JPH11272914A - Coin processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To timely give information on the exchanging time of a carrying board made of resin by detecting the abrasion quantity of the carrying board at an inspecting part. SOLUTION: This coin processor is provided with an inspecting part 7 provided with a carrying board made of resin 31 allowing a coin under being carried to pass while contacting. Then the processor monitors the variation of the output level of a magnetic sensor 36 of a reflected magnetic flux quantity detecting form, which is fixed to the side of a face opposite to the coin carrying surface of the board 31 to detect the the presence/absence of the hole of the coin and the recessed and projected state of the surface of the coin, and monitors the variation of the recessed quantity and the recessed rate with respect to a normal perforated coin to detect the wearing amount of the board 31 provided between a magnetic sensor 36 and the carried coin. According to this detected wearing amount, prescribed information is given to a high-order device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a circulating coin processing apparatus which is mounted on, for example, an automatic teller machine at a financial institution such as a bank and automatically performs coin depositing and dispensing processing. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a financial institution such as a bank is provided with an automatic teller machine for handling cash such as coins and bills. The automatic teller machine incorporates a circulation type coin processing device that automatically performs coin depositing and dispensing processing.

At the time of deposit, the coin processing device accepts the deposited coin, identifies its authenticity and denomination, and stores the deposited coin in a corresponding denomination safe based on the identification result. At the time of withdrawal, a required number of coins of the required denomination are taken out from each denomination-type safe, and the number of coins is determined.

In this type of coin processing apparatus, coins are fed out while being separated one by one by a centrifugal disc feeding device, and the coins are forcibly kept while maintaining the coin pitch and the transfer position while pressing the coins against a transfer surface with a transfer belt. The structure was provided with a forced conveying means for conveying the coins in a controlled manner, thereby suppressing the accumulation of coins. In addition, an inspection unit is provided for the compulsory transporting means to identify the authenticity of coins to be transported and denominations.

The inspection unit usually uses the material and the outer diameter of the coin as elements for discriminating the coin. Recently, however, the presence / absence of a hole in the coin and the unevenness of the surface are also used as elements for discriminating the coin. It has a sensor.

The output level of a magnetic sensor usually fluctuates greatly due to the gap between the sensor detection surface and the surface of a coin being conveyed. A transport plate with high abrasion resistance is provided so that coins forcibly transported on this transport plate pass while contacting, and a magnetic sensor is detected on the surface of the transport plate opposite to the coin passing surface. The surface is fixed closely.

However, since ceramic plates and sapphire glass plates used as carrier plates are very expensive and have poor workability, recently, with the commercialization of inexpensive and high-performance metal wear-resistant resins having excellent workability. However, conversion to such an inexpensive resin transport plate is being attempted.

[0008]

However, as described above, when the transport plate of the inspection unit is made of resin, if a large number of scratched coins or burred coins are transported due to variations between devices, etc. In some cases, the wear of the transport plate is accelerated, and it may be difficult to maintain the identification performance of the inspection unit before the product life of the coin processing device. In this case, a serious error such as reject over occurs, and there is a problem that the cause is not known until a maintenance person replaces the magnetic sensor.

Normally, in coin processing apparatuses, there is a cut-off section of a single-sheet feeding section for feeding coins one by one, or a large-capacity pool section for mixing and pooling a large number of coins, such as a coin storage and an overflow stacker. In many cases, a large amount of scratched coins and burred coins are generated with confidence due to the load, and it has been necessary to transport not less than a few such coins.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a coin processing apparatus capable of detecting the amount of wear of a resin-made transfer plate of an inspection unit and notifying the replacement time of the transfer plate in a timely manner.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided a coin processing apparatus comprising: a conveying means for conveying coins; a conveying plate provided in a middle portion of the conveying means, through which the conveyed coin passes while contacting; A feature amount detecting unit that detects a physical feature amount of a coin passing over the transport plate, and an identification unit that identifies at least a type of coin passing over the transport plate based on an output of the feature amount detection unit, A wear amount detecting means for detecting a wear amount of the transport plate based on a variation amount of an output of the feature amount detecting means.

[0012] The coin processing device of the present invention is provided with a conveying means for conveying coins, and is provided at an intermediate portion of the conveying means.
A transport plate through which the coins to be transported pass while contacting,
A magnetic sensor that is provided on a surface of the transport plate opposite to the surface through which the coins pass, and magnetically detects a physical characteristic amount of the coin passing over the transport plate via the transport plate; Identification means for identifying at least the type of coin passing on the transport plate based on the output of the magnetic sensor; and a wear amount for detecting the wear amount of the transport plate by monitoring a variation amount of the output of the magnetic sensor. Detecting means.

[0013] The coin processing apparatus of the present invention is provided with a conveying means for conveying coins, and is provided at an intermediate portion of the conveying means.
A resin transport plate through which the coins to be transported pass while being in contact with each other, provided on a surface of the transport plate opposite to a surface through which the coins pass, and on the transport plate via the transport plate. A magnetic sensor for magnetically detecting a physical characteristic amount of the passing coin, identification means for identifying at least a type of coin passing on the transport plate based on an output of the magnetic sensor, and an output of the magnetic sensor A conversion unit that monitors the variation and converts the variation into a wear amount of the transport plate; and a wear amount output unit that outputs the wear amount of the transport plate converted by the conversion unit. .

Further, the coin processing device of the present invention is provided with a transporting means for transporting coins, and provided in a middle portion of the transporting means,
A resin transport plate through which the coins to be transported pass while being in contact with each other, provided on a surface of the transport plate opposite to a surface through which the coins pass, and on the transport plate via the transport plate. A magnetic sensor that magnetically detects the surface shape of the passing coin, identification means for identifying at least the type of coin passing on the transport plate based on the output of the magnetic sensor, and presence or absence of a hole or a surface of the coin. Output dent detecting means for detecting a dent state of the output of the magnetic sensor due to unevenness or the like; and at least one of an output dent ratio and an output dent amount based on the dent state of the output of the magnetic sensor detected by the output dent detecting means Wear amount detecting means for detecting the amount of wear on the transfer plate by monitoring one of the amounts of change, and wear amount output means for outputting the wear amount of the transfer plate detected by the wear amount detection means. It is Bei.

Further, the coin processing apparatus of the present invention has a feeding means for feeding coins to be processed one by one, a feeding means for feeding the coins fed by the feeding means one by one, and a halfway of the feeding means. Provided in the section, a resin-made transport plate through which the coins to be transported pass while contacting, and provided in close contact with a surface of the transport plate opposite to the surface through which the coins pass, and A magnetic sensor that magnetically detects a surface shape of a coin passing over the transport plate through the material, a material detecting unit that magnetically detects a material of the coin transported by the transport unit, and a transporter that is transported by the transport unit. Outer diameter detecting means for optically detecting the outer diameter of the coin, and unevenness detecting means for optically detecting the unevenness of the side surface of the coin conveyed by the conveying means; and these magnetic sensors, material detecting means, Outer diameter detection means and unevenness Identifying means for identifying at least the type of coin to be the transport based on the outputs of Jo detection means,
Sorting means for sorting the conveyed coins at least by type based on the identification result of the identification means, and wear amount detecting means for detecting the wear amount of the transport plate by monitoring the variation of the output level of the magnetic sensor Is provided.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows a configuration of a coin processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. This coin processing device is a circulation type coin processing device that is mounted on, for example, an automatic teller machine (ATM) in a financial institution such as a bank and automatically performs coin depositing and dispensing processes.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a rotatable tray as a deposit and withdrawal port. At the time of deposit, coins of various mixed denominations to be processed are inserted from the outside of the apparatus, and at the time of withdrawal, dispensed to the outside of the apparatus. A coin of various denominations of various kinds is released. When the coins are inserted, the tray 1 rotates to drop the received coins into the upper feeding portion 2 of the centrifugal disk structure disposed vertically below. The upper feeding section 2 separates the coins dropped from the tray 1 by centrifugal force, and
The sheet is fed out one by one by restricting it with a height regulating guide (not shown) provided at the exit a.

A pickup roller 3 is disposed at a position adjacent to the outlet of the disk 2a of the upper feeding section 2, and a conveying path 4 as conveying means for forcibly conveying coins fed by the pickup roller 3 is disposed. Has been established. In the transport path 4, a transport belt 6 stretched between a pair of rollers 4a and 4b separated from each other is pressed against a substantially horizontal transport surface 5 to travel. On one side of the transport path 4, that is, on the far side in the figure, a transport reference surface (not shown) extending perpendicular to the substantially horizontal transport surface 5 is formed. The pickup roller 3 is provided to be slightly inclined in a direction in which coins fed from the upper feeding section 2 are pressed against the transport reference plane. Therefore, the coins fed by the pickup roller 3 are pressed against the transport reference surface, aligned on the transport surface 5, and transported at a predetermined position.

The coins taken out to the transport path 4 are transported one by one at predetermined intervals according to the rotation speed ratio between the pickup roller 3 and the transport path 4. Normally, since the upper feeding section 2 has a higher coin feeding ability than the pickup roller 3, the pickup roller 3
Before this, coins are connected almost continuously. The subsequent coin (outer diameter: Dia) is driven at the rotation speed of the pickup roller 3, and the coin taken out earlier is driven at the transport speed of the downstream transport path 4 during the time that the coin advances by its own diameter. The transport pitch Xint is as follows: Xint = (V2 · Dia) / V1 V1: Upstream drive speed (rotation speed of pickup roller 3) V2: Downstream drive speed (rotation speed of transport path 4)

The conveying path 4 forcibly conveys coins fed from the upper feeding section 2 while pressing the coins onto a conveying surface 5 by a conveying belt 6 and sends the coins to an inspection section 7 arranged downstream.
The inspection unit 7 identifies the authenticity and type of the conveyed coin.

The coins passing through the inspection unit 7 are transported again to the transport path 4.
Is forcibly conveyed further downstream, and sent to the sorting unit 8 disposed downstream. The sorting unit 8 sorts coins transported by the transport path 4 into denominations (by type) based on the identification result of the inspection unit 7. The sorting unit 8 is composed of, for example, well-known opposed gates 9,..., And selectively sorts coins by denomination by selectively driving these gates 9,.

The coins sorted by the sorting unit 8 are put into denomination safes (denomination stacking cylinders) 10,... As denomination stacking units disposed therebelow, and are sorted and sorted by denomination. It is supposed to be.

The coins identified as rejected coins by the inspection unit 7 are passed through the selection unit 8 and the coin-type safe 1
0 is guided to a downstream transport path 12 via a U-turn transport path 11 disposed on the downstream side, and is returned to the tray 1 by the downstream transport path 12.

When the denomination safe 10 is full, an overflow box 13 for storing excess coins is provided in the inspection unit 7.
The coins are inserted by a well-known opposed gate 14 or the like.

When the overflow box 13 is full, for example, the safe 15 provided downstream of the sorting unit 8
The excess coins are collected by a well-known opposed gate 16 or the like. It should be noted that when refilling coins from outside the apparatus, refill coins are inserted into the safe 15.

When a predetermined number of coins are not stored in the cash-type safe 10, the safe 15
The replenishment operation to the denomination safe 10 is performed. That is, a coin dispensing section (not shown) constituted by a reciprocating picker and the like provided at the lower portion of the safe 15 takes out a specified number of coins from the safe 15 and feeds the lower portion disposed below the denomination safe 10. To the unit 17. The lower feeding portion 17 has the same centrifugal disk structure as the upper feeding portion 2.

The lower feeding section 17 feeds out coins thrown out of the safe 15 one by one and sends them to a sandwich type vertical conveyor 18 constituted by a flat belt or the like, and the upper feeding through the vertical conveyor 18. The coin is transported to the section 2. The coins conveyed to the upper feeding unit 2 are fed one by one in the same manner as described above, are conveyed on the conveyance path 4, and after the authenticity and the type are identified in the inspection unit 7, the coins are sorted by the sorting unit 8 and the predetermined money is discarded. Classified safe 10
It is designed to be stored in.

The above is the description of the deposit processing system for performing coin deposit processing. Next, the dispensing processing system for performing coin dispensing processing will be described. In the dispensing process, coins are taken out from the denomination safe 10 and paid out to the tray 1. That is, a coin dispensing section 19,... Constituted by a reciprocating picker and the like disposed below each of the denomination-type safes 10,. Are discharged to a lower feed-out section 17 disposed below the type safes 10,.

The lower payout section 17 is provided for each of the cash-type safes 10,.
Coins thrown out of the conveyor 18
And is conveyed to the upper feeding section 2 via the vertical conveyor 18. The coins conveyed to the upper dispensing unit 2 are dispensed one by one in the same manner as described above and conveyed on the conveyance path 4, and after checking the type and quantity in the inspection unit 7, conveyed to the most downstream by the disbursed instruction number, It is guided to the downstream transport path 12 via the U-turn transport path 11, and is discharged to the tray 1 by the downstream transport path 12.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a temporary storage unit for temporarily storing dispensed coins, retry coins, and the like, and reference numeral 21 denotes a foreign substance collection box for collecting foreign substances. The coins to be temporarily held are temporarily opened and closed by opening and closing the facing gate 20a.
Guided to 0.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the external configuration of the detection unit of the inspection unit 7. The inspection unit 7 is provided detachably with respect to the transport surface 5 and the transport belt 6. The inspection unit 7 includes a resin-made transport plate 31 through which coins to be transported pass while contacting the same, and a perpendicular to the transport plate 31,
Further, it has a sensor reference surface 32 extending to one side of the transport plate 31 along the coin transport direction (the direction of arrow a in the figure). Here, the transport plate 31 is provided detachably, is disposed at substantially the same height as the transport surface 5 of the transport path 4, and the sensor reference surface 32 is a transport reference (not shown) of the transport path 4. It is positioned so as to be located slightly outside the surface, for example, about 0.3 mm deeper than the transport reference surface.

By positioning the inspection unit 7 in this way, the coin passing through the inspection unit 7 can be transported with the end thereof separated from the sensor reference plane 32 by a predetermined distance (about 0.3 mm). It is conveyed above (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

The inspection section 7 is provided with a concave / convex shape for optically detecting a jagged pattern (50 yen, 100 yen) or a stamped pattern (500 yen) from the upstream side in the coin transport direction. Lateral indentation detection sensor 33 as detection means, outer diameter detection sensor 34 as outer diameter detection means for optically detecting the outer diameter of a coin, and transmitted magnetic flux as material detection means for magnetically detecting the material of the coin An amount detection type magnetic sensor 35 is provided. Further, the inspection unit 7 is provided on the lower surface side of the transport plate 31 with a magnetic sensor 36 of a reflected magnetic flux amount detection type that magnetically detects the surface shape (presence or absence of holes, uneven state) of the coin. These sensors 33, 34,
Reference numerals 35 and 36 constitute feature amount detecting means for detecting physical feature amounts of coins.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 43 denotes an inspection unit main body. Hereinafter, each sensor 33, 3 constituting the inspection unit 7
4, 35 and 36 will be described in detail.

