Patent Description:
In the related art, there is known a disk feeding device including a base body, a storage portion that stores a disk, a rotatable rotary member, a feeding passage through which the disk fed toward an outside of the device passes, and a guide member and a feeding member that face each other via the feeding passage.

For example, <CIT> discloses a coin feeding apparatus according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

<CIT> discloses an outlet-adjusting device suitable for a coin dispenser comprising a directing element, an ejecting element and an positioning member, wherein the positioning member and the directing element are adapted for adjusting a biasing angle of a directing flange of the directing element so as to lead and dispense the coin from said coin outlet.

Further, a coin discharging device as a disk feeding device described in <CIT> (Patent Literature <NUM>) includes a base body, a coin tank as a storage portion that stores a disk-like coin, a coin discharging disk plate as a rotary member, a guide plate as a guide member, and a coin feeding roller as a feeding member. The guide plate and the coin feeding roller face each other via a feeding passage provided on an upper surface of the base body. The rotatable coin discharging disk plate includes a circular coin catching hole penetrating in a thickness direction and a coin push-out fin, and after the coin sent from the coin tank is caught by the coin catching hole, the coin is dropped on the upper surface of the base body from the coin catching hole. The coin discharging disk plate pushes and moves the coin dropped on the upper surface of the base body in a rotation direction by the coin push-out fin protruding downward from a lower surface of the coin discharging disk plate. The guide plate comes into contact with the coin pushed by the coin push-out fin and guides the contacted coin toward the feeding passage at a position on the upstream side from the coin feeding roller in the rotation direction of the coin discharging disk plate. The coin feeding roller can reciprocate in a direction in which a distance from the guide plate is changed, and the coin feeding roller feeds the coin pinched between the coin feeding roller and the guide plate along the feeding passage by a biasing force of a spring while being biased toward the guide plate by the spring.

When changing a size of the coin to be set in the coin discharging device, a user needs to change a distance between the guide plate and the coin feeding roller in accordance with the size of the coin. In the coin discharging device described in Patent Literature <NUM>, the user can change the distance between the guide plate and the coin feeding roller by changing an orientation of the guide plate with a rotation about an axis.

However, in the coin discharging device described in Patent Literature <NUM>, when the orientation of the guide plate is greatly changed, the coin moved to a predetermined position in the rotation direction of the coin discharging disk plate cannot be guided toward the feeding passage by the guide plate. Therefore, in the coin discharging device described in Patent Literature <NUM>, there is a problem that the changeable range of the size of the coin is limited.

The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to further expand a range in which a size of a disk can be changed.

The above mentioned object is achieved by the disk feeding device according to claim <NUM>.

According to the present invention, there is an excellent effect that the changeable range of the size of the disk can be further expanded.

Hereinafter, as a disk feeding device to which the present invention is applied, an embodiment of a coin hopper that feeds a disk-like coin will be described. In the following drawings, scales, numbers, and the like in each structure may be different from those of an actual structure in order to facilitate understanding of each structure.

<FIG> is a perspective view of a coin hopper <NUM> according to the embodiment. <FIG> is a perspective view illustrating the coin hopper <NUM> when viewed from above. <FIG> is a perspective view illustrating the coin hopper <NUM> in a state in which a hopper head <NUM> as a storage portion is removed. The coin hopper <NUM> includes a base body <NUM>, a hopper head <NUM>, a rotary disk <NUM> as a rotary member, and a pedestal <NUM>. The hopper head <NUM> attached to an upper surface of the base body <NUM> includes an upper cover <NUM> that is openable and closable. At a bottom portion of the hopper head <NUM>, a taper <NUM> and a circular opening <NUM> connected to a lower end of the taper <NUM> are provided. The circular opening <NUM> faces the rotary disk <NUM> disposed on the base body <NUM> in a vertical direction.

Coins are stored in a bulk state in the hopper head <NUM>, and some coins are stacked on the rotary disk <NUM> through the circular opening <NUM> described above. The coins placed on an upper surface of the rotary disk <NUM> are sorted one by one by a rotation of the rotary disk <NUM>, and are fed from a feeding passage <NUM>. Examples of the coins include money, scrip money such as a token, a medal used in a game machine, other pseudo money, and the like. A shape of a plane cross section of the disk set in the disk feeding device according to the present invention is not limited to a perfect circle. A flat body having an elliptical plane cross section, a flat body having a polygonal (for example, a heptagon or a dodecagon) plane cross section, and the like can also be a disk to be set in the disk feeding device according to the present invention.

The pedestal <NUM> covers a drive unit that is fixed to a lower surface of the base body <NUM> and that will be described later while supporting the base body <NUM> from below.

<FIG> is an exploded perspective view illustrating a part of the coin hopper <NUM> when viewed from obliquely above. A circular recess <NUM> including a circular bottom surface 3a and a circumferential wall 3b rising from an outer edge of the bottom surface 3a is provided on an upper surface of the flat rectangular parallelepiped base body <NUM>. On the bottom surface 3a of the circular recess <NUM>, a third through hole 3c is provided at a center position of a circle, and a first through hole 3d and a second through hole 3e are provided at positions shifted from the center of the circle. A first regulation pin <NUM> passes through the first through hole 3d from the lower surface side of the base body <NUM> and protrudes upward from the bottom surface 3a. A second regulation pin <NUM> passes through the second through hole 3e from the lower surface side of the base body <NUM> and protrudes upward from the bottom surface 3a. A drive shaft <NUM> of a drive unit <NUM> passes through the third through hole 3c from the lower surface side of the base body <NUM>.

The circumferential wall 3b of the circular recess <NUM> is not connected over the entire circumference, and includes an opening portion in a predetermined region in a circumferential direction. The circumferential wall 3b guides the movement of the coins in the circumferential direction (rotation direction of the rotary disk <NUM>).

