WO2005034050A1

WO2005034050A1 - Hopper coin and disc feeders

Info

Publication number: WO2005034050A1
Application number: PCT/GB2004/004193
Authority: WO
Inventors: Timothy William Hill; Simon John Scott-Brown
Original assignee: Scan Coin Industries Ab
Priority date: 2003-10-02
Filing date: 2004-10-01
Publication date: 2005-04-14
Also published as: DE602004011551D1; ATE385009T1; EP1680770A1; DE602004011551T2; EP1680770B1

Abstract

A hopper coin and disc feeder of the inclined disc type is provided with vacuum suction means (6, 7, 8) to hold the coins on the margin of the disc, rather than the disc being provided with mechanical driving means, such as pockets or a high-friction peripheral band. The margin of the disc is provided with a series of circumferentially-spaced through-holes (8), and a vacuum manifold (6) is arranged at the rear of the disc to connect the disc holes in an arcuate region of the path of the disc margin to vacuum (7), the arcuate region extending between the 5 o'clock and 12 o'clock positions of the disc in the direction of rotation, at which latter position the coins in single file are stripped from the disc by a belt conveying means (33). The vacuum manifold can be an arcuate chamber sealed to the disc by parallel seating strips (16, 17), or the manifold may be sealed by a single closed-loop seal (30) that follows the disc margin, but crosses the path of the holes at the 5 o'clock and 12 o'clock positions (A, B).

Description

HOPPER COIN AND DISC FEEDERS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to hopper coin and disc feeders of the inclined disc type, that is, of the type in which a coin feeding disc is inclined at an acute angle to the horizontal in use, and a hopper wall extending adjacent to at least the lower portion of the disc which in use defines with the disc a holding space for holding a plurality of coins prior to feeding of the coins by the disc to one or more coin outlets.

The term 'coin' will be used hereinafter to include a disc, a component of a composite coin, such as a ring or blank, or a bogus coin such as a washer or counterfeit coin.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Hopper feeders of the inclined disc type have been known for very many years. They are used for feeding coins in single file from a batch of coins, to enable the coins to be counted and/or sorted and/or dispensed.

Many different constructions of hopper coin feeder have been proposed. The coin feeding disc has often been provided with a series of recesses or spaced fingers to define pockets around the periphery of the disc in order to pick out coins one by one in the pockets from a batch of coins lying against the disc. When the disc is rotated the resulting agitation of the batch of coins lying in the holding space causes coins to fall into the pockets of the rotating disc.

We took the view that in order to be capable of feeding coins at very high speeds, and particularly mixed coins of different diameters, it is better to employ a disc without such pockets, the disc being provided at least around the margin thereof with a high friction surface, such as that provided by polyurethane. We found, however, that whilst such a hopper feeder can be made to work effectively whilst there are several coins still in the holding space ready to be carried out by the disc, the disc did not always pick out very quickly the last few remaining coins from the holding space.

In an attempt to improve picking out of the last few remaining coins we have sometimes employed a pressure pad for urging the coins against the margin of the disc.

The pressure pad has been pivotally mounted and resiliently biased towards the disc or biased by gravity.

However, the use of a pressure pad can result in damage to the polyurethane disc surface by the coins.

SUMMARIES OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention a hopper feeder of the inclined disc type comprises vacuum suction means which is so arranged as to hold coins against the margin of the disc over an arcuate portion of the rotational path of the disc.

The arcuate portion is preferably that portion of the path of the disc that precedes a coin take-off region, which is preferably towards the top of the disc path.

The disc margin is preferably provided with a plurality of circumferentially-spaced holes which open to the front face of the disc. The holes may be arranged in various ways. For example, there may be a single row of holes at a particular radius of the disc, there may be a plurality of rows of holes at different radii, or there may be a distribution of holes within an annular band of the disc face.

The holes preferably extend through the thickness of the disc from the rear face thereof, and a stationary vacuum manifold is positioned behind the disc, the vacuum manifold being provided with a vacuum outlet that extends over an arcuate portion of the circumferential path of the disc margin, and communicates directly with those holes that are in register with the vacuum outlet.

In one form of the invention the vacuum manifold is of part-annular shape as viewed in the direction normal to the disc, and the opposite margins of the vacuum manifold outlet are sealed to the rear face of the disc by suitable sealing means in the form of one or more elongate sealing strips that are biased against the disc.

The biasing means for each sealing strip preferably comprises a respective elongate energising means.

In one embodiment of the invention the outer wall of the manifold, that wall which is adjacent to the disc, comprises a substantially sector-shaped plate provided with an arcuate through-slot to provide said manifold outlet and, on the side of the plate that faces the rotating disc, the slot is bordered by said sealing strips which are located in part-annular grooves in the plate, that extend parallel to the annular slot.

A manifold chamber is preferably then defined against the rearwardly- facing side of said plate, preferably by a manifold closure plate, and by a manifold peripheral wall that extends around the periphery of the plate. In one embodiment the manifold outlet extends through substantially a semi-circle, and the manifold plate is substantially semi-circular but with a cut-out provided for the disc drive shaft.

A much-preferred embodiment avoids some of the complexities of the afore-mentioned constructions that employ individual sealing strips along opposite margins of the manifold outlet, and in accordance with that embodiment, the manifold outlet is sealed by a closed-loop sealing strip which in said arcuate region extends circumferentially of the disc and radially outward of the holes in the disc face but is positioned radially inwards of said holes in the region of the margin that is not subject to vacuum. This enables the use of a single strip only, which may be arranged to extend for substantially 360° about the disc axis.

Coin and disc feeders of the inclined disc type and in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings: Figure I is a side elevation of a feeder in accordance with the invention, with the outer margin of a part of the disc edge shown in section on the arcuate section line 1-1 of Figure 2, to show the series of holes extending through the disc,

Figure 2 is a view in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 1 and showing a part of the margin of the disc and an example of a hole layout, Figure 3 is an enlarged radial cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 to show a preferred sealing arrangement for use with a manifold outlet of arcuate shape,

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the disc and manifold assembly looking from the front side of the components,

Figure 5 is an exploded view similar to Figure 4 but looking from the rear side of the components,

Figure 6 is a partial enlarged plan view of the assembled manifold assembly of Figure 4 showing the use of a seal stop block to terminate the ends of the sealing strips,

Figure 7 is a partial perspective enlarged view of the assembled manifold assembly of Figure 4, shown sectioned on the plane 7-7 of Figure 6,

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 but showing a modified arrangement for terminating the ends of the sealing strips,

Figure 9 is a schematic view, looking normally of the disc, of a modified manifold sealing structure in which a single sealing strip extends around the disc axis,

Figure 10 is an enlarged partial section on the line 10-10 of Figure 9 and showing the sealing strip positioned radially outwardly of the path of the disc holes, and Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10 but taken on the line 11-11 of Figure 9 where the sealing strip is positioned radially inwardly of the path of the disc holes.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION With reference to Figure 1, a coin feeding disc 1 is mounted for rotation in well-known manner about the axis thereof with respect to a chassis in the form of a stationary base 2, and a hopper wall, indicated at 3, defines with the front, upwardly-facing face 4 of the disc a hopper 5 into which coins to be fed by the disc are directed by a coin supply, not shown. The base 2 stands in use on a horizontal surface, the disc 1 then being inclined at an acute angle to the horizontal.

A vacuum suction means for holding coins against the periphery of the disc is constituted by a vacuum manifold assembly 6, a vacuum source 7 and by a plurality of radially-spaced through-holes 8 in the disc, the holes 8 being spaced radially inwards from the radially outer edge 9 of the disc 1.

With reference to Figures 4 and 5, the manifold assembly is of generally sector shape as viewed in the axial direction of the disc, and comprises a substantially half-circular manifold front plate 10 which is provided adjacent to the radially outer margin thereof with a semi-circular through- slot 11 , which is set at the same radius as the disc holes 8, so that the holes 8 are in register with the slot 11, as shown in Figure 3, for approximately 180° of the rotational path of the disc. The slot 11 is interrupted by four bridges 11 ' for strength.

The manifold further comprises a peripheral manifold wall 12 which extends around the entire periphery of the manifold front plate 10, and around a cut-out 13 which accommodates the disc drive shaft 14, the wall 12 projecting rearwardly from plate 10 for engagement with a rear manifold closure plate 15.

In order to provide a vacuum seal around the semi-circular slot 11, sealing strips 16, 17 are located in semi-circular slots 18, 19 respectively provided in the outer face of the front plate 10, and the sealing strips 16, 17 are energised by respective resilient strips 20, 21.

Figures 6 and 7 show one arrangement for terminating the sealing strips 16, 17 by the use of a seal stop block 22 which is of generally T-section, both in a radial plane of the manifold assembly 6, and as viewed normal to the manifold assembly 6. The stop block 22 is spring biased towards the disc by suitable resilient means 23, in order to close off the gap which would otherwise be present at the free ends of strips 16, 17.

In the modification of Figure 8, the requirement for a seal stop block is obviated by arranging for the ends of the slots that receive strips 16, 17 to be merged together into a common slot 24 in which the ends of the strips 16, 17 are in side-by-side engagement with one another. The slot 24 also contains suitable spring material for biasing the ends of the strips 16, 17 against the disc.

In the preferred embodiment of Figures 9 to 11 parts corresponding to those of the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3 have been given corresponding reference numerals. In Figures 9 to 11 a single closed-loop sealing strip 30 is employed, the sealing strip being located in a slot defined in a manifold back plate 10 which in this case can be in the form of a circular plate of similar radial dimensions to the disc, or the back plate can be an integral part of the machine chassis. In Figure 9 the circular layout of the disc holes is indicated by a broken line 8. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the central regions of the plate 10, which is of shell shape, have been machined away to define an extensive vacuum chamber 40, surrounded by a land 50.

