JP7596839B2 - Currency Handling Equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a currency handling device, and is suitable for use in cash register change dispensers used at the cash registers of retail stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores.

In recent years, cash register change dispensers that combine a POS register connected to a POS (Point Of Sales) system with a change dispenser that processes the deposit and withdrawal of banknotes and coins have become widespread. Among these change dispensers, coin processing devices that process coins include, for example, an input port that allows the cashier to insert coins, a transport section that transports the coins, a recognition section that recognizes the type of inserted coin, a storage unit that stores coins by denomination and dispenses coins for change, and a dispensing tray that stores coins dispensed from the storage unit and allows the cashier to take them out.

In this type of coin processing device, for example, an optical sensor installed in the transport section that detects the presence or absence of coins can be manually cleaned by a cashier or other person to maintain the detection capability of the optical sensor (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

There is also a coin processing device that processes coins and has an optical sensor at the insertion port that detects remaining coins in the insertion port (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Patent No. 5810839 JP 2015-121856 A (FIG. 13)

However, in conventional cash register change machines, the cashier or other personnel had to perform manual operations just to clean the optical sensor, which meant that the manual operation could be forgotten and the cleaning operation could not be performed. If the cash register change machine was operated for a long period of time without cleaning the optical sensor in this way, dust and other particles would remain attached to the optical sensor, and the device would be operated with the optical sensor's detection ability reduced, which could result in equipment malfunctions.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above points, and aims to propose a currency handling device that can prevent a decline in the detection ability of the optical sensor.

In order to solve this problem, the currency handling device of the present invention is provided with a coin processing device including an insertion slot through which coins are inserted, an optical sensor having a light-emitting unit that irradiates light into the insertion slot and a light-receiving unit that receives the light irradiated from the light-emitting unit, and a cleaning mechanism having a cleaning member that cleans either or both of the light-emitting unit and the light-receiving unit, the coin processing device is provided so as to be able to be withdrawn and stored in the housing, and the cleaning mechanism cleans either or both of the light-emitting unit and the light-receiving unit with the cleaning member when the coin processing device is withdrawn or stored in the housing.

The present invention eliminates the need for manual operations just to clean the optical sensor, and prevents forgetting to clean the optical sensor.

The present invention makes it possible to realize a currency handling device that can prevent a decrease in the detection capability of an optical sensor.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the cash register change machine. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration (1) of a coin depositing and dispensing device. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration (2) of the coin depositing and dispensing device. 1 is a left side view showing a configuration of a coin depositing and dispensing device in a storage state according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a left side view showing a configuration of a coin deposit and withdrawal device in a withdrawal state according to a first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the coin insertion section in the first embodiment when the sensor cleaning guide is in a lowered state. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a coin insertion portion in a sensor cleaning guide raised state according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a sensor cleaning guide according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a left side view showing the configuration of a coin depositing and dispensing device in a stored state according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a left side view showing the configuration (1) of a coin depositing and dispensing device in a withdrawal midway state according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a left side view showing the configuration (2) of the coin depositing and dispensing device in the middle of withdrawal according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a left side view showing the configuration of a coin depositing and dispensing device in a withdrawal state according to a second embodiment. 13 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the coin insertion section in the storage state and with the sensor cleaning guide raised according to the second embodiment; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the coin insertion section in the midst of withdrawal with the sensor cleaning guide in the lowered state according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the coin insertion section in the pulled-out state and the sensor cleaning guide in the raised state according to the second embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a sensor cleaning guide according to a second embodiment.

Below, the form for implementing the invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiment) will be explained with reference to the drawings.

1. First embodiment
[1-1. Overall configuration of the cash register change machine]
As shown in Fig. 1, the cash register change machine 1 is composed of an upper POS register 2 and a lower change machine 3, which are independent devices. This cash register change machine 1 is operated by a cashier at a checkout (a so-called cash register) of a retail store such as a supermarket or convenience store when a customer pays for products that he or she wishes to purchase. In the following description, the side facing the cashier (hereinafter referred to as the operator) and the opposite side are respectively defined as the front and rear, and left and right and top and bottom are further defined as viewed from the operator.

[1-1-1. POS register configuration]
The POS register 2 includes a register control unit 11, a display operation unit 12, and a receipt processing unit 13. A barcode reader (not shown) is also connected to the POS register 2, and the barcode attached to a product is read by this barcode reader to identify the product.

The cash register control unit 11 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. (not shown), and performs various processes by executing specific programs read from the ROM etc. by the CPU, thereby providing overall control.

The display operation unit 12 is a so-called touch panel that displays the name and price of the recognized product, and also accepts input operations by the operator and sends them to the register control unit 11. In response to this, the register control unit 11 increases or decreases the quantity of the product, corrects the price, etc. The receipt processing unit 13 prints the name and price of the recognized product on a receipt, which is then discharged from the receipt discharge port.

[1-1-2. Configuration of the change machine]
On the other hand, the change machine 3 is broadly composed of a banknote deposit/withdrawal device 4 that handles banknotes, a coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 that handles coins, and a display/operation unit 6 located at the upper front side. Incidentally, like general coins, coins are made of metals such as nickel, copper, aluminum, etc., or alloys or combinations of these, and are formed into thin plates.

The banknote deposit/withdrawal device 4 takes in banknotes inserted by the operator through the banknote deposit/withdrawal unit 21 and stores them in the internal banknote storage vault 22, and also pays out banknotes instructed by the cash register control unit 11 from the banknote storage vault 22 and dispenses them from the banknote deposit/withdrawal unit 21 as change.

The coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 takes in coins inserted by the operator through the coin insertion unit 26 and stores them in the internal coin storage 34 (Figure 2), and also dispenses coins from the coin storage 34 as instructed by the cash register control unit 11 and dispenses them as change from the coin withdrawal tray 28.

The display operation unit 6 is composed of a combination of a specified display panel and specified operation switches. The display panel of the display operation unit 6 displays the operating status of the banknote deposit/withdrawal device 4 and the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5, such as a shortage of coins for change in the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5, or an abnormality detected by a specified sensor, and the location of the abnormality. The operation switches of the display operation unit 6 also receive instructions, for example, regarding the transport of coins, via pressing operations by an operator, etc.

[1-2. Configuration of the coin deposit and withdrawal device]
As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the coin depositing and dispensing device 5 is housed in the device housing 24 at the rear most part. Hereinafter, this state will be referred to as the housed state. The device housing 24 is configured as a hollow rectangular parallelepiped with an opening on the front side. Specifically, the device housing 24 is formed with a plate-shaped housing top plate 24U, a housing bottom plate 24D, a housing right side plate 24R, a housing left side plate 24L, and a housing rear side plate 24B on the upper side, lower side, right side, left side, and rear side, respectively, and a housing internal space 24S is formed surrounded by the housing top plate 24U, the housing bottom plate 24D, the housing right side plate 24R, the housing left side plate 24L, and the housing rear side plate 24B. In addition, the device housing 24 has a housing front side standing portion 24F standing upright along the vertical direction so as to be perpendicular to the housing top plate 24U from the front end of the housing top plate 24U.

The coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 is configured to be reciprocable in the front-to-rear direction relative to the device housing 24. When a cashier or the like is performing maintenance work on the inside of the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 is pulled forward from the device housing 24 in the pull-out direction dw, which is the near side as shown in FIG. 5, so that the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 is in a state in which maintenance work can be performed on the inside of the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5. Hereinafter, this state will also be referred to as the pull-out state. In this pull-out state, the abutment portion 52c, which is the rear end portion of the cleaning lever 52 (described later), is in a non-abutting state, separated toward the front side, which is the pull-out direction dw, from the front side erected portion 24F of the device housing 24.

On the other hand, when the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 is pushed rearward in the storage direction dp as shown in FIG. 4 by a cashier or the like after maintenance work is completed, most of the rear side of the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 is stored inside the device housing 24. In this stored state, the abutment portion 52c, which is the rear end portion of the cleaning lever 52 (described later), is in abutment with the front upright portion 24F of the device housing 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 has a coin control unit 25 that controls the entire device. The arrows in FIG. 2 indicate the travel path of the coins. The coin control unit 25 is mainly composed of a CPU (not shown), and controls the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 by reading and executing a predetermined program from a ROM, flash memory, etc. (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the front side of the device housing 24 is provided with a coin insertion unit 26 into which coins are inserted as a medium, a coin rejection tray 27 that ejects coins that have been identified as abnormal (i.e., rejected), and a coin withdrawal tray 28 that ejects coins as change.

The coin insertion unit 26 is formed in a cone-like shape, with a disk 26C built into its bottom that dispenses coins one by one. The coin insertion unit 26 also has multiple residual detection sensors 36 built in that detect the presence or absence of coins in specified locations, and notifies the coin control unit 25 of the detection results. In an actual settlement process, when a cashier or the like receives coins from a customer as payment for an item, the cashier or the like inserts these coins into the coin insertion unit 26 all at once. When the residual detection sensors 36 detect that coins have been inserted, the coin insertion unit 26 pays out the coins one by one to the transport unit 30 under the control of the coin control unit 25.

The conveying unit 30 drives the conveying belt 30B using a stepping motor, pulleys, etc., and conveys coins using the conveying belt 30B, which then passes them over to the coin validator 31. The coin validator 31 validates the coin's denomination (for example, six types: 1 yen, 5 yen, 10 yen, 50 yen, 100 yen, and 500 yen) and whether it is genuine or counterfeit, and notifies the coin control unit 25 of the coin validation results. Based on the acquired validation results, if the coin is abnormal, the coin control unit 25 drops the coin through a hole in the reject switching unit 32 and sends it to the coin reject tray 27, whereas if the coin is normal, the coin is transported downstream of the reject switching unit 32 and dropped through a hole in one of the sorting switching units 33 (sorting switching units 33A, 33B, 33C, 33D, 33E, and 33F) to be transported to the coin storage unit 34 for each denomination (coin storage units 34A, 34B, 34C, 34D, 34E, and 34F).

The coin reject tray 27 protrudes forward from the lower front of the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 and has a bowl-like shape with the center of the top being hollowed out. It receives and holds coins dropped from the transport section 30 and allows them to be easily removed from the upper front. Coins dropped into the coin reject tray 27 are removed by a cashier facing the front of the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 and returned as rejected coins.

The coin storage vaults 34A-34F each store coins in a stack, and under the control of the coin control unit 25, the stored coins are discharged one by one onto the transport unit 35 toward the coin dispensing tray 28 by an ejection mechanism (not shown). In practice, the coin control unit 25 determines the type and number of coins according to the amount to be given to the customer as change, and then discharges the determined type and number of coins from each of the coin storage vaults 34A-34F. The transport unit 35 is composed of an endless belt, a stepping motor, pulleys, etc. (not shown), and transports coins discharged from the coin storage vaults 34A-34F forward and drops them into the coin dispensing tray 28.

The coin dispensing tray 28 protrudes forward from the lower front of the coin depositing and dispensing device 5 and has a bowl-like shape with the center of the top being hollowed out, and receives and holds coins dropped from the transport section 35 and allows them to be easily removed from the upper front. Coins dropped into the coin dispensing tray 28 are removed by a cashier facing the front of the coin depositing and dispensing device 5 and handed over to the customer as change.

In this way, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 separates the coins that are paid by the customer as payment for merchandise or the like and inserted into the coin insertion section 26 according to denomination and stores them in the coin storage vaults 34A-34F, and also removes coins to be given as change from the coin storage vaults 34A-34F and ejects them from the coin withdrawal tray 28.

[1-3. Configuration of coin insertion section]
As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the coin insertion section 26 is formed in a columnar shape with an opening at the top and a central axis aligned in the up-down direction as a whole. Specifically, the coin insertion section 26 has a cylindrical insertion port guide 26G for guiding coins, and a cylindrically recessed insertion space 26S for receiving coins in a misaligned state is formed inside the insertion port guide 26G, and a rotatable disk 26C for moving the coins is incorporated in the bottom of the insertion port guide 26G. Incidentally, the insertion port guide 26G is provided with a hole for passing detection light from a residual detection sensor 36 (described later).

Furthermore, the coin insertion section 26 also incorporates a number of residual detection sensors 36 that detect the presence or absence of coins in the insertion space 26S. The residual detection sensor 36 is an optical sensor arranged on the outer periphery of the insertion port guide 26G, and is composed of a pair of a light emitting section and a light receiving section. This residual detection sensor 36 notifies the coin control section 25 of the light receiving result of the detection light irradiated from the light emitting surface 36a of the light emitting section at the light receiving surface of the light receiving section. Based on this light receiving result, the coin control section 25 determines whether or not a coin is present (i.e., whether or not it remains) in the insertion space 26S. Specifically, when the coin blocks the detection light, the residual detection sensor 36 notifies the coin control section 25 of the light receiving result indicating that the detection light is not received. On the other hand, when the coin does not block the detection light, the residual detection sensor 36 notifies the coin control section 25 of the light receiving result indicating that the detection light is received. Based on the light reception results, the coin control unit 25 detects whether or not coins have been inserted into the coin insertion unit 26 when the counting operation begins, and whether or not coins remain in the coin insertion unit 26 before counting ends.

When the coin insertion section 26 detects by the residual detection sensor 36 that a coin has been inserted into the insertion space 26S, it rotates the motor 38 and transmits the driving force to the disk 26C via the drive gear 39, rotating the disk 26C counterclockwise in a plan view, and centrifugal force acts on the coin, transporting it to the outer periphery of the disk 26C and moving it to the gate 40 located on the rear right side. The gate 40 separates the coins one by one and passes them through to the pay-out roller 41 (Figure 2) located behind the gate 40. The pay-out roller 41 is supplied with the driving force of the motor 38 and rotates, paying out the coins separated by the gate 40 and handing them over to the transport section 30.

