Medium handling apparatus

Abstract

To make it possible to receive and deliver a medium in and from a plurality of medium depositories by a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A medium handling apparatus comprises a paper-currency input / output unit 11 that, in each paper-currency depository 27, allows a vaned wheel 53 to transition into a development or retraction state with a drive force transmitted from a differential-vaned wheel 58 to a stationary-vaned wheel 57 and a paper-currency input / output unit 11 that applies a drive force of an actuator 71 to a differential-vaned wheel 58 for a paper-currency depository 27A and transmits it to the differential-vaned wheels 58 for paper-currency depositories 27B and 27C to be rotated or turned into working together. Due to this, the paper-currency input / output unit 11 can be made reduced in the number of the actuator 71 relatively to the number of the paper-currency depositories 27, thereby reducing the size or manufacture cost of a paper-currency input / output unit housing 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a media processing device, and is suitable for use in a cash register change system used by users such as cashiers and customers at checkout counters in retail stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, cash register change systems that combine a change dispenser that processes the deposit and withdrawal of banknotes and coins with a POS register connected to a POS (Point Of Sales) system or the like have become widespread. Among these change dispensers, banknote processing devices that process banknotes (hereinafter also referred to as media) include, for example, a deposit and withdrawal unit that exchanges banknotes with users, a transport unit that transports banknotes, a discrimination unit that discriminates the denomination and authenticity of inserted banknotes, multiple banknote storage containers that store reusable banknotes by denomination, and a reject container that stores banknotes that should not be reused.

[0003] Of these, the banknote storage vault has, for example, a storage space formed therein for storing banknotes, and is provided with a plurality of rollers that transport banknotes along a transport path and discharge them into the storage space, a stage that displaces as banknotes are accumulated in the storage space, a tongue roller (also called a vane wheel) that uses its tongue to strike banknotes discharged into the storage space against the stage to accumulate them, etc. Furthermore, when storing banknotes in the banknote storage vault, the vane wheel strikes the banknotes discharged into the storage space by the rollers against the stage with its tongue, while when paying out banknotes from the banknote storage vault, it is desirable that the tongue does not interfere with the banknotes.

[0004] Therefore, a bill storage vault for an automated teller machine with a configuration similar to that of a change dispenser has been proposed, in which the impeller is divided into roughly half-circle segments (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This bill storage vault is proposed to be able to switch between a state in which the tongues are deployed so as to extend over the entire circumference and a state in which the tongues are gathered within a range of approximately half the circumference by changing the relative positions of the divided impellers. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-78960 A (Fig. 5) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, a banknote storage vault having the above-mentioned impellers requires a drive unit (motor, actuator, etc.) for changing the relative positions of each divided impeller, a sensor for detecting the position of each impeller, etc. Therefore, when a banknote processing device is provided with multiple banknote storage vaults, multiple drive units, sensors, etc. are required, which makes it difficult to reduce the size and causes the configuration to become complicated.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to propose a media processing device that can store and dispense media in multiple media storage cabinets with a simple configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve this problem, the media processing device of the present invention includes a plurality of media storage cabinets for storing paper-like media, a first impeller provided in each of the plurality of media storage cabinets, supported on a rotating shaft, having a first blade on part of its outer periphery, and striking the media to accumulate in the media storage cabinet when rotated in the normal direction, a stopper that rotates in synchronization with the first impeller, and a third impeller provided in each of the plurality of media storage cabinets, supported on the same axis as the rotating shaft, having a second blade on part of its outer periphery, and striking the media to accumulate in the media storage cabinet when rotated in the normal direction. The device is provided with a second impeller, a limiter that rotates in synchronization with the second impeller, a drive source that rotates the first impeller provided in one of the plurality of media storage cabinets, and a drive transmission unit that transmits drive force from the drive source to the first impellers provided in other of the plurality of media storage cabinets to rotate the first impellers, and in each of the plurality of media storage cabinets, when the stopper abuts against the limiter, the second impeller rotates while following the first impeller with a delay of a predetermined following angle.

[0009] In the present invention, the drive force of the drive source can be transmitted to the first impellers provided in each of the plurality of medium storage chambers by the drive transmission unit, thereby allowing the first impeller to rotate in each medium storage chamber, and the second impeller to rotate following the first impeller. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, a media processing device that can store and dispense media in multiple media storage cabinets can be realized with a simple configuration. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the external configuration of a cash register change system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic right side view showing the internal configuration of the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the circuit configuration of a banknote deposit / withdrawal unit. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a schematic right side view showing the configuration of the banknote storage vault. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a fixed impeller and a differential impeller. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the basic operation of an impeller. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a lower conveyor drive unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a banknote storage vault interlocking unit. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the impeller in a normal state. [Figure 10] 10 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the impeller when an abnormality occurs in the drive storage cabinet. FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the impeller when an abnormality occurs in the drive storage cabinet. FIG. [Figure 12] 10 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the impeller when an abnormality occurs in the driven storage cabinet. FIG. [Figure 13] 10 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the impeller when an abnormality occurs in the driven storage cabinet. FIG. [Figure 14] 10 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a tongue piece of the impeller protrudes into the storage space. FIG. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart showing an impeller state transition process procedure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] [1. Configuration of cash register change system, change machine and banknote deposit / withdrawal unit] [1-1. Configuration of cash register change system and change machine] As shown in the schematic external view of Figure 1, cash register change system 1 is composed of an upper POS register 2 and a lower change dispenser 3, which are independent devices. This cash register change system 1 is operated by a cashier or a customer (hereinafter also referred to as a user) at a checkout counter (a so-called cash register) in a retail store such as a supermarket or convenience store when the customer pays for the products they wish to purchase. In the following explanation, the side facing the user and the opposite side are referred to as the front and rear, respectively, and left, right, and top and bottom are further defined from the user's perspective.

[0014] The POS register 2 is controlled by a built-in register control unit 5. A barcode reader (not shown) is also connected to the POS register 2, and the barcode attached to a product is read by this barcode reader to identify the product.

[0015] The display operation unit 6 is configured as a touch panel, with a display unit such as a liquid crystal display and an operation unit such as a touch sensor placed on top of the liquid crystal display. The display operation unit 6 displays the name and price of the recognized product on the liquid crystal display. The display operation unit 6 also displays input keys for numbers and the like on part of the display screen, and when a location on the touch sensor corresponding to an input key is pressed, the display operation unit 6 accepts the input operation corresponding to the input key and sends it to the cash register control unit 5. In response, the cash register control unit 5 performs various processes such as increasing or decreasing the quantity of the product or correcting the price. The POS register 2 also has a built-in receipt processing unit 7. The receipt processing unit 7 prints the recognized product name, price, etc. on a receipt and discharges it from the receipt discharge port 7A.

[0016] A change control unit 10 is provided inside the change dispenser 3. The change control unit 10 is configured around a CPU (Central Processing Unit) not shown, and controls the change dispenser 3 overall by reading and executing various programs such as a change dispensing program from a change storage unit (not shown) that stores various information, and performs various processes such as deposit transactions and withdrawal transactions.

[0017] This change machine 3 has a change machine housing 4 that is configured to surround the outer periphery except for the front side, and inside it, a banknote deposit / withdrawal section 11 is provided on the right side and a coin deposit / withdrawal section 12 is provided on the left side, and further, a display operation section 13 is provided on the upper front side of the change machine housing 4.

[0018] The banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 serving as a medium processing device has a banknote deposit / withdrawal port 23 and a plurality of banknote storage vaults 27. The banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 takes in banknotes deposited by a user through the banknote deposit / withdrawal port 23 and stores them in the banknote storage vault 27, and also takes out banknotes instructed by the cash register control unit 5 from the banknote storage vault 27 and dispenses them as change from the banknote deposit / withdrawal port 23 (this will be described in detail later).

[0019] The coin depositing and dispensing unit 12 has a coin depositing port 16 provided at the top of its front surface, and below that a rejection port 17 and a coin dispensing port 18. This coin depositing and dispensing unit 12 takes in coins inserted by a user into the coin depositing port 16 and stores them in an internal storage, and also dispenses coins of the denomination and number according to the amount instructed by the cash register control unit 5 from the coin dispensing port 18 as change.

[0020] The display operation unit 13 is configured by a combination of a predetermined display panel and predetermined operation buttons. The display panel of the display operation unit 13 displays the operating status of the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 and the coin deposit and withdrawal unit 12, for example, that there is a shortage of banknotes of a predetermined denomination in the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11, that an abnormality has been detected by a predetermined sensor, and the location of the abnormality. The operation buttons of the display operation unit 13 also receive instructions regarding, for example, the transport of banknotes, when pressed by a cashier, maintenance worker, etc.

[0021] [1-2. Configuration of the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit] 2, the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 has, inside a banknote deposit and withdrawal unit housing 21, a plurality of sections that perform various processes related to banknotes (hereinafter also referred to as media), specifically a deposit and withdrawal unit 24, a transport unit 25, a discrimination unit 26, three banknote storage vaults 27 (27A, 27B, and 27C), and a reject collection vault 28. Furthermore, each section within the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 is comprehensively controlled by a banknote control unit 31.

[0022] The deposit / withdrawal unit 24 is a section where banknotes are exchanged with the user, and is located at the upper front part of the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit housing 21. This deposit / withdrawal unit 24 has a space formed therein for storing banknotes, and also has a plurality of rotating rollers, a movable stage, a sensor for detecting banknotes, and the like.

[0023] For example, in a deposit process in which banknotes are deposited, when a user inserts banknotes through the banknote deposit / withdrawal port 23 (FIG. 1), the deposit / withdrawal unit 24 takes in the banknotes, separates them one by one, and sequentially hands them over to the transport unit 25. Also, for example, in a withdrawal process in which banknotes are withdrawn, when banknotes to be withdrawn are transported by the transport unit 25, the deposit / withdrawal unit 24 accumulates the banknotes and causes them to be removed from the banknote deposit / withdrawal port 23.

[0024] The conveying section 25 is composed of a conveying guide that guides the banknotes, a belt that transmits driving force to the banknotes, and multiple rollers for running the belt, and forms a conveying path W that runs roughly in the front-to-back direction, and multiple storage and conveying paths that respectively connect each banknote storage vault 27 to the conveying path W.

[0025] Furthermore, the conveying unit 25 is provided with a switch at each connection point between the conveying path W and each storage conveying path. In addition to a conveying guide and multiple rollers, this switch has a rotatable blade, and by rotating the blade, the traveling direction of the banknotes is switched. Based on the control of the banknote control unit 31, the conveying unit 25 appropriately rotates each roller, runs the belt, and further appropriately rotates the blade of the switch, thereby being able to convey the banknotes along the desired conveying path with the short sides of the banknotes approximately parallel to the conveying path.

[0026] The validator 26 is located behind the deposit / withdrawal unit 24 on the transport path formed by the transport unit 25, and includes rollers and the like that transport banknotes along the transport path, as well as optical elements, image pickup elements, and magnetic detection elements. While the validator 26 moves banknotes transported along the transport path inside the validator 26, it validates the denomination, authenticity, fitness (whether damaged or not), etc. of the banknotes, as well as the transport state, based on the detection results obtained by each element, and notifies the obtained validation results to the banknote control unit 31. The banknote control unit 31 determines the transport path for the banknotes in accordance with the obtained validation results, and appropriately controls the transport unit 25 in accordance with the transport path.

[0027] The reject collection box 28 is provided near the front end of the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11, at a position adjacent to and below the deposit / withdrawal unit 24, and is configured to be detachable from the housing of the change machine 3. The reject collection box 28 is configured such that an upper reject collection box 28U and a lower collection box 28L are integrated together.

[0028] The upper reject storage 28U stores banknotes that are determined not to be reused. Specifically, the reject storage 28U stores banknotes that are determined to be abnormal (so-called rejected banknotes), such as banknotes that have been identified as damaged banknotes (so-called damaged notes) by the identification unit 26, banknotes that have been identified as counterfeit, or banknotes that have not been identified as normal during a dispensing operation due to skew or multiple feeding, etc. The recovery storage 28L stores banknotes that have been fed out from the banknote storage 27 and transported by the transport unit 25, for example, when a recovery process is performed to recover a portion of sales proceeds, etc.

