JP2010079392A - Coin changer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coin changer including a coin slot having a function of a temporary storage part, thereby achieving space saving at the inside of a casing, and reducing the size of the casing. <P>SOLUTION: A coin changer 10 is provided with: a coin slot 14 having a reception part 14a for receiving coins from the outside of a casing 12, and delivery mechanisms 14b and 14c for delivering coins received by the reception part 14a to the inside of the casing 12 one by one; and a cover part 16 covering the reception part 14a of the coin casing part 14 so as to be freely opened and closed. The coins are delivered from a conveyance part 18 to the reception part 14a of the coin slot 14 while the reception part 14a of the coin slot 14 is closed with the cover part 16. The reception part 14a is configured to temporarily store coins delivered from the conveyance part 18, and to deliver each of the temporarily stored coins to the inside of the casing 12 by the delivery mechanisms 14b and 14c. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a coin change machine that inserts coins into a housing, identifies and counts the inserted coins, and dispenses coins as change, and in particular, the coin insertion unit also functions as a temporary storage unit. For this reason, the present invention relates to a coin change machine that can reduce the space inside the housing and thereby can reduce the size of the housing.

  A banknote processing device or a coin processing device connected to a host device such as a POS system (point-of-sale information management system) is introduced into a cash register such as a supermarket or a convenience store (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Generally, a banknote processing device and a coin processing device are provided side by side. The coin processing device disclosed in Patent Document 1 temporarily holds a coin inserted into a coin slot and then stores it in a storage unit according to denomination and pays out coins as change to a coin payout outlet. ing. Here, as the coin processing device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a recycle type device capable of reusing received coins as change is used.

  More specifically, in the coin processing device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a coin received by an operator such as a store clerk from a customer is thrown into a coin slot, and the coin thrown into the coin slot is a transfer mechanism. Is carried one by one into the housing. The coins carried into the housing are identified by the identifying unit, and the identified coins are stored in denominations in a plurality of storage units inside the housing. Such a coin processing device is provided with a coin payout outlet for dispensing coins from the inside of the housing to the outside, the coin identification result by the coin processing device and the bill counting result by the bill processing device, The amount of change is calculated based on the actual total amount of purchased items, and coins as change are paid out from the storage unit to the coin payout exit.

  In the coin processing device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a temporary holding unit that temporarily holds a coin that has been identified by the identification unit before being stored in the storage unit is provided inside the housing. In a coin processing apparatus in which a temporary storage unit is provided inside a housing as shown in Patent Document 1, a coin that is fed into a housing from a coin slot and identified by an identifying unit is temporarily It is sent to the temporary holding unit and temporarily held by this temporary holding unit. When a deposit confirmation command is issued to the coin processing device, the coins temporarily held by the temporary holding unit are stored in the storage unit by denomination. On the other hand, after a coin is temporarily held in the temporary holding unit, when a coin return command is issued to the coin processing device, the coin temporarily held in the temporary holding unit is not sent to the storage unit. It will be sent to the coin payment exit.

JP 2006-309467 A

  However, in the coin processing apparatus provided with the temporary holding unit as described above, the temporary holding unit must be additionally installed inside the casing in addition to the identification unit and the storage unit. Separate installation space is required. For this reason, there exists a problem that the housing | casing of a coin processing apparatus will enlarge.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and the coin insertion unit can also function as a temporary storage unit, which can save space inside the housing. An object of the present invention is to provide a coin change machine capable of downsizing the casing.

  A coin change machine according to the present invention includes a housing, a receiving portion for receiving coins from the outside of the housing, and a retraction mechanism for feeding coins received in the receiving portion one by one into the housing. An insertion portion, a lid portion that covers the receiving portion of the coin insertion portion so as to be openable and closable, and an inside of the housing, and are retracted into the housing by the retraction mechanism of the coin insertion portion. A transport unit that transports coins one by one, an identification unit that is interposed in the transport unit, and that performs identification counting of coins that have been fed into the housing by the feeding mechanism of the coin insertion unit, A storage unit for storing the coins identified by the identification unit, and a control unit for controlling the coin input unit and the transport unit, wherein the receiving portion of the coin input unit is blocked by the lid unit. In the state where the coin is inserted from the transport unit Coins are sent to the receiving portion, the receiving portion temporarily holds the coins sent from the transport unit, and the temporarily holding coins are fed into the casing one by one by the feeding mechanism. And a control unit for performing such control.

  According to such a coin change machine, the receiving portion of the coin insertion unit temporarily holds the coins sent from the transport unit, and the temporarily held coins are stored in the inside of the casing by the feeding mechanism. Since it is designed to be fed one by one, the coin insertion unit can temporarily hold coins in addition to the function of feeding coins received from outside the casing one by one into the casing. It also fulfills the function of the holding part. As described above, since the coin insertion unit also functions as the temporary storage unit, it is not necessary to separately install the temporary storage unit inside the housing. For this reason, space saving inside a housing | casing can be achieved, and a housing | casing can be reduced in size by this.

  In the coin change machine of the present invention, the control unit inserts the coin stored in the storage unit into the coin by the transport unit in a state where the receiving portion of the coin insertion unit is blocked by the lid unit. The receiving part temporarily holds the coins sent from the transport part, and the temporarily holding coins are transferred one by one into the housing by the transfer mechanism. It is preferable to identify the coins brought into the casing and then control to return the coins to the storage unit.

  In this case, the control unit is identified as not being a normal coin or a coin that could not be identified among the coins brought into the housing by the feeding mechanism of the coin insertion unit. It is more preferable to perform control so that coins are sent again to the receiving portion of the coin insertion unit by the transport unit.

  Moreover, it is more preferable that the identification part recognizes the coin that has been retracted into the housing by the retraction mechanism of the coin insertion part.

  In the coin change machine according to the present invention, the receiving portion of the coin insertion portion is a first region adjacent to the feeding mechanism and the second region in which the first region is interposed between the feeding mechanism. A partition portion that can be divided into the first region and the control portion, wherein the control portion is configured such that the partition portion separates the receiving portion into the first region and the second region. The coins thrown into the region 1 are fed one by one into the housing by the feeding mechanism, and the coins fed into the housing are identified by the identifying unit, and the identification is performed. A coin is sent to the second area of the receiving portion, the coin is temporarily retained in the second area, and then the partition portion is retracted to communicate the first area and the second area. The coin temporarily held in the second area It is preferable to perform control so convolving by the Kukomi mechanism via the pass one by one into the interior of the housing.

  In this case, it is more preferable that the lid portion covers only the second region in the receiving portion of the coin insertion portion.

  In addition, the partition portion is configured to divide the receiving portion of the coin insertion portion into the first region and the second region, and to retract from the receiving portion, the first region and the second region. The first part of the receiving part is closed by the partition part when the partition part is in the retracted position. More preferably.

  Alternatively, the partition portion is configured to divide the receiving portion into the first region and the second region, and a retracting position for retracting from the receiving portion and communicating the first region and the second region. It may be slidable between positions.

  In addition, it further includes a withdrawal port that is connected to the transport unit and dispenses a coin from the inside of the housing to the outside, and the control unit temporarily holds the coin in the second area, When the temporarily held coins are returned to the outside of the housing, control is performed so that the coins brought into the housing by the feeding mechanism are sent to the withdrawal port by the transport unit. More preferred.

  In the coin change machine of the present invention, it is a small number coin insertion portion into which a small number of coins are inserted from the outside of the housing, the minority coin insertion portion is inserted into the small number coin insertion portion The control unit further includes a small number coin insertion unit configured to send coins between the coin insertion unit and the identification unit in the transport unit, and the control unit uses the lid unit to receive the receiving part of the coin insertion unit. In a state where the coin is inserted, the coins inserted into the small-number coin insertion unit are sent to the identification unit by the conveyance unit, the coins are identified by the identification unit, and the identified coins are identified by the conveyance unit. Is sent to the receiving portion of the coin inserting portion, the receiving portion temporarily holds the coin sent from the transport portion, and the temporarily held coin is put inside the casing by the feeding mechanism. It is possible to control to bring in one sheet at a time. It is preferred.

  In this case, when the control unit replenishes the storage unit with coins, the control unit receives the coins inserted into the coin insertion unit in a state where the receiving portion of the coin insertion unit is not blocked by the lid unit. More preferably, control is performed such that the transport unit is sent to the identification unit, the coin is identified by the identification unit, and the coin identified by the identification unit is sent to the storage unit.

  In addition, it further includes a withdrawal port connected to the transport unit and withdrawing coins from the inside of the housing to the outside, and the control unit temporarily holds the coin at the receiving portion of the coin insertion unit. Thereafter, when the coins temporarily held are withdrawn to the outside of the housing, the coins retreated into the housing by the retraction mechanism are controlled to be sent to the withdrawal port by the transport unit. It is more preferable to carry out.

  According to the coin change machine of the present invention, the coin insertion unit can also function as a temporary storage unit, and therefore, space saving inside the housing can be achieved, thereby reducing the size of the housing. Can do.

First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 3 is a figure which shows the coin change machine which concerns on this Embodiment. Among these, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a coin change machine according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of the coin change machine shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of the coin insertion part, the lid part, the transport part and the identification part in the coin change machine shown in FIG.

  The coin change machine in the present invention is generally provided side by side with a banknote change machine. Each of the coin change machine and the banknote change machine is connected to a control terminal device including, for example, a POS register (a cash registering machine having a sales point information management function). The control terminal registers product purchase information and causes the coin change machine or the banknote change machine to perform coin and banknote deposit and withdrawal processing. The control terminal is connected to a host server, and sales information and the like are transmitted from the control terminal to the host server.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, a coin change machine 10 according to the present embodiment includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing 12, a coin insertion portion 14 into which coins are inserted from the outside of the casing 12, and a coin as change. And a coin dispensing part 30 as a withdrawal port for dispensing the money.

  The coin insertion unit 14 receives one or more coins from the outside of the housing 12 and feeds the accepted coins into the housing 12 one by one. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the coin insertion unit 14 includes a receiving part 14a that receives one or more coins C from the outside of the housing 12 in a non-aligned state, and a non-aligned state in the receiving part 14a. A transport belt 14b that transports the accepted coin C toward the inside of the housing 12 and a slight gap from the transport belt 14b are provided, and a direction opposite to the transport direction of the coin C by the transport belt 14b ( And a reverse roller 14c that rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Here, the conveying belt 14b and the reverse rotation roller 14c constitute a feeding mechanism for feeding the coins C received in the receiving portion 14a one by one into the housing 12.

  The coin insertion portion 14 is provided with a lid portion 16 that closes the receiving portion 14a of the coin insertion portion 14 so as to be freely opened and closed. The lid portion 16 is composed of a shutter, for example, and reciprocates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. More specifically, the lid portion 16 is formed on the upper surface along the upper surface of the housing 12 between a closing position where the receiving portion 14a of the coin insertion portion 14 is closed and an opening position where the receiving portion 14a is opened. It is slidable on the back side.

  A transport unit 18 is provided inside the housing 12. The transport unit 18 is configured to transport the coins that are fed into the housing 12 by the feeding mechanism of the coin insertion unit 14 one by one. As shown in FIG. 3, the transport unit 18 has a plurality of transport belts. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the transport unit 18 is provided with an identification unit 20 that performs identification counting of coins transported by the transport unit 18.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the branch conveyance unit 18 a branches from the conveyance unit 18 on the downstream side of the identification unit 20. The branch conveyance part 18a branched from the conveyance part 18 is connected to the receiving part 14a of the coin insertion part 14, and from the branch conveyance part 18a through the opening 14d provided in the side wall of this reception part 14a, Coins are sent to the receiving portion 14a.