[1-4. Configuration of cleaning mechanism]
Furthermore, the coin insertion portion 26 is provided with a cleaning mechanism 44 shown in Fig. 8. The cleaning mechanism 44 is composed of a sensor cleaning guide 46 and a guide up-down movement mechanism 50. For convenience of drawing in Fig. 8, the residual detection sensor 36 is shown separated to the left side from the cleaning mechanism 44.

[1-4-1. Configuration of sensor cleaning guide]
As shown in FIG. 8, the sensor cleaning guide 46 is formed with a guide main body 46a, a guide protrusion 46b, and a guide shaft holding portion 46c.

The guide body 46a is a ring-shaped member that is arranged to surround the outer periphery of the inlet guide 26G and is capable of reciprocating movement in the vertical direction.

The guide protrusion 46b is a rectangular column-shaped member arranged to face the residual detection sensor 36 at the same position as the residual detection sensor 36 in the circumferential direction of the guide body 46a, and protrudes downward from the lower surface side of the guide body 46a. The guide protrusion 46b corresponding to the residual detection sensor 36 arranged at the rear of the outer periphery of the insertion port guide 26G is not shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8. The cleaning mohair 47 is attached to the mohair attachment part 49 formed at the lower end of the outer periphery side surface of the guide body 46a in the guide protrusion 46b. The cleaning mohair 47 is composed of a large number of fine and soft hairs extending from the guide protrusion 46b toward the light-emitting surface 36a of the residual detection sensor 36. The cleaning mohair 47 cleans the light-emitting surface 36a by moving up and down while abutting against the light-emitting surface 36a of the residual detection sensor 36. Hereinafter, the state in which the cleaning mohair 47 is in contact with the light-emitting surface 36a will also be referred to as the contact state, and the state in which the cleaning mohair 47 is not in contact with the light-emitting surface 36a will also be referred to as the non-contact state.

In addition, above the mohair attachment portion 49 in the guide protrusion 46b, a detection light passing hole 48, for example in the shape of a rectangular prism, is drilled through the guide body 46a from the outer peripheral surface to the inner peripheral surface. When the sensor cleaning guide is in the lowered state shown in FIG. 6, the detection light passing hole 48 as a light passing portion faces the light emitting surface 36a, thereby allowing the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 to pass through. In addition, below the lower end of the guide protrusion 46b, no member that blocks the detection light is disposed between the residual detection sensor 36 and the input port guide 26G. In this way, the guide protrusion 46b allows the detection light to pass on both the top and bottom of the mohair attachment portion 49 (i.e., the cleaning mohair 47).

The guide shaft holding portion 46c protrudes from the guide body portion 46a in the outer circumferential direction and is formed with a holding portion horizontal portion 46c1 and a holding portion vertical portion 46c2. The holding portion horizontal portion 46c1 is a plate-shaped member that extends in the horizontal direction and protrudes from the guide body portion 46a in the outer circumferential direction.

The holding part vertical part 46c2 is a plate-like member along the vertical direction, and protrudes downward from the tip of the holding part horizontal part 46c1. Two cylindrical shaft sliding holes 46ca are drilled in the holding part vertical part 46c2, penetrating from the upper end surface to the lower end surface. A shaft 51, which is fixed so as not to move and extends along the vertical direction, is slidably inserted into the shaft sliding holes 46ca. As a result, the sensor cleaning guide 46 is held by the shaft 51 and is configured to be movable up and down along the extension direction of the shaft 51. In addition, a cylindrical engagement protrusion 46cb protrudes toward the cleaning lever 52 from the end surface of the holding part vertical part 46c2 facing the cleaning lever 52. This engagement protrusion 46cb engages with the engagement part 52b of the cleaning lever 52.

[1-4-2. Configuration of the guide up/down movement mechanism]
On the other hand, the guide up-down movement mechanism 50 serving as a cleaning member movement mechanism is composed of a shaft 51, a cleaning lever 52 and a spring 53, and moves the sensor cleaning guide 46 up and down in conjunction with the forward and backward movement of the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5.

Two shafts 51 are arranged, each cylindrical and extending vertically and fixed so as not to move. The shafts 51 are slidably inserted into the shaft sliding holes 46ca in the guide shaft holding portion 46c, thereby holding the sensor cleaning guide 46 and allowing the sensor cleaning guide 46 to move up and down in the upward direction du or downward direction dd relative to the shafts 51.

The cleaning lever 52 is positioned on the outer periphery of the inlet guide 26G relative to the holding portion vertical portion 46c2, and is shaped like a capital letter "L" overall. It is rotatable around a rotation fulcrum 52a supported by a frame (not shown) that is not linked to the vertical movement of the sensor cleaning guide 46.

The front end of the cleaning lever 52 is formed with an engagement portion 52b that is recessed toward the rear. The engagement protrusion 46cb of the guide shaft holding portion 46c of the sensor cleaning guide 46 fits inside the engagement portion 52b. Therefore, when the cleaning lever 52 rotates in the pull-out rotation direction rw, which is the counterclockwise direction around the rotation fulcrum 52a in the left side view, the engagement portion 52b lifts the engagement protrusion 46cb upward, thereby raising the sensor cleaning guide 46. On the other hand, when the cleaning lever 52 rotates in the storage rotation direction rp, which is the clockwise direction around the rotation fulcrum 52a in the left side view, the engagement portion 52b lifts the engagement protrusion 46cb downward, thereby lowering the sensor cleaning guide 46. In this way, the cleaning lever 52 raises or lowers the sensor cleaning guide 46 by rotating. Hereinafter, the state in which the cleaning lever 52 is fully rotated in the storage rotation direction rp will be referred to as the storage rotation state shown in FIG. 6, and the state in which the cleaning lever 52 is fully rotated in the pull-out rotation direction rw will be referred to as the pull-out rotation state shown in FIG. 7. In the storage rotation state, the cleaning mohair 47 is positioned below the light-emitting surface 36a as the sensor cleaning guide 46 descends. On the other hand, in the pull-out rotation state, the cleaning mohair 47 is positioned above the light-emitting surface 36a as the sensor cleaning guide 46 ascends.

On the other hand, an abutment portion 52c that bends upward is formed at the rear end of the cleaning lever 52. The abutment portion 52c is located rearward of the rear end of the guide shaft holding portion 46c.

The spring 53 is a compression spring, and its lower end abuts against a frame (not shown) and its upper end abuts against the underside of the horizontal part 46c1 of the holding part, so that it is in a compressed state. Therefore, the spring 53 biases the sensor cleaning guide 46 upward and biases the cleaning lever 52 in the rotation direction rw when pulled out.

