Coin acceptor
A coin acceptor, also known as a coin mechanism or coin mech, is a device that recognises coins. It is built into vending machines, arcade cabinets, etc. It performs its function by evaluating the coin based on its weight, size, and magnetism, and then sends an appropriate electrical signal via its output connection. The next step is generally performed by the coin changer.
Simple mechanical coin acceptors are relatively easy to cheat by using slugs and other coin-like materials that pass the rudimentary validation. Today, sophisticated electronic coin acceptors are in use in some places that, in addition to validating weight and size, also "look" at the deposited coin using optics and match the image to a pre-defined list.
Normal coins pick up microscopic deposits from human fingers. When a coin acceptor is used long enough, thousands of coins rolling down a ramp will leave enough dirt to be visible. The acceptor needs to be washed sometime before it jams up. Coin acceptors are modular, so if you have several coin-operated machines, a dirty acceptor can quickly be switched with an extra acceptor, so you can wash the dirty acceptor at home.
Some new types of coin acceptors are able to can recognize the coins through training, so they will support any types of coins or tokens.
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