US3062349A - Money changer - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 6, 1962 Filed April 19, 1960 H. A. NAUMAN ETAL 3,062,349

MONEY CHANGER 3 Sheets-Sheet l Fig. 2

Henry A. Nauman Percy M. Kelly INVENTOR? wig mg; 19m

1962 H. A. NAUMAN ETAI. 3,062,349

MONEY CHANGER Filed April 19, 1960 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 4

Henry A. Nauman 3 PQI'C) K8) IN VENTORS 1962 H. A. N'AUMAN ETA]. I 3,062,349

MONEY CHANGER Filed April 19, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 [3 ,3 Henry A. Nauman Percy l KeI y INVENTORS United States Patent Ofiiice 3,002,349 Patented Nov. 6, 1962 3,062,349 MONEY CHANGER Henry A. Nauman, P.0. Box 1007, and Percy W. Kelley, 1020 Dotta Drive, both of Elko, Nev. Filed Apr. 19, 1960, Ser. No. 23,197 6 Claims. (Cl. 194-93) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in money changers or coin changers, and the principal object of the invention is to provide a structurally and functionally simple, dependable and foolproof device of this type which may be conveniently and eifectively used for dispensing several coins in return for a single coin of a larger denomination.

As such, for example, the invention may be used for dispensing twenty nickels in return for a silver dollar, although it is to be understood that the device may operate on the basis of any desired coin combination, for example, to dispense two dimes and a nickel in return for a quarter.

One of the important features of the invention involves the provision of an improved mechanism for actuating the device so that coins are not dispensed thereby unless a coin to be changed is first inserted into a coin chute, means also being provided to prevent dipensing of coins when the coin inserted in the chute is not genuine or of a proper size.

Another important feature of the invention involves the provision of means for preventing insertion of a coin to be changed in the coin chute unless an adequate supply of coins for dispensing is present in the machine.

Another important feature of the invention resides in its structural arrangement whereby the interior of the device is readily accessible for purposes of inspection or repair and whereby coins may be quickly and easily inserted or removed during servicing.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a money changer in accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken substantially in the plane of the line 22 of FIGURE FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken substantially in the plane of the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE'4 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken substantially in the plane of the line 44 in FIGURE 1 and showing the device in its initial position.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view, similar to that shown in FIGURE 4 but illustrating the coin chute when a coin is inserted therein; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary sectional view, similar to those shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 but showing the mechanism in its dispensing position.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the money changer or coin changer in accordance with the invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 10 and embodies in its construction a relatively thin, box-shaped housing disposed in a vertical plane and consisting of a pair of complemental housing sections 11 and 11a which are interfitted or telescoped into each other so that the section 1111, being in the nature of a cover, may be readily removed from the section 11 wherein the entire mechanism of the device is contained.

The front upper corner of the housing has a slanting edge 11' in which is mounted the entrance section or portion 12 of a flat, tubular coin chute for reception of coins which are to be changed, while the bottom portion of the housing provides a change box or cup 13 into which coins given in change are dispensed, such coins being removable therefrom through a suitable opening 14 in the housing.

A horizontal partition 15, slotted as at 16, 17, is provided in the housing above the change box or cup 13 and the housing also contains a vertical partition 18 which is secured to the front and rear edges of the housing by suitable tie rods 19, 20, as well as by a partial cover plate 21, it being understood that all these components are associated with the housing section 11 without attachment to the cover section 11a so that the cover section may be readily removed, as above noted.

A coin tube magazine 22 is rernovably positioned in the housing above the partition 15 and rearwardly of the partition 18, the same comprising a plurality of vertical coin tubes 23 which are adapted to receive coins to be dispensed. The lower ends of these tubes are secured in an apertured upper portion 24 of a support plate 25, a dispensing slide 26 being interposed between the plate 25 and the plate portion 24. The upper end portions of the tubes 23 are secured in an apertured plate or strap 27. The support plate 25 rests on the partition 15 whereby the entire magazine 22, comprising the parts 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27, may be removed as a unit from the housing for purposes of inserting coins into the tubes 23 through their upper ends. The upper ends of the tubes may be equipped with removable closure plugs 28, if so desired.

