JP6339411B2 - Coin processing apparatus and coin processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coin processing device including a storage unit capable of storing a plurality of coins, and a coin processing method using such a coin processing device.

  As a so-called circulation type coin depositing and dispensing machine which is installed in a financial institution such as a bank and reuses a deposited coin for withdrawal, a device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In the coin depositing and dispensing machine as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the denomination of the deposited coin is identified, and the coin is stored in the denomination storage in the denomination storage. More specifically, the denomination storage unit includes a stacking unit having a hollow cylindrical stacking cylinder that stacks a plurality of coins, and a shutter that is disposed below the stacking unit and supports the plurality of coins stacked in the stacking unit. And a storage unit that is disposed below the shutter and stores coins sent from the stacking unit when the shutter is retracted from the lower part of the stacking unit. In such a denomination storage unit, the coins sent from the sorting conveyance unit to the denomination storage unit by the gate unit are temporarily held in the accumulation unit, and then the shutter is retracted from the lower part of the accumulation unit. The coins are sent from the storage unit to the storage unit and stored in the storage unit.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-93629

  In the coin depositing and dispensing machine as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the accumulation unit and the storage unit are separately provided in the denomination storage unit, and the height of the accumulation unit is determined. When there is a restriction, there is a problem that the height of the storage part is also restricted and the amount of coins stored in the storage part becomes relatively small. More specifically, when a coin depositing process is performed in a coin depositing and dispensing machine as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the number of coins temporarily held in the stacking unit is generally the maximum storage of coins in the stacking unit. Although less than the number of sheets, the height of the stacking unit cannot be changed, and the height of the storage unit is restricted, so that the coin storage efficiency deteriorates. In addition, in the coin depositing and dispensing machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the frequency of performing the coin dispensing process is higher than the frequency of performing the coin depositing process, it is desirable to make the storage unit relatively large. When the height of the storage unit is increased, the height of the stacking unit is determined, so that the height of the denomination storage is increased and the coin depositing and dispensing machine is increased in size.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and when the storage unit is partitioned into a temporary storage area and a storage area, the size of the temporary storage area can be changed. An object of the present invention is to provide a coin processing device and a coin processing method capable of improving the storage efficiency of coins by adjusting the sizes of the temporary holding area and the storage area in accordance with the processing status of coins.

The coin processing device of the present invention includes a storage unit capable of storing a plurality of coins, a coin feeding means for sending coins to the storage unit, the storage unit, and a coin sent to the storage unit by the coin feeding means. A temporary holding area for temporarily holding; a partitioning means for partitioning into a storage area where coins are sent from the temporary holding area; and a control unit for controlling the partitioning means, wherein the partitioning means is configured to be able to vary the size of the holding area, said in the control unit, and a monitor plurality of operational mode is set as the processing mode of the coin, in response to each said operation mode The size of the temporary holding area is set, and the partition unit is controlled based on the size of the temporary holding area corresponding to the operation mode to be executed.
In the coin processing device of the present invention, at least a deposit priority mode and a withdrawal priority mode are set as the plurality of operation modes in the control unit, and the temporary holding area corresponding to the deposit priority mode is set to the withdrawal priority mode. It may be larger than the temporary holding area corresponding to the gold priority mode.
Moreover, the coin processing apparatus of the present invention has a storage unit that can store a plurality of coins, a coin feeding unit that sends coins to the storage unit, and the storage unit that is sent to the storage unit by the coin feeding unit. A temporary holding area for temporarily holding coins, a partitioning means for partitioning into a storage area where coins are sent from the temporary holding area, and a controller for controlling the partitioning means, the partitioning means comprising: The size of the temporary holding area can be changed, and the control unit changes the size of the temporary holding area based on the number of coins already stored in the storage unit. It is characterized by.
Moreover, the coin processing apparatus of the present invention has a storage unit that can store a plurality of coins, a coin feeding unit that sends coins to the storage unit, and the storage unit that is sent to the storage unit by the coin feeding unit. A temporary holding area for temporarily holding coins, a partitioning means for partitioning into a storage area where coins are sent from the temporary holding area, and a controller for controlling the partitioning means, the partitioning means comprising: The size of the temporary holding area can be changed, and the control unit is configured to transfer coins sent from the temporary holding area to the storage area based on the number of coins already stored in the storage part. It is characterized by changing the number of sheets.

  According to such a coin processing device, the size of the temporary storage area can be changed when the storage unit is partitioned into the temporary storage area and the storage area. Coin storage efficiency can be improved by adjusting the size of the holding area and the storage area.

Moreover, the coin processing apparatus of the present invention further includes a feeding unit that feeds out coins stored in the storage unit from the storage unit, and a recovery unit that collects coins, and the control unit includes the storage unit Among the coins temporarily held in the temporary holding area, coins that are not sent to the storage area may be fed from the storage section by the feeding section and sent to the collection section.
In addition, the partition means is movable between an advance position that advances into the internal area of the storage section and a retract position that retracts from the internal area of the storage section, and is stored in the storage section. You may have the 1st partition member which can move along the storage direction of a coin.

In the coin processing device of the present invention, coins are stored in the storage section in a stacked state, and the partition means is movable in a vertical direction, and the storage section A stacking unit on which coins stored in a stack are placed, an advance position where the coin is advanced into the internal region of the storage unit, and a retreat position where the coin is retracted from the internal region of the storage unit. And a second partition member that is movable between the second partition member and the second partition member.

In the coin processing apparatus of the present invention, the front Symbol housing portion, a plurality provided to house the coins by denomination, said partition means is provided in plural to correspond to the accommodating portion of each said control The size of the temporary holding area is set in correspondence with each denomination of coins, and the control unit is configured to control the partitioning unit based on the size of the temporary holding area corresponding to each denomination of coins. You may come to perform control of.

The coin processing method of the present invention includes a storage unit capable of storing a plurality of coins, a coin feeding means for sending coins to the storage unit, the storage unit, and a coin sent to the storage unit by the coin feeding means. A partitioning means configured to divide temporarily into a temporary holding area to be temporarily held and a storage area to which coins are sent from the temporary holding area, and to change the size of the temporary holding area, and to control the partitioning means And a control unit in which a plurality of operation modes are set as the coin processing mode and the size of the temporary holding area is set corresponding to each of the operation modes. a coin processing method according to the control unit, by controlling the said partition means based on the size of the temporary holding area corresponding to the operation mode to be executed, the partition means, multiple Of the housing portion capable of housing the coins, and a step of partitioning the escrow area and the temporary holding area for temporarily holding the transmitted coins to the storage unit in the storage area the coin is sent, said coin feeding means The step of temporarily storing coins in the temporary storage area of the storage unit by sending coins to the storage unit, and the storage area from the temporary storage region of the storage unit by operating the partition means and comprising the a step of accommodating the coins in the housing area sends coins.
In the coin processing method of the present invention, a storage unit capable of storing a plurality of coins, a coin feeding means for sending coins to the storage unit, and the storage unit are sent to the storage unit by the coin feeding means. A partition means configured to partition a temporary storage area for temporarily storing coins and a storage area for sending coins from the temporary storage area, and to change a size of the temporary storage area; and A coin processing method by a coin processing apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the size of the temporary storage area based on the number of coins already stored in the storage unit. By controlling the partition means to change, the partition means temporarily stores a storage section capable of storing a plurality of coins, and a temporary storage area for temporarily storing the coins sent to the storage section. Or A step of partitioning the storage area the coin is sent by the coin feeding means sends coins to the storage unit, a step of temporarily holding coins in the temporary holding area of the housing portion, said partition means by operating, characterized by comprising the a step of accommodating the coins in the from the temporary holding area of the housing part feeding coins into the housing area the housing area.
In the coin processing method of the present invention, a storage unit capable of storing a plurality of coins, a coin feeding means for sending coins to the storage unit, and the storage unit are sent to the storage unit by the coin feeding means. A partition means configured to partition a temporary storage area for temporarily storing coins and a storage area for sending coins from the temporary storage area, and to change a size of the temporary storage area; and And a control section that changes the number of coins sent from the temporary holding area to the storage area based on the number of coins already stored in the storage section. a is, housing area the partition means, the storage portion capable of storing a plurality of coins, the escrow area and coins from the temporary holding area for temporarily holding the transmitted coins to the storage unit is sent A step of defining, by said coin feeding means sends coins to the storage unit, a step of temporarily holding coins in the temporary holding area of the housing part, wherein the control unit is already received in the receiving portion By operating the partitioning means by controlling the partitioning means to change the number of coins sent from the temporary holding area to the storage area based on the number of coins being stored , from the holding area and the step of storing the coin in the storage area the storage area sends a coin, characterized by comprising a.

  According to such a coin processing method, the size of the temporary storage area can be changed in the step of partitioning the storage unit into the temporary storage area and the storage area. Coin storage efficiency can be improved by adjusting the size of the holding area and the storage area.

  According to the coin processing device and the coin processing method of the present invention, the storage efficiency of coins can be improved by adjusting the sizes of the temporary holding area and the storage area in accordance with the processing status of coins.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the money processing system provided with the coin processing apparatus by embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the coin processing apparatus in the money processing system shown in FIG. It is a top view of the coin conveyance part in the coin processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is an enlarged top view of the storage branch part and coin storage mechanism in the coin conveyance part shown in FIG. (A) and (b) are the longitudinal cross-sectional views of the storage branch part and coin storage mechanism in the coin conveyance part shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the coin storage mechanism in the coin processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the separator and support mechanism in the coin storage mechanism shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a top view showing a drive system of the separator shown in FIG. 7 and the like, wherein (a) is a diagram showing a state when each separator enters a storage cylinder of each coin storage unit, and (b) It is a figure which shows a state when each separator evacuates from the storage cylinder of each coin storage part. (A)-(d) is a block diagram which shows the positions, such as a coin, a separator, a stage, etc. in the storage cylinder of each coin storage part, respectively. (A)-(f) is a block diagram which shows the positions, such as a coin, a separator, a stage, etc. in the storage cylinder of each coin storage part, respectively. (A)-(f) is a top view which shows sequentially the operation | movement which accommodates a coin in the storage cylinder of each coin storage part in the coin processing apparatus shown in FIG. (A)-(f) is a top view which shows sequentially the operation | movement which pays out a coin from the storage cylinder of each coin storage part in the coin processing apparatus shown in FIG. (A) to (c) are coins and separators in the storage cylinder of each coin storage unit when a size capable of storing 50 coins is set as the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit, It is a block diagram which shows positions, such as a stage, (d)-(f) is each coin when the magnitude | size which can hold | maintain 10 coins as the magnitude | size of the temporary storage area | region of a coin storage part is set. It is a block diagram which shows the positions, such as a coin in a storage cylinder of a storage part, a separator, and a stage. It is a block diagram which shows the position of the coin in the storage cylinder of each coin storage part, a separator, a stage, etc. when only a part of the coin temporarily hold | maintained at the temporary storage area | region of a coin storage part is sent to a storage area. . It is a block diagram which shows the position of the coin in the storage cylinder of each coin storage part, a separator, a stage, etc. when the number of the coins temporarily hold | maintained in the temporary storage area | region of a coin storage part is changed. (A) (b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the storage branch part and coin storage mechanism in the coin conveyance part of the coin processing apparatus which concerns on a modification. (A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the storage branch part and coin storage mechanism in the coin conveyance part of the coin processing apparatus which concerns on the further modification, (b) is shown with the referential mark R in Fig.17 (a). It is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a region. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guide path of the coin processing apparatus which concerns on the further modification. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a state when what is called a Kayrin phenomenon of a coin generate | occur | produced in the coin deposit port of the coin processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a state when what is called the Keirin phenomenon of the coin which generate | occur | produced in the coin deposit slot of the coin processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is destroyed with the coin sent to the said coin deposit slot.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 15 are views showing a coin processing device according to the present embodiment and a money processing system including the coin processing device.

