JP3110995B2 - Coin detector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coin detecting device capable of easily and reliably detecting characteristic information of a coin.

[0002]

2. Related Background Art In a vending machine and the like, a coin detecting device for identifying a type of a coin inserted from a coin insertion slot and for determining the authenticity of the coin is incorporated. This type of coin detection device is mainly configured with a coin detection sensor that is installed in the coin passage and detects the diameter, thickness, and weight of the coin passing through the passage, and information on the unevenness of the coin surface. In addition, as the coin detection sensor, an optical sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a capacitance sensor, a magnetic sensor, a CCD sensor, or the like is appropriately used according to the detection purpose.

When detecting characteristic information of a coin using a coin detection sensor, it is generally important to detect the center of the coin and extract the coin information based on the center. That is, the coin usually has a disk shape and moves while rolling in a passage provided with the coin detection sensor. Therefore, if the characteristic information of the coin is detected at the timing when the center of the coin passes the coin detection sensor, the information such as the diameter, the state of the edge, and the uneven pattern at the center of the surface is determined with reference to the center of the coin. Can be obtained relatively easily and accurately.

In recent years, various attempts have been made to capture an image of the entire coin and extract its characteristic information by image processing. However, high-speed processing is required, and the apparatus itself is considerably large and expensive. It cannot be denied.
However, even in this case, if the center of the coin is detected, the image of the entire coin can be reliably captured based on the center, and the processing procedure for performing the matching process while rotating the image by 360 °. Is simplified.

[0005]

Conventionally, the center of a coin guided to a coin detection sensor is detected by using, for example, the output of a position detection sensor provided at the position of the coin detection sensor or the output of the coin detection sensor. Thus, the time (timing) at which the sensor output becomes maximum is obtained. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, the output level of a position detection sensor that changes with the passage of a coin is monitored, and the sensor output is subjected to a peak hold process. Then, by differentiating the peak hold waveform, the timing when the sensor output reaches the peak value is obtained, and this is obtained as the center detection output.

However, in such a peak hold process, the level change of the sensor output may be slow, for example, because the passing speed of the coin with respect to the position detection sensor is slow. Also, depending on the type of coin, the level change of the sensor output may be small and the output level itself may be low. Then, in such a case, the differential waveform with respect to the peak-held signal becomes dull, and the level change itself becomes small, so that there is a problem that the center position of the coin cannot be obtained reliably and accurately.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, an attempt has been made to sequentially sample and store the output of the position detection sensor and compare the sampled values with each other to detect the center position of the coin. However, according to this sampling storage method, when the sampling value drops to some extent past the peak, the peak value timing can be detected by going back several samplings for the first time, and it cannot be denied that a time delay occurs. In addition, since it is necessary to store and hold the coin characteristic information detected by the coin detection sensor in consideration of the detection time delay, a large-capacity storage device is required and the processing procedure becomes complicated. There is.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to detect the center position of various coins guided to a coin detection sensor in real time, and to simply and reliably detect the characteristic information. Another object of the present invention is to provide a highly practical coin detecting device capable of detecting a coin.

[0009]

A coin detecting device according to the present invention is provided with a coin detecting sensor for detecting characteristic information of a coin guided to a coin passing path, and the coin detecting sensor is centered on the coin detecting sensor. First and second magnetic sensors are provided at positions symmetrical with respect to the passing direction of the coin, that is, on both sides of the coin detection sensor, and the coins traversing the respective positions by these first and second magnetic sensors are provided. And a signal corresponding to each part is obtained.

That is, in the coin passing direction, the first and second magnetic sensors for detecting the center of the coin are provided symmetrically with respect to the coin detection sensor, thereby providing a simple structure. The coin detection sensor can reliably detect coin feature information. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the outputs of the first and second magnetic sensors are equal, the center of the coin passing through the passageway is detected by the coin. It is characterized by comprising a means for detecting a point in time when passing through the sensor.

