Patent Grant
10186103
The present invention relates to a paper sheet handling machine that performs various processes such as a depositing process of paper sheets such as banknotes and the like.
As a paper sheet handling machine for performing a depositing process of paper sheets such as banknotes and the like, one of the type in which the paper sheets taken in a housing are stored in a storage bag such as a pouch bag and the like has been conventionally used. As such a paper sheet handling machine, for example, one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-174130 (JP2012-174130A) and the like is conventionally known. According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-174130, such a paper sheet handling machine is used as a part of a cash teller apparatus (specifically, a banknote teller apparatus) installed in a backyard area in a store such as a supermarket and the like. The cash teller apparatus dispenses money as a change fund to be replenished in a cash settlement apparatus provided in a front area and deposits money as sales proceeds collected from the cash settlement apparatus.
In the paper sheet handling machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-174130, one storage bag can be mounted in one paper sheet handling machine. On the other hand, in a case where a plurality of storage bags can be mounted in one paper sheet handling machine, the paper sheets fed out to inside of the housing from the inlet unit of the paper sheet handling machine are all stored in a single storage bag in a mixed state, and when this storage bag becomes in a full state, a place to which the paper sheets are sent is switched to another storage bag.
As described above, in the conventional paper sheet handling machine, even when a plurality of storage bags are mounted, various types of paper sheets are stored in each storage bag in the mixed state. However, with such a paper sheet storing method, after the storing bag is taken out from the paper sheet handling machine, there is a problem that it is necessary to classify the paper sheets after the paper sheets are taken out from the storing bags and it takes time and labor. In addition, the paper sheets stored in a plurality of storage bags can not be used for different purposes for each storage bag, resulting in lack of versatility.
The present invention was made in view of the above discussion. An object of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet handling machine in which it is possible to use the paper sheets stored in a plurality of storage units for different purposes for each storage unit, and the burden of work for an operator can be reduced since there is no need to classify the paper sheets in post-process.
A paper sheet handling machine of the present invention includes: an upper assembly including an inlet unit for putting a paper sheet into inside of a housing from outside, an ejecting unit for ejecting the paper sheet from inside of the housing to outside, a transporting unit connected to the inlet unit and the ejecting unit, for transporting the paper sheet within the housing, and a recognition unit provided to the transporting unit for recognizing the paper sheet being transported by the transporting unit; a lower assembly including a plurality of storage units for storing the paper sheet sent from the transporting unit of the upper assembly; and a controlling unit configured to perform control to sort the paper sheet that is to be sent from the transporting unit of the upper assembly to the lower assembly, to each of the storage units based on a predetermined classification condition designated in advance.
In the paper sheet handling machine as described above, at least one of the plurality of storage units may be a paper sheet storage bag.
Alternatively, at least one of the plurality of storage units may be a paper sheet storage cassette and at least one other storage unit is a paper sheet storage bag.
In the paper sheet handling machine as described above, the predetermined classification condition may be such a condition that a banknote out of the paper sheet is classified into a fit note of the banknote and an unfit note or counterfeit note of the banknote.
Alternatively, the predetermined classification condition may be a condition for classifying a banknote out of the paper sheet into a banknote to be used for replenishment and a banknote to be collected.
In this case, the banknote to be used for replenishment may be stored in a paper sheet storage cassette among the plurality of storage units, and the banknote to be collected is stored in a paper sheet storage bag among the plurality of storage units.
Alternatively, the predetermined classification condition may be such a condition that a banknote out of the paper sheet is classified into a banknote to be used for reconciliation of a store in which the paper sheet handling machine is installed and a banknote to be collected.
Alternatively, the predetermined classification condition may be such a condition that a banknote out of the paper sheet is classified into a banknote to be used for reconciliation of a current day and a banknote to be used for reconciliation of a next day.
Alternatively, the predetermined classification condition may be such a condition that a banknote out of the paper sheet is classified into a banknote for which depositing process is reconciled and a banknote that is deposited after a closing balance process.
Alternatively, the predetermined classification condition may be a condition for classifying a banknote out of the paper sheet into a high-value banknote that is higher than a predetermined amount and a low-value banknote that is not more than the predetermined amount.
In this case, the high-value banknote that is higher than the predetermined amount may be stored in a paper sheet storage bag among the plurality of storage units, and the low-value banknote that is not more than the predetermined amount may be stored in a paper sheet storage cassette among the plurality of storage units.
Alternatively, the predetermined classification condition may be such a condition that the paper sheet is classified into a banknote and the paper sheet other than the banknote.
Alternatively, the predetermined classification condition may be a condition for classifying a banknote out of the paper sheet into a banknote issued by a home country or an organization related to the home country and a banknote issued by a country or organization other than the home country.
Alternatively, the predetermined classification condition may be a condition for classifying a banknote out of the paper sheet into a banknote until reaching a predetermined total amount in one transaction and a banknote after reaching the predetermined total amount in one transaction.
In the paper sheet handling machine as described above, the controlling unit may perform control so that all the paper sheets to be sent from the transporting unit of the upper assembly to the lower assembly are stored in a specific storage unit designated in advance in a mixed state, when a predetermined switching condition is satisfied at the time of sorting the paper sheet, to be sent from the transporting unit of the upper assembly to the lower assembly, to each of the storage units.
In this case, the predetermined switching condition may be a condition in which the number of the deposited banknote of a specific denomination designated in advance exceeds a predetermined number designated in advance, and the controlling unit may perform control so that the paper sheet, to be sent from the transporting unit of the upper assembly to the lower assembly, is stored in the specific storage unit designated in advance other than the storage unit in which the banknote of the specific denomination designated in advance is to be stored, after the predetermined switching condition is satisfied.
Alternatively, the predetermined switching condition may be a condition in which a certain storage unit becomes in a full state or near-full state, and the controlling unit performs control so that the paper sheet, to be sent from the transporting unit of the upper assembly to the lower assembly, is stored in the specific storage unit designated in advance other than the storage unit which has become in the full state or near-full state, after the predetermined switching condition is satisfied.
Further, when the controlling unit performs control so that all the paper sheets to be sent from the transporting unit of the upper assembly to the lower assembly are stored in the specific storage unit designated in advance, the control unit may perform control so as to enable storage of the paper sheet in the storage unit other than the specific storage unit designated in advance at a predetermined timing.
In the paper sheet handling machine as described above, a storage/feeding unit for storing the paper sheet sent from the transporting unit and capable of feeding out the stored paper sheet to the transporting unit may be provided in the upper assembly.
In this case, the control unit may perform control so as to store a type of the paper sheet not allocated to each storage unit in the storage/feeding unit.
Further, the control unit may perform control so as to feed out the paper sheet stored in the storage/feeding unit and send the fed paper sheet to the ejecting unit, when receiving a collection instruction of the paper sheet.
Further, the control unit may perform control so as to store the paper sheet, in which the corresponding storage unit is in a full state or near-full state, in the storage/feeding unit.
Further, the paper sheet handling machine as described above may further include a memory unit, and the control unit may perform control so as to associate information on the paper sheet stored in the storage/feeding unit with an order in which the paper sheet is stored in the storage/feeding unit, and store associated information in the memory unit.
In this case, the control unit may perform control so as to store the paper sheet, in which the corresponding storage unit is in the full state or near-full state, in the storage/feeding unit, and feed out the paper sheet from the storage/feeding unit when the corresponding storage unit becomes a state that is not the full state or near-full state, and then store the paper sheet fed out from the storage/feeding unit in the corresponding storage unit based on information stored in the memory unit.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment is generally arranged in a front area or a backyard area of a store such as a supermarket and the like, and the banknote handling machine 10 can perform various processes such as a depositing process, dispensing process, exchanging process and the like of the banknotes. As shown in
The inlet unit 20 is provided with a banknote feeding mechanism 20a for feeding out the banknotes in a stacked manner put by the operator on the inlet unit 20, one by one into the housing 12. In the upper assembly 14, inside the housing 12 of the banknote handling machine 10, there is provided a transporting unit 24 for transporting the banknote one by one in the housing 12. The banknote fed out from the inlet unit 20 by the banknote feeding mechanism 20a is transported one by one by the transporting unit 24. The transporting unit 24 is provided with a recognition unit 26. The banknote fed out to the transporting unit 24 by the banknote feeding mechanism 20a is recognized by the recognition unit 26 for its denomination, authenticity, front/back (whether face side up or back side up), fitness, version (new/old), transportation state, and the like. The recognition unit 26 includes, for example, an image sensor, and a serial number of the banknote is acquired based on the image of the banknote taken by the image sensor. Information related to the serial number of the banknote acquired by the recognition unit 26 is stored in a memory unit 54 described below. In this way, the serial number corresponding to each banknote stored in a banknote storage bag 34 such as a pouch bag, a banknote storage cassette 36, a storage/feeding unit 30 and the like described below is stored in the memory unit 54.
As shown in
In the upper assembly 14, the transporting unit 24 is provided with the storage/feeding unit 30 of a tape-type. The banknote sent from the transporting unit 24 to the storage/feeding unit 30 is stored in the storage/feeding unit 30 and the banknotes stored in the storage/feeding unit 30 can be fed out one by one to the transporting unit 24. More specifically, the storage/feeding unit 30 is provided with a drum 30a rotatable in both forward and reverse directions, and one end of a pair of band-shaped tapes 31 is connected to an outer peripheral surface of the drum 30a. When the banknote is sent from the transporting unit 24 to the storage/feeding unit 30, the banknote is wound on the drum 30a by each band-shaped tape 31 such that the banknote and each band-shaped tape 31 are integrally wound on the drum 30a. On the other hand, when each tape 31 is rewound from the drum 30a by rotating the drum 30a in the reverse direction, the banknote wound on the drum 30a is discharged from each tape 31 and is fed out to the transporting unit 24.