[0029] The three banknote storage vaults 27 (27A, 27B, and 27C) are arranged in the front-to-rear direction behind the reject collection vault 28, so that the banknote storage vaults 27A, 27B, and 27C are lined up in this order from the rear to the front. Although each banknote storage vault 27 is set to store banknotes of different denominations, they are generally configured in the same way. Details of the banknote storage vaults 27 will be described later.

[0030] 3 shows a schematic circuit configuration of the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11. The banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 is configured around a banknote control unit 31 that controls the entire unit, and a memory unit 32 and a communication unit 33 are connected to the banknote control unit 31, as well as an actuator 71, a fixed position detection sensor 82, and a differential position detection sensor 84, which will be described later.

[0031] The banknote control unit 31 has a CPU, ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. (not shown), and controls each unit and executes various processes by reading and executing various programs from the storage unit 32. The banknote control unit 31 also forms multiple function blocks therein, such as a drive control unit 35, a pulse counter 36, and a position detection processing unit 37, by reading and executing predetermined programs from the storage unit 32. Details of each function block will be described later.

[0032] In this configuration, the cash register change system 1 has the change control unit 10 controlling each unit based on the results of bill validation by the validator 26, and performs processes such as depositing, dispensing, and collecting bills.

[0033] [2. Basic structure of the banknote storage cabinet] Next, the basic configuration of the banknote storage vaults 27 (27A, 27B, and 27C) will be described using the banknote storage vault 27A, which is located at the rearmost side, as an example. In the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11, as shown in Fig. 2, the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C are arranged opposite to the banknote storage vault 27A in the front-to-rear direction.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 4(A), the banknote storage vault 27A is configured so that various components are attached to a roughly rectangular parallelepiped housing 40. This housing 40 defines a storage space 41 therein for storing banknotes BL. The storage space 41 is a rectangular parallelepiped space whose front-to-rear length is slightly longer than the short sides of the banknotes BL, whose left-to-right length is slightly longer than the long sides of the banknotes BL, and whose up-to-down length is several hundred times or more the thickness of the banknotes BL.

[0035] A flat plate-shaped stage 42 is provided inside the storage space 41. The stage 42 is capable of moving up and down inside the storage space 41 by a stage drive mechanism (not shown). A plurality of banknotes BL can be stacked on top of each other in the up and down direction (hereinafter also referred to as the stacking direction) on the upper surface of this stage 42. A bill stopper 43 is provided on the upper rear side inside the storage space 41 to absorb impact when banknotes BL collide.

[0036] A conveying path 44 for conveying banknotes BL is formed in the vicinity of the upper end of the front side of the housing 40 along a diagonal direction connecting the upper front side and the lower rear side. This conveying path 44 is in communication with the storage space 41.

[0037] A thin, cylindrical conveying upper rotation shaft 46 extending in the left-right direction is provided above the conveying path 44, and a plurality of feed rollers 47 are inserted into this conveying upper rotation shaft 46. The conveying upper rotation shaft 46 is supported by a predetermined bearing (not shown) provided in the housing 40 so as to be able to rotate freely in both directions.

[0038] The feed rollers 47 are formed in the shape of rollers centered on the conveying rotation shaft 46, and are attached to a plurality of locations dispersed in the left-right direction of the conveying rotation shaft 46. Incidentally, a high-friction member (shown by diagonal lines in the drawing) that increases the frictional force against the banknotes BL is attached to a portion of the circumferential direction of the feed rollers 47.

[0039] Above the storage space 41, at the rear of the transport path 44, there is provided a storage upper rotation shaft 48 having a long, slender cylindrical shape extending in the left-right direction, and a plurality of picker rollers 49 are inserted into this storage upper rotation shaft 48. Like the transport upper rotation shaft 46, the storage upper rotation shaft 48 is supported by a predetermined bearing (not shown) provided in the housing 40 so as to be able to rotate freely in both directions.

[0040] The picker rollers 49 are formed in the shape of rollers centered on the storage upper rotation shaft 48, and are attached to a plurality of locations dispersed in the left-right direction of the storage upper rotation shaft 48. Incidentally, like the feed rollers 47, the picker rollers 49 are fitted with high-friction members on parts of their circumferences that increase the frictional force against the banknotes BL.

[0041] An upper interlocking belt 50 is stretched around the upper transport rotating shaft 46 and the upper storage rotating shaft 48. Therefore, in the banknote storage vault 27A, the upper transport rotating shaft 46 and the upper storage rotating shaft 48 can be rotated synchronously.

[0042] Meanwhile, below the conveying path 44, at a location facing the upper conveying rotation shaft 46 across the conveying path 44, there is provided a thin, cylindrical lower conveying rotation shaft 51 extending in the left-right direction, and a plurality of reverse rollers 52 are inserted into this lower conveying rotation shaft 51. Unlike the upper conveying rotation shaft 46 and the like, the lower conveying rotation shaft 51 is attached to the housing 40 via a one-way clutch (not shown), and is capable of rotating only in the direction of arrow R1 in Figure 4 (clockwise).

[0043] The reverse rollers 52 are formed in the shape of rollers centered on the lower conveying rotation shaft 51, and are attached to the lower conveying rotation shaft 51 at multiple locations separated in the left and right directions, facing the feed rollers 47.

[0044] Further, the lower conveying rotating shaft 51 is provided with a plurality of impellers 53. The impellers 53 are broadly composed of an attachment portion 54 attached to the lower conveying rotating shaft 51 and a plurality of (e.g., eight) tongues 55 attached radially to the attachment portion 54. Of these, the tongues 55 are made of a flexible material such as resin or rubber and are therefore flexible. Incidentally, holes, notches, etc. are appropriately provided in the side plates that form the storage space 41 and the conveying guides that form the conveying path 44 at the portions through which the tongues 55 pass as the impellers 53 rotate, allowing the impellers 53 to rotate smoothly.

[0045] As shown in the schematic diagrams of Figures 5(A) and 5(B), this impeller 53 is divided into a fixed impeller 57 having four tongues 55 over a range of approximately half the circumference, and a differential impeller 58 also having four tongues over a range of approximately half the circumference. Note that in Figure 5, for convenience of explanation, some of the parts hidden by other components are shown as transparent. Furthermore, of the four tongues 55 of each of the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58, the one located at the forefront in the direction of arrow R1 is represented by an extremely thick line for ease of identification. Furthermore, the tongues 55 of the differential impeller 58 are represented by dashed lines to distinguish them from the tongues 55 of the fixed impeller 57. For convenience of explanation, the differential impeller 58 will also be referred to as the first impeller, and the fixed impeller 57 will also be referred to as the second impeller.

[0046] The fixed impeller 57 (FIG. 5(A)) has a fixed central portion 61, a limiter portion 62, and four tongues 55. The fixed central portion 61 is formed in a disk or cylindrical shape with a diameter sufficiently smaller than that of the reverse roller 52 (FIG. 4), and has an insertion hole 61H formed in the center. The diameter of the insertion hole 61H is slightly larger than the diameter of the lower conveying rotating shaft 51 (FIG. 4). The four tongues 55 are attached so as to extend radially from the outer periphery of the fixed central portion 61, and are discretely arranged so as to form angles of approximately 45 degrees from the center of rotation of the lower conveying rotating shaft 51.

[0047] The limiter portion 62 is formed in the shape of a tiny rectangular parallelepiped, and its vertical length is approximately 1 / 5 to 1 / 6 of the diameter of the lower conveying rotating shaft 51. This limiter portion 62 is disposed to the right or left of the fixed central portion 61, adjacent to the side where the differential impeller 58 is located, so as to protrude forward from the outer circumferential surface of the lower conveying rotating shaft 51. For convenience of explanation, the radial side surfaces of the limiter portion 62, i.e., the upper and lower side surfaces in Figure 5(A), will be referred to below as limiter side surfaces 62A and 62B, respectively.

[0048] The differential impeller 58 (FIG. 5(B)) has a differential central portion 63, a stopper portion 64, and four tongues 55. Like the fixed central portion 61, the differential central portion 63 is formed in a disk or cylindrical shape with a diameter sufficiently smaller than that of the reverse roller 52 (FIG. 4), and has an insertion hole 63H formed in the center. The diameter of the insertion hole 63H is slightly larger than the diameter of the lower conveying rotating shaft 51 (FIG. 4). Like the fixed impeller 57, the four tongues 55 are attached to the outer periphery of the differential central portion 63 and are discretely arranged so as to form angles of approximately 45 degrees from the center of rotation of the lower conveying rotating shaft 51.

[0049] The stopper portion 64 has a shape corresponding to an area slightly narrower than approximately half the circumference of a circle centered on the rotation center of the lower conveying rotating shaft 51, and is fan-shaped when viewed from the left and right. This stopper portion 64 is provided on the right or left side of the differential central portion 63, adjacent to the side where the fixed impeller 57 is located, and is arranged so that its position in the left and right direction overlaps with the limiter portion 62 of the fixed impeller 57. For convenience of explanation, the side surfaces of the stopper portion 64 along the radial direction, i.e., the lower surface on the rear side and the lower surface on the front side in Figure 5(B), will be referred to as stopper side surfaces 64A and 64B, respectively.

[0050] During manufacture of the impeller 53, the fixed impeller 57 is inserted and fixed to the lower conveying rotation shaft 51, and further the differential impeller 58 is inserted adjacent to the fixed impeller 57. This allows the differential impeller 58 to rotate relative to the fixed impeller 57 around the lower conveying rotation shaft 51 within a range in which the stopper portion 64 does not interfere with the limiter portion 62, i.e., within a range of approximately 180 degrees.

[0051] For example, as shown in the schematic diagram of Figure 6(A), which corresponds to Figures 5(A) and (B), the impeller 53 is configured so that when the differential impeller 58 is rotated to the maximum in the direction of arrow R2 relative to the fixed impeller 57, the tongues 55 of the differential impeller 58 overlap the tongues 55 of the fixed impeller 57. At this time, the impeller 53 has the stopper side surface 64B of the stopper portion 64 in contact with the limiter side surface 62A of the limiter portion 62. Hereinafter, the state of the impeller 53 as shown in Figure 6(A) will be referred to as the retracted state.

[0052] Furthermore, when the differential impeller 58 is rotated in the direction of arrow R1 from the retracted state (FIG. 6(A)), the impeller 53 passes through the state of FIG. 6(B) and stops when the stopper side surface 64A of the stopper portion 64 abuts against the limiter side surface 62B of the limiter portion 62, as shown in FIG. 6(C). At this time, the impeller 53 has rotated the differential impeller 58 by approximately 180 degrees from the retracted state (FIG. 6(A)), and has deployed the tongues 55 of the differential impeller 58 so that they do not overlap with the tongues 55 of the fixed impeller 57. Hereinafter, the state of the impeller shown in FIG. 6(C) will be referred to as the deployed state.

[0053] When a force in the direction of arrow R1 is applied to the differential impeller 58 in this deployed state, the impeller 53 transmits this driving force to the fixed impeller 57 via the stopper portion 64 and the limiter portion 62. As a result, the impeller 53 rotates in the direction of arrow R1 together with the lower conveying rotation shaft 51 while maintaining the deployed state, as shown in Figure 6(D). In other words, the fixed impeller 57 rotates while following the differential impeller 58, with a delay of 180 degrees (hereinafter, this angle will also be referred to as the following angle).

[0054] 6(E), it is assumed that a force in the direction of arrow R2 is applied to the differential impeller 58 when the impeller 53 is in the deployed state and stationary. In this case, due to the action of the one-way clutch (not shown) described above, the fixed impeller 57 and the lower conveying rotating shaft 51 do not rotate in the direction of arrow R2 and remain stationary.

