阅读说明：本技术 介质处理装置以及介质处理装置的单元连接方法 (Medium processing apparatus and unit connection method of medium processing apparatus ) 是由 高桥弘章 熊谷博幸 于 2020-03-25 设计创作，主要内容包括：介质处理装置具有第一单元和与所述第一单元连接的多个第二单元。所述多个第二单元分别具有：输送机构,输送介质；以及介质检测部,检测由所述输送机构输送的所述介质,并将表示检测到所述介质的情况的信号发送给所述第一单元。所述第一单元基于从所述多个第二单元的各介质检测部发送的所述信号,决定所述多个第二单元相对于所述第一单元的连接顺序。(The medium processing apparatus has a first unit and a plurality of second units connected to the first unit. The plurality of second units respectively have: a conveying mechanism that conveys a medium; and a medium detection unit that detects the medium conveyed by the conveyance mechanism and transmits a signal indicating that the medium is detected to the first unit. The first unit determines a connection order of the plurality of second units with respect to the first unit based on the signal transmitted from each of the medium detectors of the plurality of second units.)

1. A medium processing apparatus includes: a first unit; and a plurality of second units connected to the first unit,

the plurality of second units respectively have:

a conveying mechanism that conveys a medium; and

a medium detecting unit that detects the medium conveyed by the conveying mechanism and transmits a signal indicating that the medium is detected to the first unit,

the first unit determines a connection order of the plurality of second units with respect to the first unit based on the signal transmitted from each of the medium detectors of the plurality of second units.

2. The media processing device of claim 1,

the first unit determines the connection order based on an order in which the signals transmitted from the medium detection units of the plurality of second units are received.

3. The media processing device of claim 1 or claim 2,

the first unit is located at a higher level than the plurality of second units in a control system of the medium processing apparatus.

4. The media processing device of any one of claim 1 to claim 3,

the plurality of second units have a function common to each other.

5. The media processing device of any one of claim 1 to claim 3,

the plurality of second units includes two units having mutually different functions.

6. The media processing device of any one of claim 1 to claim 5,

the first unit is a counting unit having: a receiving unit configured to receive the medium; and a conveying unit that conveys the medium received by the receiving unit to the plurality of second units,

the plurality of second units are respectively added units having the following sections: a first conveyance path that conveys the medium in a first direction; a second conveyance path that conveys the medium in a second direction different from the first direction; and a detection device that detects the medium conveyed by the first conveyance path or the second conveyance path and sends a signal indicating that the medium is detected to the counting unit,

the plurality of extension units are connected to each other in a state where at least one of the first conveyance path and the second conveyance path of adjacent extension units is connected to each other,

the counting unit determines a connection order of the plurality of extension units based on an order in which the signals transmitted from the respective detection devices of the plurality of extension units are received.

7. The media processing device of any one of claim 1 to claim 6,

the first unit notifies the determined connection order of the second unit to the second unit corresponding to the connection order for each of the plurality of second units.

8. The media processing device of claim 7,

each of the plurality of second units further includes a storage unit that stores the connection order notified from the first unit.

9. The media processing device of claim 8,

the plurality of second units notify the first unit of the connection order of the second units themselves stored in the storage section, respectively.

10. The media processing device of claim 9,

the plurality of second units respectively transmit a first signal indicating the connection order of the second units themselves and a second signal indicating the connection order of the second units themselves,

the first unit determines whether the connection order indicated by the first signal is the same as the connection order indicated by the second signal.

11. The media processing device of any one of claim 8 to claim 10,

the first unit and the plurality of second units are connected in series,

the plurality of second units each transmit, to the first unit, identification information unique to the second unit in addition to information indicating the connection order of the second unit itself stored in the storage unit.

12. The media processing device of any one of claim 1 to claim 11,

further comprises a display device for displaying information related to the medium processing device,

the display device has: a first display area; and a second display area adjacent to or in contact with the first display area,

at least one of the first display area and the second display area displays the decided connection order.

13. The media processing device of claim 12,

the first display region extends in an up-down direction with respect to a display region of the display device, and the second display region extends in a left-right direction with respect to the display region of the display device,

the second display area displays a connection state of the first unit and the plurality of second units.

14. The media processing device of claim 12 or claim 13,

the second display region extends in one of left and right directions from one end in the up-down direction of the first display region.

15. A unit connecting method of a medium processing apparatus having a first unit and a plurality of second units connected to the first unit, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving signals from the plurality of second units respectively indicating that a condition of the medium conveyed by the second units themselves is detected,

determining a connection order of the plurality of second units with respect to the first unit based on an order of signals received from the plurality of second units, respectively.

16. The unit connecting method of a media processing device according to claim 15,

the first unit is a counting unit having:

a receiving unit configured to receive the medium; and

a conveying unit that conveys the medium received by the receiving unit to the plurality of second units,

the plurality of second units are respectively added units having the following sections:

a transport path that transports the medium; and

a detection device that detects the medium conveyed through the conveyance path and transmits a signal indicating that the medium is detected,

the plurality of extension units are connected to each other in a state where at least one of the first conveyance path and the second conveyance path of adjacent extension units is connected to each other,

the plurality of extension units sequentially transport the medium through respective transport paths of the plurality of extension units,

the plurality of extension units detect the medium conveyed through the conveyance path of the extension unit,

the counting unit determines a connection order of the plurality of extension units based on an order in which the signals transmitted from the respective detection devices of the plurality of extension units are received.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a media processing device and a unit connection method of the media processing device.

The present application claims priority based on japanese patent application No. 2019-.

Background

Conventionally, there is known a paper sheet handling apparatus in which a plurality of units having functions corresponding to requests from a user can be added to an apparatus main body (for example, see patent document 1). In the paper sheet handling apparatus disclosed in patent document 1, the apparatus main body is connected to a unit having 1 or more stacking portions, so that 1 or more stacking portions can be added to the outside of the apparatus main body, and paper sheets fed into the apparatus main body can be assigned to a target stacking portion.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. H07-267513

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In such a paper sheet handling apparatus, in order to distribute paper sheets fed into the apparatus main body to a target stacking portion, it is necessary to sequentially connect the units to the apparatus main body. In addition, the connection order of the respective units needs to be set in the apparatus main body. Therefore, for example, when an operator who sets the paper sheet handling apparatus mistakenly connects the respective units to the wiring of the apparatus main body or mistakenly sets the connection order of the respective units in the apparatus main body, the paper sheets thrown into the apparatus main body cannot be accurately distributed to the stacking portion of the target unit. Such a problem occurs not only in a sheet processing apparatus that processes sheets, but also in other media processing apparatuses such as a coin processing apparatus that processes coins.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a media processing device and a unit connection method of the media processing device, which can accurately and easily set a connection order of a plurality of units connected to a device main body.

Means for solving the problems

A medium processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a first unit; and a plurality of second units connected to the first unit. The plurality of second units respectively have: a conveying mechanism that conveys a medium; and a medium detection unit that detects the medium conveyed by the conveyance mechanism and transmits a signal indicating that the medium is detected to the first unit. The first unit determines a connection order of the plurality of second units with respect to the first unit based on the signal transmitted from each of the medium detectors of the plurality of second units. A unit connection method of a media processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a unit connection method of a media processing device including a first unit and a plurality of second units connected to the first unit, the method including: the method includes receiving, from each of the plurality of second units, a signal indicating that the medium transported by the second unit itself is detected, and determining a connection order of the plurality of second units with respect to the first unit based on an order of the signals received from each of the plurality of second units.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a media processing device and a unit connection method of the media processing device, which can accurately and easily set the connection order of a plurality of second units connected to a first unit.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the inside of the overall configuration of a medium processing device according to an embodiment, as viewed from the front side.

Fig. 2 is a front view showing a counting unit and a stacking unit of the media processing device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the counting unit and the stacking unit of the medium processing apparatus according to the embodiment viewed from the front side.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a counting unit and a stacking unit of the media processing device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a stacking unit main body portion of the media processing device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a stacking unit main body portion of the media processing device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method of setting the connection order of the stacking unit to the counting unit in the media processing device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of setting a connection procedure when the counting unit and the stacking unit of the media processing device according to the embodiment are connected in parallel.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a connection relationship when the counting unit and the stacking unit are connected in parallel according to the embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reception state of a reception signal generated by each accumulation unit in the counting unit in a case where the counting unit and the accumulation unit of the media processing device according to the embodiment are connected in parallel.

Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of display of a display screen of the media processing device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing a connection procedure setting process performed by the counting unit of the media processing device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing a paper sheet detection process performed by the stacking unit of the media processing device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing a connection order storing process performed by the stacking unit of the media processing device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing a connection order transmission process performed by the stacking unit of the media processing device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing a process of continuity check (check) of the additional units by the counting unit of the media processing device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a connection state of the counting unit and the stacking unit in the medium processing device according to the second embodiment.

Fig. 18 is a diagram for explaining an example of information transmitted to the control unit of the counting unit according to the second embodiment.

Fig. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of the reception state of the reception signal generated by each stacking unit in the counting unit when the counting unit and the stacking unit of the media processing device according to the second embodiment are connected in series.

Detailed Description

< Medium processing apparatus >

The medium processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is described below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the entire configuration of a medium processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment as viewed from the front.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the counting unit 2 and the stacking unit 3 of the medium processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the counting unit 2 and the stacking unit 3 of the medium processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment as viewed from the front.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the counter unit 2 and the stacking unit 3 as viewed from the stacking unit 3 side.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the stacking unit 3 viewed from the counting unit 2 side, and shows a state in which the covers are removed.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the stacking unit 3 viewed from the stacking unit 4 side, and shows a state where the covers are removed.