In the lower assembly 16, there are provided a plurality of (two in the example shown in
Although not shown in
The operator can take out the banknote storage bag 34 in which the banknotes are stored from the mounting unit 32 or can mount the empty banknote storage bag 34 on the mounting unit 32 by drawing the lower assembly 16 forward from the front surface of the housing 12 (to the left in
In the upper assembly 14, a plurality of (two in the example shown in
In the banknote handling machine 10 of the present embodiment, the lower assembly 16 is housed in a safe and only a person having a specific authority (for example, a security guard staff of an security transportation company and the like who collects the banknote storage bag 34 from the lower assembly 16) can open a door of the safe and draw the lower assembly 16 forward from the front surface of the housing 12. Alternatively, only a responsible person of the store may open the door of the safe so that the lower assembly 16 can be drawn forward from the front surface of the housing 12.
The banknote handling machine 10 of the present embodiment is provided with a controlling unit 50 for controlling each constituent member of the banknote handling machine 10. More specifically, as shown in
As shown in
In the memory unit 54, a process history of the banknotes such as the depositing process, dispensing process and the like in the banknote handling machine 10, and information on the amount of the banknotes stored in each banknote storage bag 34 and the like are stored. Further, as described above, the memory unit 54 stores the serial number corresponding to each banknote stored in the banknote storage bag 34 such as a pouch bag and the like, the banknote storage cassette 36 (described below), the storage/feeding unit 30 and the like. The printing unit 56 prints the process history of the banknotes such as the depositing process, dispensing process and the like in the banknote handling machine 10, or information on the amount of the banknotes stored in each banknote storage bag 34 and the like on a receipt and the like. Further, the controlling unit 50 transmits/receives signals to/from an external device (specifically, for example, an upper terminal) provided separately from the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment via the communication interface unit 58. For example, when the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36 (described below) is collected by the security guard staff of the security transportation company and the like, the controlling unit 50 transmits information on the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36 via the communication interface unit 58 to the security transportation company.
Next, the operation of the banknote handling machine 10 having such a configuration will be described. It should be noted that the operation of the banknote handling machine 10 as described below is performed by the controlling unit 50 controlling each constituent member of the banknote handling machine 10.
First, the operation of the depositing process of the banknotes in the banknote handling machine 10 will be described. After the operator puts the banknotes into the inlet unit 20, when the operator gives an instruction to start the depositing process to the controlling unit 50 by operation/display unit 52, the banknote put into the inlet unit 20 is fed out to inside of the housing 12 one by one by the banknote feeding mechanism 20a and is transported one by one by the transporting unit 24. The banknote being transported by the transporting unit 24 is recognized by the recognition unit 26 in terms of its denomination, authenticity, front/back (whether face side up or back side up), fitness, version (new/old), transportation state, and the like. In addition, the banknote is imaged by the image sensor of the recognition unit 26, and the serial number of the banknote is acquired based on the image of the banknote. Then, information on the serial number of the banknote acquired by the recognition unit 26 is stored in the memory unit 54. The banknote recognized by the recognition unit 26 as not being a normal banknote, that is, a reject banknote, is sent to the ejecting unit 22 by the transporting unit 24 and stacked in the ejecting unit 22. This allows the operator to manually take out the reject banknote stacked in the ejecting unit 22 from the front surface of the housing 12 and put it into the inlet unit 20 again.
On the other hand, the banknote recognized as a normal banknote by the recognition unit 26 is branched from the transporting unit 24 to the branched transporting unit 25 and sent from the branched transporting unit 25 to the banknote storage bag 34. Details on which of the two banknote storage bags 34 the banknote recognized by the recognition unit 26 is sent will be described below.
If the banknote storage bag 34 to which the banknote recognized by the recognition unit 26 is to be sent is in a full state or near-full state and it is not possible to store the banknote in this banknote storage bag 34, the banknote recognized by the recognition unit 26 is sent to the storage/feeding unit 30 and stored in this storage/feeding unit 30. Then, when the banknote storage bag 34 in the full state or near-full state is taken out from the mounting unit 32 of the lower assembly 16 by the security guard staff of the security transportation company and the like and the empty banknote storage bag 34 is mounted on the mounting unit 32, the banknote is fed out to the transporting unit 24 one by one from the storage/feeding unit 30, and the banknote fed out from the storage/feeding unit 30 is sent to the banknote storage bag 34 by the transporting unit 24.
