CN112598845A

CN112598845A - Coin sorting device

Info

Publication number: CN112598845A
Application number: CN202010914461.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 隐塚将二郎; 永田将司; 大岩武; 柴田义人; 冨田一宏
Original assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-09-13
Filing date: 2020-09-03
Publication date: 2021-04-02
Also published as: JP2021043876A; JP7294015B2

Abstract

A coin sorting device capable of sorting coins well. The sorting section (23) includes: a conveyance base (40) whose upper surface constitutes a conveyance path (401) and which has a sorting opening (402); and a sorting and conveying belt (43) which is annularly stretched on a sorting and conveying belt wheel (43a) in an upper area of the conveying base (40) and displaces in the extending direction of the sorting and conveying belt to convey coins, wherein the coins conveyed on the conveying path (401) pass through any one passing opening (402a) in the sorting opening (402) and the like, and the sorting and conveying belt sorts the coins according to the face value, and comprises the following components: a guide member (41) provided adjacent to the sorting opening (402) on the upper surface of the conveyance base (40); and a plurality of pressing rollers (44) which are provided to bias the lower side extension part (431) of the sorting and conveying belt (43) downwards and rotate around the central axis of the pressing rollers by the displacement of the sorting and conveying belt (43), wherein the pressing rollers (44) have a tapered shape with the outer diameter becoming smaller as the pressing rollers approach the guide member (41), and the lower part is arranged below the conveying path (401) in a normal state.

Description

Coin sorting device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a coin sorting apparatus.

Background

The coin sorting device is a device for sorting coins that are input according to their denominations. As the coin sorting device, there is known a configuration in which a notch serving as a passage opening leading to a storage for each denomination is provided in a coin conveying path, and the width of each notch is sequentially increased in accordance with the diameter of the coin, so that the coin is dropped by the difference in the outer diameter of the coin, thereby sorting the coin (for example, see patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2009-238078

In the above coin sorting apparatus, the passage openings are continuous with each other to form a single sorting opening, and therefore, there are the following problems. In general, coins have a small outer dimension due to wear or the like, and a protrusion or the like may be formed on a peripheral portion of the coin due to damage. Therefore, if the coins are simply passed over the sorting opening, coins of other denominations may be caused to pass through the passing opening for passing the coins of the prescribed denomination, and the sorting accuracy of the coins may not be sufficiently high.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a coin sorting apparatus capable of sorting coins satisfactorily.

In order to achieve the above object, a coin sorting apparatus of the present invention includes: a conveying base having an upper surface constituting a conveying path for coins and having sorting openings formed by arranging passage openings provided for respective denominations of the coins in order of increasing outer diameters of the coins from one side of the conveying path to the other side thereof and continuing to each other; and a transport belt that is annularly stretched over a plurality of transport pulleys provided in an area above the transport base and that is displaced in its extending direction in accordance with rotation of the transport pulleys to transport coins from one side of the transport path to the other side, the coins transported on the transport path passing through any one of the sorting openings to sort the coins by denomination, the coin sorting device comprising: a guide member provided on an upper surface of the conveyance base adjacent to the sorting opening so as to extend from one side of the conveyance path to the other side; and a plurality of pressing rollers that are provided so as to be biased downward by a biasing member at portions corresponding to the respective passage openings in a region of the transport belt contactable with the coins and are rotated about their central axes by displacement of the transport belt, the plurality of pressing rollers having a tapered tip shape in which an outer diameter decreases as they approach the guide member, and a lower portion of the pressing rollers being normally disposed below an upper surface of the transport base.

In the coin sorting device, the plurality of pressing rollers may have a truncated cone shape.

In the coin sorting device, the coin sorting device may further include an abutting member provided so as to extend from one side of the conveying path to the other side thereof at an upper portion of the guide member, and having a protrusion formed corresponding to each passage opening, wherein when the coin conveyed on the conveying path is inclined with respect to the conveying base in a state in which a part of the coin passes through the corresponding passage opening by the pressing roller, the corresponding protrusion of the abutting member abuts the coin.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the coin sorting device includes a count detection element which is provided in correspondence with each passage opening and detects the number of coins which have passed through the corresponding passage opening, and the count detection element detects the number of coins which have passed through the passage opening by coming into contact with the corresponding projection of the contact member.

According to the present invention, since the guide member is provided adjacent to the sorting opening so as to extend from one side of the conveying path to the other side thereof on the upper surface of the conveying base, the plurality of pressing rollers are provided so as to be biased downward by the biasing member at portions corresponding to the respective passing openings in the region of the conveying belt contactable with the coins and to be rotated about their central axes by displacement of the conveying belt, the pressing rollers have a tapered shape with a tip end whose outer diameter becomes smaller as they approach the guide member, and are normally disposed below the upper surface of the conveying base at a lower portion thereof, the following effects are obtained: when the coins conveyed on the conveying path are corresponding coins, the coins can be sufficiently pressed downward, and the coins can be well sorted.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a coin handling apparatus to which a coin sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a coin handling apparatus to which a coin sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of the coin handling apparatus shown in fig. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a special control system of the coin handling apparatus shown in fig. 1 and 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the sorting unit shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing main components of the sorting unit shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a side view showing main components of the sorting unit shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing a main part of the sorting unit shown in fig. 6 and 7.

Fig. 9 is a bottom view showing a main part of the sorting unit shown in fig. 6 and 7.

Fig. 10 is a view showing a main part of the sorting unit shown in fig. 6 and 7 when viewed from the front side along the conveying path.

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of the sorting section shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view showing an operation of the sorting unit shown in fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is an explanatory view showing an operation of the sorting unit shown in fig. 11 in cross section.

Fig. 14 is an explanatory view showing an operation of the sorting unit shown in fig. 11 in cross section.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view showing the ejected coin conveying unit and the lifting unit shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 16 is a side view showing the ejected coin conveying unit and the lifting unit shown in fig. 15.

Fig. 17 is an enlarged explanatory view of a main part of the ejected banknote carrying section and the lifting section shown in fig. 16.

(symbol description)

10 coin handling device

11 device body

20 conveyance unit

21 coin conveying part

22 temporary storage unit

23 sorting part (coin sorting device)

24 storage warehouse

25 coin-out conveying part

26 switching door group

27 lifting part

31 counting sensor

32 control part

40 carrying base

401 conveyance path

402 sorting opening

41 guide member

42 abutting member

43 sorting carrying belt (carrying belt)

44 pressing roller

51 first coin-out transport belt

51a first coin outlet transport belt wheel

52 second coin discharge transport belt

52a second coin-out transport pulley

53 grip the carrying part

54 posture regulating member

55 reverse roll (flow restriction component)

56 roller guide member

C coin

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the coin sorting apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

< coin handling apparatus >

Fig. 1 and 2 are schematic views showing a coin handling apparatus to which a coin sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, respectively, fig. 1 being a plan view and fig. 2 being a front view. In the following, a coin sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described after a schematic configuration of a coin handling apparatus is described.

The coin handling apparatus 10 exemplified here is applied to an automatic change machine connected to a POS (Point Of Sales) register apparatus in a store such as a supermarket or a convenience store, and includes an apparatus main body 11.

The apparatus main body 11 is a substantially rectangular casing, and includes an inlet 12, an operation display unit 13, a coin outlet 14, and a return port 15. The inlet 12 is provided on the right side of the upper surface of the front end of the apparatus main body 11, and is an opening for accommodating the inserted coins inside the apparatus main body 11. The input port 12 functions as a temporary storage unit for temporarily storing advance payments from users such as customers.

The operation display unit 13 is provided on the left side of the front upper surface of the apparatus main body 11, and includes a display unit 13a and an operation unit 13 b. The display unit 13a displays various information, and the operation unit 13b is an input device configured by a numeric keypad or the like, for example, and performs various operation inputs.

The coin outlet 14 is provided at an upper portion on the left side of the front surface of the apparatus main body 11. The coin outlet 14 is an opening for discharging coins stored in the apparatus main body 11, and discharges the coins to a coin outlet tray 16 attached to the apparatus main body 11. The return port 15 is provided in an upper portion of the right side of the front surface of the apparatus main body 11. The return opening 15 is an opening for returning coins.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the coin processing apparatus 10 shown in fig. 1 and 2, and fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a special control system of the coin processing apparatus 10 shown in fig. 1 and 2. The internal structure of the coin handling apparatus 10 will be described with reference to fig. 3 and 4, which are described above, in terms of different functions.

The conveying unit 20 is provided inside the apparatus main body 11. The transport unit 20 includes a coin transport unit 21, a temporary holding unit 22, a sorting unit (coin sorting device) 23, a storage 24, a coin discharge transport unit 25, a switching gate group 26, and a lifting unit 27.

The coin transport unit 21 transports coins that have been inserted from the insertion opening 12 and detected by an insertion detection sensor, not shown, and is provided with a money checker 21 a. The money testing unit 21a determines the authenticity and denomination of the coin.

The temporary holding section 22 temporarily holds coins that have been determined to be "genuine coins" by the money testing section 21. The sorting unit 23 sorts the coins that have been transported after being retained by the temporary retaining unit 22, according to each denomination. The specific configuration of the sorting unit 23 will be described later.