The dispensing slide 26 is provided with apertures 29 which are in registry with the lower ends of the tubes 23 when the slide is in the position shown in FIGURE 4, while the support plate 25 is provided with apertures 30 which are offset from the lower ends of the tubes in the direction of the sliding movement of the slide, whereby the plate 25 provides supporting means to prevent dropping of coins out of the tubes 23 and openings 29 in the slide when the latter is in its initial or non-dispensing position. However, when the slide is slid to the dispensing position shown in FIGURE 6, the slide apertures 29 are ali ned with the apertures 30 in the plate 25, so that coins contained in the slide openings 29 are free to drop into the cup 13. Suitable coin slides or slanting chutes 31, 32 are provided under the partition 15 for conveying the dropped coins into the front portion of the cup 13 where they are accessible through the opening 14 in the housing.

If may be explained at this point that in the arrangement exemplified herein, five of the tubes 23 are provided for nickels, the thickness of the slide 26 corresponding to that of four nickels, so that twenty nickels may be dispensed by a single movement of the slide in return for a silver dollar inserted in the coin chute entrance 12. However, this arrangement may be varied as desired to suit any coin combination, for example, one tube of nickels and two tubes of dimes may be provided to give change for a quarter, with the slide dispensing one coin from each tube.

Apart from the entrance portion 12, the coin chute also includes a holder section or portion 33 which is spaced downwardly from an angularly offset with respect to the entrance portion, while an intermediate or transfer section or portion 34 is pivotally mounted as at 35 and normally urged by a spring 36 on the pivot 35 to a position shown in FIGURE 4, wherein it is aligned with the entrance portion 12 so that when a coin to be changed is inserted in the entrance portion as indicated at 37, it may drop into the transfer portion 34 of the chute. The weight of the coin then causes the chute portion 34 to swing downwardly about the pivot 35 against the resiliency of the spring 36 until the chute portion 34 is aligned with the holder portion 33 and the coin is transferred into the latter, as shown in FIGURE 5. A curved guard 38 is provided on the chute portion 33 to prevent the coin from sliding out of the portion 34 during the transferring movement and when the coin is disposed in the holder portion 33 it comes in abutment with a coin rest 39 provided at the free end of a coin contacting member 40 which is pivotally mounted in the housing as at 41. The other end of the member 4b is operatively connected by a pin and slot connection 42 to the upper end of a locking bar 43 which is provided with slots 44 for slidable mounting on pins 45 on the partition 18. A tension spring 46 is connected to the bar 43 and to the partition 18 as is best shown in FIGURE 2, whereby the bar is urged to its downwardly slid position.

The lower end portion of the bar 43 is anguiated as at 43a and terminates in a downturned detent 47 which operatively engages a cam surface 48 of an elongated actuating member or plunger 49 which is slidable on the partition 15. The plunger 49 had an outer end portion which projects outwardly from the housing to carrying a hand knob 50, while the inner end portion of the plunger carries an upstanding pin 51 which is slidably disposed in a longitudinally extending slot 52 formed in the aforementioned slide 26. The slot 52 has a lateral opening 52a for passage of the pin 51 out of the slot when the magazine 22 is removed from the housing.

The cam surface 48 slopes downwardly toward a vertical stop surface 53 and defines in conjuction therewith a recess in the plunger 49, it being noted that the plunger is also equipped with an inclined cam 54 which may be engaged by the detent 47 when the plunger 4-9 is pulled outwardly to the dispensing position shown in FIGURE 6, as will be hereinafter more fully described. A suitable tension spring 55 is connected to the plunger 49 for urging the same to its initial, inwardly slid position.

The holder portion 33 of the coin chute is formed with a recess 56 to receive a coin contacting element 57 which, in the form of an adjustable screw, is carried by the member 40. WLCH a coin to be changed is inserted in the chute entrance 1?. and flipped by the transfer portion 34 of the chute into the holder portion 33, it comes in contact with the element 57 as well as with the rest 39 so that it is temporarily held in the chute portion 33. This position of the mechanism is shown in FIGURE 5, from which it will be apparent that if the knob 50 of the plunger 49 is pulled outwardly, the spring 46 cannot cause the locking bar 43 to slide downwardly inasmuch as contact of the element 57 with the coin in the chute portion 33 prevents such movement. Thus, the detent 47 cf the bar 43 will remain in its initial position without sliding down the cam surface 48 while the plunger 49 continues its outward sliding movement, and as the plunger approaches its ultimate, outwardly slid position, the detent 47 will ride up on the inclined cam 54, thus causing the bar 43 to slide upwardly and the member 40 to swing about its pivot 41 to the position shown in FIGURE 6, wherein both the element 57 and the coin rest 39 will clear the chute portion 33, thus permitting the coin in the chute portion 33 to drop therefrom into a suitable coin collecting box 58 provided in the housing. Simultaneously with this action, the pin 51 on the plunger 49 will engage the front end of the slot 52 with the result that sliding movement of the plunger to its ultimate position will cause the slide 26 to move to its dispensing position to effect dropping of change from the coin tubes 23 into the cup 13, as already described. Upon releasing of the actuating knob 50, the plunger 49 is automatically returned to its initial position by the spring 55.

In the event that an attempt is made to actuate the plunger 49 without inserting a coin into the chute 12, sliding of the plunger from its initial position will be possible, during which action the detent 47 will slide downwardly along the cam surface 48 until the plunger reaches an intermediate position wherein the detent abuts the stop 53,

this being possible inasmuch as the absence of a coin in the chute portion 33 will permit the contact element 57 to enter the recess 56 sufliciently to permit pivotal movement of the member 40 with a resultant downward sliding of the bar 43 while the detent 47 slides downwardly along the cam surface 48 of the plunger 49. When the detent abuts the stop 53, the plunger 49 will be prevented from sliding further outwardly to the dispensing position shown in FIGURE 6, so that no coins will be released from the tubes 23, as will be clearly apparent. The extent of movement of the pin 51 in the slot 52 is such that the plunger 49 may be slid from its initial to its intermediate, nondispensing position, without imparting any sliding movement to the slide 26.

A suitable permanent magnet 59 is provided on the partition 18 adjacent the chute entrance 12 so as to attract and hold magnetizable slugs or fake coins without permitting them to actuate the di1pensing mechanism. The aforementioned cover plate 21 may be equipped with a removable door 60 through which such slugs may be extracted from the chute 12 without removing the plate 21 itself, upon removal of the housing cover 11a from the housing 11. A suitable lock 61 may be provided for locking the housing cover 1111 in place and preventin unauthorized access to the interior of the housing, and it may be also noted at this point that when the cover 11a is removed, the coin collection box 58 may be readily removed for emptying purposes while the magazine 22 is similarly removed for filling the tubes 23 with coins.

In the event that a coin of a smaller than a predetermined size or weight is inserted in the chute 12, it will not cause the chute portion 34 to transfer such a coin into the chute portion 33. Rather such a coin will drop through the chute portion 34 against a deflector 62 and into a passage 63 provided on the partition 18, for reception in a cup 64 at the lower end of the passage 63. Alternatively, the lower end of the passage 63 may be arranged to discharge into the cup 13 for returning the improper coin to the person using the machine.

Means i also provided for preventing insertion of coins into the chute 12 when there is not an adequate supply of change coins in the tubes 23. This means comprises a lever 65, pivoted intermediate its ends as at 66 in the housing and provided at its lower end with a sensing element or finger 67 which is receivable in a recess 68 formed in the lower end of the tube 23 adjacent the partition 18. The finger 67 is urged into the recess 68 by a tension spring 69 connected to the lever 65, a lever stop 70 being provided in the housing to limit the extent to which the finger 67 may enter the recess 68. The upper end of the lever 65 has secured thereto a stop shutter member or rod 71 which is projcctable and retractable through an aperture 72 in the chute 12, the arrangement being such that when the tubes 23 contain an adequate supply of coins, the finger 67 is held outwardly in the recess 68 by the presence of coins in the associated tube and the shutter rod 71 is retracted from the aperture 72 in the chute 12 as shown in FIGURES 5 and 6, so that insertion of the coin 37 into the chute 12 is permitted. However, when the supply of coins in the chutes 23 falls below the level of the finger 67, the spring 69 acting on the lever 65 causes the finger to be projected into the recess 68 and the shutter rod 71 to be similarly projected through the aperture 72 into the chute 12, whereby insertion of coins into the chute will not be possible.