In the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, the controlling unit 50 performs control to sort each banknote, to be sent from the transporting unit 24 of the upper assembly 14 to the lower assembly 16, to each of the banknote storage bags 34 based on the predetermined classification condition designated in advance. As the predetermined classification condition, various conditions as described below can be applied. Examples of these various conditions will be described below.
The predetermined classification condition may be a condition that classifies each banknote into a fit note of the banknote and an unfit note or counterfeit note of the banknote. Specifically, when the banknote recognized by the recognition unit 26 is the fit note, this banknote is sent to the banknote storage bag 34 on the left side in
The predetermined classification condition may be a condition that classifies each banknote into a banknote to be used for replenishment and a banknote to be collected by the security guard staff of the security transportation company and the like. The banknote to be used for replenishment is a banknote to be recycled in the store where the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment is installed. Specifically, the banknote to be used for replenishment is the banknote to be replenished in devices such as automatic teller machine (ATM), banknote deposit/dispense machine for bank counter (TCR), cash change machine for register, rear deposit/dispense machine, and the like, respectively installed in the store. In the predetermined classification condition, as a banknote to be used for replenishment, the fit note is generally specified. In the present embodiment, when the banknote is recognized by the recognition unit 26, the banknote judged by the controlling unit 50 as the banknote to be used for replenishment is sent to the banknote storage bag 34 on the left side in
The predetermined classification condition may be such a condition that each banknote is classified into the banknote to be used for reconciliation of the store in which the banknote handling machine 10 is installed and the banknote to be collected by the security guard staff of the security transportation company and the like. Specifically, when the banknote is recognized by the recognition unit 26, the banknote judged by the controlling unit 50 as being the banknote to be used for reconciliation of the store in which the banknote handling machine 10 is installed is sent to the banknote storage bag 34 on the left side in
The predetermined classification condition may be such a condition that the banknote is classified into the banknote to be used for reconciliation of a current day and the banknote to be used for reconciliation of a next day. Specifically, when the banknote is recognized by the recognition unit 26, the banknote judged by the controlling unit 50 as being the banknote to be used for reconciliation of the current day is sent to the banknote storage bag 34 on the left side in
The predetermined classification condition may be such a condition that the banknote is classified into a banknote for which depositing process is reconciled (i.e. the banknote of which the closing balance process has conducted) and a banknote that is deposited after the closing balance process. The latter “banknote that is deposited after the closing balance process” is the banknote as sales proceeds deposited in the banknote handling machine 10 on the current day after the reconciliation of payment on this day is confirmed. In the present embodiment, when the banknote is recognized by the recognition unit 26, the banknote judged by the controlling unit 50 as being the banknote for which depositing process is reconciled (i.e. the banknote of which the closing balance process has conducted) is sent to the banknote storage bag 34 on the left side in
The predetermined classification condition may be a condition for classifying the banknote into a high-value banknote that is higher than a predetermined amount and a low-value banknote that is not more than the predetermined amount. Specifically, when the banknote is recognized by the recognition unit 26, the banknote judged by the controlling unit 50 as being the high-value banknote that is higher than the predetermined amount is sent to the banknote storage bag 34 on the left side in
The predetermined classification condition may be such a condition that a paper sheet is classified into the banknote and the paper sheet other than the banknote (for example, gift voucher, check and the like). Specifically, if the recognition unit 26 is capable of recognizing gift voucher, check and the like other than banknote, the paper sheet recognized by the recognition unit 26 as being the banknote is sent to the banknote storage bag 34 on the left side in
The predetermined classification condition may be a condition for classifying the banknote into a banknote issued by a home country or an organization related to the home country (domestic note) and a banknote issued by a country or organization other than the home country (national note). Specifically, when the banknote is recognized by the recognition unit 26, the banknote judged by the controlling unit 50 as being the banknote issued by the home country or the organization related to the home country is sent to the banknote storage bag 34 on the left side in
The predetermined classification condition may be a condition for classifying the banknote into a banknote until reaching a predetermined total amount in one transaction (specifically, an insurance amount) and a banknote after reaching the predetermined total amount in one transaction. More specifically, when one banknote is recognized by the recognition unit 26, the total amount of the banknotes which have been recognized so far by the recognition unit 26 in one transaction is managed by the controlling unit 50. Then, when some banknote is recognized by the recognition unit 26, if the total amount of the banknotes (including this banknote) recognized so far by the recognition unit 26 in one transaction is less than a predetermined insurance amount, such a banknote is sent to the banknote storage bag 34 on the left side in
As described above, in the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, based on various classification conditions, each banknote sent from the transporting unit 24 of the upper assembly 14 to the lower assembly 16 can be sorted to each of the banknote storage bags 34. As a result, the banknotes stored in the plurality of the banknote storage bags 34 can be used for different purposes for each banknote storage bag 34. Further, since it is not necessary to sort the banknotes in post-process, it is possible to reduce the burden on work for the operator. In the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, the classification condition concerning sorting of the banknotes to each banknote storage bag 34 can be arbitrarily set by the operation/display unit 52. Further, in the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, when the amount of the banknotes stored in any banknote storage bag 34 among a plurality of (for example, two) banknote storage bags 34 reaches a predetermined reference amount (for example, insurance applicable amount, regulated amount and the like), controlling unit 50 performs control to prohibit sending the banknote from the transporting unit 24 of the upper assembly 14 to this banknote storage bag 34 and send the banknote to other banknote storage bag 34.
As the banknote storage bag 34, those having different sizes may be respectively mountable on the mounting unit 32 of the lower assembly 16. For example, when the security guard staff of the security transportation company and the like collects the banknote storage bag 34 from the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, a large-sized vehicle or a small-sized vehicle may be used. In such a case, the banknote storage bag 34 having a relatively large size corresponding to the large-sized vehicle and the banknote storage bag 34 having a relatively small size corresponding to the small-sized vehicle can be respectively mounted on each mounting unit 32 of the lower assembly 16. In general, the reference amount of the banknote storage bag 34 for the large-sized vehicle is larger than the reference amount of the banknote storage bag 34 for the small-sized vehicle. For this reason, it is preferable that the operator can input the reference amount of the banknote storage bag 34 mounted on each mounting unit 32 for each banknote storage bag 34 to the controlling unit 50 by the operation/display unit 52. In this case, the controlling unit 50 performs control to send each banknote from the transporting unit 24 of the upper assembly 14 to each banknote storage bag 34 based on the reference amount allocated to each banknote storage bag 34. Further, the size of the banknote storage bag 34 to be mounted on each mounting unit 32 can be determined based on the collection route of the banknote storage bag 34 from each store in place of information on the transport vehicle (i.e. the large-sized vehicle, the small-sized vehicle and the like).
Note that the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment is not limited to the configuration in which two banknote storage bags 34 are mounted on the lower assembly 16 as shown in
In addition, by drawing the lower assembly 16 forward from the front surface of the housing 12, the operator can take out the banknote storage cassette 36 in which the banknotes are stored from the lower assembly 16 or mount the empty banknote storage cassette 36 on the lower assembly 16.
In the banknote handling machine 10 shown in
In the banknote handling machine 10 shown in
In the banknote handling machine 10 shown in
In the case the banknote storage cassette 36 is mounted on the lower assembly 16 in the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, as shown in
In each area 36p, 36q, 36r of the banknote storage cassette 36, the type of banknote to be stored is allocated in advance. Specifically, the banknote that the operator wishes to visually check, such as the banknote with a tape, the scribbled banknote, the banknote to which a specific identification number is given, the banknote of specific type of note or denomination and the like is stored in the area 36p. On the other hand, the banknote that requires operator's confirmation, such as an edge folded banknote, a banknote with a needle of a staple or a clip and the like, is stored in the area 36q. That is, the banknote that is prone to error such as jamming, when delivered from the banknote storage cassette 36 to the main part of the money teller machine, is stored in the area 36q, when the banknote storage cassette 36 is mounted on the money teller machine. Further, the normal banknote is stored in the area 36r. When the banknote storage cassette 36 in which the above-mentioned types of banknotes are allocated to each area 36p, 36q, 36r is mounted on the money teller machine, the banknote fed out from the area 36r to the main part of the money teller machine is stored in a storage unit of the money teller machine. On the other hand, the banknote fed out from the area 36p to the main part of the money teller machine is sent to the rejecting unit (e.g., a first rejecting unit) and the like of the money teller machine, and then the operator can take out the banknote from the rejecting unit and the like and visually confirm the banknote. When the banknote storage cassette 36 shown in
According to the banknote storage cassette 36 as shown in
Further, in the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, the storage/feeding unit 30 provided in the upper assembly 14 can be used for various purposes. For example, in the depositing process of the banknotes, when the banknote fed out from the inlet unit 20 into the housing 12 is recognized by the recognition unit 26, the banknote of the kind that is not allocated to the banknote storage bag 34 and the banknote storage cassette 36 in the above-mentioned predetermined classification condition may be sent to the storage/feeding unit 30 by the transporting unit 24.
