US2636587A - Accumulator - Google Patents

Description

April 28, 1953 J. -c. KOCH 2,536,587

ACCUMULATOR Filed May 24, 1948 5 Sheets$heet l i 4 I I INVENTOR BY t M ATTORNEYS April 28, 1953 J. c. KOCH 2,636,587

ACCUMULATOR INVENTOR April 28, 1953 J. c. KOCH 2,636,587

ACCUMULATOR Filed May 24, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 as 7 as as INVENTOR JI Cxoch 23 33 BY 14K Fwd-vb ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 28, 1953 ACCUMULATOR John C. Koch, San Jose, Calif., assignor to S & S

Vending Machine 00., San Jose, Calif., a corporation of California Application May 24, 1948, Serial No. 28,930

The present invention is directed to, and it is an object to provide, a novel accumulator for coin controlled, automatic vending machines.

The accumulator is a device which translates the total value of coins, regardless of the numas said member, and the mechanical movement being part-circle relation of said shaft.

A further object of the invention is to provide an accumulator, as in the preceding paragraph, in which said mechanism is adapted to be electrically actuated; the action being rapid, yet smooth and positive, and there being automatic reset means embodied in the device.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an accumulator whose structure is rugged, reliable, and fool-proof; the device also being efiicient and accurate with respect to the translation of total coin value to an accumulated mechanical movement.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a practical and relatively simple accumulator, and one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of the accumulator with the parts in starting position.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation, with a bank of the holding pins in advanced or out of the way position to permit corresponding rota- I tion of the control disc and mounting shaft.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

I coin boxes and accumulator actuating solenoids.

Referring now more particularly to the charactors of reference on the drawings, the device 6 Claims. (Cl. 1941) comprises a rectangular upstanding housing, indicatedgenerally at I, supported by a base 2, and said housing includes spaced vertical walls 3 and 4.

Outwardly of the wall 3 there is a vertical mounting plate 5 supported in facing parallel relation to said wall 3, by bolts 6 and spacers I. Some distance above the base 2, the housing is fitted with a horizontal shaft 8 which extends in journaled relation from the wall 4, and through the wall 3 and mounting plate 5.

Between the wall 3 and plate 5 the shaft 8 is fitted with a control disc 9 of substantial diameter; such control disc 9 being formed as a pulley at its periphery and is adapted to be driven by an endless belt and pulley unit In from an electric motor I I mounted in the lower portion of the housing I. The endless belt and pulley unit It includes a relatively small drive pulley I2 on the motor shaft. The direction of rotation of the control disc 9 is indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3.

The control disc 9 is fitted, in its peripheral portion, with a continuous or circumferential row of transversely slidable pins I3; such pins I3 being of a length greater than the thickness of said control disc 9 whereby said pins may be shifted axially from one side or the other of the disc in the manner hereinafter described.

The pins in the upper portion of the row thereof project inwardly from the disc 9 a certain extent, but terminate short of the wall 3. This is their retracted position. Between said upper portion of the row of pins I3 and the wall 3 there is an arcuate presser head assembly, indicated generally at I4; such presser head assembly including a plurality of arcuate presser heads I5, IE, IT, and I8 of progressively greater arcuate extent, respectively. The presser heads I5-I8 inclusive are normally retracted into engagement with the wall 3, thus being ineffective with respect to the adjacent or corresponding upper portion of the row of pins l3; such presser heads being mounted on push rods I9, 20, 2|, and 22, respectively. The push rods I9-22 inclusive are slidably supported in connection with, and extend between, the walls 3 and 4, projecting outwardly of the latter and there being fitted with heads 23.

It will be noted that upon advance of any one of the push rods I 9-22 inclusive, a corresponding one of the presser heads I5-I8 inclusive will be advanced, for the purpose hereinafter described.

The push red I 9 is fitted, intermediate its ends, with a stop 24, and a loaded compression spring 25 surrounds said push rod between the stop 24 and the wall 3 to normally maintain said rod retracted, as in Fig. l.

