Claims
- 1. A coin sorting system, comprising:
- a coin sorter for sorting a plurality of coins of mixed denominations, said coin sorter including a coin-driving member having a resilient surface and a stationary coin-guiding member having a coin-guiding surface opposing said resilient surface of said coin-driving member, said coin-guiding surface being positioned generally parallel to said resilient surface, said resilient surface of said coin-driving member moving the coins along said coin-guiding surface of said coin-guiding guiding member, said coin-guiding surface forming a plurality of exit stations for selectively allowing exiting of the coins based upon their respective diameters;
- a coin sensor for sensing a trigger coin while said trigger coin is moving along said coin-guiding surface of said coin-guiding member;
- an encoder for monitoring the movement of said trigger coin downstream of said coin sensor by tracking the movement of said coin-driving member in terms of encoder pulses;
- a braking mechanism coupled to said coin-driving member;
- a controller coupled to said coin sensor, said encoder, and said braking mechanism, said controller causing said braking mechanism to decelerate and stop said coin-driving member in a preselected number of encoder pulses in response to said trigger coin being sensed by said coin sensor so that said coin-driving member stops just prior to or just after said trigger coin is discharged from its associated exit station; and
- an operator interface panel coupled to said controller, said operator interface panel including means for altering said preselected number of encoder pulses.
- 2. The coin sorting system of claim 1, wherein said coin-driving member includes a rotatable disc and said coin-guiding member includes a stationary head positioned above said rotatable disc, said plurality of exit stations including a plurality of exit channels opening at a periphery of said stationary head.
- 3. The coin sorting system of claim 1, wherein said coin sensor includes a discriminator for discriminating between valid and invalid coins, said trigger coin being an invalid coin, said braking mechanism stopping said coin-driving member just prior to said trigger coin being discharged from its associated exit station.
- 4. The coin sorting system of claim 1, wherein said coin sensor includes a counting sensor allowing said controller to count coins sensed by said counting sensor, said trigger coin being the last coin in a predetermined number of coins counted by said controller, said braking mechanism stopping said coin-driving member just after said trigger coin is discharged from its associated exit station.
- 5. The coin sorting system of claim 1, wherein said encoder includes an optical sensor positioned adjacent to said coin-driving member and a plurality of uniformly spaced indicia on said coin-driving member.
- 6. A coin sorting system, comprising:
- a coin sorter for sorting a plurality of coins of mixed denominations, said coin sorter including a coin-driving member having a resilient surface and a stationary coin-guiding member having a coin-guiding surface opposing said resilient surface of said coin-driving member, said coin-guiding surface being positioned generally parallel to said resilient surface, said resilient surface of said coin-driving member moving the coins along said coin-guiding surface of said coin-guiding member, said coin-guiding surface forming a plurality of exit stations for selectively allowing exiting of the coins based upon their respective diameters;
- an encoder for tracking the movement of said coin-driving member in terms of encoder pulses;
- a braking mechanism coupled to said coin-driving member;
- a controller coupled to said braking mechanism and said encoder, said controller causing said braking mechanism to decelerate and stop said coin-driving member in a preselected number of encoder pulses in response to a predetermined event; and
- an operator interface being coupled to said controller and including means for altering said preselected number of encoder pulses.
- 7. The coin sorting system of claim 6, wherein said coin-driving member includes a rotatable disc and said coin-guiding member includes a stationary head positioned above said rotatable disc, said plurality of exit stations including a plurality of exit channels opening at a periphery of said stationary head.
- 8. The coin sorting system of claim 6, further including a coin sensor for sensing a trigger coin, said controller being coupled to said coin sensor, and wherein said predetermined event is sensing said trigger coin.
- 9. The coin sorting system of claim 8, wherein said trigger coin is an invalid coin.
- 10. The coin sorting system of claim 8, wherein said trigger coin is a last coin in a preselected count of coins.
- 11. A method of sorting a plurality of coins of mixed denominations in a coin sorter, said coin sorter including a coin-driving member having a resilient surface and a stationary coin-guiding member having a coin-guiding surface opposing said resilient surface of said coin-driving member, said coin-guiding surface being positioned generally parallel to said resilient surface, said coin-guiding surface forming a plurality of exit stations for selectively allowing exiting of the coins based upon their respective diameters, said method comprising the steps of:
- moving said coin-driving member to move the coins along said coin-guiding surface of said coin-guiding member;
- sorting the coins based upon their respective diameters as the coins are moved by said coin-driving member along said coin-guiding surface of said coin-guiding member;
- discharging the sorted coins at respective ones of said exit stations;
- using a coin sensor to sense a trigger coin while said trigger coin is moving along said coin-guiding surface of said coin-guiding member;
- monitoring the movement of said trigger coin downstream of said coin sensor by tracking the movement of said coin-driving member with an encoder providing encoder pulses;
- using a braking mechanism to decelerate and stop said coin-driving member in a preselected number of encoder pulses in response to said trigger coin being sensed by said coin sensor; and
- altering said preselected number of encoder pulses via an operator interface panel.