First, the side edge detection sensor 33 is configured as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, for example. That is, outside the sensor reference plane 32, the sensor reference plane 3
2 and is positioned accurately with respect to the sensor reference plane 32. In other words, the side edge detection sensor 33 is accurately positioned such that its focal point is located a predetermined distance from the sensor reference plane 32, for example, 0.3 mm inside.

The sensor reference surface 32 is formed with an opening 37 through which light from the side edge detection sensor 33 can pass on the transport path 4. Then, a light emitting element (for example, a light emitting diode, a semiconductor laser oscillator, or the like) 38 that irradiates light to the side surface of the coin C passing near the opening 37 (the focal position of the side edge detection sensor 33). Condensing lens 3 for condensing the emitted light on the side of coin C
9, a condenser lens 40 for taking in reflected light generated on the side surface of the coin C, a light receiving element (for example, a photodiode) 41 for receiving light through the condenser lens 40, and a light provided in the opening 37. Transparent guide 42 such as glass through
It has.

The optical axis on the light emitting side and the optical axis on the light receiving side are each set at an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the sensor reference plane 32. The transparent guide 42 provided in the opening 37 is provided to prevent intrusion of dust that is undesirably accumulated on the transport surface 31.

The light emitted from the light emitting element 38 is condensed on the side of the coin C conveyed on the conveying surface 31 by the condensing lens 39, and the light reflected from this side is condensed by the condensing lens 40. The light is received by the light receiving element 41 via.

Incidentally, in order to increase the detection accuracy of the side edge detection sensor 33, it is necessary to accurately transport coins at a transport position separated by a predetermined distance from the sensor reference surface 32. That is, the end of the coin is positioned at a distance of 0.
It is necessary to transport coins so as to pass through a position 3 mm apart.

FIG. 5 shows a processing circuit for processing the output signal of the side edge detection sensor 33. That is, coin C
The analog signal which is reflected by the side surface of the optical signal and received by the light receiving element 41 and photoelectrically converted is amplified to a predetermined level by the amplifier circuit 51, the DC component is cut by the DC cut circuit 52, and the digital signal is output by the comparator 53 and the like. Is converted to This digital signal is input to the timer / counter controller 54, where the number of irregularities on the side surface of the coin C (for example, the number of irregularities for each irregular width) is detected.

The timer / counter controller 5
By detecting the uneven width of the digital signal by 4 and detecting the number of unevenness for each uneven width, the uneven shape of the side surface of the coin C can be detected in more detail.

A part of the analog signal amplified by the amplifying circuit 51 is taken into an inspection CPU, which will be described later, via an A / D converter 55.
3 is detected.

FIG. 6 shows an example of an analog signal obtained from the side jagged detection sensor 33 when the coin C has a jagged pattern on the side (50 yen coin, 100 yen coin, etc.) and a digital signal obtained by digitizing the analog signal. FIG. 7 shows
An example of an analog signal obtained from the side indentation detection sensor 33 when a mark is imprinted on the side surface of the coin C (500 yen coin) and a digital signal obtained by digitizing the analog signal are shown.

As is clear from FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the side shape of the coin C can be easily identified from the unevenness number and the unevenness width of the digital signal obtained by digitizing the output signal of the side indentation detection sensor 33. The type of the coin C can be identified by comparing the width of the coin C with the reference value prepared in advance.

Next, the outer diameter detection sensor 34 is, for example,
It is configured as shown in FIG. That is, the transport plate 6
Numeral 1 is formed of transparent and strong sapphire glass disposed in the same plane as the transport plate 31 so as to form a transport surface of the inspection unit 7 together with the transport plate 31. The transport plate 51 made of sapphire glass extends to a magnetic sensor 35 described later.

The outer diameter detection sensor 34 has an opening 62 on one side along the width direction of the transport plate 61,
(Light emitting diode) array 63 as a light source disposed along the width direction of the transport plate 61 above the printed circuit board 61, and the printed wiring board 6 on which the LED array 63 is mounted.
4. An optical slit 65 for guiding the light from the LED array 63 to the transport plate 61, an optical slit 66 disposed below the transport plate 61, and a self-fox lens for condensing the light passing through the optical slit 66. Condenser lens 67 such as
A CCD (Charge Coupled Device) type line sensor 68 that receives light through the condenser lens 67,
8 is provided with a printed wiring board 69 and the like.

