JP4453375B2 - Media processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium processing apparatus.

Conventionally, ATMs used by customers to conduct financial transactions such as deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and balance inquiries at branches of financial institutions such as banks, post offices, credit unions, and consumer finance companies. (Automatic Teller Machine: automatic teller machine), CD (Cash Dispenser: automatic teller machine) and other automatic transaction devices are installed, and high counters, low counters, etc. have counters such as Teller. A window depositing / dispensing machine operated by a person in charge of a financial institution is arranged. And the banknote processing apparatus as a medium processing apparatus for processing the banknote as a medium is attached to the said automatic transaction apparatus and the window depositing / withdrawing machine. The banknote handling apparatus has a banknote deposit / withdrawal unit that handles banknotes, and in financial transactions such as deposits, the cash received and counted by customers and tellers is received and stored in a stacker, and in financial transactions such as withdrawals, A predetermined amount of cash is paid out from the stored cash (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-4-337899

  However, in the conventional banknote processing apparatus, since the banknote processing speed is set to be high, jamming is likely to occur. The banknote processing apparatus is set to have a high processing speed for banknotes in order to shorten the processing time per customer in the automatic transaction apparatus to which the banknote processing apparatus is attached and to improve operational efficiency. This is because when the number of banknotes deposited in an automatic transaction apparatus or the number of banknotes withdrawn from the automatic transaction apparatus, that is, when the number of banknotes in a transaction in the automatic transaction apparatus is large, the processing speed of banknotes in the banknote processing apparatus is automatically This is because it greatly affects the transaction processing speed of the entire transaction apparatus. Therefore, in the conventional banknote processing apparatus, the banknote processing speed is set to be as high as possible so that the processing time for the maximum number of banknotes processed can be shortened. However, if the bill processing speed is set to a high speed, a jam that causes the paper currency being conveyed to jam in the middle of the conveyance path is likely to occur. In particular, in the case of banknotes with broken corners or weak banknotes, jamming is likely to occur.

  And if a jam-like failure occurs while the customer is operating the automatic transaction device to make a transaction, the operation of the banknote processing device is stopped, so the customer must wait until the jam is released. This will cause inconvenience to customers. Further, when a jam occurs, a staff member of a financial institution must perform the jam processing of the banknote processing device and customer service, which is troublesome and feels troublesome.

  On the other hand, when the number of banknotes in the transaction with the automatic transaction apparatus is small, the processing speed of banknotes in the banknote processing apparatus does not significantly affect the transaction processing speed of the entire automatic transaction apparatus. However, in the conventional banknote handling apparatus, the banknote processing speed is set to be high regardless of the number of banknotes in the transaction with the automatic transaction apparatus. Even so, jamming was easy to occur. For this reason, when the number of banknotes in a transaction with an automatic transaction apparatus is small, the waiting time caused by the occurrence of a jam is less affected by the impact on the customer and the financial situation than the banknote processing speed of the banknote processing apparatus is low. The impact on the staff of the institution will increase.

  The present invention solves the problems of the conventional medium processing apparatus and changes the processing speed of the medium according to the number of media to be processed, thereby shortening the processing time when the number of media is large. An object of the present invention is to provide a medium processing apparatus that can process a medium in a short time and save time by suppressing the occurrence of a jam when the number of media is small.

Therefore, in the medium processing apparatus of the present invention, the medium number detection unit for detecting the number of media to be processed, and the medium processing speed target value as a continuous amount based on the number of media detected by the medium number detection unit. A medium processing speed calculation means for calculating, and a speed variable processing speed control means for controlling the medium processing speed based on the medium processing speed target value calculated by the medium processing speed calculation means, and the number of media to be processed The medium processing speed is continuously changed in proportion to

  In another medium processing apparatus of the present invention, the medium to be processed is a loaded banknote, and the medium processing speed is a conveyance speed of the banknote.

In still another medium processing apparatus of the present invention, the medium sheet number detecting unit further includes a press mechanism that presses the banknote bundle against the fixed plate with a press plate, and the inserted banknote bundle is pressed with the press mechanism. The number of banknotes is detected by detecting the distance between the press plate and the fixed plate as the thickness of the banknote bundle .

  In still another medium processing apparatus of the present invention, when the number of inserted banknotes is large, the conveyance speed of banknotes is increased to shorten the entire processing time. When the amount is small, the bill conveyance speed is lowered to suppress the occurrence of jam.

  In still another medium processing apparatus of the present invention, the medium processing apparatus is further attached to an automatic transaction apparatus that performs financial transactions, and processes bills.

  According to the present invention, the medium processing apparatus changes the medium processing speed in accordance with the number of media to be processed. Therefore, when the number of media is large, the processing time can be shortened, and when the number of media is small, the occurrence of jam can be suppressed, so that the media can be processed in a short time and hassle-free. Can be.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the banknote handling apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, 10 is a counter for ATMs, CDs and other automatic transaction devices, currency exchange machines, high counters, low counters, etc. installed at branches of financial institutions such as banks, post offices, credit unions, and consumer finance companies. It is a banknote processing apparatus as a medium processing apparatus that is disposed and attached to a window depositing / dispensing machine or the like operated by a person in charge of a financial institution such as Teller. The banknote processing apparatus 10 includes a railway station, a bus stop, an amusement park, a game center such as a game center, a theater such as a movie theater, a museum, a parking lot, a restaurant such as a restaurant, and a sports facility such as a golf course. It may be attached to an automatic ticket vending machine, and may be attached to any device as long as it is a device that processes media such as banknotes, coins, tickets, tickets, tickets, cards, and chips. In the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the case where the banknote processing apparatus 10 is attached to an automatic transaction apparatus that performs financial transactions and the medium is a banknote will be described.

  In this case, the automatic transaction apparatus includes ATMs, CDs, currency exchanges arranged in branches such as branches of financial institutions such as banks, post offices, credit unions, consumer finance companies, stores such as convenience stores and supermarkets. Machine, kiosk terminal, etc. Then, the customer of the financial institution operates the automatic transaction apparatus himself and performs financial transactions such as deposit, withdrawal, passbook entry, balance inquiry, transfer, and transfer. In addition to the banknote processing apparatus 10, the automatic transaction apparatus includes a coin processing apparatus that handles coins, a transaction slip issuing apparatus that issues a single slip that describes transaction details, and a card that inserts a card such as a cash card. A slot, a card handling device for handling the card, a passbook slot for inserting a passbook such as a bank passbook, and various devices such as a passbook handling device for handling the passbook. The devices are usually unitized and configured independently, and are detachably attached to the automatic transaction apparatus main body. The automatic transaction apparatus is communicably connected to a host computer as an accounting system host apparatus of a financial institution via a network such as an online network, and communicates with the host computer to execute financial transaction processing. .

  Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the banknote processing apparatus 10 includes a customer service section 11 where the customer deposits and withdraws banknotes, a discrimination section 12 that recognizes the authenticity and denomination of banknotes, and temporarily holds banknotes. Temporary storage unit 13, first stacker 14 a for storing banknotes, second stacker 14 b and third stacker 14 c, reject storage unit 15 for storing rejected banknotes, customer service unit 11, discrimination unit 12, temporary storage The unit 13, the first stacker 14a, the second stacker 14b, the third stacker 14c, and the reject storage unit 15 are connected to each other and have a transport path 16 for transporting bills. Note that the number of stackers included in the banknote handling apparatus 10 may be any number, for example, may be one or four or more. Here, the first stacker 14a, the first stacker, and the like. It is assumed that all stackers are represented by the second stacker 14b and the third stacker 14c. Hereinafter, when the first stacker 14a, the second stacker 14b, and the third stacker 14c are described in an integrated manner, the stacker 14 will be described.

  In this Embodiment, the said banknote processing apparatus 10 can handle the banknote of each denomination of a 1000 yen ticket, a 2000 yen ticket, a 5000 yen ticket, and a 10,000 yen ticket. And the banknote deposited | paid from the customer service part 11 is conveyed by the discrimination part 12 through the conveyance path 16, and this discrimination part 12 distinguishes a genuine banknote and banknotes other than a genuine banknote, ie, banknote Is identified. In addition, the denomination of the genuine banknote is also determined. And bills other than genuine bills and bills whose denominations are not discriminated are transported through the transport path 16 and returned to the customer service section 11 and returned to the customer. The transport path 16 is provided with a transport device (not shown) including transport rollers, a transport belt, and the like, so that banknotes are transported one by one. Further, a sensor as jam detecting means (not shown) is provided in the transport path 16 so as to detect a paper jam of a bill in the middle of transport, that is, occurrence of a jam.

  On the other hand, the genuine banknote is temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 13, then transported through the transport path 16, and stored in the stacker 14 assigned to each denomination. The assignment of the stacker 14 can be determined as appropriate. For example, the large second stacker 14b and the third stacker 14c can be respectively allocated to a thousand yen ticket and a 10,000 yen ticket that are considered to be deposited in an automatic transaction apparatus. Further, in a general automatic transaction apparatus, the 2000 yen ticket and the 5000 yen ticket are not withdrawn, that is, not recycled, so that the stacker 14 is not allocated to the 2000 yen ticket and the 5000 yen ticket. It is desirable that the thousand yen ticket and the five thousand yen ticket are stored in the reject storage unit 15. Furthermore, since it is considered that a thousand yen ticket is recycled, the first stacker 14a may be assigned in addition to the second stacker 14b.

  In the case of withdrawal, banknotes of denominations designated from the stacker 14 assigned for each denomination are recycled. In this case, banknotes of each denomination are separated one by one from the corresponding stacker 14, taken out by the designated number, transported through the transport path 16, and withdrawn from the customer service section 11. Note that the banknotes that have been double fed without being separated one by one, that is, double-feeded, are not withdrawn from the customer service unit 11 but are transported and stored in the reject storage unit 15.

  Furthermore, the banknote handling apparatus 10 has a control device (not shown). The control device is a kind of computer that includes a calculation means such as a CPU and an MPU, a storage means such as a semiconductor memory and a magnetic disk, an input / output interface, and the like, and comprehensively controls the operation of each part of the bill processing apparatus 10 . For example, if the thickness of the banknote bundle thrown into the customer service section 11 is detected by the banknote bundle thickness detecting means 21 described later, the control device, based on the detected thickness of the banknote bundle, The conveyance speed of a bill is controlled by controlling the operation of a driving device such as a motor for driving the conveyance rollers and the conveyance belt. Moreover, when the occurrence of a jam is detected by the jam detection means, the control device stops the operation of the banknote processing device 10 and notifies the automatic transaction device of the occurrence of the jam. As a result, the automatic transaction apparatus stops its operation, displays a jam occurrence notification screen on the display device of the customer operation unit, and notifies the customer that a jam has occurred. In addition, the said control apparatus may be comprised integrally with another control apparatus, for example, may be a part of control apparatus of the said automatic transaction apparatus, or the control apparatus of the said automatic transaction apparatus It may be one of the control systems built inside.

  Next, the configuration of the customer service unit 11 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the customer service section of the banknote handling apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the customer service unit 11 includes a bill insertion unit 35 into which a customer inserts bills, and a shutter 31 that opens and closes an opening of the bill insertion unit 35. Here, the bill insertion unit 35 includes a fixed plate 36 and a press plate 33 movable with respect to the fixed plate 36, and a customer inputs the bundle into a space between the fixed plate 36 and the press plate 33. The banknote which became, ie, the banknote bundle 32, is accommodated. The shutter 31 and the press plate 33 are driven by a driving device (not shown), and when the banknote bundle 32 is inserted, the shutter 31 moves to close the opening of the banknote insertion portion 35, and the press plate 33 is a fixed plate. The bill bundle 32 is pressed against the fixed plate 36 by moving in the direction 36.

