JP7296243B2 - Coin dispensing device and coin processing machine - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coin feeding device provided with an inclined disc for feeding coins, and a coin handling machine using the coin feeding device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been known a coin dispensing device for storing coins inserted from the outside and for dispensing the stored coins, and a coin processing device using the coin dispensing device.

As such a coin feeding device and a coin processing device, there is a device disclosed in Patent Document 1. The device disclosed in Patent Document 1 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a front view of the coin feeding device disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG.

In the coin feeding device 100 shown in FIG. 8, an inclined disk 101 made up of a single member is installed in an inclined posture such that the upper part of the inclined disk 101 falls to the rear side (back side of the paper surface of FIG. 8). A plurality of coins C inserted from a coin slot (not shown) drop due to gravity and accumulate in the lower area of the inclined disk 101 . When the inclined disk 101 rotates, the coins C stored in the lower part of the inclined disk 101 are locked by the engaging portion 102 provided near the edge of the outer circumference of the inclined disk 101 . The coin C is carried upward on the inclined disk 101 as indicated by the arrow A1 while its edge is supported. The raised coins C are guided to the guide member 103 arranged on the upper part of the inclined disk 101 as indicated by the arrow A2, and are conveyed one by one to the conveying path 104 as indicated by the arrow A3. be.

Japanese Patent No. 5148703

As described above, in the coin feeding device 100 using the inclined disk 101 shown in FIG. The sheets are conveyed to the guide member 103 one by one.

However, as the speed of coin processing increases, the inclined disk 101 rotates at a higher speed. As a result, as indicated by arrows B1 and B2 and arrows B3 and B4, the coin C is unnecessarily let out to the conveying path 104 through the central portion of the inner peripheral side of the inclined disk 101 where the engaging portion 101 is not provided. Therefore, a plurality of coins C may be delivered to the transport path 104 at the same time.

When a plurality of coins C are fed out onto the transport path 104 at the same time in this manner, the coins C may be rejected due to abnormal proximity of the coins C on the transport path 104 (abnormal proximity rejection), or jams may occur due to overlapping coins. A coin jam caused the coin feeding device 100 to stop.

The present invention has been devised to solve such problems. To provide a coin dispensing device and a coin processor capable of preventing unnecessary dispensing of coins.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the coin feeding device of the present invention is a coin feeding device that rakes up and feeds out coins one by one by means of an inclined disk and an engaging portion provided on the peripheral edge thereof, wherein the inclined disk It is arranged in a part other than the peripheral part where the engaging part is provided in the central part, is composed of a member different from that of the inclined disk, and rotates in the same direction and at the same speed when the inclined disk picks up the coin. Provide a central member that does not

In order to solve the conventional problems described above, a coin processor of the present invention includes the coin dispensing device.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if it raises the rotational speed of an inclined disk, it can prevent unnecessarily paying out the coin which is not latched by the engaging part.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an internal layout as viewed from the side for explaining the coin handling machine. FIG. 2 is a front view of the coin feeding device for explaining an example of the configuration of the coin feeding device and the feeding process; FIG. 10 is a front view of the coin feeding device for explaining an example of the configuration of the coin feeding device and bridge elimination processing; FIG. 10 is a front view of the coin feeding device for explaining another example of bridge elimination processing; FIG. 10 is a front view of the coin feeding device for explaining another example of the feeding process; The front view which shows some conventional inclination discs as a reference example. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of a conventional inclined disk as a reference example and is a cross-sectional view along AA in FIG. 6A. The front view which shows a part of inclination disk. FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the inclined disk, which is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 7A. The perspective view of an engaging part. 1 is a front view of a coin feeding device disclosed in Patent Document 1; FIG.

Hereinafter, a coin dispensing device and a coin processor according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments shown below are merely examples, and do not exclude the application of various modifications and techniques that are not explicitly described in the embodiments below. Also, each configuration of the embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the embodiments. Furthermore, each configuration of the embodiments can be selected or combined as needed.

In the following description, regarding the coin processor 1, the side where the coin deposit/withdrawal port 13 is provided is the front side. Regarding the inclined disk 30, the surface on the side that conveys coins is the front surface, and the opposite surface is the rear surface. Described as rotation. Also, the vertical direction is determined based on gravity.

