US2260992A - Coin operated switch - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 28, 194i. E. G. HENRY GOIN OPERATED SWITCH Filed Nov.v l, 1940 Jar."

Patented Oct. 28, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COIN OPERATED SVTCIA Earle G. Henry, Chicago, Ill., assgnor to Buckley Music` System, Inc., a corporation of Illinois l 1-0 Claims.

There are many' coin-controlledsystems in which the depositing of a coin or token causes a switch to bel closed to initiate the operation of the system. Such switches are" necessarily" small; when closed, they shouldr offer little resista-nce' to the passage of current; the areas in which contacts are made between the switch elements must be kept clean; they should be so sensitive that the falling coin or token will operate them with certainty, providing the necessary pressure between the contact faces and insuring the rubbing action that serves to keep such faces clean; they should be rugged in the sense that after an adjustment has once been made, it will beA preserved indenitely; and it should be a simple and easy matter' to adjust. them. The object of the present invention is to produce an inexpensive switchV which shall' possess, among others, all of the above-mentioned desirable characteristics and advantages.

In carrying out my invention, the parts that must carry the electric current are composed of materials that are good conductors of electricity, while the spring action is obtained from springs composed of materials best suited for that purpose. Thereby, as. long as a spring can function as such, there need be no upsetting, of the ad'- justment of the actualv switch elements. due to deterioration in the spring.

Some coin operated switches are open' to the objection that a jarring of the box in which they are mounted frequently results in the closing of a switch even though no coin has been deposited. A further object of the present invention is to produce a light, sensitive coin-operated switch that cannot be closed by simply jarring its support.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken. in connection with the accompanying. drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective View showing the discharge end of a coin chute and one of my improved switches mounted in operative relation thereto; Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figl, the coiled spring being omitted; and Fig. 3 is a section, on somewhat larger scale, on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, I represents asmall Slab of tough insulating material having near the lower end" thereof two parallel contact pieces 2v and 3y projecting forwardly therefrom; these contact piecesbeing in the form of pins* spaced apart a short' distance in the lateral direction and one being positioned somewhat higher up on' the support than is` the other. TheseY pins project rearwardly through the support', their rear ends constituting terminalsl to which are connected conductors 4 forming part of the circuit to be closed by thel switch.

Cooperatingl with the stationaryl contacts'is a swtch lever which, in its'simplest form, may consistV of a thin flat bar of metalY that is a good conductor bent into an L shapev so asJ tov provide a long* arm 5ith`at extends more or less horizontally underneath both ofthe pins 2v and 3', together with a short, upwardly-extending arm 6 that risesk past' that side of the pin 2 which' is most remote from the pin 3'. Normally' the pin 2 rests in the angle between the arms 5` and lA and serves asy aL fulcrum on which the lever may rock. The' lever is'` also provided: with what may be termed' an operating element' orhandle, which may beI a part of the samel bar that constitutes the lever proper; Thus, in the arrangement shown, the bar is made long, enough so that the material thatv is left after forming the short arm 6 of the lever is bent laterally, in the opposite direction from and parallel to the arm 5, asindicated at 1.

InA use; the switch is intended tobe mounted upon or beside" a coin` chute such' as is conventionally illustrated at 8, with` the part l lying directly below the chute so as toN be in the path of a coin dropping downfrom the chute. The lower end' of the chute may therefore serve as a stop to limit the upward movement of the member 1 of the switch; The movable switch member is held4 in its idle position, drawn up against the pin 2 so that the latter is seated in theV angle between the arms 6 and I and with the free end ofthe operating armv T engaged with the lower endo'f the coin chutegby a light coiled tension spring 9. One end of this spring is hookedl through a holeor holes at the juncture of the arrrr 6' with the'operating element '1, while the other end is secured to a screw Ill projecting forwardly from the supporting slab I. The screw I0; is so placed that the spring 9 extends upwardly/and laterally across the pins 2v and 3 and Well beyond'the latter, so that the pull. of the spring isk exerted in a diagonal direction serving to draw the lever tightly against the pin 2` and to rock the lever, whenever it is free to do so, into the positionshown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 3.

