Patent ID: 7234582

Claim:
A coin guiding apparatus for guiding a plurality of coins along a coin guiding channel, the plurality of coins being dispensed from a coin hopper in a one-by-one manner and guided to a position above the coin hopper, the coin guiding apparatus comprising: a base plate having a longitudinal axis, the base plate having a surface forming a first boundary of a coin guiding channel along the longitudinal axis, the coin guiding channel being capable of receiving and guiding a coin with a predetermined coin thickness and a predetermined coin diameter; a first spacer member having a predetermined spacer thickness and operatively positioned on the base plate parallel to the longitudinal axis, the spacer thickness being slightly larger than the coin thickness, the first spacer member having a surface forming a second boundary for the coin guiding channel; a second spacer member having the same spacer thickness and operatively positioned on the base plate parallel to the longitudinal axis at a predetermined spacing distance from the first spacer member, the spacing distance being slightly larger than the coin diameter, the second spacer member having a surface forming a third boundary for the coin guiding channel opposite to the first spacer member surface; and a supporting plate operatively positioned adjacent to the first spacer member and the second spacer member and positioned opposite the base plate, the supporting plate having a surface forming a fourth boundary for the coin guiding channel, the supporting plate having a first protruding section extending toward the coin guiding channel and extending along the longitudinal axis of the base plate for providing increased strength and resistance to physical distortion of the coin guiding channel, wherein the base plate includes a second protruding section extending along the coin guiding channel to further provide increased strength and resistance to physical distortion of the coin guiding channel.