JP2024176382A - Coin Processing Device - Google Patents

Abstract

To transport coins normally.
[Solution] The coin processing device 4 has a conveying surface 40S on which coins CN are placed, and is provided with a storage section conveying belt 40 which conveys the coins CN placed on the conveying surface 40S in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt, a left side conveying guide 48L which is arranged opposite to the storage section conveying belt 40 and has a left side conveying guide surface 48LS which regulates the movement of the coin CN in the conveying width direction Dw of the storage section conveying belt 40, a right side conveying guide 48R which has a right side conveying guide surface 48RS, and a protrusion member 59 which moves in a separation direction widening the gap with the right side conveying guide 48R when an external force of at least the amount of one coin CN is applied when the left side conveying guide 48L protrudes from the left side conveying guide surface 48LS of the left side conveying guide 48L toward the right side conveying guide 48R.
[Selection] Figure 18

Description

The present invention relates to a coin processing device, and is suitable for use in a currency handling device that handles currency (i.e. coins and banknotes).

Conventionally, in relatively large retail stores (such as supermarkets), cash registers serving as currency handling devices that handle banknotes and coins are installed at multiple checkout stations where customers make their payments. For example, some of these currency handling devices have a banknote handling device that processes banknotes and a coin handling device that processes coins.

The coin processing device includes a coin insertion section that dispenses inserted coins one by one into the coin processing device, a transport section that transports the coins, a recognition section that identifies the coin's denomination and authenticity, a coin storage section that stores coins by denomination, and a coin dispensing section to which coins to be returned or dispensed to the user are transported. This coin processing device stores coins that the recognition section recognizes as normal in the coin storage section by denomination, while transporting coins that it recognizes as abnormal to the coin dispensing section. The coin processing device also dispenses coins to be dispensed as change to the user from the coin storage section and transports them to the coin dispensing section (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-3047 A

In such a coin processing device, a conveyor belt, conveyor guides arranged opposite to each other on the conveyor belt and having guide surfaces that regulate the movement of coins in the width direction of the conveyor belt, and a reverse roller that separates coins placed on the conveyor belt one by one may be provided on the conveyor path along which coins are conveyed to the coin dispensing unit. In the coin processing device, an event may occur in which a coin continues to rotate in an upright position on the conveyor belt, in which case the coin cannot pass through the reverse roller and remains upstream of the reverse roller. In response to this, the coin processing device may be provided with a protruding member upstream of the reverse roller that abuts against the upright coin to break the position of the coin and cause it to fall onto the conveyor belt. However, in the case of such a coin processing device, for example, a coin that is thrown off by the reverse roller may get caught between the protruding member and the guide surface and be held without falling onto the conveyor belt, remaining upstream of the reverse roller, and the coin may not be conveyed normally.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above points, and aims to propose a coin processing device that can transport coins normally.

To solve this problem, the coin processing device of the present invention is provided with a conveyor belt having a conveying surface on which coins are placed and which conveys the coins placed on the conveying surface in a conveying direction, a first conveying guide and a second conveying guide which are arranged opposite each other on either side of the conveying belt and have guide surfaces which regulate the movement of coins in the width direction of the conveying belt, and a protruding member which moves in a separation direction to increase the distance from the second conveying guide when an external force of at least the size of one coin is applied to the first conveying guide protruding from the guide surface of the first conveying guide towards the second conveying guide.

The present invention can prevent coins from being held in a pinched state between the protruding member and the guide surface of the second transport guide.

The present invention makes it possible to prevent coins from being pinched and held between the protruding member and the guide surface of the second transport guide, thereby realizing a coin processing device that can transport coins normally.

1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a currency handling device. 1 shows the internal configuration (1) of a coin processing device, (A) being a front view and (B) being a right side view. FIG. 2B is a plan view showing the internal configuration (2) of the coin processing device, taken along the line AA in FIG. FIG. 2(B) is a plan view showing the internal configuration (3) of the coin processing device, taken along the line B-B in FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of the accommodation section dispensing tray transfer section. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration (1) of a horizontal metal dispensing transport section according to a first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 6, illustrating the configuration (2) of the horizontal metal dispensing transport section according to the first embodiment. 13 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a protrusion member in a state in which the left transport guide is not shown. FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D in FIG. 6, illustrating the configuration (3) of the horizontal metal dispensing transport section according to the first embodiment. 1 is a plan view showing a state (1) in which a protruding member according to a first embodiment is bent in a separating direction; FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 10, illustrating a state (2) in which the protruding member according to the first embodiment is bent in the separating direction. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 6, showing a coin in a tilted state. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which a storage section transport belt is driven in a reverse transport direction in the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a state in which the storage section transport belt is driven in the horizontal bank-dispensing transport direction after being driven in the reverse transport direction in the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D in FIG. 14, showing how a coin falls in the first embodiment. 1 is a plan view showing a state (1) in which a coin is thrown off by the reverse roller and sandwiched between the protrusion and the right-side conveying guide surface in the first embodiment. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 16, showing a state (2) in which the coin is thrown off by the reverse roller and sandwiched between the protrusion and the right-side conveying guide surface in the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state (1) in which a protrusion that a coin abuts against moves in a separating direction in the first embodiment. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 18, showing how the protrusion against which the coin is in contact moves in the separating direction (2) in the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a configuration of a horizontal metal dispensing transport unit according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a configuration of a horizontal metal dispensing transport unit according to a third embodiment.

Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.
1. First embodiment
[1-1. Overall configuration of the currency handling device]
As shown in Fig. 1, the currency handling device 1 is generally formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and is broadly composed of a banknote handling device 2 that handles banknotes, a coin handling device 4 that handles coins, a display operation unit 11, and a receipt printer 12. The banknote handling device 2 and the coin handling device 4 are housed in a hollow rectangular parallelepiped housing 6. This currency handling device 1 is operated by a cashier at a checkout counter (a so-called cash register) of a retail store such as a supermarket or a convenience store when a customer checks out products that he or she wishes to purchase. In the following description, the side of the currency handling device 1 that a user faces is defined as the front side, the opposite side as the rear side, and the left and right sides as viewed from the user facing the front side are defined as the left side and the right side, respectively, with the upper side and lower side being further defined.

The control unit 8 is provided inside the housing 6 and has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. (not shown), and performs various processes by executing predetermined programs read from the ROM etc. by the CPU, thereby providing overall control of the currency handling device 1.

The banknote processing device 2 takes in banknotes inserted by the user through the banknote deposit port 9 and stores them in an internal banknote storage vault (not shown), and also pays out banknotes from the banknote storage vault as instructed by the control unit 8 and dispenses them as change from the banknote withdrawal port 10.

The coin processing device 4 takes in coins inserted by a user from the coin insertion port 14A and stores them in the internal coin storage unit 30 (coin storage units 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, 30E, and 30F) (Figure 3), and also pays out coins instructed by the control unit 8 from the coin storage unit 30 and dispenses them as change from the coin dispensing tray 28. Incidentally, like general coins, coins are made of metals such as nickel, copper, and aluminum, or alloys or combinations of these, and are formed into thin plates. In the following, the thickest coin among the coins handled by the coin processing device 4 will be referred to as the thickest coin, the thinnest coin, the coin with the largest diameter will be referred to as the largest diameter coin, and the coin with the smallest diameter will be referred to as the smallest diameter coin. This coin processing device 4 handles Japanese coins, for example, so the maximum diameter coin is a 500 yen coin and the minimum diameter coin is a 1 yen coin.

The display operation unit 11 is configured as a so-called touch panel, in which a touch sensor is combined with the surface of a display panel with a display function, such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel. Based on the control of the control unit 8, the display operation unit 11 displays various display screens such as the name and price of recognized products, and also accepts touch operations by the user and notifies the control unit 8. In response, the control unit 8 increases or decreases the quantity of products, corrects the price, etc.

The receipt printer 12 has a similar configuration to a typical thermal printer, for example, and includes a holder that holds a roll of thermal paper, a transport mechanism that transports the thermal paper pulled out from the roll, and a thermal head that uses heat to print characters, figures, etc. on the thermal paper. The receipt printer 12 prints the name and price of the recognized product on a receipt and ejects it.

[1-2. Configuration of coin processing device]
As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the coin processing device 4 is composed mainly of a box-shaped housing 6, and performs cash-related transactions such as deposit processing, withdrawal processing, etc. with users. For convenience of drawing, Figure 2 is drawn in a schematic manner with appropriate omission of the internal configuration of the housing 6, such as members such as a transport guide that guides while regulating the movement range of the coins, and also shows a schematic diagram of the coin transport path.

