US2308723A - Sales promotion apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 19, 1943. R. G. SIEVERS 293959723 SALES PROMOTION APPARATUS Filed June 17, l1940 428 .I Ef Waaww" Patented Jan. 19, 1943 UNITED STATES y PATENT GFFI 2,308,723 sALEs PROMOTION APPARATUS Rolla G. Sievers, Valparaiso, Ind.

Application June 17, 1940, Serial No. 341,019

1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in a sales promotion system and apparatus therefor and it more especially consists Of the features pointed out in the annexed claim.

The purpose of my invention is to provide cooperating apparatus that will promote the sale of merchandise; that will rapidly stimulate the movement of standard or special goods; that will encourage the desire to buy; that at all times will give an .equivalent for every coin that is inserted in a cooperating vending machine; that for each coin inserted a ticket or coupon is delivered which on its face indicates its redemption Value exchangeable for certain indicated goods of the merchant of the same retail value or cash as the coin which was inserted; that will provide a single prearranged coupon in a selected group that will for the same denomination of the coin inserted entitle the holder to exchange it for the merchants goods having a retail value at least twice that of the coin inserted into the vending apparatus; that will provide for the recurrence of a special coupon in regular or irregular sequence as desired; and that also will adapt my system to the disposal of goods from conventional vending machines and with each article delivered will also supply a coupon redeemable for the same value as the coin which was inserted in the machine.. All coupons will bear a local advertisement and that of any sponsoring concern whose participation, independently of the merchants prots, through the sale of his goods, is of exceptional advertising value.

The mechanism is susceptible of almost unlimited changes. In one form it includes preprinted tickets, regular ones with a special one separating groups of regulars, or any desired form of printing mechanism which, after the recurrence of regular imprints on the next operation of the machine, will print the next coupon as a special and will repeat the sequence over and over. The web or tape on which the tickets are printed may come in the shape of a roll or they may be stacked in accordion fashion. In any event severing mechanism is provided to cut the tape into individual coupons for each coin inserted.

With these and other ends in View I illustrate in the accompanying drawing such an instance of adaptation as will disclose the broad idea of the invention. I do not, however, intend to limit myself to the specific details shown thereon and described herein.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective of the @Operating parts showing the unlocking, feeding, impressing, and severing features of my system.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation showing the relation of the tape and the knife for cutting the tape into coupon lengths.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the punch or impressing feature.

Fig. 4 is an elevation showing the locking and unlocking features.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the means for operating the impressor.

In the practice of my invention I may use whatever equivalents of mechanism or alternatives of operation that the peculiarities of varying conditions may demand without departing from the broad spirit of the invention.

rJ'Che simplest form of my apparatus includes the following structure with which a preprinted coupon web or strip I is used. It includes a lower disk 3 and an upper disk 2. 'I'he two disks are interconnected by gears 4. The web passes through between the disks. The upper one does the feeding and if desired itrmay have a knurled or serrated face to prevent slipping of the web. The lower disk may be adjusted vertically to secure any desired tension on the web (not shown).

The upper or feed disk has a shaft 5 on which there is mounted a ratchet 6. This shaft also has mounted thereon a Worm 'I that meshes with a worm gear 8 which controls the impressing or punching operation. At the end ofthe shaft there is a rock arm 9, movably loosely on the shaft, which carries a pawl or dog III that engages the ratchet 6. The rock arm is connected by a link II pivoted to it between the shaft and the pawl. It is connected to an extension I2 of the hand lever I3 which is pivoted on a spindle I4 for movement between a rear stop I5 and a forward stop II. A coil spring II is on this spindle. One end of it is secured to a stationary bearing I8 and the other end to the operating handle. The tension of this spring returns the handle from its extreme forward to its extreme rearward position. The handle has a short crank extension I9 that is connected by a link 20 to a bell crank 2| suitably pivoted to which another link 22 is attached. This link operates the severing knife 23 which is pivoted beneath the web. It cooperates with a front edge of a supporting plate 24 positioned above the web. The action of the pivoted knife is similar to the action of an ordinary pair of shears.

