JPH0348386A - Coin deciding means - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the constitution of the coin deciding device and to inexpensively manufacture the device by arranging two contacts to by short-circuited by a coin and deciding the sort of the coin from the position of a fixed contact coming into contact with a movable contact plate when the contacts are short- circuited. CONSTITUTION:A coin loaded from a hopper part A is stored in a coin storing part 8a on rotary plate 8 obliquely arranged so as to be rotated and transferred to a measuring part B and the movable contact plate 12a arranged on the measuring part B is rotated by the carried coin and contacted and connected with one of the fixed contacts 13a arranged correspondingly to the size of the coin. When the two contacts are short-circuited by the coin, the size of the coin can be decided and the sort of the coin can be decided in accordance with the position of the fixed contact 13a coming into contact with the plate 12a. Even when the device is simply constituted, the device can be comparatively accurately and inexpensively manufactured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a coin discrimination device that discriminates the type of coin from the maximum width of the coin.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional coin discrimination devices include those used in coin lockers and vending machines. this is,
Falling coins are sorted by a sorting plate with holes of a predetermined size, and the coins are distinguished based on a combination of coin weight and material (magnetic or not).

However, with this coin discrimination device, it is difficult to identify a large number of coins in a short time, and its uses are limited.

Therefore, an optical method used in banks and the like has been developed to quickly identify the types of a large number of coins.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, the coin discriminating device using the above-mentioned optical means requires high precision, resulting in a high product cost, and is not suitable as a coin discriminating device for a toy, for example, a piggy bank.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is that even if it has a simple structure, it can be manufactured with relatively high precision and at low cost, and that it can be attached to toys such as piggy banks. To provide a coin discrimination device suitable for

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention has been made to achieve the above-mentioned object, and the means for achieving the above-mentioned object is to provide a coin measuring section which is disposed diagonally within a coin measuring section into which coins input via a hopper section fall and are stored, and which is rotated by a motor. A coin storage hole capable of storing a coin of the largest diameter is formed in the plate, and a movable contact plate is disposed on the locus of movement of the coin storage hole by a coin in the coin storage hole, and the movable contact Fixed contacts are placed in contact with the displacement of the plate and correspond to the size of the coin,
Furthermore, two contacts short-circuited by a coin are arranged at a position where the movable contact plate has finished being displaced by the coin, and these contacts are separated from the position of the fixed contact with which the movable contact plate is in contact when the movable contact plate is in the short-circuited state. It is designed to determine the type of coin.

[For production]

The coin discriminating device of the present invention stores coins input from a hopper section in a coin storage section of a rotating rotary plate that is arranged diagonally, and transfers the coins to a measurement section, and a movable contact arranged in this measurement section. The contact is rotated by the transferred coin and brought into contact with one of the fixed contacts arranged corresponding to the size of the coin, and at this point the two contacts are short-circuited by the coin. The size of the coin is determined based on the position of the fixed contact that the movable contact is in contact with when the coin is pressed, and the type of coin is determined.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line Vl-VI in FIG.

In Fig. 4, l is the main body of the piggy bank, which is formed into a substantially regular cube, and the size of the hopper part A into which coins are thrown and the size of the thrown coins that slide down from the hopper part A are sequentially measured. A coin measuring section B1 stores a predetermined amount of coins from the coin measuring section B, and a coin storage section C having a door that opens when the savings amount reaches a preset target amount and a battery are stored therein. It consists of a battery storage section D.

Next, each of the above-mentioned parts will be explained in detail.

First, to explain the hopper part A, a cover plate 2 is fixed to the upper end of the main body l, and a 1/4 area portion is cut out. On the board 2, there is a mode switching button 2a for switching the mode of the current savings amount, target setting amount, input amount, clock, etc., and when the mode switching button is operated, the target setting amount can be entered manually and the clock setting amount can be changed manually. Time adjustment or hopper section A
A set/start button 2b for starting the calculation of the coins inserted into the machine, and a display 2c for displaying information according to the mode described above are formed. Further, in the cut arrow part of the lid plate 2, there is a hopper body 3 having three sides inclined toward the center and a substantially V-shaped opening 3a in the center, which is inclined from the end of the temporary lid 2. It is detachably attached to the slope 2d. Incidentally, the coins put into the hopper body 3 slide on the slope of the hopper body 3 and fall into the coin measuring section B through the opening 3a. Further, the three inclined plates of the hopper body 3 and the approximately V-shaped opening 3a provided in the center prevent a large amount of coins from falling into the coin measuring section B at once.

Next, to explain the coin measuring section B, there is a support plate 4 fixed diagonally to the main body 1, a semi-cylindrical coin anti-slip plate 5 fixed to the lower surface of the lid plate 2, and the support plate 4. 4, a rotary plate 8 is rotatable via a motor 6 and a reduction gear train 7, and a coin passage prevention plate 9 is disposed on a part of the upper surface of the rotary plate 8 with a slight gap therebetween. is installed.

