Coin dispensing apparatus

Abstract: This invention seeks to simplify the structure and assembly of a coin dispensing apparatus to facilitate adjustment for different coin sizes and has a further general object to simplify the structure of the apparatus for assembly and disassembly for maintenance. The apparatus comprises: a coin supply hopper for storing a supply of coins in bulk; a coin feeding rotary disc means rotatably mounted within the hopper at the bottom thereof, the coin feeding rotary disc means having one or more coin receiving through holes extending therethrough; and adjustment means provided on the rotary disc means to adjustably cover a greater or lesser proportion of the or each coin receiving through hole to adjust the aperture size of the through hole for coin size.

Description: The present invention relates to a coin dispensing apparatus such as used in coin changers, game machines or other machines for dispensing coins or tokens from a coin supply hopper one at a time. As used hereinafter, the term "coin" refers to a disc such as for example a monetary coin or a medal or gaming token. Description of the Prior Art Hitherto, there have been known various types of coin dispensing apparatus comprising a coin supply hopper for storing a supply of coins in bulk and a rotary disc rotatably disposed in the hopper at an angle to the horizontal and adapted for delivering coins or tokens in desired quantities from the coin supply hopper one at a time. A coin dispensing apparatus that exemplifies the prior art is disclosed in the present applicant's own earlier US patent US 5, 122, 094. General features of that prior art coin dispensing apparatus are, for convenience, illustrated in Figures 6A and B and 7 hereinafter and will now be briefly discussed. The coin dispensing apparatus shown in Figures 6A and B and 7 comprises a coin supply hopper 1 and a rotary disc 2 rotatably disposed in the hopper 1 at an angle to the horizontal supported by a square support board 11 that is propped at an angle to the horizontal by a supporting frame 10. When an electric motor (not shown) of the apparatus is driven, this in turns drives rotation of an axle 12 extending centrally up through the rotary disc 2 to rotate the disc 2. The disc 2 rotates clockwise and this agitates the coins within the disc 2. It will be seen that the rotary disc 2 is not flat but has the form of a pan by virtue of its upstanding circumferential wall 4. This wall 4 has a number of small fins 6 spaced at intervals around the circumference to assist in agitation of the coins. The rotary disc 2 has a plurality of circumferentially spaced coin receiving through holes 5 extending through the periphery thereof. The tumbling coins fall into these respective holes 5 and the lower most coin in each coin receiving through hole 5 abuts the surface of the square support board 11 and is slid over the surface of that board 11. As the rotary disc 2 rotates clockwise this slides the lowermost coins sequentially up towards a vent 23 forming a coin outlet from the coin dispensing apparatus. The coins are pushed up across the surface of the board 11 by respective coin feeding arms 13 provided on the bottom surface of the rotary disc 2. The coins pushed by the coin feeding arms 13 are constrained to move towards the outlet vent 23 by a shoulder of a guiding elliptical plate 15 projecting from the support board 11 (see figure 7). As the coin reaches the vent 23 it is guided out the vent 23 through the impingement of the guide portion 17 of the elliptical guide plate 15, a flange surrounding wall 22 of the hopper 1 and fixed 24 and mobile 26 guide rollers. Although the construction enables repositioning of the coin guiding elliptical plate 15, adjustment for different coin sizes is not optimally straightforward. Accordingly, it is one general objective of the present invention to provide a simpler more easily adjustable coin dispensing apparatus for rapid and straightforward adjustment of the apparatus to suit different coin sizes. In our own earlier European Patent Application EP-A-0903702 there is described and illustrated a further coin dispensing apparatus having many of the features of our earlier US-5122094 and having a set of interchangeable cover discs, each disc for a different size of coin. Summary of the Invention According to the present invention there is provided a coin dispensing apparatus comprising: a coin supply hopper for storing a supply of coins in bulk; a coin feeding rotary disc means rotatably mounted within the hopper at the bottom thereof, the coin feeding rotary disc means having one or more coin receiving through holes extending therethrough; and adjustment means provided on the rotary disc means mounted to be movable relative to the rotary disc means