Coin handling system for telephone pay system employing levers to regulate coin movement

A coin handling system. comprising:

• a coin entry means, electronic control means including a coin validator means for checking the validity of a coin entered into the coin entry means, accept/reject gate means having first and second exits and controlled by the coin validator means for passing accept coins to said first exit and rejected coins to said second exit;
• a coin store coupled to said first exit of said coin entry means to receive accepted coins from said first exit, the coin store including a coin path along which coins move;
• a main body determining the size of the coin store and coin path, the coin path being elongate and narrow in a width dimension, and the main body including panels constituting the sides of the coin path, the panels having slots therein;
• a plurality of pivoted lever means positioned along the coin path for defining coin positions along the coin path,
• each said lever means comprising first and second interconnected levers, the first lever being positioned forward of the second lever in the direction of the coin path, the first lever being disposed in an inoperative position on one side of the coin path, and the second lever being disposed in an inoperative position on the other side of the coin path, the levers being received in said slots so as to be generally co-planar with said panels in an inoperative position, and the levers being arranged such that as the first lever moves out of the coin path, the second lever moves into the coin path;
• the coin store including a stop means at the end of the coin path for a first coin position;
• whereby in operation a first coin entering the coin store moves along the coin store into abutment with said stop means in which position the first lever of a first lever means is moved out of the coin path behind the first coin to define a second coin position, so that a second coin entering the coin store moves to the second coin position at which position the first lever of a second lever means is moved out of the coin path by said second coin while the second lever is moved into the coin path behind second coin to define a third coin position.