JPH0150957B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a device for calculating a predetermined number of coins in a coin processing machine such as a coin counter, coin sorter, coin wrapping machine, etc.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as a counting device for this type of coin processing machine, one shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 54-35694 is known.

That is, the counting device disclosed in this publication uses a star gear having teeth that approximately match the circumferential curved surface of a coin, rotates the star gear by one tooth each time a coin passes, and pulses this rotation. It was detected and counted using a generator.

In addition, the pulse generator in this device is configured to generate two types of pulses with different phases, so that the direction of rotation of the star gear, that is, the direction in which the coins are transported, can be detected. was performing addition and subtraction. The specific structure of the coin processing machine is such that the coins introduced into the coin passage are brought into contact with a counting gear one by one, and by rotating this counting gear, the coins are counted and the counted coins are processed. In the
A pulse generator is attached to the rotating shaft of the counting gear and outputs two types of pulse signals with different phases, and based on the pulse signal, an addition pulse is added when the rotating shaft of the counting gear rotates in the forward direction, and a pulse is subtracted when the rotating shaft of the counting gear rotates in the reverse direction. It was equipped with a rotational direction discrimination circuit that outputs pulses, a reversible counter that counts the addition pulses or subtraction pulses, and the like.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional example of the mechanical device described above, coin counting is performed indirectly through the rotation of a star gear. When counting coins at high speed, the rotational inertia of the star gear acts strongly, and when the flow of coins suddenly stops after counting coins, only the star gear becomes redundant. There was a problem that many erroneous counts occurred due to rotation.

Additionally, vending machines and the like are known that utilize optical elements for hard counting without using members such as star gears.

That is, there are those shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 52-91500 and the one shown in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 55-40490.

All of them are configured to detect coins using a plurality of optical elements, and in particular, the latter one is configured to detect the direction of conveyance and perform addition and subtraction in the same way as the previous one.

However, these devices detect and count coins that are manually inserted one by one, such as in a vending machine, so the coins are continuously transferred and counted as described above. It could not be applied to things like this.

In other words, the plurality of optical elements in these devices are provided at relatively large intervals in the transport direction, and when coins are continuously fed and the transport is stopped after counting a predetermined number of coins, the plurality of optical elements If the machine stops in a state where the light is blocked by a plurality of coins, there is a risk that the counting will become unstable when the next counting starts.

To further explain this point, when one of multiple optical elements is in a certain state (for example, when a coin passes through), addition and subtraction are performed depending on the state of the other optical element. If the optical element is simultaneously shielded from light by a plurality of coins, the direction of transport cannot be determined correctly.

Figures 10-1 show a state in which the two optical elements are far apart in the coin transport direction.

Consider the case where a coin is conveyed in the direction of the arrow and stops in the state shown by D. Here, stopping means that when the stop button is pressed, a jam occurs somewhere on the conveyance path, and the stop occurs due to contact with a coin (not shown) on the downstream side. During this stop, the coins may be transported backwards due to backlash in the transport drive system or the like. Also, when jamming, a subsequent coin may arrive and push the coin, in which case the coin moves in a twitch.

If the coin changes from the state shown in Figure 10 D to the state shown in H or G, or further to the state shown in F or H, the detection element will not be able to accurately detect the passage of the coin, and this will result in erroneous counting. will occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by specifying the positions of a plurality of optical elements provided at intervals in the coin transport direction, there is no miscounting even when coins are continuously counted or stopped. , the purpose is to provide a stable counting device.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an arrangement in which the outer periphery of the smallest diameter coin of the coins to be processed is in contact with the inner edge of the guide plate constituting the coin passage. A counting device consisting of two sensing elements is provided within the coin passageway within a substantially triangular space formed in contact with each other, and the positions thereof are shifted in the direction of the coin passageway. For more details,
The coin processing machine has two sensing elements spaced apart from each other in the coin transport direction, and the coin processing machine continuously transports coins to be processed through a coin passage, and performs addition and subtraction by determining the coin transport direction. The detection element is located within a substantially triangular space formed in contact with the outer periphery of the smallest diameter coin among the coins to be processed in the coin passage and in contact with the inner edge of the guide plate constituting the coin passage. 1 is a coin counting device for a coin processing machine, characterized in that:

(Function) In a counting device in which two detection elements are arranged at the positions described above, even if the smallest diameter coin is continuously transferred in the coin passage with its outer periphery touching, the transfer If the preceding coin passes through two sensing elements in the middle of the process, the following coin will not be able to reach either of the two sensing elements, so it is impossible to block the two sensing elements at the same time. There will only be one coin.

As a result, even when coins pass continuously, there will always be times when the two detection elements do not detect a coin, making it possible to reliably determine the direction in which the coins are being transported, thereby preventing erroneous counting. disappears.

(Example) Next, a detailed explanation will be given based on an example of the present invention shown in the drawings.

As the disk 1 rotates, the coins a fed onto the rotating disk 1 move in a line at high speed while being pressed by the feed belt 6 in a coin passage 5 between the fixed guide plate 3 and the movable guide plate 4. and are sent from the chute 7 into the stacking cylinder 8 so as to overlap each other. Reference numeral 9 denotes a passage width setting cam, which rotates according to the setting of the denomination, and the width of the passage 5 is adjusted by moving the movable guide plate 4. Further, a coin stopping device e is provided on the fixed guide plate 3 side of the coin passage 5.

Therefore, in the present invention, a counting device c is provided in the coin passage 5, and this counting device c is composed of at least two sets of sensing elements c ₁ and c ₂ , and this sensing element
The positions c ₁ and c ₂ are formed by both outer peripheries of the coins that are in contact with each other and the inside of the fixed guide plate 3 when the coin a runs with a part of the outer periphery touching each other as described above. When traveling with an approximately triangular space d formed, both sensing elements c ₁ and c ₂ are detected by the coin a so as to be present within this space d, that is, at the moment when space d passes. The condition is that it be provided so that it is not shielded.

