JP3038982B2 - Coin transporter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine and the like, and more particularly to a coin transporter used in combination with a coin changer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional technique will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 4, the position of the coin return slot 2 of the vending machine (hereinafter referred to as vending machine) 1 is generally as follows in order to process coins via the coin changer 3. That is, the coin slot 4 of the vending machine 1 is provided on the upper side of the vending machine 1, and the coin return port 2 is provided on the lower side of the vending machine 1. Similarly, a product outlet 5 is also provided on the lower side of the vending machine 1.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional configuration, if, for example, the coin changer 3 is used alone, the coin insertion slot 4 is necessarily located above the coin changer 3 due to restrictions on the configuration of the coin changer 3. And coins (hereinafter, coins are also generally referred to as coins)
Return port 2 is located below the coin changer 3.
This is because the flow of coins in the coin changer 3 follows the law of natural fall. Therefore, the coin return slot 2 is necessarily disposed below the vending machine 1, and as a result, the returned coin must be bent and taken out, which is inconvenient.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to facilitate removal of coins from a return port.

It is another object of the present invention to reliably transport the inserted coins one by one.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention in order to achieve this object, a coin input port, a first passage which is arranged obliquely downward in the inlet, the first passageway a sorting gate provided above, Sole for driving the gate
A second passage connected to one end of the gate, a second passage connected to an end of the second passage, and a conveyance path for conveying the inserted coins upward, and provided on the conveyance path. Transport means, a coin outlet provided above the transport path, a third passage connected between the other outlet of the gate and a coin return port, the input port and the gate, an inlet sensor provided between, and a coin detection sensor provided on a side surface of said conveying path on the extension of the second passage, when detecting the coin in the inlet sensor, before
The solenoid is turned on to connect the first passage and the second passage, and when a coin is detected by the coin detection sensor, the solenoid is turned off and the first passage is connected to the first passage. it is obtained by a configuration in which connecting the third passage.

[0007]

By providing the coin transport device configured as described above, it becomes possible to arrange a coin changer above the vending machine, and the inserted coin is first transported upward by the transport means of the coin transport device. Thereafter, the coins flow into the coin changer, so that the coin changer and the return port for coins therefrom can be arranged slightly above the vending machine, so that the coins can be taken out without bending.

Further, since the entrance sensor and the coin detection sensor are provided, the number of coins in the passage can be managed. Therefore, even if a large number of coins are continuously inserted, coins that cannot be processed are guided to the return port, so that coin jamming in the coin passage can be prevented. As a result, coins can always flow one by one into the transport path, and the inserted coins can be transported reliably.

[0009]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the coin transport device 10 of the present invention is combined with a coin changer 3. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 6 denotes a coin slot provided in the coin transport device 10. The slot 6 is connected to the slot 4 at a substantially central portion of the front surface of the vending machine 1 by a passage (not shown). Then, the coins inserted into the insertion port 6 are transported upward through the coin transporting device 10 and
Released from 1. Here, the coin changer 3 is disposed below the outlet 11. Further, a coin payout section 12 is provided below the coin changer 3. The coin dispensing section 12 is directly connected to a return port of a vending machine by a passage (not shown).

Next, in FIG.
Are connected diagonally downward. The first passage 13 is provided with a gate 14 for sorting the flow of coins that have flowed in. One of the outlets of the gate 14 is a second outlet provided on an extension of the first passage 13.
To the passage 15. The end of the second passage 15 is connected to a coin standby position 16 provided in the transport path 17. The other exit of the gate 14 is the third passage 1
8 to the vending machine return port. Reference numeral 19 denotes an entrance sensor provided in the first passage 13 between the input port 6 and the gate 14.

