JP5131458B2 - Cash collection equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cash collection apparatus that collects coins, banknotes, and the like, which are input into a fare box of each vehicle, as a fare at one place.

  Conventionally, in a vehicle such as a route bus or a one-man train, a fare box is installed in the vehicle as a destination for a fare paid by the passenger and a numbered ticket that is proof of which stop the passenger has boarded. The fare box counts (calculates) how much coins and banknotes have been input as fare, and accumulates these coins and banknotes, and also stores the numbered tickets that are inserted with the fare when the fare is input. In the fare box, a fare box safe is provided as a storage location for the fare entered into the fare box and numbered tickets. This fare box safe is detachable from the fare box main unit so that the fare and numbered tickets in the safe can be collected in a lump in a terminal center managed by the company that operates the bus and railway. ing.

  The terminal center is provided with a cash collection device that collects the fare paid by each vehicle, that is, the fare stored in each fare box safe. An example of this type of cash collection apparatus is disclosed in, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2. After operation, the driver removes the fare box safe from the fare box and carries it to the terminal sensor. Then, the cash collection device installed in the terminal center is activated, and the fare box safe is set in the cash collection device and the cash collection operation is executed, whereby the fare in the fare box safe is collected by the cash collection device. The cash collection device sorts coins, banknotes, and numbered tickets in the fare box safe and stores them in the corresponding safe or storage box.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of (four in FIG. 7) coin safes 82 having a box shape are provided at the bottom of this type of cash collecting apparatus 81 as a collective storage destination for the collected coins. These coin safes 82 are provided with a plurality of (two in FIG. 7) coin storage boxes 83 in the form of boxes as independent coin storage destinations. That is, the coin storage destination of the cash collection apparatus 81 is composed of a total of eight coin storage boxes 83. When one coin storage box 83 is full, the next empty coin storage box 83 is used as a storage destination, and all coins are stored. The operation of full → storage destination switching is repeated until the storage box 83 is full. At the coin storage upper limit position of each coin storage box 83, a coin upper limit detection sensor 84 capable of detecting that the stored coin has reached the upper limit position in the coin storage box 83 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a coin distribution mechanism 85 that distributes the coins sorted from the numbered ticket to a specific coin storage box 83 is provided above the coin safe 82 (coin storage box 83). Yes. The coin distribution mechanism 85 is provided with a coin guide tube 86 having a substantially cylindrical shape that is bent halfway. In the coin guide tube 86, the sorted coins are introduced from the upper inlet 86a, and the introduced coins are discharged from the lower outlet 86b to the specific coin storage box 83 via the connecting cylinder 86d. Further, a motor 87 is connected to the coin guide tube 86 as a rotational drive source of the coin guide tube 86. The motor 87 rotates the coin guide tube 86 about the vertical shaft 86 c of the coin guide tube 86, and positions the lower outlet 86 b of the coin guide tube 86 in the specific coin storage box 83.

  The cash collection apparatus 81 is provided with a control device 88 that performs overall control of the cash collection apparatus 81. When the control device 88 detects that the fare box safe 89 (see FIG. 7) is set in the cash collection device 81 and the cash collection start operation is performed, the fare and numbered tickets in the fare box safe 89 are collected in a lump. The cash collecting device 81 is caused to execute the cash collecting operation to be performed. In addition, a coin upper limit detection sensor 84 is connected to the control device 88 on the input side, and a motor 87 is connected to the output side. Thus, the control device 88 designates a coin storage destination from among the plurality of coin storage boxes 83 by managing the rotational position of the motor 87 based on the sensor output acquired from the coin upper limit detection sensor 84 during the cash collection operation. To do.

  After the coins flowed into the cash collection device 81 are stored in the coin storage box 83, the control device 88 looks at the sensor output of the coin upper limit detection sensor 84, and the coin storage box 83 in the specified state at this time is full. Check if it is not. If a non-full signal is input from the coin upper limit detection sensor 84, the control device 88 recognizes that the coin storage box 83 designated by the coin guide tube 86 still has free space and stores the coin. Box 83 is used continuously. On the other hand, if the controller 88 receives a full signal from the coin upper limit detection sensor 84 at this time, the controller 88 recognizes that the coin storage box 83 in the designated state is full and rotates the motor 87 by a predetermined amount. The lower outlet 86b of the coin guide tube 86 is positioned in the adjacent empty coin storage box 83, and the empty coin storage box 83 is switched as a new coin storage destination.

The control device 88 flows the fare and the numbered ticket in the fare box safe 89 set in the cash collection device 81 into the cash collection device 81, sorts and stores them, and the coin storage box 83 after the coins are stored. The fare box safe 89 is set in the cash collection device 81 every time a cash collection start operation is performed, and the fare stored in the plurality of fare box safes 89 is checked. Numbered tickets are collected in a lump with one cash collection device 81. When the control device 88 recognizes that all the coin storage boxes 83 are full, the control device 88 notifies the operator to that effect, for example, by sounding an alarm.
JP-A-9-128586 JP 2007-128226 A

  By the way, whether or not the coin storage box 83 is full is confirmed by checking the sensor output of the coin upper limit detection sensor 84 after the coin poured into the cash collection device 81 is stored in the coin storage box 83. . For this reason, for example, when the coin storage box 83 is not full but the remaining capacity is low, if the coins in the fare box safe 89 storing a large amount of coins are collected by the cash collection device 81, the free capacity is reduced. The remaining coin storage box 83 cannot store all the large amount of coins. Therefore, in this situation, coins that exceed the free capacity of the coin storage box 83 overflow from the coin storage box 83, so that the coin storage box 83 is pulled out of the cash collection device 81 and deposited in a financial institution or the like. When doing this, it was necessary to pick up the coins that had fallen down, which was troublesome.

