Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to apparatus for packaging generally
rigid disc-shaped elements such as coins.
In such apparatus the coins are stacked from above into a cylindri-
cal approximately vertically disposed sleeve which is closable at its lower
end by a pivotal abutment and the internal diameter of which is matched to ~
the diameter of the coins to be processed. The stacked coins are set in ~ -
rotation by a plurality of guide rollers which are disposed parallel to the
axis of the stack and surround the stack, the mutual spacing of the rollers
being adjustable to the diameter of the coins and the height of the rollers
being at least equal to that of the coin stack, for which purpose the sleeve
is provided with a plurality of longitudinal slots which are approximately ;
symmetrically distributed over the periphery of the sleeve and the length of
which is at least equal to the maximum height of the coin type to be count-
ed. ~ach of the guide rollers is insertable into a respective longitudinal
slot while maintaining its position parallel to the stack axis and can be
pressed resiliently against the stacked coins to rotate the coins.
A supply of wrapping paper is introduced through one of these
longitudinal slots or through a separate slot, and thereafter wrapping is !' '
effected. Two folder hooks, which can be moved against the edge of the
wrapping paper projecting above and below the stacked coins, then fold over
the projecting paper. The timed control of each individual treatment stage ~;
occurs automatically. `
In order that the coins to be packaged can be inserted from above
into the centre of the three guide rollers, at least one of the three guide - ;
rollers is adapted to be tilted away laterally. After the coins have been
counted in, the guide rollers are moved in, are set into rotation and the
paper strip serving for packaging is supplied. Securing the coins in a
; vertical direction is effected by the abutment located at the Lmderside.
Owing to the rotation of the guide rollers the stack of coins is set into
; 30 rotation and the wrapping paper wound around the stack of coins. The paper
web is deflected in this case by a projectng toothed cutter. When a certain
adjustable length of the paper web is wound around the stack of coins, the
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paper supply is interrupted, so that the tensional strain occurring in the
paper web leads to tearing along the projecting cutter. Thereafter the edge
of the paper web projecting at the upper and the lower end of the stack of
coins is gradually folded over during continuous further rotation of the
stack of coins, so that the coins in the package are secured against dropping
out.
In known packaging machines of this kind a considerable amount of
work is involved in adjusting the machine upon changing the type of coin,
when the position of the guide rollers and the folder device must be adjust-
ed to suit the diameter and the stacking height of the new coin type. In
known machines partial dismantling of the apparatus is necessary. Admittedly
it has already been attempted to accommodate separate packaging stations for
each of the commonly occurring coin types in one and the same apparatus, but
the apparatus was rendered thereby too large and too expensive.
It is an object of the present invention to construct a coin
packaging machine the manipulation of which for conversion to a different
coin type is considerably simpler than in machines known heretofore, and ~;
whose cost of production and space requirements are reduced.
According to the present invention, there is provided a device for
stacking and packaging generally rigid disc-shaped elements comprising a
generally vertical cylindrical tubular housing having an interior of a
generally circular cross-section for accommodating disc-shaped elements of a
predetermined diameter, means for at least temporarily supporting a stack of
the disc-shaped elements in said housing, at least one longitudinal slot in
said housing, at least one guide roller mounted for rotation about a vertical
axis, means mounting said roller for generally transverse movement relative
to said longitudinal slot whereby a peripheral exterior surface of said
roller will project into said housing through said longitudinal slot, means -
for feeding a web of paper generally tangentially into said housing into
exterior adjacent relationship to said stacked disc-shaped elements, means
for rotating said guide roller to thereby rotate said stack of disc-shaped
elements and wrap the web of paper therearound, stop means immovably fixedly
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carried by said housing for limiting movement of said guide roller into said ;
housing to rotate disc-shaped elements only of said predetermined diameter
upon the rotation of said guide roller, said housing and said stop means
carried thereby being readily removable from its operative association with
said guide roller whereby another housing with different stop means immov- ;~
ably fixedly carried thereby can be substituted for said first-mentioned
housing and stop means to wrap disc-shaped elements of a diameter differing ;
from said predetermined diameter. ;
The adjustment operations necessary heretofore upon changing the
coin type for newly adjusting the guide rollers in the moved-in position are - -
therefore omitted. In each housing or push-in sleeve the stop means or
abutments attached thereto are adjusted to the respective coin type for
which this push-in sleeve is provided. All push-in sleeves are e~ual in ~,
respect of their connection dimensions; they are therefore interchangeable
with each other without additional measures at the machine, and are satis-
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factorily secured in the machine frame by their plug-in connection.