The opening 62 is used for attaching and detaching the conveyor belt 6. Between the back side of the transport plate 61 and the condenser lens 67, the transport belt 6 is masked, and
A guide member 70 is provided to prevent the detection accuracy from deteriorating due to the vibration. Due to the presence of the guide member 70, the optical slit 66 is divided into two along the width direction of the transport plate 61.

The optical slit 66, the condensing lens 67, and the line sensor 68 constitute a photoelectric conversion unit that receives the light emitted from the LED array 63 through the transport plate 61 and converts the light into an electric signal. Further, guide members 71 and 72 for guiding the transport of the coin C and forming an effective detection area are provided at both ends in the width direction of the transport plate 61. The inner surfaces of the guide members 71 and 72 facing each other are used as a reference surface for transporting the coin C. In particular, the inner surface of the guide member 71 is a sensor reference surface 71a disposed in the same plane as the sensor reference surface 32 described above. Act as

Thus, the transport plate 6 is transported by the transport belt 6.
When the coin C is forcibly conveyed over the coin 1, the light emitted from the LED array 63 is blocked by the coin C, and a light / dark signal due to the shadow of the coin generated at that time is detected by the line sensor 68. The outer diameter of the coin C can be detected by optically measuring the length of the shadow portion. Also, by measuring the length from the effective area defined by the guide member 71 to the shadow end of the coin C, the transport position of the coin C, that is, the sensor reference surface 71a
From the coin to the end of the coin C (hereinafter, referred to as a width shift amount) can be detected.

Here, a method of measuring the outer diameter and the width of the coin C will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
In the output signal (FIG. 9A) corresponding to one scan of the line sensor 68, the shadow area due to the presence of the coin C is high (dark), and the other areas are low (bright). Reference clock corresponding to one pixel (FIG. 9B) and guide member 7
An effective pixel area signal (FIG. 9c) which becomes high only in an effective detection area corresponding to an area between 1 and 72 is prepared in advance.
By taking the logical product with the D output signal, it is possible to obtain an effective clock (FIG. 9D) corresponding to the length of the light-shielded area by the coin C. The outer diameter of the coin C can be measured by counting the number of valid clocks by a counter described later and obtaining the maximum value.

A reference clock (passing position clock, FIG. 9) from the sensor reference plane 71a (at the beginning of the effective pixel area) to the end of the shadow area by the coin C (at the beginning of the CCD output signal)
e) is counted by a counter described later, and the minimum value of the passing position clock is obtained, whereby the width of the coin C can be measured.

Next, the magnetic sensor 35 and its output signal processing circuit are configured, for example, as shown in FIG. That is, a wide primary core 82 having an open portion 81 on one side along the width direction of the transport plate 61, and further extending below the transport plate 61 in the width direction of the transport plate 61, A primary coil 83 for excitation wound around 82;
The first secondary coil 84, which is wound around the primary coil 83 and receives electromagnetic induction from the primary coil 83,
A wide secondary core 85 extended in the width direction of the transport plate 61 above the first, a second secondary coil 86 wound around the secondary core 85 and receiving electromagnetic induction from the primary coil 83
It has. The primary coil 83 is excited by a sine wave signal output from a Wien bridge sine wave oscillator 87.

Outputs from the first and second secondary coils 84 and 86 are amplified to predetermined levels via amplifier circuits 88 and 89, respectively, and then are applied to DC component cut circuits 90 and 91 comprising capacitors and the like. The ingredients are cut,
Full-wave rectification is performed by full-wave rectification circuits 92 and 93, smoothed through LPFs (low-pass filters) 94 and 95, and converted to direct current, as a first secondary coil rectified output V21 and a second secondary coil rectified output V22. It is supplied to an arithmetic circuit 96.

In the arithmetic circuit 96, these rectified outputs V21
The output signal Vout is calculated in accordance with the following formula based on Vout and V22. Where AMP1, AMP2, and AM
P3 is a constant.

Vout = AMP1 * [AMP2 * V21−AMP3 * V22] Then, this output signal Vout is supplied to the A
The signal is input to a / D converter 98, where it is periodically converted to a digital signal and output as an output signal of the magnetic sensor 35. By detecting the maximum value (peak) of the output signal, the coin C passing through the magnetic sensor 35 is detected.
Is identified.

Next, the magnetic sensor 36 and its output signal processing circuit are configured, for example, as shown in FIG. That is, a cylindrical core 101 provided vertically to the lower surface of the transport plate 61, two coils 103 wound around the cylindrical core 101 via the bobbin 102,
104, coils 103, 10 around the cylindrical core 101
4 is a magnetic sensor of a reflected magnetic flux amount detection type comprising a cylindrical core 101 and a cylindrical core 105 constituting a magnetic path, and the cylindrical core 101, the bobbin 1
02 and the cylindrical core 105 are positioned and fixed to the lower surface of the transport plate 61.

