JPH08180239A - Apparatus and method for discrimination of document - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To identify a document such as the paper money of respective countries in different sizes and colors. SOLUTION: The size of the paper money is measured (step 104) and the measured size and the size of true paper money stored in a memory are compared (step 106). When both sizes correspond to each other, the color of the paper money is detected (step 110). Whether or not the detected color matches with the color of the corresponding true paper money is checked (step 112). When the color matches, the group of the true paper money with the possibility of being pertinent is turned to a set (step 116). The printed pattern of the paper money is scanned and compared with the pattern of the corresponding part of the true paper money in the set. The true paper money for which the pattern matches is specified.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device and a method for distinguishing between different types of documents, such as currency bills of different denominations and currency bills of different countries.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is a great need for an identification or identification device capable of accepting banknotes used in multiple currency systems, that is, an identification device capable of processing multiple types of banknotes. For example, European banks basically need to process currency bills from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, etc., each with multiple face values.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an identifying apparatus and an identifying method that can identify par value amounts of a plurality of currencies with each other at high speed and with high accuracy and efficiently.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for efficiently identifying currencies from different countries.

A further object of the invention is to provide an identification device and method for scanning a document, such as a currency bill, along two or more laterally aligned segments, thereby identifying the document. To do.

A further object of the present invention is to provide size information,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for identifying a document by combining color information, comparison information of a scanned pattern and a master pattern, and the like.

It is a further object of the present invention that the selection of one or more of a plurality of scanning heads or sensors for scanning a document is based on size information, color information, or both. To provide a simple identification method and device.

It is a further object of the present invention to identify such that the lateral position of one or more of the movable scanning heads is determined based on sensed size information and / or color information from the document. An apparatus and method are provided.

It is a further object of the invention that the selection of the output of one or more of the plurality of scan heads or sensors or the data obtained from the outputs to produce a scanned pattern provides magnitude or color information. Alternatively, it is to provide an identification device and a method that are performed based on both of them.

Yet another object of the present invention is to use the size information and / or color information obtained by sensing a document to make a preliminary set of documents which may be identical. And one or more scanned patterns made from one document are compared with a master pattern selected from the preliminary set. To provide.

[0011]

In summary, in order to achieve the above mentioned objectives, according to the present invention, a document is scanned along one or more segments, whereby one or more Create more than one scanned pattern and create this one or more scanned patterns
Compare with one or more master patterns obtained by scanning along the corresponding segment of the authentic document. The technique included in the preferred embodiment of the present invention is an optical method for reflecting properties obtained by illuminating and scanning a document, such as a currency bill, along one or more appropriately selected segments of the document. It is to detect. Light reflected from the bill when optically scanned is detected and printed pattern or in (in) the bill surface.
It is used as analog information indicating the light and dark aspect of dicia).

A plurality of fixed scan heads in parallel may be provided, one or more laterally movable scan heads may be used, or a linear array having a plurality of sensors in parallel. The scanning head is used.

[0013]

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a double sided multi-scan head is used for scanning banknotes. However, before describing such a multi-scan head or multi-head scanner, the operation of a scanner having a single scan head will be described. A currency identification system applied to the US currency will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Next, the modification of the identification system will be described, and the configuration of the currency identification system according to the present invention will be described. Furthermore, although the preferred embodiment described below makes particular reference to scanning currency notes,
The system of the present invention is applicable to other documents as well. For example, the system of the present invention may be used for stock certificates, bonds or corporate bonds, postage stamps and food stamps.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a functional block diagram illustrating a currency identification system having a single scan head. The system 10 has a banknote receiving station 12 that places a stack of banknotes that needs to be verified and calculated. The accepted banknotes are acted upon by the banknote separation station 14 which functions to remove, or separate, one banknote at a time, and then relayed by the banknote transfer mechanism 16 according to a pre-determined transfer path. Across the scanning head 18, the par value of the bill is scanned and identified at the scanning head 18, and is counted at a speed of 800 or more per minute. In the preferred embodiment,
Banknotes are transferred at a speed of 1000 or more per minute. The scanning head 18 is an optical scanning head, which scans the banknote 17 to be scanned for characteristic information and makes it available for banknote identification. The scanned banknotes 17 are then transferred to the banknote stacking station 20, where the scanned banknotes are
The banknotes that have undergone such processing are stacked in this station 20 for subsequent retrieval.

The optical scanning head 18 directs a coherent light beam upwardly onto the banknote transfer path so as to illuminate a generally rectangular light strip 24 when the banknote 17 is located on the transfer path below the scanning head 18. It has at least one light source 22. The light reflected by the illuminated strip 24 is detected by a photoelectric detector 26 arranged directly below the strip. An analog output of the photoelectric detector 26 is converted into a digital signal by an analog-digital converter (ADC) unit 28, and the output of this unit is input as a digital input to a central processing unit (CPU) 30.

Although the scan head 18 in the embodiment of FIG. 1 is an optical scan head, it may be designed to detect various characteristic information from currency notes. Further, the scanning head is magnetic, optical, or electrically conductive.
y) and various sensing means such as capacitive sensors may be utilized. Regarding the use of such a sensor, US patent application 08/21
No. 9,093 (filed on March 29, 1994. The name is "C
urrance Discriminator and
Authenticator "). The contents of this US application are incorporated herein by reference.

According to FIG. 1, the banknote transfer path is configured so that the transfer mechanism 16 moves the banknote in a state in which the narrow width of the banknote is parallel to the transfer path and the scanning direction. Alternatively, the system 10 may be designed to scan along the longer dimension of the bill or the diagonal direction.
As the bill 17 moves on the transport path at the scan head 18, a coherent light strip 24 effectively scans the bill across the narrow dimension of the bill. The transfer path is configured such that the bill 17 is scanned by the scan head 18 along its narrow dimension about its central section, as shown in FIG.

The scanning head 18 detects the light reflected from the bill as the bill moves across the illuminated light strip 24 and thus provides an analog representation of the change in reflected light. Indicates changes in “dark” and “bright” contained in a pattern or mark printed on the surface of a bill. The change in light reflected by scanning the narrow dimension of the banknote serves as a measure for high accuracy discrimination among the denominations programmed to be handled by the system of the present invention.

