Paper sheet conveying apparatus

Abstract

To provide a paper sheet conveying apparatus capable of conveying paper sheets by the action of an air flow and efficiently reinforcing the air flow in the middle of a conveying path.SOLUTION: A cross section of a conveying tube has a shape that has an expansion portion in which a central portion of a long side of a substantially rectangular shape is expanded outward, and a merging part 14 that merges an air flow from an auxiliary blower is provided in the middle of the conveying tube. The merging part 14 includes: a passage portion for paper sheets; an introduction port 172 for introducing an air flow from the auxiliary blower into the passage portion from one short-side side in the cross section; and a plate-like shutter 173 that normally closes the introduction port 172 and opens when receiving the air flow from the auxiliary blower. A side wall of the passage portion corresponding to the long side has a shape in which the passage width from the expansion portion to the introduction port is widened to the passage width of the expansion portion as compared with that of the conveying tube. The passage portion has, inside the widened portion, a partition wall corresponding to a side wall of the conveying tube before widening. The shutter has a width corresponding to the expansion portion of the conveying tube and includes a slit for avoiding the partition wall.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 58

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a paper sheet conveying device that conveys paper sheets by the action of an air flow.

Background Art

[0002] Inside a gaming machine island that houses a plurality of sets of a combination of a gaming ball lending machine that receives the insertion of banknotes and lends gaming balls (such as pachinko balls) to players and a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine, there is a banknote conveying device that conveys the banknotes inserted into each gaming ball lending machine to a safe provided at the end of the gaming machine island, which is provided along the longitudinal direction of the gaming machine island.

[0003] Some paper sheet conveying devices for conveying paper sheets such as banknotes utilize an air flow generated inside a conveying pipe. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a paper sheet conveying device that conveys paper sheets by pushing and moving the paper sheets from the rear by a conveying auxiliary body that moves under the influence of the air flow inside the conveying pipe.

[0004] In the paper sheet conveying device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a paper sheet taking-in device is provided in the middle of the conveying path to take in the paper sheets to be conveyed into the conveying pipe. When collecting the taken-in paper sheets, the conveying auxiliary body is sent into the conveying pipe by a conveying auxiliary body insertion device provided on the starting end side of the conveying pipe, and the paper sheets and the conveying auxiliary body are separated and collected by a separation and collection device provided on the terminal end side of the conveying pipe. Also, in this paper sheet conveying device, the conveying pipe is configured to go around a desired collection path (for example, in a gaming machine island, it is composed of an outward path from one end of the island to the other end, a U-shaped turning portion, and a return path from the other end of the island back to one end), the starting end portion and the terminal end portion of the conveying pipe are brought close to each other, and the conveying auxiliary body collected by the separation and collection device provided at the terminal end is moved to the conveying auxiliary body insertion device at the starting end and repeatedly used in a cyclic manner. The collected paper sheets are stored in a safe or the like.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0006] The conveyance assist body insertion device and the separation and recovery device disclosed in Patent Document 1 had a complicated structure. Specifically, in the separation and recovery device, a conveyance assist body that had pushed and moved paper sheets from the rear was received and recovered by a U-shaped separation part, the paper sheets were passed through a slit provided in the separation part to a downstream passage part, and in the passage part, an air flow was sucked from behind a conveyance belt provided on its side wall, the paper sheets that had passed through the slit in the separation part were attached to the conveyance belt and conveyed, and were carried out from an outlet at the rear end of the passage part and separated from the air flow.

[0007] The paper sheets that have exited the passage part are further conveyed to a safe by a belt-type conveyance device. The conveyance assist body caught by the separation part is moved to the side of the conveyance path together with the separation part. When it is moved to a position where a hole provided at the bottom of the separation part communicates with a dropping passage, the conveyance assist body held by the separation part naturally drops through this dropping passage to a standby chamber of the conveyance assist body insertion device. The conveyance assist body insertion device feeds the conveyance assist body into the conveyance path by moving the standby chamber where the conveyance assist body is waiting into the conveyance path.

[0008] The conveyance assist body insertion device and the separation and recovery device disclosed in Patent Document 1 thus have a complicated structure, and there is a risk of jamming of paper sheets and conveyance assist bodies, and there is also a problem that the device cost increases. Also, when a paper sheet taking-in device is provided in the middle of the conveyance path to take in the paper sheets to be conveyed into the conveyance pipe, the air flow in the conveyance pipe is likely to leak from the paper sheet taking-in port of the taking-in device. It is desirable to enhance the air flow in the middle of the conveyance path.

[0009] The present invention aims to solve the above problems, An object of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet conveying device capable of efficiently reinforcing the air flow in the middle of the conveyance path.

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

[0010] The gist of the present invention for achieving such an object lies in the inventions of the following respective items.

[0011] [1] In a paper sheet conveying device that conveys paper sheets in the conveyance pipe by the action of an air flow, a confluence unit for causing the air flow from the auxiliary blower to flow into the conveyance pipe is provided in the middle of the conveyance pipe, the conveyance pipe conveys the paper sheets in a posture where the paper surface is along the conveyance direction, and the cross section orthogonal to the extending direction has a shape having an expansion part that expands the central part of the pair of long sides of a substantially rectangular shape having a pair of long sides facing the paper surface of the paper sheets and a pair of short sides orthogonal thereto to the outside, the confluence unit has a passage part that serves as a conveyance pipe connecting between the conveyance pipes on both sides, an introduction port for introducing the air flow from the auxiliary blower into the passage part from one of the short side sides of the passage part, and a plate-shaped shutter that normally closes the introduction port and opens when receiving the air flow from the auxiliary blower, a pair of side walls of the passage part facing the paper surface of the paper sheets have a shape in which the passage width from the expansion part to the introduction port is widened to the passage width of the expansion part compared to the corresponding pair of side walls of the conveyance pipe, the passage part has a partition wall corresponding to the side wall of the conveyance pipe before widening inside the widened part, the shutter is pivotally supported by a pivot shaft on the upstream side in the conveyance direction, rotates around the pivot shaft so that the tip side advances into the passage part to open, and has a width corresponding to the expansion part and a slit for avoiding the partition wall characterized paper sheet conveying device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an outline of a gaming machine island 2 including a paper sheet conveying device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the paper sheet conveying device 10 provided in the gaming machine island 2. In the present embodiment, the gaming machine island 2 is a combination of a gaming medium lending machine 3 that receives the insertion of bills and lends gaming media such as gaming balls (pachinko balls) to players and a gaming machine 4 such as a pachinko machine, and a plurality of sets are accommodated side by side on the front and back surfaces so that they face each other. The paper sheet conveying device 10 is provided in the gaming machine island 2 and functions to take in the bills 6 discharged from the back of each gaming medium lending machine 3 and convey them to a safe (storage unit) in a separation, collection, and delivery device 40 provided at one end of the gaming machine island 2 for storage.

[0016] The paper sheet conveying device 10 generates an air flow in a conveying pipe 12 that serves as a conveying path for bills (paper sheets), and inserts a conveying auxiliary body 16 that moves in the conveying pipe 12 under the influence of the air flow into the conveying pipe 12 upstream of the bill 6 to be conveyed. The conveying auxiliary body 16 pushes the bill 6 in the conveying pipe 12 from behind and conveys it downstream. In the present embodiment, in the conveying pipe 12, the bill 6 is conveyed in a horizontally long posture with the paper surface standing upright as shown in FIG. 3.

[0017] The paper sheet conveying device 10 includes a conveying pipe 12 and a separation, collection, and delivery device 40 provided at one end of the gaming machine island 2. The conveying pipe 12 includes an upstream path 12a extending from the separation, collection, and delivery device 40 provided at one end of the gaming machine island 2 to the other end of the gaming machine island 2, a turn portion 12b that turns in a U shape at the other end, and a return path 12c that extends above the upstream path 12a along the upstream path 12a and returns to the separation, collection, and delivery device 40 after turning at the turn portion 12b.

[0018] The forward path 12a and the return path 12c of the transfer pipe 12 are divided into units of a predetermined length, for example, a length corresponding to the width of one set of the gaming machine 4 and the gaming medium lending machine 3 installed and accommodated together in the gaming machine island 2. By connecting the required number of these with a connecting unit, the path length can be adjusted according to the longitudinal length of the gaming machine island 2. Also, at the construction site, the transfer pipe 12 is cut on-site to the required length and used.

[0019] The paper sheet conveying device 10 further has a taking-in device 13 that is inserted in the middle of the return path 12c of the transfer pipe 12 and takes in the banknotes 6 discharged from the gaming medium lending machine 3 into the transfer pipe 12. The taking-in device 13 is provided in pairs, one for taking in the banknotes 6 from the gaming medium lending machine 3 arranged on the front surface side of the gaming machine island 2 and the other for taking in the banknotes 6 from the gaming medium lending machine 3 arranged on the back surface side of the gaming machine island 2. The taking-in device 13 is interposed between the transfer pipes 12 constituting the return path 12c and connects them, and also functions as a transfer pipe forming a part of the return path 12c.

[0020] Also, an air flow enhancing unit 14 that merges the air flow from the auxiliary blower to enhance the air flow in the transfer pipe is inserted at an appropriate position in the middle of the transfer pipe 12. Here, the air flow enhancing unit 14 is provided in the middle of the return path 12c and downstream of the taking-in device 13. The air flow enhancing unit 14 may also be in the forward path 12a.

[0021] The separation, collection, and sending-out device 40 functions to send an air flow into the transfer pipe 12, send the transfer auxiliary body 16 from the start end of the transfer pipe 12 into the transfer pipe 12, separate the banknotes 6 conveyed by the transfer auxiliary body 16 from the transfer auxiliary body 16 at the end of the transfer pipe 12, move the separated transfer auxiliary body 16 to the start end side of the transfer pipe 12 for reuse in the next sending-out, and put the separated banknotes 6 into a safe (storage unit) for storage. The details of the separation, collection, and sending-out device 40 will be described later.

[0022] In the paper sheet conveying device 10, the banknote 6 taken into the return path 12c of the conveying pipe 12 from the taking-in device 13 stays at the taking-in completion position in a horizontally long posture with the paper surface standing upright as shown in FIG. 3. The separation, collection, and delivery device 40 generates an air flow in the conveying pipe 12 to convey and collect this banknote 6 to the separation, collection, and delivery device 40 at the island end.

[0023] Due to the action of this air flow, the conveying auxiliary body 16 is sent out from the separation, collection, and delivery device 40 into the conveying pipe 12. The sent-out conveying auxiliary body 16 moves in the forward path 12a to the turning part 12b, makes a U-turn at the turning part 12b, and then further moves in the return path 12c toward the end part. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the banknote 6 in the conveying pipe 12 is pushed and moved by the conveying auxiliary body 16 from the rear end side of the banknote 6, and the banknote 6 is conveyed toward the end part of the conveying pipe 12 (in the conveying direction F in the figure).

[0024] In this way, the conveying auxiliary body 16 moves under the action of the air flow, and the banknote 6 is pushed and conveyed from the rear end side by this conveying auxiliary body 16. Therefore, the banknote 6 itself does not need to obtain a propulsive force by receiving the air flow. Accordingly, the banknote 6 can be conveyed by the air flow without taking measures such as bending the banknote 6 to receive the air flow. Also, since the conveying auxiliary body 16 can obtain a propulsive force from the air flow more efficiently than the banknote 6, the banknote 6 can be conveyed efficiently.

[0025] Next, the shapes of the conveying pipe 12 and the conveying auxiliary body 16 will be described in detail.

[0026] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the conveying pipe 12 in the straight part (the parts of the forward path 12a and the return path 12c), and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the extending direction F (= the conveying direction F of the banknote = the flowing direction of the air flow) of the conveying pipe 12 in the same part. The conveying pipe 12 is formed of a resin having a thickness of about 1.5 mm. The conveying pipe 12 is formed, for example, by extrusion molding.

