JP7417945B2 - coin handling equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a coin processing device.

Conventionally, coin processing machines are known that have a rotating disk that separates introduced coins one by one and feeds them out, or a supply disk that feeds out the introduced coins toward the rotating disk (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56-52488

By the way, coin processing machines are capable of accepting and processing large amounts of coins at once, but the coins inserted into the slot may contain foreign objects such as small dust or paper clips that are difficult for the operator to notice. There's something I'm doing. If foreign matter gets mixed in when counting coins, there is a risk of problems such as poor discrimination during counting or poor conveyance. To give a more specific example, when foreign metal objects such as stapler cores, clips, etc., or metal powder attached to coins enter the conveyance path, incorrect detection by the sensor may cause identification failure. If a linear foreign object such as a rubber band or thread waste gets mixed in, it may become entangled with the conveyor belt or pulley, resulting in a conveyance failure.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a coin processing device that can suppress the introduction of foreign substances mixed into coins into the device.

A first aspect of the present invention includes a rotary disk, a guide wall section that is erected around the rotary disk and is formed with an outlet for feeding out coins by rotation of the rotary disk; The present invention is characterized in that it includes a conveyance path for conveying the coins that have been collected, and an air blowing means for blowing air from the conveyance path side through the feeding port and into the guide wall.

In a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the air blowing means further blows air into a position near a separation section that is provided to protrude from the guide wall section into the guide wall section and separates the coins. Characterized by bubbling.

A third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, further includes a foreign matter removal port provided in the guide wall at a position facing the outlet and for removing foreign matter from within the guide wall. It is characterized by

A fourth aspect of the present invention is the third aspect, further comprising a suction means that is connected to the foreign material removal port and sucks foreign materials from the foreign material removal port by suctioning air.

In a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the suction means suctions air from the foreign matter removal port by driving a suction pump, and the air blowing means is configured to suck air from the foreign matter removal port by driving a suction pump. It is characterized by blowing out the exhausted air.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the fifth aspect, an air passage from the foreign matter removal port to the air outlet of the air blowing means via the suction pump is closed.

A seventh aspect of the present invention, based on any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, is characterized in that the device further includes a foreign matter collecting means for collecting foreign matter sucked by the suction means.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a coin processing device that can suppress the introduction of foreign substances mixed into coins into the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partially block plan view showing a coin processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of a coin feeding section of a coin processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2 of a coin processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A coin processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the coin processing device 11 of this embodiment identifies and counts loose coins C input from outside the device, and stores the coins by sorting them by denomination. 12, and a cylindrical guide wall portion 13 which is erected around the rotary disk 12 so as to surround the rotary disk 12 with almost no gap. The inner circumferential surface 14 of the guide wall portion 13 is a cylindrical surface facing toward the rotary disk 12 side. The rotary disk 12 and the guide wall portion 13 are arranged coaxially. The coin feeding section 15 has a coin introducing space 16 on the upper surface of the rotary disk 12 and on the radially inner side of the guide wall section 13 into which the coin C is introduced from the outside.

The rotary disk 12 includes an annular portion 18 having a flat upper surface 17 that spreads horizontally, and a bulging portion 19 that is located inside the annular portion 18 in the radial direction and bulges above the upper surface 17 of the annular portion 18. have. The rotary disk 12 is driven by a drive motor (not shown), so that the annular portion 18 and the bulging portion 19 rotate together.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a payout opening 21 is provided at a lower portion of the guide wall 13 at a predetermined position in the circumferential direction to feed the coin C out of the guide wall 13 by rotation of the rotary disk 12. There is. Here, the rotary disk 12 rotates counterclockwise in FIGS. 1 and 2 when discharging the coins C from the dispensing port 21. The outlet 21 penetrates the guide wall 13 in the radial direction. The thickness of the feeding port 21 is larger than the thickness of the thickest coin C among the coins C handled so that only one coin C can pass between the feeding port 21 and the upper surface 17 of the annular portion 18 of the rotary disk 12. A gap smaller than the thickness of two of the thinnest coins C among the coins C handled is formed.

