JP2848881B2 - Paper sheet counting machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention examines the same kind of paper sheets (hereinafter referred to as genuine bills) while checking the presence or absence of mixing of different kinds of paper sheets (hereinafter referred to as different kinds of bills). The present invention relates to a paper sheet counting machine that automatically counts, and is particularly suitable for counting bills.

[Conventional technology]

As a paper sheet counting machine that automatically counts bound genuine bills while checking for the presence of different kinds of bills, Jikkin Sho 63-4
The one described in Japanese Patent No. 3566 is known. In this device, as shown in FIG.
When a different kind of bill is detected by a different kind of bill detecting device (not shown) during counting while turning over using a plurality of suction shafts 7 revolving by the rotation of the rotor 9 while rotating, the turning over of the bill is prevented. (Not shown) is driven by a solenoid and counting is immediately stopped. Then, the back surface of the last sheet that has been turned off is copied with the mirror M, and the attendant OP visually checks it. If it is confirmed by this visual check that the ticket is a pseudo foreign ticket (genuine paper), the restart button is operated to continue counting and foreign ticket detection.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, since the above-described different kind ticket detection is performed during early turning, erroneous determination often occurs. Therefore, in order to surely remove different kinds of bills, a strict judgment standard is likely to be applied, and as a result, a genuine bill is detected as a different kind of bill, which often causes an operation stop. Then, every time the operation stops, it is necessary to visually check by a person in charge and restart manually each time, which is a very complicated operation and causes a decrease in counting efficiency.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and it is possible to reliably detect different kinds of bills and that the sheets once detected as possible different kinds of bills are genuine bills. It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper sheet counter capable of promptly returning to a subsequent counting operation in the case where is found.

[Means for solving the problem]

The present invention is directed to a sheet counting machine that counts a sheet loaded in a holder on a plurality of suction shafts that revolve while rotating, and turns the sheet one by one sequentially. Mk · m rows Nj · n columns (where k, j, M, N, m, n
Is a natural number), a pattern signal output means for obtaining image information composed of pixels, and a normal reference pattern composed of mn pieces of data obtained from Mk × Nj pixels as one unit for a plurality of types of paper sheets Reference pattern signal storage means for storing information and detailed reference pattern information comprising kjmn data in which data obtained from M × N pixels are defined as one unit, and the pattern signal output means. In the image information, a pattern signal composed of data obtained from Mk × Nj pixels as one unit is compared with a normal reference pattern signal obtained from the reference pattern signal storage means, and a different kind of ticket is obtained. Detecting means for detecting a paper sheet which is likely to be different, and when the detecting means detects a paper sheet which may be a different type of ticket, the subsequent paper sheet which has not yet been turned off is turned off This A pattern comprising data obtained from M × N pixels as one unit for a sheet which may be a foreign ticket detected by the detecting means. Checking means for comparing a signal and the detailed reference pattern signal obtained from the reference pattern signal storage means to check whether or not the sheet is a different kind of paper; When the confirming means determines that the sheet is a genuine note, a control means is provided for canceling the turn-over preventing means and continuing counting, detecting and confirming subsequent sheets.

[Action]

The detection of dissimilar bills when turning over a paper sheet with the suction axis is based on the fact that the pattern on the surface of the paper sheet is relatively coarse data obtained from a predetermined number of pixels output by the pattern signal output means and a normal reference corresponding thereto. This is performed by comparing with a pattern signal. On the other hand, when a sheet having a possibility of a different kind of ticket is detected, a confirmation judgment is made by comparing more detailed data with a smaller number of pixels as one unit and a corresponding detailed reference pattern signal. . If it is determined by this confirmation that the ticket is not a foreign ticket, the turning-over preventing means is released, and the counting operation is automatically restarted. When detailed pattern information is used, there is a lot of information to be compared, so that confirmation can be performed accurately. Therefore, the genuine bill is less likely to be erroneously detected as a foreign bill, and if it is determined that the detected sheet is not a foreign bill, the counting is automatically restarted without bothering the operator. The counting efficiency is improved.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a bill counter as one embodiment of the present invention.

The banknotes to be counted are sequentially turned one by one from the banknote bundle held in the holder by the banknote turning means 30, and at that time, a pattern signal corresponding to the type of the banknote is reflected from the front surface of each banknote as reflected light as described later. can get.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the state of the mechanism constituting the bill turning means 30. When the bill bundle P is loaded into the holder 1 at the bill loading position and the start button (not shown) is pressed, the vacuum pump starts rotating and the holder 1 starts rotating along the guide 6 until the counting start position A. It turns and stops. At this time, the holder 1 is urged by a spring or the like so that a part of the foremost part of the bill contacts the suction shaft 7. The eighth
In the figure, reference numeral 4 denotes a paper holding rod for facilitating turning over the bill bundle P one by one. Next, the banknote P comes into contact with the suction port of the suction shaft 7 to close the suction port, and when the suction pressure inside the suction shaft 7 exceeds a predetermined value, the vacuum switch operates to generate an output signal. By the rotation, the rotor 9 starts rotating, and the suction shaft 7 revolves while rotating, adsorbs and flips the bills one by one, and moves to the position B. When the bill P comes into contact with the suction port of the suction shaft 7 and closes the suction port, an irradiation light beam 12 is emitted from a light emitting device 10 provided near the bill P toward a designated area QR on a bill surface described later. The light reflected from this region QR is
Is received by the

Further, a stopper 18 is provided as a turning-over preventing means for preventing the unsucked bill from being sucked and turned off when a bill abnormality is found, and the solenoid 16 is excited when the bill abnormality is detected. As a result, the pivot 18 rotates about the fulcrum 17, and the tip of the stopper 18 presses the end of the unsucked bill.

FIG. 3 shows a designated area QR as an identification range for specifying a denomination of a bill. As described above, the irradiation light beam 12 irradiates at least the designated area, the reflected light from the designated area is received by the light receiver 11, and a pattern signal is obtained.

In this embodiment, the light receiver 11 is an area sensor having Mk · m × Nj · n pixels, and the signals output from each pixel of this area sensor are summed in units of M × N.

FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are plan views showing the pixel configuration of this area sensor. In FIG. 4 (b), the specifications in FIG. 4 (a) are M = 35 and N = 30. , K = 2, j =
The case where 2, m = 8 and n = 8 form 560 rows and 480 columns and have about 270,000 pixels is shown. And M × N = 35
× 30 = 1050 pixels constitute one block.
kjmn = 2 × 2 × 8 × 8 = 256 blocks.

Next, the operation of the pattern signal output means 40 will be described. The output of each pixel obtained from the area sensor is scanned line by line, and the output of each pixel is compared with a comparator value.
The number of white pixels larger than the comparison value,
The total is counted by 16 counters for every 30 pixels, and when scanning for 35 lines is completed, the value of each counter is stored in a memory address provided corresponding to each block.

Next, the counter is reset, and the same scanning, comparison, counting, and storing are repeated to obtain all data of the 256 blocks. This data is as shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 shows the result of comparing the value of each block with a reference value, for example, 500, and applying white to a larger value and black to a smaller value. This pattern is used as a detailed pattern for confirmation determination described later.

On the other hand, in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, four blocks are grouped together as surrounded by a thick solid line, and M = 35, k = 2, N = 30, j
= 2, the output values for the pixels with Mk = 70 and Nj = 60 were summed, and compared with a reference value, for example, 2000, white was applied to larger values and black was applied to smaller values. The results are shown in FIG. This pattern represents a coarser pattern than that shown in FIG. 6, and is used as a normal pattern for detecting different kinds of tickets.

The pattern signal thus obtained is sent from the pattern signal output means 40 to the detection means 60.

The detecting means 60 determines the denomination by comparing this pattern signal with a pattern (reference pattern) preset for each denomination in the reference pattern signal storage means 50.

As shown in FIG. 1, reference pattern signal storage means
50 has a normal pattern storage area 50a and a special pattern storage area 50b for storing patterns for normal detection, and a detailed pattern storage area 50c for confirmation determination.

These reference patterns are obtained and stored in the same manner as the above-described pattern detection for the reference banknote, and each storage area has four sides of front and back and reverse.
Reference pattern signals are stored for two cases.

