JP2000187746A - Coin selector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect the diameter of a led coin with constant accuracy independently of the floating of a charged coin due to its vibration or the like. SOLUTION: First and second diameter detection coils 8 are arranged oppositely to each other so that the axial direction of the coils 8 intersects with the passage of a coin 6 at about right angles, a current is applied at least to either one of the 1st and 2nd coils 8 to generate magnetic flux and the diameter of the coin 6 is detected on the basis of a change in the magnetic flux generated when the coil 6 passes between the 1st and 2nd coils 8. As to a cross-section orthogonal to the axial direction of the coils 8, its dimension in a direction vertical to the passing direction of the coil 6 is greater than the maximum diameter of a coin to be selected, and when each of coins to be selected passes between the 1st and 2nd coil 8, the coin passes, within the size range of the cross-section. When the coin 6 passes, the magnetic flux is always applied from the coils 8 to the whole body of the coin 6 independently of the floating of the coin 6 from a traveling reference surface 7, so that the diameter of the coin 6 can be accurately detected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coin sorting apparatus for electrically determining the authenticity and type of coins.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the above-mentioned coin sorting apparatus arranges a plurality of detection coils along a path of coins in the apparatus, and captures an impedance change generated when the coin passes through a magnetic field of the detection coil. A method of determining the authenticity and type of a coin based on this is adopted.

FIG. 8 shows a typical apparatus of this type. In FIG. 8, three detection coils 3, 4, and 5 arranged along the coin path are detection coils for detecting the material, thickness, and diameter of the coin, respectively. Coin sorting device 1
The coin 6, which has been inserted from the coin insertion slot 2, passes through the magnetic field of the detection coils 3, 4, 5 while rolling down the running reference plane 7 of the coin, thereby inspecting the material, material thickness, and diameter. .

As shown in FIG. 9, detection coils 3, 4, and 5 are provided with oscillators 11 having independent oscillation frequencies, respectively.
A pair of detection coils 3a, 3b, 4 are actually configured as oscillation coils
a, 4b, 5a, and 5b. When a coin passes between the material detecting coils 3a and 3b, between the material thickness detecting coils 4a and 4b, and between the diameter detecting coils 5a and 5b, respectively, the coins are arranged opposite to each other with the coin passage therebetween. An eddy current is generated inside the coin, the magnetic flux changes, and the impedance of each detection coil changes, so that the loss of each oscillation circuit increases, and as a result, the amplitude of the output of the oscillation circuit decreases. The change in the signal is transmitted to the amplifiers 14 and 1.
After being amplified by 5 and 16 and converted into direct current by the detection circuits 17, 18 and 19, the authenticity and type of the coin are determined by comparing the data with the data of the material, thickness and diameter of the coin by the determination circuit 20.

Here, detection coils 3 and 4 of material and thickness are used.
Is generally set smaller than the diameter of the smallest coin among the target coins. On the other hand, the diameter detection coil 5 has conventionally adopted a method of setting the diameter and position of the detection coil in consideration of the diameter of the largest coin 6 among the target coins. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the diameter of the detection coil 5 is smaller than the diameter of the largest coin among the target coins. Was located at a position that passes through a part of the

[0006]

However, in such a conventional coin sorting apparatus, when detecting the diameter of a coin,
When the coin floats from the coin running reference plane 7 due to the vibration of the coin, the vibration of the sorting device, or the like, there is a problem that the detection data of the diameter of the coin becomes larger than the actual diameter of the coin.

That is, as shown in FIG. 10, when a coin 6a rolling down on the coin running reference plane 7 floats due to the vibration or the like, the coin is located at a position 6b. At this time, the range of the magnetic field of the diameter detection coil 5 applied to the coin is larger in the coin located at the position 6b than at the position 6a, so that the eddy current generated in the coin is increased and the original coin diameter can be obtained. There is a disadvantage that there is no.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a coin sorter of this type which can always accurately detect the diameter of a coin regardless of the floating or passing position of the coin due to the vibration or the like. Is to do.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a coin sorting apparatus for electrically discriminating the authenticity and type of coins, wherein a coin passage in the apparatus is provided. The first and second diameter detecting coils for detecting the diameter of the coin are disposed to face each other with the axial direction substantially orthogonal to the passage, and at least one of the first and second diameter detecting coils is disposed between the first and second diameter detecting coils. A coin sorting device that applies a current to one side to generate a magnetic flux, and detects a diameter of the coin based on a change in the magnetic flux when the coin passes between the first and second diameter detection coils; The cross section perpendicular to the axial direction of the first and second diameter detection coils has a dimension in a direction perpendicular to the coin passing direction larger than the maximum diameter of the coins to be sorted, and all of the coins to be sorted are the first and second coins. The dimension of the cross section when passing between the diameter detection coils Employing the configuration to pass through the range of.

As a more specific configuration, the first and second diameter detection coils are electrically insulated,
A first configuration in which an alternating current is applied to the first diameter detection coil to generate a magnetic flux, and an output guided to the second diameter detection coil by the magnetic flux is processed to detect the diameter of the coin; and The first and second diameter detection coils are electrically connected in series, and apply an alternating current to the first and second coils to generate a magnetic flux. A second configuration is employed in which the diameter of a coin is detected based on a change in impedance of the first and second diameter detection coils according to a change in the magnetic flux when the coin passes between them.

According to such a configuration, when the coin passes between the first and second diameter detecting coils, even if the coin floats or the passing position is shifted due to the vibration of the coin or the device, etc. When the coin is not floating, the magnetic field of the diameter detection coil acts on the entire coin, as in the case where the passing position is not shifted,
Since the magnetic flux is applied, the diameter of the coin can always be detected accurately.

Further, according to the present invention, in the first structure, a material detecting coil for detecting a material of the coin along a path of the coin, and a material for detecting a thickness of the coin are provided. A configuration in which a thickness detection coil is disposed, and a magnetic shielding member is disposed between at least a second diameter detection coil of the first and second diameter detection coils, and the material detection coil and the material thickness detection coil. Alternatively, a configuration is provided in which a magnetic shielding member is provided to cover a portion other than the surface of the second diameter detection coil on the coin passage side.

According to these configurations, the diameter can be detected more accurately by shielding the external magnetic noise with the magnetic shielding member.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the configuration of the coin sorting apparatus according to the first embodiment, particularly the arrangement of each detection coil and the like will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view of the apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view parallel to a coin traveling reference plane in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a coin slot 2 is provided on the upper surface of the coin sorting apparatus 1. A linear coin passage 10 communicating with the coin slot 2 is provided in the apparatus 1. Is provided. The bottom surface of the passage 10 is an inclined coin running reference surface 7 on which the coin 6 rolls down.

Along the passage 10, material detecting coils 3a and 3b for detecting the material of the coin 6, material detecting coils 4a and 4b for detecting the material thickness of the coin 6, and the diameter of the coin 6 are detected. The diameter detection coils 8a and 8b for performing the operation are arranged. In FIG. 1, coils 3a and 3b are shown as coil 3, coils 4a and 4b are shown as coil 4, and coils 8a and 8b are shown as coil 8. The coils 3a and 3b, the coils 4a and 4b, and the coils 8a and 8b are arranged to face each other with the respective axial directions orthogonal to the paths 10 with the path 10 interposed therebetween. Then, coins 6, which are inserted from the insertion slot 2 and roll down on the coin traveling reference surface 7 of the passage 10 and travel, are sequentially between the coils 3a and 3b, the coils 4a and 4a.
4b and between the coils 8a and 8b.

The material detecting coils 3a and 3b and the material thickness detecting coils 4a and 4b are formed in a cylindrical shape, and the diameter is smaller than the minimum diameter of coins to be sorted. And
When the coins 6 pass between the coils 3a and 3b and between the coils 4a and 4b, the coins 6 are arranged to pass over the entire range of diameters of these coils.

On the other hand, the diameter detecting coils 8a and 8b
Is formed in a tubular shape in which the shape of the cross section orthogonal to the axial direction of the coil, that is, the winding shape of the coil is elongated and both ends are semicircular, and the longitudinal direction of the cross section is It is perpendicular to the direction of the coin running reference plane 7, that is, perpendicular to the passing direction of the coins 6, and the lower end 82 of the cross section in FIG. 1 is disposed below the reference plane 7. The longitudinal dimension of the cross section of the coils 8a and 8b, that is, the dimension in the direction perpendicular to the coin passing direction, is set to be larger than the maximum diameter of the coins to be sorted. When the coin 6 having the maximum diameter passes between the coils 8a and 8b, the upper end 81 and the lower end 82 of the cross section of the coils 8a and 8b in FIG. ing. That is, when all of the coins to be sorted pass between the coils 8a and 8b, they pass within the range of the dimension in the longitudinal direction of the cross section.

Next, the configuration and electrical operation of the electric circuit of the apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the material detecting coils 3a,
3b are electrically connected to each other in series, and further connected to an oscillator 11 to form an oscillation circuit. An alternating current is applied from the oscillator 11 to the series connection of the coils 3a and 3b, and a magnetic flux is generated. When the coin 6 passes between the coils 3a and 3b, an eddy current is generated in the coin 6 and the magnetic flux changes. Accordingly, the impedance of the coils 3a and 3b increases, and the loss of the oscillation circuit increases. , The amplitude of the oscillation circuit decreases. This signal is amplified by the amplifier 14, further detected by the detection circuit 17, converted into direct current, and input to the determination circuit 20 as a material detection signal.

