US 4,072,156 AGranted

Coin sorting device

AssigneeGlory Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorMasahiro Abe

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Abstract

A coin sorting device has a coin passage with a floor and a lateral perimeter defining structure on one lateral side (or each of the lateral sides) of the passage, the floor having holes for successively larger coins disposed successively along the passage at positions respectively contiguous to the perimeter defining structure, and the lower span of an endless propelling belt for pressing on the upper faces of the coins and propelling the same is caused by the varying of the travel path of the coins by the perimeter defining structure to be elastically twisted or laterally deflected at parts thereof where the travel path is thus varied and thereby to acquire a reactive restoring force which urges the coins against the corresponding parts of the perimeter defining structure and thereby causes them to be accurately alined in a lateral direction for dropping into their respectively correct sorting holes.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A coin sorting device for use in a coin sorting machine wherein a mixture of several kinds of coins are sorted and classified, said coin sorting device comprising a coin passage having a floor and upstream and downstream ends for aligning the coins fed thereinto in a row;

at least one coin propelling belt having large elasticity and a frictional surface for engaging the coins and propelling them along said coin passage from the upstream end to the downstream end thereof;
said coin passage floor having sorting hole defining means defining sorting holes at intervals along said coin passage which holes have successively larger dimensions transversely of the coin passage through which coins of different diameters can pass as said coins are propelled past sorting holes with lateral dimensions corresponding to the diameters of the coins;
a coin passage lateral perimeter defining means projecting laterally into the coin passage at each sorting hole to a point just short of the edge of the corresponding sorting hole for engaging the peripheral edges of the coins being propelled along the coin passage and displacing said coins in a direction transverse to the coin propelling direction, thereby to cause elastic lateral deformation of the coin propelling belt and to position said coins at positions for passing through corresponding sorting holes;
belt holding members on opposite sides of each sorting hole in the direction of the length of the belt for holding the coin propelling belt against displacement laterally from the normal position at last between the sorting holes;
and belt pressing members provided at points along the coin passage between said belt members and adjacent said sorting holes for pressing said belt downward at respective positions of the sorting holes;
whereby the coin propelling belt is deformed when the coins are displaced laterally by the perimeter defining means due to the friction between the coin propelling belt and the coins and the restoration force generated in the coin propelling belt due to the deformation urges said coins toward said perimeter defining means and said coins are forcedly urged through the corresponding sorting hole by the force of the coin propelling belt on the coins urging the coins against the bottom of the coin passage by the action of the belt pressing members.

3 more elements

A coin sorting device comprising:

a coin passage structure defining a coin passage with upstream and downstream ends and having a floor structure having formed therein, in spaced-apart sequence, a plurality of sorting holes for respectively permitting passage therethrough of coins having different diameters and propelled along said coin passage, and further having first and second passage side walls disposed on opposite lateral sides of said floor structure for defining lateral reference perimeters of the coin passage, each sorting hole having two opposite lateral rims spaced a specific distance for passing coins of a specific diameter corresponding to that sorting hole, said sorting holes being disposed successively along the coin passage floor structure from the upstream end in the order of progressively increasing size from a sorting hole for coins of the smallest diameter to a sorting hole for coins of the largest diameter and being positioned in a staggered arrangement wherein the sorting holes are alternately offset in opposite lateral directions and are alternately contiguous to said passage side walls;
a propelling belt having great elasticity and having a span substantially parallel to and spaced from the coin passage floor structure a distance less than the thickness of the thinnest of the coins to be sorted;
guide roller sheaves engaged with said propelling belt for guiding the belt in a zigzag path the alternate bends of which closely adjacent to the opposite passage side walls at the positions of the sorting holes respectively contiguous thereto, whereby the coins are propelled in a zigzag path closely corresponding to said path of the propelling belt thereby to strike alternately against the opposite side walls, parts of the propelling belt propelling the coins being elastically twisted when the coin engage the side walls for producing in the propelling belt a reactive, restoring torque urging the coins laterally against the side walls against which they have engaged, whereby the edges of the coins are accurately and positively positioned relative to the lateral rims of the sorting holes.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.