US2871939A - Apparatus for dispensing stamps - Google Patents

Description

7 Feb. 3, 1959 G. CLOSE 2,871,939

APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING STAMPS Filed Dec. 26, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l ililllllllllilIII!llllllllfillllmlllllilllllll"kn.

F/G. 2 r INVENTOR GARTH CLOS'E EL MLJR ATTORNEY Feb. 3, 1959 G. CLOSE 2,871,939

APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING STAMPS INVENTOR GAR TH CLOSE ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,871,939 APPARATUS FOR Dis'fENsiNG sTAMr-s Garth Clse,Li1bliock, Tex. Application December 26, 1956, seems 650.701 7 Claims. (01; 164- 43) The present invention relates to a device for facilitating the distribution of stamps stored in roll form and'is particularly useful for distributing trade stamps issued by merchants in proportion to the amount of a sales transaction.

it has been the practice with some merchants over th years to deliver, with purchases of merchandise, stamps which are refundable for items of value. Such trade stamps are usually in sheet form and are stored in juntaposed or superimposed relationship adjacent the cash register. The clerk after making a sale then computes the number of stamps to which the customer is entitled; It is then necessary to tear the perforated sheets so as to deliver to the customer the proper number of stamps. Such steps are time-consuming and tedious in that the stamps are small and in haste there is often m'iscalculation of the stamps to which the customer is entitled.

An object of the present invention is to provide ap: paratus which may be readily manufactured and which is reliable for facilitating the handling of trade stamps and to provide a mechanism wherein the number of stamps to which the customer is entitled may be readily determined to thereby reduce the loss of stampsthr'o'ugh miscalculation or' carelessness.

A further object of the invention is to provideap'paratus for distributing stamps frorri a's upply stored inroll form wherein a given number to be issued is readily determined and to provide the mechanismwithaneans for severing the stamps from the roll by,m'anipulation of the hand which withdraws the stamps from the roll;

Another object of the inventio'ii'is to providea manta: nisrn over which the stampsin strip fonn are arranged andsevered by a cutter mechanism which isset ino er ation by applying pressureto a portion of the apparatus over which the stamps are arranged;

Other objects and feature of the inventionwill' be appreciated" and become apparent as the" present disclosure proceeds and uponconside'rati onof" the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description whereinan embodiment of the invention is disclosed. 1

In the drawings: I

Fig. l is a perspective view of adevice "e'xhibitihgthe invention and illustrating the manner in'which stamps are arranged in position to be cut from the strip. Q

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in'Fig. 1 with portions broken away to illustrate con cealetl parts.

Fig. 3 is a plan view.

Fig. 4'is anexplodetl perspective view'. w v Referring to'the drawings there is shown at Illa" base member for the device which rriay'beformedoflsheet material such as'metal. The basenicrhherf isdesirably' of rectangular trough shape as best strewn in Fig. 4. A padll may be-pro'vide'd at each ofthe four corners of the'base member and these pads rria""b""" f 'i'esilieiit construction whereby the device may be supponea a polished fiat surface such as indicated at 12 in Fig. 2.

The base is provided along its sides with upstanding flanges 14 and 16. A hole 17 is provided through the flange 16 near the end of the base member as shown in Fig. 4 and this hole is horizontally aligned. with a similar hole (not shown) intheffiange 14. The base member carries end flanges 18 and 19 which .while not being'essential serve to join the side flanges 14 and 16 and thus reinforce the structure of the base member.

. The apparatus includes a chassis member 20 which is adapted to overlie. the base member and is mounted for relative movements with respect thereto as hereinafter described. The chassis member may be formed of sheet material such as metal 'and'prov'ided with a plate portion 21 arranged in a single plane. A flange 22 (Fig. 3) depends from one side of the plate portion 21and a similar flange 23 extends downwardly from the other side of the plate portion. The transverse distance between the inner faces of .the flanges 22 and 23 is greater than the corresponding dimension between the outer surfaces of the flanges 14 and 16 so that the chassis member may overlie the base member in a telescoping relationship.

