JP2002090103A - Detection device for thickness of paper sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To precisely detect the displacement of a detection roller with a simple structure without requiring a retaining lever. SOLUTION: This device comprises a thickness detecting means 4A for displaying detection rollers 69 and 69 by passing a bill carried along a carrying surface between a reference roller 67 and the detection rollers 69 and 69 and detecting the thickness of the bill by the displacement quantity; and a sensor case 19 for supporting the detection rollers 69 and 69 through a plate spring 17. The plate spring 17 comprises upper and lower plate spring parts 17a and 17b arranged opposite to each other in parallel to the carrying surface with a space and having one-side ends fixed to the sensor case 19, and a vertical spring part 17c arranged vertically to the detection rollers 69 and 69 to mutually connect the other ends of the upper and lower plate spring parts 17a and 17b and interlocking with the displacing operation of the detection rollers 69 and 69. The thickness detecting means 4A comprises a detection sensor 27 for detecting the thickness of the bill by detecting the displacement of the vertical connection part 17c.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thickness detecting device mounted on a banknote recognition device in a cash processing machine installed in a bank or the like, for detecting the thickness of a banknote.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of thickness detecting device, there is a device in which a plurality of detecting rollers are brought into contact with one reference roller, and these detecting rollers are respectively held by holding levers.

To detect the thickness of a bill, the bill is passed between a reference roller and a plurality of detection rollers, and the thickness of the bill is detected by the amount of displacement of a holding lever displaced at this time.

The amount of displacement of the holding lever is detected, for example, by detecting the displacement angle of the lever fulcrum shaft using a sensor using a magnetoresistive element.

[0005] In this detection device, the detection roller, which is the actual displacement point, and the fulcrum axis of the holding lever for detecting the displacement are separated from each other. If the play is not suppressed to the minimum, the displacement reproducibility of the displacement detection unit is reduced, and the detection accuracy is reduced.

[0006]

However, in the prior art, if the rigidity of the holding lever is increased, the weight of the holding lever must be increased, and therefore the responsiveness of the holding lever at the time of high-speed transport of banknotes is reduced. However, there has been a problem that the thickness detection accuracy is reduced.

[0007] Further, since a sliding portion which does not allow backlash is required, there has been a concern that aging may occur due to mechanical wear or penetration of paper powder.

Further, there is a disadvantage that the structure becomes complicated and the cost increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet thickness detecting device capable of accurately detecting displacement of a detecting roller with a simple configuration without requiring a holding lever.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a reference roller and a detection roller disposed opposite to the reference roller, and the detection roller is conveyed along a conveyance surface. Thickness detection means for displacing the detection roller by passing the paper sheet between the reference roller and the detection roller and detecting the thickness of the paper sheet based on the displacement amount; Supporting means for supporting the roller via a spring material, wherein the spring material is disposed in parallel with the transport surface, faces away from each other, and has a pair of parallel spring portions each having one end fixed to the supporting means. And a vertical connecting portion that is arranged perpendicular to the detection roller and connects the other end of the pair of parallel spring portions and interlocks with the displacement operation of the detection roller. To detect the displacement of the vertical connection Ri has a detection sensor for detecting the thickness of the paper sheet.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reference roller having a reference roller and a detection roller disposed opposite to the reference roller, wherein a sheet conveyed along a conveyance surface is moved between the reference roller and the detection roller. A thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the paper sheet based on the amount of displacement by displacing the detection roller by passing the detection roller, and supporting means for supporting the detection roller via a holder and a spring material. The spring member is disposed in parallel with the conveyance surface and faces away from each other, and a pair of parallel spring portions each having one end fixed to the support means, and the pair of parallel spring members disposed perpendicular to the detection roller. A vertical connecting portion that connects between the other end portions of the parallel spring portions and interlocks with the displacement operation of the detection roller, wherein the thickness detecting means detects the displacement of the vertical connecting portion to detect the displacement of the paper sheet. Detection sensor that detects the thickness of the Has the support means is characterized by having a vibration absorbing member for absorbing vibration is abutted against the holder.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reference roller having a reference roller and a detection roller disposed opposite to the reference roller, and for transporting a sheet conveyed along a conveyance surface between the reference roller and the detection roller. A thickness detecting means for displacing the detection roller by passing the sheet and detecting the thickness of the paper sheet by the amount of displacement, and a supporting means for supporting the detection roller via a spring material, The spring member is disposed in parallel with the transport surface and faces away from each other, and a pair of parallel spring portions whose one ends are fixed to the support means, and the pair of parallel spring members which are disposed perpendicularly to the detection roller. A vertical connecting portion that connects the other ends of the spring portions and interlocks with the displacement operation of the detection roller, wherein the thickness detecting means detects the displacement of the vertical connecting portion in a non-contact manner to thereby make the paper sheet. Detection sensor that detects the thickness of various kinds A.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a deposit arrangement machine 1 (hereinafter, CS: CS) equipped with a sheet thickness detecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
A cache sorter).

