JP2003127573A - Card paying-out method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card paying-out method and device, with which cards can be stably sold two by two to a card buyer by one paying-out treatment. SOLUTION: Before one paying-out treatment for intermittently paying-out two sheets of card 10, a card 10a being housed in a card housing part 11 and lying at the undermost surface is pushed by a card paying-out part 12 outside the detection range of an empty sensor 30. After that, the absence and presence of the card 10a in the card housing part 11 is detected by the empty sensor 30. When the presence of the card is detected by the empty sensor 30, the paying-out of the cards is set to be permitted. When the presence of the card is not detected by the empty sensor, the paying-out of the cards is set to be stopped.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a telephone card,
Alternatively, the present invention relates to a card payout method and device in which a plurality of cards, such as orange cards, having a relatively thin plate are stacked and housed, and the plurality of cards stacked and housed are discharged one by one from the lowermost surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a device housing of a card vending machine for selling telephone cards and the like, one or a plurality of card dispensing devices for dispensing cards corresponding to a specific amount of money are installed. ing.

This card dispensing device is roughly divided into a card accommodating section for accommodating and accommodating a large number of cards, and one of the plurality of cards stacked in the card accommodating section, which is the bottommost card, is pushed out one by one. It is composed of a card payout section for paying out by using

In a card vending machine in which a large number of such card dispensing devices are installed according to the type of card, money corresponding to the charge for one specific card is inserted, and then the specific card is designated. Then, the card dispensing device that dispenses the specified card is driven,
Only one designated card is paid out.

On the other hand, in the above-described card payout device, an empty sensor for detecting only the presence / absence of a card in the card accommodation portion is provided as the remaining amount of the card accommodated in the card accommodation portion.

Then, when the last one card accommodated in the card accommodating portion is dispensed, the above-mentioned empty sensor is turned on. Therefore, the control device of the card dispensing device determines that there is no card in the card accommodating portion, and thereafter, I was trying to do a process to stop the card sales of.

[0007]

By the way, in the above-mentioned card vending machine, when the money corresponding to the charges for the two cards is inserted into the designated card, the payment is performed once in one payment process. Some cards are equipped with a so-called two-card-only card-discharging device that intermittently pays out two designated cards one by one.

In the case of such a card dispensing device exclusively for dispensing two cards, if an even number of cards are already stored in the card storage portion, the conventional card dispensing method also
After paying out the last two cards, the empty sensor is turned on, which is convenient because the subsequent card sales stop processing is performed.

However, if the cards are accommodated in the odd-numbered card accommodating portion, according to the conventional card payout method, even when only the last one is accommodated, the empty sensor is turned off and the card can be sold. It is in a state.

Therefore, when the empty sensor is turned on and the processing for canceling the card sale is performed after the last one is paid out, the card purchaser who should obtain two cards in one payout processing is Since another card cannot be obtained and therefore another card can be obtained, there is a drawback that complicated work such as calling an operator of a vending machine must be performed.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a card payout method and device which can stably sell two cards to a card purchaser in a single payout process.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the card dispensing method of the present invention, a card accommodating portion for accommodating and accommodating a large number of cards, and the card accommodating portion of the card accommodating portion in a single dispensing process. In the card payout device having at least a card payout unit for intermittently pushing out two cards on the lower surface and paying out the card, and an empty sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the card in the card storage unit, the one-time payout process The step of pushing the lowermost card stored in the card storage portion to the outside of the detection area of the empty sensor by the card dispensing portion, and the step of pushing the lowermost card out of the detection area of the empty sensor. A step of detecting the presence / absence of a card in the card storage portion by the empty sensor, and a step of detecting by the empty sensor If de is detected to allow the card dispensing, and if the card is not detected by the empty sensor is at least comprises a step to stop the card dispensing.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the card dispensing device of the present invention, a card accommodating portion for accommodating and accommodating a large number of cards and a card at the bottom surface of the card accommodating portion in one dispensing operation. In a card payout device having at least a card payout unit for intermittently pushing out and paying out two cards, and an empty sensor for detecting the presence / absence of a card in the card storage unit, the card storage device is provided before a single payout process. The lowermost card accommodated in the section is pushed out of the detection area of the empty sensor by the card dispensing section, and then the presence or absence of the card in the card accommodation section is detected by the empty sensor, and the presence of the card is detected by the empty sensor. If detected, card payout is permitted, and the empty sensor is detected by the empty sensor. If were are equipped with a control device to stop the card dispensing.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The card payout method and device according to the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual block diagram of a card vending machine to which a card dispensing device 1 according to the present invention is applied.

Inside the automatic vending machine, there are provided 1 to n card payout devices (card payout machines) 1 according to the type of specific card to be paid out.

The card payout device 1 and the n selection switches 2 for selecting the payout of a specific card are connected to the main control unit, which is the control device 5, via the control lines 3 and 4, respectively. By operating the selection switch 2, the payout drive of the card payout device 1 for paying out the selected specific card is controlled.

The control device 5 also discriminates the authenticity of the inserted bill and is connected to the bill discriminating device 6 for storing the genuine coin so that the inserted amount is displayed on the amount display 8 of the display unit 7, and the corresponding action is taken. Whether or not to sell the card of the card payout device 1 is displayed by turning on and off the on-sale lamp 9. Needless to say, the number of the lamps 9 on sale is arranged according to the type of the specific card to be paid out.

On the other hand, as shown in the conceptual sectional view of FIG. 2, the above-mentioned card dispensing device 1 is roughly divided into a card accommodating portion 11 for accommodating and accommodating a plurality of cards 10, and a card accommodating portion 11 inside the card accommodating portion 11. It is composed of a card payout section 12 for paying out the loaded and accommodated cards 10 one by one from the lowermost surface thereof.

Of these, the card accommodating portion 11 has a cassette base 13 positioned and mounted in the card dispensing portion 12,
The cassette box 14 is composed of a cassette box 14 fastened to the upper surface of the cassette base 13.
The card insertion slot 15 formed on the front side of the cassette door 1
It is covered by 6 so that it can be opened and closed. The upper surfaces of the large number of cards 10 stacked and stored in the card storage portion 11 are pressed downward by the pressing means 17 composed of a coil spring or the like.

Next, the card payout section 12 will be briefly described.

The card payout section 12 is provided with a carry motor 20.
It slides in the left-right direction in the drawing through the driving means 21 consisting of, and thereby engages with the rear end of the single card 10a on the lowermost surface of the card housing portion 10, and the card 10
And a card dispensing roller 25 for ejecting the lowermost card 10a transported from the slide 22 from a card dispensing port 24 via a dispensing motor 23. A driven roller 26 is in pressure contact with the surface of the payout roller 25.

On the other hand, in the card payout section 12, a carrier switch 27 for detecting the operating state of the slide 22, that is, whether or not the slide 22 is in the initial position shown in FIG.
Is provided. In the embodiment, the carrier switch 27 is composed of an arm 28 which rotates about an axis, and
In the initial position, the arm 22 is rotated clockwise by the slide 22 to send the off signal.

An empty sensor (card presence / absence detection sensor) 30 for detecting whether or not the card 10 is present in the card storage portion 10 is arranged at the bottom of the card payout portion 12.

The empty sensor 30 is composed of a lever 33 which is constantly urged clockwise around an axis 32 by an urging force of a coil spring 31, and a photo sensor 34 which detects a rear end 33b of the lever 33. In FIG. 2, the front end 33 a of the lever 33 is restricted from rotating clockwise by the card 10 a having the lowermost surface, and the rear end 33 of the lever 33 is restricted.
Since b does not block the optical path of the photo sensor 34, the photo sensor 34 sends an off signal indicating that a card is present.

On the other hand, an exit switch 40 for detecting whether or not the card 10 has been paid out is provided at a position of the card payout opening 24 adjacent to the payout roller 25.

This outlet switch 40 also has a coil spring 41.
2 is composed of a lever 43 that is constantly urged clockwise about the shaft 42 by the urging force of the lever 43 and a photo sensor 44 that detects the rear end 43b of the lever 43. In FIG.
Since the card 10 has not collided with the front end 43a of the lever 3, the lever 43 maintains the posture biased in the clockwise direction, so that the rear end 43b of the lever 43 maintains the state in which the optical path of the photo sensor 44 is not blocked. The photo sensor 44 sends an off signal indicating that the card is not passing.

The detailed structure of the card payout device 1 described above is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-42307 previously filed by the applicant of the present application.
See issue.

Next, the card payout method of the card payout device 1 described above will be described with reference to FIG. 3 showing the operation of the control device 5 shown in FIG.
The time chart will be explained.

First, when the power is turned on, the control device 5 performs an initial process for preparing the payout of a card (before the card payout process) on each card payout device 1 before the selection switch 1 is operated. Do it.

The initial control by the control device 5 is as follows.
When the power is turned on, only the motor 20 of each card dispensing device 1 shown in FIG. 2 is driven to slide the slide 22 from the initial position to the left side in the drawing. As a result, the carrier switch 27 rotates counterclockwise and sends an ON signal.

In this way, when the slide 22 slides from the initial position of FIG. 2 to the left side of the drawing, as shown in FIG. 4, the slide 22 comes into contact with the rear end of the card 10a on the lowermost surface, and thereafter, The operation of transporting only the lowermost card 10a to the left side of the drawing is started.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the leading end of the conveyed card 10a is the lever end 43 of the exit switch 40.
When a is rotated counterclockwise against the urging force of the coil spring 41, whereby the rear end 43b of the lever 43 interrupts the optical path of the photosensor 44 and generates an ON signal, the control device 5 operates based on the ON signal. The rotation of the motor 20 is stopped.

When the initial process of the controller 5 is completed, the motor 20 and the motor 23 are maintained in the off state, and the carrier switch 27 and the outlet switch 4 are completed, as shown in the time chart of FIG.
0 maintains the ON state.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the lever tip 33a of the card presence / absence detection sensor (empty sensor) 30 comes into contact with the next card 10 overlying the card 10a at the lowermost surface, and the lever 33 is moved counterclockwise. Since the rotated state is maintained, the optical path of the photo sensor 34 is not blocked by the lever rear end 33b, and therefore the photo sensor 34 maintains the sending of the off signal indicating the presence of the card.

Therefore, the control device 5 considers that two cards can be paid out based on the OFF signal of the empty sensor 30, and lights up the on-sale lamp 9 (FIG. 1) of each corresponding card paying device 1. Perform processing to In addition,
If the empty sensor 30 sends an ON signal at this point, the process of turning off the on-sale lamp 9 (FIG. 1) is naturally performed to stop the card sales of the corresponding card dispensing device 1.

Next, the processing operation of the control device 5 (FIG. 1) after the selection switch 2 is pressed will be described in detail.

The control device 5 shown in FIG. 1 inserts a genuine bill corresponding to the amount of money of two specific cards into the bill discriminating device 6, displays it on the amount display 8 and then displays the specific card. In order to select the card payout device 1 to be paid out, when the selection switch 1 corresponding to the card payout device 1 is pressed, the control device 5 (FIG. 1) performs the control shown in the time chart of FIG.

That is, when the selection switch 1 for selecting a specific card is pressed, the control device 5 first causes the transfer motor 20 and the transfer motor 20 of the card dispensing device 1 for dispensing a specific card, as shown in the time chart of FIG. The pay-out motor 23 is driven (turned on) to shift from the position of FIG. 5 to the pay-out operation of the first card.

The transport motor 20 is driven, and the slide 22 shown in FIG. 5 is further moved to the left side of the drawing. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the lowermost card 10a is ejected by the drive force of the ejection roller 25. Most of the money is discharged from the mouth 24, and the rear end of the card 10a passes through the exit switch 40 as shown in FIG.
When the lever 43 of 0 returns to the initial position and the sensor 44 sends an off signal, the control device 5 causes the dispensing motor to move after a lapse of a predetermined time based on the off signal of the exit switch 40, as shown in the time chart of FIG. The drive of 23 is turned off.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Is returned to the initial position and the carrier switch 27 is turned off, the drive of the carry motor 20 is turned off based on the off signal as shown in the time chart of FIG. 3, whereby the payout process of the first card 10 is performed. Complete. Also, FIG.
As shown in, even after the payout of the first card 10 is completed, the empty sensor (card presence detection sensor)
Since the lever 33 of 30 is in contact with the next lowermost card 10a, it does not block the optical path of the photosensor 34, and therefore the photosensor 34 maintains the sending of the off signal indicating the presence of the card. .

As shown in the time chart of FIG. 3, in the embodiment, the drive time of the carry motor 20 required for paying out the first card is set to about 1 second.

After the payout of the first card, the controller 5 takes the time of about 0.5 seconds for the transfer and payout motor 20 in consideration of the time for the purchaser to pull out the first card.
The drive of 23 is stopped, and then the process of paying out the second card is started.

As shown in the time chart of FIG. 3, the control device 5 restarts driving of the carry motor 20 and the payout motor 23 after a lapse of about 0.5 seconds, and shifts to the payout operation of the second card. .

At this time, the initial position of the slide 22 for paying out the second card 10 shown in FIG. 7 is different from the initial position of the slide 22 for paying out the first card shown in FIG. Based on the change in the initial position, the on timings of the carrier switch 27 and the exit switch 40 slightly change from the payout of the first card, but otherwise the second card 10 is operated by the same procedure as described above. It is paid out and returns to the initial position of the slide 22 in FIG. 7 again.

On the other hand, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 3, the control device 5 takes into account the time taken for the second card of the purchaser to be withdrawn after the completion of the second card payout, and again takes about 0.5 seconds. The driving of the time feeding and dispensing motors 20 and 23 is stopped.

Then, the control unit 5 then controls the card storage unit 1
The process proceeds to the presence / absence inspection process for the card 10 accommodated in the card 1.

Although the presence / absence inspection process of the card 10 by the control device 5 is basically the same as the initial process by the control device 5 described above, the initial process by the control device 5 is performed when the power is turned on. On the other hand, a major difference is that the presence / absence inspection process of the card 10 is always performed after the second card payout process is completed.

As shown in the time chart of FIG. 3, in the presence / absence inspection process of the card 10 accommodated in the card accommodating portion 11 by the control device 5, first, the second card payout is completed and the time is about 0.5 seconds. After stopping the driving of the time feeding and dispensing motors 20 and 23, only the feeding motor 20 is driven (ON)
The slide 22 from the initial position of FIG.
Slide to the left side of the drawing as shown in. This causes the carrier switch 27 to send an ON signal.

In this way, when the slide 22 slides from the initial position in FIG. 7 to the left side in the drawing, as shown in FIG. 4, the slide 22 and the rear end of the card 10a on the lowermost surface come into contact with each other, and then the rearmost portion. The operation of transporting only the lower card 10a to the left side of the drawing is started.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the leading end of the conveyed card 10a is at the lever end 43 of the exit switch 40.
When a is rotated counterclockwise against the urging force of the coil spring 41, whereby the rear end 43b of the lever 43 interrupts the optical path of the photosensor 44 and generates an ON signal, the control device 5 operates based on the ON signal. The rotation of the motor 20 is stopped.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, when the card 10a further exists on the uppermost surface of the card 10a which is the lowermost surface in the card housing portion 11, the lever tip 33a of the card presence / absence detection sensor (empty sensor) 30 is the lowermost surface. Card 10a
Abutting the next card 10 overlaid on top of the lever 33
Is maintained in the counterclockwise direction, the optical path of the photosensor 34 is not blocked by the lever rear end 33b, and therefore the photosensor 34 maintains the sending of the off signal indicating the presence of the card. To do.

Therefore, the control device 5 considers that two cards can be paid out based on the off signal of the empty sensor 30, and turns on the corresponding lamp 9 (FIG. 1) of the corresponding card payout device 1. maintain. Then, thereafter, when the selection switch 1 is operated, the same two-card payout process and the presence / absence inspection process of the card 10 are continuously performed again. In the embodiment, the drive time of the motor 20 is about 0.3 seconds for the presence / absence inspection process of the card 10.

Next, the payout process of the cards 10 accommodated in the card accommodating portion 11 proceeds, and the number of remaining cards 10 accommodated in the card accommodating portion 11 becomes one, as shown in FIG. In the case of the card 10 by the control device 5 described above
The presence / absence inspection process will be described.

By the control device 5, as in the card remaining amount detection period shown in the time chart of FIG. 3, the second sheet payout is completed and the time is about 0.5 seconds.
After the driving of 0 and 23 is stopped, only the carry motor 20 is driven, whereby the slide 22 is slid from the initial position of FIG. 8 to the left side of the drawing as shown in FIG. This causes the carrier switch 27 to send an ON signal.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the slide 22 slides from the initial position of FIG. 8 to the left side of the drawing, the slide 22 and the rear end of the card 10 on the lowermost surface come into contact with each other, and then the card on the lowermost surface. The operation of transporting only 10 to the left side of the drawing is started.

Then, the tip of the conveyed card 10 rotates the lever tip 43a of the exit switch 40 counterclockwise against the urging force of the coil spring 41, whereby the rear end 43b of the lever 43 moves to the photo sensor 44. When the optical path is cut off and an ON signal is generated, the control device 5 stops the rotation of the motor 20 based on the ON signal, as shown in the time chart of FIG.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9, when there is no card 10 on the upper surface of the card 10 which is the lowermost surface in the card housing portion 11, the lever 33 of the empty sensor 30 causes the lever 32 to move the shaft 32 by the urging force of the coil spring 31. It rotates clockwise around the center, and the rear end 33b of the lever 33 moves to the photo sensor 3
Since the optical path of No. 4 is shut off, the photosensor 34 sends out an ON signal indicating that there is no card as shown by the dotted line in the card remaining amount detection period shown in the time chart of FIG. 3, and the control device 5 causes the empty state. On the basis of the ON signal of the sensor 30, it is considered that two cards cannot be paid out, and the processing is performed to turn off the on-sale lamp 9 (FIG. 1) corresponding to the card payout device without a card.

Therefore, the payout processing of the cards 10 accommodated in the card accommodation section 11 progresses, and as shown in FIG. 8, the number of remaining cards 10 accommodated in the card accommodation section 11 becomes only one. In the case, the corresponding card payout device 1
Since the in-sale lamp 9 (FIG. 1) is turned off, the corresponding card is not sold thereafter. Therefore, when the number of remaining cards 10 accommodated in the card accommodating portion 11 is two or more, it is possible to stably sell two cards each by one payout process, and the remaining cards become one. In this case, since the corresponding card is not sold, it is possible to stably sell two cards to the card purchaser in one payout process.

In the above embodiment, the carrier switch 2
7. The empty sensor 30 and the exit switch 40 are composed of a lever that rotates in contact with the card and a photo sensor that detects the movement of the lever, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. However, it suffices as long as it can detect the movement of the card at the specific position. Therefore, for example, it may be configured with only a photo sensor for detecting the card at the specific position, and the structure is not limited.

[0061]

As described above, in the card payout method and device of the present invention, the card on the lowermost surface accommodated in the card accommodating portion is processed before one payout process for intermittently paying out two cards. The ejection unit pushes it out of the detection area of the empty sensor, then the empty sensor detects the presence or absence of the card in the card storage unit, and when the empty sensor detects the card, the card ejection is permitted. If the card is not detected, the card payout is stopped. Therefore, before the one payout process of intermittently paying out two cards, the card required for at least one payout is set in the card storage unit. It is possible to detect whether or not there are two cards, and therefore, it is possible to stably supply two cards to the card purchaser in one payout process. One can be sold.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an automatic vending machine to which a card payout device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual cross-sectional view of a card payout device.

FIG. 3 is a time chart showing a processing procedure of a control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual cross-sectional view of a card payout device for explaining a card payout method according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual cross-sectional view of a card payout device for explaining a card payout method according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual sectional view of a card payout device for explaining a card payout method according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual sectional view of a card payout device for explaining a card payout method according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual sectional view of a card payout device for explaining a card payout method according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual sectional view of a card payout device for explaining a card payout method according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Card payout device 5 ... Control device 10 ... Card 11 ... Card storage 12 ... Card payout section 20 ... Conveyor motor 21 ... Driving means 22 ... slide 23 ... Dispensing motor 25 ... Card payout roller 30 ... Empty sensor 33 ... lever 33b ... One end of lever 34 ... Photo sensor

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Norihisa Hirayama             2-2-2 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Ceremony company Japan Conlux F-term (reference) 2C005 HB04 LB45 LB46                 3E044 AA01 CC03 DB05 DE07 FB05                       FB07 FB09                 5B023 DA21 GA01 KA01

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A card accommodating portion for accommodating and accommodating a large number of cards, and a card ejecting portion for ejecting by intermittently extruding two cards one by one at a lowermost surface of the card accommodating portion in one payout process. In the card payout device having at least an empty sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the card in the card storage part, the card on the bottom surface stored in the card storage part before the one payout process is performed by the card payout part. A step of pushing out of the detection area of the empty sensor; a step of detecting the presence or absence of a card in the card storage section by the empty sensor after the card of the lowermost surface is pushed out of the detection area of the empty sensor; When a card is detected by the empty sensor, the card payout is permitted, and by the empty sensor Card dispensing method is characterized in that at least comprising a step of abort card payout if over de is not detected. 2. The card payout section slides in the left-right direction through a driving means composed of a carrying motor, engages with one card on the bottom surface of the card housing section, and carries the card. 2. The card payout method according to claim 1, comprising a slide and a card payout roller driven by a payout motor to eject a card on the lowermost surface conveyed by the slide. 3. The empty sensor comprises a lever which is constantly urged in one direction around a shaft, and a photo sensor which detects one end of the lever.
Card payment method described in. 4. A card accommodating section for accommodating and accommodating a large number of cards, and a card ejecting section for intermittently extruding two cards one at a bottom surface of the card accommodating section by one ejection process and ejecting the cards. In the card payout device having at least an empty sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a card in the card storage part, the card on the bottom surface housed in the card storage part before the one-time payout processing is performed by the card payout part. Push out of the detection area of the empty sensor, detect the presence or absence of a card in the card storage section by the empty sensor, allow the card payout if the empty sensor is detected by the empty sensor, and the card by the empty sensor A car characterized by having a control device for stopping the card payout when the absence is detected. Dispenser. 5. The card payout section slides in the left-right direction via a drive means composed of a conveyance motor, and thereby engages with one card on the bottom surface of the card storage section to remove the card. 5. The card dispensing device according to claim 4, comprising a slide for transporting, and a card dispensing roller that is driven through a dispensing motor and discharges the card on the lowermost surface transported by the slide. 6. The empty sensor comprises a lever which is constantly urged in one direction around a shaft, and a photo sensor which detects one end of the lever.
Card payout device described in.