CN101105874A - Bank note treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a paper money processor, which can more reliably avoid unreasonable conduct direct towards paper money. The said paper money processor (1) comprises a slot for bills in which a bill is inserted; a bill conveyer (8) for conveying the inserted bill along the insertion direction; a bill reading means (20) for reading the bill conveyed by said bill conveyer style; a bill identifying means which identifies truth or falsehood of a bill read by said bill reading means (20); an attachment identifying means for identifying the attachment connected with the outer side of the bill; a control device for controlling the unreasonable conduct based on the identifying result of the bill identifying means and the attachment identifying means. In addition, compared with the identifying result of the bill identifying means, the control device gives priority to the identifying result of the attachment identifying means to control.

Description

Paper money processing device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a banknote handling apparatus which conveys banknotes inserted from a banknote insertion slot and has a banknote identifying section for identifying validity of the banknotes.

Background

In general, a bill handling device is incorporated in a service facility, for example, a game medium rental machine installed in a casino, or a vending machine or a ticket vending machine installed in a public place, and the service facility recognizes validity of a bill inserted from a bill insertion slot by a user and provides various goods or services based on a value of the bill judged to be valid.

In general, a banknote handling apparatus includes: a bill carrying mechanism that carries bills inserted into the bill insertion opening; an operating device such as a bill discriminating section for discriminating (also referred to as authentication discrimination) the validity of the bill conveyed; and a control device that drives and controls these motion devices. That is, when a banknote is inserted from the banknote insertion slot, the detection sensor detects the insertion of the banknote, and drives the banknote conveyance mechanism (drive motor, conveyance roller, etc.) to convey the banknote, and the identification sensor constituting the banknote identifying unit reads the banknote in the conveyance state, and compares the output thereof with the standard data stored in advance to determine validity. Note that the banknotes judged to be valid by the banknote classification section are directly conveyed toward the banknote storage section or the like provided on the downstream side, and the banknotes not judged to be valid are directly returned to the banknote insertion slot.

The banknote handling apparatus temporarily retains (holds) an inserted banknote when the inserted banknote is judged to be a genuine banknote by the banknote classification section, as disclosed in japanese patent No. 3000328, for example. In such storage, for example, when a return instruction is issued for some reason after insertion of a banknote, the inserted banknote can be immediately returned from the banknote insertion slot by reversing the banknote transport mechanism. Note that, in the storage state, the banknotes in the storage state (the stored banknotes) are directly conveyed to the downstream side by the transmission of a processing signal such as a stacking command.

However, in the above-described banknote handling apparatus, since it is easy to make a fraud on the stored banknotes in the stopped state, as disclosed in japanese patent No. 3000328, a shutter is provided in the banknote insertion slot, and the shutter motor is operated to forcibly close the banknote insertion slot. That is, by closing the bill insertion port with the shutter after the insertion of the bills, even if the bills are connected with an attached matter such as a string or a thread, an improper action such as pulling out the stored bills cannot be performed.

That is, in the banknote handling apparatus disclosed in japanese patent No. 3000328, when a banknote is inserted into the banknote insertion slot, the insertion is detected, the shutter in the closed state is opened, and the banknote is conveyed to the banknote classification section to determine the validity thereof. Then, when the bill judged as a genuine bill by the bill discriminating section is further conveyed to the storage position located on the downstream side, and the bill is put into the storage state, the shutter in the open state is driven to the closed state.

In this way, in order to prevent the fraud, since the closing of the banknote insertion slot by the shutter is performed after the validity of the banknote is determined, the fraud cannot be reliably prevented until the banknote is conveyed to the holding position after the validity determination processing of the banknote is performed. That is, in the above-described banknote recognition device, since (banknote insertion) → (opening process of the shutter) → (process of determining validity of banknotes) → (process of conveying banknotes to the storage position when valid) → (closing process of the shutter) are performed, in order to prevent a fraud, the shutter forcibly closes the banknote insertion slot, and therefore, the validity determination process of the banknotes and the process of conveying the banknotes to the storage position are required, and thus a fraud (particularly a fraud performed by adhering attachments to the banknotes) in the period cannot be reliably prevented.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a banknote handling apparatus capable of more reliably preventing a fraud with respect to a banknote.

In order to achieve the above object, a banknote handling apparatus according to the present invention includes: a bill insertion slot for inserting bills; a bill carrying mechanism capable of carrying the bill inserted from the bill insertion slot in an insertion direction; a bill reading device that reads the bill conveyed by the bill conveying mechanism; a bill discriminating device for discriminating authenticity of the bill read by the bill reading device; an attachment recognizing device that recognizes that an attachment is connected to the outside of the outer dimension of the banknote; and a control device that controls the fraud prevention process based on the recognition result of the banknote recognition device and the recognition result of the attached matter recognition device, wherein the control device performs the control in consideration of the recognition result of the attached matter recognition device in comparison with the recognition result of the banknote recognition device.

According to the banknote handling apparatus having the above configuration, when the banknote is inserted into the banknote insertion slot, the banknote conveyance mechanism is driven to convey the banknote into the banknote insertion slot. The banknotes fed into the inside are transported and read by a banknote reading device provided on the downstream side thereof, and the banknote discriminating device discriminates the authenticity of the banknotes based on the read banknote information. When the deposit is connected to the outside of the outer dimension of the banknote, the deposit recognition device detects this and performs control for preventing fraud based on the recognition result of the banknote recognition device and the recognition result of the deposit recognition device. In this case, since the control is performed in consideration of the recognition result of the attached matter recognition device in preference to the recognition result of the banknote recognition device, it is possible to reliably prevent the fraudulent conduct even in the course of transporting the banknote after the banknote recognition device recognizes the genuine banknote.

In one aspect of the present invention, the bill reading device is configured by a line sensor that reads the entire range of the transported bill in the width direction of the transport path.

In such a configuration, the accuracy of identifying the authenticity of the bill can be improved, and even when an adhering substance such as a string or a thread is connected to any position in the width direction of the bill conveying path, the adhering substance can be reliably detected as a foreign substance.

In another aspect of the present invention, the control device may reversely drive the bill conveyance mechanism under a predetermined condition to withdraw the bill to the bill insertion slot.

In such a configuration, when the deposit is connected, the banknote conveyance mechanism is driven in reverse so that the banknote is immediately withdrawn toward the banknote insertion slot, and thus, it is possible to more reliably prevent an unauthorized act.

In another aspect of the present invention, the control device transmits an alarm signal under a predetermined condition.

In such a configuration, when the alarm signal is transmitted, the state is reported by sound or light, so that it is possible to detect an improper act of the user at an early stage. In addition, when it is detected that an attached matter such as a rope or a wire is attached to the bill for an improper purpose, the control device may be caused to transmit an alarm signal to a higher-level device of the bill handling device (for example, a service/product vending machine, a ticket dispenser, a host machine for managing the service/product vending machine, or the like in which the bill handling device is incorporated). In this case, the host device can detect an improper act of the user at an early stage and can prevent such an improper act by reporting the state by sound or light when the alarm signal is received. Further, it is preferable that such an alarm signal is transmitted when the attached matter is detected a predetermined number of consecutive times (for example, when it is determined that the attached matter is connected three consecutive times).

As described above, according to the banknote handling apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to more reliably prevent an unauthorized act on a banknote after the banknote is inserted into the banknote insertion slot.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a banknote handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the upper frame is opened with respect to the lower frame.

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a banknote conveyance path portion of the lower frame.

Fig. 4 is a rear view of the lower frame.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the bill detecting sensor.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the structure of the shutter mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the shutter mechanism shown in fig. 6, as viewed from the back side.

Fig. 8 is a side view showing the operation of the shutter mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which the rotating piece of the shutter mechanism is rotated and the bill insertion slot is closed.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the rotating piece of the shutter mechanism.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of the banknote handling apparatus shown in fig. 1 to 4.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing a control system of the banknote handling apparatus.

Fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the reference data table stored in the reference data storage unit.

Fig. 14 (a) and (b) are schematic explanatory views showing the front and back surfaces of a banknote.

Fig. 15 is a main flowchart showing the procedure of the banknote determination process.

Fig. 16 is a banknote scanning timing chart showing timings of irradiating infrared light and red light to a banknote and receiving transmitted light and reflected light.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing denomination/direction determination processing for determining the denomination and the banknote conveyance direction.

Fig. 18 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the authentication determination process.

Fig. 19 is a flowchart showing a procedure of controlling the driving of the driving motor and the electromagnet for carrying the banknotes.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 to 4 are views showing the structure of a banknote handling apparatus according to the present embodiment, fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire structure, fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which an upper frame is opened with respect to a lower frame, fig. 3 is a plan view showing a banknote conveyance path portion of the lower frame, and fig. 4 is a rear view of the lower frame.

The banknote handling apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to be incorporated into a game medium rental apparatus (not shown) provided in various game machines such as slot machines. In this case, in the game medium rental apparatus, other devices (for example, a bill storage unit, a coin discriminating device, a recording medium processing device, a power supply device, and the like) may be provided on the upper side or the lower side of the bill processing device 1, and the bill processing device 1 may be integrated with these other devices or may be configured as a single unit. Note that, when banknotes are inserted into the banknote processing apparatus 1 and validity of the inserted banknotes is determined, a rental process of a game medium corresponding to the value of the banknotes, a writing process of a recording medium such as a prepaid card (prepaid card), or the like is performed.

The banknote handling device 1 includes a frame 2 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the frame 2 is mounted on a card holding portion of a game medium rental device, not shown. The frame 2 includes an upper frame 2A and a lower frame 2B, and as shown in fig. 2, these frames 2A and 2B are configured to be opened and closed with one end portion as a rotation center. In this case, a lock shaft 3 is disposed on the other end side of the upper frame 2A, the lock shaft 3 is locked to the lower frame 2B, and the operation portion 3a of the lock shaft 3 is rotationally operated in the arrow direction in fig. 1 against the urging force of the urging spring 3B, whereby the lock shaft 3 is rotated about the rotation fulcrum P, and the locked state (the state in which both are closed; the overlapped state) of the upper frame 2A and the lower frame 2B is released.