The push rod 293 includes a laterally projectin stop 25 cooperating with the back side of the stop 24; the push rod 2! including a laterally projecting stop 2? cooperating with the back side of the stop 26; and-the pushrod 22iincludingialaterally projecting stop 28 which cooperates with the back side of the stop 21.

With this arrangement advance of the rod is has no effect on the other rods; advance of the rod 29 advances also the rod I9; advance of the rod 2| advances also the rods'fZ[hand-.115; .andadadvance of the rod 22 advances also..the rods .2], 20, and l 9.

The rods iii-22 inclusive ,are adapted to be power advanced by corresponding solenoids 29, 3t, 3!, and 32, indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 5, and adapted to ;be mounted exteriorly of he hou ing 1 ,in. a manner-suchthat thesolenoid rl ne rs- 3 are axially alinedin actuating .relainclusive are for-one cent, fivecents, ten cents,

and twenty-five .cents,,respectively; the present embodiment of :the accumulator being for the control of the dispensing of an article whose price is twenty-five cents (or twenty-six cents,

including one cent sales tax) .The wall ,3 isfiitted with-an upwardly facing stop 39 which is normallyiengaged by the lead one of the retracted pinsil3 in the upperportion of :the circumferential row thereof. The armate :presser. head assembly l 4 extendsin matching relation to saidupper portion of the circum ferential row of pins l3 backward from said lead one thereof. The presser heads 15,16, l7, and

i8 are of an arcuate extent to engage one, four,

:five, and fifteenpins, respectively, upon .one reciprocation, i.e.anadvancing motionfollowed by a retracting motion ,to-starting position. The solenoids action-to advancethe rods and vpresser heads is momentary, and the spring .25 .acts to retract said rods and .headsto normal position.

Ihe horizontalshaift '8' is connected to amechanismof the vending .smachine which .controls :the dispensing operation, and which operation takes place :only after a part-circleprotation of said shaft 8 of an .arcuate-extent,atleast equal to-'the'arcuate extent of the-totalpresser-head assembly it.

With the described accumulator such partcircle-rotationiof the shaft -5, to cause .a dispensing operation of themachineresults from the 'deposit, in the cointboxes, of-,a twenty-five cent piece in the box 38,0112. deposit in theboxes .36 and 3? of a combinationof-fivecent or ten cent coins totaling-twentyefive cents.

The'mechanicalaction is as follows: If a twentyefive cent piece is deposited ,in the coinboxtdthe solenoid-32 operates tocause one reciprocation of the pushrod-ZZ. Upon reciprocation of the push rod 22, the presser-head 13 will likewise reciprocate, as will .the remaining presser heads ll, lB,-and.l5,,by reasonof the cooperating stop assembly previously described.

-;When this occurs twenty-five. of the pins, lit-are advanced outwardly through the .control disc 9, and clear ,of the. stop,39 whereby the lmotoifl H then rotates the control disc 9 through a part circle whose extent is suflicient to cause the vending machine to operate. The twenty-sixth pin then abuts the stop 39 (as the next lead pin) to prevent further immediate rotation of the disc.

-he motor I l is placed in operation at the outset of a deposit of a coin in one of the coin boxes by anteans of a circuit (not shown), and thereafter'is maintained in operation by said circuit until the dispensing operation is complete, when the motor M is stopped. The motor belt slips pulley 52 except during said part-circle rotation of the disc.

If :a coinbinationof two ten-cent coins and a five-cent coin are placed in the boxes 36 and 37, respectively, to total the required twenty-five cents, the described solenoid and push rod assembly will cause the presser heads ll, l6, and IE to reciprocate twice, shifting two successive banks of ten pins to advanced position, and the presser heads it and i5 will be reciprocatedonce to advance a bank otfive pins to complete the twentywfive total.

Similarly, five five-cent pieces .placedin the coin box 36 would cause the presserheads =16 and 15 .to be reciprocated five times, eachtime advancing five pins .to total the required twenty- The device .is therefore operative to accumulate .the total value of the coins deposited inthe coin boxes, regardless of thenumber or combination of said coins required to make up the predeterminedtotal value.

