US2988191A - L grant - Google Patents

Description

MULTIPLE-FARE COLLECTING APPARATUS HAVING VISIBLE com PATH Filed March 21, 1951 M. L. GRANT June 13, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. M A. Gran! Z( WM QZ'Z" M. L. GRANT June 13, 1961 MULTIPLE-FARE COLLECTING APPARATUS HAVING VISIBLE COIN PATH 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 21, 1951 June 13, 1961 M. L. GRANT 2,988,191

MULTIPLE-FARE COLLECTING APPARATUS HAVING VISIBLE COIN PATH Filed March 21, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 13, 1961 M. 1.. GRANT 2,988,191

MULTIPLE-FARE COLLECTING APPARATUS HAVING VISIBLE COIN PATH Filed March 21, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Max I. raizz points along their United States Patent 2,988,191 MULTIPLE-FARE COLLECTING APPARATUS HAVING VISIBLE COIN PATH Max L. Grant, Providence, R.I., assign'or to Universal Controls,'Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of Maryland Filed Mar. 21, 1951, Ser. No. 216,763 2 Claims. (Cl. 194-1) This invention relates to a multiple coin fare collecting box of the type commonly used inthe vehicles of public transportation systems.

In the earlier days, when single coin fares were the .rule and highway traffic was comparatively light, the col- -the duty of collecting fares, making change and watching traflic has become exceedingly burdensome. Were the public universally honest as to the deposit of the correct fare, the collection of fares would be much simpler, but because certain members of the public are always ready to cheat on fares, either by depositing less than the remust be constantly on the alert to check the fares deposited and able to see and count each fare as it is placed in the box. This act of watching and counting the coins as they are deposited takes the drivers attention from the road and constitutes a serious driving hazard.

In some coin collecting machines the coin is not visible after it is deposited until it has passed completely through the machine. In other machines, the coins are visible part of the way along their path of travel or at spaced path but not usually so that they may readily be counted.

One of the objects of the present invention is to lighten the burden on the bus operator, so far as the collection of fare is concerned, by providing a collecting machine which Will require the minimum of attention on .thepart of the driver. A further object'is to provide a =macliine which Will expose the deposited fare to view in a position .such that the bus driver may see it and count it without substantially changing his normal position. .A

further objectis to provide a fare collecting apparatus wherein the deposited fare is heldexposed to view in a position such that the driver may see it easily and without removing .his gaze from the road for more thanan instant. A further object is to provide a machine where in the deposited fare is so exposed during its travel through the machine that the driver need not give it his attention at any certain instant, thus enabling him to view the. road at critical times without neglecting his fare observing duties, A further object is to provide amultiple coin'fare collecting machine wherein all of the.fare is exposed'to View prior to registration, with the coins so separated one fromthe other as to facilitate the detection of an improper fare or such parts thereof as may be 'non-registerable. A further object is to provide'a machine wherein the fare is also exposed to viewinsepa- Fratd condition afterregistrationfthereby to permit the .driver to "check the fare in any disputewhich may arise asto Whether=the proper fare was deposited. A further object is to provide fare collecting machine wherein the collected coins, after deposit in the receptacle designed toreceivethem, are exposed to view. A further object is to provide .a multiple fare collecting machine wherein all of the coins which have been deposited are visible. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out inthe following more detailed description quiredamount or by the use of slugs, the bus driver 2,988,191 Patented June 13, 196.1

and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation, more or less diagrammatic, showing a multiple fare collecting machine embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1, with certain partsbroken away and certain parts in ver tical section;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, horizontal section, to much larger scale, showing one form of coin-responsive means for starting the machine into operation;

FIG. 4 is a front view, with the outer panel or cover plate removed, indicating the path which coins follow after deposit and during and after registration;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section, to larger scale, substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the outer plate removed from the machine;

FIG. 7 is an edge elevation of the panel of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary front elevation showing coinassorting means of a kind useful in the apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but omitting the spring arms which are provided for insuring the expulsion of the coin through the escape port or window, said arms being indicated in FIGS. 4 and 8;

FIG. 10 is afragmentary section, substantially on the line 1010 of FIG. 9, showing a coin just before it reaches the escape position, with the spring arm in contact with. the coin; and,

