JP2008305309A - Conveying device and money processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveying device which easily prevents abnormality from being erroneously detected as much as possible even while detecting an object retained during conveying. <P>SOLUTION: The conveying device having a conveying line to convey an object from upstream to downstream of the line is provided with a first detecting part for detecting the arrival of the object at a first position on the line, a second detecting part for detecting the arrival of the object at a second position being a downstream side from the first position, and a control part for setting a time slot showing a prescribed period and first timing to be later than the time slot and determining a sequence between the time slot and the first timing, and timing when the second detecting part detects the arrival. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport device that transports an object such as money, and a money handling machine.

  Conventionally, a conveying device for conveying an object has been widely used in various devices including a money handling machine. For example, in the money handling machine described in Patent Document 1, a transfer device is provided, so that the money inserted into the deposit port is transported and stored in the storage, or the money is taken out from the storage and withdrawn. It is possible to execute a withdrawal process to be transported to the mouth.

  Here, in the transport apparatus, when an abnormality such as a stay (jam) in the transport of an object or a foreign matter occurs, a transport stop process or the like is performed, so it is necessary to appropriately monitor the transport status. As this monitoring method, for example, as described in Patent Document 2, sensors (photosensors) are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the conveyance line, respectively, and based on the detection results of the objects in the upstream sensor and the downstream sensor. It is done.

According to the transport device described in Patent Document 2, the expected transport time to the downstream sensor is calculated based on the light shielding time and transport speed of the upstream sensor, and the result is actually transported to the downstream sensor. By comparing with the time, the false detection by the sensor is prevented.
JP 2004-145600 A Japanese Patent No. 2968598

  According to such a transport apparatus, when transporting paper sheets or other thin sheets (for example, 1-yen coins) in the vertical direction with respect to other transport surfaces, one sheet of these transported objects is transported from the transport source. When feeding out one by one, there is a possibility that multi-layer feeding (feeding over two or more sheets) may occur. When such multi-layer feeding occurs, the overlap is canceled in the middle of conveyance, and there is a possibility that two or more sheets are detected by the downstream sensor even though the upstream sensor detects one sheet.

  On the other hand, although the upstream sensor correctly detects two sheets, the conveyed objects come into contact with each other, for example, because the conveyed objects move slightly during the conveyance, and the downstream sensor There is a possibility that the gap cannot be detected and is detected as one sheet (hereinafter, this phenomenon is referred to as “sticking”).

  In such a case, there is an abnormality in the conveyance because the number of detected objects in the upstream side sensor and the downstream side sensor is substantially different, although the conveyance stays and foreign matters are not substantially mixed. The situation that is judged. As a result, unnecessary pause treatments frequently occur, and smooth conveyance of the object may be hindered. In particular, in the case of paper sheets, skew feeding (feeding in a state where the leading end in the transport direction is not perpendicular to the transport direction and is inclined) may occur for some reason. Detection is likely to occur.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a transport device that makes it possible to detect abnormalities such as stagnation in the conveyance of an object, and to easily suppress erroneous detection as much as possible.

  In order to achieve the above object, a transport apparatus according to the present invention has a transport line, and transports an object from upstream to downstream of the transport line, in the first position on the transport line, A first detection unit that detects arrival of an object; a second detection unit that detects arrival of the object at a second position downstream of the first position; and the arrival is detected by the first detection unit. A time slot indicating a predetermined period and a first timing indicating a predetermined timing, the time slot or the first timing, and a timing when the arrival is detected by the second detection unit, A control unit that determines the context of the time period, and the time slot includes a time period from a timing at which a predetermined fastest time has elapsed since the arrival of the first detection unit by the first detection unit. It is a period from when the arrival is detected by the first detection unit to a timing at which a predetermined latest time longer than the fastest time has elapsed, and the first timing is a predetermined timing after the end of the time slot. It is assumed that the configuration is (first configuration).

  According to this configuration, the predetermined time slot and the first timing are set, and the anteroposterior relationship between these and the timing at which the arrival of the object is detected by the second detection unit is determined. Therefore, for example, if the arrival of the object is not yet detected by the second detection unit in the time slot or at the first timing, the conveyance abnormality can be detected.

  Further, by providing a predetermined condition determination described later, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of conveyance abnormality due to occurrence of “sticking”. For this reason, according to this configuration, it is easy to suppress as much as possible the erroneous detection of conveyance.

  Further, in the first configuration, the control unit also determines a longitudinal relationship between a second timing and a timing at which the arrival is detected by the second detection unit, and the second timing is: A configuration (second configuration) at a predetermined timing before the beginning of the time slot may be employed.

  According to this configuration, when the timing at which the second detection unit detects the arrival of an object is before the beginning of the time slot, it is possible to further determine the conveyance status. For example, if the second detection unit detects the arrival of an object after the second timing, it can be determined as a slight abnormality, and conversely, if it is before the first timing, it can be determined as a serious abnormality. .

  More specifically, as the first configuration, the control unit determines that the conveyance is normal when the arrival is detected by the second detection unit within the time slot. In the first timing, when the arrival has not yet been detected by the second detection unit, the conveyance may be determined to be abnormal (third configuration).

  Further, in the first or second configuration, the fastest time and the slowest time are set by the control unit, and the control unit has the aspect regarding the setting of the fastest time and the slowest time as described above. A first mode in which the setting is made after obtaining the fastest time and the slowest time based on the speed of conveyance when the first detection unit detects the object and the type of the object; A configuration in which one of the second mode in which the fastest time and the slowest time are set can be selected as a time when a predetermined time has elapsed from the timing at which the detection unit has detected the object (fourth mode) (Configuration).

  According to this configuration, it becomes easy to appropriately select a time slot setting method according to the situation. Therefore, it becomes possible to make the judgment of the conveyance status more appropriate.

  In the first configuration, the first detection unit and the second detection unit can recognize a front end and a rear end of the object in the transport direction, and the control unit sequentially transports a plurality of objects. In this case, the time slot and the first timing may be set (fifth configuration) for the conveyance of each object. According to this configuration, it is possible to manage conveyance for each of two objects that are sequentially conveyed.

