JP5797707B2 - Coin deposit / withdrawal device - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a coin deposit and withdrawal device.

  A conventional coin deposit / withdrawal device recognizes the correctness of a coin taken in from the outside by an identification unit, and stores a coin (normal coin, normal coin) that the identification unit is normal. The identification unit, for example, generates a magnetic field in a gap that allows the passage of a true coin, passes a coin through the gap, and observes the change in the magnetic field, thereby identifying the correctness or denomination of the coin.

  If the gap between the above-described identification parts is too wide, it is difficult to obtain a change in the magnetic field due to coins, and therefore the gap is set as narrow as possible. For this reason, if the coin is deformed, a foreign object adheres to the coin, or a coin of another country that is thicker than the coin of the home country, the coin may be jammed in the identification unit.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus that can prevent the coin from being jammed in the discriminating part or deal with the coin jam, while making the discriminating part difficult to jam.

  The coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus according to the embodiment includes a receiving unit, an identification unit, a clogging prevention unit, a storage unit, a transport unit, and a reject unit. The receiving unit accepts coins from the outside. The identification unit includes a transport surface, a movable unit, and a support unit. The conveying surface supports the coin from the lower surface. The movable part includes a sensor for identifying whether the coin received by the receiving part is correct or not, and faces the transport surface through a gap through which a normal coin having the maximum thickness can pass. The support part supports the movable part so that the movable part can move in a direction in which the gap is enlarged with respect to the conveyance surface when a coin conveyed on the conveyance surface comes into contact with the movable part. The clogging preventing means includes a detecting means and a driving means. The detection means detects or predicts that an abnormal coin having a height that cannot pass through the gap enters the identification unit. The driving unit moves the movable unit when the detection unit outputs a detection result indicating that an abnormal coin has entered or is predicted to enter the identification unit. The storage unit stores coins in which the identification unit is normal. The transport unit transports coins from the receiving unit through the identification unit to the storage unit. The reject unit removes the coin that the identification unit is not normal from the transport unit.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the coin change machine according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of the coin change machine according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the identification unit of the first embodiment as viewed from the upstream side in the coin conveyance direction. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the holder moves as the coins on the transport surface of the first embodiment abut against the movable part. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the connection of the control system of the coin change machine of the first embodiment. FIG. 6A is a flowchart of a program executed by the control unit of the first embodiment, and is executed as a detection unit. FIG. 6B is a flowchart of a program executed by the control unit of the first embodiment, which is executed as solenoid control means. FIG. 7 is a modified example in which the support portion of the first embodiment is changed. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the detection means provided in the coin change machine of the second embodiment when viewed from the upstream side in the coin conveyance direction.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, the coin change machine which is 1st Embodiment of a coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus is demonstrated using drawing. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a coin change machine 1. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the internal configuration of the coin change machine 1. The coin change machine 1 includes a receiving unit 2, an identification unit 3, a storage unit 4, a transport unit 5, a reject unit 6, and a payout unit 7.

  The receiving unit 2 has a mouth opened to the outside, receives coins from the mouth, and takes them into the interior. The identification unit 3 identifies whether the coin received by the receiving unit 2 is correct or not. The storage unit 4 stores coins that the identification unit 3 is normal. The transport unit 5 transports coins from the receiving unit 2 through the identification unit 3 to the storage unit 4. The reject unit 6 removes the coin that the identification unit 3 is not normal from the transport unit 5. The payout unit 7 pays out coins as change from the storage unit 4 to the outside.

  The transport unit 5 includes a transport surface 51 and a transport belt 52. The conveyance surface 51 is a flat surface of a metal plate and supports coins from the lower surface. The conveyor belt 52 is an endless belt, is tensioned with a predetermined tension by a pair of pulleys (not shown), is arranged on the conveyor surface 51, and rotates when one pulley is driven. The conveyor belt 52 rotates in contact with the upper surface of the coin on the conveyor surface 51, thereby slid the coin along the conveyor surface 51 and conveys the coin to the storage unit 4.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the identification unit 3 as viewed from the upstream side in the coin conveyance direction. The identification unit 3 includes a part of the transport surface 51, a movable unit 31, and a support unit 32. The movable part 31 includes a sensor 33 and a holder 34. The support portion 32 includes a base 35, a shaft 36, and an urging member 37.

