JPH11250297A - Coin feeding device, coin processor and coin feeding method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coin feeding device capable of dealing with a phenomenon that coin collection failure occurs due to coin jumping even at the time of collecting coins by a tilted rotary disk. SOLUTION: This coin feeding device 1 is provided with a rotary disk 3 whose rotary face is arranged so as to be tilted to the horizontal face for collecting coins and feeding them, detecting devices S1, S2, and S3 for detecting collection failure of a coin, and a controller 7 for operating the rotation control of the rotary disk 3 according to the failure detected by the detecting device. Thus, when a failure of coin collection by the rotary disk 3 occurs due a phenomenon that coins before collection remain when the residual coins are short, or due to a bridge phenomenon of coins before collection, the above failure is detected by the detecting device S1, S2, and S3, and the rotation control is operated by decreasing the rotation of the rotary disk 3, or changing the rotating direction of the rotary disk 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coin feeding device and a coin processing device used in a vending machine and a coin counting device.
The present invention relates to a coin feeding method, and particularly to an apparatus and a method in which a rotating surface on which a coin rotates is inclined.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG.
Is a transport unit that includes a coin feeding device 101 that separates coins one by one and sends coins from a feeding unit to the next stage, and a coin identification device 131 that is provided in the middle thereof and that determines the type of coin. 132 and a coin sorter 133 that sorts coins from the transporter 132 by type based on signals from the coin identification device 131. The conventional coin feeding device 101 in the coin processing device converts the received coin into the coin feeding device 1.
01 in the hopper case 102 attached to
The stored coins are placed one by one on the protrusions 103A provided on the rotating disk 103, and are scraped and separated. In the coin feeding device 101, the rotating disk 103 is arranged such that its rotating surface is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane.

[0003]

In order to increase the number of coins per hour processed by the coin processing device, first, the number of coins per hour fed by the coin feeding device 101 and processed by the transport unit is determined. You can increase it.

In order to achieve this object, a coin feeding device 1
By increasing the supply of coins to 01, measures such as eliminating the loss of processing time and increasing the number of revolutions of the rotating disk 103 were taken. However, due to these countermeasures, a phenomenon in which the coin feeding device 101 has poor scraping occurs.

[0005] In order to increase the processing speed, coins replenished in the hopper case 102 in a larger amount than before are overlapped in a state where they are locked in an oblique attitude, and a so-called bridge in which a space is formed by the oblique coins. This is because a phenomenon or the like occurs and it becomes difficult to ride on the protrusion 103A of the rotating disk 103.

Further, when the number of coins stored in the hopper case 102 decreases because the rotation speed of the rotating disk 103 is high, a phenomenon that coins dance in a cycle synchronized with the rotation cycle of the rotating disk 103 may occur. became. When this phenomenon occurs, it becomes difficult for the coin to ride on the protrusion 103A of the rotating disk 103.

Therefore, the present invention is capable of coping with poor scraping even when coins are scooped with a tilted rotating disk. In particular, the present invention appropriately copes with the phenomenon of coin dancing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coin dispensing device, a coin dispensing method, and a coin processing device provided with a coin dispensing device.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a coin feeding device according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided, for example, as shown in FIG. A rotating disk 3 configured to scrape coins and to pay out the coins; detectors S1, S2, and S4 for detecting poor scraping of the coins; and detector S
1, a control device 7 for controlling the rotation of the rotating disk 3 according to the poor scooping detected in S2 and S4.

[0009] Poor scraping of coins by the rotating disk,
For example, when the remaining amount of coins becomes small, a phenomenon that the coins before being scooped dance, or a so-called bridge phenomenon of the coins before being scooped, etc., occur, so that the coin is poorly scraped by the rotating disk. If
This is detected by a detection device, and rotation control is performed by, for example, lowering the rotation of the rotating disk or changing the rotating direction of the rotating disk. As a result, the phenomenon that the coins dance and the bridge phenomenon are eliminated, and as a result, the coins can easily ride on the projections if they are mounted on the rotating disk, thereby improving poor scraping.

[0010] The detection of the occurrence of the poor frying is detected by, for example, the presence or absence of remaining coins equal to or less than a predetermined amount and the presence or absence of the coins frayed by the rotating disk for a predetermined time. This can be done by monitoring. That is, in this case, while a predetermined time has elapsed after a certain coin has been scooped and detected by the rotating disk, the remaining coin before the scooping is detected even though the next coin is not scooped and detected. At this time, it is considered that a poor scooping has occurred, and the rotational speed of the rotating disk is controlled to eliminate the poor scooping.

A coin feeding device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the coin feeding device according to the first aspect, further comprising a DC motor for driving the rotating disk, wherein the control device turns on a power supply of the DC motor. -The off time can be changed. For example, it is possible to perform the rotation control to reduce the number of rotations to eliminate the poor frying due to the above-mentioned phenomenon of coin dancing by turning on / off the power supply to the DC motor at a predetermined cycle. Here, the ON / OFF time refers to a time during which the power is turned on and a time during which the power is turned off.

