EP1004103B1 - Collecting device for parking meter with standpost structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A coin-emptying device for a column-shaped slot machine. A hopper (10) is provided for storing coins and having an outlet opening (11). A coin-discharge drawer (20) is movable between a "closed" first position in which the drawer closes the outlet opening (11) of the hopper (10), and an "open" second position in which the outlet opening (11) of the hopper is cleared so as to enable coins to be transferred from the machine to the outside.

Description

The present invention relates to a coin collection device change for a terminal-type parking meter. The invention finds a particularly advantageous application in the field secure storage and collection of coins in a parking meter.

Conventionally, a parking meter operating with parts of coin has a stepped terminal structure. An element particularly important of this parking meter is the collection, commonly called piggy bank, which is where is stored temporarily all the money in the parking meter which must be regularly emptied during collections by agents authorized. This very sensitive area therefore requires a high degree of protection regarding currency security whether at the level from the storage of the parts to that of their evacuation.

Generally speaking, there are two broad categories of collection devices: mobile money box devices and devices by cassette transfer.

The mobile piggy bank is a box into which the coins fall of money. When the box is full, the authorized collector the extract from the parking meter and replaces it with a blank.

On the contrary, a cassette-transfer parking meter receives the coins money in a defined area, usually funnel-shaped, called hopper, open in its lower part to allow the evacuation of money when collecting the parking meter. When the hopper is full, the collecting agent hangs up a collection container empty, the transfer cassette, on or under the device, and, through the opening from a hatch, transfers the coins from the parking meter to the cassette transfer. Generally, the hatch is located in the part lower of the hopper so that the transfer is carried out by gravity. However, this collection function could just as easily be imagined in the same way with another energy than that of the gravity, by suction for example. The transfer is complete, the collecting agent closes the hatch and unhooks the cassette full of timestamp. It will only have to empty it at its deposit. So the document EP391302 describes a system for emptying into a container collector of a coin receiving apparatus.

These two categories of collection devices apply well parking meters with a piggy bank incorporated in a housing protruding from the foot, changing the piggy bank or the transfer by cassette taking place from below said casing.

However, in the case of a terminal-shaped parking meter, the money must be transferred by gravity, it is difficult or even impossible, to place a transfer cassette under the hopper.

Also, the technical problem to be solved by the subject of this invention is to provide a device for collecting coins for a parking meter with terminal structure, which would allow the collection of coins by evacuation outside the parking meter at possibly using a transfer cassette.

The solution to the technical problem posed consists, according to the present invention, in that said device comprises, on the one hand, a hopper for storing said coins, having a outlet opening, and, on the other hand, a means of evacuating the parts, movable between a first position, called the closed position, in which said evacuation means closes the outlet opening of the hopper, and a second position, called the open position, in which the opening hopper outlet is cleared to allow transfer coins outside the parking meter.

Thus, in the closed position, the two constituent elements of the device of the invention, namely the hopper and the means of evacuation mobile, are sort of folded inside the structure in parking meter terminal, while they are deployed in position open, the parts collection outlet being offset to the outside of the very structure of the parking meter.

As we will see in detail below, an advantage of the device, object of the invention is that the outlet opening of the hopper can be placed in the center of the parking meter, making it accessible almost impossible fraud.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, said evacuation means is a drawer arranged under said hopper and comprising an inclined conduit having an inlet orifice and a discharge orifice, such as in the open position of said drawer, said orifice inlet is in communication with the outlet opening of the hopper, said discharge orifice allowing the transfer of coins outside the parking meter.

Collecting coins outside the parking meter can be carried out by any means, however the invention provides for the device of the invention that it also comprises a container of collection of coins, known as transfer cassette, comprising a mobile opening hatch, intended to put said communication in communication cassette transfer with said discharge means in the open position.

More specifically, in the case where the means of evacuation is a movable drawer, it is provided, according to the invention, that, the drawer being closed position, the transfer cassette opening flap is fixed said drawer, and that the opening of said hatch brings the movable drawer in open position and simultaneously connects the transfer cassette with the discharge opening of the inclined duct.

According to another aspect of the invention, the hopper includes a coin cleaning system. We notes, in fact, that when the outlet opening of the hopper is clear, no parts fall, whatever the shape and dimensions of the opening, this because the pieces form domes domes in the hopper that must be permanently broken, as soon as a dome is broken that another is reformed immediately after.

Finally, an advantageous characteristic of the device according to the invention is that it is arranged inside a double shield wall, the parts being stored in an internal structure to resist to vandalism, itself enclosed in an external structure, in steel for example, providing protection. The vacuum between two walls allows to accommodate shielding plates additional.

We can then envisage for the device of the invention that it includes a locking system for the mobile evacuation means pieces, placed in the center of said double-walled shielding, which makes very difficult access from the outside to said locking system.

The description which will follow with regard to the attached files, given as nonlimiting examples, will make it clear how consists of the invention and how it can be realized.

Figure 1 is a side sectional view of a collection device according to the invention, drawer in closed position.

Figure 2 is a sectional side view of the collection device in Figure 1, drawer in the open position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a system of cleaning the device of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a side view of a locking system of the drawer shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The coin collecting device shown in the figures 1 and 2 is intended to equip a parking meter with terminal structure, of the type of that described in the aforementioned French patent application. These measures The purpose of collection is to be able to transfer the coins by example in a container, such as a transfer cassette.

To this end, said collection device comprises a hopper 10 of storage of coins from a selector and pre-collection stage, not shown. In the lower part, the hopper 10 has an outlet opening 11 through which must flow the pieces at the time of collection.

