JPS6232838B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a coin counting management device, more specifically, the number of coins released to customers as change, the number of coins collected in a safe, and the number of coins remaining in a coin replenishing machine as change for the next business period at the business deadline. This invention relates to a vending machine equipped with a device for counting the number of tickets dispensed.

In general, vending machines (hereinafter simply referred to as vending machines) have change machines and coin supply machines (hereinafter simply referred to as vending machines).
It's simply called a replenishment machine. ) and a safe, but with conventional vending machines, the number of coins in each of the change machine, supply machine, and safe is unknown at the time of business closing, so all coins are stored in the safe at the time of business closing. The collected money was counted at a counting center and compared with sales data. Therefore,
At the time of collection, the staff must drop all the coins into a safe on-site, which results in a very long waiting time on-site.As the number of coins collected is counted after collection, back-office work also takes a lot of time. There are many drawbacks such as not being able to release the next one without taking the effort to replenish the coin supply, so the inventors of the present invention counted the number of coins collected in the safe and the number of coins remaining in the machine at the deadline. We proposed a coin counting management device that makes it possible to use remaining coins as change for the next business period.

However, with the proposed device, the staff in charge operated the cut-off switch on-site, and the safes were exchanged for the new and old ones immediately after counting was completed to enable sales for the next business period, so sales from the two business periods before and after were mixed in. Although this method has the advantage that there is no danger, it has the disadvantage that the staff must wait for a long time to count the remaining coins at the site. If the deadline switch on the vending machine is remotely controlled from the central control unit of the counting station, the vending machine will stop selling coins even though coin counting will have been completed by the time the staff arrives at the location. be placed in a state of If the sale is not canceled, the coins collected after the sale after the deadline when the change machine is full will be mixed in the safe with the coins before the deadline. In machines such as railway ticket vending machines that are used by a large number of passengers, it is undesirable to leave many of the machines in a suspended state for a long period of time.

This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a method for counting the coins in the change machine and replenishing machine at the business deadline, and using all or part of the coins as change again. In a vending machine equipped with a coin counting management device that circulates to the replenishing machine, and also counts coins collected when the change machine is full and coins collected when the coin is collected at the deadline and collects them in a safe, sales can be made by remotely controlling the deadline switch. Automatically closes one or more machines one by one and the staff goes to collect the money when all machines are closed, thereby eliminating the need for the staff to wait while the machine is running the deadline and terminating the deadline. The purpose of this vending machine is to enable sales without the need for an attendant to change the safe.

Next, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a group of vending machines such as ticket vending machines will be described with reference to the drawings.

Before the sale starts, cassettes 1 containing coins of one denomination, as many as the number of denominations to be used as change in the vending machine, are attached to predetermined positions of the vending machine from the outside, the shutters of each cassette are opened, When the coins are naturally dropped into the replenishing machine 2 provided corresponding to each cassette and the power is turned on to the vending machine, each change machine 3 does not contain coins yet, so the coins installed in each change machine 3 are refilled. A certain out-of-change detector 15 operates and outputs an out-of-change detection signal _i1 . Based on each out-of-change detection signal i ₁ , the control unit CONT outputs a change replenishment command signal s ₁ from the replenishment control means R ₁ provided for each denomination, and based on this signal s ₁ , the drive circuit 2D is activated. The belt 2a of the replenishing machine 2 is driven for a predetermined time _t1 to drop a certain amount of coins from the replenishing machine into the change machine 3. The belt 2a of the replenishing machine 2 drops the coins therein only while it is being rotated, and blocks the outlet while the belt 2a is stopped. (See Figure 7a). By replenishing the change machines for all the denominations used for change, the vending machines are in financial condition to be able to sell them.

If the coin that the customer inserts from the slot 4 is determined to be a counterfeit coin by the coin verification machine 5, it will be returned to the withdrawal slot 6, and if it is a genuine coin, it will be temporarily held in a holding device (not shown) and will be returned to the coin when the next customer inserts it. It is stored in the change machine 3. The amount x inserted from the coin validation machine 5 is the purchase amount y from the product selection button Bs.
When the value is greater than or equal to 1, the calculation unit AR inputs a release condition fulfillment signal _i2 to the control unit CONT. Based on this, the control section outputs a product release command signal. Also, when the input amount is greater than the purchase amount, the calculation section will send a change signal.
Print i ₃ . This change signal i ₃ contains the number of coins to be dispensed for each denomination, and is input to the change control means R ₂ provided for each denomination of the control section. Based on the input of this change signal _i3 , the change control means _R2 outputs a change release command signal _s2 of the relevant denomination, rotates the motor 7 via the motor drive circuit 7D, and outputs the change release command signal s2 of the relevant denomination. Then, the solenoid 8 of the sorting means is energized, and the coin conveying belt 13 is rotated in the normal direction via the motor control circuit 13D (see FIG. 7b).

