JP6744125B2 - Check processor - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a check processing device for reading an image of a manuscript such as securities such as a bill and a check, an image of an ID card such as a driver's license, and magnetic ink characters printed on a bill and a check.

Conventionally, bills, checks, etc. (hereinafter referred to as checks) brought into a financial institution such as a bank take images of both sides of the checks at each bank, and print out magnetic ink characters (MICR characters). It is automatically sorted and collected using a reading device and brought to the clearing house. In recent years, a check processing device that can read both magnetic ink characters printed on checks and double-sided image images has been put into practical use in order to improve the work efficiency before bringing them to the clearing house. Has been converted.

Due to the recent digitalization of information, the image processing part of this check processing device is read by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a contact image sensor (CIS), and the read image data is digitally processed to obtain a computer. You can easily manage and operate the information.

Patent Document 1 discloses a structure for reading an image of a card such as an ID card.

When a card is inserted between two parallel ribs as in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the tip of the card comes into contact with either one of the ribs first depending on the attitude of the card when the card is inserted. Then, the inclination of the card is corrected along the rib. However, if the configuration of Patent Document 1 is applied to a check processing device that conveys a card with the printing surface thereof standing upright, when the card is aligned with the ribs on the upper surface side of the card, all or part of the lower surface of the card is removed from the conveying surface. It will be transported in a floating state.

JP, 2014-99824, A

A card whose bottom surface floats easily changes its inclination with respect to the carrying surface due to the weight of the card itself or the force received from the carrying surface with which the card contacts during carrying. When the inclination of the card changes during image reading, various problems occur such as a problem that the read image image is curved. However, if the width between the two ribs is substantially equal to the width of the card so that the lower surface of the card does not float from the transport surface as much as possible, it becomes difficult to insert the card.

In view of such a situation, the check processing device of the present invention is
First transporting means for transporting the sheet along the first transport path;
A second transport means for transporting the card along a second transport path that joins in the middle of the first transport path,
The second transport path has an insertion port into which the card is inserted, a merge port that communicates with a part of the first transport path, and both widthwise ends of the card inserted from the insertion port in the transport direction. Has a wall portion that guides along,
The wall portion has a first wall portion that guides a lower surface of the card, and a second wall portion that guides an upper surface of the card,
The first wall portion is substantially parallel to the card transport direction, the second wall portion is inclined with respect to the card transport direction, and the distance between the wall portions in the width direction of the card is the above. Between the insertion port and the confluence, gradually narrows toward the downstream side in the transport direction,
An interval between the wall portions at the confluence is equal to a width of the card.

According to the present invention, it is easy to insert the card into the card insertion slot, and in the card transport path until the cards merge with the transport path through which the checks are transported, with respect to the transport surface of the card transported in an upright state. Since the inclination is corrected, it is possible to reduce the influence of the inclination being changed during the transportation of the card.

1 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a check processing device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram of the vicinity of a conveyance path junction when the sheet S is discharged. FIG. 6 is a diagram of the vicinity of a transport path junction when the ID card C is discharged. FIG. 6 is a view of the vicinity of a transport path junction when the ID card C is discharged, as viewed from the side of the device. Schematic of a card conveyance path. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the inclination of a card with a floating tip is corrected. The figure showing how the inclination of the card with the rear end floated is corrected. FIG. 7 is a schematic view of another form of the card transport path.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a check processing device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a check processing device 100 to which this embodiment is applied. The check processing apparatus 100 can read both the image images on both sides of a bill or a check brought in by a customer to a financial institution such as a bank and magnetic ink printed characters in one conveyance. A CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a contact image sensor (CIS) is used in the image reading unit, and the read image information is converted into digital signal data so that the computer can easily manage and operate the information. Has become.

It has a transport motor (not shown) that drives the transport roller group, and a feed motor (not shown) that drives the roller group in the paper feed section. A controller unit 40 that performs communication between them is provided. An operation panel 60 operated by an operator such as a power button and a start button for starting the processing of checks is provided on the front side of the apparatus. The check processing apparatus 100 reads MICR characters printed on a sheet S, which is a bill or a check, and image images on both sides. Therefore, here, the sheet S is conveyed in the character string direction of MICR characters and is read by an interface cable. The read MICR character data and the image data of both sides are transmitted to the connected upper device (not shown). Further, a card insertion opening 23 for reading the image of the customer's ID card C is provided on the front surface of the device. An image of the ID card C inserted through the card insertion slot 23 is read using the same reading sensor 30 that reads the image on the sheet S.

Below is a brief description of the flow of check transfers. The shape of the transfer path 7 through which checks are transferred is U-shaped. Checks are placed on the hopper 2 on the front side of the apparatus in a state in which the checks are erected so that the printing surface contacts the paper feed roller 4. The checks placed on the hopper 2 are fed to the conveyance path 7 by the paper feed roller 4 and conveyed by the feed roller 5.

Checks magnetized by the permanent magnet 8 are conveyed to the position of the magnetic head 12 by the conveyance roller pair 9 and the magnetic ink characters are read. Further, the checks transported by the transport roller pairs 13 and 14 are scanned by the image scanning sensor pair 30 including a CCD or a contact image sensor to read the image, and then discharged to the sheet discharge stacker 21 on the front side of the apparatus.

In addition to reading checks, the check processing device 100 also reads an image of an ID card such as a driver's license of a customer in order to confirm customer information. The customer hands the ID card to the operator who operates the check processing apparatus 100, and the operator inserts the ID card into the card insertion slot 23 of the check processing apparatus 100. The card inserted in the card insertion slot 23 is conveyed by the card conveying roller 25 through the card conveying path 26, and then merges with the check conveying path 7, and is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 17 to the image reading sensor pair 30 side. Be transported. After the card conveyed by the pair of conveying rollers 14 reaches the card evacuation port 28, the card is conveyed to the side of the image reading sensor pair 30 by the pair of conveying rollers 14 and the image image is read by the pair of image reading sensors 30. After that, the sheet is conveyed by the pair of conveying rollers 17 and ejected to the sheet stacker 21.

Since cards such as an ID card are merged and conveyed in the conveyance path 7 for checks, they are inserted and conveyed in the ID card insertion port 23 in a standing state like checks. It is desirable that the size of the card insertion port 23 in the card width direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in the drawing) is set larger than the width of the card so that the operator can easily insert the card. However, if the size of the card insertion slot 23 is excessively large, the card may be inserted in an inclined state with respect to the carrying direction. If the card is conveyed while tilted, the read image will be skewed. Furthermore, when the image of the card is read by CIS and the inclination of the card changes, the image of the read card becomes curved.

If the size of the card insertion opening 23 in the card width direction is made substantially equal to the width of the card in order to prevent the card from being inserted at an angle, it is difficult for the operator to insert the card.

Therefore, it is required to easily insert the card into the card insertion slot 23 and prevent or correct the inclination of the inserted card. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the width of the card insertion opening 23 in the width direction of the card (the height direction when the main body is placed) gradually narrows toward the downstream side in the carrying direction and is connected to the card carrying path. The width of the card is the same as the width of the card. This makes it possible to easily insert the card, but also prevents the card from being conveyed while being inclined. This point will be described later in detail.

The tray 1 is rotatably supported on the front surface of the check processing apparatus 100. When the check processing apparatus 100 is not used, the tray 1 is housed in the front surface of the main body to cover the front surface of the apparatus. , And the rear end of the bill/check that is loaded on the hopper 2 provided in the check processing apparatus 100, and the bill/check discharged to the discharge tray 21 after reading the image image and the magnetic ink printed characters. It has the function of holding the tip.

When the sheets S are stacked on the hopper 2, the sheets S are recognized by the stacking detection sensor 2a mounted on the hopper 2. In this state, when the operator presses the start button on the operation panel 60, a reading start signal is transmitted from the host device such as the above-described host computer to the controller unit 40, and the paper feed pressing member 3 is operated by a paper feed motor (not shown). The sheet S is driven and pressed against the sheet feeding roller 4. The paper feed roller 4 feeds the sheet S to the feed roller 5. The fed sheet S is conveyed to the sheet conveying path 7 in the apparatus by the feed roller 5.

At this time, when the sheet S fed by the paper feed roller 4 is a plurality of sheets, it is separated and conveyed to only one sheet by the separation roller 6 arranged facing the feed roller 5. The feed roller 5 and the separation roller 6 each have a comb-like structure, and the protrusions of the feed roller 5 and the recesses of the separation roller 6 are arranged so that the recesses of the feed roller 5 and the protrusions of the separation roller 6 mesh with each other. To be done. The axis between the feed roller 5 and the separation roller 6 can be adjusted by an axis adjustment mechanism 50. When the operator rotates the adjustment dial 55, the gap between the feed roller 5 and the outer peripheral surface of the separation roller 6 is adjusted through the inter-axis adjustment mechanism 50 to be the optimum gap for the check separation.