  Further, the transport unit 18 branches into two transport units further downstream from the branch point to the branch transport unit 18a. One transport unit is connected to the deposit transport unit 26, and the other transport unit is connected to the coin dispensing unit 30.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a storage unit 24 that stores coins by denomination is provided inside the housing 12. The storage portion 24 has a plurality of storage portion portions 24a to 24f corresponding to the respective denominations, and coins of the corresponding denominations are stored in the storage portion portions 24a to 24f, respectively. Yes. Coins sent from the transport unit 18 to the deposit transport unit 26 are stored in the storage unit parts 24a to 24f of the storage unit 24 according to the type of money. Further, a withdrawal transport unit 28 is connected to each of the storage unit parts 24 a to 24 f of the storage unit 24, and the coins stored in each of the storage unit parts 24 a to 24 f are transported via the withdrawal transport unit 28. It is sent to the part 18. Note that the withdrawal conveyance unit 28 is connected to a location upstream of the identification unit 20 in the conveyance unit 18, and coins sent to the withdrawal conveyance unit 28 from each of the storage unit parts 24 a to 24 f are collected by the identification unit 20. The identification is counted.

  Further, the coin change machine 10 controls the components such as the retraction mechanisms 14b and 14c of the coin insertion unit 14, the lid unit 16, the conveyance unit 18, the storage unit 24, the deposit conveyance unit 26, and the withdrawal conveyance unit 28. The control part 15 which performs is provided. The result of the coin identification count by the identification unit 20 is sent to the control unit 15. The control unit 15 is provided with an interface, and the control unit 15 is connected to the control terminal via the interface.

  Next, operation | movement of the coin change machine 10 which consists of such a structure is demonstrated. The operation of the coin change machine 10 shown below is performed by the control unit 15 controlling each component of the coin change machine 10.

  When the operator deposits banknotes or coins from the customer, or when the operator replenishes the storage unit 24 with coins as change, the operator inserts coins into the coin insertion unit 14. Coins thrown into the coin throwing portion 14 are received by the receiving portion 14a, and are fed one by one into the housing 12 by the feeding mechanism including the transport belt 14b and the reverse rotation roller 14c. The coins brought into the inside of the housing 12 are conveyed one by one by the conveying unit 18, and the identification unit 20 performs identification counting of the coins. When the coin identified by the identification unit 20 is a normal coin, the coin is sent from the transport unit 18 to the deposit transport unit 26, and the storage unit portions 24a to 24a of the storage unit 24 corresponding to the denomination of the coin. It is stored in 24f. On the other hand, coins that could not be identified by the identification unit 20 or coins that were identified as not being normal coins are sent directly from the transport unit 18 to the coin dispensing unit 30 as reject coins. In addition, such a coin may be sent to the branch conveyance part 18a from the conveyance part 18, and may be returned to the receiving part 14a of the coin insertion part 14. FIG.

  After that, when returning coins as change to the customer, change according to the counting result of coins by the identification unit 20 of the coin change machine 10, the counting result of banknotes by the banknote change machine, and the total amount of actual purchases. The amount is calculated. Then, coins as change are fed from the storage portions 24 a to 24 f of the storage portion 24 to the withdrawal conveyance portion 28, and coins are sent from the withdrawal conveyance portion 28 to the coin payout portion 30 via the conveyance portion 18. At this time, the identification unit 20 performs coin identification counting. The operator returns the coins withdrawn to the coin dispensing unit 30 to the customer as change.

  Next, a case where coins are scrutinized in the coin change machine 10 will be described. Here, the coin scrutiny refers to a process of identifying and counting coins stored in the storage unit 24 of the coin change machine 10 and returning the coins to the storage unit 24 again.

  When the coin is scrutinized, the receiving portion 14 a of the coin insertion portion 14 is first closed by the lid portion 16. Then, in a state where the receiving portion 14a of the coin insertion portion 14 is closed by the lid portion 16, the coins stored in the storage portion portions 24a to 24f of the storage portion 24 are fed out to the withdrawal transport portion 28, and the withdrawal transport. Coins are sent from the unit 28 to the receiving portion 14a of the coin insertion unit 14 via the conveyance unit 18 and the branch conveyance unit 18a. At this time, the identification unit 20 performs coin identification counting. Moreover, the coin sent to the reception part 14a of the coin insertion part 14 is temporarily hold | maintained by this reception part 14a.

  Thereafter, when the control terminal issues a confirmation confirmation to the control unit 15 of the coin change machine 10, the coin temporarily held in the receiving portion 14 a of the coin insertion unit 14 is transferred to the coin insertion unit 14. The sheet is fed one by one into the housing 12 by the insertion mechanism. The coins brought into the inside of the housing 12 are conveyed one by one by the conveying unit 18, and the identification unit 20 performs identification counting of the coins. When the coin identified by the identification unit 20 is a normal coin, the coin is sent from the transport unit 18 to the deposit transport unit 26, and the storage unit portions 24a to 24a of the storage unit 24 corresponding to the denomination of the coin. It is stored in 24f. On the other hand, coins that could not be identified by the identification unit 20 or coins that were not identified as normal coins are sent from the conveyance unit 18 to the branch conveyance unit 18a, and the coins are received by the coin insertion unit 14. Returned to portion 14a.

