Banknote processing device

Abstract

To shorten a transaction to withdraw a new banknote.SOLUTION: A banknote deposit / withdrawal device 11 includes: a banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 connected to a conveyance unit 26 and ejecting fed banknotes to the conveyance unit 26 while accumulating banknotes to be discharged; a distinguishing unit 28 provided on the conveyance unit 26 and distinguishing the banknotes; a banknote storage compartment 15 connected to the conveyance unit 26 and storing and ejecting the banknotes determined to be in good condition by the distinguishing unit 28; a collection vault 32 connected to the conveyance unit 26 and storing the banknotes determined to be normal by the distinguishing unit 28, regardless of the denomination; and a change control unit 21 that controls the conveyance of the banknotes conveyed through the conveyance unit 26. The change control unit 21 conveys circulating banknotes fed into the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 and temporarily accumulates them to the banknote storage compartment 15, and controls the conveyance of new banknotes stored in the banknote storage compartment 15 to the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 after conveying the circulating banknotes temporarily accumulated in the banknote storage compartment 15 to the collection vault 32.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a banknote processing apparatus, and is suitable for application to, for example, a change system used in a hotel.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in a change system, a combination of a cash register that performs deposit and withdrawal processing of banknotes and coins connected to a POS (Point Of Sales) system or the like has become widespread (for example, see Patent Document 1). Among these cash registers, a banknote deposit and withdrawal apparatus that processes banknotes includes 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 the inserted banknotes, a banknote storage that stores reusable banknotes for each denomination, and a reject bin that stores banknotes that should not be reused.

[0003] In such a banknote deposit and withdrawal apparatus, for example, when installed in a hotel and a customer exchanges money or settles the accommodation fee, when a currency note is deposited, new banknotes that are unused banknotes not yet in circulation in the market are withdrawn as exchanged banknotes or change.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In such a banknote deposit and withdrawal apparatus, it is desired to shorten the transaction time for withdrawing new banknotes.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and intends to propose a banknote processing apparatus capable of shortening the transaction time for withdrawing new banknotes.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] In order to solve such a problem, in the banknote processing apparatus of the present invention, there are provided a conveyance path for conveying banknotes, a deposit section connected to the conveyance path for feeding out banknotes inserted by a user to the conveyance path, a payout section connected to the conveyance path for accumulating banknotes to be discharged to the user, a discrimination section provided on the conveyance path for discriminating banknotes, a storage section connected to the conveyance path for storing and feeding out banknotes determined to be normal by the discrimination section, a collection section connected to the conveyance path for storing banknotes determined to be normal by the discrimination section regardless of denomination, and a control section for controlling the conveyance of banknotes being conveyed on the conveyance path. The control section conveys banknotes, which are currency notes inserted into the deposit section, to the storage section and temporarily accumulates them, and after conveying the currency notes temporarily accumulated in the storage section to the collection section, controls to convey the banknotes, which are new notes stored in the storage section, to the payout section.

[0008] Further, in the banknote processing apparatus of the present invention, there are provided a conveyance path for conveying banknotes, a deposit section connected to the conveyance path for feeding out banknotes inserted by a user to the conveyance path, a payout section connected to the conveyance path for accumulating banknotes to be discharged to the user, a discrimination section provided on the conveyance path for discriminating banknotes, a storage section connected to the conveyance path for storing and feeding out The first storage unit and the second banknotes determined to be normal by the discrimination section, a collection section connected to the conveyance path for storing banknotes determined to be normal by the discrimination section regardless of denomination, and a control section for controlling the conveyance of banknotes being conveyed on the conveyance path. The control section Temporarily accumulate all the negotiable instruments inserted into the deposit unit in a first storage unit different from the second storage unit that stores banknotes of denominations to be discharged to the user, and after transporting the new bills stored in the second storage unit to the withdrawal unit, control so as to transport the negotiable instruments temporarily accumulated in the first storage unit to the collection unit is configured as such.

[0009] Thereby, the present invention collectively conveys and stores currency notes inserted into the deposit section to the storage section, and by collectively conveying these currency notes from the storage section to the collection section, the time required to feed out all the currency notes from the deposit section can be shortened.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, a banknote processing apparatus capable of shortening the time for a transaction of paying out new notes can be realized.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

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

[0013] [1. Configuration of the Cash Register Change System] As shown in the appearance in FIG. 1, the change dispensing system 1 is composed of an upper POS register 2 and a lower change dispenser 3, which are independent devices. This change dispensing system 1 is operated by users such as customers and front desk staff when customers exchange money or settle accommodation fees, for example, at the front desk of a hotel. In addition, this change dispensing system 1 may also be operated by a cashier when a customer settles the goods they want to purchase at the checkout (so-called register) of a retail store such as a supermarket or convenience store. Hereinafter, the side facing the user and the opposite side will be referred to as the front and the back, respectively, and the left, right, top, and bottom will be defined as seen from the user for explanation.

[0014] The POS register 2 is overall controlled by a built-in register control unit 5. A barcode reader (not shown) is connected to the POS register 2, and the barcode attached to the goods is read by this barcode reader to recognize the goods. The display operation unit 6 is composed of a display unit such as a liquid crystal display and an operation unit such as a touch panel arranged on top of the liquid crystal display. This display operation unit 6 displays the name, amount, etc. of the recognized goods on the liquid crystal display. In addition, the display operation unit 6 displays input keys such as numbers on a part of the display screen. When a position corresponding to the input key on the touch panel is pressed, an input operation corresponding to the input key is received and sent to the register control unit 5. In response, the register control unit 5 performs various processes such as increasing or decreasing the quantity of goods and modifying the amount. A receipt processing unit 7 is built into the POS register 2. The receipt processing unit 7 prints the name, amount, etc. of the recognized goods on the receipt and discharges it from the receipt outlet 7A.

[0015] On the other hand, the change dispenser 3 is roughly composed of a banknote deposit and withdrawal device 11 on the right side, a coin deposit and withdrawal device 12 on the left side, and a display operation unit 13 at the upper front.

[0016] The currency deposit and withdrawal device 11 takes in the currency deposited by the user from the currency deposit and withdrawal opening 14 and stores it in the currency storage bins 15 (currency storage bins 15a, 15b, and 15c) (Figs. 2 and 3). At the same time, it takes out the currency instructed by the cash register control unit 5 from the currency storage bins 15 (Figs. 2 and 3) and discharges it as change from the currency deposit and withdrawal opening 14.

[0017] On the front surface of the coin deposit and withdrawal device 12, a coin deposit opening 16 is provided in the upper section, and a reject opening 17 and a coin withdrawal opening 18 are provided below it. The coin deposit and withdrawal device 12 takes in the coins inserted by the user into the coin deposit opening 16 and stores them in an internal storage bin. At the same time, it discharges coins of the type and number corresponding to the amount instructed by the cash register control unit 5 from the coin withdrawal opening 18 as change.

[0018] The display operation unit 13 is composed of a combination of a predetermined display panel and a predetermined operation button. The display panel of the display operation unit 13 displays the operating status of the currency deposit and withdrawal device 11 and the coin deposit and withdrawal device 12. For example, it displays that there is a shortage of coins for change in the coin deposit and withdrawal device 12, that an abnormality has been detected by a predetermined sensor, and the location thereof. The operation buttons of the display operation unit 13 receive instructions regarding, for example, the conveyance of coins, etc. through the pressing operation by the user.

[0019] Also, a change dispenser control unit 21 is provided inside the change dispenser 3. The change dispenser control unit 21 as a control unit is centered around a CPU (Central Processing Unit) not shown in the figure. By reading out and executing various programs from a storage unit 22 (Fig. 2) composed of a flash memory or the like, it comprehensively controls the change dispenser 3 and performs various processes such as deposit transactions and withdrawal transactions. Also, the change dispenser control unit 21 is connected to the cash register control unit 5 (Figs. 1 and 2) of the POS cash register 2 through a communication unit 23 (Fig. 2). When it receives various instructions from the cash register control unit 5, it performs operations according to the instructions. The change dispenser 3 operates by switching to an operation mode such as a normal mode, a new note withdrawal mode, or a new note replenishment mode based on an instruction from the cash register control unit 5.

