JP4498776B2 - Coin deposit / withdrawal device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus.

  In recent years, a coin deposit / withdrawal device is connected to a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal or ECR (Electronic Cash Register) for the purpose of reducing the work burden at the time of merchandise sales or enabling a quick transaction. A lot is happening.

  As is known in the art, this coin depositing / dispensing device conveys and deposits coins inserted from the coin slot, sorts them into denominations by the coin sorting unit, and drops them into the coin storage unit. The coins stored in the coin storage unit by denomination are paid out to the coin payout outlet based on the payout instruction.

  FIG. 10 shows a conventional coin slot 200. The coin slot 200 is formed so as to open upward, and a plurality of coins C can be batch-loaded. A depositing belt 202 is provided at the bottom 201 of the coin insertion slot 200 to convey and deposit the inserted coin C toward the inside of a main body case (not shown). An inlet roller 203 is provided at one end of the coin inlet 200 on the downstream side in the coin transport direction A. The insertion roller 203 is disposed opposite to the deposit belt 202 with an interval through which one coin C passes. The input roller 203 is rotationally driven in the same direction as the deposit belt 202, and when coins C overlap on the deposit belt 202, a coin C other than the lowermost coin C is transferred in the coin conveyance direction A by the deposit belt 202. Return to the upstream side. As a result, the coins C pass one by one through the deposit port 204 formed between the slot roller 203 and the deposit belt 202 and are deposited into the main body case.

JP 2002-319057 A

  As shown in FIG. 11, the width of the bottom 201 of the coin slot 200 and the width of the deposit belt 202 are substantially the same. Therefore. All the coins C inserted into the coin insertion slot 200 fall onto the deposit belt 202.

  However, when a plurality of coins C are put into the coin slot 200 in a lump, as shown in FIG. 11, an upright state in which the thickness direction is orthogonal to the coin transport direction A on the front side of the slot roller 203. A plurality of coins C may be arranged in the entire width of the bottom 201. In such a side-by-side coin row, the coin C cannot be in a horizontal state with respect to the deposit belt 202. Even if the coin C falls down in the lateral direction, it only hits the side wall of the coin insertion slot 200 and is in an oblique state. . In this state, even if the coin C receives a force toward the coin transport direction A by the deposit belt 202, the coin C is restricted from moving in the coin transport direction A by the insertion port roller 203. Therefore, the coin C is stagnated on the front side of the insertion port roller 203, and the coin C is not deposited inside the main body case. As the movement of the coin C at this time, for example, the coin C is returned to the downstream side in the coin conveyance direction A by the insertion slot roller 203 and immediately after leaving the insertion slot roller 203, the coin C is directed toward the insertion slot roller 203 by the deposit belt 202. The movement of being conveyed is repeated, or it continues to rotate following the rotation of the deposit belt 202 and the slot roller 203 on the front side of the slot roller 203.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preventing the occurrence of backflow upstream in the transport direction of coins C in the coin transport device, but does not describe a solution to the above problem.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent occurrence of poor conveyance of coins at a coin slot.

The present invention is arranged in parallel at least on one side of the deposit belt at the coin insertion slot, is formed to have a width equal to or greater than the thickness of the maximum thickness coin, and is inclined downward toward the upstream of the coin conveyance direction, and with respect to the width direction of the upper surface of the deposit belt. A reverse feed passage having a flat bottom surface and a guide portion for guiding coins guided by the reverse feed passage toward the deposit belt are provided.