  By the way, if the coin upper limit detection sensor 84 is monitoring the fullness of the coin, for example, when the coin storage box 83 becomes full during the collecting operation and is detected by the coin upper limit detection sensor 84, this detection timing is detected. Thus, it can be considered that the motor 87 is driven to switch the position of the lower outlet 86b of the coin guide tube 86 to the adjacent empty coin storage box 83. However, once the cash collection device 81 starts the collection operation, coins are successively sent from the upstream side to the coin guide tube 86. If this storage destination switching operation is adopted, the coin guidance will be provided. Since the lower outlet 86b of the tube 86 moves from the full coin storage box 83 to the next empty coin storage box 83 and takes a blank period, coins spouted from the lower outlet 86b do not enter the coin storage box 83. There is a current situation that cannot be handled.

  It is an object of the present invention to cause coins to overflow beyond the allowable amount of the storage unit when the coins in the safe are stored in the storage unit in the apparatus and the coins are collected each time the fare box safe is set. An object of the present invention is to provide a cash collecting apparatus that can make the situation difficult to occur.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, it is possible to attach a fare box safe that is a storage location for a fare that has been input into a fare box into which a fare and tickets are input and that can be removed from the fare box. The fare and the tickets in the attached fare box safe are sorted and collected, and the fare and the tickets are collected at once for each fare box safe attached to the fare box safe. Collecting and holding a plurality of coin storage units as storage locations for the coins as the fare, when the one coin storage unit storing is full, the storage destination is switched to another empty coin storage unit and stored. In the cash collection device to be performed, prior to pouring coins in the fare box safe into the inside of the device body, reading means for reading the number of coins in the safe stored in the fare box safe from the fare box safe, and designated at that time The free capacity indexing means for determining the free capacity of the coin storage unit in the state, the number of coins in the safe and the free capacity are compared, and the coin storage unit in the specified state at that time in the fare box safe A determination means for determining whether or not all coins can be stored, and when the number of coins in the safe exceeds the free space, prior to pouring the coins into the apparatus main body, the storage destination of the coins is changed to another coin. The gist of the invention is that it includes switching means for switching to the storage unit in advance.

  According to this configuration, when the fare and tickets stored in the fare box safe of the fare box are collected by the cash collection device, the fare box safe is removed from the fare box and carried to the cash collection device. Attach the safe to the cash collection device. The cash collection device takes the fare and tickets in the fare box safe, sorts them into, for example, coins, banknotes, and tickets, and sequentially stores them in the corresponding safes and storage boxes. Each time the fare box safe is brought to the cash collection device, the fare box safe is repeatedly collected by the cash collection device, and a plurality of fare boxes, that is, the fare of the plurality of fare box safes is one cash collection device. Collected at once. When the coin storage unit becomes full, the coin storage destination is switched to another empty coin storage unit.

  When the cash collection device performs the fare collection operation, the fare box safe is set in the cash collection device, but before the fare and tickets in the fare box safe are poured into the device body, the fare box safe is set in the fare box safe. The reading means reads the number of coins stored in the safe. The free capacity indexing means calculates the free capacity of the coin storage unit that is in the specified state at that time. Then, the judging means compares the number of coins in the safe and the free capacity, and when the coin in the fare box safe set at that time is stored in the coin storage, there is an empty space in the coin storage in the specified state at that time. Determine whether it is enough. At this time, if there is enough free space in the coin storage unit, the switching means continues to use the coin storage unit in the specified state at that time, and if there is not enough free space in the coin storage unit, the coin storage destination To the empty coin storage.

  Therefore, in this configuration, before the fare and tickets in the fare box safe are poured and collected, it is checked in advance whether there is enough space in the coin storage unit, and if there is enough space, coins are stored. The destination is not switched, and if there is not enough space, the coin storage destination is switched to an empty coin storage unit, and after that switchover, the operation moves to the operation of pouring the fare and tickets in the fare box safe into the device main body. I do. Therefore, when the coins in the fare box safe are collected by the cash collection device, a coin storage unit that can accept all the coins in the fare box safe is designated each time. It is possible to prevent coins from overflowing from the coin storage unit when stored in the storage unit.

  In the present invention, the free space indexing unit accumulates the number of coins in the safe read by the reading unit, and the coin storage unit that is in a specified state at that time based on the calculated value obtained by the accumulation. The gist is to determine the free space.

  According to this configuration, the number of coins in the safe read from the fare box safe set in the cash collection device is sequentially accumulated, and the maximum allowable number of coins that can be stored in the coin storage bag is determined. From the calculated values sequentially accumulated and determined and the maximum allowable number of coins, the free capacity of the coin storage unit in the designated state at that time is determined. By the way, in this kind of fare box safe, since the number of coins in the safe is generally registered as data of the number of coins stored in the fare box safe, the coins in the fare box safe are collected. At the time, it is not necessary to install new sensors for counting the number of coins in the safe in the cash collection apparatus when determining whether or not the capacity of the empty space of the coin storage unit in the designated state at that time is sufficient. Therefore, it is possible to take measures to prevent coin overflow without incurring various problems such as an increase in the number of components and an increase in component costs for this type of sensor.

  In the present invention, the cash collection apparatus includes a plurality of attachment portions to which the fare box safe is attached at the time of the collection operation, and the one fare box safe attached to one of the plurality of attachment portions is recovered. During the operation, when the fare box safe is attached to the other attachment part, the operation up to the point before pouring the coins is prepared for the collecting operation of the other fare box safe attached to the other attachment part. The gist of the present invention is that it includes preparatory operation execution means to be executed in advance.

  According to this structure, when the attachment part of the fare box safe exists in the cash collection device, the fare box safe is attached to the other attachment part when the collection operation is performed by the fare box safe attached first. When the fare box safe is attached, the preparatory operation is performed, and the operation is performed in advance until the fare and tickets are poured into the apparatus main body. For this reason, when the collection operation of the retrofit fare box safe is completed after the collection operation of the first fare box safe is completed, this operation can be started in a short time, and the collection operation of the fare box safe is more efficient. Can be performed.

  According to the present invention, every time a fare box safe is set, when coins in the safe are stored in a storage unit in the apparatus and coins are collected, the coins overflow beyond the allowable amount of the storage unit. The situation can be made difficult to occur.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a cash collection apparatus embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, a fare box 1 is installed in a vehicle such as a route bus or a one-man railroad as a destination of fare (coins, banknotes) and tickets (numbered tickets, coupon tickets, etc.). A fare box safe 2 is detachably attached to the fare box 1 as a storage destination (accumulation destination) for the fare and tickets entered in the fare box 1. The fare box safe 2 has, for example, a box shape, and is divided into a coin storage chamber 3 that stores coins, numbered tickets, and coupons in a mixed manner, and a banknote storage chamber 4 that stores only banknotes. The fare box safe 2 is configured such that the coin storage room 3 can be opened and closed by a coin storage room shutter 5, and the banknote storage room 4 can be opened and closed by a banknote storage room shutter 6. 6 is closed and these are locked.

  The terminal center 7 of a company that manages route buses, one-man railroads, and the like is provided with a safe unlocker 8 that collectively stores fares and tickets stored in a plurality of fare box safes 2. The safe unlocking device 8 unlocks the fare box safe 2 set therein and sorts coins, banknotes, and tickets in the fare box safe 2 into the unlocking body 9 while sorting them. The coins, banknotes, and tickets in the plurality of fare box safes 2 are collected in a lump by performing the operation of storing in a predetermined safe or storage box for each fare box safe 2 set in itself. The safe unlocking device 8 corresponds to a cash collection device, and the unlocking device main body 9 corresponds to the device main body.

  In the upper part of the front of the safe unlocker 8, there are a plurality of fare box safe storage rooms 10 opened in a box shape as a set destination of the fare box safe 2, arranged in the width direction of the unlocker body 9 (two in this example). Is provided. Here, for example, the fare box safe 2a is set in one of the fare box safe storage rooms 10a (for example, on the right side of the page), and the fare and tickets in the fare box safe 2a are sent into the unlocker body 9. Assume that the fare box safe 2b is set in the fare box safe storage room 10b on the other side (for example, on the left side of the paper) while being collected in a lump. At this time, the fare box safe 2b is placed in a standby state, waiting for the fare and tickets to be discharged, and when the fare and coin collection of the first fare box safe 2a is completed, the last fare box The fare and tickets in the safe 2b are poured into the unlocker body 9 and collected together. The fare box safe storage room 10 corresponds to an attachment portion (one attachment portion, another attachment portion).

  On the bottom surface of the fare box safe storage room 10, a coin path shutter 12 that opens and closes an entrance 11 for coins and tickets in the unlocker body 9 is provided. In addition, a bill path shutter 14 that opens and closes a bill inlet 13 in the unlocker body 9 is provided on the side surface of the fare box safe storage chamber 10. When the fare box safe 2 is attached to the fare box 1, the coin storage room shutter 5 is oriented upward, and when it is attached to the safe unlocker 8, the coin storage room shutter 5 is oriented downward. In addition, the entrances 11 and 13 and the shutters 12 and 14 are illustrated only in the fare box safe storage room 10b on the left side in FIG.

  A lock pin 15 that locks the storage state of the fare box safe 2 is provided on the upper surface of the fare box safe storage room 10 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. When the fare box safe 2 is not stored in the fare box safe storage room 10, the lock pin 15 takes a storage state in which the lock pin 15 does not protrude into the fare box safe storage room 10. Further, when the fare box safe 2 is stored in the fare box safe storage room 10, the lock pin 15 is locked in the hole 16 of the fare box safe 2 so as to protrude into the fare box safe storage room 10. By taking this lock state until the collection operation of the fare box safe 2 is completed, the removal of the fare box safe 2 is prohibited.

  When coins, banknotes, and tickets in the fare box safe 2 are sent to the safe unlocker 8, the fare box safe 2 is unlocked and the two shutters 5 and 6 are opened, and the unlocker body 9 The two shutters 12 and 14 are also opened. Thus, when the shutters 5 and 12 are in the open state, the coins and tickets stored in the coin storage chamber 3 fall downward (downward of the safe unlocking device 8) due to their own weight. It is sent into the main body 9. On the other hand, when the shutters 6 and 14 are in the open state, the pushing member 17 (see FIG. 4) in the fare box safe 2 moves, and the bills stored in the bill storage chamber 4 are sideways (safe unlocking). Is pushed out into the inside of the unlocking device main body 9.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, a coin safe 18 is provided at a lower portion of the back surface of the safe unlocker 8 as a storage location for coins collectively collected by the safe unlocker 8. The coin safe 18 is stored in a coin safe storage room 19 formed in the lower part of the back surface of the safe unlocker 8 in a state where it can be taken in and out. The coin safe storage room 19 can be closed at the entrance by a coin safe storage room door 20. The coin safe 18 is provided with a plurality of coin storage bags 21 (eight in this example) into which coins collected in a lump are poured. These coin storage bags 21, 21,... Are attached to a bag support portion 22 that forms the framework of the coin safe 18 and are arranged in a circumferential arrangement. The coin safe 18 is placed on a transport cart 23 that is moved by a caster, and the transport cart 23 can be stored in the coin safe storage chamber 19. The coin storage bag 21 corresponds to a coin storage unit.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the lower part of the front surface of the safe unlocking device 8, a bank safe 24 is used as a storage location for banknotes collected by the safe unlocking device 8 at a position closer to one side (right side in FIG. 1). Is provided. The banknote safe 24 has an upper wall opened as an entrance for banknotes and is stored in a bankable safe storage room 25 formed near one side of the lower part of the front face of the safe unlocker 8 in a state where it can be taken in and out. ing. The banknote safe storage room 25 can be closed at the entrance by a banknote safe storage room door 26. The banknotes in the banknote storage chamber 4 of the fare box safe 2 are pushed sideways by the pushing member in the farebox safe 2 and then passed through the banknote chute (not shown) in the unlocker body 9. It is conveyed to 24.

