Medium processing device

Abstract

To enable a medium to be taken in an appropriate state.SOLUTION: When a bill is inserted by a user into an inlet part 12N of a bill insertion part 12, a bill processing device 5 of a cash processing device 1 rotates a picker roller 25, etc. as an alignment action, makes the bill contact with a block stop lever 30 in a block stop state, and rotates the bill by a driving force from the picker roller 25 closer to a proper posture. Then, when an insertion detection sensor 50 detects that the bill has been turned to the proper posture at the bill insertion part 12, the bill processing device 5 transitions the block stop lever 30 into a progress permission state, takes in bills while separating the bills one by one, and transports the bills in a conveyance direction. Thus, the bill processing device 5 is capable of taking in a bill after aligning in a proper posture by an alignment operation using the block stop lever 30, thereby drastically reducing a risk of an occurrence of bill jamming.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a media processing device, and is suitable for use in systems used in checkout counters or back-of-house areas of retail stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, for example, in cash register change systems, a combination of a POS register connected to a POS (Point Of Sales) system or the like and a change dispenser that processes the deposit and withdrawal of banknotes (also called media) and coins has become widespread. Among these change dispensers, banknote processing devices (also called media processing devices) that process banknotes include a deposit and withdrawal unit that exchanges banknotes with a cashier, a transport unit that transports banknotes, a discrimination unit that discriminates the denomination and authenticity of inserted banknotes, and a storage cabinet that stores banknotes by denomination (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-102019 A (Figure 2) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, inside a banknote processing device, banknotes are transported and stacked in a position where the short side of the banknote is parallel to the transport direction, and if the short side of the banknote is significantly inclined relative to the transport direction, there is a risk of jamming or other problems occurring.

[0005] For this reason, in banknote processing devices, users are instructed to insert banknotes in the correct orientation at the deposit port where banknotes are inserted from outside. However, in banknote processing devices, there are cases where banknotes are not always aligned in the correct orientation, which still poses a problem that can cause jams and the like.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to propose a media processing device that can take in media in an appropriate state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve this problem, the media processing device of the present invention includes a transport path along which a sheet-shaped medium is transported in a transport direction, a first guide facing one side of the medium, a first transport roller provided in the first guide and transmitting a driving force to the medium in the transport direction, a blocking portion provided on the transport direction side of a first clamping portion where the driving force is transmitted to the medium by the first transport roller, and a blocking portion provided in the first guide that transitions between a first state that prevents the medium from proceeding in the transport direction along the transport path and a second state that allows the medium to proceed in the transport direction along the transport path, The system is provided with a second conveying roller that clamps the medium between itself and a second opposing roller located on the opposite side of the conveying path at a second clamping point located on the conveying direction side of the blocking point and transmits a driving force to the medium in the conveying direction, a detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a medium at a plurality of detection points located on the opposite side of the conveying direction of the blocking point on the conveying path and dispersed in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and a control unit that controls the rotation of the first conveying roller and the second conveying roller and the blocking point based on the detection results supplied from the detection unit.

[0008] In the present invention, the medium is conveyed in the conveying direction by the first conveying roller while the blocking unit is in the first state, and the medium in contact with the blocking unit is rotated by transmitting a driving force from the first conveying roller, thereby bringing the medium closer to the proper posture suitable for conveying. Next, in the present invention, the detection unit detects the medium, thereby detecting that the proper posture has been reached, and by transitioning the blocking unit to the second state in response to this, the banknote in a state closer to the proper posture can be conveyed in the conveying direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, a media processing device that can load media in an appropriate state can be realized. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an external configuration of a cash processing device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic left side view showing the internal configuration of the banknote processing device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic left side view showing the configuration of the deposit unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a deposit unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is a schematic left side view showing the deposit port guide of the deposit unit in an open state. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a schematic left side view showing a state in which the blocking lever of the depositing section is in a progress allowing state. FIG. [Figure 7] 10 is a schematic plan view showing the spacing between the side guides and the blocking levers. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a pull-in monitoring sensor. [Figure 9] 10 is a schematic plan view showing the relationship between the width of the deposit transport path and the long side of the largest banknote that can be handled. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing the minimum banknote to be handled tilted from the proper posture. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing the conveyance of a minimum-sized banknote tilted from the proper posture. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing how the minimum-sized banknotes that are tilted from the proper posture are aligned. [Figure 13] 10 is a schematic plan view showing the state in which the alignment operation of the minimum banknote to be handled that is tilted from the proper posture is completed. FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a plurality of banknotes are deposited in a tilted state from the proper posture. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the alignment operation of a plurality of banknotes is completed. [Figure 16]10 is a flowchart showing a deposit processing procedure according to the first embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a deposit unit according to a second embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a pull-in monitoring sensor and an alignment sensor. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing the minimum banknote to be handled that is significantly tilted from the proper posture. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing the smallest banknotes that can be handled and aligned by the alignment operation. [Figure 21] 10 is a flowchart showing a deposit processing procedure according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] 1. First Embodiment [1-1. Configuration of cash processing device] As shown in the schematic appearance of Figure 1, the cash processing device 1 according to the first embodiment has a general control device 3, a banknote processing device 5, and a coin processing device 6 incorporated in a housing 2, and a display operation unit 8 provided above them.

[0013] This cash processing device 1 is operated by a retail store staff member or the customer (hereinafter also referred to as the user) when, for example, a customer pays for products they wish to purchase at a checkout (a so-called cash register) in a retail store such as a supermarket or convenience store. In the following description, 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 overall control device 3 is mainly composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) not shown, and by reading and executing various programs such as a change dispensing program from a change memory unit (not shown) that stores various information, it controls the cash processing device 1 overall and performs various processes such as deposit transactions and withdrawal transactions.

[0015] The banknote processing device 5 is a part that performs various processes related to banknotes, and not only delivers banknotes to and from users but also performs processes such as validating and counting the banknotes and storing them separately by denomination. The coin processing device 6 is a part that performs various processes related to coins, and not only delivers coins to and from users but also performs processes such as validating and counting the coins and storing them separately by denomination.

[0016] The display operation unit 8 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 8 displays various information on the liquid crystal display, detects operation instructions from the user using the touch sensor, and notifies the overall control device 3.

[0017] [1-2. Configuration of banknote processing device] As shown in a schematic left side view in FIG. 2, most of the exterior of the banknote processing device 5 is covered by a box-shaped banknote processing device housing 10, and various mechanisms are incorporated inside.

[0018] The banknote processing device housing 10 is configured as a rectangular parallelepiped that is relatively long in the vertical direction overall, and a portion near the upper end of the front surface 10F protrudes forward to form a front protruding portion 10P. A protruding opening 10PH is formed by opening a portion of the front protruding portion 10P from the front side to the upper side, and exposes a deposit portion 12 and a withdrawal portion 13, which will be described later.

[0019] Inside the housing 2, a banknote control unit 11, a deposit unit 12, a dispensing unit 13, a transport unit 14, a discriminating unit 15, three banknote storage boxes 16 (16A, 16B, and 16C), a collection box 17, and the like are provided.

[0020] The banknote control unit 11 as a control unit is a part that performs overall control of the entire banknote processing device 5. This banknote control unit 11 is configured mainly with a CPU (not shown), and performs various processes such as deposit processing and withdrawal processing by reading and executing predetermined programs from a ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, etc. (not shown). The banknote control unit 11 also has an internal memory unit made up of a RAM (Random Access Memory), hard disk drive, flash memory, etc., and stores various types of information in this memory unit.

[0021] The deposit unit 12 is provided on the upper side of the front protrusion 10P inside the banknote processing device housing 10, and is a section where a user inserts one or more banknotes. When a user inserts banknotes, the deposit unit 12 takes in the inserted banknotes while separating them one by one, and delivers them to the transport unit 14 at the rear (details will be described later).

[0022] The withdrawal section 13 is located below the front protrusion 10P within the banknote processing device housing 10, i.e., below the deposit section 12, and stores, for example, banknotes that cannot be deposited during the deposit process and are to be returned, and banknotes that are to be withdrawn during the withdrawal process, and allows the user to receive them.

[0023] The transport unit 14 is made up of transport guides, transport rollers, transport belts, a transport motor, etc. (not shown), and transports banknotes along a transport path W formed to connect each unit. The transport unit 14 is also provided with a plurality of switching units as appropriate, and by switching these switching units under the control of the banknote control unit 11, the transport path of banknotes can be changed as appropriate.

[0024] Incidentally, each part within the banknote processing device 5, i.e., the deposit unit 12, the transport unit 14, etc., is configured on the premise that the banknotes will be transported in an ideal posture in which the short sides of the banknotes are parallel to the transport direction. However, it is not necessarily easy to adjust the banknotes to this ideal posture, and depending on the initial posture, this can take time and effort, resulting in extreme inefficiency. Therefore, the banknote processing device 5 is designed with a so-called margin (tolerance) in mind so that the transport process, stacking process, etc. can be performed appropriately even for banknotes that are rotated within a relatively small angle range from the ideal posture.

[0025] Hereinafter, with respect to the posture of banknotes, those that fall within this angle range (for example, within ±3° or within +2 mm when converted into distance) with the ideal posture as the reference will be referred to as the proper posture. In other words, in the transport unit 14, if the banknotes are aligned in the proper posture, they can be transported smoothly with almost no jamming or other issues caused by the posture of the banknotes.