On the other hand, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the device collection of the invention also includes a means 20 of evacuation parts which, in the embodiment shown, is a drawer disposed under the storage hopper 10 and comprising an inclined conduit 21 having an inlet orifice 211 and an outlet orifice 212.

The drawer 20 is movable between two extreme positions. In first position, called the closed position, represented in FIG. 1, the drawer 20 closes the opening 11 of the hopper outlet 10. This is the position rest of the device in which the coins pile up in the storage hopper 10 awaiting the next collection. We can observe that in this position, the drawer 20 is somehow folded under the hopper 10, this in full compatibility with the structure in parking meter terminal. In a second position, called position open, shown in Figure 2, the opening 11 of the hopper outlet 10 is released and placed in communication with the inlet port 211 of the inclined conduit 21, the outlet port 212 allowing the transfer of coins outside the parking meter. This is the position of collection of the device in which the pieces flow by gravity from the hopper 10 to the outside via the inclined conduit 21, the role of which is therefore to deport the output of the hopper 10 outside the parking meter. Well heard, during collection, the drawer 20 projects relative to the terminal structure, however, this position is only provisional.

Coins flowing out of the parking meter can be collected in a collection container 30, called transfer cassette. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, said transfer cassette 30 includes a movable opening hatch 31, intended for put the transfer cassette 30 into communication with the drawer 20 in open position. More specifically, we can see in Figure 1 that when the drawer 20 is in the closed position, the hatch 31 for opening closes the transfer cassette. To collect, we fix the hatch 31 to drawer 20, then, by a translational movement in the direction of the arrow F in FIG. 1, the slide 20 is brought into the open position and, simultaneously, the hatch 31 is opened, thus putting in communication the transfer cassette 30 with the discharge orifice 212. The pieces of currency can then flow directly by gravity from the hopper 10 storage into the transfer cassette 30.

When the collection is finished, the opening hatch 31 is pushed back, bringing the drawer 20 to the closed position, and closing at new transfer cassette 30. Note that at no time the interior of the transfer cassette is made accessible.

In Figures 1, 2 and 3, a cleaning system is shown coins in the storage hopper 10. As has been recalled above, this system aims to break the domes formed by the pieces piled up and which oppose their flow.

Said cleaning system includes a pendulum 41 which is a steel rod passing through all the heap of coins in the hopper 10 and articulated at one end 411. An operating rod 42 on which is mounted a handle 43 allows a collecting agent, from the outside of the parking meter, to swing the pendulum 42 in the middle of the domes of coins and therefore to evacuate the currency at the bottom of the hopper 10.

We can see in Figures 1, 2, and 4 that the collection device is placed in a double-walled shield comprising a wall internal 51, not very resistant to vandalism, and an external wall 52 in steel providing protection. The vacuum of about 10mm thick existing between the two walls 51, 52 can be filled by housing therein additional armor plates, adapted according to the evolution of vandalism attacks on the ground.

It will be noted that, in this structure, the outlet opening 11 of the hopper 10, as well as the pile of coins, are in the center of the parking meter, and therefore away from the outer walls, which makes it very difficult to attempt any fraudulent access.

In the same concern, we can see more specifically in the figure 4, that the drawer 20 is provided with a locking system placed in the center double-walled shielding, therefore almost inaccessible. This system of locking comprises a bolt 61 and a locking stop 62. The bolt 61 is movable between a locked position (solid line) and a unlocked position (broken line), the movement of said bolt being controlled by a key (not shown) passing through the transfer cassette 30.

Claims (8)

1. Device for collecting coins from a Pay & Display machine with a terminal structure comprising (a) a storage hopper (10) for the said coins with an outlet opening (11) and (b) means (20) for removing the coins that can move from a first position, called the closed position, where the said removal means (20) close the outlet opening (11) of the hopper (10) and a second position, called the open position, where the hopper outlet (11) is clear so as to enable the transfer of coins outside the Pay & Display machine, characterised in that the said removal means are made up of a drawer (20) placed under the said hopper (10), with a sloping channel (21) having an inlet hole (211) and an outlet hole (212) so that when the drawer (20) is in the open position, the said inlet hole (211) communicates with the outlet opening (11) of the hopper (10) and the said outlet hole (212) makes it possible to transfer coins outside the Pay & Display machine.
2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that it also contains a container (30) for collecting the coins, called the transfer canister, with a mobile opening hatch (31) that is designed to make the said transfer canister (30) communicate with the said removal means (20) in the open position.
3. Device according to claim 2, characterised in that when the drawer (20) is in the closed position, the transfer canister (30) opening hatch (31 ) is fixed to the said drawer and that the said hatch (31) moves the mobile drawer (20) to the open position, at the same time making the transfer canister (30) communicate with the tilted channel (21) removal hole (212).
4. Device according to any claim from 1 to 3, characterised in that the hopper (10) contains a system for unjamming the coins.
5. Device according to claim 4, characterised in that the said unjamming system comprises a pendulum (41) that goes through the hopper (10) and is articulated at one end (411), and a manoeuvring rod (42) for the said pendulum (40) around the said end (411).
6. Device according to any claim from 1 to 5, characterised in that it is placed inside double-walled armouring (51, 52).
7. Device according to claim 6, characterised in that it comprises a system (61, 62) for locking the mobile coin removal means (20), placed at the centre of the said double-walled armouring (51, 52).
8. Device according to claims 2 and 7, characterised in that the said locking system (61, 62) is controlled by a key going through the transfer canister (30).

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