A series of such reflected signals that have been detected are obtained over the narrow dimension of the bill or over selected segments of the bill, and the resulting analog signals are digitized under the control of the CPU 30 to a predetermined number. Generate digital reflectance data samples of the. Digitization processing is then applied to these data samples. This processing includes processing of sample data for improving the correlation, and normalization routine for smoothing fluctuations due to changes in "shading" of the print pattern existing on the surface of the bill. The normalized reflectance data digitized in this way exhibits a very unique feature pattern for a given denomination and provides sufficient discriminating features between feature patterns for different denominations. This process is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07 / 885,648 filed May 19, 1992 ("Method and Apparatus fo
r Currency Discrimination
US Patent No. 5,2 under the name "and Counting"
Patent No. 95,196). The content of this application is also incorporated herein by reference.

In order to ensure a strict correspondence between the reflection samples obtained by scanning the narrow dimension of successive banknotes, the start of the reflection sampling process is preferably C
It is controlled by the optical encoder 32 through the PU 30. The optical encoder is associated with the banknote transport mechanism 16 and closely tracks the physical movement of the banknote 17 across the scan head 18. More specifically, the optical encoder 32 is associated with the rotational movement of the drive motor that produces movement that is added to the bill as it is relayed along the transport path. Furthermore,
Mechanism of supply mechanism (not shown; US Pat. No. 5, above)
No. 295,196), a positive contact is maintained between the bill and the transfer path, especially when the bill is scanned by the scanning head 18. In such a state, the optical encoder 32 can closely track the movement of the bill 17 with respect to the light strip 24 generated by the scanning head 18 by monitoring the rotational movement of the drive motor.

The output of the photoelectric detector 26 is monitored by the CPU 30 to detect the presence of banknotes under the scanning head 18,
Next, the starting point of the printed pattern on the bill indicated by the thin border line 17B is detected. The border line 17A surrounds the printing on the bill. Once the border line 17A is detected,
An optical encoder 32 is used to control the timing and number of reflected samples obtained from the output of the photoelectric detector 26 as the bill 17 moves across the scan head 18 and is scanned along its narrow dimension. It

The use of the optical encoder 32 to control the sampling process for the physical movement of the banknote 17 across the scan head 18 provides for the detection of a trim line following a predetermined delay prior to the start of the sample. It is also advantageous in that it can be used for The encoder delay can be adjusted so that the banknote 17 is scanned across only the segment along the narrow dimension of the banknote containing the most discriminating print for different face values.

For example, in the case of US currency, when scanning across a narrow central section of a bill, approximately 5 cm at the center of the bill
The portion (about 2 inches) provides sufficient data to distinguish between face value amounts of various U.S. currencies, as described in US Pat.
It is provided based on the correlation technique disclosed in No. 95,196. Therefore, an optical encoder can be used to control the scanning process so that a reflective sample is obtained over a set period and only after a predetermined time after detecting the edging line 17A, which causes the scanning to be performed on the banknote. To the desired central portion of the narrow dimension.

2 to 4 show the scanning procedure of the scanning head 20 in detail. Referring to FIG. 3, the banknote 17
Is advanced in a direction parallel to the narrow edge, scanning is performed along the segment S of the central portion of the bill 17 through the wide slit of the scanning head 18. This segment S starts from the position of the fixed distance d inside the border line 17A. As the bill 17 crosses the scanning head 18, the strip s of the segment S is constantly illuminated and the photoelectric detector 2
6 outputs a continuous output signal. This output signal is proportional to the intensity of the light reflected from the strip s illuminated at that moment. This output is sampled at intervals controlled by the encoder. The sampling interval is accurately synchronized with the movement of the bill across the scan head 18.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the sampling intervals are preferably selected so that the strips s that are illuminated to obtain successive samples overlap one another. In order to show this overlap more clearly, FIGS. 2 and 4 show odd numbered sample strips and even numbered sample strips separately. For example, the first and second strips s1, s2 overlap each other, the second and third strips S2, S3 overlap each other, and so on. Adjacent pairs of strips overlap one another. For US currency, 0.050 inch (about 0.1) along a segment S that is 1.83 inch (about 4.65 cm) long.
27 cm) width, 0.029 inch (about 0.074 cm)
Such overlap is obtained by sampling the strips at intervals (64 samples).

The optical detection correlation technique is based on using the process described above to generate a series of stored intensity signals using authentic banknotes for each par value of the currency to be detected. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, two or four sets of master intensity signal samples are generated and stored in the system memory, preferably in the form of EPROM 34 (see FIG. 1), for each detectable denomination.
A set of master intensity signal samples for each bill is created by an optical scan performed on the green face of the bill along both the "forward" and "reverse" directions with respect to the pattern printed on the bill. Alternatively, the optical scanning may be performed on the dark side of the US currency bill, or on either side of the currency bill from other non-US countries. Further, in the optical scanning, for example, scanning heads may be installed on both sides of the moving path of the bill, and scanning may be performed on both sides of the bill. In this regard, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 207,592 (filed Mar. 8, 1994, entitled "Method").
and Apparatus for Currenc
y Discrimination ”).

In applying this technique to US currencies, for example, a set of stored intensity signal samples was created to yield seven different face values of the US currency: $ 1, $ 2, $ 5.
Remembered for $ 10, $ 20, $ 50, and $ 100. For bills such as the US $ 2 bills and the $ 10 bills that cause a large pattern change when slightly shifted to the right or left, there are two It is desirable to store the pattern. A pair of patterns in one direction shall represent two scan areas that are slightly offset from each other along the longitudinal dimension of the bill. Therefore, a set of 18 different master feature patterns is stored in system memory for subsequent correlation (4 master patterns each for $ 2 and $ 10 bills, and other par value tags). About 2 master patterns each). Once the master pattern is stored, the pattern generated by scanning the banknote under test is stored with each of the 18 master patterns of prestored intensity signal samples and C
A comparison is made at the PU 30 and a number of correlations is generated for each comparison, representing the degree of correlation, i.e., the similarity with the corresponding one of the plurality of data samples for the compared data sets.

