JP2009059191A - Coin processor and coin processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate any trouble related with an amount of money when depositing coins or dispensing change coins. <P>SOLUTION: In a change dispenser 10, a change detection part 14a arranged at the central part of a coin conveyance mechanism 14 configures a discrimination part for discriminating the authenticity and denomination of input coins, and a reject gate G1 is switched according to the identification result so that the coins can be delivered to either a money output port 12 or a temporary storage container 15. When a prescribed time passes after deposit start is instructed, the delivery belt of a coin slot 11 is intermittently operated. In this intermittent operation, the delivery belt is stopped only for a set time, and the driving is repeated only for the set time. Thus, it is possible to surely convey the input coins to a coin conveyance mechanism 14 without always driving the delivery belt of the coin slot 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a coin processing apparatus and a coin processing method, and more particularly to a coin processing apparatus that is connected to a POS terminal such as a supermarket, deposits deposits, and changes cash, and a coin processing method in such a coin processing apparatus. .

  In recent years, various user interfaces for executing data processing of products for sale have been introduced. However, customers can operate these terminal devices and can provide information to customers and issue receipts to customers. Development of a self-checkout terminal that is arranged and enables self-checkout by a customer is underway (see Patent Document 1). Such a user interface includes, for example, a product code reading unit such as a barcode reader, a display unit for displaying information, an input unit for inputting information, for example, a settlement unit that enables settlement by depositing and withdrawing coins and banknotes, and A terminal device such as a receipt printer is prepared. When such a user interface is used at a self-checkout such as a supermarket, a banknote processing apparatus or a coin processing apparatus that performs “cash deposit counting” and “dispensing of change” such as banknotes and coins is used.

However, compared with the case where a cashier person uses a general manned cash register, customers who use the self cash register are often unfamiliar with the banknote processing apparatus and the coin processing apparatus. Therefore, there are cases where the deposit procedure specified in those devices may not be observed, and as a result, the amount of money deposited on the self-checkout side is insufficient with respect to the amount actually entered by the customer. There were problems such as. Therefore, as a countermeasure for coin handling equipment used in self-checkout, a shutter mechanism is provided at the coin insertion slot, and measures are taken to prevent troubles at the time of deposit by taking measures such as additional coin insertion and excessive insertion. (See Patent Document 2).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-72561 (paragraph numbers [0011] to [0044], FIG. 3 etc.) Utility Model Registration No. 3125992 (paragraph numbers [0025] to [0046], FIG. 3 etc.)

  However, when a shutter mechanism is added to the coin slot of the coin processing device, not only the cost increases, but depending on the configuration of the shutter mechanism, clogging of coins may occur. Accordingly, it has been desired that the coin processing apparatus used in the conventional manned cash register is used as it is without changing the structure of the coin insertion slot itself, and appropriate measures are taken for the additionally inserted coins.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a coin processing apparatus and a coin processing method that eliminates troubles related to the amount of money during deposit processing of deposited coins and withdrawal processing of change coins. The purpose is to provide.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above problem, in a coin processing apparatus that performs deposit processing of coins inserted into the insertion slot and withdrawal processing of change coins, transport means for transporting the coins inserted into the insertion slot; A driving unit that drives the conveying unit; and a timer unit that sets a driving period and a stop period of the driving unit, respectively, and the conveying unit is intermittently driven by the driving unit during a predetermined period during which coins can be inserted. A coin processing device is provided.

In the coin processing apparatus of the present invention, by intermittently driving the conveying means, there is no possibility that the inserted coins remain in the insertion slot.
Further, in the present invention, in the coin processing method of a coin processing apparatus that performs deposit processing of coins inserted into the insertion slot and withdrawal processing of change coins, transport of the coin processing apparatus transports the coins inserted into the insertion slot. A coin processing method is provided in which the means is intermittently driven during a predetermined period during which coins can be inserted.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to perform the deposit / withdrawal process of a coin reliably by a coin processing apparatus, without a manual labor in self-registration etc.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a coin processing device of the present invention is applied to a change dispenser will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Configuration of change dispenser)
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of the change dispenser according to the embodiment.

  The change dispenser 10 includes a coin insertion slot 11 into which a plurality of coins can be simultaneously inserted on the front right front side of the casing. In addition, a change dispensing port 12 and a coin return port 13 are provided on the front surface of the housing. The change dispenser 10 includes a coin transport mechanism 14 for transporting coins inserted into a coin slot 11, a temporary storage 15 for temporarily storing coins identified as genuine coins, and a coin swing for selecting coins. The part 16, the coin storages 17a to 17f for storing coins according to denominations, the dispensing transport unit 18 for dispensing changes to the dispensing port 12, the control unit 19 for performing coin transport control in each unit, and a timer 20.

  The coin check unit 14a arranged at the center of the coin transport mechanism 14 constitutes an identification unit for identifying the authenticity and denomination of the inserted coin, and by switching the reject gate G1 according to the identification result, The coin is configured to be sent out to either the withdrawal port 12 or the temporary storage 15.

  In the temporary storage 15, the coins identified as regular coins by the check unit 14 a are temporarily stored and then withdrawn to the coin distribution unit 16. A cancel gate G <b> 2 is provided on the coin distribution unit 16 side of the temporary storage box 15, and the temporarily held coin can be returned from the return port 13 (actual return).

  The coin sorting unit 16 sorts coins withdrawn from the temporary storage 15 and is arranged along the right side of the housing from the front of the change dispenser 10 to the rear. . The coin storages 17a to 17f classified by money accommodate, for example, 1 yen, 50 yen, 5 yen, 100 yen, 10 yen, and 500 yen coins, respectively. The coin inlets of the coin storages 17a to 17f are designed to accept coins that are formed in different sizes for each denomination and have a diameter that increases in order from the front side of the coin sorting unit 16, depending on the diameter. The coins are sorted at each of the coin storage boxes 17a to 17f.

  In such a change dispenser 10, when a change to be paid to a customer is to be withdrawn, a designated number of coins are withdrawn from the respective denomination coin storages 17a to 17f to the withdrawing transport unit 18 to change the withdrawal. A withdrawal can be made to the withdrawal port 12 through the gate G3. Moreover, if this withdrawal switching gate G3 is switched to the temporary storage 15 side, coins are circulated for each denomination between the coin storages 17a to 17f and the temporary storage 15 within the change dispenser 10. It is possible to automatically carry out scrutiny and grasp the amount of money for each denomination.

  Here, at the coin insertion slot 11 of the change dispenser 10, when a coin inserted therein is detected by an insertion detection sensor described later, a signal to that effect is sent to the control unit 19 and will be described later. The coin transport mechanism 14 starts to be driven in a simple procedure. As a result, coins one by one are transported to the check section 14a and sequentially held in the temporary storage 15 in sequence.

  Then, after the amount of inserted coins is determined, the coins are stored in the denominated coin storages 17a to 17f. At that time, the input amount is displayed on a display (not shown). Further, coins paid out as change from the coin storage boxes 17a to 17f are conveyed to the withdrawal port 12, and the change amount is displayed on a display or the like.

Next, the coin slot 11 that constitutes the slot of the change dispenser 10 will be described.
2 is a plan view showing a detailed configuration of a coin slot in the change dispenser of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

  The coin slot 11 is composed of a feeding belt 21 whose bottom surface is raised and stretched in an inclined state. In the coin insertion slot 11, optical sensors 11a to 11c are arranged as, for example, three sets of light emitting units and light receiving units across the feeding belt 21, and the received light rays are blocked by the coins in the middle of insertion, so that the inserted coins CN Can be detected. Further, on the feeding side of the feeding belt 21, a reverse feed roller (reverse roller) 22 for collapsing the piled coins conveyed and aligning the coins in a single line, and a coin for detecting the coins on the feeding belt 21. And a coil sensor 23.