The upper frame 2A and the lower frame 2B are configured such that, when they are in a stacked state, a gap (bill conveyance path) 5 for conveying bills is formed in a facing portion between the two. Note insertion portions 6A and 6B are formed in the upper frame 2A and the lower frame 2B in correspondence with the banknote transport path 5. When the upper frame 2A and the lower frame 2B are closed, the bill insertion portions 6A and 6B form a slit-shaped bill insertion slot 6. As shown in fig. 1, the bill M is inserted into the inside from the short side of the bill in the direction of arrow a.

The frame 2 is provided with: a paper money conveyance mechanism 8; a bill detection sensor 18 that detects bills inserted into the bill insertion slot 6; a bill reading device 20 which is provided downstream of the bill detection sensor 18 and reads information of bills in a conveyance state; a shutter mechanism 50 provided on the bill transfer path 5 between the bill insertion slot 6 and the bill detection sensor 18, and driven to close the bill insertion slot 6; and a control device (control circuit board 100) for controlling the driving of the bill conveyance mechanism 8, the bill reading device 20, and the shutter mechanism 50.

The above-described components will be described in detail below.

The banknote conveyance mechanism 8 is a mechanism that: which can convey the banknotes inserted from the banknote insertion slot 6 in the insertion direction a and can convey the banknotes in the inserted state to be retracted toward the banknote insertion slot 6. The banknote conveyance mechanism 8 includes: a drive motor 10 which is a drive source provided on the lower frame 2B side; and conveying roller pairs 12, 13, and 14 disposed on the bill conveying path 5 at predetermined intervals in the bill conveying direction and driven to rotate by the drive motor 10.

The conveying roller pair 12 includes: a drive roller 12A disposed on the lower frame 2B side; and pinch rollers 12B disposed on the upper frame 2A side and abutting against the drive rollers 12A, and the drive rollers 12A and the pinch rollers 12B are provided at two positions at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the banknote conveyance direction. The drive roller 12A and the pinch roller 12B are partially exposed in the banknote conveyance path 5.

The drive rollers 12A provided at two positions are fixed to a drive shaft 12A, the drive shaft 12A is rotatably supported by the lower frame 2B, the pinch rollers 12B are rotatably supported by a support shaft 12B, and the support shaft 12B is supported by the upper frame 2A. In this case, the upper frame 2A is provided with a biasing member 12c, and the biasing member 12c biases the support shaft 12B toward the drive shaft 12A so that the pinch roller 12B contacts the drive roller 12A with a predetermined pressure.

The pair of conveying rollers 13 and 14 are also constituted by two drive rollers 13A and 14A fixed to the drive shafts 13A and 14A, respectively, and two pinch rollers 13B and 14B rotatably supported by the support shafts 13B and 14B, similarly to the pair of rollers 12, and the pinch rollers 13B and 14B are brought into contact with the drive rollers 13A and 14A at predetermined pressures by biasing members 13c and 14c, respectively.

The conveying roller pairs 12, 13, and 14 are synchronously driven by a driving force transmission mechanism 15 connected to the driving motor 10. The driving force transmission mechanism 15 is constituted by a gear train including: an output gear 10a fixed to an output shaft of the drive motor 10; input gears 12G, 13G, and 14G attached to end portions of the drive shafts 12a, 13a, and 14a and sequentially engaged with the output gear 10 a; and an idler gear 16 disposed between these gears.

With the above configuration, when the drive motor 10 is driven in the normal direction, the transport roller pairs 12, 13, and 14 are driven to transport the banknotes in the insertion direction a, and when the drive motor 10 is driven in the reverse direction, the transport roller pairs 12, 13, and 14 are driven in the reverse direction to return the banknotes to the banknote insertion side.

The bill detection sensor 18 generates a detection signal when detecting a bill inserted into the bill insertion slot 6, and in the present embodiment, the bill detection sensor 18 is provided between a rotating piece constituting a shutter mechanism described later and a bill reading device 20 that reads a bill. The bill detecting sensor 18 is constituted by, for example, an optical sensor, more specifically, a retro-reflection type optical sensor, and as shown in fig. 5, the bill detecting sensor 18 is constituted by a prism 18a provided on the upper frame 2A side and a sensor main body 18B provided on the lower frame 2B side. Specifically, the prism 18a and the sensor body 18b are arranged in such a manner that: the light emitted from the light emitting portion 18c of the sensor body 18b is detected at the light receiving portion 18d of the sensor body 18b via the prism 18a, and when the light is not detected at the light receiving portion 18d due to the passage of the bill through the bill conveying path 5 between the prism 18a and the sensor body 18b, a detection signal is generated.

The bill detection sensor 18 may be configured by a mechanical sensor, in addition to an optical sensor.

A bill reading device 20 is provided downstream of the bill detection sensor 18, and reads the bill information of the bill in the conveyance state. The banknote reading device 20 may have the following structure: when the bill is transported by the bill transport mechanism 8, the bill is read by irradiating the bill with light, and a signal capable of determining validity (authenticity) of the bill can be generated. The read optical signal is photoelectrically converted, and the authenticity of the transported bill is determined by comparing the optical signal with genuine bill data stored in advance in a bill discriminating device described later. The detailed structure of the specific banknote recognition device will be described later. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the reader 20 also functions as an attached matter recognizing device for detecting whether or not an attached matter is connected to the outside of the outer dimension of the bill.

A shutter mechanism 50 for closing the bill insertion slot 6 is disposed downstream of the bill insertion slot 6. The shutter mechanism 50 is configured to always open the bill insertion slot 6, and when a bill is inserted and the bill detection sensor 18 detects the rear end of the bill (the bill detection sensor 18 is OFF), the shutter mechanism 50 closes the bill insertion slot 6, thereby making it impossible to perform an unauthorized action or the like.

Specifically, the shutter mechanism 50 includes: a rotating piece 52 that is driven to rotate in a protruding and retracting manner at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the banknote conveyance direction of the banknote conveyance path 5; and an electromagnet (pulling type) 54 (driving section) which is a driving source for driving the rotation piece 52 to rotate. In this case, the rotating pieces 52 are provided at two positions in the width direction, and long holes 5c are formed in the conveying surface 5a of the lower frame 2B forming the bill conveying path 5, and the long holes 5c extend in the bill conveying direction so as to be able to project and retract the rotating pieces 52.

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the rotating piece 52 is fixed to a shaft 55, the shaft 55 is rotatably supported by the lower frame 2B, and the rotating piece 52 is set so as to be always (initial state) positioned inside the conveying surface 5a and not to protrude from the conveying surface 5 a. The electromagnet 54 is provided in the lower frame 2B, an engagement pin 54B is provided at an end of a drive shaft 54a that is attracted and driven by the energization, and an engagement portion 57a of a swingable swinging member 57 is engaged with the engagement pin 54B.

The swing member 57 is pivotally supported on the lower frame 2B so as to be swingable via a fulcrum 57B, and the swing member 57 has a swing arm 57c extending from the fulcrum 57B toward the shaft 55. As shown in fig. 8, a sector gear 57G is formed at the tip end of the swing arm 57c, and the sector gear 57G meshes with a gear 55G fixed to the end of the shaft 55. Thus, when the electromagnet 54 is energized (the electromagnet is ON) and the drive shaft 54a is attracted and driven by the electromagnet main body, the swing member 57 swings about the fulcrum 57b as shown by the arrow in fig. 8, and the rotating piece 52 is driven and rotated so as to protrude from the elongated hole 5c formed in the conveying surface 5a by the sector gear 57G formed at the tip end of the swing arm 57c and the gear 55G fixed to the end of the shaft 55 (see fig. 9).

This closes the banknote insertion slot 6, thereby preventing an unauthorized act of pulling out a foreign object such as a string or a thread attached to the banknote. Further, as shown in fig. 10, it is preferable that the rotating piece 52 and the electromagnet 54 for driving the rotating piece 52 are arranged so that when the rotating piece 52 is driven to rotate so as to rise toward the bill insertion slot 6 side and the rotating piece 52 rotates so as to protrude from the conveying surface 5a, the rotating piece 52 abuts against the end surface 5d of the elongated hole 5 c. According to such a configuration, even if the banknotes are forcibly pulled out in a state where the rotating piece 52 is rotated to close the banknote insertion slot 6, the rotating piece 52 abuts against the end surface 5d to become a large resistance member, and therefore, the pulling-out behavior of the banknotes can be reliably prevented.

Further, the rotating pieces 52 as described above are disposed at two locations with a predetermined interval in the width direction of the banknote transport path 5, so that the uneven portions for the shutter mechanism exposed to the banknote transport path 5 can be reduced as much as possible, thereby preventing paper jam and the like from occurring during banknote transport.

A bill passage detection sensor 60 for detecting passage of bills is provided on the downstream side of the bill reading device 20. When the stored banknote judged to be valid is further transported to the downstream side and the trailing end of the banknote is detected by the banknote passage detection sensor 60, a detection signal is generated, and the energization of the electromagnet 54 is released (the electromagnet is OFF) in accordance with the generation of the detection signal, and the driving shaft 54a is moved in the protruding direction by the biasing force of the biasing spring provided to the driving shaft 54a, and the rotating piece 52 constituting the shutter mechanism is driven to rotate so as to open the banknote transport path.

The bill passage detecting sensor 60 is constituted by an optical sensor (retro-reflection type optical sensor) including a prism 60a provided on the upper frame 2A side and a sensor main body 60B provided on the lower frame 2B side, similarly to the bill detecting sensor 18. Of course, the bill passage detection sensor 60 may be configured by a mechanical sensor, in addition to an optical sensor.

