Patent GB-810351-A (GB)
Title: Coin collectors for telecommunication services
Inventor: HALL FREDERICK WILLIAM
IPC: H04M17/02
Filed: 1956-07-02
Abstract: 810,351. Coin-freed telephone apparatus. ASSOCIATED AUTOMATION Ltd. May 23, 1957 [July 2, 1956], No. 20365/56. Class 27 [Also in Group XXXIX] The coin collector of an automatic telephone of other telecommunication service has one or more coin slots and locking means to prevent insertion of coins in the slots unless a signal, such as reversal of polarity when the called party answers, has been received. With this collector, after the call has been made and connection has been established, the signal frees the coin-operated parts to allow insertion of the appropriate payment and, after a delay, the call can proceed; during the delay, the coin-operated parts are locked to prevent the insertion of further coins while the inserted coins are being tested and signal pulses according to their value transmitted to the exchange. The freeing signal, such as reversal of polarity, energizes a relay 7 to withdraw a blocking lever 9, Figs. 4 and 6, from a gap between a fixed sector 19C and movable sector 19A and an extension 13A of one coin-operated lever 13 is free to enter this gap or extensions 14A, 15A of other coin-operated levers can enter the gap then available between either the movable sector 19A and a similar sector 19B or between sector 19B and another fixed sector 19D; this ensures that only one coin can be inserted at a time. "The inserted coin raises its associated lever, such as 13, and a weighted arm 12 connected to the lever and then, as the coin passes into a shoot 3A leading to a coin-testing device 3B, Fig. 4, the lever and arm are allowed to descend; instead of the weighted arm 12, spring-loading may be used. As the lever rises, it operates a bell-crank 10A to close a contact 10 which short-circuits the relay 7 and the bell-crank is held in this position by a trip 10F until the lever falls again and contacts a sloping surface 10N to release the trip; manipulation of a coin lever by partial insertion of a coin is thus prevented while the lever and arm are descending. The arm 12 is connected by a radius arm 20, Fig. 10, and gearing to a shaft 21 connected by a one-revolution clutch 22 to a pulsing shaft 21<1>. The clutch disc carries a pawl 22A abutting a projection 23A on a gear wheel 23 on the pulsing shaft but a forward stop lever 23E bears on the projection 23A until momentarily released by a catch 23J on the descending arm 12. Release of the stop lever allows the pulsing shaft to rotate by one revolution until the projection 23A again engages the stop lever and a back stop lever 23D engages below the projection to prevent reverse rotation. A centrifugal governor 24 is driven by the gear wheel 23 to control the speed of descent of the arm 12 and ensure that the pulsing mechanism operates for a definite time. A pulsing disc 21A, Fig. 13, is fixed, on the shaft 21<1> and has four depressions 21B that allow a contact 21C to close and transmit 'four pulses to the exchange during a revolution. Also fixed on the shaft 21<1> is a cam disc that operates "off-normal" contacts to protect the handset from click noises during pulsing. A masking contact 26 is normally closed to short out the pulsing contact but is opened by masking levers 27A, 28A and 29A (for shillings, sixpences, and threepenny respectively) for times sufficient for four, two or only one pulse to be transmitted. Each masking lever 'has an extension, such as 28B, below the coin path and on being depressed by a coin, is held depressed by a trip such as 28D. A member 26A on the masking lever shaft '26C is also depressed to open the contact 26. The trips are situated so that a pin 21F on the pulsing disc 21A frees it and releases the threepenny lever after one pulse has been transmitted, a pin 21E also on the pulsing disc releases the sixpenny lever after two pulses and a pin 32 on the arm 12 releases the shilling lever after four-pulses.