US 4,228,812 AGranted

Coin sorter with striker means to propel non-standard size coins

AssigneePREMA GmbH

InventorKarl Marti

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Abstract

A coin-sorting machine designed to separate non-standard coins, e.g., foreign currency, from standard coins of the national currency to be sorted, and to collect these non-standard coins in a special tray, comprises a plurality of feeler levers, each disposed adjacent to respective detectors intended to sort the standard coins and each controlling an associated thrust member. The standard coins are deflected into respective sorting receptacles, while each non-standard coin is struck in the middle by one of the thrust members and flung over the mouths of the sorting receptacles into the special tray. Each thrust member associated with a feeler lever may be made in one piece with an ejector associated with the preceding detector and take the form of an ejecting nose contiguous with a deflector surface of that ejector.

Claims4

Dependent claims

In a coin sorter of the type wherein coins lying against an inclined plate travel on a track past a plurality of sorting stations, each of which includes a detector having an actuating surface and an ejector associated with and following said detector along the route travelled by said coins, each said ejector being controlled by the associated said detector and including a deflector surface facing said detector, whereby when said ejector is moved to operative position by its associated detector, the coin located at said station is caused to ride along said deflector surface off of said track whereby it drops by gravity into collecting means located beneath the associated station, the improvement which comprises:

A pivotable feeler lever disposed after each said detector along said route and including a feeler-surface and
a thrust member associated with and following each said feeler lever along said route and controlled by the associated said feeler lever for assuming either a rest position wherein said thrust member is situated behind said plate or an operative position wherein said thrust member protrudes into the path of travel of said coins,
each successive said feeler-surface being situated at a lower level with respect to said track than that of the preceding said feeler-surface, and each said thrust member being situated at a predetermined distance from the associated said feeler lever as a function of the rate of travel of said coins, whereby a movement of a said thrust member from said rest position into said operative position as controlled by the associated said feeler lever causes said thrust member to sharply strike one of said coins substantially in the center thereof to propel said coin over the top of said collection means for receipt by a separate receptable.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.