WO2010106647A1 - Bill processing device and bill processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a bill processing device in which the categories of authenticity etc. of bills to be stacked in the same stacking part (12) can easily be distinguished. A bill processing device (1) is provided with a direction reversal part (28) which reverses bills carried by a carrying part (10). A storage part (32) contains preset correspondence relations between the categories of the bills and the directions of the bills to be stacked in the stacking part (12). On the basis of the category and direction of a bill identified by an identification part (13) and the correspondence relations, which are stored in the storage part (32), between the categories of the bills and the directions of the bills to be stacked in the stacking part (12), when the category and direction of the bill identified by the identification part (13) does not match with the correspondence relations, a control part (30) performs control so as to change the direction of the bill by the reversal part (28) to match the direction of each bill to be stacked in the stacking part (12) with the correspondence relation stored in the storage part (32).

Description

Banknote processing apparatus and banknote processing method

The present invention relates to a banknote processing apparatus and a banknote processing method for stacking a plurality of banknotes and stacking them in a stacking unit.

Conventionally, various banknote handling apparatuses for depositing banknotes are known. When a banknote depositing process is performed by the banknote processing apparatus, a banknote thrown into the interior from the outside of the housing is identified by the identification unit. The banknotes are classified into a plurality of categories according to authenticity or damage. Specifically, it is recognized as a genuine note that is determined to be a genuine note, a false note that is determined to be a fake bill, a genuine or indeterminate note that is a suspicious note that cannot be determined to be a genuine or fake note, and a bill. Categorization based on authenticity such as rejected tickets that are not accepted, or those that are determined to be appropriate for payment to customers with genuine certificates, or those that are determined to be unfit for payment due to damage even if genuine being classified. For each category, the banknotes deposited in the banknote handling apparatus are sorted.

More specifically, the banknote processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-350818 (JP 2006-350818A) sorts banknotes according to categories such as genuine bills and non-performing bills, and collects a plurality of stacks corresponding to each category. Banknotes are accumulated in the warehouse by category. In such a banknote handling apparatus, banknotes can be sorted into categories without manual sorting operations by an operator, but the stacker is required for at least the number of banknote categories, and the apparatus becomes large. There is.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-310594 (JP 2004-310594A) stores, in a single storage unit (capture bin), a banknote that has been determined to be a fake ticket or a genuine / indeterminate ticket as a result of identifying a banknote. A banknote deposit machine is disclosed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-310594 also describes a mode in which counterfeit and genuine / indeterminate tickets are sorted and stored in a plurality of storage units. However, in order to manually sort counterfeit tickets and authenticity uncertain tickets stored together in one storage unit, it is necessary to check the order stored in the storage unit and transaction information. When the number of banknotes stored in the storage unit increases, there is a problem that this verification takes time. In addition, when automatically sorting and storing counterfeit and genuine / indeterminate tickets in multiple storage units, it is possible to easily sort counterfeit and authentic / indeterminate tickets. There is a problem that the number of sections required for at least the number of categories of banknotes increases the size of the apparatus or increases the installation cost of the storage section.

Thus, in the conventional banknote processing apparatus, after identifying the banknote, the banknote is classified into a plurality of storage units for each category (reject banknote, counterfeit note, authenticity uncertain ticket, genuine note, correct note, non-conformity note). When trying to store, the storage part is required for at least the number of categories of banknotes, and there is a problem that the apparatus becomes large. On the other hand, in the conventional banknote handling apparatus, after identifying banknotes, when banknotes of a plurality of categories (for example, counterfeit and true / false uncertain tickets) are stored in one storage unit, banknotes are classified for each category. It is necessary to compare the order stored in the storage unit with the transaction information when manually performing the transaction. In this case, when the number of banknotes stored in the storage unit increases, there is a problem that this verification takes time.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and even if a plurality of categories of banknotes (for example, counterfeit and true / false uncertain tickets) are stacked in one stacking unit, the operator can stack them. An object of the present invention is to provide a banknote processing apparatus and a banknote processing method capable of easily distinguishing the categories of banknotes accumulated in a section.

The banknote handling apparatus of the present invention is provided in a feeding unit that feeds out banknotes one by one, a transport unit that transports banknotes fed out by the feeding unit one by one, and is transported by the transport unit. An identification unit for identifying at least a category and a direction of banknotes, a direction reversing unit that is disposed in the transport unit and reverses the direction of banknotes transported by the transport unit, and is connected to the transport unit. A stacking unit that stacks and stacks the banknotes sent from the control unit, a control unit that controls the transport unit and the direction reversing unit, a preset category of banknotes, and a direction of banknotes stacked on the stacking unit. A storage unit that stores a correspondence relationship between the banknote category and orientation of the banknote identified by the identification unit, and a banknote category stored in the storage unit and the stacking unit. The If the category and direction of the banknote identified by the identification unit does not match the corresponding relationship based on the correspondence relationship between the banknote direction and the banknote direction, the stacking unit changes the direction of the banknote by the direction reversing unit. Control is performed so that the direction of each banknote accumulated in the bank is matched with the correspondence stored in the storage unit. Here, the phrase “selectively control the direction of the identified banknote by the direction reversing unit” is two cases when the direction of the banknote is changed by the direction reversing unit and when the direction of the banknote is not changed. It means that there is. Moreover, “the direction of the banknote” means the front, back, top and bottom of the banknote.

According to such a banknote processing apparatus, based on the correspondence relationship between the category and orientation of the banknotes identified by the identification unit, and the category of banknotes stored in the storage unit and the direction of banknotes accumulated in the stacking unit. Since the control is performed to match the direction of each banknote stacked in the stacking unit with a preset correspondence, the operator checks each banknote by stacking the banknotes. Categories can be easily distinguished. Thus, since a category can be distinguished by the direction of banknotes, a plurality of categories of banknotes can be stacked in one stacking unit in a state where the categories can be distinguished. Thereby, for example, the apparatus can be downsized as compared with the case where a plurality of stacking units are provided for each category of banknotes.

In addition, the category includes at least two of rejected banknotes, counterfeit bills, authenticity / indefinite bills, genuine bills, correct bills, and damaged bills.

In the banknote processing apparatus of the present invention, the banknote processing apparatus further includes a temporary storage unit that is connected to the transport unit and temporarily stores banknotes, and the control unit temporarily stores the banknotes identified by the identification unit in the temporary storage unit. The banknote is temporarily held by the temporary storage section after selectively changing the direction of the banknote by the direction reversing section, or selectively changing the direction of the banknote by the direction reversing section. It is preferable to control the banknotes to be conveyed to the stacking unit.

In the banknote handling apparatus of the present invention, the direction reversing unit has a front / back reversing mechanism for reversing the front and back of the banknote, and in the storage unit, each category of the banknote is one of the two directions of the front or back of the banknote. It is preferable to be associated with one of the orientations.

Alternatively, the direction reversing unit has a vertical reversing mechanism for reversing the top and bottom of the banknote, and in the storage unit, each category of the banknote is associated with one of two upward and downward directions of the banknote. It may be.

Alternatively, the direction reversing unit has a front / back reversing mechanism for reversing the front and back of the banknotes and a vertical reversing mechanism for reversing the top / bottom of the banknotes. , Downward and front, and downward and back may be associated with any one of the four directions.

In the banknote handling apparatus of the present invention, in the storage unit, the correspondence relationship between the banknote category and the banknote orientation is stored such that the counterfeit note is in the first direction and the authenticity uncertain ticket is in the second direction. When the banknote identified by the identification unit is a counterfeit, the control unit is in a first direction when the banknote is accumulated in the accumulation unit, and is identified by the identification unit. If the banknote is a genuine / indeterminate bill, the direction reversing section is selectively used for the banknote identified by the identifying section so that the banknote is in the second direction when the banknote is stacked on the stacking section. It is preferable to perform control to change the direction of the bill.

Or in the said memory | storage part, the correspondence between the category of a banknote and the direction of a banknote is memorize | stored so that a genuine note may become a 1st direction, and a counterfeit ticket and a genuine / false indeterminate ticket may become a 2nd direction, When the banknote identified by the identification unit is a genuine note, the control unit is in a first direction when the banknote is accumulated in the accumulation unit, and the banknote identified by the identification unit is false. In the case of a ticket or a genuine / indeterminate ticket, the direction reversing unit selectively selects the banknote identified by the identifying unit so that the banknote is in the second direction when the banknote is stacked on the stacking unit. Control to change the direction of the banknote may be performed.