A foreign matter removal port 22 for discharging foreign matter X out of the guide wall portion 13 is formed in the lower part of the guide wall portion 13 at a position facing the outlet 21 in the radial direction. In other words, the foreign matter removal port 22 is provided in the guide wall portion 13 at a position facing the feeding port 21, and eliminates the foreign matter X from the coin introduction space 16 within the guide wall portion 13. The foreign matter removal port 22 is arranged at a position 180° different from the outlet 21 in the circumferential direction of the guide wall portion 13. The foreign matter removal port 22 penetrates the guide wall portion 13 in the radial direction. The foreign matter removal port 22 is formed in a size that does not allow any of the coins C handled to be discharged out of the guide wall portion 13.

An arrangement opening 23 is formed in the guide wall 13 at a predetermined position near the outlet 21, in which a separation part 25 protruding into the guide wall 13 is arranged. Here, the rotary disk 12 rotates counterclockwise in FIGS. 1 and 2 when dispensing the coins C from the dispensing port 21, and the arrangement opening 23 is located in the direction of rotation of the rotary disk 12 at this time. It is provided near the outlet 21 on the downstream side. The arrangement opening 23 penetrates the guide wall portion 13 in the radial direction. The placement opening 23 is formed in a size that prevents any of the coins C handled from being ejected out of the guide wall 13 when the separating portion 25 is placed. The guide wall portion 13 has no portion penetrating in the radial direction except for the outlet 21, the foreign matter removal port 22, and the placement port 23. The guide wall portion 13 is capable of feeding out the coins C only from the feeding opening 21.

The separating section 25 has a roller 26 at a position protruding into the guide wall section 13 . The separation section 25 comes into contact with a coin C that moves while being guided by the inner circumferential surface 14 of the guide wall section 13 when the rotary disk 12 rotates, and moves the coin C radially inward of the guide wall section 13 . Thereby, the separating section 25 relatively moves the coins C adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the guide wall section 13.

As shown in FIG. 1, loose coins C inserted into an input slot (not shown) from outside the coin processing device 11 are introduced into the coin introduction space 16 and placed on the rotary disk 12. In this state, when the rotary disk 12 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. The coins are then sequentially fed out from the coin feeding section 15. In other words, the feeding port 21 restricts the passage of the coins C fed out from the rotary disk 12 one by one.

The coin processing device 11 has a conveyance path 30 at a coin dispensing position of the coin dispensing section 15 for conveying the coins C dispensed from the coin dispensing section 15, that is, the coins C that have passed through the dispensing port 21. The conveyance path 30 includes a coin passage 31 that guides the coins C fed out from the coin feeding section 15, and a feed unit 32 that conveys the coins C on the coin passage 31.

The coin passage 31 includes a first passage part 33 arranged along the tangential direction of the rotary disk 12 and connected to the feeding port 21, and a first passage part 33 that is connected to the rotary disk 12 from the side opposite to the rotary disk 12 of the first passage part 33. a second passage part 34 extending in a direction perpendicular to the second passage part 33; and a third passage part 34 extending in a direction perpendicular to the second passage part 34 from the side opposite to the first passage part 33 of the second passage part 34. 35.

The first passage section 33 is provided with an identification section 37 that counts the coins C while identifying their denominations based on magnetic information or the like of the coins C being transported.

The second passage section 34 includes a reject port 38 through which the coin C can be dropped and which guides the dropped coin C so that it can be taken out of the device, and a reject port 38 through which the coin C identified as unidentifiable by the identification section 37 is guided. A reject section 39 for dropping coins C, an overflow sorting port 40 that is capable of dropping coins C and guides the fallen coins C to an overflow storage (not shown) in the device, and an identification section 37 for identifying denominations (not shown) in the device. An overflow sorting section 41 is provided that drops coins C identified as not being able to be stored in the storage from an overflow sorting port 40.

The third passage portion 35 is provided with denomination sorting ports 42a to 42f through which coins C can be dropped and which guide the fallen coins C to denomination-specific storage bins (not shown) in the device. These sorting ports 42a to 42f are designed to drop coins C starting from those with the smallest outer diameter, and drop coins C in order from the most upstream side: 1 yen, 50 yen, 5 yen, 100 yen, 10 yen, and 500 yen. It is designed to let you do so.

