JP5477151B2 - Bill discrimination device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a banknote discriminating apparatus for identifying a modified banknote pasted using a tape or glue.

  In recent years, there has been an increase in counterfeit bills in which a part of a genuine note is cut out and a counterfeit note is attached to the cut out portion using a tape or the like. As one of the methods for identifying this type of altered banknote, the banknote is sandwiched and conveyed by a reference roller and a plurality of detection rollers provided in series in contact with the reference roller, and the thickness of the banknote is determined by the detection roller. There is a banknote discriminating device that detects the displacement (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In the banknote discriminating apparatus described in Patent Literature 1, the thickness of the banknote in the portion where the tape is applied is thicker than that where the tape is not applied, and the tape used for alteration is detected, and the banknote Identify the authenticity of

JP 2005-258610 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the detection rollers are arranged in series along the reference roller, an inevitable interval is formed between adjacent detection rollers. As a result, when the width of the tape used for pasting is narrower than the above-described interval, the tape enters this interval, and there is a possibility that a modified bill cannot be detected.

  Hereinafter, this point will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 6 (A) to 6 (C) are diagrams schematically showing a structure of a conventional banknote discriminating apparatus, and are front views partially showing a cross-sectional view. 6A to 6C, the conventional banknote discrimination apparatus 100 includes a plurality of detection rollers 102 and 104, a reference roller 106, and displacement sensors 108 and 110 that detect displacement amounts of the detection rollers 102 and 104. It has. As for the detection rollers 102 and 104, each rotating shaft 102b and 104b is being fixed to the U-shaped brackets 102a and 104a. The detection rollers 102 and 104 and the reference roller 106 hold the bill P. In addition, there is an inevitable interval W between the detection rollers 102 and 104 adjacent to each other.

  In this example, a tape T is affixed to the surface of the banknote P to be verified as authentic, and the genuine note portion p1 and the counterfeit note portion p2 are attached together with the tape T to form a single bill P. It is composed. The bill P is sandwiched between the reference roller 106 and the detection rollers 102 and 104 and conveyed. In the figure, the banknote P is transported in the front and back direction of the paper surface of the figure, and is shown in a cross section orthogonal to the transport direction.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the detection roller 102 rides on the tape T attached to the banknote P, so that the distance from the reference roller 106 is separated from the detection roller 104. The displacement of this distance is detected by the displacement sensor 108, and as a result, it is determined that the bill P is a modified bill.

  However, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the width of the tape T1 is narrower than the width of the interval W, the tape T1 may enter the interval W. In this case, the detection rollers 102 and 104 cannot detect the tape T1, and it becomes difficult to detect the altered banknote.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 6C, even when glue is used to bond the bills P, the width of the bonding portion H for bonding that increases the thickness of the bills is narrower than that for tape bonding. Also in this case, the possibility that the joint portion H enters the interval W increases, the detection rollers 102 and 104 cannot detect the joint portion H, and it becomes difficult to detect the altered bill.

  As a result of intensive studies, the inventor of the present invention has conceived that the above-described problems can be solved by connecting the detection rollers adjacent to each other with a sheet-like member in contact with the surface of the banknote.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to identify an altered banknote in which a genuine note and a counterfeit note are bonded together by utilizing the fact that the thickness of the banknote is increased in the bonding portion, even when the width of the bonding portion is narrow. An object of the present invention is to provide a banknote discriminating device that can be reliably identified.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the banknote discriminating apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality of detection rollers extending along a first direction that is perpendicular to the banknote transport direction and parallel to the banknote surface. .

  Each detection roller has both ends of its rotation shaft fixed to the bracket, and the bill side end surface facing the bill of the bracket is formed in a convex curved shape toward the surface of the bill. The bill-side end surface of the bracket to which the detection roller is fixed and the bill-side end surface of the bracket to which another detection roller adjacent to the detection roller is fixed have flexibility and wear resistance. The sheet-like member is in contact with the surface of the banknote.

  According to this bill discriminating apparatus, the bill side end surface of the bracket that supports the detection roller is connected to the bill side end surface of the adjacent bracket by the sheet-like member having flexibility and wear resistance.