As can be seen in Figure 9 the closed-loop seal 30, which protrudes from land 50, follows a circumferential arc between positions A and B, in the direction of rotation of the disc that is radially outside the line of holes 8, whereas in the circumferential arc between B and A the seal 30 is radially inside the arc of holes 8. The result of this is that the disc holes in the arc A to B are exposed to vacuum, as shown in Figure 10, whereas those in the arc from B to A are not, as shown in Figure 11.

As shown in Figure 9, at A and B the seal 30 follows an angled path 31, 32 to make the transition between the two arcuate sections A to B and B to A of the seal path.

The ends of the seal preferably substantially abut one another somewhere in the arc B to A, in the direction of rotation of the disc.

It should be appreciated that in the region between B and A, in the direction of disc rotation, the shape of the path of the seal does not need to be as shown, but could take an alternative path if desired.

The resilient biasing of the seal 30 in Figure 9 can be as discussed in relation to the other embodiments. That is, it can comprise a co-extending closed-loop energising strip.

It will be appreciated that in the construction of Figure 9 it is necessary to seal the disc drive shaft where it extends through the vacuum chamber 40. In Figure 9, B represents the top, or 12 o'clock position, of the inclined disc, and a coin conveying belt is indicated at 33, the belt 33 extending along a table 34 generally in the manner set forth in our prior Patent Specification No. EP 0269690B (= WO 8707742) . The belt 33 removes coins in known manner from the margin of the disc at B.

Position A is desirably at approximately the 5 o'clock position of the disc rotation in order that the disc holes are subjected to vacuum before the 6 o'clock position. This has the advantage that the coins in this region are likely to be falling and do not therefore need to be accelerated so much on being gripped by the disc. This is also found to assist in picking up the last coin of a batch of coins that has been fed into the hopper.

An advantage of the invention is that the vacuum retention of the coins on the margin of the disc enables the use of a smooth metal disc face, rather than a disc face provided around the margin with a relatively high friction material such as polyurethane. We found that such a polyurethane layer tends to get damaged by coins as they are dragged from the disc by the conveying belt, partly due to the fact that the belt is generally run at a higher speed than the periphery of the disc. A smooth metal disc face should not suffer damage in the same way.

The vacuum suction features described herein can with advantage be used in conjunction with one or more of the other machine features described in the three co-pending Patent Applications filed 12 March 2004 in the name of Scan Coin Industries AB. Attorney Ref Formal Title Filing Number GML2966 Coin Conveying Devices GB 0405557.0 GML2967 Hopper Coin and Disc Feeders GB 0405555.4 GML2968 Hopper Coin and Disc Feeders GB 0405616.4

Claims

1. A hopper feeder of the inclined disc type, that is of the type comprising a coin feeding disc (1) arranged to be inclined at an acute angle to the horizontal in use, and a hopper wall (3) extending adjacent to at least the lower portion of the disc which in use defines with the disc a holding space (5) for holding a plurality of coins prior to feeding of the coins by the disc to one or more coin outlets (34), the feeder being characterised by a vacuum suction means (6, 7, 8) which is so arranged as to hold coins against the margin of the disc over an arcuate portion of the rotational path of the disc.

2. A hopper feeder as claimed in claim 1 in which said arcuate portion is that portion of the path of the disc that precedes a coin take-off region (B) .

3. A hopper feeder as claimed in claim 2 in which the coin take-off region is close to the top of the disc path.

4. A hopper feeder as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the disc margin is provided with a plurality of circumferentially- spaced holes (8) which open to the front face (4) of the disc.

5. A hopper feed as claimed in claim 4 in which the holes extend through the thickness of the disc from the rear face thereof, and a stationary vacuum manifold (6) is positioned behind the disc, the vacuum manifold being provided with a vacuum outlet (11 ; 40) that extends over an arcuate portion of the circumferential path of the disc margin, and communicates directly with those holes that are in register with the vacuum outlet.

6. A hopper feeder as claimed in claim 5 the vacuum manifold is of part-annular shape as viewed in the direction normal to the disc, and the opposite margins of the vacuum manifold outlet are sealed to the rear face of the disc by suitable sealing means (16, 17) in the form of one or more elongate sealing strips (16, 17) that are biased against the disc.

7. A hopper feeder as claimed in claim 6 in which the biasing means for each sealing strip comprises a respective elongate energising means (20, 21) .

8. A hopper feeder as claimed in claim 5 in which the manifold outlet is sealed by a closed-loop sealing strip (30) which in said arcuate region (A to B) extends circumferentially of the disc and radially outward of the holes in the disc face, but is positioned radially inwards of said holes in the region (B to A) of the margin that is not subject to vacuum.

9. A hopper feeder as claimed in claim 8 in which the sealing strip is biased towards the disc by a co-extending energising strip (20) .

10. A hopper feeder as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9 in which the sealing strip (30) extends for substantially 360° about the axis of the disc, and the disc drive shaft is sealed to the manifold where the drive shaft passes therethrough.

11. A hopper feeder as claimed in claim 10 in which the vacuum manifold comprises a shell body (10) , and the sealing strip (30) is housed in a closed-loop recess formed in a land (50) of said body, said land extending around the margin of the disc.