Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6783452
-
Patent Number
6,783,452
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, March 20, 200222 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, August 31, 200419 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Walsh; Donald P.
- Beauchaine; Mark J.
Agents
- Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 453 3
- 453 4
- 453 5
- 209 3
- 209 31
- 209 32
- 209 552
- 209 659
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A coin sorting apparatus (S) has a presorting unit (A) and two main sorting units (B1, B2). The presorting unit (A) sorts mixed coins into three groups (large coin group, medium coin group, small coin group). The main sorting units (B1, B2) sort by denomination coins of the two groups (medium coin group, small coin group) among the three groups of coins broadly sorted by the presorting unit (A). Thus, the number of denominations to be dealt with by a single sorting operation can be reduced.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a coin sorting apparatus for sorting coins of mixed denominations, and a coin receiving system provided with such a coin sorting apparatus.
BACKGROUND ART
Generally, a conventional coin sorting apparatus included in a coin receiving system is provided with a single coin sorting unit that sorts coins of mixed denominations sequentially by denomination.
The coin sorting unit of the conventional coin sorting apparatus, in general, conveys coins successively in a horizontal direction along a coin passage, sorts the coins by diameter, and drops coins of different denominations through sorting holes of sizes respectively corresponding to denominations. Generally, a coin feed unit for feeding coins one by one into the coin passage is so constructed as to push coins one by one from a rotating feed disk through a thickness-limiting plate into the coin passage.
This conventional coin sorting apparatus has the following problems. The numbers of diameter and thickness classes of coins to be sorted increase when the denominations of coins to be sorted increases and, in some cases, it is difficult for the conventional coin sorting apparatus to sort coins of a large number of mixed denominations by a single coin sorting unit. Even if the coin sorting apparatus could sort those coins, only limited sorting methods are feasible by the coin sorting unit.
As regards Euro coins, in particular, there are Euro coins of eight denominations and the countries associated with Euro coins are in the process of currency unification for unifying their traditional currency systems into the common Euro currency system. Thus both the coins of the currency systems of those countries and Euro coins are used. The foregoing problem in the conventional coin sorting apparatus becomes more serious when those coins of such a large variety of denominations must be sorted.
FIG. 45
shows the lower surface
401
b
of a stationary disk
401
included in a prior art rotary disk type coin sorting apparatus disclosed in JP-A-
63-250793
(1988) in a schematic plan view. The coin sorting apparatus is provided with a rotary disk, not shown, disposed under the lower surface
401
b
of the stationary disk
401
, having a resilient upper surface and capable of rotation. The stationary disk
401
is provided with a central coin-feed opening
401
a
. Coins C fed into the coin-feed opening
401
a
slide along the lower surface
401
b
of the stationary disk
401
as the rotary disk rotates.
The stationary disk
401
guides and sorts the coins C by diameter as the coins C slide along the lower surface
401
b
thereof. More specifically, a coin guide passage
410
is formed in the lower surface
401
b
of the stationary disk
401
so as to face the coin-feed opening
401
a
. The coin guide passage
410
has a coin guide section
411
for guiding coins C fed into the coin-feed opening
401
a
, and a land
413
for separating superposed coins C.
A coin arranging part
402
is formed contiguously with the coin guide passage
410
. Coins C are moved radalaly outward by centrifugal force acting thereon and their edges engage the outer edge
404
of the coin arranging part
402
, whereby the coins C are arranged sequentially. As the rotary disk rotates, the coins C thus arranged by the coin arranging part
402
are held resiliently between the lower surface
401
b
of the stationary disk
401
and the resilient upper surface of the rotary disk and are moved along and inside a geometric circular guide line
406
.
FIG. 45
shows an arrangement for sorting coins of three denominations, i.e., large coins C
1
having a big diameter, medium coins C
2
having a medium diameter and small coins C
3
having a small diameter, by way of example. A small coin guide groove
415
a
, a medium coin guide groove
415
b
and a large coin guide groove
415
c
are arranged in that order along the guide line
406
from the upstream side downward. The guide grooves
415
a
,
415
b
and
415
c
selectively guide only small coins C
3
, medium coins C
2
and large coins C
1
, respectively, so as to eject respective coins outside the stationary disk
401
.
More concretely, the small coin guide groove
415
a
permits only small coins C
3
among coins moving along the guide line
406
to enter therein, guides small coins C
3
outward by the radial inner edge
416
a
so that small coins C
3
are ejected from the stationary disk
401
, and does not permit large coins C
1
and middle coins C
2
to enter therein. The medium coin guide groove
415
b
permits only medium coins C
2
to enter therein, guides medium coins C
2
outward by the radial inner edge
416
b
so that medium coins C
2
are ejected from the stationary disk
401
, and does not permit large coins C
1
to enter therein. The large coin guide groove
415
c
permits large coins C
1
passed by the guide grooves
415
a
and
415
b
to enter therein and guides large coins C
1
outward by the radial inner edge
416
c
so that small coins C
3
are ejected from the stationary disk
401
.
This prior art coin sorting apparatus has the following problems. Since coins C are arranged in succession along the guide line
406
by the coin arranging part
402
by the agency of centrifugal force acting on coins C, the rotary disk needs to be at a comparatively high rotating speed. Consequently, the degree of freedom for determining the rotating speed of the rotary disk, i.e., sorting speed, is reduced.
When the coin sorting apparatus is jammed with coins, it is advantageous if the sorting process can be continued by rotating the rotary disk in the normal direction after temporarily reversing the rotary disk. However, coins which have been moved outside the guide line
406
by the respective radial inner edges
416
a
to
416
c
of the coin guide grooves
415
a
to
415
c
cannot be moved back to their initial positions inside the guide line
406
even if the rotary disk is reversed. Thus, the coin sorting apparatus is unable to resume its sorting operation normally even if the rotary disk is rotated in the normal direction after temporarily reversing the rotary disk.
There have been proposed coin sorting apparatuses, including the foregoing prior art coin sorting apparatus, which sort coins sliding along the lower surface of a stationary disk by diameter. In those prior art coin sorting apparatus, coins held between a resilient member attached to the upper surface of a rotary disk and a stationary disk are moved in the rotating direction of the rotary disk. Coins moved in the rotating direction of the rotary disk slide relative to the lower surface of the stationary member, are sorted by diameter, and sorted coins are ejected outside from the stationary disk. Thus the coins are moved spirally along the lower surface of the stationary disk.
Those coin sorting apparatuses have the following problems. The surface of the resilient member is coated with a synthetic rubber having a comparatively low corrosion resistance, such as butyl rubber. The resilient member is abraded comparatively rapidly and the coin conveying ability of the resilient member is reduced in a comparatively short time, so that it is difficult for the coin sorting apparatuses to maintain ability to carry out a reliable coin sorting operation for a long period of time.
The surface of the resilient member is flat and smooth and has an isotropic coin holding ability. Therefore, a force exerted on coins by the resilient member to restrain coins from radial movement increases excessively if the moving ability of the resilient member to move coins in the rotating direction of the rotary disk is increased. Such contradictory conditions are a serious obstacle to the enhancement of the reliability of the coin sorting operation.
A prior art coin sorting apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2557278 shown in
FIGS. 46 and 47
has a guide structure
513
for guiding coins C, defining a substantially horizontal passage, and a conveyor belt
514
for conveying coins C along the guide structure
513
. A coin feed unit
9
is disposed near an inlet end of the guide structure
513
. The coin feed unit
9
is provided with a feed disk
90
for feeding coins C one by one onto the guide structure
513
.
The guide structure
513
is provided in its middle part with an ejecting hole
511
. A rotary member
510
is disposed under the ejecting hole
511
. As shown in
FIG. 46
, an identification unit
516
is disposed on the upstream side of the ejecting hole
511
of the guide structure
513
to identify coins. A coin sensor
517
for detecting a coin C is disposed in a section between the identification unit
516
and the ejecting hole
511
of the passage.
As shown in
FIG. 47
, the rotary member
510
is supported for turning about an axis parallel to the carrying surface of the passage and perpendicular to a coin conveying direction in which coins C are conveyed. The rotary member
510
has a flat part
510
A having a flat surface parallel to the axis of the rotary member
510
and a cylindrical part
510
B having a cylindrical surface whose axis coincides with the axis of the rotary member
510
. A pressure roller
515
is disposed at a position corresponding to the ejecting hole
511
in contact with the upper side of the conveyor belt
514
to press a coin C down.
The rotary member
510
can be turned by a rotary solenoid actuator R shown in
FIG. 46
between a coin-passing position to support a coin C to enable the coin C to move past the ejecting hole
511
, at which the cylindrical part
510
B faces the ejecting hole
511
as shown in FIG.
47
(
a
), and a coin-ejecting position to eject a coin C through the ejecting hole
511
, at which the flat part
510
A faces the ejecting hole
511
as shown in FIG.
47
(
b
). FIG.
47
(
c
) shows the rotary member
510
at a transient position through which the rotary member
510
is returned from the coin-ejecting position shown in FIG.
47
(
b
) to the coin-passing position shown in FIG.
47
(
a
). When the rotary member
510
is set at the coin-ejecting position shown in FIG.
47
(
b
), the flat surface of the flat part
510
A declines downstream relative to the passage of the guide structure
513
.
This prior art coin sorting apparatus operates as follows.
(1) A coin C being conveyed through the guide structure
513
by the conveyor belt
514
is supported by the cylindrical part
510
B of the rotary member
510
as the same moves over the ejecting hole
511
and is conveyed past the ejecting hole
511
when the rotary member
510
is set at the coin-passing position shown in
FIG. 47
(
a
).
(2) A coin C being conveyed through the guide structure
513
by the conveyor belt
514
drops into the ejecting hole
511
, slides down along the flat surface of the flat part
510
A and is ejected when the rotary member
510
is at the coin-ejecting position shown in FIG.
47
(
b
).
This coin sorting apparatus has the following problems. When the rotary member
510
is set at the coin-passing position shown in FIG.
47
(
a
), a leading part of a coin C moving over the rotary member
510
moves over the edge of the ejecting hole
511
onto the passage, and then the coin C is partly held between the surface of the passage and the conveyor belt
514
. If the rotary member
510
is turned toward the coin-ejecting position in this state, a part of the cylindrical part
510
B supporting a back part of the coin C moves toward the upstream side of the guide structure
513
as shown in FIG.
47
(
b
).
Accordingly, if the timing of turning the rotary member
510
from the coin-passing position toward the coin-ejecting position is advanced excessively, the preceding coin C cannot be successfully conveyed past the ejecting hole
511
. This restriction on the timing of turning the rotary member
510
from the coin-passing position toward the coin-ejecting position is an obstacle to the enhancement of the sorting speed of the coin sorting process.
In addition, the coin moving straight in the conveying direction is passed over or dropped into the ejecting hole
511
along the same direction in a plane view. Thus, the difference between the diameter of the smallest coin C that can pass over the ejecting hole
511
with the rotary member
510
set at the coin-passing position (FIG.
47
(
a
)) and the diameter of the largest coin C capable of dropping through the ejecting hole
511
with the rotary member
510
set at the coin-ejecting position (
FIG. 47
(
b
)) should not be very large. That is, the prior art coin sorting apparatus is capable of sorting only coins having different diameters in a narrow range.
All the conventional coin receiving systems are capable of accepting only coins of the same specific currency unit, such as yen or dollar, and reject all the coins of other currency units. There are some coin receiving systems that convert the amount of money of a first currency unit (e.g. yen) into the corresponding amount of money of a second currency unit (e.g. dollar) and perform a money receiving procedure, which also is capable of accepting only coins of the same currency unit.
However, for example, the countries of the EU are in the process of currency unification for changing their old (traditional) currency units into the new currency unit “Euro”.: Therefore it is very convenient if both the coins of the old currency unit and the new currency unit can be accepted and a sum total amount of money in the new currency unit can be used for a money receiving procedure.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a coin sorting apparatus capable of sorting coins of many denominations with high reliability and of greatly increasing the degree of freedom of selection of sorting method for a sorting unit, and a coin receiving system provided with such a coin sorting apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a coin sorting apparatus provided with a rotary disk and having a high degree of freedom for setting the rotating speed of the rotary disk, and capable of continuing a normal sorting operation even if the rotation of the rotary disk in a normal direction is resumed after temporarily reversing the rotary disk.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a coin sorting apparatus capable of maintaining a reliable coin sorting operation for an extended period of time.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a coin sorting apparatus capable of sorting coins at a sorting speed higher than that at which conventional coin sorting apparatuses sort coins, and of sorting coins of diameters in a range wider than that of diameters of coins that can be sorted by conventional coin sorting apparatuses.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a coin receiving system provided with a coin sorting apparatus and capable of accepting coins of both an old currency unit and a new currency unit, and of receiving the amount of money represented by those coins of different currency units in the sum total amount of money in the new currency unit.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coin sorting apparatus for sorting coins of at least three denominations, comprising presorting means for broadly sorting the coins by size into those of at least two groups and main sorting means for sorting by denomination the coins of the respective groups sorted by the presorting means.
In the coin sorting apparatus, main sorting means sort the coins of respective groups broadly sorted by the presorting means, so that the number of denominations of coins to be dealt with by a single sorting operation can be reduced. Thus, coins of many denominations can be surely sorted and the degree of freedom of selection of a sorting method by which the main sorting means sort coins can be greatly increased. Accordingly, coins of denominations which are difficult to sort by a single coin sorting means, such as Euro coins, can be surely and smoothly sorted by a general coins sorting means.
