JP2002056428A - Bill identifying device, and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bill identifying device capable of reducing influence of variation of luminescence amount on light receiving elements and identifying bills at a high speed. SOLUTION: When the light emitting elements connected in series are made to emit light at a luminance corresponding to a light receiving level of a light receiving elements corresponding to each light emitting element, order of the light emission is changed from a weak side to a strong side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bill discriminating apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a bill discriminating apparatus for extracting an optical feature from a bill to discriminate the bill and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a device for handling bills, such as a vending machine or a money changing machine, is provided with a bill discriminating device for judging the authenticity of bills and storing genuine bills in a machine body. The bill validator performs the denomination determination and the authenticity determination of the inserted bill, and when the inserted bill is determined to be a genuine bill, stores the bill and inserts the genuine bill into a vending machine or the like. Notify that there was.

[0003] Here, an outline of the bill validator will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a side cross section of the bill validator.

[0004] As shown in FIG.
Is a bill insertion slot 202, a bill conveyance path 203, a stacker 204a, a stack drum 204b, a slit 204
c, a stacker chute 204d, a holding plate 204e, a coil spring 204f, pulleys 205a to 205d, and an identification unit 206.

In the bill validator 200, when a bill is inserted from the bill insertion slot 202, an insertion sensor (not shown) detects the insertion of the bill, and thereby a transport motor (not shown) is driven. By driving the transport motor, pulleys 205a and 205b interlocked with the transport motor are driven to drive the bill transport path 2
The bill inserted with the transport belt (not shown) stretched along the reference numeral 03 is moved along the bill transport path 203.

When the bill moves along the bill transport path 203, the identification unit 206 detects the characteristics of the bill, and the authenticity of the bill is determined based on the detection result. As a result of the truth judgment,
If it is determined that the bill is counterfeit, the transport motor is reversed and the bill is returned from the bill insertion slot 202. If it is determined that the bill is genuine, the transport motor continues to rotate forward and the bill is stacked. It stops in a state where it is sandwiched between slits 204c formed in 204b. Subsequently, the stack drum 204
b rotates in a predetermined direction, the stacker chute 204d moves in the direction of arrow X in the figure, and the bill is
It is stored in the stacker 204a. The stacker 204a is provided with a pressing plate 204e via a coil spring 204f, and the stored bills are pressed toward the stack drum 204b by the pressing plate 204e.

Here, the identification unit 206 will be described.
The identification unit 206 detects optical characteristics, magnetic characteristics, and the like of the bill by various sensors, and determines the type and authenticity of the bill based on the detection result.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the identification unit 206 when detecting an optical characteristic. As shown in the figure, the identification unit 206 includes a light emitting circuit 261 and a light receiving circuit 262.
a to 262e, a control unit 263, a power supply 264, light emitting diodes 265a to 265e, and a photodiode 266a to
266e.

In this configuration, the light emitting diodes 265a to 265 connected in series are operated by the operation of the light emitting circuit 261.
e emits light, and this light is irradiated on the bill. Then, the reflected light or transmitted light on the bill is converted to the photodiode 266a.
266e (detection of reflected light or transmitted light depends on the specification).

The light detected by the photodiodes 266a to 266e is converted into electric signals by the light receiving circuits 262a to 262e, respectively.
The processing is performed at 62 e and input to the control unit 263. At this time, the light receiving circuits 262a to 262e or the control unit 263
By performing the operation described above, only one of the outputs of the photodiodes 266a to 266e is processed as a valid signal, and the processing is sequentially repeated to use the outputs of all the photodiodes 266a to 266e.

By the way, the light emitting diodes 265a-265
5e emits light of different wavelengths. Therefore, the level (brightness) of the emitted light depends on the light emitting diode 2
65a to 265e. However, it is desirable that the photodiodes 266a to 266e receive a certain level of light. for that reason,
In accordance with the photodiode to receive light (any one of 266a to 266e is a photodiode using output)
The light emission levels of the light emitting diodes 265a to 265e are changed.

For example, the light emitting diodes 265a to 265
The light emission level of e is changed as shown in FIG.
This is because, as shown in FIG.
When the light received by the photodiode 66a is detected, light is emitted at a level at which the received light level becomes constant. As shown in FIG. 8C, when the light received by the photodiode 266b is used, This is because light is emitted at a level at which the light receiving level is constant. Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 8D to 8F, when light received by the photodiodes 266c, 266d, and 266e is detected, the light receiving level is a level at which the light receiving level becomes constant. It is emitting light.