Further, since the bill passage detection sensor 60 generates a signal for opening the shutter mechanism 50, the bill passage detection sensor 60 may not be provided if the timing at which the shutter mechanism 50 is opened can be controlled by other means, for example, the passage time such as opening the shutter mechanism after a predetermined time has elapsed from the conveyance and storage of bills.

A reporting element is provided in the vicinity of the bill insertion slot 6 to visually report that the bill is inserted. Such a notification element may be constituted by, for example, a blinking LED70, and when a user inserts a bill into the bill insertion slot 6, the notification element is turned on to notify the user of the state of processing of the bill. Therefore, the user can be prevented from inserting the next bill by mistake.

Next, a method of determining the authenticity of a banknote, which is executed based on the banknote information read by the banknote reading device 20 in the banknote recognition device for recognizing the authenticity of a banknote, will be specifically described.

The method for determining authenticity of a banknote according to the present embodiment includes the steps of: a first comparison step of irradiating light of a predetermined wavelength from a light emitting device to a printing area on the surface of a genuine bill, storing transmitted light data of the light transmitted through the genuine bill as reference data in advance, irradiating the light of the predetermined wavelength from the light emitting device to the printing area on the surface of a bill to be judged, and comparing the transmitted light data of the light transmitted through the bill with the reference data; and a second comparison step of determining a specific area in advance in a printed area on the surface of the bill, weighting transmitted light data of the light in the specific area of the bill to be determined and the genuine bill in a predetermined manner, comparing the weighted data with each other, and determining whether the bill is genuine or not based on the comparison results in the first and second comparison steps.

That is, in the printed area on the banknote surface, for example, the area where the images obtained under visible light and infrared light are different from each other is predetermined as the specific area, and the transmitted light data of infrared light in the specific area is weighted as compared with the transmitted light data obtained from the other area, and these weighted data are compared with each other, whereby the accuracy of the authenticity judgment is further improved as compared with the comparison of the transmitted light data in the entire printed area on the banknote surface.

In this way, a bill for genuine bills has regions in which images obtained under visible light and infrared light are different from each other, and for example, in a watermark region provided in a bill, when an image of the region is observed with light of different wavelengths (for example, when an image of the region is observed with red light and when the image is observed with infrared light), a large difference is observed in the image, and in view of this, transmitted light data obtained by infrared light in the specific region is acquired with the region being set as the specific region, the acquired transmitted light data and transmitted light data in the same specific region of a genuine bill acquired in advance are weighted, and the weighted data are compared with each other, whereby whether the bill to be determined is a genuine bill or counterfeit bill is determined with higher accuracy. In this case, the accuracy of the authenticity judgment can be further improved by specifying the specific area based on the face value and setting a predetermined weight to the transmitted light data in the specific area.

In either of the first comparison step and the second comparison step, when the obtained data is compared with the reference data to determine authenticity, the transmitted light data can be represented by a gray scale value, that is, a density value (luminance value), and therefore, the determination can be performed by using a correlation coefficient calculated by substituting the gray scale value into an appropriate correlation equation.

Further, for example, an analog waveform is generated from the transmitted light data, and the shapes of the waveforms can be compared with each other to determine the waveform.

When comparing the bill to be judged with the genuine bill, the transmitted light data of light may be used, and the reflected light data of light in the specific region may be used. For example, in addition to the transmitted light data of the infrared light, reflected light data of the infrared light in each specific region may be used.

That is, by comparing the transmitted light data and the reflected light data, the determination accuracy can be further improved. In addition, in a case where a region in which reflected light data is easier to compare with transmitted light data exists in a printed region on the surface of the banknote, the determination may be made by weighting only the reflected light data.

The light emitting device may emit light of different wavelengths, and when comparing the banknote to be determined with the genuine banknote, the light emitting device may use transmitted light data and/or reflected light data of light of different wavelengths in the specific region. That is, for example, when the light emitting device is configured to be capable of emitting infrared light and red light and a bill to be judged is compared with a genuine bill, transmitted light data and/or reflected light data of red light can be used in addition to transmitted light data and/or reflected light data of infrared light in the specific region.

In this way, since the wavelengths of the infrared light and the red light are different, when transmitted light data and reflected light data of a plurality of kinds of light having different wavelengths are applied to the authenticity judgment of the bill, such properties can be applied to the authenticity judgment of the bill: the determination accuracy can be further improved by adopting this method in which the transmittance and reflectance are different between the transmitted light passing through the specific regions of the genuine bill and the counterfeit bill and the reflected light reflected from the specific regions. In this case, the transmitted light data and the reflected light data are also weighted. Further, weighting may be performed to a different degree for each received light data obtained from the transmitted light and the reflected light having different wavelengths, and the accuracy of the authenticity judgment can be further improved.

The specific region includes regions in which data obtained by irradiating light of different wavelengths are different. For example, in addition to considering the "watermark" area or the like described above, an area printed with a latent image and an area printed with a pearl ink are also included. When the bill has regions in which data obtained by irradiating light of different wavelengths is different, it is more preferable to set at least two or more regions as specific regions to improve the accuracy of the authentication.

The latent image is one of the anti-counterfeiting technologies. For example, as is done with current banknotes in japan (japanese bank notes), the latent image is an image that is not visible when viewed straight but appears when viewed obliquely. In a region where nothing is present in a state of direct view on a japanese bank note, characters such as "NIPPON" are displayed when the note is tilted.

Further, it is found by observation that when the infrared light having a wavelength within a predetermined range in the near-infrared region is transmitted through the region on which such a latent image is printed and photographed, the character of the "NIPPON" which is hidden can be recognized. In the present embodiment, generally, and from the viewpoint of cost, an inexpensive optical sensor for irradiating light having a wavelength in the vicinity of 950nm is used, and a wavelength in the vicinity of 950nm is used as a wavelength in a predetermined range, but the wavelength in the predetermined range is not limited to this wavelength, and any wavelength in the near infrared region can be selected and used as appropriate from a wide range.

Thus, in the case where the banknote to be determined and the genuine banknote are determined in the region printed with the latent image as the region difficult to counterfeit, if the transmitted light data of the infrared light having the wavelength of around 950nm in the above-described range are compared with each other, it is considered that the difference between the two is more significant, and the determination of authenticity is extremely effective. Especially, the difference between the genuine bill and the counterfeit bill can be made more obvious by comparing the transmitted light data after being weighted.

In addition, in japanese bank notes, the above pearl ink is also used for forgery prevention, and when the paper money is tilted, a slightly pink pearl gloss appears on the printed portion. Since the printing with the pearl ink is also difficult to counterfeit, the authenticity can be easily and accurately determined by comparing the banknote to be determined with the genuine banknote using the transmitted light data and the reflected light data obtained by weighting the regions printed with the pearl ink.

That is, since the pearl ink is an ink containing a pearl pigment in which a metal oxide such as titanium oxide or iron oxide is applied to natural mica, and multiple reflected lights interfere at the boundary between a titanium oxide layer having a high refractive index and mica having a low refractive index and a medium around the mica to produce a unique pearl gloss, it is not easy to produce a pearl ink that can obtain the same reflected light, and therefore, if weighting is performed in a region printed with the pearl ink, authenticity judgment of genuine bills and counterfeit bills can be accurately performed.

In addition, the transmitted light data and the reflected light data acquired from the specific area are weighted in a predetermined manner as compared with the data acquired from the other area in the printed area on the surface of the banknote, but for example, it is conceivable to multiply the transmitted light data and/or the reflected light data in the specific area by a weight ratio as a predetermined weighting.

That is, in the above-described correlation equation for determining authenticity of a banknote using transmitted light data of infrared light, the density value based on the acquired data is multiplied by a weight multiplier ratio, and the comparison width of the calculated value is increased, whereby the determination accuracy can be further improved.

Since the value of the weight ratio can be set in various ways, various kinds of authentication can be dealt with only by changing the value of the weight ratio after data is acquired.

Further, as described above, if it is the case of comparing with an analog waveform indicating the density (luminance) generated from the transmitted light data and/or the reflected light data in the above-described specific region, it is considered to magnify the waveform at a predetermined magnification. In this case, the amplified waveforms are compared with each other, and therefore, the determination accuracy is further improved.

In addition, as a method of applying a predetermined weight to the transmitted light data and the reflected light data acquired from the specific region compared with the data acquired from the other region, it is also conceivable to increase the data amount of the transmitted light data and/or the reflected light data in the specific region compared with the data amount in the other region (or to make the coordinate density in the specific region denser than that in the other region).

In contrast, the data amount or the coordinate density outside the specific region may be thinned, and in this case, the data processing efficiency can be improved. In addition, the data density may be changed for each specific area.

Specifically, for example, as the light emitting device of infrared light and red light, an LED array in which a large number of LEDs are arranged in a line shape or the like is preferably used, but when an area other than a specific area is irradiated with the LED array, the LEDs are selected and driven, and all the LEDs can be driven in the specific area. By such a method, an energy saving effect can be obtained.

Further, since the specific region can be specified as coordinates on the surface region of the bill, the transport speed of the bill can be controlled so that the transport speed is slower in the specific region than in the other regions to increase the data amount of the transmitted light data and the reflected light data by controlling the transport speed of the bill by the bill transport mechanism 8.

Specifically, the following configuration is considered for the banknote recognition device.

That is, the bill identifying apparatus is configured as a bill reading apparatus which irradiates light to a bill conveyed by the bill conveying mechanism 8, and receives transmitted light transmitted through the bill after the irradiation and reflected light reflected from the bill, and includes: a weighting device for weighting the light receiving data detected by the optical sensor, wherein the optical sensor detects a specific area determined in the printing area on the surface of the paper money; and an authenticity judging section for judging authenticity of the bill, the authenticity judging section including: a storage device for storing reference light receiving data in all printing areas on the surface of the genuine bill including the specific area; a first comparison unit that compares the reference light reception data stored in the storage unit with light reception data obtained by the optical sensor in all of the printing areas on the surface of the banknote to be determined; and a second comparing device for comparing the weighted light receiving data in the specific areas of the bill to be judged and the genuine bill with each other.

