Improvements in Coin Sorting and Counting Machines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Jan., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 27th Oct., 1894--Accepted, 29th Jan., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Coin Sorting and Counting Machines.
MICHAEL HEARN Mechanical Engineer and EDWARD WILLIAM HEARN
Student in Electrical Engineering both of 17 Nassington Road Hampstead, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to an automatic coin-sorting and counting machine
and herein we fully describe the invention.
Sorting channels. These are the channels in which the coins travel having
rectangular apertures cut therein a little larger in each case than the coin which
they allow to escape. As half a sovereign and sixpence are of equal size we use
two sorting channels-one for gold and copper, the other for silver. These channels
are attached to supports and meet at a V shaped angle, both channels being
inclined to give the coins the necessary momentum and also being placed sideways
in their supports at an angle of 60" or thereabouts so that the coins will always
travel slightly inclined. The object of this being to cause the coins to immediately
drop out the moment they arrive at their respective apertures. And in order that
the coins may have only their edges held the lower edges of the apertures are
only left of sufficient height for this purpose.
Opposite each aperture is a receiving tube placed vertically with its upper end
cut away at an angle corresponding with the angle of inclination of the sorting
channel and in each case the tubes are somewhat larger than the coins they
receive.
If necessary we may make the upper part or receiving ends of these tubes
funnel shaped. The lower or discharging ends of the tubes pass into sorting
compartments and are cut away for part of their length one half of their diameters
as well as being slotted in front for a part of their length.
At the rear of the machine we pivot the weighing or driving levers in such a
way that part of the lever passes immediately under the tube and through the slot
cut therein. These levers have bosses or washers fitted to them which act as a
bottom to the receiving tubes, while their forward ends are fitted with a pawl
and pin the purpose of which is herein-after described. The other ends of the
levers have weights attached thereto. It may be mentioned here that these levers
may be in one piece both for weighing & driving.
In the fore part of the machine we place the counting mechanism which consists
of the following:
To a wheel with teeth of large pitch and hereinafter called the driving wheel is
fitted an index drum, the said index wheel or drum having a pin projecting at
right angles thereto. On the same bearing we pivot a carrying wheel with an
index drum attached thereto. And in order to effect the carrying a short cam
headed lever is suitably pivotted so that its head lies between the two index
wheels, the said lever being fitted with a pawl and pin for a purpose hereinafter
described. Pawls suitably pivotted and gearing with the driving and carrying
wheels prevent these wheels moving when the driving levers are moving
downwards.
As a modification of the above carrying device we may attach to the first
index wheel a pinion with one tooth which gears with another having portions
of its periphery cut in curves to fit the said pinion and slotted to allow the said
pinion to operate it,-commonly known as the Geneva movement, except that
the said pinion or finger is partly bevelled in order to throw it out of close

page_text: gear with the wheel it operates so that when returning the wheels to zero the rod
upon which the wheels, operated by the pinion or finger rotate may be drawn or
pushed horizontally a certain distance for the purpose aforesaid.
The action of the machine will therefore be as follows:-
And as the same action takes place in all excepting the amount of coins
discharged we will describe for example the movement that takes place when three
penny pieces are dropped into the slot by which the sorting channel is fed. On
arriving at its aperture the three penny piece will immediately drop into its
receiving tube. The weighted lever on which there is a boss which acts as a
bottom to the said tube and on which the coin rests will maintain its equilibrium
until 12 three penny pieces have dropped into the tube when the lever will imme-
diately move downwards allowing the coins to escape into their compartment.
On
the lever returning to its normal position the pawl attached thereto gears with the
driving wheel and pushes it a tooth forward, the pin on the said lever prevents at
the same time any overdriving of the wheel operated. By this action the index
wheel is also carried forward showing three shillings, and so on at each operation.
When the index wheel is about completing its revolution the pin attached to it
comes in contact with the cam headed lever before referred to raising it sufficiently
to carry the pawl attached thereto over a tooth of the carrying wheel. When the
index wheel completes its revolution the pin passes from under the cam lever,
which drops and pushes the carrying wheel one tooth the pin on the cam headed
lever also dropping into a tooth of the carrying wheel and so preventing it over-
running. The index wheel attached to the carrying wheel is at the same time
partly rotated showing the amount carried.
It will be understood that each class of coin has its own index wheels and
attachments similar to that above described for the 3d., but for sovereigns and half
sovereigns we may dispense with the carrying wheels.
A drawer or drawers divided into compartments to separate the different coins is
placed as before stated at the bottom of the machine and may be taken out in order
to remove the money.
To prevent an extra coin going into the receiving tube as the weighing lever is
in the act of discharging & so getting a wrong total we attach to the weighted
ends of the weighing or driving levers a cranked arm which remains in its normal
position a little removed from the aperture into which it works and out of the
path of the coins as they travel. When the weighing or driving lever descends
the cranked arm moves forward into the aperture of whatever coin may then be
discharging thus blocking the way for the passage of another coin until the weighted
lever returns to its normal position.
For clearness it should be stated that the channels are made of two pieces
placed at right angles to one another and a side may be added if necessary.
At the ends of the channels are slots into which the coins are dropped and
the whole of the slotted end is made channel shaped so that the coins may
be dropped in truly. For the silver the width of the slot being a little in
excess of the 5/- piece and for the copper and gold channel a little in excess of
the 1d. piece.
Dated this 27th of Janua1904
M. HEARN.
E. W. HEARN.
improvements in Coin Sorting and Counting Machines.
MICHAEL HEARN 17 Nassington Road Hampstead Engineer and EDWARD
WILLIAM HEARN 17 Nassington Road Hampstead Student in Electrical
Engineering do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in cash tills and consists of an improvement
in tills by which coins are automatically sorted, the amount totalled & money
thrown forward for the purpose of giving change as is hereinafter fully set
forth.
