JP2005004508A - Method for notifying storage state of bills in bill identification machine, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for notifying the storage state of bills which can prevent or suppress the full storage abnormality of a bill identification machine, and can promote an efficiency in the operation of a money processing unit on which the bill identification machine is installed. <P>SOLUTION: This bill identification machine notifies that a storage safe is in a nearly full space state close to a full storage state before it enters the full storage state. Consequently, this machine can notify a manager that the full storage state is nearing, allowing him leeway. Hereby, the manager side can find a period for recovering the bills in the storage safe early to handle, and can prevent or suppress the system failure of the money processing unit due to the full storage abnormality. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
More particularly, the present invention relates to a bill storage state notification method for notifying a bill storage state in a storage safe of a bill recognition machine mounted on a vending machine or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a banknote discriminator for notifying a storage state of a banknote in a money processing apparatus such as a vending machine or a money changer, one that notifies that a banknote is full in a storage safe is known. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the configuration of such a bill validator as viewed from the side, and FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the configuration of such a bill validator as viewed from the back.
[0003]
As shown in FIG. 4, the bill validator 1 includes an identification unit 10 in the upper part and a pusher unit 20 and a storage safe 30 in the lower part.
The identification unit 10 has an insertion slot 11 for inserting a banknote in the front thereof, and the insertion slot 11 communicates with a conveyance path 12 for carrying in the banknote. A plurality of transport rollers 13 for transporting banknotes are disposed in the transport path 12, and the drive motor 14 rotationally drives them based on a drive control command. Further, an insertion detection sensor 41 for detecting the insertion of a bill is provided in the vicinity of the insertion port 11 of the conveyance path 12, and further, the conveyance path 12 is likely to be passed in the vicinity of the conveyance roller 13 disposed at a deeper position. An identification sensor 42 that performs denomination determination and authenticity determination of the bill is provided. When the identification sensor 42 determines that the banknote is fake, the transport roller 13 is driven in reverse to return the banknote to the insertion slot 11.
[0004]
In addition, the identification unit 10 includes a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as “microcomputer”) 50 that controls various controls of the bill validator 1. The microcomputer 50 includes a CPU 51 for performing predetermined arithmetic processing, a ROM 52 in which various numerical values and programs are written in advance, a RAM 53 in which numerical values and flags of arithmetic processes are written in predetermined regions, and digital signals from various sensor / switch groups. An input / output I / O interface 54, a bus line 55 to which these devices are connected, and the like are configured. The process shown in the flowchart described later is executed based on a control program written in advance in the ROM 52. The microcomputer 50 is configured to be capable of serial communication with a microcomputer on the money processing apparatus side (not shown) via the I / O interface 54.
[0005]
The conveyance path 12 of the identification unit 10 communicates with a banknote holding unit 15 formed between the pusher unit 20 and the storage safe 30 and temporarily holds the banknote identified by the identification unit 10. When there is a refund command from the microcomputer on the money processing device side based on a return operation or the like from the outside, the transport roller 13 is driven in reverse, and the banknote held in the banknote holding unit 15 is transferred to the insertion slot 11. Returned. On the other hand, when processing such as sales by the money processing apparatus is normally completed and a money collection command is issued from the microcomputer on the money processing apparatus side, the banknotes held in the banknote holding unit 15 are stored by the pusher unit 20. It is stored in the safe 30.
[0006]
Furthermore, a monitor LED 45 that visually displays the storage state of the storage safe 30 is disposed on the customer service side of the identification unit 10. For example, when the storage safe 30 is not full, the monitor LED 45 is turned on. When the storage safe 30 is full, the monitor LED 45 is turned off.
[0007]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pusher unit 20 translates the pusher 21 that operates to push the banknotes held in the banknote storage unit 15 into the storage safe 30, and translates the pusher 21 to the storage safe 30. A pantograph-type link mechanism 22, a shaft 23 arranged at the intersection of the link mechanism 22, and a pivotable structure around the own axis, and the link mechanism 22 is expanded and contracted by pressing or releasing the shaft 23. It has a disk-shaped pusher cam 24. The pusher cam 24 has a shape in which the height (thickness) changes on the cam surface that comes into contact with the shaft 23, and the height gradually increases / decreases for each semicircle along the circumferential direction. For this reason, every time the pusher cam 24 makes a half rotation, the shaft 23 is driven in a direction perpendicular to the rotation shaft, and the pusher 21 is reciprocated relative to the storage safe 30.
