GB2100491A

GB2100491A - Coin validator

Info

Publication number: GB2100491A
Application number: GB8116245A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: COIN CONTROLS; Coin Controls Ltd
Current assignee: COIN CONTROLS; Crane Payment Innovations Ltd
Priority date: 1981-05-28
Filing date: 1981-05-28
Publication date: 1982-12-22
Also published as: GB2100491B; ES512588A0; AU8417882A; ES8302933A1; FR2506975A1

Abstract

A coin validator comprising a coin receiving slot (2) opening into a coin guide path (5), an obturator (11) downstream of the slot normally blocking the passage of all coins inserted therein until it is moved out of the coin path when coin validating means (9,10), preferably two pairs of orthogonally arranged coils, upstream of the obturator senses that the true coin has been received in the slot, the obturator being operable to return and represent all unacceptable coins at the coin receiving slot. Additional sensors such as photosensors (30, 31) may also be provided and operably linked with the obturator so that it is only moved out of the coin path when various signals generated thereby satisfy a pre-set security sequence. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Coin validating arrangement This invention relates to a coin validating arrange mentfora coin operated mechanism. Such mechanisms may, for example, be used in vending or amusement machines, ticket issuing machines, turnstile or barrier control machines. Throughout this specification, the coin validating arrangement will be described in terms of coin operation but it will be appreciated that it could equally well be token operated. In the past, in amusement and vending machines it has been usual to allow a coin inserted therein to fall under gravity past one or more mechanical coin validating mechanisms which, if cleared, permit the coin to trip an activating switch at an accept point and thereby operate the machine.If the validating mechanisms are not cleared because the coin is not acceptable for some reason, then it is directed at the end of its path into a separate reject cup for collection by the person using the machine.

There are several problems associated with such mechanisms for instance: 1) The vertical drop between the coin entry slot and the reject cup means that vending or amusement machine manufacturers have to design their machines to allow sufficient space for the return of a rejected coin. This increases the height of the machine and therefore the manufacturing costs thereof.

2) The reject cup is a point of entry for wires or other means whereby a person can attempt to cheat the machine.

3) The vertical drop of the coin from the coin entry slot to its acceptance point means that there is less vertical space available for con pay out tubes, cash boxes etc. because the bottom of the coin mechanism dictates the maximum height of the pay out tubes etc. as it must fall from the coin mechanism into the payouttube.

These problems essentially arise because of the requirement to provide one or more coin validating mechanism on the vertical drop of a coin validating arrangement. In order to accommodate such mechanism, it will be appreciated that the vertical drop between coin entry slot and reject cup must be a substantial distance if they are to have the required working space.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a coin validating arrangement which can overcome or substantially reduce the above disadvantages in particular enabling the need for a coin reject path and associated coin reject cup to be dispensed with.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a coin validating arrangement comprising a coin receiving slot opening into a coin guide path, an obturator downstream of the slot normally blocking the passage of all coins inserted therein until it is moved out of said coin path when coin validating means upstream of the obturator senses that a true coin has been received in said slot, the obturator being operable to return and represent all unacceptable coins at the coin receiving slot.

Preferably the coin validating means is one or more inductive devices which are operable to sense whether a true coin is present, the signal generated thereby being used to activate and move the obturator.

Preferably the obturator is moved out of the coin path by electrically powered means operable in response to a signal from the coin validating means.

However, the coin validating means could be made to operate a locking arrangement associated with the obturator, for instance a releasable pin retaining the obturator in its normal rest position blocking the coin path, whereby on release of said locking arrangement, further pressure on the coin results in the coin itself pushing the obturator out of its path, preferably against a bissing force so that it is returned to its rest position where it blocks the path of all coins after the true accepted coin has fallen past the obturator under gravity.

In a preferred arrangement, the obturator is spring biassed and movable on pressure applied to a coin inserted in the entry slot against said bias from a rest position where it blocks the coin path to a first position where it still blocks the coin path. When in this first position, if the coin is a true one, the coin validating means generates an accept signal which permits the obturator to be moved out of the coin path. However, if an unacceptable coin is presented to the coin validating means, the obturator will not be moved out ofthe coin path and accordingly on release of pressure on the coin, the coin will be represented at the entry slot under the action of the obturator return spring. It will be appreciated that instead of using a return spring for the obturator, it could be arranged to be motor driven using electrically powered means such as a solenoid.

