JPH07249139A - Gold rod discharging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a highly reliable gold rod discharging machine which automatically and precisely inspects gold rods and prevents misoperation. CONSTITUTION:Slits 21f are provided along the arranging direction of the gold rods 1 so that the bottoms of the loaded gold rods 1 can be viewed and gold rod detection sensors 23 moving along the slits 21f are provided on the both sides of the cassettes 21 which can store the plural gold rods 1 by arranging them. The rod detection sensors 23 are constituted by light-emitting diode and light-receiving transistors. They are arranged so that light beams emitted from the light-emitting diode pass through the slits 21f of the cassettes 21 and are made incident on the light-receiving transistors.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is installed in a financial institution or the like and is mounted in an automatic transaction device which allows customers to deposit and withdraw deposits and withdrawals by their own operation, and stacks coins of the same denomination until they are bar-shaped. The present invention relates to a coin-roll ejecting machine having a function of refunding a coin-roll from a customer according to a transaction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a main internal structure of a conventional coin-roll discharging machine, and FIG. 12 is an external perspective view of the coin-roll discharging machine. In the figure, 1 is a coin bar in which coins of the same denomination are stacked and packaged until they become a bar shape, 2 is a cassette that can store a plurality of coin bars 1 side by side, and 3 is a plurality of cassettes 2 in the longitudinal direction. Cassette storages 4, which can be stored side by side, are rear doors that are provided at the rear of the cassette storage 3 so as to be openable and closable, and the rear door 4 is opened so that the cassette 2 can be attached to and detached from the cassette storage 1.

Reference numeral 5 denotes an elevator arranged at the front of the cassette 2 in the cassette storage unit 3.
Moves up and down along the sequence of the cassette 2 by an elevator support / drive mechanism 6 composed of a motor, a belt and the like (not shown). The elevator 5 ejects the coin 1 from the cassette 2, an ejecting lever driving mechanism 5b configured to rotate the ejecting lever 5a by a motor, a belt, and the like, and the coin 1 ejected. It is composed of a tray portion 5c for receiving and holding.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a shutter provided on the front side of the upper part of the apparatus so as to be openable and closable. When the elevator 5 is at the uppermost part, the shutter 7 is slid backward to open the upper surface of the pan 5c of the elevator 5. The coin metal 1 in the tray 5c can be picked up from the outside. 8
Is an end detection sensor for detecting that the coin 1 in the cassette 2 is gone, and 9 is a near end detection sensor for detecting that the number of the coin 1 in the cassette 2 is small. The end detection sensor 8 and the near end detection sensor 9 correspond to the storage position of each cassette 2 so that the end detection sensor 8 and the near end detection sensor 9 correspond to one cassette 2, respectively. It is attached so that the end and the near end of each cassette 2 can be detected.

Reference numeral 10 is a control unit for controlling the above-mentioned drive units and for communicating with the main control unit of the automatic transaction apparatus, and 11 is a power supply unit for supplying electricity necessary for the operation of the coin-roll dispenser.
FIG. 13 is an external perspective view of the coin bar 1 described above. A coin bar is a coin-shaped coin that is made by stacking 50 coins of the same denomination, and wrapping the whole in vinyl, etc. When comparing seed bar metals, none of them have the same bottom diameter and bar length.

The size of each cassette 2 loaded in the cassette housing 3 of the coin dispenser depends on the size of the denomination.
The shapes are different, and the loading position of each cassette 2 in the cassette housing portion 3 is also determined. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the structure of a conventional cassette 2. Reference numeral 2a is a handle for facilitating the loading of the cassette 2, and a notch 2b is formed at a different position depending on the type of the bar to be loaded.

As shown in FIG. 11, inside the rear door 7 of the apparatus, each rear door 7 can be closed only when the cassette 2 is correctly mounted at a predetermined position of the apparatus. A sheet metal 7a that is inserted into the cut 2b is fixed at a position corresponding to the cut 2b of the cassette 2.
Therefore, when the cassette 2 is mounted in the wrong position, the notch 2b of the cassette 2 and the sheet metal 7a of the rear door 7 are not aligned with each other, and the rear door 7 cannot be closed. The device is then programmed to not operate with the rear door 7 open.

Returning to FIG. 14, reference numeral 2c denotes a replenishing port for the coin bar 1 formed on the side of the handle 2a of the cassette 2, and the coin bar 1 is loaded one by one from the replenishing port 2c by a staff member. 2d
Is an outlet of the coin bar 1 formed at the end of the cassette 2 opposite to the side where the replenishment port 2c is provided. The outlet 2d is
It is formed by opening the upper surface of the cassette 2 in a rectangular shape in conformity with the shape of the coin bar 1, and below the outlet 2d, the ejection lever 5 of the elevator 5 described in FIG.
A notch 2e is formed in accordance with the position of the ejecting lever 5a so that a can enter, and the coin bar 1 located at the outlet 2d can be inserted into the cassette 2 by allowing the ejecting lever 5a to pass through the notch 2e from below. Is scraped from the top surface of.