The CPU 30 is programmed to verify the denomination of the scanned banknote as it corresponds to the stored set of intensity signal samples found by pattern comparison to have the highest correlation number. Creates a "yes" call to eliminate the possibility of failing to characterize the denomination of scanned bills and at the same time reduce the likelihood that a counterfeit bill will be identified as belonging to a valid denomination. Use a two-level threshold of correlation as the basis for. Such a method is detailed in the aforementioned US Pat. No. 5,295,196. If no "yes" call is made for the scanned bill, an error signal is generated.

By using the detection and correlation method described above, the CPU 30 counts the number of banknotes belonging to a particular currency denomination as part of a predetermined set of banknotes scanned for a given scan batch and scans during the scan batch. It is programmed to determine the total amount of currency represented by the bills. Further, the CPU 30 is connected to an output unit 36, which outputs an indication of the number of bills counted, a breakdown of the bills in terms of currency face value, and a total face value of the currency represented by the counted bills. It is designed to give. The output unit 36 may print out the displayed information in a desired format.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown in block diagram form the preferred circuitry for processing and correlating reflection data in accordance with the system of the present invention. As shown here, the CPU 30 accepts and processes various input signals including signals from the optical encoder 32, the photoelectric detector 26, and the memory unit 38. The memory unit 38 may be an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM). Memory unit 3
A correlation program is stored in 8 and a pattern is generated based on this program and compared with the master program in which the test pattern is stored to confirm the par value of the test currency. The crystal 40 serves as a time reference for the CPU 30, to which an external reference voltage V _REF is added, on which the peak detection of the detected reflection data is based.

The CPU 30 receives the timer resetting signal from the resetting unit 44, and the resetting unit 44 receives the output voltage from the photoelectric detector 26 as shown in FIG. 5, and this voltage is set in a preset voltage range. The threshold detector 44A compares to a value, typically 5.0 volts, and provides a reset signal that goes "high" when a reflection value corresponding to the presence of paper is detected. More specifically, reflection sampling is based on the assumption that the illuminated light strip (24 in FIG. 1) will not be reflected to the photoelectric detector if no banknotes are placed under the scan head. In such a situation, the output of the photoelectric detector represents a "dark" or "zero" level reading. When the edge of the bill is first placed under the scan head and enters under the light strip 24, the output of the photoelectric detector has a value of "white", typically about 5.0 volts. It changes to the set reading. When this happens, the resetting unit 44 provides a "high" signal to the CPU 30 to record the beginning of the scanning procedure.

The dimension of the illuminated light strip generated by the light source in the scan head in the machine operating direction (ie, the dimension parallel to the direction of movement of the banknote) is the first stage of the scan in which a thin border line is detected. Is set to be relatively small. The use of narrow slits increases the sensitivity of detection of reflected light and allows for small variations in the "ash" level reflected from the bill surface to be detected. This is important to ensure that the fine borderline of the pattern, the starting point of the printed pattern on the banknote, is accurately detected. Once the borderline is detected, then reflective sampling is performed based on a relatively wide light strip for a full scan across the narrow dimension of the banknote and to quickly obtain the desired number of samples. When a wide slit is used for actual sampling, the output characteristic of the photoelectric detector is smoothed and a relatively large analog voltage is realized. This is important for the accurate display and processing of the detected reflection values.

Returning to FIG. 5, the CPU 30 controls the photoelectric detector 2
The output of 6 is processed through peak detector 46. The peak detector 50 essentially functions to sample the output voltage of the photoelectric detector and hold the highest or peak voltage value encountered after activation of the detector. Furthermore, for US currency, the peak detector is adapted to determine a normalized voltage, on the basis of which the borderline of the pattern on the bill is detected. The output of the peak detector 50 is supplied to the divider 54, the divider is lowered to scaled voltage V _S representing a percentage which is predetermined in the peak value peak voltage. The voltage V _S peaks the change from a "high" reflection value due to scanning the unprinted edge of the bill to a relatively low "ash" reflection value when encountering a thin border line. It is based on a decrease in the percentage of the peak detector output voltage as it represents. Preferably, the standardized voltage V _S
Is set to be about 70% to 80% of the peak voltage.

The normalized voltage V _S is supplied to the curve detector 56, which is provided with the incoming instantaneous output of the photoelectric detector 26. Curve detector 56 compares the two voltages at its inputs and produces signal L _DET . This signal normally stays "low" and goes "high" when the edge of the bill is scanned. The signal L _DET goes "low" when it reaches a predetermined percentage of the peak voltage of the photodetector to the point where the input and output of the photodetector is represented by the voltage V _S. Thus, when the signal L _DET goes "low", this is an indication that a border line of the pattern of the bill has been detected. At this point, the CPU 30 has the encoder 32
Initiating the actual reflection sampling under the control of (see FIG. 5), the desired predetermined number of appreciation samples as the bill travels across the illuminated light strip and is scanned along its narrow middle section. Is obtained.

When the master feature pattern is generated, the reflection samples obtained by scanning one or more authentic banknotes of each denomination are entered into the corresponding designated section of system memory 60. The system memory is preferably EPROM. The sample input is
If necessary, it is done through the buffer address latch 58. During bill identification, each of the corresponding master feature patterns stored in EPROM 60 under control of a correlation program stored in memory unit 38, the reflection values obtained by scanning the test bill, and again address latch 58. Throughout the comparison. The procedure for scanning bills to create a feature pattern is described in US Pat. No. 5,295,196.
No. 6,096,096, the contents of which are incorporated herein.

The optical sensing and correlation technique described in US Pat. No. 5,295,196 allows preprogrammed denomination identification to be performed with high accuracy, at which sampling The processing time for digitizing the reflected value and comparing the digitized value with the master feature pattern can be relatively short. This approach is used to scan currency notes, normalize scanned data, and create master patterns. At this time, the scanning of the bill during operation will directly correspond between the comparison sample points in the portion of the bill with the printed mark having the most distinctive feature. A relatively small number of reflective samples is needed to allow proper discrimination between several face value currencies.

Having described a currency scanner with a single scan head for scanning US currency, the currency identification system of the present invention will now be described.

