The present invention relates to a money handling machine that handles money such as banknotes and coins, and a money handling method performed by the money handling machine.
In a money handling machine that handles money such as banknotes and coins, for example, when an error such as jamming of money occurs in a transport unit in a housing, a guidance screen for a procedure of a restoring operation is displayed on a display unit such as a monitor or a touch panel. An operator removes money that has caused the jamming, according to the guidance screen displayed on the display unit. Specifically, when the error occurs, a drawer having the transport unit and the like disposed therein can be drawn from the housing. The operator draws the drawer from the housing, and thereafter removes the money from the transport unit and the like in the drawer, thereby resolving the error. More specifically, in a case where the drawer is returned into the housing after removal of the money from the transport unit and the like in the drawer which has been drawn from the housing, when the error is determined to have been resolved, the money handling machine is restored to a normal state. Meanwhile, when the drawer having been drawn from the housing is returned into the housing, if it is determined that the error has not been resolved, the guidance screen indicating that the error still occurs, is displayed on the display unit. In this case, the drawer is maintained so as to be drawable from the housing, whereby the operator draws again the drawer from the housing, so as to resolve the error.
Furthermore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2016-71661 discloses an apparatus that switches and displays, for each region, a guidance screen for drawing a drawer from a housing and removing money from the drawer when the error occurs, and omits display of the guidance screen for the region in which the operation is detected to have been already performed.
In the money handling machine, in a case where any person is allowed to draw a drawer from a housing if the error occurs, when the operator (for example, a clerk of a store) having the authority to resolve the error departs from the money handling machine, a third party may draw the drawer from the housing without permission, and take away money from the drawer.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a money handling machine and a money handling method that allow a drawer to be drawn from a housing, subject to identification information of an operator having been acquired by an identification information acquisition unit, when an error occurs in a handling unit, to prevent a third party from drawing the drawer from the housing without permission and taking away money from the drawer.
A money handling machine of the present invention comprises a housing; a drawer configured to have a handling unit for handling money, and configured to be drawable from the housing; a locking mechanism configured to lock the drawer in the housing; an identification information acquisition unit configured to acquire identification information of an operator; and a controller configured to control the locking mechanism such that, when an error occurs in the handling unit, the drawer can be drawn from the housing subject to the identification information of the operator having been acquired by the identification information acquisition unit.
The money handling machine of the present invention may further comprise a memory configured to store identification information of an authorized operator who is authorized to resolve the error as stored identification information, and the controller may control the locking mechanism such that, when the error occurs in the handling unit, the drawer can be drawn from the housing only when acquired identification information by the identification information acquisition unit matches the stored identification information in the memory.
In the money handling machine of the present invention, the controller may control the locking mechanism such that, if the drawer has been returned into the housing before resolving of the error occurring in the handling unit is completed, the drawer can be drawn again from the housing only when predetermined identification information has been acquired by the identification information acquisition unit.
In this case, the predetermined identification information may be identification information of the operator acquired by the identification information acquisition unit for the first time after occurrence of the error in the handling unit.
The money handling machine of the present invention may further comprise a display unit configured to display an indicator for prompting acquisition of identification information of the operator by the identification information acquisition unit when the error has occurred in the handling unit.
In this case, when the drawer has been returned into the housing before resolving of the error occurring in the handling unit is completed, the display unit may display the indicator for prompting identification information of the operator to be acquired again by the identification information acquisition unit.
The money handling machine of the present invention may further comprise a human detection unit configured to detect whether or not the operator is near the housing.
In this case, if the error occurs in the handling unit and the human detection unit detects that the operator is not near the housing, the controller may cause the identification information acquisition unit to acquire identification information of the operator when the human detection unit detects that the operator is again near the housing until resolving of the error occurring in the handling unit is completed.
In addition, the money handling machine of the present invention may further comprise a notification unit configured to provide notification that the operator is not near the housing if the human detection unit detects that the operator is not near the housing when the error has occurred in the handling unit.
A money handling method of the present invention performed by a money handling machine comprising a drawer configured to have a handling unit for handling money, and configured to be drawable from a housing, and an identification information acquisition unit configured to acquire identification information of an operator, the money handling method comprising: locking the drawer in the housing; and causing the drawer to be drawable from the housing subject to the identification information of the operator having been acquired by the identification information acquisition unit when an error occurs in the handling unit.
The money handling method of the present invention may further comprise storing, in a memory, identification information of an authorized operator who is authorized to resolve the error as stored identification information, and the drawer can be drawn from the housing only when acquired identification information by the identification information acquisition unit matches the stored identification information in the memory when the error occurs in the handling unit.
