Coin handling – Deliverer – Rotary
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-27
2003-05-06
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3653)
Coin handling
Deliverer
Rotary
C198S540000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06558245
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention discloses a high capacity, high speed coin dispensing assembly capable of ejecting coins or tokens of a disk like form from a hopper containing bulk loose coins and in particular a low coefficient of friction surface for sloping walls of the hopper to promote the transport of the coins.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of coin ejecting devices have been used in vending machines, gaming machines, arcade games, etc. Generally, at least one storage or hopper tank is provided with an opening at the top for receiving bulk coins and an exit opening for introducing the coins into a coin segregating and dispensing member so that individual coins can be removed from the hopper and dispensed at a high speed. Coins used in this field include not only monetary coins, but medals, tokens, medallions and other usually circular disk components that represent a unit of value to the user. For example, tokens can be dispensed on arcade games to be redeemed for additional rides and prizes, while actual monetary coins are frequently dispensed in slot machines in a gaming environment.
An example of one form of a coin dispensing device can be seen in Japanese laid open patent publication no. 8-110960. Referring specifically to
FIGS. 9-11
, a coin dispensing device
10
contains a cylindrical hopper tank
11
with an open mouth for receiving either an individual or bulk supply of coins. Mounted adjacent the bottom of a cylindrical hopper tank
11
is a coin delivery mechanism
12
that can be driven by a electric motor
16
through a speed reduction gear assembly
17
so that an output shaft
18
will rotate a coin feed disk member
14
. The driving motor
16
and the speed reduction gear assembly
17
are fixed to an inclined base
15
as shown in
FIG. 11. A
guard plate
19
extends partly over the lower portion of the hopper tank
11
in order to partially cover the coin feed disk
14
to prevent a clogging of coins. The guard plate
19
also constitutes a sloping portion
19
A and can be fixed within the hopper tank
11
by a hinge
20
. The guard plate
19
can be rotated from an upper to a lower position in
FIG. 10
to permit surface access to the coin feed disk
14
. The guard plate
19
can be molded of a resin material and as seen in
FIG. 11
provides a exit opening
21
to permit the passage of coin C to be able to reach the coin feed disk
14
.
The coin feed disk
14
will have a plurality of coin receiving holes that are dimensioned to receive the coins to be dispensed. The coin receiving holes are usually formed in a outer peripheral portion of the disk
14
at fixed intervals. A coin C that passes through the opening
21
will enter a coin receiving hole and then subsequently with the rotation of the coin feed disk
14
can be discharged through a slot to the outside of mechanism. The guard plate
19
prevents a jamming of an excess of coins which could occur if the entire bulk of coins bear against the surface of the coin feed disk
14
. As shown in
FIGS. 9 and 10
, the hopper tank
11
has an upper rectangular portion
11
U and a lower cylindrical portion
11
L with an intermediate slopping portion
11
M. The hopper tank
11
basically proceeds from a larger upper opening area to progressively become smaller to accommodate the transportation of coins to the coin feed disk
14
. As shown in
FIG. 10
, a bracket division or portion
19
F can contact the slope
11
R of the intermediate
11
M portion of the hopper. These dimensions are designed to prevent obstructions of the stored coins as they progress within the hopper. The bracket portion
19
F provides a fixed distance between the tip
19
T of the guard plate
19
and the slope
11
F of the intermediate portion
11
M of the hopper. The hopper tank
11
can be formed of a plastic resin.
As shown in
FIG. 11
, a coin transport carrier
22
which can constitute a belt can deliver coins that have been deposited within the machine for storage within the hopper tank
11
. The coin C is delivered by a gravity feed and the slopes of the intermediate portion of the hopper
11
M are designed to facilitate movements of the coin C to the coin delivery disk
14
. Coins that have been stored in bulk on sloped portions for example, of
11
E and
11
F permit a gravity feed of the coins to the exit opening
21
. Referring for example to
FIG. 10
, an opening
23
can be provided on a slope
11
F of the hopper tank
11
to permit coin observation or detection. Additionally, electrodes
24
A and
24
B can also project within the hopper tank to determine the level of fill of bulk coins within the hopper. The design of the hopper surface is an attempt to align the coin as it extends through the opening
21
with coin receiving holes in the coin feed disk
14
. The exit opening
21
assists in this alignment procedure, but as shown in
FIG. 11
, can create a problem in that coins can be jammed in the exit opening
21
to create a blockage which is sometimes referred to as a bridge phenomena in this industry. When the bridge phenomena arises, the coins can not reach the coin feed disk
14
and consequently, coins cannot be dispensed. This renders the machine inoperative and requires service.
It has been found that when the hopper tank
11
is made of resin, that a clogging problem arising from the bridge phenomena can occur approximately once out of every 20,000 coins being delivered. As the dispensing speed of coins is increased in this industry, this creates a problem that can be expensive because of the maintenance labor cost and down time of the machine.
There have been various attempts to prevent clogging within hoppers such as providing agitators that will rotate at the bottom of a hopper tank and thereby agitate the coins C. Such an agitation can address the problem of bridge phenomena. The cost of adding an additional agitator member increases the overall cost of the coin dispensing apparatus, removes some storage space, and adds an additional moving part that can be subject to mechanical failure.
Thus, there is still a demand in the prior art to try and improve the dispensing of coins in bulk from a hopper in an economical and efficient manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present inventions provides a coin dispensing hopper assembly that can store and dispense coins in bulk by a gravity feed of the coins to a coin feed mechanism that can segregate and dispense individual coins. The hopper assembly includes hopper walls having a sloping downward configuration to enable a gravity feed of the coins. At least one wall surface will be provided with a low friction structure for contacting the coins as they move toward the coin feed mechanism.
In one embodiment of the invention, a plastic liner member can be fastened to the wall of the hopper assembly by adhesive or two-way tape to provide the low friction wall surface. The plastic liner member can include graphite particles on its surface for contacting the coins with the graphite particles capable of having a Rockwell Hardness substantially higher than that of any metal powder scraped from the coins. A plastic liner member can include a synthetic polyamide material that can be extruded with the graphite particles so that the coefficient of friction of the plastic liner member can be in the range of 0.16 to 0.30. The low friction wall surface can include a plurality of raised protrusions of graphite particles. An alternative embodiment can have a low friction wall surface formed of a stainless steel with dimpled protrusions of a configuration substantially smaller than the coin to thereby provide a transport of the coin body over the substrate surface of the wall.
Thus, the present invention can provide an improved coin dispensing hopper assembly for storing and dispensing coins having walls that slope downward to enable a gravity feed of coins to a coin feed mechanism. The coin feed mechanism can segregate and dispense individual coins. The coins are delivered to the coin feed mechanism by transport across
Abe Hiroshi
Kotake Yoshio
Asahi Seiko Co., LTD
Beauchaine Mark J.
Walsh Donald P.
LandOfFree
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