The coin deposit section 14 is located near the front end of the top surface of the housing 6 and is the section that receives coins inserted by the user. This coin deposit section 14 has a coin insertion opening 14A located on the upper side through which coins are inserted, and a coin dispensing section 14B located below that dispenses the coins. The coin insertion opening 14A is configured in a mortar shape that is wide on the top and narrow on the bottom, and has a wide opening to make it easy to insert coins all at once. Coins inserted into the coin insertion opening 14A fall into the coin dispensing section 14B.

The coin payout unit 14B is located below the coin deposit unit 14, and has a rotating disk inside it. The coin payout unit 14B uses centrifugal force as the rotating disk rotates to move coins toward the outer periphery, separates and pays out the coins one by one, and delivers the coins to the coin sending unit 15. The coin sending unit 15 has rollers facing each other above and below, and when it receives coins from the coin payout unit 14B, it rotates the rollers at a predetermined timing and delivers the coins sequentially to the pin belt 38 of the deposit transport unit 17. The pin belt 38 transports the coins to the coin validation unit 16 via the deformed coin detection unit 23.

The deposit transport section 17 is disposed above the coin storage section 30 behind the coin delivery section 15. The deposit transport section 17 is composed of a transport guide 36 with a flat upper surface formed above the coin storage section 30, a plurality of pulleys (not shown) disposed above the transport guide 36, and a pin belt 38 stretched around the pulley. The pin belt 38 is made of a flexible material, and is configured such that an endless belt 38B having a predetermined length (i.e. width) in the vertical direction is provided with pins 38P at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction of the endless belt 38B, which is perpendicular to the upper surface of the transport guide 36. The pin belt 38 travels at a predetermined running speed in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 in accordance with the rotation of the pulley, thereby bringing the pins 38P into contact with the coins, and transporting the coins along the transport guide 36 as the pin belt 38 travels.

The deformed coin detection unit 23 is located downstream of the deformed reject hole 45 (described later) and has various sensors (not shown) that recognize the characteristics of the coin, such as an image sensor or a magnetic sensor. This deformed coin detection unit 23 recognizes the characteristics of the coin dispensed from the coin delivery unit 15, detects whether the coin is deformed based on these characteristics, and notifies the control unit 8 (Figure 1) of the detection result. At this time, the control unit 8 determines the destination of the coin.

The coin validator 16 has various sensors (not shown), such as an image sensor or a magnetic sensor, that recognize the characteristics of the coin. This coin validator 16 recognizes the characteristics of the coin dispensed from the coin dispenser 15, and uses these characteristics to determine whether the coin is genuine, counterfeit, denomination, and fitness, and notifies the control unit 8 (Figure 1) of the obtained validation results. At this time, the control unit 8 determines the destination of the coin.

In the deposit transport section 17, the transport path along which the coins are transported in the transport guide 36 is formed generally horizontally, and along this transport path, the deformed reject hole 45, the reject hole 18, and six receiving holes 19 (receiving holes 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D, 19E, and 19F) are provided. Note that FIG. 2 shows only three receiving holes 19B, 19D, and 19F, which are a part of the six receiving holes 19 provided on the right side. The deformed reject hole 45 is a part that selects, for example, in a deposit transaction, coins that are distorted or bent (hereinafter also referred to as deformed coins) based on the detection result by the deformed coin detection section 23. The reject hole 18 is a part that selects, for example, in a deposit transaction, coins that are identified as not genuine based on the coin identification result by the coin identification section 16, or foreign objects such as coins of other countries that are not handled or medals of amusement facilities (hereinafter also referred to as rejected coins). Each receiving hole 19 is a section for sorting coins that have been identified as genuine (hereinafter also referred to as genuine coins) by denomination, and each is assigned to six different denominations: 500 yen, 100 yen, 50 yen, 10 yen, 5 yen, and 1 yen.

The deformed reject hole 45 is provided with a deformed reject gate 46 that opens and closes based on the control of the control unit 8. When the deformed reject hole 45 is closed, the deformed reject gate 46 allows the coin to proceed along the deposit transport section 17, while when the deformed reject hole 45 is open, the coin is dropped and discharged. The reject hole 18 is provided with a reject gate 32 that opens and closes based on the control of the control unit 8. When the reject hole 18 is closed, the reject gate 32 allows the coin to proceed along the deposit transport section 17, while when the reject hole 18 is open, the coin is dropped and discharged. Each receiving hole 19 (receiving holes 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D, 19E, and 19F) is provided with a denomination-specific gate 34 (denomination-specific gates 34A, 34B, 34C, 34D, 34E, and 34F) similar to the reject hole 18.

With this configuration, the deposit transport unit 17 transports the coins received from the coin sending unit 15 along the transport path, and sorts the coins based on the control of the control unit 8. Specifically, when a deformed coin is detected by the deformed coin detection unit 23, the deposit transport unit 17 reverses the transport direction to transport the deformed coin back to the deformed reject hole 45, and drops and discharges it from the deformed reject hole 45. In addition, the deposit transport unit 17 drops and discharges rejected coins that have been identified as not genuine through the reject hole 18, while dropping and discharges genuine coins that have been identified as genuine through the receiving hole 19 corresponding to their denomination.

Below the deformed reject hole 45, there is a deformed reject chute 47 that guides the ejected deformed coin downward while proceeding. The deformed reject chute 47 is located vertically above the protruding member 59 (described later) shown in Figures 6 and 7. Below the reject hole 18, there is a reject chute 20 that guides the ejected rejected coin downward while proceeding. Meanwhile, below each receiving hole 19 (receiving holes 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D, 19E, and 19F), there is a denomination-specific chute 21 (denomination-specific chutes 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E, and 21F) that guides the ejected coin (genuine coin) downward while proceeding. Below each denomination-specific chute 21 (denomination-specific chutes 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E, and 21F), six coin storage sections 30 (coin storage sections 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, 30E, and 30F) are provided. Like each receiving hole 19, each coin storage section 30 is assigned a denomination. Hereinafter, coin storage sections 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, 30E, and 30F are collectively referred to as coin storage sections 30.

The coin storage unit 30 has a hollow, three-dimensional shape that is a specified polygon when viewed from the front and a rectangle when viewed from the right, and has an opening at the top. Therefore, each coin storage unit 30 stores coins of a certain denomination that fall from the denomination-specific chute 21 (Figure 3) into the internal storage space from its opening while maintaining the coins sorted by denomination. The coin storage unit 30 is also provided with a release mechanism that releases coins one by one from the storage space into the horizontal withdrawal transport unit 22 (described later).

As shown in FIG. 4, the horizontal dispensing conveying section 22 is provided below the reject chute 20, between the coin storage sections 30A, 30C, and 30E and the coin storage sections 30B, 30D, and 30F. The horizontal dispensing conveying section 22 is disposed in a range extending from the rear ends of the coin storage sections 30A and 30B to the lift conveying section 26 in the front-rear direction. The horizontal dispensing conveying section 22 is composed of a pulley 42 having a rotation axis along the left-right direction and disposed at the front-rear end, and a storage section conveying belt 40, which is an endless belt stretched around the pulley 42 so as to extend in the front-rear direction along the approximately horizontal direction.

Based on the control of the control unit 8, the horizontal dispensing conveying unit 22 rotates the pulley 42 counterclockwise in FIG. 2(B). Therefore, the horizontal dispensing conveying unit 22 moves the surface of the outer circumferential surface of the storage unit conveying belt 40 that contacts the coins (i.e., the upper surface (hereinafter also referred to as the conveying surface 40S)) in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt, which is the forward direction toward the lift conveying unit 26. This horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt is a direction along the front-rear direction (depth direction) of the coin processing device 4. Hereinafter, the thickness direction (up-down direction) along the thickness of the coin in a state where the plate surface is in contact with the conveying surface 40S of the storage unit conveying belt 40 of the horizontal dispensing conveying unit 22, and the left-right direction perpendicular to the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt, are also referred to as the conveying width direction Dw.

A reverse roller 44 is disposed on the horizontal dispensing conveying section 22 on the side of the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt from the coin storage section 30, the reject chute 20, and the modified reject chute 47. The reverse roller 44, which acts as a separation roller, is disposed above the storage section conveying belt 40 so that its lower end leaves a gap slightly wider than the thickness of one of the thickest coins between it and the conveying surface 40S of the storage section conveying belt 40. This reverse roller 44 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 7 so that the rotation direction of the lower part that faces the storage section conveying belt 40 in the vertical direction is opposite to the moving direction of the conveying surface 40S of the storage section conveying belt 40 (i.e., the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt).

As shown in FIG. 2, a collection box 24 is provided below the front end of the horizontal dispensing transport section 22. The collection box 24 is a rectangular parallelepiped with an open top, and stores rejected coins, deformed coins, and coins dispensed from the coin storage section 30 during the collection process.

