of a centrally ivoted rocking lever e, the opposite end 0 which is adapted to be moved by a projection carried by the armature P, so that as said armature is attracted the lever 6 will be rocked about its pivot to interposethe stop 6 in the path of tne coin. The stop gis formed at one end of a centrally pivoted rocking lever g", the opposite end 9 of which is adapted to be engaged by a projection carried upon the armature Z of magnet I, so that as said armature is attracted the lever g will be rocked about its pivot and the stop g interposed in the coin chute at the mouth of the passage 09..

Suitable electric circuits are provided for operating the magnets 7c and Z at the proper times, as shown in Fig. '6; but these circuits form the subject matter of a separate patent No. 846628 March 12, 1907. it will be seen, however, that a coin inserted in the chute a over the normally interposed stop I), and then Will strike the finger 72, hich operates the contact h controlling the magnet 7a.. if the circuits are tin orderrso that the magnet is excited upon the closure of contact 72., the stops 3) and 03 will instantly be Withdrawn, and the stop c inserted, so that the coin as it continues in its passage will dropinto the pocket :2 where it will be held resting upon the stop 6. The subseguent disposition of the coin when released 0111 the pocket 0 by the Withdrawal of stop e will depend upon Whether the stop g has been inserted in the coin chute. Ordinarily the coin when released from the pocket cwill drop into the ease. "e a, and so into the cash box; but it w en t estop e is withdrawn,

the sto -g isalso interposed, the coin, instead o falling into the passage a will be deflected into the return c.1ute a The device is intended particularly for use Gin connection with party lines, in which case the magnet is nn'il be connected, to receive current when the subscriber takes his teiefroin the chute, but

relay 0; and a spe phone from the hoolr, if a connection has already been established at the central office of the telephone line, or it a subscriber at some other station of the line has already taken his telephone from the hook to call. if a coin is deposited in the receiving chute a, when the line is already busy, the stop 5 will thus be vn'thdrawn from the entrance to the hy-pass if, so that the coin, instead of continuing on through the passage (1 will be shunted through the by-pass into the return passage a and so refunded to the depositor.

In the telephone system shown in Fig. 6, the subscribers line is shown extending to a central ohice switchboard, where one of the springjacks for the line is illustrated, together With a portion of the operators connecting apparatus. The electrical symbols used in the diagram are well understood by those skilled in the art, and'the circuits may be easily traced. It is understood, of course, that several subscribers stations may be connected upon the line between the conductors 8, 9, thereof in the same manner as the single subscribers station which is shown.

A key m is provided at each station for operation by the subscriber to regain possession of the coin under certain circumstances. At the central ofiice the usual line circuit is extended through the contacts of a slow-acting cial key is provided in the operators cord circuit for throwing current t6 the line tan permit the-depositor to recover the coin.

In the operation of the telephone'system shown, the subscriber first takes his telephone from the hook, and then deposits a com in the chute a. If the line is busy, either because a connection has been established at the central office, or because a subscriber at some other station of the line has taken his telephone from the hook to call, the magnet I: will be excited and stop 1) Withdrawn, so that the coin will fall into the return chute ('1 and be refunded.

if the lineis out of order in such a way as to deprive it of his normal. current supply,

the circuit 7 which is closed by the coin in a falling past the finger k does not energize said magnet 7c, and in consequence the second step d remains in the chute and the coin is diverted into the refund tray.

if the n rrnal current is on the line, but for some r ason, such as the line lamp being burned out, the operator does not respond, the depositor can regain the special key m associated Withthe coin collector, which causes the energization of magnet Z and the deener ization of magnet Tc, with the result that te coin is released from the pocket c and diverted into the refund tray.

if the line is order and the operator rehis coin by pressing ceases spends, the act of inserting the plug reverses the current on the line, so-that current is applied to the side which was previously g ounded. The coin is now under the sol c control of the operator, for current S11)- plicd to the magnet 1.7, which holds the coin in its temporary receptacle through a circuit 10 Which does not include the special key m. Said key therefore is incapaole oi dcenergizing the magnet ii to release the coin, after the operator plugs in, unless the key p is also actuated. The coin therefore remains in the temporary receptacle 0 under the control of the operator, and may be deposited in the cash box upon the mere act of pulling out the plug from the springjack at the central ollicc at the conclusion of the connection. .The result of withdrawing the plug is that the current applied through the cord circuit is withdrawm from the line, and owing to the delay of the slow-acting relay 0 in again closing the connection of the cen tral battery with the. line, there is a brief in terval when no current flows. During this interval theunagnct 70 allows its armature to fall back, withdrawing the sto c antlallorw ing the coin to fall through t re iassage a into the cashbox. If the subscriber called for cannot be obtained, or if for any other rcason the deposited coin is to bcreturn'ed to the railing subscriber, this may be accomplished by the operator pressing her special key p, while the subscriber at the same time (by (.irection of the o orator) presses his key in. The result of this that current is cut oll from the line conductor 9, and a iplied to the line conductor 8. The magnetdis thereby excited, whilethe magnet Jr is dccnergized, with the result that stop (,2 is withdrawn to release the coin, and stop 9 is inscrted to dellcct the coin into the rel'und tray.

