Coin Sorter / Counter

Overview

A coin sorter separates a pile of mixed coins into denominations and counts each one, so a shop or bank can tally and roll a till drawer in minutes instead of by hand. Mixed coins are poured into the Input Hopper, and finished, separated coins drop out the bottom into the Coin Tubes & Bags ready for wrapping or bagging, while the Count Display shows the count and total value.

The mechanical trick is centrifugal sizing. The Sorting Disc Drive spins a rubber-faced disc that flings coins outward against a Sizing Rail & Slots running above a set of progressively wider slots. Because every coin rides the same rail, each one drops through the first slot it physically fits, the smallest coins fall first, the largest last, so denomination is sorted purely by diameter, with no electronics involved in the separation itself.

Electronics handle the counting. A row of Optical Coin Sensors watches each slot and registers every coin that drops through, and the Control Board turns those beam-breaks into per-denomination counts and a running total. The disc, rail, and tubes all live inside a moulded Housing that contains the noise and the coin spray, powered by an internal Power Supply.

How it works

Coins poured into the Input Hopper feed a few at a time onto the centre of the spinning disc. The Sorting Disc Drive motor turns the disc through a gear reduction on a bearing-mounted shaft; centrifugal force throws each coin outward until it meets the Sizing Rail & Slots and starts travelling along it.

As a coin rides the rail it passes the graduated slots in order. The first slot wide enough to admit its diameter lets it fall, which is what physically separates the denominations. At that slot an infrared pair in the Optical Coin Sensors is broken by the falling coin, sending a pulse to the Control Board. The controller increments that denomination's count, multiplies by its face value to update the total, and shows both on the Count Display. The sorted coin drops into the matching tube or bag in the Coin Tubes & Bags. When the batch is done, the operator can read off counts per denomination or print a report.