US2667255A - Coin collecting device - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 26, 1954 A, K, N|E| $EN 2,667,255

COIN COLLECTING DEVIGE Filed Oct. 25, 1951 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet l i M @a T @.2

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COIN COLLECTING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 25 1951 IN VENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 26, 1954 COIN COLLECTING DEVICE Asger Kjerbye Nielsen, Copenhagen, Denmark, assigner to Teleion Fabrik Automatic A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark, a joint-stock company of Denmark Application October 25, 1951, Serial No. 253,027

Claims priority, application Denmark October 30, 1950 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a coin collecting device having a plurality of chutes individual to coins o1" different sizes and having a coin detecting member extending transversely through all of said chutes and mounted for movement against a biasing force to a bottom position under the iniiuence of a coin deposited in any of said chutes, and having a member, e. g. a camdisc operated by an electromagnetic relay and arranged to be engaged by the coin detecting member when the latter is depressed by a coin, while at the same time a contact controlled by the coin detecting member upon rotation of the latter prepares for the closure of an electric pulse circuit including the said contact,.the energizing coil of the saidrelay, a second contact controlled by an auxiliary relay and a remote pulse transmitter which might be common to a plurality of coin collecting devices and serves the purpose of controlling at a remote control post the value of the coins deposited, namely by indicating the number of pulses to be transmitted to the said device before a deposited coin is collected and allows the coin responsive member to move back toits neutral position andinterrupt the pulsing circuit.

In coin collecting devices of the kind referred to being like other known coin collecting devices provided with means for diverting a deposited coin to a refund chut'e if the coin collecting device is not operated by external electric influences, the coin responsive member is ordinarily a pivoted arm having a laterally disposed projection extending transversely through all of the chutes when the arm is not operated.

One .object of the present invention is to construct a coin controlled device of the kind referred to in which a coin which is deposited in a chute after another coin has previously been deposited in the coin collecting device, but has not yet been collected, is diverted'to the refund chute and therefore cannot give rise to any disturbance of the checking operation.

To this end the coin detecting member consisting cfa pivotedarm arranged to be .swung about a horizontal axis by the iniiuence of a coin deposited in Aany of the chutes is according to the invention additionally `arranged to be swung about a vertical .or approximately vertical axis, which axis is so located relatively tothe said pulse operated member and to the portion of the chutes into which the coin detecting member extends that the pulse operated `member in being .operated will rotate the pivotedcoin detecting member' in a stepwise mannerabout the described in detail with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram of a coin collecting device according to theinvention, as applied to a `telephone paystation,

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the central exchange equipment of a paystation in a telephone system, Y

Fig. 3 is a front view of a coin collecting device accordingto the invention,

Figs. 4 andv 5 show part of same in top View with different parts rremoved in one and the other of these iigures respectively,

Fig.,6 is ,a side View 0f the coin'collecting device of Figures 3-5, and

Fig. 7 shows a detail of the coin collecting device in side view.

M, Fig. l, is a coin collecting device to be mentioned in further detail hereinafter with reference to Figs. 3-5, T a telephone apparatus in connection with which the coin collecting device is used, C a central exchange by way of which the telephone subscriber can be connected to other` .subscribers through conductors L1 and La, Fig. 1. L is ametering deviceor a so-.calledfline circuit interposed into thelines L1 andLz, and R is a register comprising a pulse generator and a translator serving to translate the pulses required for collecting deposited coins into .metering pulses. D is a metering conductor extending from the line circuit to the central exchange.

In the coin collecting device to .be mentioned below, there is provided a relay B, Figs. '1, 3 and 7, serving tc check the size of deposited coins by means of electric Vpulses received, such as will be described in more detail hereinafter, and also an auxiliary relay A, Figs. l, 3 and 6, adapted to be operated if `a connection is established to a called subscriber, and so arranged that a deposited coin cannot be collected until said relay A has been operated. lf .no connection to the called subscriber is established this relay will prevent collection of the deposited coin.

The coin collecting device, the structural ari phone apparatus T, Fig. l, is lifteda Contact g1 i is closed and another contact g2 in the telephone apparatus is switched over.