The storage 24 is provided for each denomination, and stores coins sorted by the sorting unit 23. More specifically, as the storage 24, six storage containers are provided, namely, a one-day element storage container 24a, a one-hundred-day element storage container 24b, a ten-day element storage container 24c, a fifty-day element storage container 24d, a five-day element storage container 24e, and a five-whooping element storage container 24 f. As for the storage 24, a storage 24 (hereinafter, also referred to as a series of

coin storage

24a, 24b, and 24c) that stores ten coins one by one in series is disposed at an upper portion in the apparatus main body 11, and a storage 24 (hereinafter, also referred to as a series of

coin storage

24d, 24e, and 24f) that stores five coins one by two in series is disposed at a lower portion in the apparatus main body 11. That is, inside the apparatus main body 11, the series of

coin storage containers

24a, 24b, and 24c are provided in the upper layer, and the series of

coin storage containers

24d, 24e, and 24f are provided in the lower layer.

Further, three storage containers, i.e., a one-day element storage container 24a, a one-hundred-day element storage container 24b, and a ten-day element storage container 24c, are provided in the series of

coin storage containers

24a, 24b, and 24c in this order from the front side, and three storage containers, i.e., a fifty-day element storage container 24d, a five-day element storage container 24e, and a five-hundred-day element storage container 24f, are provided in the series of

coin storage containers

24d, 24b, and 24f in this order from the front side. The storage boxes 24 individually store the coins to be input according to different denominations. Each storage box 24 has a function of delivering the stored commodity.

The coin discharge transport unit 25 is provided with two transport units, an upper coin discharge transport unit 251 and a lower coin discharge transport unit 252. The upper coin discharge transport unit 251 is provided at an upper portion in the apparatus main body 11, and transports the coins fed from the series of

coin storage boxes

24a, 24b, and 24c forward. The upper coin-feeding transport section 251 transports the coins fed from the series of

coin storage bins

24a, 24b, and 24c forward toward the coin slot 28 communicating with the coin outlet 14.

The lower coin discharge transport unit 252 is provided at a lower portion in the apparatus main body 11, transports the coins fed from the five

coin storage containers

24d, 24e, and 24f rearward, and transports the coins to the lift unit 27. .

The switching gate group 26 includes a first switching gate 26a, a second switching gate 26b, and a third switching gate 26 c. The first switching door 26a is provided on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the coin conveying unit 21. The first switching door 26a can switch between a state in which the coins transported by the coin transport portion 21 are transported to the temporary holding portion 22 and a state in which the coins are transported to the coin outlet 14.

The second switching door 26b is provided on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the temporary storage 22. The second switching gate 26b can alternatively switch between a state in which the coins held by the temporary holding section 22 are fed to the sorting section 23 and a state in which the coins are fed to the return opening 15. The second switching gate 26b is normally in a state of feeding out the coins held by the temporary holding section 22 to the sorting section 23.

The third switching door 26c is provided on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the upper bill discharging and conveying unit 251. The third switching door 26c can switch between a conveying state in which the coins conveyed by the upper coin outlet conveying portion 251 are conveyed to the coin outlet 14 via the coin outlet slot 28 and a circulating state in which the coins are conveyed to the temporary holding portion 22. The third switching door 26c is normally in a conveyance state.

The lifting unit 27 introduces the five coins transported rearward by the lower coin ejection transport unit 252, moves the coins upward, and delivers the coins to the upper coin ejection transport unit 251. The lift portion 27 and the coin discharge transport portion 25 together constitute a coin transport device that transports coins upward. The specific configurations of the coin dispensing and conveying unit 25 and the lifting unit 27 will be described later.

The coin processing apparatus 10 includes, in addition to the above-described configuration, a coin discharge detection unit 30, a count sensor (count detection element) 31, and a control unit 32. The dispensing detection unit 30 includes a dispensing slot sensor 30a and a dispensing tray sensor 30 b.

The coin outlet slot sensor 30a detects the presence or absence of a coin passing through the coin outlet slot 28. The discharge tray sensor 30b detects whether or not coins are discharged to the discharge tray 16.

When the coin discharge detection unit 30 detects a coin by at least one of the coin discharge slot sensor 30a and the coin discharge tray sensor 30b, a detection signal indicating that the coin discharge is detected is sent to the control unit 32.

The count sensor 31 is provided on a passage leading from the sorting unit 23 to each storage 24. The count sensor 31 is configured by, for example, an optical sensor as described later, and detects the number of coins sorted from the sorting unit 23 into the corresponding storage 24, and sends the detection result to the control unit 32 as a count signal.

The control unit 32 is electrically connected to the dispensed banknote detection unit 30, the counting sensor 31, the display unit 13a, the operation unit 13b, the transport unit 20, and the money verification unit 21a, and is also electrically connected to the host device 1 such as a POS register device. When a command is given by the operation unit 13b, or when a detection signal is sent from the money testing unit 21a, or when various commands are sent from the host device 1, the control unit 32 performs display control of the display unit 13a and drive control of the conveying unit 20 based on the program and data stored in the storage unit 33.

The coin handling machine 10 having the above-described structure operates as follows. First, the coin insertion operation will be described. When a coin insertion permission command is issued from the host device 1, the coin inserted into the insertion port 12 is detected by the insertion detection sensor, and then transported by the coin transport unit 21, and the authentication and denomination are determined by the money verification unit 21 a. When the coin is a genuine coin, it is retained in the temporary retaining section 22. On the other hand, when the coin is not a genuine coin, the coin is conveyed to the coin outlet 14 through the first switching door 26a and returned to the coin outlet tray 16. When a return instruction is issued from the host apparatus 1, the coins held in the temporary holding section 22 are returned to the return opening 15 by the second switching door 26 b.

The coins retained in the temporary retaining section 22 are conveyed to the sorting section 23, and sorted according to denomination while being conveyed rearward by the sorting section 23. The coins sorted by the sorting unit 23 are stored in the storage 24 according to denomination. That is, the coin inserting operation is terminated by notifying the host apparatus 1 of completion of coin insertion after the series of

coin storage bins

24a, 24b, and 24c, in which the series of coins are stored in the upper tier, and the five-series

coin storage bins

24d, 24e, and 24f, in which the series of coins are stored in the lower tier, are stored in the respective denomination.

Next, the coin dispensing operation will be described. When a dispensing command is issued from the host device 1, coins of a denomination corresponding to the dispensing command are sent out from any of the storage boxes 24 to the dispensing transport unit 25. Here, the series of coins are fed out from the corresponding series of

coin storage containers

24a, 24b, and 24c to the upper dispensing transport unit 251, and the series of five coins are fed out from the corresponding series of

coin storage containers

24d, 24e, and 24f to the lower dispensing transport unit 252. The coins fed to the upper side coin discharge conveying unit 251 are conveyed forward by the upper side coin discharge conveying unit 251, and discharged from the coin outlet 14 to the outside of the apparatus main body 11 through the coin slot 28 by the third switching door 26 c. The coins fed to the lower coin discharge conveying unit 252 are conveyed rearward by the lower coin discharge conveying unit 252. The five coins are fed to the upper coin-feeding transport portion 251 by the lifting portion 27. The coins fed to the upper side coin feeding transport portion 251 are transported forward by the upper side coin feeding transport portion 251, and are fed out from the coin outlet 14 to the outside of the apparatus main body 11 through the coin outlet slot 28 by the third switching door 26 c. After the predetermined coins are discharged to the outside in this way, the host device 1 is notified of the completion of the coin discharge, and the coin discharge operation is terminated.

The inspection operation will be further described. The checking operation is an operation of calculating the number of coins stored in each storage 24. When an inspection command is issued from the host device 1 or when an inspection command is issued from the operation unit 13b, the coins of the series of coins are fed from the series of

coin storage boxes

24a, 24b, and 24c to the upper dispensing transport unit 251, and transported forward by the upper dispensing transport unit 251, and the coins are temporarily held in the temporary holding unit 22. Next, the coins retained in the temporary retaining section 22 are transported to the sorting section 23, sorted by the sorting section 23 according to the denomination, and then the number of the coins of each denomination is detected by the count sensor 31 to be stored in a predetermined storage 24 (a series of

coin storage

24a, 24b, 24 c). This enables the number of coins in each storage 24 to be calculated.

The five coins are fed from the five

coin storage bins

24d, 24e, and 24f to the lower coin discharge conveying unit 252, and are conveyed rearward by the lower coin discharge conveying unit 252. Subsequently, the five coins are fed by the lift portion 27 to the upper coin-feeding transport portion 251, transported forward by the upper coin-feeding transport portion 251, and temporarily held in the temporary holding portion 22. Next, the coins retained in the temporary retaining section 22 are transported to the sorting section 23, sorted by the sorting section 23 according to the denomination, and then the number of the coins of each denomination is detected by the count sensor 31 to be stored in a predetermined storage 24 (five-

series coin storage

24d, 24e, 24 f). This enables the number of coins in each storage 24 to be calculated. After that, the host device 1 is notified of the completion of the inspection, and the inspection operation is terminated.

In the coin handling machine 10, the series of

coin storage boxes

24a, 24b, and 24c for storing ten-by-one series of coins are arranged as the upper tier, and the five-series

coin storage boxes

24d, 24e, and 24f for storing two-by-one series of coins are arranged as the lower tier, so that the depth dimension can be reduced.

Further, according to the coin handling apparatus 10, since a part of the conveyance path for the five-series coins having a relatively low conveyance frequency is shared with the conveyance path for the series of coins having a relatively high conveyance frequency, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost by reducing the number of components and to save energy by reducing the power consumption.

< sorting section 23 >

Next, a specific configuration of the sorting unit 23, that is, a specific configuration of the coin sorting apparatus will be described. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the sorting unit 23 shown in fig. 3, and fig. 6 and 7 are a perspective view and a side view showing main components of the sorting unit 23 shown in fig. 5, respectively. As shown in fig. 5 to 7, the sorting unit 23 includes a conveyance base 40, a guide member 41, an abutment member 42, a sorting conveyance belt (conveyance belt) 43, and a pressing roller 44.

The transport base 40 is an elongated flat plate member having a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction, and an upper surface thereof constitutes a coin transport path 401. As shown in fig. 7, the conveyance base 40 is provided so as to be inclined upward as it goes rearward. That is, the conveyance path 401 is also inclined upward gradually toward the rear. The conveyance base 40 is provided with a sorting opening 402.

The sorting opening 402 is formed by a long notch facing the transport path 401 and having a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction, and is formed by arranging passage openings 402a and the like provided for the respective denominations in order from smaller outer diameters to larger outer diameters of the coins from the upstream side (front side) and continuing to each other. More specifically, as shown in fig. 8 and 9, the sorting opening 402 is a different-shape opening formed such that a one-yen coin passage 402a, a fifty-yen coin passage 402b, a five-yen coin passage 402c, a one-hundred-yen coin passage 402d, a ten-yen coin passage 402e, and a five-pertussis coin passage 402f communicate with each other from the front to the rear, that is, from the upstream side to the downstream side of the conveyance path 401.

Here, the one-yen coin passage opening 402a has a sufficient size necessary to allow passage of the one-yen coin, and restricts passage of coins having an outer diameter larger than the one-yen coin (a fifty-yen coin, a five-yen coin, a one-hundred-yen coin, a ten-yen coin, a five-whoop coin). The front and rear width of the one yen coin passage 402a is slightly larger than that of one yen coin, and the left and right width is slightly smaller than that of one yen coin.

The fifty-yen-coin-use passage opening 402b has a sufficient size necessary to allow passage of fifty-yen coins, and restricts passage of coins having an outer diameter larger than that of the fifty-yen coins (five-yen coins, one-hundred-yen coins, ten-yen coins, five-pertussis coins). The fifty-yen coin passage 402b has a front-rear width slightly larger than that of the fifty-yen coin and a left-right width slightly smaller than that of the fifty-yen coin.

The five-yen coin passage opening 402c has a sufficient size necessary to allow the five-yen coin to pass therethrough, and restricts passage of coins having an outer diameter larger than that of the five-yen coin (one-hundred-yen coin, ten-yen coin, five-pertussis coin). The front-rear width of the five-yen coin passage 402c is slightly larger than the five-yen coin, and the left-right width is slightly smaller than the five-yen coin.

The one-hundred-yen-coin-use passage opening 402d has a sufficient size necessary to allow the one-hundred-yen coin to pass therethrough, and restricts passage of coins having an outer diameter larger than the one-hundred-yen coin (ten-yen coin, five-pertussis coin). The one hundred yen coin passage 402d has a front-rear width slightly larger than the one hundred yen coin and a left-right width slightly smaller than the one hundred yen coin.

The ten-yen coin passage opening 402e has a sufficient size necessary to allow passage of the ten-yen coin, and restricts passage of a coin having an outer diameter larger than that of the ten-yen coin (a five-yen coin). The ten-yen coin passage 402e has a front-rear width slightly larger than that of the ten-yen coin and a left-right width slightly smaller than that of the ten-yen coin.

The five-hundred-pertussis coin passage opening 402f is of a sufficient size to allow passage of five-hundred-pertussis coins. The front-rear width of the five-pertussis coin passage 402f is slightly larger than that of the five-pertussis coin, and the left-right width is slightly smaller than that of the five-pertussis coin.

The guide member 41 is a long flat plate-like member having a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction, and is provided on the conveyance path 410 of the conveyance base 40 so that the right side of the sorting opening 402 is adjacent to the sorting opening 402, as shown in fig. 10. The thickness of the guide member 41 is slightly larger than the thickness of the coin having the largest thickness among the coins passing through the transport path 401.

The contact member 42 is a long flat plate-like member whose longitudinal direction is the front-rear direction, and is provided above the guide member 41 so that the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the longitudinal direction of the guide member 41, as shown in fig. 7 to 9. The contact member 42 is formed with six protrusions 421 that protrude leftward corresponding to the respective passage openings 402a and the like. The projection 421 is formed such that its projecting end enters an area above the corresponding passage opening 402a or the like. As shown in fig. 7 to 9, the counter sensor 31 is provided corresponding to each passage opening 402a and is provided in a lower region on the front side of the corresponding passage opening 402a or the like.

The sorting conveyance belt 43 is provided to be annularly stretched over a plurality of sorting conveyance pulleys 43a provided in an upper area of the conveyance base 40. The rearmost sorting conveyance pulley 43a among the sorting conveyance pulleys 43a is a drive pulley that is rotated by transmission of a driving force generated by the motor 43 b. When the motor 43b is driven, the sorting conveyance belt 43a serving as a driving pulley rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the right side, and the sorting conveyance belt 43 is displaced in the extending direction thereof so that the lower side extension 431 faces rearward. The sorting and conveying belt 43 is displaced so that the lower side extension 431 faces rearward, and the coin is conveyed rearward along the conveying path 401 of the conveying base 40 by the lower side extension 431. That is, the lower extending portion 431 constitutes an area which can be contacted with the coin.

A plurality of pressing rollers 44 (six in the present embodiment) are provided corresponding to the respective passage openings 402a and the like. The pressing roller 44 is provided to be rotatable around its own center axis 441 extending in the left-right direction, and is biased downward by a roller spring (biasing member) 442. The pressing roller 44 is provided to bias downward an upper portion of the passage opening 402a or the like corresponding to the pressing roller in the lower side extension portion 431 (region contactable with coins) of the sorting and conveying belt 43 by the biasing force of the roller spring 442. The pressing roller 44 has a tapered shape, specifically a truncated cone shape, in which the outer diameter decreases toward the right, that is, toward the guide member 41.

In the sorting unit 23, the plurality of pressing rollers 44 are normally disposed below the conveying path 401 of the conveying base 40, as shown in fig. 11.

In the sorting unit 23 having the above-described configuration, the sorting conveyance belt 43 is displaced so that the lower side extension 431 faces rearward by driving the motor 43b to which a command is given from the control unit 32. Thus, the coins held in the temporary holding section 22 are conveyed rearward on the conveyance path 401 in a state where the lower surface thereof is in contact with the conveyance path 401 of the conveyance base 40 and the upper surface thereof is in contact with the sorting conveyance belt 43. In this case, since the pressing roller 44 has a truncated cone shape whose outer diameter becomes smaller as it approaches the guide member 41, the coin can be pressed toward the guide member 41, and thus the coin is conveyed rearward on the conveying path 401 with a part of the coin in contact with the guide member 41.

When the outer diameter of the coin C conveyed on the conveying path 401 is larger than the outer diameter of the coin to be conveyed such as the corresponding passage opening 402a, as shown in fig. 12, the pressing roller 44 moves upward against the urging force of the roller spring 442 together with the lower side extension 431 of the sorting and conveying belt 43, thereby allowing the coin C to pass above the passage opening 402 a.

On the other hand, when the coin C conveyed on the conveying path 401 is a coin to be conveyed through the corresponding passage 402a or the like, the pressing roller 44 inclines the coin C so that the left side of the coin C is positioned downward by its own shape, and the right side of the coin C abuts against the corresponding protrusion 421 of the abutting member 42, as shown in fig. 13. Thus, the coin C passes through the passage opening 402a and the like, and is stored in the corresponding storage box 24 through the predetermined passage path 45 (see fig. 14).

As described above, since the pressing roller 44 is normally disposed below the conveying path 401 of the conveying base 40, the angle of inclination of the coin C with respect to the conveying path 401 of the conveying base 40 can be increased when the coin C is pressed. Therefore, when the coin C is a coin of the series five, the passage 45 leading to the

coin storage bins

24d, 24e, and 24f is a path having a large vertical dimension, which is partially curved, due to the presence of the

coin storage bins

24a, 24b, and 24C of the series, but since the inclination angle of the coin C with respect to the transport base 40 can be increased, the inclination angle θ of the coin C abutting on the wall surface of the passage 45 can be decreased, and clogging or the like of the coin in the passage 45 can be suppressed.

As described above, according to the sorting unit 23, since the pressing roller 44 is normally disposed below the conveying path 401 of the conveying base 40, when the coin conveyed on the conveying path 401 is a corresponding coin, the coin can be sufficiently pressed downward, and thus the coin can be sorted satisfactorily.

Further, according to the sorting unit 23, since the count sensor 31 is provided in the lower region on the front side of the corresponding passage opening 402a or the like, the number of coins that have passed through the passage opening 402a or the like while coming into contact with the projection 421 can be detected. That is, since the counting sensor is not used for detecting the number of coins whose operation is unstable due to vibration or the like, as in the case of contact with the protrusion 421, one coin is not detected as a plurality of coins due to bounce, and thus the detection accuracy of counting can be improved.

