JP2009075866A - Passage detector and paper sheet processor equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper sheet processor for surely performing passage detection by inserting a test chart having the critical permeability of passage detection into a processing paper sheet, and confirming the operation of a passage detector in the case of performing paper sheet processing. <P>SOLUTION: A light emitter S1at is made to pulse-turn on, and a paper sheet P is conveyed to an arrow A direction as shown by figure, and the output level of a light receiver output S1oa when the paper sheet P passes between the light emitter S1at and a light receiver S1ar becomes high when it is bright, and the output level becomes low when it is dark. Therefore, as for the section of the paper sheet P on which a pattern is printed, since the permeable light quality becomes small due to the pattern compared with the section on which any pattern is not printed, a light receiver output S1oa becomes low, and a start time Tr1 becomes long. Also, as for the section whose transparent light quantity is large such as a watermark section, the light receiver output S1oa becomes high, and a start time Tr3 becomes short. The operation of the passage detector is confirmed by using a test card having a light receiver output which enters the allowable range of the start time Tr3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for paper sheets such as securities, and more particularly to a passage detector capable of reliably detecting paper sheets and a paper sheet processing apparatus including the passage detector.

  The paper sheet processing apparatus for processing paper sheets such as securities takes out the paper sheets one by one from the bundle of paper sheets (for example, 1000 sheets) input in a batch according to the processing unit. The paper sheet discriminating device discriminates the quality (shape, damage, etc.) of the paper sheet, and a normal ticket (hereinafter referred to as a regular ticket) or a defective ticket (hereinafter referred to as a non-performing ticket). If the number of sheets collected is primarily collected by the stacking device, and is collected by the stacking device, such as a nuisance ticket or a two-sheet pick-up ticket, and the primary stack reaches a predetermined number (for example, 100), a belt, etc. It is an apparatus that forms a bundle H by binding together.

  A plurality of passage detectors for detecting the passage of the paper sheet are arranged along the transport path in the transport path for transporting the paper sheet. In general, the passage detector includes a light emitter such as an LED and a light receiver such as an optical sensor. A method is known in which a light emitting device configured in this manner is pulse-lit with a predetermined current, light received by the pulse lighting is received by a light receiving device, and the light receiving device is monitored by monitoring the rise time of the current. . Compared with a method of receiving light by direct-current lighting of a light emitter, a method of pulse lighting can be applied to an apparatus that easily copes with environmental fluctuations and easily generates paper dust because a high current can flow.

  Whether or not the passage detector is operating normally is checked during adjustment and inspection at the time of manufacturing the device.

  At the time of the adjustment, it is confirmed that the rising time of the current falls within a predetermined allowable value with no paper sheet on the conveyance path. This confirmation is automatically performed, and the result is displayed on, for example, the operation display unit. As a result of confirmation, when there is a passage detector that does not fall within the allowable value, the current flowing through the LED is adjusted so that the rise time of the current falls within the allowable value.

  After that, it is confirmed that the passage detector operates normally by carrying it using a paper sheet of the same quality as the paper sheet to be processed.

In addition, in the inspection, for example, it is confirmed that the above-described current rise time falls within a predetermined allowable value during a periodic inspection once a month. Specifically, in a state where there is no paper sheet on the transport path, an inspection is automatically performed at the time of initialization accompanying driving of the paper sheet processing apparatus and at the start of feeding (start of taking out paper sheets). This check confirms that the rise time of the current of the light receiver falls within a predetermined allowable value as in the above adjustment. Alternatively, there is a method for dealing with dirt between light emission and light reception by setting the light emission level to an initial value and allowing the light to be received while increasing the light emission intensity from the level at which the light receiving sensor cannot receive light by lowering the light emission intensity on the light emitting side. It is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-178912 (page 4-5, FIG. 5)

  However, in the adjustment in the conventional method, automatic adjustment is performed so that the detection can be performed in a state where there is no paper sheet to be detected, and then the light and darkness confirmation is performed. In this case, there is a problem that the paper sheet may be transmitted and cannot be detected.

