The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 02, 2001
Filed:
Jun. 27, 1997
David Lawrence Davis, Indianola, WA (US);
Coinstar, Inc., Bellvue, WA (US);
Abstract
A coin discrimination device which provides for positive transport of coins past a sensor is provided. In one embodiment, a rotating disk, slightly inclined to the vertical, includes a plurality of pockets for receiving coins from a hopper bowl. The disk and bowl are configured to efficiently load the pockets with no more than one coin per pocket. As the disk rotates, the coins, which are thus registered in a desired location in the pockets, are transported by the rotating disk past a sensor. When, based on the sensor data, the item in a pocket is recognized as an acceptable coin, a controllable ramp is lowered to divert the coin out of the pocket and into a path to place the coin in an acceptance bin or bag.