JP2003089409A - Coin carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coin carrying device capable of preventing a coin from being carried in poor performance. SOLUTION: The coin carrying device 1 is equipped with timing belts 7 and 21 which have inside surfaces furnished with a number of grooves and teeth alternately in such a way as engaging with the teeth and grooves of a drive pulley and which are set over the drive pulley and a follower pulley for transporting the coin placed on their outside surfaces 7b and 21b when the drive pulley is rotated. Since the timing belts 7 and 21 are driven through engagement of the timing belts 7 and 21 when the drive pulley is rotated, there is no risk such that any slip is generated between the driven pulley and the timing belts 7 and 21.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coin carrier.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a plurality of coin storages divided for each denomination are arranged in parallel, and 1 yen, 5 yen, 10 yen, 50 yen, 100 yen, 500 yen, etc. are stored in these coin storage parts. It stores coins and stores POS (Point Of Sales) terminals and ECR (Electronic
When there is change due to a command from the Cash Register), there is a coin transporting device in which the coins in the coin storage section are paid out by a belt to the coin payout exit.

A coin transfer device 100 shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.
Will be described along with the flow of the coin C. First, body case 1
The coin C inserted from the coin insertion opening 102 provided on the right side of 01 is conveyed by the conveyor belt 103. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the conveyor belt 103 is an endless flat belt, and includes a drive pulley 104.
And a driven pulley 105, and is driven by being connected to a DC motor (both not shown) via a gear train. Then, the coin C on the transfer surface 103a is transferred. The back surface of the transport surface 103a of the transport belt 103 is
It is supported by the flat plate 106. Here, these conveyor belt 103, drive pulley 104, and driven pulley 105
The first transport section is formed by.

Subsequently, the coin C is delivered to the conveyor belt 107 following the conveyor belt 103, and the coin sorting unit 10 is operated.
You will be guided to 8. Then, the coin C is the coin sorting unit 108.
The sheet is conveyed while being pressed against the bottom plate 109 provided at the conveyor belt 107.

On the bottom plate 109, a sorting hole 110 for each denomination is formed along the conveyor belt 107, the hole width dimension of which gradually increases. Six selection holes 110 are provided so as to correspond to denominations of 1 yen, 50 yen, 5 yen, 100 yen, 10 yen, and 500 yen, respectively. This allows the coin C
Are sequentially dropped from the sorting hole 110 defined for each denomination.

Next, at the position where the coin C falls from the sorting hole 110, a coin storage section 112 is provided which is divided by a partition plate 111 for each denomination. As a result, the dropped coin C is stored in the coin storage unit 112.

Then, based on the change information from the POS terminal and ECR (neither is shown), among the coins C stored in the coin storage unit 112, the coin C of the denomination corresponding to the change is stored in the coin storage unit 112. It is conveyed by the conveyor belt 114 extending from the bottom surface to the coin payout opening 113 and is paid out to the coin payout opening 113. Here, this conveyor belt 11
As shown in FIG. 7, reference numeral 4 denotes an endless flat belt, which is provided so as to be suspended between a drive pulley 115 and a driven pulley 116, and is connected to a DC motor (both not shown) via a gear train. Driven. Then, the transport surface 114a
The upper coin C is conveyed. The back surface of the transport surface 114 a of the transport belt 114 is supported by the flat plate 117.
Here, these conveyor belt 114 and drive pulley 11
5, the driven pulley 116 forms a second conveyor.

[0008]

However, when a large number of coins C are inserted into the coin insertion slot 102 or when a large amount of coins C are stored in the coin storage portion 112, the conveyor belts 103 and 114 are covered. The weight of coin C increases,
The drive pulleys 104 and 115 are the conveyor belts 103 and 114.
However, there is a problem that the coin C slips and the coin C is not conveyed properly. For such a problem, it is effective to increase the tension of the conveyor belts 103 and 114, but in this case, a high output motor is required. Further, as another problem, the conveyor belts 103 and 114
There is a problem that noise generated from a drive system such as a DC motor and a gear train that drives the motor is large.