  First, the whole structure of the money processing system provided with the coin processing apparatus by this Embodiment is demonstrated using FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the money handling system 10 according to the present embodiment has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 12, and in the money handling system 10, a banknote handling device 100 and a coin handling device 200 are arranged in parallel. Has been. More specifically, the banknote handling apparatus 100 is arranged on the left side when the money handling system 10 according to the present embodiment is viewed from the front side, and the coin handling apparatus 200 is arranged on the right side. Here, the banknote handling apparatus 100 is a banknote depositing / withdrawing apparatus that performs banknote depositing / withdrawing processing, and the coin handling apparatus 200 is a coin depositing / withdrawing apparatus that performs coin depositing / withdrawing processing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a banknote depositing port 102 and a banknote dispensing port 104 are provided on the front surface of the banknote handling apparatus 100 in order from above. In addition, a banknote storage cassette 110 is detachably installed on the housing 12 of the money handling system 10 below the banknote dispensing port 104 on the front surface of the banknote handling apparatus 100. Such a bill storage cassette 110 is arranged at an intermediate position in the height direction of the bill processing apparatus 100. In addition, a withdrawal rejection unit 114 is provided below the banknote storage cassette 110 on the front surface of the banknote handling apparatus 100.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a coin depositing port 202 is provided at the upper front portion of the coin processing apparatus 200, and a coin dispensing box 236 is provided in the middle of the front surface of the coin processing apparatus 200. The body 12 is detachably installed. Here, the banknote depositing port 102 for inserting a banknote into the machine body of the banknote processing apparatus 100 and the coin depositing port 202 for inserting a coin into the machine body of the coin processing apparatus 200 are high in the money processing system 10. They are arranged at substantially the same position in the vertical direction.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the 1st occupation button 14 and the 2nd occupation button 16 are provided in the both ends of the upper surface front of the money handling system 10, respectively. In a financial institution such as a bank, when the money handling system 10 shown in FIG. 1 is arranged between two tellers at a window and the two-handed operation of the money handling system 10 is performed by two tellers, each teller By depressing the corresponding occupancy buttons 14 and 16, the money handling system 10 can be occupied.

  In the money handling system 10 of the present embodiment, a bill storage cassette 110 that is detachable from the body of the bill processing apparatus 100 and a coin collection cassette 237 that is detachable from the body of the coin processing apparatus 200 (described later). ) Can be taken out individually. Specifically, the bill storage cassette 110 is pulled out from the machine body of the banknote processing apparatus 100 and then the coin collection cassette 237 is pulled out from the machine body of the coin processing apparatus 200.

  Next, the configuration of the coin processing apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of the coin processing device 200 in the money processing system 10 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a top view of the coin transport unit 220 in the coin processing device 200 shown in FIG. 4 is an enlarged top view of the storage branching unit 241 and the coin storage mechanism 242 in the coin transport unit 220 shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a storage mechanism 242. FIG. In FIG. 5, a coin stored in the coin storage unit 247 of the coin storage mechanism 242 is indicated by a reference symbol C. 2 is the front side of the coin processing apparatus 200, and the right direction in FIG. 2 is the depth direction of the coin processing apparatus 200.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a coin feeding belt 204 and a reverse rotation roller 205 are provided at the lower part of the coin depositing port 202, and the coins inserted into the coin depositing port 202 by the operator are transferred by the coin feeding belt 204. The coins are fed to the back of the coin processing apparatus 200, and at this time, the coins conveyed by the coin feeding belt 204 are separated one by one by passing through the gap between the coin feeding belt 204 and the reverse rotation roller 205. Become. Inside the machine body of the coin processing device 200, a coin transport unit 220 is provided at the back of the coin feed belt 204, and coins are transferred one by one from the coin feed belt 204 to the coin transport unit 220, and this coin transport unit 220. Due to this, the coins are further conveyed.

  The coin transport unit 220 transports coins one by one so as to pass through a transport path 214 extending along the depth direction of the coin processing apparatus 200. More specifically, the coin transport unit 220 includes an endless transport belt 221 that circulates, and the transport belt 221 has a shaft that can rotate in the horizontal direction at the front end and the rear end of the transport path 214. The pulley 222 is stretched by the supported pulley 222 (in FIG. 3, only the pulley 222 provided at the front end of the transport passage 214 is shown, and the pulley 222 provided at the rear end of the transport passage 214 is shown. Is omitted). A timing belt having teeth on the inner peripheral side is used for the conveyance belt 221, and a timing pulley having teeth on the outer periphery is also used for the pulley 222. In addition, a groove is provided on the inner peripheral side of the conveyor belt 221, and a protrusion that engages with the groove of the conveyor belt 221 is provided on the outer periphery of the pulley 222. The pulley 222 causes the conveyor belt 221 to move in the height direction. The position is regulated, and the distance between the transport belt 221 and the coin transport surface 216 of the transport passage 214 (see FIG. 5, not shown in FIG. 3) is slightly smaller than the thickness of the maximum thickness coin among the coins to be processed. Wide dimensions are maintained.

  A plurality of pins 223 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) that protrude downward from the lower surface of the conveyance belt 221 and push and convey coins in the conveyance path 214 one by one are provided on the conveyance belt 221. It is provided at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction. The interval between the plurality of pins 223 is set to a size that allows coins to be received and transported one by one between the pins 223 before and after the transport direction. Between the pin 223 and the coin conveyance surface 216 of the conveyance passage 214, a gap having a dimension smaller than the thickness of the minimum thickness coin among the coins to be processed is provided.

  In such a coin transport unit 220, one pulley 222 among the plurality of pulleys 222 is driven to rotate forward and backward by a drive motor (not shown). Then, by driving the pulley 222 by such a drive motor, the conveyance belt 221 on the conveyance path 214 is moved in the deposit conveyance direction F1 from the front side to the rear side of the conveyance path 214, and from the rear side to the front side of the conveyance path 214. Are circulated and moved in the dispensing transport direction F2 in the direction. A detection sensor for detecting the rotational position of the pulley 222 is provided on the shaft of the pulley 222. Based on the detection of the detection sensor, the position of the transport belt 221 and the position of each pin 223 on the transport path 214 are provided. Can be detected.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the coin transport unit 220 is provided with an identifying unit 225 that identifies the denomination, authenticity, correctness, front and back, etc. of the coins transported through the transport passage 214. It has been.

  In addition, in the depth direction of the coin processing device 200, a denomination storage unit that divides coins into denominations on the back side of the identification unit 225 in the conveyance path 214 of the coin conveyance unit 220 based on the identification result by the identification unit 225. A branch portion 241 is disposed. Furthermore, a coin storage mechanism 242 that stores coins according to denomination corresponding to each storage branch 241 is disposed on one side of the transport passage 214.

  The storage branching portion 241 has a sorting gate 245 that can protrude upward from the coin transport surface 216 (see FIG. 5) of the transport passage 214. This sorting gate 245 is deposited by driving means such as a solenoid. The upstream side in the deposit conveyance direction F1 moves up and down around a horizontal axis on the downstream side in the conveyance direction F1, so that it can protrude upward from the coin conveyance surface 216 of the conveyance path 214. Here, the sorting gate 245 is normally retracted below the coin transport surface 216 of the transport passage 214 so that the coin passes through the sorting gate 245, but is transported by the transport belt 221. Of coins identified as the corresponding denomination by the identification unit 225, the upstream side of the sorting gate 245 in the deposit conveyance direction F1 is directed upward from the coin conveyance surface 216 of the conveyance passage 214. The coins of the corresponding denomination are guided toward the coin storage mechanism 242 corresponding to the sorting gate 245 by the sorting gate 245. Further, when coins are fed out from the coin storage mechanism 242 to the transport passage 214, the coins fed out from the coin storage mechanism 242 are transported with the sorting gate 245 protruding upward from the coin transport surface 216 of the transport passage 214. It will guide in the passage 214. As shown in FIG. 4, a guide member 246 is provided instead of the sorting gate 245 at the end of the transfer passage 214 at the innermost side in the depth direction of the coin processing apparatus 200. Coins are guided by this guide member 246 to the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage mechanism 242 on the back side.

  The coin storage mechanism 242 receives and stores coins from the transport passage 214 and feeds the stored coins to the transport passage 214. The coin storage mechanism 242 extends across both the storage cylinder 248 constituting the coin storage portion 247 that stores coins in a stacked state with the up-down direction (vertical direction) as the stacking direction, and both the transport passage 214 and the storage cylinder 248. And a pushing member 249 disposed above them (see FIG. 5). The upper end of the storage cylinder 248 is opened, and coins are stored and fed out from the upper end opening.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, six coin storage mechanisms 242 are provided along the depth direction of the coin processing apparatus 200, and these six coin storage mechanisms 242 are provided from the front side of the coin processing apparatus 200. One yen coin, five yen coin, ten yen coin, 50 yen coin, 100 yen coin and 500 yen coin are stored in order (that is, in order from the left side in FIG. 2).

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper end of the storage tube 248 is disposed on one side of the transfer passage 214, and the transfer passage 214 and the storage tube 248 are placed between the transfer passage 214 and the upper end of the storage tube 248. A guide passage 250 for guiding coins is formed between the upper end of the cylinder 248. As shown in FIG. 4, the guide passage 250 has a curved shape from the transport passage 214 toward the upper end of the storage cylinder 248. Further, a part of the pushing member 249 is disposed above the guide passage 250.

  The pushing member 249 has a rotating plate 256 that rotates in the horizontal direction around a rotating shaft 255 parallel to the stacking direction of the storage cylinder 248. Three protrusions 257 are provided on the periphery of the lower surface of the rotating plate 256 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The upper end of the rotating shaft 255 of the rotating plate 256 is connected to a drive motor 258 (see FIG. 2), and the rotating plate 256 is rotatably supported by the drive motor 258.

  A gap larger than the thickness of one coin and smaller than the thickness of two coins is formed between the lower surface of the rotating plate 256 and the coin transport surface 216 of the transport passage 214, and the lower surface of the protrusion 257 and the transport passage 214. A gap smaller than the thickness of one coin is provided between the coin transfer surface 216 and the coin transfer surface 216. Therefore, only one coin enters the lower side of the rotating plate 256, and the protrusion 257 comes into contact with the side surface of the coin and can be pushed. In this way, when the rotating plate 256 rotates by 120 °, an operation of storing one coin into the storage cylinder 248 or an operation of feeding out one coin from the storage cylinder 248 is performed.