Conveniently, upper and lower folder hooks are displaceable
towards the stack of coins through openings disposed in the sleeve above and
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below the stacked coins. Thereby the advantage is obtained that the sleeve
may be provided with abutments for adjusting the radial and axial displace-
ment movements of the folder hooks. There is, however, also the possibility ;~ ;
that the two folder hooks are fixed to the frame of a guide roller, so that
their inward movement is also determined by the abutment for the guide
roller. In both cases, therefore, an adjustment of the folder hook position
to the respective coin type is obtained. ;
For performing the insertion movement of the guide rollers, numer-
; ous constructional possibilities are available to the average man skilled in
the art. For example, the guide rollers may be displaceably arranged on
rails or in grooves, in which case the rails or the grooves extend radially ~ ;
or slightly obliquely from the outside towards the longitudinal slots in the
sleeve. ~owever, it is particularly favourable to move the guide rollers to
the longitudinal slots in the sleeve by a pivotal movement. For this pur-
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pose, the guide rollers may be rotatably mounted at their upper and lower
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ends in respective pivotal arms, and the pivotal arms in turn are rotatably
mounted in a frame and are supported by means of a guide pin on a guide cam `
of a control disc rotatable relative to the fra~e. rhis control disc has ;
the task of pivoting the guide rollers outwardly when a finished packaged
stack of coins is released from the machine. Moreover, by further rotation
of the control disc the guide rollers can be swung completely ou~ of the
sleeve in order that the latter can be interchanged when a different coin
type is desired. In order to release the finished packaged stack of coins,
it may be satisfactory to move only one of the three guide rollers slight}y
outwardly. In order that the remaining guide rollers are not also displaced
during the rotation of the control disc necessary therefore, a slight play
may be provided or them between their guide pin and their associated guide
cam.
The folder hooks are each preferably mounted in a respec~ive car-
riage, and the two carriages in turn run vertically displaceably on a rail
which is preferably attached to the pivotal arms of a guide roller. This
rail coincides conveniently with the pivot axis of the pivotal arms.
In respect of the drive of the two folder hooks the lower folder
hook may be supported on the periphery of a cam disc which rotates on a hor-
izontal axis a~d which is disposed above the hook at the associated pivotal
frame and against which the hook is pressed by a spring orce. The under-
side o the upper folder hook may be pressed against a pivotal lever the `
other end of which is pivotally connected to a crank. Since the stroke
length of the lower folder hook is independent of the coin type, a particu~
larly economical cam disc drive can be usedtherefore. The stroke length of
the upper folder hookJ in contrast, must be suitable for all occurring coin
types and comprise a considera~ly greater stroke range. Therefore a crank
drive is utilised the amplitude of which can be further increased by the
transmission ratio of the pivotal lever. The vertical displacemeDt of the
lever hooks during the folding process proper is produced by a spring force;
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thereby abutments for the termination of the folding process can be omitted.
FurthermoreJ it has been found advantageous to provide a wedge
member attached to a cam disc which co-operates with an abutment pin of the
upper folder hook in the sense of a radial return motion thereof. It is en-
sured thereby that the counting-in process of the new coins into the sleeve
is not impeded by the projecting upper folder hook.
The pivotal arms for the rollers and ~he suppor~ members for the
folder hooks are advantageously biassed by spring force in the sens0 of in-
ward displacement and the outward displacement may be effected by rotation
of the control disc. For the latter purpose, the rotation of the control
disc is effected by an electro-magnet which is acutated upon termination of
the folding process. The pivotal arms as well as the support members are
thereby swung outwardly by means of their guide pins which rest against re-
spective guide cams of the control disc.