[0008]
Further, the pusher cam 24 is provided with two light shielding plates 24a and 24a. A photo interrupter 25 is installed on the rotation locus of the light shielding plate 24a to constitute a pusher sensor for detecting the rotational position of the pusher cam 24. .
[0009]
The storage safe 30 includes a holding plate 31 that holds the stored banknote 60 and a spring 32 that urges the holding plate 31 toward the pusher unit 20 to align and stack the stored banknotes 60.
[0010]
In addition, as a full sensor for detecting the full state of the storage safe 30, a full sensor lever 26 and a photo interrupter 27 that are installed so as to be movable forward and backward in the moving direction of the pusher 21 are provided. The full sensor lever 26 is urged to the opposite side of the storage safe 30 by an urging means (not shown), and usually one end of the full sensor lever 26 is arranged to shield the photo interrupter 27. The other end of the full sensor lever 26 is bent to the inside of the storage safe 30, and when the banknote storing operation is performed by the pusher 21 in a state in which more than a predetermined number of banknotes are stored, the presser plate 21 is locked. The sensor lever 26 is detached from the photo interrupter 27 to be in a light projection state.
[0011]
In the bill validator 1 having the above configuration, a bill inserted from the insertion slot 11 is identified in the transport passage 12 by the identification unit 10, and if it is a genuine note, it is transported to the bill storage unit 15 and stored.
[0012]
Here, when the microcomputer 50 receives the money collection command, the pusher cam 24 is rotated until the photo interrupter 25 changes from the light shielding state to the light projecting state and further enters the light shielding state. In the illustrated example, when the pusher cam 24 is rotated halfway, the pusher 21 is pushed up via the link mechanism 22, the banknotes in the banknote storage unit 15 are pushed into the storage safe 30, and are stacked and stacked like the stored banknote 60.
[0013]
When the number of stored banknotes 60 is close to the capacity limit of the storage safe 30, when the pusher 21 is pressed, the presser plate 31 pushes up the full sensor lever 26, and the photo interrupter 25 changes from the light shielding state to the light projecting state. Become. The output waveform of the full sensor at this time is as shown in FIG.
[0014]
That is, the pusher cam 24 starts to rotate and the pusher sensor outputs an operation signal. When the pusher 21 approaches the top dead center, the presser plate 31 pushes up the full sensor lever 26, and the full sensor outputs a full detection signal from the photo interrupter 27. This full detection signal lasts for a time t depending on the distance by which the full sensor lever 26 is pushed up. Since the presser plate 31 is pushed in as much as the thickness of the banknotes aligned and stacked at the top dead center of the pusher 21, the time that the full sensor lever 26 is pushed up becomes longer as the banknote thickness increases.
[0015]
Whether the storage safe 30 is full or not is compared with a preset threshold value t0 of the output signal of the full sensor, and when the time t becomes greater than the threshold value t0, it is determined that fullness is detected. I am doing so.
[0016]
The methods described above are related to publicly known and publicly used technologies, but there are other techniques for detecting a near full state in which the banknotes in the storage safe do not reach a full state, but exceed a predetermined number. (For example, Patent Document 1).
[0017]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-8-69553
[0018]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional banknote discriminator 1 described above, when a full abnormality is detected, the abnormality is notified to the microcomputer on the money processing apparatus side, and the operation is stopped by switching the monitor LED 45 from the on state to the off state, for example. It will be in the state of waiting for the abnormality cancellation by a person.
[0019]
For this reason, if the manager is not aware of this, the money processing device such as a vending machine or a money changer cannot perform the processing operation of banknotes, miss the sales opportunity during that time, or operate the money processing device. There was a problem of causing trouble.
[0020]
In particular, banknote storage processing is performed after operations such as sales and currency exchange to the customer are completed, and therefore it is not expected that the customer himself / herself notifies the manager of this fullness abnormality. For this reason, there is a problem that the administrator is forced to perform a complicated task of frequently opening the door of the vending machine and checking the inside of the storage safe.
[0021]
Moreover, the technique of the said patent document 1 stops a payment transaction by detecting near full, Comprising: This is not alert | reported to an administrator.