When a coin is now deposited in the coin colleoting device, a pivoted arm I5, Fig.k 3,V of Ythe latter is moved, as will be described in the following, whereby a contact 'm2, Fig. 1, is closed and a contact m1 is switched over. Thereby a circuit is closed via the conductors L1 and L2, a negative potential resting on the conductor L1. When dial tone is received from the central exchange, the call is effected by dialing the desired number. If the called subscriber answers, the current direction is reversed in known manner, i. e. the negative potential is transferred to the conductor L2. Consequently, a circuit is closed via theconductor L2, the Contact g1, the relay A, the contact g2 and the breaking contact az, conductor L1 whereby the relayV A operates and closes a contact a1, while at the same time opening the breaking contact Ya2.k The relay A locks itself lvia the contact m2 in series with the contact a1.

The earthing of the conductor Lz caused by the closure of the contact a1 operates the line circuit L, whereby negative pulses are transmitted over the conductor L1. These pulses cause the relay B to operate and thereby to collect the deposited coin in the manner to be described in the following with reference to Figs. 3 7, the size of the coin being indicated by the number of pulses to be transmitted from the line circuit L, Fig. 2, to the relay B in order to collect the coin, as will likewise be described in further detail hereinafter.

In the moment the coin is collected, the Said pivoted arm is restored to its initial position, whereby the contact m2 is opened and the contact m1 is restored. Thereby the relay A is restored and the relay B is deenergized.

In the coin collecting device shown in Figs.

3-7, I, 2 and 3 are coin slots of three chutes Il,

l and E arranged side by side, and each comprising an inclined portion 'I provided in one side wall thereof with a checking opening 8 the height of which is so selected relative to the size of the coins coming into consideration that if a coin of smaller size than that, for which one of the chutes is intended, it being observed that the three chutes 4, and E are intended for three different coin sizes, such coin is diverted through the opening 3 to a diverting chute 9, Figs. 4-6,

from which it is again moved through a refund f chute I to a refund slot of the coin collecting device.

The size of the slots I, 2 and 3 are so selected that a coin of a larger size cannot be inserted into a slot intended to receive a. coin of smaller size.

A coin deposited in one of the chutes rolls through the inclined portion i to an opening II through which the coin falls into the vertical portion I2 of the chute and is caught by a member I3 extending crosswise through the chutes 4, 5 and 5, and forming a lateral projection of a pivoted arm I5 mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis i4. Under the influence of the gravity of the coin the pivoted arm I5, being the coin-responsive detecting member referred to above, is caused to rotate downwards about the axis I 4 during which movement the member I3 travels ina slot I 6 of the walls of the chutes,f the;

said movement being continued until a rack I'I provided on thepivoted arm is brought into engagement with a gear wheel I rotatably mounted on a shaft I8, Fig. 7, and adapted to be rotated by means of a ratchet mechanism consisting of a ratchet wheel 2@ mounted on the same shaft as the gear Wheel I3 and a pawl 2I adapted to be moved by means of the above mentioned re lay BV when the latter receives electric pulses from the line circuit.

The pivoted arm I5 is composed of two parts that are pivotably connected by means of a vertical or substantially vertical pin 22 about which the pivoted arm may be rotated when the gear wheel IS is rotated by means of the relay B, as will be mentioned in further detail hereinafter. When the pivoted arm i 5 is rotated from the p0- sition shown in full lines in Figs. 3 and 4 in a direction towards the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, the pivoted arm i5 will withdraw the member I 3 from the chutes to a greater or lesser extent depending on the number' of pulses which the relay B must receive to permit a coin in one of the chute portions I2 to fall down from the pivoted arm as a consequence of the withdrawal of the member I3 from the chute in question. When this occurs, the pivoted arm swings back to the position shown in Fig. 1 and breaks the Vpulse circuit of the relay B.

The pivoted arm I5 is kept in the position shown in Fig. 3 by means of a spring 23, the spring force of which must be low enough to be outbalanced by the weight of the smallest coin, for which the coin collecting device is intended.

