EP1208518A2 - Systeme de traitement de papier monnaie faisant intervenir un systeme d'authentification a infrarouge - Google Patents

Systeme de traitement de papier monnaie faisant intervenir un systeme d'authentification a infrarouge

Info

Publication number
EP1208518A2
EP1208518A2 EP00952194A EP00952194A EP1208518A2 EP 1208518 A2 EP1208518 A2 EP 1208518A2 EP 00952194 A EP00952194 A EP 00952194A EP 00952194 A EP00952194 A EP 00952194A EP 1208518 A2 EP1208518 A2 EP 1208518A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
samples
notes
infrared light
currency
note
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP00952194A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP1208518A4 (fr
Inventor
Douglas U. Mennie
Frank M. Csulits
Gary P. Watts
Bradford T. Graves
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Cummins Allison Corp
Original Assignee
Cummins Allison Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Cummins Allison Corp filed Critical Cummins Allison Corp
Publication of EP1208518A2 publication Critical patent/EP1208518A2/fr
Publication of EP1208518A4 publication Critical patent/EP1208518A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07D—HANDLING OF COINS OR VALUABLE PAPERS, e.g. TESTING, SORTING BY DENOMINATIONS, COUNTING, DISPENSING, CHANGING OR DEPOSITING
    • G07D7/00—Testing specially adapted to determine the identity or genuineness of valuable papers or for segregating those which are unacceptable, e.g. banknotes that are alien to a currency
    • G07D7/06—Testing specially adapted to determine the identity or genuineness of valuable papers or for segregating those which are unacceptable, e.g. banknotes that are alien to a currency using wave or particle radiation
    • G07D7/12—Visible light, infrared or ultraviolet radiation

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to currency handling systems such as those capable of distinguishing or discriminating between currency bills of different denominations and/or authenticating currency bills, more particularly, to such systems that employ infrared sensing systems
  • a bank or retailer that discovers it has accepted counterfeit currency occurs a loss for the amount of counterfeit currency it has accepted Accordingly, there is a need for a device that can detect counterfeit currency Furthermore, for institutions which process large quantities of currency, the need for a device that can automatically detect counterfeit currency is particularly great because the likelihood that such institutions may encounter and inadvertently accept counterfeit currency increases with the volume of currency processed.
  • a document handling system is configured for detecting counterfeit bills using infrared light
  • the document handling system comprises an infrared light source, a sensor that is adapted to produce an output signal in response to infrared light illumination of a document, and a processor that is programmed to receive the signal and to authenticate the document based thereon
  • FIG 1 is a functional block diagram of a currency handling system embodying the present invention
  • FIG 2a is a perspective view of a single pocket currency handling system according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG 2b is a sectional side view of the single pocket currency handling system of
  • FIG 2a depicting various transport rolls in side elevation
  • FIG 2c is a top plan view of the interior mechanism of the system of FIG 2a for transporting bills across a scanhead, and also showing the stacking wheels at the front of the system
  • FIG. 2d is a sectional top view of the interior mechanism of the system of FIG 2a for transporting bills across a scanhead, and also showing the stacking wheels at the front of the system
  • FIG 3a is a perspective view of a two-pocket currency handling system according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG 3b is a sectional side view of the two-pocket currency handling system of FIG 3 a depicting various transport rolls in side elevation
  • FIG 4a is an enlarged sectional side view depicting the scanning region according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG 4b is a sectional side view depicting the scanheads according to one embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG 4c is a front view depicting the scanheads of FIG 5b according to one embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG 5 is a functional block diagram of a standard optical scanhead
  • FIG 6 is a functional block diagram of a full color scanhead
  • FIG 7a is a perspective view of a U S currency bill and an area to be optically scanned on the bill
  • FIG 7b is a diagrammatic perspective illustration of the successive areas scanned during the traversing movement of a single bill across an optical scanhead according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG 7c is a diagrammatic side elevation view of the scan area to be optically scanned on a bill according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG 7d is a top plan view of a bill indicating a plurality areas to be optically scanned on the bill
  • FIG 8a is a perspective view of a bill and a plurality areas to be color scanned on the bill
  • FIG 8b is a diagrammatic perspective illustration of the successive areas scanned during the traversing movement of a single bill across a color scanhead according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG 8c is a diagrammatic side elevation view of the scan area to be color scanned on a bill according to one embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG 9 is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of the sensors sampling data according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG 10a- lOe are graphs of color information obtained by a color scanhead
  • FIG 11 is a functional block diagram of a magnetic scanhead
  • FIGS 12a-12d are a flow chart of how the system operates in standard bill evaluation mode
  • FIG 13 is a flowchart of an authenticating technique according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG 14 is a flowchart of an authenticating technique according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG 15 is a flow chart of an authenticating technique according to another embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG 1 illustrates in functional block diagram form the operation of currency handling systems according to the present invention
  • FIGS 2a-2d and 3a-3b then illustrate various physical embodiments of currency handling systems that function as discussed in connection with FIG 1 and that employ a color scanning arrangement as described in U S patent application Serial no 09/197,250 filed November 20, 1998 entitled “Color Scanhead and Currency Handling System Employing the Same,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety
  • a currency handling system 10 comprises an input receptacle
  • the currency handling system 10 may be designed to accept and process other documents including but not limited to stamps, stock certificates, coupons, tickets, checks and other identifiable documents
  • Bills placed in the input receptacle are transported one by one by a transport mechanism 38 along a transport path past one or more scanheads or sensors 42
  • the scanhead(s) 42 may perform magnetic, optical and other types of sensing to generate signals that correspond to characteristic information received from a bill 44
  • the scanhead(s 42 comprises a color scanhead
  • the scanhead(s) 42 employs a substantially rectangular shaped sample region 48 to scan a segment of each passing currency bill 44
  • each of the bills 44 is transported to one or more output receptacles 34 which may include stacking mechanisms to re-stack the bills 44
  • the scanhead(s) 42 generates analog output(s) which are amplified by an amplifier 58 and converted into a digital signal by means of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) unit 52 whose output is fed as a digital input to a controller or processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), a processor or the like
  • ADC analog-to-digital converter
  • CPU central processing unit
  • the process controls the overall operation of the currency handling system 10.