Reference numeral 2f is an end detection hole for passing the light emitted from the end detection sensor 8 described in FIG. 11, 2g is a near end detection hole for passing the light emitted by the near end detection sensor 9, and these end detection holes are shown. 2f and near-end detection holes 2g are formed on both side surfaces of the cassette 2. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the details of the arrangement of conventional sensors. The end detection sensor 8 and the near end detection sensor 9 each include a light emitting diode and a light receiving transistor as a pair, and are arranged in the cassette housing portion 3. With the cassette 2 set, the light from the light emitting diode passes through the end detecting hole 2f and the near end detecting hole 2g of the cassette 2 and strikes the light receiving portion of the light receiving transistor. As a result, if the light-emitting diode is illuminated, the light-receiving transistor is exposed to light when the hole is not present at the hole, and the light-receiving transistor is turned on. If the hole is at the hole, the light-emitting diode is illuminated. However, the light is blocked by the bar and the light receiving transistor is not exposed to the light and is turned off.

Here, as shown in FIG. 11, the cassette 2
In the cassette storage unit 3, the outlet 2d is the replenishment port 2c.
Since the coin bar 1 is set obliquely so as to be at a lower position, the coin bar 1 is biased toward the outlet 2d by gravity, and when the coin bar 1 is discharged from the outlet 2d, the other coin bar 1 in the cassette 2 is Roll toward the outlet 2d, and the next bar 1
Is exposed.

Therefore, when the number of coins 1 in the cassette 2 decreases, the coins 1 that have blocked the near-end detection hole 2g disappear, and the light emitted from the near-end detection sensor 9 can pass through. As a result, it is possible to detect that the number of coins 1 has decreased, and when the coins 1 in the cassette 2 are exhausted, the coins 1 that have blocked the end detection holes 2f are eliminated, and the light emitted from the end detection sensor 8 is emitted. Can be passed, whereby it can be detected that the coin bar 1 is gone.

The device judges whether or not it is possible to withdraw the required number of coins based on the information from these two sensors.
Controls elevator operation.

[0013]

However, in the apparatus having the above-described structure, the sensors for detecting the remaining state of the coin bar in each cassette are only two, that is, the end detection sensor and the near end detection sensor. The number of coins is detected when the coins are empty and after the near end is detected when the coins are reduced due to transactions during operation of the device.
It is only until the power is turned off / on and the coin-roll replenishment work of the staff member occurs, and the number of coin-roll supplements cannot be automatically detected by the device. Therefore, cash management must rely on human resources for coin-roll. , Labor costs.

In addition, when the power of the apparatus is turned off after the bar of a certain denomination is turned to the near end state, it is not possible to manage the input / output of the bar while the power is off. Considering the case, the remaining amount of the coin bar of the denomination can be known only to be one or more and the near end detection number or less, except that the end is not detected.
Therefore, when the power is turned off and the operation is interrupted after the near-end detection, and the power is turned on again and the operation is restarted, the device sets the number of withdrawable coins of that denomination to 1 and, due to transaction restrictions, the If the withdrawal operation of more than a book is not performed, the coin bar may end during the withdrawal operation and the device may become an obstacle.

This is sufficient when the remaining coin bar is one, but when it is close to the number of near-end detections (a number that allows several transactions immediately after near-end detection), enough coins remain for the remaining few transactions. In addition, since the number of transactions is limited, the number of uses is reduced, and the operation of the device is reduced during the increase of the coin replenishment work by the staff and the replenishment work, which lowers the operation rate of the device.

As described above, in the conventional bar-bar discharging machine,
Since the coin-roll management cannot be performed automatically, there has been a problem that the utilization rate of the device is lowered, the cost of operating the device is increased, and the profit of the user is reduced. Also, in a coin type cassette of a certain denomination, if the diameter of the bottom surface and the length of the coin bar are smaller than the coin bar, it can be loaded even if it is a different denomination, and a staff member mistakenly makes a mistake. Even if the coin bar is loaded, it does not detect it and the discharging operation is performed assuming that the coin is set correctly. Therefore, there is a possibility of causing trouble with the customer and possibly losing the credibility of the user.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable coin bar ejector which enables automatic inspection of coin bar and prevention of erroneous operation. .

[0018]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a cassette capable of accommodating a plurality of coins arranged side by side, a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of coins in the cassette, and the sensor. It is provided with a moving means for moving along the arrangement direction of the coin bars and a control means for moving the sensor and detecting the number and kinds of coin bars loaded in the cassette from the output of the sensor at that time. And

It should be noted that slits are provided on both side surfaces of the cassette along the direction of arrangement of the coins so that the bottoms of the coins to be loaded can be seen, and the sensor is used as a light emitting and receiving element, and light emitted from the light emitting element is emitted. It is arranged so as to enter the light receiving element through the slit of the cassette, and its output is turned on / off depending on whether or not light is incident on the light receiving element.
Turning the sensor ON when the sensor is moved
It is advisable to detect the number of coined coins loaded and the denomination from the number of ON / OFF and the interval of ON / OFF change.