The arm 5 has on the upper side a small at button II of substantial diameter for making contact with the pin 3. By reason of the fact that the pin is placed higher up on the support than is the pin 2, the button I lies well below the pin 3 when the parts are in their normal positions. In other words, the switch is normally open. However, when a coin descends through the chute and strikes the operating arm 'I near its free end, the w-eight thereof forces this end of the arm down and causes the switch lever to rock in the counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3, upon the pin 2. As the operating member of the switch moves down under the weight of the coin, such as indicated in dotted lines at A in Fig. 3, the button II is swung up until it engages with the under side of the pin 3. This contact takes place before the coin has cleared the lower end of the coin chute sufficiently to permit it to roll off the switch handle or operating member. f

Therefore, the handle end of the lever must travel down still farther before it can become free of the coin. Such further downward movement takes place as a rocking movement on the pin 3 as a fulcrum, whereas the preceding portion of the downward movement consisted of a rocking movement upon the pin 2 as a fulcrum. The spring 9 at all times holds the upright arm B of the switch lever against the pin 2 so that, while the lever is rocking on the pin 3, the switch arm 6 is sliding downward in contact with the pin 2; this sliding movement being accompanied by a rubbing action that keeps the cooperating contact surfaces on the pin 2 and switch arm 6 bright and clean. The dotted line position of the switch lever in Fig. 3 illustrates it as having begun its secondary rocking movement, the arm 5 now standing clear of the pin 2 which is engaged only by the arm 6. A still further downward movement results in a bodily sliding movement of the button I I across the under side of the pin 3, so that the cooperating contact faces on these two elements are caused to rub against each other and are thus kept clean. It will be seen that as soon as the coin rolls off the end of the switch-operating arm, the spring returns the lever to the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 3, quickly breaking the circuit. It will further be seen that the switch lever at all times engages the pin 2, so that the interruption of the circuit occurs between the pin 3 and the lever. Such arcing as occurs upon opening the circuit is between the pin 3 and the button II, so that the lever itself is not caused to deteriorate because of arcing. The spring itself neither carries current nor is affected by arcing upon the opening of the switch. Therefore, a properly made spring lasts indenitely; and it can be properly made because the material therefor is chosen for its good qualities as a spring material and not for its conducting quantities or any other purpose. Because of these things the calibation of the spring is not apt to change over a considerable period of time, so that no further attention need be paid to it after it has initially been properly adjusted. In any event, should adjustment be necessary later, this can conveniently be accomplished.

I prefer to provide also a stop to limit the downward movement of the lever. In the arrangement shown, there is a stationary pin projecting forwardly from the supporting member I below the base end of the operating arm T. Before the lever can be swung down far enough to cause any damage or unnecessarily stress any of the parts, the arm 'I strikes the pin I2 and prevents further downward movement. I also utilize the stop pin I2 to prevent the switch lever from sliding off the pin 2 lengthwise of the latter. This is accomplished by providing the pin I2 with a thin at head I4 of sufficient diameter to overlap the switch lever at the juncture of the arms 5 and 6 of the latter. The distance from the inner face of the head I4 and the front face of the supporting slab I is a little greater than the Width of the bar material from which the switch lever is made, thereby providing sufficient clearance to avoid a binding action on the lever during the operation thereof.

The operating arm 1 of the switch is provided at its free end with a pad I5 of soft rubber, or other suitable material that is a non-conductor of electricity, upon which the coin may drop, thereby preventing grounding of the switch lever through the coin and coin chute,

In order to prevent the closing of the switch through a jarring action, which might be occasioned by striking the coin box if fastened to a wall or counter, or by shaking it or slamming it down on the counter if it be unfastened, I connect; the spring to the switch lever device at about the center of gravity of the latter. Then, if any movement of the switch lever is brought about by a jarring action, the arms 5 and I will travel through equal distances, the button Il receding from the pin 3 instead of approaching it to complete the circuit. When the arm 5 is short, it may be provided with a little counter-weight I6 to offset the greater weight of the longer or heavier arm 1.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A switch comprising a stationary Contact pin and a stationary contact piece spaced apart from the pin, a switch lever extending past one side of the pin and toward said contact piece for engagement with the latter, said lever having a bearing seat for the pin to enable it to have rocking and sliding movements in a single plane on said pin, and a light spring tending yieldingly to hold the lever against the pin and out of engagement with said contact piece.