  • An encoder 14 linked to the bill transport mechanism 38 provides input to the processor 54 to determine the timing of the operations of the currency handling system 10 In this manner, the CPU is able to monitor the precise location of bills as they are transported through the currency handling system
  • the processor 54 is also operatively coupled to a memory 56
  • the memory comprises one or more types of memories such as a random access memory (“RAM”), a read only memory (“ROM”), EPROM or flash memory depending on the information stored or to be stored therein
  • RAM random access memory
  • ROM read only memory
  • EPROM EPROM or flash memory depending on the information stored or to be stored therein
  • the memory 56 stores software codes and/or data related to the operation of the currency handling system 10 and information for denominating and/or authenticating bills
  • An operator interface panel and display 32 provides an operator the capability of sending input data to, or receiving output data from, the currency handling system 10
  • Input data may comprise, for example, user-selected operating modes and user-defined operating parameters for the currency handling system 10
  • Output data may comprise, for example, a display of the operating modes and/or status of the currency handling system 10 and the number or cumulative value of evaluated bills
  • the operator interface panel 32 comprises a touch-screen "keypad" and display which may be used to provide input data and display output data related to operation of the currency handling system 10
  • the operator interface 32 may employ physical keys or buttons and a separate display or a combination of physical keys and displayed touchscreen keys
  • a determination of authenticity or denomination of a bill under test is based on a comparison of scanned data associated with the test bill to the corresponding master data stored in the memory 56
  • the currency handling system 10 comprises a denomination discriminator
  • a stack of bills having undetermined denominations may be processed and the denomination of each bill in the stack determined by comparing data generated from each bill to prestored master information If the data from the bill under test sufficiently matches master information associated with a particular denomination and bill-type stored in memory, a determination of denomination may be made
  • the master information may comprise numerical data associated with va ⁇ ous denominations of currency bills
  • the numerical data may comprise, for example, thresholds of acceptability to be used in evaluating test bills, based on expected numerical values associated with the currency or a range of numerical values defining upper and lower limits of acceptability
  • the thresholds may be associated with various sensitivity levels
  • the master information may also compose pattern information associated with the currency such as, for example, optical or magnetic patterns
  • FIG 2a is a perspective view of a currency handling system 10 having a single output receptacle 117 according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG 2b is a sectional side view of the single pocket currency handling system of FIG 2a depicting va ⁇ ous transport rolls in side elevation
  • FIG 2c is a top plan view of the interior mechanism of the system of FIG 2a for transporting bills across a scanhead, and also showing the stacking wheels 1 12, 1 13 at the front of the system
  • FIGS 2a-2d FIGS 2a-2d
  • FIG 2a is a perspective view of a currency handling system 10 having a single output receptacle 117 according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG 2b is a sectional side view of the single pocket currency handling system of FIG 2a depicting va ⁇ ous transport rolls in side elevation
  • FIG 2c is a top plan view of the interior mechanism of the system of FIG 2a for transporting bills across a scanhead, and also showing the stacking wheels 1 12, 1 13 at the front of the system
  • the input receptacle 36 for receiving a stack of bills to be processed is formed by downwardly sloping and converging walls 105 and 106 formed by a pair of removable covers 107 and 108
  • the rear wall 106 supports a removable hopper (extension) 109 which includes a pair of vertically disposed side walls 110a and 110b which complete the receptacle for the stack of currency bills to be processed
  • the currency bills are moved in seriatim from the bottom of the stack along a curved guideway 1 1 1 which receives bills moving downwardly and rearwardly and changes the direction of travel to a forward direction
  • the curvature of the guideway 1 1 1 corresponds substantially to the curved periphery of a drive roll 123 so as to form a narrow passageway for the bills along the rear side of the drive roll
  • the exit end of the guideway 111 directs the bills onto a linear path where the bills are scanned and stacked
  • the bills are transported and stacked with the narrow dimension of the bills maintained parallel to the transport path and the direction of movement at all times
  • Stacking of the bills is effected at the forward end of the linear path, where the bills are fed into a pair of driven stacking wheels 112 and 113 These wheels project upwardly through a pair of openings in a stacker plate 114 to receive the bills as they are advanced across the downwardly sloping upper surface of the plate
  • the stacker wheels 112 and 113 are supported for rotational movement about a shaft 115 journalled on the ⁇ gid frame and driven by a motor 116
  • the flexible blades of the stacker wheels deliver the bills into the output receptacle 117 at the forward end of the stacker plate 114
  • a currencv bill which is delivered to the stacker plate 114 is picked up by the flexible blades and becomes lodged between a pair of adjacent blades which, in combination, define a curved enclosure which decelerates a bill entering therein and serves as a means for supporting and transferring the bill into the output receptacle 117 as the stacker wheels 1 12, 113 rotate
  • the stripping wheels 120 feed each stripped bill onto a drive roll 123 mounted on a driven shaft 124 supported across the side walls 101 and 102
  • the drive roll 123 includes a central smooth friction surface 125 formed of a material such as rubber or hard plastic This smooth friction surface 125 is sandwiched between a pair of grooved surfaces 126 and 127 having serrated portions 128 and 129 formed from a high-f ⁇ ction material This feed and d ⁇ ve arrangement is described in detail in U S Patent No 5,687,963
  • an idler roll 130 urges each incoming bill against the smooth central surface 125 of the d ⁇ ve roll 123
  • the idler roll 130 is journalled on a pair of arms which are pivotally mounted on a support shaft 132
  • the grooves in these two wheels 133, 134 are registered with the central ribs in the two grooved surfaces 126, 127 of the drive roll 123
  • the wheels 133, 134 are locked to the shaft 132, which in turn is locked against movement in the direction of the bill movement (clockwise for roll 123, counterclockwise for wheels 133, 134, as viewed in FIG 2b) by a one-way spring clutch (not shown)
  • the clutch is energized to turn the shaft 132 just a few degrees in a direction opposite the direction of bill movement
  • a spring-loaded pressure roll 136 presses the bills into firm engagement with the smooth friction surface 125 of the drive roll as the bills curve downwardly along the guideway 111
  • This pressure roll 136 is journalled on a pair of arms 137 pivoted on a stationary shaft 138
  • a spring 139 attached to the lower ends of the arms 137 urges the roll 136 against the drive roll 133, through an aperture in the curved guideway 111
  • the flat transport or guide plate 140 is provided with openings through which the raised surfaces 142 and 143 of both the drive roll 123 and the smaller driven roll 141 are subjected to counter-rotating contact with corresponding pairs of passive transport rolls 150 and 151 having high-friction rubber surfaces
  • the passive rolls 150, 151 are mounted on the underside of the flat plate 140 in such a manner as to be freewheeling about their axes and biased into counter-rotating contact with the corresponding upper rolls 123 and 141
  • the passive rolls 150 and 151 are biased into contact with the driven rolls 123 and
  • each leaf spring 151 is cradled between a pair of parallel arms of one of the H-shaped leaf springs
  • the central portion of each leaf spring is fastened to the plate 140. which is fastened rigidly to the frame of the system, so that the relatively stiff arms of the H-shaped springs exert a constant biasing pressure against the rolls and push them against the upper rolls 123 and
  • the points of contact between the driven and passive transport rolls are preferably coplanar with the flat upper surface of the plate 140 so that currency bills can be positively driven along the top surface of the plate in a flat manner
  • the distance between the axes of the two driven transport rolls, and the corresponding counter-rotating passive rolls, is selected to be just short of the length of the narrow dimension of the currency bills Accordingly, the bills are firmly gripped under uniform pressure between the upper and lower transport rolls within the scanhead area, thereby minimizing the possibility of bill skew and enhancing the reliability of the overall scanning and recognition process
  • the positive guiding arrangement described above is advantageous in that uniform guiding pressure is maintained on the bills as they are transported through the sensor or scanhead area, and twisting or skewing of the bills is substantially reduced
  • This positive action is supplemented by the use of the H-springs for uniformly biasing the passive rollers into contact with the active rollers so that bill twisting or skew resulting from differential pressure applied to the bills along the transport path is avoided
  • the O-rings function as simple, yet extremely effective means for ensuring that the central portions of the bills are held flat
  • the optical encoder 32 is mounted on the shaft of the roller 141 for precisely tracking the position of each bill as it is transported through the system, as discussed in detail below in connection with the optical sensing and correlation technique
  • the encoder 32 also allows the system to be stopped in response to an error occurring or the detection of a "no call" bill
  • a system employing an encoder to accurately stop a scanning system is described in detail in U S Patent No 5,687,963, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety
  • the single pocket currency system 10 described above in connection with FIGS 2a-2d, is small and compact, such that it may be rested upon a tabletop or countertop
  • the single-pocket currency handling system 10 has a small size housing 100
