US3684074A

US3684074A - Cradle lock mechanism for coin testing devices

Info

Publication number: US3684074A
Application number: US64700A
Authority: US
Inventors: Oreste Soraci; John A Hennessy
Original assignee: Vendo Co
Current assignee: SandenVendo America Inc
Priority date: 1970-08-18
Filing date: 1970-08-18
Publication date: 1972-08-15
Anticipated expiration: 1989-08-15
Also published as: GB1280618A

Abstract

An improved, coin gauging, cradle lock mechanism for coin testing devices of the kind employing at least one two-legged testing and transfer cradle is provided by replacing one of the two ordinarily fixed legs of the cradle with a dual-purpose leg pivotally mounted on the cradle base and having both a coingauging surface juxtaposed with the other leg and a latching element releasably interlocked with a cooperating part on the frame structure of a device. A genuine coin of proper weight and diameter oppositely engages the fixed leg and the gauging surface portion of the pivoted second leg to swing the latter sufficiently to release the cradle latching element from the frame structure, so that the cradle may turn to deliver the coin to a generally laterally extending path for further testing or acceptance.

Description

United. States Patent Soraci et al.

[54] CRADLE LOCK MECHANISM FOR COIN TESTING DEVICES [72] Inventors: Oreste Soraci, Independence; John A. Hennessy, Raytown, both of Mo.

[73] Assignee: The Vendo Company, Kansas City,

15] 3,684,074 1 Aug. 15, 1972 Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-David A. Scherbel Attorney-Schmidt, Johnson, Hovey and Williams [57] ABSTRACT An improved, coin gauging, cradle lock mechanism for coin testing devices of the kind employing at least one two-legged testing and transfer cradle is provided by replacing one of the two ordinarily fixed legs of the cradle with a dual-purpose leg pivotally mounted on the cradle base and having both a coin-gauging surface juxtaposed with the other leg and a latching element releasably interlocked with a cooperating part on the frame structure of a device. A genuine coin of proper weight and diameter oppositely engages the fixed leg vand the gauging surface portion of the pivoted second leg to swing the latter sufficiently to release the cradle latching element from the frame structure, so that the cradle may turn to deliver the coin to a generally laterally extending path for further testing or acceptance.

9 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEnAuc 15 m2 Fig.4.

1 NVEN 703s. Ores Te S0r'0c/ John A. Hennessy CRADLE LOCK MECHANISM FOR COIN TESTING DEVICES This invention relates to devices for testing and accepting genuine coins or tokens while rejecting improper coins or slugs and, more particularly, to improved cradle assemblies for such devices in which one of the two legs of the cradle is a pivoted subassembly adapted to perform dual functions relative to the gauging of the diameter of deposited coins involving both a measuring function and a releasable cradle locking function.

In coin tasting devices, which are normally referred to in the trade as coin acceptors or slug rejectors, of both the type adapted to test a single denomination of coin and the type adapted to test a plurality of different denominations of coins, the employment of twolegged testing and transfer cradles has long been conventional. In the devices for testing a plurality of denominations, a separate cradle is employed for each or is of the coin denominations to be handled. Each cradle is pivotally mounted on the frame structure of the device and is balanced so as to assume a normal position under the influence of gravity. The cradle base is provided with a pair of spaced, laterally extending legs which extend into the path along which a coin to be tested approaches the testing station at which the cradle is located. Since the legs of conventional cradles are fixed and predeterminately spaced, a deposited coin of lesser diameter than the spacing between the legs will pass between the legs by gravity and enter an exit path, while coins of a diameter greater than the spacing between the legs will temporarily come to rest in a supported or cradled condition upon the cradle legs. The location of the legs upon the cradle base and the weight balance of the cradle assembly as a whole are such that, when a coin of proper weight comes to rest upon the legs, the weight balance will be shifted so as to pivot the cradle in one direction for discharging or transferringthe coin from the cradle by gravity into a generally lateral path for further testing or acceptance.

