JP2014186480A - Coin processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coin processor capable of appropriately discharging coins conveyed in a conveyance passage from a discharge port to a duct part.SOLUTION: The coin processor includes: a conveyance passage including a discharge port for discharging conveyed coins to a duct part; and an opening/closing member moving between a closed position at which the discharge port is blocked and an open position at which the discharge port is opened so as to discharge the coins to the duct part. The opening/closing member includes a horizontal guide part that, when the opening/closing member stays at the open position, discharges the coins conveyed in the conveyance direction while horizontally moving them in the crossing direction crossing the conveyance direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to a coin processing device, and more particularly to a coin processing device that discharges coins being conveyed to a duct through a discharge port.

  In recent years, a coin processing device for managing cash in a register installed in a store or the like has been used. After receiving the coin, the coin processing device recognizes the coin and determines the denomination. And a coin processing apparatus sorts a coin according to a distinction result, and falls to a duct part from an outlet corresponding to a money type (refer to patent documents 1).

  By the way, in order to discharge coins according to denomination, a plurality of discharge ports are provided with rotating opening / closing members such as blades. When the blade is positioned at the open position where the discharge port is opened, the coins that are selectively conveyed are taken into the discharge port and dropped to the duct portion.

JP 2011-108100 A

  However, when the above-described blade is used, since the coin conveyed through the conveyance path collides with the blade and falls to the duct portion, the posture of the coin after the collision is not stable. For this reason, there is a possibility that a coin whose posture is not stable collides with a succeeding coin and the coin is clogged near the blade, and the coin cannot be discharged properly.

  Then, this invention is made | formed in view of the said problem, The place made into the objective of this invention provides the coin processing apparatus which can discharge | emit appropriately the coin conveyed by a conveyance path from a discharge port to a duct part. There is.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to an aspect of the present invention, a conveyance path in which a discharge port for discharging a conveyed coin to a duct portion is formed, a closed position for closing the discharge port, and the coin as the above-described An opening / closing member that moves between an open position that opens the discharge port so as to be discharged to a duct portion, and the coin that is conveyed in a conveyance direction when positioned at the open position. There is provided a coin processing device having a horizontal guide part that discharges while moving horizontally in a crossing direction crossing the transport direction.

  In the coin processing device, the horizontal guide portion may have a guide surface that allows the coins to be discharged while being moved horizontally in the crossing direction when the opening / closing member is located at the open position. .

  Moreover, said coin processing apparatus WHEREIN: It is good also as providing the adjacent part which decelerates the moving speed of the coin which was located next to the said discharge port in the said cross direction, and moved horizontally to the said cross direction.

  In the coin processing device, the adjacent portion may have a collision surface on which a coin moved horizontally in the intersecting direction collides, and the coin may decelerate by colliding with the collision surface. .

  In the coin processing device, the duct portion may be located immediately below the adjacent portion and connected to the adjacent portion.

  In the coin processing apparatus, the opening / closing member may be a rotating member that rotates around a rotation axis that is orthogonal to the transport direction.

  In the coin processing apparatus, the opening / closing member may include a guide surface that guides the coin to the downstream side in the transport direction when the opening / closing member is located at the closed position.

  The coin processing apparatus may further include a conveyance belt provided on the conveyance path, and the conveyance belt may be provided with a protruding pin that conveys the coin while pushing the coin in the conveyance path. .

  The coin processing apparatus may further include a transport belt provided on the transport path, and a transport hole for transporting the coin may be formed in the transport belt.

  The coin processing apparatus may further include a transport disk provided on the transport path, and the transport disk may have a recess for transporting the coin.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately discharge coins transported along the transport path from the discharge port to the duct portion.

It is the schematic which shows an example of the internal structure of the coin processing apparatus 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the temporary storage part 30 by money type. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the payment box 40 according to money type. It is a schematic plan view which shows the coin supply part 12, the coin recognition part 14, and the coin selection part 20 which concern on 1st Embodiment. It is an AA arrow line view of FIG. It is a BB arrow line view of FIG. It is CC arrow line view of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the selection housing 410. FIG. It is an enlarged view of the part A shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the periphery of the discharge port 440a according to money. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a sorting gate 450. It is a figure which shows the flow of coin conveyance. It is a figure for demonstrating discharge | emission of the coin from the money-type discharge port 440a. It is a figure which shows the structure of the conveyance belt 420 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is DD sectional drawing of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the coin selection part 20 which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

<1. First Embodiment>
(1-1. Configuration of Coin Processing Device)
An example of the configuration of the coin processing device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of a coin processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. In addition, FIG.1 (b) is the figure which looked at the coin processing apparatus 1 shown to Fig.1 (a) from the right side surface side.