Further, the light emitting diodes 265a to 265e
Even if a light emitting device that emits light of the same wavelength is used, each light emitting diode may have a different light emitting level (brightness) due to the influence of product variation or the like. Light emission is performed at a constant level.

[0014]

However, due to its characteristics, a light receiving element such as a photodiode is affected by the light of the level received immediately before when the light receiving level changes from strong to weak.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9 (the pattern of the light emission intensity is the same as that of FIG. 8A), when the light emission amount changes from strong to weak at the timing of B to C, the output of the light receiving element becomes There will be a delay.

This delay causes a change in the amount of light emission, that is, an obstacle when switching the light receiving element at a high speed, and as a result, it is difficult to improve the speed of bill discrimination.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a bill discriminating apparatus capable of reducing the influence on the light receiving element due to a change in the amount of emitted light and capable of discriminating bills at high speed, and a control method therefor.

[0018]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a plurality of light-emitting elements connected in series, a plurality of light-receiving elements corresponding to each of the plurality of light-emitting elements, Emission control means for sequentially switching the light emitting element to a light emission amount suitable for each of the light receiving elements to emit light, output selection means for selecting an output of the light receiving element corresponding to the light emission amount emitted by the light emitting means, and A bill discriminating device comprising: a discriminating unit that discriminates a bill based on an output selected by the selecting unit; wherein the light emission control unit sequentially changes the light emitting elements such that a light emission amount of the light emitting element changes from small to large. It is characterized by switching to emit light.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the light emitting element and the light receiving element are arranged in ascending order of a corresponding light emission amount, and the output selecting means includes:
The output of the light receiving element is selected in the arrangement order of the light receiving element.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided storage means for storing a switching order of the light emission amount of the light emitting element, and the light emission control means is stored in the storage means. The light emission amount of the light emitting element is switched according to the switching order.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the invention, a light emission amount suitable for each of the light receiving means is obtained, and the light emission amount of the light emitting element is switched based on the obtained light emission amount. A switching order determining means for determining the order and storing the determined switching order in the storage means is further provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of light emitting elements connected in series are sequentially switched to a light emitting amount suitable for a light receiving element corresponding to each of the plurality of light emitting elements to emit light. A method for controlling a bill validator that identifies bills based on the output of a corresponding light receiving element, wherein the light emitting elements are sequentially switched to emit light so that the light emission amount of the light emitting element changes from small to large. .

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the invention, the switching of the light emission amount is performed in a preset order.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the invention, the switching of the light emission amount is performed in an order determined based on the light emission amount suitable for each of the light receiving means. I do.

[0025]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bill discriminating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the bill validator. As shown in FIG.
It comprises a control section 1, a bill insertion section 2, a bill transport section 3, a bill receiving section 4, a drive section 5, and an identification section 6.

The bill inserted from the bill insertion section 2 is transported by driving the bill transport section 3 by the drive section 5. The banknotes being conveyed by the banknote conveying unit 3 are denominated in authenticity and authenticity by the identification unit 6, and the banknotes determined to be genuine are controlled by the drive unit 5 by the control unit 1. Accepted by the receiving unit 4.

The discriminating unit 6 determines the denomination and authenticity by extracting the optical characteristics, magnetic characteristics, and the like of the bill being conveyed in the bill conveying unit 3. Description will be made assuming that only optical features are extracted.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control unit 1 and the identification unit 6. The identification unit 1 includes a light emission order / luminance storage unit 11, a luminance signal output unit 12, a light emission order control unit 13,
D / A converter 14, A / D converters 15a, 15b, 15
c, 15d, 15e, a signal selection unit 16, and a determination unit 17, and a light emission order determination unit 18 is provided as needed.

The identification unit 6 includes a light emitting circuit 61 and light receiving circuits 62a, 62b, 62c, 62d, and 62e.

The control unit 1 shown in FIG.
And the configuration for processing the magnetic characteristics of the bills detected by the identification unit 6 are omitted. Also,
The light emitting circuit 61 and the light receiving circuits 62a, 62b, 6 of the identification unit 6
2c, 62d, and 62e are the light emitting circuit 261 and the light receiving circuits 262a, 262b, 262c,
262d and 262e, and a light emitting element (corresponding to the light emitting diode 265a in FIG. 7), a light receiving element (corresponding to the photodiode 266a in FIG. 7), and a configuration for extracting the magnetic characteristics of the bill are omitted. ing.

