Abstract:
A detachable bill acceptor mounting arrangement includes a face panel of a vending machine, the face panel having two protruding locating plates at two sides and an angled guide groove at each protruding locating plate, and a bill acceptor formed of a lower unit and an upper unit, the lower unit having two recessed locating portions detachably coupled to the protruding locating plates of the face panel and two pair of stub guide rods insertable into the angled guide grooves to secure the lower unit to the face panel, the upper unit having two flat pivot rods detachably coupled to a respective pivot hole on the lower unit and two hooks releasably hooked in a respective retaining slot on the lower unit to lock the upper unit to the lower unit.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a vending machine and more specifically, to a detachable bill acceptor mounting arrangement for vending machine, which allows quick mounting/dismounting of the bill acceptor for easy performance of maintenance work. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Following fast development of transportation and communication technology, non-shop business has become popular. Nowadays, various automatic vending machines (card dispensers, ticket vending machines, coin exchanging machines, etc.) are used everywhere to sell different products without serviceman. The use of automatic vending machines creates new marketing routes for the suppliers, saves much labor cost, and brings convenience to consumers. Further, an automatic vending machine has a bill acceptor provided on the inside for receiving and verifying bills. 
   A regular bill acceptor includes three units, i.e., the bill conveyer, the bill validator and the bill box. As shown in  FIGS. 12 and 13 , the bill acceptor A is affixed to the back side of the face panel B of the vending machine (not shown). The face panel B has a bill slot B 1  into which the user inserts a bill. After insertion of the bill into the bill slot B 1 , the bill conveyer A 1  of the bill acceptor A is started to carry the inserted bill forwards, and the bill validator (not shown) verifies the authenticity and value of the bill. After verification of the received bill to be true bill, the bill is carried into the bill box (not shown). 
   According to the aforesaid design, the bill acceptor A is fixedly fastened to the face panel B with screws C. In case a bill is jammed in the bill acceptor A, the mechanic must use a screwdriver to dismount the screws C, and then detach the bill acceptor A from the face panel B for troubleshooting. Further, the internal parts of the bill acceptor A, for example, the movable parts of the bill conveyer and the sensor of the bill validator tend to be covered with dust and dirt carried on the received bills. Accumulation of dust and dirt on the parts of the bill conveyer and the sensor of the bill validator A will affect normal functioning of the bill conveyer and the bill validator. When a cleaning work is necessary, the mechanic must dismount the screws C and then detach the bill acceptor A from the face panel B of the vending machine. It is complicated to mount and dismount the bill acceptor A. Further, the screws C may be lost easily during dismounting of the bill acceptor A from the face panel B. 
   Therefore, it is desirable to provide a detachable bill acceptor mounting arrangement that eliminates the aforesaid problem. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. According to one aspect of the present invention, the detachable bill acceptor mounting arrangement comprises a vending machine&#39;s face panel, and a bill acceptor formed of a lower unit and an upper unit and detachably fastened to the back side of the face panel. The lower unit of the bill acceptor has two recessed location portions and two stub guide rods in each recessed location portion. The face panel has two horizontal guide grooves and two vertical guide grooves linked to the horizontal guide grooves for receiving the stub guide rods. After insertion of the stub guide rods into the vertical guide grooves through the horizontal guide grooves, the upper unit is closed on the lower unit to force locating blocks of the upper unit into engagement with respective retaining grooves of the face panel, thereby prohibiting disengagement of the stub guide rods from the vertical guide grooves. Reversing the aforesaid procedure allows removable of the bill acceptor from the face panel. 
   According to another aspect of the present invention, the mechanic or worker can separate the upper unit from the lower unit after removal of the bill acceptor from the face panel. By pressing finger strips of the upper unit to disengage a respective hook on each finger strip from a corresponding retaining slot on the lower unit and then turning the upper unit from horizontal to vertical and then lifting the upper unit to move flat pivot rods of the upper unit away from respective pivot holes through respective top grooves on the lower unit, the upper unit is separated from the lower unit. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a bill acceptor according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing showing the upper unit attached to the lower unit and kept in vertical according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is an elevational assembly view of the bill acceptor, showing the upper unit closed on the lower unit according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a sectional side view of the bill acceptor according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the bill acceptor and a vending machine&#39;s face panel according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  corresponds to  FIG. 5  when viewed from another angle. 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic sectional side view showing the lower unit of the bill acceptor fastened to the back side of the face panel and the upper unit of the bill acceptor kept in a tilted position according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 8  corresponds to  FIG. 7 , showing the upper unit of the bill acceptor closed on the lower unit. 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic side view showing the stub guide rods of the lower unit of the bill acceptor respectively inserted into the horizontal guide grooves of the face panel according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 10  corresponds to  FIG. 9 , showing the stub guide rods of the lower unit of the bill acceptor engaged into the vertical guide grooves of the face panel according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 11  is a schematic sectional side view of the present invention after installation of the bill acceptor in the face panel. 
       FIG. 12  is an oblique elevation of the prior art design. 
       FIG. 13  is an exploded view of the prior art design. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1˜4 , a bill acceptor  1  in accordance with the present invention is shown comprising a lower unit  11  and an upper unit  12 . 
   The lower unit  11  has two upright side panels  111  arranged in parallel at two opposite lateral sides, and a security gate  117  on the rear side between the two upright side panels  111 . Each upright side panel  111  has a pivot hole  112  on the inner wall at the front side near the top, a top groove  113 , which extends vertically upwardly from the pivot hole  112  to the topmost edge and has a width smaller than the diameter of the pivot hole  112 , a retaining slot  114  near the rear side corresponding to the elevation of the pivot hole  112 , a recessed location portion  115  on the outer wall at the front side, and guide means, for example, two stub guide rods  116  suspending in the recessed location portion  115 . 
   The upper unit  12  is vertically downwardly instable into the front side of the lower unit  11  between the two upright side panels  111  from the top, having two flat pivot rods  121  that are respectively protruded from the two opposite lateral sides thereof near the front side and respectively insertable through the top grooves  113  of the upright side panels  111  into the associating pivot holes  112 , two finger strips  122  respectively protruded from the two opposite lateral sides near the rear side, two hooks  123  respectively protruded from the outer wall of each of the finger strips  122  for engaging the retaining slots  114  of the upright side panels  111  to lock the upper unit  12  to the lower unit  11 , locating blocks  124  extending from the front side, and a row of security hooks  125  suspending in the rear side for engaging into the security gate  117 . The flat pivot rods  121  each have two opposite flat peripheral wall portions  1211  and two arched peripheral wall portions  1212 . 
   The bill acceptor  1  further comprises a bill conveyer  13  and a bill validator  14 . The bill conveyer  13  comprises a plurality of bill transferring rolls  131  and bill transferring belts  132  mounted in the lower unit  11  for conveying bills, and a plurality of impression rolls  133  pivotally mounted in the upper unit  12  and adapted to press bills on the bill transferring rolls  131  and the bill transferring belts  132  for enabling bills to be delivered to a bill box (not shown). The bill validator  14  is adapted to verify the authenticity and value of the bills carried by the bill conveyer  13 , comprising an optical emitter module  141  installed in the upper unit  12 , and an optical receiver module  142  installed in the lower unit  11 . Because the bill conveyer  13  and the bill validator  14  are of the known art, no further detailed description in this regard is necessary. 
   During installation, hold the upper unit  12  in vertical above the lower unit  11  to aim the two opposite flat peripheral wall portions  1211  of the flat pivot rods  121  at the top grooves  113  of the upright side panels  111 , and then lower the upper unit  12  to insert the flat pivot rods  121  through the top grooves  113  into the associating pivot holes  112  to further have the arched peripheral wall portions  1212  be in contact with the periphery of the associating pivot holes  112 , and then turn the upper unit  12  from vertical to horizontal to force the two hooks  123  into engagement with the retaining slots  114  of the upright side panels  111 , thereby locking the upper unit  12  to the lower unit  11 . When wishing to remove the upper unit  12  from the lower unit  11 , press the finger strips  122  to disengage the hooks  123  from the associating retaining slots  114 , and then turn the upper unit  12  from horizontal to vertical, and then lift the upper unit  12  to move the flat pivot rods  121  out of the associating pivot holes  112  through the associating top grooves  113 . 
   After the upper unit  12  is locked to the lower unit  11 , a bill path  10  is defined between the bottom side of the upper unit  12  and the top side of the lower unit  11 . When a bill is inserted into the bill acceptor  1 , the bill transferring rolls  131  and the bill transferring belts  132  of the bill conveyer  13  carry the bill through the bill path  10  between the optical emitter module  141  and the optical receiver module  142  of the bill validator  14 . During delivery of the bill through the bill path  10 , the optical emitter module  141  emits light through the bill, and the optical receiver module  142  receives the light passing through the bill for determining the authenticity of the bill subject to the paper quality, ink, fluorescent fiber, and/or other characteristics of the bill, as well as the value of the bill. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 5˜8 , the bill acceptor  1  is mounted in the back side of a vending machine&#39;s face panel  2 . The face panel  2  has a bill slot  21  on the front side, a bill passage  22  backwardly extending from the bill slot  21 , two retaining grooves  221  on the back side above the bill passage  22 , two protruding locating plates  23  backwardly extending from two opposite lateral sides for engaging into the recessed location portions  115  of the lower unit  11  of the bill acceptor  1 , and a plurality of mounting holes  26  around the border. The protruding locating plates  23  each have a horizontal guide groove  24  and a vertical guide groove  25  linked on the inner side for receiving the stub guide rods  116  of the lower unit  11  of the bill acceptor  1 . 
   During installation, the mounting holes  26  of the face panel  2  are affixed to the vending machine&#39;s frame structure (not shown) with fastening means. Before fastening the bill acceptor  1  to the face panel  2 , turn the upper unit  12  upwards relative to the lower unit  11  through an angle to tilt the locating blocks  124  downwardly (see  FIG. 7 ), and then attach the bill acceptor  1  to the back side of the face panel  2  to insert the stub guide rods  116  into the horizontal guide grooves  24  and simultaneously to force the recessed locating portions  115  into engagement with the protruding locating plates  23  (see  FIG. 9 ). When the stub guide rods  116  reach the respective inner ends of the horizontal guide grooves  24 , the stub guide rods  116  are lowered into the associating vertical guide grooves  25 , and therefore the bill acceptor  1  is firmly secured to the face panel  2  (see  FIG. 10 ). 
   After installation of the bill acceptor  1  in the back side of the face panel  2 , the upper unit  12  is turned downwards and closed on the lower unit  11  to force the locating blocks  124  into the retaining grooves  221  of the face panel  2  respectively. Thus, the stub guide rods  116  are firmly secured to the vertical guide grooves  25  of the face panel  2 , preventing displacement of the bill acceptor  1  relative to the face panel  2 . When wishing to detach the bill acceptor  1  from the face panel  2 , disengage the hooks  123  from the retaining slots  114 , and then turn the upper unit  12  upwards from the lower unit  11  to disengage the locating blocks  124  from the retaining grooves  221  of the face panel  2 , and then move the lower unit  11  relative to the face panel  2  to disengage the stub guide rods  116  from the vertical guide grooves  25  and the horizontal guide grooves  24  of the face panel  2 . 
   After installation of the bill acceptor  1  in the face panel  2 , the bill passage  22  of the face panel  2  is kept in communication with the bill path  10  of the bill acceptor  1  (see  FIG. 11 ). When a bill is inserted through the bill slot  21  of the face panel  2  into the bill passage  22 , the inserted bill will reach the bill path  10  of the bill acceptor  1  and then be carried forwards by the bill conveyer  13  and verified by the bill validator  14 . 
   Further, because bills may carry a big amount of dust, chewing gum or other dirt, the bill transferring rolls  131  and the bill transferring belts  132  of the bill conveyer  13  will soon be covered with a layer of dust or dirt soon. When the bill transferring rolls  131  and the bill transferring belts  132  of the bill conveyer  13  are covered with a layer of dust or dirt, the bill conveying action of the bill conveyer  13  will become unstable, and the bill carrying on the bill conveyer  13  may be wrinkled or jammed in the bill path  10 . Further, if the optical emitter module  141  and the optical receiver module  142  of the bill validator  14  are covered with dust or dirt, the verification accuracy of the bill validator  14  will lowered, or the bill validator  14  may be unable to work normally. In this case, a maintenance work is necessary. 
   During a maintenance work, the mechanic or worker can directly remove the bill acceptor  1  from the back side of the face panel  2  after opened the vending machine. When removing the bill acceptor  1  from the face panel  2 , press the finger strips  122  to disengage the hooks  123  from the retaining slots  114  of the upright side panels  111 , and then turn the upper unit  12  upwards from the lower unit  11  to disengage the locating blocks  124  from the retaining grooves  221  of the face panel  2 , and then move the lower unit  11  relative to the face panel  2  to disengage the stub guide rods  116  from the vertical guide grooves  25  and the horizontal guide grooves  24  of the face panel  2 . After removal of the bill acceptor  1  from the face panel  2 , the upper unit  12  is fully opened from the lower unit  11 . Thus, the necessary cleaning or repairing work is performed. If necessary, the upper unit  11  can be detached from the lower unit  12  by moving the flat pivot rods  121  out of the pivot holes  112  through the top grooves  113 . After the cleaning or repair work is done, the bill acceptor  1  is installed in the face panel  2  again. 
   Further, the matching design of the security hooks  125  of the upper unit  12  and the security gate  117  of the lower unit  11  effectively prevents insertion of a metal wire or adhesive tape by an evil person to pick up bills from the bill box. 
   As indicated above, the invention provides a detachable bill acceptor mounting arrangement, which has the following features: 
   1. The lower unit  11  of the bill acceptor  1  has two recessed location portions  115  and two stub guide rods  116  in each of the two recessed location portion  115 , and the face panel  2  has two horizontal guide grooves  24  and two vertical guide grooves  25  linked to the horizontal guide grooves  24  for receiving the stub guide rods  116 . After insertion of the stub guide rods  116  into the vertical guide grooves  25  through the horizontal guide grooves  24 , the upper unit  12  is closed on the lower unit  11  to force the locating blocks  124  into engagement with the retaining grooves  221  of the face panel  2 , thereby prohibiting disengagement of the stub guide rods  116  from the vertical guide grooves  25 . Reversing the aforesaid procedure allows removable of the bill acceptor  1  from the face panel  2 . Therefore, the mounting and dismounting operations of the bill acceptor  1  are easy without tools. 
   2. After removal of the bill acceptor  1  from the face panel  2 , the mechanic or worker can separate the upper unit  11  from the lower unit  12  for cleaning or repair by: pressing the finger strips  122  to disengage the hooks  123  from the associating retaining slots  114 , and then turning the upper unit  12  from horizontal to vertical, and then lifting the upper unit  12  to move the flat pivot rods  121  out of the associating pivot holes  112  through the associating top grooves  113 . 
   A prototype of detachable bill acceptor mounting arrangement has been constructed with the features of  FIGS. 1-11 . The detachable bill acceptor mounting arrangement functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier. 
   Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.