US439478A - Automatic vending apparatus - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

0. L. GOPFIN. AUTOMATIC VENDING APPARATUS. No. 439,478. Patented Oct. 28, 1890.

I fl Q y 1 X I ljmmlll in yenzar- V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES L. COFFIN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

AUTOMATIC VENDING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,478, dated. October 28, 1890.

Application filed March 22, 1890. Serial No. 344,973. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES L. COFFIN, of Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented a new and use ful Improvement in Automatic Vending Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in an improvement in automatic vending apparatus, hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Figure 1 is a side elevation; and Fig. 2 is a section on line as at, Fig. 1.

A represents a portion of the box of the vending apparatus, and B represents a coinchute, one end of which connects with a slot through the box to permit the introduction of a coin into the chute. The chute B is sufficiently inclined to cause a disk placed therein to roll along down the chute.

C and D represent, respectively, two chutes diverging from the chute B, the chute D leading to that part of the mechanism to which it is desired to carry a proper coin for the purpose of enabling the apparatus to be operated while the chutes C and B lead to a waste-receptacle.

G and F represent two magnets, which may be either electro-magnets, as shown in the drawings, being connected by the conductors I H with the poles of a battery J, or they may be permanent magnets. These magnets vary in power, the weaker magnet G being placed in close proximity to the diverging chute O, and the stronger magnet F being placed in proximity to the chute D.

The difliculty experienced with automatic vending-machines is that a disk of the same size and weight, or approximately so, as the coin for which the machine is intended will operate the machine just as well as the proper coin. My invention is intended to obviate this diificult-y in the case of vending-machines intended for nickel coins, and its operation is as follows: If an iron disk be inserted into the coin-chute B, it rolls down the chute until it comes within the field of force of magnet G, by which it is deflected, so that it leaves the chute B and falls into the chute C, where it is conducted to a waste-receptacle. If a disk of diamagnetic metalsuch as brass or copperof the proper size is introduced, it passes down the chute B unaffected by either of the magnets, and is thrown into a wastereceptacle. If a disk of nickel (which is a magnetic metal,but less so thaniron) be introduced into chute B, it will roll down said chute without being affected by the magnet G, which is not sufficiently powerful to attract nickel until it comes within the field of force of the stronger magnet F, by which it is deflected and passes down chute D to the operating mechanism of the machine.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In combination with a coin-chute and two diverging chutes therein, two magnets of different degrees of strength, substantially as shown and described.

CHARLES L. COFFIN.

Witnesses:

CYRUS E. LoTHRoP, GERTEUDE H. ANDERSON.

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