WO2009128167A1 - Bill counter and bill counting system - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a bill counter (17) which can accurately confirm a bill exchanged with a chip in a short time, which can deal with the automatic acquisition and management of accurate deal information, and which can deal with use in a place where a plurality of kinds of currencies are in circulation. An identification unit of the bill counter (17) can identify bills of the plurality of kinds of currencies. The bill counter (17) identifies and counts the bill which is exchanged with the chip, thereby performing the confirmation of the bill in shorter time and more accurately than in a case where a person performs a bill confirmation operation. Until one deal is fixed by fixing means, a bill can be additionally received. One deal can be fixed by the fixing means. Fixed deal information is displayed on an external display unit (19). The fixed accurate deal information is transmitted from the bill counter (17) to an upper device. The deal information can be automatically acquired and managed by the upper device.

Description

Bill counting machine and bill counting system

The present invention relates to a banknote counter that counts banknotes exchanged with chips, for example, and a banknote counting system using the banknote counter.

Chips are used in table games performed on tables at casinos and the like, and these chips can be exchanged for banknotes possessed by players against table game dealers.

In the conventional exchange transaction of banknotes and chips at each table, the player delivers the banknotes to the dealer, visually distinguishes the banknotes received by the dealer, confirms the denomination and number of sheets, and arranges them on the table, and further ultraviolet rays In the case of banknotes that can be checked for authenticity by irradiation, use a UV check machine to check whether the bill is a counterfeit note, and if it is confirmed that it is not a counterfeit note, give the player the type and number of chips corresponding to the confirmed amount. Are stored in a drop box provided on the table (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Further, transaction information for exchanging bills and chips at each table may be managed for each transaction or not. When managing for each transaction, a specific person called a supervisor attached to each dealer or table writes the transaction information on a paper for each transaction and collects and manages the paper. The transaction information is manually input to the terminals installed for each table, and the transaction information manually input at each terminal is collectively managed by the sales management apparatus to which each terminal is connected.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-43083 (page 1-2, Fig. 1) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-92359 (2nd page)

However, because it relies on the dealer to visually check the banknotes when making a transaction at the table, it may be difficult to distinguish elaborate counterfeit bills, and it may be difficult to discriminate elaborate counterfeit bills even with UV checkers. There is a problem that the bill cannot be confirmed accurately. Moreover, since it takes time to check banknotes and the progress of the game is hindered, there is also a problem that sales per hour are difficult to increase.

Furthermore, when managing transaction information at each table, the dealer or specific person writes the transaction information on a paper for each transaction and collects and manages the paper, or a dealer or specific person is installed for each table. Transaction information is manually entered into each terminal, and the transaction information manually entered at each terminal is managed in a batch by the sales management device connected to each terminal. Forgotten or there was an input error or forgotten input to the terminal, and accurate transaction information could not be managed. Eventually, banknotes stored in table drop boxes had to be collected and managed.

As described above, there is a problem that accurate transaction information cannot be automatically acquired and managed for transactions in which bills and chips are exchanged at a table in a casino or the like.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, for example, it is possible to accurately confirm bills exchanged with chips in a short time, and can also correspond to automatic acquisition and management of accurate transaction information, It aims at providing the banknote counter which can respond also to the use in the place where two or more kinds of currency circulates, and the banknote counter system using this banknote counter.

The bill counter according to claim 1 is capable of discriminating between a receiving unit that receives bills of currency to be traded, a transport unit that transports bills received by the receiving unit one by one, and bills of a plurality of types of currencies, An identification unit for identifying a banknote conveyed by the conveyance unit, a confirmation unit for instructing confirmation of one transaction, a display unit for displaying transaction information, and confirming transaction information based on an instruction from the confirmation unit, And a control unit that displays on the display unit information related to the identification result of the currency banknote identified by the identification unit.

The banknote counter according to claim 2 is the banknote counter according to claim 1, wherein the banknote is a currency that is traded in the identification unit and receives a banknote that is identified as normal, and a currency other than the currency that is traded in the identification unit. A banknote identified as a type and a rejecting section that accepts a banknote that has not been identified as normal by the identification section, and the control section is identified by the transport means as a currency that is traded in the identification section and normal. The banknotes are conveyed to the stacker unit, and the banknotes identified as a type other than the currency to be traded by the identification unit and the banknotes not identified as normal by the identification unit are conveyed to the reject unit.

The banknote counter according to claim 3 is the banknote counter according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising currency selecting means for selecting a type of currency to be traded among a plurality of types of currencies, Based on the type of currency selected by the currency selection means, the identification unit identifies the banknote.

The banknote counter according to claim 4 is the banknote counter according to claim 3, wherein the control unit sets any one of the plurality of types of currency as a priority type of currency and sets the remaining types as non-types. The priority type currency is used, and after the non-priority type is selected by the currency selection means and the transaction is made, the non-priority type is returned to the priority type selection state.

The banknote counter according to claim 5 is the banknote counter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit displays information on an identification result of a currency banknote identified by the identification unit on the display unit. When doing so, the type of currency is displayed.

A bill counter according to claim 6 is the bill counter according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a transmitting means for transmitting the transaction information determined by the determining means to the outside.

A banknote counting system according to a seventh aspect includes the banknote counter according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, and a transaction information management device that communicates with the banknote counter and manages transaction information of the banknote counter. It is what.

A banknote counting system according to claim 8 comprises the banknote counter according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and a banknote counter management device that communicates with the banknote counter and manages the operating status of the banknote counter. It is what you are doing.