Alternatively, the sensor is a light emitting / receiving element,
The light emitted from the light emitting element is arranged so as to be reflected on the circumferential surface of the coin bar loaded in the cassette and incident on the light receiving element, and is incident on the light receiving element that changes according to the distance between the sensor and the coin bar. The output is configured to change with the intensity of light, and the control unit detects the number of coins loaded and the denomination from the change in the output of the sensor when the sensor is moved. Good.

[0021]

The present invention having the above-described structure is capable of
Alternatively, after the replenishment / collection operation of the coin bar that changes the number of coin bar other than withdrawal, the sensor is moved, the number of coin bar loaded in the cassette is detected from the output of the sensor at that time, and the number of coins in the transaction is detected. In addition to making it possible to know whether a coin can be withdrawn, it is possible to detect whether the coin is erroneously loaded by detecting the denomination of the coin.

[0022]

Embodiments Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main structure inside a coin-roll ejecting machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the coin-roll dispenser of this embodiment, the coin-roll 1 to be handled, the rear door 4 of the casing of the coin-roll dispenser, the ejection lever 5a, the ejection lever drive mechanism 5 are used.
b, an elevator 5 composed of a saucer portion 5c, an elevator support / drive mechanism 6 for moving the elevator 5 up and down, a shutter 7 provided on the front side of the upper portion of the casing of the coin ejector, and a coin bar. The power supply unit 11 for supplying the electricity necessary for the operation of the discharger is provided with the same one as described in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a cassette capable of accommodating a plurality of coin bars 1 arranged side by side, and a cassette accommodating portion 22 capable of accommodating a plurality of cassettes 21 arranged in the longitudinal direction is constructed. There is. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of the cassette of the first embodiment. Reference numeral 21a is a handle for facilitating the loading of the cassette 21, and the notch 21 whose position is different depending on the denomination of the loaded bar.
b is formed.

It should be noted that, as in the case of the conventional bar-bar discharging machine, FIG.
Inside the rear door 4 of the device, as shown in FIG.
A sheet metal 4a for inserting into the notch 21b is fixed at a position corresponding to the notch 21b of each cassette 21 so that the rear door 4 can be closed only when 1 is correctly attached to the predetermined position of the apparatus. . Therefore, when the cassette 21 is mounted in the wrong position, the notch 21b of the cassette 21 and the sheet metal 4a of the rear door 4 are not aligned with each other, and the rear door 4 cannot be closed. The device is then programmed to not operate with the rear door 4 open.

Returning to FIG. 2, reference numeral 21c designates a replenishment port for the coin bar 1 formed on the side of the handle 21a of the cassette 21.
Are loaded one by one from the replenishment port 21c by a staff member. Reference numeral 21d denotes an outlet of the coin bar 1 formed at the end of the cassette 21 opposite to the side where the replenishment port 21c is provided. The outlet 21d is a rectangle in which the upper surface of the cassette 21 is matched with the shape of the coin bar 1. The opening 21d is formed at the bottom of the exit 21d so that the ejection lever 5a of the elevator 5 described in FIG. 11 can be inserted below the exit 21d in accordance with the position of the ejection lever 5a. Is formed, and when the ejection lever 5a passes through the notch 21e from the lower side, the coin bar 1 located at the outlet 21d becomes the cassette 2
It is scraped from the upper surface of 1.

Reference numeral 21f is a slit formed on both sides of the cassette 21, and the slit 21f is formed along the extending direction of the cassette 21 from the replenishing port 21c to the outlet 21d of the cassette 21. It should be noted that the coin 21 is placed in the cassette 21.
The slits 21f are formed so that the positions deviated from the center of the coin bar 1 can be continuously seen when a plurality of bars are loaded.

Returning to FIG. 1, reference numeral 23 is a coin-roll detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the coin-roll 1 in the cassette 21, and 24.
Is a frame to which the coin-roll detection sensor 23 is attached, and 25 is a frame 2
A motor for moving the coin-roll detection sensor 23 via
6 is a belt for transmitting the driving force of the motor 25 to the frame 24,
The coin-roll detection sensor 23 is driven by a motor 25 and is movable along the slit 21f of the cassette 21.

Here, the coin-roll detection sensor 23 is composed of a light emitting diode and a light receiving transistor as a pair, and when the cassette 21 is set in the cassette housing portion 22, the light of the light emitting diode is a cassette. It is arranged so as to hit the light receiving portion of the light receiving transistor through the slit 21f of 21. Even if the coin-roll detection sensor 23 moves, from the outlet 21d of the cassette 21 while maintaining the positional relationship between the light emitting diode and the light receiving transistor. Refill port 2
Move to 1c. As a result, when the coin bar 1 is not present in the cassette 21 at the detection position of the coin bar detection sensor 23, if the light emitting diode is turned on, the light receiving transistor is exposed to light and the light receiving transistor is turned on. If there is a coin bar at the detection point of, even if the light emitting diode is illuminated, the light is blocked by the coin bar and the light receiving transistor is not exposed to the light, and the light is turned off.