  The coin processing device 1 manages coins handled by a register installed in a store or the like. The coin processing device 1 accepts coins in a lump and then recognizes coins to determine the denomination. Thereafter, the coin processing device 1 sorts out coins for each denomination according to the determination result, and withdraws the coins after storing the sorted coins.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the coin processing apparatus 1 includes a coin receiving unit 10, a coin feeding unit 12, a coin recognizing unit 14, a sorting and conveying unit 20, a reject coin accommodating unit 26, a temporary holding unit 30, It has a return box 34, a denomination hopper 36, a transfer gate 38, a withdrawal box 40, a collection box 44, and a control unit 90.

  The coin receiving unit 10 is a part that receives a coin C to be inserted. The coin receiving unit 10 is located above the coin processing apparatus 1 and on the front side. The coin receiving unit 10 has an insertion slot 11 into which a coin is inserted. The insertion slot 11 is wide open so that coins can be easily put together. Coins thrown into the coin receiving unit 10 fall into the coin feeding unit 12.

  The coin feeding unit 12 is located below the coin receiving unit 10 and feeds coins dropped from the coin receiving unit 10 one by one. For example, a rotating disk (not shown) is provided in the coin feeding portion 12. The coins in the coin feeding unit 12 are moved by the centrifugal force when the rotating disk rotates, and are fed to the coin recognition unit 14 one by one.

  The coin recognizing unit 14 determines the authenticity and denomination of the coins fed out from the coin feeding unit 12. The coin recognizing unit 14 has a sensor for recognizing a coin, and determines the true / false of the coin, the denomination, etc. based on the characteristic of the coin detected by the sensor. The coin recognition unit 14 conveys the determined coins to the sorting conveyance path 20.

  The sorting and conveying unit 20 sorts and conveys coins based on the determination result by the coin recognition unit 14. The sorting and conveying unit 20 has a reject port 21 and denomination discharge ports 22a to 22f. The coins that are determined not to be true coins by the coin recognition unit 14 pass through the reject port 21. Coins determined to be true coins pass through the denomination outlets 22a to 22f.

  The reject coin storage unit 26 stores coins that have passed through the reject port 21. A reject chute that guides the coin that has passed through the reject port 21 to the reject coin storage unit 26 is disposed below the reject port 21 (arranged along the route indicated by the arrow R in FIG. 1). The reject coin storage unit 26 has a door 28 that can be opened and closed on the front surface of the coin processing apparatus 1. When the door 28 is opened, the operator can pull out the reject coin accommodating portion 26 to the outside of the apparatus.

  The temporary storage unit 30 temporarily stores coins discharged from the denomination discharge ports 22a to 22f in denominations. Below the denomination discharge ports 22a to 22f, chutes 51a to 51f for guiding coins discharged from the denomination discharge ports 22a to 22f to the temporary storage unit 30 are provided. For example, the chute 51a guides the coins discharged from the denomination outlet 22a to the holding unit 31a of the temporary holding unit 30 provided below.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the temporary storage unit 30 for each denomination. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the temporary storage unit 30 includes storage units 31 a to 31 f which are examples of denomination accommodation units arranged in a straight line by dividing the frame surrounding the four surrounding surfaces into denominations. Reserving parts 31a-31f store the coins guided from the corresponding chutes 51a-51f. Further, the temporary storage unit 30 is movable in the directions indicated by the arrows H and S shown in FIG. 3 with respect to the guide 32 forming the bottom.

  The return box 34 accommodates coins that fall from the temporary storage unit 30 when the temporary storage unit 30 moves in the arrow H direction. The return box 34 can be pulled out of the apparatus from the front of the coin processing apparatus 1 by the user.