The magnetized direction of the MICR characters printed on the sheet S of the sheet S conveyed to the sheet conveying path 7 is aligned by the permanent magnets 8 arranged in the sheet conveying path 7, and the sheet S is further conveyed into the apparatus by the conveying roller pair 9. To be done. Between the transport roller pair 9 and the transport roller pair 13, a sheet detection sensor 10, a multi-feed detection sensor 11, a magnetic head 12, and a magnetic head 12 are provided on the opposite side of the sheet detection sensor 10 for timing of reading MICR characters. An opposed roller 12a that presses against is arranged.

In order to reduce the size of the apparatus, a magnetic head 12 for reading MICR characters printed on the lower side of the check is arranged on the lower end side of the conveyance path, and a double feed detection sensor 11 for detecting the double feed of the sheets S is arranged on the upper side thereof. .. When a plurality of checks are sent to the sheet conveyance path 7 without being separated into one sheet by the separation roller 6, the double feed detection sensor 11 detects the double feed. When the double feed is detected, the feeding of the subsequent check and the conveyance of the check in which the double feed is detected are stopped. Here, if another check is present in the sheet conveying path 7 before the double-fed check, only feeding of the check is stopped, and the check before the double-fed check is discharged by the discharge roller pair 17. After the sheets are discharged to the stacker 21, the conveyance of the check that has been double fed is stopped.

At the same time when the double feed detection sensor 11 detects the double feed, the sheet S is pressed by the facing roller 12a so that the portion where the MICR character is printed is brought into close contact with the magnetic head 12, and the MICR character is read. The sheet S whose MICR characters are read by the magnetic head 12 is conveyed to the endorser 15 by the conveying roller pair 13. The endorser 15 prints a character string such as the date when the check is processed or the name of the financial institution on the back surface of the conveyed sheet S by communication with a higher-level device (not shown). The sheet S that has passed through the endorser 15 is transported by the transport roller pair 14, and after the registration sensor 16 sets the image reading timing, the sheet S is transported to the image reading sensor pair 30 that reads the images on both sides of the sheet S. Image is read. The image reading sensor 30 has an LED, which is a light emitting element, a condenser lens, and a light receiving element inside, and can read image images on both sides of the sheet S in both color and black and white.

The sheet S is discharged onto the sheet discharge stacker 21 by the sheet discharge roller pair 17 after the image is read. The paper discharge stacker 21 is provided with a paper discharge guide 18 and a sheet presser 20 that can swing according to the stacking amount of the discharged sheets S, and a paper discharge guide surface 19 fixed to the paper discharge stacker 21. ing. The discharge guide surface 19 forms an area where the sheets S can be stacked together with the alignment surface 21a. The discharge direction of the discharged sheet S is changed by the discharge guide 18, and the sheet S is discharged toward the alignment surface 21a. The discharged sheet S advances along the alignment surface 21a while being pressed against the alignment surface 21a by the sheet retainer 20, and the leading end of the sheet S is regulated by the sheet stopper 22. Sheets that are continuously discharged are also discharged while sequentially overlapping the discharged sheets, and the leading ends are aligned and aligned by the sheet stopper 22.

Next, the flow from setting the ID card C in the check processing device 100 by the user to discharging it to the paper output stacker 21 will be described.

When the ID card C is inserted into the card insertion opening 23 provided on the front surface of the apparatus in a state of being erected like the sheet S, the card detection sensor 24 detects the ID card C, and a sheet feeding motor (not shown) and conveyance (not shown). The motor rotates. A transport motor (not shown) rotates the transport roller pair 14 and the paper discharge roller pair 17 in the direction opposite to that in the check transport. A paper feed motor (not shown) rotates the card transport roller 25 in the direction in which the card is drawn. The ID card C is carried by the card carrying roller 25 to a card carrying path 26 provided in the apparatus.

The ID card C that has advanced along the card transport path 26 passes through the transport path merging port 27, which is a position where the card transport path 26 and the sheet transport path 7 merge, and reaches the paper discharge roller pair 17. The ID card C is transported to the transport roller pair 14 by the paper discharge roller pair 17. The ID card C sent to the pair of transport rollers 14 goes straight through the pair of transport rollers 14 as it is, and is transported to the card retreat port 28 provided in front of it. When the trailing edge of the ID card C passes the registration sensor 16, the conveyance motor (not shown) temporarily stops rotating and starts rotating in the same direction as when the check is conveyed.

Similar to the image reading of a check, after the registration sensor 16 sets the image reading timing, the image is conveyed to the image reading sensor pair 30 and the images on both sides of the ID card C are read. The ID card C from which the image has been read is ejected to the paper ejection stacker 21 by the paper ejection roller 17. The ID card C rotates the paper ejection guide 18 and is ejected through the lower side of the paper ejection guide surface 19.

Next, by taking as an example the case where the sheet S and the ID card C are discharged to the discharge stacker 21, the more detailed configuration and operation of each component in the discharge stacker 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

FIG. 2 is a view of the vicinity of the discharge guide 18 (dotted line portion in FIG. 1) viewed from above, and is a view when the height direction of the card is viewed so as to match the vertical direction of the drawing. 2 and 3 are enlarged views of the dotted line portion of FIG. 1, FIG. 2 is a view seen from above when the sheet S is discharged, and FIG. 3 is a left side surface when the ID card C is discharged (see FIG. It is the figure seen from FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the discharge guide surface 19 is provided at a position higher than the height of the ID card C to be discharged. The paper ejection guide 18 is provided at a position lower than the paper ejection guide surface 19.

By the way, when the sheet S is discharged into the discharge stacker 21, the sheet S is stacked in the area between the discharge guide surface 19 and the alignment surface 21a, so that the discharge guide surface 19 is discharged in a standing state. The sheet S is provided at a position lower than the height of the sheet S. Therefore, the position of the discharge guide surface 19 in the height direction is provided at a position higher than the height of the ID card C and lower than the height of the sheet S.

In this embodiment, the height of the ID card C is 54 mm, which is the height of the card of the international standard ID-1, and the height of the sheet S is 70 mm, which is the height of a general check. The position in the height direction is set to a position 57.5 mm from the surface guiding the bottom surface of the discharged card.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet S that is soft and easy to bend can be changed by bending the discharge direction by the discharge guide 18 while being discharged by the discharge roller pair 17. However, unlike the sheet S, the ID card C, which is more resistant to bending than the sheet S, cannot be changed by bending the ejection direction during ejection. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the ID card C is ejected from the ejection roller pair 17 by rotating the ejection guide 18 by contacting the swingable ejection guide 18 with the front surface of the card. The sheet is ejected through the bottom of the ejection guide surface 19 while maintaining the conveyance direction of.

Next, a more detailed structure of the card carrying path 26 and the movement of the carried ID card C will be described. FIG. 5 is a simplified diagram when the card transport path 26 is viewed from the left side shown in FIG.

The ID card C has its rear end supported by the tray 1 and is inserted into the card insertion slot 23. The inserted ID card C is detected by the card detection sensor 24, and is conveyed to the conveyance passage junction 27 by the card conveyance roller 26. There is a pair of discharge rollers 17 at the confluence of the conveying paths, and the pair of discharging rollers 17 conveys the sheet toward the conveying path 7.

The card transport path 26 is surrounded by an upper card guide 29a that guides the upper surface of the ID card C and a lower card guide 29b that guides the lower surface of the ID card C in the card width direction.

The image reading sensor pair 30 is arranged such that the light emitting element and the light receiving element are arranged in the vertical direction of the apparatus, and the lower card guide 29b is perpendicular to the direction in which the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the image reading sensor pair 30 are arranged. It is arranged to be. The upper card guide 29a is arranged so that the vertical distance between the upper card guide 29a and the lower card guide 29b in the conveying path becomes gradually narrower as it approaches the conveying path merging port 27 from the card insertion opening 23. It is provided so as to be inclined with respect to the guide 29b.

In the present embodiment, in order to make it easy for the operator to insert the card to the position of the card transport roller 25, the vertical interval of the transport path is set wide and constant up to the position of the card transport roller 25, and the card is discharged from the position of the card transport roller 25. Up to the position of the paper roller pair 17, the vertical interval of the transport path is gradually narrowed. By doing so, the card can be easily inserted into the card transport roller 25, and the card inserted up to the card transport roller 25 is drawn by the card transport roller 25 and tilted with respect to the lower card guide 29b and inserted into the card insertion slot 23. When the ID card C is conveyed through the card conveying path 26, its inclination is corrected by the upper card guide 29a and the lower card guide 29b.

The inclination of the ID card C when the ID card C has finished passing through the transport path merging port 27 depends on the vertical interval LA of the card transport path at the transport path merging port 27. The closer the distance LA is to the width of the ID card C, the more the upper card guide 29a and the lower card guide 29b correct the inclination of the card. Therefore, the distance LA is set to be as short as possible within a range in which the card can surely pass, in consideration of the width standard of the ID card C, the tolerance of the components forming the card transport path 26, and the like. In this embodiment, the distance LA is 54.5 mm with respect to the card width of 54 mm.