[0020] The normal mode is a mode selected when the cashier change system 1 is installed at the cash register (so-called cashier) of a retail store such as a supermarket or a convenience store, and is operated by a cashier when a customer settles the goods to be purchased. In this normal mode, when the bill depositing and dispensing device 11 receives a circulated bill that has already been used in the market instead of a new bill that is an unused bill (new note) not yet in circulation in the market, it dispenses the circulated bill as change. In addition to unused bills, new notes also include bills that are in circulation in the market but are clean without wrinkles or the like. The new note dispensing mode is a mode selected when the cashier change system 1 is installed, for example, at the front desk of a hotel, and is operated by a customer or a front desk staff when the customer exchanges money or settles the accommodation fee. In this new note dispensing mode, when the bill depositing and dispensing device 11 receives a circulated bill, it dispenses new notes as exchanged bills or change. The new note replenishment mode is a mode selected when the cashier change system 1 is installed at the same location as in the case of the new note dispensing mode, and when new notes to be dispensed to a customer are inserted through the bill depositing and dispensing opening 14 and conveyed to the bill storage 15 for pre-storage.

[0021] [2. Configuration of Bill Depositing and Dispensing Device] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bill depositing and dispensing device 11 incorporates a plurality of parts for performing various processes related to bills inside, and a change control unit 21 (FIG. 1) comprehensively controls each part (bill depositing and dispensing unit 24, conveying unit 26, discrimination unit 28, bill storage 15 (bill storages 15a, 15b, and 15c), and reject collection bin 30).

[0022] The bill depositing and dispensing unit 24 is located at the upper front side inside the bill depositing and dispensing device 11. This bill depositing and dispensing unit 24 takes in the bills deposited by the user through the bill depositing and dispensing opening 14 (FIG. 1), separates them one by one, and feeds them to the conveying unit 26. At the same time, the bills to be dispensed to the user are accommodated in the bill accommodation space 39 in a state where they are stacked on the depositing and dispensing unit stage 38 with the paper surface facing in the vertical direction, that is, in a state of being aligned along the vertical direction, and are dispensed as change through the bill depositing and dispensing opening 14.

[0023] In the bill depositing and withdrawing section 24, a feeding and stacking section 40 is provided near the feeding and stacking opening for delivering bills to and receiving bills from the first conveying section 26a. The feeding and stacking section 40 is composed of a pickup roller 41, a feeding and stacking roller 42, and a stacking roller 45, and is driven by a driving motor for the depositing and withdrawing section feeding and stacking section (not shown). The pickup roller 41 is provided so as to face the upper surface of the depositing and withdrawing section stage 38 above the bill storage space 39 which is a space for storing bills in the bill depositing and withdrawing section 24, and a high friction member with a large friction coefficient such as rubber is attached to a part of its outer peripheral surface. Also, the pickup roller 41 rotates counterclockwise (feeding direction) in FIG. 3, and thereby sends out the bills on the depositing and withdrawing section stage 38 fed from the bill depositing and withdrawing opening 14 (FIG. 1) in the depositing process to the conveying section 26 side. The feeding and stacking roller 42 is composed of a feed roller 43 and a gate roller 44, and feeds the bills sent out by the pickup roller 41 to the conveying section 26 by the feed roller 43 while separating them one by one by the gate roller 44. The feed roller 43 is provided on the rear side which is the downstream side in the bill feeding direction with respect to the pickup roller 41, and a high friction member with a large friction coefficient such as rubber is attached to a part of its outer peripheral surface. Also, the feed roller 43 rotates counterclockwise (feeding direction) in FIG. 3, and thereby feeds the bills sent out by the pickup roller 41 to the conveying section 26 through the feeding and stacking outlet. The gate roller 44 is disposed to face the lower side of the feed roller 43, and separates the bills sent out from the bill storage space 39 one by one by not rotating when feeding the bills, while rotates together with the feed roller 43 when returning the bills to the bill storage space 39, and thereby returns the bills from the conveying section 26 into the bill storage space 39. The stacking roller 45 is provided on the front side which is the downstream side in the bill conveying direction during the withdrawing process with respect to the gate roller 44 below the feed roller 43, and rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3, and thereby accumulates the bills conveyed from the conveying section 26 and discharged from the bill depositing and withdrawing opening 14 in the withdrawing process into the bill storage space 39. A plurality of tongue pieces formed of an elastic member such as rubber are provided on the stacking roller shaft which is the rotation shaft of the stacking roller 45 at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction.This tongue piece rotates counterclockwise in Fig. 3 together with the stacking roller 45, strikes the rear end portion of the banknote sent into the banknote storage space 39, and stacks the banknotes on the deposit / withdrawal stage 38.

[0024] The deposit / withdrawal stage 38 is configured to be reciprocally movable so that the driving force of the driving source is transmitted when a stage driving part (not shown) rotates, and it slides in the upward and downward directions. Specifically, when the banknote is being fed out, the deposit / withdrawal stage 38 rises to become the separation position and presses the stacked banknotes against the pickup roller 41. On the other hand, when the banknote is being returned, the deposit / withdrawal stage 38 descends to become the stacking position, and forms a space for stacking the banknotes returned from the conveying part 26 above the deposit / withdrawal stage 38 or above the banknotes stacked on the deposit / withdrawal stage 38.

[0025] Furthermore, a plurality of sensors (not shown) are incorporated in the banknote deposit / withdrawal part 24. The change-making control part 21 detects the position of the deposit / withdrawal stage 38 based on the light reception results from these sensors. For example, when the change-making control part 21 detects that the deposit / withdrawal stage 38 is in the stacking position, the reject stage 33 (described later) is in the reject position.

[0026] The conveying part 26 conveys rectangular banknotes in the short side direction along the conveying path by rollers, belts, etc. At the branch point of the conveying part 26, blades 35 (blades 35a, 35b, and 35c) are provided, and by rotating based on the control of the change-making control part 21 (Fig. 1), the conveying destination of the banknote is switched.

[0027] The discrimination unit 28 is located behind the bill deposit and withdrawal unit 24. While transporting the bills to be deposited, withdrawn, and recycled inside this discrimination unit 28, it uses optical elements, magnetic detection elements, etc. to recognize the denomination, authenticity, integrity (whether damaged or not), and transport state of the bills, and notifies the change control unit 21 of the discrimination results. Further, the discrimination unit 28 also detects bills of denominations that are not recycled, such as 2,000-yen bills, that is, bills that should not be recycled (i.e., should not be reused) as withdrawal bills (change bills) after being deposited into the bill deposit and withdrawal device 11. In response to this, the change control unit 21 determines the transport destination of the bills based on the obtained discrimination results.

[0028] The reject collection bin 30 is provided near the front end inside the bill deposit and withdrawal device 11 and adjacent to the bottom of the bill deposit and withdrawal unit 24, and has a bill storage space for accumulating and storing bills inside. This reject collection bin 30 is an integrated storage bin in which the upper reject bin 31 and the lower collection bin 32 are integrated and the spaces are separated from each other by a reject stage 33, and is a detachable storage bin that can be attached to and detached from the bill deposit and withdrawal device 11.

[0029] When the reject bin 31 receives abnormal bills, such as bills discriminated as damaged (so-called defective bills) or bills discriminated as counterfeit bills, which are transported by the third transport unit 26c due to the discrimination by the discrimination unit 28 and the change control unit 21, it stores the bills inside. When the collection bin 32 receives bills that are transported by the third transport unit 26c during the collection process of recovering a part of the sales amount of the bills stored in the bill storage bin 15, it stores the bills inside.

[0030] The reject stage 33 is disposed upstream inside the reject collection bin 30. For this reason, the collection bin 32 can store a larger number of banknotes than the reject bin 31. That is, the collection bin 32 has a larger capacity than the reject bin 31. This is because the collection bin 32 often accumulates a relatively large number of banknotes in order to collect a part of the sales amount of the banknotes stored in the banknote storage bin 15, etc., while the reject bin 31 often accumulates a relatively small number of banknotes in order to store the abnormally determined abnormal banknotes.