  • the small size housing 100 provides a currency handling system 10 that occupies a small area or "footprint " The footprint is the area that the system 10 occupies on the table top and is calculated by multiplying the width (Wl) and the depth (Dl) Because the housing 100 is compact, the currency handling system 10 may be readily used at any desk, work station or teller station Additionally, the small size housing 100 is light weight allowing the operator to move it between different work stations According to one embodiment the currency handling system 10 has a height (HI) of about 9 1 inches
  • the currency handling system 10 has a "footprint" of about 1 1 inches by 12 inches (27 94 cm by 30 48 cm) or approximately 132 square inches (851 61 cm 2 ) which is less than one square foot, and a volume of approximately 1254 cubic inches (20,549 4 cm 3 ) which is less than one cubic foot Accordingly, the system is sufficiently small to fit on a typical tabletop. The system is able to accommodate various currency, including
  • German currency which is quite long in the X dimension (compared to U.S currency)
  • the width of the system is therefore sufficient to accommodate a German bill which is about 7 087 inches (180 mm) long
  • Such a system is able to accommodate Mexican currency
  • the system can be adapted for longer currency by making the transport path wider, which can make the overall system wider
  • the width is less than about twice the length of a U S currency bill and the depth is less than about 5 times the width of a U S currency bill
  • Other embodiments of the single pocket currency handling system 10 have a height (HI) ranging from 7 inches to 12 inches, a width (Wl) ranging from 8 inches to 15 inches, and a depth (Dl) ranging from 10 inches to 15 inches and a weight ranging from about 10-30 pounds
  • the currency handling system 10 has a relatively short transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle
  • the transport path beginning at point TB1 (where the idler roll 130 engages the drive roll 123) and ending at point TE1 (where the second driven transport roll 141 and the passive roll 151 contact) has an overall length of about A l ⁇ inches
  • the distance from point TM1 (where the passive transport roll 150 engages the drive roll 123) to point TE1 (where the second driven transport roll 141 and the passive roll 151 contact) is somewhat less than 214 inches, that is, less than the width of a U S bill
  • FIG 3a is a perspective view of a two-pocket currency handling system 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG 3 b is a sectional side view of the two-pocket currency handling system of FIG 3 a depicting various transport rolls in side elevation
  • the currency handling system can have more than two pockets such as, for example, three, four, five, or six pockets
  • Multi-pocket embodiments of the currency handling system are described in detail in commonly owned Published PCT Application Nos WO 97/45810 and WO 99/48042
  • the multi-pocket currency handling system 20 shown in FIGS 3a-3b are small and compact, such that they may be rested upon a tabletop
  • the two pocket currency handling system 20 enclosed within a housing 200 has a small footprint that may be readily used at any desk, work station or teller station
  • the currency handling system is light weight allowing it to be moved between different work stations
  • the two-pocket currency handling system 20 has a height (H2) of about 18 inches, width (W2) of about 1314 inches, and a depth (D2) of about 1714 inches and weighs approximately 42 pounds
  • the currency handling system 20 has a footprint of about 131 inches by about 17 inches or approximately 230 square inches or about 1 4 square feet and a volume of about 4190 cubic inches or slightly more than 27% cubic feet, which is sufficiently small to conveniently fit on a typical tabletop
  • One of the contributing factors to the footprint size of the currency handling system 20 is the size of the currency bills to be handled
  • the two-pocket currency handling system 20 has a height (H2) ranging from 15-20 inches, a width (W2) ranging from 10-15 inches, and a depth (D2) ranging from 15-20 inches and a weight ranging from about 35-50 pounds
  • the currency handling system 10 has a footprint ranging from 10-15 inches by
  • the small size housing 200 may have a height (H2) of about 20 inches or less, width (W2) of about 20 inches or less, and a depth
  • the currency handling system 20 has a short transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle
  • the transport path has a length of about 1014 inches between the beginning of the transport path at point TB2 (where the idler roll 230 engages the d ⁇ ve roll 223) and the tip of the diverter 260 at point TMl and has an overall length of about 15 2 inches from point TB2 to point TE2 (where the rolls 286 and 282 contact)
  • the mechanical portions of the multi-pocket currency handling systems include a housing 200 having the input receptacle 18 for receiving a stack of bills to be processed
  • the receptacle 18 is formed by downwardly sloping and converging walls 205 and 206 (see FIG 3b) formed by a pair of removable covers (not shown) which snap onto a frame
  • the converging wall 206 supports a removable hopper (not shown) that includes vertically disposed side walls (not shown)
  • One embodiment of an input receptacle was desc ⁇ bed and illustrated in detail above and applies to the multi-pocket currency handling systems 10
  • the currency bills in each of the multi-pocket systems are moved in seriatim from the bottom of a stack of bills along a curved guideway 211, which receives bills moving downwardly and rearwardly and changes the direction of travel to a forward direction
  • the curvature of the guideway 211 corresponds substantially to the curved pe ⁇ phery of a drive roll 223 so as to form a narrow passageway for the bills along the rear side of the drive roll 223
  • An exit end of the curved guideway 211 directs the bills onto the transport plate 240 which carries the bills through an evaluation section and to one of the output receptacles 34
  • stacking of the bills is accomplished by a pair of driven stacking wheels 35a and 37a for the first or upper output receptacle 34a and by a pair of stacking wheels 35b and 37b for the second or bottom output receptacle 34b
  • the stacker wheels 35a, 37a and 35b, 37b are supported for rotational movement about respective shafts 215a, b journalled on a rigid frame and driven by a motor (not shown)
  • Flexible blades of the stacker wheels 35a and 37a deliver the bills onto a forward end of a stacker plate 214a
  • the flexible blades of the stacker wheels 35b and 37b deliver the bills onto a forward end of a stacker plate 214b
  • a diverter 260 directs the bills to either the first or second output receptacle 34a. 34b When the diverter is in a lower position, bills are directed to the first output receptacle 34a When the diverter 260 is in an upper position, bills proceed in
  • the two-pocket document evaluation devices in FIGS 3a and 3b have a transport mechanism which includes a series of transport plates or guide plates 240 for guiding currency bills to one of a plurality of output receptacles 34
  • the transport plates 240 according to one embodiment are substantially flat and linear without any protruding features Before reaching the output receptacles 34, a bill is moved past the sensors or scanhead 20 to be, for example, evaluated, analyzed, authenticated, discriminated, counted and/or otherwise processed
  • the two-pocket document evaluation devices move the currency bills in seriatim from the bottom of a stack of bills along the curved guideway 21 1 which receives bills moving downwardly and rearwardly and changes the direction of travel to a forward direction
  • An exit end of the curved guideway 211 directs the bills onto the transport plate 240 which carries the bills through an evaluation section and to one of the output receptacles 34
  • a plurality of diverters 260 direct the bills to the output receptacles 34 When a diverter 260 is in its lower position, bills are directed to the corresponding output receptacle 214 When a diverter 260 is in its upper position, bills proceed in the direction of the remaining output receptacles
  • the two-pocket currency evaluation devices of FIGS 3a and 3b according to one embodiment includes passive rolls 250, 251 which are mounted to shafts 254, 255 on an underside of the first transport plate 240 and are biased into counter-rotating contact with their corresponding driven upper rolls 223 and 241
  • the follower plate 262 works in conjunction with the upper portion of the associated transport plate 240 to guide a bill from the passive roll 251 to a driven roll 264 and then to a driven roll 266
  • the passive rolls 268, 270 are biased by H-springs into counter-rotating contact with the corresponding driven rolls 264 and 266
  • FIG 5a is an enlarged sectional side view depicting the scanning region according to one embodiment of the present invention
  • this scanhead arrangement is employed in the currency handling systems described above in connection with FIGS l-3b
  • the scanning region along the transport path comprises both a standard optical scanhead 70 and a full color scanhead 300 Driven transport rolls 523 and 541 in cooperation with passive rolls 550 and 551 engage and transport bills past the scanning region in a controlled manner
  • the transport mechanics are described in more detail in U S Patent No 5,687,963
  • the standard scanhead 70 differs somewhat in its physical appearance from that described in U.S Patent No 5,687,963 mentioned above and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety but otherwise is identical in terms of operation and function
  • the upper standard scanhead 70 is used to scan one side of bills while the lower full color scanhead 300 is used to scan the other side of bills
  • These scanheads are coupled to processors
  • the upper scanhead 70 is coupled to a 68HC16 processor by Motorola of Schaumburg, IL
  • FIG 4b is an enlarged sectional side view depicting the scanheads of FIG 4a without some of the rolls associated with the transport path
  • the standard scanhead 70 and a color module 581 comprising the color scanhead 300 and an UV sensor 340 and its accompanying UV light tube 342
  • the details of how the UV sensor 340 operates are described in U.S Patent No 5,640,463 and U S Patent Application Serial No 08/798,605 which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety
  • FIG 4c illustrates the scanheads of FIGS 4a and 4b in a front view
  • the standard scanhead 70 includes two standard photodetectors 74a and 74b (see FIGS 4a and 4b) and two photodetectors 95 and 97 (the density sensors) Two light sources are provided for the photodetectors as described in more detail in U S Patent No 5,295, 196 incorporated herein by reference
  • the standard scanhead employs a mask having two rectangular slits 360 and 362 therein for permitting light reflected off passing bills to reach the photodetectors 74a and 74b, which are behind the slits, respectively
  • One photodetector 74b is associated with a narrow slit and may optionally be used to detect the fine borderline present on U S.
  • FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the standard optical scanhead 70.
  • the standard scanhead 70 is an optical scanhead that scans for characteristic information from a currency bill 44
  • the standard optical scanhead 70 includes a sensor 74 having, for example, two photodetectors each having a pair of light sources 72 directing light onto the bill transport path so as to illuminate a substantially rectangular area 48 upon the surface of the currency bill 44 positioned on the transport path adjacent the scanhead 70
  • One of the photodetectors 74b is associated with a narrow rectangular slit and the other photodetector 74a is associated with a wider rectangular slit
  • Light reflected off the illuminated area 48 is sensed by the sensor 74 positioned between the two light sources 72
  • the analog output of the photodetectors 74 is converted into a digital signal by means of the analog-to-digital (ADC) converter unit 52 whose output is fed as a digital input to the central processing unit (CPU) 54 as described above in connection with FIG 1 Alternatively, especially in embodiments of currency handling system designed to process
  • ADC analog-to-digital
  • the bill transport path is defined in such a way that the transport mechanism 38 moves currency bills with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport path and the scan direction SD As a bill 44 traverses the scanhead 70, the illuminated area 48 moves to define a coherent iight strip which effectively scans the bill across the narrow dimension (W) of the bill
  • the transport path is so arranged that a currency bill 44 is scanned across a central section of the bill along its narrow dimension, as shown in FIG 9a
  • the scanhead functions to detect light reflected from the bill 44 as the bill 44 moves past the scanhead 70 to provide an analog representation of the variation in reflected light, which, in turn, represents the variation in the dark and light content of the printed pattern or indicia on the surface of the bill 44
  • This variation in light reflected from the narrow dimension scanning of the bills serves as a measure for distinguishing, with a high degree of confidence, among a plurality of currency denominations which the system is programmed to handle
  • the standard optical scanhead 70 and standard intensity scanning process is described
  • the standard optical scanhead 70 produces a series of such detected reflectance signals across the narrow dimension of the bill, or across a selected segment thereof, and the resulting analog signals are digitized under control of the processor 54 to yield a fixed number of digital reflectance data samples
  • the data samples are then subjected to a normalizing routine for processing the sampled data for improved correlation and for smoothing out variations due to "contrast" fluctuations in the printed pattern existing on the bill surface
  • the normalized reflectance data represents a characteristic pattern that is unique for a given bill denomination and provides sufficient distinguishing features among characteristic patterns for different currency denominations
  • the reflectance sampling process is preferably controlled through the processor 54 by means of an optical encoder 14 which is linked to the bill transport mechanism 38 and precisely tracks the physical movement of the bill 44 past the scanhead 70 More specifically, the optical encoder 14 is linked to the rotary motion of the drive motor which generates the movement imparted to the bill along the transport path.
  • the mechanics of the feed mechanism ensure that positive contact is maintained between the bill and the transport path, particularly when the bill is being scanned by the scanhead Under these conditions, the optical encoder 14 is capable of precisely tracking the movement of the bill 44 relative to the portion of the bill 48 illuminated by the scanhead 70 by monitoring the rotary motion of the drive motor
  • the output of the sensor 74a is monitored by the processor 54 to initially detect the presence of the bill adjacent the scanhead and, subsequently, to detect the starting point of the printed pattern on the bill, as represented by the borderline 44a which typically encloses the printed indicia on U S currency bills
  • the optical encoder 14 is used to control the timing and number of reflectance samples that are obtained from the output of the sensor 74b as the bill 44 moves across the scanhead 70
  • the outputs of the sensor 74 are monitored by the processor 54 to initially detect the leading edge 44b of the bill 44 adjacent the scanhead Because most currencies of currency systems other than the U S do not have the borderline 44a, the processor 54 must detect the leading edge 44b for non U S currency bills Once the leading edge 44b has been detected, the optical encoder 14 is used to control the timing and number of reflectance samples that are obtained from the outputs of the sensors 74
  • optical encoder 14 for controlling the sampling process relative to the physical movement of a bill 44 across the scanhead 70 is also advantageous in that the encoder 14 can be used to provide a predetermined delay following detection of the borderline 44a or leading edge 44b prior to initiation of samples The encoder delay can be adjusted in such a way that the bill 44 is scanned only across those segments which contain the most distinguishable printed indicia relative to the different currency denominations
  • the optical encoder 14 can be used to control the scanning process so that reflectance samples are taken for a set period of time and only after a certain period of time has elapsed after the borderline 44a is detected, thereby restricting the scanning to the desired central portion of the narrow dimension of the bill 48
  • FIGS 7a-7c illustrate the standard intensity scanning process for U S. currency bills in more detail
  • a bill 44 is advanced in a direction parallel to the narrow edges of the bill, scanning via a slit in the scanhead 70 is effected along a segment SEGs of the central portion of the bill 44
  • This segment SEGs begins a fixed distance D s inboard of the borderline 44a
  • the sensor 74 produces a continuous output signal which is proportional to the intensity of the light reflected from the illuminated portion or area at any given instant
  • This output is sampled at intervals controlled by the encoder, so that the sampling intervals are precisely synchronized with the movement of the bill across the scanhead
  • the sampling intervals be selected so that the areas that are illuminated for successive samples overlap one another
  • the odd-numbered and even-numbered sample areas have been separated in FIGS 7b and 7c to more clearly illustrate this overlap
  • the first and second areas S 1 and S2 overlap each other
  • the second and third areas S2 and S3 overlap each other, and so on
  • Each adjacent pair of areas overlap each other In the illustrative example, this is accomplished by sampling areas that are 0 050 inch (0 127 cm) wide, L, at 0 029 inch
  • the center-to-center distance N between two adjacent samples is 0 029 inches and the center-to-center distance M between two adjacent even or odd samples is 0 058 inches
  • the standard optical sensing and correlation technique is based upon using the above process to generate a series of stored intensity signal patterns using genuine bills for each denomination of currency that the currency handling system 10 is programmed to recognize
  • four sets of master intensity signal samples are generated and stored within the memory 56 (see FIG 1) for each scanhead for each detectable currency denomination.