The counting device c is a photoelectric detection element as shown in the second diagram.
c ₁ and c ₂ and the light source c ₃ may be provided above and below the coin passage 5 at the position through which the space portion d passes, or a weak spring or the like may be used to adjust the light source c 3 each time a coin passes. A contact piece or the like may also be used.

Incidentally, when the count reaches a predetermined amount by the counting device c, a stopping device e is naturally required to stop the counting, but the means for doing so is not particularly limited in the present invention, but for example, the number For example, the stop device e shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 has a stop shaft 10 having an axis perpendicular to the surface of the coin passage 5, which is fixed or movable, at a position that includes the passage 5. The stop shaft 10 is connected to a rotary solenoid 12, for example, which rotates in response to a command from a counter (not shown).

The stop device e shown in FIG. 4 has the stop shaft 10 parallel to the surface of the passage 5, and has a cutout portion 11 as described above.

The stopping device e shown in FIG. 5 is a modification of the one shown in FIG.

The stop device e in FIG. 6 has the aforementioned missing circular portion 11 in the form of a groove.

In FIG. 1, in the stopping device e, the omitted circular portion 11 rotates and the coin is stopped by the circumferential surface, and at this time the coin a ₁ covers the detection elements c ₁ and c ₂ and is in a light-shielded state. Then, when counting is started, the detection elements c ₁ and c ₂
The light is received in this order, and both elements c ₁ and c ₂ receive the light. Thereafter, the next adjacent coin blocks light in the order of c ₁ and c ₂ , and then both elements c ₁ and c ₂ return to the light-blocking state, completing the cycle for one coin.

An example of the electrical connection diagram for the detection elements c ₁ and c ₂ in this detection device c is shown in FIG. 7, and its waveform diagram is shown in _FIG . and sensing element c ₂
Let B be the pulse generated from this, and in the case of addition, pulse A rises first, pulse B lags behind, and timing t ₁
When it rises, an L level signal is output by the inverter INV ₂ , and while it is delayed by the delay circuit D ₁ , a pulse waveform FF ₁ -S that sets the flip-flop FF ₁ is output from the AND gate AND ₁ via the OR gate OR ₁ . be done.

Next, when the pulse A falls at timing _t2 , the monostable multi _MM1 (one shot multi) is triggered by the H level signal from the inverter _INV1 while being delayed by the delay circuit _D3 .
The input signal of the inverter INV ₄ or the OR gate OR ₃ is as shown in waveform ₁ .

This waveform ₁ pulse is added to the addition/subtraction counter C by generating an L level addition pulse from the NAND gate NAND ₃ via the inverter INV ₃ . Also, the pulse shown in waveform ₁ passes through OR gate OR ₃ ,
After being further delayed by the delay circuit _D5 , it is input to the reset terminal R of the flip-flop _FF1 (waveform _FF1 -
R) The waveform FF ₁ is output as shown in Q, and the addition pulse is added to the counter C from the NAND gate NAND ₃ .

If pulse B rises first and then pulse A rises, flip-flop _FF2 is set, and the subtraction pulses are input to counter C in the same order as described above to perform subtraction. That is, in FIG. 9,
If the coin is sent back for some reason before reaching timing t ₁ , and if the coin is sent back past timing t ₁ and before reaching t ₂ , in these cases, the coin will not be counted and will not be counted. It is 0. In the case of
Since it is sent backwards after t ₁ and t ₂ , it is counted,
The count is incremented by 1, but as the coin is then sent backwards, the count 1 is subtracted and the count becomes 0. In addition, when the above-mentioned reverse feeding returns to normal after timings t ₂ and t ₁ , the count 1 is added, but it is subtracted at the timing due to the reverse feeding, and the count 1 is added again due to normal feeding. , count 1 due to normal feeding again
, so there will be no miscounting.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention is such that even when coins pass continuously, the two sensing elements shifted in the transport direction are positioned so that there is always a time when the coins are not detected. Because of the arrangement, even if the smallest diameter coin is continuously transferred through the coin passage with its outer periphery touching, if the preceding coin passes through the two detection elements during the transfer, The situation is such that subsequent coins cannot reach either of the two detection elements,
Only one coin can shield two detection elements from light at the same time.

This makes it possible to reliably determine the direction of coin transfer, thereby eliminating miscounting, and
This has the advantage that it can be implemented with a simple configuration.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the device of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a plan view of the main parts, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the counting device, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the counting device and the stopping device. , FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another stop device, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another stop device, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another stop device, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another stop device. FIG. 8 is an electric circuit diagram, FIG. 8 is a waveform diagram, FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the coin counting relationship, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which two optical elements are widely separated in the transport direction. Code: a is a coin, c is a counting device, d is a space, e is a stop device, 1 is a rotating disk, 3 is a fixed guide plate, 4 is a movable guide plate, 5 is a coin passage, 6 is a feeding belt, 10 is a The stop shaft 11 is a missing circular portion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A device having two detecting elements spaced apart from each other in the direction of coin transport, allowing the coins to be processed to be continuously transported through the coin passage, determining the direction of coin transport, and performing addition/subtraction. In a coin handling machine, the detection element is formed in a coin passageway of about 300 mm, which is formed in contact with the outer periphery of the smallest diameter coin among the coins to be processed in the coin passageway and in contact with the inner edge of a guide plate constituting the coin passageway. A coin counting device for a coin processing machine, characterized in that it is disposed within a rectangular space.