JPH10302106A - Change automatic payment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To meet the convenience of replenishment of coins as change. SOLUTION: When coins as change are received in coin storage parts (S1), their denominations are discriminated (S4); and when it is judged that the coin storage part of a denomination is full (S4), a reject solenoid is turned on to reject coins of this denomination from a carrying route to a reject storage part (S5), and rejected coins are counted by denominations (S6). When it is recognized that coins in a coin storage part have been paid (S7), a number counter is checked (S8) to confirm the number of coins in the coin storage part; and if it is judged that this number of coins is equal to or smaller than a prescribed number (S9), a reject coin counter is seen (S10) to display this number of coins (S12) in the case of the number of rejected coins other than 0 (S11). Thus, coins can be replenished to the coin storage part without going to another preservation part to take coins while there are coins in the reject storage part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic change dispensing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, coins which have been batch-inserted from a coin slot are sent out and transported one by one, and during this transporting process, coins are sorted by a coin sorting section into 1 yen, 5 yen, 10 yen, 50 yen and 100 yen.
Yen and 500 yen are denominated and stored in the coin storage unit for each denomination, POS terminal (Point Of Sales) and ECR
There is an automatic change dispensing device in which a coin is dispensed to a coin dispensing outlet by a coin dispensing section having a belt configuration when there is a change according to a command from an (Electronic Cash Register). In such a change automatic dispensing device, a reject overflow section is provided between the coin slot and the coin storage section, and when the coin storage section is full, the coin is rejected by the reject overflow section to outside the coin transport path. There is something that we try to eliminate.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In an automatic change dispensing apparatus used by being connected to a POS terminal or an ECR,
The difference between the total sales amount and the amount kept by the customer is calculated to determine the amount of change, and coins in the coin storage unit are automatically paid out as change.However, when the number of coins in the coin storage unit decreases, change is The ability to automatically pay out is lost.

In such a case, it is necessary to go to another storage place in order to replenish the coins in the coin storage unit, and during this time the sales registration work must be interrupted, which is very troublesome. A spare coin as change may be stored in the drawer, but the storage capacity of the spare coin is not sufficient, so that it may be necessary to go to another storage location to collect the coin.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and it is possible to grasp the amount of coins stored in a coin storage unit and the amount of coins removed in a reject storage unit and change the coins so that coins can be conveniently supplied. It is an object to provide an automatic dispensing device.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
The coins stored in the individual coin storage units are detected by the counting sensor, and the number of deposits stored in the coin storage units is counted by the number-of-payments counting means, and the coins paid out from the individual coin storage units to the coin payout exit. Is detected by the payout sensor, the number of payouts for each denomination is counted by the payout counting means, and the difference between the number of money received in the coin storage unit and the number of payouts paid out to the coin payout exit is calculated by the height calculating means. Calculate and calculate the amount of money for each denomination in the coin storage unit, and when the amount of money in the coin storage unit exceeds the allowable storage amount, in the coin transport path between the coin insertion slot and the coin sorting unit. The reject unit removes coins of the corresponding denomination from the reject storage unit, counts the amount of coins removed in the reject storage unit for each denomination by reject counting means, and rejects and outputs the counting result. By It was configured to output. Therefore,
It is possible to grasp the remaining amount of the coin storage unit and the amount of stored coins in the reject storage unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic change dispensing apparatus of the first aspect, a display is used as the reject count value output means. Therefore, it is possible to output the number of coins rejected to the reject unit to the display unit by denomination and to know the number of coins to be supplied to the coin storage unit based on the output.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a denomination determining unit for determining a denomination of the coin is disposed between the coin slot and the reject unit. . Therefore, the denomination of the coin is determined by the denomination determining unit before the coin reaches the reject unit. This makes it possible to exclude only coins of the denomination corresponding to the full coin storage unit and objects other than genuine coins into the reject storage unit.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a deposit reject process and a reject coin display process. FIG. 2 is a vertical right side view showing a structure of a reject unit. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a structure of a reject unit. FIG. 5 is an overall plan view, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the overall appearance, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a coin storage unit and a coin payout unit, and FIG. 8 is an electrical block diagram.

