JPH11353452A - Device for collectively counting paper sheets - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for collectively and correctly counting paper sheets even in the case of causing a gap between paper sheet groups. SOLUTION: This device which counts paper sheets A1 in a paper sheet group A which are put one over another is provided with a lighting means 30 which lights up the end surface D of the paper sheet group A, a line sensor which reads the parallel-directional illumination on the end surface D of the paper sheet group A lit up by the lighting means 30, and a counting means 40 which inputs a waveform signal outputted from the line sensor and varying repeatedly between a high and a low illuminance level and counts waves of the waveform signal, and the counting means 40 monitors the waveform signal and interrupts the counting process when the waveform signal has the high illuminance level for a period longer than a reference period set according to the thickness of the paper sheets A1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper sheet batch counting apparatus for stacking paper money such as cards, bills, securities, and the like, and counting the bills collectively and optically.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional sheet batch counting apparatus includes an LED for illuminating an end face of a group of stacked sheets, a photosensor for sensing the intensity of incident light, and a sheet sensor in a direction in which the sheets are stacked. A driving mechanism for moving the photo sensor and a counting circuit for inputting a signal output from the photo sensor and counting the number of sheets are provided.

[0003] Here, the illuminance at the end face of the sheet group is
The end face of each sheet in the sheet group is high, and the space between the sheets is low. Therefore, when the photo sensor is moved in the parallel direction of the paper sheet using the driving mechanism, a waveform signal having a high illuminance level is output from the photo sensor for each end face of each paper sheet.
Thus, the waveform signal output from the photosensor is input to the counting circuit, and the counting circuit counts the number of pulses of the waveform signal using a predetermined threshold value, so that the number of sheets can be easily counted. .

[0004]

However, in the conventional sheet batch counting device, a gap is generated in the sheet group due to deformation of the sheet and attachment of relatively large foreign matter to the sheet.
There is a problem that light entering the gap is erroneously counted as paper sheets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem and to provide a sheet batch counting apparatus which does not erroneously count even when a gap occurs in a sheet group.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet batch counting apparatus for counting the number of sheets of a group of stacked sheets. Illuminating means for illuminating, a line sensor for reading the illuminance in the parallel direction on the end face of the paper sheet group illuminated by the illuminating means, and a waveform signal output from the line sensor, which repeats a high illuminance level and a low illuminance level, are input. Counting means for counting the number of waves of the waveform signal, wherein the counting means monitors the waveform signal, and the waveform signal is at a high illuminance level for a period longer than a reference period set from the thickness of the sheet. When there is, the counting process is interrupted.

With this configuration, the illuminance in the parallel direction on the end face of the group of paper sheets illuminated by the illuminating means is read by the line sensor, and a waveform signal that repeats a high illuminance level and a low illuminance level is output by the line sensor. Output from This waveform signal is input to the counting means, and the counting means counts the number of waves of the input waveform signal. Here, the light is reflected on the end face of each sheet, so that the illuminance at the end face of each sheet is at a high illuminance level, and the light passes between the sheets, so that the illuminance between the sheets is at a low illuminance level. become. Therefore, the illuminance in the parallel direction on the end face of the sheet group is a repetition of a low illuminance level and a high illuminance level, and the signal output from the line sensor is a waveform signal in which the low illuminance level and the high illuminance level are repeated. The counting means counts the number of sheets based on the waveform signal, and recognizes one waveform that changes from a low illuminance level to a high illuminance level and further changes to a low illuminance level as one sheet. Thus, the number of sheets is counted from the number of waves of the waveform signal.

