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.

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.

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.