Patent ID: 7681708

Claim:
An apparatus for receiving and sorting disks having a parameter, the parameter of each disk having one of a plurality of values, comprising: a frame; a wheel having at least one well for receiving a disk, the wheel being rotatably supported by the frame; a motor coupled to the wheel for controllably rotating the wheel about an axis; a disk sensor positioned relative to a rotational path of the at least one well, the disk sensor for sensing the value of the parameter of a disk received in the at least one well and responsively generating a parameter value signal as a function of the value; a collecting device positioned relative to the wheel, the collecting device having at least first and second collectors for receiving disks; an ejector comprising a solenoid supported by the frame and in association with each of the at least first and second collectors, and an ejector lever pivotally coupled to the wheel proximate the at least one well and selectively operable by extension of a plunger of the solenoid in response to an eject signal; and a controller coupled to the disk sensor and the ejector, the controller for receiving the parameter value signal and responsively sending the eject signal to the ejector to eject a disk from the at least one well into the first collector when the parameter value signal has a first value and for sending an eject signal to the ejector to eject a disk from the at least one well into the second collector when the parameter value signal has a second value.