JP3518518B2 - Banknote recognition device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bill validator used in various automatic service devices such as vending machines and ticket vending machines.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the diversification and high price of products sold at automatic vending machines and ticket vending machines, banknote recognition devices that can use high-value banknotes other than 1,000-yen banknotes have been widely used. It was In particular, since the 2000 yen bill was issued in July 2000, devices that can use high-value bills including the 2000 yen bill have become common. On the other hand, with the progress of office automation equipment such as copiers and color printers, the number of crimes in which counterfeit banknotes using these high-precision copying machines are exercised are increasing,
It is required for the bill validator to further improve the discrimination capability and prevent crimes.

Conventionally, a bill validator for a vending machine is provided with a plurality of sets of transmissive optical sensors in which a light emitting diode and a photodiode are combined, and the same portion of a bill is scanned by optical sensors having different wavelengths to obtain a transmittance. The difference between
Discrimination between genuine bills and counterfeit bills has been performed. Examples of such techniques include Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-62478 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-7149.

A conventional bill validator will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 13 shows an optical sensor section of a conventional bill validator. In FIG. 13, a red light emitting diode 2 and an infrared light emitting diode 3 are arranged in contact with one wall surface of the bill conveying passage 1, and a photodiode 4 is arranged on the other wall face of the bill conveying passage 1. With such a structure, when the bill 5 to be identified passes in front of the photodiode 4, the optical characteristics of the bill can be examined.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an optical sensor unit and a discriminating unit of a conventional bill validator. In FIG. 14, a conveyance means 6 (here, composed of a belt and a roller) that conveys the bills 5 along the bill conveyance path 1 is provided, and a bill detection means 7 is arranged at the entrance of the conveyance means 6. , Is connected to the control means 8 for detecting the bill position. The red light emitting diode 2 and the infrared light emitting diode 3 provided in contact with the wall surface of the bill transport passage 1 are also connected to the control means 8 in order to emit light at appropriate timings.

The conveying means 6 is driven by a motor 9.
The motor 9 is driven by the control means 8 via a motor drive circuit 10. A synchronization pulse generating means 11 for detecting the rotation of the motor 9 is provided in connection with the motor 9, and is connected to the control means 8.

The output signal of the photodiode 4 is connected to the logarithmic amplification circuit 12, and the output of the logarithmic amplification circuit 12 is connected to the control means 8 via the linear amplification circuit 13 and the AD conversion means 14. The reference current of the logarithmic amplifier circuit 12 is supplied from the control means 8 via the DA conversion means 15. In FIG. 14, 16 is a reference value storage means, 17
Is an input value storage means.

The operation of the conventional bill validator will be described below. First, when the bill validator is activated, the state of each sensor is checked without bills and the optical sensor is standardized. First, the red light emitting diode 2 is caused to emit light, and the output thereof is the signal of the photodiode 4 with the logarithmic amplification circuit 12 and the linear amplification circuit 1
3, input to the control means 8 via the AD conversion means 14.
The control means 8 calculates the difference between the AD conversion value of this input voltage and a predetermined reference value Xr, and changes the input value Yr of the DA conversion means 15 with a constant conversion rate in the direction of decreasing this difference. To do. The output of the DA converter 15 determines the reference current value of the logarithmic amplifier circuit 12. Therefore, the reference amplification factor of the logarithmic amplification circuit 12 changes, and the output of the AD conversion unit 14 (the input value of the control unit 8) can be matched with the predetermined reference value Xr.

Next, the infrared light emitting diode 3 is caused to emit light,
Similarly, the input value Yir of the DA conversion means 15 is changed, the amplification factor of the logarithmic amplification circuit 12 is adjusted, and the output of the AD conversion means 14 is made equal to the reference value Xir.

Now that the standardization of the optical sensor has been completed,
After that, the control means 8 changes the input value of the DA conversion means 15 in accordance with the light emission timing of each of the light emitting diodes 2 and 3, whereby a predetermined sensitivity for the wavelength of each light emitting diode 2 and 3 is obtained.

