JP2860738B2 - Paper sheet identification device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for handling media such as banknotes, and more particularly to a paper sheet discriminating apparatus for discriminating the type, direction, authenticity and the like of a medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A money changer, an automatic depositing and dispensing machine used in a bank, etc., uses a bill discriminating device, which is a sheet discriminating device built in those devices, to convert denominations of bills, Direction, authenticity, etc. are determined. In such a paper sheet discriminating apparatus, a plurality of sensors for detecting the intensity of reflected light and transmitted light of the bill are provided so as to face the bill being conveyed.
The one that performs bill discrimination based on the output signal from this sensor, the one that detects the magnetic pattern of magnetic ink used for printing bills with a magnetic sensor, and performs the bill discrimination based on this detection signal, etc. is there.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a sensor unit for detecting reflected light from a medium. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a banknote as a medium, and the banknote 1 is transported on a transport path 2. On the transport path 2, there is provided a detection unit 3 for detecting the brightness of the reflected light of the bill 1. The detecting means 3 includes a light source 4 composed of an LED (light emitting diode) or the like for irradiating light onto the transport path 2 and a light receiving sensor 5 composed of, for example, a photodiode provided at a predetermined interval from the light source 4. The light source 4 and the light receiving sensor 5 are arranged, for example, in pairs in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the banknote 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional bill discriminating apparatus provided with such a sensor unit. The device shown in the figure comprises the detecting means 3, the amplifying means 6, the multiplexer 7, the A / D converter 8, the storage means 9, the comparing means 10,
Determination means 11, area designation means 12, reference value storage means 13
Consists of The detecting means 3 is a means for detecting the brightness of the reflected light of the bill 1 as described above. In addition, amplifying means 6
Is constituted by an amplifier circuit for amplifying the electric signal from the detecting means 3 and the like. The multiplexer 7 is a circuit for selecting one of the electric signals amplified by the amplifying means 6, and has a feature.
An electric signal indicating the pattern portion to be detected is selected.

[0005] The A / D converter 8 is a circuit for converting the electric signal selected by the multiplexer 7 into digital data, and the storage means 9 is a memory for storing the digital data. Further, the comparing means 10 includes a comparing circuit for comparing the data of the banknote 1 stored in the storage means 9 with the reference value data of the reference value storing means 13. The discriminating means 11 is a discriminating circuit for discriminating the denomination and direction of the inserted bill and its authenticity based on the comparison result of the comparing means 10. Further, the area specifying means 12 outputs the selected detection signal.
This is a means for designating an area for performing bill discrimination in association with the issue . The reference value storage means 13 stores the comparison means 1
0 is a memory for storing a reference value for comparison, and outputs a reference value of the area specified by the area specifying means 12 to the comparing means 10.

Next, the operation will be described. The brightness of the reflected light of the bill 1 is detected by the detecting means 3 of the bill 1 transported by the transport means (not shown), and the detected electrical signal is
It is amplified by the amplification means 6. Then, the multiplexer 7 selects one of the amplified electric signals, and the selected electric signal is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 8. This digital data is stored in the storage means 9. On the other hand, the area specifying means 12
Instructs the storage unit 9 and the reference value storage unit 13 to a certain area in the bill 1.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of such a region.
In the figure, the solid line indicates the output value of, for example, one light receiving sensor 5 in denomination A (that is, the output change in the bill 1 transport direction), and the broken line indicates the output value in denomination B. For example, the area specifying means 12 specifies the area 30 as one certain area. Thereby, the reference value storage unit 13 outputs the reference value 31 corresponding to the area 30 to the comparison unit 10. The storage unit 9 also outputs a digital value corresponding to the area 30 to the comparison unit 10. Then, the comparing means 10 compares the digital value with the reference value 31 and outputs the result to the determining means 11. Determination means 11
Is based on the comparison result, for example, if the digital value is larger than the reference value 31 as shown in FIG.
If it is smaller, the denomination and direction of the banknote, such as denomination B, are determined.

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional paper sheet discriminating apparatus, for example, the digital value in the area 30 of the denomination A becomes smaller than the reference value 31 due to the contamination of the banknote and the variation of the print density. In such a case, there is a problem that the denomination A is discriminated as a different denomination.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram in such a case.
In the figure, the solid line is the signal level of the denomination A as in FIG. 4. For example, when the signal level of the banknote 1 is low overall, the signal level in the area 30 is less than the reference value 31, However, although the signal pattern is a denomination A, it is erroneously determined to be a denomination B indicated by a broken line.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is capable of stably discriminating a medium even if the medium is stained or the print density varies. It is an object to provide a discriminating device.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet discriminating apparatus for detecting a physical pattern of a sheet and a plurality of portions having different sheet patterns in a specific area.
An area designating means for designating as an integrating means for calculating an integral value of each specific area specified by the area specifying means, integral hand
Calculating means for calculating the difference or division of each integrated value for each specific area integrated in the step, and a value calculated by the calculating means ;
Differences or divisions of pre-stored integral values for each power sheet
And a discriminating means for discriminating sheets based on the comparison result calculated by the comparing means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper sheet discriminating apparatus, comprising : detecting means for detecting a physical pattern of a paper sheet;
Area designating means for designating a plurality of places having different areas as specific areas, an average value computing means for computing an average value for each specific area designated by the area designating means, and an average value computing means.
Calculating means for calculating the difference or division of the calculated average value for each specific area; and a paper for determining the value calculated by the calculating means.
The difference between the pre-stored mean values of leaves and the median value of each value of division
And a discriminating means for discriminating paper sheets based on the comparison result calculated by the comparing means.

[0013]

In the paper sheet discriminating apparatus of the first invention, first,
The detection unit detects, for example, the brightness of the reflected light of the printed pattern of the bill as an electric signal. On the other hand, the area specifying means specifies a part of the area where the detection pattern indicated by the detection signal is different , for example, two specific areas where the detection pattern is different . The integrating means calculates an integrated value for each area based on the two specific areas specified by the area specifying means. The calculating means calculates a difference or division between the integrated values of the two specific regions calculated by the integrating means, and outputs this to the comparing means. Comparison means, the value from the arithmetic unit, the previously stored reference value is the integral value of each paper sheet that is to be discriminated Samata
Compares with the intermediate value of each value of the division and outputs the result to the discriminating means. The determination means performs, for example, a denomination of a bill based on the comparison result. Therefore, even when the medium of the signal level is generally lower, the difference or the like of a plurality of integration values is almost no effect, it is possible to perform stable determination.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper sheet discriminating apparatus in which the average value calculating means includes a plurality of paper sheets having different detection patterns instead of the integrating means in the paper sheet discriminating apparatus of the first invention.
The average value is calculated for each fixed area. Then, the calculating means calculates the difference or division of the average value calculated by the average value calculating means, and the comparing means and the discriminating means calculate the difference based on the calculated value.
Comparison and determination are performed as described above .

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the paper sheet discriminating apparatus of the present invention. The device shown in the figure includes a detecting means 3, an amplifying means 6, a multiplexer 7, an A / D converter 8, a storing means 9, an area specifying means 14, a reference value storing means 15, an integrating means 16, a first storing means 17, and a second storing means. It comprises means 18, arithmetic means 19, comparing means 20, and discriminating means 21. Here, since the detecting unit 3 to the storing unit 9 have the same configuration as that of the conventional sheet discriminating apparatus, the description thereof is omitted.

The area specifying means 14 includes a reference value storing means 15
And a circuit for instructing the integration means 16 on two specific areas described later . The reference value storage means 15 stores the above-mentioned features in advance.
This is a memory for storing a reference value corresponding to the constant area.
The integrating means 16 is a circuit for calculating an integrated value of the digital data of the banknote 1 for each of the specific areas. The first storage means 17 and the second storage means 18 are memories for storing the integral value for each specific area. The calculating means 19 is a circuit for calculating the difference between the integral values. Further, the comparing means 20
Is a circuit for comparing the value calculated by the calculation means 19 with the corresponding reference value output from the reference value storage means 15. Is a circuit for determining the

Next, the operation will be described. First, the brightness of the banknote 1 is detected by a plurality of light receiving sensors 5 constituting the detecting means 3, and is amplified by the amplifying means 6. Then, of the plurality of detection signals, only the electric signal including the characteristic pattern portion is selected by the multiplexer 7, further converted into digital data by the A / D converter 8, and stored in the storage unit 9. The operation so far is the same as the conventional one. That is, the storage unit 9 stores digital data of an electric signal of the reflected light of the bill 1. Here, the present embodiment is different from the prior art in that the area specifying means 14 first instructs the two specific areas 41 and 42 to the integrating means 16 and the reference value storing means 15.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of such a region.
As shown in (a) of the figure, the area specifying means 14
The detection pattern (signal level) is different
The specific region 41 for differences instructs the specific region 42. still,
In the figure, the solid line indicates denomination A and the broken line indicates denomination B. The reference value storage means 15 outputs the reference values corresponding to the specific area 41 and the specific area 42 to the comparing means 20. On the other hand, the integration means 16 calculates the integral value of the digital data output from the storage means 9 for each of the specific area 41 and the specific area 42, and stores the integrated value of the specific area 41 in the first storage means 17,
The integrated value of the specific area 42 is output to the second storage means 18.
The calculating means 19 calculates a difference between the integrated value output from the first storing means 17 and the integrated value output from the second storing means 18 and outputs the difference to the comparing means 20.

The comparing means 20 compares the difference between the integral values with the reference value output from the reference value storing means 15 and outputs the result to the discriminating means 21. The discriminating means 21 discriminates the denomination and direction of the bill based on the comparison result. For example, for a denomination A banknote, the detecting means 3 detects the intensity of the reflected light and converts the detected electric signal into digital data by the A / D converter 8. FIG. 6 (b). Than this, especially
When the integrated values of the fixed area 41 and the specific area 42 are calculated, they become SA1 and SA2, respectively. When the difference between the integral values (hereinafter, referred to as DA) is calculated by the calculating means 19, DA = SA1-SA2
Becomes If the analog data composed of the reflected light of the denomination B is as shown in FIG. 6C, the integrated values of the regions 41 and 42 are SB1 and SB2, respectively, and the difference (DB) between these integrated values
Is obtained, DB = SB1−SB2.

Here, the reference value storage means 15 previously stores an intermediate value between the differences DA and DB between the integral values as a reference value. Therefore, either of the denominations is detected by the detecting means 3, the difference between the integrated values of the specific areas 41 and 42 is calculated, and the difference is compared with the reference value.
If it is smaller, it can be determined as denomination B.

In the above embodiment, bills are discriminated by integrating the data for each area and then calculating the difference. However, the average value for each area is calculated, and the difference is calculated based on the difference between the average values. , It is also possible to determine the denomination and direction of the banknote. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing such another embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 22 denotes an average value calculating means corresponding to the integrating means 16 in the above embodiment, and this average value calculating means 22 converts the digital data output from the storage means 9 into a specific area 41 and a specific area 42. Each time, the average value (average value of the signal level) is calculated, and the average value of the specific area 41 is output to the first storage unit 17 and the average value of the specific area 42 is output to the second storage unit 18. Therefore, in this case, there is an advantage that even if there is some variation in the area, the influence on the average value is small. In FIG. 7,
The configuration other than the average value calculating means 22 is the same as that of the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the description thereof is omitted here.

In each of the above embodiments, the calculating means 19
Calculates the difference between the two specific area data stored in the first storage means 17 and the second storage means 18, but may be configured to calculate the division of the two specific area data. The same effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, for discrimination
The number of specific regions may be three or more instead of two.
In each of the above embodiments, the paper sheet discriminating apparatus that optically reads a print pattern of a medium has been described as an example. However, an apparatus that reads a magnetic pattern or the like of a medium can be similarly applied. Further, the medium is not limited to the banknote, but may be another sheet as long as it needs to be discriminated.

[0023]

As described above, according to the paper sheet discriminating apparatus of the first invention, multiple paper sheets having different detection patterns are used.
Since several places are designated as specific areas , integral values for each area are obtained, and predetermined computations are performed on these integral values to discriminate paper sheets. Can be stably discriminated as to whether the bill is true or false, the direction of the denomination, and the like.

Further, according to the paper sheet discriminating apparatus of the second invention, the average value of the plurality of specific areas is obtained, and a predetermined operation is performed on the average value to discriminate the paper sheet. In addition to the effects of the first aspect, it is possible to perform a more reliable discrimination with less influence from variation in each region.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a paper sheet discriminating apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a sensor unit in a general paper sheet discriminating apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional paper sheet discriminating apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conventional paper sheet discriminating method.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a problem of a conventional sheet discriminating method.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet discriminating method by the sheet discriminating apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the paper sheet discriminating apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Banknote (sheets) 3 Detecting means 16 Integrating means 19 Computing means 20 Comparing means 21 Discriminating means 22 Average value computing means

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A detecting means for detecting a physical pattern of a paper sheet, and identifying a plurality of places where the pattern of the paper sheet is different.
An area designating means for designating a region, an integration means for calculating an integral value of each of the specific area specified by the region specifying means, the difference between the integral value of the specific each region integrated by the integration means or removal the calculating means for performing calculation, the calculated values by the calculating means, the paper sheets to be discriminated
Comparison means for comparing with the intermediate value of the difference or division value stored in advance, and discrimination means for discriminating the paper sheet based on the comparison result calculated by the comparison means And a sheet discriminating device. 2. A detecting means for detecting a physical pattern of a paper sheet, and identifying a plurality of portions of the paper sheet having different patterns.
An area designating means for designating a region, an average value calculating means for calculating a mean value for each of the specific area specified by the region specifying means, said average value the average value of the calculated the identified each area calculating means Calculating means for calculating the difference or division; and calculating the value calculated by the calculating means, for each sheet to be determined.
Comparison means for comparing the difference between the average value or the intermediate value of each value stored beforehand, and discrimination means for discriminating the paper sheet based on the comparison result calculated by the comparison means And a sheet discriminating device.