The feed unit 32 drives a plurality of conveyor belts 45 that push the coins C fed from the coin feeder 15 onto the coin passage 31 from above and convey them, a pulley 46 for constructing the conveyor belt 45, and a pulley 46. It has a drive motor and the like (not shown). The drive motor of the feed unit 32 is driven in synchronization with the drive motor of the rotary disk 12.

The coin C paid out from the coin payout section 15 by the rotation of the rotary disk 12 is conveyed by the driving force of the feed unit 32 while being guided by the coin passage 31 in the conveyance path 30. While being transported by the feed unit 32 and the coin passage 31, the coin C is first identified by the identification section 37. Then, the coin C that could not be identified by the identifying unit 37 is dropped from the reject port 38 by the rejecting unit 39, and the coin C that was identified by the identifying unit 37 as the coin C of the overflow denomination is , the coins C are dropped from the overflow sorting port 40 by the overflow sorting section 41, and the other coins C are dropped from the corresponding sorting ports 42a to 42f by denomination. In this way, the coins C are sorted.

In the present embodiment, the coin processing device 11 has a foreign object dispensing system that suppresses foreign objects X that have entered the coin introduction space 16 from being ejected from the dispensing port 21 to the conveyance path 30 during the coin processing operation as described above. It has a suppressing part 50.

The foreign matter removal suppressing unit 50 includes a suction pump 51 that sucks air from the foreign matter removal port 22 , a suction passage 52 that is connected to the foreign matter removal port 22 and connects the foreign matter removal port 22 and the suction pump 51 , and a suction passage 52 that connects the foreign matter removal port 22 and the suction pump 51 . A suction unit 54 (suction means) includes a foreign matter collection unit 53 (foreign matter collection means) that is provided in the air and collects only the foreign matter X from the air and foreign matter X sucked by the suction pump 51.

Further, the foreign matter feed-out suppressing section 50 is provided at the end of the suction pump 51, the exhaust passage 61 of the suction pump 51, and one branch passage 62 into which the exhaust passage 61 is branched, and is provided in the coin introduction space in the guide wall 13. A side exhaust part 64 having an air outlet 63 that blows air toward the coin introduction space 16 in the guide wall 13 is provided at the end of the other branch passage 66 of the exhaust passage 61 . It includes an upper exhaust section 68 having an air outlet 67 for blowing out air, and a blowing section 69 (air blowing means) having an air outlet 67.

In the foreign matter delivery suppressing section 50, an air passage 71 extending from the foreign matter removal port 22 to the air outlets 63 and 67 via the suction pump 51 is closed. In other words, in the air passage 71 connecting the foreign matter removal port 22 and the air outlets 63, 67, only the foreign material removal port 22 and the air outlets 63, 67 are open to the outside. This air passage 71 includes a suction passage 52 , a passage within the foreign matter collection section 53 , a passage within the suction pump 51 , and an exhaust passage 61 .

The suction unit 54 is connected to the foreign matter removal port 22, and when the suction pump 51 is driven, the air in the coin introduction space 16 is sucked from the foreign material removal port 22. Foreign matter X in the coin introduction space 16 is sucked from the coin introduction space 22. That is, the suction unit 54 sucks the foreign object X located near the foreign object removal port 22 along with air from the foreign object removal port 22 by rotating the rotary disk 12, for example, and traps it in the foreign object collecting portion 53.

In this way, the blowing section 69 directs the air discharged from the suction pump 51 into the coin introduction space 16 when the suction section 54 drives the suction pump 51 to suction the foreign matter X from the foreign matter removal port 22. Speech out.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the side exhaust section 64 of the blowout section 69 blows air from the first passage section 33 side of the conveyance path 30 through the outlet 21 into the guide wall section 13. Speech out. The side exhaust portion 64 has an air outlet 63 that blows out air, and is arranged to face the outlet 21 in the radial direction of the guide wall portion 13 . The air blown out from the outlet 63 of the side exhaust part 64 passes through the outlet 21, as shown by two-dot chain line arrows Y1 to Y3 in FIGS. It is guided by the upper surface 17 and flows toward the foreign matter removal port 22 , and it is guided by the inner circumferential surface 14 of the guide wall portion 13 and flows toward the foreign material removal port 22 . In other words, the side exhaust part 64 is arranged so that the air blown out from the air outlet 63 flows toward the foreign matter removal port 22 after passing through the outlet 21 .

Therefore, the air blown out from the outlet 63 of the side exhaust part 64 guides the foreign matter X near the outlet 21 within the coin introduction space 16 to move toward the foreign matter removal port 22 . At that time, the air blown out from the air outlet 63 will move toward the conveyance path 30 together with the coins C, which are delivered from the coin introducing space 16 to the conveyance path 30 via the outlet 21 by the rotation of the rotary disk 12, for example. The foreign matter X is also prevented from coming out from the outlet 21 and guided to move toward the foreign matter removal port 22. Further, the air blown out from the air outlet 63 also guides, for example, foreign matter X present on its flow path toward the foreign matter removal port 22 . Of course, the wind force of the blowing portion 69 is at a level that does not affect the feeding of the coin C from the feeding opening 21. When the foreign object X guided and moved toward the foreign object removal port 22 reaches the vicinity of the foreign object removal port 22, it is sucked together with air from the foreign object removal port 22 by the suction section 54, and captured by the foreign object collection section 53.

The upper exhaust part 68 of the blowing part 69 blows air from above toward a position near the separation part 25 that is provided to protrude from the guide wall part 13 into the guide wall part 13 and separates the coins C. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper exhaust part 68 has an air outlet 67 that blows out air, and is arranged to face the upper surface 17 of the annular part 18 in the axial direction of the guide wall part 13. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper exhaust part 68 has an air outlet 67 facing the upper surface 17 at a position slightly closer to the center of the guide wall 13 than the separation part 25 in the radial direction of the guide wall 13. In other words, the air outlet 67 of the upper exhaust section 68 overlaps the separating section 25 in the circumferential direction of the guide wall section 13 .

Therefore, the air blown out from the air outlet 67 of the upper exhaust part 68 as indicated by the two-dot chain arrow Z1 shown in FIG. As a result, the spray is sprayed onto the gap between the coin C that has come into contact with the separation section 25 and the coin C just before it comes into contact with the separation section 25. The air blown out from the air outlet 67 separates, for example, foreign objects X and the like caught between adjacent coins C from these coins C. When the foreign object X, which has been released from being sandwiched between the coins C, reaches the vicinity of the foreign object removal port 22 due to the rotation of the rotary disk 12 or the air flow from the side exhaust section 64, the foreign object X is removed from the foreign object removal port 22. 22 along with air by the suction unit 54 and captured by the foreign matter collection unit 53.

The foreign matter feed-out suppressing section 50 has a side exhaust section 64 and an upper exhaust section 68, both of which blow out air into the coin introduction space 16. Therefore, both of them blow out air into the coin introduction space 16. It has a plurality of exhaust parts 64 and 68 that blow out. One of the plurality of exhaust sections 64 and 68 serves as a side exhaust section 64 that blows air from the conveyance path 30 side through the outlet 21 into the guide wall section 13 . Further, another one of the plurality of exhaust parts 64 and 68 is an upper exhaust part 68 that blows out air from the guide wall part 13 toward a position near the separation part 25 that is provided to protrude into the guide wall part 13. .

A suction pump 51 is driven in the foreign matter feed-out suppressing section 50 in conjunction with the drive of the rotary disk 12 . For example, the start of driving of the rotary disk 12 and the start of driving of the suction pump 51 are aligned in timing, and the timing of stopping the drive of the rotary disk 12 and the stopping of driving of the suction pump 51 are aligned. Alternatively, the timing to start driving the suction pump 51 may be a predetermined time before the timing to start driving the rotary disk 12, and the timing to stop driving the suction pump 51 may be a predetermined time after the timing to stop driving the rotary disk 12. .

According to the coin processing device 11 of the present embodiment described above, the guide wall portion 13 is provided upright around the rotary disk 12 and is formed with the outlet 21 for feeding out the coins C by the rotation of the rotary disk 12. Since the blower 69 is provided to blow air from the conveyance path 30 side into the guide wall 13 through the outlet 21, the foreign matter X is transported from the coin introduction space 16 in the guide wall 13 through the outlet 21. Even if the coin is about to be sent out into the passage 30, it can be pushed back into the coin introduction space 16. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the foreign matter X from being fed out from the coin introduction space 16 to the conveyance path 30 via the feeding port 21. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the foreign matter X mixed into the coin C from being taken into the device.