Further, as described above, in the depositing process of the banknotes, when the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36 to which the banknote recognized by the recognition unit 26 is to be sent is in the full state or near-full state and the banknote can not be stored in these storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36, the banknote recognized by the recognition unit 26 may be sent to the storage/feeding unit 30 and stored in this storage/feeding unit 30. In this case, when the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36 of the full state or near-full state is taken out from the lower assembly 16 and the empty banknote storage bag 34 or empty banknote storage cassette 36 is mounted on the lower assembly 16, depending on the storage order of the banknote in the storage/feeding unit 30 and information on the banknote stored in the storage/feeding unit 30 stored in the memory unit 54, the banknote is fed out one by one from the storage/feeding unit 30 to the transporting unit 24 and sent to the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36 by the transporting unit 24. In this manner, in the present embodiment, the storage/feeding unit 30 can be used as a storage unit for temporarily storing the overflow banknote when stored in the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36.
Further, as another use of the storage/feeding unit 30, in the depositing process of the banknotes, when the paper sheet such as the check, the gift voucher and the like other than the banknote are put into the inlet unit 20 and the paper sheet is recognized by the recognition unit 26, this paper sheet may be sent to the storage/feeding unit 30 by the transporting unit 24. In this case, the storage/feeding unit 30 is used as a non-money storage unit for storing the paper sheet other than the banknote.
When the operator gives a command to collect the banknotes to the controlling unit 50 by the operation/display unit 52, all the banknotes stored in the storage/feeding unit 30 are fed out one by one from the storage/feeding unit 30 to the transporting unit 24, and the fed banknote is sent to the ejecting unit 22 by the transporting unit 24 and stacked in the ejecting unit 22. Thus, the operator can take out the dispensed banknotes from the ejecting unit 22 to outside of the housing 12 and collect them.
Further, as a further use of the storage/feeding unit 30, it is also possible to store the banknotes to be dispensed (for example, the banknote of a specific one denomination designated in advance) in the storage/feeding unit 30 in advance. In this case, the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment can perform the dispensing process of the banknotes. More specifically, when the operator gives a command to start the dispensing process together with the dispense amount of money to the controlling unit 50 by the operation/display unit 52, the banknotes corresponding to the designated dispense amount are fed out one by one from the storage/feeding unit 30 to the transporting unit 24 and the fed banknote is sent to the ejecting unit 22 by the transporting unit 24 and stacked in the ejecting unit 22. Thus, the operator can take out the dispensed banknotes from the ejecting unit 22 to outside of the housing 12.
Further, as a further use of the storage/feeding unit 30, the banknotes for currency exchange (for example, the banknotes of a specific denomination designated in advance) may be stored in the storage/feeding unit 30 in advance. In this case, the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment can perform the exchange process of the banknotes. Specifically, when the operator puts the banknotes of a certain denomination into the housing 12 of the banknote handling machine 10 via the inlet unit 20 and the put banknotes are stored in the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36, the banknotes having the same amount as the total amount of the banknotes put into the housing 12 of the banknote handling machine 10 and having different denomination are fed out one by one from the storage/feeding unit 30 to the transporting unit 24, and the fed banknote is sent to the ejecting unit 22 by the transporting unit 24 and stacked in this ejecting unit 22. Thus, the operator can take out the exchanged banknotes from the ejecting unit 22 to outside of the housing 12.
In the case where the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment can perform the dispensing process and exchanging process of the banknotes by previously storing the banknotes to be dispensed or the banknotes to be ejected as the exchanged banknotes in the storage/feeding unit 30, when the banknote handling machine 10 performs the depositing process of the banknotes, the banknote of a specific denomination designated in advance, out of the banknote fed out from the inlet unit 20 into the housing 12 and recognized by the recognition unit 26, may be sent to the storage/feeding unit 30 by the transporting unit 24 for use as the banknote to be dispensed or the banknote to be ejected as the exchanged banknotes. In this case, even if the operator does not replenish the banknotes to be dispensed or the banknotes to be ejected as the exchanged banknotes with the storage/feeding unit 30, it is possible to store the banknotes to be dispensed or the banknotes to be ejected as the exchanged banknotes in the storage/feeding unit 30 in advance.
As another use of the storage/feeding unit 30, the storage/feeding unit 30 may be used as a deposit escrow unit. In such a banknote handling machine 10, when the banknote put into the inlet unit 20 is fed out into the housing 12 and recognized by the recognition unit 26, normal banknote is sent to the storage/feeding unit 30 by the transporting unit 24 and escrowed in the storage/feeding unit 30. On the other hand, the banknote recognized by the recognition unit 26 as not being normal banknote and the banknote that is not recognizable by the recognition unit 26 are sent to the ejecting unit 22 by the transporting unit 24 as the reject banknote, and then the reject banknote stacked in the ejecting unit 22 is taken out to outside of the housing 12 by the operator. When all the banknotes put in the inlet unit 20 are fed out into the housing 12 and sent to the storage/feeding unit 30 or the ejecting unit 22, the operator can send a command to confirm the depositing process by the controlling unit 50. Then, when the command to confirm the depositing process is given to the controlling unit 50, the banknotes are fed out from the storage/feeding unit 30 to the transporting unit 24, and the fed banknotes are sent to the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36 by the transporting unit 24 based on the predetermined classification condition. On the other hand, when a return command is given to the controlling unit 50 instead of giving the command to confirm the depositing process to the controlling unit 50, the banknotes are fed out from the storage/feeding unit 30 to the transporting unit 24, and the fed banknotes are sent to the ejecting unit 22 by the transporting unit 24 and stacked in the ejecting unit 22. Then, the returned banknotes stacked in the ejecting unit 22 are taken out to outside of the housing 12 by the operator.
In the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to perform a counting process of the banknotes as described below, and when such a counting process of the banknotes is performed, the storage/feeding unit 30 may be used. Specifically, when the counting process of the banknotes is performed in the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, the banknotes put into the inlet unit 20 are fed out to inside of the housing 12 by the banknote feeding mechanism 20a and recognized by the recognition unit 26. Then, the banknote judged to be normal banknote is sent to the ejecting unit 22. On the other hand, as for the banknote judged not to be normal banknote (i.e., reject banknote) based on the recognition result by the recognition unit 26, the setting can be made by the operator, for example, by the operation/display unit 52. The above setting includes a mode in which the reject banknote is sent to the ejecting unit 22 and stacked in a mixed state with the normal banknote in the ejecting unit 22, and a mode in which the reject banknote is escrowed in the storage/feeding unit 30 and the escrowed banknote is fed out from the storage/feeding unit 30 and sent to the ejecting unit 22 after the normal banknote is taken out from the ejecting unit 22.
Further, when the counting process of the banknotes is performed in the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, it may be possible to perform a special counting mode of counting only the banknotes of a specific denomination. In such a special counting mode, when the banknotes put into the inlet unit 20 are fed out into the housing 12 by the banknote feeding mechanism 20a and recognized by the recognition unit 26, the banknote of the specific denomination designated in advance among the banknote judged as being normal banknote is sent to the ejecting unit 22. Then, in the controlling unit 50, based on the recognition result by the recognition unit 26, only the banknotes of the specific denomination designated in advance among the banknotes judged to be normal banknotes are counted. On the other hand, based on the recognition result by the recognition unit 26, the banknote judged not to be normal banknote (i.e., reject banknote) and the banknote judged as normal banknote but not the specific denomination are escrowed in the storage/feeding unit 30. Then, after the normal banknotes of the specific denomination are taken out from the ejecting unit 22, the remaining banknotes are fed out from the storage/feeding unit 30 and sent to the ejecting unit 22.
In the present embodiment, if the banknote is stored in the storage/feeding unit 30 of the tape-type, the controlling unit 50 may perform control to store information related to the banknotes (for example, information such as the denomination and serial number of the banknote) stored in the storage/feeding unit 30 in association with the order in which each banknote is stored in the storage/feeding unit 30 in the memory unit 54. In this case, when the banknotes are fed out from the storage/feeding unit 30 to the transporting unit 24 and sent to the ejecting unit 22, the banknote storage bag 34, the banknote storage cassette 36 and the like, information on the banknote fed out to the transporting unit 24 can be specified. Therefore, the controlling unit 50 performs control to store the banknote whose corresponding banknote storage bag 34 or banknote storage cassette 36 is in the full state or near-full state in the storage/feeding unit 30, and fed out the banknotes one by one from the storage/feeding unit 30 to the transporting unit 24 when the banknote storage bag 34 or banknote storage cassette 36 becomes not in the full state or near-full state. Then, depending on the above information stored in the memory unit 54 and the predetermined classification condition, the banknote fed out from the storage/feeding unit 30 is stored in the corresponding banknote storage bag 34 or banknote storage cassette 36.
As described above, in the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, the storage/feeding unit 30 can be used for various purposes. Therefore, in the banknote handling machine 10 according to the present embodiment, it is made possible to execute the dispensing process and exchanging process of the banknotes, and the overflow banknote and the paper sheet such as the check, the gift voucher and the like other than the banknote can be stored in the storage/feeding unit 30 in the depositing process of the banknotes.