[0027] The cross-sectional shape of a cross-section perpendicular to the extending direction F of the straight portion of the conveying pipe 12 is a shape in which the central portions of the left and right side walls of a vertically long rectangle are expanded outward in a rectangular shape. Specifically, the conveying pipe 12 includes upper and lower wall portions 31, left and right side wall portions 32, and expansion portions 33 that project outward in a rectangular shape at the central portions in the vertical direction of the left and right side wall portions 32. In addition, in a substantially rectangular cross-section perpendicular to the extending direction (conveying direction F) of the conveying pipe 12, the short side direction is the X direction (or width direction, left and right direction), and the long side direction is the Y direction (or height direction, up and down direction). The direction toward the center of the conveying pipe 12 in each of the X direction and the Y direction is called the inner side, and the direction from the center to the inner wall is called the outer side. In this embodiment, the conveying pipe 12 is used in a direction in which the long side in its cross-section is in the up and down direction, but it may be used in a direction in which the short side is in the up and down direction. In this case, the banknote 6 is conveyed in a horizontally long posture with the paper surface facing up and down.

[0028] The expansion portion 33 is divided into upper and lower two parts by a partition wall 34 erected in the inner direction of the conveying pipe 12. The entire conveying pipe 12 including the partition wall 34 has an integral structure. In the expansion portion 33, position regulating ribs 36 that project in the inner direction of the conveying pipe 12 are provided at the centers of the areas divided into two by the partition wall 34. The position regulating rib 36 functions to regulate the position of the conveying auxiliary body 16 in the X direction within the conveying pipe 12.

[0029] A plurality of ribs 35 that project in the inner direction of the conveying pipe 12 are formed to extend along the conveying direction on the side wall portion 32. In this example, ribs 35 that project inward of the conveying pipe 12 are formed along the conveying direction at the boundary between the side wall portion 32 and the expansion portion 33. The partition wall 34 has the same height as the rib 35, and the top of the partition wall 34 functions as a rib. Hereinafter, when the partition wall 34 is treated as a rib, it is also referred to as the rib 34.

[0030] The side wall portion 32 forms a pair of inner walls facing the paper surface of the banknote 6 being conveyed. The banknote 6 is rectangular and is conveyed in the conveyance pipe 12 with the long side in the conveyance direction F. In other words, the paper surface faces the side wall portion 32 of the conveyance pipe 12, and one short side of the banknote 6 is on the front end side in the conveyance direction while the other short side is on the rear end side, and it is conveyed in this orientation.

[0031] The distance Dy between the upper and lower wall portions 31 of the conveyance pipe 12 is slightly longer than the short side of the banknote 6. Also, the distance Dx between the left and right side wall portions 32 (the portions where the ribs 35, the expansion portions 33, and the separation walls 34 are not formed (referred to as the reference plane portions)) is set to about 21 mm. The expansion portions 33 provided on the left and right side wall portions 32 each expand about 7.5 mm outward from the side wall portion 32 (reference plane portion). The tops of the ribs 35 and the separation walls 34 are at a height of about 2 mm inward from the side wall portion 32 (reference plane portion). The height of the rib 35 can be set as appropriate.

[0032] FIG. 6 shows the plan view and the front view of the conveyance auxiliary body 16. The conveyance auxiliary body 16 has a columnar shape with a circular cross-section having different diameters at each part. The conveyance auxiliary body 16 is oriented with its axis orthogonal to the conveyance direction and moves inside the conveyance pipe. Here, it is inserted and used inside the conveyance pipe 12 such that the central axis of the cylinder is in the Y direction (height direction) of the conveyance pipe 12. The conveyance auxiliary body 16 has a vertically symmetric shape and is composed of, in order from the top, a head portion 16a, a neck portion 16b with a slightly smaller diameter than the head portion, a large-diameter portion 16c with a larger diameter than the head portion 16a, a constricted portion 16d having the same diameter as the neck portion 16b and located at the vertical center, the large-diameter portion 16c, the neck portion 16b, and the head portion 16a.

[0033] The shapes of the conveyance pipe 12 and the conveyance auxiliary body 16 are not limited to this. The outer shape of the conveyance auxiliary body 16 has a shape corresponding to the inner shape of the conveyance pipe 12 and has irregularities corresponding to the ribs 34 and 35 protruding inward from the side wall portion 32.

[0034] The conveyance auxiliary body 16 is lightweight and strong, and for example, its interior is formed as a cavity by plastic or the like. Note that as long as it is lightweight and strong, it may be formed by expanded polystyrene or extruded expanded polystyrene.

[0035] FIG. 7 shows a cross section perpendicular to the extending direction F and passing through the central axis of the transport assisting member 16 in a state where the transport assisting member 16 is inserted into the transport pipe 12. The diameter of each part of the transport assisting member 16 corresponds to the inner edge shape of the transport pipe 12. That is, the cross-sectional shape passing through the central axis of the transport assisting member 16 is a shape corresponding to the inner edge shape of the transport pipe 12 in a cross section perpendicular to the extending direction F, and the inside of the transport pipe 12 is shaped to substantially close with a predetermined clearance from the inner wall.

[0036] The position of the transport assisting member 16 in the Y direction within the transport pipe 12 is restricted by the upper surface or the lower surface of the large-diameter portion 16c coming into contact with the rib 35 or the partition wall 34. These also restrict the inclination of the axis of the transport assisting member 16. Further, the position of the transport assisting member 16 in the X direction within the transport pipe 12 is restricted by the outer periphery of the head portion 16a coming into contact with the side wall portion 32 or the outer periphery of the large-diameter portion 16c coming into contact with the inside of the expansion portion 33.

[0037] Thus, since the transport assisting member 16 has a shape corresponding to the inner edge shape of the transport pipe 12 (substantially the same shape with a slight clearance) and closes substantially the entire cross section of the transport pipe 12, it can efficiently receive the action of the air flow and move. Further, the transport assisting member 16 serves to prevent the air flow from upstream from reaching the downstream side of the transport assisting member 16 and suppress the turbulence of the air flow on the downstream side.

[0038] The banknote 6 tends to stick to the side wall portion 32 when receiving the action from the air flow in the transport pipe 12. That is, it is almost impossible for the distance between one paper surface of the banknote 6 and the side wall portion 32 facing it and the distance between the other paper surface and the side wall portion 32 facing it to be equal. When either distance becomes narrower than the other, the flow velocity of the air flow becomes faster on the side with the narrower distance than on the side with the wider distance. Therefore, the air pressure on the side with the narrower distance becomes lower than the air pressure on the side with the wider distance, and due to this pressure difference, the banknote 6 is adsorbed and pressed against the side wall portion 32 on the side with the narrower distance. Then, the distance on the side with the narrower distance becomes even narrower, and a phenomenon occurs where the banknote 6 sticks and adsorbs to the side wall portion 32.

[0039] When the banknote 6 strongly adheres to the side wall portion 32, it becomes difficult to push and convey the banknote 6 with the conveying auxiliary body 16. However, as described above, the conveying auxiliary body 16 serves to block (reduce) the flow of air to its downstream side. Therefore, the force with which the banknote 6 adheres and is adsorbed becomes smaller, and smooth conveyance is realized.

[0040] The two large-diameter portions 16c of the conveying auxiliary body 16 engage with each of the two expansion portions 33 partitioned by the separation wall 34 of the conveying pipe 12. In this example, since the expansion portion 33 is partitioned into two by the separation wall 34 and these expansion portions 33 are provided closer to the center in the Y direction of the conveying pipe 12, the conveying auxiliary body 16 can be maintained in a stable posture and moved. Also, since the posture of the conveying auxiliary body 16 is stabilized, the large-diameter portion 16c of the conveying auxiliary body 16 can appropriately contact the rear end of the banknote 6 to provide a stable conveying force. Further, it becomes difficult for the banknote 6 to be caught between the conveying pipe 12 and the conveying auxiliary body 16.

[0041] Also, by providing the large-diameter portion 16c, the area of the portion of the conveying auxiliary body 16 that is affected by the air flow is enlarged, and the force for moving can be efficiently received. Also, since the large-diameter portion 16c is provided to efficiently receive the action of the air flow, the diameter of the head portion 16a can be reduced accordingly. By reducing the diameter of the head portion, the interval (width (Dx)) between the pair of opposing side wall portions 32 in the conveying pipe 12 can be narrowed, and the banknote 6 can be prevented from falling over.

[0042] Furthermore, the presence of the plurality of ribs 35 provided on the side wall portion 32 prevents the banknote 6 from tightly adhering to the side wall portion 32. That is, the contact area between the banknote 6 and the side wall portion 32 is reduced, the friction is reduced, and the generation of static electricity and the like can be suppressed. Also, even when the banknote 6 adheres to the side wall portion 32, since the banknote 6 is supported by the tip portion of the rib 35, a gap is ensured between the side wall portion 32 and the banknote 6 around the rib 35, and the adhesion force is suppressed to be small. Also, since the banknote 6 is supported by the separation wall 34, the banknote 6 is prevented from falling into the depression of the expansion portion 33.

[0043] In addition, the tops of a plurality of ribs 35 protruding inward from the side wall portion 32 and the separation wall 34 serve to make the passage width W of the substantially banknote 6 in the width direction (X direction) of the conveyance pipe 12 narrower than the reference plane portion interval Dx. As a result, it becomes difficult for the banknote 6 to fall sideways within the conveyance pipe 12, and the posture of the banknote 6 is held along the Y direction. In particular, by providing a plurality of ribs 35, the banknote 6 is appropriately prevented from falling, and the banknote 6 is effectively prevented from sticking to the side wall portion 32. Note that Dx can be increased by the amount of the ribs 35 provided, thereby increasing the cross-sectional area of the conveyance pipe 12 and making it easier for the conveyance auxiliary body 16 to receive the action of the air flow.

[0044] In the case of the conveyance auxiliary body 16 according to the present embodiment, since the diameter of the large diameter portion 16c is the largest, as shown in FIG. 3, the large diameter portion 16c comes into contact with the rear end of the banknote 6 and pushes it.

[0045] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the turn portion 12b, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the turn portion 12b. The turn portion 12b has a shape in which the conveyance pipe 12 is extended so as to draw a 90-degree arc with the Y direction as the radial direction, and the arc portion 12bb, the straight portion 12bc, and the 90-degree arc-shaped arc portion 12bb are connected, and the travel path of the conveyance auxiliary body 16 is changed by 180 degrees. Also in the turn portion 12b, the ribs 35 and the expansion portion 33 are formed, but the separation wall 34 is not provided so that the conveyance auxiliary body 16 does not get caught when moving in an arc along the arc portion 12bb, and the ribs 35 and the expansion portion 33 are escaped (the clearance is made larger than the straight portion) in the portion overlapping the locus when the conveyance auxiliary body 16 passes through the turn portion 12b. As a result, the turning radius at the arc portion 12bb of the turn portion 12b can be reduced. Note that the length of the straight portion 12bc may be appropriately determined according to the distance required between the forward path 12a and the return path 12c depending on the sizes of the separation, collection, and delivery device 40 and the intake device 13. Note that two ribs 12ba are provided in the expansion portion 33 of the turn portion 12b corresponding to the large diameter portion 16c of the conveyance auxiliary body 16 to position-regulate the conveyance auxiliary body 16 closer to the center in the X direction.

[0046] Next, the separation, collection, and delivery device 40 will be described.

[0047] FIG. 10 is a front view showing the separation and recovery sending device 40 with the door 46 of the storage box 41 open, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the separation and recovery sending device 40 with the door 46 of the storage box 41 open. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the main body unit 42 of the separation and recovery sending device 40 with the storage box 41 removed, FIG. 13 is a right side view of the main body unit 42 of the separation and recovery sending device 40, FIG. 14 is a front view of the main body unit 42 of the separation and recovery sending device 40, FIG. 15 is a left side view of the main body unit 42 of the separation and recovery sending device 40, and FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a partial simplification of the A-A cross-section in FIG. 14 of the main body unit 42.

[0048] As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the main body unit 42 of the separation and recovery sending device 40 is stored in the storage box 41. Further, at the upper inner part of the storage box 41, a control unit 43 for controlling the operation of the entire paper sheet conveying device 10 including the separation and recovery sending device 40 is attached. The control unit 43 is mainly composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 12, the main body unit 42 of the separation and recovery sending device 40 is fixed to the wife plate 18 of the gaming machine island 2 with screws separately from the storage box 41. The storage box 41 has an open back, and is attached to the wife plate 18 with screws separately from the main body unit 42 so as to cover the main body unit 42. Thereby, depending on the installation location, the relative positions of the main body unit 42 and the storage box 41 can be arbitrarily adjusted. Details of this point will be described later.

