US2323492A - Counting mechanism - Google Patents

Description

B. E. SEEMEL- COUNTING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 1, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR July 6, 1943.

COUNTING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 1, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I VEIQTbR l E BY 3W. V I

ATTORNEY 3 B. E. SEEMEL 2,323,492

y 1943- I B; E. SEEME L 2,323,492

COUNTING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 1, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 e Ilillllllll INVENTOR B BY W7 ATILORNE S Patented July 6, 1943 GOUNTING llIECHANISM Bruno E. Seemel, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Automatic Coinwrapping Machine Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 1, 1939, Serial No. 293,032

5 Claims.

My invention relates to mechanisms for counting in successive lots or series, each of a predetermined number. With such mechanisms the counting is stopped automatically at the end of each lot or series, for example by rendering the counting mechanism inoperative, by stopping the flow of articles to the counting mechanism, etc, and is re-started anew for the counting of each new or successive lot, by action of the operator or otherwise when ready. For simplicity I shall refer hereinafter to coin counting mechanisms but it will be understood that m invention is applicable to counting other articles, operations, etc.

Heretofore mechanisms of this type have employed hinged spring-pressed latches, or stoppawls, so-called, to engage stop pins, or stopposts, so-called, to stop the counting at the end of each series. The purpose of such an arrangement is to cause the latch to snap under or beyond the stop pin immediately the stop pin is removed from the path of the latch to start a new count, and thus permit the mechanism to restart even though, for example, an operator returns the stop pin toward its stopping position quickly. However, a fault of this prior arrangement is that, should a latch spring break, the broken spring may wedge the latch in an advanced position. This may cause miscounting thereafter that may continue through many series before the error is discovered. The patent to Book No. 1,160,830 November 16, 1915, is an example of such prior known mechanisms.

My present invention avoids this fault. Generally speaking, I eliminate the spring-pressed latch and substitute a simple shoulder to strike the stop pin to stop the counting at the end of each series. This shoulder may be mounted immovably on the counting mechanism or constitute an integral part of some portion of the counting mechanism. Then to permit the shoulder to pass its stop pin in the event that the stop pin is returned quickly toward its shoulderengaging position, I provide a device which, once a stop pin is removed from the shoulder path, thereafter holds the stop pin out of the shoulder path until counting has been resumed. There may be a plurality of shoulders to permit counting series of different numbers of coins, and also one or a plurality of shoulder-engaging stop pins, all as will be understood. It will be understood too that, speaking broadly, it is immaterial to my invention whether the counting is discontinued by rendering the mechanism inoperative or otherwise, although I prefer rendering the mechanism inoperative at the end of each series as appears hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of my invention as applied to a conventional form of coin counting mechanism; its application to other forms of counters and to other means for stopping counting will be understood therefrom. In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same with the top of the cover removed. Fig. 3 is a vertical section sub stantially on the line IIIIII of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view of mechanism near the bottom, substantially on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a considerable portion of the mechanism. Fig. 6 is a perspective of the stop pin.

As shown in the drawings, coins may be delivered to the counting mechanism by a rotating centrifugal disc I A guide 2 directs the coins against a notched or star wheel 3 of the count ing mechanism, and a driven wheel 4 thrusts, or assists in thrusting, the coins along the star wheel (when the latter is free to turn) so that each passing coin turns the star wheel one step. A support or supporting means of some kind, 3a, for example, a floor member or casing as illustrated, supports directly or indirectly the star wheel 3 and the mechanisms hereafter mentioned. The star wheel 3 is attached to and drives a shaft 5 which in turn drives a conventional form of register 6; the latter therefore registers the number of coins passing the star wheel. To stop the counting on the completion of a count of a predetermined number of coins, a gear 1 is attached to the star wheel shaft 5 to drive another gear or stop wheel 8 of such relative size that the latter makes one rotation on the passage of fifty coins past the star wheel 3; to permit the coins to be counted in further different series, a third gear 9, or second counting wheel, is arranged to be driven by gear 8 and is of such relative size that it makes one rotation on the passage of forty coins past the star wheel 3. A ratchet wheel in is attached to shaft 5, the number of teeth of winch equal the number of coin-receiving notches in the star wheel 3; a coacting pawl ll hinged at IE to the floor of the casing of the apparatus and pressed by a spr n 23 against the ratchet wheel ii), serves to stop each successive step-by-step movement of the star wheel 3 when the star wheel is in proper position .to receive the next coin. It will be observed of course that each movement of the star wheel causes ratchet II] to swing pawl II on its pivot I2. The cover I3 of the apparatus is hinged horizontally at It, and carries a downwardly projecting stop pin I5 for cooperation with shoulders on the stop wheels 8 and 9 as later described. A lever arrangement I6 permits the operator to raise the cover I 3 momentarily to raise the stop pin from the shoulder paths. Obviously the weight of the cover I3 tends to return the stop pin to its lowest position automatically, namely into the path of a shoulder, whenever the operator releases the lever arrangement l6; customarily this tendency is supplemented by a spring IS. A single stop pin I5 being used in the instance illustrated, this stop pin is mounted in a slot I9 in the cover plate It so that it can be disposed at different positions with respect to the stop wheels 8 and II; in the present instance the stop pin has four counting positions 24 in which it interrupts the machine operation at the end of the counting of each lot or series of twenty, twenty-five, forty or fifty coins per lot, and a fifth or zero position in which it permits continuous counting indefinitely. To assure accurate and secure location of the stop pin I5, the underside of the cover I3 is provided with a slot 2!] at each of these pin positions, the upper portion 2| of the stop pin, bearing on the top surface of the cover, is threaded to the lower portion of the pin, and the lower portion of the pin is provided with a cross pin 22 to seat in the slots 20; when the nut 2I is loose, the stop pin can be moved along the slot I9 to any of its positions 24, and then by tightening the nut 2| the cross p n 22 can be drawn into the corresponding slot 251, and thereby the stop pin accurately and securely located.

