JP5940360B2 - Coin lifter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coin lifter device that lifts a taken-in coin and discharges it to the outside.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a coin lifter device that receives coins, which are changed cash after settlement, and lifts the coins to the outside is known to vending machines, parking fee automatic settlement machines, and the like (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). etc). This type of coin lifter device collects coins that have been dropped from an upstream device such as a coin identification device at the same time by a coin receiving unit, lifts this coin group upward by an internal belt member, and discharges the coins. To the outside.

Japanese Patent No. 2701505 Japanese Utility Model Publication 1-160581 JP 2003-22466 A JP-A-3-171280

  By the way, in the coin lifter device, a sensor is arranged at the opening of the coin receiving unit that receives the falling coin, and when the sensor detects the acceptance of the coin into the coin receiving unit, the belt member is driven to change the coins. Start the lift operation. For this reason, there should be no coin detection omission in the opening of the coin receiving part, and there was a need to develop a coin detection mechanism that can detect the entire opening of the opening without omission.

  The objective of this invention is providing the coin lifter apparatus which can raise the precision which detects the coin received in a coin receiving part.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, a coin receiving part that takes in a coin that has fallen, a lifter body that has a coin inlet at the lower part and is erected on the side of the coin receiving part, and a coin An endless L-shaped belt member having a protrusion on the conveying surface to be conveyed and extending in an L shape across the coin receiving part and the lifter body, and provided on the lifter body. The L-shaped drive unit configured to drive the coins taken in from the opening over at least the entire upper portion of the coin receiving unit, and a driving unit that drives the L-shaped belt member. A plurality of sheets are placed on the flat portion of the belt-shaped belt member and conveyed to the lifter body, and the plurality of coins are sandwiched between the vertical section and the coin pressing section while being supported from below by the protrusions of the L-shaped belt member. While A coin lifter device that lifts the plurality of coins upward, wherein a plurality of sensors are arranged along one opening side of the opening, and the other opening side intersects with the one opening side. A coin detection mechanism that arranges a plurality of sensors and detects the acceptance of coins from the opening to the coin receiving part by the sensors, and a control unit that controls the driving means based on the detection result of the coin detection mechanism The coin detecting mechanism includes a first sensor group in which a plurality of sensors are arranged in a line at a constant interval so as to detect coins oriented in parallel to the one opening side, and parallel to the first sensor group. A second sensor group in which a plurality of sensors are arranged in a row at regular intervals, at least on the one opening side, and the sensors constituting the first sensor group have the first sensor 2 sensor group So as to be positioned between the two sensors constituting a sensor of the sensor and the second sensor group constituting the first sensor group, and summarized in that it is arranged by shifting the positions to each other.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, in the coin detection mechanism disposed in the opening of the coin lifter device, the first sensor group and the second sensor group are positioned in two parallel rows and along the sensor arrangement direction. For example, a coin group that cannot be detected by the first sensor group can be made a sensor array that can be detected by the second sensor group. For this reason, since it is possible to set almost the entire opening of the opening as a detection area, even if a coin is received from any position of the opening, the coin can be detected.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the precision which detects the coin received in a coin receiving part can be improved.