[0031] The reject stage 33 can transition from the reject position shown in FIG. 3 to the collection position shown in FIG. 7 by rotating counterclockwise in FIG. 3 so as to lift the rear end about the rotation axis. Further, the reject stage 33 can transition from the collection position (FIG. 7) to the accumulation position (FIG. 3) by rotating clockwise in FIG. 7 so as to lower the rear end about the rotation axis. For this reason, when banknotes are accumulated in the reject bin 31, the reject stage 33 assumes the reject position and forms a conveyance path from the third conveyance unit 26c to the reject bin 31, enabling banknotes to be conveyed from the third conveyance unit 26c to the reject bin 31. On the other hand, when banknotes are accumulated in the collection bin 32, the reject stage 33 assumes the collection position and forms a conveyance path from the third conveyance unit 26c to the collection bin 32, enabling banknotes to be conveyed from the third conveyance unit 26c to the collection bin 32. Thus, the reject stage 33 assumes two postures: the reject position and the collection position.

[0032] The reject stage 33 is interlocked with a stage link lever (not shown) that is driven by the same drive source as the drive source that drives a stage drive unit (not shown) that moves the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38. That is, when the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 descends, the reject stage 33 is pushed downward by the stage link lever and rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 7, shifting from the recovery position to the reject position (FIG. 3). In this way, the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 and the reject stage 33 operate by a common drive source, and the driving force of the drive source that drives the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 is transmitted by the stage link lever, and the reject stage 33 operates in conjunction with the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38.

[0033] Near the accumulation port that receives banknotes from the third transport unit 26c in the reject collection bin 30, an accumulation roller 50 is provided and is driven by an accumulation drive motor (not shown). The accumulation roller 50 is composed of a tension roller 51 and a feed roller 52. The tension roller 51 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3 to accumulate the banknotes conveyed from the third transport unit 26c in the reject bin 31 or the collection bin 32. The feed roller 52 is disposed opposite the lower side of the tension roller 51 and rotates clockwise in FIG. 3 to accumulate the banknotes conveyed from the third transport unit 26c in the reject bin 31 or the collection bin 32. A plurality of tongue pieces formed of an elastic member such as rubber are provided on the feed roller shaft, which is the rotation shaft of the feed roller 52, at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction. By rotating counterclockwise in FIG. 3 together with the feed roller 52, the tongue pieces strike the rear end portion of the banknotes sent out into the banknote storage space of the reject bin 31 or the collection bin 32, and accumulate the banknotes on the bottom plate of the reject stage 33 or the collection bin 32.

[0034] Behind the reject collection bin 30, a bill storage bin 15a, 15b, and 15c are provided in order from the front side to the rear side. Each bill storage bin 15 (bill storage bins 15a, 15b, and 15c) is configured in the same manner, formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a space for accumulating and storing bills inside. On the storage bin stage 25 (storage bin stages 25a, 25b, and 25c), the bills are stored in a state of being stacked with the paper surface facing the vertical direction, that is, in a state of being aligned along the vertical direction. Each bill storage bin 15 has a denomination of the bill to be stored set in advance. In the present embodiment, a 10,000 yen bill, a 5,000 yen bill, and a 1,000 yen bill are set in advance as the denominations of the bills to be stored in the bill storage bins 15a, 15b, and 15c, respectively.

[0035] When the bill depositing and withdrawing device 11 is set to the normal mode according to an instruction from the cash register control unit 5 (FIG. 1), this bill storage bin 15 accumulates and stores inside the bills that are determined by the discrimination unit 28 and the change control unit 21 to have a small degree of damage and be reusable and are conveyed by the second conveying unit 26b according to their denominations. Also, when the bill storage bin 15 receives an instruction to pay out bills from the change control unit 21, it separates the accumulated bills one by one, pays them out, and delivers them to the conveying unit 26.

[0036] On the one hand, when the bill depositing and withdrawing device 11 is set to the new bill dispensing mode according to an instruction from the cash register control unit 5 (Fig. 1), a plurality of new bills BLn corresponding to the denominations of the bills to be stored are pre-stored in the bill storage 15 respectively. Specifically, each of the bill storages 15a, 15b, and 15c stores new bills BLna of 10,000 yen, new bills BLnb of 5,000 yen, and new bills BLnc of 1,000 yen. Hereinafter, the new bills BLna, BLnb, and BLnc are also collectively referred to as new bills BLn. Also hereinafter, the in-circulation bills of 10,000 yen are referred to as in-circulation bills BLca, the in-circulation bills of 5,000 yen are referred to as in-circulation bills BLcb, and the in-circulation bills of 1,000 yen are referred to as in-circulation bills BLcc. The in-circulation bills BLca, BLcb, and BLcc are also collectively referred to as in-circulation bills BLc. Each bill storage 15 is not full of new bills BLn, and a certain number of in-circulation bills BLc, such as the number that can be accommodated in the bill depositing and withdrawing unit 24, can be stacked on top of the new bills BLn. Also, when the bill depositing and withdrawing device 11 is set to the new bill dispensing mode, when the in-circulation bills BLc are conveyed by the second conveying unit 26b, the bill storage 15 accumulates the in-circulation bills BLc inside and temporarily stores them. Also, when the change control unit 21 gives an instruction to pay out the in-circulation bills BLc, the bill storage 15 separates the accumulated in-circulation bills BLc one by one, pays them all out, and delivers them to the conveying unit 26. Thereafter, when the change control unit 21 designates the number of bills for each denomination and gives an instruction to pay out the new bills BLn, the bill storage 15 separates the accumulated new bills BLn one by one, pays them out, and delivers them to the conveying unit 26.

[0037] In the vicinity of the payout accumulation port for delivering bills to the second conveying unit 26b in each bill storage 15, a payout accumulation unit 60 is provided. This payout accumulation unit 60 is configured substantially the same as the payout accumulation unit 40 in the bill depositing and withdrawing unit 24, and is driven by a storage payout accumulation unit drive motor (not shown).

[0038] In addition, the storage stage 25 is configured to be reciprocally movable so as to slide in the upward and downward directions. Specifically, when dispensing banknotes, the storage stage 25 rises to reach the separation position, pressing the stacked banknotes against the pickup roller of the dispensing and stacking unit 60. On the other hand, when stacking banknotes, the storage stage 25 descends to reach the stacking position, forming a space for stacking the banknotes conveyed from the second conveyance unit 26b above the storage stage 25 or above the banknotes stacked on the storage stage 25.

[0039] Each storage stage 25 is constantly biased upward by a spring (not shown) and descends by being pulled downward by a wire (not shown) against the biasing force of the spring. In this embodiment, the wires fixed to the storage stages 25a, 25b, and 25c are configured to be pulled by the driving force of the same drive source, so the storage stages 25a, 25b, and 25c do not move up and down independently of each other but move up and down synchronously at the same timing.

[0040] In addition, at the cassette delivery section, which is the location where banknotes are transferred between the conveyance unit 26 and each banknote storage 15, a storage travel monitoring sensor (not shown) for detecting the conveyed banknotes is arranged. The storage travel monitoring sensor is, for example, an optical sensor, which detects the conveyance state of the banknotes and sends the detection result to the change control unit 21. Based on the detection result supplied from the storage travel monitoring sensor, the change control unit 21 determines whether banknotes have been stored in each banknote storage 15 and whether banknotes have been dispensed from each banknote storage 15 to the conveyance unit 26.

[0041] [3. Configuration of the Conveyance Unit] In the transport unit 26, a number of rotating rollers, guides for guiding banknotes, etc. are appropriately arranged, and a linear transport path is formed that transports banknotes mainly along the front-rear direction with the short side direction of the banknote as the transport direction. The transport unit 26 includes a first transport unit 26a that connects the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 and the front side of the discrimination unit 28, a second transport unit 26b that transports banknotes so as to pass through the discrimination unit 28 in the front-rear direction and connects the rear side of the discrimination unit 28 to each of the banknote storage bins 15a, 15b, and 15c, and a third transport unit 26c that connects the reject collection bin 30 and the front side of the discrimination unit 28.

[0042] In the transport unit 26, mainly in the second transport unit 26b, a plurality of sets of transport rollers 62 are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction, and a belt 27 is provided along the front-rear direction above the transport rollers 62. These are driven by a transport unit drive motor (not shown). The belt 27 and each transport roller 62 are arranged on the upper side and the lower side, respectively, so as to face each other in the vertical direction across the transport path of the transport unit 26. The upper belt 27 and the lower transport rollers 62 sandwich the banknote and rotate in the deposit direction to transport the banknote rearward, and rotate in the withdrawal direction to transport the banknote forward. The belt 27 and the transport rollers 62 of this transport unit 26, the pay-out and accumulation unit 40 of the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24, the accumulation rollers 50 of the reject collection bin 30, and the pay-out and accumulation unit 60 of the banknote storage bin 15 are driven by separate drive sources and thus drive independently of each other.

