EP0875046A1

EP0875046A1 - Device for selecting objects, particularly coins

Info

Publication number: EP0875046A1
Application number: EP97900620A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Daniel Gautherot
Original assignee: Schlumberger SA; Atos Origin IT Services Inc
Current assignee: Axalto SA
Priority date: 1996-01-19
Filing date: 1997-01-09
Publication date: 1998-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 2017-01-09
Also published as: DE69700386T2; FR2743917A1; ES2134674T3; FR2743917B1; WO1997026627A1; US6050388A; AU1312997A; EP0875046B1; DE69700386D1; AU714815B2

Abstract

A device for selecting objects inserted as payment into a product or service dispenser through an insertion slot. The device includes a transport member provided with a recess for receiving one object at a time and conveying the object placed in said recess to a measurement section (ZM) where object compliance testing means are arranged. Said device further includes drive means for continuously and irreversibly moving the transport member along a path such that said recess is continuously moved from a starting position (P1) in which it communicates with said insertion slot to a final stand-by position (P2) via said measurement section (ZM). Said compliance testing means receive transport member movement sampling signals. The device is useful for dispensing services such as tickets for car parking or public transport and the like.

Description

OBJECT SELECTOR DEVICE, PARTICULARLY PARTS

CHANGE

The present invention relates to a device for selecting objects introduced as payment in a distributor of products or services.

The invention finds a particularly advantageous application in the field of the distribution of services, such as vehicle parking tickets or transport tickets. We know, for example, US Pat. Nos. 5,392,891 and

5,404,986 a distributor of products or services in exchange for cash payment in which coins are introduced individually by means of an introduction orifice, generally in the form of a slot. The parts thus introduced into the dispenser are received by a selector device mainly consisting of a transport member of circular shape, capable of being driven in rotation about its axis arranged horizontally. In said transport member is arranged a housing corresponding substantially to a circular sector, in which the pieces are received individually after introduction into the dispenser, said housing having been previously placed in communication with the introduction orifice.

By rotation about its axis, the transport member brings the coin located in the housing to a measurement zone where various compliance verification operations are carried out, namely the determination of the diameter of the coin by time measurement passing in front of an optical sensor and analyzing the metal constituting the part by a magnetic measurement carried out statically, the transport member being stopped in the field of an electromagnetic detector. Then, from this stop position, the transport member can tilt, either in a first direction of rotation to direct the coin towards a pre-collection block if the latter is recognized as conforming, or in a second direction of rotation, opposite to the first, in the direction of an output for restitution of the part, otherwise. This selector device known from the state of the art, however, has the drawback of requiring the movement of the transport member to be stopped in order to analyze the metal of the part present in the housing, which leads to a slowing down in the parts processing chain.

Also, the technical problem to be solved by the object of the present invention is to propose a device for selecting objects introduced as payment in a product dispenser through an introduction orifice, said device comprising a transport member provided a housing intended to receive said objects individually and capable of bringing an object placed in said housing to a measurement area where there are arranged means for verifying conformity of said object, detector device which would speed up the operations of conformity check in order to reduce the time of presence of objects in the measurement zone and therefore to reduce the time interval between two successive introductions of objects into the dispenser by the user.

The solution to the technical problem consists, according to the present invention, in that said selector device also comprises drive means capable of ensuring a continuous irreversible movement of said transport member along a path during which said housing passes from an initial position of communication with said introduction orifice at a final standby position by crossing said measurement zone continuously, said conformity verification means receiving signals for sampling the movement of the transport member.

Thus, as will be seen in detail below, the analysis of the constituent metal of a coin for example can be carried out without requiring any downtime in the measurement zone, consequence of the fact that it is possible to '' establish indicative parameters, specific to the metal used, from a reading of perfectly reproducible positions of the part in the measurement zone, provided by the sampling signals.

It is in this sense that the invention provides that said means of conformity verification include analysis means. magnetic material of said objects, able to express said analysis in terms of characteristic values of a curve representative of the magnetic signature of said objects, said characteristic values being sampled by means of said sampling signals.

According to an advantageous arrangement of the invention, said means for verifying conformity include means for geometric measurements of said objects, capable of expressing said measurements in terms of number of steps of sampling signals, independently of the speed of the transport. By geometrical measurements one will hear for example the measurements of diameter and thickness which are two parameters making it possible to check the conformity of the coins.

