JP5336144B2 - Medium heavy-running detection device, heavy-running detection method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium heavy run detection device, a heavy run detection method, and a program.

When the plurality of media are transported by the transport means, the amount of transmitted light obtained by transmitting through the transmission type optical sensor is detected at two threshold levels.
Here, heavy running means that the medium is transported in an overlapped state.
In the case of this type of heavy running detection method, the deterioration of the optical sensor over time, dirt such as paper dust and dust, and fluctuations in the output of the optical sensor due to variations in the optical sensor and the medium have caused false detection.

  In addition, when detecting the optical sensor output from digital data obtained by A / D (Analogue / Digital) conversion, the digital data is temporarily stored in the memory. In this case, it is necessary to secure the memory capacity. There is a concern that the processing speed of detection will also decrease.

An example of technology related to the heavy run inspection is described in Patent Documents 1 and 2.
The medium double running detection mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1 is “in a medium double running detection mechanism in which a transmissive optical sensor is disposed on a medium traveling path, and a double traveling of the medium is detected based on a difference in transmitted light amount of the transmissive optical sensor. The type information for determining the medium type is recorded in advance on the medium, the reading unit for reading the type information is provided, and the double travel determination data table for each medium is provided, and according to the reading result of the reading unit, The double running determination data corresponding to the type of medium to be handled is extracted from the double running determination data table, and the determination of the double running of the medium is performed according to this data. The operation is as follows.

  According to the medium double running detection mechanism, the type information recorded on the running medium is read by the reading unit that reads the type information, and the medium type to be handled is determined from the double running determination data table according to the reading result of the reading unit. It is assumed that the corresponding double running determination data is extracted, and the determination of the double running of the medium can be performed according to this data.

  The paper sheet heavy-running detection device of Patent Document 2 is “a light emitting element that constitutes one of the sensors provided on the conveyance path of the medium, and the other sensor that receives light from the light emitting element via the medium, A light-receiving element that outputs a value corresponding to the intensity of the received light, and a heavy-run determination unit that determines whether or not a plurality of media are being conveyed in a stacked manner based on an output value from the light-receiving element The output value from the light receiving element when the light emitting element is turned on and off and the predetermined reference range for device abnormality determination are out of range when there is no medium between the light emitting element and the light receiving element. In this case, it is determined that there is an abnormality on the apparatus side, and the determination result is output to the heavy-running determination means, and there is a medium between the light emitting element and the light receiving element, and the output value from the light receiving element when the light emitting element is turned on Is compared with the predetermined reference range for medium abnormality judgment and out of range If there is determined that the abnormality of the detection medium, this having a device-media error detection unit to be output to the determination result heavy run determining means "is intended, it operates as follows.

According to this paper sheet cumulative run detection device, the device / medium abnormality detection unit detects the device or medium abnormality and makes a heavy run determination, so that a medium that is not subject to heavy run detection is erroneously conveyed. Even if the device is malfunctioning or the device is out of order, erroneous detection of heavy running can be prevented.
JP-A-6-56312 JP-A-6-166450

However, in the case of the method of detecting heavy running at two threshold levels, optical sensor output deterioration due to deterioration of the optical sensor with time, dirt such as paper dust and dust, and variations in the optical sensor and the medium induces false detection. This was the cause (see FIGS. 2A to 2E).
Here, FIG. 2A is an explanatory diagram showing a normal state when one medium is normally transported, and FIG. 2B is a diagram when the two media are shifted and overrun. FIG. 2C is an explanatory view showing an abnormal state, FIG. 2C is an explanatory view showing an abnormal state when two media overlap and overlap, and FIG. 2D is a drop in sensor level. FIG. 2E is an explanatory diagram of erroneous detection due to variations in sensors and media.

  In addition, when the optical sensor output is A / D converted and detected from digital data, it is necessary to secure a memory capacity, and there is a concern that the detection processing speed may also be reduced.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a medium heavy-running detection device, a heavy-running detection method, and a program that can solve the above-described problems and reliably detect medium heavy-running.