First, because currency comes in in various sizes, a sensor must first be added to determine the size of the bill to be scanned. These sensors are
It is located upstream of the scan head, as described below. A preferred embodiment of a size determining sensor is shown in FIG. Two leading / trailing edge sensors 62 detect the leading and trailing edges of the bill 64 as it passes along the transport path in direction A. These sensors, in conjunction with the encoder 32 (FIG. 1), are used to determine the narrow dimension of the bill 64 (FIG. 7), the dimension of the bill along a direction parallel to the scanning direction. . Two more side edge sensors 6
6 is used to detect the width (length) dimension (FIG. 7) of the bill 64, the dimension of the bill in the direction transverse to the scanning direction. Although the sensors 62 and 66 in FIG. 7 are optical sensors,
Other means may be used to determine the size of the bill.

When the size of the bill is determined, the factors that determine the possibility of being the same as the bill are limited to those possessed by the bill of the same size. Therefore, the area to be scanned is considered to be the most suitable area for identifying the denomination of the bill having the measured size and the country of issuance.

Second, the indicia printed on the US currency is inside a thin borderline (detecting this borderline triggers the start of a scan with a wider slit). , And most other national currencies do not have such border lines. Therefore, a device such as the one described above is modified so that, for currencies that do not have a border line, the scanning is initiated in connection with detecting the edge of the bill. FIG.
Referring to FIG. 2, two leading edge sensors 68 are shown. When the leading edge 69 of the bill 70 is detected by the leading edge sensor 68, scanning is started in a region separated from the leading edge of the bill 70 by a predetermined distance, for example, D ₁ or D ₂ . The distances D ₁ and D ₂ are varied depending on the preliminary indication regarding bill identification given based on the bill size. Alternatively, the leading edge 69 of the bill may be detected by one or more scanning heads (described below) in the same manner as described with reference to FIGS. Alternatively, the scanning start may be triggered based on the position information provided by the encoder 32 of FIG. 1 while using the signal provided by the sensor 62 of FIG. 7, for example. Then, it is not necessary to provide the leading edge sensor 68.

However, if the leading edge of the bill is detected to trigger the start of scanning, the scanned pattern is more likely to be offset (shifted) from the corresponding master pattern. The offset occurs due to the presence of manufacturing tolerances, which causes the position of the indicia printed on the document to change relative to the edge of the document. For example, the location of indicia printed on US banknotes can vary by as much as 50 mils (1 mil is one thousandth of an inch) relative to the leading edge of the banknote. This is 0.05 inch (about 1.127m
It corresponds to m). Therefore, the trigger to start scanning is
When performed in association with the edge of a banknote, rather than being provided by the detection of a portion of some printed indicia, such as a borderline printed on a U.S. banknote, the scanned pattern is Or it may be offset (shifted) from the corresponding master pattern by more samples. Such an offset (misregistration) may lead to a situation where a genuine banknote is erroneously rejected because the correlation between the scanned pattern and the master pattern is not correct. In order to compensate for such a situation, the pattern that has been entirely scanned and the master pattern are shifted relative to each other, or a plurality of master patterns corresponding to different offset amounts are stored.

Third, the green side of the US bill (gre
The central region of en side (see segment S in FIG. 3) is unique enough to be distinguishable from other denominations of U.S. banknotes, but distinguishes them from banknotes from other countries. This central region is not suitable for this. For example, for banknotes from country A, segment S ₁ (FIG. 8) is the more preferred area to scan, but segment B 1
For banknotes from the country, S ₂ (FIG. 8) is a more preferred area. Alternatively, in order to fully identify a given set of banknotes, each banknote of such set may be scanned along two or more segments, eg, segments S ₁ and S _2. I will need it.

A plurality of multi-scan heads may be arranged adjacent to each other to allow scanning of areas other than the central portion of the bill. A preferred embodiment of such a multi-scan head system is shown in FIG. The multi-scan heads 72a-72c and 72d-72f are arranged adjacent to each other along a direction transverse to the moving direction of the bill. With such a system, bills 74 will be scanned along different segments. Since the multi-scan heads 72a-72f are arranged on both sides of the transfer path, both sides of the bill 74 can be scanned.

By allowing scanning on two sides, when inserting a bill into the currency identification system of the present invention,
You can put either side up.

The master pattern created by scanning a genuine bill may be stored for the segment on one side of the bill or for the segments on both sides of the bill. If the master pattern is made and stored from scanning only one side of an authentic banknote, the pattern obtained by scanning both sides of the test banknote was made by scanning only one side. It may be compared with a master set of master patterns.
In such a case, the pattern obtained from one side of the test bill should match one of the stored master patterns. However, the pattern obtained from the other side of the test note will not match one of the master patterns. Alternatively, master patterns for both sides of a genuine bill may be stored. In such a two-sided system, the pattern obtained by scanning only one side of the test note matches one of the master patterns on one side ("Match 1"), and the pattern on the opposite side of the test note. The pattern obtained by scanning matches one of the master patterns on the other side of the authentic banknote used for identification in "Match 1".

Alternatively, if the orientation of the face of the banknote (ie the face up or face down) is determined before or during the scanning of the characteristic pattern, the corresponding same face. Since it is only necessary to compare between the patterns, it is possible to reduce the number of comparisons. That is, for example, if it is found that the front side of the banknote is facing up, the pattern scanned by the scan head above the transfer path is compared to the master pattern created by scanning the "front" of the authentic banknote. All you need to do is The "front" of a bill means the front side of the front and back of the bill. For example, the "front" of an American banknote is the "black" side, and the back side of the US banknote is the "green" side. The orientation of the face can be determined by detecting the color of the surface of the bill under some circumstances.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 9, the bill transfer mechanism is:
The central area C of the bill 74 is the central scanning heads 72b, 72e.
Operates to be transferred in between. Scanning heads 72a, 7
2c, and the scanning heads 72d and 72f are also arranged equidistantly from the central scanning heads 72b and 72e, respectively. By symmetrically arranging the scanning heads around the central area of the banknote, the banknote can be placed in any direction, for example with the top edge first (forward direction) or the bottom edge first. (Reverse direction) Scanning can be performed. As described with respect to FIGS. 1-6, a master pattern is created and stored by scanning genuine bills in both the forward and reverse directions. Symmetrical arrangements are preferred, but not a necessary requirement if the appropriate master patterns are stored in an asymmetrical system.