The geometric measurements of the selector device of the invention are therefore performed dynamically, as for the diameter measurement described in the aforementioned US patents. Note however that in the known selector device the determination of the diameter being obtained from the measurement of the time of passage of the object in front of an optical sensor, the result depends on the speed of rotation of the transport member. Conversely, in the invention, the measurement is made as a function of the position of the object to be recognized, this position being known very precisely by sampling the movement of the transport member carried out at drive means. The measurement is therefore independent of the speed of said transport member, which avoids having to control this speed very precisely and makes it possible to overcome external disturbances which can be applied to the transport member, such as: attempt to introduction of a second object by the user during the measurements carried out on the previously introduced object, voluntary fraud by braking of the transport member during the measurements in order to disturb them.

According to another particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention, it is provided that the path of the housing between the initial and final positions also crosses an orientation zone of the objects between a collection output and a return output, following the measurement area. There is thus obtained an extension of the continuous movement, in the same direction, of the transport member, up to the orientation of the objects following compliance verification operations previously carried out in the measurement area, while the American patents mentioned above require, on the one hand, a stop and, on the other hand, a tilting between two possible directions of rotation according to the result of the verification. It will then be understood that the invention does not involve stopping or reversing the direction, thereby making it possible to further reduce the time between two successive introductions of objects into the dispenser.

In the remainder of this memorandum, we mean by cashing both direct cashing of objects in the distributor's piggy bank and pre-cashing with intermediate storage of objects with the possibility of return in the event of the transaction being canceled by the user. .

More particularly, said collection and return outlets are arranged in series opposite the continuous movement of the transport member, an object placed in the housing being able, under the action of gravity, to pass through the outlet of collection if the object is recognized as conforming at the exit from the measurement area or through the restitution outlet if the object is recognized as non-conforming at the exit from the measurement area, a movable shutter for shutting off the pre- collection, normally in the open position, being brought into the closed position.

Finally, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the measurement zone is arranged on the path of the housing in such a way that said conformity verification means are used, during the continuous movement of the member. transport from the initial communication position of the housing, after said housing has ceased to communicate with the introduction orifice. This arrangement makes it possible to recognize the objects introduced into the selector device of the invention without the measurements carried out by the means of compliance verification are affected by the external environment, which is particularly important when using optical means sensitive to stray light likely to pass through the introduction orifice. The description which follows with reference to the appended drawings, given by way of nonlimiting examples, will make it clear what the invention consists of and how it can be implemented.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a selector device according to the invention, Figures 2a to 2e are side views of the selector device of Figure 1 for various positions of the housing of the transport member.

FIG. 3a is a side view of a means for measuring the diameter of an object introduced into the selector device according to the invention.

Figure 3b is a diameter measurement timing diagram provided by the means of Figure 3a.

FIG. 4a is a side view of a means for measuring the thickness of an object introduced into the selector device according to the invention.

Figure 4b is a thickness measurement timing diagram provided by the means of Figure 4a.

FIG. 5a is a side view of a means for analyzing the metal of an object introduced into the selector device according to the invention. Figure 5b is a metal analysis timing chart provided by the means of Figure 5a.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the selector device of FIG. 1.

Figure 7 is an alternative embodiment of the transport member of Figures 1 to 2e.

The selector device shown in perspective in Figure 1 is intended to equip a product or service distributor in which objects, such as coins 1, are introduced as payment through an orifice 10 of introduction. As shown in Figure 1, said dispensing device comprises a transport member 100 having been in the general form of a wheel, in which is housed a housing 110 intended to receive the pieces 1 individually. The transport wheel 100 can be rotated about its axis 101 by drive means which, in the example of FIG. 1, consist of a DC motor 200 and of a transmission mechanism 210 comprising a reduction gear made up of two straight pinions 21 1, 212 coupled to an endless screw 213 cooperating with teeth, not shown, arranged at the periphery of the wheel 100. The helix of the endless screw 213 is on the left in order to place the transport wheel 100 on the reference plane P when it rotates normally in the retrograde direction (clockwise), this in order to improve the measurement of the thickness of the parts 1 which, as will be seen later, part of the compliance verification operations that objects introduced into the selector device must undergo.

The motor 200 used is high efficiency to limit consumption and low inertia to facilitate stopping the transport wheel 100 with good angular precision.

Under the action of the aforementioned drive means, the transport wheel 100 is driven by an irreversible continuous rotational movement in the retrograde direction along a path during which the housing 1 10, starting from an initial position PI shown in FIG. 2a, is brought to a zone ZM of measurements where means 301, 302, 303 for checking the conformity of the coin 1 are arranged. Then, after continuously crossing the said measurement zone ZM, the housing 1 10 arrives, still in the same movement, at a final position P2 shown in FIG. 2e which will be explained below.