  Further, a vault safe 27 is provided at the lower front side of the safe unlocker 8 at a position closer to the other side (left side of the paper in FIG. 1) as a storage location for the tickets collected together by the safe unlocker 8. ing. The ticket safe 27 has an upper wall opened as a ticket entrance, and can be taken in and out of a ticket safe storage room 28 formed at a position closer to the other side of the lower part of the front of the safe unlocker 8. It is stored in a state. The entrance of the vault safe storage room 28 can be closed by a vault safe storage room door 29.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a coin separating mechanism 30 that separates coins that have fallen into the safe unlocking device 8 from the coins is provided inside the safe unlocking device 8. The coin separating mechanism 30 is provided with a drum 31 having a substantially cylindrical shape that is attached to the unlocker body 9 so as to be rotatable. The drum 31 is attached in a rotatable state with the width direction of the unlocking device main body 9 as the axis L1, and is disposed at a substantially central position of the unlocking device main body 9. The drum 31 takes in coins and tickets that have been fed into the unlocking device body 9 into the drum, and sorts these coins and tickets together with its own rotation.

  The drum 31 has a cylindrical shape in which both ends of the drum main body 32 are open, the opening on one end side is an inlet 32a for coins and tickets into the drum 31, and the opening on the other end side is a ticket from the drum 31. The outlet 32b. In the vicinity of the inlet 32 a of the drum 31, there is provided a belt conveyor 33 through which coins and tickets sent from the fare box safe 2 to the unlocker body 9 are poured into the drum 31. In addition, a blower 34 is provided at the lower portion of the belt conveyor 33 to blow the tickets sent into the drum 31 toward the delivery port 32b by wind. Tickets discharged to the outside from the outlet 32b of the drum 31 by the wind of the blower 34 are conveyed to a ticket safe 27 through a ticket chute (not shown) in the unlocker body 9.

  Inside the drum main body 32, a coin filter portion 35 that allows only coins out of coins and tickets fed into the drum 31 to pass therethrough is provided so as to be integrally rotatable. The coin filter portion 35 has a cylindrical shape with both sides open, the opening on one end side serves as an inlet 32a for coins and bills into the drum 31, and the opening on the other end communicates with the delivery port 32b. Coins and tickets conveyed by the belt conveyor 33 are sent into the coin filter unit 35. The coin filter portion 35 can be rotated about the same axis as that of the drum body 32, has a diameter smaller than that of the drum body 32, and has a shorter length. A plurality of holes 36 are formed in the peripheral wall of the coin filter portion 35 with regularity to allow the coins that have entered the drum 31 to pass outside the peripheral wall. The coin filter unit 35 sorts the coins mixed with the tickets in the drum 31 from the tickets by passing the coins fed into the drum 31 through the hole 36 to the outside of the coin filter unit 35.

  A drum motor 37 is disposed below the drum 31 as a rotational drive source for the drum 31 (the drum body 32 and the coin filter unit 35). The drum motor 37 has a pulley 38 attached to the motor shaft 37a, and a belt latch portion formed on an end portion of the drum main body 32 on the delivery port 32b side. 40 is connected to the drum 31. On the inner peripheral surface of the drum main body 32, a coin guide portion 41 extending in a spiral manner with the rotation axis L1 of the drum 31 as a center is formed to protrude. A coin discharge port 42 for discharging the coins in the drum 31 to the outside of the drum 31 is provided at a position near the belt conveyor 33 on the peripheral wall of the drum body 32. The coin guide unit 41 guides the coin in the drum main body 32 to the downstream side, that is, the coin discharge port 42 by moving the coin along the drum 31 during the rotation of the drum 31.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a coin distribution mechanism 43 that distributes the coins sorted by the drum 31 from the plurality of coin storage bags 21 to a specific bag is provided below the drum 31. A coin chute 44 serving as a passage path for coins after sorting by the drum 31 is attached to the coin distribution mechanism 43. The coin chute 44 is fixedly attached to the unlocker main body 9, and the inlet 44a formed in an enlarged diameter is disposed at a position where it can face the coin discharge port 42 of the drum 31, and the outlet 44b faces downward. Taking the direction.

  In addition, a cylindrical arm member 45 is rotatably attached between the coin storage bag 21 and the coin chute 44 in the unlocker body 9. The arm member 45 is a passage route when coins sent from the coin chute 44 are sent to the coin storage bag 21. The arm member 45 has a bent shape in the middle, and extends in the vertical direction while being bent at a predetermined angle with respect to the first tube portion 45a whose central axis is the axis L2 during rotation, and the first tube portion 45a. And the second cylindrical portion 45b. In the arm member 45, the upper end portion of the first cylinder portion 45 a becomes the coin introduction port 46 after sorting, and the lower end portion of the second cylinder portion 45 b becomes the delivery port 47 for discharging the coin toward the coin storage bag 21.

  Below the arm member 45, an arm rotation motor 48 is disposed as a rotation drive source of the arm member 45. The motor shaft 48 a of the arm rotation motor 48 is connected to the arm member 45 via a connecting member 49. The connecting member 49 is a member that converts the driving force of the arm rotation motor 48 into a movement force in the rotation direction necessary for the arm member 45 to rotate about the axis L2. A plurality of these coin storage bags 21 are in a positioning state in which the arm rotation motor 48 rotates and the delivery port 47 of the arm member 45 faces the specific coin storage bag 21. A specific one is designated as a coin storage destination.

  Further, a full sensor 50 capable of detecting that the stored coins may overflow from the coin storage bag 21 is provided at the upper end position of each coin storage bag 21. The full sensor 50 is composed of, for example, an optical sensor. In this example, the full sensor 50 does not detect that the coin stored in the coin storage bag 21 is full, but the coin stored in the coin storage bag 21 is abnormal. It is used as a sensor that detects that they are stacked. When the full sensor 50 detects that the coins in the coin storage bag 21 are abnormally stacked, the full sensor 50 can output an abnormality detection signal (for example, an ON signal).

  By the way, for example, assuming that the arm member 45 is rotated when the coins are abnormally stacked so that the full sensor 50 is turned on, the outlet 47 of the arm member 45 touches the coin in the accumulated state. , Coins may overflow. Therefore, when the full sensor 50 is turned on, it is determined that the coin in the coin storage bag 21 is in an abnormal state, and the safe unlocker 8 displays an error message to that effect and temporarily stops its operation. At this time, the operator opens the coin safe storage door 20 and manually pushes the coins in the accumulated state into the coin storage bag 21 to return the full sensor 50 to a state where no coin is detected. After the confirmation, the safe unlocking device 8 is reset to cause the safe unlocking device 8 to resume the collecting operation.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the safe unlocker 8 is provided with a safe unlocker control device 51 as a control unit for overall control of the safe unlocker 8. The safe unlocking device controller 51 includes, for example, a CPU 52, a ROM 53, a rewritable memory 54, and the like. The CPU 52 operates based on the control program Pd1 written in the ROM 53, thereby causing the safe unlocker 8 to execute a collective collection operation of the fares and tickets in the fare box safe 2. This control program Pd1 allows the safe unlocker 8 to sort the fare and tickets in the fare box safe 2 and collect them together, the fare box safe 2, the shutters 12, 14, the lock pin 15, the motors 37, 48, etc. It is a program that operates. The safe unlocking device control unit 51 constitutes reading means, free capacity indexing means, determination means, switching means, and preparation operation execution means.

  The fare box safe 2 is provided with a fare box safe control device 55 that controls the fare box safe 2 in an integrated manner. The fare box safe control device 55 includes, for example, a CPU 56, a ROM 57, a rewritable memory 58, and the like. The CPU 56 operates based on the control program Pd2 written in the ROM 57, thereby writing various information about the fare box 1 into the rewritable memory 58, and outputting various information written in the rewritable memory 58 to the outside. Controls the locking and unlocking and opening and closing of the shutters 5 and 6. As various information written in the rewritable memory 58, for example, there is safe data Dkn relating to the input money put into the fare box 1, that is, the money stored in the fare box safe 2. The safe data Dkn includes, for example, coin data Dkm as information on the number of coins of different types of coins stored in the fare box safe 2, and banknote data Dsn as information on the total number of banknotes.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a safe-side connector 59 is provided on the rear surface of the fare box safe 2 as a connection point for electrical wiring on the fare box safe 2 side. The safe-side connector 59 is a data communication connector, and its connection pin (not shown) is connected to the fare box safe control device 55. On the other hand, on the inner wall surface of the fare box safe storage room 10 in the safe unlocker 8, an unlocker-side connector 60 is provided as an electrical wiring connection point on the safe unlocker 8 side. The unlocker-side connector 60 can be connected to the safe-side connector 59, and its connection pin (not shown) is connected to the safe-unlocker control device 51.

  The fare box safe control device 55 is connected to the safe / unlock controller 51 from the safe / unlock controller 51 in a situation where the fare box safe 2 is housed in the fare box safe storage room 10 and the safe connector 59 is connected to the unlock connector 60. When the transfer request for the data Dkn is received, the safe data Dkn written in the rewritable memory 58 is output to the safe unlocking device controller 51. Further, when the fare box safe control device 55 receives a request for opening the shutters 5 and 6 from the safe unlocking device control device 51 in a state where the safe side connector 59 is connected to the unlocking device side connector 60, When these two shutters 5 and 6 in the closed state are opened, and a request for closing the shutters 5 and 6 is received from the safe unlocking device controller 51, the two shutters 5 and 6 in the open state at this time are opened. Close.

  The control program Pd1 written in the ROM 53 of the safe unlocking device controller 51 includes a coin overflow prevention program Pkd for storing coins so as not to overflow from the coin storage bag 21. The CPU 52 executes a coin overflow prevention process for preventing coins from overflowing from the coin storage bag 21 as a storage destination by operating according to the coin overflow prevention program Pkd at the time of collective coin collection. This coin overflow prevention program Pkd is executed every time the fare box safe 2 is set in the safe unlocker 8 and the fare and tickets in the fare box safe 2 are collected together.

  In the coin overflow prevention processing of the present example, the fare and tickets in the fare box safe 2 are discharged from the coin data Dkm in the safe data Dkn to be sucked out from the fare box safe 2 before discharging into the unlocking device body 9. Calculate the number of coins Mkk in the safe. Since the maximum allowable number of coins Mmx that can be stored in one coin storage bag 21 is determined in advance, each time the fare box safe 2 is set in the safe unlocker 8, the maximum allowable number of coins Mmx is set. Each time the coin number Mkk in the safe is calculated as the maximum value (reference), the coin number Mkk in the safe is sequentially subtracted, and before the coins in the fare box safe 2 are stored in the coin storage bag 21, Whether or not the empty coin storage bag 21 has enough empty space is predicted and determined. If the empty space is sufficient, the coin storage bag 21 in the designated state at that time is used as it is. If the empty space is insufficient, the arm rotating motor 48 is driven to rotate the arm member 45 by a predetermined amount. By doing so, the coin storage destination is switched to the adjacent empty coin storage bag 21.

Next, the operation of the safe unlocking device 8 of this example will be described.
For example, it is assumed that the fare box safe 2a is set in one of the two fare box safe storage rooms 10a and 10b (right side in FIG. 1). By the way, the safe unlocker control device 51 sequentially monitors the connection state of the unlocker side connector 60 when the power is turned on and is in the activated state, and the fare box safe 2a is placed in the fare box safe storage room 10a. When it is detected that the safe-side connector 59 has been completely inserted into the unlocking-side connector 60, the lock pin 15 is brought into a protruding state and is locked in the hole 16 of the fare box safe 2, and the fare box safe. 2a cannot be removed from the fare box safe storage room 10a. Also, if the collective recovery operation is not being executed at this time, the safe unlocking device control device 51 passes through these connectors 59 and 60 to the fare box safe control device 55 of the fare box safe 2a that is in the set state at that time. A safe data transfer request is output. The detection of the complete insertion state is performed by, for example, checking whether predetermined connection pins of the connectors 59 and 60 are energized.

  When the fare box safe control device 55 receives the safe data transfer request from the safe unlocking device control device 51, it reads the safe data Dkn written in its rewritable memory 58, and this safe data Dkn is also connected to the connectors 59, 59. 60 to the fare box safe control device 55. Upon receiving the safe data Dkn sent from the fare box safe control device 55, the safe unlocker control device 51 reads the coin data Dkm from the safe data Dkn and sets it in the fare box safe storage room 10a at this time. The number of coins Mkk in the safe is checked to see how many coins are stored in the fare box safe 2a. It should be noted that the safe unlocking device 51 is set in the fare box safe 2 before the fare and tickets in the fare box safe 2 are poured each time the fare box safe 2 is set in the fare box safe storage room 10. The safe data Dkn is received from and the number of coins Mkk in the safe is confirmed.

  When the safe unlocking device controller 51 confirms the number of coins Mkk in the safe in the fare box safe 2a, the coin unlocked in the fare box safe 2a is put into the unlocking device main body 9 at a specified state at that time. A certain coin storage bag 21 predicts and confirms whether or not there is sufficient space for storing coins. By the way, in this type of coin storage bag 21, the maximum allowable number of coins Mmx is determined in advance as the maximum allowable amount of coins that can be stored in one bag. Therefore, when the coin storage destination is the empty coin storage bag 21, the maximum allowable coin number Mmx is set as the free capacity R, and when coins are first put in the empty coin storage bag 21, the maximum allowable coin number Mmx. Then, the number of coins Mkk in the safe of the fare box safe 2a at that time is subtracted, and this subtraction value (calculated value) is calculated as a new free space R after storing coins.

  Then, each time a new fare box safe 2 is set in the fare box safe storage room 10 and the safe data Dkn is sucked up from the fare box safe 2, the safe unlocking device controller 51 has a free space R before the data is picked up. From this, the process of subtracting the number of coins Mkk in the safe in the fare box safe 2 at this time and repeatedly calculating the new free space R after storing the coins is performed, and whether or not the empty space is sufficient in the coin storage bag 21 at this time. Confirm. The data (free capacity data Drd) related to the free capacity R determined at this time is written in the rewritable memory 54 of the safe unlocking device controller 51 and held for use in the next collection operation.

  The safe unlocking device controller 51 determines the free space R every time the coin number Mkk in the safe is received from the fare box safe 2 in this way. In this example, whether or not this free space R becomes “0”. From this, it is predicted whether or not the coin storage bag 21 designated as the coin storage destination at this time will be filled with coins in the fare box safe 2 in the set state. That is, if the calculated free space R does not become “0” (free space R ≧ 0), even if coins of the fare box safe 2 are poured into the coin storage bag 21 in the designated state at this time, this coin storage bag If it is determined that the coins do not overflow from 21 and the free capacity R takes a value lower than “0” (free capacity R <0), the fare box is placed in the coin storage bag 21 in the designated state at this time. If coins in the safe 2 are poured, it is determined that the coins overflow from the coin storage bag 21.

  When the safe unlocking device controller 51 recognizes that the free space R does not become “0” (free space R ≧ 0), the coins in the fare box safe 2 are poured into the coin storage bag 21 in the designated state at this time. Even if it is determined that the coin storage is sufficient in the empty space of the coin storage bag 21 at this time, the coin storage bag 21 in the designated state at that time is used as it is. That is, when the safe unlocking device controller 51 recognizes that the free capacity R does not become “0” (free capacity R ≧ 0), the arm member 45 is moved at that time without rotating the arm rotating motor 48. The coin storage bag 21 in the designated state is continuously used while being held in the position state.

  On the other hand, when the safe unlocking device controller 51 recognizes that the free capacity R is lower than “0” (free capacity R <0), the coins in the fare box safe 2 are stored in the coin storage bag 21. At this time, it is determined that there is not enough empty space in the coin storage bag 21 in the designated state at this time, and the arm rotation motor 48 is rotated by a predetermined amount to rotate the arm member 45 around the axis L2. The delivery port 47 of the arm member 45 is positioned at the entrance of the adjacent empty coin storage bag 21. As a result, the storage location of the coins in the fare box safe 2 is switched to the coin storage bag 21 having a capacity capable of storing the coins without overflowing (that is, empty).

  When the safe storage device controller 51 designates the coin storage bag 21 in this manner, the two shutters 12 and 14 of the unlocking device body 9 are subsequently opened. After opening the two shutters 12 and 14, the safe unlocking device controller 51 outputs a shutter opening operation request to the fare box safe 2 a via the connectors 59 and 60. When the fare box safe control device 55 accepts the shutter opening operation request, it opens the shutters 5 and 6 while opening them. At this time, the coins and tickets stored in the coin storage chamber 3 are dropped by their own weight and poured into the unlocker body 9, and the banknotes in the banknote storage chamber 4 are moved sideways by the pushing member of the fare box safe 2. It is pushed out to the inside and sent to the inside of the unlocker main body 9 and conveyed to the banknote safe 24 via the banknote chute.

  The coins and tickets sent into the unlocking device main body 9 are carried on the belt conveyor 33 to the introduction port 32a at one end of the drum 31, and the drum 31 (coin filter part 35) is transferred from the introduction port 32a. It is poured into the inside. The tickets that enter the drum 31 are blown toward the delivery port 32b at the other end of the drum 31 by the wind of the blower 34, and are discharged to the outside of the drum 31 from the delivery port 32b. The tickets discharged to the outside of the drum 31 pass through the ticket chute and are conveyed to the ticket safe 27.

  On the other hand, the coins fed into the drum 31 slide on the inner surface of the coin filter portion 35 that is rotated by the drum motor 37, and take a position facing the hole 36. Fall. Further, when the drum 31 is in a rotating state, the spiral coin guide portion 41 functions as a guide mechanism for sending coins to the downstream side (coin discharge port 42) by the rotation operation of the drum 31, so that the drum 31 on the inner surface of the drum body 32. The fed coins are guided to the coin discharge port 42 by the coin guide portion 41 and discharged from the coin discharge port 42 to the outside of the drum 31. Then, the coins discharged from the drum 31 pass through the arm member 45 and are stored in the coin storage bag 21 in the designated state at that time.