  • the sets of master intensity signal samples for each bill are generated from standard optical scans, performed on one or both surfaces of the bill and taken along both the "forward" and "reverse” directions relative to the pattern printed on the bill
  • the processor 54 is programmed to identify the denomination of the scanned bill as the denomination that corresponds to the set of stored intensity signal samples for which the correlation number resulting from pattern comparison is found to be the highest
  • a bi-level threshold of correlation is used as the basis for making a "positive" call.
  • the color scanhead may comprise a plurality of such cells.
  • the physical embodiment of the full color scanhead is described in detail in commonly owned Published PCT Application Nos WO 97/45810 and WO 99/48042.
  • the illustrative cell includes a pair of light sources 308
  • the light sources 308 illuminate a substantially rectangular area 48 upon a currency bill 44 to be scanned
  • the cell comprises three filters 306 and three sensors 304 Light reflected off the illuminated area 48 passes through filters 306r, 306b and 306g positioned below the two light sources 308 Each of the filters 306r, 306b and 306g transmits a different component of the reflected light to corresponding sensors or photodiodes 304r, 304b and 304g, respectively
  • the filter 306r transmits only a red component of the reflected light
  • the filter 306b transmits only a blue component of the reflected light
  • the filter 306r transmits only a red component of the reflected light
  • the filter 306b transmits only a blue component of the reflected light
  • the sensors Upon receiving their corresponding color components of the reflected light, the sensors
  • red, blue and green analog outputs are amplified by the amplifier 58 (FIG 1) and converted into a digital signal by the analog-to- digital converter (ADC) unit 52 whose output is fed as a digital input to the central processing unit (CPU) 54 as described above in conjunction with FIG 1
  • the bill transport path is defined in such a way that the transport mechanism 38 moves currency bills with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport path and the scan direction
  • the color scanhead 300 functions to detect light reflected from the bill as the bill moves past the color scanhead 300 to provide an analog representation of the color content in reflected light, which, in turn, represents the va ⁇ ation in the color content of the printed pattern or indicia on the surface of the bill
  • the sensors 304r, 304b and 304g generate the red, blue and green analog representations of the red, blue and green color content of the printed pattern on the bill This color content in light reflected from the scanned portion of the bills serves as a measure for distinguishing among a plurality of currency types and denominations which the system is programmed to handle
  • the outputs of an edge sensor and the green sensors 304g of one of the color cells are monitored by the processor 54 to initially detect the presence of the bill 44 adjacent the color scanhead 300 and, subsequently, to detect the edge 44b of the bill
  • the optical encoder 14 is used to control the timing and number of red, blue and green samples that are obtained from the outputs of the sensors 304r, 304b and 304g as the bill 44 moves past the color scanhead 300
  • the color sampling process is preferably controlled through the processor 54 by means of the optical encoder 14 (see FIG 1) which is linked to the bill transport mechanism 38 and precisely tracks the physical movement of the bill 44 across the color scanhead 300
  • Bill tracking and control using the optical encoder 14 and the mechanics of the transport mechanism are accomplished as desc ⁇ bed above in connection with the standard scanhead
  • FIGS 8a-8c illustrate the color scanning process Referring to FIG 8a. as a bill
  • each color cell views its respective scan area, segment or strip SA1,
  • FIG 8b illustrates how 64 incremental sample areas S1-S64 are sampled using 64 sampling intervals along one of the five color cell scan areas SA1, SA2, SA3, SA4 or SA5
  • the patterns represent scanned areas that are slightly displaced from each other along the lateral dimension of the bill
  • only three of the five color cells in the color scanhead 300 are used to scan U S currency
  • only the scan areas SA1, SA3 and SA5 of FIG 8a are scanned
  • the sampling intervals are preferably selected so that the successive samples overlap one another
  • the odd-number and even numbered sample areas have been separated in FIGS 8b and 8c to more clearly illustrate this overlap
  • the first and second areas S 1 and S2 overlap each other
  • the second and third areas overlap each other and so on
  • Each adjacent pair of areas overlap each other
  • this is accomplished by sampling areas that are 0.050 inch (0 127 cm) wide, L, at 0 035 inch intervals, along a segment S that is 2 2 inches (5 59 cm) long to provide 64 samples across the bill
  • the center-to-center distance Q between two adjacent samples is
  • the sampling is synchronized with the operating frequency of the fluorescent tubes employed as the light sources 308 of the color scanhead 300
  • fluorescent tubes manufactured by Stanley of Japan having a part number of CBY26-220NO are used These fluorescent tubes operate at a frequency of 60 KHz, so the intensity of light generated by the tubes varies with time
  • the sampling of the sensors 304 is synchronized with the tubes' frequency
  • FIG 9 illustrates the synchronization of the sampling with the operating frequency of the fluorescent tubes The sampling by the sensors 304 is controlled so that the sensors 304 sample a bill at the same point during successive cycles, such as at times tl, t2, t3, and etc
  • the color sensing and correlation technique is based upon using the above process to generate a series of stored hue and brightness signal patterns using genuine bills for each denomination of currency that the system is programmed to discriminate
  • the red, blue and green signals from each of the color cells 334 are first summed together to obtain a brightness signal
  • a brightness signal For example, if the red, blue and green sensors produced 2v, 2v, and lv respectively, the brightness signal would equal 5v If the total output from the sensors is lOv when exposed to a white sheet of paper, then the brightness percentage corresponding to a 5v brightness signal would be 50%
  • a red hue, a blue hue and a green hue can be determined
  • a hue signal indicates the percentage of total light that a particular color of light constitutes For example, dividing the red signal by the sum of the red, blue and green signals provides the red hue signal, dividing the blue signal by the sum of the red, blue and green signals provides the blue hue signal, and dividing the green signal by the sum of the red, blue and green
  • the x-axis is the number of samples taken for each bill pattern See the normalization and/or correlation discussion below
  • four sets of master red hues, master green hues and master b ⁇ ghtness signal samples are generated and stored within the memory 56 (see FIG 1), for each programmed currency denomination, for each color sensing cell
  • the four sets of samples correspond to four possible bill orientations "forward,” “reverse,” “face up” and “face down " In the case of
  • the sets of master hue and b ⁇ ghtness signal samples for each bill are generated from color scans, performed on the front (or portrait) side of the bill and taken along both the "forward" and "reverse” directions relative to the pattern printed on the bill Alternatively, the color scanning may be performed on the back side of Canadian currency bills or on either surface of other bills Additionally, the color scanning may be performed on both sides of a bill by a pair of color scanheads 300 such as a pair of scanheads 300 located on opposite sides of the transport plate 140
  • master sets of stored hue and b ⁇ ghtness signal samples are generated and stored for eight different denominations of Canadian bills, namely, $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 and $1,000
  • master patterns are stored for the red, green and brightness patterns for each of the four possible bill orientations (face up feet first, face up head first, face down feet first, face down head first) and for each of three different bill positions (right, center and left) in the transport path
  • a simple normalizing procedure is utilized for processing raw test b ⁇ ghtness samples into a form which is conveniently and accurately compared to corresponding master brightness samples stored in an identical format in memory 56 More specifically,
  • the mean value X for the set of test brightness samples (containing "n" samples) is obtained for a bill scan as below
  • a normalizing factor Sigma (“s") is determined as being equivalent to the sum of the square of the difference between each sample and the mean, as normalized by the total number n of samples More specifically, the normalizing factor is calculated as below
  • each raw brightness sample is normalized by obtaining the difference between the sample and the above-calculated mean value and dividing it by the square root of the normalizing factor s as defined by the following equation
  • the currency handling system 10 may include a magnetic scanhead FIG 11 illustrates a scanhead 86 having magnetic sensor 88
  • a variety of currency characteristics can be measured using magnetic scanning These include detection of patterns of changes in magnetic flux (U S Patent No 3,280,974), patterns of vertical grid lines in the portrait area of bills (U S Patent No 3,870,629), the presence of a security thread (U S Patent No 5, 151,607), total amount of magnetizable material of a bill (U S Patent No 4,617,458), patterns from sensing the strength of magnetic fields along a bill (U S Patent No 4,593, 184), and other patterns and counts from scanning different portions of the bill such as the area in which the denomination is written out (U S Patent No 4,356,473)
