Coin/Note Validation & "Returning Coins/Notes Back To The Customer"

The following applies to Coin acceptance only. A standard Coin Validator has no facility for returning coins once they have been Validated/Accepted. There are some types of Validator which can do this, these have been designed for the Vending and Pay Phone markets, but these are designed for applications where low volumes/values of coins are to be Validated/Accepted. Also they are expensive, and difficult to use, and cannot be supported by the PcCredit system.

There are two ways of making a payment back to a customer once a standard Coin Validator has accepted a coin/s. One way is to fit an Electro-Mechanical device under the Coin Validator, this unit is called an Escrow unit and is a piece of equipment in its own right and not part of the Coin Validator. An Escrow unit comprises of a compartment where Validated coins drop into, this compartment has two exit points for the coins, one leads off to the "Returned Coins" tray and the other leads off to the "Cash Box". These two exit points are mechanically controlled by two Electrical Solenoids, one for each exit. The fitting of an Escrow function is complicated from a mechanical point of view as the host machine has to be designed with lots of Plumbing and Hardware to route the coins off into the right directions etc. The Host also has to be designed with a "Returned Coins" tray which does not come with the Escrow unit, and is not available as an "Off The Shelf" item. No PcCredits at this time can drive an Escrow unit"

The other way of making a payment back to a customer is to use a unit called a "Coin Hopper" again this is a device in its own right, and is not part of the Coin Validator. A Coin Hopper is a unit comprising of a hopper (where the Coins to be paid-out are stored) with a motorised wheel in the bottom. Slots in the wheel take coins from the bottom of the stack of coins resting in the hopper, and pay them out through an aperture through the side of the Hopper. The priciple of operation is that to payout coins, the Motor is switched on and as coins are ejected out of the side of the hopper, they are "Counted Out" with, normally an optical/electrical device. Once the required amount of coins have been ejected, the Motor is stopped immediatley. There are several forms of Hopper, with different types of controls and voltages needed, and a Hopper can only be loaded with, and payout one denomination of Coin only. Hopper function is also complicated from a mechanical point of view, as the host machine has to be designed with lots of Plumbing and Hardware to route the coins off into the right directions etc. The Host also has to be designed with a "Payout Tray" which does not come with the Hopper unit, and again is not available as an "Off The Shelf" item. At this time only PcCredit5 can drive a Hopper (Asahi Seiko SA595).

In conclusion, the majority of designers opt not to include a "Return Back To Customer" function because of the heavy cost involved, so they normally elect to design the game/machine so that a "Pay Back To Customer" is not needed. This normally means designing the software so that Coins are not accepted, until the host machine knows that it can supply the goods/services that the cutomers requires.

"Return Back To Customer" with the majority of Bill/Bank Note Validators, it is much easier to have an Escrow function, as it is a "Built In Function" of these devices. All the PcCredit's which support Bank Note Validation, will support the Escrow function of the Validators.t bother to copy

Click here to go Back To Main Page