  Moreover, since the inspection is performed in a state where there is no paper sheet, there is a problem that the paper sheet is overlooked.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a passage detector that reliably detects paper sheets by checking the operation of the passage detector during normal operation using a batch card.

  In order to achieve the above object, a passage detector according to claim 1 of the present invention is a pair of passage detectors comprising a light emitter and a light receiver for optically detecting a medium composed of a batch card and paper sheets being conveyed. A light amount setting means for arbitrarily setting a light emission amount of the light emitter, a pulse control means for pulse-lighting the light emitter, and a rise time for measuring a rise time of a light reception signal output from the light receiver Measuring means, and detecting means for detecting that the rising time measured by the rising time measuring means is included within a predetermined range, and the batch card has a detection limit of the paper sheet. The light quantity setting means has a transmittance, and a limit resistance value for restricting a current flowing through the light emitter in order to set a light emission quantity of the light emitter. The rise time measured by the rise time measuring means when was detected vessel is characterized in that setting to be included within the predetermined range.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper sheet processing apparatus, comprising: a supply unit that collectively supplies a medium comprising a plurality of paper sheet bundles and a batch card inserted at the beginning of the paper sheet bundle; A sheet discriminating unit for discriminating the medium from the top medium of the medium supplied to the feeding unit by taking out one sheet at a time from the transport path, and discriminating by the sheet discriminating unit A transport control means for setting the transport destination of the medium based on the results of the above, an accumulating means for stacking the medium whose transport destination is set by the transport control means, and an adjustment mode for adjusting the passage detector by the medium And an operation display unit having switching means for selectively switching a normal mode for detecting the passage of the medium, and a passage detector according to claim 1 or 2, arranged in the transport path.

  According to the present invention, since the operation of the passage detector can be confirmed during normal operation, it is possible to provide a passage detector that reliably detects paper sheets and a paper sheet processing apparatus including the passage detector.

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

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a paper sheet processing apparatus 1 equipped with passage detectors S1, S30, S31,... According to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The paper sheet processing apparatus 1 is connected to the operation display unit 2. The operator may set the type (ticket type) of the paper sheet P to be processed by the paper sheet processing apparatus 1, the transport direction, the processing unit, the damage determination level, and the processing mode for processing the paper sheet P. it can.

  The processing mode can be switched by a mode switching switch (switching means), and the normal mode or the adjustment mode can be selectively switched. This operation can be set by pressing a touch panel provided on the operation display unit or by using a keyboard or mouse attached to the operation display unit 2.

  The adjustment mode is a mode for adjusting the paper sheet processing apparatus 1, and a limit sample (limit paper sheets) or a batch card, which will be described later, is normally conveyed, for example, in order to adjust the passage detection device and other devices. Transport can be performed at a transport speed different from the speed, or while repeatedly transporting and stopping.

  Specifically, it is used in combination with an automatic adjustment through start switch, and when the automatic adjustment through start switch is pressed, for example, a medium such as the above-described limit sample or batch card is conveyed at a low speed. When the conveyed medium is detected by, for example, a passage detector, the rising time at the passage detector is measured. Since this embodiment is an invention relating to this part, details will be described later.

  The normal mode is a mode for operating the paper sheet processing apparatus 1 normally. In this mode, the batch card and the paper sheet bundle supplied to the supply unit are sorted and accumulated, which will be described later.

  The paper sheet processing apparatus 1 determines whether the paper sheet P such as securities is genuine (true or fake) or correct (whether it can be redistributed or non-recyclable). The correct ticket is accumulated in the accumulating devices 30 and 31, the lost ticket is cut by the cutting device 60, and the indistinguishable ticket is accumulated in the rejected ticket accumulating device 33. The correct bills collected in this way are bundled by the bundling device 40 or 41 arranged at the lower part of each stacking device. In addition, a conveyance abnormality ticket such as a two-sheet pickup ticket or a skew is accumulated in the reject ticket accumulation box 34.

