[0001] This invention relates to a dispenser having completely mechanical operation, which
can be activated by the introduction of coins or tokens and which is adapted to dispense
either tickets for various purposes, for example, tickets for a lottery, or other
planar and stackable objects. The dispenser of the invention has an extremely simple
construction and an utmost operating reliability. The characteristics of the dispenser
and the advantages resulting therefrom will become apparent from the following description
of a preferred embodiment thereof, shown as a merely non-limiting example in the Figures
of the accompanying two sheets of drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the dispenser in the operative condition,
Figure 2 is an elevational front view of the dispenser, the front casing being omitted,
Figure 3 is a top plan view of the dispenser as from Figure 2,
Figure 4 is a perspective bottom plan view of the magazine for the tickets with the
associated device for the unitary ejection of said tickets,
Figure 5 is a plane-development of the drum-shaped cam arranged in the dispenser,
Figure 6 shows the magazine for the tickets, as seen from the sectional line VI-VI
of Figure 2.
[0002] With reference first to Figures 1, 2 and 3, it will be seen that the dispenser of
the invention comprises a composite parallelepipedal housing 1 made of any suitable
material and comprising, for example, a box 101 adapted for fixing to a supporting
wall or pillar, which is open at the front and top sides, and which can be closed
by a casing 201 hingedly connected to the lower portion of the element 101 and provided
at the top with a coded-key latch 2 to be removably secured to a suitably-shaped projection
3 of the portion 101.
[0003] The side walls of the portion 101 of the housing are provided, at their front sides,
with longitudinal wings 4-104, with holes, permitting to removably secure in the housing
1, the assembly comprising the token-machine G, the manually rotatable device A for
actuating the ticket ejector, and the magazine M with the stacked tickets and with
the ejector in its lower portion. The parts G and A are mounted, one above the other,
on a single frame 6 which is connected to the magazine M by means of a channel member
7, said assembly being provided with side wings 8-108 having holes to be secured by
means of screws to said wings 4-104 of said box 101. The token-machine G is of conventional
design. It checks the coins or tokens inserted into the dispenser through the slot
25 on the basis of their dimensions, weight and/or other characteristics, and it comprises
a mechanism which seizes any defective or false coins or tokens and which, by means
of a pushbutton P arranged on the front side of the casing 201, ejects them into a
lower discharge pocket B also provided in the casing 201. If the coins or tokens are
genuine, they will be conveyed into the device A comprising an assembly which is rotatable
on a horizontal shaft, rotatable manually by the user through a knob 9, which is provided
with a ratchet wheel and non-return pawl mechanism, indicated generally at 10, to
enable the rotation of said assembly only in one direction, for example, in the anticlockwise
direction indicated by the arrows 11, and which is provided with a further wheel having
a peripheral notch 12 for receiving a coin X. The device A can be rotated only if
a coin is present. Otherwise, the notch 12 interferes with a seizing means, not shown
because it is of conventional design. In case the rotation is enabled, the device
A is rotated 180° and it discharges the coin X into a case 13 arranged below said
device, and thereafter, during the remaining 180°, it causes the partial ejection
of a ticket from the magazine M (see below). Unlike the magazine M, which extends
substantially over the entire height of the box 101, the assembly G-A is such as to
leave a lower space available in said box for receiving said case 13, which is arranged
between a pair of guides 14 to achieve a proper positioning and to avoid any interference
with the adjacent moving components of the dispenser.
[0004] With reference also to Figures 4 and 6, it is to be noted that the magazine M is
of such a shape as to contain with a suitable clearance a sufficient number of tickets
H stacked on each other, and its side walls mount overhangingly a set of co-planar
small rollers 15 whereon the base of said stack is supported. A weight 16 rests on
the stack of tickets and is formed with equal and opposite side slots 17 which, when
the stack of tickets is exhausted and when said weight rests on said rollers, permit
the upright end portion 118 of a feeler 18 arranged between the structures M-6 to
move upwards, as guided by a support 19 fixed to the frame 6 and urged upwards by
a spring 20 resting against said support and against a ring member 21 secured to said
feeler. The upper end of the feeler is pivoted at 22 to the end of a flat lever 23
which is inter-fulcrumed at 24 to the frame 6 and is so shaped that, as a result of
the upward movement of the feeler, a portion thereof will be disposed in front of
the slot 25 which is provided in the upper region of the casing 201, to prevent the
insertion of a token or coin, as shown with dot-and-dash lines in Figure 2. Normally,
the lever 23 is in the position shown with full lines in Figure 2, whereby a coin
or token may be inserted into the slot 25.