In the money handling method of the present invention, if the drawer has been returned into the housing before resolving of the error occurring in the handling unit is completed, the drawer can be drawn again from the housing only when predetermined identification information has been acquired by the identification information acquisition unit.
Firstly, a configuration of a money handling machine 1 having a loose-banknotes handling assembly 30 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The bound-banknotes handling assembly 40 is disposed to the immediate left of the loose-banknotes handling assembly 30, and loose banknotes are sent from the loose-banknotes handling assembly 30 to the bound-banknotes handling assembly 40. In the bound-banknotes handling assembly 40, loose banknotes sent from the loose-banknotes handling assembly 30 are bound with a binding sheet or the like in units of, for example, 100 banknotes by a binding unit (not shown). The obtained bound banknotes are stored, for example, for each denomination, in a plurality of bound-banknotes storage units in a machine of the bound-banknotes handling assembly 40. A bound-banknotes outlet 42 is disposed at the upper portion of the front surface of the bound-banknotes handling assembly 40. When an instruction for dispensing bound banknotes is issued to the controller 60 (described below) of the money handling machine 1, bound banknotes are fed out from the bound-banknotes storage unit in the machine of the bound-banknotes handling assembly 40, and transported to the bound-banknotes outlet 42.
As shown in
As shown in
Next, the configuration of the loose-banknotes handling assembly 30 will be described in detail with reference to
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
An upper assembly 340 (drawer) is structured by the banknote inlet unit 110, the deposit transport unit 114, the deposit recognition unit 116, the face/back reversing unit 118, the deposit reject unit 120, the loose-banknotes outlet unit 152, the sorting temporary storage units 160, and the like. The upper assembly 340 is disposed on the lower assembly 300 and the intermediate assembly 320. The upper assembly 340 can be also drawn leftward (forward from the housing 30a) in
As shown in
Next, the configuration of a control system of the money handling machine 1 as shown in
In the present embodiment, an identification information acquisition unit 62 and a human detection sensor 64 are connected to the controller 60. The identification information acquisition unit 62 acquires identification information such as an identification number of the operator who operates the money handling machine 1. Specifically, the identification information acquisition unit 62 has a card reader (not shown) that reads an ID card or the like of the operator, and causes the card reader to read the identification information, for each operator, stored in the ID card, thereby acquiring the identification information of the operator. In another example, for example, an indicator for allowing the operator to input her/his identification number is displayed on the operation/display unit 50, and the identification information acquisition unit 62 may acquire identification information of the operator, based on the identification number of the operator which has been inputted to the operation/display unit 50. In still another example, the identification information acquisition unit 62 may perform biometric authentication for performing authentication of a vein of a finger, a fingerprint, a retina, a face image, or the like in the operator to acquire identification information of the operator. Thus, the identification information acquisition unit 62 that acquires identification information such as an identification number of the operator who operates the money handling machine 1 may be variously structured. The human detection sensor 64 detects whether or not the operator is in front of the money handling machine 1.
Next, an operation for resolving an error such as jamming of a coin or a banknote when the error occurs in the housing of the handling assembly 10, 20, 30, 40 in the money handling machine 1 having such a configuration will be described by using the loose-banknotes handling assembly 30 as an example with reference to
When the error such as jamming of a banknote occurs in the loose-banknotes handling assembly 30 of the money handling machine 1 (STEP1 in the flow chart shown in
In the present embodiment, only when the identification information of the operator acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62 is the stored identification number of the operator in the memory 52 (“YES” in STEP4), the operator is allowed to perform an operation for resolving the error that has occurred in the loose-banknotes handling assembly 30 (STEP101 in the flow chart shown in
Next, a guidance screen for instructing the operator to press down a second lever (not shown) disposed near the front end portion on the bottom surface of the upper assembly 340 and open a bottom surface portion 344 (see
Thereafter, a guidance screen for instructing the operator to lift a third lever (not shown) disposed on the side portion of a first upper surface portion 346 (see
When all the operations in STEP103 to STEP105 in the flow chart shown in
Meanwhile, when the error occurs in the money handling machine 1, the upper assembly 340 is drawn forward from the housing 30a in order to perform an operation for resolving the error, and the upper assembly 340 may be thereafter returned into the housing 30a (“YES” in STEP10) in a state where a banknote that has caused the jamming is not removed (that is, a state where the error has not been resolved) (“NO” in STEP8). For example, when the operator is a clerk of a store, the operator may depart from the money handling machine 1 for dealing with a customer, or the operator may depart from the money handling machine 1 in order to find a manager because a specific method for resolving the error is not clear even when the operator views the guidance screen displayed on the operation/display unit 50. In this case, the operator who has performed the operation for resolving the error pushes the upper assembly 340 toward the rear side of the loose-banknotes handling assembly 30 to temporarily house the upper assembly 340 in the housing 30a of the loose-banknotes handling assembly 30 (“YES” in STEP10) in order to prevent a third party from removing a banknote from the upper assembly 340. In the present embodiment, when the upper assembly 340 is thus returned into the housing 30a, the upper assembly 340 is locked in the housing 30a by the locking mechanism 30r even if the error has not been resolved (STEP11). Furthermore, when the upper assembly 340 has been locked in the housing 30a by the locking mechanism 30r, an indicator for prompting the identification information of the operator to be acquired again by the identification information acquisition unit 62 is displayed on the operation/display unit 50 (STEP12). In a case where the identification information acquisition unit 62 has acquired again the identification information of the operator, only when the acquired identification information of the operator is identical to the identification information of the operator acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62 for the first time after occurrence of the error (“YES” in STEP13), a guidance screen for the method for the error resolving operation is displayed again on the operation/display unit 50 (STEP5), and the upper assembly 340 is unlocked again by the locking mechanism 30r (STEP6). Then, the upper assembly 340 can be drawn forward from the housing 30a.