A first object of the present invention is to prevent defective coin transport.

A second object of the present invention is to reduce noise generated during coin transport.

[0011]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In a coin transporting device for transporting coins, a drive pulley having a plurality of teeth and grooves alternately formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof, a driven pulley, a drive source for rotationally driving the drive pulley, and the teeth of the drive pulley. A large number of groove portions and tooth portions that mesh with the groove portion and the groove portion are alternately formed on the inner peripheral surface, and are bridged over the drive pulley and the driven pulley, and the drive pulley is rotationally driven by the drive source. As a result, a timing belt that conveys the coin placed on the outer peripheral surface,
It is equipped with.

Therefore, when the drive pulley is rotationally driven by the drive source, the timing belt is driven by the meshing of the drive pulley and the timing belt, and the coin placed on the outer peripheral surface of the timing belt is conveyed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the coin transporting apparatus according to the first aspect, a coin storage unit for storing the coins and a coin payout outlet for paying out the coins are provided.
The coin stored in the coin storing portion is conveyed to the coin payout outlet by the timing belt and paid out.

Therefore, the coins stored in the coin storage section are conveyed to the coin payout outlet by the timing belt and paid out.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the coin transporting apparatus according to the second aspect, the coins are paid out based on the change information from the product sales data processing device that executes the sales process of the products.

Therefore, it becomes easy to give and receive money for the transaction of the product.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the coin transporting device according to the first aspect, the coin transporting device is provided with a coin slot into which the coin is loaded, and the coin loaded in the coin slot is transported by the timing belt. I decided to do it.

Therefore, the coin inserted into the coin slot is conveyed by the timing belt.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention as defined in claims 1, 2, and 3.
Or, in the coin transporting device according to 4, further comprising a support member slidably supporting the inner peripheral surface on the back side of the outer peripheral surface on the side on which the coin is placed, of the timing belt,
The timing belt is made of a material having a lower friction coefficient on the inner peripheral surface than on the outer peripheral surface.

Therefore, by lowering the frictional resistance when slidingly moving with respect to the outer peripheral surface for which a high frictional force is required and the supporting member supported by conveying the placed coin by the frictional force. It is possible to obtain a frictional force and a frictional resistance suitable for each of the inner peripheral surface which is desirable.

The invention according to claim 6 is the same as claim 1,
In the coin transporting device described in 3, 4, or 5, the drive source is a stepping motor.

Therefore, the noise generated during coin transport is reduced as compared with the conventional case where a DC motor is used.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The present embodiment is a POS that is a product sales data processing device that executes product sales processing.
It is an example of application to a coin carrier used by being connected to a terminal (not shown). Here, FIG. 1 is an external perspective view schematically showing the coin transporting device, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the coin transporting device, and FIG. 3 is a coin insertion port and a first transporting part built in the coin transporting device. It is a vertical side view showing and.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an upper opening coin insertion opening 3 for collectively inserting coins C is provided in front of the right side of the main body case 2 of the coin conveying device 1.
The coin insertion slot 3 is provided with a plurality of sets of insertion sensors 4 that photoelectrically detect the presence or absence of the coin C. An insertion roller 5 is provided at one end of the coin insertion opening 3, and the insertion portion 6 is formed by the insertion roller 5 and the coin insertion opening 3. The input roller 5 is disposed directly above a timing belt 7 which is a coin transport belt that transports the coins C in a row, with a gap for one coin C passing through. In addition, when the coin C overlaps the timing belt 7, the rotation direction of the input roller 5 is determined so that the coins C other than the lowermost coin C are returned to the coin input port 3 side.

Here, the timing belt 7 is endless and is stretched around a driving pulley 8 and a driven pulley 9. The drive pulley 8 is rotatably driven by being connected to a stepping motor as a drive source (not shown).

