FR2508208A1 - DISTRIBUTOR OF MONEY COINS WITH BULK STORAGE - Google Patents

Abstract

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

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic coin dispenser

  The coin dispenser can be used in a wide variety of fields, for example in a coin-counting device, and can be used to store coins and distribute a desired number from bulk storage. the currency or in entertainment or distraction machines releasing pieces of monnaiedu type known as pocker machines, or slot machines

  term coins used in this description

  includes tokens having the same general form as a

piece of money.

  Various devices capable of storing and dispensing coins are known and used, and most of them use the principle of the tilting rotary disc to sort and deliver coins. Such systems pose certain problems, among which The present invention relates to a

  simple, effective and economical device to produce.

  The present invention relates to a bulk storage coin dispenser which comprises means for storing bulk coins, an output of said means, a platform arranged adjacent to said outlet for receiving coins of said means. storage, a conveyor means arranged to receive the coins of said platform, said platform being associated with a vibrating means arranged to vibrate the platform so that the coins arriving on the platform in presence of the storage means are directed towards the conveyor means, means arranged adjacent to said

  conveyor to order the incoming coins

  on the conveyor means so that the conveyor means drives a single layer of coins arranged in an orderly and "end-to-end" condition. It is preferable that means are provided adjacent to the conveyor means for counting the coins carried by the conveyor. conveying means and that means counting the coins is associated with means for stopping the movement of the conveyor means when a predetermined number of coins has been counted. A preferred form of an automatic coin dispenser according to the invention comprises a storage cup where the coins are stored at random and in proximity thereto, there is an inclined conveyor belt which is connected to the storage cup through an opening To pass the coins through the opening, to bring them on the conveyor at an acceptable pace, there is a vibrating and inclined platform which is placed at the base of the opening Above the conveyor is mounted a rotating drum with three flexible arms also arranged on its circumference It is placed so as to allow only one piece to pass under it at a time, thus ensuring that all moving parts

  on the conveyor will do it in one layer.

  When the coins reach the end of the conveyor, they fall into a fall that drives them

  to the required dispensing receptacle.

  There is an electronic photo emitter and an electronic receiving cell that are mounted above and below a hole in an exit chute respectively

  at the top or exit end of the conveyor at a

  such as, while each coin leaves the

  Conveyor to go to the fall, she passes between them.

  As each coin passes between them, the light of the transmitting cell is interrupted and thus creates a light pulse. This pulse is converted into an electrical pulse and is in turn re-applied to an electronic circuit that uses it to count the pulses. coins passing along the conveyor When the correct and predetermined number of coins has been

  counted, the electronic circuit stops the conveyor belt.

  The invention will be better understood and other purposes,

  characteristics, details and advantages of it

  more clearly in the explanatory description

  which will follow with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings given solely by way of example illustrating an embodiment of the invention and in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a dispenser according to the invention; Figure 2 is a side view with the outer cover (3) omitted; Figure 3 is an inverted plan view; Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of Figure 2; and FIG. 5 is a sectional view made according to the

  line B-B in Figure 2, through the hopper and platform

  form. The device consists of a molding in the form of a tapered cup 1, the deepest side of which

  has an opening at its lowest point 2 At the outer face

  on this side the deepest is attached another molding 3 called conveyor molding, which covers the opening 2 in the side of the cut In this attached molding 3 are

  rotary mounted three toothed rollers 4, 4 a and 5 on

  a rubber endless belt 6 with teeth molded on its inner face 7, which engage the teeth in the rollers 4, 4a and 5 is rotated. The roll 4 is rotated by a gear train 8, 9, 10 and 11 which in turn are rotated by an electric motor 12 The rollers 4 and 5 are return rollers, the roller 5 being loaded by spring

  to maintain the tension in the band 6.

  A platform 13 is pivotally mounted adjacent to the conveyor belt 6 at its lower end, and protrudes laterally through the opening 2 in the side of the cup 1 Two retaining tabs 14 on this platform 13, formed at the furthest end of the conveyor belt 6 protrude through the side of the

  attached conveyor molding 3 and allow the platform

  shape to rotate around this end Pins

  slits 14 secured by holes in these tabs to the outside.

  molding 3, hold the platform 13 at its position.

  tion. The other end of this platform is supported on a four-lobed cam 15 which is rotatably mounted below it, in a position such that the platform 13 is inclined downwards towards the conveyor 6 An angle of 100 This four-lobed cam 15 is in turn attached to a rotatable shaft 16 which is rotated by a pinion 17 in engagement with the drive pinion 11.

conveyor.

  When the cam with four lobes is rotated

  tion, the lobes of this cam force the free end of the vibrating platform 13 to move up and down,

  by pivoting around the two legs 14 at its other end.

  The speed at which this cam 15 is forced to rotate

  imparts a rapid vertical vibration to the platform 13.

  Above the conveyor is rotatably mounted a roller 18 provided with three blades 19 of a flexible plastic or rubber These blades have a length such that when they rotate above the conveyor, they leave a space between their end and the surface of the conveyor> equivalent to the thickness of a coin that must be

  used in the dispenser This roller 18, called

  the water that wipes is rotated by a pinion 20

  driving a pinion 21 and a pinion 22 fixed to the roller 18.

  Below the conveyor 6, facing the roller 18 is mounted a plate 23; the position of this plate is adjustable so that the upper surface of the conveyor can be

  spaced aved precision of blade tips 19.

  A chute 24 with a hole 25 is mounted at a position

  stationary beyond the conveyor at its upper end.

  An electronic light source 26 is mounted above

  of the fall, with a receiver 27 below.

  Occasionally, a stream of upright coins was found to arrive on tape 6 of the

  platform 13 In order to deal with this situation, a "bala-

  It is composed of the roller 28 having three blades 29 similar to the blades 19. The roller 28 is driven by a belt 30 by means of a pulley 31 which is integral with the roller 18. The ends of the blades 29 are arranged to move to above the band 6 at a height such that the coins placed on the flank are

  forced to fall into a "flat" position.

  The coins are held in reserve in section 1 statistically, and because of the tapered shape of the cup, the coins tend to fall to the bottom of the cup towards the opening 2 which is formed at its bottom. deepest side The pieces tend to cross the opening but, as they are arranged statistically, they do not flow through it in an orderly way The coins that

  actually cross the opening, or partially,

  rest at the top of the vibrating platform 13 which partially protrudes through the opening 2 in the

cutting area.

  When the device is to dispense a given number of coins, a conventional electronic control circuit (not shown) forces the electric motor 12 to start and this forces the conveyor to move around the rollers 4 and 5 and at the same time, causes the four-lobe cam to rotate and impart a vertical vibration force to the vibrating platform 13 The coins resting on this platform vibrate down along its slope, to come into contact with the moving conveyor belt As the coins come into contact with the conveyor belt, they are driven onto it and rise up along its inclined plane, towards its upper or exit end as these coins will be on the conveyor so statistical or random and that it will therefore be impossible to count accurately, it is necessary to reduce them to an order and "end-to-end" This is achieved as they pass under the wiper roll 18, which rotates around the conveyor and as the blades are made to be spaced from the conveyor surface only by the thickness of a coin, all the same. parts on another will be swept from the conveyor and reamed towards the start. As the coins move on the conveyor in a single ordered and "end-to-end" layer, they pass under the phototransmitter 26. Whenever a coin passes under this phototransmitter, it interrupts the beam of light to the receiver 27, causing the generation of a pulse These pulses are used to count the coins in a conventional manner according to the required and predetermined quantity to be dispensed, and when this total has been reached, the control circuit stops the motorforcing

any function to stop.

  The preferred form of the invention which has been described above has the following advantageous features: (a) the ability to store a large number of coins in a relatively small space; (b) the ability to distribute an exact number of coins or tokens; (c) a very fast pace of operation; (d) replenishment capacity; (e) the ability to divert surplus coins when it is full, and the ability to count

  precisely those surplus pieces that are diverted.

  Mechanically, the device is simple and has a minimum number of moving parts It is therefore easy to maintain and can therefore be expected

to a reliable service.

Claims (6)

R E V E N D I C A T IO N S   1 Bulk storage coin dispenser, characterized in that it comprises means (1) for storing loose coins, an output of said means, a platform (13) arranged adjacent said exit for receiving coins coins of said storage means, a conveyor means (6) arranged to receive the coins of said platform, said platform being associated with a vibrating means (15, 16, 17) arranged to vibrate said plate in such a way that the coins arriving on said platform from said storage means are directed towards said conveyor means, means (18) arranged adjacent said conveyor means for ordering the coins arriving on said conveyor means; so that said conveyor means carries a single layer of arranged coins to an ordered state and "butt".   Dispenser according to Claim 1, characterized in that the aforementioned means for storing the bulk coins consists of a hopper having an internal surface sloping to a position adjacent to a side in which the above-mentioned opening is formed and in that a portion of said platform protrudes through said opening, said platform sloping downwardly to the aforementioned conveyor means.   Distributor according to any one of the claims   1 or 2, characterized in that the aforesaid vibrating means is constituted by a multilobic rotating cam (15) which comes into contact with the underside of said platform.   Distributor according to any one of the claims   characterized in that the aforesaid means for ordering coins consists of a roll (18) having radially extending flexible arms (19) arranged to rotate above the aforesaid conveyor means, the ends said arms being arranged to pass above said conveyor means at a slightly greater distance   to the thickness of a coin.   Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that additional means (28, 29) are provided above the abovementioned conveyor means between the abovementioned platform and the aforementioned means for ordering the coins, in order to forcing said coins fed onto said conveyor means   in upright position, to switch to a flat position.   Distributor according to any one of the claims   characterized in that electronic means (26, 27) are provided adjacent to said conveyor means for producing an electrical pulse.   at the passage of each coin.   Distributor according to any one of the claims   characterized in that the aforesaid conveyor means is a continuous strip driven by an engine electric (12).