EP1123537B1 - Verfahren und vorrichtung zum prüfen von bimetallischen münzen - Google Patents

Verfahren und vorrichtung zum prüfen von bimetallischen münzen Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1123537B1
EP1123537B1 EP99971133A EP99971133A EP1123537B1 EP 1123537 B1 EP1123537 B1 EP 1123537B1 EP 99971133 A EP99971133 A EP 99971133A EP 99971133 A EP99971133 A EP 99971133A EP 1123537 B1 EP1123537 B1 EP 1123537B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
coin
outer ring
coils
magnetic field
inner disk
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP99971133A
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English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1123537A1 (de
Inventor
Geoffrey Howells
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Scan Coin Industries AB
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Scan Coin Industries AB
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Scan Coin Industries AB filed Critical Scan Coin Industries AB
Publication of EP1123537A1 publication Critical patent/EP1123537A1/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1123537B1 publication Critical patent/EP1123537B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07D—HANDLING OF COINS OR VALUABLE PAPERS, e.g. TESTING, SORTING BY DENOMINATIONS, COUNTING, DISPENSING, CHANGING OR DEPOSITING
    • G07D5/00—Testing specially adapted to determine the identity or genuineness of coins, e.g. for segregating coins which are unacceptable or alien to a currency
    • G07D5/08—Testing the magnetic or electric properties

