JP2545278B2 - Coin inspection device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coin inspection device that corrects data when determining the authenticity and type of coins to be inserted in vending machines, public telephones and the like. Is.

[Prior Art] This type of inspection device detects physical characteristics such as the thickness and outer diameter of a coin as an electric signal by a detector, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-14798. The upper limit value and the lower limit value corresponding to the detection output of each physical property are stored in the memory, and the upper limit value and the lower limit value are compared with the detection output of the detector to determine the authenticity and type of coins. There is.

However, this method requires a read process from the memory corresponding to the type of coin and the type of physical property to be targeted, and the upper limit value and the lower limit value of these, and the same number of comparison processes is required, which enables high-speed determination. Cannot be performed, the power consumption of the power source becomes large, the program becomes complicated to perform these processes by the processor, the time margin allocated to other control processes, etc. is reduced, and high-speed determination is impossible. Therefore, there has been a problem that the time interval of the determination process has to be increased, which causes restrictions on the time interval for continuous insertion of coins and restrictions on the design of the coin passage.

In order to solve this problem, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-262292, a signal indicating whether or not the physical characteristics of coins are allowed is sent to a bit position corresponding to the type of coin for each address of the memory. Stored, the physical characteristics of the coin are detected by the detector as an electric signal, the detected output is converted to a digital signal by the analog / digital exchanger, and the read address of the memory is designated by this.
It has been proposed to use the content of the memory corresponding to this as a signal indicating whether or not a coin is accepted.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, such a conventional method complicates the correction circuit because the sensor output must be corrected with respect to environmental changes and the correction with time must be performed. Will end up. Moreover, since the initial setting must be performed for each setting location, there is a problem that the workability of adjustment is poor.

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to solve such a problem, the first invention uses the first reference data composed of the reference average value and the standard deviation for the physical characteristics corresponding to the detection parameter of the true coin, to the maximum. The maximum / minimum value calculating means for obtaining the value and the minimum value, the authenticity judging means for judging the authenticity of the inserted coin based on the maximum value and the minimum value, and the data on the genuine coins obtained by the judgment Using the data accumulation means for accumulating, the average value obtained from the data on the true coins accumulated in the data accumulation means when the predetermined measurement parameter reaches a certain value, and the reference average value of the first reference data, Average value calculating means for calculating a new average value of the true coins to be inspected, and the corrected maximum value of the true coins to be inspected next using the newly obtained average value and the standard deviation of the first reference data. And fix It is obtained by a maximum and minimum value correcting means for determining a small value.

In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the first reference data is previously stored in a memory as initial determination data.

A third invention is characterized in that in the first invention, the average value of the first reference data is data stored in the memory updated by a new average value of the true coins to be inspected next.

In a fourth aspect based on the first aspect, when a new average value of the true coins to be inspected next is calculated as the standard deviation of the first reference data, a new value is obtained based on the data accumulated in the data accumulating means. The standard deviation calculating means for calculating the value of the standard deviation is provided, and the maximum / minimum value correcting means is the maximum / minimum value updating means for determining the update maximum value and update minimum value from the new average value and the new standard deviation. It is equipped with.

In a fifth aspect based on the fourth aspect, the standard deviation calculating means calculates a new standard deviation every time the measurement parameter becomes an integral multiple of a fixed position.

A sixth aspect of the invention is the method of the first aspect of the invention, in which the corrected maximum value and the corrected minimum value are respectively added with the determined bias addresses to obtain the maximum value address and the minimum value address, and all the addresses between the two addresses are calculated in advance. It is provided with a judgment data creating means for creating a judgment table by setting the bit logic of the defined bit position to the allowable bit.

In a seventh aspect based on the sixth aspect, the determination data creating means obtains a maximum value address and a minimum value address from each maximum value and minimum value corresponding to the type of coins that can be used, and corresponds to the type of coin. The determination data table is created by setting the allowable bit for each bit position.

In an eighth aspect based on the sixth aspect, the determination data creating means creates a determination data table for each physical characteristic by adding different bias addresses to respective maximum and minimum values corresponding to a plurality of physical characteristics of coins. To do.

[Operation] Initially, determination data is created based on the data read from the fixed memory, the coin is determined based on the data, and the maximum value and the minimum value corresponding to the physical characteristics of the coin are obtained. The value is updated each time the storage reaches a predetermined number or the usage time reaches a predetermined time, and the standard deviation is updated when the update is performed a predetermined number of times.

[Embodiment] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this apparatus. Oscillation coils L ₁ and L ₂ and reception coils L ₃ and L ₄ are arranged to face each other through a coin passage 1, and the oscillation coil L is arranged. _1, the L ₂ oscillation circuit 2
Are connected and oscillate at a predetermined frequency by these, and the magnetic fields from the oscillating coils L ₁ and L ₂ based on this are received by the receiving coils L ₃ and L ₄ .
Detectors 3a and 3b including a light emitting element and a light receiving element are provided on the side of the coin insertion opening of the passage 1 to detect coin insertion and give a start command to each part.

The receiving coils L ₃ and L ₄ are respectively connected to the inputs of the amplifiers 4 and 5, and the respective inputs of the oscillation circuit 2 and the amplifiers 4 and 5 are respectively detected by the detection circuits 6 to 8 and selected by the multiplexer 9 to select A / It is given to the D converter 10. This is adapted to be individually and sequentially converted into, for example, an 8-bit digital signal, and this output is given to the CPU 11.

Therefore, when the coin inserted into the passage 1 rolls and passes, the outputs of the oscillation circuit 2 and the amplifiers 4 and 5 change according to the material, thickness, and outer diameter of the coin, and the detection circuit accordingly. The outputs of 6 to 8 also change, and among the signals output through the A / D converter 10, the CPU 11 determines the peak value of the one corresponding to the detection circuit 6, and the data indicating the material of the coin is thereby obtained. A value indicating the thickness of the coin is obtained by similarly determining the peak value of the one corresponding to the detection circuit 7, and the output of both the detection circuits 7 and 8 and the change status of the corresponding one intersect with each other. Similarly, the data indicating the outer diameter of the coin can be obtained.

The details of the detection of each physical property are described in "Coin sorting device" (Japanese Patent Application No. 59-76620) filed by the applicant separately.
No.) for details. Also, the multiplexer 9
Is also provided with the detection output of the temperature sensor 12 provided in the vicinity of the coils L _{1 to} L ₄ , as required, and each input of the multiplexer 9 is sequentially and repeatedly selected according to the selection signal SEL from the CPU 11. , Is given to the CPU 11 via the A / D converter 10, and the CPU 11 also has an input / output interface 1
3 and the ROM 14 are connected via the same data bus 15, and the denomination signals C1 to C4 indicating the discrimination result of coins are transmitted via the interface 13, while the contents of the ROM 14 are transmitted via the address bus 16 to the CPU 11 Are read out by an addressing signal given from.

However, while the ROM 14 also stores a signal indicating whether or not the physical characteristics of coins are allowed, along with the program,
RAM 17 backed up by battery 18 is provided separately, C
The PU 11 executes a program in the ROM 14 and performs a predetermined operation described later while accessing necessary data to the RAM 17.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of contents of the denomination data area provided in the RAM 17 together with an example of contents of the ROM 14, and in this case, the addresses 800 to 8FF in the ROM 14 are set to the material block 21 and the similar addresses 900 to 9FF. Thickness block 22, address A00-A
The FF and outer diameter block 23, the bit B ₇ .about.B ₀ for each address
In each in correspondence with the coin type A~C the position of bit B ₇ .about.B _5, and stores the signal of a specific logic value "0" in response to the address indicated by the detected data for each physical property, each A signal of "0" is also stored in the address range indicated by the detection data according to the allowable deviation of the physical characteristics.

Even if the types A to C of the coins are different in the blocks 21 and 22, the data of the material and the thickness partially overlap due to the allowable deviation. Therefore, the signal of "0" is also the same, and the block 23 is the same. Since the outer diameter permissible deviations are the same for coin types A, B, and C, the signal of "0" is also the same.

Therefore, from the output data of the A / D converter 10 corresponding to each detection output of each coil L ₁ to L ₄ used as a detector, the read address of the block 21 is specified by the data indicating the material obtained by the CPU 11, and the same. If the read address of the block 23 is specified by the data indicating the same outer diameter, the contents corresponding to this will be read in the ROM1.
It is sent from 4 to the CPU 11.

If the output of the A / D converter 10 is 8 bits,
Since the lower two digits of the address number 800 to AFF are specified, the highest digit 8,9, A is the CPU depending on the blocks 21 to 23 that should be specified.
In addition to adding a predetermined number, 11 is sequentially sent out via the address bus 16.