  The paper sheet processing apparatus 1 is provided with a supply unit 10 that collectively supplies the accumulated paper sheets P. The paper sheets P accumulated in the supply unit 10 are taken out one by one at regular intervals by a take-out rotor (take-out means) 10A, and are carried by a carrying path (carrying means) 20.

  In this way, the paper sheet P taken out from the supply unit 10 by the take-out rotor 10A is discriminated by the paper sheet discriminating device (paper sheet discriminating means) 50. The paper sheet discriminating device 50 detects and discriminates the physical characteristics of the paper sheet P, and is composed of a plurality of devices, and is provided in the transport path 20 toward the downstream in the transport direction. Further, the stacking devices 30 and 31 as stacking means for stacking the paper sheets P determined to be correct bills based on the determination result of the paper sheet determining device 50 and the rejected ticket stacking device for stacking the fake ticket or the rejected ticket. 33 is provided.

  The take-out detection unit 51 detects the take-out state of the paper sheet P taken out from the supply unit 10 and transmits the detection result to the transport control unit (transport control unit) 36. If the detection result of this take-out state is, for example, a pick-up error such as picking up multiple sheets such as two picks or clogging of the transport pitch, there is a problem such as failure to sort by the sorting gate that transports and processes downstream in the transport direction. Since it is likely to occur, the conveyance abnormality is transmitted to the conveyance control unit 36.

  When the conveyance control unit 36 receives this conveyance abnormality, the conveyance control unit 36 conveys the paper sheet P along the conveyance path 21 by rotating the sorting gate G40 that distributes the conveyance direction of the paper sheet P. And collected in the reject ticket storage 34. Note that the rejected tickets accumulated in the rejected ticket stacking box 34 can be supplied again.

  The rejection ticket stacking device 33 stacks the paper sheets P removed by the paper sheet discriminating device 50, and includes a stacking impeller 33 </ b> A and a temporary stacking box 33 </ b> B and has been transported along the transport path 26. The collected paper sheet P is received by the accumulating impeller 33A and accumulated in the temporarily accumulating piece 33B.

  As a result of the discrimination by the paper sheet discriminating device 50, the correct bills are accumulated in the temporary accumulation boxes 30B and 31B of the accumulating device (accumulating means) 30; Is done. In addition, the classification of the correct bill and the damaged bill is determined by the paper sheet discriminating device 50 based on the degree of contamination of the conveyed paper sheet P. As a result of the determination, a level indicating the degree of contamination of the paper sheet P (this level is referred to as a normality level) is given.

  The sheet processing apparatus 1 can set a damage determination level for this damage level. For example, when the damage determination level is set to 5 in 10 stages, the conveyed sheet P If the damage level is 5 or more, it is determined as a correct ticket, and if it is less than 5, it is determined as a damaged ticket. Therefore, whether it is a correct ticket or a damaged ticket, all the paper sheets P included in it are assigned a correct level.

  In the stacking device 30 or 31, the paper sheets P are stacked in the temporary stacker 30 </ b> B or 31 </ b> B until the paper sheet P reaches a predetermined number (for example, 100 sheets) as a result of the determination by the paper sheet determination device 50. When the number of sheets P stacked in this way reaches 100 (100 sheets), the sheet P is delivered to a bundling device disposed below the stacking device 30 or 31. The bundling device 40 or 41 forms the bundle H by bundling the 100 sheets Ps with a band as a bundling band.

  The bundle H bundled in this way is bundled and conveyed by the conveyor 70 to the 10 bundle binding apparatus 80.

  The ten bundle binding device 80 stacks the small bundles H conveyed by the conveyor 70 until the ten bundles are formed, and further bundles every ten bundles to form a bundle (not shown).

  The bundle formed in this way is discharged out of the apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the passage detector. The passage detector S1 will be described as an example. The passage detector S1 includes a light emitter S1at, a light receiver S1ar, a pulse control driver unit 102, a rise time measuring unit 105, a transport control unit 36, and the like.