Finally it has been found convenient that at least one of the rol- ~`
lers is connected by a driving belt to a further roller which is disposedon
the rotary axis of the associated pivotal arms and that the roller is con-
nected by a further driving belt to a driving motor mounted on the frame of
the apparatus. Thereby the swing movements of the guide rollers have no in-
fluence on the tension of the driving belts.
An embodiment o~ the invention will now be described by way of ex-
ample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a plan view of a coin packaging machine from above with
its cover plate removed;
Figure 2 is a side view to a reduced scale of the packaging machine
without its coin pack outlet;
Figure 3 is a side view of a guide roller unit of the machine; ~;
Figure 4 is a YieW from below of the packaging machine without i~s
coin pack outlet and folder device;
Figure 5 is an axial section to an enlarged scale of the coin pack
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outlet;
Figure 6 is a side view to an enlarged scale of the folder device;
Figure 7 is a detail to a further enlarged scale of the folder de- `
vice; and
Figure 8 shows the paper feed seen from above.
The operational steps of stacking and wrapping the coins occur in ~ ;
one and the same sleeve. In Figure 1 this sleeve is denoted by the reference
numeral 1. Three guide rollers 2~ 3 and 4 are disposed radially symmetrica-
lly to the centre of the Sleeve 1 and a portion 2a or 3a or 4a of their per-
iphery can extend into the interior of the sleeve 1 through longitudinal
slots in the sleeve not visible in Figure 1. The diameter of the guide roll-
ers, lies approximately in the order of magnitude of the usual coin diameters,
whereas their length is 50 dimensioned that they project at both ends a little ~ ; ;
beyond the coin stacks even in the case of the longest posSible stacks. Ac-
cordingly, the longitudinal slots disposed in the sleeve 1 are so dimensionally ~ ~-
as to their longitudinal and transverse extent that the guide rollers 2, 3
and 4 can be partially introduced without difficulty into the sleeve 1. ~
The mounting of the guide rollars is illustrated in Figure 3 with i -
the guide roller 2 as an example. Each guide roller is moun~ed on an axle 5
or 6 or 7 which in turn is rotatably mounted on two pivotal arms 8a and 8b,
or 9a and 9_ or lOa and lOb. ~he two pivotal arms are transversed at their
outwardly protruding ends by a respective pivot 8c or 9c or lOc in such manner `
that the pivotal ,alrms can rotate about their associated pivot. For increased :
stability the pivotal arms are additionally connected to each other in pairs
by a respective connecting rod 8d or 9d or lOd.
The pivots 8c, 9c and lOc are provided with ends which project at
the bottom and at the top beyond the pivotal arms and are fixed in a bottom
plate 11 and a cover plate 12, both fixed to the casing, as clearly shown
in Figure 2. Thus the parts 8a, 8b and 8d, or 9a, 9b, and 9d, or lOa, lOb
and lOd form a pivotal frame which can be pivoted about the pivot 8c or 9c
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or lOc, so that the guide roller 2 or 3 or 4 associated with the pivotal
frame can be swung from the outside towards the sleeve 1 and its peripheral
portion 2a or 3a or 4a can be inserted to some extent into the interior of
the sleeve through the correspondingly provided axial slots in the sleeve 1.
The two guide rollers 2 and 3 are rotatably driven by an electro-
motor 13 fixed to the casing, whereas the guide roller 4 rotates freely.
For this purpose the axles 5 and 6 associated with ~he guide rollers 2 and 3
have at their uppeI end a toothed belt pulley 14 or 15 which is non-rotata-
bly connected thereto. Furthermore, a twin toothed belt pulley 16 or 17 is
disposed at the upper end of the respective one of the associated pivots
8c and 9c and is rotatably mounted on the pivot axis. The twin toothed belt
pulley 16 is in driving connection on the one hand by way of a toothed belt
16a with the toothed belt pulley 14, and on the other hand by way of a
toothed belt 16b with the electro-motor 13. Similarly the twin toothed belt
pulley 17, which is hidden in Figure 2, is connected on the one h2nd by way
of a toothed belt 17a to the toothed belt pulley 15, and on the other hand
by way of a toothed belt 17_ to the electro-motor. The disposition of the
toothed belts is clearly visible in Figure 1, and it will be seen that the
pivotal movements of the guide rollers can have ~o influence on the tension
in the toothed belts.
