Automatic toll receiving apparatus
First Claim
1. In a automatic toll receiving apparatus including a large hopper into which coins are thrown by a driver sitting on a seat in an automotive vehicle, coin selecting means for determining whether the thrown coins are true coins or false coins and discriminating means for discriminating different types of coins, counting means following said selecting means for counting a value of the coins which are determined as true coins by said selecting means, returning means for returning to the driver the coins which are determined as false coins by said coin selecting means and temporary coin holding means for temporarily holding the received coins, the improvement wherein;
- said temporary coin holding means comprises a first coin holding portion for a present vehicle and a second coin holding portion for a preceding vehicle, said second coin holding portion being located below said first coin holding means,the first coin holding portion and the second coin holding portion comprising an inclined passage, respectively, of which width and height are dimensioned equal to a thickness and a diameter of a largest coin among a number of coins passing therethrough,a side wall of said passage is made of transparent material so as to allow coins held in the passage to be visually confirmed from outside of said passage,the first coin holding portion includes a bottom which comprises a rod-shaped elongated partition adapted to be displaced in a direction transverse to the passage so that on displacement of said partition the coins in the first coin holding portion fall down into the second coin holding portion, andthe second coin holding portion includes a bottom which comprises a rod-shaped elongated partition adapted to be displaced in the transverse direction of the passage so that on displacement of said partition the coins in the second coin holding portion fall down into a safe.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved automatic toll receiving apparatus of the throwing-in type installed so as to allow a driver sitting in an automotive vehicle to pay a specified rate of toll, which apparatus includes a large hopper into which the driver can easily throw coins, a determining mechanism for determining whether the received coins are true coins or false coins and discriminating the kind of coins, a counting unit for counting a value of the coins which are determined as true coins, a returning unit for returning to the driver the coins which are determined as false coins, a temporary coin holder for temporarily holding the coins at shortest for a period of time until a processing for the preceding vehicle is completed, so as to allow him to visually confirm the coins through a transparent side wall of the temporary coin holder by the driver while they are arranged side by side, and an actuator for rotating the partition of the temporary coil holder at the bottom thereof 45 degrees as to enable a processing for the next vehicle when it is confirmed by the counting unit that a value of the received coins matches with a specified rate of toll. By rotating the partition in that way, the coins in the temporary coin holder are displaced to another temporary coin holder and then they are discharged from the latter into a safe when a processing for the preceding vehicle is completed, the temporary coin holder being inclined downward and sideward so as to allow the coins to be slidably displaced therein.
7 Citations
2 Claims
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1. In a automatic toll receiving apparatus including a large hopper into which coins are thrown by a driver sitting on a seat in an automotive vehicle, coin selecting means for determining whether the thrown coins are true coins or false coins and discriminating means for discriminating different types of coins, counting means following said selecting means for counting a value of the coins which are determined as true coins by said selecting means, returning means for returning to the driver the coins which are determined as false coins by said coin selecting means and temporary coin holding means for temporarily holding the received coins, the improvement wherein;
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said temporary coin holding means comprises a first coin holding portion for a present vehicle and a second coin holding portion for a preceding vehicle, said second coin holding portion being located below said first coin holding means, the first coin holding portion and the second coin holding portion comprising an inclined passage, respectively, of which width and height are dimensioned equal to a thickness and a diameter of a largest coin among a number of coins passing therethrough, a side wall of said passage is made of transparent material so as to allow coins held in the passage to be visually confirmed from outside of said passage, the first coin holding portion includes a bottom which comprises a rod-shaped elongated partition adapted to be displaced in a direction transverse to the passage so that on displacement of said partition the coins in the first coin holding portion fall down into the second coin holding portion, and the second coin holding portion includes a bottom which comprises a rod-shaped elongated partition adapted to be displaced in the transverse direction of the passage so that on displacement of said partition the coins in the second coin holding portion fall down into a safe. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeMitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
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Original AssigneeMitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
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InventorsUenishi, Kouichi, Fukuda, Kazumi, Kanehara, Koichi
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Primary Examiner(s)Fuller, Benjamin R.
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Application NumberUS07/472,339Time in Patent Office515 DaysField of Search235/32, 235/33, 235/100, 232/7, 232/44, 232/55-57, 232/59, 232/61US Class Current235/32CPC Class CodesG07B 15/066 being coin-operatedG07F 9/003 displaying the inserted coinsG07F 9/04 Means for returning surplus...