The counting means monitors the waveform signal, and the counting means monitors the waveform signal for a period longer than a reference period set based on the thickness of the sheet.
When the waveform signal is at the high illuminance level, the counting process is interrupted. Here, when the waveform signal maintains the high illuminance level for a period longer than the reference period, for example, a gap is generated in the paper sheet group due to deformation of the paper sheet or attachment of relatively large foreign matter to the paper sheet. This is the case where light enters the gap. In this case, the high illuminance level due to the light entering the gap may be erroneously recognized as the high illuminance level due to the reflection at the end face of the sheet, and the number of sheets may be counted extra. Therefore, the counting means uses a reference period set based on the thickness of the sheet, and when the waveform signal maintains a high illuminance level for a period longer than the reference period, the light is generated by the light entering the gap of the group of sheets. It has been determined that When the determination is made in this manner, the counting process is interrupted to avoid a situation where the number of sheets is incorrectly counted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a display unit for displaying an instruction message when the counting process is interrupted by the counting unit. With such a configuration, when the counting process is interrupted by the counting device, for example, an instruction message such as "Please reset the card." Is displayed on the display device. By this instruction message, the user can recognize that a gap has occurred in the sheet group, and the user can take appropriate measures such as rearranging the sheet group.

In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for counting the number of sheets in a group of stacked sheets, wherein the lighting means illuminates an end face of the group of sheets.
A line sensor that reads the illuminance in the parallel direction on the end face of the paper sheet group illuminated by the illuminating means, and a waveform signal output from the line sensor, which repeats a high illuminance level and a low illuminance level, is input. Counting means for counting the number of waves, the counting means monitors the waveform signal, and when the waveform signal is at a high illuminance level for a period longer than the reference period set from the thickness of the sheet, this counting is performed. Waves including a period are excluded from the counting target.

With this configuration, the illuminance in the parallel direction on the end face of the paper sheet group illuminated by the illuminating means is read by the line sensor, and a waveform signal which repeats a high illuminance level and a low illuminance level is output by the line sensor. Output from This waveform signal is input to the counting means, and the counting means counts the number of waves of the input waveform signal. Further, the counting means monitors the waveform signal, and when the waveform signal has a high illuminance level for a period longer than the reference period set from the thickness of the sheet, the wave including this period is excluded from the counting target. . Here, when the waveform signal maintains the high illuminance level for a period longer than the reference period, for example, a gap is generated in the paper sheet group due to deformation of the paper sheet or attachment of relatively large foreign matter to the paper sheet. This is the case where light enters the gap. In this case, the high illuminance level due to the light entering the gap may be erroneously recognized as the high illuminance level due to the reflection at the end face of the sheet, and the number of sheets may be counted extra. Therefore, the counting means uses a reference period set based on the thickness of the sheet, and when the waveform signal maintains a high illuminance level for a period longer than the reference period, the light is generated by the light entering the gap of the group of sheets. It has been determined that When such a determination is made, the wave including this period is excluded from the counting target, thereby preventing the number of sheets from being counted excessively.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for counting the number of sheets in a group of stacked sheets, wherein the lighting means illuminates an end face of the group of sheets.
A line sensor that reads the illuminance in the parallel direction on the end face of the paper sheet group illuminated by the illuminating means, and a waveform signal output from the line sensor, which repeats a high illuminance level and a low illuminance level, is input. Counting means for counting the number of waves, the counting means includes a total number counting section for counting the total number of waves of the waveform signal, and the waveform signal has a high illuminance level for a period longer than a reference period set from the thickness of the sheet. And a calculation unit for subtracting the correction value counted by the correction unit from the total number of waves counted by the total number counting unit to obtain the number of effective waves of the waveform signal. It is characterized by.

With such a configuration, the line sensor reads the illuminance in the parallel direction on the end face of the sheet group illuminated by the illuminating means, and outputs a waveform signal which repeats a high illuminance level and a low illuminance level. Output from This waveform signal is input to the counting means, and the total number counting section counts the total number of waves of the input waveform signal. Also,
The correction unit counts the number of times that the waveform signal maintains the high illuminance level for a period longer than the reference period set from the thickness of the sheet. Then, the total number of waves counted by the total number counting section and the correction value counted by the correction section are input to the calculation section. The calculation section subtracts the correction value from the total number value, and calculates the result of the calculation by the calculation section. The number of valid waves.

