COIN ELEVATOR MECHANISM

Abstract

A coin elevator mechanism (1) comprising: a first housing wall (2) and an opposing second housing wall (3); a coin ingress aperture (4); a coin egress aperture (6) positioned above said coin ingress aperture (4); and a continuous articulated conveyor belt (7) including a plurality of link members (8), the continuous articulated conveyor belt (7) is arranged to provide communication between said coin ingress aperture (4) and said coin egress aperture (6); characterised in that the coin ingress aperture (4) is located in the first housing wall (2) and the coin egress aperture (6) is located in the second housing wall (3), and in that at least one of the plurality of link members (8) includes a coin scoop projection (12) extending therefrom, said coin scoop projection (12) configured to entrain a plurality of coins input via the coin ingress aperture (4) to the coin egress aperture (6).

Claims

1. A coin elevator mechanism comprising: a first housing wall and an opposing second housing wall; a coin ingress aperture; a coin egress aperture positioned above said coin ingress aperture; and a continuous articulated conveyor belt including a plurality of link members, the continuous articulated conveyor belt is arranged to provide communication between said coin ingress aperture and said coin egress aperture; characterised in that the coin ingress aperture is located in the first housing wall and the coin egress aperture is located in the second housing wall, and in that at least one of the plurality of link members includes a coin scoop projection extending therefrom, said coin scoop projection configured to entrain a plurality of coins input via the coin ingress aperture to the coin egress aperture.

2. A coin elevator mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coin scoop projection forms a coin pocket extending between the first housing wall and the second housing wall as the coin scoop projection travels between the coin ingress aperture to the coin egress aperture under operation of the continuous articulated conveyor belt.

3. A coin elevator mechanism as claimed in claim 2, wherein the coin pocket thus formed is inclined away from the first housing wall and towards the second housing wall.

4. A coin elevator mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein the coin scoop projection is arranged to slope away from the coin ingress aperture when proximal to it, and said coin scoop projection is arranged to slope towards the coin egress aperture when proximal to said coin egress aperture.

5. A coin elevator mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first housing wall and the second housing wall are substantially parallel to one another.

6. A coin elevator mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coin scoop projection is positioned in an inclined manner with respect to both the transverse and the longitudinal axes of the at least one link member.

7. A coin elevator mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coin scoop projection includes a rim portion, said rim portion disposed at a position distal from the at least one link member from which the coin scoop projection extends, and said rim portion extends at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the at least one link member.

8. A coin elevator mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of link members includes a coin scoop projection.

9. A coin elevator mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first housing wall and the second housing wall delimit and form a coin transport chamber.

10. A coin elevator mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coin elevator mechanism includes a coin receptacle communicating with said coin ingress aperture.

11. A coin elevator mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein coins transported from the ingress aperture are outputted via the egress aperture under the action of gravity.

Description

[0019] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the coin elevator mechanism of the present invention;

[0021] FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the left-hand side of the coin elevator mechanism of FIG. 1;

[0022] FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the right-hand side of the coin elevator mechanism of FIG. 1;

[0023] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the coin elevator mechanism with a first housing wall removed;

[0024] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the continuous continuous articulated conveyor belt of the coin elevator mechanism in isolation;

[0025] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a link member of the continuous continuous articulated conveyor belt;

[0026] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, a coin elevator mechanism 1 comprises a first housing wall 2, a second housing wall 3, a coin receptacle 5 communicating with a coin ingress aperture 4, and a drive motor 9.

[0027] The first housing wall 2 and the second housing wall 3 combine to form a mechanism housing enclosing a continuous articulated conveyor belt 7.

[0028] The continuous articulated conveyor belt 7 comprises a plurality of interconnected link members 8. Several of the link members 8 include a scoop projection 12. The continuous articulated conveyor belt 7 of link members 8 forms a coin paternoster. The figures show a continuous articulated conveyor belt 7 that includes six link members 8 with a coin scoop projection 12. However, the reader should be aware that the continuous articulated conveyor belt may comprises any number of coin scoop projections 12 depending on the given situation and operating requirements of the coin elevator mechanism 1.

[0029] In operation, the continuous articulated conveyor belt 7 is driven by the motor 9 via motor drive cog 9′ and drive transfer cog 10. A succession of belt drive teeth 11 are located on the outer peripheral surface of each link member 8.

[0030] The drive transfer cog 10 engages with successive belt drive teeth 11 to drive the continuous articulated conveyor belt 7 in a clockwise direction.

[0031] Each coin scoop projection 12 extends from a respective link member 8 in a plane that is inclined to the plane defined by the link member 8.

[0032] The coin scoop projection 12 extends obliquely at an angle to the transverse axis of the respective link member 8. In operation, the coin scoop projection 12 travels in clockwise direction from a position adjacent to the coin ingress aperture 4 [see FIG. 2] to a position adjacent to the coin egress aperture 6 [see FIG. 3].

[0033] In the position shown in FIG. 2, the coin scoop projection 12 is inclined away from the coin ingress aperture 4 and towards the second housing wall 3. In the position shown in FIG. 3, the coin scoop projection 12 is inclined towards the coin egress aperture 6 and away from the first housing wall 2.

[0034] In operation, as the coin scoop projection 12 is transported between the coin ingress aperture 4 and the coin egress aperture 6, it forms with the first housing wall 2 and the second housing wall 3 a coin pocket extending between the first housing wall 2 and the second housing wall 3. The coin pocket forms a sloping channel that is inclined away from the first housing wall 2 and is inclined towards the second housing wall 3.

[0035] A bulk supply of randomly orientated coins enters the coin receptacle 5 and fall under gravity towards the coin ingress aperture 4. As the coins move through the coin ingress aperture 4, they are swept up by a passing coin scoop projection 12 and transported upwards in a clockwise manner towards the coin egress aperture 6. The number of coins carried by a coin scoop projection 12 on each pass of the ingress aperture will depend on the throughput rate of the incoming supply of coins and the speed at which the continuous articulated conveyor belt 7 is being driven at the time. However, in any given operating condition the coin scoop projection 12 will capture a plurality of randomly orientated coins and transport them to the coin egress aperture.

[0036] With reference to FIG. 6, a coin scoop projection 12 extends away from a respective link member 8 in a substantially orthogonal manner and forms an upwardly inclined lip portion 13. The curved lip portion 13 extends in a substantially orthogonal direction to the plane defined by the coin scoop projection 12, and it extends in a substantially parallel direction to the plane defined by the respective link member 8.

[0037] The coin scoop projection 12 is inclined with respect to the transverse axis of the link member 6, and the lip portion 13 extends in a direction parallel to that of the respective coin scoop projection 12. The lip portion 13 projects upwardly out of the plane defined by the scoop projection 12.

[0038] In operation, a coin pocket is formed that is delimited at its transverse extremities by the first housing wall 2 and the second housing wall 3 [not shown]. In a longitudinal direction, the coin pocket is delimited by the upper surface of the coin scoop projection 12 and the respective lip portion 13. The coin pocket defined in this way forms a bucket-like cavity configured to entrain and transport coins in an upward direction when the continuous articulated conveyor belt is driven by the motor 9 in a clockwise direction.

[0039] Although not shown, the coin elevator mechanism includes two sensor arrangements. A first sensor is located proximal to the coin ingress aperture 4 and consists of a magnetic inductance sensor configured to detect the movement of coins within the vicinity of the coin ingress aperture 4. At the end of a lifting operation, if the sensor detects the presence of coins in the vicinity of the coin ingress aperture 4, the motor 9 will reverse for a short period of time to ensure any stray coins are collected in the lower extremity of the mechanism proximal to the aperture 4. The motor 9 then drives the belt upwards to ensure that all stray coins are ejected from the coin egress aperture.

[0040] A second sensor is disposed proximal to the coin egress aperture 6. This sensor is an optical sensor configured to detect coin overflow events. When the light path of the optical sensor is blocked for more than a second, the motor 9 is switched off to prevent coin overload.

[0041] Advantageously, the coin elevator mechanism of the present invention provides a mechanism that is adapted to lift a plurality of randomly orientated coins at the same time. The mechanism does not require a diverter or other such device to remove the coins from the elevator mechanism; coins exit the mechanism via the egress aperture under the influence of gravity only.