JP2005259085A - Method for building paper sheet handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for building a paper sheet handling device capable of flexibly coping with a difference in an installation environment. <P>SOLUTION: A pre-acceptor 100 for conveying a bundle of notes inserted from outside or for discharging the bundle of notes to outside is made into a module form. An acceptor 100 to be mounted on an upper unit 300 is selected and mounted in consideration of a safe 500 in which a paper sheet handling device 1 is installed, a wall 510 located outside the safe, etc. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for constructing a paper sheet handling apparatus capable of at least one of taking in paper sheets inserted from the outside and discharging the paper sheets to the outside.

  In recent years, automated equipment such as an automatic teller machine (CD) and an automatic teller machine (ATM) has been installed not only in financial institutions but also in convenience stores. The paper sheet handling apparatus is mounted on such an automated device to handle banknotes as paper sheets. In such a case, the operation is performed in accordance with an instruction from the automation device main body.

  The paper sheet handling device used for the automation equipment is installed in a safe. The safe is usually different depending on the automation equipment even in the same financial institution. As a result, the installation environment of the paper sheet handling apparatus, for example, the wall thickness of the safe, is usually different depending on the automated equipment. For this reason, conventionally, a paper sheet handling apparatus suitable for the installation environment has been designed and manufactured as necessary.

  If the difference in installation environment is dealt with in this way, naturally, the manufacturing cost of the paper sheet handling apparatus increases. In addition, the time required for delivery becomes longer. For these reasons, it has been strongly desired to be able to flexibly cope with differences in installation environments.

As a conventional paper sheet handling apparatus, there is one described in Patent Document 1. In the paper sheet handling apparatus described in the document, maintenance and inspection work can be easily performed by making the banknote conveying means and banknote identification means mounted in the apparatus main body detachable. For these reasons, it was not possible to cope with differences in installation environment.
JP 2001-31759 A

  An object of this invention is to provide the construction method of the paper sheet handling apparatus which can respond flexibly to the difference in installation environment.

  Both the construction methods of the paper sheet handling apparatus according to the first and second aspects of the present invention are papers that can take in paper sheets inserted from the outside and / or discharge the paper sheets to the outside. Assuming that it is used to construct a leaf handling device, a paper handling device is constructed as follows.

  In the construction method according to the first aspect, a conveyance unit for taking in and discharging at least one of one or more sheets of paper sheets and stacking the sheet bundles should be modularized to convey the sheet bundles. The paper sheet handling apparatus is constructed by mounting a transport unit corresponding to the transport amount on the main body of the paper sheet handling apparatus.

  In addition, it is preferable that the transport unit is supported by a member provided on the main body, and the transport unit is rotatably mounted around the member as a shaft. Moreover, it is desirable to attach and mount support means that can support the main body in one or more predetermined states.

  In the construction method according to the second aspect, the transport unit for taking in and discharging at least one of one or more sheets of paper sheets, and stacking the paper sheets is modularized. A member for rotatably supporting the transport unit is provided, the transport unit is supported by the member, and a support means that can support the main body in one or more predetermined states is attached, and the transport unit is mounted on the main body. By doing so, the paper sheet handling apparatus is constructed.

  In the first or second aspect, the transport unit is provided with one or more sensors for detecting the bundle of sheets in the vicinity of at least one end of the transport path of the bundle of sheets. The arrangement of the sensors in the direction along the conveyance path is desirably unified by the conveyance units having different lengths of the conveyance path with reference to an end located in the vicinity of the sensor.

  The present invention modularizes a transport unit for taking in and discharging at least one of one or more stacked paper sheet bundles, and according to the transport amount for transporting the paper sheet bundle. By mounting the transport unit on the main body of the paper sheet handling apparatus, the paper sheet handling apparatus is constructed.

  The modularization makes it possible to mount a transport unit having a different transport amount of paper sheet bundles on a main body, for example, an upper unit constituting a paper sheet handling apparatus. For this reason, differences such as the wall thickness of the safe and the size of the holes provided in the safe can be dealt with by selecting the transport unit to be mounted. When the transport unit is rotatably mounted on the main body, fine adjustment can be performed by rotating the transport unit. Also, in the transport unit, one or more sensors for detecting the bundle of paper sheets are arranged near at least one of the both ends of the transport path of the stack of paper sheets, and the end located near the sensor is used as a reference. When the sensor arrangement in the direction along the conveyance path is unified (common) in the conveyance units having different conveyance path lengths, it becomes possible to avoid the necessity of changing the control depending on the conveyance unit to be mounted. . All of them can flexibly cope with the difference in installation environment of the paper sheet handling apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a paper sheet handling apparatus according to this embodiment.
The paper sheet handling apparatus 1 handles banknotes as paper sheets that are assumed to be used in automated equipment such as an automatic teller machine (ATM). As shown in FIG. 1, when a customer inserts a sheet bundle B in which one or more banknotes are stacked, a pre-acceptor 100 that takes in the inside, and a lower unit 200 that stores banknotes, And the upper unit 300 which conveys the banknote between the lower unit 200 and the pre-acceptor 100 is comprised. The pre-acceptor 100 corresponds to the transport unit referred to in the present invention. Hereinafter, it is expressed as “acceptor” or “PAC”.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the transport system of the acceptor 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the acceptor 100 includes a clamp 103 provided above the conveyance path 102, a tray 104 provided below the conveyance path 102, a hook 105 attached to the tray 104, and a banknote bundle. A conveyor belt 106 for conveying B along the conveyance path 102, an encoder 107 for confirming the conveyance amount of the banknote bundle B by the conveyance belt 106, and sensors 109 to 109 provided at different positions on the conveyance path 102. 112 and stoppers 113 and 114 that are provided at different positions on the conveyance path 102 and can project and retract on the conveyance path 102. A plurality of hooks 105 and stoppers 113 and 114 are arranged in a line in the crossing direction of the banknote bundle B conveyance direction.

