JPH04302391A - 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 1 is constituted of the punching metal with many drilled holes, and LEDs 6, 8 and 10 and light receiving elements 7, 9 and 11 facing each other across the bottom part of the pan 1, thereby discriminating the presence of the coin in the pan 1 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. operation 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 superior design. The purpose is to

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The coin presence/absence detection device of the present invention comprises a coin storage section which is composed of a member having a large number of holes and which stores coins inserted or coins to be dispensed;
A light source and a light-receiving element are arranged opposite to 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 an output signal of the light-receiving element. There is.

[0007]

[Operation] The coin storage section is made up of a member with many holes, so the light from the light source passes through one of the holes in the members that make up the coin storage section, and the light is transmitted depending on the presence or absence of coins. Otherwise, the light is blocked and reaches the light receiving element. 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 light from the light source passes through the hole in the member that makes up the coin storage area without having to make a special hole for coin detection in the coin storage area, and coins cannot be detected from the opening of the coin storage area. Since the detector is almost invisible, it has an excellent 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 so-called punching metal in which holes with a diameter of about 1 mm, for example, with a high aperture ratio are formed in a row over the entire surface. 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).

Light emitting diodes (hereinafter abbreviated as LEDs) 6, 8, 10 are provided as light sources on one longitudinal side of the bottom of the saucer 1 constructed as described above.
are provided respectively, and on the other side,
Light receiving elements 7, 9, and 11 are provided to receive light from the LEDs 6, 8, and 10, respectively. The LED 6 and the light receiving element 7, the LED 8 and the light receiving element 9, and the LED 10 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 the minimum. The spacing is narrower than the diameter of the coin.

Further, near the opening of the saucer 1, an LED 12 as a light source is provided on one side in the transverse direction, and the other side is provided with an LED 12 for receiving light from the LED 12. A light receiving element 13 is provided. These L
The ED 12 and the light receiving element 13 constitute a coin detector that detects when the tray 1 is full of coins.

In this embodiment, as mentioned above, the saucer 1 is made of punching metal, so the light from each LED 6, 8, 10, 12 passes through each hole in the punching metal and reaches the light receiving element. The light reaches each of the light receiving surfaces 7, 9, 11, and 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.

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 light from 8, 10 passes through the bottom of the saucer 1, which has a large number of fine holes, and is transmitted to the corresponding light receiving elements 7, 10.
9 and 11. The light receiving elements 7, 9, and 11 each convert the incident light into an electrical signal and output it to the A/D converter 14. The A/D converter 14 converts the input output signals of the light receiving elements 7, 9, and 11 into digital signals, and inputs the digital signals to the CPU 15. The CPU 15 compares each of the input output signals of the light receiving elements 7, 9, 11 with a predetermined threshold voltage (threshold voltage) set in advance. If it is below the threshold value, it is determined that there are coins remaining, and if it is above the threshold value, it is determined that there are no coins remaining.

[0016] 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 punched metal with many small holes, the light from each LED passes through the many small holes and reliably enters each light receiving element. Therefore,
Since the output signal of the light receiving element is definitely affected by the presence or absence of a coin, by comparing the output signal with a predetermined threshold, 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. Furthermore, 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 diameter of the hole in the punched metal is much smaller than the diameter of the coin, the coin will not get caught, and residual coins can be prevented.

[0018] 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.

[0019]

[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.

[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.

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A coin storage section which is composed of a member having a large number of holes and which stores coins inserted or coins to be dispensed, and a coin storage section which is arranged opposite to each other with the bottom of the coin storage section interposed therebetween. A coin presence/absence detecting device comprising: a light source, a light receiving element, and a 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.