[0043] Also, in the conveying unit 26, a plurality of switching units 34 (a first switching unit 34a, a second switching unit 34b, and a third switching unit 34c) are arranged in series in order from the front, and they are connected to each other by relatively short conveying short circuits, thereby forming a linear conveying path along the front-rear direction as a whole. Each switching unit 34 is composed of blades 35 (blades 35a, 35b, and 35c) shown as triangles in the figure and a plurality of rollers arranged around them. The blade 35 is long in the left-right direction and is formed in a V shape when viewed from the left-right direction. By rotating and changing the inclination direction, the conveying direction of the banknote is switched. Each roller is arranged so as to face each other across the banknote conveying path (not shown). This switching unit 34 changes the inclination direction of the blade 35 according to the control of the change-making control unit 21 and the conveying destination of each banknote, and rotates each roller in a predetermined rotation direction, thereby appropriately switching the conveying direction of the banknote and conveying it to a desired conveying destination.

[0044] The first switching unit 34a is arranged between the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 and the discrimination unit 28 in the first conveying unit 26a, and changes the inclination direction of the blade 35a with the tip facing rearward to switch the banknote conveying path in two ways. That is, the first switching unit 34a forms a conveying path connecting the front-side banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 and the rear-side discrimination unit 28, or forms a conveying path connecting the front-lower reject collection bin 30 and the rear-side discrimination unit 28. Therefore, the first switching unit 34a is a so-called two-way blade that switches the conveying path of the banknote conveyed from the rear to the front in the second conveying unit 26b in two directions, namely, the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 or the reject collection bin 30.

[0045] When the banknote to be withdrawn conveyed forward by the second conveying unit 26b in the withdrawal process is normally determined by the discrimination unit 28, the first switching unit 34a switches the conveyance path to the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24, while when it is abnormally determined, the conveyance path is switched to the reject collection bin 30. Also, when the collected banknote conveyed forward by the second conveying unit 26b in the collection process is normally determined by the discrimination unit 28, the first switching unit 34a switches the conveyance path to the reject collection bin 30, while when it is abnormally determined, the conveyance path is switched to the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24.

[0046] Since the blades 35a are required for the discrimination process of the banknotes to be withdrawn and the collected banknotes by the discrimination unit 28, they are disposed between the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 and the discrimination unit 28 and also between the reject collection bin 30 and the discrimination unit 28.

[0047] The second switching unit 34b is disposed at substantially the center in the front-rear direction of the second conveying unit 26b, is formed substantially symmetrically in the front-rear direction with the first switching unit 34a, and changes the inclination direction of the blade 35b with its tip facing forward to switch the banknote conveyance path in two ways. That is, the second switching unit 34b switches to form a conveyance path connecting the front conveyance short circuit and the rear conveyance short circuit, or a conveyance path connecting the front conveyance short circuit and the lower front banknote storage bin 15a. For this reason, the second switching unit 34b is a so-called two-way blade that switches the conveyance path of the banknote conveyed from the front to the rear in the second conveying unit 26b to two directions, namely, the rear banknote storage bins 15b or 15c, or the banknote storage bin 15a.

[0048] The blade 35b is disposed at a position where the deposited banknote is sorted after being discriminated by the discrimination unit 28, and at a position where the banknote withdrawn from each banknote storage bin 15 can surely pass through the discrimination unit 28.

[0049] The third switching unit 34c is arranged slightly in front of the rear end of the second conveying unit 26b, and changes the inclination direction of the blade 35c whose tip faces forward, similar to the second switching unit 34b, to switch the banknote conveying path in two ways. That is, the third switching unit 34c switches whether to form a conveying path connecting the front conveying short circuit and the front lower banknote storage 15b, or to form a conveying path connecting the front conveying short circuit and the rear lower banknote storage 15c. For this reason, the third switching unit 34c is a so-called two-way blade that switches the conveying path of the banknotes conveyed from the front to the rear in the second conveying unit 26b to two directions, i.e., the banknote storage 15b or the banknote storage 15c.

[0050] The blade 35c is behind the blade 35b and is arranged at a position where the deposited banknotes are distributed to the banknote storage 15b or 15c.

[0051] In this way, the conveying unit 26 forms a linear conveying path along the front-rear direction by the second conveying unit 26b, conveys the banknotes mainly in the front-rear direction along this conveying path, and switches the conveying path to the banknote storages 15a, 15b or 15c by the second switching unit 34b and the third switching unit 34c arranged at the branch part of the conveying path. Further, the conveying unit 26 switches the conveying path of the banknotes conveyed forward by the second conveying unit 26b to the first conveying unit 26a or the third conveying unit 26c by the first switching unit 34a.

[0052] [4. New Bill Exchange Process] Next, regarding the specific processing procedure of the new bill exchange process for dispensing new bills BLn of the same amount as the circulated bills BLc inserted by the user when a new bill exchange transaction is conducted with the user in the change vending system 1 (Fig. 1), it will be described using the flowcharts of Figs. 5 and 6 and Figs. 7 to 11. In this new bill exchange process, for example, the process of dispensing one new 5,000-yen bill BLnb (5,000 yen) and five new 1,000-yen bills BLnc (total 5,000 yen) for one inserted 10,000-yen circulated bill BLca (10,000 yen) will be described. Also, in the change vending system 1 of this embodiment, the inserted circulated bills BLc are set to be temporarily stored in the bill storage 15c regardless of their denominations and then conveyed to the collection bin 32.

[0053] Specifically, the change control unit 21 of the change machine 3 starts the new bill exchange processing procedure RT1 by reading and executing the new bill exchange processing program from the storage unit 22. At this time, the change control unit 21 cooperates with the register control unit 5 (Fig. 1) of the POS register 2, and when it receives an operation input from the user to start the exchange transaction via the display operation unit 13 (Fig. 1) and a bill is inserted into the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24, it receives a deposit command from the register control unit 5 and starts the deposit processing in the new bill exchange process. Also, the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11 sets the posture of the blade 35a (Fig. 3) to form a conveyance path connecting the discrimination unit 28 and the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24. The change control unit 21 starts the new bill exchange processing procedure RT1 by reading and executing the new bill exchange processing program from the storage unit 22 and moves to step SP1.

[0054] In step SP1, the change control unit 21 sets the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 to the separation position and the storage unit stage 25 to the accumulation position, feeds out the circulated bills BLc inserted into the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 one by one to the first conveyance unit 26a while separating them, sequentially delivers them to the downstream second conveyance unit 26b, conveys them along the second conveyance unit 26b, and causes them to be discriminated when passing through the discrimination unit 28, and then moves to step SP2.

[0055] In step SP2, the change control unit 21 determines, based on the discrimination result obtained from the discrimination unit 28, whether the banknote is a normal banknote, which is a normal banknote, or an abnormal banknote, and determines whether an abnormal banknote has been detected. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that the discriminated banknote is a normal banknote. At this time, the change control unit 21 determines the conveyance destination of the normal banknote as the banknote storage 15c and proceeds to step SP3. Specifically, the change control unit 21 determines the conveyance destination of the currency note BLca as the banknote storage 15c.

[0056] In step SP3, the change control unit 21 determines, based on the discrimination result obtained from the discrimination unit 28, whether double feeding has occurred, in which at least a part of a plurality of banknotes is conveyed in an overlapping state. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that double feeding has not occurred while the currency note BLc is being conveyed from the banknote depositing and withdrawing unit 24 to the banknote storage 15c. At this time, the change control unit 21 proceeds to step SP4.

[0057] In step SP4, the change control unit 21 conveys the currency note BLc along the second conveyance unit 26b to the banknote storage 15c for accumulation and then proceeds to step SP5. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the change control unit 21 conveys and accumulates one currency note BLca to the banknote storage 15c. Here, the change control unit 21 counts the number of banknotes (currency note BLc) stored in the banknote storage 15c based on the detection result supplied from the storage running monitoring sensor and stores it as the storage count result of the storage.

[0058] In step SP5, the change control unit 21 determines whether or not all the banknotes (circulation notes BLc) inserted into the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 have been fed out and conveyed to the banknote storage 15c for accumulation. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that there are still banknotes (circulation notes BLc) to be fed out in the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24. At this time, the change control unit 21 returns to step SP1 and repeats the above-described process. On the other hand, if an affirmative result is obtained in step SP5, this indicates that all the banknotes (circulation notes BLc) have been fed out from the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24. At this time, the change control unit 21 moves to step SP6. At this time, the banknote inserted into the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 is a 10,000-yen circulation note BLca, and the circulation note BLca is stacked on top of the new 1,000-yen notes BLnc previously stored in the banknote storage 15c.

[0059] On the other hand, if an affirmative result is obtained in step SP2, this indicates that the identified banknote is an abnormal banknote. At this time, the change control unit 21 stops the conveyance of the banknote in the conveyance unit 26 and the feeding out from the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24, and moves to step SP7. In step SP7, the change control unit 21 lowers the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 and shifts it from the separation position to the accumulation position, so that the subsequent banknote, which is the banknote following the abnormal banknote, and the abnormal banknote can be returned onto the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 of the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24, and then moves to step SP8. At this time, the reject stage 33 moves from the collection position to the reject position in conjunction with the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38.

[0060] In step SP8, the change control unit 21 returns the subsequent banknote and the abnormal banknote onto the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 of the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24, returns to step SP1, and repeats the above-described process.

[0061] On the one hand, if an affirmative result is obtained in step SP3, this indicates that double feeding has occurred while transporting the negotiable instrument BLc from the paper currency deposit / withdrawal unit 24 to the paper currency storage 15c. At this time, the change control unit 21 proceeds to step SP9. In step SP9, the change control unit 21 lowers the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 and shifts it from the separation position to the accumulation position, thereby enabling the subsequent paper currency and the negotiable instrument BLc to be returned onto the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 of the paper currency deposit / withdrawal unit 24. The subsequent paper currency and the negotiable instrument BLc are returned onto the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 of the paper currency deposit / withdrawal unit 24, then it returns to step SP1, and the above-described processing is repeated.

[0062] On the other hand, in step SP6, as shown in FIG. 8, the change control unit 21 raises the storage unit stage 25 of each paper currency storage 15 and shifts it from the accumulation position to the separation position, thereby enabling the paper currency to be fed out from the paper currency storage 15 to the second transport unit 26b. At this time, the change control unit 21 does not move the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38, thereby maintaining the recovery position of the reject stage 33 and enabling the negotiable instrument BLc to be transported from the third transport unit 26c to the recovery bin 32. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9, the change control unit 21 switches the blade 35a to form a transport path connecting the discrimination unit 28 and the reject recovery bin 30, feeds out the negotiable instrument BLc stacked on top of the new note BLnc in the paper currency storage 15c from the paper currency storage 15, transports it from the second transport unit 26b to the recovery bin 32 of the reject recovery bin 30 for accumulation, and then proceeds to step SP10. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the change control unit 21 transports and accumulates one negotiable instrument BLca from the paper currency storage 15c to the recovery bin 32. At this time, the change control unit 21 discriminates the negotiable instrument BLc when it passes through the discrimination unit 28. Here, based on the detection result supplied from the storage unit travel monitoring sensor, each time the change control unit 21 detects a paper currency fed out from the paper currency storage 15c, it subtracts 1 from the storage unit storage count result. When it reaches 0, it determines that all the negotiable instruments BLc stored in the paper currency storage 15c have been fed out. In this way, the change control unit 21 determines the boundary between the negotiable instrument BLc and the new note BLn.

[0063] In step SP10, the change control unit 21 determines whether a jam has occurred in which the banknote is jammed in the transport unit 26 while the currency note BLc is being transported from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that no jam has occurred, and at this time, the change control unit 21 proceeds to step SP11. In step SP11, the change control unit 21 determines whether double feeding has occurred while the currency note BLc is being transported from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32 based on the authentication result obtained from the authentication unit 28. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that no double feeding has occurred while the currency note BLc is being transported from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32, and at this time, the change control unit 21 proceeds to step SP15 (Fig. 6).

[0064] On the other hand, if an affirmative result is obtained in step SP10 (Fig. 5), this indicates that a jam has occurred while the currency note BLc is being transported from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32, and at this time, the change control unit 21 proceeds to step SP12. In step SP12, the change control unit 21 performs an initial operation for trouble recovery and proceeds to step SP13. In step SP13, the change control unit 21 transports the remaining currency note BLc from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32 and proceeds to step SP15 (Fig. 6).

[0065] On the other hand, if an affirmative result is obtained in step SP11, this indicates that double feeding has occurred while transporting the currency note BLc from the currency note storage 15c to the collection bin 32. At this time, the change control unit 21 proceeds to step SP14. When double feeding is detected, although it is determined that two banknotes have been transported, in reality, only one banknote has been transported. There is a possibility that fewer currency notes BLc than the number temporarily stored in the currency note storage 15c are transported to the collection bin 32. In contrast, in step SP14, the change control unit 21 transports banknotes from the currency note storage 15c to the collection bin 32 by an amount equal to one additional banknote based on the number of banknotes (currency notes BLc) transported to the currency note storage 15c in step SP4, and proceeds to step SP15 (Fig. 6). Therefore, although there is a possibility that the new notes BLnc pre-accumulated in the currency note storage 15c are transported to the collection bin 32, the change control unit 21 can surely transport all the currency notes BLc in the currency note storage 15c to the collection bin 32, and can surely prevent the currency notes BLc temporarily stored in the currency note storage 15c from remaining in the currency note storage 15c. As a result, the change control unit 21 can prevent the currency notes BLc remaining in the currency note storage 15c from being treated as new notes BLn and withdrawn in subsequent transactions and being handed to customers.

[0066] On the other hand, when all the currency notes BLc are accumulated in the collection bin 32, the change control unit 21 ends the deposit process in the new note exchange process, and subsequently receives a withdrawal command from the cash register control unit 5 indicating the number of banknotes for each denomination to be withdrawn corresponding to the amount of the exchange, starts the withdrawal process in the new note exchange process, and proceeds to step SP15 (Fig. 6).

[0067] In step SP15 (Fig. 6), as shown in Fig. 10, the change control unit 21 lowers the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 and shifts it from the separation position to the accumulation position, thereby enabling the new notes BLn to be transported from the first transport unit 26a onto the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38 of the deposit / withdrawal unit 24 and accumulated, and proceeds to step SP16. At this time, as shown in Fig. 10, the reject stage 33 shifts from the collection position to the reject position in conjunction with the deposit / withdrawal unit stage 38.

[0068] In step SP16, as shown in FIG. 11, the change money control unit 21 switches the blade 35a to form a conveyance path connecting the discrimination unit 28 and the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24, feeds out the new bill BLn as the changed bill from the bill storage 15c, conveys it through the second conveyance unit 26b, conveys it to the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 and accumulates it, then moves to step SP17 and ends the new bill change processing procedure RT1. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the change money control unit 21 respectively conveys one new 5,000-yen bill BLnc from the bill storage 15b and five new 1,000-yen bills BLnc from the bill storage 15c to the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 and accumulates them as the changed bills.

[0069] The above has described the new bill change processing when the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11 receives one 10,000-yen circulating bill BLca from the user and withdraws one new 5,000-yen bill BLnb and five new 1,000-yen bills BLnc. In addition, for example, in the case of the new bill change processing when the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11 receives one 10,000-yen circulating bill BLca from the user and withdraws one new 10,000-yen bill BLna, the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11 temporarily stores the deposited circulating bill BLca in the bill storage 15c, then conveys it to the collection bin 32, and then conveys the new bill BLna from the bill storage 15a to the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 for withdrawal. Also, when the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11 receives a plurality of circulating bills BLc from the user and performs the new bill change processing, the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11 temporarily stores all the deposited circulating bills BLca in the bill storage 15c, then conveys them to the collection bin 32, and then conveys the new bill BLn from the bill storage 15 to the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 for withdrawal.

[0070] [5. New Bill Change Money Withdrawal Processing] Next, regarding the specific processing procedure of the new bill change disbursement process for disbursing new bills BLn as change for the circulating bills BLc inserted by the user into the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 when a new bill change disbursement transaction is conducted with the user in the change system 1 (Fig. 1), it will be described using the flowcharts of Figs. 5 and 6. In this new bill change disbursement process, for example, when a customer settles an accommodation fee of 8,000 yen, the process of disbursing two 1,000-yen new bills BLnc (total of 2,000 yen) as change for one inserted 10,000-yen circulating bill BLca (10,000 yen) will be described.

[0071] Specifically, the change control unit 21 of the change machine 3 starts the new bill change disbursement process procedure RT2 by reading and executing the new bill change disbursement process program from the storage unit 22. At this time, the change control unit 21 cooperates with the register control unit 5 (Fig. 1) of the POS register 2, and when it receives an operation input from the user to start the deposit process via the display operation unit 13 (Fig. 1) and a bill is inserted into the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24, it receives a deposit command from the register control unit 5 and starts the deposit process in the new bill change disbursement process.

[0072] In steps SP1 to SP14, the change control unit 21 performs the same processing as the new bill exchange process procedure RT1. When all the circulating bills BLc are accumulated in the collection bin 32, the deposit process in the new bill change disbursement process ends. Subsequently, it receives a withdrawal command from the register control unit 5 indicating the number of bills for each denomination to be withdrawn corresponding to the amount of change, starts the withdrawal process in the new bill change disbursement process, and moves to step SP15 (Fig. 6). Specifically, the change control unit 21 conveys and accumulates one circulating bill BLca in the bill storage bin 15c, and then conveys and accumulates the circulating bill BLca from the bill storage bin 15c to the collection bin 32.

[0073] In steps SP15 to SP17, the change control unit 21 performs the same processing as the new bill exchange processing procedure RT1, feeds out new bills BLn from each bill storage 15 as change, conveys them through the second conveyance unit 26b, conveys them to the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24, and accumulates them, thereby ending the new bill change withdrawal processing procedure RT2. Specifically, the change control unit 21 conveys two new 1,000-yen bills BLnc from the bill storage 15c to the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 and accumulates them as change.

[0074] [6. Effects, etc.] By the way, when the reject collection bin 30 is not arranged in front of the discrimination unit 28 but behind the discrimination unit 28, for example, behind the bill storage 15c, as in the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11 of the present embodiment, when performing new bill exchange processing or new bill change withdrawal processing, the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11 can directly convey the deposited circulating bill BLc from the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 to the collection bin 32 without temporarily storing it in the bill storage 15c. However, in that case, the length of the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11 in the front-rear direction becomes longer, and the device becomes larger.

[0075] On the other hand, the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11 according to the present embodiment arranges the reject collection bin 30 in the space below the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 in front of the discrimination unit 28. Therefore, in the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11, the reject collection bin 30 (especially the collection bin 32) and the bill storage 15 are arranged at positions opposite to each other in the front-rear direction with the discrimination unit 28 in between. Therefore, the bill deposit / withdrawal device 11 can shorten the length in the front-rear direction and downsize the device.

[0076] In such a configuration, it is also conceivable to feed out only one of the inserted negotiable instruments BLc from the bill depositing and withdrawing section 24 to the conveying section 26, identify it by the discrimination section 28, stop it in the second conveying section 26b, and then reverse it to switch back forward and convey it to the collection bin 32. After that, the same process is repeated until all the negotiable instruments BLc in the bill depositing and withdrawing section 24 are conveyed to the collection bin 32. However, in that case, if there are a plurality of negotiable instruments BLc inserted into the bill depositing and withdrawing section 24, it takes a long time to convey all the negotiable instruments BLc in the bill depositing and withdrawing section 24 to the collection bin 32, resulting in a long transaction time and keeping the customer waiting.

[0077] In contrast, the bill depositing and withdrawing apparatus 11 conveys all the inserted negotiable instruments BLc from the bill depositing and withdrawing section 24 to the bill storage bin 15c and temporarily stores them. After collectively conveying all the negotiable instruments BLc temporarily stored in the bill storage bin 15c to the collection bin 32, new bills BLn are conveyed from each bill storage bin 15 to the bill depositing and withdrawing section 24 for withdrawal. For this reason, the bill depositing and withdrawing apparatus 11 can shorten the transaction time and reduce the time of keeping the customer waiting. As described above, such a control method is significantly effective when applied to the bill depositing and withdrawing apparatus 11 in which the reject collection bin 30 and the bill storage bin 15 are arranged at positions on the opposite sides in the front-rear direction with the discrimination section 28 interposed therebetween, and the bills conveyed from the bill depositing and withdrawing section 24 and passing through the discrimination section 28 are conveyed to the collection bin 32 by running reversely through the discrimination section 28.

[0078] Furthermore, the bill depositing and withdrawing apparatus 11 is provided with a bill storage bin 15a for storing new 10,000-yen bills BLna in addition to the bill storage bin 15b for storing new 5,000-yen bills BLnb and the bill storage bin 15c for storing new 1,000-yen bills BLnc. For this reason, the bill depositing and withdrawing apparatus 11 can exchange the deposited negotiable instruments BLc for new 10,000-yen bills BLna in addition to the new 5,000-yen bills BLnb and the new 1,000-yen bills BLnc.

[0079] According to the above configuration, the banknote deposit and withdrawal device 11 includes a conveyance unit 26 that conveys banknotes, a banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 24 that is connected to the conveyance unit 26, feeds the banknotes inserted by the user to the conveyance unit 26, and accumulates the banknotes to be discharged to the user, a discrimination unit 28 that is provided on the conveyance unit 26 and discriminates banknotes, a banknote storage 15 that is connected to the conveyance unit 26, stores the banknotes determined to be normal by the discrimination unit 28, and feeds out the banknotes, a collection bin 32 that is connected to the conveyance unit 26 and stores the banknotes determined to be normal by the discrimination unit 28 regardless of the denomination, and a change control unit 21 that controls the conveyance of the banknotes conveyed by the conveyance unit 26. The change control unit 21 conveys the circulating bills BLc inserted into the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 24 to the banknote storage 15c and temporarily accumulates them, and after conveying the circulating bills BLc temporarily accumulated in the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32, controls to convey the new bills BLn stored in the banknote storage 15 to the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 24.

[0080] Thereby, the banknote deposit and withdrawal device 11 can shorten the time required to feed out all the circulating bills BLc from the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 24 by collectively conveying and storing the circulating bills BLc inserted into the banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 24 to the banknote storage 15c, and collectively conveying these circulating bills BLc from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32.

[0081] [7. Other Embodiments] In the above-described embodiment, all the negotiable instruments BLc inserted into the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 are temporarily stored in the bill storage bin 15c, and after all the negotiable instruments BLc are conveyed from the bill storage bin 15c to the collection bin 32, the new bills BLn are conveyed from the bill storage bin 15c to the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24. The present invention is not limited to this. At least two or more negotiable instruments BLc inserted into the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 are temporarily stored in the bill storage bin 15c, and then these two or more negotiable instruments BLc are conveyed from the bill storage bin 15c to the collection bin 32, and this is repeated until there are no more negotiable instruments BLc in the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24, and then the new bills BLn may be conveyed from the bill storage bin 15 to the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24. Even with such control, compared with the control in which only one negotiable instrument BLc is fed out from the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 to the conveying unit 26, discriminated by the discrimination unit 28, stopped by the second conveying unit 26b, and then reversely run in the forward direction to be switched back and conveyed to the collection bin 32, and then the same process is repeated until all the negotiable instruments BLc in the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 are conveyed to the collection bin 32, when the number of negotiable instruments BLc inserted into the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 is plural, the transaction time can be shortened.

[0082] Also, for example, one 10,000-yen negotiable instrument BLca inserted into the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 is temporarily stored in the bill storage bin 15a, and after the exchange, as the exchanged bills, one 5,000-yen new bill BLnb and five 1,000-yen new bills BLnc are conveyed from the bill storage bin 15b and the bill storage bin 15c to the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 and handed over to the customer, and then one 10,000-yen negotiable instrument BLca may be conveyed from the bill storage bin 15a to the collection bin 32. That is, the timing of conveying the negotiable instrument BLc from the bill storage bin 15 to the collection bin 32 and the timing of conveying the new bill BLn from the bill storage bin 15 to the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24 are reversed, the new bill BLn is conveyed from the bill storage bin 15 to the bill deposit / withdrawal unit 24, and after the exchange transaction is completed, the negotiable instrument BLc may be conveyed from the bill storage bin 15 to the collection bin 32. In that case, although the next transaction cannot be started until the conveyance of the negotiable instrument BLc from the bill storage bin 15 to the collection bin 32 is completed, the waiting time of the user in the current exchange transaction can be shortened, and the driving sound can be prevented from being heard by the customer more than necessary.

[0083] Furthermore, when the number of the negotiable instruments BLc inserted into the paper currency deposit / withdrawal unit 24 is equal to or less than a predetermined number (for example, only one), the negotiable instrument BLc is fed out from the paper currency deposit / withdrawal unit 24 to the transport unit 26, identified by the identification unit 28, stopped by the second transport unit 26b, and then reversely run in a switchback manner in the forward direction to be transported to the collection bin 32. On the other hand, when the number of the negotiable instruments BLc inserted into the paper currency deposit / withdrawal unit 24 is more than the predetermined number, all the negotiable instruments BLc inserted into the paper currency deposit / withdrawal unit 24 may be temporarily stored in the paper currency storage bin 15c, and all the negotiable instruments BLc may be transported from the paper currency storage bin 15c to the collection bin 32.

[0084] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the deposited negotiable instrument BLc is temporarily stored in the paper currency storage bin 15c as the first storage unit preset as the temporary storage destination regardless of its denomination and then transported to the collection bin 32 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this. If the deposited negotiable instrument BLc is accumulated in the paper currency storage bin 15a as the second storage unit arranged at the position closest to the paper currency deposit / withdrawal unit 24 among the paper currency storage bins 15, the transport route for temporarily transporting from the paper currency deposit / withdrawal unit 24 to the paper currency storage bin 15 and then transporting from the paper currency storage bin 15 to the collection bin 32 can be shortened compared with the case of accumulating in the paper currency storage bin 15b or 15c, and as a result, the transaction time can be shortened. However, since the paper currency storage bin 15c can store a larger number of paper currency than the paper currency storage bin 15a and the paper currency storage bin 15b, when the same number of new bills BLn are stored in all the paper currency storage bins 15, more negotiable instruments BLc can be stored. Also, when the preset paper currency storage bin 15 as the temporary storage destination is full, it may be accumulated in other paper currency storage bins 15. Further, the deposited negotiable instrument BLc may be temporarily stored in one, two, or three preset paper currency storage bins 15 among the paper currency storage bins 15a, 15b, and 15c.

[0085] Furthermore, the currency note depositing and dispensing device 11 may temporarily store the in - flowing currency note BLc in the note storage vault 15 that stores new notes BLn of a denomination different from the denomination of the notes to be dispensed as change or exchanged - after notes. In this case, after the transaction is completed by transporting the new note BLn from the note storage vault 15 as the second storage unit to the note depositing and dispensing unit 24 for dispensing in a state where the in - flowing currency note BLc that has been deposited is not accumulated on the new note BLn to be dispensed, the in - flowing currency note BLc can be transported from the note storage vault 15 as the first storage unit to the recovery vault 32. Therefore, the transaction time can be shortened, the time for keeping the customer waiting can be reduced, and the driving sound can be prevented from being heard by the customer more than necessary. In other words, the currency note depositing and dispensing device 11 can transport the new note BLn to be dispensed from the note storage vault 15 to the note depositing and dispensing unit 24 for dispensing before transporting the in - flowing currency note BLc from the note storage vault 15 to the recovery vault 32. This is particularly effective in the case where different denominations are assigned to all the note storage vaults 15 (that is, the case where new notes BLn of the same denomination are not stored in a plurality of note storage vaults 15). Also, this is particularly effective in the case of pre - dispensing where the customer is made to input the deposit amount in advance to the display operation unit 6 of the POS register 2.

[0086] Furthermore, the in - flowing currency note BLc may be temporarily stored in each note storage vault 15 that stores notes of the denomination to be change or exchanged - after notes. In this case, in the case where each storage vault stage 25 (storage vault stages 25a, 25b, and 25c) moves up and down independently of each other, the storage vault stage 25 of the note storage vault 15 that does not store notes of the denomination to be change or exchanged - after notes remains in the stacking position, and only the storage vault stage 25 of the note storage vault 15 that stores notes of the denomination to be change or exchanged - after notes is raised from the stacking position to the separating position to pay out the currency note BLc and then the new note BLn can be paid out in the separating position, and the number of note storage vaults 15 for operating the storage vault stage 25 can be reduced. Furthermore, the in - flowing currency note BLc may be temporarily stored in each note storage vault 15 that stores new notes BLn of the same denomination as the in - flowing currency note BLc.

[0087] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when double feeding is detected when transporting the negotiable instrument BLc from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32, the case where banknotes are transported from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32 by the number of additional banknotes added by one to the number of banknotes transported to the banknote storage 15c was described. The present invention is not limited to this, and banknotes may be transported from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32 by the number of additional banknotes added by any number of two or more to the number of banknotes transported to the banknote storage 15c.

[0088] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, based on the detection result supplied from the storage bin travel monitoring sensor, each time a banknote fed out from the banknote storage 15c is detected, one is subtracted from the storage bin storage count result, and when it becomes 0, the case where it is determined that all the negotiable instruments BLc stored in the banknote storage 15c have been fed out was described. The present invention is not limited to this, and after the partition banknote is finally inserted into the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24, the partition banknote and the negotiable instrument BLc are fed out from the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24, so that the partition banknote is positioned below the lowermost negotiable instrument BLc in the banknote storage 15c. When transporting banknotes from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32, if the partition banknote is detected, it may be determined that the banknotes existing on the downstream side in the transport direction from the partition banknote are negotiable instruments BLc.

[0089] Furthermore, instead of the storage bin storage count result, a serial number is used. When transporting the negotiable instrument BLc from the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 to the banknote storage 15c, the serial number is detected by the discrimination unit 28. When transporting banknotes from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32, if the first serial number detected previously is detected, it may be determined that the banknotes including the banknote with the detected serial number and the banknotes existing on the upstream side in the transport direction from the banknote are negotiable instruments BLc.

[0090] Furthermore, when the discrimination unit 28 has the accuracy to distinguish between the negotiable instrument BLc and the new note BLn, when transporting banknotes from the banknote storage 15c to the collection bin 32, the discrimination unit 28 detects whether the banknote is the negotiable instrument BLc or the new note BLn. When the negotiable instrument BLc is detected, the negotiable instrument BLc may be transported to the collection bin 32.

[0091] Furthermore, when transporting banknotes from the banknote storage bin 15c to the collection bin 32, before the counted number of banknotes stored in the storage bin reaches 0, the discrimination unit 28 may detect banknotes in a state similar to that of new banknotes BLn among the circulating banknotes BLc and transport and withdraw them to the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 instead of the collection bin 32. In this case, if the deposited banknotes include circulating banknotes BLc in a state similar to that of new banknotes BLn, it is possible to eliminate the need to withdraw the same number of new banknotes BLn from the banknote storage bin 15, and the pace at which the new banknotes BLn in the banknote storage bin 15 decrease can be suppressed.

[0092] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where all the circulating banknotes BLc are transported from the banknote storage bin 15c to the collection bin 32 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this. Particularly in the case of an automated teller machine or the like, any one of the banknote storage bins may function as a collection bin, and all the circulating banknotes BLc may be transported from one banknote storage bin to another banknote storage bin that functions as a collection bin.

[0093] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where each storage bin stage 25 does not move up and down independently but moves up and down synchronously at the same timing has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and each storage bin stage 25 may move up and down independently of each other.

[0094] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the banknote deposit / withdrawal device 11 having the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 24 in which a deposit unit connected to the transport unit 26 and feeding out banknotes inserted by the user to the transport unit 26 and a withdrawal unit connected to the transport unit 26 and accumulating banknotes to be discharged to the user are integrally provided has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 12, the present invention may be applied to a banknote deposit / withdrawal device 111 in which the deposit unit 24i and the withdrawal unit 24o are provided independently of each other and connected to the transport unit 26.

[0095] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the banknote depositing and withdrawing apparatus 11 in which the depositing and withdrawing unit stage 38 and the reject stage 33 are interlocked has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may be applied to a banknote depositing and withdrawing apparatus in which the depositing and withdrawing unit stage 38 and the reject stage 33 move independently of each other.