[0026] The validator 15 validates the denomination, degree of damage, authenticity, etc. of the banknotes, and supplies the validation results obtained to the banknote controller 11. In response to this, the banknote controller 11 appropriately sets the transport route, transport destination, etc. of the banknotes, and appropriately controls the transport unit 14 etc. accordingly.

[0027] The banknote storage vault 16 receives banknotes transported by the transport unit 14, accumulates and stores them therein, and also separates and feeds out the stored banknotes one by one, and delivers them to the transport unit 14. The collection vault 17 is configured to be detachable from the banknote processing device housing 10, and receives banknotes transported by the transport unit 14, accumulates and stores them therein.

[0028] [1-3. Composition of the deposit section] Next, the configuration of the deposit unit 12 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and other figures. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the deposit unit 12 as seen from the left side. For convenience of explanation, some parts are omitted or simplified in FIG. 3, or cross sections are shown to show the internal structure and the relationships between the parts. The same applies to the subsequent figures.

[0029] In this depositing unit 12, a deposit transport path W12 is formed along a direction that is slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal, with the rear side pulled lower than the front side, and various components are arranged above and below this deposit transport path W12. Also, Figure 4 is a schematic plan view showing the portion of depositing unit 12 below the deposit transport path W12 as viewed from above.

[0030] The deposit conveying path W12 represents a path for conveying banknotes, and is intended to convey banknotes inserted by a user at the front side from the front side to the rear-downward direction. Therefore, hereinafter, the rear-downward direction will also be referred to as the conveying direction, the opposite front-upward direction will also be referred to as the reverse conveying direction, and the left-right direction perpendicular to the conveying direction will also be referred to as the width direction. Furthermore, the front-upward side of the deposit conveying path W12 will also be referred to as the upstream side, and the rear-downward side will also be referred to as the downstream side.

[0031] Incidentally, it is assumed that banknotes, which are leaf-shaped and rectangular media, will be inserted by the user in a position where the long sides face roughly to the front and back, the short sides face roughly to the left and right, and the paper surface faces roughly up and down in the deposit unit 12, and various displays are used to provide explanations and warnings to the user. Thereafter, the deposit unit 12 takes in each banknote with its short sides roughly parallel to the transport direction and its long sides positioned at the front and rear, i.e., in the correct position, and transports it along the deposit transport path W12.

[0032] In addition, in the deposit unit 12, each portion provided in the deposit transport path W12 is configured to be substantially symmetrical with respect to the imaginary center line LV1 (FIG. 4), which is an imaginary center line in the left-right direction.

[0033] [1-3-1. Composition of each guide] In the depositing section 12, a deposit floor guide 21 is provided below the deposit transport path W12, and a deposit upper guide 22 and a deposit port guide 23 are provided above the deposit transport path W12. In other words, in the depositing section 12, the space formed between the deposit floor guide 21 and the deposit upper guide 22 and deposit port guide 23 constitutes the deposit transport path W12.

[0034] The deposit floor guide 21 as the first guide has an upper surface 21S of the deposit floor guide that is a generally flat plane, but is partially curved. The front portion of the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S is adapted to place banknotes inserted (i.e., deposited) by the user and faces one side of the banknotes.

[0035] A plurality of rollers, optical sensors, etc. are incorporated inside the deposit floor guide 21 (described in detail later). As shown in Fig. 4, holes for exposing parts of various rollers described later, holes for passing various detection lights, etc. are appropriately provided on the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S.

[0036] The deposit upper guide 22 is disposed in a position opposite to the rear portion of the deposit floor guide 21 across the deposit transport path W12. The deposit upper guide lower surface 22S, which is the lower surface of this deposit upper guide 22, is generally flat, but is appropriately curved so that it is spaced at a substantially constant distance from the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S.

[0037] Similar to the deposit floor guide 21, the deposit upper guide 22 incorporates multiple rollers, optical sensors, and the like inside (details will be described later). Similarly to the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S, the deposit upper guide lower surface 22S is appropriately provided with holes for exposing portions of the various rollers described below and holes for passing various detection lights. Furthermore, the deposit upper guide front surface 22F, which is the front surface of the deposit upper guide 22, has a portion formed in a planar shape roughly aligned vertically, and is appropriately provided with holes for exposing portions of the various rollers described below and holes for passing various detection lights.

[0038] The deposit port guide 23 is shaped such that its vertical length is shorter (thinner) at the front than at the rear, i.e., it is roughly wedge-shaped when viewed from the left and right, and is disposed in front of the deposit upper guide 22. Hereinafter, in the deposit port guide 23 in the state shown in Figure 3, the portion that faces the deposit floor guide 21 is referred to as the deposit port guide guide surface 23S. This deposit port guide guide surface 23S is roughly flat and planar, and is approximately parallel to the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S.

[0039] In the following description, the portion of the deposit port guide 23 located most forward is referred to as the deposit port guide tip 23T. Furthermore, the gap formed between the deposit port guide tip 23T and the deposit floor guide 21, i.e., the portion that is most forward (upstream) of the deposit transport path W12, is referred to as the entrance 12N.

[0040] A plurality of rollers, optical components, etc. are incorporated inside deposit port guide 23 (described in detail later). In addition, deposit port guide guiding surface 23S is appropriately provided with holes for exposing parts of various rollers described later, holes for passing various detection lights, etc.

[0041] Furthermore, the deposit port guide 23 is supported by a deposit port guide rotation shaft X23 provided within the deposit port upper guide 22 so as to be rotatable relative to the deposit port upper guide 22. Specifically, the deposit port guide 23 is operated by the user to rotate within a range of approximately 90 degrees between a closed state in which the deposit port guide tip 23T is positioned forward with respect to the deposit port guide rotation shaft X23 as shown in Fig. 3 and an open state in which the deposit port guide tip 23T is positioned above the deposit port guide rotation shaft X23 as shown in Fig. 5.

[0042] The deposit upper guide 22 is also provided with an open / close sensor 22E, which generates an open / close signal indicating whether the deposit port guide 23 is in a closed state or not and supplies the signal to the banknote control unit 11 (Fig. 2). In response to this, the banknote control unit 11 recognizes whether the deposit port guide 23 is in a closed state or not based on the open / close signal obtained from the open / close sensor 22E, and performs various processes based on the obtained recognition result.

[0043] Incidentally, deposit port guide 23 is locked in a closed state (Fig. 3) by a locking mechanism (not shown) to restrict its rotation, and when this lock is released, rotation is permitted, enabling it to transition to an open state (Fig. 5). Below, the configuration of each part will be explained, focusing on the case when deposit port guide 23 is in the closed state (Fig. 3).

[0044] When depositing unit 12 has depositing port guide 23 in the closed state (FIG. 3), it is assumed that a relatively small number of stacked banknotes, such as approximately 10 or less, will be taken in. When depositing port guide 23 has depositing port guide 23 in the open state (FIG. 5), it is assumed that depositing unit 12 will continuously take in a relatively large number of banknotes, such as more than 10, for example, several hundred banknotes.

[0045] The side guides 24L and 24R (FIG. 4) are provided on the left and right sides, respectively, of the deposit floor guide 21, the deposit upper guide 22, and the deposit port guide 23, and regulate the left-right movement range of banknotes transported within the deposit conveyance path W12. In other words, the side guides 24L and 24R (hereinafter collectively referred to as side guides 24) define the left-right range of the deposit conveyance path W12.

[0046] [1-3-2. Configuration and arrangement of each roller] In the depositing section 12, four types of rollers, namely, a picker roller 25, a picker opposing roller 26, a feed roller 27, and a feed opposing roller 28, are provided separately on the upper and lower sides of the deposit conveying path W12.

[0047] The picker roller 25 as the first conveying roller is incorporated inside the deposit floor guide 21 at a location below the deposit port guide 23. The picker roller 25 is formed in a cylindrical or disc shape with its central axis aligned in the left-right direction, and a high-friction member with a relatively high friction force is attached only to a part of its outer periphery.

[0048] As shown in Fig. 4, a total of four picker rollers 25 are provided dispersedly within approximately the central one-third of the left-right range of the deposit unit 12. Each picker roller 25 (Fig. 3) has its center inserted into a picker roller rotation axis X25 that is shaped like a long, thin cylinder or rod and extends along the left-right direction.

[0049] The picker roller rotation axis X25 is supported so as to be freely rotatable by the deposit floor guide 21, and rotates integrally with the four picker rollers 25. Only a portion near the upper end of each picker roller 25 protrudes above the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S.

[0050] Picker-facing rollers 26 as first facing rollers are incorporated inside deposit port guide 23, above picker rollers 25, at positions facing picker rollers 25. Furthermore, picker-facing rollers 26 are provided in deposit unit 12 at four positions spaced apart in the left-right direction facing the four picker rollers 25, respectively.

[0051] The picker-facing rollers 26 are inserted at their centers onto picker-facing roller rotation shafts X26 that are slender, cylindrical, or rod-shaped and extend in the left-right direction, and are able to rotate freely about the picker-facing roller rotation shafts X26. Only a portion of each picker-facing roller 26 near its lower end protrudes below the deposit port guide surface 23S.

[0052] Furthermore, the picker facing roller rotation axis X26 is supported by the deposit port guide 23 via a spring S26, and is urged towards the picker roller 25. Therefore, in the deposit unit 12, the picker facing rollers 26 are brought into contact with the picker rollers 25 in the deposit transport path W12, and when a banknote is present in the deposit transport path W12, the banknote can be sandwiched between the picker roller 25 and the picker facing roller 26.

