JP3147975B2 - Paper thickness detector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet thickness detecting device for detecting the thickness of a conveyed banknote, for example, in a banknote inspection device used in an automatic depositing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a device for detecting information held by each conveyed banknote, such as a banknote inspection device, detecting the thickness of the banknote is also an important item. It is. The thickness detecting device for such a purpose is to determine whether one bill is conveyed and whether or not a tape or the like is stuck. The thickness detecting device is configured as follows. Have been.

That is, a displaceable detection roller is brought into contact with a reference roller serving as a thickness reference, and a bill conveyed by a conveyance belt is passed between the two rollers, whereby the thickness of the passing bill is reduced. The displacement amount of the accompanying detection roller is converted into an electric signal by a converter such as a non-contact displacement meter, and the electric signal indicates whether the number of bills is one,
Alternatively, it is determined whether or not the bill is a bill to which a tape or the like is affixed, or a bill that overlaps two or more sheets.

Conventionally, in such a banknote thickness detecting device, generally distributed banknotes are particularly likely to be broken or torn at the right end or the left end, and there are many cases such as tape attachment. In order to detect the thickness of the end of a bill using a limited number of detection rollers, the layout of the detection rollers may be distributed to both ends of the bill, or a detection roller having a length equal to the width of the bill may be used. We dealt with by providing.

[0005]

However, when a detecting roller having a length equal to the width of a bill is provided, the mechanical accuracy of contacting the bill decreases, and the detecting roller becomes large and heavy. There was a problem that the property deteriorated.
In addition, depending on the layout of the detection roller or the position at which the bill is conveyed, the bill is not conveyed on the detection roller even though the bill has been conveyed. There was a problem that it would be detected.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a sheet thickness detecting apparatus capable of reliably and accurately detecting the sheet thickness without deteriorating the responsiveness and irrespective of the sheet conveying position. The purpose is to provide.

[0007]

The sheet thickness detecting device of the present invention is arranged in parallel with a conveying means for conveying the paper sheets at a predetermined interval in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and is conveyed. A plurality of thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the paper sheet to be transported; a transport position detecting means for detecting a transport position of the paper sheet transported by the transport means in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction; Selecting means for selecting a thickness detecting means for actually performing thickness detection from among the plurality of thickness detecting means based on the transport position information of the sheet obtained from the position detecting means. I have.

[0008] Further, the sheet thickness detecting device of the present invention comprises:
A plurality of thickness detecting means which are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction on the conveying means for conveying the paper sheets and detect the thickness of the conveyed paper sheets; Storage means for previously storing information for selecting a thickness detecting means capable of detecting a thickness with respect to the transport position, and a sheet which is transported by the transport means in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. Transport position detecting means for detecting the transport position, and, based on the transport position information of the sheet obtained from the transport position detecting means and the information in the storage means, an actual one of the plurality of thickness detecting means Selection means for selecting thickness detection means for performing thickness detection.

[0009]

According to the present invention, a transport position of a conveyed sheet is detected, and based on the detected transport position, a thickness detecting means for actually performing thickness detection is selected from a plurality of thickness detecting means. As a result, the thickness of the paper sheet can be detected reliably and with high accuracy without deteriorating the responsiveness as in the related art or causing erroneous detection due to the transport position of the paper sheet.

[0010]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a wide transport path, which transports banknotes P as paper sheets in a direction indicated by an arrow. A line light source 2 is installed in an upper part of the transport path 1 in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and a line sensor 3 is installed in a lower part of the transport path 1 opposed to the line light source 2. The line light source 2 and the line sensor 3
It is used to detect the transport position of the transported banknote P in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction.

A plurality (four in this example) of thickness detectors 4, 5, 6, and 7 are provided at predetermined intervals in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction in front of the line light source 2 and the line sensor 3 on the transport path 1. Are installed side by side. The thickness detectors 4, 5, 6, and 7 are used as thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the bill P being conveyed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the thickness detectors 4, 5, 6, and 7 each include a reference roller 11 serving as a reference for measurement, and a displaceable detection roller 12 that comes into contact with the reference roller 11.
And a converter 13 such as a non-contact displacement meter (for example, a potential meter) that converts the amount of displacement of the detection roller 12 into an electric signal. When the bill P is conveyed in the direction indicated by an arrow in FIG.
Move up and down, and the converter 13 outputs an electric signal corresponding to the amount of movement of the detection roller 12. In addition,
Line light source 2 and line sensor 3, thickness detector 4,
In mounting 5, 6, and 7, the banknotes are incorporated in a banknote inspection device that inspects the banknotes P.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of the thickness detecting apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the figure, the outputs of the line sensor 3 and the thickness detectors 4, 5, 6, and 7 are supplied to the control unit 26 via amplifiers 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, respectively. The storage unit 27 is connected to the control unit 26. The storage unit 27 has information for selecting a thickness detector capable of detecting the thickness with respect to the transport position of the banknote P, for example, the thickness detectors 4 and 7 at the right end and the left end.
Output information previously stores the threshold value of the transport position at which the thickness can be detected.

Next, the operation in such a configuration will be described. Now, as shown in FIG. 2A, for example, it is assumed that a banknote P with an adhesive tape 9 for repairing a cut portion affixed to the right end has been conveyed rightward. Then
The control unit 26 first obtains, from the output signal of the line sensor 3, transfer position information indicating that, for example, the left end transfer position of the banknote P is “15” and the right end transfer position is “1”.

