Abstract:
A manually operated machine for dispensing coins in exchange for deposit of articles, such as cans or bottles. Various dimension checking functions and stops are shown which insure that only articles of the proper dimensions are accepted by the machine. Once the article is accepted, anti-milking devices prevent the depositor from receiving more than the correct payment for the article.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the recycling of containers and, more particularly, to a machine designed to return coins to persons depositing cans or bottles. The machine would check the container to make sure a deposit should be paid for it, drop the container in a storage bin, and pay the individual his mandatory deposit fee, thus enabling the seller to service paying customers. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     While coin actuated article dispensing machines abound, there are few article actuated coin dispensing machines. Machines which give coins in exchange for paper money are not relevant because the checks performed are not similar to those needed for checking used containers. 
     Henry Stapleman (U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,303), &#34;Article Actuated Coin Dispensing Closure For Article Collecting Receptacles&#34;, is directed toward a similar goal, but has completely dissimilar functions and mechanisms. 
     Other article inspection type machines, such as quality control type machines, are available in different lines of commerce. These machines are not, however, well adapted for simple and reliable checking of cans and bottles in the manner desired. Furthermore, they are not designed to defeat operator attempts to cheat or to milk the machine. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention checks various dimensions of an article while the article is rotated within a drum. The rotational force is applied through a handle and lever turned by the individual who has deposited the article. Because the depositor can be relied upon to apply a relatively large amount of force, check devices which apply pressure to the article may be utilized. Furthermore, use of a rotary type process greatly simplifies placement of the necessary internal stops and anti-milking devices. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine capable of checking various dimensions of articles. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an article check machine which may be manually operated. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a machine which does not rely upon the weight of the article checked for the energy to activate the coin dispenser. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a device capable of being operated by untrained individuals to return tokens in exchange for deposited articles of the proper dimensions. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention that the machine contain sufficient anti-milking and anti-cheating barriers to deter most attempts to milk or cheat the machine. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to produce a coin dispenser means which is self-fed and which is designed to be jam proof. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective disassembled view of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the invention in an assembled form showing the carriage in relief. 
     FIG. 3 is a partial cut-away view of the invention showing a check lever checking an article carried upon the carriage. 
     FIGS. 4(a), 4(b), 4(c), 4(d), 4(e), and 4(f) sequentially show the relative positions of the disc, a lock-out arm, a check lever, the trigger actuator and the trigger, and additionally showing in relief the relative positions of the carriage and article during the article acceptance process. 
     FIG. 5 is an elevated view of the rear of the invention. 
     FIG. 6 is an end view of the invention showing the coin dispenser in conjunction with the second disc and a coin access slot in relief. 
     FIG. 7(a), 7(b), and 7(c) sequentially show vertical views of the coin dispenser for the different possible positions of the coin eject plate. 
     FIG. 8 is an elevated view of the article actuated machine retained within a protective display and situated upon a large article container for accepted articles. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     While the preferred embodiment described herein is the current best mode of the invention, it is not the only embodiment contemplated and is not intended as a limitation upon the invention as expressed in the claims. 
     FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 show the major components of the machine 10: the front housing 12, the drum 14, the rear housing 16, the disc 18, and the base 20. The front housing 12 is attached to the base 20 by bolts 22 inserted through the front housing 12 and the base 22 and fixed by nuts 24. The drum 14 and rear housing 16 are likewise fastened upon the base 22 by means of bolts 26 and nuts 28. 
     The main shaft 30 is located longitudinally through the drum 14 and is supported by front and rear housing shaft holes 32 and 34. A handle 36 fixed upon the forward end of the main shaft 30 enables an operator to rotate the main shaft 30. The rear end of the main shaft 30 projects through the rear housing shaft hole 34 and the disc 18 is attached thereto. 
     Located on top of the drum 14, an upper brace 38 is attached to the front and rear housings 12 and 16 by means of bolts 40 and nuts 42. A lock-out bracket 44 is fastened upon the upper brace 38 as shown in FIG. 5. The lock-out bracket 44 accommodates the lock-out shaft 46 through holes 48 and a pin 50 maintains the lock-out shaft 46 in the position as shown in FIG. 2. The first check lever 54 and first lock-out arm 56 are fashioned from a single first bar means 58 and the second check lever 60 and second lock-out arm 62 are fashioned from a single second bar means 64. Both first and second bar means 58 and 64 are rotatively retained by lock-out shaft 46. The test ends of the first and second check levers 54 and 60 consist of spikes 45 and 47 and upper supports 49 and 51, respectively. A spring 53 is attached to the first bar means 56 and a spring 55 attached to the second bar means 64. The springs 53 and 55 are also attached to one of the adjuster holes 57 located upon the rear housing 16 and serve to force the levers 54 and 60 downward through slots 94 and 96 to within the drum 14. 