The apparatus of the present invention comprises: a light emitting means for irradiating light to a medium being transported; a light receiving means for receiving transmitted light from the medium; and whether the medium is overrun based on the amount of light transmitted from the light receiving means. A medium overrun detection device comprising: a discriminating unit for discriminating, wherein the discriminating unit binarizes the level of the transmitted light at a plurality of threshold levels, and the obtained binarized data string in the transport direction The presence / absence of heavy running is detected based on the arranged arrangement table. When the transmitted light amount in the light-transmitting state is equal to or larger than the predetermined value, the number of threshold levels is increased, and the transmitted light amount in the light-transmitting state is smaller than the predetermined value. In this case, the number of threshold levels is reduced .

The method of the present invention is a heavy running detection method for detecting the presence or absence of heavy running of the medium based on transmitted light obtained by irradiating the medium being transported with light, wherein the level of the transmitted light is set to a plurality of thresholds. Based on an array table in which the obtained binarized data string is arranged in the transport direction, the presence or absence of heavy running is detected, and when the transmitted light amount in the light transmission state is a predetermined value or more, the threshold level The number is increased, and the number of threshold levels is reduced when the amount of transmitted light in the light-transmitting state is smaller than a predetermined value .

According to the program of the present invention, a procedure in which the receiving means binarizes the transmitted light of the light irradiated to the medium being transported at different threshold levels and a sequence table creating means are obtained. The procedure for creating an array table in which the digitized data strings are arranged in the transport direction and the detection means increase the number of threshold levels when the transmitted light amount in the light-transmitting state is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, and the transmitted light amount in the light-transmitting state is If it is smaller than the predetermined value, the presence or absence of heavy running is detected based on the procedure for reducing the number of threshold levels and the shape of the pattern connecting the boundary lines between the high level and low level of the binarized data in the array table. And a procedure is executed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, provision of the medium heavy-running detection apparatus, heavy-running detection method, and program which can detect medium heavy-running reliably can be implement | achieved.

An embodiment of a heavy run detection device to which the heavy run detection method according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is an example of a block diagram of a heavy-running detection device according to the present invention.
The heavy-running detection device includes an optical sensor 1 for detecting a medium mainly composed of a light-emitting element 2 as a light-emitting means and a light-receiving element 3 as a light-receiving means, and a threshold level generation unit that generates a plurality of threshold levels. 5 and a comparator 4 such as a comparator that compares the generated threshold level with the sensor output and performs binarization, and an LSI (large-scale integrated circuit) that determines the presence or absence of heavy running based on the binarization result Circuit) 6. For example, the LSI 6 may be connected to a display unit 10 including a liquid crystal driving circuit and a liquid crystal display device, or may be connected to an alarm.

  Examples of the light emitting element 2 include an LED (light-emitting diode) or an LD (laser diode).

  Examples of the light receiving element 3 include PT (photo-transistor: phototransistor) or PD (photo-diode: photodiode).

  The threshold level generator 5 is connected to, for example, the ground-side resistors Rg1 to Rgn whose one end (the lower end in the figure) is grounded, and one end (the lower end in this case) is connected to the other end (the upper end in this case) of the ground-side resistors Rg1 to Rgn. The other end (in this case, the upper end) is composed of a plurality of pairs of power supply side resistors Rs1 to Rsn connected to a power supply line (not shown), and the connection between the ground side resistors Rg1 to Rgn and the power supply side resistors Rs1 to Rsn. A resistor group that outputs a threshold level voltage from the points P1 to Pn can be cited.

  The operational amplifier used in the comparator 4 may have a bipolar structure or a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) structure.

  The LSI 6 includes an I / O (Input / Output) port, a stack pointer, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM address latch, a logic circuit, a program counter, a data bus, and the like. A configured microcontroller may be mentioned.

<Description of operation>
The presence or absence of heavy running is detected for the medium passing between the light emitting element and the light receiving element in the optical sensor.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, based on binarization detection results at a plurality of threshold levels, a change in the transmission amount of the medium is patterned to detect the presence or absence of heavy running.

