FR2846124A1 - Portable coin distributor, uses cylindrical box with cylindrical pockets for each size coin, with spring-loaded piston below coin stack to aid removal of top coin in stack - Google Patents

Abstract

The coin distributor is a cylindrical box (1) with multiple pockets (7-14) distributed round the periphery and with the largest in the center. The diameter of each pocket corresponds to a particular coin. Each pocket has a piston (7a-14a) with a spring beneath. Lateral guides (7b,7c) limit axial movement of the top coin. The pockets are in order of increasing diameter to aid recognition.

Description

The present invention relates to portable devices for

  contain coins and make them accessible to the user for financial transactions details. The invention relates more particularly to a dispenser

  portable coin holder, containing a plurality of stacks of coins, the coins being identical in each stack of coins, and the user having access to the first coin of each stack of coins.

  Retail financial transactions require the handling of different coins, which must be combined to achieve a specific amount. When putting loose coins in a pocket or in a purse, it is necessary to sort the coins and then assemble them appropriately in order to make the necessary amount. The difficulty is then to sort the pieces, which requires recognizing them. People with reduced visual ability have great difficulty in carrying out this operation, and must recognize the pieces 20 by touch, which requires learning and does not exclude

risk of errors.

  There are already known coin displays that traders use by arranging coins by categories according to stacks arranged horizontally side by side one after the other. Such a device is convenient but is not portable, and in particular can not be returned and handled in all

  sense without risk of dropping the parts.

  The invention provides a portable coin dispenser, which can be manipulated and turned in any direction, and allowing the user to access the coins in a recognizable predefined order, so that the user can take coins whose value he knows by their location without having to read the inscriptions they carry or to

recognize by touch.

  The invention aims to further facilitate the recognition of the pieces, so that the distribution of the pieces is rapid and that

  the risk of errors is minimized.

  4257dep doc The invention also aims to provide such a particularly simple portable dispenser which can be expensive both while remaining

  convenient to use and pleasant to the eye.

  To achieve these and other objects, the invention provides a portable coin dispenser, comprising: a housing having a plurality of cells open on the upper face of the housing and each shaped to receive a stack of coins coin, each cell having a piston biased by a spring to axially push the pieces outward perpendicularly to the upper face of the housing, lateral guides limiting the axial movement of the upper stack piece while allowing its transverse sliding to its removal, - the casing has, by looking at its upper face, a spiral contour having a regularly increasing radius and closing by a recess, - the cells comprise peripheral cells and a central cell, the peripheral cells being regularly distributed in periphery of the dispenser and rows according to their diameter crescents from the area of minimum radius occupied by the first cell to the area of maximum radius occupied by the seventh cell, the central cell having a diameter

even higher.

  In this way, the pieces can be arranged in ascending order of their values, which considerably facilitates their recognition, while minimizing the size.

from the distributor.

  Preferably, the successive peripheral cells are substantially adjacent to one another and adjacent to the peripheral side wall of the housing. This further reduces the

dispenser size.

  To adapt to the usual distribution of parts

  currency, the peripheral cells can advantageously be seven in number.

  According to one embodiment, the cells each have a diameter suitable for receiving and guiding a stack of coins of 4257dep.doc Euro currency. For example, the dispenser includes a first cell for coins of one euro cent, a second cell for coins of two euro cents, a third cell for coins of five euro cents, a fourth cell for the 5 dimes, one fifth cell for the dimes of twenty euro cents, a sixth drip for the coins of fifty dimes, a seventh dime for the coins of one Euro, and the zipper central for two Euro coins. Each cell has a depth chosen so as to receive an appropriate number of pieces, for example at least five

stacked pieces.

  In practice, the housing can be formed by assembling a base, a cover, pistons and springs, the base 15 forming a lower bearing surface and comprising the side walls of the cells, the cover forming the peripheral side wall and the upper face of the housing and comprising upper openings forming the outlet openings of the cells with the guides, the pistons being sliding in the respective side walls of the cells, the springs being compression springs engaged between the respective piston and the

bottom of the cell.

  The springs can advantageously be asymmetrical helical springs, ensuring a well distributed thrust force to effectively push the stack of parts whatever

  the number of pieces in the stack.

  The cover can advantageously be simply snapped onto the base, so that assembly does not require

no special tools.

  According to an improved embodiment, the lower bearing surface is integral with a flexible receiving structure

of banknotes.

  Other objects, features and advantages of the

  present invention will emerge from the following description of particular embodiments, made in connection with the figures

  attached, among which: 4257dep.doc - Figure 1 is a three-quarter perspective view above of a portable coin dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention; - Figure 2 is a front view of the coin dispenser of Figure 1; - Figure 3 is a top view, illustrating the upper face of the coin dispenser of Figure 1; - Figure 4 illustrates the bottom view of the coin dispenser of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a partial sectional view illustrating a detail of the coin dispenser of Figure 1; - Figure 6 is a section of the coin dispenser of Figure 3 along line A-A; and

  - Figure 7 is a schematic view of an asymmetric spring.

  In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, the portable coin dispenser according to the invention comprises a box 1 limited by an upper wall 2, by a peripheral side wall 3 and by a bottom 4. The box has, looking at its upper face or upper wall 2, a spiral contour 5 having a regularly increasing radius and closing by a recess 6, as can be seen better on the

Figures 3 and 4.

  The housing 1 comprises a plurality of open cells 25 on the upper face 2 of the housing. A distinction is thus made in the embodiment of the figures, a first cell 7, a second cell 8, a third cell 9, a fourth cell 10, a fifth cell 11, a sixth cell 12, a seventh cell 13, and an eighth cell 14. The first seven cells 30 7 to 13 are peripheral cells, regularly distributed around the periphery of the dispenser and arranged according to their increasing diameters from the zone of minimum radius occupied by the first cell 7 to the zone of maximum radius occupied by the seventh cell 13, the eighth cell 14 being a central cell 35 and having a diameter even greater than that of the

seventh socket 13.

  4257dep.doc As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the successive cells 7 to 13 peripheral are substantially adjacent the

  to each other and are adjacent to the periphery of the housing.

  The cells 7 to 14 each have a suitable diameter 5 for receiving and guiding a stack of Euro coins.

  Thus, the first cell 7 is adapted to receive the coins of one penny of Euro, the second cell 8 is adapted to receive the coins two pennies of Euro, the third cell 9 is adapted to receive the coins of five centimes of Euro, the 10th cell 10 is adapted to receive the dimes of Euro cents, the fifth cell It is adapted to receive the coins of Euro pennies, the sixth cell 12 is adapted to receive the coins of fifty cents of Euro, the seventh cell 13 is adapted to receive the coins of a 15 Euro, and the eighth cell 14 is adapted to receive the

two Euro coins.

  Each cell 7 to 14 has a depth chosen so as to

  receive at least five stacked coins.

  By the spiral shape of the contour 5, it can be seen that the cells 7 to 13 can be positioned in order according to their increasing diameters. As a result, the coins are also arranged in ascending order of their values, which considerably facilitates their recognition and distribution by a user who is not well informed or has poor vision. it also facilitates the speed of choice of parts. Each cell 7 to 14 comprises a respective piston 7a-14a (Figure 1) biased by a spring to axially push the parts outward perpendicular to the upper face 2 of the housing 1. Lateral guides limit the axial movement of the part upper pile while allowing its transverse sliding. Thus, if we consider for example the cell 7 in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper orifice of the cell 7 comprises lateral guides 7b and 7c constituted by the ends of an upper annular rib, which comes partially covering the upper orifice of the cell 7 and prohibits the lifting of the part beyond the guides 7b and 7c, 4257dep.doc while nevertheless allowing the sliding of the part radially outwards as shown in arrow 7d. To take a part, the user thus slides it radially up to

  escape the lateral guides 7b and 7c.

  The central cell 14 has an upper end raised above the upper ends of the peripheral cells 7-13, so as to allow lateral sliding 14d

out of the room.

  In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the housing 1 is formed by assembling a base 1a, a cover 1b, pistons such as the pistons 9a, 13a and 14a corresponding to the respective cells 9, 13 and 14, and springs

  respective such as the 9th, 13th and 14th springs.

  The base forms a lower support surface constituted by the bottom 4, and comprises the cylindrical side walls of the

  alveoli such as walls 15 and 16.

  The cover 1b forms the upper face 2 and the peripheral side wall 3 of the housing 1, and includes upper openings forming the outlet orifices of the cells such as the cells 9, 13 and 14 as well as the lateral guides such as the

  respective guides 9c, 13c and 14c. The pistons 9a, 13a and 14a are adapted to slide in the respective side walls 15 or 16 of the cells 9, 13 and 14. The springs such as the springs 9e, 13e and 14e are compression springs engaged between the respective piston 9a , 13a or 14a and the bottom 4 of the cell.

  In Figure 6, the springs are springs

  helical, whose turns have a constant diameter.

  Preferably, as illustrated in FIG. 7, an asymmetrical helical spring 7e can be used in each cell such as cell 7, which has the advantage of ensuring a

  relatively constant thrust of the corresponding stack of coins regardless of the number of coins present in the pile. The asymmetric spring 7e comprises an upper section 71e of larger diameter which engages on the piston 7a, and a lower section 72e of smaller diameter which engages on the bottom 4.