When the waveform signal maintains a high illuminance level for a period longer than the reference period, for example, a gap is formed in the paper sheet group due to deformation of the paper sheet or attachment of relatively large foreign matter to the paper sheet. And light enters the gap. In this case, the high illuminance level due to the light entering the gap may be erroneously recognized as the high illuminance level due to the reflection at the end face of the sheet, and the number of sheets may be counted extra. Therefore, the counting means uses a reference period set based on the thickness of the sheet, and when the waveform signal maintains a high illuminance level for a period longer than the reference period, the light is generated by the light entering the gap of the group of sheets. It has been determined that Then, the correction unit counts the number of times determined in this way as a correction value, and subtracts the correction value from the total value counted by the total number counting unit by the calculation unit. As a result, the number of effective waves of the waveform signal can be calculated, and the accurate number of sheets can be obtained.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the counting process of the counting means, a flag is set when the amount of change of the waveform signal from the low illuminance level to the high illuminance level is greater than the first reference amount, and When the amount of change from the level to the low illuminance level is greater than the second reference amount, the flag is reset, and the number of times the flag changes from the set state to the reset state is counted as the number of waves.
With such a configuration, the number of waves of the waveform signal is counted based on the first reference amount and the second reference amount.
Weak signal changes due to noise components are ignored. Therefore, even if noise is generated in the waveform signal due to contamination of the surface of the line sensor or adhesion of foreign matter to the end face of the paper sheet group, the noise does not affect the counting of paper sheets.

[0016]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of a batch counting apparatus according to the present invention.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a sheet batch counting apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the sheet batch counting device 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the sheet batch counting device 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the paper sheet batch counting device 1 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped case 10, and a card (paper sheet) A1 based on, for example, ISO standard is provided on the front end 10 a side of the upper part of the case 10. A plurality of stockers 20 are provided.

The stocker 20 moves the card A1 in the left-right direction B
The storage recess 21 has a rectangular section in cross section and can be stored in the storage recess 21. One wall surface of the storage recess 21 in the left-right direction B is a pressing wall surface C for holding the card group A in an upright state. Further, the stocker 20 is provided with the accommodation recess 2.
1 is provided with a pressing tool 22 slidable in the left-right direction B, and the pressing tool 22 is provided at the other end of the housing recess 21 in the left-right direction B. And card group A
The card group A can be pressed against the pressing wall surface C and fixed by sliding the pressing tool 22 toward the pressing wall surface C in a state in which is stored.

A reading window 23 extending in the left-right direction B is provided on the bottom surface of the housing recess 21. A plurality of LEDs (illuminating means) for illuminating the end face D of the card group A are provided inside the case 10.
The LED 30 is located on both sides of the reading window 23. Inside the case 10 and below the reading window 23, there is provided a rectangular total reflection mirror 31 rising obliquely toward the front end 10a. Further, a rectangular total reflection mirror 32 rising toward the rear end 10b is disposed at the front end 10a inside the case 10.

At the rear end 10b inside the case 10, a rectangular CCD line sensor (line sensor) 33 facing the front end 10a is disposed so that the extending direction coincides with the left-right direction B. The CCD line sensor 33 receives the light of one line reflected by the total reflection mirror 32 and outputs an analog signal corresponding to the light intensity of the light. Further, on an optical path between the reflection plate 32 and the CCD line sensor 33, an imaging lens 34 for focusing light is provided. Further, above the CCD line sensor 33, a counting circuit (counting means) 40 for inputting an analog signal output from the CCD line sensor 33 and performing a counting process for counting the number of waves of the analog signal, Circuit 4
A liquid crystal display 50 for displaying the count value output from 0 and the determination result is provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the counting circuit 40
An analog signal (waveform signal) output from the D line sensor 33 is input, and a sample and hold circuit 41 that samples the analog signal and an AD converter 42 that converts the analog signal output from the sampling and hold circuit 41 into digital data And a CCD line sensor 33, a sample hold circuit 41 and an AD converter 4.
2 that supplies a clock pulse to the clock generator 2. The counting circuit 40 counts a reference period set from the thickness of the card A1.
(44), and a counter circuit 2 (45) for counting the number of cards A1 based on digital data output from the AD converter 42.

