JPH06274734A - Coin processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To put the coins one by one between pins with higher assuredness when the coins are sent to a transfer path from a hopper via a transfer chain having the coin transfer pins at each prescribed interval in regard of a coin processing which sorting the coins for each type of money and sends them to a coin storing part for each type of money. CONSTITUTION:The coins included in a hopper 1 are sent on a transfer path 2 by a transfer chain 6 having the coin transfer pins 9 at each fixed interval. Then the coins are taken out for each type of money by the coin take-out means 12 set at plural points of the path 2. In such a constitution of a coin processing device, a rotary plate 23 turning synchronously with the chain 6 is provided on a coin guide plate 22 contained in the hopper 1. Then the coin holes 24 of a fixed diameter are provided at plural points on the same circumference of the plate 23.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coin processing device for selecting coins of a plurality of denominations and sending them to a coin storage section according to denomination.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various coin processing devices for sorting coins of a plurality of denominations and sending the coins to a coin storage portion according to denomination are known in vending machines, deposit change machines and the like.

For example, the device disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 55-15755 has a hopper portion provided with a rotary disk (rectifying plate) for stirring and aligning coins, and a side portion from the upper portion of the hopper portion. It is equipped with a transport path consisting of an extending rail, and a transport chain (endless feed band) is arranged around the rotary disk of the hopper and over the transport path, and a coin feed pin (projection) is predetermined on this chain. The coins are arranged at intervals, and at a position facing the transport path, a coin take-out means including a plurality of selection windows corresponding to coins of a plurality of denominations is provided. When the chain is driven, the coins on the rotating disc of the hopper are pushed up by the pins of the chain and moved onto the transport path, and the coins are pushed by the pins to the downstream side of the transport path. During the movement, the coins are taken out from the sorting window corresponding to the size of coins and sent to the coin-type coin storing portion.

In the above embodiment, coins of different denominations are taken out through a plurality of sorting windows having different opening heights. For example, an identifying means for identifying denominations is provided on the upstream side of the transfer route. In addition to the provision of pick-up means, the pick-up means that picks up coins by being operated by the electric actuating means is provided at a plurality of points on the transport path, and the pick-up selected according to the denomination is made by the control unit that receives a signal from the identifying means. It is also considered that the means is activated (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 64-500380).

Further, there is also one in which a counting means is provided in the transfer path of this type of apparatus.

[0006]

According to the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, in order to smoothly perform the operations such as feeding, identifying, and taking out coins, the intervals of the pins provided on the chain are set to be a plurality of objects to be processed. It is somewhat larger than the diameter of the largest coin of denomination. And, in a normal state, one coin is fed by each pin of the chain.

However, when there is a large disparity between the largest and smallest diameter coins of a plurality of denominations to be processed (for example, among the circulating coins, the largest diameter coins are close to twice the smallest diameter coins). In the case where the device is used in a certain country), in the conventional device, there is a possibility that two coins having the smallest diameter are inserted between the pins. When two coins are consecutively taken in between the pins in this way, there is a possibility that processing such as taking out coins, identifying coins by the identifying means, and counting coins by the counting means may not be performed correctly.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention inserts one coin between each pin when a coin is moved from the hopper to the conveying path by the conveying chain having the coin feeding pins at predetermined intervals. Increase the certainty of the motion,
An object of the present invention is to provide a coin processing device capable of properly carrying out processing such as transportation and removal of coins.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the first aspect of the present invention is to arrange a carrying chain over a hopper for storing coins and a carrying path extending outward from an upper portion of the hopper. , Coin feed pins are arranged at regular intervals in this transport chain, and the coins in the hopper are picked up by this transport chain and moved along the transport route. In a coin processing device having a take-out means for taking out coins,
Inside the hopper, a coin guide plate for covering the carrying chain except the upper part of the hopper is arranged in an inclined manner, and a rotating plate that rotates in synchronization with the carrying chain is provided on the coin guide plate. Coin intake holes having a constant diameter are provided at a plurality of positions on the same circumference of the rotary plate, and the transport chain and the coin intake holes of the rotary plate are made to correspond to each other at the upper part of the hopper.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the conveying path is provided with identification means for identifying a denomination based on the detection of the coin diameter, and the coin take-out means operates according to the identification by the identification means. It is something that is done.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the diameter of the coin receiving hole of the rotary plate is larger than the diameter of the largest coin among a plurality of coins to be processed. And, it is set smaller than twice the diameter of the smallest coin.

[0012] A third aspect of the invention is to arrange a coin carrying chain across a hopper for storing coins and a carrying path extending outward from an upper part of the hopper, and to feed coins to the carrying chain at regular intervals. A coin handling device provided with a pin for use in the hopper so that coins in the hopper can be picked up by the carrying chain and moved along the carrying route, and a take-out means for taking out coins by denomination is provided on the carrying route. At the time, one coin is placed between the hopper and each of the above pins.
2 between each pin and the normal loading state where each pin is loaded
A discriminating means for discriminating an illegally-taken-in state in which a number of coins are taken in, and a coin-returning means which operates according to the discrimination of the illegally-taken-in state by the judging means and returns the coin in the illegally-taken-in state into the hopper. Is provided.

[0013]

According to the structure of the first aspect of the invention, the coins in the hopper are fitted one by one into the coin receiving holes of the rotary plate, and then transferred between the pins of the carrying chain at the upper part of the hopper for carrying. Sent to the route.

According to the second invention in which the identifying means is provided in addition to the structure of the first invention, the denomination is correctly identified based on the detection of the coin diameter by the identifying means.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the action of inserting coins one by one into the coin receiving hole of the rotary plate is ensured.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even if two coins are taken in between the pins of the carrier chain, this state is immediately resolved even if the coin is taken in illegally.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 show the entire structure of a coin processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In these figures, 1 is a hopper for accommodating unprocessed coins C of a plurality of denominations, and coins C are inserted into the hopper 1 from a feeder (not shown). Reference numeral 2 denotes a transport path, which extends outward from the upper portion of the hopper 1. This transport path 2
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, is a structure that includes a wall plate that forms a coin supporting surface 3 having a relatively narrow width and a back plate 4 that supports the coin from behind, and that supports the coin C in an upright state. The rear plate 4 is slightly inclined rearward so that the coin C does not fall forward.

A carrying chain 6 is provided across the hopper 1 and the carrying path 2. The transport chain 6 is provided on the transport path 2 at a predetermined height (equal to or less than the diameter of the smallest coin to be selected) above the coin support surface 3 and provided in the back plate 4. 5 extends in the transport direction (see FIGS. 3 and 6), and is wound around the drive sprocket 7 and the driven sprocket 8 in a state where the hopper 1 is disposed from the disposition portion to the transport path 2. . Coins feeding pins 9 are arranged on the carrying chain 6 at regular intervals. The pin 9 moves the coins C in the transfer path 2 one by one by pushing the coins C in the transfer path 2 one by one by operating the transfer chain 6 in a certain direction by the motor 20 described later.

On the upstream side of the transport path 2, a discriminating means composed of a coin diameter detecting section 11 is provided. The coin diameter detection unit 11 is formed by an optical sensor or the like, and is turned on when the coin C passes through the detection unit 11, and the O
The coin diameter is calculated from the N hours and the coin moving speed, and the denomination is identified based on this.

Further, take-out means 12 for taking out coins C for each denomination is arranged at a plurality of points along the conveying path 2.
A plurality of coin accommodating portions 13 corresponding to the respective take-out means 12 are arranged below the conveying path 2.

The respective take-out means 12 are solenoids 12
It has a plate-shaped coin pushing member 12b connected to a. The coin pushing-out member 12b can be retracted from the back side to the coin passing position of the conveying path 2 through the cutout hole 12c provided in the back plate 4, and when the solenoid 12a is turned on, the conveying path 2 is conveyed. Project to.
When the coin pushing member 12b projects when the coin C is at the position corresponding to the take-out means 12, the coin C
Are extruded from the conveying path 2 and fall off (see FIG. 6), and are sent to the coin storage unit 13.

The above-mentioned take-out means 12 and coin storage 13
Are provided at least according to the number of denominations to be selected. A reject passage 14 for rejecting coins (counterfeit coins, etc.) other than the denomination to be processed is provided below the downstream side end of the transport path 2. A coin ejection unit 15 is connected to each coin storage unit 13. Further, the reject passage 14 communicates with a return port (not shown).

Immediately before each of the take-out means 12 and the transfer path 2
An optical sensor 16 for detecting the passage of the coin C is provided at each position near the downstream end of the coin. As shown in FIG. 6, this sensor 16 is composed of a light emitting element 16a and a light receiving element 16b, and both elements 16a and 16b face each other across the coin passage portion of the transport path 2 and the back plate 4 and the back plate. 4 is provided with a hole 16c for transmitting light rays.

The coin diameter detecting section 11 and the optical sensor 1
6 and an encoder (not shown) provided in the drive mechanism of the transport chain 10 sends signals to the control unit 17.
Is input to the coin diameter detection unit 11 by the control unit 17.
The denomination is identified on the basis of the signal of No. 1, the take-out means 12 to be actuated is selected in accordance with the signal, and when the coin reaches the position corresponding to the take-out means 12, the coin is sent according to the signal from the sensor 16. The take-out means 12 is activated.

3 to 5 show details of the hopper portion. In these drawings, a drive sprocket 7 and a motor 20 are provided on the back side of the hopper 1, the drive sprocket 7 is connected to an output shaft 21 of the motor 20, and the transport chain 6 is wound around the sprocket 7. . Further, inside the hopper 1, there are provided a coin guide plate 22 for covering the chain 6 except the upper part of the hopper, and a rotary plate 23 located in front of the coin guide plate 22, and the rotary plate 23 has the same circumference. Coin receiving holes 24 having a constant diameter are provided at a plurality of upper positions. The coin receiving hole 2
The sprocket 7, the coin guide plate 22 and the rotary plate 23 are arranged in an inclined shape so that the coin C in the coin 4 can move along the coin guide plate 22.

The rotary plate 23 is connected to the output shaft 21 of the motor 20 to rotate in synchronization with the operation of the transport chain 6. This rotating plate 2
The diameter D of the coin receiving hole 24 of No. 3 is set to be larger than the diameter of the largest coin among the coins of a plurality of denominations to be processed and smaller than twice the diameter of the smallest coin. The coin receiving holes 24 are arranged near the outer periphery of the rotary plate 23 at predetermined intervals, and move in the hopper 1 as the rotary plate 23 rotates. These arrangements are set so that the coin intake hole 24 moved to the upper part of the hopper corresponds to the chain 6 above the coin guide plate 22.

Since the upper part of the hopper 1 is formed to have a shape that extends to the side where the conveying path 2 is led out, the upstream side portion of the conveying path 2 is located in the hopper 1 by a certain amount, and The coin diameter detecting section 11 and the coin returning means 25 located downstream thereof are provided. In the present embodiment, the coin returning means 25 returns coins C that do not need to be conveyed into the hopper 1. For example, a full sensor (not shown) provided in each coin storing section 13 and the coin diameter detecting section. 11 based on signals from 11 and
The coin C of the denomination corresponding to the coin storage unit 13 is controlled by
Is operated when the coin is conveyed through the coin diameter detecting unit 11, and the coin C is returned to the hopper 1. Similar to the take-out means 12, the coin returning means 25 is composed of a solenoid 25a and a coin pushing-out member 25b connected to the solenoid 25a.

According to the apparatus of this embodiment as described above, a large number of coins C are stored in the hopper 1, and the motor 2 is used.
In a state in which the transport chain 6 is driven by being driven by 0 and the rotary plate 23 is rotating in the hopper 1,
At the lower part of the hopper 1, coins C are fitted one by one into the coin intake holes 24 of the rotary plate 23. Then, as the rotating plate 23 rotates, the coin C in the coin receiving hole 24 moves to the upper part of the hopper 1 along the guide plate 22 and reaches the upper side of the guide plate 22, so that the coin C moves from the coin receiving hole 24 to the back side. It comes off, moves to the coin support surface 3 connected to the upper end of the guide plate 22, and enters between the pins 9 of the chain 6. In this case, the rotary plate 23 having the coin taking-in hole 24 and the chain 6 operate in synchronization with each other, so that the coin taking-in hole 24 is surely carried out.
Coins C are transferred between the pins 9 one by one.

That is, the distance between the pins 9 arranged on the chain 6 is larger than the diameter of the maximum coin by a predetermined amount so that the coins on the transport path 2 move at a certain distance. When the difference between the largest coin and the smallest coin is large, the smallest coin C ′ is provided between the pins 9 in the structure of the conventional device described above, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. In such a state, for example, two coins connected by the coin diameter detection unit 11 may be erroneously detected as one coin diameter. On the other hand, according to the apparatus of this embodiment, the above situation is prevented by limiting the coins sent to the upper portion of the hopper by the coin receiving holes 24.

In particular, if the coin receiving hole 24 is formed with a diameter larger than the maximum coin but smaller than twice the minimum coin diameter, two coins can be inserted into one coin receiving hole 24. Since it is impossible for C to enter, one coin C is surely sent between the pins 9. Then, the coin C fed between the pins 9 moves on the transport path 2, while the coin type is identified based on the detection in the coin diameter detection state, and selected according to the coin type. By the operation of the coin take-out means 12, the coins are sent to the coin storage unit 13 by denomination.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the hopper for merely stirring the coins is not provided without the coin receiving hole 24 as in the first embodiment. 1
The transport chain 6 is arranged around the rotary plate 30 provided inside. Further, a coin diameter detecting section 11 and a coin returning means 31 are provided in a portion located inside the hopper 1 of the conveying path 2, and the coin diameter detecting section 11 and the control section 17 receiving the signal thereof provide the pins of the chain 6. 9
A discriminating means for discriminating between a normal taking-in state in which one coin C is taken in between and a false taking-in state in which two coins C are taken in between the pins 9 are configured. That is,
When the detected value of the coin diameter detection unit 11 corresponds to any one of a plurality of denominations of coins to be processed, the coin is normally taken in and the denomination is identified, but the detected value is the maximum diameter. When the coin is larger than the value corresponding to the coin and corresponds to two coins having the smallest diameter, it is determined that the coin has been improperly taken in, and the coin returning means 31 is activated according to the determination. There is. The coin returning means 31 includes a solenoid 31a and a coin pushing member 31b connected to the solenoid 31a.
Etc.

According to this embodiment, the coin C in the hopper 1 is pushed up by the pin 9 of the transport chain 6 and transferred to the transport path 2 as in the conventional device described above, but between the pins 9. When two coins are taken in, the coin return means 31 operates according to the determination of the illegally taken-in state, whereby the coin C is returned into the hopper 1, and the illegally taken-in state is eliminated.

[0033]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the coin in the hopper is picked up and moved along the conveying path by the conveying chain having the coin feeding pins at regular intervals, and at the same time, the conveying path. In the one in which coins are taken out for each denomination by the coin taking-out means provided at a plurality of positions, a rotary plate that rotates in synchronization with the above-mentioned transport chain is provided on the coin guide plate in the hopper, Coin intake holes with a constant diameter are provided at multiple points on the same circumference, so each coin can be inserted between the pins of the chain after each coin is inserted into the above coin intake holes. It is possible to prevent two coins from being taken in. Therefore, it is possible to favorably carry out operations such as carrying coins by a chain and taking out coins.

Particularly, the conveying path is provided with identification means for identifying the denomination based on the detection of the coin diameter, and the coin take-out means is operated in accordance with the identification by the identification means (claim 2). Then, by preventing the two coins from being taken in as described above, it is possible to improve the certainty of the identification of the denomination and the operation of taking out the coin of the denomination based on the identification.

In the present invention, in particular, the diameter of the coin taking-in hole is set to be larger than the diameter of the largest coin among the coins of a plurality of denominations to be processed and smaller than twice the diameter of the smallest coin. If this is done (claim 3), it is possible to reliably prevent two coins from being taken in.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 4, a normal take-in state in which one coin is taken between the pins of the transport chain from the hopper and an illegal take-in state in which two coins are taken between the pins. Since there is provided a discriminating means for discriminating the illegally taken-in state and a coin returning means for returning the coin in the illegally taken-in state into the hopper, which is operated according to the discrimination of the illegally taken-in state by the discriminating means, the illegal taking-in is carried out. The state can be reliably eliminated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic perspective view of a coin processing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall schematic front view of the device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a hopper portion of the device.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of a rotary plate and a transport chain in the same device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a coin taking-out portion of the device.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a main part according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a main part according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hopper 2 Conveyance path 6 Conveyance chain 9 Coin feeding pin 11 Coin diameter detection unit 12 Coin take-out means 22 Coin guide plate 23 Rotating plate 24 Coin take-in hole 31 Coin return means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A coin carrying chain is provided across a hopper for storing coins and a carrying path extending outward from an upper part of the hopper, and coin carrying pins are arranged at regular intervals in the carrying chain. Then, the coins in the hopper are picked up by the carrying chain and moved along the carrying route, and in the coin handling device provided with a taking-out means for taking out coins according to the denomination, in the hopper. , A coin guide plate that covers the transfer chain except the upper part of the hopper is arranged in an inclined shape, and a rotary plate that rotates in synchronization with the transfer chain is provided on the coin guide plate. A coin taking hole having a constant diameter is provided at a plurality of positions on the circumference, and the conveying chain and the coin taking hole of the rotary plate are made to correspond to each other at the upper part of the hopper. Money handling equipment. 2. The coin according to claim 1, wherein the conveying path is provided with identification means for identifying a denomination based on detection of a coin diameter, and the coin take-out means is activated in response to the identification by the identification means. Processing equipment. 3. The diameter of the coin intake hole of the rotary plate is set to be larger than the diameter of the largest coin among the coins of a plurality of denominations to be processed and smaller than twice the diameter of the smallest coin. The coin processing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. 4. A transfer chain is provided across a hopper for storing coins and a transfer path extending outward from the top of the hopper, and coin transfer pins are provided at regular intervals in the transfer chain. Then, with this transport chain, the coins in the hopper are picked up and moved along the transport path, and in the coin processing device provided with a take-out means for taking out coins according to the denomination to the transport path, A discriminating means for discriminating between a normal take-in state in which one coin is taken between the pins and an illegal take-in state in which two coins are taken in between the pins, and it operates according to the decision of the illegal take-in state by the judging means. And a coin returning means for returning the coins in the illegally taken-in state into the hopper.