  The money type hopper 36 stores coins that fall from the temporary holding part 30 in the money type when the temporary holding part 30 moves in the arrow S direction. The denomination hopper 36 includes a plurality of denomination hoppers 36a to 36f arranged in a straight line so as to correspond to the denomination holding units 31a to 31f. The money-type hoppers 36a to 36f also have a payout portion that pays out coins one by one.

  The transfer gate 38 is provided for each of the denomination hoppers 36a to 36f, and branches the transfer destination of the coins fed out from the denomination hoppers 36a to 36f. The transfer gate 38 branches as a transfer destination into a route indicated by an arrow T and a route indicated by an arrow U in FIG.

  The dispensing box 40 accommodates coins to be dispensed. In the dispensing box 40, coins that are fed from the hoppers 36a to 36f according to the denominations and are conveyed by the route of the arrow T by the conveying gate 38 are accommodated. The dispensing box 40 is detachably provided on the apparatus main body.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the money-type withdrawal box 40. As shown in FIG. 3, in the dispensing box 40, dispensing small boxes 42 a to 42 f of different types from which coins can be taken out are stored in a straight line. The dispensing small boxes 42a to 42f are provided corresponding to the money type hoppers 36a to 36f.

  The collection | recovery store | warehouse | chamber 44 accommodates the coins collect | recovered. In the collection box 44, coins fed out from the denomination hoppers 36a to 36f and conveyed by the conveyance gate 38 along the route indicated by the arrow U are accommodated.

  The control unit 90 controls the overall operation of the coin processing device 1. The control unit 90 includes a control unit that controls the operation of each component described above, and a storage unit that stores programs executed by the control unit and various data.

(1-2. Detailed configuration of the coin feeding unit 12 and the coin recognizing unit 14)
Detailed configurations of the coin feeding unit 12 and the coin recognition unit 14 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing the coin feeding unit 12, the coin recognizing unit 14, and the coin sorting unit 20 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is an AA arrow view of FIG.

(Coin feeding part 12)
The coin feeding unit 12 receives the coins C input in a batch and feeds them to the coin recognition unit 14 one by one. As shown in FIG. 5, the coin payout unit 12 includes a storage unit 220, a rotating disk 230, and a disk driving unit 240.

  The accommodating part 220 is a part for accommodating the coin C dropped from the coin receiving part 10. A rotating disk 230 is provided in the accommodating part 220 (accommodating space), and the inner peripheral surface of the accommodating part 220 is formed in a shape along the outer periphery of the rotating disk 230 so that the rotating disk 230 can rotate. ing. On the side surface of the storage unit 220, a passage port 222 for making the coin C face the coin recognition unit 14 is provided. The width and height of the passage opening 222 are formed so that the coins C can pass one by one.

  The rotating disk 230 is a circular member provided in the storage unit 220, and guides the coin C to the coin recognition unit 14 by rotating. The rotating disk 230 is located directly below the coin receiving unit 10, and the coins of the coin receiving unit 10 fall on the rotating disk 230. The rotating disk 230 receives the rotational driving force of the disk driving unit 240 and rotates in a predetermined rotational direction. In response to the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the rotating disk 230, the coins on the rotating disk 230 move to the side surface side (the outer peripheral side of the rotating disk 230) of the accommodation unit 220 and pass through the passage port 222.

  The disk drive unit 240 is a drive unit that rotates the rotating disk 230 in a predetermined rotation direction. The disk drive unit 240 includes a disk motor 242 and a gear train 244. The disk motor 242 transmits the rotational driving force via the gear train 244 and rotates the rotating shaft 232 attached to the rotating disk 230. As a result, the rotating disk 230 also rotates in the same direction as the rotating direction of the rotating shaft 240.

(Coin recognition unit 14)
The coin recognition unit 14 recognizes the coin C fed from the coin feeding unit 12. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the coin recognition unit 14 includes a conveyance path 310, a delivery roller 320, a conveyance belt 330, and a recognition sensor 340.

  The conveyance path 310 is provided between the coin feeding unit 12 and the coin sorting unit 20 and is a passage through which the coin C is conveyed. The conveyance path 310 is, for example, a plate-shaped conveyance plate, and has a conveyance surface that conveys the coin C.

  The feed rollers 320 are a pair of rollers that feed the coins C that have passed through the passage port 222 of the coin feeding unit 12 toward the transport belt 330. The delivery roller 320 receives the driving force of the delivery drive unit 322 and delivers the coins C while holding them one by one.

  The conveying belt 330 conveys the coin C by rotating in a state where the coin C fed by the feeding roller 320 is sandwiched between the conveying surfaces of the conveying path 310. The conveyor belt 330 is stretched by a pair of pulleys 332 and rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the pulleys 332. The pulley 332 rotates in response to the driving force of the belt driving unit 334.

  The recognition sensor 340 recognizes the authenticity and denomination of the coin C being conveyed by the conveyor belt 330. Specifically, the recognition sensor 340 recognizes the authenticity of the coin C by determining the diameter, material, thickness of the coin C, the presence or absence of a hole on the center side of the coin C, and the like. The recognition sensor 340 is, for example, a line sensor or a magnetic sensor, and can determine foreign matters such as dust in addition to the denomination of the coin C.

(1-3. Detailed Configuration of Coin Sorting Unit 20)
A detailed configuration of the coin sorting unit 20 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9. 6 is a BB arrow view of FIG. FIG. 7 is a view taken along the line CC in FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the sorting housing 410. FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a portion A shown in FIG.

  The coin sorting unit 20 sorts and discharges the coin C based on the recognition result by the coin recognition unit 14 while transporting the coin C. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, the coin sorting unit 20 is inclined with respect to the coin feeding unit 12 and the coin recognition unit 14 that are arranged horizontally. Thereby, the coin selection part 20 can be arrange | positioned at hierarchical form, and the width | variety of the coin selection part 20 can be suppressed. However, the arrangement configuration of the coin sorting unit 20 is not limited to this. For example, the coin sorting unit 20 may be arranged horizontally in the same manner as the coin recognition unit 14.

  The coin sorting unit 20 includes a sorting housing 410, a conveyor belt 420, denomination discharge ports 440a to 440f, and reject ports 460a and 460b. The denomination discharge ports 440a to 440f correspond to the denomination discharge ports 22a to 22f in FIG. 1, and the rejection port 460a corresponds to the rejection port 21 in FIG.

(Sorting housing 410)
The sorting housing 410 is a housing of the coin sorting unit 20. The sorting housing 410 has a conveyance path for conveying coins. The conveyance path is formed by cutting the surface of the sorting housing 410 into a concave shape. And in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the cyclic | annular conveyance path 411 which conveys a coin cyclically, and the linear conveyance path 412 which conveys a coin linearly are formed as a conveyance path.

  The annular conveyance path 411 is a path through which coins from the coin recognition unit 14 are conveyed. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the annular transport path 411 has a spiral transport region 411 a formed in a spiral shape at a connection portion between the coin recognition unit 14 and the transport path 310. Thereby, since the coin is transported along the spiral transport region 411a, the coin is smoothly transferred from the transport path 310 of the coin recognition unit 14 disposed horizontally to the annular transport path 411 disposed obliquely. .

  The annular transport path 411 is provided with a carry-in detection sensor 415 for detecting coins carried from the coin recognition unit 14. Thereby, it can be detected whether the coin has actually been delivered from the conveyance path 310 to the annular conveyance path 411.

  The straight conveyance path 412 is located on the downstream side of the annular conveyance path 411 in the conveyance direction, and is a path through which coins from the annular conveyance path 411 are conveyed. In the present embodiment, the coins are discharged by denomination in the straight conveyance path 412.

(Conveyor belt 420)
The conveyance belt 420 is provided on the annular conveyance path 411 and the straight conveyance path 412 along the conveyance direction, and has a function of conveying coins by rotating. The conveyance belt 420 is wound around a drive pulley 431 provided on the annular conveyance path 411 and a driven pulley 432 provided on the linear conveyance path 412, and circulates between the drive pulley 431 and the driven pulley 432. .

  The driving pulley 431 is fixed to the rotating shaft 433. The rotating shaft 433 receives a driving force from the driving motor 434 via the belt 435 and rotates. The drive pulley 431 rotates with the rotation of the rotation shaft 433 to rotate the conveyance belt 420. The driven pulley 432 is disposed in the vicinity of the reject port 460b. Further, an idle pulley 436 that restricts the direction of rotation of the transport belt 420 is provided on the straight transport path 412.

  The drive pulley 431 is formed with slit portions 437 (five locations in FIG. 6) for controlling the rotation. A rotation detection sensor 438 that detects the rotation of the drive pulley 431 is provided on the slit portion 437 of the drive pulley 431. Based on the detection result of the rotation detection sensor 438, the rotation of the drive pulley 431 is controlled.

  A plurality of projecting pins 422 projecting toward the annular transport path 411 and the straight transport path 412 are fixed to the transport belt 420. The plurality of projecting pins 422 are arranged at an interval at which one coin can be positioned between the projecting pins 422. The protrusion pins 422 convey the coins on the annular conveyance path 411 and the straight conveyance path 412 while pushing the conveyance belt 420. The annular conveyance path 411 and the straight conveyance path 412 are formed with relief recesses (not shown) so as not to interfere with the rotating projecting pins 422.

(Delivery outlets 440a to 440f)
The denomination discharge ports 440 a to 440 f are formed on the upstream side in the transport direction of the transport surface of the straight transport path 412. The money type discharge ports 440a to 440f are discharge ports for discharging coins conveyed by the conveyor belt 420 into money types (for example, genuine coins of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 yen). is there. The six denomination outlets 440a to 440f are formed at equal intervals.

  The denomination discharge ports 440a to 440f discharge coins to chutes 51a to 51f, which are examples of duct portions arranged below as shown in FIG. For example, the denomination discharge port 440a discharges coins of denomination corresponding to the chute 51a.

  As shown in FIG. 7, sorting gates 450a to 450f are provided at the denomination discharge ports 440a to 440f. Since the configuration of the selection gates 450a to 450f is the same, the configuration of the selection gate 450a (hereinafter simply referred to as the selection gate 450) provided in the denomination discharge port 440a will be described with reference to FIGS. While explaining.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the configuration around the denomination outlet 440a. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the sorting gate 450. 10A is a plan view showing the peripheral configuration of the denomination outlet 440a, FIG. 10B is a side view, and FIG. 10C is a front view.

  The sorting gate 450 moves between a closed position for closing the denomination discharge port 440a and an open position for opening the denomination discharge port 440a so as to discharge coins to the chute 51a. Here, the sorting gate 450 rotates around a rotation shaft 457 orthogonal to the transport direction. As shown in FIG. 11, the sorting gate 450 includes a horizontal guide unit 451 and a conveyance direction guide unit 453.

  When the sorting gate 450 is located at the open position, the horizontal guide unit 451 discharges the coins transported in the transport direction while moving horizontally in the horizontal direction (intersection direction intersecting the transport direction). Specifically, the horizontal guide portion 451 has a guide surface 451a for discharging coins while moving the coin horizontally in the horizontal direction when the sorting gate 450 is located at the open position. Thereby, a coin will be guide | induced to the guide surface 451a, and will be discharged | emitted in a horizontal state from the denomination discharge ports 440a-440f.

  The conveyance direction guide unit 453 guides coins downstream in the conveyance direction when the sorting gate 450 is located at the closed position. The conveyance direction guide unit 453 includes a guide surface 453a and a wall surface 453b. The guide surface 453a guides coins downstream in the transport direction when the sorting gate 450 is located at the closed position. The wall surface 453b restricts coins from jumping out of the straight conveyance path 412 when the sorting gate 450 is located at the closed position.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, evacuation areas 445a to 445f, which are examples of adjacent portions, are formed next to the denomination outlets 440a to 440f in the intersecting direction. The evacuation areas 445a to 445f are connected to chutes 51a to 51f located directly below as shown in FIG. For this reason, for example, the coins discharged into the retreat area 445a by the horizontal guide portion 451 of the sorting gate falls to the chute 51a located immediately below. At this time, since the coin is moving in a horizontal state in the retreat area 445a, it is easy to maintain the horizontal state even when the chute 51a is dropped.

  The retreat areas 445a to 445f decelerate the moving speed of the coins that have moved horizontally in the horizontal direction. Specifically, the evacuation areas 445a to 445f have collision surfaces 446a to 446f with which coins that have moved horizontally in the intersecting direction collide. The coin decelerates by colliding with the collision surfaces 446a to 446f. For this reason, since a coin will fall chute | shoots 51a-51f in the state which decelerated, it can suppress that the attitude | position of the coin in chute | shoots 51a-51f fluctuates.

