JPH0795347B2 - Coin counting machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION a. Field of Industrial Application The present invention is a coin counting machine for selecting and counting mixed coins of a plurality of denominations, and when false coins are detected, the false coins and A coin counting process that automatically and reliably removes the coins to be excluded on the subsequent coin passage without stopping, and quickly returns to the original coin transfer state after the completion of the removal. Is.

b. Conventional technology Conventionally, in a coin counting processor for sorting and counting mixed coins of a plurality of denominations, in addition to a normal sorting and counting function for handling coins, in addition to fake coins (counterfeit coins, worn coins, deformed coins, etc. Different types of coins such as damaged coins and foreign ones are collectively referred to as "fake coins" hereinafter) and a preset function that combines the function of excluding this fake coin and the function of excluding this fake coin so that the counting number can be set in advance if necessary. And so on.

Various proposals and proposals have been made for this function of eliminating false coins, and a typical one of them is, for example, the structure of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-163089.

In the case of the above-mentioned conventional example, the coin is conveyed on the flat coin passage to the target sorting hole by the belt drive, and it is arranged on the downstream side of the coin discrimination sensor arranged in the middle of the coin passage. Mechanism for fake coins by a pair of coin blocking members that are formed so as to swing freely, and a plate member that independently opens and closes the notch for false coin removal that is provided between the coin blocking members. Is provided, and this counterfeit coin elimination mechanism is also used during the process of setting the count (so-called preset).

Then, in the above-mentioned configuration, in the case of the false coin excluding operation, when the false coin is detected by the denomination / authenticity discriminating unit, the coin blocking member is projected onto the coin passage based on the detection signal, The fake coin is clamped between the coin blocking members to prevent its passage. At this time, the coin following the fake coin is stopped before the coin blocking member, that is, on the upstream side. Then, the solenoid is actuated to drive the plate member to open the notch for removing false coins,
The false coin is dropped and removed from the false coin removing notch.

c. Problems to be solved by the invention Since the conventional coin counting machine is configured as described above, it can be applied when performing sorting and counting at a relatively low speed, but it is intended for high-speed mass processing. It is extremely difficult to put it to practical use when performing sorting and counting. That is, since the mechanism is configured to block the transfer of coins by a mechanical operation, when the false coin is detected, the coin being transferred cannot be accurately retained between the pair of coin blocking members. However, it is physically and timing extremely difficult to perform consistently at the time of high speed conveyance, even though it is possible at the time of medium / low speed conveyance, and it is practically impossible. is there.

Further, with respect to the method of blocking the passage of coins by the coin blocking member, it is also proposed to open the coin outlet provided in the coin transport path at the time of detecting false coins to eliminate the false coins, but When a false coin is detected by the coin discriminating sensor, a plurality of coins following the false coin also pass through the transportation path at substantially the same time. Therefore, this time, dealing with these coins became a problem.

The present invention eliminates the above problems and, when the inclusion of false coins is detected, automatically and reliably without stopping the transportation of the false coins and the coins to be excluded on the coin passage subsequent to the false coins. The purpose is to obtain a coin counting machine designed to be eliminated.

d. Means for Solving Problems The coin counting processor according to the present invention is a coin counting processor configured to perform discrimination and counting while transferring coins sent from a coin supply unit, and false coins are detected. Then, means for counting the number of residual coins including the fake coins and the following coins, fake coin excluding means arranged facing the coin excluding hole on the coin passage, and coins provided in the coin supplying section. Blocking means, and when the false coin is detected, the coin blocking means temporarily stops the coin supply, and the false coin removing means removes the residual coin from the false coin removing hole. .

e. Operation In the coin counting processor according to the present invention, when the false coin is conveyed through the coin passage and the passage thereof is detected by the coin sorting sensor, the coin blocking means blocks the sending of the coin sent from the coin supply unit. Moreover, when the passage is detected by the exclusion timing detection sensor and a timing signal is output, the control signal is transmitted from the control unit to the exclusion shutter, and immediately after the true coin being conveyed passes over the false coin exclusion hole. , The false coin exclusion hole is opened, and the residual coin including the false coin is excluded from the false coin exclusion hole.