  The push member 249 is provided with a detection unit (not shown) that detects the rotational position of the rotating plate 256. Specifically, three openings 262 are formed on the periphery of the rotating plate 256 corresponding to the positions of the three protrusions 257. The detection unit that detects the rotational position of the rotary plate 256 is a detection plate attached to the rotary plate 256 or the rotary shaft 255 and a photo interrupter that is arranged to face the periphery of the detection plate from above and below. The sensor has a position detection sensor, and the opening 262 is opposed to the fixed position detection sensor from the state in which the peripheral edge of the detection plate is opposed, and the fixed position detection sensor is switched from the light shielding state to the light transmitting state. Thus, the fixed position of the rotating plate 256 is detected. As shown in FIG. 4, the fixed position of the rotating plate 256 is the rotating position of the rotating plate 256 in which any of the protrusions 257 is positioned outside the conveyance path 214. At such a fixed position of the rotating plate 256, one protrusion 257 is located at the center of the entrance / exit of the guide passage 250, and prevents coins from entering the guide passage 250 from the transport passage 214.

  The rotating plate 256 is rotated by the drive motor 258 in the clockwise rotation direction of FIG. 4 when the coin is stored (pressing operation), and is pressed and rotated when the coin is fed (extruding operation). It is rotated in the direction of extrusion rotation in the counterclockwise direction of FIG. 4 which is opposite to the direction. Further, the rotation of the rotating plate 256 in each direction by the drive motor 258 is synchronized with the coin transport by the coin transport unit 220. That is, as described above, the detection sensor for detecting the rotational position of the pulley 222 is provided, and the position of the conveyance belt 221 and the position of each pin 223 on the conveyance path 214 are detected based on the detection of the detection sensor. Therefore, when depositing, the rotating plate 256 is rotated by the drive motor 258 so as to branch the coin of the corresponding denomination based on the detection position of the pin 223 and the identification result in the identification unit 225. Further, at the time of withdrawal, the rotating plate 256 is rotated by the drive motor 258 so as to deliver the coin to the corresponding pin 223 based on the position of the pin 223.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a passage confirmation sensor 270 that detects the passage of coins is provided on the conveyance path 214 in the vicinity of the rotating plate 256 of each pushing member 249 corresponding to each pushing member 249. ing. The passage confirmation sensor 270 counts the coins fed from the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage mechanism 242 to the transport passage 214. Note that when the coins fed out from the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage mechanism 242 to the transport passage 214 are counted by the passage confirmation sensor 270, the behavior of the coins on the transport passage 214 immediately after the feeding is unstable, Is not counted as a passage confirmation sensor 270 located immediately after the coin is fed out from the storage cylinder 248 to the transport passage 214, but is located downstream of the passage confirmation sensor 270 in the dispensing transport direction F2. A passage confirmation sensor 270 provided on the side is used.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, reject coins that are identified as unidentifiable or inappropriate by the identification unit 225 are recognized between the identification unit 225 and each coin storage mechanism 242 in the depth direction of the coin processing device 200. A reject branch portion 227 that branches from the transport passage 214 of the transport portion 220 is provided. The reject branch portion 227 has a branch port formed on the bottom surface of the transport passage 214 and a branch gate that opens and closes the branch port to selectively branch only reject coins. The branch gate moves up and down in the deposit conveyance direction F1 with a horizontal axis downstream in the deposit conveyance direction F1 as a fulcrum by driving means such as a solenoid, and opens and closes the branch port. And when the coin identified by the identification part 225 is accommodated in each coin storage mechanism 242, a coin passes on a branch gate in the state which obstruct | occludes a branch port by a branch gate. Further, when a coin conveyed in the deposit conveyance direction F1 is identified as a reject coin by the identification unit 225, the upstream side in the deposit conveyance direction F1 of the branch gate moves upward to open the branch port, and at the branch gate Drop the reject coin into the branch and branch it.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a reject chute 231 that guides a reject coin branched by the branch port to a coin dispensing box 236 provided on the front surface of the coin processing device 200, below the branch port of the reject branch unit 227. Is provided.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a withdrawal branch for branching the coins from the transport passage 214 of the coin transport unit 220 between the coin feeding belt 204 and the identification unit 225 in the depth direction of the coin processing device 200. A portion 233 is provided. The withdrawal branch portion 233 has a branch port and a branch gate similarly to the reject branch portion 227. The branch gate is a horizontal shaft on the downstream side in the withdrawal conveyance direction F2 by driving means such as a solenoid. As a fulcrum, the upstream side in the dispensing conveyance direction F2 moves up and down to open and close the branch port. Then, in the dispensing branching unit 233, when the coin is not dispensed, the coin passes over the branch gate with the branch gate closed by the branch gate. In addition, in the withdrawal process, return process, recovery process, etc., the upstream side of the branch gate in the withdrawal transport direction F2 moves upward to open the branch port, and the coins transported in the withdrawal transport direction F2 are transferred to the branch gate. It is designed to branch into the branch port.

  A dispensing chute 235 that guides the coin branched by the branch port to a coin dispensing box 236 provided on the front surface of the coin processing device 200 is provided below the branch port of the dispensing branch unit 233. Further, a recovery chute 238 for guiding coins to a coin recovery cassette 237 that is detachably disposed in the body of the coin processing device 200 is connected to an intermediate portion of the withdrawal chute 235. In addition, a switching lever 239 that distributes coins branched from the branch port to the dispensing chute 235 or the collecting chute 238 is disposed at the connection portion between the dispensing chute 235 and the collecting chute 238.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 9, 10, etc., in the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage mechanism 242, a stage 264 that supports the coins stacked in the vertical direction in the storage cylinder 248 from below is vertically positioned. It is arranged to be movable. As shown in FIG. 2, a stage motor 267 for moving the stage 264 in the storage cylinder 248 in the vertical direction is provided at the lower part of each storage cylinder 248. More specifically, in each coin storage mechanism 242, a spiral shaft (not shown) is disposed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the storage cylinder 248, and this spiral shaft is rotated by the stage motor 267. ing. The support portion that supports the stage 264 is screwed to the spiral shaft through a groove formed in the vertical direction in a part of the storage cylinder 248, and the spiral shaft is rotated by driving the stage motor 267. Thus, the stage 264 moves up and down.

  Also, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, each coin storage mechanism 242 has a separator 272 that separates the coins accumulated on the stage 264 in each storage cylinder 248 into stored coins and temporarily reserved coins. Is provided. For example, in FIG. 10A, among the coins in the storage cylinder 248, the coins between the stage 264 and the separator 272 are stored coins, and the coins accumulated on the separator 272 are temporarily held coins. Become. 6 is a perspective view of each coin storage mechanism 242 in the coin processing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing configurations of the separator 272 and the support mechanism 282 in the coin storage mechanism 242 shown in FIG. FIG. FIG. 8 is a top view showing a drive system of the separator 272 shown in FIG. 7 and the like. FIG. 8A shows a state when each separator 272 enters the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage portion 247. FIG. (B) is a figure which shows a state when each separator 272 retracts | saves from the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage part 247. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the separator 272 is formed in a substantially L shape, and the leading end portion of the separator 272 enters the storage cylinder 248 and the retreat retracted to the outside of the side of the storage cylinder 248. It can swing horizontally with respect to the position. In FIG. 7, the separator 272 is shown in the retracted position. As shown in FIG. 7, a first cylindrical member 274 and a second cylindrical member 275 are attached to a separator support member 273 that supports the base end portion of the separator 272, and these first cylindrical shapes are attached. A first rod member 276 and a second rod member 277 extending in the vertical direction (vertical direction) pass through the hollow portions of the member 274 and the second cylindrical member 275. As a result, the first cylindrical member 274 and the second cylindrical member 275 can be moved up and down in the vertical direction along the longitudinal direction of the first rod-shaped member 276 and the second rod-shaped member 277, respectively. ing. In addition, since the drive mechanism which raises / lowers the 1st cylindrical member 274 and the 2nd cylindrical member 275 is not provided, when no force is applied to the separator 272, separator 272, separator support member 273, etc. Due to its own weight, the first cylindrical member 274 and the second cylindrical member 275 descend along the first rod-shaped member 276 and the second rod-shaped member 277, respectively, and the separator 272 is located at the lowest lowered position. It becomes like this. On the other hand, when the stage 264 is raised while the separator 272 is in the advanced position described above, the lower surface of the separator 272 is pushed upward by the coins accumulated on the stage 264 or the stage 264 itself. To rise.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a pinion 280 is provided at the upper ends of the first cylindrical member 274 and the second cylindrical member 275, and the pinion 280 is horizontally oriented around the rotation fulcrum 280a. It is designed to rotate. Here, the upper end portion of the second rod-shaped member 277 is attached to the rotation fulcrum 280a of the pinion 280, and the upper end portion of the first rod-shaped member 276 is decentered from the rotation fulcrum 280a of the pinion 280 (see FIG. 8). As a result, when the pinion 280 rotates in the horizontal direction around the rotation fulcrum 280a, the first rod-like member 276 swings in the horizontal direction, so that the separator 272 is horizontally between the above-mentioned advanced position and retracted position. Swings in the direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a support mechanism 282 extending in the vertical direction (vertical direction) is provided in the vicinity of the first bar-shaped member 276 and the second bar-shaped member 277, and the support mechanism 282 includes a first One retraction guide 283, a second retraction guide 284, and a third retraction guide 285 are provided in order from below. Here, when the separator 272 is in the retracted position described above, the separator support member 273 is placed on the retracting guides 283, 284, and 285. More specifically, when the separator 272 is in the retracted position and the separator support member 273 is placed on the first retracting guide 283, the separator 272 uses 50 coins used to temporarily hold 50 coins. It comes to be located at the holding position P1. Further, when the separator 272 is in the retracted position and the separator support member 273 is placed on the second retracting guide 284, the separator 272 is used for temporarily retaining ten coins, and is used for temporarily retaining ten coins. It will be located at P2. Further, when the separator 272 is in the retracted position and the separator support member 273 is placed on the third retracting guide 285, the separator 272 is positioned at the standby position P3. These 50 coin holding positions P1, 10 coin holding positions P2 and standby positions P3 are also shown in FIG. When the separator 272 enters the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage portion 247 at the 50-coin holding position P1, it is possible to temporarily hold up to 50 coins on the separator 272. Further, when the separator 272 enters the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage portion 247 at the 10-coin holding position P2, it is possible to temporarily hold up to 10 coins on the separator 272.