  As described above, according to the coin change machine 10 of the present embodiment, the receiving portion 14a of the coin insertion unit 14 temporarily holds the coins sent from the transport unit 18, and recycles the temporarily held coins. The insertion mechanism is designed to retract one by one into the housing 12. For this reason, the coin insertion unit 14 has a function of a temporary storage unit that temporarily holds coins in addition to a function of bringing coins inserted from the outside of the housing 12 into the housing 12 one by one. Will be fulfilled. As described above, since the coin insertion unit 14 also functions as a temporary storage unit, it is not necessary to separately install the temporary storage unit inside the housing 12. For this reason, space saving inside the housing | casing 12 can be achieved, and the housing | casing 12 can be reduced in size by this.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, when coins are scrutinized in the coin change machine 10, the coins stored in the storage unit 24 in a state where the receiving portion 14 a of the coin insertion unit 14 is closed by the lid 16. Is sent to the receiving portion 14a of the coin inserting portion 14 by the dispensing conveying portion 28, the conveying portion 18 and the branch conveying portion 18a, and the receiving portion 14a temporarily holds the coins sent from the branch conveying portion 18a. Yes. Then, the temporarily held coins are fed into the housing 12 one by one by the feeding mechanism of the coin insertion unit 14, and the coins fed into the housing 12 are identified. Is returned to the storage unit 24. Thus, in the present embodiment, when coins are scrutinized in the coin change machine 10, the coin insertion unit 14 can be used as a temporary storage unit.

  Further, when the coins are scrutinized, the identification unit 20 identifies the coins that have been brought into the housing 12 by the feeding mechanism of the coin insertion unit 14. For this reason, it is not necessary to separately provide an identification unit for coin scrutiny.

  Moreover, according to the coin scrutiny method as described above, when the coin is sent from the storage portion 24 to the receiving portion 14a of the coin insertion portion 14, and when the coin is returned from the receiving portion 14a to the storage portion 24, twice. The identification unit 20 can perform coin identification counting. For this reason, it is possible to scrutinize coins with higher accuracy by comparing the results of both identification counts and confirming whether the results of both of these identification counts match.

  Further, when coins are scrutinized in the coin change machine 10, coins that could not be identified by the identification unit 20 among the coins that have been brought into the housing 12 by the feeding mechanism of the coin insertion unit 14. And the coin identified as not a normal coin is returned to the receiving part 14a of the coin insertion part 14 by the conveyance part 18 and the branch conveyance part 18a. For this reason, with respect to the coins returned to the receiving portion 14 a of the coin insertion unit 14, the identification unit 20 can try to perform identification counting any number of times.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 4 thru | or FIG. 6 is a figure which shows the coin change machine which concerns on this Embodiment. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the coin change machine according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing the internal configuration of the coin change machine shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing configurations of a coin insertion unit, a lid unit, a partition plate, a transport unit, and an identification unit in the coin change machine shown in FIG. In the coin change machine of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, the same parts as those of the coin change machine of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. Is omitted.

  Compared with the coin change machine 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the coin change machine 40 according to the present embodiment is further provided with a partition plate that substantially divides the receiving portion of the coin insertion part into two regions. The only difference is that the rest has substantially the same configuration as the coin change machine 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The coin change machine 40 according to the present embodiment will be described below.

  The coin change machine 40 includes a first coin insertion unit 44 into which coins are inserted from the outside of the housing 12. The coin insertion unit 44 receives one or more coins from the outside of the housing 12 and feeds the accepted coins into the housing 12 one by one. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the coin insertion unit 44 includes a receiving part 44a that receives one or more coins C from the outside of the housing 12 in a non-aligned state, and a non-aligned state in the receiving part 44a. A transport belt 44b that transports the accepted coin C toward the inside of the housing 12 and a slight gap from the transport belt 44b are provided, and in the clearance, the direction opposite to the transport direction of the coin C by the transport belt 44b ( And a reverse roller 44c that rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Here, the conveying belt 44b and the reverse rotation roller 44c constitute a feeding mechanism for feeding the coins C received in the receiving portion 44a one by one into the housing 12.

  In the coin change machine 40 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a partition plate 48 that divides the receiving portion 44 a of the coin insertion portion 44 into a first region 44 e and a second region 44 f is provided. Yes. Here, the first region 44e is adjacent to the feeding mechanism (more specifically, the reverse rotation roller 44c), while the first region 44e is between the second region 44f and the feeding mechanism. Is intervening. The partition plate 48 swings in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6 about a shaft 48a extending in a substantially horizontal direction (a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 6). Here, the partition plate 48 retracts from the receiving portion 44a and the partitioning position (see the solid line in FIG. 6) for dividing the receiving portion 44a of the coin receiving portion 44 into the first region 44e and the second region 44f. The second region 44e and the second region 44f can be swung between a retreat position (see a dotted line in FIG. 6). When the partition plate 48 is in the retracted position as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 6, the partition plate 48 blocks the first region 44 e of the receiving portion 44 a of the coin insertion portion 44.

  The coin insertion portion 44 is provided with a lid portion 46 that covers the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion portion 44 so as to be freely opened and closed. The lid portion 46 is constituted by a shutter, for example, and reciprocates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Here, the lid portion 46 does not block all the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion portion 44, but as shown in FIG. 6, a part of the receiving portion 44a, more specifically, the second portion of the receiving portion 44a. Only the region 44f is closed. More specifically, the lid 46 is between a closed position that closes the second region 44f of the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion portion 44 and an opening position that opens the second region 44f of the receiving portion 44a. Thus, it is slidable along the upper surface of the housing 12 on the back side of the upper surface.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the opening 44d which sends a coin to the receiving part 44a of the coin insertion part 44 from the branch conveyance part 18a is connected to the 2nd area | region 44f. For this reason, the coin sent to the branch conveyance part 18a from the conveyance part 18 is sent to the 2nd area | region 44f of the receiving part 44a of the coin insertion part 44 through opening 44d.

