JP2994734B2 - Vending machine coin transporter - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a coin transport device of a vending machine.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, in a vending machine, coins inserted from a coin insertion slot provided on a front face are received by a coin processing device provided therein,
This coin processing device performs true and false sorting of received coins, and also pays out change, returns and pays out counterfeit coins, and returns and pays out accepted coins. A configuration in which the coin is sent out to a coin return port opened on the front surface is generally used, and is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-62-114094.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the prior art having such a configuration, coins to be paid out from the coin processing device are sent to a coin return port located at a lower portion of the coin processing device. Being low, the customer must bend down significantly and remove the coins in the coin return slot. That is, since the position of the coin insertion slot is set at a height at which the customer can easily insert coins, there is a problem that the position of the coin return slot is lowered.

In view of the above, the present invention can set the position of the coin return slot to a position where the coin can be easily taken out from the customer, and the coin transport device of the vending machine which does not cause the jam of coins when sending coins. Is provided.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to a coin processing device for a coin processing machine, which is provided with a coin processing device for paying out coins based on a coin return command from a sales control unit. A coin receiving section for receiving coins paid out from the apparatus, a bucket for picking up and holding coins received in the coin receiving section, an endless belt for arranging and transporting a large number of buckets, and A pair of upper and lower rotating wheels that are stretched and rotated, a delivery chute that is rotatably supported at one end and is urged to extend the other end upward of the endless belt, and one of the rotating wheels. And a drive motor connected via a reduction mechanism to a drive shaft pivotally supporting the coin, and a delivery chute guides coins discharged from a bucket conveyed over an upper rotating wheel to a coin return port, and When the coin is locked between the coin and the bucket, the other end is moved downward to release the locked state, and the released coin is guided to the coin receiving portion and picked up again by the bucket. It was done.

(E) Function The present invention is directed to a rotation supported by the drive shaft because the drive motor rotates the drive shaft via the speed reduction mechanism when the coin dispensed from the coin processing device is received by the coin receiving unit. The car rotates, and a bucket disposed on the endless belt picks up the coins in the coin receiving section and conveys the coins upward, and sends the coins from the upper conveyed bucket to a delivery chute to send out a coin return port. When the coin discharged from the bucket transported over the upper rotating wheel is locked between the bucket and the delivery chute, the delivery chute is rotated by the transport force of the bucket. Falls to the coin receiving section below without generating a locked state,
It is picked up again by the bucket and sent out. Also,
The delivery chute is automatically rotated and returned when the locked state of the coin is released.

(F) Example Each figure shows an example of the present invention.
This is the main body of the vending machine that pivotally opens and closes.

The door 2 is located at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction on the front surface, and a product outlet 3,
A coin insertion slot 4, a return lever 5, a coin return slot 6 and the like are provided, and a product selection room 9 and a plurality of product selection buttons 9 corresponding to the displayed product samples 8 are provided at an upper portion. I have.

A coin processing device 10 is provided on the back surface of the door 2 corresponding to the coin insertion slot 4 so that coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 4 can be received into the coin processing device 10 through the insertion chute 11.

The coin processing device 10 is a well-known device that is generally well-known, and a coin sorting device unit 10A that sorts the authenticity and type of a coin received from the input chute 11, and is sorted as an authentic coin by the coin sorting device unit 10A. Storage unit 10B for storing coins for each type, and a dispensing device 10C for dispensing coins stored in the storage unit 10B from the bottom based on a coin return command.
In addition, coins selected as fake coins by the coin sorting device unit 10A are returned from the bottom without entering the storage unit.

Numeral 12 denotes a coin transport device which receives coins paid out from the payout device 10C of the coin processing device 10 and coins paid out as fake coins, transports them upward, and sends them out to the coin return port 6 on the upper side. A payout chute 14 for guiding coins paid out from the bottom of the coin processing device 10 to a lower coin receiving unit 13, a transport mechanism 15 for transporting the coins received by the coin receiving unit 13 upward, and a transport mechanism And a delivery port 16 for delivering coins transported upward by 15 to the coin return port 6.

The payout chute 14 is provided with a detection sensor 17 including a magnetic sensor as a detection unit that sends out a coin detection signal when detecting a coin sliding down the bottom surface 14A on a bottom surface 14A that is inclined low toward the coin receiving unit 13. On both wall surfaces 14B and 14B of the coin receiving portion 13, a detection sensor 18 comprising an optical sensor as a detection means for transmitting a coin detection signal when detecting a coin rolling and falling with the bottom portion 14A standing up. A plurality of units are arranged vertically and opposed to each other.

That is, coins paid out from the coin processing device 10 are:
There is a state where the surface part slides to the bottom part 14A and slides down, and a part that rolls and falls while the peripheral part abuts against the bottom part 14A, and the former coin is provided on the bottom part 14A. Although the detection can be reliably performed by the detection sensor 17, in the case of the latter coin, the detection is unstable with the detection sensor 17 on the bottom surface portion 14A. In this case, the detection sensors 18 provided on the both wall surfaces 14B, 14B are used.
, So that it can be detected reliably.

The transport mechanism 15 supports a pair of upper and lower gears 21 and 22 as a rotating wheel between a pair of vertically opposed substrates 19 and 20, and a timing belt 23 as an endless belt between the upper and lower gears 21 and 22. The timing belt 23 has a bucket 24 for picking up and transporting the coins received by the coin receiving section 13.
Are provided at predetermined intervals.

An operation knob 28 is provided at the end of a drive shaft 27 that supports the lower gear 22. The operation knob 28 is connected to an output shaft 26A of a drive motor 26 that can rotate forward and reverse through a speed reduction mechanism 25. Then, the timing belt 23 can be driven forward / reverse by the forward / reverse drive of the drive motor 26, and when the drive motor 26 is stopped, the operation knob 28 is manually rotated so that the timing belt 23 Can be driven in both forward and reverse directions.

The drive motor 26 is driven to rotate forward based on a coin detection signal from the detection sensor 17 or the detection sensor 18 or based on a coin return signal transmitted from a vending control device of the vending machine main body. It stops after a predetermined time sufficient to send the received coins to the upper outlet 16.

In addition, the pair of upper and lower gears 21 and 22 set the diameter of the upper gear 21 to a diameter smaller than the diameter of the lower gear 22, and convert the bucket 24 that is turned downward by the upper gear 21. By increasing the speed, the sending of coins from the bucket 24 to the outlet 16 is promoted.

On the other hand, the coin receiving portion 13 is formed in an arc shape corresponding to the gear 22, and is provided with a concave groove portion 13A into which the tip of the bucket 24 can enter and move, so that the bucket 24 can easily accept the received coin. I am able to pick it up.

A pair of vertically opposed substrates 19 and 20 are formed at an interval at which coins having the maximum diameter to be transported are locked by buckets 24 and can be transported, and side walls are provided on both sides between the substrates 19 and 20. 19A and 19B are provided. And the timing belt 23
The side wall 19A corresponding to the ascending side at the time of the forward rotation drive is configured so that the width of the coin transport passage formed between the timing belt 23 is narrower at the lower portion and wider at the upper portion, and the uppermost portion is In the vicinity, the coin is formed wider than the diameter of the largest coin, so that the coin conveyed upward by the bucket 24 does not cause clogging in the bridge state between the timing belt 23 and the side wall 19A. I have to. Accordingly, coins locked to the bucket 24 and conveyed upward are conveyed to the opposite side over the gear 21 and sent out from the bucket 24 to the outlet 16. Also, coins locked in an unstable state by the bucket 24 and conveyed upward are conveyed to the opposite side over the gear 21 without causing a bridge state between the timing belt 23 and the side wall 19A. And is delivered from the bucket 24 to the outlet 16 or the bucket 24
And is picked up again by the bucket 24 at the lower part where it has fallen and transported.

The delivery port 16 is provided with a delivery chute 29 for receiving coins dropped from the bucket 24 and guiding and sending the coins to the coin return port 6. One end of the delivery chute 29 is rotatably supported at the lower edge position of the delivery port 16, and the other end extends toward the timing belt 23 so as to be freely rotatable up and down. A spring 30 is provided for urging the other end upward on the timing belt 23 side so that coins from the bucket 24 conveyed to the outlet 16 can be received and guided to the outlet 16. The delivery chute 29 is configured so that the other end thereof has a high predetermined inclination angle by a regulating portion 31 provided on the shaft support portion. That is, by the stopper 31 being in contact with the lower edge 32 of the outlet 16 acting as a stopper,
The inclination angle is set to a predetermined value.

The spring 30 can receive and send the coin dropped from the bucket 24 to the delivery port 16 by receiving the delivery chute 29, and the delivery chute 29 is resilient to the transport force of the bucket 24 by the timing belt 23. It is biased upward.

 The operation of the present invention with such a configuration will be described.

When a predetermined coin is inserted from the coin insertion slot 4 by a customer, the coin is received by the coin processing device 10 through the insertion chute 11, and the coin is sorted by the coin sorting device unit 10A for authenticity and type.

The coins sorted as intrinsic coins by the coin sorting device unit 10A are stored in the storage unit 10B for each type. Then, coins determined as fake by the coin sorting device unit 10A, or coins returned based on the return operation, the coin processing device 10
When the coins are sent to the payout chute 14 from the bottom and sent to the coin receiving unit 13, the detection sensors 17, 18 detect the coins and send out a coin detection signal.

Therefore, the drive motor 26 rotates forward based on the coin detection signal and stops after a predetermined time sufficient for the coins in the coin receiving unit 13 to be conveyed to the outlet 16. Also, the detection sensor
Even when the coins 17 and 18 do not detect a coin, the drive motor 26 is driven to rotate forward based on a coin return command from the vending control unit of the vending machine main body, and the coins in the coin receiving unit 13 are fed to the outlet 16.
Stops after a predetermined time sufficient to be conveyed to.

The transport mechanism 15 is driven to rotate forward by the forward rotation of the drive motor 26, picks up the coins received in the coin receiving section 13 by the buckets 24, and transports the coins to the upper outlet 16.
Since the lower gear 22 corresponding to the coin receiving portion 13 has a larger diameter than the upper gear 21, a bucket moving on the outer periphery thereof
It is easy to pick up coins at 24.

When the coins picked up by the bucket 24 are locked in the unstable state by the bucket 24 and conveyed upward, the coin may be in a bridge state in contact with the timing belt 23 and the side wall 19A. As the coins are conveyed upward, the coin conveyance path becomes wider and becomes wider than the diameter of the coins, so that the coins are pressed upward by the bucket 24 to release the bridge state.

Therefore, the coins do not lock in a bridge state between the timing belt 23 and the side wall 19A, drop off from the bucket 24 to the coin receiving unit 13, are picked up by the bucket 24 again, and are conveyed.

When the coins held by the bucket 24 and conveyed to the upper side are conveyed to the opposite side over the upper gear 21, the coins are discharged from the bucket 24 to the delivery port 16, and are sent to the coin return port 6 through the delivery chute 29. Information is sent.

On the other hand, when the coin A dropped and delivered from the bucket 24 is caught and locked between the upper end of the delivery chute 29 and the bucket 24, as shown in FIG. Is pressed by the bucket 24 and turned downward. Therefore, the coin A is not locked between the delivery chute 29 and the bucket 24 and the
After passing through the bucket 24, the delivery chute 29 returns to the predetermined position where the regulating portion 31 abuts and locks on the lower edge 32 by the elastic force of the spring 30 and returns.

(G) Effect of the Invention According to the present invention, even when the position of the coin insertion slot is set to a height at which coins can be easily inserted, the position of the coin return slot can be set to a position at which coins can be easily taken out. At the same time, coins can be reliably sent out without causing coin clogging at the time of sending out coins.

[Brief description of the drawings]

Each figure shows an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a coin transport device, FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a coin receiving portion, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the lower portion of the transport mechanism, FIG. 5 is a front view of the vending machine, and FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view. 10 ... Coin processing device, 13 ... Coin receiving unit, 21,22 ... Gear (rotary wheel), 23 ... Timing belt (endless belt), 24 ... Bucket, 25 ... Deceleration mechanism, 26 ... Drive Motor, 29 ... Send chute.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-60-249985 (JP, A) JP-A-62-257870 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G07D 9/00 418 G07F 5/24

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A vending machine provided with a coin processing device for paying out coins based on a coin return command from a sales control means, a coin receiving unit for receiving coins paid out from the coin processing device, and a coin receiving unit for receiving the coins. A bucket for picking up and holding the coins received in the section, an endless belt for arranging and transporting a large number of the buckets, a pair of upper and lower rotating wheels that rotate by stretching the endless belt in the vertical direction, A delivery chute that is rotatably supported and biased to extend the other end upward of the endless belt, and a drive motor that is connected to one of the drive shafts that support the rotating wheel via a reduction mechanism. The delivery chute guides coins discharged from the bucket conveyed over the upper rotating wheel to a coin return port, and when the coin is locked between the bucket and the bucket, the other end is moved downward to engage the coin. So as to release the state, coin conveying device of a vending machine is coin locked state is released, characterized in that as picked up again by the buckets are guided to the coin receiving portion.