A coin processing device according to a third aspect of the present invention includes the coin feeding device according to the first or second aspect, and processes coins fed by the coin processing device.

[0013] In order to achieve the above object, a coin feeding method according to the invention according to claim 4 is a step of turning a coin in a plane inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, scraping the coin, and feeding the coin; Detecting poor frying of the fish;
Controlling the turn of the coin in the plane according to the detected poor scraping. Here, the turning means that the coin is rotated in a circle around a point in the plane separated from the coin by a predetermined distance. Here, the circle is not limited to a perfect circle, but may be a distorted circle, an ellipse, or the like that deviates from the circle activation during the turn.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a coin feeding device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the coin feeding device 1 is provided with a hopper case 2 for storing received coins.
And a substantially disk-shaped rotating disk 3 that separates and transports the coins one by one by rotating the coins, and a feeding motor M as a DC motor of the present invention that drives the rotating disks 3
1, a delivery guide 6 for guiding a coin to be fed to the feeding section 5, and four coin sensors S 1, S 2 as detection devices according to the present invention for detecting the remaining state of the coin in the hopper case 2. , S3, S4 (the coin sensor S4 is not shown in FIG. 1) and a control unit 7. In FIG. 1, although the control unit 7 is connected only to the feeding motor M1 (connection lines are partially omitted by disconnection), it is actually connected to coin sensors S1 to S4, a hopper case opening / closing motor M2 described later, and the like.

The hopper case 2 is open at the top.
The upper side has a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional shape longer than the lower side. Also,
The hopper case 2 is a case in which received coins are stored in bulk, and the lower part thereof can be opened and closed about a shaft 9 by a hopper case opening / closing motor M2. When a foreign object such as a banknote that cannot be lifted or fed out is input, the hopper case 2 is opened and the foreign object can be dropped downward.

Three coin sensors S1, S2, S3 for detecting coins are attached to the end side surface 2A of the hopper case 2, and the coin sensor S3 for detecting fullness is closest to the upper opening. A coin sensor S2 for remaining confirmation is attached at a position farther from the upper opening than the coin sensor S3, and a coin sensor S1 for remaining confirmation is attached at a position farther from the upper opening. The coin sensors S1 to S4 are composed of a pair of a light emitter and a light receiver, and the coin sensors S1, S2, S
3 is a light emitting device on one end side surface 2A, and the other end side surface 2A.
A is provided with a light receiver. Coin sensor S4
Are attached to the feeding section 5 in pairs, like the other coin sensors S1, S2, S3 (not shown).

The coin sensor S1 is for detecting that coins remain in the vicinity of the lowermost portion of the hopper case 2. After a certain coin passes through the feeding section 5, the next coin is moved for a predetermined time. This is a case where the coin does not pass through the feeding section 5 even after the passage of T1, and the hopper case 2 is detected by the coin sensor S1.
If a coin is detected in the box, it means that coin scraping has failed. In the present embodiment, the poor scraping of coins in this case, the rotation speed of the rotating disk is fast,
Due to the small amount of coins remaining in the hopper case, the remaining coins dance in a cycle synchronized with the rotation cycle of the rotating disk 3.

The coin sensor S2 is for detecting, for example, a bar or a large foreign matter which cannot be detected by the coin sensor S1. That is, the coin sensor S2 is for detecting that a coin remains in a portion higher than the coin sensor S1 mounting position of the hopper case 2 by a predetermined level.

After a certain coin passes through the feeding section 5, the next coin does not pass through the feeding section 5 even if a predetermined time T1 has elapsed, and the hopper case 2 is detected by the coin sensor S2.
For example, the following two cases are conceivable when a coin is detected in the inside. First, as described above, there is a case where a large foreign substance such as a coin bar or a banknote is present in the hopper case 2, and then a scraping failure due to a so-called bridge phenomenon occurs in the hopper case 2. If it is.

The coin sensor S3 detects coins supplied or conveyed from the preceding stage of the coin feeding device 1 to the coin sensor S3.
Monitoring that the installation level is reached. If a coin is detected by the coin sensor S3, it means that the hopper case 2 is almost full of coins.
In this case, the operation at the preceding stage is stopped, thereby stopping supply or conveyance of coins to the hopper case 2, so that excess coins are supplied or conveyed and do not overflow from the hopper case 2.

The coin sensor S4 is for monitoring coins sent from the coin feeding device 1 to the next transport unit. In particular, in the present embodiment, the coin sensor S4 detects that after a certain coin has passed through the payout unit 5, the next coin is moved for a predetermined time T1.
Is not passed through the payout unit 5 even after elapse of the time, and when the coin sensors S1 and S2 are not detected, it is used to stop the operation of the coin payout device 1 as a normal operation, and the coin sensors S1 and S2 If any of the above is detected, it is used to detect the occurrence of any of the above-mentioned poor frying.