[0055] The impeller 53 separates the stopper side surface 64B of the stopper portion 64 of the differential impeller 58 from the limiter side surface 62A of the limiter portion 62, and rotates only the differential impeller 58 in the direction of arrow R2 while keeping the fixed impeller 57 and the lower conveying rotating shaft 51 stationary. Eventually, the impeller 53 passes through the state of FIG. 6(F) and when the stopper side surface 64B of the stopper portion 64 abuts against the limiter side surface 62A of the limiter portion 62, it enters a retracted state in which the tongues 55 of the differential impeller 58 overlap the tongues 55 of the fixed impeller 57, as shown in FIG. 6(G). Hereinafter, the series of operations that transition the impeller 53 from the deployed state to the retracted state, i.e., the series of operations that rotate (pivot) both the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 to their retracted positions, will also be referred to as the retraction operation.

[0056] In this way, the impeller 53 is configured so that the differential impeller 58 can be rotated within a range of approximately 180 degrees relative to the fixed impeller 57, and the rotation of the differential impeller 58 can transition the impeller 53 to a retracted state (FIGS. 6(A) and (G)), an expanded state (FIGS. 6(C) and (E)), or an intermediate state.

[0057] With this configuration, when the banknote storage vault 27 performs a storage operation to store banknotes BL, it rotates the feed roller 47 in the direction of arrow R2 and rotates the reverse roller 52 and the impeller 53 in the direction of arrow R1, as shown in Fig. 4(A). At this time, the impeller 53 is in an unfolded state (Fig. 6(C), etc.). Furthermore, the banknote storage vault 27 positions the stage 42 slightly downward, forming a space of an appropriate height above the stage 42.

[0058] When a banknote BL is transported by the transport unit 25, the banknote storage vault 27 pinches the banknote BL with the feed roller 47 and the reverse roller 52 in the transport path 44, pulls it backward, and releases it into the storage space 41. The momentum of the released banknote BL is reduced by causing the rear end of the released banknote BL to collide with the bill stopper 43. Furthermore, the banknote storage vault 27 slams the vicinity of the front end of the banknote BL downward with the tongue 55 of the impeller 53, causing it to be stacked on the stage 42 or on top of banknotes BL already accumulated on the stage 42.

[0059] 4(B), when the banknote storage vault 27 performs a feeding operation to feed out banknotes BL, it positions the stage 42 upward and brings the top surfaces of the banknotes BL accumulated on the stage 42 into contact with the picker roller 49. Furthermore, the banknote storage vault 27 rotates the feed roller 47 and the picker roller 49 in the direction of arrow R1, while stopping the reverse roller 52 and the impeller 53.

[0060] At this time, the impeller 53 transitions from the deployed state (FIG. 6(E) etc.) to the retracted state (FIG. 6(G) etc.). At this time, all of the tongues 55 of the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 are positioned in front of the storage space 41 and below the conveying path 44. Hereinafter, the positions of the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 at this time will be referred to as the retracted position.

[0061] By rotating the picker roller 49 and the feed roller 47, the banknote storage 27 pushes the top banknote BL among the banknotes BL stacked on the stage 42 forward, and then only the topmost banknote BL is separated in the gap between the feed roller 47 and the reverse roller 52 and handed over to the conveying section 25 via the conveying path 44.

[0062] [3. Impeller drive] Next, we will explain the configuration for driving the impeller 53 etc. in each banknote storage vault 27. First, we will explain the configuration for supplying driving force to the transport lower rotation shaft 51 in the banknote storage vault 27A, and then we will explain the configuration for interlocking the banknote storage vaults 27.

[0063] [3-1. Configuration of the lower drive unit] 7, the lower conveying rotating shaft 51 is provided with two reverse rollers 52, one near the center on each of the left and right sides, and an impeller 53 is provided outside each of them. Of these, the impeller 53 is configured by combining two fixed impellers 57 and one differential impeller 58, and is arranged in the following order from the inside: fixed impeller 57, differential impeller 58, and fixed impeller 57.

[0064] In addition, the banknote storage vault 27A is provided with a lower transport drive unit 70 for supplying drive force to the lower transport rotation shaft 51. The lower transport drive unit 70 has an actuator 71, an output gear 72, a relay gear 73, an interlocking transmission gear 74, a torque limiter 75, an interlocking rotation shaft 76, two interlocking gears 77 and 78, and a lower interlocking belt 79. Of the components constituting the lower transport drive unit 70, those that rotate or turn are arranged so that their central axes are parallel to the left-right direction.

[0065] The actuator 71 as a drive source is, for example, a stepping motor, and rotates the output shaft 71X in the direction of arrow R1 or the opposite direction of arrow R2 based on a drive control signal supplied from the banknote control unit 31. This drive control signal includes multiple pulses, and the drive amount of the actuator 71 (i.e., the angle of rotation) and the number of included pulses are roughly proportional to each other.

[0066] The output gear 72 is attached to the output shaft 71X of the actuator 71, and rotates integrally with the output shaft 71X in the direction of arrow R1 or arrow R2. The relay gear 73 is configured by stacking two gears with different diameters and numbers of teeth in the left-right direction, with the larger-diameter gear meshing with the output gear 72 and the smaller-diameter gear meshing with the interlocking transmission gear 74. Therefore, the relay gear 73 relays the driving force transmitted from the output gear 72 and transmits it to the interlocking transmission gear 74.

[0067] The interlocking transmission gear 74 is configured by stacking two gears with different diameters and numbers of teeth in the left-right direction, and is attached to the interlocking rotation shaft 76 via a torque limiter 75. The larger-diameter gear of the interlocking transmission gear 74 meshes with the smaller-diameter gear of the relay gear 73. The torque limiter 75 transmits driving force when a torque less than a predetermined upper limit torque acts between the interlocking transmission gear 74 and the interlocking rotation shaft 76. On the other hand, when a torque greater than the upper limit torque acts between the two, the torque limiter 75 causes one to slip relative to the other, preventing the transmission of driving force.

[0068] The interlocking rotation shaft 76 is configured in the shape of a long, thin cylinder extending in the left-right direction, and is rotatably supported by the housing 40 (FIG. 4), the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit housing 21 (FIG. 2), etc. Interlocking gears 77 are provided on this interlocking rotation shaft 76 at two locations corresponding to the left and right differential impellers 58, respectively. The interlocking gears 77 rotate integrally with the interlocking rotation shaft 76.

[0069] Meanwhile, two interlocking gears 78 are inserted into the lower conveying rotating shaft 51. Each interlocking gear 78 is fixed to a position relative to the differential central portion 63 (FIG. 5(B)) of the differential impeller 58 such that interference with the tongue piece 55 and the stopper portion 64 can be avoided.

[0070] The interlocking gear 78 can rotate freely, integrally with the differential impeller 58, relative to the lower conveying rotation shaft 51 and the fixed impeller 57, within a range of 180 degrees, within which the rotation range of the stopper portion 64 is restricted by the limiter portion 62. When the interlocking gear 78 rotates in the direction of arrow R1, the stopper side surface 64A of the stopper portion 64 abuts against the limiter side surface 62B of the limiter portion 62 (FIG. 6(C)), and the interlocking gear 78 can rotate integrally with the differential impeller 58, the fixed impeller 57, and the lower conveying rotation shaft 51.

[0071] Furthermore, a lower interlocking belt 79 is stretched around the interlocking gears 77 and 78. Therefore, in the conveying lower drive unit 70, the differential impeller 58 can be rotated in conjunction with the interlocking rotation shaft 76.

[0072] Furthermore, the lower conveying drive unit 70 is provided with a fixed position detection protrusion 81, a fixed position detection sensor 82, a differential position detection protrusion 83, and a differential position detection sensor 84 for detecting the positions of the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58, respectively.

[0073] The fixed position detection protrusion 81 is formed in the shape of a tiny rectangular parallelepiped or plate, and is attached so as to stand on the peripheral side of the lower conveying rotation shaft 51. The fixed position detection sensor 82 has a light-emitting element that emits detection light and a light-receiving element that receives the detection light, and generates a fixed detection signal according to the light-receiving level of the detection light and supplies it to the banknote control unit 31.

[0074] The fixed position detection sensor 82 is attached at an adjusted position so that the fixed position detection protrusion 81 blocks the detection light when the fixed impeller 57 is in the retracted position (FIG. 4(B)), but does not block the detection light when the fixed impeller 57 is in another position. Therefore, the banknote control unit 31 can detect whether the fixed impeller 57 is in the retracted position based on the fixed detection signal obtained from the fixed position detection sensor 82.

[0075] The differential position detection protrusion 83, like the fixed position detection protrusion 81, is formed in the shape of a tiny rectangular parallelepiped or plate, and is attached so as to stand on the circumferential surface of the interlocking rotation shaft 76. The differential position detection sensor 84 is configured in the same way as the fixed position detection sensor 82, and generates a differential detection signal according to the light reception level of the detection light, and supplies it to the banknote control unit 31.

[0076] The mounting position of the differential position detection sensor 84 is adjusted so that the differential position detection protrusion 83 blocks the detection light when the differential impeller 58 is in the retracted position (FIG. 4(B)), and does not block the detection light when the differential impeller 58 is in another position. Therefore, the banknote control unit 31 can detect whether the differential impeller 58 is in the retracted position based on the differential detection signal obtained from the differential position detection sensor 84.

[0077] In the following, a state in which the fixed impeller 57 is in the retracted position, the fixed position detection sensor 82 detects the fixed position detection protrusion 81, and the signal level of the fixed detection signal is reduced is referred to as "on," and any other state is referred to as "off." Also, in the following, a state in which the differential impeller 58 is in the retracted position, the differential position detection sensor 84 detects the differential position detection protrusion 83, and the signal level of the differential detection signal is reduced is referred to as "on," and any other state is referred to as "off." Furthermore, in the following, the fixed position detection sensor 82 and the differential position detection sensor 84 are also referred to as position detection units.

[0078] Incidentally, in Figures 5 and 6, when the tongue piece 55 (shown by an extremely thick line in the figures) located furthest in the direction of arrow R1 of each of the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 is at the position of the retraction mark ME (shown by a triangle in the figures), this indicates that the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 are in their retracted positions.

[0079] [3-2. Impeller drive by the lower drive unit] When the banknote storage vault 27A is stopped, i.e., when neither the storing operation nor the feeding operation is being performed, the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 of the impeller 53 are both in the retracted positions as shown in Fig. 6(A). That is, at this time, the impeller 53 is in the retracted state.

[0080] When starting a storing operation, the banknote storage vault 27A rotates the actuator 71 in the direction of arrow R1 under the control of the banknote control unit 31, transmitting driving force sequentially via the relay gear 73, the interlocking rotating shaft 76, the lower interlocking belt 79, etc., to rotate the differential impeller 58 in the direction of arrow R1. At this time, in the banknote storage vault 27A, the differential impeller 58 rotates approximately half a turn while the fixed impeller 57 and the lower conveying rotating shaft 51 are stopped, and after passing through the state shown in FIG. 6(B), the impeller 53 is set to the expanded state as shown in FIG. 6(C). Thereafter, while continuing to rotate the actuator 71 in the direction of arrow R1, the banknote storage vault 27A continues to rotate the impeller 53 in the direction of arrow R1 while keeping the impeller 53 in the expanded state as shown in FIG. 6(D).

[0081] Incidentally, in the banknote storage vault 27A, each time the impeller 53 makes one rotation, the fixed detection signal from the fixed position detection sensor 82 temporarily changes from "off" to "on" and returns to "off" again. Also, in the banknote storage vault 27A, each time the impeller 53 makes one rotation, the differential detection signal from the differential position detection sensor 84 temporarily changes from "off" to "on" and returns to "off" again.

[0082] As mentioned above, the actuator 71 is a stepping motor, and the drive control signal supplied from the drive control unit 35 (FIG. 3) of the banknote control unit 31 includes multiple pulses. This drive control signal is a square wave in which the period during which the impeller 53 makes one rotation corresponds to 80 pulses, for example.

