US2578951A - Change maker - Google Patents

Description

C. C- SHAVER CHANGE MAKER Dec. 18, 195] Filed June 27, 1946 INVENTOR. (k /m5; (Y Sf/HVER'.

fir urn 5K5.

Patented Dec. 18, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHANGE MAKER Charles C. Shaver, Logansport, Ind.

Application June 27, 1946, Serial No. 679,650

This invention relates to a money changer.

The chief object of this device is to receive different valued coins and return to the depositor thereof the exact change, if any be due, for the value of the coin deposited, the lower valued coins being trapped and subsequently utilized for change making purposes.

By way of example only coin tubes of the type to stack nickels and dimes receive same as deposited for the vending of a five cent item. When a dime is deposited a nickel is returned to the depositor which is taken from the nickel tube. When a quarter dollar is deposited the coin passes to a coin box and two dimes are taken from a single dime tube and returned as change to the depositor. Surplus coins, if the tube or tubes be filled, may overflow to the coin box. The foregoing is given by way of example only. The term tube is used in its broadest sense, towit, a reservoir for stacking or holding in stack formation a plurality of like valued coins.

All the aforesaid is old in the art, as well as such mechanism that separates spurious coins, etc, from true coins, mechanism that is released upon deposition of a true coin for manual opera-. tion, and/or mechanism that is operated direct- 1y or remotely upon deposition of a true coin. Hence none of the foregoing is illustrated and it is to be understood that same precedes the money changer embodying this invention.

The chief feature of the present invention resides in trapping all coins, other than the smallest valued, by a switch operating means,

the same actuating a switch to supply power to a tube ejector, which near the end of its stroke (reciprocatory) actuates the switch operating means to effect trapped coin release.

Another feature of the invention resides in utilizing one stroke to eject or release from one coin tube two coins (dimes).

Other objects and features of the invention will be set forth more fully hereinafter.

U The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of the invention, parts being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the tube discharge end and ejector means associated therewith. In Fig. 1 of the drawings, indicates a quarter dollar coin receiving chute, H a dime chute and member l4, same constituting an abutment in 2 Claims. (Cl. 194-40) that chute for temporarily retarding passage of the coin therethrough.

Member [4 has external to the chute the tail portion I5. Also, externally to the chute, member M has the arm portion l6 mounting a weight ll so member 14 is always normally constrained toward passage blocking position.

Adjacent the weighted portion of arm I6 is a pair of resilient contact fingers I8 and I9 terminating in are resistant contacts [8a and l9a respectively. This switch is normally open. When a coin engages the knee portion [4, the weight is overcome, and arm I6 is tilted counter-clock wise to cause contact [9a to engage contact [8a to close a motor circuit.

When this occurs motor 20, of fractional horsepower, is energized rotating pinion 2| meshing with gear 22 mounted on the end of shaft 23 rotatably supported as at 23a. A reverse thread 24 is formed thereon and nut or follower 25 forms a second shaft bearing and in unidirectional rotation of motor 20 the nut moves to and fro between the ends of the threading 24.

Nut 25 is carried by slide 26 as at 21. This slide is of appropriate length and of a width greater than the diameter of the coin to be ejected thereby. This slide is of a thickness about half that of the coin to be ejected. This is to insure abstraction of but the lowermost coin from the chute or tube 32 which terminates immediately above the slide.

Slide 26 is confined against lateral movement by the spaced side walls 28, the lower edges of which are cross-connected by the slide supporting plate 29 which herein from one end is longitudinally slotted as at 30 to accommodate connection 21 and nut 25 in to and fro travel thereof.

Plate 29 near its other end includes aperture 3|. Since this is the dime portion of the device the slide 26 includes two longitudinally aligned dime accommodating apertures 33. However, one may be suificient. Plate 29, opposite tube 32, includes an aperture 34 like aperture 3|.