That is, the material data is D5 (“1101, 0101”), the thickness data is 9E (“1001, 1110”), and the outer diameter data is E7.
(“1110-0111”), 8D5 for block 21,
99E for block 22 and AE7 for block 23, and these contents "01011111",
Since "00111111" and "00111111" are sequentially read out, the contents of the denomination data area 24 are all cleared to "0", and the logical match between the contents and the contents from the block 21 is obtained by logical OR. Stored in the denomination data area 24 after updating, and then the same logical sum is obtained for the contents from the block 22 and similarly stored in the denomination data area 24. When the logical sum is obtained and then stored in the denomination data area 24 in the same manner, the contents of each of the blocks 21 to 23 are all bit B ₇ “0” in the above example. B ₇ becomes “0”, which indicates that each physical property is acceptable as the coin type A.

For this reason, the denomination signals C _{1 to} C ₄ are passed through a decoder or the like.
If it is sent as, it is possible to indicate which kind of coin is immediately inserted.

If the addressing of the block 22 is different and the content "10111111" shown in () is read,
The contents of the gold denomination data area 24 becomes "11111111",
Since "0" disappears, it indicates that the coin is an illegal coin and should not be allowed.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the above operation by the CPU 11. Following the start, in step 100, the backup state of the RAM 17 is confirmed, and it is checked by this time whether the backup power supply has been cut off. This is determined by, for example, writing a keyword in the RAM and reading the keyword correctly when it starts. When step 100 is determined to be "YES", there is a high possibility that the determination data has been destroyed, so among the coins inserted as shown in step 101,
Data addition memory (Σx2) for coins determined to be genuine coins
0, Σx100), square addition memory (Σx ^2), the number memory (n
20, n100) is cleared. Then, in step 102
The average value and the standard deviation σ, which are the data relating to the true coin, are read from the ROM 14, and the read data are stored in the RAM 18 in step 103. Then, using the read data and σ, the RAM determination data is created as shown in step 104, that is, the maximum value and the minimum value are obtained by ± 3σ, and the determination data is set. Note that step 104 is the second
It is processed by the subroutine shown in the figure, and the operation of the subroutine will be described when the description of FIG. 1 is completed.

When the RAM determination data is created in step 104, the coin insertion is determined in step 105, and then step 1
In 06, the data (material, diameter, thickness) of the inserted coin is measured, and it is judged from the judgment result whether or not it is a genuine coin, as shown in step 107. If it is determined to be a true coin here, step
In step 108, the true coin is accumulated, in step 109, the data is added to the addition memory (Σx20, Σx100), and the square value of the measurement data is added to the square addition memory {Σx ² , Σ (x100) ² }. In addition, 1 is added to each of the number memory (n20, n100).

Next, at step 110, it is determined whether or not 100 coins have been inserted, but at this point it has not yet reached 100, so that step is determined as "NO". Then, when 20 coins are inserted, it is determined that step 111 is “YES”, and as shown in step 112, the addition memory Σx until then is added.
The average value of 20 is calculated from 20 and the number of sheets memory n20, and step 113
As shown in, the new average value is calculated from the average value data stored in RAM14 and the average value 20 for 20 specie coins previously obtained.
seeking _a, keep updated to the newly obtained _a mean value of the RAM17 as shown in step 114. And step
As shown in 115, the judgment data _a ± 3σ is calculated by the RAM judgment data, that is, the newly calculated average value _a and the RMO 14, and the standard deviation σ stored in the RAM 17 is calculated by the subroutine shown in FIG. Create a data table. This shifts the range of specie coins to a range that fits the specie coins thrown in, but here the width does not change. After this processing is completed, the number memory n20 and the average value memory Σx20 are cleared as shown in step 116, and the flow returns to step 105.