[0050] As shown in FIGS. 13 to 16, the main body unit 42 of the separation, recovery, and delivery device 40 is provided at the start end of the forward path 12a of the conveyance pipe 12 and includes a delivery unit 70 that sends out the conveyance auxiliary body 16 into the conveyance pipe 12, a separation unit 50 that is provided at the end of the return path 12c of the conveyance pipe 12, allows the banknotes 6 conveyed by the conveyance auxiliary body 16 to pass through, receives the conveyance auxiliary body 16 that has pushed and moved them, and separates them, a storage unit 90 that serves as a safe for storing a large number of banknotes, a recovery unit 110 that receives the banknotes 6 that have passed through the separation unit 50 downstream of the separation unit 50 into the recovery passage 111, stops them, and moves and stores the stopped banknotes 6 into the storage unit 90, an air flow generation device 130 that sends an air flow into the delivery unit 70, and a connection duct 140 that sucks the air flow discharged from the end of the conveyance pipe 12 through the separation unit 50 and the recovery passage 111 of the recovery unit 110, returns it to the air supply port of the air flow generation device 130, and circulates it. Note that the air flow generated by the air flow generation device 130 is sent into the start end of the conveyance pipe 12 through the delivery unit 70.

[0051] As shown in FIGS. 15, 18, etc., the main body unit 42 has each unit such as the delivery unit 70 and the separation unit 50 attached to a support frame 45 and integrated.

[0052] FIG. 17 shows a state in which the door 91 of the storage unit 90 for storing the banknotes 6 in the main body unit 42 of the separation, recovery, and delivery device 40 is open.

[0053] In the separation, recovery, and delivery device 40, the separation unit 50 is arranged directly above the delivery unit 70. The conveyance auxiliary body 16 supplemented by the separation unit 50 is dropped into the delivery unit 70 through a drop passage 71 (see FIG. 16, cross-sectional view), and the dropped conveyance auxiliary body 16 is used for the next delivery, so that the conveyance auxiliary body 16 is recycled.

[0054] The start end of the forward path 12a of the conveyance pipe 12 is connected to the conveyance pipe connection port 72 of the delivery unit 70, and the end of the return path 12c of the conveyance pipe 12 is connected to the conveyance pipe connection port 51 of the separation unit 50 (see FIG. 16).

[0055] Next, the configuration of the separation unit 50 will be described.

[0056] FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing the separation part 50 in a state where the opening / closing rib 52 described later is closed and the delivery part 70 below it, and FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing the separation part 50 in a state where the opening / closing rib 52 is open and the delivery part 70 below it. FIG. 20 is a front view showing the separation part 50 in a state where the opening / closing rib 52 is closed and the delivery part 70 below it, and FIG. 21 is a front view showing the separation part 50 in a state where the opening / closing rib 52 is closed and the conveying auxiliary body 16 is captured and the delivery part 70 below it. FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view (section B-B in FIG. 20) of the separation part 50 and the delivery part 70. FIG. 23 is an exploded perspective view of the separation part 50.

[0057] As shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 23, the separation part 50 includes a pair of left and right passage walls 56, a pair of left and right opening / closing ribs 52, and a pair of left and right abutting parts 64.

[0058] The pair of left and right passage walls 56 have a symmetric shape, and include a vertically oriented flat side wall 57, a ceiling wall 58 horizontally extending from the upper end of the side wall 57, and a bottom wall 59 horizontally extending in the same direction as the ceiling wall 58 from the lower end of the side wall 57. By combining the left and right so that the ceiling wall 58 and the bottom wall 59 are butted against each other, a passage (separation part passage 56a) having a vertically long rectangular outer shape corresponding to the conveyance pipe 12 is formed. Five ribs 61 (61a to 61e) horizontally protruding inward of the passage and extending in the length direction of the passage are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction on the side wall 57 in the upstream side (upper region) of about half of the separation part passage 56a.

[0059] The uppermost and lowermost ribs 61a and 61e perform functions corresponding to the side wall portion 32 of the conveyance pipe 12 (see FIG. 7), and the protruding height in the horizontal direction is such that when the left and right passage walls 56 are combined to form the separation portion passage 56a, a space corresponding to Dx in FIG. 7 is created between the opposing ribs. The three ribs 61b to 61d, excluding the top and bottom, are ribs corresponding to the ribs 34 (ribs 35 and separation wall 34, see FIG. 7) of the conveyance pipe 12. These are provided at vertical positions corresponding to the neck portion 16b and the constricted portion 16d of the conveyance auxiliary body 16. The protruding height in the horizontal direction is such that when the left and right passage walls 56 are combined to form the separation portion passage 56a, a space corresponding to the passage width W in FIG. 7 is created between the opposing ribs.

[0060] In the downstream region (downstream area) of the pair of left and right passage walls 56, the ribs 61 that were in the upstream area are absent, and instead, slits 62 (62a to 62e) that are at the same vertical positions as the respective ribs 61a to 61e and are long in the passage length direction are provided. Also, in the downstream area, the bottom wall 59 that was in the upstream area is absent, and the bottom is open when the pair of left and right passage walls 56 are combined to form the separation portion passage 56a.

[0061] The opening / closing rib 52 includes a flat side wall 53 in a vertical posture, five ribs 54 (54a to 54e) erected so as to protrude horizontally from the side wall 53 to the inside of the passage, and a bottom plate 55. The arrangement of the five ribs 54 (54a to 54e) corresponds to the slits 62 (62a to 62e). Each rib 54 of the opening / closing rib 52 is inserted into each slit 62 of the passage wall 56 from the outside of the passage wall 56. The bottom plate 55 is at a height such that when each rib 54 of the opening / closing rib 52 is inserted into each slit 62 of the passage wall 56, it is flush with the bottom wall 59 of the passage wall 56, and when each rib 54 is inserted to the depth of the slit 62 (the position where the side wall 53 abuts against the outer surface of the side wall 57), the left and right bottom plates 55 abut and are connected.

[0062] The state in which the ribs 54 (54a to 54e) of the opening / closing rib 52 are inserted deep into the slits 62 (62a to 62e) of the passage wall 56 is defined as the closed state of the opening / closing rib 52 (see FIGS. 18, 20, and 21). The state in which the pair of left and right opening / closing ribs 52 are retracted outward (the distance between them is widened) until the ribs 54 (54a to 54e) of the opening / closing rib 52 are withdrawn from the slits 62 (62a to 62e) (until the bottom plate 55 is not in the separation part passage 56a) is defined as the open state of the opening / closing rib 52 (see FIG. 19). The separation part 50 includes an opening / closing drive part 68 that displaces the left and right opening / closing ribs 52 between the open state and the closed state (see FIGS. 18, 20, etc.). The separation part 50 has an opening / closing drive part 68 that displaces the opening / closing rib 52 between the open state and the closed state. The opening / closing drive part 68 is configured with a motor or a solenoid as a drive source.

[0063] The pair of left and right contact parts 64 allows the banknotes 6 coming from the end of the transport pipe 12 by the air flow to pass through, and the transport auxiliary body 16 that has pushed and moved the banknotes 6 contacts and receives them from the downstream side and stops them. The contact part 64 includes a plurality of contact claws 66 (66a to 66f) that contact the large-diameter part 16c of the transport auxiliary body 16, and a support plate 65 that supports these plurality of contact claws 66 vertically with a predetermined interval therebetween. The left and right contact parts 64 have a symmetric shape, and the left and right contact parts 64 are arranged with a predetermined gap therebetween through which banknotes can pass.

[0064] The contact claws 66 of the right contact part 64 when viewed from the downstream among the pair of left and right have an inner concave arc shape that contacts the outer periphery of the right half part on the downstream side of the large-diameter part 16c of the transport auxiliary body 16 from the downstream side. The contact claws 66 of the left contact part 64 when viewed from the downstream among the pair of left and right have an inner concave arc shape that contacts the outer periphery of the left half part on the downstream side of the large-diameter part 16c of the transport auxiliary body 16 from the downstream side.

[0065] Each contact claw 66 is inserted between the rib 54 on the opening / closing rib 52 side and the rib 54. Specifically, the uppermost contact claw 66a is inserted between the ceiling wall 58 of the passage wall 56 and the rib 54a adjacent thereto below, and the contact claw 66b is inserted between the rib 54a and the second rib 54b from the top. The contact claw 66c is inserted between the rib 54b and the third rib 54c from the top, and the contact claw 66d is inserted between the rib 54c and the fourth rib 54d from the top. The contact claw 66e is inserted between the rib 54d and the fifth rib 54e from the top, and the contact claw 66f is inserted between the rib 54e and the bottom plate 55 of the opening / closing rib 52. Each contact claw 66 is inserted until the support plate 65 of the contact portion 64 abuts against the end face of the passage wall 56.

[0066] FIG. 24 is a perspective view for showing a state of viewing the inlet of the collection passage 111 from the separation portion 50. As shown in FIG. 24, the storage portion 90 and the collection portion 110 form an integrated safe unit 150. The contact portion 64 of the separation portion 50 is attached to the inlet of the collection passage 111 of the collection portion 110. When the separation portion 50 and the safe unit 150 are attached to the support frame 45 and assembled as the main body unit 42, each contact claw 66 of the contact portion 64 is inserted into the aforementioned position and fitted with each rib 54 of the separation portion 50.

[0067] FIGS. 25 to 27 show a partial omission of a horizontal cross-section of the collection passage 111 of the separation portion 50 and the collection portion 110 disposed downstream thereof. FIG. 25 shows an open state of the opening / closing rib 52, FIG. 26 shows a closed state of the opening / closing rib 52, and FIG. 27 is a view in which the conveying auxiliary body 16 supplemented to the separation portion 50 and the banknote 6 stopped in the collection passage 111 are added to FIG. 26.

[0068] Each rib from the rib in the conveying pipe 12 connected to the conveying pipe connection port 51 of the separation portion 50 to the rib 61 in the upstream area of the separation portion 50, each rib 54 of the opening / closing rib 52 in the closed state, and the contact claw 66 of the contact portion 64 are connected in a stepped manner from upstream to downstream (a position where the top of the rib on the downstream side is lower than the rib on the upstream side (outside the passage)) (see FIG. 26).

[0069] Each rib 54 of the opening / closing rib 52 has a slightly increased protruding height toward the inside of the passage near its downstream end. Specifically, it is slightly increased along the outer periphery of the head 16a (or the neck 16b or the constricted portion 16d) of the supplemented transport auxiliary body 16 (see FIG. 27). Thereby, while properly maintaining the posture of the supplemented transport auxiliary body 16, the distance between the left and right ribs 54 in the closed state becomes narrower as it approaches the downstream end, and the banknote 6 that has reached the separation part 50 is guided between the left and right abutting parts 64, and the banknote 6 can smoothly advance into the collection passage 111 (see FIGS. 26 and 27).

[0070] As shown in FIG. 27, the separation part 50 receives and supplements the transport auxiliary body 16 with the abutting claws 66 of the abutting part 64 in a state where the opening / closing rib 52 is closed. The joint between the rib 54 of the opening / closing rib 52 and the rib 61 in the upper reaches of the separation part passage 56a has a stepped difference in the direction from the rib 61 to the rib 54. Therefore, when viewed in the direction in which the supplemented transport auxiliary body 16 returns to the upper reaches side of the separation part passage 56a, it has a reverse step. Therefore, the transport auxiliary body 16 supplemented to the abutting part 64 can be maintained in a stable posture at the supplemented position.

[0071] As shown in FIGS. 19, 22, 25, etc., a drop passage 71 is located directly below the supplemented transport auxiliary body 16. When the opening / closing rib 52 is opened, the bottom of the lower reaches of the separation part passage 56a is opened, and the transport auxiliary body 16 drops into the drop passage 71.

[0072] In this way, usually the opening / closing rib 52 is in the closed state, and when dropping the supplemented transport auxiliary body 16, the opening / closing rib 52 is displaced to the open state. Therefore, when the banknote 6 passes through the separation part 50, the opening / closing rib 52 is in the closed state. Thus, when the banknote 6 passes through, the entire path from the terminal of the transport pipe 12 through the separation part passage 56a of the separation part 50 to the collection passage 111 of the collection part 110 becomes a state where the ribs are connected, similar to inside the transport pipe 12, and the posture of the banknote 6 can be maintained by the ribs to avoid jamming of the banknote 6.