The media processing device 1 is a device configured by combining units having 1 or more functions. The 1 or more functions include, for example, a function of sorting media such as paper sheets and coins by type (for example, by denomination) and stacking the media per a predetermined number of sheets set in advance, a function of sealing the media such as paper sheets and coins stacked per a predetermined number of sheets, and the like. In the medium processing apparatus 1, a series of intended functions can be exhibited by connecting 1 or more units (for example, the stacking units 3 to 6 or a sealing unit (not shown)) to the counting unit 2 as the apparatus main body. A unit having 1 or more functions connected to the counting unit 2 is also referred to as an extension unit.

In the medium processing apparatus 1, the operation of the additional units (in the embodiment, the stacking units 3 to 6) is controlled by the counting unit 2. In a control system of the medium processing apparatus 1, the counting unit 2 is located at an upper position, and the additional unit is located at a lower position. In the media processing device 1, an operator (not shown) operates an operation display unit 24 (display device, see fig. 2) provided in the counting unit 2 to instruct an operation, thereby performing a predetermined operation corresponding to the operation instruction.

The media processing device 1 according to the embodiment is described by taking as an example a case where 4 stacking units 3 to 6 having different numbers of stacking units are connected to the counter unit 2. The medium processing apparatus 1 has the following functions: the paper sheets 100 such as banknotes, securities, and cash notes that are inserted into the receiving unit 21 of the counting unit 2 are sorted by the type (e.g., denomination) of the paper sheet 100, and stacked in the stacking units 32, 42, 52, and 62 of the stacking units 3 to 6, in which stacking positions are set in advance, for each type of the paper sheet 100, for each predetermined number of sheets.

In the following description, the side of the operation display unit 24 in the media processing device 1 (the front side of the paper in fig. 1) is defined as the front or front surface, and the opposite side of the operation display unit 24 in the media processing device 1 (the back side of the paper in fig. 1) is defined as the back or rear surface. The counting unit 2 side when the medium processing apparatus 1 is viewed from the front is defined as the right side (right side in the drawing sheet of fig. 1), and the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 side when the medium processing apparatus 1 is viewed from the front is defined as the left side (left side in the drawing sheet of fig. 1). Note that the reject (reject) portion 23 side (upper side of the paper surface in fig. 1) when the medium processing apparatus 1 is viewed from the front is defined as an upper side, and the receiving portion 21 side (lower side of the paper surface in fig. 1) when the medium processing apparatus 1 is viewed from the front is defined as a lower side. In the media processing device 1, the receiving section 21 side is defined as the upstream side and the stacking sections 32, 42, 52, 62 side is defined as the downstream side in the conveying direction in which the sheets 100 loaded into the receiving section 21 of the counting unit 2 are conveyed to the stacking units 3 to 6.

< counting Unit >

First, the counting unit 2 of the medium processing apparatus 1 is explained.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the counter unit 2 includes a receiving portion 21, a counter main body portion 22, a rejecting portion 23, an operation display portion 24 (see fig. 2), and a control portion 25. The paper sheet 100 before processing is loaded into the receiving section 21. The counter main body 22 recognizes and conveys the inserted paper sheets 100. The rejected sheets are stacked in the reject unit 23. The operation display unit 24 is used for the operation of the media processing device 1. The control unit 25 performs overall control of the medium processing apparatus 1. In the embodiment, the paper sheets 100 inserted into the receiving unit 21 are banknotes having a rectangular shape in a plan view, and are, for example, 1 ten thousand yen banknotes, 5 thousand yen banknotes, two thousand yen banknotes, one thousand yen banknotes, and the like.

As shown in fig. 3, the receiving portion 21 is provided in a lower right area of the counting unit 2 as viewed from the front. The receiving portion 21 includes an opening 211, a bottom wall 212, a side wall 213, a rear wall 214, a front wall 215 (see fig. 2), a presser (ビルプレス)216, and a kick-out roller 217. The opening 211 is always open to the front and right side surfaces of the lower right side of the counter unit 2. The paper sheet 100 is placed on the bottom wall 212. The side wall 213 is provided along the edge of the left side of the bottom wall 212, being disposed in the vertical direction with respect to the bottom wall 212. The back wall 214 is provided on the back side of the receiving portion 21 and covers at least the entire back surface of the opening 211. The front wall 215 is disposed on the front side opposite to the rear wall 214. The pressing member 216 presses the paper sheet 100 placed on the bottom wall 212 from above toward the bottom wall 212. Kick-out roller 217 is provided on the lower side of bottom wall 212. The bottom wall 212, the side wall 213, the back wall 214, and the front wall 215 form a receiving space for receiving the inserted paper sheets 100.

The bottom wall 212 becomes a flat surface. The paper sheet 100 is placed with one surface of the paper sheet 100 in contact with the flat surface of the bottom wall 212. The bottom wall 212 is disposed obliquely to the upper right side with respect to the horizontal plane when viewed from the front. The plurality of paper sheets 100 placed on the bottom wall 212 are offset to the left along the inclination of the bottom wall 212. As a result, the long side portions of the paper sheets 100 placed on the bottom wall 212 are brought into contact with the side wall 213 provided along the left edge of the bottom wall 212, and stacked in the receiving space in a state where the positions in the width direction are aligned.

The distance between the back wall 214 and the front wall 215 is set to be slightly longer than the length of the paper sheet 100 in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, with respect to the plurality of paper sheets 100 placed on the bottom wall 212, at least one of the short side portions of both the paper sheets abuts against one of the back wall 214 and the front wall 215, and as a result, the paper sheets are stacked in the receiving space with the longitudinal positions thereof substantially aligned by the back wall 214 and the front wall 215.

In the side wall 213, a through hole (not shown) penetrating the side wall 213 in the thickness direction is provided in the vicinity of the bottom wall 212. The through-hole (not shown) is provided along the edge of the side wall 213 on the bottom wall 212 side, and is longer than the long side of the sheet 100. Therefore, the paper sheets 100 stacked on the bottom wall 212 are separated one by one from the lowermost layer in the stacked state by the kick-out roller 217 (see fig. 3) provided below the bottom wall 212, and then conveyed to the counter main body 22 side through the through-holes (not shown) of the side walls 213.

The plurality of paper sheets 100 are conveyed one by one from through holes (not shown) provided in the side wall 213 to the counter main body 22 side with the long side portions in contact with the side wall 213. Therefore, the plurality of paper sheets 100 are conveyed in the media processing device 1 with the width direction as the conveyance direction.

A pressing piece 216 is provided along the side wall 213 so as to be movable in the up-down direction.

The pressing member 216 presses the paper sheets 100 from the upper side to the lower side with a force corresponding to the number of paper sheets 100 stacked in the receiving space (the thickness of the stacked paper sheets 100). Thus, at least the lowermost sheet among the stacked sheets 100 in the receiving portion 21 is in close contact with the bottom wall 212, and therefore, the separation of the sheets 100 by the kicking-out roller 217 can be performed accurately.

As shown in fig. 3, the counter main body 22 includes an intake roller 221, a separation roller 222, an intra-counter unit conveyance mechanism 223, a detection unit 224, and a recognition unit 225. The take-in roller 221 takes in the sheet 100 conveyed from the receiving portion 21 (receiving space) into the counter main body portion 22. The separation roller 222 separates the paper sheets 100 taken in by the take-in roller 221 one by one. The conveying mechanism 223 in the counter unit conveys the taken-in paper sheet 100. The detection unit 224 detects the taken-in paper sheet 100 and detects the taken-in state. The recognition unit 225 recognizes the authenticity of the taken-in paper sheet 100. The detection unit 224 and the recognition unit 225 constitute a recognition device.

The intake roller 221 and the separation roller 222 are provided in the vicinity of the downstream side of the through hole (not shown) of the side wall 213. The intake roller 221 and the separation roller 22 are disposed opposite to each other in the thickness direction of the sheet 100. The paper sheet 100 is sandwiched between the intake roller 221 and the separation roller 222, and is delivered to the conveying mechanism 223 in the counting unit one by the rotation of these rollers 221 and 222.

The intra-counting-unit transport mechanism 223 has an intake transport path 223a, a recognition transport path 223b, a reject-side transport path 223c, and a discharge-side transport path 223 d. The loading and conveying path 223a conveys the sheet 100 loaded from the receiving portion 21 into the counter main body 22. The recognition conveyance path 223b is connected to an end of the intake conveyance path 223a opposite to the receiving portion 21. The reject-side conveying path 223c is connected to an end of the recognition conveying path 223b opposite to the intake conveying path 223 a. The carry-out side conveying path 223d is connected to an end of the recognition conveying path 223b, that is, the same end as the end to which the reject side conveying path 223c is connected.

The intake conveyance path 223a is connected to a through hole (not shown) of the side wall 213 of the receiving portion 21, and extends leftward from the receiving portion 21. A detection unit 224 is provided on the downstream side of the intake roller 221 and the separation roller 222 in the intake conveyance path 223 a.

The detection unit 224 detects whether or not the paper sheet 100 is taken in the counter main body 22 and detects the conveyance state of the taken-in paper sheet 100. The detection section 224 detects the presence or absence of overlapped feeding based on the light transmittance or physical thickness of the paper sheet 100 being fed. The overlapped feeding refers to a state in which at least a part of two or more sheets 100 are overlapped. The detection unit 224 detects the presence or absence of skew based on a shift in the detection timing of each of the longitudinal ends of the sheet 100 being conveyed. Skew is a state in which the short side portion of the sheet 100 is inclined with respect to the conveyance direction, and the sheet 100 is conveyed. The detection section 224 detects the presence or absence of near paper feed (near feed) to the paper sheets 100 based on the interval between the detection timings of the paper sheets 100 adjacent to each other in the conveyance direction. In this way, in the counter main body 22, the detection unit 224 detects double feed, skew, and near feed of the paper sheets 100, and thereby it is possible to determine whether or not the paper sheets 100 are normally fed.

The recognition conveyance path 223b extends from an end of the intake conveyance path 223a opposite to the receiving portion 21, substantially vertically upward with respect to the intake conveyance path 223 a. A recognition unit 225 is provided at a halfway position of the recognition conveyance path 223 b.