The lift conveying section 26 is provided on the upper side near the front end of the horizontal dispensing conveying section 22. The lift conveying section 26 is mainly composed of a lift conveying section 26R provided on the right side and a lift conveying section 26L provided on the left side. The lift conveying sections 26R and 26L are each composed of a belt and a pulley around which the belt is stretched and disposed at the inflection point of the moving direction of the belt. The pulley is formed in a cylindrical shape with a central axis along the front-rear direction and can rotate around the central axis. The belt is an endless belt having a predetermined length (i.e. width) in the front-rear direction and is stretched around the pulley so as to extend in the up-down direction as a whole. In this configuration, the lift conveying section 26 sandwiches coins between the belt of the lift conveying section 26R and the belt of the lift conveying section 26L and conveys them upward to the coin dispensing tray 28 or the storage section 90 (details will be described later).

The coin dispensing tray 28, which serves as the coin dispensing section, is provided on the front side of the housing 6, above the storage section conveyor belt 40, has an open top, and is positioned so that the user can access it from the front. The coin dispensing tray 28 stores coins of a denomination and number corresponding to the amount of change that is conveyed from the lift conveyor section 26.

In addition, a movable direction switching unit 50 is provided on the horizontal withdrawal transport section 22 (Figure 3) closer to the horizontal withdrawal transport direction Dt than the reverse roller 44. In the case of a withdrawal process or a reconciliation process, the movable direction switching unit 50 is in a withdrawal reconciliation switching state, and conveys the coin in the horizontal withdrawal transport direction Dt without changing the direction of travel, and switches the destination of the coin to the direction switching unit 54. On the other hand, in the case of a collection process, the movable direction switching unit 50 is in a collection switching state, and changes the direction of travel of the coin conveyed in the horizontal withdrawal transport direction Dt by 90° to the left by the storage section transport belt 40, and switches the destination of the coin to the collection storehouse 24.

A direction switching unit 54 is provided in the horizontal dispensing transport section 22 on the horizontal dispensing transport direction Dt side of the movable direction switching unit 50 in a fixed state so as not to move. The direction switching unit 54 switches the traveling direction of the coin transported by the storage unit transport belt 40 in the horizontal dispensing transport direction Dt to the left by 90°, and delivers the coin to the lift transport section 26.

The lift conveying unit 26 clamps the coin between the first conveying belt 66 of the lift conveying unit 26R and the second conveying belt 70 of the lift conveying unit 26L, and conveys the coin upward to the coin dispensing tray 28 or storage unit 90 (described later) by running the first conveying belt 66 and the second conveying belt 70.

[1-3. Configuration of the storage section dispensing tray delivery section]
5 shows the storage unit dispensing tray delivery unit 72, which is a location for delivering coins from the upper part of the lift transport unit 26 to the coin dispensing tray 28 or the storage unit 90. Note that Fig. 5 shows the reconciliation switching state (described later). The dispensing switching state (described later) is not shown.

The lower final pulley 74 is part of the lift conveying section 26R and is positioned near the left side of the storage section 90 so that its upper end is higher than the lower end of the storage section 90.

The large driven pulley 76 is part of the lift transport section 26R, has a diameter approximately twice that of the lower final pulley 74, and is disposed to the left of the lower final pulley 74 with a gap between it and the lower final pulley 74 in the left-right direction so that the coin dispensing tray 28 is sandwiched between the large driven pulley 76 and the lower final pulley 74. The large driven pulley 76 is also disposed so that its upper end is at approximately the same vertical position as the upper end of the lower final pulley 74.

A first conveyor belt 66 is stretched around each pulley in the lift conveyor section 26R, including the lower final pulley 74 and the large driven pulley 76. Between the lower final pulley 74 and the large driven pulley 76, the surface of the first conveyor belt 66 extends almost horizontally to the right from the upper end of the large driven pulley 76 to near the upper end of the storage section 90. In addition, between the lower final pulley 74 and the large driven pulley 76, the surface of the first conveyor belt 66 is in a state where friction is applied to the coins.

The upper final pulley 78 is part of the lift transport section 26L and has a diameter approximately equal to that of the lower final pulley 74. Its lower end is located above the upper end of the large driven pulley 76 and is positioned between the large driven pulley 76 and the coin dispensing tray 28 in the left-right direction.

A second conveyor belt 70 is stretched around each pulley in the lift conveyor section 26L, including the upper final pulley 78. Between the upper final pulley 78 and the large driven pulley 76, the surface of the second conveyor belt 70 extends upward to the right from the upper end of the large driven pulley 76 to the lower end of the upper final pulley 78. In addition, between the upper final pulley 78 and the large driven pulley 76, the surface of the second conveyor belt 70 is in a state where friction is applied to the coins.

A release suppression guide 80 is provided above the first conveyor belt 66 to the right of the upper final pulley 78. The release suppression guide 80 is a thin plate-like member arranged to the left, with its left end fitting into a groove formed in the outer circumferential surface of the upper final pulley 78. When a coin released from the large driven pulley 76 flies out to a portion where there is no upper final pulley 78 (i.e., the second conveyor belt 70), this release suppression guide 80 abuts against the coin and restricts its upward movement, thereby preventing the coin from flying out from the first conveyor belt 66 and becoming jammed, and controlling the behavior of the coin.

A movable direction switch 82 is provided above the coin dispensing tray 28 on the first conveyor belt 66. During the reconciliation process, the movable direction switch 82 is in the reconciliation switching state (FIG. 5), where the coin is conveyed to the right without changing its direction of movement, and the destination of the coin is switched to the storage section 90. During the dispensing process, the movable direction switch 82 is in the dispensing switching state, where the direction of movement of the coin conveyed to the right on the first conveyor belt 66 is changed 90° forward, and the destination is switched to the coin dispensing tray 28.

A counting sensor 84 is provided on the path from the movable direction switching unit 82 to the coin dispensing tray 28. A counting sensor 86 is provided between the movable direction switching unit 82 and the storage unit 90. The counting sensors 84 and 86 are, for example, optical sensors that detect coins that block the detection light and send the detection results to the control unit 8. Based on the detection results obtained from the counting sensors 84 and 86, the control unit 8 compares the number of coins dispensed from the coin storage unit 30 with the number of coins transported to the coin dispensing tray 28 and the storage unit 90, and determines the number of coins transported to the coin dispensing tray 28 and the storage unit 90.

The storage section 90 is provided between the coin insertion opening 14A and the coin dispensing section 14B (Figure 2). Therefore, coins transported to the storage section 90 are stored in the storage section 90 and then dropped into the coin dispensing section 14B.

[1-4. Configuration of the transport guide]
6, a left conveying guide 48L is provided on the left side of the storage section conveying belt 40. The left conveying guide 48L runs along the storage section conveying belt 40 in a vertical range including the upper side of the conveying surface 40S of the storage section conveying belt 40 at a horizontal position very close to the left end of the storage section conveying belt 40. The left conveying guide 48L restricts the leftward movement of a coin conveyed on the storage section conveying belt 40 by abutting the left conveying guide surface 48LS, which is its right side surface, against the coin.

A right-side conveying guide 48R is provided on the right side of the storage section conveying belt 40 so as to face the left-side conveying guide 48L in the left-side direction. The right-side conveying guide 48R runs along the storage section conveying belt 40 in a vertical range including the upper side of the conveying surface 40S of the storage section conveying belt 40 at a position in the left-side direction very close to the right end of the storage section conveying belt 40. This right-side conveying guide 48R restricts the rightward movement of coins conveyed on the storage section conveying belt 40 by abutting the right-side conveying guide surface 48RS, which is its left side surface, against the coins.

In this way, the left conveying guide 48L and the right conveying guide 48R are formed along the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt so as to sandwich the storage section conveying belt 40 from the outside in the conveying width direction Dw. A conveying space 56 in which coins are conveyed by the storage section conveying belt 40 is formed in the space in which the movement of coins in the conveying width direction Dw is restricted by the left conveying guide 48L and the right conveying guide 48R. The guide surface spacing d6, which is the distance in the conveying width direction Dw between the left conveying guide surface 48LS and the right conveying guide surface 48RS, is set to a spacing that is several mm larger than the diameter of the maximum diameter coin and several mm smaller than twice the diameter of the minimum diameter coin.

[1-5. Configuration of the wheel tilt release unit]
The horizontal bank-dispensing transport section 22 is provided with a tilt wheel release section 58. The tilt wheel release section 58 is composed of a protruding member 59, a locking section 62, a guide member 64, and an upright position detection sensor 65.

[1-5-1. Configuration of protruding member]
A protruding member 59 is disposed on the reverse conveying direction side (rear side) of the horizontal bank dispensing conveying direction Dt, which is the opposite direction of the horizontal bank dispensing conveying direction Dt, of the reverse roller 44 in the horizontal bank dispensing conveying section 22. As shown in Fig. 8, each of the protruding members 59 has a protruding portion 61 formed on a lower portion and a biasing portion 60 formed on an upper portion.