In the coin sorting apparatus, the presorting means may include a stationary member provided with a central coin-feed opening, and a rotary disk supported for rotation and disposed under the stationary member closely adjacent to the lower surface of the stationary member. The presorting means may be constructed such that coins fed into the coin-feed opening of the stationary member slide along the lower surface of the stationary member as the rotary disk rotates. The stationary member may be provided with guide structures for selectively guiding the respective groups of coins sliding along the lower surface thereof. Thus, coins fed into the coin-feed opening of the stationary member slide along the lower surface of the stationary member and are selectively guided by guide structures to sort the coins into the groups, as the rotary disk rotates.
In the coin sorting apparatus, the main sorting means may include a guide passage for substantially horizontally guiding coins to be sorted, one by one. A conveying means conveys the coins along the guide passage and a plurality of sorting units, each for sorting out coins of one of the denominations, are arranged at intervals along the guide passage. The main sorting means conveys the coins to be sorted along the guide passage by the conveying means, and the sorting units sort out the coins of the corresponding denominations, respectively. The number of denominations to be sorted by the main sorting means is reduced to reduce the number of the sorting units and hence the length of the guide passage may be short. Thus, the coin sorting apparatus can be formed in a small size.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coin receiving system for sorting coins of at least three denominations and executing a money receiving management for the coins. The coin receiving system comprises presorting means for broadly sorting the coins by size into those of at least two groups. A coin identifying means identifies the coins of each of the groups formed by broadly sorting the coins by the presorting means. A rejecting means rejects coins that could not be identified by the coin identifying means. A main sorting means sorts, by denomination, the coins of the respective groups identified by the coin identifying means, and money receiving means counts the amount of money represented by the coins identified by the coin identifying means to receive the money.
The coin receiving system can sort coins similarly to the foregoing coin sorting apparatus, and receive money represented by the sorted coins.
Preferably, the coin receiving system further includes different coin sorting means for sorting out different coins that have been identified as coins of different denominations from those of coins capable of being sorted by the main sorting means by the coin identifying means. The different coins are sorted out by the different coin sorting means so that the main sorting means can sort coins more smoothly.
Preferably, the coin identifying means is adapted to identify the different coins, and the money receiving means is adapted to receive the coins to be sorted by the main sorting means and the different coins to be sorted by the different coin sorting means. Thus, the coin receiving system is capable of receiving money represented by the coins including the different coins.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coin sorting apparatus comprising a stationary member provided with a central coin-feed opening and a rotary disk supported for rotation disposed under the stationary member and closely adjacent to the lower surface of the stationary member. The coin sorting apparatus is constructed such that coins fed into the coin-feed opening of the stationary member slide along the lower surface of the stationary member as the rotary disk rotates. The stationary member is provided with guide structures for selectively guiding coins sliding along the lower surface thereof, according to the diameters of the coins, and the guide structures have a coin passage formed in the lower surface of the stationary member and having a radial inner edge portion configured to engage outer edges of all the coins, and at least one coin-sorting guide. The coin-sorting guide has a step formed such that a peripheral part of each of coins having diameters greater than a reference diameter runs up onto the step, with the outer edge thereof engaging the radial inner edge portion of the coin passage. An ejecting passage guides the coin that has run up onto the step and ejects the same coin outside the stationary member.
In this coin sorting apparatus, coins fed into the coin-feed opening slide along the lower surface of the stationary member as the rotary disk rotates and are selectively guided by the guide structures according to their diameters. Although the outer edges of all the coins engage the radial inner edge portion of the coin passage, only the coins having diameters greater than the predetermined reference diameter run up onto the step of the coin-sorting guide. The coins that have run up onto the step are moved along the ejecting passage and are ejected outside the stationary member. The rest of the coins that do not run up onto the step are removed further forward along the coin passage.
Thus, the coin-sorting guide sorts the coins by diameter. When two or more coin-sorting guides are used for sorting coins of at least three denominations, coins respectively having larger diameters are sorted out before those respectively having smaller diameters.
Since this coin sorting apparatus guides coins so that the outer edges of the coins engage the radial inner edge portion of the coin passage and sorts the coins by diameter, the sorting operation does not depend on centrifugal force.
In the coin sorting apparatus, it is preferable that the coin passage has radial inner and outer edges configured to engage outer edges of coins moving along the coin passage. The coin passage is configured to curve such that an upstream section thereof on the upstream side of the step extends away from a center of the stationary member. A downstream section thereof on the downstream side of the step extends to approach the center of the stationary member toward the downstream side. In this description, the terms “upstream” and “downstream” are used for signifying directional and positional attributes with respect to a direction in which coins are moved when the rotary disk is rotated in the normal direction.
A range of movement of coins on the coin passage is limited by the radial inner and outer edges of the coin passage. Since the upstream section of the coin passage is curved so as to extend away from the center of the stationary member, the radial inner edge of the upstream section of the coin passage pushes coins toward the periphery of the stationary member as the rotary disk is rotated in the normal direction so that the coins engage with radial inner edge portion thereof. The downstream section of the coin passage extends to approach the center of the stationary member toward the downstream side. Therefore, when the rotary disk is rotated in the reverse direction, the radial inner edge portion of the downstream section (upstream section when the rotary disk is reversed) is able to come into engagement with the outer edges of coins and to push coins toward the periphery of the stationary member. Therefore, it is insured that the outer edge of the coin, at a position corresponding to the step, is in contact with the radial inner edge portion of the coin passage when the rotation of the rotary disk is resumed after the rotary disk has been temporarily reversed. Thus, the coin sorting apparatus is able to continue the normal coin sorting operation when the rotation of the rotary disk in the normal direction is resumed after temporarily reversing the rotary disk.
Preferably, a pressing means for pressing the coins toward the radial inner edge of the coin passage is disposed in the upstream section of the coin passage on the upstream side of the step. The pressing means presses coins toward the radial inner edge portion of the upstream section of the coin passage on the upstream side of the land to insure that the outer edges of all the coins are brought into contact with the radial inner edge portion of the coin passage.
Preferably, the guide structures of the stationary member are constructed so that the coin that has run up onto the step lies in a substantially horizontal position. Thus the coin is prevented from being caught in the coin passage due to tilting and can be smoothly ejected.
Preferably, the guide structures of the stationary member include a step-forming plate forming the step and are movable along a width of the coin passage for positional adjustment. Thus the width of a section of the coin passage corresponding to the step can be adjusted according to the diameters of coins to be sorted. The width of the coin passage can be finely adjusted to improve the accuracy and smoothness of the coin sorting process.
Preferably, a foreign matter sorting means is disposed in the downstream section of the coin passage for selectively guiding a foreign matter having a thickness smaller than that of the thinnest coin so that the foreign matter is ejected outside the stationary member. Thus the foreign matters having a thickness smaller than those of the coins can be separated from the coins and can be ejected outside the stationary member, and the foreign matters and the coins can be separately collected.
Preferably, the foreign matter sorting means has a foreign matter passage formed in the stationary member and branching away from the coin passage to an outside of the stationary member. A gate portion is formed at a junction of the coin passage and the foreign matter passage, together with the rotary disk defining a gap of such a size as allows the foreign matter to pass, but not the thinnest coin. Whereas coins are unable to pass the gate portion at the junction of the coin passage and the foreign matter passage and move along the coin passage, foreign matters pass the gate into the foreign matter passage. Thus foreign matters are separated from coins.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coin sorting apparatus comprising a stationary member provided with a central coin-feed opening. A rotary disk is supported for rotation, disposed under the stationary member closely adjacent to the lower surface of the stationary member, and has a disk body and a resilient member attached to an upper surface of the disk body. The coin sorting apparatus is constructed such that coins fed into the coin-feed opening of the stationary member slide along the lower surface of the stationary member as the rotary disk rotates. The stationary member is provided with guide structures for selectively guiding coins sliding along the lower surface thereof, according to their diameters, and the resilient member of the rotary disk has a urethane rubber layer having a surface provided with a plurality of radial grooves.
In this coin sorting apparatus, coins fed into the coin-feed opening of the stationary member slide along the lower surface of the stationary member as the rotary disk rotates. The guide structures guide the coins selectively according to their diameters to sort the coins by diameter.
The urethane rubber layer is capable of improving the abrasion resistance of the resilient member of the rotary disk more effectively than layers of other synthetic rubbers. The plurality of radial grooves formed in the surface of the urethane rubber layer engage the outer edges of coins to enhance the conveying force that can be exerted on coins in the direction of rotation of the rotary disk without increasing the holding force that restrains coins from radial movement. Since the urethane rubber layer having the surface provided with the plurality of radial grooves are subject to deformation, coins respectively having different thicknesses and arranged side by side can be surely held between the stationary member and the rotary disk. Thus the coin sorting apparatus is capable of maintaining a reliable coin sorting operation for a long period of time.
Preferably, circumferential intervals between the radial grooves at the periphery of the resilient member are smaller than a diameter of the smallest coin. Even in a state where small coins lie successively in a circumferential direction on the rotary disk, all the small coins are necessarily on the radial grooves, respectively, so that the radial grooves are able to exercise the foregoing effect thereof at all times.
Preferably, the urethane rubber layer of the resilient member is formed of a thermoplastic urethane rubber. The urethane rubber layer provided with the radial grooves of the thermoplastic urethane rubber can be easily formed by injection molding.
Preferably, the resilient member has a porous resilient layer underlying the urethane rubber layer. Thus the resilient member is highly compressible and is capable of flexibly dealing with coins respectively having different thicknesses.
Preferably, the porous resilient layer is formed of rubber sponge. The resilient member including the porous resilient layer of rubber sponge having particularly high resilience is capable of surely holding adjacently arranged coins respectively having different thicknesses.
Preferably, a part of at least one of the radial grooves of the urethane rubber layer is configured to have a depth shallower than other parts of the same groove so as to serve as an indicator. As the urethane rubber layer is abraded gradually, the bottom surface of the part serving as the indicator first becomes flush with the upper surface of the abraded urethane rubber layer so as to notify the abrasion of the urethane rubber layer or to provide information for deciding the time for replacing the resilient member with a new one.
Preferably, a metal plate, detachable from the disk body, is fixed to the lower surface of the resilient member. The metal plate, detachable from the disk body, facilitates work for replacing the resilient member with a new one.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coin sorting apparatus comprising a passage member having a substantially horizontal passage surface and provided with an ejecting hole. A guide member extends on the passage surface of the passage member to guide coins along the passage surface from the upstream side toward the downstream side of the passage member. A convey or belt extends so as to hold coins together with the passage surface of the passage member to convey coins along the guide member from an upstream side toward a downstream side of the passage member. A support roller is disposed under the ejecting hole opposite to the conveyor belt. The ejecting hole of the passage member is contiguous with the guide member and has a guiding side wall extending obliquely away from the guide member toward the downstream side of the passage member. The support roller is adapted to be turned between a coin-passing position where the upper end thereof is at a level not lower than that of the upper edge of the guiding side wall, and a coin-ejecting position where the upper end thereof is at a level lower than that of the upper edge of the guiding side wall.
The coin sorting apparatus in the fifth aspect of the present invention has the following features.
(i) When the support roller is at the coin-passing position, a coin guided for movement along the passage surface by the guide member and conveyed by the conveyor belt is held between the support roller and the conveyor belt in a range corresponding to the ejecting hole and does not drop into the ejecting hole and passes the ejecting hole.
(ii) When the support roller is at the coin-ejecting position, a coin guided for movement along the passage surface by the guide member and conveyed by the conveyor belt drops through the ejecting hole from its front end onto the support roller, and the outer edge of the coin engages the guiding side wall. The guiding side wall guides the coin so as to move laterally away from the guide member toward the downstream side of the passage surface. Consequently, the coin moves obliquely laterally away from the support roller and drops through the ejecting hole.
Thus, the coin is moved obliquely laterally on the support roller into the ejecting hole and to drop from the support roller, instead of being moved and dropped straight in a conveying direction along the support roller. Thus the coin to be ejected can be quickly moved away from the support roller to advance the timing of returning the support roller to the support position.
A coin passing over the support roller located at the support position is held between the passage surface and the conveyor belt when a part on the side of the guide member of the coin runs onto the passage surface after passing the guiding side edge of the ejecting hole. Even if the support roller is turned from the coin-passing position to the coin-ejecting position in this state, the coin does not drop into the ejecting hole and passes the ejecting hole, and the succeeding coin drops into the ejecting hole.
Thus, coins can be sorted with reliability even if the timing of turning the support roller from the coin-passing position to the coin-ejecting position and that of turning the support roller from the coin-ejecting position to the coin-passing position are advanced. Consequently, the coin sorting apparatus is capable of operating at a sorting speed higher than that at which conventional coin sorting apparatuses operate.
Since a coin moving in the conveying direction is made to pass the ejecting hole straight or is made to drop obliquely laterally into the ejecting hole, the difference between the diameter of the largest coin that is able to drop into the ejecting hole when the support roller is set at the coin-ejecting position and that of the smallest coin that can pass over the ejecting hole when the support roller is set at the coin-passing position can be greater than that in conventional coin sorting apparatuses. Therefore, the coin sorting apparatus in the fifth aspect of the invention is capable of sorting coins having diameters in a range wider than that of diameters of coins that can be sorted by conventional coin sorting apparatuses.