The recognition unit 225 includes an optical sensor (not shown) and an imaging device (not shown). The optical sensor includes a plurality of light emitting elements that emit light of different wavelengths, and a light receiving element that receives the light emitted from the light emitting elements. The imaging device acquires image information of the paper 100 when the paper 100 conveyed along the recognition conveying path 223b is irradiated with light of a predetermined frequency from the light emitting element.

The recognition unit 225 irradiates the paper sheet 100 conveyed along the recognition conveyance path 223b with visible light and ultraviolet light from the plurality of light emitting elements. The recognition unit 225 acquires image information of the sheet 100 during irradiation with visible light and during irradiation with ultraviolet light by the imaging device. The recognition unit 225 compares the acquired image information with reference image data created in advance for each type of paper 100, and determines the type of the reference image data that can be determined to match as the type (denomination) of paper 100.

The paper sheet whose type (denomination) is specified by the presence of the reference image data thus matched is specified as the paper sheet 100 without the recognition error. The sheet 100 without the recognition error is conveyed to the discharge-side conveying path 223d described later and delivered to the common conveying path 311 of the stacking unit 3. On the other hand, a sheet of paper for which there is no matching reference image data and for which the type cannot be specified is specified as a sheet of paper 100 for which there is a recognition abnormality. The paper 100 having the identification abnormality is conveyed to the reject side conveyance path 223c, and becomes a rejected paper stored in the reject portion 23.

The reject-side conveying path 223c extends from a branch portion provided at the other end of the recognition conveying path 223b to the vicinity of the reject portion 23.

The reject portion 23 is provided in an upper right area of the counting unit 2 when viewed from the front. The reject unit 23 includes an opening 231, a bottom wall 232, a side wall 233, a back wall 234, and an impeller 235. The opening 231 is always open to the right upper front surface and the right side surface of the counter unit 2. The paper sheet 100 is placed on the bottom wall 232. The side wall 233 is provided along the edge of the left side of the bottom wall 232, being disposed in the vertical direction with respect to the bottom wall 232. The back wall 234 is provided on the back side of the reject portion 23 and covers at least the entire back surface of the opening 231. The bottom wall 232, the side wall 233, and the back wall 234 form a reject space for storing rejected sheets.

The bottom wall 232 is a flat surface. The rejected paper sheets are placed with one surface of the rejected paper sheets in contact with the flat surface of the bottom wall 232. The bottom wall 232 is disposed obliquely to the upper right side with respect to the horizontal plane when viewed from the front. The plurality of rejected sheets placed on the bottom wall 232 are shifted to the left. As a result, the plurality of rejected sheets placed on the bottom wall 232 are stacked in the reject space with their respective long side portions in contact with the side wall 233 provided along the left edge of the bottom wall 232 and aligned in position in the width direction.

An impeller 235 is provided above the bottom wall 232 near an end of the reject-side conveying path 223 c. The impeller 235 has: a rotating body 235a provided to be rotatable around a rotation axis; and a plurality of blade bodies 235b provided at equal intervals over the entire circumference of the rotating body 235a in the circumferential direction around the rotation axis.

Each blade 235b is bent in the same direction around the rotation axis of the rotating body 235a in the circumferential direction from the base end portion on the rotating body 235a side to the tip end portion on the outer side. In the embodiment, each blade body 235b is curved counterclockwise (left-handed) around the circumferential direction of the rotation shaft of the rotation body 235 a. Thus, the rejected paper sheets fed one by one along the reject-side feeding path 223c are delivered one by one between the blade bodies 235b and 235b adjacent to each other of the impeller 235, and are fed while being rotated to the reject space side.

When the rejected paper sheets stored between the adjacent blade bodies 235b and 235b are brought into contact with the side walls 233 and are fed out from between the blade bodies 235b and 235b, the blade bodies 235b passing behind in the rotation direction are pressed toward the bottom wall 232 side and are sequentially placed on the bottom wall 232. That is, the rejected sheets are fed out to the reject unit 23 in the order of being taken in from the receiving unit 21 into the counter main body unit 22, and are stacked in order from the bottom up, starting from the rejected sheet determined as the rejected sheet.

The reject unit 23 is provided with a reject paper detection sensor (not shown) that detects whether or not there are reject papers stacked in the reject space, and a reject paper notification unit (not shown) that switches the lighting state based on the detection result of the reject paper detection sensor.

The rejected paper sheet detection sensor (not shown) is a sensor that is provided to detect whether or not the rejected paper sheets are present in the reject space of the reject unit 23 and the stacked state. As the sensor, various sensors such as an optical sensor, a magnetic sensor, and a capacitance sensor can be used. The optical sensor may be a transmission type sensor or a reflection type sensor, and the presence or absence of rejected sheets or the stacked state in the rejected space can be detected by detecting the light reception level of the light receiving element that receives light from the light emitting element. The magnetic sensor measures a change in magnetic flux generated in the reject space, thereby detecting the presence or absence of rejected sheets and the stacked state in the reject space. The capacitance sensor measures a change in capacitance in the reject space, thereby detecting the presence or absence of rejected sheets and the stacked state in the reject space.

The rejected paper sheet notification unit (not shown) includes a Light Emitting element such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The rejected paper sheet notification unit changes the notification mode based on the detection result of the rejected paper sheets in the rejected space detected by the rejected paper sheet detection sensor. For example, the rejected paper sheet notification unit may turn on the LED when the rejected paper sheet detection sensor detects that the rejected paper sheets are present in the rejected space. The rejected paper sheet notification unit may turn off the LED when the rejected paper sheet detection sensor detects that there is no rejected paper sheet in the rejected space. The rejected paper sheets notification unit may flash the LED when the rejected paper sheets stacked in the rejected space are in a full (full) state.

The rejected paper sheet notification unit (not shown) is preferably provided at a position where an operator can easily visually confirm. For example, the bottom wall 232 of the rejection part 23 may be formed of a transparent or translucent synthetic resin material or the like, and the LED may be provided below the transparent or translucent bottom wall 232. Thus, the light emitted from the LED of the rejected paper sheet notification portion causes the entire transparent or translucent bottom wall 232 to emit light, and an operator (not shown) can visually confirm the light through the opening 231. Examples of the above-mentioned transparent or translucent synthetic resin material include acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin, and the like.

The rejected paper sheet notification unit (not shown) may be provided in a cover 236 (see fig. 2) that covers the top of the rejected unit 23. In this case, cover 236 is formed of a transparent acrylic resin or the like, so that the light emitted from the LED of the rejected paper sheet notification unit causes the entire transparent cover 236 to emit light, and is disposed at a height closer to the line of sight of the operator (not shown), thereby facilitating visual confirmation by the operator (not shown).

The carry-out side conveying path 223d branched from the branching portion of the recognition conveying path 223b and extending to the left side is connected to the intra-stacking-unit conveying mechanism 31 of the stacking unit 3.

The counting unit 2 has a control section 25. The control Unit 25 includes an arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The ROM stores a control program for controlling the counting unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6, reference image data (main data) serving as a reference for the recognition by the recognition unit 225, and the like. The RAM stores data identifying the count result, and the like. The control unit 25 reads a control program stored in the ROM, and installs functions for controlling the counting unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6.

< Stacking Unit >

Next, the stacking unit 3 connected to the counting unit 2 will be described.

As shown in fig. 3, the stacking unit 3 includes a stacking main body 30, an in-stacking-unit transport mechanism 31, a stacking unit 32, an impeller 33, a control unit 34, a storage unit 35, an optical sensor 36, and a status display unit 37 (see fig. 2).

The control unit 34 and the storage unit 35 are housed inside the stack body 30. The control unit 34 is an arithmetic device such as a CPU, and executes a control program stored in the storage unit 35 to control the entire stacking unit 3. The storage unit 35 is a storage device such as a ROM or a RAM. The storage unit 35 temporarily stores a calculation result of the control unit 34, and the like, in addition to a control program for performing overall control of the deposition unit 3. The storage unit 35 stores in advance category information (see fig. 9) for identifying the category of the stacking unit 3 (e.g., the category of the stacking unit, the sealing unit, etc.), and identification information (the unique ID of the CPU or the unique ID of the communication device: see fig. 18) for identifying the stacking unit 3.

As shown in fig. 5, the stacked body 30 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped cylindrical member. Partition walls 301 and 301 for partitioning the other cells are provided on the side of the stack main body 30 on the counter unit 2 (right side) and on the sides of the other stack units 4 to 6 (left side), respectively.

Two unit coupling pins 302, 302 are provided above the partition wall 301 on the counter unit 2 side in the stack body 30. The two unit coupling pins 302, 302 are provided at the same height position and spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. The cell coupling pins 302 and 302 are fitted into cell coupling holes (not shown) provided at corresponding positions of the partition wall (not shown) of the stacking unit side of the counter unit 2, or into cell coupling holes 303 (see fig. 6) provided at corresponding positions of the partition wall of another stacking unit. Thus, the counting unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6 are positioned and integrally connected with each other in a state where the positions in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction are matched.

Returning to fig. 3, the stacking unit inner transport mechanism 31 has a common transport path 311 and a branch transport path 312. The common conveying path 311 and the branch conveying path 312 are independently driven by respective driving motors, respectively.

The common transport path 311 is provided above the stack body 30 and extends in the horizontal direction (left-right direction). A conveyance inlet 311a (see fig. 5) is provided on the counter unit 2 side of the common conveyance path 311. The feed inlet 311a is continuously connected to the output-side feed path 223d of the counting unit 2 in a state where the counting unit 2 is connected to the stacking unit 3. Therefore, the common transport path 311 of the stacking unit 3 is integrally connected to the output side transport path 223d of the counting unit 2, and the paper sheet 100 conveyed from the output side transport path 223d of the counting unit 2 is delivered to the common transport path 311 of the stacking unit 3.