[0053] The feed roller 27, which serves as the second conveying roller, is incorporated into the deposit floor guide 21 at a location behind the picker roller 25. The feed roller 27 is formed in a cylindrical shape with its central axis aligned in the left-right direction, and like the picker roller 25, a high-friction member is attached to only a portion of its outer periphery.

[0054] 4, two feed rollers 27 are provided spaced apart within approximately the central one-third of the left-right range of the depositing unit 12. Each feed roller 27 (FIG. 3) is fitted at its center with a feed roller rotation shaft X27 that is shaped like a long, thin cylinder or rod and extends along the left-right direction.

[0055] Like the picker roller rotation shaft X25, the feed roller rotation shaft X27 is supported so as to be freely rotatable by the deposit floor guide 21, and rotates integrally with the two feed rollers 27. Also, like the picker rollers 25, only a portion near the upper end of each feed roller 27 protrudes above the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S.

[0056] The feed opposing roller 28 as the second opposing roller is incorporated inside the deposit upper guide 22, above the feed roller 27, at a position opposing the feed roller 27. Further, the deposit unit 12 is provided with two feed opposing rollers 28 at positions spaced apart in the left-right direction opposing the two feed rollers 27, respectively.

[0057] A feed opposing roller rotation shaft X28, which is shaped like a thin cylinder or rod and extends in the left-right direction, is inserted through the center of each feed opposing roller 28. The feed opposing roller rotation shaft X28 is supported so as to be freely rotatable by the deposit upper guide 22, and rotates integrally with the two feed opposing rollers 28. Only a portion near the lower end of each feed opposing roller 28 protrudes below the deposit upper guide lower surface 22S.

[0058] For this reason, in the deposit section 12, the feed opposing roller 28 is abutted against or placed very close to the feed roller 27 within the deposit conveying path W12, and if there is a banknote within the deposit conveying path W12, the banknote can be clamped between the feed roller 27 and the feed opposing roller 28.

[0059] Furthermore, the deposit unit 12 is provided with a deposit motor 29. This deposit motor 29 transmits driving force to the picker roller rotation shaft X25 and the feed roller rotation shaft X27 via a transmission mechanism (not shown) composed of a plurality of gears and the like.

[0060] When the depositing unit 12 transports banknotes in the transport direction using the picker roller 25 or the like, it can rotate the picker roller 25 and the feed roller 27 in the direction of arrow R2 by rotating the depositing motor 29 in a predetermined forward direction under the control of the banknote control unit 11 (Fig. 2). When the depositing unit 12 transports banknotes in the reverse transport direction using the picker roller 25 or the like, it can rotate the picker roller 25 and the feed roller 27 in the direction of arrow R1 by rotating the depositing motor 29 in a reverse direction opposite to the forward direction under the control of the banknote control unit 11 (Fig. 2).

[0061] Hereinafter, the locations on the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S (Figure 4) where each picker roller 25 and each picker opposing roller 26 clamp banknotes will be referred to as picker locations P25A, P25B, P25C and P25D, and these will be collectively referred to as picker location P25 or first clamping location.

[0062] Furthermore, in the following, the locations on the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S (FIG. 4) where the banknotes are clamped by the feed rollers 27 and the feed opposing rollers 28 are referred to as feed locations P27A and P27B, and these are collectively referred to as feed location P27 or second clamping location.

[0063] [1-3-3. Configuration and arrangement of blocking lever] In addition to these components, the depositing unit 12 (FIG. 3) is provided with blocking levers 30A, 30B, and 30C at three positions separated in the left-right direction inside the deposit floor guide 21, respectively.

[0064] The left blocking lever 30A is located slightly to the left of the feed roller 27 and the picker roller 25 in the left-right direction. In other words, when viewed from the imaginary center line LV1, which is an imaginary center line in the left-right direction, the blocking lever 30A is located outside (i.e., farther away from) the feed roller 27 and the picker roller 25.

[0065] The central blocking lever 30B is located on the imaginary center line LV1, i.e., between the two feed rollers 27. The right blocking lever 30C is located at a position symmetrical to the blocking lever 30A with the imaginary center line LV1 as the axis of symmetry.

[0066] The blocking levers 30A, 30B, and 30C are configured similarly to one another, differing only in their positions in the left-right direction, and therefore will be collectively referred to as blocking lever 30 below, and their configuration will be described.

[0067] The block lever 30 has a shape like a long, narrow rectangular pillar extending in the front-to-rear direction, with about one-third of its length curved downward to protrude toward the center in the front-to-rear direction. That is, the block lever 30 is broadly divided into a straight section connecting the upper front side and the lower rear side, an arc-shaped section that corresponds to about one-quarter of a circle, and a straight section connecting the lower front side and the upper rear side. Hereinafter, the portion of the block lever 30 near its front end will be referred to as a base section 31, and the portion near its rear end will be referred to as a tip section 32.

[0068] As shown in Figure 4, holes are provided at three locations on the deposit floor guide top surface 21S slightly forward of the feed roller rotation axis X27 for inserting the tip 32 of the blocking lever 30, and a portion of the tip 32 protrudes above the deposit floor guide top surface 21S, i.e., into the deposit conveying path W12 (Figure 3).

[0069] Hereinafter, the locations on the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S (FIG. 4) where the blocking levers 30A, 30B, and 30C protrude into the deposit conveying path W12 will be referred to as blocking locations P30A, P30B, and P30C, respectively, and these will be collectively referred to as blocking location P30.

[0070] The blocking lever 30 has a pivot shaft 34 at its base 31, and can pivot around the pivot shaft 34 within a relatively narrow range, thereby displacing the tip 32 generally in the vertical direction.

[0071] Specifically, when the blocking lever 30 is rotated to the maximum in the direction of arrow R1 in Fig. 3, a part of the tip 32 protrudes above the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S and the deposit port guide surface 23S, as shown in Fig. 3, and the blocking lever 30 is in a state where it blocks (suppresses) the progress of banknotes in the deposit conveying path W12. Hereinafter, such a state will be referred to as the blocking state or the first state.

[0072] On the other hand, when the blocking lever 30 is rotated to the maximum in the direction of arrow R2 in Fig. 3, the tip 32 is retracted below the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S, as shown in Fig. 6, and the progress of banknotes in the deposit conveying path W12 is not impeded (the progress is allowed). Hereinafter, this state will be referred to as the progress allowing state or the second state.

[0073] Furthermore, a driving force is supplied to the vicinity of the blocking lever 30 from a blocking drive unit 36 ​​via a drive transmission unit 35 made up of a plurality of gears and the like. This blocking drive unit 36 ​​is, for example, a stepping motor, and drives or stops in a direction based on the control of the banknote control unit 11. This allows the blocking lever 30 to transition to a blocking state (Fig. 3) or a progress-permitting state (Fig. 6).

[0074] Next, the distance between each side guide 24 and each blocking lever 30 in the left-right direction will be described. First, as shown in Fig. 7 corresponding to Fig. 4, the short side of the smallest banknote (hereinafter referred to as the smallest banknote BLS) to be handled in the banknote handling device 5 has a length LS1 and a long side of a length LS2. In other words, the length LS2 is sufficiently shorter than the length LS1.

[0075] Here, in the left-right direction, the distance between the left side guide 24L and the left blocking lever 30A is length LG1, the distance between the blocking lever 30A and the central blocking lever 30B is length LG2, the distance between the central blocking lever 30B and the right blocking lever 30C is length LG3, and the distance between the blocking lever 30C and the right side guide 24R is length LG4.

[0076] In this case, the lengths LG1, LG2, LG3, and LG4 are all shorter than the length LS2. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 7, if a user attempts to insert a banknote into the deposit conveying path W12 with the short side of the banknote at the front, i.e., facing in the wrong direction, the deposit unit 12 can block the banknote if the blocking lever 30 is in the blocking state (Fig. 3).

[0077] In the depositing unit 12, when the depositing port guide 23 is in the blocked state (FIG. 3), the blocking lever 30 is shifted to the blocked state (FIG. 3) in advance to block the newly inserted banknote. After that, when the sensors described later determine that the banknote can be taken in, the depositing unit 12 shifts the blocking lever 30 to the progress allowing state (FIG. 6) to take in the banknote (details will be described later).

[0078] Furthermore, in the deposit unit 12, when the deposit port guide 23 is in the open state (FIG. 5), it is assumed that the banknotes placed on the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S are taken in while being separated by the feed roller 27, and at this time, the blocking lever 30 may interfere with the separating operation. Therefore, when the deposit unit 12 detects that the deposit port guide 23 has been put into the open state (FIG. 5) by the user, it transitions the blocking lever 30 to the progress allowing state (FIG. 6) based on the control of the banknote control unit 11.

[0079] [1-3-4. Configuration and placement of each sensor] Furthermore, the depositing unit 12 is provided with a pull-in monitoring sensor 40, three insertion detection sensors 50A, 50B, and 50C, and five banknote verification sensors 60A, 60B, 60C, 60D, and 60E. The configuration and arrangement of each of these sensors, as well as their respective roles, will be described below.

[0080] [1-3-4-1. Configuration and placement of lead-in monitoring sensors] The withdrawal monitoring sensor 40 (Fig. 3) is composed of a light-emitting unit 41 and a light-receiving unit 43 provided in the deposit floor guide 21, and a prism 42 provided in the deposit port guide 23. The light-emitting unit 41 is located in front of the picker roller rotation axis X25 in the deposit floor guide 21 and slightly away to the left of the center in the left-right direction, and emits detection light diagonally upward and rearward.

[0081] This detection light travels in a straight line from the light-emitting unit 41 diagonally upward and rearward, passes through a passage hole provided in the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S and a passage hole provided in the deposit port guide guide surface 23S, and is incident on the prism 42. Hereinafter, the location of the passage hole provided in the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S will be referred to as the withdrawal monitoring location P40A.

[0082] 8, the prism 42 is configured as a rectangular parallelepiped that is elongated in the left-right direction as a whole, and the upper portions of the left and right ends are shaved off at an angle to form a reflecting surface. When detection light enters the left side of the lower surface of this prism 42, it is reflected by the left reflecting surface and travels to the right, and the detection light is further reflected by the right reflecting surface and travels diagonally downward again.

[0083] This detection light travels in a straight line from near the right end on the lower surface of the prism 42 diagonally downward and forward, passes through a passage hole provided in the deposit port guide surface 23S and a passage hole provided in the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S, and proceeds into the deposit floor guide 21. Hereinafter, the location of the passage hole provided in the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S will be referred to as the withdrawal monitoring location P40B.

[0084] The light receiving unit 43 is located in front of the picker roller rotation axis X25 within the deposit floor guide 21 and slightly away from the left-right center to the right, and receives detection light traveling from diagonally above and behind. The light receiving unit 43 also generates a light reception signal according to the amount of detection light received and notifies the banknote control unit 11 of this signal.

[0085] In response to this, if the signal level of the light reception signal is below a predetermined threshold, the banknote control unit 11 determines that the detection light has been blocked at at least one of the pull-in monitoring points P40A and P40B, and recognizes that a part of the banknote is located at at least one of the pull-in monitoring points P40A and P40B. Hereinafter, when the detection light is blocked at the pull-in monitoring sensor 40 and the signal level of the light reception signal is below a predetermined threshold, it will be expressed as "on," and conversely, when the detection light is not blocked, it will be expressed as "off." The same expressions will be used for the other sensors.

[0086] The signal level threshold is set to a value equivalent to about half the signal level when, for example, the detection light emitted from the light-emitting unit 41 enters the light-receiving unit 43 without being blocked at all by banknotes or the like. In other words, for example, when more than half the area of ​​the pull-in monitoring point P40A is blocked by banknotes, the pull-in monitoring sensor 40 turns on. The same is set for each of the other sensors.

[0087] In the deposit unit 12, under the control of the banknote control unit 11, when the pull-in monitoring sensor 40 turns on while no banknotes have been deposited and the picker rollers 25 and other devices are stationary, the deposit unit 12 recognizes that a new banknote has been inserted into the entrance unit 12N by the user and starts rotating the picker rollers 25 and other devices.

[0088] [1-3-4-2. Configuration and placement of insertion detection sensor] The three insertion detection sensors 50A, 50B, and 50C have the same configuration and are provided at three positions spaced apart in the left-right direction. Hereinafter, the insertion detection sensors 50 will also be simply referred to as detection units.

[0089] The left insertion detection sensor 50A is provided in a position slightly to the left of the feed roller 27, picker roller 25, and blocking lever 30A in the left-right direction. In other words, the insertion detection sensor 50A is located outside (i.e., farther away from) the feed roller 27, picker roller 25, and blocking lever 30A when viewed from the imaginary center line LV1 in the left-right direction.

[0090] The central insertion detection sensor 50B is located on the imaginary center line LV1 in the left-right direction, i.e., between the two feed rollers 27. The right insertion detection sensor 50C is located at a position symmetrical to the insertion detection sensor 50A with the imaginary center line LV1 as the axis of symmetry.

[0091] The insertion detection sensors 50A, 50B, and 50C are configured similarly to one another, differing only in their positions in the left-right direction. Therefore, hereinafter, these will be collectively referred to as the insertion detection sensor 50, and their configurations will be described.

[0092] The insertion detection sensor 50 is composed of a light-emitting unit 51 provided inside the deposit floor guide 21 and a light-receiving unit 52 provided inside the deposit upper guide 22. The light-emitting unit 51 is disposed in front of the feed roller rotation axis X27 inside the deposit floor guide 21, and similar to the light-emitting unit 41 of the pull-in monitoring sensor 40, emits detection light diagonally upward and rearward.

[0093] This detection light travels in a straight line from the light-emitting unit 51 diagonally upward and rearward, passes through a passage hole provided in the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S, and passes through the deposit transport path W12. Hereinafter, the location of the passage hole provided in the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S will be referred to as the insertion detection location P50 (P50A, P50B, and P50C).

[0094] The detection light then passes through the gap between the deposit port guide guiding surface 23S and the deposit upper guide lower surface 22S, passes through a passage hole provided in the deposit upper guide front surface 22F, and is incident on and received by the light receiving unit 52 provided in the deposit upper guide 22. Similar to the light receiving unit 43 of the pull-in monitoring sensor 40, the light receiving unit 52 generates a light receiving signal according to the amount of detection light received, and notifies the banknote control unit 11 of this signal.

[0095] In response to this, if the signal level of the light reception signal notified from the insertion detection sensor 50A is below a predetermined threshold, for example, the banknote control unit 11 determines that the detection light has been blocked at the insertion detection point P50A and recognizes that part of the banknote is located at the insertion detection point P50A.The banknote control unit 11 can also independently recognize whether part of the banknote is located at the insertion detection points P50B and P50C based on the light reception signals notified from each of the insertion detection sensors 50B and 50C.

[0096] These insertion detection points P50A, P50B, and P50C are located between the picker roller 25 and the blocking lever 30 in the conveying direction, and in the vicinity of the blocking lever 30. Furthermore, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 11, these insertion detection points P50A, P50B, and P50C are located at positions that are turned on by a banknote BL when the deposit port guide 23 is in the open state and the banknote BL is placed toward the rear of the banknote placing surface 21SA.

[0097] For convenience of explanation, hereinafter, the insertion detection point P50B located relatively inside in the left-right direction will also be referred to as the inside detection point, and the insertion detection points P50A and P50C located relatively outside will also be referred to as the outside detection points.

[0098] In the depositing unit 12, under the control of the banknote control unit 11, when the blocking lever 30 is in the blocking state (FIG. 3) and the picker rollers 25 and the like are rotating in response to the insertion of banknotes, the banknote control unit 11 checks the detection status of the banknotes using the insertion detection sensors 50. At this time, if the detection status of each insertion detection sensor 50 is a predetermined alignment completion state, the banknote control unit 11 transitions the blocking lever 30 in the depositing unit 12 to a progress allowing state (FIG. 6) and starts taking in the banknotes (this will be described in detail later).

[0099] [1-3-4-3. Configuration and placement of banknote verification sensor] The five banknote verification sensors 60A, 60B, 60C, 60D and 60E (hereinafter collectively referred to as banknote verification sensors 60) are all configured in a manner similar to the insertion detection sensor 50, except for their placement within the deposit section 12.

[0100] That is, the banknote verification sensors 60A, 60B, 60C, 60D and 60E are arranged so that their respective passage holes, which are provided on the upper surface 21S of the deposit floor guide (Figure 4) to allow their respective detection lights to pass through, pass through banknote verification points P60A, P60B, P60C, P60D and P60E (hereinafter collectively referred to as banknote verification points P60).

[0101] All five banknote confirmation points P60 are located slightly rearward from the feed roller rotation axis X27, and are arranged from left to right in the order of banknote confirmation points P60A, P60B, P60C, P60D, and P60E, with some distance between each other. However, in the front-to-rear direction, only banknote confirmation point P60C is located slightly forward of the other banknote confirmation points P60A, P60B, P60D, and P60E.

[0102] Each banknote verification sensor 60 generates a light reception signal according to the amount of detection light received by its light receiving unit, and notifies the banknote control unit 11 of this signal. In response to this, the banknote control unit 11 can independently determine whether or not a part of a banknote is located at each banknote verification position P60, just as in the case of the insertion detection sensor 50.

[0103] In the depositing unit 12, under the control of the banknote control unit 11, when the blocking lever 30 is in the advancement permitting state (FIG. 6) and banknotes are being transported backward by the feed rollers 27 etc., the banknote confirmation sensors 60 check the detection status of the banknotes. At this time, if the detection status of each banknote confirmation sensor 60 matches a predetermined detection pattern, the banknote control unit 11 determines that a legitimate banknote is not being transported, and rotates the feed rollers 27 etc. in the depositing unit 12 in the reverse direction to transport the banknote in the opposite direction, and returns the banknote to the user (this will be described in detail later).

[0104] [1-4. Depositing banknotes] Next, the deposit of banknotes through the deposit unit 12 when the deposit port guide 23 is in the closed state (FIG. 3) will be described.

[0105] As described above, the banknote processing device 5 is expected to handle banknotes of multiple denominations, but generally, the size of banknotes, i.e., the length of the long side and short side, often differs depending on the denomination. Therefore, the deposit unit 12 is designed to be able to appropriately take in both the largest banknote to be handled (hereinafter referred to as the maximum banknote to be handled BLL) and the smallest banknote, the minimum banknote to be handled BLS.

[0106] For example, in the deposit section 12, as shown in Figure 9, the length L24, which is the distance between the left and right side guides 24 and represents the width of the deposit conveying path W12, is slightly longer than the length LL2, which is the length of the long side of the largest banknote BLL that can be handled, but the length of the gap formed in the left-right direction is sufficiently short.

[0107] Therefore, in the deposit section 12, when the paper surface of the largest banknote handled, a BLL banknote, is placed facing the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S and each long side is positioned facing roughly to the front and rear, respectively, the side guides 24 restrict the range in which each short side can move and the range in which it can rotate on the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S.

[0108] Therefore, when the depositing unit 12 places the maximum-sized banknote BLL facing the entire surface of the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S with each long side facing the front-to-rear direction, the short sides of the banknote BLL become roughly parallel to the conveying direction due to the left and right side guides 24. In other words, when taking in the maximum-sized banknote BLL, the depositing unit 12 can prevent the banknote BLL from proceeding with its short sides significantly tilted from the conveying direction (so-called skew), and can deliver it to the conveying unit 14 in the correct position.

[0109] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 10, the deposit section 12 has a length L24, which is the distance between the left and right side guides 24, that is sufficiently longer than the length LS2, which is the length of the long side of the smallest banknote BLS that can be handled, and the length of the gap formed in the left and right directions is also sufficiently long.

[0110] For this reason, in the depositing unit 12, when the face of the smallest banknote BLS is placed facing the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S and each long side is oriented generally toward the front and rear, respectively, the side guides 24 cannot adequately restrict the range of movement of each short side or the range of rotation on the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S. For example, in the depositing unit 12, as shown in Figure 10, there are cases where the smallest banknote BLS is inserted in a state that is significantly tilted from the correct orientation. Incidentally, hereinafter, the angle between the imaginary line LV2 along the left-right direction and the long side of the banknote is referred to as the tilt angle of the banknote.

[0111] Therefore, when a banknote is inserted in a tilted position from the ideal position, the deposit unit 12, under the control of the banknote control unit 11, brings the banknote closer to the ideal position and takes it in after it has reached the correct position.

[0112] Specifically, the depositing unit 12 is stationary with the blocking lever 30 set in advance to the blocking state (FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 10, when a user inserts a banknote BL from the entrance 12N formed between the deposit floor guide 21 and the deposit port guide 23 and the depositing unit 12 detects that the pull-in monitoring sensor 40 has been turned on, the depositing unit 12 starts rotating the picker rollers 25, etc. As a result, the inserted banknote BL moves in the conveying direction (diagonally downward and rearward).

[0113] Eventually, in the deposit section 12, as shown in Figure 11, one of the leading portions of the banknote BL is brought into contact with one of the blocking levers 30, so that the banknote BL is blocked by the blocking lever 30 and prevented from moving forward in the conveying direction.

[0114] 11, for example, the depositing unit 12 has the vicinity of the right-side leading edge of the banknote BL abutting against the blocking lever 30C at the right-side blocking position P30C, but the other blocking levers 30A and 30B are not abutting against the banknote BL. Also, at this time, the depositing unit 12 has all three insertion detection sensors 50A, 50B, and 50C turned off.

[0115] Here, the depositing unit 12 applies a backward force to the banknote BL at the picker points P25A and P25B by continuing to rotate the picker roller 25. At this time, in the depositing unit 12, the picker points P25A and P25B are located to the left of the blocking point P30C, so the banknote BL can be rotated clockwise in the drawing around the blocking point P30C, as shown by the arrow A1 in Fig. 12.

[0116] Thereafter, in the depositing unit 12, as the banknote BL rotates further, the central insertion detection sensor 50B switches from off to on, and further the left-hand insertion detection sensor 50A switches from off to on, as shown in Fig. 13. This causes the banknote control unit 11 to determine that the banknote BL has come sufficiently close to the correct posture, and transitions the blocking lever 30 to the advancement permitting state (Fig. 6), causing the feed rollers 27 and other devices to take in the banknote BL and transport it backward. Incidentally, Fig. 13 shows that although the banknote BL is slightly tilted from the ideal posture, it is within the range of the correct posture, and the insertion detection sensors 50A and 50B have turned on.

[0117] Hereinafter, the operation of bringing a portion of a banknote that may be out of its proper orientation into contact with the blocking lever 30 and rotating the banknote by rotating the picker roller 25 or the like to align it to the proper orientation will be referred to as an alignment operation. A state in which the inner insertion detection sensor 50B and at least one of the outer insertion detection sensors 50A and 50C in the left-right direction are all on and the alignment operation can be considered complete, i.e., the banknotes can be considered to be in the proper orientation, will be referred to as an alignment completion state, and the detection results obtained from each sensor at this time will also be referred to as second detection results. Other states of the insertion detection sensors 50, such as a state in which only one of the insertion detection sensors 50A, 50B, and 50C is on or a state in which all of the insertion detection sensors 50 are off and alignment of the banknotes is considered to be incomplete, will be referred to as an alignment incomplete state, and the detection results obtained from each sensor at this time will also be referred to as first detection results.

[0118] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 14, which corresponds to FIG. 10, the depositing unit 12 can rotate the banknotes BL by the driving force transmitted from the picker roller 25, i.e., perform an alignment operation, even when multiple banknotes BL are stacked and tilted from the correct posture, as shown in FIG. 15. As a result, the depositing unit 12 can bring multiple stacked banknotes BL closer to the correct posture, as shown in FIG. 15. When the insertion detection sensors 50B and 50A are switched on, the depositing unit 12 determines that the correct posture has been achieved and transitions the blocking lever 30 to the progress permitting state (FIG. 6). Thereafter, the depositing unit 12 takes in the stacked banknotes BL while separating them one by one using the feed rollers 27 and transports them backward. Incidentally, FIG. 15 shows that, as in the case of FIG. 13, although each banknote BL is slightly tilted from the ideal posture, it is within the correct posture range and the insertion detection sensors 50A and 50B are turned on.

[0119] When the banknote BL is at a position and angle symmetrical to those in Figure 10, the depositing unit 12 can perform an appropriate alignment operation to move the banknote BL through the symmetrical states in Figures 11 and 12, and then to the symmetrical state in Figure 13. At this time, the banknote control unit 11 can determine that the alignment is complete when both the central insertion detection sensor 50B and the right-side insertion detection sensor 50C are turned on, and that the banknote BL has attained the appropriate posture.

[0120] Furthermore, if the banknote inserted by the user is in the correct position from the beginning, the depositing unit 12 turns on the insertion detection sensors 50B and 50A (or a combination of 50B and 50C) almost simultaneously at a relatively early stage. Furthermore, if the banknote BL is the maximum size banknote BL that can be handled, the depositing unit 12 turns on all three insertion detection sensors 50A, 50B, and 50C. In either of these cases, the banknote control unit 11 determines that the banknote BL is in the correct position and can take in the banknote BL.

[0121] On the other hand, in the depositing unit 12, if the insertion detection sensor 50C is on while the insertion detection sensors 50B and 50A remain off for a relatively long period of time, it is assumed that the banknote BL is in a position that is significantly different from the correct position, as shown in Fig. 7. In this case, the banknote control unit 11 assumes that the alignment operation cannot be completed even if the picker rollers 25 in the depositing unit 12 continue to rotate, and therefore determines that an abnormality has occurred, rotates the picker rollers 25 etc. in the opposite direction, and returns the banknote BL to the user.

[0122] Furthermore, even after the blocking lever 30 in the deposit unit 12 has been transitioned to the advance-permitting state and the banknote BL has begun to be taken in, if any of the banknote confirmation sensors 60 turns on or off in a pattern different from normal, the banknote control unit 11 will determine that an abnormality has occurred and will rotate the picker roller 25 etc. in the opposite direction to return the banknote BL to the user.

[0123] [1-5. Deposit Processing Procedure] Next, the deposit processing procedure when performing a deposit process in the banknote processing device 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 16. When the power is turned on, the banknote control unit 11 of the banknote processing device 5 performs predetermined initialization processing, etc., and then reads and executes a deposit program from a storage unit (not shown), thereby starting the deposit processing procedure RT1 and proceeding to the first step SP1. Incidentally, at this time, the blocking lever 30 is initially in the blocking state (Fig. 3).

[0124] In step SP1, the banknote control unit 11 determines whether or not a banknote has been detected at the banknote detection point P40, i.e., whether or not a banknote has been inserted into the entrance 12N by the user, based on the light reception signal obtained from the entrance monitoring sensor 40 (FIGS. 3 and 4). If a negative result is obtained here, the banknote control unit 11 repeats step SP1, waiting for a banknote to be inserted into the entrance 12N.

[0125] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP1, this means that a banknote has been inserted into the inlet 12N and it is necessary to start processing to take in this banknote. In this case, the banknote control unit 11 proceeds to the next step SP2.

[0126] In step SP2, the banknote control unit 11 starts the alignment operation by starting the rotation of the picker rollers 25 etc. in the forward direction, and then proceeds to the next step SP3. As a result, the depositing unit 12 advances the banknotes held by the picker rollers 25 etc. in the conveying direction, and when the leading edge of the banknote abuts against the blocking lever 30, rotates the banknote around the point of abutment so as to approach the correct posture.

[0127] In step SP3, the banknote control unit 11 determines whether or not an abnormality in the banknote has been detected based on the light reception signals obtained from the pull-in monitoring sensor 40 and the insertion detection sensor 50. Here, for example, if the long side of the banknote is parallel to the conveyance direction as shown in Fig. 7 and only the right-side insertion detection sensor 50C remains on for a predetermined period of time or more, the banknote is determined to be abnormal.

[0128] If a positive result is obtained in step SP3 (i.e., the banknote is determined to be abnormal), this indicates that the banknote is not in the correct position and it is difficult to adjust it to the correct position, so that the taking of the banknote should be abandoned. In this case, the banknote control unit 11 proceeds to the next step SP4. In step SP4, the banknote control unit 11 stops the rotation of the picker rollers 25 etc., and proceeds to the next step SP5. In step SP5, the banknote control unit 11 performs a return operation to return the banknote to the user, and proceeds to the next step SP16.