Any suitable coin validating means (preferably of electrical or electronic form) can be used but one or more inductive devices is most preferred, these conveniently being coils of one or more turns and being arranged so that when a coin passes the field associated therewith, an electrical signal is generated. In a preferred arrangement, two pairs of coils orthogonally arranged to each other are used as such an arrangement has been found to be particularly sensitive.

The obturator should preferably be operable as follows: 1) It should only move out of the coin path when a true coin has been presented at the coin validating means and sensed as such by said means.

2) It should not operate with either a false coin running in front of a true coin or vice versa.

3) It should not be able to close on a coin thereby trapping it and jamming the mechanism.

4) It should not be possible to gain any advantage by moving it out of the coin path using a wire or penknife inserted through the coin entry slot.

5) It should close before an accept signal is sent to an accept/reject gate.

The coin validating arrangement of the invention should also preferably include means which prevent a true coin being withdrawn on a thread, tape or other means attached thereto. This can be achieved in numerous ways such as including a thread trapping pawl or gripping arrangement or alterna tively ensuring that the obturator has returned to its rest position before an accept signal can be sent.

Alternatively, one or more sets of additional inductive devices may be provided downstream of the obturator along the path of the coin through the mechanism arranged so that signals received from each coil may be checked against those from the coils upstream and/or downstream thereof, the arrangement being such that the accept gate will only open if the various signals satisfy a pre-set security sequence. Instead of using inductive devices, positional photosensors may be used.

Preferably the obturator serves to blockthe passage of a coin down the coin guide path until such time as it is moved out of said path to permit passage of a coin. It can, moreover, be designed to at least make it difficult for it to be pushed or lifted clear of the coin path via the coin slot until the means to move it or permit its release having been activated.

However, in general, since the production of an accept signal will be dependent on coin validation, it will be seen that no advantage can be gained by clearing (lifting) the obturator using a tool, penknife or wire worked through the coin entry slot. If desired, the back of the obturator can be extended to form a back stop which blocks the coin path beyond it when it is lifted out of the path of a true coin. The obturator will be constructed so that once the front portion thereof has returned to its notmal position blocking the path of a coin through the coin entry slot, the rear part of the obturator would then be moved out of the path of the coin to permit itto pass through the mechanism to the accept station.This feature can assist in preventing attempted frauds using a false coin and a suspended trud coin entered in close succession.

Whilst it is preferred that the obturator be physically moved out of the path of a true coin by separate means operable in response to a signal generated by the coin validating means, it is envisaged within the scope of the invention that the obturator can be moved by pressure applied to the coin inserted in the entry slot, the obturator being allowed to make such movement only when a locking pin or other means retaining it in its coin path blocking position is released.

A preferred embodiment of a coin validating arrangement of the present invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a schematic side view, partly in section, of one form of coin validating arrangement showing the obturator in its rest position; Figure 2 is a schematic series of drawings showing the operating sequence of the arrangement of Figure 1;and Figure 3 is a plan view of the obturator shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a coin validating arrangement mounted on a bezel 1 provided with a horizontally extending coin or token receiving slot 2. The slot could however be vertically arranged if desired. The bezel is attached to a face plate 3 by suitable means (not shown), the face plate also including means for attachment thereof to the amusement, vending or other machine to which the whole arrangement is to be fitted.

The coin mechanism comprises a body member4 having formed therein a coin chute or channel 5 providing a guide path for a coin through the mechanism towards an accept station at the downstream end thereof. Bottom 6 of said chute is mounted with respect to the bezel 1 so that it is coplanar with the entry slot 2 but inclined at an angle to the horizontal, conveniently between 25 and 45" so that a coin inserted in the slot 2 can slide down the coin chute 5 under gravity in the direction of arrow A.

The passage of a coin from the coin entry slot to the accept station downstream thereof is normally blocked by an obturator or slide 11, the slide being biassed to its illustrated rest position by means of one or more return springs (not shown) and being pivotable at one end about a horizontal axis on trunnions 13 which engage in longitudinal slots 19 in the body member4to allow the obturator to be displaced rearwardly from its rest position against the action of the spring(s) 14 until its front edge 15 is clear of the rear of the entry slot 2. The or each return spring is mounted so that the front edge of the obturator remains in contact with the bottom 6 of the coin chute 5 on insertion of a coin in the coin slot 2.

The slots 19 are upwardly inclined so that the rear of the obturator 11 rises as it moves along the slots 19 out of the coin path. The obturator could however be constructed so that its rear portion is always out of the path of a coin travelling down the coin chute 5, the front portion including a downwardly depending foot portion to normally block the coin chute 5.

