JP2964657B2 - Coin identification device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coin discriminating apparatus used for a vending machine (hereinafter referred to as a vending machine).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a coin discriminating apparatus of this kind has a detecting means for detecting the material, thickness and outer diameter of a coin based on a signal from a discriminating sensor provided on a side wall of a coin passage, and preliminarily stored in a storing means. The authenticity and the type of the coin have been determined by comparing the data with the reference data for the coin determination.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional coin discriminating apparatus, if the coin passage provided with the discriminating sensor becomes dirty, the signal from the discriminating sensor cannot be correctly read, and the serviceman cannot read the signal. Cleaning had to be performed periodically, which was very troublesome.

[0004] However, if this is stopped, the state in which coins cannot be correctly identified continues, and the vending machine sales operation is stopped, so that there has been a problem that a precious sales opportunity is missed.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a coin discriminating apparatus which detects in advance the degree of contamination of a coin passage provided with a discrimination sensor, preliminarily manages maintenance work, and does not miss a loss of sales opportunity due to suspension of vending machine sales. It is intended to be.

[0006]

In order to achieve this object, a coin discriminating apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a coin slot;
A coin passage connected to the slot and a side wall of the passage
Identification sensor that is provided in the unit and is composed of a coil
And the signal output from this identification sensor by coin insertion.
Detection means for detecting changes in the number of coins,
Storage means for storing in advance data serving as a reference for the type
And output data from the detection means and data from the storage means.
Data and the comparison result of this comparison device
To determine whether the coin is true or false and the type of coin
Difference from the reference data value stored in the storage means
Judgment to output a signal when classified within a certain range from
Means and the signal output from the determination means are counted.
When the numerical value exceeds a predetermined value, a notification means is provided according to the counted value.
And control means for outputting different types of outputs to the respective devices .

[0007]

According to the above arrangement, when the coin passage provided with the identification sensor becomes dirty, a signal is output from the judging means if the stain exceeds a certain value, and the control means is operated by this signal to make the passage dirty. May be notified by the notification means, and the dirt on the coin passage may be cleaned by this notification. Therefore, since the necessity of the maintenance work can be detected in advance and appropriate processing can be performed, there is no loss of sales opportunities due to suspension of vending machine sales.

[0008]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a coin identification device main body, and a coin insertion slot 2 is provided at an upper portion of the coin identification device main body 1.

A passage 3 is connected to the coin insertion slot 2 in a downward direction. A material identification sensor 6 for identifying the material of the inserted coin is provided on a side wall of the passage 3.
A material thickness identification sensor 5 for identifying the material thickness and an outer diameter identification sensor 4 for identifying the outer diameter are arranged in this order toward the downstream. In addition, the end of this passage 3 is a coin outlet 7.
It is connected to.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the electric circuit.
In the figure, reference numeral 4 denotes an outer diameter discriminating sensor. The output of the outer diameter discriminating sensor 4 is input to one terminal of the outer diameter comparing means 9 via the outer diameter detecting means 8. The other input is the output of the storage means 10. Then, the output of the outer diameter comparison means 9 is input to the determination means 11.

Hereinafter, the material thickness identification sensor 5 and the material identification sensor 6 have the same configuration. That is,
The output of the material thickness identification sensor 5 is input to one terminal of the material thickness comparing means 13 via the material thickness detecting means 12. The other input is the output of the storage means 10. The output of the material thickness comparing means 13 is input to the determining means 11.

Similarly, the output of the material identification sensor 6 is input to one terminal of the material comparing means 16 via the material detecting means 15. The other input is the output of the storage means 10. The output of the material comparison means 16 is also input to the determination means 11 in the same manner.

The output of the judging means 11 outputs a judgment output signal A of the inserted coin, and outputs a signal when the value exceeds a certain value from a reference value of a genuine coin (to be described in detail later).
B is output. The B signal is output from the counting means 1 in the control means 17.
8 is input.

The output of the counting means 18 is connected to the notifying means 20 via the output means 19. Reference numeral 21 denotes a microcomputer, and the comparing means 9, 13, 16, the judging means 11, and the control means 17 are configured by programs of the microcomputer 21.

The operation of the coin identification device configured as described above will be described below. As shown in FIG. 2, when a coin is inserted from a coin insertion slot 2 in the upper part of the coin identification device main body 1, it passes through the passage 3, and a material identification sensor constituted by an inductance of a coil provided on a side wall of the passage 3. 6. The light passes through the material identification sensor 5 and the outer diameter identification sensor 4.

Normally, the outer diameter discriminating sensor 4 oscillates at a constant amplitude as shown in FIG. When a coin passes through a place where oscillation occurs at a constant amplitude, the impedance of the coil causes a specific change due to the coin.
The amplitude produces a characteristic change as shown in FIG.
This signal is detected by the outer diameter detecting means 8 as shown in FIG. 1 composed of a diode connected in series and a capacitor connected in parallel, and its envelope is taken. Then, a characteristic waveform as shown in FIG. 3C is obtained. This voltage change ΔV1 can obtain a characteristic value depending on the type of each coin. Here, the reference value of this value is stored in the storage unit 10 in advance.
I remember. Then, the stored value is compared with the detected value, and the outer diameter of the coin is determined by the determination means 11.

In addition, characteristic waveforms can be obtained for the material thickness and material as well as the outer diameter. That is, a change in voltage ΔV2 for the material thickness and a change in voltage ΔV3 for the material
Is obtained.

The voltage changes .DELTA.V2 and .DELTA.V3 are compared by comparing means 13 and 16, respectively, and the output thereof is judged by the judging means 11 for the material thickness and material. In this way, the type and true / false of the inserted coin are determined from the determination results of the outer diameter, the material thickness, and the material. The A signal is the determination output.

Here, when the coin passage 3 becomes dirty, the oscillation amplitude of each identification sensor gradually deviates from the normal reference value.

As a result, the variation ΔV1, ΔV2, ΔV3 of each voltage waveform detected by the detecting means gradually deviates from the reference value. On the other hand, it is assumed that the possible range of the value of each coin is a range of D centering on the reference value as shown in FIG. A value obtained by subtracting 20% at the upper limit and 20% at the lower limit with respect to the reference value, that is, a range of E which is 60% of D is provided. Therefore, when the coin passage 3 becomes dirty, the number of coins to be inserted is often determined beyond the range of E and in the range of D-E. Here, the determination unit 11 determines that D-E
Is determined, the B signal is output.

Therefore, the number of the B signals is counted by the counting means 18 of the control means 17, and when the accumulated number exceeds 10, the first warning signal is output from the output means 19 to the notification means 20. .

The count value of the counting means 18 (accumulated number)
Is greater than 20, a second alarm signal is output to the notification means 20. Further, when the count value (accumulated number) of the counting means 18 exceeds 30, a third alarm signal is output to the notifying means 20.

Thus, by outputting the alarm signal step by step, the service person can detect the dirt on the coin passage step by step. Therefore, appropriate measures can be taken according to the level.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description is simplified.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 22 denotes a judging means. The judging means 22 outputs a coin type and true / false judgment signal A.
In addition, signals F, G, and H classified into three stages are output according to the degree of contamination of the passage 3.

The F signal is connected to the output means 25 via the counting means 24, the G signal is similarly connected to the output means 25 via the counting means 27, and the H signal is also connected to the output means 25 via the counting means 28. Have been. The output of the output means 25 is connected to the notification means 26.

The operation of the second embodiment configured as described above will be described below. In FIG. 5, the output signals F, G and H of the judging means 22 are as follows. That is, the F signal is output when the determination is made in the range of E in FIG. 4, the G signal is output when the determination is made in the range of D-E, and the H signal is output when the determination is made outside the range of D. It has become. Therefore, the number of F signals is counted by the counting means 24, and when the accumulated number exceeds 10, the signal is output from the output means 25 to the notifying means 26, and the notifying means 26 turns on the blue LED. Also, the number of G signals is counted by a counting means 2.
7. When the cumulative number exceeds 10, the output means 2
5 to the notifying means 26, which turns on the yellow LED (turns off the non-yellow LEDs). Similarly, the number of H signals is counted by the counting means 28,
When the cumulative number exceeds 10, the output is output from the output unit 25 to the notification unit 26, and the notification unit 26 outputs a red LED.
(LEDs other than red are turned off).

In this manner, the dirty state of the coin passage 3 can be detected in stages, such as a normal level for blue, a caution level for yellow, and an undeterminable level for red. Therefore, appropriate measures can be taken according to the state.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, the discriminating means of the coin discriminating apparatus outputs a signal classified within a certain range from a difference from a reference data value stored in the storage means. Since the control means for driving the notifying means with this output signal is provided, if the coin passage is soiled, a signal is output from the judging means if the stain exceeds a certain value. Therefore, the control means can be operated by this signal to notify the dirt of the passage, and when the notification signal is received, the dirt of the coin passage may be cleaned. Therefore, since the necessity of maintenance work can be detected in advance and appropriate processing can be performed, there is no loss of sales opportunities due to suspension of vending machine sales.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an electrical block diagram of a coin identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the coin identification device.

FIG. 3 is a characteristic diagram of a waveform.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing a range of reference values.

FIG. 5 is an electrical block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Input port 3 Passage 4,5,6 Identification sensor 8,12,15 Detection means 9,13,16 Comparison means 10 Storage means 11,22 Determination means 17,23 Control means 18,24,27,28 Counting means 19, 25 output means 20, 26 notification means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-47290 (JP, A) JP-A-62-1121595 (JP, A) JP-A-58-108577 (JP, U) (58) Investigation Field (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G07D 3/00-5/00 G07F 3/00-9/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] And 1. A coin input port, a passage of the coin which is connected to this inlet, provided in the side wall of the passage Rutotomoni
An identification sensor composed of a coil, detection means for detecting a change in a signal output from the identification sensor when a coin is inserted , and data serving as a reference for authenticity of the coin and the type of the coin are stored in advance. A comparing unit that compares output data from the detecting unit with data of the storing unit, and determines whether the coin is true or false and the type of the coin based on a comparison result of the comparing unit and stores the coin in the storing unit. Is
Classification within a certain range based on the difference from the reference data value
Determining means for outputting a signal when the determination is made, and the determining means
Signal output from the
Then, according to this count value, different types of output
A coin discriminating device provided with control means for outputting force . 2. A coin slot and a coin connected to the slot.
Coins on the passage and on the side wall of this passage
An identification sensor consisting of a coil and a coin
Detection of changes in the signal output from the identification sensor
Information and the data used as the basis for coin authenticity and coin type.
Storage means for storing the data in advance, and the detection means
Comparing the output data of the data with the data of the storage means
Means and the true and false of coins based on the comparison result of the comparing means.
The type of coin is determined and stored in the storage means.
Classification based on the difference from the reference data value
Determining means for outputting a plurality of selected signals, and the determining means
Each of the multiple signals output from the
Counts independently of each other, and each count exceeds a predetermined value.
Output a signal to drive the corresponding notification means
A coin identification device provided with control means .