As a result, the coins are discharged one by one from the change machine 3 through the disk 9 and the coin discharge path 10, and the flap 11 of the sorting means is sucked into the dotted line position in FIG.
The coins then proceed to the chute 12 and are discharged as change to the outlet 6 by the coin conveying belt 13 which rotates normally.

While the change discharge command signal _s2 is being output, the number of coins output from the coin discharge detection signal _s3 from the discharge detector 14 provided in the coin discharge path 10 is counted by the counting circuit _C1 , and the number of coins is counted for each denomination. The number of change released is counted.
The coin discharge detection signal _s3 is also input to the calculation unit AR,
When the output number matches the set number of coins to be dispensed, the calculation unit AR stops outputting the change signal _i3 , so the change dispensing command signal _s2 also disappears. and,
The sorting means is restored by demagnetizing the solenoid 8, the motor 7 is stopped, and the coin conveying belt 13 is stopped after a certain period of time.

Furthermore, each time the out-of-change detector 15 operates due to the release of change during sales, the belt 2a of the replenishing machine is rotated for a predetermined time _t1 , and a fixed amount of coins is replenished into the change machine. When the coins in the replenishing machine run out, the out-of-change detection continues for a predetermined period of time and the timer outputs an output, so the vending machine stops selling based on the output. In this case, external replenishment using a cassette is required for the denomination in question.

When the full detector 16 outputs a full detection signal _i4 according to the coins inserted by the customer and gives this to the control section, the collection control means _R3 of the control section outputs a collection command signal _s4 , and the motor 7 only rotates. Then, the coin is ejected from the change machine (see Figure 7c). While the solenoid 8 is not energized, the flapper 11 opens the entrance to the collection and retention chute 17, so that coins to be discharged fall into this chute.

The chute 17 has a volume capable of holding a considerable number of coins therein, and is provided at its lower end with a shutter 19 whose outlet is normally opened by a tension spring 18 and can be closed by a solenoid 20. Since the solenoid 20 is not energized during the sale, the hole 19a of the shutter 19 opens the outlet of the chute 17, so the coins dropped into the chute 17 are stored in the safe 21 as they are during the sale. Counting circuit C ₂ based on collection command signal s ₄ and coin discharge detection signal s ₃
The number of coins collected in the safe is counted.

At the time of the sales deadline, the deadline switch SW installed in each vending machine is turned on one by one or several machines one by one by remote control from the control panel in the central monitoring room.

The output signal _i5 when the deadline switch is ON is the control unit.
If CONT is input, the sales of the vending machine will be discontinued, and the coins in the change machine 3 and replenishment machine 2 will be counted by the change machine as follows.

(1) When change machine capacity≫supply machine capacity When the cutoff switch is turned on, the cutoff signal _s5 from the cutoff control means _R4 to which the output signal _i5 is input causes the belt 2a to be activated twice for a predetermined time t via _a timer or the like. move to drop all the coins in the replenishment machine into the change machine, emptying the replenishment machine. After the predetermined time _t2 required to discharge all the coins in the replenishing machine has elapsed, the rotation of the belt 2a is stopped. Next, the motor 7 of the change machine and the solenoid 8 of the distribution means are energized, and the belt 13 is reversed (see FIG. 7d). The number of sheets being circulated is counted by the counting circuit C ₃ based on the hard discharge detection signal s ₃ that is output while the deadline signal s ₅ is being output.

A belt-type (continuous) circulation mechanism 22 is provided at the rear end of the belt 13, and when the belt 13 reverses, the belt-type circulation mechanism operates and puts the counted coins into a circulation hopper 23. The coins in the hopper 23 slide down the chute 24 and are circulated into the replenishing machine of the relevant denomination via the distribution means 25 or 26 or the chute 24, which is operated according to the denomination of the coin being discharged from the change machine. .