[0083] On the other hand, when the banknote storage vault 27A stops the storage operation, the banknote control unit 31 first monitors the fixed detection signal from the fixed position detection sensor 82, and stops the actuator 71 when the fixed detection signal turns “on,” that is, when the fixed impeller 57 is in the retracted position as shown in FIG. 6(E).

[0084] Next, under the control of the banknote control unit 31, the banknote storage vault 27A rotates the actuator 71 in the direction of arrow R2, transmitting the driving force sequentially via the relay gear 73, interlocking rotating shaft 76, lower interlocking belt 79, etc., to rotate the differential impeller 58 in the direction of arrow R2. At this time, in the banknote storage vault 27A, since the conveying lower rotating shaft 51 is supported by a one-way clutch (not shown), it does not rotate in the direction of arrow R2 and remains stopped together with the fixed impeller 57.

[0085] Therefore, the banknote storage vault 27A passes through the state shown in Fig. 6(F) and then sets the impeller 53 to the retracted state as shown in Fig. 6(G). At this time, the banknote control unit 31 monitors the differential detection signal from the differential position detection sensor 84, and stops the actuator 71 when the differential detection signal turns "on", i.e., when the retracted state is reached.

[0086] Furthermore, when performing a feeding operation, the banknote storage vault 27A rotates the actuator 71 in the direction of arrow R2 with both the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 in the retracted state. At this time, in the banknote storage vault 27A, a driving force that tries to rotate the differential impeller 58 in the direction of arrow R2 is applied via the lower interlocking belt 79, etc. However, in the banknote storage vault 27A, the stopper side surface 64B of the stopper portion 64 of the impeller 53 abuts against the limiter side surface 62A of the limiter portion 62, and the conveying lower rotating shaft 51 is supported by a one-way clutch, so the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 remain stopped at the retracted position and maintain the retracted state.

[0087] [3-3. Interlocking of banknote storage cabinets] Furthermore, in the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11, as shown in Figure 8 corresponding to Figure 7, banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C are configured to operate based on the driving force supplied from banknote storage vault 27A, and as a result, banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C have a configuration that is partially different from banknote storage vault 27A. Also, as described above, banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C have a configuration in which banknote storage vault 27A is rotated half a turn in the horizontal plane and placed facing in the opposite direction (Figure 2).

[0088] Hereinafter, the banknote storage vault 27A will also be referred to as a drive storage vault, and the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C will also be referred to as driven storage vaults. In addition, in the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11, the banknote storage vault 27C has the same configuration as the banknote storage vault 27B. Therefore, the following description will mainly focus on the configuration of the banknote storage vault 27B.

[0089] The banknote storage vault 27B has the same lower conveying rotation shaft 51, reverse roller 52 and impeller 53 as the banknote storage vault 27A, but also has a lower conveying drive unit 90 instead of the lower conveying drive unit 70. This lower conveying drive unit 90 has an interlocking rotation shaft 91 instead of the interlocking rotation shaft 76, and like the lower conveying drive unit 70, has two interlocking gears 77 and 78 and a lower interlocking belt 79.

[0090] Like the interlocking rotation shaft 76, the interlocking rotation shaft 91 is configured as an elongated cylinder extending in the left-right direction and is rotatably supported by the housing 40. Like the interlocking rotation shaft 76, this interlocking rotation shaft 91 is provided with interlocking gears 77 at two locations corresponding to the left and right differential impellers 58, respectively. Furthermore, an interlocking gear 78 is fixed to each differential impeller 58. Furthermore, a lower interlocking belt 79 is stretched around the interlocking gears 77 and 78, respectively, so as to go around both of them.

[0091] Therefore, the lower conveying drive unit 90 can rotate the differential impeller 58 in conjunction with the interlocking rotation shaft 91. A drive gear 92 is attached near the left end of the interlocking rotation shaft 91. The drive gear 92 is configured by stacking two gears with different diameters and numbers of teeth in the left-right direction.

[0092] Furthermore, the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 is provided with a banknote storage vault interlocking unit 100 for interlocking the rollers, impellers 53, etc. between the banknote storage vaults 27A, 27B, and 27C. The banknote storage vault interlocking unit 100 is made up of a transmission gear 101, and transmission belts 102 and 103.

[0093] The transmission gear 101 is configured by stacking two gears with different diameters and numbers of teeth in the left-right direction. This transmission gear 101 is rotatably supported at a position slightly spaced forward from the interlocking transmission gear 74, and the large-diameter gear meshes with the large-diameter gear of the drive gear 92 of the banknote storage vault 27B. The transmission belt 102 is stretched so as to go around the small-diameter gear of the interlocking transmission gear 74 and the small-diameter gear of the transmission gear 101. In addition, the transmission belt 103 is stretched so as to go around the small-diameter gear of the drive gear 92 of the banknote storage vault 27B and the small-diameter gear of the drive gear 92 of the banknote storage vault 27C.

[0094] With this configuration, the banknote storage vault interlocking unit 100 transmits the driving force transmitted from the actuator 71 via the output gear 72, relay gear 73 and interlocking transmission gear 74 to the drive gear 92 of the banknote storage vault 27B via the transmission belt 102 and transmission gear 101, and further transmits it to the drive gear 92 of the banknote storage vault 27C via the transmission belt 103. This allows the banknote storage vault interlocking unit 100 to rotate the interlocking rotation shaft 76 of the banknote storage vault 27A, the interlocking rotation shaft 91 of the banknote storage vault 27B and the interlocking rotation shaft 91 of the banknote storage vault 27C in an interlocked manner. This allows the transport lower rotation shaft 51 and differential impeller 58 of each banknote storage vault 27A, 27B and 27C to rotate simultaneously.

[0095] Incidentally, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the rotation directions of the lower conveyance rotation shaft 51 and the fixed impeller 57 are opposite to those of the banknote storage vault 27A. That is, in Fig. 8, when the actuator 71 and the lower conveyance rotation shaft 51 of the banknote storage vault 27A rotate in the direction of arrow R1, the lower conveyance rotation shaft 51 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C rotate in the direction of arrow R2.

[0096] For convenience of explanation, in the following, in each banknote storage vault 27 (27A, 27B, and 27C), the direction in which the impeller 53 rotates when storing banknotes will be referred to as the forward rotation direction T1, and the opposite direction will be referred to as the reverse direction T2. ​​That is, in the banknote storage vault 27A, the direction of arrow R1 is the forward rotation direction T1, and the direction of arrow R2 is the reverse direction T2. ​​On the other hand, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the direction of arrow R2 is the forward rotation direction T1, and the direction of arrow R1 is the reverse direction T2. ​​Also, in the following, rotation of the actuator 71 in the direction of arrow R1 will be referred to as forward rotation, and rotation of the actuator 71 in the direction of arrow R2 will be referred to as reverse rotation.

[0097] With this configuration, the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 rotates the impeller 53 and the like of the banknote storage vault 27A based on the driving force of the actuator 71 provided in the banknote storage vault 27A, which is the drive storage vault. In addition, the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 transmits the driving force supplied from the banknote storage vault 27A to the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, which are driven storage vaults, so that the impellers 53 and the like of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C can also be rotated.

[0098] Here, we will summarize the interlocking of the fixed impellers 57 and differential impellers 58 between the banknote storage vaults 27 in the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11. The differential impellers 58 are always interlocked by the lower interlocking belt 79, interlocking rotation shaft 76, transmission belt 102, transmission gear 101, interlocking rotation shaft 91, transmission belt 103, etc. Therefore, the differential impellers 58 always rotate or turn to have the same rotation angle relative to each other.

[0099] On the other hand, each fixed impeller 57 rotates or turns when a driving force is transmitted between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 in each banknote storage vault 27 by the contact of the limiter portion 62 and the stopper portion 64. Therefore, as long as the limiter portion 62 and the stopper portion 64 can be appropriately contacted or disengaged, each fixed impeller 57 will rotate or turn to the same rotation angle.

[0100] [4. Impeller Operation] In the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11, when operating normally, the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 of the impeller 53 rotate or turn at the same angle between each banknote storage vault 27. In other words, between each banknote storage vault 27, the impellers 53 of each banknote storage vault 27 transition to the retracted state or the deployed state in conjunction with each other, and rotate in the same phase (i.e., synchronized).

[0101] On the other hand, in the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11, if an abnormality occurs in any of the banknote storage vaults 27, there is a possibility that the transition to the retracted state or the deployed state will not be coordinated, or that the rotation angles will be different from each other.

[0102] Furthermore, the fixed position detection sensor 82 and the differential position detection sensor 84 are provided only in the banknote storage vault 27A, and are not provided in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C. In other words, the banknote control unit 31 does not have means for directly detecting the positions of the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 in the impeller 53 for the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C.

[0103] Therefore, in the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11, if the fixed impellers 57 are at different angles among the banknote storage vaults 27A, 27B and 27C due to factors such as foreign matter, the banknote control unit 31 cannot directly detect this.

[0104] Regarding these points, the operation of each impeller 53 between the three banknote storage vaults 27 (27A, 27B, and 27C) will be described below with reference to Figures 9 to 13, both in the normal case and when an abnormality occurs.

[0105] In Figure 9 etc., the impellers 53 of each banknote storage vault 27 are shown in five states, namely, a retracted state, a differential deployment state, a fixed start-up state, a fixed retracted state and a differential retracted state, depending on the relative positions of the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 and whether they rotate or not.

[0106] 9 and other figures summarize, in a table, schematic diagrams and numerical values ​​showing the angles of the differential impeller 58 and fixed impeller 57 in each banknote storage vault 27, as well as the states of detection by the differential position detection sensor 84 and fixed position detection sensor 82. Hereinafter, the state of detection by the differential position detection sensor 84 will also be referred to as the differential detection state, and the state of detection by the fixed position detection sensor 82 will also be referred to as the fixed detection state, and both will be collectively referred to as the sensor detection state.

[0107] Regarding the rotation angles of the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57, the rotation angle when in the retracted state is set to 0 degrees, and the difference in the angle of rotation in the forward direction T1 from this retracted state is set to each rotation angle.

[0108] [4-1. If it works properly] First, a case where the impeller 53 operates normally will be described with reference to Fig. 9. The initial retracted state S00 is the stage before the impeller 53 starts to rotate, and in each banknote storage vault 27, both the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller are in the retracted state, with the rotation angle being 0 degrees. In addition, both the differential detection state and the fixed detection state are on.

[0109] Next, the differential deployment state S01 is the stage where the impeller 53 has completed transition from the retracted state to the deployed state, and in all of the banknote storage vaults 27, the rotation angle of the differential impeller 58 is 180 degrees, while the rotation angle of the fixed impeller 57 remains 0 degrees. In other words, when the impeller 53 has successfully completed transition to the deployed state, the angle difference between the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 is 180 degrees. At this time, the sensor detection states are such that the differential detection state is off and the fixed detection state is on.

[0110] The next fixed start state S02 is the stage where the impeller 53 starts to rotate while remaining in the deployed state, and the rotation angle of the differential impeller 58 is 240 degrees and the rotation angle of the fixed impeller 57 is 60 degrees in all of the banknote storage vaults 27. At this time, the sensor detection state is OFF in both the differential detection state and the fixed detection state.

[0111] Next, we will explain the stages when the impeller 53 stops rotating in the forward direction T1 and transitions from the deployed state to the retracted state, for example, by completing the operation of storing banknotes BL in the banknote storage vaults 27. The fixed retracted state S04 is a stage when the impeller 53 is rotating in the deployed state and the fixed detection state is turned on, so the rotation is stopped. That is, at this time, in all banknote storage vaults 27, the rotation angle of the differential impeller 58 is 180 degrees and the rotation angle of the fixed impeller 57 is 0 degrees. At this time, the sensor detection states are such that the differential detection state is off and the fixed detection state is on.

[0112] The next differential retraction state S05 is a state in which the differential impeller 58 is rotated (turned) in the reverse direction T2 from the fixed retraction state S04 and stopped when the differential detection state switches from OFF to ON. That is, the differential impeller 58 is rotated 180 degrees in the reverse direction T2 from the fixed retraction state S04. The fixed impeller 57 of each banknote storage vault 27 is stopped and does not rotate due to the action of a one-way clutch (not shown) or the like provided between the lower conveying rotation shaft 51 and the housing 40.

[0113] In this differential retraction state S05, the rotation angles of the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 are both 0 degrees in each banknote storage vault 27. That is, when the impeller 53 normally transitions from the deployed state to the retraction state, the angle difference between the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 decreases from 180 degrees to 0 degrees. Also, at this time, the sensor detection state is turned on in both the differential detection state and the fixed detection state.

[0114] Focusing on the sensor detection state, the fixed detection state switches from OFF to ON in the fixed retracted state S04, and then the differential detection state switches from OFF to ON in the differential retracted state S05. At this time, the differential impeller 58 rotates half a revolution in the reverse direction T2 due to the driving force from the actuator 71. Therefore, the drive control signal supplied to the actuator 71 includes approximately 40 pulses, which corresponds to half a revolution.

[0115] In other words, when each banknote storage vault 27 is working in conjunction with each other normally, when the fixed evacuation state S04 transitions to the differential evacuation state S05, the drive control signal will contain approximately 40 pulses between the time the fixed detection state switches to on and the time the differential detection state switches to on.

[0116] [4-2. If an abnormality occurs in the drive storage shed (1)] Next, the operation of the impeller 53 when an abnormality occurs in the banknote storage vault 27A (i.e., the drive storage vault) will be described with reference to Fig. 10. In Figs. 10 to 13, the main fields that are different from Fig. 9 are shaded. The initial evacuation state S10 is the same as the evacuation state S00 (Fig. 9) in the normal case.

[0117] Here, an abnormality has occurred in the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A, and a relatively small foreign object has become caught between, for example, the stopper side surface 64A of the stopper portion 64 in the differential impeller 58 and the limiter side surface 62B of the limiter portion 62 in the fixed impeller 57.

[0118] For this reason, in the next differential deployment state S11, in the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A, the fixed impeller 57 starts rotating when the differential impeller 58 has rotated to 120 degrees, and when the differential impeller 58 has rotated to 180 degrees, the fixed impeller 57 has rotated to 60 degrees. In other words, in the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A, the transition from the retracted state to the deployed state does not complete normally, and ends midway, and rotation begins with the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 remaining at 120 degrees. At this time, the sensor detection states are both off: the differential detection state and the fixed detection state.

[0119] On the other hand, in the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, since no abnormality due to a foreign object or the like has occurred, the differential impeller 58 rotates 180 degrees while the fixed impeller 57 remains stopped. As a result, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the transition of the impellers 53 from the retracted state to the expanded state is completed normally, similar to the differential expanded state S01 (FIG. 9) in the normal case.

[0120] In the next fixed start state S12, the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A continues to rotate with the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 maintained at 120 degrees. At this time, the sensor detection states are both OFF in the differential detection state and the fixed detection state.

[0121] In this case, in the banknote storage vault 27A, there is a risk that the tongue 55 of the impeller 53 may not be able to strike the banknote BL correctly during the storage operation. In other words, the banknote storage vault 27A may not be able to press the banknote BL down onto the stage 42, causing it to float up, and causing the next banknote BL released into the storage space 41 to collide with the banknote BL, making it impossible to stack the banknote BL correctly.

[0122] On the other hand, the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C rotate while maintaining the deployed state in which the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 in the impeller 53 is 180 degrees, similar to the fixed start state S02 (FIG. 9) in the normal case. Therefore, the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C can store banknotes BL normally during the storage operation.

[0123] However, the angles of the fixed impellers 57 do not match between banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C and banknote storage vault 27A, and the impellers 53 continue to rotate while maintaining a 60-degree deviation (phase difference) caused by the foreign object.

[0124] Next, we will explain the stages when the impeller 53 stops rotating in the forward direction T1 and transitions from the deployed state to the retracted state, for example, by completing the operation of storing banknotes BL in the banknote storage vault 27. The fixed retracted state S14 is a stage where the rotation of the impeller 53 is stopped because the fixed detection state is turned on in the banknote storage vault 27A. Focusing on the angle of the fixed impeller 57 here, while it is 0 degrees in the banknote storage vault 27A as in the fixed retracted state S04 (FIG. 9) in the normal case, it is 300 degrees in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C because it stops while maintaining a phase difference of 60 degrees with the banknote storage vault 27A.

[0125] The next differential retraction state S15 is a state in which the differential impeller 58 is rotated (turned) in the reverse direction T2 from the fixed retraction state S14 and stopped when the differential detection state switches from OFF to ON. That is, the differential impeller 58 is in a state in which it is rotated 120 degrees in the reverse direction T2 from the fixed retraction state S14. Note that the fixed impeller 57 of each banknote storage vault 27 is stopped and does not rotate due to the action of a one-way clutch (not shown) or the like provided between the transport lower rotation shaft 51 and the housing 40.

[0126] Focusing on the sensor detection state, the fixed detection state switches from OFF to ON in the fixed retracted state S14, and then the differential detection state switches from OFF to ON in the differential retracted state S15. At this time, the differential impeller 58 is rotated 120 degrees in the reverse direction T2 by the driving force from the actuator 71. Therefore, the drive control signal supplied to the actuator 71 includes approximately 27 pulses, which corresponds to 120 degrees.

[0127] In this differential retraction state S15, the rotation angles of the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 in the banknote storage vault 27A are both 0 degrees, and the transition to the retraction state has been completed normally. That is, the sensor detection state is in the ON state in both the differential detection state and the fixed detection state.

[0128] On the other hand, in banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, although differential impeller 58 has transitioned to the retracted state, fixed impeller 57 has rotated 300 degrees (i.e., -60 degrees) from the retracted state and is therefore unable to transition to the retracted state. In this case, some of tongues 55 of fixed impeller 57 may protrude into storage space 41 (FIG. 4), interfering with stage 42 or banknotes accumulated on stage 42 and possibly adversely affecting the dispensing operation.

[0129] In this way, if an abnormality occurs in the banknote storage cabinet 27A, which is the drive storage cabinet, in the banknote storage cabinets 27A as well as in the banknote storage cabinets 27B and 27C, a part of the impeller 53 that protrudes from the retracted position will interfere with the banknote BL in the storage space 41, and it may be impossible to perform the storage operation or pay-out operation of the banknote BL normally.

[0130] [4-3. If an abnormality occurs in the drive storage shed (2)] Next, the operation of the impeller 53 when different types of abnormalities occur in the banknote storage vault 27A (i.e., the drive storage vault) will be described with reference to Fig. 11. The initial evacuation state S20 is the same as the evacuation state S00 (Fig. 9) in the normal case.

[0131] Here, an abnormality occurs in the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A, and for example, a relatively large foreign object becomes caught between the stopper side surface 64A of the stopper portion 64 in the differential impeller 58 and the limiter side surface 62B of the limiter portion 62 in the fixed impeller 57, making it impossible for the differential impeller 58 to rotate at all relative to the fixed impeller 57.

[0132] For this reason, in the next differential development state S21, in the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A, the fixed impeller 57 starts to rotate together with the differential impeller 58, and when the differential impeller 58 has rotated 180 degrees, the fixed impeller 57 has also rotated 180 degrees. In other words, in the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A, the tongues 55 of the differential impeller 58 and the tongues 55 of the fixed impeller 57 remain overlapping, that is, the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 remains 0 degrees, as in the retracted state. At this time, the sensor detection states are both off in the differential detection state and the fixed detection state.

[0133] On the other hand, in the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, no abnormality due to a foreign object or the like has occurred, and therefore only the differential impeller 58 rotates 180 degrees while the fixed impeller 57 remains stopped. As a result, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the transition of the impellers 53 from the retracted state to the expanded state is completed normally, similar to the differential expanded state S01 (FIG. 9) in the normal case.

[0134] In the next fixed start state S22, the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A continues to rotate with the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 remaining at 0 degrees, i.e., unable to deploy at all. At this time, the sensor detection states are both off, the differential detection state and the fixed detection state. Therefore, in the banknote storage vault 27A, as in the case of the fixed start state S12 (FIG. 10), the tongue 55 of the impeller 53 may not strike the banknotes BL correctly during the storage operation, which may prevent the banknotes BL from being properly stacked on the stage 42.

[0135] On the other hand, the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C rotate while maintaining the deployed state in which the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 in the impeller 53 is 180 degrees, similar to the fixed start state S02 (FIG. 9) in the normal case. Therefore, the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C can store banknotes BL normally during the storage operation.

[0136] However, the angles of the fixed impellers 57 do not match between banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C and banknote storage vault 27A, and the impellers 53 continue to rotate while maintaining a 180-degree deviation (phase difference) caused by the foreign object.

[0137] Next, we will explain the stages when the impeller 53 stops rotating in the forward direction T1, for example, by completing the operation of storing banknotes BL in the banknote storage vault 27, and transitions from the deployed state to the retracted state. The fixed retracted state S24 is a stage where the rotation of the impeller 53 is stopped because the fixed detection state is turned on in the banknote storage vault 27A. Focusing on the angle of the fixed impeller 57 here, while it is 0 degrees in the banknote storage vault 27A as in the fixed retracted state S04 (FIG. 9) in the normal case, it is 180 degrees in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C because they stop while maintaining a phase difference of 180 degrees with the banknote storage vault 27A.

[0138] The next differential retraction state S25 is a state in which the differential impeller 58 is rotated (turned) in the reverse direction T2 from the fixed retraction state S24 until the differential detection state switches from off to on, but because the differential detection state is already on, the fixed retraction state S24 remains the differential retraction state S25. Note that the fixed impeller 57 of each banknote storage vault 27 is stopped and does not rotate due to the action of a one-way clutch (not shown) or the like provided between the transport lower rotation shaft 51 and the housing 40.

[0139] Focusing on the sensor detection state, both the fixed detection state and the differential detection state are switched from OFF to ON in the fixed retracted state S24. That is, the actuator 71 is not driven from the time the fixed detection state is switched ON until the differential detection state is switched ON. Therefore, no drive signal is supplied to the actuator 71, and the number of pulses included is 0.

[0140] In this differential retraction state S25, the rotation angles of the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 in the banknote storage vault 27A are both 0 degrees, and the transition to the retraction state has been completed normally. That is, the sensor detection state is in the ON state in both the differential detection state and the fixed detection state.

[0141] On the other hand, in banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, although the differential impeller 58 has transitioned to the retracted state, the fixed impeller 57 remains in the deployed state (i.e., remains at an angle of 180 degrees) and has not rotated, so it is unable to transition to the retracted state. In this case, all of the tongues 55 of the fixed impeller 57 may protrude into the storage space 41 (FIG. 4), interfering with the stage 42 and the banknotes accumulated on the stage 42 and possibly adversely affecting the dispensing operation.

[0142] In this way, if an abnormality occurs in the banknote storage cabinet 27A, which is the drive storage cabinet, in the banknote storage cabinets 27A as well as in the banknote storage cabinets 27B and 27C, a part of the impeller 53 that protrudes from the retracted position will interfere with the banknote BL in the storage space 41 or the conveying path 44, and therefore it may not be possible to perform the storage operation or payout operation of the banknote BL normally.

[0143] [4-4. If an abnormality occurs in the secondary storage (1)] Next, the operation of the impeller 53 when an abnormality occurs in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C (i.e., the driven storage vaults) will be described with reference to Fig. 12. The initial evacuation state S30 is the same as the evacuation state S00 (Fig. 9) in the normal case.

[0144] Here, an abnormality has occurred in the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, and a relatively small foreign object has become caught between, for example, the stopper side surface 64A of the stopper portion 64 in the differential impeller 58 and the limiter side surface 62B of the limiter portion 62 in the fixed impeller 57.

[0145] Therefore, in the next differential deployment state S31, the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A where no abnormality has occurred transitions from the retracted state to the deployment state, and the rotation angle of the differential impeller 58 becomes 180 degrees. At this time, the sensor detection state is such that the differential detection state is OFF and the fixed detection state is ON.

[0146] On the other hand, the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C in which an abnormality has occurred operate in the same manner as the banknote storage vault 27A in the differentially deployed state S11 (FIG. 10). That is, in the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the fixed impeller 57 starts to rotate when the differential impeller 58 has rotated to 120 degrees, and the fixed impeller 57 has rotated to 60 degrees when the differential impeller 58 has rotated to 180 degrees. In other words, in the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the transition from the retracted state to the deployed state does not complete normally and ends prematurely, and the impellers 53 start to rotate with the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 remaining at 120 degrees.

[0147] In the next fixed start state S32, the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A rotates while maintaining the expanded state in which the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 in the impeller 53 is 180 degrees, similar to the fixed start state S02 (FIG. 9) in the normal case. Therefore, the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C can store banknotes BL normally during the storage operation.

[0148] On the other hand, the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C continue to rotate with the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 maintained at 120 degrees. In this case, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, as with the banknote storage vault 27A in the fixed start state S12 (FIG. 10), the tongues 55 of the impellers 53 may not strike the banknotes BL correctly during the storage operation, and the banknotes BL may not be stacked correctly on the stage 42.

[0149] Furthermore, the angles of the fixed impellers 57 do not match between the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C and the banknote storage vault 27A, and the impellers 53 continue to rotate while maintaining a 60 degree deviation (phase difference) caused by the foreign matter.

[0150] Next, we will explain the stages when the impeller 53 stops rotating in the forward direction T1, for example, by completing the operation of storing banknotes BL in the banknote storage vault 27, and transitions from the deployed state to the retracted state. The fixed retracted state S34 is a stage where the rotation of the impeller 53 is stopped because the fixed detection state is turned on in the banknote storage vault 27A. Focusing on the angle of the fixed impeller 57 here, while it is 0 degrees in the banknote storage vault 27A as in the fixed retracted state S04 (FIG. 9) in the normal case, it is 60 degrees in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C because it stops while maintaining an angle difference (phase difference) of 60 degrees with the banknote storage vault 27A.

[0151] The next differential retraction state S35 is a state in which the differential impeller 58 has been rotated in the reverse direction T2 from the fixed retraction state S34. In this case, the differential impeller 58 should have stopped when the differential detection state in the banknote storage vault 27A switches from OFF to ON, but the differential impeller 58 cannot rotate to the retracted position.

[0152] That is, in this case, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the differential impeller 58 rotates from the deployed state in the reverse direction T2 and approaches the retracted state, but when it rotates up to 60 degrees, the stopper side surface 64B of the stopper portion 64 abuts against the limiter side surface 62A of the limiter portion 62 in the fixed impeller 57 (Figures 5 and 6).

[0153] However, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the fixed impeller 57 cannot rotate in the reverse direction T2 due to the action of a one-way clutch provided on the lower transfer rotating shaft 51, and therefore the differential impeller 58 cannot rotate either. For this reason, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, both the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 are stopped with their rotation angles set at 60 degrees.

[0154] On the other hand, in the banknote storage vault 27A, the transport lower rotation shaft 51 is interlocked with the transport lower rotation shafts 51 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C by the banknote storage vault interlocking unit 100 (Fig. 8). Therefore, when the differential impellers 58 in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C become unable to rotate, the differential impeller 58 in the banknote storage vault 27A becomes unable to rotate in conjunction with the differential impellers 58, and remains stopped with the rotation angle set to 60 degrees.

[0155] In the banknote storage vault 27A, the fixed impeller 57 remains stopped from the fixed retracted state S34, so the fixed impeller 57 is in the retracted state and its rotation angle is 0 degrees. At this time, the sensor detection state is such that the differential detection state is off and the fixed detection state is on.

[0156] Incidentally, in the banknote storage vault 27A, when transitioning from the fixed retraction state S34 to the differential retraction state S35, a drive control signal is supplied to the actuator 71 under the control of the banknote control unit 31, and the actuator 71 rotates in the reverse direction T2. ​​However, as described above, the interlocking rotation shaft 76, which is interlocked with the transport lower rotation shaft 51, and the like are unable to rotate, causing slippage in the torque limiter 75. Also, as described above, the differential impeller 58 stops when the rotation angle reaches 60 degrees, so the differential detection signal remains off.

[0157] In this case, the banknote control unit 31 supplies a drive control signal to the actuator 71 while waiting for the differential detection signal to turn on, but continues to supply the drive control signal even after the number of pulses, which corresponds to half a rotation, has exceeded 40. After that, the banknote control unit 31 determines that an abnormality has occurred because the differential detection signal does not turn on even after supplying the drive control signal for a predetermined number of pulses (for example, 48 pulses). Then, the banknote control unit 31 stops supplying the drive control signal and stops the actuator 71.

[0158] As a result, in the banknote storage vault 27A, the differential impeller 58 is rotated 60 degrees from the retracted state, and some of the tongues 55 are positioned within the transport path 44 and the storage space 41. In addition, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, both the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 are rotated 60 degrees from the retracted state, and some of the tongues 55 are positioned within the transport path 44 and the storage space 41.

[0159] In this way, if an abnormality occurs in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, which are the driven storage vaults, in addition to the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, in the banknote storage vault 27A, a part of the impeller 53 that protrudes from the retracted position may interfere with the banknote BL in the storage space 41 or the conveying path 44, and therefore the storage operation and pay-out operation of the banknote BL may not be performed normally.

[0160] [4-5. If an abnormality occurs in the secondary storage (2)] Next, the operation of the impeller 53 when different types of abnormalities occur in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C (i.e., the driven storage vaults) will be described with reference to Fig. 13. The initial evacuation state S40 is the same as the evacuation state S00 (Fig. 9) in the normal case.

[0161] Here, an abnormality occurs in the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, and for example, a relatively large foreign object becomes caught between the stopper side surface 64A of the stopper portion 64 in the differential impeller 58 and the limiter side surface 62B of the limiter portion 62 in the fixed impeller 57, making it impossible for the differential impeller 58 to rotate at all relative to the fixed impeller 57.

[0162] In the next differential deployment state S41, the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A where no abnormality has occurred transitions normally from the retracted state to the deployed state, and the rotation angle of the differential impeller 58 becomes 180 degrees. At this time, the sensor detection state is such that the differential detection state is OFF and the fixed detection state is ON.

[0163] On the other hand, the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C in which an abnormality has occurred operate in the same manner as the banknote storage vault 27A in the differentially deployed state S21 (FIG. 11). That is, in the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the differential impeller 58 starts to rotate together with the fixed impeller 57, and when the differential impeller 58 has rotated 180 degrees, the fixed impeller 57 has also rotated 180 degrees. In other words, in the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the tongues 55 of the differential impeller 58 and the tongues 55 of the fixed impeller 57 remain overlapping, that is, the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 remains 0 degrees, as in the retracted state.

[0164] In the next fixed start state S42, the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27A rotates while maintaining the expanded state in which the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 in the impeller 53 is 180 degrees, similar to the fixed start state S02 (FIG. 9) in the normal case. Therefore, the banknote storage vault 27A can store banknotes BL normally during the storage operation.

[0165] On the other hand, the impellers 53 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C continue to rotate with the angle difference between the differential impeller 58 and the fixed impeller 57 remaining at 0 degrees, i.e., unable to deploy at all. In this case, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, there is a risk that the tongues 55 of the impellers 53 will not be able to properly strike the banknotes BL during the storage operation. That is, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the banknotes BL may not be able to be pressed down onto the stage 42 and may float up, causing the next banknote BL released into the storage space 41 to collide with the banknotes BL, resulting in the banknotes BL not being able to be properly stacked.

[0166] Furthermore, the angles of the fixed impellers 57 do not match between the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C and the banknote storage vault 27A, and the impellers 53 continue to rotate while maintaining a 180-degree deviation (phase difference) caused by the foreign matter.

[0167] Next, we will explain the stages when the impeller 53 stops rotating in the forward direction T1, for example, by completing the operation of storing banknotes BL in the banknote storage vault 27, and transitions from the deployed state to the retracted state. The fixed retracted state S44 is a stage where the rotation of the impeller 53 is stopped because the fixed detection state is turned on in the banknote storage vault 27A. Focusing on the angle of the fixed impeller 57 here, while it is 0 degrees in the banknote storage vault 27A as in the fixed retracted state S04 (FIG. 9) in the normal case, it is 180 degrees in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C because the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C stop while maintaining an angle difference (phase difference) of 180 degrees with respect to the banknote storage vault 27A.

[0168] The next differential retraction state S45 is a state in which the differential impeller 58 should be rotated in the reverse direction T2 from the fixed retraction state S44, but the differential impeller 58 cannot rotate and does not change from the fixed retraction state S44.

[0169] That is, in this case, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the differential impeller 58 attempts to rotate in the reverse direction T2 from the deployed state, but the stopper side surface 64B of the stopper portion 64 is in contact with the limiter side surface 62A of the limiter portion 62 of the fixed impeller 57 from the beginning (FIGS. 5 and 6). For this reason, in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the differential impeller 58 cannot rotate at all and remains stopped at a rotation angle of 180 degrees.

[0170] In the banknote storage vault 27A, the differential impeller 58 cannot rotate due to the interlocking of the lower conveyance rotating shafts 51 by the banknote storage vault interlocking unit 100 (Fig. 8), and therefore remains stopped at a rotation angle of 180 degrees. At this time, the sensor detection state is such that the differential detection state is off and the fixed detection state is on.

[0171] In this case, as in the case of the differential evacuation state S35 (FIG. 12), the banknote control unit 31 determines that an abnormality has occurred because the differential detection signal does not turn on when the banknote control unit 31 has supplied the drive control signal to the actuator 71 for a predetermined number of pulses (for example, 48 pulses), and stops supplying the drive control signal to stop the actuator 71.

[0172] In this way, if an abnormality occurs in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, which are the driven storage vaults, in addition to the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, in the banknote storage vault 27A, a part of the impeller 53 that protrudes from the retracted position may interfere with the banknote BL in the storage space 41 or the conveying path 44, and therefore the storage operation and pay-out operation of the banknote BL may not be performed normally.

[0173] [4-6. Range in which the impeller is considered abnormal] As shown in Figures 10 to 13, if an abnormality occurs in the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27, part of the tongue 55 of the impeller 53 may protrude into the conveying path 44 or the storage space 41, which may affect the storage and dispensing operations of the banknotes BL.

[0174] Here, we will consider the rotation angles of the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 at which a part of the tongue 55 of the impeller 53 protrudes into the transport path 44 or the storage space 41, affecting the storing and dispensing operations of the banknotes BL.

[0175] Here, the rotation angle (i.e., the drive amount) of the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 is represented by the number of pulses included in the drive control signal supplied from the banknote control unit 31 to the actuator 71. As described above, the number of pulses per rotation in the drive control signal is approximately 80. Therefore, if the rotation angle is 180 degrees, the number of pulses is 40 pulses, and if the rotation angle is 60 degrees, the number of pulses is approximately 13 pulses.

[0176] Here, it is assumed that the impeller 53 in the banknote storage vault 27 is in an expanded state, the rotation angle is 180 degrees, and the fixed detection signal is on, and then the differential impeller 58 is rotated in the reverse direction T2 to transition to the retracted state, and is stopped when the differential detection signal turns on.

[0177] Here, the number of pulses contained in the drive control signal supplied from the banknote control unit 31 to the actuator 71 during the period from when the differential impeller 58 starts to rotate in the reverse direction T2 until the differential detection signal turns on is referred to as the differential pulse number or reverse direction drive amount.

[0178] For example, when each banknote storage vault 27 is operating normally, the differential impeller 58 rotates (turns) half a turn in the reverse direction T2, turning on the differential detection signal, as shown in Figure 9, so the number of differential pulses is approximately 40. Hereinafter, this number of pulses will be referred to as the normal number of pulses.

[0179] On the other hand, Fig. 14 shows by a broken line a state in which the differential impeller 58 has rotated to a certain extent in the reverse direction T2 from the retracted position, similar to the fixed impellers 57 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C in the differential retracted state S15 (Fig. 10), and the lowest tongue piece 55T is about to project into the storage space 41. In Fig. 14, the angle α, which is the rotation angle from the position in the retracted state of the tongue piece 55T (i.e., the state in which the rotation angle is 0 degrees), is, for example, 27 degrees, which corresponds to 6 pulses in this case.

[0180] As shown in Figure 10, if there is an abnormality in the banknote storage vault 27A, and the angle difference of the fixed impeller 57 between the banknote storage vault 27A and the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C is greater than angle α, the number of differential pulses will be smaller than the normal number of pulses (40 pulses), and the difference between the two will be 6 pulses or more.

[0181] Therefore, 34 pulses, which is the normal pulse number (40 pulses) minus 6 pulses corresponding to the angle α, is called the lower limit pulse number or lower threshold. If the measured differential pulse number is less than the lower limit pulse number, it can be determined that there is a possibility that some of the tongues 55 of the fixed impeller 57 may be protruding into the storage space 41 in at least one of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C.

[0182] 12 and 13, when an abnormality occurs in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, a part of the tongue 55 of the differential impeller 58 in each banknote storage vault 27 protrudes into the storage space 41. In these cases, the differential detection signal does not turn on, and therefore the number of differential pulses continues to increase beyond the normal number of pulses (40 pulses) while the actuator 71 continues to drive.

[0183] Therefore, for example, 48 pulses, which is 1.2 times the normal number of pulses, is called the upper limit pulse number or upper limit threshold. If the measured number of differential pulses is equal to or greater than the upper limit pulse number, it can be determined that there is a possibility that some of the tongues 55 of the differential impeller 58 in at least one of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C may be protruding into the conveyance path 44. In this case, by stopping the drive control signal supplied from the banknote control unit 31 to the actuator 71 when the number of differential pulses exceeds the upper limit pulse number, it is possible to prevent excessive load from being applied to each unit.

[0184] [5. Impeller state transition processing] Next, we will explain the impeller state transition process that is executed when the banknote storage process is performed in the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11, the impeller 53 is set to the deployed state in each banknote storage box 27, and then the storage process is terminated and the impeller 53 is transitioned to the retracted state.

[0185] When the banknote control unit 31 (Fig. 3) of the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 finishes the storage operation, it reads out the impeller state transition program from the memory unit 32 and executes it to form each functional block such as the drive control unit 35 inside, and starts the impeller state transition processing procedure RT1 shown in Fig. 15, and proceeds to the first step SP1.

[0186] In step SP1, the banknote control unit 31 causes the drive control unit 35 to start driving the actuator 71 in the forward direction, causing each impeller 53 of each banknote storage vault 27 to rotate in the forward direction T1, and then proceeds to the next step SP2. Incidentally, if the actuator 71 has already been driven in the forward direction, the banknote control unit 31 continues driving it in the forward direction (hereinafter referred to as forward drive).

[0187] In step SP2, the banknote control unit 31 determines, using the position detection processing unit 37 (FIG. 3), whether or not the fixed impeller 57 has reached the retracted position, i.e., whether or not the rotation angle has reached 0 degrees, based on the fixed position detection signal from the fixed position detection sensor 82. If a negative result is obtained here, the banknote control unit 31 repeats step SP2, waiting for the fixed impeller 57 to reach the retracted position.

[0188] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP2, the banknote control unit 31 proceeds to the next step SP3, where it stops the actuator 71 using the drive control unit 35, and then proceeds to the next step SP4. In step SP4, the banknote control unit 31 causes the pulse counter 36, which serves as a drive amount detection unit, to start counting the number of pulses included in the drive control signal supplied from the drive control unit 35 to the actuator 71, i.e., the number of differential pulses, and then proceeds to the next step SP5. In step SP5, the banknote control unit 31 causes the drive control unit 35 to start driving the actuator 71 in the reverse direction, and then proceeds to the next step SP6.

[0189] In step SP6, the banknote control unit 31 determines whether the differential impeller 58 has reached the retracted position, i.e., whether the rotation angle has reached 0 degrees, using the position detection processing unit 37 (Fig. 3) based on the differential position detection signal from the differential position detection sensor 84. If a negative result is obtained here, the banknote control unit 31 proceeds to the next step, SP7.

[0190] In step SP7, the banknote control unit 31 determines whether the number of differential pulses counted by the pulse counter 36 is equal to or greater than the upper limit of pulses (for example, 48 pulses). If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that the number of differential pulses is a relatively small value, and therefore it is necessary to continue waiting for the differential detection signal to turn on. At this time, the banknote control unit 31 returns to step SP6 again, and waits for the differential impeller 58 to reach the retracted position or for the number of differential pulses to reach the upper limit of pulses. At this time, the pulse counter 36 continues counting the number of pulses included in the drive control signal.

[0191] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP6, this means that the differential impeller 58 has reached the retracted position before the number of differential pulses reaches the upper limit number of pulses. In this case, the banknote control unit 31 proceeds to the next step SP8.

[0192] In step SP8, the banknote control unit 31 stops the actuator 71 using the drive control unit 35, and then proceeds to the next step SP9. In step SP9, the banknote control unit 31 ends counting the number of pulses included in the drive control signal (i.e., the number of differential pulses) using the pulse counter 36, and then proceeds to the next step SP10.

[0193] In step SP10, the banknote control unit 31 determines whether the number of differential pulses counted by the pulse counter 36 is equal to or greater than a lower limit number of pulses (e.g., 34 pulses) pre-stored in the memory unit 32. If a positive result is obtained here, this indicates that in each banknote storage vault 27, the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 are both in the retracted state, or that although they may have rotated slightly in the reverse direction T2 from their retracted positions, the tongue 55 does not protrude into the storage space 41. In other words, this indicates that it is unlikely that the tongue 55 of the impeller 53 will have an adverse effect on the banknotes BL, the stage 42, etc. in the storage space 41; in other words, it can be assumed that no abnormality has occurred with the impeller 53. In this case, the banknote control unit 31 proceeds to the next step SP14.

[0194] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP10, this indicates that at least one of the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 has rotated somewhat significantly in the reverse direction T2 from the retracted position in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, as in the differential retraction state S15 (FIG. 10) or the differential retraction state S25 (FIG. 11). In other words, this indicates that the tongue 55 of the impeller 53 protrudes into the storage space 41, which may adversely affect the banknotes BL, the stage 42, etc. in the storage space 41. In this case, the banknote control unit 31 proceeds to the next step SP13.

[0195] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP7, this indicates that the number of differential retraction pulses has reached the number of transport path protrusion pulses without the differential impeller 58 reaching the retracted position. This also indicates that, as in the differential retraction state S35 (FIG. 12) or the differential retraction state S45 (FIG. 13), in each banknote storage vault 27, at least one of the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 has rotated in the forward direction T1 from the retracted position, causing part of the tongue 55 to protrude into the transport path 44. In this case, the banknote control unit 31 proceeds to the next step SP11.

[0196] In step SP11, the banknote control unit 31 stops the actuator 71 using the drive control unit 35, similar to step SP8, and proceeds to the next step SP12. In step SP12, the banknote control unit 31 stops counting the number of pulses included in the drive control signal (i.e., the number of differential pulses) using the pulse counter 36, similar to step SP9, and proceeds to the next step SP13.

[0197] In step SP13, the banknote control unit 31 performs a predetermined communication process with the change control unit 10 (FIG. 1) via the communication unit 33 (FIG. 3) as an abnormality notification process, thereby causing the display operation unit 6 to display an abnormality screen indicating the abnormality, and then proceeds to the next step SP14. This abnormality screen displays, for example, text, images, etc. indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the banknote storage vault 27.

[0198] In step SP14, the banknote control unit 31 ends the impeller state transition process procedure RT1. Incidentally, if the banknote control unit 31 has notified the occurrence of an abnormality in step SP13, it cooperates with the change control unit 10 (FIG. 1) to execute a predetermined abnormality response process without performing a banknote dispensing operation.

[0199] [6. Effects, etc.] In the above configuration, the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 according to this embodiment is configured such that the impeller 53 in each banknote storage vault 27 is divided into a fixed impeller 57 and a differential impeller 58, and a driving force is transmitted from the differential impeller 58 to the fixed impeller 57 by the abutment of the limiter portion 62 and the stopper portion 64 (Figs. 5 to 7).

[0200] Furthermore, the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 is provided with an actuator 71 in the banknote storage vault 27A, which is the drive storage vault, and the driving force of the actuator 71 is transmitted to the differential impeller 58 to rotate or turn it, and this driving force is supplied to the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, which are driven storage vaults, by the banknote storage vault interlocking unit 100, so that the respective differential impellers 58 are interlocked (Fig. 8).

[0201] Therefore, compared to a configuration in which an actuator 71 is provided in each banknote storage vault 27 to drive each differential impeller 58, the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 can reduce the number of actuators 71, which in turn makes it possible to reduce the size of the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit housing 21 and manufacturing costs.

[0202] Looking at this from another perspective, the impeller 53 of the banknote storage vault 27 needs to project the tongue 55 into the storage space 41 during the storing operation (FIG. 4(A)), while there is a demand to retract the tongue 55 from within the storage space 41 during the dispensing operation (FIG. 4(B)). Therefore, the banknote storage vault 27 satisfies such demands by dividing the impeller 53 into a fixed impeller 57 and a differential impeller 58 and by switching the relative angles of the two to transition between a retracted state and an expanded state.

[0203] Furthermore, the banknote storage vault 27 limits the rotation direction of the fixed impeller 57 to only the forward direction T1, and limits the rotation range of the differential impeller 58 relative to the fixed impeller 57 to 180 degrees (FIG. 5). As a result, the banknote storage vault 27 can rotate the fixed impeller 57 following the differential impeller 58, and can regulate the rotation range of the differential impeller 58 by the fixed impeller 57, simply by rotating (rotating) the differential impeller 58 in the forward direction T1 or the reverse direction T2, thereby realizing both rotation of the impeller 53 in the deployed state and transition to the retracted state (FIG. 6, etc.).

[0204] For this reason, in the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11, when interlocking the operation of the impellers 53 among a plurality of banknote storage vaults 27, a relatively simple configuration is used to interlock only the rotation (turning) of the differential impeller 58, making it possible to make the fixed impeller 57 follow in each banknote storage vault 27 and to regulate the rotation range of the differential impeller 58 by the fixed impeller 57. In other words, in the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11, there is no need to provide a configuration for directly interlocking the fixed impellers 57 among the banknote storage vaults 27; interlocking can be achieved simply by making the fixed impeller 57 follow the differential impeller 58 (FIG. 9).

[0205] Furthermore, the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 is provided with a fixed position detection sensor 82 and a differential position detection sensor 84 only in the banknote storage vault 27A to detect the positions of the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58, while the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C are not provided with any position detection sensors (FIG. 8).

[0206] Then, in the impeller state transition process that transitions the impeller 53 from the deployed state to the retracted state, the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 counts the number of differential pulses from when the fixed detection signal turns on until the differential detection signal turns on (Fig. 15). Next, if the number of differential pulses is less than the lower limit pulse number, the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 determines that there is a possibility that the tongue 55 of the fixed impeller 57 protrudes into the storage space 41 in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, as in the differential retracted states S15 and S25 (Figs. 10 and 11), and notifies the occurrence of an abnormality via the display operation unit 6 (Fig. 1).

[0207] That is, although the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 does not have a fixed position detection sensor 82 and a differential position detection sensor 84 in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, it can determine whether or not the tongue 55 of the fixed impeller 57 in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C protrudes into the storage space 41 based on the number of differential pulses counted when transitioning to the retracted state.