The relay A, which as mentioned above serves to control the contacts a1 and a2, also serves to control a vertical shaft 24 to which is attached an arm V25 carrying a plate 2S extending crosswise ofthe chutes I2 and situated, in the nonoperative position of the relay A, in the vertical portions of all the chutes, extending into the latter through a slot 27, Fig. 3. A second arm 28 attached to the shaft 25 carries a plate 2S, Figs. 3 and 5, which in the non-operative position of the relay A is situated in the position shown in Fig. 5 relative to the chutes Q, 5 and t, i. e. outside the passage areas of theV latter, but on operation of the relay A to attract its armature 30, Figs. 3 and 4, and thereby to rotate the shaft 24, is moved inbetween the inclined portion 'I and the vertical portion I2 of the chutes so as to prevent a coin deposited in the coin collecting device after the relay A has been operated, from falling down onto the pivoted arm and thereby disturbing the checking of a previously deposited coin that has already acted on the pivoted arm I5, but has not yet been collected.

The device operates as follows:

When a coin is inserted in one of the chutes, this coin, if it passes by the opening 8 without being diverted to the refund chute ID, will drop into the vertical portion I2 of the chute in question and is caught by the member I3 whereby the pivoted arm I5 is rotated about the aXis I4 under the influence of the gravity of the coinuntil the rack Il' engages with the gear wheel I9. At the same time the pivoted arm, as above mentioned, closes the contact m2 and switches over the contact m1, whereby-still presuming that Ythe contacts g1 and gz, Fig. 1, have been switched over by the subscriber lifting his receiver from the hook, and also presuming that the called subscriber answers-a circuit is completed initiating the transmission of pulses to the relay B. The latter thereby rotates the gear wheel I9 through the intermediary of the vratchet mechanism 20, ZI, the pawl of which is mounted on the armature of therelay B as shown in Fig. '7, whereby the gear wheel l by its `engagement with the rack il causes the pivoted arm I5 to be swung in the lateral direction, so that-the member I3 is moved in its direction of withdrawal relative to the chutes. It the coin has been deposited in the chuteifl remote from the pivoted arm, the

coin will be released by the member I 3 as soon as the relay B has received the rst pulse from the line circuit L. This pulse is `registered in a metering device of the line circuit L and thereby indicates or registers the size of the coin.` If the coin is deposited in the chute 5 two pulses are required for the relay B to Withdraw the'member I3 from the chutes to such an extentxthat the coin is released by the pivoted arm `I5 and falls dov/'n into the vertical portion of the chute in question, and similarly three pulses are required in case the coin is deposited in the chute 5.

If the relay A has not been operated, which is the case if the called subscriber does not answer or is busy, the coin falling down from the pivoted arm cannot be collected because the plate 26 is checks the coin in this case are initiated when :'1-

the calling subscriber, who has failed to obtain connection with the called subscriber, replaces his receiver on the hook, whereby earth potential is applied to the conductor L1 by way of the contact mz which was closed by the movement of the pivoted arm I5 caused by the deposited coin, and further by way of the contact g2, whereby the relay B immediately receives pulses via the conductor L1 until the coin falls down from the pivoted arm, and the latter is restored to its neutral position, as above mentioned.

As mentioned above, each coin collecting device has associated therewith a line circuit L which in addition to a so-called starting relay registering the setting up of a call, also comprises auxiliary relays adapted, if the called subscriber answers, to cause the transmission of a pulse to the collecting device, viz. the pulse releasing the coin deposited in the chute d. This pulse, as mentioned, is registered in a, metering device of the line circuit comprising in known manner two number wheels for units and tens digits respectively. The metering device may e. g. be constructed to add a unit to the number indicated by the number wheels for each pulse transmitted over the line circuit to the coin collecting device, while one unit is subtracted from the number indicated by the number wheels for each of the metering pulses transmitted from the central exchange. These two number wheels are so constructed that in the moment when both of them have been restored to their neutral position indicating the number 0i) under the influence of the said pulses, a signalling circuituis completed to the calling party indicating that the deposited amount has 'been exhausted.

It is observed that the said auxiliary relays and the metering device of the line circuit must be so arranged, that, if the unitary rate corree sponding to each individual pulse is smaller than the value 4of the smallest coin that may be deposited in the coin collecting device, e. g. if the pulses correspond to a minimum rate of 5 cents, while the smallest coin is a 10 cent piece, then a plurality of metering pulses, in the specific case t 6 conslderedtwo metering pulses, are transmitted tothe metering adevice for each pulse transmitted to the coin collecting device.