As slide 26 is moved to the right, in Fig. 1, from its position at the extreme left of the device incident to the closing of the switch by the quarter coin, as previously described, the nut 25 travels to the right on the thread 24, and, as it does so, it registers the right hand hole 33 in the slide 26 with the aperture 3! to discharge a dime to coin return 35.

Upon return of slide 26 the left hand aperture 33, previously registered with the dime chute 32, now registers with aperture 34 for second dime release. Thereupon the dime drops from the aperture 33 through the aperture 34 and into the coin return .chute'35. At this time the right hand aperture 33 has again registered with chute 32 and received a dime.

The slide 26 at its inner or right hand end mounts a finger 36, and this finger in the movement of the slide to the right engages the tail I and tilts the arm I4--I6 further in the counterclockwise direction sufiicient to remove the knee I4 from the quarter chute III, thu permitting the quarter to pass on through to the coin box position at the left, whereupon the finger 36 is disengaged from the tail I5 and, incident. to gravity, the pivoted member I'5 -I l' -I6 is reestablished in the open circuit and coin arresting position, at which time contacts IBa and I911 are separated and the motor circuit is opened.

Due to the reverse thread structure 24, when the nut has moved to the end of the thread to the right, it automatically reverses its. travel for return to the left. v Onereciprocation of dime slide 26, by means of one chute and two apertures 33 and the two apertures 3| and 34, insurestreturn. to the depositor' of two dimes when aquarter is deposited.

When a dime isdeposited in the device and is 7 accepted by the slug ejector and hasv actuated the controls ahead of the money changer, all as previously described, the dime enters the dime guiding structure H'- aforesaid and there engages the'knee IM'of the arm II6- having the tail portion N5, the same being tiltable clockwise by the weight of the dime and yet trapping the dime in 'This is the nickel slide, and the nickel chute I32 receives nickelsfromthe nickel guide $2 This nickel slide I28 is similarly confined by the spaced: wall portions I23 connected byslidesupporting plate I28, the latter herein having the slot. I and aperture I3'I of a size sufiicient to freely pass a nickel.

The slide I26" has in it an aperture E33 of a size sufiicient to seat a nickel. This aperture registers with the nickel chute whenever the slide is passed therebeneath. The thickness of the nickel slide is just" about half that of the nickel coin. This is to'insure against the picking up of two thinnickels.

'Now when the dime is deposited and is temporarily trapped in the dime guide it, through the switch associated with the knee member in the dime guide, automatically conditions the nickel dispensing motor I2il for operation and the nickel slide I25 immediately, through the reverse helix thread I24 structure, moves from the right to the left..

At its inner or left, end slide I26 mounts, a finger I36 which is adapted to engage the tail por- Thus the motor. circuit is maintained until such time as the slide has returned to its initial tion IE5 of the pivoted member II4I I6, tilting the same clockwise, which releases the dime from its entrapment so that it can pass, by means of guide structure 26, to .the dime chute where it discharges and lies upon previously received dimes.

In this coin release motor circuit maintenance is effected in the manner previously described and that motor circuit is maintained closed until the nickelslide has returned substantially to its initial position, and when that has been effected the motor ceases rotation and the tail H5 has been freed from the finger I36 and the knee portion I it has again been effected by gravity acting upon the weighted structure to reposition the knee H4 in the dime guide I I in the dime entrappingposition.

When the slide ISB moves from the right to the left, the plate I29 obviously being slotted as at I391 to accommodate the nut, the aperture I33 in the nickel slide registers with the lower end of the nickel. chute I32 and; the lowermost nick drops into, that aperture.

Continued movement of; the slide. to the left 7 thereupon registers that. aperture I 33;. with the aperture I3I in the plate portion I29. this occursv the nickelv passes from the nickel slide through the aperture I35 and tothe coin return chute 35.

Thus upon deposition of. a dime the, depositor receives a, nickel. in change. Upon the return movement, of the slide it will be obvious that aperture I33 now. again registers with the lower end of the nickel tube and. picks up a, nickel, thereby filling that aperture.