The banknote processing method of the present invention includes a step of presetting a correspondence relationship between a category of banknotes and a direction of banknotes, a step of feeding banknotes one by one, a step of conveying the fed banknotes one by one, The step of identifying at least the category and orientation of the bill to be conveyed, and the bill of which the category and orientation are identified, the orientation of the bill corresponds to the category of the bill according to a preset correspondence relationship. If it matches the orientation, it is sent as it is to the stacking unit without changing the orientation of the banknote, and the orientation of the banknote does not match the orientation of the banknote corresponding to the category of the banknote according to the preset correspondence relationship. Changing the direction of the banknotes to match the direction of the banknotes corresponding to the category of the banknotes according to a preset correspondence relationship, and sending to the stacking unit, In serial stacking unit, characterized in that and a step of integrating overlapping bills sent to the stacking unit.

According to such a banknote processing method, based on the correspondence between the category and orientation of the identified banknote, and the preset banknote category and the direction of the banknote accumulated in the stacking unit, Since the direction of each banknote to be accumulated matches the preset correspondence, the operator can easily determine the category of each banknote accumulated in the stacking unit by checking the direction of the banknote. Can be distinguished. Thus, since a category can be distinguished by the direction of banknotes, a plurality of categories of banknotes can be stacked in one stacking unit in a state where the categories can be distinguished. Thereby, for example, the apparatus can be downsized as compared with the case where a plurality of stacking units are provided for each category of banknotes.

It is a figure explaining the direction of a banknote, and its distinction. It is a figure which illustrates notionally the change method of the direction of a banknote in this invention. It is a block diagram of the direction inversion part used for the change method of the direction of a banknote as shown to FIG. 1B. It is a figure explaining the motion of the banknote in the direction inversion part shown to FIG. 1C. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the banknote processing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention. It is a control block diagram of the banknote processing apparatus shown to FIG. 2A. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the schematic structure of the direction inversion part with which the front and back inversion mechanism and the up-down inversion mechanism were combined. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the front-back inversion part of another structure. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a front / back reversing mechanism in the front / back reversing section shown in FIG. 4. It is a top view of the front-and-back inversion mechanism in the front-and-back inversion part shown in FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the front-back inversion part of another structure. It is a block diagram which shows the other structure of the banknote processing apparatus in this invention.

The banknote handling apparatus according to the present invention stacks banknotes thrown in from the outside of the casing into one stacking unit. More specifically, when a banknote depositing process is performed by a banknote processing apparatus according to the present invention in a financial institution or the like, a banknote thrown into the interior from the outside of the housing is identified by the identification unit. The banknotes are classified into a plurality of categories according to authenticity or damage. Specifically, it is recognized as a genuine note that is determined to be a genuine note, a false note that is determined to be a fake bill, a genuine or indeterminate note that is a suspicious note that cannot be determined to be a genuine or fake note, and a bill. Categorization based on authenticity such as rejected tickets that are not accepted, or those that are determined to be appropriate for payment to customers with genuine certificates, or those that are determined to be unfit for payment due to damage even if genuine being classified. And, when it is identified that it is any one of a fake ticket other than a genuine note, a genuine / indeterminate ticket, or a reject ticket at the time of deposit processing, it will be returned to the customer as being unable to deposit the bill processing device. ing.

On the other hand, there are countries and regions that do not return bills that are identified as fake or genuine / indeterminate bills to customers. For example, in a country that uses the euro (EURO) as a currency, counterfeits are to be collected under the direction of the European Central Bank (ECB). For this reason, financial institutions collect banknotes identified as genuine or uncertain tickets that may be counterfeit or counterfeit and send them to the European Central Bank. The European Central Bank will investigate whether these banknotes are counterfeit. Thus, when the banknote identified as a fake ticket or a genuine / indefinite ticket is not returned to the customer, it may be necessary to sort the counterfeit ticket and the genuine / indeterminate ticket.

In the present invention, when it is necessary to distinguish a plurality of categories as described above, banknotes of a plurality of categories are simultaneously accumulated in one accumulation unit in a state where the categories can be distinguished. Specifically, a banknote processing apparatus is provided that determines the correspondence between the category and the direction of the banknotes accumulated in the stacking unit, and stacks the banknotes according to this correspondence to distinguish the category from the direction of the banknotes. To do. In this banknote processing apparatus, for example, if a front-facing banknote is set as a fake ticket, and a reverse-side banknote is set as a genuine uncertain ticket, if the banknote accumulated in the stacking unit is front-facing, it is a fake ticket; Can be distinguished from indeterminate tickets. Here, the stacking unit refers to a payout unit for paying out banknotes from the banknote processing device, a storage unit for stacking and storing banknotes inside the banknote processing device, and the like.

Here, the direction of the banknote used for category distinction and the method for changing the direction of the banknote will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1D. FIG. 1A is a diagram for explaining a bill direction and its distinction. FIG. 1B is a diagram conceptually illustrating a method for changing the direction of a bill. FIG. 1C is a configuration diagram of the direction inversion unit. FIG. 1D is a diagram for explaining the movement of banknotes in the direction reversing unit.

There are four directions for banknotes. When categories are associated with these four directions, a maximum of four categories can be distinguished. The operator of the banknote handling apparatus can distinguish the categories of banknotes by checking the direction of the stacked banknotes.

As shown in FIG. 1A (a), A, B, C, and D directions are defined as reference directions. When the banknotes in the stacking unit are viewed from a predetermined direction, if the banknotes are short and long in the horizontal direction, the surface is visible and the top and bottom of the characters are in the correct direction A, and the surface is visible and the characters are upside down. The direction is the B direction, the direction in which the back side is visible and the character is upside down is the C direction, and the back side is visible and the top and bottom of the character is the correct direction is the D direction. Similarly, if the banknote is a short direction that is long in the vertical direction, the A, B, C, and D directions of the short direction are rotated by 90 degrees counterclockwise, and the directions are A, B, C, and D directions, respectively. That is, in the case of the longitudinal direction, when the banknote is viewed from the right direction, it looks the same as the short direction. In the following, the case of the short direction will be described, but in the case of the long direction, it is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise. The rotation direction may be the reverse direction (clockwise).

As mentioned above, up to four categories can be distinguished depending on the bill direction, but there are cases where there are two categories. In this case, the four reference directions can be combined into two directions by the front and back sides and up and down. An operator of the banknote handling apparatus can distinguish between two categories of banknotes by confirming the front and back direction and the vertical direction of the stacked banknotes.

As shown in (b) and (c) of FIG. 1A, the four reference directions can be classified into front and back directions and up and down directions. In the front and back direction, the front direction is the A direction and the B direction where the surface of the banknote is seen, and the back direction is the C direction and the D direction where the back side of the banknote is seen. In the up and down direction, the upper direction is the A direction and D direction where the characters are correctly up and down, and the lower direction is the B direction and C direction where the characters are upside down.

Also, there is a left-right direction as another classification. This focuses on the fact that the left and right sides of the banknotes do not change. In the left-right direction, the left direction is the surface and the upper and lower sides of the character are in the correct direction, the A direction and the A direction are reversed by rotation about the long side direction, and the right direction is the surface. The B direction, which is the direction in which the characters are reversed, and the B direction are defined as the D direction reversed by rotation about the long side direction. However, the front and back direction and the vertical direction are easier to understand than the left and right direction to distinguish the categories.

Here, when the A, B, C, and D directions are arranged according to the front and back directions and the up and down directions, the A direction is the surface and the upper direction, the B direction is the front and the lower direction, the C direction is the back and the lower direction, and the D direction is the back surface and the upper direction. It is upward.