Therefore, it is possible to automatically remove the false coins while conveying the residual coins on the coin passage without mechanically stopping the conveyance of the false coins and manually processing the coins unlike the conventional case. After the removal, the original state is reset again, the operation of the coin blocking means is released, the coin from the coin supply unit is supplied to the coin passage, and the coin counting process state can be returned.

f. Embodiment Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the coin counting processor according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a mechanism for transporting and counting coins. In the figure, reference numeral 1 indicates a rotary disc 2 on which coins A of plural denominations are placed, and the rotation thereof. Disk 2
And a peripheral wall portion 3 of a cylindrical shape that is erected on the peripheral edge portion 2a, and sends coins to the outside by a centrifugal force associated with the rotation of the rotating disc 2 driven by the same motor together with the coin transporting means driven by a belt described later. The coin supply section is formed as described above, and the coin passage 5 is exposed to the side of the feeding groove 4 which is cut out at the lower portion of the peripheral wall section 3 and has a thickness width of about one coin. Further, an entrance shutter (hereinafter referred to as an entrance shutter) formed also on the outer side of the feeding groove 4 near the discharge opening 1a of the coin supply unit 1 so as to prevent the passage of coins as necessary. A shutter 6) is provided, and the operating arm 6a of the entrance shutter 6 is engaged with the solenoid 8. The coin passage 5 has the outlet 1a.
The transfer surface 5a, which is arranged in front of the pickup roller 7 and communicates with the front thereof, extends over the coin sorting holes 10A to 10F, which will be described later, and presses and conveys the coins in pairs. A conveyor belt (not shown) is stretched in parallel and a sorting passage 5b for transporting sorting coins is formed. Therefore, the transfer surface 5a constitutes a coin transfer means 5c. In the sorting passage 5b, sorting holes 10A to 10F each having a hole diameter of a gold type and a different opening area are formed (however, the sorting holes 10D and 10E are not shown), and the sorting hole 10A is a 1-yen coin sorting. It is a hole for a coin, and the coins corresponding to 50-yen coin, 5-yen coin, 100-yen coin, 10-yen coin and 500-yen coin are respectively corresponded in order as the coin diameter increases. Further, coins that are located in the lower passage side of the transport surface 5a having the selection holes 10A to 10F, and on the front side of each of them are coins that function as sensors for denomination determination in the denomination detection sensor unit 11. Sensors 11a to 11f are provided respectively, and all of them are the selection holes 10A to 1f.
It is provided in correspondence with 0F.

Further, the coin storage parts 12A to 12F (however, the coin storage parts 12D and 12E are not shown) are arranged in the corresponding lower positions of the selection holes 10A to 10F, respectively, and the sorted and counted coins are provided. Is configured to house. Further, in the coin passage 5 located downstream of the outlet 1a of the coin supply unit 1, there is provided a coin discrimination sensor 9 for obtaining a discrimination output such as denomination and authenticity of coins and a counting output for denomination. The coin discrimination sensor 9 is constituted by any of optical, magnetic or electrostatic means.

On the other hand, on the downstream side of the coin discrimination sensor 9 and on the upstream side of the sorting hole 10A, a false coin excluding hole 13 for dropping and excluding false coins is formed, and the false coin is placed at a lower position thereof. A coin storage unit 14 for accommodating is arranged.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, on the lower surface side of the conveying surface 5a having the false coin excluding hole 13, a false coin having an excluding shutter 16 formed so as to be retractable so as to open and close the false coin excluding hole 13 is provided. An exclusion shutter device 15 is provided. In this fake coin excluding shutter device 15, the excluding shutter 16 is movably supported at one end of a supporting rod 17 that swings around a fulcrum shaft 16a, and the other end of the supporting rod 17 is a solenoid.
18 is engaged. Further, a spring 19 is stretched on the side of the support rod 17 on which the expulsion shutter 16 is attached, and in the normal state, the expulsion shutter 16 acts so as to close the false coin exclusion hole 13 to the extent that the coin A does not hinder the conveyance. ing.

Furthermore, an exclusion timing detection sensor 20 that outputs a timing signal each time a coin passes is disposed at a position before the false coin exclusion hole 13, that is, at the front side when viewed from the coin transport direction.

Next, the configuration shown in FIG. 1 shows a schematic block configuration of a coin counting processor according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 9 is a coin discrimination sensor for detecting the coin diameter, material, etc. of a mixed coin of a plurality of denominations and measuring the number of coins. The output of the coin discrimination sensor 9 is the coin discrimination sensor. Based on the detection signal from the sensor 9, the external size, the material, the presence or absence of jagged edges, etc. are distinguished to identify the denomination, authenticity, etc. of the coin, and at the same time, the denomination for counting the number of denominations. It is input to the authenticity discrimination unit 21.

