Patent GB-788324-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to coin-operated devices
IPC: G07F5/20
Filed: 1955-04-04
Abstract: 788,324. Coin-freed and change-giving apparatus. NATIONAL REJECTORS, Inc. April 4, 1955 [Aug. 20, 1954], No. ,9821/55. Class 2 7 [Also in Group XXIV] The coin mechanism of a vending or other coin-operated machine comprises a credit-storing device having a movable element 316, Fig. 1, movable to and beyond a position corresponding to a predetermined value and a change-giving system having an element 368, Fig. 9, movable to determine the amount of change to be paid out, the movable element of the credit-storing device being movable independently of the movable element of the change-giving system before its reaches the predetermined position but the two elements being interlocked at that position so that they subsequently move in unison. Coin selector mechanism 38, Fig. 2, such as that described in Specification 749,612, is provided for testing and separating pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters and it rejects slugs and spurious coins to a shoot 52 leading to a shoot 56 for returning coins to the customer. Accepted pennies are delivered to a runway which has a spring-loaded movable portion 46 withdrawable by an electromagnet 48, similarly to the corresponding device described in Specification 737,079, for rejecting excess pennies in certain circumstances. Acceptance of excess nickels, dimes and quarters is also blocked by three fingers mounted on the armature of a solenoid 884 and projecting into the coin selector 38. The runway leads to a block 80 with four coin passages corresponding to the four types of coins and a pivoted actuator 94 for a switch 92 extends across the four passages. A pin 104 on a spring-loaded lever 102 also extends across all four passages and a pin 112 at the other end of the lever engages a cam 119 on a coin wheel 118 carried by a shaft 114, the cam having a high point which rotates the lever 102 to hold the pin 104 in a position blocking the coin passages. The coin wheel 118 has sets of pockets 120, 122, 124, and 126, Fig 14, round its periphery, each set being in alignment with a corresponding coin passage, and circumferential grooves 128 between the pockets support the coins before they enter the pockets. A cam disc 130 on the same shaft 114 as the coin wheel has camming surfaces 132 and 134 on one face and camming surfaces 136 and 138 on the other face; the camming surfaces can produce radial movements corresponding to. the value of the different coins, for example, the movement caused by cam 134, corresponding to a nickel, is five times that of the penny cam 132. The shaft 114 'also carries an eccentric pin 144, Fig. 1, driving a connecting rod 146 and is itself driven by a motor 162 through a chain 148. Rollers 168 and 180, Fig. 8, on spring- loaded levers 164 and 176 engage the coins in the coin wheel and connecting rods 190 and 206 extending from the levers have L-shaped slots 194 (not shown) and 210 in the vertical arms of which pins 199 and 214 on levers 196 and 212 normally engage but the levers can be raised by a credit-disconnect solenoid 224, Fig. 2, so that the pins 199 and 214 register with the horizontal arms of the L-shaped slots. A pin 232 on connecting rod 206 is connected to a vertical connecting rod 234. Levers 238 (not shown) and 242 Fig. 1, extending on either side of the cam disc 130 are pivoted at 246 and have cam surfaces 240 and 244 engaging pins 216 and 200 on the levers 212 and 196 and also cam followers 241 (not shown) and 245 responding to the movement of the levers to move into register with the cam surfaces 132, 134 and 136, 138 on the cam disc 130. In a modification, guides protruding from the face of the cam disc 130 are provided to hold the cam followers 241 and 245 in contact with the camming surfaces. The lever 242 is linked to a vertically movable rack bar 262, Fig. 14, on which a rack 286 is mounted for limited pivoting movement and the lever 238 is linked to a similar rack bar and rack 294 (not shown). The racks 286 and 294 rotate ratchet wheels 306 and 308, Fig. 4, on a sleeve 304 rotatable on a pivot 302 during upward movement but swing clear during downward movement. Carried by the sleeves are the credit-storing switch arm 316, a coarse ratchet wheel 310 having a pin 474 for operating a Geneva gear 480 and a sprocket 312 connected by a chain 344 to a counter 350; Fig. 1, recording one unit changes of credit. The arm 316 carries an adjustable plate 318 operating a switch 322 and an adjustable plate 324 co-operating with switches, such as 336, 890, 892 and 894, set at positions corresponding to desired sale prices in a cup-shaped support 328. A spiral spring 354, Fig. 4, is wound up by counter-clockwise movement of the sleeve 304 and then tends to restore the sleeve to its normal position. A spring- loaded pawl 358, Fig. 14, normally prevents clockwise movement of the ratchet wheel 306 but is moved by a credit-reset solenoid 364 to disengage the ratchet wheel. A spring-loaded gear segment 368, Fig. 9, for operating the change-giving is rotatable on the pivot 302 relative to the sleeve 304 and is engaged with a double rack 422. The segment has an arm carrying a pair of pawls 376 and 378 engaging the ratchet wheel 310 and the spacing between the free ends of the pawls is such that when the pawl 376 is seated in the root of a tooth, the other pawl 378 is in register with the inclined face of a succeeding tooth. A pin 398 on the ratchet wheel 310 normally moves a lever 392 so that the pawls 376 and 378 are out of engagement with the ratchet wheel but when the wheel moves away from its normal position the pawls are allowed to engage it. The pawls are also held out of engagement with the ratchet wheel by the armatures 408 and 416 of solenoids 406 and 414 and the armatures also operate release switches 412 and 420. The double rack 422 engaged by the gear segment 368 rotates a vertical shaft 430 and is also linked by a lever 436 to a lever 446 having a slot with a long arm 448 and a short arm 450. A further lever 452 has a pin 458 working in the slot and, at the other end, a cam follower 456 engaging the periphery of the cam disc 130. A lever 464 pivoted at 460 is spring-biased so that a pin 466 bears against the lever 446 and it also carries a short lever 469 having an inclined arm 472. A Geneva gear 480, Fig. 4, is rotatable on a pivot 476 and has a stop 482 co-operating with a pin 484 to limit movement of the gear in a counter-clockwise direction to a complete revolution. A pin 492 on a spring-loaded lever 488 partly enters the slots of the gear to locate it in its various moved positions. An arm 494, Fig. 1, rotatable with the Geneva gear carries joined contacts 502, 509 connecting a continuous contact ring 498 with arcuate segments, such as 499, of an outer interrupted contact ring. A motor-timing solenoid 504, Fig. 1, operates a switch 508 and also a rack 510 controlled by an escapement pawl 522 that is periodically released by a lug 536 on the chain 148. After two escapement actions, the rack 510 reaches its full upper position. A timer shaft 546 carries a ratchet wheel 548, Fig. 5, operated by a pawl 560 on the connecting rod 146, a ratchet wheel 572, Fig. 6, operated by a pawl 582 connected to the armature of a solenoid 586 and, at the other end a double arm 592, Fig. 1, having joined contacts 594, 596 and 593, 595, 597. Rotation of the timer shaft moves the contacts over a continuous ring 600 and interrupted segments such as 603, 601, 599 and 602. Coins from the wheel 118 are received in V-shaped coin holders formed by doors 684, 686, Fig. 2 (for pennies) and doors 690, 692, Fig. 18, (for nickels), the doors being pivoted on a shaft 682, and dimes and quarters are directed by an arcuate plate 702, Fig. 18, to a coin holder formed by doors 696, 698 pivoted on a shaft 671. A rod 608, Fig. 1, operated by a cash box solenoid 628 tilts the three doors 686, 692, 696 simultaneously in one direction to deliver the pennies and nickels to hoppers 704 and 706 and the dimes and quarters to a shoot leading to a coin box; a rod 618 operated by a coin return solenoid 634 tilts the other three doors to deliver the contents of the holders to the coin return shoot 56. If the level of pennies and nickels in either of the hoppers 704 and 706 is such that there is an ample supply of coins for change, the coins spill over a cut-out into the shoot leading to the coin box. Plates 708 extend into the hoppers 704, 706 and have scalloped tops and inclined runways 710 in their sides and agitator plates 712 with fingers 711 are reciprocated by linkage connected to a shaft driven by the motor 162. The linkage includes a crank pin 740 and slotted yoke 728, the crank pin normally being held at the bottom of the yoke slot by spring-loaded pins 734 which will, however yield and allow the pin to move up into the slot if the plates 708, 712 should jam. The agitator plates and their runwavs 710 sort the pennies and nickels into orderly arrangement and pass them into change channels 750 and 748 having vertical arms 752, 756 and inclined arms 754, 758. Levers 764, Fig. 2, have pins 766 extending into the vertical arms and are linked by the connecting rod 234 to the credit-disconnect solenoid 224 so that movement of the rod once at least in each vending cycle can free the coins for downward movement. If the level of coins in one or other vertical arm falls below the level of the pins 766, one or other lever rotates into the vertical arm and actuates a switch 780 controlling a change-empty indicating lamp 910, Fig. 27. Two sets of five flexible change-blocking fingers, such as 800, Fig. 18, and 802, 804, 806, Fig. 2, are provided, one set for each channel 748 and 750, and they have conical stops projecting into the inclined arms of the channels. The fingers are rotatable against the action of springs to withdraw the stops by gearing connected to the shaft 430 and double rack 422 and driving a pa