In the storage state shown in FIG. 4, the contact portion 52c of the cleaning lever 52 contacts the front surface of the front-side upright portion 24F of the device housing 24, and the cleaning lever 52 rotates from the pull-out rotation state in the pull-out rotation direction rp against the biasing force of the spring 53 in the pull-out rotation direction rw to the pull-out rotation state. Therefore, in the storage state, the cleaning lever 52 lowers the sensor cleaning guide 46 to the sensor cleaning guide lowered state shown in FIG. 6. On the other hand, in the pull-out state shown in FIG. 5, the contact portion 52c of the cleaning lever 52 is separated forward from the front surface of the front-side upright portion 24F of the device housing 24, and the biasing force of the spring 53 causes the cleaning lever 52 to rotate from the pull-out rotation state in the pull-out rotation direction rw to the pull-out rotation state. Therefore, in the pull-out state, the cleaning lever 52 raises the sensor cleaning guide 46 to the sensor cleaning guide raised state shown in FIG. 7.

[1-5. Operation of cleaning mechanism]
In such a configuration, when maintenance (servicing work) is performed on the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5, which is in the stored state (Figure 4), is pulled out in the withdrawal direction dw from the device housing 24 by a cashier or the like to the pulled out state (Figure 5), and the cleaning lever 52, whose abutment portion 52c was abutting against the front upright portion 24F of the device housing 24 in the stored rotated state (Figure 6), moves away from the device housing 24 in the pull-out direction dw, thereby rotating in the pull-out rotation direction rw and lifting the sensor cleaning guide 46 to the sensor cleaning guide raised state (Figure 7).

In this way, by raising the sensor cleaning guide 46, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 can move the cleaning mohair 47 from below to above the light-emitting surface 36a while contacting the light-emitting surface 36a. This allows the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 to remove dust and other particles adhering to the light-emitting surface 36a.

In this withdrawn state, the cashier or the like can move the sensor cleaning guide 46 up and down by repeatedly rotating the cleaning lever 52 in the withdrawal rotation direction rw and the storage rotation direction rp, thereby manually cleaning the light-emitting surface 36a. Also, in this withdrawn state, the optical axis OA of the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 is located below the lower end of the guide protrusion 46b below the cleaning mohair 47, as shown in the upper right of FIG. 7. Therefore, in the withdrawn state, the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 passes below the lower end of the guide protrusion 46b below the cleaning mohair 47. This allows the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 to check for remaining coins inside the coin insertion section 26 in the withdrawn state, for example when performing a test operation.

After that, when maintenance of the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 is completed and the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 in the withdrawn state (Figure 5) is pushed in the storage direction dp by a cashier or the like to be stored in the device housing 24 and put into the stored state (Figure 4), the cleaning lever 52, which was separated from the device housing 24 in the withdrawal direction dw in the withdrawal rotation state (Figure 7), abuts against the front upright portion 24F of the device housing 24, and rotates in the storage rotation direction rp, lowering the sensor cleaning guide 46 to the sensor cleaning guide lowered state (Figure 6).

In this way, by lowering the sensor cleaning guide 46, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 can move the cleaning mohair 47 from above to below the light-emitting surface 36a while contacting the light-emitting surface 36a. This allows the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 to remove dust and other particles adhering to the light-emitting surface 36a.

In this stored state, the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 has its optical axis OA positioned at the detection light passage hole 48 above the cleaning mohair 47 of the guide protrusion 46b, as shown in the upper right of Figure 6. Therefore, in the stored state, the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 passes through the detection light passage hole 48 above the cleaning mohair 47 of the guide protrusion 46b. This allows the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 to check for remaining coins inside the coin insertion section 26 even in the stored state, i.e., when the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 is in operation.

[1-6. Effects, etc.]
In the above configuration, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 rotates the cleaning lever 52 in the cleaning mechanism 44 in a withdrawal rotation direction rw and a storage rotation direction rp, directions in which the upward direction du and the downward direction dd are included as part of the rotation trajectory, in conjunction with movement in the withdrawal direction dw or the storage direction dp relative to the device housing 24 when the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 transitions between the stored state and the withdrawal state, thereby raising or lowering the sensor cleaning guide 46 relative to the residual detection sensor 36.

The coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 can therefore clean the light-emitting surface 36a by bringing the cleaning mohair 47 fixed to the sensor cleaning guide 46 into contact with the light-emitting surface 36a of the residual detection sensor 36 and moving the cleaning mohair 47 up and down, eliminating the condition in which dust or the like is attached to the light-emitting surface 36a and maintaining the detection performance of residual coins in the coin insertion section 26.

As a result, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 can clean the light-emitting surface 36a during attachment and detachment operations to and from the device housing 24, i.e., during movement in the withdrawal direction dw or storage direction dp relative to the device housing 24, which are operations performed to remove jammed coins or for daily maintenance, without the need for a cashier or other person to intentionally operate the cleaning lever 52.

Thus, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 eliminates the need for a cashier or other person to manually clean the residual detection sensor 36 by pulling the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 out of the device housing 24 and manually cleaning the residual detection sensor 36, thereby preventing a decrease in detection ability due to forgetting to clean the residual detection sensor 36.

In addition, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 stops the up and down movement of the sensor cleaning guide 46 in the withdrawn state or the stored state in which the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 has completely moved in the withdrawal direction dw or the storage direction dp relative to the device housing 24. Furthermore, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 passes the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 below the lower end of the guide protrusion 46b in the withdrawn state (FIG. 5), while passing the detection light through the detection light passage hole 48 above the cleaning mohair 47 of the guide protrusion 46b in the stored state (FIG. 4). In other words, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 has the cleaning mechanism 44 blocking the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 while moving in the withdrawal direction dw or the storage direction dp relative to the device housing 24, but in the withdrawn state or the stored state, the cleaning mechanism 44 is retracted from the detection light so as not to block the detection light. Therefore, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 can pass detection light through the insertion space 26S whether in the withdrawn or stored state, and can check whether coins remain inside the coin insertion section 26.

According to the above configuration, the change machine 3 as a currency handling device is provided with a coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 as a coin processing device including a coin insertion section 26 into which coins are inserted, a residual detection sensor 36 having a light-emitting section that irradiates detection light into the coin insertion section 26 and a light-receiving section that receives the detection light irradiated from the light-emitting section, and a cleaning mechanism 44 having cleaning mohair 47 as a cleaning member that cleans either or both of the light-emitting section and the light-receiving section, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 is provided so as to be able to be withdrawn and stored in the device housing 24, and the cleaning mechanism 44 cleans either or both of the light-emitting section and the light-receiving section with the cleaning mohair 47 when the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 is withdrawn or stored in the device housing 24.

This eliminates the need for manual operation just to clean the residual detection sensor 36, and prevents a decline in detection capability due to forgetting to clean the residual detection sensor 36.