  Coin detection sensors 448a to 448f are provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the denomination discharge ports 440a to 440f, respectively. Thereby, it can be detected whether the coin was actually discharged from the corresponding denomination outlet.

(Reject port 460a, 460b)
The reject port 460 a is formed on the conveyance surface of the annular conveyance path 411. The reject port 460a is a discharge port that discharges reject coins recognized as fake coins by the coin recognition unit 14 and foreign matters such as dust. Thereby, it is possible to prevent a reject coin or a foreign object (hereinafter simply referred to as a reject coin) from being accidentally discharged from the denomination discharge ports 440a to 440f.

  A reject detection sensor 468 is provided on the downstream side of the reject port 460a in the transport direction. Thereby, it can be detected whether the reject coin was actually discharged | emitted from the rejection port 460a.

  Below the reject port 460a, as shown in FIG. 6, a reject transport unit 462 is formed that transports the reject coins dropped from the reject port 460a to the reject coin storage unit 26 (FIG. 1). The reject transport unit 462 includes a transport belt 463 that transports reject coins. The conveyor belt 463 is rotated by the driving force transmitted from the driving motor 464 via the gear 465. Moreover, the reject conveyance part 462 has the wall 466 formed along the conveyance belt 463, and prevents that a reject coin jumps out.

  The reject port 460a is also provided with a sorting gate (not shown) similar to the sorting gate 450 described above.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the reject port 460 b is formed on the downstream side of the denomination discharge ports 440 a to 440 f on the transport surface of the linear transport path 412. The reject port 460b is a discharge port that discharges coins conveyed without being discharged from the denomination discharge ports 440a to 440f. The reject port 460b can prevent coins from being clogged in the straight conveyance path 412 by coins that have not been discharged from the denomination discharge ports 440a to 440f.

(1-4. Operation of coin processing device)
Next, an operation example of the coin processing apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration will be described. The operation of the coin processing device 1 is executed by the control unit of the control unit 90. That is, a control part performs the operation | movement demonstrated below by executing the program memorize | stored in the memory | storage part.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a flow of coin conveyance. First, when coins are put into the coin receiving unit 210 in a lump, the inserted coins are dropped and accumulated on the rotating disk 230 of the coin feeding unit 12. Thereafter, when the rotating disk 230 rotates, the coins on the rotating disk 230 receive a centrifugal force due to the rotation and move along the inner peripheral surface of the storage unit 220, and pass from the passage port 222 to the transport path 310 of the coin recognition unit 14. Extruded one by one.

  The coin pushed out to the conveyance path 310 is conveyed by the conveyance belt 330, and the recognition sensor 340 recognizes the authenticity and denomination of the coin. The recognition sensor 340 outputs the recognition result to the control unit 90. Based on the received recognition result, the control unit 90 determines a coin discharge port for discharging the recognized coin among the six denomination discharge ports 440a to 440f. The recognized coin is further transported by the transport belt 330 and is carried into the annular transport path 411 (between the protruding pins 422 of the transport belt 420) of the coin sorting unit 20.

  Thereafter, the conveyor belt 330 is rotated so that the protruding pins 422 convey the coins by pushing. The coins being conveyed are discharged from the discharge port determined by the control unit 90. For example, the reject coin is discharged from the reject port 460a to the reject transport unit 462 (FIG. 6) in a state where the selection gate of the reject port 460a is opened. The reject transport unit 462 transports reject coins to the reject coin storage unit 26.

  On the other hand, if the coin is a true coin, the sorting gate 450 of the corresponding denomination discharge port 440a to 440f (here, the denomination discharge port 440a will be described as an example) is opened. Thus, coins are discharged from the denomination outlet 440a to the retreat area 445a. Hereinafter, the flow of coin discharge will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the discharge of coins from the denomination outlet 440a. As shown in FIG. 13 (a), when the coin is conveyed to the vicinity of the denomination outlet 440a by the projection pin 422, the sorting gate 450 is turned from the closed state to the open state as shown in FIG. 13 (b). Move. Thereafter, when the coins are further transported, the coins are guided by the horizontal guide portion 451 of the sorting gate 450 as shown in FIG. 13C, and are discharged to the retreat area 445a as shown in FIG. 13D. . The coins discharged to the retreat area 445a collide with the collision surface 446a several times in the retreat area 445a and decelerate. Then, the decelerated horizontal coin falls to a chute 51a located immediately below the retreat area 445a as shown in FIG. 13 (e). Since the coin falls in a horizontal state, it is possible to suppress the posture from changing in the chute 51a, and as a result, it is possible to prevent clogging in the chute 51a together with the subsequent coins.

  Coins that have fallen to the chutes 51a to 51f are guided and accumulated in the corresponding holding units 31a to 31f of the temporary holding unit 30. Then, when the accumulation amount (the number of accumulated sheets) of any of the storage units 31a to 31f of the temporary storage unit 30 reaches a preset set amount, or when there is no coin to be paid out by the coin feeding unit 12, the coin feeding process is performed. After stopping the process, the process is temporarily terminated.

  Thereafter, the control unit 90 displays on the display screen (not shown) the money amount of the denomination based on the above-mentioned counting result, the total amount, etc., and allows the operator of the coin processing device 1 to confirm. When the current process is a deposit process, the operator selects and inputs coin storage using an operation button in the display screen. Then, the control unit 90 moves the temporary storage unit 30 from the guide 32 in the arrow S direction (FIG. 1). As a result, the coins accumulated on the guide 32 fall into the denomination hoppers 36a to 36f and are stored in denomination.

  On the other hand, when the coin is not stored, when the current process is a counting process, and when a jam occurs during the deposit process, the control unit 90 moves the temporary holding unit 30 from the guide 32 in the direction of the arrow H (see FIG. Move to 1). As a result, the coins accumulated on the guide 32 fall into the return box 34.

(1-5. Effectiveness of coin processing equipment)
As described above, in the coin processing apparatus 1, when the sorting gates 450 (opening / closing members) provided in the denomination outlets 440a to 440f are located at the open position, they are transported along the straight transport path in the transport direction. It has a horizontal guide part 451 for discharging coins while moving them horizontally in the horizontal direction.

  The horizontal guide 451 causes the coins to be discharged in a horizontal state from the denomination discharge ports 440a to 440f to the chutes 51a to 51f (specifically, via the retreat areas 445a to 445f). For this reason, the posture of the coins discharged from the denomination outlets 440a to 440f is stabilized (particularly, the posture of the coin when the chute 51a to 51f is dropped is stabilized), and it can be suppressed from colliding with the following coins. Therefore, it can suppress that a coin is jammed (a coin remains) in chute | shoot 51a-51f.

  In particular, the sorting gate 450 according to the present embodiment solves the problem of the conventional sorting blade that drops coins transported to the transport surface described below. That is, in the case of the conventional sorting blade, since the coin collides with the sorting blade and falls on the chute, the posture of the coin after colliding with the sorting blade (particularly, the dropping posture in the chute) is not stable. Further, there is a high possibility that a coin whose posture is not stable hits the side wall of the chute and temporarily stays in the vicinity of the blade (so-called air floating). Thereafter, the subsequent coins collide with the accumulated coins, and there is a risk of causing a conveyance jam in the vicinity of the blade. Moreover, the state which the several coins contacted between the side walls of a chute | shoot may maintain, and subsequent coins may accumulate | store in a chute | shoot.

<2. Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the protruding pins 422 fixed to the conveyor belt 420 convey coins when the conveyor belt 420 rotates. On the other hand, the conveyance belt 420 of the second embodiment is formed with a conveyance hole for conveying coins, instead of the protruding pins 422.

  Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a conveyance belt 420 according to the second embodiment. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 14A is a plan view of the conveyor belt 420, FIG. 14B is a side view of the conveyor belt 420, and FIG. 14C is a bottom view of the conveyor belt 420.

  The conveyance belt 420 has rectangular conveyance holes 425 formed at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction (conveyance direction). The transport hole 425 is a through hole and is formed larger than the width of the coin. As a result, the transport belt 420 transports the coins while holding the coins in the transport holes 425. The conveyance belt 420 has a tooth portion 427 that meshes with the drive pulley 431.

