JP7534491B2 - Sheet processing device and sheet processing system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a paper sheet processing device that processes paper sheets and a paper sheet processing system that includes such a paper sheet processing device.

In commercial facilities such as supermarkets and convenience stores, a coin change machine is installed together with a POS register at the checkout counter in the front area where product shelves are installed, and a deposit/dispensing machine such as a teller machine is installed in the back yard area where customers cannot enter. Here, the coin change machine installed at the checkout counter in the front area is capable of depositing coins handed over by customers to store clerks in exchange for products, and dispensing coins as change. Such coin change machines have been known for some time, for example those disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the like.

In the banknote deposit and withdrawal machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, the deposit section, withdrawal section, recycling box, recovery box, replenishment box, and reject box are arranged side by side in the same direction (specifically, the depth direction) so that the thickness direction of the accepted banknotes is the same, and this direction is the longest direction of the banknote deposit and withdrawal machine. A transport section that connects these sections is arranged only on one side in the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of these sections.

Patent No. 4932298

In the banknote deposit and withdrawal machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, the distance from the deposit identification unit to the branch position to the recycle box is set to the sum of the length of the long side of the banknote and the transport length of the banknote for the time required to stop the banknote transported on the transport path when the brake is applied. However, in this case, if the length of the recycle box in the banknote deposit and withdrawal machine in the arrangement direction (longest direction) is to be shortened, it becomes impossible to ensure a sufficient distance from the deposit identification unit to the branch position to the recycle box. And when the distance from the deposit identification unit to the branch position to the recycle box is shortened, there is a problem that accurate brake control is required. In addition, in the banknote deposit and withdrawal machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, when multiple banknotes are fed out in a chain state from the deposit unit or the recycle box, there is a problem that the device must be stopped because there is no place to evacuate the chained banknotes.

The present invention was made with these points in mind, and aims to provide a paper sheet processing device that can reduce the length of the housing in the longest direction and can continue processing without stopping the device even if multiple banknotes are fed out in a chain from the intake section or storage section, and a paper sheet processing system equipped with such a paper sheet processing device.

The paper sheet processing device of the present invention includes a housing, an intake section for taking in paper sheets from the outside into the housing, a first transport section provided inside the housing and transporting the paper sheets taken into the housing by the intake section, a storage section provided inside the housing for storing paper sheets and being able to feed out the stored paper sheets, a dispensing section for dispensing paper sheets from inside the housing to the outside, and a second transport section provided inside the housing and connected to the storage section and the dispensing section, respectively, for transporting the paper sheets, the second transport section having a transport direction changing portion for changing the transport direction of the transported paper sheets.

In this type of paper sheet processing device, the second transport section has a transport direction change section that changes the transport direction of the transported paper sheets, so the length of the housing in the longest direction can be reduced, and processing can continue without stopping the device even if multiple banknotes are fed out in a chain from the intake section or storage section.

In the paper processing device of the present invention, the end of the first transport unit may be connected to an intermediate portion of the second transport unit.

In this case, the end of the first conveying section may be connected to the conveying direction changing portion of the second conveying section.

The conveying direction changing portion may be configured to change the conveying direction of the paper sheets being conveyed by approximately 180°.

The paper sheet processing device of the present invention may further include a control unit that performs a deposit process in which paper sheets are taken into the housing by the take-in unit, and the taken-in paper sheets are transported to the storage unit by the first transport unit and the second transport unit and stored in the storage unit, and a withdrawal process in which the paper sheets stored in the storage unit are paid out from the storage unit and transported to the pay-out unit by the second transport unit.

The second transport section may also be provided with a first identification section that identifies the paper sheets fed from the storage section and transported by the second transport section, and the first identification section may be disposed closer to the storage section than the transport direction change portion in the second transport section.

In this case, a reject section may be connected to the side of the dispensing section from the conveying direction change portion of the second conveying section, where paper sheets that are identified by the first recognition section as not being normal paper sheets or paper sheets that cannot be identified by the first recognition section are conveyed by the second conveying section and stored.

The first transport unit may also be provided with a second identification unit that identifies the paper sheets that have been taken into the housing by the take-in unit.

In this case, the second transport unit is provided with a third identification unit that identifies the paper sheets that have been taken into the housing by the take-in unit and handed over from the first transport unit to the second transport unit, and the destination of the paper sheets may be determined based on the identification results of the second identification unit and the third identification unit.

In addition, the accuracy of identifying paper sheets by the third identification unit may be higher than the accuracy of identifying paper sheets by the second identification unit.

In this case, the second identification unit and the third identification unit have optical sensors that identify the paper sheets by transmitting light through the paper sheets, and the number of the optical sensors in the third identification unit may be greater than the number of the optical sensors in the second identification unit.

In addition, a mounting section is connected to the side of the payout section from the conveying direction change portion in the second conveying section, to which a paper sheet storage container that stores paper sheets and can pay out the stored paper sheets is detachably mounted, and when the paper sheet storage container is mounted in the mounting section, paper sheets can be sent from the second conveying section to the paper sheet storage container to be stored in the paper sheet storage container, and paper sheets can be paid out from the paper sheet storage container and sent to the second conveying section.

The length of the transport path on the side of the storage unit from the transport direction change portion in the second transport unit may be greater than the sum of the lengths of the long sides of two sheets of paper having the longest long side length among the sheets to be processed.

