JP2000123215A - Automatic coin paying-out machine and check-out device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a check-out device whose adjustment processing efficiency has been improved. SOLUTION: This check-out device is provided with an automatic coin paying- out means 3 in which each kind of coin inputted from a coin input port 10 is carried by a carrying means (carrying belt 40), and identified by an identifying means 23, and the total sum of the coins is calculated, and charge is paid out by a paying-out means (ejecting belt 62) based on the charge sum, and a registration processor 4 in which the total deposited sum is calculated from a purchase total sum calculated based on commodity information inputted by an input means (keyboard 210) for inputting a deposited sum and the total sum of the inputted coins, and a charge sum is calculated based on the total deposited sum and the purchase total sum, and the charge sum is outputted to the automatic coin paying-out means 3. In this case, the charge sum related with coins among the charge sum is transmitted to the automatic coin paying-out means 3 so that the coin charge can be paid out from the automatic coin paying-out means 3 based on the charge sum.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic coin dispenser and a checkout device using the automatic coin dispenser.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic cash register or a POS system terminal device (hereinafter simply referred to as a cash register) used for payment of a purchase price of a product purchased by a customer at a retail store or a supermarket or the like, that is, for settlement, etc. When coins are included in the change, an automatic coin dispensing machine that automatically pays out coins of the change (hereinafter referred to as change coins) is used.

This automatic coin dispensing machine eliminates the need for an operator, ie, a cashier, to pay for the purchase price of goods purchased by a customer, that is, an operator, ie, a cashier, at the time of settlement. Can reduce the mental fatigue of the customer, and because the change is paid out accurately, for example, when many customers come to the store in the evening and the payment place is crowded, the payment process can be performed quickly and accurately, thereby improving the efficiency of the payment operation. There is an advantage that it can be improved.

However, the conventional automatic coin dispenser dispenses change based on coin change amount information of change calculated by the register during the settlement process as described above, so that the cashier counts coins. Although there is a great advantage in that it can reduce the mental fatigue of the cashier as well as reduce the cashier's mental fatigue, it cannot solve the following factors that reduce the efficiency at the time of settlement.

[0005] In other words, one of the factors that takes a long time to settle one customer at the time of settlement is that the cashier operates the register at the settlement place to register the product purchased by the customer, and performs a registration end operation (hereinafter, a closing key). Operation), the total amount is displayed on the display unit, and if there is a portion of the amount displayed on this display unit to be paid with coins,
After the total amount is displayed, the customer prepares a coin for paying with the coin, and it takes time to prepare the coin, and this preparation time is a major factor of the settlement delay. Things. In other words, the cashier has to suspend the settlement process and wait while the customer prepares the coin, and the settlement operation is delayed by this time. Furthermore, the cashier must check the amount of coins deposited from the customer, and the time for this check is also a factor that delays the settlement process.

As described above, a major factor that delays the settlement process of one customer at the time of settlement is that as described above, it takes time to prepare coins of the purchase price paid by the customer, and the cashier sends It takes time to check the received coins. However, a conventional automatic coin dispenser cannot eliminate these factors.

[0007]

As described above, a major factor that delays the settlement of one customer at the time of settlement is that it takes time to prepare coins in the price paid by the customer, and the cashier receives the money from the customer. Although it takes time to check the coins, the conventional automatic coin dispensing machine can pay out coin change, but it cannot solve the delay factor.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. According to the first aspect of the present invention, a base portion supported by a support base and an operator of the base portion are located. A main body housing composed of a housing portion protruding upward on the side opposite to the side, a coin insertion slot provided at the upper part of the housing portion for receiving various coins inserted by a customer, from this coin insertion port Conveying means for conveying the inserted coins, identifying means for identifying the type of coins conveyed by the conveying means, coin counting means for counting the identified coins, the unidentified coins identified by the identifying means, A transport path including an exclusion unit that removes as a non-coin, a coin accommodating section provided on the base section and accommodating regular coins transported from the transport path for each type, and inserted into the coin insertion slot. Normal hardness identified by identification means Coin total amount calculating means for calculating the total amount of coins, coin total amount storing means for storing the total amount calculated by the coin total amount calculating means, and total amount output for outputting the total amount of the coin total amount storing means. Means, change information input means for inputting change information, dispensing means for paying out coins required for change from the coin storage unit for each type based on the change information input from the change information input means, and the base unit A coin automatic dispensing machine which is provided on the side where the operator is located and which holds a coin dispensed from the dispensing means, and various kinds of information such as product code, price, product information, customer deposit amount, etc. Input means for inputting information, storage means for storing the total purchase price of the customer calculated based on the commodity information inputted from the input means, and total amount information from the total amount output means of the automatic coin dispenser. The total amount input means to be input, the total deposit amount from the customer obtained by summing the deposit amount input from the input means and the total coin amount input from the total amount input means and stored in the total coin amount storage means. Total change amount storing means for storing the change amount, a change amount calculating means for calculating a change amount based on the total amount of purchase and the total purchase amount, and change information input by the automatic coin dispensing machine with the change information calculated by the change calculating means. A checkout device comprising a registration processing device having change information output means for outputting to the means, wherein the change relating to coins is paid out by the automatic coin dispenser out of the change amount calculated by the change calculation means. It is what it was.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the customer tries to pay the purchase price including the coins during the settlement process, the customer inserts his / her coins into the coin slot in advance. The total amount of the inserted coins is calculated by the total coin amount calculating means, and the total amount is stored in the total coin amount storing means. The total amount of the coins is stored in the registration processing device by the registration processing device. The total deposit amount is obtained by summing up with the deposit amount from the customer input from the input means, and the automatic coin dispensing machine 3 determines the necessary amount based on the change information calculated based on the total deposit amount and the total purchase amount. By calculating the type and number of coins and paying out coins required as change, the time required for settlement processing can be reduced, processing efficiency can be increased, and accurate settlement can be performed. Counting change coins of the operator, that cashier is expected to have an effect that it is possible to reduce the mental fatigue caused by such.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the coin insertion slot is provided so as to protrude on the side opposite to the customer opposite to the side opposite to the operator of the housing. It is a checkout device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the coin insertion slot is provided so as to protrude to the side opposite to the customer on the side opposite to the side opposite to the operator of the housing. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, the present invention has an effect of facilitating the insertion of coins by the customer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, coins are provided independently of the registration process performed based on the product information input from the input means of the registration processing device. This is a checkout device in which the total amount of regular coins inserted into a coin slot of the automatic sorting and dispensing device is calculated, and the total amount is stored in a coin total amount storage means.

[0013] Thus, the invention according to claim 3 is, in the invention according to claim 1 or 2, independent of the registration process performed based on the product information input from the input means of the registration processing device. 3. The invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the total amount of regular coins inserted into the coin slot of the automatic coin sorting and dispensing apparatus is calculated and the total amount is stored in the coin total amount storage means. In addition to the effect of the above, since the calculation of the total amount of coins inserted from the coin slot is performed independently of the registration process such as input of information on the purchased product of the customer, the customer can use the coin during the registration process. Since it can be charged into the charging port, it has an effect that the time for the settlement process can be further reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects of the present invention, a coin amount display means for a customer is provided, and the coin amount display means is stored in the coin total amount storage means. This is a checkout device that displays the total amount of coins.

Thus, the invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claims 1 to 3, wherein a coin amount display means for a customer is provided, and the coin amount display means is stored in the coin total amount storage means. Since the total value of the coins is displayed, in addition to the effect of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the customer has the effect of being able to check the total value of the coins inserted from the coin insertion slot by himself / herself. Things.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, the storage portion for temporarily storing coins conveyed on the transport path is provided downstream of the transport path. A check-out device is provided on the side wall of the housing portion, the opening / closing door being provided in the housing portion and being opened by an operator's opening operation in correspondence with the storage portion.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, the storage portion for temporarily storing coins conveyed on the transport path is provided downstream of the transport path. The opening / closing door which is provided on the body portion and which can be opened by an operator's opening operation corresponding to the storage portion is provided on the side wall of the housing portion.
In addition to the effect of the invention described, when the total amount of coins inserted by the customer is different from the amount inserted by the customer, the opening and closing door can be opened to check the coins stored in the storage unit. Have Further, since the opening / closing door can be opened by an operator, that is, the opening / closing operation of the cashier, it has an effect of ensuring safety.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, an exclusion tray is provided on the side wall of the housing, and the exclusion means is provided downstream of the identification means provided on the transport path. And a checkout device for discarding coins that have been identified as invalid by the identification means to the rejection tray.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the exclusion plate is provided on the side wall of the housing, and the exclusion means is provided downstream of the identification means provided on the transport path. The coin is discriminated as being invalid by the discriminating means, and the coin is discharged to the rejection tray. It is possible for the customer to confirm that an illegal coin has been mixed into the device, and to prevent troubles occurring with the operator.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, the bill amount and the total coin amount storage means are stored in response to the input of the bill amount deposited by the customer from the input means. This is a checkout device for calculating the total deposit amount based on the stored coin total amount.

