GB2089548A

GB2089548A - Coin Collection Meters

Info

Publication number: GB2089548A
Application number: GB8136866A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Landis and Gyr AG; LGZ Landis and Gyr Zug AG
Current assignee: Siemens Building Technologies AG; Landis and Gyr AG
Priority date: 1980-12-15
Filing date: 1981-12-07
Publication date: 1982-06-23
Also published as: GB2089548B; CH657465A5; DE3102018A1

Abstract

A coin collection meter for supplying fixed amounts of a medium (e.g. electrical energy) is provided with a mechanical meter (1) with a pulse generator (2), a coin portion (3) which has a mechanical up/down counter (5), and a registering means (6). The registering means (6) includes a release logic circuit (11) in the case of a single-tariff coin collection meter (or a release logic means with tariff change-over switching means in the case of a dual-tariff coin collection meter-Figure 2) that controls two electronic counters (7, 8) with coding fields (9, 10) in the single-tariff meter (or with three coding fields in the dual- tariff meter) for preselection in respect of the price of the fixed-amount and the coin value. The coding fields (9, 10), which can be set by means of coding cards, are disposed behind a closable and lead-sealable window of a housing of the meter (1). The meters can be used as normal consumption meters and the dual-tariff meter can be used as a single-tariff meter by all coding fields being set to zero or by two coding fields of the first counter (7) being set equal, in accordance with the selected tariff. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Coin Collection Meters This invention relates to coin collection meters for supplying fixed amounts of a medium.

Coin collection meters for supplying electrical energy in pre-paid fixed amounts are known. If the price of the fixed amount is to be altered, it is necessary to remove a lead sealing of the meter, then to replace an existing gear wheel transmission assembly by another gear wheel transmission assembly corresponding to the new fixed price, and then to lead-seal the meter again.

Replacing the gear wheel transmission assembly requires particular skill, involves a considerable amount of work, and involves intervention into the meter mechanism with the attendant dangers of fouling thereof.

German Published Patent Application No.

DE 2 441 268 A discloses an electronic setting transmission means, in particular for tariff equipment, having binary counters which can be pre-programmed by means of coding switches.

German Published Patent Application No.

DE 2 520 738 A discloses a dispensing pump control means wherein the price of petrol can be set by a sales price switch. These two designs are complicated and therefore uneconomical.

According to the present invention there is provided a coin collection meter for supplying fixed amounts of a medium on the basis of a sum of money formed by inserted coins, the coin collection meter comprising a mechanical quantitative meter having a pulse generator operative to provide pulses which correspond to the amount of medium taken, a coin portion for receiving, checking, registering, displaying and collecting inserted coins, the coin portion being provided with a mechanical memory in which the number of coins is retained, and an electronic registering means which is connected to the mechanical memory and which has a first electronic counter with preselection and a second electronic counter with preselection and which is controlled by the pulse generator of the mechanical quantitative meter and by a clock by way of a release logic circuit.

Embodiments of the invention described below provide a coin collection meter, a fixed amount price of which can be altered in a very simple manner The invention will now be further described, by way of illustrative and non-limiting example, by description of two embodiments thereof designed to constitute coin collection meters for the supply of electrical energy. Such two embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 a block circuit diagram of a singletariff coin collection meter embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a block circuit diagram of a dualtariff coin collection meter embodying the invention; and Figure 3 shows a logic release means with tariff change-over switching for the dual-tariff meter.

The single-tariff coin collection meter shown in Figure 1 comprises a known mechanical electricity meter 1 which can be connected to the conductors R, O of a mains supply line and with which there is associated a pulse generator 2 operative to emit pulses which correspond to fixed amounts of electrical energy supplied. The single-tariff meter has a coin portion 3, a part thereof denoted by reference numeral 4 including in known manner all components required for the operations of insertion, checking and collection of coins. The coin portion 3 is also provided with a mechanical memory 5 which, in the form of an up/down counter, stores and displays the number of coins. In addition, the mechanical memory 5 can also store and display the value of the energy to be supplied, or the number of all coins already collected, and the like.The mechanical memory 5 controls a switch S which is disposed in a phase conductor R of the mains supply line and which is closed after inseion of at least one coin so that the supply of electrical energy can take pppace.

Associated with the coin portion 3 is an electronic registering means 6 which is connected between the mechanical memory 5 and the pulse generator 2 of the electricity meter 1 and which controls the delivery of the amounts of energy, corresponding to the amount of money inserted, by means of a fixed-amount price set therein.

The electronic registering means 6 has two electronic counters 7 and 8 which are provided with preselection means formed by coding panels or fields 9 and 10, for setting the desired fixedamount price or coin value manually or by means of code cards. An output of the second counter 8 is connected to the memory 5. The registering means 6 includes a release logic circuit 11, the circuit 11 having an input connected to an output of the first counter 7 and an output connected to inputs of the two counters 7 and 8. The circuit 11 is controlled by the pulse generator 2 and by a clock 12. The clock is formed by the a.c. mains supply and has a clock frequency of 50 Hz.

