초록 ▼

A portable canister for holding coin-like objects for ejection from a dispenser has a lid and a substantially box-like base that are either attached pivotally at one or more hinges so that the canister may be opened in a clamshell fashion a full 180 degrees or that come together in a box-like fashio

A portable canister for holding coin-like objects for ejection from a dispenser has a lid and a substantially box-like base that are either attached pivotally at one or more hinges so that the canister may be opened in a clamshell fashion a full 180 degrees or that come together in a box-like fashion without the use of hinges, the cover being lifted entirely off the base for loading. Inside the canister base is a side-by-side array of columns, each column having sides encircling the column circumference by no more than 180 degrees in order to allow horizontal loading of stacks of coins. The lid operates to trap the coins into the columns of the base. The closed canister has slots in the plane of the lid to permit ejection of coins one at a time from each column. An ejection mechanism mounted in the dispenser chassis employs one solenoid subassembly per column of a removable canister. Each solenoid plunger protrudes into the canister base at all times when the canister is mounted and rests underneath a land in the base of the canister. The bottom coin in the stack in each column rests below the bottom of the land on a pad located entirely within the canister base, allowing the plunger to be accurately positioned with respect to the coin. When the ejection mechanism is activated, the plunger strikes only the bottom coin in the stack, pushing it off the pad into the coin chute.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [10.] An ejection mechanism for ejecting coin-like objects from a removable storage container, said storage container having a lid and a base, said mechanism comprising, in combination:a solenoid means, said solenoid means activated by an electronic signal;a solenoid plunger,

[ What is claimed is:] [10.] An ejection mechanism for ejecting coin-like objects from a removable storage container, said storage container having a lid and a base, said mechanism comprising, in combination:a solenoid means, said solenoid means activated by an electronic signal;a solenoid plunger, said solenoid plunger being operatively attached to said solenoid means, said solenoid plunger further being positioned so as to protrude into said removable storage container when said removable storage container is in place and said solenoid means is in both resting and activated states, said solenoid plunger being moved by said solenoid means in response to said electronic signal so as to strike a single one of said coin-like objects at a time and eject said single coin-like object from said removable storage container;a land means, said land means being positioned within said base of said removable storage container so as to guide said solenoid plunger means within said storage containers;slot means for ejection of said coin-like objects from said storage container, said slot means being entirely in the plane of said storage container lid and being formed by a gap between the end of said lid and the edge of said base when said lid means is in a closed position; andpad means for supporting a next one of said coin-like objects within said storage container in preparation for ejection, said pad means being located wholly within said interior of said storage container base, at a point adjacent to said slot means.