Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Bucket
Patent
1997-07-23
1999-03-23
Bidwell, James R.
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Bucket
198712, B65G 4740
Patent
active
058847529
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to an elevator system, and more particularly to apparatus for conveying material between a lower station and an upper station.
According to the invention, there is provided apparatus for conveying material between a lower station and an upper station, comprising a bucket for containing material to be conveyed; a guide channel between the upper station and the lower station; a lower guide peg attached to a lower part of the bucket and arranged to slide along the guide channel; an upper guide peg attached to an upper part of the bucket and arranged to slide along the guide channel; means for driving the bucket between the lower station and the upper station; and a deflector guide branching from the guide channel for guiding one of the guide pegs away from the guide channel while the other guide peg remains in the guide channel, thereby causing the bucket to pivot about the said other guide peg and tip out material contained therein.
The apparatus according to the invention is particularly, but not exclusively, suitable for incorporation in an amusement machine. The bucket may be used, for example, for conveying coins, coin-like tokens, balls or other small articles which are used in the amusement machine. In a typical case, coins are transported from a lower location in the machine to a hopper at an upper location.
In one embodiment, the bucket is used to convey material from a lower station to an upper station. The lower guide peg is adapted to remain in the guide channel and to act as a pivot or hinge for the bucket. The upper guide peg is in the form of a wheel to assist in movement along the deflector guide. The deflector guide itself extends upwardly and outwardly from the guide channel at a location between the lower station and the upper station. Thus, as the bucket is raised from the lower station, the upper guide wheel travels initially along the guide channel, and then away from the guide channel along the deflector guide, thus causing the bucket to pivot about the hinge. The process is then reversed to return the bucket to the lower station. The bucket is driven by engagement between the hinge and a moving belt which is arranged between the lower station and the upper station, and which can be driven either upwardly or downwardly.
Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an amusement machine incorporating an elevator system according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a front elevation of an elevator system according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the elevator system of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic section on line A--A of FIG. 2, showing the bucket in the lower position; and
FIG. 5 corresponds to FIG. 4, but with the bucket in the upper position.
FIG. 1 illustrates an amusement machine of the type in which the player projects coins onto a moving belt. Depending on where the coins land on the belt, the player may win a prize, which may consist of a payout of coins from the machine. A coin entry aiming system 1 is provided, by means of which the player projects coins onto a conveyor belt 2, the upper surface of which travels continuously towards the player. Coins fall off the front end of the belt and are received by a coin detection system 3, from which they pass to a diverter unit 4. The diverter unit 4 will pass coins either to a cash box 5 or to a payout hopper 7. Coins are only passed to the cash box when the payout hopper is full. The coin detection system, diverter unit and cash box are situated in the lower part of the machine, but the payout hopper is in the upper part of the machine. An elevator system 6 is therefore provided for receiving coins from the diverter unit 4 and transporting them upwardly to the payout hopper 7. When the player wins a prize, coins are released from the payout hopper 7 and pass along a downwardly sloping payout surface 8, from which they can be retrieved by the player.
The elevator system is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2 to 5. The a
REFERENCES:
patent: 1550891 (1925-08-01), Eck
patent: 2280941 (1942-04-01), Adams
patent: 3942663 (1976-03-01), Wentzel
Crompton Gordan
Osborn Simon
Bidwell James R.
Cromptons Leisure Machines Limited
Tran Khoi H.
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