As shown in fig. 3, an optical sensor 36 for detecting the paper sheet 100 is provided on the common transport path 311 on the downstream side of the transport entrance portion 311 a. The optical sensor 36 is disposed at a position where the sheet 100 conveyed along the common conveyance path 311 can be detected. When detecting the sheet 100 conveyed along the common conveyance path 311, the optical sensor 36 generates a signal indicating that the sheet 100 is detected, and transmits the signal to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2.

A conveyance outlet 311b (see fig. 6) is provided on the opposite side (stacking unit 4 side) of the common conveyance path 311 from the counting unit 2. In a state where the stacking unit 4 is connected to the side of the stacking unit 3 opposite to the counting unit 2, the conveying outlet portion 311b is continuously connected to the conveying inlet portion 411a of the common conveying path 411 of the stacking unit 4. Therefore, the common transport path 311 of the stacking unit 3 and the common transport path 411 of the stacking unit 4 are integrally connected, and the sheet 100 transported from the common transport path 311 of the stacking unit 3 is delivered to the common transport path 411 of the stacking unit 4.

Returning to fig. 3, a branch conveyance path 312 is provided on the conveyance outlet 311b side of the common conveyance path 311. The branch conveying path 312 extends in a direction different from the horizontal direction, which is the direction in which the common conveying path 311 extends.

The branch conveyance path 312 extends from the common conveyance path 311 in a direction vertically below the common conveyance path 311. The conveyance path of the sheet 100 conveyed along the common conveyance path 311 is switched to the branch conveyance path 312, and the sheet 100 is conveyed along the branch conveyance path 312 in a direction different from the horizontal direction, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the common conveyance path 311. Switching between the conveyance of the paper sheet 100 conveyed through the common conveyance path 311 to the common conveyance path 411 of the stacking unit 4 coupled to the stacking unit 3 and the conveyance of the paper sheet to the branch conveyance path 312 is performed by a conveyance distribution mechanism (not shown). The conveyance direction of the paper sheet 100 is switched by selecting whether to convey the paper sheet 100 to the common conveyance path 411 of the stacking unit 4 or to the branch conveyance path 312 by the conveyance distribution mechanism (not shown).

A plurality of horizontal conveyance paths 312a connected to a plurality of intermediate positions of the branched conveyance path 312 are provided. Each horizontal conveyance path 312a extends in a substantially horizontal direction. In the embodiment, four horizontal conveyance paths 312a are connected to intermediate positions of four substantially equally spaced portions of the branched conveyance path 312. Each horizontal conveyance path 312a extends to the vicinity of the corresponding stacking portion 32. The paper sheet 100 is selected and distributed from the branched transport path 312 to any one of the horizontal transport paths 312a by a transport distribution mechanism (not shown) similar to the above-described transport distribution mechanism.

An impeller 33 is provided at an end of each horizontal conveyance path 312a on the side of the accumulation portion 32. The impeller 33 is provided to be rotatable about a rotation shaft provided near an end of the horizontal conveyance path 312 a. The impeller 33 has the same structure as the impeller 235 described above. The impeller 33 has: a rotor 331 provided so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis, and a plurality of blades 332 provided at equal intervals over the entire circumference of the rotor 331 in the circumferential direction about the rotation axis.

Each blade 332 is curved in the same direction from the base end portion on the rotor 331 side to the tip end portion on the outer side along the circumferential direction around the rotation axis of the rotor 331. In the embodiment, each blade body 332 is curved in the counterclockwise direction (left-handed) in the circumferential direction around the rotation axis of the rotor 331. Thus, the paper sheet 100 conveyed along the horizontal conveying path 312a is delivered and conveyed one by one between the blade bodies 332 of the impeller 33 and the blade bodies 332 adjacent to each other, and is conveyed while rotating toward the stacking portion 32.

The paper sheets 100 stored between the blade bodies 332 and the blade bodies 332 adjacent to each other are brought into contact with the storage bottom wall 322 of the stacking portion 32 described later, are fed out from between the blade bodies 332 and the blade bodies 332, are pressed toward the storage bottom wall 322 by the blade body 332 at the rear in the rotation direction, and are sequentially stacked on the stacking portion 32.

As shown in fig. 2, the plurality of stacking portions 32 are arranged in the stacking unit 3 in the vertical direction of the stacking main body 30. In the stacking unit 3 of the embodiment, 4 stacking portions 32 are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the vertical direction of the stacking body 30. Since each stacking portion 32 has the same configuration, 1 stacking portion 32 of the 4 stacking portions 32 will be described in the present specification.

The deposition portion 32 has: an opening 321 that is always open to the front side; a receiving bottom wall 322; a storage back wall 323 covering at least the back side of the opening 321; and a slide table 324 on which the paper 100 is placed. A stacking space for stacking and storing a plurality of sheets of paper 100 is formed by the storage bottom wall 322, the storage back wall 323, and the slide table 324 of the stacking unit 32.

The storage bottom wall 322 of the stacking portion 32 is a flat surface. The sheets 100 are stacked with the long side portions of the sheets 100 fed out one by one from the impellers 33 in contact with the flat surface of the stacking portion 32. The flat surface of the storage bottom wall 322 is inclined to the lower right side with respect to the horizontal plane. Therefore, the plurality of paper sheets 100 placed on the storage bottom wall 322 are shifted to the left side with the long side portions thereof in contact with the storage bottom wall 322, and one surface thereof is in contact with the slide base 324 (movable wall 324a described later). Therefore, the sheets 100 are stacked in the stacking space with their positions aligned in the width direction.

The slide table 324 includes: a movable wall 324a that abuts one surface of the paper 100; and a slide mechanism 324b (see fig. 4) for sliding the movable wall 324a in the front and rear directions of the stacked body 30.

The movable wall 324a is provided along the right edge of the storage bottom wall 322, and is rotatable within a predetermined angular range about a shaft provided along the right edge of the storage bottom wall 322 as a rotation shaft. In the embodiment, the movable wall 324a is provided so as to be rotatable between a pickup position P1 (the position of the movable wall 324a in the stacking unit 32 on the second tier from the top in fig. 2) at which the movable wall is substantially perpendicular to the storage bottom wall 322 and a stacking position P2 (the position of the movable wall 324a in the stacking unit 32 on the uppermost tier in fig. 2) rotated by a predetermined angle in a direction (counterclockwise direction) closer to the storage bottom wall 322 than the pickup position P1.

When the movable wall 324a is located at the deposition position P2, the movable wall 324a is slightly inclined toward the removal position (the storage bottom wall 322) with respect to the vertical line. Thus, when the plurality of sheets of paper 100 are stacked and abut against the movable wall 324a, the movable wall 324a is pressed toward the takeout position P1 by the weight of the sheets of paper 100.

On the other hand, the movable wall 324a is biased in the stacking position P2 direction by a biasing member 324c (see fig. 2) such as a spring. When the weight of the paper sheets 100 stacked on the movable wall 324a is larger than the biasing force of the spring, the movable wall 324a rotates in the direction of the takeout position P1 by the amount corresponding to the number of paper sheets 100 stacked on the movable wall 324 a. When a predetermined number (for example, 300) or more of sheets of paper 100 are stacked on the movable wall 324a, the movable wall 324a rotates to the takeout position P1 and stops.

As shown in fig. 4, the slide mechanism 324b includes: a guide (not shown) that supports the movable wall 324a so as to be slidable in the front and rear directions; and a driving motor (not shown) for sliding the movable wall 324a in the front direction or the rear direction along the guide.

In the stacking unit 3, by driving the drive motor to slide the movable wall 324a in the front direction along the guide, at least a part of the paper sheets 100 stacked on the movable wall 324a in the longitudinal direction can be positioned outside the opening 321 of the stacking unit 32 (the position of the movable wall 324a in the stacking unit 32 on the second layer from the top in fig. 4). As a result, in the stacking unit 3, the sheet 100 can be easily taken out from the stacking unit 32 by an operator (not shown).

The stacking unit 32 is provided with a sheet notification unit (not shown) having the same configuration as the rejected sheet notification unit (not shown). The paper sheet notification unit notifies the presence or absence of paper sheets in the stacking unit 32, the amount of paper sheets (for example, full state), and the like by lighting, lighting off, blinking, and the like of an LED.

As shown in fig. 4, the stacked body 30 is provided with a state display portion 37 corresponding to each stacked portion 32 on the left side adjacent to the stacked portion 32.

The state display unit 37 includes a liquid crystal display unit 37a, and the state of the number of sheets 100 stacked in the stacking space of the stacking unit 32 is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 37 a.

As shown in fig. 1, in the embodiment, the stacking units 3 to 6 are connected to the counting unit 2 in this order. The stacking unit 4 has three stacking portions 42. The stacking unit 5 has two stacking portions 52. The stacking unit 6 has a stacking portion 62. In the stacking units 4 to 6, the number of the stacking units 42, 52, 62 provided only in the stacking units 4 to 6 is different, and the stacking unit inner transport mechanisms 41, 51, 61, the transport distribution mechanism (not shown), and the like have the same (common) structure and the same (common) function as the stacking unit inner transport mechanism 31 and the transport distribution mechanism (not shown). In the stacking units 4 to 6, the same structure as that of the stacking unit 3 will be described as necessary, without detailed description.

As described above, in the media processing device 1, different types of extension units having various functions according to the number of types of media and processing contents are connected (extended) to the counting unit 2. For example, in the media processing device 1, 1 or more types of stacking units, a sealing unit that seals stacked sheets, and the like can be connected to the counting unit 2. Thus, the media processing device 1 can flexibly cope with changes in functions (classification, sealing, and the like) required by the user, and can easily add changes without changing the design.