As a result, the coin-roll detection sensor 23 is turned on / off.
The presence or absence of the coin 1 can be detected by monitoring the OFF state.
FIG. 3 is a timing chart of the coin-roll detection sensor. As described above, when a plurality of coin-rolls 1 are loaded in the cassette 21, slits are formed so that the positions deviated from the center of the cross-section of the coin-roll 1 can be continuously seen. Since 21f is formed, if the coin-roll detection sensor 23 is moved along the slit 21f while the light-emitting diode forming the coin-roll detection sensor 23 is illuminated, the light is blocked near the center of the coin-roll 1. The output is turned off, but when approaching the vicinity of the contacts of the coin bars 1, light passes through the gap and reaches the light receiving transistor, so the output is turned on. Thus, by counting the number of times the output of the coin-roll detecting sensor 23 is turned off while moving the coin-roll detecting sensor 23, the number of coin-rolls in the cassette 21 can be determined.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the coin bar discharger according to the first embodiment. Reference numeral 27 denotes a cassette presence / absence sensor, which detects whether or not the cassette 21 is mounted in the cassette housing portion 22. Reference numeral 23 denotes the coin-roll detection sensor described with reference to FIG. 1, which detects the coin-roll 1 in each cassette 21.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a coin-roll detection sensor moving unit, which is composed of a coin-roll detection sensor driving mechanism such as the motor 25 described in FIG. Reference numeral 29 denotes a door opening / closing sensor, which detects opening / closing of the rear door 4 described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 30 denotes an ejection lever drive unit, which is shown in FIG.
The ejection lever drive mechanism 5b for driving the ejection lever 5a described in 1 is included.

Reference numeral 31 is a pan sensor which detects whether or not the coin bar 1 is present in the pan 5c described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 32 denotes an elevator drive unit, which is composed of an elevator support / drive mechanism 6 for moving the elevator 5 described in FIG. Three
Reference numeral 3 denotes a shutter opening / closing unit that opens / closes the shutter 7 described with reference to FIG.

A control unit 34 controls each of the above-mentioned components. Reference numeral 35 is a power supply unit that supplies power to each unit of the apparatus. The operation of the coin bar ejector according to the first embodiment having the above-described structure will be described below. When the power is turned on, the control unit 34 controls the coin-roll detection sensor moving unit 28 to move the coin-roll detection sensor 23 from the outlet 21d of the cassette 21 to the replenishment port 2.
Move toward 1c.

From the output of the coin-roll detection sensor 23 at this time,
The control unit 34 determines the presence or absence of the coin bar 1 in each cassette 21 and the number thereof. That is, when the cassette 21 is mounted and the output of the coin-roll detection sensor 23 remains ON, it can be determined that there is no coin. Further, as described with reference to FIG. 3, when the coin-roll detection sensor 23 is moved while the cassette 21 is loaded with the coin-roll 1, the output is OFF at the place where the coin-roll 1 is present,
The control unit 34 turns ON in the vicinity of the contacts of the coins 1 and repeats ON / OFF when a plurality of coins 1 are loaded, so that the control unit 34 outputs 0 of the output of the coin detecting sensor 23.
By counting the number of FFs with the counter 34a, the number of coins 1 in the cassette 21 can be determined.

Since the coin-roll detection sensor 23 is provided for each cassette 21, the control section is
The number of coins 1 in the coin can be determined, and this is stored in the memory 34b. Further, the control unit 34 controls the coin bar 1 loaded other than withdrawal, such as replenishment or recovery work of the coin bar.
When the number of coins 1 changes, the coin-roll detection sensor 23 is moved from the outlet 21d of the cassette 21 toward the replenishment port 21c as described above, the number of coins 1 in the cassette 21 is counted, and this is stored in the memory. By storing in 34b, the number of coin-rolls can always be managed.

The control unit 34 determines that the refilling / collecting operation of the coin bar 1 is completed by detecting the opening / closing of the rear door 4 from the output of the door opening / closing sensor 29 after the power is turned on.
The above-described operation of counting the number of coin bars may be performed. When the withdrawal operation of the coin 1 is performed, the control unit 34 reduces the number of coins stored in each cassette 21 so that each cassette 21 is always loaded with how many coins. It is possible to grasp whether it is being done and withdraw gold 1
By comparing the required number of withdrawals with the number of coins in the cassette 21 in which the coins 1 of the denomination are loaded, it is possible to reliably determine whether or not the withdrawal is possible.

Furthermore, the moving speed of the coin-roll detection sensor 23 is predetermined, and the ON time of the output of the coin-roll detection sensor during movement is measured by the timer 34c to determine the predetermined section of the loaded coin-roll 1. It is possible to find the length of the chord of the part. As described above, in the domestic denomination 6 coins, when comparing different types of coins, the diameters of the bottoms are different. It is stored for each denomination, and when the coin-roll detection sensor 23 is moved to count the number of coin-rolls 1 after the power is turned on as described above, the coin-roll detection sensor output is turned on.
The time is measured by the timer 34c to obtain the length of the chord of a predetermined portion of the cross section of the loaded coin 1 and this data is compared with the data of the denomination to be loaded in the cassette 21 to load it. It is judged whether the coin bar 1 is correct or not, and if the coin bar of different denomination is loaded, stop the operation of the device and notify the staff to confirm It is possible to prevent the coin bar 1 from being released.