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a coin discriminating device of the type having first and second coils positioned to induce and detect eddy currents in an outer ring and an inner disk, respectively, of a bimetallic coin, where a storage device is adapted to store coin reference data and a logic device is adapted to determine an identity of the coin by comparing the coin reference data to data obtained from the detected eddy currents and related to the conductivity of the coin.
  • the present invention also relates to a method of identifying a bimetallic coin, and to a coin processing machine including a coin discriminating device of the above type.
  • Coin discriminators which are arranged to measure the electric characteristics, e.g. the resistance or conductivity, of a coin by exposing it to a magnetic pulse and detecting the decay of eddy currents induced in the coin, are generally known in the technical field.
  • Such coin discriminators are used in a variety of coin processing machines, such as coin counting machines, coin sorting machines, coin validators for vending and gaming machines, etc.
  • Previously known coin processing machines are for instance disclosed in WO 97/07485 and WO 87/07742.
  • a coin testing arrangement comprises a transmitter coil, which is pulsed with a rectangular voltage pulse so as to generate a magnetic pulse, which is induced in a coin when being moved past the transmitter coil along a coin rail.
  • the eddy currents thus generated in the coin give rise to a magnetic field, which is monitored or detected by a receiver coil.
  • the receiver coil may be a separate coil or may alternatively be constituted by the transmitter coil having two operating modes.
  • EP-B-0 119 000 uses two transmitter coils with different effective cross-sectional areas.
  • the large coil is larger than the largest acceptable coin, whereas the small coil is smaller than the smallest coin.
  • the position of the small coil is such that the effective cross-sectional area thereof is covered by the smallest coin when passing along the coin rail.
  • the purpose of the small coil is to solve a problem that can occur if only a large coil was used.
  • the readings from the large coil are a function of the conductivity and diameter of the coin.
  • a large diameter and a high conductivity both produce large coin readings.
  • coins of different diameter and conductivity can produce identical readings.
  • a British 2p copper coin and an aluminium token of 2 mm smaller diameter produce identical readings from the large coil.
  • the small coil produces a signal that depends on the conductivity, but is independent of diameter. Thus, aluminium and copper may be differentiated by the small coil.
  • the small coil cannot be used alone, because coins of the same material but different diameter give the same readings.
  • bimetallic coins have been issued on the market in different countries.
  • Well known examples of bimetallic coins are the French 10F, the British£, the Canadian $2 and the 1 and 2 Euro coins.
  • Bimetallic coins are made as follows. Outer rings and central disks are punched from sheets (also known as blanks) of the two metal or metal alloys, of which the bimetallic coin is to be made. The disk is then fitted into the ring, and the coin is minted. Minting consists of pressing the coin between two hardened dies. The dies stamp the head and tail pattern onto the coin and also force the disk and ring together. The joint between the disk and ring is called a bond.
  • the inner disk When identifying a bimetallic coin, there are three conductivities to be considered: the inner disk, the outer ring and the bond between them.
  • the conductivities of the inner disk and outer ring depend on the metals used and do not change.
  • the conductivity of the bond between the two metals may vary to a large extent.
  • the bond may be a perfect conductor, if freshly cut metal surfaces are pushed hard together (molecular welding). However, if the inner disk and outer ring are covered in an oxide layer before they are joined together, the bond will conduct less well. In extreme cases, with a thick oxide layer, the bond will not conduct at all.
  • bond conductivity is even more complex, since it also depends on the voltage of the eddy currents induced for the measurement. A large measurement voltage will "punch through" the oxide layer and indicate a higher conductivity than a low voltage. In coin discriminators, the voltages across the bond are small and these non-linear effects are significant.
  • the poorly defined bond conductivity in bimetallic coins causes problems for many existing coin discriminators.
  • the variability of the bond causes different readings from coins of the same type, thereby making a positive identification of the coin all the more difficult.
  • the small coil is located close to the coin rail (so as to cover also very small monometallic coins), thereby generating eddy currents in a bimetallic coin, which will cross the bond and cause great uncertainty as regards the conductivity reading.
  • GB-A-2 323 200 discloses a coin validator for bimetallic coins.
  • An oval-shaped sensor 16 induces eddy currents, which are confined to the outer ring of the bimetallic coin. These eddy currents are detected and used for measuring the electric conductivity of the outer ring.
  • a separate, smaller coil 14 is used for measuring the conductivity of the central disk of the bimetallic coin.
  • US-A-5 119 916 discloses a magnetic field sensor for detecting tokens.
  • a magnetic sensor is used to provide a measurement of magnetically responsive characteristics, when the token is exposed to a magnetic field generated by a permanent magnet.
  • an object of the present invention to provide an improved coin discriminator for identifying bimetallic coins. Moreover, an object of the invention is to allow the coin discriminator to be implemented by means of a small number of components.
  • the coin discriminator comprises a large coil 10 and a small coil 20, both of which are mounted to a support member 80.