The present invention has been made in view of these points, and can prevent or suppress the fullness of the banknote discriminator in advance, and can improve the efficiency of the operation of the money processing apparatus on which the banknote discriminator is mounted. It aims at providing the bill storage state information method which can be performed.
[0022]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a storage safe that stores and stacks banknotes and a pusher that stores the banknotes held in the transport passage by pushing them into the storage safe sandwich the transport passage. In the banknote discriminating machine arranged opposite to each other, a method of notifying the storage state of the banknote in the storage safe via a predetermined notification means, the current storage being the current storage capacity of the banknote in the storage safe A storage amount detection step for detecting an amount, comparing the present storage amount with a near full storage amount preset as a full amount smaller than a full storage amount preset as a full amount in the storage safe; When the current storage amount is equal to or greater than the near full storage amount, a near full notification step of notifying that the near full state is established via the notification means, the current storage amount and the full storage amount And a full notification step for notifying the full state in a manner different from the near full state via the notification means when the current storage amount is equal to or greater than the full storage amount. A bill storage state notifying method for a bill validator is provided.
[0023]
As the “notification means” here, various means such as means for visually displaying the near-full state and the full state on the customer-facing side of the banknote discriminator, or means for notifying these states by voice can be considered. It is done.
[0024]
According to the bill storage state informing method of the bill validator, it is informed that the near safe state is in the vicinity of the full state before the storage safe is full. For this reason, it is possible to inform the manager that the vehicle is almost full. As a result, the administrator side can know the collection time of banknotes in the storage safe at an early stage, and avoids or reduces troublesome tasks such as frequently checking the storage safe by opening the door of the money processing apparatus. be able to. As a result, it is possible to prevent or suppress the system down of the money processing apparatus due to the fullness abnormality.
[0025]
Specifically, for example, a method of determining the current storage amount can be considered by paying attention to the fact that the storage amount of banknotes corresponds to the position of the press plate for aligning and stacking banknotes in the storage safe.
That is, the presser plate that aligns and stacks the bills pushed in from the transport passage while the near full storage amount and the full storage amount are urged toward the transport passage side in the storage safe has a predetermined first during the operation of the pusher. You may make it each set as operation time in the 1st range located in the pushing range. In this case, the current storage amount is compared with the near full storage amount and the full storage amount with the current operation time within the first range.
[0026]
In such a method, it is determined in a stepwise manner that the bill is in a near-full state, a full state, or a state that is less than the near-full state based on the current first in-range operation time, and setting the near-full state amount By the value, it is possible to adjust and notify the banknote collection time to the manager.
[0027]
Alternatively, a method of determining the current storage amount can be considered by paying attention to the fact that as the number of banknotes stored in the storage safe increases, the load applied to the pusher increases, thereby increasing the operation time of the pusher.
[0028]
That is, the pusher is urged to the opposite side of the storage safe, and is pushed into the storage safe via a predetermined link mechanism to pass the banknote into the storage safe. The near full storage amount and the full storage amount may be set as the second in-range operation time in which the pusher is located within a predetermined operation range. In this case, the current storage amount is compared with the near full storage amount and the full storage amount with the current operation time within the second range.
[0029]
Even with this method, the same effect as in the case of the determination based on the operation time of the presser plate can be obtained, but the setting of the near full storage amount and the full storage amount is based on the operation time of the presser plate and the operation time of the pusher. It can also be determined differently depending on the case.
[0030]
In the bill storage state notification method, the storage safe that stores and stacks banknotes and the pusher that stores the banknotes held in the transport passage by pushing them into the storage safe sandwich the transport passage. In the banknote discriminator arranged oppositely, in order to notify the storage state of the banknote in the storage safe via a predetermined notification means, the current storage that is the current storage capacity of the banknote in the storage safe is sent to the computer. Comparing the current storage amount with the near-full storage amount set in advance near the full amount less than the full storage amount preset as the full amount in the storage safe; When the amount is equal to or greater than the near-full storage amount, a procedure for notifying the near-full state via the notification means is compared with the current storage amount and the full storage amount, A program for executing a procedure for notifying the full state in a manner different from the case of the near full state via the notification means when the amount becomes the full storage amount or more, for example, flexible It can be realized by recording on a recording medium such as a disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD, a hard disk, etc., and loading and starting up the computer as necessary. In addition, the above program may be recorded using a ROM or backup RAM as a recording medium, and the ROM or backup RAM may be incorporated into a computer and used.
