FR2796628A1 - HOPPER FOR PROCESSING COINS SUCH AS COINS - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a hopper (1) for processing coins (17) such as coins comprising an inlet part (2) coins from a collection terminal and an ejection part (3) transmitting the coins (17) to a pneumatic conveying installation after their treatment by means of a honeycomb rotary plate. According to the invention, the hopper (1) comprises sealing means between the intake part (2) and the part ejection (3). Application to the transport of funds by pneumatic route and in particular to the transport of coins.

Description

I The present invention relates to a hopper for processing

  coins such as coins.

  This hopper could be used in various fields and mainly in the field of transport of funds by pneumatic way in particular for the transport of coins. Such cash transport facilities are particularly advantageous at road toll stations or for the transfer of parts into machines

casino slot.

  The invention may however find other applications outside the transport of coins, and other types of coins, in the broadest sense of the term, may

  fall within the scope of application of the invention.

  Currently known devices for the

  pneumatic conveying of metal parts.

  This conveyance is most often carried out between collection terminals and a secure room receiving the coins. Document WO 93/18487 presents a device in which the coins corresponding to a payment, thrown into a hopper, fall onto a blister disc and are each housed in one of the blisters. If two parts are superimposed in a cell, the upper part is deflected outwards by a notch then lifted by the inclined bottom of this notch to be finally ejected from the cell. The pieces are then, depending on the result of a detection, oriented towards one or the other of two compartments of an annular display which surrounds the separation disc. At the end of each payment, the annular display rotates a fraction of a turn to bring the two compartments into a presentation position, while two empty compartments appear to receive the next payment, and the pieces corresponding to the previous payment arrive at a position

  transmission for example to collection boxes.

  The mobile part of the display unit is driven by its radially outer edge. The central part comprising the separating disc and its drive motor can tilt down to eject foreign bodies. In the event of a questionable item, or if the movable part of the display is being rotated, the item is returned to the detector instead

to go to the display.

  This document does not provide for a sealing system in the

hopper.

  Thus, if it is desired to carry out pneumatic conveying of the parts downstream of the hopper, an additional element is

  necessary to open and close the pneumatic track.

  In fact, the pneumatic conveying path cannot be left perpetually open, given that this would greatly harm the suction force produced inside

  the pneumatic conveying system.

  The use of an additional element to ensure sealing allowing the closing or opening at will of the track

tire is heavy and expensive.

  Document WO 96/38823 is also known, which presents a pneumatic conveyor for small metal parts. The pneumatic conveyor is characterized by the fact that: several collection terminals are connected on the same main line; each collection terminal is equipped with an introduction device with watertight opening and closing each time parts pass through the main line; one or more main lines are connected to each means acting as a separator (air / parts); each line is a tube, the diameter of which is defined as a function of the diameter of the pieces to be conveyed pneumatically, so as to make the position in the tube of a coin which is momentarily stationary unstable to favor its oscillation . The invention applies in particular to the conveying of coins for collection terminals such as slot machines, motorway tolls. The device described in this document applies particularly to pneumatic conveying. However, it requires an additional valve comprising a

  sleeve capable of closing or opening the pneumatic track.

  This system requires management of the opening and

closing the valve.

  Furthermore, it may present the risks of blockage or poor sealing in the closed position, in particular by

fatigue of the flexible sleeve.

  Consequently, all of the hopper systems allowing

  pneumatic conveying is not entirely satisfactory.

  Sealing them requires costly additional elements, the operation of which is not without drawbacks.

in the time.

  The object of the invention is to remedy the drawbacks of

current devices.

  One of the first objects of the invention is to ensure within the hopper a seal between the part connected to the collection terminal and the part connected to the installation of

pneumatic conveying itself.

  The invention also provides various improvements to the

hopper operation.

  In this context, it has the advantage of presenting means for detecting the presence of parts avoiding operation.

  rotation of the rotating element within the hopper.

  The invention comprises on this subject particular detection means ensuring a significant improvement in the

  detection of the presence of a part.

  Another object of the invention is to avoid shocks of parts when they fall into the hopper on a moving member. The hopper has for this purpose a neutral impact zone ensuring the damping of the parts before their passage to the

level of the rotating part.

  The hopper presented here also makes it possible to improve disassembly. Indeed, it sometimes appears necessary to dismantle the

  hopper especially for cleaning.

  In this case, the current hoppers require a

  disassembly, most often using tools.

  On the contrary, the invention allows rapid disassembly by

  simple unlocking of a hook.

  The invention also makes it possible to avoid certain blockages

  untimely by the evacuation of solid foreign bodies.