  Generally, a plurality of coins of different denominations are inserted into the coin insertion slot 11 at the same time. When these are detected by the optical sensors 11a to 11c, the driving of the feeding belt 21 that is normally stopped is started, and the inserted coins are transferred to the coin transport mechanism 14 arranged on the left hand of FIG. 2 (FIG. 3). Transport. The reason why the feeding belt 21 is in a stopped state is that if the driving belt 21 is always driven, the feeding belt 21 is damaged quickly and its life is shortened.

  The coin CN conveyed from the feeding belt 21 is discriminated between denomination and authenticity by the check portion 14a while being pressed against the lower guide 25 by the conveying belt 24 of the coin conveying mechanism 14, and further along the guide rail 26 in the drawing. It is transported in the left hand direction. The coins thus inserted pass through the check section 14a and are reliably conveyed to the temporary storage.

Further, in the change dispenser 10, even when a coin with a minimum diameter is inserted, a coil sensor 23 for detecting the presence or absence of a coin is always attached at a position where it can be detected.
By the way, depending on the behavior of the coins at the time of insertion, the feeding belt 21 does not operate when the detection points of the sensors 11a to 11c, 23 are passed through or coins are inserted when the deposit is not permitted. As such, there was a risk that the coin CN would be left in the coin slot 11.

  Therefore, in the change dispenser 10, the feeding belt 21 of the coin insertion slot 11 is intermittently operated when a predetermined time has elapsed after the start of depositing is instructed from the host machine or by the apparatus itself. In this intermittent operation, the operation of stopping the feeding belt 21 for a set time (for example, 5 seconds) and driving the feeding belt 21 for the set time (for example, 0.5 seconds) is repeated. Thereby, the inserted coin CN can be reliably conveyed to the coin conveyance mechanism 14, and the life of the feeding belt 21 as the conveyance means can be extended.

In addition, the drive continuation period and the stop period by the timer 20 described above can be freely set by the user according to the application.
(Operation of change dispenser)
Next, the operation timing of the feeding belt 21 that conveys coins from the coin insertion slot 11 will be described.

4 and 5 are timing charts showing the deposit processing operation for the inserted coins of the change dispenser.
FIG. 2A shows a deposit permission signal of the change dispenser 10. This payment permission signal is issued, for example, from a self-checkout POS terminal or the like, which is a higher-level machine, at the time when the amount calculation of purchased products is completed (timing t0). When the optical sensors 11a to 11c detect the inserted coins during this period, the insertion detection signal Sa is output to the control unit 19 at the timing t1 shown in FIG. In response to this detection signal Sa, the driving motor of the feeding belt 21 starts driving at timing t2 ((d) in the figure), and the inserted coins are sent to the coin transport mechanism 14.

Note that the insertion detection signal Sb shown in FIG. 4C is output when the coil sensor 23 detects a coin on the feeding belt 21 (timing t3).
The conveyance belt 24 of the coin conveyance mechanism 14 starts to operate simultaneously with the feeding belt 21 at timing t2, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4D, the drive motor of the feeding belt 21 is stopped at a timing t4 when a fixed period has elapsed from the timing t3. However, if the subsequently conveyed coin is detected by the coil sensor 23, the drive motor of the feeding belt 21 is continuously driven beyond the timing t4 so that all the inserted coins are sent to the coin transport mechanism 14. It has become. In addition, as shown in FIG.4 (e), the conveyance belt 24 is driven longer than the delivery belt 21, and stops at the timing t5.

  The deposit processing operation described above with reference to FIG. 4 is also performed by a conventional change dispenser. In this case, if the optical sensors 11 a to 11 c do not detect the inserted coin, even if a deposit permission signal is generated, the insert detection signal Sa is not output to the control unit 19, so that the coin is sent to the coin transport mechanism 14 as it is. Can not be. Here, as shown in FIG. 5D, after the change dispenser 10 is permitted to deposit, intermittent driving of the drive motor of the feeding belt 21 is automatically started at a timing t6 when a predetermined time elapses. I made it.