,In those instances where, ,for example, a .onecentsales tax is required, the part-circle rotationrequired of the shaft .8 .to cause actuation of the dispensing mechanism is the total .arcuate extent .of twenty-five pins, or other .pre-selected number, plus one. It is thereforenecessary,to insert one .cent in .the .coin box 3.5 in. additionto the remaining coins required .tototal the sales price before the dispensing machine will operate; the accumulatingprocess being ,thesame as hereinbeforedescribed.

Below the stop .35 the advanced pins ride. onto an arcuate care to concentric .to the shaft .8, which camextends from ad-jacentsaid stop 39 about the lowerportion oftherow of pins and up to the adjacent .end of the presser head [8. Thus, by the time the pins travel about the bottom portion of the row and up tosaid presser head it, the arcuate cam 49 hascallsedretractiorrof.v the pins to theirnnormal orstarting positionin the upper portionof the row, ,as infiigj.

To prevent the pins retracting beyondthevertical plane of the outer face of the presser head assembly, there is an arcuate limit .plate mounted concentric to .the horizontal shaft .in

predetermined position inwardly of the control 'coin boxes.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there hasbeen produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects ofthe invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detailjthe present and preferredconstruction of the device, still in practice such deviations ,fromjsuch parture from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired:

1. An accumulator adapted to translate the total value of coin deposited in a receiving unit, into apredetermined mechanical movement, comprising a member mounted for movement in a certain path, means tending to move the member in one direction, a row of elements extending on the member in such direction, a stop, the elements projecting from the member and being movable from one position for engagement by the stop .to another position to clear the same, a portion of the row normally being in said one position with the lead element of said portion engaged by the stop to prevent movement of the member, and translation mechanism responsive to coin deposited in the receiving unit operative to move the elements of said portion of the row, beginning With said lead element, to said other position and in a number proportionately corresponding to the total value of the deposited coin, whereby the resultant movement of the member provides said predetermined mechanical movement; the coin receiving unit being adapted to receive coins of different denominations; and the translation mechanism including a row of separate heads corresponding to coins of said denominations and extending along said portion of the row of elements, each head being mounted for independent motion to simultaneously move a predetermined number of adjacent ones of the elements to said other position from their normal position, the heads having effective lengths proportionate to corresponding coin values, means to actuate each head upon deposit of a corresponding coin in the receiving unit, and instrumentalities between said last named means operative, upon actuation of each head, to automatically cause actuation of all heads of lesser extent to thus accomplish an accumulative movement of corresponding elements to said other position.

2. An accumulator adapted to translate the total value of coin deposited in a receiving unit, into a predetermined mechanical movement, comprising a rotary disc, means tending to rotate the disc in one direction, a concentric row of elements projecting from the disc, a stop, said elements being movable from one position for engagement by the stop to another position to clear the stop, a portion of said row normally being in said one position with the lead element of said portion engaging the stop to prevent rotation of the disc in said direction, translation mechanism responsive to coin deposited in the receiving unit operative to move the elements of said portion of the row, beginning with said lead element, to said other position and in a number proportionately corresponding to the total value of the deposited coin, whereby the resultant partcircle rotation of the disc provides said predetermined mechanical movement, and means to reset the elements, to said one position, in another portion of the row beyond the stop; the coin receiving unit being adapted to receive coins of different denominations; and the translation mechanism including an arcuate row of separate heads corresponding to coins of said denominations and extending parallel to and along said portion of the row of elements, each head being mounted for independent motion to simultaneously move a predetermined number of adjacent ones of the elements to said other position from their normal position, the heads having effective lengths proportionate to corresponding coin values, means to actuate each head upon deposit of a corresponding coin in the receiving unit, and instrumentalities between said last named means operative, upon actuation of each head, to automatically cause actuation of all heads of lesser extent to thus accomplish an accumulative movement of corresponding elements to said other position.