When the difference in diameter between different denominations is small, the difference in the length of the chord of the predetermined portion for each bar is small, but the difference increases as the number of bars increases. , By comparing the data of multiple lines,
It is possible to reliably identify the denomination. As described above, in the first embodiment, the number of coins 1 and the denomination can be determined by detecting the number of ON / OFF of the coin bar detecting sensor 23 and the interval, so that the control unit 34 can be simplified. It can be formed by a circuit having a configuration.

FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of an automatic transaction apparatus equipped with the above-described coin-roll dispenser of the present embodiment. In the automatic transaction device, as described above, in addition to the coin-roll dispenser 35 configured by the coin-roll dispenser that loads coin-rolls and dispenses coin-rolls according to transactions, a magnetic card owned by the customer. Card reading / writing unit 36 that can read the magnetic data of the above and write the data to the magnetic card as necessary, statement printing unit 37 that creates and issues a transaction statement for the customer,
Similarly, a journal printing unit 38 for recording transaction history in a journal, reading magnetic data of a customer's passbook, and a passbook reading / printing unit 39 for printing transaction amount and account balance on the passbook, and loading banknotes necessary for the transaction. A banknote depositing / dispensing unit 40 that discharges banknotes to a customer in accordance with a transaction or captures a banknote that the customer deposits, similarly, a coin depositing / dispensing unit 41 that deposits / dispenses unwrapped coins, and the customer Has a CRT screen for displaying operation guidance and key switches to be operated when a customer conducts a transaction, and a customer operation unit 42 for guiding customer operation by display or voice, and a key switch for staff to operate the device. And a lamp for displaying the device status, and the like, and includes a staff operation unit 43 for a staff member to perform operations necessary for work, and a main control unit 44 for controlling the above respective units and communicating with the center. It is. The control unit 34 of the coin-roll ejecting machine described in FIG. 4 is the main control unit 4 of the automatic transaction device.
In response to the control signal from No. 4, the coin-roll dispensing operation is performed.

The flow of the coin-roll dispensing operation in this embodiment will be described below. First, when the power is turned on, the control unit 34 of the coin-roll ejecting machine moves the coin-roll detecting sensor 23 as described above, obtains the number of coin-rolls loaded in each cassette 21, and stores this. Determine if the correct denomination is loaded. At this time, when it is determined that the correct denomination is not loaded, the data to that effect is sent to the main control unit 44 of the automatic transaction device, and the main control unit 44 stops the operation of the device and, through the staff operation unit 43, Notify the staff.

When receiving a coin-roll withdrawal instruction from the main controller 44, the controller 34 is loaded with the required number of coin-roll 1 coins of the denomination to be coined and the coin-roll 1 of that coin type. The number of coins 1 in the cassette 21 is compared. When the control unit 34 determines that the number of coins in the cassette 21 is smaller and the withdrawal is impossible, the control unit 34 sends data to that effect to the main control unit 44,
When the main control unit 44 determines that the withdrawal is impossible, the customer operation unit 4
A message notifying that the withdrawal is impossible is displayed on the CRT screen display section of No. 2, and prompts the user to switch to another denomination or cancel the transaction.

When it is determined that the number of coins 1 in the cassette 21 is larger and the withdrawal is possible, the controller 34 controls the elevator driver 32 to raise the elevator 5 in the home position, Cassette 2 of denomination to be withdrawn
The elevator 5 is stopped at such a height that the ejecting lever 5a can sufficiently reach the coin bar 1 at the exit 21d of No. 1. Next, the ejection lever driving unit 30 is controlled to rotate the ejection lever 5a and eject the coin bar 1 located at the outlet 21d of the cassette 21 to the tray 5c.

When two or more coins 1 of the same denomination are to be ejected, the ejection lever 5a is further rotated a necessary number of times. Further, when it is desired to continuously eject the coins 1 of different denominations loaded in the other cassettes 21, or when the coins 1 of the same denomination are loaded in the plurality of cassettes 21 and the plurality of rods 1 are provided. If one cassette 21 becomes empty while you are throwing out money,
The elevator 5 is moved to the cassette 21 of the denomination for which the elevator 5 is sought, stopped, and similarly ejected.

Here, when the withdrawing operation of the coin bar 1 is performed, the control section 34 stores the coin bar 1 stored in each cassette 21.
The number of coins 1 is reduced so that it is possible to always grasp how many coins 1 are loaded in each cassette 21. After the required coin-roll 1 dispensing operation is completed, the control unit 34
Controls the elevator drive unit 32 to move the elevator 5 to the uppermost position, and controls the shutter opening / closing unit 33 to open the shutter 7.

When the controller 34 determines from the output of the pan sensor 31 that the customer has taken out the coin 1 from the pan 5c, the shutter 7 is closed, the elevator 5 is returned to the home position at the bottom, and the dispensing operation is performed. To complete. At this time, the control unit 34 sends various information after the operation such as the number of withdrawn coins, the remaining amount of coins and the like to the main controller 44, and the main controller 44 confirms the coin withdrawal operation and the next transaction by this information. To determine whether the coin can be withdrawn.

