JP2512190B2 - Coin transporter - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transport device for sorting coins while transporting them in an aligned state, and more particularly to a drive device applied to a mechanism for delivering coins in a predetermined direction in an aligned state.

[Prior art]

In devices such as coin sorting machines and coin sorting and packaging machines, a rotating disc is used as a mechanism for feeding a large number of coins into a sorting passage in an aligned state. For example, it is used in the coin processing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 1-26118, 1-18479, Japanese Utility Model Publication 1-29666 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-66740. Further, in the above coin processing device, since the coins are transported from the rotary disc in the sorting passage, a transport belt is used that travels while sandwiching the coin between the coin and the bottom plate that constitutes the sorting passage.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

Each of the rotating disk and the conveyor belt uses an induction motor, a DC motor, or the like as a drive source, and these motors generally have low torque and high rotation. Therefore, a speed reducer is indispensable in order to drive the rotating disk and the conveyor belt at a desired speed and to obtain a necessary torque, and these mechanisms occupy a large space in the machine, resulting in a large device. There is a problem that the device becomes large in size or occupies a large space in the machine, and the existence of the mechanism restricts the device design. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to effectively use the space in the machine or downsize the device by downsizing a drive source such as a rotating disk or a conveyor belt used in a coin processing machine or the like. It is intended.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application includes an elastically deformable member that has a surface on which an object to be transferred is placed, and that is provided in a direction in which the object is to be transferred. A vibration source that vibrates the member to slightly deform in the thickness direction,
The power source means drives the vibration source so as to move the deformation position of the member along the direction in which the transported object is to be transported. In the invention according to claim 2 of the present application, in the invention according to claim 1, the member is connected along a tangent direction to a coin supply means for sending a tangential direction while mounting and rotating a coin, and the coin is It is configured to have a linear shape having a width dimension that allows passage. In the invention according to claim 3 of the present application, in the invention according to claim 1, the member has a planar portion on which a coin is placed, and the power supply means sequentially arranges the member in the circumferential direction. The vibration source is configured to be driven so as to be deformed. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a plurality of the members are concentrically arranged, and the vibration sources are separately provided for the respective members. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a rotating body having a flat portion on which a coin is placed, an annular elastic member provided on the lower surface of the rotating body with the same axis line, and contacting the rotating body,
A vibration source that vibrates the elastic member so as to slightly deform in the thickness direction, a power supply unit that drives the vibration source to sequentially deform the elastic member in the rotation direction of the rotating body, and the vibration body that rotates the rotating body. And a biasing means for biasing in the direction of approaching the source.

[Action]

With the configuration according to the first aspect of the present invention, the member is continuously deformed by driving the vibration source, and the thrust acts on the transported object by this deformation. With the configuration according to the second aspect of the present invention, thrust in the same direction can be applied to the coin tangentially fed from the coin supply means. According to the configuration of the invention described in claim 5, the tangential thrust can be applied to the coin on the member. According to the configuration of the invention described in claim 4, each member can be driven by a separate vibration source, and an arbitrary thrust can be applied to the transported object. According to the configuration of the invention described in claim 5, the thrust generated in the elastic member can act on the rotating body to rotate the rotating body, and the contact pressure between the rotating body-the elastic member-the vibration source. Is maintained by the biasing means.

【Example】

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a coin passage. Reference numeral 1 is a sorting passage for transporting coins in a single file.
The sorting passage 1 includes a bottom plate 2 that supports the lower surface of the coin C,
Guide members 3 which are provided on both sides of the bottom plate 2 and which guide the coin C in a linear shape by contacting the side surface of the coin C.
And a vibration source 4 which is provided on the lower surface of the bottom plate 2 and gives a vibration in a predetermined mode to the bottom plate 2. The bottom plate 2 is made of, for example, an elastic body (an object that reversibly distorts due to a stress in a predetermined range) such as a copper alloy, and its natural frequency resonates with the frequency of the vibration source 4. It is set to a value to obtain. The vibration source 4 is composed of a plurality of piezoelectric conversion elements that vibrate to deform the bottom plate 2 in the thickness direction (vertical direction of FIGS. 1 and 2) when an alternating current is supplied. The coins C are arranged along the direction in which the coins C should be conveyed, with the deformation directions thereof being opposite to each other (alternately connected to the power source in opposite phases). Further, the plurality of vibration sources 4 are driven so as to deform the bottom plate 3 in a distribution as shown in FIG. A power supply device (not shown) as a power supply means may drive one vibration source, or may drive a plurality of vibration sources at the same or different frequencies. Good. That is, + in FIG. 3 indicates deformation in a direction projecting from the surface of the bottom plate 2, and − indicates deformation in a retracting direction. By vibrating alternately in the deformed state, the surface of the bottom plate 2 that resonates with this vibration becomes the third
The coins C on the bottom plate 2 are conveyed by being sequentially bent in a wave shape that advances in the direction of arrow A or B in the figure. The bottom plate 2, the vibration source 4, and the coin C itself constitute a so-called ultrasonic motor. Regarding the operating principle of the ultrasonic motor,
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-244284, it is publicly known, and therefore its detailed description is omitted. The bottom plate 2 and the vibration source 4 may be in contact with each other simply by the weight of the bottom plate 2 or may be fixed to each other with an adhesive or mechanical means. Thus, the vibration can be transmitted more reliably and the device can be operated efficiently. In the coin passage 1 configured as described above, as the bottom plate 2 is sequentially deformed by the vibration of the vibration source 4 as described above, the product of the weight P of the coin C and the dynamic friction coefficient μ (μ ·
The thrust corresponding to P) acts on the coin C, and the coin C can move in one direction. In addition, in this method, the coin C can be conveyed without contacting any object other than the lower surface thereof, and therefore a contact type or non-contact type sensor is used to measure the size and physical properties of the coin C. It can be easily arranged at a required place in the middle of the sorting passage. As shown by the chain line in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is also effective to provide a vertically movable roller 6 above the coin passage 1 and press the coin C against the bottom plate 2 by its own weight. . That is, by increasing the contact pressure between the coin C and the bottom plate 2 by the roller 6, the thrust acting on the coin C can be increased and the movement thereof can be made more reliable. Furthermore, instead of the roller 6,
For example, the coin C may be pressed against the bottom plate 2 by a leaf spring member. The guide members 3 are supported so that their mutual intervals can be adjusted, and by adjusting the intervals, only coins having a predetermined outer diameter or less can be selectively introduced into the coin passage 1. . Next, FIGS. 4 and 5 show a second embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a rotating disk. Reference numeral 10 is a frame, and this frame 10 is provided with a recess 11 having a circular planar shape. At the center of this recess 11, a cone made of an elastic material such as rubber is used.
12 is provided, and this cone 12 is fitted and fixed in a hole in the center of the front recess 11. The concave portion 11 has an annular bottom plate (rotating disc) 13 having an outer diameter dimension substantially equal to the inner diameter thereof and an inner diameter dimension substantially equal to the outer diameter of the cone 12, and the same as the bottom plate 13 as a whole. A vibration source 14 having a planar shape is provided. Further, a cylindrical wall portion 15 is provided around the concave portion 11 to form the bottom plate.