When more coins are inserted and 100 genuine coins are inserted, step 110 is determined to be "YES", the average value 100 is obtained from the data in the addition memory Σx100 and the number memory n100 as shown in step 118, and step 119 As shown in, a new standard deviation σ _a is obtained from the respective data of the square addition memory Σx ² , the addition memory Σx100, and the number-of-images memory n100. In order to prevent erroneous selection, this value is limited within a certain range, for example, between 1 and 5, as shown in steps 120 to 123. Then, as shown in step 124, the standard deviation and average value of the RAM 17 are set to the new values obtained in steps 118 and 119, and the RAM determination data, that is, _a ± 3σ _a, is obtained using the new data as shown in step 125,
A new judgment data table is created by the subroutine shown in FIG. Thereafter, coin memory n100, as shown in step 126, the addition memories Shigumaekkusu100, after having cleared the square sum memory? X ^2, n20 as shown in step 116, after clearing the Shigumaekkusu20, the flow returns to step 105.

FIG. 2 is a subroutine for creating the RAM judgment data in steps 104, 115 and 125. In step 150, the maximum + 3σ and the minimum value −3σ are calculated, and step 151
Store the calculated maximum and minimum values in RAM.
Then, in step 152, a RAM determination data table is created from the maximum value and the minimum value. This step 152 is processed by a subroutine as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for creating the RAM judgment table shown in blocks 21 to 23 on the left side of FIG. 5, and in step 200, the minimum value plus the bias address is set as the minimum setting table address. . As described above, the bias address is, for example, the highest digit 8 in the case of block 21 in FIG.
It is 9 and A in 2 and 23.

Similarly, in step 201, the maximum value plus the bias address is set as the maximum setting table address. After that, in step 202, the coin type bit position is set, for example, the position of bits 5, 6, 5 in FIG. 5, that is, one of the bits of coins A, B, C is designated. Then, in step 203, the determination data table address is set to the address 800 in the case of block 21, for example.

In step 204, the judgment data table address at that time is larger than the minimum data table address,
It is determined whether it is smaller than the maximum setting table address. This is to determine the address range permitted as the true coin data. If it is determined to be "NO" here, it is not the true coin range, and therefore the target bit of the determination data table address is set to "1" as shown in step 206. Set to. For example, since the address 800 of block 21, the address 900 of block 22 and the address A00 of block 23 in FIG. 5 are not all in the true coin range, data "1" is written in all of bits 5-7. However, since the address described is the table start address, for example, if the corresponding bit is the position of bit 7 at address 800, only the bit at that position is set to "1".

Next, as shown in step 207, a value obtained by adding 1 to the judgment data table address is set as a new judgment data table address, and it is judged in step 208 whether or not the new judgment data table address is the table end. Then, since it is the address obtained by adding 1 to the table start address, it is not the table end yet, and step 208 is judged as "NO", and the flow returns to step 204. Then, the determination of step 204 is performed and the same processing as described above is performed, but when the determination of step 204 is “YES”, the target bit of the determination data table address is set to “0” as shown in step 205. To do. For example, in the bit 7 of the block 21, the address "801" is the address "0" written in this way. By repeating the steps 204 to 208 in this manner, the judgment data table address end, for example, the address 8FF in the case of the block 21 is eventually reached. At this point, step 208 is determined to be "YES", so the flow proceeds to step 209 to determine whether or not the processing has been completed for all coin types. At this point, processing for one type of coin is still performed. For example, since only the process for block 21 has been completed, the flow returns to step 200, and the same process as described above is performed.
Data writing for 22 is performed. When the processing proceeds in this way, the processing for all coin types will end sooner, so that step 209 is determined as "YES" and the processing of this subroutine is completed, so the flow is the step of FIG.
Returning to 152, the subroutine of FIG. 2 is also ended here. Therefore, at this point, the process returns to any one of steps 104, 115 and 125 in FIG. 1 in which an interrupt to the subroutine of FIG. 2 occurs.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a change in the true coin range when processed by this method, and FIG.
Figure (b) shows when the number of coins judged to be genuine coins becomes 20, (c) when the number of genuine coins increases by 20 from that state to a total of 40, and (d) shows the total When the number reaches 60, (e) becomes 80, and (f) becomes 100.
It shows the characteristics when it becomes a coin, and the symbols "a" and "b" in (d) and (e) are the returned coins. Note that the number of genuine coins has nothing to do with the number of passages, and is simply determined by the total number of genuine coins.

RAM judgment data is created in steps 104, 115, and 125. This is divided into a material block 21, a thickness block 22, and an outer diameter block 23 as shown in FIG. Has been. For this reason, each bias address is added to the data obtained in steps 104, 115, and 125 and stored in a predetermined address section.

In the embodiment, the fixed number is 20 and the fixed number is an integral multiple of 5, but the number is not limited to this number. For example, the integral multiple does not necessarily have to be an integral multiple such as 5.3. The variation range is 3σ, but 4
It may be σ. Further, since the coins are not limited to coins, any coins may be used, and the fixed number may be a fixed number or a fixed number of times of use, or may be a fixed time, and may be appropriately used. The average value and the standard deviation may be updated every fixed number of sheets, and this method may be applied to the upper limit value and lower limit value method (Mars method) other than the determination table method.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the judgment data is adapted to the data of the inserted coins every time the number of coins becomes the predetermined number or the usage time of the device becomes the predetermined time. In particular, it has an effect of being able to automatically follow the secular change of the sorting track and the sensor, the secular change of the coin, and the secular change of the sensor circuit.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are flowcharts of subroutines thereof, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a data table, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the determination data of the true coin changes. 1 ... coin passage, 2 ... oscillation circuit, 4,5 ... amplifier, 6
~ 8 ... Oscillation circuit, 9 ... Multiplexer, 11 ... CP
U, 12 …… Temperature sensor, 14 …… ROM, 17 …… RAM, 21 ……
Material block, 22 …… Thickness block, 23 …… Outer diameter block, 24 …… Metal grade data area, L ₁ , L ₂ … Oscillation coil (oscillator), L ₃ , L ₄ … Reception coil, (Detection vessel).

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A coin used has one of its physical characteristics, which is a detection parameter. After detecting an electric signal, the electric signal is converted into digital data to obtain a physical characteristic corresponding to the detection parameter of the coin. In a coin inspection device for determining authenticity and type, the maximum and minimum values for obtaining the maximum value and the minimum value from the first reference data consisting of the reference average value and the standard deviation for the physical characteristics corresponding to the detection parameter of the true coin Calculation means (step
104), an authenticity determination means (step 107) for determining the authenticity of the inserted coin based on the maximum value and the minimum value, and data relating to the genuine coin determined to be a genuine coin by the authenticity determination means. Data storage means (step
109), and when a predetermined measurement parameter is counted and the count result reaches a certain value, an average value is obtained from the data relating to the true coins accumulated in the data accumulating means, and the average value and the reference average of the first reference data. Average value calculation means for calculating a new average value of the true coins to be inspected next by using the values and (step 113)
And a maximum value / minimum value correction means for determining the corrected maximum value and corrected minimum value of the true coin to be inspected next by using the newly obtained average value and the standard deviation of the first reference data (step
115) and setting means (step 116) for clearing the predetermined measurement parameter value and clearing the data storage means after the correction maximum value and the correction minimum value are determined by the maximum value / minimum value correction means. A coin inspection device. 2. The coin inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the first reference data is data stored in a memory in advance as initial enactment data. 3. The coin inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the average value of the first reference data is the data updated by the new average value of the true coins to be inspected next and stored in the memory. Characteristic coin inspection device. 4. The coin inspection device according to claim 1, wherein when a new average value of the true coins to be inspected next is calculated as the standard deviation of the first reference data, the data accumulated in the data accumulating means. The standard deviation calculation means for calculating a new standard deviation value based on the above, and the maximum value / minimum value correction means are the maximum value / maximum value for determining the update maximum value and update minimum value from the new average value and the new standard deviation. A coin inspection device comprising minimum value updating means. 5. The coin inspection device according to claim 4, wherein the standard deviation calculation means calculates a new standard deviation each time the measurement parameter becomes an integral multiple of a constant value. 6. The coin inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the maximum and minimum addresses are found by adding the determined bias addresses to the obtained corrected maximum and corrected minimum values, respectively, and all of the addresses between the two are obtained. The coin inspection device is provided with a judgment data creating means for creating a judgment table by setting the bit logic at a predetermined bit position of the address of 1. to an allowable bit. 7. The coin inspection device according to claim 6, wherein the determination data creating means obtains a maximum value address and a minimum value address from each maximum value and minimum value corresponding to the type of usable coin, and determines the coin value. A coin inspection device, wherein an allowable bit is set for each bit position corresponding to a type to create a determination table. 8. The coin inspection device according to claim 6, wherein the determination data creating means adds a different bias address to each maximum value and minimum value corresponding to a plurality of physical characteristics of the coin to determine the physical characteristics of the determination data table. A coin inspection device characterized by being created for each.