  The encoder 107 includes a disk 107a that rotates with the rotation of a motor that transmits power to the conveyor belt 106, and a slit detection sensor 107b provided on the circumference of the disk 107a. The sensor 107b is an optical sensor having a light emitting element and a light receiving element. The light emitted from the light emitting element is intermittently shielded by the rotation of the disk 107a. Thereby, a pulse signal is output from the light receiving element, and the actual carry amount is specified by counting the pulse signal.

  The tray 104 supports the banknote bundle B inserted from the insertion outlet 101 with a plate-like member. A hook 105 attached to the hook 105 can project and retreat onto the transport path 102. When the banknote bundle B is inserted, as shown in FIG. 2, the banknote bundle B is used as a guide having a length to be inserted.

  The movement of the tray 104 along the conveyance path 102 is performed using a belt stretched so as to overlap the conveyance belt 106 from the viewpoint of FIG. In order to specify the movement amount, an encoder 107 as shown in FIG. 2 is prepared separately. For the stoppers 113 and 114, in order to avoid confusion, the stopper 113 provided on the front side is referred to as A stopper and the stopper 114 provided on the rear side is referred to as D stopper.

  Four conveying belts for conveying the banknote bundle B are stretched on the clamp 103. The clamp 103 is configured to be able to move in the crossing direction of the direction along the conveyance path 102 in order to convey the inserted banknote bundle B while being sandwiched between the trays 104. As a power source for enabling the movement, a stepping motor (not shown) is employed.

  The operation in the above configuration will be described. The paper sheet handling apparatus 1 can deposit and withdraw money. For this reason, the description of the operation will be made separately when depositing and withdrawing. An ATM is assumed as an automated device on which the device is mounted, that is, the sheet handling apparatus 1 is assumed to operate according to an instruction from the ATM main body (control unit).

  A loading / unloading port 101 provided in the acceptor 100 is for the customer to input the banknote bundle B for depositing or to discharge the banknote bundle B for withdrawal to the customer. When mounted on an ATM, a shutter (not shown) that is opened and closed is disposed outside the input / output port 101. Hereinafter, from the customer's viewpoint, the input / output port 101 side of the acceptor 100 is referred to as the front side, and the opposite side is referred to as the rear side. Further, when viewed from the lower unit 200, the upper unit 300 side is expressed as an upper side, and the opposite is expressed as a lower side.

  First, the operation at the time of deposit will be described in detail. The deposit is performed, for example, when the customer requests the deposit by operating an operation unit (not shown) of the ATM. When the customer makes the request, the ATM main body opens the shutter to shift to a state where the banknote bundle B can be inserted (inserted) into the input / output port 101, and the paper sheets to be inserted into the paper sheet handling apparatus 1. Instruct B to be taken in.

  Sensors 109 and 110 for detecting the inserted banknote bundle B are disposed in the vicinity of the insertion / exit 101. When the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 receives the instruction from the ATM main body, the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 waits for the sensors 109 and 110 to detect the banknote bundle B and carries it. By the conveyance, the banknote bundle B is conveyed to the separator (SEP) unit 310 of the upper unit 300 via the conveyance path 102.

When the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 takes in the banknote bundle B inserted by the customer, it notifies the ATM main body to that effect. The ATM body closes the shutter in response to the notification.
A feeding mechanism 311 for feeding banknotes one by one from the banknote bundle B is provided at the lower part of the separator unit 310. The feeding mechanism 311 has a known configuration, for example. Specifically, for example, a pick roller that transmits power in the feeding direction to the lowest banknote, a feed roller that transports banknotes fed out by the pick roller, and a feed roller for preventing double conveyance of banknotes, It is a thing provided with the separator provided in the state which contacts.

  When the acceptor 100 is conveyed to the separator unit 310, the banknote bundle B is carried onto the stage 312 in the state shown in FIG. Both the stage 312 and the pusher 313 located above the stage 312 can move in the vertical direction. Thereby, conveyance of the banknote bundle B to the position where the feeding mechanism 311 can feed out the banknotes is performed by moving the stage 312 downward. The positions shown in FIG. 2 of the stage 312 and the pusher 313 are the upper ends in the movable range, and are both referred to as the upper end or the upper end position.

  As is well known, it is necessary to bring a bill and a pick roller into contact with each other with an appropriate pressure for feeding the bill. The pusher 313 is used for pressurization to bring them into contact with the pressure. The pressurization is performed by moving the stage 312 downward to the lower end and then moving the pusher 313 downward and applying pressure from above the banknote bundle B.

  The pick roller is supported by an elastic member (not shown) so as to be movable in the vertical direction. This is because it is determined from the change in the position of the pick roller whether or not an appropriate pressure is applied to the bill feeding. For this reason, the sensor for detecting the pick roller which moved below by the pressure being applied is provided. The detection result of the sensor is monitored, and the pusher 313 is moved downward so that an appropriate pressure is applied. For this reason, drive systems for moving the stage 312 and the pusher 313 are prepared separately. A stepping motor is used as the power source for the movement.