  In the above description, a mode has been described in which the separator 272 can be positioned at the position 50 for storing 50 coins, the position P2 for storing 10 coins, and the standby position P3. The present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. In another example, the standby position P3 is not provided, and the separator 272 may be positioned at the position 50 for storing 50 coins and the position P2 for storing 10 coins. In this case, the support mechanism 282 is not provided with the third retraction guide 285. Further, in this case, the ten-coin holding position P2 also serves as a standby position. That is, the position P2 in FIG. 7 and the like functions as both a 10-coin holding position and a standby position.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the six pinions 280 provided so as to correspond to the respective coin storage mechanisms 242 are simultaneously rotated by one drive system. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, six racks 281 are provided corresponding to each pinion 280, and each rack 281 is attached to a first drive arm 286. A second drive arm 287 is attached to the base end portion of the first drive arm 286, and the second drive arm 287 is driven by a drive motor 288 along the longitudinal direction of the second drive arm 287. Can be moved back and forth. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, a rotary plate 288a is attached to the rotary shaft of the drive motor 288, and the base end portion of the second drive arm 287 is rotatably attached to the rotary plate 288a. ing. Then, the drive motor 288 rotates the rotating plate 288a in the horizontal direction, whereby the base end portion of the second drive arm 287 moves, and the second drive arm 287 is moved in the longitudinal direction of the second drive arm 287. Is moved along. In this way, the first drive arm 286 is also reciprocated along the longitudinal direction, and at this time, each pinion 280 engaged with each rack 281 attached to the first drive arm 286 is rotated. To come. More specifically, the first drive arm 286 has a first position as shown in FIG. 8A in which the front end portion of each separator 272 is in the advanced position where the separator 272 enters the storage cylinder 248, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 8B, the leading end portion of each separator 272 is reciprocated between the second position where it is in the retracted position retracted to the outside of the side of the storage cylinder 248.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a first detection sensor 289 and a second detection sensor 290 for detecting the protruding portion of the rotating plate 288a attached to the rotating shaft of the drive motor 288 are installed. Here, when the first drive arm 286 is in the first position as shown in FIG. 8A, the protruding portion of the rotating plate 288a is detected by the first detection sensor 289, and the first drive is performed. When the arm 286 is in the second position as shown in FIG. 8B, the protruding portion of the rotating plate 288a is detected by the second detection sensor 290. Thus, based on the detection information by each detection sensor 289,290, it becomes possible to detect which position each separator 272 is in the advanced position or the retracted position.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, an upper end detection sensor 292 is provided on the upper side of the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage mechanism 242. The upper end detection sensor 292 has a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and the light emitted from the light emitting element is received by the light receiving element. When such an upper end detection sensor 292 is switched from the light transmitting state to the light blocking state, or from the light blocking state to the light transmitting state, the upper end of the coins stacked on the stage 264 or the stage 264 when the coins are not stacked. The position is detected.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the coin processing apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment is provided with a control unit 210 that controls each component of the coin processing apparatus 200. By such a control unit 210, the coin feeding belt 204, the conveyor belt 221, the reject branching unit 227, the withdrawal branching unit 233, the switching lever 239, the sorting gate 245, the rotating plate 256, the driving motor 258, the stage motor 267, Each component such as the drive motor 288 is controlled. In addition, the coin identification result by the identification unit 225 and the detection results by the passage confirmation sensor 270, the detection sensors 289, 290, the upper end detection sensor 292, and the like are sent to the control unit 210.

  In the present embodiment, the above-described coin transport unit 220 constitutes a coin feeding means for feeding coins to the coin storage unit 247. Further, the above-described stage 264, separator 272, and the like allow the coin storage unit 247 to temporarily hold the coins sent to the coin storage unit 247 by the coin transport unit 220 as a coin feeding means (that is, storage). For partitioning into a storage area in which coins are fed from the temporary storage area (that is, an area formed between the stage 264 and the separator 272 in the storage cylinder 248). A partitioning means is configured. More specifically, the stage 264 is movable along the vertical direction and is used as a placement portion on which coins stored in the coin storage portion 247 are placed in a stacked state. Above the stage 264 serving as a placement unit, a position between an advance position where the coin storage unit 247 (specifically, the storage cylinder 248) advances and a retreat position where the coin storage unit 247 retracts from the internal region. It can be used as a partition member that can be moved by the

  In the present embodiment, the partitioning means including the stage 264 and the separator 272 can change the size of the temporary holding area. Specifically, the control unit 210 controls the stage motor 267 and the drive motor 288, thereby changing the position of the stage 264 and the separator 272 in the longitudinal direction (that is, the vertical direction) of the coin storage unit 247, The size of the temporary holding area can be changed. In the present embodiment, as the size of the temporary holding area, a size capable of holding at least 10 coins is maintained at least. Further, when the coin counting process and the storing process described later are performed, a maximum of 180 coins can be temporarily accumulated on the stage 264, but the total size of the temporary holding area and the storing area is as follows. It is large enough to accommodate 170 coins. A specific example of the manner in which such partitioning means changes the size of the temporary holding area will be described later.

  Next, operation | movement of the coin processing apparatus 200 which consists of such a structure is demonstrated below using FIG. 9 thru | or FIG. 9 (a) to 9 (d) and FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (f) are configuration diagrams showing the positions of the coins, the separators 272, the stage 264, and the like in the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage unit 247, respectively. . 11 (a) to 11 (f) are top views sequentially showing the operation of storing coins in the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage unit 247 in the coin processing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. (F)-(f) is a top view which shows sequentially the operation | movement which pays out a coin from the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage part 247 in the coin processing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 13A to 13C show the storage cylinders of each coin storage unit 247 when the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is set so that 50 coins can be stored. It is a block diagram which shows the position of the coin in 248, the separator 272, the stage 264, etc., FIG.13 (d)-(f) can hold | maintain 10 coins as the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage part 247. It is a block diagram which shows the position in the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage part 247, the separator 272, the stage 264, etc. when various sizes are set. Further, FIG. 14 shows the coins and separators 272 in the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage unit 247 when only a part of the coins temporarily stored in the temporary storage region of the coin storage unit 247 is sent to the storage region. FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram showing the position of the stage 264 and the like. FIG. 15 shows the inside of the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage unit 247 when the number of coins temporarily stored in the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is changed. It is a block diagram which shows the positions of a coin, a separator 272, a stage 264, and the like. In FIG. 9 to FIG. 15, the coin is indicated by reference symbol C. Further, as described above, the separator support member 273 that actually supports the separator 272 is placed on the retraction guides 283, 284, and 285. However, in FIGS. 9, 10, and 13 to 15, the simplification is performed. For this purpose, the separator 272 itself, not the separator support member 273, is shown mounted on the retraction guides 283, 284, 285. In this Embodiment, the operation | movement of the coin processing apparatus 200 as shown below is performed because the control part 210 controls each structural member of the coin processing apparatus 200. FIG.

  First, when the coin processing device 200 is in a standby state, each separator 272 in each coin storage mechanism 242 is in a retracted position retracted from the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage portion 247 to the outside outside (see FIG. 8B). ), The separator support member 273 is placed on the third retraction guide 285. At this time, each separator 272 is positioned at the standby position P3. Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the upper surface of the uppermost coin among the one or a plurality of coins accumulated on the stage 264 is in the standby position C in the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage mechanism 242. The position of the stage 264 in the vertical direction within the storage cylinder 248 is determined so as to be slightly lower than a certain separator 272.

[Coin deposit counting process]
Next, the coin counting process in the coin processing apparatus 200 will be described. When a command to start coin counting processing is given to the control unit 210 of the coin processing apparatus 200, the separator 272 enters the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage unit 247 in each coin storage mechanism 242, and then the stage 264 is raised. By doing so, the separator 272 is also raised by being pushed by the coins accumulated on the stage 264, and the separator 272 is positioned at the coin holding position P4 as shown in FIG. 9C. Here, when the separator 272 is located at the coin holding position P4, a coin standing may occur between the coin conveying surface 216 of the conveying passage 214 and the coin holding surface 218 which is the upper surface of the separator 272. A gap having a size that does not exist (specifically, a gap having a size of, for example, several millimeters) is formed.

  Then, the coins inserted into the coin deposit port 202 by the operator are fed out to the back of the coin processing device 200 by the coin feeding belt 204, and at this time, through the gap between the coin feeding belt 204 and the reverse rotation roller 205. The coins conveyed by the coin feeding belt 204 are separated one by one. Thereafter, coins are transferred one by one from the coin feeding belt 204 to the coin transport unit 220, and the coins are further transported by the coin transport unit 220. Specifically, the coin is pushed along the transport path 214 by the pin 223 protruding downward from the lower surface of the transport belt 221 so that the coin is transported toward the back of the coin processing apparatus 200. Become. The coins conveyed by the conveyor belt 221 are identified by the identification unit 225.

  When a reject coin that is not a normal coin is identified as a result of identification by the identification unit 225, the branch gate of the reject branching unit 227 is opened, and the reject coin is branched from the transport passage 214 and coins via the reject chute 231. It will be sent to the withdrawal box 236. Further, as a result of identification in the identification unit 225, the coins identified as normal coins pass through the reject branching unit 227, and are branched from the transport passage 214 by the corresponding denomination storage branching unit 241. Is stored in the storage cylinder 248 of the denomination coin storage mechanism 242 and temporarily held on the separator 272. Each time the coin branched from the transport passage 214 is stored in the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage mechanism 242 and temporarily held on the separator 272, the stage 264 is lowered by the thickness of one coin, Accordingly, the position of the separator 272 is lowered, and the upper surface of one or more coins temporarily retained on the separator 272 is made to coincide with the coin retaining surface 218, whereby the next coin is It can be received in the storage cylinder 248. Note that the upper end detection sensor 292 detects the position of the upper surface of the separator 272 when the coins are not accumulated on the upper surface and the position of the upper surface of the coin temporarily held on the separator 272. ing.

  Here, the operation | movement which accommodates a coin in the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage mechanism 242 is demonstrated using FIG. As shown in FIG. 11A, in the storage branching portion 241, the tip of the sorting gate 245 rises in accordance with the timing when the coin of the corresponding denomination is conveyed. Thereby, the coin pushed by the pin 223 of the transport belt 221 contacts the guide surface of the sorting gate 245, and the coin moves along the guide surface toward the guide passage 250 on the side of the transport passage 214. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 11B, the rotating plate 256 of the pushing member 249 rotates from the fixed position in the pushing rotation direction (arrow direction in FIG. 11) at a predetermined timing after the tip of the sorting gate 245 rises. Start. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 11C and 11D, the protrusion 257 located at the entrance / exit of the guide passage 250 moves toward the storage cylinder 248 and is pushed by the pin 223 of the conveyor belt 221. Coins that are being moved and guided by the sorting gate 245 proceed to the guide passage 250.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 11 (e), the protrusion 257 that has advanced into the conveyance path 214 contacts the coin to receive the coin from the pin 223, and the protrusion 257 pushes the coin into the guide path 250. Go. Then, the coin is pushed into the upper portion of the storage cylinder 248 from the direction orthogonal to the coin accumulation direction in the storage cylinder 248 by moving the coin along the guide passage 250 by the pushing operation by the protrusion 257.

  As shown in FIG. 11 (f), the coins are pushed into the upper portion of the storage cylinder 248 by the pushing operation by the protrusions 257 and accumulated on the separator 272. The pushing operation by the protrusion 257 forcibly pushes the coins into the storage cylinder 248 and stores them, so that the behavior of the coins is stable compared to the case where the coins fall freely, and the coins in the storage cylinder 248 are stable. Accumulation is possible. Furthermore, since the coins are pushed into the upper portion of the storage cylinder 248 from the direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the coins in the storage cylinder 248 by the pushing operation by the protrusion 257, it is difficult for the coins to stand and stable coins can be stacked. Become. Thereafter, when the projection 257 that has been pushed against the coin reaches a fixed position located at the entrance / exit of the guide passage 250, the rotation of the rotating plate 256 stops.