The support roller may include a support shaft supported for rotation substantially in parallel to the passage surface and substantially perpendicularly to a conveying direction in which coins are conveyed. An eccentric member is eccentrically mounted on the support shaft to have a major-radius section and a minor-radius section, and a free roller member is mounted for free rotation on the circumference of the eccentric member. The support shaft of the support roller is turned so that the major-radius section faces up to set the support roller at the coin-passing position, where the free roller member is at an up position, and is turned so that the minor-radius section faces up to set the support roller at the coin-ejecting position, where the free roller member is at a down position.
The coin sorting apparatus may further include a coin identifying means for identifying coins disposed in a position corresponding to the upstream side of the ejecting hole of the passage member. A controller changes the position of the support roller between the coin-passing position and the coin-ejecting position, depending on the result of identification by the coin identifying means. Thus the working position of the support roller is determined selectively on the basis of the result of an identification of the coin identifying means either to pass the coin examined by the coin identifying means or to eject the same coin.
Preferably, the coin sorting apparatus further includes a pressure roller adapted to press the coin through the conveyor belt against the support roller to hold the coin between the conveyor belt and the support roller. The coin can be firmly held between the conveyor belt and the support roller when the pressure roller exerts pressure on the conveyor belt. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coin receiving system comprising coin feed means for feeding mixed coins including new coins of a new currency unit and old coins of an old currency unit one by one. A coin identifying means identifies the coins fed by the coin feed means by denomination. A new coin holding unit temporarily holds the new coins. An old coin holding unit temporarily holds old coins. A sorting means sorts the new coins from the old coins and delivers the new coins to the new coin holding unit and the old coins to the old coin holding unit.
A new coin storing unit stores the new coins received from the new coin holding unit. An old coin storing unit stores the old coins received from the old coin holding unit. A counting means counts a total amount of money in the new currency unit and a total amount of money in the old currency unit on the basis of results of identification by the coin identifying means. Arithmetic means converts the total amount of money in the old currency unit into a converted amount of money as a corresponding total amount of money in the new currency unit by using a predetermined exchange rate, and calculates a sum total amount of money in the new currency unit by adding the total amount of money in the new currency unit and the converted amount of money together. A display means displays information of the total amount of money in the new currency unit, the total amount of money in the old currency unit, the converted amount of money, and the sum total amount of money in the new currency unit. Accepting-instruction means gives an accepting instruction to receive money according to the information displayed by the display means. Money receiving means stores the new and old coins that have been temporarily reserved in the new and old coin holding units, and in the new and old coin storing units, respectively, in response to the accepting instruction provided by the accepting-instruction means, and receives money for the sum total amount of money in the new currency unit.
The coin receiving system is capable of dealing with coins of both the new currency unit and the old currency unit, and of receiving money for the “sum total amount of money in the new currency unit” represented by those coins of both currency units. Since the display means displays the total amount of money in the new currency unit, the converted amount of money, and the sum total amount of money in the new currency unit, the money receiving procedure can be executed in response to the accepting instruction after precisely confirming those amounts of money displayed by the display means.
Preferably, the coin receiving system further includes printing-instruction means for providing an accepting instruction for the accepting-instruction means, and providing a printing instruction. A printing means prints out at least part of the information displayed by the display means in response to the printing instruction provided by the printing-instruction means. The printing instruction means provides the accepting instruction and the printing instruction to accomplish the money receiving procedure, and the contents of the money receiving procedure can be printed for recording.
Preferably, the sorting means is adapted to sort the new coins by denomination and sort out the old coins regardless of denomination. The new coin holding unit and the new coin storing unit have divisions respectively for holding temporarily and storing the new coins sorted by denomination, and the old coin holding unit and the old coin storing unit are adapted to temporarily reserve and store the old coins of mixed denominations. Thus, new coins to be reused can be collected in individual denominations, and old coins not to be reused and to be disposed of are collected in mixed denominations to achieve efficient coin recovery.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a plan view of a coin sorting apparatus in a first embodiment according to the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a perspective view of a coin receiving system employing the coin sorting apparatus shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a sectional view in a plane parallel to the front of the coin receiving system shown in
FIG. 2
, showing a processing unit included in the coin receiving system shown in
FIG. 2
;
FIG. 4
is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of the coin receiving system shown in
FIG. 2
in a state where a storing unit is drawn out of a housing;
FIG. 5
is a longitudinal sectional view of a presorting unit included in the coin sorting apparatus shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 6
is a bottom view of a stationary disk included in the presorting unit of the coin sorting apparatus shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 7
is a plan view of the stationary disk shown in
FIG. 6
of assistance in explaining the movement of coins in the presorting unit of the coin sorting apparatus shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 8
is a sectional view of the presorting unit shown in
FIG. 7
taken on line X—X in
FIG. 7
, in a state where coins are moving in the coin passage;
FIG. 9
is a sectional view of the presorting unit taken on line Y—Y in
FIG. 7
;
FIG. 10
is an enlarged, fragmentary plan view of a main sorting unit included in the coin sorting apparatus shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 11
a
is an enlarged plan view of a rejecting unit (old coin sorting unit) included in the coin sorting apparatus shown in
FIG. 10
in a state for passing a coin;
FIG. 11
b
is a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to
FIG. 11
a
;
FIG. 12
a
is an enlarged plan view of the rejection unit (old coin sorting unit) included in the coin sorting apparatus shown in
FIG. 10
in a state for ejecting a coin;
FIG. 12
b
is a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to
FIG. 12
a
;
FIG. 13
is a view, similar to
FIG. 5
, of essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a first modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment;
FIG. 14
is a view, similar to
FIG. 6
, of the parts shown in
FIG. 13
;
FIG. 15
is a view, similar to
FIG. 7
, of the parts shown in
FIG. 13
;
FIG. 16
is a view, similar to
FIG. 8
, of the parts shown in
FIG. 13
;
FIG. 17
is a view, similar to
FIG. 16
, showing a state where overlapping coins are passed;
FIG. 18
is a view, similar to
FIG. 9
, of the parts shown in
FIG. 13
;
FIG. 19
is a view, similar to
FIG. 7
, of essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a second modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment;
FIG. 20
is a view, similar to
FIG. 7
, of essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a third modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment;
FIG. 21
is a sectional view taken on line Q—Q in
FIG. 20
;
FIG. 22
is a sectional view taken on line R—R in
FIG. 20
;
FIG. 23
is a view, similar to
FIG. 6
, of essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a fourth modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment;
FIG. 24
is a view, similar to
FIG. 18
, of the parts shown in
FIG. 23
;
FIG. 25
is a view, similar to
FIG. 18
, of essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a fifth modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment;
FIG. 26
is a view, similar to
FIG. 14
, of essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a sixth modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment;
FIG. 27
is a view, similar to
FIG. 15
, of the parts shown in
FIG. 26
;
FIG. 28
is a view, similar to
FIG. 13
, of the parts shown in
FIG. 26
;
FIG. 29
is a view (a sectional view taken on line X′—X′ in FIG.
27
), corresponding to
FIG. 16
, of the parts shown in
FIG. 26
;
FIG. 30
is a view (a sectional view taken on line X′—X′ in FIG.
27
), corresponding to
FIG. 17
, of the parts shown in
FIG. 26
;
FIG. 31
is a view (a sectional view taken on line Y′—Y′ in FIG.
27
), similar to
FIG. 18
, of the parts shown in
FIG. 26
;
FIG. 32
is a sectional view taken on line Z—Z in
FIG. 17
;
FIG. 33
is an enlarged view of a part of
FIG. 32
;
FIG. 34
is a view, similar to
FIG. 33
, showing the relation between a particular foreign matter and a step;
FIG. 35
is a view, similar to
FIG. 34
, showing a state where the particular foreign matter is passed;
FIG. 36
is a view similar to
FIG. 6
, of essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a seventh modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment;
FIG. 37
is an exploded perspective view of a rotary disk included in a coin sorting apparatus in a second embodiment according to the present invention;
FIG. 38
is a fragmentary sectional view of the rotary disk shown in
FIG. 37
, taken along a line perpendicular to radial grooves;
FIG. 39
a
is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a radial groove formed in a urethane rubber layer of the rotary disk shown in FIG.
37
and provided with a wear indicator;
FIG. 39
b
is a sectional view of the urethane rubber layer taken on line B—B in
FIG. 39
a
;
FIG. 40
is a sectional view in a plane perpendicular to the radial groove of the rotary disk in a state where a coin is held between a resilient member included in the rotary disk and a stationary disk;
FIG. 41
is a perspective view of a coin receiving system in a third embodiment according to the present invention;
FIG. 42
is a block diagram of a controller included in the coin receiving system shown in
FIG. 41
;
FIG. 43
is a view of an example of a picture displayed on a touchscreen of a display included in the coin receiving system shown in
FIG. 41
;
FIG. 44
is a view of a transaction sheet printed and issued by a printing unit included in the coin receiving system shown in
FIG. 41
;
FIG. 45
is a bottom view of a stationary disk included in a conventional coin sorting apparatus;
FIG. 46
is a partly omitted plan view of the conventional coin sorting apparatus; and
FIG. 47
shows longitudinal sectional views of essential parts of the coin sorting apparatus shown in
FIG. 46
in (a) a state for passing a coin, (b) a state for ejecting a coin and (c) a transient state between the states (a) and (b), respectively.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
First to third embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First Embodiment
The general construction of the first embodiment, the respective constructions of component units, and operations, functions and effects of the first embodiment will be described in that order with reference to
FIGS. 1
to
12
b.
[General Construction]
A coin receiving system in this embodiment is provided with a coin sorting apparatus s shown in
FIG. 1
to sort coins of mixed denominations by denomination. The coin sorting apparatus S includes a presorting unit or mechanism (presorting means) A for sorting coins into three groups, and two main sorting lines or units (main sorting means) B
1
and B
2
for sorting coins of the two groups by denomination, respectively.
The coin receiving system in this embodiment is intended to deal with coins of mixed currency units including Euro coins of eight denominations, and “different coins”, such as old coins, i.e., old-denomination coins, to be replaced with Euro coins. Euro coins are those of eight denominations that can be classified by diameter into two groups. In the following description, a currency unit, “cent Euro” will be referred simply as “cent”.
(1) Group of medium coins respectively having medium diameters: Coins of four denominations in order of increasing diameter: 20 cent, 1 Euro, 50 cent and 2 Euro
(2) Group of small coins respectively having small diameters: Coins of four denominations in order of increasing diameter: 1 cent, 2 cent, 10 cent and 5 cent
The different coins, such as old coins, include large coins having diameters greater than that of 2 Euro coins and belonging to a large coin group to be broadly sorted from the other groups. The different coins also include small and medium coins having diameters corresponding to those of coins of the medium coin group and the small coin group.
The coin sorting apparatus S is included in a coin processing unit
110
as shown in
FIG. 3
included in the coin receiving system shown in FIG.
2
. An information processing unit
100
is disposed behind the coin processing unit
110
and projects upward to a level above that of the upper surface of the coin processing unit
110
. A display
100
d
for displaying necessary information and an operating unit
100
e
provided with a plurality of operating buttons and such are placed on the front wall of the information processing unit
100
. A hopper
112
for feeding coins to be sorted is placed on the top wall of the coin processing unit
100
. A coin-feed opening
112
a
through which coins drop from the hopper
112
into the coin processing unit
110
is formed in a front part of the bottom of the hopper
112
.
The coin processing unit
110
is provided with a rejected coin box
114
, a return box
116
and a storage unit
120
, which can be drawn forward. As shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4
, the storage unit
120
has a plurality of coin storing cassettes (coin storing units)
124
a
to
124
j
, and a wheeled drawer
122
detachably holding the coin storing cassettes
124
a
to
124
j
. The drawer
122
has a front wall
122
a
and four casters
122
b
. As obvious from
FIGS. 3 and 4
, the storage unit
120
and the return box
116
are independent of each other and can be individually drawn out.
As shown in
FIGS. 1 and 3
, the presorting unit A has a stationary disk (stationary member)
1
, and a rotary disk
2
disposed under the stationary disk
1
contiguously with the lower surface of the stationary disk
1
. An inlet opening
1
a
is formed in a central part of the stationary disk
1
so as to correspond to the coin-feed opening
112
a
. The presorting unit A is formed such that a coin fed through the inlet opening
1
a
of the stationary disk
1
slides relative to the lower surface of the stationary disk
1
as the rotary disk
2
rotates. A guide structure is formed in the stationary disk
1
. The guide structure defines coin passages respectively for selectively guiding coins of the groups sliding along the lower surface of the stationary disk
1
.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
have guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
for guiding coins C to be sorted one by one for substantially horizontal movement, respectively. Conveying mechanisms
4
are disposed over the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
, respectively, to convey coins C along the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
. Four sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and four sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h
are arranged successively at intervals along the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
, respectively. Coins of respective denominations drop through the corresponding sorting holes
5
a
to
5
h.