As will be understood from the foregoing, the mechanism as thus described is substantially a conventional form of counting mechanism.

According to my invention, as before indicated, in lieu of the customary spring-pressed latches to engage a stop pin I5 for example, I provide what may be a simple shoulder or shoulders to stop the counting; such a shoulder may be entirely immovable on the part which carries it. Conveniently such shoulders are mounted on or formed integral with such wheels as B and 9, and which are designed to render the mechanism inoperative at the end of each series, although this is not an essential of the invention. The mechanism shown being intended for four differ ent series of counts, the stop wheel 8 is provided with two shoulders 26 and 21 and the stop wheel 9 with two shoulders 28 and 29, all provided (as a matter of convenience) by attaching bar-like iembers to the tops of the respective wheels. As will be understood from prior practices, the shoulder 26 is disposed to engage the stop pin I5 in both the fifty and the twenty-five positions; the shoulder 21 is located to engage it only When the pin is in the twenty-five position; shoulder 28 on wheel 9 will engage it in both the twenty and the forty positions; shoulder 29 will engage it only when the pin is in the twenty position.

In operation therefore, the stop pin being, for example, in the twenty-five position and engaged by the shoulder 21 as shown in Fig. 5, and the operator being ready for the count of a new series or lot of coins, the operator presses on lever I6 and thus lifts the cover I3 and thereby lifts the stop pin I5 from the shoulder 21. Stop wheel 8 being thus freed to turn, this permits the thrust of the coin wheel 2 on a coin in a notch in star wheel 3 to turn the latter a step, and this coin then departs. This passage of a coin is registered by the register 6, and also the counting wheels 8 and 9 are turned corresponding distances; the pawl II is swung on its pivot IE on the passage of the coin but immediately is moved back into the next notch of its ratchet I0 by its spring 23 so that the star wheel turns no further than it is forced to do by the thrust of a coin on it. The turning of stop wheel 8 having passed shoulder member 21 underneath the stop pin, the cover I3 can now be permitted to fall to return the stop pin I5 toward the shoulder path. Should the fall be delayed by continued pressure on lever I5 until shoulder member 21 passes beyond stop pin l5, the stop pin will return to the shoulder path as soon as the operator releases lever I5. On the Other hand should cover I3 be allowed to fall when this shoulder member is underneath the stop pin, the stop pn first comes to rest on the shoulder member, but ultimately the passage of ,another or further coins will carry the shoulder member from beneath the stop pin, and then the weight of the stop pin and cover I3 (with or without the aid of cover spring I8) will restore the stop pin I5 to the shoulder path. In either event therefore, the stop pin I5 is restored to the shoulder path while the new counting is under way. In its twenty-five position, the stop pin I5 is not only in the path of shoulder 21 but also in the path of shoulder 26 as before pointed out. The new counting continues therefore until shoulder 26 strikes the stop pin I5. This occurs on the passage of the twenty-fifth coin of the new series past the coin wheel of course. This obstruction to the rotation of stop wheel 8 makes further rotation of the star Wheel 3 impossible, i. e., renders the mechanism inoperative, and thus stops the counting. The cycle is now complete. When the operator is ready for the count of another series, he may again manipulate the lever I 6 in the manner described above, and such second new series is completed by shoulder 2? again striking the stop pin. Usually the driving wheel 4 acts 0n the coins by friction only, and therefore may rotate cont nuously, i. e., even while the star wheel 3 is at rest and no coins are passing. Customarily, I bevel each shoulder member as at 33 so that the pin I 5 may ride down the back of each shoulder member more or less slowly rather drop abruptly from the top of the member to its lowest position. By a repositioning of the stop pin along its slot I9, the mechanism can be made to count series of fifty, forty or twenty coins, instead of series of twenty-five, as will now be understood; in its zero position the stop pin is out of the paths of all shoulders and therefore in this position the mechanism can count any number of coins whatsoever without interruption.

