Coin handling – Miscellaneous
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-23
2001-01-30
Bartuska, F. J. (Department: 3652)
Coin handling
Miscellaneous
C194S202000, C250S221000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179704
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to coin dispensing apparatus that can dispense coins or tokens from a bulk storage container, and more particularly to a security system for preventing theft.
2. Description of Related Art
Various types of coin dispensing apparatus have been used in a wide variety of machines such as amusement, gambling and product dispensing devices. The term coin is generically used to include monetary coins of various values, tokens, medallions, etc. Frequently these coin dispensers will receive an initial charge of coins in a bulk form that can be stored in a container or hopper so that the individual coins can be segregated and dispensed through a discharge chute. Additionally, such coin dispensers frequently accept coins through a delivery slot which can be added to the bulk coin supply.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,433 discloses an example of one type of coin dispensing apparatus. As shown in
FIG. 4
, a vertical supporting stand
1
mounts a rotary disc supporting plate
2
. A hopper head
3
is connected to supporting plate
2
by bolts
4
to form a hopper
5
for holding a bulk supply of coins.
Mounted within the hopper
5
is a rotary disc
6
which is rotably supported on the inclined supporting plate
2
. Rotary disc
6
is provided on its peripheral portion
6
a
with a plurality of coin engaging projections, such as pins
8
. Concentrically overlaying the top surface of the rotary disc
2
is a central plate or disc
9
which, along with the pins
8
, define a plurality of coin receiving spaces on the rotary disc
2
. These coin receiving spaces pick up coins from the lower portion of the hopper
5
and deliver them to an upper delivery zone
7
for dispensing. A delivery knife
10
is secured to the supporting plate
2
so that the top surface of the knife point
10
a
is tangential to the upper periphery
9
a
of the central disc
9
. Thereby coins carried by the pins
8
are transferred from the upper periphery
9
a
onto the delivery knife
10
to pass a coin into a discharge chute
11
. A knife point portion
10
a
of delivery knife
10
has a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the coin being dispensed. A coin discharging rail
10
b
is inclined downwards within the discharge chute
11
. Mounted above the delivery knife
10
is a counter roller
13
which is rotably supported on the free end of a spring loaded rocker arm
12
. A switch is activated by a coin passing between the delivery knife
10
and the counter roller
13
to indicate a discharge of a coin. Also, in the upper delivery zone there is an antidoubling means or wiper
14
for controlling the coins passing to the discharge chute
11
. The wiper
14
can be made of a sheet of elastomer material which is secured to a mount piece
16
on the supporting plate
2
together with a deflecting metal sheet
17
.
On the central disc
9
are three agitating coil springs
15
which extend radially. This coil springs
15
are resiliently held at the inner end portions on the central disc
9
by an elastomer retainer
30
and a connecting piece
31
. Thus, when central disc
9
rotates, the bulk coins are agitated at the lower portion of the hopper
5
to facilitate picking up the coins which are then delivered to be discharged on a one-by-one basis through the discharge chute
11
.
Since the coin dispensing apparatus stores a large number of coins in a bulk condition inside the hopper
5
, the opening of the hopper
5
is a relatively large area and it permits access to the coins when an outer housing or panel is opened, for example during repairs or for dislodging a coin that may have jammed in the system. Thus, technicians, operators and repair people can have access to the stored coins in bulk form in the hopper
5
during normal maintenance and repair operations, such as the charging of products in a vending machine or the servicing of an amusement or gaming device in a casino. The potential for theft exists in such an environment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a coin dispensing apparatus having a storage member for receiving bulk coins, tokens, medallions, etc. through an upper opening on the storage member. The individual coins can be subsequently dispensed, for example through a computer-based control system that can maintain a count of the coins in the storage member at any particular time. A detector assembly can be operatively positioned relative to the opening of the storage member and can project a beam radiation grid, such as a plurality of light beams of visible or infrared radiation which can be used to detect any intrusion of an unwarranted object, such as a hand into the storage member.
A plurality of light emitting diodes and corresponding light sensors can be aligned across the periphery or perimeter of the opening on the storage member. The resulting plurality of light beams form a grid pattern of a predetermined size, so that if, for example, a hand is inserted into the hopper a predetermined number of sensors will be activated and the computer control system can then poll the sensors and compare the number of light beams in the grid interrupted by a hand with a predetermined stored value and if the predetermined value is matched or exceeded, an alarm device can then be activated to indicate an unauthorized intrusion into the stored coins. The alarm can be audio/visual or silent and can be integrated, for example, with the security system of an amusement or gambling establishment.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4589433 (1986-05-01), Abe
patent: 5281809 (1994-01-01), Anderson et al.
patent: 5467857 (1995-11-01), Takemoto
patent: 5531640 (1996-07-01), Inoue
Asahi Seiko Co. Ltd.
Bartuska F. J.
Price and Gess
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