Patent Publication Number: US-2012024635-A1

Title: Bill receiving apparatus and self-checkout apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-172129, filed on Jul. 30, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD 
     Embodiments described herein relate generally to a bill receiving apparatus and a self-checkout apparatus. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In an apparatus that receives bills, a slit-like bill passage is provided in a housing. The bill passage could be arranged in a vertically-long state because of a layout of various units. 
     If the bill passage is arranged in the vertically-long state, an unaccustomed user is likely to misrecognize that the bill passage is a coin slot. 
     In order to guide a bill, which tends to curve in the thickness direction, to the inside of the bill passage, in general, the bill passage is formed such that opening width corresponding to the thickness of the bill is larger than the inside of the bill passage near an inlet of the bill passage. In other words, if the bill passage is arranged in the vertically-long state, the opening width near the inlet of the bill passage is expanded in the horizontal direction. The bill passage configured in this way rather facilitates misinsertion of coins. 
     Under such circumstances, it is desired that, even if a coin is misinserted into the bill passage, the coin can be prevented from entering the inside of the apparatus. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a self-checkout apparatus according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the self-checkout apparatus according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged perspective view of a part of a main body shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the part of the main body shown in  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view of a modified configuration example of the part of the main body shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In general, according to one embodiment, a bill receiving apparatus includes a housing, a passage forming member, and a conveying unit. The passage forming member forms a bill passage including a vertically-long slit-like opening and a bottom surface formed as a slope, a part of which falls toward the opening. The conveying unit is provided on the inner side of the housing and conveys a bill via the bill passage. 
     An embodiment is explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a self-checkout apparatus  100  according to this embodiment. The self-checkout apparatus according to this embodiment is also called a point of sale (POS) terminal apparatus of a self-checkout type or a self-register apparatus. 
     The apparatus  100  includes a main body  1  and commodity tables  2  and  3 . 
     The main body  1  includes a housing  11 , a display  12 , a scanner window  13 , and forming members  14 ,  15 ,  16 ,  17 ,  18 , and  19 . 
     The housing  11  is configured by combining members, each of which is formed of a metal material or a resin material. 
     The display  12  is fixed in an upper part of the housing  11 . The display  12  displays an arbitrary image. As the display  12 , for example, a liquid crystal display device can be used. In some cases, a touch sensor is provided over a display screen of the display  12 . The display  12  appropriately displays images respectively showing various screens. Examples of the various screens include a screen for informing a customer of an operation method, a screen for inputting information concerning a commodity not affixed with a barcode, a screen showing information based on barcode reading, and a screen showing a total purchase amount, a deposit amount, a change amount, and the like in payment work for paying a purchase price. 
     The scanner window  13  is formed by covering an opening formed in the housing  11  with transparent resin, glass, or the like. The scanner window  13  radiates, to the outside of the housing  11 , light emitted from a scanner arranged on the inside of the housing  11  and leads the light reflected on a commodity to the scanner. 
     Each of the forming members  14  to  19  is formed of a metal material or a resin material and attached to the housing  11 . The forming member  14  forms a card insertion slot for inserting a card such as a credit card into the inside of the housing  11 . The forming member  15  forms a receipt issue slot for discharging a receipt to the outside of the housing  11 . The forming member  16  forms a coin insertion slot for inserting a coin into the inside of the housing  11 . The forming member  17  forms a coin discharge slot for discharging a coin to the outside of the housing  11 . The forming member  18  forms a bill insertion slot for inserting a bill into the inside of the housing  11 . The forming member  19  forms a bill discharge slot for discharging a bill to the outside of the housing  11 . The forming members  14  to  19  may be formed of a single member or may be formed by combining plural members. 
     The commodity table  2  is a table for placing unregistered commodities and fixed to a side surface of the housing  11 . 
     The commodity table  3  is a table for placing registered commodities and set side by side with the housing  11 . 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the apparatus  100 . In  FIG. 2 , components same as those shown in  FIG. 1  are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed explanation of the components is omitted. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the apparatus  100  includes a controller  20 , a scanner  21 , a card reader writer  22 , a printer  23 , a coin receiving unit  24 , a coin discharge unit  25 , a bill receiving unit  26 , a bill discharge unit  27 , and weighing units  28  and  29 . Among these components, the controller  20 , the scanner  21 , the card reader writer  22 , the printer  23 , the coin receiving unit  24 , the coin discharge unit  25 , the bill receiving unit  26 , and the bill discharge unit  27  are arranged on the inside of the housing  11 . The weighing unit  28  is arranged on the inside of the commodity table  2 . The weighing unit  29  is arranged on the inside of the commodity table  3 . 
     The scanner  21 , the card reader writer  22 , the printer  23 , the coin receiving unit  24 , the coin discharge unit  25 , the bill receiving unit  26 , the bill discharge unit  27 , the weighing unit  28 , the weighing unit  29 , and the like are connected to the controller  20  via a system bus or the like. The controller  20  includes a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), and a random-access memory (RAM). The CPU executes processing based on an operating system and an application program stored in the ROM and the RAM, whereby the controller  20  controls the sections in order to realize operations of the self-checkout apparatus. 
     The scanner  21  optically reads, via the scanner window  13 , a barcode of a commodity held in front of the scanner window  13  by a customer. 
     The card reader writer  22  reads data recorded in a card inserted into the card insertion slot by the customer and writes data in the card. The card is a point card, an IC card for settlement, or the like. 
     The printer  23  prints a receipt. The receipt printed by the printer  23  is discharge from the receipt issue slot to the outside of the housing  11 . 
     The coin receiving unit  24  applies processing such as check of genuineness, discrimination of a type, or counting to coins inserted into the coin insertion slot by the customer. 