In the detection, the change pattern of the transmission amount determined to be heavy running is “when there are two or more transmission amount change stages (FIG. 3, Table 1)” and “one-step transmission amount change is extremely large (FIG. 4). Table 2) “Case”.
3 and 4 are diagrams showing the relationship between the section on the transport means and the light transmission amount when transporting the medium when binarization is performed at a plurality of threshold levels. An example of the conveying means is a roller conveyor.

In addition, the number of stages considered as a state change is changed according to the level of sensor output in the light-transmitting state so that accurate detection of optical sensor output fluctuations due to deterioration with time, dirt, and variations in the optical sensor and media is possible. Make a decision.
As an actual operation, when the sensor output in the light passing state is large, the number of stages regarded as a state change is increased, and when the sensor output in the light passing state is small, the number of stages regarded as a state change is decreased.

<Description of effects>
In contrast to the method of detecting heavy running at the two threshold levels related to the present invention, in this embodiment, the optical sensor is deteriorated with time, dirt such as paper dust and dust, and fluctuations in the output of the optical sensor due to variations in the optical sensor and the medium. It is possible to improve false detection due to various factors.
The reason for the improvement is that multiple threshold levels are provided and binarized data is patterned to detect heavy running.

  Further, in the present invention, it is not necessary to convert the optical sensor output into digital data by an A / D converter and store the read image data in a memory for analysis, thereby avoiding simplification of the circuit and a decrease in detection processing speed. it can.

<Embodiment 2>
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the heavy-running detection device according to the present invention.
The difference between the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and the present embodiment is that a D / A converter 5 is used to generate a threshold level.
Since the D / A converter 5 can output an arbitrary threshold level by a control signal from the LSI 6, it can change the threshold level according to the current state and can perform binarization.

As an effect, when detecting heavy running, a threshold level larger than the sensor output in the light-transmitting state is unnecessary for detection, so the sensor output level in the light-transmitting state is detected in advance from the binarized output. Regarding the operation, only the threshold level below the sensor output in the light passing state can be set and operated in the D / A converter.
In the above, the number of comparators that need to be provided in a plurality can be reduced or effectively utilized.

<Program and storage medium>
The heavy run detection device of the present invention described above is realized by a program that causes a computer to execute processing. Examples of the computer include general-purpose computers such as personal computers and workstations, but the present invention is not limited to this.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a program according to the present invention.
As a program, for example, as shown in FIG.
(1) A procedure in which the receiving means receives a signal obtained by binarizing the transmitted light of the light irradiated on the medium being conveyed at different threshold levels (step S1);
(2) a sequence table creating means for creating a sequence table in which the obtained binarized data strings are arranged in the transport direction (step S2);
(3) a procedure in which the detecting means detects the presence or absence of heavy running based on the shape of the pattern connecting the boundary lines between the high level and low level of the binarized data in the sequence listing (step S3);
A program that executes

  Here, the receiving means includes an I / O port (not shown) of the LSI 6. As an array table creation means, a RAM (not shown) of the LSI 6 can be cited. An example of the detecting means is a logic circuit (not shown) of the LSI 6.

As a result, the heavy-run detection device of the present invention can be realized anywhere as long as there is a computer environment capable of executing the program.
Such a program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.
Here, examples of the storage medium include computer-readable storage media such as CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), flexible disk (FD), and CD-R (CD Recordable), flash memory, RAM, and ROM. And semiconductor memory such as FeRAM (ferroelectric memory) and HDD (Hard Disc Drive).

<Effect>
The level of transmitted light is binarized at a plurality of threshold levels, and the presence or absence of heavy running is detected based on an array table in which the obtained binarized data sequence is arranged in the transport direction. A medium heavy run detection device that can reliably detect medium overruns because it can improve false detection due to various factors such as dirt such as powder and dust, and fluctuations in the output of the optical sensor due to variations in the optical sensor and medium. It is possible to realize the heavy running detection method and the program.

  The above-described embodiment shows an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. is there.