Here, the inclination angle of the first passage 13 and the second passage 15 is set to approximately 15 degrees, and a good effect is obtained. That is, if the angle is smaller than approximately 15 degrees, the coin does not roll smoothly in the passage. If the angle is larger than approximately 15 degrees, the height dimension of the coin transport device 10 becomes large, and the coin rolls quickly, so that the gate 14 is operated after the coin is detected by the entrance sensor 19. The required time is not available. The gate 14 operates by energizing a solenoid (not shown). That is, when the energization of the solenoid is turned off, the first
And the third passage 18 are connected to each other. Conversely, when the solenoid is energized, the first passage 13 and the second passage 15 are connected. The gate 14 is configured such that the third passage 18 is open when the second passage 15 is closed, and conversely, the third passage 18 is closed when the second passage 15 is open. The relationship is opposite to each other.

Next, in the transport path 17, the second path 1
An extension of the terminal end of 5 is a coin standby position 16, and a coin detection sensor 20 is embedded in a side wall thereof. And
As shown in FIG. 2, a toothed pulley 21 is provided on an upper side of the transport path 17, and a toothed pulley 22 is provided on a lower side thereof.
Is provided. And this pulley 21 and pulley 22
A toothed conveying belt (used as an example of conveying means) 23 that engages with the pulleys 21 and 22 is hung. This belt 23 is made of polyurethane resin.
The belt 23 is provided with two protrusions 25 for placing coins 24 at positions obtained by dividing the belt 23 at substantially equal intervals.
At a substantially horizontal position of the pulley 22 disposed on the lower side of the transport path 17, a protrusion detecting sensor 26 for detecting the protrusion 25 is embedded. Reference numeral 28 denotes a projection provided on the side plate, which is used when removing the side plate.

The pulley 21 is a driving wheel, and a motor 29
Through a speed reduction mechanism. A passage 27 is provided substantially in the lateral direction of the pulley 21.
4 is separated from the transport path 17 along this path 27. The coin 24 is rotated by approximately 90 degrees and flows out of the outlet 11 by the convex portion provided on the side surface of the passage 27. In FIG. 1 and FIG.
1 rotates counterclockwise, transports the coin 24 from the position of the coin detection sensor 20 to the upper end side, and supplies the coin 24 from the outlet 11 to the coin changer 3.

The operation of the coin transport device configured as described above will be described below. In FIG. 3, when a coin 24 is inserted into the insertion slot 6, the coin 24 is transported upward in the coin transport device 10, discharged from the outlet 11, and flows into the coin changer 3. In the coin changer 3, the authenticity and denomination of the coin 24 that has flowed in are discriminated. The designated product is sold from the vending machine. In addition, coins 24 such as change are released from the coin paying unit 12 as needed, and sent out to the return port of the vending machine.

In FIG. 1, when the coin 24 inserted into the insertion slot 6 is detected by the entrance sensor 19, the solenoid is energized to open the second passage 15 side of the gate 14. Therefore, the inserted coin 24 rolls in the second path 15 and stops at the standby position 16 of the transport path 17.
At this time, the detection sensor 20 detects the coin 24 and turns off the solenoid. Therefore, at this time, the first passage 1
3 will be connected to the third passage 18. As described above, in the normal state, the solenoid is turned off and the first passage 13 is connected to the third passage 18 to ensure safety. Further, even when an abnormality such as a power failure occurs, when the solenoid is turned off, the first passage 13 and the third passage 18 are connected.

In the case of continuous coin insertion, the coins 24 are inserted into the entrance sensor 19 and the detection sensor 20.
Are counted independently. That is, the number of coins 24 that have been continuously inserted first is added by the first counter. Then, the coins 24 continuously inserted are temporarily stored in the second passage 15. Here, the coin 24 flowing into the standby position 16
Are transported one after another by the transport belt 23. Each time one sheet is conveyed, the number is added by the second counter. When the value of the first counter becomes equal to the value of the second counter, the solenoid is turned off, and the apparatus enters a standby state. In addition, the number of coins retained in the second passage 15 is set to a maximum of four to prevent biting into the gate 14, and the difference between the value of the first counter and the value of the second counter becomes four. At times, the solenoid is turned off, and coins inserted thereafter are returned to the return port through the third passage 18. Then, the staying coins are transported by the transport belt 23,
When the difference between the value of the second counter and the value of the second counter becomes 3 or less, the next inserted coin 24 is
When the detection is made, the solenoid is turned on again.

When the external equipment (the control device and the coin changer) is in any abnormal condition, a deposit prohibition signal is sent from the external equipment to turn off the solenoid of the coin transport device 10 and turn off the solenoid. 1st passage 13 and 3rd
And the passage 18 is connected.

Next, the operation of transporting coins in the transport belt 23 will be described. When the coin 24 is detected at the standby position 16, the drive pulley 21 rotates counterclockwise as shown in FIG. As a result, the coins 24 riding on the convex portions 25 of the transport belt 23 are transported upward, and are discharged from the outlet 11 to the outside of the coin transport device 10 through the passage 27. Then, the motor 29 is stopped by detecting the convex portion 25 that has conveyed the coin 24 first out of the two convex portions by the convex portion detection sensor 26. Therefore, belt 2
3 also stops conveyance and enters a standby state. In this way, the transport means is driven only during actual operation.

The reason why two convex portions 25 are provided on the transport belt 23 is to improve the transport efficiency. That is, two coins 24 can be transported upward by one rotation of the transport belt 23.

Further, starting the conveyance from the standby position 16,
The time until the protrusion detection sensor 26 detects the protrusion 25 is counted (in this embodiment, detection is performed in about 0.5 seconds).
This is a releasing means when the coins 24 are jammed in the transport path 17 for some reason and are locked. That is,
If the convex portion detection sensor 26 does not detect the convex portion 25 even after a sufficient time (3 seconds in this embodiment) for confirming the locked state from the start of the transport, the transport path 1
Assuming that the coin 24 is jammed in 7 and the conveyance is locked, the motor 29 is rotated reversely for a very short time (about 150 msec).
As a result, the belt 23 is slightly moved in the reverse direction,
The engagement between the transport path 17 and the coin 24 will be released. If the above-described operation is repeated three times and the convex portion 25 cannot be detected, an abnormal signal is output and an alarm is sounded. In this case, the solenoid is turned off, and the first passage 13 is moved to the third passage.
To the passage 18 side.

[0021]

As described above, by providing the coin transport device according to the present invention, the inserted coin is first transported upward by the transport means of the coin transport device, and thereafter, the coin changer disposed above the vending machine. , It is possible to arrange the coin changer and the coin return port therefrom even slightly above the vending machine, and the coin can be easily taken out without crouching.

Further, since the entrance sensor and the coin detection sensor are provided, the number of coins in the passage can be managed. Therefore, even if a large number of coins are continuously inserted, coins that cannot be processed are guided to the return port, so that coin jamming in the coin passage can be prevented. As a result, coins can always flow one by one into the transport path, and the inserted coins can be transported reliably.

Furthermore, since the conveying means is driven when a coin is detected by the coin detecting sensor, an efficient conveying operation can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a coin transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the coin transport device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a combination of a coin transporter and a coin changer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an external front view of a conventional vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 Input port 11 Outflow port 13 First path 14 Gate 15 Second path 17 Conveyance path 18 Third path 19 Inlet sensor 20 Coin detection sensor 23 Belt 24 Coin 25 Convex part 26 Convex part detection sensor

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kojiro Iida 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-3-123990 (JP, A) 13578 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G07F 9/04 G07F 1/04

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] And 1. A coin input port, a first passage which this is arranged obliquely downward of the inlet, a sorting gate provided in the first on passage source for driving the gate
A solenoid connected to one outlet of the gate;
Path, a conveying path connected to the end of the second path and conveying the inserted coins upward, a conveying means provided on the conveying path, and a coin provided above the conveying path. an outlet, and a third passageway in communication between the other outlet and coin return slot of the gate, an inlet sensor provided between the said inlet gate, said second passage and a coin detection sensor provided on a side surface of said conveying path on the extension, when detecting the coin in the inlet sensor, before
The solenoid is turned on to connect the first passage and the second passage, and when a coin is detected by the coin detection sensor, the solenoid is turned off and the first passage is connected to the first passage. A coin transport device configured to connect to the third passage.