[0005] In Figures 2, 4, 6, it will be seen that the magazine M is open anteriorly, as indicated
at 26, to facilitate the loading of new tickets thereinto and to facilitate the removal
of the weight 16 therefrom. The magazine M is open also in the rear-lower portion
thereof, as indicated at 27 in Figure 4, to permit the required movement of the device
for the cyclical ejection of tickets, which comprises a comb 28 whose teeth are formed
by small flat springs 128 with pointed free ends and suitably bent upwards. The body
portion 228 of the comb 28 is secured intermediately to a lever 29 perpendicular thereto
and connected through a cylindrical hinge 30 parallel to said body 228, to a support
31 which is secured at 32 to the lower portion of a pivotable lever 33, with possibility
of rotation about an axis which is normal to said hinge 30. A spring 34 is provided
on the spindle of said hinge 30 and urges said lever 29 and comb 28 upwards. As a
result of this urging action, as a result of the independent resilient behavior of
the springs 128 of the comb, and as a result of said double articulation 30-32, said
pointed ends of the comb engage intimately the lower face of the lowermost ticket
in the stack, even if said face is not perfectly planar and uniform. The lever 33
comprises, for example, a U-shaped channel arranged at the rear of the magazine M
and whose wings are pivoted to the sides of the upper portion of said magazine, as
indicated at 35-135 in Figure 3, so as to be pivotable about an axis which is normal
to that of the device A described above. Secured overhangingly to the intermediate
portion of the lever 33 is a cross member 36 ending in a cam-follower 37 which follows
the contour of a drum-shaped cam 38 which is keyed to the shaft of said device A.
The rotation of the cam 38 is converted into an oscillatory movement by the lever
33 and the latter actuates, with a rectilinear reciprocating movement, the comb 28
at the bottom of the stack of tickets contained in the magazine M. As shown in Figure
6 with broken lines, during the movement of the lever 33 away from the magazine, the
comb 28 moves backwards and the points of the teeth 128 are so oriented as to slide
on the lowermost ticket, without damaging it. During the reverse movement of said
parts, as shown in the same Figure 6 with full lines, the points of the teeth "bite"
into the lower face of the lowermost ticket, causing its partial ejection from a rectangular
slot 39 formed in the front wall of the casing 201 (see also Figure 1). In order to
effect the ejection of only one ticket at a time, the magazine M is provided at its
front side, in line with said slot, with a gauge formed by a stationary projection
40 engaging the lower face of the lowermost ticket, intermediately of the front edge
of said ticket and comprising a further small projection 41 engaging the front side
of the stack, and which is in line with the former projection and is spaced therefrom
by a distance which is slightly larger than the thickness of a ticket. The projections
40 and 41 are supported by cross members 42-43 secured to the front side of the magazine
M and the level of the projection 41 can be adjusted so as to match the thickness
of the tickets H with precision.
[0006] Figure 5 shows the contour of the cam 38. The camfollower 37 which follows the contour
of the cam, is shown here in its rest position. The contour comprises a first rectilinear
portion 138 whereby the cam is rotated 90° without causing any displacement of the
ejection device. This movement is necessary to make the notch 12 containing the coin
move away from the respective locking sensor and make the rotation irreversible. The
portion 138 is followed by an inclined portion 238 having an angular amplitude of
90° which causes the maximum backward displacement of the ticket-ejection device 28
and which causes also the transfer of the coin into the case 23. The portion 238 is
followed by two oppositely inclined portions 338 and 438 which complete the contour
of the cam over the remaining 180°. The portion 338 causes a slow forward displacement
of the ejection device, required to make the teeth 128 of the ejection comb "bite"
efficiently into the lowermost ticket. The portion 438 causes the completion of the
active stroke of the ejection device.
[0007] The dispenser of the invention, if installed outside of watched-over spots and, therefore,
if it is liable to attempts of tampering, may be provided with a small barrier which
is effective in front of the magazine M, at the slot 39, to close it when said dispensernis
in the rest condition. For example, the barrier could be arranged to have either a
guillotine or an oscillatory movement and could be operatively connected to the pivotable
lever 33 or to other inner moving portions of the apparatus of the invention, through
means which can be easily conceived and constructed by those skilled in the art.
[0008] It is to be understood that the description is referred to a preferred embodiment
of the invention, and that various changes and modifications, especially of constructional
nature, may be made thereto, without departing from the basic principle of the invention,
as disclosed above, as shown in the Figures of the accompanying two sheets of drawings
and as claimed hereinafter. In the following claims, the reference numerals in parentheses
are only intended to facilitate the understanding of said claims and, therefore, they
shall not be interpreted at all as limiting the scope of protection of said claims.
