JPH06171071A - Method for discriminating between intaglio printed matter and other printed matter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method for discriminating between printed matter obtained by an intaglio printing technique and printed matter by other printing techniques easily and accurately. CONSTITUTION:Light is emitted to the surface of a bank note 1 from the emission end 5 of an optical fiber 4 for emission, then a reflected light is received by an optical fiber 61 for light reception with a light receiving end 81 arranged at a symmetric angle position with an incident light and optical fibers 62, 63 for light reception with light receiving ends 82, 83 arranged before and after the fiber 61, and is photoelectrically converted. Further, the levels of generated signals are compared by a calculation part 9, and the quantity of received light at the light receiving end 81 is compared to that of either of the other light receiving ends 82, 83. Then if the comparison value is lower than a specified rate, a level difference is interpreted as detected. On the other hand, if the rate of a detected level difference in a detection line is higher than specified, the printed matter is determined as an intaglio printed matter. If a bank note pattern is checked affirmatively by another bank note identification device, it is determined as genuine.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for discriminating an intaglio printed matter from other printed matters for identifying whether or not a target printed matter is an intaglio printed matter printed by an intaglio printing technique. In particular, regarding a printed matter that is once recognized as a banknote, in order to finally identify whether it is a genuine note or a counterfeit note, it is determined whether or not the printing is performed by an intaglio printing technique. The present invention relates to a method of distinguishing a printed matter from other printed matter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, there is no conventional technique for checking whether a printed matter is an intaglio printed matter.

However, as will be described later, at the present time when the technique for identifying the authenticity of banknotes has reached a dead end, it is expected that a more accurate method for identifying banknotes can be proposed. The applicant has come to believe that this can be expected by making it possible to distinguish the printed matter by the printing technique.

First, as described above, the conventional banknote identification method and its problems will be described. One of them is
Light along the appropriate detection zone for bills (including infrared)
Irradiate, receive the reflected light, photoelectrically convert it, and compare it with the waveform obtained for genuine banknotes, and if it is within a certain allowable range, judge it as a genuine note, and If it is not, it is a technique to judge that it is a fake bill.

The above-mentioned conventional technique is not necessarily denied and has a certain degree of accuracy, and has not lost its usefulness. However, with the progress of the copying technique, a genuine note and a fake note obtained by copying the same note. It is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish from, and the technology using visible light is being stalled. Techniques utilizing infrared light are considerably better than this, but it is expected that they will still be stalled for similar reasons.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned conventional technique is liable to be further deteriorated in its performance because the bill becomes dirty due to its use.

In addition to the above, there is a technique for identifying the authenticity by detecting the presence of a magnetic substance in the printing ink. In addition to this, a technique for detecting the width and thickness of banknotes is also adopted. However, these techniques are incomplete and cannot be accurately discriminated from the beginning, and the technique for checking the width and thickness of banknotes is originally only an auxiliary technique.

[0008]

Therefore, the present invention establishes a bill discriminating method capable of surely discriminating between genuine bills and counterfeit bills, which are less affected by dirt, regardless of the progress of copying technology. The final solution to this is the establishment of an identification method for distinguishing printed matter by the intaglio printing technique from printed matter by other printing techniques, as described earlier. Is the subject of.

The grounds for establishing a method for distinguishing the printed matter by the above-mentioned intaglio printing technique from the printed matter by other printing techniques are effective for discriminating the authenticity of banknotes are as follows. is there. That is, most banknotes of each country are printed by an intaglio printing technique, while counterfeit notes are manufactured by printing or copying by a copying machine. The printing technique for producing counterfeit bills is generally lithographic,
It is never an intaglio. When it is manufactured by copying, it can be said that it is a planographic printing technique because it transfers an image with toner generated on a drum to a sheet.

