Cradle locking arrangement for coin sorter

Claim 1

In a coin sorter having a cradle with two arms adapted to be rocked from a normal position by a coin of predetermined acceptable size to Deposit said coin on an inclined runway, coins and slugs of smaller size normally being allowed to pass between the arms without rocking the cradle, the improvement comprising locking means mounted in the sorter adjacent the cradle, and biassed toward a normal locking position in which a part of the cradle engages a first part of said locking means and is held thereby against further movement when a coin or slug of smaller than acceptable size starts to rock the cradle, said locking means having a second part adapted to be engaged and displaced by a coin of acceptable size as the latter rocks the cradle, displacement of said second part effecting displacement of said first part also, whereby said cradle part will not engage said first part and full rocking of the cradle is permitted, the relative position of said first and second parts of the locking means being finely adjustable to enable fine selection of the minimum size of coin required to fully rock the cradle, said cradle being pivotally mounted on the outer face of one of a pair of spaced plates between which coins fall, the arms of the cradle extending through slot means in said one plate to bridge the space between the plates, and said locking means comprising a member pivotally mounted on the outer face of said one plate and having a lower portion below the pivot and an upper portion above the pivot, said lower portion having a shoulder constituting said first part of the locking means, said part of the cradle being in the form of an outwardly extending pin, said upper portion having an arm extending inwardly through a slot in said one plate to bridge the space between the plates and a screw extending laterally through a tapped bore in said arm, said screw constituting said second part of the locking means.