In this case, the authenticity determination section may be constituted by a microcomputer having a CPU and ROM, RAM, or the like as storage means. The following may be stored in the ROM in advance: a determination program for causing the microcomputer to execute the above-described authentication method; light reception data in all printed areas on the banknote surface, including light reception data (for example, transmitted light data and reflected light data of infrared light, and transmitted light data and reflected light data of red light) of a specific area in a genuine banknote serving as reference data; and a program for weighting the light reception data in the specific region.

The authenticity is determined by acquiring light reception data of a bill to be determined by an optical sensor, storing the light reception data in a RAM, and comparing the light reception data with reference data by a first comparing device and a second comparing device. The first comparing means and the second comparing means do not need to be formed by separate hardware, and the authenticity judging section may be provided with the function.

In the present embodiment, the light emitting device includes a first light emitting array that emits infrared light and a second light emitting array that emits red light.

With the banknote recognition device having the above-described configuration, even if the light reception data on all the printed surfaces of the banknotes are similar to each other after the comparison, the weighted light reception data in the specific area are compared with each other, whereby the authenticity can be determined with high accuracy. Also in this case, the weighting may be changed for each denomination.

In addition, by using reflected light data in addition to transmitted light data as received light data, or by adding red light to light irradiated to the bill in addition to infrared light alone, it is possible to judge the bill as a counterfeit bill even if only one of the received light data is out of the criterion for judging the bill as a genuine bill in comparison with each other, and it is possible to significantly improve the judgment accuracy.

Although the reference data of the genuine bill may be stored in the storage device in advance, for example, the light receiving data may be acquired while the genuine bill is conveyed by the bill conveying mechanism 8, and the data may be stored as the reference data. Therefore, the optimized reference data may be stored for each authentication determining apparatus. Further, if the reference data is updated by a method such as moving average, the reference data can be optimized to the output fluctuation without performing white compensation or the like as needed in order to cope with the aging of hardware.

In the authentication method of the bill identifying apparatus, the first comparing step of comparing the transmitted light data of the infrared light transmitted through all the printed regions on the surface of the bill to be authenticated with the reference data; in the second comparison step, the transmitted light data of the infrared light in a specific area specified in advance in the printed area on the banknote surface is weighted in a predetermined manner, and the weighted data is compared between the banknote to be judged and the genuine banknote.

For example, using a genuine/counterfeit determination program in which a correlation equation for comparison including a relational equation for weighting is previously incorporated, among transmitted light data of infrared light transmitted through all printed regions on the surface of a genuine bill and reflected light data of reflected red light, data weighted in advance in a specific region is stored in a storage device as reference data.

On the other hand, the weight of the specific region portion is also weighted in parallel from the transmitted light data of the infrared light transmitted through all the printed regions on the surface of the banknote to be judged or the reflected light data of the reflected red light, and then compared with the reference data. At this time, the data may be compared by generating a waveform indicating, for example, a luminance value (density value) using the waveform.

That is, in the bill authenticity judging method, infrared light of a predetermined wavelength is irradiated from a light emitting device to a print area of a genuine bill which is determined in advance as a specific area, transmitted light data which has passed through the specific area among transmitted light data of infrared light which has passed through the genuine bill is weighted in a predetermined manner, and the weighted data is stored in advance as reference data, while infrared light of the predetermined wavelength is irradiated from the light emitting device to a print area on a bill surface which is a judgment target, transmitted light data which has passed through the specific area among transmitted light data of infrared light which has passed through the bill is weighted in the same manner as the genuine bill, and all transmitted light data including the transmitted light data in the specific area after weighting is compared with the reference data, thereby judging authenticity.

The above method also enables authentication determination with extremely high accuracy. The paper money discriminating device for realizing the method comprises: an optical sensor that irradiates light onto the bill conveyed by the bill conveyance mechanism 8 and receives transmitted light irradiated and transmitted through the bill and reflected light reflected from the bill; a weighting device for weighting the light reception data detected by the light sensor in a specific region specified in a printing region on the surface of the banknote; and an authentication judging unit that executes the authentication judging method, wherein the authentication judging unit may include: a storage device for storing reference data in all printing areas on the surface of the banknote including the specific area; and a comparing device capable of comparing the reference data stored in the storage device in all the printing areas and the light reception data obtained by the optical sensor in all the printing areas on the surface of the bill to be judged, and capable of comparing the weighted light reception data in each specific area of the bill to be judged and the light reception data in each specific area of the genuine bill.

The configuration of the banknote recognition apparatus that executes the method for determining authenticity of a banknote as described above will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 11 to 14.

Among these figures, fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the banknote handling apparatus shown in fig. 1 to 4, fig. 12 is a block diagram showing a control system of the banknote handling apparatus, fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a reference data table stored in a reference data storage unit, and fig. 14 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the front and back surfaces of a banknote.

The banknote reading device 20 includes: a light emitting unit 24 disposed on the upper frame 2A side and having a first light emitting portion 23 capable of irradiating infrared light and red light to the upper side of the bill to be transported; and a light receiving and emitting unit 25 disposed on the lower frame 2B side. The light receiving and emitting unit 25 has: a light receiving unit 26 having a light receiving sensor facing the first light emitting unit 23 with the bill interposed therebetween; and a second light emitting unit 27 which is disposed adjacent to both sides of the light receiving unit 26 in the bill conveying direction and can emit infrared light and red light.

The first light-emitting unit 23 disposed opposite to the light-receiving unit 26 functions as a light source for transmission. As shown in fig. 2, the first light-emitting portion 23 is formed of a rectangular rod-like body made of synthetic resin, which emits light from an LED element 23a mounted on one end thereof through a light guide body 23b provided inside thereof. The first light-emitting unit and the light-receiving unit 26 (light-receiving sensor) configured as described above are arranged in a linear shape in parallel, and thus can uniformly irradiate the entire width-directional range of the conveyance path of the conveyed bill with a simple configuration. The first light-emitting unit 23 and the light-receiving unit 26 (light-receiving sensor) function as an attached matter recognition device for recognizing whether or not an attached matter is connected to the outside of the outer dimension of the bill. That is, if an attached matter such as a string or a thread is connected to the bill and the attached matter extends toward the bill insertion slot, the change in the light amount can be detected by the light receiving unit 26, and the connection of the attached matter can be detected in the entire width direction of the bill conveying path.

The light receiving unit 26 of the light receiving and emitting unit 25 is formed in a thin plate shape extending in a direction intersecting the bill conveying path 5 and formed in a band shape having a width to an extent not affecting the sensitivity of a light receiving sensor, not shown, provided in the light receiving unit 26. The light receiving sensor is configured as a so-called line sensor in which a plurality of CCDs (Charge Coupled devices) are linearly provided at the center in the thickness direction of the light receiving unit 26, and a self-focusing lens array 26a is linearly arranged above the CCDs so as to focus the transmitted light and the reflected light. Therefore, the light receiving sensor receives the reflected light or transmitted light of the infrared light and the red light from the first light emitting unit 23 and the second light emitting unit 27, which is irradiated toward the bill to be judged as the genuine bill, and generates gradation data corresponding to the luminance thereof or generates a two-dimensional image based on the gradation data by using the received light data.

The second light emitting unit 27 of the light receiving and emitting unit 25 functions as a light source for reflection. The second light emitting section 27 is, similarly to the first light emitting section 23, composed of a synthetic resin rectangular rod-shaped body having an LED element 27a attached to one end thereof, as shown in fig. 3, and can uniformly irradiate the entire light from the LED element 27a through a light guide 27b provided inside. The second light emitting unit 27 is also linearly arranged in parallel with the light receiving unit 26 (light receiving sensor).

The second light emitting unit 27 is arranged so as to be able to emit light toward the bill at an angle of elevation of 45 degrees and receive the reflected light from the bill by the light receiving unit 26 (light receiving sensor). In this case, the light emitted from the second light emitting unit 27 enters the light receiving unit 26 (light receiving sensor) at 45 degrees, but the incident angle is not limited to 45 degrees, and may be set as appropriate as long as the incident angle is within a range in which reflected light can be reliably received. Therefore, the arrangement of the second light emitting unit 27 and the light receiving unit 26 can be changed as appropriate in accordance with the configuration of the banknote handling apparatus. The second light emitting unit 27 is provided on both sides of the light receiving unit 26, and irradiates light from both sides at an incident angle of 45 degrees. When there is a flaw, wrinkle, or the like on the surface of the bill, if the light is applied only to the irregularities generated on the flaw or wrinkle portion from one side, there is a case where a portion of the irregularities is shielded by the light and becomes a shadow. Therefore, by irradiating light from both sides, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of shading in the concave-convex portion, and it is possible to obtain image data with higher accuracy than the case of irradiation from one side. Of course, the second light emitting unit 27 may be provided only on one side.

Since the light receiving and emitting unit 25 is exposed on the bill conveying path 5, as shown in fig. 2, concave and convex portions 25a are formed at both ends of the surface portion (portion substantially coplanar with the conveying surface 5 a) in the bill conveying direction, and thus the conveyed bill is less likely to be caught. In addition, similarly to the light receiving and emitting unit 25, the light emitting unit 24 has concave and convex portions 24a formed at both ends of the surface portion in the bill carrying direction as shown in fig. 2, and thus the carried bill is not easily caught.

The structure, arrangement, and the like of the light emitting unit 24 and the light receiving and emitting unit 25 are not limited to those of the present embodiment, and may be modified as appropriate.

The driving of the banknote transport mechanism 8, the banknote reading device 20, and the shutter mechanism 50 is controlled by the control device 30.

