JP2017215724A - Media identification device, automatic transaction machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a media identification device capable of accurately identifying a medium even when a conveyance path has a gap.SOLUTION: The media identification device includes: an imaging unit that picks up an image of a medium conveyed on a conveyance path; a magnetic detection part disposed at a position opposite to the imaging unit being interposed by the conveyance path; and a control unit that identifies the denomination of the medium based on a relationship between the size of the medium included in the pick-up image picked up by the imaging unit and the output value of the medium detected by the magnetic detection part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention detects features such as the shape / size, pattern, and material of a medium in identifying a medium to be handled, particularly a coin, etc., and identifies the authenticity or type of an object to be detected based on the detected information. The present invention relates to a medium identification device and an automatic transaction device.

  For example, a cash processing device that handles banknotes and coins installed inside an automated teller machine (ATM) installed in a financial institution, etc., withdraws cash that has been automatically deposited as the number of users increases. It is being replaced by a device with a circulation function that handles it as cash. As described above, the cash processing apparatus having the circulation function is used to identify the denomination of the cash deposited by the user, further determine the authenticity, and temporarily store it in each storage unit, in response to the user's request. The stored cash is withdrawn. As described above, with the increase in users, there is a tendency to demand an increase in the amount of cash handled by the cash processing apparatus and an improvement in the processing speed of cash handling.

  In order to satisfy the above requirements, a mechanism for quickly processing a large amount of cash is required. However, especially when the processing speed is increased, cash such as small coins with a circular shape will behave more during transportation. Since it becomes undefined, there is a tendency that the possibility of misidentification at the time of identification increases. In addition, due to factors such as dust, dirt and deformation adhering to the surface of coins, more and more advanced identification technology is required. In consideration of the above situation, it is necessary to improve the accuracy of the denomination identification and authenticity determination function, particularly in the coin processing machine.

  In general, a coin identification device detects features such as coin diameter, material, hole, serration, color, thickness, pattern, unevenness, etc. as identification elements based on magnetic or optical sensor output or a coin reading image. Then, based on these detection information, the denomination or authenticity is determined to identify the coin. The true / false determination of the coin is made, for example, based on whether or not the sensor output is within a predetermined normal coin determination range (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2012-083964 A

  In the coin identification device, a medium such as a coin is conveyed, optical and magnetic characteristics are detected, and authenticity or type is determined. In order to make the conveyance smooth, there is a conveyance path width that exceeds a certain level, and the medium is conveyed in the meantime. A mechanism for further stabilizing the medium position is provided between the conveyance paths. It is composed of a two-dimensional camera for optical feature detection, and is composed of magnetic sensors arranged in pairs above and below the transport path for magnetic feature detection so that the medium can be transported stably and judgment can be made more accurately. It is like this.

  In the case of such a configuration, the two-dimensional camera unit for detecting the optical feature has a certain conveyance path vertical width (gap). Even if a transport mechanism is arranged on the opposite side of the camera, there is no transport mechanism because it is a camera imaging area on the camera side. For this reason, there is a space in which the medium can freely move within the vertical width of the transport path, and it is unclear which vertical position the camera image of the medium transported for each transport. For this reason, even if the same medium is imaged by the camera, the size of the captured image differs depending on the distance between the camera and the medium. This is the influence of magnification due to the camera and medium distance. As a result, even if the same medium is used, it is difficult to determine the same size, and it is difficult to determine the medium using only the camera image. In addition, a magnetic sensor for detecting magnetic characteristics is separately arranged and the medium is determined by its output, and the camera determines the medium by the pattern of the medium. The time was also long. In the above Patent Document 1, these points are not taken into consideration, and the medium cannot always be determined with high accuracy.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a coin identifying device and an automatic transaction device capable of accurately identifying a medium even when a gap exists in a conveyance path.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a medium identification device according to the present invention includes an imaging unit that images a medium conveyed on a conveyance path, and a position that faces the imaging unit across the conveyance path. And a gold detector of the medium based on a correlation between a magnetic detection unit provided in the image sensor, a size of the medium included in a captured image captured by the imaging unit, and an output value of the medium detected by the magnetic detection unit. And a control unit for identifying the seed.
Moreover, this invention is grasped | ascertained also as an automatic transaction apparatus provided with the said medium identification apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately identify a medium even when a gap is present in the transport path.