[0031]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG.1 and FIG.2 is explanatory drawing (time chart) showing the banknote accommodation state alerting | reporting method of this Embodiment, and FIG. 3 shows the flow of money processing including the banknote accommodation state alerting | reporting process of this Embodiment. It is a flowchart.
[0032]
The configuration of the bill validator and the bill storage operation are the same as those of the conventional configuration described above, and therefore the description thereof will be simplified as appropriate with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG.
[0033]
In the bill validator 1 of the present embodiment, the current amount of bills stored in the storage safe 30 is notified in three stages.
First, paying attention to the correspondence between the storage amount of banknotes and the position of the presser plate 31 where the banknotes are stacked and stacked in the storage safe, the current storage amount is in a full state or near full state depending on the position of the presser plate 31. It is determined whether it is in a state or a state that does not satisfy the near full state, and each state is made different from the monitor LED 45 to be displayed visually.
[0034]
That is, also in the present embodiment, a sensor (herein referred to as “detection sensor”) similar to the full sensor described above is provided. Then, the time t (first operation time within the first range) during which the photo interrupter 27 is in a light projection state and a signal is output from the detection sensor is compared with preset threshold values t01 and t02, and the time t is the threshold value. When it becomes t01 or more, it is determined that the near-full state has been detected, and further, when it becomes more than the longer threshold t02, it is determined that the full state has been detected.
[0035]
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the threshold t02 for detecting the full state is set to 200 ms, and the threshold t01 for detecting the near full state is set to 180 ms which is 90% thereof. . Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, when the duration t of the output signal of the detection sensor is less than 180 ms, it is determined that the current storage amount is less than the full state. Then, the monitor LED 45 is kept on.
[0036]
Then, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the duration t of the output signal of the detection sensor is 180 ms or more and less than 200 ms, it is determined that the current storage amount is in the near full state, and the monitor LED 45 is blinked. .
[0037]
Further, as shown in FIG. 4D, when the duration t of the output signal of the detection sensor is 200 ms or more, it is determined that the current storage amount is full, and the monitor LED 45 is turned off.
[0038]
In the present embodiment, a sensor similar to the pusher sensor described above is provided. Then, the time T (second in-range operation time) in which the pusher 21 is operated and the photo interrupter 25 is in the light projection state is compared with threshold values T01 and T02 set in advance, and the time T is equal to or greater than the threshold value T01. It is determined that the near-full state has been detected when it becomes, and it is determined that the full state has been detected when the threshold T02 is longer than that.
[0039]
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the threshold value T02 for detecting the full state is set to 3s, and the threshold value T01 for detecting the near-full state is set to 2s. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the duration T of the output signal of the pusher sensor is less than 2 s, it is determined that the current storage amount is less than the near full state, and the monitor LED 45 Keep on.
[0040]
Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the duration T of the output signal of the pusher sensor is not less than 2 s and less than 3 s, it is determined that the current storage amount is near full, and the monitor LED 45 is blinked. .
[0041]
Further, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the duration T of the output signal of the pusher sensor is 3 seconds or more, it is determined that the current storage amount is full, and the monitor LED 45 is turned off.
[0042]
Note that, as shown in the bottom of FIG. 1A and FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the operation time of the pusher sensor when the storage safe 30 has a margin is about 800 ms.
[0043]
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the number of pushing operations by the pusher 21 is counted as the number of banknotes stored in the storage safe 30, and the near full state and the full state are also determined based on the count value. Specifically, when the count value is less than 90 sheets, it is determined that the current storage amount is less than the near full state, and the monitor LED 45 remains lit.
[0044]
When the count value is 90 sheets or more and less than 100 sheets, it is determined that the current storage amount is in a near-full state, and the monitor LED 45 is blinked.
Further, when the count value is 100 sheets or more, it is determined that the current storage amount is full, and the monitor LED 45 is turned off.