A large number of tooth portions and groove portions are alternately formed on the entire inner peripheral surface 7a of the timing belt 7. On the other hand, on the outer peripheral surfaces of the drive pulley 8 and the driven pulley 9, a large number of groove portions and tooth portions that mesh with the tooth portions and groove portions of the inner peripheral surface 7a of the timing belt 7 are formed alternately over the entire surface. There is. Then, the driving force of the stepping motor is transmitted from the drive pulley 8 to the timing belt 7 by the meshing of the tooth portions / grooves of the timing belt 7 with the groove portions / teeth of the drive pulley 8. The driven pulley 9 is
As described above, the present invention is not limited to the one in which a large number of grooves and teeth are alternately formed on the outer peripheral surface, and may be, for example, a flat pulley.

The timing belt 7 is inclined so as to form a conveying surface 7c whose outer peripheral surface 7b increases in height toward the downstream side in the coin conveying direction.
The coin C placed on the carrying surface 7c is carried in the coin carrying direction. The transfer surface 7c of the outer peripheral surface 7b of the timing belt 7 forms the input coin transfer path 10.

The timing belt 7 is made of a material having a lower friction coefficient on the inner peripheral surface 7a than on the outer peripheral surface 7b. In the present embodiment, the inner peripheral surface 7a and the outer peripheral surface 7b are made of rubber, and the rubber of the inner peripheral surface 7a has a lower friction coefficient than the rubber of the outer peripheral surface 7b. The material of the inner peripheral surface 7a and the outer peripheral surface 7b of the timing belt is not limited to these. For example, as another embodiment, the outer peripheral surface 7
b may be formed of rubber, and the inner peripheral surface may be formed of a polymer material (for example, nylon) having a lower friction coefficient and higher wear resistance than the rubber of the outer peripheral surface 7b.

Here, the timing belt 7, the driving pulley 8 and the driven pulley 9 form a first conveying section.

Between the drive pulley 8 and the driven pulley 9,
A flat plate 11 as a supporting member is provided along the inner peripheral surface 7a of the timing belt 7 on the back side of the transport surface 7c.
The flat plate 11 slidably supports the inner peripheral surface 7a of the timing belt 7. As a result, the timing belt 7 in which the coin C is placed on the transport surface 7c and receives the load thereof
Are supported by the flat plate 11. Then, the timing belt 7 is driven by the stepping motor and moves while sliding on the flat plate 11.

At the end portion of the timing belt 7, there is provided a conveyor belt 13 for converting the coin conveying direction into a right angle so that the coin C is pressed against the bottom plate 12 and conveyed to the coin sorting position. The bottom plate 12 and the conveyor belt 13 form a coin sorting and conveying path 14. This coin sorting and conveying route 14
A reference surface 15 is provided on one side edge of the. The reference surface 15 guides the side surface of the coin C conveyed through the coin sorting and conveying path 14, and the coin C necessary for correctly dropping the corresponding coin C from the sorting hole 17 of the coin sorting unit 16 described later.
It is for obtaining the transportation standard of. Then, the conveyor belt 13 conveys the coin C with the side surface of the coin C in contact with the reference surface 15.

Next, the bottom plate 12 is provided with a sorting hole 17 for each denomination in which the hole width dimension is gradually increased along the conveyor belt 13.
Is formed, and a coin sorting unit 16 located at the coin sorting position and sorting the transported coins by denomination is formed therein. The selection hole 17 is 1 yen / 50 yen from the right in FIG.
Six pieces are provided so as to correspond to denominations of 5 yen, 100 yen, 10 yen, and 500 yen, respectively. In the present embodiment, the sorting holes 17 that are adjacent to each other in the coin sorting and conveying direction are continuously formed, and one hole is apparently formed. When the coin C is conveyed and reaches the selection hole 17 having a predetermined outer diameter, the coin sorting unit 16 drops coins into a coin storage unit 18 described below for each denomination. And each sorting hole 17
Is provided with a coefficient sensor 19 for each denomination, and the number of coins C is counted for each denomination.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view showing the coin storage section 18 and the second transfer section which are built in the coin transfer apparatus 1. The coin transport device 1 is connected to each of the sorting holes 17,
A coin storage portion 18 having an upper opening that is partitioned by denominations by a plurality of partition plates 20 that are vertical and parallel to each other is provided.