As described above, the belt 2a is rotated ₁ time for a predetermined time t based on the change replenishment command signal _s1 , and is rotated ₂ times for a predetermined time t longer than when the change is out based on the cutoff signal _s5 . The coins in the replenishing machine are dropped into the change machine, but the deadline switch sw is turned ON by the gate circuit AND ₁ , OR as shown in Fig. 8, for example.
During this period, rotation of the belt 2a based on the change replenishment command signal _s1 is prohibited by the deadline signal _s5 . Note that T ₁ and T ₂ are timers, and the signal s ₁ indicates the time t ₁ required to replenish coins once, and the signal s ₅ indicates the time t ₂ required to drop all the coins in the replenishment machine into the change machine. maintain the output of As a result, even if the coin circulation detects that the change machine is out of change after all the coins have fallen from the replenishment machine, the coins that have been circulated in the replenishment machine will fall back into the change machine and the number of coins being circulated will be counted twice. never be done.

As the circulation mechanism, a bucket type can be used in addition to a belt type. In the case of the bucket type, each time the number of coins discharged from the change machine reaches a predetermined number corresponding to the capacity of the bucket, the ejection of coins is temporarily stopped, and the coins are raised, dropped into the circulation hopper,
After the bucket is lowered, the coins are ejected again, and this process is repeated until the change is detected to be out of change. belt type,
In both bucket type cases, the deadline switch sw
By inputting the output signal i ₅ and the out-of-change detection signal i ₁ to the deadline control means R ₄ , the motor 7 is stopped, the solenoid 8 is demagnetized, and the belt 13 is stopped after a certain period of time after the out-of-change detection is detected. .

(2) Change machine capacity (in case of replenishment machine capacity) If the cut-off cycle of the vending machine is relatively short, the amount of change replenishment may be small, so case a above is generally applicable. However, if the deadline cycle is long, the number of times the change runs out increases, so in order to have a sufficiently large amount of change to replenish, it is necessary to make the capacity of the replenishing machine larger than the capacity of the change machine.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the coin storage chamber of the replenishing machine 2 is divided into two upper and lower stages by a shutter 28 that is opened and closed by a reversible motor 27. By closing the shutter 28 by turning on the cut-off switch SW, the upper storage chamber 2u of the supply machine is partitioned off from the change machine side, and then the motor 1
Rotate 0 to eject and count the coins in the change machine,
The above-mentioned circulation mechanism allows the liquid to be placed in the empty upper storage chamber 2u. In order to prevent the coins in the change machine from overflowing, the belt 2a of the replenishing machine is rotated while resting for a certain period of time every time a full detection signal is output, and coins are dropped into the change machine from a lower storage chamber 2l of the replenishment machine. In this way, by dropping the coins in the lower storage chamber 2l into the change machine, all the coins in the change machine and the lower storage chamber of the supply machine are counted and transferred to the upper storage chamber.
When the change detection continues for more than a predetermined time, it is determined that the coins in the change machine and the lower storage chamber have run out, and after the predetermined time has passed, the belt 2a, motor 7, and circulation mechanism are stopped, and the motor 27 is rotated. Open the shutter 28 and let it fall from the upper storage chamber to the lower storage chamber. The shutter 28 remains open until the next time the cutoff switch is turned on.
Therefore, external replenishment using a cassette is also carried out to the upper storage chamber 2u.

In this way, when the replenishment machine is closed, the shutter is used to partition the supply machine into two storage chambers, the upper and lower, and the discharge from the change machine.
The coins that have been counted are put into the upper storage chamber, and the shutter is opened after the counting is complete, so the coins that have been counted and circulated to the upper storage chamber are mixed with the coins that have not yet been counted in the lower storage chamber of the supply machine. You can prevent it from happening. Furthermore, after the shutter is opened, the coins in the replenishing machine are dropped into the change machine in fixed quantities when they are re-released and can be used as change, and can also be replenished from the outside using a cassette.

In the above example, all the coins in the replenishment machine and the change machine at the time of the deadline are circulated and replenished, but it is also possible to replenish some of the coins in the vending machine and collect the rest in the safe 21. . In this case, when the circulation count value reaches a predetermined value, the coincidence signal i ₆ is input to the collection control means R ₃ and the deadline control means R ₄ to output the collection command signal s ₄ and eliminate the deadline signal s ₅ . Then, the circulation mechanism is stopped, the solenoid 8 is demagnetized while the motor 7 continues to rotate, and the remaining coins are collected into the safe 21 via the chute 17. In this case as well, while the collection command signal s ₄ is being output, the coin discharge detection signal s ₃ is counted by the counting circuit C ₃ to count the number of collected coins.

