COIN PROCESSOR

• Main Author: NODA KOJI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 09.04.1999
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: CHECKING-DEVICES; HANDLING OF COINS OR OF PAPER CURRENCY OR SIMILAR VALUABLEPAPERS, e.g. TESTING, SORTING BY DENOMINATIONS, COUNTING,DISPENSING, CHANGING OR DEPOSITING; PHYSICS

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To capture the deterioration of the level of an output signal detected by an inspecting part, and to prevent erroneous inspection by irradiating the side face of a coin with a light, and receiving the reflected light for detecting the shape of the side face, and communicating the fluctuation of the detecting performance. SOLUTION: An inspecting part is provided with a side face zigzag detecting sensor as a side face shape detecting means for optically detecting the protruding and recessed shape of the side face of a coin, for example, a zigzag pattern or marking, outer dimension detecting sensor, and material detecting sensor from the upstream side of the carrying direction of the coin. In this case, a light issued from a light emitting element 32 is converged on the side face of a coin C carried on a carrying face 7a by a condenser lens 33 in the zigzag sensor, and the reflected light from this side face is received by a light receiving element. Thus, when the coin having the zigzag pattern on the side face is carried, a signal level detected by the zigzag sensor is monitored, or the number of protrusion and recession of the detected signal is monitored so that the deterioration of the detecting precision of the zigzag sensor can be captured, and the level of this deterioration can be ranked and displayed.