  • the coils 10, 20 are connected to an electrical device (not shown) for supplying voltage pulses thereto.
  • the bimetallic coin 30 comprises a ring 40 of a first metal or alloy and a disk 50 of a second metal or alloy. A bond between the disk and the ring is labeled 90.
  • the coils 10, 20 act as transmitter coils for exposing the bimetallic coin 30, which is moved past the coin discriminator along a coin rail 70, to a respective magnetic pulse giving rise to eddy currents in the outer ring 40 and the inner disk 50 of the coin 30. Furthermore, the coils 10, 20 act as receiver coils for detecting the magnetic field variations generated by the eddy currents in the outer ring 40 and inner disk 50 and converting them into corresponding voltage signals. The voltage signals are supplied to a detector (not shown), which is arranged to measure the decay of the signals and in response determine a respective value of the conductivity of the outer ring 40 and inner disk 50. The determined conductivity values are subsequently used for identifying the coin 30.
  • the coin discriminator is arranged to carry out the conductivity measurements when the center of the coin 30 is aligned with the center of the coils 10, 20, i.e. when the coin is located as in Fig. 2.
  • the small coil 20 is mounted relatively high above the coin rail 70, thereby assuring that the induced eddy currents will flow essentially exclusively in the disk 50 without crossing the bond 90.
  • the eddy currents induced by the large coil 10 will flow essentially exclusively in the ring 40, again without crossing the bond 90.
  • the conductivity measured is independent of the bond.
  • the duration and waveform of the voltage pulses supplied by the electrical device to the coils 10, 20 may be chosen in accordance with the actual application, as is readily realized by the skilled person.
  • the inventive coin discriminator is provided with a magnetic sensor element 60, preferably a Hall element.
  • the Hall element 60 is arranged to measure the magnetic permeability of the outer ring 40 and inner disk 50 of the coin 30. In this way coins with identical electric properties (e.g. conductivity) but different magnetic properties (e.g. permeability) may be differentiated.
  • the coils 10, 20 are driven to generate a respective magnetic field, to which the outer ring 40 and inner disk 50 are exposed. Depending on the magnetic properties of the ring 40 and disk 50, the magnetic fields will be influenced to different extents.
  • the Hall element measures the amplitude of the magnetic fields produced by the coils. The amplitude of the magnetic field from the large coil 10 indicates the permeability of the outer ring 40 of the bimetallic coin 30. Similarly, the small coil 20 measures the permeability of the inner disk 50. In the preferred embodiment, because two measurements are obtained from the Hall element, some form of multiplexing must be used, either frequency division multiplexing or time division multiplexing.
  • the large and small coils are driven by sine waves of different frequencies. For typical coins, frequencies of 9 kHz and 7 kHz would be suitable.
  • the output from the Hall element is a waveform containing both frequencies.
  • appropriate electronics e.g. synchronous detection, the amplitudes of the two frequencies can be measured.
  • time division multiplexing only one coil is driven at a time.
  • the small coil 20 can first be driven and the Hall element output measured. Then the large coil 10 is driven and the second measurement from the Hall element is made. Whichever method of multiplexing is used, the results are equivalent.
  • the coin processing machine 100 of Fig. 3 is selected to be a coin sorter.
  • the mass of coins to be sorted by the machine 100 are deposited into a coin inlet 110.
  • the coins are fed by a coin feeder 120, such as a hopper and/or an endless belt, to the coin discriminator 130, which has been described above with reference to Figs. 1 and 2.
  • the coin discriminator 130 is operatively connected to a logic device 132 in the form of a CPU, which is operatively connected to a memory 134, such as a RAM, ROM, EEPROM or flash memory.
  • the memory 134 stores a set of coin reference data, which is used by the logic device 132 to discriminate among the coins received through the coin inlet 110. More specifically, the coin reference data relates to typical values of conductivity and permeability for all different types of coins, that the coin processing machine 100 is capable of processing.
  • the logic device 132 is programmed to receive measurement data obtained by the coils 10, 20 and the magnetic sensor element 60, said data relating to the conductivity of the outer ring 40 and the inner disk 50, respectively, as well as the permeability of at least one of the outer ring and inner disk. Once these measurement data have been received for a coin 30, the logic device 132 will read the coin reference data stored in the memory 134 and search for any matches. If both the conductivity and the permeability measured by the coin discriminator 130 correspond to one specific coin type defined by the coin reference data, then the type of coin 130 has been positively identified. Otherwise, the coin 30 is of an unknown type, which is handled by a coin reject device 140, which preferably will deliver the coin through an external opening in the machine 100, so that the coin may be removed by a user.
  • the coin types defined by the coin reference data in the memory 134 may preferably relate to the denomination of each different coin type, which is to be handled by the coin processing machine 100.
  • the coin 30 is passed to a coin sorter 150, which uses the identified coin type to sort the coin 30 into one specific coin box, etc., in a coin storage 160.
  • the coin boxes, etc., in the coin storage 160 are preferably externally accessible for the user of the machine 100.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Testing Of Coins (AREA)
  • Control Of Vending Devices And Auxiliary Devices For Vending Devices (AREA)
  • Pinball Game Machines (AREA)
  • Basic Packing Technique (AREA)

Claims (12)

  1. Münzen-Prüfvorrichtung, die aufweist: eine erste und eine zweite Spule (10, 20), positioniert so, um Wirbelströme in einem äußeren Ring (40) und einer inneren Scheibe (50), jeweils, einer bimetallischen Münze (30) zu induzieren; eine Speichervorrichtung (134), angepasst so, um Münzen-Referenz-Daten zu speichern; und eine logische Vorrichtung (132), angepasst so, um eine Identität der Münze durch Vergleichen der Münzen-Referenz-Daten mit Daten, erhalten von den erfassten Wirbetströmen und zu der Leitfähigkeit der Münze in Bezug stehend, zu bestimmen, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass
       die erste und die zweite Spule (10, 20) so positioniert sind, um die Wirbelströme in dem äußeren Ring (40) und der inneren Scheibe (50), jeweils, zu erfassen, und
       ein magnetischer Sensor (60) mit der logischen Vorrichtung (132) verbunden ist und so positioniert ist, um ein magnetisches Feld, erzeugt durch zumindest eine der ersten und zweiten Spulen (10, 20), zu erfassen, wenn die Münze (30) zwischen der ersten und der zweiten Spule und dem magnetischen Sensor positioniert ist, wobei die logische Vorrichtung (132) so angepasst ist, um Daten, erhalten durch den magnetischen Sensor und in Bezug stehend zu der Permeabilität der Münze, zu verwenden, wenn die Identität der Münze (30) bestimmt wird.
  2. Münzen-Prüfvorrichtung nach Anspruch 1, wobei der magnetische Sensor (60) ein Hall-Element ist.
  3. Münzen-Prüfvorrichtung nach einem vorhergehenden Anspruch, wobei der magnetische Sensor (60) so positioniert ist, um ein jeweiliges, magnetisches Feld, erzeugt durch die erste Spule (10), ebenso wie durch die zweite Spule (20), zu erfassen.
  4. Münzen-Prüfvorrichtung nach einem vorhergehenden Anspruch, wobei die zweite Spule (20) innerhalb der ersten Spule (10) positioniert ist.
  5. Verfahren zum Identifizieren einer bimetallischen Münze (30), die einen äußeren Ring (40) und eine innere Scheibe (50) besitzt, durch Erzeugen von Wirbelströmen, mittels einer ersten und einer zweiten Spule (10, 20), im Wesentlichen ausschließlich in dem äußeren Ring und der inneren Scheibe, jeweils, durch Messen der Wirbelströme, die so induziert sind, um die elektrische Leitfähigkeit des äußeren Rings und der inneren Scheibe, jeweils, zu messen, und durch Verwenden der elektrischen Leitfähigkeit des äußeren Rings und der inneren Scheibe, jeweils, zum Identifizieren der Münze (30), gekennzeichnet durch die weiteren Schritte:
    Aussetzen der Münze (30) einem magnetischen Feld, erzeugt durch mindestens eine der ersten und zweiten Spulen (10, 20), wenn die Münze (30) zwischen der ersten und der zweiten Spule und einem magnetischen Sensor (60) positioniert ist,
    Verwenden des magnetischen Felds, um die Permeabilität zumindest eines des äußeren Rings (40) und der inneren Scheibe (50) zu messen, und
    Verwenden der Permeabilität, wenn die Münze (30) identifiziert wird.
  6. Verfahren nach Anspruch 5, wobei der äußere Ring (40) einem ersten, magnetischen Feld ausgesetzt wird und die innere Scheibe (50) einem zweiten, magnetischen Feld ausgesetzt wird.
  7. Verfahren nach Anspruch 6, wobei jedes magnetische Feld periodisch in der Amplitude variiert.
  8. Verfahren nach Anspruch 7, wobei jedes magnetische Feld als eine Sinuswelle variiert.
  9. Verfahren nach einem der Ansprüche 7-8, wobei die Schritte eines Aussetzens, eines Messens und eines Verwendens bei einer ersten Frequenz des ersten, magnetischen Felds für den äußeren Ring (40) und bei einer zweiten Frequenz des zweiten, magnetischen Felds für die innere Scheibe (50) ausgeführt werden.
  10. Verfahren nach Anspruch 9, wobei die erste Frequenz 9 kHz ist.
  11. Verfahren nach Anspruch 9 oder 10, wobei die zweite Frequenz 7 kHz ist.
  12. Münzen-Verarbeitungsmaschine, die einen Münzen-Einlass (110), eine Münzen-Zuführeinrichtung (120), eine Münzen-Prüfeinrichtung (130) nach einem der Ansprüche 1-4, und einen Münzen-Prozessor (150) aufweist, wobei die Münzen-Prüfeinrichtung mit dem Münzen-Prozessor verbunden ist und so angepasst ist, um einen Typ, eine Identität oder einen Nennwert jeweiliger Münzen (30), aufgenommen von der Münzen-Zuführeinrichtung, zu bestimmen, und so angepasst ist, um den bestimmten Typ, die Identität oder den Nennwert zu dem Münzen-Prozessor zuzuführen.
EP99971133A 1998-10-23 1999-10-25 Verfahren und vorrichtung zum prüfen von bimetallischen münzen Expired - Lifetime EP1123537B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
SE9803656A SE523842C2 (sv) 1998-10-23 1998-10-23 Anordning och metod för särskiljning av mynt
SE9803656 1998-10-23
PCT/SE1999/001927 WO2000025274A1 (en) 1998-10-23 1999-10-25 Bimetallic coin discriminating device and method