  Further, the coin change machine 40 includes the retraction mechanisms 44b and 44c of the coin insertion unit 44, the lid unit 46, the partition plate 48, the conveyance unit 18, the storage unit 24, the deposit conveyance unit 26, the withdrawal conveyance unit 28, and the like. A control unit 45 that controls the components is provided. The result of the coin identification count by the identification unit 20 is sent to the control unit 45. The control unit 45 is provided with an interface, and the control unit 45 is communicatively connected to the control terminal via this interface.

  Next, operation | movement of the coin change machine 40 which consists of such a structure is demonstrated. The operation of the coin change machine 40 shown below is performed by the control unit 45 controlling each component of the coin change machine 40.

  When the operator deposits banknotes or coins from the customer, or when the operator replenishes the storage unit 24 with coins as change, the operator inserts coins into the coin insertion unit 44. At this time, the partition plate 48 is previously positioned at a partition position as shown by a solid line in FIG. 6, and the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion portion 44 is preliminarily formed by the partition plate 48 with the first region 44e and the second region 44f. It is divided into. Further, the second region 44 f of the receiving portion 44 a is closed by the lid portion 46. In such a state, the operator inserts coins into the first region 44e of the receiving portion 44a of the coin inserting unit 44. Coins thrown into the first region 44e of the receiving portion 44a are fed one by one into the housing 12 by a feeding mechanism including a conveying belt 44b and a reverse rotation roller 44c. The coins brought into the inside of the housing 12 are conveyed one by one by the conveying unit 18, and the identification unit 20 performs identification counting of the coins.

  When the coin identified by the identification unit 20 is a normal coin, the coin is sent from the transport unit 18 to the branch transport unit 18a, and the second portion of the receiving portion 44a of the coin input unit 44 through the opening 44d. It is sent to the area 44f. Coins sent to the second region 44f of the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion unit 44 are temporarily held in the second region 44f of the receiving portion 44a. On the other hand, coins that could not be identified by the identification unit 20 or coins that were identified as not being normal coins are sent directly from the transport unit 18 to the coin dispensing unit 30 as reject coins.

  Thereafter, when a payment confirmation command is issued from the control terminal to the control unit 45 of the coin change machine 40, the partition plate 48 is retracted from the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion unit 44, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. Move to the correct retreat position. As a result, the first region 44e and the second region 44f communicate with each other. Then, the coins temporarily held in the second region 44f of the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion unit 44 are fed one by one into the housing 12 by the feeding mechanism through the first region 44e. The coins brought into the inside of the housing 12 are conveyed one by one by the conveying unit 18, and the identification unit 20 performs identification counting of the coins.

  When the coin identified by the identification unit 20 is a normal coin, the coin is sent from the transport unit 18 to the deposit transport unit 26, and the storage unit portions 24a to 24a of the storage unit 24 corresponding to the denomination of the coin. It is stored in 24f. On the other hand, coins that could not be identified by the identification unit 20 or coins that were not identified as normal coins are sent from the conveyance unit 18 to the branch conveyance unit 18a, and the coins are received by the coin insertion unit 44. Returned to portion 44a.

  Then, when returning coins as change to the customer, change is made according to the counting result of coins by the identification unit 20 of the coin change machine 40, the counting result of banknotes by the banknote change machine, and the total amount of actual purchases. The amount is calculated. Then, coins as change are fed from the storage portions 24 a to 24 f of the storage portion 24 to the withdrawal conveyance portion 28, and coins are sent from the withdrawal conveyance portion 28 to the coin payout portion 30 via the conveyance portion 18. At this time, the identification counting of the coins conveyed by the conveying unit 18 by the identification unit 20 is performed. The operator returns the coins withdrawn to the coin dispensing unit 30 to the customer as change.

  On the other hand, when coins are temporarily held in the second area 44f of the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion unit 44, a command for coin return is issued from the control terminal to the control unit 45 of the coin change machine 40. When this happens, the partition plate 48 is retracted from the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion portion 44 and moved to the retracted position as shown by the dotted line in FIG. Then, the coins temporarily held in the second region 44f of the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion unit 44 are fed one by one into the housing 12 by the feeding mechanism through the first region 44e. When a coin return command is issued, the coins that are brought into the housing 12 are transported to the coin payout unit 30 by the transport unit 18. And an operator will take out the coin withdrawn by the coin dispensing part 30 as a return coin.

  As described above, according to the coin change machine 40 of the present embodiment, the partition plate 48 that can divide the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion portion 44 into the two regions 44e and 44f is provided. In a state where the receiving portion 44a is divided into two regions 44e and 44f, the coins put into the first region 44e of the receiving portion 44a are brought into the housing 12 one by one by the feeding mechanism, and the housing 12 The identification unit 20 identifies the coins that have been brought into the interior, sends the identified coins to the second area 44f of the receiving portion 44a, and temporarily holds the coins in the second area 44f. It is like that. Then, after that, the partition plate 48 is retracted to connect the first area 44e and the second area 44f, and the coin temporarily held in the second area 44f is transferred through the first area 44e. As a result, the sheet is fed into the housing 12 one by one. For this reason, when the operator puts the coins deposited from the customer into the coin change machine 40 or when the operator refills the storage part 24 of the coin change machine 40 with coins as change, the receiving part of the coin insertion part 44 The second area 44f of 44a functions as a temporary storage unit, and it is not necessary to separately install the temporary storage unit inside the housing 12. For this reason, space saving inside the housing | casing 12 can be achieved, and the housing | casing 12 can be reduced in size by this.

  Further, according to the coin storing method as described above, when the coins inserted into the first region 44e of the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion unit 44 are sent to the second region 44f, the second region 44f The coins can be identified and counted by the recognition unit 20 twice when the coins are stored in the storage unit 24. For this reason, coins can be stored more accurately by comparing the results of both identification counts and confirming whether or not the results of both of these identification counts match.

  Further, according to the swinging partition plate 48 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in addition to partitioning the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion portion 44 into two regions 44e and 44f, It can be made to function also as a lid part which closes the 1st field 44e of receiving part 44a.

  In the coin change machine 40 according to the present embodiment, the partitioning portion that divides the receiving portion 44a of the coin insertion portion 44 into two regions 44e and 44f is a swinging partition plate 48 as shown in FIGS. It is not limited to. As another partition part which divides the receiving part 44a into two area | regions 44e and 44f, the slide-type partition plate 49 as shown, for example in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 can also be used. Here, FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another configuration inside the coin change machine 40 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 8 shows a coin insertion part 44 and a lid part 46 in the coin change machine 40 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing configurations of a partition plate 49, a transport unit 18 and an identification unit 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the receiving portion 44 a of the coin insertion portion 44 is divided into a first region 44 e and a second region 44 f by a sliding partition plate 49. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the partition plate 49 includes a partition position (see a solid line in FIG. 7) that divides the receiving portion 44 a of the coin receiving portion 44 into a first region 44 e and a second region 44 f, and a receiving portion. It is slidable in a substantially horizontal direction between the retracted position (refer to the dotted line in FIG. 7) that retracts from 44a and communicates the first region 44e and the second region 44f.

  The sliding partition plate 49 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 can also be used when coins are stored in the coin change machine 40, similarly to the swinging partition plate 48 as shown in FIGS. The receiving portion 44a of the receiving portion 44 can be divided into a first region 44e and a second region 44f, which makes it possible to use the second region 44f as a temporary holding portion.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 9 thru | or FIG. 11 is a figure which shows the coin change machine which concerns on this Embodiment. Among these, FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the coin change machine according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of the coin change machine shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic side view showing configurations of a coin insertion unit, a small number of coin insertion units, a lid unit, a transport unit, and an identification unit in the coin change machine shown in FIG. 9. In the coin change machine of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 9 to FIG. 11, the same parts as those of the coin change machine of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. Is omitted.

  Compared with the coin change machine 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the coin change machine 50 according to the present embodiment is additionally provided with a small number of coin insertion portions into which a small number of coins are inserted from the outside of the casing. The other points are substantially the same as those of the coin change machine 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The coin change machine 50 according to the present embodiment will be described below.

  The coin change machine 50 includes a coin insertion portion 54 into which coins are inserted from the outside of the housing 12 and a minority coin insertion portion 58 into which a small number of coins are inserted from the outside of the housing 12.

  The coin insertion unit 54 receives one or more coins from the outside of the housing 12 and feeds the accepted coins into the housing 12 one by one. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the coin insertion part 54 includes a receiving part 54a that receives one or more coins C from the outside of the housing 12 in a non-aligned state, and a non-aligned state in the receiving part 54a. A transport belt 54b that transports the accepted coin C toward the inside of the housing 12, and a slight gap from the transport belt 54b are provided, and the direction opposite to the transport direction of the coin C by the transport belt 54b ( And a reverse roller 54c that rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Here, the conveying belt 54b and the reverse rotation roller 54c constitute a feeding mechanism for feeding the coins C received in the receiving portion 54a one by one into the housing 12. Further, an opening 54d is provided on the side wall of the receiving portion 54a of the coin insertion portion 54, and the coins sent from the conveyance portion 18 to the branch conveyance portion 18a enter the reception portion 54a of the coin insertion portion 54 via the opening 54d. It is supposed to be sent.

  The coin insertion portion 54 is provided with a lid portion 56 that closes the receiving portion 54a of the coin insertion portion 54 so as to be freely opened and closed. The lid portion 56 is constituted by a shutter, for example, and reciprocates in the arrow direction in FIG. More specifically, the lid portion 56 is formed on the upper surface along the upper surface of the housing 12 between a closed position where the receiving portion 54a of the coin insertion portion 54 is closed and an opening position where the receiving portion 54a is opened. It is slidable on the back side.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the small number coin insertion unit 58 is configured to input a small number of coins in an aligned state from the outside of the housing 12. As shown in FIG. 11, the minority coin insertion unit 58 is configured such that the coins inserted into the minority coin insertion unit 58 are sent between the coin insertion unit 54 and the identification unit 20 in the transport unit 18. Yes. More specifically, the coins inserted into the minority coin insertion unit 58 are sent to the vicinity of the identification unit 20 in the transport unit 18. That is, the coins inserted into the minority coin insertion unit 58 are immediately identified and counted by the identification unit 20.

  Further, the coin change machine 50 has control of each component such as the retraction mechanisms 54b and 54c of the coin insertion portion 54, the lid portion 56, the conveyance portion 18, the storage portion 24, the deposit conveyance portion 26, and the withdrawal conveyance portion 28. A control unit 55 for performing the above is provided. The result of the coin identification count by the identification unit 20 is sent to the control unit 55. The control unit 55 is provided with an interface, and the control unit 55 is connected to the control terminal via the interface.

  Next, operation | movement of the coin change machine 50 which consists of such a structure is demonstrated. The operation of the coin change machine 50 shown below is performed by the control unit 55 controlling each component of the coin change machine 50.

  When the operator deposits banknotes or coins from a customer, the operator inserts a small number of coins into the small-number coin input unit 58. At this time, the receiving portion 54 a of the coin insertion portion 54 is closed by the lid portion 56. In such a state, when the operator inserts coins into the minority coin insertion unit 58, the coins inserted into the minority coin insertion unit 58 are immediately sent from the transport unit 18 to the identification unit 20, and the identification unit 20 An identification count is performed.

  When the coin identified by the identification unit 20 is a normal coin, the coin is sent from the transport unit 18 to the branch transport unit 18a, and is sent to the receiving portion 54a of the coin input unit 54 through the opening 54d. Coins sent to the receiving portion 54a of the coin inserting portion 54 are temporarily held at the receiving portion 54a. On the other hand, coins that could not be identified by the identification unit 20 or coins that were identified as not being normal coins are sent directly from the transport unit 18 to the coin dispensing unit 30 as reject coins.

  Thereafter, when a payment confirmation command is issued from the control terminal to the control unit 55 of the coin change machine 50, the coin temporarily held in the receiving portion 54a of the coin insertion unit 54 is stored by the feeding mechanism. Move one by one into the body 12. The coins brought into the inside of the housing 12 are conveyed one by one by the conveying unit 18, and the identification unit 20 performs identification counting of the coins.

  When the coin identified by the identification unit 20 is a normal coin, the coin is sent from the transport unit 18 to the deposit transport unit 26, and the storage unit portions 24a to 24a of the storage unit 24 corresponding to the denomination of the coin. It is stored in 24f. On the other hand, coins that could not be identified by the identification unit 20 or coins that were not identified as normal coins are sent from the conveyance unit 18 to the branch conveyance unit 18a, and the coins are received by the coin insertion unit 54. Returned to portion 54a.

  Thereafter, when returning coins as change to the customer, change is made according to the coin counting result by the identification unit 20 of the coin change machine 50, the banknote counting result by the banknote change machine, and the total amount of the actual purchased item. The amount is calculated. Then, coins as change are fed from the storage portions 24 a to 24 f of the storage portion 24 to the withdrawal conveyance portion 28, and coins are sent from the withdrawal conveyance portion 28 to the coin payout portion 30 via the conveyance portion 18. At this time, the identification counting of the coins conveyed by the conveying unit 18 by the identification unit 20 is performed. The operator returns the coins withdrawn to the coin dispensing unit 30 to the customer as change.

  On the other hand, when a coin is temporarily held in the receiving portion 54a of the coin insertion unit 54 and a command for returning the coin is issued from the control terminal to the control unit 55 of the coin change machine 50, the coin insertion unit The coins temporarily held in the receiving portion 54 a of 54 are fed one by one into the housing 12 by the feeding mechanism. When a coin return command is issued, the coins that are brought into the housing 12 are transported to the coin payout unit 30 by the transport unit 18. And an operator will take out the coin withdrawn by the coin dispensing part 30 as a return coin.

  Next, a case where the operator replenishes the storage unit 24 of the coin change machine 50 with coins as change will be described. When the coin change machine 50 is replenished with coins, the lid portion 56 is moved to the opening position, and the receiving portion 54a of the coin insertion portion 54 is opened. Then, coins for replenishment are inserted into the receiving portion 54 a of the coin insertion unit 54. The coins inserted into the receiving portion 54a of the coin insertion unit 54 are fed one by one into the housing 12 by the feeding mechanism. The coins brought into the inside of the housing 12 are conveyed one by one by the conveying unit 18, and the identification unit 20 performs identification counting of the coins.

  When the coin identified by the identification unit 20 is a normal coin, the coin is sent from the transport unit 18 to the deposit transport unit 26, and the storage unit portions 24a to 24a of the storage unit 24 corresponding to the denomination of the coin. It is stored in 24f. On the other hand, coins that could not be identified by the identification unit 20 or coins that were not identified as normal coins are sent from the conveyance unit 18 to the branch conveyance unit 18a, and the coins are received by the coin insertion unit 54. Returned to portion 54a.

  As described above, according to the coin change machine 50 of the present embodiment, the minority coin insertion unit 58 into which a small number of coins are inserted from the outside of the housing 12 is provided. The coins inserted into the minority coin insertion unit 58 are sent between the coin insertion unit 54 and the identification unit 20 in the transport unit 18. Then, in a state where the receiving portion 54a of the coin insertion portion 54 is closed by the lid portion 56, the coins inserted into the small number of coin insertion portions 58 are sent to the identification portion 20 by the conveyance portion 18, and the coins of the coins are The identified coins are sent to the receiving portion 54a of the coin inserting portion 54 by the transport unit 18 and the branch transport unit 18a, and the coins are temporarily held at the receiving portion 54a. The coins temporarily held in the receiving portion 54a are fed into the housing 12 one by one by a feeding mechanism. For this reason, when the operator puts coins deposited from the customer into the coin change machine 50, the coin insertion unit 54 also functions as a temporary storage unit, and it is necessary to separately install the temporary storage unit inside the housing 12. Disappears. For this reason, space saving inside the housing | casing 12 can be achieved, and the housing | casing 12 can be reduced in size by this.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the coin change machine by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure inside the coin change machine shown in FIG. It is a schematic side view which shows the structure of the coin insertion part in the coin change machine shown in FIG. 1, a cover part, a conveyance part, and an identification part. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the coin change machine by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure inside the coin change machine shown in FIG. It is a schematic side view which shows the structure of the coin insertion part in the coin change machine shown in FIG. 4, a cover part, a partition plate, a conveyance part, and an identification part. It is a block diagram which shows the other structure inside the coin change machine by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic side view which shows the structure of the coin insertion part in the coin change machine shown in FIG. 7, a cover part, a partition plate, a conveyance part, and an identification part. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the coin change machine by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure inside the coin change machine shown in FIG. It is a schematic side view which shows the structure of the coin insertion part in the coin change machine shown in FIG. 9, a few coin insertion part, a cover part, a conveyance part, and an identification part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Coin change machine 12 Case 14 Coin insertion part 14a Receiving part 14b Conveying belt 14c Reverse rotation roller 14d Opening 15 Control part 16 Cover part 18 Conveying part 18a Branching conveyance part 20 Identification part 24 Storage part 24a-24f Storage part part 26 Deposit conveyance Section 28 Withdrawal transport section 30 Coin dispensing section 40 Coin changer 44 Coin insertion section 44a Receiving section 44b Conveying belt 44c Reverse rotation roller 44d Opening 44e First area 44f Second area 45 Control section 46 Cover section 48 Swing type Partition plate 48a Shaft 49 Sliding partition plate 50 Coin changer 54 Coin throwing part 54a Receiving part 54b Conveying belt 54c Reverse rotation roller 54d Opening 55 Control part 56 Lid part 58 Coin throwing part

