JP2014013489A - Coin depositing/dispensing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coin depositing/dispensing device from which coins of which denomination could not be determined and other foreign matters can be easily taken out, by using a conventional conveyance mechanism as it is without providing a special drive mechanism.SOLUTION: A coin depositing/dispensing device comprises: a discharge mechanism which discharges coins of which denomination cannot be determined or foreign matters from a hole provided on a coin conveyance path; and a reject box having an open top and provided below the discharge mechanism in such a manner that it can be drawn out, for accommodating coins or foreign matters that are discharged from the hole. The reject box has a guide path formed in it, which is slanted downwards from an upstream side to a downstream side in its drawing-out direction, and comprises a coin discharge guide rail which guides coins or foreign matters received at the upstream side to the downstream side along the guide path.

Description

  The present embodiment relates to a coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus that deposits / withdraws coins.

  Currently, an automatic change dispensing device (change machine) connected to a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal is installed at a cash register of a store such as a supermarket. Automatic change dispensing devices are roughly classified into two types: coin deposit / withdrawal devices and banknote deposit / withdrawal devices. Each deposit / withdrawal device stores coins or coins in respective denominations, and receives the change amount calculated at the POS terminal, thereby calculating the payout type and the number of coins according to the change amount and calculating the necessary amount. Pay out. Also, in the case of coins that cannot be distinguished from regular coins, such as old coins, foreign coins, and game medals, and are regarded as fake (hereinafter collectively referred to as “fake coins”), Sorted and stored in a reject box.

JP 2008-65520 A

  However, in the conventional coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus, in the case of a type in which the false coin is stored in the back of the reject box corresponding to the position of the denomination discrimination sensor, the user needs to pull out the entire reject box. It will make the shopper wait.

  To deal with this problem, it may be possible to eliminate the reject box itself and provide a mechanism for discharging the counterfeit coins discharged from the transport path to the front, but the apparatus becomes large and expensive. Similarly, a mechanism that once transports the fake coins in the horizontal direction and then discharges them to the front is also conceivable. Costs such as manufacturing costs will increase.

  Therefore, in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, the present invention can easily take out coins and other foreign matters whose denomination could not be discriminated without using a special drive mechanism as it is. An object is to provide a coin deposit and withdrawal device.

  A coin deposit and withdrawal device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a discharge mechanism that discharges coins or foreign matters whose denomination cannot be determined from a hole provided on a coin conveyance path, an upper surface opening below the discharge mechanism, and A reject box that is provided so as to be able to be pulled out and that stores coins or foreign matters discharged from the holes. The reject box is formed with a guide path that is inclined downward as it goes from the upstream side to the downstream side in the pull-out direction, and a coin discharge guide rail that guides coins or foreign matters received on the upstream side to the downstream side along the guide path. Have.

The external appearance perspective view which shows the coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The top view explaining the internal structure of the coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus shown in FIG. Schematic explaining the structure of the coin conveyance part of the coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus shown in FIG. Sectional drawing explaining the structure of the rejection box of the coin deposit or withdrawal apparatus shown in FIG. The external appearance perspective view explaining the structure of the rejection box of the coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus shown in FIG. The block diagram explaining the electrical connection relationship of the component apparatus of the coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus shown in FIG. The external appearance perspective view which shows the modification (1) of the rejection box shown in FIG. The external appearance perspective view which shows the modification (2) of the rejection box shown in FIG. The external appearance perspective view which shows the modification (3) of the rejection box shown in FIG. The external appearance perspective view which shows the modification (4) of the rejection box shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a coin depositing and dispensing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the internal configuration of the coin depositing and dispensing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. As shown in these drawings, the deposit / withdrawal unit of the coin depositing / dispensing apparatus 1 includes a coin receiving unit 11, a coin transporting unit 12, a coin sorting unit 14, a coin storage unit 15, a coin dispensing unit 16, an operation panel 17 and a reject. A box 18 is provided.

  The coin receiving part 11 is located in the front part of the coin depositing / dispensing apparatus 1, and accepts the coin C thrown by the user from the coin slot 11a. The coin receiving part 11 has a coin insertion slot 11a opened upward. The coin slot 11a allows a plurality of coins C to be put together. The coin insertion slot 11a is provided with a plurality of sets of insertion sensors 11b for photoelectrically detecting the inserted coin C. In addition, at the bottom portion of the coin insertion slot 11a, an insertion belt 11c that rotates by driving of an insertion motor (not shown) and conveys the inserted coin C to the inside of the coin depositing and dispensing apparatus 1 is provided. . In the middle of the charging belt 11c, a charging pulley 11d for separating and feeding coins C conveyed by the charging belt 11c one by one is provided.