2. Second embodiment
[2-1. Configuration of the cash register change machine, change machine, and coin deposit and dispensing device]
As shown in Fig. 1, the cash register change machine 101 according to the second embodiment differs from the cash register change machine 1 according to the first embodiment in that it has a change machine 103 instead of the change machine 3, but is otherwise configured in the same manner. The change machine 103 according to the second embodiment differs from the change machine 3 according to the first embodiment in that it has a coin depositing and dispensing device 105 instead of the coin depositing and dispensing device 5, but is otherwise configured in the same manner. As shown in Fig. 2, the coin depositing and dispensing device 105 according to the second embodiment differs from the coin depositing and dispensing device 5 according to the first embodiment in that it has a coin insertion unit 126 instead of the coin insertion unit 26, but is otherwise configured in the same manner.

[2-2. Configuration of coin insertion section]
As shown in Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12, in which the same symbols are used for parts corresponding to those in Figures 4 and 5, and in Figures 13, 14, 15 and 16, in which the same symbols are used for parts corresponding to those in Figures 6, 7 and 8, the coin insertion portion 126 of the second embodiment differs from the coin insertion portion 26 of the first embodiment in that it has a cleaning mechanism 144 instead of the cleaning mechanism 44, but is otherwise configured in the same manner.

[2-3. Configuration of cleaning mechanism]
The cleaning mechanism 144 of the second embodiment differs from the cleaning mechanism 44 of the first embodiment in that it has a sensor cleaning guide 146 instead of the sensor cleaning guide 46, and a guide up-down movement mechanism 150 instead of the guide up-down movement mechanism 50, but is otherwise configured in the same manner.

[2-3-1. Configuration of sensor cleaning guide]
16, the sensor cleaning guide 146 according to the second embodiment differs from the sensor cleaning guide 46 according to the first embodiment in that it has a guide protrusion 146b instead of the guide protrusion 46b, but is otherwise configured in the same manner. The guide protrusion 146b according to the second embodiment differs from the guide protrusion 46b according to the first embodiment in that it does not have the detection light passing hole 48, but is otherwise configured in the same manner.

[2-3-2. Configuration of the guide up/down movement mechanism]
The guide up-down movement mechanism 150 according to the second embodiment is configured similarly to the guide up-down movement mechanism 50 according to the first embodiment, except that it has a cam plate 60 in place of the cleaning lever 52. The cam plate 60 is formed in a rectangular shape that is thin in the left-right direction and extends in the front-rear direction, and is biased rearward by a spring (not shown).

A sliding groove 60b is formed near the lower side of the cam plate 60. The sliding groove 60b is a straight line extending in the front-rear direction and is drilled so as to penetrate the cam plate 60 from the right side to the left side. A shaft (not shown) such as a stud fixed to a frame (not shown) that is not linked to the up-down movement of the sensor cleaning guide 146 and the front-rear movement of the cam plate 60 is slidably fitted into the sliding groove 60b. Therefore, the cam plate 60 is restricted from moving in the up-down direction by the shaft fitted into the sliding groove 60b, and can move only in the front-rear direction by sliding the shaft inside the sliding groove 60b. Note that the sliding groove 60b is not shown in Figures 9, 10, 11, and 12.

A cam groove 60a is formed on the upper front side of the sliding groove 60b in the cam plate 60. The cam groove 60a is shaped like a capital letter "V" when viewed from the left side, and is drilled so as to penetrate from the right side to the left side of the cam plate 60. Specifically, the cam groove 60a is formed in a straight line from the rear end toward the front direction, then in a straight line diagonally downward, and when it reaches the center of the cam groove 60a in the front-to-rear direction, it is formed in a straight line diagonally upward and forward to the front end. The vertical heights of the front end and rear end of the cam groove 60a are the same. In this way, the cam groove 60a is shaped to be inclined in the upward direction du and downward direction dd with respect to the pull-out direction dw and the storage direction dp.

The engagement protrusion 46cb of the guide shaft holding portion 46c of the sensor cleaning guide 146 is slidably fitted into the cam groove 60a. Therefore, when the engagement protrusion 46cb moves forward from the state where the engagement protrusion 46cb is located at the rear end of the cam groove 60a, the cam groove 60a lowers the sensor cleaning guide 146, and then pushes the engagement protrusion 46cb upward to raise the sensor cleaning guide 146. On the other hand, when the engagement protrusion 46cb moves backward from the state where the engagement protrusion 46cb is located at the front end of the cam groove 60a, the cam groove 60a lowers the sensor cleaning guide 146, and then lifts the engagement protrusion 46cb upward to raise the sensor cleaning guide 146. In this way, the cam plate 60 moves the engagement protrusion 46cb inside the cam groove 60a in response to the forward and backward movement of the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105, thereby raising or lowering the sensor cleaning guide 146.

The rear end of the cam plate 60 forms an abutment portion 60c. The abutment portion 60c is located rearward of the rear end of the guide shaft holding portion 46c.

When the cam plate 60 is in the stored state shown in FIG. 9, the abutment portion 60c abuts against the front surface of the front-side upright portion 24F of the device housing 24. At this time, the engagement protrusion 46cb is located at the rear end of the cam groove 60a. In this stored state, the cam plate 60 raises the sensor cleaning guide 146, resulting in the sensor cleaning guide raised state shown in FIG. 13. On the other hand, when the cam plate 60 is in the pulled-out state shown in FIG. 12, the abutment portion 60c is spaced forward from the front surface of the front-side upright portion 24F of the device housing 24. At this time, the engagement protrusion 46cb is located at the front end of the cam groove 60a. In this pulled-out state, the cam plate 60 raises the sensor cleaning guide 146, resulting in the sensor cleaning guide raised state shown in FIG. 15.

[2-4. Operation of cleaning mechanism]
In this configuration, when the coin depositing and dispensing device 105 is pulled out in the pull-out direction dw from the device housing 24 by a cashier or the like in the stored state (FIG. 9) during maintenance of the coin depositing and dispensing device 105, the coin depositing and dispensing device 105 enters a mid-pull-out state between the stored state and the pulled-out state as shown in FIG. 10. At this time, since the cam plate 60 is biased rearward, the engagement protrusion 46cb located at the rear end of the cam groove 60a moves forward and downward along the cam groove 60a while the contact portion 60c of the cam plate 60 remains in contact with the housing front side standing portion 24F of the device housing 24, and moves to the center of the cam groove 60a in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 10. As a result, the cam plate 60 lowers the sensor cleaning guide 146 to the sensor cleaning guide lowered state (FIG. 14).

In this way, by lowering the sensor cleaning guide 146, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 can move the cleaning mohair 47 from above the light-emitting surface 36a to a vertical position facing the light-emitting surface 36a while contacting the light-emitting surface 36a. This allows the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 to remove dust and other particles adhering to the light-emitting surface 36a.

When the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 is pulled further out in the pull-out direction dw from the device housing 24 by a cashier or the like, the cam plate 60 is biased rearward, so that the abutment portion 60c of the cam plate 60 remains in contact with the front upright portion 24F of the device housing 24, and the engagement protrusion 46cb moves forward and upward along the cam groove 60a to the front end of the cam groove 60a as shown in FIG. 11. This causes the cam plate 60 to raise the sensor cleaning guide 146 to the sensor cleaning guide raised state (FIG. 15).

In this way, by raising the sensor cleaning guide 146, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 can move the cleaning mohair 47 from a vertical position facing the light-emitting surface 36a to above the light-emitting surface 36a while contacting the light-emitting surface 36a. This allows the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 to remove dust and other particles adhering to the light-emitting surface 36a.

When the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 is pulled further out from the device housing 24 in the withdrawal direction dw by a cashier or the like, the engagement protrusion 46cb comes into contact with the front end of the cam groove 60a, applying a force stronger forward than the biasing force of a spring (not shown). With the engagement protrusion 46cb positioned at the front end of the cam groove 60a, the engagement protrusion 46cb pulls the cam plate 60 in the withdrawal direction dw, and as shown in FIG. 12, the contact portion 60c of the cam plate 60 moves away from the device housing 24 in the withdrawal direction dw. As a result, the cam plate 60 moves in the withdrawal direction dw together with the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105.

In this withdrawn state, a cashier or the like can operate the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 to repeatedly move back and forth, thereby moving the sensor cleaning guide 146 up and down and manually cleaning the light-emitting surface 36a. Also, in this withdrawn state, the detection light of the remaining detection sensor 36 passes below the lower end of the guide protrusion 146b that is below the cleaning mohair 47. Therefore, in the withdrawn state, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 can check for remaining coins inside the coin insertion section 126, for example when performing a test operation.

In this way, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 moves forward when transitioning from the stored state to the withdrawn state. Therefore, the cam plate 60 moves backward relative to the inlet guide 26G, which moves forward together with the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105, until the engagement protrusion 46cb reaches the front end of the cam groove 60a. Also, when transitioning from the stored state to the withdrawn state, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 lowers the sensor cleaning guide 146 from the sensor cleaning guide raised state (FIGS. 9 and 13) to the sensor cleaning guide lowered state (FIGS. 10 and 14), and then raises it again to the sensor cleaning guide raised state (FIGS. 11, 12, and 15). Therefore, when the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 transitions from the storage state to the withdrawal state, the cleaning mohair 47 can be moved from above the light-emitting surface 36a to a vertical position facing the light-emitting surface 36a while in contact with the light-emitting surface 36a, and then moved back above the light-emitting surface 36a while in contact with the light-emitting surface 36a. This allows the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 to remove dust and other particles adhering to the light-emitting surface 36a.

After that, maintenance of the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 is completed, and the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 in the withdrawn state (FIG. 12) is pushed in the storage direction dp by a cashier or the like and stored in the device housing 24. At this time, when the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 transitions from the withdrawn state to the stored state, the cam plate 60 and the engagement protrusion 46cb perform the opposite operation to that during withdrawal described above, so that the sensor cleaning guide 146 is lowered from the sensor cleaning guide raised state (FIGS. 11, 12, and 15) to the sensor cleaning guide lowered state (FIGS. 10 and 14), and then raised again to the sensor cleaning guide raised state (FIGS. 9 and 13).

In this way, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 moves backward when transitioning from the withdrawn state to the stored state. Therefore, when the abutment portion 60c of the cam plate 60 abuts against the front upright portion 24F of the device housing 24, the cam plate 60 moves forward relative to the insertion port guide 26G that moves backward together with the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105. In addition, when transitioning from the withdrawn state to the stored state, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 can move the cleaning mohair 47 from above the light-emitting surface 36a to a vertical position facing the light-emitting surface 36a while contacting the light-emitting surface 36a, as in the transition from the stored state to the withdrawn state, and then move the cleaning mohair 47 back above the light-emitting surface 36a while contacting the light-emitting surface 36a. This allows the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 to remove dust and the like that has adhered to the light-emitting surface 36a.

In this stored state, the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 passes below the lower end of the cleaning mohair 47 in the guide protrusion 146b, just as in the withdrawn state. Therefore, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 can check the remaining coins inside the coin insertion section 26 even in the stored state, i.e., when the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 is in operation.

[2-5. Effects, etc.]
In the above configuration, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 moves the engagement protrusion 46cb within the cam groove 60a in the cam plate 60 in a direction inclined in the upward direction du and downward direction dd relative to the withdrawal direction dw and storage direction dp in conjunction with movement in the withdrawal direction dw or storage direction dp relative to the device housing 24 when the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 transitions between the withdrawal state and the storage state, thereby raising or lowering the sensor cleaning guide 146 relative to the residual detection sensor 36.

The coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 can therefore clean the light-emitting surface 36a by moving the cleaning mohair 47 fixed to the sensor cleaning guide 146 up and down while the cleaning mohair 47 is in contact with the light-emitting surface 36a of the residual detection sensor 36, eliminating the condition in which dust or the like is attached to the light-emitting surface 36a and maintaining the detection performance of residual coins in the coin insertion section 26.

In addition, when the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 according to the first embodiment transitions from the stored state (FIGS. 4 and 6) to the withdrawn state (FIGS. 5 and 7), the cleaning lever 52 is rotated only in one direction, the withdrawn rotation direction rw, from the stored rotation state to the withdrawn rotation state, and the sensor cleaning guide 46 is moved only in one direction, the upward direction du, from the sensor cleaning guide lowered state to the sensor cleaning guide raised state. Therefore, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 is in the sensor cleaning guide lowered state in the stored state (FIGS. 4 and 6), and in the withdrawn state (FIGS. 5 and 7), the sensor cleaning guide is in the raised state. Therefore, the up-down position of the sensor cleaning guide 46 in the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 is different between the stored state (FIGS. 4 and 6) and the withdrawn state (FIGS. 5 and 7). For this reason, in the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5, in order to prevent the sensor cleaning guide 46 from blocking the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 when the sensor cleaning guide is in the lowered state, it was necessary to form a detection light passage hole 48 above the mohair attachment portion 49 in the sensor cleaning guide 46.

In contrast, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 forms a cam groove 60a shaped like a capital letter "V" in the cam plate 60, and slides the engagement protrusion 46cb of the sensor cleaning guide 146 inside the cam groove 60a. Therefore, when the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 transitions from the storage state (FIGS. 9 and 13) to the withdrawal state (FIGS. 12 and 15), the engagement protrusion 46cb is lowered once and then raised, so that the sensor cleaning guide 146 moves up and down. Therefore, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 can raise the sensor cleaning guide in both the storage state (FIGS. 9 and 13) and the withdrawal state (FIGS. 12 and 15). Therefore, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 can make the vertical position of the sensor cleaning guide 146 the same in the storage state (FIGS. 9 and 13) and the withdrawal state (FIGS. 12 and 15). Therefore, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 does not need to transmit the detection light through the upper side of the mohair attachment portion 49, and therefore does not need to form a detection light passage hole 48 in the sensor cleaning guide 146. As a result, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 can simplify the shape of the sensor cleaning guide 146 compared to the sensor cleaning guide 46, and can increase the strength of the sensor cleaning guide 146.