The perspective view of the coin lifter device of one embodiment. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of a coin lifter apparatus. The enlarged view near a coin discharge part. The exploded perspective view of a movable plate. The expanded sectional view near the coin entrance of a lifter body. The conceptual diagram of the sensor arrangement | sequence of a coin detection mechanism. The perspective view which looked at the coin receiving part from diagonally upward. The perspective view which looked at the coin receiving part from the other diagonal upper direction. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of a coin receiving part. Explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between a coin direction and the sensor to detect. The conceptual diagram which shows the pattern of the sensor arrangement | sequence of a 1st sensor group and a 2nd sensor group. The electrical block diagram of a coin lifter apparatus. The conceptual diagram which shows the irradiation aspect of the light of each light projection part. The operation | movement figure when the coin which has fallen gets on the flat part of an L-shaped belt member. The operation | movement figure when defeating the coin which rolls with the flat part of an L-shaped belt member standing with a leaf | plate spring part. The operation | movement figure when dropping the coin which got on the inclined board of the upper surface of a leaf | plate spring part. The operation | movement figure when lifting a coin group with a protrusion. The operation | movement figure when lifting up a coin group with the perpendicular | vertical part of an L-shaped belt member, and a coin pressing part.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of a coin lifter device embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[Overall configuration of coin lifter device]
As shown in FIG. 1, the coin lifter device 1 is provided with a coin receiving unit 2 that receives a falling coin, and a lifter body 3 that is erected on the side of the coin receiving unit 2. On the upper surface of the coin receiving portion 2, an opening 4 for receiving the falling coin is formed over the entire upper surface. On one side of the opening 4 on the front side of the paper surface, a sloped coin guide wall 5 is provided for guiding a falling coin to the inside of the coin receiving part 2 by a slope. The lifter body 3 is formed in an elongated shape in the apparatus height direction (Z-axis direction in FIG. 1), and the coin receiving portion 2 is disposed at the root.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lower end of the lifter body 3 is formed with a coin inlet 6 into which coins flow when lifted. Inside the coin lifter device 1, an L-shaped belt member 7 is installed to lift up coins entered from the coin inlet 6. The L-shaped belt member 7 extends in an L shape over the coin receiving portion 2 and the lifter body 3. That is, the L-shaped belt member 7 has both ends stretched around a pair of pulleys 8 and is folded back at approximately 90 degrees by the pulley 9 and the pair of bearings 10 and 11 at the lower end of the lifter body 3, thereby providing an endless L-shape. Shape. The L-shaped belt member 7 has a flat portion 12 located in the coin receiving portion 2 and a vertical portion 13 located in the lifter body 3, and a plurality of coins placed on the flat portion 12 are moved upward by the vertical portion 13. Lift to. The bearings 10 and 11 are disposed at a boundary portion 14 between the flat portion 12 and the vertical portion 13, and the L-shaped belt member 7 is pressed from above at the boundary portion 14.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a motor 15 that drives the L-shaped belt member 7 is attached to the upper side wall of the lifter body 3. The motor 15 is connected to the pulley 8 at the upper end via the gear mechanism 16, and drives the L-shaped belt member 7 by turning the pulley 8. A control unit 17 that controls the operation of the coin lifter device 1 is provided at the center of the side wall of the lifter body 3. The control unit 17 controls the motor 15 to execute a coin transport operation. The motor 15 corresponds to a driving unit.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the L-shaped belt member 7 has a pair of protrusions 18 that support the coin from below when the coin is lifted by the L-shaped belt member 7. A plurality of sets are formed along the direction of arrow A in FIG. The protrusion 18 is formed in a shape in which two claws are lined up and down. The pair of protrusions 18 are arranged at the same left and right height in the same set.

  The upper side wall of the lifter body 3 is provided with a coin discharge portion 19 for discharging the coin lifted up by the L-shaped belt member 7 to the outside. The coin discharge portion 19 is provided so as to project along the surface direction of the L-shaped belt member 7 located in the lifter body 3 (XZ plane direction in FIG. 3). At the top of the lifter body 3, there is provided a discharge guide portion 20 that guides the coin lifted up to the top to the coin discharge portion 19 side. The discharge guide part 20 consists of a substantially arc-shaped guide surface.

[Composition of coin holding part and leaf spring part]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a mounting plate 21 formed by bending a metal plate into a substantially U-shape is fixed to the base end of the lifter body 3. A movable plate 22 formed by bending a single metal plate into an L shape is attached to the mounting plate 21 so as to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions. In the movable plate 22, the plate portion along the vertical direction becomes the coin pressing portion 23, and the plate portion along the horizontal direction becomes the leaf spring portion 24. Thus, the coin pressing part 23 and the leaf spring part 24 are integrally formed. The coin pressing part 23 has a role of simultaneously lifting a plurality of coins in cooperation with the L-shaped belt member 7. A substantially arc-shaped curved surface portion 24 a is formed at the tip of the leaf spring portion 24. The leaf spring portion 24 is located at the coin inlet 6 and the tip is directed to the flat portion 12 side of the L-shaped belt member 7 and collides with a coin rising on the flat portion 12, thereby sleeping the coin. Have a role to defeat.

  The coin pressing part 23 is provided with a pair of protrusions 25 arranged vertically, and these protrusions 25 are loosely fitted into the pair of long holes 27 of the mounting plate 21 via spring members 26. The spring material 26 is made of, for example, a conical coil spring. In addition, an inclined plate 28 having a spring function is attached and fixed to the upper surface of the plate spring portion 24, and a position regulating piece 29 formed at the lower end of the attachment plate 21 is loosely fitted in the opening hole 28 a of the inclined plate 28. Yes. The position restricting piece 29 is provided in order to prevent coins riding on the upper surface of the inclined plate 28 from entering a gap surrounded by the mounting plate 21 and the coin pressing portion 23. The inclined plate 28 is attached with a steep slope so as to drop the coins that have run on the upper surface downward. With the above structure, the movable plate 22 moves up, down, left, and right with respect to the mounting plate 21.