Although FIG. 9 shows a system having three scan heads on one side, there may be any number of scan heads on one side. Similarly, positioning the scan head in the central area of the bill is not a requirement. For example, referring to FIG. 10, as another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
An arrangement capable of scanning segments S ₁ and S ₂ in FIG. 5 is shown. Scanning heads 76a, 76
d, 76e, and 76h are bills 78 along the segment S _1.
Scan the scanning heads 76b, 76c, 76f, 76g
Scans along segment S ₂ .

FIG. 11 shows a scanning system according to the invention,
Another preferred embodiment is shown having a laterally movable scanning head 80a, 80b. A similar scanning head may be provided on the surface opposite the transfer path.
Movable scan heads 80a, 80b provide greater flexibility in scanning and are therefore highly desirable in certain scanning situations. Once the size of the bill has been determined as described in connection with FIG. 7, a preliminary determination regarding bill identification is made. Based on this preliminary determination, the movable scanning heads 80a, 80b are moved and positioned to the area of the banknote that seems most appropriate for obtaining the identification information. For example, if the preliminary decision made based on the size of the scanned banknote is that the banknote is of the Japanese 5000-yen bill type, the Japanese 500
If it was determined that the characteristic pattern of the 0-yen bill type was obtained by scanning the 2.0 cm segment to the left of the center of the bill when fed in the forward direction, the scanning heads 80a, 80b It is positioned at the appropriate location for scanning such a segment. For example,
The scanning head 80a is positioned 2.0 cm left from the center of the bill and the scanning head 80b is positioned 2.0 cm right from the center. By positioning each scan head in this manner, proper identification can be made whether the bill being scanned is fed in the forward or reverse direction. Similarly, the scan head (not shown) on the opposite side of the path of travel can be properly positioned. Alternatively, one movable scanning head may be provided on one side or both sides of the transfer path. In such a system, size and color information (discussed in detail below) helps to properly position a single laterally movable scan head.
This is especially the case when the orientation of the bill is determined before scanning.

In the system shown in FIG. 11, the transport mechanism feeds the scanned banknotes so that they are centered within the area where the scan heads 80a, 80b are located. Therefore, the scanning heads 80a and 80b are located within the range R _{1 with} respect to the center of the transfer path.
Scanning head 80b is a range R ₂ to be movable respectively, have been designed.

FIG. 12 shows a scanning system according to the invention,
2 illustrates another preferred embodiment. In this example, the banknotes being scanned are left-justified (le) along the transport path.
ftjustified manner). That is, the left edge L of the bill 84 occupies the same lateral position with respect to the transfer path. The position of the center of the bill is determined based on the size of the bill, and then the scanning heads 86a and 86b are positioned. As shown in FIG. 12, the scanning head 86a has a movement range R ₃ and the scanning head 86b has a movement range R ₄ . Scanning head 86
The range of movement of a, 86b is affected by the range of banknote dimensions considered by the identification system. Similarly, the scan head may be provided on the surface opposite to the transfer path.

Alternatively, the transport mechanism may not require the bills to be scanned to be centered or aligned along the lateral dimension. The transfer mechanism may be such that the position of the banknote may be on the right side or the left side within the lateral dimension of the transfer path.
In such a case, the edge sensor 66 of FIG. 7 is used to position the edge and center of the bill to provide position information to the movable scan head system or to provide a fixed scan head system with operational selection criteria. You can

In addition to the fixed scan head system and movable scan head system described above, a hybrid system having both fixed scan head and movable scan head may be used. Similarly, scan heads that are laterally displaced as described above need not lie along the same lateral axis. That is,
The scan heads may be staggered or slanted, for example upstream or downstream.
FIG. 13 illustrates a staggered scan head configuration in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 13, the banknote 130 is
The center 134 of the banknote 130 is the center 13 of the transfer path 132.
6 is transferred in a centered manner to match 6.
The scan heads 140a-140h are staggered to scan the entire width of the transfer path 132. The area illuminated by each of the scan heads is defined by the scan head 14
Strips 142a, 142b, 142e, 142f corresponding to 0a, 140b, 140e, 140f, respectively.
Indicated by. Depending on the determination made by the size determination sensor, the scan heads 140a and 140h may not be activated or the output therefrom may be ignored.

In general, if, before scanning a document, preliminary information about the document is obtained, such as size and color, then the preliminary information may relate to document identity. Would suggest that a properly positioned fixed scan head would be activated, or a laterally movable scan head would be properly positioned. Alternatively, particularly in systems having scan heads positioned to cover most of the transport path, many or all of the system scan heads would be activated to scan a document. Subsequently, after some preliminary determination of the identity of the document has been made, only the output obtained from a suitably positioned scanning head or a derivative thereof is used to produce the scanned pattern. Derivatives of the output signal include, for example, data samples created by sampling the output signal and stored in memory. In such a modified embodiment, the information that can make a preliminary determination of the identity of the document parses information from a sensor separate from the scan head or from one or more of the scan head itself. You may make it obtainable by doing. The advantage of such a preliminary determination is that it can reduce the number of scanned patterns that must be made and compared to the set of master patterns. Similarly, the number of master patterns compared to the scanned pattern can be reduced.

Scan heads 140a-14 in FIG.
0h is arranged so as not to overlap each other,
You may arrange | position so that it may overlap (overlap).
By providing additional lateral position, the scan heads arranged to overlap allow for a wider selection of segments to scan. In addition, there is a problem in that the printing deviation caused by the manufacturing tolerance of currency, that is, the position of the mark printed on the banknote with respect to the position of the edge of the banknote is different (fluctuating) depending on the banknote. This can be eliminated by arranging them to overlap so that more segments can be scanned. Further, in the preferred embodiment, the scan heads located above the transfer path are provided in an upstream position with respect to the corresponding scan heads located below the transfer path.

14 and 15 show another preferred embodiment of the present invention in which a plurality of analog sensors 150, such as photoelectric detectors, are laterally spaced from each other within a single scan head 152. Placed in a straight line.
14 and 15 are a top view and a side view, respectively, of such a linear array embodiment. Individual sensor 150
The output of "lens array" (MSG Ame
rica, Inc. Due to part number SLA20A16
It is connected to an analog-to-digital converter (manufactured as 75702A3) (not shown) and then to a CPU (not shown) in the same manner as described in FIGS. 1 and 5. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the banknote 154 is transported so as to pass through the linearly arranged scanning heads 152 in a centered state. The preferred length of a linearly arranged scan head is about 6 to 7.
Inches (about 15 to 17 cm).

