JP7400279B2 - money handling machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a money handling machine that can reduce jamming of coins when the machine is in an operating state in which jamming of coins is not desired.

2. Description of the Related Art Money processing machines such as automatic change machines are used in stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores in order to strictly control customer service and cash management. These cash processing machines are manned cash registers, but in recent years, instead of manned cash registers, there are also self-checkout machines that allow customers to register products and transfer money themselves, and semi-self-checkout machines that allow customers to only send and receive money themselves. It is becoming popular.

Here, Patent Document 1 describes a coin processing machine and a control method therefor that sorts and stores inserted coins by denomination into respective storages, and counts and dispenses coins from each storage. ing. This coin processing machine is equipped with a scrutiny function that identifies and re-counts coins within the coin processing machine.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-164752

By the way, cash handling machines are usually operated by clerks, but if the banknotes or coins being deposited are heavily soiled, or if a jam occurs inside the machine and cannot be easily recovered, the administrator or maintenance staff will be required to remove the jammed machine. A release operation is performed.

However, since the administrator is often absent, for example at night, there has been a desire for a cash processing machine that is less likely to become clogged.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, in order to rationalize the number of cashiers and to maintain hygiene when working with prepared products, semi-self-checkout and full-self-checkout systems have begun to be used, in which customers make payments themselves. Since deposits and withdrawals are performed by unfamiliar customers, jams are likely to occur due to deposits of heavily stained currency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a money handling machine that can reduce jamming of coins when the machine is in an operating state in which jamming of coins is not desired. .

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objects, the present invention provides a money processing machine that is connected to a POS register device and performs money deposit/withdrawal processing, and has deposit/withdrawal control compatible with multiple operation modes. and a switching control unit that instructs to switch to the operation mode corresponding to the satisfied application condition when exclusive application conditions for each operation mode are satisfied. .

Further, in the above invention, the present invention provides that, when exclusive applicable conditions for each operation mode are satisfied, the POS register device switches the money processing machine to an operation mode corresponding to the satisfied applicable condition. The operation mode control unit is characterized in that the operation mode control unit controls deposit and withdrawal processing in the instructed operation mode.

Further, in the above invention, the present invention is characterized in that the application condition is a preset time period, and the plurality of operation modes are a daytime operation mode and a nighttime operation mode.

Further, in the above invention, the operation mode control unit does not limit the deposit box and/or the withdrawal box when in the daytime operation mode, but in the night operation mode. In some cases, it is characterized by limiting the repositories for depositing money and/or limiting the repositories for withdrawing money.

Further, in the above invention, the present invention is characterized in that the operation mode control section makes the processing speed in the nighttime operation mode slower than the processing speed in the daytime operation mode.

Further, in the present invention, in the above invention, the plurality of operation modes are a self-register operation mode in which customers make deposits and withdrawals, and a clerk cash register operation mode in which a clerk makes deposits and withdrawals; The switching control unit includes a position detection sensor that detects the position of the money handling side, and when the position of the money handling side is the customer side, the switching control unit switches to the self-checkout operation mode and changes the position of the money handling side. If the system is on the clerk's side, the system is switched to the clerk register operation mode, and the operation mode control section makes the processing speed in the self-register operation mode slower than the processing speed in the clerk register operation mode.

Further, in the above invention, the operation mode control unit does not limit the storage area for depositing money and/or the storage area for withdrawal when in the clerk cash register operation mode, but in the self-checkout operation mode. In some cases, it is characterized by limiting the repositories for depositing money and/or limiting the repositories for withdrawing money.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce jamming of coins in operating conditions where coin jamming is not desired, such as nighttime operation or self-checkout operation.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an automatic change machine that is a money processing machine of a money processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the automatic change machine. FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing the internal configuration of the coin processing device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a side view conceptually showing the internal configuration of the banknote processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation mode switching instruction processing procedure performed by the switching control unit. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation mode control processing procedure by the operation mode control unit. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of a money processing device according to modification 2. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of a money processing device according to modification 3. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which a money processing device according to modification 4 is placed on a cash register counter.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Structure of money processing device)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an automatic change machine 10a, which is a money processing machine of a money processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the automatic change machine 10a. In the cash processing device 10 illustrated here, an automatic change machine 10a is connected to a POS register device 10b in a store such as a supermarket or a convenience store. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a flat surface is formed on the top surface of the automatic change machine 10a, and a POS register device 10b, which is a host device, is arranged on this flat surface. The automatic change machine 10a includes a coin processing device 1 for depositing and dispensing coins and a bill processing device 2 for depositing and dispensing banknotes. The coin processing device 1 and the banknote processing device 2 are covered by a rectangular parallelepiped device main body, and are arranged adjacent to each other.