  • the denomination determined by optical scanning or color scanning of a bill may be used to facilitate authentication of the bill by magnetic scanning, using the relationships set forth in Table 1
  • Table 1 depicts relative total magnetic content thresholds for various denominations of genuine bills Columns 1-5 represent varying degrees of sensitivity selectable by a user of a device employing the present invention
  • the values in Table 1 are set based on the scanning of genuine bills of varying denominations for total magnetic content and setting required thresholds based on the degree of sensitivity selected
  • the information in Table 1 is based on a total magnetic content of 1000 for a genuine $1
  • the following discussion is based on a sensitivity setting of 4 In this example it is assumed that magnetic content represents the second characteristic tested If the comparison of first characteristic information, such as reflected light intensity or color content of reflected light, from a scanned billed and stored information corresponding to genuine bills results in an indication that the scanned bill is a $ 10 denomination, then the total magnetic content of the scanned bill is compared to the total magnetic content threshold of a genuine $10 bill, i.e., 200. If the magnetic content of the scanned bill is less than 200, the bill is rejected Otherwise it is accepted as a $10 bill
  • the currency handling system 10 monitors the intensity of light provided by the light sources It has been found that the light source and/or sensors of a particular system may degrade over time Additionally, the light source and/or sensor of any particular system may be affected by dust, temperature, imperfections, scratches, or anything that may affect the brightness of the tubes or the sensitivity of the sensor Similarly, systems utilizing magnetic sensors will also generally degrade over time and/or be affected by its physical environment including dust, temperature, etc To compensate for these changes, each currency handling system 10 will typically have a measurement "bias " unique to that system caused by the state of degradation of the light sources or sensors associated with each individual system
  • the present invention is designed to achieve a substantially consistent evaluation of bills between systems by "normalizing" the master information and test data to account for differences in sensors between systems
  • the master information and the test data comprise numerical values
  • this is accomplished by dividing both the threshold data and the test data obtained from each system by a reference value corresponding to the measurement of a common reference by each respective system
  • the common reference may comprise, for example, an object such as a mirror or piece of paper or plastic that is present in each system
  • the reference value is obtained in each respective system by scanning the common reference with respect to a selected attribute such as size, color content, brightness, intensity pattern, etc
  • the master information and/or test data obtained from each individual system is then divided by the appropriate reference value to define normalized master information and/or test data corresponding to each system
  • the evaluation of bills in the standard mode may thereafter be accomplished by comparing the normalized test data to normalized master information
  • the attributes of a bill for which data may be obtained by magnetic sensing include, for example, patterns of changes in magnetic flux (U S Patent No 3.280,974), patterns of vertical grid lines in the portrait area of bills (U S Patent No 3,870,629), the presence of a security thread (U S Patent No 5,151,607), total amount of magnetizable material of a bill (U S Patent No 4,617.458), patterns from sensing the strength of magnetic fields along a bill (U S Patent No 4,593, 184), and other patterns and counts from scanning different portions of the bill such as the area in which the denomination is written out
  • the attributes of a bill for which data may be obtained by optical sensing include, for example, density (U S Patent No 4,381,447), color (U S Patent Nos 4,490,846,
  • Color detection techniques may employ color filters, colored lamps, and/or dichroic beamsplitters (U S Patent Nos 4,841,358, 4,658,289, 4,716,456, 4,825,246, 4,992,860 and EP 325,364) Furthermore, optical sensing can be performed using infrared light including detection of patterns of the same
  • X n ⁇ is an individual normalized test sample of a test pattern
  • X m! is a master sample of a master pattern
  • n is the number of samples in the patterns
  • the fixed number of brightness samples, n, which are digitized and normalized for a test bill scan is selected to be 64 It has experimentally been found that the use of higher binary orders of samples (such as 128, 256, etc ) does not provide a correspondingly increased discrimination efficiency relative to the increased processing time involved in implementing the above-described correlation procedure It has also been found that the use of a binary order of samples lower than 64, such as 32, produces a substantial drop in discrimination efficiency
  • the correlation factor can be represented conveniently in binary terms for ease of correlation
  • the factor of unity which results when a hundred percent correlation exists is represented in terms of the binary number 2 10 , which is equal to a decimal value of 1024
  • the correlation procedure is adapted to identify the two highest correlation numbers resulting from the comparison of the test brightness pattern to one of the stored master brightness patterns At that point, a minimum threshold of correlation is required to be satisfied by these two correlation numbers It has experimentally been found that a correlation number of about 850 serves as a good cut-off threshold above which positive calls may be made with a high degree of confidence and below which the designation of a test pattern as corresponding to any of the stored patterns is uncertain As a second thresholding level, a minimum separation is prescribed between the two highest correlation numbers before making a call This ensures that a positive call is made only when a test pattern does not correspond, within a given range of correlation, to more than one stored master pattern Preferably, the minimum separation between correlation numbers is set to be 150 when the highest correlation number is between 800 and 850
  • the correlation procedure is adapted to identify the two highest correlation numbers resulting from the comparison of the test pattern to one of the stored patterns At that point, a minimum threshold of correlation is required to be satisfied by these two correlation numbers It has experimentally been found that a correlation number of about 850 serves as a good cut-off threshold above which positive calls may be made with a high degree of confidence and below which the designation of a test pattern as corresponding to any of the stored patterns is uncertain As a second threshold level, a minimum separation is prescribed between the two highest correlation numbers before making a call This ensures that a positive call is made only when a test pattern does not correspond, within a given range of correlation, to more than one stored master pattern Preferably, the minimum separation between correlation numbers is set to be 150 when the highest correlation number is between 800 and 850 When the highest correlation number is below 800, no call is made If the processor 54
  • step 2305 the lateral position of the bill in relation to the bill transport path by using the "X" sensors
  • step 2310 initializing takes place, where the best and second best correlation results (from previous correlations at step 2360, if any), referred to as the "#1 and #2 answers" are initialized to zero
  • step 2315 the size of the bill being processed (the test bill) is within the range of the master size data co ⁇ esponding to one denomination of bill for the country selected If the size is not within the range, the system 10 proceeds to point B If the system 10 determines in step 2315 that the size of the test bill is within the range of
  • the system 10 in step 2325, computes the absolute percentage difference between the test pattern and the master pattern on a point by point basis For example, where 64 sample points are taken along the test bill to form the test pattern, the absolute percentage differences between each of the 64 sample points from the test bill and the corresponding 64 points from the master pattern are computed by the processor 54
  • the system 10 in step 2335 sums the absolute percentage differences from step 2330 for each of the master patterns stored in memory
  • the red and green color master patterns are usually stored in memory because the third primary color, blue, is redundant, since the sum of the percentages of the three primary colors must equal 100%)
  • the third percentage can be derived
  • each color cell 334 could include only two color sensors and two filters
  • full color sensor could also refer to a system which employs sensors for two primary colors, and a processor capable of deriving the percentage of the third primary color from the percentages of the two primary colors for which sensors are provided
  • the system 10 in step 2340 proceeds by summing the result of the red and green sums from step 2335
  • the total from step 2340 is compared with a threshold value at step 2350
  • the threshold value is empirically derived and corresponds to a value that produces an acceptable degree of error between making a good call and making a mis- call If the total from step 2340 is not less than the threshold value, then the system proceeds to step 2365 (point D) and points to the next orientation pattern, if all orientation patterns have not been completed (step 2370) the system returns to step 2330 and the total from step 2340 is compared to the next master color pattern corresponding to the bill position determination made in step 2305 The system 10 again determines, in step 2350, whether the total from step 2340 is less than the threshold value This loop proceeds until the total is found to be less than the threshold Then, the system 10 proceeds to step 2360 (point C) At step 2360.