  The passage detector S1 includes passage detectors S1a and S1b arranged on the front side and the rear side intersecting the transport direction, and the passage detectors S1a and S1b are light emitters S1at and S1bt, respectively. And light receivers S1ar and S1br. The reason why the two papers are arranged on the front side and the back side is to prevent the passage of the paper sheet P from being undetectable when the paper sheet P as a medium is damaged.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the light emitter S1at and the light receiver S1ar constituting the passage detector S1a will be mainly described. Since the light emitter S1bt and the light receiver A1br constituting the passage detection S1b are the same as the passage detection S1a, description thereof is omitted.

  The light emitter S1at includes a light emitting element such as an LED and a lens. The light emitter S1at is connected to one of the variable resistors 101 for changing the current supplied to the light emitter S1at. The other terminal of the variable resistor 101 is connected to the terminal of the output of the driver 102 that controls the pulse lighting of this current value. An input terminal of the driver 102 is connected to the transport control unit 36.

  The conveyance control unit 36 outputs a pulse 103 that controls on / off of the light emitter S1at. The light emitter S1at is turned on when the pulse 103 is on (high level) and turned off when the pulse 103 is off (low level).

  The light receiver S1ar includes a light receiving element such as a photocell or a phototransistor and a lens. Since it is necessary to have sensitivity to the light emission wavelength of the light emitter S1at, the light emitter S1at is used as a pair. The output terminal of the light receiver S1ar is connected to the amplifier 104, and the light reception current output from the light receiver S1ar is converted into a voltage and output as a light receiver output S1oa.

  In the above configuration, for example, when a direct current is supplied to the light emitter S1at, the paper sheet P shown in FIG. 2 (2) is conveyed in the direction of the arrow A and passes between the passage detectors S1. The light receiver output S1oa is shown in FIG. The waveform of S1ob is also shown in FIG.

  This light receiver output has a high output level during light and a low output level during dark. Accordingly, the portion where the pattern is printed on the paper sheet P shows a lower output level than the portion where the pattern is not printed. As a result, it becomes as shown in FIGS. 2 (3) and (4). The elliptical shape at the center indicates a case where the output level is relatively high, for example, when a watermark is formed.

  The light receiver output S1oa is connected to the rise time measuring unit 105. When the light emitter S1at is pulsed in this state, a method for measuring the rise time of the light receiver output S1oa is described below.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method of measuring the rise time of the light receiver output S1or. The following operations are performed by switching to the adjustment mode using the mode switch of the operation display unit 2 described above. The adjustment mode is set, limit sheets are supplied to the supply unit 10, and the automatic adjustment through start switch is pressed. By this operation, the supplied limit paper sheets are taken out and conveyed at a low speed.

  FIG. 3A shows a state in which the paper sheet P as a medium is conveyed in the direction of the arrow A and reaches the passage detector S1a.

  FIG. 3B is an example of a pattern of the paper sheet P that is a medium, and portions detected by the passage detectors S1a and S1b are indicated by broken lines.

FIG. 3 (3) shows the light receiver output S1oa of the light receiver S1ar when the light detector S1at emits light in the passage detector S1a. When the light receiver output S1oa is compared with the output of the light receiver output S1oa at the check points Ck1, Ck2, and Ck3, the following equation (1) is erect.
Receiver output at Ck1 <receiver output at Ck2 <receiver output at Ck3 (1)

  FIG. 3 (4) shows a pulse waveform for pulse-lighting the passage detector S1a. The period of this pulse waveform is set from the measurement accuracy as a passage detector when the paper sheet P is transported in the transport direction. For example, if the measurement accuracy is 0.5 mm and the conveyance speed of the paper sheet P is 5 m / s, the pulse period T is 200 μs.

  FIG. 3 (5) is an enlarged view of FIG. 3 (4).

  FIG. 3 (6) shows an output waveform at the check location Ck1 when the passage detector S1a shown in FIG. 3 (5) is pulse-lit. At this time, the rising time Tr1 becomes long because the amount of light transmitted through the pattern is small.

  FIG. 3 (7) shows an output waveform at the check location Ck2 when the passage detector S1a shown in FIG. 3 (5) is pulse-lit. Since the rising time Tr2 at this time has no pattern, the amount of transmitted light is larger than the check location Ck1, and therefore the rising time Tr2 is shortened by Tr1.

FIG. 3 (8) shows an output waveform at the check point Ck3 when the passage detector S1a shown in FIG. 3 (5) is pulse-lit. Since the rising time Tr3 at this time is a watermark portion, the transmitted light amount is larger than the check location Ck2, and therefore the rising time Tr3 is shorter than Tr2. When Tr1, Tr2, and Tr3 are compared, the following equation (2) is erect.
Tr1>Tr2> Tr3 (2)

  As a result, when the quality of the paper sheet P is deteriorated, for example, when the amount of transmitted light of the paper sheet is increased, the rising time Tr is shortened as described above.

  From the above, at the time of adjustment, the rise time Tr of the limit paper sheet is measured, and by setting the rise time Tr to be within an allowable value, it is possible to prevent the defective detection of the damaged ticket by the passage detector. It becomes possible.

  Next, the allowable value of the rise time described in FIG. 3 (8) will be described with reference to FIG.

  4 (1) to FIG. 4 (5) are the same as FIG. 3 (1) to FIG. 3 (5), and the description thereof is omitted. FIG. 4 (6) shows an allowable value for the rise time Tr.

When the adjustment mode is set, when the allowable value for the rise time Trs of the limit paper sheet is Δt, it is confirmed that the rise time Tr of the paper sheet P at the check point falls in the following expression (3). In this case, the following formula (3) is applied to a place where the amount of transmitted light is the largest in the limit paper sheets.
Trs−Δt <Tr <Trs (3)

  FIG. 5 is performed by switching to the normal mode with the mode switch of the operation display unit 2 described above. It is a test chart Tc for setting the normal mode and confirming the operation of the passage detector.

  The test chart Tc can be used as a batch card, and is inserted at the beginning or end of a bundle of paper sheets to be processed and supplied to the paper sheet processing apparatus 1 at a time. In the test chart Tc supplied in this way, the barcode part Tcb has a function as a batch card, and the other part has a function as an operation check chart of the passage detector.

  In the function as a batch card, the barcode printed on the test chart Tc indicates attributes such as the ticket type, issue information, and denomination of the sheet bundle. Since the present invention is not an invention related to a batch card, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The test chart Tc includes a tip portion Tca / Tca printed with low transmittance, a center portion Tcc having a transmitted light amount corresponding to the rising time Trs of the limit paper sheet between these tip portions, and a barcode. It consists of a printed barcode portion Tcb. The numbers printed on the upper and lower portions of the barcode are numbers indicating the content of the barcode.

  FIG. 6 shows the light receiver output S1oa when detected by the light receiver S1ar when the light emitter S1at is lit in DC and passed through the test chart Tc shown in FIG.

  The light receiver output S1oa has three types of levels: a level Lv1 before being blocked by the test chart Tc, a level Lv2 when passing through the front / rear end portion Tca, and a level Lv3 when passing through Tcc. By detecting these levels by pulse lighting, the rising times of the passing levels Lv1, Lv2, and Lv3 are detected (FIGS. 6 (1) and (2)).

  Here, the rise time Tr of the level Lv3 when passing through Tcc shows the same value as the rise time Tr3 of the limit paper sheets described above (FIG. 6 (3)).

  Next, by using the test chart TC configured as described above as a batch card, a normal diagnosis method for passage detection arranged in the paper sheet processing apparatus will be described.

  First, the test chart Tc is inserted at the top of a bundle of paper sheets (for example, 1000 sheets) to be collectively processed and supplied to the supply unit 10. For the supplied paper sheet P, the test chart Tc inserted at the head is first taken out, and the bar code reader (not shown) provided in the paper sheet discriminating apparatus 50 reads the bar code Tcb, and this processing is performed. Paper sheet attributes are recognized. The test chart Tc is recognized by the paper sheet discriminating device 50 in the same manner as the paper sheet P. Since the recognition result is not the paper sheet P of the designated ticket type, it is accumulated in the reject accumulation box 33.

  When transported to the reject stacker 33, the Tcc passage rise time Tr is measured by the passage detectors arranged in the transport paths 20 to 26.

  This rise time Tr is sequentially performed and measured in all the passage detectors. If the measurement result is larger than the rise time Trs−Δt described above, it is determined that the passage detector is normal.

  On the other hand, if it is smaller than the rise time Trs−Δt, a diagnosis abnormality is notified. The operator of the paper sheet processing apparatus looks at the passage detector based on the notification result, performs normal abnormality processing such as confirmation or cleaning, cancels the abnormal state, and restarts the paper sheet processing apparatus. .

  As described above, according to the present invention, by performing a predetermined adjustment on the limit paper sheet when the passage detector is attached, by using the batch card as a test chart during the paper sheet processing, It is possible to provide a passage detector that can always measure the rise time and reliably detect paper sheets.

The schematic block diagram of the paper sheet processing apparatus carrying the passage detector which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The figure explaining operation | movement of a passage detector. The figure explaining the measuring method of the rise time of an optical receiver output. The figure explaining the allowable value of the rise time of the light receiver output explained in FIG. The test chart which concerns on the Example of this invention. The transmission detection output of the test chart which concerns on FIG.

Explanation of symbols

H bundle P Paper sheet S1a Passage detector S1at Light emitter S1ar Light receiver S1oa Light receiver output S1b Passage detector S1bt Light emitter S1br Light receiver 1 Paper sheet processing device 10 Supply unit 36 Transport control unit 50 Paper sheet discrimination device 101 Variable 102 Pulse control driver unit 103 Pulse 104 Amplifier 105 Rise time measurement unit

Claims (3)

A pair of passage detectors consisting of a light emitter and a light receiver for optically detecting a medium consisting of a batch card and paper sheets to be conveyed,
A light amount setting means for arbitrarily setting a light emission amount of the light emitter;
Pulse control means for pulsing the light emitter;
Rise time measuring means for measuring the rise time of the received light signal output from the light receiver;
Detecting means for detecting that the rising time measured by the rising time measuring means is included in a predetermined range;
With
The batch card is
The transmittance of the detection limit of the paper sheet,
The light amount setting means includes
In order to set the amount of light emitted from the light emitter, a limiting resistance value for restricting a current flowing through the light emitter is measured by the rise time measuring means when the batch card is detected by the passage detector. The passage detector is set so that the rising time is included in the predetermined range. When the adjustment mode for adjusting the passage detector using the medium and the normal mode for detecting the passage of the medium are switched by switching means provided outside,
The light amount setting means includes
In the adjustment mode, the limiting resistance value is set so that the rising time measured by the rising time measuring means is included in the predetermined range when the passage detector detects the batch card,
In the normal mode, holding the limiting resistance value set in the adjustment mode,
The passage detector is
The passage detector according to claim 1, wherein the medium is detected based on a light emission amount set by the light amount setting means. A supply unit that collectively supplies a plurality of sheets of paper sheets and a batch card inserted at the beginning of the paper sheets bundle;
A paper sheet discriminating means for discriminating the medium by taking out and transporting one sheet at a time from the uppermost medium of the medium supplied to the supply section to the transport path;
A transport control means for setting the transport destination of the medium based on the determination result by the paper sheet determination means;
Stacking means for stacking the medium, the transport destination of which is set by the transport control means,
An operation display unit having switching means for selectively switching between an adjustment mode for adjusting the passage detector by the medium and a normal mode for detecting the passage of the medium;
A paper sheet processing apparatus, wherein the passage detector according to claim 1 is disposed in the transport path.

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