JPS60229188A - Coin processor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a coin processing device used in public telephones, vending machines, etc., and particularly to a coin processing device provided inside the device for sorting, sorting, accumulating, storing, or The present invention relates to a coin processing device that is configured to operate various coin processing mechanisms such as return etc. with low driving force (low electric power).

[Prior art]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of coin processing device, one having a configuration as schematically shown in FIG. 1 is known. To explain this simply, in the figure, 1 is a coin slot, 2 is a coin track on which the coin K (KIO, 100, K50) inserted from the coin slot 1 rolls, and the coin track 2 is During the process, the coin insertion state is detected and the outer diameter, material, and
Depending on the thickness etc., this is a regular coin K (K 10, K
100, K50), and a sorting mechanism 4 which is connected to the coin detection device 3 and which sorts spurious coins and defective coins based on the detection signal and drops them to the return side.
is installed. 5 and 6 are regular coins K (K1
0, K100, K50) for each type and guide them to the corresponding coin accumulation tracks 7A, 7B, and 7C. Coin storage mechanism 8 on the side
A, 8B, and 8C are provided, and a coin return mechanism 9 is provided at the terminal end thereof. In this device, the above-mentioned coin storage mechanisms 8A, 8B, 8
The system is configured such that the stored coins are sent to the safe lO by C, and the returned coins are sent to the return container 11 by the coin return mechanism 9. In addition, this conventional example has three types of coins K (K
This is the case of a coin processing device configured to sort and process IO, K100, and 50); in the figure, KlO represents a 10 yen coin, K100 represents a 100 yen coin, and K2O represents a 50 yen coin. . Furthermore, regarding the structure and operation of the above-mentioned coin detection device 3, the present applicant filed a patent application in 1983.
- Electronic money sorting device 1 previously proposed in No. 73015
As explained above, detailed explanation will be omitted.

In a coin processing device having such a configuration,
The aforementioned sorting mechanism 4 is controlled to open and close by the controller 12 and the drive circuit 13, which are activated by the output signal from the coin detection device 3.
(KIO, KIGO, K50) are guided through the coin track 2 in the direction of arrow a in the figure, and the pseudo coin K
As indicated by the arrow in the figure, the coins such as O fall off from the coin track 2 and are returned to the return container 11. Furthermore, the coin sorting, which is controlled to open and close as appropriate by the controller 12, etc., is performed by the mechanisms 5 and 6 to distribute the regular coins K (K10, K
100, K50) are distributed in the directions of arrows c, d; e, and f in the figure, respectively, so that the 10 yen coin KIO is placed on the first coin accumulation track 7A, and the 100 yen coin 100 is placed on the second coin storage track 7A. 7B, 50 yen coins and 50 coins are sorted and stored in the third coin accumulation track 7C. And each of these coin accumulation tracks 7A,
Coins K accumulated in 7B and 7C (KIO, K10
0, K50) have coin storage mechanisms 8A and 8B, respectively.
, 8C, the surplus coins are stored one by one in the safe 10 as shown by the arrow g in the figure, and when the service of the main equipment equipped with this coin processing device is completed, the surplus coins are stored in the coin return mechanism 9. By opening the container, the container is returned to the return container 11 as shown by the arrow in the figure.

By the way, in the above-mentioned coin processing device, each processing mechanism (sorting mechanism 4, coin sorting mechanism 5.6, coin storage mechanism 8A, 8B, 8G, coin return mechanism 9) that performs coin sorting process is as follows. Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), a structure directly driven by an electromagnet 14 has generally been adopted. To explain this simply, 1 in the figure
5 is a coin rail constituting the coin track 2; 16 is a lever member that opens and closes a dropout opening 15a provided in the middle of the coin rail 15 at one end 16a; this lever member 16 is connected to the other end 16b; is attracted by the electromagnet 14 constituting the coin dropping mechanism of the coin processing device described above, or is pulled in the opposite direction by the spring 17, and is swung and rotated about the support shaft 16c as described above. The dropout port 15a was configured to be opened and closed at one end 16a.

That is, in such a configuration, the electromagnet 1
4 is not acting, the lever member 16
is rotated clockwise in the figure by the spring 17, and in this state, one end 16a of the coin rail 15 is rotated clockwise in the drawing.
5a, and is held so as to open a part of the coin track 2. Therefore, in this state, the coins K (KIO, K100, K50) transferred in the coin trajectory 2
falls downward from the dropout port 15a. On the other hand, when a driving current is applied to the electromagnet 14 under control from the controller 12 or the like described above, the other end 16b of the lever member 16 is attracted by the attraction force, and at the time of this attraction, the one end of the lever member 16 At 16a, the above-mentioned dropout opening 15a of the coin rail 15 is closed, and the coin track 2 is maintained in a continuous state. therefore,
In this state, coin K (KIO, K100, K5
0) passes over one end 16a of the lever member 16 that closes the coin rail 15 and its dropout port 15a. Moreover, when the electricity to the electromagnet 14 mentioned above is stopped, the attraction force disappears, so the lever member 16
Once again, the other end 16b is rotated counterclockwise in the figure by the spring force of the spring 17, which urges the other end 16b in the direction opposite to the direction of attraction to the electromagnet 14, and the one end 16a is rotated counterclockwise in the figure.
Open the dropout port 15a of the coin K (K10.
0, K50) can be dropped from the drop-off port 15a.

However, in such a conventional mechanism, it is necessary to move one end 16a of the lever member 16 by at least the width of the track, and moreover, it is necessary to operate the one end 16a of the lever member 16 by at least the width of the track, and to overcome the spring force Fl of the spring 17 and the force F2 due to the weight of the coin. As a result, the electromagnet 14 has the disadvantage that a large force and a large displacement are required, which increases its power consumption. Such a problem is caused by the fact that in the conventional structure described above, the lever member 16 that opens and closes the dropout port 15a is biased by the spring 17 and driven directly by the electromagnet 14. It is hoped that countermeasures will be taken.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention was made in view of these circumstances, and
The coin dropping mechanism for selectively passing or dropping coins in the coin track includes an opening/closing mechanism that opens and closes a coin dropping eye provided in a part of the coin track, and a mechanism that normally closes this opening/closing mechanism. A recovery mechanism that uses a spring or its own weight to have a biasing force that opens due to the coin's own weight when the coin reaches it, and a recovery mechanism that closes the opening/closing mechanism when the coin is allowed to pass (or fall off). A simple method is to provide a lock mechanism consisting of an electromagnet or a piezoelectric element, etc., which locks the coin so that it cannot be opened and operates to release the above-mentioned locked state when the coin is dropped (or passed). B. It is possible to perform the sorting process such as whether coins are well-known or have fallen off in the coin passageway, very easily and reliably, and the amount of operation of the drive part of this coin dropout mechanism is reduced, reducing the power consumption of the drive parts. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive coin processing device that enables the following.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) show an embodiment in which the coin processing device according to the present invention is applied to the sorting mechanism 4 in FIG. A coin dropout port 22 provided in the middle of one of the track plates 21 constituting the coin track 2, a lever 23 serving as an opening/closing mechanism for opening and closing the coin track 2 at the coin dropout port 22 portion,
A locking portion 2 as a lock mechanism that locks this lever 23
4 and a bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 that constitutes a drop-off mechanism drive section. In addition, 26 in the figure
is the other track plate, and this track plate 26 is provided with a window 26a for moving the movable end 23a of the lever 23 parallel to the coin track 2 into and out of the coin track 2. The base end 23b of the lever 23 is supported so as to be rotatable around a support shaft 23c perpendicular to the coin track 2, and is normally supported by a spring ( (not shown) or by the weight of the lever 23 itself.

In such a configuration, a voltage is usually applied to the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 so as to cause displacement in the direction of the arrow j in the figure, and the locking part 24 at the tip is connected to the base end 23b of the lever 23. The movable end 23 of this lever 23 acts to lock the lever 23 and prevent it from rotating in the direction of leaving the coin track 2 (clockwise in the figure).
a is projected into the track 2 so as to close the coin dropout opening 22 portion in the locked state. On the other hand, when the direction of voltage application to the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 is reversed, the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 is displaced in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure, and the locking state of the locking portion 24 is released. , the above-mentioned lever 23 simply moves its movable end 23a in a state where it is biased by a spring constituting the recovery mechanism or by its own weight.
protrudes into the orbit 2.