The knife is timed for action just at the end the hand lever I3.

lated portion 44 against which the coin 3 6 rests,

of the feeding period. The severed ticket or coupon 25 may drop into any kind of a receptacle.A

The shaft on which the feed wheel, the worm and ratchet are attached positions the worm 'I over a worm gear 8 with which it meshes in any desired ratio so that the gear may make one revolution for each ten revolutions of the worm or in any other ratio. There is a supporting spindle 26 for the gear. At its outer end there is a trip arm 21 which actuates a punch link 28 that is fulcrumed about mid-way of its length. 'Ihe other end of this arm is connected by a link 29 to a vertically moving punch or impressorSU. This is normally held in its lowered 'or inactive position by a spring 3i in cooperation with a limiting stop 32. The impressor 3! has vertical movement in a downward projection of a' guide plate 33 on the underside of the web. A cooperating plate 34 is placed directly above the Web so that the web is supported while the impression is being made.

any desired form of conventional coin release may be used to unlock the operating lever I3 Which on its return stroke becomes automatically locked until another coin is inserted. The severing and impressing means may be motor operated (not shown) under the control of an operating switch.

My device is not complicated. There are not many basically necessary cooperating parts. The web or tape may be stored in any desired manner. i It is passed through between the two disks in such relation that the beginning or front end of a preprinted coupon would be under the center of the feed wheel from Which point it will travel forward under the movement o f the wheel and the hand lever i3 until the arc of movement has been Completed. This may approximate 60 degrees more o-r less. It will represent praetically 1/6 of the circumference of the feed disk which means that the ratchet will have approximately six teeth in its circumference.

The circumferential travel of the disk 2 and the inter-related travel. of the disk 3 to the prearranged spacing of the imprint areas on the tape I may be adjusted in order to adapt the two speeds to each other, especially in relation to the starting point of the feed wheel 2 to the beginning of an imprinted area on the tape. conventional form of clamping screw adjustment, between the disk 2 and the toothed gear 4, may be employed (not shown). Ordinarily such'adjustment may not be needed as the starting point of the feed wheel 2 in relation to the beginning of an imprinted area may be set in coordination with the position of the tape between the wheels 2 and 3 and to the position of the severing knife 23.

`The, operation of my device simply involves the deposit of a coin 36 through a chute 31 which releases the hand lever i3. The coinv release comprises a pivoted hook-ended lever 38 pivoted at 39. It has an upstanding projection 45 that is beveled at its upper end at 4l) to engage the coin 36 and to prevent it falling until the magnet 4l in circuit #i2y draws the bevel 40 andthe projection 45 toward it and releases the hook-ended lever S8 from the pin 43 thus freeing The circuit 42 has an insu- Any i hand lever is returned to its upward limit. A11

the operating `parts may be supported on any kind of frame assembled in any desired cabinet. The coupons may be preprinted as desired. 'I'hey may carry local or general advertising.

Regardless of the value of the coin to which the machine is adjusted for a specific user or merchant, every regular coupon that is delivered by the machine entitles the holder to haveV it redeemed for the Same value as the coin that was inserted. in eQOdS of the local merchant. or in cash. Every special Coupon, may similarly be redeemable for a value at least double that of the regular coupons in merchandise but not in cash. The coupons aside from advertising matter may have printed thereon a notice approximatingthe following:

This coupon has a redemption value in cash or goods, only at the store advertised hereon, of

the same value as the coin which was inserted. Y

Notice. Any coupon having an identification Si or otherwise on it, entitles the holder to exchange it, only at the store advertising hereon, for goods at least to double the value of the coin inserted!) What I claim is: f

In a sales promotion apparatus of the class described adapted to feed a tape or web having lengthwise preprinted duplicate ticket indicia. thereon which includes, a pair of Vfeed Wheels adapted to engage the tape therebetween, interconnected gears between the wheels, a feeding shaft attached to one ofthe wheels, a ratchet on such shaft, means for manually actuating the ratchet to, intermittently move the wheels to feed the continuous length tape the. distance of a single, preprinted ticket for each movement of the ratchet, a knife for severing the tape between each pair of preprinted tickets, means for actuating the knife synchronously with each movement of the ratchet, a worm on the feeding shaft, a Worm gear intermeshing with said worm, a spindle for thev Worm gear, a trip on said spindle, indenting means. positioned beneath'the tape said means comprising a supporting plate above the tape directly opposite the impressing means, means for actuating theiimpressorl by. said trip, once only for a predetermined number of ratchet movements during a cooperating movement ofthe circumference of the feed wheels to include a predetermined length of single tickets so that after each group isv detached from the tape a single ticket bearing the, indented identifyin'g mark isL severed the time of such indenting and severingA being.V dependent on the, ratio of the Worm to the worm gear, whereby a singleinredemption tickets.

ROLLA G. SIEvERS;`

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