< coin discharge transport part 25 and lifting part 27 >

Next, a specific configuration of the coin discharge transport unit 25 and the lifting unit 27, that is, a specific configuration of the coin transport device will be described. Fig. 15 is a perspective view showing the ejected coin conveying unit 25 and the lift unit 27 shown in fig. 3, and fig. 16 is a side view of the ejected coin conveying unit 25 and the lift unit 27 shown in fig. 15. As shown in fig. 15 and 16, the coin discharge transport unit 25 and the lift unit 27 include a first coin discharge transport belt (first transport belt) 51 and a second coin discharge transport belt (second transport belt) 52.

The first ejected banknote transport belt 51 is annularly stretched over a plurality of first ejected banknote transport pulleys 51a, and a plurality of protrusions 511 are provided on the outer surface constituting the transport surface thereof. The first ejection transport belt 51 is displaced in the extending direction in accordance with the rotation of the first ejection transport pulley 51 a. One of the first coin discharge transport pulleys 51a is a drive pulley rotated by a driving force applied from a drive source, and the other pulleys are driven pulleys rotated by displacement of the first coin discharge transport pulleys 51 a.

The second coin discharge transport belt 52 is annularly stretched over a plurality of second coin discharge transport pulleys 52 a. The second reject transport belt 52 is a driven belt which is disposed so that a part thereof is in close contact with a part of the first reject transport belt 51 and is displaced in the extending direction thereof by the displacement of the first reject transport belt 51. That is, the second reject conveyance pulley 52a is a driven pulley that rotates by displacement of the second reject conveyance belt 52.

The portion of the second coin discharge transport belt 52 disposed in close contact with and facing the first coin discharge transport belt 51 constitutes a nip transport section 53, and the nip transport section 53 transports the coins upward while holding the coins transported rearward by the first coin discharge transport belt 51 together with the first transport belt. The second coin discharge transport belt 52 transports the coins, which are transported upward by the nip transport section 53, forward.

In this way, the pinch conveyance part 53 of the first coin discharge conveyance belt 51 and the second coin discharge conveyance belt 52 constitutes the lift part 27, the part of the first coin discharge conveyance belt 51 that conveys coins backward to the pinch conveyance part 53 constitutes the lower coin discharge conveyance part 252, and the part of the second coin discharge conveyance belt 52 that conveys coins forward from the pinch conveyance part 53 constitutes the upper coin discharge conveyance part 251. Further, the upstream side of the portion of the second coin discharge conveyor belt 52 constituting the upper coin discharge conveyor section 251 is provided so as to be inclined upward gradually toward the front, and a space equal to or larger than the outer diameter of a ten-yen coin is secured between the discharge port 24c1 of the ten-yen storage 24c disposed at the rearmost position among the series of

coin storages

24a, 24b, and 24 c.

The coin conveying device is provided with a posture regulating member 54, a reverse roller (flow rate regulating member) 55, and a roller guide member 56.

The attitude regulating member 54 is provided in an upper region of the first dispensing transport belt 51 constituting the lower dispensing transport portion 252. The posture regulating member 54 regulates coins fed from the five-

coin storage bins

24d, 24e, and 24f to be in a standing posture, and is a member for stacking a plurality of coins in a lying posture on a portion of the first discharge transport belt 51 constituting the lower side discharge transport portion 252.

The reverse roller 55 is provided at a downstream upper portion of the first dispensing transport belt 51 constituting the lower dispensing transport unit 252. As shown in fig. 17, the reverse roller 55 is provided so as to be rotatable about its own center axis 551, and is rotated counterclockwise as viewed from the left side by application of a driving force from a driving source. Here, the speed increasing ratio, which is the ratio of the rotation speed of the reverse roller 55 to the conveying speed of the first discharge conveying belt 51 and the second discharge conveying belt 52, is 2 or less.

Further, the reverse roller 55 is disposed so that the separation distance d from the first conveying belt is less than three times the thickness of the coin. That is, the separation distance d is a size at which coins can pass in a state of being overlapped by two, and is a size at which coins cannot pass in a state of being overlapped by three or more.

The roller guide member 56 is provided in front of the reverse roller 55. The roller guide member 56 limits the posture of contact of the coin with the reverse roller 55 so that, when the coin transported rearward by the first discharge transport belt 51 comes into contact with the circumferential surface of the reverse roller 55, the contact angle α, which is the angle formed by the tangent line of the reverse roller 55 at the portion where the coin comes into contact with the coin, is 90 ° or more.