Further, according to the coin processing device 11, the blowing part 69 further blows out air to a position near the separating part 25 that is provided to protrude from the guide wall part 13 into the guide wall part 13 and separates the coins C. A foreign object X sandwiched between C and coins C can be separated from these coins C. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the foreign object X from being fed out from the coin introduction space 16 into the conveyance path 30 via the feeding port 21 while being sandwiched between the coins C. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the foreign matter X mixed into the coin C from being taken into the device.

Further, according to the coin processing device 11, since the foreign matter removal port 22 for removing foreign matter X from inside the guide wall portion 13 is further provided at a position facing the dispensing port 21 in the guide wall portion 13, the blowing portion 69 is connected to the discharging port 21. The moving foreign matter X can be effectively removed from the foreign matter removal port 22 to the outside of the guide wall 13 by the air blown out from the conveyance path 30 side into the guide wall 13 through the foreign matter removal port 22. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the foreign matter X mixed into the coin C from being taken into the device.

Moreover, according to the coin processing device 11, since the suction unit 54 is connected to the foreign matter removal port 22 and sucks the foreign material X from the foreign material removal port 22 by suctioning air, the foreign material 22 to the outside of the guide wall 13. Therefore, it becomes possible to further suppress the foreign matter X mixed into the coin C from being taken into the inside of the device. Since the foreign matter X is sucked through the foreign matter removal port 22 by air suction, the foreign matter X can be removed without contaminating the inside of the device.

Further, according to the coin processing device 11, the suction unit 54 sucks air from the foreign matter removal port 22 by driving the suction pump 51, and the blowing unit 69 sucks air discharged from the suction pump 51. Since the air is blown out, the suction pump 51 can be shared by the suction section 54 and the blowout section 69. Therefore, multifunctionality can be achieved while suppressing increases in the number of parts and costs.

Further, according to the coin processing device 11, since the air passage 71 from the foreign matter removal port 22 to the air outlets 63 and 67 of the blowing section 69 via the suction pump 51 is closed, dust etc. cannot be scattered inside the device. can be suppressed.

Moreover, according to the coin processing device 11, since the foreign matter collecting section 53 is further provided to collect the foreign matter X sucked by the suction section 54, the foreign matter X sucked from the foreign matter removal port 22 can be collected and collected all at once. can.

11 Coin processing device 12 Turntable 13 Guide wall portion 21 Feeding port 22 Foreign matter removal port 25 Separation section 30 Conveyance path 51 Suction pump 53 Foreign matter collection section (foreign matter collection means)
54 Suction part (suction means)
63, 67 Air outlet 69 Air outlet (air blowing means)
71 Air passage C Coin X Foreign object

Claims (7)

A rotary disk and
a guide wall that stands around the rotary disk and is formed with a payout opening for feeding out coins by rotation of the rotary disk;
a conveyance path for conveying the coins fed out from the feeding opening;
air blowing means for blowing air from the conveyance path side through the outlet into the guide wall;
A coin processing device comprising: The air blowing means includes:
The coin processing device according to claim 1, further comprising blowing air to a position near a separating section that is provided to protrude from the guide wall into the guide wall and separates coins. The coin processing device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a foreign matter removal port that is provided in the guide wall at a position facing the outlet and that removes foreign matter from inside the guide wall. The coin processing device according to claim 3, further comprising a suction means connected to the foreign matter removal port and sucking foreign matter from the foreign material removal port by suctioning air. The suction means is
By driving the suction pump, air is suctioned from the foreign matter removal port,
The air blowing means includes:
The coin processing device according to claim 4, characterized in that air discharged from the suction pump is blown out. The coin processing device according to claim 5, wherein an air passage from the foreign matter removal port to the air outlet of the air blowing means via the suction pump is closed. The coin processing device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, further comprising a foreign matter collection device that collects foreign matter sucked by the suction device.

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