  As a result, the sheet-like member is displaced upward by a protrusion such as a tape attached to the banknote surface, and as a result, the sheet-like member is displaced upward by dragging the detection rollers located on both sides of the sheet-like member. . Therefore, in the past, there was a case where a tape having a width narrower than the interval between the detection rollers could not be detected. According to the present invention, even if the tape is narrower than the interval between the detection rollers, it is ensured. Can be detected.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the banknote discriminating device, in the curved shape of the banknote side end surface, it is measured from the banknote surface where the distance between the banknote surface and the banknote surface is the farthest. The difference in height is preferably 500 μm or more.

  By doing in this way, since the height of a curved shape can be 500 micrometers, a banknote side end surface is not caught in the corner | angular part of a banknote.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the banknote discrimination device, it is preferable to provide a reference roller extending along the first direction for holding and transporting the banknote between the plurality of detection rollers.

  By doing in this way, a banknote can be stably conveyed with a detection roller and a reference | standard roller.

  According to a further preferred embodiment of the banknote discrimination device, it is preferable to provide a thickness detector that detects the amount of displacement of each detection roller relative to the reference roller.

  By doing in this way, the displacement amount of each detection roller originating in the change of the thickness of a banknote can be measured.

  According to the present invention, when identifying a modified banknote in which a genuine note and a counterfeit note are bonded together using the increase in the thickness of the banknote in the bonding portion, it is ensured even when the width of the bonding portion is narrow. Can be identified.

  Further, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, since the curved shape of the bill side end surface of the bracket has a height of 500 μm, the corner portion of the bill is not caught on the bill side end surface.

It is a principal part expanded side view of the banknote identification device of this embodiment. It is a principal part enlarged front view of the banknote identification device of this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram with which it uses for the effect of operation | movement of the banknote identification device of this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram which shows the functional structure of the banknote identification system of this embodiment. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of operation | movement of the banknote identification system of this embodiment. (A)-(C) are front views which make a cross section a part which shows typically the structure of the conventional banknote identification device.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the shape, size, and arrangement relationship of each component are schematically shown to the extent that the present invention can be understood. Moreover, although the preferable structural example of this invention is demonstrated hereafter, the material of each component, a numerical condition, etc. are only a suitable example. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Moreover, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to a common component and the description may be abbreviate | omitted.

(Construction)
With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the structure of the banknote discrimination device of embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is an enlarged side view of a principal part showing a part of a cross section of the bill discriminating apparatus of this embodiment, taken along line II in FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of an essential part showing a part of the bill discriminating apparatus of this embodiment in section. In this embodiment described below, two detection rollers 14 and 15 are shown as representatives among a large number of detection rollers provided over the entire width of the bill P.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the banknote discrimination device 10 includes a plurality of detection rollers 14 and 15, a reference roller 12, and displacement sensors 18 and 20, and the detection rollers 14 and 15 and the reference roller 12 include The displacement sensors 18 and 20 are used to detect the thickness of the banknote P that is sandwiched and transported along the transport direction A.

  The reference roller 12 is a long roller made of resin or hard metal having elasticity. The reference roller 12 is driven to rotate by a rotation mechanism (not shown). The reference roller 12 has a function of sandwiching the bill P between the detection rollers 14 and 15 and transporting it along the transport direction A.

  The detection rollers 14 and 15 are made of a resinous or hard metal having elasticity, and are perpendicular to the conveyance direction A of the banknote P and parallel to the surface of the banknote P, that is, the extension of the reference roller 12. A plurality are provided along the direction. The detection rollers 14 and 15 are driven rotation rollers.

  Both ends of the rotating shaft 14a of the detection roller 14 are preferably fixed to, for example, a U-shaped bracket 14b that supports the detection roller 14. Similarly, both ends of the rotation shaft 15a of the detection roller 15 are also fixed to the bracket 15b. The shapes of the brackets 14b and 15b are formed to be equal to each other.