     The disc 18 contains a lock-out notch 66 and a lock-out stop 68. First disc arm 70, second disc arm 72, and third disc arm 74 are located upon the forward face of the disc 18. The trigger activator 76 projects from the rear of the disc 18. 
     A reverse lock-out 78 consisting of an arm 80, upon a bolt 82, a nut 83, and a bushing 84 and held by a washer 86, is located upon the rear housing 16. The projection of a stop 88 upon the arm 80 within rear housing slot 90 limits the rotation of the reverse lock-out 78 as caused by spring 92. 
     First and second lock-out slots 94 and 96 are cut within the upper surface of the drum 14 such that first and second check levers 54 and 60 may fit within them as shown in FIG. 5. Additionally, an unjamming slot 97 is cut within a side of the drum to allow a caretaker to unjam articles caught upon the carriage 98. 
     Carriage 98 is located within the drum 14 and upon the main shaft 30 as shown in FIG. 3. An article opening 100 to allow for insertion of an article upon the carriage 98 is found within the front housing 12 as shown in FIG. 1. 
     The thickness of coin eject plate 102 is approximately the same as the thickness of the denomination coin intended to be used with the coin eject plate 102 and it is rotatively attached to coin eject base 104 by means of bolt 106 and nut 108. The coin eject arm 110 supports a trigger 112 consisting of a bushing 114 upon pin 116. The trigger 112 lies in the path of the trigger actuator 76. The trigger actuator 76 therefore forces the coin eject plate 102 to move away from the disc 18 upon clockwise rotation of the trigger activator 76 against the trigger 112. 
     Coin tube holder 115 is fixed upon the coin eject base 104 by nuts 117 and bolts 118. The outer surface of the lower end of the coin tube 120 is sized to fit within the hole 122 in the coin tube holder 115 without slipping through it. The coin tube holder hole 122, the coin eject plate hole 124, the coin eject base hole 126, and the base coin hole 128 are all sized to be larger than the size coin they are expected to accommodate. The coin eject base 104 is fixed upon the base 20 by bolts 130 and nuts 132. A spring 134 attached to the coin eject arm 110 and bolt 26 operates to pull the coin eject plate 102 flush against the lower face of the coin holder 136 absent any force applied by the trigger actuator 76. A coin chute 137 sloping downward toward a coin access 139 is located below the base coin hole 128. 
     The machine 10 is typically mounted within protective display 141 attached by bolts 165 to a large container 138 for storing received articles as shown in FIG. 8. An appropriately sized article input hole 140 allows access to the machine 10. 
     In operation, the operator inserts the article to be checked 142 through the article input hole 140 and through the article opening 100 and onto the carriage 98. FIG. 4(a) shows an end view of this position. 
     The operator rotates the handle 36, the main shaft 30, and all parts connected to it in a counterclockwise direction. (For the purpose of clarity, the directions of the rotation will be described throughout from the perspective of an individual standing behind the machine 10. It is understood that an identical but symmetrically opposite machine is necessarily included for all purposes.) As is shown in FIG. 4(a), reverse lock-out 78 fits against the third disc arm 74 to prevent the operator from rotating the article 142 in a clockwise direction in an attempt to &#34;milk&#34; the machine 10. 
     After rotating the article 142 from in front of the article opening 100 to approximately a 1:00 o&#39;clock position, the article 142 is positioned to be checked as is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4(b). The spikes 45 and 47, when combined with the action of springs 53 and 55, push against the outer surface of the article 142 with a predetermined amount of pressure. If the article 142 is not strong enough to force both check levers 54 and 60 up, the lock-out arms 56 and 62 block further rotation. Further, if the article surface is not stiff enough to avoid puncture by either spike 45 or 47, or if the surface is not smooth enough to permit them to slide across it, the article 142 will jam against them. The article of incidence and sharpness of the spikes 45 and 47 may be varied and the amount of pressure exerted by them varied by moving springs 53 and 55 along the adjuster holes 57. 