Therefore, on the assumption that the inventor separately confirms that the target bill has the appearance as a bill, whether or not the target bill is printed by intaglio printing. By recognizing that, it came to the idea that it can be identified whether it is a genuine note in banknotes, and as mentioned above, the establishment of the technology to realize this is a problem to be solved. It is what

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The gist of the structure of the present invention is to irradiate the surface of an object to be printed with point-like light sequentially along a certain detection line and set it at the incident point. The reflected light is received at multiple positions near the angular position that is symmetrical with the incident light about the virtual normal, and the amount of light received at each of the above multiple positions is compared with each other. Whether or not there is a relationship recognized as a mutual relationship when the incident point is flat, as a result of completing the detection of the certain detection line, the relationship in the case where the relationship is not flat. If it is judged that there is more than a certain ratio determined by the target printed matter, it is judged as intaglio printed matter, otherwise it is judged as printed matter other than intaglio printed matter. Is the way.

By the way, assuming that the target printed matter is not a perfectly smooth plane but is paper or the like having fine irregularities, the incident point of the target printed matter is flat (here, the fine irregularities are referred to above). It means that there is no unevenness, and the same applies to the following). If the angle is the same as the incident light on the opposite side of the virtual normal (that is, symmetrical about the virtual normal). The strongest reflected light reaches the angular position, and the weakest reflected light reaches its surroundings. If the incident point is a completely smooth plane, the reflected light can reach only the angular position symmetrical to the incident light and cannot reach the surrounding positions, but as described above, it is fine for the print object. Due to such unevenness, the light is scattered and some reflected light reaches it.

Therefore, on the premise of such a fact, various positions can be selected as a plurality of positions in the vicinity of angular positions symmetrical with the incident light about the virtual normal line standing at the incident point. For example, select an angular position (symmetrical angular position, the same applies hereinafter) that is exactly symmetrical with the incident light about the virtual normal, and select any angular position adjacent to this (peripheral angular position, apply the same below). ) Is more than one choice. As the latter, an angle of 45 degrees is formed around an angular position that is exactly symmetrical to the incident light about the virtual normal and around the position, that is, the above-mentioned position, on the arc of the smallest diameter closest to this position. It is suitable to select eight places at intervals, four places at an angle interval of 90 degrees, or two places at an angle interval of 180 degrees.

In the above case, as described above, when the incident point is flat, the amount of light received at the symmetrical angular position is the largest, and the amount of received light at the peripheral angular position is obviously small. This is the scattered light generated by the fine irregularities on the surface of the printing paper, as described above, except for the symmetrical angle position where the incident light and the virtual normal line are exactly symmetrical, that is, at the peripheral angular position. Is only received.
However, the mutual relationship between the amount of received light at the symmetrical angle position and the amount of received light at the peripheral angle position is determined by the degree of unevenness on the surface of the printing paper and the like. When the surface of the printing paper has many fine irregularities, the amount of light received at the peripheral angular position becomes large and the amount of light received at the symmetrical angular position becomes small accordingly.

Basically, such a mutual relation of the amount of received light is independent of the color of the surface of the printing paper. That is, the amount of reflected light changes depending on the color of the incident point, but if the fine irregularities on the surface do not change, the correlation between the amount of light received at the symmetrical angle position and the amount of light received at the peripheral angle position is constant. Hold. However, since the colored surface tends to become smoother due to the collapse of fine irregularities due to ink, etc., when such a smooth colored surface occupies the entire incident point, the reflected light is almost at the symmetrical angle position. However, in the present invention, the step generated at the boundary between the printed portion and the non-printed portion is suppressed. Since it is intended to identify whether or not the printed matter is an intaglio printed matter by detecting it, there is no problem.

However, it is judged that there is unevenness on the surface of the printed matter, that is, there is a step (hereinafter referred to as a step at the end) at the boundary between the printed portion and the non-printed portion of the printed matter by intaglio printing.
The amount of reflected light received at the symmetrical angle position is lowered when the amount of received light at the symmetrical angle position falls below a certain level in relation to the amount of received light at the peripheral angular position. It is appropriate to experimentally determine how much this ratio is for each printed matter.

