Check-actuated control mechanisms – Control mechanism actuated by check – other than coin – which... – By pliant currency
Patent
1993-06-04
1995-10-31
Bartuska, F. J.
Check-actuated control mechanisms
Control mechanism actuated by check, other than coin , which...
By pliant currency
194317, G07D 508, G07F 704
Patent
active
054621496
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to money validators, such as coin validators.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known to provide coin validators which store data defining individual sets of ranges or "windows" the validators being arranged to test items to determine whether they have properties falling within any one of a plurality of sets of windows. If the properties are all found to lie within the windows of a particular set, the validator issues a signal indicating that a valid coin of a particular denomination has been tested.
It is common for such validators to be capable of validating any of a plurality of different denominations of coins. It is often desirable to provide means for preventing the validator from accepting coins of a specific denomination. For this purpose, validators have been provided with individual switches each associated with a respective coin denomination. The switches can be operated to control which denominations are accepted by the validator. The provision of the switches adds to the expense of the validator, occupies valuable space and renders the setting-up of the validator more troublesome in its design. It is also necessary to ensure that the engineer setting-up the validator knows the relationship between the switches and the respective coin denominations.
It is also desirable in some situations to be able to vary the ranges for one or more particular coin denominations. For example, it may be found that genuine coins of a particular denomination tend to get rejected by the validator. To avoid this problem, it may be necessary to widen one or more of the windows in the set associated with that denomination. Alternatively, it may be necessary to narrow one or more of the windows if it is found that counterfeit coins are being erroneously accepted as coins of that denomination. It would be possible to provide further switches to allow for these modifications, but this would further exacerbate the problems mentioned above.
It has been proposed (see British Patent Application No. GB-A-2238152 to store in a validator sets of windows associated with counterfeit coins. If an item is tested and found to have properties lying within the windows of a particular set, then that item is rejected, even if its properties also lie within the windows of a set associated with a genuine coin denomination. These "rejection windows"enable the validator more readily to reject specific types of counterfeit money without significantly preventing acceptance of genuine coins. It would be desirable also to provide a simple means for controlling whether or not the rejection windows are used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a money validator having manually operable switch means enabling the validator to be switched between a testing mode and a teach mode, characterised in that the validator is responsive in the teach mode to measured properties of a tested item so as to select a set of predetermined ranges corresponding to a particular money denomination and to control whether that set is to be effective in the testing mode of the validator, wherein in the testing mode the validator is arranged to validate money by comparing measured properties thereof against the ranges of the set, thereby either to enable or disable acceptance of items of money of that denomination.
Thus, it is necessary only to provide a means for switching to a teach mode, and thereafter money can be inserted into the validator in order to cause the set of ranges associated with that type of money either to be enabled or disabled during the normal testing mode of the validator. Similarly, the ranges associated with a particular denomination can be switched from narrow to wide, or vice versa, simply by inserting the correct money denomination while the validator is in the teach mode. Also, the rejection windows associated with a particular type of counterfeit money can be enabled or disabled by insertion of the counterfeit money during the teach mode.
Accordingl
REFERENCES:
patent: 4572349 (1986-02-01), Furuya et al.
patent: 5167313 (1992-12-01), Dobbins et al.
Campbell Bernard J.
Waine Peter J.
Bartuska F. J.
Mars Incorporated
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