Furthermore, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 does not stop in the sensor cleaning guide lowered state (FIG. 14) in either the stored state (FIG. 9) or the withdrawn state (FIG. 12). Therefore, in the sensor cleaning guide lowered state (FIG. 14), the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 can simply lower the sensor cleaning guide 146 to a vertical position where the cleaning mohair 47 faces the light emitting surface 36a (FIG. 14). As a result, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 does not need to lower the sensor cleaning guide 46 (FIG. 6) so that the detection light passing hole 48 faces the light emitting surface 36a, that is, to a position where the light emitting surface 36a reaches above the cleaning mohair 47, as in the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5. Therefore, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 can reduce the vertical movement of the sensor cleaning guide 146 when transitioning between the sensor cleaning guide raised state and the sensor cleaning guide lowered state, compared to the sensor cleaning guide 46. This allows the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 to have a smaller device size in the height direction compared to the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5.

Furthermore, when the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 transitions from the storage state (FIGS. 9 and 13) to the withdrawal state (FIGS. 12 and 15), the cleaning mohair 47 moves up and down reciprocatingly relative to the light-emitting surface 36a by transitioning between the sensor cleaning guide raised state, the sensor cleaning guide lowered state, and the sensor cleaning guide raised state. Therefore, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 105 can efficiently clean the light-emitting surface 36a during the transition between the storage state and the withdrawal state, compared to the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5, which transitions between the sensor cleaning guide lowered state and the sensor cleaning guide raised state when transitioning from the storage state (FIGS. 4 and 6) to the withdrawal state (FIGS. 5 and 7), and moves the cleaning mohair 47 only in one direction, upward, relative to the light-emitting surface 36a.

In other respects, the coin deposit and withdrawal device 105 according to the second embodiment can achieve the same effects as the coin deposit and withdrawal device 5 according to the first embodiment.

3. Other embodiments
In the above-described first embodiment, the sensor cleaning guide 46 is moved up and down by rotating the cleaning lever 52 in conjunction with the movement of the coin depositing and dispensing device 5 in the front-rear direction, and in the second embodiment, the sensor cleaning guide 146 is moved up and down by moving the engagement protrusion 46cb in the cam groove 60a of the cam plate 60 in a direction inclined up and down with respect to the front-rear direction in conjunction with the movement of the coin depositing and dispensing device 105 in the front-rear direction. The present invention is not limited to this, and the sensor cleaning guide 46 or 146 may be moved up and down by transmitting the moving force of the coin depositing and dispensing device 5 or 105 in the front-rear direction to the sensor cleaning guide 46 or 146 by various other mechanisms. In addition, the cleaning mohair 47 may be moved in various moving methods, such as moving in the front-rear direction or left-right direction, or rotating, to clean the light-emitting surface 36a of the residual detection sensor 36.

In the second embodiment described above, the cam groove 60a of the cam plate 60 is shaped like a capital letter "V" when viewed from the left side. The present invention is not limited to this, and the cam groove 60a may be shaped like a capital letter "U" or other various shapes. In short, the cam groove 60a may be shaped such that the inner side, which is the central part in the front-to-rear direction, bends downward with respect to the pull-out direction dw and the storage direction dp (front-to-rear direction). Furthermore, the cam groove 60a may be shaped like a mountain, which is a "V" shape that is inverted upside down. Also, the cam groove 60a of the cam plate 60 may be shaped like only the rear half of the capital letter "V" shape when viewed from the left side. In this case, a cam groove 60a is formed so that the mohair attachment portion 49 moves below the light emitting surface 36a when the sensor cleaning guide is in the lowered state, and a detection light passing hole 48 is drilled above the mohair attachment portion 49 in the guide protrusion 146b of the sensor cleaning guide 146, as in the first embodiment, to allow the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 to pass through when the sensor cleaning guide is in the lowered state. In short, the cam groove 60a should include at least a portion formed along the pull-out direction dw and the storage direction dp as a whole, while being formed along a direction that intersects with the pull-out direction dw and the storage direction dp so as to be inclined in the upward direction du and the downward direction dd.

In the second embodiment described above, the vertical heights of the front end and rear end of the cam groove 60a of the cam plate 60 are the same. The present invention is not limited to this, and the vertical heights of the front end and rear end of the cam groove 60a of the cam plate 60 do not have to be the same as long as the lower end of the guide protrusion 146b can be positioned above the light-emitting surface 36a in both the stored state and the pulled-out state.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, the configuration of the sensor cleaning guide 46 and the guide vertical movement mechanism 50 may be inverted upside down. The same applies to the second embodiment.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned first embodiment, the cleaning mohair 47 is used to clean the light-emitting surface 36a of the light-emitting part of the residual detection sensor 36. The present invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient to use the cleaning mohair 47 to clean at least one of the light-emitting surface 36a of the light-emitting part or the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving part of the residual detection sensor 36, or it may be possible to clean both the light-emitting surface 36a and the light-receiving surface. Also, a sponge may be used instead of the cleaning mohair 47. In short, any member that can remove dust and the like adhering to the light-emitting surface 36a by coming into contact with the light-emitting surface 36a as a cleaning member may be used. The same applies to the second embodiment.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, in the pulled-out state, a cashier or the like can rotate the cleaning lever 52 to move the sensor cleaning guide 46 up and down, thereby manually cleaning the light-emitting surface 36a. The present invention is not limited to this, and in the pulled-out state, a cashier or the like can also manually clean the light-emitting surface 36a by holding the sensor cleaning guide 46 and moving it up and down. The same applies to the second embodiment.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned first embodiment, a detection light passing hole 48 is formed in the guide protrusion 46b, penetrating from the outer peripheral surface to the inner peripheral surface of the guide main body 46a, and the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 is passed inside the detection light passing hole 48. The present invention is not limited to this, and a recessed portion is formed in the guide protrusion 46b, recessed from the surface on one side of the circumferential direction of the guide main body 46a toward the surface on the other side, penetrating from the outer peripheral surface to the inner peripheral surface of the guide main body 46a, and the detection light of the residual detection sensor 36 is passed through the recessed portion of the recessed portion. Alternatively, the guide protrusion 46b may be formed of a transparent material that transmits light, and the detection light may be transmitted through the recessed portion of the recessed portion.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention has been described as being applied to the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 or 105 that constitutes the change machine 3 together with the banknote deposit/withdrawal device 4. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to, for example, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 or 105 incorporated into a change machine 3 that does not have a banknote deposit/withdrawal device 4 and handles only coins.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment or other embodiments. In other words, the scope of application of the present invention extends to embodiments that arbitrarily combine the above-mentioned embodiment with part or all of the other above-mentioned embodiments, or to embodiments that extract parts of the above-mentioned embodiment.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the coin deposit/withdrawal device 5 or 105 as the coin processing device is configured by the coin insertion section 26 or 126 as the insertion port, the residual detection sensor 36 as the optical sensor, and the cleaning mechanism 44 as the cleaning mechanism, and further, the change machine 3 or 103 as the currency handling device is configured by the coin processing device and the device housing 24 as the housing. The present invention is not limited to this, and the coin processing device may be configured by an insertion port, an optical sensor, and a cleaning mechanism having various other configurations, and the currency handling device may be configured by the coin processing device and a housing having various other configurations.

The present invention can be used, for example, in a coin deposit and withdrawal device that processes coin transactions with users.

1, 101: cash register change machine, 2: POS register, 3, 103: change machine, 4: banknote deposit/withdrawal device, 5, 105: coin deposit/withdrawal device, 6: display/operation unit, 11: cash register control unit, 12: display/operation unit, 13: receipt processing unit, 21: banknote deposit/withdrawal unit, 22: banknote storage vault, 24: device housing, 24U: housing top plate, 24D: housing bottom plate, 24R: housing right side plate, 24L: housing left side plate, 24B: housing rear plate, 24S: ...Housing internal space, 24F...Housing front side standing portion, 25...Coin control portion, 26, 126...Coin insertion portion, 26S...Insertion space, 26G...Inlet guide, 26C...Disk, 27...Coin reject tray, 28...Coin dispensing tray, 30...Transport portion, 30B...Transport belt, 31...Coin discrimination portion, 32...Reject switching portion, 33...Sorting switching portion, 34...Coin storage, 35...Transport portion, 36...Residual detection sensor, 36a . . . Light emitting surface, 38... Motor, 39... Drive gear, 40... Gate, 41... Feed-out roller, 44, 144... Cleaning mechanism, 46, 146... Sensor cleaning guide, 46a... Guide main body, 46b, 146b... Guide protrusion, 47... Cleaning mohair, 48... Detection light passage hole, 49... Mohair attachment portion, 46c... Guide shaft holding portion, 46c1... Holding portion horizontal portion, 46c2... Holding portion vertical portion, 46ca... Shaft Slide hole, 46cb...engagement protrusion, 50, 150...guide up and down movement mechanism, 51...shaft, 52...cleaning lever, 52a...rotation fulcrum, 52b...engagement portion, 52c...contact portion, 53...spring, 60...cam plate, 60a...cam groove, 60b...slide groove, 60c...contact portion, dw...pulling out direction, dp...storing direction, rw...rotation direction when pulled out, rp...rotation direction when stored, du...upward direction, dd...downward direction.

Claims (12)

A coin slot into which coins are inserted;
An optical sensor having a light emitting unit that irradiates light into the insertion port and a light receiving unit that receives the light irradiated from the light emitting unit;
a cleaning mechanism having a cleaning member for cleaning either or both of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit,
The coin processing device includes:
The device is provided so as to be retractable and storable from the housing,
A currency handling device characterized in that the cleaning mechanism cleans either or both of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit with the cleaning member when the coin handling device is pulled out or stored into the housing. The cleaning mechanism includes:
A cleaning member moving mechanism that moves the cleaning member while contacting either or both of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit in conjunction with the movement of the coin processing device when the coin processing device is withdrawn or stored in the housing.
2. The currency handling device according to claim 1, further comprising: The cleaning member moving mechanism includes:
The currency handling device of claim 2, characterized in that it includes a contact portion that contacts the housing when the coin processing device is stored in the housing, and the contact portion transitions between a contact state in which it contacts the housing and a non-contact state in which it does not contact the housing, thereby transitioning the cleaning member to either a contact state in which it contacts either or both of the light receiving portion and the light emitting portion, or a non-contact state in which it does not contact the light receiving portion and the light emitting portion. The cleaning member moving mechanism includes:
A guide is provided for holding the cleaning member and for moving the cleaning member,
The guide is
The currency handling device according to claim 3, characterized in that the cleaning member is transitioned between the contact state and the non-contact state by the abutment portion moving when transitioning between the contact state and the non-contact state. The abutment portion is a rotatably provided lever,
The lever is
The currency handling device of claim 4, characterized in that the cleaning member held by the guide is transitioned to either the contact state or the non-contact state by rotating when transitioning between the abutment state and the non-contact state. The lever is
The currency handling device according to claim 5, characterized in that, when transitioning from the abutting state to the non-abutting state, the cleaning member held by the guide is moved upward by rotating in one direction. The guide is
The currency handling device of claim 6, characterized in that the light passes between the light receiving unit and the light emitting unit in both a state in which the coin processing device is stored in the housing and a state in which the coin processing device is pulled out from the housing. The guide is
A guide body portion that is movable in a vertical direction relative to the insertion port;
a guide protrusion portion extending downward from the guide body portion, the cleaning member being provided thereon, and a light passing portion for passing the light being formed above the cleaning member;
the light transmitting portion is opposed to either or both of the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion in the contact state of the lever, thereby transmitting the light through the light transmitting portion;
8. The currency handling device according to claim 7, characterized in that, when the lever is in the non-contact state, the lower end of the guide protrusion is positioned above the optical axis of the optical sensor, thereby allowing the light to pass through. The abutment portion is a cam plate that is slidably provided,
The cam plate is
The coin processing device has a cam groove including at least a portion formed along a direction inclined with respect to a moving direction when the coin processing device is withdrawn or stored into the housing,
The currency handling device of claim 4, characterized in that the cam groove slidably engages an engagement protrusion formed on the guide, and by sliding the engagement protrusion as the coin handling device moves relative to the housing, the cleaning member held in the guide is transitioned between the contact state and the non-contact state. The cam plate is
The currency handling device of claim 9, characterized in that when the coin processing device is pulled out from the housing, the cleaning member held in the guide is moved downward by moving the engagement protrusion downward along the cam groove, and the cleaning member held in the guide is moved upward by moving the engagement protrusion upward along the cam groove. The guide is
The currency handling device of claim 10, characterized in that the light passes between the light receiving unit and the light emitting unit in both a state in which the coin processing device is stored in the housing and a state in which the coin processing device is pulled out from the housing. The guide is
A guide body portion that is movable in a vertical direction relative to the insertion port;
a guide protrusion portion extending downward from the guide body portion and provided with the cleaning member,
The currency handling device described in claim 11, characterized in that when the coin processing device is stored in the housing, the lower end of the guide protrusion is positioned above the optical axis of the optical sensor to allow the light to pass, and when the coin processing device is pulled out of the housing, the cleaning member is faced to either or both of the light-emitting unit and the light-receiving unit, and then the lower end of the guide protrusion is positioned above the optical axis of the optical sensor to allow the light to pass.

Images