CS1 is a bill processing unit 2 for taking in and processing bills as paper sheets, and is connected to the bill processing unit 2 and dedicated application software for a general-purpose personal computer system for operating and managing the bill processing unit 2. And a teller machine 3 incorporating the same.

The bill processing unit 2 has a hopper 12 for setting a plurality of bills stacked in a standing state and taking them in one by one. The banknote taken in from the hopper 12 is transported along the transport path 50. In the transport path 50, there is provided a bill inspection device 4 having a paper sheet thickness detecting device according to the present invention for distinguishing taken-in bills. The transport path 50 is branched from the middle part into a main transport path 50a and an elimination transport path 50b, and a gate 5 is provided at the branch portion for sorting the banknotes determined to be genuine or excluded by the banknote inspection device 4, respectively. Have been. An exclusion ticket stacker 6 for stacking exclusion tickets sorted by the gate 5 is provided on the unloading side of the exclusion conveyance path 50b.

The main transport path 50a is provided with gates 7 for sorting the banknotes that have been determined to be genuine by the banknote inspection device 4 and whose front and back sides have been determined.
The main transport path 50a is configured such that the front transport path 8 for transporting the front note as it is and the reverse transport configured to continuously reverse the back note 180 degrees in a spiral shape and transport the same time as the front transport path 8 side. It has a front-back reversing section 10 composed of a transport path 9.

The front transport path 8 includes a horizontal transport section 8a, a vertical transport section 8b continuous with the horizontal transport section 8a, and a vertical transport section 8a.
b.

The horizontal transport section 8c is disposed horizontally so as to partition a substantially central portion of the bill processing section 2. Horizontal transport unit 8c
Are provided with gates 21 to 25 for distributing genuine notes to denomination temporary accumulation units 31 to 36 according to denominations based on the result of denomination determination by the banknote inspection device 4.

In the lower portion of the horizontal transport section 8c, denomination temporary accumulating sections 31 to 36 for temporarily accumulating genuine bills after turning over,
And denomination stackers 41 to 46 for storing the accumulated tickets of the denomination temporary accumulation units 31 to 36 after the payment is confirmed.

FIG. 2 shows the overall structure of the banknote inspection device 4.

The banknote inspection device 4 includes a linear conveyance path 56,
The first to fourth roller pairs 5 disposed on the transport path 56
1 to 54, first to fourth sensor pairs 57 to 60, and a thickness detecting device 4A to be described later. The banknote inspection device 4 is divided into a driving unit 62 in which the rollers are driven across the transport path 56 and a driven unit 61 in which the rollers abut on and are driven by the driving rollers. The first to fourth sensor pairs 57 to 60 are also divided with the transport path 56 interposed therebetween.

The banknote inspection device 4 is configured such that the driven unit 61 and the drive unit 62 can be separated from each other by an arbitrary distance, and can be opened and closed at the time of a banknote jam or cleaning maintenance in the device. The driven unit 61 is provided with driven rollers for each roller pair and banknote inspection substrates 63 and 64. The driving unit 62 has a driving roller for each roller pair.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a banknote inspection apparatus 4 equipped with a sheet thickness detecting apparatus 4A according to the present invention.

The thickness detecting device 4A has a single reference roller 67.
And a pair of detection rollers 69, 69 which are disposed opposite to the reference roller 67 in the axial direction.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view showing the thickness detecting device 4A, and FIG. 5 is a side view thereof.

Both ends of the reference roller 67 of the thickness detecting device 4A are rotatably supported by bearings 65 and 66, and are rotationally driven by a driving mechanism (not shown). Reference roller 6
A pair of detection rollers 69, 69 are disposed on the upper surface of the center of 7.

The number of detection rollers 69 is not limited to two, but may be one or three or more depending on the system. The number of the detection rollers 69 is not directly related to the present invention.

The detection rollers 69, 69 are respectively
5 and 15 are rotatably held at the lower ends thereof.
Reference numeral 15 is attached to a sensor case 19 as support means via a leaf spring 17 as a spring material. The sensor case 19 is fixed to a main body frame (not shown) of the inspection unit. The leaf spring 17 is formed in a substantially U-shape, and has an upper leaf spring portion 17a and a lower leaf spring portion 17b as a pair of parallel spring portions facing each other at a predetermined interval in parallel. One end of the upper leaf spring portion 17a and one end of the lower leaf spring portion 17b are connected by a vertical leaf spring portion 17c as a vertical connecting portion.

The upper leaf spring portion 17a, the lower leaf spring portion 17b and the vertical leaf spring portion 17c of the leaf spring 17 are not necessarily required to be integral, and the upper leaf spring portion 17a and the lower leaf spring portion 17c are not necessarily integrated.
b may be independent, and the upper leaf spring portion 17a and the lower leaf spring portion 17b may be connected by a sheet metal or the like having no spring property. The other end of the upper leaf spring 17a and the lower leaf spring 17b is a screw 2
It is fixed to the sensor case 19 by 1 and 21.

The detection roller 69 is pressed against the reference roller 67 by the elastic force of the leaf spring 17, and rotates as the reference roller 67 rotates. As a result, the bill entering between the detection roller 69 and the reference roller 67 is conveyed while being clamped by the detection roller 69 and the reference roller 67. The detection roller 69 is displaced upward in accordance with the thickness of the bill when the bill enters, and accordingly, the holder 15 and the leaf spring 17 are also displaced upward.

On the other hand, a seat 15 a is bent at the upper end of the holder 15, and the seat 15 a is a vibration absorbing material 2 made of rubber or gel material fixed to the ceiling surface of the sensor case 19.
3 is always in contact.

When the bill continuously enters between the reference roller 67 and the detecting roller 69, the detecting roller 69, the holder 15, and the leaf spring 17 vibrate. The vibration absorber 23 absorbs vibration having a relatively small amplitude and a small frequency.

A magnet 25 for detecting a displacement is fixed substantially at the center of the vertical wall of the holder 15 joined to the vertical leaf spring 17c of the leaf spring 17. A displacement sensor 27 using a magnetoresistive element as a detection sensor is opposed to the magnet 25 at a distance. The displacement sensor 27 applied to the magnetoresistive element is mounted on one surface of a circuit board 29 for amplifying a displacement output signal, and the circuit board 29 is attached to the inner surface of the sensor case 19. A bias magnet 30 is provided on the other side of the substrate 29.
Is attached.

FIG. 7 shows a conventional thickness detecting device.

The thickness detecting device has a detecting roller 81, which is fixed to one end of a lever 83 rotatably mounted on a fulcrum shaft. The detection roller 81 is pressed against the reference roller 85 by the elastic force of a leaf spring 84 that presses a part of the lever 83, and rotates and rotates the reference roller 85 to pinch and convey the entered bill.

When the bill enters, the detection roller 81 is displaced upward in a circular arc restrained by the lever 83 in accordance with the thickness of the bill, whereby the lever 83 and the fulcrum shaft 82 are also angularly displaced by a predetermined amount. The fulcrum shaft 82 of the lever 83 has both ends held by bearings (not shown), and a magnet 87 for detecting angular displacement is fixed to the shaft end as shown in FIG. A displacement sensor 89 applied to a magnetoresistive element connected to a circuit board 88 for amplifying a displacement output signal is spaced apart from the magnet 87 for detecting the angular displacement, and detects a bill thickness converted into an angular displacement. To generate an output signal.

In the case of the thickness detection having such a configuration, the detection roller 81 serving as the actual displacement point and the detection lever fulcrum shaft 82 for detecting the displacement are separated from each other. If the play of the moving part is not minimized, there is a problem that the displacement reproducibility of the displacement detection unit is reduced and the detection accuracy is reduced.

Further, in order to increase the rigidity of the detection lever 83, it is necessary to increase the weight of the lever. Therefore, there is a problem that the response of the detection lever at the time of high-speed conveyance is reduced and the thickness detection accuracy is reduced.

Furthermore, since the sliding portion has no play, there is a concern that the sliding portion may change over time due to mechanical wear and penetration of paper powder.
There is also a concern about cost increase due to the complicated structure.