  • test bill brightness or intensity pattern is correlated with the first master brightness pattern that corresponds to the the bill position determination made in step 2305
  • the correlation between the test pattern and the master pattern for brightness is computed in the manner described above under "Brightness Correlation Technique"
  • step 2370 the system determines whether all orientation patterns have been used
  • step 2375 If not, the system returns to step 2330 (point E) If so, the system proceeds to step 2375
  • step 2375 the process proceeds by pointing to the next master bill pattern in memory
  • the brightness patterns may include several shifted versions of the same master pattern because the degree of correlation between a test pattern and a master pattern may be negatively impacted if the two patterns are not properly aligned with each other Misalignment between patterns may result from a number of factors For example, if a system is designed so that the scanning process is initiated in response to the detection of the thin borderline surrounding U S currency or the detection of some other printed indicia such as the edge of printed indicia on a bill, stray marks may cause initiation of the scanning process at an improper time This is especially true for stray marks in the area between the edge of a bill and the edge of the printed indicia on the bill Such stray marks may cause the scanning process to be initiated too soon, resulting in a scanned pattern which leads a corresponding master pattern Alternatively, where the detection of the edge of a bill is used to trigger the scanning process, misalignment between patterns may result from variances between the location of printed indicia on a bill relative to the edges of a bill Such variance
  • the problems associated with misaligned patterns are overcome by shifting data in memory by dropping the last data sample of a master pattern and substituting a zero in front of the first data sample of the master pattern
  • the master pattern is shifted in memory and a slightly different portion of the master pattern is compared to the test pattern
  • This process may be repeated, up to a predetermined number of times, until a sufficiently high correlation is obtained between the master pattern and the test pattern so as to permit the identity of a test bill to be called
  • the master pattern may be shifted three times to accommodate a test bill that has its identifying characteristic(s) shifted 0 2 inches from the leading edge of the bill To do this, three zeros are inserted in front of the first data sample of the master pattern
  • One embodiment of the pattern shifting technique described above is disclosed in
  • step 2380 determines whether all of the master bill patterns have been used If not the process returns to step
  • step 2395 the system 10 determines, in step 2395, whether all the sensors have been checked If the master patterns for all of the sensors have not been checked against the test bill, the system 10 loops to step 2310 Steps 2310-2395 are repeated until all the sensors are checked Then, the system 10 proceeds to step 2400 where the system 10 determines whether the results for all three sensors are different, I e , whether they each selected a different master pattern If each sensor selected a different master pattern, the system 10 displays a "no call" message to the operator indicating that the bill can not be denominated Otherwise, the system 10 proceeds to step 2410 where the system 10 determines whether the results for all three sensors are alike, i e , whether they all selected the same master pattern If each sensor selected the same master pattern, the system 10 proceeds to step 2415 Otherwise, the system 10 proceeds to step 2450 (FIG 12d), to be discussed below
  • step 2415 the system 10 determines whether the left sensor reading is above correlation threshold number one. If it is, the system 10 proceeds to step 2420
  • step 2430 the system 10 determines whether the center sensor reading is above correlation threshold number one If it is, the system 10 proceeds to step 2425 Otherwise, the system 10 proceeds to step 2435, to be discussed below At step 2425 the system 10 determines whether the right sensor reading is above correlation threshold number one If it is, the system 10 proceeds to step 2475 where the denomination of the bill is called Otherwise, the system 10 proceeds to step 2440, to be discussed below
  • the system 10 determines whether the center and right sensor readings are above correlation threshold number two If they are, the system 10 proceeds to step 2475 where the denomination of the bill is called Otherwise, the system 10 proceeds to step 2445, to be discussed below
  • the system 10 determines whether the left and right sensor readings are above correlation threshold number two If they are, the system 10 proceeds to step 2475 where the denomination of the bill is called Otherwise, the system 10 proceeds to step 2445, to be discussed below
  • the system 10 determines whether the center and left sensor readings are above correlation threshold number two If they are, the system 10 proceeds to step 2475 where the denomination of the bill is called Otherwise, the system 10 proceeds to step 2445 where the system 10 determines whether all three color sums are below a threshold If they are, the system 10 proceeds to step 2475 where the denomination of the bill is called Otherwise, the system 10 proceeds to step 2480 where the system 10 displays a "no call" message to the operator indicating that the bill can not be denominated At step 2410 the system 10 determined
  • step 2455 The system proceeded to step 2455 if the results of the left and center sensor readings were not alike, i e , did not selected the same master pattern
  • the system 10 determines whether the left and center sensor readings are above threshold number three If they are, the system 10 proceeds to step 2475 where the denomination of the bill is called Otherwise, the system 10 proceeds to step 2480 where the system 10 displays a "no call" message to the operator indicating that the bill can not be denominated
  • An alternative comparison method comprises comparing the individual test hue samples to their corresponding master hue samples If the test hue samples are within a range of 8% of the master hues, then a match is recorded If the test and master hue comparison records a threshold number of matches, such as 62 out of the 64 samples, the brightness patterns are compared as described in the above method
  • the above described systems are modified to include one or more infrared light sources and sensors to detect infrared light in response to the illumination of currency bills with infrared light
  • the system operates as described above accept that the visible light LEDs in the upper scanhead 70 (see, e.g., FIG 5b) are replaced with infrared LEDs such as the HSDL-4230 LEDs from Hewlett-Packard of Palo Alto, CA This is a TS AlGaAs infrared lamp generating light having a wavelength of about 875 nanometers Information regarding this sensor is attached as Appendix A
  • the system operates with infrared LEDs which generate light having a wavelength between approximately 850 and 950 nanometers
  • the infrared light used to illuminate currency bills has a wavelength greater that 950 nanometers
  • This system is adapted to authenticate currency bills having portions printed with infrared sensitive ink such as Mexican currency notes and the 50 Peso currency bill in particular as follows Mexican currency is sampled as shown and described above in connection with FIGS 9b-9c Specifically, a surface of a Mexican 50 Peso note is illuminated with infrared light,
  • FIG 25 a flow chart illustrating a method for authenticating Mexican 50 Peso notes is shown
  • the difference sum value calculated in FIG 24 is used to authenticate 50 Peso notes
  • the denomination of the note is determined by comparing denominating characteristic information obtained from each of the bills under evaluation to master denominating characteristic information obtained from known genuine currency bills
  • the face orientation of the note is evaluated at step 2520
  • the face orientation is determined using the color scanhead as described above in connection with determining which master 50 Peso pattern(s) most closely matched the scanned pattern(s) If the face of the 50 Peso note passed facing the upper scanhead 70, then the difference sum value is retrieved from memory at step 2530 and this value is compared to a face-side threshold value at step 2540 If the difference sum value is less than the face-side threshold value, then the routine ends However, if the
  • the techniques of FIGS 24-25 are performed by illuminating the currency bills with infrared light and sampling the output of the sensor 74a (see, e.g., FIG 15b) wherein sensor 74a is a photodetector sensitive and responsive to infrared light
  • the techniques of FIGS 24-25 are performed by illuminating the currency bills with infrared light and sampling the output of the sensor 74a (see, e.g., FIG 15b) wherein sensor 74a is a photodetector sensitive and responsive to visible light
  • FIG 26 a flow chart illustrating a method for authenticating
  • Mexican 50 Peso notes is shown according to another embodiment of the present invention
  • the responses to both infrared light and visible light illumination of a currency bill are used in an authenticating test
