Patent ID: 7470175

Claim:
A coin stacking apparatus comprising: a coin passage for guiding coins, in a row, in a direction of a diameter of the coins; a conveying mechanism for conveying the coins along said coin passage; a coin stacking section corresponding to an end portion of said coin passage; a coin feeding member for sequentially stacking the coins, after having been conveyed by said conveying mechanism, in said coin stacking section in a stacking direction that generally corresponds to a thickness direction of the coins, said coin feeding member having a contact portion protruding into said coin stacking section, and said coin feeding member being configured to rotate with said contact portion contacting a conveyed coin so as to cause the conveyed coin to pass over said contact portion from an upstream side to a downstream side thereof with respect to a direction of rotation of said coin feeding member and thereby cause a trailing edge of the conveyed coin to be displaced in the stacking direction so that a leading edge of a subsequently conveyed coin is capable of entering between the conveyed coin and said contact portion upon rotation of said coin feeding member while said contact portion is in contact with the subsequently conveyed coin; and a stopping member on the downstream side of said contact portion, said stopping member having a stop surface for contacting a leading edge of the conveyed coin after the conveyed coin has passed over said contact portion, wherein a distance between an axis of rotation of said coin feeding member and said stop surface is adjustable in accordance with the diameter of the coins, and wherein positions of said coin feeding member and said stopping member relative to said coin passage are adjustable in horizontally longitudinal and lateral directions of said coin passage in accordance with the diameter of the coins with said coin feeding member and said stopping member positioned substantially on a center line of said coin passage.