to adjustably cover a greater or lesser proportion of the or each coin receiving through hole to adjust the aperture size of the through hole for coin size. Preferably the adjustment means comprises a closure plate that is adjustably fastened to the rotary disc means, in use. The coin receiving through hole of the rotary disc means preferably extends through a peripheral portion of the rotary disc means and the adjustment means comprises a generally circular or polygonal plate through which a drive axle of the rotary disc means extends and from which a peripheral extension or an apex serves as the adjustable cover means. The adjustment plate suitably comprises a generally cog wheel-shaped generally circular plate of which the geartooth like parts of the cog wheel-like shape serve as the adjustable cover means and wherein the rotary disc means has a plurality of circumferentially-spaced coin receiving through holes extending through the periphery thereof at spaced apart distances corresponding to the spacing apart of the gear tooth like parts of the cog wheel-shaped adjustment means. Preferably the or each adjustable cover means that adjustably occludes the coin receiving through hole has a trailing edge that adjustably covers the through hole and thereby defines the aperture size and has a leading edge that serves as a coin feeding means to push a coin that has fallen into the aperture toward an outlet of the coin dispensing apparatus. Suitably the or each adjustable cover means that adjustably occludes the coin receiving through hole has a plate form and a tip that is bent to project from the plane of the plate form to more effectively contact an edge of a coin that has fallen into the aperture to push the coin. The apparatus preferably has coin feeding means to push a coin that has fallen into the aperture of the coin receiving through hole toward an outlet of the coin dispensing apparatus and wherein the coin feeding means has a leading edge that is part curved but transitioning to a straight portion proximate the tip of the coin feeding means and thereby forming a shoulder at the transition to assist in pushing a coin toward an outlet of the coin dispensing apparatus. Suitably the apparatus further comprises a base plate means beneath the rotary disc means, a coin outlet and an outlet guide plate means, the outlet guide plate means being proximate the coint outlet and extending upwardly from the base plate means to deflect coins toward the coin outlet, the outlet guide plate means being resiliently displaceable downwardly and/or sloped downwardly toward the base plate means to facilitate return to the front of the guide plate means, of coins that have accidentally ridden over the guide plate means upon counter-rotation of the rotary disc means. The apparatus may further comprise a resiliently biased return guide means to return to the hopper any coins that have ridden over and beyond the outlet guide plate means. The apparatus preferably further comprises a backplate means behind the rotary disc means and a drive train mounted behind the back plate means to drive the rotary disc means. Suitably the drive train is mounted between the back plate means and a box plate with the axes or axles of the gears of the drive train extending between the back plate means and the box plate. Preferably the drive train is fully disassemblable into discrete gear components by dismounting of the box plate and withdrawal of the axes or axles. Brief Description of the Drawings The present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic front elevation view of a coin dispensing apparatus embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the rotary disc and associated mechanism of the coin dispensing apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic transverse sectional view of the rotary disc illustrated in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the drive train for driving rotation of the rotary disc; and Figure 5 is a diagrammatic transverse sectional view of the drive train illustrate in Figure 4 together with the rotary disc and the driving motor. As noted earlier, Figure 6A and 6B and Figure 7 respectively illustrate a perspective view, a sectional view and an enlarged sectional end view of the described prior art coin dispensing apparatus. Description of the Preferred Embodiments The coin dispensing apparatus embodying the present invention illustrated in Figure 1 has an overall configuration that is broadly similar to the coin dispensing apparatus of the prior art illustrated in Figures 6 and 7. The apparatus has a base frame comprising a generally rectangular base plate 2 that is supported at an incline to the vertical plane between a pair of A-frames 1 resting on a footplate 10 to which they are fixed. The