Patent GB-909628-A (GB)
Abstract: 909,628. Toll collecting systems. UNIVERSAL CONTROLS Inc. April 26, 1961, No. 15068/61. Class 106 (3). A toll collecting system of the kind wherein vehicles of different classes may follow each other along a highway, comprises means operable without interfering with the normal flow of traffic and in the interval between successive fare deposits, to condition mechanisms to operate in response to the deposit of different units of fare prescribed for vehicles of different classifications, these mechanisms giving the vehicle clearance to proceed on receipt of the prescribed toll, or forbidding it to proceed when an insufficient toll has been paid. As described in Specifications 829,714, 830,919, coins inserted in a hopper 12, Fig. 2, are guided separately into a selected pocket 20 of a rotor 14, their entry into this pocket being sensed photo-electrically and energizing a solenoid 190, Fig. 18. This causes the main shaft 32, Fig. 6, of a motor M1 to rotate through a revolution and, through suitable gearing, the rotor 14 to turn through 1/ 12  of a revolution i.e. to advance by one pocket, so as to bring the coin beneath a coin gauging finger 64. The diameter of the coin inserted is indicated as the angular displacement of an arm 68 (Fig. 18) of the gauging mechanism and is transferred via Geneva mechanism 54, 53, ratchet wheel 83 and gears 84 to the shaft of a mechanical counter 96 (Fig. 1, not shown). A brush 114 on the lower end of the arm 68 swings relative to a bank of commutator blocks 116 and completes one of several circuits whose switches are controlled by cams 120 on the main shaft 32 as this rotates. Thus the circuit energized will represent the denomination of the coin deposited. In the present application two commutator blocks Qd, Ld only are employed, which when energized, complete circuits through conductors C16, C18 and cam QLc to send single or double impulses to an actuating solenoid 124s of a stepping switch 124, so as to move the arm 124b from its home position 124x to one of the terminals 124y, 124z, 124w to indicate that a quarter, token or two tokens respectively have been deposited. A fare selection arm SA, manually operated or controlled electrically from a road switch Lc is set to the correct fare and hence to one of twelve terminals E D A B C W Z F G R Y X of slip rings on a fixed commutator plate 178 (Fig. 15, not shown). A commutator 122 comprising a disc 145 (Fig. 16) and clutch wheel mounted on a shaft 140, is connected via suitable gearing to the main shaft 32 and rotates by 9 degrees or 1/40 of a revolution for every penny inserted, until the correct fare positions the disc 145 with one of the pairs of brushes XB, YE, WF, ZC, making the required connection to the stepping switch 124. This causes the relay Dx to operate and momentarily close switch D2 thus energizing a relay Ex. Switch E2 opens, extinguishing a red warning signal Rs and switch E1 closes, energizing a green " go " signal Gs and holding the relay energized until the circuit is interrupted by the motorist passing over a treadle L on the far side of the toll station. Closing switch D1  grounds resetting relays Ax, Bx If the treadle L is operated when the correct fare is unpaid, switch L2 closes and relay F is energized. Switch Fl holds the relay until the circuit is broken by a timer T and switch F2 closes to operate a flashing red light RF and a gong alarm AS. Switch F3 operates via a relay Cx to energize a scavenger solenoid 35. This opens a scavenger door 19 (Fig. 2), allowing any bent coins or slugs which may be blocking the fare registering apparatus, to fall into a hopper, and also energizes the resetting relays Ax, Bx. A delay element is the form of a dash pot 196 operates on relay Ex to prevent the alarm being given when the correct fare has been paid.