JP2007304879A - Coin processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coin processor which can satisfactorily excise a picture of a coin by minimizing an influence of conveyance belts when acquiring the picture of the coin. <P>SOLUTION: Conveyance belts 8 and 11 are disposed in a conveyance path of coins 12 in parallel to each other in a horizontal direction, and the coins 12 are held between peripheral side parts of conveyance belts 8 and 11 and are conveyed. A picture acquisition sensor 14 is provided below the conveyance path 13 to acquire pictures of the coins 12 held between and conveyed by the conveyance belts 8 and 11. In this case, a picture of the conveyance belt 8 or 11 doesn't overlap front or rear faces of the coins 12. As a result, the influence of coin powder can be excluded from acquired pictures, whereby pictures of coins can be satisfactorily excised. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a coin processing apparatus that acquires an image of a conveyed coin by an image acquisition sensor and performs a predetermined process.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a coin processing device such as a coin deposit / withdrawal device, coins are transported one by one, and the coins being transported are identified to determine whether the coins are true or false, whether they are correct or not, front and back. Coins are conveyed by pressing the coins fed out on the conveyance path with a conveyance belt provided on the upper part of the conveyance path and rotating the conveyance belt. An optical sensor is provided on the lower side of the transport path, and the optical sensor irradiates light to the transported coin and receives reflected light from the coin. An optical sensor acquires the image of the surface of a coin, and performs the discrimination of a coin by processing the image of the surface. As an apparatus for discriminating coins while being transported by the transport belt as described above, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-039732.
JP 2006-039732 A

  However, as disclosed in the above document, in an apparatus that acquires an image of a coin by providing an optical sensor on the lower side of the transport path and irradiating light from the lower side of the transport path, The image of the conveyor belt pressed against the coin is captured together with the image of the coin.

  Further, when the coins are repeatedly conveyed, the coin powder generated by rubbing the coins adheres to the conveyor belt. Coin dust adhering to the conveyor belt is captured as a white image when captured by the optical sensor as an image. For this reason, the amount of coin powder adhering to the conveyor belt increases, and if the adhering coin powder part and coin part are captured continuously as an image, the coin powder part and coin part are not distinguished as brightness. Even when trying to cut out an image of only coins, the cutting may fail. Failure to cut out the coin image greatly affects the recognition of the coin, resulting in a decrease in the recognition rate.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a coin processing apparatus that can minimize the influence of a conveyor belt when acquiring an image of a coin and can perform a good cutout of the image of the coin.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a coin processing device that acquires an image of a conveyed coin by an image acquisition sensor and performs a predetermined process, and contacts and conveys the coin in contact with the peripheral side surface of the coin. A nipping and conveying means is provided, and the image acquisition sensor is arranged to face the plane of the coin.

  According to the present invention, since the coin is held in contact with the peripheral side surface of the coin, the coin is conveyed in that state, and the image of the coin is acquired by the image acquisition sensor in the conveyed state. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the influence of coin powder, and it is possible to cut out an image of a coin satisfactorily.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Elements common to the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a coin processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a control unit 1 controls the entire operation of the coin processing device, and is constituted by a microprocessor or the like. A motor drive circuit 2 and a sensor controller 3 are connected to the control unit 1. The motor drive circuit 2 drives the carry motor 4 and the carry motor 5 and performs control such as synchronizing the carry motors 4 and 5. The conveyance motor 4 rotates the pulley 6 and rotates the conveyance belt 8 that is stretched between the pulley 6 and the pulley 7. Further, the transport motor 5 rotates the pulley 9 to rotate the transport belt 11 stretched between the pulley 9 and the pulley 10.

  The conveyance belt 8 forms a conveyance path 13 for coins 12 with the conveyance belt 11, and cooperates with both conveyance belts 8, 11 to pinch the coins 12 from the circumferential side, and conveys the coins 12 in the pinched state. Therefore, the coin 12 is in a state where almost the entire front surface or back surface is exposed during conveyance. An image acquisition sensor 14 is disposed below the conveyance path 13. The image acquisition sensor 14 is provided at a position that is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the plane (front surface or back surface) of the coin 12, and has a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and light emitted from the light emitting element is substantially received. The entire surface of the exposed coin 12 is irradiated to the front or back surface, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving element. The image acquisition sensor 14 is controlled by the sensor controller 3.

  The pulleys 6 and 7 are provided with moving mechanisms 15 and 16, respectively. The moving mechanisms 15 and 16 move the pulley 6 and the pulley 7 in the direction of arrow A or B, respectively, and are controlled by the control unit 1. By moving the pulley 6 and the pulley 7 in the direction of arrow A or B, the distance between the conveyor belt 8 and the conveyor belt 11 changes, and this can cope with the difference in size depending on the type of coins being conveyed. .