The control unit 1 stores the light emission order of the light emitting elements and the light emission luminance in each of the light emission elements in the light emission order / luminance storage unit 11.
I remember. The order of light emission refers to the light receiving circuits 62a, 62
b, 62c, 62d, and 62e use the output signals, and in accordance with this order, the light emission luminance of the light emitting element is changed according to the level on the light receiving side. Then, the order is sequentially changed from a light emission luminance to a light emission luminance. The storage in the light emission order / luminance storage unit 11 may be performed in advance, and if the light emission order determination unit 18 is provided, this may be used. Light emission order determination unit 18
Will be described later.

The light emission order stored in the light emission order / luminance storage unit 11 is read out by the light emission order control unit 13, and the light emission order control unit 13 generates a timing signal for controlling the light emission order based on the light emission order. This is output to the luminance signal output unit 12 and the signal selection unit 16.

The luminance signal output unit 12 includes a light emission order control unit 13
The corresponding brightness is obtained from the light emission order / brightness storage unit 11 in accordance with the timing signal input from the CPU, and a brightness signal is generated and output. The luminance signal output from the luminance signal output unit 12 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A conversion unit 14 and input to the light emitting circuit 61.

On the other hand, the A / D converters 15a to 15e convert the detection signals output from the light receiving circuits 62a to 62e into digital signals. Then, the signal selection unit 16
Based on the timing signal output from the light emission order control unit 13, one of the signals converted by the A / D conversion units 15 a to 15 e is selected and input to the determination unit 17.

The judging section 17 judges whether the bill is true or false based on the signal selected by the signal selecting section 17.

With such a configuration, the control unit 1
Causes the light-emitting elements to emit light in ascending order of luminance via the light-emitting circuit 61. For example, the light emitting diode 2 shown in FIG.
When light is emitted from the light receiving elements 65a to 265e, as shown in FIG.
Light emission is performed in the order of c, 266d, 266a, 266e, and 266b. As a result, the photodiode 266
c, 266d, 266a, 266e, and 266b receive light in order from the one with the lowest luminance, and there is no delay when the luminance changes.

Next, the light emission order determining unit 18 will be described. The light emission order determining unit 18 is a component for automatically determining the light emission order stored in the light emission order / luminance storage unit 11 and the corresponding luminance. For this reason, when the automatic determination of the light emission order is not performed, it is not necessary.

The automatic determination of the light emission order is performed, for example, when automatically adjusting the light emission order of the light emitting elements and the brightness corresponding thereto. This is to prevent the output from the light receiving element from changing due to aging of the light emitting element, the light receiving element, and the like, and the influence of dust and the like.

Therefore, the order of light emission of the light emitting elements and the brightness corresponding thereto are automatically adjusted periodically, and in accordance with the result, the order of light emission of the light emitting elements, the corresponding brightness, and the order of detection of the light receiving elements (the order of light emission of the light emitting elements). (Changed accordingly), the bill can always be identified with a certain accuracy or higher.

It should be noted that the automatic adjustment is, of course, performed in a standby state in which bills are not identified.

Here, referring to FIG.
8 will be described. FIG.
It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a light emission order determination process.

When the light emission order determining unit 18 starts the process,
First, a control signal is sent to the emission order control unit 13, and the signal selection unit 16 outputs an output from a predetermined light receiving circuit (A / D converter), for example, an output signal of the light receiving circuit 62a (A / D converter 15a). Generate a signal to select (step 10
1). Subsequently, an instruction is given to the luminance signal output unit 12 to generate an appropriate luminance signal (step 102),
The luminance signal is adjusted until the signal input to the light emission order determination unit 18 via the signal selection unit 16 reaches a predetermined light receiving level (NO in step 103). When the light receiving level becomes an appropriate value (YES in step 103), the light emission luminance at that time is stored (step 104), and the process returns to step 101, where the signal selecting section 16 selects a signal from another light receiving circuit. The light emission order control unit 13 (step 105).
No, step 101).

This process is repeated, and the adjustment of the light receiving levels in all the light receiving circuits is completed (step 1).
05 (YES in step 05), the light emission order is determined based on the stored light emission luminance (step 106), and the determined light emission order and the corresponding luminance are stored in the light emission order / luminance storage unit 11 (step 107). finish.

By the way, in the above description, the brightness of the light emitting elements is changed in ascending order by controlling the order of light emission of the light emitting elements. However, in the simplest case, the light emitting section (a set of light emitting elements) and the light receiving section ( When the light-emitting elements emit light at a luminance suitable for the corresponding light-receiving element, the light-emitting elements are arranged so that the luminance is in ascending order,
By emitting light at a luminance corresponding to the corresponding light receiving element sequentially from the end, the same effect as in the above case can be obtained.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the light emitting elements are arranged in the order of A ', B', C ', D', and E ', and light is sequentially emitted at a luminance corresponding to the corresponding light receiving element. Become.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the light-emitting elements connected in series emit light at a luminance corresponding to the light receiving level of the light-receiving element corresponding to each light-emitting element, the order of light emission is determined. The light receiving level at the light receiving element does not change from strong to weak, and the light is not affected by the light received immediately before the light to be detected. Can be detected, and as a result, high-speed switching (switching of the light receiving element) can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a bill validator.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control unit 1 and an identification unit 6;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of light emission.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a light emission order determination process.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of light emission when the light emitting elements are physically rearranged.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a side cross section of the bill validator.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an identification unit 206 when detecting an optical feature.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a change in light emission luminance of a light emitting diode.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a conventional light emission example.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control part 2 Banknote insertion part 3 Banknote conveyance part 4 Banknote reception part 5 Drive part 6 Identification part 11 Light emission order / luminance memory part 12 Brightness output signal output part 13 Light emission order control part 14 D / A conversion part 15a, 15b, 15c , 15d, 15e A / D conversion unit 61 Light emitting circuit 62a, 62b, 62c, 62d, 62e Light receiving circuit 200 Banknote discriminating device 202 Banknote insertion slot 203 Banknote transport path 204a Stacker 204b Stack drum 204c Slit 204d Stacker chute 204e Press plate 204f Coil spring 205a, 205b, 205c, 205d Pulley 206 Identification unit 261 Light emitting circuit 262a, 262b, 262c, 262d, 262e
Light receiving circuit 263 Control unit 264 Power supply 265a, 265b, 265c, 265d, 265e
Light emitting diode 266a, 266b, 266c, 266d, 266e
Photodiode

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shigeru Yasuda 2-2-2 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo F-term in Japan Conlux, Inc. (reference) 3E041 AA02 AA03 BA11 BB01 BB07 CA01 CB03 CB07 EA02

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of light-emitting elements connected in series, a plurality of light-receiving elements corresponding to each of the plurality of light-emitting elements, and light emission by sequentially switching the light-emitting elements to a light emission amount suitable for each of the light-receiving elements. Light emitting control means for causing the light emitting element to emit light, the output selecting means selecting an output of a light receiving element corresponding to the amount of light emitted by the light emitting means, and identifying means for identifying a bill based on the output selected by the output selecting means. In the banknote recognition apparatus, the light emission control unit sequentially switches the light emitting elements so that the light emission amount of the light emitting element changes from small to large, and emits light. 2. The light-emitting element and the light-receiving element are arranged in ascending order of the corresponding light emission amount, and the output selecting means selects the output of the light-receiving element in the arrangement order of the light-receiving elements. Item 2. The bill identifying device according to Item 1. 3. A storage unit storing a switching order of the light emission amount of the light emitting element, wherein the light emission control unit switches the light emission amount of the light emitting element according to the switching order stored in the storage unit. The bill validator according to claim 1, wherein: 4. A light emission amount suitable for each of said light receiving means is obtained, a switching order of light emission amounts of said light emitting elements is determined based on the obtained light emission amounts, and said determined switching order is stored in said storage means. 4. The banknote recognition apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a switching order determination unit that stores the switching order in a banknote. 5. A plurality of light-emitting elements connected in series are sequentially switched to a light emission amount suitable for a light-receiving element corresponding to each of the plurality of light-emitting elements to emit light, and an output of the light-receiving element corresponding to the light emission amount is output. A method for controlling a bill identifying apparatus for identifying a bill based on the method, wherein the light emitting elements are sequentially switched so that the light emission amount of the light emitting element changes from small to large to emit light. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the switching of the light emission amount is performed in a preset order. 7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the switching of the light emission amount is performed in an order determined based on the light emission amount suitable for each of the light receiving units.