JPS6245588B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Technical Field) The present invention provides a coin dispensing device, in particular, a coin dispensing device, in particular, a device for feeding coins or medals (hereinafter collectively referred to as coins) into a hopper and storing them in a hopper. This invention relates to a hopper-type coin dispensing device that rotates a rotary disk to dispense coins one by one from within a hopper.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as this type of hopper-type coin dispensing device, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 50-63997, one side of a coin storage hopper for storing input coins in a loose state is used. A rotating disk is provided at an angle with respect to the horizontal, a disk-shaped base portion having a diameter corresponding to the size of the coins to be handled is provided at the center of the rotating disk, and a plurality of coin feeding pieces are attached to the rotating disk. They are provided on the outer periphery of the plate at positions spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction and protrude above the rotating disk, and these central disk-shaped bases and the coin feeding piece define a coin holding pocket, and the rotating disk is held in a hopper. By rotating inward, the coins in the hopper are picked up one by one by the coin sending piece into each coin holding pocket on the rotating disk and sent to the upper outlet section, where the disk-like platform is One coin is passed through the exit chute by an exit knife provided with a pointed end in contact with the upper outer peripheral edge of the unit.
A device configured to send out the device one by one is known.

In this type of coin dispensing device, the rotary disk rotates in a coin storage hopper at a position inclined to the horizontal, so the lower part of the rotary disk is pushed by the load of the coins in the hopper. This causes rotational wobbling of the rotating disk, and interference occurs between the exit knife and exit chute fixedly provided on the upper sending section of the coin sending device and the coin sending piece on the rotating disk and/or the sending coin. In order to prevent such a problem from occurring, the coin dispensing device described in the above publication has a knife blade provided on the outer peripheral edge of the rotating disk, and a plurality of coin dispensing devices each having a circumferential groove for receiving the knife blade. rollers are rotatably provided on a fixed support frame at positions spaced apart in the circumferential direction, and the knife blades on the outer periphery of the rotating disk are rolled and engaged with the circumferential grooves of the rollers, thereby preventing rotational wobbling of the rotating disk. The outer peripheral edge is rotatably supported on a fixed support frame to prevent this from occurring.

However, as described above, in the configuration in which the rotating disk is supported by rolling engagement between the knife blade and the roller circumferential groove to prevent rotational wobbling, the knife blade and/or the roller circumferential groove are significantly worn. In addition to the problem of replacing and repairing parts, there was also the problem of requiring high processing precision and strict adjustment after assembly.

For this reason, the applicant first filed the
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 19891, a rotary disk is rotatably held at positions spaced apart in the circumferential direction by a retainer so that the outer peripheral edge of a rotating disk is directly supported by balls on a fixed inclined base plate. A plurality of balls are inserted between the tilted base plate and the rotary disc by engaging them with an annular race formed on the lower surface of the outer peripheral edge of the rotary disc, and pass through the tilted base plate and the rotary disc to form the rotary disc. By pressing the center of the rotating disk toward the inclined substrate by an elastic pressing member attached to a rotating shaft protruding from the center of the rotating disk, the outer periphery of the rotating disk is held constant from the inclined substrate via the ball. We have proposed a support structure for the outer peripheral edge of a rotating disk that is configured to hold the rotating disk without rotational wobbling over a distance, and have succeeded in simplifying the structure of the coin dispensing device and increasing its durability.

The applicant further conducted research and development to improve the coin dispensing efficiency of the coin dispensing device equipped with the above-mentioned rotating disk support structure.

In general, in order to improve the coin dispensing efficiency of a coin dispensing device of the type described above, it is necessary to ensure that the coins are picked up by successive coin holding pockets on the rotating disk, and one means of doing so is to Therefore, it is necessary to provide a strong and effective stirring member capable of sufficiently stirring the coins in the hopper.

Conventionally, the use of elastic bodies such as rubber and springs as stirring members in this type of coin feeding device has been disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5493-1983 and Japanese Utility Model Application No. 49-1989.
It is known as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 36995 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 56-97189.

In particular, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-97182 discloses that as a means for attaching a coil spring as a stirring member to a rotating disk rotated in a hopper, a coil spring is attached to a platform member attached to the center of the rotating disk in the radial direction. An extending elongated hole is provided, approximately half of the proximal end of the length of the coil spring is inserted into this elongated hole, the proximal end of the coil spring is fixed to the platform member with a screw, and the coil spring portion protrudes from the elongated hole. It is disclosed that the coil springs extend radially from the platform member onto the rotating disk, so that the coil spring stirs the coins in the hopper as the rotating disk rotates.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, as described in the above-mentioned publication, approximately half of the length of the coil spring, which is the stirring member, is inserted into a long hole provided in a rigid body, for example, a hemispherical member made of metal. In the insertion structure, even if the opening of the elongated hole is gently chamfered to smooth the expansion and contraction of the coil spring and to make the deflection gentle, the coil spring has strong resistance when stirring coins. It is not possible to completely eliminate the tendency of the part of the coil spring that protrudes outside the elongated hole to bend relative to the part located inside the elongated hole, and repeated bending fatigue occurs at the bent part, resulting in permanent deformation. There are problems in that the coins may break or break, and that the gap between the coil turns locally expands and the coin gets caught between the coil turns, resulting in a significant deterioration in the stirring function.

An object of the present invention is to elastically support the proximal end of a coil spring using the elastic pressing member in the rotating disk outer peripheral edge support structure, thereby eliminating the need for the conventional coil spring mounting structure described above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coin dispensing device which eliminates the drawbacks, has a simple structure, is highly durable, and has high coin dispensing efficiency.

(Means for Solving the Problems) According to the present invention, in the coin dispensing device having the above-mentioned rotating disk outer peripheral edge support structure, the agitation device provided on the disk-shaped platform is connected to the disk-shaped platform. 9, a plurality of coil springs 15 are arranged radially around the rotating shaft 25, an elastomer holding cap 30 elastically holds the inner ends 15c of these coil springs, and the elastomer holding cap 30 is in a compressed state. and a holding cap presser fitting 31 attached to the rotary shaft 25 so as to press against the disk-shaped base portion 9 and elastically press the rotary disk 6 toward the inclined support plate 2. A plurality of retaining pieces 4 in which the presser metal fittings are spaced apart in the circumferential direction
0, and the elastomer holding cap and the coil spring are integrally connected to the rotating disk by these retaining pieces.

(Function) According to the above-described configuration, since the inner end 15c of the coil spring 15 is elastically held by the elastomer holding cap 30, when a large stirring load is applied to the coil spring, the coil The problem is that the spring elastically deforms the elastomer holding cap 30 and elastically curves as a whole, and does not bend at the curved portion, resulting in the coil spring breaking or permanently deforming due to repeated bending fatigue. It is possible to always demonstrate a high stirring function.

Further, when the elastomer retaining cap and the coil spring are integrally connected to the rotating disc 6 by the retaining cap holding fitting 31, the elastomer retaining cap is pressed against the disc-shaped base part in a compressed state. Since the center of the rotating disk 6 is elastically pressed toward the support plate 2, the outer peripheral edge of the rotating disk 6 is reliably pressed against the balls 22 in the rotating disk outer peripheral edge support structure. Thereby, the outer peripheral edge of the rotating disk 6 is stably maintained at a constant distance from the inclined support plate.

In this way, the elastomer holding cap has the functions of both elastically holding the coil spring and acting as a pressing member in the rotating disk outer peripheral edge support structure, thereby reducing the number of parts and making the structure compact. can do.

(Embodiment) The drawing shows one embodiment of the coin dispensing device according to the present invention, and in the drawing, 1 is a support stand, 2 is an inclined support plate fixedly supported by the support stand 1 at an angle with respect to the horizontal, Reference numeral 3 denotes a hopper head which is attached to this support plate with screws 4, and together with the support plate 2 constitutes a hopper 5 which stores hardened material in a loose state.

On one side of the hopper 5, a rotary disk 6 is rotatably supported by the inclined support plate 2 as will be described later, and is configured to be rotationally driven by a drive device. A plurality of coin holding pockets are provided on the outer circumferential portion 6a of the rotating disk 6 in the circumferential direction of the rotating disk 6 to pick up the hardened coins one by one from the hopper and send them to the upper outlet 7. Coin sending pieces or pins 8 are spaced apart at corresponding intervals and protruded at a height corresponding to the thickness of the coins to be processed, and the outer peripheral edge of a disc-shaped platform 9 is provided at the center of the rotating disc 6. The coin holding pocket is configured to pick up coins one by one from the hopper 3 into each coin holding pocket and deliver them to the upper outlet section 7 by the rotation of the rotary disk 6.

