The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 365 to International Patent Application No. PCT/GB2015/051886 filed Jun. 29, 2015, entitled “MONEY ITEM HANDLING DEVICE AND CONVEYOR”, and through International Patent Application No. PCT/GB2015/051886, to British Patent Application No. 1412633.8, filed Jul. 16, 2014, each of which are incorporated herein by reference into the present disclosure as if fully set forth herein.
This specification relates to a money item handling device and particularly to a conveyor to receive and convey money items having a generally discoidal surface, such as coins and tokens.
Money item handling devices are commercially available that employ a conveyor to transport coins and like money items to a processing station, for example for validation and temporary storage prior to being paid out to a user, for example as change in a vending machine transaction.
One embodiment of a handling device, comprises a receiving station for receiving money items having a generally discoidal surface and a peripheral edge supplied thereto, a money item processing station, and a conveyor configured to convey money items from the money item receiving station to the processing station, the conveyor comprising a conveyor member having a money item receiving surface, and first and second lugs upstanding from said surface each having forward facing capture regions configured to be driven in a longitudinal conveying direction through the money item receiving station to receive a money item with its major discoidal surface overlying the surface and with its peripheral edge abutting the capture regions of the lugs, one of the capture regions of the lugs being upstanding from said money item receiving surface at least in part by a height greater than the other capture region. The capture regions may be so arranged that if first and second of said money items become lodged on the money item receiving surface and abutting the first and second capture regions respectively, upon forward movement of the conveyor in the longitudinal conveying direction, the first money item is urged by the first capture region against the second money item so as to dislodge the second money item from abutment with the second capture region so that solely the first money item is held in abutment with the first and second capture regions.
The receiving station may be configured to receive a plurality of money items of different dimensions that comprise opposed, spaced apart, generally discoidal major surfaces with a thickness dimension between the major surfaces falling within a predetermined thickness range having a minimum thickness value, wherein the maximum height by which the capture regions of first and second lugs are each upstanding from the money item receiving surface is more than said minimum thickness value and less than said minimum thickness value respectively.
The lugs may be disposed on opposite sides of a longitudinal axis of the conveyor member, and the capture region of the first lug may comprise a capture surface facing forwardly in the longitudinal conveying direction, having a height which reduces in the direction of said longitudinal axis, and may be trapezoidal, forming an acute angle with the longitudinal axis in the conveying direction and with a height that increases outwardly from the longitudinal axis.
The second capture region may comprise an upstanding capture edge at the join of first and second guide surfaces that are upstanding from the money item receiving surface and diverge rearwardly with respect to said longitudinal conveying direction.
At least one scoop surface on the or each of the first and second lugs may be provided, so that if first and second of the money items become arranged in a stack in engagement with the capture region of the first lug, an upper one of the money items is guided by the or each said scoop surface to pass by the lugs upon forward movement of the conveyor in said longitudinal conveying direction such that solely the lowermost money item in the stack abuts the first and second capture regions. The scoop surfaces may diverge from the money item receiving surface rearwardly of said longitudinal conveying direction.
The height of the second capture region may be less than 1.2 mm for example 1.0 mm or less, and the height of the first capture region is at least in part greater than that of the first capture region.
A plurality of said conveyor members may pivotally connected and provided with a respective set of said first and second lugs, and the conveyor may be configured in a continuous loop comprising an elevating section extending from the money item receiving section to the processing section, and a descending section extending back to the receiving section, the first and second capture regions being configured to hold a single one of the money items during passage of the conveyor along the elevating section. Also, the first and second lugs may include respective support surfaces facing rearwardly in said conveying direction for supporting a money item that remains on the conveyor after passage through the processing station during conveyance along the descending section.
A toothed track may be recessed in the or each said conveyor member, and a motor driven gear may be provided to engage with the track to drive the conveyor.
Also described herein is a conveyor to receive and convey money items having a generally discoidal surface and a peripheral edge, comprising a conveyor member having a money item receiving surface, and first and second lugs upstanding from said surface each having forward facing capture regions configured to be driven in a longitudinal conveying direction through a money item receiving station to receive a money item with its major discoidal surface overlying the surface and with its peripheral edge abutting the capture regions of the lugs, one of the capture regions of the lugs being upstanding from said money item receiving surface at least in part by a height greater than the other capture region, and the capture regions are so arranged that if first and second of said money items become lodged on the money item receiving surface and abutting the first and second capture regions respectively, upon forward movement of the conveyor in the longitudinal conveying direction, the first money item is urged by the first capture region against the second money item so as to dislodge the second money item from abutment with the second capture region so that solely the first money item is held in abutment with the first and second capture regions.
As used herein, the term “money item” includes coins which are issued by or on behalf of Governmental organisations that have generally disc shaped major surfaces, including coins in the US$ coin set, Euro coin set, GB pound coin set and the like. The coins may be circular or other discoidal shapes such as the hexagonal shape of a GB 50 pence piece and may include holes such as a central hole found in some coins. Also the term includes other disc shaped items with an attributable monetary value, such as tokens used in casinos.
For the purposes of example only, embodiments are described below with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
Referring to
The device comprises a housing 1 which receives coins 2 of predetermined different denominations through an inlet 3, for example from coin acceptor devices which validate coins presented by a user during a vending transaction.
