This invention relates generally to coin handling and processing apparatus such as coin wrapping apparatus and more particularly to a coin stacking tube device suitable for incorporation in any of such apparatus.
A typical example of a conventional coin wrapping apparatus is that of a construction wherein coins supplied from a hopper onto a turntable are arrayed by centrifugal force applied thereto along the periphery of the turntable, and a coin counting mechanism counts the coins while the coins are sent from the turntable to a coin passage and propelled therealong by, for instance, a propelling belt. The coins delivered from the coin passage one after another are received in a coin stacking tube to be stacked therein, the coins thus stacked being dropped into a coin wrapping device comprising a plurality of coin wrapping rolls disposed around a circle directly below the coin stacking tube. The thus stacked coins are wrapped by the wrapping rolls with a piece of paper, and the lateral edges of the paper are fold crimped to form firm beads by which the paper is maintained in tightly wrapped state.
In the case when it is required to change the denomination of coins to be wrapped in the coin wrapping apparatus, various parts of the apparatus must be readjusted so that the apparatus is set for the new denomination of coins. Of these parts, the number of coins supplied onto the turntable, the rotating speed of the same, the lateral width of the coin passage, the height and the position of the propelling belt, the positions of the wrapping rolls to be brought into contact with the stack of coins, and the rotating speed of the wrapping rolls can be readjusted comparatively easily by interlinking those members controlling these values with a member for setting the apparatus to a different denominations of coins.
However, the adjustment of the inner diameter of the coin stacking tube is not easy, and therefore it has been a conventional practice to prepare a number of coin stacking tubes each having a different inner diameter suitable for a specific denomination (or one outer diameter) of coins and, at the time of changing the denomination of coins to be wrapped, to replace the existing coin stacking tube with another suitable for the new denomination.
In this case also, the denomination changing operation is found to be troublesome because of the requirement of the selection and the replacement, and furthermore there has been a high possibility of erroneous selection of the coin stacking tube, causing unsatisfactory stacking of coins in the erroneous coin stacking tube.
Recently, a type of coin stacking tube whose inner diameter is made variable in accordance with the denomination of coins has been developed. In this kind of coin stacking tube, the space for receiving the coins is formed by a plurality of blades provided in an outer casing, the inner edge of each blace contacting against the inner surface of the preceding blade, the stem part of each blade being supported rotatably about an axis fixed to the outer casing, and all blades being rotated in either of the opening and closing directions in accordance with the denomination setting in the coin wrapping apparatus, whereby the space formed within the plurality of blades is adapted for the denomination or the outer diameter of the coins to be stacked therein.
In this example, however, in order to assure smooth rotation of the blades at the time of expension or constraction of the interior space of the coin stacking tube, the rotating axes for the blades must be secured to the outer casing in parallel with each other. If the rotating axes are not accurately, parallel, the coin stacking space formed therein cannot be of a correct circular cross-section, thus causing unsatisfactory stacking of coins within the tube, and the uneven contacting of the innermost edges of the blades against the inner surfaces of the preceding blades causing a considerable torque to be required for rotating the blades.