  The coin transport unit 12 transports the coin C received by the coin receiving unit 11 toward the rear part of the coin depositing and dispensing device 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of the coin transport unit 12 of the coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus 1 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the coin transport unit 12 was transported with an input coin transport surface 12a that is a coin transport path, and a transport belt 12b that transports the coin while pressing the coin against the input coin transport surface 12a. A coin identifying unit 13 for identifying a coin is provided.

  The input coin transport surface 12a is disposed at a position where the coins transported by the input belt 11c can be received on the downstream side of the input belt 11c in the coin transport direction. The input coin transfer surface 12a is formed by the upper surface of the transfer base 12c. A conveyance guide member 12d is fixed to the conveyance base 12c on the right side in the coin conveyance direction on the input coin conveyance surface 12a. The transport base 12c and the transport guide member 12d are metal members that are harder than the coin C.

  The conveyor belt 12b is disposed at a position where the coin C is pressed against the input coin conveyor surface 12a from above. The conveyor belt 12b is stretched around the conveyor pulley 12e. The inner surface side of the portion of the conveyor belt 12b that faces the charged coin conveyor surface 12a is supported by a plurality of conveyor idler pulleys 12f. The coin C transported from the input belt 11c is sandwiched between the transport belt 12b and the input coin transport surface 12a on the downstream side of the transport pulley 12e, and transported while being pressed onto the input coin transport surface 12a as the transport belt 12b rotates. Then, the coin recognition unit 13 is reached.

  The coin identifying unit 13 identifies whether or not the coin C being transported by the transport belt 12b is a coin of a handling coin type (hereinafter collectively referred to as “regular coin”). The coin identifying unit 13 is provided at a position where the coin C passes on the input coin transport surface 12a, and identifies the coin C by the material sensor 13a, the diameter sensor 13b, and the thickness / hole detecting sensor 13c. Of these three identification sensors, the material sensor 13a is arranged on the most upstream side in the coin conveyance direction, and the diameter sensor 13b is arranged on the most downstream side. The thickness / hole detection sensor 13c is disposed between the material sensor 13a and the diameter sensor 13b in the coin conveyance direction.

  The material sensor 13a detects the material of the coin C. The diameter sensor 13b is a sensor that detects the diameter of the coin C. The thickness / hole detection sensor 13c is a sensor for detecting information on the coin C other than the material and the diameter. For example, the presence / absence of a hole in the coin C, the thickness of the coin C, the reflectance of the coin C, the coin It may be a sensor that detects any one of the uneven shapes of C.

  A reject hole 12g is formed at the downstream end of the coin transfer surface 12a in the coin transfer direction. A coin-like member (hereinafter referred to as “fake coin”) that is regarded as a fake without being discriminated as a six-denomination coin (regular coin) of 1 to 500 yen by the sensor group in the course of being conveyed. ) Is discharged from the reject hole 12g. For example, foreign matters other than coins determined as regular coins on the way of transportation, such as old coins, foreign coins, coins such as game machines and pachislots, overflowed coins, and trash, are discharged. The reject hole 12g is partially blocked by a reject shutter 12h that allows the coin C to pass therethrough. The reject shutter 12h is driven to open and close by a reject solenoid (not shown). A reject box storage (not shown) for storing the reject box 18 is provided below the reject shutter 12h.

  The coin sorting unit 14 is identified as a regular coin by the coin identifying unit 13 and sorts the coin C conveyed by the coin conveying unit 12 into denominations. The coin sorting unit 14 has a sorting base 14b having a sorting coin transport surface 14a formed on the upper surface side. The sorting coin transport surface 14a extends in the left-right direction at a substantially right angle with respect to the input coin transport surface 12a. The sorting coin transport surface 14a and the input coin transport surface 12a are substantially viewed from the upper surface side. An L-shaped coin transport surface is formed.