In a conventional money handling machine, a drawer is drawn from a housing when the error has occurred, and, thereafter, if the drawer is returned into the housing in a state where the error has not been resolved, the drawer is not locked in the housing by a locking mechanism. That is, until the error is resolved and a reset button displayed on an operation/display unit is pressed, the drawer is not locked in the housing by the locking mechanism. However, in this case, after the operator departs from the money handling machine, a third party may stand in front of the money handling machine, draw the drawer from the money handling machine, and take out money such as banknotes from the drawer. Therefore, a problem arises that, if the money has been taken from the drawer, error in calculation occurs in the money handling machine. Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, for example, even if the drawer (specifically, for example, the upper assembly 340) is returned into the housing 30a in a state where the error has not been resolved in the loose-banknotes handling assembly 30, the upper assembly 340 is locked in the housing 30a by the locking mechanism 30r although the error has not been resolved. In a case where identification information of the operator has been acquired again by the identification information acquisition unit 62, only when the acquired identification information of the operator is identical to identification information of the operator acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62 for the first time after occurrence of the error, the upper assembly 340 is unlocked again by the locking mechanism 30r. Therefore, even if the operator departs from the money handling machine 1, a third party different from the operator who has firstly performed an operation for resolving the error is prevented from drawing the upper assembly 340 from the housing 30a. Thus, such a third party is prevented from taking a banknote from the upper assembly 340.
In the present embodiment, in a case where the drawer (specifically, for example, the upper assembly 340) is returned into the housing 30a in a state where the error has not been resolved, the upper assembly 340 is locked in the housing 30a by the locking mechanism 30r, and, thereafter, the upper assembly 340 is unlocked again by the locking mechanism 30r when identification information of the operator acquired again by the identification information acquisition unit 62 is identical to identification information of the operator acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62 for the first time after occurrence of the error. However, the present embodiment is not limited thereto. In another example, when identification information of the operator acquired again by the identification information acquisition unit 62 is predetermined identification information, the upper assembly 340 may be unlocked by the locking mechanism 30r such that the upper assembly 340 can be drawn from the housing 30a again. For example, when the upper assembly 340 is returned into the housing 30a in a state where the error has not been resolved, instead of a staff member, in charge in a store, who has firstly performed an operation for resolving the error, a manager who is a supervisor of the staff member may continue to perform the operation for resolving the error instead of the staff member. For such a case, when the controller 60 determines that identification information of the operator acquired again by the identification information acquisition unit 62 is stored identification information of the manager in the memory 52, the upper assembly 340 may be unlocked by the locking mechanism 30r. In another example, in a case where the upper assembly 340 is returned into the housing 30a in a state where the error has not been resolved, when two persons who are a manager and a staff member, in a store, who has firstly performed an operation for resolving the error are identified, the operation for resolving the error may be continued. For such a case, when the controller 60 determines that identification information of two operators acquired again by the identification information acquisition unit 62 matches stored identification information of the staff member and the manager in the memory 52, the upper assembly 340 may be unlocked by the locking mechanism 30r.
In the present embodiment, the operation/display unit 50 may operate so as to allow setting of a password (one time password) when the operator departs from the money handling machine 1. In this case, after the upper assembly 340 is returned into the housing 30a in a state where the error has not been resolved and the upper assembly 340 is locked in the housing 30a by the locking mechanism 30r, the upper assembly 340 is not unlocked by the locking mechanism 30r until the password having been set is inputted through the operation/display unit 50. Also in this case, while the operator departs from the money handling machine 1, the upper assembly 340 can be prevented from being drawn forward from the housing 30a by a third party different from the operator. Therefore, a banknote can be prevented from being taken from the upper assembly 340 by the third party.
When the operator departs from the money handling machine 1, the money handling machine 1 may shift to an absence mode by an absence button displayed on the operation/display unit 50 being pressed by the operator. In this case, information indicating that the money handling machine 1 is in the absence mode is displayed on the operation/display unit 50. Specifically, it is indicated by the operation/display unit 50 that an operation for resolving the error is being performed in the money handling machine 1, and the operator is not near the money handling machine 1. Thus, the money handling machine 1 can be prevented from being erroneously operated by another operator. In still another example, in a case where the error occurs in the handling assembly 10, 20, 30, 40 of the money handling machine 1, if an operation of resolving the error is not performed even when a certain time has passed after identification information of the operator has been acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62, the money handling machine 1 may shift to the absence mode. In still another example, when the human detection sensor 64 detects that the operator is not in front of the money handling machine 1, the money handling machine 1 may shift to the absence mode. Also in these cases, information indicating that the money handling machine 1 is in the absence mode is displayed on the operation/display unit 50. In a case where the money handling machine 1 is in the absence mode, notification that an operation for resolving the error is being performed in the money handling machine 1 and the operator is not near the money handling machine 1 may be made to an operator by another method (for example, a voice message is outputted by an audio speaker) instead of the operation/display unit 50 indicating that the operation for resolving the error is being performed in the money handling machine 1 and the operator is not near the money handling machine 1.
When the money handling machine 1 is in the absence mode, the mode may shift to an energy saving mode. In such an energy saving mode, when the human detection sensor 64 detects again that the operator is in front of the money handling machine 1, acquisition of identification information of the operator by the identification information acquisition unit 62 is merely allowed. That is, when the identification information acquisition unit 62 has a card reader, the card reader can be merely used. Only when identification information of the operator in an ID card having been read by the card reader is identical to predetermined identification information (for example, identification information of the operator acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62 for the first time after occurrence of the error, or identification information of the operator's supervisor such as a manager), the money handling machine 1 is returned to a normal mode. Meanwhile, in a case where identification information of the operator in an ID card having been read by the card reader is not the predetermined identification information, the money handling machine 1 is not returned to the normal mode and continues to be in the absence mode.
In the above description, an exemplary case is described in which, if the error occurs in the loose-banknotes handling assembly 30 and the like of the money handling machine 1, the error cannot be resolved until identification information of the operator is acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62. However, the present embodiment is not limited to such an example. In another example, when the operator performs various operations such as money depositing and dispensing in the money handling machine 1, money may not be handled by the money handling machine 1 unless identification information of the operator is firstly acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62. Specifically, identification information of the authorized operator who is authorized to handle money in the money handling machine 1 is stored in the memory 52. Before the operator handles money in the money handling machine 1, the identification information acquisition unit 62 is caused to acquire identification information of the operator. If the acquired identification information of the operator is not identical to stored identification information of the operator in the memory 52, the operator is not allowed to perform operation in the money handling machine 1. In this case, when the error occurs (STEP1 in the flow chart shown in
In the money handling machine 1 having the above-described configuration according to the present embodiment and the money handling method performed by the money handling machine 1, when the error occurs in the handling unit of each handling assembly 10, 20, 30, 40, the controller 60 controls the locking mechanism 10r, 20r, 30r, 40r such that the drawer (for example, the upper assembly 340 or the drawer 400) can be drawn from the housing 10a, 20a, 30a, 40a subject to identification information of the operator having been acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62. Thus, when the error occurs in the handling unit, the drawer can be drawn from the housing subject to identification information of the operator having been acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62, whereby a third party can be prevented from drawing the drawer from the housing without permission, and taking away money from the drawer. More specifically, in a conventional money handling machine, if any person is allowed to draw a drawer from a housing when the error occurs, a third party may draw the drawer from the housing without permission and take away money from the drawer while the operator (for example, a clerk of a store or the like) having the authority to resolve the error departs from the money handling machine. Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the drawer can be drawn from the housing 10a, 20a, 30a, 40a subject to identification information of the operator having been acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62. Therefore, such a problem of the conventional money handling machine can be solved.