  That is, the driving motor of the feeding belt 21 is set with a driving duration period of the period Ta and a stopping period of the period Tb by the timer 20 connected to the control unit 19 of the change dispenser 10. Therefore, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 5B, even if the coins inserted at the timing t7 fail to be detected by the optical sensors 11a to 11c, the stop period Tb elapses as shown in FIG. Since the feeding belt 21 starts to move at the timing t8, the coin on the feeding belt 21 can be detected by the coil sensor 23. Then, at the timing t9 shown in FIG. 10C, the insertion detection signal Sb is output to the control unit 19, and from the timing t10 shown in FIG. 9E to the timing t12, the transport belt 24 of the coin transport mechanism 14 is driven. The

  In this way, during the depositing process of the change dispenser 10, the fed coin 21 can be reliably taken into the check portion 14 a of the coin transport mechanism 14 by controlling the feeding belt 21 intermittently. Thereafter, the feeding belt 21 stops at a timing t11 after a certain period of time has elapsed from the timing t9. If it is within the deposit permission period, the intermittent driving of the feeding belt 21 is continued from the timing t13 after the stopping period has elapsed. It is possible to deal with coins subsequently inserted in the same manner.

(Self checkout process)
Next, as an example of a withdrawal processing method in the change dispenser 10, a self-checkout processing procedure executed by connecting a POS terminal, a bill processing apparatus, or the like will be described.

  The above-described change dispenser 10 is connected to a POS terminal, a self-POS register, a bill processing device, or the like, which is a higher-level machine, and used for change dispensing in the following procedure when a self-checkout is configured in a supermarket or a convenience store. be able to.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the self-checkout process.
The customer sequentially scans the purchased products at the self-POS cash register (step S1), and when the registration for all the products is completed (step S2), the total price is calculated at the self-POS cash register. Next, the calculation result is displayed on a display unit or the like and presented to the customer as “purchase amount” (step S3). The self-POS cash register usually reads out the purchase amount by its voice output, and further instructs the start of depositing, and at the same time notifies the change dispenser 10 or the banknote processing device that the depositing operation of the customer is started (step S4). .

  At this time, since the customer puts money of the same amount as the purchase amount or more into the change dispenser 10 or the banknote processing device, the banknotes and coins accepted as deposit amounts are respectively used for the banknote processing device and the changer 10. In step S5, processing such as depositing is performed (steps S5 and S6).

  In step 6, the inserted coins are reliably detected by intermittently operating the feeding belt 21 which is the conveying means of the change dispenser 10. Note that the insertion detection method by intermittent operation will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  In the change dispenser 10 shown in FIG. 1, when the customer completes the deposit operation and performs an operation for finishing the deposit procedure at the self-POS register, the change dispenser 10 and the banknote are received at the self-POS register. The processing device or the like is notified of the end of payment (step S7).

  At the self-POS cash register, the change amount (input amount-purchase amount) is calculated (step S8), the coin type and number of coins corresponding to the change amount are calculated according to the deposit amount, and the amount corresponding to the change is calculated. The number of bills and coins is notified to the bill processing device and the change dispenser 10, respectively.

  Here, when there is a coin change, the process proceeds from step S9 to step S10, where the change dispenser 10 is instructed to start dispensing, and the change dispenser 10 dispenses the change (step S11). That is, the customer can receive change coins together with banknotes and receipts as change from the banknote processing apparatus.

  By the way, a customer unfamiliar with a series of self-checkout processing procedures in such a self-POS register inserts coins from the coin insertion slot 11 of the change dispenser 10 after completing the deposit procedure in step S7, for example. There is.

  In that case, in the conventional withdrawal processing method, the change dispensing operation is completed with the coin remaining in the coin insertion slot 11 during the change calculation in the next step S8. Only the change amount less than the amount obtained by subtracting the purchase amount from the input amount will be withdrawn. That is, when the payment end is instructed from the self-POS cash register, even if the customer inserts a coin into the change dispenser 10 before the subsequent dispensing operation, it remains in the coin insertion slot 11, so that the customer As a result, the attendant needs to intervene. An attendant is a store clerk who is near the self-checkout and explains to the customer questions and unclear points when shopping or checks the age.