The protrusion 61 is formed with a base 61M, a rear inclined portion 61B, a front inclined portion 61F, and an upper inclined portion 61U. The base 61M is a roughly square plate-like member that is thin in the left-right direction and extends in the front-rear and up-down directions.

The rear inclined portion 61B is a roughly triangular plate-like member that is thin in the vertical direction and extends horizontally, and protrudes to the right from the rear part at the lower end of the base 61M. A rear inclined surface 61BS is formed on the right side surface of the rear inclined portion 61B, which is a flat surface that inclines toward the horizontal dispensing transport direction Dt (front side) with respect to the transport width direction Dw as it approaches the right transport guide 48R (right side).

The front inclined portion 61F is a roughly triangular plate-like member that is thin in the vertical direction and extends horizontally, and protrudes to the right from the front part at the lower end of the base 61M. A front inclined surface 61FS is formed on the right side surface of the front inclined portion 61F, which is a flat surface that inclines toward the reverse conveying direction (rearward) with respect to the conveying width direction Dw as it approaches the right conveying guide 48R (right side).

The upper inclined portion 61U is a roughly triangular plate-like member that is thin in the front-to-rear direction and extends in the up-down and left-right directions, protruding to the right from the upper side of the rear inclined portion 61B and the front inclined portion 61F at the center of the front-to-rear direction of the base 61M. On the right side of the upper inclined portion 61U, an upper inclined surface 61US is formed, which is a flat surface that inclines from the horizontal direction toward the storage section conveyor belt 40 (downward) as it approaches the right conveyor guide 48R (right side).

6 and 7, the protrusion member 59 has the biasing portion 60 and base 61M positioned to the left of the left transport guide 48L. With the right side surface of the base 61M in contact with the left side surface of the left transport guide 48L, the protrusion member 59 has the rear inclined portion 61B, front inclined portion 61F and upper inclined portion 61U protruding toward the right transport guide 48R beyond the left transport guide surface 48LS through the protrusion hole 48H1, which has a shape like a capital letter "T" rotated 180° in a side view and penetrates the left transport guide 48L in the left-right direction.

The biasing portion 60 (Fig. 8) is a flat, approximately triangular, metal leaf spring-like member that is thin in the left-right direction (plate thickness) and extends in the front-rear and up-down directions, with its lower end connected to the base 61M. The biasing portion 60 is fixed to the left transport guide 48L (Figs. 6 and 7) by, for example, screwing an attachment hole 60H, which is a hole drilled near the upper end, into the left side surface of the left transport guide 48L. The biasing portion 60 biases the protrusion 61 to the right along the transport width direction Dw, toward the right transport guide 48R.

A locking portion 62 is fixed near the protruding member 59 on the left side surface of the left transport guide 48L. The locking portion 62 is shaped like the English capital letter "L" in a plan view, and its plane that faces to the right along the front-to-back and up-to-down directions is positioned with a gap in the left-to-right direction from the protruding member 59 in its natural state when no external force is applied.

In this configuration, as shown in Figures 6, 7 and 9, in a natural state (hereinafter also referred to as a protruding state) where no external force is applied, the protruding member 59 is in a state that is substantially aligned in the vertical direction, causing the rear inclined portion 61B, the front inclined portion 61F and the upper inclined portion 61U to protrude toward the right transport guide 48R beyond the left transport guide surface 48LS. At this time, the biasing force of the biasing portion 60 is substantially not applied.

On the other hand, the protrusion member 59 has a biasing portion 60 that has a predetermined elastic force, and as shown in Figures 10 and 11, when a force greater than the predetermined elastic force is applied to at least one of the rear inclined portion 61B, the front inclined portion 61F, or the upper inclined portion 61U in a leftward direction from the outside (more specifically, from the conveying space 56 side), the biasing portion 60 bends so as to deform leftward with the mounting hole portion 60H (Figure 8) as a fulcrum so that the protrusion portion 61 moves leftward. The protrusion portion 61 moves leftward together with the lower end of the biasing portion 60 as the separation direction and enters a retracted state. Furthermore, when the protrusion portion 61 abuts against the locking portion 62, its movement leftward is restricted. The vertical length, front-rear width, and plate thickness of the urging portion 60 are set so that the urging force of the urging portion 60 is, for example, at least 1 time and no more than 5 times (approximately 0.005 [N] to 0.035 [N]) the weight of a 100 yen coin when the protrusion 61 is in contact with the locking portion 62. The left-right position of the locking portion 62 is set so that the right end of the protrusion 61 is in contact with the protrusion member 59 when it is positioned to the right of the left conveying guide surface 48LS, i.e., when the right end of the protrusion 61 does not enter the protrusion hole 48H1.

Here, in the natural state, the protrusion member 59 is arranged so that the front-rear distance between the rear end of the protrusion 61 on the left transport guide surface 48LS and the guide member 64 is a protrusion guide member distance d1, which is a gap wider than the diameter of the maximum diameter coin (e.g., 26.5 mm). The protrusion member 59 is also arranged so that the lower end of the protrusion 61 is arranged to leave a conveying surface protrusion distance d2, which is a gap narrower than the diameter of the minimum diameter coin (e.g., 20 mm) between the conveying surface 40S of the storage section conveying belt 40 (specifically, about half the diameter of the minimum diameter coin). Furthermore, the protrusion member 59 has a protrusion protrusion amount d7, which is the amount of protrusion in the left-right direction by which the right end of the protrusion 61 protrudes to the right from the left transport guide surface 48LS, set to a dimension approximately equal to the conveying surface protrusion distance d2.

[1-5-2. Configuration of the induction member]
A guide member 64 is disposed on the reverse conveying direction side (rear side) of the protrusion member 59 in the horizontal coin dispensing conveying section 22. The guide member 64 is a member extending in a straight line from the left conveying guide 48L to the right conveying guide 48R. The guide member 64 is disposed above the storage section conveying belt 40 such that a lower end of the guide member 64 is spaced from the conveying surface 40S of the storage section conveying belt 40 by a conveying surface guide member distance d3 which is a gap slightly narrower than the diameter of the smallest diameter coin (e.g., 20 mm).

In a plan view, the guide member 64 is inclined rearward with respect to the transport width direction Dw as it moves leftward from the right transport guide 48R to the left transport guide 48L. That is, the guide member 64 is inclined with respect to the transport width direction Dw so that the end of the guide member 64 on the left transport guide 48L side is located on the reverse transport direction side (rear side) with respect to the end of the guide member 64 on the right transport guide 48R side. Therefore, the distance between the guide member 64 and the protrusion member 59 in the horizontal bank transfer direction Dt becomes wider as it moves from the right transport guide 48R to the left transport guide 48L. The inclination angle Θ1 of the guide member 64 with respect to the horizontal bank transfer direction Dt is set to, for example, 70° or less.

[1-5-3. Configuration of standing position detection sensor]
A standing position detection sensor 65 is disposed between the protruding member 59 and the reverse roller 44 in the front-rear direction in the horizontal dispensing conveying section 22, closer to the reverse roller 44. The standing position detection sensor 65 is, for example, an optical sensor, and is disposed on the left side of the left conveying guide 48L at a position where the detection light emitted by the standing position detection sensor 65 passes through a sensor hole 48H2 penetrating the left conveying guide 48L in the left-right direction. The height of the detection light emitted by the standing position detection sensor 65 in the vertical direction from the conveying surface 40S is set to be equal to or less than the diameter of the smallest diameter coin and equal to or more than the total thickness of a plurality of coins (for example, three coins). The standing position detection sensor 65 detects coins that block the detection light and sends the detection result to the control unit 8. The control unit 8 detects coins that are in an upright state (i.e., tilted state) on the storage section conveying belt 40 based on the detection result obtained from the standing position detection sensor 65.

[1-6. Operation]
In this configuration, when the coin processing device 4 performs a storage process to store coins inserted by a user in the coin storage unit 30, it performs a dispensing process in which it drops deformed coins from the deformed reject chute 47 and rejected coins from the reject chute 20 onto the horizontal dispensing transport unit 22, transports them via the storage unit transport belt 40 to the coin dispensing tray 28, and returns them to the user. On the other hand, when dispensing coins as change, the coin processing device 4 performs a change dispensing process in which it pays out coins from the coin storage unit 30, transports them via the storage unit transport belt 40 to the coin dispensing tray 28, and hands over the coins to the user as change.

