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:
Jul. 31, 2001
Filed:
Apr. 12, 2000
Applicant:
Inventors:
Philippe S. Jard, Downingtown, PA (US);
Philip R. Reger, Newtown Square, PA (US);
Assignee:
Mars Incorporated, McLean, VA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G07D 9/00 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G07D 9/00 ;
Abstract
A coin handling apparatus includes a coin storage container having conductive electrodes disposed along sides of the coin storage container. The coin handling apparatus also includes a voltage generator. A processor controls the voltage generator to provide output signals to excite the electrodes at multiple frequencies. The processor is configured to determine a resonant frequency based on levels of reflected power resulting from the output signals and to estimate a number of coins in the container based on the resonant frequency.