footplate 10 is generally square and has three side edges that are bent downwardly to provide supporting feet. The A-frames 1 each have the shape of a right angled triangle to support the base plate 11, with the base plate 11 lying against the hypotenuse of the triangle and, therefore, at an incline to the vertical plane. The base plate 2 is perforated with holes 2L that serve to allow dust to fall through and which also lighten the construction of the frame. Along the lower edge of the base plate 2 a lower hopper-mounting plate 2F is provided and a complementary upper hopper-mounting plate 2S. The position of the hopper 3 is shown figuratively by dotted line. The hopper 3 is suitably made of a synthetic resin and suitably has a generally rectangular funnel shaped form, the tank being adapted to hook over the upper mounting plate 2S and lower fixed mounting plate 2F. The upper mounting board 2S is adjustable upwardly and downwardly to facilitate fitment of the hopper 3 and is fixable in place. The inner end of the funnel- shaped hopper 3 is circular cylindrical in shape 4 to fit over an upstanding circumferential wall 11 of the rotary disc 5. The rotary disc 5, like the rotary disc 2 of the prior art discussed above has a generally pan shaped form with circumferentially spaced coin receiving through holes 13 at intervals around the periphery thereof. In order to deflect coins from riding on the rim of the upstanding wall 11 of the rotary disc 5, the upper surface of that wall 11 is chamfered as can best be seen in Figure 3. As with the prior art design the rotary disc 5 is configured to rotate clockwise. However, the whole apparatus could alternatively be re-configured with the disc 5 rotating anticlockwise if desired. The rotary disc 5 is driven to rotate by a driving axle 6 extending up through the centre thereof. On the underside of the rotary disc 5 is a through hole adjustment plate 21. This adjustment plate 21 is rotatably mounted on the driving axle 6 centrally thereof and is fastened to the underside of the rotary disc 5 by screws 22 extending through screw holes 14 in the disc 5 that have the shape of short slots to enable the adjustment plate 21 to be rotated slightly relative to the rotary disc 5 before fixing the position of the board 21 relative to the rotary plate 5 by tightening the screws 22 in place. The adjustment plate 21 has a plurality of radial projections 23 at circumferentially spaced apart intervals that correspond to the intervals between the coin receiving through holes 13 of the rotary disc 5. These circumferential projections 23 may each be regarded as the tooth of a gear wheel since the adjustment plate 21 with its radial projections 23 does generally resemble a gear wheel. Each radial projection or tooth 23 has the form of a hooked finger in the illustrated embodiment and its purpose is to adjustably occlude the passage through the respective adjacent coin receiving through hole 13 of the rotary disc 5. The effective aperture size of each coin receiving through hole 13 may be simply increased or reduced by loosening each of the screws 22 and moving the adjustable plate 21 a few degrees around in either rotational direction about the drive axle 6, thereby causing the rear or trailing edge of each tooth 23 to occlude a greater or lesser part of the through hole 13. The tip 24 of each radial projection/tooth 23 is, as can best be seen in Figure 3, bent downwardly away from the rotary disc 5 in order that the leading edge of this tip 24 may effectively press against the edge of the respective coin C which has fallen into the aperture 27 defined by the walls of the coin receiving through hole 13 and trailing edge of the radial projection/tooth 23. With reference to Figure 3, the adjustment plate 21 with its radial projections, or teeth, 23 is separated from the base plate 2 of the apparatus by a small circular spacer plate 25. This spacer plate 25 may comprise more than one sheet, of course, and it is of a thickness that provides the necessary clearance of the rotating disc 5 and adjustment plate 23 from an outlet guide plate 26 formed on the base plate 2 adjacent the coin release path 9. The coin release path 9 is formed at an upper quadrant of the base plate 2 and corresponds with a vent (not shown) cut through the circular cylindrical wall 4 of the hopper 3. The outlet guide plate 26 is generally L-shaped, bending upwardly at its tip and when installed the tip is prominent from the surface of the base plate 2. The guide plate 26 is installed on the underside of the base plate 2 with a bolt 26B and with a spring (not shown) mounted on the bolt 26B to push the guide plate 26 toward the base plate 2. With this configuration, when the rotary disc 5 rotates clockwise, the guide plate 26 guides the coins held within the coin receiving through holes 13 to slide over the base plate 2 and to be moved outwardly in the direction of the release path 9 at the projecting surface of the tip of the guideplate 26. However, when the rotary disc 5 is rotated in the reverse direction, counterclockwise, the coins can ride over the guideplate 26 by riding up the slope of the bent tip of the guideplate 26 and by action of the spring. Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, these show the drive mechanism for the coin dispensing apparatus, illustrating the extremely compact nature of the drive mechanism, its simplicity and its ease of assembly and disassembly for maintenance. The motive force is provided by an electric drive motor 55 which has a generally columnar shape and which is fixed to a diamond shaped mounting plate 58 by screws and other means. Stick-shaped short spacing elements 59 are screw mounted to the mounting plate 58 and the spacers 59 are fastened to the base plate 2 with caulking etc. The drive shaft 56 of the electric motor carries a pinion 57 on its distal end and this meshingly engages with a small plain gear 53 rotatably mounted on an adjacent small fixed axis 52 extending from the base plate 2 and also held to the base plate 2 with caulking. The small plain gear 53 is firmly held on the fixed axis 52. Rotary motion of the small plane gear 53 is transmissible to an adjacent large plain gear 51 that is mounted on a relatively longer axle 37, which axle is rotatable and mounted at one end to the base plate 2 and at its other end to a backing plate, or box plate, 31 that defines the opposing wall of the generally box-shaped drive train unit. The longer axle 37 is not only rotatable but also removable from the base plate 2 and from the backing, or box, plate 31, for ease of maintenance. Rotation of the longer axle 37 is transmitted to an adjacent stepped gear 36 by a small gear 39 on the box plate 31 end of the axle 37. This stepped gear 36 is rotatably mounted on a fixed axis 35 mounted to the box or back plate 31 with caulking etc. The stepped gear 36 large radius lower portion meshes with the small gear 39, whereas its smaller diameter upper portion meshes with an internal gear surface of a larger final drive gear 33 on the long driving axle 6 that extends out through the base plate 2 to engage with the rotary disc 5. The box, or backing, plate 31 is linked to the base plate 2 not only by the longer rotatable axle 37 but also by stick like spacer elements 30 that are screwed in place and fixed using caulking etc. In the preferred embodiment four such spacers 30 are mounted to the backing board 2. Each of the four corners of the box/backing plate 31 is mounted to a lower tip of a respective one of the four spacer elements 30 with a screw. The upper end of the driving axle 6 which turns the rotary disc 5 is screw threaded to serve as a bolt. This end of the driving axle 6 projects through the base plate 2 and through the rotary disc 5 for a nut 12 to be threaded onto the end of the axle 6 to fasten the rotary disc 5 in place to the axle 6. A washer is placed between the nut 12 and the rotary disc 5. The alternate end of the driving axle 6 is rotatably mounted in the box, or backing, plate 31. The large final drive gear 33 comprises a circular plate 32 with the gear teeth formed in an annulus on the rear face of the plate 32, and suitably fastened by screws etc. As noted above, internal teeth of the large final drive gear 33 mesh with the small gear part of the stepped gear 36. In order to disassemble the drive train one begins by simply removing the nut 12 from the end of the driving axle 6 and removing the disc 5. Next the box plate 31 is removed from the four spacer elements 30 and the driving axle 6 with its associated final drive gear 33 may be taken out. Also, the longer axle 37 and associated plain gear 51 and small gear 39 may be removed. Additionally, the stepped gear 36 can be removed from the fixed axis 35 and the plain gear 53 can be removed from the fixed axis 52 by simply removing a screw, for example. The operation of the apparatus of the present invention will now be considered further in detail. Firstly, the hopper 3, as noted previously, stores a substantial number of coins in bulk. These are suitably of uniform type and size and are loosely held with the hopper 3. When the electric motor 55 is powered this drives the rotary disc 5 to rotate clockwise as shown in Figure 2. A coin C1 falls into a coin receiving through hole 13 as the rotary disc 5 turns. Assuming that this coin C1 is smaller than the aperture 27 defined by the wall of the coin receiving through hole 13 and the trailing edge of the associated tooth 23 of the adjustment plate 21, the coin C1 can ride on the surface of the base plate 