If the direction of the banknotes to be stacked and the category do not match the predetermined correspondence, it is necessary to change the direction of the banknotes with the direction reversal mechanism in order to match them. As shown in FIG. 1B, there are three types of movements of banknotes when the direction of the banknotes is changed by the direction reversal mechanism. The switchback type sends out bills that have been transported in the reverse direction. As a result, the front and back direction and the vertical direction of the banknote are reversed. In the roll type, the conveyed banknote is reversed and sent out with rotation about the transport direction. As a result, the front and back direction of the banknote is reversed, and the vertical direction is not changed. In the turn type, the banknotes that have been conveyed are reversed and sent out with rotation about the direction perpendicular to the banknote surface. As a result, the up and down direction of the banknote is reversed, and the front and back directions are not changed.

As an example of the direction reversing mechanism, the switchback type is Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-83262 (JP 2004-83262A), the roll type is Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-338093 (JP 2002-338093A), and the turn type is Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-81929. (JP 9-81929A). When the bill processing speed is high, a switchback type or a roll type is suitable.

If there are two distinct categories, only one direction reversal mechanism is required. When distinguishing categories in the front and back direction, switchback type and roll type can be used. When distinguishing categories in the vertical direction, switchback type and turn type can be used. On the other hand, when the number of categories to be distinguished is three or more, two different direction inversion mechanisms are combined. By selectively using these two direction inversion mechanisms, the conveyed banknote can be sent out in any one of the four directions of A, B, C, and D directions.

Referring to FIG. 1C, a configuration for sending out the bill direction in a target direction will be described. As shown in FIG. 1C, the banknote orientation changing system 100 (direction reversing unit) is provided with two direction reversing mechanisms 103 and 106. Here, the direction inversion mechanism 103 is of a switchback type, and the direction inversion mechanism 106 is of a roll type. In addition, the banknote orientation changing system 100 is provided with an identification unit 101, which identifies the category and direction (front and back, top and bottom) of the banknote.

Further, a branching section 102 and a merging section 104 are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the direction reversing mechanism 103, respectively. The branching section 102 transfers the banknotes sent from the upstream side to the direction reversing mechanism 103 or the conveyance path 109. Distribute. The banknotes whose direction has been changed by the direction reversing mechanism 103 and the banknotes whose direction has not been changed from the transport path 109 are merged at the junction 104.

Similarly, a branching unit 105 and a merging unit 107 are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the direction reversing mechanism 106, respectively. The branching unit 105 transfers the banknotes sent from the upstream side to the direction reversing mechanism 106 or the conveyance path 110. Sort out. The banknotes whose direction has been changed by the direction reversing mechanism 106 and the banknotes whose direction has not been changed from the transport path 110 are merged at the junction unit 107.

The banknote orientation changing system 100 is provided with a control unit 108, which controls the branching unit 102 and the branching unit 105 based on the category and orientation of the banknote identified by the identifying unit 101. It is like that. That is, the branching unit 102 sorts the banknote sent from the identification unit 101 to the direction reversing mechanism 103 or the transport path 109 in accordance with a command sent from the control unit 108. Further, the branching unit 105 sorts the banknotes sent from the merging unit 104 to the direction reversing mechanism 106 or the conveyance path 110 in accordance with a command sent from the control unit 108.

1D is used to explain the movement of banknotes in the direction reversing part shown in FIG. 1C. FIG. 1D shows an operation when the direction of the banknote identified by the identification unit 101 is not changed at all. In this case, the banknotes are sent to the stacking unit through the transport path 109 and the transport path 110 in order not to reverse the front and back and the top and bottom of the banknotes. FIG. 1D shows an operation when only the upper and lower sides of the banknote identified by the identification unit 101 are reversed. In this case, the banknote is reversed upside down and upside down by the switchback type direction reversing mechanism 103, and then turned upside down by the roll type direction reversing mechanism 106. As a result, only the top and bottom are reversed. The bill is sent to the stacking unit.

(C) of FIG. 1D shows the operation when only the front and back of the banknote identified by the identification unit 101 is reversed. In this case, the banknote first passes through the conveyance path 109, and then is turned upside down by a roll-type direction reversing mechanism 106, and the banknote is sent to the stacking unit with only the front and back turned upside down. (D) of FIG. 1D shows the operation in the case of reversing both the top and bottom and the top and bottom of the banknote identified by the identifying unit 101. In this case, the banknote is first turned upside down and upside down by the switchback type direction reversing mechanism 103, then passes through the conveyance path 110, and the banknote is placed in the stacking unit in a state where both the top and bottom and top and bottom are reversed. Sent.

In addition, as long as it is a mechanism which can change the conveyed banknote into four directions, it may not be what combined two different direction inversion mechanisms of the above types. Further, if there are two categories to be distinguished, the configuration from the branching unit 105 to the junction unit 107 is unnecessary.

Based on the above matters, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 2A and 2B are views showing the banknote handling apparatus according to the present embodiment. Among these, FIG. 2A is a block diagram which shows the structure of the banknote processing apparatus in this Embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a control block diagram of the banknote processing apparatus shown to FIG. 2A.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the banknote handling apparatus 1 includes an upper unit 2 and a lower unit 3. The upper unit 2 includes a housing 2a, and an upper transport unit 10 for transporting banknotes is provided inside the housing 2a. The upper conveying unit 10 is provided with a feeding unit 11 at one end and a dispensing unit 12 at the other end. In addition, the feeding unit 11 is provided with a loading unit (not shown) capable of loading banknotes. The feeding unit 11 feeds one or more banknotes inserted into the feeding unit one by one into the housing 2a. In the upper conveyance unit 10 between the feeding unit 11 and the payout unit 12, an identification unit 13, a serial number reading unit 14, and a temporary storage unit 15 are provided in order from the upstream side.

Further, the lower unit 3 includes a housing 3a, and lower transport sections 20 and 21 for transporting banknotes are provided inside the housing 3a. The lower transport units 20 and 21 are each connected to the upper transport unit 10. A plurality of storage units 22a to 22h are connected to the lower transport unit 20 in parallel. Further, the lower transport unit 21 is connected to a collection cassette 23 for sending banknotes to be collected and a capture bin 24 for storing banknotes in a stacked state.

Hereinafter, each component of the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3 of the banknote handling apparatus 1 will be described in detail.

As described above, the feeding unit 11 is provided with a loading unit (not shown) into which banknotes can be inserted. The feeding unit 11 is a plurality of banknotes set in a bundled state on the feeding unit during the depositing process. Are fed out one by one to the upper transport unit 10. The identification unit 13 determines the type of banknote being conveyed by the upper conveyance unit 10, the category (reject banknote, counterfeit note, authenticity uncertain ticket, true note, correct note, non-conformity note), and the orientation of the banknote such as the front and back sides. Identification is performed.

The serial number reading unit 14 is provided to read the serial number of the banknote being conveyed by the upper conveyance unit 10. The temporary storage unit 15 is configured to temporarily store banknotes that have passed through the serial number reading unit 14 in order, and to send the temporarily stored banknotes to the upper transport unit 10. The payout unit 12 is for paying out the banknotes sent from the lower unit 3 at the time of withdrawal, or for returning the banknotes identified as reject banknotes, counterfeits, etc. to the operator by the identification unit 13. Is provided.

Here, the upper conveyance part 10 conveys the banknote thrown into the supply part 11 to the identification part 13, and conveys the banknote judged to be a genuine note to the lower unit 3 through the serial number reading part 14 and the temporary storage part 15. It is like that. Moreover, the upper conveyance part 10 is comprised so that the banknote sent out from the lower unit 3 at the time of the payment processing of a banknote, or the banknote which cannot be discriminate | determined in the identification part 13 will be sent to the payment part 12.

Further, the upper transport unit 10 is provided with branch members 16 to 19 for determining the transport route of the banknotes transported by the upper transport unit 10. Each of the branch members 16 to 19 is provided at a branch point of the transport path in the upper transport unit 10, and rotates around the shafts 16a to 19a, respectively. Then, the direction of each branch member 16-19 is controlled by the control unit 30 to be described later, so that these branch members 16-19 switch to which transport path the banknotes transported to the branch point are sent. It has become.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2A, the upper conveyance unit 10 between the temporary storage unit 15 and the payout unit 12 has a branching path branched downward, and this branching path is connected to the lower conveyance unit 20 of the lower unit 3. Although connected, the branching member 18 provided at this branching location switches whether or not the bills fed from the temporary storage unit 15 to the upper transport unit 10 are sent to the lower transport unit 20 of the lower unit 3. It is like that.

