Total sales indication device for a vending machine

• US 4,376,479 A
• Filed: 10/14/1980
• Issued: 03/15/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nippon Conlux Co., Ltd. (Crane Company)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Nippon Coinco
• Inventors: Sugimoto, Osamu, Akagawa, Masaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Reeves, Robert B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wacyra, Edward M.
• Application Number:
  US06/196,874
• Time in Patent Office: 882 Days
• Field of Search: 194/1 L-1 N, 221/2, 221/7, 221/8, 222/23, 222/25, 222/28, 222/32, 235/92 AC, 235/92 CN, 235/92 ST, 340/825.35, 340/811, 340/812, 364/478, 364/479
• US Class Current: 194/218
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 5/22 electrically actuated
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/08 Counting total of coins inserted

Abstract

A vending machine is generally equipped with a money amount indicator which indicates an amount of deposited coins or a balance thereof. This total sales indication device utilizes the money amount indicator to indicate a total sales of the vending machine on this indicator when the vending machine is not making a vending operation. Prices of articles sold are cumulatively added by a sales counter to obtain a total sales and counting contents of this sales counter are indicated on the money amount indicator by manipulating an indication control switch.

Claims

1. A total sales indication device for a vending machine which includes a money amount indicator for indicating the amount of deposited coins or a balance of such amount, sales counting means for computing the total sales of articles sold by the vending machine and indicator mode control switch means for controlling the indicator mode characterized in that the number of digits in decimal notation of the counting contents of said sales counting means is larger than the number of digits in decimal notation of the indication by said money amount indicator and that said total sales indication device further comprises control means for dividing the digits of the total sales number computed by said sales counting means into a plurality of portions each of which consists of digits the number of which is equal to or smaller than the number of digits of the indication by said money amount indicator, and for causing said money amount indicator to sequentially indicate the digits of the respective portions, in response to manipulation of said indication mode control switch means.

2. A total sales indication device as defined in claim 1 wherein said control means causes the digits of total sales divided into a plurality of portions to be sequentially indicated from the portion of a higher order and causes the portion of the highest order to be identified as such by causing said money amount indicator to indicate a predetermined character in the most significant digit of said money amount indicator in indicating the portion of the highest order.

3. A total sales indication device as defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein said indicator mode control switch means comprises a first switch and a second switch, and said control means implements a first mode in which the counting contents of said sales counting means are indicated by said money amount indicator in accordance with manipulation of said first switch, a second mode in which the indication by said money amount indicator is cancelled by manipulating said first switch again in said first mode, and a third mode in which the counting contents of said sale counting means are cleared and the indication by said money amount indicator is cancelled by manipulating said second switch in said first mode.

4. A total sales indication device as defined in claim 3 wherein said first switch is an existing vend test switch of the vending machine, said control means implements said first mode when said vend test switch is manipulated twice in succession and said second switch is an existing settle switch of the vending machine.

5. A vending machine comprising:

a display having a predetermind number of digit positions, each digit position for displaying a digit;

means for storing a number to be displayed, said number when displayed having a number of digits in excess of the predetermined number of digit positions of the display, wherein the stored number is subdivided into at least two portions and each portion has a number of digits, when displayed, equal to or less than the predetermined number of digit positions of the display; and

means coupled to the display and the storing means, for sequentially gating the stored number portions to the display, wherein the stored number portions are sequentially displayed by the same display to indicate the stored number.

6. The vending machine of claim 5, wherein the number stored in the storing means is representative of the total monetary value of the accumulated sales transacted by the vending machine.

7. The vending machine of claim 5 further comprising means for gating an additional character to the display concurrently with at least one of the number portions to mark that number portion when it is displayed.

8. In a vending machine which includes a display having digit positions for displaying the monetary value of deposited coins during a transaction, and a counter for cumulatively adding the prices of articles sold by the vending machine, and for outputting a total sales number representative of the accumulated prices, the improvement comprising gating means coupled to the counter and the display, for sequentially gating portions of the total sales number to the display to sequentially display the total sales number portions,

wherein a plurality of display digit positions are utilized first to display a first total sales number portion and at least one of said plurality of digit positions is utilized to subsequently display a second total sales number portion.

9. In a vending machine having a display which has digit positions for displaying the monetary value of deposited coins during a transaction, and a counter for cumulatively adding the prices of articles sold by the vending machine, and for outputting a total sales number representative of the total monetary value of the accumulated sales the improvement comprising:

first and second gates, each gate for gating a plurality of digits to the display when enabled, said plurality of digits not exceeding the number of digit positions of the display, said first gate having a plurality of inputs connected to the counter for gating lower order digits of the total sales number outputted by the counter, and said second gate having a plurality of inputs connected to the counter for gating higher order digits of the total sales number outputted by the counter; and

a pulse generator for cyclically and sequentially providing enabling pulses to the first and second gates,

wherein the lower order digits and the higher order digits of the total sales number are cyclically and sequentially gated to the display so that the display displays the higher order digits and then displays the lower order digits of the total sales number