  The banknotes fed one by one from the separator unit 310 by the feeding mechanism 311 are transported to the discrimination unit 320 via the transport path 301, and discrimination is performed. By the discrimination, it is determined whether or not the banknote is a normal note and the denomination of the normal note is specified. A fake banknote, an indistinguishable banknote, or a banknote that is damaged is determined as an abnormal banknote. The banknote after the discrimination is conveyed on the conveyance path 302.

  The upper unit 300 is provided with three reject boxes 351-3. A temporary storage unit 330 is provided to temporarily store bills inserted by the customer. The conveyance path 304 is formed so that a banknote can be accommodated in any one of the conveyance path 303 and the reject boxes 351 to 351 so that the banknote can be accommodated in the temporary storage unit 330.

  Two switching claws 302a and 302b are disposed in the conveyance path 302 in order to switch the bill conveyance destination. The transport path for transporting the banknote being transported next through the transport path 302 can be switched to the transport path 303 by the switching claw 302a and to the transport path 304 by the switching claw 302b. The banknote after the discrimination is sent from the transport path 302 to the transport path 303 by the switching claw 302a and stored in the temporary storage unit 330.

  The temporary storage unit 330 is provided with two stages 331 and 332 that are movable in the vertical direction. The stage 331 is used for storing banknotes determined to be abnormal, and the stage 332 is used for storing banknotes determined to be normal. Here, for convenience, the storage section realized by the stage 331 will be referred to as a reservoir section, and the storage section realized by the stage 332 will be referred to as an escrow section. The stage 331 is also called an RSV stage, and the stage 332 is also called an ESC stage.

  The stages 331 and 332 are attached to a belt 335 that is stretched between two pulleys 333 and 334 that are provided at intervals in the vertical direction. The two pulleys 333 and 334 and the belt 335 are prepared for each stage, so that the stages 331 and 332 can be individually moved.

  One switching claw is disposed on the conveyance path 303 so that the conveyance destination of the banknote can be selected from the reservoir section and the escrow section. Thereby, the banknote which conveys the conveyance path 303 is accommodated in a reservoir part or an escrow part. Two switching claws are disposed in the conveyance path 304 in order to store the banknote in any of the reject boxes 351 to 351.

  Banknote discrimination and storage in the temporary storage unit 330 according to the discrimination result are performed for all banknotes fed out from the separator unit 310 one by one. For this reason, after the feeding of the banknote from the separator unit 310 is completed, the fed banknote is stored in the reservoir unit or the escrow unit of the temporary storage unit 330. Completion of the feeding is determined by confirming that no banknote is present in the separator unit 310 by a sensor, or by confirming by a sensor that a banknote is not fed out to the conveyance path 301 even if the feeding is performed.

  When the storage of the banknotes inserted in the form of the banknote bundle B in the temporary storage unit 330 is completed, the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 notifies the ATM main body to that effect. A deposit amount calculated by counting the number of banknotes determined by the discrimination unit 320 as a normal ticket for each denomination is also notified. With these notifications, the ATM main body presents the deposit amount to the customer and inquires whether or not to make a transaction and whether or not there is an additional deposit. Thereafter, it operates according to the inquiry result.

  When the customer requests additional payment, the ATM body opens the shutter again and instructs the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 to take in the paper sheet B to be inserted. The banknotes constituting the banknote bundle B inserted by the customer are stored in the reservoir section or escrow section of the temporary storage section 330 as described above.

  When the customer requests cancellation of the transaction, the ATM main body instructs the return of the banknote taken into the paper sheet handling apparatus 1. The banknote is normally stored in the reservoir section, the escrow section, or both of the temporary storage section 330. The paper sheet handling apparatus 1 returns it as follows according to the place where the banknote was accommodated.

  A transport path 305 for transporting the banknote bundle B is provided above the temporary storage unit 330. The conveyance path 305 can convey the banknote bundle B stored in the temporary storage unit 330 to the acceptor 100. The banknote bundle B on the transport path 305 is transported using a carrier 341. The carrier 341 is for transporting the banknote bundle B by pushing it from the rear in the transport direction. By carrying in such a way, each banknote piled up as the banknote bundle B will be supported by the carrier 341. For this reason, banknote bundle B is conveyed appropriately and reliably, and it is reliably avoided that a banknote protrudes during conveyance in the crossing direction of the stacked direction.

  A large number of gears for transmitting power to the carrier 341 are provided on the conveyance path 305. The carrier 341 moves along a guide (not shown) provided on the conveyance path 305 by power transmission from the gear. Thereby, the gear for transmitting power to the carrier 341 differs depending on the position of the carrier 341 on the transport path 305. The guide is also provided on each stage 331, 332, 312.

  In the case where banknotes are stored only in the reservoir unit, the RSV stage 331 is moved to a position (release position) on the transport path 305. At this time, the carrier 341 has already been moved to the position (escrow retreat position) on the rear surface side of the stage 331 at the release position. The banknote bundle B on the stage 331 moves the carrier 341 to a position (release position) in front of the acceptor 100 and then conveys it to the insertion outlet 101 by the acceptor 100. In order to open the shutter, the ATM body is notified, for example, when the carrier 341 is moved to the release position. The position of the carrier 341 before moving the stage 331 and the timing of notifying the ATM main body are basically the same in other cases.

  In the case where the banknotes are stored only in the escrow part, the RSV stage 331 is moved to a position retracted on the transport path 305 (upper end position), and the ESC stage 332 is moved to a position on the transport path 305 (release position). Move. The banknote bundle B on the stage 332 moves the carrier 341 to a position in front of the acceptor 100 (release position), and then conveys it to the insertion outlet 101 by the acceptor 100.

  In the case where banknotes are stored in both the reservoir unit and the escrow unit, the RSV stage 331 is moved to a position (release position) on the transport path 305. At this time, the stage 312 and the pusher 313 are each moved to the upper end position. The banknote bundle B on the RSV stage 331 is carried on the stage 312 by moving the carrier 341 to the separator unit 310. Next, the stage 312 is moved downward, and the pusher 313 is moved to the merging preparation position that is the upper end position of the stage 312. After the pusher 313 is moved to the merging preparation position, the fork 342 shown in FIG. 1 is protruded toward the pusher 313 (front surface). After the protrusion, the pusher 313 is moved to the upper end position.

  Since the banknote has elasticity, the folded banknote tries to maintain the folded state. Thereby, when the banknotes are simply stacked, the height changes depending on the elastic force working on each banknote. The more bills that are folded, the higher the height. For this reason, the fork 342 is provided to prevent the banknote bundle B on the stage 312 from protruding onto the transport path 305.

  The fork 342 is provided at the height of the merging preparation position so as to protrude along the conveyance path 305 and to be retracted from the protruded state. The pusher 313 is provided with a recess so that the protrusion can be performed. As a result, the fork 342 protrudes with the pusher 313 holding the banknote bundle B on the stage 312, and after the pusher 313 is moved upward, the fork 342 prevents the banknote bundle B from protruding onto the transport path 305. It is suppressed.

  The carrier 341 that has transported the banknote bundle B on the RSV stage 331 to the separator unit 310 is returned to the escrow retracted position. Thereafter, the stages 331 and 332 are sequentially moved to the upper end position. The upper end position of the ESC stage 332 corresponds to the release position of the RSV stage 331. Thereby, the carrier 341 is moved, and the banknote bundle B on the ESC stage 332 is conveyed to the separator unit 310.

  By being conveyed to the separator unit 310, the banknote bundle B is carried on the fork 342. After the banknote bundle B is carried, the fork 342 is retracted. Thereby, on the stage 312, the banknote bundle B stored in the reservoir section and the banknote bundle B stored in the escrow section are stacked in that order, and are combined into one. The banknote bundle B collected into one is transported to the release position of the acceptor 100 by the carrier 341 by moving the stage 312 to the upper end position, and further transported to the loading / unloading port 101 by the acceptor 100. Thereby, it returns to the customer.

  Thus, in this Embodiment, the banknote each accommodated in the reserve part and the escrow part is collectively returned. This is in order to avoid forgetting customers to take away by returning the banknotes stored in them separately. The banknote that the customer has forgotten is stored in the reject box 353, for example.

  When the customer requests a transaction (payment), the ATM main body instructs the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 to store the banknotes taken in. The banknotes are stored in the reservoir section, the escrow section, or both of the temporary storage section 330. The paper sheet handling apparatus 1 stores as follows according to the place where the banknote was stored.

  Abnormal bills, that is, banknotes that have not been identified as normal bills are stored in the reservoir. For this reason, in the case where the banknote is stored only in the reservoir portion, the banknote is returned. The operation at that time is basically the same as the case of returning the banknotes stored only in the reservoir section in response to the customer's cancellation request.

  In the case where banknotes are stored only in the escrow section, the RSV stage 331 is moved to the upper end position retracted on the transport path 305, and the ESC stage 332 is moved to the release position on the transport path 305, and the stage The banknote bundle B on 332 is conveyed to the separator unit 310. The banknotes are fed one by one from the transported banknote bundle B to the separator unit 310 and transported to the lower unit 200 via the transport path 301, the discrimination section 320, and the transport path 302.

  In the lower unit 200, a bill cassette 210 that can be attached to and detached from the denomination of bills to be stored is mounted. A payout mechanism 211 capable of storing banknotes and feeding out the stored banknotes is provided in the upper portion of each mounted banknote cassette 210. The banknotes transported to the lower unit 200 are transported through the transport path 201, guided to the banknote cassette 210 to be stored by the switching claw provided in the transport path 201, and stored by the feeding mechanism 211. Thereby, the banknote inserted by the customer is stored in the banknote cassette 210 in that denomination.

  In the case where the banknotes are stored in both the reservoir unit and the escrow unit, the banknotes stored in the reservoir unit are returned to the customer as described above, and only the banknotes stored in the escrow unit are returned to the separator unit 310. Transport. The conveyed banknotes are fed out to the separator unit 310 one by one, and the banknotes determined to be normal are transported to the lower unit 200 via the transport path 301, the discrimination section 320, and the transport path 302, and the banknote cassette 210 for each denomination. To store. The banknote determined to be an abnormal ticket is stored in the reject box 351 or 352 via the transport path 301, the discrimination unit 320, the transport path 302, and the transport path 304. Alternatively, for example, once stored in the reservoir unit and then conveyed to the separator unit 310, the abnormal ticket is identified again.

  By the way, not all banknotes can be paid out. When all the banknotes cannot be fed out, the banknotes that cannot be fed out remain in the separator unit 310. The remaining banknotes are not particularly shown, but are returned together with the banknotes stored in the temporary storage unit 330. Such a return is realized by using basically the same method as collecting banknotes in the reservoir section conveyed to the separator section 310 with banknotes in the escrow section.

  If there are any remaining banknotes, it is not possible to feed out banknotes from the banknote bundle B that has been additionally deposited. For this reason, at the time of additional payment, although not particularly shown, after the remaining banknote is returned, the customer is prompted to insert the banknote bundle B. When there is a banknote stored in the reservoir, the banknote is returned together with the remaining banknote. The same applies to a case where a customer who has confirmed the contents of a transaction requests a transaction, that is, when a banknote in the escrow section is stored in the banknote cassette 210.

  Next, the operation at the time of withdrawal will be described in detail. The withdrawal is performed, for example, when the customer operates the operation unit of the ATM to request the withdrawal of the designated withdrawal amount. When the customer makes the request, the ATM main body instructs the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 to discharge the banknote corresponding to the amount to be paid. When the customer designates a desired banknote, the designated content is notified to the paper sheet handling apparatus 1.

  Upon receiving the instruction from the ATM main body, the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 determines the number of banknotes to be fed, for example, by denomination, and in accordance with the determination, the banknote handling apparatus 211 feeds banknotes one by one from the banknote cassette 210 to be fed out. To let out. The fed banknotes are conveyed to the discrimination unit 320 via the conveyance path 201 and the conveyance path 306 of the upper unit 300, and are identified. The banknote determined to be a normal note by the discrimination is conveyed to the escrow unit, and the banknote determined to be an abnormal note is conveyed to the reject box 351 or 352.

  By transporting the fed banknotes to the discrimination unit 320 via the transport paths 201 and 306, the transport path 302 can be used both when depositing and withdrawing. Thereby, the length of the whole conveyance path which conveys a banknote one by one can be made shorter.

  The banknotes are transported to the escrow unit until the banknotes for the amount specified by the customer are stored. After storing the banknotes corresponding to the withdrawal amount, the carrier 341 is moved to the release position in front of the acceptor 100 in the same manner as in the case of returning the banknotes stored only in the escrow part. Transport to the loading / unloading port 101.

  Thus, the banknote at the time of withdrawal is also conveyed to the insertion / exit 101 of the acceptor 100 in the state of the banknote bundle B. For this reason, the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 can be installed even if the space that can be secured around the loading / unloading exit 101 is small.

The acceptor 100, the lower unit 200, and the upper unit 300 are each modularized. This is for the following reason.
As is well known, a paper sheet handling apparatus used in an automated device such as an ATM is installed in a safe. The safe is usually different depending on the automation equipment even in the same financial institution. As a result, the installation environment of the paper sheet handling device, for example, the thickness of the safe, the size of the hole provided for depositing or withdrawing, etc. is usually different depending on the automated equipment. For this reason, conventionally, a paper sheet handling apparatus suitable for the installation environment has been designed and manufactured as necessary.

  However, when the acceptor 100, the lower unit 200, and the upper unit 300 are respectively modularized, the thickness of the wall of the safe can be accommodated by adopting the acceptor 100 capable of transporting the banknote bundle B. . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15A, when the wall 510 is outside the safe 500, the acceptor 100 of a type in which the distance of the conveyance path 102 is long may be adopted. Further, as shown in FIG. 15B, in the case of only the safe 500, on the contrary, it is only necessary to employ an acceptor 100 of a type in which the distance of the conveyance path 102 is short. Since the banknotes are discharged to the outside and taken in from the outside in the state of the banknote bundle B, the hole provided in the safe can be small. For these reasons, it is not necessary to basically perform the design according to the installation environment for the acceptor 100 and the upper unit 300, and the necessity of performing the design can be avoided. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 can be further suppressed, and the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 to be delivered can be more quickly prepared for the manufacturer.

  Moreover, the difference in the position of the door provided in the safe can be dealt with by changing the direction in which the lower unit 200 or the bill cassette 210 accommodated therein can be moved. For this reason, the lower unit 200 is basically not required to be designed according to the installation environment. This makes it possible to respond more flexibly to differences in the installation environment.

FIG. 3 is a circuit configuration diagram of the paper sheet handling apparatus 1.
The acceptor 100 includes a sensor group 161, a motor group 162, and a solenoid group 163. The sensor group 161 includes the sensors 109 to 112, the sensor 107b of the encoder 107, and the like. The motor group 162 includes a motor that is a power source for moving the clamp 103, a conveyance belt stretched around the clamp 103, a drive motor for the conveyance belt 106 stretched below, and a movement motor for the tray 104. Has been. These motors are all stepping motors. The hook 105, the A stopper 113, and the D stopper 114 are projected and retracted using a solenoid. The solenoid group 163 includes these solenoids.

  The lower unit 200 operates under the control of a printed circuit board (PCB) 260. Motor groups 271, 272, sensor groups 273, and solenoid groups 274 are connected to the printed circuit board 260.

  The motor group 271 includes, for example, a plurality of stepping motors (pulse motors). Each stepping motor is used as a power source for moving a stage provided in the corresponding banknote cassette 210. The motor group 272 is composed of, for example, a plurality of DC motors. Each DC motor is used as a power source for the feeding mechanism 211 provided in the corresponding bill cassette 210.

  The sensor group 273 includes a sensor installed on the conveyance path 201 for detecting banknotes, a sensor (for example, a switch) for detecting the banknote cassette 210, a sensor for detecting the position of the stage of the banknote cassette 210, and banknotes stored in the sensor. It consists of a sensor for detection. The solenoid group 274 includes a state switching solenoid prepared for each switching claw on the conveyance path 201, a power transmission solenoid to the feeding mechanism 211 prepared in each banknote cassette 210, and the like.

  On the printed circuit board 260, a CPU 261 that controls the entire sheet handling apparatus 1, a ROM 262 that stores programs executed by the CPU 261 and various control data, a RAM 263 that the CPU 261 uses for work, and a sensor group 273 are configured. A sensor driving unit 264 for driving the sensors to be operated, a solenoid driving unit 265 capable of individually driving solenoids constituting the solenoid group 274, a motor driving unit 266 for driving stepping motors constituting the motor group 271, and a motor group 272. A motor drive unit 267 that drives a DC motor that constitutes, a communication interface (I / F) 268 for communicating with, for example, the upper unit 300, and a communication interface (for example, communicating with a host device such as an ATM main body) I / F) 269 .

  The upper unit 300 also operates under the control of a printed circuit board (PCB) 360. Motor groups 371 and 162, DC motors 372, sensor groups 373 and 161, solenoid groups 374 and 163, and a discrimination unit 320 are connected to the printed circuit board 360. Thereby, the acceptor 100 is controlled by the upper unit 300.

  The motor group 371 is composed of, for example, a plurality of stepping motors. The carrier 341, the stages 312, 331, 332, and the pusher 313 are moved using a stepping motor as a power source. The DC motor 372 is a power source for feeding and transporting banknotes from the separator unit 310.

  The sensor group 373 includes a plurality of sensors installed for detecting bills or carriers 341 in the transport paths 301 to 305, a plurality of sensors installed in the separator unit 310, and a plurality of sensors installed in the temporary storage unit 330. Etc. The solenoid group 374 includes switching claws 302a and 302b on the conveyance path 301 and solenoids for switching the state of the switching claws provided on the other conveyance paths 303 and 304, respectively.

  On the printed circuit board 360, a CPU 361 that controls the entire upper unit 300, a ROM 362 that stores programs executed by the CPU 361 and various control data, a RAM 363 that the CPU 361 uses for work, and sensor groups 373 and 161 are configured. A sensor driving unit 364 that drives the sensors, a motor driving unit 365 that drives the stepping motors that constitute the motor groups 371 and 162, a motor driving circuit 366 that drives the DC motor 372, and a solenoid that constitutes the solenoid groups 374 and 163 A solenoid drive unit 367 capable of individually driving the signal, an interface (I / F) 368 for transmitting / receiving signals to / from the discrimination unit 320, and a communication interface (I / F) 369 for communicating with the lower unit 200 And are installed.

The operation in the above configuration will be described.
The CPUs 261 and 361 on the printed circuit boards 260 and 360 perform control by executing programs stored in the ROMs 262 and 362, respectively. The CPU 261 receives an instruction from the ATM main body via the communication I / F 269, controls the lower unit 200 in accordance with the instruction, and instructs the upper unit 300. The instruction is sent to the CPU 361 of the upper unit 300 via the communication I / Fs 268 and 369.

  The CPU 261 receives various detection results obtained by causing the sensor driving unit 264 to drive the sensor group 273 as needed from the driving unit 264, and the content communicated from the upper unit 300 or the ATM main body is the communication I / F 268, or Receive from 269 at any time. The detection results and communication contents are analyzed, and instructions according to the situation are given to the solenoid drive unit 265 and the motor drive units 266 and 267, respectively. Thereby, the lower unit 200 is operated under the control of the CPU 261. In addition, information to be notified is transmitted as needed via the communication I / F 268 or 269.

  The CPU 261 of the other upper unit 300 controls the upper unit 300 and the acceptor 100 according to an instruction from the lower unit 200. In the control, various detection results obtained by causing the sensor driving unit 364 to drive the sensor groups 373 and 161 are received and analyzed from the driving unit 364 as necessary, and the solenoid driving unit 367, the motor driving unit 365, and the motor driving circuit are analyzed. 366 and the discrimination unit 320 are instructed according to the situation. Thereby, the upper unit 300 and the acceptor 100 are operated under the control of the CPU 361. An instruction to the discrimination unit 320 is performed via the I / F 368, and information to be notified to the lower unit 200 is transmitted as needed via the communication I / F 369. When the banknote bundle B inserted by the customer is taken in, the deposit amount, the denomination of the banknote determined to be normal when the banknote is stored, and the like are transmitted to the lower unit 200 as information.

When the CPUs 261 and 361 perform such control, the operation of the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 described with reference to FIG. 1 is realized.
Next, a method for attaching the acceptor 100 to the upper unit 300 will be described in detail with reference to the explanatory diagrams shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state after the acceptor 100 is attached to the upper unit 300. As shown in FIG. 4, frames 171 and 381 are exposed in the vicinity of the acceptor 100 and the upper unit 300 where the acceptor 100 is attached.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for allowing the upper unit 300 to rotatably support the acceptor 100. FIG. 5A is a front view (viewed from the front), and FIG. 5B is a side view.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a stud 381 is attached to the frame 381 near the end. As shown in FIG. 5B, a recess 172 formed in accordance with the shape of the stud 381 is provided at the end of the frame 171 of one acceptor 100. Thereby, the acceptor 100 is pivotally supported by the upper unit 300 by inserting the stud 381 into the recess 172.

FIG. 6 is a rear view showing a portion of the upper unit 300 facing the acceptor 100, and FIG. 7 is a side view showing the portion.
The acceptor 100 is generally L-shaped when viewed from the side. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 7, the part facing the acceptor 100 of the upper unit 300 is formed according to the shape. The arrows shown in FIG. 7 indicate the vertical direction when the upper unit 300 is installed.

  A member 385 movable in the vertical direction is arranged on a plane parallel to the vertical direction and the crossing direction of the frame 381. An upward elastic force is applied to the member 385 by a spring 387 supported by a base 386 provided below the surface. As the elastic force, one having a size capable of supporting the acceptor 100 is applied. Accordingly, the acceptor 100 is supported by the member 385 in the state shown in FIG.

8 and 9 are diagrams for explaining a method of attaching the acceptor 100 to the upper unit 300. FIG.
When the acceptor 100 is attached to the upper unit 300, as shown in FIG. 8, first, a stud 382 is inserted into the recess 172 and pivotally supported. Thereby, the acceptor 100 is supported so as to be rotatable clockwise and counterclockwise when viewed from the side.

  A link 391 is attached to the frame 381 of the upper unit 300 by a shaft 381a, and a link 392 is further attached to the link 391 by a shaft 392a. A metal fitting 393 is attached to the link 392 by a shaft 393a, and a stay 394 is attached by a shaft 394b.

The stay 394 is provided with an L-shaped hole 394a. A projection 391b provided on the link 391 is inserted into the hole 394a.
A concave portion 392b is provided at the end of the link 392. After the acceptor 100 is pivotally supported, as shown in FIG. 9, the stud 173 attached to the acceptor 100 is inserted into the recess 392b, and the stud 173 is held by the metal fitting 393 so as not to come out of the recess 392b. . While being held, the stud 173 is fixed to the link 392 with a screw or the like. The attachment of the acceptor 100 is completed by the fixing. After the attachment, if the stay 394 is pushed in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 9, the lock by the stay 394 is released, and the acceptor 100 can shift from the state shown in FIG. 9 to the state shown in FIG.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the acceptor 100 attached to the upper unit 300 is not fixed. In the state shown in FIG. 4, the acceptor 100 is supported by the member 305. Therefore, fine adjustment for inserting the front side of the acceptor 100 into a hole provided for depositing or withdrawing in the safe can be performed by rotating the acceptor 100. Acceptor 100 is fixed in the hole.

  An elastic force is applied to the link 391 by a spring 395 that rotates clockwise from the viewpoint shown in FIG. The stay 394 is subjected to an elastic force that rotates counterclockwise with respect to the link 392 by a spring 396 disposed between the end of the stay 394 and the link 392. The reason why such an elastic force is applied to the link 391 is to generate a force that supports the acceptor 100. Such an elastic force is applied to the stay 394 because, for example, when the acceptor 100 is shifted from the state shown in FIG. 4 to the state shown in FIG. 9, the protrusion 391b is shown in the hole 394a of the stay 394 as shown in FIG. This is because the state of the acceptor 100 is locked automatically. Further, similar to the link 391, there is also a meaning that a force for supporting the acceptor 100 is generated.

  By generating such a supporting force, the acceptor 100 can be rotated with a lighter force. When the support is lost, the state shifts to the state shown in FIG. 4 at a slow speed, so that high safety and operability are realized. In addition, since it can be locked in the state shown in FIG. 9, maintenance / inspection work can be easily performed. The lock may be performed in a plurality of states.

  As a positional relationship between the acceptor 100 and the upper unit 300, it is assumed that the banknote bundle B can be conveyed in a straight line or a substantially straight line between them. However, when fine adjustment is performed by rotation of the acceptor 100, a deviation occurs from the assumed positional relationship. The deviation is dealt with as follows.

  In order to convey the banknote bundle B appropriately, it is desired not to give an impact to the banknote bundle B during conveyance. For this reason, the stage 312 is set to a slightly lower position than the normal time as shown in FIG. 12 at the time of depositing so as not to give the impact with the member in contact with the banknote bundle B. The pusher 313 is set at the same position as in the normal state or at a higher position. Conversely, at the time of withdrawal, as shown in FIG. 13, the stage 312 is positioned slightly higher than normal. The pusher 313 is set to a position lower than normal. Such a change to the position can be performed, for example, by changing the movement amount after the position detection sensor detects.

  The setting for changing to such a position may be performed by a staff member when the paper sheet handling apparatus 1 is installed. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, a sensor 181 for detecting a pusher 313 is provided in the acceptor 100, and a change in the positional relationship between the acceptor 100 and the upper unit 300 is automatically handled according to the detection result of the sensor 181. May be. The same applies to the stage 312.

Next, with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the arrangement | positioning and application of the sensors 109-112 provided in the acceptor 100 are demonstrated.
In the present embodiment, the positional relationship in the direction along the conveyance path 102 between the sensors 109 to 111 installed in the vicinity of the loading / unloading port 101 is the same even in the acceptor 100 having a different length of the conveyance path 102. Similarly, the positional relationship between the end of the clamp 103 on the upper unit 300 side and the sensor 112 in that direction is the same. Thereby, only the positional relationship between the sensors 112 and 111 is different between the acceptors 100 having different lengths of the transport path 102. This is for the following reason.

  The paper sheet bundle B is assumed to be inserted into the insertion / exit 101 in the transverse direction, that is, in the short direction. It is assumed that the sensors 109 to 111 are used for detection of the banknote bundle B inserted into the insertion / exit outlet 101 and determination of whether or not the banknote bundle B satisfies a condition to be taken in. For the condition determination, although not particularly shown, a plurality of sensors 109 are arranged side by side on the crossing direction of the banknote bundle B conveyance direction. This is for detecting the length of the banknote bundle B in the longitudinal direction.

  If the sensors 109 to 111 are arranged in common, the acceptor 100 changes the operation control program (in this case, the program stored in the ROM 362 is equivalent) by operating in a form that focuses on the detection result of each sensor. You do n’t have to. For example, whether or not the banknote bundle B satisfies the condition is the same in the positional relationship between the sensors 109 to 111 even if the acceptor 100 is different, so the control content is also the same. As shown in FIG. 10A, the sensor 109, 110 is used to determine whether or not the banknote bundle B to be taken in is inserted into the insertion outlet 101 at the time of deposit. The length check of the banknote bundle B in the short direction and the skew check thereof are performed by conveying the banknote bundle B as shown in FIG. The change in the positional relationship between the sensors 111 and 112 can be handled by waiting for the sensor 112 to detect the banknote bundle B and performing control after the detection.

  This is the same when the banknote bundle B is conveyed to the acceptor 100 for discharging. As shown in FIG. 11A, even if the acceptor 100 is different, the fact that the banknote bundle B is conveyed from the upper unit 300 to the acceptor 100 can be detected by the sensor 112. Thus, after the detection, an operation as shown in FIG. The same applies after the banknote bundle B is detected by the sensor 111.

  Note that the number and arrangement positions of the sensors arranged in the acceptor 100 and the positional relationship between them may be set as appropriate according to the method of conveying the banknote bundle B, the configuration of the upper unit 300, and the like. In addition, it is desirable that the method of attaching the acceptor 100 to the upper unit 300 is appropriately modified.

It is sectional drawing of the paper sheet handling apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the structure of the conveyance system of the conveyance unit (pre-acceptor) mounted in the paper sheet handling apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a circuit block diagram of the paper sheet handling apparatus by this Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the state after attaching a pre-acceptor to an upper unit. It is a figure explaining the structure for making an upper unit support a pre-acceptor rotatably. It is a rear view which shows the part facing the pre-acceptor of an upper unit. It is a side view which shows the part facing the pre-acceptor of an upper unit. It is a figure explaining the attachment method to the upper unit of a pre-acceptor (the 1). It is a figure explaining the attachment method to the upper unit of a pre-acceptor (the 2). It is a figure explaining the arrangement | positioning of the various sensors provided in the pre-acceptor, and the use (the 1). It is a figure explaining the arrangement | positioning of the various sensors provided in the pre-acceptor, and the use (the 2). It is a figure explaining the method corresponding to the shift | offset | difference from the assumed positional relationship between a pre-acceptor and an upper unit (at the time of money_receiving | payment). It is a figure explaining the method corresponding to the shift | offset | difference from the assumed positional relationship between a pre-acceptor and an upper unit (at the time of payment). It is a figure explaining the method of respond | corresponding automatically to the shift | offset | difference from the assumed positional relationship between a pre-acceptor and an upper unit. It is a figure explaining the example of actual installation of the paper sheet handling apparatus by this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100 Pre-acceptor 101 Input / exit 109-112, 181 Sensor 161, 273, 373 Sensor group 162, 271, 272, 371 Motor group 163, 274, 374 Solenoid group 171, 381 Frame 172, 392b Recess 173, 382 Stud 385 Member 387, 395, 396 Spring 391, 392 Link 393 Hardware 394 Stay 260, 360 Printed circuit board 261, 361 CPU
262, 362 ROM
263, 363 RAM
H.264, 364 Sensor drive unit 265, 367 Solenoid drive unit 266, 267, 365 Motor drive unit 268, 269, 369 Communication interface (I / F)
310 Separator part 320 Identification part 330 Temporary holding part 368 Interface (I / F)

Claims (5)

A method for constructing a paper sheet handling apparatus capable of at least one of taking in paper sheets inserted from the outside and discharging the paper sheets to the outside,
One or more of the paper sheets, modularize a transport unit for performing at least one of taking in and discharging stacked paper sheet bundles,
The paper sheet handling device is constructed by mounting the transport unit according to the transport amount to transport the paper sheet bundle on the main body of the paper sheet handling device,
The construction method of the paper sheet handling apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The transport unit is configured to support the transport unit on a member provided on the main body, and to rotatably mount the transport unit around the member.
The construction method of the paper sheet handling apparatus of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. The transport unit is mounted with a support means that can support the main body in one or more predetermined states.
The construction method of the paper sheet handling apparatus of Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. A method for constructing a paper sheet handling apparatus capable of at least one of taking in paper sheets inserted from the outside and discharging the paper sheets to the outside,
One or more of the paper sheets, modularize a transport unit for performing at least one of taking in and discharging stacked paper sheet bundles,
Provided with a member for rotatably supporting the transport unit in the main body of the paper sheet handling device,
The paper sheet handling apparatus is supported by mounting the transport unit on the main body by mounting the transport unit on the main body by attaching the support unit that can support the transport unit to the member and supporting the main body in one or more predetermined states. To construct,
The construction method of the paper sheet handling apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. In the transport unit, one or more sensors for detecting the bundle of paper sheets are arranged near at least one of both ends of the transport path of the bundle of paper sheets,
The arrangement of the sensors in the direction along the conveyance path is unified by the conveyance units having different lengths of the conveyance path with reference to an end located in the vicinity of the sensor.
The construction method of the paper sheet handling apparatus of any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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