Ease of card insertion depends on the vertical distance LB of the card transport path at the card insertion slot 23. However, if the distance LB is excessively long, the inclination of the card allowed when the card is inserted becomes large. When the ID card C that is inserted with an excessive inclination is conveyed, the ID card C may be caught between the upper card guide 29a and the lower card guide 29b and the conveyance may be stopped.

Therefore, the distance LB is set to a length that allows the ID card C that is inserted at an angle to be smoothly conveyed between the two card guides without being jammed, and is as long as possible so that the ID card can be easily inserted. In this embodiment, the distance LB is set to 58.5 mm to facilitate insertion of the card and prevent the inclined ID card from colliding with the inclined portion of the upper card guide 29a and stopping the conveyance.

6 and 7 are views schematically showing how the inclination of the ID card C is corrected during transportation.

FIG. 6 shows a case where the front end side of the ID card C is inserted into the card insertion slot 23 in a state of being floated from the lower card guide 29b than the rear end side. The ID card C is transported along the card transport path 26 by the card transport roller 25. However, when the card transport roller 25 is provided on the lower side of the card transport path 26 as shown in FIG. Since the carrying force is applied, a force acts in a direction in which the inclination is further promoted, but the front end side of the upper surface of the ID card C contacts the upper card guide 29a. When the tip side of the upper surface of the ID card C is conveyed along the upper card guide 29a, the tilt of the upper card guide 29a corrects the tilt of the ID card C.

FIG. 7 shows a case where the rear end side of the card is inserted into the card insertion slot 23 in a state of being floated from the lower card guide 29b than the front end side. The ID card C is transported through the card transport path 26, and the rear end side of the upper surface of the ID card C contacts the upper card guide 29a. When the rear end side of the upper surface of the ID card C is conveyed along the upper card guide 29a, the tilt of the upper card guide 29a corrects the tilt of the ID card C.

The positional relationship between the upper card guide 29a and the lower card guide 29b is not limited to the configuration described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper card guide 29a may start from the position of the card insertion port 23, and the upper card guide 29a may also be inclined at the upstream side position of the transport path merging port 27. It is also possible to provide a portion having a constant conveyance width both in the vicinity of 23 and in the vicinity of the conveyance path merging port 27 and not to provide the inclination. The positional relationship between the upper card guide 29a and the lower card guide 29b can be changed as appropriate according to the positional relationship with other parts constituting the apparatus.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the variation in the angle when the user manually inserts the card into the card insertion slot 23 is adjusted before the card reaches the inside of the card conveyance path 26, particularly the conveyance path junction. The card that merges into the transport path 7 has a straight posture when it merges into the transport path 7, and then the card that is straight in the check-only transport path (switchback transport). be able to.
As a result, the image processing load such as the inclination correction of the card image is reduced, so that high-speed processing of reading the entire device becomes possible.

1 Tray 7 Transport path 23 Card insertion slot 26 Card transport path 27 Transport path junction 29a Upper card guide 29b Lower card guide C ID card LA Vertical spacing of card transport path at transport path merge slot LB Card transport at card slot Vertical spacing of roads

Claims (4)

First transporting means for transporting the sheet along the first transport path;
A second transport means for transporting the card along a second transport path that joins in the middle of the first transport path,
The second transport path has an insertion port into which the card is inserted, a merge port that communicates with a part of the first transport path, and both widthwise ends of the card inserted from the insertion port in the transport direction. Has a wall portion that guides along,
The wall portion has a first wall portion that guides a lower surface of the card, and a second wall portion that guides an upper surface of the card,
The first wall portion is substantially parallel to the card transport direction, the second wall portion is inclined with respect to the card transport direction, and the distance between the wall portions in the width direction of the card is the above. Between the insertion opening and the confluence opening, gradually narrows toward the downstream side in the transport direction,
The sheet conveying device, wherein the distance between the walls at the merge opening is equal to the width of the card. First transporting means for transporting the standing sheet along the first transport path;
A second transport means for transporting the standing card along a second transport path that joins the middle of the first transport path,
The second transport path has an insertion port into which the card is inserted, a merge port that communicates with a part of the first transport path, and both widthwise ends of the card inserted from the insertion port in the transport direction. Has a wall portion that guides along,
A portion of the wall portion that guides the upper surface of the card has an inclined portion that gradually narrows toward the downstream side in the transport direction between the insertion opening and the confluence opening,
The sheet transporting device, wherein the second transporting unit is provided below the second transporting path . The second transport means is disposed in the second transport path,
3. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an interval between the wall portions in the width direction of the card is constant from the insertion port to the second conveying unit. Sheet conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has an image reading portion disposed in the first conveyance path.