[0073] Even if, for example, the structure is such that only the bottom plate 55 is opened and closed without providing the rib 54 of the opening and closing rib 52, it is possible to receive and catch the conveyance auxiliary body 16 arriving from the upstream at the contact portion 64 and, at an appropriate time, open the bottom plate 55 to drop the conveyance auxiliary body 16 through the drop passage 71 to the delivery portion 70. However, since there is no rib in the downstream area of the separation portion passage 56a even when the bottom plate 55 is closed, the posture of the banknote 6 becomes unstable when passing through here, and the banknote 6 is likely to jam. Also, it becomes difficult to maintain the caught conveyance auxiliary body 16 in an appropriate posture. When the bottom plate 55 is opened, the conveyance auxiliary body 16 may not fall properly, for example, it may not enter the drop passage 71 smoothly or the posture of the fall may be disrupted, which may hinder the movement of the conveyance auxiliary body 16 to the delivery portion 70.

[0074] In the separation portion 50 according to the present embodiment, when the opening and closing rib 52 is closed, the entire path from the end of the conveyance pipe 12 to the collection passage 111 of the collection portion 110 has ribs equivalent to those inside the conveyance pipe 12. Therefore, the posture of the banknote 6 can be maintained by the ribs, and jamming of the banknote 6 can be avoided. Also, when the opening and closing rib 52 is closed, the conveyance auxiliary body 16 can be held in an appropriate posture. Therefore, when the opening and closing rib 52 is opened, the conveyance auxiliary body 16 can be appropriately dropped and moved to the delivery portion 70.

[0075] The separation portion 50 has a sensor 68a (see FIGS. 18 and 19) for detecting whether or not the conveyance auxiliary body 16 exists at the position where it is caught by the contact portion 64, on the upper surface of the separation portion passage 56a and directly above the drop passage 71. Also, a sensor 68b for detecting the passage of the banknote 6 is provided on the side surface of the upstream area of the separation portion passage 56a (see FIG. 13). When the sensor 68b changes to non-detection after the elapse of a predetermined time required for passage after detecting the banknote 6, the control unit 43 determines that the banknote 6 has passed normally. If the detection state continues for a certain period of time or more, it is determined that the banknote 6 is jammed at the location of the sensor 68b. The separation portion 50 has an opening and closing sensor 68c for detecting the opening and closing of the opening and closing rib 52 (see FIG. 13).

[0076] Next, the delivery unit 70 will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 to 22 and FIGS. 28 to 35. The delivery unit 70 has a delivery passage 73 with a vertically long rectangular cross-section and a cylindrical shape. The downstream end of the delivery passage 73 is a transfer pipe connection port 72 to which the start end of the transfer pipe 12 is connected. The upstream end of the delivery passage 73 is an air flow intake port 73a for the air flow from the air flow generator 130, to which the blower duct from the air flow generator 130 is connected. A drop passage 71 is provided on the upper surface near the upstream end of the delivery passage 73. The drop passage 71 communicates with the inside of the delivery passage 73. The position directly below the drop passage 71 is a standby position where the transfer assist body 16 that has dropped through the drop passage 71 waits for the next delivery.

[0077] The delivery unit 70 includes a backflow prevention valve 75 as a lid member for opening and closing the opening at the lower end of the drop passage 71, a pair of left and right guide rollers 76 for correcting the posture of the transfer assist body 16, posture guide members 77(a to c) for stably holding the posture of the transfer assist body 16 at the standby position, and ribs 78(a to c).

[0078] FIGS. 28 and 29 are perspective views showing one side wall of the delivery passage 73 and the backflow prevention valve 75. FIG. 28 shows the state where the backflow prevention valve 75 is in the hanging position, and FIG. 29 shows the state where the backflow prevention valve 75 is in the closed position.

[0079] FIG. 30 shows the state where the transfer assist body 16 is dropping into the delivery unit 70 through the drop passage 71 from the separation unit 50, and FIG. 32 shows the state where the transfer assist body 16 is at the standby position in the delivery unit 70. FIGS. 33 to 35 show the process of the transfer assist body 16 being sent out from the standby position into the start end of the transfer pipe 12 in chronological order.

[0080] The backflow prevention valve 75 is a plate-shaped member pivotally supported at its upper end by a shaft 75c (see FIGS. 28 and 29) in the passage width direction of the delivery passage 73 at a position adjacent to the upstream side of the opening at the lower end of the dropping passage 71 (the upstream side in the direction of the air flow during delivery). When hanging down, it is in a position (hanging position) to block the air intake from the air flow generating device 130. When the air flow generating device 130 generates an air flow, it rotates downward under the action of the air flow to block the opening at the lower end of the dropping passage 71. The rotation range of the backflow prevention valve 75 is from the hanging position (see FIG. 28) in contact with the intake port to the blocking position (see FIG. 29) that blocks the opening at the lower end of the dropping passage 71.

[0081] A weight may be attached to the backflow prevention valve 75 so that when the air flow generating device 130 stops, it quickly returns to the hanging position and does not prevent the conveyance assist body 16 from dropping. It is preferable to attach the weight to the tip of the backflow prevention valve 75.

[0082] The backflow prevention valve 75 in the hanging position functions as one of the side walls (the upstream side wall) that regulates the position of the conveyance assist body 16 so that the conveyance assist body 16 that has dropped through the dropping passage 71 is stably held in an appropriate posture at the standby position (see FIGS. 30 and 32). In this function, the aforementioned weight serves to stabilize the backflow prevention valve 75 at the hanging position (the position as the position regulating wall) during the stop of the air flow.

[0083] As shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, the backflow prevention valve 75 has a lid portion 75a that closes the opening at the lower end of the dropping passage 71 and an extension portion 75b extending from the lid portion 75a. In the present embodiment, the extension portion 75b of the backflow prevention valve 75 is sized such that when the backflow prevention valve 75 is in the hanging position hanging in front of the air intake, the tip of the extension portion 75b reaches around the center of the large diameter portion 16c below the conveyance assist body 16 waiting at the standby position (see FIG. 32).

[0084] The extension part 75b is sized and shaped such that when the backflow prevention valve 75 rotates from the hanging position to the closed position where it closes the opening at the lower end of the dropping passage 71 under the action of the air flow, it can push the conveying auxiliary body 16 in the standby position out in the feeding direction at the tip of the extension part 75b. Fig. 33 shows the state where the conveying auxiliary body 16 is pushed out by the tip of the backflow prevention valve 75 at the start of feeding. The position where the tip of the extension part 75b first contacts the conveying auxiliary body 16 when pushing out the conveying auxiliary body 16 is preferably at least below the axial center of the conveying auxiliary body 16.

[0085] The guide roller 76 is a circular rotating body pivotally supported about an axis perpendicular to the plane including the feeding direction and the dropping direction of the conveying auxiliary body 16. It is pivotally supported at a position on the downstream side in the feeding direction of the outlet of the dropping passage and laterally contacts the conveying auxiliary body 16 dropping through the dropping passage, and also contacts the conveying auxiliary body 16 being fed into the conveying pipe from above. It regulates the posture of the conveying auxiliary body 16 during dropping and feeding.

[0086] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 28, the guide roller 76 is a circular plate-like member with a thickness of several millimeters, and is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 76a erected perpendicularly to the side wall of the feeding passage 73. As shown in Fig. 31, the pair of left and right guide rollers 76 are pivotally supported at positions where they contact the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter part 16c of the conveying auxiliary body 16 dropping through the dropping passage 71 from the downstream side in the feeding direction, and as shown in Fig. 33, at positions where the lowermost point of the guide roller 76 contacts the upper surface of the large-diameter part 16c on the upper side of the conveying auxiliary body 16 being fed from the standby position toward the conveying pipe 12. Thereby, the guide roller 76 functions to regulate the posture and dropping position of the conveying auxiliary body 16 dropping through the dropping passage 71, and to correct the posture of the conveying auxiliary body 16 when being fed out from the standby position.

[0087] On the side wall of the delivery path 73, there is an attitude guide member 77 for stably holding the attitude of the conveyance assist body 16 in the standby position (see Fig. 29). The attitude guide member 77a abuts against the outer periphery of the large-diameter portion 16c of the conveyance assist body 16 in the standby position to regulate the attitude. The attitude guide member 77b abuts against the lower surface of the lower large-diameter portion 16c of the conveyance assist body 16 from below to regulate the attitude. The attitude guide member 77c abuts against the outer periphery of the lower head portion 16a of the conveyance assist body 16 to regulate the attitude.

[0088] The rib 78 is a rib corresponding to the ribs 34, 35 of the conveyance pipe 12 (see Figs. 5 and 7). As shown in Fig. 32, the lowermost rib 78c extends from near the conveyance assist body 16 in the standby position (the position connected to the attitude guide member 77b) to the downstream end of the delivery path 73. At the starting end of the rib 78c, the upper surface slopes downward toward the tip, and at the joint with the attitude guide member 77b, a step difference is formed such that the upper surface of the starting end of the rib 78c is lower than the upper surface of the attitude guide member 77b.

[0089] The starting end of the rib 78b is set around directly below the rotation axis of the guide roller 76. The starting end of the rib 78a is set slightly downstream of the rib 78b and is at a position immediately before contacting the peripheral surface of the guide roller 76 from the upstream side.

[0090] On the wall surface of the delivery path 73, there is a sensor 79 for detecting whether the conveyance assist body 16 exists in the standby position (see Fig. 18).

[0091] The paper sheet conveyance device 10 takes the state shown in Fig. 21, where the separation portion 50 with the opening / closing rib 52 closed catches the conveyance assist body 16, as the initial state, and operates as follows when collecting the banknote 6 discharged from the taking-in device 13 into the conveyance pipe 12.

[0092] In the initial state, the air flow generator 130 is stopped, and the conveying auxiliary member 16 is waiting in a state of being caught by the separating unit 50. First, when the bill intake device 13 detects a bill 6 discharged from the back of the game medium lending machine 3, it takes in the bill 6 and inserts it into the conveying pipe 12. The control unit 43 periodically monitors the state of each bill intake device 13 by polling. When it recognizes that the bill 6 has been taken in, it changes the opening / closing rib 52 of the separating unit 50 from the closed state to the open state, and drops the conveying auxiliary member 16 through the dropping passage 71 to the delivery unit 70.

[0093] As shown in FIGS. 30 and 31, during the fall, the conveying auxiliary member 16 that has emerged from the lower end of the dropping passage 71 is positionally restricted from three directions by the left and right side walls of the delivery passage 73 (and the posture guide members 77 provided on the side walls) and the backflow prevention valve 75 in the hanging position, and is also positionally restricted from the remaining one direction out of the four directions by the guide roller 76. Thus, it maintains an appropriate posture (a substantially vertical posture without inclining more than a certain degree) and drops to the delivery unit 70. Since the guide roller 76 is a rotating body, even if the conveying auxiliary member 16 in the process of dropping comes into contact with it, the guide roller 76 rotates together with the conveying auxiliary member 16 and allows the conveying auxiliary member 16 to escape downward. Therefore, it is prevented that the conveying auxiliary member 16 gets caught by the guide roller 76.

[0094] When the control unit 43 recognizes that the conveying auxiliary member 16 has normally moved to the delivery unit 70 through the detection of the sensor 79, it closes the opening / closing rib 52 and then operates the air flow generator 130 to generate an air flow. Then, the backflow prevention valve 75 at the delivery unit 70 starts to rotate toward the closed position in response to the air flow sent in from the intake port. The conveying auxiliary member 16 in the standby position starts to move toward the starting end of the conveying pipe 12 due to the action of the air flow flowing in from the intake port and being pushed by the tip of the extension 75b of the backflow prevention valve 75 that has started to rotate (see FIG. 33).

[0095] At this time, the conveyance assist member 16 has its posture regulated by the rib 78c provided on the side wall of the delivery passage 73 and the guide roller 76, and starts to move without inclining more than a certain degree in the front-rear direction. For example, when the conveyance assist member 16 attempts to lift while moving downstream, the upper surface of the large-diameter portion 16c on the upper side of the conveyance assist member 16 comes into contact with the guide roller 76 and its position is regulated. Since the guide roller 76 rotates when the conveyance assist member 16 comes into contact and releases the conveyance assist member 16 forward, it is possible to smoothly send out the conveyance assist member 16 without being caught and correct the posture while sending it out.

