JPH0152791B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a coin handling device for accumulating input coins and ejecting them one by one in public telephones, ticket vending machines, etc.

[Prior Art] As a conventional coin processing device, there is a coin shooter having a coin passage that guides coins and allows them to flow down sequentially;
A first stopper protrudes into the coin flow path in the middle of the coin flow path; a second stopper protruding into the road;
On the side plate of the coin shooter that defines the coin flow path,
an arm having a central portion pivotably supported and the above-mentioned and second stoppers provided at both ends;
openings for ingress and egress of the stoppers provided in the side plates to allow the stoppers to protrude into the coin flow path; It is known that the device includes a piezoelectric bimorph element as an arm drive means for causing the arm to see-saw around the above-mentioned pivot axis, and is capable of discharging coins that are continuously falling one by one (for example, in the patent application Akira
59-118255).

In the case of this type of conventional coin processing device,
The first and second stoppers are simply plate-shaped or rod-shaped.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, in this type of conventional coin processing device, a piezoelectric bimorph element is used as a drive means for the arm.

Using a piezoelectric bimorph element as the arm driving means in this way is very effective in downsizing the coin processing device and reducing power consumption.

However, the amount of displacement of the piezoelectric bimorph element is not so large. For this reason, in the case of conventional coin processing devices of this type, the see-saw movement of the arm by the piezoelectric bimorph element is often not performed sufficiently, and as a result, the stopper does not protrude sufficiently into the coin flow path, causing the coins to accumulate. Inconveniences occurred in that coins that should not have been ejected were ejected, or on the other hand, the stopper did not come off the coins and coins that should have been ejected were not ejected.

Furthermore, the driving force of the piezoelectric bimorph element itself is not so strong. For this reason, in the case of this type of conventional coin processing device, the driving force of the piezoelectric bimorph element overcomes the resistance force such as frictional force generated between the stopper and the coin when the stopper moves in and out of the coin flow path. In some cases, the accumulation and ejection of coins could not be performed reliably.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a coin processing device using a piezoelectric bimorph element, which is capable of reliably accumulating and discharging coins.

[Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, there is provided a coin shooter having a coin channel for guiding and sequentially causing coins to flow down, and a first coin shooter projecting into the coin channel in the middle of the coin channel. a stopper, a second stopper protruding into the coin flow path so as to lock a coin one upstream adjacent to the coin stopped by the first stopper, and defining the coin flow path. An arm having a central portion pivotably supported on a side plate of the coin shooter and having the first and second stoppers at both ends, and an arm for allowing the first and second stoppers to protrude into the coin flow path. Openings for ingress and egress of stoppers provided in the side plates, and arm driving means for causing the arm to see-saw around the pivot axis so that the first and second stoppers alternately protrude into the coin flow path. and a piezoelectric bimorph element as
In a coin processing device capable of discharging continuously flowing coins one by one, the first and second coins are
The stopper each has a rotating element that rotates in contact with the coin in the coin flow path, and each of the rotating elements rotates when the respective rotation element projects into the coin flow path. There is obtained a coin processing device characterized in that the rotating shafts of the rotating elements are respectively provided at both ends of the arm so as to reach deeper than the midpoint in the width direction of the coin flow path.

[Function] According to the coin processing device of the present invention, the arm is caused to see-saw around the pivot by the arm drive means made of a piezoelectric bimorph element, and the first and second coins provided at both ends of the arm are Stoppers alternately protrude into the coin flow path. As a result, coins are accumulated in the coin flow path, and the most downstream coins are discharged one by one. At this time, the first and second stoppers each have a rotating element,
Since each of these rotating elements rotates in contact with the coin, the resistance force when the first and second stoppers move in and out of the coin flow path is reduced. Therefore, the arm driving force may be small and can be sufficiently driven by the piezoelectric bimorph element.