The horizontal withdrawal conveying section 22 conveys the coins in the horizontal withdrawal conveying direction Dt, which is the forward direction, by the storage section conveying belt 40. At this time, depending on the number of coins discharged and the timing, the coins may overlap. The reverse roller 44 rotates to drop the coins overlapping on top of each other onto the storage section conveying belt 40, separating the coins one by one.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, one coin CN1 with its face abutting against the conveying surface 40S of the storage section conveying belt 40 passes under the reverse roller 44 in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt. Meanwhile, coin CN3 overlaps with coin CN2 so as to be placed on top of one coin CN2 with its face abutting against the conveying surface 40S of the storage section conveying belt 40, and falls from coin CN2 to the conveying surface 40S by contacting the reverse roller 44. Next, coin CN2 and coin CN3 pass under the reverse roller 44 one by one in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt.

On the other hand, coin CN4 is in an upright position with its peripheral side surface in contact with the conveying surface 40S. Here, directly below the deformed reject chute 47, there is a space high enough for a coin with a diameter of about 20 mm to stand up on the storage section conveying belt 40. For this reason, a coin that has fallen down the deformed reject chute 47 may rotate in an upright position leaning against the left conveying guide surface 48LS or the right conveying guide surface 48RS, as in coin CN4, due to an irregular behavior during conveying, such as a collision when it falls or jumps, or jumping. In addition, not only coins that have fallen from the deformed reject chute 47, but also coins that have fallen down the reject chute 20 and coins that have been discharged from the coin storage section 30 may rotate in an upright position, as in coin CN4, due to an irregular behavior during conveying, such as a collision when it falls or is discharged, or jumping. In the following, even if the storage section conveyor belt 40 advances in the horizontal dispensing conveyor direction Dt, a coin in an upright position leaning against the left conveyor guide surface 48LS or the right conveyor guide surface 48RS rotates clockwise in FIG. 12 so that the rotation direction of the lower part faces the horizontal dispensing conveyor direction Dt, and the coin remains in place without moving in the horizontal dispensing conveyor direction Dt. This state is also referred to as a tilted wheel state.

Even if coin CN4 in this upright position on the storage section conveyor belt 40 is gradually conveyed to the reverse roller 44, it will come into contact with the reverse roller 44, which rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 12, and will continue to rotate clockwise in the upright position, maintaining its tilted state. Therefore, it will not be able to pass under the reverse roller 44 in the horizontal withdrawal conveying direction Dt, and will remain on the reverse conveying direction side relative to the reverse roller 44.

In this way, in the storage process and change dispensing process, if a coin to be returned or dispensed does not reach the coin dispensing tray 28, the coin may remain in an upright position on the storage section conveying belt 40 upstream of the reverse roller 44. Therefore, when a coin to be returned or dispensed does not reach the coin dispensing tray 28, the control unit 8 controls the operation of the storage section conveying belt 40 to collapse the position of the coin that is in an upright position on the storage section conveying belt 40. Below, a method for determining whether a coin to be returned or dispensed has reached the coin dispensing tray 28 and a coin position collapse control that is a control for collapsing the position of a coin that is in an upright position are described.

[1-6-1. Determining whether coins have reached the coin dispensing tray]
In the storage process, the control unit 8 judges whether or not the number of coins that have reached the coin dispensing tray 28 from a predetermined time point until a judgment timing after a certain time has elapsed has reached the total number of coins to be returned, based on the detection result obtained from the counting sensor 84 (FIG. 5). Here, the predetermined time point is, for example, the time point when a coin was last dispensed from the coin dispensing unit 14B, the time point when a coin last fell from the reject chute 20 or the modified reject chute 47, the time point when the arrival of a coin at the coin dispensing tray 28 was last detected, and the like. As described above, the coins to be returned are the deformed coins that have fallen from the modified reject chute 47 and the rejected coins that have fallen from the reject chute 20. At this time, when the number of coins that have reached the coin dispensing tray 28 has reached the total number of coins to be returned, the control unit 8 judges that all of the coins to be returned have reached the coin dispensing tray 28. On the other hand, if the number of coins that have reached the coin withdrawal tray 28 by the judgment timing after a certain amount of time has elapsed from a specified point in time does not reach the total number of coins to be returned, the control unit 8 determines that all of the coins to be returned have not reached the coin withdrawal tray 28.

On the other hand, in the change dispensing process, the control unit 8 judges, for example, based on the detection result obtained from the counting sensor 84 (FIG. 5), whether the number of coins that have reached the coin dispensing tray 28 by the judgment timing after a certain time has elapsed since the last coin was dispensed from the coin storage unit 30 reaches the total number of coins to be dispensed. As described above, the coins to be dispensed are coins dispensed from the coin storage unit 30. At this time, if the number of coins that have reached the coin dispensing tray 28 reaches the total number of coins to be dispensed, the control unit 8 judges that all of the coins to be dispensed have reached the coin dispensing tray 28. On the other hand, if the number of coins that have reached the coin dispensing tray 28 by the judgment timing does not reach the total number of coins to be dispensed, the control unit 8 judges that all of the coins to be dispensed have not reached the coin dispensing tray 28.

[1-6-2. Coin posture collapse control]
When the control unit 8 determines that a coin to be returned or dispensed has not reached the coin dispensing tray 28, it controls the operation of the storage unit conveying belt 40 to break the posture of the coin that is upright on the storage unit conveying belt 40. For example, the control unit 8 stops the storage unit conveying belt 40 that has been driven in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt, drives the storage unit conveying belt 40 in the reverse conveying direction, and then drives the storage unit conveying belt 40 again in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt.

13, when there is a coin CN in an upright position on the storage section conveyor belt 40, the coin CN cannot pass through the reverse roller 44 and remains at position P1, which is upstream of the reverse roller 44 (reverse conveying direction side). The coin CN at this position P1 abuts against, for example, the reverse roller 44 and the right conveying guide surface 48RS. When the control unit 8 subsequently drives the storage section conveyor belt 40 in the reverse conveying direction, the coin CN is conveyed in the reverse conveying direction and abuts against the guide member 64 at position P2. The coin CN at this position P2 abuts against, for example, the guide member 64 and the right conveying guide surface 48RS. When the control unit 8 subsequently drives the storage section conveyor belt 40 in the reverse conveying direction, the coin CN moves toward the left conveying guide 48L along the inclination of the guide member 64 with respect to the conveying width direction Dw, as in position P3, and abuts against the left conveying guide surface 48LS of the left conveying guide 48L at position P4. As described above, in the natural state, the protrusion member 59 is arranged to leave a protrusion guide member distance d1 between it and the guide member 64, which is a gap wider than the diameter of the largest diameter coin. Therefore, when performing coin posture collapse control, the coin processing device 4 can cause the upright coin CN to enter position P4 between the protrusion 61 and the guide member 64.

Here, the distance in the front-rear direction between the rear end of the reverse roller 44 on the left conveying guide surface 48LS and the guide member 64 is the reverse roller guide member distance d4, and the distance obtained by subtracting the diameter of the smallest diameter coin from the reverse roller guide member distance d4 is the reverse roller guide member distance minimum diameter coin diameter difference d5. The control unit 8 drives the storage unit conveying belt 40 in the reverse conveying direction so that the storage unit conveying belt 40 conveys the coin CN in the reverse conveying direction to a distance equal to or greater than the reverse roller guide member distance minimum diameter coin diameter difference d5, and further conveys the coin CN at position P2 to position P4. As a result, the control unit 8 can convey the coin CN to position P4 even if the coin CN is located at position P1, where it is necessary to drive the storage unit conveying belt 40 in the reverse conveying direction for the longest time until the coin CN reaches position P4.

After that, when the control unit 8 drives the storage section conveyor belt 40 again in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt, as shown in FIG. 14, the coin CN moves from position P4 in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt and comes into contact with the protrusion 61 of the protrusion member 59.

Here, as shown in Fig. 15, the projection protrusion amount d7 is set to a dimension at least equal to the transport surface projection interval d2. In addition, the projection 61 is formed with a rear inclined surface 61BS (Fig. 14) which is a plane that inclines toward the horizontal dispensing transport direction Dt (front side) with respect to the transport width direction Dw as it approaches the right transport guide 48R side (right side). Therefore, as shown in Figs. 14 and 15, while moving in the horizontal dispensing transport direction Dt, the coin CN moves while inclining toward the right transport guide surface 48RS along the rear inclined surface 61BS of the projection 61, so that the angle Θ2 between the plate surface of the coin CN and the transport surface 40S becomes 45° or less as shown in position P5, causing the coin to lose its posture and fall onto the storage section transport belt 40 as shown in position P6. When the control unit 8 subsequently drives the storage unit conveyor belt 40 in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt, the coin CN is conveyed in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt and passes under the reverse roller 44 as shown at position P7.

