High speed, high volume coin sorter
OwnerFloyd K. Stringinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A high-speed, high-volume coin sorter includes a coin feed device and a coin sorting device. The coin sorting device includes a number of stationary sorting plates, each plate associated with a respective coin denomination. Coins are successively driven along each sorting plate, with coins associated with the sorting plate discharged at the end of the plate. The other coins drop through the plate and fall onto a conveyor to be transferred to the next sorting plate.
Claims28
A coin sorter for sorting coins by denomination, each coin denomination having a respective coin diameter, the coin sorter comprising:
- a coin feed device and a coin sorting device, the feed device configured to receive a plurality of coins of various denominations and feed the coins to the coin sorting device for sorting;
- the coin sorting device comprising:
- (a) a plurality of stationary sorting stations, each station associated with a respective coin diameter, each station having a thickness;
- each sorting station comprising a surface for supporting coins on the station and a plurality of through-holes extending from the surface and through the station thickness and having a diameter related to the diameter of the coin associated with the station;
- the sorting stations arranged in series from a first sorting station to a last sorting station, the first sorting station arranged to receive coins from the coin feed device, the remaining sorting stations each arranged to receive coins from the preceding sorting station, each sorting station but the last sorting station arranged to discharge coins to the next sorting station;
- and
- (b) a drive device, the drive device arranged to urge coins along the sorting stations and extending from the first sorting station to the last sorting station, the drive device operating to urge coins against the surface of each sorting station whereby coins having a diameter less than the diameter of the sorting station holes fall through the holes and are discharged from the coin sorting device while the remainder of the coins move to the succeeding sorting portion;
- whereby each sorting portion discharges only those coins associated with such sorting portion to sort the coins by denomination.
The coin sorter of claims wherein the first sorting plate is associated with the largest coin diameter, and each succeeding sorting plate is associated with the next-smaller coin diameter;
- the holes of each sorting plate have a diameter smaller than the coin diameter associated with the sorting plate but larger than the next-smaller coin diameter;
- the drive device comprises a plurality of drive devices and one or more transfer devices;
- each drive device is associated with a respective sorting plate to urge coins along the plate from the intake end to the discharge end;
- and
- each transfer device is disposed beneath a respective preceding sorting plate to receive coins that fall through the plate and transfer those coins to the intake end of the succeeding plate associated with such preceding plate;
- whereby each sorting plate discharges only those coins associated with the sorting plate.
A method of sorting coins by denomination, each denomination having a respective coin diameter, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a plurality of coin sorting stations, each sorting station associated with a respective coin diameter, the sorting stations arranged in series from a first sorting station to a last sorting station, each sorting station comprising a surface and a plurality of through-holes extending from the surface through a thickness of the station, each hole having a diameter associated with the coin diameter associated with the station;
- feeding a stream of unsorted coins onto the surface of the first sorting station;
- driving the coins along the first sorting station wherein the coins are urged against the surface and first set of coins having a diameter larger than the holes of the sorting station stay on the station and a second set of coins having a diameter smaller than the holes of the sorting station fall through the holes, thereby sorting the first and second sets of coins from one another;
- transporting one of the sets of coins to the next sorting station;
- and repeating the steps of driving the coins along the sorting station and sorting first and second sets of coins from one another to sort the coins by denomination.
The method of claim wherein 23 the steps of driving the coins along the sorting stations each comprise the step of driving the coins by a non-gravity force.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.