[0129] Specifically, as a return operation, the banknote control unit 11 rotates the picker rollers 25 etc. in the reverse direction to move the banknote in the reverse conveyance direction opposite to the conveyance direction. After that, when the pull-in monitoring sensor 40 turns off, the banknote control unit 11 determines that the banknote has been conveyed to a point ahead of the pull-in monitoring point P40, and stops the picker rollers 25 etc.

[0130] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP3, this indicates that the state of the banknote is not abnormal, and the banknote control unit 11 then proceeds to the next step SP6.

[0131] In step SP6, the banknote control unit 11 determines whether the alignment operation is complete, i.e., whether the detection result by the insertion detection sensor 50 indicates the alignment complete state, based on the light reception signal obtained from the insertion detection sensor 50. At this time, the banknote control unit 11 determines the alignment complete state, for example, when the insertion detection sensors 50A and 50B are on, or when the insertion detection sensors 50B and 50C are on, or when all of the insertion detection sensors 50A, 50B, and 50C are on.

[0132] If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that the alignment is incomplete, i.e., the alignment operation of the banknotes has not been completed. In this case, the banknote control unit 11 returns to step SP3 again to repeat the series of operations and waits for the alignment operation to be completed.

[0133] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP6, this indicates that the banknote alignment is complete, i.e., the banknote alignment operation is complete and the banknote intake operation should be started. In this case, the banknote control unit 11 proceeds to the next step SP7.

[0134] In step SP7, the banknote control unit 11 stops the rotation of the picker rollers 25, etc., and proceeds to the next step SP8. In step SP8, the banknote control unit 11 rotates the blocking lever 30 from the blocking state (Fig. 3) to the progress permitting state (Fig. 6), and proceeds to the next step SP9.

[0135] In step SP9, the banknote control unit 11 starts the separation operation and proceeds to the next step SP10. At this time, the banknote control unit 11 starts rotating the feed roller 27, picker roller 25, etc. in the forward direction, and monitors the state of the banknotes based on the light reception signals from each sensor (pull-in monitoring sensor 40, insertion detection sensor 50, and banknote confirmation sensor 60).

[0136] In step SP10, the banknote control unit 11 determines whether or not an abnormality has been detected in the banknote based on the light reception signals from each sensor. Here, for example, if the banknote confirmation sensors 60D and 60E are on but the banknote confirmation sensor 60C is off, the banknote is determined to be abnormal. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that the separation and transport of banknotes is being carried out normally. In this case, the banknote control unit 11 proceeds to the next step, SP11.

[0137] In step SP11, the banknote control unit 11 determines whether or not a banknote has been detected by the insertion detection sensor 50. If a positive result is obtained here, this indicates that a banknote remains at the insertion detection point P50 and the separation operation needs to be continued. In this case, the banknote control unit 11 returns to step SP10 again and repeats the series of processes while continuing the separation operation.

[0138] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP11, this means that all of the banknotes inserted into the inlet 12N by the user have been taken in. At this time, the banknote control unit 11 proceeds to the next step SP12 to end the separation operation, and then proceeds to the next step SP15.

[0139] If a positive result is obtained in step SP10, this indicates that an abnormality has been detected in the banknote during the separation operation, and therefore the separation operation should be stopped and the banknote should be returned to the user. In this case, the banknote control unit 11 proceeds to the next step SP13.

[0140] In step SP13, the banknote control unit 11 stops the separation operation, and in the next step SP14, performs the same return operation as in step SP5, and then proceeds to the next step SP15. At this time, the banknote control unit 11 rotates the feed rollers 27, etc. in the reverse direction in addition to the picker rollers 25, etc. in the return operation, thereby conveying the banknotes that were being held by the feed rollers 27, etc. in the reverse conveyance direction.

[0141] In step SP15, the banknote control unit 11 turns the blocking lever 30 to transition from the progress allowing state (FIG. 6) to the blocking state (FIG. 3), and proceeds to the next step SP16. In step SP16, the banknote control unit 11 ends the deposit processing procedure RT1.

[0142] [1-6. Effects, etc.] In the above configuration, the banknote processing device 5 of the cash processing device 1 according to the first embodiment is provided with a rotatable blocking lever 30 in the deposit unit 12, and based on the control of the banknote control unit 11, the blocking lever 30 is transitioned to a blocking state (FIG. 3) that inhibits the transport of banknotes or a progress allowing state (FIG. 6) that allows the transport of the banknotes.

[0143] When a user inserts a banknote into the entrance 12N, the deposit unit 12 rotates the picker roller 25 etc. while keeping the blocking lever 30 in the blocking state as an alignment operation, bringing the banknote into contact with the blocking lever 30, and rotates the banknote using the driving force transmitted from the picker roller 25 to bring it closer to the correct posture.

[0144] When the detection result of the insertion detection sensor 50 indicates that the banknotes have been aligned, the deposit unit 12 determines that the banknotes are in the correct position, transitions the blocking lever 30 to a progress-allowing state (Figure 6), and takes in the banknotes while separating them one by one and transporting them in the transport direction.

[0145] Therefore, even if a banknote inserted into the entrance 12N of the deposit unit 12 is not in the correct posture, the banknote processing device 5 can perform an alignment operation to align the banknote to the correct posture before taking it in. This allows the banknote processing device 5 to significantly reduce the possibility of jamming of the banknote in the deposit unit 12 or in the transport unit 14 where the banknote subsequently reaches.

[0146] In particular, in the depositing unit 12, the blocking points P30A and P30C of the blocking levers 30A and 30C are disposed farther from the picker point P25 of the picker roller 25 in the left-right direction relative to the imaginary center line LV1, i.e., disposed on the outside in the left-right direction (FIG. 4). Therefore, in the depositing unit 12, when the picker roller 25 rotates in the forward direction, the blocking point P30A or P30C located on the outside becomes the rotation axis (rotation center), allowing the banknote to be rotated. In other words, in the depositing unit 12, because of the positional relationship in which the blocking points P30A and P30C are disposed on the outside of the picker point P25 in the left-right direction, the depositing unit 12 does not rotate in a direction away from the proper posture, but necessarily rotates in a direction toward the proper posture.

[0147] As a result, the banknote processing device 5 can advance banknotes in the conveying direction, abut against the blocking lever 30A or 30C, and further rotate them to the correct position simply by continuously rotating all picker rollers 25 in the forward direction in the deposit section 12.

[0148] Furthermore, in the depositing unit 12, the insertion detection points P50A and P50C of the insertion detection sensors 50A and 50C are arranged outward in the left-right direction from the blocking points P30A and P30C, i.e., farther away from the imaginary center line LV1. This allows the depositing unit 12 to detect that the banknote has reached the correct position when the insertion detection sensor 50A or 50C is turned on, and to properly determine that the alignment operation has been completed.

[0149] In addition, in the deposit unit 12, in the lead-in monitoring sensor 40 (FIGS. 3 and 8, etc.), the light-emitting unit 41 and the light-receiving unit 43, which require electrical wiring, are arranged inside the deposit floor guide 21, and the prism 42, which does not require electrical wiring, is arranged in the deposit port guide 23. As a result, the banknote processing device 5 does not need to run electrical wiring between the deposit upper guide 22 and the rotating deposit port guide 23, and there is no need to bend or stretch the electrical wiring when the deposit port guide 23 rotates, so it is possible to structurally eliminate factors that could cause problems such as broken wires. Furthermore, because the banknote processing device 5 does not need electrical wiring in the deposit port guide 23, the deposit port guide 23 can be made smaller and lighter than in the case where such electrical wiring is provided, and opening and closing operations can also be made easier.

[0150] According to the above configuration, when a user inserts banknotes into the entrance 12N of the deposit unit 12, the banknote processing device 5 of the cash processing device 1 performs an alignment operation by rotating the picker roller 25 and the like to bring the banknote into contact with the blocking lever 30 in the blocking state, and the driving force from the picker roller 25 rotates the banknote to approach the correct posture. When the banknote processing device 5 eventually detects with the insertion detection sensor 50 that the banknotes have reached the correct posture in the deposit unit 12, it transitions the blocking lever 30 to the advancement permitting state, and takes in the banknotes while separating them one by one and transporting them in the transport direction. As a result, the banknote processing device 5 can align the banknotes to the correct posture through an alignment operation using the blocking lever 30 before taking in the banknotes, thereby significantly reducing the possibility of jamming of the banknotes.

[0151] 2. Second Embodiment The cash processing device 201 according to the second embodiment differs from the cash processing device 1 according to the first embodiment in that it has a banknote processing device 205 instead of the banknote processing device 5, but is otherwise configured similarly. The banknote processing device 205 differs from the banknote processing device 5 according to the first embodiment in that it has a banknote control unit 211 and a deposit unit 212 instead of the banknote control unit 11 and the deposit unit 12, but is otherwise configured similarly.

[0152] The banknote control unit 211 has a CPU, ROM, RAM, a storage unit, etc. (not shown) like the banknote control unit 11, but executes some processes that are different from those of the banknote control unit 11.

[0153] [2-1. Composition of the deposit section] As shown in Figures 17 and 18, which correspond to Figures 4 and 8, respectively, the deposit section 212 differs in that it has a deposit floor guide 221 and a deposit port guide 223 instead of the deposit floor guide 21 and the deposit port guide 23, and in that it has alignment sensors 270A and 270B, but is otherwise configured in the same way.

[0154] The deposit floor guide 221 and the deposit port guide 223 differ from the deposit floor guide 21 and the deposit port guide 23 only in terms of the alignment feasibility sensors 270A and 270B (hereinafter collectively referred to as the alignment feasibility sensor 270 or the alignment feasibility detection unit), but are otherwise configured in the same manner.

[0155] The alignment sensors 270A and 270B have the same configuration and are provided at positions that are substantially symmetrical in the left-right direction.

[0156] The alignment sensor 270A has a configuration similar in part to the lead-in monitoring sensor 40 in the first embodiment. Specifically, the alignment sensor 270A (FIG. 18) is composed of a light-emitting unit 271 and a light-receiving unit 273 provided in the deposit floor guide 221, and a prism 272 provided in the deposit port guide 223.

[0157] The light emitting unit 271 is disposed inside the deposit floor guide 221 and immediately to the right of the left side guide 24L, and emits detection light diagonally upward and rearward. This detection light travels in a straight line diagonally upward and rearward from the light emitting unit 271, passes through a passage hole provided in the deposit floor guide upper surface 221S and a passage hole provided in the deposit port guide guide surface 223S, and is incident on the prism 272.

[0158] Prism 272 is configured as if prism 42 of pull-in monitoring sensor 40 has been shortened in the left-right direction, and the upper portions of the left and right ends are shaved off at an angle to form a reflecting surface. Similar to prism 42, when detection light is incident on the left side of the lower surface of this prism 272, it is reflected by the left reflecting surface and travels to the right, and the detection light is further reflected by the right reflecting surface and travels diagonally downward again.

[0159] This detection light travels in a straight line from near the right end on the lower surface of the prism 272 diagonally downward and forward, passes through a passage hole provided in the deposit port guide surface 223S and a passage hole provided in the deposit floor guide upper surface 221S (FIG. 17), and travels into the deposit floor guide 221. Hereinafter, the location of the passage hole provided in the deposit floor guide upper surface 221S will be referred to as the alignment feasibility detection point P270A. Similarly, the location of the passage hole on the deposit floor guide upper surface 221S through which the detection light of the alignment feasibility sensor 270B passes will be referred to as the alignment feasibility detection point P270B.

[0160] The light receiving unit 273 is disposed to the right of the light emitting unit 271, and receives detection light traveling from diagonally above and behind, similar to the light receiving unit 43. The light receiving unit 273 also generates a light receiving signal according to the amount of light of the received detection light, and notifies the banknote control unit 211 of this signal.

[0161] In response to this, if the signal level of the light receiving signal is below a predetermined threshold, the banknote control unit 211 determines that the detection light has been blocked at the alignment feasibility detection point P270A, and recognizes that a part of the banknote is located at the alignment feasibility detection point P270A, i.e., the alignment feasibility sensor 270A has been turned on.

[0162] Under the control of the banknote control unit 211, the deposit unit 212 determines whether or not the banknotes can be aligned based on the detection results of the alignment feasibility sensors 270A and 270B, and performs processing based on the obtained determination result.

[0163] [2-2. Depositing banknotes] Next, the deposit of banknotes by the deposit unit 212 when the deposit port guide 223 is in the closed state (FIG. 3) will be described. In this second embodiment, in addition to the same processing as in the first embodiment, a determination process is performed using the detection result by the alignment possibility sensor 270.

[0164] In the depositing unit 212, as shown in Fig. 19, there are cases where a banknote is tilted relatively significantly from the correct posture, and the topmost apex of the banknote gets stuck between the blocking points P30A and P30C. For example, in the depositing unit 212, when a banknote abuts against the blocking levers 30B and 30C at the blocking points P30B and P30C, respectively, as shown in Fig. 19, the banknote cannot be rotated even if a driving force is transmitted to the banknote from the picker roller 25 or the like, and there is a risk that the banknote will become jammed.

[0165] For this reason, in the depositing unit 212, if the leading apex of a banknote that is tilted relatively significantly from the correct posture is located outside between blocking points P30A and P30C (i.e., outside blocking points P30A and P30C), it is possible to bring the banknote closer to the correct posture by performing an alignment operation, as shown in Figures 10 to 13. On the other hand, in the depositing unit 212, if the leading apex of the banknote is located within the range of blocking points P30A and P30C, it is not expected that the banknote will be brought closer to the correct posture even if an alignment operation is performed, as shown in Figure 19.

[0166] Therefore, in the deposit section 212, at the stage when it can be assumed that part of the banknote has come into contact with one of the blocking levers 30, specifically when the central insertion detection sensor 50B turns on, the alignment sensor 270 detects whether or not the banknote can be brought closer to the correct posture through the alignment operation.

[0167] 20 shows a state in which the minimum banknote BLS for handling is tilted from the correct posture, with the leading edge (i.e., the leading edge) contacting the blocking lever 30C at the right-side blocking point P30C, and the left-side edge contacting the left-side side guide 24. At this time, in the depositing unit 212, the minimum banknote BLS for handling blocks more than half of the insertion detection sensor 50B at the central insertion detection point P50B, turning it on, and also blocks more than half of the left-side alignment detection point P270A, turning it on.

[0168] Hereinafter, the angle formed by an imaginary line passing through the insertion detection points P50A, P50B, and P50C, i.e., an imaginary line LV2 extending in the left-right direction, and the long side of the minimum banknote BLS is referred to as the alignment limit inclination angle θ.

[0169] That is, in the depositing unit 212, after a banknote is inserted into the entrance 12N and the picker rollers 25 and the like start to rotate, in many cases, a portion of the banknote comes into contact with one of the blocking levers 30, and the central insertion detection sensor 50B turns on. At this time, in the depositing unit 212, if either the alignment sensor 270A or 207B is on, the banknote's inclination angle is smaller than the alignment limit inclination angle θ, and it is expected that the banknote will be able to be brought into the proper position by the alignment operation. On the other hand, in the depositing unit 212, if the insertion detection sensor 50B is on but both the alignment sensors 270A and 270B are off, the banknote's inclination angle is larger than the alignment limit inclination angle θ, and it is expected that it will be difficult to bring the banknote into the proper position by the alignment operation, as in the case shown in FIG. 19.

[0170] Furthermore, in the depositing unit 212, the alignment feasibility sensors 270A and 270B are arranged so that the distance L270 between the alignment feasibility detection points P270A and P270B is slightly shorter than the length LS2 of the long side of the smallest banknote BLS that can be handled. Therefore, in the depositing unit 212, when a handleable banknote BL, i.e., a banknote BL whose long side length is equal to or longer than the smallest banknote BLS that can be handled, is transported by the rotation of the picker roller 25, at least one of the alignment feasibility sensors 270A and 270B will turn on, provided that the banknote is not significantly tilted from its ideal posture.

[0171] Therefore, in addition to the same processing as in the first embodiment, the banknote control unit 211 performs deposit processing based on the detection state of the alignment sensors 270A and 270B at the time the insertion detection sensor 50B is turned on.

[0172] [2-3. Deposit Processing Procedure] Next, a deposit processing procedure when performing a deposit process in the banknote handling device 205 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Figure 21, which corresponds to Figure 16. When the power is turned on, the banknote control unit 211 of the banknote handling device 205 performs predetermined initialization processing, etc., and then reads and executes a deposit program from a storage unit (not shown), thereby starting a deposit processing procedure RT2 and proceeding to the first step SP21. Incidentally, at this time, the blocking lever 30 is initially in the blocking state (Figure 3).

[0173] In steps SP21, SP22, and SP23, the banknote control unit 211 performs the same processes as steps SP1, SP2, and SP3 of the deposit processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 16), respectively. However, if a negative result is obtained in step SP23, the banknote control unit 211 proceeds to step SP24, and if a positive result is obtained, the banknote control unit 211 proceeds to step SP25.

[0174] In step SP24, the banknote control unit 211 determines whether or not the banknote can be brought closer to the correct posture by the alignment operation, specifically whether the insertion detection sensor 50B is on and the alignment feasibility detection point P270A or P270B is on. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that the inclination angle of the banknote is greater than the alignment limit inclination angle θ (FIG. 20), and therefore the banknote cannot be brought closer to the correct posture even if the alignment operation is performed. In this case, the banknote control unit 211 proceeds to the next step SP25.

[0175] In steps SP25 and SP26, the banknote control unit 211 returns the banknotes to the user by performing the same processes as steps SP4 and SP5 of the deposit processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 16), respectively, and then proceeds to the next step SP37.

[0176] Furthermore, in steps SP27 to SP36, the banknote control unit 211 separates the banknotes by performing the same processes as steps SP6 to SP15 of the deposit processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 16), and then proceeds to the next step SP37 to end the deposit processing procedure RT2.

[0177] [2-4. Effects, etc.] In the above configuration, when a user inserts a banknote into the entrance 12N of the deposit unit 212, the banknote processing device 205 of the cash processing device 201 according to the second embodiment rotates the picker roller 25 etc. to bring the banknote into contact with the blocking lever 30 in a blocking state, and the driving force from the picker roller 25 rotates the banknote to bring it closer to the correct posture.

[0178] At this time, if the insertion detection sensor 50B is on and the alignment detection point P270A or P270B is on, the deposit unit 212 continues the alignment operation, and when the detection result of the insertion detection sensor 50 eventually indicates that alignment is complete, the deposit unit 212 transitions the blocking lever 30 to the progress allowing state (Figure 6), and takes in the banknotes while separating them one by one and transporting them in the transport direction.

[0179] Therefore, as in the first embodiment, even if a banknote inserted into the entrance 12N of the deposit section 212 is tilted (out of position) from the proper position, the banknote processing device 205 can adjust the banknote to the proper position by performing an alignment operation and then take it in.

[0180] In addition, if the insertion detection sensor 50B is on but the alignment success / failure detection points P270A and P270B are both off, the banknote processing device 205 stops the alignment operation and returns the banknote to the user. This makes it possible for the banknote processing device 205 to prevent damage to the banknote or jamming from occurring due to continuation of the alignment operation when the inclination angle of the banknote is greater than the alignment limit inclination angle θ (FIG. 20) and the banknote cannot be brought closer to the correct posture by the alignment operation.

[0181] In other respects as well, the banknote handling machine 205 according to the second embodiment can achieve the same effects as the first embodiment.

[0182] 3. Other Embodiments In the first embodiment described above, the depositing unit 12 is provided with three blocking levers 30 (see FIG. 4, etc.). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the depositing unit 12 may be provided with two or four or more blocking levers 30. In this case, it is sufficient that the outermost blocking position P30 where each blocking lever 30 passes over the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S in the left-right direction is located outside the picker rollers 25. The same applies to the second embodiment.

[0183] In the first embodiment described above, the deposit unit 12 is provided with three insertion detection sensors 50 (see FIG. 4, etc.). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two or four or more insertion detection sensors 50 may be provided. The same applies to the second embodiment.

[0184] Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, the blocking lever 30 in the depositing unit 12 is rotated about the pivot shaft 34 of the blocking lever 30 to transition between a blocking state (FIG. 3) in which banknotes in the deposit transport path W12 are blocked and a progress allowing state (FIG. 6) in which the progress of the banknotes is allowed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various well-known displacement mechanisms, link mechanisms, or combinations thereof may be used to transition between the blocking state and the progress allowing state. Specifically, for example, the blocking lever 30 may be formed as a rectangular parallelepiped along a straight line substantially perpendicular to the deposit floor guide upper surface 21S, and the blocking lever 30 may slide along this straight line. The same applies to the second embodiment.

[0185] Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, the three blockage levers 30 (30A, 30B, and 30C) are driven collectively by the driving force supplied from the blockage drive unit 36 ​​(FIG. 3). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, three blockage drive units 36 may be provided, and the three blockage levers 30 may be driven individually by the driving force supplied from each of them. The same applies to the second embodiment.

[0186] Furthermore, in the second embodiment described above, the alignment detection position P270 of the alignment sensor 270 is disposed adjacent to the side guide 24, i.e., at a relatively outer position in the width direction (left-right direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction in the deposit conveying path W12. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the alignment may be at various other positions. Furthermore, the number of alignment sensors 270 is not limited to two (alignment sensors 270A and 270B), and may be three or more.

[0187] Furthermore, in the second embodiment described above, the light-emitting unit 271 and the light-receiving unit 273 of the alignment sensor 270 are provided in the deposit floor guide 221, and the prism 272 is provided in the deposit port guide 223 (FIG. 18). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the prism 272 may be omitted and the light-receiving unit 273 may be provided in the deposit port guide 223. The withdrawal monitoring sensor 40 may also be configured, for example, to have the light-receiving unit 43 provided in the deposit port guide 23 and not use the prism 42. In these cases, although electrical wiring must be routed between the fixed deposit upper guide 22 and the rotating deposit port guide 23, the prism 42 can be omitted, which can contribute to reducing the number of parts and therefore the manufacturing cost.

[0188] Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, the deposit port guide 23 is configured to be rotatable relative to the deposit upper guide 22 (FIGS. 3 and 5). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the deposit port guide 23 may be fixed to the deposit upper guide 22 while remaining in the closed state (FIG. 3). The same applies to the second embodiment.

[0189] Furthermore, in the above-described first embodiment, the present invention is described as being applied to the deposit unit 12 of the banknote processing device 5 incorporated in the cash processing device 1 used by staff and customers of a retail store, etc. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to various devices for transacting banknotes with users, such as banknote processing devices used by staff of a financial institution at the counter of the financial institution, and automated teller machines (so-called ATMs).

[0190] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is described as being applied to the deposit unit 12 of the banknote processing device 5 in the cash processing device 1 that trades banknotes as a medium with users. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a portion that receives the medium from a user in various devices that trade various paper-like media with users, such as various coupons, securities, gift certificates, admission tickets, etc.

[0191] 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 whole or in part 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 cases in which part of the configuration described in any of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments is extracted and replaced or diverted with part of the configuration of any of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments, or where part of the extracted configuration is added to any of the above-described embodiments.

[0192] Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, the banknote processing device 5 as a medium processing device is configured by the deposit floor guide 21 as the first guide, the picker roller 25 as the first conveyor roller, the blocking lever 30 as the blocking unit, the feed roller 27 as the second conveyor roller, the insertion detection sensor 50 as the detection unit, and the banknote control unit 11 as the control unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the medium processing device may be configured by various other first guides, first conveyor rollers, blocking unit, second conveyor rollers, detection unit, and control unit. [Industrial Applicability]

[0193] The present invention can be used, for example, in a deposit section of a banknote processing device that handles banknotes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0194] 1, 201...cash processing device, 5, 205...banknote processing device, 10...banknote processing device housing, 11, 211...banknote control unit, 12, 212...deposit unit, 12N...entrance unit, 14...conveyor unit, 21, 221...deposit floor guide, 21S, 221S...deposit floor guide upper surface, 22...deposit upper guide, 22F...deposit upper guide front surface, 22S...deposit upper guide lower surface, 23, 223...deposit port guide, 23S, 223S...deposit port guide guide surface, 23T...deposit port guide tip, 24...side guide, 25...picker roller, 26...picker opposing roller La, 27...feed roller, 28...feed opposing roller, 30...blocking lever, 40...pull-in monitoring sensor, 50...insertion detection sensor, 60...banknote confirmation sensor, 270...alignment possible sensor, BL...banknote, BLL...largest banknote handled, BLS...smallest banknote handled, LV1...virtual center line, LV2...virtual straight line, P25...picker location, P27...feed location, P30...blocking location, P40...pull-in monitoring location, P50...insertion detection location, P60...banknote confirmation location, P270...alignment possible detection location, W12...deposit transport path, θ...alignment limit inclination angle.

Claims

1. a first guide facing one side of the sheet-shaped medium in a conveyance path along which the sheet-shaped medium is conveyed in a conveyance direction; a first conveyance roller provided in the first guide and configured to transmit a driving force to the medium in the conveyance direction; a blocking portion that transitions to a first state that inhibits the medium from advancing in the conveying direction along the conveying path, or a second state that allows the medium to advance in the conveying direction along the conveying path, at a blocking portion that is provided on the conveying direction side of a first clamping portion where a driving force is transmitted to the medium by the first conveying roller; a second conveyance roller that is provided on the first guide and that sandwiches the medium between itself and a second opposing roller that is provided on the opposite side of the conveyance path at a second sandwiching point that is located closer to the conveyance direction than the blocking point, and that transmits a driving force to the medium in the conveyance direction; a detection unit that detects the presence or absence of the medium at a plurality of detection points that are provided at a plurality of discrete points in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction on the opposite side of the conveying direction from the blocking point on the conveying path; a control unit that controls the rotation of the first conveying roller and the second conveying roller and the blocking unit based on the detection result supplied from the detection unit; and A media processing device comprising:

2. The control unit The medium is conveyed by the first conveyance roller while the blocking unit is transitioned to the first state, and when the detection result supplied from the detection unit is a first detection result indicating that the medium is not aligned, the first conveyance roller is driven while the blocking unit is in the first state; When the detection result is a second detection result indicating that the medium is aligned, or when the detection result changes from the first detection result to the second detection result, the blocking unit is transitioned to the second state, and the first transport roller and the second transport roller are driven to advance the medium along the transport path downstream of the blocking point. The media processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The detection unit In the width direction, the detecting device has inner detection points located between the plurality of blocking points and outer detection points located outside the blocking points, The control unit In the detection result, the fact that the medium is not detected at the inner detection location and / or the outer detection location is defined as the first detection result; The second detection result is that the medium is detected at both the inner detection point and the outer detection point. The media processing device according to claim 2 .

4. an alignment detection unit that detects the presence or absence of the medium at a plurality of alignment detection locations that are provided on the opposite side of the detection unit in the transport direction; Further comprising: The control unit When the medium is conveyed by the first conveyance roller while the blocking unit is in the first state and the medium is detected by the detection unit at some of the detection locations, If the medium is detected at the alignment detection point, the first conveyance roller continues conveying the medium; If the medium is not detected at the alignment detection point, the first transport roller stops transporting the medium. The media processing device according to claim 2 .

5. The alignment detection point is The medium is detected when the leading edge of the medium that is located closest to the transport direction is located outside the blocking point in the width direction, and the medium is not detected when the leading edge is located inside the blocking point. The media processing device according to claim 4 .

6. The intervals between the plurality of alignment detection points in the width direction are shorter than the length of the medium in the width direction. The media processing device according to claim 4 .

7. A part or the whole of the blocking portion is disposed outside the first clamping portion in the width direction. The media processing device according to claim 1 .

8. In the width direction, a part or all of the detection points are disposed outside the outermost of the blocking points. The media processing device according to claim 7 .

9. The distance between the furthest blocking portions in the width direction is shorter than the length of the medium in the width direction. The media processing device according to claim 1 .

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