Patent ID: 8827776

Claim:
A coin processing machine for serially processing coins of various denominations, each denomination coin having a respective coin diameter different than the diameters of coins of other denominations and including a largest-diameter coin and one or more smaller-diameter coins, each coin having an annular outer edge extending around opposite faces of the coin, the coin processing machine comprising: a guide surface, a first sensor, a second sensor, a member movable with respect to the guide surface between first and second positions, and a controller for generating an output signal representing the denomination of a coin being processed by the coin machine; the guide surface having a length extending in a downstream direction, the guide surface defining a side of a coin path extending in the downstream direction beside and along the length of the guide surface wherein a coin having the outer edge of the coin against the guide surface and moving downstream along the guide surface is moving on a coin path; the movable member spaced from the guide surface, the movable member when in the first position cooperating with the guide surface to define a gap therebetween, the coin path extending through the gap, the gap sized to be smaller than the largest-diameter coin but larger than the next-smaller sized coin wherein a largest-diameter coin moving on the coin path against the guide surface contacts the movable member and urges the movable member to the second position to enable the largest-diameter coin to move past the member while on the coin path and wherein a smaller-diameter coin moving on the coin path passes through the gap without engaging the member; the first sensor disposed to face the member when the member is in the second position and the first sensor is disposed to not face the member when the member is in the first position; the first sensor being capable of generating a signal indicating that the member is in the second position when the first sensor faces the member; and the controller receiving the signal generated by the first sensor, the controller configured to utilize the signal in determining whether or not to generate an output signal representing a largest-diameter coin in response to a coin moving along the coin path; the second sensor being spaced from the guide surface such that the second sensor will sense only largest-diameter coins moving downstream along the coin path; the second sensor being capable of generating a signal representing the presence of a coin when a coin faces the second sensor, the controller receiving the signal generated by the second sensor; the controller being configured to generate an output signal representing a largest-diameter coin when the controller receives signals from both the first and second sensors in response to a coin moving along the coin path.