(19)
(11) EP 1 172 772 A3

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88) Date of publication A3:
07.01.2004 Bulletin 2004/02

(43) Date of publication A2:
16.01.2002 Bulletin 2002/03

(21) Application number: 01500162.1

(22) Date of filing: 28.06.2001
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC)7: G07D 5/08, G07F 3/02
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE TR
Designated Extension States:
AL LT LV MK RO SI

(30) Priority: 30.06.2000 ES 200001640

(71) Applicant: Azkoyen Medios de Pago, S.A.
31350 Peralta (ES)

(72) Inventors:
  • Saari, Juha-Matti
    02600 Espoo (FI)
  • Jaakkola, Olli Pekka
    00240 Helsinki (FI)
  • Topias Varpula, Timo
    01660 Vantaa (FI)
  • Juhani Seppa, Heikki
    00370 Helsinki (FI)
  • The other inventors have agreed to waive their entitlement to designation.

(74) Representative: Davila Baz, Angel 
c/o Clarke, Modet & Co., Goya, 11
28001 Madrid
28001 Madrid (ES)

   


(54) Method and apparatus for obtaining physical characteristics of coins for their identification


(57) Method and apparatus for obtaining physical characteristics of coins for their identification, which consists in submitting the coins to two consecutive stages of electromagnetic measurement, defined by a first and a second pairs of coils, in one of said pairs the coils are connected in such a manner that their magnetic fields are added and in the other in such a way that their magnetic fields are subtracted, which stages providing signals which are processed to obtain parameters representative of the coin, characterised in that the four coils are connected to each other according to a bridge configuration and in that they are supplied simultaneously with at least two, and preferably 3, signals of different frequencies, obtaining simultaneously in each stage, on passage of the coins, two full bridge signals for each frequency and a further two half-bridge signals for the highest frequency, in each case one of the signals being representative of the variation of the resistive component.






Search report