When the replenishment / collection operation is performed, the control unit 34 moves the coin-roll detection sensor 23 to move each cassette 2
The number of coin-rolls loaded in 1 is calculated and stored, and it is determined whether the correct denomination is loaded. At this time, if it is determined that the correct denomination is not loaded,
Send data to that effect to the main control unit 44 of the automatic transaction device,
The main control unit 44 stops the operation of the device and notifies the staff through the staff operation unit 43.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the main internal structure of the coin-roll ejector according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the coin bar ejector of the present embodiment, the coin bar 1 to be handled, the cassette 2 into which the coin bar 1 is loaded, the rear door 4 of the coin bar ejector casing, the ejection lever 5a, and the ejection lever drive mechanism. 5b and a pan 5c, an elevator 5, an elevator supporting / driving mechanism 6 for moving the elevator 5 up and down, a shutter 7 provided on the front side of the upper part of the casing of the coin ejector so as to be openable and closable, and a coin bar. The power supply unit 11 for supplying the electricity necessary for the operation of the discharger is provided with the same one as described in FIG.

In the figure, 51 is a photoreflector for detecting the presence or absence of the coin bar 1 in the cassette 2, and 52 is a photoreflector.
Is a shaft to which a plurality of photo reflectors 51 are attached so as to correspond to each cassette 2, 53 is a shaft 52
A motor for moving the photo reflector 51 via
Reference numeral 4 denotes a belt for transmitting the driving force of the motor 53 to the shaft 52, and the photo reflector 51 is driven by the motor 53 and is movable along the arrangement direction of the coin bars 1 loaded in the cassette 21.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the structure of the photo reflector. The photo reflector 51 includes a light emitting element 55 such as a light emitting diode and a light receiving element 56 such as a phototransistor.
The light emitted from the light emitting element 55 is reflected by an object (here, the bar 1) and enters the light receiving element 56. FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the photo reflector.

The power source E and the light emitting diode (light emitting element) are connected via a resistor RE, and the light emitting diode emits light when an electric signal is input. Further, the phototransistor (light receiving element) is connected to the power source E via the resistor RL, and when light is incident on the phototransistor, a signal corresponding to the intensity of incident light is output. Here, the light incident on the phototransistor is the light emitted from the light emitting diode reflected by the object, and if the distance between the light emitting diode, the phototransistor and the object is short, the light incident on the phototransistor is strong, The incident light becomes weaker as the distance increases, and the output of the phototransistor changes depending on the distance to the object.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the photoreflector and the change in the output at that time. Photo reflector 51
As shown in FIG. 9 (a), each of the cassettes 2 moves on the cassette 2 along the arrangement direction of the coins 1, and the light emitted from the light emitting element 55 of the photo reflector 51 is emitted from the coin 1. The light is reflected on the circumferential surface and is incident on the light receiving element 56.

Since the sectional shape of the bar 1 is a circle, the distance between the photo reflector 51 and the circumferential surface of the bar 1 is
It becomes closer near the center of the coin 1 and becomes farther toward the end. As a result, the output of the photo reflector 51 when the photo reflector 51 moves along the line of the coin bar 1 is as shown in FIG. High when positioned, 1 coin
It is lower when it is located near the contact points of the comrades.

When the photo-reflector 51 is located near the center of the coin bar 1, the output of the photo-reflector has a peak. Therefore, the number of coin bars 1 can be determined by counting the number of peaks. . In the second embodiment, the light emitted from the photo reflector 51 strikes the coin bar 1 from the upper surface side of the cassette 2.
The cassette 2 can be shared with the conventional one.

FIG. 10 is a control block diagram of the coin bar discharger according to the second embodiment. Reference numeral 57 is a cassette presence / absence sensor, which detects whether or not the cassette 2 is mounted in the cassette housing portion. 5
1 is the photoreflector described in FIG.
The coin bar 1 inside is detected.

Reference numeral 58 denotes a photoreflector moving section, which is composed of a photoreflector driving mechanism such as the motor 53 described in FIG. Reference numeral 59 denotes a door opening / closing sensor, which detects opening / closing of the rear door 4 described with reference to FIG. 60 is an ejection lever drive unit,
It is composed of the ejection lever drive mechanism 5b for driving the ejection lever 5a described in FIG.

Reference numeral 61 is a pan sensor which detects whether or not the coin bar 1 is present in the pan 5c described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 62 denotes an elevator drive unit, which is composed of an elevator support / drive mechanism 6 for moving the elevator 5 described in FIG. 6
Reference numeral 3 denotes a shutter opening / closing unit that opens / closes the shutter 7 described with reference to FIG.

Reference numeral 64 denotes a control unit which controls each of the above components. Reference numeral 65 is a power supply unit that supplies power to each unit of the apparatus. The operation of the coin bar ejector of the second embodiment having the above configuration will be described below. When the power is turned on, the control unit 64 controls the photo reflector moving unit 58 to move the photo reflector 51 from the outlet 2 d of the cassette 2 to the replenishment port 2.
Move toward c.