Further, the counting circuit 40 includes the counter circuit 2
CPU that controls (45) to count the number of cards A1
And a RAM 47 for storing various data and flags. The count value output from the counting circuit 40 and the instruction message when the counting process is interrupted are given to the liquid crystal display 50 via the driver 51, and the display of the count value (that is, the number of cards A1) or the instruction message is performed. Display is performed.

The sample-and-hold circuit 41 is a circuit for sampling the analog signal output from the CCD line sensor 33 at a constant cycle, and can output a step-like output according to the brightness. Also, the AD converter 42
Converts the analog signal output from the sample-and-hold circuit 41 into 8-bit digital data according to the value thereof (256 gradated digital data in which the brightest case is [00000000] and the darkest case is [11111111]) Circuit). Further, the counter circuit 1
(44) is a circuit that counts from 1 to 7 and stops. Here, 7 counts is 130 of the thickness of the card A1.
%.

Further, the RAM 47 is provided in the memory 1 (4
7a) to 5 (47e) and a flag 47f. Digital data output from the AD converter 42 is temporarily stored in the memory 1 (47a) and the memory 2 (47b). The difference between the two data stored in the memory 1 (47a) and the memory 2 (47b) is stored in the memory 3 (47c). Further, the set level (first reference value) and the reset level (second reference value) in the counting process are stored in the memory 4 (47d) in advance. Furthermore, in the memory 5 (47e),
The count value obtained in the counting process is stored.

The counting circuit 40 uses the set level and the reset level to count the number of waves of the analog signal output from the CCD line sensor 33. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the sampled values output from the sample and hold circuit 41 are sequentially compared with the previous sampled values, and when the difference between these sampled values is larger than the set level, the flag 47f is set. If the difference between the sampling values is larger than the reset level, the flag 47f is reset. Then, the number of repetitions of the set and reset by the flag 47f is counted by the counter circuit 2 (4
By counting in 5), the number of waves of the waveform signal is counted.

Next, the operation of the sheet batch counting apparatus 1 will be described. First, the storage recess 21 of the stocker 20 shown in FIG.
Is filled with the card group A upright, and the pressing tool 22
By pressing the card group A to one side, the card group A is fixed in the stocker 20. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, by illuminating each LED 30 and irradiating the end face D of the card group A with light, the light reflected on the end face D of the card group A is reflected on the total reflection mirrors 31 and 32. To the CCD line sensor 33. As described above, by using the two total reflection mirrors 31 and 32 to reciprocate the reflected light at the front end 10a of the case 10, an optical path of the reflected light can be obtained, and as a result, the size of the case 10 is reduced. be able to.

The light reflected by the total reflection mirror 32 enters the light receiving surface of the CCD line sensor 33 via the imaging lens 34. Then, on the light receiving surface of the CCD line sensor 33, an image of the end face D of the card group A formed by the imaging lens 34 is displayed. The illuminance at the end face D of the card group A is high at the end face D1 of each card A1,
Low between 1 Therefore, an image obtained by the CCD line sensor 33 has a stripe pattern in which light and dark are repeated in the direction in which the CCD line sensor 33 extends. This image is converted into an electric signal by the CCD line sensor 33, and is supplied to the counting circuit 40 shown in FIG.

Next, the counting process performed by the counting circuit 40 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
First, an initial process is performed to reset the counter circuit 1 (44), the counter circuit 2 (45), and the flag 47f (step 100). Then, the CCD line sensor 33
The illuminance is read out, and an electric signal is supplied from the CCD line sensor 33 to the sample hold circuit 41. The sample hold circuit 41 converts this electric signal into a step-like waveform signal corresponding to the brightness (step 101). This waveform signal is applied to the AD converter 42 and is converted into digital data at the same timing as the sample and hold (step 102). Then, the digital data is given to the CPU 46, and this data is stored in the memory 1 (47a) (step 103).