The paper sheet processing system of the present invention is a paper sheet processing system including a product information registration device that registers product information, and a paper sheet processing device that is communicatively connected to the product information registration device. The paper sheet processing device includes a housing, an intake unit for taking in paper sheets from the outside into the housing, a first transport unit that is provided inside the housing and transports the paper sheets taken into the housing by the intake unit, a storage unit that is provided inside the housing and stores paper sheets and can feed the stored paper sheets, a dispensing unit that dispenses paper sheets from the inside of the housing to the outside, and a second transport unit that is provided inside the housing and is connected to the storage unit and the dispensing unit, respectively, and transports the paper sheets. The second transport unit has a transport direction changer that changes the transport direction of the transported paper sheets.

In this type of paper sheet processing system, the second transport section of the paper sheet processing device has a transport direction change section that changes the transport direction of the transported paper sheets, so the length of the longest direction of the housing of the paper sheet processing device can be reduced, and processing can continue without stopping the device even if multiple banknotes are fed out in a chain from the intake section or storage section.

The paper sheet processing device and paper sheet processing system of the present invention can reduce the length of the housing of the paper sheet processing device in the longest direction, and can continue processing without stopping the device even if multiple banknotes are fed out in a chain from the intake section or storage section.

1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a banknote processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the inside of the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the side. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a second recognition unit in the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 2 . 3 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a third recognition unit in the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 2 . 2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 1 etc. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a flow of banknotes when a deposit process is performed in the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 1 etc. 1 etc. is a configuration diagram showing the flow of banknotes when a rejected banknote is returned to the outside during a deposit process in the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 1 etc.; 1 etc. is a configuration diagram showing the flow of banknotes when the banknotes, which are transported in a chain state during a deposit process, are returned to the outside. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a flow of banknotes when a dispensing process is performed in the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 1 etc. 1 etc. is a configuration diagram showing a flow of banknotes when rejected banknotes are stored in a withdrawal rejection section during a withdrawal process in the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 1 etc.; 1 etc. is a configuration diagram showing the flow of banknotes when a deposit process is performed for banknotes fed from a banknote storage cassette attached to an attachment section in the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 1 etc.; 1 etc. is a configuration diagram showing the flow of banknotes when a rejected banknote is returned to the outside during a deposit process of banknotes fed from a banknote storage cassette attached to an attachment section in the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 1 etc. is a configuration diagram showing a flow of banknotes when a dispensing process is performed in which banknotes are stored in a banknote storage cassette attached to an attachment section in the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 1 etc.; 2 is a configuration diagram showing a flow of banknotes when a reconciliation process is performed in the banknote processing device shown in FIG. 1 etc.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 14 are diagrams showing a banknote processing device according to this embodiment. The banknote processing device according to this embodiment performs processes such as depositing, withdrawing, and inspecting banknotes.

As shown in FIG. 1, a money change machine is configured by combining a banknote processing device 10 according to this embodiment with a coin processing device (not shown), and a product information registration device 100 (POS register) that registers product information is installed near the money change machine. These money change machines and product information registration devices 100 are installed at checkout counters in the front area where product shelves are installed in commercial facilities such as supermarkets and convenience stores. The money change machine is configured to deposit banknotes and coins as sales proceeds and to dispense banknotes and coins as change. In this embodiment, a banknote processing system is configured by combining the banknote processing device 10 and the product information registration device 100.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the banknote processing device 10 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the inside of the banknote processing device 10 shown in FIG. 1 when viewed from the side. Also, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are configuration diagrams showing the configuration of the second identification unit 52 and the third identification unit 54 in the banknote processing device 10 shown in FIG. 2, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the banknote processing device 10 according to this embodiment includes a housing 12 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, an intake unit 30, a payout unit 32, a withdrawal rejection unit 34, and an attachment unit 36, each of which is provided on the front side of the housing 12, and a plurality of storage units 40 provided inside the housing 12. Note that the right side surface of the housing 12 in FIG. 2 is the front surface of the housing 12 when the banknote processing device 10 is viewed from the front side, and the left direction in FIG. 2 is the depth direction of the banknote processing device 10. In this embodiment, the depth direction of the banknote processing device 10 is the direction in which the longest of the three mutually perpendicular sides of the housing 12 extends (in other words, the longest direction of the housing 12). As shown in FIG. 2, a first transport unit 20 and a second transport unit 22 that transport banknotes one by one are provided inside the housing 12. Details of each component of the banknote processing device 10 are described below.

1 and 2, the intake unit 30 is provided at an upper position on the front side of the housing 12. The intake unit 30 is exposed on the front side of the housing 12, and an operator can insert one or more banknotes in a stacked state into the intake unit 30 from the front side of the housing 12. At this time, one or more banknotes are inserted into the intake unit 30 along their long sides. The intake unit 30 is also provided with a payout mechanism (not shown) that pays out the single or stacked banknotes inserted by the operator one by one into the housing 12 along the long sides of the banknotes. The intake unit 30 is also connected to the first transport unit 20, and the banknotes paid out by the payout mechanism are transported one by one by the first transport unit 20 along the long sides of the banknotes.