The coin processing device 1 includes a coin deposit port 31 on the right side of the top surface of the front end of the device main body. A coin dispensing port 38 is formed on the front left side of the main body of the coin processing device 1, and coins discharged from the coin dispensing port 38 are received by a receiving tray 40. Further, a coin return port 39 is provided on the front right side of the main body of the device. On the other hand, a bill receiving port 41 and a bill dispensing port 42 are provided at the upper front of the main body of the bill processing device 2 .

The coin processing device 1 includes a display section 3 and an operation input section 4 on the left side of the upper surface of the front end. The display section 3 and the operation input section 4 also serve as a display section and an operation input section of the banknote processing device 2. The control section 5 and the storage section 6 are provided within the automatic change machine 10a.

The coin processing device 1 has various sensor groups 11 and actuator groups 12. The banknote processing device 2 also includes various sensor groups 21 and actuator groups 22.

The control section 5 includes a deposit/withdrawal control section 5a. When money is deposited after a deposit permission command is given from the POS register device 10b, the deposit/withdrawal control unit 5a performs a money deposit process according to the deposit permission command, and when a withdrawal command is received from the POS register device 10b. When given, the money withdrawal process is performed according to the withdrawal instruction. Further, while executing these deposit processing and withdrawal processing, the deposit/withdrawal control unit 5a also performs a process of sequentially storing the contents of the executed deposit processing and withdrawal processing in the storage unit 6 as deposit/withdrawal information 6a. conduct.

The deposit/withdrawal control section 5a has an operation mode control section 5b. The operation mode control unit 5b performs deposit/withdrawal control corresponding to the operation mode instructed by the POS register device 10b among a plurality of operation modes, that is, the daytime operation mode M1 and the nighttime operation mode M2.

The daytime operation mode M1 is, for example, an operation mode applied to the time period from 7:00 to 19:00, and the nighttime operation mode M2 is an operation mode applied to the time period from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. . The processing speed during the night operation mode M2 is made slower than the processing speed during the daytime operation mode M1. In the daytime operation mode M1, since there are many customers during the day, the automatic change machine 10a is operated at the maximum processing speed. On the other hand, in the night operation mode M2, since there are few customers at night, the processing speed is slowed down to reduce jamming of coins. Here, slowing down the processing speed means, for example, lengthening the interval between coins to be processed. By increasing the interval between coins, the processing of conveyance switching and passage monitoring can be eased, and the occurrence of coin jams can be reduced. Note that the operation mode may include a mode that operates at an intermediate processing speed between the daytime operation mode M1 and the nighttime operation mode M2.

Further, the operation input section 4 includes an operation mode setting section 4a. The operation mode setting unit 4a can change the settings of the exclusive application condition D of the daytime operation mode M1 and the nighttime operation mode M2. Further, the operation mode setting unit 4a can change the settings to apply a plurality of other operation modes. Furthermore, the operation mode setting section 4a may be provided on the POS register device 10b side. Note that the storage unit 6 has deposit/withdrawal information 6a and log information 6b.

The POS register device 10b has a switching control section 7 and an application condition D. Application condition D is a time period for daytime operation mode M1 and a time period for nighttime operation mode M2. The switching control unit 7 instructs the automatic change machine 10a to switch to an operation mode that satisfies the application condition D. For example, when the time reaches 19:00, the automatic change machine 10a is instructed to switch from the daytime operation mode M1 to the nighttime operation mode M2. Note that the initial operation mode instruction is an instruction to set the operation mode corresponding to the time zone that includes the current time. The switching control unit 7 can be realized, for example, by OPOS driver software for a cash processing machine that is incorporated into the application software of the POS register device 10b.

(Internal configuration of coin processing device)
FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing the internal configuration of the coin processing device 1 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, a coin deposit port 31 is an opening for receiving inserted coins into the device main body. The coins inserted into the coin deposit port 31 receive a deposit permission command from the POS register device 10b, are detected by a deposit detection sensor (not shown), and then are transported by the deposit transport section 32. The coin verification section 33 provided in the deposit conveyance section 32 functions as an identification section, and determines the authenticity and denomination of coins, and counts the number of coins for each denomination. If the transported coin is a genuine coin, it is held in the temporary holding unit 34. On the other hand, if the transported coin is not a genuine coin, it is returned to the receiving tray 40 via the switching gate G and the coin dispensing port 38. Note that when a return instruction is received from the POS register device 10b or a return lever (not shown), the coins held in the temporary holding unit 34 are returned to the coin return port 39 via the switching gate G1.

Thereafter, the temporary holding section 34 functions as a conveyance path, and the coins held in the temporary holding section 34 are output to the coin sorting section 35, which is a conveyance path, via the switching gate G1 and are conveyed. The coins conveyed by the coin sorting section 35 are stored in the coin storage 36 according to their denominations. At this time, a distribution counting section S1 is provided between the coin distribution section 35 and each coin storage 36.

Inside the main body of the device, there are a 1 yen coin storage 36a, a 50 yen coin storage 36b, a 5 yen coin storage 36c, a 100 yen coin storage 36d, a 10 yen coin storage 36e, and a 500 yen coin storage. Six coin storages 36f are provided. Each coin storage 36 stores the inserted coins separately for each denomination. The coin sorting section 35 stores coins in each coin storage in descending order of diameter according to the denomination. Between the coin sorting section 35 of the 1 yen coin storage 36a, 50 yen coin storage 36b, 5 yen coin storage 36c, 100 yen coin storage 36d, 10 yen coin storage 36e, and 500 yen coin storage 36f. are respectively provided with distribution counting sections S1a to S1f for counting the distributed coins.

The coins stored in each coin storage 36 are delivered to the withdrawal conveyance section 37, but at this time, the 1 yen coin storage 36a, the 50 yen coin storage 36b, the 5 yen coin storage 36c, the 100 yen coin storage Each of the payout counters S2a to S2f provided between the storage 36d, the 10 yen coin storage 36e, the 500 yen coin storage 36f, and the payout conveyance unit 37 counts the coins that have been fed out. The dispensed coins can be transported to the temporary storage section 34 via the switching gate G2. The temporary holding unit 34 also functions as a scrutiny storage for an inspection process in which the coins stored in each coin storage 36 are once emptied and the number of coins stored in each coin storage 36 is re-counted. Note that it is preferable to provide an identification sensor S3 for identifying the denomination of the coin downstream of the dispensing conveyance section 37 and before the switching gate G2. When the identification sensor S3 detects a coin of a different denomination that is not stored in the coin processing device 1 during the inspection process, the coin of this different denomination is discharged to the coin dispensing port 38 via the switching gate G2. When the identification sensor S3 detects a different denomination when paying out change, the coin of the different denomination is temporarily stored in the storage section 34 via the switching gate G2, and then transferred to the coin return port 39 or each coin storage 36. , or discharge it to a separately established unknown storage.

After that, the coins of the denomination corresponding to the withdrawal command from the POS register device 10b side are carried out all at once from each coin storage 36 via the dispensing counter S2, the dispensing transport section 37, and the switching gate G2. The coins are then dispensed from the coin dispensing port 38 to the outside of the device main body.

(Internal configuration of banknote processing device)
FIG. 4 is a side view conceptually showing the internal configuration of the banknote processing device 2 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 4, in the banknote processing device 2, the banknotes conveyed from the banknote deposit slot 41 are discriminated and counted by a banknote discrimination sensor 44 serving as an identification unit, and then stored in the banknote storage 51 according to the denomination. The banknotes are stored in a thousand yen bill storage 53 and a mixed storage 54. The thousand yen banknote storage 53 stores frequently used thousand yen banknotes. The mixed storage 54 stores a mixture of 5,000 yen banknotes and 10,000 yen banknotes. The inspection storage 52 is used as a temporary holding section during inspection processing. The banknote dispensing port 42 is an opening for discharging banknotes taken out from the thousand yen banknote storage 53 and the mixing bank 54 to the outside of the device main body, and is provided at the lower front of the device main body. In addition, when the remaining number of banknotes stored in the thousand yen banknote storage 53 or the mixed banknote 54 is exceeded, the collection storage 55 stores the excess banknotes.