Coin feed units (coin feeding means)
9
-
1
and
9
-
2
are disposed at upstream ends of the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
of the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
, respectively. The coin feed units
9
-
1
and
9
-
2
feeds coins of the two groups sorted beforehand by the presorting unit A onto the corresponding guide passages
3
-land
3
-
2
, respectively. The coin feed units
9
-
1
and
9
-
2
are provided with rotatable feed disks
90
, respectively. Coins of the two groups roughly sorted by the presorting unit A are delivered onto the feed disks
90
, respectively. Thickness limiting plates
94
for separating overlapping coins to feed coins one by one are disposed at the entrances of the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
so as to extend over peripheral parts of the feed disks
90
, respectively. Other areas corresponding to the circumferences of the feed disks
90
are covered with circumferential walls
92
, respectively.
Identification units (coin identifying means) D are disposed at positions corresponding to upstream parts of the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
of the main sorting units
8
l and B
2
, respectively, to identify coins fed by the coin feed units
9
-
1
and
9
-
2
by denomination. The identification units D may be, for example, publicly known ones capable of identifying coins through the magnetic determination of the material of coins or through the optical recognition of the images, such as relief patterns.
Rejection units (rejecting means)
6
a
and old coin sorting units (old coin sorting means)
6
b
are arranged successively between the identification unit D and the sorting hole
5
a
and between the identification unit D and the sorting hole Se in the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
of the main sorting units
81
and B
2
, respectively. The rejection units
6
a sort out different coins, i.e., coins that cannot be identified by the identification units D, such as foreign coins and counterfeit coins, before those coins reach the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and the sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h
, respectively.
The old coin sorting units
6
b
sort out old coins, i.e., coins of different denominations from those of coins to be sorted by the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
h
, before those coins reach the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and the sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h
, respectively. The identification units D of the coin receiving system in the first embodiment are capable of identifying old coins of old denominations and the coin receiving system is capable of dealing with the receipt of the old coins, which are sorted out by the old coin sorting units
6
b
, in addition to the receipt of Euro coins which are sorted by the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
. The coin receiving system is provided with a money receiving means, i.e., a control unit U shown in
FIG. 10
, capable of calculating the amount of money of coins including Euro coins and the old coins and identified by the identification units D for receiving management.
As shown in
FIG. 3
, chutes
140
are extended down from the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
, the sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h
and the old coin sorting units
6
b
. Temporary storage boxes (temporary holding units)
130
are disposed at the lower ends of the chutes
140
, respectively, to store coins temporarily therein. A return passage
150
connected to the return box
116
, and storing passages
152
connected to the coin storing cassettes
124
a
to
124
d
,
124
i
,
124
e
to
124
h
and
124
j
are disposed under the temporary storage boxes
130
.
Each of the temporary storage boxes
130
has a cylindrical body
132
and a bottom plate
134
closing the open lower end of the cylindrical body
132
. The cylindrical body
132
and the bottom plate
134
of each temporary storage box
130
can be shifted in opposite lateral directions by half a distance equal to the width of the temporary storage box
130
. When the temporary storage box
130
is moved to a position above the return passage
150
or the storing passage
152
, the lower end of the cylindrical body
132
of the temporary storage box
130
can be fully opened. The temporary storage boxes
130
are moved by a box driving mechanism, not shown.
[Component Units]
(1) The presorting unit A, (2) the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
, (3) the rejection units
6
a
and the old coin sorting unit
6
b
will be concretely described hereinafter.
(1) Presorting Unit
The construction of the presorting unit A will be described with reference to
FIGS. 1 and 5
to
9
. Referring to
FIG. 1
, the stationary disk
1
and the rotary disk
2
of the presorting unit A are joined by a hinge a
1
so that the stationary member
1
can be turned on the hinge a
1
relative to the rotary disk
2
. A locking device a
2
connected to a part diametrically opposite to the hinge a
1
of the stationary disk
1
locks the stationary disk
1
in place over the movable disk
2
.
Referring to
FIG. 5
the rotary disk
2
comprises a disk body
22
supported for rotation on a shaft
20
and an annular resilient member
2
a
attached to a peripheral part of the upper surface of the disk body
22
. The resilient member
2
a
is formed of a resilient material, such as rubber, to hold coins together with the stationary disk
1
and to move coins as the rotary disk
2
is rotated. The resilient member
2
a
absorbs the variation of a gap between the stationary disk
1
and the rotary disk
2
and differences between the thicknesses of coins of different denominations. A conical member
24
is disposed on a central part of the rotary disk
2
to prevent coins from staying on the central part of the rotary disk
2
.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, the rotary disk
2
is driven for rotation by a motor
25
through a pulley
26
attached to the output shaft of the motor
25
and a drive belt
28
extended between the pulley
26
and the disk body
22
(
FIG. 5
) of the rotary disk
2
.
A coin passage
10
formed in the lower surface
1
b
of the stationary disk
1
will be described with reference to
FIGS. 6
to
9
. The coin passage
10
extends counterclockwise as viewed in
FIG. 6
in a meandering spiral from the inlet opening la toward the periphery of the stationary disk l. The coin passage
10
has, arranged from the inlet opening toward the periphery of the stationary disk
1
, a large-coin passage section
10
a
, a medium-coin passage section
10
b
and a small-coin passage section
10
c
. As shown in
FIGS. 6 and 7
, the large-coin passage section
10
a
has a width that permits the passage of large coins C
1
, the medium-coin passage section
10
b
has a width L
1
that permits the passage of only medium coins C
2
and small coins C
3
, and the small-coin passage section
10
c
has a width L
2
that permits the passage of only small coins C
3
.
As shown in
FIG. 6
, the large-coin passage section
10
a
has a coin entrance
11
facing the inlet opening
1
a
, and stairs.
12
a
and
12
b
formed at an interval on the downstream side of the coin entrance
11
. The coin entrance
11
is formed such that the thickness of a gap between the coin entrance
11
and the resilient member
2
a
of the rotary disk
2
is greater than that of the thickest coins. Thus, all the coins fed into the inlet opening
1
a
can be moved into the coin entrance
11
by centrifugal force as the rotary disk
2
rotates.
The stairs
12
a
and
12
b
are formed to reduce the thickness of the gap between the resilient member
2
a
of the rotary disk
2
and the large-coin passage section
10
a
stepwise toward the downstream end of the large-coin passage section
10
a
. By virtue of the stairs
12
a
and
12
b
, overlapping coins are separated from each other to ensure that coins do not overlap each other and move in a single file in the coin passage
10
as shown in
FIG. 8
, which is a sectional view taken on line X—X in
FIG. 7
, showing a state where coins C are moving in the coin passage
10
. Since the large-coin passage section
10
a
extends spirally toward the circumference, the outer edges of all the coins moving in the large-coin passage section
10
a
engage the radial inner edge
10
i
as shown in FIG.
7
.
Referring to
FIGS. 6 and 7
, a large-coin sorting guide
15
a
is connected to the radial outer side of the medium-coin passage section
10
b
to guide only large coins C
1
selectively and to eject large coins C
1
in a substantially tangential direction. The large-coin sorting guide
15
a
has a step
16
a
and an ejecting passage
17
a
. The step
16
a
is formed at a boundary between the large-coin passage section
10
a
and the medium-coin passage section
10
b
. Only large coins C
1
of a diameter greater than the width L
1
of the medium-coin passage section
10
b
run onto an outer part of the step
16
a
as shown in FIG.
7
and
FIG. 9
showing a section taken on line Y—Y in
FIG. 7. A
ramp
16
a
′ is formed on the upstream side of the step
16
a
to facilitate coins running onto the step
16
a.
The ejecting passage
17
a
has a guide edge
18
a
for guiding a coin that has run onto the step
16
a
for movement in a substantially tangential direction, and an outlet
19
a
through which the coin guided by the guide edge
18
a
is ejected outside. A counting sensor
19
s
(
FIG. 6
) is disposed at a position immediately in front of the outlet
19
a
to count large coins C
1
passed the outlet
19
a
. Since all the coins engage the radial inner edge
10
i
, medium coins C
2
and small coins C
3
respectively having diameters smaller than the width L
1
do not run onto the step
16
a
and move into the medium-coin passage section
10
b.
A medium-coin sorting guide
15
b
is connected to the radial outer side of the small-coin passage section
10
c
to guide only medium coins C
2
selectively and to eject medium coins C
2
in a substantially tangential direction. The medium-coin sorting guide
15
b
, similarly to the large-coin sorting guide
15
a
, has a step
16
b
and an ejecting passage
17
b.
The step
16
b
is formed at a boundary between the medium-coin passage section
10
b
and the small-coin passage section
10
c
. Only medium coins C
2
of a diameter greater than the width L
2
of the small-coin passage section
10
c
run onto an outer part of the step
16
b
. A ramp
16
b
′ is formed on the upstream side of the step
16
b
to facilitate coins running onto the step
16
b.
The medium-coin passage section
10
b
extends downstream and is curved toward the inner circumference and then toward the outer circumference. Therefore, the outer edges of all the coins moving in the medium-coin passage section
10
b
engage the radial inner edge
10
i
as shown in FIG.
7
. Thus, small coins C
3
of a diameter smaller than the width L
2
move into the small-coin passage section
10
c
without running onto the step
16
b.
The small-coin passage section
10
c
extends downstream toward the inner circumference and toward the outer circumference, and terminates in a small-coin sorting guide
15
c
having an outlet
19
c.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, a large coin dropping hole
8
a
, a medium coin dropping chute
8
b
and a small coin dropping chute
8
c
are disposed so as to correspond to the outlets
19
a
,
19
b
and
19
c
of the presorting unit A, respectively. The large coin dropping hole
8
a
is connected to the temporary storage box
130
(
FIG. 3
) corresponding to the coin storing cassette
124
i
or
124
j
(FIGS.
3
and
4
). The medium coin dropping chute
8
b
and the small coin dropping chute
8
c
deliver medium coins ejected through the outlet
19
b
and small coins ejected through the outlet
19
c
to the coin feed units
9
-
1
and
9
-
2
, respectively.
(2) Main Sorting Units
The construction of the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
will be concretely described with reference to
FIGS. 1 and 10
. Although the rejection units
6
a
and the old coin sorting units
6
b
are disposed on the respective guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
of the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
, respectively, the construction of the rejection units
6
a
and the old coin sorting units
6
b
will be described in the next section (
3
).
The main sorting units B
1
and B
2
have the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
, conveying mechanisms
4
and the sorting: holes
5
a
to
5
d
and
5
e
to
5
h
, respectively. Those corresponding components of the main sorting units B
1
and
82
, excluding the sizes of the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and
5
e
to
5
h
, are identical. Therefore, basically, only the main sorting unit B
1
for sorting medium coins on the right-hand side in
FIG. 1
will be described.
The guide passage
3
-
1
is formed on a base plate S
1
(
FIG. 3
) supporting the coin sorting apparatus S. The guide passage
3
-
1
comprises a main guide member
32
and an auxiliary guide member
34
, and has a passage surface
30
defined on the surface of the base plate S
1
by the guide members
32
and
34
. The guide members
32
and
34
are extended on the base plate S
1
. Although the guide passage
3
-
1
is substantially straight, the guide passage
3
-
1
has an oblique section
36
slightly obliquely extending toward the auxiliary guide member
34
between the identification unit D and the rejection unit
6
a
, which is best shown in the guide passage
3
-
2
. Thus, the outer edges of coins C moving along the guide passage
301
engage the main guide member
32
and coins C move along the main guide member
32
.
The conveying mechanism
4
includes pulleys
40
,
41
and
42
disposed at positions in an end part (an upper part as viewed in
FIG. 1
) of the guide passage
3
-
1
, near the oblique section
36
, and in an inlet part (a lower part as viewed in
FIG. 1
) of the guide passage
3
-
1
, respectively. Convey or belts
43
and
44
are extended between the pulleys
40
and
41
, and between the pulleys
41
and
42
, respectively. A motor
46
drives the pulley
40
for rotation. The conveyor belts
43
and
44
are biased toward the main guide member
32
along which coins C move. The conveyor belts
43
and
44
come into contact with the upper surfaces of coins, press coins against the passage surface
30
and make coins slide along the passage surface
30
to convey coins as shown in
FIG. 11
b.
The sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
are formed in the base plate S
1
in substantially rectangular shapes of different sizes dependent on the diameters of coins to be dropped therein, respectively. One side edge on the side of the main guide member
32
of each of the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
is spaced slightly from the main guide member
32
. The other side edge on the side of the auxiliary guide member
34
of each of the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
is spaced a distance slightly greater than the diameter of coins to be dropped therein and smaller than the diameter of coins greater than that of coins to be dropped therein apart from the main guide member
32
.
Each of the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
is formed so as to make coins to be sorted out drop therein and to pass coins having diameters greater than that of coins to be sorted out. With this object in view, the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
are arranged from the upstream side downward in order of increasing diameters of corresponding coins. More concretely, the sorting holes
5
a
,
5
b
,
5
c
and
5
d
are formed to enable only 20 cent coins, 1 Euro coins, 50 cent coins and 2 Euro coins to drop therein, respectively.
The sorting holes
5
e
,
5
f
,
5
g
and
5
h
of the main sorting unit B
2
for sorting smaller coins are formed to enable only 1 cent coins, 2 cent coins, 10 cent coins and 5 cent coins to drop therein, respectively. Sensors T for detecting the passage of coins are disposed immediately in front of the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h
, respectively.