2. A switch comprising a stationary contact pin and a stationary contact piece spaced apart from the pin, a switch lever extending past one side of the pin and toward said Contact piece for engagement with the latter, said lever having a bearing seat for the pin to enable it to have rocking and sliding movements in a single plane on said pin, and a light spring tending yieldingly to hold the lever against the pin and out of engagement with said contact piece, said bearing seat lying at a substantial distance from each end of the lever to divide it into two arms one of which serves to bridge the gap between the pin and the contact piece while the other is adapted to serve as a switch handle.

3. A switch comprising a stationary horizontal contact pin and a stationary contact piece spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, a switch lever extending at one end underneath said pin and toward the contact piece for engagement with the latter, the lever having thereon a bearing seat for the pin to enable it t0 slide up and down on and rock upon the pin, a light tension spring tending constantly to hold the lever against the pin and in such angular position as to be out of engagement with said contact piece, and stops for engagement with the other end of the lever to limit the rocking movements thereof.

4. A switch comprising a stationary horizontal contact pin and a stationary contact piece spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, an L-shaped switch lever having one arm extending underneath said pin and toward the contact piece for engagement with the latter and the other arm extending upwardly past the pin on the side farthest away from the said contact piece, a light tension spring tending constantly to hold the lever with the pin seated in the angle thereof and in such angular position as to be out of engagement with said contact piece, and an operating element extending laterally from the upper end of the upright arm of the lever in the opposite direction from the other arm.

5. A switch comprising a stationary horizontal contact pin and a stationary contact piece spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, an L-shaped switch lever having one arm extending underneath said pin and toward the contact piece for engagement with the latter, and the other arm extending upwardly past the pin on the side farthest away from the said conpiece, an operating element extending laterally from the upper end of the upright arm of the lever in the opposite direction from the other arm, and stops to limit the rocking movements of the lever.

6. A switch comprising a stationary contact pin and a stationary contact piece spaced apart from the pin, a switch lever extending past one side of the pin and toward said contact piece for engagement with the latter, said lever having a bearing seat for the pin at a point remote from the ends thereof to enable it to have rocking and sliding movements in a single plane on said pin, and a light spring connected to the lever at the center of gravity thereof and tending yieldingly to hold the lever against the pin and out of engagement with said contact piece.

7. A switch comprising a stationary contact pin and a stationary contact piece spaced apart from the pin, a switch lever extending past one side of the pin and toward said contact piece for engagement with the latter, said lever having a bearing seat for the pin to enable it to have rocking and sliding movements in a single plane on said pin and also on the contact piece, and a light spring tending yieldingly to hold the lever against the pin and out of engagement with said contact piece.

8. A switch comprising a stationary horizontal contact pin and a stationary contact piece spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, a switch lever extending at one end underneath said pin and toward the contact piece for engagement with the latter, the lever having at a point remote from both ends thereof a bearing seat for the pin to enable it to slide up and down on and rock upon the pin, a light tension spring connected to the lever at the center of gravity of the latter and tending constantly to hold it against the pin and in such angular position as to be out of engagement with said contact piece, and stops for engagement with the other end of the lever to limit the rocking movements thereof.

9. A switch comprising a stationary horizontal contact pin and a stationary contact piece spaced apart from the pin, a switch lever extending under the pin and toward said contact piece for engagement with the latter, said lever having be tween the ends thereof a bearing seat for the pin to enable it to have rocking and sliding movements in a single plane on saidpin and also on the Contact piece, and a light spring connected to the lever at the center of gravity thereof and tending yieldingly to hold the lever against the pin and out of engagement with said contact piece, said bearing seat lying at about the center of gravity of the lever to divi-de it into two arms one of which serves to bridge the gap between the pin in the contact piece while the other is adapted to be forced down by a coin or token placed thereon and thus close the switch.

l0. A switch comprising a horizontal stationary contact pin and a stationary contact piece spaced apart from the pin, a switch lever extending under the pin and toward said contact piece for engagement with the latter, said lever having a bearing seat for the pin to enable it to have rocking and sliding movements in a single plane on said pin and also on said contact piece, said bearing seat lying at a substantial distance from each end of the lever to divide it into two arms one of which serves to bridge the gap between the pin in the contact piece while the other is adapted to serve as a switch handle; a light coiled spring exerting on the lever, at a point on the lever that is on the opposite side of the said seat from that on which the contact piece is located, a pull that is upward and laterally toward said contact piece; and a stop to arrest the upward movement of the handle when it is about horizontal.

EARLE G. HENRY.

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