Here, differences between the present invention and Patent Documents 1 and 2 will be described.
In the invention described in Patent Document 1, a threshold level for determining presence / absence of heavy running is determined by reading a barcode printed on a medium in advance.
In the invention described in Patent Document 2, the medium is read in advance in the reference generation mode, and the threshold level for determining whether there is heavy running is determined based on the obtained data.
However, the present invention does not determine one threshold level for the presence / absence of heavy running as in the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, but simply determines the light transmission amount of the medium as a pattern ( Therefore, the present invention is different from the inventions described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2.

  The present invention can be applied to a device having a structure for detecting a medium using an optical sensor. In particular, it can be applied to mechatronic products, improving the accuracy of heavy run detection during media transport, and improving reliability and stability during operation.

It is an example of the block diagram of the heavy run detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows a normal state when one medium is normally conveyed, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows an abnormal state when two media shift and overlap. (C) is an explanatory diagram showing an abnormal state when two media overlap each other and (d) is an explanatory diagram of erroneous detection due to a decrease in sensor level. ) Is an explanatory diagram of erroneous detection due to variations in sensors and media. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the area on the conveyance means at the time of medium conveyance at the time of binarization by a some threshold level, and the light transmission amount. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the area on the conveyance means at the time of medium conveyance at the time of binarization by a some threshold level, and the light transmission amount. It is a block diagram which shows other embodiment of the heavy-running detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows one Embodiment of the program which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical sensor 2 Light emitting element 3 Light receiving element 4 Comparator 5 Threshold level generation part 6 LSI
10 Display section

Claims (7)

A light emitting means for irradiating light to the medium being conveyed; a light receiving means for receiving the transmitted light from the medium; and a determining means for determining whether the medium is overrun based on the amount of light transmitted from the light receiving means. A medium heavy-duty detection device equipped with,
The discriminating means binarizes the level of the transmitted light at a plurality of threshold levels, and detects the presence or absence of the heavy run based on an array table in which the obtained binarized data sequence is arranged in the transport direction, A medium in which the number of threshold levels is increased when the amount of transmitted light in the light-transmitting state is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the number of threshold levels is decreased when the amount of transmitted light in the light-transmitting state is smaller than the predetermined value. Heavy running detector.   The determination means detects the presence or absence of the heavy run based on a shape of a pattern in which a boundary line between a high level and a low level of the binarized data in the array table is connected. The heavy run detection device according to 1.   The discriminating means detects a transmitted light amount in a light-transmitting state from a binarized output before detecting a heavy run, and performs subsequent run detection at a threshold level equal to or lower than a transmitted light amount in a light-transmitting state for subsequent operations. The heavy run detection device according to claim 2.   A heavy running detection method for detecting the presence or absence of heavy running of the medium based on transmitted light obtained by irradiating light to a medium being transported, wherein the level of the transmitted light is binarized at a plurality of threshold levels, Based on the obtained binarized data sequence arranged in the transport direction, the presence or absence of the heavy running is detected, and when the transmitted light amount in the light passing state is equal to or larger than the predetermined value, the number of threshold levels is increased. A medium heavy running detection method characterized in that the number of threshold levels is reduced when the amount of transmitted light in a light state is smaller than a predetermined value. The heavy running detection method according to claim 4, wherein the presence or absence of the heavy running is detected based on a shape of a pattern in which a boundary line between a high level and a low level of the binarized data in the array table is connected. The amount of transmitted light passing state detected from the binarized output before heavy run detection, according to claim 5, characterized in that performing a heavy run detected in the transmitted light amount below the threshold level of the light passing state for subsequent operation Method of heavy running detection of medium. On the computer,
The receiving means receives a signal obtained by binarizing the transmitted light of the light irradiated to the medium being transported at different threshold levels;
The sequence table creating means creates a sequence table in which the obtained binarized data strings are arranged in the transport direction;
The detection means increases the number of threshold levels when the transmitted light amount in the light-transmitting state is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and decreases the number of threshold levels when the transmitted light amount in the light-transmitting state is smaller than the predetermined value; A procedure for detecting the presence or absence of heavy running based on the shape of the pattern connecting the boundary lines between the high level and low level of the binarized data in the column table,
A program characterized by having executed.

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