2 and is generally pushed by the leading edge of the next adjacent tooth 23 of the adjustment plate 21. A second coin C2 is illustrated in Figure 2 as being pushed by the leading edge of a tooth 23. Coins further around the cycle are illustrated at C3, C4, C5 and C6. At the cyclical stage represented by C2 the coin C2 is guided by the inside wall of the circular cylindrical part 4 of the hopper 3 but when it reaches the stage of coin C3 it is rolling up the side of an arc-shaped guide element 127 toward the release path 9. The guide element 127 mounts over the cover plate 29 seen in the Figure 1 view and is position adjustable. Oversized coins that are larger than the apertures 27 defined by each coin receiving through hole 13 and the respective associated tooth 23 are excluded from passing into that aperture 27 and, therefore, remain in the hopper 3. As it passes from the guide element 127, the coin will generally reach stage C4 at which it impinges upon the deflecting edge of the outer guide plate 26 and be deflected by that outlet guide plate 26 to pass out via the release path 9 as shown at stage C5. The coin at this stage C5 passes over the upper edge of the guide element 127 and displaces a roller 61 for coin calculation that is biased into place by a spring. The roller 61 is at one end of a pivotted arm 62 and its movement is detected by a sensor (not shown). A fully discharged coin is illustrated at C6. At stage C4, if the coin is not led directly by the guide element 127 to the release path 9 it will come into contact with the outlet guide plate 26 at which point it will be deflected towards the release path 9. If, however, the coin rides right over the outlet guide plate 26 and continues to move outwardly it will be returned into the circular cylindrical part 4 of the hopper 3 by a spring 66-loaded roller 65 on a further pivotted arm 63. Smooth discharge of the coins from the apparatus is enhanced by a detail of the design of each tooth 23 of the adjustment plate 21. By reference to figure 2, it will be seen that each tooth 23 has a rectilinear front, or leading, edge of the tip 24 of the tooth 23 rather than having a continuously curved leading edge. From practical trials it has been determined that this rectilinear front part of the leading edge leads to a substantially smoother discharge of each coin when the coin reaches stage C5 and touches the roller 61, avoiding slippage at the tip 24 of the tooth 23. If it is desired to adjust the apparatus for a different size and type of coin, the adjustment plate 21 is moved slightly clockwise or anticlockwise relative to the rotary plate 5. This is achieved simply by loosening the four screws 22, slightly rotating the adjustment plate 21 and then re-tightening the screws 22. Although the present invention has been describe above with respect to one preferred embodiment, numerous alternative embodiments are conceivable within the scope of the invention. For example, the adjustment plate 21 might not be adjusted by virtue of screws 22 and slot shaped screw holes but instead might rely upon fastening of the adjustment plate 21 in place simply by the extent of tightness of the nut 12 on the threaded end of the drive axle 6 securing the rotary disc 5 in place. This configuration is particularly preferred where the rotary disc 5 and adjustment plate 21 are relatively small. Although the preferred embodiment is illustrated as having the rotary disc 5 closely inclined to the vertical, the apparatus in the invention will, in principle, work with any extent of incline, ranging from completely horizontal to completely vertical provided that the hopper 3 is configured to feed the coins effectively to the rotary disc 5. Although the rotary disc 5 is illustrated as having an upstanding circumferential wall 11 this is not essential to the invention. The rotary disc 5 may be relatively thick and have deep coin receiving through holes as is the case in the cited prior art. The size of coin receiving through holes is dictated by the maximum size of coin to be dispensed. Although in the illustrated embodiment the adjustment of the coin receiving through hole 13 size is by teeth 23 projecting radially from a single adjustment plate 21, the overall shape being a general cog wheel shape, the teeth 23 may alternatively be serrated teeth. Alternatively, there may not be a single plate 21 but rather a separate plate 21 for each of the coin receiving through holes 13, for example. Furthermore, the adjustment plate 21 might, for example, have a generally triangular shape rather than a generally circular cog wheel or gear shape. Although the adjustment plate 21 is illustrated as mounted on the underside of the rotary disc 5 it may alternatively be mounted on the upper surface of the rotary disc 5.