[0096] When the conveyance assist member 16 moves to the position shown in FIG. 34, thereafter, it is guided by the ribs 78a to 78c and enters the conveyance pipe 12 in an appropriate posture. The backflow prevention valve 75 is in a closed position that blocks the opening at the lower end of the dropping passage 71 under the action of the air flow (FIG. 35), stays in the closed position while the air flow continues, and prevents the air flow from flowing back to the separation unit 50 through the dropping passage 71.

[0097] The conveyance assist member 16 sent out from the delivery unit 70 conveys the banknote 6 in the middle while pushing it from behind and reaches the separation unit 50. Since the opening / closing rib 52 of the separation unit 50 is in a closed state, the conveyed banknote 6 is guided by the rib 61 in the separation unit passage 56a, the rib 54 of the opening / closing rib 52, and the contact claw 66, passes through the separation unit passage 56a in an appropriate posture, further passes between the left and right contact portions 64, and enters the collection passage 111 of the collection unit 110 and stops when hitting the end of the collection passage 111 (see FIG. 27). When the sensor 68a detects that the conveyance assist member 16 has come into contact with the contact claw 66 of the contact portion 64 of the separation unit 50 and stopped, the control unit 43 stops the air flow generator 130. Thereafter, an operation is performed to store the banknote 6 in the collection passage 111 in the storage unit 90, and the initial state is restored.

[0098] By performing the above operations every time a banknote 6 is collected, one transport assist body 16 is used cyclically. Note that on the condition that no banknote 6 is being taken in by the intake device 13 (no banknote 6 is being taken into the transport pipe 12), the transport assist body 16 waiting in the separation unit 50 is moved to the delivery unit 70, and then the air flow generating device 130 is operated to execute an air flow generating device operation confirmation mode for confirming that the transport assist body 16 returns to the separation unit 50. The air flow generating device operation confirmation mode may be executed when the sheet conveying device 10 is started up, may be executed at regular intervals (for example, every 30 minutes), or may be executed as a confirmation operation after an error such as jamming is cleared.

[0099] Furthermore, with the transport assist body 16 waiting in the separation unit 50, the air flow generating device 130 may be operated to check whether a signal indicating that the air flow generating device 130 has operated normally is output. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the situation where, even though a banknote is taken in by the intake device 13 and the transport assist body 16 has fallen from the separation unit 50, the air flow generating device 130 does not operate and the banknote cannot be collected by the transport assist body 16.

[0100] In the separation unit 50, since there are stepped differences in the direction in which the transport assist body 16 enters the separation unit passage 56a, there are reverse stepped differences in the direction in which the supplemented transport assist body 16 inclines or moves toward the end side of the transport path, and the transport assist body 16 can be held in a stable posture at the supplemented position. On the other hand, in the delivery unit 70 that sends the transport assist body 16 that has fallen from the drop passage 71 to the start end of the transport pipe 12, there are stepped differences in the delivery direction so that the transport assist body 16 can be smoothly delivered without getting caught. Guide rollers 76 and the like are also provided. Therefore, the separation unit 50 is more suitable than the delivery unit 70 for maintaining the transport assist body 16 in a long and stable posture.

[0101] In the paper sheet conveying device 10 according to the present embodiment, the conveying auxiliary member 16 is made to standby in the separating unit 50. Next, when conveying the paper sheets, after moving the conveying auxiliary member 16 waiting in the separating unit 50 to the sending unit 70, an air flow is generated. Therefore, the conveying auxiliary member 16 can be held in a stable posture in the separating unit 50 until immediately before the next sending. Further, since the air flow is generated after dropping the conveying auxiliary member 16 from the separating unit 50 to the sending unit 70 through the dropping passage 71, it does not prevent the dropping.

[0102] Furthermore, it becomes possible to send only the air flow into the conveying pipe 12 while the conveying auxiliary member 16 is held in the separating unit 50, and this can be used for eliminating some obstacles or the like. For example, if it is held in the separating unit 50, even if the posture of the conveying auxiliary member 16 is disturbed during the holding, by generating the air flow for a short time before dropping, the conveying auxiliary member 16 can be correctly returned to the capturing position and then dropped.

[0103] Also, when the conveying auxiliary member 16 is first set in the separating unit 50, if the air flow is blown from the air flow generating device 130 for a short time (for example, about 10 seconds), the posture of the conveying auxiliary member 16 can be corrected to the normal posture.

[0104] Next, the storage unit 90 and the collection unit 110 will be described.

[0105] As shown in FIGS. 24 and 36, the collection unit 110 and the storage unit 90 are integrated into a safe unit 150. FIG. 36 is a perspective view for showing a state of viewing the entrance of the collection passage 111 from the separating unit 50 side. The collection unit 110 includes a collection passage 111 that receives and stops the banknote 6 that has passed through the separating unit 50 (see FIG. 27). The collection passage 111 is a passage having a vertically long rectangular cross section and being hollow. The collection passage 111 receives the banknote 6 in a horizontally long posture with the paper surface standing upright. The passage length is slightly longer than the long side of the banknote 6, and the terminal end is an exhaust port 112 for the air flow flowing in from the separating unit 50. A butting member 113 is provided at the exhaust port 112 to abut against the banknote 6 coming from the separating unit 50 and stop it in the collection passage 111.

[0106] As shown in FIG. 16, one end of a connection duct 140 is connected to a discharge port 112 at the terminal end of a recovery passage 111, and the other end of the connection duct 140 is connected to an air supply port of an air flow generating device 130. In this example, the abutting member 113 is provided on the side of the connection duct 140 connected to the discharge port 112 (see FIG. 41). Specifically, the end portion of the connection duct 140 on the side connected to the terminal end of the recovery passage 111 is a terminal plate 142 having an air suction port 141 for the air flow. The connection duct 140 is connected to the recovery passage 111 such that the terminal plate 142 contacts the terminal end of the recovery passage 111 with the positions of the suction port 141 and the discharge port 112 aligned. The abutting member 113 is provided on the terminal plate 142 so as to cross the discharge port 112 at the terminal end of the recovery passage 111 in the width direction of the passage at a position around the center in the height direction of the recovery passage 111. Here, two abutting members 113 are provided at a predetermined interval in the height direction of the recovery passage 111.

[0107] The abutting member 113 provided on the terminal plate 142 is provided so as to cross the discharge port 112 at the terminal end of the recovery passage 111 in the width direction of the passage at a position around the center in the height direction of the recovery passage 111 when the connection duct 140 is connected to the recovery passage 111. Here, two abutting members 113 are provided at a predetermined interval in the height direction of the recovery passage 111.

[0108] As shown in FIGS. 27 and 41, a plurality of protrusions are provided at intervals in a direction crossing the paper surface of the paper sheet (perpendicularly or obliquely crossing the paper surface) on the surface (contact surface) of the abutting member 113 against which the banknote 6 abuts. Specifically, unevenness is provided so as to undulate with the width direction of the passage as the wavelength direction. This unevenness (the protrusions are convex portions, and the spaces between the protrusions are concave portions) prevents the leading end of the banknote 6 from slipping in the width direction of the passage when the leading end of the banknote 6 that has entered the recovery passage 111 from the separation portion 50 abuts against the abutting member 113 and fits into one of the concave portions, and plays a role in stabilizing the stop position of the banknote 6.

[0109] The height of the protrusions only needs to be such that the tip of the banknote can be caught, which is 0.5 mm to 1 mm, preferably 1 mm. The distance between the protrusions is 3 mm to 5 mm, preferably 4 mm, and the width of the protrusions should be as small as possible within the range where the strength can be ensured. Note that the height, distance, and width of the protrusions are not limited to these values. Also, the direction in which a plurality of protrusions cross the discharge port 112 at the end of the collection passage 111 is not limited to crossing exactly horizontally, and may be diagonal, zigzag, etc., as long as they are arranged at intervals in the passage width direction.

[0110] One side wall of the collection passage 111 (the first side wall 115 forms the boundary with the storage portion 90 and is composed of an upper first side wall 115a and a lower first side wall 115b divided vertically. Between them is an opening 115c for pushing the banknote 6 in the collection passage 111 into the storage portion 90 (see FIGS. 37, 40, and 44). FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing the storage assembly 152 integrating the storage portion 90 and the first side wall 115 of the collection passage 111.

[0111] FIG. 38 is a perspective view showing the pressing assembly 151, and FIG. 39 is a perspective view of a partially disassembled pressing assembly 151. The other side wall of the collection passage 111 (the second side wall 117) includes a movable wall 117a that can be displaced to protrude into the storage portion 90 through the opening 115c, a fixed upper second side wall 117b having a rectangular cross-section and rod shape above the movable wall 117a, and a fixed lower second side wall 117c having a rectangular cross-section and rod shape below the movable wall 117a that constitute the second side wall 117 (see FIGS. 38, 39, and 44).

[0112] FIG. 59 is a view showing the front and D-D cross-section of the movable wall 117a. The movable wall 117a is configured by erecting a plurality of ribs 118b on a base plate 118a parallel to the first side wall 115. The ribs 118b are erected vertically from the base plate 118a toward the inside of the recovery passage 111 and extend long in the passage length direction of the recovery passage 111 (across the entire length of the second side wall 117). The plurality of ribs 118b are provided in parallel at intervals in the passage height direction, forming grooves between each other. The ribs 118b have a height of zero from the base plate 118a at the start end on the inlet side of the recovery passage 111, and the height gradually increases in a predetermined range (near the inlet of the recovery passage 111, for example, within a range of about 5 cm from the inlet) from the start end to the end direction, and then extends to the end at a constant height. The portion where the height gradually increases is defined as the height increasing region.

[0113] The height of the rib 118b (the height of the portion extending to the end at a constant height) is about 10 mm, the thickness is about 2 mm, and the width of the groove is about 10 mm. The height of the rib 118b is preferably 9 mm - 10 mm, the thickness of the rib 118b is preferably 1.5 mm - 2 mm, and the width of the groove is preferably 5 mm - 6 mm.

[0114] In the groove between the ribs 118b near the inlet of the recovery passage 111, there is provided an inclined surface portion 119 that bends the traveling direction of the air flow flowing in from the separation portion 50 side so as to face the paper surface of the banknote in the passage. When the air flow flowing in from the separation portion 50 side hits the inclined surface portion 119, the path is bent from the direction of flowing downstream along the paper surface to the direction of flowing obliquely downstream toward the paper surface. The flow of the air flow and the banknote are added in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 59. Here, the inclined surface portion 119 is provided between the ribs 118b in the height increasing region and is made not to protrude inside the passage from the top of the rib 118b. In the embodiment, the inclined surface portion 119 is provided in about a quarter range on the end side of the height increasing region of the rib 118b and is an inclined surface that starts from a height of zero and inclines at an angle such that it reaches the same height as the top of the rib 118b near the end of the height increasing region.

[0115] The number, position, range, and inclination angle of the inclined surface portion 119 are not limited to the above. As long as the effect of bending the air flow path so that the air flow that has flowed into the recovery passage 111 is directed toward the paper surface of the banknote in the recovery passage can be obtained, it may be appropriate as needed. For example, the inclined surface portion 119 may be provided in any range within the height increasing region. The start of the inclined surface portion 119 may be the start end of the recovery passage 111 in the same manner as the rib 118b, or may be downstream thereof. Further, the end of the inclined surface portion 119 is not limited to the end of the height increasing region, and it may end on the more start end side. Furthermore, the inclined surface portion 119 may be a curved inclined surface or a flat inclined surface. FIG. 60(a) illustrates an inclined surface portion 119 with a gentler inclination compared to FIG. 59.

[0116] The inclined surface portion 119 may be provided downstream of the height increasing region, or may be provided from the height increasing region to downstream thereof. The inclined surface portion 119 is not limited to being provided near the entrance of the recovery passage 111, and may be provided on the downstream side of the recovery passage 111 from this, or as shown in FIG. 60(b), another inclined surface portion 119b may be additionally provided on the downstream side of the inclined surface portion 119 provided near the entrance of the recovery passage 111.

[0117] Also, as shown in FIG. 60(c), the rib 118b and the inclined surface portion 119 may be integrated, for example, the entire height increasing region may be the inclined surface portion 119. The inclined surface portion 119 may be provided on the first side wall 115 side near the entrance of the recovery passage 111, or may be provided on both side walls.

