Coin sorting apparatus with reference value correction system

• US 4,749,074 A
• Filed: 10/11/1985
• Issued: 06/07/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited 1006 OAZA Kadoma-Shi Osaka Japan
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kakimi, Shigeru, Ueki, Toru
• Primary Examiner(s): Rolla, Joseph J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ammeen, Edward S.
• Application Number:
  US06/786,634
• Time in Patent Office: 970 Days
• Field of Search: 194/302, 194/303, 194/317, 194/318, 194/319, 194/320, 194/328, 194/334, 194/335, 324/227, 324/262, 324/236, 73/163, 133/3 R, 209/571, 209/567, 209/570, 364/579, 364/582
• US Class Current: 194/317
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 5/02 Testing the dimensions, e.g. thickness, diameter; Testing the deformation
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 5/08 Testing the magnetic or electric properties

Abstract

A coin sorting apparatus in which the oscillation constants of oscillators change with the passage of a coin, and the amount of change in each of the oscillation constants or a value converted therefrom is compared with a reference value of a coin to be identified which is stored in a memory to identify whether the coin is genuine and the class thereof. Whether the reference values for each coin are corrected is determined by a plurality of counters which correct the reference values of corresponding classes of coins when their counts exceed a predetermined set value. At the same time, when the inserted coin is identified as genuine, a corresponding counter is activated, thus improving the performance of eliminating spurious coins without reducing the acceptability of genuine coins even under ambient temperature changes or secular variations of component elements with time.

Claims

1. In a coin sorting apparatus for determining whether coins of different kinds passed therethrough are genuine, said apparatus comprising a plurality of oscillators each generating a signal having a value which varies in accordance with the characteristics of a coin passing through said apparatus, and a memory wherein a plurality of preset reference values are stored for each kind of coin, the improvement comprising:

a plurality of up-down counters for each kind of coin, one of said up-down counters being provided for each of said plurality of preset reference values for each kind of coin;

first means for detecting if the value of each of the signals generated by said plurality of oscillators is above or below a corresponding preset reference value, said first means operating the up-down counter corresponding to said preset reference value to count up or count down from an initial value in accordance with the value of said oscillator signal relative to said corresponding preset reference value; and

second means for detecting whether the count of said corresponding up-down counter is above a respective predetermined upper count limit or below a respective predetermined lower count limit, said second means incremeting or decrementing the corresponding reference value to correct said reference value in accordance with said detected count.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first means operates said up-down counter to count up or count down in increments of one count, and wherein said predetermined upper and lower count limits are greater than one count.

3. In connection with a coin sorting apparatus for determining whether coins of different kinds passed therethrough are genuine, said apparatus comprising a plurality of oscillators each generating a signal having a value which varies in accordance with the characteristics of a coin passing through said apparatus, and a memory wherein a plurality of preset reference values are stored for each kind of coin, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting whether the value of each of the signals generated by said plurality of oscillators is above or below a corresponding preset reference value;

operating an up-down counter corresponding to one of said plurality of preset reference values to count up or count down from an initial value in accordance with the value of one of the signals generated by said plurality of oscillators relative to said corresponding preset reference value;

detecting whether the count of said corresponding up-down counter is above a respective predetermined upper count limit or below a respective predetermined lower count limit; and

incrementing or decrementing the corresponding reference value to correct said reference value in accordance with said detected count.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said up-down counter is operated to count up or count down in increments of one count, and wherein said predetermined upper and lower limits are greater than one count.

5. In a coin sorting apparatus for determining whether a coin passing therethrough having denomination and given sorting factors is genuine, said coin sorting apparatus including at least one oscillator having an oscillation constant which changes when a coin passes through said apparatus, means for measuring the change in said oscillation constant and means for comparing said measured oscillation constant change with a preset reference value corresponding to the denomination and at least one of the sorting factors of said coin, the improvement comprising:

at least one up-down counter, each of said counters, being provided for a corresponding reference value for making, said comparison;

first means for detecting whether said measured oscillation constant change is above or below said corresponding one of said reference values, said first means operating the counter which corresponds to said one corresponding reference value to count up or count down from an initial value in accordance with the detected direction of said measured change; and

second means for detecting whether the counter corresponding to said one corresponding reference value counts above a predetermined upper count limit or below a predetermined lower count limit, said second means correcting by incrementing or decrementing the corresponding reference value in response to the detected count.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, including means for operating the respective up-down counters in response to the sorting of any inserted coin as a genuine coin.

7. An apparatus according to claim 5, including means for presetting upper and lower reference values for comparison with the measured values.

8. A coin sorting apparatus for determining whether a coin passing therethrough having a denomination and given sorting factors such as outer diameter, material and thickness is genuine, said coin sorting apparatus including a plurality of oscillators each having an oscillation constant which changes when a coin passes through said apparatus, means for measuring the change in the oscillation constant of each said oscillator with the passage of a coin and means for comparing each measured oscillation constant change with respective preset reference values corresponding to at least two of said sorting factors for each denomination of coin, the improvement comprising:

means for identifying the denomination of each coin passing through said apparatus by comparing at least one measured change sequentially with each of said respective reference values corresponding to one of said at least two sorting factors;

a plurality of up-down counters, each of said counters being provided for a corresponding reference value for making said comparison;

first means for detecting whether each of said measured oscillation constant changes is above or below each one of said corresponding reference values, said first means operating the counter which corresponds to said one corresponding reference value to count up or count down from an initial value in accordance with the detected direction of said measured change; and

second means for detecting whether the counter corresponding to said one corresponding reference value counts above a predetermined upper count limit or below a predetermined lower count limit, said second means correcting by incrementing or decrementing the corresponding reference value in response to the detected count, said second means further including comparison means for comparing the count of the respective counter with the respective predetermined limits to determine whether the corresponding reference value should be corrected.