Under the synchronous control by the clock oscillator 43,
The electric signal output from the CCD line sensor 33 at the next clock timing is sampled by the sample-and-hold circuit 41 (step 104), and then converted into digital data by the AD converter 42 (step 10).
5). This digital data is stored in the memory 2 (47b) under the control of the CPU 46 (step 106).

Next, the digital data stored in the memory 1 (47a) is subtracted from the digital data stored in the memory 2 (47b), and the subtraction result is stored in the memory 3 (47c).
(Step 107). And memory 3
It is determined whether the digital data stored in (47c) is smaller than 0 and the absolute value of the digital data stored in the memory 3 (47c) is larger than the absolute value of the digital data stored in the memory 4 (47d) ( Step 10
8). As a result of the judgment, if this condition is satisfied,
The CPU 46 sets the flag 47f (step 10).
9). If the condition is not satisfied in the judgment of step 108,
When the processing of step 109 is completed, it is determined whether the flag 47f is set (step 11).
0). When it is determined that the flag 47f is set, the count value of the counter circuit 1 (44) is incremented by 1 (step 111).

Further, when the condition is not satisfied in the judgment of step 110 and when the processing of step 111 is completed, the digital data stored in the memory 3 (47c) is larger than 0 and the memory 3 (47c) It is determined whether the absolute value of the digital data stored in the memory 4 is larger than the absolute value of the digital data stored in the memory 4 (47d) (step 112). As a result of the judgment, this condition is satisfied,
If the count value of the counter circuit 1 (44) is 7 (step 113), a command signal for displaying an instruction message is output to the liquid crystal display 50 (step 11).
4), interrupt the processing. As a result, an instruction message such as "Please reset the card" is displayed on the display 50, and the card group A is placed on the stocker 20 by the user who saw this display so that no gap is formed in the card group A. Reloaded.

If the count value of the count circuit 1 (44) is smaller than 7 as determined in step 113, the count value of the counter circuit 2 (45) is incremented by one. afterwards,
The counter 1 (44) and the flag 47f are reset (steps 116 and 117).

If the condition is not satisfied in the judgment of step 112 and the process of step 117 is completed,
It is checked whether the reading of the CCD line sensor 33 has been completed (step 118). If the reading has not been completed, the digital data stored in the memory 2 (47b) is read and stored in the memory 1 (47a). (Step 119). Thereafter, the process returns to step 104.

When the reading of the CCD line sensor 33 is completed, the flag 47f is checked (step 120), and when the flag 47f is set,
An error signal indicating a reading error is output to the liquid crystal display 50 (step 121), and the process ends. As a result, an error message is displayed on the display 50. If the flag 47f is not set in step 120, the count value of the counter circuit 2 (45) is read out, and this count value is
0 (step 122), and the process ends. As a result, the number of cards A1 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 50.

If the measurement by the CCD line sensor 33 is normal, the analog signal output from the CCD line sensor 33 becomes a periodic waveform signal. Therefore, the flag 47
The period of the high illuminance level from when f is set to when it is reset is a period corresponding to the width of the card A1. However, when a gap is formed in the card group A and light enters the gap, as shown in FIG. 8A, the period of the high illuminance level from when the flag 47f is set to when it is reset is lengthened. Therefore, the counting circuit 40 measures this period using the counter circuit 1 (44), and if the measured period is within the period up to the count 6 (reference period), the processing in step 113 is performed. It is determined that the waveform signal is normal.

If the measured period is a period up to the count 7 (a period longer than the reference period), step 11
In the process of 3, it is determined that the waveform signal is abnormal. And
If it is determined that the waveform signal is abnormal, the process is interrupted after displaying an instruction message on the liquid crystal display 50 in step 114. Therefore, a situation in which the number of cards A1 is erroneously counted is avoided. Displaying the instruction message on the liquid crystal display 50 is not essential processing, and the processing may be interrupted without displaying the instruction message.

Here, when it is determined in step 113 that the waveform signal is abnormal, the wave including the period of the high illuminance level, which is the object of this measurement, is transmitted to the counter circuit 2 (4).
The processing may be continued by excluding from the counting target of 5). That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when it is determined in step 113 that the waveform signal is abnormal, step 116 is executed.
Is performed, and thereafter, steps 104 to 11
9 is repeated. If such processing is performed, the number of cards A1 can be counted to the end without interrupting the processing even if light enters the gap between the card groups A. Then, the obtained count value becomes an accurate value, and the situation of extra counting of the number of cards A1 is avoided.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a paper sheet batch counting apparatus according to a second embodiment will be described. FIG.
It is a block diagram which shows the counting circuit 140 with which the sheet batch counting device which is embodiment of 1 is provided. The counting circuit 140 differs from the counting circuit 40 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4 in that the counting circuit 140 includes a counter circuit 3 (48) for counting the number of times the waveform signal maintains the high illuminance level for a period longer than the reference period. And that the CPU 46 has a total counting unit 46a, a correcting unit 46b, and a calculating unit 46c.
Therefore, as shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 and 12, the counting circuit 140 operates partially differently from the counting circuit 40. Hereinafter, the operation of the counting circuit 140 will be described.
The configuration other than the counting circuit 140 of the sheet batch counting device according to the second embodiment is the same as or equivalent to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, first, an initial process is performed, and the counter circuit 1 (44) and the counter circuit 2 (4
5) The counter circuit 3 (48) and the flag 47f are reset (step 200). After that, the illuminance is read out by the CCD line sensor 33, and an electric signal is given from the CCD line sensor 33 to the sample hold circuit 41. The sample hold circuit 41 converts this electric signal into a step-like waveform signal corresponding to the brightness (step 201). This waveform signal is supplied to the AD conversion converter 42 and is converted into digital data at the same timing as the sample and hold (step 202). Then, the digital data is given to the CPU 46, and this data is stored in the memory 1 (47a) (step 20).
3).

Under the synchronous control by the clock oscillator 43,
The electric signal output from the CCD line sensor 33 at the next clock timing is sampled by the sample-and-hold circuit 41 (step 204), and then converted into digital data by the AD converter 42 (step 20).
5). This digital data is stored in the memory 2 (47b) under the control of the CPU 46 (step 206).

Next, the digital data stored in the memory 1 (47a) is subtracted from the digital data stored in the memory 2 (47b), and the subtraction result is stored in the memory 3 (47c).
(Step 207). And memory 3
It is determined whether the digital data stored in (47c) is smaller than 0 and the absolute value of the digital data stored in the memory 3 (47c) is larger than the absolute value of the digital data stored in the memory 4 (47d) ( Step 20
8). As a result of the judgment, if this condition is satisfied,
The CPU 46 sets the flag 47f (step 20).
9). If the condition is not satisfied in the judgment of step 208,
When the processing in step 209 is completed, it is determined whether the flag 47f is set (step 21).
0). When it is determined that the flag 47f is set, the count value of the counter circuit 1 (44) is incremented by 1 (step 211).

Further, when the condition is not satisfied in the judgment of step 210 and when the processing of step 211 is completed, the digital data stored in the memory 3 (47c) is larger than 0 and the memory 3 (47c) Is determined to be greater than the absolute value of the digital data stored in the memory 4 (47d) (step 212). As a result of the judgment, this condition is satisfied,
If the count value of the counter circuit 1 (44) is 7 (step 213), the processing of the correction unit 46b of the CPU 46 is executed, and the count value of the counter circuit 3 (48) is incremented by 1 (step 214). . Step 21
If the count value of the counter circuit 1 (44) is less than 7 in the determination of 3, the process of the total number counting unit 46a of the CPU 46 is executed to add 1 to the count value of the counter circuit 2 (45) (step 215). ). And step 214,
After the processing of 215 is completed, the counter circuit 1 (44) and the flag 47f are reset (steps 216 and 217).

When the condition is not satisfied in the judgment of step 212 and when the process of step 217 is completed,
It is checked whether the reading of the CCD line sensor 33 has been completed (step 218). If the reading has not been completed yet, the digital data stored in the memory 2 (47b) is read and stored in the memory 1 (47a). (Step 219). Thereafter, the process returns to step 204.

When the reading of the CCD line sensor 33 is completed, the flag 47f is checked (step 220), and when the flag 47f is set,
An error signal indicating a reading error is output to the liquid crystal display 50 (step 221), and the process ends. As a result, an error message is displayed on the display 50. If the flag 47f is not set in step 220, the processing of the arithmetic unit 46c of the CPU 46 is executed to subtract the count value of the counter circuit 3 (48) from the count value of the counter circuit 2 (45). (Step 222). Then, the value subtracted in step 222 is output to the liquid crystal display 50 (step 223), and the process ends. As a result, the number of cards A1 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 50.

If the measurement by the CCD line sensor 33 is normal, the analog signal output from the CCD line sensor 33 becomes a periodic waveform signal. Therefore, the flag 47
The period of the high illuminance level from when f is set to when it is reset is a period corresponding to the width of the card A1. However, when a gap is formed in the card group A and light enters the gap, as shown in FIG. 8A, the period of the high illuminance level from when the flag 47f is set to when it is reset is lengthened. Therefore, the counting circuit 40 measures this period using the counter circuit 1 (44), and if the measured period is within the period up to the count 6 (reference period), the processing in step 113 is performed. It is determined that the waveform signal is normal.

If the measured period is a period up to the count 7 (a period longer than the reference period), step 11
It is determined in the process 3 that the waveform signal is abnormal. And
If it is determined that the waveform signal is abnormal, the count value of the counter circuit 3 (48) is incremented by 1 in step 214, and the number of times the waveform signal maintains the high illuminance level for a period longer than the reference period is counted. I do. Then, at the stage when reading of the CCD line sensor 33 is completed, step 222 is performed.
And subtracting the number of abnormal high illuminance levels counted by the counter circuit 3 (48) from the total number of waves of the waveform signal counted by the counter circuit 2 (45) (step 215). Thus, the number of effective waves of the waveform signal can be calculated. As a result, the correct number of cards A1 can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified as follows, for example, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

(1) In the first and second embodiments,
Although the card A1 is used as an example of paper sheets, cards made of other plastics or paper, such as credit cards, cash cards, prepaid cards, bills,
Stamps, securities, or the like may be used.

(2) In the first and second embodiments,
Although the optical reduction type CCD line sensor 33 is used, a contact type CCD line sensor may be used.

[0050]

The sheet batch counting apparatus according to the present invention is constructed as described above, so that the following effects can be obtained.

That is, the waveform signal is monitored by the counting means, and for a period longer than the reference period set from the thickness of the sheet,
When the waveform signal has a high illuminance level, it is determined that a gap has occurred in the sheet group and light has entered the gap. When the determination is made in this manner, first, the counting process is interrupted, second, the wave including the period of the high illuminance level is excluded from the counting target, and third, the wave of the waveform signal is The number of effective waves is calculated by subtracting the number of waves including the period of the high illuminance level from the total number.

For this reason, for example, even if a gap occurs in the sheet group due to deformation of the sheet or the attachment of relatively large foreign matter to the sheet, the number of sheets is not erroneously counted.

Further, since the line sensor is used for detecting the illuminance on the end face of the paper sheet and there is no mechanically movable part, the mechanism of the apparatus can be simplified. For this reason,
High device reliability. Further, since the reading time of the line sensor is short, counting of paper sheets can be performed in a short time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a paper sheet batch counting apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the sheet batch counting apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the sheet batch counting apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of a counting circuit.

FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram showing a signal output from a CCD line sensor.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a first half of a counting process performed by a counting circuit;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a second half of a counting process performed by the counting circuit.

FIG. 8A is a waveform diagram showing a signal output from a CCD line sensor. (B) is a diagram showing the state of the flag. (C) is a diagram showing the count value of the counter circuit.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a part of the flow of a counting process performed by the counting circuit.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of a counting circuit included in the sheet batch counting device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a first half of a counting process performed by the counting circuit of FIG. 10;

12 is a flowchart showing a latter half of a counting process performed by the counting circuit of FIG. 10;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Paper sheet total counting device, 10 ... Case, 20 ... Stocker, 30 ... LED (illumination means), 31, 32 ... Total reflection mirror, 33 ... CCD line sensor (line sensor), 3
4 imaging lens, 40, 140 counting circuit (counting means), 41 sampling hold circuit, 42 AD converter, 43 clock oscillator, 44 counter circuit 1, 45 counter circuit 2, 46 CPU, 46a ... total number counting section, 46b ... correction section, 46c ... calculation section, 47 ... R
AM, 48: counter circuit 3, 50: liquid crystal display (display means), A: card group (sheet group), A1: card (sheets), D, D1: end face.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A sheet batch counting device for counting the number of sheets of a sheet group arranged in a stack at once, an illuminating means for illuminating an end face of the sheet group, and A line sensor that reads the illuminance in the parallel direction on the end face of the illuminated paper sheet group, and a waveform signal output from the line sensor that repeats a high illuminance level and a low illuminance level is input, and the waveform of the waveform signal is input. Counting means for monitoring the waveform signal, and the waveform signal was at the high illuminance level for a period longer than a reference period set from the thickness of the paper sheet. A sheet batch counting apparatus characterized in that the counting process is interrupted in such a case. 2. The sheet batch counting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays an instruction message when the counting process is interrupted by the counting unit. 3. A sheet batch counting apparatus for counting the number of sheets of a sheet group arranged in a stack at a time, wherein: an illuminating means for illuminating an end face of the sheet group; A line sensor that reads the illuminance in the parallel direction on the end face of the illuminated paper sheet group, and a waveform signal output from the line sensor that repeats a high illuminance level and a low illuminance level is input, and the waveform of the waveform signal is input. Counting means for monitoring the waveform signal, and the waveform signal was at the high illuminance level for a period longer than a reference period set from the thickness of the paper sheet. In such a case, a batch counting device for sheets is characterized in that waves including this period are excluded from counting. 4. A sheet batch counting device for counting the number of sheets of a group of sheets arranged in a pile, the lighting unit illuminating an end face of the sheet group, and the lighting unit A line sensor that reads the illuminance in the parallel direction on the end face of the illuminated paper sheet group, and a waveform signal output from the line sensor that repeats a high illuminance level and a low illuminance level is input, and the waveform of the waveform signal is input. Counting means for counting the number of waves, the counting means, a total number counting unit for counting the total number of waves of the waveform signal, a period longer than a reference period set from the thickness of the paper sheet,
A correction unit that counts the number of times that the waveform signal maintains the high illuminance level, and subtracts the correction value counted by the correction unit from the total number of waves counted by the total number counting unit, so that the validity of the waveform signal is reduced. A batch counting device for paper sheets, comprising: a calculation unit for calculating the number of waves. 5. The counting process of said counting means sets a flag when the amount of change of the waveform signal from the low illuminance level to the high illuminance level is greater than a first reference amount, and sets a flag when the waveform signal is Resetting the flag when the amount of change from the high illuminance level to the low illuminance level is greater than a second reference amount, and counting the number of times the flag changes from the set state to the reset state as the number of waves. The sheet batch counting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sheet batch counting apparatus is characterized in that: