US3605970A - Coin receiving and reimbursing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

AN APPARATUS FOR RECEIVING AND PAYING BACK COINS, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT IT COMPRISES AT LEAST ONE VERTICAL PLATE HAVING FORMED ON ITS FRONT FACE A STORAGE CHANNEL OF ARCUATE CONFIGURATION, SO THAT THE COINS INSETED BY THE USER INTO THE APPARATUS CAN FALL INTO THE LOWER PORTION OF THIS CHANNEL AND ACCUMULATE THEREIN, A MOVABLE MEMBER ASSOCIATED WITH SAID CHANNEL AND ADAPTED TO PUSH THE COINS ACCUMULATED IN SAID STORAGE CHANNEL TOWARDS A HOLE FORMED IN SAID PLATE AT THE UPPER END OF SAID

CHANNEL, SAID HOLE BEING LINED WITH A DIVERTING MEMBER ADAPTED TO DIRECT THE COINS TOWARDS A POSITION OVERLYING THE UPPER ORIFICE OF AN INCLINED TUBE DISPOSED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY OF THE REAR FACE OF SAID PLATE AND WHEREIN THE COINS TO BE DELIVERED FOR REIMBURSEMENT PURPOSE ARE ACCUMULATED.

Description

p 20, 1971 EL DE CREPY 3,605,970

com macmvme AND REIMBURSING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 17, 1970 3 SheetsSheet -1 P 20, 1971 DE CREPY 3,605,970

I COIN RECEIVING AND REIMBUBSING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 17, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 20, 1971 E. DE CREPY 3,605,970

COIN RECEIVING AND REIMBURSING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 17, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,605,970 COIN RECEIVING AND REIMBURSING APPARATUS Edouard de Crepy, Paris, France, assignor to Societe Anonyme Francais des Appareils Automatiques Taximetre-Taxiphone, Paris, France Filed Feb. 17, 1970, Ser. No. 12,014 Claims priority, application France, Feb. 18, 1969, 6904035 Int. Cl. G07f 1/00 US. Cl. 1941 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for receiving and paying back coins, characterized in that it comprises at least one vertical plate having formed on its front face a storage channel of arcuate configuration, so that the coins inserted by the user into the apparatus can fall into the lower portion of this channel and accumulate therein, a movable member associated with said channel and adapted to push the coins accumulated in said storage channel towards a hole formed in said plate at the upper end of said channel, said hole being lined with a diverting member adapted to direct the coins towards a position overlying the upper orifice of an inclined tube disposed in close proximity of the rear face of said plate and wherein the coins to be delivered for reimbursement purpose are accumulated.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for receiving and reimbursing coins.

Apparatus are already known which are adapted to receive coins and to feed permanently a reserve of coins to permit the reimbursement or giving of change to a user. A known apparatus of this type comprises a rotary drum adapted to stir during a certain time the coins collected therein and to cause these coins to be removed from the bottom of the drum by means of a pawl device. This device pushes the coins into an ascending column in which the coins push one another up to a channel leading to the reimbursement device proper.

All these known apparatus are objectionable on account of their excessive over-all dimensions and their elaborate structure.

It is the essential object of this invention to avoid these inconveniences by providing a constructionally simple yet very compact apparatus of the kind disclosed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To this end, the coin receiving and reimbursing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises at least one vertical plate having formed on its front face a storage channel of arcuate configuration, the coins introduced by the user into the apparatus falling and accumulating into the lower portion of said arcuate channel, a movable member associated with said channel and adapted to push the coins accumulated in said storage channel towards a hole formed in said plate at the upper end of said storage channel, said hole being lined by a diverting member adapted to direct the coins towards a position overlying the upper orifice of a tube disposed in close proximity of the rear face of said plate and wherein the coins to be delivered for reimbursement purpose are accumulated.

According to a complementary feature of this invention, said coin storage channel comprises in its lower portion a retractable pivoting segment adapted to direct the accumulated coins towards a reimbursement cup.

3,605,970 Patented Sept. 20, 1971 ice In addition to its great simplicity, the apparatus of this invention is advantageous in that it is extremely com pact since it occupies about one-third of the volume generally accepted for hitherto known apparatus of this kind.

On the other hand, in the apparatus of this invention no coin is kept in a channel from which it cannot be used, in contrast to drum-type apparatus wherein all the coins constituting the ascending column of coins pushing one another are definitely useless throughout the length of this path.

Besides, according to another feature characterizing this invention, the tubes used for accumulating coins of dilferent values which are to be used for giving change to the user are an integral part of a same detachable magazine. Thus, when one or more of these coin-accumulating tubes is or are full, the coins discharged from the storage channel are subsequently directed straight to a cash-box in which they are sorted according to their values. Thus, the receipts accountancy is greatly facilitated since the operator can take directly from this cashbox the received coins disposed by categories, and subsequently remove the magazine in service and replace same with an empty magazine of which the coins have previously been counted and removed therefrom. Under these conditions, an accurate count of the sums cashed by the apparatus can be kept without difficulty.

A safety device is provided for automatically diverging the coins discharged from the storage channel towards said cash-box in case the magazine were not fitted in position.

Furthermore, for reimbursing coins or giving change, a sliding member is disposed at the bottom of each coinaccumulating tube and this sliding member urged by spring means is adapted to be coupled under the control of an electromagnet to a pawl to which a reciprocating motion is applied, so as to cause the necessary number of coins to drop into the reimbursement cup.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING A typical and preferred form of embodiment of this invention Will now be described by Way of illustration with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic vertical section of the apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section showing on a larger scale the lower portion of a multi-tube magazine and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the upper portion of a multi-tube magazine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The apparatus according to this invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is designed for receiving and reimbursing coins having four different values. To this end, it comprises essentially four vertical parallel plates 1, 2, 3 and 4 having associated therewith four tubes 5, 6, 7 and 8, respectively, constituting a coin magazine designated in general by the reference numeral 9. This magazine 9 comprises a common base plate 11 rigid with said tubes 5 to 8. The magazine 9 is detachably mounted in the frame structure 12 of the apparatus, so that it can easily be removed from, and replaced in, its operative position. The magazine 9 is supported by suitable means not shown to simplify the drawing.

Since the apparatus of this invention actually consists of four elementary apparatus of identical design, only one of them will be described in detail, namely, the apparatus comprising the vertical plate 1 associated with the tube 5 of magazine 9 for receiving and reimbursing coins of a given value.

As clearly shown in FIG. 1, this tube 5 of magazine 9 is disposed behind, and adjacent to the rear face of, plate 1. This tube 5 is inclined to the vertical by about 30 but this angular value should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

On its front face the plate 1 carries a coin-receiving duct 13 inclined to the horizontal and adapted to receive the coins A inserted by the user of the apparatus; as they roll down this channel 13 the coins A engage a coin selector (not shown) of any known and suitable type. If a coin is refused by this selector, it is rejected directly in the direction of the arrow f into a vertical passage 14 leading into a money-back cup or trough 15 disposed at the lower portion of the apparatus.

If the coins A are accepted by the selector device they are subsequently allowed to proceed along the inclined channel 13 to a position overlying the inlet orifice 16 of a storage channel 17 having the configuration of a circular arc of about 270", into which they fall as shown by the arrow f This channel 17 consists essentially of a pair of concentric part-circular guide walls, namely an inner wall 18 and an outer wall 19 both secured to the front face of plate 1. When the coins A penetrate into this channel 17 they are retained therein so that they cannot escape therefrom, for example by means of registering flanges or ledges 18a, 19a.

At the inlet end of channel 17 a photocell device 21 co-acts with a light source (not shown) so as to emit an electric pulse each time the beam emitted from the light source is blocked by a coin A. This pulse is delivered to a counter to detect the number of coins introduced into the apparatus. Also disposed at the inlet end of channel 17 is a switch lever 22 fulcrumed about a horizontal pin 23. This lever 22 pivots freely and is formed with a nose 24 adapted, when a coin is dropped into the channel 17, to move across the orifice 16, due to the engagement of a shank 25 of this lever 22 which projects into the channel 17 by the falling coin A. Under these conditions, the nose 24 causes the next coin A to be diverted into the vertical passage 14. Thus, the arrangement will prevent two coins from being introduced in close succession into the channel 17 and the photocell device 21 from operating only once, as this would cause the erroneous transmission of one electric pulse instead of two.

The coins A introduced into said channel 17 are thus accumulated in the lower portion thereof. Now the maximum storage capacity of this channel 17 corresponds, for instance, to ten coins A. If a user introduced an eleventh coin A, this excess coin would be diverted towards the vertical passage 14 by the switch lever 22.

In the lower portion of the channel 17 the inner guide wall 19 is replaced or prolonged by a segment 26 pivotally mounted about a pivot pin 27. The pivotal movement of this segment 26 is controlled by the user when he actuates the pay-back push-button normally provided on the housing of the apparatus. This control action may take place either through direct mechanical means or through an electric motor energized when depressing said pushbutton, so as to drive a rotary shaft 30 carrying a cam 28 actuating in turn a pivoting lever 29 operatively connected through a link 31 to said segment 26.

When the user wishes to recover the coins previously inserted into the apparatus he simply depresses the pay back push-button to cause the pivotal movement of segment 26 which is thus moved to the lower position shown in dash and dot lines in FIG. 1, so that all the coins contained in the lower portion of channel 17 can fall freely, by gravity, and are directed by an inclined guide member 32 in the direction shown by the arrow f towards the pay-back cup 15.

The payment of the coins A accumulated in the lower portion of channel 17 is positively facilitated by the provision of a discharge stud or brush 33 carried by the outer end of a radial arm 34 rigid with a shaft 35 extending through the four plates 1 to 4. This shaft '35 is rotatably driven from an electric motor 40 so as to perform a complete revolution each time the payment of coins must take place. This can occur when the service demanded to the apparatus has been performed (such as the sale of an article, the delivery of a ticket, etc.), and causes a Sale signal to be emitted for energizing this electric motor. Thus, the arm 34 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction (FIG. 1) and its stud or brush 33 engages the last coin A introduced into the apparatus, which lies in the lower portion of said arcuate channel 17. Then the stud 33 pushes the series of coins A up the right-hand portion of channel 17 (FIG. 1) until they register with an orifice formed in plate 1 and provided with a deflector 36. This deflector 36 consists of a metal blade bent towards the rear of plate 1 and adapted to modify the plane in which the coins A lie initially, so as to guide them one by one and allow them to drop into the upper open orifice of the inclined tube 5. Thus, the coins A fall in succession into the tube 5 where they are sorted in a predetermined order and eventually stacked as shown in dash lines in the bottom portion of tube 5 (FIG. 1). When the tube 5 is filled with coins, the extra coins directed to the top of the stack of coins contained in the tube 5 are diverted in the direction of the arrow f; towards another inclined tube 37 and fed to a channel leading to a cash-box.

The coins A are also diverted directly as shown by the arrow 1 towards the storage cash-box in case the magazine 9 were not properly positioned. In fact, as better shown in FIG. 4, if the tube 5 were not present a blade 38 would be interposed at the position normally occupied by the top orifice of tube 5. This blade 38 is slidably mounted and furthermore pivoted to an arm 39 pivoted in turn about a pin 41 and formed with a lateral nose extension 42. This nose extension 42 normally projects into the path of the upper end of tube 5 when the magazine 9 is re-inserted into the apparatus to its operative position. As long as the tube 5 is not in its ultimate and proper position the blade 38 projects into the space normally occupied by the upper end of the tube 5 and is thus adapted to divert the coins issuing from the arcuate channel 17 towards the storage cash-box. On the other hand, when the magazine 9 is fitted in position by pushing the tube 5 upwards, the upper end of this tube engages the nose extension 42 and causes the arm 39 to pivot in the clockwise direction, thus causing the blade 38 to be retracted to the left and upwards, as shown by the dash and dot lines in FIG. 4. In this retracted position of blade 38 the coins A can fall freely into the tube 5.

The change is given, for each coin having a predetermined excess value, by means of an electromagnet 43 comprising a pivoting armature 44 acting upon a pawl 45 reciprocated by a mechanism 46 driven from an electric motor 47. The pawl 45 has a hook-shaped end 4511 co-acting with a finger 48 rigid with a sliding member 49. This member 49 is slidably mounted in the base member 11 of magazine 9 so as to either close the lower end of tube 5 or free same to permit the fall of one coin at a time. The sliding member 48 is urged by spring means 51 to its inoperative position in which it closes the lower end of tube 5.

Each reciprocation of sliding member 49 which corresponds to the reimbursement of one coin is detected by a photocell device 50 emitting upon each beam-blocking step a pulse fed to a counter. The electromagnet 43 remains energized during a number of reciprocations of pawl 45 which corresponds to the number of coins to be paid back. Throughout this time period, the armature 44 of this electromagnet causes the pawl 45 to be operatively connected to the finger 48, thus moving the sliding member 49.

When the number of coins paid back equals the desired number, the electromagnet 43vis de-energized, the pawl 45 is disconnected from finger 48 and the sliding member 49 resumes its inoperative position to discontinue the coin payment operation.