  Further, in the fifth configuration, the control unit is a case where two objects are sequentially conveyed, and further, the two objects are detected by the second detection unit before the first timing corresponding to the upstream object. If the front end of each of the first and second objects is not detected, it is determined whether or not the time when the rear end of the object is detected by the second detection unit is after the end of the time slot corresponding to the upstream object. A configuration (sixth configuration) for determining whether or not the conveyance is abnormal in accordance with the result may be adopted.

  Further, in the fifth configuration, the control unit is a case where two objects are sequentially conveyed, and further, the two objects are detected by the second detection unit before the first timing corresponding to the upstream object. If the front end of each of the first and second objects is not detected, it is determined whether or not the time when the front end of the object is detected by the second detection unit is after the end of the time slot corresponding to the downstream object, and the determination result Accordingly, it may be configured (seventh configuration) to determine whether or not the conveyance is abnormal.

  According to these configurations, even when “sticking” occurs between detection of an object by the first detection unit and detection by the second detection unit, an abnormality in the banknote conveyance is erroneously detected. Can be easily avoided.

  Further, in the fifth configuration, when the two objects are sequentially conveyed, the control unit further detects the two objects by the second detection unit before the first timing corresponding to the upstream object. If the front end of the object is not detected, the second detection unit detects that the rear end of the object is after the end of the time slot corresponding to the upstream object. Each of the first condition and the second condition that is satisfied if the time point when the front end of the object is detected by the second detection unit is not after the end of the time slot corresponding to the downstream object. After determining the conditions, if both the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, it is determined that the conveyance is normal, while if any of the conditions is not satisfied, The conveyance is abnormal It may be configured to cross (eighth configuration).

  According to this configuration, when two objects are sequentially conveyed, it is possible to detect an abnormality in conveyance when the two objects are not detected by the first timing corresponding to the upstream object. Furthermore, it is possible to avoid as much as possible a situation in which a conveyance abnormality is erroneously detected when “sticking” occurs between the time when the object is detected by the first detector and the time when the object is detected by the second detector. Become.

  In the third, sixth, seventh, or eighth configuration, the control unit may be configured to stop the transport (a ninth configuration) when it is determined that the transport is abnormal. According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the conveyance abnormality from becoming serious as much as possible by stopping the conveyance when the conveyance is abnormal.

  In the first configuration, the object may be a paper sheet configuration (tenth configuration) or a currency configuration (eleventh configuration).

  The money handling machine according to the present invention is a money handling machine that has a transport line for transporting money, and that performs a predetermined process including the transport on the money, and is a first position on the transport line. A first detection unit for detecting the arrival of the object; a second detection unit for detecting the arrival of the object at a second position downstream of the first position; and the arrival by the first detection unit. Is detected, a time slot indicating a predetermined period and a first timing indicating a predetermined timing are set, and the arrival is detected by the time slot or the first timing and the second detection unit. And a control unit that determines a context with respect to timing, wherein the time slot is determined from a timing at which a predetermined fastest time has elapsed since the arrival of the first detection unit by the first detection unit. It is a period from when the arrival is detected by the detection unit to a timing when a predetermined latest time longer than the fastest time has elapsed, and the first timing is a predetermined timing after the end of the time slot. A configuration (a twelfth configuration) is assumed.

  Also, a control method for a transport apparatus that has a transport line and transports an object from upstream to downstream of the transport line, and detects that the object has arrived at a first position on the transport line. A first step, a second step of setting a time slot indicating a predetermined period and a first timing indicating a predetermined timing when the detection is made, the time slot or the first timing, and the first position And a third step of determining a front-rear relationship with the timing at which the object arrives at the second position on the downstream side, and the time slot is a predetermined maximum speed after the arrival is detected by the first detection unit. It is a period from the timing at which the time has elapsed to the timing at which a predetermined latest time longer than the fastest time has elapsed since the arrival of the first detection unit by the first detection unit. The first timing is a method (13 method) is a predetermined timing after the end of the time slot are also useful.

  According to the transport apparatus of the present invention, the predetermined time slot and the first timing are set, and the front-to-back relationship between these and the timing at which the arrival of the object is detected by the second detection unit is determined. Therefore, for example, if the arrival of the object is not yet detected by the second detection unit in the time slot or at the first timing, the conveyance abnormality can be detected.

  Further, by providing a predetermined condition determination described later, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of conveyance abnormality due to occurrence of “sticking”. For this reason, according to this configuration, it is easy to suppress as much as possible the erroneous detection of conveyance.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of a circulation type banknote depositing and dispensing machine according to the present embodiment (hereinafter referred to as “banknote depositing and dispensing machine”) will be described.

  The external view of the banknote depositing / withdrawing machine 11 is shown in FIG. 1, and sectional drawing of the banknote depositing / withdrawing machine 11 is similarly shown in FIG. The banknote depositing / dispensing machine 11 is installed at a counter of a financial institution such as a bank, for example, between two tellers located inside the counter, and from any one of the left and right tellers of the banknote depositing / dispensing machine 11 or both. Can also be used.

  The bill depositing / dispensing machine 11 is provided with a communication interface, to which upper terminals 12 and 13 operated by two right and left tellers are respectively connected. Thereby, the bidirectional | two-way communication with the high-order terminals 12 and 13 and the banknote depositing / withdrawing machine 11 is possible. And when using the banknote depositing / withdrawing machine 11 only in any one of these high-order terminals 12 and 13, the three usage methods in the case of using the banknote depositing / withdrawing machine 11 by both are possible.

  The bill depositing / dispensing machine 11 has a machine body 14, and the machine body 14 has a front surface 14 a as an operation surface side operated by a teller, and a rear surface 14 b opposite to the front surface 14 a, that is, a customer side outside the counter. The vertical width is narrow, the depth in the front-rear direction is long, and the vertical height is high.

  Further, an upper unit 15 and a lower unit 16 are provided in the body 14 so as to be able to be pulled out from the front side of the body 14.