[0045]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the determination of the near full state and the full state is performed in parallel by three types of methods. For this reason, the display mode of the monitor LED 45 is switched when the near full state or the full state is determined by any method. In this case, even if a component (such as a detection sensor or a pusher sensor) used in any of the methods fails, a near-full state and a full state can be notified. For example, as shown in the uppermost part of FIG. 2, this is effective when the detection sensor fails and its output cannot be obtained.
[0046]
Next, processing executed by the microcomputer 50 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the microcomputer 50 comprehensively determines whether or not the current banknote can be received through input from various sensors and switches so far (S110).
[0047]
At this time, if it is determined that acceptance is possible (S110: YES), it is subsequently determined whether or not a bill has been inserted based on the presence or absence of an input signal from the insertion detection sensor 41. At this time, if it is determined that a bill has been inserted (S120: YES), the drive motor 14 is driven to rotate the transport roller 13, and the bill is transported to a predetermined identification position and stopped (S130). And the denomination determination and authenticity determination of a banknote are performed by the identification sensor 42 (S140). At this time, if it is determined that the bill is not a genuine note (S150: NO), the transport roller 13 is driven in reverse to return the bill to the insertion slot 11 (S160), and the process returns to S110.
[0048]
On the other hand, if it determines with a banknote being a genuine note in S150 (S150: YES), the said banknote will be conveyed to the banknote storage part 15, and will be temporarily hold | maintained. In the meantime, when a return instruction is received from the money processing apparatus side microcomputer by a return operation or the like (S170: YES), the banknotes held in the banknote holding unit 15 by driving the transport roller 13 in the reverse direction are transferred to the insertion slot 11. Return (S160).
[0049]
And when there is no return of banknotes and processing such as sales is normally completed and a money collection command is received from the microcomputer on the money processing apparatus side (S180: YES), banknotes held in the banknote holding unit 15 Is started in the storage safe 30 (S190).
[0050]
Then, the pusher cam 24 is operated, and the time when the photo interrupter 25 of the pusher sensor is in the light projection state due to the movement of the light shielding plate 24a is measured (S200). That is, since the detection signal of the pusher sensor is output when the photo interrupter 25 enters the light projection state, the output time T of the detection signal is measured.
[0051]
In parallel with this, the output time of the detection sensor indicating the operation time of the storage mechanism is also measured (S210). That is, as explained in the above-mentioned section of the prior art, when the press plate 31 is moved by the operation of the pusher cam 24 and the bill is stored near the capacity limit of the storage safe 30, the photo interrupter 27 of the detection sensor emits light. Then, an operation is performed to return to the light shielding state. Here, the time t during which the detection sensor detects the light projection state and outputs a detection signal is measured.
[0052]
Then, referring to the time counter that counts up on the RAM 53, if it is determined that the detection time T of the pusher sensor is 3 seconds or more (S220: YES), the operation of the storage mechanism is stopped (S230), A full flag provided in a predetermined area of the RAM 53 is set (S240), and the process returns to S110.
[0053]
On the other hand, when the detection time T of the pusher sensor is less than 3 s in S220 (S220: NO), it is determined that the storage mechanism including the pusher 21 and the link mechanism 22 has returned to the stop position (original operation start position) ( S250: YES), the operation of the storage mechanism is temporarily stopped (S260).
[0054]
Then, referring to the number counter to be updated on the RAM 53, if it is determined that the number of stored banknotes 60 has reached 100 or more (S270: YES), a full flag is set (S240), and the process returns to S110.
[0055]
In S270, if the number of stored banknotes 60 is less than 100 (S270: NO), then, referring to the time counter that counts up on the RAM 53, the detection time t of the detection sensor is 200 ms or more. Judge whether or not. At this time, if it is determined that the detection time t is 200 ms or longer (S280: YES), the full flag is set (S240), and the process returns to S110.
[0056]
On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in any of S220, S270, and S280, the full state has not been reached, and it is subsequently determined whether or not the near full state is in the vicinity of the full state.
[0057]
That is, referring to the time counter that counts up on the RAM 53, if it is determined that the detection time T of the pusher sensor is 2 s or longer (S290: YES), a near full flag provided in a predetermined area of the RAM 53 is set. (S320), the monitor LED 45 is changed from the lighting state to the blinking state (S330), and the process returns to S110.