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10, but showing the coin as having been expelled through the escape port.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates generally a fare collecting machine comprising a housing 11 in which there is contained mechanism (not here panel or covering shown in detail) for registering and recording a fare, A

material so that coins deposited in the hopper may be seen through the substance of the top. The outlet slot 15 is ofa size to permit coins, up to a predetermined diameter, to pass downwardly therethrough. The fare, which may consist of a plurality of similar or different coins or tokens, or a combination of coins and tokens, is guided fromthe hopper 13 by a coin chute 16 downwardly into a narrow chamber 17, herein at times referred to as the coin-travel passage (FIGS. 2, 3 and 5) formedbetween parallel rear and front walls 18 and 19, respectively, which are inclined downwardly and forwardly at an angle which, for example, may be 60 to the horizontal which exceeds the angle of the repose of the coin, .so that the friction between the coin and the surface 18 does not prevent downward movement of the .coin although slowing its motion as compared with that of free fall. These walls are spaced apart a distance such as'to permit a coin or a plurality of approximately parallel coins to move edgewise between them, but not far enough apart to permit a coin to tip over. The front wall 19*is transparent so as to expose the chamber 17 to view. Due to the slope of the wall 18 it is readily possible for the operator of the vehicle to see any coins contained within the chamber 17 without bending 'his "head or changing his position.

The forward inclined surface of the inner or rear wall 13forms a rest against which the coins lean as they rail 20, in combination with the inclined wall 18, forms a compound track along which the coins roll, and, in so rolling, become separated one from the other. When the coins leave the lower end 20 of the rail 20 they contact a second rail 21, carried by the wall 18, and which comprises an arcuate portion 22 spaced from but partially encircling the lower end 20' of the rail 20. The lower part of the rail 21 is substantially straight and is inclined in the opposite direction to the rail 20, for example, at an angle of approximately 30 to the horizontal. As coins leave the rail 20 and contact the arcuate portion 22 of the rail 21, their motion is momentarily checked by such contact, the coins reversing their direction of rotation as they move down along the lower straight part of the rail 21. It will be apparent that because the coin always leans back against the surface 18 while its edge is rolling in contact with the rail 20 or 21 the same broad face of the coin is always clearly exposed to view. As they leave the rail 21, they pass between the forward surface of the support 18 and a bar 23 spaced forwardly from the surface 18 and which constitutes a thickness gauge. The space or slots (FIG. between the bar 23 and the wall 18 is of a width to permit coins up to a predetermined thickness to pass down therethrough into a chamber 25 below the bar 23, but to obstruct the passage of thicker articles. The chamber 25 constitutes an inspection area while the space 17 below the hopper and above the chamber 25 is here designated as the coin travel passage. Such thicker articles may be discharged through an opening in the wall 18 normally closed by a movable door D (FIGS. 4 and 5).

Coin-transfer means, here shown as a thin wheel or rotor 26, having a plurality of coin-receiving pockets 27 in its periphery, is secured to a shaft 28 to rotate thercwith. This rotor lies in close contact with the forward surface of the coin-supporting wall 18 and presents its pockets 27, one after the other, in position to receive a coin resting upon the support 18 within the chamber 25. An auxiliary transparent panel 19a, extends down and over the rotor in close proximity to the latter so that only a single coin can enter a pocket of the rotor at one time, and so that coins can not tip or fall out of the rotor pockets as the rotor turns. The rotor is turned intermittently by suitable mechanism (not shown), each forward step equalling the distance between the two adjacent pockets. That is to say, if there are twelve pockets in the rotor it will turn one-twelfth rotation at each cycle of operation of the machine. In moving from the coinreceiving position through one step of rotation, a pocket 27 will convey a coin held therein into contact with a movable gauging finger 29 which projects forwardly through a hole in wall 18 and which forms the value determining element of the registering mechanism.

A coin feeding finger 3-1 is normally positioned to guide a coin which passes down from the chamber 17 into the chamber 25 so that the coin will enter that pocket 27 of the rotor which is dwelling in coin-receiving position.

The registering mechanism of the machine is driven by an electric motor, and the circuit for controlling the motor may be closed in any appropriate manner when a coin enters a pocket 27 of the rotor. One means for accomplishing this result is illustrated merely by way of example in FIG. 3 therein the control 32 is shown as comprising a photocell 33 which, with its exciter lamp 34, is mounted at the rear of the wall 18. The lamp 34 is positioned in a housing 35 so as to shield it from the photocell 33. The wall 18 has an opening 36 through which the rays of the lamp 34 pass so as to be reflected back by a mirror surface 37 through a second opening 38 in the wall 18 so as to impinge on the cell 33. The

opening 36 (FIG. 1) is so positioned that, when a coin enters the pocket 27 of the rotor from the chamber 25, the coin will block the rays fiom the lamp 34, thereby changing the conductivity of the photocell 33 and thus, through suitable connections, closing the motor circuit. When the machine is set into operation, the rotor 26 will be'turned a distance such as to bring the next pocket in position to receive a coin from the chamber 25 and will then stop unless another coin from the chamber enters the pocket ready to receive it. As the rotor turns, the first coin entering a pocket is brought into contact with the gauging finger 29 and is automatically registered. The machine will continue in operation until all coins of the fare have been registered and then will come to rest with the last coin to be registered held in contact with the gauging finger 29. Thus, the coins of the fare, before registration, are clearly visible through the transparent panel '19 as they lean against the rear wall 18, as shown in FIG. 4, and, after registration, they are held spaced apart in the rotor, prior to discharge into the assorting means therefrom and in full view through the lower glass panel 19a, the coin being visible after registration while moving along an arc of approximately Desirably, in order to focus the drivers attention upon the coins rather than upon the mechanical elements of the apparatus, a cover panel P of transparent material extends across the entire front of the case of the apparatus, forwardly of both panels 19 and 19a, and thus panel P is masked, for example, by the use of an opaque coating, or frosting, on its rear surface, but leaving a clear, transparent window 41 of proper shape to expose only such portions of the chambers 17 and 25 as are necessary for exhibiting the fare as it passes from the hopper on its way to the coin changer 52.

A chamber 42 (FIG. 2), which is open at the front and divided into a plurality of separate compartments 43, 44, 45, 46 and 47, is located beneath the rotor. Each of said compartments is positioned to receive coins discharged from the rotor and which have passed through asserting means (not shown) which delivers them into the several compartments. Each of the compartments is provided with a coin slot 48 through which coins may be inserted manually into the compartment. The front of the chamber 42 has a transparent closure 49 (FIG. 2) providing a window through which the contents of the several compartments may be viewed. This closure is hinged at 50 to the housing 11 and is provided with a handle 51 for manually moving it to open or closed position so as to provide access to the several compartments.

Certain elements of coin-assorting mechanism are shown in FIG. 4. So far as the present invention is concerned, any appropriate coin-asserting means may be employed provided it be capable of assorting coins according to diameter and of delivering the assorted coins according to size into the several compartments 43, 44, 45, 46 or 47 (FIG. 1). One desirable coin-assorting means for such use is disclosed in the co-pending application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 216,702, filed by Harry B. Miller on Mach 21, 1951, now Patent No. 2,881,775, and which is assigned entire to the present applicant. Merely for convenience (no claims being made herein to the assorting means per se) asserting means, like that of the above Miller application is illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 11, inclusive.

In the operation of the machine as above described and as the rotor 26 turns step-by-step, it carries a coin from the chamber 25 (FIGS. 1 and 8) first into the field of action of the gauging element 29 and then downwardly in the direction of the arrow A (FIG. 8), being retained in the pocket 27 of the rotor, as it moves downwardly, by arcuate guards 72 and 73 (FIG. 9) and by the transparent cover plate 19. The coin-supporting plate 18 (FIG. 5) terminates at the line 74 (FIG. 9) and, below the line 74,'two

dime tends, by gravity, window E rolling along the rail '91,

E inthe same way, *the' window E parallel'spaced plates 75 and 76 (FIGS.