[0096] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the change dispenser 3 operates the banknote depositing and withdrawing apparatus 11 by selecting an operation mode such as a normal mode, a new note dispensing mode, or a new note replenishment mode by receiving various instructions from the register control unit 5 of the POS register 2 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and for example, when a predetermined switch, or the display operation unit 6 or 13 is operated, the change control unit 21 of the change dispenser 3 may switch the operation mode of the banknote depositing and withdrawing apparatus 11. Also, for example, when the new notes BLnc in the new note storage 15 are insufficient during operation in the new note dispensing mode, the change dispenser 3 may be operated by switching to the normal mode. Furthermore, the operation mode may be switched according to temporal factors such as peak periods or time zones.

[0097] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the reject collection bin 30 is arranged below the banknote depositing and withdrawing unit 24 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and the reject collection bin 30 may be arranged at various other positions on the front side of the discrimination unit 28.

[0098] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where three banknote storages 15 (banknote storages 15a, 15b, and 15c) are provided in the banknote depositing and withdrawing apparatus 11 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and any number of banknote storages 15, two or less or four or more, may be provided.

[0099] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to a change dispenser 3 that is connected to a POS register or the like used at the front desk of a hotel, or at the cash register in a supermarket, convenience store, or the like and performs paper currency deposit and withdrawal processing has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may also be applied to various devices of terminals used by bank tellers, such as automated teller machines (teller terminals) used within a bank. Also, even for devices such as automatic check-in machines and automatic settlement machines used in hotels, which have a function equivalent to that of the POS register 2 of the present invention but are not a POS register as an article (for example, a tablet terminal or the like), the present invention may be applied. Furthermore, the present invention may also be applied to devices such as a change dispenser that operates independently (standalone) without being connected to a POS register.

[0100] 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 any one or more of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments are arbitrarily combined. Also, the present invention applies when a part of the configuration described in any of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments is extracted and replaced or diverted with a part of the configuration of any of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments, or when a part of the extracted configuration is added to any of the embodiments.

[0101] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, the case where a paper currency deposit and withdrawal device 11 as a paper currency processing device is configured by a transport unit 26 as a transport path, a paper currency deposit and withdrawal unit 24 as a deposit unit, a paper currency deposit and withdrawal unit 24 as a withdrawal unit, a discrimination unit 28 as a discrimination unit, a paper currency storage 15 as a storage unit, a collection bin 32 as a collection unit, and a change control unit 21 as a control unit has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and a paper currency processing device may be configured by a transport path, a deposit unit, a withdrawal unit, a discrimination unit, a storage unit, a collection unit, and a control unit having various other configurations.

Industrial Applicability

[0102] The present invention can also be used in various conveying devices that convey and discriminate media such as banknotes.

Explanation of Signs

[0103] 1……Cash register change system, 2……POS cash register, 3……Change machine, 5……Cash register control unit, 6……Display operation unit, 7……Receipt processing unit, 7A……Receipt discharge port, 11, 111……Banknote deposit / withdrawal device, 12……Coin deposit / withdrawal device, 13……Display operation unit, 14……Banknote deposit / withdrawal port, 15……Banknote storage, 16……Coin deposit port, 17……Reject port, 18……Coin withdrawal port, 21……Change control unit, 22……Memory unit, 23……Communication unit, 24……Banknote deposit / withdrawal unit, 25……Storage stage, 26……Conveying unit, 26a……First conveying unit, 26b……Second conveying unit, 26c……Third conveying unit, 27……Belt, 28……Discrimination unit, 30……Reject collection bin, 31……Reject bin, 32……Collection bin, 33……Reject stage, 34a……First switching unit, 34b……Second switching unit, 34c……Third switching unit, 35a, 35b, 35c……Blade, 38……Deposit / withdrawal unit stage, 39……Banknote accommodation space, 40……Payout and accumulation unit, 41……Pickup roller, 42……Payout and accumulation roller, 43……Feed roller, 44……Gate roller, 45……Accumulation roller, 50……Accumulation roller, 51……Tension roller, 52……Feed roller, 60……Payout and accumulation unit, 62……Conveying roller, BLca, BLcb, BLcc……Circulating notes, BLna, BLnb, BLnc……New notes.

Claims

1. A transport path for transporting banknotes, A deposit section connected to the transport path for feeding out banknotes inserted by a user into the transport path, A withdrawal section connected to the transport path for accumulating banknotes to be discharged to the user, A discrimination section provided on the transport path for discriminating banknotes, A storage section connected to the transport path for storing banknotes determined to be normal by the discrimination section and for feeding out banknotes, A collection section connected to the transport path for collecting banknotes determined to be normal by the discrimination section regardless of denomination, A control section for controlling the transport of banknotes being transported on the transport path and comprising, the control section transports banknotes, which are currency notes inserted into the deposit section, to the storage section and temporarily accumulates them, and after transporting the currency notes temporarily accumulated in the storage section to the collection section, controls to transport banknotes, which are new notes stored in the storage section, to the withdrawal section This is a banknote processing apparatus characterized by the above.

2. The control section controls to temporarily accumulate all the banknotes inserted into the deposit section in the storage section The banknote processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

3. The control section controls to temporarily accumulate all the banknotes inserted into the deposit section in one of the storage sections regardless of denomination The banknote processing apparatus according to Claim 2.

4. The storage section includes a first storage section and a second storage section provided at a position closer to the collection section than the first storage section for storing banknotes determined to be normal by the discrimination section and for feeding out banknotes, The control section controls to temporarily accumulate all the banknotes inserted into the deposit section in the second storage section regardless of denomination The banknote processing apparatus according to Claim 3.

5. The control section controls to temporarily accumulate all the banknotes inserted into the deposit section in the storage section corresponding to the denomination The banknote processing apparatus according to Claim 2.

6. The collection section is arranged on the opposite side of the storage section with the discrimination section in between. The banknote processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

7. The control section controls to transport the new notes to the withdrawal section as change The banknote processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

8. The storage section includes a first storage section and a second storage section, The control unit conveys the negotiable instruments inserted into the depositing unit to the first storage unit and temporarily accumulates them. After conveying the negotiable instruments temporarily accumulated in the first storage unit to the recovery unit, the control unit controls to convey the new notes stored in at least one of the first storage unit or the second storage unit to the dispensing unit. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1.

9. The control unit controls to convey the new notes to the dispensing unit as banknotes after currency exchange. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1.

10. The control unit when double feeding is detected by the discrimination unit when conveying the negotiable instruments from the storage unit to the recovery unit, controls to convey a number of banknotes greater than the number of the negotiable instruments conveyed to the storage unit from the storage unit to the recovery unit. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1.

11. The control unit when double feeding is detected by the discrimination unit when conveying the banknotes inserted into the depositing unit to the storage unit, returns the banknotes from the conveyance path to the depositing unit and then conveys the banknotes from the depositing unit to the storage unit again. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 10.

12. The depositing unit and the dispensing unit are integrally provided, connected to the conveyance path, and are deposit / withdrawal units that feed out banknotes inserted by a user to the conveyance path and accumulate banknotes discharged to the user. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1.

13. a sensor that detects the banknotes accumulated and fed out to the storage unit and sends the detection result to the control unit is further provided, and the control unit counts the number of the negotiable instruments accumulated in the storage unit when conveying the negotiable instruments inserted into the depositing unit to the storage unit based on the detection result, counts the number of the negotiable instruments fed out from the storage unit when conveying the negotiable instruments temporarily accumulated in the storage unit to the recovery unit, and determines the boundary between the negotiable instruments and the new notes. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1.

14. a conveyance path for conveying banknotes, a depositing unit connected to the conveyance path and feeding out banknotes inserted by a user to the conveyance path, a dispensing unit connected to the conveyance path and accumulating banknotes discharged to the user, a discrimination unit provided on the conveyance path for discriminating banknotes, a first storage unit and a second storage unit connected to the conveyance path, storing banknotes determined to be normal by the discrimination unit and feeding out banknotes A collecting unit that is connected to the conveyance path and collects banknotes determined to be normal by the discrimination unit regardless of the denomination; A control unit that controls the conveyance of banknotes conveyed on the conveyance path are provided, The control unit temporarily accumulates all the negotiable instruments inserted into the depositing unit in the first storage unit different from the second storage unit that stores the banknotes of the denomination to be discharged to the user, and after conveying the new bills stored in the second storage unit to the withdrawing unit, controls to convey the negotiable instruments temporarily accumulated in the first storage unit to the collecting unit A banknote processing apparatus characterized by the above.

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