  Therefore, the change dispenser 10 drives the conveyor belt of the input unit for a set time after the payment of the amount instructed from the self-POS register is completed. The method of post-processing (step S12) by discharging coins after withdrawal will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

(Input detection method by intermittent operation)
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure for depositing coins into the coin slot.
When there is a deposit start instruction from the host machine or the change dispensing machine 10, the feeding belt 21 of the coin slot 11 starts an intermittent operation until a deposit end instruction is received (step S21). In this intermittent operation, a driving timer for the feeding belt 21 is set in step S22, and the feeding belt 21 is driven for the set time. It drives for the set time and detects the insertion of coins (steps S23 to S25). Thereafter, when the driving timer of the feeding belt 21 has timed out, the process proceeds from step S24 to step S26, and the feeding belt 21 is stopped.

  In step S27, a stop timer for the feeding belt 21 is set, but in the meantime, the process proceeds from step S28 to step S29, and the inserted coin is detected by the coil sensor 23. When the stop timer of the feeding belt 21 has timed up without detecting the inserted coin, the operation returns to step S21 from step S28 and the drive timer is set again (step S22), thereby repeating the intermittent operation of the feeding belt 21.

  In step S25 or step S29, when the inserted coin is detected by the coil sensor 23, the process proceeds to step S30. In step S30, the driving timer for the feeding belt 21 is extended and set, and the driving timer for the conveying belt 24 is set to drive the conveying belt 24 together with the feeding belt 21 (steps S31 and S32). And until the set time of these drive timers passes, it progresses to step S34 from step S33, and the detected coin is conveyed to the check part 14a of the coin conveyance mechanism 14, detecting the presence or absence of an insertion medium.

  At this time, if there is an input medium, the process returns from step S34 to step S30, and belt driving is continued. Thereafter, when the driving timer of the feeding belt 21 has timed out, the process proceeds from step S33 to step S35, the feeding belt 21 is stopped, and further, the conveying belt 24 is stopped in step S36.

  In this way, after identifying the authenticity and denomination of the coins inserted by the coin checking unit 14 a, the coins are transported to the temporary storage 15. As the insertion detection function, the conventional function described with reference to FIG. 4 is also provided. Therefore, even when a coin is detected while the feeding belt 21 is stopped, both the conveying belt 24 and the feeding belt 21 perform the conveying operation. Start.

  The process of depositing coins into the coin slot 11 is completed when the deposit amount is determined in this way and an instruction to terminate the deposit is issued from the host machine or the change dispenser 10. Then, the intermittent operation of the feeding belt 21 is also stopped, and the change dispenser 10 shifts to a coin storage processing operation.

  The above-described timer 20 can use the internal memory of the control unit 19 of FIG. 1 and the like. Each set time in the timer 20 can be set as a predetermined set value from the host machine or the change dispenser 10 itself. it can.

(Post-processing method by discharging coins after withdrawal)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure for discharging coins input from the coin input unit.
As already described in the self-checkout process of FIG. 6, when the payment end is instructed from the self-POS cash register, even if the customer inserts coins into the change dispenser 10 until the subsequent withdrawal operation. , It will be left in the coin slot 11. Therefore, in the present invention, as a post-processing method by discharging coins after withdrawal, the feeding belt 21 of the coin insertion slot 11 is set at the timing when the amount instructed from the self-POS register is paid out from the change dispenser 10 after completion of the deposit. Drive for hours only.

  That is, first, the reject gate G1 of the coin transport mechanism 14 is switched to the withdrawal side (step S41). Next, the driving timer for the conveying belt 24 is set together with the driving timer for the feeding belt 21 (step S42). Thus, the conveyor belt 24 is driven together with the feeding belt 21 (steps S43 and S44).