The bill counting system according to claim 9 comprises a sales management device that manages sales information in the bill counting system according to claim 8, wherein the bill counter management device acquires the sales information of the bill counter. The acquired sales information is transmitted to the sales management device in real time.

A bill counting system according to claim 10 is the bill counting system according to claim 8, further comprising a sales management device that manages sales information, wherein the bill counter management device acquires the sales information of the bill counter. And the sales information is transmitted to the sales management apparatus after being stored for a predetermined time.

A bill counting system according to claim 11 is a bill counter according to any one of claims 1 to 6, a transaction information management device that communicates with the bill counter and manages transaction information of the bill counter, and the bill. A bill counter management device that communicates with the counter and manages the operating status of the bill counter is provided.

According to the bill counter according to claim 1, by identifying the accepted bill by the identification unit, the bill can be confirmed more accurately in a shorter time than the manually confirming bill, and further confirmed for one transaction. Until it is confirmed by means, it can respond to additional acceptance of banknotes, and it is possible to confirm one transaction by the confirmation means, so that it can cope with automatic acquisition and management of accurate transaction information, and more than one It can count different types of currencies and can be used in places where multiple types of currencies are in circulation.

According to the bill counter according to claim 2, in addition to the effect of the bill counter according to claim 1, a bill other than the currency to be traded is transported to the stacker unit in the currency to be traded and identified as normal. Banknotes that are identified as normal and banknotes that are not identified as normal can be conveyed to the reject unit, and can be processed separately from non-transactional currency and non-normal banknotes that are transactional and normal banknotes.

According to the bill counter according to claim 3, in addition to the effect of the bill counter according to claim 1 or 2, the type of currency to be traded by the currency selection means can be selected, and based on the selected currency type. Banknotes can be accurately identified.

According to the bill counter according to claim 4, in addition to the effect of the bill counter according to claim 3, for example, among a plurality of types of currency, for example, the type of currency having a large distribution ratio is set as a priority type, and the remaining currency By selecting the non-priority type as the type, even if the non-priority type is selected by the currency selection means and traded, the non-priority type can be automatically returned from the non-priority type to the priority type after the transaction. Can be saved.

According to the bill counter according to claim 5, in addition to the effect of the bill counter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the type of currency is also displayed when displaying information on the identification result of the bill on the display unit. Therefore, the identified currency type can also be confirmed.

According to the bill counter according to claim 6, in addition to the effect of the bill counter according to any one of claims 1 to 5, since the confirmed transaction information is transmitted to the outside, the confirmed accurate transaction information is externally transmitted. Can manage.

According to the bill counting system described in claim 7, the transaction information management device can communicate with the bill counter according to any one of claims 1 to 6 to automatically acquire and manage the transaction information.

According to the banknote counting system according to claim 8, the banknote counter management device can communicate with the banknote counter according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and manage the operating status of the banknote counter.

According to the bill counting system according to claim 9, in addition to the effect of the bill counting system according to claim 8, the bill counter management device acquires the sales information of the bill counter, and the acquired sales information in real time. Since it transmits to a sales management apparatus, the management apparatus for exclusive use which manages the sales information of a banknote counter is unnecessary, and sales information in real time can be managed in a sales management apparatus.

According to the banknote counting system of claim 10, in addition to the effect of the banknote counting system of claim 8, the banknote counter management device acquires and stores sales information of the banknote counter and stores it for a predetermined time. Since the sales information is transmitted to the sales management device later, the processing load on the bill counter management device and the sales management device and the load on the communication line can be suppressed as compared with the case of processing in real time.

According to the banknote counting system of the eleventh aspect, the transaction information management device can communicate with the banknote counter according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, automatically acquire and manage the transaction information, and the banknote counter. The management apparatus can communicate with the banknote counter according to any one of claims 1 to 6 to manage the operating status of the banknote counter.

It is a perspective view of the use condition of the bill counter which shows the 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which shows the internal structure of a banknote counter same as the above. It is a front view of the operation display part of a banknote counter same as the above. It is a front view of the external display part of a banknote counter same as the above. It is a front view of the external display part of a banknote counter same as the above. It is a block diagram of a banknote counter same as the above. It is a block diagram of the banknote counting system using a banknote counter same as the above. It is a flowchart of counting operation | movement of a banknote counter same as the above. It is a block diagram of the banknote counting system which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the banknote counting system which shows the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the banknote counting system which shows the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

19 External display unit as display unit 22 Terminal as transaction information management device 28 Receiving unit 29 Reject unit 30 Stacker unit 37 Transport mechanism as transport means 39 Identification unit 46 MOP button as currency selection means 53 Confirmation as confirmation means Button 71 Control unit 76 Third communication unit as transmission means 77 Bill counter management device 78 Sales management device

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

1 to 8 show a first embodiment.

In FIG. 1, 11 is a substantially semicircular table for playing a table game at a casino or the like, and on the straight edge side of this table 11 is a table game dealer and one person for each one or a plurality of tables 11. A supervisor who is an attached manager is located, and on the curved edge side of the table 11, a plurality of players playing the table game are located. Chips are used in table games, and these chips can be exchanged for banknotes held by the player against the dealer.

The table 11 has a chip holder 12 for inserting a plurality of chips, a banknote inlet 13 for storing banknotes exchanged with chips by a dealer, and a drop box 14 for storing banknotes inserted from the banknote inlet 13 near the center of the straight edge. Etc. are provided.

Near one side of the straight edge of the table 11, a bill counter 17 that identifies and counts bills exchanged with chips, and an operation display unit that is connected to the bill counter 17 and can be operated by the dealer and displayed to the dealer 18 and an external display unit 19 is installed as a display unit that is connected to the bill counter 17 and displays the amount of money identified and counted. The bill counter 17 and the operation display unit 18 are placed on a gantry 20 that is substantially the same height as the top surface of the table 11. The external display unit 19 is placed at a corner position on the table 11 so that the display can be viewed from both the player and the dealer.