From the output of the photo-reflector 51 at this time, the control section 64 determines the presence or absence of the coin bar 1 in each cassette 2 and the number thereof. That is, as described with reference to FIG. 9, when the photoreflector 51 is moved in the state where the coin 2 is loaded in the cassette 2, the output is located above the center of the coin 1 of the photoreflector 51. When the coin bar 1 is located near the contact point of the comrades, it becomes low, and when a plurality of coin bars 1 are loaded, the output of the photo-reflector 51 repeats high and low changes. , The output of the photoreflector reaches a peak when the photoreflector 51 is located near the center of the coin bar 1. Therefore, the slice level is set in advance so that the peak can be detected, and the control unit 64 sets A A peak detector 64a including a D / D conversion circuit detects a portion above the slice level and counts the number by a counter 64b, so that the coin bar in the cassette 2 The number of can be determined.

Further, when the coin bar 1 is not loaded, the light emitted from the light emitting element 55 is reflected on the bottom surface of the cassette 2 and enters the light receiving element 56, and is reflected from the photo reflector 51. Since the distance to the body is long, the output of the photo reflector 51 is low. Accordingly, when the control unit 64 determines that the output of the photo reflector 51 located above the outlet 2 of the cassette 2 is low while the cassette 2 is mounted, the control unit 64 can determine that the coin bar 1 does not exist. .

Since the photo-reflector 51 is provided for each cassette 2, the control unit 64 can determine the number of coins 1 in each cassette 2, and stores this in the memory 64c. Further, when the number of coin bars 1 loaded other than withdrawal changes, such as a coin bar replenishment or recovery operation, the control unit 64 replenishes the photo reflector 51 from the outlet 2d of the cassette 2 as described above. By moving toward the mouth 2c, counting the number of coins 1 in the cassette 2 and storing this in the memory 64c, the number of coins can always be managed.

The control unit 64 detects that the rear door 4 is opened or closed from the output of the door opening / closing sensor 59 after the power is turned on, and determines that the refilling / recovering work of the coin bar 1 is completed,
The above-described operation of counting the number of coin bars may be performed. Then, when the withdrawal operation of the coin 1 is performed, the control unit 64 reduces the number of coins stored in each cassette 2 so that the number of coins loaded in each cassette 2 is always constant. It is possible to know whether or not the coin type is to be withdrawn, and by comparing the required withdrawal number of the coin type 1 of the denomination to be withdrawn and the number of coin types in the cassette 2 in which the coin type 1 of the denomination is loaded, Whether or not to withdraw money can be surely determined.

As described above, in the domestic coins 6 denominations, when the bar denominations of different denominations are compared, the diameters of the bottom surfaces are different from each other. The distance to the circumferential surface of is different for each denomination, and the output from the photo reflector 51 has different peak positions and heights for each bar. As a result, the peak position and height of the output for each denomination are stored in advance, the moving speed of the photo reflector 51 is kept constant accordingly, and as described above, after the power is turned on, Photo reflector 5 to count the number
When the 1 is moved, the peak position and height are obtained by the peak detection unit 64a and compared with the data of the denominations to be loaded in the cassette 2 to confirm that the loaded coin bar 1 is correct. If different types of coins are loaded, stop the operation of the device,
By notifying the staff, it is possible to prevent the wrong coin bar 1 from being ejected.

When the difference in diameter between different denominations is small, the difference in the position and height of the peak for each bar is small, but the difference increases as the number of bars increases. By comparing the data for multiple denominations, it is possible to reliably identify the denomination. The coin-roll dispenser according to the second embodiment described above is also mounted on the automatic transaction device described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG.
The flow of the coin withdrawal operation in the automatic transaction device will be described.
The configuration of the automatic transaction device is the same as that described in FIG.

First, when the power is turned on, the control unit 6 of the coin-roll ejecting machine
4, the photoreflector 51 is moved as described above to obtain the number of coin bars loaded in each cassette 2,
This is stored and it is determined whether the correct denomination is loaded. At this time, when it is determined that the correct denomination is not loaded, the data to that effect is sent to the main control unit 44 of the automatic transaction device, and the main control unit 44 stops the operation of the device and, through the staff operation unit 43, Notify the staff.

When receiving a coin-roll withdrawal instruction from the main control unit 44, the control unit 64 is loaded with the required number of coin-roll coins 1 of the coin type to be coined and the coin-roll 1 of that coin type. The number of coins 1 in the cassette 2 is compared. The controller 64 controls the cassette 2
When it is determined that the number of coins in the coin is smaller and the withdrawal is impossible, the data is sent to the main control unit 44, and when the main control unit 44 determines that the withdrawal is impossible, the customer operation unit A message notifying that the withdrawal is impossible is displayed on the CRT screen display section of 42 to prompt the user to switch to another denomination or to cancel the transaction.

