JPH0220952A - Public telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To adopt an arbitrary receiving system such as low amount coin priority or high amount coin priority, etc., by selecting a combination of accumulated coins which become the total amount exceeding an unreceived speech rate and being the most approximate to the unreceived speech rate, when a speech has been ended. CONSTITUTION:A fraction of an unreceived speech rate is raised to a unit of the lowest coin amount, and a combination of accumulated coins corresponding to the unreceived speech rate is selected. In this case, in order from the highest coin amount, whether a coin exists or not is checked, and with regard to the combination in which its coin exists, a receiving permission frequency is derived by dividing the unreceived speech rate by the coin amount. This processing is executed successively extending from a high amount coin to a low amount coin, which coin and how many coins are to be received are decided, and coins of its combination are received. That is, when a speech has been ended, from the contents of the storage means and the unreceived speech rate, a combination of accumulated coins which become the total amount exceeding the unreceived speech rate and being the most approximate to the unreceived speech rate is selected by a selecting means, and in accordance with its result, coin receiving means 105A, 105B... are driven and the coins are received. In such a way, coins in an arbitrary position can be received.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a public telephone set in which a plurality of types of coins are mixed and stored in one storage track.

[Prior Art] In general, this type of telephone can have smaller components and a smaller scale than a phone that has multiple types of storage tracks depending on the type of coin used, and the user can also This has the advantage that there is no need to check each coin slot accordingly.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, conventional telephones have no choice but to store coins in the order in which they are inserted and in the order in which they are accumulated, and it is not possible to store coins in arbitrary positions. Therefore, it is not possible to adopt an arbitrary storage method such as giving priority to low-denomination coins or high-value coins, and it is also impossible to take into account damage to the user's change.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that can store coins at arbitrary positions with a simple track configuration while adopting a method of storing a plurality of types of coins in a mixed manner on one storage track.

[Means to solve the problem] The configuration of this invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 200 denotes a coin insertion passage, and a coin sorting means 201 determines whether or not the coins inserted therein are genuine coins, and the type thereof. 104a
, 104b, . . . are storage areas for sequentially and individually storing coins sorted by the coin sorting means 201, and each MFft
The types of coins accumulated in the area are stored in storage means 203. Reference numeral 204 denotes a selection means for selecting, from the contents of the storage means 203 and the uncollected call charges, a combination of accumulated coins that has a total amount equal to or greater than the uncollected call charges and closest to the uncollected call charges at the end of the call. 105a, 105
b... constitutes a part of the storage area, and the selection means 2
206 is a storage passage for storing the stored coins.

[Operation] The device configured as described above operates as follows. The inserted coin is first judged by the coin sorting means 201 as to whether it is a genuine coin or not and its type, and the judged coins are sequentially accumulated and stored individually in the accumulation areas 104a, 104b, . . . It is stored in means 203.

As described in detail on pages 10 to 11, this operation is performed by a coin sorting device, indicated by symbol 31 in FIGS. If it is a genuine coin, the denomination is determined, and the result is sent to the RA according to instructions from the CPU 22.
This is done by writing to M24. and 1 from page 14
As described in detail on page 6, when the coin is sorted and determined to be a genuine coin, the storage lever labeled 103c in FIG. 2 rotates, and the coin is guided to the storage track 104. be done. Since this storage track 104 is configured diagonally, the first coin is stored in the storage area marked 104A in FIG. 2, and subsequently sorted coins are stored in the storage area 104A. The accumulated coins pass over the coins that have been accumulated and are accumulated in the next accumulation area 104B. The next coins are accumulated one after another in the same way.At the end of the call, based on the contents of the storage means 203 and the uncollected call charges, the accumulated coins that have a total value that is greater than or equal to the uncollected call charges and closest to the uncollected call charges are selected. Combination selection means 20
4, and according to the result, the coin storage means 105A,
105B... is driven to store coins.

This storage operation is described in detail on pages 37 to 42, but to briefly summarize, round up the fraction of uncollected call charges to the lowest coin amount, and calculate the combination of accumulated coins corresponding to the uncollected call charges. Select.

At this time, the presence or absence of coins is checked in order from the highest coin amount, and for those coins present, the number of permitted collections is determined by dividing the uncollected call charges by the coin amount. This process is performed sequentially for coins with a high value to low nods, determines which coins and how much should be stored, selects the combination that causes the least damage to change, and stores the coins of that combination.

[Embodiment] Figure 1 is a circuit configuration diagram showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a central power supply type public telephone.

In this embodiment, by removing the handset (off-hook), a line is established with the exchange without waiting for coins to be inserted.
In addition, after a certain number of calls have been made, coins equivalent to the cost of the call are stored, which is the so-called loop-first/re-storage method, which is an example of a minimum-damage method that causes the least amount of damage to the user's change. The overall configuration is roughly divided into a normal telephone circuit section 10, a control section 20 that receives billing signals from an exchange (not shown) through this telephone circuit section 10 and controls coin storage, return, etc., and commands from the control section 20. The coin processing section 30 actually detects and sorts coins based on the information, stores them in a safe (not shown), or returns them. Also,
In addition, hook switch 40, relay control circuit 50,
It has a display circuit 60 and a numeric keypad keyboard 70 with a 3×4 matrix configuration.