Thus, the invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to claim 1 to claim 6, wherein the amount of the deposited banknote and the total amount of the coins in accordance with the input of the amount of the deposited banknote from the customer through the input means. Since the total deposit amount is calculated based on the total coin amount stored in the storage means, in addition to the operation of the invention according to claims 1 to 6, the total deposit amount is determined by the operator from the customer. Since the calculation is performed in accordance with the input of the deposited banknote amount, the calculation can be easily performed.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a check-out device according to the first to seventh aspects, wherein an optical reading device is provided on a surface of the housing portion facing the operator. It is.

As described above, the invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claims 1 to 7, in which the optical reading device is provided on the surface of the housing portion facing the operator. In addition to the effects of the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, the checkout device can be downsized and the operation of registering the product information is easy.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the eighth aspect, the optical reading device is a checkout device provided in the housing via a vibration isolator.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the optical reading device is provided in the housing via the vibration isolating material in the eighth aspect of the present invention. In addition to the function of the above, since the vibration generated during the operation of the automatic coin dispenser can be prevented from being transmitted to the optical reader,
This has the function of preventing the occurrence of a failure or the like due to vibration.

The invention according to claim 10 is the first invention.
The invention according to claim 8 is a checkout device in which a coin slot is provided with an opening / closing lid which opens based on the first product information input information from the input means and is closed by a key signal of a registration end key.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the first to eighth aspects, the coin opening slot is opened based on the first product information input information from the input means, and the key of the registration end key. Since the opening / closing lid closed by the signal is provided, in addition to the effects of the inventions according to claims 1 to 8, the coin insertion slot is closed by the opening / closing lid except during the period from the start of the customer registration process to the end of registration. Therefore, it is possible to prevent foreign objects from being inserted into the coin insertion slot due to mischief or the like.

[0028] According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a base portion supported by a support base and a housing portion projecting upward from a side of the base portion facing a side where an operator is located. And a coin slot provided at an upper portion of the housing portion for receiving various coins inserted by a customer, a conveying means for conveying coins inserted from the coin insertion port, and conveyed by the conveying means. Identification means for identifying the type of coin, counting means for counting the identified coins, a transport path provided with an exclusion means for eliminating coins not identified by the identification means as not valid coins, and a lower surface of the base portion A coin storage unit provided on the side for storing regular coins transported from the transport path for each type, and the type and number of coins required for change based on change information input from the change information input means. Decision means and this decision A payout unit for paying out coins of each type stored in the coin storage unit for each type based on the determination of the unit, and coins provided from the payout unit provided on the side of the base unit where the operator is located Storing a total amount of regular coins inserted into the coin insertion slot and identified by the identification means, and a total amount calculated by the total coin amount calculation means. A coin automatic dispensing machine including coin total amount storage means, output means for outputting the total amount of the coin total amount storage means to the checkout device, and change information input means for inputting change information from the checkout device. Things.

As described above, according to the present invention, the base portion supported by the support base and the housing portion projecting upward from the side of the base portion facing the side where the operator is located are provided. A coin slot for receiving various coins inserted by a customer, a conveying unit for conveying coins inserted from the coin slot, and a coin conveyed by the conveying unit, Is provided with a discriminating means for discriminating whether the coin is a legitimate coin or not, and a conveying path provided with an elimination means for eliminating coins determined to be invalid by the discriminating means, and the base unit is conveyed from the conveying path. Automatic coin dispensing by providing a coin accommodating unit for accommodating regular coins for each type, a dispensing unit for dispensing coins for each type, and a receiving tray for accommodating coins dispensed from this dispensing unit. Installed because the machine is small and vertical Those having an effect of the pace can be reduced.

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of an automatic coin dispenser of the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as a coin dispenser) and a checkout apparatus using the coin dispenser will be described with reference to FIGS. I do.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an operator of a checkout device using a coin dispenser, that is, a side where a cashier is located (hereinafter referred to as an operator side). FIG. That is, it is a perspective view as seen from the side where the customer is located (hereinafter referred to as the customer side).

As shown in FIG. 1, the checkout device 1
Is composed of a support 2, a coin dispenser 3, a registration processing device 4, a bill dispenser 5, and the like.

The support base 2 is formed in a so-called desk shape, and is formed in a concave shape on an upper surface portion. The storage portion 2a and the storage portion 2b for storing the coin dispenser 3 and the bill dispenser 5 are provided. The operator side is open and the lower part is a storage space 2c for storing equipment and the like. On the left and right sides of the support table 2, mounting tables 6 and 7 for mounting products or storage baskets containing the products are respectively disposed. The mounting table 7 disposed on the right side in FIG. An unregistered product is placed thereon, and the placement table 6 on the left is for placing a registered product that has undergone registration processing.

Next, the coin dispensing machine 3 includes a base 101 formed in a relatively flat box shape, and the base 101
The main body 100 includes a main body 100 that is provided so as to protrude upward from the upper surface opposite to the operator, that is, the cashier side (hereinafter, the operator is also referred to as a cashier). Transport path 20, which will be described later,
It comprises coin storage containers 60a to 60f, payout means and the like.

The coin dispenser 3 is mounted on the base 1
01 is stored in the storage section 2a of the support table 2 and supported by the support table 2, and in the supported state, after being stored and supported by the upper surface thereof and the storage section 2b similarly. The upper surface of the banknote teller machine 5 to be described in detail
And 7 are flush with the upper surfaces thereof, and these upper surfaces can be used to place a product or the like when registering the product.

The housing 110 is formed in a prismatic shape, and a coin slot (hereinafter simply referred to as a slot) which is a part of the coin dispensing machine 3 is shown on the right side in FIG. Is provided with a registration processing device 4 described in detail later.

Next, the coin dispenser 3 will be described.
The coin dispensing machine 3 is provided with the input port 10. The input port 10 has a left upper portion of the housing 110 formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a part thereof is formed in the housing 1.
Box-shaped part 11 formed so as to protrude from the side surface of the customer 10
The upper part is formed in the upper part of one protruding one end side with an upper opening. The input port 10 is connected to the housing 11
0 protruding from the side surface on the customer side, it becomes easy for the customer to insert coins, and the size of the coin dispensing machine 3 in the horizontal direction, that is, the horizontal direction in FIG. 1 can be reduced.

A transport path 20 is provided inside the box-shaped portion 111 as shown in FIGS. As shown in the figure, a conveyor belt 15 is provided at the bottom of the inlet 10 so as to be suspended between a driving roller 15a and a driven roller 15b. The coin K inserted from the insertion port 10 is sent out. An alignment roller 16 is provided at the input port 10 on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the conveyor belt 15.
Are arranged so as to allow a single coin to pass therethrough with the transport belt 15 and are driven so as to rotate in a direction opposite to the transport direction of the transport belt 15. Thus, even if a plurality of coins are simultaneously inserted from the insertion slot 10, the coins K are arranged in a line and are sequentially sent out to the transport path 20.

Further, on both sides of the input port 10, as shown in FIG.
14a and light receiving elements 14b and 14b for receiving light from the light emitting elements 14a and 14a, and an insertion detecting means 14 for detecting that a coin is inserted into the insertion slot 10 is provided. When it is detected that a coin has been inserted, the first transport system R1 formed by the transport belt 15, the alignment roller 16, and a transport belt 40 of the transport path 20, which will be described later, is driven.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a slide-type opening / closing lid 11 is provided in the input port 10, and the opening / closing lid 11 is operated by opening / closing means including an electromagnet (not shown). The opening / closing means is a keyboard 21 which is an input means of the registration processing device 4 described later.
0 or a signal for the first registration from the scanner 220, that is, the opening / closing lid 11 is opened in synchronization with the input signal of the first product information, and in synchronization with the key signal generated by operating the closing key 214 which is the registration end key. It works to close. That is, the opening / closing lid 11 is opened at the same time as the start of the registration process of the operator and closed at the same time as the end. Thus, when registration processing is not performed, it is possible to prevent foreign substances from being introduced due to mischief or the like.

Next, the transport path 20 provided on the downstream side of the input port 10 will be described.

The transport surface 22 of the transport path 20 is formed as a flat surface, and an identification means 23 for identifying the type of the coin K is arranged upstream of the transport path 20. Each of the coins K detected in the above is counted by the coin counting means 35 to be described. The type of coins detected by the identification means 23 and the number of coins for each type counted by the coin counting means 35 (hereinafter also referred to as the number of coins) are used to calculate the total number of coins constituted by a CPU 90, which will be described later. The total amount of coins is calculated by the amount calculating means (hereinafter simply referred to as coin amount calculating means).

Further, on the downstream side of the identification means 23, there is provided an elimination means 2 for eliminating coins which are not genuine coins as a result of identification by the identification means 23, that is, coins which are not considered to be regular coins.
4 are provided.

The discriminating means 23 is constituted by an outer diameter detecting means 30 (see FIG. 3) for discriminating the diameter, that is, the outer diameter of the coin. As shown in FIG. 3, the outer shape detecting means 30 is provided with a hole 22a formed in the transport surface 22.
And a light receiving element 30b disposed above the hole 22a. The outer shape detecting means 30 determines the amount of light passing through the hole 22a depending on the size of the outer diameter of the coin, that is, Since the amount of light received by the light receiving element 30b is different, the type of the coin is identified by detecting the outer diameter of the coin based on the electrical output that varies according to the amount of light.

That is, since the outer diameter of each coin is different for each coin, the type of the coin can be detected, that is, identified by detecting the outer diameter. In addition,
As described above, the identification of coins is performed by detecting the outer diameter of each coin. However, in order to further ensure the identification, together with the outer diameter detecting means 30, the coin material (not shown) is used. It is also possible to provide a material detecting means for detecting, a hole discriminating means for detecting or discriminating a hole of a coin having a hole such as a 5-yen coin and a 50-yen coin.

In this embodiment, a hole discriminating means (not shown) for discriminating a hole of a coin is arranged as discriminating means 23, and this hole discriminating means is provided on the transport surface 22 similarly to the outer diameter discriminating means 30. It is composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element (not shown) arranged above and below the provided hole 22c (see FIG. 4), and the presence or absence of the hole of the coin is determined by detecting the light passing through the hole of the conveyed coin. This is performed by detecting with a light receiving element.

The total coins calculated by the coin amount calculating means based on the discriminating means 23 and the number counted by the coin counting means 35 in the process of being inserted through the insertion port 10 and being conveyed through the conveying path 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the amount is displayed on a coin amount display H provided on the customer side of the registration device 4 which will be described in detail later provided on the upper part of the housing 110. ing. Since the total value of the coins inserted by the customer is displayed on the high-priced indicator H, the customer can check the inserted amount by himself.

The exclusion means 24 is constituted by a shutter S arranged so as to always project a predetermined width from the left side of the exclusion hole 22b formed in the conveyance surface 22 to the exclusion hole 22b in the conveyance direction in FIG. , Exclusion hole 22b
The illegal coins removed from the communication passage 24a are formed along the lower part inside the casing 110 (see FIG. 5).
And is discharged to an exclusion tray 12 a provided on the side of the right side wall of the casing 110. That is,
If the outer diameter discriminating means 30 and the hole discriminating means 23 discriminate that the coin is not a legitimate coin, the shutter S moves the protruding portion by an electromagnet (not shown) operated under the control of the elimination means controller 95f (see FIG. 9). The coin immersed and transported to the right is dropped from the rejection hole 22b to the rejection tray 12a and discharged.

As described above, when an illegal coin is mixed in coins inserted by the customer, the exclusion tray 12a
The customer can confirm that something other than a legitimate coin has been mixed in the coins he / she has inserted by dropping or discharging the coins, thereby eliminating troubles that may occur with the operator and In addition, fraudulent acts can be prevented.

Also, the exclusion hole 22b of the transport surface 22
A coin passing hole 22d for passing a legitimate coin is formed at the downstream of the coin. The coin passing through the coin passing hole 22d is provided with a communication passage provided along the lower part inside the housing 110. The coin is passed through 24b (see FIGS. 5 and 6) and is stored in a storage container 70 as a storage section for temporarily storing coins described later.

A transport belt 40 is disposed in the transport path 20 so as to face the transport surface 22 and serves as transport means for transporting the coins K (see FIG. 4) sent from the slot 10. It is arranged so as to be suspended between the driven roller 41a and the driven roller 41b. The transport belt 40 rotates while being pressed against the upper surface of the coin K, whereby the coin K fed into the transport path 20 is transported along the reference surface 21 (see FIG. 4). The coin 22 is conveyed while sliding on the coin 22, passes through the coin passage hole 22d, falls into the storage container 70, and is stored.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, through holes 24c facing each other are formed above the side walls of the communication passage 24b facing each other.
A detection sensor 35a including a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element for detecting the inserted normal coin is provided outside the box. The detection sensor 35a and a counter (not shown) constitute the coin counting means 35 (see FIG. 9).

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the storage container 70 is formed in a box shape having an open top, and the bottom wall 71 is rotated about a hinge 73a (see FIG. 6) so as to rotate to the bottom. When the bottom wall 71 rotates, the coins temporarily stored therein are removed from the alignment sending unit 2 described later.
5 to fall.

The housing 11 of the storage container 70
An opening 72 is formed in the side wall on the customer side of No. 0, and the opening 72 can be opened and closed by a lid 74 that rotates at an upper portion by a hinge 73b. 2 and 5, an opening 112 is formed in a side wall on the customer side of the casing 110 facing the lid 70. The opening 112 can be rotated by a hinge (not shown). Is opened and closed by an opening / closing door 113 attached to the camera. A lock 114 that can be locked or unlocked by an operator using a key is attached to the side of the opening / closing door 113 opposite to the side where the hinge (not shown) is provided, as shown in FIG.

Then, by opening the opening / closing door 113 and then opening the cover 74 of the storage container 70, the coins temporarily stored in the storage container 70 are taken out, and the denomination and amount of the coin are confirmed. I can do it. That is, the customer inserts the coin through the slot 10, the coin amount indicator H displays the coin amount calculated by the coin amount calculating means, and the amount differs from the coin amount recognized by the customer as having been inserted. When there is an offer, the operator unlocks the lock, opens the door 113 and the lid 74, and can check the amount of coins stored in the storage container 70. With this, it is possible to eliminate or prevent troubles occurring with the customer and to maintain a trusting relationship with the customer.

Further, the bottom wall 71 of the storage container 70 is opened when a predetermined time has passed after the coins are stored, and when the bottom wall 71 is opened, the stored coins are aligned. And falls into the alignment sending section 25 for sending.

The alignment sending section 25 is provided in a base 101 stored in a storage 102 provided on the lower surface side of the base 100 as shown in FIG.
The configuration is substantially the same as that of the charging port 10. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, a transport belt 44 is provided at the bottom of the transport belt 44 so as to be suspended between a driving roller 44a and a driven roller 44b, and the transport belt 44 sends the dropped coins to a sorting transport path 26 described later. It has become. Further, an alignment roller 45 is provided on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the transport belt 44 of the aligning / delivery unit 25, and the aligning roller 45 is disposed with a gap between the transport belt 44 and one coin passing therethrough. The conveyor belt 44 is driven so as to rotate in a direction opposite to the conveying direction of the conveying belt 44.
Even if a plurality of coins fall at the same time, the coins are further arranged in a line and sequentially sent out to the sorting transport path 26.

Further, the container 70
Sensor 25e for detecting coins falling from
(See FIG. 9 (not shown in FIGS. 5 and 6)).

Next, the sorting transport path 26 will be described.

The sorting / conveying path 26 includes a base portion 101 stored in a storage portion 102 provided on the lower surface side of the base portion 100 together with coin storage portions 60a to 60f to be described later.
It is provided inside. The transport surface 27 of the sorting transport path 26 is formed as a flat surface as shown in FIG. 8, and the sorting transport path 26 is provided with coin sorting means 50.

In FIG. 7, the coin sorting means 50 passes coins having smaller outer diameters in order from the right side, forms them below the conveying surface 27, and then drops them into the coin accommodating portions 60a to 60f described in detail below. 51f.

That is, in FIG. 7, the sorting hole 51a on the rightmost side, that is, on the side of the alignment sending section 25 is a sorting hole for a one-yen coin having the smallest outer diameter, and the next sorting hole 51b has a smaller outer diameter than the one-yen coin. The sorting hole 51c is a sorting hole for a 5-yen coin having a larger outer diameter than the 50-yen coin, and the sorting hole 51d is a 100-yen coin having a larger outer diameter than the 5-yen coin. And the selection hole 51e is 100
A sorting hole for 10-yen coins with a larger outer diameter than yen coins.
The leftmost sorting hole 51f is a sorting hole for a 500-yen coin having an outer diameter larger than that of a 10-yen coin.

In addition, the sorting transport path 26 has a transport surface 2
A transport belt 47 for transporting the coins 5 fed by the transport belt 44 disposed opposite to the transport belt 7 is suspended by a driving roller 48a and a driven roller 48b. The transport belt 47 is configured to rotate while being pressed against the upper surface of the coin, and the coin fed into the sorting transport path 26 is thereby moved to the reference surface 27a.
Is conveyed while sliding on the sending surface 27 along the path.

When each coin is conveyed to the position of the sorting hole for sorting the coins in the course of transportation, the coins fall down from the sorting hole and fall into the coin accommodating portions 60a to 60f accommodating the coins. It is to be accommodated.

The transport belt 4 of the aligning and sending section 25
4. The alignment roller 45 and the transport belt 47 of the sorting transport path 26 constitute a second transport system R2.

A storage tray 12 is provided at the front of the case 3a. The storage tray 12 has an upper opening for storing various coins paid out by a second payout belt 62b constituting a payout belt 62 described later. The storage tray 12 has payout ports 13a to 13 provided on the downstream side of the payout belt 62b corresponding to the coin storage sections 60a to 60f.
Various coins paid out from f are accommodated.

Next, the coin storage units 60a through 60
A configuration for paying out f and coins will be described. Since the coin storage units 60a to 60f and the structure for paying out coins have the same structure, only the part related to the coin storage unit 60f will be described, and the description of other parts will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 8, a payout belt 62 constituting payout means is disposed at the bottom of the coin storage section 60f. The payout belt 62 is a short first transport belt 62.
a and a long second payout belt 62b. Then, the first payout belt 62a is
And a driven roller 64, and a front portion thereof extends outward from the coin storage portion 60f. The second payout belt 62b is connected to the drive roller 63 and the payout port 1.
It is suspended by a driven roller 65 provided near 3f.

The second payout belt 62b extends outward from the coin accommodating portion 60f to the payout opening 13f. The first payout belt 62a and the second payout belt 62b That is, the payout belt 62 rotates in a direction in which coins are transported toward the payout port 13f.

At the exit of the coin storage section 60f, an alignment roller 66 is provided so as to face the first payout belt 62a and the second payout belt 62b which are the payout belts 62. Reference numeral 66 rotates in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the payout belt 62, and functions so as to align the coins in one line when being conveyed toward the payout port 13f by the payout belt 62.

The shaft 81 is located downstream of the second payout belt 62b, that is, in the vicinity of the outlet 13f, by the operation of the electromagnet 80 in opposition to the second payout belt 62b.
A restricting member 81 is provided at the tip end of which the movement of the coin conveyed by the locking piece 81b is stopped at the fulcrum. The electromagnet 80 and the regulating member 81 constitute a regulating means 83, and the regulating means 83 operates under the control of a later-described regulating means controller 95c controlled by the CPU 90 (see FIG. 9).

When a predetermined number of coins are paid out based on change information from the registration processing device 4 described in detail later, the electromagnet 80 is controlled by the regulating means controller 95c to operate the regulating member 81. Then, the payout of coins exceeding the predetermined number is stopped.

The coins K conveyed to the payout port 13f by the second payout belt 62b of the payout belts 62 fall into the storage tray 12, that is, are discharged.

A detection sensor 84 for detecting coins to be paid out is provided in the vicinity of the regulating means 83. The detection sensor 84 and a counter (not shown) constitute payout counting means 85a to 85f. I have.

Below the base 101, that is, below the coin storages 60a to 60f, the coins stored in the coin storages 60a to 60f as shown in FIGS. The collection container 8 which collects is provided so as to be able to be pulled out. Then, coins are collected in the collection container 8 by setting the guide plate 17 shown in FIG. 8 at a position indicated by a two-dot chain line around the shaft 17a, and driving the dispensing belt 62 in this state, thereby disposing the payout port 13a. The coins dispensed from 13 to 13f are guided by the back surface of the guide plate 17 and fall into the collection container 8, whereby the coin accommodating portion 60
The coins stored in a to 60f can be collected in the collecting container 8.

Next, the main control structure of the coin dispenser 3 will be described with reference to the control block diagram of FIG.

As shown in the figure, a CPU with a built-in arithmetic circuit
A (central processing unit) 90 includes a ROM (read only memory) 92 for storing various control programs via a bus line 91 and an RA for storing various information, that is, data.
An M (random access memory) 93 is connected, and the CPU 90 executes various controls and various calculations in accordance with various control programs stored in the ROM 92.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Identification means 23 via I / O port 94a, insertion detection means 14 via I / O port 94b, I / O port 94
c, the coin counting means 35, the clocking means 97 via the I / O port 94d, the receiving sensor 25e via the I / O port 94e, and the payout counting means 85a to 85f via the I / O port 94f. It is connected. Further, on the bus line 91, a display controller 95a for controlling the coin amount display H, a payout means controller 95b for controlling the payout means (payout belt 62), a regulating means controller 95c for controlling the regulating means 83, a first conveyance System R
1 and a second transport system controller 95 for controlling the second transport system R2.
e, exclusion means controller 95 for controlling exclusion means 24
f, a transmission I / F 96 as output means for outputting coin total amount information to a registration processing device 4 described later and change information input means for receiving change information from the registration processing device 4 is connected.

The RAM 93 has a total amount storage area 93a as a coin total amount storage means, and change information transmitted from the registration processing device 4 described later, ie, change information storage means for storing change amounts to be paid for coins. An information storage area 93b is provided.

Next, the operation of the coin dispenser 3 will be described.

When the customer pays for the purchase price after shopping,
If the total amount requires coins or coins, or if you have a large number of coins and want to pay a portion of the price with coins, the cashier registers the coins you have in advance. While the opening / closing lid 11 is open.

When a coin is inserted, the insertion detecting means 14
Is detected, and when this is detected, the CPU
90, the first transport system controller 95d operates the first transport system R1, that is, the transport belt 15, the alignment roller 16, and the transport belt 44 to align the inserted coins K in a line to further transport the transport path 20; And is conveyed toward the temporary storage section 70 via the.

In the course of being transported along the transport path 20, the type of coin is identified by the identification means 23, and the normal coins passing through the coin passage hole 22d are counted by the coin counting means 35. The total amount of the inserted coins is calculated by the CPU 90, that is, the coin amount calculating means, based on the type and the counting result.
The total amount stored in the total amount storage area 93a is displayed on the coin amount display H. The total amount is sent to the registration processing device 4 via the transmission I / F 96.

Further, coins which cannot be identified by the identification means 23 are regarded as not valid coins, are eliminated by the elimination means 24, and are ejected to the ejection tray 12a. This can prevent the use of illegal fake coins and the like.

Each of the identified coins is stored in the storage container 70 as the temporary storage section through the coin passage hole 22d, and the detection sensor provided near the coin passage hole 22d below the communication passage 24b. When it is determined that the coin has been dropped by 35a, that is, it is determined that all the coins inserted through the insertion slot 10 have been stored in the storage container 70, the bottom wall 71
Is opened, and the coins stored in the storage container 70 are
Fall to 5.

This drop is detected by the receiving sensor 25e, and based on the detection signal of the receiving sensor 25e, the CP
U90 operates the second transport system R2, that is, the transport belt 44, the alignment roller 45, and the transport belt 47.

As a result, the coins in the sorting / sending unit 25 are further aligned in a line by the sorting roller 45, sequentially sent out to the sorting / conveying path 26, sorted by type, and sorted out of the coin storage units 60a to 60f. It is stored in a predetermined coin storage unit.

When change information, that is, a change amount, is received from the registration processing unit 4 via the transmission I / F 96 as described later, the change amount is stored in the change information storage area 93b, and based on the change amount, the CPU 90 determines the change amount. Determines the type and number of coins constituting the change amount, that is, change information. The change information is stored in the change information storage area 93b, and based on the change information, coins of the type required for the change are stored. By operating the payout belt 62, which is the payout means of the coin storage section, the coins are paid out to the storage tray 12 through the payout ports 13a to 13f.

The CPU 90 constitutes determining means for determining the type and the number of coins of change, that is, the number.

In the process of being conveyed by the second payout belt 62b of the payout belt 62, the coins
When the number is counted at 5a to 85f and the predetermined number is counted, the CPU 90 operates the regulating means 83 to stop paying out the conveyed coins from the payout ports 13a to 13f. As a result, the change of the predetermined coin is
And the operator, ie, the cashier, sends the coins stored in the storage tray 12 and, when the change includes a banknote, a banknote as a change paid out from a banknote teller machine 5 described later, to the customer. To pass.

The type and the number of coins are determined so that the number of coins to be paid out is minimized. In other words, when the change amount is, for example, 570 yen, one 500 yen coin (instead of five 100 yen coins) and one 50 yen coin (10
(Not five yen coins) and two 10 yen coins.

Next, the registration processing device 4 will be described.

The registration processing device 4 is disposed above the housing 110 as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
On the operator side on the upper surface, a keyboard 210 as one of input means of the registration processing device 4 is arranged. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the keyboard 210 has a numeric key 211 for counting the sales amount of the product for sale, a section key 212 for indicating the category of the product, a subtotal key 213, and a cash settlement key for ending the registration. That is, a deposit / current total key (hereinafter referred to as a close key) 214 for performing a settlement and various function keys 215 are arranged. Also, this keyboard 2
In 10, power on / off control is performed and “Registration” is performed.
(A business that accumulates sales data of products purchased by customers and issues receipts) “Inspection” (a business that outputs a report of product sales data that has been accumulated by registration business), “Checkout” (a business that is accumulated by registration business) A mode setting key 216 for selecting and setting various tasks such as a task of outputting product sales data as a report and clearing the contents of the storage unit) is provided.

The registration processing device 4 is a well-known optical reading device (hereinafter referred to as a scanner) 2 as an input means.
20 (see FIG. 10).
Numeral 0 is arranged on the casing 110, and the reading window 221 is arranged on a surface of the casing 110 facing the operator. The scanner 220 scans the laser light emitted from the laser transmitter on the bar code attached to the product using a polygon mirror and a reflection mirror, receives the reflected light by a light receiving element, and has the bar code. It is a reading device generally called a laser scanner for reading product information.

Although not shown, the scanner 220 is disposed in the casing 110 via a vibration isolator made of an elastic rubber or the like, whereby the vibration generated when the coin dispensing machine 3 operates is provided. Is prevented from being transmitted, and the occurrence of a failure or the like due to the vibration can be prevented.

Further, by arranging the scanner 220 in the housing 110, the space inside the housing 110 can be effectively used, and the size of the registration processing device 4 can be reduced. In addition, since the reading window 221 of the scanner 220 is disposed on the operator side surface of the housing 110, the registration operation is facilitated by reading the barcode attached to the product.

An indicator 230 for the operator is provided on the left side of the keyboard 210 in FIG. 1, and a coin amount indicator H is provided on the customer side as shown in FIG. A display 231 for the customer is provided adjacent to the display. Further, a receipt issuing port 234 is provided below the display 230, and the receipt issuing port 234 is provided.
After that, a receipt on which predetermined items are printed by the printer 235 (see FIG. 10) is issued.

Next, the control configuration of the registration processing device 4 is shown in FIG.
Description will be made based on the control block diagram shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, this control configuration has a built-in arithmetic circuit and performs various arithmetic processing based on information, that is, data input from the keyboard 210 or the like.
PU (Central Processing Unit) 240, ROM (Read Only Memory) 241 for storing various control programs, RAM (Random Access Memory) 242 for storing sales data such as the amount of money for each keyed product, An I / O port 216a for receiving a key signal from the mode setting key 216; a keyboard circuit 210a for receiving a key signal from the keyboard 210;
I / O port 220a for taking in a signal of 0, a display controller 230a for outputting display data to the displays 230 and 231, an I / O port 236 for outputting print data to a printer 235, a coin dispenser 3, and a total amount of coins. A transmission I / F 243 for transmitting and receiving change information;
Transmission I / F2 for transmitting change information to banknote teller machine 5
44 and the like.

The transmission I / F 243 forms a total amount input means and a change information output means.

The ROM 241 and the RAM 24
2, I / O port 216a, keyboard circuit 210a,
I / O port 220a, display control circuit 230a, I / O
O port 236, transmission I / F 243, transmission I / F 244
Is connected to the CPU 90 via the bus line 246.

The RAM 242 stores a sales data registration file 242a for storing sales data of each product.
A total amount area 242b as storage means for storing the total purchase amount of one customer, a bill amount area 242c for storing the amount of bills received by the customer from the keyboard 210, and a total amount of coins received from the coin dispensing machine 3. The total amount of coins stored in the coin amount area 242d as the respective storage means, the banknote amount stored in the banknote amount area 242c, and the coin amount stored in the coin amount area 242d A change amount, that is, change information, obtained from a total deposit amount area 242e as a total deposit amount storage means for storing the total deposit amount stored in the total amount area 242e and the purchase total amount stored in the total amount area 242b. Change information storage area 242 as change information storage means to be stored
f etc. are provided.

Next, the operation of the registration processing device 4 will be described.

When the registration processing device 4 is installed and the customer brings the purchased product to the checkout place, the operator, ie, the cashier, inputs information such as the price of the product from the keyboard 210. Based on this input, the CPU 240 calculates the total purchase amount of this customer, that is, one customer, and stores this total amount in the total amount area 242b. The total amount is displayed on the display units 230 and 231.

When the customer desires to pay a fraction of the purchase price or a part of the purchase price by coins, the cash dispensing machine is previously set while the cashier performs the registration operation. In this case, coins are inserted into the slot 10 of the coin 3, and when inserted, the total amount of the inserted coins is calculated by the coin dispenser 3, and the total amount is transmitted via the transmission I / F 243. The coins are stored in the coin amount area 242d.

Then, the registration operation is completed and the display 23
The cashier deposits the banknote from the customer based on the total amount indicated by 0 and inputs the amount of the deposited banknote from the keyboard 210, and the amount of the banknote is stored in the banknote amount area 242c. Then, this bill amount area 24
A total deposit amount is obtained from the bill amount stored in the coin amount area 2c and the coin amount stored in the coin amount area 242d, and the total deposit amount is stored in the total amount area 242e. Then
The total deposit amount and the total purchase amount or change amount stored in the total amount area 24b are obtained. Further, of the change amount, an amount relating to a bill and an amount relating to a coin are determined. It is stored in the change information area 242f.

The change information relating to coins in the change information is transmitted to the coin dispenser 3 via the transmission I / F 243. The change information related to the bill is transmitted to a bill teller machine 5 described later.

When the registration operation is completed and the cashier operates the closing key 214, the total purchase amount and the change amount are displayed on the display units 230 and 231 and the printer 235 displays the product name, the amount, and the purchase points. A receipt on which predetermined items such as the consumption tax amount and the total amount are printed is issued from the receipt issuing port 234.

Next, the banknote teller machine 5 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 11 and FIG.
A bill collection chamber (hereinafter referred to as a collection chamber) 301 and a bill storage chamber (hereinafter referred to as a storage chamber) 3 formed in a box shape and inside.
The housing 300 includes a housing 300 on which a deposit 02 and the like are formed, a deposit identification unit 310, a payment identification unit 320, and the like provided in the housing 300.

As shown in FIG. 1, the banknote teller machine 5 is stored and placed in the storage portion 2b of the support base 2, as shown in FIG.
A part thereof enters under the housing 110.

Then, as shown in FIG.
A bill insertion slot (hereinafter, referred to as an insertion slot) 3 is provided above the front side of 0.
A bill delivery port (hereinafter referred to as a delivery port) 304 is formed below, and the delivery port 304 and the insertion port 303 are defined by upper and lower walls of the collection chamber 301. In addition, a pair of locking claws 304a for positioning the discharged bill P so as not to drop it is provided at the front of the outlet 304.

As shown in FIG. 11, the storage room 302 is a storage room for temporarily storing the inserted 1,000 yen, 5,000 yen, and 10,000 yen bills at random by the common transport path 331.