The material thickness detecting coils 4a and 4b are electrically connected in series similarly to the material detecting coils 3a and 3b, and further connected to an oscillator 12, thereby forming an oscillation circuit. An alternating current is applied to the series connection of the coils 4a and 4b from the oscillator 12, and a signal due to an impedance change according to a change in magnetic flux when the coin 6 passes between the coils 4a and 4b is amplified by the amplifier 15 in the same manner as described above. Further, the signal is converted into a direct current by a detection circuit 18 and input to a determination circuit 20 as a material thickness detection signal.

On the other hand, the diameter detecting coils 8a and 8b are electrically insulated from each other, unlike the other coils described above.
The coil 8a is connected to the oscillator 21 and forms an oscillation circuit. The coil 8b is connected to the amplifier 16, the detection circuit 19 is connected to the subsequent stage, and the determination circuit 20 is connected to the subsequent stage. An alternating current is applied from the oscillator 21 to the coil 8a to generate a magnetic flux. When the coin 6 passes between the coils 8a and 8b, an eddy current is generated in the coin 6 and the magnetic flux changes, and the output voltage induced in the coil 8b by the magnetic flux changes accordingly. The signal is amplified by the amplifier 16, further detected by the detection circuit 19, converted into direct current, and input to the determination circuit 20 as a diameter detection signal.

The determination circuit 20 compares the material detection signal, the material thickness detection signal, and the diameter detection signal input as described above with the data of the signal based on the material, material thickness and diameter of the coin stored in advance. Then, the authenticity and type of the coin are determined.

According to the above-described embodiment, the coins 6 inserted into the coin sorting apparatus 1 are used for detecting the diameters of the coins 8a and 8b.
Even when the coin 6 floats from the coin running reference plane 7 due to the vibration of the coin 6 or the device 1 when passing through the gap, the magnetic field of the coil 8a acts on the entire coin 6 in the same manner as when the coin 6 does not float. Since the magnetic flux is applied, the diameter of the coin can be accurately detected.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the same or corresponding parts as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of the common parts is omitted. The same applies to the third and fourth embodiments described later.

In the first embodiment described above, the diameter detecting coil 8b may pick up the magnetic flux of the material thickness detecting coils 4a, 4b or the material detecting coils 3a, 3b. In this case, there is a problem in that the diameter detection signal is mixed with the material detection signal or the component of the material detection signal, and the diameter detection signal becomes unstable, so that a true diameter output cannot be obtained.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 as a second embodiment, detection coils 3a, 3b, 4 of different materials and thicknesses are used.
The magnetic shielding members 9a and 9b for performing magnetic shielding may be disposed between the a and 4b and the diameter detection coils 8a and 8b with the passage 10 interposed therebetween (in FIG. 4, both the magnetic shielding members 9a and 9b are connected to the magnetic shielding member 9). As shown).

The material of the magnetic shielding member 9 may be a magnetic material or a non-magnetic metal, or a combination thereof. The magnetic material may be a material having a high magnetic permeability such as permalloy, or a non-magnetic metal. For example, a material having high conductivity such as aluminum or copper is used. Even if only the member 9b on the side of the diameter detecting coil 8b for picking up magnetic flux is provided in the magnetic shielding members 9a, 9b, the magnetic field from the detecting coils 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b of the material and the material thickness is shielded. Has the effect of doing

<Third Embodiment> FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment. As shown here, if the cross-sectional shape of the magnetic shielding member 9b is a shape bent into a crank shape,
The shielding effect against the magnetic field from the directions of arrows 22 and 23 can be enhanced. As a result, a larger magnetic shielding effect is obtained than in the second embodiment, and a more stable detection output with a diameter is obtained.

<Fourth Embodiment> Next, a fourth embodiment is shown in FIG. As shown here, if the magnetic shielding member 9b is formed in a box shape with one side opened and arranged so as to cover a portion other than the surface of the diameter detecting coil 8b on the side of the passage 10, a greater shielding effect can be obtained. . That is, in this structure, the detection coils 3a, 3b, 4a,
Since a shielding effect can be obtained for external magnetic noises other than those other than 4b, for example, a magnetic field generated from a transformer or a motor, a detection output with a more stable diameter than in the third embodiment can be obtained.

