One interesting application for our PRT232 pulse counter is reading bill acceptors and coin acceptors from a desktop computer.
A coin acceptor is used to pay for a product or service. You’re probably quite familiar with them from using commercial laundry machines or video game arcades. In these situations, they are built into the equipment. However we are seeing an increase in cases where someone is adding a payment facility via a bill acceptor or a coin acceptor to equipment that was not designed for it. An example would be a kiosk that dispenses water. There are many of these in grocery stores where you can fill up your bottle with pure water and then pay for it at the counter. But many entrepreneurs are taking water dispensers and making it possible for the customer to pay directly at the point of sale.
These acceptors work by sending a number of pulses corresponding to the coin or bill that is entered. e.g., a quarter may provide a single pulse while a dollar bill gives four pulses. Our pulse counting devices are obviously a natural fit for the application. They will accept the pulse output from the coin acceptor, count the pulses and provide a serial RS232 interface to the PC making it simple to tally the dollar amount entered.
By using a counter to RS232 device like our PRT232 or PRT232F (6 count inputs), now the PC computer can be used to track usage, make automated daily reports, provide the customer enhanced user interface and so improve your sales performance.
We provide a sample of software that uses the PRT232 as a dispense controller. It can be easily modified for your own use. We also offer custom software and hardware development in this area.
One example of what we have done is the situation when the bill acceptor must be connected to a machine that doesn’t correspond exactly with its operation. For example, perhaps you are building a vacuum cleaner that the operator pays to use (as often found at a car wash). The vacuum may have been designed to start with a contact closure, but in order to use your coin acceptor, you must translate the four pulses from four quarters being deposited into a single output. We have designed electronics to solve exactly this situation. If you need something similar, contact us.
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