After the size of the bill has been determined in the manner described above, an appropriate sensor is activated based on the determination and the output of the sensor is used to create the scanned pattern. Alternatively, many or all of the sensors may be activated so that only the appropriately positioned sensor output or a derivative thereof is utilized to create the scanned pattern.
Derivatives of the output signal include, for example, data samples created by sampling the output signal and stored in memory. As a result, the identification device with a linear array scanning head according to the present invention is applicable to a wide range of different types of banknotes. Further, the linear array scan head is very flexible in terms of "how to read and process the information" for various banknotes. In addition to the ability to create a scanned pattern along a segment parallel to the banknote's transport direction, by properly processing the scanned sample, it was scanned along a direction orthogonal to the banknote's transport direction. The pattern may be "created" or something close to it. For example, instead of taking samples from 30 sensors during 64 encoder pulses, a linear array of scan heads 152 may be used for 7 inch (about 17.7).
Given 160 sensors 150 over a length of 8 cm), samples can be taken from 160 cells (or from all cells located across banknote 154) during 5 encoder pulses. Alternatively, each of 160 scanned patterns of 5 data samples (or some selected from them) may be utilized for pattern comparison. Therefore, the time to acquire data is significantly reduced from 64 encoder pulses to only 5 encoder pulses. The time saved during the acquisition of the data may be used for data processing or may be used to reduce the overall scanning time per banknote to increase the efficiency of the identification device. In addition, the linear array scan heads are very flexible in shaping the area to be scanned. For example, the leading edge of Canadian banknotes has been found to contain valuable graphic information. Therefore, when it is determined that the test note is a Canadian note (or when the discriminator is set for Canadian currency), for example, a number of laterally aligned sensors with relatively short encoder pulse By operating only for a period of time, the scanning area can be limited to the leading edge area of the bill.

FIG. 16 shows a linear array scanning head 1 having a plurality of analog sensors 172 such as photoelectric detectors.
FIG. 10 is a top view of another preferred embodiment of 70, bill 17
4 has been transported past the scan head 170 without being centered. As described above, the position information from the size determination sensor can be used as information when selecting an appropriate sensor. Alternatively,
The linear array of scanning heads themselves may be used to determine the size of the bill, thus eliminating the need for a separate sizing sensor. For example, all sensors may be activated and data samples obtained from the sensors located at the ends of a linear array of scanning heads may be preprocessed to determine the lateral position and length of the banknote. Good. The width of the bill may be determined using a separate leading / trailing edge sensor, or may be determined by pre-processing data samples from the first and last cycle encoder pulses. . Once the size information is obtained for the test note, all that is needed in the next process is a sample of data obtained from the appropriate area of the note.

FIG. 17 is a top view of another preferred embodiment of a linear array scan head 180 according to the present invention.
It explains how to compensate for banknotes that are skewed. The scanning head 180 has a plurality of analog sensors 182, and the banknote 184 is transported so as to pass through the scanning head 180 in an inclined state. If it is found that the banknote is skewed, such as by using a leading edge sensor, the reading from the sensor 182 along the scanning head 180 is appropriately delayed. For example, the scanning head 1 is located at the right front corner of the bill.
It is assumed that the banknote passes through the scanning head 180 such that the left front corner of the banknote reaches the scanning head 180 five encoder pulses before reaching 80. In this case, the sensor reading along the right edge of the bill is delayed by 5 encoder pulses. If the scanned pattern is produced during a few encoder pulses, the bill is treated as if it had been fed undiagonally. Because the amount of lateral displacement between the scan along the skewed angle and the scan along the non-skewed angle is very high in scans as short as a few encoder pulses. Because it is small. However, if it is desired to obtain a scan over time that corresponds to multiple encoder pulses, a single scanned pattern is produced from the outputs of two or more sensors. For example, sensor 1 during a given number of encoder pulses.
86a for obtaining data samples, then for the next given number of encoder pulses from sensor 186b, and then for the next given number of encoder pulses, for obtaining data samples from sensor 186c. Well, a scanned pattern may be created. Alternatively, a master pattern may be created and stored for each of the different oblique angles of the bill, allowing a single sensor to create the scanned pattern from the test bill. .

Although only a single linear array of scanning heads is shown in FIGS. 14-17, another linear array of scanning heads is provided on the opposite side of the transfer path to accommodate any of the banknotes. The scanning may be performed on one surface or both surfaces. Similarly, an advantage of the linearly arranged scan head is that it is possible to use a properly arranged multi-scan head as shown in FIG. 13 or a linearly arranged multi-scan head.

In addition to size and scanned characteristic pattern, color is also used to identify bills. For example, all US banknotes are printed with the same color scheme, such as the green side and the black side, but banknotes from other countries often have different printed color schemes for different face values. For example, a German 50 Deutsche Banknote is brown, but a German 100 Deutsche Banknote is blue. Alternatively, for bills having different colors depending on the face, the orientation of the face of the bill can be determined by detecting the color. For example, to detect the orientation of the face of a U.S. bill by detecting color, one can check whether the green face of the U.S. bill is facing up. On the upstream side of the above-mentioned sensor,
Separate color sensors may be added. According to this embodiment, the color information can be used for preliminary identification of banknotes in addition to the size information. Similarly, the color information can be used to determine the orientation of the face of the banknote, and based on this determination, whether the upper scan head of the scan heads for scanning the banknote is used or not. One may choose to use the side scan head, or alternatively, the set of master patterns produced by scanning the scanned pattern and its corresponding surface obtained from the upper scan head. While comparing with
It may be ensured to compare the scanned pattern obtained from the lower scan head with the master pattern created by scanning the opposite surface. Alternatively, the above-mentioned scanning head may have a color detection function incorporated therein. Such color detection can be performed, for example, by a color filter, a colored light source, or dichroic
oic) The beam splitter may be incorporated into the identification device according to the present invention. For example,
The colored filter may be arranged in front of the above-mentioned scanning head or sensor. Based on the color information obtained from the bill, the selected scanning head is activated and the laterally movable scanning head is appropriately positioned and activated. Alternatively or in conjunction therewith, based on the color of the bill, a sensor selected from a linear array of scanning heads is activated to scan along the appropriate segment of the bill. For the acquisition of color information, pending US patent application Ser. No. 08 / 219,093 (March 2, 1994).
Application dated 9th. The name is "Currency Discri
minor and Authenticato
r "). Various color information acquisition techniques are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,841,358 and 4,658,
No. 289, No. 4,716,456, No. 4,825,246
No. 4,992,860.