  Thereby, if the coin is left in the coin insertion slot 11, the inserted coin is detected by the coil sensor 23 (steps S46, S47), and the coin conveyed to the check portion 14a of the coin conveyance mechanism 14 by the conveyance belt 24. Is returned to the customer from the withdrawal port 12 by the reject gate G1. When the drive timers of the feeding belt 21 and the conveying belt 24 have timed out, the process proceeds from step S45 to step S48, where the feeding belt 21 is stopped, and then the conveying belt 24 is stopped in step S49, and the reject gate is further rejected in step S50. G1 is returned again to the temporary storage 15 side.

  When a coin is detected at the coin insertion slot 11 by driving the feeding belt 21 in this way, the coin passes through the reject gate G1 and is conveyed to the withdrawal slot 12. Thereafter, when no coins are detected on the feeding belt 21 and no coins are transported by the transport belt 24, the dispensing process of the change dispenser 10 is terminated.

  In the above, although the change dispenser 10 provided with the check part 14a and the temporary storage 15 as a coin processing apparatus was demonstrated, the withdrawal processing method of this invention is a coin processing apparatus without such a check part and a temporary storage. It can also be applied to. Moreover, as a detection means of the coin insertion slot 11, you may use not only an optical sensor but any kind of sensors, such as a magnetic sensor and a proximity sensor. The same effect can be obtained when connected to a POS register other than the self register.

  Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a coin processing apparatus as a change machine that is configured integrally with a banknote processing apparatus, rather than a single change dispenser 10.

It is a top view which shows the internal structure of the change dispenser which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view which shows the detailed structure of the coin slot in the change dispenser of FIG. It is AA arrow sectional drawing of FIG. It is a timing diagram which shows the money_receiving | payment process operation | movement with respect to the input coin of a change dispenser (the 1). It is a timing diagram which shows the money_receiving | payment process operation | movement with respect to the input coin of a change dispenser (the 2). It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a self-checkout process. It is a flowchart which shows the money_receiving | payment process procedure of the input coin to a coin input part. It is a flowchart which shows the discharge processing procedure of the coin inserted from a coin insertion part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Change dispenser 11 Coin insertion port 11a-11c Optical sensor 12 Withdrawal port 13 Return port 14 Coin conveyance mechanism 14a Checking part 15 Temporary storage 16 Coin distribution part 17a-17f Coin storage 18 Drawer conveyance part 19 Control Part 20 Timer 21 Feeding belt 22 Reverse feed roller (reverse roller)
23 Coil sensor 24 Conveyor belt 25 Lower guide 26 Guide rail G1 Reject gate G2 Cancel gate G3 Withdrawal switching gate

Claims (9)

In a coin processing apparatus that performs deposit processing of coins inserted into an insertion slot and withdrawal processing of change coins,
Transport means for transporting coins thrown into the slot;
Driving means for driving the conveying means;
Timer means for setting a driving period and a stopping period of the driving means,
The coin processing apparatus is characterized in that the conveying means is intermittently driven by the driving means during a predetermined period during which coins can be inserted.   The coin processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveying unit is intermittently driven during the deposit processing period.   2. The coin processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveying means is intermittently driven during the withdrawal process period.   4. The coin processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein coins deposited by intermittently driving the conveying means during the withdrawal processing period are dispensed together with change coins.   2. The coin processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the timer means can change and set a driving period and a stop period of the conveying means. In the coin processing method of a coin processing apparatus that performs deposit processing of coins inserted into an insertion slot and withdrawal processing of change coins,
A coin processing method comprising: intermittently driving a transporting unit of the coin processing device that transports a coin inserted into the insertion slot during a predetermined period during which coins can be inserted.   7. The coin processing method according to claim 6, wherein the conveying means is intermittently driven during the deposit processing period.   7. The coin processing method according to claim 6, wherein the conveying means is intermittently driven during the withdrawal process period.   9. The coin processing method according to claim 8, wherein coins deposited by intermittently driving the conveying means during the dispensing process are dispensed together with change coins.

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