[Construction of transport path of coin lifter device]
As shown in FIG. 5, the coin inlet 6 is provided with a horizontal coin transport path (referred to as a horizontal coin transport path 30). The horizontal coin conveyance path 30 includes a region surrounded by the leaf spring portion 24 and the conveyance surface 31 of the flat portion 12. The leaf spring portion 24 biases the coin that has entered the horizontal coin conveyance path 30 in a direction to be sandwiched between the L-shaped belt member 7 and the conveyance surface.

  Inside the lifter body 3, a vertical coin transport path (vertical coin transport path 32) is provided. The vertical coin conveyance path 32 includes a region surrounded by the conveyance surface 33 of the vertical portion 13, the two fixed side walls 34 of the lifter body 3, and the coin pressing portion 23. That is, the wall surface 35 on the coin receiving portion 2 side of the vertical coin conveyance path 32 is formed by the wall surface 34 a of the fixed side wall 34 and the inner surface 23 a of the coin pressing portion 23. In the L-shaped belt member 7, the back surface of the part forming the vertical coin conveyance path 32 is guided by a flat support plate 7 a.

[Configuration of coin detection mechanism]
As shown in FIG. 6, the opening 4 of the coin receiving unit 2 is provided with a coin detecting mechanism 36 (see FIGS. 7 and 8 for the appearance) that detects the receipt of coins into the coin receiving unit 2. . The coin detection mechanism 36 includes a sensor unit 38 in which a plurality of sensors 39 are arranged along one opening side of the opening 4 (side 37 along the Y-axis direction in FIG. 6) and another one opening orthogonal to the side 37. And a sensor unit 41 in which a plurality of sensors 42 are arranged along the side (side 40 along the X-axis direction in FIG. 6). The sensors 39 and 42 are optical sensors, for example. The sensor unit 38 detects the received coin in the X-axis direction in the figure. The sensor part 41 detects the received coin in the Y-axis direction of the figure.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a light-projecting side substrate 44 is arranged vertically on the back side of the first side wall 43 facing the sloped coin guide wall 5. A plurality of light projecting units 45 of the sensor unit 38 are mounted on the substrate 44. The first side wall 43 is provided with a plurality of opening holes 46 (also shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5 to 8) through which light from the light projecting unit 45 passes through the inside of the coin receiving unit 2. On the back side of the sloped coin guide wall 5, a light receiving side substrate 47 is arranged vertically. A plurality of light receiving portions 48 are mounted on the substrate 47 at positions facing the light projecting portions 45 forming a set. An opening hole 49 (also shown in FIGS. 7 and 8) through which light from the light projecting unit 45 passes through the light receiving unit 48 is provided through the sloped coin guide wall 5.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a sensor unit is provided between the inside of the attachment frame 50 fixed to the base of the lifter body 3 and the back side of the frame wall 51 erected on one end edge of the sloped coin guide wall 5. Forty-two light projecting units 52 are provided in total. The light projecting unit 52 is a unit component in which a light projecting unit is built in a case. The mounting frame 50 and the frame wall 51 are provided with a total of two opening holes 53 through which the light of the light projecting unit 52 passes through the inside of the coin receiving unit 2.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the inside of the second side wall 54 facing the mounting frame 50 and the back side of the frame wall 55 erected on the other edge of the inclined coin guide wall 5 form a pair. A light receiving unit 56 that receives light from the optical unit 52 is provided. The light receiving unit 56 is a unit component in which a light receiving unit is built in a case. An opening hole 57 through which light from the light projecting unit 52 passes through the light receiving unit 56 is provided in the second side wall 54 and the frame wall 55.