If more vthan one pulse must be' transmitted to the coin collecting device in-order to collect a deposited coin, which will always be the case for the 4two coins of higher value that may be used inthe coin'collecting device, more thanone pulse must be transmitted to the coin collecting device over theline circuit, and to eiect this it will be necessary to use a special pulse generator, suppleinenting the vi'irst vpulse initiated by the relays of the line circuit as such-by further pulses. For this purpose use is made of a register R which comprises;v a pulse generator and may be connected `to any one of a plurality of line circuits by means of `a selector V. 'I'he release of the pulses from the registers is controlled by the relays. of the line circuit. -The manner in which this is done andthe detailed' arrangement of the line ,relaysY and the register may be selected according to well known principles and does not form part of the present invention as such.

If the deposited coinstcannot 'be collected by .means of asingle pulse, then as soon as the coin collectingdevice has received theirst collecting .pulsereleased by the line circuit, there will be aconstant earth onthe conductor L2 by way of the contacts ai and azand this earth will cause the line circuit to hunt for the register R, which then by transmitting supplementing pulses collects the coin and at the same time controls the metering device which registers the number of the pulses, and thereby the value of the deposited amount.

If e. g. the pulses correspond to a rate of 5 cents and the collected coin is a 25 cent piece, then five pulses should be transmitted to the metering device, and two pulses to the coin collecting device. If the deposited coin is a one dollar piece which is assumed to be the highest value coin employed, three pulses should be transmitted to the coin collecting device but 20 pulses at 5 cents each to the metering device. The line circuit and the register must be arranged accordingly which, however, as mentioned, does not form part of the invention as such.

Since, as mentioned, the relay A is deenergized immediately after a coin has been collected, an established connection for which the charge represented by the coin has been exhausted may be continued if within a certain time limit e. g. 5 seconds another coin is deposited, since the relay A upon being deenergized has moved the plate 2B out of the position in which it blocks the travel of the coins deposited in the chutes.

I claim:

1. A coin collecting device comprising a plurality of chutes adapted to receive coins of different sizes and being located side by side, a pivotally mounted arm arranged for both vertical and horizontal motion, a coin responsive detecting member secured to said arm in a transverse position relatively to same and arranged to eX- tend transversely through al1 of said chutes so as to cause by actuation of the gravity of a coin deposited in any of said chutes, a downwardly directed pivotal motion of said arm to a bottom position against a biasing force, switch contacts arranged to be actuated by said arm when moved to occupy said bottom position, a pulse responsive relay, a pinion arranged to be rotated stepwise by said relay, a rack secured to said arm and extending transversely of same and arranged to be engaged with said pinion when said arm is ent sizes and being located side by side, an arm comprising a rst part and a second part hinged together, the first part being pivoted by a horizontal axis and the second part being pivoted on `said iirst part about an axis being vertical to the pivot axis of said first part, a coin responsive detecting member common to all of said chutes and secured to said second part in a position transversely of same and extending transversely through all of said chutes to cause by actuation of the gravity of a coin deposited in any of said chutes, a downwardlyi directed pivotal motion of said arm to a bottom position against a biasing force, switch contacts arranged to be actuated by said arm when moved to occupy said bottom position, a pulse responsive relay, a pinion arranged to be rotated stepwise by said relay, a rack secured to the said second part of said arm and extending transversely of same and arranged to be engaged vwith said pinion when said arm is moved to its bottom position to cause when said relay is operated, a horizontal pivotal motion of said, second part of said arm away from said chutes in` order to withdraw said coin responsive member stepwise from said chutes one after the other.

3. A coin collecting device as in claim l comprising an auxiliary relay arranged to be energized by way of said switch contacts when the said arm occupies its bottom position, a pivotally mounted barring member being mechanically coupled to the moving portion of the said auxiliary relay and arranged to normally occupy a position outside said chutes at a level above the level of the coin responsive detecting member and arranged to be moved transversely of said chutes by the energization of said auxiliary relay to a position within said chutes thereby preventing additionally deposited coins from reaching said coin detecting member when said arm is in its bottom position, and instead diverting such coins to the refund chute.

ASGER KJ ERBYE NIELSEN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,251,073 Shann July 29, 1941 2,265,124 Andres Dec. 9, 1941 2,491,817 Landgraf Dec. 20, 1949 2,564,719 Powell Aug. 21, 1951

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