1. A mechanical dispenser, activatable by the introduction of tokens or coins and
adapted for the distribution of tickets or other flat and stackable objects, characterized
in that it comprises:
- a housing (1) formed by at least two portions (101-201) one of which (201) is removably
associated with the other by at least a safety lock (2), a case (13) where the coins
or tokens are collected and a magazine (M) where the tickets are stackable;
- the inner space of said housing being divided into two parts breadthwise, one part
being occupied by the magazine (M) with the tickets and ejection device (28), and
the other part being occupied at the top by a token-machine (G) and an underlying
manual rotation device (A) which may be activated only when permitted by said token-machine
and/or by introducing a coin or token thereinto, a case (13) for collecting the coins
or tokens being arranged under said device;
- the shaft of said manual rotation device (A) being connected through any suitable
drive means to a device (28) which can reciprocate at the bottom of the stack of tickets
and which is provided with suitably pointed and oriented teeth (128) which "bite"
into the lower face of the lowermost ticket to cause its horizontal displacement and
partial ejection from a suitable slot (39);
- a feeler (18) which detects the presence of tickets at the bottom of the magazine
(M), which is urged upwards by resilient means (20) and which is operatively connected
to a lever (23) arranged at said slot (25) for the introduction of a coin or token,
for the purpose of closing it automatically when the tickets in said magazine are
absent.
2. A dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that the rotation device (A)
is of the type which is activated by inserting a coin or token thereinto and which,
in this instance, can be rotated through 360° whereafter it returns to the lock position
after discharging by gravity, in the first 180° rotation, the coin or token into the
collecting case (13), a drum-shaped cam (38) being keyed on the shaft of this assembly
and the double-acting contour of said cam being detected by the end camfollower (37)
of a cross member (36) secured overhangingly to the intermediate portion of a substantially
vertical lever (33) which is fulcrumed at the top of the magazine (M) for the tickets
and which, at the bottom, supports the ejection device (28) which operatively reciprocates
at the bottom of the stack of tickets.
3. A dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the cam (38) which is keyed on the manual
rotation device (A) has such a contour as to cause no displacement of the camfollower
(37) during the first 90° rotation, while during the successive 90° rotation said
cam causes the maximum backward displacement of the ticket ejection device (28), the
successive 180° rotation causing an initially slow displacement of said ejection device
to ensure that the teeth (128) thereof will "bite" effectively into the lower face
of the ticket to be ejected.
4. A dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that the ejection device (28)
which operates at the bottom of the stack of tickets comprises a comb whose body (228)
is arranged parallel to the ticket outled slot (39) and whose teeth (128) are constituted
by flat springs the end portions of which are conveniently pointed and suitably directed
upwards, said comb being supported by a lever (29) which is connected to the pivotable
actuating lever (33) through the intermediary of a double hinge with orthogonal axes
(30-32) and of a spring (34) which urges said comb upwards, the arrangement being
such that the points of the ejector can perfectly engage the surface of the ticket
to be ejected, even if it is uneven and not uniformly planar.
5. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the points (128) of the ticket ejection
device are so oriented as to form an acute angle with the portion of the overlying
ticket, that is disposed between said points and the rear wall of the magazine (M),
whereby said points can "bite" effectively into the lower face of the ticket, only
during the active ejection stroke of the latter.
6. A dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that arranged at the front side
of the ticket magazine (M), close to the lowermost ticket in the stack and intermediately
thereof, is a gauge device comprising a preferably stationary lower projection (40)
whereon said ticket rests, and also comprising an overlying projection (41) spaced
from the former projection by a distance which is slightly larger than the thickness
of a ticket, so as to permit only one single ticket at a time to pass between said
projections, the level of said latter projection, preferably, being adjustable to
exactly match the thickness of the tickets to be dispensed.
7. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the magazine (M) designed to contain
the tickets to be dispensed is open at the front side to be loaded more easily, is
provided at the bottom with idle rollers (15) whereon the stack of tickets rests,
for the purpose of facilitating the cyclic ejection movement of the lowermost ticket,
and said magazine accommodates a ballast weight (16) bearing on the top of the stack
and provided with side opposite slots (17) to allow the passage of the end portion
(118) of the feeler (18) which causes the coin-insertion slot (25) to be closed when
the tickets in said magazine are exhausted.
8. A dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that between the ticket-outlet
slot (39) and the corresponding front portion of the ticket-containing magazine (M)
there may be provided a barrier which is usually closed to prevent any fraudulent
removal of said tickets, which is opened automatically during the return movement
of the ejection device (28) and which is closed again automatically as soon as the
dispensed ticket has been extracted from said slot, said barrier being operatively
connected to the actuating mechanisms of the ejection device (28).