A housing 25 iscarried by the chassis member 20 and it is of arcuate form. The'housing may be formed of sheet'material and its end walls 26 and 27 are flush with the side flanges 22 and 23. The housing may be formed of separate parts and secured to the chassis member in any desired manner. The housing is 'provided with a removable lid 23 so that stamps in roll form may be stored Within the housing. A depending flange 2'9is carried by the chassis member and aportion3tl of the removablelid depends below the plane of the plate portion 21. The flange 29 and the depending portion 30 of the lid are spaced from each other sufliciently to permit lengthwise movement of the chassis member 2%) relative to the base member 10 and the purpose thereof will be appreciated as the disclosure proceeds. The chassis member 20 and the housiiig 25 when in an assembled relation overlie and virtually conceal the base member as shown in Fig. 1. I

The free end or leading edge of the stamps in roll form is fed through a slot 31 provided by a portion of the housing 25 adjacent the upper surface of the plate 21550 that the stamps may be withdrawn from the housing to overlie the upper surface ofthe chassis memberZ d. A pad 32 formed of yieldable material such as felt is mounted on a plate 33 (Fig. 4) and this plate is supported by resilient straps 34 on the base member 10. The upper surface of the pad is adapted to engage the under surface of the stamps in the vicinity of the slot fil and thereby serves to prevent the free end portion of the stamps from inadvertently creeping back into the housing and beyond the reach of an operator.

The invention includes means for actuation of a cutter for the stamps withdrawn from the housing 25. Such means includes a cutter bar 36 having a length slightly greater than the transverse dimensions of the plate 21. The knife edge of the cutter bar may be sharpened and serrated if desired. The cutter bar is supported by' two arms 37 and 38 each of which is provided with two openings 39 and 41 in ends thereof as" shown iii Fig; 4. A pin 42 is adapted to extend through the openings 41 in the arms 37 and 38 and through the horizontal aligned openings 17 in the upstandingflariges 14 and 16 of the base member. A similar pin 43 (Fig. 4) extends through the openings 39 in the armsi 37 and 38 and through horiZontally aligned opeiiing'sin tlfe depending flanges 22 and 23 of the chassis member. A transverse groove 46 is provided in the up er face of the chassis member for receiving the knife edge of the cutter bar 36. The groove 46 may be filled 3 with some yieldable material to prevent dulling of the knife edge of the cutter bar when moving thereinto in a stamp severing operation.

The invention includes means for actuating the cutter bar 36 and moving it downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1 when aforce is applied to the chassis member so as to move it relative to the base'member. The means for shifting the chassis member relative to the base member includes a spring structure shown generally at 50 in Fig. 4. This spring structure may be formed of circular metal stock having resilient characteristics and includes a central portion 51 which is securely anchored to the base memberltl by means of a plurality of clips 52. The intermediate portion of this spring structure remains in fixed relationship with respect to the base. Aligned shaft portions 53 extend in opposite directions from the intermediate portion. These shaft portions are maintained in position by means of bearing brackets 54. A crank arm 56 extends from the free end of each shaft portion 53 and these crank arms terminate in aligned horizontally extending pin portions 57. The pin portions 57 are accommodated in holes 61 in the depending flanges 22 and 23 one of which is shown in Fig. 4.

The top face of the plate portion 21 of the chassis member is provided with index lines to facilitate the determination of the number of stamps the customer is entitled to for a purchase. The stamps are preferably stored in two rolls in the housing 25. One roll may consist of a strip numbering five stamps in width as shown in Fig. 1 while the other roll consist of a strip numbering one stamp in width.

In operation and when it is desired to dispense stamps for a purchase amounting to one dollar and fifty cents the free end of the larger roll of stamps is withdrawn in the direction of the arrow 71 in Fig. 1 until the leading edge is aligned with the transverse line marked 1.50. This may be accomplished by the index finger of the sales person as illustrated in Fig. 1. The rear portion of the palm of thehand is then applied with force to the face of the plate portion 21 so as to urge the associated portion of the chassis member 20 downwardly. The resilient characteristics of the spring structure 50 resists such movement but the outer ends of the shaft portions 53 turn relative to the fixed mid portion of the spring structure. This causes the trunnion or pin portions 57 to swing about the aligned axes of the shaft portions 53. Thus when the chassis member 20 is moved from the position shown in Fig. 2 to a depressed position the chassis member 20 moves downwardly and also moves linearly with respect to the base member 10 and in the direction of the arrow 73 (Fig. 2). Such movement causes the pin 43 to be moved in the direction of the arrow 74 (Fig. 2) and the two arms 37 and 38 pivot about the pin 42 and the cutter bar 36 is moved downwardly and severs the stamps as the knife edge enters the groove 46. The stamps stored in the roll form numbering one stamp in width may be similarly withdrawn from the housing so that the leading edge 76 thereof may be moved until it is aligned with an index graduation in ten cents markings on the plate 21 which may represent a part of the sale price. When the force depressing the chassis 10 is relieved the spring structure 50 returns the chassis member to the elevated position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 when the cutter bar is shifted to the inactive position.

While the invention has been described with reference to the particular assembly it will be appreciated that changes may be made in the elements as well as in the overall organization. Such modifications and others may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In apparatus for dispensing stamps, a base member, a chassis member overlying said base member having an member, and means for shifting the chassis member longitudinally of the base member upon movement of the chassis member towards the base member to move the cutter bar to a position to sever the stamps.

