Abstract: A card housing section has at a front surface a cut portion provided with an opening and closing portion and at a lower end an opening provided with a receiving rib, and a card is held between the receiving rib and a push-plate mounted on an upper plate of a housing box through a coil spring. A second supporting rod slidably and rotatably connected to a first supporting rod stood upright on the push-plate is held in the horizontal state on the housing box by the action of the coil spring, and cards may be supplied through the cut portion in the front of the housing box into a space formed between the push-plate and the receiving rib while the housing section is being assembled into a dispenser body. In addition, a card dispensing section comprises a guide hole extending in a direction of dispensing cards and having sliding grooves provided on opposite sides thereof and inlet and outlets which are downwardly opened into one place forward and backward, and a sliding rod reciprocably fitted in the guide hole.

Abstract: A card feeding mechanism utilizes a slider supported for reciprocating movement on a reference surface positioned below a card stack and a picker carried on the slider and operatively engaged with an edge of the lowermost card of the card stack to feed only the lowermost card as the slider moves. The picker is composed of a rigid and hard material withstanding a wear and formed in its surface with a slot extending in a direction at right angles to the moving direction of the slider and bordered by opposed front and rear slot edges. The rear slot is arranged at a higher position than the front slot edge to define a step between the slot edges. The step has a height determined in accordance with a thickness of the card so that the step can be engaged with the edge of the lowermost card.

Abstract: The control system is constituted by a plurality of switches operated by inserted coins of different denominations, first register for storing amounts of inserted coins for each denomination and a second register for storing remaining amount of change. The amount of coins corresponding to operated switch is added to the content of the first register, 1 is added to the content of the second register in accordance with the denomination of the inserted coin, and 1 is substracted from the content of the second register in accordance with the denomination of payed out money. The selling price of a merchandise is subtracted from the total price of the inserted coins for calculating the amount of change. Selling is possible or not is determined by sequentially subtracting the price of the coins starting from a coin of the highest price from the change.

Abstract: The control system for a vending machine according to the invention is designed for preventing shortage of change coins to a maximum possible extent. According to the control system, as many coins of a low denomination as possible among coins inserted by a purchaser are collected for use as change coins. The control system further includes, in addition to main tubes to which inserted coins are automatically supplemented, auxiliary tubes to which coins are manually supplemented by a supervisor of the vending machine. A payout control between the main tubes and the auxiliary tubes is effected without providing a special switch for detecting change over between the main tubes and the auxiliary tubes.

Abstract: A coin dispensing machine capable of selectively dispensing a coin of a predetermined denomination from among coins of various denominations stored in a plurality of coin tubes. Coins placed at the bottom of the respective coin tubes (i.e. the lowermost coins in stacks of coins in the respective coin tubes) are taken out of the coin tubes by means of a pay out slide. A single coin only among the taken out coins nominated by selective energization of two solenoids is allowed to drop below while the coins which have not been selected are returned to the coin tubes. The dropped coin is then introduced into an outlet by a wiping operation of one or two wipers.

Abstract: In a coin inspecting apparatus wherein two secondary coils of a differential transformer are disposed along a coin passage and connected in series opposition, the secondary coils are disposed with a spacing smaller than the diameter of the coin and the level of the output of the secondary coils is detected to determine the diameter of the coin. In a modification two sets of the secondary coils are provided to inspect not only the diameter but also the material and the surface pattern of the coin.

Abstract: A control system for a vending machine capable of confirming an actual pay-out of change coins. The control system according to the invention includes a paid out coin detection switch which is provided at a location where a change coin driven out by a change pay-out motor passes by and a timer which operates during a predetermined period of time from starting of the change pay-out motor. The actual pay-out of the change coin is confirmed by actuation of the paid out coin detection switch during the operation time of the timer.

Abstract: A control system for a vending machine of a type capable of vending plural pieces of an article continuously in which an upper limit number of coins to be accepted is set for every denomination of coin and, if the number of inserted coins has reached the set upper limit, a subsequently inserted coin of the particular denomination is returned without being accepted. The control system according to the invention includes a counting device provided for each denomination of coin and a circuit for comparing the counting output of each counting device with a predetermined upper limit coin number for the corresponding denomination.

Abstract: A vending machine capable of coping with changes in the kinds of vendible articles and a vend price in a very simple manner without modifying the coin control circuitry. The vender includes a plurality of switches and the vend price can be easily preset by suitably opening and closing these switches. Upon depression of a desired article selection switch of the vender, a set vend price signal corresponding to this switch is supplied to coin control circuitry in the form of a binary signal. The coin control circuitry compares the set vend price signal with amount of inserted coins and, when vending is possible, supplies a vend signal to the vender via a single line. The vender dispenses the selected article in response to depression of the article selection switch and receipt of the vend signal.

Abstract: A coin receiving apparatus for a vending machine capable of accurately checking a coin diameter as well as other coin characteristics such as material and a surface pattern for discriminating a true coin from a false one and receiving the former and rejecting the latter. The diameter and other coin characteristics are detected by examining peak values of output waveshapes of coin detectors by means of a window circuit. A single window circuit is provided for each denomination and upper and lower limit values of the window circuit are automatically changed in accordance with a coin characteristic under examination. Frequencies of excitation signals of the various coin detectors are also automatically changed. If a plurality of coins are successively inserted in the coin receiving apparatus without a sufficient time interval, discrimination of the inserted coins is inhibited and the inserted coins are returned.

Abstract: A coin checking device for a vending machine capable of electrically examining whether an inserted coin is a true coin or a counterfeit one as well as kind of the coin. The device detects a waveform representing passage of the coin and also whether the peak level of the waveform appears in a predetermined window or not and, if the peak level is detected in the window, judges that the inserted coin is a true one.

Abstract: A vending machine adapted to temporarily retain a coin of large denomination which is not usable as a change coin among the deposited coins and store coins of small denominations in coin stacking tubes. When the deposited money is to be returned, coins of the same denominations as the deposited small denomination coins are paid out from the coin stacking tubes while the retained large denomination coin itself is also returned. In event the vending machine is short of change coins, the vending machine vends the required article only when a coin requiring no change is deposited and automatically returns the deposited coin when a coin requiring change is deposited.