As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.
A coin insertion slot 2 is provided at the front right side of the coin insertion slot 2 and is open upward to receive coins C collectively. The coin insertion slot 2 is provided with a plurality of sets of insertion sensors 3 that photoelectrically detect the presence or absence of the coin C. A loading roller 4 is provided at one end of the coin loading slot 2, and a loading section 5 is formed by the loading roller 4 and the coin loading slot 2. The input rollers 4 are disposed directly above the input belt 6 that conveys the coins C in a row with a gap through which one coin C passes. The rotation direction of the input roller 4 is determined so that when the coin C is superimposed on the input belt 6, coins C other than the lowermost coin C are returned to the coin insertion slot 2 side.

The feeding belt 6 is provided with a conveyer belt 7 having a higher conveying speed so that the coins C can be fed at a predetermined gap by increasing the feeding speed of the coins C. Are continuously provided. An outer diameter check unit 9 for checking the outer diameter of the coin C is provided in the portion of the conveyor belt 7. This outer diameter check part 9
Functions as a denomination discriminator for measuring the outer diameter of the coin C and discriminating the denomination of the coin C, and can also discriminate false money. A reject overflow section 10 which is a reject section is provided ahead of the outer diameter check section 9.

Although the configuration of the reject overflow section 10 will be described later, the outer diameter check section 9 determines that the coins C to be conveyed are not genuine, or even if they are genuine, by the outer diameter check section 9. When the coin storage unit (described later) for storing the coin C corresponding to the determined denomination is full, the coin conveyance is interrupted and the coin C of the corresponding denomination is removed. Further, a transport belt 11 that converts the transport direction to a right angle and transports the coins C to the coin sorting position is provided at the end portion of the transport belt 8.
The input roller 4, the input belt 6, and the transport belts 7, 8, and 11 constitute a coin transport unit that transports the coin C inserted into the coin slot 2 to a coin sorting position.

Next, a sorting hole 12 is provided for each denomination whose hole width dimension is sequentially increased along the conveyor belt 11, and a coin sorting portion 13 located at a coin sorting position is formed therein. Sorting hole 12 is 1 yen, 5 yen, 10 yen, 50 yen, 1
6 for each denomination of 00 yen and 500 yen
Are provided. A counting sensor 14 is provided for each sorting hole 12. Further, a coin storage section 16 having an upper opening which is separated by a partition plate 15 for each coin C in communication with each of the sorting holes 12 is provided.

A payout belt 17 is provided on a bottom surface of each coin type of the coin storage section 16 so as to be suspended between a driving roller 18 and a driven roller 19 (see FIG. 4). The payout belt 17 is composed of a pair of two long and short endless belts, and is inclined so as to increase in height toward the downstream side in the coin transport direction. A separation roller 20 for separating the coins C one by one is provided at the exit of the coin storage unit 16 so as to cross all the exits.
A coin standby unit 21 is provided for each denomination in which the coins are arranged in a line and made to stand by. The longer of the payout belts 17
The coin also extends to the coin waiting section 21 and reaches the coin payout position after passing through the coin waiting section 21. The coin standby unit 21
Is provided with a presser plate 22 (see FIG. 7), which is dimensioned so that two or more coins C do not overlap each other, on the upper part of the payout belt 17.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, operation control is performed on the upper portion of the vicinity of the tip of each payout belt 17 so as to temporarily stop coins C by denomination and to send out a required number of coins C. Coin shutter 23 is the spindle 2
4 is supported so as to be freely rotatable. These coin shutters 23 hold the leading coin C on the payout belt 17 at one end 23a, but rotate around the support shaft 24 when the shutter solenoid 25 connected to the other end is driven to specify the coin. It is configured to pay out coins C by the number of coins. Further, immediately after each coin shutter 23, a payout sensor 26 for counting the number of coins C paid out for each denomination.
And a payout check sensor 27 for inspecting the material of the coin C paid out for each denomination and checking whether or not the coin is genuine. These payout check sensors 27
Is a type of magnetic sensor such as a proximity switch that responds to metal. Here, a coin payout unit 28 having a conveyor belt structure configured to convey coins C stored in the coin storage unit 16 by denomination and drop them to a coin payout position is configured.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a coin dispensing position in which a coin C is dropped by the dispensing belt 17 of the coin dispensing section 28 by denomination is a housing-shaped coin dispensing opening having an open upper surface. 29 are arranged. A drawer 30 (see FIG. 6) constituting a drawer is provided in a space formed below the payout belt 17 and the coin payout port 29, which are components of the coin payout section 28, inside the main body case 1. It is provided so that it can be pulled out under the control of the terminal / ECR. Further, a display 31 and various operation units 32 are provided on the left side of the main body case 1. The display 31 here has a function as a reject count value output unit that outputs a count result of a reject count unit described later.