The disk-like rotary disk <NUM> is disposed in the circular recess <NUM> of the base body <NUM> and is rotated about the drive shaft <NUM>. A counterclockwise direction in <FIG> is a normal rotation direction of the rotary disk <NUM>, and a clockwise direction is a reverse rotation direction of the rotary disk <NUM>. As the rotary disk <NUM> rotates in the normal rotation direction, the coins are fed one by one from a feeding passage <NUM> provided at one end portion of the upper surface of the base body <NUM> in a longitudinal direction.

Hereinafter, a radial direction of the circle centered on a rotation axis of the rotary disk <NUM> is simply referred to as a radial direction. In the radial direction, a side close to the rotation axis of the rotary disk <NUM> is referred to as an inner side. In the radial direction, a side away from the rotation axis of the rotary disk <NUM> is referred to as an outer side.

The rotary disk <NUM> includes a center hole <NUM> provided at a center, five coin catching holes <NUM> arranged in the rotation direction at positions on the outer side of the center hole <NUM> in the radial direction, and a conical central convex portion <NUM> provided on the upper surface so as to surround the center hole <NUM>. The central convex portion <NUM> stirs the coins placed on the rotary disk <NUM>.

The drive shaft <NUM> of the drive unit <NUM> passes through the center hole <NUM> to rotate the rotary disk <NUM>. The coin catching holes <NUM> catch the coins placed on the rotary disk <NUM> in an orientation parallel to the bottom surface 30a. A circumferential wall surface of the coin catching holes <NUM> has a tapered shape expanding upward, and makes it easy to drop the coins into the coin catching holes <NUM>.

An upper side of the feeding passage <NUM> is covered by a passage cover <NUM> fixed to the upper surface of the base body <NUM>. Opposite sides of the feeding passage <NUM> are covered by the passage cover <NUM> and a passage wall <NUM> provided in the base body <NUM>.

The drive unit <NUM> is fixed to a lower surface of the base body <NUM>. A motor <NUM> is fixed to a lower surface of a lower cover <NUM> of the drive unit <NUM>. A holding unit <NUM> is fixed to the lower surface of the base body <NUM> as well as the drive unit <NUM>, and the holding unit <NUM> will be described in detail later.

A coin detection sensor <NUM> including a transmission type optical sensor is disposed at one end portion of the feeding passage <NUM> in a width direction. The coin detection sensor <NUM> includes a light receiving element disposed on a floor surface side of the feeding passage <NUM> and a light emitting element disposed on a top surface side, and detects the coins in the feeding passage <NUM> when an optical path from the light emitting element to the light receiving element is blocked by the coins.

A first recess <NUM>, a second recess <NUM>, and a third recess are provided at the other end portion of the feeding passage <NUM> in a width direction, and a lower end of a width adjustment pin <NUM> is inserted into any one of the three recesses. In <FIG>, the lower end of the width adjustment pin <NUM> is inserted into the third recess. The width adjustment pin <NUM> is a member for adjusting the width of the feeding passage <NUM>.

Although an example in which the circular recess <NUM> is provided on the upper surface of the base body <NUM> has been described, the circular recess <NUM> may be provided on a member fixed to the upper surface of the base body <NUM>. A lower end portion of the hopper head <NUM> may function as a circular recess.

<FIG> is an exploded perspective view illustrating a part of the coin hopper <NUM> when viewed from obliquely below. The passage cover <NUM> has a facing surface facing the feeding passage <NUM>. A first recess <NUM>, a second recess <NUM>, and a third recess <NUM> are provided on the facing surface. An upper end of the width adjustment pin (<NUM> in <FIG>) is inserted into any one of the three recesses. The width adjustment pin <NUM> is fixed to the base body <NUM> in a state in which the lower end is inserted into the recess provided in the feeding passage <NUM> and the upper end is inserted into the recess provided in the passage cover <NUM>.

On the lower surface of the rotary disk <NUM>, a first push body <NUM> and a second push body <NUM> are provided in a vicinity of each of the five coin catching holes <NUM>. The first push body <NUM> and the second push body <NUM> protrude downward from the lower surface of the rotary disk <NUM>. The first push body <NUM> is positioned on an inner side from the second push body <NUM> in the radial direction. Each of the first push body <NUM> and the second push body <NUM> pushes the coins in the normal rotation direction with a side surface on a downstream side of the normal rotation direction. The side surfaces of the first push body <NUM> and the second push body <NUM> are positioned on an involute curve extending outward in the radial direction from the center of the rotary disk <NUM> in a plan view.

The coins caught by the coin catching holes <NUM> do not stay in the coin catching holes <NUM>, pass through the coin catching holes <NUM>, and fall to the bottom surface (3a in <FIG>) of the circular recess <NUM> of the base body <NUM>. In a thickness direction of the rotary disk <NUM>, a clearance smaller than the thickness of a coin is formed between the lower surface of the rotary disk <NUM> and the upper surface of the coin dropped on the bottom surface 3a. More specifically, a protrusion amount of the first push body <NUM> and the second push body <NUM>, which are directed downward from the lower surface of the rotary disk <NUM>, is set to less than twice the thickness of the coin. Therefore, without passing through the coin catching hole <NUM> in a state in which two or more coins overlap each other, coins overlapping on the coins dropped on the bottom surface 3a of the circular recess <NUM> remain in the coin catching hole <NUM>.

<FIG> is a perspective view illustrating the drive unit <NUM> in a state in which the upper cover (<NUM> in <FIG>) is removed when viewed from above. In <FIG>, the holding unit <NUM> fixed to the base body <NUM> as well as the drive unit <NUM>, the first regulation pin <NUM> and the second regulation pin <NUM> held by the base body <NUM>, and the guide roller <NUM> held by the base body <NUM> are illustrated.

<FIG> is a perspective view illustrating a gear train and the motor <NUM> of the drive unit <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, a disk gear <NUM> that rotates together with the drive shaft <NUM> about the drive shaft <NUM> is fixed to the drive shaft <NUM> of the drive unit <NUM>. In addition to the disk gear <NUM>, the drive unit <NUM> includes a motor gear <NUM>, a first intermediate gear <NUM>, a second intermediate gear <NUM>, and a third intermediate gear <NUM>.