  As described above, in the storage cylinder 248 storing coins, the stage 264 is lowered by the thickness of one coin, and a space is formed in the upper part of the storage cylinder 248 so that the next coin can be received. Thereby, the holding operation of one coin in the storage cylinder 248 is completed.

  In addition, when the coin is continuously held in the storage cylinder 248, the sorting gate 245, the pushing member 249, and the stage 264 operate in the same manner as described above, and the coin is already accumulated on the separator 272. The coins to be sent in succession are accumulated sequentially. FIG. 9D shows a state where a plurality of coins are temporarily held on the separator 272 in the storage cylinder 248.

  Then, when the identifying unit 225 does not identify the coin for a predetermined time, the deposit counting process for the coin inserted into the coin deposit port 202 is completed.

[Coin storage processing]
Next, coin storage processing in the coin processing apparatus 200 will be described. When coins are temporarily held on the separator 272 in the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage mechanism 242, and then a deposit confirmation command is given by the operator to the control unit 210 of the coin processing device 200, FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the stage 264 is lowered so that the separator 272 is positioned at the position 50 for storing 50 coins or the position P2 for storing 10 coins (in FIG. 10A, the separator 272 is used for storing 50 coins). The state where it is located at position P1 is shown). Then, as shown in FIG. 10 (b), the separator 272 is retracted to the outside of the side of the storage cylinder 248. At this time, the separator support member 273 that supports the separator 272 is placed on the first retraction guide 283 or the second retraction guide 284. As a result, the coins temporarily held on the separator 272 are accumulated on the stage 264, and the coins accumulated on the stage 264 are handled as stored coins. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10 (c), the upper surface of the uppermost coin among the one or more coins accumulated on the stage 264 is positioned at the position 50 for storing 50 coins P1 or the position 10 for storing 10 coins. However, the stage 264 is further lowered so as to be positioned slightly below. Then, as shown in FIG. 10 (d), the separator 272 enters the storage cylinder 248 from the retracted position, and the separator 272 is positioned above the stored coins accumulated on the stage 264. Thereafter, when the coin storage process in each coin storage mechanism 242 is completed, as shown in FIG. 10E, the stage 264 is raised until the separator 272 reaches the standby position P3, and then the separator 272 is stored in the storage cylinder 248. Evacuate to the outside of In this way, the coin processing device 200 returns to the standby state.

  In the present embodiment, the size of the temporary storage area of each coin storage unit 247 (that is, the area above the separator 272 in the storage cylinder 248) when the above-described coin counting and storage process is performed. As a result, one of a size that can hold 10 coins and a size that can hold 50 coins is preset in the control unit 210. If the number of coins inserted into the coin deposit port 202 is greater than the number of coins that can be held in the temporary holding area (10 or 50), each type of coin is stored in the temporary holding area. The surplus coins that cannot be held are branched as overflow coins from the transfer passage 214 of the coin transfer unit 220 to the reject chute 231 by the reject branching unit 227 and sent to the coin dispensing box 236. In this case, after coins are sent from the temporary storage area to the storage area in each coin storage mechanism 242, the operator takes out the overflow coin sent to the coin dispensing box 236 from the coin dispensing box 236 and receives a coin deposit port. 202 is re-entered.

  The extra coins that cannot be held in the temporary storage area in the coin storage unit 247 are sent to the coin dispensing box 236 as overflow coins, instead of being temporarily stored in the coin storage part 247 of other denominations ( More specifically, it may be sent to a temporary holding area that is not full. In this case, even when the number of coins of a certain denomination inserted into the coin deposit slot 202 is larger than the number of coins that can be held in the temporary holding area of the coin storage unit 247 corresponding to the denomination, the surplus amount By temporarily holding the coins in the temporary holding area of the coin storage unit 247 of another denomination, as many coins as possible can be temporarily held. At this time, in the temporary holding area of the coin storage unit 247 of other denominations, coins of a plurality of denominations are temporarily held in a mixed state. All the held coins are fed from the coin storage unit 247 to the transfer passage 214 of the coin transfer unit 220 and are sent to the coin collecting cassette 237 by the coin transfer unit 220.

  When the size that can hold 50 coins is set in the control unit 210 as the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247, the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is changed from the coin transport unit 220. When the coins are sent one by one, as shown in FIG. 13A, the stage 264 is lowered until the position of the separator 272 reaches the coin 50 holding position P1. When the position of the separator 272 reaches the position 50 for holding 50 coins, a maximum of 50 coins are held in the coin holding area above the separator 272. Thereafter, the separator 272 retracts to the outside of the side of the storage cylinder 248, and at this time, the separator support member 273 that supports the separator 272 is placed on the first retraction guide 283. As a result, a maximum of 50 coins temporarily held on the separator 272 are accumulated on the stage 264, and the coins accumulated on the stage 264 are handled as stored coins. Become. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 13 (b), the stage is such that the upper surface of the uppermost coin among the plurality of coins accumulated on the stage 264 is positioned slightly below the position 50 for storing 50 coins. H.264 further descends. Then, the separator 272 enters the storage cylinder 248 from the retracted position, and the separator 272 is positioned above the stored coins accumulated on the stage 264. Then, as shown in FIG. 13C, the stage 264 is raised until the separator 272 reaches the standby position P <b> 3, and then the separator 272 is retracted outside the storage cylinder 248. In this way, the coin processing device 200 returns to the standby state.

  On the other hand, when the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is set in the control unit 210 so that 10 coins can be stored, the temporary storage of the coin storage unit 247 from the coin transport unit 220 is performed. When coins are sent to the area one by one, as shown in FIG. 13D, the stage 264 is lowered until the position of the separator 272 becomes the coin holding position P2. When the position of the separator 272 reaches the coin holding position P2, a maximum of 10 coins are held in the coin holding area above the separator 272. Thereafter, the separator 272 is retracted to the outside of the storage cylinder 248, and at this time, the separator support member 273 that supports the separator 272 is placed on the second retraction guide 284. As a result, a maximum of ten coins temporarily held on the separator 272 are accumulated on the stage 264, and the coins accumulated on the stage 264 are handled as stored coins. Become. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 13 (e), the stage is arranged such that the upper surface of the uppermost coin among the plurality of coins accumulated on the stage 264 is positioned slightly below the holding position P2 for 10 coins. H.264 further descends. Then, the separator 272 enters the storage cylinder 248 from the retracted position, and the separator 272 is positioned above the stored coins accumulated on the stage 264. Then, as shown in FIG. 13 (f), the stage 264 is raised until the separator 272 reaches the standby position P 3, and then the separator 272 is retracted to the outside of the storage cylinder 248. In this way, the coin processing device 200 returns to the standby state.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the partitioning means including the stage 264 and the separator 272 has the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247, the size that can hold 50 coins, and 10 coins. It can be changed between possible sizes. For this reason, the storage efficiency of coins can be improved by adjusting the size of the temporary storage area and storage area of the coin storage unit 247 according to the processing status of coins.

[Coin return processing]
Next, a coin return process in the coin processing apparatus 200 will be described. After a coin is temporarily held on the separator 272 in the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage mechanism 242, when a return command is given to the control unit 210 of the coin processing device 200 by the operator, each coin storage mechanism 242 Coins temporarily held on the separator 272 in the storage cylinder 248 are fed one by one to the transport path 214 in order, and are paid out to the coin dispensing box 236 and returned. The coin feeding operation from the storage cylinder 248 to the transport passage 214 will be described in the coin dispensing process described in detail below.

[Coin replenishment processing]
Next, coin replenishment processing in the coin processing apparatus 200 will be described. When a command to start the coin replenishment process is given to the control unit 210 of the coin processing device 200 and a coin is inserted into the coin deposit port 202 by the operator, the inserted coin is transferred by the coin feeding belt 204 to the coin processing device 200. The coins conveyed by the coin feeding belt 204 are separated one by one by passing through the gap between the coin feeding belt 204 and the reverse rotation roller 205 at this time. Thereafter, the coins are transferred one by one from the coin feeding belt 204 to the coin transport unit 220, and the coins are further transported by the coin transport unit 220. Identified. Thereafter, the coins identified as normal coins as a result of identification in the identification unit 225 pass through the reject branching unit 227, and are branched from the transport path 214 by the corresponding denomination storage branching unit 241. Is stored in the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage mechanism 242 of the denomination. In the coin replenishment process, unlike the above-described coin deposit counting process, the separator 272 is always in the retracted position retracted from the storage cylinder 248 to the outside of the side, and the coin branched from the transport passage 214 is stored in the coin storage mechanism 242. When stored in the storage cylinder 248, the coins are directly accumulated on the stage 264.

[Coin withdrawal processing]
Next, a coin dispensing process in the coin processing apparatus 200 will be described. When a command to start the withdrawal process of coins is given to the control unit 210 of the coin processing apparatus 200, the denomination corresponding money type is based on the withdrawal data such as the withdrawal amount and withdrawal type entered by the operator or the like. The coins stored in the coin storage mechanism 242 are withdrawn one by one in order. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10 (f), the uppermost coin of one or more coins accumulated on the stage 264 in the storage cylinder 248 is pressed against the lower surface of the rotating plate 256. The stage 264 is raised. As a result, the coin on the uppermost layer is positioned above the bottom surface of the guide passage 250.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 12A, when the transport belt 221 of the coin transport unit 220 is circulated in the dispensing transport direction F2, as shown in FIG. 12B, the pins of the transport belt 221 are pinned. The rotary plate 256 of the pushing member 249 is rotated from the fixed position in the pushing rotation direction (arrow direction in FIG. 12) in synchronization with the circulation movement of the conveyor belt 221 so that coins are fed out between the pin 223 and the pin 223.

  As shown in FIG. 12 (c), one protrusion 257 of the rotating rotating plate 256 abuts on the coin on the uppermost layer and pushes this coin into the guide passage 250. At this time, the second coin from the uppermost layer contacts the inner wall of the storage cylinder 248 and is not taken out together with the uppermost coin, but only one coin is pushed out into the guide passage 250.

  As shown in FIG. 12 (d), the coin is pushed out into the transport passage 214 while being moved along the guide passage 250 by the pushing operation by the protrusion 257. As shown in FIG. 12 (e), the coin pushed out into the transport path 214 enters between the pins 223 and 223 of the transport belt 221.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 12 (f), the rotation of the rotating plate 256 stops at a fixed position where the protrusion 257 that has been pressed against the coin is positioned at the entrance / exit of the guide passage 250. The coin moves into the transport path 214 due to the inertia pushed by the protrusion 257. And the pin 223 of the conveyance belt 221 contacts the coin moved into the conveyance path 214, and conveys the coin in the dispensing conveyance direction F2. Thereafter, the coins conveyed by the conveyor belt 221 are identified by the identification unit 225 and branched by the withdrawal branching unit 233. More specifically, the branch gate of the dispensing branching portion 233 is opened, and coins are branched from the transport passage 214 to the dispensing chute 235, and the coins are sent to the coin dispensing box 236 by the dispensing chute 235. Rejected coins that are identified as not being normal coins by the identifying unit 225 are once sent to the coin depositing port 202, and after the coin dispensing process is completed, the coin transporting unit 220 again performs the coin processing from the coin depositing port 202. By being conveyed in the depth direction of the apparatus 200, after being identified by the identification unit 225, it is stored in each coin storage mechanism 242.