In the coin transporting apparatus (the coin discharge transporting unit 25 and the lifting unit 27) having the above-described configuration, the distance d between the reverse roller 55 and the first coin discharge transporting belt 51 is set to be less than three times the thickness of the coin, and the flow rate of the coin to the nip transporting section 53 is restricted so that the coin on the nip transporting section 53 is nip-transported in a state where at least one of the front and the back of the coin is in contact with one of the first coin discharge transporting belt 51 and the second coin discharge transporting belt 52. This allows the holding/conveying section 53 to hold and convey coins in a stacked state, and prevents coins from coming into contact with either the first dispensing conveyor belt 51 or the second dispensing conveyor belt 52. By carrying the coins while being sandwiched in a state of being stacked in two, the carrying amount of the coins per unit time carried upward can be increased, and since there is no coin which does not contact either one of the first coin discharge carrying belt 51 and the second coin discharge carrying belt 52, the coins can be prevented from being accumulated in the sandwiching and carrying section 53. Therefore, according to the coin handling apparatus 10, the time required to convey a plurality of coins upward can be shortened.

According to the coin transporting apparatus described above, since the speed increasing ratio is 2 or more, a plurality of coins transported by the portion of the first coin discharge transporting belt 51 constituting the lower coin discharge transporting portion 252 can be separated well.

According to the coin transporting apparatus described above, the roller guide member 56 restricts the posture of contact between the coin and the reverse roller 55 so that the contact angle is 90 ° or more, and therefore, it is possible to avoid the coin from being caught between the roller guide member 56 and the reverse roller 55 and to lock the transporting of the coin.

According to the coin transporting apparatus described above, since the posture regulating member 54 regulates the coins fed out from the five-serial

coin storage bins

24d, 24e, and 24f to be in the standing posture, the plurality of coins can be stacked in the lying posture on the portion of the first dispensing transport belt 51 constituting the lower-side dispensing transport section 252, and thus it is possible to prevent the coins in the standing posture from being caught between the first dispensing transport belt 51 and the roller guide member 56 and the transport of the coins from being locked.

According to the coin transporting apparatus described above, the upstream side of the portion of the second coin discharge transport belt 52 constituting the upper coin discharge transport section 251 is provided so as to be inclined upward gradually as it goes forward, and a space equal to or larger than the outer diameter of the ten-yen coin is secured between the second coin discharge transport belt and the discharge port 24c1 of the ten-yen storage 24c, so that occurrence of coin jams due to the ten-yen coins discharged from the discharge port 24c1 can be suppressed.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

Although the pressing roller 44 has a truncated cone shape in the above embodiment, in the present invention, the pressing roller may have a tapered shape as the outer diameter of the guide member 41 decreases, and may have a conical shape, for example.

Claims

1. A coin sorting apparatus comprising:

a conveying base having an upper surface constituting a conveying path for coins and having sorting openings formed by arranging passage openings provided for respective denominations of the coins in order of increasing outer diameters of the coins from one side of the conveying path to the other side thereof and continuing to each other; and

a transport belt that is annularly stretched over a plurality of transport pulleys provided in an area above the transport base and that is displaced in its extending direction in accordance with rotation of the transport pulleys to transport coins from one of the transport paths to the other,

the coin sorting apparatus is characterized in that the coin conveyed on the conveying path passes through any one of the sorting openings to sort the plurality of coins according to the denomination, and the coin sorting apparatus includes:

a guide member provided on an upper surface of the conveyance base adjacent to the sorting opening so as to extend from one side of the conveyance path to the other side; and

a plurality of pressing rollers provided to press downward portions corresponding to the respective passage openings in a region of the transport belt contactable with the coin by a biasing member and configured to rotate around their central axes by displacement of the transport belt,

the plurality of pressing rollers have a tapered shape with an outer diameter decreasing as the pressing rollers approach the guide member, and are normally disposed below the upper surface of the conveyance base at lower portions.

2. Coin sorting apparatus according to claim 1,

the plurality of pressing rollers are in a truncated cone shape.

3. Coin sorting device according to claim 1 or 2,

comprises an abutting member which is provided on the upper part of the guide member and extends from one side to the other side of the conveying path, and is provided with a protrusion corresponding to each passage opening,

when the coin conveyed on the conveying path is inclined with respect to the conveying base in a state in which a part of the coin passes through the corresponding passage opening by the pressing roller, the corresponding protrusion of the abutting member abuts against the coin.

4. Coin sorting apparatus according to claim 3,

includes a count detection element provided corresponding to each passage opening and detecting the number of coins that have passed through the corresponding passage opening,

the counting detection element detects the number of coins which come into contact with the corresponding protrusion of the contact member and pass through the passage opening.