That is, the timing at which the center of the coin passes through the coin detection sensor is simply and reliably obtained from each output of the first and second magnetic sensors, and the detection of the characteristic information by the coin detection sensor is ensured. It is characterized by: Furthermore, the invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the first and second
By using a type of magnetic sensor that detects the passage of the coin to each magnetic sensor from the change in eddy current loss due to the coin passing through the alternating magnetic field formed by each magnetic sensor, The present invention is characterized in that the structure is such that coin passing information is reliably obtained.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a coin detecting device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG.
1 is an external perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a coin detecting device according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view showing a planar structure thereof.
The apparatus main body 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped block shape, and has an external appearance structure in which a concave coin passageway 2 is formed in the center of the upper surface in a lateral direction. Both edge rising portions 3 of the coin passage 2 serve as guides 4 for defining a passage width W of the coin C passing through the passage 2.

A line-shaped coin detection sensor 5 extending over the entire area in the width direction of the passage is buried in the center of the bottom surface of the recess forming the passage 2 for the coin. As the coin detection sensor 5, an optical sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a capacitance sensor, a magnetic sensor, a CCD sensor, or the like is appropriately used according to the characteristic information of the coin C to be detected.

The bottom surface of the concave portion forming the coin passage 2 is further positioned on both sides of the coin detection sensor 5 and symmetrically with respect to the coin detection sensor 5 in the passing direction of the coin C. First and second magnetic sensors 6, 7
Are buried respectively. Note that these magnetic sensors 6 and 7 have the same characteristics, and the distance L between the first and second magnetic sensors 6 and 7 in the passing direction of the coin C is the coin C having the smallest diameter to be detected. Is set to be smaller than the diameter D. That is, the first and second magnetic sensors 6 and 7 are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the coin detection sensor 5 in the passing direction of the coin C, respectively, at a distance of L / 2.

Each of the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 outputs a signal of a level corresponding to a portion of the coin C crossing a position on the passage 2 where the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 are provided. The timing at which the center of the coin C crosses the coin detection sensor 5 is detected from the output levels of the first and second magnetic sensors 6 and 7 as described later.

That is, the magnetic sensor 6 (7) is, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown schematically in FIG.
A pair of magnetic poles forming one end is located on the coin passage 2 side via a wear-resistant protective member 12, and one of the magnetic poles is driven by an AC bias so that the coin passage 2 is driven.
An AC magnetic field F is formed therein, and the other magnetic pole side receives the magnetic field to generate an electromotive force V. The protection member 12 covers the both magnetic poles of the core 11 so as to prevent the magnetic poles from being magnetically short-circuited by the coin C. As the AC bias frequency, for example, a frequency of 3 K to 50 KHz that easily causes an eddy current in the coin C is used.

When the coin C is guided into the coin passage 2 and enters the AC magnetic field F, an eddy current is generated in the coin C in accordance with the received AC magnetic field. The magnitude of the eddy current varies depending on the amount of the coin C blocking the alternating magnetic field F. When the center of the coin C is at the position of the magnetic sensor 6 (7), the amount of blocking the alternating magnetic field F is maximized. The eddy current generated in C also becomes maximum. At the other magnetic pole of the magnetic sensor 6 (7), the presence of the coin C in the coin passage 2 is determined by the electromotive force V that changes according to the coupling loss between the magnetic poles caused by the eddy current. Is to be detected.

Thus, according to such a magnetic sensor 6 (7), the output of the magnetic sensor 6 (7) changes depending on the portion of the coin C which blocks the AC magnetic field F formed by the magnetic sensor 6 (7). It becomes the largest when the center of the coin C is positioned in (7). And the magnetic sensor 6
As the center of the coin C moves away from (7), the amount of change in the output decreases. In practice, when the center of the coin C passes over the magnetic sensor 6 (7), the eddy current generated in the coin C becomes the largest, and the coupling loss between the magnetic poles becomes the largest. Is minimized, but
Conceptually, this can be regarded as the maximum level of the sensor output.

FIG. 4 schematically shows changes in the levels of the outputs A and B of the first and second magnetic sensors 6 and 7 when the coin C passes through the coin passage 2 at a constant speed. It is a thing. As shown in FIG.
Of the outputs A and B of the magnetic sensors 6 and 7
Are maximized when the center of the coin C passes through the position where each is provided.

It should be noted here that the first and second
Are located on both sides of the coin detection sensor 5 and provided at symmetrical positions with respect to the coin detection sensor 5. As described above, the distance L between the two magnetic sensors 6 and 7 is set smaller than the minimum diameter of the coin to be detected, and the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 have the same characteristics. Therefore, when the coin C passes through the coin passage 2 at a constant speed, the outputs A and B obtained from the first and second magnetic sensors 6 and 7 respectively have only a time difference corresponding to the separation distance L. It has the same waveform. The timing at which the output levels of the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 become equal is exactly when the coin C is positioned in the alternating magnetic field F of the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 by the same area, that is, the center of the coin C is This is when the first and second magnetic sensors 6 and 7 are separated from each other in the coin passing direction and positioned at the middle position. The center position of the two magnetic sensors 6 and 7 is the position where the coin detection sensor 5 is provided without retrieving the coin. It is the timing when the center is located on the coin detection sensor 5.

The coin detecting device according to this embodiment detects the center of the coin C passing through the coin passage 2 based on such a detection principle, and at that time, the coin detecting sensor 5 detects the characteristic information of the coin C. The feature is that the feature extraction based on the center of the coin C can be performed in real time. When the size (diameter) of the coin C changes, or even if the size of the eddy current generated in the coin C changes due to the difference in the material of the coin C, the output level of each of the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 is shown in FIG. 4. Only the relative change as shown by the middle wavy line. Accordingly, the above-described detection of the center position of the coin C can be accurately performed regardless of the type of the coin C. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, even when the width of the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 is narrower than the width W of the passage, if the passing speed of the coin C is somewhat high, Since the coin C can be regarded as crossing over the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 without meandering, the center of the coin C can be detected in the same manner. In this case, even if the position at which the coin C passes with respect to the passage width W is displaced, this only changes the output level of the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 relatively. Never. That is, the passage width W
However, even if the diameter of the coin C is small, the center can be detected without any problem.

The detection of the center of the coin C based on the outputs of the first and second magnetic sensors 6 and 7 is achieved by a detection circuit as shown in FIG. 6, for example. The detection circuit receives the outputs of the first and second magnetic sensors 6 and 7, respectively, and compares the signal levels of these signals with each other. The comparator 15 differentiates the output of the comparator 15. And a differentiator 16 for generating a pulse indicating the center detection timing.

Thus, according to the coin detecting device provided with such a detecting circuit, the output of the detecting circuit (detection pulse)
, The information of the coin C at that time is simply taken in real time, and the characteristic information based on the center of the coin C can be detected very easily and reliably. For example, when the coin detection sensor 5 is configured by a CCD line sensor, the surface information can be input with reference to the center of the coin C only by driving the CCD line sensor for imaging in accordance with the detection pulse. The coin C
And the information on the pattern at the center can be easily obtained. Therefore, not only the type of the coin C but also the authenticity can be easily and efficiently determined in a short time.

According to the coin detecting device, the center of the coin C is detected in real time, and at that time, the coin detecting sensor 5 detects the characteristic information based on the center of the coin C. Is continuously guided to the coin detection sensor 5, the characteristic information of each coin C can be obtained in real time while sequentially detecting the center.

That is, when a plurality of coins C are successively guided to the coin passage 2, the outputs A and B of the magnetic sensors 5 and 6 are, for example, as shown in FIG. The outputs A and B have the same waveform having a time difference corresponding to the separation distance L between the magnetic sensors 5 and 6, although the output waveforms have a continuous waveform that changes each time they pass. Accordingly, the output of the comparator 15 for comparing the levels of these outputs A and B is shown in FIG.
And a detection signal indicating the center of each coin C is obtained as a differential output as shown in FIG.

The first peak in time of the output waveform in FIG. 7 indicates the passage of the coin C with a large diameter, and the second and third peaks indicate the passage of the coin C with a small diameter. However, the signal level only changes relatively depending on the type of the coin C, and there is no problem in detecting the center of the coin C. The fourth mountain is a case where a so-called perforated coin C is guided, and a slight depression (level decrease) is generated at the top thereof. Since the waveform itself does not change, there is no problem in detecting the center of the coin C.

Therefore, if characteristic information of each coin C is detected by the coin detection sensor 5 at the detection timing in accordance with the detection signal, the characteristic information is based on the center of each coin C. Continuous detection of a plurality of coins C becomes possible. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Although the structure of the coin detecting device shown in FIG. 1 is a structure in which the upper surface side of the coin passage 2 is opened, for example, as shown in FIG. May be formed, or the coin passage 2 may be formed as a rectangular through hole as shown in FIG. 8B.

In the case of such a structure as shown in FIG. 8, the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 are arranged so that their magnetic poles face each other across the coin passage 2 as shown in FIG. Then, the degree of magnetic coupling between the magnetic poles can be increased, and the sensing sensitivity can be increased. In this case, it is a matter of course that the gap between the magnetic poles is set in consideration of the maximum thickness of the coin C to be detected so that the coin C can pass through without any trouble.

When the AC bias frequency of the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 is low, for example, when the material of the coin C, specifically, when the iron content is large, the detection output may be affected by magnetism. is there. However, by utilizing the influence of the magnetism in reverse, for example, the magnetic sensors 6 and 7 are frequency-multiplexed and driven by an alternating-current bias, and the material is determined from the change in output that changes under the influence of the magnetism. It is also possible. Further, by performing time division multiplexing of a plurality of frequencies and performing coin detection processing while switching the AC bias frequency, it is also possible to determine the property of the coin C depending on the AC bias frequency. In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, both sides of the coin detecting sensor provided in the coin passage are provided.
First and second magnetic sensors are provided at positions symmetrical with respect to the coin detection direction in the coin passing direction with respect to the coin detection sensor, and a signal corresponding to a portion of the coin crossing the sensor position is provided by each of these magnetic sensors. Since each of them is obtained, it is possible to effectively obtain the information required to determine the timing at which the center of the coin passes through the coin detection sensor, while having a simple structure, and to reliably detect the characteristic information of the coin by the coin detection sensor. Can be done.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the outputs of the first and second magnetic sensors become equal, this is detected as the time when the center of the coin passes the coin detection sensor. Therefore, the timing at which the center of the coin passes the coin detection sensor can be simply and accurately obtained, and the detection of the characteristic information by the coin detection sensor can be ensured.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the first and second magnetic sensors determine the respective eddy current losses due to a change in eddy current loss caused by a coin passing through an alternating magnetic field formed by each of the magnetic sensors. Since the type of detecting the passing of the coin with respect to the magnetic sensor is used, the passing information of the coin can be reliably obtained with a simple structure, which greatly contributes to the detection of the center of the coin.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a coin detection device according to a position embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a planar structure of the coin detecting device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a schematic structure of a magnetic sensor.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a coin detection output by first and second magnetic sensors.

FIG. 5 shows the displacement of the coin C with respect to the coin passage.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a change in output of a magnetic sensor.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a coin center detecting circuit based on outputs of first and second magnetic sensors.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a continuous detection operation of coins.

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view showing another embodiment of the coin detection device.

FIG. 9 is a view schematically showing another example of the structure of the magnetic sensor.

FIG. 10 is a signal waveform diagram for explaining an example of a coin center position detection process using a conventional peak hold method.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the concept of coin center position detection by a conventional sampling storage method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 2 Coin passage 4 Guide part 5 Coin detection sensor 6 1st magnetic sensor 7 2nd magnetic sensor 11 Core 12 Protective member 15 Comparator 16 Differentiator

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A coin detection sensor for detecting characteristic information of a coin passing through a coin passage, and a coin detection sensor provided at both sides of the coin detection sensor symmetrical with respect to the coin detection direction about the coin detection sensor. And a first and a second magnetic sensor for outputting a signal corresponding to a portion of the coin crossing each position. 2. The coin detecting device according to claim 1, wherein when outputs of said first and second magnetic sensors become equal, a center of a coin passing through said passage passes through said coin detecting sensor. A coin detecting device comprising means for detecting a time point. 3. The first and second magnetic sensors respectively detect the passage of the coin to each of the magnetic sensors from a change in eddy current loss due to the coin passing through an alternating magnetic field formed by each of the magnetic sensors. The coin detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the coin detecting device performs the operation.