The exclusion timing detection sensor 20 outputs a detection signal each time a coin passes, and is configured to monitor the flow of coins such as a coin jam (jam) according to its output timing.
The output of the exclusion timing detection sensor 20 is the control unit 22.
In addition to the input to the denomination counting and comparing unit 24, the output of the denomination detecting sensor unit 11 is also input to the denomination counting and comparing unit 24 via the second memory 22b. This denomination detection sensor
11 has a sensor function and a denomination counting function, and each coin sensor 11a to 11f corresponding to each denomination selects a sorting hole.
The configuration is such that the number of sheets dropped to 10A to 10F is measured, and the counting process for each denomination is performed based on the detection signal.

A set value input unit 25 is connected to the control unit 22,
When inputting a preset value, a desired set number can be input by ten key operation (not shown).

The denomination counting comparator 24 in the control unit 22 includes data contents of denomination / true / false discrimination and count output read from the first memory 22a and denomination detecting sensor unit 11 read from the second memory 22b. While comparing the contents of the denomination count output by the denomination and monitoring the difference between the contents of both count outputs, when the false coin is detected, the contents of the denomination count output by the denomination detection sensor unit 11 and the exclusion timing detection Sensor 20
It is configured to calculate the number of unnecessary coins to be excluded by comparison with the output content of the timing signal from.

Further, the set value counting / comparing unit 23 in the control unit 22 includes the data content regarding the denomination / authenticity discrimination and the counting output read from the first memory 22a of the control unit 22, and the number storage unit 22.
A comparison is made with the input setting contents by the set value input unit 25 read from c, the coincidence of both count contents is monitored, and when a coincidence signal is obtained, an entrance shutter 6, which will be described later,
Expulsion shutter 16 and coin drive / transporter drive motor
This is a configuration capable of outputting a control signal for driving 26 and the like.

The output of the control unit 22 is applied to the counting display unit 30, and the counting display unit 30 displays the number of coins sorted and counted according to the denomination, and when a counting error is detected, an "error" is displayed. When the display or the counting by setting the number of sheets is completed, the fact is displayed.

A first solenoid drive unit 27, a second solenoid drive unit 28, and a motor drive unit 29 are connected to the control unit 22,
The output of the solenoid drive unit 27 is connected to the inlet shutter drive solenoid 8 that opens and closes the inlet shutter 6,
The output of the solenoid drive unit 28 is connected to the exclusion shutter drive solenoid 18 that opens and closes the exclusion shutter 16, and the output of the motor drive unit 29 is connected to the coin supply unit / conveyance unit drive motor 26, respectively.

The processing configuration for eliminating false coins in the coin counting machine according to the present invention is configured as described above, and
The operation will be described. It should be noted that the false coin elimination configuration of this coin counting processor is shared with the preset function, but since the preset is not the object of the present invention, its detailed description is omitted.

First, when the coin feeding unit / conveying unit driving motor 26 is started by an operation (not shown), the mixed coins in the coin feeding unit 1 are sequentially delivered to the coin passage 5 through the discharge port 1a as the rotating disc 2 rotates. To be done. Then, after these coins are aligned,
The contents of coins are detected by the coin discrimination sensor 9 arranged in the coin passage 5, and the denomination / genuine discrimination unit 21 discriminates the denomination.
Discrimination of authenticity and counting by denomination are performed. The discrimination and counting output signal (hereinafter referred to as denomination / counting signal) is input to the control unit 22, and the counting content of the denomination and the time-series arrangement content according to the input order of passing coins are stored in the first memory 22a. Are stored respectively. The data stored in the first memory 22a is read in the input order in synchronization with the timing signal output when the coins being conveyed pass through the exclusion timing detection sensor 20, and the coin type counting / comparing section 24 and the set value counting are performed. Input to the comparison unit 23, and the counting display unit
At, the number of denominations that change from moment to moment is displayed.

The coins that have passed through the coin discrimination sensor 9 and the removal timing detection sensor 20 are further conveyed to the preceding sorting passage 5b, reach the sorting holes 10A to 10F, and fall into the corresponding sorting holes, and the coin sensors 11a to 11f. After the number of drops of each denomination is detected by the coin type, the coin storage units 12A to 1 for true coins
It is housed on the 2nd floor. The output signals from the coin sensors 11a to 11f are subjected to counting processing in the denomination detecting sensor unit 11, and then the counting contents of each denomination are stored in the second memory 22b of the control unit 22.