In the embodiment described above, the diameter detecting coil 8a is connected to the oscillator 21, the diameter detecting coil 8b is connected to the amplifier 16, and the output induced by the coil 8b is processed to detect the diameter. did. On the other hand, similarly to the material detection coils 3a and 3b and the material thickness detection coils 4a and 4b, the diameter detection coils 8a and 8b are electrically connected in series, an oscillator is connected thereto, and alternating current is applied. A magnetic flux may be generated, and the diameter of the coin may be detected based on a change in impedance of the coils 8a and 8b according to a change in the magnetic flux when the coin passes between the coils 8a and 8b. That is, the configuration of the electric circuit of the diameter detection system may be the same as the configuration of the conventional example shown in FIG.

The sectional shape of the diameter detecting coils 8a and 8b orthogonal to the axial direction may be different from that shown in FIG. 1, for example, a circular shape or another shape. However, the elongated shape as shown in FIG. 1 saves space and is advantageous for downsizing the apparatus.

In the above, the embodiment of the coin sorting apparatus having a structure in which coins are allowed to fall naturally in the apparatus has been described. The same effect can be obtained by adopting the above-described configuration with respect to the diameter detection coil and the magnetic shielding member even in a structure for transporting between coins, a structure for applying a pad to a coin, and the like.

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, when a coin passes between the first and second diameter detecting coils in the coin sorting apparatus, the coin, the vibration of the apparatus, etc. Even if the coin floats or the passing position shifts due to
An excellent effect is obtained in that the diameter of a coin can always be detected accurately, and the authenticity and type of the coin can be accurately determined based on the detection.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view showing a configuration of a coin sorting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus parallel to a coin traveling reference plane.

FIG. 3 is a block circuit diagram showing a configuration of an electric circuit of the device.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view showing a configuration of a coin sorting device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the apparatus parallel to a coin traveling reference plane.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view parallel to a coin traveling reference plane showing a configuration of a coin sorting device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view parallel to a coin traveling reference plane showing a configuration of a coin sorting device according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional front view showing a configuration of a conventional coin sorting device.

FIG. 9 is a block circuit diagram showing a configuration of an electric circuit of the device.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a coin passing through a diameter detection coil is floated from a coin traveling reference plane in the apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Coin sorting device 2 Coin slot 3, 3a, 3b Material detection coil 4, 4a, 4b Material thickness detection coil 6 Coin 7 Coin running reference plane 8, 8a, 8b Diameter detection coil 9, 9a, 9b Magnetic shielding member 10 Coin Path 11,12 Oscillator 14-16 Amplifier 17-19 Detection circuit 20 Judgment circuit 21 Oscillator

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masatoshi Kobayashi 1248 Shimokagemori, Chichibu-shi, Saitama F-term (reference) 3E002 AA01 AA03 AA13 BC02 BC03 CA03 CA12 CA15 EA01 EA03 EA05

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A coin sorting device for electrically discriminating the authenticity and type of a coin, comprising: a first and a second diameter for detecting a diameter of a coin across a coin passage in the device. A detection coil disposed opposite to the passage so that an axial direction thereof is substantially perpendicular to the passage;
A current is applied to at least one of the diameter detection coils to generate a magnetic flux, and the diameter of the coin is detected based on a change in the magnetic flux when the coin passes between the first and second diameter detection coils. In the coin sorting device, the cross section perpendicular to the axial direction of the first and second diameter detection coils has a dimension in a direction perpendicular to the coin passing direction larger than the maximum diameter of the coin to be sorted, and all of the coins to be sorted are A coin sorting apparatus characterized in that when passing between the first and second diameter detecting coils, it passes within the range of the dimensions of the cross section. 2. The first and second diameter detection coils are electrically insulated, and an alternating current is applied to the first diameter detection coil to generate a magnetic flux, and the magnetic flux generates a second diameter detection coil. The coin sorter according to claim 1, wherein the output guided to the coin is processed to detect the diameter of the coin. 3. A material detecting coil for detecting a material of the coin and a thickness detecting coil for detecting a material thickness of the coin are arranged along a path of the coin, and the first and second coils are provided. The coin sorting device according to claim 2, wherein a magnetic shielding member is arranged between at least a second diameter detection coil of the diameter detection coils and the material detection coil and the material thickness detection coil. 4. The coin sorting apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a magnetic shielding member that covers a portion of the second diameter detection coil other than a surface of the coin on the passage side. 5. The first and second diameter detection coils are electrically connected in series, and apply an alternating current to the first and second coils to generate a magnetic flux. The coin diameter is detected based on a change in impedance of the first and second diameter detection coils according to a change in the magnetic flux when the coin passes between the two diameter detection coils. A coin sorting device according to claim 1.