  An upper surface operation unit 17 and a front operation unit 18 as operation units are respectively arranged on the front upper surface and front upper surface of the upper unit 15, and the upper operation unit 17 protrudes upward from the upper surface 14 c of the body 14. 17 is formed in the upper surface area of the airframe 14 at the rear of 17, and a counter having a width dimension from the fitting step 19 to the rear surface 14 b of the airframe 14 is fitted to the upper surface 14 c of the airframe 14. The upper surface of the upper surface operation unit 17 is disposed at a height position substantially the same as the upper surface of the counter.

  In the upper surface operation unit 17 of the upper unit 15, that is, on the front surface of the upper surface of the body 14, an inclined surface 20 and a substantially horizontal horizontal surface 21 that are inclined downward are formed in order from the front side. In order from the front side, a banknote dispensing port 22 for dispensing banknotes and a banknote depositing port 23 for depositing banknotes are formed, and either left or right side of the installation area of these banknote dispensing port 22 and banknote depositing port 23 is left or right. An occupancy button 24 as an occupancy instruction unit for instructing whether to occupy a deposit process or a withdrawal process by the teller is disposed, and a banknote is jammed on one side, that is, on the left side of the installation area of the banknote withdrawal port 22 and the banknote deposit port 23 A display unit 25 that displays the location, the remaining amount of banknotes, and the like is arranged. Each occupancy button 24 has a built-in lamp, and is turned on when operated to enter the occupied state.

  The front operation unit 18 of the upper unit 15 is formed with an opening 26 for taking out a bill that is to be returned due to deposit non-approval after temporarily storing the deposited bill at the time of deposit processing, and is closed by the front door 36. . Further, an upper unit lock 27 for teller operation that locks and unlocks the upper unit 15 in a state where the upper unit 15 is housed in the machine body 14 is provided. The upper unit 15 can be pulled out from the machine body 14 by unlocking the upper unit lock 27.

  A door body 28 is attached to the lower front area of the machine body 14 so as to be openable and closable. Upper management of a financial institution that locks and unlocks the door body 28 with the lower unit 16 housed in the machine body 14 and the door body 28 closed. A lower unit lock 29 that can be operated only by an operator or a security company employee is provided, and the lower unit 16 can be pulled forward from the body 14 by unlocking and opening the door body 28. The lower unit lock 29 cannot be unlocked by the teller.

  Moreover, in the lower part of the banknote dispensing port 22 and the banknote depositing port 23 of the upper unit 15, the box-shaped banknote dispensing part 32 which accommodates a banknote in the standing position and the short direction of a rectangular banknote as an up-down direction, and The banknote deposit part 33 is arrange | positioned, respectively. A transparent shutter 34 that can be opened and closed is disposed at the banknote dispensing port 22 so that the banknote dispensing port 22 is closed during the withdrawal and opened at the end of the withdrawal, and passes through the closed transparent shutter 34 during the withdrawal. The banknotes withdrawn to the banknote withdrawal port 32 can be visually recognized.

  A deposit that is received in the front side of the upper unit 15, that is, in the front side region of the machine body 14, is received in a denomination mixed state and received in a denominated mixed form, and is temporarily held in a lump. The banknote temporary storage part 35 is arrange | positioned. A transparent front door 36 that is locked by an electromagnetic lock (not shown) in a closed state is disposed on the front face of the deposited bill temporary storage unit 35 so as to be openable and closable. By holding the provided handle 37 and opening it forward from the opening 26, the temporarily held banknotes at the time of deposit non-approval in the deposited banknote temporary holding part 35 can be collectively taken out through the opening 26.

  In the upper unit 15, an upper unit-side banknote transport section 40 that is connected to the banknote dispensing section 32, the banknote deposit section 33, and the deposited banknote temporary storage section 35 and transports banknotes is disposed. The upper unit side banknote transport unit 40 includes a withdrawal transport path part 41 that transports banknotes to the banknote withdrawal part 32, a deposit transport path part 42 that transports banknotes fed out from the banknote depositing part 33, and a withdrawal transport path part 41. Is connected in the middle of the transfer, the holding conveyance path part 43 that conveys the banknote to and from the deposited banknote temporary holding part 35, the identification conveyance in which the upper end is connected to the depositing conveyance path part 42 in a substantially U shape that folds back from the front to the front. The path 44, a bypass transport path 45 connecting the upper end of the identification transport path 44 and the other end of the identification transport path 44, the withdrawal transport path 41 and the upper end of the identification transport path 44 (the bypass transport path 45). The upper side of the holding / withdrawing / conveying path section 46, the reject banknote conveying path section 47 connected to the holding / withdrawing / conveying path section 46, and the lower side of the identification conveying path section 44. Is connected to the other end (the lower end of the bypass transport passage 45). Front extending forwardly has a storage dispensing conveying passage 48 which is connected to the reject bill transport path portion 47.

  At least the withdrawal / conveyance path section 41, the retention / conveyance path section 43, the identification / conveyance path section 44, the retained / withdrawal delivery / conveyance path section 46 and the storage / dispensing / conveyance path section 48 can reverse the conveyance direction of the bills forward and backward. . A switching member 49 for switching the direction of movement of the bills is disposed at a connection portion between the transport path portions 41 to 48, respectively. The identification conveyance path 44 is provided with a banknote identification unit 50 for identifying the denomination, authenticity, correctness, etc. of the banknote to be conveyed. “Denomination” refers to the type of money. “Authenticity” indicates whether the money was forged or not (real or fake). This indicates whether or not the money is appropriate in light of the determination criteria (for example, criteria regarding the degree of dirt and the degree of damage).

  In the banknote dispensing unit 32, a bank roller fed by the bank roller 53 that feeds banknotes transported by the banking delivery path unit 41 one by one into the banknote dispensing unit 32 in a standing posture. Are placed in a standing position, and a tray 54 that moves according to the amount of banknotes received is arranged in order to keep the banknotes in a standing position while keeping the banknotes in a standing position.

