Locking and unlocking device

Abstract

The present invention provides a locking and unlocking device that can automatically lock and unlock a paper storage library with a simpler structure. The device includes: a key unit (330) having a key (331) for locking and unlocking the lock and a key rotation motor (333) for applying a rotational driving force for locking and unlocking the lock to the key; and a key moving mechanism (360) for moving the key unit forward and backward. The key moving mechanism includes: a mounting plate (365) that moves the key unit forward and backward between a retracted position where the key is away from the lock and a locking and unlocking position where the key can lock and unlock the lock to apply a driving force to the key unit; and a tension coil spring (371) that is interposed between the key unit and the driving force applying member, always moves the key unit forward and backward integrally with the driving force applying member, and on the other hand, allows the key unit to move forward and backward relative to the driving force applying member when an external force in a direction opposite to the forward and backward direction of the driving force applying member is applied to the key unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a locking and unlocking device for automatically locking and unlocking a key. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, various countermeasures have been taken to prevent the illegal removal of currency from a currency storage.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a system for automatically unlocking a paper storage in a manner that does not come into contact with a person's hand. In this technology, an image data of the state of the storage is captured to control a robotic arm to unlock the paper storage.

[0004] Prior Art Documents

[0005] Patent Documents

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2019-204205 Summary of the Invention

[0007] Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] However, since the system described in Patent Document 1 uses a robotic arm, the scale of the system is large.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a locking and unlocking device that can automatically lock and unlock a storage containing currency with a simpler structure.

[0010] Means for Solving the Problems

[0011] To solve the above problems, the locking and unlocking device according to the present invention locks and unlocks a lock provided on one side of a storage for storing currency. The locking and unlocking device is characterized by including: a key unit having a key for locking and unlocking the lock and a key rotation drive mechanism for providing a rotational driving force for locking and unlocking the lock to the key; and a key moving mechanism for moving the key unit back and forth between a retracted position where the key is away from the lock and a locking and unlocking position where the key can lock and unlock the lock. The key moving mechanism includes: a driving force imparting member for applying a driving force to the key unit by moving back and forth between an initial position for moving the key unit to the retracted position and a forward position for moving the key unit to the locking and unlocking position; and a first elastic biasing member interposed between the key unit and the driving force imparting member for always moving the key unit and the driving force imparting member integrally back and forth, and on the other hand, for relatively moving the key unit with respect to the driving force imparting member when an external force in a direction opposite to the advancing and retreating direction of the driving force imparting member is applied to the key unit.

[0012] Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to simplify and miniaturize the locking and unlocking device that can automatically lock and unlock the lock provided in the storage.

[0014] Brief Explanation of the Drawings

[0015] Figure 1 It is a perspective view showing an example of the usage state of the banknote storage processing device.

[0016] Figure 2 (a) and (b) of [] are perspective views showing the appearance of the banknote storage.

[0017] Figure 3 is Figure 2 The A1-A1 cross-sectional view of (a) of [].

[0018] Figure 4 (a) of [] is in the state where the side opening is open Figure 2 The A2-A2 cross-sectional view of (b) of [], and (b) is a perspective view showing the main structure of the loading plate advancing and retreating mechanism.

[0019] Figure 5 is equivalent to Figure 2 The view of the A3-A3 section of (a) of [], (a) is a view showing the state where the cover unit (cover body) is in the closed position, and (b) is a view showing the state where the cover unit (cover body) is in the open position.

[0020] Figure 6 is to make Figure 5 The cover unit (cover body) shown in (b) of [] is moved to the open position, and it is equivalent to the A2-A2 section view of (b) of []. Figure 2 The A2-A2 cross-sectional view of (b) of [].

[0021] Figure 7 (a) and (b) of [] are perspective views showing the structure related to the locking and unlocking of the banknote storage being exposed.

[0022] Figure 8 is equivalent to Figure 2 The perspective view of the A4-A4 section of (b) of [].

[0023] Figure 9 It is a perspective view showing the schematic structure of the banknote storage processing device. (a) is a view showing the state before installing the banknote storage, and (b) is a view showing the state after installing the banknote storage.

[0024] Figure 10 It is a perspective view showing the locking and unlocking device.

[0025] Figure 11The diagrams (a) to (e) illustrate a series of operations related to locking and unlocking of a lock by a locking and unlocking device.

[0026] Figure 12 It is a perspective view showing the cover unit opening and closing mechanism.

[0027] Figure 13 It is a sectional perspective view showing the loading table and the loading table lifting mechanism. (a) is a view showing the state where the loading table is in the lowered position, and (b) is a view showing the state where the loading table is in the raised position.

[0028] Figure 14 It is a front view illustrating the operation of the loading table lifting mechanism.

[0029] Figure 15 It is a sectional perspective view showing the structure of the loading table moving mechanism and the loading table retracting mechanism.

[0030] Figure 16 It is a sectional perspective view illustrating a series of operations of the banknote storage processing device.

[0031] Figure 17 It is a sectional perspective view illustrating a series of operations of the banknote storage processing device.

[0032] Figure 18 It is a sectional perspective view illustrating a series of operations of the banknote storage processing device.

[0033] Figure 19 It is a sectional perspective view illustrating a series of operations of the banknote storage processing device.

[0034] Figure 20 It is a sectional perspective view illustrating a series of operations of the banknote storage processing device.

[0035] Figure 21 It is a sectional perspective view illustrating a series of operations of the banknote storage processing device. Detailed Embodiment

[0036] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail using the illustrated embodiments. However, unless otherwise specified, the constituent elements, types, combinations, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. described in this embodiment are merely illustrative examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto.

[0037] The present invention can be applied to all paper materials including banknotes and securities. Hereinafter, an example of processing banknotes as an example of paper materials will be described.

[0038] 〔Overall Outline〕

[0039] Figure 1This is a perspective view showing an example of the usage state of the banknote storage and handling device.

[0040] The banknote storage and handling device (paper storage and handling device) 300 (hereinafter simply referred to as "handling device 300") takes out banknotes held in a stack (held in a stacked state) from the banknote storage (paper storage) 100 received by the receiving unit 301, and transfers the taken-out stack of banknotes (stack of papers) to a specified banknote stack discharge position (paper stack discharge position). Here, the banknote stack discharge position is the banknote insertion port 11 of the banknote sorter 10, which is arranged in front of the handling device 300 and, for example, counts and sorts banknotes by currency. The handling device 300 takes out banknotes from the banknote storage 100 and transfers them to the banknote sorter 10 without the operator coming into contact with the banknotes.

[0041] In the following, as Figure 1 shown, the XYZ directions are defined and described. In this example, the X direction is the direction in which the banknote storage 100 receives banknotes, and is the direction (first direction) along the long side direction (first side, long side) of the banknotes. The Y direction is the direction in which the banknotes are stacked, and is the vertical direction. The Z direction is the direction of taking out the stack of banknotes from the banknote storage 100 and the direction of transferring the taken-out stack of banknotes to the banknote sorter 10, and is the direction (second direction) along the short side direction (second side, short side) of the banknotes.

[0042] 〔Banknote Storage〕

[0043] Figure 2 Figures (a) and (b) show perspective views of the appearance of the banknote storage. Figure 3 is Figure 2 the A1 - A1 cross-sectional view of (a) of Figure 4 Figure (a) of Figure 2 is the A2 - A2 cross-sectional view of (b) of

[0044] The banknote storage 100 is, for example, detachably installed on a non-illustrated return-type banknote handling device, and houses banknotes recovered from the return-type banknote handling device. The return-type banknote handling device is provided in, for example, banknote handling devices such as vending machines, game coin exchangers in amusement arcades, ticket vending machines, deposit and withdrawal devices, exchangers, etc., or performs banknote extraction processing such as banknote acceptance and change-making in a combined setting manner.

[0045] In the following description, the directions along the long side direction and the short side direction of the banknotes housed inside the banknote storage 100 are respectively described as the long side direction (X direction) and the short side direction (X direction) of the banknote storage.

[0046] The banknote storage 100 includes: a housing 110 having a substantially box-shaped (rectangular parallelepiped shape), which has a banknote stack storage space (paper stack storage space) 111 as a space for storing banknote stacks inside, and has a side opening 113 on one side surface (in this example, one side surface in the short side direction). Figure 4 of (a), Figure 5 of (b)); a lid unit 170 (refer to Figure 5 ), which opens and closes the side opening 113 when moving forward and backward in the inner and outer direction (the short side direction in the figure) with respect to the side opening 113; a loading plate 131, which is supported to be freely lifted and lowered in the banknote stack storage space 111, and is always biased in the upward direction to stack and hold banknote stacks; and a drive mechanism 160, which receives an external driving force that causes the loading plate to overcome the acting force and descend.

[0047] <Housing>

[0048] The banknote storage 100 includes: a receiving port 121, which forms an opening at the upper end side in the long side direction of the substantially box-shaped (rectangular parallelepiped shape) housing 110, and receives banknotes conveyed along the long side direction in the direction of arrow C; a banknote setting portion 123 ( Figure 4 of (a)), which stops the banknotes received from the receiving port 121 into the inside along the direction of arrow C at the setting position; and a pair of end support members 125, 125, which support both ends in the width direction (short side direction) of the banknotes set in the banknote setting portion 123 (stopped at the setting position).

