Coin validators
AssigneeTetrel Limited
InventorJames Churchman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a coin detection system, a coin passes between conductive plates which form a capacitor, which provides part of the frequency controlling capacitance of an LC tuned oscillator circuit. The presence of a coin between the conductive plates alters the capacitance, and consequently alters the output frequency of the oscillator circuit. The oscillator output is supplied to the clock of a counter, optionally following frequency division in a frequency divider. The counter counts the number of clock pulses received in a 10 ms period, and the count value is provided to a microprocessor via a shift register. The count value will be a measure of the frequency of the output of the oscillator. The microprocessor uses the output to determine whether a valid coin has been received, and if so, what the denomination of the valid coin is.
Claims54
Apparatus for determining whether an input coin is acceptable and for distinguishing between a plurality of acceptable coins, comprising:
- capacitor means;
- guide means to guide an input coin along a coin path past the capacitor means to affect the capacitance of the capacitor means while the coin is in a first portion of the coin path;
- oscillator means for providing an oscillating output signal the frequency of which is affected by the capacitance of the capacitor means;
- value obtaining means for receiving the oscillating output signal and obtaining a first value representing the frequency of the oscillating output signal while an input coin is in the first portion of the coin path, said value obtaining means comprising counter means for counting the oscillations of the oscillating output signal to obtain a measurement of the frequency thereof;
- further means for obtaining a second value representing a parameter of the input coin other than its effect on the capacitance of the capacitor means;
- and decision means for making a decision on the basis of the first value whether the input coin is acceptable and, if so, which of a plurality of acceptable coins it is, the decision means using said second value to distinguish between different input coins which result in the same first value.
Apparatus for determining whether an input coin is acceptable and for distinguishing between a plurality of acceptable coins, comprising:
- capacitor means;
- guide means to guide an input coin along a coin path past the capacitor means, thereby to affect the capacitance of the capacitor means;
- oscillator means for providing an oscillating output signal the frequency of which is affected by the capacitance of the capacitor means;
- and
- decision means for receiving the oscillating output signal and making a decision on the basis of the frequency thereof whether the input coin is acceptable and, if so, which of a plurality of acceptable coins the input coin is,
- the decision means comprising compensation means for monitoring the rest frequency of the oscillating output signal in the absence of an input coin and compensating the decision means for changes in the rest frequency over time.
Apparatus for determining whether an input coin is accptable and for distinguishing between a plurality of acceptable coins, comprising:
- capacitor means composing first and second capacitor plates;
- guide means to guide an input coin along a coin path between the capacitor plates leaving an air gap between the coin and the first capacitor plate to affect the capacitance of the capacitor means;
- determination means for responding to the effect of an input coin on the capacitance of the capacitor means to determine whether the coin is unacceptable or which of a plurality of acceptable coins the input coin is;
- and
- a piece of material, separate from the material of the guide means, fixed to the guide means where an input coin passes the capacitor means, narrowing the width of the coin path and the width of said air gap compared with the width of the coin path and the width of said air gap if the piece of material was not present, said piece of material affecting the capacitance of the capacitor means and providing a difference in the effect of an input coin on the capacitor means at different positions along the coin math.
Apparatus for determining whether an input coin is acceptable and for distinguishing between a plurality of acceptable coins, comprising:
- capacitor means;
- inductor means;
- guide means to guide an input coin along a coin path past the capacitor means thereby to affect the capacitance of the capacitor means and past the inductor means thereby to affect the inductance of the inductor means depending on the magnetic properties of the input coin;
- oscillator means for providing an oscillating output signal the frequency of which is affected by the capacitance of the capacitor means and by the inductance of the inductor means;
- and
- decision means for receiving the oscillating output signal and making a decision on the basis of the frequency thereof whether the input coin is acceptable and, if so, which of a plurality of acceptable coins the input coin is whereby the effect of the inductance of the inductor means on the frequency of the oscillating output signal enables the decision means to be responsive to the magnetic properties of the input coin.