The rotating disk 3 is provided so as to form a part of one of two longitudinal side surfaces 2B in a direction substantially orthogonal to the two end side surfaces 2A of the hopper case 2. The rotating disk 3 normally rotates in the direction of a solid arrow in the drawing (clockwise as viewed from the rotating disk), and its rotating surface is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane symmetrically with the other longitudinal side surface 2B of the hopper case 2. It is arranged. The rotating surface of the rotating disk 3 refers to a circular flat surface of the rotating disk 3. Since the rotating surface is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, the rotating axis of the rotating disk 3 is inclined by the same angle with respect to the vertical axis.

The rotating surface of the rotating disk 3 is provided with a total of 16 projections 3A (only some of which are shown) arranged in pairs and arranged evenly in the angular direction with respect to the center of rotation in pairs. . One projection 3A (eight) of the pair is arranged on a radius R1 from the rotation center, and the other projection 3A (8) of the pair.
) Are arranged on a radius R2 having a radius larger than R1, and both are arranged side by side as a pair. Furthermore, on the rotating surface of the rotating disk 3, they are radially arranged in a circle which is concentric with the rotating disk 3 and has a radius smaller than R 1, and is arranged at a substantially intermediate portion of the pair of projections 3 A, 3 A in the angular direction. Eight ridges 3B are provided. Coins are placed one by one from the protrusion 3A located on the radius R1,
It is scraped, separated and transported. When the separated coin is conveyed to a position above half of the rotating disk 3 (opening side of the hopper case 2), the coin is put between the protrusion 3A located on the radius R1 and the bump 3B (FIG. 1). The coin in this state is indicated by a broken line) and further conveyed.

The projection 3A is provided on a surface side of the rotating disk 3 by a leaf spring (not shown) so that the coin does not bite into the restricting portion 11 or the like and stop the rotation of the rotating disk 3 when the coin is transported. It is configured to be energized.

The feed motor M 1 is provided to drive the rotary disk 3 via the gear head 10. The feeding motor M1 rotates forward and backward, and PWM, which will be described later.
The number of rotations can be changed by control.

A regulating portion 11 and a delivery guide 6 are attached to the feeding portion 5, and the bottom surface of the regulating portion 11 is formed from the rotating surface of the rotating disk 3 as the thickest coin among coins to be processed.
Two grooves are machined so that the protrusions 3A do not come into contact with each other with a gap slightly larger than the thickness of the 00 yen coin. When the coin is put on the protrusions 3A and the ridges 3B on the rotating disk surface of the rotating disk 3 and is scooped and deformed, if the thickness is more than the regular thickness, the coin passes through the regulating portion 11. Unable to do so, they fall off the projections 3A and the ridges 3B and fall back into the hopper case 2. The processing of the deformed coin will be described later.

The coin that has passed through the regulating portion 11 is guided by the delivery guide 6 while changing the member for transport from the projection 3A located on the radius R1 to the projection 3A located on the radius R2, and moves in the traveling direction of the rotating disk 3. , And is fed out to the transport section through the feeding section 5. The bottom surface of the delivery guide 6 is disposed slightly away from the rotating surface of the rotating disk 3, and has two grooves formed so that the protrusion 3 </ b> A that rotates with the rotation of the rotating disk 3 does not contact. A coin sensor S4 (not shown) is provided in the feeding section 5.
Is attached to detect coins to be fed.

When a coin is caught in the bottom of the regulating portion 11, the feeding motor M1 cannot rotate. In this case, the current value of the winding of the feeding motor M1 is detected, and furthermore, unrotation is detected by the occurrence of an abnormal current in the winding, and the reverse rotation operation of the feeding motor M1 is automatically performed. May be issued to turn off the power of the feeding motor M1. Furthermore, if the feeding motor M1 can be manually rotated in the reverse direction, coins can be released from being caught and dropped into the hopper case 2 by rotating the rotating disk 3 in the reverse direction.

With reference to FIG. 2, the configuration of the control unit 7 as the control device of the present invention of the coin feeding device 1 will be described. The control unit 7 is an operation control unit 13, a signal detection unit 14, a timer 1
5, a storage unit 16, a motor drive unit 17, and a drive time conversion unit 18. As for the input and output of signals, only the exchanges with the coin sensors S1 to S4, the feeding motor M1, and the hopper case opening / closing motor M2 are shown in the drawing. Also,
Although not shown, a push button for manual rotation of the feeding motor M1, a push button for manual rotation of the hopper case opening / closing motor M2, an ON time setting button for the driving time conversion means, and an OFF time setting button are provided on the front surface. Is also good. The set on-time and off-time may be displayed.

The storage unit 16 comprises a ROM and a RAM. The ROM stores a program for controlling each unit. The RAM temporarily stores information and time information of the coin sensors S1, S2, S3 and S4. It is stored and used as a parameter for controlling each unit. The timer 15 starts counting time by a signal emitted from the coin sensor S4 and passed through the signal detecting means 14 and the operation control unit 13 or a signal sent from the operation control unit 13 to the motor driving means 17 and the timer at the same time. The CPU monitors a predetermined item.