  By the way, it is assumed that the fare box safe 2b is stored in the fare box safe storage room 10b on the other side (left side in FIG. 1) while the fare box safe 2a is being collected. When the safe unlocking device controller 51 detects that the safe side connector 59 of the fare box safe 2b is completely inserted into the unlocking side connector 60 of the fare box safe storage room 10b, the collecting operation is being executed at this time. If so, the fare box safe 2b is set in a ready state for waiting for the fare and tickets in the safe to be taken out. In this preparation state, although the fare box safe 2b is locked with the lock pin 15, the data output of the safe data Dkn is kept waiting, and the unlocker body 9 is opened with the two shutters 12,14. It is an operation to keep in a state.

  Here, since the number of coins that can be collected per second (for example, 20 sheets / second) is determined according to the specifications of this type of safe unlocking device 8, the safe unlocking device controller 51 uses the coins for the fare box safe. When performing the collecting operation, if the coin number Mkk stored in the safe is known, the processing time required for the collecting operation at that time can also be known. Therefore, when the safe unlocking device controller 51 calculates the coin number Mkk in the safe, it calculates the time required for the recovery operation at that time, and when this required time has elapsed during the recovery operation, the recovery operation in the fare box safe is finished. Is determined. When the safe unlocking device controller 51 performs the collection operation of the fare and the tickets of the fare box safe 2a, the time required for the collection determined from the number of coins Mkk in the safe of the fare box safe 2a elapses. It is determined that the collection operation has been completed.

  As described above, when the safe unlocking device controller 51 recognizes that the collective collection operation of the fare box safe 2a set in the one fare box safe storage room 10a is completed, the next fare box safe storage room is next. A safe data transfer request is output to the fare box safe 2b set in 10b, and the fare and tickets in the fare box safe 2b are collected in the same manner as the fare box safe 2a. At this time, since the shutters 12 and 14 of the fare box safe storage room 10b are preliminarily opened so that they are opened in advance, as the subsequent operation, after confirming the coin storage destination, The opening operation of the shutters 5 and 6 of the fare box safe 2b is immediately executed, and the fare and tickets in the fare box safe 2b are poured into the unlocking device main body 9.

  Now, in this example, prior to pouring the coins in the fare box safe 2 into the safe unlocker 8, the number of coins Mkk in the safe in the fare box safe 2 is read out and the coins are read at that time. Is poured into the coin storage bag 21 in the designated state, it is predicted whether or not coins will overflow. When there is no possibility of coins overflowing, the coin storage bag 21 in the specified state at that time is used as it is, and when coins overflow, the arm member 45 is rotated by a predetermined amount by the arm rotation motor 48. Then, the coin storage destination is switched to the adjacent empty coin storage bag 21. For this reason, when the coins in the fare box safe 2 are stored in the coin storage bag 21, it is possible to prevent coins from spilling out of the coin storage bag 21.

  Further, in the prediction confirmation of the empty space for storing coins in this example, each time the number of coins Mkk in the safe is sucked up from the fare box safe 2 on the basis of the maximum allowable number of coins Mmx that can be stored in one coin storage bag 21 ( In other words, each time a recovery operation is performed in one safe, this is sequentially subtracted by the number of coins Mkk in the safe. When the coins in the fare box safe 2 are stored in the coin storage bag 21 by checking whether or not the value of the free space R calculated by this subtraction is lower than “0”, The coin storage bag 21 designated as the coin storage destination in FIG. Accordingly, since the coin storage bag 21 can store coins to a state that is almost full, each coin storage bag 21 can be used efficiently.

  Further, when the fare box safe 2b is added later while the collection operation of the first-in-one fare box safe 2a is being performed, the preparatory operation is taken in the collection operation of the fare box safe 2b, and the fare box The safe 2b is locked until it is locked by the lock pin 15 and waits for the data output of the safe data Dkn, and the safe unlocker 8 has the shutters 12 and 14 opened first. For this reason, since the collection operation of the fare box safe 2b can be started immediately when the collection operation of the late fare box safe 2 is performed after the collection operation of the first fare box safe 2 is completed, It is possible to reduce the processing time required for collecting the fares and tickets in the box safe 2b with the safe unlocker 8.

According to the configuration of the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Prior to setting the fare box safe 2 in the fare box safe storage room 10 and pouring it into the unlocker body 9 in the fare box safe 2, the number of coins Mkk in the safe sucked from the fare box safe 2, If the coin storage bag 21 in the designated state is compared with the free space R at that time and all the coins in the fare box safe 2 are stored in the coin storage bag 21 in the designated state at that time, the coin storage bag 21 If the coin storage bag 21 does not completely fit, the coin storage destination is switched to the empty coin storage bag 21. For this reason, when the coins in the fare box safe 2 are stored in the coin storage bag 21, the coins can be stored in the coin storage bag 21 that can store all the coins. When collecting, the coins can be prevented from overflowing from the coin storage bag 21.

  (2) The determination as to whether or not the empty space of the coin storage bag 21 is sufficient requires the value of the number of coins Mkk in the safe of the fare box safe 2 that is set in the fare box safe storage room 10 at that time. The coin data Dkm registered (written) in the fare box safe 2 is used for the coin number Mkk in the safe. Therefore, when acquiring the value of the number of coins Mkk in the safe of the fare box safe 2, it is not necessary to newly install a coin counting sensor for counting the number of coins stored in the fare box safe 2 in the unlocker body 9. With this type of sensor, it is possible to take measures to prevent coin overflow without incurring various problems such as an increase in the number of parts and an increase in parts costs.

  (3) When a collection operation of the first-in-one fare box safe 2 is being performed by the safe unlocker 8, and another fare box safe 2 is set in the empty fare box safe storage room 10 at that time Then, a preparatory operation is performed for the fare box safe 2 of the late-insertion, and the operation of fixing the safe of the fare box safe 2 by the lock pin 15 and the A shutter opening operation for opening the shutters 12 and 14 in advance is executed in advance. For this reason, when the collection operation of the last-in-use fare box safe 2 is performed after the collection operation of the first-in-one fare box safe 2 is completed, the collection operation of the last-in fare box safe 2 can be started in a short time. Accordingly, the collection operation of the fare box safe 2 can be performed more efficiently, and the collection time required for the collection operation can be shortened.