And, by the output of the coin discrimination sensor 9,
A denomination and authenticity discrimination unit that monitors the type and number of passing coins
When a fake coin is detected at 21, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, when three types of coins of 10 yen, 50 yen, and 100 yen are in the sorting and counting state, and a fake coin is detected during the transportation. A control signal is immediately applied from the control unit 22 to the first solenoid driving unit 25 to energize the entrance shutter driving solenoid 8. The operation of the solenoid 8 is transmitted to the entrance shutter 6, and the entrance shutter 6 rushes into the discharge opening 1a of the coin supply unit 1 to be in the closed state, and prevents subsequent coins from being sent to the coin passage 5. Further, due to the prevention of the conveyance, the denomination / counting signal for each denomination detected by the denomination / authenticity discrimination unit 21 which has been conveyed through the coin passage until then is sequentially stored / read out in the first memory 22a. Therefore, the counting display unit 30 displays the count contents of "51 coins" for 10 yen coins, "38 coins for 50 yen coins" and "24 coins" for 100 yen coins, respectively.

Next, when the fake coin is conveyed through the coin passage and its passage is detected by the exclusion timing detection sensor 20 and a timing signal is output, a control signal is applied from the control unit 22 to the second solenoid drive unit 28, and the elimination shutter is released. Energize the drive solenoid 18. The operation of the solenoid 18 is transmitted to the elimination shutter 16, and the true coin being conveyed passes through the elimination shutter 16 closing the false coin elimination hole 13, and immediately before the false coin passes, the false coin is eliminated. Hole
13 is opened.

Further, prior to the operations for eliminating the false coins, when a false coin is detected by the denomination / authenticity discrimination unit 21, the false coin and the following coins (that is, the 51st coin of the 10-yen coin and For the 38th coin of 50-yen coins), a control signal for excluding and excluding it from the sorting counting target is output from the control unit 22,
Based on this control command, in the denomination counting comparison section 24, the contents of the timing signal from the exclusion timing detection sensor 20 and the denomination counting signal from the denomination detecting sensor section 11 are compared and collated, and the coins to be excluded Calculate.
That is, subtraction of the output content [111] of the denomination counting signal by the denomination detection sensor unit 11 read from the second memory 22b from the output content [114] of the timing signal indicating the passage of the coin by the exclusion timing detection sensor 20. Then, "114-11 = 3" is obtained as a subtraction output, and the number of coins to be eliminated based on the result of the subtraction is determined to be three as in the elimination target coin shown in FIG.

In this case, the timing signal represents the total number of coins that have passed the exclusion timing detection sensor 20. That is, including the false coin, the true coin that is conveyed prior to the false coin reaches the predetermined selection holes 10A to 10F, and the number of coins of the denomination stored in the coin storage units 12A to 12F ( (Corresponding to a coin type counting signal) [111] in total, and when the entrance shutter 6 drives to close the discharge opening 1a of the coin supply unit 1 at the time of detecting the false coin and the false coin, immediately before that. It is confirmed that the coin [114], which is the sum of the coin discrimination sensor 9 and the number [3] of coins that have advanced to the coin passage 5 between the entrance shutter 6 and the coin, has passed through the exclusion timing detection sensor 20. I mean.

Therefore, when the removal target coins are calculated, the control unit 22 controls the time corresponding to the transportation of these three coins, that is, the coins located at the end of the removal target coins (the 38th coin).
A 50-yen coin (corresponding to a 50-yen coin) is conveyed through the coin passage 5, and the false coin exclusion hole 13
Or the time corresponding to the maximum number of coins that can be aligned in the coin passage 5 between the entrance shutter 6 and the coin discrimination sensor 9 in the state where the coin outlet 1a of the coin supply unit 1 is closed. Alternatively, the exclusion shutter 16 is timer-driven for a set time by any method such as an arbitrarily set time, and the opening time of the false coin exclusion hole 13 is controlled.

As a result, when the entrance shutter 6 closes the discharge opening 1a of the coin supply unit 1, the coins that have been sent out on the coin passage 5 between the entrance shutter 6 and the coin discrimination sensor 9, that is, the false coins and Three coins, a 10-yen coin (equivalent to the 51st coin) and a 50-yen coin (equivalent to the 38th coin) that follow the fake coin, fall into the open fake coin removal hole 13 , Is stored in the coin storage unit 14 for false coins.

When the removal of these coins is completed, the denomination classification comparison unit 24
A correction signal is applied to the first memory 22a from
As the coins are removed, the counting contents of the denomination counting memory unit in the first memory 22a are corrected. In this case, in the first memory 22a, all the passing coins including the 10-yen coin (equivalent to 51st coin) and the 50-yen coin (equivalent to 38th coin) following the fake coin as shown in FIG. Species / Authenticity Discrimination Department
The result of discrimination of denomination / authenticity, etc. and counting of denomination is stored in 21. As a result of subtraction of the corresponding coin portion with the discharge of the excluded coin, The counting contents of the denomination counting memory unit in the memory 22a are 50 yen for 10 yen coins (51 coins) and 50 yen for 50 yen coins (38 coins).
The number of sheets is corrected to 37 sheets, and the corrected count content is displayed in the count display unit 30 with the corrected number.

When the predetermined timer time has elapsed and the fact that no coins remain on the coin transport surface 5a is detected in the output relationship of each sensor unit, a control signal is sent from the control unit 22 to the motor drive unit 29. When applied, the supply of power to the coin supply / conveyance unit driving motor 26 is stopped, and the drive of the rotating disk 2 and the coin conveyance belt is stopped. Further, the control signal is again applied to the first solenoid drive unit 27 and the second solenoid drive unit 28, and the energization of the entrance shutter drive solenoid 8 and the removal shutter drive solenoid 18 is released.

When the operation of the coin feeding unit / conveying unit driving motor 26 is stopped, the control unit 22 controls the denomination / counterfeiting signal data stored in the first memory 22a by the denomination / counterfeit discrimination unit 21. And the data of the denomination counting signal by the denomination detecting sensor unit 11 stored in the second memory 22b,
The denomination-type count comparison unit 24 compares and collates, and verifies whether or not both data are based on the correctly output count contents. In this case, the first memory 22a
The contents of each denomination in the data read from the memory and the data read from the second memory 22b are true coins excluding the rejected coins, and each count value is always the same unless there is a special detection error, and , When a match condition is obtained for this denomination, a match signal indicating it is output. Therefore, this means that the count of the rejected coins was correct in the comparison and comparison results. Further, with this comparison reference, the data based on the denomination / counting signal and the data based on the denomination-based counting signal are also checked for authenticity with respect to the counting contents of both data.

When the coincidence signal is output, it is detected that the coins to be excluded are accurately calculated and that the coins are definitely ejected. Then, the control unit 22 further causes the entrance shutter 6 and the exclusion shutter 16 to be removed. When it is detected that the return operation of the control member is correctly performed and the return to the original state is completed correctly, it is determined that the removal operation of the false coins is completed, and the next sorting and counting operation is performed. It becomes a waiting state. After that, the operator operates a switch (not shown), or at the same time when the operation of excluding the false coins is completed, the counting operation is performed by automatically restarting the motor 26 for commonly driving the coin supply unit / conveyance unit. It will be restarted. At the time of resuming the sorting counting operation, the denomination / authenticity stored and held in the first memory 22a of the control unit 22 is not invalidated without invalidating the contents counted for each denomination at the time of stopping the drive of the drive motor 26. Money type by the false discrimination section 21
The cumulative addition is continuously performed on the data of the counting signal and the data of the counting signal of the denomination by the denomination detecting sensor unit 11 stored and held in the second memory 22b, and the selection counting operation is continued. Done.

Incidentally, each step of the above-mentioned counted number setting processing is as shown in the steps after the routine in the flowchart of FIG. Further, the routine is applied in the case of preset count processing, and since it is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

g. Effect of the Invention With the coin counting processor according to the present invention, when a false coin is detected, the coin counting processor according to the present invention mechanically blocks the conveyance of the false coin as in the conventional case and is manually operated. Instead of picking up the fake coins, stop the coin supply from the coin supply section and automatically eliminate the residual coins containing the fake coins in the coin passage, and after eliminating the fake coins, automatically Since the coin supply from the coin supply unit is started, it is possible to greatly improve the processing speed during the coin counting process particularly in the high-speed transfer process, and it is possible to greatly improve the counting accuracy.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a processing system, and FIG. 2 is a plan configuration showing the overall configuration of a mechanical system. FIG. 3 is a detailed configuration diagram showing a main part of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a coin transportation state, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a state of coin counting processing. 1 is a coin supply unit, 6 is an entrance shutter, 9 is a coin discrimination sensor, 11 is a coin type detection sensor unit, 13 is a coin removal hole, 16 is an exclusion shutter, 20 is an exclusion timing detection sensor, and 21 is a denomination / true False discrimination section, 22 control section, 24 denomination counting comparison section, 25 set value input section, 23 count display section, 27 first solenoid drive section, 28 second solenoid drive section, 29
Is a motor drive unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A coin counting processor configured to perform discrimination and counting while transferring coins sent from a coin supply unit, and when a false coin is detected, a residual coin including the false coin and a subsequent coin is detected. A coin counting means, a false coin removing means disposed facing the coin removing hole on the coin passage, and a coin blocking means provided in the coin supply unit, wherein the coin is detected when the false coin is detected. A coin counting processor characterized in that the supply of coins is temporarily stopped by the blocking means, and the residual coins are removed from the false coin removal holes by the false coin removing means.