However, since, there is. no opposite aperture in the plate 42s the nickel is trapped and is carried inv the opposite direction upon the deposition of another dime and then discharged as previously described. In. other; words, so far as: nickel returnv is concerned; the ejecting slide. is. usually charged,. and so far as. dime ejection is concerned the slide is usually half charged.

It. will also be obvious that. but. one nickel tube and one dime. tubeis required and but onem'ckel ejector mechanism and but one dimeejector mechanism is required.

From. the foregoing it. will be understood that whenever a nickel; is deposited it first passes through the slug ejector and ifnot ejected passes to the control mechanism, as previously described, and then enters the nickel guide I2 and finally enters the nickel tube or chute I32.

As, shown in Fig. 2 the two slugs are juxtaposh.

tionedside byside and move in opposite directions for normal ejection. This provides for compactness of construction, and the only movable electric parts are the four switch fingers, other than the motors, gears and helices.

The container or coin box 31' maybe so disposed with respect to the nickel anddime chutes, that surplus nickels and dimes; may overflow thereto when such chutes become filled.

The foregoing structure therefore comprises for a three-coin receivingdevice a two-coinchanger, and obviously if the device isto dispense an item costing a dime the basic modification necessary would be merely to provide plate 2-8 withthe single hole 39 and plate I29 with the single-hole I3I and only provide the quarter guide with a coin trapping actuating switch structure controlling both motors whereupon both motors would be energized to dischargea single dimeand a single nickel, thereby deductingthe proper merchandise price from the amount deposited. Obviously in this case neither the nickel nor the When dime slide would be provided with any coin arrester, only the quarter chute.

The foregoing, of course, presupposes that the dispensing mechanism has the customary controls that could receive two nickels or a dime as well as a quarter for merchandising purposes and the dispensing of but a single article with the proper change return when a quarter was deposited.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in great detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character.

The several modifications described herein as well as others which will readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art, all are considered to be within the broad scope of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. A coin actuatable and change dispensing device having at least a coin way for a higher valued coin, a tube magazine for lower valued coins, a transversely reciprocable coin transfer slide plate disposed immediately below the tube, and a coin tiltable member exposed in the coin way for trapping a coin therein, the combination therewith of a normally open switch closable by the member upon coin urged movement, a unidirectional motor actuatable when the switch is closed, a reversely threaded shaft rotatable by the motor, a complementary not on the shaft and connected to the slide for moving the latter, and an arm disposed adjacent the tiltable member and carried by the slide and disposed for member engagement and movement upon initial slide movement to release the trapped coin and hold the switch closed until the slide has completed one reciprocation.

2. In a money changer the combination 0! a. pair of resilient switch fingers normally constrained in open circuit condition, a coin way, coin trapping means having a portion interposed in the coin path and juxtapositioned to that way and having a portion juxtapositioned to the fingers and normally constrained to efiect coin entrapment and non-contact of the fingers, said means upon coin engagement effecting finger control for finger contact, a unidirectional motor controlled by said fingers upon finger control effecting finger contact, means cyclically movable by said motor when coin activated, coin trapping means including a portion juxtapositioned to said last named cyclically movable means, said cyclically movable means comprising a double threaded member rotatable by said motor and movable thereby into releasing position and switch finger contact to release the temporarily trapped coin and maintain finger contact until cycle completion.

CHARLES C. SHAVER.

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

UNITED (STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 123,607 Baltzley Feb. 13, 1872 884,247 Wedgewood Apr. 7, 1908 1,961,537 Velazquez June 5, 1934 2,010,966 Seiden et al Aug. 13, 1935 2,143,790 Morin Jan. 10, 1939 2,277,195 Alpaugh -2 Mar. 24, 1942 2,309,873 Lay Feb. 2, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 85,972 Germany Mar, 16, 1895 192,714 Great Britain Sept. 12, 1923

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