At the bottom of each of the coin storage portions 18a to 18f partitioned by the partition plate 20 of the coin storage portion 18, an endless timing belt 21 which is a coin transport belt is provided with a drive pulley 22 and a driven pulley 23. It is set up by the company. The drive pulley 22 is rotatably driven by being connected to a stepping motor (not shown) as a drive source.

A large number of tooth portions and groove portions are alternately formed on the entire inner peripheral surface 21a of the timing belt 21. On the other hand, the timing belt 2 is entirely provided on the outer peripheral surface of each of the drive pulley 22 and the driven pulley 23.
A large number of groove portions and tooth portions that mesh with the tooth portions and the groove portions of the inner peripheral surface 21a of No. 1 are alternately formed. Then, the driving force of the stepping motor is transmitted from the drive pulley 22 to the timing belt 21 by the meshing of the tooth portions / grooves of the timing belt 21 with the groove portions / teeth of the drive pulley 22. The driven pulley 23 is not limited to the one in which a large number of grooves and teeth are alternately formed on the outer peripheral surface as described above, and may be, for example, a flat pulley.

The timing belt 21 is inclined so as to form a conveying surface 21c whose outer peripheral surface 21b increases in height toward the downstream side in the coin payout conveying direction, and is placed on the conveying surface 21c. The transferred coin C is transferred in the coin payout transfer direction. The coin payout / conveyance direction is set to be a direction orthogonal to the lateral width direction of the coin storage units 18a to 18f. Then, the transfer surface 21c of the outer peripheral surface 21b of the timing belt 21 has coin storage units 18a to 1c.
The bottom face of 8f and the coin delivery transport path 24 are formed.

The timing belt 21 is made of a material having a lower friction coefficient on the inner peripheral surface 21a than on the outer peripheral surface 21b. In the present embodiment, the inner peripheral surface 21a and the outer peripheral surface 21b are made of rubber, and the rubber of the inner peripheral surface 21a has a lower friction coefficient than the rubber of the outer peripheral surface 21b. The material of the inner peripheral surface 21a and the outer peripheral surface 21b of the timing belt is not limited to these. For example, as another embodiment, the outer peripheral surface 21b is formed of rubber, and the inner peripheral surface is formed of a polymer material (for example, nylon) having a lower friction coefficient and excellent wear resistance than the rubber of the outer peripheral surface 21b. You may.

Here, the timing belt 21, the driving pulley 22, and the driven pulley 23 form a second conveying section.

A flat plate 25 as a support member is provided between the drive pulley 22 and the driven pulley 23 along the inner peripheral surface 21a on the back side of the conveying surface 21c of the timing belt 21. The flat plate 25 slidably supports the inner peripheral surface 21a of the timing belt 21. As a result, the timing belt 21 on which the coin C is placed on the transport surface 21c and receives the load thereof is supported by the flat plate 25. Then, the timing belt 21 is driven by the stepping motor and moves while sliding on the flat plate 25.

At the outlets of the coin storage portions 18a to 18f,
Separation rollers 26 for separating the coins C one by one are arranged at intervals with respect to the timing belt 21 so that one coin C can pass through, and the outlets of all the denominations are used for the denominations. It is arranged so as to cross each.

Further, at the outlet of the coin storing section 18, a coin waiting section 27 for arranging a predetermined number of coins C in a line and making them stand by is provided for each denomination.

A coin shutter 28 is provided above each of the timing belts 21 in the vicinity of the front end thereof so that the coins C can be temporarily stopped and the required number of coins C can be sent out. ing. These coin shutters 28 have the timing belt 2 at one end.
Although the top coin C on 1 is pressed, it is driven by a shutter solenoid 29 connected to the other end so as to dispense a designated number of coins C. Immediately after each coin shutter 28, a payout sensor 30 which is an optical sensor for counting the number of coins C paid out for each denomination is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, at the coin payout position where the coins C are dropped according to the type of money by the timing belt 21, there is provided a case-shaped coin payout outlet 31 having an open upper surface. Furthermore, the coin payout opening 31 of the main body case 2
A display 32 and various operation units 33 are provided on the back side of the.

In addition, the coin carrying device 1 is provided with a control unit (not shown) for driving and controlling each part in the coin carrying device 1. The control unit is connected to the control unit of the POS terminal, and based on the output information (change information about the amount of change) of the control unit of the POS terminal, the stepping motor and the coin shutter 2 that drive the drive pulley 22.
The shutter solenoid 29 for driving 8 is driven and controlled.

In this structure, when the coin C is inserted into the coin slot 3, the input sensor 4 detects the coin C, and the detection signal drives the input roller 5, the timing belt 7, and the conveyor belt 13. To be done. Then, the coins C inserted into the coin insertion slot 3 are separated one by one between the insertion roller 5 and the timing belt 7 and are conveyed on the conveying surface 7c. The coins C are redirected from the timing belt 7 to the conveyor belt 13 and conveyed, and the coin selector 16 sorts the coins by denomination. That is, the coin C falls from the selection hole 17 according to the denomination, and the coin storage units 18a to 18
It is stored in f by denomination. Then, the number of coins C dropped from the sorting hole 17 is counted by the coefficient sensor 19.

When there is no coin C in the coin standby unit 27, the timing belt 21 is driven by the stepping motor.
Is driven, the coins C placed on the conveying surface 21c of the timing belt 21 are conveyed, and the operation control is performed so that a predetermined number of coins C are always present in the coin standby portion 27.

Then, based on the change information from the POS terminal, the timing belt 21 is driven and the coin shutter 28 is driven by the shutter solenoid 29 for each denomination, so that the timing belt 21 is stored in the coin storing portion 18. Among the coins C placed on the transport surface 21c of 21, the required number of coins C of the denomination corresponding to the change are sent out. The coin C sent out in this way is the coin payout exit 31.
Be paid to.

Next, when the POS terminal performs the tightening process and the coin displacing command is issued from the POS terminal, the timing belt 21 is driven to convey the coin C placed on the conveying surface 21c. Since the coin shutter 28 is driven by the shutter solenoid 29 for each denomination, the required number of coins C are sent out. The coin C sent out in this way is paid out to the coin payout exit 31.

Here, in the present embodiment, the timing belts 7 and 21 are applied to the coin transport belts for transporting the coins C, and the outer peripheral surfaces 7b of the timing belts 7 and 21,
When the drive pulleys 8 and 22 are rotationally driven by the stepping motor by making 21b the transport surfaces 7c and 21c, the drive pulleys 8 and 22 and the timing belts 7 and 21 are driven.
The timing belts 7 and 21 are driven by the meshing with the driving pulleys 8 and 22 and the timing belts 7 and 21.
The coin C placed on the conveying surfaces 7c and 21c of the timing belts 7 and 21 without slipping between the coins C
Are reliably transported along the input coin transport path 10 and the coin payout transport path 24, respectively, so that the defective transport of the coin C is prevented.

Further, since the inner peripheral surfaces 7a, 21a of the timing belts 7, 21 are made of a material having a lower friction coefficient than the outer peripheral surfaces 7b, 21b, the placed coin C is conveyed by friction force. The outer peripheral surfaces 7b and 21b required to have high frictional force and the supported flat plates 11 and 21
It is possible to obtain a frictional force and a frictional resistance suitable for the inner peripheral surfaces 7a and 21a, which preferably have a low frictional resistance when slidingly moving with respect to 5. Thereby, the coin C is efficiently conveyed.

Further, since the drive source for driving the timing belts 7, 21 via the drive pulleys 8, 22 is a stepping motor, a gear for adjusting the number of revolutions as compared with the case of using a DC motor as in the conventional case. Fewer rows are required and the noise generated from their drive system during coin transport is reduced.

In this embodiment, the timing belt is used as the coin carrying belt for both the first carrying section and the second carrying section, but any one of the coin carrying belts may be used for carrying out the invention. The other coin transport belt may be, for example, a flat belt. When the coin transport belt is a flat belt, the drive pulley and the driven pulley may be flat pulleys.

[0053]

According to the present invention, when the drive pulley is rotationally driven by the drive source, the timing belt is driven by the meshing of the drive pulley and the timing belt. There is no slippage between the timing belt and the timing belt, and the coins placed on the outer peripheral surface of the timing belt can be reliably transported, so that defective transport of coins can be prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily exchange money with a transaction of a product.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the placed coins are slidably moved with respect to the outer peripheral surface which is required to have a high frictional force by the frictional force and the supporting member which is supported. At this time, since it is possible to obtain the frictional force and the frictional resistance suitable for each of the inner peripheral surface, where it is desirable to reduce the frictional resistance, the coins can be efficiently conveyed.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the drive source is a stepping motor, it is possible to reduce noise generated during coin transport, as compared with the case where a DC motor is used as in the conventional case.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view schematically showing a coin transporting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an internal structure of a coin carrying device.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a coin slot and a first transport unit which are incorporated in the coin transport device.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a coin storage unit and a second transfer unit built in the coin transfer device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an internal structure of a conventional coin transfer device.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a coin insertion part and a first transfer part which are built into a conventional coin transfer device.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a coin storage section and a second transfer section which are incorporated in a conventional coin transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 coin transporter 3 coin slot 7 Timing belt 7a Inner surface 7b outer peripheral surface 8 drive pulley 9 Driven pulley 11 Support member (flat plate) 18 coin storage 21 Timing belt 21a inner peripheral surface 21b outer peripheral surface 22 Drive pulley 23 Driven pulley 25 Support member (flat plate) 31 coin payout exit C coin

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hiroaki Katahira             570, Ohito, Ohito-cho, Takata-gun, Shizuoka             Kook Co., Ltd. Ohito Office (72) Inventor Kazumi Otani             570, Ohito, Ohito-cho, Takata-gun, Shizuoka             Kook Co., Ltd. Ohito Office (72) Inventor Kazuya Okawa             570, Ohito, Ohito-cho, Takata-gun, Shizuoka             Kook Co., Ltd. Ohito Office F-term (reference) 3E001 AA01 BA01 DA14 FA23                 3F023 AA03 AB06 BA02 BA10 BC02                       CA03 FA01                 3F030 AA02 CA02 CB03                 3F075 AA05 BA01 BB01 CA06 CA09                       CB04 CB06 CB12 CB16 CC01                       CC03

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A coin transfer device for transferring coins, comprising: a drive pulley having a plurality of teeth and grooves alternately formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof; a driven pulley; and a drive source for rotationally driving the drive pulley, A large number of groove portions and tooth portions that mesh with the tooth portions and the groove portions of the drive pulley are alternately formed on the inner peripheral surface, and are bridged between the drive pulley and the driven pulley, and the drive source causes the drive pulley to move. And a timing belt that conveys the coin placed on the outer peripheral surface when the coin is driven to rotate. 2. A coin storage unit for storing the coins, and a coin payout opening for paying out the coins, wherein the coins stored in the coin storage unit are conveyed to the coin payout opening by the timing belt. The coin transport device according to claim 1, wherein the coin transport device is dispensed. 3. The coin transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the coins are paid out based on change information from a product sales data processing device that executes a product sales process. 4. The coin transport according to claim 1, further comprising a coin slot into which the coin is thrown, and the coin thrown into the coin slot is transported by the timing belt. apparatus. 5. A support member slidably supporting the inner peripheral surface on the back side of the outer peripheral surface on the side on which the coins are placed of the timing belt is provided, and the timing belt is formed from the outer peripheral surface. The coin conveying device according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the inner peripheral surface is formed of a material having a lower friction coefficient. 6. The coin transporting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive source is a stepping motor.