The telephone circuit 10 is connected to an exchange (not shown) via a central office line through central office line terminals LL and L2.

The office line terminals LL and L2 include a bell circuit 11 that notifies that there is an incoming call, a billing signal receiving circuit 12 that detects a billing signal from the exchange, a diode bridge circuit 13,
A relay contact gs, a dial pulse sending and forced disconnection circuit 14, a power supply circuit 15, and a communication circuit 16 are connected in sequence.

In this configuration, in the on-hook state with the handset placed, the contact gs is in the state shown in the figure, but when off-hook in this state, the hook switch 40 is turned on, the relay control circuit 50 is activated, and the contact gs is in the state shown in the figure. (Hereinafter, this will be referred to as operating state or turning on, and returning to the state shown in the figure will be referred to as restoring or turning off.) As a result, dial pulses are sent and forced disconnection to station line terminals LL and L2. circuit 14 and call circuit 16
A DC loop is closed.

Here, a transistor is inserted in the circuit 14 in series with the DC loop, and although it is normally on, it is repeatedly turned on and off in response to a dial signal from the control section 20, thereby causing the switching The controller 2 sends a dial pulse to notify the other party's number, and also sends a dial pulse to the controller 2.
By receiving a continuous OFF signal from 0, the DC loop can be forcibly cut off while remaining in the OFF state continuously. The reason why the DC loop is closed and opened through the relay contact gs is that this public telephone uses a rear storage system, so even after the hook switch 40 is turned off, unstored calls can still be made. This is because a power source is required to settle charges. That is, the DC loop is forcibly cut off by the circuit 14 to notify the exchange that the call has ended, and after recovery, the circuit is turned on again and the settlement process is performed using the power of the power supply circuit 15 that is charged by the current from the exchange. It can be carried out.

Note that while the dial pulse is being sent, the telephone call circuit 16 is short-circuited by the dial shunt signal inputted from the control section 20, so that the caller is not given any sound reduction by the dial pulse.

Further, the power supply circuit 15 operates to reverse current blocking diodes Di, D2, . D3゜D4. Capacitors CI, C2, and C3 are individually charged via D5, and the terminal voltages of these terminals are supplied to the control section 20 and coin processing section 30 as power supply voltages VEE, VMG, and VDD, and the capacitor C1 is charged only when off-hook. However, the capacitors C2 and C3 are charged even when on-hook, thereby operating the power supply voltage VER which is always necessary for backing up the variable memory 24 of the control unit 20, which will be described later, and the electromagnet when processing coins. Therefore, a power supply voltage VEE, which is heavily consumed, is secured, and a power supply voltage VGM, which is heavily consumed to operate the electromagnet during coin processing, is secured.

Note that the diode bridge circuit 13 has a central line terminal LL,
This is to keep the polarity of the voltage applied to the circuit 14 and the power supply circuit 15 constant regardless of the polarity of the DC voltage from the exchanger applied between L2.

The control unit 20 includes a well-known input/output board 21, a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 22, and a fixed memory (hereinafter referred to as R
In addition to a variable memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM) 24, a timing circuit 25 and a variable condition setting circuit 26 are provided. This timing circuit 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes an oscillation circuit that generates a pulse with a period of 2, and is used to give an interrupt signal to the CPU 22 to interrupt the processing of the main program at 25m5, as will be described later. Further, the variable condition setting circuit 26 is for arbitrarily setting a unit call charge, that is, a tariff, for example in a local call, and is constituted by a digital switch or the like.

In the above configuration, the off-hook causes the hook switch 4 to
0 is turned on, the contact gs is operated by the relay control circuit 50, the DC loop is closed, and the power supply circuit 1
5 capacitor C1 is charged. As a result, CPU2
2 is supplied with the power supply voltage VDD, and the CPU 22
According to the processing program stored in M23, RAM2
A predetermined control operation is executed while writing and reading necessary data to and from the memory. This operation will be explained in detail later using a flowchart.

The coin processing unit 30 includes a coin sorting device 31, a storage magnet 32, first to fourth storage magnets 33A to 33D, and a return magnet 34.

Here, the coin sorting device 31 is for determining whether or not the inserted coin is a genuine coin that is scheduled to be used in this telephone, and the denomination of the coin if it is a genuine coin, for example. A coin outer diameter identification device equipped with an optical sensor consisting of a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element arranged opposite to each other across the falling trajectory of the coin; The coin material sorting device includes a detection coil consisting of a coupled oscillation coil and a reception coil. In other words, the former utilizes the fact that the time a falling coin interrupts the optical path between the light emitting and light receiving elements differs depending on the outer diameter of the coin, while the latter utilizes the fact that the peak value of the output voltage induced in the receiving coil is between the two coils. This method utilizes the fact that the coin sorting device differs depending on the material of the intervening coin, but in application of the present invention, the configuration of this coin sorting device is not limited to this, and any other sorting means can be used. , detailed explanation will be omitted.