After the deadline switch is turned on, based on the fact that the out-of-change detection signal i ₁ continues for a predetermined period of time or more, the shutter control means R ₅ of the control section controls the replenishment control means when the deadline signal s ₅ and the out-of-change detection continue for a predetermined period of time or more. The output of s ₆
A deadline end signal _s7 is outputted through an AND gate _AND2 and a flip-flop FF (see FIG. 7e). This signal is also given to the central monitoring room, which determines that the closing operation of the vending machine has ended, turns on the closing switch of another vending machine, and thereafter repeats the same closing operation for that vending machine. will be carried out.

When the closing operation is completed, the solenoid 20 is energized via the solenoid drive circuit 20D by the closing end signal _s7 , and the holding chute 17 is activated.
The shutter 19 of the vending machine is closed and the vending machine can be sold. Therefore, while the staff waits from the central monitoring room for all vending machines to complete their closing operations and arrives at the vending machine installation location to collect the safe, the vending machines that have completed their closing operations are allowed to sell items. Also, coins discharged when the change machine is full due to sale are stored in the holding chute 17 and do not enter the safe 21. Therefore, sales proceeds (recovery proceeds) before and after the deadline are prevented from being mixed in the safe until the clerk comes. When the staff took the safe out of the aircraft and installed a new empty safe,
Deadline reset switch installed on the vending machine
When sw' is turned on, the flip-flop FF is reset to the cutoff state, and the cutoff end signal _s7 disappears, so the solenoid 20 is demagnetized and the coins in the holding chute 17 fall into the safe 21 (Fig. 7e).
reference).

As described above, the vending machine equipped with the coin counting management device according to the present invention provides the following effects.

First, since the number of coins remaining in the change machine and supply machine at the time of business closing is known, there is no need to drop all the coins into a safe when collecting them, and they can be used as change for the next business period. Therefore, it is not necessary to replenish new coins every time the deadline is reached, unlike in the past, and it is easy to determine whether or not external replenishment is necessary based on the number of remaining coins.

Second, since the number of coins stored in the safe is known at the time of collection, there is no need to count the number of collected coins after the safe is collected at a counting office, etc., and it is possible to quickly check the collected coins with sales data. .

Third, it has a deadline switch that can be turned on by remote control, and has a mechanism and control unit that counts coins in the change machine and replenishment machine and replenishes the coins by turning on the deadline switch. At the time, a deadline switch is set in a remote central monitoring room, etc.
You can turn it on to automatically count coins.
You can eliminate waiting time on-site. Therefore, collection work can be performed very efficiently.

