Medium processing device and automatic transaction device

Abstract

This medium processing device comprises a shutter which closes or opens a medium delivery portion, a shutter drive portion which rotates the shutter in a closing direction or an opening direction, a locking portion which regulates rotation of the shutter from a state in which the medium delivery portion is closed to a state in which the medium delivery portion is open, and a control portion which controls the shutter drive portion. The shutter drive portion comprises a link gear which is provided coaxially with an axis of rotation of the shutter and rotates about the axis of rotation, and a contacting portion that is provided on the link gear and rotates integrally with the link gear. The control portion causes the link gear to rotate in a first direction to thereby cause the locking portion to transition to a state in which rotation of the shutter in the opening direction is permitted, and then causes the link gear to further rotate in the first direction to thereby cause the contacting portion to come into contact with the shutter so that the shutter rotates in the opening direction.

Description

Medium Processing Device and Automated Transaction Device

[0001] This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-066810 filed on April 15, 2025, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. The present disclosure relates to a medium processing device and an automated transaction device.

[0002] There is an automated transaction device that is installed in stores such as retail stores and performs deposit transactions and withdrawal transactions. This automated transaction device has a banknote processing device that handles banknotes as media. This banknote processing device includes, for example, a banknote delivery unit that delivers banknotes to a user, and a shutter that closes or opens the banknote delivery unit.

[0003] Conventionally, as such a banknote processing device having a shutter at the banknote delivery unit, there is one having a shutter locking and unlocking function and an automatic shutter opening / closing function. Specifically, this banknote processing device includes an opening / closing unit that opens and closes the shutter, a gear unit that drives the opening / closing unit, a cam gear, a plurality of gears that transmit the driving force of a motor to the gear unit and the cam gear, and a lock unit that rotates in accordance with the rotation of the cam gear. By rotating the lock unit to a position where it comes into contact with the gear unit and locks the gear unit, the operation of the opening / closing unit is restricted to lock the shutter, and by rotating the lock unit to a position where it is separated from the gear unit, the opening / closing unit is made operable to unlock the shutter (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-130480).

[0004] However, the conventional banknote processing device has a large number of components such as gears, resulting in a complicated configuration, and it has been difficult to reduce the size thereof.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to propose a medium processing device and an automated transaction device that have a simple configuration while being provided with a shutter locking and unlocking function and an automatic shutter opening / closing function.

[0006] A media processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a media delivery unit for accumulating media and delivering the media to a user, a shutter for closing or opening the media delivery unit, a shutter drive unit for rotating the shutter in a closing direction to close the media delivery unit or in an opening direction to open the media delivery unit, a lock unit for restricting the rotation of the shutter from a closed state to an open state of the media delivery unit, and a control unit for controlling the shutter drive unit, wherein the shutter drive unit is provided coaxially with the rotation axis of the shutter and has a link gear that rotates about the rotation axis, and a contact portion provided on the link gear that rotates integrally with the link gear, and the control unit rotates the link gear in a first direction to transition the lock unit to a state that allows the shutter to rotate in the opening direction, and then rotates the link gear in the first direction to bring the contact portion into contact with the shutter and rotate the shutter in the opening direction.

[0007] Thus, the media processing device of this embodiment can lock and unlock the shutter and automatically open and close the shutter simply by rotating the link gear.

[0008] Furthermore, an automated trading device relating to another aspect of this disclosure includes the media processing device described above.

[0009] According to this disclosure, a media processing device and an automated trading device can be realized with a simple configuration that includes shutter locking and unlocking functions and automatic shutter opening and closing functions.

[0010] This is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a cash processing device according to the first embodiment. This is a side view showing the overall configuration of a banknote processing device incorporated into a cash processing device according to the first embodiment. This is a side view showing the configuration of the banknote delivery section of the banknote processing device according to the first embodiment (when the shutter is closed and locked). This is a side view showing the operation of the banknote delivery section of the banknote processing device according to the first embodiment (when the shutter is closed and unlocked). This is a side view showing the operation of the banknote delivery section of the banknote processing device according to the first embodiment (when the shutter is open and unlocked). This is a side view showing the configuration of the banknote delivery section according to the second embodiment. This is a side view showing the configuration of the banknote delivery section of the banknote processing device according to the third embodiment (when the shutter is closed and locked). This is a perspective view showing the configuration of the banknote placement section according to the third embodiment. This is a side view showing the operation of the banknote delivery section of the banknote processing device according to the third embodiment (when the shutter is closed and unlocked). This is a side view showing the operation of the banknote delivery section of the banknote processing device according to the third embodiment (when the shutter is open and unlocked). This is a side view showing the configuration of the banknote delivery section according to another embodiment.

[0011] The embodiments for implementing this disclosure (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0012] [1. First Embodiment] [1-1. Configuration of Cash Processing Device] As shown schematically in Figure 1, the cash processing device 1 according to the first embodiment has a control unit 3, a banknote processing device 5, and a coin processing device 6 incorporated into a housing 2, and a display operation unit 8 is provided on the upper side thereof.

[0013] This cash processing device 1 is operated by store staff or customers (hereinafter referred to as "users") when customers pay for goods they wish to purchase at the checkout counter (so-called cash register) of a retail store, such as a supermarket or convenience store. In the following explanation, the side facing the user and the opposite side will be referred to as the front and rear, respectively, and the left, right, top, and bottom will be defined and explained from the user's perspective.

[0014] The central control unit 3 is centered around a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) and comprehensively controls the cash processing unit 1 by reading and executing various programs from a storage unit (not shown) that stores various information, and performs various processes such as deposit transactions and withdrawal transactions. Note that the CPU is just one example of a processor.

[0015] The banknote processing unit 5 is the part that performs various processing related to banknotes, including receiving banknotes from the user, performing authentication and counting of the banknotes, and storing them separated by denomination. The coin processing unit 6 is the part that performs various processing related to coins, including receiving coins from the user, performing authentication and counting of the coins, and storing them separated by denomination.

[0016] The display operation unit 8 is configured as a touch panel, comprising a display unit, such as a liquid crystal display, and an operation unit, such as a touch sensor, which is superimposed on the liquid crystal display. The display operation unit 8 displays various information on the liquid crystal display and detects operation instructions from the user using the touch sensor, and notifies the central control unit 3.

[0017] [1-2. Configuration of the Banknote Processing Device] Next, we will explain the banknote processing device 5. As shown in Figure 2, the banknote processing device 5 is mainly composed of a roughly box-shaped housing 10.

[0018] The housing 10 is composed of a first portion 10A that extends vertically and a second portion 10B that protrudes forward from the upper front side of the first portion 10A, and as a whole, it has a shape that looks like an inverted L when viewed from the side. The second portion 10B of the housing 2 is provided with a banknote deposit / discharge section 11, and the first portion 10A is provided with a banknote control unit 12, a transport unit 13, an authentication unit 14, stackers (stackers 15A, 15B and 15C), a collection unit 16, and the like.

[0019] The banknote control unit 12 is the part that comprehensively controls the entire banknote processing device 5. This banknote control unit 12 is mainly composed of a CPU (not shown) and performs various processes such as deposit and withdrawal processing by reading predetermined programs from ROM (Read Only Memory) and flash memory (not shown) and executing them. The banknote control unit 12 also has a storage unit inside, which consists of RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk drive, and flash memory, and stores various information in this storage unit.

[0020] The banknote deposit and withdrawal unit 11 has a banknote insertion unit 20 located at the top and a banknote delivery unit 21 located at the bottom. By inserting banknotes into the banknote insertion unit 20, the user can deposit banknotes, and by delivering banknotes from the banknote delivery unit 21, the user can withdraw banknotes. As will be described in more detail later, the banknote delivery unit 21 is capable of accumulating banknotes and has a shutter that closes or opens the banknote delivery unit 21. By opening the shutter and opening the banknote delivery unit 21, the user can take out the banknotes accumulated in the banknote delivery unit 21.

[0021] The transport unit 13 transports banknotes to each section along the transport path R. The identification unit 14 identifies the denomination, authenticity, degree of damage, serial number, etc., of the banknotes transported along the transport path R. The stacker 15 stores the banknotes by denomination. The collection unit 16 stores banknotes that have been determined to be unsuitable for withdrawal. The configuration of the banknote processing device 5 is as described above.

[0022] Here, we will briefly explain the operation of the banknote processing device 5 during deposit and withdrawal transactions. During a deposit transaction, when a user inserts banknotes into the banknote insertion section 20 of the banknote deposit / withdrawal section 11, the banknote processing device 5 transports the inserted banknotes one by one to the authentication section 14 via the transport section 13. If the authentication section 14 determines that the banknotes transported to the authentication section 14 are depositable and recyclable as withdrawn banknotes, the banknote processing device 5 transports the banknotes via the transport section 13 to the respective stackers 15 according to the denomination for storage.