[Sensor arrangement structure]
As shown in FIG. 10, the coins entering the coin receiving unit 2 are inclined with respect to the side 37 as well as the coin (shown by the solid line in FIG. 10) oriented in parallel with the side 37 (first side wall 43). There is also a coin (shown by a broken line in FIG. 10) that takes a different direction. Therefore, the coin detection mechanism 36 needs to detect both a coin that takes a direction parallel to the side 37 and a coin that takes a direction intersecting the side 37.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the sensor unit 38 includes a first sensor group 58 and a second sensor group 59 in which detection areas are complemented to each other so that coins that cannot be detected are detected by the opponent. Each sensor 39a of the first sensor group 58 and each sensor 39b of the second sensor group 59 are arranged at positions shifted from each other in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. For example, the sensors 39a of the first sensor group 58 are arranged in a line along the horizontal direction, and are arranged at regular intervals (constant regular intervals) so that the interval W between the adjacent sensors 39a is the same. Has been. The second sensor group 59 is oriented in parallel with the first sensor group 58, arranged in a line along the horizontal direction, and at a constant interval (a constant Are arranged at intervals). In this way, the first sensor group 58 and the second sensor group 59 are arranged with their positions shifted from each other in the sensor arrangement direction, which is the arrangement direction of the sensors of the same group.

  The sensors 39a of the first sensor group 58 and the sensors 39b of the second sensor group 59 that are adjacent to each other are arranged at a constant interval. In other words, the distance between the sensor 39a of the first sensor group 58 and the sensor 39b of the second sensor group 59 is set so that those adjacent to each other become the aforementioned W. As shown in FIG. 6, in the plan view of the sensor unit 38, the adjacent sensors 39 b and the sensors 39 a are arranged so as to be densely arranged at an interval narrower than the interval W.

  In the interval W, the light reception amount of the light emitted from the light projecting unit 45 of the sensor 39 of the other set is less than the threshold value in one set of the light receiving units 48 of the two sets of sensors 39 located adjacent to each other. Set to distance. This is because two sets of sensors 39 located adjacent to each other emit light emitted from the light projecting section 45 of one set of sensors 39, and the light receiving section 48 of the other set of sensors 39 emits a light quantity greater than or equal to a predetermined value. This is to prevent light from being received.

  As described above, although the interval in plan view of the sensor 39 (39a) is narrower than the interval W, the light emitted from the light projecting unit 45 of the other sensor 39 (39a) adjacent to each light receiving unit 48 exceeds the threshold value. It does not receive light with the amount of light.

[Electric configuration of coin lifter device]
As shown in FIG. 12, the motor 15, the light projecting unit 45, the light receiving unit 48, the light projecting unit 52, and the light receiving unit 56 are connected to the control unit 17. The control unit 17 determines the presence / absence of a shield (coin) on the optical axis L of the light projecting unit 45 and the light projecting unit 52 based on the comparison between the received light amount of the light receiving unit 48 and the light receiving unit 56 and the threshold value. The acceptance of a coin to the coin receiving unit 2 is detected. When detecting the coin acceptance to the coin receiving unit 2, the control unit 17 drives the motor 15 to rotate the L-shaped belt member 7 and lifts the accepted coin.

  The control unit 17 is provided with a light amount correction unit 60 that corrects the light amount of the light projecting unit 45 and the light amount of the light projecting unit 52 so that the light receiving unit 48 and the light receiving unit 56 sequentially receive a constant light amount. The light amount correcting unit 60 adjusts the light amount (luminance) of the light projecting unit 45 and the light amount (luminance) of the light projecting unit 52 based on the difference between the target received light amount and the current received light amount. The amount of light (luminance) of the light projecting unit 45 and the light projecting unit 52 is corrected so that the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 56 takes a constant value.

Next, operation | movement of the coin lifter apparatus 1 of this example is demonstrated using FIGS.
[Operation of coin detection mechanism]
As shown in FIG. 13, in the light projecting unit 45 and the light projecting unit 52, the optical axis L extends straight in the front direction, and the range of light spreads radially around the optical axis L. The light receiving unit 48 and the light receiving unit 56 are disposed on an extension line of the optical axis L of the light projecting unit 45 and the light projecting unit 52 that form a pair. Therefore, the sensors 39 (39a, 39b), 42 are arranged in the Y-axis direction of the sensor 39 (39a, 39b) in the same figure, and the sensor 42 in the X-axis direction of the figure orthogonal to the sensor 39 (39a, 39b). As a result of being arranged, they are arranged in a lattice pattern. Thus, in the coin detection mechanism 36, the entire opening of the opening 4 serves as a detection area.