[0208] In other words, compared to when position detection sensors are provided in each of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 can simplify the configuration and reduce manufacturing costs, while still being able to effectively detect the occurrence of abnormalities in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, and can perform the processing necessary to resolve the abnormality, such as notifying information or halting operation.

[0209] Furthermore, when the number of differential pulses exceeds the upper limit number of pulses, the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 notifies the display operation unit 6 (Fig. 1) of the occurrence of an abnormality, as there is a possibility that the tongue 55 of the differential impeller 58 may be protruding into the storage space 41 or the conveying path 44 in the banknote storage vaults 27A, 27B and 27C, as in the differential retraction states S35 and S45 (Figs. 12 and 13).

[0210] In other words, if the differential detection signal does not turn on even when the number of differential pulses exceeds the upper limit number of pulses, the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 can effectively detect the occurrence of an abnormality not only in the banknote storage vault 27A, which is equipped with the differential position detection sensor 84, but also in the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, which are not equipped with the differential position detection sensor 84.

[0211] According to the above configuration, the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 transmits driving force from the differential impeller 58 to the fixed impeller 57 in each banknote storage vault 27 to transition the impeller 53 to the deployed state or the retracted state. Furthermore, the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 transmits driving force of the actuator 71 to the differential impeller 58 of banknote storage vault 27A as well as to the differential impellers 58 of banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C to rotate or pivot them in conjunction with each other. This enables the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 to reduce the number of actuators 71 relative to the number of banknote storage vaults 27, thereby enabling the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit casing 21 to be made more compact and manufacturing costs to be reduced.

[0212] 7. Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the lower limit pulse number is set based on the angle α when the fixed impeller 57 rotates in the reverse direction T2 from the retracted position in the banknote storage vault 27 (FIG. 14) and the tongue 55 protrudes into the storage space 41. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the lower limit pulse number may be set based on the rotation angle when the tongue 55 interferes with other components, such as the rotation angle when the fixed impeller 57 rotates in the reverse direction T2 from the retracted position and the tongue 55 reaches the movement range of the stage 42.

[0213] In the above-described embodiment, the upper limit number of pulses is set to 48 pulses, which is 1.2 times the normal number of pulses (40 pulses). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the upper limit number of pulses may be set to various other values, such as 60 pulses, which is 1.5 times the normal number of pulses, or 80 pulses, which is twice the normal number of pulses.

[0214] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the fixed position detection sensor 82 and the differential position detection sensor 84 are provided only in the banknote storage vault 27A, which is the drive storage vault (FIG. 8). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, which are driven storage vaults, may each be provided with a fixed position detection sensor 82, and the banknote control unit 31 may determine whether or not there is an abnormality based on fixed detection signals obtained from these fixed position detection sensors 82. In this case, the banknote storage vault 27 in which an abnormality has occurred can be easily identified, and the obtained information can be notified via the display operation unit 6, which can be used by a maintenance worker or the like to quickly resolve the abnormality. Furthermore, the differential position detection sensor 84 may be provided in each of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C.

[0215] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the fixed position detection projection 81 and fixed position detection sensor 82 provided on the lower conveying rotating shaft 51 detect whether the fixed impeller 57 is in the retracted position, and the differential position detection projection 83 and differential position detection sensor 84 provided on the interlocking rotating shaft 76 detect whether the differential impeller 58 is in the retracted position. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various well-known sensors may be used to detect whether the fixed impeller 57 and the differential impeller 58 are in their respective retracted positions.

[0216] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an upper limit pulse number and a lower limit pulse number are defined based on the relationship between the number of pulses included in the drive control signal supplied to actuator 71, which is a stepping motor, and the rotation angle of impeller 53, and the differential pulse number is compared to these values ​​(FIG. 14). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, when information according to the angle of the output shaft of actuator 71 can be obtained, upper limit values ​​and lower limit values ​​corresponding to this information may be set, and information corresponding to the differential pulse number may be compared to these upper limit values ​​and lower limit values.

[0217] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the actuator 71 (FIG. 7) is a stepping motor. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other motors may be used. In this case, it is sufficient if the normal pulse count or a value replacing this can be obtained by supplying a signal corresponding to the rotation angle of the output shaft of the motor to the banknote control unit 31.

[0218] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the banknote storage vault interlocking unit 100 is configured with a transmission gear 101 and transmission belts 102 and 103 ( FIG. 8 ). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the driving force may be transmitted only by a plurality of gears without using a transmission belt, or, for example, a rotation shaft extending in the front-to-rear direction may be provided and the driving force may be transmitted by rotation of the rotation shaft. The key is that it is sufficient if the driving force of the actuator 71 can be transmitted to the interlocking rotation shafts 91 of the banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C, respectively, using various well-known mechanisms or combinations thereof. Furthermore, the means for transmitting the driving force from the interlocking rotation shafts 76 and 91 to the lower conveying rotation shaft 51 is not limited to the lower interlocking belt 79, and for example, well-known gears or the like may be used.

[0219] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the impeller 53 is configured by combining two fixed impellers 57 and one differential impeller 58 (FIG. 7). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the impeller 53 may be configured by combining one fixed impeller 57 and one differential impeller 58, or the impeller 53 may be configured by combining one fixed impeller 57 and two differential impellers 58.

[0220] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the tongues 55 of the impeller 53 are disposed so as to form angles of approximately 45 degrees from the center of rotation of the lower conveying rotation shaft 51. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the tongues 55 may be disposed so as to form various other angles, such as approximately 60 degrees or approximately 30 degrees.

[0221] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration has been described in which three banknote storage vaults 27 are provided in the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 (FIG. 2). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two or four or more banknote storage vaults 27 may be provided in the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11.

[0222] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration has been described in which banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C are arranged to face in opposite directions in the front-to-back direction relative to banknote storage vault 27A (FIG. 2). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, only one of banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C may be arranged to face the opposite side of banknote storage vault 27A in the front-to-back direction, or both banknote storage vaults 27B and 27C may be arranged to face the same direction as banknote storage vault 27A.

[0223] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention has been described as being applied to the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 incorporated in the change dispenser 3 that is part of the cash register change system 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to various devices that handle banknotes, such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and vending machines.

[0224] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 that stores banknotes as media in the banknote storage vault 27. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to various media processing devices that have media storage vaults that store various types of paper-like media, such as checks and gift certificates.

[0225] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and other embodiments. That is, the scope of application of the present invention extends to embodiments in which the above-described embodiments are combined in part or in whole with the above-described other embodiments, or to embodiments in which parts are extracted. The scope of application of the present invention also extends to embodiments in which part of the configuration described in any of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments is extracted and used as part of the configuration of any of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments, or to embodiments in which part of the extracted configuration is added to any of the above-described embodiments.

[0226] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 as a medium processing device is configured by the banknote storage vault 27 as a medium storage vault, the differential impeller 58 as a first impeller, the stopper unit 64 as a stopper, the fixed impeller 57 as a second impeller, the limiter unit 62 as a limiter, the actuator 71 as a drive source, and the banknote storage vault interlocking unit 100 as a drive transmission unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the medium processing device may be configured by a medium storage vault, a first impeller, a stopper, a second impeller, a limiter, a drive source, and a drive transmission unit having various other configurations. [Industrial Applicability]

[0227] The present invention can be used in, for example, cash register change dispensers used at checkout counters in retail stores. [Explanation of symbols]

[0228] 1... cash register change system, 3... change machine, 5... cash register control unit, 6... display operation unit, 10... change control unit, 11... banknote deposit / withdrawal unit, 21... banknote deposit / withdrawal unit housing, 27, 27A, 27B, 27C... banknote storage vault, 31... banknote control unit, 32... memory unit, 33... communication unit, 35... drive control unit, 36... pulse counter, 37... position detection processing unit, 40... housing, 41... storage space, 42... stage, 44... transport path, 51 ......Lower conveying rotating shaft, 53...Impeller, 54...Mounting portion, 55...Tongue, 57...Fixed impeller, 58...Differential impeller, 62...Limiter portion, 64...Stopper portion, 70, 90...Lower conveying drive portion, 71...Actuator, 76, 91...Interlocking rotating shaft, 79...Lower interlocking belt, 82...Fixed position detection sensor, 84...Differential position detection sensor, 100...Banknote storage cabinet interlocking portion, BL...Banknote, T1...Forward rotation direction, T2...Reverse direction.

Claims

1. a plurality of media storage cabinets for storing paper-like media; a first impeller provided in each of the plurality of media storage chambers, supported by a rotation shaft, having a first blade on a part of an outer periphery, and striking the media to accumulate them in the media storage chamber when rotated in a forward direction; a stopper that rotates in synchronization with the first impeller; a second impeller provided in each of the plurality of media storage chambers, supported coaxially with the rotation shaft, having a second impeller on a part of its outer periphery, and striking the media to accumulate them in the media storage chamber when rotating in the forward rotation direction; a limiter that rotates in synchronization with the second impeller; a drive source that rotates the first impeller provided in one of the plurality of medium storage chambers; a drive transmission unit that transmits the drive force from the drive source to the first impeller provided in another of the plurality of medium storage chambers, thereby rotating the first impeller; Equipped with In each of the plurality of medium storage cabinets, when the stopper abuts against the limiter, the second impeller rotates while following the first impeller with a delay of a predetermined following angle. A media processing device characterized by:

2. a position detection unit provided in one of the medium storage cabinets and configured to detect the positions of the first impeller and the second impeller; a control unit that controls the drive source based on a detection result by the position detection unit; Further comprising: The control unit When the accumulation of the media in the media storage is completed, a retraction operation is started to move the first impeller and the second impeller to retracted positions where they do not interfere with the media; When the position detection unit detects that the second impeller rotating in the forward direction has reached the retracted position, the drive source is stopped; Thereafter, the drive source is driven to rotate the first impeller in a reverse direction; When the position detection unit detects that the first impeller has reached the retracted position, the drive source is stopped, and the retraction operation of the first impeller and the second impeller is terminated. The media processing device according to claim 1 .

3. a drive amount detection unit that detects the drive amount of the drive source; Further comprising: The control unit determines that the evacuation operation has been completed normally in the other media storage containers if the reverse direction drive amount, which is the drive amount while the first impeller is rotating in the reverse direction, is equal to or greater than a predetermined lower limit threshold during the evacuation operation, and determines that the evacuation operation has not been completed normally in the other media storage containers if the reverse direction drive amount is less than the lower limit threshold. The media processing device according to claim 2 .

4. the medium storage has a storage space for storing the medium, the rotation shaft is located outside the storage space and at a position where a portion of the first blade and a portion of the second blade pass through the storage space when the first impeller and the second impeller rotate in the forward rotation direction; the retracted position is a position where the first blade and the second blade are retracted to the outside of the storage space, The lower limit threshold is set based on a rotation angle of the second impeller until a part of the second blade reaches the storage space from the retracted position. The media processing device according to claim 3 .

5. the medium storage has a storage space for storing the medium, and a stage on which the medium is placed within the storage space and which moves along a stacking direction in which the medium is stacked; the rotation shaft is located outside the storage space and at a position where a portion of the first blade and a portion of the second blade pass through the storage space when the first impeller and the second impeller rotate in the forward rotation direction; the retracted position is a position where the first blade and the second blade are retracted to the outside of the storage space, The lower limit threshold is set based on a rotation angle of the second impeller until a part of the second blade reaches the range of movement of the stage from the retracted position. The media processing device according to claim 3 .

6. a drive amount detection unit that detects the drive amount of the drive source; Further comprising: When the reverse direction drive amount, which is the drive amount while the first impeller is rotating in the reverse direction during the retraction operation, becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined upper threshold, the control unit stops the drive of the first impeller and determines that the retraction operation was not completed normally in one of the medium storage cabinets and the other medium storage cabinets, even if the position detection unit cannot detect that the first impeller has reached the retraction position. The media processing device according to claim 2 .

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