JP2000020796A - Cash processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cash processing system capable of replenishing and recovering cash to/from respective processors without requiring a manual operation, reducing labor and improving processing speed. SOLUTION: Plural cash processors 10a to 10d and a carrier station 32 are arranged on an installation surface 25 and a cassette carrier 34 is arranged so as to self run. A charging device 13 for charging and recovering paper moneys to/from the carrier 34 is built in the station 32. The carrier 34 executes accommodation processing for recoving/charging paper moneys among plural cash processors 10a to 10d. When the total number of paper moneys in the whole cash processors 10a to 10d is reduced less than a prescribed lower limit, the carrier 34 receives paper moneys from the charging device 13 and replenishes the received paper moneys to an optional cash processor. When the total number of paper moneys in the whole cash processors 10a to 10c exceeds a prescribed upper limit, the carrier 34 recovers paper moneys from an optional cash processor and transfers the recovered paper moneys to the device 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cash processing system including a plurality of cash processing devices and a transfer device for transferring cash between the cash processing devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In financial institutions and the like, automatic transaction devices (hereinafter referred to as ATMs) for automatically paying and transferring cash to customers have become widespread, and the number of such devices has been increasing. I have. ATMs require replenishment and collection of cash depending on their usage. Conventionally, the replenishment and collection operations have been performed manually. Therefore, when a large number of ATMs are installed, such replenishing and collecting operations of cash require a great deal of labor.

[0003] In recent years, a cash processing system has been proposed which automatically transfers cash between a plurality of ATMs and transfers the cash. The cash processing system includes a plurality of ATMs arranged side by side, and a delivery device. The delivery device includes a bogie that runs between ATMs along a predetermined route,
And a cash transfer mechanism provided on the cart. Then, the delivery device collects cash from any ATM and fills the collected cash into another ATM. As a result, cash is exchanged between a plurality of ATMs.

According to the cash processing system configured as described above, cash such as bills and coins can be automatically replenished and collected for each ATM without manual operation, and the labor of the worker is greatly reduced. It is possible to reduce the number.

[0005]

However, in the cash processing system configured as described above, since the transfer device transfers cash only between ATMs, the cash in the entire ATM group is insufficient or the cash is insufficient. If the value exceeds the predetermined upper limit, it becomes difficult for the delivery device to replenish and collect cash. Therefore, it is necessary for a clerk to directly access each ATM to replenish or collect cash.
Alternatively, it is necessary to perform replenishment / collection of cash for the entire ATM group with respect to one ATM by an attendant, and then transfer the cash from this ATM to another ATM by using a transfer device to level the entire ATM group. is there.

[0006] As described above, an arbitrary ATM is provided with an AT.
When the cash for the entire M group is replenished or collected, the operation management device determines the leveling and then performs a cash transfer operation between a plurality of ATMs, so that it takes time to operate.

Further, the cash of the entire ATM group is insufficient,
Alternatively, if the cash exceeds a predetermined upper limit,
The attendant must determine the amount of cash to be replenished or collected by checking the amount of cash in each ATM.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to enable replenishment and collection of cash without manual operation for each processing apparatus, reduction of labor and reduction of processing speed. It is to provide an improved cash processing system.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a cash processing system according to the present invention is installed on an installation surface, a plurality of processing devices for processing cash respectively, and installed on the installation surface. A loading device having a cash storage unit for storing cash so that it can be taken in and out, a delivery device that runs on the installation surface and transfers cash between the processing device, and the loading device, Connected to a plurality of processing devices and loading devices, manages the amount of cash in each processing device, and transfers cash between the plurality of processing devices by the delivery device according to the amount of cash, and An operation management unit that transfers cash between the delivery device and the loading device.

[0010] A cash processing system according to the present invention includes a plurality of processing devices installed on an installation surface for processing cash, respectively, and a cash storage unit installed on the installation surface and storing cash so that it can be taken in and out. A loading device having, a self-propelled on the installation surface, between the processing device, and a transfer device that transfers cash between the loading device, and connected to the plurality of processing devices and the loading device, When managing the cash amount in each processing device, setting the lower limit value and the upper limit value of the cash amount of the plurality of processing devices as a whole, and the cash amount of the plurality of processing devices as a whole is lower than the lower limit value When the delivery device is filled with cash from the loading device and cash is replenished to any processing device by the delivery device, if the total height of the plurality of processing devices exceeds the upper limit, the delivery is performed. The cash is collected from an arbitrary processing device and transferred to the loading device, and when the total height of the plurality of processing devices is between the lower limit and the upper limit, the plurality of processing devices are transferred by the transfer device. And an operation management unit for selectively transferring cash between the units.

[0011] According to the cash processing system configured as described above, the cash of each processing device is managed by the management device, and when the cash of the entire processing device becomes insufficient or excessively increased, the cash from the management device is transmitted. According to the instruction, the cash is loaded from the loading device to the delivery device, the cash is replenished from the delivery device to the processing device, or the cash is collected from the processing device by the delivery device, and further collected to the loading device. Thereby, the shortage of cash and the excess cash of the entire processing apparatus can be eliminated.

Therefore, there is no need for a clerk to directly access each processing apparatus to replenish or collect cash, thereby reducing the labor of the clerk and improving the processing speed of the entire system. In addition, when replenishing and collecting bills, it is not necessary to stop the processing device, and it is possible to improve serviceability to the user.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2
FIG. 1 schematically shows a configuration of a cash processing system installed in a sales office of a financial institution as a cash processing system according to the present invention.

The cash processing system comprises a plurality of, for example, four automatic transaction machines (hereinafter referred to as ATMs) 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d constituting a cash corner 120 capable of performing unattended cash transactions. Delivery device 1 for replenishing and collecting cash, especially banknotes, from ATMs
2 and a loading device 13 for loading and collecting cash to and from the delivery device 12.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
a has a substantially rectangular box-shaped main body 200, and a substantially L-shaped customer service panel 202 facing the user is provided on the front surface of the main body located on the cash corner 120 side.
A display unit 204 also serving as a touch panel is provided in a horizontal part of the customer service panel 202, and a card insertion slot 2 is provided in a vertical part.
06, a passbook insertion slot 208, and the like. At the corners of the customer service panel 202, a bill receiving / dispensing port 210 and a coin receiving / dispensing port 212 which are respectively opened and closed by doors are provided.