  In the banknote depositing unit 33, a tray 57 for receiving deposited banknotes in a standing position, a kick roller 58 for feeding out banknotes aligned and stacked in a standing position pressed by a tray 57 that moves at the start of depositing process one by one, A feed roller 59 and a gate roller 60 that sandwich the banknote fed by the kick roller 58 and send it to the deposit conveyance path section 42 are provided.

  The deposited banknote temporary storage unit 35 is connected to the upper side of the rear surface of the deposited banknote holding path 43, and the upper side of the rear surface is inclined downward toward the rear, and surrounds the storage space 35 a in the received banknote temporary storage unit 35. Between the front wall 63 and the rear wall 64 which are the front doors 36, the paper surface of a banknote is integrated | stacked on the stacking stand 65 which raises / lowers the inside of the deposit paper money temporary storage part 35 toward an up-down direction.

  The deposit banknote temporary holding unit 35 carries the deposited banknotes one by one from the holding conveyance path unit 43 to the deposited banknote temporary storage unit 35 and feeds the temporarily held banknotes one by one to the holding conveyance path unit 43 at the time of deposit approval. A feeding means 66 is provided. The feeding and feeding means 66 operates in conjunction with the stacking table 65 that raises and lowers banknotes. The feeding and feeding means 66 feeds banknotes from the holding conveyance path section 43 to the deposited banknote temporary storage section 35 and receives the deposited banknote temporary storage section 35. A plurality of feed rollers 67 and gate rollers 68 in the axial direction for feeding banknotes to the holding transport path 43 from the feed roller 67 and the gate roller 68 one by one on the stacking table 65 when the banknotes are fed. A kick roller 72 and the like are provided.

  In the lower unit 16, a detachable box 81 for storing gift certificates and the like is detachably disposed in a front side region of the machine body 14, and a reject box 82 for storing reject banknotes is fixedly disposed.

  Further, in the rear area of the reject box 82, a denomination banknote storage unit 83 for storing banknotes in denomination is fixedly arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. A banknote receiving / feeding unit 84 for receiving banknotes and feeding them one by one is disposed above each denomination banknote storage unit 83, and connected to each banknote receiving / feeding unit 84 in the upper area of the denomination banknote storage unit 83. A lower unit side banknote transport unit 85 that transports banknotes is disposed. An extension space 86 is formed at the last part of the lower unit 16 so that the denomination banknote storage part 83 can be added as necessary.

  The reject box 82 is provided with a transfer means 87 that enables the banknotes to be transferred one by one from the top of the reject box 82.

  In each denomination banknote storage unit 83, a stacking table 88 is disposed so as to be movable up and down, and the banknotes are stacked on the stacking table 88 in the vertical direction.

  The lower unit side banknote transport unit 85 feeds into the denomination banknote storage unit 83 from the main transport path unit 89 arranged in the front-rear direction along the upper area of the denomination banknote storage unit 83. A feeding conveyance path section 90 that conveys banknotes, a feeding conveyance path section 91 that conveys banknotes fed out from each denomination banknote storage section 83 to the main conveyance path section 89, and a connection portion between the conveyance path sections 89 to 91. Are respectively provided with switching members 92 for switching the bill traveling direction. The main conveyance path part 89 of the lower unit side banknote conveyance part 85 can reverse the conveyance direction of a banknote forward and reverse.

  The banknote receiving and feeding unit 84 operates in conjunction with the stacking table 88 that moves up and down by placing banknotes, and a feeding roller 93 that feeds banknotes from the feeding transport path unit 90 onto the stacking table 88 when storing banknotes. 94, a kick roller 95 that feeds out banknotes on the stacking table 88 one by one at the time of banknote feeding, a feeding roller 96 that feeds the banknotes fed by the kick roller 95 to the feeding conveyance path section 91, and a gate roller 97.

  When the banknotes are transferred to the denomination banknote storage unit 83, each time the banknotes are stacked and stored on the stacking table 88, the upper surface height of the banknotes is increased. Keep the height of the upper surface to be stored within a certain range. Further, when the banknotes are fed out from the denomination banknote storage unit 83, the stacking table 88 is raised to press the banknotes against the kick roller 95, and the banknotes are fed out one by one by the rotation of the kick roller 95.

  In addition, a plate-like covering member 100 that covers the upper surface of the lower unit 16 accommodated in the airframe 14 in a closed state is fixed to the airframe 14 between the upper unit 15 and the lower unit 16. The covering member 100 is formed with a first opening 101 and a second opening 102 on the front end side, respectively, and the first opening 101 has a storage / withdrawal transport path 48 of the upper unit side banknote transport section 40. Are connected to the front end side of the lower unit side banknote transport section 85 to transport the banknotes, and the second opening 102 has the upper unit side banknote transport section 40 of the upper unit side banknote transport section 40. A second connection passage portion 104 that connects the reject bill conveyance path portion 47 and the reject box 82 and conveys bills is arranged.

  The first connection passage portion 103 and the second connection passage portion 104 are respectively connected to the body 14 through the first opening 101 and the second opening 102 of the covering member 100 fixed to the body 14 side. The upper unit 15 and the lower unit 16 that can be pulled out are connected in a state of being housed in the machine body 14, and the bills can be conveyed between the upper unit 15 and the lower unit 16. Furthermore, the 1st connection channel | path part 103 and the 2nd connection channel | path part 104 can reverse the conveyance direction of a banknote forward / reversely.

  Next, a control system of a system including the banknote depositing / dispensing machine 11 and the upper terminals 12 and 13 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the banknote depositing / dispensing machine 11 includes a conveyance line 201, a conveyance monitoring sensor 202, a storage unit 203, and a control unit 204 in addition to the above-described ones.

  The conveyance line 201 points out the whole path | route (line) which conveys the banknote comprised by the upper unit side banknote conveyance part 40, the lower unit side banknote conveyance part 85, etc. which were mentioned above. From a functional point of view, the transport line 201 can be said to be a mechanism that generates a flow for sequentially moving bills from one point to another.

  The conveyance monitoring sensor 202 is configured by a photo sensor (such as a photo interrupter), and can continuously detect whether or not a banknote is present at a monitoring point (light irradiation position) on the conveyance line 201. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance monitoring sensor 202 has two locations (hereinafter referred to as “sensor A (202a)”, which are separated by a certain distance in the conveyance direction on the conveyance line 201, and those on the downstream side. (Sometimes referred to as “sensor B (202b)”). Here, the mechanism in which the conveyance monitoring sensor 202 detects the conveyance state of a banknote is demonstrated, referring FIG. 4 and FIG.

  FIG. 4 shows a situation where banknotes (shown by broken lines) are being conveyed in the right direction on the conveyance line 201. Circular colored portions indicate the monitoring point 210a of the sensor A 202a and the monitoring point 210b of the sensor B 202b, respectively.

  FIG. 5 is a graph showing the states of detection signals output from the sensor A 202a and the sensor B 202b. In the graph (the same applies to the graphs that appear later), the horizontal axis indicates time, while the vertical axis indicates the signal state. Regarding the signal state, a high level indicates a state in which a banknote is detected (a banknote is present at a monitoring point), and a low level indicates a state in which no banknote is detected (a banknote is not present at a monitoring point).

  In addition, each of (A)-(D) of the said graph represents the timing when a banknote arrives at each position of (A)-(D) of FIG. 4 by conveyance. More specifically, when the front edge of the banknote reaches the monitoring point 210a, the detection signal of the sensor A 202a rises (A). When the trailing edge of the banknote reaches the monitoring point 210a, the detection signal of the sensor A 202a falls (B). When the front edge of the banknote reaches the monitoring point 210b, the detection signal of the sensor B202b rises (C). When the trailing edge of the banknote reaches the monitoring point 210b, the detection signal of the sensor B 202b falls (D).

  Thus, based on the detection signal of each conveyance monitoring sensor 202, it is also possible to detect that the front end of the conveyed banknote has reached each monitoring point and that the rear end has arrived. Further, since it is possible to detect at what timing the bill passes through the monitoring point 210b after passing through the monitoring point 210a, the conveyance status (degree of jam, etc.) between these both monitoring points is determined. It is possible.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the storage unit 203 includes a rewritable storage device such as a flash memory, and stores various information necessary for controlling the banknote depositing and dispensing machine 11. Moreover, the control part 204 controls entirely the deposit processing, payment processing, etc. which are performed in the banknote depositing / withdrawing machine 11. In the depositing process or the like, the conveyance management is performed such that the conveyance status of the banknote is monitored through the conveyance monitoring sensor 202, and a predetermined process is executed when an abnormality occurs in the conveyance. The contents of this transport management will be described again. In the control, various information acquired from the upper terminals 12 and 13, the banknote recognition unit 50, the storage unit 203, and the like are used.

  According to the banknote depositing and dispensing machine 11 having the above-described configuration, banknote depositing processing (processing for storing received banknotes in a predetermined location) and withdrawal processing (a specified amount is taken out from the stored banknotes). Processing) or the like. When paying attention to the above-described transport line 201, transport monitoring sensor 202, control unit 204, and the like, the banknote depositing / dispensing machine 11 is located upstream and downstream of the transport line 201 (upstream and downstream depending on whether the depositing process or the dispensing process is performed). It can also be seen as having a transport device that transports banknotes (objects) toward the object.

  Next, the contents of the above-described transport management will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the conveyance management in the case where one banknote is conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side by the conveyance line 201 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a graph display of the detection signal of the sensor B 202b when a bill is detected by the sensor A 202a at a certain timing T (0).

  When the front end of the banknote is detected by the sensor A 202a (when the detection signal of the sensor A 202a rises), the control unit 204 subsequently detects the timing at which the sensor B 202b detects the front end of the banknote (the detection signal of the sensor B 202b is (Rising timing). As a result of the monitoring, the sensor B 202b must detect the front edge of the banknote by the time of jam determination (timing indicated by T (E) in FIG. 6) set after the elapse of a predetermined time from T (0). For example, it is determined that there is a conveyance error due to the occurrence of jam (congestion) in the conveyance, and a conveyance correction process for correcting the banknote status is executed. Note that the timing of T (E) is set to be later than the end of the time slot described later.

  As this conveyance correction process, various processes can be adopted as necessary. For example, if the conveyance of banknotes is temporarily stopped (if there is an instruction, the conveyance is started again), it is possible to prevent the degree of jam from becoming more serious. Moreover, if a notification process for notifying the situation to the outside is executed, an appropriate measure can be applied to a teller or the like. Note that the notification process is realized by, for example, displaying an indication that there is an abnormality or sounding a siren through a notification unit (such as a display device or a sound generation device).

  In addition to the above-described processing, when the front end of the bill is detected by the sensor A 202a, a time slot used as information for determining the conveyance status is set.

This “time slot” indicates a predetermined period. More specifically, the timing (hereinafter referred to as T (P)) at which the time t1 indicated by the following equation (1) has elapsed from the timing T (0) at which the bill is detected by the sensor A 202a, It is set as a period determined by ending the timing (hereinafter referred to as T (Q)) when the time t2 shown by the following equation (2) has elapsed from T (0).
t1 = (L / V) −α (1)
t2 = (L / V) + β (2)
Note that L is the distance between the monitoring point 210a and the monitoring point 210b, and V is the conveyance speed in the conveyance line 201. In addition, α and β are predetermined times that are determined in consideration of errors that may occur in conveyance (for example, detection errors due to oblique conveyance).

  That is, the time slot is provided with tolerances corresponding to α and β with reference to a calculated value (timing at which L / V has elapsed from T (0)) as timing when the front edge of the bill is detected by the sensor B 202b. This corresponds to the period indicated by the colored portion in FIG.

  It should be noted that the timing T (Q) at the end of the time slot is considered to be before the timing at which the trailing edge of the bill passes through the monitoring point 210b in a normal conveyance state. How this time slot is used will be described later.

  Here, the contents of the processing when the detection signal of the sensor B 202b becomes each case shown in FIG. 6 will be described in order. First, in the case of “Case 1”, the sensor B 202b detects the front edge of the banknote in the time slot. In this case, the bill conveyance state is almost as calculated (ideal), and it is considered that there is no particular problem. Therefore, the conveyance correction process is unnecessary, and the banknote conveyance is continued as it is.

  Further, in the case of “Case 2”, the sensor B 202b detects the front edge of the banknote after the time slot although it is before the jam determination time T (E). In this case, there is a possibility that a slight jam has occurred on the transport line 201 for some reason. Therefore, the conveyance correction process may be executed as necessary.

  Further, in the case of “Case 3”, the front end of the bill is not yet detected by the sensor B 202b even though the jam determination time T (E) has arrived. Therefore, as described above, it is determined that a jam has occurred, and the conveyance correction process is executed.

  In the case of “Case 4”, the sensor B 202b detects the front edge of the bill earlier than the time slot. Usually, since it is difficult to think that a banknote is conveyed faster than the conveyance speed by the conveyance line 201, as the situation which becomes like this, the banknote mixed from the outside of a conveyance line, or a spring (a plurality of banknotes overlap and convey) It is conceivable that a phenomenon in which the material that has been separated is separated during conveyance and the apparent number of sheets increases).

  Therefore, in this case, the conveyance correction process may be executed as necessary. In addition, the above-mentioned “welling” does not necessarily have a problem to be noted in the banknote conveyance itself. For this reason, when it is considered that the cause of the case 4 is due to springing, the conveyance correction process may not be executed.

  Further, at a time T (0), a predetermined timing (T (S) shown in FIG. 6) before the time slot is set in advance, and the front end of the bill is detected by the sensor B 202b earlier than the time slot. In this case, it may be determined whether the time point at which the front edge of the banknote is detected by the sensor B 202b is before or after the T (S). In this case, if the time point at which the front edge of the banknote is detected by the sensor B 202b is before T (S), it is considered that the abnormality is relatively severe, and conversely if it is after T (S), It is considered a mild abnormality.

  As described above, in the transport management, the banknote transport status in the transport line 201 is monitored through the detection result of the transport monitoring sensor 202, and appropriate processing is performed when the transport is abnormal. In addition, although various things can be considered as a concrete aspect of the conveyance management along the above-mentioned content, the thing of the aspect shown in the table | surface of FIG. 7 is mentioned as the example.

  That is, in such transport management, when the front edge of the banknote is detected by the sensor A 202a, each of T (S), T (P), T (Q), and T (E) described above is transported with respect to the transport of the banknote. Timing is set. Thereafter, if the timing at which the front edge of the banknote is detected by the sensor B 202b is before T (S), it is determined that there is a serious conveyance abnormality, the abnormality is notified, and conveyance is temporarily stopped (FIG. 7). (1)).

  Moreover, if the timing at which the front edge of the banknote is detected by the sensor B 202b is between T (S) and T (P), it is determined that there is a slight conveyance abnormality and the abnormality is notified ((2) in FIG. 7). ). If the timing at which the front edge of the banknote is detected by the sensor B 202b is within the time slot, it is determined that the conveyance is normal, and the process relating to the correction of the conveyance is not executed ((3) in FIG. 7). Moreover, if the timing at which the front edge of the banknote is detected by the sensor B 202b is between T (P) and T (E), it is determined that there is a slight conveyance abnormality and the abnormality is notified ((4) in FIG. 7). ). If the timing at which the front edge of the banknote is detected by the sensor B 202b is later than T (E), it is determined that there is a serious conveyance abnormality, the abnormality is notified, and the conveyance is temporarily stopped (in FIG. 7). (5)).

  In the cases shown in (2) and (4) of FIG. 7, the conveyance state may be regarded as normal, and the special conveyance correction process may not be executed. As described above, in the banknote depositing and dispensing machine 11, it is possible to perform an appropriate treatment according to the degree of the conveyance abnormality by the conveyance management described above.

  On the other hand, in setting the time slot, the parameters of the above-described equations (1) and (2) may be fixed. In this case, when T (0) is determined (that is, when the sensor A 202a detects the front edge of the banknote), the contents of the time slot are also determined.

  In addition, the conveyance speed in the conveyance line 201 may be continuously grasped, and the conveyance speed at the timing T (0) may be reflected in the time slot setting. This makes it possible to set the time slot as accurately as possible even when the conveyance speed fluctuates from time to time.

  Furthermore, the parameters of α and β that determine the width of the time slot can be adjusted according to the type of the transported object, or the right side of the above equations (1) and (2) is multiplied by some coefficient. Or you can do it. As a result, even if the type of the transported object fluctuates, it is possible to make the transport management according to the situation as much as possible.

  Furthermore, a plurality of modes for determining the time slot setting method may be prepared so that any one of them can be selected. For example, the conveyance speed when the front edge of the banknote is detected by the sensor A 202a is applied to V in the above expressions (1) and (2), and α and β are predetermined values corresponding to the type of the object to be conveyed. In addition, a first mode for obtaining and setting a time slot is provided.

  In addition to this, a second mode for obtaining and setting a time slot is also provided, assuming that V, α, and β in the above equations (1) and (2) are constant. Any one of these modes may be freely selected according to the signal sent from the upper terminals 12 and 13 operated by the teller. As a result, it is possible to realize transport management according to the situation.

  Further, as described above, the conveyance management in the case where one banknote is conveyed has been described. For example, when a banknote is detected by the sensor A 202a, a time slot and a jam determination time are set. The same transport management is possible when a plurality of banknotes are transported.

  Here, when a plurality of banknotes are conveyed, there is a possibility that a phenomenon in which the banknotes come into contact with each other during the conveyance (that is, “sticking” described above) occurs. This “sticking” is simply a contact between bills being conveyed for some reason, so there is no problem to be noted in the conveyance of the bills themselves.