Based on the sorting results of the outer diameter and material sorting device, it is determined whether the coin is a genuine coin or a counterfeit coin, and if it is a genuine coin, a sorting signal corresponding to the type is sent to the CP tJ 22 and stored in the RAM 2.
It is stored in a certain area of 4. For example, if the coins used are of four denominations: 100 yen, 50 yen, 20 yen, and 10 yen, a specific memory area of the RAM 24 is used as the coin input memory, and the lower 4 bits correspond to each denomination. let 10
If a sorting signal indicating a 0 yen coin is input, the coin will be ranked 5th from the top, and then the coins will be ranked 6th as the denomination decreases.

If you set the 7th and 8th bits to "1",
By looking at the contents of this coin insertion memory, it is possible to confirm which denomination of genuine coin has been inserted. Note that the signal line from the coin sorting device 31 to the control unit 20 is shaded and the number "4" is attached next to it to indicate that signal lines for sending out sorting signals are provided for each of the four denominations. It is something that The detection and sorting of inserted coins as described above is carried out every 25s+s in an edge detection processing step placed at the beginning of the interrupt processing program, as will be described later.

Storage magnet 32. First to fourth storage magnets 33
A to 33D and the return magnet 34 operate an accumulation lever, first to fourth storage levers, and a return lever, which will be described later, respectively, and are operated by an operation command signal from the control unit 20. A supplementary explanation of these will be provided later using FIG. 2.

The display circuit 60 is composed of, for example, a well-known 7-segment display type display and a display control circuit that controls the display, and the display circuit 60 also includes an unaccumulated call fee subtracted from the total amount of accumulated coins based on the control of the control unit 20. The value of the used coins, ie, credits, is displayed and notified to the caller. Although the configuration of the display 60 is not particularly limited, a liquid crystal display, for example, is suitable from the viewpoint of suppressing power consumption.

The overall circuit configuration of the public telephone according to the embodiment has been described above, and FIG. 2 shows an outline of its track configuration.

In FIG. 2, coins 101 inserted from a coin input port 100 are sorted by a coin sorting device 31 while moving down an inclined sorting track 102. The lower end of the sorting track 102 leads to a return port (not shown), and a storage lever 103 is disposed in the middle thereof.

The storage lever 103 is configured to be rotatable around a center line 103a, and although not shown in the figure, normally the rail portion 103b is brought out into the track through a hole drilled in the side wall of the track, and the entrance of the storage track 104 is opened. It's blocked. Therefore, the coin 101 normally passes over this rail portion 103b and is returned to the return slot as shown by arrow A. On the other hand, when the storage magnet 32 is excited by an operation command signal from the CPU 22 as described later, the armature 103C is attracted and rotates, and the rail portion 103b is retracted from the track. Therefore, the coin 101 enters the accumulation trajectory 104.

The storage tracks 104 correspond to the first to fourth storage levers 10, respectively.
5A to 105D and the first to fourth return levers 106A to
It is constituted by four storage areas 104A to 104D with 106D. Each of the storage levers 105A to 105D and the return levers 106A to 106D basically have the same configuration as the above-mentioned N stacking bar 103, and normally have their rail portions exposed within the track. Therefore, at the beginning, the accumulation trajectory 1
The coin 101 that entered 04 is stored in the highest accumulation area 104A.
is accumulated in Next, the coins entering the accumulation track 104 pass over the coins previously accumulated in the accumulation area 104A and enter the second accumulation area 104B.

Below, in order: 3. The fourth coin is the third. The fourth storage magnets 33A to 33D are excited, and the storage levers 105A to 33D are excited.
When 105D rotates and its rail portion retracts from the track, each coin is stored in a safe (not shown) as shown by arrow B. Regarding the return levers 106A to 106D, only the rail portion thereof is shown in the figure, but basically the above-mentioned storage lever 103 and storage lever 105A to
When the return magnet 34, which has the same configuration as 105D and is omitted in the figure, is excited, it rotates and the rail portion retracts from the track. In this case, each return lever 106A to 1
06D operate all at once in conjunction with each other, the accumulated coins fall on the rails of each storage lever 105A to 105D and are guided to the return slot as shown by arrow F. Note that the specific configurations of each of the magnets and levers are arbitrary.

Next, the operation of the apparatus having this configuration will be explained using the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 to 8. Note that the explanation here is limited to the range necessary for understanding the flow of processing unique to this invention, and details of well-known processing operations that are naturally required in control using a CPU are not provided. is omitted.

First, the overall flow of operations of the main routine shown in FIG. 3 and the interrupt routine shown in FIG. 4 will be explained.

As mentioned earlier, this fruit! In the example, an interrupt signal is input to the main routine shown in FIG. 3 at a cycle of 25 m5, and the routine shown in FIG. 4 is interrupted. Although the time actually required for processing the interrupt routine is not constant depending on the case, processing is started every 25IIIs, and the operation of returning to the main routine processing after passing through a series of steps is repeated.

