GB2412220A

GB2412220A - Hopper coin and disc feeders

Info

Publication number: GB2412220A
Application number: GB0405555A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Timothy William Hill; Brown Simon Scott
Original assignee: Scan Coin Industries AB
Current assignee: Scan Coin Industries AB
Priority date: 2004-03-12
Filing date: 2004-03-12
Publication date: 2005-09-21
Also published as: GB0405555D0

Abstract

A hopper coin and disc feeder (1) of the inclined disc type comprises a stationary coin-guiding wall (13) having a first arcuate portion (14) extending adjacent to the disc edge in the region just in advance of the top of the disc, a tangential portion (15) which extends from adjacent the top of the disc and is substantially contiguous with one end of the first arcuate portion, and a second arcuate portion (18) positioned in advance of the first arcuate portion (14), in the direction of rotation of the disc. The second arcuate portion (18) is spaced from the disc margin (16) by a predetermined amount so that coins being carried around with the disc are urged by centrifugal force against the second arcuate portion (18), to overlap the edge of the disc. The coin-guiding wall (13) also comprises a transitional wall portion (20) which smoothly connects the second and first arcuate portions and acts as a camming wall for bringing the coins being guided by the second arcuate portion against the first arcuate portion so as to be positioned with the coin edges substantially at the disc edge.

Description

24 1 2220

HOPPER COIN AND DISC FEEDERS

This invention relates to hopper coin and disc feeders of the inclined disc type, that is, of the type in which a coin feeding disc is inclined at an acute angle to the horizontal in use, and a hopper wall extending adjacent to at least the lower portion of the disc in use defines with the disc a holding space for holding a plurality of coins prior to feeding of the coins by the disc to one or more coin outlets.

The term 'coin' will be used hereinafter to include a disc, a component of a composite coin, such as a ring or blank, or a bogus coin such as a washer or counterfeit coin.

Hopper feeders of the inclined disc type have been known for very many years. They are used for feeding coins in single file from a batch of coins, to enable the coins to be counted and/or sorted and/or dispensed.

Many different constructions of hopper coin feeder have been proposed.

The coin feeding disc has often been provided with a series of recesses or spaced fingers to define pockets around the periphery of the disc in order to pick out coins one by one in the pockets from a batch of coins lying against the disc. When the disc is rotated the resulting agitation of the batch of coins lying in the holding space causes coins to fall into the pockets of the rotating disc.

In our co-pending Patent Application No GB 0323033.1 filed 2 October 2003 we have described a hopper feeder of the inclined disc type in which the margin of the front face of the disc is smooth, rather than defining pockets, and the coins are held flat against the margin of the disc by suction means. The present invention can be applied to ..e ë..

machines in which the disc face is smooth, or to those in which the disc is provided with pockets.

In a preferred construction of that prior application the disc margin is provided with a plurality of circumferentially-spaced holes which open to the front face of the disc and the holes are exposed to a stationary vacuum manifold that extends over an arcuate portion of the disc path.

Disc feeders of the inclined disc type are often used to feed a generally elongate coin transporting mechanism, such as a belt feeder, which extends generally tangentially from the upper region of the disc. An example of such a belt feeder is shown in Patent Specification No. EP 0269690B.

We consider it desirable for the coins to be positioned accurately on presentation of the coins to the belt, so that the coins are driven along a predetermined path by the belt, for testing by one or more coin measuring means for example.

According to the present invention a hopper coin and disc feeder of the inclined disc type comprises a stationary coin-guiding wall which comprises a first arcuate portion extending adjacent to the disc edge in the region that is just in advance of the top of the disc, a tangential portion which extends from adjacent to the top of the disc and is substantially contiguous with one end of said first arcuate portion, and a second arcuate portion positioned in advance of said first arcuate portion, in the direction of rotation of the disc, the second arcuate portion being spaced from the disc margin by a predetermined amount, whereby in use coins being carried around with the disc are urged by centrifugal force against the second arcuate portion of wall, and such coins then overlap the edge of the disc, and the coin-guiding wall further comprising a ..e e e * . a. . . t . O transitional wall portion which smoothly connects the second and first arcuate portions and acts as a camming wall for bringing the coins which were being guided by the second arcuate portion against the first arcuate portion so as to be positioned with the coin edge substantially at the disc edge.

One advantage of this arrangement is that the coins can be accurately brought into position against the tangential wall portion, for presentation to a belt conveyor for example.

Another advantage is that when the coins overlapping the disc edge are displaced radially inwardly of the disc by the transitional wall portion, this results in the coins being urged circumferentially closer to one another, thereby providing at the tangential portion, where the coins can be removed from the disc, a feed of more closely-spaced coins. Albeit some of the coins will be touching one another.

This is particularly advantageous when a belt conveying means is being fed by the disc feeder. In general it is found that the belt conveying means needs to be run at a higher speed than the peripheral speed of the disc, typically twice the speed, in order to provide an adequate separation of the touching coins for downstream operations on the coins, such as coin discrimination by sensors and/or activation of coin sorting.

The fact that the coins being conveyed by the disc margin are being urged into more closely-spaced positions circumferentially of the disc means that, on average, for a given speed of rotation of the disc, more coins will be touching than would otherwise be the case, and spaced coins will be slightly closer. This means that, overall, a greater throughput of coins is achievable for a given disc speed.

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e e e e ee * * see eve e ë e e e e e ee e e e e e * see e e see e A coin and disc feeder in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which-: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the feeder with the outer margin of a part of the disc edge shown in section on the arcuate line 1-1 of Figure 2, to show a series of suction holes extending through the disc; Figure 2 is a partial view in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 1; and Figure 3 is an enlarged radial cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

The illustrated feeder is a modified version of that described and illustrated in our co-pending UK Patent Application No GB 0323033.1 filed 2 October 2003. The feeder 1 comprises a base 2 on which is rotatably supported an inclined feeder disc 3 which is rotated in a clockwise directions as viewed on the arrow A. The margin of the disc is provided with a series of circumferentially-spaced through-holes 4 to enable suction to be applied to coins 6, 7, 8 at the margin of the disc when the holes are passing over an arcuate suction manifold 5, which extends from about the 7 to 10 o'clock positions of the disc backing.

Spring-biased arcuate seals 10, 11 press against the rear face of the disc 3, and suction is provided by a suitable vacuum source 12.

The vacuum forces exerted on the coins are sufficient to hold the coins that are positioned over the holes, and in face-contact with the outer face of the disc, against the smooth face of the disc to be driven round with ..

. . .. ' the disc. The coins are thereby subjected to centrifugal forces and slide radially outwards of the disc to rest against a fixed coin-guiding wall 13.

Coin-guiding wall 13 comprises a first arcuate section 14 extending about the disc margin and closely spaced radially therefrom, and extending from about the 10 o'clock position of the disc backing to about the 12 o'clock position, the wall 13 there continuing as a contiguous straight portion 15 that is substantially tangential to the periphery of the disc 3. A second arcuate portion 18 of wall 13 extends from about a 6 o'clock position to beyond the 9 o'clock position, the second arcuate position being spaced radially from the margin 16 of the disc by an arcuate land 17 which is substantially at the same level as the outer face of the disc 3. The second arcuate portion 18 is smoothly connected to the first arcuate portion 14, which is of smaller curvature, by a ramp portion 20 which constitutes a transitional wall portion..

As shown in Figure 2, coins 6, 7 that are in face contact with the margin of the disc 3 in the region that overlies the arcuate suction manifold 5, are subjected to suction forces by the suction holes 4, thereby holding the coins against the disc sufficiently for the disc to drive the coins in the direction of rotation of the disc. The circumferential forces on the coins urge the coins outwardly of the disc and onto the land 17 to rest against the second arcuate portion 18 of the coin-guiding wall 14, as shown by coins 6 and 7. When the coins reach the ramp portion 20 of wall 13, as coin 8, the coins are urged radially inwardly of disc 3 and then follow the arcuate portion 14 of the wall 13. As previously discussed, this radially inward movement will result in closer spacing on average, in the circumferential direction of the disc, of the coins.

. . . .

At the 12 o'clock position of the disc the coins, as coin 10, are guided against the straight wall portion 15 and then follow that wall portion 15 under the driving force of a belt 20, which will generally be driven at a faster speed than the peripheral speed of the disc.

Belt 20 conveys the coins past suitable coin testing means which can be used in various known ways to provide signals for sorting and/or counting of the coins. The fact that the coins all have one edge aligned against the straight wall portion 15 means that more precise measurements and/or sorting action can be made on the coins fed by the device 1.

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Claims

1. A hopper coin and disc feeder of the inclined disc type comprising a stationary coin-guiding wall which comprises a first arcuate portion extending adjacent to the disc edge in the region that is just in advance of the top of the disc, a tangential portion which extends from adjacent to the top of the disc and is substantially contiguous with one end of said first arcuate portion, and a second arcuate portion positioned in advance of said first arcuate portion, in the direction of rotation of the disc, the second arcuate portion being spaced from the disc margin by a predetermined amount, whereby in use coins being carried around with the disc are urged by centrifugal force against the second arcuate portion of wall, and such coins then overlap the edge of the disc, and the coinguiding wall further comprising a transitional wall portion which smoothly connects the second and first arcuate portions and acts as a camming wall for bringing the coins which were being guided by the second arcuate portion against the first arcuate portion so as to be positioned with the coin edge substantially at the disc edge.

2. A hopper coin and disc feeder according to claim 1 wherein when the coins overlapping the disc edge are displaced radially inwardly of the disc by the transitional wall portion, the coins are urged circumferentially closer to one another, thereby providing at the tangential portion, where the coins can be removed from the disc, a feed of more closely-spaced coins.

3. A hopper coin and disc feeder according to claim I or claim 2 in which the margin of the disc face is smooth and the coins are held flat against the margin of the disc by suction means.

4. A hopper coin and disc feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 3 in which the second arcuate portion is spaced radially from the margin of the disc by an arcuate land which is substantially at the same level as the disc face.

5. A hopper coin and disc feeder of the inclined disc type substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.