[0049] In addition, the banknote storage 100 generally includes: a push member 127 that can move forward and backward freely, which is located on the upper surface side of the banknotes in the banknote setting portion 123 in the initial state (retracted state), and contacts the middle portion in the width direction of the upper surface of the banknotes when protruding downward beyond the banknote setting position to push it downward; and a loading plate 131, which is provided in the banknote stack storage space 111 below the banknote setting portion 123, and is elastically biased upward to always press against the end support members 125, 125 from below, and can move forward and backward freely downward away from the end support members 125, 125.

[0050] <<Banknote Loading Plate>>

[0051] As Figure 4 shown, the loading plate 131 is supported by a loading plate advancing and retreating mechanism 140 to be freely movable forward and backward in the banknote stack storage space 111 with respect to the vertical direction. The loading plate 131 is set in terms of shape, size, and positional relationship in such a way as to support the middle portion in the long side direction of the banknotes.

[0052] The loading plate advancing and retracting mechanism 140 generally includes: a rack 141 disposed on the inner surface of the side plate at the other end (inner side) in the short side direction (Z direction) of the housing 110 and extending in the vertical direction; a pinion 143 disposed inside the loading plate 131 and meshing with the gear portion of the rack 141; a spiral spring 145 that elastically biases the rotation shaft 143a of the pinion 143 in one rotation direction (arrow D direction in the figure); a guide rail 147 disposed on the inner surface of the side plate inside the housing 110 and extending side by side with the rack 141; a slider 149 disposed inside the loading plate 131 and advancing and retracting (lifting) on the guide rail 147; a constant load spring 161, one end portion 161a in the long side direction is rotatably fixed to a roller 163 disposed in the lower end space 115 (refer to Figure 3 , Figure 4 ) below the banknote stack storage space 111, and the other end portion 161b in the long side direction is fixed to the slider 149; and a driven gear 165 mounted on the end portion (in this example, the other end portion in the long side direction) of the rotation shaft 163a of the roller 163 extending in the long side direction of the housing 110 and integrally rotating coaxially with the roller 163.

[0053] The rack 141 and the guide rail 147 extend from the nearest position of the end support members 125, 125 to the vicinity of the lower end inside the housing 110. The pinion 143 is rotatably supported by gear support portions 131a formed at both ends in the short side direction of the loading plate 131. The spiral spring 145 is a torsion spiral spring, and the pinion 143 biases the loading plate 131 to rotate in the moving direction (arrow D direction in the figure), which is the direction of moving upward to the position where the end support members 125, 125 are located. The slider 149 is disposed adjacent to the rack 141 and fixed to the loading plate 131.

[0054] The roller 163 is disposed at one end in the short side direction of the lower end space 115 of the housing 110 and can rotate forward and backward freely. The constant load spring 161 is a long leaf spring formed by bending with a certain curvature in the long side direction. The constant load spring 161 always generates a constant restoring force (load) regardless of the amount of the spring pulled out from the roller 163. The middle portion in the long side direction of the constant load spring 161 is supported by a roller 167 disposed inside and below the housing 110. Therefore, the constant load spring 161 extends along the slider 149 in the banknote stack storage space 111. The driven gear 165 meshes with a transmission gear 315 of an external drive mechanism 310 provided on the processing device 300 side through an opening formed in the housing 110, and transmits at least the driving force for moving the loading plate 131 downward away from the end support members 125, 125.

[0055] As Figure 3As shown, at both ends in the longitudinal direction at the lowermost part of the banknote stack storage space 111, a pair of partition plates 117, 117 are arranged to separate the banknote stack storage space 111 and the lower end space 115 in the vertical direction. As Figure 6 shown, the upper surfaces of the partition plates 117, 117 are set at positions lower than the lowest lowering position of the loading plate 131. When the loading plate 131 loaded in a state of contacting the lower surface at the middle part in the longitudinal direction of the banknote stack descends to the lowest, the lower limit positions of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the banknote stack are restricted (regulated).

[0056] <<Loading plate advancing and retracting mechanism>>

[0057] The constant load spring 161, the roller 163, and the driven gear 165 constitute the driven mechanism 160 that lowers the loading plate 131. The driven mechanism 160 is driven by receiving an external driving force from an external driving mechanism 310 provided outside the banknote storage 100.

[0058] The processing device 300 has an external driving mechanism 310 that is connected to the driven mechanism 160 to transmit an external driving force when the banknote storage 100 is located at a specified banknote storage stop position (paper storage stop position). The banknote storage stop position refers to the position where the processing device 300 stops the banknote storage 100 received by the receiving unit 301 ( Figure 1 , Figure 9 etc.). The external driving mechanism 310 includes: a driving motor 311; a driving gear 313 that is mounted on the driving shaft of the driving motor 311; and a transmission gear 315 that meshes with the driving gear 313.

[0059] When the banknote storage 100 is located at the banknote storage stop position, the transmission gear 315 meshes (connects) with the driven gear 165 through an opening formed through the bottom surface of the housing 110. The driving motor 311 generates a driving force to lower the loading plate 131 against the acting force of the spiral spring 145.

[0060] The loading plate 131 always presses and holds the stacked banknotes against the end support members 125, 125 by the acting force of the spiral spring 145. That is, the banknotes are clamped and held between the upper surface of the loading plate 131 that supports the lower surface at the middle part in the longitudinal direction of the banknotes and the lower surfaces of the respective end support members 125, 125. When the transmission gear 315 meshes with the driven gear 165, the driving force from the driving motor 311 is transmitted to the driven gear 165 via the driving gear 313 and the transmission gear 315, and thus the loading plate 131 descends.

[0061] <Cover unit>

[0062] Figure 5 is equivalent toFigure 2 View of the A3-A3 cross-section of (a) of Figure 6 is to make Figure 5 In the state where the cover unit (cover body) shown in (b) of Figure 2 View of the A2-A2 cross-section of (b) of

[0063] The cover unit 170 has: a cover body 171 that moves back and forth between a closed position closing the side opening 113 of the closed housing 110 and an open position moving away from the side opening to the outside; and banknote stack moving members (paper stack moving members) 177, 177 that project from the cover body 171 toward the inside of the side opening 113, and when moving outward together with the cover body 171, move the banknote stack in the banknote stack storage space 111 out of the side opening 113 and outside the housing 110 together.

[0064] The cover body 171 is a substantially rectangular flat plate that closes the substantially rectangular side opening 113.

[0065] <<Banknote stack moving member>>

[0066] The banknote stack moving members 177, 177 project from positions near the respective ends in the long side direction of the cover body 171 toward the inside. Each banknote stack moving member 177 has a substantially L-shaped top view, and has: a flat plate-shaped guide portion 179 that projects from positions near the respective ends in the long side direction of the cover body 171 toward the inside; and a flat plate-shaped pressing portion 181 that extends from the top end of the guide portion 179 in a zigzag manner toward the other end in the long side direction. The banknote stack moving members 177, 177 extend to substantially the whole in the vertical direction of the banknote stack storage space 111, that is, from directly below the end support members 125, 125 to directly above the partition plates 117, 117. The banknote stack Bs is held in the space surrounded by the cover body 171 and the banknote stack moving members 177, 177.

[0067] The inner surface of the cover body 171 restricts the position of one end face of the banknote stack Bs extending in the long side direction. Each guide portion 179 restricts the positions of the respective end faces of the banknote stack Bs extending in the short side direction. Each pressing portion 181 restricts the position of the other end face of the banknote stack Bs extending in the long side direction, and when the cover body 171 moves from the closed position to the open position, presses the other end face of the banknote stack Bs extending in the long side direction outward, so that the banknote stack Bs moves to the outside of the banknote stack storage space 111 while maintaining a stacked state.

[0068] The position of the lower end edge of the banknote stack moving member 177 in the height direction is set below the upper surface of the loading plate 131 that has descended to the lowest position. The interval L1 of the gap formed between the inner ends of the top edge 181a, 181a of each banknote stack moving member 177, 177 is slightly longer than the length L2 in the long side direction of the loading plate 131. Therefore, the banknote stack moving members 177, 177 do not hinder the lifting and lowering of the loading plate 131 and can be pulled outwards without interference with the loading plate 131.

[0069] <<Structure related to locking and unlocking>>

[0070] On the inner side surface of the cover body 171, at positions outside the banknote stack moving members 177, 177 in the long side direction, engaged claws 183, 183 are formed to project in the inner direction for locking the cover body 171 in a non-openable manner relative to the housing 110 at the closed position and unlocking it in an openable manner. As Figure 7 shown, a total of four engaged claws 183 are provided at the upper and lower parts respectively at both ends of the cover body 171 in the long side direction. The engaged claw 183 is in a hook shape that projects in the inner direction with an opening on the side. The engaged claw 183 is configured to be engaged by the locking plates 221, 221 (refer to Figure 7 ) at one end side and the other end side of the housing 110 in the long side direction.