Therefore, the relationship between the received light amount at the symmetrical angular position and the received light amount at the peripheral angular position when scanning and detecting is performed along the detection line as described above is experimentally determined. If there is a fixed relationship, that is, if the received light amount of reflected light at the symmetrical angle position maintains a certain ratio or more as compared with the received light amount at the peripheral angle position, the print target has a fine surface with paper. It is confirmed that there are only irregularities within the irregularity range. On the contrary, when the received light amount of the reflected light at the symmetrical angle position is reduced to the ratio below the predetermined amount as compared with the received light amount at the peripheral angular position, there is unevenness at that position, that is, the unevenness of the level difference. It is confirmed that there is.

Then, from the printed state of a legitimate printed matter to be identified, for example, a bill such as a 10,000-yen bill, it is confirmed how much unevenness there is (of course, actually scanning along the detection line to check). However, in consideration of the error, if a certain proportion or more of the number of steps that each has on a certain detection line and a plurality of adjacent lines of the printed matter is detected, the intaglio printing is performed. The printed matter, that is, the bill is determined.

It should be noted that due to manufacturing errors of the detection device, the detection line with the smallest number of steps can be scanned on a bill within a certain width centered on a certain detection line, that is, within the detection zone. Based on the above, it is appropriate to determine the detection ratio of the unevenness in the scanning of the entire stroke of the detection line. In this case, with conventional identification means using visible light or infrared light, this method is used for at least an object that looks like a banknote (particularly with the latter, it has been confirmed with high probability that it is a true banknote). If the unevenness (step) is detected at a considerably low rate, it is possible to determine that the printed matter is intaglio printed as long as it is detected.

By the way, in the scanning along the detection line of the printed matter, it is appropriate to irradiate the light from the light source in a point shape as described above. By irradiating as narrow a range as possible, and receiving the reflected light at the target angular position and the peripheral angular position, similarly by the point light receiving section, first, the light reflected at each of the light receiving positions is As much as possible, it is ensured that the print is reflected from the same color portion of the printed matter, and the change in the reflected light amount due to the color and the change in the reflected light amount due to the influence of the unevenness can be distinguished and recognized. That is, in the case of reflection from a portion of the same color, even if the total reflected light amount changes due to the color changing in accordance with scanning, the light receiving amount relationship between the light receiving points does not change accordingly. This is because it can be ensured that there is not.
If so, it is possible to presume that all changes in the relationship of the received light amount of the reflected light between each light receiving position, that is, the symmetrical angle position and the peripheral angle position are changes due to the unevenness.

Further, when scanning the target printed matter along the detection line, the light from the light source may be continuously scanned or may be irradiated in a pulsed manner at an appropriate frequency. Irradiation may be continuously performed, and continuous light reception at each light receiving unit may be sampled at an appropriate frequency. Therefore, it may be possible to continuously irradiate, continuously receive light, and continuously determine the relationship of the amount of light received between each light receiving unit, or to irradiate in pulse form at an appropriate frequency and receive the reflected light. Alternatively, the light may be received by a light receiving section or may be continuously irradiated, the light received by each light receiving section may be sampled at the same frequency, and the relationship of the light receiving amount between the light receiving sections may be intermittently determined.

[0022]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, the authenticity of a printed matter, such as a bill, printed with an intaglio can be determined by checking whether or not it has been printed by the intaglio printing technique. Very useful to.

For example, while the bills are transferred by the transfer means in the lengthwise direction, light is radiated pointwise from a light source arranged above the bills, and light is emitted along a certain detection line along with the transfer of the bills. Irradiate. On the other hand, on the target angular position and the arc that is the center of the target angular position and is the closest to the arc,
For example, five light-receiving portions with four surrounding angular positions arranged at an angle interval of 90 degrees receive point-like light, and these are transmitted to separate light-receiving elements to be photoelectrically converted to obtain an electric signal. Are compared by the comparing means, and the received light amount at the target angular position is
Compared with the amount of received light at any of the surrounding angular positions with the largest amount of received light, if the ratio is lower than a certain value, it is determined that there is unevenness, and if not, it is determined that there is no unevenness. To do. Then, this is repeated for all the steps of the detection line, and when it is determined that unevenness is detected at a certain rate or more at the end time, it is determined that this is a printed matter by intaglio printing, and therefore the target It is determined that the banknote of is a genuine banknote. Otherwise non-genuine banknotes,
That is, it is determined that the bill is a fake bill.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this example, by determining whether or not the target printed matter is printed by the technique of intaglio printing,
It is an example regarding the method of identifying the authenticity of the bill 1.

This method is carried out using the following device. As shown in FIG. 1, this device is composed of a transport device 2 that transports a bill 1 inserted from a bill insertion slot to a stacker by passing under a detection unit of unevenness, and the detection unit. The portion of the conveying device 2 that passes under the detecting portion is composed of a conveyor belt, a pulley around which the conveyor belt is stretched, and a restraining plate (not shown) that restrains the banknote 1 placed on the conveyor belt from above. The bill 1 is restrained from above so that it can pass without undulating. A detection window is opened in the center, and as will be described later, the light emitted from the light emitting element 3 is emitted from this detection window.

The detection section is a main part to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the light emitting element 3 is arranged on the upper left side of the relevant part of the carrier device 2, and the light emitted from the light emitting element 3 is extended by the irradiation optical fiber 4 to a position close to the detection window of the inhibition plate. The irradiation end 5, which is the end, is fixed at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the surface of the bill 1 with its traveling direction facing.

On the other hand, above the corresponding portion of the transport device 2, the bill 1 is irradiated, and the light receiving optical fibers 61, 62 and 63 for receiving the reflected light reflected from the incident point are received, and Photoelectric conversion elements 71, 72, 73 that receive the transmitted light and perform photoelectric conversion are arranged. As shown in FIG. 1, the light receiving optical fiber 61 has its light receiving end 81 erected at the irradiation end 5 of the irradiation optical fiber 4 and the incident point on the banknote 1 to which the irradiation light is irradiated. 45 and the upper surface of the banknote 1 so that they are symmetrical with respect to the virtual normal.
Fixed at an angle of degrees. As shown in FIG. 1, the light-receiving ends 82 and 83 of the light-receiving optical fibers 62 and 63 are arranged close to each other above and below the light-receiving end 81 of the light-receiving optical fiber 61, respectively.
And it fixes toward the said incident point. It goes without saying that the detection window of the restraint plate is opened at a position where the detection line of the banknote 1 passes and the incident point is located on the detection line.

The photoelectric conversion elements 71, 72 and 73 have their outputs connected to the arithmetic unit 9. Operation unit 9
Is calculated by calculating output electric signals of the photoelectric conversion elements 71, 72, 73 and data of the storage devices 10, 11 described later to determine whether the target bill 1 is printed by the intaglio printing technique. It is to determine whether or not. As described above, the storage devices 10 and 11 are connected to the arithmetic unit 9.

The calculation unit 9 includes the photoelectric conversion element 71,
The output electric signals of 72 and 73 are compared with each other, the output signal of the photoelectric conversion element 71 is compared with any of the output signals of the other photoelectric conversion elements 72 and 73, and the ratio is experimentally determined. When the value is less than the certain value held in the storage device 10, it is determined that the corresponding portion of the banknote 1 has unevenness, that is, in this case, a step difference between the printed portion and the non-printed portion by intaglio printing. If it does not fall below, it is determined that there is no step, and in any case, the result, that is, the presence or absence of a step, is held in the storage device 11. This calculation process
The bill 1 is conveyed from the beginning to the end of the detection line as it is conveyed by the conveyance device 2, and then the detection results of the respective detection points on the held detection line are read out, and it is determined that there is a step. The above-mentioned proportion is calculated, and the obtained proportion is compared with the standard proportion stored in the storage device 10. If the proportion exceeds the standard proportion, the target bill 1 is printed by intaglio printing. It outputs an H-level signal meaning that. If it does not exceed, it does not output. The arithmetic unit 9 is configured to perform arithmetic processing in this way.