In addition, as described above, in the medium processing apparatus 1, the counting unit 2 is connected to the plural kinds of stacking units 3 to 6 having different numbers of stacking portions. Connection cables are connected to respective connection terminals of the stacking units 3 to 6. The connection cable is connected to a connection port provided in the counting unit 2.

Here, in the counting unit, in order to determine which stacking unit of the target stacking units preset according to the types of the paper sheets put into the receiving portions are allocated to and stacked in, it is necessary to set the connection order of the stacking units connected to the counting unit. Therefore, an installation operator who installs the medium handling apparatus needs to sequentially connect the connection cables of the stacking units to predetermined connection ports provided in the counting unit. However, if the number of stacking units connected to the counting unit is increased, there is a possibility that the operator may mistake the connection order of the connection cables of the stacking units connected to the connection ports of the counting unit.

Therefore, in the media processing device 1 according to the embodiment, the connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 with respect to the counter unit 2 can be accurately set regardless of the connection order of the connection cables of the stacking units 3 to 6 with respect to the connection ports of the counter unit 2 by the installation operator.

< example of connecting additional Unit >

Hereinafter, examples of connection between the stacking units 3 to 6 and the counting unit 2 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method of setting the connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 to the counter unit 2.

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of setting a connection order in a case where the counting unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6 are connected in parallel (parallel).

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a connection relationship in the case where the counting unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6 are connected in parallel. In the example of fig. 9, the counting unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6 are connected to each other by cables in parallel.

Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of the reception state of the reception signals generated by the respective accumulation units 3 to 6 in the counting unit 2 when the counting unit 2 and the accumulation units 3 to 6 are connected in parallel.

As shown in fig. 8, in the medium processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, 4 different types of stacking units 3, 4, 5, and 6 are connected to the counting unit 2 in this order. The connection ports 30a, 40a, 50a, and 60a provided in the stacking units 3 to 6, respectively, and the connection ports P1 to Pn provided in the counter unit 2 are connected by connection cables 38, 48, 58, and 68. Therefore, the stacking units 3 to 6 and the counting unit 2 are connected in parallel by the connection cables 38, 48, 58, 68. Information is transmitted and received via the connection cable. In the media processing device 1, the number of connection ports P1 to Pn provided in the counter unit 2 is the maximum number of stack units that can be connected to one counter unit 2.

In the example shown in fig. 8 and 9, the connection cable 38 is connected to the connection port 30a of the stacking unit 3 and the connection port P1 of the counter unit 2. The connection cable 48 is connected to the connection port 40a of the stacking unit 4 having the three stacking portions 42 and the connection port P3 of the counter unit 2. The connection cable 58 is connected to the connection port 50a of the stacking unit 5 having the two stacking portions 52 and the connection port P2 of the counter unit 2. The connection cable 68 is connected to the connection port 60a of the stacking unit 6 having one stacking portion 62 and the connection port P4 of the counter unit 2.

As shown in fig. 7 and 10, when the paper sheets 100 are conveyed along the common conveyance paths 311, 411, 511, and 611 of the stacking units 3 to 6, the paper sheets 100 passing through the common conveyance paths 311 to 611 are detected by the optical sensors 36, 46, 56, and 66 provided in the common conveyance paths 311 to 611.

In the sheet processing apparatus 1, first, the optical sensor 36 detects the passage of the sheet 100 in the common transport path 311 of the stacking unit 3, and the detection signal generated by the optical sensor 36 and the unit type information are transmitted to the connection port P1 of the counting unit 2.

Then, the passage of the paper 100 in the common conveying paths 411 to 611 of the stacking units 4 to 6 is detected by the optical sensors 46 to 66 provided in the common conveying paths 411 to 611. The detection signals and the cell type information generated by the optical sensors 46 to 66 are transmitted to the connection ports P3, P2, P4 of the counter cell 2 in the order of detection by the optical sensors 46 to 66.

< display Screen >

As described above, the information related to the media processing device 1 is displayed on the display screen 241 of the operation display unit 24. An example of the display screen 241 of the operation display unit 24 will be described.

Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of display of the display screen 241 of the operation display unit 24.

As shown in fig. 11, the operation display unit 24 is provided with a first display region 2411 extending in the vertical direction on the display screen 241 as viewed from the front. The first display region 2411 is provided linearly in the vertical direction along the left end portion of the display screen 241.

A plurality of function selection buttons (operation buttons) 2411a to 2411c are provided in the first display area 2411. The operator selects any one of the function selection buttons 2411a to 2411c, thereby performing various settings and controls corresponding to the selected function selection button.

The operation display unit 24 is provided with a second display area 2412 in the right direction from the lower end of the first display area 241 on the display screen 241 when viewed from the front. The second display region 2412 is linearly provided along the lower side of the display screen 241.

A device connection state diagram 2412a showing the connection state of the counting unit 2 of the medium processing device 1, the stacking unit 3 connected to the counting unit 2, the terminal storage cover 7, and the like is displayed in the second display area 2412. Fig. 2412a shows how the stacking unit 3, the sealing unit (not shown), the terminal storage cover 7, and the like are connected to the counting unit 2 that becomes the base (base) of the media processing device 1. In the embodiment, the case is shown in which four stacking units 3 are connected to the counting unit 2, and the terminal storage cover 7 is connected to the last stacking unit 3 of the four stacking units 3. In the image of the apparatus connection state diagram 2412a, when bills are stacked, the stacking unit 32 improves the visibility by color display or the like. This makes it easy for the operator to distinguish which stacking unit 32 the banknotes are stacked on.

More specifically, as described later, the device connection state diagram 2412a generated based on the number of cells and their types determined or recognized by the setting operation of the plurality of cells is displayed in the second display area 2412. That is, when the control unit 25 recognizes that the apparatus configuration is as shown in fig. 1, the apparatus connection state diagram 2412a is displayed in which 4 stacking units 3 are connected and the terminal storage cover 7 is connected to the rear of the last stacking unit 3. Further, by performing the operation of increasing or decreasing the means and setting the means, the control unit 25 recognizes the new connection configuration and displays the device connection state diagram 2412a corresponding thereto.

As described above, the first display area 2411 and the second display area 2412 have a substantially L-shape in the front view, and predetermined function selection buttons 2411a to 2411c and function selection buttons 2412b and 2412c are arranged in the respective areas. Further, a third display area 2413 divided by the first display area 2411 and the second display area 2412 is provided on the display screen 241.

For example, when a predetermined setting is selected using the function selection buttons 2411a to 2411c of the first display area 2411, a setting screen corresponding to the selected setting is displayed in the third display area 2413. The third display area 2413 displays, for example, the result of counting the money counted in the medium processing apparatus 1, a diagram showing the connection state of the counting unit 2 with the stacking unit 3 and the terminal storage cover 7, and the like.

The widths of the first display area 2411 and the second display area 2412 are automatically variable according to the sizes or widths of the function selection buttons 2411a to 2411c, 2412b, 2412c and the device connection state diagram 2412 a. A part of the first display area 2411 and the second display area 2412 is enlarged or reduced depending on the presence or absence of display of the function selection buttons 2411a to 2411c, 2412b, and 2412 c.

< method for setting connection sequence of additional Unit >

Next, a method of setting the connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 to the counter unit 2 will be described.

The media processing device 1 has a stacking mode and a connection order setting mode. In the stacking mode, the media processing device 1 allocates the paper sheets 100 loaded into the receiving portion 21 of the counting unit 2 to the stacking portions 32, 42, 52, 62 of any one of the stacking units 3 to 6 for stacking according to the type of the paper sheets. In the connection order setting mode, the media processing device 1 does not assign the paper sheets 100 thrown into the receiving portion 21 of the counting unit 2 to any of the stacking units 3 to 6, but conveys the paper sheets to the terminal storage cover 7 through the common conveying paths 311, 411, 511, and 611 of the stacking units 3 to 6.

In the above connection order setting mode, the connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 with respect to the counter unit 2 is set as described below. The installation operator sets the connection order of the additional unit to the counter unit 2 for installation of the media processing device 1, and executes the connection order setting mode when installing the media processing device 1.

< processing for setting connection sequence of counter >

First, a connection procedure setting process performed by the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 will be described.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing a connection order setting process performed in the counting unit 2 of the media processing device 1.

As shown in fig. 12, in step S101, the control unit 25 of the counter unit 2 takes the paper sheets 100 thrown into the receiving portion 21 of the counter unit 2 into the counter main body 22 of the counter unit 2 by the kick-out roller 217, and then delivers the paper sheets to the intra-stack unit conveying mechanism 31 of the stack unit 3 by the intra-stack unit conveying mechanism 223.

In step S102, the control unit 25 determines whether or not a detection signal generated by detecting the paper sheets 100 conveyed along the intra-stacking-unit conveying mechanism 31 (common conveying path 311) by the optical sensor 36 and unit type information of the stacking unit 3 are received from the stacking unit 3.

When determining that the detection signal from the optical sensor 36 and the unit type information of the deposition unit 3 have been received (yes in step S102), the control unit 25 proceeds to the process of step S103. When determining that the detection signal from the optical sensor 36 and the cell type information of the deposition cell 3 have not been received (no in step S102), the control unit 25 proceeds to the process of step S106.

In step S103, the control unit 25 increments the value of the sequence counter "n" indicating the order of reception of the detection signals received from the deposition unit 3 by "+ 1". In the embodiment, at the start of the connection order setting mode, the order counter "n" is set to "0" as an initial value. When a detection signal generated when the paper sheet 100 is detected is received from the optical sensor 36 of the stacking unit 3, the value of the sequence counter "n" becomes "1". Thus, the control unit 25 determines that the detection signal received from the stacking unit 3 is the first received signal and the connection order of the stacking unit 3 is the first. Therefore, the control unit 25 determines that the additional unit connected to the connection port P1 of the counting unit 2 is the stacking unit 3 and that the stacking unit 3 is connected first.

In step S104, the control unit 25 stores the value of the sequence counter "n (1)" updated in step S103 in a storage device (not shown) such as a ROM of the control unit 25.