The storage units 22 a to 22 h are configured to store banknotes in the denominations sent from the lower transport unit 20 and to feed the stored banknotes to the lower transport unit 20. More specifically, each of the storage portions 22a to 22h has a drum that can rotate in both forward and reverse directions, and a pair of tapes are wound around each drum. The banknotes sent from the lower transport unit 20 to the storage units 22a to 22h are sequentially wound up by a drum one by one while being sandwiched between the pair of tapes. Each of the storage portions 22a to 22h is configured as described above, which is composed of a drum and a pair of tapes, and a banknote is wound between the pair of tapes in a state where the bill is sandwiched between the pair of tapes. It is not limited to, It can also be set as the thing of another structure. For example, the storage units 22a to 22h may be of a stacker type (stacked type).

The lower transport unit 20 receives the banknote identified by the identifying unit 13 as a genuine note from the upper transport unit 10 of the upper unit 2 and transports the banknote to the storage units 22a to 22h corresponding to the denomination. It has become. Further, the lower transport unit 20 transports banknotes fed out from the storage units 22a to 22h and delivers them to the upper transport unit 10 of the upper unit 2.

The lower transport unit 21 receives a banknote identified as a damaged bill by the identification unit 13 or a banknote not stored in the storage units 22a to 22h from the upper transport unit 10 of the upper unit 2, and receives the banknote in the collection cassette 23 or the capture bin 24. It is designed to be transported. Specifically, for example, the banknotes are sent to the collection cassette 23 when the storage sections 22a to 22h of the identified banknotes are full or when the storage sections 22a to 22h are emptied. It has become.

The branching member 18, the lower transport unit 20, and the storage units 22a to 22h constitute a front / back reversing mechanism 28 for selectively reversing the front and back of a bill. More specifically, when the banknotes fed from the temporary storage unit 15 to the upper transport unit 10 are not sent to the lower transport unit 20 of the lower unit 3 by the branch members 18 and 19, the front and back of the banknotes are reversed. There is no. On the other hand, the banknotes fed from the temporary storage unit 15 to the upper transport unit 10 are sent to the lower transport unit 20 of the lower unit 3 by the branch member 18 and stored in any of the storage units 22a to 22h. When the paper is fed from the storage units 22a to 22h to the lower transport unit 20 and delivered from the lower transport unit 20 to the upper transport unit 10, the banknotes are compared with the case of being fed from the temporary storage unit 15 to the upper transport unit 10. Will be reversed. That is, the front / back reversing mechanism 28 is a switchback type (see FIG. 1B (a)) direction reversing mechanism. More specifically, when the banknote is face up when it is fed from the temporary storage unit 15 to the upper transport unit 10, the banknote is sent to the lower transport unit 20 of the lower unit 3 by the branching member 18. After being stored in the storage units 22a to 22h, when the bills are fed from the storage units 22a to 22h to the lower transport unit 20 and delivered from the lower transport unit 20 to the upper transport unit 10, the banknotes face down. The front and back will be reversed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the banknote handling apparatus 1 is provided with a control unit 30. The control unit 30 is connected to the upper transport unit 10, the feeding unit 11, the identification unit 13, the serial number reading unit 14, the temporary storage unit 15, and the branching members 16 to 19 of the upper unit 2, and the lower unit 3 are connected to the lower transport unit 20, the lower transport unit 21, and the storage units 22a to 22h, respectively. The control unit 30 is configured to receive the identification information of the banknote identified by the identification unit 13 and the serial number information of the banknote read by the serial number reading unit 14. Further, the control unit 30 controls the upper transport unit 10, the feeding unit 11, the temporary storage unit 15, the branch members 16 to 19, the lower transport unit 20, the lower transport unit 21, and the storage units 22a to 22h. It has become.

Further, a storage unit 32 is connected to the control unit 30. The storage unit 32 stores a correspondence relationship between a preset category of banknotes and the front and back directions of the banknotes accumulated in the payout unit 12. More specifically, the storage unit 32 stores, for example, correspondences such that counterfeit bills face up and authenticity uncertain bills face down for banknotes accumulated in the payout unit 12. .

Next, the operation of the banknote handling apparatus 1 as described above will be described. The operation of the banknote handling apparatus 1 shown below is performed by the control unit 30 controlling each component of the banknote handling apparatus 1.

First, a plurality of banknotes in a bundled state are inserted into the input unit of the upper unit 2 of the banknote processing apparatus 1 by the operator. The banknotes thrown into the insertion unit are fed out to the upper transport unit 10 one by one by the feeding unit 11. The banknotes fed out to the upper transport unit 10 are identified by the identifying unit 13 such as denomination, category, and banknote orientation. The banknote identification information identified by the identification unit 13 is sent to the control unit 30.

Here, when the banknote identified by the identification unit 13 is a reject banknote, the banknote is sent to the dispensing unit 12 by the upper transport unit 10 without being sent to the temporary storage unit 15 by the branching member 16. The reject banknote sent to the payout unit 12 is taken out by the operator before a command for confirming the deposit process is sent to the control unit 30.

In addition, when the banknote identified by the identification unit 13 is a genuine note or a damaged note, the banknote is sent to the serial number reading unit 14 by the branch member 16, and the serial number of the banknote is read by the serial number reading unit 14. It is done. Thereafter, the banknote is sent to the temporary storage unit 15 and temporarily stored.

In addition, even when the banknote identified by the identification unit 13 is a fake ticket or a true / false uncertain ticket, the banknote is sent to the serial number reading unit 14 by the branch member 16, and the serial number of the banknote is the serial number reading unit. 14 to read. Thereafter, the banknote is sent to the temporary storage unit 15 and temporarily stored.

After the banknotes are temporarily held in the temporary storage unit 15, when a command to confirm the deposit process is sent to the control unit 30, the banknotes temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 15 are transferred one by one to the upper transport unit. 10 is paid out. Here, when the banknote paid out from the temporary storage unit 15 is a genuine bill, the banknote is sent from the upper transport unit 10 to the lower transport unit 20 by the branching member 18 and denominated in each storage unit 22a to 22h. It is stored in. In addition, when the banknotes fed out are damaged or the storage units 22a to 22h corresponding to the denominations of the banknotes are full, they are transferred from the upper transport unit 10 to the collection cassette 23 via the lower transport unit 21. Bills will be sent.

On the other hand, when the banknote paid out from the temporary storage unit 15 is a fake ticket or a true / false uncertain ticket, the banknote is sent to the dispensing unit 12. Here, the control unit 30 determines the category of the banknote identified by the identification unit 13 (that is, whether it is a fake ticket or a genuine / indeterminate ticket), and the category of the banknote stored in the storage unit 32 and the banknote. Based on the correspondence relationship between the orientations, the front and back reversing mechanism 28 for the banknotes fed out from the temporary storage unit 15 so that the direction of each banknote accumulated in the payout unit 12 corresponds to the category of each banknote. By selectively turning the front and back. More specifically, among the banknotes accumulated in the payout unit 12, the counterfeit note is face up and the authenticity uncertain ticket is face down and the correspondence is stored in the storage unit 32. The front and back reversing mechanism 28 selectively inverts the front and back of the counterfeit or unauthentic ticket that has been paid out from the temporary storage unit 15 so that the banknotes to be matched match this correspondence.

Here, as described above, the front / back reversing mechanism 28 includes the branching member 18, the lower transport unit 20, and the storage units 22a to 22h. When the front and back reversing mechanism 28 reverses the front and back of the banknotes, the banknotes fed from the temporary storage unit 15 to the upper transport unit 10 are sent to the lower transport unit 20 of the lower unit 3 by the branching member 18, After being stored in any of the storage units 22a to 22h, the stored storage units 22a to 22h are fed out to the lower transfer unit 20 and transferred from the lower transfer unit 20 to the upper transfer unit 10.