     If check levers 54 and 60 are forced upward by the article 142, bar means 58 and 64 are rotated about the lockout shaft 124, and the lock-out arms 56 and 62 lifted from their original positions and no longer jam against the disc lock-out notch 66 or lock-out stop 68 to prevent further counterclockwise rotation. 
     Upon further counterclockwise rotation of the article 142 to an approximate 9:00 o&#39;clock position, the first disc arm 72 contacts and outwardly displaces the reverse lock-out 78 and the outer sloped edge of the trigger actuator 76 contacts and begins to displace the trigger 112. At the 8:00 o&#39;clock position, the first disc arm 72 moves beyond the reverse lock-out 78 and reverse lock-out 78 returns to its normal position thus blocking any clockwise motion. At the 7:00 o&#39;clock position, the trigger 112 and coin eject plate 102 are so far rotated about bolt 106 as shown in FIG. 7(b) that the coin within coin eject plate hole 124 falls through the coin eject base 104, down the coin chute 137, and to the coin access 139. Attempts by the operator to cheat the machine by returning for other coins by clockwise rotation is impossible because of the interference of the reverse lock-out 78 with the first disc stop 70. Any further counterclockwise rotation moves the second disc stop 72 past the reverse lock-out 78 and the trigger actuator 76 past the trigger 112 allowing spring 134 to return the coin eject plate 102 to its original position flush against the lower face of the coin tube holder 136 as shown in FIG. 7(a) and where another coin falls from the coin tube 120 into the coin eject plate hole 124. The article simultaneously falls from the carriage into the storage area 138 of the protective display 141 as shown in FIG. 4(d). 
     FIG. 4(f) shows lock-out arms 56 and 62 abutting against lock-out notch 66 and lock-out stop 68, respectively, in the case of an attempt to cheat the machine by rotating the shaft 30 in a counterclockwise direction without placing an article 142 or a satisfactorily sized article within the carriage 98. 
     FIG. 7(c) shows a method of using multiple coin tubes 120, 120(a), and 120(b) to increase the coin storage capacity of the machine 10. The additional tubes 120(a) and 120(b) are located upon the coin eject plate hole 124 arc. Coin eject plate 102(a) is sufficiently large to remain under all coin tubes 120, 120(a) and 120(b) at all times. If the coin eject plate hole 124 is empty when it passes beneath a coin tube containing coins, a coin will drop into the coin eject plate hole 124. If the coin tube is empty or if a coin is already within the coin eject plate hole 124, the hole 124 will pass beneath the coin tube without effect. 
     An additional means of assuring that article 142 drops from the carriage is utilization of a stripper bolt fastened upon the inside of the drum 14 at stripper bolt hole 152. The stripper bolt projects into the carriage 98 and prevents further counterclockwise rotation until the article 142 falls from the carriage 98. This is necessary to avoid attempts to cheat the machine by affixing the deposited article 142 within the carriage 98. Further, the machine 10 has been designed so that its moving parts are located upon the outside of the drum and are thus easily accessible for inspection and repair. 
     It is additionally contemplated that the machine may be designed and constructed to be operable in a nonrotary or a linear fashion. In these alternative versions of the invention, similar openings, checks, and stops are used as are described in the rotary version above. Location of these elements to effectively function in nonrotary or linear versions of the invention will be apparent to those who read the above description and are skilled in the art. 
     It is thus seen that eight separate and cooperating checks are performed upon the article 142 prior to the operator receiving a coin 155. If an article will not fit between the front rear housings 12 and 16, it is too long. If it will not fit through the article opening 100, it is too wide. If it is not long enough to lift both check levers 54 and 60 simultaneously, it is too short. If it is not wide enough at two points a set distance apart to sufficiently lift the check levers 54 and 60, it is too narrow. If its outer surface is insufficiently stiff enough to repel the spikes 45 and 47, if the overall article is insufficiently strong to resist crushing by the check levers 54 and 60, or if the surface is too rough to permit spikes 45 and 47 to slide over it under pressure, the article will not be accepted for payment. Springs 53 and 55 may be varied in tension, the spikes 45 and 47 varied in sharpness, and the number, reach, and lateral placement of the check levers 54 and 60 varied as may be deemed practicable. 
     A manually operated article checking machine having for checking eight article characteristics, having anti-milking functions and having a coin dispenser as an integral part thereof has been shown. While the invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms set forth, but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.