Fig. 1 is a front view of the machine. The doors locking the front part being
omitted for clearness.
Fig. 2 is a sectional view.
Fig. 3 is a side view of the driving and discharging levers, with receiving tube
and counting wheels.
Fig. 4 is a plan of Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of driving pawl.
Figs. 6 & 7 are views of receiving tube and discharging lever for such coins as
are counted in batches of 2, 3 & 4 at a time.
Fig. 8 is a part perspective view of device for throwing zero wheels into gear
with counting wheels and for clearing tubes of money.
Fig. 9 is a part perspective view of sorting channel.
Fig. 1 shows the sorting channels A. & B. A is the channel for silver, B the
channel for copper and gold. These channels are made rectangular as shown by
Fig. 9 and are so placed in their supports that they incline downwards and also
forward. They have three slots C, D, E for silver, copper and gold respectively.
Apertures are cut at the side large enough to allow the respective coins to fall
through into tubes-only one of which G the 5/- tube is shown for the sake of
clearness. The apertures F are cut, as regards their width somewhat larger than
the coin to allow for momentum. In the case of copper money, as the penny
piece is frequently damaged the bar between the halfpenny and penny, is cut
away, as a damaged penny is apt to be stopped by this bar. And in order that.
the halfpenny may be caused to fall into its right tube, this tube I is funnel shaped.
These channels are fixed to supports J. K L.
On the rods M. N. Fig. 3 the counting wheels O. P. rotate with the index
wheels QR attached to them and shown in Fig. 4. The said wheel O is operated
by a pawl S attached to the weighted driving lever T and to prevent any over-
running of the wheel O the lever T has a part cut away as shown at U to allow
the wheel to rotate freely, but sufficient is left to come against a tooth of the
wheel O at V and so stop the wheel dead. A similar device is used to stop the
carried or tens wheel by a pin W.
The lever T is connected at its free end by a rod X to an advertising device. Y
which rotates on a rod Z fitted to supports a, b. The lever T also holds the
discharging lever c carried on rod 13 by a pin d. The discharging lever being
made with a circular plate e which acts as a bottom to the receiving tube G. All
these tubes are attached by arms 8 to a flat plate 9 which is fitted in the rear of
the machine.
It may here be remarked that I may dispense with discharging levers and attach
the circular plate e to lever T instead. The driving levers T are pivotted to a
rod h supported on brackets f fitted to the arched support z, the said levers
being weighted as shown by i to return them to their normal positions. In the
front part of the machine are 7 balanced angle shaped plates j Figs. 1 & 2 only
one being shown for clearness, pivotted to a rod k, the purpose of which is
hereinafter described.
When money is counted in batches as in the case of the d., Id., 6d., 3d. & 10/-,
the circular plate of the discharging lever is made to enter into the tube see
Figs. 6 & 7, the tube being slotted at the back as shown in Fig. 7. The object of
this is to retain the coins in the tube until the full number have fallen in.
The operation of the machine is therefore as follows:-
When a coin is dropped into slot C, taking for example a 5/- piece, it will at

page_text: once travel downwards when it will fall through the aperture F into the tube G.
The weight of the coin immediately causes the levers T & c to travel downwards
in the direction of the arrows Fig. 3. The coin is thrown on to an inclined
channel m carried on supports 11, 12, whence it slides on to the balanced plate j.
The weight immediately causes the rear end n of the balanced plate to be thrown
upwards. If another 5/- piece be now dropped into the slot it will travel exactly in
the same manner until it reaches the end of the incline m, when it will drop through
the aperture o into the drawer p below. The said drawer being divided into com-
partments for the respective coins. On the lever T returning to position the
pawl S will gear with a tooth of the wheel O and drive it one tooth, the registering
wheel Q will at the same time rotate, showing the amount passed into the machine.
The carrying is effected by two projecting teeth q. r. gearing from time to time
with the tens wheel P and imparting motion thereto. The pawls S, t, serve to keep
their respective wheels in position. It should also be added that as the lever T
descends it draws the advertising block, causing the advertisement on its face to
disappear, when a continuation of the advertisement, which is placed on the top
of Yat u appears, and in its normal position does not of course show.
The sectional lines in Fig. 2 show part of the case of the machine, the base to
which the various supports are fitted, being lettered vand the door closing the front
of machine 10.
To return the wheels to zero, see Fig. 8 a series of wheels of 8 or ten teeth 14
Fig. 3 as the case may be, are firmly fitted to a rod w, by a boss 15 and screw.
This rod slides to and fro in oblong holes cut in each of the supports a, y. To both
ends of this rod are pivotted arms z connected at 1 with levers 2, the said levers
being pivotted to the rod h. A universal bar 3 is fixed to these levers, passing
under all the driving levers T. It will be seen therefore that by pressing the
lever 4 downwards this rod will be raised and in consequence all the driving levers
will be pressed downwards at their operating ends. Lever 2 will at the same time
draw the rod w with the wheels thereon into gear with their respective counting
wheels, when the handle 5 may be turned and the wheels rotated to one short of
naught, which is brought into position by the driving levers returning to position
as will be casily understood. The action of thus throwing down the driving levers
serves also to clear the tubes of any coins which may be in them and also to unlock
the counting wheels so that they may be rotated freely.
The projection 6 on the driving pawl S, Fig. 5 prevents the pawl being thrown
back or forward too far, the said projection resting as shown on the driving
lever T.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that
what we claim is :-
The combination constituting a cash till as described herein and shown by the
accompanying drawings Figs. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8 & 9. excepting that relating to
the advertising mechanism.
Dated this 27th daz of October 1894