It is the partial block diagram which looked at the internal structure of the coin identification device provided in the inside of ATM from the side. It is a figure explaining the change of the optical characteristic in the positional relationship of a camera and a medium. It is a figure explaining the change of the magnetic feature in the positional relationship of a magnetic sensor and a medium. It is a figure which shows the example of the magnetic sensor output value corresponding | compatible table which memorize | stored the relationship between the output value of a magnetic sensor in each type of medium, and distance. It is a figure which shows the example of the captured image corresponding | compatible table which memorize | stored the relationship between the captured image and distance of the camera in each kind of medium. It is the graph which plotted each value of the magnetic sensor output value correspondence table shown in FIG. 6 is a graph plotting each value of the captured image correspondence table shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 8 is a diagram conceptually showing each measured value shown in FIGS. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the medium identification process in a coin identification device.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, the medium identification apparatus according to the present invention is used inside an automatic transaction apparatus such as an ATM (Automated Teller Machine) installed in a financial institution such as a bank, and also handles coins such as a settlement machine and a ticket vending machine. Although the case where it is incorporated in various devices and applied to a coin identification device has been described, other media of the same type as coins can be considered in the same manner.

  FIG. 1 is a partial configuration diagram of an internal structure of a coin identifying device 100 provided inside an ATM as viewed from the side. The coin identifying apparatus 100 includes a camera 101 for detecting optical features and magnetic sensors 103 and 104 for detecting magnetic features. The magnetic sensor 103 is a sensor provided above the transport path T, and the magnetic sensor 104 is a sensor provided below the transport path T.

  Moreover, the conveyance vertical width B is provided so that it may become larger than the width | variety of the thickness of the coin 201 so that the coin 201 can be smoothly conveyed in the coin identification device 100. Further, on the opposite side across the conveyance path T with the camera 101 provided above the conveyance path T, a driving unit is configured by the conveyance belt 301 using rollers 302, 303, and 304. The drive unit rotates these rollers to convey the medium 201 such as a coin in the A direction. In order to further stabilize the conveyance of the medium 201, a roller 309 is provided above the conveyance path T, and a conveyance belt 306 and rollers 307 and 308 are configured on the magnetic sensor 103 side. Further, the magnetic sensor 102 is disposed at a position opposite to the camera 101 and facing the conveyance path (lower side in the present example because the camera is disposed on the upper side). With this configuration, the output of the camera 101 and the output of the magnetic sensor 102 at the same position can be obtained, and the correlation between the respective output values is taken to accurately determine the medium. The determination is performed by, for example, a control unit (not shown) such as a controller that controls the coin identifying device 100. Although specifically described later, the denomination of the medium 201 is determined based on the correlation between the size of the medium 201 included in the captured image captured by the camera 101 and the output value of the medium 201 detected by the magnetic sensor 102. To identify.

  Next, changes in optical characteristics in the positional relationship between the camera and the medium will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2A, when the conveyed medium 201 is imaged at a distance from the camera 101, the captured image of the camera 201 becomes small. Conversely, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the conveyed medium 201 is imaged near the camera 101, the captured image of the camera 201 becomes large. That is, as shown in FIG. 2C, the size of the captured image captured by the camera 101 is proportional to the distance between the conveyed medium 201 and the camera 101. This is because a close object appears large and a distant object appears small due to the magnification ratio of the lens configured inside the camera. In FIG. 2C, with reference to the position t on the near side of the conveyance path in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the closer to the position t (that is, farther from the camera 101), the measurement in the camera image. In contrast to this, it is shown that the measured value in the camera image increases as the position is farther from the position t (that is, closer to the camera 101).

  Next, changes in magnetic characteristics in the positional relationship between the magnetic sensor and the medium will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3A, when the conveyed medium 201 is close to the magnetic sensor 102, the output of the magnetic sensor 102 becomes large. On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the conveyed medium 201 is far from the magnetic sensor 102, the output of the magnetic sensor is small. That is, as shown in FIG. 3C, the output of the magnetic sensor 102 has a proportional relationship with the distance between the conveyed medium 201 and the magnetic sensor 102. In FIG. 3C, the position t on the front side of the conveyance path in FIGS. 3A and 3B and the magnetic sensor 102 side is close to the position t (that is, from the magnetic sensor 102). It shows that the output measurement value of the magnetic sensor is larger as it is closer, and conversely, the output measurement value of the magnetic sensor is smaller as it is farther from the position t (that is, farther from the magnetic sensor 102).

  Thus, the same position with respect to the conveyance direction of the medium 201 In this example, the camera 101 and the magnetic sensor 102 are arranged on the upper and lower sides of the conveyance path), so that the medium 201 is closer to the magnetic sensor 102. When transported, the output of the magnetic sensor 102 increases while the image of the camera 101 decreases. On the other hand, when the medium 201 is transported on the side close to the camera 101, the output of the magnetic sensor 102 is reduced while the image of the camera 101 is enlarged. That is, since the correlation is obtained by looking at the outputs of the camera 101 and the magnetic sensor 102 provided at the same position in the transport direction, the medium position and the medium can be specified.