  In the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage mechanism 242 of the denomination that has been dispensed, the stage 264 is lowered. In this way, the coin processing device 200 returns to the standby state.

  After the withdrawal coin is sent to the coin withdrawal box 236, the operator can take out the withdrawal coin by pulling out the coin withdrawal box 236 from the housing 12 of the money handling system 10.

[Coin collection processing]
Next, a coin collection process in the coin processing apparatus 200 will be described. When a coin collection processing start command is given to the coin processing device 200, coins are fed out one by one from the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage mechanism 242 to the transport passage 214 in the same manner as the above-described coin withdrawal processing. The fed coins are transported by the transport belt 221 in the withdrawal transport direction F2. The coins conveyed by the conveyor belt 221 are identified by the identification unit 225 and branched by the withdrawal branching unit 233. More specifically, the branch gate of the withdrawal branch portion 233 is opened, the coin is branched from the transport passage 214 to the withdrawal chute 235, and the coin is sent from the withdrawal chute 235 to the collection chute 238 by the switching lever 239. The coins are stored in the coin recovery cassette 237 by the recovery chute 238. Reject coins that are identified as non-normal coins by the identification unit 225 are once sent to the coin deposit port 202, and after the coin collection process is completed, the coin transport unit 220 again causes the coin processing unit 220 to receive the coin processing unit. By being conveyed in the depth direction of 200, after being identified by the identification unit 225, it is stored in each coin storage mechanism 242.

  After the collected coins are sent to the coin collecting cassette 237, the operator can collect the coins together with the coin collecting cassette 237 by taking out the coin collecting cassette 237 from the housing 12 of the money handling system 10.

[Automatic coin scrutiny]
Next, an automatic coin inspection process in the coin processing apparatus 200 will be described. In the coin automatic scrutiny process in the present embodiment, coins are fed from the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage mechanism 242 to the transport passage 214 for each denomination and sent to the coin deposit port 202 by the transport belt 221 of the coin transport unit 220. Thereafter, the coins are returned from the coin deposit port 202 to the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage mechanism 242 by the transport belt 221 of the coin transport unit 220. More specifically, when an instruction to start automatic coin scrutiny processing is given to the coin processing apparatus 200, coins are transferred from the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage mechanism 242 to the transport passage 214 in the same manner as the above-described coin withdrawal processing. Are fed out one by one, and the fed out coins are transported by the transport belt 221 in the dispensing transport direction F2. The coins conveyed by the conveyor belt 221 are identified by the identification unit 225 and then sent to the coin deposit port 202. Then, when all coins are fed out from the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage mechanism 242 of a certain denomination to the transport passage 214 and sent to the coin deposit port 202, the coin deposit port 202 is subjected to the same method as the coin replenishment process described above. The coins are fed one by one to the coin transport unit 220 and identified by the identifying unit 225 while being transported in the deposit transport direction F1 by the transport belt 221 of the coin transport unit 220, and the storage cylinder of the coin storage mechanism 242 of the corresponding denomination. 248.

  By the way, in this embodiment, a plurality of operation modes including a deposit priority mode and a withdrawal priority mode are set as a coin processing mode in the control unit 210 of the coin processing apparatus 200, and each operation mode is set. The size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is set correspondingly. Here, the deposit priority mode is a mode that is set when a relatively large amount of deposit processing (a combination of the above-described deposit counting process and storage process) is performed in the coin processing apparatus 200, and the withdrawal priority mode. Is a mode that is set when a relatively large number of the above-described withdrawal processes are executed in the coin processing apparatus 200. In the present embodiment, the size of the temporary holding area corresponding to the deposit priority mode is set to a size capable of holding 50 coins, whereas the temporary holding area corresponding to the withdrawal priority mode. Is set to a size capable of holding ten coins, and the size of the temporary holding area corresponding to the deposit priority mode is larger than the temporary holding area corresponding to the withdrawal priority mode. Thus, in the deposit priority mode in which a relatively large amount of deposit processing is executed, a larger number of coins are temporarily held in the temporary holding area by increasing the size of the temporary holding area of the coin storage unit 247 as much as possible. It is possible to reduce the time required for depositing coins. On the other hand, in the withdrawal priority mode in which a relatively large amount of withdrawal processing is performed, the size of the storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is increased as much as possible by reducing the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 as much as possible. Since coins for dispensing can be stored in the coin storage unit 247 as much as possible, the number of times the above-described replenishment process is performed can be reduced.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, the magnitude | size of the temporary storage area | region of each coin storage part 247 may be set corresponding to each denomination of the coin in the control part 210 of the coin processing apparatus 200. Specifically, regarding the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 corresponding to a 10 yen coin or a 100 yen coin that is considered to be inserted into the coin deposit port 202 of the coin processing apparatus 200 in the deposit process. , 50 coins are set to a size that can be held, while the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 corresponding to other denomination coins is a size that can hold 10 coins You may make it set to. In this case, for 10-yen coins and 100-yen coins that are deposited in the coin processing apparatus 200 in a single deposit process, the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is increased as much as possible. A large number of coins can be temporarily held in the temporary holding area, and the time required for depositing these coins can be shortened. On the other hand, for coins of other denominations, the number of coins that are deposited into the coin processing apparatus 200 by a single deposit process is not so large. It is possible to hold all coins of the denomination deposited in the temporary holding area, and to increase the size of the storage area of the coin storage portion 247 for these coin types. become.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, the control part 210 is based on the number of the coins already accommodated in the storage area of the coin storage part 247, The coin of the coin sent from the temporary storage area | region of the said coin storage part 247 to a storage area | region is used. The number of sheets may be changed. Specifically, as the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247, when the size capable of storing 50 coins is set in the control unit 210, it is already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247. When the number of coins being used is relatively large, the number of coins sent from the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 to the storage area may be 49 or less. This will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 14A, when 90 coins are already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247, 50 coins are temporarily held above the separator 272 in the above-described deposit counting process. When the stage 264 is lowered, the stage 264 collides with the lower end of the coin storage unit 247 when all the 50 coins temporarily stored are stored in the storage area. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the number of coins sent from the temporary storage area to the storage area in the coin storage unit 247 from 50 sheets. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 14 (b), a total of 20 coins are transferred from the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 to the transfer passage 214 of the coin transfer unit 220 by the same method as the above-described coin withdrawal process. The number of coins that are fed one by one and temporarily held in the temporary holding area is reduced to 30. The coins fed out from the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 to the transport passage 214 of the coin transport unit 220 are transported by the transport belt 221 in the withdrawal transport direction F2. Then, the coins transported by the transport belt 221 are branched to the withdrawal chute 235 by the withdrawal branching unit 233, and the coins are sent from the withdrawal chute 235 to the recovery chute 238 by the switching lever 239. It is stored in a coin collection cassette 237.

  Thereafter, the stage 264 is lowered until the position of the separator 272 again reaches the position 50 for storing 50 coins, and the separator 272 is retracted to the outside of the storage cylinder 248. At this time, the separator support member 273 that supports the separator 272 is placed on the first retraction guide 283. As a result, 30 coins temporarily held on the separator 272 are accumulated on the stage 264, and a total of 120 coins accumulated on the stage 264 are handled as stored coins. It becomes like this. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 14 (c), the stage is arranged such that the upper surface of the uppermost coin among the plurality of coins accumulated on the stage 264 is positioned slightly below the position 50 for reserving 50 coins. H.264 further descends. Then, the separator 272 enters the storage cylinder 248 from the retracted position, and the separator 272 is positioned above the stored coins accumulated on the stage 264. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 14D, the stage 264 is raised until the separator 272 reaches the standby position P <b> 3, and then the separator 272 is retracted to the outside of the storage cylinder 248. In this way, the coin processing device 200 returns to the standby state.

  In the present embodiment, when the number of coins already stored in the storage area of the coin storage section 247 is 70 or less, a maximum of 50 sheets temporarily stored in the temporary storage area of the coin storage section 247. All coins can be sent from the temporary storage area to the storage area. On the other hand, when the number of coins already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is 71 or more and 110, among the coins temporarily held in the temporary storage area of the coin storage part 247, While only 120 coins (the number of coins already stored in the storage area) are sent from the temporary storage area to the storage area, the remaining coins are transferred from the coin storage part 247 to the transport path 214 of the coin transport part 220. Each sheet is fed out and sent to the coin collecting cassette 237. That is, in the example shown in FIGS. 14A to 14D, since the number of coins already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is 90, the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is temporarily stored. While only 30 coins (= 120-90) are sent from the temporary storage area to the storage area, the remaining 20 coins are transferred from the coin storage section 247 to the coin transport section 220. Are fed out one by one into the transport passage 214 and sent to the coin collecting cassette 237. Further, when the number of coins already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is 111 or more and 130, the largest number of coins temporarily stored in the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247. While only 10 coins are sent from the temporary holding area to the storage area, the remaining coins are fed one by one from the coin storage part 247 to the transfer passage 214 of the coin transfer part 220 and sent to the coin collection cassette 237. .

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 210 determines the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 based on the number of coins already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247 (ie, temporary storage). The number of coins temporarily held in the area may be changed. Specifically, as the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247, when the size capable of storing 50 coins is set in the control unit 210, it is already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247. When the number of coins being stored is relatively large, the number of coins temporarily held in the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 may be 49 or less. This will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 15A, when 140 coins are already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247, the coins are separated one by one from the coin transport unit 220 in the above-described deposit counting process. When 50 coins are temporarily held in the temporary holding area when being sent to the upper temporary holding area, the stage 264 collides with the lower end of the coin storage part 247 when the stage 264 is lowered. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the number of coins temporarily held in the temporary holding area from 50. For this reason, when 140 coins are already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247, a maximum of 30 coins are temporarily stored in the temporary storage area.

  Further, when all 30 coins temporarily held in the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 are stored in the storage area, the stage 264 collides with the lower end of the coin storage unit 247 when the stage 264 is lowered. Therefore, it is necessary to further reduce the number of coins sent from the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 to the storage area from 30 sheets. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 15B, a total of 20 coins are transferred from the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 to the transfer passage 214 of the coin transfer unit 220 by the same method as the above-described coin withdrawal process. The number of coins that are fed one by one and temporarily held in the temporary holding area is reduced to ten. The coins fed out from the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 to the transport passage 214 of the coin transport unit 220 are transported by the transport belt 221 in the withdrawal transport direction F2. Then, the coins transported by the transport belt 221 are branched to the withdrawal chute 235 by the withdrawal branching unit 233, and the coins are sent from the withdrawal chute 235 to the recovery chute 238 by the switching lever 239. It is stored in a coin collection cassette 237.