[0071] The locking and unlocking unit 190 for locking and unlocking the locking plate 221 and the cover body 171 will be described later.

[0072] <<Structure of the cover body surface>>

[0073] As Figure 2 shown, etc., the cover body 171 has on its outer surface: two upper and lower engaged holes 173, 173 that are engaged by the cover unit opening and closing mechanism 410 of the processing device 300 ( Figure 9 ); and two left and right adsorbed portions 175, 175 that are adsorbed by the cover unit opening and closing mechanism 410.

[0074] The engaged holes 173, 173 are arranged at an interval in the vertical direction at the middle portion of the cover body 171 in the long side direction. The adsorbed portions 175, 175 are arranged at an interval in the long side direction at the middle portion of the cover body 171 in the vertical direction.

[0075] In this example, the lid unit opening / closing mechanism 410 has an electromagnet as an adsorption mechanism for adsorbing the adsorbed portions 175, 175. The adsorbed portions 175, 175 are magnetic bodies that are adsorbed to the electromagnet by magnetic force, and are made of a ferromagnetic body (soft magnetic body) such as an iron plate, for example. In addition, the electromagnet as the adsorption mechanism is an example. Further, the adsorption method of the lid 171 realized by the lid unit opening / closing mechanism 410 is not limited to the method using magnetic force.

[0076] <Locking / Unlocking Unit>

[0077] Figure 7 Figures (a) and (b) are perspective views showing the structure related to the locking and unlocking of the banknote storage. Figure 8 is equivalent to Figure 2 the perspective view of the A4 - A4 cross section corresponding to (b).

[0078] The banknote storage 100 has a locking / unlocking unit 190 that locks the lid 171 in a non - openable manner or unlocks it in an openable manner.

[0079] The locking / unlocking unit 190 has: a lock 191 that is provided on one side of the banknote storage 100 and performs the locking / unlocking operation of the banknote storage 100; an operating member 201 ( Figure 8 ), which operates according to the posture displacement of a cam piece 197 ( Figure 8 ) provided on the lock 191; and locking plates 221, 221 ( Figure 7 ), which are arranged on one - end side and the other - end side in the longitudinal direction of the housing 110 and move up and down according to the operation of the operating member 201 to engage or not engage with the respective engaged claws 183 provided on the lid 171.

[0080] In this example, the lock 191 is arranged below one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the banknote storage 100. The operating member 201 is arranged in the lower - end space 115. In addition, the locking plates 221, 221 are arranged on the respective side surfaces on the short - side of the banknote storage 100.

[0081] <<Lock>>

[0082] The lock 191 has: an engaged portion 193 that is exposed outside the housing 110; a keyhole 195 that is formed inward from the front end surface of the engaged portion 193; and a rotating body (not shown) and a cam piece 197 ( Figure 8 ), which rotate integrally with a key 331 inserted from the keyhole 195 (refer to Figure 10 ). The lock 191 shown in this example is a tubular pin - type cylinder lock and has a substantially cylindrical keyhole. A guide groove 195a extending in the axial direction is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the keyhole 195.

[0083] The engaged portion 193 has a frustoconical shape with an outer diameter gradually increasing from the surface (front end surface) where the keyhole 195 is formed toward the insertion direction of the key 331 (the inside of the lock 191). The engaged portion 193 shown in this example has a conical frustum shape. The cam plate 197 is a plate cam mounted on the rotating body in such a way that the rotation center axis Ax1 ( Figure 8 ) of the lock 191 is located at one end in the long side direction. The rotation center axis Ax1 of the lock 191 is equal to the center axis of the rotating body built in the lock 191. The cam plate 197 rotates integrally with the rotating body about the rotation center axis Ax1. The cam plate 197 is displaced in posture between a locked posture capable of locking the cover body 171 and an unlocked posture capable of unlocking the cover body 171 according to the key 331 inserted from the keyhole 195 and the rotation of the rotating body. When the cam plate 197 assumes the locked posture, it faces, for example, the horizontal 0-degree direction, and when it assumes the unlocked posture, it faces, for example, the vertical 90-degree direction. Figure 8 This shows the state where the cam plate 197 faces the horizontal 0-degree direction.

[0084] <<Actuating member>>

[0085] The actuating member 201 has: a pin 203 protruding from the other end in the long side direction of the cam plate 197 toward the back surface direction (the other short side of the housing 110); a substantially L-shaped connecting piece 205 with one end mounted on the pin 203; a transmission shaft 207 with one end in the axial direction fixed to the other end of the connecting piece 205 and extending along the long side direction of the housing 110; a substantially L-shaped connecting piece 209 with one end fixed to the other end in the axial direction of the transmission shaft 207; and a pin 211 mounted on the other end of the connecting piece 209 and protruding toward the back surface direction (the other short side of the housing 110).

[0086] The pins 203 and 211 are arranged on the same axis and engage with the locking plates 221 and 221 respectively. When rotating in the up and down direction about the transmission shaft 207 (refer to the arrow E in the figure), the locking plates 221 and 221 are raised and lowered. The transmission shaft 207 is arranged coaxially with the rotation center axis Ax1 of the lock 191 and rotates integrally with the rotating body built in the lock 191. The connecting pieces 205 and 209 and the transmission shaft 207 transmit the rotation motion of the rotating body and the cam plate 197 located on one end side in the long side direction of the housing 110 to the pin 211 arranged on the other end side in the long side direction of the housing 110.

[0087] <<Locking plate>>

[0088] The locking plates 221 and 221 (locking members) are arranged at both ends in the long side direction of the housing 110. Each locking plate 221 has a locking portion 223 ( Figure 7((a) and (b) thereof) are arranged on the side of the side opening 113 and engage or do not engage with each engaged claw 183 provided on the lid 171; and the long holes 225 are formed through the lower end portion and extend in the horizontal direction.

[0089] The long holes 225, 225 of the respective locking plates 221, 221 penetrate the pins 203, 211. The long holes 225, 225 convert the rotation of the pins 203, 211 ([ Figure 8 ) centered on the rotation center axis Ax1 of the lock 191 into an action of raising and lowering the locking plates 221, 221 as Figure 7 indicated by the arrow F therein. The locking plates 221, 221 are displaced between the locking position where the engaging portion 223 engages with the engaged claw 183 ([ Figure 7 the position shown) and the non-locking position where the engaging portion 223 releases the engagement with the engaged claw 183 by rising. The two locking plates 221, 221 are linked by the actions of the cam pieces 197 respectively transmitted from the moving member 201.

[0090] <<Action>>

[0091] In the state where the lid 171 closes the side opening 113, when the cam piece 197 ([ Figure 8 ) of the lock 191 assumes the locked posture, the locking plates 221, 221 assume the locked posture where the engaging portion 223 engages with the engaged claw 183 ([ Figure 8 ), and the lid 171 locks the side opening 113 in a non-openable manner.

[0092] In addition, when a key 331 is inserted into the lock 191 and the cam piece 197 of the lock 191 is displaced to the unlocked posture, the locking plates 221, 221 are displaced to the non-locked posture where the engaging portion 223 does not engage with the engaged claw 183, and the lid 171 unlocks the side opening 113 in an openable manner.

[0093] 〔Banknote storage unit processing device〕

[0094] Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the schematic structure of a banknote storage unit processing device, (a) is a view showing the state before receiving the banknote storage unit, and (b) is a view showing the state after receiving the banknote storage unit.

[0095] The processing device 300 has: a receiving part 301 (as a space) that removably receives a banknote storage magazine 100 that stores banknotes in a stacked state; a locking and unlocking device 320 that locks or unlocks a lock 191 of the banknote storage magazine 100 in a state where the banknote storage magazine 100 received by the receiving part 301 is stopped at a prescribed position; a banknote stack moving mechanism (paper stack moving mechanism) 400 that moves a banknote stack exposed by opening a side opening 113 of the banknote storage magazine 100 to the outside from the side opening 113 and moves the banknote stack to a prescribed banknote stack discharge position; and a substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped frame 305 that forms a space for housing the respective parts.

[0096] Hereinafter, the X direction along the long side direction of the banknote storage magazine 100 is defined as the width direction, the Z direction along the short side direction of the banknote storage magazine 100 is defined as the depth direction (front-rear direction), and the Y direction is defined as the vertical direction for explanation.

[0097] <Receiving part>

[0098] The receiving part 301 is disposed at the upper rear part of the processing device 300. The receiving part 301 receives the banknote storage magazine 100 from an opening formed in one surface (in this example, the upper surface) of the processing device 300, that is, an upper surface opening 303, and stops it at Figure 9 the prescribed position (paper storage magazine stop position) shown in (b) of. The banknote storage magazine 100 is disposed in the receiving part 301 with the lid 171 facing forward, that is, toward the banknote stack discharge position side.

[0099] <Locking and unlocking device>

[0100] Figure 10 is a perspective view showing the locking and unlocking device.

[0101] The processing device 300 has a locking and unlocking device 320 that automatically locks and unlocks a lock 191 provided on the banknote storage magazine 100 ( Figure 9 of (a)). The locking and unlocking device 320 is disposed approximately at the middle part in the vertical direction and at one end part in the width direction inside the processing device 300.

[0102] As Figure 10 shown, the locking and unlocking device 320 has: a key unit 330 that is configured to include a key 331 that locks and unlocks the lock 191 and a key rotation motor (key rotation drive mechanism) 333 that applies a rotational driving force for locking and unlocking the lock to the key 331; and a key moving mechanism 360 that moves the key unit 330 between a retracted position where the key 331 is retracted from the lock 191 ( Figure 11 of (a)) and a locking and unlocking position where the key 331 can lock and unlock the lock 191 (Figure 11 advance and retreat along the X-axis direction in the figure relative to the lock 191 between (e) of

[0103] Here, Figure 10 in the figure, the reference numeral Ax2 indicates the axis (rotation center axis) of the key 331 and the output shaft 333b of the key rotation motor 333.

[0104] <<Key unit>>

[0105] The key unit 330 has: a base member 335 that supports the key rotation motor 333; and an arm member 337 that projects from the base member 335 in the advance and retreat direction of the key 331.

[0106] The base member 335 is substantially flat plate-shaped, and a motor through-hole 335a is formed through the surface thereof, and a plurality of shaft holes 335b are arranged at a predetermined interval around the motor through-hole 335a. In the motor through-hole 335a, the main body portion 333a of the key rotation motor 333 is loosely fitted.

[0107] The key unit 330 further has: a bracket 341 that is fixed to the other end face (output shaft 333b side) in the axial direction of the main body portion 333a of the key rotation motor 333; a plurality of stepped bolts 345 (only one is shown in the figure), the tip threaded portions of which are screwed to the bracket 341 through nuts 343, and the shaft portions 345a on the head side are respectively loosely fitted in the shaft holes 335b of the base member 335; and a compression coil spring (elastic biasing member) 347 that inserts the shaft portions 345a of the stepped bolts 345 protruding toward one side surface of the base member 335 (main body portion 333a side of the key rotation motor 333) therein, and elastically biases the bracket 341 toward the other side surface of the base member 335 via the stepped bolts 345.

[0108] The key rotation motor 333 is supported by the base member 335 in a swingable manner, and the position and inclination angle of the axis Ax2 of the output shaft 333b relative to the base member 335 (position in the YZ plane in the figure and inclination angle relative to the YZ plane) vary within a predetermined range.

[0109] The key 331 shown in this example is a so-called tubular key, and has a bottomed cylindrical key body 331a with an opening on the top end surface. The rear end portion of the key 331 is fixed to the output shaft 333b of the key rotation motor 333. The key 331 rotates in the forward and reverse directions coaxially and integrally with the output shaft 333b of the key rotation motor 333.

[0110] On the outer peripheral surface of the axial top end portion of the key body 331a, a protrusion 331b that protrudes in the outer diameter direction and extends in the axial direction is formed. According to the rotation angle of the key 331, when the protrusion 331b of the key body 331a coincides with the position of the guide groove 195a formed in the keyhole 195, the key body 331a is inserted into the keyhole 195.

[0111] <<<Centering member>>>

[0112] The key unit 330 includes: a centering member 351 configured to be able to advance and retreat relative to the base member 335 and the key 331, and to align the key 331 with the rotation center axes Ax1 and Ax2 of the lock 191; and a compression coil spring (elastic biasing member) 357 that elastically biases the centering member 351 in a direction away from the base member 335.

[0113] The centering member 351 is substantially hollow cylindrical (substantially cylindrical in this example), and has: an engagement hole portion 353 that, at the axial top end portion (lock 191 side), receives the engaged portion 193 of the lock 191 into the hollow interior from the top opening 351a and engages it; and a key holding hole portion 355 that is disposed behind (inside, key rotation motor 333 side) the engagement hole portion 353 in the axial direction and holds the rear end portion of the key 331.

[0114] The engagement hole portion 353 is a frustum-shaped space with an inner diameter gradually decreasing from the top opening 351a toward the inside. The key holding hole portion 355 enables the key 331 to advance and retreat relative to the rotation center axis Ax2 and holds the key 331 in a relatively rotatable manner. The centering member 351 has an axis substantially common with the axis Ax2 of the key 331, and the position and inclination angle of the axis of the centering member 351 relative to the base member 335 vary within a specified range together with the key rotation motor 333. When the engagement hole portion 353 engages the engaged portion 193 at its top end portion, the rotation center axes Ax1 and Ax2 of the lock 191 and the key 331 are aligned.

[0115] The centering member 351 advances and retreats between a retracted position (first position) where it is away from the base member 335 and the key 331 is retracted inside, and an approaching position (second position) where it approaches the base member 335 and the key 331 protrudes from the top opening 351a ( Figure 11 ). That is, the key 331 relatively advances and retreats with respect to the centering member 351 between a retracted position where it is retracted inside the centering member 351 and a protruding position where it protrudes from the top opening 351a of the centering member 351.

[0116] The compression coil spring 347 penetrates the rear end portion of the centering member 351 within its hollow portion. The compression coil spring 347 elastically biases the centering member 351 in a direction away from the position, so that the key 331 is always recessed inside the centering member 351. In addition, as an example of the elastic biasing mechanism, the centering member 351 may also be elastically biased by other elastic biasing mechanisms.

[0117] <<Key moving mechanism>>

[0118] Figure 10 The shown key moving mechanism 360, when the lock 191 faces the key 331, that is, when the banknote storage 100 is located at Figure 9 the banknote storage stop position shown in (b) of, advances and retracts the key unit 330 between the retracted position where the key 331 is away from the lock 191 and the locking / unlocking position where the key 331 can lock and unlock the lock 191.

[0119] The key moving mechanism 360 has: a key advancing / retracting motor 361 that advances and retracts the key unit 330 as a driving source; a pinion 363 that is fixed to the output shaft of the key advancing / retracting motor 361 and rotates integrally with the output shaft coaxially; and a carriage plate (driving force imparting member) 365 that has a rack 367 meshing with the pinion 363. The carriage plate 365 advances and retracts in the X-axis direction in the figure between the initial position where the key unit 330 is moved to the retracted position and the forward position where the key unit 330 is moved to the locking / unlocking position. The key unit 330 is advanced and retracted in the X-axis direction in the figure, and a driving force for advancing and retracting the key unit 330 in the X-axis direction in the figure is applied to the key unit 330.

[0120] Here, as Figure 10 , Figure 11 shown, the key moving mechanism 360 has a tension coil spring (elastic biasing member) 371 between the base member 335 (or arm member 337) of the key unit 330 and the carriage plate 365. One end portion in the axial direction of the tension coil spring 371 is mounted at an appropriate portion of the carriage plate 365, and the other end portion is mounted at an appropriate portion of the base member 335. The driving force for advancing and retracting the key unit 330 is transmitted from the carriage plate 365 to the key unit 330 via the tension coil spring 371. The tension coil spring 371 always advances and retracts the key unit 330 integrally with the carriage plate 365. On the other hand, when an external force in a direction opposite to the advancing / retracting direction of the carriage plate 365 is applied to the key unit 330, the key unit 330 relatively advances and retracts with respect to the carriage plate 365.

[0121] In the surface of the rack plate 365 where the rack 367 is not formed, a long hole 369 is formed through in the advancing and retreating direction of the rack plate 365. A sliding pin 337a protruding from the arm member 337 is loosely fitted in the long hole 369. Through the sliding pin 337a, the relative movement direction of the arm member 337 (key unit 330) with respect to the rack plate 365 is restricted to the extending direction of the long hole 369.

[0122] <<Positional relationship>>

[0123] In this example, the key moving mechanism 360 and the key 331 are arranged on one side of the base member 335, and the key moving mechanism 360 (rack plate 365) is arranged in parallel with the key 331. Moreover, when the banknote storage 100 is disposed in the receiving portion 301 of the processing device 300, the key unit 330 faces one surface in the long side direction of the banknote storage 100, and the key moving mechanism 360 is located on the other end side in the short side direction of the banknote storage 100. Therefore, the total length of the processing device 300 in the direction along the long side of the banknote storage 100 can be shortened, and thus miniaturization of the processing device 300 can be achieved.

[0124] In addition, the key moving mechanism 360 may be installed on the other side of the base member 335.

[0125] <<Operation>>

[0126] Figure 11 Figures (a) to (e) are schematic views for explaining a series of operations related to locking and unlocking of the lock by the locking and unlocking device.

[0127] The positions of the respective components in each figure are as described below.

[0128] Rack plate 365: (a) Initial position, (d), (e) Forward position.

[0129] Key unit 330: (a) Retracted position, (e) Locking and unlocking position.

[0130] Centering member 351: (a) Away position, (e) Approaching position.

[0131] Key 331: (a) Inserted position, (e) Protruding position.

[0132] In addition, (a) to (c) show the state where the rack plate 365 and the key unit 330 advance and retreat integrally, and (d), (e) show the state where the rack plate 365 and the key unit 330 are displaced relative to each other.

