JP2017151558A - Coin processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide means for stabilizing conveyance of coins even if the slipping between a conveyance belt and the coins occurs.SOLUTION: A coin processor comprises: a conveyance path having a conveyance belt for conveying coins while pressing the coins onto a guide surface; and a classification unit for classifying the conveyed coins. On the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt, a plurality of projections are provided such that an interval therebetween is longer than a maximum diameter of a handled coin and height of the projections is lower than a minimum interval between the guide surface and the conveyance surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a coin processing apparatus such as a coin depositing / dispensing machine including a conveyance path that conveys coins while pressing the coins with a conveyance belt.

  A conventional coin depositing and dispensing machine is provided with a discrimination section for identifying coins in a deposit conveyance path that conveys coins sent from a deposit port, while pressing a coin that conveys the deposit conveyance path against a guide surface with a conveyance belt It is conveyed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-26303 (paragraphs 0029-0034, FIG. 2)

However, in the above-described conventional technology, since the coin is conveyed while being pressed against the guide surface by the conveyance belt, when the frictional force decreases due to dirt on the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt or a low temperature environment, the conveyance belt There is a problem that a conveyance failure occurs in which coins stagnate due to slippage between the coins and the coins.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide means for stabilizing the conveyance of coins even when slippage occurs between the conveyance belt and the coins.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a conveyance path having a conveyance belt that conveys coins while pressing a coin against a guide surface, and a discrimination unit that is provided in the conveyance path and discriminates the coins that have been conveyed. A coin processing apparatus provided with a plurality of protrusions on the transport surface of the transport belt, the distance between the protrusions being longer than the maximum diameter of the coins to be handled, and the height of the protrusions, It is characterized by being lower than the minimum gap between the guide surface and the transport surface.

  Thereby, even if a slip arises between a coin and a conveyance belt, and this invention stagnates a coin, a coin can be pushed and conveyed by a projection, and the effect that the conveyance of a coin can be stabilized is produced. can get.

Explanatory drawing which shows the coin depositing and dispensing machine of Example 1. Explanatory drawing which shows the payment conveyance path and sorting conveyance path of Example 1. Explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance state by the conveyance belt of Example 1. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the delivery part of the deposit conveyance path and sorting conveyance path of Example 1. Explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of Example 1. Explanatory drawing which shows the delivery part of the receipt conveyance path and sorting conveyance path of Example 2. Explanatory drawing which shows the delivery part of the receipt conveyance path and sorting conveyance path of Example 3.

  Embodiments of a coin processing device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The coin depositing / dispensing machine according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.
A coin depositing / dispensing machine 1 as a coin processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is used as a coin change machine or the like attached to a register such as a POS register installed in a check-out place such as a supermarket or a convenience store, etc. A function of accepting coins C inserted by an operator such as a store clerk, discriminating and counting the coins C, storing the coins C to be paid out to the operator at the time of a withdrawal transaction, and counting and delivering them to the operator Etc., and has the configuration shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a top view showing the configuration of the coin depositing and dispensing machine 1 of the present embodiment.

The coin inlet 2 for the coins C receives the coins C put together by the operator in a non-aligned state on a rotating disk (not shown) provided at the bottom, and separates them one by one to separate them. A function of sending to the delivery roller 3.
The delivery roller 3 is composed of a pair of rollers that hold the coin C between two rollers arranged opposite to each other and wait (see FIG. 2). And has a function of delivering to the deposit conveyance path 4 and is arranged immediately after the separation port of the deposit port 2.

The deposit conveyance path 4 as a conveyance path conveys the coin C delivered from the delivery roller 3 in the conveyance direction (the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1 and the like), and is arranged on the downstream side of the conveyance direction. It has a function of delivering to the road 5.
The discrimination unit 6 has a function of performing various discriminations regarding the coin C such as authenticity, correctness, denomination, and the like of the coin C according to the magnetic characteristics and shape of the coin C conveyed by the deposit conveyance path 4. Yes.

The denomination storage 7 is a storage for storing the coins C, which are identified as denominations by the discrimination unit 6 at the time of deposit processing, and are identified as being stored, according to the denomination, and the coins C respectively stored therein. It has a feeding mechanism that feeds out one by one.
In this embodiment, a denomination storage 7a for storing 1 yen coins, a denomination storage 7b for storing 5 yen coins, a denomination storage 7c for storing 10 yen coins, and a denomination storage for 50 yen coins. Six denomination storages 7 are provided: a depot 7d, a denomination storage 7e that stores 100-yen coins, and a denomination storage 7f that stores 500-yen coins.

  In addition, seven sorting gates 8 are provided in the sorting transport path 5, and each sorting gate 8 does not normally prevent the passage of the coins C transported along the transport path of the sorting transport path 5. And closed when the coins are stored in the denomination storage 7 etc., and the conveying direction of the coins C is switched to the denomination storage 7 etc., and then returned to the original closed state. Has been.

The sorting gates 8a to 8f are arranged above the respective denomination storages 7a to 7f, and are opened when the coins C stored in the corresponding denomination storages 7 are transported. It has a function of dropping the coin C into the type storages 7a to 7f.
The sorting gate 8g has a function of opening and dropping a reject coin onto the reject chute 9 when a reject coin identified as not being stored by the discrimination section 6 at the time of deposit is conveyed. The reject coin dropped onto the chute 9 is conveyed to the reject port 11 by the reject chute 9 and returned to the operator.

The withdrawal port 12 has a function of transferring and accumulating coins C fed from the denomination storage 7 at the time of withdrawal, and delivering the accumulated coins C to the operator.
The deposit conveyance path 4 and the sorting conveyance path 5 of the present embodiment have the configuration shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of the deposit conveyance path 4 and the sorting conveyance path 5 of this embodiment.

The guide plate 15 is a plate-shaped guide member that is shared by the deposit conveyance path 4 and the sorting conveyance path 5 and connects the deposit slot 2 to the denomination storage 7f in an “L” shape (see FIG. 1), on the discrimination part 6 and each denomination storage 7, it is arrange | positioned substantially horizontally.
The guide plate 15 has a guide surface 15a that guides while supporting the lower surface of the coin C conveyed through the deposit conveyance path 4 and the sorting conveyance path 5, and is provided at both end portions along the conveyance direction. The side guide 15b is erected (see FIG. 4).

The conveyance belt 16 of the deposit conveyance path 4 is an endless toothed belt that is stretched between a driving pulley 17a and a driven pulley 17b, and is rotated at a driving speed Vt in a direction indicated by an arrow B in FIG. On the side of the guide plate 15 between the drive pulley 17a and the driven pulley 17b, there are provided press rollers 18 as a plurality of urging means for urging the conveying belt 16 toward the guide plate 15 from a spring (not shown). Yes.
Further, on the outer surface of the conveyor belt 16 (referred to as a conveyor surface 16a), a plurality of protrusions 19 shown in black in FIG. 2 and the like that protrude outward from the conveyor surface 16a are provided at equal intervals with a protrusion pitch Pt. ing.

The coins C conveyed in the deposit conveyance path 4 of this embodiment are normally conveyed in the conveyance direction on the guide surface 15a while being pressed by the conveyance surface 16a of the conveyance belt 16 on the guide surface 15a of the guide plate 15, and sorted. It is delivered to the conveyance path 5.
The sorting / conveying path 5 has a belt 23 with a pin that is stretched between a plurality of belt pulleys 21 in an “L” shape (see FIG. 1), and is rotationally driven at a driving speed Vp.
The pinned belt 23 is provided with a plurality of pins 24 at equal intervals with a pin pitch Pp (see FIG. 4).

As a result, the coin C delivered from the deposit conveyance path 4 to the sorting conveyance path 5 of the present embodiment is placed on the guide surface 15a of the guide plate 15 while the outer peripheral surface is being pushed by the tip end portion of the pin 24 of the pinned belt 23. Are pushed and conveyed to each sorting gate 8.
The protrusion 19 described above is formed in a rectangular shape, and the length in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction is equal to the width of the conveyance belt 16 (see FIG. 4), and the protrusion width is the length along the conveyance direction. As shown in FIG. 2, W has a length sufficiently shorter than the protrusion pitch Pt.

In addition, the inter-projection interval L (= projection pitch Pt−projection width W), which is the length along the conveyance direction of the space formed between two adjacent projections 19 provided at the projection pitch Pt, is the present embodiment. It is formed in a length longer than the diameter of the largest diameter coin C (500 yen coin in the case of Japanese coins) among the coins C handled by the coin depositing and dispensing machine 1.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the protrusion height H is lower than the minimum gap G ₁ between the conveyance surface 16 a of the conveyance belt 16 and the guide surface 15 a of the guide plate 15.

Thus, the tip and the guide surface 15a of the projection 19, as in the tip trace of the projection 19 shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, always faces away gap G ₂ or more, the tip of the protrusion 19 is a guide surface 15a The conveying belt 16 can be driven smoothly by preventing contact.
Further, the protrusion height H is lower than the thickness T of the minimum thickness coin C (10 yen coin in Japan) among the coins C handled by the coin depositing and dispensing machine 1 of this embodiment. It has become.