A dispensing section 32 is provided below the intake section 30 on the front side of the housing 12. The dispensing section 32 is connected to the second transport section 22, and is exposed on the front side of the housing 12. The banknotes sent from the second transport section 22 to the dispensing section 32 are stacked inside the dispensing section 32. When all the banknotes to be dispensed are stacked in the dispensing section 32, the banknotes stacked in the dispensing section 32 are pushed out along the long sides of the banknotes in an overlapping state to the front side of the housing 12, allowing the operator to remove the banknotes from the dispensing section 32.

A withdrawal rejection section 34 is provided below the dispensing section 32 on the front side of the housing 12. The withdrawal rejection section 34 is connected to the second transport section 22. Note that the withdrawal rejection section 34 is not exposed on the front side of the housing 12, and when a door (not shown) provided on the housing 12 is closed, the withdrawal rejection section 34 cannot be accessed from outside the housing 12. Also, in the banknote withdrawal process described below, banknotes identified as rejected banknotes are sent from the second transport section 22 to the withdrawal rejection section 34 and are stacked in this withdrawal rejection section 34.

An attachment section 36 is provided below the withdrawal reject section 34 on the front side of the housing 12. A portable banknote storage cassette (not shown) is removably attached to the attachment section 36. The banknote storage cassette is configured to store banknotes and to be able to feed the stored banknotes one by one to the outside of the banknote storage cassette. The attachment section 36 is also connected to the second transport section 22. When the banknote storage cassette is attached to the attachment section 36, banknotes fed from the banknote storage cassette can be sent to the second transport section 22, and banknotes sent from the second transport section 22 to the attachment section 36 can be stored in the banknote storage cassette.

Three storage sections 40 are installed vertically in the rear side inside the housing 12. The second transport section 22 is connected to each storage section 40. The banknotes sent from the second transport section 22 to each storage section 40 are stored in a stacked state inside each storage section 40. Each storage section 40 has a payout mechanism 42 (see FIG. 5) that pays out the banknotes stored in each storage section 40 one by one, and the banknotes paid out by the payout mechanism 42 in each storage section 40 are sent to the second transport section 22. Each storage section 40 stores banknotes by denomination. For example, the top storage section 40 of the three storage sections 40 stores 1,000 yen bills, the second storage section 40 from the top stores 5,000 yen bills and 2,000 yen bills in a mixed state, and the bottom storage section 40 stores 10,000 yen bills.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first transport section 20 and the second transport section 22 are provided inside the housing 12. The first transport section 20 is connected to the take-in section 30, and the banknotes taken into the housing 12 by the take-in section 30 are transported one by one by the first transport section 20 along the long side direction of the banknotes. The second transport section 22 is connected to the pay-out section 32, the withdrawal reject section 34, the mounting section 36, and each storage section 40, and transports the banknotes one by one along the long side direction of the banknotes between these components. The first transport section 20 is connected to the second transport section 22 at a connection point 24, and the banknotes are transferred between the first transport section 20 and the second transport section 22 at this connection point 24. More specifically, the banknotes transferred from the first transport section 20 to the second transport section 22 are sent to the storage section 40 side of the second transport section 22. A branching member (not shown) is provided at the connection point 24. When a banknote being transported by the second transport unit 22 from the storage unit 40 side to the dispensing unit 32 side passes through the connection point 24, the branching member causes the second transport unit 22 to send the banknote to the dispensing unit 32 side. In this way, the end of the first transport unit 20 is connected to the middle part of the second transport unit 22 (specifically, the connection point 24).

In addition, the second transport unit 22 has a transport direction changing portion 22a that changes the transport direction of the banknotes transported by the second transport unit 22. The transport direction changing portion 22a is a semicircular arc-shaped transport path, and is configured to change the transport direction of the banknotes transported by the second transport unit 22 by approximately 180°. In other words, the banknotes that are fed from each storage unit 40 and transported upward in FIG. 2 by the second transport unit 22 have their transport direction changed by the transport direction changing portion 22a and are transported downward in FIG. 2, and these downwardly transported banknotes are transported to the dispensing unit 32, the withdrawal rejection unit 34, or the mounting unit 36. In addition, the banknotes fed from the banknote storage cassette mounted in the mounting section 36 and transported upward in FIG. 2 by the second transport section 22 have their transport direction changed by the transport direction changing section 22a so that they are transported downward in FIG. 2, and the banknotes transported downward are transported to each storage section 40 by denomination. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, an end of the first transport section 20 is connected to the transport direction changing section 22a of the second transport section 22. More specifically, an end of the first transport section 20 is connected to the midpoint of the transport direction changing section 22a of the second transport section 22. Therefore, the transport direction of the banknotes transferred from the first transport section 20 to the second transport section 22 is changed by approximately 90° by the transport direction changing section 22a.

Furthermore, an extension portion 22b is provided at the end of each storage unit 40 side of the second transport unit 22. By providing such an extension portion 22b, the length of the transport path on the side of each storage unit 40 from the transport direction changing portion 22a in the second transport unit 22 (more specifically, the length of the transport path on the side of each storage unit 40 from the third recognition unit 54 (described later) in the second transport unit 22) is greater than the sum of the lengths of the long sides of two banknotes whose long sides are the longest of the banknotes to be processed. Details of such technical matters will be described later.

2, the second transport section 22 is provided with a first recognition section 50 and a third recognition section 54. The first recognition section 50 and the third recognition section 54 are disposed on the side of each storage section 40 relative to the transport direction changing portion 22a in the second transport section 22. The first transport section 20 is provided with a second recognition section 52. Here, the first recognition section 50 is adapted to recognize the denomination, quantity, transport state, etc. of the banknotes fed from each storage section 40 to the second transport section 22 when a dispensing process is performed in the banknote processing device 10. The second recognition section 52 and the third recognition section 54 are adapted to recognize the denomination, quantity, transport state, etc. of the banknotes taken into the housing 12 by the take-in section 30 and transported by the first transport section 20 when a deposit process is performed in the banknote processing device 10. The destination of the banknote is determined based on the recognition results of the second recognition section 52 and the third recognition section 54.

In this embodiment, the accuracy of identifying banknotes by the third identification unit 54 is higher than that of identifying banknotes by the second identification unit 52. Details of the configuration of the second identification unit 52 and the third identification unit 54 will be described below with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the banknotes to be identified by the second identification unit 52 and the third identification unit 54 are indicated by reference symbol P. In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the conveying direction of the banknotes by the first conveying unit 20 and the second conveying unit 22 is indicated by arrows. The second identification unit 52 has one optical sensor 52a that identifies the banknotes conveyed by the first conveying unit 20 by transmitting light through the banknotes. In addition, the third identification unit 54 has a plurality of optical sensors 54a that identify the banknotes conveyed by the second conveying unit 22 by transmitting light through the banknotes, and the optical sensors 54a are arranged in parallel so as to be aligned along the width direction of the banknotes conveyed by the second conveying unit 22. In this way, the number of optical sensors 54a in the third recognition unit 54 is greater than the number of optical sensors 52a in the second recognition unit 52, so the banknote recognition accuracy of the third recognition unit 54 is higher than the banknote recognition accuracy of the second recognition unit 52.

As shown in FIG. 5, the banknote processing device 10 of this embodiment is provided with a control unit 60 that controls each component of the banknote processing device 10. The control unit 60 is composed of a CPU (processor) and the like installed inside the housing 12. As shown in FIG. 5, the take-in unit 30, the pay-out unit 32, the mounting unit 36, the first transport unit 20, the second transport unit 22, the pay-out mechanism 42 provided in each storage unit 40, the first recognition unit 50, the second recognition unit 52, and the third recognition unit 54 are connected to the control unit 60. Information related to the recognition results of the banknotes by each recognition unit 50, 52, and 54 is sent to the control unit 60. The control unit 60 also controls each component, such as the take-in unit 30, the pay-out unit 32, the mounting unit 36, the first transport unit 20, the second transport unit 22, and the pay-out mechanism 42 provided in each storage unit 40, by sending a command signal to these components.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 60 is connected to an operation display unit 62, a storage unit 64, and a communication interface unit 66. The operation display unit 62 is, for example, a touch panel or the like provided on the upper surface of the housing 12 of the banknote processing device 10, and information on the processing status of the banknote deposit processing, withdrawal processing, etc. in the banknote processing device 10, and the amount of banknotes stored in each storage unit 40, etc. are displayed on the operation display unit 62. The operator can give various commands to the control unit 60 by operating the operation display unit 62. The storage unit 64 is, for example, composed of a ROM, a RAM, etc. The storage unit 64 is configured to store information on the processing history of the banknote deposit processing, withdrawal processing, etc. in the banknote processing device 10, and the amount of banknotes stored in each storage unit 40, etc. The control unit 60 is also configured to send and receive signals to and from an external device (specifically, for example, the product information registration device 100) provided separately from the banknote processing device 10 according to this embodiment via the communication interface unit 66.

Next, the banknote processing method (specifically, deposit processing, withdrawal processing, and reconciliation processing) by the banknote processing device 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to Figs. 6 to 14. In Figs. 6 to 14, the flow of banknotes when deposit processing, withdrawal processing, or reconciliation processing of banknotes is performed is indicated by thick lines. Furthermore, each of the banknote processes described below is performed by the control unit 60 controlling each component of the banknote processing device 10.

First, the operation of the banknote processing device 10 when depositing banknotes will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. When an operator inserts one or more stacked banknotes into the take-in unit 30 provided on the front side of the housing 12, the inserted one or more stacked banknotes are fed into the housing 12 one by one by a feed mechanism (not shown). Then, the banknote fed into the housing 12 is transported by the first transport unit 20 and the second transport unit 22 along the long side direction of the banknote, as shown in FIG. 6. At this time, the denomination and transport state of the banknote fed into the housing 12 are identified by the second recognition unit 52 and the third recognition unit 54. Then, when the banknote is identified as a normal banknote by the second recognition unit 52 and the third recognition unit 54, the control unit 60 determines the transport destination of the banknote based on the recognition results of the second recognition unit 52 and the third recognition unit 54, as shown in FIG. 6, and the banknote is sent to each storage unit 40 by denomination. This allows bills to be stored by denomination in each storage section 40.

In addition, when a banknote fed from the intake unit 30 into the housing 12 is identified by the first recognition unit 50, if the banknote is determined to be a counterfeit or damaged banknote, if the banknote is significantly skewed, or if the medium identified by the first recognition unit 50 is determined to be not a banknote, the banknote is transferred from the first transport unit 20 to the second transport unit 22 as shown in FIG. 7, and then the transport direction of the banknote is reversed in the second transport unit 22 and the banknote is sent to the dispensing unit 32 as a rejected banknote. This allows the operator to remove the rejected banknote from the dispensing unit 32 to the outside of the housing 12 and re-insert it into the intake unit 30, etc.