In order to provide for effective discharge and transfer of proper coins from a cradle under the influence of the weight of the coin resting upon the cradle legs, however, it has been found necessary to space the legs together somewhat more closely than would be required merely to keep a proper coin from passing between the legs, since disposition of the center of mass of the coin substantially above the line of contact of the coin with the legs, when the cradle is in its standby position, is required to assure positive discharge of the coin from the cradle upon pivoting of the latter during the transfer operation.

Accordingly, although conventional two-legged cradles will perform a rather rough testing or gauging of the diameter of coins sufficient, for example, to separate coins of different corrunon denominations, such cradles have not, of themselves, been capable of perfonning any more precise testing of a deposited coin with regard to the diameter thereof.

In an effort to provide for precision testing of the diameter of deposited coins at a cradle type testing station, so-called cradle locks have been developed and rather widely employed in recent years. Such conventional cradle locks have assumed a variety of forms but all have operated on the common principle of providing a pivoted cradle lock assembly adjacent the cradle and having thereon an element presenting a third leg which extends into a zone that will be occupied by a proper coin that has come to rest upon the two legs of the cradle itself, either during the initial cradling of the coin upon the cradle legs or during an initial phase of the turning of the cradle to commence its transfer operation. Attempts have been made to employ cradle lock members pivotally mounted upon various parts of the apparatus, including pivotal mounting thereof upon the main frame structure, pivotal mounting thereof upon the same shaft and axis as the cradle is pivoted upon and pivotal mounting thereof upon some part of the cradle itself remote from the two conventional legs of the cradle. Such cradle locks have relied upon contact between the coin. and the element or third leg" provided by the cradle lock member to turn such member sufficiently to release an interlock between cooperating latching parts on the cradle lock member and the frame structure of the device to unlock the cradle for that degree of turning movement thereof necessary to complete its transfer operation. By proper disposition of the element of the cradle lock member extending into the coin path and proper disposition and dimensioning of the cooperating latching parts, it has been possible to provide for testing the diameter of deposited coins with a rather high degree of precision.

However, such conventional cradle locks have suffered from a number of inherent disadvantages involving both operational and manufacturing considerations. The reliance of conventional cradle locks upon a third element or leg which must be contacted and moved by a deposited coin of proper diameter and weight has compounded the geometry of the problem and the vulnerability of the apparatus to malfunction under the often adverse conditions in which such devices must operate in the field. The conventional cradle locks have also created problems in manufacture, assembly and adjustment, both because of the relative complexity of the structural relationships employed to perform the desired functions and the inherent shortage of space available for the accommodation of additional structural elements in devices of this type, which must be small and already incorporate a multitude of working parts inv close proximity to each other and within a comparatively small volume. Although conventional cradle locks are much better than the provision of no precision diameter testing at all, the principles that have heretofore guided the design, construction and adjustment of such apparatus have been inherently disadvantageous and have resulted in the common employment heretofore of mechanical means for performing the desired functions that are unduly complicated, expensive, and subject to malfunction or loss of reliability.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide improved cradle and cradle locking means which overcome the aforesaid and other disadvantages of conventional cradle and cradle lock apparatus.

It is another important object of this invention to provide such improved means in which the necessary functions are combined in a minimum number of mechanical working pans to maximize reliability of operation and minimize manufacturing costs and space requirements.

ventional It is still another important object of this invention to provide such improved means in which one of the fixed legs of a coin testing and transfer cradle has been replaced by a swingable part pivotally mounted on the cradle and including a gauging surface and a releasable latching element, which part is adapted to swing under the influence of a coin of proper weight and proper diameter to simultaneously accomplish both a precision testing of the diameter of the coin and a release of the latching element so that the cradle may perform its next function of turning to transfer proper coins to a selected lateral path.

Still other important objects of the invention will be made clear or become apparent from the drawing and from the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention that follows.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, elevational view of a portion of a coin testing device illustrating the employment of this invention in connection with one of the cradle assemblies thereon;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary, cross-sectional view taken on irregular line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the improved cradle and lock mechanisms shown in FIG. 1, taken from the opposite direction from FIG. 1 and from a vertical plane adjacent the wall structure upon which such cradle is mounted; and

FIG. 4 is a enlarged fragmentary elevational view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the condition of the parts after reception by the cradle of a proper coin and subsequent to the release of the cradle locking mechanism and the commencement of turning motion of the cradle during an early part of its coin transferring operation.

A cradle type coin testing device, which may be conexcept for the parts illustrated and hereinafter more particularly described, is generally designated by the numeral 100. The device broadly includes frame means generally designated 12, a cradle assembly generally designated 14, and a combined gauging and cradle locking mechanism broadly designated 16.

The frame means 12 in the illustrated embodiment has upright wall structure, including a mainplate wall 18, a normally front gate wall and a normally rear wall 22, and coin guiding structure, which may be conventional and of which only a part is shown in the drawings for clarity of illustration of the mechanisms with which the invention is primarily concerned, but which coin guiding structure may include an edge wall 24 in the nature of a forwardly extending flange upon the mainplate wall 18, and projecting portions of other elements such as

rails

26 and 28. As is customary in such devices 10, the mainplate or wall 18 may be stationary and adapted for mounting in a vending machine or the like. The gate wall 20 will customarily be pivotally mounted along the vertical edge thereof remote from the cradle upon the mainplate wall 18, so that the gate 20 may be swung away from the mainplate 18 to release or scavenge improper deposited coins into a reject or return path, possibly with the aid of other scavenging elements not shown but of conventional character well known to those skilled in the art.

The

wall structures

18 and 20, which are normally spaced apart a predetermined distance suitable for accommodating the thickness of proper coins of any denomination to be handled by the device 10, together with the coin guiding structures, such as wall 24, the

rails

26 and 28 and other parts projecting from the rear face of gate 20 or the forward face of mainplate 18, define a number of paths along which a coin may pass under the influence of gravity. A testing zone or station is generally indicated at 30 in FIG. 2, and it will be noted that the cradle 14 and mechanism 16 are located adjacent thereto.

The coin paths leading to and from the station 30 include an entry path 32 between the

walls

18 and 20 along which coins to be tested at the station 30 may approach the latter from above by gravity, an accept path indicated at 34 in FIG. 3 between the

rails

26 and 28, and an exit path 36 below the testing station 30. In the embodiment shown, the mainplate wall 18 is provided with an aperture 38 therein defining the beginning of a transfer path 40 for coins of a different denomination and lesser diameter than those to be tested at station 30, the transfer path 40 extending from the aperture 38 within the space between the mainplate wall 18 and the rear wall 22.

The cradle 14 includes a cradle base 42 disposed to the front of gate wall 20 and freely pivoted upon the latter by a pivot pin 44. The gate wall 20 is provided with

arcuate slots

46, 48 and 50. A fixed leg 52 carried by the cradle base 42 extends rearwardly from the latter through the slot 46, such slot providing freedom for the cradle 14 to turn from the normal position thereof illustrated in FIG. 3 through a substantial are for performing its coin transferring function without interference between the leg 52 and the wall 20. It will be noted that the fixed leg 52 of cradle 14 is disposed adjacent the commencement of the accept path 34.

The second leg and cradle lock mechanism 16 is pivotally mounted on the cradle base 42 by a pin 54 and includes a hub portion 56 extending rearwardly from the cradle base 42 through slot 48, a generally pear-shaped body 58 depending from the hub portion 48, and a forwardly extending latching element 60 protruding from a lower portion of body 58 into the slot 48. The body 58 is provided on the face thereof opposite the first leg 52 with a gauging surface 62 that extends downwardly and somewhat toward the first leg 52 when the body 58 is in its standby position as illustrated in FIG. 4. The cradle 14 is also normally provided with a counter weight as at 64 for balancing the cradle assembly 14 in its normal position as illustrated in FIG. 3, when no coin is resting upon the

legs

52 and 16.

The lower edge of the slot 48 in the gate wall 20 is configured to present a downwardly facing shoulder 66, and the latching element 60 normally underlies this shoulder 66 when the cradle 14 is in its normal position and the leg 16 is in its standby position. The leg 16, however, is adapted to swing in counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 4, to move the latching element 60 clear of the shoulder 66. Thus it will be clear that the cradle 14 cannot pivot sufficiently to discharge a coin into the accept path 34, until the leg and lock mechanism 16 has been swung to a position moving the latching element 60 out from under the shoulder 66.