Note that, in principle, the same elements are given the same reference numerals throughout the drawings for describing the embodiments, and the description thereof may be omitted.

[1. coin processor]
A coin processor according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an internal layout as viewed from the side for explaining a coin processor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A coin deposit/withdrawal port 13 opened and closed by a shutter 12 is provided on the upper front side of a body 11 of the coin processor 1, and a coin receiving tray 14 for receiving coins is arranged below the coin deposit/withdrawal port 13. - 特許庁The coin receiving tray 14 is configured to be able to eject coins downward. A coin feeding device 15 is arranged below the coin receiving tray 14 for receiving coins discharged from the coin receiving tray 14 and feeding them one by one.

A starting end of a collection passage 17 is connected to the lower portion of the coin dispensing device 15, and a residue collection box 16 is connected to the end of the collection passage 17. As shown in FIG. Foreign matter that cannot be fed out from the coin feeding device 15 and coins to be collected by the coin processing machine 1 are sent to a residue collection box 16 through a collection passage 17 and collected by the coin processing machine 1.例文帳に追加

The upper part of the coin feeding device 15 is connected to the beginning end of a coin passage 18 for receiving and conveying coins fed out one by one from the coin feeding device 15 . The coin passage 18 includes an identification portion 19 for identifying coins, a sorting portion 20 for classifying coins by denomination, and a return passage portion 21 downstream of the coin passage 18 and connected to the coin receiving tray 14 at its end. is provided.

In addition, below the sorting section 20 of the coin passage 18, a temporary holding section 22 is provided for temporarily holding coins sorted by denomination. Below the temporary holding section 22, a storage section 23 for storing coins according to denomination is arranged. The storage unit 23 accepts and stores coins from the temporary storage unit 22 at the time of deposit approval or replenishment, and at the time of coin dispensing such as dispensing or collection, throws out coins side by side from above. is configured to A conveyor 24 is provided on the side of the storage unit 23 for receiving coins discharged from the storage unit 23 and coins discharged from the temporary storage unit 22 for return and conveying them to the coin dispensing device 15. It is

In FIG. 1, a constituent element denoted by reference numeral 25 is a replenishment cassette 25 that stores pre-replenished coins and supplies the pre-replenished coins onto the conveyor 24 during the replenishment process. A component denoted by reference numeral 26 is a collection box 26 for collecting all coins in the body 11 during coin collection processing. The replenishment cassette 25 and collection box 26 are detachable from the body 11 .

[2. coin dispensing device]
A coin feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of the coin feeding device for explaining an example of the configuration of the coin feeding device and processing for feeding coins (hereinafter referred to as “feeding processing”). FIG. 3 is a front view of the coin feeding device for explaining an example of the configuration of the coin feeding device and processing for breaking down a jammed coin, a so-called bridge (hereinafter referred to as “bridge elimination processing”). be.

The coin feeding device 15 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 has an inclined disk 30 whose upper part is inclined toward the back side. On the front side of the inclined disk 30, a central disk 31 having a diameter smaller than that of the inclined disk 30 and inclined in the same posture as the inclined disk 30 is arranged at the central portion of the inclined disk 30 where the engaging portion 32 is not provided. ing. More specifically, the inclined disk 30 has a recess in the center of the front surface, and the central disk 31 is arranged in this recess so that the front surface is at the same height as the front surface of the inclined disk 30. ing. The phrase "equal height positions" as used herein means that the height positions in the horizontal direction, that is, the height positions in the direction perpendicular to the front surface of the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 are equal. The central disk 31 and the inclined disk 30 are arranged on the same axis CL and are rotatable about the axis CL.

A hopper (not shown) for storing coins C is provided at the front lower portion of the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 . In front of the peripheral edge portion 30a of the inclined disk 30 protruding to the outer peripheral side from the central disk 31, there are a plurality of rollers for raking up the coins C stored in the hopper and feeding them to the coin passage 18 during the feeding process. An engaging portion 32 is provided. The engaging portions 32 are provided in front of the peripheral portion 30a at intervals in the circumferential direction of the peripheral portion 30a.

The inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 are configured as separate members independent of each other, and are operable independently of each other. Further, the central disk 31 does not rotate in the same direction and at the same speed as the tilted disk 30 when the coins C are scraped up.

In this embodiment, the coin dispensing device 15 operates as shown in FIG. 2 during the dispensing process. That is, the inclined disk 30 rotates forward in the direction indicated by the arrow P (hereinafter also referred to as the forward rotation direction P) to rake up the coins C stored in the lower portion and move the coins C as indicated by the arrows D1 and D2. While being paid out and transported to the coin passage 18, the central disk 31 does not rotate, or rotates in the opposite direction as will be described later.

As described above, when the inclined disk 30 is rotated forward to pay out the coin C, the central disk 31 does not rotate and is stopped, or rotates in the reverse direction as described later. Therefore, unlike the conventional device shown in FIG. 8, the coins C staying under the central disc 31 are not lifted up by the rotation of the tilted disc 101 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent a plurality of coins C from being fed into the coin passage 18 at the same time.

Further, in the coin feeding device 15, a plurality of coins C stored below the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 may interfere with each other to form lumps of so-called bridges. When a bridge occurs, the bridge hinders the rotation of the tilted disk 30 and the tilted disk 30 does not rotate. Therefore, when bridging occurs, the bridging elimination process shown in FIG. 3 is performed.

That is, the inclined disk 30 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow R, and the central disk 31 also rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow R. This will break the bridge. That is, by rotating the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 in the direction of the arrow R, the bridge caused by the alignment of the coins C formed by the normal rotation of the inclined disk 30 can be broken. By adding a difference ΔV between the rotational speed V1 of the inclined disk 30 and the rotational speed V2 of the central disk 31, the coin C on the inclined disk 30 and the coin C on the central disk 31 are different in size by the difference ΔV. A force can act to break the bridge more effectively.

In this way, when both the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 rotate, one driving source may rotate both the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 . Alternatively, drive sources provided separately for the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 may drive the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 to rotate. When both the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 are rotationally driven by one drive source, it is conceivable to use a one-way gear as a mechanism for transmitting power from the drive source to the central disk 31 . If the one-way gear is used, the drive force in the forward rotation direction of the drive source is transmitted only to the inclined disc 30 and not to the central disc 31 during the delivery process, and the drive source is driven in the reverse rotation direction during the bridge elimination process. Forces can be transmitted to both the tilt disc 30 and the central disc 31 .

When coins are fed out, the inclined disk 30 is rotated forward and the central disk 31 is rotated in reverse to prevent the coin from being lifted up. Only one of the discs 31 may reversely rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow R, while the other of the inclined disc 30 and the central disc 31 may be non-rotating.

Further, in the above-described bridging elimination process, a detection unit for detecting a bridge is provided. is controlled to perform bridge elimination processing. Alternatively, when the operator visually confirms the bridge, the operator may manually control the drive source to perform the bridge elimination process. Alternatively, the control device controls the driving source of the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 to periodically reversely rotate the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 to break the bridge or prevent the occurrence of the bridge. You may make it prevent. The detection unit that detects the bridge may be, for example, a detection unit that detects the bridge by detecting a coin C at a predetermined height position in the vertical direction on the inclined disk 30 or the central disk 31. It may be a detection unit that detects a coin C at a predetermined height position on the inclined disk 30 .

Incidentally, the manner of rotation of the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 during the coin C payout process and the bridge elimination process is not limited to the above-described manner, and may be performed in the manner shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, for example. . FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining another example of the bridge elimination process, and is a front view of the coin feeding device. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining another example of the feeding process, and is a front view of the coin feeding device.

In the bridge elimination process shown in FIG. 4, the inclined disk 30 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow R in the reverse direction, and the central disk 31 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow P in the normal direction. By rotating the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 in opposite directions in this manner, forces in opposite directions can be applied to the bridge at the same time, and the bridge can be effectively collapsed. When the rotation directions of the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 are different, the rotational speeds may be the same. be able to. Alternatively, the inclined disc 30 may be stopped and only the central disc 31 may be rotated in the reverse direction.

In the delivery process shown in FIG. 5, the inclined disc 30 rotates forward in the direction indicated by the arrow P, and the central disc 31 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow R in the reverse direction. Therefore, at the same time that the inclined disk 30 lets out the coin C, the central disk 31 breaks the bridge or suppresses the occurrence of the bridge.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A, 7B, and 7C, the engaging portion 32 provided on the peripheral edge portion 30a of the inclined disk 30 and its peripheral portion will be described. FIG. 6A is a front view showing a part of a conventional inclined disk as a reference example. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of a conventional inclined disk as a reference example, taken along the line AA of FIG. 6A. FIG. 7A is a front view showing a portion of the tilted disc of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of an inclined disk according to one embodiment of the present invention, taken along line BB of FIG. 7A. FIG. 7C is a perspective view of an engaging portion according to one embodiment of the present invention;

The conventional tilting disc 130 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B did not have an assembled central disc, unlike the tilting disc 30 of one embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, the inclined disk 130 is integrally formed with a peripheral edge portion 130a provided with an engaging portion 132 for raking up the coins C, and a central portion 130b projecting forward from the peripheral edge portion 130a. Therefore, a step 130c is formed between the peripheral portion 130a and the central portion 130b, and a recess 150 is formed between the wall portion 140 surrounding the inclined disk 130 and the central portion 130b. In the coin processing machine equipped with this inclined disk 130, when the diameter of the maximum processable coin (large-diameter coin) is twice or more the diameter of the minimum processable coin (small-diameter coin), delivery processing is performed. Sometimes, the coin C was caught between the wall surface portion 140 and the central portion 130b. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, two small-diameter coins C are arranged in the recess 150 in the radial direction of the inclined disc 130 and pressed between the wall surface 140 and the step 130c. , the two small-diameter coins C sometimes hinder the rotation of the inclined disk 130 . Also, foreign objects other than coins, such as metal pieces, may enter the recess 150 .

As shown in FIG. 7B, the oblique disk 30 of one embodiment of the present invention has the front surface of the peripheral edge portion 30a and the front surface of the central disk 31 aligned at the same height as described above. As a result, unlike the conventional inclined disk 130 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B), no recess is formed between the wall portion 40 surrounding the inclined disk 30 and the inclined disk 30 and central disk 31 . As a result, even when the diameter of the largest diameter coin is at least twice the diameter of the smallest diameter coin, unlike the conventional inclined disk 130, a plurality of coins C pressed in the recess are not aligned in the radial direction. . Therefore, the inclined disk 30 is prevented from stopping due to the coin C being caught.

On the other hand, if a recess is not formed between the wall surface portion 40 and the central disk 31, as shown in FIG. B may be supported and transported by the tilting disk 30 . Therefore, the shape of the engaging portion 32 is formed as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7C.

Specifically, the engaging portion 32 is formed with a protrusion protruding toward the front side of the inclined disk 30 at a portion located radially outward of the inclined disk 30 . An end surface 32a (hereinafter also referred to as an "engagement surface 32a") of the protrusion facing the forward rotation direction P supports the coin A from below. In addition, the engaging portion 32 is provided with an inclined guide portion 32b radially inward of the inclined disk 30 from the engaging surface 32a. The inclined guide portion 32b has an end portion on the downstream side in the forward rotation direction P that is at the same height as the front surface of the peripheral edge portion 30a, and is an inclined surface that protrudes more from the front side toward the upstream side in the forward rotation direction P. . "Equal height positions" described here means equal height positions in the horizontal direction. When the engaging surface 32a faces upward during delivery, the coin B descends on the inclined guide portion 32b due to the action of gravity as indicated by the arrow F in FIG. 7A and drops into the hopper. On the other hand, the coin A is engaged and supported by the engaging surface 32a and conveyed upward. As shown in FIG. 5, if the central disk 31 is reversely rotated when carrying up, the coin B is sent out to the inclined guide portion 32b, and the coin B can be dropped into the hopper more efficiently. Become. Further, the inclined guide portion 32b may be configured by a member separate from the engaging portion 32. As shown in FIG.

[3. effect]
(1) A coin C not engaged with the engaging portion 32 is on the central disk 31 which does not rotate in the same direction and at the same speed as the inclined disk 30 . Therefore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the coin C which is on the central disc 31 and is not engaged with the engaging portion 32 is rotated at a rotational speed of the inclined disc in order to speed up the coin C feeding process. Even if the coin C is lifted, it is possible to prevent the coin C not locked by the engaging portion 32 from being taken out unnecessarily.