[0118] The inclined surface portion 119 gives the effect of guiding the banknote 6 to the end of the recovery passage 111. When the inclined surface portion 119 is not provided, the banknote 6 that has entered the recovery passage 111 from the separation portion 50 may not reach the end of the recovery passage 111. In this state, when the movable wall 117a is advanced to store the banknote 6 in the storage portion 90, obstacles such as the rear end of the banknote 6 not fitting well into the opening 115c and being folded occur.

[0119] That is, when the transport assist member 16 is caught by the separation unit 50, the banknote 6 is no longer pushed by the transport assist member 16, so it must directly receive the downstream force from the air flow. However, since the air flow flows parallel to the surface of the banknote 6, it is difficult to receive the force from the air flow.

[0120] In particular, when the transport assist member 16 is caught by the separation unit 50, the transport assist member 16 obstructs the flow of the air flow, so the air flow becomes weak in the recovery passage 111 downstream of the separation unit 50 and the above-mentioned obstacle is likely to occur.

[0121] When the inclined surface portion 119 is provided, the path of the air flow flowing in from the separation unit 50 side is bent from the direction flowing parallel to the surface of the banknote to the direction toward the surface of the banknote (oblique downstream direction). Therefore, the air flow in the oblique downstream direction hits the surface of the banknote 6 and can move the banknote 6 downstream. This movement is a movement of several centimeters until the tip of the banknote 6 reaches the abutting member 113 at the end of the recovery passage 111, and it is sufficient to be able to advance the banknote 6 little by little. The inclined surface portion 119 is provided at a position where the banknote 6 can be advanced downstream until the tip of the banknote reaches the abutting member 113. Specifically, it is preferable to provide it so that the rear end of the banknote whose tip has reached the abutting member 113 is upstream of the end of the inclined surface portion 119 (the end on the abutting member 113 side).

[0122] The fact that the tip of the banknote 6 has reached the abutting member 113 at the end of the recovery passage 111 may be directly confirmed by providing a sensor. However, after detecting that the transport assist member 16 has reached the separation unit 50 with a sensor and waiting for a predetermined time to elapse, it may be estimated that the tip of the banknote 6 has reached the abutting member 113 at the end of the recovery passage 111. In the embodiment, after detecting with the sensor 68c that the transport assist member 16 has reached the separation unit 50, control is performed to start the operation of storing the banknote from the recovery passage 111 into the storage unit 90 after 2 to 3 seconds have elapsed.

[0123] Also, as shown in FIG. 59, if a slope portion 119 having a slope greater than that of the rib 118b is provided in the groove between the ribs 118b in the height increasing region, even if the banknote 6 adheres to the top of the rib 118b, an air flow flows in the groove between the ribs 118b, and the air flow changes its direction at the slope portion 119 and hits the paper surface of the banknote 6. Therefore, the slope portion having the above configuration can more appropriately secure the conveying force by the air flow compared to the slope portion (configuration without a groove) having the configuration shown in FIG. 60(c) in which the rib 118b and the slope portion 119 are integrated.

[0124] Also, in the downstream area from the height increasing region, the grooves formed between the plurality of ribs 118b also secure a passage for the air flow on the side of the movable wall 117a from the paper surface of the banknote 6 in the recovery passage 111 (secure a passage for air even if the banknote adheres to the rib 118b). Therefore, air flows on both sides of the paper surface of the banknote 6, and the banknote 6 can be smoothly guided to the end of the recovery passage 111. In addition, by providing the rib 118b, the contact area between the movable wall 117a and the banknote 6 is reduced, the resistance is reduced, and it becomes easier to move the banknote 6 to the end of the recovery passage 111.

[0125] The rib 118b and the slope portion 119 may be provided on the wall surface facing the paper surface of the paper in the recovery passage 111, and are not limited to the movable wall 117a. For example, it may be formed on a fixed wall surface instead of a wall surface that moves like the movable wall 117a.

[0126] Furthermore, the recovery unit 110 has a displacement mechanism unit 120 that displaces the movable wall 117a. The displacement mechanism unit 120 is composed of a motor and a link that converts its rotation into a linear reciprocating motion that advances and retreats the movable wall 117a. The movable wall 117a displaces between the storage position shown in FIGS. 38 and 43 and the pushing position (see FIG. 44(c)) that advances into the storage unit 90 through the opening 115c by advancing and retreating in the passage width direction of the recovery passage 111.

[0127] The length of the recovery passage 111 in the height direction of the movable wall 117a is slightly shorter than the length of the recovery passage 111 in the height direction of the opening 115c, and the center position of the recovery passage 111 of the movable wall 117a in the height direction coincides with the center position of the recovery passage 111 of the opening 115c in the height direction.

[0128] The pressing assembly 151 shown in FIG. 38 is an assembly integrating the second side wall 117 of the recovery passage 111 and the displacement mechanism portion 120 in the recovery portion 110. FIG. 39 is a perspective view showing the movable wall 117a separated from the upper second side wall 117b and the lower second side wall 117c of the second side wall 117 with respect to FIG. 38. FIG. 40 shows a portion (guide member 157) attached to the storage portion 90 side in the recovery passage 111. The guide member 157 is a member forming the first side walls 115a, 115b and the upper and lower wall portions 126, 127 of the recovery passage 111.

[0129] Among the second side walls 117, the upper second side wall 117b and the lower second side wall 117c having a rectangular cross-sectional bar shape extend beyond the abutting member 113 and into the suction port 141 provided in the end plate 142 of the connection duct 140 as shown in FIGS. 16, 27, and 41. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the tip of the bill 6 from entering between the end of the recovery passage 111 and the end plate 142 of the connection duct 140. FIG. 41 is a perspective view showing the connection duct 140 with the upper second side wall 117b and the lower second side wall 117c added.

[0130] A gap is inevitably generated between the end of the recovery passage 111 and the end plate 142 on the connection duct 140 side in order to improve the manufacturing accuracy. Therefore, if, as shown in FIG. 42, the upper second side wall 117b and the lower second side wall 117c are terminated at the end of the recovery passage 111 or before it without providing unevenness in the abutting member 113, when the bill 6 collides with the abutting member 113, the tip of the bill 6 may slide on the contact surface of the abutting member 113 without unevenness and enter the gap between the end of the recovery passage 111 and the end plate 142 of the connection duct 140 and be pinched.

[0131] In the separation, collection, and delivery device 40 according to the present embodiment, the unevenness of the abutting member 113 prevents the tip of the banknote 6 from sliding horizontally on the contact surface, and the upper second side wall 117b and the lower second side wall 117c extend beyond the abutting member 113 into the suction port 141 of the connection duct 140. Therefore, the tip of the banknote 6 abutting on the contact surface of the abutting member 113 is blocked by the upper second side wall 117b and the lower second side wall 117c and does not enter the gap between the end of the collection passage 111 and the end plate 142 of the connection duct 140 and is not pinched.

[0132] As shown in FIG. 27, the start end (the end on the separation unit 50 side) of the second side wall 117 (117a to 117c) of the collection passage 111 is outside the passage width direction from the passage area of the banknote 6 formed between the pair of left and right abutting claws 66 of the separation unit 50, and the connection with the adjacent abutting claw 66 on the upstream side has a stepped difference in the passage width direction. The second side wall 117 is inclined in a direction approaching the first side wall 115 within a predetermined range of the start end portion, and when the wall surface approaches the center of the passage width (the passage width direction center position of the passage area between the pair of left and right abutting claws 66), it then becomes parallel to the passage length direction and extends to the end. That is, the second side wall 117 narrows the substantial passage width of the collection passage 111 to approximately half on the first side wall 115 side to suppress the inclination of the vertical posture of the banknote 6.

[0133] The start ends (the ends on the separation unit 50 side) of the upper first side wall 115a and the lower first side wall 115b constituting the first side wall 115 are outside the passage width direction from the passage area of the banknote 6 formed between the pair of left and right abutting claws 66, and the connection with the adjacent abutting claw 66 on the upstream side has a stepped difference in the passage width direction. The first side wall 115 is inclined so as to approach the second side wall 117 side within a slight range of the start end portion, and when the wall surface approaches a position closer to the center until it is slightly outside the passage area, it then becomes parallel to the passage length direction and extends to the end. The passage width direction wall surface position of the first side wall 115 in the portion parallel to the passage length direction is the same as the tip of the rib 61 formed on the side wall 57 on the same side as the first side wall 115 of the separation unit passage 56a. The first side wall 115, like the second side wall 117, narrows the substantial passage width of the collection passage 111 to suppress the inclination of the vertical posture of the banknote 6.

[0134] As shown in FIG. 17, FIG. 37, etc., The storage unit 90 has a shape of a hollow rectangular parallelepiped for storing the banknote 6, and the front surface is a door 91 that opens and closes. The storage unit 90 and the collection passage 111 are adjacent and integrated via the first side wall 115 of the collection passage 111 (one side wall of the collection passage facing one paper surface of the stopped paper sheets). The side surface of the storage unit 90 on the collection passage 111 side is open, and the boundary between the storage unit 90 and the collection passage 111 is the first side wall 115 on the collection passage 111 side, and the storage unit 90 and the collection passage 111 communicate with each other through the opening 115c of the first side wall 115.

[0135] FIG. 43 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of the collection passage 111 and the storage unit 90 at a position corresponding to the C-C line in FIG. 13. Inside the storage unit 90, there are provided a pressing plate 92 for pressing the side surface of the stored banknote 6 toward the first side wall 115 of the collection passage 111, and a spring 94 for biasing the pressing plate 92 toward the first side wall 115 of the collection passage 111.

[0136] A rubber plate 96 is attached to the surface of the first side wall 115 (upper first side wall 115a, lower first side wall 115b) of the collection passage 111 facing the storage unit 90 side. The pressing plate 92 has a base 92a pressed by the spring 94, an upper pressing portion 92b extending obliquely upward and forward (forward: toward the collection passage 111 side) from the upper part of the base 92a and having a tip portion in surface contact with the rubber plate 96 of the upper first side wall 115a, and a lower pressing portion 92c extending obliquely downward and forward from the lower part of the base 92a and having a tip portion in surface contact with the rubber plate 96 of the lower first side wall 115b. The other end of the spring 94 is attached to the side wall of the storage unit 90. As shown in FIG. 37, U-shaped notches 92d are provided at both ends of the base 92a of the pressing plate 92 in the passage length direction of the collection passage.

[0137] FIGS. 44 and 45 are explanatory diagrams showing an outline of the operation when the banknote 6 stopped in the collection passage 111 of the collection unit 110 is stored in the storage unit 90. FIGS. 44 and 45 show an outline of the cross section of the collection passage 111 and the storage unit 90 at a position corresponding to the C-C line in FIG. 13, similar to FIG. 43.

[0138] Figure 44(a) shows a state in which several banknotes 6 are stored in the storage section 90 and the banknote 6 to be stored next has arrived at the collection passage 111. When storing the banknote 6 in the collection passage 111 into the storage section 90, the movable wall 117a advances into the storage section 90. When it reaches the pushing position shown in Figure 44(c), it starts to retreat, returns to the storage position shown in Figure 45(a), and ends a series of operations.

[0139] As shown in Figure 44(b), when the banknote 6 is pushed by the movable wall 117a and passes through the opening 115c of the first side wall 115, the upper and lower ends come into contact with the upper first side wall 115a and the lower first side wall 115b and bend. After passing through, the bend returns and it becomes flat (Figure 44(c)). Then, when the movable wall 117a retreats from the pushing position toward the storage position, the pressing plate 92 pressed by the spring 94 moves toward the collection passage 111 side integrally with the movable wall 117a while sandwiching the banknote 6 between it and the movable wall 117a.

[0140] As shown in Figure 45(a), the movable wall 117a passes through the opening 115c and returns to the storage position. The flat banknote 6 with the bend returned has its upper and lower ends in contact with the rubber plate 96 of the upper first side wall 115a and the rubber plate 96 of the lower first side wall 115b, and is sandwiched between the first side wall 115 (115a, 115b) and the pressing plate 92.

