JPS6129040B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] In the conventional mechanical coin sorting device, the input hard coins pass through a mechanical sorting gate, are sequentially sorted according to their outer shape and plate thickness, and are finally sent to a return passage. Alternatively, it is configured to lead to a receiving passage. However, in devices that magnetically or optically sort the characteristics of coins to be sorted, such mechanical sorting gates are not provided, so a sorting means that operates based on the sorting results is required. . Therefore, a magnetic or optical coin sorting device determines the suitability of a coin while it rolls through a coin passageway communicating with a coin input slot, and based on the determination result, the coin is sorted from the end of the coin passageway to a return passageway. Otherwise, it is configured to be distributed to a receiving passage. The sorting means sorts the coins using a reject coil operated by an electric signal generated based on the determination result. A problem with such a coin sorting device is that the sorting means cannot keep up with the coin sorting processing speed, and the sorting means during continuous input cannot sort subsequent coins in time, causing coin jams. In addition, mechanically, the coin passage has a relatively simple configuration that only includes a coin sorting sensor, so it is easy to insert coins with strings, and the coin passage is judged to be appropriate by the coin sorting sensor and the reject coil is activated. When the coin is withdrawn, the reject coil continues to operate, and during this time it is possible to insert counterfeit coins and illegally obtain goods. In view of the above points, the present invention sets a timer to the interval between continuous coin insertions, and when the input coins are determined to be appropriate, operates the reject coil to enter the coin acceptance mode, and at the same time activates the timer to accept the coins. Even if a subsequent coin arrives after the reject coil becomes inactive, the reject coil is prohibited from operating again while the timer period continues, thereby preventing continuous input. Furthermore, if the coin is pulled back and does not pass through the receiving passage even when the coin is ready to be accepted, the reject coil is deactivated at the end of the timer time to prevent the product from being sold illegally. One embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the coin sorting device of the present invention, and although the movable plate 11 is shown open to the base plate 10 in the figure, it is normally closed and a coin input slot 12 is formed, and a coin rail 13 and 14 is the substrate 10
A coin passage 1 and a return passage 3 are formed between the movable plate 11 and the coin passage 1, respectively. The coin sorting sensor that detects the characteristics of coins rolling in the coin path 1 is a magnetic sensor that applies a magnetic field to the coin and detects changes in the magnetic field according to the characteristics, or a magnetic sensor that applies light to the coin and detects its reflectance. There is an optical sensor that does this. In the embodiment, a coin sorting sensor 5 that is sensitive to changes in inductance due to the influence of the material and diameter of the coin, and a coin sorting sensor 6 that is sensitive to changes in inductance due to the influence of the material and thickness of the coin are arranged along the coin path 1, respectively. be. At the end of the coin passage 1, there is a coin gate 4 serving as a sorting means, which normally protrudes from the base plate 10, so that the coin passage 1 and the return passage 3 are communicated with each other. When the reject coil is driven by an electric signal generated when the coin is determined to be appropriate based on the detection force of the coin sorting sensors 5 and 6, the coin gate 4 is retracted and the coin passage 1 and the receiving passage 2 are formed in communication with each other. When a proper coin passes through the receiving passage 2 and is detected by the detector 15, the reject coil becomes inactive and the coin gate 4 projects again. Furthermore, after being introduced into the receiving passage 2, coins are sorted through sorting windows 16, 17, depending on their type.
18 and each coin storage cylinder 19,2
It will lead you to 0,21. Figure 2 shows the circuit of this device. The coin sorting sensor 5 is composed of an excitation coil 51 and a detection coil 52, and the excitation coil 51 forms an alternating magnetic field of a predetermined frequency with an oscillator 53,
2 is for capturing the change in the alternating magnetic field as the coin passes by means of voltage. Then, the coin sorting circuit 7 compares whether the voltage value is within an allowable range determined in advance from the case of genuine coins to determine the suitability of the coin. The coin types to be sorted are 100 yen, 50 yen, and 10.
If there are three types of yen, the upper and lower limits of the respective allowable ranges are determined by a comparator 71 forming the coin sorting circuit 7 ,
The lower limit values are connected to the input terminals of the comparators 71, 73, 75, and the upper limit values are connected to the input terminals of the comparators 72, 74, 76. Comparators 71 and 72 for setting the lower limit and upper limit of the 10 yen coin are connected to the AND gate 22, and comparators 73 and 74 for setting the lower limit and upper limit of the 50 yen coin are connected to the AND gate 23. , comparators 75 and 76 for setting the lower limit value and upper limit value of the 100 yen coin are connected to the AND gate 24. The coin sorting sensor 6 includes an excitation coil 6 that generates an alternating magnetic field with a predetermined frequency using an oscillator 63.
1 and a detection coil 62, but the sensor shape or oscillation frequency is different from the coin sorting sensor 5.
By making the values different, it is possible to detect another hard characteristic as described above. Then, the voltage value detected by the detection coil 62 is determined by the coin sorting circuit 8 as described above.
Comparators 81, 82, 83, 84, 8 constituting
Comparators 81 and 82, which set the lower limit and upper limit for the 10 yen coin, are connected to the AND gate 25, and the lower limit and upper limit for the 50 yen coin are compared with the lower limit and upper limit for the genuine coin. Comparators 83 and 84 for setting the value and upper limit are connected to the AND gate 26, and comparators 85 and 84 for setting the lower and upper limits of the 100 yen coin are connected to the AND gate 26.