More specifically, regarding the banknotes fed out from the temporary storage unit 15, when the direction of the banknotes coincides with the direction of the banknotes corresponding to the category of the banknotes according to a preset correspondence relationship, Without changing the direction (corresponding to the branching section 102 → conveying path 109 → joining section 104), it is sent to the dispensing section 12 as it is. On the other hand, when the direction of the banknotes drawn out from the temporary storage unit 15 does not match the direction of the banknotes corresponding to the category of the banknotes according to the preset correspondence relationship, the category of the banknotes according to the preset correspondence relationship. The banknote is turned upside down by the front / back reversing mechanism 28 (corresponding to the branching section 102 → the direction reversing mechanism 103 → the merging section 104) so as to match the direction of the banknote corresponding to the banknote. Send to.

After all the banknotes temporarily held in the temporary storage unit 15 are sent to the storage units 22a to 22h or the payout unit 12, the operator takes out the bundle of banknotes in the payout unit 12 from the payout unit 12. . Here, the bundle of banknotes taken out by the operator consists of a counterfeit ticket and a genuine / indeterminate ticket, but the counterfeit ticket is face up and the authenticity / indeterminate ticket is face down. Sorting of tickets and authenticity uncertain tickets can be performed easily and in a short time.

As described above, according to the banknote handling apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the front / back reversing mechanism 28 for reversing the front and back of the banknotes conveyed by the upper conveyance unit 10 is provided. Correspondence between the set category of banknotes and the direction of banknotes accumulated in the stacking unit (specifically, the payout unit 12 etc.) (that is, in the banknotes stacked in the stacking unit) , Correspondence such that the authenticity uncertain ticket is face down is stored. And based on the correspondence between the category and direction of the banknote identified by the identification unit 13 by the control unit 30, and the direction of the banknote accumulated in the stacking unit and the category of the banknote stored in the storage unit 32. When the category and direction of the banknote identified by the identification unit 13 do not match the above-described correspondence, the direction of the banknote is changed by the front / back reversing mechanism 28, and the direction of each banknote accumulated in the accumulation unit is stored in the storage unit 32. The control is performed so as to match the correspondence relationship stored in. For this reason, by confirming the direction of the banknote, the operator can easily distinguish the categories of the banknotes stacked in the stacking unit. As described above, since the categories can be distinguished by the direction of the bills, the bills of a plurality of categories (specifically, two categories of counterfeit bills and genuine / indeterminate bills) can be distinguished in one stacking unit in a state where the categories can be distinguished. Can be integrated. Thereby, for example, the apparatus can be downsized as compared with the case where a plurality of stacking units are provided for each category of banknotes.

More specifically, when the banknote identified by the identification unit 13 is a counterfeit, the control unit 30 is turned to face up when the banknote is accumulated in the accumulation unit, and the banknote identified by the identification unit 13 is In the case of a genuine / indeterminate bill, the front and back reversing mechanism 28 selectively reverses the front and back of the banknotes with respect to the banknotes identified by the identification unit 13 so that the banknotes face down when they are stacked on the stacking unit. It is supposed to let you. In addition, when the banknote identified by the identification part 13 is not a fake ticket or a true / false indefinite ticket, control is performed by the control part 30 so that this banknote may not be sent to a stacking part (payout part 12).

Moreover, the temporary storage part 15 for temporarily hold | maintaining a banknote is provided in the inside of the housing | casing 2a of the upper unit 2, and the control part 30 temporarily stores the banknote identified by the identification part 13. Control is performed so that the banknote is conveyed to the front / back reversing mechanism 28 after temporarily holding at 15.

In addition, the banknote processing apparatus by this Embodiment is not limited to said aspect, A various change can be added. For example, instead of sending a bill that has been identified as a fake ticket or a genuine / indeterminate ticket by the identification unit 13 to the dispensing unit 12, a counterfeit ticket and a genuine / indeterminate ticket are sent to the capture bin 24, You may make it accommodate a fake ticket and a true / false indefinite ticket in a mixed state. Even in this case, when the counterfeit note is stored in the capture bin 24, it is stored face up, and when the authenticity uncertain ticket is stored, it is stored in the reverse direction. The front and back sides of the banknotes are selectively reversed by the front and back reversing mechanism 28.

Further, the information stored in the storage unit 32 is not limited to the correspondence relationship in which the fake ticket is face up and the authenticity uncertain ticket is face down. For example, a correspondence relationship may be stored in the storage unit 32 such that the genuine note is face up, and the counterfeit note and the authenticity uncertain ticket are face down. In this case, all the banknotes fed from the temporary storage unit 15 to the upper transport unit 10 are sent to the dispensing unit 12 or the capture bin 24.

And the control part 30 is the category of the banknote identified by the identification part 13 (namely, a genuine note, a fake ticket, or a genuine uncertain ticket), and the category of the banknote memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 32, and the direction of a banknote. Based on the correspondence between the bills, the bills fed out from the temporary storage unit 15 are selectively selected so that the direction of each bill accumulated in the dispensing unit 12 and the capture bin 24 corresponds to the category of each bill. The front and back reversing mechanism 28 reverses the front and back. More specifically, among the banknotes accumulated in the payout unit 12 and the capture bin 24, the genuine note is face-up, and the counterfeit ticket is paid out from the temporary storage unit 15 so that the counterfeit ticket and the authenticity uncertain ticket are face-down. Alternatively, the front / back side of the authentic / indeterminate ticket is selectively reversed by the front / back reversing mechanism 28.

Then, after all the banknotes temporarily held in the temporary holding unit 15 are sent to the payout unit 12 or the capture bin 24, the operator takes out a bundle of banknotes in the payout unit 12 or the capture bin 24. Here, the bundle of banknotes taken out by the operator is composed of a genuine note, a counterfeit note, and a genuine uncertain ticket, but the genuine note is face up, and the false note and the genuine uncertain ticket are face down. Therefore, the operator can easily and quickly sort the banknote bundles into the first group consisting of genuine bills and the second group consisting of counterfeit bills and genuine / indefinite bills. Thereafter, the operator may again insert the first group of banknotes consisting of genuine bills into the insertion unit of the banknote processing apparatus 1 and store the genuine bills of the genuine bills in the respective storage units 22a to 22h by denomination. Good.

Further, instead of installing a switchback type as the front / back reversing mechanism 28, a roll type direction reversing mechanism may be installed downstream of the temporary storage unit 15. Even in this case, like the switch type, the front and back of the banknote can be selectively reversed.

Further, the front / back reversing mechanism 28 is not limited to being installed on the downstream side of the temporary storage unit 15. Instead, the front / back reversing mechanism 28 is provided on the upstream side of the temporary storage unit 15, and the control unit 30 first selectively reverses the front / back of the banknotes using the front / back reversing mechanism 28 for the banknotes identified by the identifying unit 13. Then, after the banknote is temporarily held by the temporary holding unit 15, the banknote may be conveyed to the dispensing unit 12 or the capture bin 24. Furthermore, as a banknote processing apparatus according to another aspect, the temporary storage unit 15 may be omitted, and the banknote may be directly conveyed to the payout unit 12 or the capture bin 24.

Further, the banknote handling apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the one provided with a front / back reversing mechanism that reverses the front / back of the banknote. As another bill processing apparatus, instead of the front / back reversing mechanism, a device provided with a vertical reversing mechanism which is a turn type direction reversing mechanism for reversing the vertical direction of a bill may be used. In this case, in the storage unit provided in the banknote handling apparatus, each category of banknotes is associated with either one of two upward and downward directions in the vertical direction of the banknotes.

More specifically, in the storage unit provided in the banknote processing device, for example, a correspondence relationship in which a fake ticket is upward and a genuine / indeterminate ticket is downward is stored. And based on the correspondence between the category of banknotes identified by the identification unit, and the category of banknotes stored in the storage unit and the orientation in the vertical direction of the banknotes, the top and bottom of each banknote stacked in the stacking unit The banknotes that are taken into the housing by the feeding unit and identified by the identification unit are selectively changed in the vertical direction by the upside down mechanism so that the direction of the direction corresponds to the category of each banknote. It is like that.

Then, after the banknotes are sent to the stacking unit, the operator takes out a bundle of banknotes in the stacking unit. Here, the bundle of banknotes taken out by the operator is composed of, for example, a counterfeit ticket and a genuine / indeterminate ticket. The counterfeit ticket is upward in the vertical direction of the banknote, and the authenticity / indeterminate ticket is downward in the vertical direction of the banknote. Therefore, the operator can easily sort the counterfeit ticket and the authenticity uncertain ticket in a short time. Even if a switchback type direction reversing mechanism is used, the direction of the bill in the vertical direction can be selectively changed.

Further, the banknote handling apparatus according to still another aspect of the present invention may include a direction reversing unit in which the front / back reversing mechanism and the vertical reversing mechanism as described above are combined. For example, switchback type and roll type, switchback type and turn type, or roll type and turn type direction reversal mechanism can be combined. In this case, in the storage unit provided in the banknote handling apparatus, each category of banknotes is in any one of the four directions of upward and front, upward and back, downward and front, downward and back in the vertical direction of the banknotes. To be associated with.

More specifically, in the storage unit provided in the banknote processing device, for example, the correct bill is upward and front in the up-and-down direction of the banknote, the slip is upward and reverse, the counterfeit is downward and front, and authenticity uncertain Corresponding relationships are stored such that the ticket is face down and back. And based on the correspondence between the category of the banknote identified by the identification unit, and the category of the banknote stored in the storage unit and the direction in the vertical direction and the front and back direction of the banknote, The direction of the banknotes is selectively changed by the direction reversing unit for the banknotes taken into the housing by the feeding unit and identified by the identification unit so that the vertical and front / back direction of the banknotes corresponds to the category of each banknote. Are changed into four patterns (upward and front, upward and back, downward and front, downward and back). *

Then, after the banknotes are sent to the stacking unit, the operator takes out a bundle of banknotes in the stacking unit. Here, a bundle of banknotes taken out by the operator is composed of, for example, a correct ticket, a damaged ticket, a counterfeit ticket, and a genuine / indeterminate ticket. Is downward and front, and the authenticity uncertain ticket is downward and reverse, so that the operator can easily and quickly sort the correct, non-conforming, counterfeit, and authenticity uncertain tickets.

The direction reversing part that can change the direction of the banknote into four patterns has been described with reference to FIG. 1C. Here, another configuration of the front / back reversing mechanism for reversing the front / back of a bill will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, in FIG. 4, while showing a banknote with a dashed-two dotted line, the referential mark S is attached | subjected. In the front / back reversing unit 60 as shown in FIG. 4, the front and back of the banknote are selectively reversed by twisting until the banknote transported in the arrow A direction is transported in the arrow C direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the front / back reversing unit 60 includes transport mechanisms 61 and 62 for transporting banknotes in the directions of arrows A and C, respectively. The transport mechanisms 61 and 62 are configured to transport banknotes in the same horizontal plane. The conveyance path to be conveyed is formed. Between the transport mechanisms 61 and 62, a front / back reversing mechanism 63 for reversing the front and back of a bill by twisting is disposed. In the banknote orientation changing system shown in FIG. 1C, it corresponds to a roll type direction reversing mechanism 106.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the front / back reversing mechanism 63 has a main body case 64, and a cylindrical guide member 65 extending in the bill conveyance direction is accommodated in the main body case 64. . The guide member 65 is fixed to the main body case 64 in a state where the guide member 65 is disposed to be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane so that the conveyance mechanism 62 side is higher than the conveyance mechanism 61. In the main body case 64, an endless transport belt 66 for moving the banknote along the peripheral surface (guide surface) 65a of the guide member 65 is provided.

The conveyance belt 66 is supported by a plurality of (here, four) rollers 68 that are rotatably attached to the main body case 64 via a support member 67. A part of the conveyance belt 66 is hung on the guide surface 65 a so as to be oblique to the axis (longitudinal) direction of the guide member 65.

Here, the conveyance belt 66 is applied directly above the guide surface 65a (on the paper surface side as viewed in FIG. 6) on the conveyance mechanism 61 side, and directly below the guide surface 65a (on the paper surface as viewed in FIG. 6) on the conveyance mechanism 62 side. It is configured to wrap around the guide surface 65a over about a half circumference. In addition, the inclination angle of the guide member 65 with respect to the horizontal plane is such that the height position of the portion of the guide belt 65a on which the conveyor belt 66 is applied coincides between the conveyor mechanism 61 side and the conveyor mechanism 62 side (FIG. 4). reference).

The conveying belt 66 is driven by one of the rollers 68 by a driving motor 69 provided in the main body case 64 (see FIG. 6). Thereby, sliding on the guide surface 65a of the conveyance belt 66 can be performed at high speed.

The main body case 64 is configured to be able to hand over the banknote from the transport mechanism 61 to the upper side of the guide surface 65a of the guide member 65, and hand over the banknote from the lower side of the guide surface 65a to the transport mechanism 62. It is configured to be able to.

In the front / back reversing mechanism 63 as described above, when a banknote is carried in by the transport mechanism 61 in a state where the transport belt 66 is driven in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 4 by the drive motor 69, the banknote is guided to the guide surface 65a of the guide member 65. And the conveyor belt 66. And a banknote moves to the conveyance mechanism 62 side along the guide surface 65a with the conveyance belt 66. FIG. At this time, a part of the conveyance belt 66 is wound around the guide surface 65 a obliquely with respect to the axial direction of the guide member 65, so that the banknotes are reversed while being conveyed by the conveyance belt 66. Then, when the banknote makes a half turn on the guide surface 65a, the reverse of the banknote is completed. Thereafter, the banknote that is turned upside down is delivered to the transport mechanism 62 and discharged.

Next, still another configuration of the front / back reversing mechanism for reversing the front / back of the bill will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, in FIG. 7, while showing a banknote with a dashed-dotted line, the referential mark R is attached | subjected. In the front / back reversing unit 70 as shown in FIG. 7, the front and back of the banknotes are selectively reversed by the switchback principle until the banknotes transported in the direction of arrow A or B are transported in the direction of arrow C. It is like that. 1C corresponds to the switchback type direction reversing mechanism 103, the conveyance path 109, and the junction 104.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the front / back reversing unit 70 has a conveyance path through which banknotes are conveyed at a predetermined speed between the two side plates 71 a and 71 b. A common passage S that extends in the vertical direction and is used as a guide passage is provided between the side plates 71a and 71b that are parallel to each other. The common passage S is formed by a first guide plate 73 and a second guide plate 74 which are arranged so as to be separated from each other with a predetermined interval and are fixed by sandwiching both sides between two side plates 71a and 71b. Yes.

The upper and lower ends of the common passage (guide passage) S are open, and the lower end of the common passage S has an outlet of the first transport passage 76 extending on the lower side in order to transport the banknote to be reversed. Side 76b is connected. The upper end of the common passage S is connected to the outlet 77b side of the second transport passage 77 that extends on the upper side in order to transport the banknotes that are not to be reversed. Further, the lower end of the common passage S is connected to the inlet 78 a side of the confluence passage 78 located on the extension of the first transport passage 76.

The first conveying passage 76 and the joining passage 78 are formed by cooperation of a lower endless belt 79 that extends horizontally below the common passage S and rotates by the driving force of the motor M, and a plurality of guide rollers 80. It is formed by work. In the lower part of the common passage S, feeding / feeding means 81 is arranged. The feeding / feeding-in means 81 is located on the lower end side of the common passage S, and discharges banknotes from the first transport passage 76 into the common passage S, and banknotes in the common passage S into the merging passage 78. Operates to introduce.

More specifically, the feeding / feeding means 81 is located between the first guide plate 73 and the second guide plate 74, and is rotated in one direction by being hung by the lower endless belt 79. A feed roller 82, a feed roller 83 pressed against the feed roller 82 via a lower endless belt 79 on the banknote carry-in side of the feed roller 82, and a lower endless form on the banknote carry-out side of the feed roller 82 The feeding roller 84 is pressed against the feed roller 82 via the belt 79. The feed roller 83 constitutes a part of the first conveyance path 76 via the feed roller 82, and the feed roller 84 constitutes a part of the merge path 78 via the feed roller 82.

Therefore, the banknote to be reversed fed from the inlet 76a of the first transport path 76 in the direction of arrow A is brought into the common path S from the first transport path 76 by the cooperation of the feed roller 82 and the feed roller 83. Discharged. Thereafter, the banknotes fed into the common passage S are fed into the merging passage 78 by the cooperation of the feeding roller 82 and the feeding roller 84, and discharged in the direction of arrow C from the outlet 78b to complete a series of reversing operations. To do.

On the other hand, the second transport passage 77 for transporting the non-inverted banknotes extends in the horizontal direction above the common passage S and is guided by the upper endless belt 86 that rotates by the driving force of the motor M. It is formed in cooperation with the roller 87. The non-inverted banknotes fed in the direction of arrow B from the inlet 77 a of the second transport path 77 are entirely in the second transport path 77 by the cooperation of the upper endless belt 86 and the guide roller 87. To the common passage S. Thereafter, the front end of the bills fed into the common passage S is rotated along with the rotation of the feed roller 82, and the bills are fed into the merge passage 78 by the cooperation of the feed roller 82 and the feed roller 84, A series of non-inversion operations are completed by discharging from the outlet 78b in the direction of arrow C.

Thus, the front and back reversing unit 70 can selectively reverse the front and back of the banknotes sent to the front and back reversing unit 70.

Also, for another example of the direction reversing unit that can change the direction of the banknote into four patterns by combining the front / back reversing mechanism and the up / down reversing mechanism, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-81829 (JP9-81829A), and FIG. It explains using. In addition, in FIG. 3, a banknote is shown with a dashed-two dotted line. In the direction reversing unit 50 as shown in FIG. 3, the front and back of the banknote and the top and bottom are selectively reversed until the banknote transported in the arrow B direction is transported in the arrow C direction. This is a combination of a switchback type and a turn type direction reversal mechanism, which can reverse the vertical direction during switchback. When this is applied to the banknote orientation changing system 100 of FIG. 1C, the direction reversing unit 50 is the direction reversing mechanism 103, and the configuration from the branching unit 105 to the joining unit 107 is unnecessary.

As shown in FIG. 3, a switching blade 52 is provided in the direction reversing unit 50 in which the front / back reversing mechanism and the up / down reversing mechanism are combined. Further, the direction reversing unit 50 is provided with a turntable 54. The turntable 54 rotates the banknote sent from the arrow B direction to the arrow E direction 180 degrees horizontally. The switching blade 52 rotates around an axis along the longitudinal direction of the switching blade 52. The switching blade 52 switches between banknotes that have been transported in the direction of arrow B, whether they are transported in the direction of arrow D or in the direction of arrow E. In addition, the switching blade 52 is configured to switch whether the bills conveyed from the turntable 54 toward the switching blade 52 are conveyed in the direction of arrow F or in the direction of arrow G.

Here, when the direction of the banknote sent to the direction reversing unit 50 is not changed, that is, when both the front and back sides of the banknote and the top and bottom are not reversed, the banknote transported in the direction of arrow B is switched to the switching blade. 52 is sent in the direction of arrow D. Thereby, the direction of a banknote does not change before the banknote conveyed in the arrow B direction is conveyed in the arrow C direction.

Further, when only the front and back sides of the banknotes sent to the direction reversing unit 50 are reversed, the banknotes conveyed in the direction of the arrow B are sent in the direction of the arrow E by the switching blade 52 and are sent in the direction of the arrow E. The bill is rotated 180 degrees by the turntable 54. Then, a banknote is conveyed toward the switching blade 52 from the turntable 54, and this banknote is sent by the switching blade 52 in the arrow F direction. By this, only the front and back of a banknote will be reversed until the banknote conveyed in the arrow B direction is conveyed in the arrow C direction.

Further, in the case of reversing only the upper and lower sides of the banknotes sent to the direction reversing unit 50, the banknotes conveyed in the direction of arrow B are sent in the direction of arrow E by the switching blade 52 and sent in the direction of arrow E. The bill is rotated 180 degrees by the turntable 54. Then, a banknote is conveyed toward the switching blade 52 from the turntable 54, and this banknote is sent by the switching blade 52 in the arrow G direction. And the banknote sent in the arrow G direction is again conveyed in the reverse direction, and is sent in the arrow D direction by the switching blade 52. Thereby, only the upper and lower sides of the banknotes are reversed until the banknotes transported in the arrow B direction are transported in the arrow C direction.

Further, when both the front and back and the top and bottom of the banknote sent to the direction reversing unit 50 are reversed, the banknote conveyed in the arrow B direction is sent in the arrow E direction by the switching blade 52. Then, without rotating the banknote sent in the direction of arrow E by the turntable 54, the banknote is conveyed from the turntable 54 toward the switching blade 52, and the banknote is sent in the direction of arrow F by the switching blade 52. To do. Thus, both the front and back of the banknote and the upper and lower sides are reversed until the banknote transported in the arrow B direction is transported in the arrow C direction.

In addition, although the direction inversion part 50 as shown in FIG. 3 was demonstrated as what combined the front-and-back inversion mechanism and the up-down inversion mechanism, the direction inversion part 50 as shown in FIG. 3 fulfill | performs only the function of an up-and-down inversion mechanism. It may be like this. In this case, when the banknote sent to the direction reversing unit 50 is not reversed upside down, the banknote conveyed in the arrow B direction is sent by the switching blade 52 in the arrow D direction. Thereby, the direction of a banknote does not change before the banknote conveyed in the arrow B direction is conveyed in the arrow C direction.

On the other hand, when the banknotes sent to the direction reversing unit 50 are reversed upside down, the banknotes conveyed in the direction of arrow B are sent in the direction of arrow E by the switching blade 52, and in the direction of arrow E. The sent banknote is rotated 180 degrees by the turntable 54. Then, a banknote is conveyed toward the switching blade 52 from the turntable 54, and this banknote is sent by the switching blade 52 in the arrow G direction. And the banknote sent in the arrow G direction is again conveyed in the reverse direction, and is sent in the arrow D direction by the switching blade 52. Thus, the bills are turned upside down before the bills conveyed in the arrow B direction are conveyed in the arrow C direction.

Moreover, as a banknote processing apparatus provided with the direction inversion part which combined both the front-and-back inversion part and the up-and-down inversion part as mentioned above, or both the front and back inversion mechanism and the up-and-down inversion mechanism, it is limited to what is shown in FIG. 2A. There is nothing. As another aspect, the banknote processing apparatus 90 as shown in FIG. 8 may be provided with a front / back reversing unit, a vertical reversing unit, or a direction reversing unit that combines both a front / back reversing function and a vertical reversing function.

The banknote handling apparatus 90 shown in FIG. 8 includes a casing 90a and a hopper 91 for placing a plurality of banknotes in a stacked state. The hopper 91 receives banknotes from the outside of the casing 90a. A feeding mechanism for feeding is provided. Moreover, the conveyance part 92 which conveys a banknote is provided in the inside of the housing | casing 90a. A plurality of banknotes are placed in a stacked state on the hopper 91, and the placed banknotes are fed out one by one to the transport unit 92 by a feeding mechanism. Further, the transport unit 92 is provided with an identification unit 93, which identifies the type of banknote being transported by the transport unit 92, the category (reject banknote, counterfeit note, authenticity uncertain ticket, genuine note). , Correct bills, non-performing bills), front and back banknotes, etc. are identified.

Also, a reject unit 94 is connected to the transport unit 92, and the banknote identified as a reject banknote by the identifying unit 93 is sent to the reject unit 94. The reject banknote sent to the reject unit 94 can be taken out from the outside of the housing 90a.

Further, the transport unit 92 is provided with a front / back reversing unit 95. The front / back reversing unit 95 is configured to selectively reverse the front and back of the bills conveyed by the conveying unit 92. Here, “selectively transporting banknotes” means that there are two cases, the case where the front and back of the banknote are reversed and the case where the front and back are not reversed. The front / back reversing unit 95 has substantially the same configuration as any one of the front / back reversing mechanism 28 shown in FIG. 2A, the front / back reversing unit 60 shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 and the front / back reversing unit 70 shown in FIG. It has become.

In addition, a plurality of stackers 96 are provided in parallel in the transport unit 92 on the downstream side of the front / back reversing unit 95, and banknotes are sent from the transport unit 92 to the stackers 96. Here, the correct ticket is stored in the stacker 96a, and the damaged ticket is stored in the stacker 96b. The stacker 96c stores counterfeit tickets and authenticity uncertain tickets in a mixed state.