Also, when the banknotes fed from the intake unit 30 into the housing 12 are identified by the first recognition unit 50 and it is determined that two banknotes are in a chained state, the two chained banknotes are transferred from the first transport unit 20 to the second transport unit 22 as shown in Figure 8, and then the transport direction of these banknotes is reversed in the second transport unit 22 and they are sent to the dispensing unit 32 as rejected banknotes. This allows the operator to remove the rejected banknotes from the dispensing unit 32 to the outside of the housing 12 and re-insert them into the intake unit 30, etc. As described above, the extension portion 22b is provided at the end of each storage unit 40 side of the second transport unit 22, and the length of the transport path on the side of each storage unit 40 from the transport direction changing portion 22a in the second transport unit 22 (more specifically, the length of the transport path on the side of each storage unit 40 from the third identification unit 54 in the second transport unit 22) is greater than the sum of the lengths of the long sides of the two banknotes whose long sides are the longest of the banknotes to be processed. Therefore, even if two banknotes in a chain state are transferred from the first transport unit 20 to the second transport unit 22, an area occupied by the two banknotes in the chain state can be secured in the second transport unit 22.

Next, the operation of the banknote processing device 10 when dispensing banknotes will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. When an operator inputs a command for dispensing banknotes to the control unit 60 via the operation display unit 62, or when a command for dispensing banknotes is sent from the product information registration device 100 to the control unit 60 via the communication interface unit 66, banknotes to be dispensed from each storage unit 40 are fed one by one to the second transport unit 22. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the banknotes fed to the second transport unit 22 are transported by the second transport unit 22 along the long side direction of the banknotes. At this time, the denomination and transport state of the banknotes transported by the second transport unit 22 are identified by the first recognition unit 50. Then, when the first recognition unit 50 recognizes that the banknote is a normal banknote, the second transport unit 22 sends it to the dispensing unit 32 as shown in FIG. 9. When all the banknotes to be dispensed are sent from the second transport section 22 to the dispensing section 32 and stacked in the dispensing section 32, the banknotes stacked in the dispensing section 32 are pushed in a stacked state along the long side of the banknotes toward the front side of the housing 12. This allows the operator to remove the banknotes from the dispensing section 32.

When the banknotes transported by the second transport unit 22 are identified by the first identification unit 50, banknotes that are determined to be of a different denomination from the banknote to be dispensed or that are determined to have a transport abnormality such as duplicate feeding, chaining, or skewing are sent by the second transport unit 22 to the withdrawal rejection unit 34 instead of the dispensing unit 32 as shown in FIG. 10, and are stacked in the withdrawal rejection unit 34. When performing maintenance work on the banknote processing device 10, a maintenance worker opens the door of the housing 12 to access the inside of the housing 12, and the banknotes stacked in the withdrawal rejection unit 34 can be manually removed from the withdrawal rejection unit 34 to the outside of the housing 12.

Next, the operation of the banknote storage cassette when the banknote processing device 10 shown in FIG. 1 etc. is loaded into the loading section 36 and the banknotes stored in the banknote storage cassette are deposited will be described with reference to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12. After the banknote storage cassette in which the banknotes are stored is loaded into the loading section 36 by the operator, when the operator inputs a command for depositing the banknotes to the control section 60 via the operation display section 62, or when a command for depositing the banknotes is sent from the product information registration device 100 to the control section 60 via the communication interface section 66, the banknotes are fed one by one from the banknote storage cassette loaded into the loading section 36 to the second transport section 22. Then, the banknotes fed into the second transport section 22 are transported by the second transport section 22 along the long side direction of the banknotes, as shown in FIG. 11. At this time, the denomination, quantity, transport state, etc. of the banknotes transported by the second transport section 22 are identified by the third identification section 54. Then, when the third recognition unit 54 recognizes the banknote as a normal banknote, the control unit 60 determines the destination of the banknote based on the recognition result of the banknote by the third recognition unit 54, as shown in FIG. 11, and the banknote is sent by denomination to each storage unit 40. In this way, the banknotes are stored by denomination in each storage unit 40.

In addition, when a banknote is fed from the banknote storage cassette mounted in the mounting section 36 to the second transport section 22 and is identified by the third recognition section 54, if the banknote is determined to be a counterfeit or damaged banknote, is significantly skewed, or the medium identified by the second recognition section 52 is determined to be not a banknote, then, after the banknote is identified by the third recognition section 54 as shown in FIG. 12, the transport direction of the banknote is reversed in the second transport section 22 and the banknote is sent to the dispensing section 32 as a rejected banknote. This allows the operator to remove the rejected banknote from the dispensing section 32 to the outside of the housing 12 and re-insert it into the intake section 30, etc.