An exit knife 10 is provided in the upper exit portion 7, extending across the outer peripheral portion 6a of the rotary disk 6, with its pointed end 10a in contact with the upper outer peripheral edge 9a of the disc-shaped platform portion 9. The upper end edge 10b of 10 is extended in the tangential direction to the upper outer peripheral edge 9a at the pointed end 10a, so that the coin sent to the upper outlet part 7 by the feed pin 8 by the rotation of the rotary disk 6 is transferred to the disk-shaped platform. Exit knife 1 from above the upper outer peripheral edge 9a of section 9
It is configured such that it can be picked up on top of a coin and sent out of the device through a coin outlet chute 11. The upper edge 10b of the exit knife 10 is configured to be inclined downward within the outlet chute 11 so that coins roll and fall on the upper edge 10b of the knife and are ejected from the apparatus.

Above the exit knife 10, a roller 13 on a spring-biased actuating arm 12 of a coin counting switch is disposed to face the coin counting switch. A coin counting switch is operated to perform counting.

14 is a coin stack prevention wiper for preventing coins from being fed into the upper outlet section 7 in an overlapping state; 15 is a wiper mounted on the disc-shaped base section 9 for stirring the coins in the hopper 5; A coil spring is shown.

The coin overlapping prevention wiper 14 is made of soft natural or synthetic rubber, and in the example shown, is placed at the upper outlet section 7 of the coin dispensing device in a circular shape in front of the exit knife 10 when viewed in the direction of rotation of the rotary disk 6. Two pieces are provided at positions spaced apart in the circumferential direction. Each wiper 14
When the base 14a is pressed onto the mounting fixing piece 16 of an appropriate height provided on the fixed inclined support plate 2, the spring plate 1
7 by screws 18, and extends from the outer periphery of the rotating disk 6 toward the center beyond the peripheral wall 19 provided on the support plate 2 to surround the rotating disk 6. The wiper 14 is extended and bent downward from the upper end of the peripheral wall 19 toward the surface of the outer circumferential portion 6a of the rotating disk by the spring plate 1, and the free end 14b provided with the conical protrusion is connected to the outer circumferential portion of the rotating disk. The intermediate portion 14c between the free end portion 14b and the fixed base portion 14a is spaced apart from the surface of the outer circumferential portion of the rotating disk so that the coin feed pin 8 passes between the surface and the outer circumferential portion of the rotating disk. A sufficient gap 20 is provided so that when a coin passes between the wiper 14 and the outer peripheral surface, the wiper 14 comes into close contact with the outer peripheral surface as the rear end of the coin passes, so that the coins overlap. Even if two coins follow, the upper coin is brushed off and only one coin is allowed to pass.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rotating disk 6 is provided with an annular race 21 on the outer peripheral edge of the lower surface, and a plurality of balls 22 that engage with the annular race 21 and roll are connected to the fixed inclined support plate 2. The retainer 23 is arranged in the outer circumferential direction in between, and as will be described later, the rotating disk 6 is rotated by a spring force acting on the center of the rotating disk 6.
is pressed against the balls 22, so that the rotating disk 6 has a plurality of balls 22 on the outer peripheral edge of its lower surface.
is rotatably supported on the support plate 2, and
The rotating shaft 25 driven by the drive device 24 is passed through the center hole 26 of the rotating disk 6 and is not directly connected to the pin 27 that protrudes from the lower surface of the rotating disk 6.
The driving force is transmitted by the engagement of the horizontal pin 28 penetrating the rotating shaft 25, and as a result, the rotating disk 6 is moved even by fluctuations in the weight of coins in the hopper 5 acting on the lower part of the rotating disk 6. It is configured to be able to rotate stably without rotational wobbling and to prevent overload from being applied to the drive device.

In the illustrated example, three coin stirring coil springs 15 are arranged radially on the disc-shaped base portion 9 with the rotating shaft 25 as the center. These coil springs 15 have hook portions 15a and 15b at both ends, and as will be described later, inside the inner end portion 15c, which is held elastically, is a separate short small diameter reinforcing coil spring or other reinforcing material. 29 is installed by screwing into the inner coil groove of the coil spring 15. For example, the coil spring 15
A steel wire with a diameter of 1.5 mm and a coil diameter of 10 mm can be suitably used as it has the desired strength and flexibility.