3. An accumulator adapted to translate the total value of coin deposited in a receiving unit, into a predetermined mechanical movement, comprising a rotary disc, means tending to rotate the disc in one direction, a concentric row of pins in the disc in slidable relation transversely therethrough, a portion of the row of pins normally in one position projecting from one side of the disc, a stop positioned for engagement, normally, by the lead pin of said portion of the row to prevent rotation of the disc in said direction, a concentric row of separate presser heads extending in cooperative, matching relation alongside said portion of the row of pins but normally clear thereof, means mounting said heads for reciprocating motion into engagement with and to retract from a predetermined number of adjacent and corresponding pins of said portion of the row whereby to shift said corresponding pins in the disc to a position to clear the stop, said heads corresponding to and having effective lengths proportionate to the value of different coins deposited in the receiving unit, actuating means operative to cause one reciprocation of the corresponding pressure head upon deposit of a coin in said unit, means beyond the stop to reset the pins to said one position, and instrumentalities, associated with said actuating means, operative to cause reciprocation of all presser heads of lesser effective extent, upon reciprocation of each such head whereby to accomplish an accumulative shifting of all the pins of said portion from said lead pin rearward to the rearmost pin shifted by such head.

4. An accumulator adapted to translate the total value of coin deposited in a receiving unit, into a predetermined mechanical movement, comprising a rotary disc, means tending to rotate the disc in one direction, a concentric row of pins in the disc in slidable relation transversely therethrough, a portion of the row of pins normally in one position projecting from one side of the disc, a stop positioned for engagement, normally, by the lead pin of said portion of the row to prevent rotation of the disc in said direction, a concentric row of separate presser heads extending in cooperative, matching relation alongside said portion of the row of pins but normally clear thereof, rods slidable axially of the pins mounting the heads for reciprocating motion into engagement with and retract from adjacent and corresponding pins of said portion of the row whereby to shift said corresponding pins in the disc to a position clear of the stop, said heads corresponding to and having an effective length proportionate to the value of difierent coins deposited in the receiving unit, actuating means operative to cause one reciprocation of the corresponding presser head and rod upon deposit of a coin in said unit, and means beyond the stop to reset the pins to said one position; there being a stop on each rod cooperating with the back end of the stop on the rod corresponding to the presser head having the next lesser efiective erai-pre relation in the forin of a partcircle, ashaft dis- ;posed'coaxiaiiy with the'axis of said part circle;

leng'th, whereby- -aseach rod is reciproeated there "is an automatic -reciprocation of ail :the :rods oarr'ying p'resser heads of lesser effective extent.

'5. An -aceumulatoryas in claim 4,inc1uding'a spring tending to retract the ro'd havin-g the least effective extent, and saidactuating meansincludins; a -s'eparat'esolenoid operative to advance each Y e. an accumulator to'trans1ate the total value of coin depositedin a receiving-unit into a predetermined mechanical movement comprising a.

-' plurality of push rods mounted for independent 'movement'in one direction in response to coins deposited in the receiving unit, anareuate presser head c irthe outerehd of each-push rod, the-seveeer heads being disposed in endto end :adise fixed on the shaft, 'a' plurality of pins extending transversely and slidably through the disc in acontinuous circumferential row,'the pins'being iong'erthan the thickness or" thedisc'a-nda -portion ofthe rowof pins projecting from-the inner face "of the disc to a-point adjacent the "presser heads for engagement thereby, -means tending to rotat'ethe shaft intone-direction, astop, the-pin at the leading end of saidprojecting porionrnormallyrengaging thestopt-to:preventzrotation of the disc andzsha'ftggthe presserheadszwhen qpushejd bytheirrods being effective atopush the pins contacted thereby out of thepath of the stop and the respectivelengths'of the Vpresserjheads =-re1ative:to each other being proportionate to the relative vaiueeoi coins deposited inthe receiving unit and thepresser head representing the coin of least value :being the one immediately adjacent thestop, and instrumentalities between the rods arranged 50 "that irrespective of -whioh rod *is pushed, theelast namedrpresser head will always be actuated toipushthe corresponding pins clear of the; stop.

JOHN C. KOCH.

References I Cited in the 'file of this patent v UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 Number Name Date 159,664 tGally .Feb. 9, 1875 1,138,793 Rinsehe May 11, 1915 1,220,109 schailer Mar. 20, 1917 2,215,191 Pudelko Sept. 17, 1940 12,271,397 ,McDermott Jan. 27, 1942 2,323,255 Sutherland June 29, 1943

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