As shown by way of example in Figure 1, the logic circuit 11 may comprise an R-S bistable circuit 1 3, the S input of which is connected to the pulse generator 2, the R input of which is connected to the output of the counter 7, and the Q output of which is connected to the inputs of the two counters 7 and 8 by way of an AND-gate 14 controlled by the clock 1 2.

Figure 2 is a block circuit diagram of a dualtariff coin collection meter. The meter of Figure 2 resembles in many respects that of Figure 1 and will only by described in so far as it differs therefrom. Unlike the circuit arrangement for the single-tariff meter shown in Figure 1, the coding field 9 for preselection in the first electronic counter 7 is replaced by two coding fields 1 5 and 1 6 which serve for setting two tariffs I and II, that is to say fixed-amount prices I and II. The release logic circuit 11 shown in Figure 1 is replaced by a release logic means 1 7 having tariff change-over switching means. The coding fields 1 5 and 1 6 are activated depending on the respective selected tariff in the mechanical electricity meter 1.

Change-over switching of the tariffs in the electricity meter 1 and corresponding actuation of the release logic means 1 7 having tariff changeover switching means by way of a line 18 take place in known manner by a time switch, ripple control commands or the like.

As shown by way of example in Figure 3, the release logic means 17 with tariff change-over switching means may comprise a first D-type bistable circuit 1 9 in which the clock input is controlled by the pulse generator 2 of the electricity meter 1 , the D input being connected to the positive terminal of the supply and the S input being connected to earth. The Q output of the first D-type bistable circuit 1 9 is connected, on the one hand, to an AND-gate 20 which is controlled by the clock 12 and which is connected to the inputs of the two counters 7 and 8 and, on the other hand, to the clock input T of a second Dtype bistable circuit 21 whose R and S inputs are connected to earth.The D input of the bistable circuit 21, which is connected to earth by way of a resistor R, is controlled by way of the line 1 8 by the tariff change-over switching means of the electricity meter 1. The Q output of the secondtype bistable circuit 21 is connected to a first input of an OR-gate 23 by way of an AND-gate 22 which is controlled by the coding field 15. The O output of the D-type flip-flop 21 is connected by way of an AND-gate 24, controlled by the second coding fiold 1 6, to a second input of the OR-gate 23, the output of which is connected by way of a pulse matching circuit 25 to an R input of the counter 7 and to the R input of the first D-type bistable circuit 19.

When there is a zero signal at the D input of the second D-type bistable circuit .2 1, the ANDgate 22 is in a non-conducting condition while the AND-gate 24 is conducting. The coding field 1 6 is activated. When a signal of level '1' comes from the tariff change-over switching means of the electricity meter 1 by way of the line 18, the AND-gate 24 is rendered non-conducting and the AND-gate 22 conducting on receipt of the next pulse from the pulse generator 2, so that the coding field 1 5 is activated.

In both embodiments, the coding fields 9, 10, 15 and 16 of the two electronic counters 7, 8 are disposed behind a closable and lead-sealable window in a housing of the electricity meter 1, which permits rapid access to the coding fields or coding switches and setting thereof manually or by means of code cards.

For a coin having a coin value W, a given number of fixed amounts of electrical energy at a given price F is supplied. The ratio W/F is equal to p+R, where p is an integer and corresponds to the number of full fixed amounts, and R represents an amount of energy which is less than the full fixed amount and corresponds to a residual amount which is either taken or not taken, as will be shown hereinafter.

For the purposes of forming W/F, the fixed amount pulse and the coin value are adjusted to a number of pulses corresponding to those values.

If n pulses of the clock 12 correspond to a fixedamount pulse, and n' pulses thereof correspond to a coin, then W/F becomes n'/n=p+R.

The values n and n' are used for setting the preselection in respect of the electronic counters 7 and 8.

After the insertion of one of more coins, the mechanical memory 5 is incremented by the number M of coins inserted. The switch S is closed and energy can be consumed. After the first fixed amount is consumed, the pulse generator 2 produces a pulse so that the 50 Hz pulses of the clock 12, which are present at an input of the release logic circuit 11, are counted into the two counters 7 and 8. When the first counter 7 reaches the set counter condition n which corresponds to a fixed amount, it is put to zero. The content of the second counter 8 remains in storage and is now n. After the second fixed amount is consumed, that process is re-started.

The content of the second counter 8 is now 2n.

With the pth or (p+1 )th fixed amount (R=O), the set preselection n' of the second counter 8 is reached. The mechanical memory 5 is decremented by 1.

The partial or residual amount (rio) which exceeds a fixed amount and which corresponds to m pulses of the clock 12 is taken into account by computation and retained in the second counter 8.

If coins are still available (M+O), the supply of energy can be pursued. With the next fixedamount pulse, the content of the second counter 8 rises from m to m+n. When the last coin has been used (M=O), the switch S is opened by the mechanical memory 5 and the supply of electrical energy is thus interrupted.