As described above, the protrusion member 59 is composed of the protrusion 61 and the leaf spring-like biasing portion 60. The biasing portion 60 is a thin metal leaf spring-like part that is flat in the front-rear and up-down directions, so it is easy to deform in the left-right direction, but is difficult to deform in the front-rear and up-down directions. Therefore, the protrusion 61 of the protrusion member 59 moves in the horizontal withdrawal conveying direction Dt when an external force of the same strength as the external force is applied along the horizontal withdrawal conveying direction Dt in the protruding state, compared to the amount of movement in the separation direction when an external force is applied to the left along the conveying width direction Dw in the protruding state. Therefore, when a coin CN abuts against the protrusion 61 from the rear to the front along the horizontal withdrawal conveying direction Dt, which is one of the front-rear directions, the protrusion member 59 can disrupt the posture of the coin CN by preventing the protrusion 61 from escaping in the front-rear and up-down directions (i.e., the protrusion 61 hardly moves).

The above describes the case where the coin CN comes into contact with the rear inclined surface 61BS of the protrusion 61 and falls from an upright position. However, if there is a coin CN in an upright position leaning against the left conveying guide surface 48LS on the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt side of the protrusion 61, the coin CN will be conveyed in the reverse conveying direction by the storage section conveying belt 40 driven in the reverse conveying direction, and will come into contact with the front inclined surface 61FS of the protrusion 61 and fall from an upright position.

However, there is a possibility that a deformed coin that has fallen from the deformed reject chute 47 may collide with the protrusion 61 of the protrusion member 59. In response to this, the protrusion member 59 is formed with an upper inclined surface 61US, which is a flat surface that inclines toward the storage section conveyor belt 40 (downward) relative to the horizontal direction as it approaches the right conveyor guide 48R (right side). Therefore, the protrusion member 59 can collide the deformed coin with the upper inclined surface 61US and allow the deformed coin to fall smoothly along the upper inclined surface 61US toward the storage section conveyor belt 40, compared to a case in which the upper inclined surface 61US is not formed and the deformed coin collides with a flat surface along the horizontal direction.

[1-6-3. Behavior when overlapping coins are knocked off and pinched between protrusions]
Next, the operation of bouncing off the coins transported in a stacked manner will be described. As shown in Figs. 16 and 17, when coin CN3 is transported in a state where it is stacked on top of coin CN2, coin CN2 does not contact the reverse roller 44, so that coin CN2 passes under the reverse roller 44 by the storage section transport belt 40 and is transported in the horizontal dispensing transport direction Dt. On the other hand, coin CN3 contacts the reverse roller 44 at position P11, so that it is bounced off in the upward and backward direction by the counterclockwise rotation of the reverse roller 44. At this time, as in position P12, coin CN3 may be sandwiched between the right end of the protrusion 61 and the right transport guide surface 48RS. Hereinafter, coins CN, CN1, CN2, CN3, and CN4 are collectively referred to as coin CN.

At this time, as shown in Figures 18 and 19, a load due to the weight of the coin CN3 is generated in the downward direction, and the coin CN3 comes into contact with the upper inclined surface 61US. As a result, the protrusion 61 is pushed to the left (separation direction) by the load due to the weight of the coin CN3. At this time, in addition to the load due to its own weight, the coin CN3 also pushes the protrusion 61 in the separation direction due to the momentum of being bounced off by the reverse roller 44. Since the protrusion 61 is connected to the biasing portion 60, as shown in Figures 18 and 19, the biasing portion 60 elastically deforms, causing the protrusion 61 to move to the left (separation direction). As a result, the protrusion member 59 changes from the protrusion protrusion amount d7 in the protruding state to the protrusion protrusion amount d8, which is a shorter distance.

At this time, the difference between the guide surface interval d6 and the projection protrusion amount d8 is equal to the diameter of the coin CN3. As described above, the vertical length, front-rear width, and plate thickness of the urging portion 60 of the protruding member 59 are set so that the urging force of the urging portion 60 is equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than 5 times the weight (own weight) of the 100-yen coin CN when the protruding portion 61 is in contact with the locking portion 62. Therefore, the own weight of the coin CN3 becomes larger than the frictional force between the coin CN3 and the protruding portion 61 (generally about 0.1 to 0.2 times the load of the coin CN), and the coin CN3 falls onto the storage section conveyor belt 40 as shown at position P13. Thereafter, the coin CN3 is conveyed in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt and passes under the reverse roller 44 as shown at position P14. When coin CN3 falls, no external force of more than the amount of one coin is applied in the retracted state, so the protrusion 61 moves to the right due to the biasing force of the biasing part 60 and returns to the protruding state.

[1-7. Effects, etc.]
In the above configuration, the coin processing device 4 performs coin posture collapse control to transport the upright coin CN in the horizontal dispensing transport direction Dt while abutting the coin CN against the rear inclined surface 61BS of the protrusion 61. Therefore, the coin processing device 4 collapses the posture of the upright coin CN to abut the plate surface of the coin CN against the transport surface 40S, allowing the coin CN to pass below the reverse roller 44. This allows the coin processing device 4 to prevent the coin CN from accumulating on the reverse transport direction side of the reverse roller 44.

The coin processing device 4 also configures the protrusion member 59 with a protrusion 61 that protrudes from the left transport guide surface 48LS toward the right transport guide 48R in the protruding state, and a biasing section 60 that is a leaf spring and biases the protrusion 61 toward the right transport guide 48R along the transport width direction Dw. The coin processing device 4 also configures the biasing force with which the biasing section 60 biases the protrusion 61 toward the right transport guide 48R to be set to a biasing force that moves the protrusion 61 in the separation direction when an external force of at least the amount of one coin CN is applied to the protrusion 61.

Therefore, when a coin CN thrown off by the reverse roller 44 is pinched between the right end of the protrusion 61 and the right-side transport guide surface 48RS (Figure 16), the coin processing device 4 causes the load of the coin CN to elastically deform the biasing portion 60, moving the protrusion 61 in the separating direction to a retracted state (Figure 18), and by widening the gap between the protrusion 61 and the right-side transport guide surface 48RS compared to the protruding state, the coin CN can be dropped onto the transport surface 40S. Furthermore, when an external force of at least one coin CN is no longer applied in the retracted state, the coin processing device 4 can return the protrusion member 59 to the protruding state by the biasing force of the biasing portion 60.

This allows the coin processing device 4 to prevent the coin CN from being held in a state where it is sandwiched between the protrusion 61 and the right-side conveying guide surface 48RS, and prevents the coin CN from becoming stuck on the reverse conveying direction side of the reverse roller 44.

The coin processing device 4 also has a biasing section 60 formed by a leaf spring along the front-rear and up-down directions. As a result, the coin processing device 4 can be configured so that the amount of movement of the protrusion 61 in the separation direction when an external force is applied to the left along the transport width direction Dw in the protruding state is greater than the amount of movement of the protrusion 61 in the horizontal withdrawal transport direction Dt when an external force of the same strength as the external force is applied along the horizontal withdrawal transport direction Dt in the protruding state. As a result, when a coin CN abuts against the protrusion 61 along the horizontal withdrawal transport direction Dt, the protrusion member 59 can break the position of the coin CN while maintaining the position of the protrusion 61 by preventing the protrusion 61 from moving in the front-rear and up-down directions.

In this way, the coin processing device 4 can collapse the position of the coin CN that is in an upright position on the storage section conveyor belt 40, and can prevent the coin CN from being held in a pinched state between the protrusion member 59 for collapsing the position of the coin CN and the right conveyor guide surface 48RS, thereby maintaining reliability.

Furthermore, the coin processing device 4 is configured to set the left-right position of the engaging portion 62 so that when a coin CN abuts against the protruding protrusion member 59 in the protruding state and the protrusion portion 61 moves in the separating direction to enter the retracted state (Figure 11), the right end of the protrusion portion 61 abuts against the protrusion member 59 in a state located to the right of the left conveying guide surface 48LS, i.e., in a state where the right end of the protrusion portion 61 does not enter the protrusion portion hole 48H1. Therefore, the coin processing device 4 can prevent the protrusion portion hole 48H1 from being opened when the protrusion member 59 enters the retracted state, and the coin CN from entering the protrusion portion hole 48H1.

According to the above configuration, the coin processing device 4 has a conveying surface 40S on which coins CN are placed, a storage section conveying belt 40 that conveys coins CN placed on the conveying surface 40S in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt, a left side conveying guide 48L that is arranged opposite to the storage section conveying belt 40 and has a left side conveying guide surface 48LS as a guide surface that regulates the movement of coins CN in the conveying width direction Dw, which is the width direction of the storage section conveying belt 40, a right side conveying guide 48R that has a right side conveying guide surface 48RS as a guide surface, and a protruding member 59 that moves in a separation direction to increase the distance from the right side conveying guide 48R when an external force of at least the amount of one coin CN is applied when the left side conveying guide 48L protrudes from the left side conveying guide surface 48LS toward the right side conveying guide 48R.