  The sensor 33 is a magnetic sensor as disclosed in, for example, a prior art document, and outputs a signal corresponding to the correctness of the coin received by the receiving unit 2. The sensor 33 of the present embodiment is divided into an upper portion 33a disposed on the upper surface side of the coin and a lower portion 33b disposed on the lower surface side of the coin. The holder 34 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member, and the upper portion 33a of the sensor 33 is attached downward. The lower portion 33 b of the sensor 33 is embedded in the transport surface 51.

  The movable part 31 has a gap g between the portion closest to the transport surface 51 and the transport surface 51 through which normal coins (special coins) having the maximum thickness can pass. In other words, the movable portion 31 faces the transport surface 51 through a gap g through which a specie having the maximum thickness can pass.

The height of the gap g, that is, the distance between the upper portion 33a of the sensor and the holder 34 and the transport surface 51 is slightly higher than the thickness of the true coin having the maximum thickness.
Moreover, the chamfering process is given to the edge part of the surface facing the conveyance surface 51 of the holder 34 in the coin conveyance direction upstream. That is, the height of the upstream side (inlet) in the coin conveyance direction of the gap g is increased.

  The base 35 is formed continuously from the holder 34. If it demonstrates in drawing, the lower part from the AA line in FIG. The base 35 is a substantially flat member, is continuous with the holder 34 on one side, and holds the holder 34 at a predetermined height with respect to the transport surface 51 like a cantilever. Further, the base 35 has a hole 35a penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface.

  The shaft 36 is erected on the end of the conveying surface 51 through the hole 35a, and has a diameter-expanded portion 36a at the head. The urging member 37 is a helical spring disposed so as to wrap around the outer periphery of the shaft 36, for example, and is positioned between the diameter-expanded portion 36a and the upper surface of the base 35 in a compressed state so that the base 35 is transported. 51 is in pressure contact.

  Here, the hole 35a, the shaft 36, and the urging member 37 are provided at a plurality of locations along the coin conveyance direction (the depth direction in FIG. 3). For this reason, the holder 34 does not rotate around the shaft 36.

  With the above-described configuration, the support unit 32 moves the holder 34 so that the holder 34 can move in the direction in which the gap g increases with respect to the transport surface 51 when the coins transported on the transport surface 51 abut on the movable unit 31. support. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the holder 34 has moved as the coins on the transport surface 51 come into contact with the movable portion 31.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the connection of the control system of the coin change machine 1. In addition to the above configuration, the coin change machine 1 includes a control unit 81, a storage unit 82, a solenoid 83, and the like.

  The control unit 81 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory) (all not shown), and the like. The ROM stores various programs executed by the CPU and various data. The RAM temporarily stores data and programs when the CPU executes various programs. Such a control part 81 controls each part of the coin change machine 1 comprehensively according to a program.

  The storage unit 82 stores various setting values used by various programs executed by the control unit 81 in a rewritable manner.

  The solenoid 83 has a tip fixed to the upper surface of the holder 34, and when energized, pulls up the holder 34 and moves the holder 34 in a direction in which the gap g is enlarged.

  The coin change machine 1 further includes clogging prevention means 9. The clogging preventing means 9 has a detecting means 91 and a driving means 92.

  The control unit 81 functions as the detection unit 91 by executing a program. The control unit 81 functions as the solenoid control unit 84 by executing a program. The drive unit 92 includes a solenoid 83 and a solenoid control unit 84.

  The detection means 91 detects that an abnormal coin having a height that cannot pass through the gap g has entered the identification unit 3. The drive unit 92 moves the movable unit 31 when the detection unit 91 outputs a detection result indicating that an abnormal coin has entered the identification unit 3.

  In such a configuration, in the coin change machine 1, when the receiving unit 2 receives a coin from the outside and takes it into the inside, the transport unit 5 transports the coin to the storage unit 4 through the identification unit 3. Further, the coin change machine 1 uses the payout unit 7 to pay out coins as change from the storage unit 4 to the outside.

  When the identification unit 3 identifies the coin as not normal based on the output of the sensor 33, the reject unit 6 performs an operation of removing the coin from the transport unit 5 at a predetermined timing. Here, the predetermined timing is a timing based on a time that can be calculated from, for example, the conveyance speed of the conveyance unit 5 and the distance from the identification unit 3 to the rejection unit 6.

  The identification unit 3 identifies whether the coin that has reached the sensor 33 is correct or not by conveyance by the conveyance unit 5. Since the height of the gap g is slightly higher than the thickness of the largest true coin as described above, the true coin can pass through. When a coin having a height higher than the gap g (abnormal coin) reaches the identification unit 3, the abnormal coin on the transport surface 51 is caught by the movable unit 31.

