Coin analyzer wire runway

Claim 2

As a new article of manufacture a coin-edge support runway for a drop chute, said runway comprising a round, stainless steel spring wire formed to provide support means for supporting a coin on its edge with substantially point contact between the coin and runway, and means operatively associated with said runway for automatically dislodging coins from said runway which have a size above or below a predetermined size.

Claim 3

An article as called for in claim 1 wherein the coin runway includes an upper, coin-receptive portion and a lower, termiNal end, said runway being straight and uniformly inclined from its upper to lower end.

Claim 4

An article as called for in claim 2 wherein said runway includes integrally formed first and second coin-face support portions, the first of which includes an upper, coin-edge receptive portion disposed in abutting parallism with the upper, coin-receptive portion of said runway and a lower portion which is spaced from and inclined upwardly from the lower portion of said runway for defining a coin-face support portion which terminates short of the terminal end of said runway, the second coin-face support portion spaced above and in substantial parallism with the coin-face support portion of said first coin-face support, wherein the relationship of said first and second coin-face support portions is such as to engage spaced portions of the face of a coin of specific value, whose edge is supported on said inclined runway.

Claim 5

An article as called for in claim 3 wherein the second of the said coin-face support portions is displaced from the vertical with reference to the first of said coin-face support portions for inclining a coin of specific value supported on said runway at a selected angle.

Claim 6

An article as called for in claim 4 wherein the angle at which a coin of specific value is supported is approximately 12*.

Claim 7

An article as called for in claim 3 wherein the spacing between the coin-face support portion of the first of said coin-face support portions and the runway is such as to dislodge a coin, which is thinner than a coin of specific value, from said inclined runway as said thin coin advances along said runway towards its terminal end.

Claim 8

An article as called for in claim 3 wherein the spacing between the coin-face supporting portion of the second of said coin-face supporting portions and the runway is greater than the diameter of an undersized coin whereby the upper face portion of an undersized coin will not be supported incident to movement of the coin down the inclined runway thereby causing said coin to be dislodged from the runway at a location in advance of its terminal end.

Claim 9

An article as called for in claim 3, wherein the upper end of the second of said coin-face supporting portions terminates in a U shaped mounting loop from which the entire runway assembly is adapted to be secured to a support surface.

Claim 10

An article as called for in claim 8, in which one of the legs of said mounting loop is formed to define an abutment which projects over and is spaced above the upper coin-receptive portion of said runway by a dimension approximating the diameter of a coin of specific value, said runway adapted to vibrate under the weight of a coin dropped thereon for forcing said coin against said abutment in a series of vibrations of decreasing amplitude until the speed at which the coin will advance along the said runway has been reduced to a selected value.

Claim 11

An article as called for in claim 9 which includes means for selectively controlling the amplitude of vibration of the runway.

Claim 14

The device according to claim 11 in which said orifice means, said control means, and said allowing means are formed of a single length of continuous wire.

Claim 15

The device according to claim 11 in which said control means includes means to bounce the coin to prevent the coin from enteRing said orifice means until its speed is reduced to a selected value.

Claim 16

The device according to claim 11 in which: said allowing means includes means forming a runway for the coin from said orifice means, said runway means extending from said orifice means; and said runway means including means to cause coins having a diameter or thickness different than the coin of the specific value to cease to be supported by said runway means before the coin can advance the length of said runway means.

Claim 17

The device according to claim 14 in which: said runway means includes: first and second wire portions disposed adjacent but spaced from each other, the distance between said first and second wire portions being slightly less than the thickness of a coin of the specific value; one of said wire portions supporting an edge of the coin while the other of said wire portions engages one face of the coin; and means vertically spaced from each of said wire portions a distance slightly less than the diameter of the coin of the specific value, said vertically spaced means engaging the one face of a coin of the specific value to cooperate with the other of said wire portions to support a coin of the specific value.

Claim 18

The device according to claim 15 in which said vertically spaced means is a wire.

Claim 19

The device according to claim 16 in which said wire portions of said runway means and said wire of said vertically spaced means are a single continuous wire.

Claim 20

The device according to claim 17 in which said wire portions of said runway means are connected to each other exterior of said orifice means to form said control means.

Claim 21

The device according to claim 18 in which said control means vibrates to reduce the speed of the coin before it enters said orifice means.

Claim 22

The device according to claim 18 including means to engage said wire portions forming said control means for selectively controlling the degree of vibration when a coin engages said control means, said engaging means forming part of said control means.

Claim 23

The device according to claim 18 in which: said orifice means includes: a part of each of said first and second wire portions forming said runway means, said parts of said first and second wire portions being disposed sufficiently close to each other to prevent a coin of any thickness from passing therebetween; and a wire disposed in vertically spaced relation to said parts of said first and second wire portions.

Claim 24

The device according to claim 15 in which said one wire portion of said first and second wire portions is inclined at a greater angle than said other wire portion of said first and second wire portions.

Claim 25

The device according to claim 14 in which said support means has means to guide a coin of the specific value to the selected area after the coin leaves said runway means.

Claim 26

A single element coin selection device for use in allowing only a coin of a specific value having a specific diameter and thickness to pass into a selected area comprising: a single continuous round, spring wire having: first and second portions disposed adjacent to each other; said first portion having one end connected to one end of said second portion; said first portion and said second portion functioning as a portion of a runway in the parts of said first portion and said second portion remote from their connection to each other; said first portion and said second portion being spaced from each other a distance less than the thickness of a coin of the specific value in the runway area; a third portion spaced from said first and second portions a distance less than the diameter of a coin of the specific value; a fourth portion connecting the other end of said second portion to one end of said third portion; a fifth portion having one end connected to the other end of said fourth portion and forming connecting means for said wire to its support means; and a siXth portion connected to the other end of said fifth portion and cooperating with parts of said first portion and said second portion to form an orifice for a coin before before it enters the runway, said parts of said first and second portions forming part of the orifice being closer to each other than the thickness of any coin.

Claim 27

A single element coin selection device for use in allowing only a coin of a specific value having a specific diameter and thickness to pass into a selected area comprising: a single continuous round, spring wire having: first and second portions disposed adjacent to each other; said first portion having one end connected to one end of said second portion; said first portion and said second portion functioning as a portion of a runway in the parts of said first portion and said second portion remote from their connection to each other; said first portion and said second portion being spaced from each other a distance less than the thickness of a coin of the specific value in the runway area; a third portion spaced from said first and second portions a distance less than the diameter of a coin of the specific value; a fourth portion connecting the other end of said second portion to one end of said third portion; a fifth portion having one end connected to the other end of said fourth portion and forming connecting means for said wire to its support means; and a siXth portion connected to the other end of said fifth portion and cooperating with parts of said first portion and said second portion to form an orifice for a coin before before it enters the runway, said parts of said first and second portions forming part of the orifice being closer to each other than the thickness of any coin.

Claim 28

The device according to claim 24 in which the parts of said first and second portions adjacent their connection function to control the speed of the coin before it enters the orifice, the parts forming the control being sufficiently close to each other to prevent a coin of any thickness from passing therebetween.

Claim 29

The device according to claim 25 in which said wire has a seventh portion connected to the other end of said sixth portion to guide a coin to the control.