  Thereafter, the separator 272 is retracted to the outside of the side of the storage cylinder 248. At this time, the separator support member 273 that supports the separator 272 is placed on the second retraction guide 284. As a result, ten coins temporarily held on the separator 272 are accumulated on the stage 264, and a total of 150 coins accumulated on the stage 264 are handled as stored coins. It becomes like this. After that, as shown in FIG. 15 (c), the stage is arranged such that the upper surface of the uppermost coin among the plurality of coins accumulated on the stage 264 is positioned slightly below the coin holding position P2. H.264 further descends. Then, the separator 272 enters the storage cylinder 248 from the retracted position, and the separator 272 is positioned above the stored coins accumulated on the stage 264. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 15D, the stage 264 is raised until the separator 272 reaches the standby position P <b> 3, and then the separator 272 is retracted to the outside of the storage cylinder 248. In this way, the coin processing device 200 returns to the standby state.

  In the present embodiment, when the number of coins already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is 130 or less, a maximum of 50 coins are temporarily stored in the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247. Can be made. On the other hand, when the number of coins already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is 131 or more and 170, the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 includes (170 sheets in the storage area). Only the number of coins stored) is temporarily held. That is, in the example shown in FIGS. 15A to 15D, since the number of coins already stored in the storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is 140, the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 includes , Only 30 coins (= 170-140) can be temporarily suspended. In this case, among the coins temporarily held in the temporary holding area, only 10 coins are sent from the temporary holding area to the storage area, while the remaining coins are transferred from the coin storage part 247 to the coin transport part. One by one is fed out to the conveyance path 214 of 220 and sent to the coin collecting cassette 237.

  According to the coin processing apparatus 200 and the coin processing method of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the coin storage unit 247 is used to transfer the coins sent to the coin storage unit 247 by the coin transport unit 220 as a coin feeding unit. A stage 264 and a separator 272 are provided as partition means for partitioning into a temporary storage area for temporarily holding and a storage area for receiving coins from the temporary storage area. It can be changed. As described above, since the size of the temporary storage area can be changed when the coin storage unit 247 is partitioned into the temporary storage area and the storage area, the temporary storage area and the storage are determined according to the processing status of the coins. The storage efficiency of coins can be improved by adjusting the size of each region.

  In the coin processing device 200 of the present embodiment, as described above, a plurality of operation modes are set as the coin processing mode in the control unit 210, and a coin storage unit corresponding to each operation mode. The size of the temporary holding area 247 is set, and the control unit 210 determines the partitioning means (specifically, the stage 264 and the separator 272) based on the size of the temporary holding area corresponding to the operation mode to be executed. Is to control. In this case, since the size of the temporary holding area can be changed for each operation mode, the storage efficiency of coins is further improved by adjusting the size of the temporary holding area and the storage area according to the operation mode. can do.

  In this case, at least the deposit priority mode and the withdrawal priority mode are set as a plurality of operation modes in the control unit 210, and the temporary holding area corresponding to the deposit priority mode is more than the temporary holding area corresponding to the withdrawal priority mode. Is also getting bigger. Thus, in the deposit priority mode in which a relatively large amount of deposit processing is executed, a larger number of coins are temporarily held in the temporary holding area by increasing the size of the temporary holding area of the coin storage unit 247 as much as possible. It is possible to reduce the time required for depositing coins. On the other hand, in the withdrawal priority mode in which a relatively large amount of withdrawal processing is performed, the size of the storage area of the coin storage unit 247 is increased as much as possible by reducing the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 as much as possible. The coin storage unit 247 can store as many coins for withdrawal as possible, so that the number of replenishment processes for replenishing coins to the coin storage unit 247 can be reduced. Become.

  Moreover, in the coin processing apparatus 200 of this Embodiment, as above-mentioned, the magnitude | size of the temporary storage area | region is set corresponding to each denomination of the coin in the control part 210, and the control part 210 is a coin. The partition means (specifically, the stage 264 and the separator 272) may be controlled based on the size of the temporary holding area corresponding to each denomination. In this case, for coin types that have a relatively large number of coins deposited into the coin processing apparatus 200 in a single deposit process, a larger number of coins can be obtained by increasing the size of the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 as much as possible. Can be temporarily held in the temporary holding area, and the time required for depositing these coins can be shortened. On the other hand, for coins of other denominations, the number of coins that are deposited into the coin processing apparatus 200 by a single deposit process is not so large. It is possible to hold all coins of the denomination deposited in the temporary holding area, and to increase the size of the storage area of the coin storage portion 247 for these coin types. become.

  Moreover, in the coin processing apparatus 200 of this Embodiment, as shown to Fig.15 (a)-(d), the control part 210 is made into the number of the coins already accommodated in the storage area | region of the coin storage part 247. FIG. Based on this, the size of the temporary holding area is changed. As a result, even when a certain number of coins are already stored in the coin storage unit 247, the full length in the longitudinal direction of the coin storage unit 247 (ie, the total length in the vertical direction) is utilized to the maximum extent in the temporary storage area. As many coins as possible can be temporarily held, so that as many coins as possible can be newly stored in the coin storage unit 247.

  Moreover, in the coin processing apparatus 200 of this Embodiment, as shown to Fig.14 (a)-(d), the control part 210 is temporarily based on the number of the coins already accommodated in the coin storage part 247. FIG. The number of coins sent from the holding area to the storage area is changed. Thus, even when a certain number of coins are already stored in the coin storage unit 247, the total length in the longitudinal direction of the coin storage unit 247 (that is, the total length in the vertical direction) is utilized to the maximum extent from the temporary storage area. As many coins as possible can be sent to the storage area, so that as many coins as possible can be newly stored in the coin storage portion 247.

  Further, in this case, the control unit 210 uses the rotary plate 256 of the pushing member 249 as a feeding unit to transfer coins that are not sent to the storage area among the coins temporarily held in the temporary storage area of the coin storage part 247. It is fed out from the storage unit 247 and sent to a coin collection cassette 237 as a collection unit. As a result, coins that are temporarily stored in the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 and that are not stored in the coin storage unit 247 can be recovered by the coin recovery cassette 237.

  In addition, the coin processing apparatus 200 and the coin processing method by this Embodiment are not limited to an aspect as mentioned above, A various change can be added.

  For example, the partitioning means for partitioning the coin storage unit 247 into the temporary storage area and the storage area is not limited to the one constituted by the stage 264 and the separator 272. As such partitioning means, various configurations other than the configuration including the stage 264 and the separator 272 can be employed. For example, as a partitioning means, it is movable between an advance position that advances into the inner region of the storage cylinder 248 of the coin storage portion 247 and a retracted position that retracts from the inner area of the storage cylinder 248, and the storage cylinder 248. You may use partition members (not shown), such as a separator which can be moved along the storing direction of the coins stored in. In this case, even when coins are not accumulated on the stage 264 movable in the vertical direction within the storage cylinder 248, and coins are accumulated on a stationary table (not shown), The area can be divided into a temporary holding area and a storage area by the partition member.

  Further, each coin storage unit 247 can be operated so as to fix the sizes of the temporary storage area and the storage area. Specifically, when 50 coins are to be temporarily stored in the temporary storage area regardless of the number of coins already stored in each coin storage unit 247, the coins can be stored in each coin storage unit 247. The number of coins may be 130, and more coins may be sent to the coin collection cassette 237 or the like.

  Further, when the coins stored in the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage unit 247 are fed out to the transfer passage 214 of the coin transfer unit 220, the coin in the uppermost layer among the coins stored in the storage cylinder 248 is shown in FIG. As shown in a), when it is bent and deformed into a “shape” (the deformed coin is indicated by the reference symbol C ′ in FIGS. 16A and 16B), the protrusion 257 of the rotating plate 256 is When the coin is abutted against the coin and pushed toward the transport passage 214 of the coin transport section 220, the deformed coin pushed by the protrusion 257 collides with the corner 250p on the lower surface of the guide passage 250, and the feeding failure. There is a risk of becoming. On the other hand, in the coin storage mechanism 242 of the coin processing apparatus 200 according to the modified example as shown in FIG. 16B, a convex portion 248a is provided at a location opposite to the coin outlet in the ceiling portion of the storage cylinder 248. Yes. As a result, even when the coin in the uppermost layer among the coins stored in the storage cylinder 248 is bent and deformed into a “U” shape, the coin outlet side (guide passage 250 in such a deformed coin). The position of the end on the side close to () is raised. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the deformed coin from colliding with the corner portion 250p on the lower surface of the guide passage 250 when being pushed toward the transport passage 214 of the coin transport portion 220 by the protrusion 257 of the rotating plate 256. Can do. As described above, in the coin storage mechanism 242 of the coin processing apparatus 200 according to the modification shown in FIG. 16B, the convex portion 248a is provided at a position opposite to the coin outlet in the ceiling portion of the storage cylinder 248. Thus, even when a deformed coin is stored in the storage cylinder 248, the occurrence of a feeding failure is suppressed, and the coin feeding operation can be performed smoothly.

  Further, when the coins stored in the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage unit 247 are fed out to the transfer passage 214 of the coin transfer unit 220, they are stored in the storage cylinder 248 as shown in FIGS. When the end of the coin in the uppermost layer among the coins (specifically, the end opposite to the coin exit) protrudes downward (see the deformed coins in FIGS. 17 (a) and 17 (b)). When the protrusion 257 of the rotating plate 256 abuts against the coin and pushes it toward the transport passage 214 of the coin transport unit 220, the second coin from the top is also changed to the top layer coin. Since the two coins are caught and are fed out in a state where they overlap, there is a possibility that a coin clogging phenomenon may occur in the guide passage 250. FIG. 17B is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a region indicated by reference symbol R in FIG. Such a clogging phenomenon of coins is likely to occur when the stage 264 has a strong force to push the coins accumulated on the stage 264 upward toward the rotating plate 256. On the other hand, in the coin storage mechanism 242 of the coin processing apparatus 200 according to the further modification, when a coin clogging phenomenon occurs in the guide passage 250, the rotating plate 256 is temporarily stopped and then the stage 264 is lowered. Then, the stage 264 is raised again, and a recovery operation is performed in which the uppermost coin is pressed against the lower surface of the rotating plate 256 and then the rotating plate 256 is rotated again. The force which pushes the coins accumulated on the top toward the rotating plate 256 is weakened. As a result, even when the end of the coin on the uppermost layer protrudes downward, the degree of catching between this coin and the second coin from the top is weakened, so that the clogging phenomenon of coins can be solved. become. When the above-described recovery operation is performed a plurality of times, the normal pressing force and the weak pressing force are alternately applied to the force by which the stage 264 pushes the coins accumulated on the stage 264 upward toward the rotating plate 256. You may make it repeat.