The banknote handling apparatus 90 is provided with a control unit 97 that controls each component of the banknote handling apparatus 90. Further, the control unit 97 is connected to a storage unit 98 for storing a correspondence relationship between a preset category of banknotes and the front and back directions of banknotes accumulated in the stacker 96c. More specifically, the storage unit 98 stores a correspondence relationship in which the counterfeit bills face up and the authenticity / indefinite bills face down in the banknotes stacked in the stacker 96c.

Next, the operation of the bill processing apparatus 90 having such a configuration will be described. The operation of the banknote handling apparatus 90 shown below is performed by the control unit 97 controlling each component of the banknote handling apparatus 90.

First, a plurality of banknotes in a bundle are put into the hopper 91 of the banknote handling apparatus 90 by the operator. The banknotes thrown into the hopper 91 are fed to the transport unit 92 one by one by the feeding mechanism. The banknotes fed out to the transport unit 92 are identified by the identifying unit 93 such as denomination, category, and banknote orientation (front and back). The banknote identification information identified by the identification unit 93 is sent to the control unit 97.

Here, when the banknote identified by the identification unit 93 is a reject banknote, the banknote is sent to the reject unit 94. The reject banknote sent to the reject unit 94 is taken out by the operator.

In addition, when the banknote identified by the identification unit 93 is a genuine note or a damaged note, the banknote is conveyed to the stackers 96a and 96b without being reversed by the front / back reversing unit 95, and these stackers 96a and 96b are respectively reversed. Stored in a stacked state. The correct bills and lost bills stored in the stackers 96a and 96b can be taken out by the operator.

Further, when the banknote identified by the identification unit 93 is a fake ticket or a genuine / indeterminate bill, the banknote is selectively reversed by the front / back reversing unit 95 and then conveyed to the stacker 96c. 96c is stored in a stacked state. More specifically, the control unit 97 determines the category of the banknote identified by the identification unit 93 (that is, whether the bill is a fake ticket or a genuine / indeterminate ticket) and the category of the banknote stored in the storage unit 98. And the direction of the banknotes stacked on the stacker 96c are transported by the transport unit 92 so that the direction of each banknote stacked on the stacker 96c corresponds to the category of each banknote. The front and back reversing unit 95 selectively reverses the front and back of the bill. More specifically, among the banknotes accumulated in the stacker 96c, when the counterfeit note is stored face-up and the unrecognized unauthentic ticket is stored face-down and the corresponding relationship is stored in the storage unit 98, the stacker 96c is actually stacked. The front and back reversing unit 95 selectively reverses the front and back of the counterfeit or genuine / indeterminate bill transported by the transport unit 92 so that the banknote matches this correspondence.

More specifically, when the direction of the banknote is conveyed by the conveyance unit 92 and the direction of the banknote corresponds to the category of the banknote according to the preset correspondence, the direction of the banknote Is sent to the stacker 96c as it is. On the other hand, for the banknotes transported by the transport unit 92, when the direction of the banknotes does not match the banknote direction corresponding to the category of the banknotes according to a preset correspondence relationship, The front and back reversing unit 95 reverses the front and back of the banknote so as to match the direction of the banknote corresponding to the category of the banknote, and the banknote whose direction is changed is sent to the stacker 96c.

Then, the counterfeit ticket and the authenticity uncertain ticket stored in a mixed state in the stacker 96c are taken out by the operator. Here, the bundle of banknotes taken out from the stacker 96c by the operator is composed of a fake ticket and a genuine / indeterminate ticket, but the counterfeit ticket is face up and the authentic / indeterminate ticket is face down. The person can easily sort the counterfeit ticket and the authenticity uncertain ticket in a short time.

In addition, in the banknote processing apparatus 90 shown in FIG. 8, instead of providing the front / back reversing unit 95 for selectively reversing the front / back of the banknote, both the top / bottom reversing unit for reversing the top / bottom of the banknote, You may provide the direction inversion part which has.

Claims (9)

A banknote handling apparatus,
A feeding section for feeding out banknotes one by one;
A transport unit that transports the banknotes fed by the feed unit one by one;
An identification unit that is disposed in the transport unit and identifies at least the category and orientation of banknotes transported by the transport unit;
A direction reversing unit that is disposed in the transport unit and reverses the direction of the bills transported by the transport unit;
A stacking unit connected to the transport unit and stacking and stacking banknotes sent from the transport unit;
A control unit that controls the transport unit and the direction reversing unit;
A storage unit that stores a correspondence relationship between a preset category of banknotes and a direction of banknotes accumulated in the stacking unit;
With
The control unit is based on the correspondence relationship between the category and direction of the banknote identified by the identification unit, and the category of the banknote stored in the storage unit and the direction of the banknote accumulated in the accumulation unit, When the category and direction of the banknote identified by the identification unit do not match the correspondence, the direction of the banknote is changed by the direction reversing unit, and the direction of each banknote stacked in the stacking unit is stored in the storage unit. A banknote processing apparatus that performs control so as to match a stored correspondence. 2. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the category includes at least two of rejected banknote, counterfeit note, authenticity uncertain ticket, genuine note, correct note, and non-performing note. A temporary holding unit that is connected to the transport unit and temporarily holds banknotes;
The control unit selectively changes the direction of the banknote by the direction reversing unit after selectively holding the banknote identified by the identification unit by the temporary holding unit, or selectively banknote by the direction reversing unit. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the banknote is temporarily held by the temporary holding unit after the direction of the paper is changed, and thereafter, the banknotes are transported to the stacking unit. The direction reversing unit has a front / back reversing mechanism for reversing the front and back of the banknote, and in the storage unit, each category of the banknote is associated with one of the two front and back directions of the banknote. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1. The direction reversing unit has a vertical reversing mechanism for reversing the top and bottom of the banknote, and in the storage unit, each category of the banknote is associated with one of the two upward and downward orientations of the banknote. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1. The direction reversing unit has a front / back reversing mechanism for reversing the front and back of the banknote and a vertical reversing mechanism for reversing the top / bottom of the banknote. In the storage unit, each category of banknote is upward, front, upward, back, downward The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the banknote processing apparatus is associated with any one of the four directions of the front side, the downward side, and the back side. In the storage unit, the correspondence relationship between the category of the banknote and the direction of the banknote is stored so that the counterfeit ticket is in the first direction and the authenticity uncertain ticket is in the second direction,
When the banknote identified by the identification unit is a counterfeit, the control unit is in the first direction when the banknote is stacked on the stacking unit, and the banknote identified by the identification unit is true. In the case of a false indeterminate ticket, the direction reversing unit selectively selects the direction of the banknote with respect to the banknote identified by the identifying unit so that the banknote is in the second direction when the banknote is stacked on the stacking unit. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein control is performed to change. In the storage unit, the correspondence between the category of the banknote and the direction of the banknote is stored such that the genuine note is in the first direction and the counterfeit note and the authenticity uncertain ticket are in the second direction,
When the banknote identified by the identification unit is a genuine note, the control unit is in a first direction when the banknote is accumulated in the accumulation unit, and the banknote identified by the identification unit is false. In the case of a ticket or a genuine / indeterminate ticket, the direction reversing unit selectively selects the banknote identified by the identifying unit so that the banknote is in the second direction when the banknote is stacked on the stacking unit. The banknote processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein control for changing the direction of the banknote is performed. A bill processing method,
Presetting the correspondence between banknote categories and banknote orientations;
A process of paying out banknotes one by one;
A step of conveying the fed banknotes one by one;
Identifying at least the category and orientation of the bills being conveyed;
For banknotes that have been identified for category and orientation, if the orientation of the banknote matches the orientation of the banknote corresponding to the category of the banknote according to a preset correspondence relationship, the orientation of the banknote is not changed. If the direction of the banknote does not coincide with the direction of the banknote corresponding to the category of the banknote according to the preset correspondence, the banknote corresponds to the category of the banknote according to the preset correspondence. Changing the direction of the banknote to match the direction of the banknote and sending it to the stacking unit;
In the stacking unit, a process of stacking and stacking banknotes sent to the stacking unit;
A bill processing method comprising:

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