A motor shaft <NUM> of the motor <NUM> fixed to a lower surface of a lower cover <NUM> of the drive unit <NUM> passes through a bottom wall of the lower cover <NUM>. In the lower cover <NUM>, the motor gear <NUM> that rotates together with the motor shaft <NUM> about the motor shaft <NUM> is fixed to the motor shaft <NUM>. The motor <NUM> is a DC motor that can rotate normally and reversely.

The first intermediate gear <NUM> includes a first small diameter gear 57a, a first large diameter gear 57b, and a first fixed shaft 57c. The first fixed shaft 57c is fixed to the bottom wall of the lower cover <NUM>. The first small diameter gear 57a and the first large diameter gear 57b, which are made of the same member, have a through hole provided at a rotation center position. The first fixed shaft 57c passing through the through hole rotatably holds the first small diameter gear 57a and the first large diameter gear 57b. The first intermediate gear <NUM> causes the first large diameter gear 57b positioned on the lower side among the first small diameter gear 57a and the first large diameter gear 57b to mesh with the motor gear <NUM>. The first intermediate gear <NUM> causes the first small diameter gear 57a positioned on the upper side to mesh with the second large diameter gear 56b of the second intermediate gear <NUM> to be described later. A rotation drive force of the motor gear <NUM> is transmitted to the first large diameter gear 57b and the first small diameter gear 57a at a meshing portion of the motor gear <NUM> and the first large diameter gear 57b of the first intermediate gear <NUM>.

The second intermediate gear <NUM> includes a second small diameter gear 56a, the second large diameter gear 56b, and a second fixed shaft 56c. The second fixed shaft 56c is fixed to the bottom wall of the lower cover <NUM>. The second small diameter gear 56a and the second large diameter gear 56b, which are made of the same member, have a through hole provided at a rotation center position. The second fixed shaft 56c passing through the through hole rotatably holds the second small diameter gear 56a and the second large diameter gear 56b. The second intermediate gear <NUM> causes the second large diameter gear 56b positioned on the upper side among the second small diameter gear 56a and the second large diameter gear 56b to mesh with the first small diameter gear 57a of the first intermediate gear <NUM>. The second intermediate gear <NUM> causes the second small diameter gear 56a positioned on the lower side to mesh with a third large diameter gear 55b of the third intermediate gear <NUM> to be described later. A rotation drive force of the first small diameter gear 57a and the first large diameter gear 57b is transmitted to the second large diameter gear 56b and the second small diameter gear 56a at the meshing portion of the first small diameter gear 57a and the second large diameter gear 56b.

The third intermediate gear <NUM> includes a third small diameter gear 55a, the third large diameter gear 55b, and a third fixed shaft 55c. The third fixed shaft 55c is fixed to the bottom wall of the lower cover <NUM>. The third small diameter gear 55a and the third large diameter gear 55b, which are made of the same member, have a through hole provided at a rotation center position. The third fixed shaft 55c passing through the through hole rotatably holds the third small diameter gear 55a and the third large diameter gear 55b. The third intermediate gear <NUM> causes the third large diameter gear 55b positioned on the lower side among the third small diameter gear 55a and the third large diameter gear 55b to mesh with the second small diameter gear 56a of the second intermediate gear <NUM>. The third intermediate gear <NUM> causes the third small diameter gear 55a positioned on the upper side to mesh with the disk gear <NUM>. A rotation drive force of the second small diameter gear 56a and the second large diameter gear 56b is transmitted to the third large diameter gear 55b and the third small diameter gear 55a at the meshing portion of the second small diameter gear 56a and the third large diameter gear 55b.

A rotation drive force of the third small diameter gear 55a and the third large diameter gear 55b is transmitted to the disk gear <NUM> and the drive shaft <NUM> at the meshing portion of the third small diameter gear 55a and the disk gear <NUM>. A rotation drive force of the drive shaft <NUM> is transmitted to the rotary disk <NUM>.

<FIG> are plane cross-sectional views for explaining behavior of the coin with a rotation of the rotary disk <NUM>. <FIG> illustrate cross sections at positions of the first push body <NUM> and the second push body <NUM> in a thickness direction of the rotary disk <NUM> when viewed from above. <FIG> illustrate a state in which a coin C is caught only in one of the five coin catching holes <NUM> for convenience, but actually, in most cases, coins C are caught in all the coin catching holes <NUM>.

When the rotary disk <NUM> rotates normally (rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing), the coins C placed on the rotary disk <NUM> are caught in the coin catching holes <NUM> while being stirred by a tapered circumferential wall surface around the coin catching holes <NUM> and the central convex portion <NUM>. The coins C caught in the coin catching holes <NUM> pass through the coin catching holes <NUM>, fall to the bottom surface (3a in <FIG>) of the circular recess <NUM>, and are pushed to be moved in the normal rotation direction by the first push body <NUM>. At this time, the coins C are moved to the outer side in the radial direction by a centrifugal force without staying directly below the coin catching holes <NUM>, and the side surface of the coins is brought into contact with the circumferential wall 3b of the circular recess <NUM> of the base body <NUM>. The circumferential wall 3b guides the movement of the coins C in the rotation direction. A contact pressure of the side surface of the coins with respect to the circumferential wall 3b is caused by the centrifugal force in most cases, and thus does not apply a large force.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a coin C is moved to a position of an opening portion (hereinafter, referred to as a circumferential wall opening portion) in which a wall does not exist in the circumferential wall 3b while being pushed in the normal rotation direction by the first push body <NUM>. At the position of the opening portion of the circumferential wall 3b, the coin C is moved outward in a radial direction by a centrifugal force from a circle having the same curvature as that of the circumferential wall 3b. In the vicinity of an end portion on the upstream side of the opening portion of the circumferential wall 3b in the normal rotation direction, a guide pin <NUM> is disposed in an orientation in which the axis of the guide pin <NUM> is parallel to the rotation axis of the rotary disk <NUM>. The coin C moved to the position of an end portion on the upstream side of the circumferential wall opening portion in the normal rotation direction is brought into contact with the guide pin <NUM> and guided in the normal rotation direction.