The actuating plunger 49 is preferably provided with a toothed rack 73 which is engaged by a pawl 74 biased by opposing springs 75 as shown in FIGURE 3, whereby the rate of sliding of the plunger is controlled so that the knob 50 does not slip from the fingers of the users thus causing them to lose their coin without receivin their change, or so that quick sliding of the plunger is prevented which, if performed in rapid succession, would give the user twice the change to which he is entitled.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is:

l. A coin changer comprising a housing, a tubular coin magazine mounted vertically in said housing, a slide in the housing for receiving and dispensing coins from said magazine, a manually operable plunger slidable in the housing, a pin and slot connection operatively connecting the plunger to the slide for actuating same after initial independent movement of the plunger, said plunger having a recess therein providing a stop, an upstanding bar mounted for vertical sliding movement in the housing, a detent on the lower end of the bar engageable in the recess with the stop for arresting the plunger upon completion of said inital independent movement thereof, means for actuating the bar downwardly for engaging the detent in the recess, a chute in the housing for the reception of a coin to be changed, a lever pivotally mounted at an intermediate point in the housing and having one end pivotally connected to the upper end of the bar, the other end portion of said lever being engageable with the coin for releasably retainin same in the chute, an element on said other end portion of said lever engageable with the coin in the chute for holding the detent out of the recess, and means for releasing the coin after completion of the initial independent movement of the plunger.

2. A coin changer comprising a housing, a tubular coin magazine mounted vertically in said housing, a slide in the housing for receiving and dispensing coins from said magazine, a manually operable plunger slidable in the housing, a pin and slot connection operatively connecting the plunger to the slide for actuating same after initial independent movement of the plunger, said plunger having a recess therein providing a stop, an upstanding bar mounted for vertical sliding movement in the housing, a detent on the lower end of the bar engageable in the recess with the stop for arresting the plunger upon completion of said initial independent movement thereof, means for actuating the bar downwardly for engaging the detent in the recess, a chute in the housing for the reception of a coin to be changed, a lever pivotally mounted at an intermediate point in the housing and having one end pivotally connected to the upper end of the bar, the other end portion of said lever being engageable with the coin for releasably retaining same in the chute, an element on said other end portion of said lever engageable with the coin in the chute for holding the detent out of the recess, and means for releasing the coin after completion of the initial independent movement of the plunger, the last-named means including an upstanding cam on the plunger engageable beneath the detent for elevating the bar for swinging said other end portion of said lever away from the chute.

3. A coin changer in accordance with claim 2, said chute including a flat tubular entrance section, a flat tubular holder section downwardly spaced and angularly offset from said entrance section and operatively associated with the lever, and a fiat, tubular vertically swingable intermediate section for receiving, retaining and transferring the coin by its weight from the entrance section to the holder section, said intermediate section being open at both ends for the free passage therethrough without actuation thereby of coins below a predetermined size.

4. A coin changer in accordance with claim 3, said holder section having a recess therein for exposing the coin for engagement by said element.

5. The combination of claim 4, together with an armate guard on the holder section for closing the free end of the intermediate section for retaining the coin therein as it approaches said holder section.

6. The combination of claim 5, together with a second lever pivotally mounted at an intermediate point in the housing, a member on one end portion of said second lever engageable with coins in the lower portion of the magazine for retaining said second lever in an inoperative position, and a stop on the other end portion of said second lever engageable in said entrance section of the chute for preventing the passage of a coin therethrough when the magazine is empty.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 416,828 Corbett Dec. 10, 1889 423,034 Dieterich Mar. 11, 1890 431,367 Lang July 1, 1890 462,024 Wood Oct. 27, 1891 676,686 Pearson June 18, 1901 858,253 Beasley June 25, 1907 905,470 Smith Dec. 1, 1908 1,736,710 Hulin Nov. 19, 1929 2,045,976 Brooks June 30, 1936 2,185,148 Evans Dec. 26, 1939 2,302,648 Wiggins Nov. 17, 1942 2,373,014 Compton Apr. 3, 1945 2,673,133 Koch Mar. 23, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 41,279 Norway Apr. 27, 1925

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