This allows the coin processing device 4 to prevent the coin CN from being held in a pinched state between the protrusion member 59 and the right conveying guide surface 48RS.

2. Second embodiment
[2-1. Configuration of the currency handling device and coin processing device]
A currency handling machine 101 (FIG. 1) according to the second embodiment differs from the currency handling machine 1 according to the first embodiment in that it has a coin handling machine 104 instead of the coin handling machine 4, but is otherwise configured similarly. As shown in FIG. 20 in which the same reference numerals are used for members corresponding to those in FIG. 6, the coin handling machine 104 according to the second embodiment differs from the coin handling machine 4 according to the first embodiment in that it has a tilt wheel release unit 158 instead of the tilt wheel release unit 58, but is otherwise configured similarly.

[2-2. Configuration of the wheel tilt release unit]
The wheel tilt release portion 158 of the second embodiment differs from the wheel tilt release portion 58 of the first embodiment in that it is provided with an guiding member 164 instead of the guiding member 64, and in that a protrusion member 159 and a locking portion 162 are added, but in other respects they are configured similarly.

The guide member 164 is shaped like a capital letter "V" in plan view, and is inclined toward the rear side with respect to the conveying width direction Dw from the midpoint between the left conveying guide surface 48LS and the right conveying guide surface 48RS (hereinafter also referred to as the midpoint between the guide surfaces) in the conveying width direction Dw toward the left side conveying guide 48L, and is inclined toward the rear side with respect to the conveying width direction Dw from the midpoint between the guide surfaces toward the right side conveying guide 48R. That is, the guide member 164 is inclined with respect to the conveying width direction Dw so that the ends on the left conveying guide 48L side and the right conveying guide 48R side are located on the reverse conveying direction side (rear side) with respect to the midpoint between the guide surfaces. Therefore, the distance in the horizontal dispensing conveying direction Dt between the left side portion of the guide member 164 and the protrusion member 59 becomes wider from the midpoint between the guide surfaces toward the left conveying guide 48L. In addition, the distance in the horizontal bank transfer direction Dt between the portion of the guide member 164 to the right of the midpoint between the guide surfaces and the protrusion member 159 becomes wider from the midpoint between the guide surfaces toward the right transfer guide 48R.

The protrusion member 159 and the locking portion 162 are provided on the right-side transport guide 48R, and are configured as if a set of the protrusion member 59 and the locking portion 62 were rotated 180° in a plan view. The protrusion member 159 is also disposed at the same position as the protrusion member 59 in the horizontal bank transfer direction Dt. The protrusion member 159 protrudes the protrusion portion 61 toward the left-side transport guide 48L beyond the right-side transport guide surface 48RS via the protrusion portion hole 148H1, which has the same shape as the protrusion portion hole 48H1 and penetrates the right-side transport guide 48R in the left-right direction.

In this configuration, when the coin posture collapse control is performed and the storage section conveyor belt 40 is driven in the reverse conveying direction, a coin that is in an upright position on the left conveyor guide 48L side of the midpoint between the guide surfaces on the storage section conveyor belt 40 moves toward the left conveyor guide 48L along the inclination with respect to the conveying width direction Dw on the left conveyor guide 48L side of the midpoint between the guide surfaces on the guide member 164, and strikes against the left conveyor guide surface 48LS of the left conveyor guide 48L. On the other hand, a coin that is in an upright position on the right conveyor guide 48R side of the midpoint between the guide surfaces on the storage section conveyor belt 40 moves toward the right conveyor guide 48R along the inclination with respect to the conveying width direction Dw on the right conveyor guide 48R side of the midpoint between the guide surfaces on the guide member 164, and strikes against the right conveyor guide surface 48RS of the right conveyor guide 48R.

Here, in the case of the tilt wheel release section 58 (Figure 13) of the coin processing device 4, in order to allow a coin CN abutting against the right-side transport guide surface 48RS and positioned at position P1 to reach position P4, it was necessary to transport the coin CN while abutting against the guide member 64 to the left-side transport guide surface 48LS, which is spaced apart from the right-side transport guide surface 48RS in the transport width direction Dw. This meant that it was necessary to drive the storage section transport belt 40 in the reverse transport direction for a long period of time, and there was a possibility that the coin would not be able to be transported all the way to the right-side transport guide surface 48RS simply by driving the storage section transport belt 40 in the reverse transport direction for a certain period of time.

In response to this, the tilt wheel release unit 158 of the coin processing device 104 tilts the guide member 164 backward in the transport width direction Dw as it moves leftward from the midpoint between the guide surfaces in a plan view, and tilts backward in the transport width direction Dw as it moves rightward from the midpoint between the guide surfaces. Therefore, the coin processing device 104 transports a coin that is in an upright position on the right transport guide 48R side of the midpoint between the guide surfaces on the storage section transport belt 40 to the nearby right transport guide 48R side, rather than the distant left transport guide 48L side in the transport width direction Dw, while abutting the guide member 164, and can cause the coin to abut against the protrusion member 159 and lose its position. As a result, the coin processing device 104 can reduce the time required for coin position loss control compared to the coin processing device 4.

In addition, compared to the coin processing device 4, the coin processing device 104 adds a protruding member 159 and a locking portion 162. As a result, compared to the coin processing device 4, the coin processing device 104 can make it even easier to knock over coins that are in an upright position.

In other respects, the coin handling device 104 of the currency handling device 101 according to the second embodiment can achieve the same effects as the coin handling device 4 of the currency handling device 1 according to the first embodiment.

3. Third embodiment
[3-1. Configuration of the currency handling device and coin processing device]
A currency handling machine 201 (FIG. 1) according to the third embodiment differs from the currency handling machine 1 according to the first embodiment in that it has a coin handling machine 204 instead of the coin handling machine 4, but is otherwise configured similarly. As shown in FIG. 21 in which the same reference numerals are used for members corresponding to those in FIG. 6, the coin handling machine 204 according to the third embodiment differs from the coin handling machine 4 according to the first embodiment in that it has a tilt wheel release unit 258 instead of the tilt wheel release unit 58, but is otherwise configured similarly.

[3-2. Configuration of the wheel tilt release unit]
The wheel tilt release portion 258 of the third embodiment differs from the wheel tilt release portion 58 of the first embodiment in that it is provided with a protrusion member 259 instead of the protrusion member 59 and a locking portion 262 instead of the locking portion 62, but is otherwise configured in the same manner.

The protrusion member 259 is composed of a protrusion portion 261 and a biasing portion 260. The protrusion portion 261 is configured like the protrusion member 59 according to the first embodiment, with the biasing portion 60 omitted, leaving only the protrusion portion 61. The biasing portion 260 is a compression coil spring with its central axis aligned along the transport width direction Dw, and its left end is fixed to the locking portion 262 and its right end is fixed to the protrusion portion 261. This biasing portion 260 biases the protrusion portion 261 in the right direction along the transport width direction Dw, toward the right transport guide 48R.

The locking portion 262 is fixed near the protruding member 259 on the left side surface of the left transport guide 48L, and is shaped like a capital letter "U" in a plan view, with its plane facing right along the front-to-back and up-to-down directions being positioned with a gap in the left-to-right direction from the protruding portion 261.

In this configuration, when the protrusion 261 is in its natural state (protruding state) with no external force applied, it protrudes further toward the right transport guide 48R than the left transport guide surface 48LS. At this time, the biasing force of the biasing portion 260 is almost not being applied.

On the other hand, when the protrusion member 259 is pushed leftward from the outside of the transport space 56 and a force greater than the elastic force of the biasing portion 260 is applied, the biasing portion 260 is compressed from its natural state, and the protrusion portion 261 moves to the left in the separation direction and enters a retracted state. In addition, when the biasing portion 260 is compressed to a predetermined length, the movement of the protrusion portion 261 to the left is restricted.

The coin handling device 204 of the currency handling device 201 according to the third embodiment can achieve the same effects as the coin handling device 4 of the currency handling device 1 according to the first embodiment.

4. Other embodiments
In the first embodiment described above, the coin processing device 4 has been described as having the biasing unit 60 configured by a leaf spring. The present invention is not limited to this, and the coin processing device 4 may have the biasing unit 60 configured by various other elastic members. In this case, it is preferable that the coin processing device 4 uses the biasing unit 60 configured by an elastic member such that the amount of movement of the protrusion 61 in the separation direction when an external force is applied to the left along the transport width direction Dw in the protruding state is greater than the amount of movement of the protrusion 61 in the horizontal money-dispensing transport direction Dt when an external force of the same strength as the external force is applied along the horizontal money-dispensing transport direction Dt in the protruding state. The same applies to the second and third embodiments.