Next, the reject overflow section 10 described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 will be described in detail. A reject hole 34 larger than the diameter of the coin C having the largest diameter is formed in the guide plate 33 facing the conveyance belt 7 with a gap corresponding to one coin, and a reject solenoid 35 is formed on one side of the reject hole 34. A connected reject shutter 36 is provided rotatably about a support shaft 37. Normally, the reject shutter 36 restricts the opening width of the reject hole 34 to prevent the coin C from falling.
When the reject solenoid 35 is driven, the spindle 37
3 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 3 to widen the opening width of the reject hole 34. Below this reject hole 34, a reject storage part 38 for storing coins C falling from the reject hole 34 is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the main body case 1.

Next, an electrical configuration will be described with reference to an electrical block diagram shown in FIG. A CPU 40, a ROM 41 in which fixed data such as a program executed by the CPU 40 is written, a RAM 42 in which variable data such as work data is temporarily written, an I / O port 4
3 is connected to the bus. The CPU 40 has an SCPU 4
4 are connected. The CPU 40 also includes an interface 46 connected to the display 31, the operation unit 32, the buzzer 45, the POS, the power supply 47, the unit open switch 48 that is turned on when the drawer 30 is pulled out, a reject storage unit. The reject unit open switch 49 that is turned on when the 38 is pulled out, the above-described insertion sensor 3, the full storage sensor (photoelectric detector) 50 that detects a state in which the coin storage unit 16 is full, and the reject storage unit 38 is full. The reject full sensor (photoelectric detector) 51 for detecting the state of, the counting sensor 14, the payout sensor 26, and the like are connected.

The SCPU 44 has a ROM in which fixed data such as a program executed by the SCPU 44 is written.
52, the above-described payout check sensor 27, the battery sensor 5
3. The photo sensor 54 and the like are connected. The battery sensor 53 detects the outer diameter of the coin C as one of the components of the outer diameter check unit 9 described above. Photo sensor 54
Are provided on the downstream side of the coin slot 2, respectively, and the coin C
, A sensor that detects whether or not the coin C is a perforated denomination based on the presence or absence of a hole at the center of the coin C, a sensor that detects the width of the coin C, and the like.

Further, the I / O port 43 is provided with the shutter solenoid 25 and the reject solenoid 3 described above.
5, a feeding motor 56 for driving the feeding roller 4 and the feeding belt 6, a feeding motor 57 for driving the feeding belts 7 and 8, a feeding motor 58 for driving the feeding belt 11, and a payout belt 1.
The storage / discharge motor 59 for driving the drive 7 is connected.

Next, the flow of the entire operation will be described. When the coin C is inserted into the coin insertion slot 2, the insertion sensor 3 detects the coin C, and the insertion motor 56, the conveyance motors 57 and 58 are driven, and the insertion roller 4, the insertion belt 6,
The conveyor belts 7 and 8 and the conveyor belt 11 rotate. Then, the inserted coins C are separated and conveyed one by one between the input roller 4 and the input belt 6 of the input section 5 and conveyed, and the conveying belt 7 conveys the coins C while widening the interval between the coins. . In the process, the outer diameter check unit 9 and a denomination determining unit (not shown) determine whether the coin is genuine or false.
If the coin is not a genuine coin, the reject solenoid 35 is driven and the reject shutter 36 opens the reject hole 34, so that the reject solenoid 35 is stored in the reject storage portion 38.

In the case of genuine coins, the direction is changed from the conveyor belt 8 to the conveyor belt 11 and the conveyor is conveyed, and the coin sorter 13 sorts by denomination. That is, the coins are dropped into the sorting hole 12 according to the denomination and are stored in the coin storage unit 16. The number of coins C dropped from the sorting hole 12 is counted by the counting sensor 14. In addition, the coin waiting unit 21 stores the coin C
When there is no coin, the payout belt 17 is driven and the operation control is performed so that a predetermined number of coins C are always present in the coin standby unit 21.

Next, the closing process is performed in the POS terminal / ECR, and when there is a command to dispense coins C from the POS terminal / ECR, the storing / dispensing motor 59 is driven, and the payout belt 17 is rotated and the coin is discharged. Since the coin shutter 23 is driven by the shutter solenoid 25 for each seed, a required number of coins C are sent out. The coin C thus sent out is paid out to the coin payout port 29.

Here, the processing for storing coins C in the coin storage section 16 (payment rejection processing) will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the presence or absence of payment is detected (S1). This is determined by checking whether the insertion sensor 3 detects the coin C or not. When it is determined that there is a deposit, the input roller 4, the input belt 6, and the transport belts 7, 8, and 11 rotate as described above, so that the denomination is performed in the process of transporting the coin C (S2). This denomination is determined by the outer diameter check unit 9 and a denomination determination unit (not shown). As a result of this denomination, when it is determined that the money is false,
Alternatively, even if it is determined that the coin is a genuine coin, step S4
When it is determined that the coin storage unit 16 corresponding to the denomination is full (full), the reject solenoid 35 is driven to open the reject hole 34 (S
5). As a result, the coin C transported by the transport belt 7 (the coin C corresponding to the coin storage unit 16 determined to be full) falls into the reject storage unit 38. The number of coins C of this denomination is counted (S6, reject counting means).

The reject counting means detects, for example, a coin C falling from the reject hole 34 by a drop sensor (not shown), and every time a detection signal is obtained, the value of the reject counter of the denomination is incremented by one. This is a function obtained by processing such as adding. As described above, the number of coins C counted by denomination does not include the number of counterfeit money, but the probability of mixing the counterfeit money is extremely low, and the reject storage unit 38 refills the coin storage unit 16. There is no effect since it is only necessary to know how many coins C are present. The determination in step S4 is determined to be full when the cash amount in the coin storage unit 16 calculated by the cash height calculating means described later has reached a certain value.

In the present embodiment, the coin storage unit 16
Has a storage full sensor 50 (see FIG. 8) near the entrance, so that when a detection signal indicating that the storage full sensor 50 is full is output, the gold corresponding to the coin storage unit 16 of the corresponding denomination is output. The seed coin C may be excluded from the reject storage unit 38.

Next, the reject coin display process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In S7, it is determined whether or not there is a payout. This determination is made by the CPU 40 looking at the presence or absence of a coin detection signal from the payout sensor 26. On the other hand, since the coins C falling into the coin storage unit 16 are detected by the counting sensor 14 for each denomination, the CPU 40 calculates the number of coins C stored in the coin storage unit 16 based on the counting sensor 14 detection signal. It is counted and stored in a number counter (not shown) or the RAM 42 or the like. This corresponds to the number-of-payments counting means. When the payout is performed, the CPU 40 counts the number of coins paid out based on the detection signal of the payout sensor 26 for each denomination and accumulates the number in the number counter or the RAM 42 or the like. This corresponds to the number-of-payouts counting means. Then, in step S8, the CPU 40 checks the number counter. This is to check the amount of money in the coin storage unit 16 by subtracting the number of coins paid out from the number of coins C deposited in the coin storage unit 16 (existence amount calculation means). If it is determined in step S9 that the coin C in the coin storage section 16 is not more than the predetermined number, the CPU 40 looks at the reject coin counter of the coin C (S10), and in step S11, the reject coin counter of the coin C is determined. When it is determined that the number is not 0, the number is output to the display (reject count value output means) 31 or the like (S12).