As shown in FIG. 1, the output of the arithmetic unit 9 is connected to one input end of the AND gate 12, and the other input end of the AND gate 12 has another bill validator (not shown). No)) output. The other banknote identifying units are also configured to simultaneously identify whether or not the target banknote 1 has a printed pattern or the like as a banknote, and input the result to the AND gate 12 at the same time.

The other bill validator is a conventional general bill validator, which illuminates the bill 1 along a certain detection zone, receives the reflected light, and photoelectrically converts the reflected light.
The obtained electric signal waveform (waveform of the signal from the beginning to the end of the detection zone) is compared with the standard waveform, and if the latter matches within a certain allowable range, printing similar to genuine bills (intaglio) (It is not determined whether it is a printing technique or another printing technique.) It is determined that a pattern or the like is drawn. If not, it is determined that the same print pattern is not printed. Then, the bill identifying unit is configured to output an H level signal when it is determined that a printed pattern or the like similar to a genuine bill is printed.

However, only when the output of the calculation unit 9 is affirmative (the output of the H level signal) and the outputs of the other bill identifying units are affirmative (the output of the H level signal) at the same time.
The target bill 1 is determined to be a genuine bill. The output of the AND gate 12 is connected to a transport control device 13 that controls the transport device 2 to operate on the transport side or operate on the return side.

However, the output of the AND gate 12 becomes H level only when both the output of the calculation unit 9 and the output of the other bill discriminating unit become H level signals, and the transfer control device 13 and the transfer device 2 Control operation is performed so that the banknote 1 is continuously conveyed to the stacker side. In other cases, an L level signal is output and the banknote 1 after the identification processing is returned to the banknote insertion slot side. The control operation is performed so that the paper is conveyed as much as possible.

However, in this embodiment, when the bill 1 to be identified is inserted into the bill insertion slot, the bill 1 is conveyed by the conveying device 1 and passes under the detecting portion. As described above, the banknotes 1 are held by the restraint plate from above under the detector to prevent waving. The light emitted by the upper light emitting element 3 is sent through the irradiation optical fiber 4, and the irradiation end 5 which is the end of the light emits light 45 at one point on the detection line of the banknote 1.
It is irradiated at an angle of degrees. The light is reflected at one point, that is, the incident point, is received by the light receiving ends 81, 82 and 83 of the light receiving optical fibers 61, 62 and 63, and is received through the light receiving optical fibers 61, 62 and 63, respectively. Photoelectric conversion element,
71, 72, 73.

At the incident point, the state of that position, that is,
The reflection state differs depending on whether or not there is the step, and this is reflected as the light receiving state at the light receiving ends 81, 82, and 83. If there is no step, the amount of reflected light at the light receiving end 81 is the largest, and that at the other light receiving ends 82 and 83 is small.
When there is a step, the amount of light received at the light receiving end 82 or 83 increases, while the amount of light received at the light receiving end 81 decreases, so the ratio of the amount of light received at the light receiving end 81 decreases.

In the photoelectric conversion elements 71, 72, 73,
Produces an electrical signal proportional to the amount of light transmitted, these are
The respective levels are input to the arithmetic unit 9 and their levels are compared with each other, and the output signal of the photoelectric conversion element 71 is experimentally compared with the larger one of the output signals of the other photoelectric conversion elements 72 and 73. Is determined to be equal to or less than a fixed value held in the storage device 10, it is determined that the step exists in the corresponding portion of the banknote 1, and if it is not below the step, it is determined that there is no step. . In any case, the result, that is, the presence or absence of a step is stored in the storage device 11.

In the above arithmetic processing, the bill 1 is received by the light receiving ends 81, 82 and 83 between the start end and the end of the detection line as the bill is conveyed by the conveying device 2, and the photoelectric conversion elements 71 and 72 are received. , 73 for the electric signals photoelectrically converted. After that, the detection result of each detection point on the entire stroke of the detection line held in the storage device 11 is read out to the calculation unit 9, and the determination that there is a step difference is calculated by calculating the ratio occupied on the detection line. The percentage
Compared with the standard ratio stored in the storage device 10,
When it exceeds this, an H level signal is output, which means that the target bill 1 is printed by intaglio printing. If not exceeded, the output of the calculation unit 9 continues to be at L level.

However, when the output of the calculation unit 9 is affirmative (the output of the H level signal) and the outputs of the other bill identifying units are affirmative (the output of the H level signal) at the same time,
The output of the AND gate 12 becomes H level, and the conveyance control device 13 is controlled so that the conveyance device 2 sends the bill 1 to the stacker side. That is, the output of the H-level signal from the AND gate 12 indicates that the target banknote 1 is authentic, and as a result, the inserted banknote 1 is accepted and the transport device 2 causes the banknote 1 to be transferred. The transfer control device 13 controls the transfer control device 13 to send the sheets to the stacker.

When the output of the arithmetic unit 9 is at L level,
As described above, it means that the bill 1 is not printed by the intaglio printing technique, and if so, the output of the AND gate 12 becomes the L level regardless of the discrimination result of other bill discriminating units. When the output is input to the transfer control device 13, the transfer control device 13 controls the transfer device 2 to reverse the bill 1 back to the insertion slot. Since it is not recognized as a genuine bill, it is returned.

[0040]

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily detect the unevenness of the surface of the target printed matter regardless of the printing state of the surface, that is, the coloring state, the stain, etc. As a result, it is possible to accurately detect the step and easily and accurately determine whether or not there is a printed matter by intaglio printing. When combined with a detection unit that determines whether a bill pattern or the like is printed, a very accurate bill identification method can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Banknote 2 Conveying device 3 Light emitting element 4 Irradiation optical fiber 5 Irradiation end 61 Light receiving optical fiber 62 Light receiving optical fiber 63 Light receiving optical fiber 71 Photoelectric conversion element 72 Photoelectric conversion element 73 Photoelectric conversion element 81 Light receiving end 82 Light receiving end 83 Light receiving end 9 Calculation unit 10 Storage device 11 Storage device 12 AND gate 13 Transfer control device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An angular position symmetrical with incident light about a virtual normal line erected at the incident point, which is obtained by sequentially irradiating the surface of an object printed matter with a point-like light along a certain detection line. The reflected light is received at multiple nearby positions, the received light amounts at each of the above multiple positions are compared with each other, and the mutual relationship of the received light amounts obtained as a result of the comparison is the mutual relationship when the incident point is flat. It is sequentially determined whether or not there is a relationship recognized as, and as a result of completing the detection of the certain detection line, it is determined that there is a relationship when it is not flat, a fixed ratio determined by the target printed matter. If it exceeds, it is judged as an intaglio print,
If not, a method of distinguishing an intaglio printed matter from other printed matter is to determine that the printed matter is a printed matter other than the intaglio printed matter. 2. A plurality of positions in the vicinity of an angular position symmetrical with the incident light with respect to an imaginary normal line set up at the incident point are defined as an angular position accurately symmetrical with the incident light and a peripheral position in contact with the angular position. A method for distinguishing the intaglio printed matter according to claim 1 from other printed matter. 3. An angular position that is exactly symmetrical to the incident light, an incident light within a peripheral position that is in contact with the incident light, and an angular position before and after the angular position in the same plane. The reflected light that may be reflected from the incident point is received in a point shape, the reflected light received at each position is transmitted to the corresponding photoelectric conversion element element, photoelectrically converted, and obtained by each photoelectric conversion element. The levels of the electric signals are compared by the comparison means, and the comparison result shows that when the incident point is flat,
The method for distinguishing an intaglio printed matter from other printed matter according to claim 2, wherein it is determined whether or not the mutual relationship of the received light amounts of the reflected light obtained at the respective positions coincides with each other within a certain allowable range.