  The sorting base 14b is formed with a sorting hole 14c for each denomination through which the width dimension of the hole sequentially increases as it goes downstream in the coin transport direction, penetrating the sorting coin transport surface 14a. Two sorting holes 14c are provided from the right in FIG. 2 so as to correspond to respective denominations of 1 yen, 50 yen, 5 yen, 100 yen, 10 yen, and 500 yen. In the coin sorting unit 14, when the coin C is conveyed and reaches the sorting hole 14 c having a predetermined width, the coin C falls into the coin storage unit 15. Each of the sorting holes 14c is provided with a sorting coin counting sensor (not shown) that detects the falling coins C.

  The sorting belt 14e is a rubber endless belt, and is a toothed belt having teeth on the inner periphery. The sorting belt 14e is disposed at a position where the coin C is pressed against the sorting coin transport surface 14a from above.

  The coin storage unit 15 stores the coins C sorted by the coin sorting unit 14 by denomination. The coin storage unit 15 is disposed at a position for receiving the coin C falling from the sorting hole 14c, and stores the falling coins by denomination. The coin storage unit 15 is provided with a denominated storage room partitioned by a partition plate.

  The coin dispensing unit 16 dispenses the coins stored in the coin storage unit 15 to the coin dispensing outlet 16a. The coin payout unit 16 includes a payout belt (not shown) at the base of each storage chamber of the coin storage unit 15. A coin payout opening upward is provided below the end position (front end) of the payout belt. An outlet 16a is provided. The coin payout exit 16a receives coins paid out by the payout belt. The coin payout opening 16a is arranged on the left side of the coin insertion slot 11a.

  The operation panel 17 is provided obliquely above and behind the coin payout exit 16a, and has a display 17a for displaying the payout information of the coin C and an operation button 17b used by the user.

  The reject box 18 is identified as a fake coin by the coin identifying unit 13 and stores coins and the like discharged from the coin transport unit 12. 4 and 5 are a cross-sectional view and an external perspective view for explaining the structure of the reject box 18 of the coin depositing and dispensing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. The reject box 18 is a top-opening box for storing the fake coins discharged from the reject hole 12g, and the fake coins that are erroneously or maliciously inserted from the coin insertion slot 11a are conveyed to the coin storage unit 15 described later. It is provided in order to prevent a situation where the coin is paid out from the coin dispensing unit 16.

  As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the reject box 18 is provided at a right angle with respect to the base 18a and the base 18a at the downstream end of the box with respect to the box 18a. Provided on the base portion 18a at the upstream end of the box drawing direction, and inclined on the inclined portion 18c so that the downstream side is lower than the upstream side. The coin discharge guide rail 18d that receives the coin C and the like discharged from the reject hole 12g on the upstream side and guides it to the downstream side is provided between the coin discharge guide rail 18d provided inside and the gripping portion 18b and the inclined portion 18c. And a fake coin collecting unit 18e that collects the coin C and the like guided in the downstream direction by the coin discharge guide rail 18d. The width W of the guide path for guiding the false coins in the coin discharge guide rail 18d is the diameter of the coin type having the smallest diameter among the handled coin types, that is, the one-yen coin, in order to easily roll the coin vertically. It is preferable to form a width narrower than the diameter. Due to the structure of the reject box 18, when the coin C or the like discharged from the reject hole 12g is received on the upstream side of the coin discharge guide rail 18d, it rolls due to the inclination of the guide path of the coin discharge guide rail 18d, and the downstream direction (arrow) Direction) and collected in the fake coin collecting unit 18e. 4 and 5, the coin discharge guide rail 18d and the inclined portion 18c are provided separately, but they may be integrally formed. Similarly, the base portion 18a and the inclined portion 18c may be integrally formed. Further, the downstream end portion of the coin discharge guide rail 18d may reach the back side of the gripping portion 18b, and may also serve as the fake coin recovery portion 18e.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the electrical connection of the coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus 1. The coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus 1 is equipped with a CPU 101 which is a control apparatus. The CPU 101 is connected via a bus 102 to a ROM 103 in which fixed data such as programs are stored in advance and a RAM 104 in which various data are stored in a rewritable manner. The CPU 101, the ROM 103, and the RAM 104 constitute a microcomputer.

  Further, the CPU 101 is connected to the CPU 105 via a bus 102, such as a sensor 105 (insertion sensor 11b, box sensor, material sensor 13a, diameter sensor 13b, thickness / hole detection sensor 13c, sorting coin counting sensor 14d, payout counting sensor, etc.), A solenoid 106 (reject solenoid, payout solenoid, etc.), a motor 107 (feed motor, transport motor, payout motor, etc.), a communication device 108 that communicates with the POS terminal 2 wirelessly or by wire, and an operation panel 17 are connected.

Hereinafter, the operation of the coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described.
When the user inserts the coin C into the coin insertion slot 11a, the coin C is detected by the insertion sensor 11b. Upon receiving the detection signal of the making sensor 11b, the CPU 101 drives a making motor and a conveying motor (not shown) to rotate the making belt 11c, the conveying belt 12b, and the sorting belt 14e. The coin C is conveyed to the input coin transfer surface 12a by the rotation of the input belt 11c. And the coin C conveyed by the insertion coin conveyance surface 12a is conveyed downstream in the coin conveyance direction by rotation of the conveyance belt 12b.

  Here, the conveyance belt 12b conveys the side surface of the coin C on the conveyance path whose width is gradually narrowed so as to press the conveyance guide member 12d. Therefore, the coin C forms the same passing locus for every denomination and is conveyed on the input coin conveyance surface 12a. The coin C passes through the material sensor 13a, the thickness / hole detection sensor 13c, and the diameter sensor 13b when it is transferred to the transfer guide member 12d while being offset by the input coin transfer surface 12a.

  Next, the CPU 101 executes coin discrimination based on the outputs of the material sensor 13a, the diameter sensor 13b, and the thickness / hole detection sensor 13c. When the conveyed coin C is determined to be a regular coin, the CPU 101 does not drive the reject solenoid, so the reject shutter 12h is maintained in the closed state. Therefore, the coin C is conveyed to the coin sorting unit 14 without being discharged from the reject hole 12g. On the other hand, when determining that the coin C to be conveyed is a fake coin, the CPU 101 drives the reject solenoid to open the reject shutter 12h. Thereby, the coin C determined to be a fake coin is discharged from the reject hole 12g and stored in the reject box 18. At this time, when the coin C or the like discharged from the reject hole 12g is received on the upstream side of the coin discharge guide rail 18d, it rolls along the inclination of the guide path of the coin discharge guide rail 18d, and is guided in the downstream direction. It is collected in the coin collection unit 18e.

  On the other hand, the coin C determined to be a regular coin in the coin identifying unit 13 is conveyed by the sorting belt 14e in the coin sorting unit 14, dropped from the corresponding sorting hole 14c, and stored in the coin storage unit 15.

  When there is a coin payout instruction from the POS terminal 2, the CPU 101 drives the payout belt and also drives a payout solenoid (not shown) for each denomination to pay the required number of coins. Payout to exit 16a.

  Thus, according to the coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the coin discharge guide rail 18d is inclined so that the downstream side in the box pull-out direction is lowered, so that the coins and the like that could not be denominated can be discharged. When doing so, the coin can be reliably guided to the downstream side of the reject box 18 in the box drawing direction. As a result, the user can easily take out coins (fake coins) without pulling out the entire reject box 18. Further, the parts other than the reject box 18 are the same as the conventional apparatus structure, and it is not necessary to provide a special drive mechanism. That is, since it is only necessary to replace the reject box 18 with the coin discharge guide rail 18d in accordance with the position of the reject hole 12g, the manufacturing cost and design cost of the apparatus can be greatly reduced.

<Modification>
FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing a modification (1) of the reject box 18 shown in FIG. Here, the coin discharge guide rail 18d is provided with a pair of opposed openings that are formed in a predetermined size on the side wall surfaces on both sides of the guide path. When the size of the opening in the portions A (opening top to bottom) and B (opening top to guidance road surface) shown in FIG. 7 is smaller than the diameter (20 mm) of a one-yen coin, the coin falls outside. This is preferable because it can be prevented. Thus, since the resistance received from the side wall surface is reduced, it is possible to prevent a situation where the rail stops in the middle of the rail even when the coin is wet. A plurality of pairs of openings may be provided.

  FIG. 8 is an external perspective view showing a modification (2) of the reject box 18 shown in FIG. Here, a pair of convex portions 18f formed to protrude to a predetermined size on the side wall surfaces on both sides of the guide path of the coin discharge guide rail 18d are provided in an opposing arrangement. If the position of this convex part 18f is set to a position lower than the diameter (20 mm) of the one-yen coin from the surface of the guide path inside the coin discharge guide rail 18d, it is preferable because the coin is difficult to be caught. By forming the convex portion as shown in FIG. 9, the resistance between the coin C guided in the coin discharge guide rail 18d and the side wall surface is reduced, and the situation where the coin C stops in the middle of the rail can be prevented. Note that a plurality of pairs of convex portions 18f may be provided.