[0133] (a) shows a state where the banknote storage 100 is provided in the receiving portion 301 of the processing device 300, and the lock 191 and the key 331 face each other. The shelf 365 of the key moving mechanism 360 is in the initial position, and the key unit 330 is in the retracted position away from the lock 191. Further, the key 331 is in the recessed position where it is recessed into the centering member 351.

[0134] As shown in (b), when the key advancing / retreating motor 361 is driven, the pinion 363 rotates in the direction of arrow G1 in the figure, causing the shelf 365 to advance in the direction of arrow H1 in the figure. As the shelf 365 moves, the key unit 330 moves in the same direction (J1 direction) as the shelf 365. At this time point, no external force is applied to the key unit 330 to prevent its advancement, so the key unit 330 advances integrally with the shelf 365 via the compression coil spring 347.

[0135] When the key advancing / retreating motor 361 is driven and the key unit 330 advances toward the lock 191, as shown in (b), the engaged portion 193 of the lock 191 engages with the engaging hole portion 353 of the centering member 351. Since the engaged portion 193 and the engaging hole portion 353 are tapered, during the engagement of the engaged portion 193 and the engaging hole portion 353, the centering member 351 aligns the rotation center axes Ax1 and Ax2 of the lock 191 and the key 331. That is, when the position and inclination angle of the rotation center axis Ax2 of the key 331 do not coincide with the rotation center axis Ax1 of the lock 191, during the process of the engaging hole portion 353 receiving the engaged portion 193, the posture of the key rotation motor 333 with respect to the base member 335 is displaced, and the rotation center axes Ax1 and Ax2 of both are aligned. At the time point when the engaged portion 193 and the engaging hole portion 353 are engaged, the key 331 is away from the front surface 191a of the lock and is in a state of being recessed into the centering member 351.

[0136] As shown in (c), when the shelf 365 further advances, the centering member 351 retreats in the direction of arrow K1 in the figure against the elastic force of the compression coil spring 357, and the top edge 331c of the key 331 advances to the front surface 191a of the lock 191.

[0137] As shown in (d), when the rotation angle of the key 331 does not match the shape of the keyhole 195, that is, when Figure 10 the protrusion 331b and the guide groove 195a are in inconsistent positions as shown, the key 331 maintains the state where its top edge abuts against the front surface 191a of the lock 191, so the key unit 330 stops at this position. On the other hand, the key advancing / retreating motor 361 continues to be driven in the direction of arrow G1 in the figure, and the shelf 365 moves to the advanced position in the direction of arrow H1 in the figure. Therefore, the relative positional relationship between the shelf 365 and the arm member 337 (or the base member 335) is displaced.

[0138] When the shelf plate 365 reaches the forward position, the key advance / retreat motor 361 stops driving. In addition, the key 331 is rotated in the unlocking direction (the direction of arrow M1 in the figure) by driving the key rotation motor 333.

[0139] As shown in (e), when the rotation angle of the key 331 coincides with the shape of the keyhole 195, the key unit 330 advances to the locking / unlocking position in the direction of arrow J1 in the figure by the elastic force of the tension coil spring 371, and the key 331 enters the keyhole 195. The centering member 351 moves in the direction of arrow K1 in the figure so as to approach the base member 335, and the key 331 protrudes from the centering member 351. At this time, the key 331 is in a state of being pushed toward the lock 191 side in the keyhole 195 by the elastic force of the tension coil spring 371. When the lock 191 is unlocked, the key rotation motor 333 stops.

[0140] In the case of locking the lock 191, the substantially reverse procedure is executed. That is, the key 331 is rotated in the unlocking direction by driving the key rotation motor 333. When the lock is locked, the key rotation motor 333 stops. When the key rotation motor 333 stops, the key advance / retreat motor 361 is driven to move the key unit 330 to the retracted position. When the shelf plate 365 moves to the initial position, the key advance / retreat motor 361 stops.

[0141] <Banknote stack moving mechanism>

[0142] Figure 9 The banknote stack moving mechanism 400 shown has: a cover unit opening / closing mechanism 410 ( Figure 12 ), which advances and retreats between a retracted position away from the lid 171 of the banknote storage 100 located in the receiving part 301 and an approaching position for engaging the lid 171, and moves the cover unit 170 to the open position by moving to the retracted position while engaging the lid 171; a loading table 450 ( Figure 13 ), which is configured to, when in the raised standby position, receive and load a stack of banknotes moved outward from the side opening 113 by the banknote stack moving member 177 (see Figure 5 ), and be able to descend from the standby position to the lowered position in the state of loading the stack of banknotes; a loading table lifting mechanism 500 ( Figure 13 ), which raises and lowers the loading table 450 between the raised standby position and the lowered position; a loading table moving mechanism 560 ( Figure 15 ), which horizontally moves the loading table 450 located in the lowered position to a specified banknote stack discharge position; a loading table retracting mechanism 590 ( Figure 15 ), which retracts the loading table 450 that has moved to the banknote stack discharge position; and a restricting member 470 (Figure 15 ) which restricts the stack of banknotes to the banknote stack discharge position when the loading table 450 retracts.

[0143] <<Cover unit opening / closing mechanism>>

[0144] Figure 12 is a perspective view showing the cover unit opening / closing mechanism. The cover unit opening / closing mechanism 410 is disposed above the processing device 300.

[0145] The cover unit opening / closing mechanism 410 includes: electromagnets (adsorption mechanisms) 413, 413 which are arranged to face a cover body 171 on one side of the banknote storage 100 provided at the banknote storage stop position of the receiving portion 301, and when moved to the approaching position, adsorb and hold the locking projections 411, 411 and the adsorbed portions 175, 175 inserted into the locked holes 173, 173 ( Figure 9 in (a)); a support member (moving member) 415 having racks 417, 417 at both ends in the width direction, the racks having gear teeth extending in the front-rear direction, and supporting the locking projections 411, 411 and the electromagnets 413, 413 at the middle portion in the width direction; pinions 419, 419 which mesh with the gear teeth of the racks 417, 417 to move the support member 415 back and forth between the approaching position and the retracting position; and a drive unit 421 which rotationally drives the pinions 419, 419.

[0146] The locking projections 411, 411 are inserted into the locked holes 173, 173 to lock the cover unit 170 when the cover unit 170 is moved in the front-rear direction and maintain its posture constant.

[0147] The electromagnets 413, 413 temporarily generate magnetic force when energized by a power source (not shown). The electromagnets 413, 413 moved to the approaching position magnetically adsorb the adsorbed portions 175, 175 by the magnetic force generated by energization. The magnetic force generated by the electromagnets 413, 413 is set such that when the electromagnets 413, 413 are moved to the retracting position, the cover unit 170 is moved to the open position while maintaining the state of magnetically adsorbing the adsorbed portions 175, 175, and has a size capable of taking out the stack of banknotes housed in the banknote storage 100 to the outside.

[0148] The support member 415 has a cross-shaped support frame 416 for supporting the locking projections 411, 411 and the electromagnets 413, 413. The racks 417, 417 project rearward from both ends in the width direction of the support frame 416. The racks 417, 417 mesh with the pinions 419, 419 disposed at both ends in the width direction of the processing device 300.

[0149] The pinions 419, 419 are rotatably supported at appropriate positions on the housing 305 of the processing device 300 so as to be freely rotatable in both forward and reverse directions. The pinions 419, 419 are driven to rotate in both forward and reverse directions simultaneously by the driving force from the driving unit 421, and the support frame 416 is advanced and retracted in the front-rear direction according to the rotation direction.

[0150] The driving unit 421 includes: a motor 423; a gear set 425 configured to include an output gear 427 that outputs the driving force transmitted from the motor 423; a driving transmission shaft 429 that extends in the width direction of the processing device 300 and is fixedly attached at an appropriate position in the axial direction to the output gear 427 so as to be rotatable integrally; driving pulleys 431, 431 that are fixedly attached to both end portions in the axial direction of the driving transmission shaft 429 so as to be rotatable integrally with the driving transmission shaft 429; driven pulleys 433, 433 that are rotatably installed integrally with each of the pinions 419, 419; and belt members 435, 435 that are wound around the driving pulleys 431, 431 and the driven pulleys 433, 433 respectively arranged at both end portions in the width direction, and transmit the driving force from the driving pulleys 431, 431 to the driven pulleys 433, 433. The two pinions 419, 419 arranged at both end portions in the width direction are simultaneously driven by the driving force transmitted from the driving unit 421. In addition, the structure of the illustrated driving unit 421 is an example and is not limited to this structure.

[0151] <<Loading Table Lifting Mechanism>>

[0152] Figure 13 It is a sectional perspective view showing the loading table and the loading table lifting mechanism. (a) is a view showing the state where the loading table is in the lowered position, and (b) is a view showing the state where the loading table is in the raised position. Figure 14 It is a front view for explaining the operation of the loading table lifting mechanism. In addition, Figure 13 It corresponds to Figure 9 a view of the A5 - A5 section in (a), Figure 14 It corresponds to Figure 13 a view of the A6 - A6 section in (a). In Figure 14 two states, the state where the loading table 450 is in the lowered position and the state where the loading table 450 is in the raised standby position, are shown for the loading table 450 and the loading table lifting mechanism 500.

[0153] The banknote stack moving mechanism 400 includes: a loading table 450; and a loading table lifting mechanism 500 that raises and lowers the loading table 450 between a raised standby position and a lowered position. The loading table lifting mechanism 500 raises and lowers the loading table 450 directly below the cover unit 170 that has moved to the open position (refer to Figure 17 , Figure 18)。The loading table lifting mechanism 500 has: a first lifting mechanism 510 that lifts a support body 513 supporting the loading table 450; and a scaling mechanism 530 (second lifting mechanism) that expands and contracts according to the height position of the support body 513 and causes the loading table 450 to move up and down on the support body 513.

[0154] <<<loading table>>>

[0155] On the upper surface of the loading table 450, a plurality of grooves 451, 451... extending in the front-rear direction are formed separately in the width direction. The loading table 450 has a scaling housing portion 453 at its lower portion for housing the contracted scaling mechanism 530. Further, on the rear side surface, there is an engaging recess 455 for engaging a guide pin 533 of the contracted scaling mechanism 530 (see Figure 14 ).

[0156] <<<restricting member>>>

[0157] The loading table 450 moves up and down inside the restricting member 470.

[0158] The restricting member 470 has a substantially semi-square tube shape with an open upper surface and a lower surface. The restricting member 470 surrounds at least a part of the outer periphery of the stack of banknotes received by the loading table 450 from the banknote storage 100 and restricts the side position of the stack of banknotes. The length of the restricting member 470 in the up-down direction is set to be able to accommodate the length of the maximum number of stacks of banknotes housed in the banknote storage 100 in a stacked state.

[0159] The restricting member 470 has: a guide plate 471 that is U-shaped when viewed from above and restricts the position of the front surface (one side surface extending in the long side direction) and the two side surfaces in the width direction (the two side surfaces extending in the short side direction) of the stack of banknotes; and restricting plates 473 (473a, 473b, Figure 14 ) that extend from each end edge of the guide plate 471 to the other end edge and restrict the position of the rear surface (the other side surface extending in the long side direction) of the stack of banknotes. A slit 475 extending throughout the up-down direction is formed between the two restricting plates 473a, 473b provided on the rear surface ( Figure 13 ).

[0160] On the restricting plate 473b disposed on the other side in the width direction, a notch 477 (or a long groove) extending upward from its lower end edge is formed. The notch 477 has a shape in which the lower end portion in the long side direction extends in the up-down direction, the middle portion extends in an inclined direction from the other end portion in the width direction (the end portion in the width direction of the restricting member 470) to the one end portion (the middle portion of the restricting member 470), and the upper end portion extends in the up-down direction.

[0161] At the lower end edges of the two restricting plates 473a and 473b, a plurality of engaging protrusions 479, 479,... are formed which are respectively engaged with the grooves 451, 451,... formed on the upper surface of the loading table 450 and can move in the front-rear direction within the grooves 451, 451,... The engaging protrusions 479, 479,... travel within the grooves 451, 451,... when the loading table 450 moves rearward relative to the restricting member 470 through the loading table retracting mechanism 590 ( Figure 15 ).

[0162] <<<First lifting mechanism>>>

[0163] The first lifting mechanism 510 is mainly disposed behind the loading table 450 and directly below the receiving portion 301.

[0164] The first lifting mechanism 510 generally includes: a lifting member 511 having a support body 513 at its front portion; and a ball screw 519 configured to include a nut 521 mounted on the rear portion of the lifting member 511 and a lead screw shaft 523 that is screwed with the nut 521 to lift the nut 521 ( Figure 13 、 Figure 14 ).

[0165] The lifting member 511 supports the support body 513 from outside the restricting member 470 through a slit 475 formed in the restricting member 470. The support body 513 moves up and down within the restricting member 470 along the slit 475. The support body 513 supports the zooming mechanism 530.

[0166] The lead screw shaft 523 of the ball screw 519 is disposed such that its axial direction extends in the vertical direction. The lead screw shaft 523 rotates in the positive or negative direction about its axis by a drive unit 527 connected to one end portion 523a (the upper end portion in this example) in the axial direction, thereby lifting the nut 521 screwed with the lead screw shaft 523.

[0167] The ball screw 519 is housed within a housing 525 having an opening on its front surface that permits the lifting of the lifting member 511 ( Figure 14 、 Figure 15 ). The two end portions (upper and lower end portions) in the axial direction of the ball screw 519 are axially supported by the housing 525.

[0168] The support body 513 moves up and down within the range from directly below the restricting member 470 to the middle portion in the vertical direction of the restricting member 470 (within the range of N1 in the figure) ( Figure 14 ) due to the operation of the ball screw 519.

[0169] <<<Zooming mechanism>>>

[0170] The scaling mechanism 530 generally includes: a first link plate 531 having a guided pin 533 at one end in the long side direction that advances and retracts within a notch 477 (or elongated slot) formed on one side surface of the restricting member 470; and a second link plate 539 that is pivotally supported at its middle portion in the long side direction by a shaft support portion 535 provided at the middle portion of the first link plate 531 in the long side direction.

[0171] An appropriate portion of the first link plate 531 near one end in the long side direction between the guided pin 533 and the shaft support portion 535 is pivotally supported by a shaft support portion 515 formed on the side surface of the support body 513. A pin 537 disposed at the other end of the first link plate 531 is loosely fitted within a long hole 459 (or elongated slot) that extends linearly in the width direction of a support piece 457 formed within the scaling housing portion 453 of the loading table 450, and advances and retracts freely within the long hole 459.

[0172] One end portion of the second link plate 539 in the long side direction is pivotally supported by a shaft support portion 461 of the support piece 457 provided on the loading table 450. A pin 541 provided at the other end portion of the second link plate 539 in the long side direction is loosely fitted within a long hole 517 (or elongated slot) that extends linearly in the width direction formed on the side surface of the support body 513, and advances and retracts freely within the long hole 517.

[0173] The notch 477 of the restricting member 470 restricts (guides) the position of the guided pin 533 in the width direction according to the height position of the support body 513, thereby causing the scaling formed by the first link plate 531 and the second link plate 539 to contract or extend on the support body 513. That is, the notch 477 is a groove cam. The scaling mechanism 530 moves the loading table 450 away from the support body 513 when the scaling obtains an extended posture and moves the loading table 450 closer to the support body 513 when the scaling obtains a contracted posture.

[0174] Through the operation of the scaling mechanism 530, the loading table 450 moves up and down within the range from directly below (or the lower end portion) of the restricting member 470 to the upper end portion of the restricting member 470 (within the range of N2 in the figure) Figure 14 )

[0175] <<<Operation>>>

[0176] As Figure 14 ( Figure 13As shown in (a) of FIG. , when the lifting member 511 (support body 513) is in the lowered position, the zoom mechanism 530 assumes a contracted posture contracted on the support body 513, and the loading table 450 is in the lowered position. At this time, the guide pin 533 is located outside the notch 477 (below the lower end edge of the restricting plate 473b) and does not engage. Further, the support body 513 and the zoom mechanism 530 are housed in the zoom housing portion 453 of the loading table 450.

[0177] When the first lifting mechanism 510 is driven and the support body 513 ascends, the loading table 450 and the support body 513 ascend within the restricting member 470. Further, the guide pin 533 enters (engages) into the notch 477 from the lower end edge. The guide pin 533 is guided by the position in the width direction of the notch 477, so that the first link piece 531 and the second link piece 539 are gradually erected according to the height position of the support body 513, and the loading table 450 is moved away from the support body 513 (ascends).

[0178] As Figure 14 ( Figure 13 As shown in (b) of FIG. , when the lifting member 511 (support body 513) is in the raised position, the zoom mechanism 530 assumes an extended posture erected on the support body 513, and the loading table 450 is moved away from the support body 513. The loading table 450 is in the raised standby position.

[0179] Thus, the loading table lifting mechanism 500 includes: a first lifting mechanism 510 that raises and lowers the support body 513 within a range of N1 in Figure 14 ; and a zoom mechanism 530 that expands and contracts on the support body 513 according to the height position of the support body 513. Accordingly, the loading table 450 can be raised and lowered within a range of N2 in Figure 14 beyond the ascending amount of the support body 513.

[0180] <<Movement / Retraction of Loading Table>>

[0181] Figure 15 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the structure of the loading table moving mechanism and the loading table retraction mechanism. Further, Figure 15 corresponds to Figure 9 a view of a cross section taken along line A7 - A7 in (a) of FIG.

[0182] The banknote stack moving mechanism 400 has a loading table moving mechanism 560 that integrally moves forward and backward (within a range of P1 in the drawing) the restricting member 470 and the loading table lifting mechanism 500 that supports the loading table 450 between the retracted banknote stack receiving position shown in Figures 16 - 19 and the advanced banknote stack discharging position shown in Figure 20 .

[0183] Here, the stacked banknote receiving position refers to the position where the stack of banknotes taken out from the banknote storage 100 is received in a stacked state within the restricting member 470. Additionally, the stacked banknote discharging position refers to the position where the stack of banknotes temporarily received within the restricting member 470 is discharged (dropped) to the Figure 1 banknote insertion slot 11 of the banknote sorting machine 10 shown, etc. Figure 15 This indicates the state where the restricting member 470 is located at the stacked banknote receiving position.

[0184] In addition, as Figure 15 shown, the stacked banknote moving mechanism 400 has a loading table lifting mechanism 500 that supports the loading table 450 and moves it between the forward stacked banknote holding position ( Figure 20 ) and the retracted rear position ( Figure 21 ) (within the range of P2 in Figure 15 ), and a loading table retracting mechanism 590 that moves relative to and independently of the restricting member 470. As Figure 21 shown, the loading table retracting mechanism 590 (not shown in Figure 21 ) causes the loading table 450 that has moved to the stacked banknote discharging position to retract from the stacked banknote discharging position independently of the restricting member 470.

[0185] Here, the stacked banknote holding position refers to the position where the loading table 450 can be lifted and lowered within the restricting member 470, and is the position where the loading table 450 holds the stack of banknotes within the restricting member 470. Additionally, the rear position refers to the position where, as Figure 21 shown, the loading table 450 cannot be lifted and lowered within the restricting member 470, and is the position where the stack of banknotes loaded on the loading table 450 loses support. Figure 15 This indicates the state where the loading table 450 and the loading table moving mechanism 560 are located at the stacked banknote holding position relative to the restricting member 470.

[0186] The loading table retracting mechanism 590 is nested relative to the loading table moving mechanism 560.

[0187] <<<Loading table moving mechanism>>>

[0188] As Figure 15 shown, the stacked banknote moving mechanism 400 has: a holding member 561 that holds the restricting member 470 and the loading table retracting mechanism 590; and a ball screw mechanism 567 that moves the holding member 561 back and forth in the front-rear direction between the stacked banknote receiving position and the stacked banknote discharging position (within the range of P1 in the figure).

[0189] The holding member 561 is disposed behind the restricting member 470. The holding member 561 has a pair of side plates 563 that extend rearward from both end portions in the width direction of the restricting member 470 and form a space between the two members for housing the first lifting mechanism 510 and the loading table retracting mechanism 590 (only the side plate on the other end side in the width direction is illustrated in Figure 15 ). Further, the holding member 561 has a mounting portion 565 for connecting the two side plates 563 at the rear lower portion of the two side plates 563 and mounting the two side plates 563 to the nut member 569 of the ball screw mechanism 567.

[0190] The side plate 563 supports the restricting member 470 in such a manner that the restricting member 470 and the side plate 563 move forward and backward integrally in the front-rear direction. The loading table lifting mechanism 500 is supported by the side plate 563 via the loading table retracting mechanism 590 and moves forward and backward integrally with the side plate 563 in the front-rear direction.

[0191] The ball screw mechanism 567 is disposed at the lower end portion (the lowermost portion) of the processing device 300. The ball screw mechanism 567 generally includes: a screw shaft member 571 having an axis extending in the front-rear direction; and a nut member 569 that moves forward and backward along the screw shaft according to the rotation of the screw shaft member 571. The nut member 569 of the ball screw mechanism 567 is fixed to the lower portion of the mounting portion 565.

[0192] As Figure 16 shown, the screw shaft member 571 extends to the front end portion of the processing device 300.

[0193] <<<Loading Table Retracting Mechanism>>>

[0194] As Figure 15 shown, the loading table retracting mechanism 590 generally includes: a rack 591 that is mounted at an appropriate position on one side surface (in this example, one side surface in the width direction) of the housing 525 of the first lifting mechanism 510 and has a gear portion extending in the front-rear direction; and a pinion 593 that meshes with the gear portion of the rack 591 and is rotatably supported by a side plate (not shown) of the holding member 561 in a forward and reverse rotation manner.

[0195] Further, sliders 595, 595... are mounted on each side surface in the width direction of the housing 525. Guide rails 597, 597 extending in the front-rear direction are respectively fixed to the side plates 563 disposed at both end portions in the width direction. Each slider 595... is guided by the guide rails 597, 597 and moves forward and backward.

[0196] The rack 591 moves forward and backward relative to the side plate 563 by the rotation drive of the pinion 593. Therefore, the loading table 450 and the loading table lifting mechanism 500 move forward and backward relative to the loading table moving mechanism 560 and the restricting member 470 together with the rack 591 and the slider 595...

[0197] 〔Overall operation description〕

[0198] Figures 16 - 21 It is a sectional perspective view showing a series of operations of the banknote storage processing device. These figures correspond to Figure 9 the view of the A8 - A8 section of (b). In addition, the following description is premised on the banknote storage 100 being provided in the receiving portion 301 of the processing device 300 and the banknote storage 100 being unlocked.

[0199] As Figure 16 shown, in the state where the banknote storage 100 is provided in the receiving portion 301, the loading plate 131 is in a state of elastically applying an upward force to the stacked banknote stacks by the elastic force of the coil spring 145. In addition, the restricting member 470 stands by at the banknote stack receiving position, and the loading table 450 is at the banknote stack holding position where it can move up and down within the restricting member 470.

[0200] When the banknote storage 100 is unlocked, it receives a driving force from the external driving mechanism 310 ( Figure 4 (b)), drives the driven mechanism 160 of the banknote storage 100, and causes the loading plate 131 to descend in the direction of arrow Q1 in the figure. As Figure 17 shown, the loading plate 131 descends to the lowest position.

[0201] The loading table lifting mechanism 500 raises the loading table 450 ( Figure 17 in the direction of arrow Q2 in Figure 18 ). As shown in

[0202] the cover unit opening and closing mechanism 410 moves from the separated position away from the cover body 171 to the approaching position for locking the cover body 171 ( Figure 17 in the direction of arrow Q3 in Figure 12 ). When the cover unit opening and closing mechanism 410 moves to the approaching position, the locking projections 411, 411 lock the locking holes 173, 173 of the cover body 171, and the electromagnets 413, 413 (refer to

[0203] the cover unit opening and closing mechanism 410 moves to the separated position ( Figure 17 in the direction of arrow Q4 in Figure 18 shown) after locking and attracting the cover unit 170, causing the cover unit 170 to move to the open position shown inFigure 17 In this case, the stack of banknotes Bs placed on the loading plate 131 is taken out forward from the banknote stack storage space 111 together with the movement of the cover unit 170 by the banknote stack moving member 177 (especially the pressing portion 181) protruding from the cover body 171. As a result, as Figure 18 shown, the stack of banknotes Bs is transferred onto the loading table 450. In addition, since the lower end edge of the pressing portion 181 is located below the upper surface of the loading plate 131 (refer to Figure 19 ), the banknote stack moving member 177 moves the entire stack of banknotes Bs outward from the banknote stack storage space 111 without leaving the banknote at the lowest position of the stack of banknotes Bs in the banknote stack storage space 111.

[0204] The loading table 450 that has received the stack of banknotes Bs from the banknote storage 100 is lowered by the drive of the loading table lifting mechanism 500 ( Figure 18 in the direction of arrow Q5), and is lowered to the Figure 19 shown lowered position. As the loading table 450 is lowered, the restricting member 470 receives the stack of banknotes Bs from the upper surface opening into the space provided inside.

[0205] The loading table 450 on which the stack of banknotes Bs is placed and the restricting member 470 advance from the Figure 19 shown banknote stack receiving position in the direction of arrow Q6 in the figure, and move to the Figure 20 shown banknote stack discharging position.

[0206] Here, as Figure 14 shown, the loading table 450 and the scaling mechanism 530 are located at positions where they do not interfere with the restricting member 470 in the vertical direction (Y direction). By the Figure 15 shown operation of the loading table retracting mechanism 590, as Figure 20 shown, the loading table 450 (and the loading table lifting mechanism 500) retracts to the rear position relative to and independently of the restricting member 470 (in the direction of arrow Q7 in the figure). When the loading table 450 retracts independently of the restricting member 470, the restricting plate 473 of the restricting member 470 presses the rear end surface of the stack of banknotes Bs to restrict the position of the stack of banknotes Bs so that the stack of banknotes Bs remains at the banknote stack discharging position. In addition, the engaging protrusions 479, 479... formed at the lower end portion of the restricting plate 473 move in the grooves 451, 451... of the loading table 450 (refer to Figure 15 etc.), so that the entire stack of banknotes Bs including the banknote at the lowest position of the stack of banknotes Bs remains at the banknote stack discharging position.

[0207] As a result, the stack of banknotes Bs loses support and falls while maintaining the stacked state through the opening on the lower surface of the restricting member 470 (in the direction of arrow Q8 in the figure), and is discharged to the banknote stack discharge position located below the restricting member 470. Since the stack of banknotes is discharged to the discharge position by gravity, various mechanisms related to the discharge of the stack of banknotes can be simplified.