Here, as the cylindrical core 101 and the cylindrical core 105, for example, a soft ferrite core is used. One end of each of the coils 103 and 104 is commonly connected and grounded, and the other end is connected to a variable resistor 106, respectively.
Are connected to both ends of the variable resistor 106. The slider of the variable resistor 106 is a Wien bridge sine wave oscillator 1 that generates a sine wave excitation signal.
06, and the other end of the oscillator 106 is grounded. Thus, the coils 103 and 104 and the variable resistor 106 form a bridge circuit.

The coils 103 and 104 and the variable resistor 106
Are amplified by amplifier circuits 109 and 110, respectively, and then rectified by the rectifier circuits 111 and 111.
A differential amplifier 11 rectified at 112 and having a variable amplification factor
3, respectively. The output of the differential amplifier 113 is
The data is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 114 and input to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 115 as output data of the magnetic sensor 36.

The CPU 115 stores a control program for the CPU 115 to perform processing for identifying the surface shape of coins, and various ROMs (reference data) for storing various reference value data for performing processing for identifying the surface shape of coins. -De
A memory (only memory) 116 and a RAM (random access memory) 117 for storing various data such as input data.

Here, the zero adjustment of the output of the differential amplifier 113 is performed by configuring the resistance connected to each of the coils 103 and 104 with a variable resistor 106 and adjusting the balance between the resistance values of both. It has become.

When the coin C is conveyed and passes over the magnetic sensor 36, the coin C
The eddy current generated on the surface of the coin C prevents the magnetic flux linked to the upper (detection side) coil 103 downward, so that the inductance of the upper coil 103 decreases,
The operation principle is that the balance of the bridge circuit is lost, and as a result, the output rises.

It should be noted that the arrangement order of the side indentation detection sensor 33, the outer diameter detection sensor 34, the magnetic sensor 35, and the magnetic sensor 36 in the inspection unit 7 can be appropriately set.

FIG. 12 schematically shows a configuration of a control system for controlling the overall operation of the coin processing apparatus configured as described above. The control system of the coin processing device includes a main control CPU 121 that controls the operation of the entire device and an inspection CPU 122 that controls the inspection unit 7. Each CPU 121,
Reference numeral 122 denotes an R0M12 storing a control program.
RAM for temporarily storing processing data
125, 126 and ICUs (interruption controllers) 127, 128 for controlling mutual interruption operations are connected respectively. The communication between the CPUs 121 and 122 is performed by parallel communication via the dual port RAM 129.

The main control CPU 121 has an SCU
(Serial communication controller) 130 is connected. A central management system 131, which is a higher-level device of the present device, is connected to the SCU 130 via a communication line.
As will be described in detail later, the central management system 131 is notified of the detected wear amount of the transport plate 31 and the like.

The inspection CPU 122 has an output peak value, an output dent amount,
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory (such as an EEPROM) 132 as a storage unit for storing the output dent ratio, etc.,
/ 0 (input / output interface) 133 and a counter 134 for detecting the outer diameter of the coin C are connected respectively. An operation panel 135 for setting various inspection conditions and displaying and outputting data is connected to the parallel 1/133. The counter 134 includes the signal processing circuit 1
The outside diameter detection sensor 34 is connected via 36.

Further, the inspection CPU 122 receives the side edge indentation detection sensor 33 via the signal processing circuit 137 described in FIG. 5, and the magnetic sensor 35 via the signal processing circuit 138 described in FIG. The magnetic sensors 36 are connected to each other via the signal processing circuit 139 described above.

Next, a magnetic sensor 3 of a reflected magnetic flux amount detection type for detecting the surface shape (presence or absence of holes, unevenness state) of the coin.
6, a method of detecting the wear amount of the transport plate 31 will be described in detail.

Generally, as described above, the magnetic sensor of the reflected magnetic flux amount detection type has a large output level due to the gap from the detection surface to the coin surface due to the operation principle described with reference to FIG. fluctuate. Therefore, it is often used to detect the presence or absence of a hole in a coin and the state of unevenness.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the output waveform of each normal coin. As is clear from FIG. 13, coins with holes such as 5 yen and 10 yen have a clear dent near the center, so that it is easy to detect the presence or absence of a hole. As a hole detection algorithm, after detecting the first peak value of the output, the hole detection start level (threshold), for example, the first peak value,
It is set to 70% of the peak value, and if the output level drops below this, the minimum value of the output dent is detected. On the way, if the hole detection level falls below the hole detection end level (for example, 10% of the first peak value), the hole detection is ended and it is determined that there is no hole. On the other hand, if the output level rises above a predetermined level after detecting the minimum value of the dent, it is determined that there is a hole.

As the distance between the upper end (detection surface) of the magnetic sensor 36 and the coin C to be conveyed decreases with the abrasion of the resin-made conveyance plate 31, the influence of the presence or absence of the coin C starts to be noticeable. Therefore, as the abrasion of the transport plate 31 progresses, the output level increases (see FIG. 14), and the output dent of the coin having a hole also becomes deeper (see FIG. 14).

However, the A / D converter 114 (FIG. 1)
1) input voltage range (eg, 0 to 5 volts)
In order to set M to such an extent that a margin is given to the peak level of the coin having the highest output level (a one-yen coin) (the magnetic sensor often identifies the material of the coin <,
The difference between the denominations (to gain the number of digits)), the transport plate 31
As a result, the peak value of the output exceeds the input voltage range M of the A / D converter 114. As a result,
Although the dent ratio deteriorates and eventually saturates up to the dent, it is rarely worn up to this point.

Accordingly, the inspection CPU 122 obtains an average value of a predetermined number of coins for each denomination of the output level rise, the output dent amount and the output dent ratio of coins having holes, and the like.
These are stored in the non-volatile memory 132 (see FIG. 12), and by monitoring them,
It is possible to grasp (detect) the degree of wear (amount of wear).

The output dent amount and output dent ratio of coins with holes are obtained by the following equations.
2 is calculated. Depression rate = (Minimum dent value) / (Peak value) Depression amount = (First peak value) -one (Minimum dent value) According to the amount of wear of the transport plate 31 detected in this way, the inspection CPU 122 determines the upper rank of the coin processing apparatus. A device,
Central management system 1 for integrated management of multiple coin processing devices
For example, data indicating the wear amount of the transport plate 31, the maintenance time of the monitoring plate 31, the urgency of the maintenance, and the like are transmitted to the control unit 31. As a result, it is possible to notify the maintenance and replacement time of the monitoring plate 31 in a timely manner.

The inspection CPU 122 controls the above-described transport plate 31.
In addition to the process of detecting the wear amount of the coin, the process of identifying the authenticity and type of the coin is also performed. The identification processing of the authenticity and the type of the coin is already a well-known technique, and therefore detailed description is omitted, but the side edge detection sensor 33, the outer diameter detection sensor 34, the magnetic sensor 35, and the magnetic sensor 36 , Ie, the counter 134, the signal processing circuits 137, 138, 1
The authenticity and the type of the coin are comprehensively identified based on each output of 39.

As described above, according to the above embodiment, the output level of the reflected magnetic flux amount detecting type magnetic sensor for detecting the presence / absence of a hole in a coin and the unevenness of the surface of the coin varies, and the coin with a hole having a normal hole can be used. The amount of dent in the output, the change in the dent ratio, etc. are monitored to detect the amount of wear of the resin transport plate provided between the magnetic sensor and the coin to be transported, and according to the detected amount of wear, By notifying the higher-level device of the predetermined information, it is possible to timely notify the replacement time of the transfer plate and the like. Therefore, (1) maintenance such as replacement of the transport plate can be easily performed before a serious error such as reject over occurs.

(2) For example, by linking a plurality of coin processing devices and sucking up the detection results and the like to a central management system which is a higher-level device for integrally managing the coin processing devices, the installation location, the wear amount of each device, that is, Since the urgency of replacement of the transfer plate and the replacement time can be confirmed, maintenance scheduling can be facilitated, and maintenance can be performed efficiently.

(3) With such a function, it is possible to easily convert the transport plate to an inexpensive resin material in the inspection unit.
(Conventionally, it was made of expensive ceramics or sapphire glass.) In the above-described embodiment, the wear of the transfer plate is performed by using a magnetic sensor for magnetically detecting the physical characteristic amount of the coin. Although the case where the amount is detected has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even if an optical sensor that optically detects the physical characteristic amount of a coin is used, the wear The amount can be detected.

[0078]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, there is provided a coin processing apparatus capable of detecting the amount of wear of a resin-made transfer plate of an inspection unit and notifying the replacement time of the transfer plate in a timely manner. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a configuration of a coin processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing an external configuration of a detection unit of the inspection unit.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view showing a configuration of a side knurling detection sensor.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the side jaw detection sensor of FIG. 3 in a see-through manner;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a signal processing circuit for processing an output signal of the side edge detection sensor.

FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram showing an example of an analog signal obtained from a side jagged detection sensor when a coin having a jagged pattern on the side is conveyed, and a digital signal obtained by digitizing the analog signal.

FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram showing an example of an analog signal obtained from a side edge detection sensor when a coin having a stamp pattern on a side surface is conveyed and a digital signal obtained by digitizing the analog signal.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional side view showing a configuration of an outer diameter detection sensor.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart for explaining an operation of detecting an outer diameter and a width shift amount of a coin by an outer diameter detection sensor.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a magnetic sensor of a transmitted magnetic flux amount detection type and a signal processing circuit for processing an output signal thereof.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a reflected magnetic flux amount detection type magnetic sensor and a signal processing circuit for processing an output signal thereof.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a control system that controls the overall operation of the coin processing device.