Next, the operation of dispensing banknotes such as storing banknotes fed from each storage unit 40 in a banknote storage cassette mounted on the mounting unit 36 in the banknote processing device 10 shown in FIG. 1 etc. will be described with reference to FIG. 13. After the banknote storage cassette is mounted on the mounting unit 36 by the operator, when the operator inputs a command for dispensing (collecting) banknotes to the control unit 60 via the operation display unit 62, or when a command for dispensing banknotes is sent from the product information registration device 100 to the control unit 60 via the communication interface unit 66, the banknotes to be dispensed from each storage unit 40 are fed one by one to the second transport unit 22. Then, the banknotes fed to the second transport unit 22 are transported by the second transport unit 22 along the long side direction of the banknotes, as shown in FIG. 13. At this time, the denomination and transport state of the banknotes transported by the second transport unit 22 are identified by the first identification unit 50. When the first recognition unit 50 recognizes the banknote as a normal banknote, the second transport unit 22 sends it to the banknote storage cassette attached to the mounting unit 36 as shown in FIG. 13, and the banknote is stored in the banknote storage cassette. When the banknotes transported by the second transport unit 22 are recognized by the first recognition unit 50, if the banknotes are determined to be of a different denomination from the banknote to be dispensed, or to have a transport abnormality such as multiple feeding, chaining, or skewing, the second transport unit 22 sends it to the withdrawal rejection unit 34 instead of the banknote storage cassette attached to the mounting unit 36, and the banknote is stacked in the withdrawal rejection unit 34.

Next, the operation of the banknote processing device 10 when performing banknote reconciliation processing is described with reference to FIG. 14. The banknote reconciliation processing is a process of checking the amount of banknotes in each storage unit 40 by identifying each banknote stored in each storage unit 40 one by one using the first identification unit 50 and the third identification unit 54.

After an empty banknote storage cassette is attached to the attachment section 36 by an operator, the operator inputs a command to inspect banknotes to the control section 60 via the operation display section 62, or a command to inspect banknotes is sent from the product information registration device 100 to the control section 60 via the communication interface section 66. Then, banknotes are fed one by one from one of the three storage sections 40 (for example, the top storage section 40) to the second transport section 22. Then, as shown in FIG. 14, the banknotes fed to the second transport section 22 are transported by the second transport section 22 along the long side direction of the banknotes. At this time, the denomination, quantity, transport state, etc. of the banknotes transported by the second transport section 22 are identified by the first recognition section 50 and the third recognition section 54. Then, when the first recognition unit 50 or the third recognition unit 54 recognizes the banknote as a normal banknote, the second transport unit 22 sends the banknote to the banknote storage cassette attached to the mounting unit 36 as shown in FIG. 14, and stores the banknote in the banknote storage cassette. Then, when all the banknotes are transferred from the top storage unit 40 to the banknote storage cassette, the banknotes are fed one by one from the banknote storage cassette to the second transport unit 22, and as shown in FIG. 14, the second transport unit 22 returns the banknotes to their original storage unit 40 (i.e., the top storage unit 40). This operation is also performed for each of the remaining storage units 40. In this way, in the banknote reconciliation process, the banknotes stored in each storage unit 40 are recognized one by one by the first recognition unit 50 or the third recognition unit 54, and the amount of banknotes in each storage unit 40 is confirmed.

According to the banknote processing device 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the housing 12 is provided with a first transport unit 20 that transports banknotes taken into the housing 12 by the take-in unit 30, and a second transport unit 22 that is connected to the storage unit 40 and the pay-out unit 32 and transports banknotes, respectively. The second transport unit 22 has a transport direction changing portion 22a that changes the transport direction of the transported banknotes. In this case, the second transport unit 22 that transports banknotes between the storage unit 40 and the pay-out unit 32 can change the transport direction of the banknotes by the transport direction changing portion 22a, so that the length of the longest direction of the housing 12 can be reduced compared to a case where the transport direction of the banknotes is not changed between the storage unit 40 and the pay-out unit 32. In addition, since the first transport unit 20 that transports banknotes taken into the housing 12 by the take-in unit 30 is provided separately from the second transport unit 22, even if multiple banknotes are fed out in a chain state from the take-in unit 30 or the storage unit 40, processing can be continued without stopping the device.

In addition, in the banknote processing device 10 of this embodiment, as described above, the end of the first transport unit 20 is connected to the middle part of the second transport unit 22. More specifically, the end of the first transport unit 20 is connected to the transport direction changing part 22a of the second transport unit 22. According to such technical matters, the banknotes taken into the inside of the housing 12 by the take-in unit 30 and transported by the first transport unit 20 can be transferred from the first transport unit 20 to the second transport unit 22, and the second transport unit 22 can continue to transport the banknotes to the storage unit 40. In addition, when the end of the first transport unit 20 is connected to the transport direction changing part 22a of the second transport unit 22, the transport direction of the banknotes handed over from the first transport unit 20 to the second transport unit 22 can be changed by the transport direction changing part 22a.

As described above, in the banknote processing device 10 of this embodiment, the transport direction changing section 22a is configured to change the transport direction of the transported banknotes by approximately 180°. In this case, the second transport section 22 is U-shaped to change the transport direction of the banknotes to the opposite direction, so that the length of the housing 12 in the longest direction can be made as small as possible.

As described above, the banknote processing device 10 of this embodiment is provided with a control unit 60 that performs a deposit process in which banknotes are taken into the housing 12 by the take-in unit 30, and the taken-in banknotes are transported to the storage unit 40 by the first transport unit 20 and the second transport unit 22 to be stored in the storage unit 40, and a withdrawal process in which banknotes stored in the storage unit 40 are fed out of the storage unit 40 and transported to the payout unit 32 by the second transport unit 22. According to this banknote processing device 10, both the deposit process and the withdrawal process of banknotes can be efficiently performed using the first transport unit 20 and the second transport unit 22.