Here, a banknote conveyance path 50 is arranged between the thousand yen bill storage 53 and the inspection storage 52 and between the mixing storage 54 and the inspection storage 52. Further, on the banknote conveyance path 50, a switching gate G31 is arranged at the entrance to and from the inspection storage 52, a switching gate G32 at the entrance to and from the thousand yen bill storage 53, and a switching gate G33 at the entrance to and from the mixing storage 54. Furthermore, sensors S31, S32, and S33 as image sensors for detecting passage of banknotes are arranged near the switching gates G31, G32, and G33. Further, motors M31, M32, and M33 are provided to feed the banknotes from the inspection storage 52, the thousand yen banknote storage 53, and the mixing storage 54 to the banknote transport path 50. It also includes a motor M50 that drives the banknote conveyance path 50 to convey it. Furthermore, sensors S50 and S51 are arranged on the banknote conveyance path 50 as image sensors that detect the denomination and passage of the banknotes to be conveyed. Sensors S31, S32, S33, S50, and S51 correspond to the distribution counting section S1 and the feeding counting section S2 of the coin processing device 1.

(Operation mode switching instruction processing by switching control unit)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation mode switching instruction processing procedure performed by the switching control unit 7. Note that the initial operation mode is set to an operation mode (daytime operation mode M1 or nighttime operation mode M2) according to the time zone of the current time.

As shown in FIG. 5, the switching control unit 7 first refers to the application condition D and determines whether the time zone has shifted to daytime (step S100). When the time zone shifts to daytime (step S100, Yes), the automatic change machine 10a is instructed to enter the daytime operation mode M1 (step S110), and this process ends.

On the other hand, if the time zone has not shifted to daytime (step S100, No), it is further determined whether the time zone has shifted to nighttime (step S120). When the time zone shifts to nighttime (step S120, Yes), the automatic change machine 10a is instructed to enter the night operation mode M2 (step S130), and this process ends. If the time zone does not shift to nighttime (step S120, No), the current operation mode is maintained and the process ends.

(Operation mode control processing by the operation mode control unit)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation mode control processing procedure by the operation mode control unit 5b. As shown in FIG. 6, the operation mode control unit 5b first determines whether there is an instruction to switch the operation mode (step S200). If there is an instruction to switch the operation mode (step S200, Yes), it is further determined whether the operation mode to which the switch has been instructed is the daytime operation mode (step S210). On the other hand, if there is no instruction to switch the operation mode (step S200, No), the current operation mode is maintained (step S240), and the process ends.

If the operation mode to which switching has been instructed is the daytime operation mode (step S210, Yes), the system switches to the daytime operation mode, performs deposit/withdrawal control (step S220), and ends this process. On the other hand, if the operation mode to which switching has been instructed is not the daytime operation mode (step S210, No), the system switches to the nighttime operation mode, controls deposits and withdrawals (step S230), and ends this process.

<Modification 1>
The operation mode control unit 5b of the above embodiment made the processing speed of the nighttime operation mode M2 slower than the processing speed of the daytime operation mode M1 to reduce the jamming of coins, but this modification 1 When the operation mode control unit 5b is in the daytime operation mode M1, it does not limit the storage area for depositing and/or for withdrawing money, and when it is in the night operation mode M2, it does not limit the storage area for depositing money. We are trying to limit and/or limit the repositories from which withdrawals can be made.

That is, in the daytime operation mode M1, a recycling process is performed in which the deposited money is used as money for withdrawal, but in the nighttime operation mode M2, the recycling process of this money is not performed. As a result, even if the deposited coins are heavily soiled during the night, the conveyance process is simplified and it is possible to reduce jamming of coins.

<Modification 2>
In the above embodiment and modification 1, the switching control unit 7 was provided on the POS register device 10b side, but in this modification 2, as shown in FIG. 7, the switching control unit 7 was provided on the automatic change machine 10a side. There is also a That is, the automatic change machine 10a switches the operation mode.

<Modification 3>
In this third modification, as shown in FIG. 8, a clerk cash register operation mode M11 is set in place of the daytime operation mode M1, and a self-checkout operation mode M12 is set in place of the nighttime operation mode M2. Further, the third modification includes a position detection sensor S that detects the position of the automatic change machine 10a on the deposit/withdrawal side.

As shown in FIG. 9, the money processing device 10 in which a POS register device 10b is mounted on an automatic change machine 10a is arranged on the stand of a cash register C. In the money processing device 10, only the automatic change machine 10a is rotatable, and the deposit/withdrawal handling side can face the cashier side A and the customer side B. When the deposit/withdrawal handling side of the automatic change machine 10a is facing the cashier side A, the clerk cash register operation mode M11 is applied, and when the deposit/withdrawal handling side of the automatic change machine 10a is facing the customer side B. , self-checkout operation mode M12 is applied.

The clerk cash register operation mode M11 and the self-checkout operation mode M12 correspond to the daytime operation mode M1 and the night operation mode M2, respectively, and the operation mode control unit 5b adjusts the processing speed of the self-checkout operation mode M12 to the processing speed of the clerk cash register operation mode M11. be slower than the speed.

<Modification 4>
This modification 4 applies modification 1 to the clerk cash register operation mode M11 and self-checkout operation mode M12 of modification 3, and the operation mode control unit 5b controls the storage area in which money is deposited when the clerk cash register operation mode M11 is in the clerk cash register operation mode M11. If the self-checkout operation mode M12 is set without limiting the storage area for depositing money and/or limiting the storage area for withdrawal, the storage area for depositing money and/or the storage area for withdrawing money is limited.

Each of the configurations illustrated in the embodiments and modifications described above is functionally schematic, and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the form of dispersion/integration of each device and component is not limited to the one shown in the diagram, but all or part of it may be functionally or physically dispersed/integrated in arbitrary units depending on various usage conditions. It can be configured as follows.

1 Coin processing device 2 Banknote processing device 3 Display section 4 Operation input section 4a Operation mode setting section 5 Control section 5a Deposit/withdrawal control section 5b Operation mode control section 6 Storage section 6a Deposit/withdrawal information 6b Log information 7 Switching control section 10 Money processing Device 10a Automatic change machine 10b POS register device 11, 21 Sensor group 12, 22 Actuator group 31 Coin deposit slot 32 Deposit transport section 33 Coin validation section 34 Temporary holding section 35 Coin sorting section 36 Coin storage 37 Dispensing transport section 38 Coin withdrawal port 39 Coin return port 40 Receiving tray 41 Banknote deposit port 42 Banknote withdrawal port 44 Banknote discrimination sensor 50 Banknote transport path 51 Banknote storage 52 Inspection storage 53 Thousand yen banknote storage 54 Mixing storage 55 Collection storage D Applicable conditions M1 Daytime operation mode M2 Nighttime operation mode M11 Store clerk cashier operation mode M12 Self-checkout operation mode S Position detection sensor

Claims (3)

A money processing machine that is connected to a POS register device and performs money deposit and withdrawal processing,
multiple operation mode control units that perform deposit/withdrawal control corresponding to multiple operation modes;
a switching control unit that instructs to switch to the operation mode corresponding to the satisfied application condition when an exclusive application condition for each operation mode is satisfied;
Equipped with
The plurality of operation modes are a self-checkout operation mode in which customers make deposits and withdrawals, and a clerk cash register operation mode in which store clerks make deposits and withdrawals,
comprising a position detection sensor that detects the position of the money deposit/withdrawal handling side of the money processing machine;
The switching control unit switches to the self-register operation mode when the deposit/withdrawal handling side is on the customer side, and switches to the clerk cash register operation mode when the deposit/withdrawal handling side is on the clerk side. ,
The money processing machine is characterized in that the operation mode control section makes the processing speed in the self-checkout operation mode slower than the processing speed in the clerk cashier operation mode. The operation mode control unit does not limit the storage areas for depositing and/or the storage area for withdrawing money when in the clerk cash register operation mode, and limits the storage areas for depositing and/or when in the self-checkout operation mode. 2. The money processing machine according to claim 1 , further comprising: limiting the storage where the money is withdrawn; When the POS register device satisfies the exclusive application conditions for each operation mode, the POS register device instructs the money processing machine to switch to the operation mode corresponding to the satisfied application conditions;
The money processing machine according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the operation mode control section controls deposit and withdrawal processing in an instructed operation mode.

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