(3) Rejection Units and Old coin sorting units
The rejection units
6
a
and the old coin sorting units
6
b
will be described with reference to
FIGS. 10
to
12
b
. Although only the main sorting unit B
5
on the right-hand side in
FIG. 1
is shown in
FIG. 10
, the rejecting unit
6
a
and the old coin sorting unit
6
b
of the other main sorting unit B
2
are basically the same as those shown in
FIG. 10
, respectively. Although only the rejection unit
6
a
is shown in
FIG. 10
, the rejection unit
6
a
and the old coin sorting unit
6
b
are the same in mechanism. Therefore, both the reference characters
6
a
and
6
b
are indicated side by side in
FIGS. 11
a
to
12
b
, and the rejection unit
6
a
and the old coin sorting unit
6
b
are referred to inclusively as “unit
6
a
,
6
b
” in the following description.
Referring to
FIGS. 11
a
to
12
b
, the unit
6
a
,
6
b
has an ejecting hole
60
formed in the base plate S
1
(passage member), a support roller
62
and a presser roller
66
. The ejecting hole
60
extends from a position near the main guide member
32
across the auxiliary guide member
34
to a position on the outer side of the auxiliary guide member
34
. The support roller
62
and the presser roller
66
are disposed on the lower and the upper side of the base plate S
1
, respectively, at positions corresponding to the ejecting hole
60
.
As shown in
FIG. 11
a
, the ejecting hole
60
has a hexagonal shape defined by a guide edge-face (guiding side wall)
60
a
, a downstream edge-face
60
b
, an outer edge-face
60
c
, an opposite edge-face
60
d
, an upstream edge-face
60
e
and an inner edge-face
60
f
. The guide edge-face
60
a
and the opposite edge-face
60
d
, the downstream edge-face
60
b
and the upstream edge-face
60
e
, and the outer edge-face
60
c
and the inner edge-face
60
f
are parallel to each other, respectively. The inner edge-face
60
f
coincides with the inner side of the main guide member
32
.
The guide edge-face
60
a
extends on the passage surface
30
obliquely away from the main guide member
32
in a downstream direction to a middle of the width of the guide passage and is inclined at an angle of about 30° to the main guide member
32
. An end on the side of the main guide member
32
of the guide edge-face
60
a
corresponds to the axis of the support roller
62
.
A coin sensor T′ for detecting the arrival and passage of a coin C is disposed immediately in front of the upstream edge-face
60
e
of the ejecting hole
60
. A signal provided by the sensor T′ is given to a control unit U shown in FIG.
10
.
Referring to
FIG. 11
b
, the support roller
62
has a shaft
63
, an eccentric bearing (eccentric member)
64
and a free roller member
65
. The support roller
62
is turned between a coin-passing position where the upper end thereof is at a level not lower than that of the upper edge of the guide edge-face
60
a
(passage surface
30
) and a coin-ejecting position where the upper end thereof is at a level below that of the upper edge of the guide edge-face
60
a
of the ejecting hole
60
.
More concretely, the eccentric bearing
64
fastened to the shaft
63
is turned by a stepping motor
68
(FIG.
10
). In a state where the support roller
62
is set at the coin-passing position, a major-radius section
64
a
of the eccentric bearing
64
faces up as shown in
FIG. 11
b
. In a state where the support roller
62
is set at the coin-ejecting position, a minor-radius section
64
b
faces up as shown in
FIG. 12
b.
A signal indicating the result of the coin identifying operation of the identification unit D is given to the control unit (controller) U. The control unit U gives a drive signal to and controls the stepping motor
68
(FIG.
10
).
The free roller member
65
is mounted for free rotation on the circumference of the eccentric bearing
64
. The presser roller
66
is adapted to rotate while pressing the coin C with the conveyor belt
43
against the support roller
62
so as to hold the coin C between the conveyor belt
43
and the support roller
62
set at the coin-passing position as shown in
FIG. 11
b.
Preferably, the upper end of the support roller
62
(the upper end of the free roller member
65
) is at a level slightly higher than that of the upper edge of the guide edge-face
60
a
of the ejecting hole
60
(passage surface
30
) when the support roller
62
is set at the coin-passing position shown in
FIG. 11
b.
When the support roller
62
is set at the coin-ejecting position shown in
FIG. 12
b
, the outer edge of a coin supported on the support roller
62
must be able to come into contact with the guide edge-face
60
a
of the ejecting hole
60
. Theoretically, when the support roller
62
is set at the coin-ejecting position, the level of the upper end of the support roller
62
, though dependent on the thickness of a coin to be supported thereon, must be lower than that of the upper edge of the guide edge-face
60
a
. In view of surely bringing the outer edge of a coin C into contact with the guide edge-face
60
a
of the ejecting hole
60
, it is preferable that the level of the upper end of the support roller
62
is slightly lower than that of the lower edge of the guide edge-face
60
a.
When the identification unit D decides that a coin is one to be ejected, such as an unidentifiable coin, an old coin or a special coin, the coin is ejected by the following operations. The identification unit D gives an identification signal indicating the result of identification of a coin C to the control unit U. Upon the detection of the coin at the position corresponding to the sensor T′, the sensor T′ gives a coin detection signal to the control unit U. Then, the control unit U gives a drive signal to the stepping motor
68
to set the support roller
62
at the coin-ejecting position shown in
FIG. 12
b
. After the passage of a time needed by the coin C to move away from the support roller
62
, the control unit U gives a drive signal to the stepping motor
68
to set the support roller
62
at the coin-passing position shown in
FIG. 11
b.
[Operations and Functions]
The operations and functions of the first embodiment thus constructed will be described in terms of (1) processes to be carried out by the presorting unit A, and (2) processes to be carried out by the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
. Coins to be processed by the following processes are, as mentioned above, mixed coins including Euro coins of eight denominations, old coins and different coins. Incidentally, certain of the operations and functions that are apparent from the above-described constructions will be omitted.
(1) Processes to be carried out by the Presorting Unit
The coins to be processed are loaded into the hopper
112
shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3
, and fed into the inlet opening
1
a
of the presorting unit A. As shown in
FIG. 7
, coins fed in the inlet opening
1
a
enter the coin entrance
11
and are moved along the coin passage
10
as the rotary disk
2
rotates.
Among coins moved along the large-coin passage section
10
a
and reaching the step
16
a
of the large-coin sorting guide
15
a
, only large coins (old coins) C
1
run onto the step
16
a
and are advanced to the ejecting passage
17
a
, are counted by the counting sensor
19
s
, and are ejected through the outlet
19
a
. The rest of the coins, i.e., medium coins C
2
and small coins C
3
, are advanced into the medium-coin passage section
10
b.
Among the medium and the small coins C
2
and C
3
reached the step
16
b
of the medium-coin sorting guide
15
b
, only the medium coins C
2
run onto the step
16
b
are moved along the ejecting passage
17
b
and are ejected through the outlet
19
b
. The rest of the coins, i.e., the small coins C
3
, are advanced into the small-coin passage section
10
c
and are ejected through the outlet
19
c
of the small-coin sorting guide
15
c.
The large coins C
1
ejected through the outlet
19
a
of the presorting unit A are dropped through the large coin dropping hole
8
a
(
FIG. 1
) into the temporary storage box
130
for temporary storage. If the large coins C
1
are old coins of a single denomination, the number of the old coins are counted by the counting sensor
19
s
(
FIG. 6
) for receiving management. The medium coins C
2
and the small coins C
3
ejected through the outlets
19
b
and
19
c
of the presorting unit A, respectively, are delivered through the chutes
8
b
and
8
c
to the coin feed units
9
-
1
and
9
-
2
, respectively (FIGS.
1
and
3
).
(2) Processes to be carried out by the Main sorting Units
Referring to
FIG. 1
, the medium coins C
2
and the small coins C
3
delivered respectively to the coin feed units
9
-
1
and
9
-
2
are fed one by one via the thickness limiting plates
94
onto the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
as the feed disks
90
rotates. The coins fed onto the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
are conveyed along the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
by the conveying mechanisms
4
.
While the medium and the small coins are being conveyed along the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
, respectively, the identification units D identify the medium and the small coins. Different coins that could not be identified by the identification units D are sorted out by the rejecting units
6
a
before the different coins advance to the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and the sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h
. The old coins, which were identified as coins not to be sorted by the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and the sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h
by the identification units D, are sorted out by the old coin sorting units
6
b
before the same reach the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and the sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h.
The medium and the small coins passed the rejection units
6
a
and the old coin sorting units
6
b
are sorted by denomination by the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
and are dropped through the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and the sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h
respectively corresponding to coins of different denominations. The coins dropped through the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and the sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h
, and the old coins selected by the old coin sorting unit
6
b
, are stored temporarily in the temporary storage boxes
130
, respectively, for coins of different denominations. The different coins sorted out by the rejection units
6
a
are eventually delivered to the rejected coin box
114
(FIG.
2
).
The support rollers
62
of each rejection unit
6
a
and each old coin sorting unit
6
b
are controlled for a sorting process for sorting out coins C in the following manner.
(i) Each of coins C being conveyed by the conveying belt
43
along the main guide members
32
of the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
is held between the support roller
62
and the conveyor belt
43
pressed by the presser roller
66
and passes the ejecting hole
60
instead of dropping into the ejecting hole
60
when the support roller
62
is set at the coin-passing position as shown in
FIGS. 11
a
and
11
b.
(ii) Each of coins C being conveyed by the conveying belt
43
along the main guide members
32
of the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
sinks in a tilted position in the ejecting hole
60
onto the support roller
62
and its outer edge engages the guide edge-face
60
a
of the ejecting hole
60
when the support roller
62
is set at the coin-ejecting position as shown in
FIGS. 12
a
and
12
b
. The guide edge-face
60
a
guides the coin C so that the coin C is spaced laterally away from the main guide member
32
as the same moves downstream along the guide passage
3
-
1
. Consequently, the coin C moves obliquely laterally away from the support roller
62
and drops into the ejecting hole
60
so that the coin C is rejected through the hole
60
.
Respective total amounts of money of the Euro coins, i.e., the large, medium and small coins, and the old coins of different denominations stored temporarily in the temporary storage boxes
130
have been calculated individually by the money receiving means. Sum total amount of money of the new and the old coins also has been calculated by the money receiving means. After the amount of money displayed by the display
100
d
of the information processing unit
100
(
FIG. 2
) has been confirmed and a receiving operation has been accomplished by operating the operating unit
10
e
, the coins contained in the temporary storage boxes
130
are transferred to the corresponding coin storing cassettes
124
a
to
124
j
(FIGS.
3
and
4
), respectively. Coins that need to be returned among those temporarily stored in the temporary storage boxes
130
due to disagreement with confirmed amounts of money are transferred from the temporary storage boxes
130
to the return box
116
(
FIGS. 3 and 4
) by operating the operating unit
100
for returning the same coins.
[Effect]
As apparent from the foregoing description, according to the first embodiment, the two groups of coins (medium and small coins) roughly sorted by the presorting unit A are sorted by denomination by the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
. Thus the number of denominations to be sorted by each sorting operation can be reduced. The coins (medium and small coins) of each group sorted by the presorting unit A are identified by the identification units D, and coins to be rejected are rejected by the rejection units
6
a
and the old coin sorting units
6
b
on the basis of the result of identification of the coins by the identification units D. Therefore, the number of denominations of the coins to be sorted by the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
can be further reduced; that is, old coins and the like can be excluded from coins to be sorted by the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
.
Accordingly, coins of many denominations can be surely sorted. The degree of freedom of selection of sorting method to be carried out by the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
can be greatly increased; that is, even mixed coins including Euro coins of mixed denominations and old coins, which are difficult to sort by a single sorting means, can be surely and smoothly sorted by the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
, which are similar to generally known sorting apparatuses.
More specifically, Euro coins of eight denominations include coins having a thickness not smaller than twice the thickness of the thinnest coins. Therefore, it is difficult to separate overlapping coins by the thickness limiting plate
94
(
FIG. 10
) to feed coins one by one if a single main sorting unit is used for sorting Euro coins of all denominations, because the thickness limiting plate
94
set so as to define a gap to permit the thickest coins to pass therethrough permits the superposed thinnest coins to pass therethrough.
In this embodiment, each of the groups of coins roughly sorted by the presorting unit A does not include coins having a thickness not smaller than twice the thickness of the thinnest coins. Therefore, the thickness limiting plates
94
of the coin feed units
9
-
1
and
9
-
2
separate overlapping coins so that the coins are fed one by one and hence the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
are able to surely sort the coins.
Since the number of denominations of coins to be sorted by each of the main sorting unit B
1
and B
2
is reduced, the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
of the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
need to be provided with the four sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and the four sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h
, respectively, instead of eight sorting holes for single sorting means, so that the guide passages
3
-
1
and
3
-
2
have a short length.
The coin receiving system in this embodiment is capable of dealing with mixed coins including the Euro coins of eight denominations to be sorted by the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
and old coins (i.e. the large coins C
1
to be sorted by the presorting unit A and the different coins to be sorted out by the old coin sorting units
6
b
) for money receiving management.
As mentioned above, the rejection units
6
a
and the old coin sorting units
6
b
move a coin C in an obliquely lateral direction on the support roller
62
and drop the coin C from the support roller
62
, instead of moving and dropping the coin C straight in a conveying direction along the support roller
62
. Thus the coin C to be ejected can be quickly separated from the support roller
62
set at the coin-ejecting position and hence the timing of returning the support roller
62
from the coin-ejecting position to the coin-passing position can be advanced.
A coin C advancing past the support roller
62
set at the coin-passing position passes the guide edge-face
60
a
of the ejecting hole
60
and runs onto the passage surface
30
on the side of the main guide member
32
. Then the coin C is held between the passage surface
30
and the conveying belt
43
. Therefore, even if the support roller
62
is turned to the coin-ejecting position after the coin C has run onto the passage surface
30
, the coin C does not drop into the ejecting hole
60
, but the succeeding coin C can be dropped into the ejecting hole
60
.
Thus, the coin receiving system is capable of surely sorting coins even if the timing of changing the position of the support roller
62
between the coin-passing position and the coin-ejecting position is advanced, and is capable of sorting coins at a sorting rate higher than that at which the conventional coin receiving system sort coins.
Whereas a coin C moving in the conveying direction is moved straight to pass the support roller
62
when the support roller
62
is set at the coin-passing position (
FIGS. 11
a
and
11
b
), a coin C to be ejected by setting the support roller
62
at the coin-ejecting position (
FIGS. 12
a
and
12
b
) is moved obliquely laterally and dropped from the support roller
62
. Therefore, the difference between the diameter of the smallest coin that can pass the ejecting hole
60
(when the support roller
62
is set at the coin-passing position) and that of the largest coin that can drop into the ejecting hole
60
(when the support roller
62
is set at the coin-ejecting position) is greater than that in the conventional coin receiving system. Thus, the coin receiving system in this embodiment is capable of sorting coins having diameters in a range wider than that of diameters of coins that can be sorted by the conventional sorting apparatus.
[Modifications]
Although the embodiment has been described as applied to sorting mixed coins including Euro coins of eight denominations and coins of other denominations, such as old coins, the present invention is applicable, in principle, to sorting coins regardless of denominations, when coins of at least three denominations are sorted roughly into two or more groups of coins and the groups of coins are subjected to sorting.
A publicly known guide structure capable of selectively guiding coins of different denominations for rough sorting may be used instead of the foregoing guide structure of the presorting unit A. Sorting units of publicly known mechanisms, such as electrical sorting units, may be employed instead of the foregoing coin sorting units of the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
. For example, the sorting units for sorting respective coins of all the denominations may be similar to the rejecting units
6
a.
The shape of the ejecting holes
60
of the rejecting units
6
a
and the old coin sorting units
6
b
is not limited to that shown in
FIG. 11
a
. The ejecting holes
60
may be of any shape provided that the ejecting holes
60
have the function of the guide edge-face
60
a
and are capable of dropping coins to be dropped therethrough. The presser roller
66
is employed in the foregoing embodiment in view of further firmly holding a coin between the support roller
62
and the conveyor belt
43
. However, the presser roller
66
may be omitted if a coin can be surely held between the support roller
62
and the conveying belt
43
.
Seven specific modifications of this embodiment will be described hereinafter.
(1) Referring to
FIGS. 13
to
18
showing essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a first modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment, the coin sorting apparatus has a rotary disk
2
provided with a plurality of resilient ring belts
2
b
instead of the resilient member
2
a
, and a stationary disk
1
A provided in its lower surface
1
b
with grooves
14
of a shape conforming to upper parts of the resilient belts
2
b.
The resilient belts
2
b
of the rotary disk
2
are hollow rings formed of a resilient material, such as urethane rubber, and having a circular cross section. The rotary disk
2
has a disk body
22
provided with concentric circular grooves
24
respectively for accommodating the resilient belts
2
b.
The plurality of resilient belts
2
b
attached to the disk body
22
, similarly to the resilient member
1
a
, hold coins together with the stationary disk
1
A, move coins held between the resilient belts
2
b
and the stationary disk
1
A as the rotary disk
1
A rotates and absorb the variation of the gap between the stationary disk
1
A and the resilient belts
2
b
and the difference in thickness between coins of different denominations (
FIGS. 16
to
18
).
As shown in
FIGS. 16
to
18
, upper parts of the resilient belts
2
b
attached to the rotary disk
2
are received in the grooves
14
formed in the lower surface
1
b
of the stationary disk
1
A to effectively prevent coins from moving out of sections
10
a
to
10
c
of a coin passage
10
. As shown in
FIG. 14
, the grooves
14
are formed only in a part of the lower surface
1
b
of the stationary disk
1
A where the distance between the stationary disk
1
A and the rotary disk
2
is short. Grooves are not formed in parts of the lower surface
1
b
of the stationary disk
1
A in which coin sorting guides
15
a
and
15
b
are formed.
As shown in
FIG. 14
, a superposed coin returning part
13
is formed contiguously with an inlet opening
1
a
in a region corresponding to the boundary between the large-coin passage section
10
a
and the medium-coin passage section
10
b
. The superposed coin returning part
13
deals with superposed coins that passed stairs
12
a
and
12
b
without being separated. The upstream and the downstream side of the superposed coin returning part
13
are limited by an upstream shoulder portion
13
a
and a downstream shoulder portion
13
b
, respectively.
The upstream shoulder portion
13
a
is formed in a height smaller than the thickness of the thinnest coins (
FIG. 17
) to permit only the lower one, i.e., the one on the side of the rotary disk
2
, of two superposed coins to pass toward the inlet opening
1
a
. The downstream step
13
b
guides a coin passed by the upstream shoulder portion
13
a
toward the inlet opening
1
a.
The operation and effect of the first embodiment and the first modification will be additionally described with reference to
FIGS. 14 and 15
.
When the coin sorting apparatus
5
operates for an ordinary coin sorting process, the rotary disk
2
is rotated in the normal direction, i.e., a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG.
15
. The outer edges of coins are brought into engagement with the radial inner edge portions
10
i
-
a
and
10
i
-
b
of the sections of the coin passage
10
to sort coins by diameter. Thus, this coin sorting operation does not need to use centrifugal force acting on coins, which is essential to conventional coin sorting apparatuses. Therefore, this coin sorting apparatus has a high degree of freedom of selection of the rotating speed of the rotary disk
2
, i.e., sorting rate.
Positions of coins moving along the coin passage
10
are limited to a region between the radial inner edge
10
i
and the radial outer edge
10
o
of the coin passage
10
. Upstream sections of the coin passage
10
on the upstream side of steps
16
a
and
16
b
extend away from the center of the stationary disk
1
A toward the downstream side so as to urge coins radial outward by the radial inner edge
10
i
of the coin passage
10
when the rotary disk
2
is rotated in the normal direction, so that the coins engage the radial inner edge portions
10
i
-
a
and
10
i
-
b.
Downstream sections of the coin passage
10
on the downstream side of the steps
16
a
and
16
b
approach the center of the stationary disk
1
A toward the downstream side. Therefore, when the rotary disk
2
is rotated in the reverse direction, the radial inner edge
10
i
of the upstream sections of the coin passage
10
(upstream sections of the coin passage
10
with respect to the direction of reverse rotation) urges coins radially outward to make the coins engage the radial inner edge portions
10
i
-
a
′and
10
i
-
b
′.
Consequently, even if the rotary disk
2
is rotated in the normal direction after having been reversed, it is insured that the outer edges of coins are in contact with the radial inner edge portions
10
i
-
a
and
10
i
-
b
. Therefore the normal sorting operation can be continued even if the rotary disk
2
is rotated in the normal direction after having been reversed. Thus, when the coin passage
10
is jammed with coins while the rotary disk
2
is rotating in the normal direction for the coin sorting operation and the rotary disk
2
is stopped, the rotation of the rotary disk
2
in the normal direction for the coin sorting operation can be resumed after temporarily reversing the rotary disk
2
and clearing the clogged coin passage
10
.
(2) Referring to
FIG. 19
showing essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a second modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment, a stationary disk
1
′ is provided with a coin passage
10
′ and six coin sorting guides
15
a
to
15
f
arranged around the coin passage
10
′. The coin sorting guides
15
a
to
15
e
have steps
16
a
to
16
e
corresponding to the respective diameters of six different coins C
1
to C
6
, and ejecting passages
17
a
to
17
e
including guide edges
18
a
to
18
e
and outlets
19
a
to
19
e
, respectively. In
FIG. 19
, the coins C
1
to C
3
are not the large coin Cl, the medium coin C
2
and the small coin C
3
mentioned in the description of the first embodiment, and matters signified by subscripts a, b and c are different from those signified by subscripts a, b and c used in the description of the first embodiment.
While the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment sorts coins by diameter into three groups, the coin sorting apparatus in the first modification is able to sort coins into six groups. For example, sorting coins respectively having six different diameters by diameter into three groups is rough sorting. The coin sorting apparatus in the first modification is capable of sorting coins of six denominations by denomination into six groups. Coins can be sorted by diameter not only into three or six groups, but also can be sorted into an optional number of groups by providing the stationary disk l′ with a desired number of coin sorting guides.
(3) Referring to
FIGS. 20
to
22
showing essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a third modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment, a stationary disk
1
A has a coin passage having a large-coin passage section
10
a
and a step
16
a
, and provided with pressing devices (pressing means)
7
and
7
′ disposed on the upstream side of the step
16
a
to press a coin toward the radial inner edge portion
10
i
-
a
of the coin passage.
Each of the pressing devices
7
and
7
′ includes a lever
72
pivotally supported by a shaft
70
on the upper surface of the stationary disk
1
A, a supporting rod
74
attached to the free end of the lever
72
and a roller
76
(e.g. bearing assembly) supported on the lower end of the supporting rod
74
. The supporting rods
74
are extended through slots
10
h
and
10
h
′ formed in the stationary disk
1
A so as to project from the lower surface of the stationary disk
1
A.
Each of the pressing devices
7
and
7
′ further includes a coil spring
78
forcing the lever
72
to turn toward the radial inner edge portion
10
i
-
a
. Normally, each coil spring
78
forces the lever
72
to turn so that the roller
76
enters the large-coin passage section
10
a
. When a coin engages the roller
76
, the coin shifts the roller
76
radial outward by a distance depending on the diameter of the coin, against the resilience of the coil spring
78
.
In this modification, the rollers
76
of the pressing devices
7
and
7
′ engage coins and urge the coins toward the radial inner edge portion
10
i
-
a
of the coin passage to ensure that the edges of all the coins engage the radial inner edge portion
10
i
-
a
of the coin passage. For example, when a thin, small coin C
3
′ lies between thick, large coins C
1
′ as shown in
FIGS. 20 and 22
, the small coin C
3
′ cannot be firmly held by an elastic belt
2
b
(
FIG. 22
) and hence it is possible that the small coin C
3
′ move radially outward. In such a state, the small coin C
3
′ can be surely brought into contact with the radial inner edge portion
10
i
-
a
by the pressing devices
7
and
7
′.
Although the pressing devices
7
and
7
′ are disposed on the upstream side of the step
16
a
on the assumption that coins to be sorted include large coins C
1
′ , pressing members
7
and
7
′ similar to those pressing devices
7
and
7
′ may be disposed on the upstream side of a step
16
b
for sorting medium coins, when necessary. The stationary disk
1
A does not need necessarily to be provided with the two pressing devices
7
and
7
′ , and pressing devices provided with plate springs or the like may be used instead of the pressing devices
7
and
7
′ provided with the levers.
(4) Referring to
FIGS. 23
to
24
showing essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a fourth modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment, the coin sorting apparatus has separate passage plates P
1
to P
5
forming bottom walls of passage sections
10
a
to
10
c
of a coin passage
10
, step plates (step-forming plates) SP
1
and SP
2
respectively forming steps
16
a
and
16
b
, and a main body of a stationary disk
1
A. The passage plates P
1
to P
5
and the step plates SP
1
and SP
2
are attached to the main body of the stationary disk
1
A.
FIG. 24
shows the passage plate P
3
and the step plate SP
1
in a sectional view.
The passage plates P
1
to P
5
are attached detachably to the main body of the stationary disk
1
A with, for example, screws. Therefore, the passage plates P
1
to P
5
, and the stationary disk
1
A can be formed of different materials and can be easily subjected to different processes, respectively. For example, only the passage plates P
1
to P
5
may be formed of an abrasion-resistant material and may be treated by a hardening process. The coin passage
10
may be formed of an optional number of passage plates or may be formed of a single passage plate.
The positions of the step places SP
1
and SP
2
on the stationary disk
1
A with respect to the width of the coin passage
10
are adjustable. The widths L
1
and L
2
of the coin passage
10
corresponding to the steps
16
a
and
16
b
are adjusted so that the widths L
1
and L
2
conform to the diameter of coins to be sorted. The reliability and smoothness of a coin sorting process can be enhanced by finely adjusting the widths L
1
and L
2
of the coin passage
10
. The step plates SP
1
and SP
2
, similarly to the passage plates P
1
to P
5
, may be formed of an abrasion-resistant material separately from the stationary disk
1
A and may be subjected to a hardening process.