Claims: A coin dispensing apparatus comprising: a coin supply hopper (3) for storing a supply of coins in bulk; a coin feeding rotary disc means (5) rotatably mounted within the hopper (3) at the bottom thereof, the coin feeding rotary disc means (5) having one or more coin receiving through holes (13) extending therethrough; and adjustment means (21) provided on the rotary disc means (5) mounted to be movable relative to the rotary disc means (5) to adjustably cover a greater or lesser proportion of the or each coin receiving through hole (13) to adjust the aperture size of the through hole (13) for coin size. A coin dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adjustment means (21) comprises a closure plate (21) that is adjustably fastened to the rotary disc means (5), in use. A coin dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the coin receiving through hole (13) of the rotary disc means (5) extends through a peripheral portion of the rotary disc means and wherein the adjustment means (21) comprises a generally circular or polygonal plate (21) through which a drive axle (6) for the rotary disc means (5) extends and from which a peripheral extension or an apex serves as the adjustable cover means. A coin dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the adjustment means (21) comprises a generally cog wheel-shaped generally circular plate (21) of which the tooth-like parts (23) of the cog wheel-like shape serve as the adjustable cover means and wherein the rotary disc means (5) has a plurality of circumferentially-spaced said coin receiving through holes (13) extending through the periphery thereof at spaced apart distances corresponding to the spacing apart of the tooth like parts (23) of the cog wheel-shaped adjustment means (21). A coin dispensing apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the or each adjustable cover means (21) that adjustably occludes the coin receiving through hole (13) has a trailing edge that adjustably covers the through hole (13) and thereby defines the aperture size and has a leading edge that serves as a coin feeding means to push a coin that has fallen into the aperture (27) toward an outlet of the coin dispensing apparatus. A coin dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein the or each adjustable cover means (21) that adjustably occludes the coin receiving through hole (13) has a plate form and a tip (24) that is bent to project from the plane of the plate form to more effectively contact an edge of a coin that has fallen into the aperture to push the coin. A coin dispensing apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus has coin feeding means (21) to push a coin that has fallen into the aperture (27) of the coin receiving through hole (13) toward an outlet of the coin dispensing apparatus and wherein the coin feeding means has a leading edge that is part curved but transitioning to a straight portion proximate a tip (24) of the coin feeding means (21) and thereby forming a shoulder at the transition to assist in pushing a coin toward an outlet of the coin dispensing apparatus. A coin dispensing apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus further comprises a base plate means (2) beneath the rotary disc means (5), a coin outlet (9) and an outlet guide plate means (26), the outlet guide plate means (26) being proximate the coin outlet (9) and extending upwardly from the base plate means (2) to deflect coins toward the coin outlet (9), the outlet guide plate means (26) being resiliently displaceable downwardly and or sloped downwardly toward the base plate means (2) to facilitate return to the front of the guide plate means (26) upon counter-rotation of the rotary disk means (5) of coins that have accidentally ridden over the guide plate means (26). A coin dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the apparatus further comprises a resiliently biased return guide means (65) to return to the hopper (3) any coins that have ridden over and beyond the outlet guide plate means (26). A coin dispensing apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus further comprises a backplate means (2) behind the rotary disc means (5) and a drive train (33, 36, 39, 51, 53, 57) mounted behind the back plate means (2) to drive the rotary disc means (5). A coin dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the drive train is mounted between the back plate means (2) and a box plate (31) with the axes or axles of the gears (33, 36, 39, 51, 53, 57) of the drive train extending between the back plate means (2) and the box plate (31). A coin dispending apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the drive train is fully disassembleable into discrete gear components by dismounting of the box plate (31) and withdrawal of the axes or axles.

Inventors: TSUCHIDA TAMOTSU, TSUCHIDA, TAMOTSU, Tsuchida, Tamotsu c/o Asahi Seiko Co Ltd., Aoyama
Applicants: ASAHI SEIKO CO LTD, ASAHI SEIKO CO. LTD.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: G07D9
IPC codes: G07D9