  It also ensures the evacuation of liquids which can be accidentally or maliciously introduced into the

hopper.

  Other goals and advantages will emerge during the

  description which follows which is however only given as

  indicative. The present invention relates to a hopper for processing coins such as coins, comprising a part for admitting coins from a collection terminal and an ejection part transmitting the coins to a pneumatic conveying installation after their treatment by the through a honeycomb rotary table, characterized in that it comprises sealing means between the intake part and

the ejection part.

  The hopper according to the invention may be presented in the embodiments set out below: - the sealing means comprise a lower plate, located in the ejection part, on which the rotary plate is applied; - The sealing means further comprise an upper plate applying to the turntable; - The lower plate comprises at least one orifice for the passage of the parts towards the conveyor installation - the upper plate comprises at least one lumen for the passage of the parts on the rotary plate; - the contact surface of the lower plate with the rotary plate is polished to optimize its surface condition and promote sealing; - the bottom plate has a hard coating ply with a polished face to make the contact surface with the turntable and eliminate any wear on the bottom plate; the turntable is pressed on the bottom plate by the depression generated by the installation conveying in the ejection part, in order to promote sealing; the space between the upper plate and the lower plate is only a few tenths of a millimeter greater than the thickness of the plate in order to promote sealing by rolling the air leakage (by

  example 2 to 10 tenths of a millimeter).

  - the lower and upper plates, and the turntable are oriented in an inclined plane so that the parts are applied to the lower edge of the light; - the lower section receives a coin presence sensor; - the parts presence sensor comprises two strips placed on either side of the low point of the lower edge of the light, said strips each having a boss for bringing the piece to the central position in order to ensure electrical contact between the slats; - The upper plate includes an impact zone allowing the damping of the fall of the parts without shock on a moving element; - the intake part comprises: - a funnel for guiding the parts capable of being fixed in the lower part of the collection terminal, - a bowl for accumulating the parts secured to the rest of the hopper, - assembly means funnel and bowl allowing easy disassembly of the hopper; - The assembly means consist of a latching device on the rear part of the bowl and the funnel, and a locking hook on the front part; - It includes a foreign body discharge hole, the hole being located at the bottom edge of the light and angularly offset from the bottom point in the direction of rotation of the turntable; - It includes a liquid discharge hole located at the low point of the light; - the orifice and the light do not communicate and are

  diametrically opposed to increase the seal.

  The attached drawings are given as indicative and non-limiting examples. They represent a preferred embodiment according to the invention. They will allow

easily understand the invention.

  FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view capable of presenting the various constituent elements of the hopper according to the invention. Figure 2 shows a side view of the hopper in a

particular embodiment.

  Figure 3 is a top view of the hopper in the mode

  shown in Figure 2.

  Figure 4 is a plan view of the hopper

  corresponding to that of the turntable.

  As previously indicated, the hopper 1 presented here can be applied in the field of slot machines or at toll stations for the transport of funds by pneumatic means. In this context, the hopper 1 will be placed in an intermediate position between a collection terminal and a

  S installation 4 for pneumatic conveying.

  It is at the POS terminal that

  introduction of parts 17 by the user.

  The pneumatic conveying installation 4 is

  partially illustrated in Figure 1.

  There is indeed a pipe 26 for recovering parts. Such pipes 26 will for example be fixed to the downstream part

  from hopper 1 through clamps 25.

  The installation 4 allows, by suction, the transport of the parts 17 from the hopper 1 to the protected room where the

parts will be stored.

  Generally, the hopper 1 ensures the treatment of

parts 17.

  The term “processing” means various operations necessary following the grouped or at least irregular introduction of coins 17 within the hopper 1 via the collection terminal. The treatment may in particular consist in the individual evacuation of the pieces 17 arriving in a disorderly manner

in the hopper 1.

  Processing also consists of sorting between parts

  17 and any other objects to be removed.

  The processing can also consist of counting the pieces. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the hopper 1 essentially comprises an intake part 2 and a part

eject 3.

  The intake part 2 is located substantially downstream of the

collection terminal.

  It ensures the reception of coins 17 within the hopper

  1 as also shown in FIG. 2.

  The ejection part 3 is located upstream of the installation

4 pneumatic conveying.

  This is the output from the hopper 1. Part 3 ensures the ejection of the parts 17 after their treatment. To avoid loss of suction within the pneumatic conveying installation 4, it is necessary to close off the parts starting paths when no part

is not to be transported.

  Indeed, keeping all the departure areas of the installation permanently open would amount to a loss of

  significant power at the suction level.

  Consequently, it is necessary to provide an opening of the installation 4 when parts are to be ejected and a closing of the installation 4 when no part is to be ejected. To do this, according to the invention, the hopper comprises sealing means between the intake part 2 and the part

eject 3.

  In this way, no loss of aspiration occurs at the level of the pipe 26 of the installation 4 due to the setting of ambient pressure at the level of the collection terminal or the

hopper 1.

  The hopper according to the invention further comprises a tray

  rotary 5 honeycomb appearing in particular in Figure 1.

  The turntable participates in the processing of parts.

  The cells 7 which it comprises allow the introduction of the parts 17 and their individual transfer to the part

eject 3.

  During this transfer, a count can also be made by means of a detector shown in item 27 in

figure 1.

  The turntable 5 is placed in the intermediate position

  between the intake part 2 and the ejection part 3.

  According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the rotary plate 5 participates in the formation of the sealing means. To do this, the turntable 5 is applied to a

  lower plate 6 located in the ejection part 3.

  The exploded view of Figure 1 perfectly presents this

  application on the bottom plate 6.

  The contacting of the plate 5 and the lower plate 6 allows the creation of a sealing barrier between the

  intake part 2 and ejection part 3.

  According to an embodiment also illustrated in FIG. 1, the lower plate 6 comprises one or more orifices 9 allowing the evacuation of the parts 17 towards the installation 4 of

pneumatic conveying.

  Figure 1 illustrates an orifice 9 consisting of a

  passage to installation 4 via a connector 31.

  By the cooperation of the rotary plate 5 and the lower plate 6, a seal is produced between the part

  intake 2 and ejection part 3.

  An air passage however remains possible when a cell 7 of the turntable 5 is located opposite the orifice 9. However, this configuration is particular and only occurs at certain moments in the rotation of the turntable. In addition, a complete parts conveying device generally comprises several hoppers each connected to a collection terminal and to the pneumatic conveying installation 4. In this context, most of the hoppers 1 will generally be in the sealing position, which ensures operation

normal of the general device.

  The hopper 1 presented here therefore ensures, whatever its configuration, a good quality result as regards sealing

  of the pneumatic conveying installation 4.

  In fact, the suction losses are either zero or too small to call into question the effectiveness of the

suction power.

  In a particular embodiment, the sealing means further comprise an upper plate 8

  applying to the turntable 5.

  The exploded view of FIG. 1 also presents this possibility. The rotary plate 5 is framed there between the plate

  lower 6 and upper plate 8.

  Sealing is only better achieved. Air leakage is limited by the reduced clearance between the plate and the plates

lower and upper.

  Preferably, the upper plate has a light 10 allowing the passage of the pieces 17 on the tray

rotary 5.

  Light 10 can be presented in different forms

  and in particular under that illustrated in FIG. 4.

  In a particular embodiment, the contact surface of the lower plate 6 with the rotary plate 5

  undergoes a polishing in order to optimize its surface condition.

  In this way, the application of the rotary plate 5 on the lower plate 6 will be carried out according to a better contact.

  ensuring greater sealing.

  In another embodiment, the lower plate 6 is composed in two parts and comprises a covering ply 11 providing the polished and hard contact surface

with the turntable 5.

  The presence of a covering ply 11 is illustrated in

figure 1.

  It will be noted that the combination of a rotary plate 5 with a lower plate 6 and possibly an upper plate

  7 is particularly advantageous.

  Indeed, these elements allow on the one hand the processing of parts 17, in particular their individual sorting. On the other hand, they provide sealing within the

hopper 1.

  In addition, taking into account the suction current existing in the pneumatic conveying installation 4, the rotary plate 5

  is constantly pressed against the bottom plate 6.

  In this way, effective and regular contact with the tray

  rotary 5 on the lower plate 6 is produced.

  In a particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the lower 6 and upper 8 plates as well as the

  rotary table 5 are oriented in an inclined plane.

  This inclination is represented by the management

tilt 29 in Figure 2.

  By means of the inclination, the parts 17 passing through the light 10 will be applied to the lower edge 12 of this

light.

  This positioning of the parts 17 is illustrated in

figure 4.

  Figure 4 also shows the use of a sensor

14 for the presence of parts 17.

  The sensor 14 makes it possible to trigger the rotation of the

  turntable only when the presence of parts is detected.

  In a preferred embodiment, the sensor 14 comprises two strips formed for example in an identical manner and positioned symmetrically around the low point 13 of the

low edge 12 of light 10.

  As shown in FIG. 4, each of the strips 15a, b comprises a boss 16a, 16b, making it possible to bring and hold the piece 17 between the two strips in order to ensure sufficient contact between the piece 17 and each of the strips

a, 15b.

  In this way, when the parts 17 are made of an electrically conductive material, an electrical contact is made and allows the presence of parts to be detected. Given the possible rotation of the turntable 5, the presence detection could be disturbed without

  the use of bosses 16a, 16b.

  As shown in Figure 1, the turntable 5 is

driven by a motorization 28.

  A standard motorization can be used.

  To avoid any impact of the workpiece 17 on the turntable 5, the invention also provides an impact zone 18 such that

shown in Figures 3 and 4.

  This impact zone 18 is positioned on the plate

  upper 8 which is not rotating.

  In this way, the fall of the pieces 17 coming from the collection terminal is damped without

  cause shock to a moving element.

  After depreciation, parts arrive at low speed

  on the turntable 5 by passing through the light 10.

  The circuit followed by the parts 17 is illustrated in the figures

  2, 3 and 4 by successive positions of part 17.

  To improve the possibilities of disassembly and reassembly of the hopper 1, it includes in a mode

  particular embodiment of a funnel 19 and a bowl 20.

  The funnel 19 and the bowl 20 are located in the part

admission 2.

  The funnel 19 allows the parts 17 to be guided.

  It can be fixed in the lower part of the collection terminal. As shown in Figure 1, fastening means 30

  currents such as screws may be used for this purpose.

  The funnel 19 thus fixed can receive the rest of the

  components of the hopper 1.

  The assembly is carried out with the bowl 20 integral with the rest

  of the hopper 1 by means of assembly.

  As illustrated in Figure 2, the assembly means may consist of a latching device 21 located on the rear part of the bowl 20 and the funnel 19 as well as a locking hook 22 present on the front part. Io In this way, the simple unlocking of the hook 22 makes it possible, by tilting the bowl 20, to separate the bowl 20 and

funnel 19.

  In another embodiment, the hopper 1 includes a

  drain 23 for foreign bodies.

  As shown in Figure 4, the hole 23 is located in

  periphery of the light 10 at the level of the lower edge 12.

  The hole 23 is angularly offset relative to the low point 13 so as to combine the effect of the centrifugal force and

of gravity.

  Indeed, foreign bodies will tend by the

  rotation of the plate 5 to be raised slightly.

  During this ascent along the lower edge 12,

  evacuation may be carried out.

  Preferably, the angular offset between the point

  bottom 13 and the discharge hole 23 will be between 0 and 90.

  Preferably, the evacuation hole 23 will be made at

  through lower 6 and upper 8 plates.

  In another embodiment, the hopper 1 comprises a

liquid drain hole 24.

  This hole 24 will allow the evacuation of liquids introduced maliciously or inadvertently through the collection terminal. As illustrated, the liquid discharge hole 24 may

  be located at the low point 13 of light 10.

  As shown in Figure 4, the hole 24 surrounds the low point 13 and is located substantially at the level of the

presence of room 14.

  An example of implementation of the hopper 1 according to the invention is described below. The user, at the level of the collection terminal, introduces one or more pieces 17 which are accepted in the

  hopper 1 through its intake part 2.

  The funnel 19 guides the parts 17.

  These fall into the bowl 20 ensuring their accumulation

if there are many.

  In addition, the funnel 19 allows the orientation of the pieces 17 towards an impact zone 18 ensuring the damping of the pieces 17. Once amortized, the falling of the pieces 17 continues by passing through the light 10. At this level, the parts 17 come into contact with the lower edge 12 of the light 10 and the

turntable 5.

  By the effect of gravity, the pieces 17 are oriented towards

the low point 13 of the section 12.

  At this time, the presence of a part 17 is detected by the

presence sensor 14.

  The rotation of the turntable is then triggered.

  The part 17 is recovered in a cell 7 of the tray

rotary 5.

  During its rotation, the part 17 can be counted

through a detector 27.

  After a certain displacement, the part 17 arrives opposite

  orifice 9 of the bottom plate 6.

  At this level occurs an aspiration generated within

  the pneumatic conveying installation 4.

  The part 17 is recovered in the pipe 26 and transmitted to

the desired destination.

  During all these stages, the cooperation of the turntable and the lower plate 6 and possibly of the plate

  upper 8 seals the hopper 1.

  The suction maintained in installation 4 does not suffer any loss of power. If foreign objects are introduced into the hopper 1, they can be evacuated either through the liquid evacuation hole 24 in the case of liquids, or through the hole

* evacuation 23 in the case of solid foreign bodies.