That is, first, when the caller removes the handset from the on-hook state, the contact gs operates as described above, the DC loop is closed, and the supply of the power supply voltage VDD becomes possible.

Therefore, when the control section 20 is supplied with the predetermined power supply voltage VDD, it executes the initialization processing step 1000 in FIG. 3. That is, the CPU 22 accesses the ROM 23,
Each memory area of the RAM 24 and the buffer memory of the input/output board 21 are initialized. At the final stage of this initialization process, the operation of the coin sorting device 31 is permitted, and interrupts are permitted, and the timing circuit 25 is permitted to operate.
starts sending an interrupt signal. Therefore, from now on C
The P U 22 executes the process shown in the interrupt routine in FIG. 4 every 25e+s regardless of the progress of the main routine in FIG. 3.

Next, an outline of this interrupt routine will be explained.

In other words, when program execution shifts to interrupt processing,
First, edge detection processing step 2000 is executed.

Here, the telephone circuit unit 10 via the input/output boat 21
and each input signal input from the coin processing section 30, and stores data representing the results in a predetermined memory area of the RAM 24. For example, when a billing signal is input through the billing signal receiving circuit 12, the content of the billing flag memory is set to [1], and a billing flag indicating the arrival of the billing signal is set. Further, when a sorting signal is input from the coin sorting device 31, data indicating the insertion of the coin is written into the coin insertion memory as described above.

Next, the program is executed in dial control processing step 20.
01. That is, if there is an input from the push-button dial configured by the keyboard 70, it will be possible to determine whether the number is within the city or outside the city, whether it is a toll-free number or a prohibited number, etc.
Determination of the type of dial number, etc. is performed, but since it is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, a detailed explanation will be omitted.

When the dial control process is finished, the program execution is
Next, the process moves to display processing step 2002. Here, as described above, processing is performed to display the amount of credit on the display device constituting the display circuit 60, but since this is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, detailed explanation will be omitted.

Next, the program is executed in billing calculation processing step 20.
Move to 03.

Here, it is checked whether or not a flag is set in the billing flag memory, and if it is set, it is stored in the RAM.
The contents of the charging memory provided in a part of the RAM 24 are incremented by 1, and the contents of the uncollected call charge memory also provided in a part of the RAM 24 are updated. The contents of the billing memory are incremented by 1 each time a billing signal arrives, as described above, and are subtracted by 1 each time storage determination processing is performed, as will be described later. The uncollected call charge memory stores data indicating uncollected call charges. Therefore, the content is incremented by the tariff amount for each charge in this charge calculation processing step 2003, while, as will be described later, when coins are stored in the storage process, the amount of the stored coin area is subtracted. On the other hand,
If the billing flag is set as described above, the tariff is subtracted from the contents of the credit memory.

This credit memory is provided in a part of the RAM 24,
It stores data indicating credits. In addition,
If the credit becomes smaller than 0 as a result of the subtraction, the content of the hook processing flag memory provided in a specific area of the RAM 24 is set to "1", and a hook processing flag instructing a hook processing to be described later is set.

On the other hand, if the charging flag is not set, the program execution immediately proceeds to the next coin insertion processing step 20.
Move to 04.

In this coin insertion processing step 2004, as will be explained in detail later using the flowchart of FIG. 5, coin insertion is checked based on the contents of the coin insertion memory, and
The storage magnet 32 is operated under certain conditions to allow coins to be stored.

In the next timer processing step 2005, RAM2
According to the contents of the various timer request flag memory provided in 4, if the flag is set, the same <RAM
The contents of each timer provided in 24 are incremented by one. That is, while the timer request flag is set, the contents of the timer are incremented every 25 seconds, so that time can be measured based on the contents of this timer.

Program execution then moves to dialing processing step 2006. Here, in response to input from the keyboard 70, a dial number indicating the number of the called party is sent to the exchange and notified.

After completing the interrupt routine once in this way, the program execution returns to the main routine again and processing is resumed from the interrupted position.

Now, in the main routine shown in FIG. 3, when the initialization processing step 1000 is completed, the execution of the program shifts to the self-diagnosis processing step 1001. This system uses various sensors (not shown) placed on the coin accumulation track to self-diagnose the presence or absence of coin jams and other failures, but the actual output state of the Senna system is detected in the edge detection processing step. Conducted in 2000,
A flag indicating the diagnosis result is set in a predetermined flag memory. Therefore, the process itself in step 1001 is
The purpose of this is to check the contents of a predetermined flag register, but since it is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, a detailed explanation will be omitted.

If it is confirmed that there is no abnormality, the program execution moves to call permission processing step 1002, and return lever 1 is pressed.
06A to 106D are placed in a coin return prevention state so that coins can be accumulated.

Therefore, the calling party inserts a coin and performs a dialing process, and if the called party answers, the call state is entered.

Next, the execution of the program moves to step 1003 to determine whether or not the hook is on-hook, and if the continuation of the off-hook state is confirmed by checking the input signal from the hook switch 40, the program moves to the next storage determination step 1004. . On the other hand, if an on-footer is confirmed, the process moves to step 1008, where a hook processing flag is set, and then the process moves to hook processing step 1009, which will be described later.

In storage determination processing step 1004, coins to be stored are determined according to certain conditions, as will be explained in detail later using the flowchart of FIG.

Next, program execution moves to step 1005, where it is determined whether the hook processing flag is set. If the flag is not set, the process moves to the next storage processing step 1006.

In this storage processing step 1006, coins are actually stored based on the result previously determined in the storage determination processing step 1004, as will be described in detail later with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Next, program execution moves to step 1007, where it is determined whether the hook processing flag is set.
If the flag is set, hook processing step 100
Move to 9. If the flag is not set, the process returns to step 1003.

Thereafter, as long as the call continues effectively, step 1003
The processes from step 1007 to step 1007 are repeatedly executed.

In the hook processing step 1009, the transistor of the dial pulse sending and forced disconnection circuit 14 is turned off, thereby keeping the contact gs in the operating state.
The DC loop is cut only during wet S. As a result, the exchange can be notified of the end of the call, and the power circuit can proceed to the next clearing process step 10], O while maintaining the same state as when off-hook. It should be noted that at this point, the exchange is restored, so the billing signal no longer arrives.

In the settlement process step 1010, as will be explained later using the flowchart of FIG. 8, a combination of accumulated coins is selected to settle the uncollected call charges in a manner that minimizes the loss of change to the user. .

Next, the program is executed in storage processing step 1011.
to move to. Here, according to the combination selected in the settlement process step 1010, coins corresponding to the combination are stored. The program itself is similar to the storage processing step 1006 described above, and will be explained in detail later using the flowchart of FIG.

Program execution then moves to termination step 1012. Here, it is confirmed that the predetermined display time for the final return item determined in the payment process has elapsed, it is confirmed that the power supply voltage VGM has been charged to 4.5V or more, and the on-hook state continues. After confirming that the contact gs is restored, return magnet 34
and return the remaining coins to the return slot.

Next, as mentioned earlier, each step of the coin insertion process, the storage judgment process, the storage process, and the settlement process is explained in Figures 5 to 5.
This will be explained in detail using the flowchart in Figure 8, but in order to make it easier to understand, some particularly important memories are listed in the table below, and their configurations will be summarized and explained. . These memories, like the coin insertion memory, uncollected call charge memory, credit memory, etc. described earlier, are provided using specific areas of the RAM 24, and each of them except the storage memory has a capacity of 8 bits. are doing.

Table 1 First, the storage memory stores data indicating which denomination of coins are stored in each storage area of the storage track 104. Here, the storage capacity of the storage orbit 104 is 4
Since there are 4 storage memories (0) to (3),
4 storage areas 10 each sequentially from the highest level to the lowest level
Corresponding to 4A to 104D, data indicating the amount of each accumulated coin is stored. As mentioned earlier,
The 4fi coins used in this phone are 100 yen, 5
If the coins are 0 yen, 20 yen, and 10 yen, the data indicating the amount of these coins, that is, r64 in hexadecimal notation.
100 yen), "r32" (50 yen), "14J (20 yen>), and roAJ (10 yen)" are stored.

Next, the storage number memory stores data indicating how many coins of which denomination are stored in the entire storage trajectory, and each memory (0) to (4) stores the highest denomination coin. (100 yen) to low denomination coins (10 yen). In other words, the contents of the storage memory are rewritten for each denomination.

On the other hand, the storage number memory stores data indicating the number of coins to be stored among the accumulated coins by denomination, and each memory (0) to (4) stores the highest denomination coin (100 yen) to the lowest denomination coin (10 yen).

Further, the storage memory stores data indicating which storage position coins should be stored. In other words, the lowest to fourth bits in a 1-byte memory area correspond to each storage area from the highest to the lowest, and if the bit is "1", the coin at the corresponding storage position is stored. The contents of this storage memory, which indicate that coins should be stored, are the number of coins to be stored, which is indicated by the contents of the storage memory, and are assigned to the coins in each storage area. Assignment is performed, for example, from the top level. In other words, if 10 yen coins are stored in the lowest and highest positions, and the number of stored coins is 1, "1" is written to the lowest bit corresponding to the highest storage area of the storage memory. It will be done.

Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the coin insertion processing routine. As mentioned above, this coin insertion processing routine is
The interrupt routine starts every 25+*s and is executed following the billing calculation process. When the program execution moves to coin insertion processing, first step 201
At 0, a determination is made as to whether new specie has been inserted.

This is done by checking the data stored in the coin input memory. That is, if the bit corresponding to each denomination in the coin insertion memory is "1", it means that a genuine coin of that denomination has been inserted.

Now, the denomination itself does not matter, but if the input of specie is confirmed, the program execution moves to step 2011,
Determine whether the storage orbit is full. This can be determined by checking whether coin data has been written in the storage memory (3) corresponding to the lowest level.

