US2530057A - Safety device for money counting machines - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 14, 1950 T. E. HAYES SAFETY DEVICE FOR MONEY COUNTING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed July 20, 1949 INVENTOR. Hmwlfiqyas Nov. 14, 1950 T. E. HAYES 2,530,057

SAFETY DEVICE FOR MONEY COUNTING MACHINES Filed July 20, 1949 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov; 14, 1950 Filed July 20, 1949 T. E. HAYES 2,530,057

SAFETY DEVICE FOR MONEY coun'rmc mcamss 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I N VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAFETY DEVICE FOR MONEY COUNTING MACHINES 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in machines foruse in counting and sorting paper money. The invention is adaptable to machines such as that disclosed in Patent No. 2,429,159, issued October 14, 1947 to Thomas B. Hayes.

In Patent No. 2,429,159, there is shown a machine having compartments into which bills may be inserted, the bills passing between pairs of rollers, and the rollers serving as calipering means and operating switches to control piececounting and totalizing mechanisms. When the bills pass through the rollers they are dropped upon dumping shelves which retain them until the count is complete and verified, whereupon the shelves may be dumped and the bills are deposited into the lower part of the compartment. By maintaining the bills upon the shelves during the count, they are kept separated from the previously counted bills so that in the event of a miscount only those bills upon the shelves need be removed and recounted.

V In Patent No. 2,429,159, the machine stops when a predetermined count has been made, and cannot be re-started until the shelves have been dumped. The shelves are dumped by pressing a button, and the dumping action of the shelves operates a switch which resets the circuits and puts the machine into operation.

The operation as described has certain drawbacks. Where counts of less than 100 are made,

it is possible to dump the shelves and restart the motor withoutresetting the totalizer to zero position, with a consequent miscount on the.neXt strap. It is also possible to reset the totalizer without dumping the shelves, which leads to additional work in the event of a subsequent miscount.

The improvement of the present invention tends tomake the machine more foolproof by making it impossible to dump the shelveswithout resetting the totalizer, and impossible to restart the machine until the shelves are dumped. Thus, the totalizer will always be cleared at the start of a new count, and the shelves will be empty. This obviates the possibility of mixing different batches of money before completion of the count, or beginning a new count upon the total of the previous one. I I

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one practical embodiment of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification. r

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a partial front elevation of a money counting machine of the type with which the present invention is used, with parts of the invention shown in place thereon;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the machine, taken on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section through the machine totalizer with its'companion switch mechanism; and,

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view of pertinent portions of the electric circuits of the machine.

The money counting machine is disclosed in detail in Patent No. 2,429,159, and includes a cabinet I having a plurality of vertically extending compartments 2. Each of the compartments is divided in an upper bill-receiving chamber 3 and a lower storage chamber 4 by a pair of hinged, normally horizontal, shelves 5. The shelves are hinged along their side edges to vertical partitions 6 which separate the compartments, and may be swung downward to lie parallel with'the partitions to dump accumulated bills.

At the upper front of the cabinet, there are pairs of feed rollers 1 at the entrance to each compartment. The lower roller is driven by a motor by means of a belt (not shown) and the upper roller is an idler. The upper roller is mounted upon a pivoted arm and lifts when a bill is inserted between the rollers. A microswitch 8 is positioned above the roller arm and is actuated to control the piece-counter 9 when a bill is inserted. The piece-counter in turn operates the totalizer ID as described in Patent No. 2,429,159.

The means for operating the dumping shelves as shown herein, is fully disclosed in co-pending application of Thomas E. Hayes, Serial No. 92,879, filed May 12, 1949. Briefly, this mechanism comprises a rotary solenoid II connected by a link 12 to a lever l3 upon the shaft I4. Shaft 14 extends the full width of the machine and is provided at the proper points with arms 15 to coopcrate with the turning levers l 6 at the ends of the shelf hinge pins I]. Rotation of solenoid ll causes rotation of shaft l4 and dumping of shelves 5. Through the use of the rotary solenoid and the link connection, the shelves are locked against accidental movement, as described in the abovementioned application. Lever I3 is provided with a cam face I8 upon which rides a roller l9 connected to the arm of a micro-switch 20. The operation of the switch and its relation to the shelf-dumping will be described later.

Totalizer I0 is provided with a cam 2| mounted upon the counter-wheel shaft 22. Cam 2| has a rise 23 which serves to actuate the plunger of a micro-switch 24 as the totalizer wheels are rotated. A manual switch 25 is mounted upon the cabinet adjacent the totalizer, and connected to throw switch 24 into or out of the control circuit.

Referring particularly to Figure 4 of the drawings, there has been shown a part of the control circuit for the machine. This includes the shelfdumping circuit, the motor circuit, and the brake circuit. Included in these circuits are the 100 bill relay 26, double bill relay 21, shelf dumping control relay 28, motor 29, motor brake solenoid 3D, shelf -dumping solenoid l l, the micro-switches 2i! and 24 and manual switches 25 and 3 i.

In the operation of the machine, bills are fed singularly to the rollers l which draw the bills into the receiving chamber 3- where they fall upon the shelves 5. In passing between rollers l, the bills lift the upper roller operating the piececounter 8 for the particular compartment. Piece-counter 8 in turn operates totalizer It! as disclosed in Patent No. 2,429,159. If one hundred bills are being counted, the machine will continue in operation'until the count is complete, whereupon 100 bill relay latch coil 52 will be actuated as described in Patent No. 2,429,159 withdrawing the latch and permitting the relay armature to fall. This will break the circuit to the motor and apply the brake, bringing the machine to a stop.

In the present embodiment of the machine, the motor is included in a circuit which begins at the positive bus bar 33 and passes through wire 34 to motor 29, wire 35 to normally closed contacts 35 of double bill relay 2?, wire 31 to normally closed contacts 38 of 100 bill relay 26, wire 39 to normally closed contacts 45 of shelf dumping control relay 28 and wire 4i to negative bus bar 42. Thus the motor circuit includes three normally closed switches, and the dropping of the armature of the double bill relay, 100 bill relay, or the shelf dumping control relay will interrupt the motor circuit. The same action will result in applying the motor brake, for each of these armatures upon dropping will close the brake solenoid circuit. This circuit includes the positive wire 33, wire 43 to solenoid 3B and wires 44, 45, and 46 to the contacts of the relays 2?, 2E5,v and 28, respectively. The circuit will be completed to the negative wire 42 through wire 4!.

As mentioned above, no problem is present when counting stacks of one hundred bills. The totalizer used registers to ninety-nine and then returns to zero. Thus, when one hundred bills have been counted, the relay 26 will operate as described, and through the above circuits serve to open the motor circuit and apply the brake. When counting straps of less than one hundred, however, the totalizer must be returned to zero after each count or the subsequent count will be inaccurate. To. prevent operation of the machine before resetting, the relay 28 and its connecting circuits are used. Relay 28 is in circuit with shelf dumping: solenoid H, and the shelf dumping solenoid cannot be operated until relay 28 has dropped. Relay 28 is of the latch type, and has a latch coil 4'? and resetting coil 48. Latch coil 41 is in circuit with micro-switch 24, and when manual switch 25 is in on position and switch 24 is closed by the action of cam 2i during the resetting of the totalizer, the latch coil will be operated to release the latch and permit the relay armature to fall. This circuit includes wire 49 connecting coil 41 to the positive wire 33, wire 50 from coil 4! to switch 24, wire 5|, switch 25, and wire 52 to negative wire 42. When the armature falls, contacts 40 separate breaking the motor circuit and applying the brake through the circuits previously described.

The dropping of the armature prepares a circuit to the solenoid I I so that operation of pushbutton switch 3! will actuate this solenoid and dump the shelves. As the solenoid operates, a circuit is closed through coil 43 resetting relay 28 thus starting motor 29 and breaking the circuit through solenoid II. The circuit through solenoid ll includes wire 53 from positive wire 33, solenoid H, wire 54, switch 3!, wire 55, contacts 55 of relay 28, wire 51, contacts 58 of double-bill relay 21, and wire 59 to negative wire 42. Thus, when switch 35 is closed, solenoid II will be actuated and the shelves dumped. The movement of the solenoid will close switch 25 to reset relay 28. This circuit from positive wire 53 follows wires 49 and '60 to coil 48, wire 6|, switch 26, wire 62, switch 3|, and wire 63 to negative wire 42. When switch 3| is closed, the solenoid will move and close switch 20, resetting relay 28 and breaking the solenoid circuit at contacts 56. The resetting of the relay also breaks the brake circuit and closes the motor circuit through the movfment of contacts 40. The closing of switch 20 also resets relay 25 by completing a circuit which is tapped from line 6| through wire 64, resetting coil 65 of relay 25, and wire 56 to negative wire 42.

With the above described circuits and, instrumentalities it is impossible to dump the shelves unless the totalizer registers zero. The rise 23 on cam 2! is positioned to operate micro-switch 24 as the totalizer counters move from ninetynine to double-zero. The counters must be moved to this position and operate the switch to permit shelf-dumping solenoid II to function. Whenv the totalizer is set, the motor stops and cannot be reset without dumping the shelves. Tyin the two operations together, so that each is dependent upon the other, makes the proper operation of the machine practically certain.

If, at various times, it is desirable to operate the machine without operation of the control relay, the switch 25 may be moved to the off" position. This sets up a circuit through solenoid I I, so that the shelves may be dumped at any time switch 3| is closed. This circuit includes positive wire 33, wire 53, solenoid H, wire 54, switch 3!, wire 55 to point 61, wire 68, switch 25, andwire 52 to negative wire 42.

While in the above one practical embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it will be. understood that the invention may take other forms within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: p p

1. In a machine for sorting and counting paper money havin a plurality of bill-receiving compartments, bill-feeding means associated with each compartment, a motor to operate said=billfeeding means, a totalizing-counter common to all compartments operable upon insertion ofna bill into any 01' said bill-feeding means, in combination, dumping-shelves in each compartment and means to dump said shelves, a control relay having latch and resetting coils, a circuit closer in said totalizing-counter operable upon said totalizing-counter being reset to zero position, said circuit closer in circuit with said latch coil, a circuit closer in said control relay in circuitwith said shelf-dumping means, whereby when said totalizing-counter is reset to zero position a circuit to said shelf-dumping means will be set up.

2. In a machine for sorting and counting paper money as claimed in claim 1, said shelf-dumping means including a circuit-closer in circuit with the resetting coil of said control relay and operable to reset said relay when said shelf-dumping means is actuated.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,116,778 Broyer May 10, 1938 2,429,159 Hayes Oct. 14, 1947 2,487,265 Nelson Nov. 8, 1949

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