Device for counting and/or sorting coins

A method for determining coin diameters, the method comprising the steps of:

• feeding coins in an irregular sequence on a guiding track, with their borders resting against a guiding edge through a coin identification unit having a CCD line, having an emission source radiating light in a plurality of different angular directions, and having optical elements focusing said light from said emission source into a parallel light beam and directing said light beam toward the coins in said track plane in a direction substantially perpendicular to a main coin face;
• providing a multiple read out from the CCD line when a coin passes;
• for every read-out process a shading degree is determined and a shading degree sequence for the individual coin is stored in a memory element, with reducing shading degree during passage of a coin the previously determined maximum shading degree being fetched from the memory element as a diameter size and being used as an input value of a sorting function.

A device for identifying a coin, the device comprising:

• a guiding track feeding the coin along a track plane;
• an optical device arranged on one side of said track plane, said optical device including an emission source radiating light in a plurality of different angular directions, said optical device including an optical element for focusing said light from said emission source into a parallel light beam and directing said light beam toward the coin in said track plane in a direction substantially perpendicular to said track plane;
• a light sensor arranged on another side of said track plane and including a CCD element receiving said light beam from said optical device, said CCD converting said light beam into an identification signal representing an amount of said light beam received by said CCD, said optical device, the coin and said CCD element being arranged to have the coin only partially block said light beam and cause said identification signal to represent a size of the coin.