The signal detecting means 14 detects a light-shielded signal 31 from the coin sensor S1, which detects light-shielding by a coin, a similar light-shielded signal 32 from the coin sensor S2, a similar light-shielded signal 33 from the coin sensor S3, and a similar light-shielded signal from the coin sensor S4. The light shielding signal 34 is detected. The motor driving means 17 is provided with a feeding motor M
1. The power supplies 35 and 36 are supplied to the hopper case opening / closing motor M2. The drive time conversion means 18 generates a control signal for controlling the motor drive means 17 of the feeding motor M1 and generates a control signal using PWM control (pulse width modulation control). Based on this control signal, power supply from the motor driving means 17 to the feeding motor M1 is controlled. Next, with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG.
The operation at the time of normal operation and at the time of poor scooping will be described.

FIG. 3 shows steps STP200 to STP210 showing the operation of the coin feeding device 1, and FIG.
From FIG. 21 to STP 226, FIG.
249 is a flow chart composed of H.249. FIG. 3 mainly shows a normal operation, and FIGS. 4 and 5 mainly show a poor scooping operation. The poor scooping operation is roughly divided into a case where a coin dances (FIG. 4) and a case where a coin bridge phenomenon occurs (FIG. 4). FIG. 5). In the figure, the outline of the operation is described in rectangles and diamonds representing each step.

The operation during normal operation shown in FIG. 3 is as follows. When the coin feeding device 1 is activated (STP20
0), and a motor drive signal 35A is issued (STP20
1), the feeding motor M1 starts normal rotation (STP20
2). Actually, the motor drive signal 35A is
From the motor driving means 17
Starts supplying power to the feeding motor M1, and the feeding motor M1 starts normal rotation at the normal rotation speed.

Next, although the timer 15 is illustrated as being started (STP203), in practice, the operation controller 13 starts the motor 15 at the same time as issuing the motor drive signal 35A (STP203).

The rotating disk 3 is rotated by the driving of the feeding motor M1, and coins are scraped one by one.
Led to. The guided coin is monitored by a coin sensor S4 attached to the feeding unit 5 for confirming the feeding, whether or not the coin sensor S4 is shielded from light (STP20).
4). The coin shields the coin sensor S4 (Y of STP204).
The timer is reset (STP2
03) Then start ticking the time from 0 again.

Here, the case where coins are normally scraped up is described. The coins in the hopper case 2 are scraped up by the rotating disk 3, and all the coins are conveyed through the feeding section 5, and the coins are transferred to the hopper case 2. In the process of disappearing, first, the coin sensor S2 for confirming that coins remain in the hopper case 2 is not shielded from light (in the case of STP206 NO), and then the level closer to the bottom of the hopper case 2 than the coin sensor S2. The coin sensor S1 which is attached to the coin and confirms the remaining of the coin is no longer shielded from light (STP20
7 (NO in step S7), the coin sensor S4 of the feeding unit 5 for further checking the feeding is not shielded from light (N in STP204).
O). Although it changes phenomena in this order, in sequence, there is no light blocking detection by the coin sensor S4 and the predetermined time T
After 1 has elapsed, there is a transition such as no light blocking detection by the coin sensor S2 and no light blocking detection by the coin sensor S1.

The operation control unit 13 starts the operation of the timer 15 (STP203) together with the start of rotation of the feeding motor M1 (STP202) as described above, and after the feeding motor M1 starts operating (STP202), or Has been detected by the coin sensor S4 when the coin is fed out of the feeding unit 5 (in the case of STP204: YES), and then for a predetermined time T1 (in one embodiment, about 1. 5 seconds) is monitored (ST)
P205).

The reason why the length of the monitoring time is the predetermined time T1 will be described below. Consider a case in which coins cannot be temporarily and continuously scraped at a certain point in time. For example,
After the Nth coin has passed through the coin sensor S4 for detecting feeding and is detected by shading, it is assumed that the next (N + 1) th coin is scraped up by the rotating disk 3 at a certain time interval T1 '. A predetermined transport time is required for the N + 1th coin to be transported to the coin sensor S4 after being scooped by the rotating disk 3, and this transport time is added to T1 'to obtain a value T1.
Monitoring was performed for one.

Next, when a predetermined time T1 has elapsed (STP
In the case of YES in 205), the operation control unit 13 receives the time-out signal from the timer 15 indicating the lapse of the predetermined time T1, and checks whether the remaining coin sensor S2 and the coin sensor S1 are shielded from light. (STP206, S
TP207). If it is confirmed that the coin sensor S2 for remaining confirmation and the coin sensor S1 are not shielded, (STP2
(NO at 06, NO at STP207) The motor drive signal 35A issued to the motor drive means 17 is stopped (STP208). When the motor drive signal 35A is stopped from the operation control unit 13, the motor drive means 17 stops supplying power to the feed motor M1.
Stops the rotation (STP209), and thereafter, the coin feeding device 1 ends its operation (STP210).

FIG. 6 shows the coin sensors S1, S during normal operation.
FIG. 2 is an operation sequence diagram of 2, S4, a power supply 35 of the feeding motor M1, and a motor drive signal 35A. The horizontal direction represents the passage of time, and the vertical direction represents changes in signals and the like. Coin sensor S
The rising edges of the light-shielded signals 31, 32, and 34 in S1, S2, and S4 indicate light-shielding due to the presence of coins, and the falling of the signals indicate the end of light-shielding due to the absence of coins. Motor driving means 17 which has received a feed signal from operation control unit 13
Sends the power supply 35 to the feeding motor M1. The rising of the line representing the rotation speed of the feeding motor M1 is supplied with the power supply 35,
The feeding motor M1 is started, the rotation speed rises and reaches the normal rotation speed, and a decrease in the line representing the same rotation speed indicates that the supply of power is stopped, so the rotation of the feeding motor M1 decreases and stops. Indicates that It takes time to increase and decrease the rotation speed, but here, for simplicity, this time passage is omitted, and the rotation speed is displayed so as to change instantaneously.

The motor drive signal 35A is sent from the operation control unit 13 to the motor drive means 17, and the motor drive signal 3A
In response to 5A, the motor driving means 17 turns on the power supply 35 to the feeding motor M1. When the motor drive signal 35A rises, the motor drive signal 35A
The lowering of the motor drive signal 35A indicates that the motor start signal 35A is no longer sent to the motor drive unit 17.

Next, the contents of the sequence will be described step by step. The coin feeding device 1 is activated, the coin sensors S1 and S2 detect light shielding, a motor drive signal 35A is issued, and the power supply 35 is supplied to the feeding motor M1 (P301). Next, the coin sensor S4 detects the picked-up coin (P302). As the number of coins in the hopper case 2 decreases, the light shielding is not detected by the coin sensor S2 (P303), and the light shielding is not detected by the coin sensor S1 (P304). Next, the coins in the hopper case 2 disappear, and the detection of light shielding by the coin sensor S4 disappears (P305). From this point, the timer 15 is not reset, so that the timer 15 keeps ticking, and after the elapse of the predetermined period T1, the motor drive signal 35A stops, and the supply of the power supply 35 to the feeding motor M1 stops (P30).
6).

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the operation of the coin feeding device 1 when coins are poorly lifted due to the phenomenon of coins dancing and the phenomenon of coins forming a so-called bridge will be described. .

The operation in the following brackets is almost the same as the above-mentioned normal operation. That is, “motor drive signal 3
5A is issued, the feeding motor M1 starts rotating forward, the timer 15 is operated, and it is monitored whether or not the coin scooped up by the rotating disk 3 shields the coin sensor S4 from light.
Each time a coin shields the coin sensor S4, the timer 15 is reset. Further, after the time T1 counted by the timer 15 elapses, the presence / absence of light-shielding detection by the coin sensor S2 for remaining confirmation and the coin sensor S1 is checked. The following cases can be considered as a case where the coins in the hopper case 2 are poorly lifted, so that the explanation will be started from the detection of the light shielding by the coin sensor S2 for confirming the residual, and the subsequent operation will be described.

First, as described above, the operation control section 13 determines whether or not the light is shielded by the coin sensor S2 for confirming the remaining coin (STP206). When the coin sensor S2 is not shielded (STP206 NO to STP207 YES because it is premised on the occurrence of poor frying), the coin sensor S2 is shielded first (STP206). Will be described. In this case, it is considered that a so-called coin bridge phenomenon has occurred in the hopper case 2.

Then, the operation control section 13 sends a motor drive change signal to the motor drive means 17 (STP 241), and the motor drive means 17 supplies the power supply 35A having the reversed polarity to the feed motor M1, and the reverse of the normal power supply. The rotation starts at the normal rotation speed in the rotation direction (STP242) and the timer 15
Is activated (STP243). The feeding motor M1 is kept for a predetermined time T6 (500 ms in one embodiment) (STP24
(NO at 3A) After reverse rotation (Y at STP243A)
In the case of ES, the operation shifts to the normal rotation (normal rotation speed) similar to the normal operation (STP245).

If the bridge state of the coins is released by the reverse rotation of the feeding motor M1 during the predetermined time T6, the coins are then picked up and conveyed by the forward rotation of the feeding motor M1, and a coin sensor for checking the feeding. S4 is shielded (ST
If YES in P247). The normal operation is started by the detection of the light shielding, the timer is reset (STP20
3), monitoring of light shielding by the coin sensor S4 is continued (STP204).

If the coin sensor S4 does not detect light shielding (NO in STP247), the bridge state of the coin has not been released during the above-mentioned predetermined time T6, or any new defect has occurred even if it has been released. It is considered that the occurrence of a foreign matter or the presence of a foreign substance due to a cause described later is performed for a predetermined time T3.
After the elapse of about 2 seconds (in one embodiment, NO in STP248), a delivery failure (STP24
9).

If it is determined that the feeding operation is defective (STP 249), the process proceeds to the stop of the motor driving signal from the operation control unit 13 (STP 208) in the same manner as the stopping of the feeding operation in the normal operation described above, and the motor driving is performed by the signal. The means 17 stops the supply of power to the feed motor M1 so that the feed motor M1
Stops the rotation (STP209), and thereafter, the coin feeding device 1 stops its operation (ends).

Although not shown, in order to more reliably solve the feeding failure, after the reverse rotation during the time T6, the scraping failure continues even during the normal rotation (STP242 to STP245) during the time T3 (STP248). In the case of YES), the motor drive conversion signal is sent again (STP24
1) The time-out signal may be output by performing the above-described reverse rotation and normal rotation operations several times.

As a practical problem, as described above, a large foreign matter such as a coin bar or a bill often exists in the feeding failure as described above.
To open the hopper case and drop foreign matter downward. The hopper case opening / closing motor M2 is automatically or in front of the control unit 7
The push button for manual operation may be provided, and the push button may be operated after the coin feeding device 1 is stopped by the operation. If deformed coins that are not fed out due to the regulation of the regulation unit 11 remain in the hopper case, they fall together.

The procedure for stopping the feeding operation is the same as that in the normal operation described above. When the motor drive signal from the operation control unit 13 is stopped (STP208), the motor driving means 17 supplies power to the feeding motor M1. In order to stop, the feeding motor M1 stops rotating (STP209), and thereafter the coin feeding device 1 ends its operation (STP210).

Next, when the coin sensor S2 for confirming the remaining of the coin is not shielded from light in a state of poor scraping (STP2
(NO in 06) will be described. In this case, the state of light shielding of the coin sensor S1 for remaining confirmation is further determined (STP207). At this time, if the coin sensor S1 is not shielded from light (NO in STP207), it does not correspond to a poorly-fry state, and it is a normal operation, and the feeding is ended as described above. On the other hand, the coin sensor S
When 1 is shielded (YES in STP 207), it means that coins are not riding on the rotating disk 3 and dancing in the hopper case 2. However, the detection of light shielding by the coin sensor S1 is not always continuous, but may be intermittent. If a situation occurs in which the coin sensor S1 does not continuously detect light-shielding, light-shielding is not detected only when light-shielding has not been detected for more than a certain period of time. You should consider it.

Therefore, after detecting the light shielding by the coin sensor S1, the operation control section 13 sends a drive time change signal to the drive time conversion means 18 (STP221), and thereafter sends the motor drive signal 35A via the drive time conversion means 18 It is sent to the motor driving means 17. Since the motor drive signal 35A is sent via the motor drive time conversion means 18, the delivery motor M1
Is a variable mode in which PWM control described later is performed, and the feeding motor M1 is rotated at a reduced speed (STP22).
3). In FIG. 4, the timer 15 is started after the motor deceleration rotation (STP224), but actually, the timer 15 is started simultaneously with the deceleration rotation (STP22).
4).

When the rotation speed is set to the variable mode and the rotation speed is reduced to reduce the rotation, the phenomenon that the coins dance is eliminated (YES in STP 225).
Since the process returns to P202), the coins on the rotating disk 3 are started to be scraped under the normal rotation speed. When the deceleration rotation for eliminating the dance phenomenon is being performed before returning to the normal state (STP223), the predetermined time T2 (in one embodiment, if the light shielding of the coin by the coin sensor S4 for feeding confirmation is the longest) It is monitored during the time that the rotating disk makes about 1.5 turns (about 3 seconds) (NO in STP226) (STP2
25). As described above, if the sensor S4 detects light blocking (in the case of STP 225: YES), the operation control unit 13 considers that the poor scooping has been eliminated, and at that time, sets the rotation speed to the original normal rotation before deceleration. (Normal rotation speed), that is, escape from the variable mode and shift to the normal operation (STP202).

After that, if the poor scooping due to the coin dancing phenomenon occurs again (YES in STP207), the same procedure is repeated. In this case, when the rotation speed is set to the variable mode (STP221), the rotation speed may be set to a value smaller than the value of the rotation speed of the previous deceleration rotation. If the number of revolutions has been reduced to a predetermined value or less last time, or if a coin dance phenomenon has already occurred several times, the delivery motor M1 may be stopped.

If the phenomenon that coins dance does not disappear even when the rotation speed is set to the variable mode and the rotation speed is reduced and the rotation speed is reduced,
During the predetermined time T2 (NO in STP226), no light shielding is detected by the coin sensor S4 (S
TP225 NO). Therefore, when the time-out signal is detected after the lapse of the time T2 (in the case of STP226: YES), it is considered that the scraping failure has not been solved yet, and the operation of rotating the feeding motor M1 in reverse (STP24)
In order to shift to 2), a motor drive change signal is sent to the motor drive means 17 (STP241). In this case, generally, only the rotation direction reverses, and the rotation speed is maintained as it is before the reverse rotation. The subsequent procedure is the same as in the case where the rotation direction is reversed.