  When the abnormal coin transported by the transport unit 5 is caught by the movable unit 31, the abnormal coin is guided to the chamfered portion of the entrance and enters under the holder 34, and the holder 34 and the base 35 are opposed to the biasing force of the biasing member 37. Push up. Thereby, even if an abnormal coin having a height higher than that of a genuine coin is conveyed to the identification unit 3 by the conveyance unit 5, the movable unit 31 is configured to be movable in the direction in which the gap g is enlarged. It is difficult for coins to get stuck in the gap g of the identification unit 3.

  However, in some cases, it cannot always be said that the movable part 31 is moved enough to allow the abnormal coin to pass through the identification part 3 and the gap g is enlarged. In order for the abnormal coin to push up the movable part 31 and pass under the movable part 31, in addition to the height of the abnormal coin and the urging force of the urging member 37, the weight of the movable part 31 and the gap between the conveyor belt 52 and the coin This is because it is considered that a balance between multiple elements such as frictional force is related.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the clogging prevention means 9 is provided to take measures against coin clogging. FIG. 6A is a flowchart of a program executed by the control unit 81, and is executed by the detection unit 91. FIG. 6B is a flowchart of a program executed by the control unit 81, which is executed by the solenoid control unit 84.

  The detection means 91 uses the output value of the sensor 33 and the duration of the value as input values, and when the output of the sensor 33 maintains a substantially constant value for a predetermined time, “there is an abnormal coin in the identification unit 3. Outputs the detection result stating “Staying”.

  The detection means 91 waits until the output of the sensor 33 is input (No in step S1). And if the sensor 33 detects a coin and outputs the value according to the material, shape, and state of a coin to the control part 81 (Yes of step S1), the detection means 91 will continue the output value of the sensor 33. Measure time. When the output value of the sensor 33 remains substantially constant for a predetermined time (Yes in step S2), the detection unit 91 outputs a detection result indicating that the coin is in an abnormal state in the identification unit 3 (step S3).

  When the duration of the output value of the sensor 33 is less than the predetermined time in step S2 (No in step S2), the detection unit 91 ends the process.

  The solenoid control unit 84 waits until the output of the detection unit 91 is input (No in step S11). And if the detection means 91 outputs a detection result (Yes of step S11), the solenoid control means 84 will drive the solenoid 83 and will raise the holder 34 (step S12).

  As described above, the clogging prevention means 9 prevents coin clogging in the identification unit 3.

  The abnormal coin is identified as an abnormal coin by the identifying unit 3, passes through the identifying unit 3, and then removed from the transport unit 5 by the reject unit 6.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the identification unit 3, when the support unit 32 contacts the movable unit 31 with the coin conveyed on the conveyance surface 51, the holder 34 has a gap g with respect to the conveyance surface 51. The holder 34 is supported so as to be movable in the expanding direction. Accordingly, when the coin comes into contact with the movable portion 31, the holder 34 moves in the direction in which the gap g is enlarged with respect to the transport surface 51. Therefore, even if an abnormal coin having a height higher than the gap g is conveyed to the identification unit 3, the abnormal coin is not easily jammed in the identification unit 3.

  And even if it is temporarily clogged, it can be detected by the clogging prevention means 9, and clogging can be eliminated. Therefore, the operator is not troubled by maintenance.

  Further, when the coins are jammed in the identification unit 3, the time until the clogging prevention means 9 recognizes the stay of the coins may be longer than the time required for the coins to pass through the discrimination unit 3 when there is no stay. Therefore, even if a coin stays, it is possible to detect the stay in a very short time such as the time when the coin passes through the identification unit 3 + α. For this reason, the solenoid 83 can be driven in a short time after the coins stay. Therefore, coin clogging can be eliminated in a short time that the operator or customer is not aware of.

  FIG. 7 shows a modification in which the support portion 32 of the first embodiment is changed. In this modification, a support portion 132 is provided instead of the support portion 32.

  The support part 132 has a base 35, a shaft 36, and an urging member 37 similar to those of the support part 32, and a rotation fulcrum 38 that is not present in the support part 32. The rotation fulcrum 38 positions the end of the table 35 at a fixed position on the conveyance surface 51 and allows the table 35 and the holder 34 to rotate so as to approach and separate from the conveyance surface 51 with the rotation fulcrum 38 as a rotation axis. . The rotation fulcrum 38 extends along the coin transport direction (the depth direction in the figure) or is provided at a plurality of locations along the coin transport direction.