(5) Referring to
FIG. 25
showing essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a fifth modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment, a stationary disk
1
A is provided with a coin passage
10
including passage sections
10
a
′ and
10
b
′ having bottom surfaces sloping down along the width of the passage sections
10
a
′ and
10
b
′ toward steps
16
a
and
16
b
so that radial inner edge portions
10
i
-
a
and
10
i
-
b
, and steps
16
a
and
16
b
are substantially at the same level. Thus, coins C
1
and C
2
lie in a substantially horizontal position after the same have run onto the steps
16
a
and
16
b
. In
FIG. 25
, only the passage section
10
a
′, the step
16
a
and the large coin C
1
are shown.
The fifth modification is capable of preventing the coins C
1
and C
2
from being caught in coin sorting guides
15
a
and
15
b
due to tilting and of smoothly ejecting the coins C
1
and C
2
. Smaller coins having smaller diameters are more liable to be caught in the coin sorting guides due to tilting. Therefore, only the bottom surface of the passage section for the medium coin C
2
may slope down toward the step
16
b.
(6)
FIGS. 26
to
35
show essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a sixth modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment. This coin sorting apparatus has a stationary disk
1
″ (
FIG. 26
) provided with a foreign matter sorting means
8
, and a rotary disk
2
″ (
FIG. 28
) provided with a laminated resilient member
200
.
The foreign matter sorting means
8
is disposed on the stationary disk
1
″ at a position corresponding to a downstream end of a coin passage
10
formed in the stationary disk
1
″. The foreign matter sorting means
8
ejects selectively foreign matters F (
FIG. 27
) thinner than the thinnest coin. The foreign matters F are, for example, paper clips and staples for a stapler. As shown in
FIGS. 26
,
27
and
32
to
35
, the foreign matter sorting means
8
has a foreign matter passage
80
branched off from a small-coin passage section
10
c
and terminating to the outside of the stationary disk
1
″. A stepped gate
82
is formed at the junction of the small-coin passage section
10
c
and the foreign matter passage
80
.
The foreign matter passage
80
extends in a direction substantially perpendicularly to the radius of the stationary disk
1
″ (tangential direction). The small-coin passage section
10
c
extends obliquely to the foreign matter passage
80
toward the periphery of the stationary disk
1
″. A gap
84
of a thickness greater than those of foreign matters F and smaller than that of the thinnest coin, i.e., a small coin C
3
, is formed between the stepped gate
82
and the resilient member
200
of the rotary disk
2
′.
As shown in
FIG. 27
, small coins C
3
and foreign matters F move through the small-coin passage section
10
c
. Since the small coins C
3
are unable to pass the gate
82
, the small coins C
3
are forced through the small-coin passage section
10
c
into an outlet
19
c
. The foreign matters F thinner than the small coins C
3
are caused to move tangentially by the rotation of the rotary disk
2
′. Consequently, the foreign matters F pass the gate
82
and enter the foreign matter passage
80
, so that the foreign matters F are separated from the small coins C
3
. Then, the foreign matters F are ejected from the foreign matter passage
80
outside the stationary disk
1
″. Thus, the foreign matters F and coins C
1
to C
3
can be collected separately.
As shown in
FIG. 34 and 35
, some foreign matters F having round edges, such as paper clips, are able to pass by the gate
82
even if the thickness thereof is slightly greater than the gap
84
, because the resilient member
200
is deformable. Therefore, the thickness of the gap
84
is determined taking the deformation of the resilient member
200
into consideration. For example, supposing that the thickness of the thinnest coin C
3
is 1.2 mm, the thickness of the gap
84
is on the order of 0.8 mm.
As shown in
FIG. 28
, the rotary disk
2
′ has a disk body
22
′, and the laminated resilient member
200
is attached to the flat upper surface of the disk body
22
′. As shown in
FIGS. 29
to
32
, the resilient member
200
has a thin urethane rubber layer
201
, and a porous resilient layer
201
underlying the urethane rubber layer
201
. Preferably, the porous resilient layer
206
is formed of rubber sponge (foam rubber). A metal plate
23
is attached to the lower surface of the resilient member
20
, and the metal plate
23
is fastened detachably to the disk body
22
′ with screws
29
(FIG.
28
).
(7)
FIG. 36
shows essential parts of a coin sorting apparatus in a seventh modification of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment. This coin sorting apparatus has a stationary disk
1
B differing in details in shape from the stationary disk
1
″ shown in
FIG. 26
employed in the coin sorting apparatus in the sixth modification described in (
6
). In
FIG. 36
, parts like those of the stationary disk
1
″ shown in
FIG. 26
are denoted by the same reference characters, and parts corresponding to those of the stationary disk l″ shown in
FIG. 26
are denoted by reference numerals produced by adding 600 to those denoting the parts of the stationary disk
1
″ shown in FIG.
26
. Principal differences between the stationary disk
1
B and the stationary disk
1
″ shown in
FIG. 26
will be described.
Referring to
FIG. 36
, a coin entrance
11
is provided with a semicircular protrusion
600
. The protrusion
600
pushes the upper one (a coin on the side of the stationary disk
1
B) of two superposed coins back toward an inlet opening
1
a.
The stationary disk
1
B is provided with stairs
612
a
and
612
b
respectively having guide edges
612
a
′ and
612
b
′ curving toward the inlet opening
1
a
. The guide edges
612
a
′ and
612
b
′ guide coins which are apart from the radial outer edge
610
o
of a coins passage
610
and the upper one of superposed coins toward the inlet opening
1
a
. The second stair
612
b
projects toward the lower surface
1
b
of the stationary disk
1
B more than the surface of a large-coin passage section
610
a
extending on the downstream side of the second step
612
b
to form shoulders on the upstream and the downstream side of the second step
612
b.
In the stationary disk
1
B, a step
616
b
formed in a medium-coin sorting guide
615
b
is formed by an adjustable step plate SP
2
′ similar to the step plate SP
2
shown in FIG.
23
. The position of the step plate SP
2
′ is adjustable. A ramp
616
b
′ formed in the step plate SP
2
′ projects into a small-coin passage section
610
c
having a width L
2
. Small coins C
3
having a diameter smaller than the width L
2
of the small-coin passage section
610
c
are able to climb over a projecting part of the ramp
616
b
′ and to advance from a medium-coin passage section
610
b
into the small-coin passage section
610
c.
The stationary disk
1
B is provided with a superposed coin returning part
613
, and ejecting passages
617
a
and
617
b
, which are somewhat different in shape from but substantially the same in function as those of the stationary disk
1
″ shown in FIG.
26
.
Second Embodiment
A coin sorting apparatus in a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to
FIGS. 37
to
40
. The coin sorting apparatus in the second embodiment is provided with a rotary disk
2
′ basically the same as the rotary disk
2
′ (
FIG. 28
) of the coin sorting apparatus in the sixth modification of the first embodiment.
Referring to
FIG. 37
, the rotary disk
2
′ has a disk body
22
′ supported by a shaft
20
for rotation, a resilient member
200
having the shape of a laminated disk and attached to the upper surface of the disk body
22
′. As shown in
FIGS. 37 and 38
, the resilient member
200
has a thin urethane rubber layer
201
and a porous resilient layer
206
underlying the urethane rubber layer
201
. Preferably, the porous resilient layer
206
is formed of rubber sponge (foam rubber) having a comparatively high impact resilience of, for example, a compression load in the range of about 630 to about 950 g/cm
2
at 25% compression.
As shown in
FIGS. 37
to
39
b
, a plurality of radial grooves
202
are formed in the outer surface
203
of the urethane rubber layer
201
. The radial grooves
202
are arranged so that circumferential intervals I (
FIG. 39
b
) of the outer ends of the radial grooves
202
on the periphery of the resilient member
200
are smaller than the diameter of the smallest coin.
As shown in
FIGS. 39
a
and
39
b
, a part of some of the radial grooves
202
is formed in a depth smaller than other parts of the radial groove
202
to form a wear indicator
204
. For example, the urethane rubber layer
201
has a thickness of about 1 mm, the depth D
2
of the part of the radial groove
202
corresponding to the wear indicator
204
is about 0.1 mm and the depth D
1
of other parts of the radial groove
202
is 0.3 mm.
The urethane rubber layer
201
provided with the radial grooves
202
is formed of a thermoplastic urethane rubber and can be easily manufactured by injection molding.
As shown in
FIGS. 37 and 38
, a circular metal plate
23
is attached to the lower surface of the resilient member
200
. The metal plate
23
is fastened to the disk body
22
′ with four screws
29
to attach the resilient member
200
detachably to the disk body
22
′. A center hole
200
a
is formed in the resilient member
200
to receive the heads of the screws
29
therein. The center hole
200
a
is covered with a conical member
24
′ for preventing coins dropped onto the rotary disk
2
′ from accumulating in a central part of the rotary disk
2
′. Four threaded holes
22
a
for the four screws
29
are formed in a central part of the disk body
22
′.
The resilient member
200
attached to the disk body
22
′ holds coins together with the stationary disk
1
, moves the coins as the rotary disk
2
′ rotates, and absorbs the variation of the thickness of the gap between the resilient member
200
and the stationary disk
1
, and differences in thickness between coins of different denominations (FIG.
40
).
The resilient member
200
having an upper surface coated with the urethane rubber layer
201
of the rotary disk
2
′ of the second embodiment has abrasion resistance higher than those of other resilient members of other synthetic rubbers. Since the radial grooves
202
formed in the outer surface
203
of the urethane rubber layer
201
engage the outer edges of coins C as shown in
FIG. 40
, the rotary disk
2
′ is able to exert an increased carrying force on coins C in the rotating direction of the rotary disk
2
′ without increasing holding force restraining coins C from radial movement.
The plurality of radial grooves
202
formed in the outer surface
203
of the urethane rubber layer
201
enhances the flexibility of the urethane rubber layer
201
(FIG.
40
). Therefore, even if coins respectively having different thicknesses are arranged side by side, those coins can be firmly held between the urethane rubber layer
201
and the stationary disk
1
. For the reasons stated above, the coin sorting apparatus is capable of performing a reliable coin sorting operation for an extended period of time.
Since the radial grooves
202
are arranged so that the circumferential intervals I of the radial grooves
202
on the periphery of the resilient member
200
are smaller than the diameter of the smallest coin, all the small coins lie on the radial grooves
202
even if the small coins lie successively in the circumferential direction on the resilient member
200
, and hence the aforesaid function and effect of the radial grooves
202
can always be exercised. Since the wear indicator
204
is formed in a part of some of the radial grooves
202
in a depth smaller than other parts of the radial groove
202
, the bottom surface of the wear indicator
204
appears first as the urethane rubber layer
201
is abraded gradually to provide notification of the abrasion of the urethane rubber layer or to provide information for deciding the time for replacing the resilient member
200
with a new one (
FIGS. 39
a
and
39
b
).
Since the resilient member
200
has the porous resilient layer
206
underlying the urethane rubber layer
201
, the resilient member
200
is highly compressible and is capable of flexibly dealing with coins respectively having different thicknesses. Since the porous resilient layer
206
is formed of rubber sponge having particularly high resilience among porous resilient materials, the resilient member
200
is capable of surely holding adjacently arranged coins respectively having different thicknesses.
Since the resilient member
200
is attached detachably to the disk body
22
′ by fastening the metal plate
23
to the disk body
22
′ with the screws
29
(FIG.
37
), the resilient member
200
can be very easily replaced with a new one.
Third Embodiment
A coin receiving system in a third embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to
FIGS. 41
to
44
. The coin receiving system in the third embodiment is provided with a coin sorting apparatus similar to the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment. In
FIGS. 41
to
44
, parts like or corresponding to those of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment shown in
FIGS. 1
to
12
b
will be denoted by the same reference characters, and reference will be made to
FIGS. 1
to
12
b
when necessary. Description of mechanisms and operations identical with those of the first embodiment will be partly or entirely omitted. The construction, operation, function, effect and modification of the third embodiment will be described in sequence.
[Construction]
The coin receiving system is intended to receive mixed coins including Euro coins of a new currency unit (new coins) and coins of old currency units, such as those of European currencies including DM currency, to be converted into Euro coins. Euro coins are sorted by operations previously described in connection with the first embodiment.
Referring to
FIG. 41
showing the appearance of the coin receiving system in the third embodiment, a display/control panel
100
a
consisting of a touch-screen display, a card slot
100
b
and a receipt slot
100
c
are arranged on the front wall of an information processing unit
100
.
The coin receiving system has a storage unit
120
having a plurality of coin storing cassettes
124
a
to
124
j
, and temporary storage boxes
130
respectively corresponding to the storing cassettes
124
a
to
124
j
(FIGS.
3
and
4
). The storing cassettes
124
a
to
124
h
are new coin storing cassettes (new coin storing unit) each for storing new coins of corresponding denomination, respectively. The coin storing cassettes
124
i
and
124
j
are old coin storing cassettes (old coin storing unit) each for storing old coins of mixed denominations. The temporary storage boxes
130
are divided into those each for temporarily holding the new coins of corresponding denomination (new coin holding units), and those for temporarily holding the old coins of mixed denominations (old coin holding units).
The coin receiving system has a controller (counting means, arithmetic means and money receiving means) U′ as shown in FIG.