it will be observed that the same agency (the magnet Ir) which responds to current on the line, due to its busy condition, to return the coin, responds to current in the circuit controlled by contact 7: to retain the coin. it will further be noted that it the magnet 7r does not respond until when the coin is deposited, the coin will be returned; but if the magnet does respond to retain the coin, the subsequent return. to normal condition, instead of returning the coin, will cause it to be deposited in the cash box.

I claim:

1. In a coin collector, the coml'iination with the coin chute having 'an abrupt turn therein, ot a coin-distributing mechanism located below said turn, a contai-l-actuating linger adapted to be engaged by a passing coin, and means controlled by said linger for operating said coin distrilniting n'ieclmnism, said linger being located at the turn ol the chute, whereby the engagement ol the coin 61 ram with said finger-is prolonged as the coin is retarded at the turn, and time is allowed for tho distributing mechanism to act before the coin reaches it.

2. in a coin collector for telephone lines, the combination with thccoin chute l-iaving an abrupt turn, of a controlling linger adapted to be actuated by the coin in its passage, said linger being located at the inner side of the turn of the chute, whereby the engagement oi the coin with said linger is prolonged, coin distributing mechanism located below said turn, and .nieans controlled by said. linger tor operating said coin distributing mechanism.

35. in a coin colleclor "for tclepl'ione lines, the combination with a coin chute having a normally-blocl eil refund passage (L5 near the entrance thereol', an elccironnignet, means actuated in the response of said clcctroinagnot adapted to arrest a coin in the chute beyo'nd the entrance to said rel'und passage, and means also set in the response of said elcctromagnet adapted to divert into said relund passage coins in the chute above said passage.

l. in a coincollector, the combination with a box, oi a coin chute having a branch 1: discharging within the box, and a'rc'lund passage (t discharging outside the box, a coinguide (I controlling the entrance tosaid branch c, a step e for retaining a coin in said branch, an clcctromagnet arranged in its rcsponsc to actuate guide d and stop a to divert a deposited coin into said branch and retain said coin therein; whereby a deposited coin auloimitically refunded if the electro magnet fails to respond, but it the tltt'llO- magnet responds the coin is retained and is subsequently discharged within the box by the more return of the eleetromagnet to normal condition; a second clectrornagnot and means controlled thereby .ior diverting the discharged coin into the refund passage.

5. In a coin collector for telephone lines, the coinbimition with a coin chute having a refund passage it, of an clectroinagnet, means actuated in the response oi said elec tromagnet for diverting coins near the entrance of said chute into said rclund passage, a stop also actuated in the rcspons-ie of said elcctroniagnct adapted to arrest a coin in the chute beyond the mouth of said refund passage, means controlled by a coin in the chute between said refund passage and said stop, for causing the response oi said electromagnct, andindependent means for causing the response of said elcctromagnet; whereby a deposittul'coin will be oil her rcl'undcd or reained according as the clcctron'iagnel is excited before or alter the deposit of said coin.

6. In a coin collector, the combination with the box, of a coin chute haying a discharge oullet it within the box, of a return chute a guide 1) near the entrance to the A; eeeeee turn chute, and an electroma net Z for operinto the return chute, a Contact finger h sting said last-mentioned guiue; all substanadeptecl to be actuated by the coin below said ti eliy as set forth. guide I), a. stope adapted to retain a coin in the 1n itness WhGEGOf I hereunto subscribe chute below said. Contact, a guide (1 adapted m name this 27th day of September A. D. 15

to divert a coin into the return chute before 1905. it reaches, said stop, an electromagnet k ar- EDWIN H. SMYTHE. ranged to operate said guides b and d and said Witnesses: step e, a guide g in the chute belbw said stop Eevxxe MACDONALD, w e contmlling the passageof a 06in into the re- SYLVLA Buss.

coin chute'controlling the passage of a coin

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