In step S105, the control unit 25 transmits the value of the sequence counter "n (1)" calculated in step S103 to the control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3 that is the transmission source of the detection signal and the unit type information of the sheet 100. In the embodiment, the control unit 25 transmits the sequence counter "1" to the control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3, and returns to the process of step S102.

Next, when it is determined that the detection signal indicating that the paper sheet 100 is detected and the unit type information are not received from the optical sensor 36 of the stacking unit 3 (no in step S102), it is determined in step S106 whether or not the time Tx when the detection signal of the paper sheet 100 is not received from the stacking unit 3 exceeds a predetermined time Tn (Tx > Tn). In one embodiment, the predetermined time Tn is set to "3 seconds". When determining that the detection signal from the optical sensor 36 of the stacking unit 3 has not been received for more than "3 seconds" (yes in step S106), the control unit 25 determines that the conveyance error (jam) of the paper sheets 100 in the stacking unit 3 has occurred or that the stacking unit 3 is the last stacking unit connected to the counting unit 2, and ends the connection order setting mode.

In step S106, if it is determined that the time Tx when the detection signal is not received from the optical sensor 36 of the deposition unit 3 does not exceed the predetermined time Tn (3 seconds) (no in step S106), the control unit 25 returns to the process of step S102. The control unit 25 waits for the detection signal from the deposition unit to be received before determining that the time Tx during which the detection signal is not received from the optical sensor exceeds the predetermined time Tn.

The control unit 25 repeats the processing of steps S101 to S106 until the sheets 100 pass through all the stacking units 3 to 6.

< paper sheet detection processing in Stacking Unit >

Next, a paper sheet detection process performed by the control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3 will be described. The paper sheet detection process is performed in the connection order setting mode.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing the paper sheet detection process performed by the control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3.

As shown in fig. 13, in step S201, the control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3 controls the transport distribution mechanism, not shown. The control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3 conveys the sheet 100 received from the output-side conveying path 223d of the counting unit 2 along the common conveying path 311 and delivers the sheet to the common conveying path 411 of the stacking unit 4, without conveying the sheet to the branch conveying path 312.

In step S202, the control portion 34 determines whether the paper sheet 100 conveyed along the common conveyance path 311 is detected by the optical sensor 36.

When determining that the paper 100 conveyed along the common conveyance path 311 is detected by the optical sensor 36 (yes in step S202), the control unit 34 transmits a detection signal generated based on the detection of the paper 100 by the optical sensor 36 to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 in step S203, and ends the processing.

On the other hand, when determining that the optical sensor 36 does not detect the sheet 100 conveyed along the common conveyance path 311 (no in step S202), the control unit 34 performs the process of step S204.

In step S204, the control unit 34 determines whether or not the time Tx when the optical sensor 36 does not detect the paper 100 exceeds a predetermined time Tn (Tx > Tn). In one embodiment, the predetermined time Tn is set to "3 seconds". When determining that the time Tx during which the optical sensor 36 does not detect the paper sheets 100 exceeds "3 seconds" (yes in step S204), the control unit 34 determines that a conveyance error (e.g., a jam) of the paper sheets 100 in the stacking unit 3 has occurred, and ends the process.

On the other hand, when determining that the time Tx when the optical sensor 36 does not detect the paper sheet 100 is "3 seconds" or less (no in step S204), the control unit 34 returns to step S202 to continue the determination of whether or not the paper sheet 100 is detected by the optical sensor 36 until the time Tx when the optical sensor 36 does not detect the paper sheet 100 exceeds the predetermined time "3 seconds".

< connection order storage processing in Stacking Unit >

Next, a connection sequence storing process performed by the control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3 will be described. The connection order storing process is performed in the connection order setting mode.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing a connection order storing process performed by the control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3.

As shown in fig. 14, in step S301, the control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3 determines whether or not the value of the sequence counter "n" is received from the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 (step S105 of fig. 12). When determining that the value of the sequence counter "n" has been received (yes in step S301), the control unit 34 proceeds to the process of step S302. On the other hand, when determining that the value of the sequence counter "n" has not been received (step S301: NO), the control unit 34 waits until the value of the sequence counter "n" is received from the control unit 25. In the embodiment, the value of the sequence counter "n" received first by the control unit 34 is "1".

In step S302, the control unit 34 stores the value of the sequence counter "n (═ 1)" received from the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 in the storage unit 35, and ends the process.

The control unit 34 of the accumulation unit 3 transmits the value of the sequence counter "n (1)" stored in the storage unit 35 to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 in response to a predetermined transmission request.

< connection order sending processing in Stacking Unit >

Next, a connection sequence transmission process performed by the control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3 will be described. The connection order transmission processing is performed in the connection order setting mode.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing a connection order transmission process performed by the control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3.

In step S401, the control unit 34 of the stacking unit 3 determines whether or not there is a connection order transmission request from the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2.

When determining that there is a connection order transmission request from the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 (yes in step S401), the control unit 34 transmits the value of the order counter "n (═ 1)" stored in the storage unit 35 to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 in step S402.

On the other hand, when determining that there is no transmission request in the connection order from the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 (no in step S401), the control unit 34 waits until there is a transmission request (the process of step S401 is repeated).

As an example of the transmission request of the connection order, a case where the main power supply of the media processing apparatus 1 is shut off may be mentioned. Even when the main power supply of the medium processing apparatus 1 is shut off and the stored contents of the connection order of the additional units stored in the RAM or the like of the control unit 25 are deleted, the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 can acquire the connection order stored in each additional unit. Therefore, in the medium processing apparatus 1, the connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 can be reset without setting the connection order setting mode and performing the operation of setting the connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 by conveying the paper sheets 100 again.

The control unit 25 of the counter unit 2 performs a request for transmission of a connection order, and can check continuity such as change of the connection order of the additional units, change of the types of the additional units, and increase/decrease of the additional units, based on the values of the sequence counter "nx" received in the previous connection order setting process and the values of the sequence counter "nt" received in the current connection order setting process from the additional units (in the embodiment, the stacking units 3 to 6).

< continuity check processing >

Next, a process of checking the continuity of the extension unit by the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 will be described.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing a process of checking the continuity of the extension unit by the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2.

In step S501, the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 calls a series of values of the sequence counter "nx" of each of the stacking units 3 to 6 (additional units) acquired in the previous connection sequence setting process received from each of the stacking units 3 to 6 (additional units) stored in a storage device (not shown) such as a ROM of the control unit 25.

In step S502, the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 calls the values of the series of sequence counters "nt" of the respective stacking units 3 to 6 acquired in the current connection sequence setting process.

In step S503, the control unit 25 compares the value of the series of sequence counters "nx" acquired last time with the value of the series of sequence counters "nt" received this time from each stacking unit (additional unit). When the value of the sequence counter "nt" received this time and the value of the sequence counter "nx" received the previous time all match (nt ═ nx), the control unit 25 proceeds to the process of step S504. If the value of the series of sequence counters "nt" is different from at least a part of the value of the series of sequence counters "nx" (nt > nx or nt < nx), the control unit 25 proceeds to the process of step S505.

In step S504, if it is determined that the value of the sequence counter "nx" acquired last time completely matches the sequence counter "nt" acquired this time (yes in step S504), the control unit 25 determines that the connection state (connection sequence, increase/decrease, type of unit) of the stacking units 3 to 6 (additional units) connected to the counting unit 2 has not changed.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the value of the sequence counter "nx" of the series acquired last time is different from at least a part of the sequence counter "nt" of the series acquired this time (no in step S504), the control unit 25 determines in step S505 that the connection state (connection order, increase/decrease, type of unit) of the stacking units 3 to 6 (additional units) connected to the counting unit 2 has changed.

Then, in step S506, the control unit 25 requests the setup operator to reset the connection order by displaying on the operation display unit 24 (fig. 1) that the sheets 100 need to be conveyed again and the connection order of each stacking unit needs to be reset, and ends the process.

In the above-described embodiment, the following case is exemplified: in the connection order setting mode, when the predetermined time Tn has elapsed without a detection signal indicating that the paper sheet 100 has been detected being input from any of the optical sensors 36, 46, 56, 66 of the stacking units 3 to 6, the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2 ends the connection order setting mode, and determines the stacking unit 3 to 6 that has output the last received detection signal from the optical sensor 36, 46, 56, 66 in the connection order setting mode as the last stacking unit 3 to 6 that is farthest from the counting unit 2. However, the method of detecting the last connected stacking unit 3 to 6 among the stacking units 3 to 6 connected to the counting unit 2 is not limited thereto.

For example, an installation operator (not shown) who performs the installation work of the medium processing device 1 may input the number of stacking units (additional units) connected to the counting unit 2 from the operation display unit 24 of the counting unit 2 in advance. In this way, the control unit 25 can determine that the stacking units 3 to 6 that have transmitted the sequence counter "n" are the last stacking units connected to the counting unit 2 when the number of stacking units that have been input in advance is compared with the value of the sequence counter "n" and the updated value of the sequence counter "n" matches the input number.

In the medium processing apparatus 1, the last stacking unit connected to the counting unit 2 may be detected by mounting the terminal storage cover 7 at the last downstream side of the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 (stacking unit 6 in the embodiment) connected to the counting unit 2 in sequence. Specifically, the stacking units 3 to 6 detect that the terminal storage cover 7 is mounted, and transmit a signal indicating that the terminal storage cover 7 is mounted to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2. In this way, the control unit 20 can determine that the stacking units 3 to 6 that have transmitted the signal indicating that the terminal storage cover 7 is attached are the units that are connected at the end of the counting unit 2. In this case, a dedicated detection sensor for detecting the terminal storage cover 7 may be provided in each of the stacking units 3 to 6. The terminal storage cover 7 may be provided so as to cross the optical axis of the optical sensor provided in the common transport paths 311, 411, 511, and 611 of the stacking units 3 to 6, and the optical sensor may be used to detect the terminal storage cover 7. In this case, the conventional structure can be used as it is, and the product cost can be suppressed.