Preferably, the slots 19 are of such a length that when a coin is fully inserted in the coin slot 2, the trunnions 13 terminate their rearward movement just short of the end of each slot 19. This reduces the risk of jamming of the mechanism.

A solenoid 20 operable through an electric driver in response to a signal from sensing coils 9, 10 located on either side of the coin entry slot 2 lifts the obturator 11 out of the coin path to permit passage of a true coin down the coin chute 5 only when said coils 9, 10 generate a signal to indicate that a true coin is present.

With the described arrangement, it will be seen that on insertion of a coin into the slot 2, it will initially come to rest against the front edge of the obturator 11 which will be in its normal rest position shown in Figure 1. Light pressure on the coin will cause the obturator 11 to move rearwardly along the coin chute 5 until its front edge 15 is beyond the rear edge of the entry slot 2. During this movement, the front edge of the obturator remains in contact with the bottom of the coin chute 5 and the coin will have been pressed into the slot 2 past its centre line. If the coin validating coils 9, 10 accept the coin, and subject to the action of the validating circuitry, the solenoid 20 will be energised to pivot the obturator 11 upwardly whereby its front edge 15 is lifted out of the path of the true coin which can then fall under gravity down the remainder of the coin chute towards the accept station.

If the coin is not accepted by the validating coils 9, 10, either because it is false or the machine is disconnected or still operating from a previous customer, the coin can still be pushed a short way into the slot 2 from its rest position until the trunnions 13 abut the ends of the slots 19. Because the coils 9, 10 have not accepted the coin, the solenoid 20 is not energised so the obturator's front edge 15 remains in its lowered position and occludes the path of the coin. On release of pressure on the coin therefore, the spring loaded obturator 11 returns to its rest position shown in Figure 1 and represents the rejected coin to the customer at the entry slot 2.

A major advantage of the mechanism just described is that it avoids the need to provide a separate reject outlet for non accepted coins due to the fact that they are represented to the customer through the same slot as that used to insert the coin in the mechanism.

To avoid cheating of the mechanism two optical sensors 30, 31 are provided, sensor 30 (hereinafter referred to as sensor 1) being located in the coin validating coils 9, 10 and sensor 31 (hereinafter referred to as sensor 2) being located downstream of the coin entry slot 2 intermediate the coils 9, 10 and the solenoid 20. The obturator 11 has a slot 33 extending from its front edge 15 and an aperture 34 spaced from but axially aligned therewith the purpose of which will be described hereinafter. The obturator also has a sprag 35 on its upper surface which cooperates with an inclined surface 36 located above it on the body 4 to redirect the obturator downwardly into contact with the coin chute 5 on its return to its rest position shown in Figure 1 after a true coin has travelled past it.

Preferably the distance of the sensor 2 from sensor 1 is adjustable so that the mechanism can be adapted to suit coins of a different diameter. The position of the aperture 34 on the obturator would also have to be changed correspondingly. Changing the position of sensor 2 also adjusts the "read now" instruction to the validating coils 9, 10.

Although not illustrated, the bottom surface of the obturator 11 is preferably formed with axially extending ribs which fit into corresponding grooves in the bottom of the coin chute 5. Thus, if a coin is suspended on a piece of adhesive tape, the obturator cannot fully return to its rest position so no accept signal will be generated.

The operating sequence of the illustrated embodiment is as follows, the paragraph numbers given hereafter corresponding to those used in Figure 2.

1. The obturator is in its rest position. Sensors 1 and 2 see a clear path via slot 33 and hole 34 which is in axial alignment with sensor 31.

2. On insertion of a coin 40 in the entry slot 2, as it is pushed in, first of all sensor 2 is obstructed by the obturator and secondly sensor 1 is obstructed by the leading edge of the coin.

3. Once the obturator has reached its point of rearmost travel, i.e. when its front edge 15 is clear of the rear of the coin entry slot 2, (this position will be referred to hereafter as the "MEASURE POSITION"), sensor 1 remains obstructed by the coin but sensor 2 sees a clear path through the obturator via slot 33 which has now moved inwardly.

4. After the coin has been stationary at the "measure position" for a relatively short predetermined time, the coin validation signal generated by the coils 9, 10 is "latched" and, if true, (for a predetermined length of time continuously), the obturator lifts. (Sensor 1 is obstructed and sensor 2 is clear).

5. After the obturator has lifted, the coin falls down the coin chute 5 under gravity towards the accept station and the cash box (not shown). In doing this, first of all sensor 2 is obstructed by the leading edge of the coin and then sensor 1 becomes clear as the trailing edge of the coin passes.

