Electronic coin mechanism and system
First Claim
1. A coin operated mechanism for counting coins of various values to determine the value of a coin deposited comprising:
- a coin wheel normally oriented in a coin receiving position and rotatable about an axis of rotation to a coin release position,said coin wheel including a coin receiving section,means to guide deposited coins to said coin wheel and to said coin receiving section whereby said coin wheel is rotated from said coin receiving to the coin releasing position by the weight of the coin,said coin wheel including a plurality of apertures located in a predetermined array,light source means on one side of said wheel and positioned to pass light through said apertures as said coin wheel is rotated,light detector means positioned on the side of said wheel opposite said light source and adapted to be illuminated by light passing through said apertures to produce a series of light pulses as said coin wheel rotates,said plurality of apertures being in an array such that one or more of said apertures is covered by a coin depending upon the diameter dimension of a coin; and
electronic means to determine the value of each deposited coin.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved electronic coin mechanism and coin operated dispensing system includes an electronic coin mechanism which controls operation of a vending machine and stores certain types of data. The data in raw form are read out by a reader which may be interfaced to a computer through a shuttle. Due to the variety of information which may be collected, the computer is able to generate a variety of reports. The electronic coin mechanism is battery operated and designed for long service life. The mechanism includes an apertured rotatable coin wheel which detects the value of a coin by its diameter and compared the count with stored information in the coin electronics, the latter having an elapsed time relative counter. Time of first and last sale as well as sales per period are stored as well as total amounts received. Various levels of security are provided. Details of the coin mechanism and system are described.
-
Citations
31 Claims
-
1. A coin operated mechanism for counting coins of various values to determine the value of a coin deposited comprising:
-
a coin wheel normally oriented in a coin receiving position and rotatable about an axis of rotation to a coin release position, said coin wheel including a coin receiving section, means to guide deposited coins to said coin wheel and to said coin receiving section whereby said coin wheel is rotated from said coin receiving to the coin releasing position by the weight of the coin, said coin wheel including a plurality of apertures located in a predetermined array, light source means on one side of said wheel and positioned to pass light through said apertures as said coin wheel is rotated, light detector means positioned on the side of said wheel opposite said light source and adapted to be illuminated by light passing through said apertures to produce a series of light pulses as said coin wheel rotates, said plurality of apertures being in an array such that one or more of said apertures is covered by a coin depending upon the diameter dimension of a coin; and electronic means to determine the value of each deposited coin. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. An integrated electronic system for coin operated vending equipment comprising:
-
at least one battery powered coin operated dispensing machine, said machine including electronic means for recognizing the value of each coin deposited and being operative to permit operation of the machine to dispense a product, said electronic means including a rotatable coin wheel having a predetermined number of apertures from which the diameter of a coin may be determined light source and detector means positioned on each side of said coin wheel for counting pulses produced by light passing through said apertures as said wheel rotates, said electronic means being operative to store predetermined information including one or more prices for the product being dispensed, the relative time of the first and last sale, the relative time of each sale and the total amount of money received by said machine for dispensing a product, reader means for retrieving information stored in said electronic means and for programming said electronic means for certain functions, computer means, shuttle means for interfacing said reader and said computer whereby data retrieved from dispensing means may be processed, said electronic means including a secure code to identify the machine, and said reader including a secure code inputted by the user to activate the same. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
-
Specification