AU618872B2 - Pre-marked coin wrapper - Google Patents

Description

COMMNhMW2ALTH OF AUSTRALIA 18872 PATENTS ACT 1952 1 FOR OFFICE USE: Class Int.Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: ec Priority: :Related Art: ese Name of Applicant: CUMM~lINSALLISON CORP.

Address of Applicant: 891 Feehanville Drive, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056, United States of America Nctual Inventor: James M. Rasmussen "MAdlress for Servace: SHELSTON WATERS, 55 Clarence Street, Sydney Complete Specification for the Invention entitled: "PRE-MARKED COIN WRAPPER" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:- -1It PRE-MARKED COIN WRAPPER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to coin wrappers, and more particularly to coin wrapping paper for denoting the denomination and value of coins wrapped therein.

#fit Siii 2. Description of the Related Art i S. Many types of coin wrappers have been or are being used Soo to enclose a plurality of coins for handling purposes.

.0 These wrappers range from simple paper tubes, which are typically filled manually with the proper denomination of coins, to elaborate, selectively perforated, plastic and foil wrappers having indicia thereon, which are used in conventional wrapping machines.

ti Presently, businesses which handle large quantities of coins, such as financial institutions and casinos, are quite cost sensitive. Since manual wrapping typically incurs higher costs than automatic wrapping, these businesses currently favor automatic wrapping =achines.

Moreover, these businesses recognize the value of their employees' time as it impacts service and overall throughput. Therefore, the resulting wrapped coin rolls should convey information quickly, and should easily S release coins when needed.

The coin handling industry considers these needs when servicing these various business concerns. First, the wrapper should be inexpensive to manufacture and use, and should be designed for use in an automatic wrapping -lamachine. Second, the wrapper should convey information to the end user, a bank teller, and should quickly and easily release the coins when needed, while holding the coins securely together during rough handling.

Moreover, it is. not uncommo~n for certain types 'of businesses to require special rolls. Casinos and mass transit systems commonly utilize tokens which they offer in rolls of varying value and size. For instance, "half wraps" are coin rolls which contain half as many coins as a full roll. Since the "half wraps" are wrapped with paper sized to wrap a full roll, a considerable amount of wrapping material is wasted.

Previous wrappers have fallen short of accommodat'Ing the above needs. Paper tubes, which have a diameter i..corresponding roughly to the diameter of the denomination of coin to be placed therein, while being inexpensive to manufacture, are not conducive to automated wrapping. At the other end of the spectrum, t plastic and foil wrappers, as exemplified by U.S. Patent No. 3,799,428 issued March 26, 1974 to Lamming, provide many user oriented features, such as indicia which communicates the denomination and value to the end user, and perforations for ease of coin removal. However, the plastic and foil construction requires expensive manufacturing processes. Many other wrappers attempt to provide an optimum coin package, such as U.S. Patent No.

4,546,875 issued October 15, 1985 to Zweber which discloses a coln wrapping paper having a releasable adhesive on one side. The length of a particular paper roll is selected to be slightly longer than the length of a selected coin stack, and it is preferable to encompass the coin stack two or three times to provide a sturdy roll. The wrapping paper provides no indicia for the user, but is easily unrolled for coin removal -2and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. U.S. Patent No. 673,373 issued April 30, 1901 to Youmans discloses a paper wrapper which has a pair of openings positioned to coincide with a printed denomination and value determined by the circumference of the particular denomination being wrapped. Different denominations and values are printed in a spaced apart relationship at distances corresponding to the differences in the circumferential measurements of the coins indicated by the respective printed numbers. However, no attempt is made to optimize the amount of paper used to roll a 0000 stack of coins, nor is automation contemplated. U.S.

Patent No. 4,674,260 issued June 23, 1987 to Rasmussen 000 o u o o et al. provides a coin wrapping mechanism with a unique o15 wrapping material feed portion which minimizes wrapping o° o material usage. The wrapping material is fed upwardly o o into a wrapping cylinder in a direction perpendicular to the rolling movement of the coin stack. This feeding Smethod allows the wrapping material to be selectively cut to fit the length o the stack of coins to be wrapped. However, there is no mention of providing a wrapping material which communicates information to the end user regarding the denomination or value of coins in a wrapped stack.

The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems listed above.

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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the primary object of 'he present invention to provide a coin wrapper for r-A in an automatic wrapping machine which automatically indicates the value and denomination of coins wrapped therein.

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In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a wrapper for wrapping a stack of coins, comprising: an opaque flexible wrapper having a width and a length and having a coin contacting side and an outer side; S.0o means for securing said wrapper about said stack of 0'o ocoins with the length of the wrapper extending along the e 0 o length of the coin stack and the width of the wrapper 10 extending around the circumference of the coin stack; a° o a reference line along the length of said wrapper said reference line being viewable from said outer side; and oo00 0 0 S° 'indicia arranged in rows along the length of said wrapper, said indicia being viewable from said outer side, each of said rows of indicia providinq information about a respective coin stack having a predetermined circumferential measurement and being spaced from said reference line by a distance correlative to the circumferential measurement of said respective coin stack.

4 Preferably, there is provided a means for feeding a selected length of wrapping material in a direction i perpendicular to the direction of the rolling movement of the coin stack and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the coin stack. The feeding means includes means for adjusting the selected length to permit the wrapping of coin stacks having different lengtis.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for wrapping a stack of coins. The method includes feeding a selected length of wrapping material slightly longer than the 0:00l length of the stack of coins onto a wrapping surface.

0 oThe wrapping material has a reference line and indicia o°o arranged in lines along its length in the direction of i feed. Each of the lines of indicia provide information Ii 0 about a respective coin stack having a predetermined circumferential measurement and being spaced from the reference line by a distance correlative to the circumferential measurement of the respective coin stack. The stack of coins is rolled in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the feeding movement of the wrapping material, and the length of wrapping Smaterial is cut off of a continuous wrapping material supply roll in advance of the rolling of the stack of coins over the selected length.

S C t t s€ BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detail description and upon reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 illustrates a portion of the wrapping material of the present invention; Fig. 2 illustrates a stack of coins wrapped by wrapping material of the present invention; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a paper feed system for a coin wrapping mechanism suited for use with the wrapping material of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in o the drawings and will be described in detail herein. It S0o should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

aa44 a DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring initially to Fig. 1, the wrapper 10 is made of a flexible substrate 12, such as paper or plastic, which allows the wrapper 10 to encase a stack of coins.

1 A stack of coins is wrapped along the width of the coin contacting side 14 of the substrate 12 from a leading edge 16 to a trailing edge 18. To secure the substrate 12 about a stack of coins, the coin contacting side 14 has selected portions coated with adhesive. The type of adhesive used and the preferable locations of the adhesive will be discussed in greater detail in -6conjunction with the method of operation of the wrapping mechanism shown in Fig. 3.

To provide information concerning the denomination and value of coins within a wrapped coin stack, a reference line 20 and rows of indicia 22 are arranged along the length of the substrate 12. The reference line 20 and indicia 22 are viewable from the outer side 24 of the substrate 12, so that after the substrate 12 is wrapped about a stack of coins the reference line 20 and at least some of che indicia 22 may be easily seen. The reference line 20 is positioned along the trailing edge 18, and is preferably bold or otherwise easily discernable. Each row of indicia 22 is generally roo0. a rallel to the reference line, and is spaced from the I reference line 20 by a distance correlative to the a 0 1 circumferential measurement of the coin stack about which the indicia provides information. As shown in Fig. 1, the bottom of the first row of indicia 22a is closest to the reference line 20, so that the distance q therebetween is approximately equal to the t "circumferential measurement of the smallest coin to be wrapped by the wrapper 10. Likewise, the bottom of the last row of indicia 22g is furthest from the reference line 20, so that the distance therebetween is approximately equal to the circumferential measurement of the largest coin to be wrapped by the wrapper 10. As c the substrate 12 is wrapped about a stack of coins, the reference line 20 underscores the row of indicia 22 which provides information about the wrapped stack of coins, as shown in Fig. 2.

The indicia 22 on the illustrated wrapper 10 contains information concerning U.S. currency, so each row of indicia 22a-22g is spaced from the reference line 20 by a distance approximately equal to the circumferential -7measurement of the respective coins, 'i ese distances are as follows: 2.215 inches for dimes, 2.356 inches for pennies, 2.623 inches for nickels, 3.000 inches for quarters, 3.277 inches for "Susan B. Anthony" dollars, 3.786 inches for half dollars, and 4.712 inches for "Eisenhower" dollars. The indicia 22 provides information concerning the denomination and value of the U.S. coins. For instance, the first row of indicia 22a contains the indicia DIMES" repeated along the length of the substrate 12. Therefore, when a stack of dimes having a total value of five dollars is wrapped, the reference line 20 underscores the first row of S indicia 22a to communicate to the end user that there are five dollars of dimes, or fifty dimes, wrapped ,150. therein. As an aid to the end user, an arrow 26 followed by the words "READ VALUE HERE" appears beneath i the reference line 20. This further directs the users attention to the row of indicia 22 for quick ascertainment of the value and denomination of the coins 1 A. within the wrapper o o *oao The words or symbols in each row are repeated along the length of the substrate 12, so that the wrapper 10 can S* be used to wrap coin stacks of varying lengths. As mentioned in the "Background" section, many businesses r provide coin stacks of various lengths. Therefore, at least one set of words and symbola in each row of 4 1' indicia 22 are diibernable on any of the various lengths. Moreover, the words and symbols may denote more than one value for a particular denomination. In this case, both sets of words and symbols are discernable on any of the various lengths. ror instance, banks, which usually provide only full wraps of quarters, would use indicia similar to QUARTERS $10 QUARTERS The symbol and the word "QUARTERS" should appear at least once on every -8-

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0 069 0t0 0000 0 o0000 o o ole 0000 wrap. Alternatively, casinos, which provide half and full wraps of quarters, would use indicia similar to $10 QUARTERS $5 QUARTERS In this case, the symbols and and the word "QUARTERS" appear at least once on every wrap. To further coumunicate the actual value of quarters using this type of indicia, a circle may be placed around the proper symbol, $5 or aftex the stack is wrapped.

Color standards provide information "at a glance'", and may be used instead of or in conjunction with words or symbols in the rows of indicia 22. For instance, the color green designates dimes, and the color red designates pennies. Therefore, the reference line underscores a green row of indicia 'hen the wrapper contains dimes, and underscores a red row of indicia when the wrapper 10 contains pennies. End users obtain information quickly and easily by glancing at the underscored color, thus improving efficiency and reduciong the possibility of selecting the wrong coin roll.

Preferably, the substrato 12 is opaque and covers rows of indicia which provide information about coin stacks having circumferential measurements which are larger than the circumferential measurement of the wrapped coin stack. A paper substrate having the reference line and indicia printed thereon produces an opaque and inexpensive wrapper. This type of wrapper 10 is preferable to a clear plastic wrapper because fewer rows of indicia 22 aiz visible to the user of the wrapped stacks. As Fig. 2 shows, the wrapped stack 28 contains nickels, since the reference line 20 underscores the row of indicia 22c which designates nickels. The rows of indicia 22d-22g, which designate coins having larger circumferences, are covered by the substrate 12.

0000 0000 0001,00 0 00 00 0 0 00 0 ooooo A 0 I S o o 0 Therefore, only three rows of indicia 22a-22c are visible to the user.

To minimize the amount of wrapping aaterial used to wrap coin stacks of varying lengths, the length of the substrate 12 is adjusted according to the length of the coin stack to be wrapped. A coin wrapping device shown in Fig. 3, utilizes a method for adjusting the length of the wrapping material. The substrate 12 is 'ola'mwn from a supply roll 32 by a pair of "threedimensional" sprocket belts 34 meshing with two .corresponding rows of sprocket holes 36,38 in the subatrate 12. A "three-dimensional" sprocket belt is a commercially available item comprising a flexible metal cable having polymeric sprockets fastened to the cable at equal intervals along the length thereof. Each j sprocket has four lugs projecting therefrom at intervals around the axis of the cable. Each of the sprocket belts 34 is trained around a set of six sprocket wheels 39-44, with the wheel 39 being driven y S'a" an electric drive motor 46. The motor and sprocket S'arrangement drives the substrate upwardly onto a wrapping surface 48.

Preferably, the coin contacting side 14 of the substrate 12 is coated with a pressure-sensitive, 2'S releasable adhesive, such as the adhesives disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,418,120 as having good tack and shear properties, but lug peel adhesion to stainless steel.

The adhesive adheres quickly to the outer surface of a I stack of coins, and possesses sufficient shear strength to hold the stack of coins together during handling, and yet demonstrates a peel adhesion low enough to permit the substrate 12 to be readily peeled off of the coin stack without leaving any substantial residue of adhesive on the coins. The adhesive coat'*., is preferably continuous along the full length of the coin contacting side 14, and across the full width except for the strips which contain the rows of sprocket holes 36,38, which may be left uncoated to facilitate punching of the sprocket hols., This type of adhesively backed substrate can be substantially equlI to the length of the coin stack, and need be no more than about 3 millimeters longer than the coin stack, to hold the coins within the wrapper The substrate 12 is fed into the wrapping mechanism and 0000 o onto the wrapping surface 48 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of rolling movement of :0 the coin stack during wrapping parallel to the 0 Oct 0 axis of the coin stack). There is no need to provide extra lengths of paper at opposite ends of the coin stack for "crimping" as is required with conventional wrappers, because the adhesive coating on the substrate 12 obviates the crimping operation. However, to allow for variations in coin .hickness due to wear and 2V° manufacturing tolerances, the length of the substrate 12 which is fed onto the wrapping surface 48 is selected to be slightly longer than the stack of coins to be wrapped. Since crimping requires about 1.5 centimeters of additional length on each end of the coin stack, a significantly greater amount of material is required to a wrap each coin stack. During the wrapping of the coin 't atack, a knife, or similar cutting means, muts ttl selected length L of substrate 12 across its widti ,a &y a cutting line 49. Preferably, the knife is located on the leading side of the coin stack so that the substrate 12 is cut ahead of the coin stack, thereby detaching the selected length of substrate 12 from the supply roll so that the selected length can be wrapped around the coin stack as the stack is rolled along the adhesively coated coin contacting surface 14 of the substrate 12.

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The arrangement of the reference line 20 and the rows of indicia 22 on the substrate 12 allow the substrate to be cut at the optimum length to fit a stack of coins, while providing accurate information regarding the coins within the wrapper 10. Therefore, cutting the substrate 12 to be substantially equal to the length of the coin stack, as described above, is conducive to automated wrapping, o To minimize the amount of wrapping material used to wrap coin stacks of varying sizes, the width of the substrate 12 is optimized. If the coin contacting side 14 of the substrate is coated with a pressure-sensitive, releasable adhesive, the width of the wrapper 10 is selected to be about 1.5 times the circumferential measurement of the largest coin to be wrapped. For instance, U.S. currency ranges from a dime having a cjrcumferei,'ial measurement of 2.215 inches to an :"Eisenhower" dollar having a circumferential measurement of 4.712 inches. A substrate 12 having a width of 6.500 inches produces 1.4 revolutions about the "Eisenhower" dollar, and produces 2.9 revolutions about the dime.

This width provides adequate support for coins of all denominations within the U.S. currency system. However, the vast majority of coins in circulation are dimes, I3 pennies, nickels and quarters. Therefore, the amount of wrapping material is further minimized by providing a j roll of wrapping material having a width of 4.500 inches. The material is wide enough to adequately secure quarters and all other smaller coins.

Other objects and advantages may be found through a study of the drawings and the appended claims.

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Claims (19)

1. A wrapper for wrapping a stack of coins, comprising: j an opaque flexible wrapper having a width an a length and having a coin contacting side and an outer side; means for securing said wrapper about said stack of coins with the length of the wrapper extending along the length of the coin stack and the width of the wrapper O. oextending around the circumference of the coin stack; Q* 0 a reference line along the length of said wrapper said 10 reference line being viewable from said outer side; and a o indicia arranged in rows along the length of said wrapper, said indicia being viewable from said outer side, each of said rows of indicia providing ii formation S' about a respective coin stack having a predeteriined circumferential 'easurement and being .paced from said reference line by a distance correlative to the circumferential measurement of said respective coin stack.

2. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim i, wherein said indicia is in the form of characters which designate the denomination of coins within said respective coin stacks. 13 ____OIIIIIIILIIIILIILIILIIIII*IIICCIIII ii i i

3. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said indicia is in the,form of characters which designate the value of the coins within said respective coin stacks.

4. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said indicia is in the form of colors which o°°o designate the denomination and value of coins within said 0000 o 0 00 respective coin stacks. oo 0 0 0 00 00 0 0 00 0000 ooo

5. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said substrate is paper. 0000 0 0 000 0000 0 0 0 00 0

6. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 1, oooo wherein said securing means .icludes an adhesive coating 0 0 on said coin contacting side of said substrate. 00 0 0 0 0 0 00 00 0 0 0 0 0 00

7. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 6, wherein said adhesive coating is a pressure-sensitive, releasable adhesive.

8. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 6, wherein said substrate contains at least one row of aP-^-L-13 sprocket holes therethrough which are adapted to be engaged by a driven sprocket mechanism meshing with said sprocket holes.

9. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 8, wherein said adhesive coating is substantially continuous except for said rows of sprocket holes. 0000 000 0 0 00 0 06 o o

10. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 1, 0 00 0 0 0 0 wherein said stack of coins is rolled along the width of 000 0 'said substrate. 0000 o00

11. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 1, Swherein said reference line underscores the row of indicia which provides information about said coin stack when said substrate is wrapped about said coin stack. 00 C 0 00

12. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said substrate is opaque and covers rows of indicia which provide information about coin stacks having circumferential measurements which are larger than the circumferential measurement of the wrapped coin stack. L' I

13. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said substrate is formed into a continuous roll. oo*5 0 0 0 oo 0900 Oo 0 0 0 0o 0 09 000 0 0. a. O 0 0 00 0 00 0

14. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 13, wherein said substrate is cut from said continuous roll into any lengths without effecting the information provided by said indicia when said substrate is wrapped about a coin stack, in that said reference line underscores the line of indicia which provides information about szid wrapped coin stack.

The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 13, wherein said substrate is cut from said continuous roll into selected length which is correlative to the length of a stack of coins to be wrapped. 00oo00 0 0 00 0 O O 0 0 0 0 00 0 00

16. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said indicia is printed on said substrate.

17. The coin wrapper, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said substrate is fed into a coin wrapping mechanism perpendicular to the direction of the rolling movement of the coin stack and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the coin stack.

18. The coin wrapper, as set f orth in claim ~1 wherein said selected length is slightly greater than the length of a stack of coins to be wrapped.

19. A coin wrapper substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings. DATED this 22nd Day of January, 1990 CUMMINS-ALLISON CORP. .0 .1 Att--irNv: IJJ..)N K. AIIJ1% 000F(:1loW 1hi AttU (A P lit Aui oi SlILLA'jN W,, 0 0 00. 00000 *0 1 94 i ts$