Thereby, the conveyance belt 16 can always press the coin C against the guide surface 15a by the conveyance surface 16a.
As shown in FIG. 4, the conveyor belt 16 of the deposit conveyance path 4 and the pinned belt 23 of the sorting conveyance path 5 of the present embodiment are, in the delivery section 26, which is a parallel running portion of the conveyor belt 16 and the pinned belt 23. The protrusion 19 and the pin 24 are driven in synchronism so as to coincide with each other.

For this reason, the drive speed Vt of the conveyor belt 16 and the drive speed Vp of the pinned belt 23 are driven to be the same speed, and the protrusion pitch Pt and the pin pitch Pp are set at the same interval.
Note that the delivery roller 3 of this embodiment is driven independently by a drive source provided separately from the drive sources of the conveyor belt 16 and the pinned belt 23.

Below, the conveyance operation | movement of the coin C by the deposit conveyance path 4 of the coin depositing and dispensing machine 1 of a present Example is demonstrated using FIG. 4, FIG.
The coin C inserted into the deposit port 2 is separated into one sheet from a separation port (not shown) and delivered to the delivery roller 3, and the coin C is sandwiched between the delivery rollers 3 and waited.
Further, the position of the protrusion 19 of the transport belt 16 is detected by monitoring the position of the protrusion 19 by a detection sensor (not shown).

  When it is detected that the protrusion 19 of the conveyor belt 16 has passed through the delivery roller 3 and has reached a position where the coin C can be delivered during the interval L between the protrusions, the delivery roller 3 is driven. The coin C that has been kept waiting is sent out between the protrusion 19 and the succeeding protrusion 19, and the coin C is transported to the transport surface 16 a of the transport belt 16 of the deposit transport path 4 as shown in FIG. While being pressed by the guide surface 15a of the guide plate 15, it is conveyed in the direction of the delivery unit 26 by the frictional force between the conveyance surface 16a and the upper surface of the coin C, and the denomination and the like are identified by the discrimination unit 6 during this conveyance. .

  When the coin C reaches the delivery section 26, as shown in FIG. 4, the pin 24 of the pinned belt 23 that is driven so as to coincide with the protrusion 19 arrives from the upstream side in the transport direction. The sent coin C is delivered to the pin 24, and is pushed and conveyed in the direction of the sorting gate 8 while pushing the outer peripheral surface of the coin C by the tip of the pin 24, and the position of the coin C to be pushed and conveyed is This is detected by monitoring the position of the pin 24 by a detection sensor (not shown).

At this time, if the discrimination result of the coin C being pushed and conveyed by the discrimination unit 6 is a reject coin, when it is detected that the coin C has reached the front side of the sorting gate 8g, the sorting gate 8g is opened. The reject coin is operated and dropped onto the reject chute 9, and is conveyed to the reject port 11 by the reject chute 9 and accumulated.
Moreover, when the discrimination result by the discrimination unit 6 is a coin C corresponding to storage, the coin C is placed in front of the sorting gate 8 on the denomination storage 7 storing the denomination according to the denomination of the coin C. When it is detected that the coin C has reached, the sorting gate 8 is opened and the coin C is dropped into the denomination storage 7 and stored.

  In this way, when the transfer operation of the coin C is being performed, the lower surface of the coin C and the guide surface 15a of the guide plate 15 due to foreign matter, dust, coin powder, etc. that have entered the coin depositing and dispensing machine 1 Due to an increase in the conveyance load of the coin C accompanying an increase in the frictional force, or a decrease in the conveyance force accompanying a decrease in the frictional force between the conveyance surface 16a and the upper surface of the coin C due to dirt on the conveyance surface 16a of the conveyance belt 16 or a low temperature environment. In some cases, a slip occurs between the coin C and the conveyor belt 16, and the coin C stagnates on the guide surface 15a.

  At this time, since the plurality of protrusions 19 are provided at the protrusion pitch Pt on the transfer surface 16a of the transfer belt 16 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. The protrusion 19 abuts against the outer peripheral surface of the coin C, and is pushed and conveyed by the protrusion 19 to reach the delivery section 26 as shown in FIG. 5C, and is delivered to the sorting and conveying path 5 in the same manner as described above. .