FIG. 13 is a waveform chart showing output signal waveforms corresponding to each coin obtained from the reflected magnetic flux amount detection type magnetic sensor of FIG. 11;

14 is a graph showing output peak fluctuation characteristics and output dent ratio fluctuation characteristics of the magnetic sensor of the reflection magnetic flux amount detection type shown in FIG. 11;

[Explanation of symbols]

C: Coin, 1: Receiving tray, 2: Upper feeding section, 3: Pickup roller, 4: Transport path, 5: Transport surface, 6:
... Conveying belt, 7 ... Inspection unit, 8 ... Selection unit, 9 ... Gate, 10 ... Safety by denomination, 31 ... Conveying plate, 33 ...
Side jaw detection sensor (concavo-convex shape detection means), 34... Outer diameter detection sensor (outer diameter detection means), 35... Magnetic sensor (material detection means), 36.
PU, 131: Central management system (upper device), 13
2 ... EEPROM (storage means), 134 ... counter.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A transporting means for transporting coins, a transporting plate provided in the middle of the transporting means, through which the coins to be transported pass while contacting each other, and a physical movement of the coins passing over the transporting plate. A characteristic amount detecting unit that detects a characteristic amount; an identifying unit that identifies at least a type of coin passing through the transport plate based on an output of the characteristic amount detecting unit; A coin processing device, comprising: a wear amount detecting unit configured to detect a wear amount of the transport plate. 2. A transporting means for transporting coins, a transporting plate provided at an intermediate portion of the transporting means, through which the transported coins pass while contacting, and a surface of the transporting plate through which the coins pass. A magnetic sensor provided on the opposite surface side and magnetically detecting a physical characteristic amount of a coin passing over the transport plate via the transport plate; and a magnetic sensor on the transport plate based on an output of the magnetic sensor. Identification means for identifying at least the type of coin passing therethrough; and wear amount detection means for detecting the wear amount of the transport plate by monitoring the amount of change in the output of the magnetic sensor. Coin processing equipment. 3. The coin processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport plate is made of resin. 4. The wear amount detecting means according to claim 2, wherein the wear amount detecting means detects the wear amount of the transport plate by monitoring an output level of the magnetic sensor for each coin type. Coin processing equipment. 5. A notifying means for notifying a host device of the coin processing device of a wear amount of the transport plate or a maintenance time of the transport plate based on a detection result of the wear amount detecting device. The coin processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 6. A transport means for transporting coins, a resin transport plate provided in a middle portion of the transport means, through which the coins to be transported pass while contacting, and wherein the coins of the transport plate pass. A magnetic sensor that is provided on a surface side opposite to the surface and magnetically detects a physical characteristic amount of a coin passing over the transport plate via the transport plate, and based on an output of the magnetic sensor, Identification means for identifying at least the type of coins passing over the transport plate; conversion means for monitoring the amount of change in the output of the magnetic sensor to convert the amount of change into wear of the transport plate; And a wear amount output means for outputting the wear amount of the transport plate converted in (1). 7. A transport means for transporting coins, a resin transport plate provided in a middle part of the transport means, through which the coins to be transported pass while contacting, and wherein the coins of the transport plate pass. A magnetic sensor provided on a surface side opposite to the surface and magnetically detecting a surface shape of a coin passing over the transport plate via the transport plate; and a magnetic sensor on the transport plate based on an output of the magnetic sensor. Identification means for identifying at least the type of coin passing therethrough; output dent detection means for detecting a dent state of the output of the magnetic sensor due to the presence or absence of holes in the coin, surface irregularities, and the like; detection by the output dent detection means A wear amount detecting means for detecting a wear amount of the transport plate by monitoring at least one of an output dent ratio and an output dent amount from the dent state of the output of the magnetic sensor. And a wear amount output means for outputting the wear amount of the transport plate detected by the wear amount detection means. 8. The wear amount detecting means detects the wear amount of the transport plate by monitoring at least one of the output dent ratio and the output dent amount for each coin type of the coin. The coin processing device according to claim 7, wherein 9. A feeding means for feeding coins to be processed one by one, a feeding means for feeding coins fed by the feeding means one by one, and provided in a middle part of the feeding means to be fed. A resin-made transport plate through which the coin passes while contacting, and is provided in close contact with a surface of the transport plate opposite to the surface through which the coin passes, and passes over the transport plate via the transport plate A magnetic sensor for magnetically detecting the surface shape of a coin to be transferred, a material detecting unit for magnetically detecting the material of the coin conveyed by the conveying unit, and an optical sensor for optically detecting the outer diameter of the coin conveyed by the conveying unit. Outer diameter detecting means for detecting the unevenness on the side surface of the coin conveyed by the conveying means; and unevenness detecting means for optically detecting the unevenness of the side surface of the coin conveyed by the conveying means; magnetic sensor, material detecting means, outer diameter detecting means, and unevenness Based on each output of the shape detection means Identification means for identifying at least the type of the conveyed coins; classification means for classifying the conveyed coins by at least the type based on the identification result of the identification means; and monitoring the variation of the output level of the magnetic sensor. And a wear amount detecting means for detecting the wear amount of the transport plate. 10. The coin processing device according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic sensor is a magnetic sensor of a reflected magnetic flux amount detection type.