  Note that the output changes of the camera output at the distance between the medium 201 and the camera 101 and the magnetic sensor output at the distance between the medium 201 and the magnetic sensor 102 are different depending on the medium to be judged. As described above, it is desirable to have the values measured in advance for each type of medium as a table.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a magnetic sensor output value correspondence table storing the relationship between the output value of the magnetic sensor and the distance in each type of medium. As shown in FIG. 4, in the magnetic sensor output value correspondence table, the actual magnetic sensor output value is taken for each row, the medium type (in this example, denomination) is taken for each column, The distance between the magnetic sensor and the medium in the output value of the magnetic sensor is recorded. In FIG. 4, for example, it is assumed that a medium of a denomination is transported and the magnetic sensor 102 outputs 0.4 v as an output value. As shown in FIG. 4, when the medium is one circle, the output value that the magnetic sensor 102 can take is in the range of 0.08 to 0.32v, and thus the output value cannot be 0.4v. . That is, it can be determined that the medium is not 1 yen.

  Similarly, when the medium is 50 yen, the output value that the magnetic sensor 102 can take is in the range of 0.16 to 0.57 v. When the output value is 0.4 v, the distance from the magnetic sensor 102 is It turns out that it is 0.58 mm. Similarly for 5 yen, 100 yen, 10 yen, and 500 yen, the output values that the magnetic sensor 102 can take in the case of each denomination are in the range of 0.12 to 0.43 v, 0.18 to 0. 0, respectively. The range is 61v, the range is 0.11 to 0.44v, and the range is 0.2 to 0.7v. Therefore, when the output value is 0.4 v, the distance from the magnetic sensor 102 is 0.14 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.17 mm, and 0.84 mm, respectively.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a captured image correspondence table storing a relationship between a captured image of a camera and a distance in each type of medium. As shown in FIG. 5, in the captured image correspondence table, the size of the medium 201 in the captured image is taken in each row, the type of medium (denomination in this example) is taken in each column, and each item is devoted to each denomination. The distance between the camera and the medium included in the captured image of the camera is recorded. In FIG. 5, for example, it is assumed that a medium of a denomination is transported and the camera 101 outputs a captured image obtained by capturing a 23 mm medium. As shown in FIG. 5, when the medium is one circle, the range of the size of the medium included in the captured image of the camera 101 is 20 mm to 21.3 mm. Therefore, the size can be 23 mm. Absent. That is, it can be determined that the medium is not 1 yen.

  Similarly, when the medium is 50 yen, the range of the size of the medium included in the captured image of the camera 101 is 21 to 22.3 mm. As in the case of 1 circle, the above size is 23 mm. It cannot be determined that the medium is not 50 yen. Similarly for 5 yen, 100 yen, 10 yen, and 500 yen, the range of the size of the medium included in the captured image of the camera 101 for each denomination is 22 to 23.3 mm, 22.6 to 23.7 mm, 23.5 to 24.8, and 26.5 to 28.1. Therefore, when the size is 23 mm, the distance to the camera 101 is 1.2 mm, 0.6 mm, − (out of range), and − (out of range), respectively.

  In the above case, candidates for the distance between the magnetic sensor 102 and the medium 201 corresponding to the output value of the magnetic sensor 102 (in FIG. 4, 5 yen: 0.14 mm, 10 yen: 0.17 mm, 50 yen: 0.58 mm, 100 yen: 0.7 mm, 500 yen: 0.84 mm) and distance candidates between the camera 101 and the medium 201 corresponding to the size of the medium included in the captured image of the camera 101 (5 yen in FIG. 5: 1 .2 mm, 100 yen: 0.6 mm), the denomination whose value is required for both the output value of the magnetic sensor 102 and the size of the medium included in the captured image of the camera 101 is 5 yen, It turns out that it is 100 yen. And when the difference between the two is calculated (for example, 0.14 mm and 1.2 mm for 5 yen, 0.7 mm and 0.6 mm for 100 yen), the difference is smaller for 100 yen. Therefore, it can be seen that the denomination of the conveyed medium 201 has the highest probability of 100 yen. That is, it can be determined that the denomination of the conveyed medium 201 is 100 yen by the above method.

  FIG. 6 is a graph in which each value of the magnetic sensor output value correspondence table shown in FIG. 4 is plotted. As shown in FIG. 6, it can be seen that, in any denomination, the output value decreases as the distance from the magnetic sensor 102 to the medium 201 increases.

  FIG. 7 is a graph in which each value of the captured image correspondence table shown in FIG. 5 is plotted. As shown in FIG. 7, it can be seen that the size of the medium 201 becomes smaller as the distance from the camera 101 to the medium 201 becomes longer in any denomination. In FIG. 7, in order to use the same reference as FIG. 6, as in the case of FIG. 2C, the position t on the front side of the conveyance path in FIGS. 2A and 2B is used as the reference. The closer to (that is, farther from the camera 101) the smaller the size of the medium 201 in the camera image, and conversely, the farther to the position t (that is, closer to the camera 101), the smaller the medium in the camera image. The horizontal axis is determined so that the size of 201 becomes large.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram conceptually showing the measured values shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 8, for example, when a certain medium 201 is conveyed and the output value of the magnetic sensor 102 is “a”, in the case of the medium 1, the distance between the magnetic sensor 102 and the medium 201 is the distance A. . Similarly, in the case of the medium 2, the distance is the distance B, and in the case of the medium 3, the distance is the distance C. On the other hand, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 8, for example, when a certain medium 201 is conveyed and the size of the medium 201 in the captured image of the camera 101 is “b”, in the case of the medium 1, The distance is distance D. Similarly, in the case of the medium 2, the distance is the distance E and does not correspond to the medium 3. When the distances A, B, and C between the candidate magnetic sensor 102 and the medium 201 are compared with the distances D and E between the candidate camera 101 and the medium 201, the magnetic sensor 102 and the medium 201 in the medium 2 are compared. It can be seen that the distance B between the camera 101 and the medium 201 in the medium 2 is the shortest. Therefore, it is possible to determine that the medium 201 that has been conveyed is the medium 2.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of medium identification processing in the coin identification device 100. As shown in FIG. 9, in the coin identifying device 100, the magnetic sensor 102 and the camera 101 detect the medium 201, and acquire an output value (step S901). The output value is the measured value of the magnetic sensor and the size of the medium 201 in the captured image.

  The coin discriminating apparatus 100 refers to the magnetic sensor output value correspondence table shown in FIG. 4, reads the medium position corresponding to the output value of the magnetic sensor 102 (step S902), and refers to the captured image correspondence table shown in FIG. Then, the medium position corresponding to the size of the medium 201 included in the captured image of the camera 101 is read (step S903).

  The coin discriminating apparatus 100 determines a denomination whose both medium positions are within a certain range (step S904). The above-mentioned fixed range is, for example, the denominations of the medium 1 and the medium 2 in which both the distance between the magnetic sensor 102 and the medium 201 and the distance between the camera 101 and the medium 201 are output in FIG. .

  The coin discriminating apparatus 100 discriminates the denomination having the closest medium position among the denominations within the certain range as the denomination of the medium 201 (step S905). For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the medium 2 is identified by determining the denomination of the medium 2 as the denomination of the medium 201.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the camera and the magnetic sensor are arranged at the same position in the transport direction, and the measured value of the detected medium and the captured image of the medium are output and the correlation between them is obtained. The medium passing position is specified, and the medium is accurately discriminated. Therefore, it is possible to provide a medium identification device and a coin identification device that keeps a high identification function and minimizes misidentification during identification.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Coin identification apparatus, 101 ... Camera, 102 ... Magnetic sensor 1, 103 ... Above magnetic sensor, 104 ... Under magnetic sensor, 201 ... Medium, 301 ... Under conveyance belt, 302 ... Roller 1, 303 ... Roller 2, 304 ... Rollers 3, 306 ... on the conveyor belt, 307 ... rollers 4, 308 ... rollers 5, 309 ... rollers, T ... conveyance path.

Claims (3)

An imaging unit for imaging a medium conveyed on the conveyance path;
A magnetic detection unit provided at a position facing the imaging unit across the conveyance path;
A control unit for identifying the denomination of the medium based on the correlation between the size of the medium included in the captured image captured by the imaging unit and the output value of the medium detected by the magnetic detection unit;
A medium identification device comprising: The control unit is stored in advance for each denomination of the medium, and a captured image correspondence table that associates the size of the medium included in the captured image captured by the imaging unit with the distance from the imaging unit, Based on the magnetic detection unit output value correspondence table in which the output value of the medium detected by the magnetic detection unit is associated with the distance between the magnetic detection unit, the correlation is determined, and the denomination of the medium is determined. Identify,
The medium identification device according to claim 1, wherein:   An automatic transaction apparatus comprising the medium identification device according to claim 1.

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