The banknote handling machine according to the present embodiment is not limited to the aspect in which two branched transporting units 25 are branched from the transporting unit 24 respectively. In the present embodiment, as shown in
In the banknote handling machine 10a shown in
In an aspect as shown in
In an aspect as shown in
According to the aspects as shown in
Further, in the banknote handling machine 10a in which three branched transporting units 25 are branched from the transporting unit 24, as shown in
Further, in the banknote handling machine 10a as shown in
In the banknote handling machine 10a as shown in
In the banknote handling machine 10, 10a according to the present embodiment, when sorting each banknote, sent from the transporting unit 24 of the upper assembly 14 to the lower assembly 16, to each storage unit (specifically, the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36), the controlling unit 50 performs control to store all the banknotes sent from the transporting unit 24 of the upper assembly 14 to the lower assembly 16 in a specified storage unit in a mixed state, if a predetermined switching condition is satisfied. Specifically, in the depositing process of the banknotes conducted by the banknote handling machines 10, 10a according to the present embodiment, in the case where the banknotes are branched from the transporting unit 24 of the upper assembly 14 to the branched transporting unit 25 for each denomination and sent to the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36, when the number of the deposited banknotes of a specific denomination designated in advance exceeds a preset number designated in advance, the banknotes are stored in the specific banknote storage bags 34 or the specific banknote storage cassette 36 designated in advance in the mixed state other than the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36 in which the banknotes of this specific denomination are to be stored. Alternatively, when a certain banknote storage bag 34 or banknote storage cassette 36 becomes in the full state or near-full state, the banknotes may be stored in the specific banknote storage bag 34 or the specific banknote storage cassette 36 designated in advance in the mixed state other than the above certain banknote storage bag 34 or the above certain banknote storage cassette 36. According to the prior art, in the depositing process of the banknotes conducted by the banknote handling machine, if the banknotes are sorted to each storage unit for each denomination, when the number of the deposited banknotes of a specific denomination is large, despite the fact that the storage unit in which the banknotes of denominations other than this specific denomination should be stored is not readily in the full state or near-full state, the storage unit in which the banknotes of the above specific denomination should be stored becomes immediately in the full state or near-full state. Therefore, it is necessary to temporarily stop the depositing process and draw the lower assembly from the front surface of the housing to the front side to collect the banknotes from the storage unit, resulting in a problem of inefficiency. On the other hand, in the banknote handling machine 10, 10a according to the present embodiment, in the depositing process of the banknotes, in the case where the number of deposited banknotes of a specific denomination is large, when the above-described predetermined switching condition is satisfied, the banknotes of this denomination can also be stored in the other storage unit. Therefore, it is possible to lengthen the time until the depositing process is temporarily stopped, thereby improving the efficiency of handling the banknotes.
When the controlling unit 50 performs control to store all the banknotes sent from the transporting unit 24 of the upper assembly 14 to the lower assembly 16 in a specific storage unit designated in advance (specifically, the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36) in the mixed state, the controlling unit 50 performs control so as to enable storage of the banknotes in the storage unit other than the specified storage unit designated in advance at a predetermined time. Specifically, for example, one hour before the closing balance process is performed in the banknote handling machine 10, 10a according to the present embodiment, the controlling unit 50 may perform control so as to enable storage of the banknotes in the storage unit other than the specific storage unit designated in advance. This makes it possible to lengthen the time until the specific storage unit to which all banknotes are sent in the mixed state becomes in the full state or near-full state, and then it is possible to reduce the frequency with which the security guard staff of the security transportation company and the like collects the storage unit such as the banknote storage bag 34 or the banknote storage cassette 36 from the lower assembly 16 of the banknote handling machine 10, 10a.
In the banknote processing machine according to the present invention, three or more banknote storage bags or three or more banknote storage cassettes may be mounted on the lower assembly. In this case, for example, with respect to two banknote storage bags or two banknote storage cassettes, the banknotes are sorted according to the above predetermined classification condition and stored, but in the remaining banknote storage bag or banknote storage cassette, the banknotes conforming to the respective conditions in the predetermined classification condition are stored in the mixed state. Specifically, when the banknote storage bag and the banknote storage cassette in which the banknotes are sorted based on the predetermined classification condition and stored is brought into the full state or near-full state, and the banknote can not be stored in this banknote storage bag or banknote storage cassette, such a banknote is stored in the remaining banknote storage bag or banknote storage cassette in the mixed state as the overflow banknote.
It should be noted that the paper sheet handling machine according to the present invention is not limited to the banknote handling machines 10, 10a that perform various processes such as the depositing process, dispensing process, exchanging process and the like of the banknotes as described above. As a paper sheet handling machine according to the present invention, one capable of performing various processes such as the depositing process, dispensing process and the like of the paper sheet, such as the check, gift voucher and the like, other than the banknote can be applied.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-023658 | Feb 2015 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2016/052479 | 1/28/2016 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2016/129397 | 8/18/2016 | WO | A |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 9141876 | Jones | Sep 2015 | B1 |
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| 20140069769 | Kobayashi et al. | Mar 2014 | A1 |
| 20140130450 | Uehara et al. | May 2014 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2012-174130 | Sep 2012 | JP |
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| Entry |
|---|
| Written Opinion of International Searching Authority (International Application No. PCT/JP2016/052479) (8 pages—dated Mar. 15, 2016). |
| European Search Report (Application No. 16749041.6—PCT/JP20161052479)(7 pages—dated Sep. 18, 2018). |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180025570 A1 | Jan 2018 | US |