According to the present invention, even when a coin row is generated side by side across the entire width of the deposit belt on the deposit belt, the coins at the end of the column are disengaged from the reverse feed passage, and the reverse feed passage causes the coin to move in the reverse direction. Since it is guided and guided toward the deposit belt by the guide unit, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of poor coin conveyance at the coin slot.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[Basic configuration and operation]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a coin depositing and dispensing apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an internal structure thereof. A coin insertion slot 2 opened upward is provided in front of the right side of the main body case 1 as a casing of the coin depositing and dispensing device. The coin slot 2 is formed in a size that allows a plurality of coins C (see FIG. 6) to be batch-loaded. The coin slot 2 is provided with a plurality of sets of slot sensors 3 that optically detect the presence or absence of coins C. At the bottom 33 of the coin slot 2, a deposit belt 4 is provided for transporting the inserted coin C toward the back of the apparatus. A coin depositing unit 30 is constituted by the coin slot 2, the deposit belt 4, and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view showing the coin depositing portion 30. The deposit belt 4 is stretched between the driving roller 31a and the driven roller 31b so that the upper surface 4a is an upward slope toward the back. The driving roller 31a is connected to and driven by a motor M described later via a driving mechanism 101 (see FIG. 5). Accordingly, the deposit belt 4 is rotationally driven using the motor M as a drive source. As a result, the coin C placed on the upper surface 4a is transported upward along the coin transport direction A and positioned above the coin storage portion 12 described later. An inlet roller 5 is provided at one end of the coin inlet 2 on the downstream side in the coin transport direction A. This insertion slot roller 5 is disposed opposite to the deposit belt 4 with an interval through which one coin C passes. Therefore, the insertion slot 32 is formed between the insertion slot roller 5 and the deposit belt 4 so that only the coin C placed in parallel with the upper surface 4a of the deposit belt 4 can pass therethrough. It becomes. The insertion port roller 5 is driven by a motor M (see FIG. 5) via a drive mechanism 101 and rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction of the deposit belt 4. Thereby, the insertion slot roller 5 fulfills the function of returning the upper coin C stacked and transported from the lowest coin C on the deposit belt 4 to the upstream side in the coin transport direction A and separating it. . As a result, the coins C pass through the deposit port 32 one by one and are deposited into the main body case 1 by the deposit belt 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a curved direction changing portion 6 that changes the conveyance direction of the coins C to a right angle is disposed at the end portion of the deposit belt 4, and the conveyance direction is changed to a right angle by the direction changing portion 6. A coin sorting belt 7 for transporting the coin C to the coin sorting position is provided.

  Next, a sorting hole 8 for each denomination whose hole width dimension is sequentially increased along the coin sorting belt 7 is provided in the rear of the main body case 1, and a coin sorting portion 9 located at the coin sorting position is formed here. Yes. Six sorting holes 8 are provided so as to correspond to respective denominations of 1 yen, 50 yen, 5 yen, 100 yen, 10 yen, and 500 yen. The coin sorting unit 9 is provided with a counting sensor 10 for each sorting hole 8.

  FIG. 4 is a vertical side view showing the coin storage portion. Inside the main body case 1, there is provided a coin storage portion 12 having an upper opening that communicates with each of the sorting holes 8 and is partitioned for each coin C by a partition plate 11. A coin payout belt 13 is provided around a driving roller 14 and a driven roller 15 on the bottom surface portion of each coin type of the coin storage unit 12.

  A reverse roller 16 that rotates in the same direction as the coin payout belt 13 and separates the coins C one by one is disposed at the outlet of the coin storage unit 12 so as to cross the outlet portions of all denominations. Yes.

  Further, on the downstream side of the coin feeding belt 13 in the coin transport direction with respect to the reverse roller 16, a coin standby unit 18 for waiting a predetermined number of coins C in a line is provided for each denomination. The coin payout belt 13 extends to the coin standby unit 18 and reaches a coin payout position located in the front of the main body case 1. Such a coin standby unit 18 is provided with a coin shutter 19 whose operation is controlled so that the coin C is temporarily stopped and a necessary number of coins C are sent out. The coin shutter 19 is driven and controlled by the payout solenoid 20 and pays out the designated number of coins C by the operation control. Further, a payout sensor 21 is provided immediately after the payout solenoid 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a coin payout outlet 22 is disposed at the end position of the coin payout belt 13. The coin C transported to the coin payout belt 13 is paid out to the coin payout outlet 22 when the coin shutter 19 driven by the payout solenoid 20 opens.

  Next, an electrical hardware configuration of the coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical hardware configuration of the coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus according to the present embodiment has a built-in microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) 102, and the microcomputer 102 drives and controls each unit. The microcomputer 102 is a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores in advance fixed data such as a control program via a bus line 104 such as an address bus and a data bus in a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 103 that controls each part centrally. ) 105, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 106 for storing data in a rewritable manner, and a communication interface 107 are connected to each other.