A feeding roller <NUM> as a feeding member is disposed at a position on the downstream side from the guide pin <NUM> in the normal rotation direction. The guide roller <NUM> as a guide member is disposed at a position on the downstream side from the feeding roller <NUM> in the normal rotation direction. The feeding roller <NUM> and the guide roller <NUM> are positioned radially outside a circle having the same curvature as that of the circumferential wall 3b, and face each other via the feeding passage (<NUM> in <FIG>). After the state illustrated in <FIG>, the coin C further pushed in the normal rotation direction by the first push body <NUM> is separated from the guide pin <NUM>, and partially protrudes outward from a circle having the same curvature as that of the circumferential wall 3b to come into contact with the feeding roller <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. At the same time, an edge of the coin C in the normal rotation direction abuts on the first regulation pin <NUM> and the second regulation pin <NUM>. The first regulation pin <NUM> and the second regulation pin <NUM> regulate the movement of the coin C in the normal rotation direction, and guide the coin C outward in the radial direction.

After the state illustrated in <FIG>, the coin C further pushed by the first push body <NUM> further moves outward in the radial direction and is separated from the first push body <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. Then, the coin C is pushed by the second push body <NUM> positioned radially outside the first push body <NUM>. In this state, since the movement of the coin C in the normal rotation direction is not regulated by the first regulation pin <NUM> and the second regulation pin <NUM>, the coin C moves further in the normal rotation direction and is pinched between the guide roller <NUM> and the feeding roller <NUM>.

The feeding roller <NUM> can perform a forward movement in a direction away from the guide roller <NUM> and a backward movement in a direction approaching the guide roller <NUM>, and is biased in the backward movement direction by a spring. As the coin C pinched between the feeding roller <NUM> and the guide roller <NUM> moves outward in the radial direction, the feeding roller <NUM> moves forward in a direction away from the guide roller <NUM> as indicated by an arrow in <FIG>.

After the state illustrated in <FIG>, when the coin C pushed by the second push body <NUM> further moves outward in the radial direction, as indicated by a dotted line in <FIG>, the feeding roller <NUM> moves forward to a position in which a distance from the guide roller <NUM> is substantially equal to a diameter of the coin C. Immediately after this, the feeding roller <NUM> is forcefully moved backward by the biasing force of the spring, and returns to an original position. At this time, when the feeding roller <NUM> ejects the coin C, the coin C is fed outside the device along the feeding passage <NUM>. When the coin C passes through the feeding passage <NUM>, the coin C is detected by the coin detection sensor <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. When the coin C is detected, the coin detection sensor <NUM> transmits a coin detection signal to a control board.

The control board described above is provided outside the coin hopper <NUM>, and counts the number of coins C based on a coin detection signal transmitted from the coin detection sensor <NUM>. The control board turns on and off a power supplied to the motor <NUM>, and reverses a polarity of a voltage at each of two power supply input terminals of the motor <NUM>. This way, a normal rotation and a reverse rotation of the motor <NUM> are controlled.

When a situation occurs due to occurrence of a coin jam, in which the forward rotation of the motor <NUM> is locked and an excessive current flows to a coil of the motor <NUM> or the coin detection signal is not transmitted from the coin detection sensor <NUM>, the control board executes jam removing processing. In the jam removing processing, the control board repeats a process of performing the reverse rotation and the normal rotation of the motor <NUM> a predetermined number of times for a predetermined time.

When the rotary disk <NUM> rotates in the reverse direction, it is necessary to release the regulation of the movement of the coin in the reverse rotation direction by the first regulation pin <NUM> and the second regulation pin <NUM>. Therefore, the first regulation pin <NUM> and the second regulation pin <NUM> are configured to be retracted into the through holes (3d and 3e) provided on the bottom surface 3a.

Specifically, a tilting bracket <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> is cantilever-supported by the lower surface of the base body (<NUM> in <FIG>). This cantilever support is performed by a spring <NUM> pushing an end portion on the support side of the tilting bracket <NUM> toward the lower surface of the base body. The first regulation pin <NUM> and the second regulation pin <NUM> are fixed to a free end portion of the cantilever-supported tilting bracket <NUM>. When the coin moving in the reverse rotation direction abuts on the first regulation pin <NUM> or the second regulation pin <NUM> and applies a downward force to the free end portion of the tilting bracket <NUM>, a large force is applied to the spring <NUM> by the principle of the lever, and the spring <NUM> is deformed. In this deformation, the tilting bracket <NUM> is tilted in an orientation in which the free end portion of the tilting bracket <NUM> is moved downward, and protruding portions of the first regulation pin <NUM> and the second regulation pin <NUM> from the bottom surface (3a in <FIG>) are retracted into the through hole (3d and 3e in <FIG>).

The lower surface of the base body <NUM> holds a rotating bracket <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> in addition to the tilting bracket <NUM>. The rotating bracket <NUM> can rotate within a range of a slight rotation angle about a shaft 12a provided substantially at the center in the longitudinal direction. One end portion of the rotating bracket <NUM> in the longitudinal direction is pulled by a spring <NUM>. As a result of this pulling, the rotating bracket <NUM> is restricted at the position of the end in the clockwise direction in the drawing in the rotatable range centered on the shaft 12a in a state in which an external force is not applied from a member other than the spring <NUM>. The guide roller <NUM> is fixed to one end portion of the rotating bracket <NUM> in the longitudinal direction so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 17a.

When the coin C illustrated in <FIG> is pushed by the first push body <NUM> to be moved outward in the radial direction, and collides with the guide roller <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>, a large impact may be applied to the guide roller <NUM> and the coin C. The coin hopper <NUM> reduces the impact as follows. That is, when the coin C collides with the guide roller <NUM>, the rotating bracket <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> slightly rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing about the shaft 12a. Since the guide roller <NUM> moves in the movement direction of the coin C along with this rotation, the impact applied to the guide roller <NUM> and the coin C is suppressed.

When changing the size of the coin C to be set in the coin hopper <NUM>, the user at least needs to replace the rotary disk <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, and change the distance between the feeding roller <NUM> and the guide roller <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. Specifically, it is necessary to provide the coin catching holes <NUM> having a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the coin C on the rotary disk <NUM>, and use the rotary disk <NUM> provided with the first push body <NUM> and the second push body <NUM> which have a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the coin C. The distance between the feeding roller <NUM> and the guide roller <NUM> needs to be changed to a value corresponding to the diameter of the coin C.

In the coin hopper <NUM> according to the embodiment, the user can change the distance between the feeding roller <NUM> and the guide roller <NUM> in a wide range by changing a locking position of the holding unit <NUM> with respect to the base body <NUM>. Hereinafter, the holding unit <NUM> will be described in detail.

<FIG> is an exploded perspective view illustrating the holding unit <NUM>. <FIG> illustrates the holding unit <NUM> when viewed from obliquely above. The holding unit <NUM> includes the guide pin <NUM>, the feeding roller <NUM>, a frame body <NUM>, a male screw <NUM>, a cylindrical shaft <NUM>, a swing body <NUM>, a shaft <NUM>, and the like. A through hole 21b is provided on a bottom plate portion 21a of the frame body <NUM>, and a screw portion of the male screw <NUM> is inserted into the through hole 21b. Furthermore, the screw portion of the male screw <NUM> is inserted into a hollow of the cylindrical shaft <NUM>.

The swing body <NUM> includes a cylindrical portion 24a and a fin portion 24b. The cylindrical shaft <NUM> inserted into the hollow of the cylindrical portion 24a holds the swing body <NUM> so as to be swingable as a fixed shaft itself. The guide pin <NUM> described above is fixed to substantially the center of an upper surface of the fin portion 24b of the swing body <NUM> in the longitudinal direction.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the feeding roller <NUM> described above has a flat cylindrical shape, and an outer circumferential surface of the feeding roller <NUM> can be rotated by a ball bearing. A through hole 24c is provided at one end portion of the fin portion 24b in the longitudinal direction. The shaft <NUM> is inserted into a hollow of the feeding roller <NUM> and the through hole 24c of the fin portion 24b. As a result, the feeding roller <NUM> is fixed to the swing body <NUM>.

<FIG> is a perspective view illustrating the holding unit <NUM>. The holding unit <NUM> reciprocates the guide pin <NUM> and the feeding roller <NUM> in an arrow direction of <FIG> by swinging the swing body <NUM> in the arrow direction of <FIG> with the cylindrical shaft <NUM> as an axis. The swing body <NUM> can swing in a range within the frame of the frame body <NUM>. The swing body <NUM> is biased to one side in a swinging direction by a tensile force of a spring <NUM>. Therefore, the swing body <NUM> is restricted by an end on one side of the swingable range in a state in which an external force is not applied from a member other than the spring <NUM>. Hereinafter, the end on one side of the swingable range is referred to as a home position.

On an outer surface of the frame body <NUM> of the holding unit <NUM>, a second tooth row 21c including three teeth is provided. A function of the second tooth row 21c will be described later.

A force of the spring <NUM> that pulls one end portion of the rotating bracket <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> in the longitudinal direction is larger than the force of the spring <NUM> that pulls the swing body <NUM> of the holding unit <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. Therefore, in <FIG>, when the coin C pinched between the feeding roller <NUM> and the guide roller <NUM> is pushed by the second push body <NUM> and moved outward in the radial direction, the feeding roller <NUM> moves in a direction in which the distance from the guide roller <NUM> increases. At this time, the guide roller <NUM> does not move in a direction in which the distance from the feeding roller <NUM> increases.

<FIG> is an exploded perspective view illustrating one end portion of the base body <NUM> in a longitudinal direction when viewed from a lower surface side. At one end portion of the base body <NUM> in the longitudinal direction, an arcuate first elongated hole <NUM>, an arcuate second elongated hole <NUM>, a first tooth row <NUM> including a plurality of teeth arranged at a predetermined interval along a circular arc track having a predetermined curvature, and a cylindrical shaft support portion <NUM> are provided. A scale <NUM> is attached to the first tooth row <NUM>.

The holding unit <NUM> is mounted on the base body <NUM> in a state in which an upper end portion of the cylindrical shaft <NUM> is inserted into a hollow of the shaft support portion <NUM> of the base body <NUM>. At this time, the guide pin <NUM> of the holding unit <NUM> is inserted into the second elongated hole <NUM> of the base body <NUM>, and the feeding roller <NUM> of the holding unit <NUM> is inserted into the first elongated hole <NUM> of the base body <NUM>. A tip end of the screw portion of the male screw <NUM> inserted into the hollow of the shaft support portion <NUM> is fastened to a nut <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. As illustrated in <FIG>, this fastening causes the holding unit <NUM> to be fixed to the base body <NUM>.

<FIG> is a plane cross-sectional view illustrating one end portion of the base body <NUM> in a longitudinal direction. <FIG> illustrates a plane cross section of a position of the first tooth row <NUM> in a thickness direction of the base body <NUM> when viewed from the lower surface side of the base body <NUM>. In the base body <NUM> to which the holding unit <NUM> is fixed, the first tooth row <NUM> provided in the base body <NUM> and the second tooth row 21c provided in the frame body <NUM> of the holding unit <NUM> mesh with each other. A plurality of teeth of the first tooth row <NUM> are arranged along a circular arc track having a predetermined curvature. When the holding unit <NUM> is mounted on the base body <NUM>, the user causes the second tooth row 21c provided in the frame body <NUM> of the holding unit <NUM> to mesh with three teeth which are at an arbitrary position in the first tooth row <NUM> while checking the scale (<NUM> in <FIG>) attached to the first tooth row <NUM>. In such an operation, the user can change the locking position of the holding unit <NUM> with respect to the base body <NUM> along the circular arc track described above. When the locking position is changed, the distance between the feeding roller <NUM> at the home position in the holding unit <NUM> and the guide roller <NUM> changes.