A continuous loop conveyor 4 is driven by a motor 5 to transport the coins 2 through the device for processing at one or more processing stations. The coins 2 are received on the conveyor at a receiving station 6 and tend to adopt a non-uniform, random stacked configuration at various angles in the station 6 where they fall onto the conveyor 4. As explained in more detail hereinafter, the conveyor is configured to transport the coins one by one i.e. in a singulated fashion along an elevating section 7 of the conveyor to a generally horizontal bridging section 8 which includes a processing station that includes coin sensor 9 and payout gates 10. Some coins may remain on the conveyor 4 after the payout gates 10 which pass along a descending section ii back to the receiving section 6.
As the conveyor 4 turns from the elevating section 7 to the bridging section 8, coins on the conveyor such as coin 2′, are transferred and moved along a support surface 13 by the conveyor 4 through the coin sensor 9. The coin sensor 9 may be an inductive sensor including coils (not shown) and/or optical sensors on one or both sides of the conveyor 4 to detect inductive and/or optical characteristics of the coin, which may be compared by a processor 14 with reference values held in a memory 15 to determine their authenticity and denomination.
The payout gates 10 may comprise solenoid operated gates controlled by the processor 14, which can be selectively lowered so that selected coins moving along the surface 13 that have been detected by the sensor 9 to be of a particular denomination can be discharged into one or more outlet chutes 16 to be returned to the user, for example as change for the transaction.
The conveyor 4 is made up of links illustrated in more detail in
The link members 17, 18 have a longitudinal central axis L-L′ and the conveyor is configured to move in a longitudinal conveyance direction C as shown in
Referring to
Also, as shown in
Referring to
As shown clearly in
The maximum height h2 of the trapezoidal surface 33 is typical three or four times greater than the minimum height h1 so as to engage with coins in the non-uniform stack of the receiving section 6 and encourage one of them to lie flat on the money item receiving section 21 between the lugs 30, 31 as the conveyor 4 passes through the receiving section 6 in the longitudinal conveying direction C.
The second lug 31 has a coin capture region in the form of an upstanding coin edge 35 at the join of first and second guide surfaces 36, 37 that are upstanding from the money item receiving surface 21 and diverge rearwardly with respect to the longitudinal conveying direction C. The capture edge 35 of lug 31 is of a height edge h3 which is less than the minimum thickness of the coins 2 received in the receiving section 6 and may for example be equal to the height h1 of the first lug 30. For example, the height of the capture edge 35 may be less than 1.2 mm, typically 1.0 mm.
Thus, when each of the first link members 17 passes through the coin receiving section 6 shown in
The lugs 30, 31 are configured to capture only one coin 2 from the stack as will now be explained with reference to
Referring to
Also, as shown clearly in
Referring to
Many modifications and variations of the described device are possible. For example, the coin handling device may be used not only for vending but also in casinos and other situations where coins or money item items such as tokens need to be processed. Moreover, the disclosure of the present application should be understood to include any novel features or any novel combination of features either explicitly or implicitly disclosed herein or in any generalisation thereof and during prosecution of the present application or of any application derived therefrom, new claims may be formulated to cover any such features and/or combination of such features. Many other variations will be evident to those skilled in the art falling within the scope of the claims hereinafter.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1412633.8 | Jul 2014 | GB | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/GB2015/051886 | 6/29/2015 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2016/009172 | 1/21/2016 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3463171 | Dolman | Aug 1969 | A |
4535794 | Bellis | Aug 1985 | A |
6328646 | Abe | Dec 2001 | B1 |
6579166 | Abe | Jun 2003 | B2 |
6761627 | Abe | Jul 2004 | B2 |
8840450 | Watson | Sep 2014 | B2 |
9183687 | Martin | Nov 2015 | B2 |
20030032387 | Abe | Feb 2003 | A1 |
20050277378 | Schimpl | Dec 2005 | A1 |
20090008215 | Bell | Jan 2009 | A1 |
20100203817 | Rigo | Aug 2010 | A1 |
20100210200 | Bell | Aug 2010 | A1 |
20100227539 | Aguado Vitas | Sep 2010 | A1 |
20110105002 | Blaha | May 2011 | A1 |
20120122385 | Watson | May 2012 | A1 |
20120261434 | Bell | Oct 2012 | A1 |
20140194045 | Fischer | Jul 2014 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
101796552 | Aug 2010 | CN |
2801957 | Nov 2014 | EP |
2485395 | May 2012 | GB |
2513539 | Nov 2014 | GB |
2009030651 | Mar 2009 | WO |
Entry |
---|
Transmittal of the International Search Report and the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority dated Sep. 15, 2015, 10 pages. |
Search Report dated Jan. 20, 2015 in connection with British Application No. 1412633.8, 2 pages. |
Search Report dated Jan. 20, 2015 in connection with British Application No. 1412633.8, 4 pages. |
Communication from a foreign patent office in a counterpart foreign application, State Intellectual Property Office of the Peoples Republic of China, “Notification of the First Office Action (PCT Application Entry into the National Phase),” Application No. CN201580036221.7, dated Aug. 27, 2018, 23 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20170206729 A1 | Jul 2017 | US |