Note that the embodiment is not limited to the configuration described so far, and may be modified as follows.
The coin distribution mechanism 43 is limited to a mechanism in which a cylindrical arm member 45 bent in the middle is rotated by an arm rotation motor 48 to specify a specific one from the plurality of coin storage bags 21. Not. For example, a mechanism may be used in which the coin storage bag 21 serving as the coin storage destination is designated by changing the inclination of one coin chute by an actuator.

  The coin number Mkk in the safe is not limited to being acquired from stored data registered in advance in the fare box safe 2. For example, even if a coin counting sensor for actually measuring coins flowing down from the fare box safe 2 is provided in the vicinity of the shutter 12 of the unlocker body 9, and the coin number Mkk in the safe is obtained from the sensor value obtained from the coin counting sensor. Good.

  -When determining whether or not the empty space is sufficient in the coin storage bag 21 in the specified state at that time, for example, every time the number of coins Mkk in the safe is sucked up from the fare box safe 2, this is added. This may be done by checking whether the value (calculated value) exceeds the maximum allowable number of coins Mmx.

  The preparatory operations performed in the late-installed fare box safe 2 are not necessarily limited to the lock fixing operation of the fare box safe 2 by the lock pin 15 and the shutter 12 of the fare box safe storage room 10 in which the post-installed fare box safe 2 is stored. It is not limited to the shutter opening operation of opening 14 in advance. That is, this operation is not particularly limited as long as it is an operation that should be completed before the shutters 5 and 6 of the post-install fare box safe 2 are opened (only the shutter 5 is acceptable).

The safe unlocker 8 is not necessarily limited to one having a plurality of fare box safe storage rooms 10a, 10b, and may be provided with only one of them.
The data type included in the safe data Dkn registered in the fare box safe 2 is not necessarily limited to the coin data Dkm and the banknote data Dsn. For example, when a card reader capable of paying a fare with a magnetic card or an IC card is mounted in the fare box 1, card information read from the magnetic card or the IC card may be included.

Next, technical ideas that can be grasped from the above-described embodiment and other examples will be described below together with their effects.
(1) In any one of claims 1 to 3, when the empty capacity indexing unit first stores coins in the empty coin storage unit, the fare is determined from the maximum allowable number of coins that can be stored in the coin storage unit. By subtracting the number of coins in the safe of the box safe, the free space of the coin storage unit is determined, and the fare box safe is attached to the main body of the apparatus, and the number of coins in the safe is obtained from the fare box safe Each time, the free capacity is determined by repeatedly performing the process of subtracting the number of coins in the safe from the free capacity at that time. According to this configuration, it is possible to know how much free space is left in the coin storage bag each time.

  (2) In any one of claims 1 to 3 and the technical idea (1), the coin storage destination switching mechanism that switches the storage destination of the coins is configured to send the sorted coins to the coin storage unit. An arm that is a passage path and selectively designates one of the plurality of coin storage portions as a coin storage destination by taking each rotation position, and a motor that operates as a rotation drive source of the arm And the switching means drives the motor to position the exit of the arm in an empty coin storage portion when the number of coins in the safe exceeds the free capacity, thereby changing the storage location of the coins. Switch to the empty coin storage. According to this configuration, the coin storage destination switching mechanism may be a simple configuration including the arm and the motor.

The perspective view which shows schematic structure of the safe unlocking device in one Embodiment. The perspective view which shows schematic structure of a coin separation mechanism. The perspective view which shows schematic structure of a coin distribution mechanism. The block diagram which shows the electric structure of a safe unlocker and a fare box safe. The perspective view which shows the connector part of a safe unlocker and a fare box safe. The back view which shows the external appearance of the back surface side of a safe unlocking machine. The perspective view which shows schematic structure of the conventional safe unlocking machine. The perspective view which shows schematic structure of a coin distribution mechanism similarly.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fare box, 2 (2a, 2b) ... Fare box safe, 8 ... Safe unlocker as cash collection device, 9 ... Unlocker main body as device main body, 10 (10a, 10b) ... Mounting part (one Fare box safe storage room as attachment part, other attachment part), 21... Coin storage bag as coin storage part, 51... Reading means, free capacity indexing means, determination means, switching means and preparation operation execution means Safe unlocking device, Mkk ... Number of coins in safe, R ... Free space.

Claims (3)

A fare box safe that can be attached to a fare box that is a destination for the fare and tickets, and is removable from the fare box, and the fare in the attached fare box safe Collecting the tickets and collecting them, and collecting the fare and the tickets at once for each fare box safe attached to the fare box, and storing a plurality of coins as the fare In the cash collection device that performs the storing by switching the storage destination to another empty coin storage unit when one coin storage unit that is storing is full while holding the coin storage unit of
Prior to pouring coins in the fare box safe into the apparatus body, reading means for reading the number of coins in the safe stored in the fare box safe from the fare box safe;
Free capacity indexing means for determining the free capacity of the coin storage unit in the specified state at that time;
A determination means for comparing the number of coins in the safe and the free space, and determining whether or not all the coins in the fare box safe can be stored in the coin storage unit in a specified state at that time;
When the number of coins in the safe exceeds the free capacity, switching means for previously switching the coin storage destination to another coin storage unit before pouring the coin into the apparatus main body is provided. Cash collection device.   The available capacity indexing means accumulates the number of coins in the safe read by the reading means, and based on the calculated value obtained by the accumulation, the available capacity of the coin storage unit that is in a specified state at that time. The cash collection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cash collection apparatus is indexed. A cash collection device having a plurality of attachment portions to which the fare box safe is attached during collection operation,
During the collecting operation of one fare box safe attached to one of the plurality of attachment parts, when the fare box safe is attached to another attachment part, it is attached to the other attachment part. 3. The cash collecting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a preparation operation executing means for preliminarily executing, as a preparation operation, an operation before the coins are poured into the collection operation of another fare box safe.

Images