As described above, in the embodiment, the medium processing apparatus 1 has the following configuration.

(1) The medium processing apparatus 1 is configured to: the paper sheet stacking apparatus includes a counting unit 2 (first unit) and a plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 (second unit) connected to the counting unit 2, wherein each of the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 includes a common transport path 311, 411, 511, 611 (transport mechanism) for transporting a paper sheet 100 (medium) and an optical sensor 36, 46, 56, 66 (medium detector) for detecting the paper sheet 100 transported by the common transport path 311, 411, 511, 611, and the order of connection of the plurality of accumulating units 3 to 6 to the counting unit 2 is determined based on a signal indicating that the optical sensors 36, 46, 56, 66 of the plurality of accumulating units 3 to 6 detect the paper sheet 100.

With this configuration, the media processing device 1 determines the connection order of the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 to the counter unit 2 based on the detection signals of the paper sheets 100 received from the respective stacking units 3 to 6, and thus the connection order of the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 to the counter unit 2 can be automatically and accurately set. In addition, it is not necessary to provide a physical setting means (such as a switch), and the product cost can be reduced.

(2) The counting unit 2 is configured to determine the connection order of the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 to the counting unit 2 based on the order in which detection signals indicating the paper sheets 100 sent from the optical sensors 36, 46, 56, and 66 of the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 are received.

With this configuration, the counting unit 2 determines the connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 in accordance with the order of the detection signals of the paper sheets 100 received from the respective stacking units 3 to 6, and thus the connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 to the counting unit 2 can be automatically set accurately and easily. In addition, it is not necessary to provide a physical setting means (such as a switch), and the product cost can be reduced.

(3) The counting unit 2 is configured to be positioned higher than the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 in the control system of the medium processing apparatus 1.

In the control system of the medium processing apparatus 1, the upper counting unit 2 needs to recognize the connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 in order to control the lower stacking units 3 to 6. With such a configuration, the counting unit 2 can automatically recognize the connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6, and as a result, the stacking units 3 to 6 can be appropriately controlled.

(4) The plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 are configured to have a common function (in the embodiment, common transport paths 311, 411, 511, and 611, optical sensors 36, 46, 56, and 66, and transport distribution mechanisms).

In the medium processing apparatus 1, it is preferable that each of the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 has a common function from the viewpoint of versatility and productivity. As an example of the common function, each of the stacking units 3 to 6 has a common transport path 311, 411, 511, 611 for transporting the paper sheets 100, an optical sensor 36, 46, 56, 66, a transport distribution mechanism (not shown) for distributing the paper sheets 100 to the target stacking units 3 to 6, and the like.

When the medium processing apparatus 1 is installed on site, it is preferable that the counting unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6 are separately transported from each other and the counting unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6 are connected to each other by wiring at the installation site, in view of the advantage of the transportation of the medium processing apparatus 1. The media processing device 1 can automatically determine and set the connection order of the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 to the counter unit 2 based on the detection signals indicating the detection of the paper sheets 100 received from the stacking units 3 to 6, and therefore can accurately and easily set the connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 to the counter unit 2 at the time of installation.

(5) At least one extension unit (for example, a sealing unit) of the plurality of extension units is configured to have a function (for example, a sealing function of winding a tape around a bundle of paper sheets) different from the other extension units (for example, a stacking unit).

With such a configuration, in the media processing device 1, the counting unit 2 and the plurality of additional units having different functions connected to the counting unit 2 can be easily connected in an arbitrary order. Therefore, in the media processing device 1, the counting unit 2 can be appropriately connected to a plurality of additional units having different functions in an arbitrary order, and flexibility of unit connection in the media processing device 1 can be improved.

(6) The counting unit 2 is configured to be a counting unit having: a receiving section 21 (receiving section) for receiving the sheet 100, and a conveying mechanism 223 (conveying section) in the counting unit capable of conveying the sheet 100 received by the receiving section 21 to the stacking units 3 to 6, wherein the stacking units 3 to 6 are counting units having: the paper sheet stacking apparatus includes a common transport path 311, 411, 511, 611 (first transport path) for transporting a paper sheet 100 in a horizontal direction (first direction), a branched transport path 312, 412, 512, 612 (second transport path) for transporting the paper sheet 100 in a vertical direction (second direction) different from the horizontal direction, and optical sensors 36, 46, 56, 66 (detection means) for detecting the paper sheet 100 transported by the common transport path or the branched transport path, wherein a plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 are connected in a state where at least one of the common transport path and the branched transport path is connected, and a counting unit 2 determines a connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 based on an order of receiving signals indicating that the optical sensors 36, 46, 56, 66 of the stacking units 3 to 6 detect the paper sheet 100, wherein the paper sheet 100 is transported by at least one of the common transport path and the branched transport path of the stacked units 3 to 6 connected to each other The paper sheets to be transported.

With this configuration, in the medium processing apparatus 1, by connecting the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 to the counting unit 2, flexibility in distributing the paper sheets 100 identified and counted by the counting unit 2 to the stacking units 3 to 6 can be improved. For example, by providing the stacking units 3 to 6 with the stacking portions 32, 42, 52, 62 for stacking a plurality of paper sheets 100 or providing a sealing unit for sealing a bundle of stacked paper sheets 100 instead of the stacking units 3 to 6, it is possible to stack a plurality of denominations, seal a bundle, and the like. On the other hand, if the number of extension units connected to the counter unit 2 increases, the wiring connection of the extension units to the counter unit 2 becomes complicated. As described above, since the media processing device 1 determines the connection order of the plurality of extension units 3 to the counter unit 2 based on the signal indicating that the paper 100 is detected, which is received from the optical sensor provided in each extension unit, the connection order of the extension units to the counter unit 2 can be automatically set accurately and easily. In addition, it is not necessary to provide a physical setting means (such as a switch), and the product cost can be reduced.

(7) The counting unit 2 is configured to notify the determined connection order of the stacking units 3 to 6 to the stacking units 3 to 6 corresponding to the connection order.

With this configuration, the counting means 2 can notify the stacking means 3 to 6 of the connection order of the stacking means 3 to 6, and as a result, the stacking means 3 to 6 can recognize the connection order of the stacking means 3 to 6.

(8) The plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 are configured to have storage units 35, 45, 55, 65 for storing the connection order notified from the counting unit 2.

With this configuration, the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 can store their own connection order in the storage units 35, 45, 55, and 65. As a result, in the medium processing apparatus 1, after the power is turned on, the connection order is set without re-conveying the paper sheets 100, and the counting unit 2 can acquire the connection order from the storage units 35, 45, 55, and 65 of the stacking units 3 to 6.

(9) The plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 are configured to transmit their own connection order stored in the storage units 35, 45, 55, and 65 to the counting unit 2.

With this configuration, since each of the stacking units 3 to 6 transmits its own connection order to the counting unit 2, the counting unit 2 can recognize the connection order of the stacking units 3 to the counting unit 2 without carrying out the sheet 100 again after the power is turned on.

(10) The counting unit 2 is configured to receive the connection order (1 st connection order) in the previous cycle from the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 at the 1 st timing (previous cycle of step S501 in fig. 16), receive the connection order (2 nd connection order) in the current cycle from the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 at the 2 nd timing (current cycle of step S502 in fig. 16) later than the 1 st timing, compare the connection order in the previous cycle received at the 1 st timing with the connection order in the current cycle received at the 2 nd timing, and determine whether there is continuity (identity) between the connection order in the previous cycle and the connection order in the current cycle (step S503 in fig. 16).

With this configuration, when the counting means 2 determines that there is a duplication or omission of the connection sequence received from the plurality of stacking means 3 to 6 in the previous cycle and the present cycle, it is possible to recognize the possibility of the rearrangement of the plurality of stacking means 3 to 6 between the previous cycle and the present cycle, and it is possible to promote the resetting of the sequence memory. That is, the counting unit 2 determines whether or not the connection order between the previous cycle and the present cycle received from the plurality of stacking units 3 to 6 is continuous (identical). When determining that there is no continuity (identity), the counting unit 2 can transport the paper sheet 100 again and determine the latest connection order.

(11) The operation display unit 24 includes a first display area 2411 and a second display area 2412 provided in proximity to or in contact with the first display area 2411, and displays the determined connection order of the counting means 2 and the collecting means 3 to 6 in at least one of the first display area 2411 and the second display area 2412.

With this configuration, since the connection order of the counter unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6 determined by the control unit 25 is displayed in at least one of the first display area 2411 and the second display area 2412 of the operation display unit 24, the connected state of the units can be easily grasped.

(12) The first display area 2411 is provided to extend in the vertical direction with respect to the display area of the operation display unit 24, the second display area 2412 is provided to extend in the horizontal direction with respect to the display area of the operation display unit 24, and the connection state between the counter unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6 is displayed in the second display area 2412.

With this configuration, the connection state between the counter unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6 is displayed in the second display region 2412 extending in the left-right direction of the display region, and therefore the connection state of each unit is clear at a glance, and visibility is improved.

(13) The second display region 2412 is configured to extend in one of the left-right directions from one of the end portions of the first display region 241 extending in the up-down direction.

With this configuration, the first display region 2411 and the second display region 2412 are arranged in a substantially L-shape when viewed from the front. As a result, the function selection buttons 2411a to 2411c (operation unit) for controlling the medium processing apparatus 1 are arranged in the vertical direction of the operation display unit 24, and the unit connection state is arranged in the horizontal direction of the operation display unit 24, so that the visibility can be easily grasped with the eye, and the visibility can be further improved.

< second embodiment >

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the counting unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6 (additional units) are connected in parallel has been exemplified, but the counting unit 2 and the stacking units 3 to 6 (additional units) may be connected in series (serial).