Claims (12)

A housing,
A coin insertion portion having a receiving portion for receiving coins from the outside of the housing and a retraction mechanism for feeding coins received in the receiving portion one by one into the housing;
A lid portion that freely opens and closes the receiving portion of the coin insertion portion;
A transport unit that is provided inside the housing and transports the coins that are retreated into the housing one by one by the retraction mechanism of the coin insertion unit;
An identification unit that is interposed in the conveyance unit and that performs identification counting of the coins that are retreated into the housing by the retraction mechanism of the coin insertion unit;
A storage unit for storing the coins identified by the identification unit;
A control unit that controls the coin input unit and the transport unit, wherein the receiving unit of the coin input unit is closed from the transport unit to the receiving unit of the coin input unit in a state where the receiving unit of the coin input unit is closed by the lid unit. The coin is sent, and the receiving part temporarily holds the coin sent from the transport unit, and the temporarily held coin is controlled to be fed into the casing one by one by the feeding mechanism. A control unit to perform,
A coin change machine characterized by comprising:   The control unit sends the coins stored in the storage unit to the receiving part of the coin input unit by the transport unit in a state where the receiving unit of the coin input unit is closed by the lid unit, The receiving part temporarily holds the coins sent from the transport unit, and the temporarily held coins are fed into the casing one by one by the feeding mechanism, and are fed into the casing. The coin change machine according to claim 1, wherein the coin is identified and then controlled so as to return the coin to the storage unit.   The control unit is configured to identify a coin that could not be identified and a coin that is not a normal coin among coins that have been retreated into the housing by the retraction mechanism of the coin insertion unit. The coin change machine according to claim 2, wherein control is performed so that the transfer unit sends the coin again to the receiving portion of the coin insertion unit.   The coin change machine according to claim 2 or 3, wherein identification of a coin that has been retreated into the housing by the retraction mechanism of the coin insertion unit is performed by the identification unit. The partition part which can divide the receiving part of the coin insertion part into the 2nd field where the 1st field is interposed between the 1st field adjacent to the loading mechanism, and the loading mechanism Further comprising
The control unit is configured to transfer coins that have been thrown into the first region of the receiving portion in a state where the receiving portion is divided into the first region and the second region by the partitioning portion. The coins that have been brought into the housing are identified one by one using the identifying unit, and the identified coins are sent to the second area of the receiving portion. The coin is temporarily held in the second area, and then the partition portion is retracted to connect the first area and the second area, and temporarily held in the second area. 2. The coin change machine according to claim 1, wherein control is performed so that coins are fed into the housing one by one through the first region by the feeding mechanism. 3.   The coin change machine according to claim 5, wherein the lid portion is configured to block only the second region of the receiving portion of the coin insertion portion.   The partition portion divides the receiving portion of the coin insertion portion into the first region and the second region, and retracts from the receiving portion to separate the first region and the second region. It is swingable with respect to the retracted position to be communicated, and the first region of the receiving portion is closed by the partition when the partition is in the retracted position. A coin change machine according to claim 5 or 6.   The partition portion includes a partition position that divides the receiving portion into the first region and the second region, and a retreat position that retreats from the receiving portion and communicates the first region and the second region. The coin change machine according to claim 5 or 6, characterized by being slidable between the two. It further includes a withdrawal port that is connected to the transport unit and withdraws coins from the inside of the housing to the outside,
After the coin is temporarily held in the second region, the control unit moves the temporarily held coin out of the housing by the retraction mechanism when returning the coin to the outside. The coin change machine according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein control is performed so that the inserted coin is sent to the withdrawal port by the transport unit. A small number coin insertion unit in which a small number of coins are inserted from the outside of the housing, wherein the small number coin insertion unit is configured such that the coins inserted into the small number coin insertion unit are inserted into the coin in the transport unit. A coin insertion unit configured to be sent between an identification unit and the identification unit,
The control unit is configured to send the coins inserted into the small number coin insertion unit to the identification unit by the transport unit in a state where the receiving portion of the coin insertion unit is blocked by the lid unit, and the identification unit To identify the coin, and send the identified coin to the receiving portion of the coin insertion portion by the transport unit, the receiving portion temporarily holds the coin sent from the transport unit, this temporary The coin change machine according to claim 1, wherein control is performed so that coins that are temporarily held are fed into the casing one by one by the feeding mechanism.   When the control unit replenishes the storage unit with coins, the transport unit transfers the coins that have been input to the coin input unit in a state where the receiving portion of the coin input unit is not blocked by the lid unit. 11. The coin change machine according to claim 10, wherein the coin change machine is controlled to send to the identification unit, to identify the coin by the identification unit, and to send the coin identified by the identification unit to the storage unit. . It further includes a withdrawal port that is connected to the transport unit and withdraws coins from the inside of the housing to the outside,
The control unit temporarily holds the coin at the receiving portion of the coin insertion unit, and then withdraws the temporarily held coin to the outside of the case, the retraction mechanism causes the case to move to the case. The coin change machine according to claim 10 or 11, wherein control is performed so that coins fed into the inside of the machine are sent to the withdrawal port by the transport unit.

Images