In the coin hopper <NUM> having such a configuration, the position and orientation of the guide roller <NUM> are caused to be constant regardless of the size of the coin (distance between the feeding roller <NUM> and the guide roller <NUM>), and thus the coin is appropriately guided toward the feeding passage by the guide roller <NUM> regardless of the size of the coin. Therefore, the changeable range of the size of the coin can be further expanded.

In the coin hopper <NUM> according to the embodiment, a combination of the first tooth row <NUM>, the second tooth row 21c, the shaft support portion (<NUM> in <FIG>), the cylindrical shaft (<NUM> in <FIG>), the nut (<NUM> in <FIG>), and the like configures locking position changing means. The locking position changing means changes the locking position of the holding unit <NUM> with respect to the base body <NUM> along the track (circular arc track described above) for changing the distance between the feeding roller <NUM> and the guide roller <NUM>.

A direction in which the cylindrical shaft <NUM> is inserted into and extracted from the hollow of the shaft support portion <NUM> is along a tooth width direction of the first tooth row <NUM> (direction orthogonal to a paper surface of <FIG>). In such a configuration, the user can extract the cylindrical shaft <NUM> of the holding unit <NUM> from the shaft support portion <NUM> while releasing the meshing of the first tooth row <NUM> and the second tooth row 21c. The user can insert the cylindrical shaft <NUM> of the holding unit <NUM> into the shaft support portion <NUM> while meshing the second tooth row 21c with the teeth at an arbitrary position of the first tooth row <NUM>. At this time, the user can set the distance between the feeding roller <NUM> and the guide roller <NUM> to an arbitrary value without using a dedicated jig by grasping the arbitrary position described above with the scale (<NUM> in <FIG>).

In a case in which the coin has a small size, when the coin is fed from the feeding passage <NUM>, the coin passes by the side of the optical path without passing through an optical path of the coin detection sensor <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, and thus the coin may not be detected by the coin detection sensor <NUM>. The coin hopper <NUM> according to the embodiment includes the width adjustment pin <NUM> that adjusts the width of the feeding passage <NUM>, and the first recess <NUM>, the second recess <NUM> and the third recess into which the width adjustment pin <NUM> is inserted. The user can easily and appropriately adjust the width of the feeding passage <NUM> by inserting the width adjustment pin <NUM> into the recess suitable for a diameter of the coin among the first recess <NUM>, the second recess <NUM>, and the third recess.

An arrow g in <FIG> indicates a gravity direction. An arrow h indicates a horizontal direction. As illustrated in <FIG>, the coin hopper <NUM> is mounted on a coin processing apparatus such as a money changer in an orientation in which a bottom surface of the pedestal <NUM> is aligned in the horizontal direction h. The base body <NUM> is attached to the pedestal <NUM> in an orientation in which a longitudinal direction (direction indicated by an alternate long and short dash line in the drawing) of the base body <NUM> is inclined from the bottom surface of the pedestal <NUM>. Therefore, in the coin processing apparatus, the orientation of the base body <NUM> is set in which the longitudinal direction is inclined from the horizontal direction h. In the coin hopper <NUM> according to the embodiment, the coin C is ejected obliquely downward from the inside of the coin hopper <NUM> as indicated by an arrow J in <FIG>.

In general, in the coin hopper <NUM>, the size of the base body <NUM> in the longitudinal direction is the largest among each of the parts. Therefore, in the coin processing apparatus, the orientation of the base body <NUM> is set in which the longitudinal direction is inclined from the horizontal direction h as described above, so that space saving of installation space of the coin hopper <NUM> in the horizontal direction h is achieved.

As illustrated in <FIG>, in the coin hopper <NUM>, a disk circumferential edge 30b which is a circumferential edge of the rotary disk <NUM> has a ring shape having a flat surface extending straight in the radial direction. The reason why the disk circumferential edge 30b has a flat surface extending straight in the radial direction is that a thickness capable of exhibiting a desired strength is required for a circumferential wall portion of the rotary disk <NUM>.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating a hopper head <NUM> and the rotary disk <NUM> of the coin hopper according to a first comparative example not including a certain aspect of the present invention. When the rotary disk <NUM> is made of a resin material, there is an advantage that a weight of the rotary disk <NUM> can be reduced, but there is a disadvantage that a width of the circumferential edge of the ring-shaped disk increases in order to ensure strength.

In the rotary disk <NUM>, the reason why the increase in the width of the circumferential edge of the ring-shaped disk is disadvantageous is as follows. That is, when the coin hopper <NUM> is mounted on the coin processing apparatus in the orientation in which the longitudinal direction of the base body <NUM> is inclined from the horizontal direction h, as illustrated in <FIG>, the orientation of the rotary disk <NUM> is set in which the radial direction is inclined from the horizontal direction h. Then, the coin C may remain on a circumferential wall surface of a circular opening <NUM> of the hopper head <NUM>. Specifically, as illustrated in <FIG>, the coin C may come into contact with a region positioned on the lowermost side in the gravity direction in the entire region of the circumferential wall surface of the circular opening <NUM> in an orientation facing the region. The coin C in such an orientation stays in the lowermost region on the circumferential wall surface of the circular opening <NUM> by the action of gravity while a side surface of the coin is rubbed against the edge of the ring-shaped disk without following the rotating rotary disk <NUM>. Then, the control board erroneously detects that all of the coins C have been fed based on a fact that the coin detection signal has not been received from the coin detection sensor (<NUM> in <FIG>) for more than a certain period of time even though the normal rotation of the rotary disk <NUM> is continued. In the coin hopper that is required to accurately count the number of coins C, the erroneous detection is a great disadvantage.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating the hopper head <NUM> and the rotary disk <NUM> of the coin hopper according to a second comparative example not including a certain aspect of the present invention. In the hopper head <NUM> according to the second comparative example, a lowermost region on the circumferential wall surface of the circular opening <NUM> extends to the immediate vicinity of the coin catching hole <NUM>. In such a configuration, since the coin C coming into contact with the lowermost region on the circumferential wall surface of the circular opening <NUM> in an orientation facing the lowermost region can be guided to the coin catching hole <NUM> by the wall surface of the lowermost region, the occurrence of the erroneous detection described above can be suppressed.