  Further, in the coin processing device 200 according to the further modified example, when the coins stored in the storage cylinder 248 of each coin storage unit 247 are fed out to the transport passage 214 of the coin transport unit 220, the coin processing unit 200 is bent into a “shape”. In order to prevent the deformed coins from being jammed in the guide passage 250 and causing a feeding failure, as shown in FIG. 18, a portion 250b that rises upward is formed at the center of the lower surface 250a of the guide passage 250. The distance between the upwardly raised portion 250b and the upper surface 250c of the guide passage 250 is slightly larger than the thickness of one coin. That is, the distance between the lower surface 250a and the upper surface 250c of the guide passage 250 is greater than the distance between the upper portion 250b provided at the center of the lower surface 250a and the upper surface 250c. When the deformed coins bent in the shape of "" are sent to the guide passage 250, the end portions of the deformed coins can pass through the space between the lower surface 250a and the upper surface 250c of the guide passage 250. Further, when the coin clogging phenomenon occurs in the guide passage 250, the above-described recovery operation is performed. In such a recovery operation, the separator 272 is retracted as shown in FIG. 8B after the stage 264 is lowered. The separator 272 is placed on the uppermost coin among the plurality of coins accumulated on the stage 264 from the position to the advanced position as shown in FIG. Then, the separator 272 placed on the uppermost coin is moved from the advanced position as shown in FIG. 8 (a) to the retracted position as shown in FIG. 8 (b), thereby rotating the uppermost coin. Try to change the position of the direction. As a result, when the uppermost coin is pushed again by the projection 257 of the rotating plate 256 and sent to the guide passage 250, the position of the coin in the rotational direction is changed, so that the cross section shown in FIG. It becomes possible to pass through the guide passage 250 having a shape, and coin feeding failure can be eliminated.

  Further, in the above coin processing apparatus 200, when a large amount of coins is inserted into the coin deposit port 202 when performing coin deposit processing or replenishment processing, a plurality of coins are received at the coin deposit port 202 as shown in FIG. When the so-called Keirin phenomenon of coins occurs because the coins are standing next to each other in a tightly packed state (indicated by reference symbol C in FIG. 19), the coin feeding belt 204 causes the coin deposit port 202 to Even if coins are to be fed out to the coin transport unit 220, the coins are not transported by the coin feeding belt 204 and a feeding failure occurs. On the other hand, in the coin processing apparatus 200 according to the further modification, when a so-called silicing phenomenon of coins occurs in the coin deposit port 202, the coins temporarily held in the temporary holding area of each coin storage unit 247. The coins are fed from the coin storage unit 247 to the conveyance passage 214 of the coin conveyance unit 220, and the fed coins are conveyed to the coin deposit port 202 by being conveyed in the dispensing conveyance direction F2 by the conveyance belt 221 and the coin feeding belt 204. To. As a result, as shown in FIG. 20, the so-called Keirin phenomenon of the coin generated at the coin deposit slot 202 is destroyed by the coin (indicated by reference numeral C1 in FIG. 20) sent to the coin deposit slot 202. Further, when a coin is fed out from the coin deposit port 202 by the coin feeding belt 204 again, occurrence of a coin feeding failure is suppressed. Moreover, since the count of the coins temporarily held in the temporary storage area of the coin storage unit 247 has not yet been determined, it is not possible to count even if such temporarily stored coins are sent to the coin deposit port 202. Such problems do not occur.

  When coins are not temporarily held in the temporary storage area of each coin storage unit 247, each coin storage is performed when a so-called Keirin phenomenon of coins as shown in FIG. The coins stored in the unit 247 may be sent to the coin deposit port 202. In this case, when the coin is sent from each coin storage unit 247 to the coin deposit port 202, the identification unit 225 identifies and counts the coin, so that the amount of each coin storage unit 247 is changed to the coin deposit port 202. It is necessary to deduct the amount of coins sent.

  Further, when the so-called silly phenomenon of a coin as shown in FIG. 19 occurs in the coin deposit slot 202 when performing the above-described automatic coin inspection process, the coins that have been stored in each coin storage section 247 are also inserted into the coin deposit slot. By sending it to 202, the so-called Keirin phenomenon of coins generated at the coin deposit port 202 can be broken. At this time, when a coin of the same denomination as the coin in which the so-called Keirin phenomenon occurs in the coin deposit slot 202 is not stored in the coin storage unit 247, an automatic scrutiny is not yet performed. Coins are fed from the coin storage unit 247 to the transfer passage 214 of the coin transfer unit 220 and sent to the coin deposit port 202.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Money processing system 12 Housing | casing 14 1st occupancy button 16 2nd occupancy button 100 Banknote processing apparatus 102 Banknote deposit port 104 Banknote withdrawal port 110 Banknote storage cassette 114 Withdrawal rejection part 200 Coin processing apparatus 202 Coin deposit port 204 Coin feeding belt 205 Reverse roller 210 Control unit 214 Conveying path 216 Coin conveying surface 218 Coin holding surface 220 Coin conveying unit 221 Conveying belt 222 Pulley 223 Pin 225 Recognizing unit 227 Rejecting branching unit 231 Rejecting branch 235 Discharging branching unit 235 236 Coin dispensing box 237 Coin collection cassette 238 Collection chute 239 Switching lever 241 Storage branch 242 Coin storage mechanism 245 Sorting gate 246 Guide member 247 Coin storage 248 Storage cylinder 248a Protrusion 249 Pushing member 250 Passage 250a Lower surface 250b Raised portion 250c Upper surface 250p Corner 255 Rotating shaft 256 Rotating plate 257 Protrusion 258 Drive motor 262 Opening 264 Stage 267 Stage motor 270 Passing confirmation sensor 272 Separator support member 274 First tubular member 275 Second Cylindrical member 276 first rod-shaped member 277 second rod-shaped member 280 pinion 280a rotation fulcrum 280b eccentric point 281 rack 282 support mechanism 283 first retraction guide 284 second retraction guide 285 third retraction guide 286 first Drive arm 287 Second drive arm 288 Drive motor 288a Rotating plate 289 First detection sensor 290 Second detection sensor 292 Upper end detection sensor

Claims (11)

A storage unit capable of storing a plurality of coins;
Coin feeding means for feeding coins to the storage unit;
Partition means for partitioning the storage section into a temporary storage area for temporarily storing coins sent to the storage section by the coin feeding means and a storage area for sending coins from the temporary storage area;
A control unit for controlling the partition means;
With
The partition means is configured to change the size of the temporary holding area,
In the control unit, as a processing mode of the coin with a plurality of operation modes is set and monitor are set the size of the temporary holding area corresponding to each said operation mode is executed operated A coin processing device in which the partition means is controlled based on the size of the temporary holding area corresponding to the mode.   At least a deposit priority mode and a withdrawal priority mode are set as the plurality of operation modes in the control unit, and the temporary holding area corresponding to the deposit priority mode is more than the temporary holding area corresponding to the withdrawal priority mode. The coin processing device according to claim 1, which is also larger. A storage unit capable of storing a plurality of coins;
Coin feeding means for feeding coins to the storage unit;
Partition means for partitioning the storage section into a temporary storage area for temporarily storing coins sent to the storage section by the coin feeding means and a storage area for sending coins from the temporary storage area;
A control unit for controlling the partition means;
With
The partition means is configured to change the size of the temporary holding area,
The said control part is a coin processing apparatus which changes the magnitude | size of the said temporary storage area | region based on the number of the coins already accommodated in the said accommodating part. A storage unit capable of storing a plurality of coins;
Coin feeding means for feeding coins to the storage unit;
Partition means for partitioning the storage section into a temporary storage area for temporarily storing coins sent to the storage section by the coin feeding means and a storage area for sending coins from the temporary storage area;
A control unit for controlling the partition means;
With
The partition means is configured to change the size of the temporary holding area,
The said control part is a coin processing apparatus which changes the number of the coins sent to the said storage area from the said temporary storage area | region based on the number of the coins already accommodated in the said storage part. A paying-out part for paying out coins stored in the storage part from the storage part;
A collection unit for collecting coins;
Further comprising
The control unit is configured to pay out, out of the coins temporarily held in the temporary storage area of the storage unit, coins that are not sent to the storage region from the storage unit by the supply unit and send them to the collection unit. The coin processing device according to claim 4.   The partitioning means is movable between an advance position that advances into the internal area of the storage section and a retract position that retracts from the internal area of the storage section. The coin processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a first partition member that is movable along a storage direction. The storage unit is configured to store coins in a stacked state,
The partition means is movable along a vertical direction, and a placement part on which coins stored in the storage part are placed in a stacked state, and a position of the storage part above the placement part, 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second partition member that is movable between an advance position that advances into an internal region and a retract position that retracts from the internal region of the storage unit. The coin processing apparatus according to one item. A plurality of the storage units are provided to store coins by denomination,
A plurality of the partitioning means are provided corresponding to each of the storage portions,
In the control unit, the size of the temporary holding area is set corresponding to each denomination of coins,
The coin according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control unit is configured to control the partitioning unit based on a size of the temporary holding area corresponding to each denomination of the coin. Processing equipment. A storage section capable of storing a plurality of coins, a coin feeding means for sending coins to the storage section, and a temporary storage area for temporarily storing the storage section and the coins sent to the storage section by the coin feeding means. And a partition means configured to divide the storage area where coins are sent from the temporary storage area, and to change the size of the temporary storage area, and to control the partition means, as a coin processing mode A plurality of operation modes are set, and a control unit in which the size of the temporary holding area is set corresponding to each of the operation modes, and a coin processing method by a coin processing device comprising:
The control unit controls the partitioning unit based on the size of the temporary holding area corresponding to the operation mode to be executed, so that the partitioning unit can store the storage unit that can store a plurality of coins. Partitioning the coins sent to the storage unit into a temporary storage area for temporarily storing the coins and a storage area for sending coins from the temporary storage area;
A step of temporarily holding coins in the temporary holding area of the storage unit by sending coins to the storage unit by the coin feeding means ;
Operating the partition means to send coins from the temporary storage area of the storage unit to the storage area and storing coins in the storage area;
A coin processing method comprising: A storage section capable of storing a plurality of coins, a coin feeding means for sending coins to the storage section, and a temporary storage area for temporarily storing the storage section and the coins sent to the storage section by the coin feeding means. And partitioning means configured to partition into a storage area where coins are sent from the temporary holding area, and to change the size of the temporary holding area, and a control unit that controls the partitioning means. A coin processing method using a coin processing device,
The control unit controls the partition unit to change the size of the temporary holding area based on the number of coins already stored in the storage unit, so that the partition unit stores a plurality of coins. Partitioning the possible storage section into a temporary storage area for temporarily storing coins sent to the storage section and a storage area for receiving coins from the temporary storage area;
A step of temporarily holding coins in the temporary holding area of the storage unit by sending coins to the storage unit by the coin feeding means ;
Operating the partition means to send coins from the temporary storage area of the storage unit to the storage area and storing coins in the storage area;
A coin processing method comprising: A storage section capable of storing a plurality of coins, a coin feeding means for sending coins to the storage section, and a temporary storage area for temporarily storing the storage section and the coins sent to the storage section by the coin feeding means. And partitioning means configured to partition into a storage area where coins are sent from the temporary holding area, and to change the size of the temporary holding area, and a control unit that controls the partitioning means. A coin processing method using a coin processing device,
Partitioning the storage unit capable of storing a plurality of coins into a temporary storage region for temporarily storing coins sent to the storage unit and a storage region for receiving coins from the temporary storage region; ,
A step of temporarily holding coins in the temporary holding area of the storage unit by sending coins to the storage unit by the coin feeding means ;
The control unit controls the partition unit by changing the number of coins sent from the temporary holding area to the storage area based on the number of coins already stored in the storage part. by operating the steps of accommodating the coins in the from the temporary holding area of the housing part feeding coins into the housing area the storage area,
A coin processing method comprising:

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