[0023] On the other hand, if the banknote processing device 5 determines that the banknotes transported to the authentication unit 14 are not suitable for withdrawal (not suitable for withdrawal) because they are in poor condition or are old bills, even though they are depositable, the authentication unit 14 transports the banknotes to the collection unit 16 via the transport unit 13 for storage.

[0024] Furthermore, if the banknote processing device 5 determines that the banknotes transported to the authentication unit 14 are unsuitable for deposit due to being in extremely poor condition, counterfeit, foreign currency, etc., the authentication unit 14 will transport the banknotes (referred to as rejected banknotes) to the banknote delivery unit 21 of the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 via the transport unit 13, and the banknote delivery unit 21 will return them to the user.

[0025] Furthermore, the uses of deposits into the banknote processing device 5 in retail stores include, for example, deposits of payment for goods, deposits of sales revenue, and deposits when replenishing banknotes. Of these, deposits of payment for goods are made by store staff or customers, while deposits of sales revenue and deposits when replenishing banknotes are made by store staff.

[0026] On the other hand, during a cash withdrawal transaction, the banknote processing device 5 recognizes the required number of banknotes of each denomination according to the amount of change to be given when settling a payment for goods, and dispenses banknotes from each stacker 15 according to the required number of banknotes of each denomination, transporting them one by one to the authentication unit 14 via the transport unit 13. If the authentication unit 14 determines that the banknotes transported to the authentication unit 14 are eligible for withdrawal, the transport unit 13 transports the banknotes to the banknote delivery unit 21 of the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 and accumulates them in the banknote delivery unit 21. On the other hand, if the authentication unit 14 determines that the banknotes transported to the authentication unit 14 are unsuitable for withdrawal, the transport unit 13 transports the banknotes to the collection unit 16 and stores them. When the banknote processing device 5 has finished accumulating the banknotes equivalent to the amount of change in the banknote delivery unit 21, it opens the shutter of the banknote delivery unit 21 and hands the banknotes over to the user.

[0027] Furthermore, one possible use of the banknote processing device 5 in a retail store is to dispense change when a customer pays for goods. This change is dispensed to either store staff or customers. The operation of the banknote processing device 5 during deposit and withdrawal transactions is as described above.

[0028] Furthermore, the banknote processing device 5 has a banknote counting function. Here, the banknote counting process by the banknote processing device 5 will be briefly explained. During banknote counting, when a user inserts banknotes into the banknote insertion section 20 of the banknote deposit / discharge section 11, the banknote processing device 5 transports the inserted banknotes one by one to the authentication section 14 via the transport section 13. Here, the banknote processing device 5 uses the authentication section 14 to determine the denomination of the banknotes transported to the authentication section 14, counts them by denomination, and then transports the banknotes to the banknote delivery section 21 via the transport section 13 for accumulation in the banknote delivery section 21. When the counting of the inserted banknotes is complete, the banknote processing device 5 displays the counting result on the display operation section 8 and opens the shutter of the banknote delivery section 21 to return the counted banknotes to the user.

[0029] Furthermore, in the banknote processing device 5, for example, only store staff can use this banknote counting function. The banknote counting process by the banknote processing device 5 is as described above.

[0030] [1-3. Configuration of the Banknote Delivery Unit] Next, the configuration of the banknote delivery unit 21 of the banknote deposit / withdrawal unit 11 will be explained in more detail using Figure 3. Figure 3 is a left side view of the banknote delivery unit 21, and the left side of the banknote delivery unit 21 is transparent so that the internal configuration can be seen. The operation of each part of the banknote delivery unit 21 is controlled by the banknote control unit 12.

[0031] As shown in Figure 3, the banknote delivery section 21 has a banknote accumulation space 30 for accumulating banknotes to be handed over to the user. Above this banknote accumulation space 30, a plate-shaped ceiling guide 31 is provided. This ceiling guide 31 is tilted so that its front end is slightly higher than its rear end.

[0032] Furthermore, a banknote placement section 32 for placing banknotes is provided below the banknote stacking space 30. This banknote placement section 32 is trapezoidal in shape and has a front surface 32F that is substantially perpendicular to the front-to-back direction, and a banknote placement surface 32T that slopes downward toward the rear from the upper end of the front surface 32F. In Figure 3, the front end of the banknote placement surface 32T is located in front of the front end of the ceiling guide 31, but this is not limited to this, and for example, the front end of the banknote placement surface 32T may be located directly below the front end of the ceiling guide 31.

[0033] Furthermore, a rear guide 33 is provided on the rear side of the banknote stacking space 30, extending upward (towards the ceiling guide 31) from the rear end of the banknote placement surface 32T. This rear guide 33 is tilted so that its upper end is slightly further back than its lower end. This rear guide 33 may be provided integrally with the banknote placement section 32. In addition, side guides (not shown) are provided on both the left and right sides of the banknote stacking space 30.

[0034] The banknote delivery unit 21 is designed to accumulate banknotes in the banknote accumulation space 30 by placing banknotes on the banknote placement surface 32T (or stacking multiple banknotes vertically), with the rear guide 33 and left and right side guides regulating the position of the rear end and both left and right ends of the banknotes. The banknote delivery unit 21 is designed to accumulate banknotes in the banknote accumulation space 30 with the longitudinal direction of the banknotes aligned with the left-right direction (i.e., the width direction of the banknote delivery unit 21).

[0035] Furthermore, the front end of the banknote accumulation space 30 (specifically, the portion located between the front end of the ceiling guide 31 and the front end of the banknote placement surface 32T) is a banknote dispensing slot 34 that communicates with the outside of the banknote processing device 5, allowing banknotes accumulated in the banknote accumulation space 30 to be removed from this banknote dispensing slot 34.

[0036] Furthermore, the banknote dispensing slot 34 is provided with a shutter 35 that closes or opens the banknote dispensing slot 34. Figure 3 shows the state in which the banknote dispensing slot 34 (i.e., the front end of the banknote stacking space 30) is closed by the shutter 35, and the position of the shutter 35 at this time is called the shutter closed position.

[0037] The shutter 35 has a front portion 35F that covers the front of the banknote dispensing slot 34 when the shutter is in the closed position, an upper portion 35T that covers the upper part of the banknote dispensing slot 34, a left portion 35L that covers the left side of the banknote dispensing slot 34, and a right portion 35R that covers the right side of the banknote dispensing slot 34 (located on the back side of the left portion 35L in the diagram).

[0038] The front portion 35F of the shutter 35 is a plate-shaped member that is long in the left-right direction. When the shutter 35 is in the closed position, the upper part of the rear surface (the surface facing the banknote stacking space 30), which is one surface in the thickness direction, covers the front of the banknote dispensing slot 34, and the lower part of the rear surface faces the upper part of the front surface 32F of the banknote placement section 32.

[0039] The upper part 35T of the shutter 35 is a long, plate-shaped member in the left-right direction, extending rearward from the upper end of the front part 35F in the shutter closed position toward the upper side of the ceiling guide 31. When the shutter 35 is in the shutter closed position, the front of the bottom surface (the surface facing the banknote stacking space 30), which is one surface in the thickness direction, covers the upper side of the banknote dispensing slot 34, and the rear of the bottom surface faces the front of the upper surface (the surface opposite to the banknote stacking space 30) of the ceiling guide 31.

[0040] The left portion 35L of the shutter 35 is a plate-shaped member perpendicular to the left-right direction, located on the inner corner side of the corner formed by the left end of the front portion 35F of the shutter 35 and the left end of the upper portion 35T. This left portion 35L is located to the left of the left end of the banknote placement portion 32, and when the shutter 35 is in the closed position, the right side (the side facing the banknote stacking space 30), which is one surface in the thickness direction, covers the left side of the banknote dispensing slot 34. The right portion 35R of the shutter 35 is a member that is symmetrical to the left portion 35L.

[0041] In this manner, when the shutter 35 is in the closed position, the front part 35F, upper part 35T, left part 35L, and right part 35R close the banknote dispensing slot 34.

[0042] The shutter 35 also has a left arm 35AL that extends diagonally downward and rearward from the lower end of the left part 35L in the shutter closed position, and a right arm 35AR that extends diagonally downward and rearward from the lower end of the right part 35R in the shutter closed position.

[0043] The left arm 35AL is a plate-shaped member orthogonal to the left-right direction, and its tip portion 35AT has a disc shape. The right arm 35AR is a member symmetrical to the left arm 35AL in the left-right direction. In the left arm 35AL, the left end portion of the shutter rotation shaft 36 extending in the left-right direction is inserted through a hole provided at the center of the disc-shaped tip portion 35AT. Similarly, in the right arm 35AR, the right end portion of the shutter rotation shaft 36 is inserted through a hole provided at the center of the disc-shaped tip portion 35AT. The shutter rotation shaft 36 is provided so as to penetrate the banknote placement section 32 in the left-right direction, and is rotatably supported by the banknote placement section 32 or a frame not shown in the drawing.

[0044] The shutter 35 is rotatable around the shutter rotation shaft 36. The shutter 35 rotates clockwise in the drawing (defined as the shutter opening direction) from the shutter closed position shown in FIG. 3, thereby opening the banknote dispensing port 34 as shown in FIG. 5. Note that FIG. 5 shows a state where the shutter 35 is rotated to a position where the upper portion 35T of the shutter 35 is substantially parallel to the front surface 32F of the banknote placement section 32, so that the banknote dispensing port 34 (that is, the front end portion of the banknote stacking space 30) is opened. The position of the shutter 35 at this time is referred to as the shutter open position.

[0045] Further, the shutter 35 is biased counterclockwise in the drawing (defined as the shutter closing direction) by a torsion spring 37, and is held at the shutter closed position by the biasing force of the torsion spring 37 when no external force is applied. The torsion spring 37 is attached to the left end portion of the shutter rotation shaft 36, with one arm fixed to the banknote placement section 32 and the other arm fixed to the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35. Similarly, the torsion spring 37 is also attached to the right end portion of the shutter rotation shaft 36. The shutter 35 is biased by the left and right torsion springs 37 in the direction of bringing one arm of each of the left and right torsion springs 37 closer to the other arm, that is, in the shutter closing direction.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 3, when the shutter 35 rotates in the shutter closing direction and reaches the shutter closed position, the rear end of the upper portion 35T abuts against the protrusion 31T protruding from the upper surface of the ceiling guide 31, so that the shutter stops at the shutter closed position without further rotation in the shutter closing direction.

[0047] Further, on the left side surface of the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35, a detector 35D protruding leftward from the left side surface is provided. This detector 35D is provided only on the left arm 35AL.

[0048] The shutter 35 is configured to be manually openable by a user, and although not illustrated, the front portion 35F of the shutter 35 is provided with an opening, a handle, or the like for facilitating manual opening.

[0049] The banknote delivery unit 21 has a shutter closure detection sensor 39 at a position facing the detector 35D of the shutter 35 located at the shutter closed position shown in FIG. 3. The shutter closure detection sensor 39 is, for example, a photoelectric sensor, and is configured to detect that the shutter 35 is at the shutter closed position when the detector 35D of the shutter 35 blocks the optical axis of the shutter closure detection sensor 39 (that is, blocks light).

[0050] The banknote delivery unit 21 further has a shutter open detection sensor 40 at a position facing the detector 35D of the shutter 35 located at the shutter open position shown in FIG. 5. Similar to the shutter closure detection sensor 39, the shutter open detection sensor 40 is, for example, a photoelectric sensor, and is configured to detect that the shutter 35 is at the shutter open position when the detector 35D of the shutter 35 blocks the optical axis of the shutter open detection sensor 40 (that is, blocks light). The detection results of the shutter closure detection sensor 39 and the shutter open detection sensor 40 are notified to the banknote control unit 12.

[0051] Furthermore, the shutter closed detection sensor 39 and the shutter open detection sensor 40 are provided only on the left arm 35AL side of the shutter 35. Also, when viewed from the axial direction (i.e., left-right direction) of the shutter pivot axis 36, the shutter closed detection sensor 39 and the shutter open detection sensor 40 are provided on the outer edge of the link gear 50. In other words, the shutter closed detection sensor 39 and the shutter open detection sensor 40 are provided in a position opposite one surface (left side) in the thickness direction of the link gear 50.

[0052] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, the shutter 35 has a bill stopper 41 that protrudes from the rear surface of the front part 35F in the shutter closed position toward the banknote stacking space 30. In addition, a cylindrical post 42 is provided on the left side surface of the left part 35L of the shutter 35, protruding to the left from that left side surface. This post 42 is also provided on the right part 35R.

[0053] Furthermore, a banknote discharge opening 43 is provided at the upper rear of the banknote accumulation space 30, which is connected to the banknote accumulation space 30. Below the banknote discharge opening 43, the aforementioned rear guide 33 is provided. Above the banknote discharge opening 43, an upper roller 44 is provided, and below it, a lower roller 45 and an impeller 46 are provided.

[0054] The banknote delivery unit 21 discharges the banknotes transported by the transport unit 13 from the banknote discharge opening 43 into the banknote accumulation space 30 at the front using the upper roller 44 and the lower roller 45. At this time, the shutter 35 is closed, and the banknotes discharged into the banknote accumulation space 30 collide with the bill stopper 41 provided on the rear surface of the shutter 35 and fall onto the banknote placement surface 32T. At the same time, the banknote delivery unit 21 places the banknotes discharged into the banknote accumulation space 30 onto the banknote placement surface 32T by knocking them downward with the impeller 46 and pulling them towards the rear end of the banknote accumulation space 30 (i.e., the rear guide 33). If banknotes are already placed on the banknote placement surface 32T, the newly discharged banknotes are accumulated on top of the banknotes that are already placed there.

[0055] [1-4. Configuration of Link Gear and Locking Mechanism] In addition to the configuration described above, the banknote delivery section 21 has a mechanism for locking and unlocking the shutter 35 and for automatically opening and closing the shutter 35. Specifically, as shown in Figure 3, the banknote delivery section 21 has a link gear 50 and a locking mechanism 60 as part of this mechanism. The link gear 50 and the locking mechanism 60 are provided on the left and right sides of the banknote stacking space 30, respectively, and have a symmetrical configuration. Therefore, this section will mainly describe the link gear 50 and locking mechanism 60 on the left side.

[0056] The link gear 50 is a disc-shaped gear perpendicular to the left-right direction, and the shutter pivot shaft 36 is inserted through a hole in the center and fixed to the left end portion of the shutter pivot shaft 36.

[0057] In other words, the link gear 50 is rotatable around the shutter pivot shaft 36, and the rotation of the link gear 50 causes the shutter pivot shaft 36 to rotate as well. The link gear 50 is located between the left end of the banknote holder 32 and the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35. In other words, in Figure 3, the link gear 50 is located further back in the figure than the left part 35L and left arm 35AL of the shutter 35, and the banknote holder 32 is located further back in the figure than the link gear 50. To put it another way, the link gear 50 is located coaxially with the shutter pivot shaft 36.

[0058] The radius of this link gear 50 is larger than the radius of the disc-shaped tip portion 35AT of the left arm 35AL, and smaller than the distance D1 from the center of the tip portion 35AT of the left arm 35AL to the base of the left arm 35AL.

[0059] Furthermore, a cylindrical post 51 is provided on the left side of the link gear 50 (i.e., the side facing the left arm 35AL), projecting to the left from that left side. When viewed from the axial direction (i.e., left-right direction) of the shutter pivot axis 36, this post 51 is located outside the tip portion 35AT of the left arm 35AL.

[0060] Therefore, when the shutter 35 is closed and the link gear 50 rotates clockwise in the diagram, the post 51 of the link gear 50 rotates in the direction indicated by arrow Ar1 and comes into contact with the upper surface of the left arm 35AL at a point closer to the base than the tip 35AT.

[0061] Furthermore, the link gear 50 meshes with a gear 53 attached to the drive shaft of the actuator 52, and rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the gear 53 when the actuator 52 is driven. The gear 53 is smaller in diameter than the link gear 50 and is positioned diagonally below and behind the link gear 50. When the left link gear 50 rotates, the shutter pivot shaft 36 rotates in the same direction, and as the shutter pivot shaft 36 rotates, the right link gear 50 also rotates in the same direction. For this reason, the actuator 52 and gear 53 are provided only on the left side of the banknote stacking space 30.

[0062] On the other hand, the locking portion 60 is a plate-shaped member that is perpendicular to the left-right direction as a whole, and is provided to the left of the left portion 35L and left arm 35AL of the shutter 35. In other words, in Figure 3, the left portion 35L and left arm 35AL of the shutter 35 are located further back in the figure than the locking portion 60, and the link gear 50 is located further back in the figure than the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35. To put it another way, the locking portion 60, the left portion 35L and left arm 35AL of the shutter 35, and the link gear 50 are arranged adjacent to each other in the axial direction (depth direction in the figure) of the shutter pivot shaft 36.

[0063] The locking mechanism 60 is centered around a roughly rectangular plate-shaped central section 60C. The central section 60C has a hole in its center through which the locking mechanism pivot shaft 61 is inserted. The locking mechanism pivot shaft 61 is located behind the left post 42 of the shutter 35 when the shutter is in the closed position and is supported by a frame (not shown).

[0064] The central part 60C is rotatable around the locking pivot axis 61. In other words, the locking part 60 as a whole is rotatable around the locking pivot axis 61. As will be explained in more detail later, Figure 3 shows the state in which the shutter 35 is locked in the closed position by the locking part 60, and the position of the locking part 60 at this time is called the locked position.

[0065] The central portion 60C is biased in a counterclockwise direction in the figure by a spring 62. The front end of the spring 62 is fixed to the upper rear end of the central portion 60C, and the rear end is fixed to a frame (not shown).

[0066] Furthermore, the locking portion 60 includes a hook 60F provided on the front side of the central portion 60C in the locked position, a claw portion 60L provided on the lower side of the central portion 60C in the locked position, and a detector 60B provided on the rear side of the central portion 60C in the locked position.

[0067] The hook 60F is an L-shaped plate-like member that extends forward from the upper front end of the central portion 60C in the locked position, passes over the left post 42 of the shutter 35 in the closed position, extends downward from there, and passes in front of the post 42. The hook 60F is provided so as to abut against or be close to the front end of the outer circumferential surface of the post 42.

[0068] The claw portion 60L is a plate-shaped member that extends downward from the lower rear end of the central portion 60C in the locked position. When in the locked position, the lower front portion of the claw portion 60L contacts the rear end of the post 51 of the link gear 50. At this time, the post 51 is located diagonally upward and rearward when viewed from the center of the link gear 50, and this position of the post 51 is called the locked position. The claw portion 60L, which is the part that contacts the post 51, and the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35 are spaced apart in the circumferential direction of the link gear 50, and the post 51 is positioned between the claw portion 60L and the left arm 35AL.

[0069] The detector 60B is a plate-shaped member that extends rearward from the rear end of the central portion 60C in the locked position.

[0070] The banknote delivery unit 21 has a lock detection sensor 63 positioned opposite the detector 60B of the lock unit 60 when it is in the locked position. The lock detection sensor 63 is, for example, a photoelectric sensor, and is configured to detect that the lock unit 60 is in the locked position when the detector 60B of the lock unit 60 blocks the optical axis of the lock detection sensor 63 (i.e., blocks light). The detection result of the lock detection sensor 63 is notified to the banknote control unit 12. Note that the lock detection sensor 63 is provided only on the left side of the banknote stacking space 30.

[0071] [1-5. Operation of the Link Gear and Locking Mechanism] Here, we will explain the operation of the link gear 50 and the locking mechanism 60, that is, the operation when the banknote delivery mechanism 21 locks and unlocks the shutter 35 and automatically opens and closes the shutter 35. This operation is controlled by the banknote control mechanism 12. Furthermore, since this operation is the same for the left link gear 50 and locking mechanism 60 and the right link gear 50 and locking mechanism 60, we will mainly explain the operation of the left link gear 50 and locking mechanism 60 here.

[0072] First, let's assume that the shutter 35 is in the closed position, as shown in Figure 3. At this time, a biasing force acts on the locking part 60 by the spring 62, causing it to rotate in a counterclockwise direction in the figure (referred to as the unlocking direction). On the other hand, at this time, the locking part 60 is held in the locked position against the biasing force of the spring 62 because the post 51 in the locked position is located on the movement trajectory of the claw part 60L, and the claw part 60L abuts against the post 51.

[0073] At this time, because the lock detection sensor 63 is shielded from light by the detector 60B of the lock unit 60, the banknote control unit 12 recognizes from the detection result of the lock detection sensor 63 that the lock unit 60 is in the locked position.

[0074] Furthermore, at this time, even if the shutter 35 attempts to rotate from the closed position to the open position, the locking mechanism 60 locks the shutter 35 because the hook 60F is positioned on the movement trajectory of the post 42 provided on the shutter 35, and the post 42 comes into contact with the hook 60F.

[0075] In this way, the locking unit 60 locks the shutter 35 when the shutter 35 is in the closed position.

[0076] At this time, the shutter closing detection sensor 39 is shielded from light by the detector 35D of the shutter 35, and the banknote control unit 12 recognizes from the detection result of the shutter closing detection sensor 39 that the shutter 35 is in the closed position.

[0077] When unlocking the shutter 35 from this state (i.e., the state in which the shutter 35 is locked), the banknote control unit 12 drives the actuator 52, which rotates the link gear 50 clockwise in the figure via the gear 53. At this time, as the post 51 rotates together with the link gear 50, the locking part 60 rotates counterclockwise in the figure (referred to as the unlocking direction) due to the biasing force of the spring 62, with the post 51 remaining in contact with the claw part 60L.

[0078] As a result, as shown in Figure 4, the locking mechanism 60 moves upward so that the hook 60F moves away from the post 42, thereby releasing the shutter 35. Here, the locking mechanism 60 releases the shutter 35 by rotating approximately 30 degrees counterclockwise from the locked position in the figure, and the position of the locking mechanism 60 at this time (i.e., the position shown in Figure 4) is called the unlocked position. Note that the locking mechanism 60's rotation in the counterclockwise direction in the figure is limited to the unlocked position shown in Figure 4 by, for example, a stopper (not shown).

[0079] At this time, as the locking part 60 rotates counterclockwise in the figure, the detector 60B moves away from the lock detection sensor 63 at approximately the same time as it reaches the unlocked position, allowing light to pass through the lock detection sensor 63. The banknote control unit 12 stops the actuator 52 and stops the link gear 50 when light is passed through the lock detection sensor 63.

[0080] Thus, since the link gear 50 stops only after the locking part 60 reaches the unlocked position, the post 51 provided on the link gear 50 moves slightly away from the claw portion 60L of the locking part 60 in the unlocked position and stops between the claw portion 60L and the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35 in the shutter closed position. The position of the post 51 at this time is called the unlocked / shutter closed position.

[0081] As described above, the banknote control unit 12 releases the lock on the shutter 35 by operating the link gear 50 and the locking unit 60. This allows the shutter 35 to rotate in the shutter-opening direction. As described above, the shutter 35 is biased in the shutter-closing direction by the torsion spring 37, so even when the lock on the shutter 35 is released, it remains in the shutter-closed position. At this time, since the lock on the shutter 35 is released, it can be opened by a force that resists the biasing force of the torsion spring 37 (i.e., it can be opened manually by the user).

[0082] When the shutter 35 is to be opened automatically from this state (i.e., when the shutter 35 is closed and the lock on the shutter 35 is released), the banknote control unit 12 drives the actuator 52, which further rotates the link gear 50 clockwise in the figure via the gear 53. At this time, the post 51 rotates together with the link gear 50 and approaches the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35, which is in the closed position, and comes into contact with the left arm 35AL. As the post 51 moves further in the rotational direction of the link gear 50, the post 51 pushes the left arm 35AL in the rotational direction of the link gear 50 (i.e., the shutter opening direction) against the biasing force of the torsion spring 37, causing the shutter 35 to rotate in the shutter opening direction.

[0083] As the shutter 35 rotates in the shutter-opening direction, the detector 35D moves away from the shutter-closed detection sensor 39, allowing light to pass through the shutter-closed detection sensor 39. Then, as shown in Figure 5, when the shutter 35 rotates to the shutter-open position, the detector 35D of the shutter 35 reaches the shutter-open detection sensor 40, and the shutter-open detection sensor 40 is blocked from light.

[0084] The banknote control unit 12 stops the actuator 52 and the link gear 50 when the shutter open detection sensor 40 is blocked from light. As a result, the shutter 35 stops in the shutter open position. The position of the post 51 at this time is called the shutter open position.

[0085] As described above, the banknote control unit 12 operates the link gear 50 to automatically open the shutter 35. When the shutter 35 closes, the projection 31T provided on the ceiling guide 31 functions as a stopper to limit the rotation of the shutter 35 in the shutter closing direction to the shutter closed position. However, when the shutter 35 opens, a stopper (not shown) may also be used to limit the rotation of the shutter 35 in the shutter opening direction to the shutter open position.

[0086] When closing the shutter 35 automatically from this state (i.e., the state in which the shutter 35 is automatically closed), the banknote control unit 12 drives the actuator 52 and rotates the link gear 50 via the gear 53 in the counterclockwise direction shown in the figure, which is the opposite direction to when the shutter 35 was opened.

[0087] At this time, as the post 51 rotates together with the link gear 50, the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35 rotates in the direction of rotation of the post 51 (i.e., the shutter closing direction) due to the biasing force from the torsion spring 37, causing the shutter 35 to rotate from the shutter open position to the shutter closed position.

[0088] As the shutter 35 rotates in the shutter closing direction, the detector 35D moves away from the shutter open detection sensor 40, allowing light to pass through the shutter open detection sensor 40. Then, as shown in Figure 4, when the shutter 35 rotates to the shutter closed position, the detector 35D of the shutter 35 reaches the shutter closed detection sensor 39, and the shutter closed detection sensor 39 is blocked from light.

[0089] The banknote control unit 12 stops the actuator 52 and the link gear 50 when the shutter closing detection sensor 39 is blocked from light. This holds the shutter 35 in the closed position. At this time, the post 51 on the link gear 50 stops in the unlocked and shutter closed position.

[0090] As described above, the banknote control unit 12 operates the link gear 50 to automatically close the shutter 35.

[0091] When locking the shutter 35 from this state (i.e., when the shutter 35 is closed and unlocked), the banknote control unit 12 drives the actuator 52 and rotates the link gear 50 via the gear 53 in the counterclockwise direction shown in the figure, which is the opposite direction to when the shutter 35 was unlocked.

[0092] At this time, the post 51 rotates together with the link gear 50, approaching the claw portion 60L of the locking portion 60 which is in the unlocked position, and comes into contact with the claw portion 60L. As the post 51 rotates further from there, the post 51 pushes the claw portion 60L in the direction of rotation of the link gear 50 against the biasing force of the spring 62, causing the locking portion 60 to rotate clockwise in the figure (referred to as the locking direction).

[0093] Then, as shown in Figure 3, when the locking part 60 rotates to the locked position, the locking part 60 moves downward so that the hook 60F is positioned on the movement trajectory of the post 42, and comes into contact with or close to the post 42.

[0094] At this time, as the locking part 60 rotates clockwise in the figure, the detector 60B reaches the lock detection sensor 63 at approximately the same time that it reaches the locked position, causing the lock detection sensor 63 to be shielded from light.

[0095] The banknote control unit 12 stops the actuator 52 and the link gear 50 when the lock detection sensor 63 is blocked from light. As a result, the locking unit 60 stops in the locked position and the shutter 35 is locked.

[0096] As described above, the banknote control unit 12 locks the shutter 35 by operating the link gear 50 and the locking unit 60. The operation of the banknote delivery unit 21 when locking and unlocking the shutter 35 and when automatically opening and closing the shutter 35 is as described above.

[0097] Here, we will explain specific examples of the use of the shutter locking and unlocking functions and the automatic opening and closing functions of the shutter 35 by the banknote processing device 5.

[0098] First, let's describe an example of use when the banknote processing device 5 is performing banknote counting. During this banknote counting process, the banknote processing device 5 performs a banknote stacking operation to stack the counted banknotes in the banknote stacking space 30, and closes and locks the shutter 35 during this operation. In this way, the banknote processing device 5 can prevent the user from manually opening the shutter 35 and accessing the banknote stacking space 30 during the banknote stacking operation of the banknote counting process, thereby ensuring security.

[0099] Furthermore, during the banknote counting process, the banknote processing device 5 automatically opens the shutter 35 after the banknote stacking operation is completed and returns the counted banknotes to the user. In this way, the banknote processing device 5 can improve the operability during the banknote counting process.

[0100] By the way, while the shutter 35 is opening automatically, there may be situations where the user, for example, is in a hurry to take out banknotes and grabs the shutter 35 by hand, opening it faster than the automatic opening speed.

[0101] Here, the banknote delivery section 21 has a structure in which a post 51 provided on the link gear 50 pushes the shutter 35 in the shutter opening direction. Therefore, even if the shutter 35 is opened faster than the speed at which it can be opened automatically by hand, the shutter 35 will simply move away from the post 51. This has the advantage of not placing an abnormal load on the link gear 50 or gear 53, or causing the actuator 52 to lose step or malfunction.

[0102] Furthermore, the banknote delivery section 21 is designed to automatically open and then automatically close the shutter 35. Here, the banknote delivery section 21 has a structure in which the post 51 moves in the shutter closing direction, allowing the shutter 35 to move in the shutter closing direction, and the shutter 35 automatically closes due to the biasing force from the torsion spring 37. Therefore, even if something gets caught between the ceiling guide 31 and the shutter 35, the only force applied to the shutter 35 or the object is the biasing force from the torsion spring 37, which has the advantage of preventing the shutter 35 or the object from being scratched or damaged.

[0103] Next, we will explain an example of the use of the banknote processing device 5 when it is used to process deposits, such as the deposit of sales proceeds or the deposit of banknotes during replenishment. In this case, the banknote processing device 5 closes the shutter 35 and unlocks it. This allows the banknote processing device 5 to manually open and close the shutter 35 at any time when processing deposits of sales proceeds or the deposit of banknotes during replenishment. As a result, when the banknote processing device 5 is processing deposits of sales proceeds or the deposit of banknotes during replenishment, if rejected banknotes accumulate in the banknote accumulation space 30, the user can manually open the shutter 35 and sequentially remove the rejected banknotes and reinsert them into the banknote insertion section 20 without waiting for all the banknotes inserted into the banknote insertion section 20 to be taken in. This allows the banknote processing device 5 to shorten the transaction time when depositing large amounts of banknotes, such as when depositing sales proceeds or the deposit of banknotes during replenishment.

[0104] [1-6. Summary and Effects] As explained above, in the first embodiment, a banknote processing device 5, which is an example of a media processing device, is provided in a cash processing device 1, which is an example of an automatic transaction device. Furthermore, the banknote processing device 5 is provided with a banknote delivery unit 21, which is an example of a media delivery unit that collects banknotes, which are an example of a medium, and delivers the banknotes to the user; a shutter 35 that closes or opens the banknote dispensing slot 34 of the banknote processing unit 21; an actuator 52, gear 53, link gear 50 and post 51, which are an example of a shutter drive unit that rotates the shutter 35 in a closing direction (i.e., shutter closing direction) or an opening direction (i.e., shutter opening direction) that closes the banknote dispensing slot 34; a lock unit 60 that restricts the rotation of the shutter 35 from a closed state to an open state (i.e., rotation from the shutter closed position to the shutter open position); and a banknote control unit 12, which is an example of a control unit that controls the shutter drive unit.

[0105] Furthermore, the link gear 50 is provided coaxially with the shutter pivot shaft 36, which is the pivot axis of the shutter 35, and rotates around the shutter pivot shaft 36. A post 51, which is an example of a contact portion, is provided on one surface of the link gear 50 in the thickness direction and rotates integrally with the link gear 50.

[0106] The banknote processing device 5 is then operated by the banknote control unit 12, which rotates the link gear 50 in a first direction (clockwise in Figure 3), causing the post 51, which is in contact with the locking unit 60, to rotate in a direction that releases the lock by the locking unit 60 (i.e., restricts the rotation of the shutter 35 in the shutter closing direction), thereby transitioning the locking unit 60 to a state that allows the shutter 35 to rotate in the shutter opening direction (i.e., rotating the locking unit 60 to the unlocked position). From there, the link gear 50 is further rotated in the first direction, causing the post 51 to come into contact with the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35, thereby rotating the shutter 35 in the shutter opening direction.

[0107] Furthermore, the banknote processing device 5 is equipped with a torsion spring 37, which is an example of a shutter biasing member that biases the shutter 35 in the shutter closing direction. When the shutter 35 is in the state of opening the banknote dispensing slot 34, the banknote control unit 12 rotates the link gear 50 in a second direction (counterclockwise direction in Figure 3), which is opposite to the first direction, causing the post 51 to rotate in a direction that allows the shutter 35 to rotate in the shutter closing direction (counterclockwise direction in Figure 3), and the biasing force from the torsion spring 37 causes the shutter 35 to rotate in the shutter closing direction.

[0108] Furthermore, when the shutter 35 is in the state of opening the banknote dispensing slot 34 and the lock is released, the banknote processing device 5 is configured such that the banknote control unit 12 rotates the link gear 50 in the second direction, causing the post 51 to come into contact with the locking part 60, thereby transitioning the locking part 60 to a state that restricts the rotation of the shutter 35 in the shutter opening direction (i.e., rotating the locking part 60 to the locked position).

[0109] Thus, in the banknote processing device 5, the pivot axis of the shutter 35 and the pivot axis of the link gear 50 are the same shutter pivot axis 36, and by rotating a post 51 that rotates integrally with the link gear 50 in a first direction, the shutter 35 can be unlocked and opened automatically. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced to lower manufacturing costs, and only space is required around the shutter pivot axis 36 to house the link gear 50, a shutter closing detection sensor 39 (an example of a shutter closing detection unit), and a shutter opening detection sensor 40 (an example of a shutter opening detection unit), making it easy to miniaturize and save space. Thus, according to the banknote processing device 5 of the first embodiment, despite its simple configuration, it is possible to provide a shutter lock and unlock function and an automatic shutter opening and closing function.

[0110] Furthermore, in the banknote processing device 5, the locking unit 60, the left arm AL of the shutter 35 (an example of the part the shutter contacts), and the link gear 50 are arranged adjacent to each other in the axial direction (left-right direction) of the shutter rotation axis 36. The claw portion 60L of the locking unit 60 (an example of the part the locking unit contacts) and the left arm 35AL are arranged with a gap in the circumferential direction of the link gear 50, and the post 51 is positioned between the claw portion 60L and the left arm 35AL. In this way, the banknote processing device 5 concentrates multiple parts (the locking unit 60, the left arm AL of the shutter 35, and the link gear 50) in roughly one location and arranges them adjacent to each other in the axial direction of the shutter rotation axis 36, thereby saving space for arranging multiple parts and making miniaturization easier.

[0111] Furthermore, in the banknote processing device 5, the locking part 60 is biased in the unlocking direction as a third direction by the biasing force from a spring 62, which is an example of a biasing member for the locking part. When locking the shutter 35, the banknote control unit 12 rotates the link gear 50 in the second direction, causing the post 51 to contact the locking part 60 and rotate the locking part 60 in the unlocking direction as a fourth direction against the biasing force from the spring 62. In this way, the banknote processing device 5 can more reliably rotate the locking part 60 and more reliably lock the shutter 35 by, for example, biasing the locking part 60 in the locking direction and allowing the locking part 60 to rotate from the unlocked position to the locked position when locking the shutter 35, compared to a configuration in which the locking part 60 is rotated from the unlocked position to the locked position by the biasing force.

[0112] [2. Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment will be described. This second embodiment is one in which the configuration of the banknote delivery unit 21 differs from that of the first embodiment. Here, in order to distinguish it from the first embodiment, the banknote delivery unit 21 of the second embodiment will be referred to as the banknote delivery unit 21x.

[0113] As shown in Figure 6, the banknote delivery unit 21x of the second embodiment has a configuration in which the shutter open detection sensor 40 is omitted from the banknote delivery unit 21 of the first embodiment. In this banknote delivery unit 21x, when the banknote control unit 12 rotates the shutter 35 in the shutter open direction from a state in which the shutter 35 is closed and the lock of the shutter 35 is released, the detector 35D of the shutter 35 moves away from the shutter closed detection sensor 39 and after the shutter closed detection sensor 39 is able to pass light, the actuator 52 is driven for a predetermined time or amount required for the shutter 35 to reach the shutter closed position, and then the actuator 52 is stopped. As a result, the shutter 35 rotates to the shutter open position and stops.

[0114] Thus, in the banknote delivery section 21x, the shutter 35 can be rotated to the shutter open position by defining the driving time or amount of the actuator 52 when rotating the shutter 35 from the shutter closed position to the shutter open position.

[0115] By doing so, the banknote delivery unit 21x of the second embodiment can reduce the number of parts compared to the banknote delivery unit 21 of the first embodiment by omitting the shutter open detection sensor 40, thereby further reducing manufacturing costs and enabling even more space-saving and miniaturization.

[0116] [3. Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment will be described. This third embodiment is one in which the configuration of the banknote delivery unit 21 differs from that of the first embodiment. Here, in order to distinguish it from the first embodiment, the banknote delivery unit 21 of the third embodiment will be referred to as the banknote delivery unit 21y.

[0117] [3-1. Configuration of the Banknote Delivery Unit] Figure 7 shows the configuration of the banknote delivery unit 21y of the third embodiment. Note that Figure 7 is the same as Figure 3 and is a left side view of the banknote delivery unit 21y. The same reference numerals are used for the same parts of the banknote delivery unit 21y shown in Figure 7 as for the banknote delivery unit 21y shown in Figure 3. The configuration of the banknote delivery unit 21y will be described below, but the description of parts that are the same as those of the banknote delivery unit 21 will be omitted.

[0118] The banknote delivery section 21y includes a banknote stacking space 30, a ceiling guide 31 provided above the banknote stacking space 30, and a banknote placement section 32y provided below the banknote stacking space 30.

[0119] As shown in Figure 8, the banknote placement section 32y differs from the banknote placement section 32 in that it has a recess 32d in the center of the width direction of the banknote placement surface 32T, which makes it easier to grasp and remove banknotes accumulated on the banknote placement surface 32T.

[0120] Returning to Figure 7, the front end of the banknote accumulation space 30 is a banknote dispensing slot 34 that connects to the outside of the banknote processing device 5, allowing banknotes accumulated in the banknote accumulation space 30 to be removed from this banknote dispensing slot 34.

[0121] Furthermore, the banknote dispensing slot 34 is provided with a shutter 35y that closes or opens the banknote dispensing slot 34. Figure 7 shows the state in which the banknote dispensing slot 34 is closed by the shutter 35y and the shutter 35y is in the closed position.

[0122] The shutter 35y has a left shutter pivot shaft 100 extending in the left-right direction inserted through a hole in the center of the tip 35AT of the left arm 35AL, and a right shutter pivot shaft 100 extending in the left-right direction inserted through a hole in the center of the tip 35AT of the right arm 35AR. The shutter pivot shafts 100 are provided coaxially on the left and right sides of the banknote holder 32y, one on each side, and are rotatably supported by the banknote holder 32y or a frame (not shown).

[0123] The shutter 35y is rotatable around two coaxial shutter pivot shafts 100, which are separated to the left and right. Thus, the shutter 35y does not rotate around a single shutter pivot shaft 36 (see Figure 3), but rather around two coaxial shutter pivot shafts 100, which are separated to the left and right.

[0124] The reason for separating the shutter pivot shaft 100 into left and right sections is that by separating the left and right shutter pivot shafts 100, the shutter pivot shaft 100 does not penetrate the banknote mounting section 32y and interfere with the recess 32d formed in the banknote mounting section 32y, thereby allowing a recess 32d of sufficient size to be formed in the banknote mounting section 32y.

[0125] Furthermore, the shutter 35y is biased in the counterclockwise direction (shutter closing direction) in the figure by a spring 101 that has a stronger reaction force (force that tries to return to its original shape) than the torsion spring 37, instead of a torsion spring 37. When no external force is applied, the shutter is held in the closed position by the spring 101. The spring 101 extends in the front-rear direction, with its front end fixed to the rear of the left part 35L of the shutter 35y and its rear end fixed to a frame (not shown), and is designed to pull the shutter 35y backward.

[0126] Furthermore, the base of the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35y functions as a substitute for the detector 35D. The shutter 35y differs from the shutter 35 in that it can rotate around two shutter pivot axes 100 on the left and right, is biased by a spring 101, and the base of the left arm 35AL functions as a detector.

[0127] The banknote delivery unit 21y has a shutter closing detection sensor 103 at a position corresponding to the base of the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35y in the shutter closed position shown in Figure 7. The shutter closing detection sensor 103 is, for example, a photoelectric sensor, and is configured to detect that the shutter 35y is in the shutter closed position when the base of the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35y obstructs the optical axis of the shutter closing detection sensor 103 (i.e., when it is shielded from light).

[0128] Furthermore, the banknote delivery unit 21y has a shutter open detection sensor 104 at a position corresponding to the base of the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35y in the shutter open position shown in Figure 10. The shutter open detection sensor 104, like the shutter closed detection sensor 103, is for example a photoelectric sensor, and detects that the shutter 35y is in the closed position when the base of the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35y obstructs the optical axis of the shutter open detection sensor 104 (i.e., when it is shielded from light). The detection results of the shutter closed detection sensor 103 and the shutter open detection sensor 104 are notified to the banknote control unit 12.

[0129] By the way, regarding the shutter closed detection sensor 103 and the shutter open detection sensor 104, if the light-emitting unit and light-receiving unit (not shown) are arranged facing each other in the vertical direction so that the direction of the optical axis is vertical, then, for example, dust accumulating on the light-receiving unit located on the lower side could obstruct the optical axis and cause false detection. Therefore, in the banknote delivery unit 21y of this embodiment, the light-emitting unit and light-receiving unit (not shown) of the shutter closed detection sensor 103 and the shutter open detection sensor 104 are arranged facing each other in the left-right direction (depth direction in the figure) so that the direction of the optical axis is left-right, and the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35y obstructs the optical axis extending in the left-right direction.

[0130] In this way, in the banknote delivery section 21y of this embodiment, the accumulation of dust on the light-emitting and light-receiving parts of the shutter closed detection sensor 103 and the shutter open detection sensor 104 can be suppressed, thereby reducing the risk of false detection. The shutter closed detection sensor 103 and the shutter open detection sensor 104 are provided around the shutter rotation axis 100, similar to the shutter closed detection sensor 39 and the shutter open detection sensor 40.

[0131] [3-2. Configuration of Link Gear and Locking Mechanism] In addition to the above-described configuration, the banknote delivery section 21y has a mechanism for locking and unlocking the shutter 35y and for automatically opening and closing the shutter 35y. Specifically, as shown in Figure 7, the banknote delivery section 21y has a link gear 50 and a locking mechanism 60 as part of this mechanism. The link gear 50 and the locking mechanism 60 are provided on the left and right sides of the banknote stacking space 30, respectively, and have a symmetrical configuration.

[0132] Here, the locking mechanism 60 provided in the banknote delivery section 21y has the same configuration as the locking mechanism 60 provided in the banknote delivery section 21, so its explanation will be omitted. Therefore, this section will mainly describe the link gear 50 on the left side.

[0133] The left link gear 50 is fixed to the left shutter pivot shaft 100 by inserting it through a hole in the center of the left link gear 50, and is rotatable around the shutter pivot shaft 100.

[0134] Furthermore, the left link gear 50 is not meshed with the gear 53 attached to the drive shaft of the actuator 52, but with the two-stage gear 105. This two-stage gear 105 is a gear formed by stacking two disc-shaped gears with different numbers of teeth, which are perpendicular to each other in the left-right direction, on the same axis. It consists of a small gear 105A with fewer teeth and a small diameter, and a large gear 105B with more teeth and a large diameter.

[0135] The left-side two-stage gear 105 is positioned diagonally downward and rear of the left-side link gear 50, with the small gear 105A on the right and the large gear 105B on the left (the opposite orientation is also acceptable). The small gear 105A meshes with the link gear 50, and the large gear 105B meshes with the gear 53. The left-side two-stage gear 105 is fixed to the left end of the gear pivot shaft 106, which is inserted through a hole in the center of the gear pivot shaft 106.

[0136] As shown in Figure 8, the gear pivot shaft 106 is provided so as to penetrate the banknote holder portion 32y in the left-right direction and is rotatably supported by the banknote holder portion 32y or a frame (not shown), and the right-side two-stage gear 105 (omitted in Figure 8) is fixed to the right end portion.

[0137] Furthermore, the gear pivot shaft 106 is located behind the shutter pivot shaft 100 and is positioned to pass through the rear side of the recess 32d formed in the banknote placement section 32y.

[0138] Returning to Figure 7, gear 53 is located behind the left two-stage gear 105. When actuator 52 is driven and gear 53 rotates, the left two-stage gear 105 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of gear 53, and the left link gear 50 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the left two-stage gear 105. Furthermore, the gear pivot shaft 106 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the left two-stage gear 105, and the right two-stage gear 105 rotates in conjunction with this.

[0139] Thus, when the left-side two-stage gear 105 rotates, the gear pivot shaft 106 rotates accordingly, and the right-side two-stage gear 105 rotates accordingly. For this reason, the actuator 52 and gear 53 are provided only on the left side of the banknote stacking space 30.

[0140] Furthermore, in the banknote delivery section 21y, a two-stage gear 105 is interposed between the link gear 50 and the gear 53, thereby reducing the rotational speed of the link gear 50 (i.e., reducing the speed at which the shutter 35y opens automatically) compared to the case where the gear 53 is directly meshed with the link gear 50.

[0141] Furthermore, by reducing the rotational speed of the link gear 50 with the two-stage gear 105, the margin against motor pull-out torque (step-out torque) in the actuator 52 is increased.

[0142] Furthermore, with respect to the link gear 50, it is desirable to make the teeth larger to reduce tooth skipping and minimize assembly errors in order to synchronize the positions of the posts 51 on the left and right sides. For this reason, in the banknote delivery section 21y, a gear with a module of 1 is used for the link gear 50. On the other hand, the gear 53 attached to the drive shaft of the actuator 52 is a gear with a module of 0.5. In the banknote delivery section 21y, a two-stage gear 105 is provided between the link gear 50 and the gear 53 to switch the module from 0.5 to 1.

[0143] [3-3. Operation of the Link Gear and Locking Mechanism] Here, we will explain the operation of the link gear 50 and the locking mechanism 60, that is, the operation when the banknote delivery section 21y locks and unlocks the shutter 35y and automatically opens and closes the shutter 35y. Note that the operation of the link gear 50 and the locking mechanism 60 is almost the same for the banknote delivery section 21y and the banknote delivery section 21, so the explanation of the similar parts of the operation of the link gear 50 and the locking mechanism 60 will be omitted.

[0144] First, as shown in Figure 7, assume that the shutter 35y is in the closed position. At this time, the locking unit 60 is configured to lock the shutter 35y.

[0145] At this time, the shutter closing detection sensor 103 is shielded from light by the base of the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35y, and the banknote control unit 12 recognizes from the detection result of the shutter closing detection sensor 103 that the shutter 35y is in the closed position.

[0146] To release the shutter 35y from this state (i.e., when the shutter 35y is locked), the banknote control unit 12 drives the actuator 52, which rotates the link gear 50 clockwise in the figure via the gear 53 and the two-stage gear 105. As a result, as shown in Figure 9, the locking unit 60 moves upward so that the hook 60F is removed from the movement trajectory of the post 42 and moves away from the post 42, thereby releasing the lock on the shutter 35.

[0147] The shutter 35y can be rotated in the shutter opening direction when the lock is released. As mentioned above, the shutter 35y is biased in the shutter closing direction by the spring 101, so even when the lock on the shutter 35y is released, it is held in the shutter closed position. At this time, since the lock on the shutter 35y is released, it can be opened by a force that resists the biasing force of the spring 101 (i.e., it can be opened manually by the user).

[0148] Furthermore, in the banknote delivery section 21y, a spring 101 with a stronger reaction force than the torsion spring 37 is used as a biasing member to bias the shutter 35y to the closed position. This prevents the shutter 35y from temporarily opening due to the force of banknotes released into the banknote accumulation space 30 colliding with the bill stopper 41 of the shutter 35y when the shutter 35y is closed and the lock is released.

[0149] When opening the shutter 35y automatically from this state (i.e., when the shutter 35y is closed and unlocked), the banknote control unit 12 drives the actuator 52, which further rotates the link gear 50 clockwise in the diagram via the gear 53 and the two-stage gear 105. At this time, the post 51 pushes the left arm 35AL in the direction of rotation of the link gear 50 (i.e., the shutter opening direction) against the biasing force of the spring 101, causing the shutter 35 to rotate in the shutter opening direction.

[0150] As the shutter 35y rotates in the shutter-opening direction, the base of the left arm 35AL moves away from the shutter-closed detection sensor 103, allowing light to pass through the shutter-closed detection sensor 103. Then, as shown in Figure 10, when the shutter 35y rotates to the shutter-open position, the base of the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35y reaches the shutter-open detection sensor 104, and the shutter-open detection sensor 104 is blocked from light.

[0151] The banknote control unit 12 stops the actuator 52 and the link gear 50 when the shutter open detection sensor 104 is blocked from light. As a result, the shutter 35y stops in the shutter open position.

[0152] When the shutter 35y is opened automatically in this manner, as the shutter 35y opens, the spring 101 that biases the shutter 35y to the closed position stretches, and the reaction force increases. At this time, the position of the rear end of the spring 101 remains unchanged, and the front end, which is fixed to the shutter 35y, moves along the front half of the outer circumference of the link gear 50. Therefore, once the shutter 35y is opened to a certain extent, the component of the reaction force in the direction of closing the shutter (i.e., the biasing force that tries to return it to the closed position) hardly changes thereafter.

[0153] Therefore, using the spring 101 allows for a greater torque margin in the actuator 52 when automatically opening the shutter 35y, compared to using the torsion spring 37, in which the component of the reaction force in the shutter closing direction continues to increase. Furthermore, using the spring 101 makes it easier to open the shutter 35y manually compared to using the torsion spring 37, thus improving operability.

[0154] When closing the shutter 35y automatically from this state (i.e., the state in which the shutter 35y is automatically closed), the banknote control unit 12 drives the actuator 52 and rotates the link gear 50 via the gear 53 and the two-stage gear 105 in the counterclockwise direction shown in the figure, which is the opposite direction to when the shutter 35 was opened. The operation when the shutter 35y is automatically closed and locked is almost the same as in the first embodiment, so the explanation is omitted. The operation when the banknote delivery unit 21y locks and unlocks the shutter 35y and automatically opens and closes the shutter 35 is as described above.

[0155] [3-4. Summary and Effects] As explained above, in the third embodiment, in the banknote delivery section 21y of the banknote processing device 5, a two-stage gear 105 that meshes with the link gear 50 and the gear 53 attached to the drive shaft of the actuator 52 is provided between them. By doing so, in the banknote delivery section 21y, the rotational speed of the link gear 50 can be reduced (i.e., the speed at which the shutter 35y opens automatically is reduced) compared to the case where the gear 53 is directly meshed with the link gear 50. Furthermore, since the banknote delivery section 21y only has a two-stage gear 105 added between the link gear 50 and the gear 53, it can be equipped with a shutter lock and unlock function and an automatic shutter opening and closing function, while having a simple configuration, almost the same as the banknote delivery section 21y of the first embodiment.

[0156] Furthermore, the banknote delivery section 21y is equipped with a spring 101 that has a stronger reaction force than the torsion spring 37 as a biasing member that biases the shutter 35y to the closed position. In this way, the banknote delivery section 21y can automatically close the shutter 35 using the biasing force of the spring 101, and when the shutter 35y is closed and unlocked, it is possible to prevent the shutter 35y from temporarily opening due to the force of banknotes released into the banknote accumulation space 30 colliding with the bill stopper 41 of the shutter 35y.

[0157] [4. Other Embodiments] [4-1. Other Embodiment 1] In the first to third embodiments described above, the link gear 50 and locking mechanism 60 are provided on the left and right sides of the banknote stacking space 30, respectively. However, the invention is not limited to this, and the link gear 50 and locking mechanism 60 may be provided on either the left or right side of the banknote stacking space 30.

