JP2745784B2 - Embossed image reader - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an embossed image reading device for reading an embossed image formed on a recording medium such as a card.

(B) Conventional Technology Conventionally, in a transaction such as an ATM and a CD, an imprint apparatus that prints an emboss formed on a card used for the transaction on a processing slip is used.

As a conventional imprint apparatus, a copy-type slip is superimposed on a card, and the copy slip is pressed against the card with a constant pressure by a roller or the like.
There are a method of copying an embossed image on a slip, and a method of taking an image of a card surface as an image and printing out the image on an image printer.

In the former method, ink may adhere to the emboss of the card due to a conveyance failure of the copy slip or the like, and the emboss may be stained. In the latter method, the overall size of the apparatus is reduced, and the mechanical transfer system is simplified, so that the reliability is improved and the read data can be converted into electronic information.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the conventional optical reading system, since the card is simply imaged from the front and converted into a signal,
The emboss of the same color as the ground color of the card did not appear as an image signal, and therefore, it could not be printed out on a slip or the like.

Further, even if the emboss is not the same color as the ground color of the card, the distinction between the pattern and the embossed image becomes unclear depending on the pattern of the card ground, and the embossed image cannot be read clearly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an embossed image reading apparatus which can read both sides of a recording medium such as a card having an embossed surface by regular reflection light of illumination light and can surely extract an embossed image.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems An embossed image reading apparatus according to the present invention includes: a first illumination optical system for irradiating an embossed recording medium with illumination light at a constant incident angle from an oblique direction; A first image sensor that captures specularly reflected light on the surface of the recording medium by illumination light of the optical system; A second imaging unit that captures specular reflection light on the back surface of the recording medium by the illumination light of the second illumination optical system;
And an embossed image extracting means for extracting, as an embossed image, a location where the image pickup patterns of the first and second image sensors coincide with each other.

(E) Function In the embossed image reading apparatus of the present invention, the first illumination optical system irradiates the surface of the recording medium with illumination light at a constant incident angle from an oblique direction, and the first image sensor directs the light on the surface of the recording medium. The reflected light is imaged, the second illumination optical system irradiates the back surface of the recording medium with the illumination light at a constant incident angle from an oblique direction, and the second image sensor images the specularly reflected light. When the recording medium is irradiated with the illumination light, the illumination light is irregularly reflected at the embossed portion formed on the recording medium, so that the light reflected at the embossed portion hardly enters the image sensor. Therefore, if the ground color is uniform, the emboss can be detected based on the output signal level of the image sensor.
When the ground color is not uniform, the output signal level of the image sensor changes in accordance with the reflectance of the print pattern. However, in general, there is no consistency between the patterns on the front and back of the recording medium, and the first image sensor and the second image The change in the output signal level of the sensor occurs in correspondence with the embossed images that coincide on the front and back of the recording medium. Therefore, the embossed image extracting means performs the first / second
Can be extracted as an embossed image.

Examples of the above operation are shown in FIGS. 1 (A) to 1 (D). FIG. 1A shows an example of the cross section of a recording medium and the incidence and reflection of light on the front and back of the recording medium. FIGS. 7B and 7C show changes in the output signal of the first image sensor and the output signal of the second image sensor, and FIG. Since the first image sensor captures specularly reflected light from the illumination light of the first illumination optical system, the output level decreases at both shoulders of the emboss and black characters, and similarly, the second image sensor uses the second image sensor as the second image sensor. Since the specular reflected light of the illumination light of the illumination optical system is imaged, the output level of the embossed inner surface inclined portion and the black character portion is reduced. Since there is no correlation between the positional relations of the black characters formed on the recording medium, the patterns corresponding to the both shoulders and the inner inclined portion of the emboss coincide with each other, and the emboss image is extracted as shown in FIG. can do.

(F) Embodiment FIG. 2 shows the configuration of an optical system of an embossed image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 7 is an embossed card, and 1 is an incident angle θ1 with respect to the card 7.
The LED array 2 irradiates the card 7 with illumination light from the back surface of the card 7 at an incident angle θ2. In each of the LED arrays 1 and 2, a plurality of light emitting units are arranged in a row in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. Reference numeral 3 denotes a CCD line sensor serving as a first image sensor, and reference numeral 4 denotes a CCD line sensor serving as a second image sensor. Reference numerals 5 and 6 denote optical transmission bodies having a lens function, which are formed by integrating optical fibers each having a refractive index distribution in a cross-sectional direction. The line sensor 3 and the light transmitter 5 are connected to a card 7 for illuminating light of the LED array 1.
They are arranged in a positional relationship to receive regular reflection light on the surface.
The line sensor 4 and the light transmitter 6 are connected to the LED array 2
Are arranged in a positional relationship for receiving the image of the specular reflection light on the back surface of the card 7 of the illumination light. Further, the CCD line sensors 3 and 4 are arranged so as to simultaneously image one straight line at the same place of the card 7 from the front and back. The card 7 is nipped by a transport roller (not shown) and transported in the left-right direction in the figure, and is imaged by the two line sensors during the transport.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a card reader / slip issuing machine in an ATM using the embossed image reading device. In FIG. 1, a CPU 10 is one slave CPU in a control unit constituting an ATM, and performs reading of a card, reading of an emboss image provided on the card, and issuing of a slip representing an imprint together with transaction contents. .
The ROM 11 is a memory in which a program to be executed by the CPU 10 is written in advance, and the RAM 12 is a memory used as various working areas such as temporary storage of card data, temporary storage of processing contents to be printed on a slip, and temporary storage of an embossed image. Various other circuits described below are connected to the bus of the CPU 10.

The motor 14 is a pulse motor for receiving / ejecting and transporting the card. The motor control circuit 13 performs pulse control of the motor and supplies a timing signal to the image imprint control circuit 15. The image imprint control circuit 15 mainly controls reading of an embossed image provided on the card. The image imprint control circuit 15 receives a timing signal from the motor control circuit 13 and also controls the LED arrays 1, 2, the line sensors 3,
4. A timing signal is given to each of the A / D converters 18 and 19, the memories 20 and 21, the multiplication circuit 22 and the data processing circuit 23. The LED arrays 1 and 2 are turned on or off according to a control signal from the image imprint control circuit 15, respectively. The line sensors 3 and 4 perform light reception (accumulation of electric charge) and output of an imaging signal according to a timing signal provided from the image imprint control circuit 15. Amplifier circuit 16,1
7 amplifies the output signals of line sensors 3 and 4, respectively, and
The converters 18 and 19 sequentially sample and hold the outputs of the amplifier circuits 16 and 17 and convert them into digital data of several bits. The memories 20 and 21 temporarily store one line of data output from the A / D converters 18 and 19, respectively. The multiplying circuit 22 multiplies the data for one line temporarily stored in the memories 20 and 21 by one pixel and outputs the multiplied data to the data processing circuit 23. The data processing circuit 23 has one pixel or one
The data resulting from the multiplication for the line is temporarily stored, and a request to read the temporarily stored data is output to the CPU 10. When receiving the read request, the CPU 10 reads the data in the data processing circuit 23 and stores the data in a predetermined area of the RAM 12.

In the above configuration, the image imprint control circuit 15
The LED arrays 1 and 2 are turned on, and the image data for one line by the line sensors 3 and 4 are stored in the memories 20 and 21 respectively. Thereafter, the data processing circuit 23 stores the multiplication data for one line by the timing signal of the image imprint control circuit 15, and outputs a read request for the data to the CPU 10. Thereafter, the image imprint control circuit 15 controls the reading of the next one line by performing the same processing after the motor 14 is driven by one step and the card is conveyed by one step. By repeating the above operation, all emboss images formed on the card are extracted.

The printer 25 prints an embossed image on the slip together with the contents of the transaction, and the interface circuit 24 controls the printer 25. The card reader 27 reads the contents stored in the magnetic stripe of the card being conveyed, and the interface circuit 26 controls the reading.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, since the image sensor captures the specularly reflected light on the front and back surfaces of the recording medium, the emboss can be extracted regardless of the pattern formed on the recording medium ground.
Further, since the coincidence between the imaging patterns on the front and back of the recording medium by the first and second image sensors is extracted as an embossed image, only the embossed image is correctly extracted except for uncorrelated printed characters on the front and back of the recording medium. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the present invention, and FIG.
(B) and (C) are output signal waveform diagrams of the first and second image sensors, and (D) is a diagram showing a result of coincidence detection of both signals. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an optical system of the embossed image reading device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control unit of a card reader / slip issuing machine using the embossed image reading device. 1,2: LED array, 3,4: CCD line sensor (image sensor), 5,6: Optical transmitter, 7: Card (recording medium).

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first illumination optical system for irradiating an embossed recording medium with illumination light at a constant incident angle from an oblique direction, and specular reflection light on the surface of the recording medium by the illumination light of the first illumination optical system. A first image sensor that captures light, a second illumination optical system that irradiates illumination light at a constant incident angle to the back surface of the recording medium from a diagonal direction, An embossed image reading device comprising: a second image sensor that captures specularly reflected light; and an embossed image extracting unit that extracts, as an embossed image, a location where the first and second image sensors coincide with each other.