A bill handling device 2 for depositing / dispensing bills to a user through a bill deposit / dispense port 210 is provided in the main body 200.
14. Coin handling device 216 for depositing and dispensing coins through coin depositing and dispensing port 212, control unit 218, passbook printer 2
20, a card / slip processing device 222, and the like. These bill handling device 214 and coin handling device 2
Reference numeral 16 denotes a cash storage unit.

A bill handling device 21 is provided on the rear surface of the main body 200.
4 and a door 224 that can be opened and closed so that the coin handling device 216 can be taken out from the main body. Into the door 224, a bill transfer / load of a bill handling device 214 described later is performed.
An insertion port 226 facing the carry-out section is formed, and this insertion port 226 is opened and closed by a door 228 that opens up and down. A connector 230 is provided on the rear surface of the bill handling device 214 and faces the insertion slot 226.

As shown in FIG. 4, the banknote handling device 214 has an elongated box-shaped casing 232, and a bill inserted from the bill depositing and dispensing port 210 is received and dispensed at the upper part of the casing. Stacking unit 234 from which money is dispensed, a deposit temporary accumulating unit 235 for temporarily accumulating deposited bills, an inspection unit 236 for inspecting deposited bills and dispensed bills, and a pair of reject boxes 238a and 238 for storing rejected bills.
b, a collection box 239 for accommodating unfit bills and the like are provided.

In the lower part of the housing 232, two ten thousand bins 240a and 240b for storing ten thousand yen banknotes and a one thousand yen bin 242 for storing ten thousand yen banknotes are provided side by side. A free storage 244 is provided. Also, a number of transport belts, transport rollers, and the like are disposed in the housing 232, and constitute a plurality of transport paths extending through the respective components.

Further, a bill carry-in / carry-out section 246 is provided substantially at the center of the rear end of the housing 232, and communicates with the transport path. The bill carry-in / carry-out section 246 includes a carry-in / carry-out port (first cash carry-in / carry-out port) 24 formed on a rear wall of the housing 232.
7, it faces an insertion port 226 provided in the door 224 of the ATM main body 200. And, as described below,
The bill carry-in / carry-out section 246 carries the bills supplied from the insertion slot 226 one by one into the housing 232, and bills collected from the ten-thousand-yen shelves 240a, 240b and one-thousand-yen shelves 242 one by one into the insertion throat 226. Take it out.

The other ATMs 10b, 10c, 10d
Is configured similarly to the above-described ATM 10a. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the four ATMs 10a to 1
0d is installed side by side on the floor 25 of the financial institution, with its rear surfaces aligned in parallel.

As shown in FIG. 2, four ATMs 10a,
10b, 10c and 10d are LAN adapters 2 respectively.
7 via a local area network (L
AN) 28. Also, the LAN 28
A server 30 such as a personal computer is connected as an operation management unit that monitors each of the ATMs 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d. The server 30 includes a display unit 31a for displaying and inputting various information, and an input unit 3
1b. And this server 30 has A
The operating state sent from the TMs 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d, for example, a failure occurrence state, a denomination of a stored banknote and a coin as a transaction medium, the number of coins (existing amount), and the like are reported as needed via the LAN 28.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the cash transfer device 12 includes a carrier station 32 connected to a server 30 via a LAN 28, and a cassette carrier as a movable carriage that runs on the floor surface 25 by itself. 34. The cassette carrier 34 follows the instruction from the carrier station 32,
Self-propelled along the rear surface of M10a to 10d.

The carrier station 32 has a monitor, an input section such as a keyboard for inputting various data, a personal computer 35 for communicating information and instructions with the server 30, and a LAN 28 from the server 30. A memory 33 for storing commands sent via the personal computer 35 and data input via the personal computer 35. Then, the input data is converted into a radio signal by a converter 36, and the cassette carrier 34 is transmitted through a radio modem 37 and an antenna 38.
Sent to The cassette carrier 34 self-runs to a position facing a predetermined ATM in accordance with a command from the carrier station 32, and transfers a banknote to this ATM.

The carrier station 32 includes the loading device 13 integrally. That is, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Has a substantially rectangular box-shaped main body 320. Body 32
A front door 322 that can be opened and closed is provided on the front surface of the “0”.
The door 322 has a bill loading / loading device of a loading device 13 described later.
An insertion port 324 facing the recovery port is formed, and this insertion port 324 is opened and closed by a door 326 that opens up and down. A power supply socket 58 to which the cassette carrier 34 can be connected is provided below the wall surface of the main body 320 that is orthogonal to the door 322.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cassette carrier 34
The loading device 13 for loading bills and collecting bills from the cassette carrier has an elongated box-shaped housing 328 arranged in the main body 320. In the housing 328, a loading storage 330 that functions as a cash storage unit is provided. The loading storage 330 is formed so as to be able to store a predetermined number of bills, and is configured to be capable of taking in and out bills. The loading storage 330 is provided so as to be detachable from the housing 328, but can be removed and loaded into the loading device 13 by opening the door 322 of the carrier station 32.

In the housing 328, an inspection unit 332 for inspecting the bills dispensed from the loading storage 330 and the bills deposited in the loading storage, a pair of reject storages 334a and 334b for storing rejected bills, unfit bills, etc. Collection room 33 for storing
6 are provided. A bill loading / collecting port 338 is formed substantially at the center on the front side in the housing 328, and faces the insertion port 324 formed in the door 322 of the carrier station 32.

In the housing 328, there is provided a transport mechanism 340 having a number of transport belts, transport rollers, motors for driving them, and the like. As will be described later, the transport mechanism 340 loads the bills sent from the insertion slot 324 one by one into the loading cabinet 330 via each component, and transfers the bills extracted from the loading cabinet 330 to the insertion slot 324. Take them out one by one.

Next, the cassette carrier 34 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the cassette carrier 34 includes a cart 40 functioning as a cart body,
The delivery cassette 43 is supported on the slide mechanism 42 via a slide mechanism 42 and functions as a cash holding unit, a substantially rectangular box-shaped housing 44 covering the delivery cassette 43, and the like.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the carriage 40 has a rectangular plate-shaped base 45 to which two left and right drive wheels 46a and 46b and one driven wheel 47 are attached. It is possible to travel on the surface 25.

One drive wheel 46a is connected to a servo motor 50a via a worm speed reducer 48 and a coupling 49 provided on a base 45, and the other drive wheel 46b
Are also connected to a servo motor 50b via a worm speed reducer 48 and a coupling 49. The left and right driving wheels 46a and 46b are connected to two independent servo motors 50.
The truck 40 can be reciprocated linearly or curvedly on the floor surface 25 by being separately driven by the servo motors 50a and 50b and by controlling the servo motors 50a and 50b to perform forward / reverse drive and speed control.

The driven wheel 47 has a so-called caster structure, and is rotatably mounted around a shaft 51 so as to cope with the case where the bogie 40 runs on a curve or switches from forward movement to reverse movement.

A rotatable turning arm 52 is supported on the base 45 between the left and right driving wheels 46a and 46b, and a friction wheel 53 is attached to the tip of the turning arm 52. The friction wheel 53 is provided in contact with the floor surface 25 and rolls on the floor surface 25 in conjunction with the traveling of the truck 40. Also,
The rotation of the friction wheel 53 is controlled by the base 40 via the belt 54.
The transmitted rotation is transmitted to the encoder 55 provided above, and the encoder 55 counts the transmitted rotation as a predetermined number of pulses and inputs the rotation to a control unit described later.

On the base 45, a pair of rechargeable batteries 56 serving as a driving source are mounted. These batteries 56 drive the servo motors 50a and 50b and supply power to other electric systems of the cassette carrier 34 as described later. The battery 56 is connected to a connector 57 provided on the rear surface of the housing 44 by a power supply socket 58 (FIG. 1) provided in the carrier station 32.
Charge).

As shown in FIG. 6, bumpers 60 and 61 are attached to the front and rear portions of the bogie 40, and pressure sensors 62 and 63 to be described later are provided on the back sides of the bumpers 60 and 61.
Are attached. And bumper 60,
When the pressure is applied by the contact of the 61 with the foreign matter or the human body, the pressure sensors 62 and 63 react, and in response thereto, the servo motors 50a and 50b are stopped by the control unit, and the traveling of the cassette carrier 34 is stopped.

A reflection sensor 64 is provided on each of a front wall and a rear wall of the housing 44. A reflection object such as a human body is provided in a range of about 1 m before and after the cassette carrier 34, which is a detection range 65 of the reflection sensor 64. When it appears, the reflection-type sensor detects this and detects the cassette carrier 3 in the same manner as described above.
4 is stopped.

In addition to the safety device having the pressure sensors 62 and 63 and the reflection type sensor 64, a patrol light 66 is mounted on the upper surface of the housing 44.
The patrol light 66 is turned on while the cassette carrier 34 is running.

Further, an arbitrary AT is provided on a side wall 44a of the housing 44 facing the rear surface of the ATMs 10a to 10d.
A pair of reflective distance sensors 68a and 68b for positioning the cassette carrier 34 with respect to M are attached,
They are arranged at predetermined intervals along the X direction. These reflection type distance sensors 68a and 68b are constituted by ultrasonic sensors, and a reflection surface, from a side wall 44a of the housing 44,
For example, the vertical distance to the back of the ATM can be accurately measured in millimeters. Reflection distance sensor 68
Reference numerals a and 68b function as a detection unit, and constitute a detection unit together with a distance measurement circuit 106 described later.

A light emitting section 67a of an infrared remote controller is provided above the side wall 44a. Each ATM 10a to 1
A light receiving unit 67b (see FIG. 1) that receives infrared light from the light emitting unit 67a is provided on the rear surface of 0d, and the ATM that receives the infrared light by the light receiving unit 67b opens the door 228 and opens the insertion port 226.

Further, an antenna 70 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 44, and the antenna 70 is connected to a modem described later. And, through this antenna 70,
Signals are transmitted and received between the carrier station 32 and the cassette carrier 34. Also, the housing 44
An operation knob 71 for manually operating a cassette carrier 34 by a staff member is provided on the upper surface of the cassette carrier 34.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9 to 11, a rectangular opening 44b is formed in the side wall 44a of the housing 44, and the delivery cassette 43 is formed in the opening 44b.
Are disposed in the housing 44 in a state of facing.
The delivery cassette 43 is formed in a rectangular box shape large enough to pass through the opening 44b.

An opening 44 is provided at the lower part of the side wall of the delivery cassette 43.
A projecting portion 43a that protrudes in response to the projection b is formed, and a delivery port 73 is formed at the tip end surface of the projecting portion. The protruding portion 43a is inserted into the insertion opening 22 of the ATM 10a to 10d.
8 and a size that can be inserted into the insertion port 324 of the carrier station 32, and the delivery port 73 is connected to the bill loading / unloading port 247 of the bill handling device 214 and the bill loading / collecting port 338 of the loading device 13. They are formed in substantially the same size.

In the transport cassette 43, a bill storage box 284
Are arranged. In the banknote stacker 284, a banknote stacking unit 286 in which a large number of banknotes are stacked in a stacked state, a reject stacking unit 287 located above the banknote stacking unit, and a banknote provided from the banknote stacking unit provided below the banknote stacking unit Roller 288 that takes out one sheet at a time, a take-up roller 290 located near the upper end of the banknote stacking section, a reject take-up roller 292 positioned adjacent to the reject stacking section, and the like.

In the transport cassette 43, a carry-out roller 294 and a carry-in roller 296 located adjacent to the delivery port 73 are provided, and constitute a bill carry-in / out unit 291. In the transport cassette 43, a first transport roller 297 facing the take-in roller 290 and a second transport roller 29 facing the reject take-in roller 292 are provided.
8, a drive roller 300, a plurality of guide rollers 302, and a plurality of transport belts 304 that are stretched over these rollers to form a transport path. Further, in the transport cassette 43, a first drive motor 306 for driving the take-out roller 288, a second drive motor 307 for driving the drive roller 302, and first and second transport rollers 297,
A sorting gate 308 is provided between the first and second bills 298 for sorting collected bills and rejected bills.

When replenishing banknotes on the ATM side or when carrying collected banknotes into the loading device 13, the first and second drive motors 306 and 307 are driven. Then, the banknotes are taken out one by one from the banknote stacking unit 286 by the takeout roller 288, and the delivery port 7 is taken out by the guide roller 302, the transport belt 304, and the unloading roller 294.
3 and is supplied to the ATM side or the loading device 13.

When collecting bills from the ATM side,
Alternatively, when bills are loaded from the loading device 13 into the bill stacking unit 286, the second drive motor 307 is driven. Then, the banknotes discharged from the ATM or the loading device 13 are transferred to the first banknote via the carry-in roller 296 and the transport belt 304.
It is conveyed to the conveying roller 297, and if it is a collected bill, it is sorted to the upper part of the bill stacking unit 286 by the sorting gate 308, and the bill collecting unit 2 is
86. When the bill is a reject bill, the bill is guided to the second transport roller 298 by the sorting gate 308 and is accumulated in the reject accumulating unit 287 by the reject take-in roller 292.

A connector 76 for controlling the operation of the delivery cassette 43 from the ATM side is provided on the distal end surface of the projecting portion 43a of the delivery cassette 43. That is, the connector 76 is connected to the banknote handling device 22 of the ATM when the banknote loading / unloading section 291 of the delivery cassette 43 is connected to the banknote loading / unloading section of the ATM side as described later.
30 or the connector (not shown) provided in the loading device 13, and the operation of the first and second drive motors 306 and 307 of the delivery cassette 43 can be controlled from the ATM side or the loading device side via the connector 76. Becomes

As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the delivery cassette 43 includes a slide mechanism 42 for moving the delivery cassette 43 toward the ATM or the loading device 13.
It is supported on the base 45 of the carriage 40 via a support frame 80 and a fine adjustment mechanism 78 for finely adjusting the position of the delivery cassette 43 with respect to the insertion port 228 of the TM and the insertion port 324 of the carrier station 32.

More specifically, the support frame 80 is erected on the base 45, and the fine adjustment mechanism 78 has a lower table 82 and an upper table 83 mounted on the support frame 80. The lower table 82 is mounted on a support frame 80 via a linear slider 84, and is capable of reciprocating in the X direction. And lower table 8
2 is reciprocated in the X direction via a ball screw 85 by a motor 86 installed on a support frame 80.

The upper table 83 arranged on the lower table 82 has ball screws 87a to 87d extending in the Y direction.
The four corners are supported by the lower table. These ball screws 87a to 87d are respectively connected to four motors 88a to 88d mounted on the upper table 83, and by driving the motors 88a to 88d, the four corners of the upper table 83 can be moved up and down independently. That is, it can be moved in the Y direction.

For example, when the upper table 83 is
When the two motors 88a to 88d are rotated by the same amount, the upper table 83 moves up and down in a horizontal state. When the XYZ coordinates shown in FIG. 1 are used, when the motors 88a and 88b are simultaneously rotated, the upper table 83 tilts in the Tz direction around the X axis, and the motors 88a and 88b rotate.
8C, the upper table 83 tilts in the Ty direction about the Z axis.

Therefore, the motor 86 and the four motors 8
8a to 88d, the upper table 8
3 can be translated in the X and Y directions and tilted in the Tz and Ty directions.

The slide mechanism 42 includes left and right slide rails 91a and 91b attached to a pair of columns 90 erected on the upper table 83, respectively, and a base plate 92 supported by the slide rails 91a and 91b. Have. Each of the slide rails 91a and 91b extends in the Z direction, so that the base plate 92 can reciprocate in the Z direction. The delivery cassette 43 is placed on the base plate 92.

As shown in FIG. 11, the drive unit 94 of the slide mechanism 42 is provided with a motor 9 provided on the upper table 83.
4, a large pulley 95, and a plurality of small pulleys 96a to 96d. A driving belt 97 is wound around the motor 94 and the large pulley 95, and a belt 98 is wound around the large pulley and the small pulley. . A part of the belt 98 is connected to the base plate 92 via a connecting portion 98a. Of the small pulleys 96a to 96d, small pulleys 96b and 96c
Is reciprocally movable along the Z direction on the upper table 83.

Then, the driving belt 97 is driven by the motor 94.
When the large pulley 95 is rotated through the, the belt 98 travels, and the base plate 92 is moved in the Z direction via the connecting portion 98a. At this time, the small pulleys 96b and 96c move like a pulley, and the connecting portion 98a and the base plate 83 can reciprocate in the Z direction with a large stroke. Accordingly, the delivery cassette 43 placed on the base plate 92 is
A storage position stored in the housing 44 and an optional ATM or loading device 1 protruding outward from the housing 44.
3 is moved between the connection positions connectable.

The slide mechanism 42, together with the bill carry-in / carry-out section 291 of the delivery cassette 43, constitutes a delivery means. The delivery cassette 43 is inserted into the insertion slot 226 of the ATM or the insertion slot 3 of the carrier station 32.
The upper table 8
3 and a pair of reflective sensors 100 toward the ATM side.
a, 100b are provided, and the AT
One reflection sensor 102 is provided toward the M side.

FIG. 12 schematically shows a configuration of a control system of the cassette carrier 34 configured as described above. That is, the cassette carrier 34 includes a control unit 104 as a control unit mainly composed of a microcomputer, and this control unit controls operations of the above-described various mechanisms according to a control program stored in the ROM 105. Control unit 1
04, a distance measuring circuit 106 for measuring the distance and inclination (parallelism) of the cassette carrier 34 with respect to the ATM based on signals from the reflection type distance sensors 68a and 68b, and driving wheels according to the measurement results by the distance measuring circuit 106. A servo circuit 107 for controlling rotation of motors 50a and 50b for driving the motor 46, an encoder 55, a battery 56, a reflection sensor 64, pressure sensors 62 and 63, and a patrol light 66 are connected.

The control unit 104 includes a fine adjustment mechanism 78.
, And drivers 108 and 110 for driving the motors 88a to 88d, the reflection type sensor 100a,
100b, 102, a modem 112 for transmitting a radio signal to the antenna 70, a light emitting section 67a of an infrared remote controller, and a memory 114 for storing a stop position of the cassette carrier 34 and the like.
Is connected.

The control unit 104 further includes a delivery cassette 4
3 is connected to the delivery control unit 310 for controlling the operation of the third embodiment. The delivery control unit 310 is connected with first and second drive motors 306 and 307, a position sensor 312 for detecting the position of the transport cassette 43, and a connector 76.

Next, the processing operation of the cash processing system configured as described above will be described. First, after the cash processing system is installed in a financial institution or the like, the learning of the cassette carrier 34 is performed before the actual operation starts. That is, the operator manually moves the cassette carrier 34 along the actual operation path, and stores in the cassette carrier 34 how much the vehicle should travel from the carrier station 32 to a position facing each of the ATMs 10a to 10d.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 13, the position of the rear surface of the cassette carrier 34 when the cassette carrier 34 is docked to the carrier station 32 is defined as the reference position R, and the carrier station 32 of the ATM 10a is
When the distance L in the X direction of the reflection type distance sensor 68a of the cassette carrier 34 with respect to the side surface is about 3 cm, the position of the rear surface of the cassette carrier is the stop position A of the cassette carrier 34 with respect to the ATM 10a. Similarly, ATM
Reflection type distance sensor 68 for 10b, 10c and 10d
The positions of the rear surface of the cassette carrier when the distance L in the X direction of “a” is about 3 cm are ATM 10b, 10c,
Stop position B of cassette carrier 34 with respect to 10d,
C and D. Then, the cassette carrier 34 is moved from the reference position R to each of the stop positions A, B, C, and D. At this time, the number of rotation pulses of the encoder 55 is counted, and the number of pulses corresponding to the distances RA, AB, BC, and CD is counted. Memory 1
14 is stored.

After the above learning is completed, the actual operation starts. In a normal operation, the server 30 monitors the operation state of each of the ATMs 10a to 10d, and the server 30 transmits the ATM to each of the ATMs 10a to 10d.
, Such as the state of occurrence of a fault, the number of banknotes and coins in each ATM, the amount of money, and the like, are reported via the LAN 28 at any time. The server 30 is set with the upper limit A and the lower limit B of the banknotes stored in the entire four ATMs 10a to 10d, for example, the total number of banknotes T.

As shown in FIG. 14, four ATMs 10a
When the total number of bills T stored in the storages 10 to 10d is between the set upper limit value A and the lower limit value B, the server 30 determines which ATM has a smaller bill remaining amount based on information from each ATM. Recognizing which ATM has a large amount of bills remaining, and finally considering which ATM will be used more in the future, which ATM will be used to finally collect bills and which ATM will be filled with bills To determine. For example, A
When collecting bills from the TM 10a and filling them into the ATM 10c, the server 30 issues a command to that effect.

Such an accommodation command is transmitted via the LAN 28 to the carrier station 32 and the ATMs 10a and 10c.
Is input to The ATMs 10a and 10c are in a standby state until the cassette carrier 34 arrives for delivery of bills. However, even in the standby state, each ATM 10a,
In 10c, transactions with users are possible.

The command input to the carrier station 32 is transmitted via the personal computer 35, the converter 36, the modem 37, and the antenna 38, and further input to the control unit 104 via the antenna 70 of the cassette carrier 34 and the modem 112. You.

In response, the cassette carrier 34 starts the accommodating process. That is, the control unit 104 controls the motor 50
The drive wheels 46 are rotated by a and 50b to move the cassette carrier 34 toward the ATM 10a. As the cassette carrier 34 travels, the friction wheel 53 rotates, and the encoder 55 generates a rotation pulse. Then, the control unit 104 stops driving the motors 50a and 50b when the number of pulses of the encoder 55 reaches a predetermined number of pulses set at the time of learning, that is, the number of RA pulses. Thereby, the cassette carrier 34 stops at the stop position A corresponding to the ATM 10a.

Depending on the state of the floor surface 25, the drive wheel 46 or the friction wheel 53 may slip and the cassette carrier 34 may not stop accurately at the stop position A.
If the distance L from the ATM 10a is approximately 3 cm, no problem occurs.

Subsequently, the control unit 104 controls the cassette carrier 34 in accordance with the detection signal from the reflection type distance sensor 68b.
While confirming that the distance D between the ATM and the rear surface of the ATM 10a is a predetermined value, the reflection type distance sensor 68a
The cassette carrier 34 is further moved from the stop position A until the side edge E of the TM 10a on the side of the carrier station 32 is detected. Then, the control unit 104 moves the cassette carrier 34 from the position where the side edge E is detected by a predetermined distance according to a program stored in the ROM 105 in advance, that is, by a predetermined number of pulses, and then stops.

The control unit 104 controls the ATM 10a based on the detection signals from the reflection type distance sensors 68a and 68b.
Of the cassette carrier 34 with respect to the rear surface,
The parallelism is measured, and if tilted, one of the drive wheels 46 is driven and tilted so that the detection distance D detected by the reflection distance sensor 68a and the detection distance D detected by the reflection distance sensor 68b match. Is corrected.

By the above operation, as shown in FIG.
The cassette carrier 34 has an opening 44b in which the ATM 10
a is moved and positioned to a position substantially facing the insertion port 226 of FIG. In this state, the light emitting section 67a of the infrared remote controller
Outputs an opening signal of the door 228, and the ATM 10a
When the opening signal is received by the light receiving section 67b, the door 228 is opened and the insertion opening 226 is opened.

Next, the control unit 104 controls the reflection type sensor 10
The position shift between the lower table 82 and the upper table 83 and the insertion opening 226 of the ATM 10a is measured by the detection signals from 0a, 100b, and 102, and if there is a shift, the lower table 82 is moved in the X direction by the fine adjustment mechanism 78. The position shift is precisely corrected by tilting the upper table 83 in the Y direction, Tz tilt, and Ty tilt. Therefore, the delivery cassette 43 placed on the upper table 83 is positioned at a position where the protruding portion 43 a exactly faces the insertion port 226.

After the above fine adjustment is completed, the control unit 10
4 moves the delivery cassette 43 from the storage position in the housing 44 to the connection position by operating the slide mechanism 42. As a result, as shown in FIG.
The third projecting portion 43a passes through the insertion port 226 of the ATM 10a, and the delivery port 73 provided in the projecting portion 43a is adjacently opposed to the carry-in / out port 247 of the rear wall of the bill handling device 214.
Thereby, the bill loading / unloading section 291 of the transport cassette 43
Is connected to the bill carry-in / carry-out section 246 of the bill handling apparatus.
Further, the connector 76 of the delivery cassette 43 is connected to the connector 230 of the bill handling device 214, so that information can be exchanged.

When the connection work described above is completed, the control unit 1
04 causes the modem 112 and antenna 70
To the carrier station 32 via
The data is input to the server 30 via the LAN 28. The server 30 receiving the notification informs the ATM 10a of the completion of the connection of the delivery cassette 43, and inputs an instruction to the banknote handling device 214 of the ATM 10a to collect, for example, 400 10,000 yen bills.

In response to this, the banknote handling apparatus 214 takes out the banknotes one by one from the ten thousand yen storage 240a, transports them to the banknote loading / unloading section 246 through the transport path, and connects the banknotes of the delivery cassette 43 via the connectors 230 and 76. 2 Drive the drive motor. Thereby, the designated number of extracted banknotes are sequentially carried out from the banknote carry-in / carry-out section 246 and sent to the banknote carry-in / carry-out section 291 on the delivery cassette 34 side. Collected in 286. In addition, ATM1
If 0a is used, the collection operation is started after the transaction is completed.

When the collection operation is completed, an end report is sent from the ATM 10a to the server 30, and the server 30 receiving this report sends the completion report to the LAN 28 and the carrier station 3.
Then, an end signal is sent to the cassette carrier 34 via the line 2. In response, the control unit 104 of the cassette carrier 34 drives the slide mechanism 42 to move the delivery cassette 43 from the loading position to the storage position, and stores the delivery cassette 43 from the ATM 10a into the housing 44.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG.
4 moves the cassette carrier 34 to A by the same operation as described above.
After moving to the stop position C for the TM10c, the AT
Position with respect to M10c. In this state, the opening signal of the door 228 of the ATM 10c is output from the light emitting section 67a of the infrared remote controller, and the ATM 10c opens the door 228 and opens the insertion port 226 when the opening signal is received by the light receiving section 67b.

Next, the control unit 104 finely adjusts the position of the delivery cassette 43 by the fine adjustment mechanism 78, and accurately positions the protrusion 43a of the delivery cassette 43 with respect to the insertion port 226 of the ATM 10c.

After the above fine adjustment is completed, the control unit 10
4 moves the delivery cassette 43 from the storage position in the housing 44 to the connection position by operating the slide mechanism 42. As a result, the projecting portion 43a of the delivery cassette 43
The delivery port 73 that passes through the insertion port 228 of the TM 10 c and is provided in the protruding portion 43 a is adjacent to and faces the carry-in / out port 247 of the bill handling device 214. Thereby, the bill carrying-in / out part 291 of the transport cassette 43 is connected to the bill carrying-in / out part 246 of the bill handling apparatus. Further, the connector 76 of the delivery cassette 43 is connected to the connector 230 of the bill handling device 214, so that information can be exchanged.

When the connection operation of the transport cassette 43 is completed, an end signal is transmitted from the control unit 104 to the carrier station 32 via the modem 112 and the antenna 70, and further input to the server 30 via the LAN 28. The server 30 receiving the notification informs the ATM 10c of the completion of the connection of the delivery cassette 43, and
In the bill handling device 214 of FIG.
The user inputs an instruction to replenish zero 10,000 yen bills.

In response, the banknote handling device 214 operates the first and second drive motors 306, 3
07 is driven and bills are sequentially taken out one by one from the lowermost part of the bill stacking unit 286 by the take-out roller 288. The picked-up bill is guided by the guide roller 302 and the transport belt 3.
The bill is sent to the bill carry-in / carry-out unit 291 via the banknote handling device 04 and sent to the bill carry-in / carry-out unit 246 of the bill handling apparatus 214. Then, each bill is sent into the bill processing device 214, and further,
Through the inspection unit 236, for example, it is refilled into the ten thousand yen storage 240a. When the user uses the ATM 10c, the replenishment operation is started after the transaction is completed.

When the replenishment operation described above is completed, the delivery cassette 43 is returned into the main body 44 of the cassette carrier 34, and then the cassette carrier 34 is returned to the reference position R.
With the above operation, the accommodation process ends.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
Total number of bills T stored in 10a to 10c
Exceeds the upper limit A, the server 30 outputs a bill collection command to the cassette carrier 34. In this case, the server 30 is an ATM machine for collecting bills,
For example, it outputs the ATM 10a, the number of collected bills, and the denomination. Thereby, the cassette carrier 34 is connected to the ATM after moving the designated ATM 10a to the opposing position by the same operation as described above, and collects the designated number of bills of the designated denomination from the ATM 10a, and It is stored in the stacking unit 286.

When the collecting operation is completed, an end report is sent from the ATM 10a to the server 30, and the server 30 receiving this report sends an end signal to the cassette carrier 34 via the carrier station 32. In response, the cassette carrier 34 transfers the delivery cassette 43 to the ATM 10a.
From the housing 44.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG.
4 moves the cassette carrier 34 to the stop position of the carrier station 32 with respect to the loading device 13 by the same operation as described above, and then positions the cassette carrier 34 with respect to the carrier station. In this state, the light emitting section 67a of the infrared remote controller
Outputs a signal to open the door 326 of the carrier station, and the carrier station 32 opens the door 326 and opens the insertion port 324 when the light receiving unit 348 receives the open signal.

Next, the control section 104 finely adjusts the position of the delivery cassette 43 by the fine adjustment mechanism 78, and accurately positions the projecting portion 43a of the delivery cassette 43 with respect to the insertion port 324 of the carrier station 32.

After the above-mentioned fine adjustment is completed, the control unit 10
4 moves the delivery cassette 43 from the storage position in the housing 44 to the connection position by operating the slide mechanism 42. As a result, the projecting portion 43a of the delivery cassette 43 passes through the insertion port 324 of the carrier station 32, and the delivery port 73 provided in the projecting portion 43a is opposed to the bill loading / collecting port 338 of the loading device 13 adjacently. Thereby,
The bill loading / unloading section 291 of the transport cassette 43 is
3 is connected to the third bill transport mechanism 340. Further, the connector 76 of the delivery cassette 43 is connected to a connector (not shown) of the loading device 13 so that information can be exchanged.

When the connection operation of the transport cassette 43 is completed, an end signal is transmitted from the control unit 104 to the carrier station 32 via the connector.
Is input to the server 30 via the. The server 30 that has received the notification notifies the loading device 13 of the completion of the connection of the delivery cassette 43 and inputs an instruction to collect the designated number of bills from the delivery cassette 34.

In response to this, the loading device 13 drives the first and second drive motors 306 and 307 of the delivery cassette 43,
The banknotes are sequentially taken out one by one from the lowermost part of. The extracted bill is sent to the bill carrying-in / out unit 291 via the guide roller 302 and the carrying belt 304, and is sent to the bill carrying mechanism 340 of the loading device 13. Then, each bill is sent into the loading device 13 and further stored in the loading storage 330 through the inspection unit 332.

When the collecting operation described above is completed, the delivery cassette 43 is returned to the main body 44 of the cassette carrier 34, and then the cassette carrier 34 returns to the reference position R and returns to the standby state. In addition, the server 30 informs the staff of the display unit 31 that there is a collected bill in the loading device 13.
Display in a. In response, the attendant extracts the collected bills from the load storage 330 of the loading device 13 and inputs the fact to the server 30 via the input unit 31b. This allows
The determined data in the loading device 13 is updated. Note that the collected bills in the loading device 13 may be used for replenishment when any of the ATM bills runs short without being extracted.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
Total number of bills T stored in 10a to 10c
Is lower than the lower limit B, the server 30 displays a bill replenishment request to the attendant via the display unit 31a. In response to this, the clerk loads necessary banknotes into the load storage 13 of the loading device 13 and also inputs banknote confirmation data to the server 30 via the input unit 31b.

After the loading of the bills is completed, the loading device 13 reports this to the server 30, and then waits for an instruction. Then, the server 30 outputs a bill replenishment command to the cassette carrier 34 via the carrier station 32. In response, as shown in FIG. 19, the cassette carrier 34 is moved to the position corresponding to the loading device 13 by the same operation as described above, and then the position is adjusted, and the delivery cassette 43 is inserted into the insertion port 324 of the carrier station 32. Connect to

When the connection is completed, the server 30 sends an arbitrary number of bills to the cassette carrier 34 to the loading device 13.
And outputs a command to refill. Accordingly, the loading device 13 takes out the banknotes one by one from the loading storage 330, sends the banknotes to the transport mechanism 340, and drives the second drive motor of the delivery cassette 43 via the connector 230. As a result, the extracted bills are sequentially loaded into the bill loading / collecting port 3
The paper is fed out of the delivery cassette 34 and sent to the bill loading / unloading section 291 on the delivery cassette 34 side.

Here, the server 30 previously stores the bills to be loaded in the delivery cassette 43 in each of the ATMs 10a to 10c.
Replenishment or AT with the least amount
It is determined whether or not M should be replenished with all bills, and a command is issued to the loading device 13.

When the replenishment is not performed, when all the bills are loaded from the loading device 13 into the cassette carrier 34,
The server 30 designates an ATM for replenishing bills in the cassette carrier 34. As a result, the cassette carrier 34 replenishes the designated ATM with bills by the same operation as that of FIG. 17 described above.

When performing dispersion replenishment, the loading device 13
Loads only the specified number of banknotes in the cassette 330 into the cassette carrier 34. After the loading is completed, the cassette carrier 34 replenishes the designated ATM with the designated number of bills. After the replenishment of the cassette carrier 34, the cassette carrier 34 is connected to the loading device 13 again and loaded with the designated number of bills, and then refills the bill with another ATM. Then, the above-described operation is repeated until banknote replenishment is completed for all designated ATMs.

After the banknote replenishment operation as described above is completed, the server 30 sends the four ATMs 10a to 10d
Is determined to be greater than or equal to the lower limit value B, and if it is determined that the total bill number T is equal to or greater than the lower limit value B, a standby state is set. When the total number of bills T has not reached the lower limit B, the server 30 issues a bill replenishment request to the attendant again.

According to the cash processing system configured as described above, if the number of banknotes in the entire ATM group becomes insufficient beyond a predetermined lower limit, or if the number of banknotes increases beyond a predetermined upper limit, the server 30 is activated. Loading device 1
By loading banknotes from 3 into the cassette carrier 34 and replenishing banknotes from the cassette carrier 34 to the ATM, or by collecting banknotes from the ATM using the cassette carrier and further collecting them into the loading device 13,
It is possible to eliminate shortage of bills and excess bills of the entire ATM. Therefore, there is no need for the attendant to directly access each ATM to replenish or collect cash, thereby reducing the labor of the attendant and improving the processing speed. Also,
When replenishing and collecting bills, there is no need to stop the ATM, and the serviceability to the user can be improved.

Further, when replenishing banknotes to an ATM,
By dispersing and replenishing with the loading device 13 and the cassette carrier 34, the entire ATM group can be easily leveled.

Also, the banknotes of the entire ATM group become insufficient,
Alternatively, when the number of banknotes exceeds a predetermined upper limit, the server 30 determines which ATM should be replenished or collected with which ATM. There is no need to manage the banknote capacity of the entire cash processing system. Therefore, the management can be simplified, the operability can be improved, and the labor of the staff can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the present invention. For example, the processing device in the cash processing system is A
The present invention is not limited to the TM, and may include other devices such as a cash dispenser and a cash coefficient device, and the number of installed devices can be increased or decreased as necessary.