When the number of coins contained in tube becomes inferior to a predetermined minimum value, for example ten, corresponding to the maximum number of coins likely to be reimbursed by the apparatus, a signal warns the user of this condition and requests him to pay the exact amount. The safety device provided to this end consists of another photocell device 53 disposed at the lower end of tube 5, externally thereof, and registering with a hole 54 formed through the wall of the tube. Opposite this hole 54 is another hole 55 registering with a light source 56. As long as the tube 5 contains a sufi'lcient number of coins, these coins block the light beam emitted from the light source 56 towards the photocell 53, so that the apparatus operates normally. When the number of coins in the tube drops below the predetermined number or value, the photocell 53 is illuminated by the light source 56 and controls an electronic device of known type which delivers a corresponding signal.

Of course, the forms of embodiment illustrated, described and suggested herein are given by way of example only and should not be construed as limiting the present invention, since many modifications may be brought thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for receiving and paying back coins which comprises at least one vertical plate having a front face and a rear face, a storage channel of part-circular configuration formed on the front face of said vertical plate, said storage channel having an inlet, an outlet and a lower intermediate portion in which the coins introduced by a user are directed and accumulated by gravity, a member rotatable in said storage channel and adapted to push the coins accumulated in said lower portion of said storage channel, means for rotatably driving said member about an axis coincident with the centre of said part-circular storage channel, a hole formed through said plate at the outlet of said storage channel which is positioned at an upper portion of said channel where the coins are pushed by said rotary member, a coin diverting member lining said hole and a con-accumulating tube disposed in close vicinity of the rear face of said plate and adapted to receive through an upper orifice the coins falling through said hole and guided by said diverting member, whereby the coins intended for reimbursing purposes accumulate in said tube.

2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, which comprises a radial arm, a. driving shaft extending through said plate, coaxially to said storage channel, a finger carried by said radial arm and so disposed as to describe a circular path in said storage channel for pushing the coins therein, and an electric motor operatively connected to said driving shaft for rotatably driving said shaft along one revolution each time said electric motor is energized.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, which comprises on said front face of said plate a duct for introducing coins which is inclined to the horizontal and opens above the inlet of said storage channel.

4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3, which comprises at the inlet of said storage channel a photocell device for counting the coins, a switching lever and a pivot pin carried by said plate and adapted to act as a fulcrum to said switching lever, said switching lever comprising a lower shank projecting into said storage channel and an upper nose adapted to be placed across said storage channel when a coin falling into said storage channel moves the lower shank of said lever outwardly, and a reimbursement cup toward which a coin following immediately a coin just introduced into said storage channel is adapted to be diverted by said switching lever.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said storage channel is bounded by an internal guide member and an external guide member both consisting of a concentric strip extending along a circular arc of about 270 degrees and secured to said plate.

6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said external guide member of said storage channel is discontinued along its lower portion and comprises therealong a segment constituting the extension of said external guide member, a pin to which said segment is pivotally mounted, means controlled by the user of the apparatus for pivoting said segment, and an inclined duct for reimbursement coins which is disposed beneath said pivoting segment for directing the reimbursement coins to the exterior of the apparatus.

7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, which comprises a plurality of vertical plates and a detachable magazine on which are mounted the various coin-accumulating tubes associated with the different plates for accumulating coins of different values for remibursement purpose, said coin accumulating tubes having an upper portion and a lower portion.

8. An apparatus as set forth in claim 7, which comprises a lever pivotally mounted on said plate in near the upper portion of said coin-accumulating tube, a blade operatively connected to said pivoting lever and mounted above the upper orifice of said coin-accumulating tube, said pivoting lever normally projecting across the upper portion of said coin-accumulating tube when said magazine is fitted in position, in order to retract said sliding member in this case, said sliding member being adapted to divert the coins towards a cash-box when no magazine is present in the apparatus.

9. An apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein said magazine comprises a common base on which each coinaccumulating tube is mounted, a reimbursement member slidably mounted under each tube, a spring associated with each sliding member, a reciprocating-motion driving mechanism and an electromagnet associated with each sliding member for selectively coupling said sliding member to said reciprocating-motion driving mechanism.

10. An apparatus as set forth in claim 9, which comprises a pair of holes formed through the lower portion of each coin-accumulating tube, a light source disposed on one side of said tube and registering with a first one of said holes, and a photocell device disposed on an opposite side of said tube and registering with a second one of said holes in order to detect if the coins contained in said tube drops below a predetermined minimum value.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,204,845 6/1940 Dahlstrom 194-98 2,649,948 8/1953 Tawney 19485 2,973,076 2/1961 Hatcher 194-10 2,988,191 6/1961 Grant l94--1.9

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner T. E. KOCOVSKY, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

1332; 194Dig. 3, Dig. 15

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