In the money handling machine 1 according to the present embodiment and the money handling method performed by the money handling machine 1, as described above, the memory 52 stores identification information of the authorized operator who is authorized to resolve the error, and, if the error occurs in the handling unit, the controller 60 controls the locking mechanism 10r, 20r, 30r, 40r such that the drawer can be drawn from the housing 10a, 20a, 30a, 40a only when identification information of the operator acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62 matches stored identification information of the operator in the memory 52. In this case, only the authorized operator who is authorized to resolve the error and who has identification information stored previously in the memory 52 is allowed to draw the drawer from the housing 10a, 20a, 30a, 40a. Therefore, a third party is prevented, with enhanced assuredness, from drawing the drawer from the housing 10a, 20a, 30a, 40a without permission and taking away money from the drawer.
In the money handling machine 1 according to the present embodiment and the money handling method performed by the money handling machine 1, as described above, in a case where the drawer is returned into the housing 10a, 20a, 30a, 40a before resolving of the error that has occurred in the handling unit is completed, the controller 60 controls the locking mechanism 10r, 20r, 30r, 40r such that the drawer can be drawn again from the housing 10a, 20a, 30a, 40a only when predetermined identification information is acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62. In this case, in a case where the drawer is drawn from the housing 10a, 20a, 30a, 40a when the error occurs, and the drawer is thereafter returned into the housing 10a, 20a, 30a, 40a in a state where the error has not been resolved since the operator departs from the money handling machine 1, the drawer is locked in the housing 10a, 20a, 30a, 40a by the locking mechanism 10r, 20r, 30r, 40r. Therefore, a third party standing in front of the money handling machine 1 can be prevented from drawing the drawer from the money handling machine 1, and taking away money from the drawer after the operator departs from the money handling machine 1. In the present embodiment, in a case where identification information of the operator has been acquired again by the identification information acquisition unit 62, only when the acquired identification information of the operator is identical to identification information of the operator acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 62 for the first time after occurrence of the error, the drawer may be unlocked again by the locking mechanism 10r, 20r, 30r, 40r. In this case, the drawer can be prevented from being drawn from the housing 10a, 20a, 30a, 40a by a person different from the operator who has firstly performed an operation for resolving the error even if the operator departs from the money handling machine. Therefore, money can be prevented from being taken from the drawer by a person different from the operator who has firstly performed an operation for resolving the error.
The money handling machine according to the present invention and the money handling method performed by the money handling machine, are not limited to the above-described ones, and various modifications can be devised.
For example, the money handling machine according to the present invention is not limited to a handling machine disposed in a back office region of a store. As the money handling machine according to the present invention, a register system having a money change machine and a POS register as shown in
A register system 500 as shown in
In the register system 500 having such a configuration, each of the banknote handling assembly 510, the coin handling assembly 550, and the coin roll storage assembly 580 has a housing and a handling unit that handles money (in the description herein “handling money” includes storing money), and has a drawer that can be drawn forward from the housing, and a locking mechanism that locks the drawer in the housing. An identification information acquisition unit for acquiring identification information of the operator is disposed in the money change machine or the POS register 590. In the register system 500 as shown in
In the register system 500 as shown in
In the register system 500 as shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
JP2016-242237 | Dec 2016 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2017/041546 | 11/17/2017 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2018/110208 | 6/21/2018 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5451757 | Heath, Jr. | Sep 1995 | A |
8157078 | Folk | Apr 2012 | B1 |
9908151 | Dopfer | Mar 2018 | B2 |
20020080030 | Inomata | Jun 2002 | A1 |
20040046015 | Skinner | Mar 2004 | A1 |
20080082207 | Sjostrom | Apr 2008 | A1 |
20090293424 | Mori | Dec 2009 | A1 |
20100025183 | Folk | Feb 2010 | A1 |
20100066491 | Bohen | Mar 2010 | A1 |
20110120015 | Schmidt | May 2011 | A1 |
20120012437 | Matsumoto | Jan 2012 | A1 |
20130048715 | Cardinal | Feb 2013 | A1 |
20130205723 | Blake | Aug 2013 | A1 |
20160260295 | Dent | Sep 2016 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1531432 | May 2005 | EP |
2009-145929 | Jul 2009 | JP |
2014-081851 | May 2014 | JP |
2015-162121 | Sep 2015 | JP |
2016-71661 | May 2016 | JP |
2016-095674 | May 2016 | JP |
2016-146059 | Aug 2016 | JP |
Entry |
---|
International Search Report issued in International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2017/041546, dated Feb. 20, 2018, and English translation thereof. |
Extended European Search Report dated Jun. 8, 2020 issued in application No. 17880191.6-1009. |
Japanese Office Action dated Jul. 21, 2020 issued in Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-242237, and corresponding English translation. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20200020190 A1 | Jan 2020 | US |