If it is not full, the process moves to the next storage magnet processing step 2012, where the storage magnet 32 is moved to retract the storage lever 103 from the track and guide the inserted coins 101 falling from the transfer to the storage track 104.

If M products are permitted in this manner, then in coin insertion calculation processing step 2013, the contents of the credit memory, storage memory, and storage number memory are updated. That is, the coin amount of the newly accumulated coin is added to the contents of the credit memory, and the coin amount data is written to the storage area corresponding to the highest storage area among the storage memories in which no coin amount data is written, and then the corresponding coin amount data is added to the contents of the credit memory. The contents of the accumulated number of coins memory corresponding to the denomination are incremented by one.

On the other hand, if insertion of a genuine coin is not detected in step 2010, and if the accumulation track is already full in step 2011, the coin insertion processing routine is immediately ended without performing subsequent processing. In the former case, there are cases where no additional coins were inserted, and cases where coins were inserted but were pseudo coins.
Since the storage lever 103 does not operate, the item is returned directly to the return slot. Similarly, if the storage track is full, the inserted coins will be returned to the return slot as is.

Next, storage determination processing will be explained.

Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the storage determination processing routine. As described above, this storage determination process is performed when determining the coins to be stored while the call continues.

When the execution of the program shifts to storage determination processing, first, the contents of the storage memory are cleared in Stella 71020.

Next, in step 1021, it is determined whether a new billing signal has arrived. This determination is made based on whether the contents of the billing register described above are rQJ.

If the content of the charging register is not "0", that is, if a new charging signal arrives between the previous collection decision and the current collection '#Ig@ processing, the process proceeds to the next step 102.
In step 2, the content of the charge register is subtracted by "1", and the actual collection determination process starting from step 1023 is started. On the other hand, if the content of the charging register is [0], the collection determination processing routine is immediately ended without entering into the actual processing.

Therefore, when subtracting the contents of the billing register, first the presence or absence of accumulated coins is checked in order of the highest denomination coin, but first, in step 1023, it is determined whether processing for all denominations has been completed. However, if the coins have not been completed, in step 1024, the presence or absence of coins is checked by specifying them in order from the stored number memory (0) corresponding to the highest coin value.

Therefore, if it is confirmed in step 1025 that coins of the relevant denomination are accumulated, the next step 10
At step 26, the uncollected call charge is divided by the amount of the coin to find the number of permitted storages, that is, the maximum number of times that the coin can be collected for the number of times without exceeding the uncollected call charge.

Next, in step l027, the number of times is set to "0".
If it is r , the 100 yen coin cannot be stored yet.

On the other hand, if the storage permission number is not "o", data indicating storage is written in the storage memory in the next step 1028. In other words, first, the storage area for coins of the relevant denomination is determined from the contents of the storage memory. Confirm and set the bit of the storage memory bit address corresponding to the storage area to “1”.
”. For example, if 100 yen coins are stored at the bottom, the 5th bit from the top of the storage memory is set to "1". In this case, if the coin of the denomination is 2
As mentioned above, if more coins are accumulated, priority is given to higher ranking coins. Even if the number of allowed storage times is "2" or more, the allocation will be given to the highest priority, but if the tariff is small, less than the minimum amount of coins, and the interval between the arrival of billing signals is long enough, calls will not be accepted. The number of times this storage is permitted during the continuation is likely to be limited to approximately 0 or 1.

On the other hand, if it is confirmed in step 1025 that there is no accumulation of coins of the relevant denomination, the program execution moves to step 1023, where the same process is performed for coins of lower denominations, and all denominations are When the consideration is completed, this storage judgment routine ends. Therefore, to summarize this storage determination process, for the coin with the highest value among the accumulated coin amounts, if the uncollected call charge exceeds the coin amount, it is determined that the coin will be stored.

Next, storage processing will be explained.

Warm View 1 FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the storage processing routine. As mentioned above, this storing process is performed after the accumulated coins to be stored are determined in the storing judgment process or the clearing process described in detail below, and data indicating the determination result is written in the storing memory. This is done when coins are actually stored based on the data.

When the program execution moves to storage processing, step 1
At 030, it is determined whether the contents of the storage memory represent storage. That is, if any of the lower 4 bits of the storage memory is "1", it is known that the coins in the corresponding storage area should be collected.

Therefore, if data indicating storage is stored,
Continuing in step 1031, "1" in the storage memory is
” Activate the storage magnet in the storage area corresponding to the bit. As a result, the storage lever of the storage track is retracted from the track, and the storage coins are stored in the safe. in this case,
Even if there are two or more stored coins, they are stored at the same time.

If the coins are stored in this way, then step 1
At 032, the contents of the storage memory corresponding to the stored coins are cleared. That is, for example, the 10 stored at the bottom
If a 0 yen coin is stored, the contents of the M product memory (3) change from "64" to "00" in step 1032.
' can be rewritten as '.

Next, in step 1033, the amount of the collected coins is subtracted from the uncollected call charges, and then in step 1034, the contents of the storage memory corresponding to the denomination of the stored coins are subtracted by the number of stored coins.

On the other hand, if it is confirmed in step 1030 that no data indicating storage is stored in the storage memory while the call is continuing, the storage processing routine is immediately terminated without performing any subsequent processing.

Therefore, the settlement process will be explained next.

Note 141 Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the settlement processing routine. As mentioned above, this settlement process is performed after the call ends, that is, after the end of the hook process step 1009, in order to determine the combination of accumulated coins to settle the uncollected call charges so as to minimize the loss of change for the user. belongs to.

When the program execution moves to the settlement process, Stella 71
At 040, a process is performed to round up the fraction of the uncollected call charge to the unit of the lowest coin amount.

That is, although the uncollected call charge is not necessarily an integral multiple of the minimum amount in coins, the amount that can actually be collected is based on the minimum amount in coins. Specifically, it can be calculated by dividing the uncollected call charges by the minimum amount in coins, and if there is a remainder, multiplying the quotient itself by the minimum amount in coins.

Next, in step 1041, a combination of accumulated coins corresponding to the uncollected call charges is selected based on data indicating the uncollected call charges stored in a working memory provided in a specific area of the RAM 24.

That is, first, the presence or absence of coins is checked in order from the highest denomination coin. First, in step 1042, it is determined whether or not processing of all denominations has been completed. If not, in step 1043, the highest denomination coin is checked. The storage memory (0) corresponding to a coin is designated in order, and the operation of checking the presence or absence of a coin begins.

Therefore, in step 1044, if it is confirmed that coins of the relevant denomination are accumulated, step 1
At 045, the uncollected call charge as the content of the working memory is divided by the coin amount, and the number of allowed collections is calculated.
In other words, the maximum number of coins that will not exceed the uncollected call charges even if the coins are stored the specified number of times is determined.

However, in reality, it cannot be stored unless there is actually that much accumulation. Therefore, in step 1046, it is determined whether the number of stored sheets is greater than the number of storage permissions.

In the first case, if the accumulated number is equal to or greater than the number of permitted storages, in step 1047, the total amount of coins for the number of permitted storages is subtracted from the uncollected call charge, and the coins of the relevant denomination are assumed to have been stored. The remaining uncollected call charges are calculated.

On the other hand, in the second case, if the number of coins accumulated is less than the permitted number of coins to be stored, in step 1048, the total amount of coins is subtracted from the uncollected call charges by the number of coins that can actually be stored.

After one of the above subtraction processes is completed, in step 1049, data indicating the number of stored sheets is written in the storage memory, that is, in the first case, the number of storage permissions is written as is, and in the second case, the accumulated number of sheets is written, respectively. .

Next, in step 1050, it is determined whether or not the uncollected call charge becomes zero as a result of the subtraction, and if it is zero,
If the value is not zero, the process moves to the next step 1051, but if it is not zero, the process returns to step 1042 and the same process is repeated for successively lower denomination coins.

Note that if it is confirmed in step 1044 that there is no accumulation of coins of the denomination, the execution of the program immediately moves to step 1043 to perform processing on coins of lower denominations.

As a result, if the processing for all denominations is completed even though the uncollected call charges are not exactly zero, that is, if there is no combination of accumulated coins that exactly corresponds to the uncollected call charges, the program is executed from step 1042 to 1
052, the minimum coin amount is added to the uncollected call charges, and the uncollected call charges after the addition are processed in step 104.
Repeat the same process as above from step 1. As a result, if it is still not possible to select a combination of accumulated coins with an amount that matches the uncollected call charges, the minimum amount of coins is further added and the process is repeated.

If a combination of accumulated coins that matches the uncollected call charges is selected in this way, that is, if the collected call charges become zero only as a content of the working memory in step 1050, the program execution moves to step 1051. Then, according to the storage number memory and storage memory contents,
The storage data is written to the storage memory. As mentioned above, this is a task of allocating the number of stored coins for each denomination to each coin actually stored as indicated by the contents of the storage memory, and the allocation is performed with priority given to the top coins.

Therefore, for example, the accumulated coins are 20 yen from the top,
If it is 20 yen or 100 yen, each storage memory (0) to (3
> Contents are '14J (20 yen)'14J, respectively.
'64J (100 yen), rooJ. On the other hand, the contents of storage number memory (0) to (3) are rl
", ro", rl", roj, that is, if one 100 yen coin and one 20 yen coin should be stored, the third 100 yen coin from the top and the 20 yen coin from the top
It is decided that the yen coins should be stored, and the second 20 yen should be returned. As a result, data with the least significant bit and the third bit from the least significant being "1" is written into the storage memory.

After the combination of accumulated coins to be stored is determined in this way and data indicating the combination is written into the storage memory, the program execution moves to step 1011 and the storage process described above is performed.

For the movements shown in Figures 1 and 2 above the peritoneal membrane of the salmon, the third
This embodiment has been explained in detail using the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 8 to 8, and as is clear from the above, this embodiment has the following effects.

That is, while the call is continuing, the coins are stored only when the uncollected call charge exceeds the amount of the most expensive coin among the accumulated coins, and especially after the call ends,
Since a combination of accumulated coins that is equal to or greater than the uncollected call charge and has a total value closest to the uncollected call charge is selected and stored, damage to the user's change can be minimized.

In addition, by simultaneously operating the storage levers in the storage area of the accumulated coins that correspond to the selected combination and storing each accumulated coin at the same time, quick payment processing is possible and the usage rate of the telephone can be improved. .

Furthermore, in order to operate the accumulation lever 103 only when the inserted coin is a genuine coin, the accumulation lever 103 is set to 1, that is, only genuine coins are stored in the orbit 1.
04, the subsequent storage process can be carried out smoothly.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a distinction signal indicating the insertion of specie coins is input into the CPU, and an operating command is given from the CPU to the storage magnet under certain conditions to move the storage lever, thereby permitting the M product. However, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the storage lever is moved by giving the sorting signal indicating the insertion of genuine coins to the storage magnet as an operation command signal via a dedicated logic circuit.In that case, for example, when the storage track is full, In such a case, the gates constituting the logic circuit may be opened by a signal from the CPU.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a storage lever that is always closed is provided, and the M8 lever is opened to permit storage only in response to the insertion of specie coins. However, the present invention is not limited to this. , a method may be used in which the entrance to the storage track is always open and all input coins are stored as long as the storage track is full and does not overflow. It is sufficient to memorize it and process the coin to be returned unconditionally.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, only the method of settling the change so that the damage to the user is minimized has been described, but the method is not limited to this, and regardless of whether the call is ongoing or after the end of the call. It is possible to apply this method to any storage method, such as giving priority to low denomination coins or high denomination coins. Therefore, a pre-accumulation method may be used in which a certain amount of coins is first accumulated in response to the arrival of a billing signal, and a call is permitted for a time corresponding to the amount of coins accumulated.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, each coin is fixed in each accumulation area by the return lever, and all accumulated coins are returned by operating the return lever, but in order to fix the portion M of each coin, A stopper may be provided and the return may be performed using a flapper.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the second and subsequent coins are configured to transfer over the previously accumulated coins and reach the M pile position. If there is a large difference and there is a risk that it will not fall smoothly, use guide levers 107A-107D as shown in Figure 9.
It is effective to provide

In FIG. 9(a), for example, the guide lever 107D is configured to be rotatable around the center line 107Da, and is normally moved by the arrow a by the weight 107Db as shown in FIG. 9(C).
As shown in FIG. 1, the lower end 107Dc comes out into the track through a hole drilled in the track side wall 108a, and the guide portion 107Dd is retracted from the track.

On the other hand, when a coin enters here, the coin resists the force exerted by the weight 107Db due to its own weight.
Push up 07Dc. As a result, the guide lever 10
7d rotates in the opposite direction to the arrow a, and when the coin reaches the rail portion of the storage lever 105D as shown in the figure <b>, the guide portion 107Dd is placed between the track side walls 108a and 108b. It becomes a shape. This is guide lever 10
The same applies to 7A to 107C. Therefore, subsequent coins can smoothly transfer and fall on the flat upper surface of the guide lever at the higher storage position than the one in which the coin was previously stored, and can reach the storage area.

Furthermore, an optical sensor may be provided to detect and confirm the accumulated coins in each accumulation area.

As explained above, this invention selects a combination of accumulated coins that is equal to or greater than the uncollected call charge at the end of a call and is closest to the uncollected call charge, and Since the corresponding coins are stored individually,
This has the effect of minimizing damage to the user's change.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a public telephone according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the structure of the coin track of the public telephone of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram of the public telephone of FIG. 1. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an interrupt routine program, FIG. 5 is a flowchart 1 showing an example of a coin insertion processing routine program, and FIG. 6 is a storage judgment routine. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a storage judgment routine program; FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a settlement processing routine program; FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing another trajectory configuration; The figure is a block diagram for explaining the invention in detail. 10...Telephone circuit, 20...Control unit, 21...
...I/O boat, 22...Central processing unit, 23
・・・Fixed memory, 24・Variable memory, 30...
Coin processing section, 31... Coin sorting device, 33A-33
D...Storage magnet, 34...Return magnet, 104...Storage track, 104A-104D storage area, 105A-105D...Storage lever, 106
・・・Return lever

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A public telephone configured to store a plurality of types of coins in a mixed manner in one storage track, comprising a coin sorting means for sorting out whether or not an input coin is a genuine coin and its type; a plurality of storage areas for individually storing later coins; a storage means for storing the type of coins accumulated in each storage area; a selection means for selecting a combination of accumulated coins that is equal to or greater than the charge and has a total value closest to the uncollected call charge; and individually storing coins forming part of the accumulation area and corresponding to the combination selected by the selection means. A public telephone set comprising a plurality of coin storage means.