[0058]
On the other hand, if it is determined in S290 that the detection time T of the pusher sensor is less than 2 s (S290: NO), the number counter to be updated on the RAM 53 is subsequently referred to. At this time, if it is determined that the number of stored banknotes 60 has reached 90 or more (S300: YES), a near-full flag is set (S320), the monitor LED 45 is blinked (S330), and the process returns to S110.
[0059]
If a negative determination is made in either S290 or S300, a time counter that counts up on the RAM 53 is subsequently referenced to determine whether or not the detection time t of the detection sensor has reached 180 ms or more. At this time, if it is determined that the detection time t is 180 ms or longer (S310: YES), the near-full flag is set (S320), the monitor LED 45 is blinked (S330), and the process returns to S110. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in S310, the process directly returns to S110.
[0060]
On the other hand, if it is determined in S110 that the bill cannot be accepted or it is determined in S120 that no bill is inserted (S110, S120: NO), the full flag is set with reference to a predetermined area of the RAM 53. Judge whether or not.
[0061]
At this time, if it is determined that the full flag is set (S410: YES), the banknote is not allowed to be accepted into the conveyance path without rotating the conveyance roller 13 (S420). The full abnormality information is output to the microcomputer (S430), and the monitor LED 45 is turned off to notify this (S440).
[0062]
Then, when it is determined that the banknote has been collected by the administrator (S450: YES), the full abnormality cancellation information is output to the microcomputer on the money processing apparatus side (S460), and the near-full flag on the RAM 45 is cleared. (S470), and accepting bills is permitted (S480). That is, the rotation stop mode of the transport roller 13 is canceled. At this time, since the near-full flag is cleared (S490: NO), the monitor LED 45 is turned on (S500), and the process returns to S110.
[0063]
On the other hand, if it is determined in S410 that the full flag is not set (S410: NO), the banknote cannot be accepted for reasons other than the banknote full, such as a paper jam or a failure of the internal device. For this reason (S510: NO), the banknotes are not allowed to be accepted into the conveyance path without rotating the conveyance roller 13 (S520), the monitor LED 45 is turned off, this is notified (S530), and the process returns to S510.
[0064]
Then, if it is determined that the above reason has been resolved and acceptance is possible (S510: YES), acceptance of banknotes is permitted (S480). If the near-full flag is set on the RAM 45 (S490: YES), the process directly returns to S110. Therefore, in this case, the monitor LED 45 is in a blinking state. On the other hand, if the near-full flag is not set on the RAM 45 (S490: NO), the monitor LED 45 is lit to notify it because it is neither near-full nor full (S500), and the process returns to S110.
[0065]
The series of processes described above is repeated when the bill validator 1 is operated.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and it can be changed and modified within the spirit of the present invention. Not too long.
[0066]
For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the determination of the near full state and the full state is performed in parallel by three types of methods has been described. However, for example, the first in-range operation time or the second in-range operation time alone. The determination may be made or only these two methods may be used.
[0067]
In the above embodiment, an example in which the near-full state and the full state are notified by visual display via the monitor LED 45 has been described. However, the near-full state and the full state may be displayed by display means other than the LED.
[0068]
Furthermore, the specific numerical value of the threshold value described in the above embodiment is merely an example, and it goes without saying that other values can be taken.
[0069]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the present invention, before the storage safe becomes full, in order to notify the near full state that is in the vicinity of the full state, it is possible to inform the administrator that the full state is approaching full. Can be informed. As a result, the manager side can detect and cope with the collection time of banknotes in the storage safe at an early stage, and can prevent or suppress the system down of the money processing apparatus due to the fullness abnormality.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a time chart showing a bill storage state notification method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a time chart showing a bill storage state notification method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of money processing including banknote storage state notification processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the configuration of the bill validator as viewed from the side.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the configuration of the bill validator as seen from the back.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an output waveform of a full sensor of a conventional bill validator.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Bill validator
10 Identification unit
11 insertion slot
12 Transport path
13 Transport roller
14 Drive motor
15 Banknote Reservation Department
20 Pusher unit
21 Pusher
22 Link mechanism
23 axes
24 pusher cam
24a Shading plate
25 Photointerrupter
26 Full sensor lever
27 Photointerrupter
30 Storage safe
31 Presser plate
32 Spring
41 Insertion detection sensor
42 Identification sensor
50 microcomputer
60 bills stored

Claims (8)

In a banknote discriminator in which a storage safe that stores and stacks banknotes and a pusher that stores the banknotes held in the transport passage by pushing them into the storage safe are disposed opposite to each other across the transport passage. A method for notifying the storage state of the banknote in the storage safe via a predetermined notification means,
A storage amount detection step of detecting a current storage amount that is a storage amount of a current banknote in the storage safe;
The current storage amount is compared with a near full storage amount that is set in the vicinity of a full amount that is smaller by a predetermined amount than the full storage amount that is preset as a full amount in the storage safe, and the current storage amount is equal to or greater than the near full storage amount. When it becomes, the near full notification step of notifying that it is in the near full state via the notification means,
The current storage amount is compared with the full storage amount, and when the current storage amount becomes equal to or greater than the full storage amount, the full storage state is different from the near full state via the notification means. A full notification step to notify that,
A bill storage state notification method for a bill validator. The near-full storage amount and the full storage amount are determined by a press plate that aligns and stacks the banknotes pushed from the transport passage while being biased toward the transport passage in the storage safe during the operation of the pusher. As the first in-range operation time located within the first push-in range, respectively,
2. The bill storage state notifying method for a bill validator according to claim 1, wherein the current storage amount is compared with the near full storage amount and the full storage amount with the current operation time within the first range. The pusher is urged to the opposite side of the storage safe and is pushed into the storage safe over the transport path via a predetermined link mechanism, thereby pushing the banknote into the storage safe and storing it. Configured to
The near full storage amount and the full storage amount are further set as second in-range operation time in which the pusher is located within a predetermined operation range,
The current storage amount is further configured to be compared with the near full storage amount and the full storage amount with the current operating time in the second range;
Based on the first operation time in the first range or the second operation time in the second range, when the current storage amount becomes equal to or greater than the near full storage amount, it is notified that the near full state is present, and the current storage amount is 3. The bill storage state notifying method for a bill validator according to claim 2, wherein a notification is made that the full state is notified when the full storage amount is reached. Furthermore, it has a counting means for counting the number of pushing operations by the pusher as the number of stored banknotes in the storage safe,
The near full storage amount and the full storage amount are further set as count values by the counting means,
Based on one of the first in-range operation time, the second in-range operation time, and the count value, it is informed that the near full state is reached when the current storage amount becomes equal to or greater than the near full storage amount. 4. A bill storage state notifying method for a bill validator according to claim 3, wherein when the current storage amount becomes equal to or greater than the full storage amount, a full state is notified. . 5. The number of stored bills based on the first in-range operation time, the second in-range operation time, and the count value is set to be different from each other by a predetermined number. The bill storage state notification method of the bill validator described. The pusher is urged to the opposite side of the storage safe and is pushed into the storage safe over the transport path via a predetermined link mechanism, thereby pushing the banknote into the storage safe and storing it. Configured to
The near full storage amount and the full storage amount are respectively set as second range operation time in which the pusher is located within a predetermined operation range,
The bill storage state notification method for a bill validator according to claim 1, wherein the current storage amount is compared with the near-full storage amount and the full storage amount with the current operation time within the second range. As the notification means, an LED is disposed on the customer service side of the bill validator,
The bill storage state notifying method for a bill validator according to claim 1, wherein the near full notifying step and the full notifying step are notified by changing the lighting or extinguishing mode of the LED. In a banknote discriminator in which a storage safe that stores and stacks banknotes and a pusher that stores the banknotes held in the transport passage by pushing them into the storage safe are disposed opposite to each other across the transport passage. In order to notify the storage state of the banknote in the storage safe via a predetermined notification means,
On the computer,
A procedure for calculating a current storage amount that is a current storage amount of banknotes in the storage safe;
The current storage amount is compared with a near full storage amount that is set in the vicinity of a full amount that is smaller by a predetermined amount than the full storage amount that is preset as a full amount in the storage safe, and the current storage amount is equal to or greater than the near full storage amount. When it becomes, the procedure of notifying that it is in a near-full state via the notification means,
The current storage amount is compared with the full storage amount, and when the current storage amount becomes equal to or greater than the full storage amount, the full storage state is different from the near full state via the notification means. A procedure for informing
A program for running

Images