[0113] The banknote transport path includes a transport path 331 for storing and transporting the banknotes in the storage chamber 302, a transport path 331a for paying out the banknotes as change from the storage chamber 302, and a circulation for returning the banknotes that have not been dispensed. It has a transport path 333 and a transport path 332 for collecting high-value banknotes (10,000-yen bills (or 5,000-yen bills depending on the setting)) in the collection chamber 301. Each of these transport paths is provided with a switching means (not shown) such as a switching gate.
The transfer means which operates according to the discrimination result in the dispensing discriminating section 320 sends out the banknotes in the storage chamber 302 to the outlet 304 until the dispensing of the designated number of banknotes is completed, or outputs unnecessary banknotes such as 5,000 While repeating the circulating operation of returning yen banknotes to the storage room 302 and collecting high-value banknotes in the collection room 301, the designated amount is sent to the outlet 304, and then the operation is stopped.

[0114] Change of 4,000 yen or less is dispensed with a 1,000-yen bill, and change of 5,000 yen or more is dispensed with a 5,000-yen bill and a 1,000-yen bill.

The front of the collection chamber 301 is open, and a storage container 340 is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from this opening.
1 (see FIG. 1), which can be pulled out by unlocking the lock 341. The collection container 340 stores a 10,000-yen bill. In other words, the 10,000-yen bill is not used as change, so the 10,000-yen bill paid by the customer is
Collected at 40.

Each of the transport paths 331, 332 and 333 is provided with a carry-in / transport means (not shown in FIGS. 11 and 12) 335 (see FIG. 13) composed of a roller or a belt for transporting bills. In addition, a pay-out conveyance means (not shown in FIGS. 12 and 13) 336 (see FIG. 12 and FIG. 13), which is similarly formed of a roller or a belt, is also provided in the pay-out conveyance path 331a.

The deposit identification unit 310 arranged on the upper wall near the entrance of the insertion slot 303 is constituted by identification means for identifying the type of the bill inserted from the insertion slot 303.
The banknotes identified by the identification unit 310 are transferred to the storage chamber 302 via the transport path 331 that transports the banknotes.
Alternatively, it is transported to the collection chamber 301 and stored or collected.

Further, as shown in FIG.
1a is provided with a withdrawal identification unit 320, and this withdrawal identification unit 320 is constituted by identification means for identifying a 1,000-yen bill, a 5,000-yen bill, and a 10,000-yen bill, respectively, and is paid out. It identifies whether the bill is a 1,000-yen bill, a 5,000-yen bill, or a 10,000-yen bill, respectively.

Further, a counting means 321 for counting the number of bills to be dispensed is provided in the dispensing conveyance path 331a immediately downstream of the dispensing identifying section 320, and this counting means 321 is used as change. When a predetermined number of bills to be dispensed have been counted, the sending means 322 and the dispensing and conveying means 336 described below are stopped.

At the bottom of the storage chamber 302, a sending means 322 for sending bills one by one is provided, and at the insertion opening 301, a detecting means 323 for detecting that a bill is inserted is provided. ing. Further, a power supply device 306 and a control device (not shown) are housed inside the housing 300.

Next, a control structure of the bill dispenser 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the figure, the control configuration includes a CPU (central processing unit) 350 containing an arithmetic circuit, a ROM (read only memory) 351 for storing various control programs, and a RAM for storing change information and the like. (Random access memory) 352, a transmission I / F 353 for taking in change information from the registration processing device 4, and an I / O port 354 for taking in identification information from the deposit identification unit 310.
a, I that takes in the identification information from the withdrawal identification section 320
/ O port 354b, I / O port 354c for taking in information from counting means 321, I / O port 354d for taking in detection signals from insertion detecting means 323, carry-in / transport means driving circuit 356 for controlling carry-in / transport means 335, payout Discharge Conveying Means Drive Circuit 35 for Controlling Conveying Means 336
7. A sending means driving circuit 358 for controlling the sending means 322
It is composed of

The ROM 351 and the RAM 35
2. Transmission I / F 353, I / O port 354a, I / O
The port 354b, the I / O port 354c, the I / O port 354d, the carry-in / transportation means driving circuit 356, the pay-out / transportation means driving circuit 357, and the delivery driving circuit 358
59 is connected to the CPU 350.

The RAM 352 is provided with a bill change information area 352a for storing change information transmitted from the registration processing device 4.

Next, the operation of the bill dispenser 5 will be described.

At the time of payment of the purchase price of the product purchased by the customer, that is, at the time of settlement, the registration processing unit 4 performs the registration processing, and when the total purchase amount of the customer is displayed on the display unit 230, the customer displays this display. The banknote corresponding to the amount to be paid with the banknote of the paid price is passed to the operator, that is, the cashier. When the cashier inputs the amount of the received bill from the keyboard 210, the registration processing device 4, when a coin has been inserted from the insertion slot 10 of the coin dispenser 3 in advance, the amount of the coin and the input bill. Is obtained, that is, the total deposit amount is obtained, and the change amount is obtained from the total deposit amount and the purchase total amount. Of the change amount, the change amount related to the banknote, that is, change information, is transmitted to the banknote teller machine 5, and the change information is stored in the banknote change information area 352a.

When change information is stored in the change information area 352a, the type and number of banknotes constituting the change amount are calculated by the CPU 350, and the type and number are stored in the change information area 352a. The delivery means 322 for paying out the bills and the delivery / transportation means 357 are driven in accordance with the type of the bills to start paying out the bills. When the number of the bills paid out is counted by the counting means 321, the delivery means 322 is reached. Is stopped, and the sending of the bill exceeding the predetermined number is stopped. Then, the dispensed bill is sent to the delivery port 304 by the delivery / transportation means 336, and when the delivery is completed, the delivery / transportation means 336 is stopped. At this time, the bill necessary for change is paid out to the delivery port 304. Has become.

When the cashier finishes inputting the amount of the banknote deposited from the customer, the cashier inserts the banknote into the insertion slot 30.
Insert into 1. Then, the insertion is detected by the detection means 323, and when this detection is performed,
The banknote 35 is operated, and the banknote is conveyed inward. In this process, the banknote recognition unit 310 identifies whether the banknote is a legitimate banknote, and is collected in the storage chamber 302. The 1,000-yen bill and the 5,000-yen bill stored in the storage room 302 are used again as change while circulating.

Next, the overall operation of the checkout device 1, that is, the registration processing device 4, the coin dispenser 3, and the bill dispenser 5 will be described.

As described above, when the customer has completed the purchase of the product, the customer places the storage basket containing the purchased product on the mounting table 106 on which the unregistered product is placed. The operator, that is, the cashier registers or inputs information such as the price of the product by using the scanner 220 and the keyboard 210 as input means. Based on this input, the total purchase price of this customer, that is, one customer is calculated by the CPU 240, and the total price is stored in the total price area 242b. The total amount is displayed on the display units 230 and 231.
Will be displayed.

On the other hand, the customer predicts that a fractional amount of the purchase price will be paid out, or if the customer wishes to pay a part of the purchase price by coins, while the cashier performs the registration operation, The coin is inserted into the insertion slot 10 of the coin dispenser 3 in advance. Then, the total amount of the inserted coins is calculated by the coin dispensing machine 3, and the total amount is transmitted to the registration processing device 4 via the transmission I / F 96 and the transmission I / F 243 and stored in the coin amount area 242d. .

Then, the registration operation is completed and the display 23
At 0, the total purchase price is displayed. Based on this total amount, the cashier deposits banknotes from the customer, and inputs the deposited banknote amount from the keyboard 210. This banknote amount is stored in the banknote amount area 242c. You. Next, a total deposit amount is obtained from the bill amount stored in the bill amount area 242c and the coin amount stored in the coin amount area 242d.
e. Next, a change amount is obtained from the total deposit amount and the total purchase amount stored in the total amount area 24b, and an amount to be paid in bills and an amount to be paid in coins are obtained from the change amount. It is stored in the change information area 242f.

[0133] Of the change information, change information relating to coins is transmitted to the coin dispensing machine 3 via the transmission I / F 243 and the transmission I / F 96. The change information related to the bill is transmitted to the bill dispenser 5.

When the registration operation is completed and the cashier operates the closing key 214, the total purchase amount and the change amount are displayed on the display unit 230, and a receipt on which a predetermined item is printed by the printer is issued. Issued from mouth 2324.

When the coin dispensing machine 3 receives the change information, that is, the change amount from the registration processing section 4, the change amount is stored in the change information storage area 93b, and based on the change amount, the CPU 90 makes the change necessary for the change. The type and number of coins, that is, change information, is determined, and the change information is stored in the change information storage area 93b. Based on the change information, coins of the type required for the change and the number of coins are paid out to the storage tray 12.

When the banknote teller 5 receives the change information, that is, the change amount, from the registration processing device 4, it stores this change amount in the change information area 352a, and stores the type and number of banknotes required for this change, that is, the change information. Is determined, the change information is stored in the change information area 352a, and the type of banknote and the number of sheets required for the change are paid out to the delivery port 304 based on the change information.

Then, the cashier is the coin dispenser 3
By passing the coins paid out to the receiving tray 12 and the bills to the delivery port 304 of the bill dispensing machine 5 as change, the settlement process ends.

[0138] The registration processing device 3 records the value of the purchased product of the customer, the department, and the like in the registration data file 242a, and updates the contents of the registration data file 242a.

As described above, the checkout device 1
In the settlement process, since the purchase price generally includes a fraction, the customer does not need to wait until the total amount is displayed on the display unit 230 and inserts the coins in hand into the slot 10 in advance. Thus, the amount of the inserted coin is added to the amount of the bill to calculate a total deposit amount, a change is obtained from the total deposit amount and the purchase price, and a settlement process is performed. Therefore, the customer does not need to prepare a fractional amount, that is, a coin corresponding to a coin change, after the total purchase price is displayed on the display 230 at the time of settlement, and the cashier does not have to wait while the customer prepares the coin. Since there is no payment process, the settlement process can be performed quickly and the processing efficiency can be improved.

Since the change is calculated by the coin dispensing machine 3 and the banknote dispensing machine 5, respectively, the cashier does not need to count and prepare the change of coins and bills. As well as being improved, the mental burden caused by counting cashier's change and the like is reduced.

Further, since the insertion slot 10 protrudes toward the customer side, it is easy to insert coins, and since the total amount of inserted coins can be confirmed by the coin amount indicator H, the coins can be inserted between the operator and the operator. It can prevent troubles such as discrepancies in the forehead.

In addition, independently of the registration process of the registration device 4, the total amount of coins inserted into the coin dispensing machine 3 is calculated and stored in the coin total amount storage area. Since coins can be inserted therein, the time required for the settlement process can be reduced, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

In addition, the inserted coins are temporarily stored in the storage container 70, and the amount of the coins stored in the storage container 70 can be checked by opening the opening / closing door 113 provided in the housing 110. Therefore, it is possible to prevent troubles occurring with the customer.

In addition, in response to the keyboard 210 inputting the banknote amount deposited from the customer at the time of settlement, the total deposit amount is calculated based on the banknote amount and the total amount of the inserted coins. Since the total deposit amount is automatically obtained, the efficiency of the settlement process is improved.

Further, since the scanner 220 is arranged inside the casing 110, the size of the registration processing device 4 can be reduced, and the size of the entire checkout device can be reduced. In addition, since the scanner 220 is disposed inside the housing 110 via the vibration isolating material, it is possible to prevent a failure or the like due to vibration generated when the coin dispensing machine 3 operates.

Further, the opening / closing lid 1 which is opened to the input port 10 based on the initial product information input, ie, the input signal of the registration process, and is closed by the key signal of the registration end key, ie, the closing key 214
With the provision of No. 1, foreign substances such as mischief can be prevented from being injected at times other than the registration processing.

The coin dispensing machine 3 is provided in
Is projected from a side surface by a base portion 101 and a housing portion 110 formed so as to protrude above the base portion 101 to substantially L.
And the transport path 20, the coin storage section 60a
60f to 60f, a configuration in which the dispensing belt 62 serving as a dispensing unit is distributed and arranged, that is, a portion of the transport path 20 is disposed in an upper portion of the housing 110, and a communication path 24b is vertically arranged inside the housing 110. Since the coin receiving units 60a to 60f, the payout belt 62, and the like are arranged in the base 1010, the space for arranging the coin dispensing machine 3 can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the registration processing device 4 is provided in the casing 110. However, the registration processing device is provided separately from the coin dispensing machine 3 into a so-called stand-alone type which is conventionally well-known. The registration processing apparatus may be formed on the upper surface of the base unit 2.

In the above embodiment, the denomination and the number of coins constituting the change of coins and bills are calculated by the coin dispensing machine 3 and the bill dispensing machine 5, respectively. It may be calculated.

Further, in the above embodiment, the checkout device 1 is constituted by the registration processing device 4, the coin dispensing machine 3 and the banknote dispensing machine 5, but this is because the most time-consuming factor in the settlement operation is as described above. As described above, since it is the time required for handling the coin change, the above-described banknote teller machine 5 may be omitted and a conventional drawer may be provided instead of the banknote teller machine 5, and the banknote handling may be performed by the drawer. Good thing. In such a case where the drawer is used, the drawer may be arranged in the storage section 2b in which the bill dispenser 5 is arranged.

In the above embodiment, the coin dispensing machine 3 is stored in the storage section 2a provided on the support 2, that is, the coin dispenser 3 is provided separately from the support 2. However, this is an integral structure. It is good.

In the above embodiment, the bottom wall 71 of the storage container 70 for temporarily storing coins is opened when a predetermined time is counted by the timer 97. When the coins are stored in the storage container 70, the total amount of these coins has already been calculated, and the change coins are stored in the coin storage units 60a to 60f and are paid out by coins. The opening may be performed by a key signal at the time of the tightening operation of the tightening key 214.

[0153]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the customer intends to pay the purchase price including the coins during the settlement process, the customer inserts the coins possessed in advance into the coin slot. The total amount of the inserted coins is calculated by the total coin amount calculating means, and the total amount is stored in the total coin amount storing means. The total amount of the coins is stored in the registration processing device in the registration processing device. The total deposit amount is calculated by summing up with the deposit amount from the customer input from the input means of, and based on the change information calculated based on the total deposit amount and the total purchase amount, the coin automatic dispensing machine requires By calculating the type and number of coins and paying out coins required as change, the time required for settlement processing can be reduced, processing efficiency can be improved, and accurate settlement can be performed. And it has a effect that it is possible to reduce the mental fatigue caused by such counting the change coins Mari cashier.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the coin insertion slot is provided so as to protrude to the side opposite to the customer on the side opposite to the side opposite to the operator of the housing. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the present invention has an effect that it is possible to easily insert coins by the customer.

[0155] The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which coins are independent of registration processing performed on the basis of product information input from input means of the registration processing apparatus. The total amount of regular coins inserted into the coin slot of the automatic sorting and dispensing apparatus is calculated, and the total amount is stored in the total coin amount storage means.
Alternatively, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 2, since the calculation of the total amount of coins inserted from the coin insertion slot is performed independently of registration processing such as input of information on purchased products of the customer, Since the coin can be inserted into the insertion slot during the registration process, there is an effect that the time for the settlement process can be further reduced.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claims 1 to 3, wherein a coin amount display means for the customer is provided, and the coin amount display means stores the coins stored in the coin total amount storage means. Is displayed, so that in addition to the effects of the inventions described in claims 1 to 3, the customer has the effect of being able to check the total amount of coins inserted from the coin insertion slot. It is.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, the storage portion for temporarily storing coins conveyed on the conveying path is provided downstream of the conveying path. The opening and closing door which can be opened by an operator's opening operation corresponding to the storage section is provided on the side wall of the housing section, so that the opening and closing door is provided on the side wall of the housing section. When the total amount of coins inserted by the customer is different from the amount of coins inserted by the customer, the opening / closing door is opened and the coins stored in the storage unit can be checked. Further, the opening / closing door has an effect that safety can be ensured since the opening / closing door can be opened by the opening / closing operation of the operator, that is, the cashier.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, an exclusion plate is provided on the side wall of the housing and the exclusion means is provided downstream of the identification means provided on the transport path. Since the coin is discriminated as being invalid by the discriminating means and coins are discharged to the rejection tray, in addition to the effects of the invention according to claims 1 to 5, the customer can store coins in self-inserted coins. Since the customer can confirm that an illegal coin has been mixed in, the customer has the effect of preventing troubles occurring with the operator.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, the banknote amount deposited and the coin total amount stored in response to the input of the banknote amount deposited by the customer from the input means. Since the total deposit is calculated based on the total amount of coins stored in the means, in addition to the effects of the inventions according to claims 1 to 6, the total deposit is calculated by the operator from the customer. Since the calculation is performed in accordance with the input of the bill amount, the calculation can be easily performed.