A concave i4a is formed on the upper surface of the support plate 4 except for the coin drop hole 4c, and a concave i4a is formed on the upper surface of the support plate 4.
A slope 4b is formed behind c (on the upstream side in the rotational direction of the rotary plate 8), and a coin pushing piece 4d is attached to the front of the coin drop hole 4c, which is biased by a spring and always projects upward.

Additionally, coin storage holes 8a are formed at several locations (four locations in the illustration) concentrically upstream of the rotary plate 8 described above and are large enough to accommodate many types of coins, for example, 500 yen to 1 yen coins. At the same time, a coin moving protrusion 8h that can move within the groove 4a of the support plate 4 is formed on the back surface between the coin storage holes 8a. Furthermore, a large number of concentric light passage holes 8C are formed in the center of the rotating plate 8.

A light emitter 1O is attached to the support plate 4 side at a position facing one of the light passage holes 8c, and
A light receiver 1l is attached to a coin passage prevention plate 9 located between the light emitter 10 and the rotary plate 8, and is designed to examine whether the rotary plate 8 is rotating normally. That is, when the rotary plate 8 is rotating normally, the light receiver I
The light from O passes through the light passage hole 8C at regular intervals to the receiver 1.
This can be determined from the fact that it can receive light at 1.

In addition, conductive contact plates 5a are provided at two locations on the coin anti-slip plate 5.
is attached, and a return plate 5b is formed on the upper side in the rotational direction for returning downwardly coins that have moved on the rotary plate 8 without entering the coin storage hole 8a of the rotary plate 8.

Therefore, when a coin E is dropped into the hopper section A, the coin E
slides on the hopper plate 3 and falls onto the rotary plate 8 through the opening 3a. In this state, when the start button 2b is pressed, the motor 6 is driven and rotates the rotary plate 8 via the gear train 7, so that one of the coins that has fallen onto the rotary plate 8 is stored in the coin storage hole 8a. It is transferred to the slope 4b of the support plate 4. Since the coin that has reached the slope 4h leaves the coin storage hole 8a, it does not move due to the movement of the coin storage hole 8a, but as the rotary plate 8 rotates, the coin movement protrusion 8b reaches the coin, and therefore From now on, the coin will be moved by the coin moving projection 8b and ejected from the coin drop hole 4C. In addition, the coin storage hole 8 of the rotating plate 8
Coins that are transferred while riding on the rotating plate 8 without being placed in the coins are prevented from being transferred by the coin passage prevention plate 9. Furthermore, the coins that are transported on the outer circumference of the rotary plate 8 come into contact with the return plate 5b and are returned downward by the reaction of the centrifugal force.
Which one is coin storage hole 8! It is designed to enter. Also,
If an abnormally large amount of coins are input into the hopper section A, the weight of the coins may overload the rotary plate 8 and damage the motor 6. Due to the presence of the coin, the two contact plates 5a become electrically conductive, and this is used to operate a buzzer or the like to issue an alarm. and,
At this time, the hopper plate 3 is removed and the coins inside are taken out. In addition, if the rotary plate 8 stops due to a coin jam, the light from the light emitter 1O will not reach the light receiver II, or will continue to be received, so in this state, the motor Forcibly cut off the power to 6.

However, before the coin transferred by the rotation of the rotary plate 8 is discharged from the coin drop hole 4c, the maximum width of the coin is measured and it is determined how many yen the coin is. Details of the structure of the part that distinguishes coins are shown in Part 8.
This will be explained with reference to FIG.

The means for measuring the maximum width of a coin includes a rotating arm 12 whose approximately center is rotatably supported on the back surface of the support plate 4, and a movable contact plate 12a attached to one end of the rotating arm l2. A printed circuit board 13 having a number of fixed contacts 13a corresponding to the types of coins to be slid, and a slope 4b of the support plate 4.
It is composed of two contacts 14a and +4b which are short-circuited by the side surface of a moving coin and detect the passage of a coin. A roller 12b rotatably attached to the other end of the rotating arm l2 projects into the coin passage from an arcuate hole 4C formed at the terminal end of the slope 4b of the support plate 4. Further, the rotating arm l2 is biased by a coil spring 12c so that the roller 12b rotates toward the center of the support plate 4.

As the rotary plate 8 rotates, a coin moves along the slope 4b via the coin moving protrusion 8b, and one end of the coin comes into contact with the contact 14a and is locked, and the other end is held against the rotary arm l.
The rotating arm 12 is rotated clockwise as shown in FIG. 8 against the spring force of the coiled spring 12c. When the rotating arm 12 is rotated, the movable contact plate +28 moves on the fixed contact 13a.

Then, at the position where the rotating arm l2 is maximally rotated by the maximum diameter portion of the passing coin, the movable contact plate 12a
contacts the fixed contact 13a corresponding to the type of coin.

Further, at this time, one end of the coin that has been locked by the contact 14a simultaneously contacts the contact +4b when passing through the maximum diameter portion, and the coin short-circuits the contact 14a and the contact 14b. The side of the coin shorts between the contacts 14.

A signal from the short-circuit between the contacts If and 14b and a signal from the fixed contact 13a at the position where the movable contact plate 12a is in contact are input to a microcomputer to be described later. Therefore, the microcomputer has contacts 14a, l
The size of the coin, that is, the type of coin, is determined based on the signal from the fixed contact 13a when the terminal Jb is short-circuited. Next, to explain the above-mentioned coin storage section C, the coins whose type has been determined from the coin size in the coin counting section B are ejected from the coin drop hole 4C, so there is an inclined plate that receives the coins. 15 is fixed below the main body l. The main body 1 at the lower part of the inclined plate 15 has two doors 16. 17 is attached so that it can be opened and closed.

This door16. Reference numeral 17 is one that is automatically released when the savings amount reaches a preset target amount, and this structure will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

The rotating plate 8 described above is integrally formed with a flat gear 8d that meshes with the gear train 7 described above, but this flat gear 8d rotates in the forward direction (in the direction of the solid arrow, that is, when coins are measured). A clutch gal 18 is movably attached to the back surface of the support plate 4, and is not engaged when rotating in the opposite direction (in the direction indicated by the dashed arrow). Further, on the back surface of the support plate 4, a clutch gear 18 is provided with a flat gear 8d.
A driven gear 19 is attached that is engaged with the clutch gal 18 and rotated in the direction of the dashed arrow when the clutch gal 18 is engaged with the clutch gal 18.

A spring 19a is engaged with the driven gal 19, and the spring 19a is biased in a direction opposite to the direction of the arrow.
are integrally formed.

On the other hand, a locking rod 20 is attached to the inner surface of the main body 1, and is rotated in contact with the operating rod +9b which moves when the driven gear 19 is rotated. And this locking rod 2
The tip of 0 is the key 21 shaped on the back of the door 16 mentioned above.
, and prevents the door l6 from opening. In addition, door 1
Since the joint portion of the door 7 with the door 16 is located inside the door 16, the door 17 is configured not to be opened unless the door 16 is opened. Also, door 16. There are protrusions 16a and 17a on the back side of 17, and doors +6 and l7
It is in contact with a leaf spring-shaped switch 22 that detects that the switch is opened. Furthermore, a return spring 24 is engaged with the lock rod 20.

When the savings amount reaches the target amount and the motor 6 rotates in the reverse direction, the flat gear 8d of the rotary plate 8 rotates in the reverse direction and the clutch gear l8
connects the flat gear 8d and the driven gear 19. As a result, the driven gear 19 is rotated against the spring force of the spring 19a, displacing the operating lever +9b from the solid line position in FIG. 7 to the broken line position. Accordingly, this movement causes the locking rod 20 to rotate and disengage from the key 21, opening the door 16, 17 and allowing the coins inside to slide out.

In addition, door 16. Since the switch 22 is turned off at the same time as the switch 17 is opened, the bank account balance display function is reset.

Next, the battery storage part D will be explained with reference to FIG.
This battery storage part D is a battery case 23 that is integrally formed on the bottom plate 23! and a battery case lid 23b. The battery case 23a houses a battery that drives the motor 6 and a battery that drives the microcomputer.

Next, the overall operation will be explained with reference to the block diagram in FIG. 10 and the flowchart in FIG. 11.

In addition, among the reference numerals in FIG. 10, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 9 indicate the same parts, and the explanation will be omitted. And in the figure,
25 indicates an electroacoustic transducer such as a piezoelectric buzzer.

First, when you need to set the target amount or change the target amount, operate the mode switch button 2a and switch to the setting or change mode while looking at the display 2c, then operate the setting/start button 2b and switch to the setting or change mode. A number is set as a target amount (step Sl). It is assumed that this target amount changes, for example, in units of 1,000 yen. If coins are already stored, you can see how many yen you have saved so far (step S2). When you operate the mode switch button 2a again and enter the savings amount mode, the display 2C The most recent deposit amount is displayed (step S3).

Next, when coins are thrown into the hopper section A, all of the coins are stored in the coin counting section B, so when the start button 2b is operated (step S4), the motor 6 is driven to drive the coin counting section. B starts operating (step 85). Then, it is determined whether or not there is a short circuit based on the presence or absence of a short circuit signal between the contacts 14a and 14b that detect the passage of a coin (step S6), and if it is determined that there is a coin, the type of coin is identified and the amount is displayed. Display on the device 2C (step 37). Further, if it is determined that there is no coin in step S6, the above operation is continued for a certain period of time (for example, 5 seconds) (step S8), and if it is not determined that there is a coin in step S6 within this certain period of time, the coin is inserted. Assuming that the counting of coins has been completed, it is monitored whether or not the amount of money deposited this time is to be displayed (step S9). Here, when the settings/start button 2b is operated, the currently deposited amount is displayed on the display 2C for a certain period of time (for example, 10 seconds), and if the settings/start button 2b is not operated, The cumulative amount is displayed on the display 2C for a period of time (for example, 10 seconds) (step 811).

On the other hand, after identifying the coins and displaying the amount in step S7 described above, it is determined whether the coin storage section C is full of coins, that is, the number of coins in the coin storage section C is greater than, for example, 192 coins. or the same (step Sl2), and if the number of coins is greater than or equal to 192, the display 2C displays an over mark indicating that the coin storage section C is becoming full (step Sl3). . Further, if the number of coins has not reached 192 in step SI2, it is determined whether the cumulative amount has reached 80% of the target amount (step SI4), and if it has reached 80%, the piezoelectric buzzer 25 etc. is activated. Electroacoustic transducer 24
A "baldness" sound is emitted (step S15). Then, in step Sl4 described above, it is determined whether the cumulative amount is equal to or exceeds the target amount (step Sl6), and if it has not reached the target amount, the process returns to step S6 and repeats the same operation as described above. Furthermore, if the cumulative amount is the same as or exceeds the target amount, the electroacoustic transducer 24 emits a "congratulations" sound (step S17), and the cumulative amount and deposited amount stored in the RAM are reset. (Step SI8).

Then, a reverse current is further applied to the motor 6 to release the engagement between the key 16a of the door I6 and the lock lever 20 by the operation described in the above structure, and 1i16. 17 is opened (step SI9).

In addition, when the number of coins in the coin storage section C exceeds 192 in step SI2, and after the over mark is displayed in step SI3, the number of coins in the coin storage section C becomes larger than the maximum number of coins that can be stored (for example, 224 coins). It is determined whether the number of coins has reached or exceeded (step S2Q), and if the number of coins has not reached the number of coins, the process proceeds to step SI4, and if the number of coins has reached the number of coins, the process proceeds to step SI9.
6.17 will be released in January.

Although not shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, the number of coins inserted into the coin counter B is too large and the excessive coin count sensor 5! If the distance between the two is shorted by a coin,
The display 2c displays a message indicating that too many coins have been inserted, and the electro-acoustic transducer 24 notifies the user that there are too many coins.

Also, when the battery voltage for driving the motor 6 drops below a predetermined value, the display 2c will notify you.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a piggy bank for Japanese yen coins was explained, but in the case of foreign coins as well, if the maximum width of the foreign coin is known, it can be sorted by measuring this maximum width. It can also be used as a savings box for foreign coins, as it can also be used to calculate savings.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention provides a movable contact that detects the maximum width of a coin stored in a coin storage section of a rotary plate that rotates in an oblique state and is displaced by the passage of a coin when the contacts are short-circuited. The measurement is made using the signal from the fixed contact that the plate is in contact with, and the type of coin is determined from this maximum width, so there is no misoperation due to fluctuations in the power supply voltage, and the structure is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture. Moreover, since the structure is simple, there is little risk of failure, and therefore, it has the advantage of being optimal as a coin discrimination device for a savings box.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures show an embodiment of the piggy bank according to the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view, Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the coin measuring section, and Fig. 4 is the same as Fig. 1. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Vl-Vl, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 1, Figure 6 is a front view, Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the drive mechanism and door opening mechanism, and Figure 8 is a diagram showing the drive mechanism and door opening mechanism. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of measuring the size of a coin, FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a control circuit, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the same. A... Hopper part, B... Coin measuring part, 8... Rotating plate, 8a... Coin storage hole, 12... Rotating arm,
12i...Movable contact plate, 13a...Fixed contact, l4
...Contact for coin passage detection.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A coin storage hole capable of storing coins of the largest diameter is formed in a rotary plate that is arranged diagonally within the coin measuring unit where coins input through the hopper part fall and are stored, and which is rotated by a motor. In addition, a movable contact plate is disposed on the locus of movement of the coin storage hole to be displaced by the coin in the coin storage hole, and the movable contact plate contacts with the displacement of the movable contact plate and corresponds to the size of the coin. A fixed contact is arranged, and two contacts short-circuited by a coin are arranged at a position where the movable contact plate has finished being displaced by the coin, and when the movable contact plate is in the short-circuited state, the movable contact plate is in contact with the movable contact plate. A coin discriminating device characterized in that the type of coin is discriminated from the position of a fixed contact. (2) Claim 1, wherein a plurality of coin storage holes are formed in the rotary plate in a concentric circle.
Coin discrimination device described in .