These coil springs 15 are attached to a rubber holding cap 3 attached to a shaft end 25a of a rotating shaft 25 that protrudes through a disc-shaped platform 9 on a rotating disc 6.
The inner end portion 15c is elastically held by the holding cap holding member 31 and the holding cap holding member 31. Therefore, the holding cap 30 has a center hole 3 for attachment to the rotating shaft end 25a, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
2, a spring inner end holding recess 33 that opens in the radial direction, an inner end hook holding recess 34 formed by extending a part of this recess 33, a retainer fitting mounting recess 35, and a retaining piece insertion hole 36. The holding cap holding fitting 31 is provided with a rotary shaft end 2.
a center hole 37 for attaching to the cap 5a, a holding cap suppressing portion 38, a compression spring receiving seat 39,
Inner end hooks 15 of a plurality of coil springs 15
A retaining piece 40 is provided which engages with the inner end 15c of the coil spring 15 and prevents the inner end 15c of the coil spring 15 from coming out of the recess 33.
0 indicates a retaining piece insertion hole 36 formed in the holding cap 30, a hole 41 formed by the inner end hook 15b, and a through hole 4 formed in the disc-shaped base portion 9.
2 and into a through hole 43 formed in the rotary disk 6, so that the retaining piece 40 not only prevents the coil spring 15 from coming off, but also prevents the retaining cap 30, the coil spring 15, and the circular It also serves to connect the plate-like platform 9 to the rotary disk 6 so that they rotate together. Further, the outer shape of the retaining cap 30 is a conical shape as shown by 45 except for a portion 44 of the coil spring retaining recess 33.

When assembling, the coil spring 15, the holding cap 30, and the holding cap holding fitting 31 are
, support the compression spring 46 on the compression spring receiving seat 39 of the holding cap holding fitting 31 , and tightening the seat plate 47 to the shaft end of the rotating shaft 25 with the screw 48 . and holding cap 30
The inner end portion 15c of the coil spring, the disk-shaped platform portion 9, and the rotating disk 6 are tightly coupled together, and the rotating disk 6 is mounted in pressure contact with the ball 22 on the fixed inclined support plate 2. Can be done.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, the inner end of the coil spring, which is a coin stirring member, is elastically held against the rotating disk by an elastomer holding cap, so that the coil spring does not cause excessive stirring. When a load is applied, the coil spring does not bend,
The coil spring as a whole can curve gently and elastically to reduce the load, thereby extending the life of the coil spring. When the large load is removed, the coil spring quickly returns to its elastic state and resumes normal operation, so that the stirring function of the coil spring can be maintained at a high level at all times. Also,
The elasticity of the holding cap is used to elastically press the center of the rotating disk against the inclined support plate, effectively holding the outer periphery of the rotating disk at a constant level against the support plate. This allows the number of parts to be reduced and the structure to be simplified.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a coin dispensing device according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the coin dispensing device according to the present invention, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the rotary plate support structure and stirring mechanism, and Fig. 4 is taken from above the - line in Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrow. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the stirring coil spring retaining cap, and FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 1... Support stand, 2... Inclined support plate, 3...
... Hopper head, 5 ... Hopper, 6 ... Rotating disc, 6a ... Outer peripheral part, 6b ... Outer peripheral part surface, 7 ... Upper outlet part, 8 ... Coin sending piece or pin, 9 ... Disk shape Base, 10...exit knife,
10a... Tip portion, 10b... Upper edge, 13...
Outlet chute, 14... wiper, 15... coil spring for stirring coins, 29... reinforcing member, 2
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Annular race, 22... Ball, 30... Holding cap, 31... Holding cap presser fitting, 4
0... Retaining piece, 46... Compression spring, 4
7... Seat board.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An inclined support plate 2 provided at an angle with respect to the horizontal, a sending coin storage hopper 5 mounted on this support plate, and a coin storage hopper 5 that rotates at an inclined position with respect to the horizontal within this hopper. A rotating disc 6 rotated around an axis, a disc-shaped base part 9 in which this rotating disc is provided at the center of its upper surface, and an outer peripheral part of the rotating disc around this disc-shaped base part. It has a plurality of coin feeding pieces 8 projecting from the upper surface at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction,
Furthermore, a plurality of balls 22 are inserted between the outer peripheral edge of the rotating disk and the inclined support plate so as to be spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction. an exit knife 10 provided with a pointed end in contact with the upper outer peripheral edge of the disc-shaped platform; A coin dispensing device comprising an outlet chute 11 that receives and discharges coins from above the rotating disk, and a stirring device that is provided on the disk-shaped platform and stirs the coins in the hopper, wherein the stirring device is arranged on the circular disk. A plurality of coil springs 15 are arranged radially around the rotation axis on the plate-shaped platform, an elastomer holding cap 30 elastically holding the inner ends 15c of these coil springs, and this elastomer holding cap. a holding cap presser fitting 31 attached to the rotary shaft 25 so as to press the rotary disk 6 against the disk-shaped base portion in a compressed state and elastically press the rotary disk 6 toward the support plate 2; , the presser metal fitting has a plurality of retaining pieces 40 spaced apart in the circumferential direction, and the elastomer holding cap and the coil spring are integrally connected to the rotating disk by these retaining pieces. A coin dispensing device featuring: