JPH0793616A - Tickets processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a tickets processor which is capable of receiving tickets of different sizes by the same feeding port in a right posture. CONSTITUTION:In a tickets processor processing plural tickets of different widths by fetching them from the same feeding port 22, the feeding port 22 is provided with left and right guide walls 24b guiding the left and right ends of ticket of a maximum width, a regulation roller 81 which is installed between the location which is more than the width of a narrow ticket from the one guide wall 24b and the location of the other guide wall 24b, defines the end surface opposed to the one guide wall 24b as the regulation end surface guiding the end edge of the narrow ticket and is freely saved and a means pressing this regulation roller 81 toward the feeding route of the feeding port 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is incorporated in, for example, an automatic ticket vending machine or an automatic checkout machine used in railway business, and has a plurality of types of tickets of different sizes such as a commuter ticket, an ordinary ticket, and a prepaid card. The present invention relates to a ticket processing device that processes paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a ticket processing apparatus of this type, for example,
It is known that it is built into an automatic checkout machine used for railway operations. The front portion of this ticket processing device is, for example,
Equipped with an insertion slot that allows you to insert multiple tickets with different widths such as ordinary tickets, commuter tickets, and prepaid cards. Tickets inserted through the slot are sent to the print recording unit by the transport mechanism, undergo magnetic field reading and writing processing by the magnetic head, printing processing by the print head, and then returned through the slot again. .

Further, as the tickets to be used, there are ordinary tickets and tickets such as prepaid cards having different lengths and widths, and both are inserted from the same slot. Therefore,
Tickets to be inserted from the same slot must be aligned, but the alignment mechanism for this purpose is provided inside the slot, and after the tickets are taken into the device, the transport position and direction of the ticket can be changed. I was in orbit.

Further, the insertion slot is provided with an optical sensor for identifying the inserted tickets and a take-in roller for taking in the inserted tickets.

[0005]

By the way, when a ticket inserted into the insertion slot of a conventional ticket processing apparatus has a narrow width like an ordinary ticket, it may be inserted obliquely. In this case, Is out of the light sensor, even if it is a genuine ticket,
Tickets with a bad length will not be accepted and the acceptance rate will deteriorate. Further, since the take-in roller is not located at the center of the ticket, a force in the direction of rotation is applied to the taken-in ticket, and the ticket is taken in at an angle. Even if the ticket is bad, it will not be accepted as a ticket with a bad length, and the acceptance rate will deteriorate.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a ticket processing apparatus which can accept tickets of different sizes in the same insertion slot in a correct posture. .

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a ticket processing apparatus for processing a plurality of tickets having different widths by processing them from the same slot, wherein the slots have wide left and right edges. Is installed between a pair of left and right side guides that guide each other and a position separated from one side guide by at least the width of a narrow ticket and the position of the other side guide. A restricting body having a restricting end surface for guiding the other end of the narrow ticket facing the side guide for guiding, a means for supporting the restricting body so as to be retractable from the insertion path of the inserting opening, An urging means is provided for locating the restricting body in the charging path of the charging port.

Further, the regulating member is constituted by a roller having a rotating shaft oriented at right angles to the inserting direction of the bills into the insertion slot. Further, the supporting means for the restriction body is configured to support the restriction body in the insertion path of the insertion opening so as to be freely fallen by its own weight, and the biasing means is configured to utilize the own weight of the restriction body. Further, the urging means has a structure in which the regulating body is pushed into the charging path of the charging port by an elastic member. Further, a sensor is provided to detect that the regulator is retracted from the charging path of the charging port.

[0009]

According to the ticket processing apparatus having the above-described structure, it is possible to correct and accept tickets of different sizes depending on the restricting end surface of the restrictor through the same slot.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the ticket processing apparatus according to the present invention is incorporated in an automatic checkout machine used in a station service of a transportation facility will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic checkout machine includes a housing 10, and in the housing 10, a bill processing device 12 for handling coins and bills, an ordinary ticket (Edmonson ticket), a commuter ticket, and a prepaid ticket are provided. A ticket processing device 14 that handles cards such as cards is stored.

A customer service section 15 is provided on the front surface of the housing 10. This customer service unit 15 has a display unit 16 for displaying guidance and operating instructions to the customer regarding the amount of shortage and the like, and an operation having a large number of operation keys 17a for inputting information such as the route used or the connecting route. And a section 17. Further, in the customer service section 15, below the operation section 17, there are provided a coin insertion slot 18, a bill insertion slot 19, and an insertion / return slot 22 for ordinary tickets, fixed-price tickets, prepaid cards and the like.

It should be noted that the ordinary ticket, the commuter ticket, and the prepaid card each have a front surface on which predetermined information is printed and a back surface on which a magnetic coating is magnetically recorded with corresponding information. Have In the case of an ordinary ticket, for example, the ticket issuing station name, issue date, fare, etc. are printed and recorded, and in the case of a regular ticket, the boarding section, expiration date, gender of the user, age, etc. are printed and recorded. Further, in the case of a prepaid card, the balance is converted into a binary code and magnetically recorded. In addition, the lengths (first lengths) in the longitudinal direction of the regular ticket and the prepaid card are substantially equal to each other, and are formed longer than the length (second length) in the longitudinal direction of the ordinary ticket. Then, these fixed-fare tickets and prepaid cards correspond to the first tickets in the present invention, and the ordinary tickets correspond to the second tickets.

Next, the ticket processing device 14 in the automatic checkout machine
Will be described. First, the overall structure shown in FIG. 2 will be briefly described. The ticket processing apparatus 14 includes a housing 20 that accommodates various mechanisms described later.
20 is supported in the housing 10 of the automatic payment machine via a rail portion 23, and can be pulled out from the rear part of the automatic payment machine.

The ticket input / return port 22 is provided with an input guide 24 for guiding the input / return of the ticket into / from the input / return port 22. The loading guide 24 penetrates the housing 10 of the automatic settlement machine and projects outward. A positioning unit 26 is provided adjacent to the input / return port 22.
Takes in the tickets inserted through the input / return port 22 and arranges them in a predetermined position, and when returning a plurality of processed tickets, superimpose these tickets Return to the input / return port 22.

Alignment of tickets inserted into the input / return port 22
In order to be taken in by 26, a take-in portion 85 consisting of a belt 84b stretched around a roller 84a and a roller 84c rolling on the belt 84b is provided between them. Intake section 85 is input channel 24c
Is provided along the central part of.

In the housing 20, following the orientation section 26,
The prepaid card is provided with a punch unit 28 for making a hole indicating the usage balance and a recording and printing unit 30 in that order. The recording / printing unit 30 includes a print head 32 that prints predetermined information such as the usage balance on the inserted tickets and new tickets issued by the ticket issuing unit described later, and reads magnetic information on the tickets. And a combination type magnetic head 34 for writing.

The print head 32 is movably provided between a print position in contact with the platen roller 35 and an open position separated from the platen roller 35, and is normally biased to the open position by a spring (not shown). And when printing,
It is moved to the print position by the solenoid 36.

Following the print / record section 30, a scrap ticket collection section 38 for collecting used ordinary tickets, used fixed ticket,
A card collection unit 40 that collects prepaid cards and a card reservation unit 42 that temporarily holds the remaining cards while processing a single card when a plurality of cards are continuously inserted are arranged in parallel. It is provided in.

Further, above the card holding section 42, the first and second original bills for supplying the original bills used when issuing a new ticket, that is, the ones on which no information is printed or recorded. Supply units 44 and 46 are provided.

The above-mentioned plurality of mechanical parts are connected via a conveying path 50, and this conveying path 50 is formed by a plurality of conveying guides, a large number of feed rollers, and guide rollers. Print recording unit 30, scrap ticket collection unit 38, card collection unit 40,
Switching gates 51, 52, 53 for switching the transport path are provided between the card holding section 42 and the card holding section 42. The print recording unit 30
After passing through the switch, the transfer direction is switched by the switching gate 51, and then the switching gate 52 further distributes the tickets to the scrap ticket collection unit 38 or the card storage unit 40 according to the type.
Further, a card reversing unit 54 is provided between the print recording unit 30 and the card holding unit 42. When printing on the back surface (magnetic surface) of the card, the card that has passed through the print recording unit 30 is sent to the card reversing unit 54 by the switching gate 53, where it is reversed and then sent to the print recording unit.

The switching gates 51, 52 and 53 are driven by a solenoid 5556. In addition, in FIG.
Reference numeral 58 is an alignment unit 26, a punch unit 28, a print recording unit 30,
A reversible rotation type first drive motor for driving the feed rollers associated with the scrap ticket collection unit 38 and the card storage unit 40 is shown, and the reference numeral 60 is the card holding unit 42 and the first and second original bills. A reversible rotation type second drive motor for driving the feed rollers associated with the supply units 44 and 46 is shown.

Next, the configuration of each part of the ticket processing apparatus 14 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the loading guide 24 extending from the loading / returning port 22 includes a rectangular bottom wall 24a extending substantially horizontally, and right and left standing on both left and right edges of the bottom wall. It has a pair of guide walls (side guides) 24b. The width C between the pair of left and right guide walls 24b is formed to be substantially equal to the width of the card 62 which is the first ticket having the maximum width such as a prepaid card or a commuter pass. A guide groove 63 is formed on the upper surface of the bottom wall 24a so as to be adjacent to the one guide wall 24b. The guide groove 63 is formed so as to be inclined downward from the loading / returning port 22 toward the extended end of the loading guide 24, and is almost the same as, for example, an ordinary ticket 64 as a second narrow ticket. The widths D are equal. In addition, on the upper surface of the bottom wall 24a, display plates 65a and 65b for displaying the insertion positions of the card 62 and the ordinary ticket 64 to the user are embedded at respective positions corresponding thereto.

When inserting a wide card 62, the card 62 is inserted along the bottom wall 24a of the insertion guide 24 with the longitudinal direction of the card 62 aligned with the insertion direction. At this time, however, the left and right edges of the card 62 are guided by the pair of left and right guide walls 24b and guided into the loading passage 24c of the loading / returning port 22 which will be described later.

When inserting a narrow ordinary ticket 64, the longitudinal direction of the ordinary ticket 64 is aligned with the inserting direction and the ordinary ticket 64 is inserted into the guide groove 63. To do. As a result, the ordinary ticket 64 is guided to the one-way guide wall 24b side and into the below-mentioned input passage 24c of the input / return port 22 in a state of being biased.

Further, a regulating plate is provided at the base end of the charging guide 24.
66 is fixed and faces the bottom wall 24a of the charging guide 24 at a predetermined interval to form the charging passage 24c. The restriction plate 66 and the loading guide 24 form a loading / returning port 22 having a predetermined thickness, for example, a thickness of about two cards. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the insertion / return port 22 is provided with first and second insertion sensors 67 and 68 for detecting inserted tickets.
The first closing sensor 67 is located adjacent to the guide wall 24b on the side of the guide groove 63, and the second closing sensor 68 is located adjacent to the other guide wall 24b. Further, a third loading sensor 69 is provided at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the first loading sensor 67 on the downstream side in the inserting direction of tickets. These first
The third input sensors 67, 68, 69 are each composed of an optical sensor. Then, the carrying-in state of the tickets is detected.

Further, the input / return port 22 is provided with a thickness control mechanism 70 which allows the insertion of only one ticket at the time of insertion and the return of the stacked tickets at the time of return. . As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the thickness regulating mechanism 70 includes a thickness regulating screw 71, which is screwed into the regulating plate 66 substantially at the center and has a tip projecting into the inserting / returning port 22, and a bottom wall of the inserting guide 24.
The control lever 72 is rotatably attached to 24a. The thickness regulating screw 71 is fixed at a desired screwing position by a lock nut 73 screwed from the regulating plate 66 side.

An opening 74 is formed in the bottom wall 24a so as to face the thickness regulating screw 71. The restriction lever 72 is rotatably attached to a support plate 75 extending from the bottom wall 24a via a pivot 76. One end of the restriction lever 72 extends into the opening 74 and has an arcuate restriction surface 72a. The regulating lever 72 is located between the regulating position shown in FIG. 5 in which the regulating lever 72 abuts on the locking surface 78 of the bottom wall 24a defining the opening 74, and the open position rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 5 from the regulating position. Can be rotated. In this regulation position, the regulation surface 72a of the regulation lever 72 is located so as to face the tip of the regulation screw 71. The distance between the tip of the regulation screw 71 and the regulation surface 72a is set to be substantially equal to the thickness of one card 62 by adjusting the regulation screw 71. Also, the regulation lever
A tension spring 77 is provided between the other end of 72 and the support plate 75, and the regulation lever 72 is normally biased by the tension spring and abuts on the locking surface 78, and is held at the regulation position. .

Therefore, as shown by arrow E in FIG. 5, when, for example, a card 62 is inserted through the loading guide 24, the tip of the card 62 abuts the restriction surface 72a of the restriction lever 72, and the restriction lever 72 is inserted. Press in the clockwise direction. However, the rotation of the regulating lever 72 in the clockwise direction is regulated by the locking surface 78, and the regulating lever 72 is held at the regulating position shown in the figure. Therefore, the minimum height of the input path 24c of the input / return port 22 is defined by the tip of the restriction screw 71 and the restriction surface 72a of the restriction lever 72 to the thickness of one card. Therefore, at the time of insertion, only one card is allowed to pass, and when two or more cards are stacked and inserted, the tips of these cards are restricted by the regulation screw.
The insertion is regulated by colliding with the tip of 71 and the regulation surface 72a.

On the contrary, as shown by arrow F in FIG.
When the card 62 is returned through the return port 22, if the tip of the card abuts against the regulation surface 72a of the regulation lever 72, the regulation lever 72
Rotates in the direction of the open position against the biasing force of the tension spring 75. Therefore, the distance between the tip of the regulation screw 71 and the regulation surface 72a, that is, the minimum height of the loading / returning port 22 increases.
Therefore, for example, even when two cards 62 are returned in an overlapping manner, these cards 62 can pass through the input / return port 22, and a plurality of cards 62 can be returned in a batch.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7, the loading / returning port 22 faces the loading path 24c formed between the bottom wall 24a of the loading guide 24 and the regulation plate 66, and moves up and down. The regulating roller 81 is installed in the guide groove 63 in a direction perpendicular to the loading / returning direction.
Is arranged at a position avoiding the width D. The regulation roller 81 is fitted in a slot 82 formed in the regulation plate 66 so as to be rotatable and movable up and down. Usually, the regulation roller 81 is urged downward by its own weight and elastic urging means such as a spring member (not shown), and as shown in FIG.
Standing down to the position where it touches 24a.

The regulation roller 81 has a regulation end surface 81a on the side opposite to the guide wall 24b on the side of the guide groove 63 into which the ordinary ticket 64 as the second narrow sheet is inserted. Between the regulation end surface 81a and the guide wall 24b facing the regulation end surface 81a, a means for guiding the insertion of the ordinary ticket 64 as a second ticket having a narrow width is configured.

As will be described later, the regulation roller 81 can be pushed up and retracted from the insertion path 24c when a wide card 62 is inserted or returned. Further, at this time, the rise of the regulation roller 81 is detected by the pressure switch 85, and the situation is grasped. That is, the pressure switch 85 can also be used as one of the closing and returning sensors.

Here, when inserting a narrow ordinary ticket 64 into the input / return port 22, the longitudinal direction of the ordinary ticket 64 is made coincident with the inserting direction, and the ordinary ticket 64 is inserted into the guide groove 63. When a proper insertion operation is performed in which the ordinary ticket 64 is inserted in the state of being fitted into the passenger compartment, the ordinary ticket 64 is properly guided into the insertion path 24c of the insertion / return opening 22 with the one-sided guide wall 24b being biased to one side. To be

However, as shown in FIG. 7, the guide groove 63 does not function when an ordinary ticket 64 having a narrow width is inserted obliquely with respect to the inserting direction. However, between the regulation end surface 81a of the regulation roller 81 and the guide wall 24b facing this,
Since the insertion of the ordinary ticket 64 as the second narrow ticket is guided, the tip portion of the ordinary ticket 64 is between the regulation end surface 81a of the regulation roller 81 and the guide wall 24b facing the regulation end surface 81a. As long as it is inserted, that is, as long as the front end of the ordinary ticket 64 is in the correct position, it is aligned in the insertion process as shown by the arrow and the dotted line in FIG. Can be captured.

Therefore, the first to third closing sensors 67,
Can correctly detect the tickets inserted by 68 and 69. For this reason, since a legitimate one is not obliquely introduced and handled as a defective bill, the acceptance rate of bills is greatly improved.

When a wide card 62 is inserted, the regulation roller 81 is pushed up by the card 62 to be inserted, so that the insertion of the wide card 62 is not hindered. Further, when returning the tickets, the regulation roller 81 is also pushed up in the same manner, and the returning operation is not hindered. At this time, the pressure switch 85 is operated by the restriction roller 81 that has been pushed up.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the first original ticket supply unit 44 includes a first container 146 for accommodating the original tickets in a stacked state,
A delivery roller 147 provided movably below the first container 146 is provided. The feeding roller 147 is moved by a solenoid 148 to a position where it comes into contact with the lowermost original sheet in the first container 146 through an opening (not shown) provided in the bottom of the first container 146. Also, the first container 14
The 6 original ticket exits are formed to be slightly wider than the thickness of one original ticket and narrower than the thickness of two original tickets so that only one original ticket can pass through. The original ticket sent from the first container 146 is sent to the print recording unit 30 by a pair of take-out rollers 149.

The second original ticket supply section 46 includes a second container 150 containing the original ticket, a delivery roller 151, a solenoid 152 for moving the delivery roller, and a pair of takeout rollers.
It is provided with 153 and is configured similarly to the first original ticket supply unit 44.

In FIG. 2, reference numerals 154 and 155 are original sheet detection sensors for detecting original sheets taken out from the first and second containers 146 and 150, and reference numeral 156 is an original sheet during printing operation. 3A and 3B respectively show timing sensors for detecting the leading edge of the tickets including the tickets.

As shown in FIG. 8, the control system of the automatic settlement machine 14 has a CPU 160 as a main control section. CPU16
0 through the input interface 162, the operation key 17a of the operation unit 17, the first to third insertion sensors 67, 68, 69 provided in the insertion / return port 22, the position sensor 91, the original ticket detection sensor 154. , 155, a timing sensor 156, and a pressure switch 85 (not shown) are connected.

A mechanical controller 165, a print controller 167, and an operation controller 171 are connected to the CPU 160 via an output interface 164.
The input controller 165 includes the first and second drive motors.
58, 60, punch 28, and solenoids 36, 55, 56, 14
8 and 152 are connected. The print head 32 is connected to the print controller 167 via the print amplifier 166.
The magnetic head 34 is connected to the operation controller 173 via an amplifier 172.

Further, an input / output interface 170 is connected to the CPU 160, and this input / output interface 170
The magnetic head 34 is connected to the magnetic head 34 via a magnetic controller 173 and an amplifier 172. I / O interface
The display unit 16 is connected to the 170 via an operation controller 171 and an operation amplifier 168.

Next, the operation of the ticket processing apparatus 14 configured as above will be described. First, as a ticket, for example, an ordinary boarding ticket 64 is inserted into the insertion / return port 22 in alignment with the guide groove 63 of the insertion guide 24, and when detected by the first insertion sensor 67, it is not shown by a solenoid (not shown). A transport path blocking shutter is used to open the transport path. At the same time, the first and second drive motors 58, 60 are actuated, and are fed by the feed roller of the aligning section 26, the belt, and other conveying members through the intake section 85 including the belt 84b and the roller 84c rollingly contacting the belt 84b. It is taken in and orientated. That is, the ordinary ticket 64 is sandwiched between the belt 84b of the take-in portion 84 and the roller 84c that is in rolling contact with the belt 84b, and is taken into the alignment portion 26. Then the first and third dosing sensors
When the ordinary ticket 64 is detected by 67 and 69 at the same time, CP
U160 determines that the ticket is a regular ordinary ticket 64, the ordinary ticket 64 is aligned by the guide side plate 80 and the alignment plate 90 of the alignment unit 26, and then sent to the punch unit 28.

When the ordinary ticket 64 is accidentally inserted without being aligned with the guide groove 63 and is not detected by the first closing sensor 67, the conveyance path blocking shutter is not opened and the ordinary ticket is not opened.
64 captures are not done. However, normally, the regulating roller 81 described above is in a state of being aligned, and is normally taken in.

If the ordinary ticket 64 is placed sideways, that is, in the state where the longitudinal direction is in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction, and is inserted into the insertion / return port 22, the ordinary ticket is Since it is detected by the second loading sensors 67 and 68, it is temporarily taken in by the alignment section 26 side, but thereafter, since the length in the insertion direction is short, the ordinary ticket is the first and third loading sensors 67. , 69 cannot be detected at the same time. Therefore, the CPU 160 determines that the ordinary ticket 64 is not inserted in the proper direction, reverses the first drive motor 58, and returns the ordinary ticket from the insertion / return port 22.

Therefore, only the ordinary ticket 64 inserted into the guide groove 63 in the correct direction is taken into the automatic settlement machine 14 and sent to the punch section 28. Further, since the thickness regulation mechanism 70 is provided at the entry / return port 22, only one ordinary ticket can be entered, and when a plurality of ordinary tickets are entered in piles, The thickness control mechanism prevents the charging.

The loaded ordinary ticket 64 is sandwiched between the belt and the driven roller 89 and sent to the punch section 28.
At that time, the ordinary ticket 64 is aligned by the alignment plate of the alignment unit 26 so that the longitudinal direction of the ordinary ticket coincides with the transport direction. The position of the alignment plate is constantly monitored by the position sensor. When the alignment plate is in the alignment position, the CPU 160
Detects that the tickets passing through the orientation unit 26 are ordinary tickets. Then, the CPU 160 compares the detection result based on the position sensor with the detection results from the first to third closing sensors 67, 68, 69, and when these detection results are different, for example, When the insertion of the card is detected by the first to third insertion sensors, but it is detected that the alignment plate is in the alignment position based on the signal from the position sensor, the first drive motor 58 Is reversed and the taken-in tickets are returned to the input / return port 22.

Then, the ordinary ticket 64 is sent to the print recording unit 30 after passing through the punch unit 28. Here, the fare, the boarding station name, etc. are read from the ordinary boarding ticket 64 by the magnetic head 34, and the read information is sent to the CPU 160. CP
U160 calculates the settlement amount from the input information and displays the calculation result on the display unit 16. In addition, the regular ticket 64 is
The transfer gates are switched by the switching gates 51 and 52, and are collected in the scrap ticket collecting unit 38.

When the prepaid card is inserted through the insertion guide 24 to settle the above-mentioned settlement amount and is detected by the first and second insertion sensors 67 and 68, the conveyance path blocking shutter is raised to convey the sheet. The road is opened. At the same time, the first and second drive motors 58 and 60 are operated, and the prepaid card is clamped between the belt 84 wound around the take-in rollers 83a and 83b and the driven roller 85, and the alignment section 26
Taken in. After that, when the first to third insertion sensors 67, 68, 69 detect the prepaid card at the same time, the CPU 160 determines that the card is an authentic card, and the prepaid card is aligned by the guide side plate of the alignment unit 26. After that, it is sent to the punch unit 28. When passing through the aligning section 26, the prepaid card 62 is aligned by the pair of guide side plates so that the longitudinal direction of the card coincides with the carrying direction.
At this time, the alignment plate is pushed up by the card 62 to rotate and retract from the transport path.

When the card 62 is not detected by the first to third insertion sensors 67, 68, 69 at the same time, for example, a card having a length smaller than that of the regular card is inserted,
When the card is detected by only the third insertion sensor 69 after a short time has elapsed after the card is detected by the second insertion sensors 67 and 68, the CPU 160 determines that the inserted card is not a legitimate card. After determining, the first drive motor 58 is reversed and the card is returned from the insertion / return port 22. Even when the detection results of the first to third insertion sensors 67, 68, 69 and the position sensor 91 are different, the inserted tickets are returned.

A thickness control mechanism 70 is provided at the input / return port 22.
Is provided, only one prepaid card can be inserted, and when a plurality of ordinary tickets are overlapped and inserted, the thickness regulation mechanism prevents the insertion. Therefore, when inserting a plurality of prepaid cards, it is necessary to insert them one by one.

The accepted regular prepaid card is sent to the print recording section 30 after passing through the punch section 28. In the print recording unit 30, magnetic information is read from the prepaid card by the magnetic head. If the magnetic information can be read correctly, the prepaid card has a switching gate.
It is temporarily reserved in the first accommodating portion 118 of the card retaining portion 42 via 51 and 53. At the same time, the read magnetic information is stored in the CPU 16
Sent to 0 and has the following directives:

When the magnetic information cannot be correctly read from the prepaid card, the first drive motor 58 is rotated in the reverse direction,
The prepaid card is returned via the entry / return port 22.

When a command signal is output from the CPU 160,
The first and second drive motors 58 and 60 are reversed, and the prepaid card held in the card holding unit 42 is sent to the print recording unit 30. When it is necessary to print the predetermined information on the prepaid card, that is, when printing the balance etc. after settlement, after the tip of the prepaid card is detected by the timing sensor 156 for timing the printing start,
After a certain time has passed, the solenoid 36 for operating the print head turns off.
N is done. As a result, the platen roller 35 has a print head
Predetermined information is printed on the prepaid card while pressing 32. After printing is completed, the solenoid 36 is turned off and the print head 32 is released from the platen roller 35.

Thereafter, the first drive motor 58 is rotated in the reverse direction (that is, the normal rotation), the prepaid card is sent to the magnetic head 34, and the magnetic information, for example, the balance is rewritten. After the rewriting is completed, the first drive motor 58 is again rotated in the reverse direction, and the prepaid card is sent to the magnetic head 34 again.
Then, the rewritten magnetic information is read by the magnetic head 34, and it is checked whether the rewritten magnetic information has been rewritten correctly. When the magnetic information is rewritten correctly, the prepaid card is sent to the punch unit 28 as it is. When it is necessary to make a hole indicating the balance or the like, when the prepaid card reaches a predetermined position, the first drive motor 58 is temporarily stopped, and the solenoid 180 of the punch section 28 is turned on to turn the prepaid card Drilling is performed at a predetermined position.

After the completion of drilling, the prepaid card is sent to the magnetic head 34 by rotating the first drive motor 58 in the forward direction to check whether the punch holes are correctly opened. The punch holes are checked for correctness. If the punch holes are properly punched, the first drive motor 58 is reversed and the prepaid card is returned through the insertion / return slot 22.

As described above, when the rewritten magnetic information of the prepaid card is checked, if the prepaid card is not correctly read because it was rewritten by mistake, the prepaid card is sent to the magnetic head 58 again and the magnetic information is rewritten again. And a read check is performed. In this case, the magnetic information may be read without rewriting. That is, since the magnetic head 58 is single, writing and reading of magnetic information can be performed bidirectionally with respect to the magnetic head. Therefore, the probability of occurrence of a read error may be high, so that the chuck is performed again.
If the magnetic information cannot be correctly read as a result of the second reading check, the prepaid is sent to the card collecting unit 40 and collected. Similarly, if an error occurs when checking the punched holes, the prepaid card will also
Will be collected.

Although the series of card processing operations described above shows the case where one card is processed, the following processing is performed when a plurality of cards are continuously inserted. For example, when two prepaid cards are continuously inserted,
The first inserted prepaid card is held in the card holding section 42, and thereafter, the insertion of two prepaid cards is accepted. In other words, until the first inserted prepaid card reads the magnetic information in the print recording unit 30 and reaches the card holding unit 42, it is taken in even if another card is inserted into the insertion / return port 22. Ignored without. Then, after accommodating the first prepaid card, the second prepaid card is taken into the ticket processing apparatus, the magnetic information is read by the print recording unit 30, and then the card preserving unit 42 is accommodated.

Thereafter, in accordance with an instruction signal from the CPU 160, the prepaid card inserted later is taken out from the card holding section 42 first, and the same processing as in the case of one card described above is performed. However, the first prepaid card that has been processed is the second prepaid card (that is,
Until the processing of the previously inserted prepaid card) is completed, the holding mechanism 92 holds it in the alignment section 26. And
The second prepaid card is taken out from the card holding section 42 and subjected to the same predetermined processing as described above, and then the rearrangement section 26.
Then, as shown in FIG. 9, it is superposed on the first prepaid card held in the alignment section 26. When the two prepaid cards overlap, the rotating plate 94 of the holding mechanism 92
Are rotated to the release position, and these prepaid cards are collectively returned to the loading / returning port 22 in an overlapping state. In this case, the regulation lever 72 of the thickness regulation mechanism 70 is
Since the 74 is pushed by the tip of the prepaid card and rotated to the open position, the two prepaid cards can be smoothly returned in a batch without being obstructed by the regulation surface.

When processing three cards, up to two cards are held in the card holding section 42, and the third card is stopped on the conveying path at the end of reading the magnetic information. And
According to the command signal from the CPU 160, the above-mentioned processing is performed for each card. In this case, the cards that have been inserted last are processed in order, three cards are held in the alignment section 26 in a state of being piled up, and then three cards are simultaneously returned to the insertion / return port 22 at once.

Next, the card issuing operation will be described.
The card issuance may be newly issued, or may be automatically reissued when there is a magnetic information writing failure or punching failure during card processing, but the issuing operation itself is the same.

That is, the first and second drive motors 58 and 60 are driven in response to a ticket issuing command from the CPU 160, and, for example, the solenoid 148 of the first original ticket supply unit 44 is used.
Is excited. Then, the feeding roller 147 causes the first
One original sheet is sent out from the container 146, and is sandwiched and conveyed by a pair of take-out rollers 149. When the original ticket reaches the original ticket detection sensor 154, the solenoid 148 is turned on.
FF is set, and the operation of sending out the original ticket is stopped. on the other hand,
When the taken out original passes through the magnetic head 34 and the leading edge reaches the timing sensor 156, after the leading edge of the original bill is detected,
The solenoid 36 is excited after a certain period of time. As a result, necessary visual information is printed on the original ticket while pressing the print head 32 against the platen roller 35.

After completion of printing, the solenoid 36 is turned off and the second drive motor 60 is stopped. Also, the first
The driving motor 58 of the
Sent to 34. Then, necessary magnetic information is written on the original ticket by the magnetic head 34, and then the first drive motor
58 is reversed again, and the written magnetic information is the magnetic head.
It is read by 34 and checked for correctness. After the check, if the magnetic information is correct, the card on which the predetermined information is printed and recorded is sent to the insertion / return slot 22, and if the magnetic information is incorrect, read it again and check if there is an error. Are collected by the card collection unit 40.

In the ticket processing apparatus configured as described above, when a narrow ordinary ticket 64 is inserted into the input / return port 22, the longitudinal direction of the ordinary ticket 64 is aligned with the insertion direction, and When an appropriate insertion operation is performed in which the ordinary ticket 64 is inserted into the guide groove 63, the ordinary ticket 64 is biased toward the one guide wall 24b, and the entry / return port 22 is inserted. It is correctly guided into the input path 24c.

However, as shown in FIG. 7, when a narrow ordinary ticket 64 is inserted diagonally with respect to the inserting direction,
The posture is aligned between the regulation end surface 81a of the regulation roller 81 and the guide wall 24b facing the regulation end surface 81a. That is, in the insertion process, it is possible to take a normalizing posture and take it into the insertion path 24c. For this reason, since a legitimate one is not obliquely introduced and handled as a defective bill, the acceptance rate of bills is greatly improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be variously modified within the scope of the present invention. For example, instead of the regulation roller 81, a so-called block-shaped regulation body that does not rotate or a plate-shaped regulation body may be used. Alternatively, the restricting body may be pushed up and urged from below by a leaf spring or the like. Further, the present invention is not limited to the ticket processing device incorporated in the automatic checkout machine, and can be applied to other ticket processing devices handling a plurality of types of tickets. Needless to say, the applicable tickets are not limited to ordinary tickets, commuter tickets, and prepaid cards, but can be applied to other tickets.

[0067]

As described above in detail, the present invention is a ticket processing apparatus for processing a plurality of tickets having different widths from the same slot, and particularly, a ticket having a narrow width is obliquely inserted. Even in such a case, the regulation end surface of the regulation body and one side guide facing the regulation end surface are aligned in the correct posture. That is, it is possible to accept tickets of different sizes with the same insertion slot in the correct posture.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an automatic settlement machine including a ticket processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the entire ticket processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a loading / returning port and a loading guide of the ticket processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an alignment section at an input / return port of the ticket processing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an alignment section at an input / return port of the ticket processing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a control system of the ticket processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

22 ... Input / return port, 24 ... Input guide, 24b ... Guide wall,
24c ... input path, 62 ... card, 64 ... normal ticket, 81 ... regulation roller, 81a ... regulation end surface.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A ticket processing apparatus for processing a plurality of tickets having different widths from the same slot and processing the same, wherein the slot has a pair of left and right side guides for guiding left and right edges of a wide ticket. And a side guide that is installed between a position more than the width of a narrow ticket from one side guide and a position of the other side guide and that guides one edge of the narrow ticket. Tickets characterized by comprising a restricting body having a restricting end face for guiding the other end of the narrow ticket and a means for supporting the restricting body so as to be retractable from the insertion path of the insertion slot. Treatment device. 2. A ticket processing device for processing a plurality of tickets having different widths from the same slot and processing the pair of left and right side guides for guiding the left and right edges of a wide ticket to the slot. And a side guide that is installed between a position more than the width of a narrow ticket from one side guide and a position of the other side guide and that guides one edge of the narrow ticket. A restricting body having a restricting end surface for guiding the other end of the narrow ticket, a means for supporting the restricting body so as to be retractable from the inserting passage of the inserting opening, and inserting the restricting body into the inserting opening. A ticket handling device, comprising: a biasing unit positioned on a road. 3. A ticket processing apparatus for processing a plurality of tickets having different widths from the same slot and processing the pair of left and right side guides for guiding the left and right edges of a wide ticket to the slot. And a side guide that is installed between a position more than the width of a narrow ticket from one side guide and a position of the other side guide and that guides one edge of the narrow ticket. A regulation body having a regulation end surface for guiding the other edge of the narrow ticket and having a rotation axis in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the bills into the insertion slot, and the regulation body. A ticket processing apparatus comprising: a means for supporting the retractable member from the input passage of the input opening; and a biasing means for arranging the regulating member in the input passage of the input opening. 4. A ticket processing device for processing a plurality of tickets having different widths from the same slot and processing the pair of left and right side guides for guiding the left and right edges of a wide ticket into the slot. And a side guide that is installed between a position more than the width of a narrow ticket from one side guide and a position of the other side guide and that guides one edge of the narrow ticket. A restricting body having a restricting end surface for guiding the other end of the narrow ticket, a means for supporting the restricting body so as to be retractable from the inserting passage of the inserting opening, and inserting the restricting body into the inserting opening. Urging means for positioning in the road,
A ticket characterized in that the support means for the regulation body is configured to support the regulation body so as to be able to drop in the insertion path of the insertion opening by its own weight, and the biasing means is configured to utilize the weight of the regulation body. Treatment device. 5. A ticket processing device for processing a plurality of tickets having different widths by taking them from the same slot, and the pair of left and right side guides for guiding the left and right edges of the wide ticket to the slot. And a side guide that is installed between a position more than the width of a narrow ticket from one side guide and a position of the other side guide and that guides one edge of the narrow ticket. A restricting body having a restricting end surface for guiding the other end of the narrow ticket, a means for supporting the restricting body so as to be retractable from the inserting passage of the inserting opening, and inserting the restricting body into the inserting opening. A ticket processing device, comprising: a biasing unit that elastically pushes into a path by an elastic member. 6. A ticket processing device for processing a plurality of tickets having different widths from the same slot and processing the pair of left and right side guides for guiding the left and right edges of a wide ticket into the slot. And a side guide that is installed between a position more than the width of a narrow ticket from one side guide and a position of the other side guide and that guides one edge of the narrow ticket. A restricting body having a restricting end surface for guiding the other end of the narrow ticket, a means for supporting the restricting body so as to be retractable from the inserting passage of the inserting opening, and inserting the restricting body into the inserting opening. A ticket handling apparatus comprising: a biasing unit positioned on a path; and a sensor for detecting that the restricting body has retracted from the loading path of the loading slot.