  The control program stored in the ROM 105 enables drive control of each unit by the microcomputer 102. In this way, as each unit that is driven and controlled by the microcomputer 102, the coin depositing / dispensing device of the present embodiment includes an operation display unit 24 (see FIG. 1 for the appearance) connected to the microcomputer 102 via the bus line 104, and a motor M. A drive mechanism 101 as a drive source and a dispensing solenoid 20 are provided. Various sensors, that is, the input port sensor 3, the counting sensor 10, and the payout sensor 21 are also connected to the microcomputer 102 via the bus line 104, and the sensing results are transmitted to the microcomputer 102. Further, although the external configuration is not illustrated, a full sensor 25 for detecting that the coin C is full in the upstream region is provided in the upstream region of the coin storage unit 12, and this full sensor 25 is also a bus line. The sensor 102 is connected to the microcomputer 102 via 104, and the sensing result is transmitted to the microcomputer 102. The various sensors, that is, the insertion port sensor 3, the counting sensor 10, the dispensing sensor 21, and the full sensor 25 are transmissive optical sensors configured by a combination of a laser diode and a phototransistor.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  In the coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus according to the present embodiment, the CPU 103 uses the sensing results of various sensors, that is, the insertion port sensor 3, the counting sensor 10, the dispensing sensor 21, and the full sensor 25 in accordance with a control program stored in the ROM 105. However, by controlling the driving mechanism 101 and the dispensing solenoid 20 and the like, the coin C depositing / withdrawing operation of the denomination is executed. At this time, the coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus performs various communications with a POS terminal / ECR (not shown) connected via the communication interface 107, and transmits necessary information to the POS terminal / ECR, etc. / Coin C payout operation is executed in response to a command from ECR or the like.

  When the coin C is inserted into the coin slot 2, the slot sensor 3 detects the coin C and the deposit belt 4 is driven. Then, the inserted coins C are conveyed one by one by the insertion slot roller 5 and the deposit belt 4 and deposited inside the main body case 1, and the direction is changed at a right angle by the direction changing section 6 and conveyed to the coin sorting belt 7. The coin sorting unit 9 sorts each denomination. That is, it is dropped into the sorting hole 8 according to the denomination and stored in the coin storage unit 12. The number of coins C falling from the sorting hole 8 is counted by the counting sensor 10. When there is no coin C in the coin standby unit 18, the coin payout belt 13 is driven and operation control is performed so that a predetermined number of coins C are always present in the coin standby unit 18.

  On the other hand, when there is a payout command from the POS terminal / ECR or the like, the coin payout belt 13 is driven and the payout solenoid 20 is operated for each denomination to send out the required number of coins C. , And is paid out to the coin payout exit 22.

[Countermeasures for defective coin conveyance]
Next, measures for preventing a coin conveyance failure at the coin slot 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 is a plan view showing the coin slot 2, and FIG. 7 is a longitudinal front view taken along the line BB of FIG. The width a of the bottom 33 of the coin slot 2 of the present embodiment is formed wider than the width b of the deposit belt 4. Thus, a predetermined width c is provided between each side of the deposit belt 4 and lower portions of both side surfaces of the coin slot 2. The width c is set to a width equal to or greater than the thickness of the maximum thickness coin C (500 yen coin in the present embodiment) handled by the coin depositing and dispensing device. Preferably, the width c is larger than the thickness of the maximum thickness coin C and smaller than the thickness of two sheets of the maximum thickness coin C.

  The bottom 33 is provided with a pair of plate members 34 positioned on both sides of the deposit belt 4. On the upper surface of these plate members 34, an inclined surface 35 is formed which forms a bottom surface between the deposit belt 4 and the lower portion of the side surface. The inclined surface 35 is positioned at a position lower than the upper surface 4a of the deposit belt 4 and is inclined downward toward the upstream in the coin transport direction A by the deposit belt 4 (see FIG. 2). In the present embodiment, the inclined surface 35 is positioned at substantially the same height as the inner peripheral surface of the upper portion of the deposit belt 4 and is provided at the same inclination angle as the upper surface 4 a of the deposit belt 4. This inclined surface 35 constitutes a reverse feed passage 36 that guides the upright coin C to the upstream side in the coin transport direction A together with the space above the inclined surface 35. Note that the position of the inclined surface 35 is not limited to this position, and may be a position equal to or lower than the height of the upper surface 4 a of the deposit belt 4.

  A guide portion 37 that guides the coin C that has been guided and moved by the reverse feed passage 36 toward the deposit belt 4 is provided at the upstream end of each reverse feed passage 36 in the coin conveyance direction A. The guide portion 37 is formed by a side surface of the coin insertion slot 2 and is formed in a curved shape from the outside of the reverse feed passage 36 toward the deposit belt 4.