Therefore, in the coin dropping mechanism 20 having such a configuration, when the coin detecting device 3 described above determines that the inserted coin is a regular coin, the polarity of the voltage applied to the octamorph type piezoelectric drive element 25 changes as described above. The controller 12 controls the release direction, and as a result, the lever 23
Since the movable end 23a of the coin only protrudes into the track 2, the coin has its own weight to push the lever movable end 23a away against the biasing force acting on it and remove the coin from the coin dropout opening 22. It will pass.

When the coin K passes like this, this lever 2
3 returns to the original state using the recovery mechanism described above. Further, when the passing state of the coin is detected by the coin passing sensor S1, which is formed of a photocoupler or the like provided on the downstream side of the coin track 2, the controller 12 controls the bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 2.
controlling the polarity of the applied voltage to 5 to be reversed;
As a result, the lever 23 is brought into the low 2 state by the locking portion 24 while being biased in the direction of the arrow i in the figure.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the inserted coin is the pseudo coin KO, the voltage applied to the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 is maintained on the lock side, thereby causing the pseudo coin K
The transfer direction of O is changed by the lever movable end 23a, and the coin is dropped from the coin dropout opening 22.

According to such a configuration, a locking mechanism is used in which the lever 23 having the lever movable end 23a facing into the coin track 2 is selectively locked by the locking portion 24 of the bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 25. Therefore, the displacement required of the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 can be extremely small, and when a coin falls off, only a tensile force is applied to the locking part 24 of the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25, which prevents the coin from passing. At this time, no force acts on the lever 23, and since the recovery of the lever 23 is performed by a recovery mechanism such as a spring, no acting force is required on the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25. It is sufficient that it generates a small amount of force. moreover,
The bimorph type piezoelectric drive element %5 described above originally has a small drive power, and in combination with the above-mentioned reason, it is possible to process coins with extremely low power. Since no large force is applied during coin handling, there is little fatigue and high operational reliability.

FIG. 4 shows the lever 2 in the coin dropping mechanism 20 described above.
A bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 is used as a component for driving 3.
This shows another embodiment using an electromagnet 27 instead of
In the figure, reference numeral 28 denotes a movable element which is normally biased in the direction of arrow j by a spring or a permanent magnet, and this movable element 28 and the electromagnet 27 form a lock mechanism. It will be easily understood that even with such a configuration, the coins can be easily sorted by the lever 23 into passing coins and coins falling out, as in the above-described embodiment, and the same effects can be obtained. Here, although the control of the voltage applied to the electromagnet 27 described above is slightly different from that of the previous embodiment in that it is turned on when the regular coin K is passed, it is considered to be substantially the same. . In addition, in the above-described configuration, when the electromagnet 27 is de-energized, the mover 28 needs to be restored by a biasing force such as a spring, but this spring force is sufficient to restore the mover 28. The bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 2 described above requires only a very small force, and compared to the case of directly driving the coin dropping plate as in the conventional structure.
It is clear that, similar to the mechanism using 5, it is possible to significantly reduce the power consumption.

FIGS. 5(a), (b), and (c) show another embodiment of the present invention, and in this embodiment, the coin dropping mechanism 20 that characterizes the present invention is used for the coin sorting mechanism 20 shown in FIG. is mechanism 5.
6 is shown.

To explain this in detail, numeral 30 in the figure is a drop-out port opening/closing plate that opens and closes the drop-out port 15a formed in the middle of the coin rail 15 that constitutes the coin track 2; It is rotatably supported by the provided support shaft 30a, and its one end 3'Ob can be locked by the locking part 24 at the tip of the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 similar to that described above. It is said to be composed of In addition, the other end 30c of this drop-out opening opening/closing plate 30 is located at the arrow mark in the figure. It is a weight portion that provides a biasing force that allows it to rotate in the direction due to its own weight.