However, the hopper head <NUM> according to the second comparative example has a disadvantage that an adaptable coin size is limited. Specifically, in the second comparative example, in order to prevent the coin C from spilling out of the hopper head <NUM> through a gap between the lowermost region on the circumferential wall surface of the circular opening <NUM> described above and an upper surface of the rotary disk <NUM>, it is necessary to make the gap smaller than the thickness of the coin C. On the other hand, when the size of the coin C is changed, it is necessary to replace the rotary disk <NUM>, but the thickness of the rotary disk <NUM> is not constant. This is because the thicknesses of the first push body and the second push body of the rotary disk <NUM> are set to values corresponding to the thickness of the coin C. When the rotary disk <NUM> has a relatively small thickness, the gap between the circumferential wall surface of the circular opening <NUM> of the hopper head <NUM> and the upper surface of the rotary disk <NUM> is larger than the thickness of the coin C, and the coin spills out of the hopper head <NUM>. On the other hand, when the rotary disk <NUM> has a relatively large thickness, the circumferential wall surface of the circular opening <NUM> comes into contact with the upper surface of the rotary disk <NUM>, and the hopper head <NUM> is inhibited from being attached to the base body (<NUM> in <FIG>). For the above reason, in the hopper head <NUM> according to the second comparative example, since the changeable range of the thickness of the rotary disk <NUM> is limited, the size of the coin C that can be adapted is limited.

In addition to the coin hopper of the first comparative example, the coin discharging device described in Patent Literature <NUM> also has a problem that the coin C may remain on the circumferential wall surface of the circular opening of the coin tank.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a disk feeding device capable of preventing a disk from remaining on a circumferential wall surface of a circular opening of a storage portion (hopper head <NUM> in the embodiment) such as a coin tank.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a disk feeding device including: a base body; a storage portion that stores a disk; a rotary member that is disposed in the base body and is rotatable; and a feeding passage that is provided in the base body and through which the disk fed toward an outside of the device passes, in which the rotary member includes a circular through hole that penetrates in a rotation axis direction and a push portion that pushes the disk in a rotation direction to move the disk, and moves the disk sent to the rotary member from the storage portion and passing through the through hole with the push portion in the rotation direction, the disk moved to a predetermined position of the rotation direction is fed outside the device from the feeding passage, and a remaining prevention portion that prevents the disk from remaining on an edge of the rotary member in a radial direction is detachably provided in the storage portion.

The coin hopper <NUM> according to the embodiment can achieve the above-described object. As illustrated in <FIG>, the coin hopper <NUM> includes a remaining prevention portion <NUM> that prevents the coin from remaining in a region positioned on the lowermost side in the gravity direction in the entire region on the circumferential wall surface of the circular opening <NUM> of the hopper head <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the remaining prevention portion <NUM> protrudes inward in the radial direction from the circumferential wall surface of the circular opening <NUM> and comes into contact with the coin, thereby preventing the coin from standing on the circumferential edge of the rotary disk <NUM>. As a result, the remaining prevention portion <NUM> prevents the coin from remaining in the lowermost region on the circumferential wall surface of the circular opening <NUM>.

<FIG> is a perspective view illustrating the coin hopper <NUM> in a state in which the remaining prevention portion <NUM> is removed from the hopper head <NUM>. As illustrated in the drawing, in the coin hopper <NUM> according to the embodiment, the remaining prevention portion <NUM> is configured to be detachable from the hopper head <NUM>. Specifically, as illustrated in <FIG>, the remaining prevention portion <NUM> inserted into the hopper head <NUM> from below is fixed to the hopper head <NUM> by a screw <NUM>. By replacing the remaining prevention portion <NUM> with a remaining prevention portion having a shape and size suitable for the size of the coin, the size of the coin that can be set in the coin hopper <NUM> is easily changed. Therefore, in the hopper head <NUM> of the coin hopper <NUM> according to the embodiment, a range in which the size of the coin can be changed can be further expanded.

It is desirable that the remaining prevention portion <NUM> has a tapered surface descending from an outer side to an inner side in the radial direction of the circular opening <NUM>.

Hereinafter, a modification example in which a partial configuration of the coin hopper <NUM> according to the embodiment is modified to another configuration will be described. The configuration of the coin hopper <NUM> according to the modification example is the same as that of the embodiment unless otherwise noted below.

<FIG> is a plane cross-sectional view illustrating a part of the base body <NUM> of the coin hopper according to a modification example. <FIG> illustrates a plane cross section of a position of the first tooth row <NUM> in a thickness direction of the base body <NUM> when viewed from the lower surface side of the base body <NUM>. The coin hopper according to the modification example does not include the second tooth row, and instead of this, the coin hopper includes a gear <NUM> that meshes with the first tooth row <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the gear <NUM> is rotatably held by the holding unit <NUM>. The holding unit <NUM> includes an operation unit <NUM> that is rotatable and mounted coaxially with the gear <NUM>. A tool hole into which a tool such as a screwdriver is inserted is provided in the operation unit <NUM>. The user can change the locking position of the holding unit <NUM> with respect to the base body <NUM> by operating the operation unit <NUM> with a tool to rotate the gear <NUM>.

The present invention has unique effects for each of the following aspects.