  1 and 2, the brackets 14b and 15b have side walls on both sides of the rollers 14 and 15, respectively. In the configuration example shown in the figure, the end surfaces of these side walls, that is, the lower end surfaces facing the banknotes, that is, the banknote side end surfaces 14b1 and 15b1, are convexly curved toward the surface of the banknote P, preferably, for example, in the shape of a ship bottom. It is formed into a shape. A material having flexibility and wear resistance between the banknote side end face 14b1 of the bracket 14b and the banknote side end face 15b1 of the bracket 15b adjacent to the bracket 14b, preferably a sheet-like member 22 made of resin, for example. Is attached. And attachment of the sheet-like member 22 to this curved banknote side end surface may be performed by arbitrary suitable methods, for example, can be performed by adhesion | attachment etc.

  As is apparent from FIG. 1, the bottom end 22 of the bottom of the sheet-like member 22, that is, the closest part to the banknote P, has the same height as the peripheral surface of the detection roller 14. As a result, when the banknote P is conveyed, the lowermost end portion of the sheet-like member 22 comes into contact with the surface of the banknote P.

  Moreover, in the curved shape of the banknote side end surfaces 14b1 and 15b1, the difference in height measured from the banknote surface between the point closest to the surface of the banknote P and the point farthest from the surface of the banknote is 500 μm. That's it. That is, the difference in height between the lowest point on the banknote side end surface and the highest point is set to 500 μm or more. This is to prevent the curved shape of the banknote side end faces 14b1 and 15b1 from being caught by the corners of the banknote P having a thickness of 100 to 150 μm.

  If the material which comprises the sheet-like member 22 is a material which has the property which is flexible, ie, the property which flexes flexibly, and the abrasion resistance which does not wear even if it contacts with the banknote P for a long time, it will be resin. It is not limited. For example, a thin metal film, cloth, or the like can be used as the sheet-like member 22, and these can be extended between both end surfaces without slack. For the flexibility and wear resistance of these sheet-like members 22, it is only necessary to select a suitable one by repeating a number of tests with a banknote discrimination device to which the sheet-like member 22 is applied.

  The displacement sensors 18 and 20 are provided for each of the detection rollers 14 and 15. The displacement sensors 18 and 20 are, for example, eddy current sensors provided at a predetermined height above the brackets 14b and 15b. The displacement sensors 18 and 20 detect the displacement of the distance between the detection rollers 14 and 15 from the reference roller 12.

(Operation and effect)
Then, with reference to FIG. 3, the operation | movement and effect of the banknote discrimination device 10 are demonstrated.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram used for the effect of the operation of the banknote discrimination device 10.

  In the conventional banknote discriminating apparatus 100 described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C described above, there is a case where it is difficult to discriminate a modified banknote when the width of the joint portion H of the banknote P or the tape T1 is narrow. To do. However, in the banknote discriminating apparatus 10 of this embodiment, even if the width | variety of the junction part H of the banknote P or the tape T1 is narrow, a forged banknote can be detected reliably.

  Hereinafter, this point will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic view when the modified banknote P pasted with the glue shown in FIG. 6C is measured by the banknote discriminating apparatus 10 of this embodiment. In particular, the sheet members 21, 22, and 23 are shown in a simplified manner.

  The bill discriminating apparatus 10 is provided with four detection rollers 13, 14, 15 and 16, and these detection rollers are connected by the sheet-like members 21, 22 and 23 already described. In FIG. 3, the joint H provided on the banknote P is located between the intervals W between the detection rollers 14 and 15. If it is the conventional banknote identification device 100, the junction part H located in the space | interval W cannot be detected as shown in FIG.3 (C). However, in the banknote discriminating apparatus 10 of this embodiment, a sheet-like member 22 that connects the detection rollers 14 and 15 is provided at the position of the interval W.

  As a result, the protrusion derived from the joining portion H pushes the sheet-like member 22 upward because the sheet-like member 22 has flexibility and is stretched without any slack. As a result, the detection rollers 14 and 15 connected to both sides of the sheet-like member 22 are pulled upward by the flexible sheet-like member 22 and displaced upward. That is, the distance between the detection rollers 14 and 15 and the reference roller 12 is changed. This change in distance is detected by the displacement sensors 18 and 20. That is, in this banknote discriminating apparatus 10, the detection rollers are connected by sheet-like members, respectively, and therefore, the modified banknote pasted with a narrow tape, which cannot be detected by the conventional banknote discrimination apparatus 100, It is possible to detect the modified banknote pasted in step (b).