When a bill enters between the detection roller 81 and the reference roller 85 and the detection roller 81 is displaced in accordance with the thickness of the bill, the most efficient way to convert the thickness of the bill to the displacement of the detection roller 81 is as follows. It is desirable to have a mechanism that linearly displaces the detection roller 81 as much as possible in the thickness direction of the bill, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the plane direction of the bill.

As a mechanism for realizing this, for example, a linear slide rail is conceivable. However, since the approach direction of the bill is orthogonal to the operating direction of the rail, the mechanical responsiveness is deteriorated, and the rail due to the entry of paper dust is reduced. There is a concern that operation may deteriorate, and this type of linear motion rail is relatively expensive.

In order to solve such a conventional problem, the sensor 27 applied to the magnetoresistive element used in the present invention generally has a displacement as shown in FIG. This shows output characteristics.

That is, the output within a certain range across the electrical midpoint has a certain linearity with respect to the displacement of the magnet 25. In the case of the displacement sensor 27, the linearity described above is very important. If the displacement of the magnet 25 is not linear, the displacement range in which the linearity of the output is maintained becomes small, and the sensor 2
There is a problem that the mounting adjustment of the sensor 7 becomes difficult and the resolution of the sensor 27 is reduced.

In the present invention, the bill enters between the detecting roller 69 and the reference roller 67, and the detecting roller 69 is displaced in accordance with the thickness of the bill.
5. The leaf spring 17 is also displaced. At this time, due to the characteristics of the leaf spring 17, the vertical leaf spring portion 17c of the leaf spring 17 is displaced linearly in the thickness direction of the bill when the displacement amount is in the range of 0 to (bill thickness) to 1.5 mm. And is disposed on the detection roller 69, so that the vertical leaf spring portion 17c of the leaf spring 17 is provided.
Is approximately the same as the bill thickness.

Therefore, if the displacement of the vertical plate portion 17c of the leaf spring 17 is detected, the bill thickness can be accurately detected.

Further, two leaf springs 17a and 17b are structurally provided.
Is connected, no backlash or tilt is generated in the displacement detection unit, and the displacement can be detected with high accuracy.

Further, since the leaf spring 17 does not have a sliding portion such as a bearing, there is no danger of performance deterioration due to mechanical life or malfunction due to intrusion of paper dust.

Further, since the leaf spring 17 can be lighter in weight than the lever type, the response at relatively high-speed conveyance is improved, and the tape end of the ticket end and minute irregularities can be detected with high accuracy.

In the above-described embodiment, the sensor using the magnetoresistive element is used.
Taking advantage of the linear displacement of 7, other sensors can be used.

For example, a differential photocell 91 or a differential capacitance sensor as shown in FIG. 9 may be used.

As shown in FIG. 10, strain gauges 92 are mounted on the front and back surfaces near the mounting portion of the parallel leaf spring, and the expansion and contraction of the front and back surfaces of the leaf spring due to the displacement are measured by the strain gauge 9.
The thickness may be detected by an output obtained by taking a differential by a bridge circuit by converting the electric signal into an electric signal at 2,92.

[0053]

As described above, according to the present invention, the detection roller is supported by the support means via the spring material, and the spring material is disposed in parallel with the conveying surface and is opposed to and separated from the transfer surface. A pair of parallel spring portions fixed to the detection roller, a vertical connection portion that is disposed perpendicular to the detection roller, connects between the other end portions of the pair of parallel spring portions, and interlocks with the displacement operation of the detection roller, Since the thickness of the paper sheet is detected by detecting the displacement of the vertical connection part, there is no backlash when the detection roller is displaced. Since the displacement is substantially linear in the thickness direction, the thickness of the paper sheet can be accurately detected.

Further, since the spring material itself does not have a sliding portion such as a bearing as in the prior art, there is no possibility of mechanical life or deterioration of performance due to intrusion of paper dust.

Further, since the weight can be reduced as compared with the conventional holding lever type, the responsiveness at the time of high-speed conveyance can be improved, and the tape or fine irregularities attached to the paper sheet can be detected with high accuracy.

Further, when the parallel spring portion and the vertical connection portion are integrated, further simplification and weight reduction can be achieved.

Further, since the holder holding the detection roller is brought into contact with the vibration absorbing member, the vibration having a relatively small amplitude and a small frequency can be absorbed, and the detection accuracy can be further improved.

Further, since the displacement of the detection roller is detected in a non-contact manner, there is no mechanical contact, and a high-quality displacement output resistant to the intrusion of paper dust or the like can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a payment sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a banknote inspection device mounted on the depositing machine.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a bill inspection device equipped with a thickness detection device.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a thickness detecting device.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a thickness detecting device.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing an output of a detection sensor.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional bill thickness detecting device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a sensor of the thickness detecting device of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a second example of the detection sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a third example of the detection sensor of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... CS (Payment processing machine) 2 ... Bill processing part 3 ... Teller machine 4 ... Bill inspection device 4A ... Thickness detection device (thickness detection means) 15 ... Holder 17 ... Parallel leaf spring (spring material) 17a, 17b ... Upper and lower leaf springs (parallel springs) 17c: vertical leaf springs (vertical connection) 19: sensor case (supporting means) 27: magnetoresistive element sensors (detection sensors) 23: vibration absorbing members 65, 66: bearings 67: Reference roller 68, 69 ... Bearing 69, 69 ... Detection roller 91: Differential photocell (detection sensor) 92: Strain gauge (detection sensor)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2F062 AA27 BB14 BC08 BC80 CC07 CC30 EE01 EE04 EE63 FF13 FF25 GG51 GG62 GG63 HH15 JJ04 3E041 AA02 BA04

Claims (7)

[Claims] An image forming apparatus comprising: a reference roller and a detection roller disposed opposite to the reference roller, wherein a sheet conveyed along a conveyance surface is passed between the reference roller and the detection roller. A thickness detection unit that displaces a detection roller to detect the thickness of the paper sheet based on a displacement amount thereof; and a support unit that supports the detection roller via a spring material. A pair of parallel spring portions, which are disposed in parallel to the conveyance surface and face away from each other, one end of which is fixed to the support means, and the other end of the pair of parallel spring portions which are arranged perpendicular to the detection roller and And a vertical connecting portion which connects the portions and interlocks with the displacement operation of the detection roller, wherein the thickness detecting means detects the thickness of the sheet by detecting the displacement of the vertical connecting portion. Paper having a sensor Leaf thickness detector. 2. The sheet thickness detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of parallel spring portions and the vertical connecting portion are integrally formed. A reference roller and a detection roller disposed opposite to the reference roller, wherein the paper sheet conveyed along the conveyance surface is passed between the reference roller and the detection roller. A thickness detecting means for displacing the detecting roller to detect the thickness of the paper sheet based on a displacement amount thereof; and a supporting means for supporting the detecting roller via a holder and a spring material. And a pair of parallel spring portions, which are disposed parallel to the conveyance surface and are spaced apart from each other, one ends of which are fixed to the support means, and the pair of parallel spring portions which are disposed perpendicular to the detection roller. A vertical connecting portion that connects the other end portions and interlocks with the displacement operation of the detection roller, wherein the thickness detecting means detects the thickness of the paper sheet by detecting the displacement of the vertical connecting portion. A detection sensor for detecting Means thickness detecting device of a paper sheet, characterized in that it has a vibration absorbing member for absorbing vibration is abutted against the holder. 4. The sheet thickness detecting device according to claim 3, wherein said vibration absorbing member is an elastic body. 5. A printing apparatus comprising: a reference roller and a detection roller disposed opposite to the reference roller, wherein the paper sheet conveyed along the conveyance surface is passed between the reference roller and the detection roller. A thickness detection unit that displaces a detection roller to detect the thickness of the paper sheet based on a displacement amount thereof; and a support unit that supports the detection roller via a spring material. A pair of parallel spring portions, which are disposed in parallel to the conveyance surface and face away from each other, one end of which is fixed to the support means, and the other end of the pair of parallel spring portions which are arranged perpendicular to the detection roller and And a vertical connecting portion that connects between the portions and interlocks with the displacement operation of the detection roller, wherein the thickness detecting means detects the displacement of the vertical connecting portion in a non-contact manner to reduce the thickness of the paper sheet. Features a detection sensor to detect Paper thickness detector. 6. A sensor according to claim 1, wherein said detection sensor is a magnetoresistive element sensor provided on said support means, said magnetoresistive element sensor being spaced apart from and facing a displacement detecting magnet attached to said vertical connecting portion. A sheet thickness detecting device according to claim 5. 7. A sensor according to claim 1, wherein said detection sensor is a strain gauge provided on the front and back surfaces near at least one fixed end of said pair of parallel spring portions, and detects a displacement of said detection roller by a differential output obtained by said strain gauge. The sheet thickness detecting device according to claim 5, characterized in that: