JPH03225585A - Coin sorter with coin lifting mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To collect foreign materials without fail by sending a false coin to the inside of a coin lift mechanism when a coin sensor decides the coin as a false coin. CONSTITUTION:The coins dropped down from a coin pay-out port 25a at the lower end of a selector main body part 2 are dropped onto a rotary disk 72 of a coin hopper part, and discharged from a coin discharging port, which is bored on a circular outer peripheral wall 716 surrounding the outer periphery of the disk, to a coin path one by one. The coins are sent to the side of a coin conveying belt part 8, lifted up to the upper end of the belt and returned from a coin returning port. When the small foreign material is put in from a coin inserting port, the a projection 72B of the rotary disk 72 of the coin hopper part 7 is rotated while repeatedly colliding a projection 723 of a diaphragm 721 from the coin pay-out port 25a, and the foreign material is dropped onto the diaphragm 721, dropped downward through a void 731 and collected to a dust box 725.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a coin sorting device used in a vending machine and the like, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a coin sorting device used in a vending machine, etc. The present invention relates to an improvement of a coin sorting device equipped with a coin lift mechanism that lifts up to a coin return slot provided therein.

[Prior Art] Vending machines and the like are equipped with a coin sorting device that sorts the inserted coins and stores them by denomination in order to determine whether the inserted coins are genuine or fake and to dispense change. . In this coin sorting device, the inserted coins are moved inside using their own weight, and therefore, the coins are configured to move from the upper end side to the lower end side. For this reason, the coin input port is necessarily set at the highest position of the device, whereas the coin return port is set at the lowest position of the device.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In a vending machine or the like that has a built-in coin sorting device with the second configuration, there is a difference in height between the coin input slot and the coin return/slot, and both of these are difficult to access by the product purchaser. They cannot be set at the same height, which is convenient for both. Therefore, the applicant used a coin lift mechanism that forcibly lifts the coins dispensed from the coin dispensing section of the coin sorting device to an upper position, and raised the coin return slot to the same height as the coin input slot. We are proposing a device with a structure that allows it to be set at any position.

Here, there is a risk that foreign objects other than coins, such as clips and insect pins, may be thrown into the coin slot by mischief or the like. Since such foreign matter is small, it is not detected by the sensor for determining whether the coin is genuine or false, and enters the coin lift mechanism through the slag chute. The coin lift mechanism includes a coin hopper that releases coins one by one.
The rack is provided with driving members such as coin conveying belts that extend vertically, and there is a high possibility that small foreign objects such as paper clips may enter gaps between these driving parts and become stuck there. If such a small foreign object becomes clogged, the proper operation of the drive portion may be inhibited, and there is a possibility that the returned coins may not be conveyed.

In view of this point, it is an object of the present invention to prevent foreign matter thrown in from the coin slot from entering the coin lift mechanism.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above problems, in the coin sorting device with a coin lift mechanism of the present invention, a foreign object collecting means for collecting foreign objects other than coins dispensed from the coin dispensing port is arranged.

Here, in a type in which the coin lift mechanism includes a coin hopper disposed below the coin dispensing port and is configured to receive fallen coins dispensed from the coin dispensing port by the coin hopper, The above-mentioned foreign matter collecting means may include a vibrating means that vibrates the coin hopper, and a dust box that is disposed below the coin hopper and communicates with the interior of the coin hopper.

In addition, the foreign object collecting means includes a dust box disposed below the coin dispensing port, and when a foreign object falls from the slug chute in a standby state, the foreign object is guided to the dust box side, and a coin sensor detects whether the inserted coin is a counterfeit coin or not. If it is determined that this is the case, the passage switching means may be configured to guide the coin to the coin lift mechanism.

[Effect]

In the coin sorting device with a coin lift mechanism of the present invention, foreign objects other than coins among the objects dispensed from the coin dispensing port are collected by the foreign object collecting means. Therefore, foreign matter is prevented from entering the coin lift mechanism.

In addition, in a coin hopper equipped with a foreign object collecting means consisting of a vibrating means and a dust box, foreign objects that are paid out from the coin dispensing port and fall into the coin hopper are vibrated by the vibrating means. The coins are separated from the coins in the coin hopper, shaken down into the dust box through a communication port formed at the lower end of the coin hopper, and collected therein. Therefore, the coins are not discharged from the coin hopper to the coin lifting means together with the coins.

Furthermore, in a device equipped with a foreign matter collecting means composed of a passage switching means and a dust box, the passage switching means is switched to the dust box side in the standby state, and the foreign matter is collected in the dust box, and the coin sensor Only coins determined to be counterfeit are sent to the coin lift mechanism. Therefore, foreign matter that cannot be detected by the coin sensor is prevented from entering the coin lift mechanism.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

14th day U1 box Figs. 1 to 3 show a coin sorting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

First, the overall structure of the coin sorting device of this example will be explained with reference to FIG. As shown in this figure, the coin sorting device 1 of this example is comprised of a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped device main body 2 with vertically long sides, and a coin lift mechanism 3 attached to one side of the main body 2.

A coin receiving port 2a is formed in the upper end surface of the device main body 2, and a coin dropping port 4a of a chute 4 for inputting coins that extends in the vertical direction is opened directly above the coin receiving port 2a.

A coin receiving opening 4b at the upper end of this chute 4 for inputting coins is oriented in a substantially horizontal direction, and this receiving opening 4b is connected to a coin receiving opening 5 into which coins can be inserted in a horizontally laid state. On the other hand, a coin return port 6 is arranged at the upper end of the coin lift mechanism 3, and this return port 6 is set at approximately the same height as the coin input port 5 described above.

A coin passageway is formed inside the device main body 2, through which coins introduced through the coin receiving opening 2a formed on the upper end face are transferred downward by their own weight, and there is a section in the middle of this coin passageway where coins are transferred downward. A coin verification mechanism 2 that determines the authenticity and denomination of coins.
1 and a distribution mechanism 22 for distributing coins based on the coin verification result by this coin verification mechanism. The coins distributed by the mechanism 22 are stored in a coin storage section 23 disposed below the coins.

The coin storage section 23 includes a coin storage tube for each denomination,
The inserted coin is stored in the coin storage cylinder of the corresponding denomination,
It is held in this. In addition, a slug chute 24 is arranged on the side of the coin lift mechanism 3 of the coin storage section 23, and coins judged to be unsuitable coins (counterfeit coins, deformed coins) by the coin verification mechanism 21 and coins determined to be unsuitable coins for verification are stored therein. Foreign objects such as clips and insect pins that are not detected by the mechanism 21 are dropped into the slag chute 24 by the mechanism 22. A coin dispensing mechanism 25 is attached to the lower end of the coin storage section 23, and this coin dispensing mechanism selectively dispenses the coins stored in the coin storage section downward. The lower end opening of the slag chute 24 is
It communicates with a coin dispensing port 25a of the coin dispensing mechanism 25, and the dispensing port 25a is formed on the lower end surface of the device main body 2.

FIG. 2 shows an outline of the internal structure of the coin lift mechanism 3 described above. As shown in the figure, the coin lift mechanism 3 is
Coin hopper portion 7 located directly below the coin dispensing port 25a
and a coin conveying belt portion 8 arranged in a substantially vertical direction.

Next, referring also to FIG. 3, the structure of the coin hopper portion 7 will be explained. The coin hopper portion 7 has a housing 71 having an inverted triangular cross section narrowing toward the lower end, and the lower end 11 of the housing 71 is located directly below the coin dispensing port 25a. A rotary disk 72 is rotatably installed on the back side inclined wall 712 of the lower end-to-upper end wall 712 so as to be located in the same plane as the inclined wall, and the outer periphery of the rotary disk 72 is An annular inner circumferential wall 716 having a circumferentially larger diameter than this disk, except for
surrounded by A motor (not shown) for rotating the rotating disk is arranged on the back side of the rotating disk.

Arc-shaped protrusions 72a are formed at three locations on the surface of the rotating disk at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction.

The annular inner circumferential wall 716 surrounding the rotating disk 72 has a coin ejection opening (not shown) extending in the tangential direction of the rotating disk at the eight coin conveying belt portions. It communicates with a coin passage 75 that guides the ejected coins to the lower end side of the coin conveying belt portion 8. A radially arranged guide member 76 is arranged above the surface of the rotating disk 72 to guide the coins toward the coin ejection opening.

Here, a diaphragm 721 having a substantially L-shaped cross section is disposed on the lower end side of the rotating disc 72 and faces the outer peripheral surface and surface side of the disc. It rests on the support part 711a, and one side is connected to the housing 71 via a coil spring 722.
1 side, which allows it to vibrate in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. A protrusion 723 protruding toward the outer circumferential surface is formed on the surface of the diaphragm 721 facing the outer circumferential surface of the rotating disk. Also, on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating disk 72,
These protrusions 72b and 723 are formed such that the rotating disk rotates while colliding the protrusion 72b on the outer peripheral surface with the protrusion 723 on the diaphragm side.
The protrusion amount is set. Next, a dust box 725 is attached to the lower side of this coin hopper portion 7. The lower part 26 between the upper ends of the dust box is located directly below the gap 731 between the rotating disk 72 and the diaphragm 721.

On the other hand, on the side of the coin conveying belt portion 8, a driving pulley 82 and a driven pulley 83 are arranged at the lower and upper ends of a vertically long housing 81, and a coin conveying belt 84 is disposed between them. The rack has been handed over.

A coin receiving port 81a that communicates with the coin passage 75 on the side of the coin hopper portion 7 is opened at the lower end of the coin conveying surface 84a of the belt 84, and the coins entering from the port are placed on the surface of the belt at regular intervals. The coin retaining protrusion 84b is engaged with the coin retaining protrusion 84b, and the coin is conveyed upward.

In the device 1 of this example configured in this way, the coin CN that falls from the coin dispensing port 25a at the lower end of the device main body 2 is
The coin falls onto the rotating disk 72 of the coin hopper part 7, is rotated by the rotating disk and centrifugal force is applied thereto, and then a coin discharge port (not shown) formed in the annular outer peripheral wall 716 surrounding the outer periphery of the coin is dropped. ) are released into the coin passage 75 one by one.

The coins are sent to the coin conveyance belt section 8 side through the coin passage 75 and the coin receiving opening 81a, and then passed through the conveyance belt 84.
The coin is lifted up to the upper end and returned to the outside through the coin return opening 6.

If a small foreign object that is not shaped like a coin, such as a paper clip or an insect pin, is inserted from the coin slot 5,
These foreign substances pass through the slag chute 24 and fall onto the rotating disk 72 of the coin hopper portion 7 from the coin dispensing port 25a. The rotating disk 72 has a protrusion 7 on the outer periphery of the rotating disk 72.
2b is rotated while repeatedly colliding with the protrusion 723 of the diaphragm 721. Due to the vibrations applied to the rotating disk, small foreign objects that fall onto the rotating disk 72 are
It is shaken downward and falls onto the diaphragm 721. This diaphragm 721 is supported by a coil spring 722, and is vibrated left and right every time a protrusion on the rotating disk side collides with the diaphragm 721. Therefore, the foreign matter that has fallen onto this diaphragm falls downward from this diaphragm through the gap 731 between this plate and the outer peripheral surface of the rotating disk. That is, the dust is collected from the lower end 26 of the dust box 725 into this box.

As explained above, in the device of this example, even if foreign objects such as paper clips and insect pins are thrown into the device, these foreign objects will fall into the coin hof bar from the coin dispensing opening and then fall into the rotating disk and the coin hoof bar. Due to the vibration of the diaphragm, the coins are shaken from a part of the coin hopper and dropped into the dust box.
It will be collected in this box. Therefore, it is possible to avoid harmful effects caused by foreign matter intrusion, such as the thrown foreign matter becoming stuck between the rotary disk and its outer circumferential wall, making it impossible to rotate the rotary disk. Further, it is also possible to prevent foreign matter from entering the coin conveying belt 84 side.

A coin sorting device according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

The basic configuration of the coin sorting device 91 of this example is the same as that of the first example above, and corresponding parts are given the same reference numerals and their explanations are omitted. In the lift mechanism 3, a return coin chute 92 that guides the coins dropped from the coin dispensing port 25a to the coin conveyance belt part 8 using its own weight is installed in place of a part of the coin hopper.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, this return coin chute 92 has an upper end opening 921 located directly below the coin dispensing port 25a,
The size is set to correspond to the coin dispensing opening 25a. Both side walls 922 define the upper end opening of this chute.
923 narrows downward, and a coin passage bottom wall 924 connecting them is formed at the lower end of these coin passage bottom walls 923. is tilted towards. The lower end of the return coin chute 92 partitioned in this manner is connected to a coin receiving opening 81 opened in the housing 81 of the coin conveying belt portion.
It is connected to a.

Here, a switching plate 93 is arranged at the upper end opening 921 of the chute located directly below the coin dispensing port 25a. This switching plate 93 is arranged directly below the lower end opening of the slag chute 24, and is connected to the lower end rotating shaft 931.
It is supported so as to be switchable between a first position shown by a solid line in the figure and a second position aligned with the front side wall 922 of the chute, as shown by a dashed line.

The end of this lower end rotating shaft 931 is connected to an operating rod 95a of a solenoid 95 via a link mechanism 94, and when the solenoid is in the OFF state, the switching plate is set to the first position, and the switching plate is in the OFF state. state, it is adapted to be switched to the second position.

On the other hand, a dust box 96 is attached to the front side wall 922 of the return coin chute 92.

This dust box 9 facing the above switching Fi 93
An opening 961 of a size corresponding to the switching plate 93 is cut out in the side wall portion of 6, and an inclined wall 962 that slopes downward in the dust box 96 continues from the lower end of this opening 961. .

Here, in the coin verification mechanism 21 of the main body part 2 of the device, a coin sensor is arranged to determine the authenticity and denomination of coins, but small foreign objects such as clips or insect pins that are different from the coin shape are cannot be detected by this coin sensor. Therefore, in the standby state, the solenoid 95 is turned off, the switching plate 93 is switched to its first position, and the above-mentioned foreign matter is guided to the dust box 96. Further, when coins stored in the coin storage section 23 are dispensed, the coins are guided to the coin receiving opening 81a without passing through the switching plate 93.

In the device of this example configured as described above, when it is determined by the coin sensor that a counterfeit coin has been inserted, the solenoid 95 is turned on, and the switching plate 93 is switched to the second position shown by the dashed line in FIG. The position can be switched. In this state, the opening 961 of the dust box 96 is closed by the switching plate 93 in this second position. Therefore, the coins (counterfeit coins) that have fallen through the slug chute 24 are guided to the return coin chute 92 side and sent to the coin conveying belt section 8 side.

On the other hand, in the standby state before inserting coins, the solenoid 95 is turned off, so the switching plate 93 is held in its first position, and the opening 961 of the dust box 96 is opened and the slug chute 24 is opened. A passage to the slug box 96 is formed directly below the slug box 96 . Therefore, foreign objects that are not detected by the coin sensor, such as insect pins and paper clips, that have fallen through the slag chute 24 are guided to the switching plate 93 and are guided to the opening 961 of the dust box.
It passes through and is collected into this. Thus, in this example,
Since the foreign matter is collected into the dust box by the switching operation of the switching plate, the foreign matter will not enter the coin conveying belt section 8 side.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the coin sorting device with a coin lift mechanism of the present invention, foreign objects other than coins among the objects dispensed from the coin dispensing port are collected by the foreign object collecting means. Therefore, foreign matter is prevented from entering the coin lift mechanism.

In addition, in a device equipped with a foreign object collecting means consisting of a coin hopper vibration means and a dust box, the coin hopper is vibrated to ensure that foreign objects such as paper clips are shaken off from a part of the hopper and stored in the dust box. be able to.

Furthermore, in a device equipped with a foreign matter collecting means composed of a passage switching means and a dust box, by switching the passage switching means, foreign matter can be collected into the dust box before it enters the coin lift mechanism. It becomes possible to reliably collect the

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is an external perspective view showing the device of the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the coin lift mechanism of the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is the device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view showing an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing an enlarged portion of the foreign matter collection mechanism of the device shown in the figure. [Explanation of symbols] 1... Coin sorting device, 2... Device main body, 3...
Coin lift mechanism, 4... Chute for inputting coins, 5...
- Coin input port, 6... Coin return port, 7... Coin hopper part, 8... Coin conveyance belt part, 25a... Coin dispensing port, 721... Vibration plate, 722... Coil spring, 72b, 723...Protrusion, 725...Dust box, 91...Coin sorting device, 92...Return coin chute, 93...Switching plate, 95...Solenoid, 96
...Dust box, 961...opening.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A coin slot, a coin verification means for determining the authenticity and denomination of the coins inserted through the coin slot, and sorting the inserted coins by denomination based on the results of coin verification by the coin verification means. a coin storage means for storing coins, a slug chute into which coins determined as counterfeit coins by the coin verification means are thrown, and a payout port for coins dispensed from the coin storage means and coins dispensed via the slug chute; a coin return port disposed above the coin payout port; a coin lift mechanism for transporting the coins dispensed from the coin payout port to the coin return port; and a coin lift mechanism that transports the coins dispensed from the coin payout port and dropped What is claimed is: 1. A coin sorting device with a coin lift mechanism, comprising a foreign matter collecting means for collecting foreign matter other than coins. (2) In the coin sorting device according to claim 1, the coin lift mechanism includes a coin hopper disposed below the coin dispensing port, and a coin hopper disposed below the coin dispensing port, and a coin hopper disposed below the coin dispensing opening. and a coin lifting means for receiving the coins at a lower end position and transporting the coins to the coin return port, the foreign object collecting means having a dust box and a vibrating means for applying vibration to the coin hopper, and the foreign matter collecting means having a dust box and a vibration means for applying vibration to the coin hopper, and the foreign object collecting means has a dust box and a vibration means for applying vibration to the coin hopper, and the foreign object collecting means has a dust box and a vibration means for applying vibration to the coin hopper, and the foreign object collecting means has a dust box and a vibration means for applying vibration to the coin hopper, and the foreign object collecting means has a A coin sorting device with a coin lift mechanism, characterized in that the device communicates with a lower end side inside the coin hopper. (3) In the coin sorting device according to claim 1, the coin checking means includes a coin sensor for determining authenticity of the inserted coin, and the foreign object collecting means is located below the coin dispensing port. If a foreign object falls from the placed dust box and the slag chute in a standby state, the foreign object is guided to the dust box side, and if the coin sensor determines that the inserted coin is a counterfeit coin, A coin sorting device with a coin lift mechanism, comprising passage switching means for guiding the coin to the coin lift mechanism.