Next, control of the rotation speed of the feeding motor M1 will be described (the slow mode is set for convenience of explanation).
In the slow mode, the operation of supplying the power for T4 (10 ms in one embodiment) and shutting off the power for T5 (70 ms in one embodiment) is performed by repeating the operation of the motor driving current using PWM control. Done. At this time, the rotation of the delivery motor M1 is substantially continuous because the rotation is maintained by the inertial force even when power is not supplied. The rotation speed was about half the normal value when T4 and T5 were the values in parentheses described above. The values of T4 and T5 are set so that the number of rotations is reduced to about half, because the number of rotations enables to eliminate poor frying due to the dance phenomenon of coins, and the coin feeding device according to the present embodiment is used. It is the number of rotations obtained by the experiment. T4 (on time) and T5 (off time) for determining the number of revolutions may be incorporated in a program in advance, and an on time setting button for driving time conversion means is provided on the front surface of the control unit 7. Set the on-time by
Further, an off-time setting button may be provided to set the off-time.

In this embodiment, when control is performed by software (CPU), if software capable of higher-speed processing is selected, the ON / OFF cycle can be set smaller, and the rotation of the feeding motor M1 is controlled. Can be more finely controlled. In order to enable PWM control, the circuit may be changed or an external circuit may be designed, and hardware (electric components) may be used. However, in the case of controlling using programmable software, the contents of the program can be changed, the current hardware can be used as it is, and further, the specification of the feeding motor M1 changes, and the rotation speed at which the poor lifting operation is released is improved. Can be dealt with simply by changing the reduced rotation speed to that rotation speed. Therefore, it can be said that a coin feeding device capable of PWM control using programmable software has versatility.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the operation sequence of the coin sensors S1, S2, S4, the power supply of the feeding motor M1 and the motor drive signal in the case of poor scooping will be described.
7 and 8, the rising and falling of the signal and the like are expressed in the same way as in FIG. However, FIGS. 7 and 8
In the above, a partial decrease in the line representing the number of revolutions indicates a decrease in the number of revolutions due to the power supply PWM control described later, and a decrease beyond the line representing the current value 0 indicates a reversal of the rotational direction due to the reversal of the polarity of the power supply.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the poor scooping due to the so-called bridge phenomenon. The coin feeding device 1 is activated, the coin sensors S1 and S2 detect light shielding, a motor drive signal 35A is issued, and power is supplied to the feeding motor M1 (P301). Next, the coin sensor S4 detects the picked-up coin (P302). When the coin at the bottom of the hopper case 2 is conveyed and a bridging phenomenon occurs, a space is formed and light shielding by the coin sensor S1 is not detected (P311). However, the coin sensor S
2, the light-shielding detection is continued. Next, the coin is not scooped by the rotating disk 3 and the light sensor is not detected by the coin sensor S4 (P312).

Since the reset of the timer 15 is stopped from this point, the timer 15 keeps ticking, and after the lapse of a predetermined period T1, the delivery motor M1 rotates in the reverse direction (P313). When the bridge of the coin is broken by the reverse rotation of the rotating disk 3 and the bridge phenomenon is eliminated, the light shielding of the coin sensor S1 is started (P314). When a predetermined time T6 has elapsed after the reverse rotation of the feeding motor M1, the feeding motor starts normal rotation (P
315) Since the coin is scooped up, light shielding is started by the coin sensor S4 (P316), and the operation shifts to a normal operation. Eventually, the light shielding of the coin sensor S1 ends due to the decrease of the coins inside the hopper case 2 (P317), and after the last coin light-shields the coin sensor S4 (P318), the time until the timer 15 elapses the predetermined time T1. , But the subsequent sequence is the same as that in the normal operation described above, and the description is omitted.

When the bridge does not collapse due to the reversal of the rotating disk 3 and the bridge phenomenon does not disappear, the portion shown on the right side of the two-dot chain line of the sequence shown in the upper half of FIG. Replaced by the sequence shown in the lower half. That is, at the time corresponding to P314, the light shielding of the coin sensor S1 is not started (Case 1), or even if the light shielding of the coin sensor S1 is started, the bridge is not sufficiently collapsed (Case 2), and the coin sensor S2 is blocked. The interruption of the light shielding is not performed, the light shielding is continued, and the coins are not picked up by the rotating disk 3 thereafter. Therefore, the coins are not detected by the coin sensor S4. Then, when a predetermined time T6 has elapsed after the reverse rotation of the feeding motor M1, the feeding motor M1 starts normal rotation (P319), but the predetermined time T3 after the start of normal rotation.
When the motor drive signal 3
5A is stopped, and the supply of power to the feeding motor M1 is stopped (P320). Here, the delivery motor M1 is stopped by one forward rotation operation after the reverse rotation, but may be stopped after further repeating the reverse rotation and the forward rotation.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the poor scooping due to the dancing phenomenon of coins. The coin feeding device 1 is activated, the coin sensors S1 and S2 detect light shielding, a motor drive signal 35A is issued, and power is supplied to the feeding motor M1 (P301). Next, the coin sensor S4 detects the picked-up coin (P302). As the number of coins in the hopper case 2 decreases, the detection of light shielding by the coin sensor S2 is stopped (P331), and the continuous light shielding detection by the coin sensor S1 is not performed due to the dance phenomenon of coins (P332). Will be detected. Almost simultaneously with the end of the continuous light shielding detection, the coins in the hopper case 2 are no longer scooped up, and the light detection by the coin sensor S4 is not detected (P333). However, the intermittent detection of coins in which the non-detection time by the coin sensor S1 is equal to or less than a predetermined value is treated as coin detection in sequence. Since the timer 15 is not reset from here,
The timer 15 keeps counting time, and after a lapse of a predetermined period T1,
A drive time change signal is issued (not shown in FIG. 8), the motor drive signal enters the variable mode by PWM control, the delivery motor M1 rotates at a reduced speed, and the count of the timer 15 continuously advances (P334). At this time, the motor drive signal performs pulse width modulation control for turning on and off the power at intervals of T4 and T5, respectively, as shown in a partially enlarged view in the center of the figure. When the dancing phenomenon is eliminated by the rotation of the rotating disk 3 at a reduced speed, the intermittent detection of the light shielding by the coin sensor S1 is finished (P335), and the scraping of the coins by the rotating disk is restarted, and the coin sensor S4 detects the light. (P336), the delivery motor M1 escapes from the variable mode and returns to the normal rotation speed (P337). The subsequent sequence is the same as the operation at the time of normal operation, and the description is omitted.

A case where the coin dance phenomenon is not eliminated by the deceleration rotation will be described below. In this case, the part shown on the right side of the sequence in the upper half of the figure with respect to the two-dot chain line is replaced with the sequence shown in the lower half of the figure. In this case, the intermittent detection of light blocking by the coin sensor S1 is continued, the scraping of coins is not restarted, and when a predetermined time T2 has elapsed after the start of the deceleration operation, the feeding motor M1 does not escape from the variable mode, and The following description will be omitted because the process moves when the feeding motor M1 rotates in the reverse direction.

[0067]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a poor scooping due to the rotating disk occurs, it is detected by the detecting device, and the rotation of the rotating disk is controlled so that the poor scooping does not occur. Thus, poor frying can be eliminated. Therefore, even if the rotation speed of the rotating disk during normal operation is increased, it is not necessary to interrupt the operation of the coin feeding device when coin feeding failure occurs, and it is possible to improve the overall coin feeding rate. did it.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional perspective view of a coin feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the coin feeding device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the coin feeding device at the time of normal operation.

FIG. 4 is an operation flow chart of the coin feeding device when the coin is unraveled due to a coin dancing phenomenon.

FIG. 5 is an operation flow chart of the coin feeding device in the event of poor scraping due to a bridge phenomenon of coins.

FIG. 6 is an operation sequence diagram of the coin sensor and the feeding motor when the coin feeding device operates normally.

FIG. 7 is an operation sequence diagram of the coin sensor and the dispensing motor of the coin dispensing apparatus at the time of poor scooping due to a bridge phenomenon of coins.

FIG. 8 is an operation sequence diagram of the coin sensor and the dispensing motor of the coin dispensing device at the time of poor scooping due to a phenomenon of coin dancing.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the entire configuration of a coin processing device using a conventional coin feeding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Coin feeding device 2 Hopper case 2A End side surface 2B Longitudinal side surface 3 Rotating disk 3A Projection 3B Ridge 5 Feeding part 6 Sending guide 7 Control part 9 Axis 10 Gear head 11 Restriction part 13 Operation control part 14 Signal detection means 15 Timer 16 Storage part Reference Signs List 17 motor driving means 18 driving time converting means M1 feeding motor M2 hopper case opening / closing motor 31, 32, 33, 34 light shielding signal 35 power supply 35A motor driving signal S1 coin sensor S2 coin sensor S3 coin sensor S4 coin sensor

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rotating disk having a rotating surface inclined with respect to a horizontal plane and configured to scrape coins and to pay out the coins; and a detecting device for detecting a poor scraping of the coins. A coin feeding device comprising: a control device that controls rotation of the rotating disk in accordance with a poorly-frying detected by the detection device. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a DC motor for driving the rotating disk, wherein the control device is capable of changing an on / off time of a power supply of the DC motor.
4. The coin feeding device according to claim 1. 3. A coin processing device comprising the coin feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the coin processing device processes coins fed by the coin processing device. 4. A step of turning a coin in a plane inclined with respect to a horizontal plane to scrape and pay out the coin; a step of detecting a poor scraping of the coin; and a step of detecting the poor scraping. Controlling the turning of the coin in the plane in response to the coin.