In the first embodiment described above, the coin processing device 4 has been described as being configured with the protrusion member 59 including the biasing portion 60 and the protrusion portion 61. The present invention is not limited to this, and the coin processing device 4 may use a protrusion member that moves in the separation direction to a retracted state when an external force of at least one coin is applied in the protruding state, and returns to the protruding state under its own weight when an external force of at least one coin is no longer applied in the retracted state. The same applies to the second and third embodiments.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, the coin processing device 4 has been described as having one protrusion member 59 on the left transport guide 48L. The present invention is not limited to this, and the coin processing device 4 may have any number of protrusion members 59, two or more, on the left transport guide 48L, and may have any number of protrusion members 59, one or more, on the right transport guide 48R. The same applies to the third embodiment. Furthermore, the coin processing device 104 according to the second embodiment may have any number of protrusion members 59 and locking portions 62, two or more sets, and any number of protrusion members 159 and locking portions 162, two or more sets.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, the coin processing device 4 has been described as arranging the guide member 64 on the reverse transport direction side of the protrusion member 59. The present invention is not limited to this, and the coin processing device 4 may arrange the guide member 64 in the horizontal dispensing transport direction Dt of the protrusion member 59 instead of the guide member 64 in the reverse transport direction of the protrusion member 59, or together with the guide member 64 in the reverse transport direction of the protrusion member 59. The same applies to the second and third embodiments.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment described above, the coin processing device 104 has been described as being arranged in the same position as the protrusion member 59 in the horizontal dispensing transport direction Dt. The present invention is not limited to this, and the coin processing device 104 may be arranged in a different position from the protrusion member 59 in the horizontal dispensing transport direction Dt.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment described above, the coin processing device 104 has been described as having the guide member 164 extending linearly along the transport width direction Dw from the left transport guide 48L to the right transport guide 48R in a plan view. The present invention is not limited to this, and the coin processing device 104 may have the guide member 164 extending linearly from the left transport guide 48L to the right transport guide 48R in a plan view so as to be inclined with respect to the transport width direction Dw.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the coin processing device 4 has been described as performing coin posture collapse control in a dispensing process that includes a storage process in which coins CN inserted by a user are stored in the coin storage unit 30, and a change dispensing process in which coins CN are fed from the coin storage unit 30 and dispensed to the coin dispensing tray 28 as change. The present invention is not limited to this, and since coins CN may be in an upright position on the storage unit conveyor belt 40 in other processes such as the reconciliation process and collection process, the coin processing device 4 may also control the coin collapse drive if a coin CN in an upright position is present on the storage unit conveyor belt 40 in the reconciliation process and collection process. The same applies to the second and third embodiments.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention has been described as being applied to the coin processing device 4, 104, or 204, which is a cash register change machine that performs various transactions with users. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to various other devices that handle coins, such as a self-service settlement machine.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and other embodiments. In other words, the scope of application of the present invention extends to embodiments in which the above-mentioned embodiments are combined in part or in whole with the above-mentioned other embodiments in any combination. The scope of application of the present invention also extends to embodiments in which a part of the configuration described in any of the above-mentioned embodiments and other embodiments is extracted and replaced or diverted with a part of the configuration of any of the above-mentioned embodiments and other embodiments, or an embodiment in which a part of the extracted configuration is added to any of the embodiments.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned first embodiment, the coin processing device 4 is configured as a coin processing device by the storage section conveyor belt 40 as a conveyor belt, the left conveyor guide 48L and the right conveyor guide 48R as the first conveyor guide and the second conveyor guide, and the protrusion member 59 as a protrusion member. The present invention is not limited to this, and the coin processing device may be configured by a conveyor belt having various other configurations, a first conveyor guide and a second conveyor guide, and a protrusion member.

The present invention can be used, for example, in coin processing devices that process coin transactions with users.

1, 101, 201... currency handling device, 2... banknote processing device, 4, 104, 204... coin processing device, 6... housing, 8... control unit, 9... banknote deposit port, 10... banknote withdrawal port, 11... display operation unit, 12... receipt printer, 14... coin deposit unit, 14A... coin insertion port, 14B... coin feeding unit, 15... coin sending unit, 16... coin validator, 17... deposit transport unit, 18... reject hole, 19... receiving hole, 20... reject chute, 21... denomination-specific chute, 22... horizontal withdrawal transport unit, 23... deformed coin detection unit, 24... collection box, 26... Lift conveying section, 28... coin dispensing tray, 30... coin storage section, 32... reject gate, 34... denomination-specific gate, 36... conveying guide, 38... pin belt, 38B... endless belt, 38P... pin, 40... storage section conveying belt, 40S... conveying surface, 42... pulley, 44... reverse roller, 45... deformed reject hole, 46... deformed reject gate, 47... deformed reject chute, 48L... left conveying guide, 48LS... left conveying guide surface, 48H1, 148H1... protrusion hole, 48H2... sensor hole, 48R... right conveying Feed guide, 48RS...right side conveying guide surface, 50...movable direction switching portion, 54...direction switching portion, 56...conveying space, 58, 158, 258...tilt wheel release portion, 59, 159, 259...projecting member, 60, 260...urging portion, 60H...mounting hole portion, 61, 261...projecting portion, 61M...base portion, 61B...rear inclined portion, 61BS...rear inclined surface, 61F...front inclined portion, 61FS...front inclined surface, 61U...upper inclined portion, 61US...upper inclined surface, 62, 162, 262...engaging portion, 64, 164...guiding member, 65...standing position detection sensor, 66...first Conveyor belt, 70...second conveyor belt, 72...storage section dispensing tray handover section, 74...lower final pulley, 76...large driven pulley, 78...upper final pulley, 80...release suppression guide, 82...movable direction switching section, 84, 86...counting sensor, 90...storage section, Dt...horizontal dispensing conveying direction, d1...protrusion guide member spacing, d2...conveyor surface protrusion spacing, d3...conveyor surface guide member spacing, d4...reverse roller guide member spacing, d5...reverse roller guide member spacing minimum coin diameter difference, d6...guide surface spacing, d7, d8...protrusion protrusion amount, Θ1...tilt angle.

Claims (9)

A conveyor belt having a conveying surface on which coins are placed and conveying the coins placed on the conveying surface in a conveying direction;
a first conveying guide and a second conveying guide disposed opposite to each other across the conveying belt and having guide surfaces for restricting movement of the coins in a width direction of the conveying belt;
A coin processing device comprising: a protrusion member that moves in a separation direction to increase the distance from the second transport guide when an external force of at least one coin is applied to the first transport guide while the protrusion member protrudes from the guide surface of the first transport guide toward the second transport guide. The protruding member is
a protrusion portion that protrudes from the guide surface of the first transport guide toward the second transport guide in the protruding state;
a biasing portion that biases the protrusion toward the second conveying guide along a conveying width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction,
The coin processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the biasing force of the biasing portion biasing the protrusion toward the second conveying guide is a biasing force that causes the protrusion to move in the separation direction when an external force of at least one coin is applied to the protrusion. The coin processing device according to claim 2 , wherein the biasing portion is a leaf spring that is thin in the transport width direction and extends along the transport direction. the biasing portion is provided on a surface of the first transport guide opposite to the guide surface,
the protrusion protrudes from a surface of the first transport guide opposite to the guide surface toward the second transport guide through a hole provided in the first transport guide,
The coin processing device described in claim 3, further comprising a locking portion that is provided on the separation direction side of the protrusion member, and when the protrusion portion of the protrusion member in the protruding state moves in the separation direction, the end portion of the protrusion portion on the second transport guide side abuts against the protrusion member while being positioned at least closer to the second transport guide side than the guide surface of the first transport guide, thereby restricting the movement of the protrusion member in the separation direction. The coin processing device according to claim 2 , wherein the external force of at least one coin is an external force of at least one coin's own weight. The protruding member is
The coin processing device described in claim 2, wherein when the coin is clamped between the guide surface of the second conveying guide in the protruding state, the coin moves in the separating direction due to an external force applied from the coin, widening the gap between the guide surface of the second conveying guide and the coin compared to the protruding state, thereby causing the clamped coin to fall onto the conveying surface. The protruding member is
The coin processing device according to claim 1, wherein when the external force of at least one coin is applied in the protruding state, the coin processing device moves in the separating direction to enter a retracted state, and when the external force of at least one coin is no longer applied in the retracted state, the coin processing device returns to the protruding state under its own weight. The coin processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a separation roller that is provided on the upper side of the conveying surface toward the conveying direction from the protrusion member, and rotates so that the rotation direction of the lower part is opposite to the conveying direction, thereby separating the coins placed on the conveying surface one by one. The coin processing device according to claim 1, further comprising: an guiding member disposed between the first transport guide and the second transport guide at a position spaced apart from the transport surface, and inclined so that the distance between the guiding member and the protrusion member in the transport direction becomes longer as the guiding member moves from the second transport guide side to the first transport guide side.

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