[0141] When the operator takes out the banknote 6 stored in this way from the storage section 90, the operator can open the door 91 of the storage section 90 and use the notch 92d provided in the pressing plate 92 to pick up the banknote 6 with a finger and take it out. If one or more banknotes 6 are stored, as shown in Figure 44(a) and Figure 45(a), the opening 115c of the first side wall 115 of the collection passage 111 is blocked by the banknote 6 sandwiched between the pressing plate 92 and the rubber plate ⑨. Therefore, even if the pressing plate 92 is provided with the notch 92d, the airtightness at the boundary between the collection passage 111 and the storage section 90 is ensured. Thus, the suction force when the air flow generating device 130 sucks the air flow from the end of the collection passage 111 can be maintained high, and the conveyance assist body 16 and the banknote 6 can be conveyed at high speed and stably.

[0142] Incidentally, after reaching the storage position shown in Fig. 45(a), the state where the movable wall 117a is advanced to the position shown in Fig. 45(b) again may be set as the end position of the storage operation. When the state shown in Fig. 45(a) is taken as the end of the storage operation, when trying to open the door 91 of the storage section 90 to take out the banknote 6, the finger (the finger on the side opposite to the notch 92d) hits the wall member at the boundary between the collection passage 111 and the storage section 90, making it difficult to take out. If the storage operation is ended at the position shown in Fig. 45(b), there is nothing to obstruct the finger for taking out the banknote 6, and the banknote 6 can be easily taken out.

[0143] As described above, in a state where the air flow is discharged from the discharge port 112 at the end of the collection passage 111, the banknote 6 that has entered the collection passage 111 is brought into contact with the abutting member 113 and stopped. Then, by stopping the air flow, the collection of the banknote 6 and the separation of the banknote 6 from the air flow are performed. Therefore, the banknote 6 can be separated from the air flow and collected with a simple configuration.

[0144] Also, by pushing the paper surface of the banknote 6 stopped in the collection passage 111 in the passage width direction with the movable wall 117a, it is directly stored in the storage section 90 from the stop position. Therefore, compared with the case of transporting the banknote to the safe using a belt conveyance or the like, the mechanism related to storage can be simplified, and the factors of failure and banknote jamming can be reduced.

[0145] Incidentally, as shown in Fig. 43, the height inside the passage of the collection passage 111 is made larger than the height of the banknote 6 in consideration of the clearance. Since the lower edge of the banknote 6 stopped in the collection passage 111 is offset downward in contact with the bottom surface of the collection passage 111 due to its own weight, there is a positional deviation between the center in the height direction of the collection passage 111 and the center in the height direction of the banknote 6 in the passage.

[0146] However, in order to push the banknote 6 from the collection passage 111 into the storage section 90 through the opening 115c of the first side wall 115, it is desirable that the center position in the height direction of the banknote 6 coincides with the center position in the height direction of the opening 115c of the first side wall 115. Therefore, the length of the upper first side wall 115a in the passage height direction is made longer than the length of the lower first side wall 115b in the passage height direction.

[0147] Further, the upper pressing portion 92b and the lower pressing portion 92c of the pressing plate 92 are sized and shaped to correspond to the upper first side wall 115a and the lower first side wall 115b where the rubber plate 96 in contact is provided, respectively.

[0148] Next, the flexibility of the installation of the separation, collection, and delivery device 40 will be described.

[0149] As shown in FIG. 46, the door 46 of the storage box 41 of the separation, collection, and delivery device 40 can be used as a right-opening or a left-opening by inverting the up and down with respect to the main body of the storage box 41. In either case, the window 46a is provided at a point-symmetric position with respect to the center of the up and down and the center of the left and right of the door so that the display portion of the control unit 43 can be confirmed. The unused window 46a is blocked by a light-blocking member.

[0150] Also, as shown in FIG. 47, two separation, collection, and delivery devices 40 may be used side by side, and the two storage boxes 41 may be arranged adjacent to each other. In this case as well, the periphery of the door 46 is chamfered so that the door 46 can be opened up to 90 degrees, and it is formed as an inclined surface that is inclined at 45 degrees.

[0151] Also, the main body unit 42 of the separation, collection, and delivery device 40 can be used in both a right specification (see FIGS. 48(a) and (b) where the storage unit 90 is arranged on the right side of the collection unit 110) and a left specification (see FIG. 48(c) where the storage unit 90 is arranged on the left side of the collection unit 110) by changing the orientation and assembly method of some parts.

[0152] The separation, collection, and delivery device 40 has a storage box 41 and a main body unit 42 that are separate bodies, and each can be individually attached to the mounting plate 18. Since the main body unit 42 can also be changed between the right specification and the left specification, various attachment methods are possible as shown in FIG. 48.

[0153] Fig. 48(a) shows a state where the main body unit 42 of the right specification is attached by being shifted to the left side in the storage box 41 with the door 46 opened to the right. Fig. 48(b) shows a state where the main body unit 42 of the right specification is attached by being shifted to the right side in the storage box 41 with the door 46 opened to the left. Fig. 48(c) shows a state where the main body unit 42 of the left specification is attached by being shifted to the right side in the storage box 41 with the door 46 opened to the left.

[0154] For example, when installing the separation and recovery delivery device 40 shown in Fig. 48(c) adjacent to the left side of the separation and recovery delivery device 40 shown in Fig. 48(a), the two transport pipes 12 connected to these two separation and recovery delivery devices 40 can be installed as close as possible to the left and right, and it becomes possible to reduce the island width in the gaming machine island 2 configured to have two paper currency transport paths installed side by side.

[0155] The recombination of the right specification and the left specification is performed as follows.

[0156] As shown in Fig. 49, the connection duct 140 is composed of a combination of a lower duct 144, an upper duct 145, an upper and lower connection plate 146, and a terminal plate 142. The lower duct 144 is a duct that extends downward with one end being a rectangular first opening 144a facing upward, and then bends 90 degrees to reach a second opening 144b on the other end side connected to the air supply port of the air flow generating device 130. The upper duct 145 has a shape in which one side surface of a duct with a rectangular cross-section with one end closed and the other end open is open, and the terminal plate 142 is fitted into the open side surface and combined.

[0157] The upper and lower connection plate 146 is a plate-like member that covers the first opening 144a of the lower duct 144, has a rectangular notch 146a at one corner corresponding to the opening at the lower end of the upper duct 145 combined with the terminal plate 142, and the lower end of the combined terminal plate 142 and upper duct 145 is screwed together with the opening at the lower end and the notch 146a aligned.

[0158] The terminal plate 142 has, on a rectangular plate-like member, a rectangular notch portion 142a serving as a suction port 141 communicating with the terminal of the recovery passage 111 at one corner, and is provided with a butting member 113 projecting into the notch portion 142a. The butting member 113 has irregularities (projections) formed on both the front and back surfaces.

[0159] With respect to the connection duct 140 of the right specification, the upper and lower connection plates 146 are turned over so that the position of the notch portion 146a is reversed left and right and combined with the lower duct 144, and the terminal plate 142 is turned over so that the position of the notch portion 142a is reversed left and right and combined with the upper duct 145. By connecting the upper duct 145 side and the lower duct 144 side, the connection duct 140 of the left specification is formed.

[0160] Figure 50 shows an overview of the process of reconfiguring the safe unit 150 from the right specification to the left specification. Figure 50(a) shows the assembled state of the safe unit 150 of the right specification, Figure 50(b) shows the disassembled state of the safe unit 150 of the right specification, Figure 50(c) shows the disassembled state of the safe unit 150 of the left specification, and Figure 50(d) shows the assembled state of the safe unit 150 of the left specification.

[0161] <First step> The safe unit 150 is disassembled into a pressing assembly 151 in which the second side wall 117 of the recovery unit 110 and the displacement mechanism unit 120 are integrated, and a storage assembly 152 in which the first side wall 115 side of the recovery unit 110 and the storage unit 90 are integrated. Also, from the storage assembly 152, a full cup detection assembly 153 composed of a sensor for detecting the fullness of the banknotes 6 in the storage unit 90 and its support member, and a lock mechanism assembly 154 for locking the door 91 of the storage unit 90 are removed (see Figure 50(b)).

[0162] <Second step> (1) Reconfiguration of the pressing assembly 151 from the right specification to the left specification As shown in Fig. 51, remove the second side wall 117 (movable wall 117a, upper second side wall 117b, and lower second side wall 117c) from the pressing assembly 151 (Fig. (b) of the same figure), reverse the front and back, and assemble it to the pressing assembly 151 (Fig. (c) of the same figure). Also, remove the clamp 155 that was attached to the mounting position for the right specification and assemble it to the mounting position for the left specification.

[0163] (2) Reassembly of the storage assembly 152 from the right specification to the left specification As shown in Fig. 52, remove the guide member 157 such as the first side wall 115 attached to the storage portion 90 side of the recovery passage 111, turn it upside down, and reassemble it.

[0164] As shown in Fig. 53, temporarily remove the pressing plate 92 of the storage portion 90, reassemble it from the right specification to the left specification, and reassemble it into the storage portion 90. Specifically, temporarily remove the detection plate 158 that is the detection target of the full cup detection sensor attached to the position of the right specification and the handle 159 for manually moving the pressing plate 92 from the pressing plate 92, attach them to the position of the left specification, and then reassemble the pressing plate 92 into the storage portion 90.

[0165] As shown in Fig. 54, reassemble the full cup detection assembly 153 from the right specification (Fig. (a) of the same figure) to the left specification (Fig. (b) of the same figure). Specifically, temporarily remove the sensor 153b attached to the support member 153a, place the sensor 153b in the position of the left specification, and reassemble it to the support member 153a.

[0166] <The third step> As shown in Fig. 50(c), reverse the up, down, left, and right of the storage assembly 152 with respect to the right specification orientation, attach the full cup detection assembly 153 and the lock mechanism assembly 154 changed to the left specification thereto, and further attach the pressing assembly 151 reversed left and right with respect to the right specification orientation.

[0167] As described above, it is changed to the left specification shown in Fig. 50(d).

[0168] Next, the air flow enhancement unit 14 will be described.

[0169] FIG. 55 is a perspective view showing the air flow enhancing unit 14, FIG. 56 is a top view of the air flow enhancing unit 14, FIG. 57 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 56, and FIG. 58 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 56.

[0170] The air flow enhancing unit 14 is provided in the middle of the straight conveying pipe 12. The air flow enhancing unit 14 includes a passage portion 171 that is connected between the conveying pipes 12 and forms a part of the conveying path, and a confluence portion 172 that is erected obliquely upward in the upstream direction (the upstream direction of the conveying direction) from the upper surface of the passage portion 171 and introduces the air flow from the auxiliary blower into the passage portion 171. The confluence portion 172 communicates with the inside of the passage portion 171, and has a confluence base portion 172a having a rectangular cross-sectional tubular shape that extends obliquely upward in the upstream direction from the middle of the passage portion 171, and a cylindrical hose connection portion 172b that is erected obliquely upward in the upstream direction from the upper end of the confluence base portion 172a. A blower hose from the auxiliary blower is connected to the hose connection portion 172b.

[0171] As shown in FIG. 57, a shutter plate 173 is provided in the confluence base portion 172a to open and close for blocking the internal air passage below the hose connection portion 172b. One end of the shutter plate 173 is rotatably supported by a shaft 174 provided on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the banknote 6 in the passage portion 171 of the internal air passage, and is biased by a spring in the direction of blocking the air passage. The shutter plate 173 opens by the action when the air flow generated by the auxiliary blower is blown in from the hose connection portion 172b.

[0172] The shutter plate 173 does not open until the lower end reaches an angle directly below the rotation shaft 174, and the rotation range is restricted so that the angle at which the lower end of the shutter plate 173 is inclined downstream in the conveying direction from the shaft 174 becomes the opening limit. When receiving the air flow flowing in from the hose connection portion 172b, the shutter plate 173 assumes an inclined posture when it opens to the limit position as shown by the broken line in FIG. 57, so as to guide the inflowing air flow toward the downstream in the conveying direction.

[0173] On the side wall of the passage portion 171, a passage sensor 175 for detecting the passage of the conveyance auxiliary body 16 is provided.

[0174] In order to effectively utilize the space in the game hall, it is desirable to reduce the thickness of the game machine island 2, and there is little margin in the thickness direction inside the game machine island. Since the air flow enhancement unit 14 blows the air flow from above the passage portion 171, the air supply hose connected to the hose connection portion 172b is also connected from above, and the installation space in the thickness direction of the game machine island 2 can be suppressed as compared with the case of connecting the air supply hose from the side.

