Coin discriminator

Details Coin discriminator Coin discriminator

1996-06-17

1998-11-10

Bartuska, F. J.

Check-actuated control mechanisms

Including means to test validity of check

By testing material composition

G07D 508

Patent

active

058330429

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for discriminating between coins, tokens or similar articles.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Coin-operated apparatus are being increasingly used throughout the world to provide goods and services. Such apparatus includes amusement machines, vending machines for a wide variety of products, gaming machines (such as "poker machines") and pay phones.
As a sub-group, vending machines dispensing such varied products as public transport tickets, confectionery, video cassettes and bread sticks are increasingly apparent in developed countries due to the high cost of labour and a demand for twenty-four-hour access to such products.
In addition, public telephones or pay phones are becoming more sophisticated. Although there is a trend towards pay telephones which operate only on a debit card or credit card, it is likely that future pay telephones will be modelled on those currently in use in Italy, in which one may use coins, cards or gettoni (telephone tokens).
Although there are in use banknote validators, the problems inherent in "reading" banknotes (particularly mutilated or worn banknotes) coupled with the trend in most countries to replace lower denomination banknotes with coins, means that in all of the abovementioned applications, a coin validator will be required.
To be acceptable in one of the abovementioned applications, a coin discriminator must quickly and accurately discriminate between coins of different denomination, between coins of different countries and between genuine coins and bogus coins. Existing coin discriminators have been unable to discriminate adequately, in some cases, between a low value coin of a foreign country and a higher value coin of the country in which the validator is located. Particularly in a region such as Europe, coin discriminators additionally cannot cope with the large number of migratory coins from various European countries.
One example of a prior art coin validator is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,565, which discloses coin selection methods and apparatus in which data representative of a coin is compared with data stored in a programmable memory.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,565, a numerical value of a signal produced by interrogating a coin, such as frequency, is compared with acceptable numerical values for genuine coins which are stored in the programmable memory.
Another prior art coin validator is disclosed in AU-B-24242/84, which discloses the use of pulsing coils which induce eddy currents in a coin. Monitoring means is used to monitor the decay of the eddy currents, and a comparison between the output of the monitoring means and stored reference values enable discrimination to take place. It is considered that the approach of AU-B-24242/84 is unnecessarily complicated, and would not permit an adequately rapid discrimination to take place.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,652 to Shimizu there is disclosed a device for discriminating between different coins, such a real or counterfeit coins, without contacting the coins. Shimizu uses a coil to provide a pulse of a magnetic field into the coin, and then detects the decaying curve of the back EMF created by the eddy currents in the coin. The characterstics of that decaying curve are determined by the material of the coin, its diameter and thickness, and any surface treatment. Therefore, for non-identical coins, the decaying curves are also non-identical.
After detecting the decaying curves Shimizu then subjects the decaying curve to series of manipulations prior to comparing the characteristics of the decaying curve with the known characteristics for known coins. Those manipulations include the use of a switched-gain amplifier, and an analogue-to-digital converter. Also, Shimizu uses a binary counter to determine the end of each cycle so the amplification factor can be increased for the following half cycle.
This creates an analysis regime which is unnecessarily complex. It also means that the inherent characteristics of the decaying curve are not used, bu

REFERENCES:
patent: 3918565 (1975-11-01), Fougere et al.
patent: 5020653 (1991-06-01), Shimizu

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