The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claims 1 to 7, the optical reading device is arranged on the surface of the housing portion facing the operator. In addition to the effects of the seventh aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the checkout device can be downsized and the operation of registering the product information is easy.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the eighth aspect of the present invention, the optical reader is provided on the housing via a vibration isolator. In addition to the effects, it is possible to prevent the vibration generated during the operation of the automatic coin dispenser from being transmitted to the optical reader, so that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a failure or the like due to the vibration.

The invention according to claim 10 is the same as the invention according to claim 1.
In the invention as set forth in claim 8, the coin slot is provided with an opening / closing lid which opens based on the first product information input information from the input means and is closed by a key signal of a registration end key. In addition to the effects of the invention described in 8 above, since the coin insertion slot is closed by the opening / closing lid except during the period from the start of the customer registration process to the end of the registration, foreign objects are injected into the coin insertion slot due to mischief or the like. This has the effect of preventing

The invention according to claim 11 is characterized in that the base part supported by the support base and the housing part projecting upward from the side of the base part facing the side where the operator is located are provided. A coin slot for receiving various coins inserted by a customer, a conveying means for conveying coins inserted from the coin insertion port, and a coin conveyed by the conveying means, An identification unit for identifying whether or not the coin is a legitimate coin, a transport path including an elimination unit for removing coins determined to be invalid by the identification unit is provided, and the base unit is provided with a regular transported from the transport path. A coin accommodating unit for accommodating coins of each type, a dispensing unit for dispensing coins for each type, and an accommodating tray for accommodating coins dispensed from the dispensing unit. Installation space is reduced due to the small size and vertical type. And it has a coin that the can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view (a perspective view seen from an operator side) of a checkout device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial view of the checkout device (a perspective view as seen from the side opposite to the operator).

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in the depth direction of a slot portion of the automatic coin dispenser of the checkout device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3) of an insertion port portion of the automatic coin dispenser of the checkout device.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view in the depth direction of the automatic coin dispenser of the checkout device.

FIG. 6 is a lateral sectional view of the automatic coin dispenser of the checkout device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a sorting conveyance path and a payout means (payout belt) of the automatic coin dispenser of the checkout device.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 7) showing a configuration in which coins are dispensed from a coin storage section of the automatic coin dispenser of the checkout device to a storage tray.

FIG. 9 is a control block diagram of the automatic coin dispenser of the checkout device.

FIG. 10 is a control block diagram of a registration processing device of the checkout device.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a banknote teller machine of the checkout device.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the banknote teller machine of the checkout device.

FIG. 13 is a control block diagram of a banknote teller machine of the checkout device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Checkout apparatus 2 Support stand 3 Coin dispenser (automatic coin dispenser) 4 Registration processing apparatus 10 Coin slot 11 Opening / closing lid 12 Storage tray 20 Transport path 23 Identification means 24 Elimination means 35 Coin counting means 40 Transport belt (Conveyance means) 60a-60f Coin storage unit 90 CPU (total coin amount calculation means) 93a Total amount storage area (coin total amount storage means) 93b Change information storage area (change information storage means) 96 Transmission I / F (total amount output means, Change information input means) 100 units (part of the support base) 110 housing unit (part of the support base) K coins 120 Keyboard (input means) 220 Scanner (optical reader (input means)) 242b Total area (Storage means for storing total purchase amount) 242d Coin amount area (coin total amount storage means) 242e Total deposit area (total deposit size) Payment means) 240 CPU (change calculation means) 243 Transmission I / F (change information output means, total amount input means)

Claims (11)

[Claims] A main body housing comprising: a base portion supported by a support base; and a housing portion protruding upward on a side opposite to a side on which an operator of the base portion is located; A coin slot provided at an upper portion of the housing for receiving various coins inserted by a customer, a transport unit for transporting coins inserted from the coin slot, and an identification unit for identifying a type of coin transported by the transport unit A coin path counting means for counting the identified coins, a transport path having an exclusion means for eliminating the unidentified coin identified by the identification means as not a regular coin,
Calculate the total amount of a coin storage unit provided on the base unit for storing regular coins transported from the transport path for each type, and a regular coin inserted into the coin insertion slot and identified by the identification unit. Coin total amount calculating means, coin total amount storing means for storing the total amount calculated by the coin total amount calculating means, total amount outputting means for outputting the total amount of the coin total amount storing means, change information Change information input means to input;
A payout unit that pays out coins required for change from the coin storage unit for each type based on the change information input from the change information input unit, and a payout unit provided on the side of the base unit where an operator is located. An automatic coin dispensing machine composed of a receiving tray for accommodating the dispensed coins, and input means for inputting various information such as a product code, price, product information, and a deposit amount from a customer, and input from the input means. Storage means for storing the total purchase amount of the customer calculated based on the product information, total amount input means for inputting total amount information from the total amount output means of the automatic coin dispenser,
A total deposit amount storage for storing a total deposit amount from a customer obtained by summing a deposit amount input from the input unit and a total coin amount input from the total amount input unit and stored in the total coin amount storage unit. Means, change calculating means for calculating a change amount based on the total deposit amount and the purchase total amount, and change information output for outputting the change information calculated by the change calculating means to the change information input means of the automatic coin dispenser. A checkout device comprising: a registration processing device provided with a change means; wherein the change related to coins in the change amount calculated by the change calculation means is paid out by the automatic coin dispenser. 2. The checkout device according to claim 1, wherein the coin insertion slot is provided so as to protrude from a surface of the housing portion facing the operator and to a side opposite to the customer. . 3. A coin slot of an automatic coin sorting and dispensing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, independently of registration processing performed based on commodity information inputted from input means of the registration processing apparatus. A total amount of regular coins inserted into the coin storage unit, and the total amount is stored in a coin total amount storage unit. 4. The invention according to claim 1, further comprising providing a coin amount display means for the customer, and displaying the total amount of coins stored in the coin total amount storage means on the coin amount display means. A checkout device. 5. A storage unit for temporarily storing coins conveyed by a transport path provided downstream of the transport path in the invention according to claim 1 or 2,
A checkout device, wherein an opening / closing door which can be opened by an opening operation of an operator corresponding to the storage section is provided on a side wall of the housing section. 6. The invention according to claim 1, wherein an exclusion tray is provided on a side wall of the housing, and an exclusion unit is provided downstream of the identification unit provided on the transport path. A checkout device for discharging coins identified as not being to the rejection tray. 7. The invention according to claim 1, wherein the deposited banknote amount and the coin total stored in the coin total amount storage unit are responded to in accordance with the input of the banknote amount deposited from the customer through the input means. A checkout device for calculating a total deposit amount based on the amount. 8. The checkout device according to claim 1, wherein an optical reading device is provided on a surface of the housing portion facing the operator. 9. The checkout device according to claim 8, wherein the optical reading device is disposed on the housing via a vibration isolator. 10. The invention according to claim 1, wherein the coin slot is provided with an opening / closing lid which opens based on the first product information input information from the input means and is closed by a key signal of a registration end key. A checkout device. 11. A main body housing comprising: a base portion supported by a support base; and a housing portion projecting upward on a side opposite to a side on which an operator of the base portion is located; A coin slot provided at an upper portion of the housing for receiving various coins inserted by a customer, a transport unit for transporting coins inserted from the coin slot, and an identification unit for identifying a type of coin transported by the transport unit Counting means for counting the identified coins,
A transport path provided with a rejection unit for rejecting coins that are not identified by the identification unit as non-genuine coins, and regular coins provided on the lower surface side of the base unit and transported from the transport path are accommodated for each type. Coin storage unit, determination means for determining the type and number of coins required for change based on change information input from the change information input means, and the type stored in the coin storage unit based on the determination by the determination means. Payout means for paying out coins for each type, a storage tray provided on the side of the base portion where the operator is located to store coins paid out from the payout means, and inserted into the coin insertion slot Coin total amount calculating means for calculating the total amount of regular coins identified by the identification means, coin total amount storing means for storing the total amount calculated by the coin total amount calculating means, and coin total amount storing means Check the total amount And output means for outputting the Kkuauto device, coin automatic dispensers, characterized in that consisted change information input means for inputting change information from the check-out device.