[0175] Further, in the air flow enhancement unit 14, since the air flow is blown into the passage portion 171 obliquely downward from above (downward in the conveyance direction), the air flow can be efficiently enhanced in the downstream direction of the conveyance pipe 12. Note that the air flow enhancement unit 14 may be configured to blow the air flow obliquely downward from below into the passage portion 171, for example.

[0176] Note that the confluence of the air flow into the conveyance pipe by the air flow enhancement unit 14 is not limited to the case where the air flow confluences obliquely downward from the upper surface (or the lower surface) of the conveyance path. The air flow inlet may be provided on the left and right side surfaces of the conveyance pipe 12 to introduce the air flow from the auxiliary blower from the side surface of the conveyance pipe and make it confluent. Further, the air flow inlet may be formed so as to straddle the upper surface and the side surface of the conveyance pipe 12, and the location where the inlet is provided may be any location on the outer periphery of the conveyance pipe.

[0177] As shown in FIG. 58, the air flow enhancement unit 14 is provided with ribs 176 similar to the ribs 34 and 35 of the conveyance pipe 12 over the entire length within the passage portion 171. The air flow enhancement unit 14 has a confluence portion 172 around the center of the entire length of the passage portion 171, and the passage portions 171 of the portions before and after that have the same shape as the conveyance pipe 12. The confluence base portion 172a of the confluence portion 172 has a portion corresponding to the expansion portion 33 of the conveyance pipe 12 and the portion below it has the same inner shape as the conveyance pipe 12. Above the portion corresponding to the expansion portion 33, it has the same air passage width as the expansion portion 33 of the conveyance pipe 12, and inside the air passage, it has a pair of partition walls 177 corresponding to the left and right side wall portions 32 of the conveyance pipe 12.

[0178] The pair of partition walls 177 extends up to the height of the closed position of the shutter plate 173. The shutter plate 173 has a cut 173a at a location corresponding to the pair of partition walls 177 to avoid this. When the shutter plate 173 is in the closed position, the cut 173a is blocked by the partition wall 177 so that air does not leak.

[0179] When the shutter plate 173 is opened, the outer portions of the pair of cuts 173a abut against the inner wall of the confluence base portion 172a to regulate the limit angle of opening.

[0180] By providing the pair of partition walls 177 within the confluence base portion 172a of the confluence portion 172, the inside of the banknote passage has the same inner shape as the inside of the conveyance pipe 12 over the entire length, and the postures of the banknotes 6 and the conveyance auxiliary body 16 can be properly maintained and passed through.

[0181] Since the intake device 13 connected in the middle of the conveyance pipe 12 has an opening for taking in the banknotes 6, even if a lid that opens only when taking in the banknotes is provided, the air flow inside the conveyance pipe is likely to leak from the intake device 13. Therefore, the air flow enhancement unit 14 is preferably provided downstream of the intake device 13, preferably adjacent to the downstream of the intake device 13. Also, a plurality of (for example, up to 5 at most) air flow enhancement units 14 can be installed in the middle of the conveyance pipe 12.

[0182] The operation control of the air flow enhancement unit 14 will be described.

[0183] The auxiliary blower is activated when the passage of the conveyance auxiliary body 16 is detected by the passage sensor 175. More specifically, the time required from when the conveyance auxiliary body 16 is sent out from the sending unit 70 until it reaches the corresponding air flow enhancement unit 14 is measured, etc., and the time of the required time + α is set in advance as the mask time. If there is no obstacle such as clogging, the conveyance auxiliary body 16 will pass through the corresponding air flow enhancement unit 14 before the mask time elapses after being sent out.

[0184] The air flow enhancement unit 14 operates the auxiliary blower to merge the air flows on the condition that after the conveyance auxiliary body 16 is sent out, the passage sensor 175 detects the passage of the conveyance auxiliary body 16 and the mask time has elapsed since the conveyance auxiliary body 16 was sent out. That is, · After the mask time has elapsed, passage detection · After passage detection, the mask time has elapsed The auxiliary blower is activated under either of these conditions.

[0185] The mask time plays a role in preventing the auxiliary blower from being activated when the banknote 6 taken into the taking-in device 13 may move in the conveyance direction by the action of the air flow and the passage sensor 175 of the air flow enhancement unit 14 detects the banknote 6 before the conveyance auxiliary body 16 passes.

[0186] The air flow enhancement unit 14 stops the auxiliary blower when it receives a stop command from the control unit 43 of the separation and recovery sending device 40. For example, when the separation and recovery sending device 40 detects the arrival of the conveyance auxiliary body 16, a stop command is sent from the control unit 43 to each air flow enhancement unit 14.

[0187] The stop timing of the auxiliary blower is not limited to this. For example, when a plurality of air flow enhancement units 14 are provided in the middle of the conveyance path, the auxiliary blower of the first air flow enhancement unit 14 may be stopped on the condition that the second air flow enhancement unit 14 downstream (one or more downstream) of the first air flow enhancement unit 14 activates the auxiliary blower.

[0188] Also, in the conveyance retry after a conveyance error, the auxiliary blower is operated after the mask time has elapsed regardless of whether passage detection has occurred. This is for the purpose of moving the banknote 6 and the conveyance auxiliary body 16 to the end of the conveyance pipe by blowing air from the auxiliary blower even when an event occurs in which the passage sensor 175 of the air flow enhancement unit 14 cannot detect passage (the conveyance auxiliary body 16 is conveyed at high speed).

[0189] Since the air flow enhancement unit 14 operates the auxiliary blower to blow in an air flow after the passage of the conveyance auxiliary body 16, when the banknote 6 or the conveyance auxiliary body 16 passes, the shutter plate 173 is in a position to block the blowing port and does not interfere with the passage of the banknote 6 or the conveyance auxiliary body 16. Also, when the air flow is not blown from the auxiliary blower, since the shutter plate 173 blocks the air passage of the confluence portion 172, leakage of the air flow in the conveyance pipe 12 from the confluence portion 172 is prevented.

[0190] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to that shown in the embodiments, and modifications and additions within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention are also included in the present invention.

[0191] The shape of the conveyance auxiliary body 16 is not limited to that exemplified in the embodiment. The shape of the conveyance pipe 12 is also not limited to that exemplified in the embodiment. The inner shape may correspond to the shape of the conveyance auxiliary body 16.

[0192] In the embodiment, the sheet conveyance device 10 is configured to collect the banknote 6 within the gaming machine island 2 up to the separation, collection, and delivery device 40 at the island end. However, it is not limited to this, and it may be specified as a device for collecting sheets from a wider range. For example, it may be configured as a conveyance device for collecting the banknote 6 from the safes of each gaming machine island 2 in the casino to the main safe in the office. Also, the place of use is not limited to the casino and can be applied to any facility.

[0193] The separation, collection, and delivery device 40 may be configured by extracting some of its functions and using them in a separate device. For example, in a paper sheet conveying device that conveys paper sheets by the action of an air flow without using the conveying auxiliary body 16, the separation unit 50 becomes unnecessary, and a device that separates the air flow and the paper sheets using the collection unit 110 and the storage unit 90 and stores the paper sheets in a safe may be configured.

[0194] The gaming machine island 2 is not limited to the configuration that houses the gaming machine 4 and the gaming medium lending machine 3 exemplified in the embodiment, and may be a gaming machine island that houses a medal lending machine, a slot machine, or the like. The paper sheets to be conveyed are not limited to banknotes.

[0195] In the embodiment, the conveying auxiliary body 16 is used to convey the paper sheets. However, the present invention is applicable to a conveying method in which the paper sheets are conveyed by the action of an air flow, and the air flow acts directly on the paper sheets without using the conveying auxiliary body 16.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0196] 2... Gaming machine island 3... Gaming medium lending machine 4... Gaming machine 6... Banknote 10... Paper sheet conveying device 12... Conveying pipe 12a... Forward path 12b... Turn section 12c... Return path 13... Taking-in device 14... Air flow enhancement unit 16... Conveying auxiliary body 16a... Head 16b... Neck 16c... Large-diameter section 16d... Constricted section 18... Spouse plate 31... Upper and lower wall sections 32... Side wall section 33... Expansion section 34... Separation wall (rib) 35... Rib 40... Separation, collection, and delivery device 41... Storage box 42... Main body unit 43…Control unit 45…Support frame 46…Door 46a…Window 50…Separation part 51…Conveyor pipe connection port 52…Opening / closing rib 53…Side wall 54(a~e)…Rib 55…Bottom plate 56…Passage wall 56a…Separation part passage 57…Side wall 58…Ceiling wall 59…Bottom wall 61(a~e)…Rib 62(a~e)…Slit 64…Contact part 65…Support plate 66(a~f)…Contact claw 68…Opening / closing drive part 68a…Sensor (detecting the conveying auxiliary body at the supplementary position) 68b…Sensor (detecting the passing of banknotes) 68c…Opening / closing sensor 70…Delivery part 71…Falling passage 72…Conveyor pipe connection port 73…Delivery passage 73a…Airflow intake port 75…Backflow prevention valve 75a…Cover part 75b…Extension part 75c…Axis 76…Guide roller 76a…Rotating shaft 77(a~c)…Posture guide member 78(a~c)…Rib 79…Sensor (detecting the conveying auxiliary body at the standby position) 90…Storage part 91…Door 92…Pressing plate 92a…Base part 92b…Upper pressing part 92c…Lower pressing part 92d…Notch 94…Spring 96…Rubber plate 110…Recovery part 111…Recovery passage 112…Outlet at the terminal 113…Butting member 115…First side wall 115a…Upper first side wall 115b…Lower first side wall 115c…Opening 117…Second side wall 117a…Movable wall 117b…Upper second side wall 117c…Lower second side wall 118a…Base plate 118b…Rib 119…Sloping surface 120…Displacement mechanism part 126, 127…Upper and lower wall parts 130…Air flow generating device 140…Connection duct 141…Suction port 142…Terminal plate 142a…Notch 144…Lower duct 144a…First opening 144b…Second opening 145…Upper duct 146…Upper and lower connection plate 146a…Notch 150…Safe unit 151…Pressing assembly 152…Storage assembly 153…Full detection assembly 153a…Support member 153b…Sensor (full detection) 154…Lock mechanism assembly 155…Clamp 157…Guide member 158…Detection plate 159…Handle 171…Passage part 172…Confluence part 172a…Confluence base 172b…Hose connection part 173…Shutter plate 173a…Cut 174…Axis 175…Through sensor 176…Rib 177…Partition wall Dx…Distance between reference plane parts of conveying pipe Dy…Inner dimension in the Y direction of conveying pipe F…Extension direction of conveying pipe W…Passage width X…Passage width direction of conveying pipe Y…Height direction of conveying pipe

Claims

【Claim 1】 In a paper sheet conveying device that conveys paper sheets in a conveying pipe by the action of an air flow, a confluence unit for merging the air flow from an auxiliary blower into the conveying pipe is provided in the middle of the conveying pipe; the conveying pipe conveys the paper sheets in a posture where the paper surface is along the conveying direction, and the cross-section orthogonal to the extending direction has a shape with an expansion part that expands the central part of the pair of long sides of a substantially rectangular shape having a pair of long sides facing the paper surface of the paper sheets and a pair of short sides orthogonal thereto to the outside; the confluence unit has a passage part that serves as a conveying pipe connecting between the conveying pipes on both sides, an inlet for introducing the air flow from the auxiliary blower into the passage part from one side of the short side of the passage part, and a plate-shaped shutter that normally closes the inlet and opens when receiving the air flow from the auxiliary blower; a pair of side walls facing the paper surface of the paper sheets in the passage part have a shape in which the passage width from the expansion part to the inlet is widened to the passage width of the expansion part compared to the corresponding pair of side walls of the conveying pipe; the passage part has a partition wall corresponding to the side wall of the conveying pipe before widening inside the widened part; the shutter is pivotally supported by a pivot shaft on the upstream side in the conveying direction, rotates and opens so that the tip side advances into the passage part around the pivot shaft, and has a width corresponding to the expansion part and a slit for avoiding the partition wall; A paper sheet conveying device characterized by the above.

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