The movement of the coin C out of the area above 13 is regulated. The vibration source 14 is composed of, for example, a plurality of piezoelectric elements arranged in the circumferential direction as shown by the chain line in FIG. 4, and the adjacent piezoelectric elements are arranged in opposite directions, as in the case of the first embodiment. By alternately supplying currents of opposite phases so as to deform, a thrust force in the circumferential direction is applied to the coin C on the bottom plate 13. A part of the wall portion 15 is cut out. Due to the presence of this notch, the coin C to which the thrust in the circumferential direction is given on the bottom plate 13 can be sent out in the tangential direction, and the notch portion in the tangential direction of the bottom plate 13. The coin passage 1 having the same structure as that of the first embodiment is connected toward the front. That is, in this second embodiment, the elastic force is continuously deformed in a wave shape in the circumferential direction on the upper surface of the bottom plate 13 to give a thrust force to the coin C on the bottom plate 13 in the circumferential direction, The coin C discharged in the tangential direction by the movement in the direction is received in the coin passage 1, and the bottom plate 2 is also vibrated in the coin passage 1 in the same manner.
The coin C on 13 can be sent to the coin passage 1 in a single file. Further, the cone 12 provided at the center of the bottom plate 13 pushes the coin C that comes into contact therewith to a portion of the bottom plate 13 having a relatively large radius to keep the moving speed of the coin C in the circumferential direction at a certain level or more. It has become. Next, referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An example will be described. In this embodiment, the bottom plate 13 of the second embodiment and the vibration source 14 for driving the same are divided into a plurality of units a, b and c in the radial direction. A small radial gap (at least a gap larger than these amplitudes) is provided between the units a, b, and c of the bottom plate 13 and the vibration source 14 to prevent mutual vibrations from interfering with each other. It has become. In the case of the embodiment, the cushioning material 20 made of a viscoelastic body such as butyl rubber is inserted between the units a, b, c, but there is simply a gap between the units a, b, c. May be provided to prevent interference between the units. When the gaps are provided between the units as described above, the dust on the bottom plate 13 is
Are dropped into the respective gaps when moving from the unit c on the inner peripheral side to the unit a on the outer peripheral side, so that the dust particles are contacted with the bottom plate 13 by the coin C and the units a, b, c. This will prevent foreign matter from interfering with the transmission of vibration waves. Further, it is desirable that at least the unit b among these units is configured to be easily separated from the recess 11 to facilitate removal of dust that has entered the gap between the units a, b, and c. Then, in this embodiment, the drive source 1 of each unit a, b, c
By driving 4 at different frequencies, the bottom plate 1
The coin C on 3 can be efficiently sent out regardless of the placement position (where in the radial direction of the bottom plate 13). That is, the centrifugal force that acts on a rotating object is
If the mass is m, the radius of gyration is r, and the angular velocity is ω, mr
It can be expressed as ω ^2. Therefore, it is unavoidable that the centrifugal force acting on the coin C existing inside the bottom plate 13 becomes small, but the respective units a, b, c are driven by separate power sources. In addition, by setting the frequency of the driving power supply for driving the unit located inside of each power supply higher than that of the power supply outside, it is possible to apply a uniform centrifugal force to the coin C regardless of whether it is inside or outside. Furthermore, FIGS. 8 and 9 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 10 is a frame, and the concave portion 11 of the frame 10
A rotary disc 21 is rotatably supported by a shaft 21a, and the shaft 21a is supported by a radial bearing 22 and a thrust bearing 23. Further, the concave portion 11 is provided with a further recessed annular groove 24. In the annular groove 24, a vibration source 25 having the same planar shape as the groove and an elastic member mounted on the vibration source 25 are provided. Material 26 and is housed. As shown in FIG. 9, the elastic member 26 has a convex cross section, and is brought into contact with the lower surface of the rotary disc 21 via the convex portion 27. Further, a slider 28 is attached to the lower surface of the rotary disc 21 on the sliding portion with the convex portion 27. The slider 28 is required to have excellent wear resistance and a small friction coefficient, and the optimum one can be selected from engineering plastics and ceramics, for example. Further, the rotary disc 21 is rotated by the vibration transmitted from the vibration source 25, and in order to ensure the transmission of this vibration, the support of the rotary disc 21 is considered as follows. . A shaft 21a of the rotating disk 21 penetrates the bottom of the frame 10, and a nut 29 is screwed into the lower end thereof. A spring washer 30 is interposed between the nut 29 and the frame 10. By screwing the nut 29, the spring washer
By further elastically deforming 30, the contact pressure between the vibration source 25, the convex portion 27 of the elastic member 26, the slider 28, and the rotating disk 21 is set to an appropriate value (vibration is reliably transmitted to generate sufficient thrust). The pressure can be set so that the frictional resistance between the convex portion 27 and the slider 28 is smaller than the thrust).

【The invention's effect】

As is apparent from the above description, according to the coin transporting device of the present invention, the vibration source is driven by the power supply unit, and the elastically deformable member is brought into contact with the vibration source to vibrate the surface thereof, It is possible to convey a conveyed object placed on the surface by applying a thrust force from the contact pressure of the conveyed object due to its own weight. Further, by connecting the above coin transport device in the tangential direction of the rotating disc to form a linear transport path having a width dimension through which the coin can pass, the coins sent out in the tangential direction from the rotating disc are Since the object can be carried on the carrying path without contacting anything other than the lower surface, the upper part of the coin carrying device can be opened. Further, in a coin transporting device that has a flat portion on which a coin is placed by the elastic member, and vibrates the elastic member so as to sequentially deform along the circumferential direction, in the coin placed on the placed coin in the circumferential direction. Can be moved to the outer peripheral side and sent out in the tangential direction by the centrifugal force generated along with the thrust. Further, in a coin transporting device in which a plurality of elastic members are concentrically arranged and the vibration sources are separately provided for the respective elastic members, each vibration source vibrates the elastic member at a different frequency, and On the other hand, different thrust can be applied to each elastic member. That is, for example, by increasing the thrust of the elastic member on the inner peripheral side and equalizing the tangential centrifugal force generated on the coin regardless of the mounting position such as the outer peripheral side or the inner peripheral side, It is possible to prevent delay in the transportation of the placed coins compared to the outer peripheral side. Further, in the coin transporting device in which the rotating disc is placed in contact with the elastic member, since the elastic member directly applies the thrust to the rotating disc, the coins placed on the rotating disc are transported in the circumferential direction. , And can be delivered tangentially by the centrifugal force generated by its rotation. Further, in the above coin transporting device, since the vibration from the vibration source driven by the power supply means is directly transmitted to the coin or the rotating disk by the elastic member to give the thrust, when the electric motor is used as the driving source. High speed and quick response performance can be obtained without the need for a speed reduction mechanism or a braking mechanism. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the coin transporting device or effectively utilize the space inside the machine body in which the device is provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view, FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a deformation pattern of a bottom plate. 4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan view, FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line V-V in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 and FIG. FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a plan view, FIG. 7 is a view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 6, and FIGS. 8 and 9 show the present invention. The fourth embodiment shows the eighth embodiment
The drawing is a plan view, and FIG. 9 is a view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG. 1 ... Sorting passage, 2 ... Bottom plate, 3 ... Guide member, 4 ...
... Vibration source, 6 ... Roller (biasing means), 11 ... Recess, 12
...... Cone, 13 ...... bottom plate, 14 ...... vibration source, 15 ...... wall part,
21 …… Rotating disk, 21a …… Axis, 25 …… Vibration source, 26 …… Elastic material, 27 …… Convex part, 28 …… Slider, 29 …… Nut,
30: Spring washer (biasing means), C: Coin.

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An elastically deformable member having a surface on which an object to be conveyed is placed and provided in a direction to be conveyed, and a vibration for slightly deforming the member in the thickness direction. And a power source means for driving the vibration source so as to move the deformed position of the member along the direction in which the transported object is to be transported. 2. The member is connected along a tangential direction to a coin supply means for placing a coin and sending it in a tangential direction while rotating it, and has a linear shape having a width dimension through which the coin can pass. The coin transport device according to claim 1, wherein the coin transport device is a coin transport device. 3. The member has a planar portion on which a coin is placed, and the power source means drives the vibration source to sequentially deform the member in the circumferential direction. The coin transport device according to claim 1. 4. The coin transporting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of the members are concentrically arranged, and the vibration sources are separately provided for the respective members. 5. A rotary body having a flat portion on which a coin is placed, an annular elastic member provided on the lower surface of the rotary body with the same axis line and in contact with the rotary body, and the elastic member is thick. A vibration source for causing a slight deformation in the vertical direction, a power source means for driving the vibration source to sequentially deform the elastic member in the rotation direction of the rotating body, and a direction in which the rotating body approaches the vibration source. A coin transporting device comprising a biasing means for biasing the coin transporting device.