  In this structure, the coin C that is upright on the inclined surface 35 descends while rolling along the reverse feed path 36 due to its own weight, and reaches the upstream side from the downstream side in the coin transport direction A. Then, the direction is changed in the direction toward the deposit belt 4 along the guide portion 37 on the upstream side in the coin conveyance direction A, and reaches the upper surface 4 a of the deposit belt 4. At this time, the coin C falls on the upper surface 4 a of the deposit belt 4 due to the rotation of the deposit belt 4. Then, it is conveyed toward the deposit port 32 by the deposit belt 4. In FIG. 6, the movement of the coin C in the one reverse feed passage 36 is illustrated, but the coin C moves in the same way in the other reverse feed passage 36.

  In such a configuration, when a plurality of coins C are batch-inserted into the coin slot 2, the thickness direction is set to the coin transport direction A on the front side of the slot roller 5, as shown in FIGS. Even when a plurality of upright coins C orthogonal to each other are arranged in the entire width of the bottom 33 (hereinafter referred to as a side-by-side coin row), the coins C positioned in the reverse feed passage 36 Along the line and descends to the near side and out of the coin line. As a result, the reverse feed passages 36 on the outer sides of both ends of the side-by-side coin rows are vacant. Then, due to the rotation of the deposit belt 4 and the insertion slot roller 5, the coins C at both ends of the side-by-side coin row move outward and are positioned in the reverse feed path 36. This coin C also descends along the reverse passage 36. By such movement of the coins C, the side-by-side coin lines are eliminated. Alternatively, when some coins C are removed from the side-by-side coin row, the remaining coins C in the side-by-side coin row fall down on the spot, and the side-by-side coin row is eliminated. Thereby, the occurrence of poor conveyance of the coin C at the coin insertion slot 2 is prevented.

At this time, since the width c is equal to or larger than the thickness of the maximum thickness coin C, the reverse feed passage 36 can guide all the coins C. Further, by making the width c larger than the thickness of the maximum thickness coin C and smaller than the thickness of two maximum thickness coins C, the movement of the coins C becomes smooth and the coin insertion slot 2 Is prevented from becoming large.

  In the present embodiment, since the reverse feed passage 36 is provided on both sides of the deposit belt 4, the coin C moves downward on both sides of the deposit belt 4, so that the reverse feed passage 36 passes through the deposit belt 4. Compared with the case where only one side is provided, the coin side-by-side arrangement is eliminated in a short time.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, the upper surface 4a is formed in the uphill inclination toward the downstream of the coin conveyance direction A, Therefore The coin slot 2 can be formed deeply, and the depth of the coin storage part 12 is also the same. Deeply formed. Thereby, both the coin insertion amount of the coin slot 2 and the coin storage part 12 can be increased.

It is a perspective view which shows the coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the internal structure. It is a vertical side view which shows a coin deposit part. It is a vertical side view which shows a coin storage part. It is a block diagram which shows an electrical hardware structure. It is a top view which shows a coin slot. It is a vertical front view in the BB cutting line of FIG. It is a vertical front view which shows an example of the state of the coin in a coin slot. It is a top view which shows the motion of the coin from this state. It is a vertical side view which shows the conventional coin slot. It is a vertical front view which shows the coin slot of the state in which the coin stagnated.

Explanation of symbols

2 ... coin insertion slot, 4 ... deposit belt, 4a ... top surface, 33 ... bottom, 35 ... inclined surface, 36 ... reverse feed passage, 37 ... guide, C ... coin

Claims (5)

In the coin deposit / withdrawal device that sorts and stores the received coins by denomination and selectively pays out the stored coins,
A coin slot into which coins are inserted and opened upward;
A deposit belt said provided at the bottom of the coin slot is rotated, and deposits conveys the coins placed on the upper surface in the coin conveying direction,
In the coin insertion slot, it is arranged side by side on at least one side of the deposit belt, is formed with a width equal to or greater than the thickness of the maximum thickness coin, and is inclined downward toward the upstream of the coin conveyance direction, and is flat with respect to the width direction of the upper surface. a backhaul channel having a bottom surface,
A guide portion for guiding a more guided coins to said backhaul path towards the deposit belt,
A coin depositing and dispensing device comprising: An inclined surface provided beside the deposit belt and inclined to the deposit belt;
2. The coin deposit / withdrawal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reverse feed passage is provided between the deposit belt and the inclined surface. The coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bottom surface is disposed at a position lower than a height of the top surface of the depositing belt. It said backhaul passage, the coin receiving and dispensing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that it is arranged on each side of the deposit belt. The upper surface, the coin receiving and dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it is formed in the up-ramp toward the coin conveyance direction downstream.

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