According to a first aspect, there is provided a disk feeding device (for example, a coin hopper <NUM>) including: a base body (for example, a base body <NUM>); a storage portion (for example, a hopper head <NUM>) that stores a disk; a rotary member (for example, a rotary disk <NUM>) that is disposed in the base body and is rotatable; a feeding passage (for example, a feeding passage <NUM>) that is provided in the base body and through which the disk (for example, a coin C) fed toward an outside of the device passes; and a guide member (for example, a guide roller <NUM>) and a feeding member (for example, a feeding roller <NUM>) that face each other via the feeding passage, in which the rotary member includes a circular through hole (for example, a coin catching hole <NUM>) that penetrates in a rotation axis direction and a push portion (for example, a first push body <NUM> and a second push body <NUM>) that pushes the disk in a rotation direction to move the disk, and moves the disk sent to the rotary member from the storage portion and passing through the through hole with the push portion in the rotation direction, the guide member guides the disk moved to a predetermined position of the rotation direction toward the feeding passage, the feeding member is capable of reciprocating in a direction in which a distance from the guide member is changed, and feeds the disk pinched between the feeding member and the guide member by a biasing force of a biasing member while being biased toward the guide member by the biasing member, the disk feeding device including a holding body (for example, a holding unit <NUM>) that reciprocally holds the feeding member and is separated from the base body, and locking position changing means (for example, a combination of a first tooth row <NUM>, a second tooth row 21c, a shaft support portion <NUM>, a cylindrical shaft <NUM>, a nut <NUM>, and the like) for changing a locking position of the holding body with respect to the base body along a track in a direction in which the distance is changed (track along a tooth arrangement direction of a first tooth row <NUM>).

In the configuration, a position and an orientation of the guide member are caused to be constant regardless of the size of the disk set in the disk feeding device, and thus the disk is appropriately guided toward the feeding passage by the guide member regardless of the size of the disk. Therefore, according to the first aspect, the changeable range of the size of the disk can be further expanded.

In the first aspect, a first tooth row (for example, a first tooth row <NUM>) including a plurality of teeth arranged at a predetermined interval along the track is provided in the base body, a second tooth row (for example, a second tooth row 21c) that includes a plurality of teeth and meshes with the first tooth row is provided in the holding body, and the holding body is configured to be capable of being attached to and detached from the base body in a tooth width direction of the first tooth row.

In the configuration, the user can remove the holding body from the base body while releasing the meshing of the first tooth row provided in the base body and the second tooth row provided in the holding body. The user can mount the holding body on the base body while meshing the second tooth row provided in the holding body with the teeth at an arbitrary position of the first tooth row provided in the base body.

Alternatively, in the first aspect, a tooth row including a plurality of teeth arranged at a predetermined interval along the track is provided in the base body, a gear meshing with the tooth row is provided in the holding body, and the locking position changing means includes at least the tooth row and the gear.

In the configuration, the user can adjust the distance between the feeding member and the guide member with a simple operation of turning the gear.

According to a fourth aspect, in the first aspect, in the disk feeding device, a scale is provided on the first tooth row or the tooth row.

In the configuration, the user can set the distance between the feeding member and the guide member to an arbitrary value without using a dedicated jig by grasping a target attachment position of the holding body in the base body by using the scale.

According to a fifth aspect, in any one of the first aspect or the fourth aspect, a detection sensor (for example, a coin detection sensor <NUM>) that detects the disk in the feeding passage, a width adjustment member (for example, a width adjustment pin <NUM>) that adjusts a width of the feeding passage, and a plurality of recesses (for example, a first recess <NUM>, a second recess <NUM>, and a third recess) into which the width adjustment member is inserted are provided in the feeding passage.

In the configuration, the user can easily and appropriately adjust the width of the feeding passage by inserting the width adjustment member into the recess suitable for the diameter of the disk among a plurality of the recesses provided in the feeding passage, and thus can suppress occurrence of a failure that the disk is not detected by the detection sensor.

According to a sixth aspect, in any one of the first, the forth or the fifth aspect, a remaining prevention portion (for example, a remaining prevention portion <NUM>) that prevents the disk from remaining on an edge of the rotary member in a radial direction is detachably provided in the storage portion.

In the configuration, the user can easily change the size of the disk that can be set in the disk feeding device by replacing the remaining prevention portion that is attached to the storage portion. Therefore, since a manufacturer of the disk feeding device is not required to individually manufacture the storage portion corresponding to each size and it is only necessary to manufacture the remaining prevention portion corresponding to each size at a lower cost than that of the storage portion, the cost can be reduced.

The present invention can be suitably used for, for example, a disk feeding device and a disk processing device including the disk feeding device.

Claim 1:
A disk feeding device (<NUM>) including:
a base body (<NUM>);
a storage portion (<NUM>) that stores a disk;
a rotary member (<NUM>) that is disposed in the base body and is rotatable;
a feeding passage (<NUM>) that is provided in the base body and through which the disk fed toward an outside of a device passes; and
a guide member (<NUM>) and a feeding member (<NUM>) that face each other via the feeding passage,
the rotary member including a circular through hole (<NUM>) that penetrates in a rotation axis direction and a push portion (<NUM>) that pushes the disk in a rotation direction to move the disk, and moving the disk that is sent to the rotary member from the storage portion and passes through the through hole with the push portion in the rotation direction,
the guide member guiding the disk moved to a predetermined position of the rotation direction toward the feeding passage,
the feeding member being capable of reciprocating in a direction in which a distance from the guide member is changed, and feeding the disk pinched between the feeding member and the guide member by a biasing force of a biasing member while being biased toward the guide member by the biasing member,
the disk feeding device comprising:
a holding body (<NUM>) that reciprocally holds the feeding member and is separated from the base body; and
locking position changing means (<NUM>, 21c, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) for changing a locking position of the holding body with respect to the base body along a track in a direction in which the distance is changed, characterized in that
a first tooth row (<NUM>) including a plurality of teeth arranged at a predetermined interval along the track is provided in the base body,
a second tooth row (21c) that includes a plurality of teeth and meshes with the first tooth row is provided in the holding body, and
the holding body is configured to be capable of being attached to and detached from the base body in a tooth width direction of the first tooth row, or
a tooth row (<NUM>) including a plurality of teeth arranged at a predetermined interval along the track is provided in the base body,
a gear (<NUM>) meshing with the tooth row is provided on the holding body, and
the locking position changing means includes at least the tooth row and the gear.