In the above-described embodiment, the loading device has a structure integral with the carrier station, but may be provided independently of the carrier station. In addition, the cash storage unit of the loading device is configured to include only the loading storage 330. However, as shown in FIG. May be provided. In this case, the loading device 13 can collect and load banknotes by denomination.

[0102]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, cash can be replenished and collected for each processing apparatus without manual intervention, and the labor of staff can be reduced. A cash processing system with an improved processing speed can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an entire cash processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the entire cash processing system.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an automatic transaction apparatus in the cash processing system.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the automatic transaction apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a carrier station in the cash processing system.

6 (a) is a plan view of a cassette carrier of the cash processing system, FIG. 6 (b) is a side view of the cassette carrier, and FIG. 6 (c) is a front view of the cassette carrier.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a cart of the cassette carrier.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the bogie partially broken away.

FIG. 9 is a front view and a sectional view showing a delivery cassette, a slide mechanism, and a fine adjustment mechanism of the cassette carrier.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing a part of the fine adjustment mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a driving unit of the slide mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the entire cassette carrier.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view for explaining a step of positioning the cassette carrier with respect to the automatic teller machine.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the cash processing system.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view showing a state where a cassette carrier is positioned with respect to the automatic transaction apparatus.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing a process of connecting a delivery cassette of a cassette carrier to the automatic transaction apparatus and collecting bills.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view showing a step of connecting a delivery cassette of a cassette carrier to the automatic transaction apparatus and replenishing bills.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view showing a step of connecting a delivery cassette of a cassette carrier to the loading device of the cash processing system and collecting bills from the cassette carrier.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view showing a step of connecting a delivery cassette of a cassette carrier to the loading device and loading bills into the cassette carrier.

FIG. 20 is a sectional view showing a loading device of a cash processing system according to a modification of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d: Automatic transaction device 12: Cash transfer device 13: Loading device 25: Floor surface 30: Server 32: Carrier station 34: Cassette carrier 40: Truck 43: Delivery cassette 228, 324: Insertion port 330 Loading box 338: Bill loading / collecting port 340: Transport mechanism

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of processing devices installed on an installation surface, each of which processes cash, a loading device installed on the installation surface, and having a cash storage unit for storing cash so that cash can be taken in and out; A self-propelled upper part, a transfer device that transfers cash between the processing device and the loading device, and a delivery device that is connected to the plurality of processing devices and the loading device. An operation management unit that manages and transfers cash between the plurality of processing devices by the transfer device and transfers cash between the transfer device and the loading device according to the amount of cash. A cash processing system comprising: 2. A plurality of processing devices installed on an installation surface, each of which processes cash, a loading device installed on the installation surface, and having a cash storage unit for storing cash so that cash can be taken in and out; A self-propelled upper part, a transfer device that transfers cash between the processing device and the loading device, and a delivery device that is connected to the plurality of processing devices and the loading device. While managing, setting a lower limit value and an upper limit value of the total height of the plurality of processing devices, and when the total height of the plurality of processing devices is lower than the lower limit value, from the loading device to the delivery device. Filling cash and replenishing cash to any processing device by the delivery device, and collecting cash from any processing device by the delivery device when the total height of the plurality of processing devices exceeds the upper limit. When the total height of the plurality of processing devices is between the lower limit value and the upper limit value, the transfer device selectively transfers cash between the plurality of processing devices. A cash processing system, comprising: a management unit; 3. A loading / collecting port for loading and collecting cash into and from the delivery device, wherein the loading device includes:
Transport means for transporting cash between the cash storage unit and a loading / collecting port, wherein the transfer device is capable of self-propelled along an arbitrary path on the installation surface; A cash holding unit provided on the movable trolley and capable of storing cash; and a transfer unit provided on the movable trolley and transporting cash between the loading / collecting port of the loading device and the cash holding unit. The cash processing system according to claim 1, wherein: 4. A cash storage according to claim 1, wherein said cash storage section of said loading device includes a plurality of cash storages for storing cash for each denomination. Processing system. 5. The management device displays a cash replenishment request when the total amount of the plurality of processing devices is lower than the lower limit value, and displays the total amount of the plurality of processing devices as the upper limit value. 3. The cash processing system according to claim 2, further comprising a display unit for displaying a cash collection request when the number exceeds the limit. 6. The management device selects one processing device for replenishing cash when the total height of the plurality of processing devices is lower than the lower limit, and loads the processing device from the loading device to the delivery device. The cash processing system according to claim 2, wherein the cash is supplied to the selected processing device. 7. The management device, when the total height of the plurality of processing devices falls below the lower limit, specifies the amount of cash to be replenished for each processing device, and transfers the cash amount from the loading device to the delivery device. 3. The cash processing system according to claim 2, wherein the loaded cash is distributed and supplied to the plurality of processing devices. 8. A plurality of automatic transaction devices installed on the installation surface for processing bills, a loading device installed on the installation surface and having a cash storage unit for storing bills so that they can be taken in and out; A self-propelled surface, and a transfer device for transferring the bill between the processing device and the loading device; and a plurality of automatic transaction devices and a loading device connected to the plurality of automatic transaction devices. While managing the accommodation amount, setting the lower limit value and the upper limit value of the bill accommodation amount of the plurality of automatic transaction devices as a whole, and when the bill accommodation amount of the plurality of automatic transaction devices as a whole falls below the lower limit value, When the banknote is filled from the loading device to the delivery device and the banknote is replenished to any processing device by the delivery device, and when the banknote storage amount of the plurality of automatic transaction devices as a whole exceeds the upper limit value,
The banknote is collected from any automatic transaction device by the transfer device and transferred to the loading device, and when the banknote storage capacity of the plurality of automatic transaction devices as a whole is between the lower limit value and the upper limit value, the transfer device And an operation management unit for selectively transferring bills among the plurality of automatic transaction devices.