  Therefore, even if a coin enters from any position of the opening part 4, it becomes possible to detect a coin by one of the sensors 39 (39a, 39b), 42. Further, even if the falling coins face parallel to the first side wall 43 or the falling coins face the direction intersecting the first side wall 43, either of the sensors 39a and 39b To detect. Thus, no matter which direction the coin is oriented with respect to the first side wall 43, it is detected without omission by the sensors 39a and 39b.

  Each sensor 39, 42 outputs a sensor signal corresponding to the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 48 and the light receiving unit 56 to the control unit 17. The control unit 17 acquires the amount of light received by each of the sensors 39 and 42 based on the sensor signal input from the sensors 39 and 42. And the control part 17 recognizes the acceptance of the coin to the coin receiving part 2, for example, when received light quantity becomes below a threshold value. When the amount of received light is equal to or less than the threshold, the control unit 17 drives the motor 15 (forward rotation) and starts a coin lifting operation.

[Coin transport operation]
As shown in FIG. 14, the coin that has fallen from above is received by the coin receiving portion 2, and this rides on the flat portion 12 of the L-shaped belt member 7. At this time, coins may be overlapped and only one may be ridden. The coin group placed on the flat portion 12 reaches the coin inlet 6 as the L-shaped belt member 7 is driven, and is guided from there to the inside of the lifter body 3 through the horizontal coin conveyance path 30.

  As shown in FIG. 15, a so-called coin rolling may be performed in which a coin on the flat portion 12 rotates while standing. In this case, the rotating coin collides with the tip of the leaf spring portion 24 as the L-shaped belt member 7 is driven, and falls down on the flat portion 12. Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the coins on the upper surface of the inclined plate 28 fall downward due to the inclination attached to the inclined plate 28. Therefore, both the coin that has stood on the flat portion 12 and the coin that has been on the inclined plate 28 are brought down to a state in which they lie on the flat portion 12.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the coin group placed on the flat portion 12 is collected at the boundary portion 14. When the protrusion 18 reaches the coin group as the L-shaped belt member 7 is driven, the protrusion 18 scoops up the coin group from below and lifts it upward. Next, as shown in FIG. 18, the coin group is lifted while being sandwiched between the vertical portion 13 of the L-shaped belt member 7 and the movable coin pressing portion 23 while supporting the coin group from below with the protrusion 18. The coin group is discharged from the coin discharge unit 19 to the outside at the top of the vertical portion 13.

[Light emission correction of optical sensor]
By the way, the light projecting unit 45 and the light projecting unit 52 do not emit light with the maximum light amount, but emit light with a determined light amount that is somewhat lower than the maximum possible light emission amount for the purpose of extending the life. In addition, the light projection amount of the light projecting unit 45 and the light projecting unit 52 varies due to, for example, variation in power supply voltage or aging. Further, due to dirt or the like, the light receiving unit 48 and the light receiving unit 56 do not always receive light with a constant light amount. Therefore, the light amount correction unit 60 corrects the light amount (luminance) of the light projecting unit 45 and the light amount (luminance) of the light projecting unit 52 based on the difference between the target received light amount and the current received light amount, thereby obtaining a constant light reception. Secure the amount.

According to the configuration of the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The first sensor group 58 and the second sensor group 59 in which a plurality of sensor groups are arranged in a row at a constant interval in the opening 4 of the coin receiving unit 2 are shifted in two parallel rows and along the sensor arrangement direction. The coin groups that are arranged and cannot be detected by the first sensor group 58 can be detected by the second sensor group 59. For this reason, since it is possible to make the entire area of the opening zone of the opening 4 a coin detection area, the coins can be detected by the sensors 39 and 42 even if the coin is received by the opening 4 from any position. Can do.

  (2) Since the sensors 39a are shifted in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, the distance between adjacent sensors 39a can be made as wide as possible. Therefore, in the pair of sensors 39a adjacent to each other, it is possible to make it difficult for the light emitted from one set to affect the other set. It should be noted that the interval W with the adjacent sensor 39a is preferably set so as to be less than the diameter of the coin desired to be detected in plan view.

  (3) For the sensor 39a of the first sensor group 58 and the sensor 39b of the second sensor group 59, the interval between adjacent ones is set to W. For this reason, since the sensors 39a and 39b of the sensor unit 38 are arranged at equal intervals in a plan view, a small number of sensors can be used to prevent coins falling into the opening 4 while preventing optical interference between the adjacent sensors 39a and 39b. 39a and 39b can be detected.

  (4) The distance W between the adjacent sensors 39 is emitted from the light projecting section 45 of the other set of sensors 39 in one set of the light receiving sections 48 of the two sets of sensors 39 located adjacent to each other. The distance at which the received light amount is less than the threshold is set. Therefore, the effect is further enhanced in preventing optical interference with the adjacent sensor 39.

  (5) A light amount correction unit 60 for correcting the light amount of the light projecting unit 45 and the light amount of the light projecting unit 52 is provided so that the light reception amount of the light receiving unit 48 and the light reception amount of the light receiving unit 56 are always constant. For this reason, an effect becomes still higher in ensuring the detection accuracy of the coin received in the opening part 4.

Note that the embodiment is not limited to the configuration described so far, and may be modified as follows.
-The space | interval of the adjacent sensors of the 1st sensor group 58 and the 2nd sensor group 59 may differ from the sensor arrangement | positioning space | interval of the 1st sensor group 58 (2nd sensor group 59).

-The flat part 12 and the perpendicular | vertical part 13 are not limited to the direction which cross | intersects at right angle, You may take the direction which inclines by a predetermined angle from right angle.
The pattern of the sensor arrangement in this example can be applied to the sensor unit 41, or may be applied to both the sensor units 38 and 41.

  As described in the embodiments and other examples, the coin detection mechanism may be any mechanism that has a sensor arrangement in which a plurality of sensors are arranged on two axes and the direction of incoming coins is taken into consideration. I will do it.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Coin lifter apparatus, 2 ... Coin receiving part, 3 ... Lifter main body, 4 ... Opening part, 6 ... Coin inlet, 7 ... L-shaped belt member, 12 ... Flat part, 13 ... Vertical part, 15 ... As drive means Motor, 17 ... control unit, 18 ... protrusion, 23 ... coin pressing unit, 31, 33 ... conveying surface, 36 ... coin detection mechanism, 37 ... side as one open side, 39 (39a, 39b) ... sensor, 40: Side as another opening side, 42 ... Sensor, 45 ... Light projecting unit, 48 ... Light receiving unit, 58 ... First sensor group, 59 ... Second sensor group, W ... Interval (constant interval), L ... optical axis.

Claims (3)

A coin receiving portion for taking in the falling coins, a coin inlet at the bottom, a lifter body standing on the side of the coin receiving portion, and a protrusion on the transport surface for transporting the coin, An endless L-shaped belt member having a flat portion and a vertical portion by extending in an L shape over a portion and the lifter body, a coin pressing portion provided in the lifter body, and the L-shaped belt Drive means for driving the member,
A plurality of coins taken from an opening over at least the entire upper portion of the coin receiving portion are placed on the flat portion of the L-shaped belt member driven by the driving means and conveyed to the lifter body. A coin lifter device that lifts the plurality of coins upward while being sandwiched between the vertical portion and the coin pressing portion while supporting the L-shaped belt member from below.
A plurality of sensors are arranged along one opening side of the opening, and a plurality of sensors are arranged along another one opening side that intersects the one opening side, and the coin is removed from the opening by the sensor. A coin detection mechanism for detecting the receipt of coins in the receiving unit;
A control unit for controlling the drive means based on the detection result of the coin detection mechanism;
The coin detection mechanism is:
A first sensor group in which a plurality of sensors are arranged in a row at regular intervals so as to detect coins oriented in parallel to the one opening side, and a plurality of sensors in a row in a direction parallel to the first sensor group. A second sensor group arranged at regular intervals, at least on the one opening side,
The sensors constituting the first sensor group and the second sensor group are configured so that the sensors constituting the first sensor group are positioned between the two sensors constituting the second sensor group in the sensor arrangement direction. The coin lifter device is characterized in that the sensors are arranged so as to be displaced from each other. The first sensor group and the second sensor group are both arranged to extend in the horizontal direction,
2. The coin lifter device according to claim 1, wherein the sensors of the first sensor group and the sensors of the second sensor group that are adjacent to each other are arranged so as to form the predetermined interval. . Each of the sensors is an optical sensor including a light projecting unit that projects light and a light receiving unit that receives the light.
The control unit detects the presence of the shield on the optical axis by determining the presence or absence of the light based on a comparison between the received light amount received by the light receiving unit and a threshold value,
3. The coin lifter according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined interval is set such that the amount of light received from a light projecting unit of another sensor adjacent to the light receiving unit is less than the threshold value. apparatus.