In such a configuration, when the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 is displaced in the direction of the arrow j in the figure, the dropout port opening/closing plate 30 is in a locked state with its one end 30b locked. The coin (10 coins in this case) passes directly over the coin rail 15 and the opening/closing plate 30 that covers the opening 15a. On the other hand, bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 2
5 in the direction of the arrow in the figure, the locking mechanism by the locking part 24 is released, so the coin (in this case, K100) is removed.
, 50) rotates the opening/closing plate 30 due to its own weight, as shown in FIG. When the coin falls off in this way, the drop-out port opening/closing plate 30 is rotated to recover by the load of the other end 30c mentioned above, and returns to its original state. Also.

- After the above-mentioned dropout of the coin is detected by the sensor S2, when the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 is again displaced in the direction of the arrow j in the figure, the dropout opening/closing plate 30 is placed in the locked state again. In addition, numeral 31 in the figure is a window portion formed in the track plate 21 so as to allow the rotational movement of the drop-out port opening/closing plate 30.

6(a), (b), (c), and (d) show the coin dropping mechanism 20 according to the present invention as the coin storage mechanism 8A in FIG. 1.

8B and 8C. In these figures, the same or corresponding parts as in each of the above-mentioned embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

Here, in this embodiment, in addition to each member constituting the coin dropout mechanism 20, a subsequent coin transfer prevention lever 32 is provided to stop the next coin K when the most advanced coin K is dropped from the dropout port 15a. , shows a case in which the coin storage tracks 7A, 7B, and 7C are rotatably supported via support shafts 32a on the sides. This succeeding coin rolling prevention lever 32 is configured such that its one end 32b comes into contact with the coin K reaching the top of the dropout port opening/closing plate 30 and is rotated in the direction of arrow m in the figure, and at this time, the other end 32c The following coins are stopped by a stopper bottle 33 provided at the top. Further, the other end 32c of the subsequent coin rolling prevention lever 32 is biased by the spring 34 in a direction opposite to the above-mentioned operating direction, and as a result, the one end 32c
b is rotated in the direction of arrow n in the figure, and is configured to normally face inside the orbit 7.

The coin dropout mechanism 20 having such a configuration is operated in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, and when the coin dropout mechanism 20 is operated, the coins K are dropped one by one due to the action of the succeeding coin transfer prevention lever 32. A storage section (not shown) (safe 10
) side is easily understood.

FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) show a coin storage mechanism 8A according to the present invention.

This shows another example applied to 8B and 8C.
In this embodiment, the above-mentioned succeeding coin transfer prevention lever mechanism and lock mechanism are integrated as an escape mechanism 35,
This is configured to be operated by a bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 25.

That is, the escape mechanism 35 has an escape 36 which has a substantially U-shape and is rotatably supported by a support shaft 35a, and this escape 36 is connected to the bimorph via a transmission bottle 37 serving as a driving force transmission mechanism. The structure is such that it can be rotated by a shaped piezoelectric drive element 25. Further, at one end of this escape 36, the above-mentioned dropout opening/closing plate 30 is provided.
A locking portion 24 for locking is integrally provided, and a succeeding coin rolling restraint bin 33 is integrally provided at the other end.

With this configuration, the first coins can be dropped and stored one by one, and this escape 36
It is possible to prevent the transfer of the next coin by the succeeding coin transfer prevention bin 33 provided integrally with the coin, and it is possible to reduce the number of parts and simplify the operation of each part. Further, according to this embodiment, since a spring system is not used to restore the escape mechanism 35, the force required for the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 is applied to the locking portion 24 and the subsequent coin rolling prevention pin. 33 is the only force that overcomes the frictional force generated at that part. Therefore, with this configuration, by reducing the frictional force, the load on the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 can be extremely reduced.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment in which the above-mentioned coin dropout mechanism 20 is applied to the coin return mechanism 9. In the figure, 40 is a coin return port (dropout port) 4 at the end of the coin accumulation tracks 7A, 7B, and 7C.
1, which is rotatably supported by a support shaft 40a, and is normally biased by a spring to be in a closed state, as indicated by 42 in the figure. The opening/closing plate 40 is locked by the locking portion 24 of the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25, and the locking is released as necessary, as in the embodiment described above. In addition,
It will be easily understood that the direction of the arrow O in the figure is the direction in which the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 is locked, and the direction of the arrow P in the figure is the direction in which it is released.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, it is desirable to reduce the frictional force in the lock mechanism, subsequent coin transfer prevention bin mechanism, etc. as much as possible in order to reduce the load on the driving parts. It is preferable to form each of these mechanical parts with a lubricating material such as Teflon, or to coat them.