Next, the medium processing apparatus 1A in which the counting unit 2A and the stacking units 3A to 6A are connected in series will be described. In the media processing device 1A according to the second embodiment, the same components and functions as those of the media processing device 1 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description will be given as necessary.

Fig. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a connection state between the counting unit 2A and the stacking units 3A to 6A in the medium processing apparatus 1A according to the second embodiment. In the example of fig. 17, the counting unit 2A and the stacking units 3A to 6A are connected in series by a cable.

Fig. 18 is a diagram for explaining an example of information transmitted to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2A according to the second embodiment.

Fig. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of reception conditions of reception signals generated by the stacking units 3A to 6A in the counting unit 2A when the counting unit 2A and the stacking units 3A to 6A of the media processing device 1A according to the second embodiment are connected in series.

As shown in fig. 17, in the medium processing apparatus 1A, the serial connection terminals 30b, 40b, 50b, 60b provided in the stacking units 3A to 6A, respectively, and the serial connector PT of the counter unit 2A are connected by a common serial cable 80. Thus, the stacking units 3A to 6A are connected in series to the counter unit 2A, and information can be transmitted and received via the common serial cable 80.

The stacking units 3A to 6A are provided with optical sensors 36, 46, 56, and 66, respectively. The optical sensors 36, 46, 56, and 66 transmit detection signals generated when the paper sheet 100 is detected to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2A via the common serial cable 80.

The stacking units 3A to 6A are provided with control units 34, 44, 54, and 64, respectively. Each of the control units 34, 44, 54, and 64 stores unit identification information unique to the stacking units 3A to 6A provided with the control unit and unit type information for identifying the type of the stacking units 3A to 6A provided with the control unit (see fig. 18). The control units 34, 44, 54, and 64 transmit the detection signals generated by the optical sensors 36, 46, 56, and 66, together with the unit identification information and the unit type information, to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2A via the common serial cable 80.

Examples of the unit identification information for identifying the above-described units include information such as a unique ID (identifier) of a CPU mounted in each stacking unit, and a unique ID of a communication device mounted in each stacking unit. Examples of the information on the type of the cell for discriminating the type of the cell include information on the type of the deposited cell due to the difference in the number of the deposition portions, the type of the cell due to the difference in the functions such as deposition and sealing, and the like. For example, the first (or last) bytes of a series of transmitted information (a plurality of bytes) may be used as information indicating the unique ID, or unique ID information associated with a detection signal for a sheet may be transmitted separately.

As shown in fig. 18, in the embodiment, the unit identification information and the unit type are set in advance for each of the stacking units 3A to 6A. Specifically, the cell identification information "003" and the cell type "stacking unit (4 stacking unit)" are set in advance in the stacking unit 3A. The stacking unit 4A is preset with unit identification information "001" and a unit type "stacking unit (3 stacking unit)". In the stacking unit 5A, unit identification information "002" and a unit type "stacking unit (2 stacking unit)" are set in advance. In the stacking unit 6A, unit identification information "004" and a unit type "stacking unit (1 stacking unit)" are set in advance.

Therefore, as shown in fig. 19, in the sheet processing apparatus 1A, in the connection order setting mode, the sheets 100 are sequentially conveyed along the common conveyance paths 311, 411, 611, and 611 of the stacking units 3A to 6A, respectively.

First, the sheet 100 is conveyed along the common conveying path 311 of the stacking unit 3A. Then, the detection signal generated by the optical sensor 36 of the stacking unit 3A, the unit identification information "003" from the control unit 34, and the information on the unit type "stacking unit (4 stacking unit)" are transmitted to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2A.

Next, the sheet 100 is conveyed along the common conveying path 411 of the stacking unit 4A. Then, the detection signal generated by the optical sensor 46 of the stacking unit 4A, the unit identification information "001" from the control unit 44, and the information on the unit type "stacking unit (3 stacking unit)" are transmitted to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2A.

Then, the sheet 100 is conveyed along the common conveying path 511 of the stacking unit 5A. Then, the detection signal generated by the optical sensor 56 of the stacking unit 5A, the unit identification information "002" from the control unit 54, and the information on the unit type "stacking unit (2 stacking unit)" are transmitted to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2A.

Finally, the sheet 100 is conveyed along the common conveying path 611 of the stacking unit 6A. Then, the detection signal generated by the optical sensor 66 of the stacking unit 6A, the unit identification information "004" from the control unit 64, and information on the unit type "stacking unit (1 stacking unit)" are transmitted to the control unit 25 of the counting unit 2A.

Then, the paper sheet 100 is conveyed to the terminal storage cover 7 connected at the last of the counting unit 2A, and the setting of the connection order is completed.

The control unit 25 of the counting unit 2A determines which stacking unit each stacking unit is based on the unit identification information and the unit type information transmitted from the control units 34, 44, 54, and 64 of the stacking units 3A to 6A, respectively, and stores the connection order of the stacking units determined as the type in the storage units 35, 45, 55, and 65. The control unit 25 sets the connection order of the deposition units 3A to 6A in the order of receiving the detection signals transmitted from the optical sensors 36, 46, 56, and 66.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where a plurality of types of stacking units 3 to 6(3A to 6A) are sequentially connected to the counting unit 2(2A) has been described as an example, but the unit connected to the counting unit 2(2A) is not limited to the stacking unit. For example, a sealing unit having a function of bundling a predetermined number of media with a tape may be connected to the counting unit 2(2A), or a stacking unit or another unit may be connected to the sealing unit in any combination.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the medium to be conveyed for setting the connection order is the paper sheet 100 has been described as an example, but the medium is not limited to the paper sheet 100 and may be, for example, a coin.

The unit connection method according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to setting the connection order of the units constituting the media processing device, and can be applied to a connection method of the unit to the device main body in other various devices.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the medium processing apparatus 1A has the following configuration.

(14) The counting unit 2A and the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A are connected in series by a common serial cable 80, and the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A transmit their own unique identification information to the counting unit 2A in addition to information (detection signals of the optical sensors 36, 46, 56, and 66) indicating the connection order of the stacking units 3A to 6A stored in the storage units 35, 45, 55, and 65.

When the plurality of stacking units 3A-6A and the counting unit 2A are connected in series, the counting unit 2A cannot recognize from which of the plurality of stacking units 3A-6A the information indicating the connection order is received. Therefore, the counter unit 2A needs identification information unique to the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A. Therefore, by the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A transmitting their own unique identification information to the counting unit 2A in addition to the information indicating their own connection order (the detection signals of the optical sensors 36, 46, 56, 66), the counting unit 2A can associate the identification information unique to the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A with the information indicating the connection order, specify the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A, and identify the connection order. Further, since the counting unit 2A and the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A can be connected in series, the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A and other additional units can be added without limitation in the system configuration without being affected by the number of connection ports of the counting unit 2A.

A unit connection method (connection order determination method for a media processing device 1A) of a media processing device 1A includes a counter unit 2A and a plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A connected to the counter unit 2A, determines a connection order of the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A with respect to the counter unit 2A, conveys a sheet 100 in each of the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A, receives signals output from each of the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A in accordance with the conveyance of the sheet 100, and determines a connection order of the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A with respect to the counter unit 2A in accordance with the order of the signals output from each of the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A.

With this configuration, the media processing device 1A determines the connection order of the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A to the counter unit 2A based on the detection signals of the paper sheets 100 received from the stacking units 3A to 6A, and thus the connection order of the plurality of stacking units 3A to 6A to the counter unit 2A can be automatically set accurately and easily. In addition, it is not necessary to provide a physical setting means (such as a switch), and the product cost can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the device connection state diagram 2412a of the counting means 2, the stacking means 3, the terminal storage cover 7, and the like is displayed in the second display region 2412 of the display screen 241 of the operation display unit 24 has been described as an example, but the embodiment is not limited to this example. The controller 25 may display the device connection state diagram 2412a in the first display area 2411 or in both the first display area 2411 and the second display area 2412.

With this configuration, even in the case of a device configuration in which the stacking unit 3 or the like is connected in the vertical direction with respect to the counting unit 2 or a device configuration in which the stacking unit 3 or the like is connected in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction with respect to the counting unit 2, the device connection state diagram can be appropriately displayed in at least one of the first display area 2411 and the second display area 242.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the first display region 2411 and the second display region 2412 are orthogonal to each other is described as an example, but the embodiment is not limited to this example. For example, a structure may be adopted in which the first display region 2411 and the second display region 2412 are in contact with each other, and a structure may be adopted in which the first display region 2411 and the second display region 2412 are open and the display regions are adjacent to each other.

Even with this configuration, since the first display area 2411 and the second display area 2412 are arranged to extend in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction of the display screen 241, respectively, the operability of the function selection buttons 2411a to 2411c provided in the first display area 2411 is improved, and the visibility of the device connection state diagram 2412a of the counter unit and the stacking unit displayed in the second display area 2412 can be improved.

Industrial applicability of the invention

The present invention is also applicable to a media processing apparatus and a unit connection method of the media processing apparatus.

Description of the reference symbols

1: medium processing device

2: counting unit

21: receiving part

22: counting main body part

223: conveying mechanism in counting unit

223 a: take in the conveying path

223 b: identifying a conveying path

223 c: reject-side conveying path

223 d: delivery side conveying path

23: reject part

24: operation display unit (display device)

241: display screen

25: control unit

3-6: stacking unit

30. 40, 50, 60: stacked body

31. 41, 51, 61: conveying mechanism in stacking unit

311: 411. 511, 611: common transport path

312. 412, 512, 612: branched conveying path

32. 42, 52, 62: accumulation part

33. 43, 53, 63: impeller

34. 44, 54, 64: control unit

35. 45, 55, 65: storage unit

36. 46, 56, 66: optical sensor

37. 47, 57, 67: status display unit

100: paper sheet

P1-Pn: connection port