  The rotary member of the rotary encoder 34 rotates according to the movement of the press plate 33, and the position of the press plate 33 is detected by the rotary encoder 34. It should be noted that other types of sensors can be used instead of the rotary encoder 34 as long as the position of the press plate 33 can be detected. The thickness of the banknote bundle 32 can be detected by detecting the position of the press board 33 in a state where the press board 33 presses the banknote bundle 32 against the fixed plate 36.

  Next, the functional configuration of the banknote handling apparatus 10 will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a banknote handling apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the bill processing apparatus 10 has a bill bundle thickness detecting means 21 as a medium number detecting means for detecting the number of media to be processed, as shown in FIG. It has a conveyance speed calculation means 22 as a medium processing speed calculation means for calculating a medium processing speed target value, and a speed variable bill conveyance control means 23 as a speed variable processing speed control means for controlling the medium processing speed. In this case, the banknote bundle thickness detecting means 21 detects the number of banknotes by detecting the thickness of the inserted banknote bundle 32. Moreover, the said conveyance speed calculation means 22 calculates the conveyance speed target value of a banknote as a medium processing speed target value based on the number of the banknotes which the banknote bundle thickness detection means 21 detected. Further, the speed variable banknote transport control means 23 controls the banknote transport speed based on the banknote transport speed target value calculated by the transport speed calculation means 22. The press plate 33 and the rotary encoder 34 correspond to the banknote bundle thickness detection means 21, and the banknote east thickness detection means 21 detects the thickness of the banknote bundle 32. Here, since it can be considered that the thickness of the banknote bundle 32 is substantially proportional to the number of banknotes included in the banknote bundle 32, the outline of the banknotes inserted by the customer by detecting the thickness of the banknote bundle 32. The number of sheets can be detected.

  The thickness of the banknote bundle 32 detected by the banknote bundle thickness detection means 21 is input to the transport speed calculation means 22. The transport speed calculation means 22 calculates the transport speed of banknotes in the transport path 16 as the banknote processing speed according to a preset standard based on the input thickness of the banknote bundle 32. In this case, when the banknote bundle 32 is thick, that is, when the number of inserted banknotes is large, the transport speed calculating means 22 takes a long time to count banknotes in the entire financial transaction in the automatic transaction apparatus. Therefore, in order not to make the customer wait for a long time, a conveyance speed signal is output so that the conveyance speed of the banknote becomes high. On the other hand, when the banknote bundle 32 is thin, that is, when the number of inserted banknotes is small, it takes a short time to count banknotes in the entire financial transaction in the automatic transaction apparatus. A conveyance speed signal is output so that the conveyance speed of the banknote becomes low.

  Further, the speed variable banknote transport control means 23 controls the operation of a drive device such as a motor for driving a transport roller, a transport belt, etc. of the transport device based on a transport speed signal input from the transport speed calculating means 22. , Control the conveyance speed of banknotes. Thereby, when the number of banknotes inserted into the banknote insertion unit 35 is large, the banknotes are conveyed through the conveyance path 16 at high speed, and when the number of banknotes inserted into the banknote insertion part 35 is small, the banknotes are conveyed at low speed through the conveyance path 16. Be transported.

  Next, operation | movement of the banknote processing apparatus 10 of the said structure is demonstrated.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation of the customer service portion of the banknote handling apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention.

  Here, the operation when the customer operates the automatic transaction apparatus to deposit money will be described. In this case, a transaction selection screen is displayed on a display device including a touch panel in the customer operation unit of the automatic transaction apparatus. Then, the customer touches and selects the “deposit” key from the selection items as selection means displayed on the display device of the customer operation unit. Thereby, the guidance screen for depositing is displayed on the display device of the customer operation unit. Here, since an instruction to insert the customer's cash card or passbook is displayed on the display device, the customer inserts the cash card or passbook into the slot according to the instruction.

  Then, the shutter 31 operates in the customer service unit 11 to open the opening of the bill insertion unit 35, and a message for prompting the insertion of the bill is displayed on the display device of the customer operation unit. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the customer throws the banknote into the space between the fixed plate 36 and the press plate 33 from the opening of the banknote insertion unit 35. Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, the shutter 31 is operated to close the opening of the bill insertion part 35.

  Subsequently, the press plate 33 operates and moves in the direction of the fixed plate 36, and as shown in FIG. 4B, the banknote bundle 32 between the fixed plate 36 and the press plate 33 is preset. Press against the fixed plate 36 with the applied force. At this time, the position of the press plate 33 is detected by the rotary encoder 34. Then, the distance between the press plate 33 and the fixed plate 36 when the press plate 33 presses and stops the banknote bundle 32 against the fixed plate 36 is detected as the thickness of the banknote bundle 32. In this way, the bill bundle thickness detecting means 21 detects the thickness of the bill bundle 32.

Then, based on the detected thickness of the banknote bundle 32, the number of inserted banknotes is calculated. Here, if the thickness of the detected banknote bundle 32 is T [mm], the following formula (1) shows that the thickness t [mm] per banknote is a known value. In addition, the number P of inserted bills can be calculated.
P = T / t Formula (1)
On the other hand, the bill processing time Pt in the automatic transaction apparatus is the time required for the automatic transaction apparatus to process the cash card, the time required for communication with the host computer, etc., as shown in the following equation (2). The fixed time F that does not depend on the number of banknotes to be processed and the time V that is proportional to the number of banknotes to be processed.
Pt = F + V (2)
Here, if the processing time per banknote is C, the number of banknotes inserted, that is, the number of banknotes processed is P, so the banknote processing time Pt in the automatic transaction apparatus is expressed by the following equation (3). Can be rewritten as shown in.
Pt = F + C × P (3)
In a normal automatic transaction apparatus, the bill processing time Pt with the maximum number of bills processed is designed to be about 30 seconds so as not to irritate the customer. Moreover, the fixed time F which does not depend on the number of banknotes is about 20 seconds. For example, when the maximum number of bills processed Pmax is 100, the bill processing time Pt in the entire financial transaction in the automatic transaction apparatus is set to 30 seconds. In this case, the following equation (4) is obtained by transforming the equation (3) in order to obtain the processing time C per banknote. In the equation (4), the following equation (5) is obtained by substituting the numerical values for Pt, F, and Pmax.
C = (Pt−F) / Pmax (4)
C = (30−20) / 100 = 1/10 (5)
For this reason, by setting the processing time per banknote to 1/10 seconds or less, it is possible to process a financial transaction without annoying the customer even in the case of the maximum transaction number of banknotes. I understand.

On the other hand, in the banknote handling apparatus 10, a slower banknote processing speed is less likely to cause a jam in the transport path 16 during the banknote transport. Speed is preferred. Therefore, assuming that the maximum processing time of banknotes that does not irritate the customer is Ptmax, the transport speed calculation means 22 detects the banknote bundle 32 detected by the banknote bundle thickness detection means 21 according to the following equation (6). The bill processing speed D is calculated from the thickness T of the bill.
D = (T / t) / (Ptmax−F) (6)
Subsequently, a transport speed signal corresponding to the calculated processing speed D is transmitted from the banknote bundle thickness detecting means 21 to the variable speed banknote transport control means 23. And the speed variable banknote transport control means 23 controls the transport device based on the received transport speed signal to transport the banknote at the processing speed D. Thereby, the banknote thrown into the banknote insertion part 35 is drawn | fed out one by one at the said processing speed D from the customer service part 11, and is conveyed by the said processing speed D to the discrimination part 12 through the conveyance path 16. FIG.

  And in the said discrimination part 12, authenticity of a banknote is discriminated and the denomination of a genuine banknote is discriminate | determined. And the banknote from which the money type was discriminate | determined is temporarily stored in the temporary storage part 13, and the banknote other than a genuine banknote and the banknote from which the money type was not discriminate | determined are returned to the customer service part 11, and returned to a customer. . In addition, when the banknote which the customer returned is reinserted into the banknote insertion part 35, the reinserted banknote is again conveyed to the discrimination part 12, and authenticity is discriminated, and a money type is discriminate | determined. And the banknote from which the money type was discriminate | determined is stored in the temporary storage part 13. FIG. Subsequently, the money is displayed on the display device in the customer operation section of the automatic transaction apparatus. When the amount of money deposited by the customer is confirmed, the banknotes stored in the temporary storage unit 13 are transported through the transport path 16 and stored in the stacker 14 assigned in advance for each denomination.

  Thus, in this Embodiment, the banknote bundle thickness detection means 21 detects the number of the banknotes which the customer inserted into the banknote insertion part 35 by detecting the thickness of the banknote bundle 32, and calculates conveyance speed. The means 22 calculates the optimum banknote transport speed based on the detected number of banknotes and outputs a transport speed signal, and the speed variable banknote transport control means 23 determines the banknote transport speed based on the transport speed signal. Control. Therefore, when the number of inserted banknotes is large, it is possible to prevent the customer from waiting for a long time by increasing the conveyance speed of banknotes, and when the number of inserted banknotes is small, The occurrence of jam can be suppressed by reducing the bill conveyance speed.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, in order to detect the thickness of the banknote bundle 32, the thickness of the banknote bundle 32 is detected as a continuous quantity using the rotary encoder 34, and the conveyance speed calculation means 22 uses the processing speed D. Although the case of calculating as a continuous amount has been described, the thickness of the banknote bundle 32 can also be detected by a position detection switch such as a photo interrupter instead of the rotary encoder 34. In this case, by detecting whether the thickness of the banknote bundle 32 is thicker or thinner than a specified value, the two-stage processing speed D is calculated, and the banknote is set so as to have a two-stage speed. However, even if two-stage speed control is used, it is possible to obtain a certain jam reduction effect.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change variously based on the meaning of this invention, and does not exclude them from the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the banknote processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the banknote processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the customer service part of the banknote processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the customer service part of the banknote processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Banknote processing apparatus 21 Banknote bundle thickness detection means 22 Conveyance speed calculation means 23 Speed variable banknote conveyance control means 32 Banknote bundle

Claims (5)

(A) medium number detection means for detecting the number of media to be processed;
(B) medium processing speed calculating means for calculating a medium processing speed target value as a continuous amount based on the number of media detected by the medium number detecting means;
(C) variable speed processing speed control means for controlling the medium processing speed based on the medium processing speed target value calculated by the medium processing speed calculation means;
(D) A medium processing apparatus that continuously changes the medium processing speed in proportion to the number of media to be processed. The medium processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medium to be processed is a bill inserted, and the medium processing speed is a conveyance speed of the banknote. The medium number detection means includes a press mechanism that presses the banknote bundle against the fixed plate with a press plate,
The medium processing according to claim 2, wherein the number of banknotes is detected by detecting a distance between the press plate and the fixed plate when the inserted banknote bundle is pressed by the press mechanism as a thickness of the banknote bundle. apparatus. When the number of inserted bills is large, the bill conveyance speed is increased to shorten the entire processing time, and when the number of inserted bills is small, the bill conveyance speed is decreased to reduce jamming. The medium processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein generation is suppressed. The medium processing apparatus of any one of Claims 1-4 which are attached to the automatic transaction apparatus which performs a financial transaction, and processes a banknote.

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