That is, the transport position information indicates the bit position of the line sensor 3 with respect to the transport path 1, and the bill P
When light is blocked from the line light source 2 to the line sensor 3, as shown in FIG. 4, an output indicating the length of the long side of the banknote P and the positions of the left end and the right end for each scan of the line sensor 3 Is obtained. However, in general, information for each scan of the line sensor 3 has an error, and it is necessary to determine the positions of the left end and the right end at more reliable positions.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the bills P from the first scan when the bills P enter the line sensor 3 to the n-th scan corresponding to 2/3 of the short side length of the bills P. The information of the length of the long side (| left end position information−right end position information |) is monitored, and the length of the long side is continued for at least 5 scans, and
Information of the left end and the right end at the time of the x-th scanning closest to the length of the short side 2/3 is set as the transport position information.

When the transport position information of the banknote P is detected in this way, the control unit 26 takes in the respective outputs of the thickness detectors 4, 5, 6, and 7 and digitizes the respective outputs, thereby obtaining the thickness detector 4 , 5, 6, 7 are obtained.
However, in this case, the thickness detector 4 at the left end is
As is clear from (a), the bill P has not passed.
That is, the thickness information obtained from the thickness detector 4 is not information on the banknote P.

Therefore, before detecting the thickness of the banknote P, the control unit 26 controls the thickness detectors 4 and 7 at the left and right ends.
Is read from the storage unit 27, and compared with the left and right end transport position information detected as described above, thereby obtaining the left and right end positions. It is determined whether or not the detection information in the section where the bill P is recognized by the section thickness detectors 4 and 7 is valid.

In this example, "17" and "2", which are the centers of the thickness detectors 4 and 7 at the left and right ends, are set as thresholds, and the transport position information detected by the output of the line sensor 3 is If the value is closer to the center of the transport path 1 than the value, the output information of the thickness detector is ignored in the thickness detection.

That is, in this case, by selecting only the thickness detectors 5, 6, and 7 through which the bill P has passed, the output information of the thickness detector 4 is ignored, and the thickness detectors 5, 6, and 7 are ignored. 7, the thickness is detected only by the output information. Thus, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection that the banknote P is thin because the banknote P does not pass through the thickness detector 4.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 2B, for example, even when the banknote P is transported in a left-justified state, the transport position information detected by the output of the line sensor 3 indicates that the left end is "18". , The right end is “4”, and the threshold information “17” and “2” in the storage unit 27 are compared with each other to detect the banknote P by the thickness detector 7 at the right end in the section where the bill P is recognized. Can be recognized as invalid.

Therefore, in this case, by selecting only the thickness detectors 4, 5 and 6 through which the bill P has passed, the output information of the thickness detector 7 is ignored and the thickness detectors 4, 5 and 6 are ignored. The thickness detection is performed only by each output information of No. 6.
Thus, it is possible to prevent the banknote P from erroneously detecting that the banknote P was thin because the banknote P did not pass through the thickness detector 7.

As described above, depending on the transport position of the bill, even if the bill is not transported on the thickness detector at the left end or the right end, the thickness detector is selected and erroneously detected based on the transport position information of the bill. Can not be. Therefore, there is no need to provide a detection roller having a length equal to the width of the banknote as in the related art, so that the responsiveness is not deteriorated, and even if the transport position of the banknote changes, the banknote does not matter. Thickness can be reliably and accurately detected.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the paper sheet for which the thickness is detected is a bill is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, valuable paper other than a bill, such as a check or a stock certificate, may be used. The same can be applied to the case of securities.

[0026]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the thickness of a paper sheet can be reliably and accurately detected without deteriorating the responsiveness and irrespective of the transport position of the paper sheet. A leaf thickness detecting device can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a configuration of a thickness detecting device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the thickness detecting device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a thickness detecting device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a process of detecting a transport position of a bill.

[Explanation of symbols]

P: banknotes (sheets), 1: transport path, 2 ... line light source, 3 ... line sensor, 4, 5, 6, 7 ... thickness detector, 11 ... reference roller, 12 ... ... Detection roller, 13 ...
... Converter, 26 ... Control unit, 27 ... Storage unit.

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masato Kochika 70 Yanagicho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Toshiba Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H ^7/ 00- 7/20

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of thickness detecting means, which are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of a conveying means for conveying a sheet and detect a thickness of the conveyed sheet, A transport position detecting unit that detects a transport position of a sheet transported by the transport unit in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction thereof, based on the transport position information of the sheet obtained from the transport position detector, Selecting means for selecting a thickness detecting means for actually performing thickness detection from the plurality of thickness detecting means. 2. A plurality of thickness detecting means, which are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction on a conveying means for conveying a sheet and detect a thickness of the conveyed sheet. A storage unit that stores in advance information for selecting a thickness detecting unit capable of detecting a thickness with respect to the transport position of the paper sheet; and a transport direction of the paper sheet transported by the transport unit. Transport position detecting means for detecting a transport position in a direction orthogonal to the direction; and the plurality of thickness detecting means based on the transport position information of the sheet obtained from the transport position detecting means and the information in the storage means. And a selecting means for selecting a thickness detecting means for actually detecting the thickness from among the thickness detecting means.