In the vicinity of the other side of the straight edge side of the table 11, a terminal 22 as a transaction information management device connected to the bill counter 17 so as to be communicable is installed. The terminal 22 includes a terminal body 23 composed of a personal computer or the like, and a monitor 24 as a display unit connected to the terminal body 23. The monitor 24 is attached to the table 11 so as to be visible from the player.

Next, FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the bill counter 17.

The bill counter 17 has a housing 27. On the front surface of the housing 27, a receiving unit 28 for receiving bills to be identified and counted by the bill counter 17 in order from the upper side to the lower side, the bill counter A reject unit 29 for sending out banknotes not identified as normal transaction banknotes by the machine 17 and a stacker unit 30 for delivering banknotes identified as normal transaction banknotes are provided. The banknotes sent to the reject unit 29 include banknotes of a currency type different from the currency type to be traded, banknotes that cannot be identified by damaged banknotes, banknotes that are suspected of fake bills, etc. The banknotes sent to 30 are only genuine banknotes of the transaction object. The banknotes sent to the reject unit 29 and the stacker unit 30 can be taken out. The receiving unit 28, the reject unit 29, and the stacker unit 30 each receive a plurality of banknotes in a stacked state, and the number of banknotes that can be received by the receiving unit 28 is, for example, 100, and is stacked in the reject unit 29. The full number of sheets that is the limit is, for example, 10 sheets, and the full number of sheets that is the accumulation limit in the stacker unit 30 is, for example, 30 sheets.

The receiving unit 28 is provided with a feeding mechanism 31 that separates bills one by one and feeds them into the housing 27. The feeding mechanism 31 includes a feeding roller 32 that contacts and feeds the lowest bill of the receiving unit 28, and a feeding roller that feeds the bill fed by the feeding roller 32 between the feeding guide 33 and the housing 27. 34, and a reverse rotation roller 35 that reverses with respect to the feeding direction and restricts the movement of the banknote above the lowest banknote in the receiving unit 28 in the feeding direction.

A conveyance path 36 is formed in the housing 27 from the receiving unit 28 to the reject unit 29 or the stacker unit 30. The transport path 36 is provided with a transport mechanism 37 as a transport means for transporting banknotes fed one by one into the transport path 36 by the feeding mechanism 31 of the receiving section 28 to the reject section 29 or the stacker section 30. . The transport mechanism 37 includes a plurality of transport rollers 38 that sandwich and transport bills.

In the middle of the transport path 36, an identification unit 39 for identifying a bill is disposed. The identification unit 39 includes a plurality of types of identification sensors, includes a discrimination unit that discriminates whether or not a banknote is authentic, and a counting unit that counts the number of denominations of banknotes identified as authentic, Can be identified, and the currency type of banknotes that are genuine transactions in each currency, banknotes of currency types that are different from the currency types of transactions, banknotes that cannot be identified by damaged banknotes, Identification of a certain banknote etc. is enabled.

A branching mechanism 40 is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction from the identification unit 39 of the transport path 36 to switch the banknote transport direction between the reject unit 29 and the stacker unit 30 according to the identification result of the identification unit 39. Yes. The branch mechanism 40 includes a branch piece 41 arranged at a branch portion of the transport path 36, and a branch drive unit (not shown) such as a solenoid and a motor for switching the branch piece 41.

The receiving unit 28, the reject unit 29, and the stacker unit 30 are provided with presence / absence detection sensors that detect the presence / absence of banknotes, and a feeding detection sensor that detects the feeding of banknotes by the feeding mechanism 31 is provided at the start end of the transport path 36. A plurality of conveyance detection sensors that detect banknotes in the conveyance path 36 are provided at a plurality of locations on the conveyance path 36.

In the installed state of the bill counter 17, the receiving unit 28, the reject unit 29, and the stacker unit 30 on the front side of the bill counter 17 are installed toward the player so that they can be seen from the player.

Next, FIG. 3 shows the operation display unit 18.

The operation display unit 18 includes left and right operation units 44 and a central main body display unit 45.

The left operation unit 44 has a MOP button 46 as a currency selection means for selecting the type of currency to be traded from among a plurality of types of currency, a total button 47 for displaying the total transaction amount from the previous closing process to the present, and input Clear button 48 to cancel the transaction or cancel the transaction in the middle of the transaction, preview button 49 to display the content of the previous transaction, display button 50 to switch the display items to be displayed on the main body display unit 45, set button 51 to instruct the start of processing , And a shift button 52 used in combination with other buttons is arranged. Note that the closing process is a process of inputting that effect when the banknotes are collected from the drop box 14, and the total transaction amount from the previous closing process displayed by the operation of the total button 47 to the present is the drop box 14. It is the total amount of banknotes inside.

The right operation unit 44 includes a confirmation button 53 as confirmation means for instructing confirmation of one transaction, and a plurality of manual input means for manually inputting banknote information in order to include, for example, a banknote that cannot be identified. The manual input button 54 is arranged. Of the plurality of manual input buttons 54, the manual input button 54 on which an arrow is described also functions as a cursor button for moving a display item displayed on the main body display unit 45.

