JP4069401B2 - Vending machine maintenance inspection time determination method, vending machine to which this method is applied, and identification device for money, etc. - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a currency or card identification device for detecting a cleaning inspection work, and a vending machine having a function of warning the timing of cleaning inspection in advance to the outside.
[0002]
More specifically, the present invention relates to a coin mechanism or a bill / card discriminator for discriminating the authenticity of money (coins and bills) or cards and determining their value (amount or validity period, etc.). Related to a method for providing a trigger to rationally and automatically determine the maintenance and inspection time in a vending machine with a partial mechanism that can be opened or removed at a wider angle than normal during cleaning or inspection It is.
[0003]
[Prior art]
There are various reasons why vending machines can no longer be sold, but in particular, the currency and card identification mechanism accepts currency and cards that are easily damaged or damaged during the distribution process and transports them to provide precise mechanisms. These mechanisms are likely to be a major cause of vending machine failure because they must pass through.
[0004]
The failure of a vending machine not only results in the loss of sales opportunities for the products handled, but also has the potential to directly lead to an increase in sales of other companies' products. In urban areas where traffic conditions are becoming increasingly widespread and traffic conditions are getting worse, repairs and repairs take considerable time due to time constraints. If possible, it is necessary to predict the possibility of a failure before it occurs. There is an increasing demand for preventive maintenance that requires warnings.
[0005]
For this reason, conventionally, the vending machine is inspected and maintained at regular intervals, and in particular, with regard to the discrimination mechanism, measures such as careful cleaning of the mechanism portion that is prone to contamination are taken.
[0006]
This will be explained with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a known bill validator. A bill accepting portion having an insertion port 32 and a receiving lamp 33 is provided on the front surface of the housing 31, and the receiving lamp is inserted as a guide. The bills thus obtained are subjected to authenticity discrimination by a discrimination mechanism in the housing. The rear side of the housing is as shown in FIG. 4. When taking out the banknote, the latch lever 41 is removed and the stacker 42 containing the banknote is tilted as shown. The stacker 42 can be tilted at a wider angle as shown in FIG. 5, whereby the accepted banknote can be easily taken out.
[0007]
On the other hand, when it is time to clean the discrimination unit, the discrimination unit cover 61 is opened as shown in FIG. 6, and the built-in magnetic head 62, optical sensor unit 63, transport roller 64, belt 65, and the like are installed. They are cleaned with a cotton swab 66 soaked with water or neutral detergent. In this case, the stacker 42 is opened at a wide angle as required.
[0008]
The same applies to the coin mechanism. FIG. 7 shows main components of a known coin mechanism. A main body 71 is detachably connected with a rejector (also referred to as an acceptor) 72, and coins inserted from the upper part are movable plates (scavengers) forming a coin passage. Rolling in a narrow path between the main plate 100 (FIG. 10) provided in the rejector body.
[0009]
Also in the case of the coin mechanism, when it is time to clean the check portion, the movable plate 73 of the rejector is pushed and widened to perform cleaning. Specifically, in a coin mechanism of a type having a mechanical check mechanism, a scraping mechanism of a coin passage called a scavenger and other parts that are easily damaged are cleaned, and in a coin mechanism of a type having an electronic check mechanism. Cleans the area around the magnetic sensor.
[0010]
There are various structural differences between the bill validator and the coin mechanism depending on the manufacturer, but there is no difference in that the cover or plate covering the portion to be cleaned is expanded and cleaned.
[0011]
By the way, periodic cleaning as described above is effective for cumulative fouling, but since clogging of money and insertion of foreign matter do not take any time, repair and repair are performed at a timing other than prescribed. Often cleaning is performed. For this reason, if cleaning is performed at regular intervals, there is a possibility that a machine that has just been repaired after repairing a failure is again cleaned in a short time. Of course, it is preferable for the machine that the cleaning is repeated, but it should be a wasteful work for the workers who have to clean the vending machine equipped with vending machines in a limited area within a limited time. There has been a demand for eliminating such waste.
[0012]
For this purpose, every time the mechanical unit is cleaned, the operator operates a predetermined switch to input that the cleaning is completed, and based on this input signal, the automatic cleaning is announced. Although the machine has been proposed and partially implemented, the switch operation after cleaning does not cause any motivation for the workers, so forgetting to press the switch often occurs, and the total cleaning efficiency can still be improved. The current situation is not.
[0013]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art and to provide a method capable of automatically notifying the completion of cleaning even if the confirmation switch is forgotten to be pressed when the cleaning is completed.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has been made paying attention to the difference between the normal inspection and the cleaning inspection of the currency discrimination mechanism. Although coins and banknotes must be collected relatively frequently, cleaning of the discrimination mechanism does not require that much, and basically periodic cleaning is sufficient.
[0015]
However, in the event that the discrimination mechanism is damaged due to extremely damaged money or badly inserted money, and an abnormality occurs, repair personnel will be sent to the cover of the identification section as shown in FIGS. Open the movable plate and clean the identification mechanism. The discrimination part cover and the movable plate are not necessarily opened for inspection other than during cleaning. However, since the discrimination part dislikes adhesion of dust and the like, it is rarely opened except for removal or cleaning of banknote jam (clogging), or in a very short time even in rare cases.
[0016]
Therefore, it can be seen that in the banknote discriminating machine, it is safe to open the discriminating portion by opening the discriminating portion cover or in the coin mechanism by opening the movable plate.
[0017]
Therefore, according to the present invention, a discrimination mechanism for discriminating the authenticity or value of money or cards, such as a discrimination part cover or a movable plate that is opened or removed at a wider angle than usual during cleaning or inspection. A vending machine equipped with a partial mechanism is provided with a transmitting device, such as a limit switch, which operates in response to the opening or disengaging of these partial mechanisms, and the maintenance inspection time is determined based on the output signal of the transmitting device. To do.
[0018]
The maintenance time is determined from a worker-dependent type that only displays the switch operation date and time, and a warning (lamp display or wired or wireless notification to the center) is issued after a certain time from the switch operation. You can select as many as you need.
[0019]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a banknote discriminator. The banknote discriminator shown in FIG. 6 pays attention to an identification unit cover as a partial mechanism that can be opened at a wider angle than usual at the time of inspection. A microswitch 17 as a limit switch is used as a transmission device that operates in response to the wide-angle opening of the identification unit cover 16. The other parts or mechanisms in FIG. 1 that are the same as those in FIG. 6 indicate the same or similar parts or mechanisms.
[0020]
FIG. 2 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the coin sorter shown in FIG. 10, wherein 23 is a movable plate (scavenger), and 24 is a case where the movable plate is opened at a wider angle than usual during cleaning. It is a micro switch that operates in Needless to say, the optimum type and mounting position of these switches may be selected in accordance with the specific device structure.
[0021]
Signals obtained by the operation of these switches are sent to the storage device in the vending machine as necessary, and are used for displaying the date and time of cleaning, etc., or the display held by the worker who arrives near the vending machine It is transmitted to the device by radio etc. and used for display and alarm, or when a central monitoring device is placed, it is transmitted to the device and used for the display of the vending machine and the instruction to the worker when the cleaning time has come. Used.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to provide information useful for determining the next cleaning time by paying attention to the specific operation method of the partial mechanism at the time of cleaning the money discrimination machine. Duplicates can be avoided, and a great effect can be expected from a reduction in manpower, a reduction in the frequency of repairs and repairs, and a small contribution to the elimination of poor traffic conditions in the city.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partial structural diagram of a bill validator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial structural diagram of a coin sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where a banknote stacker of the banknote discriminator is opened. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where a banknote is taken out from the banknote discriminator. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a cleaning state of the banknote discriminator. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a structure of a general coin mechanism. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state where a reject mechanism of the coin mechanism is removed. FIG. 9 is a perspective view just before removing a reject mechanism of the coin mechanism. Schematic perspective view showing the mechanism with the movable plate open [Explanation of symbols]
16 Identification part cover 17 Micro switch 23 Movable plate of coin sorter (scavenger)
24 Micro switch 61 Conventional identification part cover 62 Magnetic head 63 Optical sensor part 64 Roller 65 Belt 66 Cotton swab 73 Movable plate (scavenger)
100 main plate

Claims (8)

In a vending machine having a partial mechanism for discriminating the authenticity or value of money or cards, and having a partial mechanism that can be opened or removed at a wider angle than usual during cleaning or inspection, according to the opening or leaving A method for determining a maintenance and inspection time of a vending machine, characterized in that an operating transmission device is provided and a maintenance and inspection time is determined based on an output signal of the transmission device. 2. The method for determining the maintenance and inspection time of a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting device is a mechanically, electromagnetically or optically operated switch. 2. A method for determining a maintenance and inspection time for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the partial mechanism to be opened or removed is a movable plate that covers the coin check portion of the coin mechanism. 2. A method for determining the maintenance and inspection time of a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the mechanism that is opened or removed is a bill validator discrimination section cover. Equipped with a currency or card identification device that has a function of automatically detecting that cleaning and inspection has been performed and issuing a signal to the outside. A vending machine with a function to emit a signal. A coin identification device having a cleaning inspection switch that automatically detects and reacts during a cleaning inspection operation without reacting to a daily operation such as a return operation operated by a vending machine user. A tag identification device with a cleaning check switch that automatically detects and reacts during cleaning and inspection without reacting to the collection of bills, which are daily sales. A card identification device with a cleaning check switch that does not react to the removal work of deformed cards, which is a daily work, but automatically detects and reacts during cleaning inspection work.

Images