- 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said step of using a coin sensor to sense a trigger coin includes discriminating between valid and invalid coins, said trigger coin being an invalid coin, and wherein said step of using a braking mechanism to decelerate and stop said coin-driving member includes stopping said coin-driving member just prior to said trigger coin being discharged from its associated exit station.
- 13. The method of claim 11, further including a step of counting a predetermined number of coins sensed by said coin sensor, said trigger coin being the last coin in said predetermined number of coins, and wherein said step of using a braking mechanism to decelerate and stop said coin-driving member includes stopping said coin-driving member just after said trigger coin is discharged from its associated exit station.
- 14. The method of claim 11, wherein said encoder includes an optical sensor positioned adjacent to said coin-driving member and a plurality of spaced indicia on said coin-driving member.
- 15. A method of sorting a plurality of coins of mixed denominations in a coin sorter, said coin sorter including a coin-driving member having a resilient surface and a stationary coin-guiding member having a coin-guiding surface opposing said resilient surface of said coin-driving member, said coin-guiding surface being positioned generally parallel to said resilient surface, said coin-guiding surface forming a plurality of exit stations for selectively allowing exiting of the coins based upon their respective diameters, said method comprising the steps of:
- moving said coin-driving member to move said coins along said coin-guiding surface of said coin-guiding member;
- sorting said coins based upon their respective diameters as said coins are moved by said coin-driving member along said coin-guiding surface of said coin-guiding member;
- discharging said sorted coins at respective ones of said exit stations;
- using a single coin sensor that is spaced away from said exit station by a distance less than a diameter of a coin associated with said exit station to sense a first trigger coin after said first trigger coin is released from said coin-driving member and discharged from a respective one of said exit stations, said first trigger coin being a coin preceding a last coin in a predetermined number of coins for a particular denomination; and
- using a braking mechanism to decelerate said coin-driving member from an operational speed to a slower speed in response to said first trigger coin being sensed by said coin sensor.
- 16. The method of claim 15, wherein said coin-driving member includes a rotatable disc and said coin-guiding member includes a stationary head positioned above said rotatable disc, said plurality of exit stations including a plurality of exit channels opening at a periphery of said stationary head.
- 17. The method of claim 16, further including the step of using said braking mechanism to stop said coin-driving member in response to said last coin being sensed by said coin sensor.
- 18. The method of claim 16, further including the step of using said braking mechanism to further decelerate and maintain said coin-driving member at a second slower rate in response to said last coin being sensed by said coin sensor.
- 19. The method of claim 16, wherein said step of moving said coin-driving member includes the step of applying power to a motor coupled to said coin-driving member, and further including the step of reducing said power to said motor to decelerate said coin-driving member and maintain said coin-driving member at a slower rate in response to said first trigger coin being sensed by said coin sensor.
- 20. The method of claim 17, wherein said step of moving said coin-driving member includes the step of applying power to a motor coupled to said coin-driving member, and further including the steps of:
- reducing said power to said motor to decelerate said coin-driving member and maintain said coin-driving member at said slower rate in response to said first trigger coin being sensed by said coin sensor, and
- reducing said power to said motor to stop said coin-driving member in response to said last coin being sensed by said coin sensor.
- 21. The method of claim 18, wherein said step of moving said coin-driving member includes the step of applying power to a motor coupled to said coin-driving member, and further including the steps of:
- reducing said power to said motor to decelerate said coin-driving member and maintain said coin-driving member at said slower rate in response to said first trigger coin being sensed by said coin sensor, and
- reducing said power to said motor to further decelerate and maintain said coin-driving member at said second slower rate in response to said last coin being sensed by said coin sensor.
- 22. The method of claim 15, wherein said step of discharging said sorted coins includes the step of directing said sorted coins for a particular denomination including said first trigger coin and said last coin to a first coin collection receptacle, and further including the step of:
- diverting the coins for said particular denomination following said last coin to a second coin collection receptacle.
- 23. The method of claim 16, further including the steps of:
- using said coin sensor to sense a second trigger coin, said second trigger coin being a coin preceding said last coin in said predetermined number of coins for said particular denomination, and
- using said braking mechanism to decelerate said coin-driving member and maintain said coin-driving member at a second slower rate in response to said second trigger coin being sensed by said coin sensor.
- 24. The method of claim 15, wherein said first trigger coin is the coin immediately preceding said last coin in said predetermined number of coins for a particular denomination.
- 25. The method of claim 23, wherein said second trigger coin is the coin immediately preceding said last coin in said predetermined number of coins for a particular denomination.
- 26. The method of claim 23, wherein said coin sensor is located in a coin chute adjacent said coin-driving member.
- 27. The method of claim 23, wherein said coin sensor is located in said sorting head adjacent said coin-driving member.
Parent Case Info
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 08/587,849, filed Jan. 11, 1996 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,673.
US Referenced Citations (91)
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
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0 149 906 A2 |
Jul 1985 |
EPX |
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Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
587849 |
Jan 1996 |
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