  According to the above configuration, when the abnormal coin pushes up the holder 34 against the urging force of the urging member 37, or when the solenoid 83 pulls up the holder 34, the table 35 rotates about the rotation fulcrum 38 as the rotation axis. By doing so, the holder 34 moves away from the conveyance surface 51.

  In this modification, since the positioning of the movable part 31 with respect to the transport surface 51 is performed not only by the shaft 36 but also by the rotation fulcrum 38, it is considered that the behavior of the movable part 31 is stabilized.

(Second Embodiment)
The coin change machine which is 2nd Embodiment of a coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus is demonstrated using drawing. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the detection means 291 provided in the coin change machine of the present embodiment as viewed from the upstream side in the coin conveyance direction. The coin change machine according to the present embodiment is the same as the coin change machine 1 according to the first embodiment, although portions other than the detection means 291 and the identification unit (not shown) are not shown. And the identification part of this embodiment differs from the identification part 3 of 1st Embodiment in that the chamfering of the entrance of the holder 34 is not essential.

  Hereinafter, in the description of the present embodiment, for the convenience of description, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are added as the reference parts and the reference numerals of the respective parts included in the recognition parts.

  The detection means 291 is arranged on the upstream side in the coin transport direction of the identification unit 3. The detection unit 291 has a configuration similar to that of the identification unit 3, includes a part of the conveyance surface 51, a second movable unit 231, a second support unit 232, and further includes a movement detection unit 233. doing. The second movable portion 231 is substantially the same as the holder 34, but does not include the one corresponding to the sensor 33. The second support portion 232 includes a base 235, a shaft 236, and an urging member 237.

  The second movable portion 231 has a gap g between the portion closest to the transport surface 51 and the transport surface 51 through which normal coins (special coins) having the maximum thickness can pass. In other words, the second movable portion 231 faces the transport surface 51 through a gap g through which a specie having the maximum thickness can pass.

The height of the gap g, that is, the distance between the second movable portion 231 and the transport surface 51 is slightly higher than the thickness of the true coin having the maximum thickness.
Moreover, the chamfering process is given to the edge part of the coin conveyance direction upstream of the surface facing the conveyance surface 51 of the 2nd movable part 231. As shown in FIG. That is, the height of the upstream side (inlet) in the coin conveyance direction of the gap g is increased.

  The base 235 is formed continuously from the second movable portion 231. If it demonstrates in drawing, the lower part from the AA line in FIG. 8 will be the base 235, and the upper part will be the 2nd movable part 231. FIG. The base 235 is a substantially flat member, and is continuous with the second movable portion 231 on one side, and holds the second movable portion 231 like a cantilever with a predetermined height with respect to the transport surface 51. Moreover, the base 235 has a hole 235a penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface.

  The shaft 236 is erected on the end of the conveyance surface 51 through the hole 235a, and has a diameter-enlarged portion 236a at the head. The urging member 237 is a helical spring disposed so as to wrap around the outer periphery of the shaft 236, for example, and is positioned between the enlarged-diameter portion 236a and the upper surface of the table 235 in a compressed state so that the table 235 is transported. 51 is in pressure contact.

  Here, the hole 235a, the shaft 236, and the urging member 237 are provided at a plurality of locations along the coin conveyance direction (the depth direction in FIG. 8). For this reason, the second movable portion 231 does not rotate around the shaft 236.

  With the configuration described above, the second support portion 232 is configured so that the gap g increases with respect to the transport surface 51 when the coin transported on the transport surface 51 comes into contact with the second movable portion 231. The second movable portion 231 is supported so as to be movable.

The movement detector 233 includes a detector that is operated by the movement of the second movable portion 231 in a state of projecting out of the housing, and detects the movement of the second movable portion 231 by the operation received by the detector. For example, a micro switch having a lever 233a as a detector.
The movement detection unit 233 is disposed so that the lever 233a is in contact with the upper surface of the second movable unit 231. When the second movable part 231 is pushed up by an abnormal coin or the like, the lever 233a is pushed by the second movable part 231 and the output of the movement detection part 233 is turned on.

In such a configuration, when an abnormal coin having a height higher than that of a genuine coin is conveyed to the detecting means 291 by the conveyance unit 5, the second movable unit 231 is lifted by the abnormal coin, and the lever is moved by the second movable unit 231. 233a is operated, and the output of the movement detection unit 233 is turned on.
When the output of the movement detection unit 233 is turned on, it means that the height of the coin being conveyed is abnormally high. That is, the detection unit 291 predicts that an abnormal coin having a height that cannot pass through the gap g enters the identification unit 3. In this case, in order to prevent coin clogging from occurring in the identification unit 3 located downstream of the detection means 291, the solenoid 83 is activated in advance, and the movable unit 31 of the identification unit 3 is raised.

  The urging force of the urging member 237 of the present embodiment is set sufficiently weak so that an abnormal coin having the maximum possible height and the maximum deformation level can pass through the second movable portion 231 without any problem.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the presence of an abnormal coin having a height that is caught by the identification unit 3 is predicted, and the clogging of coins is prevented by moving the movable unit 31 before the abnormal coin reaches the identification unit 3. be able to.
Moreover, according to this embodiment, there is no loss time by making the identification part 3 jam an abnormal coin, and smooth rejection can be implement | achieved.

In addition, the support part 32 of the identification part 3 of 2nd Embodiment and the 2nd support part 232 of the detection means 291 may be set as the structure which has the rotation fulcrum 38 like the support part 132 of the modification of 1st Embodiment. Good.
In the case of the detection means 291 having the rotation fulcrum 38, the movement detection unit is assumed that the position where the lever 233a of the movement detection unit 233 is in contact with the upper surface of the second movable unit 231 is a position far from the second support unit 232. This is suitable for improving the detection accuracy of H.233.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the example in which the solenoid is used as the driving means has been described. However, the driving means may be realized by using other means such as a motor instead of the solenoid.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

1 ... coin change machine,
2 ... acceptance department,
3 ... identification part,
31 ... movable part,
32 ... support part,
33 ... sensor, 33a ... upper part, 33b ... lower part,
34 ... Holder,
35 ... stand, 35a ... hole,
36 ... shaft, 36a ... expanded diameter part,
37 ... biasing member,
g ... Gap,
4 ... storage part,
5 ... Conveying section, 51 ... Conveying surface, 52 ... Conveying belt,
6 ... Reject part,
7: Dispensing department,
81 ... Control unit 82 ... Storage unit,
83 ... Solenoid, 84 ... Solenoid control means 9 ... Clogging prevention means, 91 ... Detection means, 92 ... Driving means,
132 ... support part, 38 ... rotation fulcrum,
291 ... detection means,
231 ... second movable part, 232 ... second support part,
233: Movement detector, 233a ... Lever,
235 ... stand, 235a ... hole,
236 ... shaft, 236a ... expanded diameter part,
237 ... biasing member.

JP 2009-223777 A

Claims (5)

A receiving part for accepting coins from outside,
A transport surface for supporting coins from the bottom surface;
A movable unit that includes a sensor that identifies whether the coin received by the receiving unit is correct or not, and that opposes the transport surface via a gap through which a normal coin having a maximum thickness can pass;
A support part that supports the movable part so that the movable part can move in a direction in which the gap is enlarged with respect to the conveyance surface when a coin conveyed on the conveyance surface comes into contact with the movable part;
An identification unit having
Detecting means for detecting or predicting that an abnormal coin having a height that cannot pass through the gap enters the identification unit;
A drive means for moving the movable part when the detection means outputs a detection result indicating that an abnormal coin has entered or is predicted to enter the identification part;
Clog prevention means having
A storage unit for storing coins in which the identification unit is normal; and
A transport unit for transporting coins from the receiving unit through the identification unit to the storage unit;
A reject unit that removes from the transport unit a coin that the identification unit is not normal; and
A coin deposit and withdrawal device. The detection means uses the value of the output of the sensor and the duration of the value, and when the output maintains a substantially constant value for a predetermined time, an abnormal coin enters and stays in the identification unit. The coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus according to claim 1, which outputs a detection result. The coin receiving / dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein the detecting unit detects the abnormal coin upstream of the movable portion. The detection means includes
A second conveying surface for supporting coins from the bottom surface;
A second movable portion facing the second transport surface via a gap of the same degree as the gap;
When the coin conveyed on the second conveyance surface comes into contact with the second movable portion, the second movable portion is movable in the direction in which the gap is enlarged with respect to the second conveyance surface. A second support for supporting the movable part;
A movement detector for detecting movement of the second movable part;
On the upstream side of the movable part,
The coin driving / dispensing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the driving unit moves the movable unit based on an output of the movement detection unit. 5. The coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit includes a solenoid or a motor as a generation source of driving force for moving the movable portion.

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