In the dual-tariff meter shown in Figure 2, the appropriate tariffs are set in the coding fields 1 5 and 1 6 of the first counter 7. After arrival of the first fixed-amount pulse, the 50 Hz pulses of the clock 1 2 are released by way of the activated coding field 1 5 or 1 6 which corresponds to the selected tariff, by the release logic means 1 7 with tariff change-over switching means, and counted into the counters 7 and 8 by way of the AND-gate 20. Further operation is as in the case of the single-tariff meter shown in Figure 1.

When reckoning up the partial amount m which exceeds a fixed amount, two situations can occur, depending on the design of the release logic circuit 11 or 17. In the first case, which corresponds to the described circuit arrangement, the partial amount m is consumed with the 'current' coin, that is to say, the coin which is entered in the registering means 6, which means that p+1 fixed amounts are taken. In the second case, which is not illustrated, the partial amount m is consumed with the 'next following' coin which is subsequently entered in the registering means 6, so that the amount of energy taken in this case is only p fixed amounts. In the first situation, the consumer has not paid for the partial amount taken, while in the second case he has paid for it but not received it.The partial amounts m are retained in the second counter 8 and settled in the subsequent supply of energy.

If necessary, the two meter shown in Figures 1 and 2 can be used as normal consumption meters by the coding field 9 or the coding fields 1 5 or 16 in the dual-tariff meter being set to zero and a single coin inserted. This possible use is advantageous particularly when electrical energy is also to be taken by others than by the owner, for example in a holiday home or the like.

If necessary, the dual-tariff meter can be used as a single-tariff meter by the coding fields 1 5 and 1 6 both being suitably set to the selected tariff.

Besides the simple and time-saving operation of setting the fixed-amount price in the coding fields 9 or 1 5, 16 respectively and the coin value in the coding field 10, and the possibility of using the meters as normal comsumption meters, the present design of meter also has a further advantage. In the event of a power failure while energy is being consumed, the number of coins in the mechanical memory 5 remains and can be consumed after power is restored. With the circuit arrangements illustrated, the amount of energy m which has already been consumed, beyond a fixed amount, can be taken once again because the cycle of decrease in respect of the coin recorded in the registering means 6 is re-started from the beginning.

The above-described coin portion 3 with the registering means 6 may be associated both with mechanical electricity meters and also other meters for the supply of other media.

Claims

1. A coin collection meter for supplying fixed amounts of a medium on the basis of a sum of money formed by inserted coins, the coin collection meter comprising a mechanical quantitative meter having a pulse generator operative to provide pulses which correspond to the amount of medium taken, a coin portion for receiving, checking, registering, displaying and collecting inserted coins, the coin portion being provided with a mechanical memory in which the number of coins is retained, and an electronic registering means which is connected to the mechanical memory and which has a first electronic counter with preselection and a second electronic counter with preselection and which is controlled by the pulse generator of the mechanical quantitative meter and by a clock by way of release logic circuit.

2. A coin collection meter according to claim 1, wherein the mechanical memory comprises an up/down counter.

3. A coin collection meter according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein preselection of the first and of the second electronic counters can be effected by means of coding fields which can be set by code cards.

4. A coin collection meter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the release logic circuit comprises a bistable circuit of which an S input is connected to the pulse generator, an R input is connected to the first counter and a Q output is connected to inputs of the two counters by way of an AND-gate controlled by the clock.

5. A coin collection meter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, for use as a dual-tariff coin collection meter, wherein preselection of the first counter can be effected by means of two coding fields for setting a first and a second tariff, which fields can be activated by way of the release logic circuit, which includes tariff change-over switching means, depending on the switched tariff of the mechanical quantitative meter.

6. A coin collection meter according to claim 5, wherein the release logic circuit including tariff change-over switching means comprises a first Dtype bistable circuit having a clock input controlled by the pulse generator of the mechanical quantitative meter, a D input connected to a positive upper terminal, an S input Connected to earth, and a Q output connected to an AND-gate which is controlled by the clock and which is connected to the inputs of the two counters, and a second D-type bistable circuit having a clock input connected to the Q output of the first D-type bistable circuit, a D input controlled by tariff change-over switching means of the mechanical quantitive meter, a Q output connected to a first input of an OR-gate by way of an AND-gate controlled by a first of said two coding fields, and a Q output connected by way of another ANDgate controlled by the other of said two coding fields to a second input of the OR-gate, the output of which is connected to an R input of the first counter and an R input of the first D-type bistable circuit by way of a pulse matching circuit.

7. A coin collection meter according to any of one of the preceding claims, wherein the release logic circuit is so designed that a partial amount which exceeds a fixed amount is consumed with a next following coin which is subsequentially recorded in the registering means.

8. A coin collection meter according to any one of the preceding claims, for use as a normal consumption meter, wherein the preselection of the first counter is set to zero.

9. A coin collection meter according to claim 5 or claim 6, for use as a single-tariff coin collection meter, wherein the preselection of said two coding fields of the first counter is set equal and in accordance with the single tariff.

1 0. A coin collection meter according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein preselection means for the counters are arranged behind a closable and lead-sealable window provided in a housing of the mechanical quantitative meter.

11. A coin collection meter substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 1 or Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.