The machine thus operates satisfactorily, providing care is taken not to release a stop pin for restoration to a shoulder path until after the shoulder that has been hearing against the pin has passed underneath or beyond the pin. Need for such care sometimes slows down the operation however. In order to permit the most rapid operation therefore, it is desirable that a stop pin be releasable for restoration immediately on withdrawal from a shoulder path; for example, it is desirable that an operator be permitted to release the lifting lever I6 immediately after he has pressed it to withdraw the stop pin l from the path' of a shoulder to start a new count. As before indicated, I have accomplished this by providing a device which becomes operative on the movement of the stop pin from the shoulder path to thereafter hold the stop pin out of the shoulder path until the new count has gotten under way to at least such an extent that the engaged shoulder has moved from its pin-engaging position. To this end, preferably, an arm or lever 35 is supported at a place that is substantially fixed, at least at the times the shoulders approach the stop pin; i. e., the member 34 does not travel with the shoulders. For example 34 may be hinged to, say, the floor of the casing, and a projection 35 is provided on cover I3 reaching to this arm or lever 34; the arm or lever 34 is located underneath the other mechanism of the counter for convenience, and for like reason is hinged on the pawl pivot l2. The spring 36 anchored to the casing, moves the arm 34 underneath the projection 35 whenever the cover is raised to withdraw the stop pin from a shoulder path to permit a new count to start. To withdraw the arm 34 from underneath the projection 35, the arm is correlated to, preferably, the pawl H of the counting mechanism. This ratchet pawl I! is arranged to engage, say, a pin 31 on the lever arm 35 as this pawl is swung by the turning of the star wheel 3 by a passing coin, and thereby move the arm from underneath the projection; the pawl H may be provided with a tail or extension 38 reaching to a convenient location, as illustrated.

It will be observed that correlation of the pinn withholding device, e. g., arm or lever 34, to the stop pin carrier, such as the cover !3, is a simple means for enabling a single such device to control either a number of stop pins mounted on the same carrier or a single stop pin movable on the carrier to a number of positions. In the present instance, the counting having been stopped at the end of one series by one of the shoulders 25, 21, 28 and 29 coming against the stop pin Hi, the operator, when ready to resume counting, simply presses the lever 16 sufiiciently to raise cover l3 enough to raise the stop pin from the path of the shoulder engaging it. This also raise projection above the level of arm at, and the spring 36 immediately swings arm 34 underneath the projection 35. The operator need pay no attention to the time of release of the operating lever 56, He may release it immediately after raising the stop pin from the shoulder path. Should he do so, the cover and its stop pin l5 either remain raised, being held up by arm 34 operating on projection 35, or they fall slightly until projection 35 strikes arm 34. In either case the stop pin it is retained above the shoulder path. When a coin passes star wheel 3, however. the turning of the ratchet ill thereby turns the pawl I i, and this in turn acts on the arm pin 31 to turn the lever arm 35 from underneath the projection 35. The weight of the cover and stop pin, with or without the aid of the cover spring It, carries the cover and stop pin to shoulderengaging position, either immediately or in due course, since release of the arm 34 by pawl ll enables arm spring 36 to thrust arm 34 only against the side of projection 35 (Fig. 5).

It will now be observed that my invention pro vides a counting mechanism of the kind indicated that cannot miscount by reason of any failure of its latch mechanism. Should the spring 36 break, the operator may have difficulty in restarting new counts if operating the machine rapidly, but that difiiculty will serve only to call his attention to the fact that the apparatus has been damaged; so long as he continues to use the machine thereafter, the immovable nature of the stop shoulders requires it to count accurately, and in case of necessity he can continue using the machine indefinitely with this spring broken, although perhaps at a slower speed than he has been accustomed to. It will be observed also that adequate pin-engaging shoulders can be provided in various obvious ways, and that the immovability of such shoulders herein referred to, is immovability in the direction or for the purposes herein pointed out; and that obviously both the device and the arrangement for preventing the restoration of a pin to a shoulder path, as well as the means for discontinuing counting at the end of each series, can assume any of various other forms, and that any such device can be rendered inoperative at appropriate times by means of other relations of the same to the counting mechanism. In general, my invention is not limited to the construction and operation illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described above, except as appears in the claims hereafter.