The bill counter 17 of this example is designed to be used in a casino in Macau where two types of currencies, Macau Pataca (MOP) and Hong Kong Dollar (HK $), are distributed. Every time the MOP button 46 is operated, the Macau Pataca And currency exchange between Hong Kong dollars. Of these Macau Pataca and Hong Kong Dollar, Hong Kong Dollar, which has a higher circulation volume than Macau Pataca, is used as the preferred currency, and Macau Pataca, which has a smaller circulation volume than Hong Kong Dollar, is used as the non-priority currency. The Hong Kong dollar is automatically selected as the currency to trade, and if you operate the MOP button 46 once at the start of trading, it will be selected as the currency to trade Macau Pataca, and after trading in Macau Pataca, it will be selected as the currency to trade Hong Kong dollar from Macau Pataca Is configured to automatically return to

The plurality of manual input buttons 54 are independent buttons for each denomination of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1000, and are counted up each time the manual input button 54 is operated. These manual input buttons 54 have a display of “$”, but both the Hong Kong dollar and Macau Pataca can be manually input. That is, in the state where Hong Kong dollar is selected as the currency to be traded, manual input is possible with all the manual input buttons 54, and there is no 10 Macau Pataca in the state where Macau Pataca is selected as the currency to trade. With the exception of the seeds, manual input is possible with the other manual input buttons 54. For example, in the state of selecting Hong Kong dollar as the currency to be traded, if the manual input button 54 of 1000 $ is operated once, it will be included in one transaction as if one banknote of 1000HK $ is counted, and if operated twice, it will be 1000HK $ Included in one transaction as two bills counted.

The main body display unit 45 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display that displays transaction information, a cancellation method at the time of error, an operation method, and the like.

Also, in the vicinity of the MOP button 46, a currency display section 55 such as an LED that lights up that the MOP button 46 is operated and selected as a currency for trading Macau Pataca is disposed. In the vicinity of the confirmation button 53, a confirmation display portion 56 such as an LED that blinks when waiting for confirmation by the operation of the confirmation button 53 and lights up when confirmed by the operation of the confirmation button 53 is arranged.

Next, FIGS. 4 and 5 show the external display unit 19.

The external display unit 19 includes a display unit main body 59 and a leg unit 60 placed on the table 11. The external display unit 19 includes display areas of a currency type display unit 61 that displays the type of currency and an amount display unit 62 that displays the amount of the transaction. In the display example shown in FIG. 4, HK $ and money amount indicating Hong Kong dollar are displayed, and in the display example shown in FIG. 5, MOP and money amount indicating Macau Pataca are displayed.

The external display unit 19 is arranged on the table 11 at a place where it can be seen from both the dealer and the player, and also visible from the supervisor and the staff away from the table 11 in addition to the dealer and the player. It is possible to shoot with a surveillance camera arranged in the hall.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the configuration of the bill counter 17.

The banknote counter 17 includes a control unit 71 that controls the banknote counter 17 including the operation display unit 18 and the external display unit 19. The control unit 71 supplies power to each device such as a feeding mechanism 31, a transport mechanism 37, an identification unit 39, a branching mechanism 40, a storage unit 72 that stores various setting contents and transaction contents, and the bill counting machine 17. A power supply unit 73, a first communication unit 74, a second communication unit 75, and a third communication unit 76 as a transmission means are connected.

The first communication unit 74 is communicably connected to the operation display unit 18.

The second communication unit 75 is communicably connected to the external display unit 19.

The third communication unit 76 is communicably connected to the terminal 22, the bill counter management device 77 that is the server of the host device, and the sales management device 78 that is the host computer of the host device.

The control unit 71 has the following functions. Note that the following functions are some of the functions of the control unit 71.

One transaction is confirmed by the confirm button 53, and information regarding the confirmed transaction information including the type of currency and the identification result by the identification unit 39 are displayed on the external display unit 19, the main body display unit 45 of the operation display unit 18, and the terminal 22. To be displayed on the monitor 24, etc.

A function of displaying the type of currency when displaying information on the identification result of the currency bill identified by the identification unit 39 on the external display unit 19 or the like.

The transport mechanism 37 transports the banknotes identified as normal in the currency to be traded by the identification unit 39 to the stacker unit 30, and the banknotes identified as types other than the currency to be transacted in the identification unit 39 and the normality in the identification unit 39 A function of transporting unrecognized banknotes to the reject unit 29.

Transaction information and identification results are normally displayed on the external display unit 19, the main unit display unit 45 of the operation display unit 18 and the monitor 24 of the terminal 22, etc. If confirmation is operated or transaction cancellation is operated by the clear button 48, for example, the display character is reversed, the normal display and the reverse display are alternately displayed, and the normal display such as blinking is different. Function to display in the display.

A function of transmitting the transaction information confirmed by the confirm button 53 and the transaction information canceled by the clear button 48 to the terminal 22, the bill counter management device 77, the sales management device 78, etc. through the third communication unit 76. The transaction information to be transmitted includes processing date / time, transaction number, currency type, processing content (confirmation, cancellation), number of banknotes for each denomination identified as a normal transaction banknote by the identification unit 39, and a manual input button 54. There are the number of banknotes for each denomination input in step 1, the number of banknotes not identified as normal transaction banknotes by the identification unit 39, the number of banknotes suspected of being counterfeit, and the like.

∙ A function to switch the selection of currency to be traded between Macau Pataca and Hong Kong dollar each time the MOP button 46 is operated, and to make the identification unit 39 identify the banknote based on the selected currency type.

Of Macau Pataca and Hong Kong Dollar, Hong Kong Dollar is the preferred currency and Macao Pataca is the non-priority currency, and if the MOP button 46 is not operated at the start of trading, the Hong Kong dollar is automatically selected as the currency to trade, and the MOP button at the start of trading. When 46 is operated once, Macau Pataca is selected as the currency for trading, and after trading in Macau Pataca, it is automatically returned to the state of selecting Hong Kong Dollar as the currency for trading from Macau Pataca.