10 'and ll) are arranged, the frontsurface of theffor- Ward plate 75 being flush with the front surface of the plate 18 and forming a downward continuation of the and 76 are shaped latter. Thefront and rear plates 75 to provide escape ports or Windows E E E E and E. (FIG. 9), the tops of these Windows being defined by downwardly convex edges 80, 81, 82 and 83 and the bottoms of the windows being defined by upwardly concave edges86, 87, 88 and-89. Below the several windows resiliently yieldable rails 90, 91, 92 and 93 are arranged, these rails having upwardly concave upper edges. One suchedge, for example, is shown at 90a as being spaced slightly below the corresponding edge 86 of the window. The several escape ports or windows E E etc., open into the chambers 43, 44 etc., in the machine frame.

As diagrammatically illustrated inFIG'9,the lower edge 86 and-the upperedge '80 of the "window E are normally spaced apart a radial distance which is less than the diameter of a normal coin by an amount slightly less than the distance between-the-edge 86 and the upper edge 90a ofthecorresponding rail 90. Thus, when a dime is rolledalongthe rail 90, its upper edge receives no support at the upper part of the window E and thus the to fall reanwardly through-the However, a coin of larger diameter, in rolling along the rail 90, will receivesupport at its upper portion so that-it cannot fall through the window E but will continue -to roll along the rail 90 as it is propelled by'the rotor. The radial distance between the upper edge of the next guide rail and the edge 81 which defines the top of the window E -is such that a one-cent piece, will receive no support at its upper part and will fall rearwardly through the window anickelwill fall rearwardly through a token through the window'E; and, a quarter through -the window E While the several windows or escape ports have been designated by the letters E and-E "etc., they are, in fact, portions of one continuous opening.

Since each coin leans back against the plate 18, or its downward continuation 75, as it is swept along by the rotor, it tends to fall rearwardly through the first escape opening which is wide enough to permit it to fall as above suggested. However, to insure such rearwardly fall or escape of the coin from the coin pocket, for example, if a coin is sticky, it is preferred to provide ejector means. For this purpose, the front plate of the machine is provided with a series of elongate slots 95, 96, 97 and 98 (FIG. 9) and, within each of these slots, there is arranged a spring finger 100 (FIGS. 4 and 8) which is fixed at one end and whose free end portion is bent as shown at 100a (FIGS. 10 and 11) to provide a smooth coin-contacting portion. As this coin-contacting portion engages the front surface of a moving coin C (FIG. 10), it exerts rearward pressure against the coin so that as the coin reaches one of the escape orifices of a size such as to permit the coin to pass through, the spring pressure against the face of the coin acts to eject the coin forcibly through the escape port as shown in FIG. 11. Since the rails 90, 91, etc., are resiliently yieldable in a downward direction, they will yield sufficiently, if engaged by a coin having a marginal irregularity, to avoid jamming, although normally remaining at a fixed predetermined distance from the upper edge of the corresponding window or escape port.

There is also provided the coin changer, designated generally by the numeral 52, having a plurality of separate coin tubes 53 each of which has a plurality of elongate openings 54 extending axially and providing windows through which the contents of the tubes may be viewed. The changer 52 is positioned in the lower part of the housing 11 at a location such that the coin tubes 53 are directly in line with the compartments 43, etc., so as to receive coins from the several compartments through said opening and 'withinthe housing. 'A lock bar.56 extends across the "changer and is secured in "mechanism 57. Coins received in the compartments 43, etc.,will drop down into and when the coin tubes have been filled, additional with zigzag rails ments. The lower portion of the housing 11 is open at 55 toadmit the changer 52, which is removably inserted which may be viewed while position .by means of locking corresponding coin tubes 53 coins will overflow and accumulate in the compartments. Since the contents of the compartments can be seen through the transparent closure 49, the operator will be apprised of the desirability of removing excess coins before the accumulation has become so great as to interferewith the operation of the machine.

In order that the fare passing through the machine maybe viewed even though there be no direct light -suificient from the outside of the machine to make the coins visible through the windows, lamps may be pro vided. Thus a lamp 60 (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1) is located back of an opaque mask or shield, the edge of "which is designated by the numeral 61, the light from the lamp beingdirected laterally. Another lamp 62 (FIG.

"1) is arranged to illuminate coins inthe rotor, and another lamp 64 (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2.) is arranged to illuminate the transparent top 12.. Each of the lamps is concealed from direct view so that its light isindirect and the rays do not dazzle the bus operator or passenger.

The hopper is of a capacity to receive simultaneously arnumber of coins constituting a multiple coin fare and into which the coins may all be dropped'at the same time. In leaving the hopper, the coins pass down through a slot which constrains them to move with their horizontal axes in a plane parallel to the front of thebox, the coins slipping down onto an inclined surface against whichthey lean while their edges have rolling contact whereby the coins become separated. The coins then pass between a gauging bar and themclined supporting surface and into an inspection area. Coins which are bent or warped or which are thicker than standard coins remain on the thickness gauging bar until released through the discharge door in the inclined surface. Coins which have passed to the inspection area are fed one by one to calipering means comprising a diameter-gauging finger constituting part of a registering mechanism and after being registered are delivered to an assorting device which segregates coins of the same diameter and delivers them into separate compartments from which they pass into the coin magazines of a coin changer.

The coins are fully visible throughout the greater part of their travel. The hopper is transparent, and because of the transparent panel which overlies the coin-supporting surface, the coins are visible as they are separated in rolling down along the zigzag rails and as they enter the inspection area and also while they are being gauged for diameter and registered. They are also visible as they travel from the gauging position to the assorting means, and as they accumulate in the magazines of the coin changer. During their movement downwardly along the inclined supporting surface their apparent visibility is enhanced by concealing as much of the operating mechanism as possible and by using indirect lighting.

When in the appended claims reference is made to coins as constituting the fares it is to be understood that the term coins is employed in a generic sense and is intended to include elements of whatever nature, for example actual coins, metal or cardboard tokens, tickets, etc., such as are acceptable under the particular circumstances as a fare.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated by way of example it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within the scopeof the ap- V pended claims.

ing the rear wall of a chamber having a front wall which is transparent and substantially parallel to the rear wall and so spaced from the latter that a coin, moving through the chamber is constrained to move always in substantially the same inclined plane and so as to exhibit the same broad face to view through the transparent front jwall as it moves through the chamber from the upper to the lower end of the latter, characterized in having means within the upper part of the chamber for separating the constituent coins of a multiple-coin fare, means Within the lower part of the chamber for assorting coins of difierent size comprised in such a fare, and coin-gauging means, including a motor-actuated calipering element within the chamber intermediate the separating and assorting means, and wherein the gauging means comprises a motor driven, intermittently turning disc-like impeller disposed between the front and rear walls of the chamber and with its axis perpendicular to the rear wall, the impeller having peripherally open coin-receiving pockets separated by radial arms, further characterized in that each pocket of the impeller is symmetrical in contour relative to a corresponding radius of the impeller and of a circumferential width sufficient to receive the largest coin to be collected, uni-directional motor-actuated means which isoperative, when started, to turn the impeller disc through an angle equal to that between the centers of adjacent pockets and then automatically to stop, means operative to start the motor in response to entry of a coin into one of said pockets, the coin-calipering element being so actuated that while the impeller disc is at rest,

it moves into contact with the circumferential edge of a coin disposed in and engaging the inner edge of one of said pockets.

2. A fare box according to claim 1 further characterized in that the coin-calipering element is arranged to move radially inwardly toward the axis of the disc so as to engage the exposed edge of a coin while the latter is held in that pocket of the disc which is at the upper end of a vertical diameter of the disc, and in having a coinfeeding finger which is normally positioned to guide a coin to enter that pocket of the impeller which is in coinreceiving position while the impeller is at rest.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 69,263 Slawson Sept. 24, 1867 914,821 Gierding Mar. 9, 1909 975,202 Batdorf Nov. 8, 1910 1,068,782 Kohler July 29, 1913 1,114,851 Branham Oct. 27, 1914 1,200,843 Johnson Oct. 10, 1916 1,291,317 Whistler Jan. 14, 1919 1,344,841 Woodward June 29, 1920 1,355,875 Whistler Oct. 19, 1920 1,734,283 Baur Nov. 5, 1929 1,986,771 Giles Jan. 1, 1935 2,423,502 Jorgensen July 8, 1947 2,519,357 Daugherty Aug. 22, 1950 2,532,978 Wilcox Dec. 5, 1950 2,547,102 Wallach Apr. 3, 1951 2,594,422 Gordon Apr. 29, 1952 2,642,073 Ingraham June. 16, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 51.178 Germany Mar. 13, 1890

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