In addition, in the banknote processing device 10 of this embodiment, as described above, the second transport unit 22 is provided with a first recognition unit 50 that recognizes banknotes fed from the storage unit 40 and transported by the second transport unit 22, and the first recognition unit 50 is arranged on the storage unit 40 side of the transport direction changing portion 22a in the second transport unit 22. In addition, connected to the dispensing unit 32 side of the transport direction changing portion 22a in the second transport unit 22 is a withdrawal rejection unit 34 to which banknotes that are recognized as abnormal by the first recognition unit 50 and banknotes that could not be recognized by the first recognition unit 50 are transported by the second transport unit 22 and stored. According to these technical features, the first recognition unit 50 is positioned close to each storage unit 40, so that when the banknote is dispensed, the banknote dispensed from each storage unit 40 can be quickly recognized by the first recognition unit 50. This makes it possible to quickly determine whether the banknote dispensed from each storage unit 40 should be sent to the dispensing unit 32 or the dispensing rejection unit 34, thereby shortening the distance of the banknote transport path from each storage unit 40 to the dispensing unit 32 or the dispensing rejection unit 34.

In addition, in the banknote processing device 10 of this embodiment, as described above, the first transport unit 20 is provided with the second recognition unit 52 that recognizes banknotes taken into the housing 12 by the take-in unit 30. In addition, the second transport unit 22 is provided with the third recognition unit 54 that recognizes banknotes taken into the housing 12 by the take-in unit 30 and transferred from the first transport unit 20 to the second transport unit 22, and the destination of the banknote is determined based on the recognition results of each of the second recognition unit 52 and the third recognition unit 54. In this case, the banknote is recognized by two recognition units (the second recognition unit 52 and the third recognition unit 54) when the banknote deposit process is performed, so that the banknote can be recognized with higher accuracy. In addition, if the banknote is recognized by the second recognition unit 52 and is determined to be an abnormal banknote, after the banknote is transferred from the first transport unit 20 to the second transport unit 22, the banknote can be sent to the dispensing unit 32, etc. without being recognized by the third recognition unit 54. In addition, the banknote recognition accuracy of the third recognition unit 54 is higher than that of the second recognition unit 52. More specifically, the second recognition unit 52 and the third recognition unit 54 have optical sensors 52a and 54a that recognize the banknote by transmitting light through the banknote, and the number of optical sensors 54a of the third recognition unit 54 is greater than the number of optical sensors 52a of the second recognition unit 52. In this case, the banknote taken into the housing 12 by the take-in unit 30 is first subjected to rough recognition (for example, recognition of only the transport state) by the second recognition unit 52, and banknotes that are not in a normal transport state (specifically, banknotes transported at an angle) can be quickly sent to the dispensing unit 32. In addition, the third recognition unit 54 can perform high-precision recognition of banknotes transferred from the first transport unit 20 to the second transport unit 22.

In addition, in the banknote processing device 10 of this embodiment, as described above, the mounting unit 36, to which a banknote storage cassette (paper sheet storage container) that stores banknotes and can feed the stored banknotes is detachably mounted, is connected to the dispensing unit 32 side of the transport direction changing portion 22a in the second transport unit 22, and when a banknote storage cassette is mounted on the mounting unit 36, banknotes can be sent from the second transport unit 22 to the banknote storage cassette and stored in the banknote storage cassette, and banknotes can be fed from the banknote storage cassette and sent to the second transport unit 22. According to these technical details, the banknote deposit process and withdrawal process can be performed using the banknote storage cassette mounted on the mounting unit 36. In particular, in such a case, the operator can perform the deposit process and withdrawal process collectively without directly touching the banknotes, so that the operator can perform the work efficiently while maintaining security.

In addition, in the banknote processing device 10 of this embodiment, as described above, the length of the transport path on the storage unit 40 side of the transport direction changing portion 22a in the second transport unit 22 is greater than the sum of the lengths of the long sides of two banknotes with the longest long side length among the banknotes to be processed. According to such technical details, even if two banknotes taken into the inside of the housing 12 by the take-in unit 30 are transported in a chained state by the second transport unit 22, an area occupied by the two banknotes in this chained state can be secured in the second transport unit 22, so that the banknote deposit process can continue without stopping the banknote processing device 10.

Note that the banknote processing device and banknote processing system according to this embodiment are not limited to the above-mentioned aspects, and various modifications can be made.

For example, in the banknote processing device 10 shown in FIG. 2 etc., the transport direction changing portion 22a of the second transport unit 22 is not limited to changing the transport direction of banknotes by approximately 180°. As the transport direction changing portion 22a, any other configuration may be used as long as it is capable of changing the transport direction of banknotes.

In addition, the first transport unit 20 may not be directly connected to the middle of the second transport unit 22, and one or more other transport units may be provided between the first transport unit 20 and the second transport unit 22. In this case, the banknotes taken into the housing 12 by the take-in unit 30 and transported by the first transport unit 20 are first transferred from the first transport unit 20 to the other transport unit, and then further transferred from the other transport unit to the second transport unit 22. In addition, the end of the first transport unit 20 does not necessarily have to be connected to the transport direction change portion 22a of the second transport unit 22. In other words, the end of the first transport unit 20 may be connected to the second transport unit 22 on the storage unit 40 side from the transport direction change portion 22a, or may be connected to the second transport unit 22 on the dispensing unit 32 side from the transport direction change portion 22a.