(2) When the central disk 31 is rotated in the reverse direction during the feeding process in which the inclined disk 30 rotates forward, the coins C stored in the hopper are simultaneously subjected to forces in opposite directions by the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31. can act. Therefore, it is possible to break the bridge of the coin C or prevent the generation of the bridge by the forces acting in opposite directions.

(3) Coins C formed by forward rotation of the inclined disk 30 when it is paid out by rotating both the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31 in the reverse direction when a bridge occurs in which the coin C cannot be paid out due to clogging of the coin C. can break the bridge caused by the arrangement of

(4) If the tilted disc 30 and the central disc 31 are rotated at different speeds during the feeding process or when the bridge is eliminated, the coins C on the tilted disc 30 and the coins C on the central disc 31 have different sizes. force can be exerted. Therefore, it is possible to break the bridge of the coin C or prevent the occurrence of the bridge.

(5) If there is a step between the inclined disk 30 and the central disk 31, there is a possibility that the coin C may be caught in this step. are equal, it is possible to prevent such jamming.

(6) If there is no step between the inclined disc 30 and the central disc 31, a plurality of coins A and B are lined up on the engaging portion 32, and these coins A and B are carried up at the same time. There is a possibility that Therefore, radially inwardly of the inclined disk 30 from the engaging surface 32a of the engaging portion 32, the amount of protrusion from the front of the inclined disk 30 increases as it moves upstream in the rotational direction when the inclined disk 30 is extended. An inclined guide portion 32b is provided. Among the plurality of coins A and B arranged in the radial direction, the coin B on the inclined guide portion 32b slides down the inclined guide portion 32b and falls, so that the plurality of coins A and B are carried up at the same time. You can prevent it from being lost.

(7) When a detection unit is provided for detecting a bridge by detecting a coin C at a predetermined height position in the vertical direction on the inclined disk 30 or the central disk 31, the bridge is detected by this detection unit. In this case, it is possible to automatically perform bridge elimination processing.

[4. Modification]
The bridge elimination processing is not limited to the aspects of the above embodiments. For example, the tilted disc 30 may be rotated forward, and the central disc 31 may be rotated forward at a rotational speed lower than that of the tilted disc 30 . In this case also, different forces act on the portion of the bridge located on the oblique disk 30 and the portion located on the central disk 31, so that the bridge can be broken.

Alternatively, the bridge elimination process may be performed by moving the center disc 31 in the front-rear direction.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to a coin feeding device and a coin processing device using the coin feeding device. Therefore, its industrial applicability is great.

1 coin processor 11 machine body 12 shutter 13 coin deposit/withdrawal port 14 coin tray 15 coin feeding device 16 residue collection box 17 collection passage 18 coin passage 19 identification unit 20 classification unit 21 return passage unit 22 temporary storage unit 23 storage unit 24 conveyor 25 Replenishment cassette 26 Collection box 30 Inclined disk 30a Peripheral edge of inclined disk 30 31 Central disk (central member)
32 engaging portion 32a engaging surface 32b inclined guide portion 130 inclined disk 132 engaging portion A, B, C coin CL axial center line P forward rotation direction

Claims (6)

In a coin feeding device for picking up coins and feeding them one by one by the inclined disk and an engaging portion provided on the peripheral edge of the inclined disk by forward rotation of the inclined disk,
It is arranged in a central part of the inclined disk other than the peripheral part where the engaging part is provided, is composed of a member different from that of the inclined disk, and does not rotate when the inclined disk picks up the coins, or , provided with a counter-rotating central member,
A coin feeding device, wherein the tilting disc and the central member rotate in the reverse direction when the tilting disc is abnormal in coin feeding. 2. The coin feeding device according to claim 1 , wherein said central member rotates at a speed different from the rotation speed of said tilted disc when coin feeding by said tilted disc is abnormal . 3. The coin dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein the surface of said peripheral portion of said inclined disk and the surface of said central member have the same height position. When a plurality of coins are engaged with each other, radially inwardly of the inclined disk from the engaging surface of the engaging portion, the peripheral edges of the coins are lifted from the surface of the inclined disk as the inclined disk rotates. 4. The coin dispensing device according to claim 3, further comprising an inclined guide portion that 5. The coin feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a detection unit for detecting a coin at a predetermined height position on said inclined disk. A coin processor comprising the coin dispensing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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