The operation of the currency discriminating apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention can be easily understood with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 18 and 19. The process begins at step 100 and bills are fed along the transfer path (step 102). As it passes the sensor, the sensor measures the length and width of the bill (step 104). These size determination sensors may be those shown in FIG. 7, for example. Next, in step 106, it is determined whether the size of at least one banknote stored in a memory such as the EPROM 60 shown in FIG. 5 and the measured banknote size match. If they do not match, in step 108 it is appropriately treated as an error. If they match, then in step 110 the color of the bill is scanned. At step 112, it is determined whether the color of the banknote matches the color associated with the authentic banknote having the size measured at step 104. If they do not match, an error occurs in step 114. However, if the colors match, then in step 116 a preliminary set of potentially matching banknotes is created. Often, for a banknote of a given color and size, there can be exactly one and the same. However, the preliminary set at step 116 is for a single banknote type, i.e., a particular face value of a particular currency system (e.g., $ 1, $ 5 for the United States).
.. etc.) are not limited to those for identifying. The preliminary set also includes many identical possible banknote types (eg banknotes of other countries). For example, all US banknotes have the same size and color scheme. Therefore,
A preliminary set made by scanning US $ 5 bills includes all par value US bills.

Based on the preliminary set (step 116), selected scan heads within the fixed scan head system are activated (step 118). For example,
Preliminary identification ensures that scanned banknotes are 100
Given that it has the color and size of a Deutsche Mark note, the scan head in the area corresponding to the appropriate segment scanned on a German 100 Deutsche note will be activated. And FIG.
When the leading edge of the banknote is detected by the sensor 68 of, the appropriate segment is scanned. Alternatively,
All scan heads may be activated and only scan information from selected scan heads may be processed. Alternatively, the moveable scanning head may be positioned at an appropriate position (step 118) based on the preliminary identification of the bill (step 116).

Next, the bill is scanned for its characteristic pattern (step 120). In step 122,
The scanned pattern produced by the scanning head is compared to the master pattern (stored) associated with the authentic banknote indicated by the preliminary set. Processing time is reduced compared to the prior art as it only compares with the master pattern of the banknotes in the preliminary set. Thus, for example, if the preliminary set points out that only 100 German Deutsche Banknotes may be identical to the scanned banknotes, the German 100
Only the master pattern of Deutsche Mark notes will have to be compared with the scanned pattern. If they do not match at this stage, they are treated as an error (step 12).
4). If the scanned pattern matches the appropriate master pattern, the bill is identified (step 12).
6) The process ends (step 128).

Some of the preferred embodiments described so far have been systems that allow for the identification or identification of multiple banknote types, but whether the test banknote belongs to a particular banknote type. May be a system for identifying. For example, the system may store master information for only a single bill type, such as a British £ 5 bill. Such a system would identify test banknotes that are British £ 5 banknotes and reject all other banknote types.

The scan head of the present invention can be incorporated into a document identification device capable of identifying various documents. For example, it may be a device capable of handling currencies of different countries. Such devices are adapted to operate in many modes. For example, if the operator
It may be possible to select one or more of the banknote types that the device can handle. Such a selection can be made when limiting the number of master patterns with which the scanned patterns are compared. In the same way, the operator supplies the banknotes (all banknotes face up, all banknotes top edge first, banknotes top or bottom, banknote top edge direction May be selected). In addition, various peripherals (eg monitors, LCDs)
The output information may be displayed in various formats on a display, a printer, etc.). For example, it may be possible to count the total amount of each of the particular banknote types identified, or to create a table showing the total amount of currency counted for each of the multiple currency systems. For example, a pile of banknotes may be placed at the banknote receiving station 12 of FIG. 1 and the output unit 36 of FIG. 1 may indicate that a total of 370 British pounds and 650 Deutschmarks have been counted. Alternatively, the output obtained by scanning the same batch of banknotes may give more detailed information about the particular face value counted. For example, 100
It is possible to give information that one pound note and five 50 pound notes are given, or that one 20 pound note and thirty Deutsche Marks note 13 are given.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the functionality of a currency identification system having a single scan head.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of regions sequentially scanned during lateral movement of a banknote across an optical sensor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a desired area to be optically scanned on a bill together with the bill.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a scanning area to be optically scanned on a banknote according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a preferred circuit for processing and correlating reflectance data with the optical sensing and counting techniques of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a circuit for generating a reset signal.

FIG. 7 is a top view of a bill and a size determining sensor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a banknote depicting a plurality of areas to be optically scanned on the banknote according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a multi-scan head device constructed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a multi-scan head device constructed according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a multi-scan head device constructed according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a side view of a multi-scan head device constructed according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a top view of a diagonal or staggered scan head device constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a top view of a linear array scan head constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating banknotes fed through the center.

FIG. 15 is a side view of a linear array scan head constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating banknotes fed through the center.

FIG. 16 is a top view of a linear array scan head constructed in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating bills fed in an off-center manner.