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1123537A1 EP1123537A1 (de) 2001-08-16
EP1123537B1 true EP1123537B1 (de) 2005-02-23

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EP99971133A Expired - Lifetime EP1123537B1 (de) 1998-10-23 1999-10-25 Verfahren und vorrichtung zum prüfen von bimetallischen münzen

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EP (1) EP1123537B1 (de)
JP (1) JP2002528829A (de)
AT (1) ATE289694T1 (de)
AU (1) AU1430500A (de)
DE (1) DE69923857T2 (de)
SE (1) SE523842C2 (de)
WO (1) WO2000025274A1 (de)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN101527056B (zh) * 2008-03-05 2011-07-06 劳雷尔精机株式会社 硬币辨别设备

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
SE521207C2 (sv) 2001-03-22 2003-10-14 Scan Coin Ind Ab Anordning och metod för särskiljning av mynt där en variation i kapacitans sker mellan en sensorelektrod och en yta hos myntet då myntet är under transport
SE522752C2 (sv) 2001-11-05 2004-03-02 Scan Coin Ind Ab Metod att driva en myntdiskriminator och en myntdiskriminator där påverkan på spolorgan mäts när mynt utsätts för magnetfält alstrade av spolorgan utanför myntet
JP4022583B2 (ja) * 2002-03-11 2007-12-19 旭精工株式会社 コインセレクタ
EP1668602B1 (de) 2003-09-24 2010-04-21 Scan Coin Ab Münzprüfer
JP4682342B2 (ja) * 2005-07-13 2011-05-11 旭精工株式会社 弱磁性を有するバイメタルコイン用コインセレクタ

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2135095B (en) * 1983-02-09 1986-05-29 Chapman Cash Processing Limite Coin discriminating apparatus
US5119916A (en) * 1990-03-27 1992-06-09 Duncan Industries Parking Control Corp. Sensor for measuring the magnetically responsive characteristics of tokens
GB2266804B (en) * 1992-05-06 1996-03-27 Mars Inc Coin validator
GB2323200B (en) * 1997-02-24 2001-02-28 Mars Inc Coin validator

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN101527056B (zh) * 2008-03-05 2011-07-06 劳雷尔精机株式会社 硬币辨别设备

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1123537A1 (de) 2001-08-16
AU1430500A (en) 2000-05-15
SE9803656L (sv) 2000-04-24
WO2000025274A1 (en) 2000-05-04
ATE289694T1 (de) 2005-03-15
DE69923857T2 (de) 2005-07-14
SE9803656D0 (sv) 1998-10-23
DE69923857D1 (de) 2005-03-31
JP2002528829A (ja) 2002-09-03
SE523842C2 (sv) 2004-05-25

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