Patent ID: 8202144

Claim:
A coin sorting system, comprising: a coin feed unit that includes a1) a rotary feed disc having a rotating axis inclined relative to a horizontal plane and a2) a stationary guide member opposed to the feed disc, the stationary guide member being formed with a coin guide passageway having an outlet from which coins are fed one by one as the feed disc rotates; a coin sorting unit that includes b1) a rotary conveyor disc having a rotating axis substantially parallel to the rotating axis of the feed disc, and b2) a stationary sorting member opposed to the conveyor disc, the stationary sorting member being formed with (i) a coin conveying passageway through which the coins are conveyed as the conveyor disc rotates, the conveying passageway having an inlet through which the coins fed from the outlet are introduced, and with (ii) a plurality of sorting devices spacedly arranged along the conveying passageway, each of the sorting devices being configured to selectively eject the coins; and a passageway member formed with a rolling-coin passageway extending aslope to cause the coins to roll from the outlet to the inlet under own weights thereof; wherein the rolling-coin passageway is defined by: c1) a wall surface formed on the passageway member in a form substantially orthogonal to the rotating axis of the feed disc, the wall surface being configured to slidably support the bottom face of each rolling coin; and c2) a ledge surface formed on the passageway member to extend in a substantially orthogonal direction with respect to the wall surface in addition to extending along a lower edge of the wall surface, the ledge surface being configured to support an edge of each rolling coin; and wherein at least a part of the ledge surface extends in a substantially orthogonal direction with respect to the wall surface, with a length equal to or less than a dimension equivalent to a thickness of the thinnest coin of a predetermined group of coins which the coin sorting system is configured to receive.