The control device 30 includes a control circuit board 100 for controlling the operation of each of the above-described drive devices, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 114, and a reference data storage Unit 116 constituting the bill recognition device are mounted on the control circuit board.

The ROM112 stores various programs such as operation programs of various driving devices such as the drive motor 10, the electromagnet 54, and the LED70, an authentication determination program, and permanent data, and the CPU110 operates according to the programs stored in the ROM112 and performs input/output of signals to/from the various driving devices through the I/O port 120 to control the operation of the banknote recognition processing device. That is, the drive motor drive circuit 125 (drive motor 10), the electromagnet 54, and the LED70 are connected to the CPU110 via the I/O port 120. These driving devices control operations based on control signals from the CPU110 in accordance with an operation program stored in the ROM 112. Further, the detection signal from the bill detection sensor 18 and the detection signal from the bill passage detection sensor 60 are input to the CPU110 through the I/O port 120, and based on these detection signals, the normal/reverse rotation drive control of the drive motor 10, the lighting and extinguishing control of the LEDs 70, and the drive control of the electromagnets 54 are performed.

The RAM114 stores data and programs used when the CPU110 operates, and the reference data storage section 116 stores reference light reception data, which is reference data used when performing banknote authenticity determination, that is, gradation data obtained from all printed regions of genuine banknotes, for transmitted light and reflected light of infrared light and transmitted light and reflected light of red light, respectively. In the present embodiment, the reference data is stored in the dedicated reference data storage unit 116, but may be stored in the ROM 112.

The CPU110 is connected to the first light emitting unit 23 in the light emitting unit 24, the light receiving unit 26 in the light receiving and emitting unit 25, and the second light emitting unit 27 through the I/O port 120, and these, together with the CPU110, the ROM112, the RAM114, and the reference data storage unit 116, constitute a banknote authentication unit 150, and perform operation control necessary for authentication in the banknote processing apparatus 1.

The CPU110 is connected to a host device 200 such as a control unit of a game medium rental device in which the banknote processing device 1 is incorporated, or a host of an external device, through the I/O port 120, and transmits various signals (information on banknotes, warning signals, and the like) to the host device.

As shown in fig. 13, four types of reference data storage tables are stored in a predetermined area of the reference data storage unit 116 in the banknote authenticity judging unit 150, and include: reference data (a) for transmitted light of infrared light, reference data (b) for reflected light of infrared light, reference data (c) for transmitted light of red light, and reference data (d) for reflected light of red light.

More specifically, in the reference data storage table, 7 × 2 × 1=14 kinds of gradation data are stored in the reference data storage table for seven kinds of denominations (seven kinds of denominations, one thousand yen, five thousand yen, ten thousand yen, one thousand yen, two thousand yen, five thousand yen, and ten thousand yen of the new bill), the face side of the bill faces upward, the back side faces upward, and the bill is inserted to either the left or right in the longitudinal direction of the bill (to the right in the present embodiment), respectively, based on gradation data of reflected light of red light, gradation data of transmitted light, gradation data of reflected light of infrared light, and gradation data of transmitted light. In the case of the authenticity judgment, the insertion direction of the bill is judged, and if the insertion direction is toward the left, the stored reference data is applied in reverse. Of course, as shown in fig. 13 (leftward), the reference data when the banknote is inserted in the left direction in the longitudinal direction may be stored in the reference data storage table. In this case, there are 7 × 2=28 kinds of gradation data stored in the reference data storage table. The gradation data may be two-dimensionally imaged and stored.

In the present embodiment, specific regions having different visibility under red light and infrared light as visible light are predetermined in the print region on the surface of the banknote, and data acquired from the specific regions is stored as specific reference data in the reference data storage unit 116.

Here, the specific region will be described. As shown in fig. 14, various technologies have been applied to japanese bank notes, i.e., japanese bank notes, as anti-counterfeit technologies. As shown in fig. 14 (a), for example, the following regions are formed on the surface of the bill M: a watermark region 40a, which increases or decreases the fibre thickness; a latent image area 40b which is invisible in a direct view but appears when viewed obliquely; a special printing area 40c which is printed by using pearl ink, and when the paper money is inclined, the printing part emerges pink pearl luster; and an infrared light transmitting region 40d which transmits infrared light but does not transmit red light or the like, and as shown in fig. 14 (b), the watermark region 40a and the latent image region 40b are formed on the back surface of the bill.

The watermark region 40a, latent image region 40b, special print region 40c, and infrared light transmission region 40d are regions that are difficult to forge, and the following characteristics are produced in genuine and counterfeit money: the watermark region 40a, the latent image region 40b, and the special print region 40c have a characteristic that the intensities of reflected light and transmitted light of infrared light and red light are greatly different from each other, and red light is not transmitted in the infrared light transmission region 40d, and therefore, the method is very useful for the authentication determination of banknotes. In the present embodiment, these areas are set as specific areas, and the position of each specific area on the bill is defined by coordinates. In particular, in the latent image region 40b, it is difficult to recognize the latent image by transmitted light, but in the present embodiment, the image can be recognized by using infrared light having a wavelength of around 950nm, and therefore, the latent image can be effectively used as an element for the authentication determination.

Since the latent image area 40b and the special print area 40c are not present in the old bill, the authenticity is determined using at least the watermark area 40a that both the new and old bills have.

In the present embodiment, it has been found that when infrared light having a wavelength of around 950nm (near infrared light having a wavelength of 920nm to 980nm, preferably, near infrared light in the range of 940nm to 960 nm) is transmitted through the latent image region 40b and photographed, a hidden image can be recognized, and therefore, in a new banknote, the latent image region 40b is also used as a specific region for authenticity judgment. Therefore, the wavelength of the infrared light irradiated from the first light emitting portion 23 and the second light emitting portion 27 is 950nm.

As described above, the reference data storage unit 116 of the banknote handling device 1 according to the present embodiment stores, in advance, reference data and specific reference data, the specific reference data being constituted by gradation data extracted for the specific area from the reference data. The specific reference data is represented by specific reference data of transmitted infrared light, specific reference data of reflected infrared light, specific reference data of transmitted red light, and specific reference data of reflected red light, and is stored in a predetermined area of the reference data storage unit 116.

In the banknote handling machine 1 having the above-described configuration, the present embodiment is characterized in that, between a genuine banknote and a banknote to be judged, gradation data of the entire banknote is compared, and gradation data obtained from light reception data (transmitted light data and reflected light data) in the specific region is weighted and the weighted gradation data is compared with each other, whereby the authenticity judgment can be performed with high accuracy.

That is, the specific reference data (gradation data generated from transmitted light data of red light and infrared light transmitted through the specific region and gradation data generated from reflected light data of red light and infrared light reflected from the specific region) are weighted as described below, and when the banknote is judged to be genuine, gradation data in all printed regions acquired from the banknote to be judged is compared with the reference data, gradation data in the specific region is extracted from gradation data of the banknote to be judged, the same weighting as the specific reference data is applied to the extracted gradation data, and further, comparison is performed between the weighted specific gradation data and the specific reference data.

That is, in the banknote handling machine 1 of the present embodiment, when a banknote to be determined is inserted from the banknote carrying port and carried, the infrared light and the red light having the same wavelength as the light with which a genuine banknote is irradiated are irradiated from the first light emitting unit 23 and the second light emitting unit 27 onto the printed area on the surface of the banknote, four kinds of gradation data obtained from the transmitted light data and the reflected light data of the infrared light and the red light transmitted through the banknote are developed in the RAM114, respectively, these data are compared with the reference data of the four kinds (transmitted light and reflected light of infrared light, transmitted light and reflected light of red light) stored in the reference data storage unit 116, and the specific gradation data obtained from each of the transmitted light data and the reflected light data of infrared light and red light in the specific area are weighted in the same manner as the above-mentioned genuine banknote, the four kinds of weighted specific gradation data are developed in the RAM114, and these data are sequentially compared in one-to-one correspondence with the four kinds of specific reference data, and the result is determined as NG (NG) as a counterfeit banknote.

Here, in the bill authenticity judging section 150, the processing procedure for actually performing the bill authenticity judgment will be described with reference to fig. 15 to 18.

Fig. 15 is a main flowchart showing the procedure of the banknote determination process, fig. 16 is a banknote scanning time chart showing the timing of irradiating infrared light and red light onto a banknote and receiving transmitted light and reflected light, fig. 17 is a flowchart showing the determination process of the denomination and direction of the banknote conveyance direction, and fig. 18 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the authenticity determination process.

The processing in each flowchart is executed by an authentication determining program stored in the ROM112, and the authentication determining program is configured to cause the CPU110 to execute the steps of: a step of irradiating the infrared light of the predetermined wavelength onto a print area of the surface of the bill to be determined from the first light emitting unit 23 and the second light emitting unit 27 as light emitting devices; a first comparison step of comparing transmitted light data of infrared light transmitted through the bill with reference data stored in advance; a step of applying a predetermined weight to transmitted light data of infrared light in each specific region of the bill to be judged and the genuine bill; a second comparison step of comparing the weighted data with each other; and a step of performing a genuine/counterfeit determination of the bill based on the comparison result in the first and second comparison steps.

Initially, the CPU110 of the banknote processing apparatus 1 determines whether or not a banknote is detected (step S01). This is determined by whether the bill detection sensor 18 detects the insertion of a bill and sends out a detection signal, and when the bill detection sensor 18 detects a bill, the authentication determination process of the bill is performed.

Then, the CPU110 outputs an irradiation signal to the first light emitting unit 23 and the second light emitting unit 27, outputs red light and infrared light as visible light from the light emitting units 23 and 27, irradiates the visible light toward the bill, performs a process of reading gradation data of the entire print area on the surface of the bill, and generates a two-dimensional image (step S02).