As described above, when the number of coins C in the coin storage section 16 is 0 or when the number of remaining coins is small, the number of coins C in the reject storage section 38 can be grasped by denomination, and the number of coins can be displayed on the display. As indicated by 31, etc., the operator does not need to go to another storage location to replenish the change.

[0029]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, coins stored in individual coin storage units are detected by a counting sensor, and the number of payments stored in the coin storage units is counted by a payment number counting means. The payout sensor detects the coins paid out from the coin storage section to the coin payout port, counts the number of payouts for each denomination by the payout counting means, and pays out the coins received in the coin storage section and the coin payout port. The difference from the number of payouts is calculated by the amount calculation means to calculate the amount of money for each denomination in the coin storage unit, and when the amount of money in the coin storage unit exceeds the allowable storage amount, a coin insertion slot A coin of the corresponding denomination is removed from the coin transport path between the coin sorting unit and the coin sorting unit to the reject storage unit by the reject unit, and the storage amount of the removed coins in the reject storage unit is determined by the reject counting unit. Counting each time Since it is configured number result to output a reject counting means, it can be grasped there and height of the coin receiving portion, and a storage amount of coins in the reject compartment. Thus, when coins are present in the reject storage unit, coins as change can be supplied to the coin storage unit without having to go to another storage place to collect coins.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic change dispensing apparatus of the first aspect, a display is used as the reject count value output means. Therefore, the number of coins rejected by the reject unit is output to the display for each denomination, and the output indicates the number of coins to be supplied to the coin storage unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a denomination determining unit for determining a denomination of a coin is disposed between the coin slot and the reject unit. Therefore, the denomination of the coin is determined by the denomination determining unit before the coin reaches the reject unit. As a result, only coins of the denomination corresponding to the full coin storage unit and objects other than genuine coins can be excluded to the reject storage unit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a deposit reject process and a reject coin display process, showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical right side view showing a structure of a reject unit.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a structure of a reject unit.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal left side view of a cross section at the center.

FIG. 5 is an overall plan view.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the overall appearance.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a coin storage unit and a coin payout unit.

FIG. 8 is an overall electrical block diagram.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C coin 2 coin insertion slot 9 denomination discriminating unit 10 rejecting unit 13 coin sorting unit 14 counting sensor 16 coin storing unit 26 dispensing sensor 28 coin dispensing unit 29 coin dispensing port 38 reject storing unit 31 display, reject count value output means S6 Reject counting means S8 Existence amount calculating means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A coin inserted into a coin slot is conveyed to a coin sorting section, sorted by denomination, dropped by a denomination into a coin storage section and stored therein, and stored in the coin storage section by a denomination. An automatic change dispensing device configured to convey coins that have been conveyed by a coin dispensing unit and dispensing the coins to a coin dispensing port, wherein the coin storage is performed based on a detection signal of a counting sensor that detects coins stored in the individual coin storage units. The number of coins is counted from the coin storage unit based on a detection signal of a coin sensor that detects the number of coins to be paid out from each coin storage unit to the coin payout port. Number-of-payout counting means for counting the number of coins paid out by denomination, and the number of coins received for each denomination counted by the number-of-payments counting means and the number of coins counted for each denomination counted by the number-of-payments counting means. Calculate the difference with the number of payouts Means for calculating the amount of money for each denomination in the coin storage unit, and the coin insertion slot and the coin when the amount of money in the coin storage unit exceeds an allowable storage amount by the amount of money calculation unit. A reject unit for removing coins of a corresponding denomination from the coin transport path between the sorting unit and the reject storage unit, and a reject counting unit for counting the amount of coins removed in the reject storage unit for each denomination And a reject count output means for outputting the count result of the reject count means. 2. The automatic change dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein a display is used as the reject count value output means. 3. Between the coin slot and the reject unit,
3. The automatic change dispensing device according to claim 1, further comprising a denomination determining unit configured to determine a denomination of the coin.