As can be seen in Figure 2a, the housing 1 10 in its initial position PI communicates with the orifice 10 of introduction so as to be able to receive the object 1 introduced into the unit.

As soon as the object 1 is recognized as opaque, therefore likely to be a coin, by a detector 11 of the optical type, the motor 200 is put into operation so that the transport wheel 100 brings part 1 into the measurement zone where conformity verification operations are carried out continuously which will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3a to 5b .

Among the means used to establish the conformity of the parts 1 introduced, FIG. 3a illustrates a diameter measuring device essentially formed by a couple 302 infrared transmitter / receiver for example. The measurement consists in recording the flux transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver when passing through part 1. As shown in (a) FIG. 3b, the signal supplied by the receiver has a shutter time t2 directly proportional to the diameter of part 1, but which also depends on the speed of rotation of the transport wheel 100. In order to obtain a result independent of the speed of rotation, the signal (a) coming from the transmitter / detector pair 302 is compared with a signal (b) for sampling the movement of the transport wheel 100. Preferably, said sampling signal will come from the drive means and not from the wheel itself, because, taking into account the reduction ratio introduced by the transmission mechanism 210, it would be practically impossible to achieve at the wheel an equivalent sampling frequency as high as at the motor 200.

To do this, FIG. 1 shows that an encoder, such as a coding wheel 300 with slots 310 and optical fork (not shown), is mounted on the axis 214 of the motor 200. The rotational movement of said wheel 300 is integral with that of the motor 200 and therefore also of the rotational movement of the wheel 100 The sampling signal (b) from the motor consists of a series of pulses consecutive to the passage of a slot in the wheel in the optical fork. Two consecutive pulses are separated by a constant angular distance corresponding, via the transmission mechanism 210, to a known angular pitch of the rotation of the transport wheel 100. To go to the linear step of advance of the piece 1, we multiply said angular step by the distance of the detection torque 302 to the axis 101 of the wheel 100. It then suffices to count the number n2 of sampling signal steps (b) observed during the shutter time t2 to obtain an expression of the diameter in number of step, regardless of the speed of rotation of the transport wheel 100.

The measurement of the thickness of the part 1, illustrated in FIGS. 4a and 4b, is carried out in a similar manner. The part 1 first passes in front of the pair 302 transmitter / receiver used for the measurement of the diameter, then in front of a second identical pair 303, placed at an angle at an angle of 45 ° for example. The time t3 measured is that between the passage in front of the first pair 302 and the second pair 303. It will be observed that the thicker the piece 1 and the shorter this time. The time t3 is then expressed in terms of number n3 of linear sampling steps, which gives L-e and therefore e, L being known by construction.

Of course, the sampling signals represented respectively in (b) of FIG. 3b and in (c) of FIG. 4b can also be obtained by an encoder, integral with the movement of the transport wheel 100 itself. This device makes it possible to take the movement of the wheel 100 directly as a measurement reference. Thus, the diameter and thickness measurements are made independent of any variations in the speed of rotation of the wheel, induced by the drive system or by external disturbances, such as gear defect, center distance accuracy, engine quality, braking of the transport wheel 100. Said encoder is produced, for example, by the association of slots (not shown) arranged at the circumference of the wheel and of an optical fork sensor (not shown), in the manner of the encoder wheel 300 with slots 310 of Figure 1. The analysis of the metal of the part 1 is carried out as follows. As indicated in FIGS. 5a and 5b, the part 1 driven in the housing crosses a magnetic field induced by a first coil 31 1 of a magnetic cell 301, supplied by an alternating signal at fixed level and frequencies. A measurement is made on a second coil 321, called the reception coil, placed opposite the first emitting coil 31 1. It is thus possible to assess at the receiving coil 321 the disturbance of the magnetic field caused by the passage of the part 1, this disturbance being characteristic of the metal of the part. A curve sampled over time is then obtained by means of the coding wheel 300, each sample El,, E8 for example corresponding to a precise position of the part 1 in the magnetic cell 301.

It can be seen in FIG. 5b that in order to better characterize the parts, the transmission frequency F can be changed at the moment when the part 1 has passed through half of the cell 301, passing for example from F to 4F. This transition appears in Figure 5b between samples E4 and 45.

From the response curve in FIG. 5b, which in a way constitutes a curve representative of the magnetic signature of the parts, it is possible to express the analysis of the metal in terms of characteristic values drawn from this curve.

These characteristic values can be of several types: attenuation type: this involves locating the sample for which the magnetic signal has undergone a reduction of x%. In FIG. 5b, the points E1, E2, E3, on the one hand, and E8, E7, E6, on the other hand, are the samples for which the signal has been attenuated by 25, 50 and 75%, respectively on the falling edge and the rising edge of the signal. type ratio: it is a question of making the ratio of two typical values of the magnetic signal. For example in Figure 5b, we can do: ratio 1 = Vminil / Vrepos ratio 2 = Vmini2 / Vrepos ratio 3 = Vminil / Vmini2 - global signature type: this involves characterizing the entire curve using of a single value, for example the integral of the whole curve (area under the curve). The precision and above all the reproducibility of these measurements, in particular the thickness measurement, require that the object whose conformity must be verified always appears in the same -Im¬

position in relation to the pairs of optical sensors and the magnetic cell. Several arrangements can be made for this purpose.

On the one hand, provision is made, as indicated in FIG. 6, for the transport wheel 100 to bear against the reference plane P, which is inclined at an angle α of 10 ° for example, relative to the vertical V. The object placed in the housing is thus held by its own weight against said reference plane during at least the crossing of the zone ZM of measurements.

On the other hand, as already mentioned above, the direction of the pitch of the worm 213 is such that, due to the friction against the teeth of the wheel 100, the latter is pressed against the reference plane P .

Finally, there is an advantage in that the housing 1 10 has edges 1 1 1, 1 12 of contact with the object 1, visible in FIG. 1, having an inclined profile capable of promoting the retention of said object against the plane P for reference, as can be seen in FIG. 6 for the edge 11.

As shown more particularly in FIG. 2c, at the exit from the measurement zone ZM where the object 1 has been recognized as conforming or not conforming, the transport wheel 100 continues its continuous rotational movement in such a way that the path of the housing 110 Also continuously traverses an area ZO for orienting objects between an outlet 401 for collection and an outlet 402 for restitution, the area ZO for orientation is of course consecutive to the area ZM for measurements.

According to the embodiment presented in FIGS. 2c, 2d and 2e, the outlets 401 and 402 for collection and restitution are arranged in series opposite the continuous movement of the transport wheel 100. The collection outlet 401 can be closed by a movable flap 400 located at the periphery of the wheel. Said flap 400 is, for example, set in motion in a translation parallel to the axis 101 of rotation of the wheel 100, the stroke of the flap must then be slightly greater than the thickness of the housing 1 10 formed in the wheel. In the case of small thicknesses in front of the other dimensions, this stroke is very reduced and therefore allows very rapid translation between the open position and the closed position.

The shutter 400, controlled by an electromagnet not shown, is normally in the open position and is brought into the closed position only if, on leaving the measurement zone ZM, the object 1 is recognized as non-compliant.

Thus, in the orientation zone ZO, the object 1 is capable, under the effect of gravity, of crossing the collection outlet 401 if said object has been recognized as conforming. On the other hand, if it has not been recognized as conforming, the object 1 cannot pass through said collection outlet 401 because the movable flap 400 will have been brought to the closed position beforehand. The object 1 is then brought, still in the movement of the transport wheel 100, to the output 402 for rendering, which remains open permanently. The position of the housing 1 10 shown in Figure 2e, corresponding to the communication of said housing with the output 402 of restitution, constitutes the final standby position P2. In fact, in this position P2, the continuous movement of the transport wheel 100 is interrupted, pending the introduction of a new object into the selector device.

This waiting position P2 serves as a reference to the movement of the transport wheel 100. To do this, a slit (not shown) is made in the rim of the wheel, which, when it coincides with an optical fork (not shown), provides a reference signal. This signal, associated with the sampling signals, makes it possible at any time to know the exact position of the wheel 100.

When a metallic object is engaged in the orifice 10 of introduction, a magnetic presence detector controls the motor 200 so as to bring the housing 1 10 from the standby position P2 to the initial position PI for communication with the orifice 10 for introduction to resume the cycle described above.

It will be observed in FIG. 2e that, to guard against acts of vandalism, when the housing 1 10 is in the standby position P2, the transport wheel 100 completely closes the orifice 10 for introduction, the latter having a smaller width to that of the wheel rim. Finally, as shown in FIG. 2b, and to avoid external disturbances, the measurement zone ZM is arranged on the path of the housing 1 10 in such a way that the means 301, 302, 303 for identifying conformity can only be implemented when the object 1 passes after the housing 100 has ceased to communicate with the orifice 10 for introduction. This avoids in particular the influence of stray light on optical measurements.

The housing 1 10 shown in Figures 1 to 2e has two edges 1 1 1, 1 12 of rectilinear contact. However, there is an advantage, as shown in FIG. 7, in that the objects 1, l ', such as coins, each having a center, the edges 1 1 1, 1 12 have a shape such that the centers of said objects are on the same circle C, concentric with the transport wheel 100, this regardless of the diameter and thickness of the objects 1, l '. Preferably, the circle C crosses at least the means 301, 302 for geometric measurements of the objects, diameter and thickness, which makes it possible to obtain absolute measurements, independent of the size of the objects. The optical radius of the transmitter / receiver pairs 302, 303 always traces the same arc on the object, which directly represents the measurements of diameter and thickness. The rounded shape of the housing 1 10 removes the dependence between the diameter and thickness measurements.

Claims

1. Device selector device (1) introduced as payment in a distributor of products or services through an orifice (10) of introduction, said device comprising a transport member (100) provided with a housing ( 1 10) intended to receive said objects individually and capable of bringing an object (1) placed in said housing (110) to a zone (ZM) of measurements where are arranged means (301, 302, 303) of conformity of said object (1), characterized in that said selector device also comprises drive means (200, 210) capable of ensuring a continuous irreversible movement of said transport member (100) along a path during which said housing (1 10) passes from an initial position (PI) of communication with said orifice (10) of introduction to a final position (P2) waiting by crossing said area (ZM) of measurements continuously, said means (301, 302, 303) of compliance verification received t signals for sampling the movement of the transport member (100).

2. A selector device according to claim 1, characterized in that said conformity verification means comprise means (302, 303) for geometric measurements of said objects, capable of expressing said measurements in terms of numbers (n2, n3) of steps of sampling signals, regardless of the speed of the transport member (100).

3. selector device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said conformity verification means comprise means (301) of magnetic analysis of the material of said objects (1), capable of expressing said analysis in terms of characteristic values of a curve representative of the magnetic signature of said objects, said characteristic values being sampled by means of said sampling signals.

4. Selector device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said drive means the transport member (100) consists of a motor (200) and a transmission mechanism (210), said sampling signals being supplied by an encoder (300) integral with the movement of the axis (214) of said motor (200).

5. Selector device according to claim 4, characterized in that said encoder is a coding wheel (300) mounted on the axis (214) of the motor (200) drive.

6. selector device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said drive means of the member (100) of transport are constituted by a mechanism

(210) transmission, said sampling signals being supplied by an encoder integral with the movement of said transport member (100).

7. Selector device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that, said transport member (100) having the shape of a wheel, said transmission mechanism (210) comprises an endless screw (213) coupled to the axis (214) of the drive motor (200) and cooperating with teeth arranged at the periphery of the wheel (100).

8. Selector device according to claim 7, characterized in that the transport wheel (100) is in abutment against a reference plane (P) inclined relative to the vertical (V).

9. Selector device according to claim 8, characterized in that the direction of the pitch of the endless screw (213) is such that, due to friction against said teeth, the transport wheel (100) is pressed against said plane ( P) of reference.

10. Selector device according to one of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that the housing (1 10) comprises at least one edge (1 1 1, 1 12) of contact with said object (1), having an inclined profile able to hold the object (1) against the reference plane (P).

1 1. selector device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the path of the housing (1 10) between said initial (PI) and final positions (P2) also continuously crosses an area (ZO) orientation of objects (1) between a collection outlet (401) and restitution outlet (402), following the measurement zone (ZM).

12. A selector device according to claim 1 1, characterized in that said outlets (401, 402) for collection and restitution are arranged in series opposite the continuous movement of the member (100) of transport, an object (1 ) placed in the housing (1 10) being able, under the action of gravity, to pass through the collection outlet (401) if the object is recognized as conforming when leaving the measurement zone (ZM) or to pass through the return output (402) if the object is recognized as non-compliant when leaving the zone

(ZM) for measurements, a movable flap (400) for closing the collection outlet (401), normally in the open position, being brought to the closed position.

13. selector device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that when the housing (110) is in the final position (P2) waiting, the transport member (100) completely closes the orifice ( 10) introduction.

14. selector device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the measurement zone (ZM) is arranged on the path of the housing (1 10) in such a way that said means (301, 302, 303) of compliance verification are implemented, during the continuous movement of the transport member (100) from the initial position (PI) of the housing communication, after said housing (1 10) has stopped communicating with the opening (10) for introduction.

15. Selector device according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that the objects (1, l ') each having a center, said edges (111, 112) of contact of the housing (100) have such a shape that the centers of said objects are on the same circle (C), concentric with the transport wheel (100).

16. A selector device according to claim 15, characterized in that said circle (C) passes through at least the means (301, 302) for geometric measurements of the objects (1, l ').