2. In apparatus for dispensing stamps, a base member, a chassis member overlying said base member having an upper surface arranged in a single plane, a housing carried by the chassis member, means providing a slot between said surface and the housing through which stamps in sheet form may be withdrawn from the housing to overlie said upper surface, a cutter bar including arms pivotally attached to the base member and pivotally attached to the chassis member, and means for moving the chassis member longitudinally of the base member upon movement of the chassis member towards the base member to swing said arms and the cutter bar towards said upper surface.

3. Apparatus for dispensnig stamps comprising, a base member, a chassis member overlying said base member, an upper surface on said chassis member arranged in a single plane, a housing for storing a sheet of stamps in roll form, means providing a slot adjacent said upper surface through which said sheet may be withdrawn from the housing to overlie said upper surface, a bar having a cutting edge directed towards said upper surface, arms supporting said bar, a pin pivotally connecting free ends of said arms to said chassis member, a pin connecting free ends of said arms to said base member, and spring means including a crank arm having a trunnion portion pivotally connected to said chassis member and a portionsecured to the base member so that upon movement of the chassis member towards the base member the chassis is shifted longitudinally to bodily swing the first pin about the axis of the second pin to move said cutting edge towards said upper surface.

4. Apparatus for dispensing stamps comprising, a base member, a chassis member overlying said base member, an upper surface on said chassis member arranged in a single plane, a housing for storing a sheet of stamps in roll form, means providing a slot adjacent said upper surface through which said sheet may be withdrawn from the housing to overlie said upper surface, a bar having a cutting edge directed towards said upper surface, arms supporting said bar, a pin pivotally connecting free ends of said arms to said chassis member, a pin connecting free ends of said arms to said base member, a spring structure having an intermediate portion secured to said base member, aligned shaft portions extending from said intermediate portion each having resilient characteristics in torsion so that enter ends thereof may be rotated relative to inner portions, an inclined crank arm carried by the outer end of each shaft portion terminating in a pin, and means pivotally connecting each pin to said chassis member.

5. Apparatus for dispensing stamps comprising, a base member of trough shape, a chassis member overlying said base member in telescoping relationship, an upper surface on said chassis member arranged in a single plane, a housing for storing a sheet of stamps in roll form, means providing a slot adjacent said upper surface through which the sheet may be withdrawn from the housing to overlie said upper surface, means releasably holding the sheet in a withdrawn position, a bar having a cutting edge directed towards said upper surface, arms suppolting said bar, a pin pivotally connecting free ends of said arms to said chassis member, a pin connecting free ends of said arms to said base member, an inclined crank arm having a trunnion portion pivotally connected to said chassis memher, and resilient means secured to said base member resisting swinging movement of said crank arm whereby movement of the chassis member towards the base member bodily swing the first pin about the axis of the second pin to move said cutting edge towards said upper surface.

6. Apparatus for dispensing stamps comprising, a base member of trough shape having upstanding flanges along sides thereofla chassis member having depending flanges along sides thereof overlying said base member in telescoping relationship, an upper surface on said chassis member arranged in a single plane, a housing for storing a sheet of stamps in roll form which may be withdrawn from the housing to overlie said upper surface, a bar having a cutting edge directed towards said upper surface, arms supporting said bar, a pin pivotally connecting free ends of said arms to said depending flanges, a pin connecting free ends of said arms to said upstanding flanges, a spring structure having an intermediate portion secured to said base member, aligned shaft portions extending from said intermediate portion and having resilient torsional characteristics so that outer ends thereof may be rotated relative to inner portions, a crank arm carried by the outer end of each shaft portion terminating in pins pivotally connected to said depending flanges.

7. Apparatus for dispensing stamps comprising, a base member, a chassis member overlying said base member, an upper surface on said chassis member arranged in a single plane, a housing for storing a sheet of stamps in roll form, means providing a slot adjacent said upper surface through which said sheet may be withdrawn from the housing to overlie said upper surface, a bar having a cutting edge directed towards said upper surface, arms supporting said bar, a pin pivotally connecting free ends of said arms to said chassis member, a pin connecting free ends of said arms to said base member, spring means including a crank arm having a trunnion portion pivotally connected to said chassis member and a portion secured to the base member so that upon movement of the chassis member towards the base member the chassis is shifted longitudinally to bodily swing the first pin about the axis of the second pin to move said cutting edge towards said upper surface, and said chassis member having a groove for receiving the cutting edge of said bar.

References (Zited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,247,750 Dohnal July 1, 1941 2,351,093 Beckley June 13, 1944 2,380,267 Ruth July 10, 1945

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