  Also in the second embodiment, the horizontal guide portion 451 of the sorting gate 450 discharges the coins being conveyed by the conveyance holes of the conveyance belt 420 in the horizontal direction. Thereby, the posture of the coins discharged from the denomination discharge ports 440a to 440f is stabilized. In the second embodiment, by forming a transport hole instead of the protruding pin 422, the configuration of the transport belt 420 can be simplified, and the transport belt 420 can be manufactured at low cost.

<3. Third Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the conveyor belt 420 is rotated by a driving pulley 431, and the protruding pins 422 of the conveyor belt 420 convey coins. On the other hand, in 3rd Embodiment, the conveyance disk which rotates the conveyance belt 420 conveys a coin.

  Hereinafter, the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the coin sorting unit 20 according to the third embodiment.

  In the third embodiment, a transport disk 480 is provided on the annular transport path 411 of the coin sorting unit 20. The transport disk 480 rotates in the same manner as the drive pulley 431 of the first embodiment. In addition, the transport disk 480 is formed with a recess 482 for transporting coins in the annular transport path 411. The recess 482 is formed to be larger than the width of the coin, and conveys the coin while holding it. Thereby, conveyance of the coin in the annular conveyance path 411 can be appropriately performed with a simple configuration.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

  In the above description, the selection gate 450 that rotates around the rotation axis is described as an example of the opening / closing member. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the opening / closing member may be a sliding gate. In such a case, the opening / closing member moves the coin in the horizontal direction while sliding.

  In the above description, the opening / closing member moves the coin in the horizontal direction on the guide surface 451a, but is not limited thereto. For example, the opening / closing member may move the coin in the horizontal direction with a pin that makes point contact with the coin.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Coin processing apparatus 20 Coin sorter 51a-51f Chute 411 Annular conveyance path 411a Spiral conveyance area 412 Straight conveyance path 420 Conveyance belt 440a-440f Discharge outlet 445a-445f Retraction area 446a-446f Colliding surface 450 Sorting gate 451 Horizontal guidance Portion 451a Guide surface 453 Conveying direction guide portion 453a Guide surface 480 Conveying disk 482 Concave portion

Claims (10)

A transport path in which a discharge port for discharging the coins to be transported to the duct portion is formed;
An opening / closing member that moves between a closed position that closes the discharge opening and an open position that opens the discharge opening so as to discharge the coin to the duct portion;
With
When the opening / closing member is located at the open position, the coin opening / closing member includes a horizontal guide unit that discharges the coins that are transported in the transport direction while horizontally moving in the crossing direction that intersects the transport direction. The coin processing device according to claim 1,
The said horizontal guide part is a coin processing apparatus which has a guide surface which makes it discharge | emit while moving the said coin horizontally in the said crossing direction, when the said opening-and-closing member is located in the said open position. In the coin processing device according to claim 1 or 2,
A coin processing apparatus further comprising an adjacent portion that is located next to the discharge port in the intersecting direction and decelerates the moving speed of the coin that has moved horizontally in the intersecting direction. The coin processing apparatus according to claim 3,
The adjacent portion has a collision surface on which coins moved horizontally in the intersecting direction collide,
The coin processing apparatus, wherein the coin decelerates by colliding with the collision surface. In the coin processing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
The said duct part is a coin processing apparatus located just under the said adjacent part, and has connected with the said adjacent part. In the coin processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The coin processing apparatus, wherein the opening / closing member is a rotating member that rotates around a rotation axis that is orthogonal to the transport direction. In the coin processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The coin processing apparatus, wherein the opening / closing member has a guide surface that guides the coin to the downstream side in the transport direction when the opening / closing member is located at the closed position. In the coin processing apparatus of any one of Claims 1-7,
A transport belt provided on the transport path;
The coin processing apparatus, wherein the conveyor belt is formed with a protruding pin that conveys the coin while pushing the coin in the conveyance path. In the coin processing apparatus of any one of Claims 1-7,
A transport belt provided on the transport path;
The coin processing apparatus, wherein a transport hole for transporting the coin is formed in the transport belt. In the coin processing apparatus of any one of Claims 1-7,
Further comprising a transport disk provided on the transport path,
The coin processing apparatus, wherein the transport disk is formed with a recess for transporting the coin.

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