Furthermore, when using the bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 25, a flip-flop mechanism made of a permanent magnet may be provided near the tip of the movable side to improve its displacement-generated force characteristics so that it is suitable as a lock mechanism drive component. It is something. Here, FIG. 9 shows a case where the above-mentioned flip-flop mechanism is provided in the coin dropping mechanism 20 of the coin return mechanism 9 shown in FIG. 8. To explain this in detail, in the figure, 43 is a housing of the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25, 44 is a movable magnetic piece provided near the movable end of the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25, and 45 and 46 are opposed to this. casing 43
A pair of fixed magnetic material pieces provided at the tip of the magnetic material may be configured such that one of these magnetic material pieces is permanently magnetized. According to such a configuration, when the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 is displaced, the generated force that weakens near the displacement reaching point is compensated for by the permanent magnet, thereby obtaining a stable locking mechanism. It is something that can be done.

Further, as in each of the embodiments described above, when the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 is used as the lock mechanism drive mechanism, one end of the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 is fixed to the fixed part 25a, and the other end is used as the movable end to displace the element. When a member such as the locking portion 24 to which a load is applied is provided at the tip and is configured to be freely displaced to one side, when a large acceleration is applied to the coin processing device, the tip of the element 25 is caused by this acceleration. , as shown in FIG. 1θ (a), it may break near the fixing portion 25a due to a large force. In the figure, ξ1 is the displacement caused by the applied voltage, and ξ2 is the mechanical breaking limit displacement. Further, the above-mentioned acceleration occurs when the main device equipped with the coin processing device is accidentally dropped or a strong impact force is applied to it.

Therefore, in order to prevent the bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 25 from being displaced beyond 42 degrees and breaking, a back stopper 50 is provided to restrain the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 from being displaced beyond 42 degrees, as shown in Fig. 1θ (b). , its regulatory surface 50a, 50
It is sufficient if the displacement (between ξ1 and ξ2) of the bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 25 that is more than necessary is stopped at point b.

Further, by providing the above-mentioned backstopper 50 near ξl, it is also possible to prevent residual vibration of the bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 25.

FIG. 11 shows a case where one track plate 21 is used as a back stopper 50, and it is obvious that the housing 43 shown in FIG. 9 may be provided and used as a stopper. .

FIGS. 12(a) and 12(b) show the bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 2.
A circuit configuration for switching the polarity of the voltage applied to 5.
In the figure, 51.52 is the electrostrictive plate, 53, 54.55 are electrodes, ZD is a constant voltage diode, PNI-4 are PNPN switches driven by LEDs 1-4, respectively, P
UL is a pulse oscillation circuit, and CHD is a constant current diode. Then, when switch SW5 is turned on,
LEDl, 2. Either LED 3 or 4 emits light, and this light serves as a photo coupler for PNI, 2, PN3,
4 is ignited, the polarity of the power supply voltage is switched and applied to the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25. Here, the reason why the LED is pulse-driven is to reduce power consumption for maintaining displacement.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the structure of the embodiment described above, and the shape, structure, etc. of each part may be modified or changed as appropriate.

For example, in each of the seven embodiments described above, a case has been described in which a bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 25 is used as a lock mechanism drive mechanism, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the piezoelectric drive element shown in FIG. Alternatively, a stacked piezoelectric element 60 formed by stacking electrostrictive plates 60a may be used, and its output may be used as the driving force for the lock mechanism via a displacement magnification mechanism. Here, as this displacement magnifying mechanism, it is preferable to use, for example, the configuration shown in ``Proceedings of the 1981 Institute of Electronics and Communication Engineers National Conference No. 157: Displacement magnifying mechanism 1 of piezoelectric longitudinal effect type impact printer head. In this case, when driving the stacked piezoelectric element by switching the power supply voltage higher than the polarization deterioration voltage, a drive input circuit as shown in FIG. 13 may be used.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the structure of each of the embodiments described above, and modifications such as those shown in FIGS. 14 to 16 are possible.

For example, FIG. 14 shows a modification of the coin processing device which is effective by applying the sorting mechanism 4 and coin sorting mechanism 5.6 in FIG. The opening/closing lever 70b supported by a support shaft 70a so as to be rotatable within a plane along the coin transfer direction is a weight portion serving as a recovery mechanism, and its operation and effect will be easily understood.

Also, Fig. 15 (a), (b), (c),
(d) shows the configuration of the above-mentioned FIG. 14 in the coin storage mechanism 8A.
.
This is where 0d is set. It is clear that the protrusion 70d can temporarily stop the following coin K when the opening/closing lever 70 is operated. Here, if the shape of the locking part 24 provided at the tip of the bimorph type piezoelectric drive element 25 is made as shown in FIG. Even if the lock mechanism is released, the voltage applied to the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 may be applied only when the lock mechanism is released, since there is no problem in its operation. Of course, this restoration operation of the opening/closing lever 70 may be performed using a sensor (not shown) or after a certain period of time has elapsed.

Furthermore, FIG. 16 shows a modified example in which the coin sorting mechanisms 5 and 6 are applied, where 80 in the figure is a drop-out port opening/closing lever member having a guide surface curved according to the coin trajectory 2. , 80a is its support shaft, 80b and 80c are its lever parts, and 80d is a weight part for restoration. It is clear that even with such a configuration, the lever can be rotated by the coin's own weight when the lock mechanism is released, allowing the coin to fall off, as in the above-described embodiments.

Further, in the above embodiments, the case where a piezoelectric element is mainly used has been explained, but it goes without saying that the electromagnet is not limited to this, and various electromagnets including a latch type using a permanent magnet may be used. Furthermore, the voltage applied to the bimorph piezoelectric drive element 25 may be changed depending on the polarity.
This change can be easily made by interposing a constant voltage diode between the changeover switch and the drive circuit.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the coin processing device according to the present invention, the coin dropping eye portion provided in a part of the coin track is opened and closed as a coin dropping mechanism for selectively passing or dropping coins in the coin track. an opening/closing mechanism that normally closes the opening/closing mechanism, and a recovery mechanism that utilizes a spring or its own weight that acts to close the opening/closing mechanism at all times and has a biasing force to open it due to the coin's own weight when a coin arrives;
From an electromagnet or piezoelectric element, etc., which operates to lock the opening/closing mechanism in a closed state so that it does not open when a coin is allowed to pass through (or fall off), and to release the above-mentioned locked state when a coin is allowed to fall off (or pass through). Since the locking mechanism is provided with a locking mechanism of Since the amount of movement at the
There are various excellent effects such as being able to reduce the power consumption of drive components.

In particular, in the above-mentioned coin processing device, by configuring the lock mechanism driving section with a bimorph type or laminated type piezoelectric drive element, the entire device can be made smaller and thinner, and at the same time, it is possible to make the entire device smaller and thinner. It is not necessary to use a spring means, and the force need only be to generate a force that slightly exceeds the frictional force of each sliding portion, which is highly effective in reducing power consumption.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of a conventional coin processing device,
Figures 2 (a) and (b) are a schematic perspective view and a side view of a coin dropping mechanism used in a conventional device, and Figure 3 (a).
, (b) is a schematic front view and a perspective view of the main parts of an embodiment in which the coin processing device according to the present invention is applied to a sorting mechanism,
Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and Figs. 5 (a), (b), and (c) show other embodiments in which the present invention is similarly applied to a coin sorting mechanism. A schematic perspective view and an explanatory diagram of its operation, FIG. 6(a). (b), (c), and (d) are schematic perspective views showing other embodiments in which the present invention is applied to a coin storage mechanism, and an explanatory view of its operation. FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment in which the invention is applied to a coin storage mechanism and an explanatory diagram of its operation. FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment in which the invention is applied to a coin return mechanism. Similarly, a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment, FIG. 10(a),
(b) is an explanatory diagram showing means for restricting the swing range of the bimorph type piezoelectric drive element, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a modification thereof,
Figures 12(a) and (b) are circuit diagrams for controlling the voltage applied to the bimorph type piezoelectric drive element described above, Figure 13 is a drive circuit diagram when a laminated type is used as the piezoelectric element, and Figure 14 is a further diagram of the main Diagrams showing modified examples of the invention, FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b),
(c) and (d) are schematic perspective views and operation explanatory diagrams showing another modification thereof, and FIG. 16 is a diagram showing still another modification. 1...-Φ coin slot, 2...coin trajectory, 3 race/φ
- Coin detection device, 4... Sorting mechanism, 5.6, No. 0,
Coin sorting mechanism, 7A, 7B, 7C1I-- Coin accumulation orbit, 8A, 8B, 8C... Coin storage mechanism, 9...
・・Coin return mechanism, l2 war pot/fist controller, 15 buildings・・coin rail, 15a・・dropout opening, 20・・
・・Coin falling mechanism, 22 ・・Contest coin falling opening, 23--
-・shihachi-124---・locking part, 25... bimorph type piezoelectric drive element, 27... electromagnet, 30...
Φ Dropout opening opening/closing plate, 32...Fist/following coin transfer prevention lever, 33...Following coin transfer prevention bottle, 34...Spring, 35...Escape mechanism, 36...Mei/escape, 40--Opening/closing plate, 41--Coin dropout opening,
42... Spring, 43... Housing, 44.45.4
6-00. Magnetic piece, 5 Q * * e * Back stopper, 60... Laminated piezoelectric drive element, 70...
・Opening/closing lever, 80...Dropout opening/closing lever part, K
(KIQ, KIOG, K2O) """ coin. Patent applicant: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation Agent: Masaki Yamakawa (and one other person) Figure 2 (a) Figure 5 (a) n Figure 5 (1)) Figure 5 (., G-''S2 Figure 6 (b) Figure 6 (d) Figure 14 Figure 15 (a)

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A coin dropout opening provided in the coin track and a sliding opening/closing mechanism provided in the coin dropout opening, which normally acts to close this dropout opening/closing mechanism, and when a coin arrives, the coin A coin processing device comprising: a recovery mechanism having a biasing force that is opened by its own weight; and a lock mechanism that maintains this state when the dropout opening/closing mechanism is closed. (2) The coin processing device according to claim 1, wherein the lock mechanism is driven by a piezoelectric element that is displaced by reversing the polarity of an applied voltage. (3) A bimorph type piezoelectric element is used as the piezoelectric element constituting the lock mechanism, and the movable end of the piezoelectric element is restrained so as to be able to swing within a predetermined allowable displacement range. The coin processing device according to scope 2. (4) A coin dropout opening provided in the coin track and a dropout opening opening/closing mechanism provided in the coin dropout opening, which normally acts to close the dropout opening/closing mechanism, and when a coin arrives, the coin's own weight a recovery mechanism having a biasing force to the extent that it opens when the opening/closing mechanism is closed, and a lock mechanism constituted by a piezoelectric element that maintains this state when the ejection opening opening/closing mechanism is closed, and the piezoelectric element constituting the lock mechanism. The piezoelectric element is manufactured by arranging a magnetic body so as to face the tip of the housing to be protected and the tip of the piezoelectric element, and permanently magnetizing at least one of the magnetic bodies. 1. A coin processing device characterized by having a flip-flop mechanism in which a mechanically stable point exists near the final point at which the coin is displaced. (5) A bimorph type piezoelectric element is used as the piezoelectric element constituting the lock mechanism, and the movable end of the piezoelectric element is restrained to be able to swing within a predetermined allowable displacement range. The coin processing device according to scope 4.