Coin Feeding Device Velocity Control for Detection Accuracy

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing coin sorting and feeding devices face issues with erroneous detection due to coins jumping against guides, leading to incorrect diameter and quality assessments, and attempts to prevent this by extending guides result in increased device size.

Innovation Solution

A coin-separating and feeding device with sorting recesses on a rotating disk, where a mover reciprocates between a sorting and pushing-out position, using a ring-like plate-shaped cam and cam followers to control the movement and prevent coins from colliding with guides, ensuring accurate delivery to a discriminating device.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the guide is extended to allow coins to rebound and stop while contacting the guide, then erroneous detection due to coin jumping is prevented, but the device size increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedetection accuracyVSAvoidguide length
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLength of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by controlling the mover's velocity before the coin reaches the guide. The velocity control unit reduces the mover's velocity to a predetermined value before coin delivery, preventing the coin from gaining excessive speed that would cause jumping and rebounding. This proactive velocity reduction eliminates the need for an extended guide structure, maintaining compact device size while ensuring reliable detection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the velocity parameter of the mover dynamically. The velocity control unit adjusts the mover's velocity based on the coin's position and characteristics, reducing it to a predetermined value that prevents coin jumping. This parameter change approach allows the system to maintain reliable detection without requiring structural modifications like extending the guide.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If the mover moves the coin quickly to the peripheral opening, then productivity increases, but the coin collides against the guide and jumps up causing erroneous detection

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecoin feeding speedVSAvoiddetection accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies periodic action through the velocity control unit that periodically adjusts the mover's velocity during the coin transport cycle. The mover operates at higher speed for most of the transport path to maintain productivity, then periodically reduces velocity to a predetermined value near the guide to prevent coin jumping. This periodic velocity adjustment balances productivity and detection accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent makes the mover's velocity dynamic rather than constant. The velocity control unit continuously adjusts the mover's velocity based on real-time conditions, allowing high speed during coin pickup and transport, then reducing speed near the guide to prevent collision. This dynamic velocity control enables the system to achieve both high productivity and reliable detection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The solution prevents coin jumping and ensures accurate detection by controlling the movement velocity of the mover, allowing for precise sorting and feeding of coins without increasing the device's size.

Implementation Method 1

a driving device which drives the mover to move toward the sorting position linearly; and the driving device includes a plate-shaped cam and cam followers

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCam mechanism: Cam

Data Source

PatentEP2733682B1Coin separating and feeding device
Publication Date: 2016.11.02 ASAHI SEIKO CO LTD
  • EP2733682B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2733682B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2733682B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

[Problem] An object of the present invention is to prevent a coin from colliding against a guide of a coin discriminating device when the coin is delivered from a coin-separating and feeding device to the coin discriminating device, thereby preventing erroneous detection of physical information for coin discrimination due to jumping-up of the coin against the guide. [Solving Means] A sorting recess is formed on an upper face of a rotating disk arranged in an inclination state by a sorting recess groove and an arc-shaped mover, and a holding recess is formed in cooperation with an arc-shaped restrictor arranged near an outer periphery of the rotating disk. Only one coin of a largest coin and a smallest coin to be sorted is held in the holding recess, and two smallest coins cannot be held in the holding recess. The mover is linearly moved to a sorting position and a pushing-out position on a peripheral side at a predetermined timing via a cam follower in a radial direction of the rotating disk by means of a ring-like plate-shaped cam, so that a coin is delivered to a coin discriminating device at the pushing-out position. Since the mover is guided at the sorting position by a lower inner face cam of the plate-shaped cam, it is positioned at the sorting position with a high degree of accuracy. Since the mover is guided at the pushing-out position by an upper outer face cam of the plate-shaped cam, it is positioned at the pushing-out position with a high degree of accuracy. Further, by setting the cam profile of the plate-shaped cam properly, a coin is prevented from being flipped out.