Furthermore, the second identification unit 52 and the third identification unit 54 are not limited to having optical sensors 52a, 54a. Either or both of the second identification unit 52 and the third identification unit 54 may be a line sensor.

The sheet processing device and sheet processing system according to the present invention are not limited to the banknote processing device 10 and sheet processing system that perform processes such as depositing and withdrawing banknotes. The sheet processing device and sheet processing system according to the present invention may be one that processes sheets other than banknotes (for example, checks and gift certificates).

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Banknote processing device 12 Housing 20 First transport section 22 Second transport section 22a Transport direction changing section 22b Extension section 24 Connection section 30 Take-in section 32 Payout section 34 Dispensing reject section 36 Mounting section 40 Storage section 42 Pay-out mechanism 50 First recognition section 52 Second recognition section 52a Optical sensor 54 Third recognition section 54a Optical sensor 60 Control section 62 Operation display section 64 Memory section 66 Communication interface section 100 Product information registration device

Claims (14)

A housing and
An intake section for taking in paper sheets from the outside into the housing;
a first transport unit provided inside the housing and configured to transport the paper sheets taken into the housing by the take-in unit;
a storage section provided inside the housing, the storage section being capable of storing paper sheets and feeding the stored paper sheets;
a dispenser that dispenses paper sheets from inside to outside the housing;
a second transport unit provided inside the housing and connected to the storage unit and the dispensing unit, respectively, for transporting paper sheets;
Equipped with
The second transport section has a transport direction changing section that changes the transport direction of the transported paper sheets to a reverse direction . The paper processing device according to claim 1, wherein an end of the first transport unit is connected to an intermediate portion of the second transport unit. The paper processing device according to claim 2, wherein an end of the first conveying section is connected to the conveying direction changing portion of the second conveying section. The apparatus further includes an identification unit that identifies the paper sheet that is taken into the housing by the take-in unit,
The paper sheet processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the conveying direction of paper sheets other than those identified as normal by the recognition unit is reversed by the conveying direction changing portion so that the conveying direction of paper sheets is directed toward the dispensing unit . The paper sheet processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a control unit that performs a deposit process in which the paper sheets are taken into the housing by the take-in unit, the taken-in paper sheets are transported to the storage unit by the first transport unit and the second transport unit, and are stored in the storage unit, and a withdrawal process in which the paper sheets stored in the storage unit are paid out from the storage unit and transported to the pay-out unit by the second transport unit. the second conveying unit is provided with a first recognition unit that recognizes the paper sheet fed from the storage unit and conveyed by the second conveying unit,
The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first recognition unit is disposed closer to the storage unit than the conveyance direction changing portion of the second conveyance unit. The paper sheet processing device according to claim 6, further comprising a rejection unit connected to the side of the dispensing unit from the conveying direction change portion in the second conveying unit, where paper sheets that are identified by the first recognition unit as not being normal paper sheets or that cannot be identified by the first recognition unit are conveyed by the second conveying unit and stored. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first transport unit is provided with a second recognition unit that recognizes the paper sheet taken into the housing by the take-in unit. The paper sheet processing device according to claim 8, wherein the second transport unit is provided with a third recognition unit that recognizes the paper sheets taken into the housing by the take-in unit and handed over from the first transport unit to the second transport unit, and the destination of the paper sheets is determined based on the recognition results of the second recognition unit and the third recognition unit. The paper sheet processing device according to claim 9, wherein the accuracy of identifying paper sheets by the third identification unit is higher than the accuracy of identifying paper sheets by the second identification unit. The paper sheet processing device according to claim 10, wherein the second identification unit and the third identification unit have optical sensors that identify the paper sheet by transmitting light through the paper sheet, and the number of the optical sensors in the third identification unit is greater than the number of the optical sensors in the second identification unit. A mounting section is connected to the second transport section on the side of the dispensing section from the transport direction changing portion, and a paper sheet storage container that stores paper sheets and can feed the stored paper sheets is detachably mounted thereon;
A paper sheet processing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, which is configured so that when the paper sheet storage container is attached to the attachment section, paper sheets can be sent from the second transport section to the paper sheet storage container and stored in the paper sheet storage container, and paper sheets can be fed from the paper sheet storage container and sent to the second transport section. The paper sheet processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the length of the transport path on the side of the storage unit from the transport direction change portion in the second transport unit is greater than the sum of the lengths of the long sides of two sheets of paper sheets having the longest long side length among the sheets to be processed. a product information registration device for registering product information;
A paper processing device connected to the product information registration device in a communicable manner;
A paper sheet processing system comprising:
The paper sheet processing apparatus includes:
A housing and
An intake section for taking in paper sheets from the outside into the housing;
a first transport unit provided inside the housing and configured to transport the paper sheets taken into the housing by the take-in unit;
a storage section provided inside the housing, the storage section being capable of storing paper sheets and feeding the stored paper sheets;
a dispenser that dispenses paper sheets from inside to outside the housing;
a second transport unit provided inside the housing and connected to the storage unit and the dispensing unit, respectively, for transporting paper sheets;
It has
A paper sheet processing system, wherein the second transport section has a transport direction changing section that changes the transport direction of the transported paper sheets to a reverse direction .

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