  As seen in FIG. 6, the upper end of the springs, such as the 14h end of the spring 14e, fits 4257dep doc in a lower housing 14i of the piston 14a, while the lower end of the springs such that the end 14j of the spring 14e engages around a centering protrusion 14k. The

  springs are thus maintained in a centered position.

  The cover 1b is snapped onto the base 1a. For example, the cover 1b includes peripheral lights such as the peripheral lights 9f and 13f (FIG. 6), in which an elastic hooked tab 9g or 13g engages.

  from the base la, to ensure the locking.

  Preferably, as illustrated in the figures, a peripheral light is provided for each peripheral cell, and in FIG. 3 the peripheral lights 7f, 8f, 9f, 10f, 1lf, 12f and 13f are thus distinguished, to which legs correspond.

  respective latching of the base la.

  Peripheral lights 7f-13f allow to distinguish

  the number of parts present in each cell 7-13.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the latching of the cover lb is completed on the base 1a by providing a hook 21a of the base 1a which engages in a housing 21b of the cover 1b. According to an advantageous embodiment, the lower support surface formed by the bottom 4 can be secured to a flexible structure for receiving banknotes. For example, the flexible structure can be formed of two or three flaps folded over each other, between which one can

hire bank notes.

  The flaps can be retained in the closed position

  by a repositionable adhesive surface or, preferably, by surfaces with multiple hooks and multiple loops of the type known under the trademark VELCRO.

  During use, each cell receives a category of stacked parts, which are engaged one by one in the cell. The last part engaged is visible through the upper outlet opening of the cell, and is blocked under the corresponding guides 35. The user can extract this upper part by sliding it radially outwards, and the part

  next takes place under the guides.

4257dep.doc

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been explicitly described, but it includes the various variants and generalizations thereof contained in the field of claims below.

4257dep.doc

Claims (8)

  1 - Portable coin dispenser, characterized in that: it comprises a box (1) having a plurality of cells (7-14) 5 open on the upper face of the box and each shaped to receive a stack of coins coin, each cell (7-14) having a piston (7a-14a) biased by a spring (9e, 13e, 14e) to axially push the coins outward perpendicularly to the upper face (2) of the housing (1) , 10 lateral guides (7b, 7c, 9c, 13c, 14c) limiting the axial displacement of the upper stack part while allowing its transverse sliding, - the housing (1) has, by looking at its upper face (2), a spiral contour (5) having a regularly increasing radius and closing by a recess (6), - the cells (7-14) comprise peripheral cells (7-13) and a central cell (14), the cells peripherals (7-13) being regularly distributed around the periphery of the dis tributary and rows according to their increasing diameters from the zone of minimum radius occupied by the first cell (7) to the zone of maximum radius occupied by the seventh cell (13), the cell   central (14) having an even greater diameter.   2 - Distributor according to claim 1, characterized in that the successive peripheral cells (7-13) are substantially adjacent to each other and to the side wall device (3) of the housing (1).   3 - Distributor according to one of claims 1 or 2,   characterized in that the peripheral cells (7-13) are at number of seven.   4 - Distributor according to any one of the claims   1 to 3, characterized in that the cells (7-14) each have a diameter suitable for receiving and guiding a stack of pieces of Euro currency.   - A dispenser according to claim 4, characterized in that it comprises: - a first cell (7) for coins of one euro cent, - a second cell (8) for coins of two euro cents , 4257dep.doc - a third cell (9) for five euro cent coins, - a fourth cell (10) for ten euro cent coins, - a fifth cell (11) for twenty euro coins euro cents, - a sixth cell (12) for fifty euro coins, - a seventh cell (13) for one euro coins,   - and the central cell (14) for two-euro coins.   6 - Distributor according to any one of claims   1 to 5, characterized in that each cell (7-14) has a depth   chosen to receive at least five stacked coins.   7 - Distributor according to any one of claims 15 1 to 6, characterized in that the housing (1) is formed of   assembling a base (la) and a cover (lb), pistons (7a-14a) and springs (9e, 13e, 14e), the base (la) forming a lower bearing surface ( 4) and comprising the side walls (15, 16) of the cells, the cover (lb) forming the upper face 20 (2) and the peripheral side wall (3) of the housing (1) and comprising upper openings forming the orifices of outlet of the cells with the guides (9c, 13c, 14c), the pistons (7a-14a) being adapted to slide in the respective side walls (15, 16) of the cells (7-14), the springs (9e, 13e, 14e) being 25 compression springs engaged between the respective piston (7a-14a) and the bottom (4) of the cell.   8 - Distributor according to claim 7, characterized in   what the springs are asymmetric coil springs.   9 - Dispenser according to one of claims 6, 7 or 8, 30 characterized in that the cover (lb) is snapped onto the base   (the). - Distributor according to any one of   Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the lower bearing surface (4) is integral with a flexible structure for receiving 35 banknotes. 4257dep.doc