  FIG. 9 is an external perspective view showing a modification (3) of the reject box 18 shown in FIG. Here, unlike FIG. 8, a pair of recesses 18g formed in a predetermined size on the side wall surfaces on both sides of the guide path of the coin discharge guide rail 18d are provided in an opposing arrangement. The effect of the shape of the coin discharge guide rail 18d is the same as in the case of FIG. 8, but the width of the space for guiding the coin C is wider than that of the structure of FIG. 8 in which the convex portion 18f is formed. As in FIG. 8, a plurality of pairs of recesses 18g may be provided.

  FIG. 10 is an external perspective view showing a modification (4) of the reject box 18 shown in FIG. Here, unlike the case of the above embodiment, the width W of the coin guide path inside the coin discharge guide rail 18d is at least the diameter of the coin type having the largest diameter among the handled coin types, that is, the maximum diameter of the 500 yen coin. Widely shaped like a slide. In this case, even when a large coin or a bent coin is inserted, there is an advantage that it is possible to prevent the clogging in the coin discharge guide rail 18d. In addition, dust, dust, and the like discharged from the reject hole 12g can be easily collected as foreign matter, and foreign matter such as dust, dust, etc. can be transported into the coin depositing / dispensing device 1 and the inside of the coin depositing / dispensing device 1 can become dirty. Can be prevented.

  As mentioned above, although some embodiment of this invention was described, these embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus, 2 ... POS terminal, 11 ... Coin receiving part, 11a ... Coin insertion port, 11b ... Insertion sensor, 11c ... Insertion belt, 11d ... Input pulley, 12 ... Coin conveyance part, 12a ... Input coin conveyance Surface, 12b ... Conveying belt, 12c ... Conveying base, 12d ... Conveying guide member, 12e ... Conveying pulley, 12f ... Conveying idler pulley, 12g ... Reject hole, 12h ... Reject shutter, 13 ... Coin discriminating part, 13a ... Material sensor, 13b ... Diameter sensor, 13c ... Thickness / hole detection sensor, 14 ... Coin sorting unit, 14a ... Sorting coin transport surface, 14b ... Sorting base, 14c ... Sorting hole, 14d ... Sorting coin counting sensor, 14e ... Sorting belt, 15 ... Coin storage part, 16 ... Coin dispensing part, 16a ... Coin dispensing outlet, 17 ... Operation panel, 17a ... Display, 17b ... Operation button, 18 ... Ject box, 18a ... base part, 18b ... gripping part, 18c ... inclined part, 18d ... coin discharge guide rail, 18e ... fake coin recovery part, 101 ... CPU, 102 ... bus, 103 ... ROM, 104 ... RAM, 105 ... Sensor, 106 ... Solenoid, 107 ... Motor, 108 ... Communication device.

Claims (6)

A discharge mechanism for discharging coins or foreign matters whose denomination cannot be discriminated from holes provided on the coin conveyance path;
A reject box that is provided at the top of the discharge mechanism below the discharge mechanism and that can be pulled out, and that stores the coins or foreign matter discharged from the holes;
With
The reject box is formed with a guide path inclined downward as it goes from the upstream side to the downstream side in the pull-out direction, and the coin or the foreign matter received on the upstream side is moved to the downstream side along the guide path. A coin depositing / dispensing apparatus comprising a guiding coin discharge guide rail.   2. The coin discharge guide rail according to claim 1, wherein a pair or a plurality of pairs of openings are formed on the side wall surfaces on both sides of the guide path so as to have a predetermined size. Coin deposit and withdrawal device.   2. The coin discharge guide rail is provided with a pair or a plurality of pairs of protruding portions formed to protrude to a predetermined size on side wall surfaces on both sides of the guide path. Coin deposit and withdrawal device.   2. The coin discharge guide rail according to claim 1, wherein a pair or a plurality of pairs of recesses formed in a predetermined size on the side wall surfaces on both sides of the guide path are provided so as to face each other. Coin deposit and withdrawal device.   5. The coin discharge guide rail is formed so that a width of the guide path is narrower than a diameter of a coin type having the smallest diameter among the handled coin types. The coin deposit and withdrawal device described.   5. The coin discharge guide rail is formed so that a width of the guide path is at least wider than a diameter of a coin type having the largest diameter among the handled coin types. The coin deposit and withdrawal device described.

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