86 is connected to the AND gate 27. Furthermore, AND gates 22 and 25 are AND gate 31,
AND gates 23 and 26 are AND gate 32, AND
The gates 24 and 27 are connected to an AND gate 33, respectively, and the AND gates 31, 32, and 33 also receive the output (usually high level) of the timer circuit 9 via the inverter 34, and the gates are open. . Therefore, the coin sorting sensors 5 and 6 are replaced by 10
When a yen coin passes, the AND gates 22 and 25 sequentially produce outputs, and the AND gate 31 obtains a logical product. Similarly, in the case of 50 yen and 100 yen, a logical product is obtained by the AND gates 32 and 33, respectively. Note that the output states of the AND gates 22, 23, and 24 are determined by the memory circuit 2 in consideration of the measurement time difference between the coin sorting sensors 5 and 6 .
It is temporarily latched at 8, 29, and 30. AND
The timer circuit 9, which is operated by the output of any one of the gates 31, 32, and 33, is composed of a monostable multivibrator, and the operating time is set to a predetermined time described below. That is, when coins are continuously inserted, the coin sorting sensors 5 and 6 sequentially sort each coin, and the coin gate 4 reliably opens or closes each coin based on the sorting results. This is the coin insertion interval time at the bottom. Further, while this timer circuit 9 is in operation, subsequent coins are sorted through the sorting window 16,
Since there is no transfer to 17 and 18, clogging in this window sorting is also eliminated. Reject control circuit 10
is a flip-flop circuit 101, transistor 1
02 and a reject coil 103, the flop-flop circuit 101 is set in accordance with the operation of the timer circuit 9, and the transistor 10 is set in accordance with the operation of the timer circuit 9.
2 becomes conductive, and the reject coil 103 is energized. Then, the coin gate 4 is opened by energizing the reject coil 103, and the coin is accepted. Also, when the timer circuit 9 operates, a low level signal is output from the inverter 34 to the AND gates 31, 32, 33.
No output from the coin sorting circuits 7 and 8 is generated. The passage end detection circuit 35 detects whether the coin has been completely introduced into the receiving passage 2, and the Hartley oscillation circuit 36 and the coupling capacitor 3
7. Consists of a waveform shaping circuit 38 and an inverter 39. Detector 15 is Hartley oscillation circuit 3
6 oscillation coils 40 are formed, and the oscillation circuit 3
6 starts oscillation when a coin approaches the oscillation coil 40, and stops oscillation when the coin moves away from the oscillation coil 40. Therefore, when the received coin finishes passing through the detector 15, the oscillation stops and the waveform shaping circuit 38 outputs a negative pulse, which is inverted by the inverter 39 and input to the reset terminal of the flip-flop circuit 101. By resetting the flip-flop circuit 101, the reject coil 103 is de-energized and the coin gate 4 protrudes. In addition, if the coin has a string and is pulled back after passing through the coin sorting sensors 5 and 6 and is not introduced into the receiving passage 2, the inverter 34 is activated when the timer circuit 9 is reversed after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.
The flip-flop circuit 101 is reset by the output of the coin gate 4 to project the coin gate 4. Although not shown, the inserted coin information from the AND gates 31, 32, and 33 is also introduced into the inserted amount calculation device, and the inserted amount is calculated when a signal from the passage end detection circuit 35 is generated. In the above configuration, when the reject coil 103 is operated by the inserted coin A and returned to the non-operating state after accepting it, even if the succeeding coin B subsequently reaches the coin sorting sensors 5 and 6 , the timer time is not reached. During the continuation, the AND gates 31, 32, and 33 do not apply a set signal to the flip-flop circuit 101, and the coin gate 4 is not opened again, so that subsequent coins B can be reliably returned in the case of continuous input. According to the present invention described in detail above, the coin sorting sensor determines the suitability of the preceding coin and decides to accept it, and at the same time starts a timer, and then, when determining whether to accept the subsequent coin, the timer continues to run. can prevent coin jams caused by continuous input by refusing to accept subsequent coins. Furthermore, even if the inserted coin is a genuine coin and the reject coil operates, if the coin does not pass through the detector due to a jam in front of the coin gate or mischief such as fishing with a line, the timer time expires and the reject coil is disabled, causing a malfunction. can be prevented. Moreover, since continuous insertion is detected by a timer, there is no need to restrict the mounting position of the detector and coin sorting sensor, and in the case of continuous insertion, the coins are returned by the gate, preventing continuous insertion seen in conventional devices. Eliminates the need for electromagnets.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows the device of the invention, and FIG. 2 shows an electrical circuit diagram. Explanation of main drawing numbers, 1...Coin passage, 2...Accepting passage, 3...Return passage, 4...Coin gate,
5, 6... Coin sorting sensor, 7, 8... Coin sorting circuit, 9... Timer circuit, 10... Reject control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A coin passage, an acceptance passage and a return passage branched from the hard passage, a first state in which the return passage is communicated with the coin passage, and a second state in which the acceptance passage is communicated with the coin passage. a coin gate that is normally in a first state; a coin sorting sensor that is disposed in the coin passage and generates a detection output according to the characteristics of the rolling coin; and a coin selection sensor that determines the suitability of the rolling coin based on the detection output. a timer circuit that starts a timer operation based on a suitability determination output of the coin sorting circuit; and a passage detection circuit that detects when a coin determined to be proper is led to the receiving passage through the coin gate. a circuit, an OR means for returning the coin gate, which has been inverted to a second state upon the start of operation of the timer circuit, to the first state by a signal from the passage detection circuit or the timer time end signal; and a prohibition means for prohibiting the generation of the detection output or the appropriateness determination output, and prohibits the coin gate that has returned to the first state from returning to the second state again while the timer period continues. A coin sorting device featuring