FIG. 17 is a top view of a linear array scan head constructed in accordance with yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating banknotes fed in a skewed state.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the currency bill identifying system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the currency bill identifying system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Douglas You Many, Wood Street, Burlington, Illinois, United States 229 (72) Inventor Richard A. Mazur 60540, Naperville, Illinois, USA Drive 1508

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A document identification device, the means for scanning a first side of a document along at least two segments to detect characteristic information from the document along the segments and the detected features. Means for scanning the first side of the document, capable of producing a corresponding output signal indicative of variations in certain information, said output signal being adapted to produce a scanned pattern of characteristic information. At least two of the segments are laterally displaced with respect to each other, and the means for scanning the first side of the document is capable of scanning at a speed of at least about 800 sheets per minute; Means for producing at least one scanned pattern from the output signal, the at least one scanned pattern along a segment of the document. It is configured to show analog variations in the characteristic information, and further includes a memory for storing at least one master pattern associated with each authentic document that can be identified by the document identification device, and the at least one master. The pattern is adapted to show analog variations in the characteristic information along the associated authentic document segment, and further, as signal processing means for pattern comparison, at least one of the scanned patterns. Or a signal processing means adapted to compare a portion to at least one of said master patterns, said signal processing means comprising: based on said pattern comparison if said document is identifiable by said document identification device. It is designed to show the result of document identification. A document identification device characterized in that 2. The document identification of claim 1 wherein the means for scanning the first side of the document includes at least two fixed scanning heads arranged laterally displaced with respect to each other. apparatus. 3. The document identification device of claim 1, wherein the means for scanning the first side of the document comprises one or more laterally movable scanning heads. 4. The document identification device according to claim 1, further comprising at least two scanning heads arranged laterally so as to be symmetrical with respect to a central axis of the document. 5. The means for scanning a first side of the document comprises a linear array scanning head with at least two sensors arranged laterally displaced relative to each other. The document identification device according to item 1. 6. The document is a currency banknote, and further comprises a transfer mechanism for transferring banknotes to be scanned at a speed of 800 or more per minute along a transfer path. The document identification device according to any one of 1 to 5. 7. A means for scanning a first side of the document receives at least one light source for illuminating a strip of the segment of the document and reflected light from the illuminated strip on the document. An optical scanning means comprising at least one detector for producing the output signal to exhibit variations in the intensity of the reflected light, the means for producing at least one scanned pattern from the output signal. But includes means for sampling the output signal at preselected intervals as the document travels through a corresponding one of the means for scanning the first side of the document. , Each sample of the output signal is arranged to be proportional to the intensity of light reflected from each strip of the corresponding segment. , The at least one master pattern is a master pattern of samples of the reflected light intensity signal, the strip being of a size such that at least 50 different strips can be scanned along the corresponding segment. And each of said segments is adapted to be scanned in less than one tenth of a second, and further, receiving documents from a document receiving station, one document at a time. A document separation station for feeding to a transfer mechanism, the transfer mechanism adapted to transfer the document from the document separation station to a stacking station, the means for scanning the first side of the document. Be located between the document separation station and the stacking station The document identification device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: 8. A size detecting sensor for obtaining size information from the document, and a size detecting sensor for storing size master information associated with the authentic document which can be identified by the document identifying device. It includes a memory and a second signal processing means for comparing sizes, the second signal processing means being capable of identifying the size information of the document by the document identification device. The master information regarding the size associated with at least one of the sizes is compared, and the size comparison is also considered in the identification of the document. The document identification device according to any one of 1 to 7. 9. A color detection sensor for obtaining color information from the document, and a memory for storing master information about color, which is associated with the genuine document and is identifiable by the document identification device. Third signal processing means for making color comparisons, the third signal processing means including the color information of the document,
The document identification device is adapted to compare with master information relating to the color associated with at least one of the identifiable authentic documents, wherein the color comparison is also taken into account in identifying the document. 9. The document identification device according to claim 1, wherein the document identification device is a document identification device. 10. A document identification device according to claim 9, wherein the output from the color detection sensor is made available for determining the orientation of the surface of the document. 11. The size comparison or the color comparison, or both the size comparison and the color comparison,
It is adapted to be performed before the comparison of the patterns, and the signal processing means is configured to perform the document processing based on the size comparison, the color comparison, or both the size comparison and the color comparison. To produce a potentially preliminary set of documents, the at least one master pattern used to compare the patterns being selected from the preliminary set of documents. The document identification device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the document identification device is configured as follows. 12. The signal processing means may have a possible match for the document based on the size comparison or the color comparison or both the size comparison and the color comparison. Is adapted to produce a typical set of documents, wherein one or more of the means for scanning the first side of the document comprises the size comparison or the color comparison or the size comparison and the size comparison. Selected for scanning the document based on both color comparisons,
Alternatively, an output signal from or derived from one or more of the means for scanning the first side of the document is the magnitude comparison or the color comparison or the magnitude comparison and the color comparison. 12. A document identification device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that it is selected for producing the scanned pattern on the basis of both comparisons. 13. The size detection sensor or the color detection sensor or both the size detection sensor and the color detection sensor are positioned upstream of the means for scanning the first side of the document, The size comparison or the color comparison or both the size comparison and the color comparison are performed before the document is scanned by the means for scanning the first side of the document. And the signal processing means may provide a preliminary matching possibility for the document based on the size comparison or the color comparison or both the size comparison and the color comparison. Adapted to produce a set of documents, the means for scanning the first side of said document comprising one or more laterally movable scanning heads, said one or more A lateral arrangement of the above laterally movable scan heads is selected for the document based on the size comparison or the color comparison or both the size comparison and the color comparison. 13. The document identification device of claim 12, wherein the segment is adapted to be scanned. 14. Further comprising means for scanning a second side of the document positioned to scan the second side of the document along at least two segments, the second side of the document being scanned. The means for scanning is adapted to detect characteristic information from the document along the segment and produce a corresponding output signal indicative of a variation in the detected characteristic information, from which output the characteristic information Document identification device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a scanned pattern is produced. 15. The document identifying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scanning means is an analog scanning means. 16. A method of identifying a document with a document identification device capable of identifying one or more document types of documents, the test document being positioned on a first side of the test document. Scanning along at least two laterally displaced segments at a speed in excess of about 800 sheets per minute, knowing the variation in characteristic information along the segments, producing an output signal from at least the scanning head, Producing from the output signal at least one scanned pattern indicative of analog variations in the characteristic information along a segment of the document, at least one or a portion of the scanned pattern being identifiable by the identification device. A master pattern associated with a genuine document of a valid document type along with the segment of the genuine document. The comparison of patterns is performed by comparing with at least one master pattern selected from a set of master patterns indicating analog variations in characteristic information, and the test document can be identified by the document identification device. A document identification method, characterized in that if there is, the test document identification result is shown based on the comparison of the patterns.