6. After the coin has passed sensor 2, both sensors become clear so the solenoid 20 releases the obturator and it returns to its rest position under the action of springs 14. During this movement, the sprag 35 engages with inclined surface 36 on the housing thereby ensuring that the obturator nose is pushed down into contact with the bottom of the coin chute 5.

7. The obturator returns to its rest position.

Firstly sensor 2 is obstructed by the obturator, secondly as the obturator reaches its rest position, the sensor 2 is clear via hole 34 again sensor 1 remains clear throughout all return movement of the obturator.

8. The accept signal is generated and the mechanism reset to receive the next coin.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that for a true coin to result in an accept signal being generated, a clearly defined sequence of signals must be received from the photocells. As these can be time related in extremely small time increments, cheating the mechanism is made very difficult because there is not enough time to remove a true coin after it has been accepted by the coils 9, 10 and replace it with a blank. The small time increments also discourage insertion of a true coin on a thread and then removing it for re-use.

The electronics and circuitry associated with the coils 9, 10, photosensors 30, 31 and the solenoid have not been described but it will be appreciated that these can be designed to suit the testing sequence desired.

However, it should be mentioned that, in the described arrangement, it is not usually necessary for the photosensor 30 (sensor 1) to be highly sensitive, as it will generally be used simply to detect presence of any metal object. It is therefore possible to omit sensor 1 and to make use of the coin validating coils 9, 10, especially when these are orthogonally arranged, for both high level and low level sensing, i.e. both for coin validation and for metal presence, at differing thresholds of detection.

Claims

1. A coin validating arrangement comprising a coin receiving slot opening into a coin guide path, an obturator normally blocking the passage of all coins inserted therein until it is moved out of said path when coin validating means senses that a true coin has been received in said slot, the obturator being operable to return and represent all unacceptable coins at the coin receiving slot.

2. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the coin validating means is one or more inductive devices which are operable to sense whether a true coin is present, the signal generated thereby being used to cause the obturator to be moved out of the coin path only when a true signal has been generated.

3. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the obturator is moved out of the coin path by electrically powered means operable in response to a true coin signal generated by the coin validating means.

4. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the obturator is spring biassed and movable on pressure applied to a coin inserted in the entry slot against said bias from a rest position where it blocks the coin path to a first position where it still blocks the coin path until the coin path until the coin validating means generates a true coin signal to permit the obturator to be moved out of the coin path, the obturator representing the coin at the slot on release of pressure applied thereto if the true coin signal is not generated.

5. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the obturator is returned to its rest position by electrically powered means.

6. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 5 wherein said electrically powered means is a solenoid.

7. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6 wherein the coin validating means comprises a pair of inductive devices.

8. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 7 wherein the coin validating means includes a second pair of inductive devices, said first and second pairs being arranged orthogonally to each other

9. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein means are provided to prevent a true coin being withdrawn on means attached thereto such as a thread or tape.

10. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 9 wherein said means comprises a thread trapping pawl or gripping arrangement.

11. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 9 including means associated with the obturatorto indicate that it has returned to its rest position before an accept signal can be generated.

12. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 9 including one or more additional sensing devices provided downstream of the obturator along the path of the coin and operably connected with the obturator whereby it will only move out of the coin path if various signals generated by the additional sensing devices satisfy a pre-set security sequence.

13. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 12 wherein the or each additional sensing device is an inductive device.

14. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 12 wherein the or each additional sensing device is a photosensor.

15. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 14 wherein a photosensor is provided in the region of the coin validation means to generate a read now signal thereto.

16. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 14 or 15 wherein a photosensor is provided downstream of the coin validation means.

17. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 16 when dependant on claim 15 wherein the distance between the spaced photosensors in adjustable to accommodate coins of different diameters.

18. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the bottom surface of the obturator is formed with axially extending ribs which fit into correspondingly shaped grooves in the bottom of the coin guide path.

19. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the coin validating means is operable to release a locking device which retains the obturator in the path of a coin until such time as it is released on a true coin being sensed by the coin validation means, further pressure on the coin resulting in the obturator moving out of the coin path.

20. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the obturator is provided with an axially extending slot at or adjacent its front edge.

21. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the obturator is provided with an aperture intermediate its front and rear edges.

22. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in claim 20 wherein the slot is open at its front end in the front edge of the obturator.

23. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the obturator is spaced from the coin receiving slot to permit a coin to be at least partially inserted therein before it contacts the obturator.

24. A coin validating arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the obturator is mounted on a pivot guidedly displaceable generally parallel to the coin guide path.

25. A coin validating arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.