In this embodiment, a special reference pattern different from a normal reference pattern used for discriminating the denomination of the second and subsequent sheets is used as the reference pattern used to identify the first denomination. This is because the setting state and the suction state of the first sheet are generally unstable, and there is a high possibility that an erroneous judgment will occur if a strict standard is applied.

Since the special reference pattern sets a looser condition than the normal reference pattern, a plurality of denominations are often output as matching candidates when the special reference pattern is compared with the pattern signal of the first bill. When a plurality of denominations are thus extracted as the first bill, the plurality of denomination information is 1
It is stored in the sheet banknote denomination storage means 70.

For the second bill, unlike the first bill, a normal reference pattern is extracted from the storage area 50a of the reference pattern signal storage means 50 to perform denomination identification. Therefore, the second denomination is usually specified as one type. The detection means determines again whether the denomination specified in this manner matches any of the denominations registered in the first banknote denomination storage means 70 described above.
The determination is made by 60, and if it exists, it is determined to be the denomination of the banknote bundle, and the determined denomination information is stored in the determined denomination storage means 80. The denomination of the third and subsequent denominations is performed while comparing with the reference pattern of the reference pattern signal storage means 50 corresponding to the denomination stored in the determined denomination storage means 80,
If the pattern signals do not match due to different denominations,
The control unit 100 issues a command to stop counting of bills, and the control unit 100 gives a stop command to the bill turning unit 30 to stop the counting operation of different kinds of bills. On the other hand, at this time, the stopper 1
The rotation of the solenoid 16 around the fulcrum 17 by the operation of the solenoid 16 prevents the succeeding bill immediately before being flipped by the suction shaft 7 from being flipped.

The counting operation is performed when the counting contact 2 provided around the rotor 9 passes near the counting proximity switch 3 provided near the rotor 9. When a bill of a different kind is detected, a stop signal from the control means 20 is transmitted to the proximity switch 3, and the counting of the different kinds is stopped. Therefore, only bills of the correct denomination are counted.

Next, the counting operation in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 3 to 8 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the counting operation of the above-described bill counter.

First, the denomination of the first bill is determined (step S4).
1). In this denomination determination, as described above, a special reference pattern different from a normal reference pattern is prepared as a determination pattern, and this special reference pattern may be used only when the normal reference pattern does not match. . As the special reference pattern, various types can be selected, such as a pattern having a looser reference than a normal reference pattern and a pattern using a determination formula that provides a rough determination.

In the case of the present embodiment, the denomination is initially determined using a normal reference pattern (step S41). If the denomination cannot be determined (step S42), the process proceeds to a special determination (step S42). Step S43). This special determination can be made (step S44), and when a plurality of denominations of the first bill are designated (step S4).
5) Flag those multiple denominations on (step S
46). Note that as a result of the determination in steps S42, S44 and S45,
When the denomination of the first banknote is determined to be one, this denomination is determined as the denomination of the banknote bundle, and the process proceeds to step S51.

If the determination is two or more denominations, a determination operation for the second bill is performed next (step S47). The determination of the second and subsequent bills is made by a determination using a normal reference pattern, and the denomination can be determined, and if it is only one denomination (steps S48 and S49), the denomination is already one. It is determined whether or not it matches the denomination flag which is turned on as the eye banknote (step S50). That is, since a plurality of denomination flags are set as denomination candidates for the first banknote, it is determined whether or not the denomination of the second banknote corresponds to any of the denominations that are flagged on.

In the above steps S44 and S48 to S50, if the determination result is negative, that is, if the detecting means 60 determines in FIG. 1 that the denomination is a different kind, the counting operation is stopped and the process proceeds to the confirmation determination. That is, the solenoid 16 moves the stopper 18 from the position shown by the dashed line in FIG. 8 to the position shown by the solid line to prevent the bill next to the bill judged to be abnormal from being attracted, The rotor 9 is stopped at a fixed position (step S71). At this time, the vacuum valve is released to reduce the suction pressure inside the suction shaft to prevent the suction. Here, it is convenient to use the position where the suction port of the suction shaft at the start of counting is opposite to the bill as the fixed position, because the rotor position detecting means can also be used for the fixed position detection. As a method of stopping at the fixed position, a known method disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 56-88372 or Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-26117 can be used.

It should be noted that the banknote P 'determined to be abnormal is once in the state shown by the broken line in FIG. 8, and the abnormal banknote P' is moved to the position B by the pushing of the suction shaft 7, and the subsequent banknote P 'is It is preferable to stop when at least the second suction shaft faces the bill.

The confirmation judgment is performed by the storage unit 50c of the reference pattern signal storage unit 50.
The detailed pattern for confirmation determination is extracted from the pattern signal, and kjmn pieces already obtained by the pattern signal output means 40, that is, 16 ×
This is performed by checking the coincidence with the 16 patterns by the confirmation means 90 (step S72). In this confirmation judgment, one denomination can be specified (step S73), and further, the specified denomination is 1
If it is the first banknote (step S74), the denomination may be the banknote bundle and the denomination, so the stopper is released and the counting is automatically restarted (step S76). On the other hand, if the specified denomination is not the first banknote, it is checked whether the specified denomination is included in the denomination flag turned on as the first banknote (step 75). If so, the denomination is determined, and the process proceeds to step S76 to automatically restart counting, and to step S51 to determine the denomination of the banknote bundle.

Also, the judgment result is not only for one denomination (step S7
3) If the denomination of the specified bill does not match the first denomination (step S75), the control means 100 determines that the bill is a real foreign bill or a dirty bill, and issues an alarm. The operator is notified of the mixing of different types of tickets (step S65).

When the denomination of the banknote bundle is determined in this way (step S51), the denomination is stored in the determined denomination storage means 80,
The third and subsequent bills are determined. The operation of judging the third and subsequent banknotes is determined based on the fact that the denomination of the first banknote matches the denomination of the second banknote is determined based on the denomination reference pattern stored in the denomination storage unit 80. The comparison is performed by reading from the signal storage means 50 (step S52). Then, the denomination can be determined (step S53), and if the denomination is not two or more based on the determination result (step S57), the determined denomination matches the denomination stored in the determined denomination storage means 80. It is determined whether or not it is (step S58), and the counting operation is sequentially performed until the counting of the bills is completed (step 59).

As described above, a normal banknote bundle is configured in units of 100, and when the counting operation approaches the end of the banknote and reaches around the 99th banknote, the denomination of the banknote is performed in the same manner as the determination of the first banknote. The judgment operation tends to be unstable. Therefore, if the denomination cannot be determined in step S53,
At 54, it is checked whether or not the bill is the 99th bill or later, and if it is the 99th bill or later, the determination condition is changed from the determination based on the normal reference pattern to the determination based on the special reference pattern (step S55). ). As a result of the determination based on the special reference pattern, when the denomination can be determined (step S56), unless the determination result is determined to be two or more denominations in step S57, it is determined that the determination is normal, and the determination in step S58 is performed. Move on.

In the case where the judgment is two or more denominations in step S57, the stopper 18 is moved from the position indicated by the one-dot chain line to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. Is prevented from being attracted, and the rotor 9 is stopped at a fixed position (step S60). At this time, a confirmation determination using the same detailed pattern signal as described above is performed (step S61). It is checked whether or not the money has been identified as one denomination in this confirmation judgment (step S62).
If specified, it is checked whether the specified denomination matches the denomination of the banknote bundle determined in step S51 (step S63). If so, the solenoid is de-energized to release the stopper, and When the suction pressure becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value by closing the vacuum valve, the vacuum switch is operated, the rotor rotates forward, and the counting operation is automatically restarted (step S64).

On the other hand, if the denomination cannot be identified as one denomination by the confirmation determination (step S62), or if the identified denomination does not match the denomination of the banknote bundle (step S63), mixing of a real foreign or dirty ticket And an alarm is issued to notify the operator of the entry of the abnormal ticket (step S65).

In the flowchart of FIG. 2, a normal reference pattern is initially used as the first determination pattern, and the determination is performed using a special reference pattern only when the normal reference pattern is not met. A special reference pattern may be prepared from the beginning, and the determination of the first bill may be performed using only this. Although the determined denomination storage unit 80 stores only the determined denomination, not only the denomination but also a reference pattern signal of the denomination may be stored. Also, a special detailed reference pattern may be prepared and compared with the detailed reference pattern, similarly to the normal reference pattern.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the denomination of the bill bundle is automatically determined, and then the mixing of different types of bills is determined. However, the denomination of the bill bundle may be manually set separately.

Further, although the confirmation determination after the abnormality determination is performed individually, the determination may be made comprehensively. For example, if the normal judgment matches the pattern of two or more denominations, the confirmation judgment using the detailed pattern also matches two or more denominations, and there is only one denomination common to both. The counting may be restarted when the denomination coincides with the already determined denomination.

Further, how to select the number of pixels of the area sensor and the number of pixels of the detection pattern and the confirmation determination pattern in the above embodiment can be arbitrarily determined. For example,
In the above embodiment, an 8 × 8 pattern is used for detection and a 16 × 16 pattern is used for confirmation judgment. However, 32 × 16, 16 × 3 patterns are used for confirmation judgment.
Finer patterns such as 2, 32 × 32, 64 × 64, etc. can be used as long as the judgment time allows.

In addition, a plurality of reference values used for obtaining a pattern are provided, and a reference pattern is prepared in accordance with the different reference value, and when an abnormality is determined, the reference value is changed and a detection pattern is re-created. The determination may be made.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, as described in detail above based on the embodiment, when a different kind of ticket is detected by the detecting means using a relatively coarse pattern, the next sheet is turned off by the turning-off preventing means. In the prevented state, the confirmation judgment is performed using the detected more detailed pattern signal, and when it is determined that the ticket is not a foreign ticket, the counting operation is automatically restarted. Since the confirmation judgment can be performed after sufficient time, it is unlikely that the genuine bill is erroneously detected as a foreign bill. In addition, when it is determined that the detected sheet is not a different kind of sheet, counting is automatically restarted without bothering the operator, which improves the counting efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a main part of the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the pixel configuration of the area sensor and blocks for generating patterns, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of brightness data for each block, and FIG.
Explanatory drawing showing an example of a 16 × 16 confirmation determination pattern, FIG.
The figure is an explanatory view showing an example of a pattern for detecting an abnormal 8 × 8 ticket, FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the structure of a mechanism of a bill counter used in the present invention, and FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure for performing. 10 ... Light emitter, 11 ... Receiver, 18 ... Stopper, 20 ...
Turn-over preventing means, 30 ... Bill turning means, 40 ... Pattern signal output means, 50 ... Reference pattern signal storage means, 50
a: normal pattern storage area for normal judgment, 50b special pattern storage area for normal judgment, 50c detailed pattern storage area for confirmation judgment, 60 detection means, 70 banknote denomination storage means , 80 ... determined denomination storage means, 90 ... confirmation means, 100 ... control means.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G07D 9/04 G07D 7/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet counting machine for counting sheets while turning them one by one while adsorbing the sheets loaded in a holder on a plurality of revolving suction shafts while rotating, and sequentially turning off the sheets one by one. Mk · m rows Nj · n columns (however,
(k, j, M, N, m, n are natural numbers) pattern signal output means for obtaining image information composed of pixels, and data obtained from Mk × Nj pixels for a plurality of types of paper as one unit Reference pattern signal storage means for storing normal reference pattern information composed of mn pieces of data and detailed reference pattern information composed of kjmn pieces of data with one unit of data obtained from M × N pixels And a pattern signal composed of data in which data obtained from Mk × Nj pixels is one unit of image information obtained from the pattern signal output means and obtained from the reference pattern signal storage means. A detecting means for comparing the normal reference pattern signal to detect a sheet which may be a different kind of ticket; and when the detecting means detects a sheet possibly having a different kind of note, the subsequent turning over is performed. Paper sheets that have not been taken are turned over Means for preventing the sheet from being turned off, and data obtained from M × N pixels for 1
Checking means for comparing a pattern signal composed of data as a unit and the detailed reference pattern signal obtained from the reference pattern signal storage means to check whether or not the ticket is a foreign ticket; Simulated foreign paper (genuine)
A sheet counting machine, characterized in that the sheet checking machine is provided with control means for canceling the turn-over preventing means and continuing counting, detection and checking of subsequent sheets when the checking means finds that .