JP4046558B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vending machine for detecting the clogging of the inserted coins, in particular, when the coin is jammed in the middle of the guide to induce coins is obtained by to reliably detect it.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a wide variety of vending machines and ticket vending machines have been made to purchase coins and purchase goods and tickets.
In these devices, coin inlets, change outlets, product outlets, operation buttons, etc., are in a discrete position, and the user may bend down several times before completing the purchase of the product. There are things that require reaching out. Ergonomically, it is desirable that a user can insert coins, perform necessary operations, and take out changes and merchandise without the user having to move his body greatly.
[0003]
However, when a product that satisfies these conditions and meets the restrictions on the installation conditions and size of the equipment is created, the movement path of coins and goods becomes complicated inside the equipment, and the coins and goods are routed for a long distance. May be necessary.
[0004]
FIG. 6 shows a front view of a continuous commuter pass issuing machine developed by the inventors of the present invention, and FIG. 7 shows a side view (partially sectional view). In this device, the coin insertion slot 10, the bill insertion / removal opening 20, the operation unit 30, the commuter pass insertion / removal opening 40 and the change coin removal outlet 50 are positioned as close as possible in consideration of user operability. It is arranged. In this apparatus, the coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 10 are moved into the apparatus along the gently inclined guide 11 and transferred to the coin identification unit to identify the coins. The change coin moves forward along the guide 12 and is discharged from the change coin outlet 50.
[0005]
FIG. 8 shows the operation unit 30 of this apparatus in an enlarged manner. A user who purchases a continuation commuter pass inserts the old ticket into the commuter pass insertion / extraction port 40, presses the 1 month, 3 month or 6 month button to specify the validity period, and specifies the start date of use. Press and press the Confirm button. When the confirmation button is pressed, the coin shutter that prevents the coin insertion at the coin insertion slot 10 opens.
[0006]
As shown in FIG. 9, the coin shutter is composed of a movable piece 13 disposed immediately inside the coin slot 10. The coin shutter 13 is moved to the left and right by the plunger 14, and closes or opens the central portion of the coin slot 10.
A user who has pressed the confirmation button inserts a bill from the bill insertion / removal port 20 and inserts a coin from the coin insertion slot 10. The coin shutter 13 is closed when the inserted amount exceeds the purchase amount of the continuous commuter pass. When the user presses the confirmation button again, a new commuter pass is ejected from the commuter pass insertion / removal port 40, and change comes out of the change coin withdrawal port 50 and the bill insertion / removal port 20.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when a coin is guided over a long distance with a gently inclined guide, a phenomenon in which the coin is jammed rarely occurs in the middle. This is mainly due to the dirt of the coins, and dust, oil, etc. adhering to the coins are accumulated in the guide and hinder the movement of the coins.
[0008]
If the coins are jammed, there will be troubles such as the commuter pass is not issued or the change after the commuter pass is issued even though the user has inserted the purchase amount of the continuation pass. Therefore, when a coin is jammed, it is necessary to take a measure such as quickly detecting it and notifying a staff member.
[0009]
The present invention meet these challenges, it is an object to provide a vending machine coin clogging can be accurately detected that occurs when guided along the coin path.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Therefore, in the present invention , a first sensor and a second sensor for detecting coins inserted from a coin slot are provided, and after the first sensor detects a coin, the second sensor is within a certain time. In a vending machine that identifies a coin as a coin when no coin is detected, at least one of the sensors includes a light sensor having a light emitting part and a light receiving part arranged at intervals, and It consists of a pair of prisms that refract the light incident from the light emitting unit and return it to the light receiving unit, shift the facing position of the photosensor and the prism, and the light emitted from the light emitting unit of the photosensor The light receiving range at the prism is narrowed.
Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect coins jammed in the middle of the guide.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the automatic ticket vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention, in order to detect a coin, that is, as shown in FIG. 2, a first coin detection sensor 60 for detecting a coin is disposed near the coin insertion slot 10, A second coin detection sensor 61 is disposed near the end of the guide 11 for guiding 80.
FIG. 1 shows a simplified configuration of the coin, that is, the detection device.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 3A, the coin detection sensor 60 bends light incident from the light emitting part 631 of the light sensor 63 and the light sensor 631 having the light emitting part 631 and the light receiving part 632, and the light sensor 63. The prism 64 is returned to the light receiving unit 632, and the optical sensor 63 is installed on one wall of the guide 11 and the prism 64 is installed on the other wall across the passage of the guide 11 through which the coin 80 passes. Is done. The light emitting unit 631 of the optical sensor 63 is supplied with power and emits infrared light.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 3B, when the coin 80 passing between the optical sensor 63 and the prism 64 blocks the light from the light emitting unit 631 of the optical sensor 63, the coin 80 is detected. Further, as shown in FIG. 3C, even when the light of the light emitting unit 631 of the optical sensor 63 passes through the hole of the coin 80 and enters the prism 64, it enters the light receiving unit 632 of the optical sensor 63 from the prism 64. If the coin 80 blocks the light, the coin 80 is detected. Further, in the vicinity of the coin insertion slot 10, as shown in FIG. 3D, the coin 80 that is vigorously inserted may bounce on the guide 11 and pass over the light receiving unit 632 of the optical sensor 63. Even at this time, since the light from the light emitting portion 631 of the optical sensor 63 is blocked, the coin 80 can be detected.
[0014]
Note that, at the position of the second coin detection sensor 61, the coin 80 rotates along the guide 11 and does not bounce on the guide 11. Therefore, the coin 80 can be moved using only the light of the light emitting portion 631 of the optical sensor 63. Detected.
In this automatic ticket vending machine, the clogging of coins is detected by the procedure shown in FIG. 4 using the first coin detection sensor 60 and the second coin detection sensor 61.
[0015]
When the first coin detection sensor 60 detects a coin (step 1), the counter is incremented by 1 (step 2) and a timer is set (step 3). When the second coin detection sensor 61 detects a coin (step 4), the counter is decremented by 1 (step 5). When the second coin detection sensor 61 does not detect a coin, it waits until the timer expires. When the timer expires (step 6), it is identified whether the counter is 0 (step 7), and the counter must be 0. If it is, it is determined that coin clogging has occurred (step 8). If the counter is 0, it is determined as normal.
When it is determined that coin clogging has occurred (step 8), an abnormality occurrence signal is output.
[0016]
With such a procedure, in this automatic ticket vending machine, when a coin is jammed in the guide, it can be detected quickly, and the staff can quickly remove the jammed coin based on the detection result.
[0017]
In addition, the size of the coin is different for each of 1 yen, 5 yen, 10 yen, 50 yen, 100 yen, and 500 yen, and is divided into those having holes and those having no holes. Therefore, the coin detection sensor sets the positions of the light emitting unit 631 and the light receiving unit 632 of the optical sensor 63 so that any of these coins can be detected, and the coins that repel and pass through can be detected without omission. There is a need.
[0018]
Further, even when the positions of the light emitting unit 631 and the light receiving unit 632 of the optical sensor 63 are set in consideration of such considerations, the light flux incident on the prism 64 from the light emitting unit 631 of the optical sensor 63 as shown in FIG. If the cross-sectional area of the light beam incident on the light receiving portion 632 of the optical sensor 63 from the prism 64 is large, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the perforated coin repels, the light emitting portion 631 of the optical sensor 63 A part of the emitted light may enter the prism 64 through the hole, and a part of the light from the prism 64 may enter the light receiving unit 632 of the optical sensor 63 in some cases. At this time, the coin detection sensor 60 counts one coin as two, which causes a detection error.
[0019]
In order to eliminate such an error, it is necessary to reduce the cross-sectional area of the light beam incident on the prism 64 from the optical sensor 63 and the light beam incident on the optical sensor 63 from the prism 64. In this case, it is one method to install a light-shielding plate provided with a small hole for restricting the light beam in front of the light output portion 631 or the light output portion of the prism 64. FIG. 5 (c) and FIG. As shown in d), the same effect can be obtained with a simple configuration by shifting the positions of the optical sensor 63 and the prism 64 and narrowing the light receiving range of the prism 64.
[0020]
Further, when the light sensor 63 of the coin detection sensors 60 and 61 continues to be lit to emit light, the amount of light decreases, and the detection performance decreases with time. Therefore, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the coin shutter 13 of the coin insertion slot 10 was closed, it is possible to extend the life of the coin detection sensors 60, 61 by stopping the power supply to the coin detection sensors 60, 61. it can.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, in the automatic ticket vending machine according to the present invention, coins jammed in the middle can be accurately detected no matter how long the guide guides guide the coins.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a coin, that is, a detection device of an automatic ticket vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a coin, that is, a detection device arranged in the automatic ticket vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the coin detection sensor in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the coin, that is, the detection operation of the automatic ticket vending machine in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a front view of a continuous commuter pass issuing machine. FIG. 7 is a side view of a continuous commuter pass issuing machine. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an operation screen of the continuous commuter pass issuing machine. ] Coin shutter configuration diagram [Explanation of symbols]
10 Coin slot
11 Guide
12 Guide
13 Coin shutter
14 Plunger
20 bill insertion / removal
30 Operation unit
40 commuter pass insertion / exit
50 change coin outlet
60 First coin detection sensor
61 Second coin detection sensor
63 Light sensor
64 prism
80 coins
631 Light emitter
632 Receiver

Claims (4)

A first sensor for detecting coins inserted from a coin slot and a second sensor are provided, and after the first sensor detects a coin, the second sensor detects the coin within a predetermined time. When there was no vending machine identified as a coin ,
At least one of the sensors includes an optical sensor including a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit arranged at an interval, and a prism that refracts light incident from the light emitting unit of the optical sensor and returns the light to the light receiving unit. It consists of a pair of shifting the position facing the optical sensor and the prism, vending machines, characterized in that narrowed receiving range in the prism of the light emitted from the light emitting portion of the optical sensor. An inclined guide for guiding coins inserted from a coin slot, and a first sensor and a second sensor for detecting coins installed in the guide, and after the first sensor detects a coin, When the second sensor does not detect a coin within a certain time, in a vending machine that identifies it as a coin,
The first sensor includes a pair of a light sensor including a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit arranged at an interval, and a prism that refracts light incident from the light emitting unit of the photo sensor and returns the light to the light receiving unit. from made, shifting the position facing the optical sensor and the prism, vending machines, characterized in that narrowed receiving range in the prism of the light emitted from the light emitting portion of the optical sensor. The first sensor and the second sensor, vending machine according to claim 1 or claim 2 in conjunction with the open state of the coin slot, characterized in that start. Vending machine according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vending machine is vending machine.

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