  If the hopper 1 is blocked despite these precautions, the hopper 1 can easily be opened by the

  through the opening of the hook 22 and the disengagement of the bowl 20 from the funnel 19 at the latching device 21.

  We can use several hoppers 1 as presented to obtain a complete conveying installation and this, avoiding any loss of suction at

  the pneumatic conveying installation 4.

REFERENCES

  1. Hopper 2. Inlet part 3. Ejection part 4. Pneumatic conveying installation 5. Rotary plate 6. Lower plate 7. Cell 8. Upper plate 9. Orifice 10. Light 11. Coating sheet 12. Slice low 13. Low point 14. Sensor a, 15b. Slats 16a, 16b. Bosses 17. Part 18. Impact zone 19. Funnel 20. Bowl 21. Latching device 22. Locking hook 23. Hole for evacuating foreign bodies 24. Hole for evacuating liquids 25. Clamps 26. Pipe 27. Detector 28. Motorization 29. Tilt direction 30. Fixing means 31. Connection

17 2796628

Claims (18)

  1. Hopper (1) for processing coins (17) such as coins, comprising an inlet part (2) coins (17) from a collection terminal and an ejection part (3) transmitting the parts (7) to a pneumatic conveying installation (4) after their treatment by means of a honeycomb rotary plate (5), characterized in that it comprises sealing means between the part   intake (2) and the ejection part (3).   2. hopper (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the sealing means comprise a lower plate (6), located in the ejection part (3), on   which is applied the turntable (5).   3. hopper (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the sealing means further comprise a   upper plate (8) applying to the turntable (5).   4. hopper (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the lower plate (6) comprises at least one orifice (9) for the passage of the parts (17) towards the installation (4) of conveying.   5. hopper (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the upper plate (8) comprises at least one lumen (10) for the passage of the parts (17) on the rotary plate (5).   6. hopper (1) according to claim 2 in combination with   any one of claims 1, 3 to 5, characterized by the fact 18 2796628   that the contact surface of the lower plate (6) with the rotary plate (5) is polished to optimize its state of   surface and promote sealing.   7. hopper (1) according to any one of claims 2,   4 and 6, characterized in that the lower plate (6) comprises a hard coating ply with a polished face (11) to form the contact surface with the rotary plate (5) and remove   any wear on the bottom plate (6).   8. hopper (1) according to any one of claims 2   to 7, characterized in that the rotary plate (5) is pressed against the lower plate (6) by the vacuum generated by the conveying installation (4) in the ejection part (3), in order to promote sealing.   9. Hopper according to any one of claims 2 to 7   characterized in that the space between the upper plate (8) and the lower plate (6) is only a few tenths of a millimeter greater than the thickness of the plate (5) in order to favor   sealing by rolling the air leak.   10. hopper (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the lower (6) and upper (8) plates, and the rotary plate (5) are oriented in an inclined plane so that the parts are applied to the lower edge (12) of the light (10).   11. hopper (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that the lower section (12) receives a sensor (14) of presence of parts.   12. hopper (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that 19 2796628   that the parts presence sensor (14) comprises two strips (15a, 15b) placed on either side of the low point (13) of the lower edge (12) of the light (10), said strips each having a boss (16a, 16b) for bringing the part (17) to the central position in order to ensure contact   electric between the slats (15a, 15b).   13. hopper (1) according to claim 3 in combination   with any of the other claims, characterized   by the fact that the upper plate (8) comprises an impact zone (18) allowing the damping of the fall of the parts (17)   without shock on a moving element.   14. hopper (1) according to any one of claims 1   13, characterized in that the inlet part (2) comprises: a funnel (19) for guiding the parts (17) capable of being fixed in the lower part of the collection terminal, - a bowl (20) accumulation of parts integral with the rest of the hopper (1), - means for assembling the funnel (19) and the bowl   (20) allowing easy disassembly of the hopper (1).   15. hopper (1) according to claim 14, characterized in that the assembly means consist of a latching device (21) on the rear part of the bowl (20) and the funnel (19) , and a locking hook (22) on the front part.   16. hopper (1) according to claim 10 in combination   with any of the other claims, characterized   by the fact that it comprises a discharge hole (23) for foreign bodies, the hole (23) being located at the level of the lower edge (12) of the light (10) and angularly offset from the point   bottom (13) in the direction of rotation of the turntable (5). 2796628   17. hopper (1) according to claim 10 in combination with any one of the other claims, characterized   by the fact that it comprises a liquid discharge hole (24) located at the low point (13) of the light (10).   18. hopper (1) according to claims 4 and 5 in combination, characterized in that   that the orifice (9) and the light (10) do not communicate and are diametrically opposed in order to increase the seal.