The function to include the banknote information manually input by the manual input button 54 as at least part of the transaction information after distinguishing it from manual input.

機能 A function that counts up the banknotes of each denomination to be included in the transaction for each operation of the independent manual input button 54 for each denomination.

Next, FIG. 7 shows a bill counting system employed in a casino.

A banknote counter 17 and a terminal 22 for each of a plurality of tables 11 installed in the casino are connected to a LAN, and a banknote counter management device 77 and a sales management device 78 are each connected to the LAN. .

The terminal 22 communicates with the banknote counter 17, collects and manages transaction information of the banknote counter 17, and transmits it to the sales management device 78. Furthermore, the terminal 22 can display the details of the collected transaction information on the monitor 24.

The banknote counter management device 77 monitors the operating status of each banknote counter 17 in real time and finds the banknote counter 17 that is not operating normally. Further, the information related to the identification result of the bill counter 17 collected in the terminal 22 is acquired, and various information such as bill identification rate information and bill type-specific fake bill information is tabulated and analyzed. Version management of program of identification part 39 of each bill counter 17 and control part 71, version upgrade, alert display at the time of connection of bill counter 17 with a different version, automatic version matching are performed. For each group in which a plurality of banknote counters 17 are grouped and for all banknote counters 17 all at once, a setting value abnormality is detected in units of groups, and a report is output. The banknote counter 17 having many operations with a possibility of fraud such as cancellation is detected and a report is output.

The sales management device 78 acquires the transaction information of the bill counter 17 collected in the terminal 22 and manages sales.

If the transaction information cannot be transmitted from the bill counter 17 to the terminal device 22, the transaction information is transmitted from the bill counter 17 to the bill counter management device 77, and the bill management device 77 to the sales management device 78. You may send transaction information to.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

First, the transaction operation using the bill counter 17 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the exchange transaction of banknotes and chips at each table 11, the player hands the banknotes to the dealer and confirms the currency type of the banknotes received by the dealer. In the case of Macau Pataca, the dealer operates the MOP button 46 of the bill counter 17 once to turn on the currency display section 55 and select Macau Pataca as the currency to trade. Further, in the case of Hong Kong dollars, the MOP button 46 of the bill counter 17 is not operated, the currency display unit 55 is left off, and the Hong Kong dollar is selected as a bill to be traded. In the case of Hong Kong dollars, if the dealer accidentally operates the MOP button 46 of the bill counter 17 once to turn on the currency display section 55, the MOP button 46 is operated again to turn off the currency display section 55 and select the Hong Kong dollar. Can be returned to.

The banknote received by the dealer is set in the receiving unit 28 of the banknote counter 17 (step 1). When the presence / absence detection sensor of the receiving unit 28 detects the banknote set in the receiving unit 28, the presence / absence detection sensor of the stacker unit 30 and the reject unit 29 checks whether or not banknotes remain in the stacker unit 30 and the reject unit 29. (Step 2).

If no banknotes remain in the stacker unit 30 and the reject unit 29 (no banknotes in step 2), the counting operation is automatically started (step 3).

When banknotes or the like of the last transaction remain in the stacker unit 30 and the reject unit 29 (the banknotes in step 2 are present), a warning sound is generated or a warning message is displayed on the main body display unit 45. . If the dealer removes the banknotes remaining in the stacker unit 30 and the reject unit 29, the counting operation is automatically started.

Then, at the start of the counting operation, the feeding mechanism 31 and the transport mechanism 37 are operated to separate the banknotes of the receiving unit 28 one by one and feed them to the transport path 36, so that the banknotes fed into the transport path 36 are transported. The banknotes transported in the transport path 36 are identified by the identification unit 39 (step 4). As a result of the identification by the identification unit 39, the banknotes that are genuine transaction target currencies and are identified as normal transaction banknotes. (OK in step 4), the number of the normal transaction banknotes is counted (step 5), and conveyed to the stacker unit 30 via the branching mechanism 40 and stored (step 6). The count result of normal transaction banknotes is displayed on the external display unit 19 and the main body display unit 45 of the operation display unit 18 together with the type of currency.

For banknotes that are not identified as normal transaction banknotes, such as banknotes that are different from the transaction target currency, banknotes that cannot be identified by damaged banknotes, banknotes that are suspected of fake bills, etc. 4), the number of banknotes not identified as normal transaction banknotes is counted (step 7), and conveyed to the reject unit 29 via the branching mechanism 40 and stored (step 8).

Even if all the banknotes of the receiving unit 28 are drawn out and stored in the stacker unit 30 or the rejecting unit 29, the banknotes are additionally inserted into the receiving unit 28 and included as one transaction until the dealer operates the confirmation button 53. Can do.

In addition, during the counting operation, banknotes are successively fed from the receiving unit 28 to the conveyance path 36 under the control of the control unit 71, and a plurality of banknotes are simultaneously conveyed in the conveyance path 36. When the twenty-nineth normal transaction banknote, which is several sheets before the full number of 30 sheets, for example, one sheet before, is identified, the feeding from the receiving unit 28 is stopped. At this time, the 29th banknote has already been fed from the receiving unit 28 to the transport path 36, but the next banknote is not further fed out. If the 29th next banknote is also identified as a normal transaction banknote, it is transported to the stacker unit 30 for accumulation and storage. Therefore, the stacker unit 30 accumulates and stores 30 banknotes, which is the exact full number, The counting operation is temporarily stopped in the state.

If the 29th banknote is not recognized as a normal transaction banknote and is conveyed to the reject unit 29, only one banknote is added from the receiving unit 28 and fed out, and the banknote is identified as a normal transaction banknote. If it is identified that the banknote is not a normal transaction banknote, it is transported to the reject unit 29 and collected and stored. In this manner, by stacking banknotes one by one from the receiving unit 28 after the banknotes are identified, the stacker unit 30 accumulates and stores 30 banknotes that are the exact full number.

Thus, in the middle of the counting operation, when the banknotes stacked and stored in the stacker unit 30 are full and the counting operation is temporarily stopped, the dealer removes the banknotes from the stacker unit 30. Then, when the presence / absence detection sensor of the stacker unit 30 detects the absence of banknotes, the counting operation is automatically restarted.

In addition, there are many banknotes that are not identified as normal transaction banknotes, such as banknotes that are not identifiable with different types of banknotes that are subject to transaction or banknotes that are damaged, although banknotes that are suspected of being counterfeit are not included. The reject unit 29 may become full. In this case, when the banknote that is not identified as, for example, the tenth normal transaction banknote that becomes the full number of the rejecting section 29 is identified by the identifying section 39 under the control of the control section 71, the feeding from the receiving section 28 is stopped. As a result, the banknotes that are not identified as the tenth normal transaction banknotes are transported to the reject unit 29 to be collected and stored.

The 10th next banknote is already paid out from the receiving unit 28 to the transport path 36, but the next banknote is not drawn out. If the 10th next banknote is identified as a normal transaction banknote, it is transported to the stacker unit 30 for accumulation and stored. If the 10th next banknote is not identified as a normal transaction banknote, it is transported to the reject unit 29. In this state, the counting operation is temporarily stopped. For this reason, the reject unit 29 may stack and store one more than the full 10 sheets, but there is no problem.

Thus, in the middle of the counting operation, when the banknotes accumulated and stored in the reject unit 29 become full and the counting operation is temporarily stopped, the dealer removes the banknotes from the reject unit 29. Then, when the presence / absence detection sensor of the reject unit 29 detects the absence of banknotes, the counting operation is automatically restarted.

Note that the control when the reject unit 29 is full may be the same as the control when the stacker unit 30 is full. However, until banknotes that are not normal transaction banknotes are identified, the banknotes are fed one by one from the receiving unit 28 after the banknotes are identified, so that the counting speed is reduced, which is not suitable for counting a large number of banknotes.

Further, when a bill suspected of being a counterfeit bill is identified during the counting operation, it is displayed on the main body display unit 45 of the operation display unit 18 or from the bill counter 17 to the bill counter management device 77 or the terminal 22. In addition, it notifies the outside of the sales management device 78 and the like. The bill counter management device 77 and the sales management device 78 display an alert, and a monitor or the like in front of the office where these are installed recognizes that a bill suspected of being a fake bill has been identified, and the corresponding table 11 It is possible to take measures such as photographing the surroundings with a surveillance camera or reporting.

Even if a bill suspected of being a counterfeit bill is identified, the counting operation is stopped until there is no bill in the receiving unit 28 and the counting operation is stopped, or until the stacking unit 30 or the rejecting unit 29 is full and stops the counting operation. continue.

After the bills suspected of being counterfeit are identified, the counting operation is stopped because there are no bills in the receiving unit 28, or the counting operation is stopped when the stacker unit 30 or the rejection unit 29 is full. The called supervisor takes out the banknote from the reject unit 29 and confirms the banknote suspected of being a fake bill.

Further, after the counting operation is stopped because there are no bills in the receiving unit 28, there is no bill to be added, and when counting in the bill counter 17 is finished (YES in Step 9), the dealer operates the confirm button 53 ( Step 10).

When there is no banknote in the reject unit 29 by the operation of the confirmation button 53 (no banknote in step 11), the confirmation display unit 56 is turned on to perform transaction confirmation processing (step 12). In the confirmation process, the confirmed transaction information and the information related to the identification result by the identification unit 39 are displayed on the main body display unit 45 of the external display unit 19 and the operation display unit 18, and are transmitted to the terminal device 22 from the terminal device 22. The data is transmitted to the sales management device 78.

Banknotes that are not identified as normal transaction money, such as banknotes that do not include banknotes that are suspected of fake bills, but that cannot be identified by different types of banknotes that are subject to transaction or banknotes that are damaged, etc., are rejected 29 If there is (there is a banknote in step 11), the process waits for the banknote to be removed from the reject unit 29 (step 13).

When the dealer removes the banknote from the reject unit 29 (YES in step 13) and re-identifies this banknote (not in step 14), the banknote is set in the receiving unit 28 and re-identified by performing the counting operation again. Let

If it is recognized as a normal transaction banknote by re-identification, it is collected and stored in the stacker unit 30, and if it is not recognized as a normal transaction banknote again, it is stored in the reject unit 29 and waiting for withdrawal of the banknote from the reject unit 29. It becomes. Also in this case, the banknote is taken out from the reject unit 29 and re-inserted into the receiving unit 28 for re-identification or manually input. When the confirm button 53 is operated in a state where there is a bill in the reject unit 29, a notification such as a warning sound is generated or a warning message is displayed on the main body display unit 45 is performed.

In addition, among banknotes sent to the reject unit 29, except for banknotes that are suspected of fake bills and banknotes that are different from transaction target currency, for banknotes that could not be normally identified with damaged banknotes, If the supervisor confirms the bill and determines that it is authentic, it can be included in one transaction by manual input (step 15).

In this manual input, the supervisor operates the manual input button 54 of the operation display unit 18 corresponding to the confirmed banknote denomination. When there are a plurality of bills of different denominations, the manual input button 54 corresponding to each denomination is operated. When there are a plurality of banknotes of the same denomination, the number of times corresponding to the number of confirmed manual input buttons 54 corresponding to the same denomination is operated.

Thus, by providing the manual input button 54 for each denomination, the unit price of the banknote to be manually input can be obtained simply by operating the corresponding manual input button 54 for the number of times corresponding to the number of banknotes for each denomination. In addition, it is possible to easily input the number of sheets and to reduce input mistakes.

If the manual input is before confirmation by the operation of the confirmation button 53, the transaction information for the manual input can be included in the transaction information identified by the banknote counter 17. However, it is possible to determine that the transaction information is manually input.

When the manual input is completed, the confirmation display unit 56 is turned on by operating the confirmation button 53, and transaction confirmation processing is performed.

In addition, if it is after confirmation by operation of the confirmation button 53, the banknote information for the manually input is managed as another transaction. However, even after confirmation by operating the confirm button 53, if only the transaction information identified by the bill counter 17 is not included in the previous transaction and the transaction information for manual input is not included, operate the preview button 49 to operate the previous transaction. By calling the transaction information, it is possible to include the manual input in the transaction information of the previous transaction by the manual input operation described above.

Also, if the dealer operates the clear button 48 during the transaction before confirmation, the transaction is cancelled. The canceled transaction information is transmitted to the sales management device 78, which is a higher-level machine, to prevent a canceling action aimed at illegal acquisition of banknotes by a dealer. This is because, for example, after the counting is completed, the dealer performs a cancel operation without performing a confirmation operation and passes the chip to the player, but there is a possibility that the banknote may be illegally acquired without being placed in the drop box 14. Further, if the transaction is canceled by operating the clear button 48, the display on the external display unit 19 is usually displayed in reverse, for example, the display character is reversed, the normal display and the reverse display are alternately displayed, or the display is blinked. By displaying in a display different from the display, it is possible to notify the player or supervisor that the transaction has been canceled, and to prevent the dealer from cheating.

Also, counting by the bill counter 17 is finished, the dealer confirms the transaction by operating the confirmation button 53, the confirmed transaction information and information on the identification result by the identification unit 39, the external display unit 19, the operation display The information is displayed on the main body display unit 45 of the unit 18, the monitor 24, and the like, and is transmitted to the terminal 22 and transmitted from the terminal 22 to the sales management device 78. Furthermore, if the transaction is confirmed by operating the confirm button 53, the display of the external display unit 19 is usually displayed in reverse, for example, the display character is reversed, the normal display and the reverse display are alternately displayed, or the display is blinked. By displaying in a display different from the display, the player or supervisor is notified that the transaction has been confirmed.

The dealer shows the transaction information displayed on the external display unit 19 to the player, and with the approval of the player, the type and number of chips corresponding to the determined amount are paid to the player, and the banknote is stored in the drop box 14 from the banknote entrance 13. To do.

Also, if Macau Pataca has been selected as the currency to be traded by operating the MOP button 46 at the start of trading, the Macau Pataca selection is canceled and the Hong Kong dollar selection is automatically returned after the transaction is confirmed.

As described above, the banknote counter 17 can count banknotes of a plurality of types of currency, and the received banknotes are identified by the identification unit 39, so that the banknotes can be confirmed more accurately in a shorter time than the manual banknote confirmation work. Furthermore, it is possible to accept additional acceptance of banknotes until one transaction is confirmed with the confirm button 53, and one transaction can be confirmed with the confirm button 53. Therefore, automatic acquisition and management of accurate transaction information can be handled, and more than one type of currency can be counted, and use in places where multiple types of currency are in circulation is also possible.

Also, banknotes that are identified as normal in the currency to be traded are transported to the stacker unit 30, banknotes that are identified as types other than the currency to be transacted and banknotes that are not identified as normal are transported to the reject unit 29 for trading Currency and normal banknotes can be processed separately from non-transaction currency and abnormal banknotes.

Also, the type of currency to be traded can be selected with the MOP button 46, and the banknote can be accurately identified based on the selected currency type.

Furthermore, among the multiple types of currencies, for example, the Hong Kong dollar, which is the type of currency with a high distribution ratio, is set as the priority type, and the remaining currency type, Macau Pataca, is set as the non-priority type. Even when a certain Macau Pataca is selected and traded, it is possible to automatically return from the Macao Pataca, which is a non-priority type, to the selected state of the Hong Kong dollar, which is the preferential type, after the transaction, and save time and effort for the return.

Furthermore, since the type of currency is also displayed when displaying information related to the banknote identification result on the external display unit 19, the player can check the type of currency counted, and troubles due to the difference in currency type can be prevented.

Further, since the transaction information confirmed by the bill counter 17 can be transmitted to the external sales management device 78 or the like, the confirmed accurate transaction information can be managed by the external sales management device 78 or the like.

Further, as the bill counting system, the bill counter 17, the terminal 22, the bill counter management device 77 and the sales management device 78 are configured so that the terminal 22 automatically acquires transaction information from the bill counter 17. The bill counter management device 77 can automatically acquire and manage the operating status of each bill counter 17, and the sales management device 78 can automatically acquire and manage sales information from each terminal 22. .

The bill counter 17 also has a backup function when communication is not possible. This is because the bill counter 17 sends transaction information to the outside (terminal 22, bill counter management device 77, sales management device 78). If you try to send, but you could not send due to abnormal equipment or communication path, you can store the transaction information in the storage unit 72 of the bill counter 17 and accept the next transaction and store the transaction information at any time It is said. When the transaction information in the storage unit 72 of the bill counter 17 reaches a predetermined amount (for example, 200), the transaction is stopped. Before or after the transaction is stopped, the transaction information stored in the storage unit 72 of the banknote counter 17 is transmitted when communication is restored.

In addition, the bill counter management device 77 monitors the operating status of each bill counter 17 in real time and finds the bill counter 17 that is not operating normally. Further, information is acquired from each bill counter 17 and various information such as bill identification rate information and bill type-specific fake bill information is tabulated and analyzed. For example, check the occurrence status of banknotes suspected of counterfeit bills, collect and analyze the occurrence frequency of banknotes suspected of counterfeit bills, and discover the banknote counter 17 with many operations that may be fraudulent, such as cancellation And output a report. Furthermore, the banknote counter management device 77 can simultaneously upgrade and manage the version of each banknote counter 17 program.

As the bill counting system, as shown in the second embodiment of FIG. 9, the terminal 22 is omitted from the configuration of the bill counting system shown in FIG. Transaction information may be collected and managed from the machine 17, and sales information may be transmitted from the bill counter management device 77 to the sales management device 78. In this case, since a plurality of terminals 22 are not required, the system introduction cost can be reduced, and the operation and confirmation of the terminals 22 at each table 11 can be eliminated.

If this bill counter management device 77 acquires the sales information of each bill counter 17 and transmits the acquired sales information to the sales management device 78 in real time, the sales information of each bill counter 17 is managed. The sales management device 78 can manage the sales information in real time without the need for the dedicated terminal 22 to be used.

Alternatively, if this bill counter management device 77 acquires and stores the sales information of each bill counter 17 and stores the sales information in a batch after storing for a predetermined time, real time Compared with the case where the processing is carried out, the processing load on the bill counter management device 77 and the sales management device 78 and the load on the communication line can be suppressed.

Further, as the bill counting system, as shown in the third embodiment of FIG. 10, the bill counter management device 77 may be omitted from the configuration of the bill counting system shown in FIG. In this case, although the detailed management of the operating status of each bill counter 17 cannot be performed, the system introduction cost can be reduced.

Moreover, as a banknote counting system, as shown in 4th Embodiment of FIG. 11, the terminal 22 and the banknote counter management apparatus 77 are abbreviate | omitted from the structure of the banknote counting system shown in FIG. Information may be transmitted from the machine 17 to the sales management device 78. In this case, although detailed management of the operating status of each bill counter 17 is not possible, the bill introduction device management device 77 and the plurality of terminals 22 are not required, so the system introduction cost can be reduced and the terminals at each table 11 can be reduced. Operation and confirmation of the machine 22 can be made unnecessary.

In addition, the banknote counter 17 and banknote counting system of this example can be used in casinos that allow the use of multiple currencies in addition to Macau casinos that distribute two types of currencies, Macau Pataca and Hong Kong Dollar. It is.

The present invention is used not only for a bill counter at a table for playing a table game but also for a bill counter for exchanging bills and chips at a place other than the table.

Claims (11)

A receiving unit that accepts banknotes in the currency to be traded;
Conveying means for conveying the banknotes received in the receiving unit one by one;
An identification unit that can identify banknotes of a plurality of types of currency, and that identifies banknotes conveyed by the conveying means;
A confirmation means for instructing confirmation of one transaction;
A display for displaying transaction information;
A control unit for confirming transaction information based on an instruction from the confirmation unit, and for causing the display unit to display information related to an identification result for the currency banknote identified by the identification unit. Bill counter. A stacker unit that accepts banknotes that are identified as normal in the currency to be traded in the identification unit;
A banknote identified as a type other than the currency to be traded in the identification section and a rejection section that accepts a banknote that was not identified as normal in the identification section;
The control unit causes the stacker unit to transport banknotes that are identified as normal in the currency to be traded by the identifying unit, and the banknotes identified as a type other than the currency to be transacted by the identifying unit, and the The banknote counter according to claim 1, wherein banknotes that have not been identified as normal by the identification unit are conveyed to the reject unit. A currency selection means for selecting the type of currency to be traded among a plurality of types of currencies,
The banknote counter according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the identification unit to identify a banknote based on the type of currency selected by the currency selection unit. The control unit uses any one of a plurality of types of currency as a priority type currency and the remaining type as a non-priority type currency, and the non-priority type is selected by the currency selection means and traded. The banknote counter according to claim 3, wherein the banknote counter is returned from the non-priority type to the priority type selection state later. The said control part displays the kind of currency, when displaying the information regarding the identification result about the banknote of the currency identified by the said identification part on the said display part. The Claim 1 thru | or 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Banknote counter. The bill counter according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising transmission means for transmitting the transaction information confirmed by the confirmation means to the outside. Banknote counter according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A bill counting system comprising: a transaction information management device that communicates with the bill counter and manages transaction information of the bill counter. Banknote counter according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A banknote counting system comprising: a banknote counter management device that communicates with the banknote counter and manages the operating status of the banknote counter. It has a sales management device that manages sales information,
The banknote counter system according to claim 8, wherein the banknote counter management device acquires sales information of the banknote counter and transmits the acquired sales information to the sales management device in real time. It has a sales management device that manages sales information,
The bill counting system according to claim 8, wherein the bill counter management device acquires and accumulates sales information of the bill counter, and transmits the sales information to the sales management device after accumulating for a predetermined time. . Banknote counter according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A transaction information management device that communicates with the bill counter and manages the transaction information of the bill counter;
A bill counting system comprising: a bill counter management device that communicates with the bill counter and manages the operating status of the bill counter.

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