  As described above, in this embodiment, the conveyance surface 16a of the conveyance belt 16 of the deposit conveyance path 4 is provided with a plurality of projections 19 protruding outward from the conveyance surface 16a, and the maximum diameter of the coin C that handles the inter-protrusion interval L. Since the protrusion 19 has a longer length, the height of the protrusion 19 is lower than the final gap G1 between the guide surface 15a of the guide plate 15 and the transport surface 16, and lower than the minimum thickness T of the coin C to be handled. When the coin C on the guide plate 15 is being transported by the transport belt 16, even if a slip occurs between the coin C and the transport belt 16a and the coin C is stagnated, the friction between the coin C and the transport belt 16 The coin C can be pushed and conveyed by the protrusion 19 without depending on the force, and the conveyance of the coin C can be stabilized and the conveyance quality can be improved.

Below, the coin depositing and dispensing machine of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that parts similar to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
The conveyor belt 16 of the deposit conveyance path 4 of this embodiment is driven at the same driving speed Vt as that of the first embodiment, and the pinned belt 23 of the sorting conveyance path 5 is driven at a driving speed Vp faster than the driving speed Vt. As shown in FIG. 6, in the delivery part 26 between the conveyor belt 16 and the belt with pin 23, the protrusion 19 and the pin 24 are driven in synchronism with each other.

For this reason, when the projection pitch Pt of the projections 19 of the conveyor belt 16 is set to the same interval as in the first embodiment, the pin pitch Pp of the pins 24 of the pinned belt 23 is set as follows.
That is, in order to drive the delivery unit 26 so that the protrusion 19 and the pin 24 coincide with each other, the projection 19 and the pin 24 need to arrive at the delivery unit 26 at the same time.

For this reason, the relationship between the protrusion pitch Pt and the pin pitch Pp, and the drive speed Vt and the drive speed Vp is
Pt: Pp = Vt: Vp (1)
When the pin pitch Pp is calculated by rearranging the equation (1),
Pp = (Vp / Vt) Pt (2)
Thus, the pin pitch Pp is obtained as a product obtained by multiplying the speed ratio obtained by dividing the drive speed Vp of the pinned belt 23 by the drive speed Vt of the conveying belt 16 by the protrusion pitch Pt of the protrusions 19.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, since the driving speed Vt of the conveying belt 16 and the driving speed Vp of the pinned belt 23 are the same speed (Vt = Vp), the protrusion pitch Pt and the pin pitch Pp are the same interval (Pt = Pp). ) Was set.
In the transfer operation of the coin C through the deposit transfer path 4 of the coin depositing and dispensing machine 1 of the present embodiment, the operation until the coin C inserted into the deposit port 2 reaches the delivery unit 26 is the same as that in the first embodiment. Since there is, explanation is omitted.

When the coin C reaches the delivery unit 26, the drive speed Vt of the conveyor belt 16 and the drive speed Vp of the belt 23 with the pin are different from each other. Since the pins 24 are driven so as to coincide with the pins 24, the pins 24 of the belt 23 with the pins arrive from the upstream side in the transport direction, and the coins C sent out from the transport belt 16 are shown in FIG. Is delivered to the pin 24 and is pushed and conveyed in the direction of the sorting gate 8 while the outer peripheral surface of the coin C is pushed by the tip of the pin 24.
Subsequent transport operations are the same as in the first embodiment, and a description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the projection pitch Pt of the projection 19 and the pin pitch Pp of the pin 24 are set according to the speed ratio between the drive speed Vt of the conveyor belt 16 and the drive speed Vp of the pinned belt 23. The circumferential length Ct of the conveyor belt 16 (= Pt · Nt (N is a positive integer excluding 0 and a negative integer, hereinafter simply referred to as “positive integer”)) and the circumferential length Cp of the belt 23 with the pin (= Pp · Np) can be set freely. For example, even if the circumferential length Cp of the pinned belt 23 is limited, the speed ratio of the driving speeds of the conveying belt 16 and the pinned belt 23 By changing the circumferential length Ct of the conveying belt 16 and the circumferential length Cp of the pinned belt 23, and the degree of freedom in setting the lengths of the conveying belt 16 and the pinned belt 23 can be increased. it can.

Below, the coin depositing and dispensing machine of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that parts similar to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
As in the first embodiment, the conveyor belt 16 of the deposit conveyance path 4 and the pinned belt 23 of the sorting conveyance path 5 of the present embodiment have a driving speed Vt of the conveyor belt 16 and a driving speed Vp of the pinned belt 23. The same speed is set, and the projection pitch Pt of the projection 19 and the pin pitch Pp of the pin 24 are set to the same interval.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a positive integer number of auxiliary protrusions 31 (one in the example of FIG. 7) are provided between two adjacent protrusions 19 provided at the protrusion pitch Pt. In the delivery portion 26 between the pin 23 and the belt with pin 23, the auxiliary protrusion 21 and the pin 24 are driven in synchronism with each other.
The auxiliary protrusion 31 of the present embodiment has the same shape as the protrusion 19 of the first embodiment, and the inter-protrusion interval L between the adjacent protrusion 19 and the auxiliary protrusion 31 or between the two auxiliary protrusions 31 is the above-described embodiment. Similarly to 1, the length is longer than the diameter of the largest diameter coin C among the coins C to be handled.

In the transfer operation of the coin C by the deposit transfer path 4 of the coin depositing / dispensing machine 1 of the present embodiment, the coin C inserted into the deposit slot 2 is separated into one sheet from a separation slot (not shown) and delivered to the delivery roller 3. Then, the coin C is held between the delivery rollers 3 and is put on standby.
The position of the pin 24 of the belt 23 with the pin is detected by monitoring the position of the pin 24 by a detection sensor (not shown).

  When it is detected that the pin 24 of the belt 23 with the pin has reached the position of the auxiliary protrusion 31 on the upstream side of the coin C conveyed by the conveyor belt 16 in the delivery unit 26, the delivery roller 3 is driven. The subsequent coins C that have been kept waiting are sent out between the protrusions 19 and the auxiliary protrusions 31 between the protrusions L, and the coins C of the transfer belt 16 of the deposit transfer path 4 are the same as in the first embodiment. While being pressed against the guide surface 15a of the guide plate 15 by the transport surface 16a, it is transported in the direction of the delivery unit 26 by the frictional force between the transport surface 16a and the upper surface of the coin C. Discriminated.

When the subsequent coin C reaches the delivery section 26, as shown in FIG. 7, the pin 24 of the belt with belt 23 driven so as to coincide with the auxiliary protrusion 31 comes from the upstream side in the transport direction, and the transport belt 16 Is delivered to the pin 24 and is pushed and conveyed in the direction of the sorting gate 8 while the outer peripheral surface of the coin C is pushed by the tip of the pin 24.
Subsequent transport operations are the same as in the first embodiment, and a description thereof is omitted.

  In this way, in this embodiment, since the preceding coin C is delivered to the inter-projection interval L between the protrusion 19 and the auxiliary protrusion 31 at the timing when the preceding coin C is delivered to the pinned belt 23, Even if the coin C can be delivered to the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the protrusion 31 and a slip occurs between the coin C and the conveyance belt 16 and the coin C stagnates, the coin C immediately stops with a small amount of slip. In addition, the coins C can be pushed and conveyed by the auxiliary protrusions 31, the damage of the conveyor belt 16 can be reduced, and the conveyance of the coins C can be made more stable.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the coin depositing / dispensing machine 1 has been described as being used as a coin change machine mounted on a register such as a POS register installed in a checkout office such as a supermarket or a convenience store. You may make it use as a coin processing apparatus with which the cash processing machine installed in the backyard of a bank or a store is equipped.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Coin depositing / withdrawing machine 2 Deposit port 3 Delivery roller 4 Depositing conveyance path 5 Sorting conveyance path 6 Discrimination part 7, 7a-7f Money storage 8,8a-8g Sorting gate 9 Rejecting chute 11 Rejecting port 12 Withdrawing port 15 Guide Plate 15a Guide surface 15b Side guide 16 Conveying belt 16a Conveying surface 17a Drive pulley 17b Driven pulley 18 Press roller 19 Protrusion 21 Belt pulley 23 Belt with pin 24 Pin 26 Delivery section

Claims (4)

A conveyance path having a conveyance belt for conveying coins while pressing the coin against the guide surface;
A coin processing apparatus provided with a discrimination unit provided in the transport path for discriminating the coins that have been transported,
A plurality of protrusions are provided on the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt,
The distance between the protrusions is longer than the maximum diameter of the coins to be handled,
The coin processing apparatus, wherein a height of the protrusion is lower than a minimum gap between the guide surface and the transport surface. The coin processing device according to claim 1,
A coin processing apparatus, wherein the height of the protrusion is lower than the minimum thickness of a coin to be handled. The coin processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
On the downstream side of the transport direction of the transport path, a sorting transport path having a belt with a pin for receiving coins transported by the transport belt between a plurality of pins is provided,
The coin processing apparatus, wherein the protrusion pitch of the protrusions and the pin pitch of the pins are changed according to a speed ratio between the driving speed of the conveying belt and the driving speed of the belt with pins. The coin processing apparatus according to claim 3,
A coin processing apparatus, wherein a positive integer number of auxiliary protrusions are arranged at an interval between the protrusions between the protrusion pitches.

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