  • Images or portions of images on some currency bills such as the Mexican 50 Peso note, for example, are printed with ink uniquely sensitive to infrared light
  • the note currently being evaluated is denominated using the color scanhead as described above
  • the denomination of the note is determined by comparing denominating characteristic information obtained from each of the bills under evaluation to master denominating characteristic information obtained from known genuine currency bills
  • Infrared light reflectance samples are obtained from the same surface of the note at step 2630
  • the samples of each type of reflected light are compared to determine whether the note exhibits the specific infrared properties found in genuine Mexican 50 Peso notes - such as the infrared light sensitive ink
  • the two sets of samples are correlated, according to a process which is similar to the above-described brightness correlation technique to quantify the degree of similarity, at step 2640 Specifically, a calculated "correlation value" quantifies the degree of similarity between the infrared and visible light reflectance samples
  • a higher correlation value translates to a higher degree of similarity between the two samples taken from a note which indicates that the note may be a counterfeit note
  • a note exhibiting the described infrared properties would exhibit a lack of similarity - a lower correlation value - since one set of samples would resemble that taken from a note with no image
  • An advantage of the embodiment of the of the authenticating technique illustrated in FIG 26 is that this authentication technique is performed independent of determining or knowing the surface or face-orientation of the bill sampled
  • the visible light and the infrared light reflectance samples are taken from the same surface of the bill, regardless of whether that surface is the front surface or the back surface It is unnecessary to determine which surface of the bill is sampled according to this authentication technique because the visible light and infrared light reflectance samples obtained from a surface of a bill are compared to each other and not to other orientation-specific data
  • the visible light reflectance samples and the infrared light samples are first normalized according to a technique similar to the above-described brightness normalizing technique Both the visible and infrared light reflectance samples are normalized so that each of the set of raw samples are processed into a form so that the two sets are more conveniently and accurately comparable
  • the following normalization technique will be described, by way of example, in terms of normalizing the visible light reflectance samples after which the infrared light reflectance
  • ⁇ a normalizing factor Sigma
  • each raw visible light reflectance sample is normalized by obtaining the difference between the sample and the above-calculated mean value and dividing it by the square root of the normalizing factor s as defined by the following equation
  • the infrared light reflectance samples are normalized according to the above-described technique
  • the result of using the normalizing equations above is that, subsequent to the normalizing process, a relationship of correlation exists between the normalized visible light reflectance samples and the normalized infrared light reflectance samples the aggregate sum of the products of corresponding samples in the two sets, when divided by the total number of samples, equals unity if the patterns are identical (Which would indicate a suspect document according to the infrared authenticating technique )
  • the correlation value, or factor resulting from the comparison of normalized visible light and infrared light reflectance samples provides a clear indication of the degree of similarity or correlation between the two patterns Accordingly a correlation value, C, for each visible/infrared light reflectance pattern comparison can be calculated using the following formula
  • X is an individual normalized visible light sample
  • Xm is a individual normalized infrared light sample
  • n is the number of samples in the patterns
  • the fixed number of samples, n, which are digitized and normalized for a test bill scan is selected to be 64
  • higher binary orders of samples such as 128, 256, etc
  • a binary order of samples lower than 64, such as 32 produces a substantial drop in authentication efficiency
  • any number of visible light and infrared light samples can be used to determine the correlation value between the two sets of samples
  • the visible light reflectance samples obtained from the note can be used to both denominate the note and then determine the authenticity of the note according to the above-described authentication technique wherein the determined denomination triggers the above-described authentication techniques
  • visible reflectance samples are obtained from a bill and processed according to a denominating technique If the denominating technique indicates that the note is a Mexican 50 Peso note then the above-described authentication technique is performed using the already obtained visible light reflectance samples
  • the package design of these The wide angle emitter, HSDL- emitters is optimized for efficient 4220, is compatible with the IrDA power dissipation. Copper SIR standard and can be used Ieadframes are used to obtain with the HSDL-1000 integrated better thermal performance than SIR transceiver the traditional steel Ieadframes
  • the transient peak current is the maximu ⁇ i non-recurnng peak current the device can withstand without damaging the LED die and the wire bonds
  • Figure 1 Relative Radiant Intensity Figure 2a. DC Forward Current vs. Fignre 2b. Peak Forward Current vs. vs. Wavelength. Forward Voltage. Forward Voltage.
  • Figure 2c Forward Voltage vs Figure 3a. Relative Radiant Intensity Figure 3b. Normalized Radiant Ambient Temperature vs. DC Forward Current. Intensity vs. Peak Forward Current.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un système de traitement de documents configuré de manière à détecter des billets de contrefaçon par utilisation d'une lumière infrarouge. Le système de traitement de documents comprend une source de lumière infrarouge, un détecteur conçu pour émettre un signal de sortie en réponse à l'éclairage par lumière infrarouge d'un document et un processeur programmé pour recevoir le signal et authentifier le document sur la base de ce signal.
EP00952194A 1999-07-26 2000-07-26 Systeme de traitement de papier monnaie faisant intervenir un systeme d'authentification a infrarouge Withdrawn EP1208518A4 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

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US14561499P 1999-07-26 1999-07-26
US145614P 1999-07-26
PCT/US2000/020276 WO2001008108A2 (fr) 1999-07-26 2000-07-26 Systeme de traitement de papier monnaie faisant intervenir un systeme d'authentification a infrarouge

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EP1208518A2 true EP1208518A2 (fr) 2002-05-29
EP1208518A4 EP1208518A4 (fr) 2006-01-18

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EP (1) EP1208518A4 (fr)
AU (1) AU6493900A (fr)
CA (1) CA2380485C (fr)
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WO (1) WO2001008108A2 (fr)

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US7753189B2 (en) 2003-08-01 2010-07-13 Cummins-Allison Corp. Currency processing device, method and system
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US7978899B2 (en) 2005-10-05 2011-07-12 Cummins-Allison Corp. Currency processing system with fitness detection
US8701857B2 (en) 2000-02-11 2014-04-22 Cummins-Allison Corp. System and method for processing currency bills and tickets
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US8437529B1 (en) 2001-09-27 2013-05-07 Cummins-Allison Corp. Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same
US8428332B1 (en) 2001-09-27 2013-04-23 Cummins-Allison Corp. Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same
US8437530B1 (en) 2001-09-27 2013-05-07 Cummins-Allison Corp. Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same
US8944234B1 (en) 2001-09-27 2015-02-03 Cummins-Allison Corp. Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same
US6896118B2 (en) 2002-01-10 2005-05-24 Cummins-Allison Corp. Coin redemption system
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US8627939B1 (en) 2002-09-25 2014-01-14 Cummins-Allison Corp. Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same
US7762380B2 (en) 2006-03-09 2010-07-27 Cummins-Allison Corp. Currency discrimination system and method
CA2624638C (fr) 2006-06-01 2010-08-10 Cummins-Allison Corp. Systeme incline de traitement de devises
US8417017B1 (en) 2007-03-09 2013-04-09 Cummins-Allison Corp. Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same
US8401268B1 (en) 2007-03-09 2013-03-19 Cummins-Allison Corp. Optical imaging sensor for a document processing device
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US8391583B1 (en) 2009-04-15 2013-03-05 Cummins-Allison Corp. Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
MXPA02000887A (es) 2002-07-30
WO2001008108A3 (fr) 2001-11-22
AU6493900A (en) 2001-02-13
CA2380485C (fr) 2007-06-19
WO2001008108A2 (fr) 2001-02-01
EP1208518A4 (fr) 2006-01-18
CA2380485A1 (fr) 2001-02-01

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