     The coin discharge unit  25  discharges, from the coin discharge slot, coins returned to the customer as change or the like. 
     The bill receiving unit  26  receives bills inserted into the bill insertion slot and applies processing such as check of genuineness, discrimination of a type, or counting to the bills. In order to convey the bills inserted into the bill insertion slot to the inside of the housing  11 , the bill receiving unit  26  includes a conveying unit  26   a  including a roller and a motor. 
     The bill discharge unit  27  discharges, from the bill discharge slot, bills returned to the customer as change or the like. Therefore, in order to convey the bills to the outside of the housing  11 , the bill discharge unit  27  includes a conveying unit  27   a  including a roller and a motor. 
     The weighing unit  28  weighs commodities placed on the commodity table  2 . In other words, the weighing unit  28  weighs unregistered commodities. 
     The weighing unit  29  weighs commodities placed on the commodity table  3 . In other words, the weighing unit  29  weighs registered commodities. 
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the main body  1 .  FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the part of the main body  1 . In  FIGS. 3 and 4 , components same as those shown in  FIG. 1  are denoted by the same reference numerals. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the forming member  18  forms a vertically-long slit-like bill passage  18   a . An opening of the bill passage  18   a  located on the outer side of the housing  11  is the bill insertion slot. The bill receiving unit  26  is arranged on the depth side of the bill passage  18   a  (the right side in  FIG. 4 ). The bill receiving unit  26  receives, via the bill passage  18   a , a bill inserted into the bill passage  18   a  by the customer. 
     The forming member  18  has three slopes  18   b ,  18   c , and  18   d  to increase an opening area of the bill insertion slot. 
     The slope  18   b  is formed in a portion that forms a bottom surface of the bill passage  18   a  in the forming member  18 . The slope  18   b  falls toward the outer side of the housing  11 . 
     The slopes  18   c  and  18   d  are formed in portions that form sidewalls of the bill passage  18   a  in the forming member  18 . The slopes  18   c  and  18   d  increase opening width in the horizontal direction of the bill passage  18   a.    
     In the apparatus  100  configured as explained above, when the customer holds a purchased commodity in front of the scanner window  13 , the scanner  21  reads a barcode of the purchased commodity. The controller  20  registers the purchased commodity using a commodity code indicated by the barcode read by the scanner  21 . After all purchased commodities are registered, the customer inserts bills into the bill insertion slot or inserts coins into the coin insertion slot to pay a price. 
     When the customer inserts a bill into the bill insertion slot, the customer inserts, with short sides of the bill faced vertically, one of the short sides of the bill into the bill passage  18   a  from the bill insertion slot. If the leading of the bill shifts from the direction of the bill passage  18   a  because the bill curves in the thickness direction of the bill, the slopes  18   c  and  18   d  act to lead the leading of the bill to the bill passage  18   a . This makes it easy to insert the bill from the bill insertion slot. 
     Since the bill insertion slot is a vertically-long opening, in the case of a customer unaccustomed to using the apparatus  100 , it is likely that the customer misrecognizes the bill insertion slot as the coin insertion slot and inserts a coin into the bill insertion slot. In this case, since the bill insertion slot is the vertically-long opening, the coin is also inserted in the bill insertion opening in a standup state. 
     The coin inserted into the bill insertion lot by mistake in this way is discharged to the outside of the housing  11  with the own weight of the coin along the slope  18   b . This makes it possible to prevent the coin inserted into the bill insertion slot by mistake from entering the inside of the housing  11 . 
     Since the coin inserted into the bill insertion slot by mistake is inserted in the standup state as explained above, the circumferential surface of the coin comes into contact with the slope  18   b . The coin rolls down the slope  18   b . Therefore, the coin is surely discharged to the outside of the housing  11 . It is unnecessary to set a tilt angle of the slope  18   b  very large. If the tilt angle of the slope  18   b  is small, the speed of the coin rolling down the slope  18   b  decreases. If a horizontal plane  11   a  is formed near the slope  18   b  as shown in  FIG. 4 , the discharged coin can be stopped on the horizontal plane  11   a . 
     However, depending on a way of rolling of the coin, it is not unlikely that the coin falls down from the horizontal plane  11   a  because of inertia. Therefore, in order to surely prevent the discharged coin from dropping to a floor surface or the like, a saucer  11   b  may be formed near the slope  18   b  as shown in  FIG. 5 . In this way, it is possible to surely catch the discharged coin in the saucer  11   b . In  FIG. 5 , a part of the housing  11  is bent to form the saucer  11   b . However, a member having a saucer formed therein and separate from the housing  11  may be provided in a setting position of the saucer  11   b  shown in  FIG. 5 . The saucer may be formed integrally with the forming member  18 . 
     It is desirable that one of inner wall surfaces of the saucer  11   b  is located right under an edge of the bill passage  18   a  or near the edge and a distance Da shown in  FIG. 5  is larger than the outer diameter of a coin having a maximum size used in a region where the apparatus  100  is used. The distance Da is a distance from another inner wall surface opposed to the inner wall surface of the saucer  11   b  to the edge of the bill passage  18   a.    
     Various modifications of this embodiment are possible as explained below. 
     Implementation same as the embodiment is possible not only in the self-checkout apparatus but also in any apparatus for performing money receipt such as an automatic change machine or a vending machine. 
     Implementation same as the embodiment is possible in a bill passage for discharging a bill with the bill discharge unit  27 . However, even if a coin reaches the bill discharge unit  27 , the bill discharge unit  27  does not receive the coin. Therefore, the bottom surface of the bill passage for discharging a bill may be kept as a horizontal plane without being formed as a slope. 
     While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.