The view from below, illustrated in Figure 4, of the packaging
machine with the coin pack outlet removed, shows a control disc 18 which is
disposed co-axially with the sleeve 1. As may also be seen from Figure 2,
the disc is rotatably mounted on the underside of the bottom plate 11. It
has three incisions which extend approximately radially from the outside and
function as guide cams 19, 20 and 21, and which are traversed by guide pins
8e or 9e or lOe of the lower pivotal arms 8a or 9a or lOa. Slots 22, 23 and
~`~ 24 in the bottom plate 11 permit the guide pins 8e or 9e or lOe to penetrate
therethrough and at the same time afford the latter the necessary freedom of
movement ~o enable the guide rollers 2 or 3 or 4 to be pivotally displaced.
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As further shown in Figure 4, the guide rollers 2, 3 and 4 are
biassed by tension springs 25 or 26 or 27 engaging the guide pins 8e or 9e
or lOe and are thereby pressed by a predeterminable force against the coins
; stacked in the sleeve 1.
The control disc 18 is coupled by means of an arm 28 to an electro-
magnet 29 which permits the control disc 18 to be rotated against the spring
force acting thereon, so that the guide rollers 2, 3 and 4 can be swung
radially outwardly and the coin stack located in the sleeve 1 released. The
connection between the arm 28 and the electro-magnet 29 is effec~ed by way of
a slot 30a which is disposed in the armature 30 and is traversed by a pin
31 of the arm 28. The disposition of the slot 30a is so selected that the
movement o~ the armature 30 occurring upon actuation of the magnet drives
the arm 28. On the other hand, however, the slot 30a is selected so that
the guide rollers 2, 3 and 4 yield resiliently in a radial direction and
at the same time can slightly rotate the control disc 18 without the arma- `~ture also being displaced.
The mounting of the control disc 18 on the bottom plate 11 is indi-
cated in Figure 4 by slots 32, 33 and 34 extending in the peripheral direc- ;
tion of the control disc. l`hese slots are traversed by screws 35 or 36 or 37
which are fixed to the bottom plate 11 and which secure the control disc
axially, but which leave the necessary play in the peripheral direction for
performing the pivo~al movements described above,
An opening 38 centrally traversing the bottom plate 11 and the
control disc 18 serves for discharging the finished packed coin stacks.
The diameter of the opening is so dimensioned that coins with the largest
commercial diameter just pass through this opening into the pack outlet 39
which is illustrated in Figure 5. During the stacking and packaging pro-
cess, a vertically adjustable abutment bolt 40 is swung into the openings 38
~` ~o hold the coin stack from below while allowing rotation thereof by the
guide rollers 2, 3 and 4 The abutment bolt 40 is pivotally connected to a
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parallel guiding device consisting of two rods 41. This parallel guiding
device is engaged by an armature 42 of an electro-magnet (not illustrated
in such manner that the abutment bolt 40 cian be swung out of the pack out-
let 39 into the position illustrated by a broken line. Two guide rails 43
disposed laterally of the parallel guiding device secure the parallel gui-
ding device in a transverse direction and constitute at the same time limits
for the two possible positions of the abutmen~ bolt 40.
Figure 5 also provides an indication of the longitudinal slots
in the sleeve 1. These longitudinal slots are provided with the refarence
; 10 numerals la and lb, respectively. The third longitudinal slot is located
above the plane o the drawing and is therefore not visible. The longitu-
dinal slots are hidden behind the associated guide rollers 3 and 4, respec-
tively, almost to their lower end.
At the lower end, where it is anchored to the bottom plate, the
; sleeve 1 is provided with a radially projecting collar 44, which, in the
manner of an abutment, limits the inward displacement of the guide rollers
2, 3 and 4, in that the lower pivot arms 8a, 9a and lOa abut against this
, collar. Similarly, the sleeve 1 may be provided also at the upper end with
an abutment collar. Depending on the thickness of the sleeve 1, the abut-
ment collar may be present without increase of the diameter. Owing to the
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disposition of the collar 44 on the sleeve 1 the advantage is obtained that
by changing the sleeve 1 for a different coin type, the abutments for limi-
ting the inward displacement of the guide rollers are also automatically
corrected. The outer diameter of the collar 44 is so dimensioned in rela-
tion to the coin diameter that the guide rollers project through the longi-
tudinal slots la, lb and lc into the interior of the sleeve only so far as
to allow the coins entering rom above to fall through the sleeve on to the
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abutment bolt 40 to be stacked. In this case it is advantageous to dis-
place one of the three guide rollers slightly in a radially outward direc-
tion until all coins have been counted in. The position o the other two -~
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guide rollers remains fixed in this case by the abutment collar ~4. ~
Figures 6 and 7 illustrate the construction of the folder device. ~ ,
This comprises a rail 45 which is integral with the pivot lOc of the guide
roller 4. The rail 45 could equally well be attacht~d to a pivotal frame of
its own which projec~s by way of a corresponding gulde pin into a guide cam
of the control disc 18 and is displaced by the latter. Two carriages 46 and
47 are vertically displaceably mounted on the rail ~15 and are each provided ~ -
with a horizontally adjustable folder hook 48 or 49, respectively. The fol-
der hooks are drawn towards each other by a tension spring 50. -
The spring force is opposed in the case of the lower carriage 47
by a cam disc 51 on the periphery of which the carriage is supported by a ball
bearing 52. I~le cam disc 51 is driven by a motor 54 by way of a toothed
belt 53. In the case of the upper carriage 46 a lever 55 opposes the spring
force, the lower end of the lever engaging the underside of the carriage by
way of a ball bearing 56. The other end of the lever is connected, for ex-
ample by a cable 57, to a crank 58 which is also driven by the motor 54. The
cam disc 51 and the crank 58 run in synchronism with one another so that
the two carriages with the folder hooks are always moved simultaneously
towards and away from each other.
In order not to interfere with the counting-in of th~ coins into
the sleeve 1, the upper folder hook 48 is pushed back radially during the
counting-in. This ls effected by means of a wedge member 59 which is an ex-
tension of the cam disc 51 and which runs against an abutment pin 60 of the
upper carriage 46. The wedge member is attached to the cam disc in such
an angular position that the upper folder hook is released by the wedge
member only shortly prior to the folding process proper, so that it is moved
radially into the sleeve by the spring 61 and thereafter the vertical move- ;
ment of the two folder hooks can start. As may be seen in particular from
Figure 7, the holder 48a of the upper folder hook is displaceably mounted
30 in the carriage 46. In order to avoid tilting, both carriages are displace-
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ably mounted not only on the pivot lOc, but also on the connecting rod lOd.
The horizontal axle 51a of the cam disc, in turn, is mounted in two arms lOe
and lOf of the pivotal frame.
Figure 8 illustrates the feed of the paper for packaging th~ coin
stack. The illustration of the paper supply unit has been omitted from the
earlier drawings for reasons of clarity. It consists substantially of a
paper reel 68, a guide track 69 at which two feed rollers 70 and 71 are dis-
posed, and a cutter 72 protruding into the paper web. The guide track 69
guides the paper approximately tangentially to the sleeve 1 and through a
longitudinal slot which is not visible into the interior of the sleeve.
For securely inserting the paper web into the interior of the sleeve, a guide
spring 73 is provided at the end of the guide track 69.
rhe manner of operation of the packaging machine is as follows:
In accordance with ~he coin type to be packaged, the appropriate
sleeve 1 is selected and pushed from above through the central opening 12a
of the cover plate 12, until the lower end is securely snapped into the bot-
tom plate 11. A non-twist protection, not illustrated in the drawings, en-
sures that the sleeve is always inserted in the correct position of its long-
itudinal slots relative to the guide rollers and moreover that it is pro-
tected against rotary displacement. During the insertion of the sleeve 1
the control disc 18 must be rotationally displaced in the sense of outward
displacement of the guide rollers, which may be effected either manually at
the arm 28 or electrically by means of the magnet 29. When the sleeve has
been inserted, the control disc 18 is released and the guide rollers move
radially inwardly because of the tension springs 25 to 27 acting on them,
so that a portion 2a, 3a and 4a, respectively, of their periphery extends
through the longitudinal slots la, lb and lc. The extent of this inward
movement is limited by the collar 44 of the sleeve 1 in that the pivotal
arms 8a, 9a and lOa abut against this collar.