On the other hand, when each stopper projects into the coin flow path, as long as the rotating shaft of the rotating element passes the midpoint in the width direction of the coin flow path, the weight of the coin moves the rotating element stopper into the coin flow path. As a result, each stopper projects deep into the coin flow path, so that coins are reliably accumulated. On the other hand, when each stopper retreats from the coin flow path, as long as the rotation axis of the rotating element passes the widthwise midpoint of the coin flow path,
The weight of the coin generates a rotational force in the rotating element in the direction of retracting the stopper from the coin flow path, and as a result, each stopper comes out of the coin flow path, so that
Coins are definitely ejected. As described above, in the case of the coin processing device of the present invention, coins can be accumulated and ejected reliably by moving each rotating element slightly back and forth with respect to the midpoint in the width direction of the coin flow path. Therefore, even if the see-saw movement of the arm caused by the piezoelectric bimorph element is small, coins can be accumulated and ejected reliably.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, 1 is a coin, and here it is a coin that has been sorted into one denomination by a coin sorting device (not shown) or the like provided upstream of this device. Reference numeral 2 denotes a shooter, which has a coin passage 3 formed to be slightly larger than the diameter and thickness of the coin, and is configured such that the coin 1 rolls upright from the right side in the figure and descends to the left side. Only one coin can be inserted into the coin flow path 3 of the shooter 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes an arm, which is rotatably attached to a side plate 5 defining a coin passage 3 of the shooter 2 by a pivot shaft 6. The axial direction of the pivot 6 is preferably horizontal or within an angular range that coincides with the inclination of the coin flow path. An upstream stopper 7 and a downstream stopper 8 are integrally provided at both ends of the arm 4 so as to project into the coin flow path 3. Stopper openings 9 and 10 are provided in the side plate 5 so that both stoppers 7 and 8 project into the coin flow path 3. Reference numeral 11 denotes a drive device which is composed of a piezoelectric bimorph element and causes the arm 4 to perform seesaw movement using the pivot 6 as a fulcrum. When no voltage is applied to the drive device 11, the stopper 8 on the downstream side of one end of the arm 4 projects into the coin flow path 3 and locks the coin 1a. At this time, the stopper 7 on the upstream side moves backward from the coin flow path 3. Therefore, the coin 1b tries to flow further down, but since the previous coin 1a is locked, it cannot flow down, and all subsequent coins are maintained in a stopped state. That is, coins are stored in the shooter.

Next, when a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric bimorph element 11 so that the stopper 7 drives the arm 4 in the direction of protruding into the coin flow path 3, the stopper 8 retreats from the coin flow path 3, so that only the coin 1a falls. , is ejected. At that time, the stopper 7 protrudes into the coin flow path 3, so the coin 1b is stopped,
Subsequent coins also do not fall. Thereafter, a reverse voltage is instantaneously applied to the piezoelectric bimorph element 11, whereby the stopper 8 projects into the coin flow path 3 and the stopper 7 retreats. As a result, the subsequent coins flow down, and the coin 1b contacts the stopper 8, stopping the flow of coins. The above operations are repeated in sequence.

The downstream stopper 8 provided on the arm 4 is
As shown in the figure, it has a roller 8a as a rotating element at its tip. Since the downstream stopper 8 has the roller 8a as described above, the width of the coin flow path 3 is set to G (slightly larger than the thickness t of the coin) as shown in FIG. Then, even if the displacement caused by the piezoelectric bimorph element 11 is smaller than G, if the displacement is (G-t/2), the coin acts to rotate the roller 8a, and moreover, the coin pushes the roller 8a out of the coin flow path 3. (Since the drive device 11 is a piezoelectric bimorph element, this displacement is not hindered.) As a result, the coin falls into the storage container below.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the piezoelectric bimorph element 11 that displaces the arm 4.
a and 11b are pasted together in a sandwich pattern with a metal conductor 11c in between, but for this measurement,
Even if a known piezoelectric bimorph is used, no limitations are imposed.

Other functions of the roller 8a will be explained. Fifth
In the figure, it is assumed that the piezoelectric bimorph element 11 is displaced as indicated by the black arrow, and the arm 4 is urged counterclockwise in the figure by the force F1. At this time, the coins 1a are supported by the stopper 8 and accumulated in the track.

First, a case will be described in which the stopper 8 does not have the roller 8a at its tip and is simply a plate. A clockwise force F4 is applied to the tip of the stopper due to the weight of the coin. The biasing force of the piezoelectric bimorph element is shown in Figure 6 (in Figure 6, the vertical axis is the magnitude of the force, the counterclockwise force is positive, the clockwise force is negative, and the horizontal axis is the travel distance δ of the stopper. As shown in (2), the coin accumulation state becomes unstable when F4 is large because it is weak near the displacement point. On the other hand, the roller 8 is attached to the tip of the stopper 8.
a, and as shown in FIG. 5, when the rotation axis of the roller 8a reaches deeper than the midpoint in the width direction of the coin flow path 3, the roller 8a is moved by the arrow A in the figure due to the weight of the coin 1a. A rotational force like this is generated, and as a result, F3 acts on the stopper 8 counterclockwise. The force relationship at this time is shown in FIG. F1＋F3＞F4
In this case, the coin 1a is stably supported.

Next, the ejection operation will be explained. The piezoelectric bimorph element 11 generates a large force F2 when the polarity of the applied voltage is reversed. Since the sum of this force and F4 is sufficiently greater than F3, arm 4 rotates clockwise as shown in FIG. As the arm 4 rotates, the force of the piezoelectric bimorph element 11 decreases as shown in FIG. , the coin 1a pushes the roller 8a out of the orbit, that is, the piezoelectric bimorph element 11
The coin is reliably ejected because it acts to rotate the arm 4 clockwise to compensate for the decrease in the generated force. The same applies to the roller 7a of the stopper 7 for blocking subsequent coins.

In this way, the end roller 8a of the stopper 8
compensates for the displacement and force generation characteristics of the piezoelectric bimorph element 11, normally supports the coin stably, and acts to ensure the ejection operation. Therefore, even a piezoelectric bimorph element with small displacement and generated force can be applied to the coin storage mechanism.

The above coin handling device can be used in the 10 yen and/or 100 yen coin storage section of the coin storage device of a public telephone, in which case the coin return shutter 12 shown in FIG. It is opened and the remaining coins are dropped into the return slot.

Although the present invention has been described above using a telephone, it is not limited thereto, and can also be applied to automatic vending machines for tickets, meal tickets, etc.

[Effects of the Invention] Although the coin processing device of the present invention uses a piezoelectric bimorph element as the arm driving device, it is possible to reliably accumulate and discharge coins.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof, and FIG. 3 is the same as that shown in FIG.
The line sectional view and FIG. 4 are perspective views of the piezoelectric bimorph element. Figures 5 to 8 are diagrams for explaining the action of the roller at the tip of the stopper, and Figure 5 shows the main points when the piezoelectric bimorph element is operated to project the stopper into the coin flow path. FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the acting forces in the state shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the acting forces in the state shown in FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the main parts, and a graph showing the relationship between each acting force in the state of FIG. 8 and FIG. 7. 1, 1a, 1b... coin, 2... shooter, 3
...Coin channel, 4...Arm, 5...Side plate, 6...
...Axis, 7...Upstream side (second) stopper, 7
a...Roller, 8...Downstream side (first) stopper, 8a...Roller, 9, 10...Opening, 11...
...Piezoelectric bimorph element.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A coin shooter having a coin channel that guides and sequentially causes coins to flow down, a first stopper that protrudes into the coin channel in the middle of the coin channel, and a first stopper that protrudes into the coin channel.
a second stopper that protrudes into the coin flow path so as to lock a coin that is adjacent to the coin stopped by the stopper, and a center portion of the side plate of the coin shooter defining the coin flow path. an arm that is pivotally supported and has the first and second stoppers at both ends; and stoppers that are respectively provided on the side plates to allow the first and second stoppers to protrude into the coin flow path; It has an opening for entry and exit, and a piezoelectric bimorph element as arm driving means for causing the arm to see-saw around the pivot axis so that the first and second stoppers alternately protrude into the coin flow path. In a coin processing device that is capable of discharging continuously flowing coins one by one, the first and second stoppers each rotate a rotating element that rotates in contact with the coins in the coin flow path. each rotating element has a
Each of the rotating elements is provided at both ends of the arm so that, when each of the rotating elements projects into the coin flow path, the rotation axis of each of the rotating elements reaches deeper than the midpoint in the width direction of the coin flow path. A coin processing device characterized by: