JPH09212707A - Paper sheets, discriminating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minituarize the circuit scale of a discriminating device and to reduce the cost by correcting stored pattern so as to reduce the influence of oblique running, comparing the corrected pattern with a reference value and discriminating paper sheets, for example, paper money. SOLUTION: The paper sheet discriminating device consists of a pattern detecting means 17, a temporary storage device 20, an paper sheet end detecting means 29, an oblique running quantity arithmetic means 28, an oblique correcting means 22, a storage device 23, a feature arithmetic means 24, a reference value storage device 26, a comparing means 25 and a discriminating means 27. The paper sheet end detecting part 29 detects the paper money end part from the patter which is detected by the pattern detecting means 17 and the oblique running quantity arithmetic means 28 operated oblique running quantity from the position of a paper money end. The oblique running correcting means 22 corrects the pattern so as to reduce the influence of oblique running based on the arithmetic result of the oblique running arithmetic means 28. A previously set reference value is stored in the reference value storage device. The discriminating means 27 compares the corrected pattern with the reference value so as to discriminate paper sheets such as paper money.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper sheet discriminating apparatus used in an automatic depositing / dispensing machine, an automatic vending machine or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a paper sheet discriminating device such as a bill discriminating device is provided in an automatic depositing / dispensing machine, an automatic vending machine or the like, and when a customer inserts a bill as a sheet, the paper sheet is discriminated. Banknotes are discriminated by a leaf discriminating device. Therefore, in the paper sheet discrimination apparatus, the pattern of the inserted banknote, an optical pattern such as reflected light or transmitted light corresponding to a figure or the like, or a magnetic pattern by the magnetic ink used for printing Is detected. Then, these patterns are compared with a preset reference value, and the bill is discriminated by the similarity between the patterns or by combining the similarity and the detection result of the outer dimension of the bill.

In this case, for example, a photoelectric conversion element such as an LED (light emitting diode), a photodiode, a phototransistor, or a CCD is used to detect an optical pattern, and a magnetic pattern is detected. , A magnetic head or the like is used. However, if the banknotes are conveyed in a skewed manner, the position where the detected pattern and the set reference value are compared shifts, and the inserted banknotes cannot be correctly identified. Therefore, when a banknote is skewed and conveyed, the detected pattern is corrected so as to reduce the influence of skewing.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a main part of a conventional paper sheet discriminating apparatus. As shown in the figure, a pair of LEDs 13 and 14 are arranged below the banknote transport path 11, and a pair of photodiodes 15 and 16 are arranged so as to face the LEDs 13 and 14, respectively. Then, the bill 12 is conveyed in a direction indicated by an arrow in the figure on the bill conveying path 11 by a conveying means (not shown), light is emitted from the LEDs 13 and 14 at right angles to the conveying direction, and is detected by the photodiodes 15 and 16. It is like this. Therefore, the presence or absence of the bill 12 can be detected by the LEDs 13 and 14 and the diodes 15 and 16.

A pattern detecting means 17 is arranged downstream of the LEDs 13 and 14 and the diodes 15 and 16 in the conveyance direction of the bill 12, and the pattern detecting means 17 detects the pattern of the bill 12. In this case, as the pattern, an image pattern of reflected light is detected as an optical pattern. Next, the operation of the paper sheet discriminating apparatus having the above configuration will be described.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional paper sheet discriminating apparatus, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a pattern detected by the conventional paper sheet discriminating apparatus, and FIG. 5 is corrected by the conventional paper sheet discriminating apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of a pattern. In the figure, 18
Is a bill detecting means constituted by the LED 13 (FIG. 2) and the photodiode 15, and 19 is a bill detecting means constituted by the LED 14 and the photodiode 16.

First, when the bill 12 is conveyed by a conveyer (not shown) and detected by the bill detectors 18 and 19, the pattern detector 17 scans the bill 12 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the bill 12. , The pattern is detected and output. In this case, the pattern detection means 17
First, from position 1 to position P in the direction of arrow x shown in FIG.
Scan lines. Meanwhile, the banknotes 12 are moved by one line in the arrow y direction shown in FIG. Then, the pattern detecting means 17 newly scans one line in the direction of arrow x.
The patterns scanned by the pattern detecting means 17 are sequentially stored in the temporary storage device 20.

On the other hand, the skew amount calculating means 21 calculates the skew degree of the bill 12, that is, the skew amount, based on the time difference when the bill detecting means 18 and 19 detect the bill 12, respectively. Is output to the skew feeding correcting unit 22. The skew feeding correcting means 22 sequentially reads out the patterns stored in the temporary storage device 20, rearranges them according to the skew feeding amount and corrects them as shown in FIG. 5, and stores the corrected patterns in the storage device 23. To do.

Then, the characteristic calculation means 24 reads the corrected pattern from the storage device 23, calculates the characteristic of the banknote 12 according to a predetermined rule based on the corrected pattern, and uses the calculation result as a characteristic value. It outputs to the comparison means 25. The comparison means 25 compares the reference value set in advance and stored in the reference value storage device 26 with the feature value, and outputs the comparison result to the determination means 27. The discriminating means 27 discriminates the denomination of the banknote 12, the front and back, and the like based on the comparison result, and notifies the discriminating result to a higher-order device (not shown) connected to the paper sheet discriminating device.

[0010]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional paper sheet discriminating apparatus, two bill detecting means 18 and 19 are required to detect the bill 12, so that
The circuit scale becomes large and the cost becomes high. The present invention solves the problems of the conventional paper sheet discrimination apparatus,
An object of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet discriminating apparatus that can reduce the cost without increasing the circuit scale.

[0011]

Therefore, in the paper sheet discriminating apparatus of the present invention, the pattern detecting means for detecting the physical pattern of the entire surface of the paper sheet, and the pattern detected by the pattern detecting means. Storage means for storing
A sheet edge detecting unit that detects the edge of the sheet based on the pattern stored in the storage unit, and a skew amount of the sheet is calculated based on the detection result of the sheet edge detecting unit. Based on the calculation result of the skew amount calculating means and the skew amount calculating means,
Discrimination of paper sheets is performed by comparing the skew correction means for correcting the pattern stored in the storage means so as to reduce the influence of skew and the pattern corrected by the skew correction means with the reference value. And a determining means for performing.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a paper sheet discriminating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the paper sheet discriminating apparatus includes a pattern detection unit 17, a temporary storage device 20 as a storage unit, a paper sheet edge detection unit 29, a skew feed amount calculation unit 28, a skew feed correction unit 22, and a storage device. 23, a characteristic calculation means 24, a reference value storage device 26, a comparison means 25 and a discrimination means 27.

The pattern detecting means 17 is a banknote 12 as a paper sheet inserted into an automatic depositing / dispensing machine, an automatic vending machine, or the like.
A physical pattern corresponding to the pattern or figure (see FIG. 2), that is, an optical pattern (image pattern) of reflected light, transmitted light, or the like is detected, and a detection signal (pattern data) is output. The pattern detection means 17 is LE
A bill 1 which is made up of photoelectric conversion elements such as D, a photodiode, a phototransistor, and a CCD, and is a target of discrimination.
For 2, the pattern is detected over the entire surface.

A magnetic head or the like may be used instead of the photoelectric conversion element. In this case, the pattern detecting means 17 detects a magnetic pattern of the magnetic ink used for printing. Then, the temporary storage device 20
Has a buffer memory whose input side is connected to the output side of the pattern detecting means 17, and temporarily stores the detection signal output from the pattern detecting means 17.

The input side of the paper sheet edge detecting means 29 is connected to the output side of the temporary storage device 20, and the bill 1 is detected from the pattern detected by the pattern detecting means 17.
2, the skew feed amount calculating means 28 has an input side connected to the output side of the paper sheet edge detecting means 29, and the bill 12
The skew amount is calculated from the position of the edge of. The skew feeding correcting means 22 has one input side connected to the output side of the temporary storage device 20 and the other input side connected to the output side of the skew feeding amount calculating means 28. Based on the result, the pattern is corrected so that the influence of the skew feeding is reduced, and the corrected pattern is stored in the storage device 23 whose input side is connected to the output side of the skew feeding correcting means 22.

Further, the characteristic calculating means 24 has an input side connected to the output side of the storage device 23, calculates the characteristic of the banknote 12 according to a predetermined rule based on the corrected pattern, and outputs the calculated result as a characteristic. The value is output to the comparison means 25. In addition, the reference value storage device 26
In, a preset reference value is stored. The comparison means 25 has one input side connected to the output side of the characteristic calculation means 24 and the other input side connected to the output side of the reference value storage device 26, and the characteristics of the banknote 12 calculated by the characteristic calculation means 24. The value is compared with the reference value stored in the reference value storage device 26, and the comparison result is output to the discriminating means 27. The discriminating means 27 discriminates the denomination of the banknote 12, the front and back, and the like based on the comparison result, and notifies the discriminating result to a higher-order device (not shown) connected to the paper sheet discriminating device.

Next, the operation of the paper sheet discriminating apparatus having the above construction will be described. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a pattern by the paper sheet discriminating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. First, when a higher-order device (not shown) notifies that the banknote 12 (see FIG. 2) has been inserted, the pattern detection means 17
(FIG. 1) shows the operation state, and the optical patterns such as reflected light and transmitted light corresponding to the pattern, figure, etc. of the banknote 12 are moved every time the banknote 12 is moved by a certain distance, or a certain time elapses. Each time, the pulse is detected in synchronization with each pulse of the timing signal output from the timing sending means (not shown).

By the way, the pattern detected by the pattern detecting means 17 consists of cells divided by broken lines, as shown in FIG. 6, and is stored in the temporary storage device 20 for each cell. Each of the cells is provided in the number of m in the sub-scanning direction (transverse direction) and in the number of n in the main scanning direction (longitudinal direction) to form an m × n matrix. At the position i (i = 1, 2, 3, ..., M) in the sub-scanning direction, and at the position j (j = 1, 2, 3, ..., In the main scanning direction).
The cell in n) is represented as C (i, j).

Then, the paper sheet edge detecting means 29 in the pattern stored in the temporary storage device 20 has cells C (i, j) at two preset positions a and b in the main scanning direction. was searched in order in the sub-scanning direction, detects a cell C (i, j) that exceeds the preset level T _H, the cell C (i, j) the sub-scanning direction position c of reads d, oblique It is output to the line amount calculation means 28.

In this case, when the level of each cell C (i, j) is T (i, j), the minimum position i satisfying the equations (1) and (2) are the positions c and d, respectively. T _H <T (i, a) (1) T _H <T (i, b) (2) Further, the skew feeding amount calculating means 28 is the sheet edge detecting means 2
The skew amount is calculated by receiving the output of 9 and is output to the skew correcting unit 22. In this case, when the scanning pitch in the main scanning direction is γ and the scanning pitch in the sub scanning direction is δ, the skew amount θ can be expressed by the equation (3).

[0021]

[Equation 1]

Then, the skew feeding correcting means 22 receives the output of the skew feeding amount calculating means 28, and corrects the pattern stored in the temporary storage device 20 so that the influence of the skew feeding is reduced and corrected. The created pattern is stored in the storage device 23. In this case, the data of each cell C (i, j) stored in the temporary storage device 20 is stored in the cell C (I, J) of the storage device 23 by the skew correction unit 22.
The relationship between the positions i and j and the positions I and J at this time can be expressed by the equations (4) and (5).

[0023]

[Equation 2]

In this way, the pattern is corrected.
Subsequently, the characteristic calculation means 24 calculates the characteristics of the banknote 12 according to a predetermined rule, for example, the length of the banknote 12 in the main scanning direction, the position of the watermark, the position of the portrait, the position of the numeral indicating the amount of money, and the like. Then, the calculation result is output to the comparison means 25 as a characteristic value. In this case, for example, the characteristic value of the bill 12 is output as shown in Table 1.

[0025]

[Table 1]

By the way, in the reference value storage device 26,
A reference value corresponding to the calculation result of the characteristic value of the characteristic calculation means 24 is stored for each denomination of the banknote 12 and for each of the front and back. In this case, for example, Table 2 shows the reference values of the 1,000-yen note in the front and back directions.

[0027]

[Table 2]

The comparing means 25 is the feature calculating means 2
4 is compared with the reference value stored in the reference value storage device 26, and the comparison result is output to the discriminating means 27. Table 3 shows the results of comparison between the characteristic values and the reference values in the front and back directions of the 1,000-yen note.

[0029]

[Table 3]

The discriminating means 27 receives the comparison result of the comparing means 25, and when the feature value and the reference value are all the same, the banknotes 12 corresponding to the reference value, such as denomination, front and back, are reversed. Determine that In this way, the inserted banknotes 12 are discriminated and notified to the host device. In this way, when the upper device notifies that the bill 12 has been inserted, the pattern is detected by the pattern detection means 17, the edge of the bill 12 is detected, and the skew amount θ is calculated. Since the pattern is corrected on the basis of the amount θ, the bill detecting means for calculating the skew amount θ becomes unnecessary. Therefore, not only can the circuit scale of the paper sheet discrimination apparatus be downsized, but also the cost can be reduced.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a paper sheet discriminating apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In addition, about the thing which has the same structure as 1st Embodiment, the description is abbreviate | omitted by giving the same code | symbol. In this case, the paper sheet discriminating apparatus includes a pattern detecting means 17, a temporary storage device 31 as a storage means, a first paper sheet edge detecting means 30,
Second paper sheet edge detection means 3 as paper sheet insertion detection means
2, skew feeding amount calculation means 28, skew feeding correction means 22, storage device 23, feature calculation means 24, reference value storage device 26, comparison means 25 and discrimination means 27.

Then, the first paper sheet edge detecting means 30.
The input side of is connected to the output side of the pattern detecting means 17, detects the position of the edge of the banknote 12 based on the pattern detected by the pattern detecting means 17, and the temporary storage device 31 has one input side On the output side of the pattern detection means 17, the other input side is the first paper sheet edge detection means 30.
Of the buffer memory connected to the output side of the pattern detection means 17 and temporarily stores the detection signal output from the pattern detection means 17.

The input side of the second paper sheet edge detection means 32 is connected to the output side of the temporary storage device 31, and the position of the edge of the bill 12 is determined based on the pattern detected by the pattern detection means 17. To detect. Next, the operation of the paper sheet discriminating apparatus having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the level of a pattern for one row in the second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the horizontal axis indicates the cell C (i,
The position j of j) is the level T of the detected pattern on the vertical axis.
(I, j) is taken.

In this case, the pattern detecting means 17 is always in operation. Then, the pattern detection means 17
An optical pattern of reflected light, transmitted light, etc. corresponding to the pattern, figure, etc. of the bill 12 (not shown) is not shown each time the bill 12 is moved by a fixed distance or a fixed time elapses. The detection is performed in synchronization with each pulse of the timing signal output from the timing sending means.

The first paper sheet edge detecting means 30 sequentially searches the detected patterns in the main scanning direction to obtain the level T.
Whether or not there is a cell C (i, j) in which (i, j) exceeds a preset level T _G , that is, formula (6)
It is determined whether there is a cell C (i, j) that satisfies the above condition. T _G <T (i, j) (6) Then, when there is a cell C (i, j) satisfying the expression (6), a bill insertion signal indicating that a bill 12 has been inserted is temporarily stored. Output to the device 31.

The temporary storage device 31 starts the storage operation when the bill insertion signal is output by the first sheet edge detecting means 30. In this way, the pattern detecting means 17 always detects the pattern, and the first paper sheet edge detecting means 30 detects the end portion of the banknote 12 based on the pattern and calculates the skew amount θ, Since the pattern is corrected based on the skew amount θ, not only is it unnecessary to notify that the banknote 12 has been inserted from a higher-level device (not shown), but also a bill detecting means for calculating the skew amount θ is provided. It becomes unnecessary. Therefore, not only can the circuit scale of the paper sheet discrimination apparatus be downsized, but also the cost can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified based on the gist of the present invention, and these are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

[0038]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in the paper sheet discriminating apparatus, the pattern detecting means for detecting the physical pattern of the entire surface of the paper sheet and the pattern detecting means are used. The storage means for storing the detected pattern, the paper sheet edge detection means for detecting the edge portion of the paper sheet based on the pattern stored in the storage means, and the detection result of the paper sheet edge detection means The skew amount calculating means for calculating the skew amount of the paper sheet based on the skew amount, and the pattern stored in the storage means based on the calculation result of the skew amount calculating means so that the influence of the skew is reduced. And a discriminating means for discriminating the paper sheet by comparing the pattern corrected by the skew feeding correcting means with a reference value.

In this case, when a paper sheet is thrown in, the physical pattern on the entire surface of the paper sheet is detected by the pattern detection means and stored in the storage means. Then, the paper sheet edge detection means detects the edge portion of the paper sheet based on the pattern stored in the storage means, and the skew feeding amount calculation means based on the detection result by the paper sheet edge detection means. The skew amount of paper sheets is calculated.

Further, the skew feeding correcting means corrects the pattern stored in the storage means so that the influence of the skew feeding is reduced, and the judging means uses the pattern corrected by the skew feeding correcting means and the reference. The value is compared and the paper sheet is discriminated. Therefore, a means for calculating the skew amount of the paper sheet is not required, so that not only the circuit scale of the paper sheet discrimination apparatus can be downsized, but also the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a paper sheet discriminating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a main part of a conventional paper sheet discrimination apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional paper sheet discrimination apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of patterns detected by a conventional paper sheet discrimination apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a pattern corrected by a conventional paper sheet discrimination apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a pattern by the paper sheet discriminating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a paper sheet discriminating apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing pattern levels for one row in the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 bill 17 pattern detection means 20, 31 temporary storage device 22 skew correction means 27 discrimination means 28 skew amount calculation means 29 paper sheet edge detection means 32 second sheet edge detection means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pattern detecting means for detecting a physical pattern on the entire surface of a paper sheet, a storage means for storing a pattern detected by the pattern detecting means, and a storage means for storing the pattern. A sheet edge detecting means for detecting the edge of the sheet based on the pattern stored in the means, and (d) a skew amount of the sheet based on the detection result of the sheet edge detecting means. Skew feeding amount calculating means for calculating, and (e) skew feeding correcting means for correcting the pattern stored in the storage means based on the calculation result of the skew feeding amount calculating means so as to reduce the influence of the skew feeding. And (f) a discriminating unit that discriminates the sheet by comparing the pattern corrected by the skew feeding correcting unit with a reference value, and a sheet discriminating apparatus. 2. The paper sheet discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pattern detecting unit detects a pattern when a higher-level device notifies that a paper sheet has been input. 3. (a) a paper sheet loading detection means for detecting that a paper sheet has been loaded based on the pattern stored in said storage means, and (b) said pattern detection means The paper sheet discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, which constantly detects.