US439387A - Store-service apparatus - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

W. H. 'H.GRAM.

STORE SBRVIGE APPARATUS.

No. 439,387. Patented 0012.28.1890.

Wi-twapsep UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. H. CRAM, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

STORE-SERVICE APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,387, dated October 28, 1890.

Application filed August 15,1889. Serial No. 320,800. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. H. CRAM, of the city of Detroit, in the county of \Vayne and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Store-Service Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in that kind of store-service apparatus in which a cash-car travels upon a taut wire; and the object of my improvement is to provide an apparatus by which the operating of the cashcarrying car is facilitated. I attain this objeet in the apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a storeservice apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 00 at, Fig. 1, looking toward the standard A. Fig. 3 is a section on the line (L' 00, Fig. 1,100];- in g toward the standard A, said standard and the wheels I and II being omitted. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the trough D. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing a modified form of the levers L M; and Fig. 6 is a plan view of the lever L.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A A is a square tube secured to the ceiling at its upper end and forming a support or standard for the other parts of the car-impelling apparatus.

B is a toothed rack sliding in the standard A.

O is a spiral spring inside of the standard A, having its lower end secured to the upper end of the rack B, and its upper end secured to or near the ceiling.

F is a cord attached to the lower end of the rack B and extending below the standard A. An opening 6 is formed through one side of said standard to permit the teeth of the wheel II to engage with the teeth of the rack B.

D D is a trough open along its upper side and secured at right angles to the standard A at one side and near the lower end of said standard.

E is a toothed rack resting with its teeth upward in the trough D.

f is a projection from the end of the rack E. The upper edges of the sides of the trough D maybe turned in a short distance, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, to prevent the accidental displacement of the rack E.

H and I are toothed wheels rigidly secured upon the shaft (Z. The shaft d bears in the projections a b c, which projections extend from the standard A and the trough D. The teeth of the wheel H engage with the teeth of the rack B, and the teeth of the wheel I engage with the teeth ofthe rack E.

W \V are the wheels, and K is the frame, of the cash-carrying ear. L M are levers pivoted to the frame K and adapted to oscillate in a plane at right angles with said frame. The levers L M are bent inward at their ends, so as to come into contact with the linewire J when their lower ends are forced outward. Said levers should not be placed opposite each other, but one should be placed ahead of the other at about the distance shown in Fig. 1.

L" M", Fig. 5, are modified forms of the levers L M. In this form the levers consist of the two arms h 2' or g j, set at an angle to each other and secured to the end of an upright m or n. Said uprights are pivoted in the frame K, so that the arms hi or gj oscillate in horizontal planes. The levers L M are formed alike and have the relative position on the frame K of the levers L M. The ends of the levers L M L M, which come into contactwith the line-wire, may be covered with rubber to increase their friction on said wire when forced into contact with it.

B G are wings extending horizontally from the sides of the trough D. hen the levers L M are to be used, the ends of the wings R G which are farthest from the standard A are formed to slant inward to the sides of the trough, as shown in Fig. 4.

P is the lid of the cash-receptacle and is rigidlysecured by arms Q to the frame K. Around the lid P is formed a circular ridge or beadp.

O is the cash-receptacle.

T T are levers pivoted at S S to the cashreceptacle 0.

U U are hooks formed at the upper ends of the levers T T, adapted to pass over the ridge 1) and secure the cash-receptacle O to the lid P.

V V are coil-springs adapted to press against the lower ends of the levers T T and hold the hooks U U in engagement with the ridge 1).

The operation of my above-described device is as follows: The car being at the station, the operator pulls upon the cord F, drawing the rack B downward, which rotates the 'wheel H, which carries with it the wheel I. The rotation of the wheel I drives the rack E forward, pressing the projection f against the car and giving the car its initial impulse,which carries it to the other end of the line. The racks B and E are drawn back to their first positions by the spring 0. The wheel H is preferably made of less diameter than the wheel I, so that a quicker motion will be given to the rack E than is given to the rack B. When the car comes up to a station, the lower ends of the levers LM are forced outward by the slanting ends of the wings R G. The upper inner ends of said levers are pressed against the line-wire J in opposite directions, thus crimping said wire between them and gradually arresting the motion of the car. In an entirely analogous manner the ends of the arms h g of the levers L M are forced against the line-wire, except that when this form of the lever is used the ends of the wings R G should not slant as shown in Fig. 4, but should be square, or formed in a curve whose tangent is always parallel to the arms 2 j at its point of contact with said arms. In the form of the lever shown the slant would be inward toward the standard A, but by extending the arinsgh t'j in opposite directions to those shown the slant would be away from said standard. By the use of the levers L M L M the disagreeable jar made by the car when it comes into a station is avoided.

By the use of the above-described device for securing the cash-receptacle to its lid, trouble in fitting the two together is avoided, as they will always be readily secured when the center of the receptacle is in line with the center of the lid.

I am aware that I am not the first inventor of a rack and pinion adapted to drive a cashcar over its track, and I do not claim such a device, broadly; but,

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a rack and a pinion having its teeth meshing with the teeth of said rack adapted to propel a cash-car over its track, of a toothed wheel H, secured upon the same shaft as said pinion, a rack B, adapted to reciprocate in a guide and havingits teeth meshing with the teeth of said toothed wheel, means for drawing upon said rack, and a spring 0, for retracting said rack, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination of a cash-car, as described, levers, substantially as described, pivoted to the frame of said car at a distance apart in the direction of the length of the car and adapted to be pressed upon opposite sides of the line-wire, and stationary wings or lugs for operating said levers permanently secured at the station at the end of the linewire, substantially as and for the purpose described.

WVILLIAM H. H. ORAM.

Witnesses:

ROBERT W. WEBB, ELLIOTT J. STODDARD.

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