[0208] 〔Summary of Embodiment Examples, Functions, and Effects of the Present Invention〕

[0209] <First Embodiment>

[0210] The locking and unlocking device 320 according to this embodiment locks and unlocks the lock 191 provided on one surface of the paper storage bin (banknote storage bin 100) that stores banknotes (paper sheets Bs).

[0211] The locking and unlocking device includes: a key unit 300 having a key 331 for locking and unlocking the lock and a key rotation drive mechanism (key rotation motor 333) that provides a rotational driving force for the key to lock and unlock the lock; and a key moving mechanism 360 that moves the key unit between a retracted position where the key is away from the lock and a locking and unlocking position where the key can lock and unlock the lock. The key moving mechanism is characterized by including: a driving force imparting member (mounting plate 365) that applies a driving force to the key unit by moving back and forth between an initial position where the key unit is moved to the retracted position and a forward position where the key unit is moved to the locking and unlocking position; and a first elastic biasing member (tension coil spring 371) that is interposed between the key unit and the driving force imparting member and always causes the key unit and the driving force imparting member to move back and forth integrally. On the other hand, when an external force in a direction opposite to the advancing and retracting direction of the driving force imparting member is applied to the key unit, the key unit moves relative to the driving force imparting member.

[0212] Each mechanism included in the locking and unlocking device according to this embodiment is made by combining mechanical elements such as gears, screws, and springs. According to this embodiment, since the lock can be automatically locked and unlocked without using image processing or the like, simplification and miniaturization of the locking and unlocking device that can automatically lock and unlock the lock provided on the storage bin can be achieved.

[0213] <Second Embodiment>

[0214] The lock 191 provided on the paper storage bin (banknote storage bin 100) has an engaged portion 193 that is exposed outside the paper storage bin.

[0215] In addition, the key unit 330 provided in the locking and unlocking device 320 is characterized by including a centering member 351, the centering member 351 having: an engaging hole portion 353 that houses an engaged portion through a top opening 351a into a hollow interior and engages it; and a key holding hole portion 355 that is disposed behind the engaging hole portion and holds the key so as to be axially relatively movable forward and backward. When the engaging hole portion engages the engaged portion, the centering member 351 aligns the key 331 with the rotation center axes Ax1 and Ax2 of the lock.

[0216] In this embodiment, when the engaged portion of the lock engages with the engaging hole portion of the centering member, the key aligns with the rotation center axis of the lock. According to this embodiment, positioning of the key and the lock can be performed without using image processing or the like, and thus simplification and miniaturization of the locking and unlocking device can be achieved.

[0217] <Third Embodiment>

[0218] In the locking and unlocking device 320 according to this embodiment, the centering member 351 is configured to move forward and backward between a first position (a position away from the base member 335) where the key 331 is recessed inside and a second position (a position close to the base member) where the key advances toward the top side (or protrudes from the top opening). The key unit 330 includes a second elastic biasing member (compression coil spring 347), and the compression coil spring 347 elastically biases the centering member toward the first position.

[0219] <Fourth Embodiment>

[0220] In the locking and unlocking device 320 according to this embodiment, the key unit 330 has a base member 335 that supports a key rotation drive mechanism (key rotation motor 333), and the base member supports the key rotation drive mechanism such that the inclination angle and the position of the output shaft 333b (axis Ax2) of the key rotation drive mechanism are variable relative to the base member.

[0221] According to this embodiment, since the position of the key rotation drive mechanism varies relative to the base member, alignment is performed so that the positions and inclination angles of the rotation center axes Ax1 and Ax2 of the lock and the key are aligned.

[0222] Reference Signs

[0223] Ax1, Ax2: Rotation center axes; 10: Banknote collator; 11: Banknote insertion port; 100: Banknote storage; 110: Housing; 111: Banknote stack storage space; 113: Side opening; 115: Lower end space; 117: Partition board; 121: Receiving port; 123: Banknote setting part; 125: End support member; 127: Pushing member; 131: Loading plate; 131a: Gear support part; 140: Loading plate advancing and retracting mechanism; 141: Rack; 143: Pinion; 143a: Rotation shaft; 145: Helical spring; 147: Guide rail; 149: Slide block; 160: Driven mechanism; 161: Constant load spring; 161a: One end; 161b: The other end; 163: Drum; 163a: Rotation shaft; 165: Driven gear; 167: Roller; 170: Cover unit; 171: Cover body; 173: Locking hole; 175: Adsorbed part; 177: Banknote stack moving part; 179: Guide part; 181: Pushing part; 181a: Top edge; 183: Locking claw; 190: Locking and unlocking unit; 191: Lock; 191a: Front surface; 193: Engaging part; 195: Keyhole; 195a: Guide groove; 197: Cam plate; 201: Operating part; 203: Pin; 205: Connecting piece; 207: Transmission shaft; 209: Connecting piece; 211: Pin; 221: Locking plate; 223: Locking part; 225: Long hole; 300: Banknote storage processing device; 301: Receiving part; 303: Upper surface opening; 305: Frame; 310: External driving mechanism; 311: Driving motor; 313: Driving gear; 315: Transmission gear; 320: Locking and unlocking device; 330: Key unit; 331: Key; 331a: Key body; 331b: Protrusion; 331c: Top edge; 333: Key rotation motor; 333a: Main body part; 333b: Output shaft; 335: Base part; 335a: Motor through hole; 335b: Shaft hole; 337: Arm part; 337a: Sliding pin; 341: Bracket; 343: Nut; 345: Step bolt; 345a: Shaft part; 347: Compression helical spring; 351: Centering part; 351a: Top opening; 353: Engaging hole part; 355: Key holding hole part; 357: Compression helical spring; 360: Key moving mechanism; 361: Key advancing and retracting motor; 363: Pinion; 365: Shelf plate; 367: Rack; 369: Long hole; 371: Tensile helical spring; 400: Banknote stack moving mechanism; 410: Cover unit opening and closing mechanism; 411: Locking protrusion; 413: Electromagnet; 415: Support member; 416: Support frame; 417: Rack; 419: Pinion; 421: Driving unit; 423: Motor; 425: Gear set; 427: Output gear; 429: Driving transmission shaft; 431: Driving pulley; 433: Driven pulley; 435: Belt part; 450: Loading table; 451: Groove453: Scaling housing part; 455: Engaging recess; 457: Support piece; 459: Long hole; 461: Shaft support part; 470: Restricting member; 471: Guide plate; 473: Restricting plate; 475: Slit; 479: Engaging protrusion; 500: Loading table lifting mechanism; 510: First lifting mechanism; 511: Lifting member; 513: Support body; 515: Shaft support part; 517: Long hole; 519: Ball screw; 521: Nut; 523: Screw shaft; 523a: One end part; 525: Outer housing; 527: Drive unit; 530: Scaling mechanism; 531: First link piece; 533: Guided pin; 535: Shaft support part; 537: Pin; 539: Second link piece; 541: Pin; 560: Loading table moving mechanism; 561: Holding member; 563: Side plate; 565: Mounting part; 567: Ball screw mechanism; 569: Nut component; 571: Screw shaft component; 590: Loading table retracting mechanism; 591: Rack; 593: Pinion; 595: Slide block; 597: Guide rail.;

Claims

1. A locking and unlocking device that locks and unlocks a lock provided on one side of a storage for storing currency. The locking and unlocking device is characterized by comprising: A key unit having a key for locking and unlocking the lock and a key rotation driving mechanism for providing a rotational driving force for locking and unlocking the lock to the key; and, A key moving mechanism that moves the key unit back and forth between a retracted position where the key is away from the lock and a locking and unlocking position where the key can lock and unlock the lock. This key moving mechanism comprises: A driving force imparting member that applies a driving force to the key unit by moving back and forth between an initial position where the key unit is moved to the retracted position and a forward position where the key unit is moved to the locking and unlocking position; and, A first elastic biasing member that is interposed between the key unit and the driving force imparting member, always moves the key unit and the driving force imparting member back and forth integrally, and on the other hand, when an external force in a direction opposite to the advancing and retreating direction of the driving force imparting member is applied to the key unit, allows the key unit to move relative to the driving force imparting member.

2. The locking and unlocking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lock has an engaged portion that is exposed to the outside of the storage. The key unit has a centering member having: an engagement hole portion that receives the engaged portion from the top opening into the hollow interior and engages it; and a key holding hole portion that is disposed behind the engagement hole portion and holds the key so as to be relatively movable back and forth along the axis. When the engagement hole portion engages the engaged portion, the centering member aligns the key with the rotation center axis of the lock.

3. The locking and unlocking device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The centering member is configured to move the key back and forth between a first position where the key is recessed into the interior of the centering member from the top opening and a second position where the key advances from the first position toward the top side of the centering member. The key unit has a second elastic biasing member that elastically biases the centering member toward the first position.

4. The locking and unlocking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The key unit has a base member that supports the key rotation driving mechanism, and the base member supports the key rotation driving mechanism such that the inclination angle and the axis position of the output shaft of the key rotation driving mechanism relative to the base member are variable.

Images