(Banknote discrimination system)
Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 4 and 5, the banknote discrimination system 50 using the banknote discrimination apparatus 10 mentioned above is demonstrated. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the banknote discrimination system 50. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the banknote discrimination system 50.

  Referring to FIG. 4, the banknote discrimination system 50 detects the banknote receiving unit 52 that receives the banknote P to be identified, and detects that the banknote P has been inserted into the banknote receiving unit 52, and captures the entire image of the banknote P. Simultaneously with the image acquisition by the image acquisition unit 54 and the image acquisition unit 54, the bill discrimination device 10 of this embodiment that measures the thickness of the bill P and discriminates the bill P is provided.

  Further, the banknote discrimination system 50 includes an image A / D conversion unit 56a that performs A / D conversion on the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 54. Similarly, the banknote discrimination system 50 includes a thickness A / D conversion unit 56b that A / D converts the thickness data measured by the banknote discrimination apparatus 10. The entire image data of the banknote P converted by the image A / D conversion unit 56a and the thickness data of the entire banknote P converted by the thickness A / D conversion unit 56b are readable and stored in the storage device 64 of the computer 58. Is done.

  The banknote identification system 50 includes a computer 58 that controls the overall operation of the banknote identification system 50. The computer 58 includes a conventionally known CPU (Central Processing Unit) 62, a storage device 64 including a hard disk, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an input device 66 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display. And an output device 68 such as a printer are connected to each other via a BUS line 70.

  The CPU 62 includes a control unit 62a, a calculation unit 62b, and an internal storage unit 62c. The control unit 62a controls the overall operation of the CPU 62. The calculation unit 62b reads out a program related to the operation of the banknote discrimination system 50 from the storage device 64 of the computer 58 under the control of the control unit 62a, and is realized as various functional units. These functional means will be described later. The internal storage unit 62c temporarily stores variables and the like generated in the operation of the CPU 62 so that they can be read out.

  Examples of functional means realized by the calculation unit 62b of the CPU 62 include a system control unit 72, a bill area thickness extraction unit 74, a feature calculation unit 76, and a determination unit 78.

  The system control unit 72 controls the overall operation of the banknote discrimination system 50. For example, when the banknote P is inserted into the banknote receiving unit 52, the system control unit 72 detects it, issues a command to the image acquisition unit 54 and the banknote discrimination device 10, and starts measuring the banknote P.

  The banknote area thickness extraction unit 74 has a function of associating the image data and thickness data of the banknote P stored in the storage device 64 with each other. Thereby, it becomes possible to obtain thickness data of the banknote P at an arbitrary position in the image data.

  The feature calculation unit 76 indicates thickness data indicating the minimum value in the banknote area (hereinafter referred to as “minimum thickness data”) from the thickness data associated with the entire image of the banknote P by the banknote area thickness extraction unit 74. And thickness data (hereinafter referred to as “maximum thickness data”) indicating the maximum thickness within the bill area.

  The determination unit 78 compares the maximum thickness data and the minimum thickness data extracted by the feature calculation unit 76, and the difference between the two is larger than a predetermined threshold value read from the storage device 64. The bill is determined to be a modified bill that has been pasted together. Then, the banknote P is returned to the banknote receiving unit 52.

  On the other hand, the maximum thickness data and the minimum thickness data are compared, and if the difference between them is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the bill is accepted as a genuine note and accepted by the safe 80.

  In addition, it is preferable that the threshold value for discriminating between genuine bills and altered banknotes is a value that is about the thickness of a tape used to create altered banknotes. Specifically, a value of 30 to 50 μm is preferable.

(Bill discrimination system operation)
Hereinafter, the operation of the banknote discrimination system 50 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Symbol S represents a processing step.

  First, in S <b> 1, it is determined whether or not a banknote P has been inserted into the banknote receiving unit 52. When it is determined that the banknote P is not inserted into the banknote receiving unit 52 (No), the process waits at S1 until the banknote P is inserted.

  When it is determined that the banknote P has been inserted into the banknote receiving unit 52 (Yes), the system control unit 72 that has detected it issues a command to the image acquisition unit 54 in S2 to capture the entire image of the banknote P. . The entire image of the banknote P imaged in this way is converted into digital data by the image A / D conversion unit 56a and stored in the storage device 64 so as to be readable.

  Along with the photographing of the entire image of the banknote P, the system control unit 72 issues a command to the banknote discrimination device 10 in S3 and transports the banknote P between the reference roller 12 and the detection rollers 13 to 16 described above. Then, thickness data on the entire surface of the banknote P is measured. The thickness data of the entire bill P thus measured is converted into digital data by the thickness A / D converter 56b and stored in the storage device 64 so as to be readable.

  Subsequently, in S4, the banknote area thickness extraction unit 74 reads out the image data and the thickness data stored in the storage device 64 and associates them. This is because, in the image data, the area where the banknote is photographed is related to the thickness data on a one-to-one basis. Thereby, the thickness measured with respect to each coordinate of the banknote P is determined, and the result is stored in the storage device 64 in a freely readable manner.

  Subsequently, in S <b> 5, the feature calculation unit 76 extracts the maximum thickness data and the minimum thickness data in the measured banknote area, outputs them to the determination unit 78, and stores them in the storage device 64 so as to be readable. This data extraction can be performed by a known method of extracting the maximum value and the minimum value from a large number of data, for example, a successive comparison method or the like.

  Subsequently, in S6, the determination unit 78 calculates a difference between the maximum thickness data and the minimum thickness data obtained in S5, and compares this difference with the above-described threshold value. In S <b> 7, if threshold value <difference (No), it is determined that the banknote P is a modified banknote, and the banknote P is returned to the banknote receiving unit 52.

  On the other hand, in S <b> 8, when the threshold value ≧ difference (Yes), it is determined that the banknote P is a genuine note, and the banknote P is received in the safe 80.

  Both of these determination results are stored in the storage device 64 so as to be readable.

(Modification)
In the example shown in this embodiment, the example in which the banknote discriminating system 50 is used to discriminate a modified banknote in which a genuine note and a counterfeit note are pasted together has been described. However, this bill discrimination system 50 can also be applied to detection of a damaged bill in which a damaged portion of a bill (hereinafter referred to as a “damaged ticket”) that has been partially broken and damaged is repaired with a tape. In this case, in the entire image of the banknote P imaged by the image acquisition unit 54, whether the tape is affixed to a part or whether it is affixed so as to cross the banknote P, You can make sure that it is a non-payment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Banknote discrimination apparatus 12 Reference | standard roller 13, 14, 15, 16 Detection roller 14a, 15a Rotating shaft 14b, 15b Bracket 14b1, 15b1 Banknote side end surface 18, 20 Displacement sensors 21, 22, 23 Sheet-like member 50 Banknote discrimination system 52 Banknote Receiving unit 54 Image acquisition unit 56a Image A / D conversion unit 56b Thickness A / D conversion unit 58 Computer 62 CPU
62a control unit 62b calculation unit 62c internal storage unit 64 storage device 66 input device 68 output device 70 BUS line 72 system control unit 74 bill area thickness extraction unit 76 feature calculation unit 78 determination unit 80 safe

Claims (4)

A plurality of detection rollers extending in a first direction perpendicular to the banknote transport direction and parallel to the banknote surface;
Each detection roller has both ends of a rotation shaft of the detection roller fixed to a bracket, and a bill-side end surface of the bracket facing the bill is a curved shape convex toward the surface of the bill Is formed,
The bill-side end surface of the bracket to which the detection roller is fixed and the bill-side end surface of the bracket to which another detection roller adjacent to the detection roller is fixed have a sheet shape having flexibility and wear resistance. It is connected with a member, and the sheet-like member is in contact with the surface of the bill.   In the curved shape of the banknote side end surface, the difference in height measured from the banknote surface between the point closest to the surface of the banknote and the point farthest from the surface of the banknote is 500 μm or more. The banknote discrimination device according to claim 1, wherein the bill discrimination device is provided.   The bill discriminating device according to claim 1, further comprising a reference roller extending along the first direction, which sandwiches and conveys the bill between the plurality of detection rollers.   The bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a thickness detector that detects a displacement amount of each of the detection rollers with respect to the reference roller.

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