Apparatus for determining whether an input coin is acceptable and for distinguishing between a plurality of acceptable coins, comprising:
- capacitor means;
- guide means to guide an input coin along a coin path past the capacitor means to affect the capacitance of the capacitor means;
- oscillator means for providing an oscillating output signal the frequency of which is affected by the capacitance of the capacitor means;
- and
- decision means for receiving the oscillating output signal, counting the oscillations of the oscillating output signal to obtain a measurement of the frequency thereof, and making a decision on the basis of said measurement of the frequency of said oscillations whether the input coin is acceptable and, if so, which of a plurality of acceptable coins the input coin is.
A method of determining whether an input coin is acceptable and for distinguishing between a plurality of acceptable coins, comprising:
- guiding an input coin along a coin path past capacitor means so as to affect the capacitance thereof while at a first position along the coin path;
- generating an oscillating output signal the frequency of which is affected by the capacitance of the capacitor means, counting the oscillations of the oscillating output signal to obtain a measurement of the frequency thereof;
- and rejecting the input coin or deciding which of a plurality of acceptable coins the input coin is on the basis of (i) said measurement of the frequency of the oscillating output signals while the input coin is at a first position along the coin path and (ii) a value representing a parameter of the input coin other than its effect on the capacitance of the capacitor means at the first position along the coin path.
A method of determining whether an input coin is acceptable and for distinguishing between a plurality of acceptable coins, comprising:
- guiding an input coin past capacitor means so as to affect the capacitance thereof;
- generating an oscillating output signal the frequency of which is affected by the capacitance of the capacitor means;
- and rejecting the input coin or deciding which of a plurality of acceptable coins the input coin is on the basis of the frequency of the oscillating output signal,
- the method further comprising monitoring the rest frequency of the oscillating output signal in the absence of a coin so as to compensate the rejecting or deciding step for changes in the rest frequency over time.
A method of determining whether an input coin is acceptable and for distinguishing between a plurality of acceptable coins, comprising:
- guiding an input coin past capacitor means so as to affect the capacitance thereof and past inductor means so as to affect the inductance thereof depending on the input coin's magnetic properties;
- generating an oscillating output signal the frequency of which is affected by the capacitance of the capacitor means and by the inductance of the inductor means;
- and rejecting the input coin or deciding which of a plurality of acceptable coins the input coin is on the basis of the frequency of the oscillating output signal, whereby the magnetic properties of the coin are taken into account in rejecting the input coin or deciding which of a plurality of acceptable coins the input coin is.
A method of determining whether an input coin is acceptable and for distinguishing between a plurality of acceptable coins, comprising:
- guiding an input coin past capacitor means so as to affect the capacitance thereof;
- generating an oscillating output signal the frequency of which is affected by the capacitance of the capacitor means counting the oscillations of the oscillating output signal to obtain a measurement of the frequency thereof;
- and rejecting the input coin or deciding which of a plurality of acceptable coins the input coin is on the basis of said measurement of the frequency of the oscillating output signal.
Apparatus for determining whether an input coin is acceptable and for distinguishing between a plurality of acceptable coins, comprising:
- capacitor means;
- guide means to guide an input coin along a coin path past the capacitor means to affect the capacitance of the capacitor means while the coin is in a first portion of the coin path and while the coin is in a second portion of the coin path;
- oscillator means for providing an oscillating output signal the frequency of which is affected by the capacitance of the capacitor means;
- value obtaining means for receiving the oscillating output signal and obtaining first and second values respectively representing the frequency of the oscillating output signal while an input coin is in the first and second portions of the coin path, the value obtaining means comprising counter means for counting the oscillations of the oscillating output signal to obtain measurements of the frequency thereof;
- and decision means for making a decision on the basis of the first value whether the input coin is acceptable and, if so, which of a plurality of acceptable coins it is;
- one of more of the physical parameters of the capacitor means, which determine the extent of the effect of an input coin on the capacitance of the capacitor means, being different at the second portion of the coin path from the first portion of the coin path, and the decision means using said second value to distinguish between different input coins which result in the same first value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.