Device for determining a level of objects in a hopper
AssigneeCoin Acceptors, Inc.
InventorDavid Paslay
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device for determining a level of objects in a hopper comprises a hopper for storing and dispensing objects, a pair of sensors positioned within the hopper for sensing one or more of the objects within the hopper, and a processor connected to the pair of sensors for receiving signals indicative of the pair of sensors sensing one or more of the objects, the processor for determining the level of objects within the hopper based upon tracking a trend in the signals.
Claims18
A device for determining a level of objects in a hopper comprising:
- a hopper for storing and dispensing objects;
- a pair of sensors positioned within the hopper for sensing one or more of the objects within the hopper;
- and
- a processor connected to the pair of sensors for receiving signals indicative of the pair of sensors sensing one or more of the objects, the processor for determining the level of objects within the hopper based upon tracking a trend in the signals, the signals capable of transitioning between high frequency transitions and low frequency transitions and the processor is adapted to determining the trend in the signals based upon the high and low frequency transitions.
A device for determining a level of objects in a hopper comprising:
- a hopper for storing and dispensing objects;
- a delivery mechanism for dispensing an object from the hopper, the delivery mechanism capable of attempting a dispensing of an object from the hopper;
- a sensor for detecting whether an object has been dispensed from the hopper by the delivery mechanism;
- and
- a processor connected to the delivery mechanism and the sensor for determining the number of dispensing attempts that occur per object dispensed to determine if there is an increase in dispensing attempts, the processor for determining whether there is a trend upward which is indicative of the hopper becoming empty of objects to further indicate a low level condition.
A device for determining a level of objects in a hopper comprising:
- a hopper for storing and dispensing objects;
- a delivery mechanism for dispensing an object from the hopper, the delivery mechanism having a motor;
- and
- a processor connected to the motor for sensing average current drawn by the motor as the delivery mechanism dispenses an object from the hopper, the processor for determining the level of objects within the hopper based upon tracking a trend in the average current drawn by the motor with a downward trend in the average current drawn being indicative of a low level of objects in the hopper.
A device for determining a level of objects in a hopper comprising:
- a hopper for storing and dispensing objects;
- a pair of sensors positioned within the hopper for sensing one or more of the objects within the hopper;
- a delivery mechanism for dispensing an object from the hopper, the delivery mechanism having a motor;
- a sensor for detecting when an object has been dispensed from the hopper by the delivery mechanism;
- and
- a processor connected to the pair of sensors for receiving signals indicative of the pair of sensors sensing one or more of the objects, the processor for determining the level of objects within the hopper based upon tracking a trend in the signals, the processor further connected to the delivery mechanism and the sensor for determining a number of deliveries per delivery attempted by the delivery mechanism, and the processor connected to the motor for sensing current drawn by the motor as the delivery mechanism dispenses an object from the hopper, the signals capable of transitioning between high frequency transitions and low frequency transitions and the processor is adapted to determining the trend in the signals based upon the high and low frequency transitions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.