[0158] Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments described above, an actuator 52 and a gear 53 that transmits the driving force of the actuator 52 to the left link gear 50 are provided on the left side of the banknote stacking space 30. The actuator 52 rotates the left link gear 50 via the gear 53, and consequently, the right link gear 50 rotates via the shutter pivot shaft 36, which is the pivot shaft for the left and right link gears 50.

[0159] Here, the right-side link gear 50 (i.e., the link gear 50 on the side without the actuator 52 and gear 53) does not mesh with gear 53, so it does not necessarily have to be a disc-shaped gear. It can be any member that is rotatable around the shutter pivot axis 36 and has a surface on which the post 51 is provided. For example, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 7, a member 200 that is rotatable around the shutter pivot axis 36, is a rectangular plate shape extending from the shutter pivot axis 36 in a direction perpendicular to the shutter pivot axis 36, and has a post 51 provided on one surface in the thickness direction may be attached to the shutter pivot axis 36 in place of the right-side link gear 50.

[0160] Alternatively, the actuator 52 and the gear 53 that transmits the driving force of the actuator 52 to the link gear 50 may be provided on the right side of the banknote stacking space 30 instead of the left side. Similarly, in the third embodiment, the actuator 52 and the gear 53 may be provided on the right side of the banknote stacking space 30 instead of the left side.

[0161] Furthermore, in the third embodiment described above, two-stage gears 105 are provided on the left and right sides of the banknote stacking space 30. However, the two-stage gear 105 on the right side does not mesh with the gear 53, so it does not necessarily have to be a two-stage gear; a single-stage gear would suffice.

[0162] Furthermore, in the first to third embodiments described above, a disc-shaped gear was used as the link gear 50. However, since the rotation range of the link gear 50 is less than 360 degrees, it is not necessarily required to be a disc-shaped gear, and a fan-shaped gear that matches the rotation range may be used instead.

[0163] [4-2. Other Embodiments 2] In the first to third embodiments described above, a post 51 is provided on the link gear 50, and the post 51 rotates integrally with the link gear 50. However, the post 51 is not limited to this and may be attached to a separate component from the link gear 50, as long as it rotates in sync with the link gear 50.

[0164] [4-3. Other Embodiments 3] Furthermore, in the second embodiment described above, the shutter open detection sensor 40 was omitted from the shutter closed detection sensor 39 and the shutter open detection sensor 40. However, the embodiment is not limited to this, and the shutter closed detection sensor 39 may be omitted from the shutter closed detection sensor 39 and the shutter open detection sensor 40. In this case as well, as in the second embodiment, the position of the shutter 35 can be predicted from, for example, the driving time or driving amount of the actuator 52. Similarly, in the third embodiment, either the shutter closed detection sensor 103 or the shutter open detection sensor 104 may be omitted.

[0165] [4-4. Other Embodiments 4] Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, the shutter closed detection sensor 39, the shutter open detection sensor 40, and the lock detection sensor 63, which is an example of a lock detection unit, were all photoelectric sensors. However, other detection units besides photoelectric sensors may be used as long as they can detect the opening and closing of the shutter 35 and whether or not it is locked, similar to these sensors. The same applies to the second and third embodiments.

[0166] Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments described above, a torsion spring 37 was used as the shutter biasing member that biases the shutter 35 in the shutter closing direction. However, other biasing members besides the torsion spring 37 may be used as long as they can bias the shutter 35 in the shutter closing direction. Similarly, in the third embodiment, a biasing member other than the spring 101 may be used.

[0167] Furthermore, in the first to third embodiments described above, a spring 62 was used as the biasing member for the locking portion 60 to bias it in the unlocking direction. However, other biasing members besides the spring 62 may be used as long as they can bias the locking portion 60 in the unlocking direction.

[0168] [4-5. Other Embodiments 5] Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, on the left side of the banknote stacking space 30, the link gear 50, the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35, and the locking part 60 were arranged in that order from the left end of the banknote placement section 32. However, the order in which the link gear 50, the left arm 35AL, and the locking part 60 are arranged can be changed as appropriate. In other words, the link gear 50, the left arm 35AL of the shutter 35, and the locking part 60 only need to be arranged adjacent to each other in the axial direction of the shutter pivot shaft 36. The same applies to the right side of the banknote stacking space 30. The same also applies to the second and third embodiments.

[0169] [4-6. Other Embodiments 6] In each of the embodiments described above, we have described a form in which the present disclosure is applied to a banknote processing device 5 incorporated into a cash processing device 1 used by store staff or customers of a retail store. The present disclosure is not limited to this, and may also be applied to various devices that exchange banknotes with users, such as banknote processing devices used by staff of a financial institution at the counter of the financial institution, or automated teller machines (ATMs).

[0170] Furthermore, the embodiments described above describe how the disclosure is applied to a banknote processing device 5 incorporated into a cash processing device 1 that trades banknotes as a medium with a user. The disclosure is not limited to this, and may be applied to various devices that trade various paper-shaped media with users, such as various gift certificates and securities, or vouchers and admission tickets.

[0171] [4-7. Other Embodiments 7] Furthermore, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. That is, this disclosure also applies to embodiments that arbitrarily combine some or all of the embodiments described above, or embodiments that extract some of them.

[0172] This disclosure can be used, for example, in various media processing devices that include shutter locking and unlocking functions and automatic shutter opening and closing functions.

Claims

1. A media processing apparatus comprising: a media delivery unit for collecting media and delivering the media to a user; a shutter for closing or opening the media delivery unit; a shutter drive unit for rotating the shutter in a closing direction to close the media delivery unit or in an opening direction to open the media delivery unit; a lock unit for restricting the rotation of the shutter from a closed state to an open state of the media delivery unit; and a control unit for controlling the shutter drive unit, wherein the shutter drive unit comprises: a link gear provided coaxially with the rotation axis of the shutter and rotating about the rotation axis; and a contact portion provided on the link gear and rotating integrally with the link gear, and the control unit is configured to rotate the link gear in a first direction to transition the lock unit to a state that allows the shutter to rotate in the opening direction, and then further rotate the link gear in the first direction to bring the contact portion into contact with the shutter and rotate the shutter in the opening direction.

2. The media processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion contacts the locking portion to restrict the rotation of the shutter, and the control unit is configured such that when the shutter is in a state of closing the media delivery portion and the locking portion is in a state of restricting the rotation of the shutter in the opening direction, the control unit rotates the link gear in the first direction so that the contact portion in contact with the locking portion rotates and the locking portion transitions to a state that allows the rotation of the shutter in the opening direction.

3. A media processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a shutter biasing member that biases the shutter in the closing direction, wherein the control unit is configured such that when the shutter is in a state where the media transfer portion is open, the link gear is rotated in a second direction opposite to the first direction, so that the contact portion in contact with the shutter rotates in a direction that allows the shutter to rotate in the closing direction, and the biasing force from the shutter biasing member causes the shutter to rotate in the closing direction.

4. The media processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control unit is configured to rotate the link gear in the second direction when the shutter is in a state that closes the media delivery section and the lock section is in a state that allows the shutter to rotate in the opening direction, thereby causing the contact section to rotate and come into contact with the lock section, and transitioning the lock section to a state that restricts the rotation of the shutter in the opening direction.

5. The media processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the locking portion is rotatably provided and transitions to a state in which rotation in a third direction allows rotation of the shutter in the closing direction, and transitions to a state in which rotation in a fourth direction opposite to the third direction restricts rotation of the shutter in the closing direction, and further comprises a locking portion biasing member that biases the locking portion in the third direction, and the control unit is configured to rotate the link gear in the second direction when the shutter is in a state in which the media transfer portion is closed and the locking portion is in a state in which rotation of the shutter is allowed to rotate in the opening direction, thereby causing the contact portion to rotate and come into contact with the locking portion, and causing the locking portion to rotate in the fourth direction against the biasing force of the locking portion biasing member.

6. The media processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a lock detection unit for detecting that the locking unit is in a position that restricts the rotation of the shutter in the opening direction.

7. The media processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a shutter closing detection unit for detecting that the shutter is in a position that closes the media transfer unit, wherein the link gear and the shutter closing detection unit are provided around the pivot shaft.

8. The media processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a shutter open detection unit for detecting that the shutter is in a position that opens the media transfer unit, wherein the link gear and the shutter open detection unit are provided around the pivot shaft.

9. The media processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the portion of the locking portion that contacts the contact portion is defined as the locking portion contacted portion, the portion of the shutter that contacts the contact portion is defined as the shutter contacted portion, the locking portion, the shutter contacted portion and the link gear are arranged adjacent to each other in the axial direction of the pivot shaft, the locking portion contacted portion and the shutter contacted portion are arranged with a gap between them in the circumferential direction of the link gear, and the contact portion is positioned between the locking portion contacted portion and the shutter contacted portion.

10. An automated trading device comprising the media processing device described in claim 1.

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