The number of coins 1 in the cassette 2 is larger,
When it is determined that the withdrawal is possible, the control unit 64 controls the elevator drive unit 62 to raise the elevator 5 at the home position, and the coin 1 at the outlet 2d of the cassette 2 of the denomination to be withdrawn. The elevator 5 is stopped at such a height that the ejecting lever 5a can reach sufficiently. Next, the ejection lever driving unit 60 is controlled to rotate the ejection lever 5a and eject the coin 1 located at the outlet 2d of the cassette 2 to the tray 5c.

When two or more coins 1 of the same denomination are to be ejected, the ejecting lever 5a is further rotated a necessary number of times. In addition, when it is desired to continuously eject the coins 1 of different denominations loaded in other cassettes 2, or when the coins 1 of the same denomination are loaded in the plurality of cassettes 2, If one of the cassettes 2 becomes empty while the money is being dispensed, move the elevator 5 to the cassette 2 of the denomination for which you want the elevator 5 and stop it.
Similarly, the ejection operation is performed.

Here, when the withdrawing operation of the coin 1 is performed, the control section 64 reduces the number of coins 1 stored in each cassette 2 and always determines how many coins are in each cassette 2. Coin money 1
Make sure that you can see if the is loaded. After the required coin-roll 1 dispensing operation is completed, the control unit 64 controls the elevator drive unit 62 to move the elevator 5 to the uppermost position, and controls the shutter opening / closing unit 63 to control the shutter 7.
Open.

When the controller 64 determines from the output of the pan sensor 61 that the customer has taken out the coin 1 from the pan 5c, the shutter 7 is closed, the elevator 5 is returned to the home position at the bottom, and the dispensing operation is performed. To complete. At this time, the control unit 64 sends various information after the operation such as the number of withdrawn coins and the remaining amount of coins to the main controller 44, and the main controller 44 uses this information to confirm the coin withdrawal operation and to perform the next transaction To determine whether the coin can be withdrawn.

When the replenishment / recovery operation is performed, the control unit 64 moves the photo reflector 51 to obtain the number of coins loaded in each cassette 2, and stores the number, and the correct denomination is stored. Determine if it is loaded. At this time, if it is determined that the correct denomination is not loaded,
Send data to that effect to the main control unit 44 of the automatic transaction device,
The main control unit 44 stops the operation of the device and notifies the staff through the staff operation unit 43.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention, the sensor for detecting the presence / absence of the coin bar in the cassette is moved along the arrangement direction of the coin bar, and the cassette is loaded from the output of the sensor at that time. Since it was decided to detect the number and type of coins, the management of the number of coins inside the device can be performed automatically, and the staff member can record the number of replenished coins and check the remaining number. No hassle.

Further, since the number of coin bars is always known, it is possible to carry out a transaction until the coin bar required for the transaction is really insufficient, the number of coin bar replenishments is reduced, the operating rate of the apparatus is improved, and staff members are supplemented. It is possible to reduce the amount of work, and it can be expected to improve the profit of the user. In addition, since the type of coin bar being loaded is detected, when a coin bar of a different coin type is loaded in the cassette, it can be detected and notified to the clerk, and troubles in transactions can occur. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the fear of degrading the trust of the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part structure of a coin bar ejector according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of the cassette of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart of a coin-roll detection sensor.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the coin bar ejector of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of the automatic transaction device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main part structure of a coin bar discharging machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a structure of a photo reflector.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a photo reflector.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of the photo reflector and a change in output at that time.

FIG. 10 is a control block diagram of a coin bar discharger according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a conventional coin-roll discharging machine.

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view of a coin-roll dispenser.

FIG. 13 is an external perspective view of a coin bar.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the structure of a conventional cassette.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing details of the arrangement of a conventional sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 cassette 21f slit 23 coin-roll detection sensor 28 coin-roll detection sensor moving unit 34 control unit 51 photoreflector 58 photoreflector moving unit 64 control unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cassette capable of accommodating a plurality of coins arranged side by side, a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the coins in the cassette, a moving means for moving the sensor along the alignment direction of the coins, A coin-roll ejecting machine provided with a control means for moving the sensor and detecting the number of coin-rolls loaded in the cassette and the denomination from the output of the sensor at that time. 2. The coin-roll dispenser according to claim 1, wherein slits are provided on both side surfaces of the cassette along the direction of arrangement of the coin-rolls so that the bottom surface of the loaded coin-rolls can be seen. The light emitting element is arranged so that the light emitted from the light emitting element passes through the slit of the cassette and is incident on the light receiving element, and the output is turned ON / OFF depending on whether the light is incident on the light receiving element. The control unit is configured to turn on the sensor when the sensor is moved.
A coin-roll dispenser characterized by detecting the number of coin rolls loaded and the denomination from the number of ON / OFF times and the interval between ON / OFF changes. 3. The coin dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a light emitting / receiving element, and light emitted from the light emitting element is reflected by a circumferential surface of a coin bar loaded in the cassette and is incident on the light receiving element. Is arranged so that its output changes depending on the intensity of light incident on the light receiving element that changes according to the distance between the sensor and the bar, and when the sensor is moved, The coin-roll ejector characterized in that the number of coin-rolls loaded and the denomination are detected from the change in the output of the sensor.