  However, if “sticking” occurs in the section between the monitoring point of the sensor A 202a and the monitoring point of the sensor B 202b, it is determined that a conveyance error has occurred, and there is a possibility that useless conveyance correction processing is executed. Such a situation should be avoided as much as possible from the viewpoint of maintaining smoothness and speed of banknote conveyance. Therefore, in the banknote depositing / dispensing machine 11 of the present embodiment, in order to avoid such a situation, a device is devised in the execution process of the conveyance monitoring.

  In order to explain the contents, conveyance management when two banknotes (first banknote and second banknote in order from the downstream side) are sequentially transported by the transport line 201 will be described with reference to FIG. To do. FIG. 8 is a graph display of the detection signal of the sensor B 202b when the first banknote and the second banknote are detected by the sensor A202a.

  Since the front ends of the first banknote and the second banknote are detected by the sensor A 202a, the time slot and the jam determination time T (E) are set as described above for the conveyance of each banknote. If the conveyance on the conveyance line 201 is normal, the sensor B 202b detects the front edge of the bill in each of both time slots as shown by “Case 5” in FIG.

  On the other hand, if the sensor B 202b does not detect the front edge of any banknote by the time of the jam determination of the first banknote, or the sensor B202b detects the front edge of two banknotes by the time of the jam determination of the second banknote. If no is detected, a conveyance error is determined and a predetermined conveyance correction process is executed.

  Here, in the section from the monitoring point 210a to the monitoring point 210b, a case where “sticking” by two banknotes of the first banknote and the second banknote occurs is considered as “case 6” in FIG. The sensor B 202b cannot detect a gap between both bills. Therefore, the sensor B202b detects the front edge of the first banknote by the time of the jam determination of the first banknote, but does not detect the front edge of the second banknote by the time of the jam determination of the second banknote. It is determined that a conveyance error has occurred.

  Therefore, in order to prevent the occurrence of such “sticking” from being determined as a conveyance error, a condition for determining the occurrence of “sticking” as described below is set. If such a condition is satisfied, even if the front edge of the second banknote is not detected by the sensor B 202b by the time of the jam determination of the second banknote, it is not determined as a transport error.

  First, the timing at which the sensor B 202b detects the rear end of the banknote (if it is viewed from the sensor side, it cannot be distinguished whether the banknote is the first banknote or the second banknote), that is, the falling edge of the detection signal of the sensor B202b. The condition that the time slot for the second bill has already passed (hereinafter referred to as “first condition”) is set. By determining the first condition, it is determined that “sticking” has occurred in the case of “case 6”.

  However, there is a concern that only the determination of the first condition includes a situation in which the conveyance of banknotes is simply delayed, as shown in, for example, “Case 7” in FIG.

  Therefore, a condition that the time when the sensor B 202b detects the front edge of the banknote is not delayed from the end of the time slot for the first banknote (hereinafter referred to as “second condition”) is set. By determining the second condition in addition to the first condition, in the case of “Case 7”, it is not determined as “sticking”. When the front edge of the first banknote is not detected by the sensor B 202b, it can be determined as a conveyance error.

  As described above, as long as the first condition and the second condition described above are satisfied even if the front edge of the second banknote is not detected by the sensor B 202b by the time of the jam determination of the second banknote. Will not be judged as a transport error for this reason. As a result, it is possible to avoid unnecessary conveyance correction processing due to the occurrence of “sticking” and to improve the processing efficiency of the banknote depositing and dispensing machine 11.

  As described above, the first embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this content, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, although a “banknote” has been described as an example of the transported object (object), it may be a paper sheet such as a cash voucher or a security, or a currency other than a banknote (including a coin).

[Second Embodiment]
In the banknote depositing / dispensing machine 11 according to the first embodiment, by providing the transport monitoring sensor 202 at an appropriate position on the transport line 201, it recognizes the presence and passage of the banknote at that position, and helps to manage the banknote transport. Yes. Here, in order to more accurately execute management of banknote conveyance, it is necessary to consider a situation in which foreign matter other than banknotes, particularly a piece of paper generated by breaking a part of the banknotes, is mixed into the conveyance line 201.

  If this point is not taken into account, for example, a piece of paper is recognized as a normal banknote, and there is a risk that proper management of banknote conveyance will be hindered. Note that banknotes in overseas markets may be more easily torn than Japanese banknotes, and therefore sufficient consideration should be given to mixing paper pieces and the like.

  In response to such a problem, the bill depositing / dispensing machine 11 is configured so that the effective detection time for each conveyance monitoring sensor 202 can be freely adjusted. Here, the effective detection time is a time serving as a criterion for determining whether or not an object detected by the conveyance monitoring sensor 202 is regarded as an effective conveyance object.

  In other words, even if the transported object is transported to the monitoring points (210a, 210b) of the transport monitoring sensor 202, the time (that is, the time from the rising edge to the falling edge in the detection signal of the sensor) exists at this monitoring point. If it is less than the effective detection time, it is not regarded as a transported object (for example, it is not counted in the number of transported objects). As a result, even if a small object such as a piece of paper arrives at the monitoring point, it can be ignored in the conveyance process, and the conveyance management can be prevented from being affected.

  In addition, it can be said that making the effective detection time adjustable in this way is generally effective in appropriately performing conveyance management on a device that performs conveyance of banknotes. For example, before the start of each counting process, in the transport to the mechanical unit that can stack banknotes, the sensor that passes last (final sensor) or the sensor that is located on the transport path that should not be transported in the count to be executed It is possible to set the effective detection time for recognizing the bill to be longer than that of sensors on other transport paths. Thereby, it is possible to specify the final sensor of the stacking unit where the paper piece is relatively easily generated and the sensor on the conveyance path that should not be conveyed, and to ignore the paper piece.

  Depending on the count, the final sensor may be monitored as a sensor immediately after feeding, and a transport path that should not be transported may be a transport path transported by another count. In this case, the effective detection time can be set longer for only a sensor that wants to ignore a piece of paper without impairing the function of detecting normal bills earlier.

  In addition, when the counting operation is not being performed, or when the transport motor is not rotating, the effective detection time is set to be considerably longer than that during counting. It becomes possible to prevent erroneous detection of bills due to optical axis misalignment and dust.