  An image memory 17, an image cutout unit 18, a feature extraction unit 19, a collation unit 20, and a dictionary storage unit 21 are also connected to the control unit 1. The image memory 17 stores the image acquired by the image acquisition sensor 14. The image cutout unit 18 extracts the coin outline from the image acquired by the image acquisition sensor 14 and cuts out the image in the outline. The feature extraction unit 19 binarizes the extracted image for collation. The collation unit 20 collates the feature part using a collation dictionary stored in the dictionary storage unit 21 in advance, and outputs a collation result.

  Next, the operation will be described. First, when a coin 12 is inserted into the apparatus, the control unit 1 drives the motors 4 and 5 synchronously via the motor drive circuit 2 to rotate the pulleys 6 and 9. At this time, the pulley 6 rotates in the arrow C direction, and the pulley 9 rotates in the opposite arrow D direction. As a result, the conveyor belts 8 and 11 rotate, and the coins 12 held between the conveyor belts 8 and 11 are conveyed in the direction of arrow E.

  The timing at which the coin 12 is conveyed is monitored by a detection sensor (not shown), and the image acquisition sensor 14 irradiates the coin 12 with light from below at the timing at which the coin 12 reaches the image acquisition sensor 14, and reflects the reflected light. Receive light. Thereby, the image of the coin 12 is acquired. The acquired image is temporarily stored in the image memory 17 by the control unit 1.

  The acquired image is shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, since the acquired image 30 also incorporates images around the coin image 31, images 32 and 33 of the conveyor belts 8 and 11 are also acquired. In the acquired image 30, the conveyor belt images 32 and 33 are located on both sides of the coin image 31, and the images 32 and 33 of the side portions 8a and 11a of the conveyor belts 8 and 11 are captured, and the widths of these images 32 and 33 are captured. Is getting narrower. As described above, coin powder is generated while repeating the conveyance of coins, and the generated coin powder adheres to the conveyor belts 8 and 11, but adheres to the lower side portions 8a and 11a of the conveyor belts 8 and 11. The amount of coin powder is very small due to its narrow width.

  Next, a coin image 31 is cut out from the acquired image 30 by the image cutout unit 18. In this case, the coin image 21 shown in FIG. 2 is cut out based on the luminance difference from the surrounding images (peripheral images) 34 of the conveyor belt images 32 and 33 and the coin image 31. At this time, even if coin powder adheres to the conveyor belt images 32 and 33, the brightness is almost the same as that of the coin image 31, and as a result, the coin image 31 and the conveyor belt can be obtained. The images 32 and 33 are distinguished from each other in terms of luminance, and an image 35 obtained as a coin image by cutting is a circular image as shown in FIG.

  Next, the feature extraction unit 19 binarizes the coin image 35 cut out by the image cutout unit 18. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the binarized image data 36 is collated with the coin data 37 stored in the dictionary storage unit 21 in advance by the collation unit 20, and if the two data match, Denomination, authenticity, etc. are judged.

  In order to explain the difference between the present invention and the prior art, a conventional acquired image is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, a coin image 41, a conveyor belt image 42 and a surrounding image 43 are acquired in an image 40 acquired by the image acquisition sensor. At this time, the conveyor belt image 42 is located at the upper and lower central portions of the coin image 41. When the coin powder is attached to the conveyor belt at a position adjacent to the coin, the coin dust attached image 42a is also acquired. The

  When a coin image is cut out from the acquired image 40, since the difference in luminance between the coin image 41 and the coin powder attached image 42a is small, the cut out image is a coin image 41 and a coin powder attached image as shown in FIG. 42a is combined with the image 44a. When the image 44 is binarized to obtain image data, and the obtained image data is further collated with the coin data stored in the dictionary storage unit, the image data 45 and the coin data 46 are as shown in FIG. It was rejected as a collation result without matching. That is, the coin has been rejected even though it may be genuine.

  On the other hand, in the first embodiment, when the coin image is cut out as described above, the image of the conveyor belt is not cut out together, and the coin image can be cut out accurately. Therefore, it is possible to accurately recognize the true / false of the coin, the denomination and the like.

  In the first embodiment, the pulleys 6 and 9 are rotated by the transport motors 4 and 5, respectively. However, the pulleys 6 and 9 may be driven by a single transport motor. In the second embodiment, a moving mechanism is provided for the pulleys 6 and 7 on the conveying belt 8 side. However, a moving mechanism for moving the pulleys 9 and 10 on the opposite conveying belt 11 side is further provided. May be.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a coin processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 8, the coin processing apparatus of the second embodiment is provided with a control unit 51 that controls the entire operation of the coin processing apparatus. The controller 51 is connected to the motor drive circuit 52 and the sensor controller 3. The motor drive circuit 52 drives the carry motor 53 and the carry motor 54 and controls the carry motors 53 and 54 to synchronize. The conveyance motor 53 rotates the conveyance roller 55, and the conveyance motor 54 rotates the conveyance roller 56. The coin 12 is sandwiched from the peripheral side surface by the transport roller 55 and the transport roller 56, and the coin 12 is transported in the sandwiched state. Therefore, the coin 12 is in a state where almost the entire front surface or back surface is exposed during conveyance.

  An image acquisition sensor 14 is disposed below the conveyance path 13, and the image acquisition sensor 14 includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and almost all light emitted from the light emitting element is exposed. The coin 12 is irradiated on the front surface or the back surface, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving element. The image acquisition sensor 14 is controlled by the sensor controller 3.

  Each of the transport roller 55 and the transport roller 56 is provided with a moving mechanism (not shown). The moving mechanism moves the transport roller 55 and the transport roller 56 in the direction of arrow A or B, respectively, and is controlled by the control unit 1. When the transport roller 55 and the transport roller 56 move in the direction of arrow A or B, the distance between the transport roller 55 and the transport roller 56 changes, and this corresponds to the difference in size depending on the type of coins to be transported. Can do.

  The control unit 51 is also connected to an image memory 17, an image cutout unit 18, a feature extraction unit 19, a collation unit 20, and a dictionary storage unit 21. Since these parts are the same as those described in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted by attaching the same reference numerals.

  Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described. First, when the coin 12 is inserted into the apparatus, the control unit 51 drives the motors 53 and 54 in synchronization with each other via the motor drive circuit 52 to rotate the transport rollers 55 and 56. At this time, the transport roller 55 rotates in the arrow C direction, and the transport roller 56 rotates in the opposite arrow D direction. As a result, the inserted coins 12 are conveyed in the direction of arrow E while being sandwiched between the conveying rollers 55 and 56.

  The timing at which the coin 12 is conveyed is monitored by a detection sensor (not shown), and the image acquisition sensor 14 irradiates the coin 12 with light from below at the timing at which the coin 12 reaches the image acquisition sensor 14, and reflects the reflected light. Receive light. At this time, the coin 12 is released from the transport rollers 55 and 56. Thereby, the image of the coin 12 is acquired. The acquired image is temporarily stored in the image memory 17 by the control unit 51.

  The acquired image is shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, since the acquired image 60 also incorporates images around the coin image 61, the images 62 and 63 of the transport rollers 55 and 56 are also acquired. In the acquired image 60, the transport roller images 62 and 63 are located below both sides of the coin image 61, and the transport roller images 62 and 63 are separated from the coin image 61.

  Next, a coin image 61 is cut out from the acquired image 60 by the image cutout unit 18. In this case, the coin image 61 shown in FIG. 9 is cut out based on the luminance difference from the transport roller images 62 and 63 and the image (surrounding image) 64 around the coin image 61. As described above, coin powder is generated while the coin is repeatedly conveyed. The generated coin powder adheres to the transport rollers 55 and 56, but as shown in FIG. 9, the transport roller images 62 and 63 are separated from the coin image 61. As a result, the coin image 61 and the transport roller images 62 and 63 are separated. Are distinguished from each other in terms of luminance, and an image 65 obtained as a coin image by cutting is a circular image as shown in FIG.

  Next, the feature extraction unit 19 binarizes the coin image 65 cut out by the image cutout unit 18. Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the binarized image data 66 is collated with the coin data 37 stored in the dictionary storage unit 21 in advance by the collation unit 20, and if the two data match, Denomination, authenticity, etc. are judged.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the coin 12 is sandwiched and sent out by the transport rollers 55 and 56, and when the coin 12 is separated from the transport rollers 55 and 56, an image of the coin 12 is acquired. Therefore, the transport roller image is not in contact with the coin image in the acquired image, and only the coin image is accurately cut out in the image cutting out. As a result, it is possible to accurately recognize the authenticity of coins, denominations, and the like.

  In the second embodiment, the transport rollers 55 and 56 are rotated by the transport motors 53 and 54, respectively. However, the transport rollers 55 and 56 may be driven by a single transport motor. In the second embodiment, the transport mechanisms 55 and 56 are provided with both transport rollers. However, even if the transport mechanism is provided only on one transport roller, it is possible to cope with the difference in coin size.

It is a block diagram which shows the coin processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an acquired image. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cut coin image. It is explanatory drawing which shows collation of coin data. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conventional acquisition image. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conventional coin image cut out. It is explanatory drawing which shows collation of the conventional coin data. It is a block diagram which shows the coin processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the acquired image in 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the coin image cut out in 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows collation of the coin data in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,51 Control part 8,11 Conveyance belt 12 Coin 14 Image acquisition sensor 18 Image extraction part 55,56 Conveyance roller

Claims (5)

In a coin processing apparatus that performs an image processing by acquiring an image of a coin to be conveyed by an image acquisition sensor,
A holding and conveying means for holding and transferring the coin in contact with the peripheral side surface of the coin;
A coin processing apparatus, wherein the image acquisition sensor is disposed to face a coin plane. The nipping and conveying means is composed of a pair of conveying belts,
The coin processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the pair of transport belts is movable in a direction toward or away from each other.   The coin processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image acquisition sensor is disposed in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the coin. The nipping and conveying means is composed of a pair of conveying rollers,
The coin processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image acquisition sensor acquires an image of a coin separated from the pair of transport rollers.   The coin processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the pair of transport rollers is movable in a direction toward or away from each other.

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