Fourthly, a chute for collecting and holding coins is installed between the coin outlet of the change machine and the entrance to the safe, and a shutter is provided that closes the outlet of the chute when the deadline operation is completed and opens the exit when the deadline is reset in the vending machine. Since this installation prevents the hard coins before and after the deadline from mixing, it is possible to start selling coins for the next business period at the same time as the automatic coin counting at the deadline ends, without requiring any operations from staff. Therefore,
After remotely operating the deadline switch, you can replace the safe with plenty of time to spare.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the invention,
Figure 1 is a sectional view of the vending machine shown along the flow of hard material, Figure 2 is a plan view of the change machine, Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the - line in Figure 2, and Figure 4 is the distribution mechanism of the circulation hopper. 5 is a sectional view showing another example of the replenishment machine, FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing the control system, and FIG.
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing the signal system of each control means of the control section, and FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing an example of double counting prevention means. 2... Supply machine, 3... Change machine, 10... Coin discharge path, 14... Coin discharge detector, 15... Out of change detector, 16... Full detector, 17... Collection and holding chute, 19...Shutter, 20...Solenoid, 21...Safe, _C1 ...Circuit for counting the number of change output, _C2 ...Circuit for counting the number of coins collected in the safe, _C3 ...
Circulating number counting circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 a. Has an out-of-change detector and a full-change detector,
a change machine that discharges predetermined coins one by one; b) a coin discharge detector provided in a coin discharge passage of the change machine; and c) a predetermined amount of coins supplied to the change machine by the operation of the out-of-change detector. A change supply machine, and d one end of which is located at the change outlet on the customer service side of the vending machine.
a coin transport circulation mechanism whose other end faces the change replenishing machine and rotates forward or reverse to transport coins discharged from the change machine via the coin discharge passage; e. coins discharged from the coin discharge passage; a distributing means for distributing the coins toward the coin conveying circulation mechanism or toward the safe, wherein the change machine receives a predetermined number of coins to be released when the input amount is greater than the purchase amount, and the change machine detects the coin discharge. At the same time, the coin conveying circulation mechanism rotates forward to convey the change to the change outlet, and when the full detector outputs an output, the change machine discharges a certain amount of coins. In a vending machine that counts and ejects coins with a detector and collects the ejected coins into a safe via the sorting means, (a) it is turned on by remote control at the business deadline and sends a deadline signal to the deadline control means described below; (b) Based on the input of the deadline signal, the change replenishing machine is caused to perform a replenishment operation until all the coins in the machine are exhausted, and while the deadline signal is being input, an out-of-change detection signal is provided. prohibiting the replenishment operation of the change replenishing machine based on the input, and discharging all the coins in the change replenishing machine from the coin ejection passage via the sorting means onto the coin conveying circulation mechanism based on the input of the deadline signal; After providing the change replenishing machine with means for preventing coins from the change replenishing machine from mixing with the change replenishing machine based on the input of the deadline signal,
The coin transport circulation mechanism is reversed to transport the ejected coins to the change supply machine, and the coins are transported to the change supply machine at the deadline based on the deadline signal and the output signal of the coin discharge detector. (c) a deadline reset switch is provided which is turned on when the deadline operation is completed; (d) a collection and retention chute is provided between the coin ejection passage and the safe; , a shutter for opening and closing the outlet at the lower end of the chute; (e) shutter control means for closing the shutter based on disappearance of the cut-off signal and opening the shutter based on the output of the cut-off reset switch; A vending machine featuring 2 a. It has an out-of-change detector and a full-change detector,
a change machine that discharges predetermined coins one by one; b) a coin discharge detector provided in a coin discharge passage of the change machine; and c) a predetermined amount of coins supplied to the change machine by the operation of the out-of-change detector. A change supply machine, and d one end of which is located at the change outlet on the customer service side of the vending machine.
a coin transport circulation mechanism whose other end faces the change replenishing machine and rotates forward or reverse to transport coins discharged from the change machine via the coin discharge passage; e. coins discharged from the coin discharge passage; a distributing means for distributing the coins toward the coin conveying circulation mechanism or toward the safe, wherein the change machine receives a predetermined number of coins to be released when the input amount is greater than the purchase amount, and the change machine detects the coin discharge. At the same time, the coin conveying circulation mechanism rotates forward to convey the change to the change outlet, and when the full detector outputs an output, the change machine discharges a certain amount of coins. In a vending machine that counts and discharges coins with a detector and collects the discharged coins into a safe via the sorting means, (a) it is turned on at the business deadline and inputs a deadline signal to the deadline control means described below; a deadline switch is provided; (b) based on the input of the deadline signal, the change replenishing machine is caused to perform a replenishment operation until all the coins in the machine are exhausted; prohibiting the replenishment operation of the change replenishing machine, and discharging some of the coins in the change replenishing machine onto the coin conveying circulation mechanism from the coin discharging passage via the sorting means based on the input of the deadline signal; , discharging the remainder of the coins in the change machine to the safe side, and preventing a part of the coins from the change supply machine from being mixed into the change supply machine based on the input of the deadline signal. After applying the means, the coin conveying circulation mechanism is reversed to convey some of the discharged coins to the change replenishing machine, and a deadline is determined based on the deadline signal and the output signal of the coin discharge detector. (c) A deadline control means is provided to count the number of coins conveyed to the change replenishing machine and the number of coins discharged to the safe side at the time of the change replenishment machine, and (c) a deadline reset switch is provided that is turned on when the deadline operation is completed. (d) providing a collection and holding chute between the coin ejection passage and the safe, and providing a shutter for opening and closing the outlet at the lower end of the chute; (e) closing the shutter based on disappearance of the deadline signal; A vending machine characterized by comprising a shutter control means for opening the shutter according to the output of the deadline reset switch.