  The present invention can be used in the field of money handling machines used in financial institutions.

It is an external view of the circulation type banknote depositing and dispensing machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the circulation type banknote depositing / withdrawing machine which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the control system of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance condition of the banknote in embodiment of this invention. It is a graph regarding the state of the detection signal corresponding to the conveyance condition shown in FIG. It is a graph regarding the state of a detection signal in the situation where one bill is conveyed. It is a table | surface regarding the specific example of conveyance management. It is a graph regarding the state of a detection signal in the situation where two bills are conveyed.

Explanation of symbols

11 Recyclable banknote deposit and withdrawal machine (money handling machine)
12, 13 Host terminal 22 Banknote outlet 23 Banknote deposit port 24 Occupied button 34 Transparent shutter 35 Deposited banknote temporary storage part 36 Front door 40 Upper unit side banknote transport part 50 Banknote recognition part 82 Reject box 83 Money type banknote storage part 85 Lower unit side banknote transport unit 201 Transport line 202 Transport monitoring sensor 202a Sensor A (first detection unit)
202b Sensor B (second detection unit)
203 Storage Unit 204 Control Unit 210a Monitoring Point Corresponding to Sensor A 210b Monitoring Point Corresponding to Sensor B T (0) Timing when front edge of bill reaches sensor A T (S) Timing used for transport management (second timing)
T (P) Time slot start timing T (Q) Time slot end timing T (E) Jam detection (first timing)

Claims (13)

In a transport apparatus having a transport line and transporting an object from upstream to downstream of the transport line,
A first detector for detecting arrival of the object at a first position on the transport line;
A second detector for detecting the arrival of the object at a second position downstream of the first position;
When the arrival is detected by the first detection unit,
While setting a time slot indicating a predetermined period and a first timing indicating a predetermined timing,
A control unit that determines a context between the time slot or the first timing and the timing at which the arrival is detected by the second detection unit;
The time slot is
The timing at which a predetermined latest time longer than the fastest time has elapsed since the arrival of the arrival by the first detection portion from the timing at which the arrival of the arrival of the arrival by the first detection portion. Until the period,
The first timing is
A conveying apparatus, characterized by a predetermined timing after the end of the time slot. The controller is
It also determines the context of the second timing and the timing at which the arrival is detected by the second detector.
The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second timing is a predetermined timing before the beginning of the time slot. The controller is
When the arrival is detected by the second detection unit within the time slot, the transport is determined to be normal,
2. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport is determined to be abnormal when the arrival has not yet been detected by the second detection unit at the first timing. The fastest time and the slowest time are set by the control unit,
The control unit
About the aspect regarding the setting of the fastest time and the slowest time,
A first mode in which the setting is performed after obtaining the fastest time and the slowest time based on the speed of conveyance when the first detection unit detects the object and the type of the object;
A second mode in which the fastest time and the slowest time are set as a time when a predetermined time has elapsed from the timing when the first detection unit detects the object;
Either of these can be selected, The conveyance apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. The first detector and the second detector are
Recognizing the front and rear ends of the object in the transport direction;
The controller is
The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of objects are sequentially transported, the time slot and the first timing are set for transport of each object. The controller is
When two objects are sequentially conveyed, and when the front end of each of the two objects is not detected by the second detection unit by the first timing corresponding to the upstream object,
Determining whether or not the time when the rear end of the object is detected by the second detection unit is after the end of the time slot corresponding to the upstream object;
6. The transport apparatus according to claim 5, wherein whether or not the transport is abnormal is determined according to the determination result. The controller is
When two objects are sequentially conveyed, and when the front end of each of the two objects is not detected by the second detection unit by the first timing corresponding to the upstream object,
Determining whether the time point when the front edge of the object is detected by the second detection unit is after the end of the time slot corresponding to the downstream object;
6. The transport apparatus according to claim 5, wherein whether or not the transport is abnormal is determined according to the determination result. The controller is
In the case where two objects are sequentially conveyed, if the front end of each of the two objects is not detected by the second detection unit by the first timing corresponding to the upstream object,
A first condition that is satisfied if the time point when the rear end of the object is detected by the second detection unit is after the end of the time slot corresponding to the upstream object;
A second condition that is satisfied if the time point when the front edge of the object is detected by the second detection unit is not after the end of the time slot corresponding to the downstream object;
After judging each condition of
When both of the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, it is determined that the conveyance is normal,
The transport apparatus according to claim 5, wherein if any of the conditions is not satisfied, the transport is determined to be abnormal. The controller is
The transport apparatus according to claim 3, 6, 7, or 8, wherein the transport is stopped when it is determined that the transport is abnormal.   The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object is a paper sheet.   The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object is money. A money handling machine having a transport line for transporting money and performing a predetermined process including the transport on the money;
A first detector for detecting arrival of the object at a first position on the transport line;
A second detector for detecting the arrival of the object at a second position downstream of the first position;
When the arrival is detected by the first detection unit,
While setting a time slot indicating a predetermined period and a first timing indicating a predetermined timing,
A control unit that determines a context between the time slot or the first timing and the timing at which the arrival is detected by the second detection unit;
The time slot is
The timing at which a predetermined latest time longer than the fastest time has elapsed since the arrival of the arrival by the first detection portion from the timing at which the arrival of the arrival of the arrival by the first detection portion. Until the period,
The first timing is
A money handling machine having a predetermined timing after the end of the time slot. A control method for a transport device having a transport line and transporting an object from upstream to downstream of the transport line,
A first step of detecting that the object has arrived at a first position on the transport line;
A second step of setting a time slot indicating a predetermined period and a first timing indicating a predetermined timing when the detection is made;
A third step of determining a front-rear relationship between the time slot or the first timing and a timing at which the object arrives at a second position downstream of the first position;
Including
The time slot is
The timing at which a predetermined latest time longer than the fastest time has elapsed since the arrival of the arrival by the first detection portion from the timing at which the arrival of the arrival of the arrival by the first detection portion. Until the period,
The first timing is
A control method characterized by a predetermined timing after the end of the time slot.

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