42
. Information windows (display means)
101
to
104
and operating areas
105
to
107
included in the display/control panel
100
a
are connected to the controller U′. A card reader R for reading information from a card inserted in the card slot
100
b
, and a printer (printing means) P for printing a receipt to be issued through the receipt slot
100
c
are connected to the controller U′. An identification unit (identifying and counting means) D, a large coin counting sensor (counting means)
19
s
(
FIG. 6
) and a driving circuit for driving the temporary storage boxes
130
are connected to the controller U′.
Sensors T disposed immediately in front of the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
d
and sorting holes
5
e
to
5
h
of the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
shown in
FIG. 1
are connected to the controller U′ shown in FIG.
42
. The sensors T recognizes the passage of coins in addition to identification of coins by denomination and counting of coins by the identification unit D to enhance the reliability of the controller (counting means) U′ in counting operation.
FIG. 43
is a view of an example of a picture displayed on the touchscreen of the display/control panel
100
a
shown in
FIG. 41
, i.e., information displayed in information windows
101
to
104
and the operating areas
105
to
107
. The picture shown in
FIG. 43
includes a “total amount of money in the new currency unit”
101
, a “total amount of money in the old currency unit”
102
, a “converted amount of money in the new currency unit”
103
and a “sum total amount of money in the new currency unit”
104
.
The operating areas
105
to
107
serve as a print button (printing-instruction means)
105
, an acceptance button (accepting-instruction means)
106
and a cancellation button
107
, respectively. The print button
105
is used for giving an accepting instruction to the controller U′ (FIG.
42
), and for giving a printing instruction for printing a receipt is given to the printer P (FIG.
42
). The acceptance button
106
is used for giving the accepting instruction to the controller U′ (FIG.
42
).
The display/control panel
100
a
is capable of displaying other pictures including a ten-key (numeric keypad) picture for entering numeric characters representing an account number and such. An account number and such may be entered by reading information recorded in a card inserted in the card slot
100
b
(
FIG. 41
) by the card reader R (FIG.
42
).
FIG. 44
shows an example of a receipt printed and issued by the printer P (FIG.
42
). Printed on the receipt shown in
FIG. 44
is data similar to those indicated in the information windows
101
to
104
and including the “total amount of money in the new currency unit”
101
, the “total amount of money in the old currency unit”
102
, the “converted amount of money in the new currency unit”
103
and the “sum total amount of money in the new currency unit”
104
. The denomination I
1
, the number-of-coins I
2
and the amount-of-money (value) I
3
of received coins of each denomination of each currency unit are itemized in the receipt.
The controller U′ shown in
FIG. 42
has the following functions of counting means, arithmetic means and money receiving means.
The controller U′ functions as a counting means and calculates the “total amount of money in the new currency unit”
101
, and the “total amount of money in the old currency unit”
102
on the basis of identification of the coins by the identification unit D. As shown in
FIG. 44
, each of the total amounts of money to be displayed in the information windows
101
and
102
can be calculated by calculating the amount of money of each denomination by using (Amount (Value) I
3
of money) =(Denomination I
1
)×(Number I
2
of coins), and adding up the amounts I
3
of money of coins of all the denominations.
The, the controller U′ functions as an arithmetic means and converts the “total amount of money in the old currency unit”
102
into the “converted amount of money in the new currency unit”
103
by using a predetermined exchange rate, such as 1.95583 Euro/DM, and then calculates the “sum total amount of money in the new currency unit”
104
by adding up the “total amount of money in the new currency unit”
101
and the “converted amount of money in the new currency unit”
103
.
Then, in response to the accepting instruction provided by the print button
105
or the acceptance button
106
(FIGS.
42
and
43
), the controller U′ functions as a money receiving means to transfer the new coins and the old coins temporarily stored in the temporary storage boxes
130
to the coin storing cassettes
124
a
to
124
j
, and to receive the “sum total amount of money in the new currency unit”
104
.
[Operations and Functions]
The operations and functions of the coin receiving system in the third embodiment will be described hereinafter on an assumption that the coin receiving system deals with mixed coins including new coins of eight denominations, i.e., Euro coins, old coins and different coins.
Mixed coins are put in the hopper
112
shown in
FIG. 41
, then the presorting unit A and the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
of the coin sorting apparatuses, similarly to those of the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment, sort the coins (FIG.
1
), and store the sorted coins in the temporary storage boxes
130
for temporary storage (FIG.
3
).
The controller U′ functions as the counting and the arithmetic means to calculate the “total amount of money in the new currency unit”
101
, the “total amount of money in the old currency unit”
102
, the “converted amount of money in the new currency unit”
103
and the “sum total amount of money in the new currency unit”
104
of the Euro coins (large, medium and small coins), i.e., the new coins, and the old coins temporarily stored in the temporary storage boxes
130
, and displays those total amounts of money in the information windows
101
to
104
of the touchscreen of the display/control panel
100
a
(FIGS.
42
and
43
).
In the picture shown in
FIG. 43
by way of example, the “total amount of money in the new currency unit”
101
is 7,818.00 E (Euro), the “total amount of money in the old currency unit”
102
is 2,712.00 DM (Deutsche mark), the “converted amount of money in the new currency unit”
103
calculated by using the exchange rate of 1.95583 E/DM (Euro/Deutsche mark)is 5,304.00 E, and the “sum total amount of money in the new currency unit”
104
is 13,122.00 E (=7,818.00+5,304.00).
When the acceptance button
106
(
FIGS. 42 and 43
) is touched to provide the accepting instruction to receive the money according to the information displayed in the information windows
101
to
104
, the controller (money receiving means) U′ executes a money receiving operation for receiving the “sum total amount of money in the new currency unit”
104
. On the other hand, when the print button
105
(
FIGS. 42 and 43
) is touched to provide the accepting instruction and the printing instruction, the controller U′ executes the money receiving operation and the printer P prints the receipt printed with the information and issues the receipt through the receipt slot
100
c
(FIG.
41
). The user pulls out the receipt.
The controller U′ actuates the driving circuit for driving the temporary storage boxes
130
to transfer the new coins and old coins from the temporary storage boxes
130
to the corresponding coin cassettes
124
a
to
124
j
(FIGS.
3
and
4
). Coins that need to be returned among those temporarily stored in the temporary storage boxes
130
due to disagreement between the confirmed amounts of money are returned from the temporary storage boxes
130
to the return box
116
(FIGS.
3
and
4
), when the cancellation button
107
(
FIGS. 42 and 43
) is touched to give a return command to the controller U′.
[Effect]
As apparent from the foregoing description, the coin receiving system in the third embodiment is capable of dealing with the mixed coins including the Euro coins (new coins) of eight denominations which are sorted by the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
h
of the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
of the coin sorting apparatuses, the large coins C
1
, i.e., old coins to be sorted by the large-coin sorting guide
15
a
of the presorting unit A and the old coins to be sorted by the old coin sorting units
6
b
. Thus, the coin receiving system is capable of dealing with coins of both the new currency unit and the old currency unit, and of receiving money for the “sum total amount of money in the new currency unit”
104
represented by those coins of both currency units.
Since the total amount of money in the new currency unit, the total amount of money in the old currency unit, the converted amount of money in the new currency unit and the sum total amount of money in the new currency unit are displayed in the information windows
101
to
104
, the final money receiving operation can be performed by giving the accepting instruction by operating the print button
105
or the acceptance button
106
after precisely recognizing those amounts of money. The final money receiving operation can be carried out and the results of the money receiving operation can be printed on a receipt by giving the accepting instruction and the printing instruction by operating the print button
105
.
The coin receiving system in the third embodiment, similarly to the coin sorting apparatus in the first embodiment, sorts the new coins by denomination by the sorting holes
5
a
to
5
h
of the main sorting units B
1
and B
2
, and sorts old coins regardless of denomination by the large-coin sorting guide
15
a
and the old coin sorting units
6
b
. The temporary storage boxes
130
for temporarily holding the new coins and the new coin storing cassettes
124
a
to
124
h
for storing the new coins are assigned to each denomination of the new coins, respectively. On the other hand, the temporary storage boxes
130
for temporarily holding the old coins and the old coin storing cassettes
124
i
and
124
j
for storing the old coins are adapted to temporary store and store the old coins of mixed denominations, respectively. Thus, new coins to be reused can be collected in individual denominations, and old coins not to be reused and to be disposed of are collected in mixed denominations to achieve efficient coin recovery.
[Modifications]
Information to be printed on the receipt is not limited to that shown in
FIG. 44 and
, for example, only the “total amount of money in the new currency unit”
101
, the “total amount of money in the old currency unit”
102
, the “converted amount of money in the new currency unit”
103
and the “sum total amount of money in the new currency unit”
104
of the touchscreen of the display/control panel
100
a
may be displayed.
Claims
- 1. A coin sorting apparatus for sorting coins of at least three denominations, comprising:a presorting mechanism for broadly sorting the coins by size into those of at least two groups; and a pair of main sorting lines for sorting by denomination the coins of the respective groups sorted by the presorting mechanism, the pair of main sorting lines being disposed substantially parallel to each other across the presorting mechanism.
- 2. The coin sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presorting mechanism comprises:a stationary member provided with a central coin-feed opening; and a rotary disk supported for rotation and disposed under the stationary member closely adjacent to the lower surface of the stationary member, the presorting mechanism being constructed such that coins fed into the coin-feed opening of the stationary member slide along the lower surface of the stationary member as the rotary disk rotates, and the stationary member being provided with guide structures for selectively guiding the respective groups of coins sliding along the lower surface thereof.
- 3. The coin sorting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the main each of sorting lines comprises:a linear guide passage for substantially horizontally guiding coins to be sorted, one by one; a conveying mechanism for conveying the coins along the guide passage; and a plurality of sorting units each for sorting out coins of one of the denominations, arranged at intervals along the guide passage.
- 4. The coin sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the main sorting lines comprises:a linear guide passage for substantially horizontally guiding coins to be sorted, one by one; a conveying mechanism for conveying the coins along the guide passage; and a plurality of sorting units each for sorting out coins of one of the denominations, arranged at intervals along the guide passage.
- 5. A coin receiving system for sorting coins of at least three denominations and executing a money receiving management for the coins, the coin receiving system comprising:presorting means for broadly sorting the coins by size into those of at least two groups; coin identifying means for identifying the coins of each of the groups formed by broadly sorting the coins by the presorting means; rejecting means for rejecting coins that could not be identified by the coin identifying means, main sorting means for sorting, by denomination, the coins of the respective groups identified by the coin identifying means; and money receiving means for counting the amount of money represented by the coins identified by the coin identifying means, to receive the money.
- 6. The coin receiving system according to claim 5 further comprising different coin sorting means for sorting out different coins that have been identified as coins of different denominations from those of coins capable of being sorted by the main sorting means, by the coin identifying means.
- 7. The coin receiving system according to claim 6, wherein the coin identifying means is adapted to identify the different coins, and the money receiving means is adapted to receive the coins to be sorted by the main sorting means and the different coins to be sorted by the different coin sorting means.
- 8. A coin sorting apparatus for sorting coins of a least three denominations, comprising:a presorting mechanism to broadly sort coins by size into those of at least two groups; and a pair of main sorting lines to sort by denomination the coins of the at least two groups sorted by the presorting mechanism, the pair of main sorting lines being disposed substantially parallel to each other with the presorting mechanism disposed between the pair of main sorting lines.
- 9. The coin sorting apparatus of claim 8, wherein the presorting mechanism comprises:a stationary member having a central coin-feed opening; and a rotary disk supported for rotation and disposed under the stationary member closely adjacent to a lower surface of the stationary member, the presorting mechanism being constructed such that coins fed into the coin-feed opening of the stationary member slide along the lower surface of the stationary member as the rotary disk rotates, and the stationary member has guide structures selectively guiding the respective groups of coins sliding along the lower surface thereof.
- 10. The coin sorting apparatus of claim 9, wherein each of the main sorting lines comprises:a linear guide passage that substantially horizontally guides coins to be sorted one by one; a conveying mechanism conveying the coins along the guide passage; and a plurality of sorting units that each sort out coins of one of the denominations and are arranged at intervals along the guide passage.
- 11. The coin sorting apparatus of claim 8, wherein each of the main sorting lines comprises:a linear guide passage that substantially horizontally guides coins to be sorted one by one; a conveying mechanism conveying the coins along the guide passage; and a plurality of sorting units that each sort out coins of one of the denominations and are arranged at intervals along the guide passage.
Priority Claims (6)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2000-281591 |
Sep 2000 |
JP |
|
2000-311616 |
Oct 2000 |
JP |
|
2000-346332 |
Nov 2000 |
JP |
|
2001-079206 |
Mar 2001 |
JP |
|
2001-079217 |
Mar 2001 |
JP |
|
2001-080687 |
Mar 2001 |
JP |
|
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/JP01/08109 |
|
WO |
00 |
Publishing Document |
Publishing Date |
Country |
Kind |
WO02/23493 |
3/21/2002 |
WO |
A |
US Referenced Citations (10)
Foreign Referenced Citations (8)
Number |
Date |
Country |
62-71771 |
May 1987 |
JP |
4-98483 |
Mar 1992 |
JP |
5-73758 |
Mar 1993 |
JP |
7-175953 |
Jul 1995 |
JP |
7-200910 |
Aug 1995 |
JP |
8-44925 |
Feb 1996 |
JP |
8-147519 |
Jun 1996 |
JP |
9-293154 |
Nov 1997 |
JP |