I claim:

1. In a counting mechanism having a support, a stop means carried by said support and which moves in a path as the counting proceeds, and stop pin means carried by the support and including a stop pin which is positionable in the path of said stop means for engagement by the stop means to stop the counting and which is removable from said path to permit resumption of counting, a movable member, also carried by said support and held at a substantially fixed place with respect to said support as said stop means approaches said stop pin, biased to move into the path of said stop pin means, on the movement thereof to remove the stop pin from the path of the stop means, to prevent replacement of the stop pin in said path, and means to render said member ineffective to control the position of the stop pin with respect to said stop means, responsive to the resumption of operation of the counting mechanism after counting has been resumed.

2. In a counting mechanism, a support, a member mounted on said support and driven as the counting proceeds, and provided with a shoulder immovable on the member but moving in a path as said member is driven, stop pin means carried by said support and including a stop pin positionable in the path of said shoulder to stop counting, said means being movable to remove the stop pin from said path to permit resumption of counting, a movable member, also carried by said support and held at a substantially fixed place with respect to the support as said shoulder approaches said stop pin, biased to move into the path of said stop pin means, on the movement thereof to remove the stop pin from the path of said shoulder, to prevent the replacement of the stop pin in the shoulder path, and means operable by the counting mechanism to render the second mentioned member ineffective to control the position of the stop pin with respect to said shoulder.

3. In counting mechanism, a support, a member mounted on said support and driven as the counting proceeds and provided with a shoulder which moves in a path as said member is driven, means mounted on said support and including a stop pin positionable in the path of said shoulder to stop counting and which is adjustable to remove the stop pin from said path to permit counting to be resumed, said means tending to return the stop pin to said path automatically, and a member, also carried by said support and held at a substantially fixed place with respect to said support as said shoulder approaches said stop pin, positionable in the path of said means to prevent the automatic return of the stop pin to said path of said shoulder, the second mentioned member being associated with the counting mechanism to be moved, by continuing the counting, to give said stop pin access to said shoulder.

4. In counting mechanism, a support, a member carried by said support and driven as the counting proceeds and provided with a shoulder which moves in a path as said member is driven, means carried by said support and including a stop pin positionable in the path of said shoulder to stop counting and which is adjustable to remove the stop pin from said path to permit counting to be resumed, said means tending to return the stop pin to said path automatically, and means having a portion to move into the path of the first mentioned means on the movement thereof to remove the stop pin from the shoulder path to prevent the automatic return of the stop pin to the shoulder path, the last mentioned means being carried by the support at a substantially fixed place with respect to the support as said shoulder approaches said stop pin and engaging the counting mechanism for actuation thereby on actuation of the counting mechanism in further counting, to move said portion to give the stop pin access to said shoulder.

5. In counting mechanism, a support, a wheel,

mounted on said support, driven as the counting proceeds and provided with a shoulder which moves in a path as said wheel is driven, a stop pin, means mounted on said support and carrying the stop pin and automatically tending to position the stop pin in the path of said shoulder to stop counting and which is movable to withdraw the stop pin from said path to permit counting to be resumed, and an arm, hinged on said support at a place that is substantially fixed with respect to the support as said shoulder approaches the stop pin, to swing into the path of said means on movement thereof to remove the stop pin from the shoulder path and to prevent the return of said means to a position wherein the stop pin is in the path of the shoulder, the counting mechanism carrying means advancing with further counting to swing said arm out of the path of said means to permit the stop pin to reenter the shoulder path.

6. In a counting mechanism including a stop Wheel driven by the counting mechanism and provided with a shoulder which moves in a path as said wheel is driven, stop pin means, a hinged device carrying said stop pin means to remove the stop pin means from the path of said shoulder upon actuation of said hinged device and automatically tending to restore the stop pin means to the path of said shoulder, a star wheel, a pawl operable by the star wheel, and a hinged arm swinging into the path of said hinged device on the actuation thereof to maintain the stop pin means out of the path of the shoulder, said hinged arm being operated by the pawl for removal by the pawl from the path of the hinged device on actuation of the pawl by the star wheel.

BRUNO E. SEEMEL.

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