It will be understood that the spacing between the

legs

52 and 16, and the dimensioning of the body 58 and the gauging surface 62 thereon are so selected that,

when a coin of proper diameter enters the testing station 30 from the entry path 32 it will initially oppositely engage the leg 52 and the gauging surface 62 of leg 16, and then will, by virtue of its weight, swing the body 58 sufficiently in a counterclockwise direction that the latching element 60 will clear the shoulder 66; however, even after that turning of the body 58, the distance between the leg 52 and the gauging surface 62 will be very slightly less than the minimum diameter of a proper coin so as to retain the latter in cradled condition for transfer to the accept path 34. A coin of only very slightly less diameter than the minimum diameter for an acceptable genuine coin will fail to swing the body 58 sufficiently to clear the element 60 from the shoulder 66, thereby leaving the cradle 14 in locked condition in which the defective coin will not be transferred to the accept path 34. Coins of still lesser diameter will pass between the

legs

52 and 16 in a manner similar to that occurring in fixed leg cradles. Coins of greater than maximum acceptable diameter will either fail to swing the body 58 sufficiently for the element 60 to clear the shoulder 66 or, if large enough, may not swing the body 58 at all, in either of which events the cradle 14 desirably remains in its locked condition. Accordingly, the arrangement described makes it possible to unlock the cradle 14 and accept for transfer to the accept path 34 only those proper coins whose diameterv fall within a precise narrow permitted range.

FIG. 4 illustrates the device in a condition in which a coin 70 of proper diameter and weight has swung the body 58 of the leg and lock mechanism 16 away from the leg 52 under the influence of the coin 70 pressing against the inclined gauging surface 62, to unlatch the element 60 from its interlocked relationship with the shoulder 66, and, in that view, the cradle 14 has commenced to turn counterclockwise for delivery of the coin 70 into the accept path 34 by gravity when the cradle 14 approaches the limit of its counterclockwise travel. Thus a coin 70 passing the diameter and weight tests at the testing station 30 may be delivered to another part of the device 10 for further testing of other parameters of the coin or for final acceptance thereof, if no other tests are to be performed.

Defective coinsresting upon the

legs

16 and 52 of the cradle 14, but which either are of improper weight to rotate the cradle 14 or of improper diameter for unlatching the cradle lock 60-66, will normally be cleared from the device 10 by a scavenging operation involving swinging of the gate wall 20 away from the main wall 18 to drop the defective coininto the exit path 36.

Coins of smaller diameter than required by the testing station may be merely permitted to drop between the

legs

16 and 52 for passage to a path of exit or leading to further testing stations (not shown) for handling other denominations of coins. In the preferred embodiment chosen for illustration, however, the eradle 14 is additionally and optionally provided with a rearwardly extending deflector lug 68 extending rearwardly from the lower portion of the cradle base 42 and into the aperture 38. Assuming, for example, that the station 30 is intended to test nickels of US. coinage,

and that the device 10 is also to handle dimes of US. coinage, which are of substantially smaller diameter than nickels, and assuming further that it may be desirable to provide the various working parts for testing dimes in a portion of the device 10 rearwardly of the mainplate wall 18, then it will be seen that the cradle 14 would pass dimes between the

legs

16 and 52 thereof, whereupon the dimes would be deflected by the lug 68 through the aperture 38 and into a transfer path 40 for coins of that denomination. It will thus be noted that, with the leg and lock mechanism 16 of the. present invention, even additional functional structure such as the lug 68 may be provided as a part of the eradle 14, without unduly cluttering or complicating the mechanical arrangement of the parts involved. The aperture 38 may be formed of preselected size to perform gauging operations to exclude from entry into the transfer path 40 coins of diameter intermediate those to be tested at the station 30 and those to be accepted into the transfer path 40 for sorting or further testing purposes; such an intermediate size coin that passes between the

legs

52 and 16 of cradle 14 but would not pass through aperture 38, would be retained at the testing station 30 by the lug 68 until released for exit or rejection by a scavenging operation as previously described.

Accordingly, it will be apparent from the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention that it is well adapted for accomplishing the aforesaid objectives of invention. It will be equally apparent to those skilled in the art, however, that various minor modifications and changes might be made from the exact details of construction disclosed to illustrate such preferred embodiment without departing from the principles or essence of the invention. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention should be deemed as limited only by the fair scope of the claims that follow and equivalents thereof.

We claim: I 1. In a coin testing device of the type employing one or more testing cradles:

means, including upright wall and coin guiding structure, defining a testing station, an entry path for the movement of coins to be tested to said station from generally above the latter, an accept path for movement of coins satisfying the testing to bedone at said station away from the latter in a generally lateral direction, and an exit path for ultimate movement of certain coins not satisfying said test ing away from said station in a generally downward direction; a cradle base adjacent said station pivotally mounte on said structure; two and only two of coin-engageable projections mounted on said cradle base and extending into said entry path in predetermined spaced relationship to each other for receiving a coin thereon, said projections comprising a first leg fixedly mounted on said base, and

a second leg pivotally mounted on said base and provided with a gauging surface thereon generally facing said first leg and movable relative to the latter,

and

releasable latching element fixedly mounted on said second leg, movable with the latter, and normally interlocked with said structure,

said base, legs and element presenting a main assembly capable of swinging relative to said structure, under the influence of a coin of proper weight received upon said legs, from a standby coin-receiving position to an operated position for discharging said coin into said accept path,

said second leg and element presenting a sub-assembly swingable relative to said base, under the influence of a coin of proper diameter oppositely engaging said first leg and said gauging surface, from a normal position in which said element is interlocked with said structure to prevent movement of said main assembly into its said operated position, to an actuated position in which said element is released from said structure to permit movement of said main assembly into its operated position.

2. The invention of claim 1, wherein each of said main assembly and said sub-assembly is freely swingable about its respective axis of swinging movement and has such axis thereof disposed above its center of gravity when it is in its standby or normal position.

3. The invention of claim 1, wherein said second leg is disposed more remotely from said accept path than said first leg.

4. The invention of claim 1, wherein said gauging surface of said second leg inclines towards a vertical plane through said first leg as the lower extremity of said surface is approached when said sub-assembly is in its normal position.

5. The invention of claim 1, wherein said wall structure includes a pair of spaced upright walls on opposite sides of said paths, one of said walls has slot means therethrough adjacent said station; and said base is mounted on the side of said one of said walls remote from the other wall with said legs extending through said slot means and into said entry path.

6. The invention of claim 5, wherein said slot means include a portion presenting a shoulder that is normally engaged by said element.

7. In a coin testing device of the type employing one or more testing cradles:

means, including upright wall and coin guiding structure, defining a testing station, an entry path for the movement of coins to be tested to said station from generally above the latter, an accept path for movement of coins satisfying the testing to be done at said station away from the latter in a generally lateral direction, and an exit path for ultimate movement of certain coins not satisfying said testing away from said station in a generally downward direction, said structure including a pair of spaced upright walls on opposite sides of said paths, one of said walls having slot means therethrough adjacent said station, said slot means including a portion presenting a shoulder;

a cradle base adjacent said station pivotally mounted on said structure, said base being mounted on the side of said one of said walls remote from the other wall;

a first leg on said base extending into said entry path;

a second leg pivotally mounted on said base, extending into said entry path in predetermined spaced relationship to said first leg, and provided with a gauging surface thereon generally facing said first leg, said legs extending through said slot means and into said entry path; and

a releasable latching element on said second leg normally en aged with said shoulder, said element extending rom a part of said second leg disposed in said entry path, toward said base, and into said slot means,

said second leg andelement presenting a sub-assembly swingable relative to said base, underthe influence of a coin of proper diameter oppositely engaging said first leg and said gauging surface, from a normal position in which said element is interlocked with said shoulder to prevent movement of said main assembly into its said operated position, to an actuated position in which said element is released from said shoulder to permit movement of said main assembly into its operated position. 8. The invention of claim 7 wherein said spacing between said legs is such that the spacing between said first leg and said gauging surface of said second leg is less than the diameter of a proper coin of the particular denomination to be tested at said station both when said sub-assembly is in its normal position and when it is in its actuated position, but is greater than the diameter of a genuine coin of a second different denomination when said sub-assembly is in either of said positions.

9. The invention of claim 8, wherein said other wall has an aperture therein adjacent said station defining the beginning of a transfer path for receiving genuine coins of said second denomination; and said base is provided with a deflector lug thereon below said legs and extending through said slot means into a zone between said entry path and said exit path for deflecting coins of said second denomination into said transfer path.

Claims

1. In a coin testing device of the type employing one or more testing cradles: means, including upright wall and coin guiding structure, defining a testing station, an entry path for the movement of coins to be tested to said station from generally above the latter, an accept path for movement of coins satisfying the testing to be done at said station away from the latter in a generally lateral direction, and an exit path for ultimate movement of certain coins not satisfying said testing away from said station in a generally downward direction; a cradle base adjacent said station pivotally mounted on said structure; two and only two of coin-engageable projections mounted on said cradle base and extending into said entry path in predetermined spaced relationship to each other for receiving a coin thereon, said projections comprising a first leg fixedly mounted on said base, and a second leg pivotally mounted on said base and provided with a gauging surface thereon generally facing said first leg and movable relative to the latter; and a releasable latching element fixedly mounted on said second leg, movable with the latter, and normally interlocked with said structure, said base, legs and element presenting a main assembly capable of swinging relative to said structure, under the influence of a coin of proper weight received upon said legs, from a standby coin-receiving position to an operated position for discharging said coin into said accept path, said second leg and element presenting a sub-assembly swingable relative to said base, under the influence of a coin of proper diameter oppositely engaging said first leg and said gauging surface, from a normal position in which said element is interlocked with said structure to prevent movement of said main assembly into its said operated position, to an actuated position in which said element is released from said structure to permit movement of said main assembly into its operated position.

7. In a coin testing device of the type employing one or more testing cradles: means, including upright wall and coin guiding structure, defining a testing station, an entry path for the movement of coins to be tested to said station from generally above the latter, an accept path for movement of coins satisfying the testing to be done at said station away from the latter in a generally lateral direction, and an exit path for ultimate movement of certain coins not satisfying said testing away from said station in a generally downward direction, said structure including a pair of spaced upright walls on opposite sides of said paths, one of said walls having slot means therethrough adjacent said station, said slot means including a Portion presenting a shoulder; a cradle base adjacent said station pivotally mounted on said structure, said base being mounted on the side of said one of said walls remote from the other wall; a first leg on said base extending into said entry path; a second leg pivotally mounted on said base, extending into said entry path in predetermined spaced relationship to said first leg, and provided with a gauging surface thereon generally facing said first leg, said legs extending through said slot means and into said entry path; and a releasable latching element on said second leg normally engaged with said shoulder, said element extending from a part of said second leg disposed in said entry path, toward said base, and into said slot means, said base, legs and element presenting a main assembly capable of swinging relative to said structure, under the influence of a coin of proper weight received upon said legs, from a standby coin-receiving position to an operated position for discharging said coin into said accept path, said second leg and element presenting a sub-assembly swingable relative to said base, under the influence of a coin of proper diameter oppositely engaging said first leg and said gauging surface, from a normal position in which said element is interlocked with said shoulder to prevent movement of said main assembly into its said operated position, to an actuated position in which said element is released from said shoulder to permit movement of said main assembly into its operated position.

8. The invention of claim 7 wherein said spacing between said legs is such that the spacing between said first leg and said gauging surface of said second leg is less than the diameter of a proper coin of the particular denomination to be tested at said station both when said sub-assembly is in its normal position and when it is in its actuated position, but is greater than the diameter of a genuine coin of a second different denomination when said sub-assembly is in either of said positions.