Ihereafter the feed of the coins to ~e packaged is effec~ed - in
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general automatically. In this case it may be advantageous to pse-stack the i~-
coins in a container disposed above the sleeve 1 and to release the whole
; stack into the sleeve 1 only after all coins have bleen counted into thisupper container. This has the advantage that fresh coins can be counted into
the container disposed above the sleeve 1 even during ~he wrapping process -
in the latter and that~ while the whole stack falls into the sleeve 1, there
is no possibility of individual coins being tilted. During the feed of the
coins into the sleeve 1 at least one of the guide rollers is still Swung
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slightly outwardly, in order that the free fall of the coins is not impeded.
Most favourably, this guide roller is the one which is continuously driven.
tThe drive of two guide rollers illustrated in the drawings i9 not absolutoly
necessary.) When the desired number of coins has been counted in, the feed
rollers 70 and 71, triggered by a timing relay or by an impulse of the coin
counting device, start to draw the wrapping paper off the reel 68 and to
push it along the guide track 69 and the guide spring 73 tangentially ~Pto
the interior of the sleeve.
The insertion of the wrapping paper into the sleeve may be effected
j through one of the longitudinal slots provided for the guide rollers as well
as through a separate longitudinal slot. In any case the insertion direction
of the paper must be the same as the direction of rotation of the coin stack,
in order that the paper is carried away by the rotating coin stack and the
guide rollers and is wound around the stack. The paper feed is interrupted
by measures Xnown per se, ~or example by a time controlled path limiter for
the paper web, as soon as satisfactory wrapping is ensured, whereupon the
paper web tears along the cutter 72 because of the tensile stress occurring
therein.
By means of automatic triggering known per se, the electro-motor
54 begins thereupon to rotate the heart-shaped cam disc 51 and the crank
drive 58. Thereby, first the upper folder hook 48 is radially displaced ~-
3n in,to the sleeve into the operating position, and then the two folder hooks
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are moved towards each other. Thereby they approach the projecting edge of
the paper from above and from below, respectively, and fold it gradually
over in the usual manner, until near the end of the folding process they run
against abutments of the sleeve 1 ~not illustrated). These abutments are also
adapted in each sleeve to the respective associated coin type, i.e. to the
resulting stack height. The folding process described so far occurs during
a rotation of the motor 54 through 180. Further rotation from }80 to 360 ;~
serves for returning the two folder carriages to their starting position.
Thereby the upper fo}der hook 48 is returned again to its rear position by
means of the wedge member 59.
Thereafter the electro-magnet 29 is actuated by automatic trigger-
ing known per se, whereby at least one of the guide rollers is swung radially
outwardly and the Einished packed coin stack is released. At the same time
the abutment rod 40 moves away downwardly so that the coin stack slides out
through the pack outlet 39.
In order that the coins counted into the sleeve 1 lie accurately
one on top of the other, the one guide roller may additional}y perform a ;`
; short displacement movement prior to the wrapping process, just as is nec-
essary for releasing the finished packed coin stack.
The abutment bolt 40 is swung upwardly again by a time controlled ~ -
relay, whereupon the fresh counting-in of the coins begins and the process
is repeated.
In contrast to what is illustrated in the drawings, it may be ad~
vantageous to drive only the roller 4. This roller may then rotate perma-
nently since it is swung outwardly during the insertion and delivery of ;
the coins, whereas the other two guide rollers remain stationary.
- The advantage of the invention, therefore, resides in that the
coin type can be changed simply by interchanging the sleeve 1, without the
need for performing further adjustment or ~ssembly operations. Its opera-
tion is therefore possible even without appropriately trained operating per-
sonnel.
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