At this time, since the first and second light emitting portions 23 and 27 are arranged in a linear shape extending in a direction intersecting the bill conveying path 5, the light output from the first and second light emitting portions 23 and 27 is irradiated over the entire width of the bill. The irradiated red light and infrared light are transmitted or reflected from the entire surface of the bill, and these transmitted light and reflected light are input to the light receiving sensor of the light receiving unit 26. As described above, since the light receiving sensor is also a line sensor, it is possible to detect the reflected light and the transmitted light of each light over the entire length thereof and read out gradation data.

In the gradation data reading processing of the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 16, four light sources including the light source for transmitting red light and infrared light, which are red light and infrared light, and the light source for reflecting red light and infrared light of the first light emitting unit 23 and the second light emitting unit 27 are repeatedly turned on and off at a constant appropriate interval, and the phases of the light sources do not overlap, and two or more light sources are not simultaneously turned on. In other words, when a light source is on, the other three light sources are all off.

Therefore, as in the present embodiment, even with one light receiving unit 26, it is possible to detect the light from each light source at a constant interval and read an image composed of gradation data of the printed region of the bill based on the transmitted light and reflected light of red light, the transmitted light and reflected light of infrared light.

Then, whether or not the deposit is attached to the bill is detected (step S03). After the reading process of the gradation data is completed in step S03, the banknote is transported to the storage position (in the present embodiment, the banknote is transported to a position where the rear end of the banknote is closer to the downstream side by about 13mm from the position of the line sensor), and in this process, the light receiving unit 26 serving as the line sensor detects whether or not an attached matter such as a string or a thread is attached to the rear end of the banknote. As described above, since the line sensor detects the entire width of the bill conveying path, that is, the entire width of the bill, it is possible to detect the attached matter at any position. After the trailing edge of the bill passes, if the deposit is detected, the bill determination NG process is executed (step S03; yes, step S10). The detection of whether or not the deposit is connected in step S03 is performed prior to the authentication determination process for the banknote in step S07, which will be described later, and the control is performed with priority given to the result of the identification of the deposit.

Next, the CPU110 performs denomination and direction determination processing to determine the denomination (for example, 7 types of new banknotes, including one thousand yen, five thousand yen, ten thousand yen, old banknotes, one thousand yen, two thousand yen, five thousand yen, and ten thousand yen) and the insertion direction (four directions are distinguished depending on whether the surface of the banknote is up or down and the direction of insertion of the banknote at this time) (step S04). The face value and direction determination process will be described in detail later.

Next, the CPU110 determines whether or not the denomination and the conveyance direction can be determined (step S05), and if the banknote is seriously contaminated or defective and cannot be determined (NO in step S05), the process proceeds to step S10, and the banknote determination NG process is performed. In the bill determination NG process, the CPU110 outputs a signal for rotating the drive motor 10 in the reverse direction to the drive motor drive circuit 125, forcibly returns the bill to the bill insertion slot 6, and moves to step S01 again.

On the other hand, when the face value and the direction can be determined (Yes in step S05), the two-dimensional image acquired within the fixed range is moved to perform position compensation so that the correlation coefficient with the reference data becomes maximum (step S06).

In step S07, the authenticity of the banknote is determined. As will be described in detail later, and only for simplicity, the correlation coefficient and the absolute difference value between the acquired data and the reference data are calculated for each of the four light sources (infrared transmission, infrared reflection, red transmission, and red reflection). Then, a specific area is extracted for weighting, and the weighted correlation coefficient is calculated for the four light sources. Further, only the watermark region 40a is extracted for the transmission data, and the size is calculated by taking the differential coefficient inside. Finally, a correlation coefficient is calculated between the specific reference data in the watermark region 40a. If all the calculated correlation coefficients are within a predetermined range, the coin is determined to be a genuine coin, and even if only one of the calculated correlation coefficients is out of the range, the coin is determined to be a counterfeit coin.

In this case, it is also conceivable to use a large number of genuine bills as samples and to perform recognition using a Mahalanobis distance (Mahalanobis distance) by obtaining the average value, variance, and covariance of each value in advance. This is not individually considered, but comprehensively judged by multivariate analysis.

The time required for the authentication is about 0.7s, the time for the banknotes to be transported to the storage position is about 0.1s, and the time for the authentication of the banknotes at the storage position is about 0.6 s. Further, since whether or not the deposit is connected is identified before the authentication process of the banknote (step S03), it is possible to reliably prevent an unauthorized act even during the process of transporting the banknote to the storage location after the authentication process.

When the authenticity judgment result is judged to be a genuine bill (Yes at step S08), the judgment OK process is executed (step S09). This process is performed after the banknotes are kept in storage, and corresponds to various processes such as exchange, prepaid card sales, and writing to a recording medium.

In the processing of step S08, if the banknote is determined to be a counterfeit banknote, or if the deposit is determined to be connected in the processing of step S03, the banknote determination NG processing (step S10) is executed, and in the banknote determination NG processing in this case, processing different from that in the case of the previous shift from step S05 may be executed.

For example, when the bill is determined to be a counterfeit bill or when the deposit is determined to be attached, the bill may remain in the storage state without being returned and output an alarm signal to the higher-order apparatus 200. Alternatively, in the above case, only the banknotes are returned in the first two times, but when the same state occurs three times consecutively, the alarm signal may be output to the higher-order apparatus 200. Thus, even if the money is genuine, if the money is not determined to be genuine because of the attachment or connection of an extra attachment, the user can determine that the money is genuine by removing the attachment, and the user can be prevented from taking unnecessary maintenance and from feeling uncomfortable.

Next, the face and direction determination processing in step S04 will be described in detail. As described above, the reference data storage unit 116 of the banknote authentication unit 150 stores seven kinds of right direction reference data of denominations for each of the four kinds of light (transmitted light and reflected light of infrared light, transmitted light and reflected light of red light).

As shown in fig. 17, the CPU110 first selects a portion of transmitted light data of infrared light, for example, from a two-dimensional image generated from gradation data obtained from the entire surface of the bill to be authenticated being transported, that is, from the entire print area (step S11).

Next, the similarity between the acquired data of 28 of the seven denominations and the four directions (the data to the right is reversed when the insertion direction of the bill is to the left) and the reference data is checked (step S12). Specifically, as an index indicating the degree of similarity, a correlation coefficient R represented by the following formula is used.

[ formula 1]

In the formula, [ i, j ] is a coordinate of the bill, and in the bill coordinate [ i, j ], a density value (brightness value) of a two-dimensional image of acquisition data from the bill to be judged is F [ i, j ], a density value in reference data is S [ i, j ], an average density of the acquisition data is F, and an average density of the reference data is S.

The correlation coefficient R takes a value of-1 to +1, and is judged to have high similarity when the correlation coefficient R is close to + 1. Further, correlation coefficients between all reference data for four directions of all the seven denominations and the reference data for four directions are calculated, and the denomination and direction indicating the highest value are determined as the denomination and direction of the inserted banknote M to be determined.

In the present embodiment, gradation data in all printed areas on the surface of a banknote is stored as reference data, and therefore the above-described method is employed, but the method may not be used, and recognition in all printed areas may not be performed to the extent that the denomination and direction are recognized. For example, the correlation coefficient between the acquired data and the reference data may be calculated on three lines (the center of the bill M, about 9mm from the upper side, and about 9mm from the lower side) in the longitudinal direction, and the data having the highest average value of the three lines may be determined as the denomination and direction of the bill M to be authenticated. In this case, since the determination is simple, the determination time can be shortened.

Next, the CPU110 performs determination in the process of step S12 (step S13), and if an appropriate denomination exists according to the determination result, sets an identification code for specifying an appropriate denomination and direction for the subsequent authentication determination process (step S14), and the process proceeds to step S04. On the other hand, if it is determined from the determination result that there is no suitable denomination, an identification code that does not fit the banknote is set (step S15), and the process proceeds to step S04.

Next, the authentication determination process in step S06 in fig. 15 will be described in detail.

As shown in fig. 18, the CPU110 calculates the similarity in all the printed areas on the banknote surface between the gradation data acquired by the banknote M to be determined and the reference data stored in advance for each of the four types of light (transmitted light and reflected light of infrared light, transmitted light and reflected light of red light) (step S21). At this time, a correlation coefficient R and a SUM of absolute differences SUM represented by the following formula are used.

[ formula 2]

In the formula, [ i, j ] is a coordinate of the bill, and in the bill coordinate [ i, j ], a density value (luminance value) of a two-dimensional image from the acquired data of the bill to be judged is f [ i, j ], and a density value in the reference data is s [ i, j ].

Next, it is determined whether or not the SUM of the correlation coefficient R and the difference absolute value SUM is within the allowable range (step S22). In this case, the closer the value of the correlation coefficient R is to +1, and the closer the SUM of the difference absolute values SUM is to 0, the closer the acquired data is to the reference data. If the coin is out of the allowable range (No in step S22), it is judged as a counterfeit coin, and a code "yes" is set (step S30), and the process proceeds to step S07. On the other hand, in step S22, if the value of the correlation coefficient R is within the allowable range (Yes in step S22), the process moves to step S23.

In step S23, a large weight is given between the data extracted from the specific area and the specific reference data, and the correlation coefficient RW + is calculated. The specific areas set here are the latent image area 40b and the special print area 40c, which are areas having different gradations under red light and infrared light, and there is a negative correlation between red light and infrared light. In the present embodiment, a weight map calculated in advance is prepared, and a weighted correlation coefficient RW + as shown below is calculated.

[ formula 3]

In this case, the weight map for the transmitted light is used to calculate the weighted correlation coefficient for the transmitted light of red light and infrared light, and the weight map for the reflected light is used to calculate the weighted correlation coefficient.

The weight w [ i, j ] at each coordinate defining the specific region may be determined by the following expression from specific reference data of red light and infrared light, or the determination of the weight w [ i, j ] may be calculated every time the authenticity judgment is performed.

[ formula 4]

If it is(s) _r [i，j]-Sr)(s _ir [i，j]-S _ir ) A coordinate of < 0, then

W[i，j]＝1+c×|(s _r [i，j]-S _r )(s _ir [i，j]-S _ir )|

If it is(s) _r [i，j]-Sr)(s _ir [i，j]-S _ir ) Coordinates greater than or equal to 0

W[i，j]＝1

In the formula, [ i, j ] is a coordinate of the bill, and in the bill coordinate [ i, j ], a density value of the red light specific reference data of the bill to be determined is sf [ i, j ], a density value of the infrared light specific reference data is Sir [ i, j ], an average density of the red light specific reference data is Sr, and an average density of the infrared light specific reference data is Sir. Further, c is a weighting factor, and is a value determined as appropriate.

In addition, it is determined whether or not the correlation coefficient RW + is within the allowable range (step S24). Since the weighted correlation coefficient RW + also has values from-1 to +1, it is determined that the closer to +1, the closer to the specific reference data the closer to + 1. If the coin is out of the allowable range (No at step S24), it is judged as a counterfeit coin, and a code indicating that the judgment result is a counterfeit coin is set (step S30), and the process proceeds to step S07. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S24 that the temperature is within the allowable range (Yes in step S24), the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S25, CPU110 extracts watermark region 40a from data acquired from the banknote to be determined, and calculates the density value thereof. That is, masks are prepared in advance for each denomination with the watermark region 40a being white and the other being black, and only the watermark region 40a is extracted by matching the obtained two-dimensional image with the masks.

In addition, in order to investigate whether or not an image exists inside the watermark region 40a, the magnitude g [ i, j ] of the gradient (slope) represented by the following equation is calculated, and the sum thereof in the entire watermark region 40a is calculated.

[ formula 5]

The density value of the two-dimensional image acquired at the coordinates [ i, j ] is represented as f [ i, j ]. For example, there are cases where there is no watermark in counterfeit money that is forged by copying or the like (including cases where the density in watermark region 40a is relatively flat), and in such cases, the density value thereof becomes lower.

Further, CPU110 determines whether or not the density of watermark region 40a is within the allowable range (step S26), determines that the coin is counterfeit if the density is outside the allowable range (No in step S26), sets a code that indicates that the determination result is counterfeit (step S30), and the process proceeds to step S07. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S26 that the temperature is within the allowable range (Yes in step S26), the process proceeds to step S27.

Next, the CPU110 calculates a correlation coefficient R to observe the similarity between the acquired two-dimensional image of the watermark region 40a and the two-dimensional image generated from the reference data (step S27).

Then, the CPU110 determines whether or not the correlation coefficient R is within the allowable range (step S28), determines that it is a counterfeit bill if it is outside the allowable range (No at step S28), sets a code indicating that the determination result is a counterfeit bill (step S30), and the process proceeds to step S07. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S28 that the determination result is within the allowable range (Yes in step S28), the process proceeds to step S29, a code indicating that the determination result is a genuine bill is set (step S29), and the process proceeds to step S07.

In the above, in the determination of the watermark region 40a, it is preferable to perform the luminance compensation and the position compensation described below as preprocessing.

Since there are many folds in the watermark region 40a in the vertical or horizontal direction and there is a possibility that luminance unevenness occurs in the vertical direction, luminance compensation is performed on the two-dimensional image obtained in the small rectangular region including the watermark region 40a together with a reference image stored in advance so that the vertical and horizontal gradation integration distributions are equalized. In comparison of all the printed areas of the banknotes, the effect of the creases or unevenness is not so great, and therefore, they can be ignored.

Note that, in the position of the image (e.g., person) in the watermark region 40a, there is an individual difference for each bill, and for compensation, position compensation is performed by neighborhood searching in advance within a predetermined range, and a portion having the largest correlation coefficient is obtained.

As described above, in the present embodiment, there are a plurality of determination steps using the calculated numerical values, and in the process of using the determination for weighting the specific area in combination, it is determined that the bill is genuine only when all the numerical values fall within the allowable range, and even if the numerical values outside the range are calculated, it is determined that the bill is counterfeit. Therefore, the accuracy of the authenticity judgment is extremely high, and it is possible to cope with advanced counterfeiting techniques, and it is not necessary to develop new counterfeiting techniques, and a method and an apparatus for judging the authenticity of a banknote are provided which are excellent in cost performance.

Next, in the banknote handling machine 1, a driving control procedure of the driving motor 10 and the electromagnet 54 for carrying and processing the banknotes will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 19.

Initially, when the banknote detection sensor 18 detects insertion of a banknote and turns ON (Yes in step S51), the drive motor 10 is driven in the normal direction, and the LED70 is turned ON (step S52). Thus, the pair of transport rollers 12, 13, 14 are driven to rotate in the banknote insertion direction, and transport the banknotes into the apparatus, and notify the user that the banknotes are being handled, thereby preventing additional insertion of banknotes.

When the bill passes through the region of the bill reading device 20 by conveying the bill into the device, the bill discriminating process is executed in accordance with the steps shown in fig. 15 to 18. In addition, in the stage of performing the banknote determination process, that is, in parallel with the banknote determination process, the closing process of the shutter mechanism 50 is performed (step S53).

In the present embodiment, when the bill detection sensor 18 provided on the downstream side of the rotating piece 52 of the shutter mechanism 50 detects the rear end of the bill (the bill detection sensor 18 is OFF), the electromagnet 54 is energized, and the rotating piece 52 is driven to rotate by the swinging member 57, the sector gear 57G, the gear 55G, and the shaft 55, and as shown in fig. 9, the rotating piece 52 protrudes from the conveyance surface 5a and closes the bill insertion slot 6.

Next, in the bill determination process of step S53, it is determined whether or not there is a bill determination NG process (step S54). If the bill determination NG process is present, the reverse driving process of the driving motor 10 is executed at this stage, and the bill is retracted toward the bill insertion port side (step S55). At this time, since the closing process of the flapper mechanism 50 has already been executed, the electromagnet 54 is turned OFF (energization is released), and the rotating piece 52 is pulled in from the bill conveying path 5, whereby the bills can be conveyed in the discharge direction (step S56).

When the driving motor is driven in reverse by a predetermined amount in a state where the bill is withdrawn toward the bill insertion port, the reverse driving of the driving motor 10 is stopped (step S57). The predetermined amount is set to a rotation speed at which the rear end of the bill is separated from the pair of conveyance rollers 12. At this time, the banknotes are discharged to the extent that they are drawn out from the banknote insertion slot 6, the user draws out the banknotes, and the LED70 is turned OFF to end the process (step S59) when the rear ends of the banknotes are detected by the banknote detection sensor 18 (step S58), that is, when the banknote detection sensor 18 is turned OFF.

In addition, in the banknote determination NG process, the warning signal may be transmitted to the higher-level apparatus without withdrawing the banknotes, as described above, in addition to the withdrawal of the banknotes from the banknote insertion slot 6. Further, as described above, the state in the bill determination NG process may be set in the counter, and when it is counted continuously that the bill is a counterfeit bill and that the deposit is connected, a warning signal may be transmitted.

In the case where the banknote determination NG process is not performed in step S54, the standby storage process is executed (step S60). In the present embodiment, the storage position is a position where the bill is transported to the rear end of the bill about 13mm downstream from the line sensor, and in the storage waiting process, the driving of the drive motor 10 is stopped for a predetermined time or the transmission of the drive force is turned OFF.

In this storage waiting process, when a return command is issued for some reason, the inserted bill can be immediately returned from the bill insertion slot 6 by driving the drive motor 10 in reverse (see steps S55 to S59). On the other hand, by issuing a processing signal such as a stacking command, the transport processing by the drive motor 10 is executed to transport the banknotes in storage (stored banknotes) directly to the downstream side.

In the present embodiment, as described above, since the shutter mechanism 50 is driven to close until the banknotes inserted from the banknote insertion slot reach the storage position (for example, at a stage when the banknote detection sensor 18 detects the rear end of the banknotes), the banknote insertion slot 6 is closed by the shutter mechanism not only after the banknotes are conveyed to the storage position but also during the banknote determination process, and therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent an improper act in the banknote determination process. That is, conventionally, when a fraud is performed by connecting an attachment to a banknote, it is necessary to perform a process of judging whether or not the banknote is authentic and a process of conveying the banknote to a storage position in order to prevent the fraud (closing the shutter mechanism). Further, since the banknote insertion slot 6 is in the closed position until the banknotes are conveyed to the storage position, the user cannot continuously insert the banknotes, and thus the paper jam of the banknotes can be effectively prevented.

Further, after the banknotes are inserted, the closing process of the shutter mechanism is performed together with the validity determination process of the banknotes, and the banknotes are directly transported to the storage position, so that the process steps for preventing the unauthorized act are simplified.

After the holding standby process, the banknotes are transported to the downstream side, and at the stage when the banknote passage detection sensor 60 detects the trailing end of the transported banknote, that is, when the banknote passage detection sensor 60 is turned OFF (step S61), the drive motor is directly rotated by a predetermined amount and then stopped (steps S62 and S63). The predetermined amount depends on the distance between the banknote passing detection sensor 60 and the pair of conveying rollers 14, and corresponds to the amount of rotation of the trailing end of the banknote out of the nip state of the pair of conveying rollers 14. Then, the electromagnet 54 is turned OFF (de-energized), the rotating piece 52 is pulled in from the bill conveying path 5, the bill insertion slot 6 is opened, and the LED70 is turned OFF, thereby ending the process (step S64). Of course, the driving of the electromagnet 54 may be turned OFF (de-energized) and the LED70 may be turned OFF at the stage when the bill passage detection sensor 60 is turned OFF.

In this way, since the bill insertion slot 6 is normally in the open state, the processing steps at the time of bill processing are simplified.

The banknote handling apparatus of the present invention may be modified as appropriate in addition to the above-described handling steps. The shutter mechanism 50 may be configured to close the banknote insertion slot 6 while the banknotes are being transported and validity is determined, and the timing and chance of closing may be appropriately changed.

Note that the banknote recognition process is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications may be made.

That is, in the present embodiment, the description has been made using four light sources of the transmitted light and the reflected light of the infrared light and the transmitted light and the reflected light of the red light when comparing the bill to be judged with the genuine bill. In this case, as in the above-described embodiment, the wavelength is preferably 950nm or a wavelength close thereto.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the authenticity is determined by the correlation coefficient has been described, but for example, an analog waveform may be generated from data after receiving light, and the determination may be performed by comparing the shapes of the waveforms. Further, when the weighting is compared, the waveform may be amplified to improve the determination accuracy.

In the above embodiment, the description has been made in a manner divided into the first comparison step of comparing the transmitted light data of the infrared light transmitted through all the printed regions on the surface of the banknote to be judged with the reference data and the second comparison step of comparing the transmitted light data with the reference data; in the second comparison step, the transmitted light data of the infrared light in a predetermined specific area of the printed area on the banknote surface is weighted by a predetermined weight, and the weighted data is compared with each other between the banknote to be judged and the genuine banknote, but the comparison may be performed simultaneously without distinction.

That is, a correlation equation for comparison including a correlation equation for weighting is previously incorporated in an authentication judging program, and data weighted in advance in a specific area among transmitted light data of infrared light transmitted through all printed areas on the surface of a genuine bill and reflected light data of reflected red light is stored in a storage device as reference data using the authentication judging program.

In addition, as a method of weighting transmitted light data and reflected light data acquired from a specific area in a predetermined manner as compared with data acquired in all print areas, a method of: the data amount of the transmitted light data and/or the reflected light data in the specific area is increased compared with the data amount of the other area.

For example, when an LED array or the like in which a large number of LEDs are linearly arranged is used, if an area other than a specific area specified by a coordinate is irradiated, the LEDs are selected and driven, and all the LEDs are driven in the specific area.

Alternatively, the amount of transmitted light data and reflected light data may be increased by controlling the speed at which the bill conveying mechanism conveys the bill to a specific region specified by the coordinates so that the conveying speed is slower than that in other regions. That is, the coordinate density is made denser to increase the data amount.

Note that, as described above, the banknote handling apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can control the conveyance speed of the banknotes, but can also cope with this by changing the light emission interval, that is, by changing the scanning time.

In the present embodiment, the authentication determination is performed in accordance with the flow from step S21 to step S28 shown in fig. 18, but the determination may be performed using a specific area, that is, the authentication determination may be performed only in accordance with step S23 and step S24, or other steps may be appropriately combined.

According to the above embodiment, for example, the following method for determining authenticity of a banknote can be realized.

A method for judging authenticity of a banknote includes the steps of: a first comparison step of irradiating light (for example, infrared light) of a predetermined wavelength from a light emitting device to a print area on the surface of a genuine banknote, storing transmitted light data (for example, a two-dimensional image and a waveform generated from gradation data) of light transmitted through the genuine banknote as reference data in advance, irradiating light (for example, infrared light) of the predetermined wavelength from a light emitting device (for example, a first light emitting unit 23 and a second light emitting unit 27) to a print area on the surface of a banknote to be determined, and comparing the transmitted light data of light transmitted through the banknote with the reference data; and a second comparison step of previously specifying a specific region in a print region on the banknote surface (for example, specifying a region in which images obtained under visible light such as red light and infrared light are different as a specific region), weighting transmitted light data of the light in the specific regions (for example, the watermark region 40a, the latent image region 40b, the special print region 40c, the infrared light transmission region 40d, and the like) of the banknote to be judged and the genuine banknote by a predetermined weight, and comparing the weighted data with each other. The authenticity of the bill is judged based on the comparison results in the first and second comparison steps.

A bill authenticity judging method, wherein in a printing area of a genuine bill, an area of the printing area of the bill surface, which is different in image obtained under visible light and infrared light, is previously determined as a specific area (for example, a watermark area 40a, a latent image area 40b, a special printing area 40c and an infrared light transmission area 40 d), infrared light of a predetermined wavelength is irradiated from a light emitting device onto the printing area of the genuine bill, transmitted light data transmitted through the specific area (for example, a two-dimensional image and a waveform generated from gradation data) is subjected to predetermined weighting in transmitted light data of the infrared light transmitted through the genuine bill, and the weighted data is stored in advance as reference data, and in transmitted light data of the infrared light transmitted through the bill, infrared light of the predetermined wavelength is irradiated from a light emitting device (for example, a first light emitting part 23 and a second light emitting part 27) onto the printing area of the bill surface to be judged, and in transmitted light data of the infrared light transmitted through the bill, the transmitted through the specific area is weighted data is weighted in the same weight as the genuine bill, and the transmitted light data is compared with the reference data, and the authenticity judging data is performed.

The authenticity judging method for each banknote is as follows: when comparing the bill to be judged with the genuine bill, the transmitted light data of the light is used, and the reflected light data of the light in the specific area is also used.

The authenticity judging method for each bill is as follows: the light emitting devices (e.g., the first light emitting unit 23 and the second light emitting unit 27) can emit light of different wavelengths (e.g., infrared light and red light), and when comparing the bill to be judged with the genuine bill, transmitted light data and/or reflected light data of light of different wavelengths in the specific area is used.

The authenticity judging method for each banknote includes the following steps: the specific area includes areas (for example, a watermark area 40a, a latent image area 40b, a special print area 40c, and an infrared light transmission area 40 d) in which data obtained when light of different wavelengths is irradiated is different.

The authenticity judging method for each banknote is as follows: the transmitted light data and/or the reflected light data in the specific region are multiplied by a weight ratio as the predetermined weight.

The authenticity judging method for each banknote is as follows: the predetermined weight is set so that the data amount of the transmitted light data and/or the reflected light data in the specific area is increased as compared with the data amount in the other area.

The above description has been made on the method for judging the authenticity of a banknote, but the method for judging the authenticity of a banknote in the banknote handling apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above-described method, and various conventional methods for judging the authenticity may be employed.

The bill handling apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the game medium rental apparatus, and may be incorporated in various apparatuses that provide goods or services by inserting bills. In the present embodiment, the description has been given taking the processing of paper money as japanese bank notes as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus for performing authentication judgment of foreign currency such as U.S. dollars, so-called vouchers and other securities.

Claims (13)

1. A bill handling apparatus is characterized in that,

the bill handling device includes:

a bill insertion slot for inserting bills;

a bill carrying mechanism capable of carrying the bill inserted from the bill insertion slot in an insertion direction;

a bill reading device for reading the bills conveyed by the bill conveying mechanism;

a bill discriminating device for discriminating authenticity of the bill read by the bill reading device;

an attached matter recognition device which recognizes that an attached matter is connected to the outside of the outer dimension of the banknote; and

a control device for controlling the processing for preventing the illegal action according to the recognition result of the paper money recognition device and the recognition result of the attached matter recognition device,

the control device controls the attached matter recognizing device in consideration of the recognition result of the attached matter recognizing device in comparison with the recognition result of the bill recognizing device.

2. The banknote handling apparatus according to claim 1,

the bill reading device is composed of a line sensor, and reads the bill to be conveyed over the entire width of the conveyance path.

3. The banknote handling apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

when the deposit recognizing device recognizes that the deposit is connected to the outside of the outer dimension of the bill, the control device reversely drives the bill conveying mechanism to retract the bill to the bill insertion slot.

4. The banknote handling apparatus according to claim 3,

the control device sends an alarm signal when the attached matter recognizing device recognizes that the attached matter is attached to the outside of the outer dimension of the bill for a predetermined number of consecutive times.

5. The banknote handling apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

the control device sends an alarm signal when the attached matter recognizing device recognizes that the attached matter is attached to the outside of the outer dimension of the bill.

6. The banknote handling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

when the paper money read by the paper money reading device is not identified as genuine money by the paper money identification device, the control device drives the paper money conveying mechanism reversely to make the paper money return to the paper money insertion opening.

7. The banknote handling apparatus according to claim 6,

when the paper money read by the paper money reading device is identified not to be genuine by the paper money identification device for a predetermined number of consecutive times, the control device sends an alarm signal.

8. The banknote handling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

when the paper money read by the paper money reading device is identified not to be genuine by the paper money identification device, the control device sends an alarm signal.

9. The banknote handling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,

when the banknote discriminating device determines that the banknote is a genuine banknote, the control device conveys the banknote to a holding position where the banknote is temporarily held by the banknote conveying mechanism, and controls the fraud prevention process before the banknote is conveyed to the holding position.

10. The banknote handling device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,

before the paper money is identified by the paper money identification device, the attached matter is connected to the outer side of the outer dimension of the paper money and is identified by the attached matter identification device.

11. The banknote processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the fraud prevention processing is accompanied by a case where: the bill insertion port is closed by a shutter mechanism until the bill inserted from the bill insertion port is recognized as a genuine bill by the bill recognition device.

12. A bill handling method characterized by comprising the steps of,

the banknote processing method includes:

the paper money inserted from the paper money insertion opening is conveyed along the insertion direction,

the paper money to be transported is read out,

the authenticity of the read bill is recognized,

the attachment connected with the outer side of the outline dimension of the paper money is identified,

the method controls the process of preventing the fraud based on the result of the recognition of the authenticity of the bill and the result of the recognition of the attachment connection,

the control of the fraud prevention process is performed in consideration of the result of the identification of the connection of the attached matter, compared with the result of the identification of the authenticity of the bill.

13. The banknote processing method according to claim 12,

before the identification of the authenticity of the bill, identification is performed on the connection of the attached matter.

Images