Timer circuit for vending machine
First Claim
Patent Images
1. Timer circuit for a vending machine comprising;
- a counter having first and second counter sections, one for demarcating coinage and another for demarcating vend period, said counter having input means for counting the counter and output lines corresponding to the sections thereof,means responsive to coinage for generating at least one count signal coupled to the input means of the counter to count the first section of the counter,circuit means for operating a load during the vend period,first settable decoder means coupled from output lines of the first section of the counter for providing a signal coupled to said circuit means for initiating the vend period of the circuit means,said counter input means including gate means receiving at least said one count signal coupling to the clock input of the counter,means for generating clock signals (coupled) for selective coupling to the gate means and in turn to the counter to count the second section of the counter,means responsive to said first settable decoder means and the vend period initiation signal therefrom for permitting the passage of the clock signals to the counter input means,and second settable decoder means coupled from output lines of the second section for providing a signal terminating the vend period of the circuit means.
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Abstract
The circuit includes a switch array for setting two conditions, one for defining the length of the vend period and the other for defining the coinage necessary to initiate the vend period. A binary counter is coupled by the switch array to a decoder circuit, and the binary counter is first counted incrementally in response to coinage insertion until the correct coinage has been received at which time the counter is enabled to continue counting through a timing cycle defining the vend period. At the end of the vend period the circuit is reset for future usage.
51 Citations
18 Claims
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1. Timer circuit for a vending machine comprising;
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a counter having first and second counter sections, one for demarcating coinage and another for demarcating vend period, said counter having input means for counting the counter and output lines corresponding to the sections thereof, means responsive to coinage for generating at least one count signal coupled to the input means of the counter to count the first section of the counter, circuit means for operating a load during the vend period, first settable decoder means coupled from output lines of the first section of the counter for providing a signal coupled to said circuit means for initiating the vend period of the circuit means, said counter input means including gate means receiving at least said one count signal coupling to the clock input of the counter, means for generating clock signals (coupled) for selective coupling to the gate means and in turn to the counter to count the second section of the counter, means responsive to said first settable decoder means and the vend period initiation signal therefrom for permitting the passage of the clock signals to the counter input means, and second settable decoder means coupled from output lines of the second section for providing a signal terminating the vend period of the circuit means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A timer circuit for a vending machine comprising;
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a counter having first and second counter sections, said counter having input means for counting the counter and output lines corresponding to the sections thereof, means responsive to coinage for generating a signal coupled to the input means of the counter to count the counter, circuit means for operating a load during a vend period, first settable decoder means coupled from output lines of the first section of the counter for providing a signal for initiating the vend period of the circuit means, second settable decoder means coupled from output lines of the second section of the counter for providing a signal terminating the vend period of the circuit means, and means for selectably manually interrupting the vend period by inhibiting operation of the circuit means associated with the load.
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18. Timer circuit for a vending machine comprising;
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a counter having first and second counter sections, one for demarcating coinage and another for demarcating vend period, said counter having input means for counting the counter and output lines corresponding to the sections thereof, means responsive to coinage for generating at least one count signal coupled to the input means of the counter to count the first section of the counter, circuit means for operating a load during the vend period, first settable decoder means coupled from output lines of the first section of the counter for providing a signal coupled to said circuit means for initiating the vend period of the circuit means, said counter input means including means defining a signal clock input line and said counter sections being contiguous with the counter being counted at the single clock input line to progress from the first to the second sections of the counter, means for generating clock signals for selective coupling to the counter clock input line to count the counter, means responsive to said first settable decoder means for permitting the clock signals to pass to said counter, and second settable decoder means coupled from output lines of the second section of the counter for providing a signal terminating the vend period of the circuit eans.
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Specification