U.S. patent number 3,760,924 [Application Number 05/212,933] was granted by the patent office on 1973-09-25 for chips for use in automatic dispensing machines.
Invention is credited to Koshei Arita.
United States Patent |
3,760,924 |
Arita |
September 25, 1973 |
CHIPS FOR USE IN AUTOMATIC DISPENSING MACHINES
Abstract
A chip for use in an automatic dispensing machine having a slot
for receiving the chip, and which comprises a sublimative magnet, a
film for sealing the magnet in an air tight condition, an electric
resistance wire arranged on the film, electrical contacts connected
to the opposite ends of the resistance wire, and a casing
containing the sublimative magnet, the film, the electric
resistance wire and the contacts. The casing has openings adapted
to receive contact rods mounted in the chip receiving slot of the
automatic dispensing machine for energizing the resistance wire
through the electric contacts. Upon the chip being inserted in the
chip receiving slot, a current is passed through the resistance
wire of a magnitude sufficient to cause it to fuse and the heat of
fusion of the resistance wire breaks the film and disintegrates and
demagnetizes the sublimative magnet thus rendering the chip
unusable again. The rupturable element of the chip is manufactured
by a method comprising the steps of applying an electric resistance
wire in the form of a rectangular wave onto a length of adhesive
tape with two parallel sides of the rectangular wave extending
along the opposite side edges of the adhesive tape, bonding metal
foils to the opposite side edges of the adhesive tape and to the
parallel sides of the rectangular wave, and severing transversely
the adhesive tape.
Inventors: |
Arita; Koshei (Ohota-ku, Tokyo,
JA) |
Family
ID: |
22793011 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/212,933 |
Filed: |
December 28, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
194/214 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F
1/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G07F
1/00 (20060101); G07F 1/06 (20060101); G07f
001/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;194/4 ;235/61.11D |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Coleman; Samuel F.
Assistant Examiner: Rolla; Joseph J.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A chip for use in an automatic dispensing machine comprising a
sublimative magnet, rupturable means for sealing said magnet in an
air tight condition, an electric resistance wire arranged on said
rupturable means, electrical contacts connected to the opposite
ends of said resistance wire, and a casing containing said
sublimative magnet, said film, said electric resistance wire and
said contacts, said casing having openings adapted to receive
contact rods mounted in the chip receiving slot of an automatic
dispensing machine for energizing said resistance wire through said
electric contacts, whereby upon said chip being inserted in said
chip inserting slot, a current is passed through said resistance
wire of the magnitude sufficient to cause it to fuse, and the heat
of fusion of said resistance wire disintegrates said rupturable
means and demagnetizes said sublimative magnet thus rendering the
chip unusable again.
2. A chip according to claim 1 wherein said resistance wire has the
form of a segment of a rectangular square wave shape arranged along
the longitudinal axis of one surface of an adhesive tape, metal
foils bonded on the opposite edges of said tape and overlapping
alternate opposite undulations in said resistance wire to form said
contacts for said resistance wire, said sublimative magnet is
contained in a chamber sealed by a film, and said adhesive tape is
applied over the film so as to break it by the heat of said
electrical resistance wire.
3. A chip according to claim 1 wherein said casing comprises a pair
of complementary halves, one half having a chamber formed therein
and adapted to receive said sublimative magnet and hermetically
sealed by said film, and the other half including a pair of contact
pieces inside said openings, said contact pieces being electrically
connected to said resistance wire through said metal foils upon
assembly of the complementary halves.
4. A chip according to claim 3 wherein said casing is provided with
a key way which is used to identify said chip.
5. A chip according to claim 4 wherein said casing is provided with
a slot adapted to temporally latch said chip when it is inserted in
the chip receiving slot of the automatic dispensing machine.
6. A chip according to claim 5 wherein said resistance wire has the
form of a segment of a rectangular square wave shape arranged along
the longitudinal axis of one surface of an adhesive tape, metal
foils bonded on the opposite edges of said tape and overlapping
altenate opposite undulations in said resistance wire to form said
contacts for said resistance wire, said sublimative magnet is
contained in a chamber sealed by a film, and said adhesive tape is
applied over the film so as to break it by the heat of said
electrical resistance wire.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to chips for use in automatic dispensing
machines which can be used only once.
Conventional automatic dispensing machines or slot machines now
being widely used are designed to discriminate whether the inserted
coins are genuine or not or of the prescribed form or not and then
deliver the article purchased while at the same time collect the
inserted coins in a predetermined receiver in the machine. In such
machines it is necessary to insert coins, and in machines of the
type designed to count out change, the construction of the machine
is extremely complicated. Moreover, it is necessary to prepare and
maintain large amounts of change in the machines of the type
referred to above, and they require much labor to collect the coins
received by them. Further, since it is impossible to discriminate
between many types of coins such machines are not suitable for
dispensing goods of high price.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a chip
having a rupturable element for use in automatic dispensing
machines which is inexpensive, extremely difficult to counterfeit
and can be used only once.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method of
manufacturing the rupturable element of the chip readily and at a
low cost.
According to this invention there is provided a chip for use in an
automatic dispensing machine having a slot for receiving the chip
and which comprises a sublimative magnet, a film for sealing the
magnet in an air tight condition, an electric resistance wire
arranged on the film, electrical contacts connected to the opposite
ends of the resistance wire, and a casing containing the
sublimative magnet, the film, the electric resistance wire and the
contacts. The casing has openings adapted to receive contact rods
mounted in the chip receiving slot of an automatic dispensing
machine for energizing the resistance wire through the electrical
contacts. Upon the chip being inserted in the chip receiving slot,
a current is passed through the resistance wire of a magnitude
sufficient to cause it to fuse and the heat of fusion of the
resistance wire breaks the film and disintegrates and demagnetizes
the sublimative magnet thus rendering the chip unusable again.
According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a
method of manufacturing the rupturable element of the chip
comprising the steps of applying an electric resistance wire in the
form of a rectangular wave onto a length of adhesive tape with two
parallel sides of the rectangular wave extending along the opposite
side edges of the adhesive tape, bonding metal foils to the
opposite side edges of the adhesive tape and to the parallel sides
of the rectangular wave, and severing transversely the adhesive
tape.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one example of a chip embodying the
invention;
FIGS. 2a and 2b are longitudinal sectional views of two halves of
the chip shown in FIG. 1 and illustrate the inside
construction;
FIG. 3a is a plan view of a rupturable element used in the
chip;
FIG. 3b is a side view of the ruptuable element;
FIG. 4 illustrates one of the manufacturing steps used in the
construction of the rupturable elements;
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal dross sectional view of the chip shown in
FIG. 1 taken along a line V--V; and
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing one example of the coin inserting
opening or slot designed to receive the chip.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The chip 1 embodying this invention shown in FIG. 1 and is used in
an automatic dispensing machine is generally in the form of a
rectangle and composed of two halves 1a and 1b. One end of the chip
is formed with openings 2a and 2b adapted to receive contact rods
to be described later and a key slot 3 which discriminates the
chip. The upper end of the chip is tapered to facilitate insertion
thereof into the automatic dispensing machine. Horizontal
projections 4a and 4b are formed on the lower end to facilitate
insertion and removal. On the front side of one half 1b is formed a
groove 5, the depth of groove 5 increasing toward key slot 3. As
shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b both halves 1a and 1b of the half 1a are
mounted L shaped electro-conductive contact pieces 6a and 6b with
their vertical legs seated in bifurcated projections 7a, 7b and 8a,
8b. A groove 9 is formed around the periphery of half 1a except the
upper side including openings 2a and 2b, and a transverse partition
wall 10 is formed near the center of the recess in the half 1a.
The remaining half 1b of the chip has a flange 11 adapted to be
received in groove 9 and which is formed around its periphery as
shown in FIG. 2a. Also a transverse partition wall 12 is provided
at a position corresponding to that of partition wall 10 and a
circular wall 13 is formed in the recess beneath transverse
partition wall 12. An adhesive tape 14 carrying a fine resistance
wire 15 shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, is bonded on the upper surfaces
of partition wall 12 and circular wall 13. The fine resistance wire
15 is mounted transversely on the surface of the adhesive tape, and
the opposite ends of the resistance wire extend in opposite
directions along the opposite side edges of the tape. The opposite
ends of the resistance wire and the side edges of the adhesive tape
are clamped by U shpaed thin metal foils 16 acting as the terminals
for the resistance wire.
A rupturable element for the chip is constituted by the adhesive
tape, the resistance wire and the metal foils. This rupturable
element can be readily manufactured by arranging a resistance wire
15 in the form of a rectangular wave on the adhesive tape as shown
in FIG. 4, bonding U shaped metal foils 16 to surround the opposite
side edges and the portions of the resistance wire extending in the
vertical direction along the side edges of the adhesive tape and
then severing the assembly along lines C' and C".
As shown in FIG. 5, a subliminative magnet 17 of any known
composition is disposed within a chamber formed by the surrounding
circular wall 13 as is sealed by an air tight resinous film 18 such
as cellophane or directly by the adhesive tape 14. Different from
the ordinary magnet, the sublimative magnet is formed by moulding
under pressure a mixture of a powder of magnetic material, for
example ferrite, and sublimative substance and loses its magnetism
in air after a definite time. Ordinary sublimative magnet material
loses its magnetism within about 24 hours after exposure to air to
an extent that it cannot be used as a magnet and after about one
week, it disintegrates into a powder and completely loses
magnetism. This demagnetizing period can be controlled over a wide
range by changing the ratio of ingredients, moulding pressure and
other factors. However, where sealed in an air tight manner in a
chamber such as that formed by circular wall 13 and sealed over,
the sublimative magnet 17 does not demagnetize. As shown in FIG.
2a, above described rupturable element comprising resistance wire
15, metal foils 16 acting as the terminals of the resistance wire
and adhesive tape 14 is bonded to the air tight film 18 that is
sealed over the sublimative magnet 17. The metal foils 16 on the
opposite sides are mounted to extend between partition walls 10 and
11 to come into contact with contact pieces 6a and 6b thus making
electrical contact therewith. The two halves 1a and 1b constructed
in the above described manner are then assembled into a unitary
structure as shown in FIG. 5.
Upon the chip 1 described above being inserted into a chip
receiving slot of an automatic dispensing machine as
diagrammatically shown in FIG. 6, two contact rods 19a and 19b at
the bottom of the chip receiving slot are received in openings 2a
and 2b of the chip thus establishing an electrical circuit through
resistance wire 15 and contact pieces 6a and 6b. Concurrently
therewith, a pin 21 of a solenoid 20 which is biased upwardly
engages groove 5 to prevent withdrawal of chip 1 and a magnetic
detector 22, such as a reed switch for example, is operated by the
sublimative magnet to operate the automatic dispensing machine.
When a prescribed chip is inserted as above described, the
resistance between contact rods 19a and 19b is measured to
determine whether the chip is genuine or not, and thereafter a
large current is passed through resistance wire 15 to fuse and
break it. Then, by the heat of fusion, pin holes are formed through
adhesive film 14 and air tight film 18. Consequently, concurrently
with the breakage of the resistance wire, the sublimative magnet
will be exposed to the atmospheric air so that it demagnetizes
gradually as above described. The heat generated by the resistance
wire 15 as a result of passing large current is absorbed by the
thin metal foils 16 on the opposite sides, so that the resistance
wire is broken at its central portion. After the chip 1 becomes
inactive, or assumes a state at which it cannot be used again, in
the above described manner, solenoid 20 is energized by suitable
relay means, not shown, to pull down pin 21 thus unlocking the
chip. The chip is then discharged outwardly from the slot under a
bias of a spring, not shown.
Although in the foregoing description, whether the chip is genuine
or not was determined by the operation of the sublimative magnet
and the resistance wire, the accuracy of such determination can be
increased by adding means for effecting such judgment in accordance
with the direction of magnetization of the sublimative magnet or
the key way 13 which discriminates the type of the chip.
As above described the invention provides an improved chip for use
in automatic dispensing machines wherein large current is passed
through a resistance wire to break it, the heat generated by the
fusion of the resistance wire is used to break the air tight seal
of a sublimative magnet material thus demagnetizing the same
thereby rendering the magnet unusable to a state not permitting
rense. The construction of the chip is simple and inexpensive and
can be discarded. Further, since it is possible to determine
whether the chip is genuine or not in accordance with the
configuration of the chip, the strength of the magnetism or the
direction of magnetization of the sublimative magnet and the rating
of the resistance wire which is used to break the air tight seal
for the magnet, it is extremely difficult to counterfeit the chip.
For this reason, the chip can be discarded once it has been used,
thus eliminating the labor of collecting coins. Moreover, the chip
of this invention can be manufactured readily at a low cost.
Although the invention has been shown and described in terms of a
specific embodiment thereof it will be clear that many changes and
modifications can be made without departing from the true spirit
and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *