JPH04302390A - Coin presence detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make unnecessary the positioning to a coin detecting device and to always detect the presence of the coin with high reliability. CONSTITUTION:A pan is constituted of the acrylic resin to transmit an infrared ray, LED 6, 8 and 10 to light-emit the infrared ray to exist between the bottom parts and light receiving elements 7, 9 and 11 are provided facing to the bottom part of the pan 1, and the presence of the coin in the pan 1 is discriminated based on respective output signals of the light receiving elements 7, 9 and 11.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention is used as a coin presence/absence detection device for detecting whether or not a coin is present in a tray of a coin receiving/dispensing section for depositing and dispensing coins, for example, in a coin processing machine for depositing and dispensing coins. The present invention relates to a suitable coin presence/absence detection device.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in a coin processing machine used in an automatic coin deposit/dispensing device, etc., for depositing/dispensing coins, it is detected whether or not a coin exists in a tray of a coin depositing/dispensing unit that deposits and withdraws coins. For example, in the case of
As disclosed in Publication No. 155662, a plurality of holes are provided at the bottom of the tray of the coin deposit/withdrawal section, and a coin detector having a pair of light emitting element and light receiving element is inserted into the hole to detect the smallest coin. A common method is to detect coins by providing a plurality of coins at possible intervals.

By the way, in the coin depositing and dispensing section of the coin processing machine as described above, after coins are put into the tray, for example, by rotating the tray, the coins inside are dropped into the coin dispensing section at the bottom. Action is required. At this time, aligning the multiple holes drilled in the rotating tray with the coin detector fixed to a stationary part, such as the housing of a coin processing machine, is difficult due to the inertia of the tray, etc. Therefore, it is extremely difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures such as enlarging the coin detection hole or slowing down the movement of the tray to reduce the misalignment between the hole in the tray and the optical axis of the coin detector.

0004

However, as described above, if the hole for detecting coins in the tray becomes large, it will become very noticeable when, for example, coins are inserted, which is not desirable in terms of design. Further, there is a problem in that small foreign objects such as staples may enter the coin detection hole, leading to false detection. Furthermore, slowing down the movement of the tray in order to align the optical axis of the coin detector increases processing time, which is not only inconvenient for the user, but also ensures that the coin detection hole and optical axis are aligned. There is no guarantee that it will match, and it lacks reliability as a coin presence/absence detection device.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention provides a coin presence/absence detection device that does not require positioning with respect to a coin detector as in the prior art, can always detect the presence or absence of a coin with high reliability, and has an extremely excellent design. The purpose is to

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The coin presence/absence detection device of the present invention includes a coin storage section made of a resin that transmits infrared rays and for storing coins inserted or coins to be dispensed;
A light-emitting element and a light-receiving element that emit infrared rays are arranged facing each other with the bottom of the coin storage part interposed therebetween, and a determining means for determining the presence or absence of a coin in the coin storage part based on the output signal of the light-receiving element. It is equipped with.

[0007]

[Function] Since the coin storage part is made of resin that transmits infrared rays, the infrared rays from the light emitting element pass through the coin storage part, and depending on the presence or absence of a coin, the infrared rays are transmitted or blocked and reach the light receiving element. become. As a result, the output signal of the light receiving element is reliably influenced by the presence or absence of a coin, so that the presence or absence of a coin can be reliably determined based on the output signal. Therefore, positioning with respect to a coin detector as in the conventional case is unnecessary, and the presence or absence of a coin can always be detected with high reliability. In addition, the structure is such that the infrared rays from the light emitting element pass through the coin storage area without having to make a special hole for coin detection in the coin storage area, and the coin detector is almost invisible from the opening of the coin storage area. Since there is no such thing, it is very good in terms of design.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show the structure of a coin presence/absence detection device as an example of the coin presence/absence detection device according to the present invention. That is, the tray 1 serving as a coin storage section is for storing coins inserted or coins to be dispensed in the coin depositing/dispensing section of a coin processing machine, and is shaped like, for example, a roughly rugby ball-shaped object with a hemisphere. It is made of, for example, acrylic resin, which has a filter function that transmits infrared rays. The tray 1 is rotatably supported by shafts 2 and 3 fixed to both sides in the transverse direction, for example, on side plates 4 and 5 fixed to the housing of the coin processing machine, and When a coin is dropped into a lower coin dispensing section (not shown), it is rotated by a drive section (not shown).

[0010] On one longitudinal side of the bottom of the saucer 1 constructed as described above, there are light emitting diodes (hereinafter abbreviated as LED) 6, 8, as light emitting elements.
10 are provided respectively, and light receiving elements 7, 9, 11 are provided on the other side to receive infrared rays from the LEDs 6, 8, 10, respectively. These LE
D6 and light receiving element 7, LED8 and light receiving element 9, LED10
and the light-receiving element 11 each constitute a coin detector that detects a coin present at the bottom of the tray 1, and the interval between these coin detectors is set to be narrower than the diameter of the smallest coin.

Further, in the vicinity of the opening of the saucer 1, an LED 12 as a light emitting element is provided on one side in the transverse direction, and an LED 12 as a light emitting element is provided on the other side. A light receiving element 13 is provided. These LEDs 12 and the light receiving element 13 constitute a coin detector that detects when the tray 1 is full of coins.

[0012] In this embodiment, as mentioned above, the saucer 1 is made of acrylic resin.
The infrared rays from the LEDs 6, 8, 10, 12 are transmitted through the saucer 1 and reach the light receiving surfaces of the light receiving elements 7, 9, 11, 13, respectively.

FIG. 4 shows an electric circuit, in which each output signal of the light receiving elements 7, 9, 11, 13 is input to an A/D converter 14, where it is converted into a digital signal, and then It is input to the CPU 15. CPU15
performs the process of determining the presence or absence of coins based on the input output signals of the light receiving elements 7, 9, 11, and 13, and is connected to other circuits (not shown) to control the operation of the entire coin processing machine. ing. A RAM (random access memory) 16 stores a threshold voltage value for determining the presence or absence of a coin, and is connected to the CPU 15 and backed up by a battery 17 as a power source. The reset switch 18 is for resetting the threshold voltage and is connected to the CPU 15.

Next, the operation in such a configuration will be explained.

In the case of depositing money, after coins are inserted into the tray 1, the tray 1 is rotated by a drive unit (not shown), and the coins in the tray 1 are dropped into a coin dispensing portion (not shown) provided at the bottom of the tray 1. After the coin falls, the remaining coin in the tray 1 (the presence or absence of the coin) is detected. That is, LED6,
The infrared rays from 8 and 10 pass through the bottom of the saucer 1 made of acrylic resin and enter the corresponding light receiving elements 7, 9 and 11, respectively. The light receiving elements 7, 9, 11 are
Converts incident infrared rays into electrical signals, A/D
Output to converter 14. The A/D converter 14 is
Each input output signal of the light receiving elements 7, 9, and 11 is converted into a digital signal and input to the CPU 15. C.P.
U15 compares each input output signal of the light receiving elements 7, 9, 11 with a predetermined threshold voltage value set and stored in advance in the RAM 16, thereby determining the output signals of the light receiving elements 7, 9, 11. If it is less than the threshold voltage value, it is determined that there are coins remaining, and if it is more than the threshold voltage value, it is determined that there are no coins remaining.

By the way, the threshold voltage value may be fixed at a constant value, but since the saucer 1 is made of acrylic resin, there is a possibility that the surface may be scratched by coins. This surface scratch acts to prevent infrared rays from transmitting, and as a result, each output signal of the light receiving elements 7, 9, 11, and 13 decreases. Therefore, it is desirable to maintain the coin presence/absence detection performance for a longer period of time by correcting the threshold voltage value using each output signal of the light receiving elements 7, 9, 11, and 13, which has decreased due to the scratches on the surface of the saucer 1.

This will be explained below. When the person in charge of maintenance operates the reset switch 18 without putting any coins into the tray 1, the light receiving elements 7, 9, 11 and 13 are corrected for the decrease in output. That is, when the reset switch 18 is operated, the CPU 15 at this time
The digitized output signals of the light-receiving elements 7, 9, 11, and 13 obtained from the converter 14 are read, and a certain percentage (for example, 1/2) of the output signals is set as a new threshold voltage value that has already been stored in the RAM 16. Update the current threshold voltage value. Here, the RAM 16 is
It is backed up by a battery 17, and the updated threshold voltage value is maintained even if the power is turned off. By performing such operations at regular intervals, an appropriate threshold voltage value can be set.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the correction operation of an embodiment in which the threshold voltage value is automatically updated without relying on switch operations. That is, as mentioned above, after the coin is inserted into the tray 1,
The coins in the tray 1 are rotated, and the coins in the tray 1 are dropped into the coin feeding section. Then, when the tray 1 returns to its original position, if there are no coins remaining in the tray 1, a value larger than the threshold voltage value in the RAM 16 becomes the output signal of the light receiving elements 7, 9, 11. The output signals of the light-receiving elements 7, 9, and 11 at this time indicate a state in which there is no coin in the tray 1, and are equivalent to detection including a decrease in output due to scratches on the surface of the tray 1. Therefore, the threshold voltage value stored in the RAM 16 is updated by using a voltage level of a certain ratio (for example, 1/2) as a new threshold voltage value based on the output value at this time.

[0019] In this way, the threshold voltage value can be automatically updated instead of the above-mentioned switch operation. As the threshold voltage value is updated, the voltage level will decrease, but if the degree of damage exceeds a certain standard, an alarm will be output to prompt the replacement of the saucer 1, thereby increasing the reliability of detecting the presence or absence of coins. It can be further improved. This can be realized by outputting a saucer dirty alarm when the updated threshold voltage value becomes below a certain value.

[0020] In the case of dispensing, coins for dispensing are dispensed into the tray 1 from a dispensing coin dispensing section (not shown),
The presence or absence of coins in the dispensed tray 1 (for example, coins remaining due to the recipient forgetting to take them out of the tray) is detected.

As explained above, according to the above embodiment,
Since the saucer is made of acrylic resin that transmits infrared rays, the infrared rays from each LED pass through the saucer and reliably enter each light receiving element. Therefore, since the output signal of the light receiving element is reliably influenced by the presence or absence of a coin, by comparing the output signal with a predetermined threshold voltage value, it is possible to reliably determine the presence or absence of a coin. This eliminates the need for positioning with a coin detector as in the prior art, and enables reliable detection of the presence or absence of coins at all times. moreover,
In the case of this tray, there is no need to make a special hole in the area corresponding to the coin detector, and the coin detector is almost invisible from the top of the tray, so it is very good in terms of design. Furthermore, since the tray is made of acrylic resin with no holes, coins will not get caught and coins can be prevented from remaining. Furthermore, since it is made of acrylic resin, it can be colored, for example, if it is colored black, the coins can be clearly recognized, which prevents the user from forgetting to take out coins.

[0022] In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the present invention is applied to a coin presence/absence detection device for detecting the presence or absence of coins in a coin storage section in a coin processing machine, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied to a medal presence/absence detection device that detects the presence or absence of medals in a medal storage section in a medal processing machine that performs medal loading/unloading processing.

[0023]

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, there is no need for positioning with a coin detector as in the past, and the presence or absence of a coin can always be detected with high reliability. An excellent coin presence/absence detection device can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially transparent perspective view showing the configuration of a coin presence/absence detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electric circuit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a threshold voltage correction operation in another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1... saucer, 2, 3... shaft, 4, 5... side plate, 6, 8, 10,
12...LED, 7,9,11,13...light receiving element, 14...
A/D converter, 15...CPU, 16...RAM, 17
…battery.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A coin storage section made of a resin that transmits infrared rays and that stores coins inserted or coins to be dispensed; 1. A coin presence/absence detection device comprising: a light emitting element and a light receiving element that emit light; and determining means for determining the presence or absence of a coin in the coin storage section based on an output signal of the light receiving element.