After the standardization of the optical sensor is completed as described above, when the banknote detecting means 7 detects the insertion of the banknote 5 at the entrance of the optical sensor section, the control means 8 activates the motor 9 to activate the conveying means 6. It drives and draws in the banknote 5. The transport amount of the banknote 5 is
The control means 8 measures by measuring the number of pulses generated by the synchronous pulse generating means 11, conveys a predetermined distance from the bill edge, and causes the red light emitting diode 2 to emit light at a predetermined measurement point. The AD conversion value Sr and the AD conversion value S when the infrared light emitting diode 3 emits light next time
get ir. The difference between the mounting positions of the red light emitting diode 2 and the infrared light emitting diode 3 is converted into the number of pulses generated by the synchronizing pulse generating means 11 to correct the position, and the data at almost the same position is obtained.

In order to identify a bill, the red light-emitting diode 2 is set to A for a number of measurement points in the process of transporting the bill 5.
D conversion value Sr, AD conversion value Si of infrared light emitting diode 3
The control means 8 determines whether or not the numerical values such as r and the difference Sr-Sir are within a predetermined range with respect to the genuine bill, and not shown here together with the output of the magnetic sensor or the like. The total determination is made in combination with the information obtained from the sensor to determine whether it is a genuine bill or a counterfeit bill.

[0014]

However, in such a conventional structure, the diameter of the light emitted from the red light emitting diode 2 or the infrared light emitting diode 3 is 3 to 5 mm.
It was difficult to increase the resolution because the average transmittance of a relatively wide area was measured. In addition, it is difficult to correct the optical axis shift and mounting position error of the elements such as the red light emitting diode 2, the infrared light emitting diode 3, and the photodiode 4, and the Sr at the same location on the banknote 5 is difficult to correct.
When obtaining the value of −Sir, the measurement values at the same location cannot always be obtained, and in the case of banknotes with many wrinkles, the measurement area may be shifted by nearly half of the area ratio.

The present invention solves such a problem, and improves the banknote identification accuracy by increasing the resolution of the optical sensor and making the deviation of the region measured by the plurality of optical sensors extremely small. To aim.

[0016]

In order to achieve this object, a bill discriminating apparatus of the present invention is provided with a plurality of light sources provided in an optical sensor portion along a bill conveying passage and a plurality of light sources provided along the bill conveying passage. A substantially funnel-shaped first light collecting element, which collects light emitted from the plurality of light sources between the plurality of light sources and the bill transport passage and radiates the light to the bill transport passage side. It is configured to include the light guide body.

As a result, the bill identification accuracy can be improved.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is an optical sensor unit for detecting characteristics of a banknote, a banknote connected to the optical sensor unit and based on a signal from the optical sensor unit. In the bill identifying device having a discriminating unit for discriminating, the optical sensor unit has a plurality of light sources provided along the bill transport passage and a light receiving element provided along the bill transport passage, A bill discriminating apparatus including a substantially funnel-shaped first light guide body that collects light emitted from the plurality of light sources and radiates it toward the bill conveying passage side between the plurality of light sources and the bill conveying passage. Since the area for measuring the transmittance and the reflectance of the bill can be reduced by the first light guide, the resolution can be increased. Further, by using the first light guide, even if a plurality of light sources are used, the area where the light is emitted is common, so that the measurement position deviation for each light source is small and the bill identification accuracy is improved. To do.

The invention according to claim 2 of the present invention is the bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 1 in which the plurality of light sources each have different emission wavelengths, and the transmittance and the reflectance of the bill are respectively different at a plurality of different wavelengths. By measuring, the bill can be identified with higher accuracy.

The invention according to claim 3 of the present invention is the bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 1 in which a surface mount type light emitting diode mounted on a first printed circuit board is used as a light source.
Since the surface mounting type light emitting diode is used, the height of the light source can be reduced and the device can be downsized.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of first light guides arranged in a direction perpendicular to the bill transport direction along the bill transport passage, and each of the first light guides are provided. A plurality of light sources arranged corresponding to each other, a separating unit that blocks light leakage between the plurality of first light guides, and a second light guide between the light receiving element and the bill transport passage. The second light guide is provided in a substantially funnel shape that opens toward the banknote transport passage facing the plurality of first light guides and focuses on the light receiving element. The bill validator of the present invention, the function of inspecting a plurality of scanning lines on a bill by using a plurality of light sources is realized by collecting light on a smaller number of light receiving elements than the number of light sources or the number of scanning lines. In addition to downsizing, reduce the number of circuit element parts such as logarithmic amplifier circuit connected to the light receiving element. Even combined with reduced circuit component mounting area on the substrate, it is possible to miniaturize.

The invention according to claim 5 of the present invention is the bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the light receiving element is a surface-mounted photodiode mounted on a second printed wiring board. The device can be downsized by reducing the height.

The invention according to claim 6 of the present invention is the bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 4 in which a plurality of light sources are arranged in the bill transport direction, and a plurality of measurement lines parallel to the bill transport direction are densely arranged. It is possible to arrange a large number, and the ability to eliminate counterfeit bills can be improved.

The invention according to claim 7 of the present invention is the banknote according to claim 4, wherein the first light guide or the second light guide is a substantially funnel-shaped molded part filled with a transparent substance. It is an identification device and can manufacture a light guide having a complicated surface shape by a method suitable for mass production.

In the invention according to claim 8 of the present invention, the first light guide body or the second light guide body has a substantially funnel shape, and the inner surface thereof is formed of plastic that reflects light. In the bill validator according to item 4, the light guide can be realized by a thin-walled molded component having a small shape distortion during injection molding, and the performance can be stabilized.

The invention according to claim 9 of the present invention is the bill identifying device according to claim 7, wherein the first light guide or the second light guide is integrally formed in a mounting frame. By holding the mounting frame portion at times, the surface of the light guide body is not touched and deterioration of optical characteristics due to dirt on the light guide body can be prevented.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of first light guides are arranged in a direction perpendicular to a bill conveying direction,
The bill identifying device according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of first light guides are connected by a common mounting frame portion, and the plurality of light guides can be collectively assembled by the common mounting frame portion. Further, since the surface of the light guide body is not touched and soiled during assembly, the quality can be stabilized.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, a mounting claw formed on the wall surface of the bill conveying passage and a positioning guide rib are integrally provided, and the height of the guide rib is lower than the height of the mounting frame portion. 10. The bill validator according to claim 9, wherein when the upper end of the mounting frame is held and pressed during assembly, the guide rib is lower than the mounting frame, so that the first light guide is provided in the bill transport path without interfering with the guide rib. It can be fixed to the wall surface.

The invention according to claim 12 of the present invention is the first
The banknote identification device according to claim 7, wherein an end surface of the light guide body facing the plurality of light sources is a refraction surface inclined with respect to incident light, and light rays emitted from the plurality of light sources are applied to side surfaces of the light guide body. Instead, it is possible to reduce the loss due to light leakage from the side surface and secure the amount of light related to bill identification.

The thirteenth aspect of the present invention is the bill discriminating apparatus according to the twelfth aspect, wherein the refracting surface is a protrusion having a substantially cylindrical surface, and the light rays emitted from a plurality of light sources are efficiently discriminated from each other. Can be focused on.

The invention according to claim 14 of the present invention is the first aspect.
7. The bill discriminating device according to claim 6, wherein an end face of the light guide body on the side in contact with the bill conveyance path has a shape in which fine mirror-finished fine concave-convex surfaces are continuous. By scattering on the surface, the difference between the received light amount when there is no banknote and the light amount when the banknote is transmitted is reduced, and even if the dynamic range of the amplifier circuit is small, it is impossible to measure the transmittance due to excessive light amount or too small light amount. prevent.

The invention according to claim 15 of the present invention is the first aspect.
4. The bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the light receiving element is arranged on the same side as the light source with respect to the bill conveying passage, and the second light receiving element is arranged on the opposite side of the light source with the bill passage interposed therebetween.
It is possible to easily measure the levels of transmitted light and reflected light at a plurality of wavelengths for the same area of a bill, and it is possible to identify using the transmitted light and reflected light, thus improving the identification accuracy. You can

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, an optical sensor section for detecting the characteristics of a banknote, a discrimination connected to the optical sensor section, and discriminating a banknote based on a signal from the optical sensor section. In the bill identifying device having a portion, the optical sensor unit has a plurality of light sources provided along the bill transport passage and a light receiving element provided along the bill transport passage, and the light receiving element and the A second light guide body is provided between the bill transport passages, and the second light guide body is opened toward the bill transport passage and converges toward the light receiving element in a substantially funnel-shaped bill identifying apparatus. Therefore, the device can be miniaturized by collecting the light emitted from the plurality of light sources by the second light guide into a small number of light receiving elements.

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the first embodiment.
3 is a cross-sectional view of the optical sensor section in FIG. In FIG. 1, a first substrate 22 is disposed on one wall surface of the banknote transport passage 21, and a surface-mounted red light emitting diode 23 a serving as a plurality of light sources and a red substrate 23 are disposed on the first substrate 22. The external light emitting diode 24a and the blue light emitting diode 25a are mounted in this order around the infrared light emitting diode 24a.

A substantially funnel-shaped first light guide 26a is disposed between the bill transport passage 21 and the first substrate 22.
The first light guide 26 a is made of transparent plastic, and has a mounting frame portion 27 for locking the bill transport passage 21.
a and 27b are integrally formed. Banknote transport passage 21
44a, 44b integrally formed with the upper wall surface of the
And the mounting frame portions 27a and 27b are engaged with each other so that the first light guide 2
6a and 26b are fixed.

A second substrate 28 is disposed below the other lower wall surface of the banknote transport passage 21, and a surface-mounted photodiode 29 as a light receiving element is disposed on the second substrate 28. It is installed. And the banknote transport passage 21
Between the second substrate 28 and the second substrate 28, which faces the photodiode 29, has a substantially funnel-shaped second portion made of transparent plastic.
The light guide body 30 is provided. This second light guide 30
Is a mounting frame portion 31 for locking the bill transport passage 21.
a and 31b are integrally formed. Banknote transport passage 21
Mounting claws 45a and 45b formed integrally with the wall surface of the second
The second light guide 30 is fixed by engaging the mounting frame portions 31a and 31b between the bill transport passage 21 and the second substrate 28.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the optical sensor section in the first embodiment. Although the same region as FIG. 1 is shown, for convenience of description, the banknote transport passage 21 is omitted for clarity, and the first substrate 22, the mounting frame portion 31b, and the like are partially crushed for illustration. .

On the first substrate 22, the red light emitting diode 23a and the infrared light emitting diode 24a, which have already been described, are provided.
And the blue light emitting diodes 25a are arranged in a straight line, and another row is arranged in parallel with these diode rows, the red light emitting diode 23b and the infrared light emitting diode 2
4b, the blue light emitting diode 25b is mounted on a straight line. A first light guide 26a is disposed facing the light emitting diodes 23a, 24a, 25a, and a first light guiding body 26a is disposed facing the light emitting diodes 23b, 24b, 25b.
The light guide 26b is provided. The first light guides 26a and 26b are common to the mounting frame portions 27a and 27b.
It is connected with.

The second light guide 30 is composed of the first light guide 26a,
It has a substantially funnel shape facing the light emitting side of 26 b and focusing on the photodiode 29.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the optical sensor portion in the first embodiment as seen from a direction orthogonal to FIG. Between the first light guides 26a and 26b, the light emitting diodes 23a, 24a and 25a and 23b, 24b and 2 which are both light sources are provided.
Separation means 46, which blocks light leakage, is integrally formed with the wall surface of the bill transport passage 21 between the pair of diodes so as not to interfere with the light from 5b.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the optical sensor section of the bill validator of the present invention and the optical sensor section and discriminating section of the conventional bill validator. In FIG. 4, the banknotes 5 along the banknote transport passage 21
A conveyance means 32 (here, composed of a belt and a roller) for conveying the bills is provided, a bill detection means 33 is arranged at the entrance of the conveyance means 32, and is connected to a control means 34 for detecting the bill position. There is.

The red light emitting diodes 23a and 23b, the infrared light emitting diodes 24a and 24b, and the blue light emitting diodes 25a and 25b are also connected to the control means 34 in order to sequentially emit light at appropriate timings. In FIG. 4, these light emitting diodes are shown side by side in a row for convenience of explanation, but the actual arrangement is as shown in FIG.

The conveying means 32 is driven by a motor 35. The motor 35 moves from the control means 34 to the motor drive circuit 36.
Driven through. The motor 35 is connected to the motor 35.
A synchronizing pulse generating means 37 for detecting the rotation of is provided and connected to the control means 34.

The output signal of the photodiode 29 is connected to a logarithmic amplifier circuit 38 that outputs a logarithmic relationship with the strength of the input signal. The output of the logarithmic amplifier circuit 38 is a linear amplifier circuit 39 and AD conversion means. 40 is connected in this order to the control means 34. Also, the logarithmic amplifier circuit 3
The reference current of 8 is supplied to the control means 34 via the DA conversion means 41.
Sourced from.

Generally, as the control means 34, a one-chip microcomputer having a large number of input / output ports is generally used.

Next, the operation of the bill discriminating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention thus configured will be described. First, when the bill validator is activated, the state of each sensor is checked without bills. That is, first, the red light emitting diode 23a
Light is emitted to the banknote transport passage 21 through the first light guide 26a, and the second light guide 30
It is led to the photodiode 29 via. The signal of the photodiode 29 is input to the control means 34 via the logarithmic amplification circuit 38, the linear amplification circuit 39, and the AD conversion means 40. The control means 34 calculates the difference between the AD conversion value of this input voltage and the predetermined reference value Xr1 stored in the reference value storage means 42, and DA with a constant conversion rate in the direction in which this difference becomes smaller. The input value Yr1 of the conversion means 41 is changed.

The output of the DA converter 41 is the logarithmic amplifier circuit 3.
In order to determine the reference current value of 8, the reference amplification factor of the logarithmic amplification circuit 38 changes, and the output of the AD conversion means 40 (control means 3
4) is repeated so as to match a predetermined reference value Xr1. The adjusted input value Yr1 is stored in the predetermined input value storage means 43.

Next, the infrared light emitting diode 24a is caused to emit light, and similarly, the infrared light emitting diode 24 of the DA converting means 41 is used.
The input value Yir1 at the time of light emission of a is adjusted, the amplification factor of the logarithmic amplification circuit 38 is adjusted, and the output of the AD conversion means 40 is made equal to the reference value Xir1 of the infrared light emitting diode 24a. Input value Yi of the infrared light emitting diode 24a after adjustment
r1 is stored in the input value storage means 43.

Next, the blue light emitting diode 25a is caused to emit light, and similarly, the blue light emitting diode 25 of the DA converting means 41 is also used.
The input value Yb1 at the time of light emission of a is adjusted, the amplification factor of the logarithmic amplifier circuit 38 is adjusted, and the output of the AD conversion means 40 is made to coincide with the reference value Xb1 of the blue light emitting diode 25a. Input value Yb1 of the adjusted blue light emitting diode 25a
Is stored in the input value storage means 43.

Similarly, the input value Yr2 for the red light emitting diode 23b, the input value Yir2 for the infrared light emitting diode 24b, and the input value Yb2 for the blue light emitting diode 25b are obtained and stored in the input value storage means 43, respectively.

Since the preparation for the standardization of the optical sensor is completed, the control means 34 thereafter reads a predetermined input value from the input value storage means 43 in accordance with the light emission timing of each light emitting diode, and the corresponding DA conversion means respectively. By changing the input value of 41, a predetermined sensitivity can be obtained for each location and each wavelength.

After the completion of such initial adjustment, when the bill detecting means 33 detects the insertion of the bill 5 at the entrance of the optical sensor portion, the control means 34 activates the motor 35 to drive the conveying means 32, The banknote 5 is pulled in. The transport amount of the banknote 5 is
The control means 34 measures by measuring the number of pulses generated by the synchronous pulse generating means 37, conveys a predetermined distance from the bill edge, and causes the bill 5 to emit red light emitting diode 23a at a predetermined measurement point. The AD converted value Sr1 obtained when the infrared light emitting diode 24a emits light, and the AD converted value Sb1 obtained when the blue light emitting diode 25a emits light are obtained.

Light emitted from the red light emitting diode 23a, light emitted from the infrared light emitting diode 24a,
Since all the light emitted from the blue light emitting diode 25a is applied to the same area of the banknote through the light guide 26a, the difference in the mounting position of each light emitting diode on the first substrate 22 is the irradiation position. It does not affect.

Further, in the case of the ordinary bill validator, the bill transport speed is about 150 mm / S, so if the light emitting interval of each light emitting diode is set to 1 mS or less, the movement amount of the bill 5 during that period is 0.15 mm. It becomes the following. Light guide 26a
If the width of the portion open to the banknote transport passage 21 is set to about 2 mm, the degree of influence of the positional deviation due to the banknote transport is 7.5% or less, which is higher than the resolution and the conventional optical sensor. It is possible to significantly improve the alignment accuracy at the wavelength.

Similarly, another set of light emitting diodes 2
The light emitted from 3b, 24b, and 25b is also detected by the same photodiode 29 through the first light guide 26b and the second light guide 30, and the AD conversion values for different areas of the bill are the same. Can be processed by the circuit.

For comprehensive bill identification, numerical values such as Sr1, Sir1, Sr1-Sir1 for a large number of measurement points in the process of transporting the bill 5 are predetermined for a genuine bill as in the conventional case. It is determined by the control means 34 whether or not it is within the range of, and a comprehensive determination is performed together with information obtained from other sensors such as a magnetic sensor not shown here,
Judge whether it is a genuine note or a fake note.

In the first embodiment described above, two light emitting diodes of three types are used, and the first light guide 26a,
Two adjacent lines of a bill are inspected by using two 26b, but the same can be applied to the case where the number of LEDs is two or less or four or more. Further, it goes without saying that the first light guide 26 can be manufactured even if the number of the first light guides 26 is one or three or more. When the number of the first light guide 26 is one, a similar effect can be obtained by using the conventional photodiode without using the second light guide 30.

In the portion of the first light guide 26a facing the red light emitting diode 23a and the blue light emitting diode 25a in FIG. 1, refraction surfaces 47 and 48 inclined with respect to the incident light.
Is provided. Further, the end surface 49 of the first light guide body 26a on the banknote transport passage 21 side has a shape in which minute mirror-finished minute uneven surfaces are continuous. The effects obtained from these surface shapes will be described below.

FIG. 5 shows a path through which the light ray 56 emitted from the red light emitting diode 23a passes when the first light guide 26a does not have the refracting surface 47. A ray path that passes through the left side wall of the first light guide 26a and becomes a loss, and the second light guide 30.
It can be seen that there are many light ray paths that deviate to the left in FIG. 5 without entering the window portion 55 of FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a light ray 56 emitted from the red light emitting diode 23a in the case where the first light guide 26a has a refracting surface 47 inclined to guide it toward the radiation side of the first light guide 26a.
Indicates the route that the By providing this refracting surface 47, there is no light path that passes through the left side wall of the first light guide 26a. Further, it can be seen that there are few light ray paths that deviate to the left without entering the window portion 55 of the second light guide body 30. The same applies to the blue light emitting diode 25a.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a shape in which three cylindrical surfaces 50 are provided instead of the large refracting surface 47 on the first light guide 26a. FIG. 8 shows a path through which the light ray 56 emitted from the red light emitting diode 23a passes when the cylindrical surface 50 is present. In this case, it can be seen that the light is further focused and the loss is reduced. However, since the light is locally concentrated, it tends to be difficult to achieve a uniform light amount within the detection range, and it is necessary to scatter the light by using a minute uneven surface to be described later. Become. The same applies to the blue light emitting diode 25a.

FIG. 9 shows that from the red light emitting diode 23a in the case where the end face 49 on the radiation side of the first light guide body 26a is provided with a mirror-finished minute, continuous uneven surface when the refracting surface 47 is provided. The path taken by the emitted light ray 56 is shown. Light incident on the window portion 55 of the second light guide 30 is shown in FIG.
It can be seen that the light quantity distribution in the detection range and the incident direction of the light are dispersed more than in the above case and are incident on the second light guide body 30.

The shape of the minute uneven surface shown in FIG.
A small chevron with a constant cross section of about 40 ° is about 0.4
This is a case where it is provided in the entire width of the first light guide body 26a with a pitch of mm, but if it has a shape with a small transmission loss and an appropriate scattered light is obtained, a so-called micro prism surface in which minute protrusions of a quadrangular pyramid shape are continuous The same effect can be obtained even with an irregular surface having irregularities obtained by shot peening or selective etching.

The first light guides 26a and 26b and the second light guides 26a and 26b
Although the light guide body 30 has been described as being made of transparent plastic, it is a component in which the light incident surface and the light emitting surface are open and the inner surface is a mirror surface or a surface with high reflectance. However, the same effect can be obtained.

FIG. 10 shows the shape of the second light guide body 30r when the second light guide body 30r is made of a highly reflective plastic material and is hollow.
Transparent by molding with a plastic material containing a large amount of light-reflecting filler such as titanium oxide, or by forming a metallic luster reflection surface on the inner surface of the light guide by resin plating such as electroless nickel plating The same effect as that of the light guide body made of the material can be produced.

When mounting the first light guides 26a and 26b facing the bill transport passage 21, the mounting frame portions 27a and 27b are mounted.
By using 7b, it is possible to prevent the finger or finger from touching the end face or the side face of the optically important light guide body, thereby causing dirt or fogging. The mounting of the mounting frame portions 27a and 27b is as shown in FIGS. 11 (a) to 11 (c). That is, when the mounting frame portions 27a and 27b are pushed along the guide ribs 51a and 51b to be mounted, the mounting frame portion 27
It is important to make the heights of a and 27b higher than the mounting claws 44a and 44b and the guide ribs 51a and 51b. As a result, the mounting frame portions 27a and 27b can be held and pushed until the end according to the arrow, and the assembling can be performed reliably and easily.

(Second Embodiment) Next, an optical sensor section according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the optical sensor unit according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 12, a first board 61 is arranged on one wall surface of the banknote transport passage 21, and a surface-mounted red light emitting diode 23 a and an infrared light emitting diode 24 are provided on the first board 61 as light sources.
a and the second photodiode 62 are mounted.

A first light guide 63 is arranged between the bill transport passage 21 and the first substrate 61. First light guide 6
3 is a first funnel-shaped portion 64 facing the red light-emitting diode 23a and the infrared light-emitting diode 24b, and a second funnel-shaped portion 65 facing the second photodiode 62.
And a mounting frame portion 66 for locking the bill transport passage 21.
a and 66b are integrally formed and made of transparent plastic. Mounting claws 67a and 67b formed integrally with the bill transport passage 21 mesh with the mounting frame portions 66a and 66b to fix the first light guide 63.

A second substrate 68 is provided on the other wall surface of the bill transport passage 21, and a first photodiode 69 is mounted on the second substrate 68. A substantially funnel-shaped second light guide 70 made of transparent plastic is disposed between the banknote transport passage 21 and the second substrate 68 so as to face the first photodiode 69. The second light guide body 70 has a mounting frame portion 71 for locking the bill transport passage.
a and 71b are integrally formed. Banknote transport passage 21
Mounting claws 72a, 72b formed integrally with the wall surface of the second
The second light guide 70 is fixed by being engaged with the board 68 and sandwiching the attachment frame portions 71a and 71b between the bill transport passage 21 and the second board 68.

Next, the operation of the bill discriminating apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention thus configured will be described. In the same manner as in the first embodiment, the red light emitting diode 23a,
The light emitted from the infrared light emitting diode 24a is
The banknote 5 is irradiated through the first funnel-shaped portion 64 of the light guide 63, and the light passing through the banknote 5 is received by the first photodiode 69 through the second lightguide 70, and the banknote 5 is transmitted. You can look up the rate. At this time, the light reflected on the surface of the banknote 5 is incident on the second photodiode 62 through the second funnel-shaped portion 65 of the first light guide body 63, so that the second photodiode 62 is set to the first photodiode 62. If it is connected to the same circuit as the photodiode 69, the level of reflected light can be measured in the same manner. In this case, the light transmittance and the reflectance of the same portion of the banknote 5 can be measured at the same time to make a discrimination, which is an effective means for discriminating a colorful banknote having a characteristic reflection spectrum.

[0071]

As described above, the bill validator of the present invention is
Since the first light guide having a substantially funnel shape that collects light emitted from a plurality of light sources and radiates the light to the bill transport passage side is provided, the area for measuring the transmittance and reflectance of the bill is reduced. You can increase the resolution. Further, even if a plurality of light sources are used, the area where the light is emitted is common, so that the measurement position deviation for each light source is small and the bill identification accuracy is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an optical sensor unit of a bill validator according to a first embodiment of the present invention in a bill transport direction.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the optical sensor section of the same.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the optical sensor section in a direction orthogonal to the banknote transport direction.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an optical sensor unit and a discrimination unit of the same.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of light rays passing through the light guide body.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of light rays passing through a light guide body having an inclined refracting surface.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the shape of a light guide body having a cylindrical refracting surface.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of light rays passing through a light guide body having a cylindrical refracting surface.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a light ray passing through a light guide body having a minute uneven surface.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of a hollow light guide body of the same.

11 (a) to 11 (c) are explanatory views of a method for mounting a light guide, respectively.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of an optical sensor portion of a bill validator according to a second embodiment of the present invention in a bill transport direction.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an optical sensor unit of a conventional bill validator in the bill transport direction.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an optical sensor unit and a discriminating unit of a conventional bill validator.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 banknotes 21 banknote transport passage 23a Red light emitting diode 23b Red light emitting diode 24a infrared light emitting diode 24b infrared light emitting diode 25a blue light emitting diode 25b blue light emitting diode 26a First light guide 26b First light guide 29 Photodiodes

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-8-180236 (JP, A) JP-A-9-54849 (JP, A) JP-A-9-89538 (JP, A) JP-A-10- 143704 (JP, A) Registered utility model 3037946 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G07D 7/12 G01N 21/27 G01N 21/84

Claims (16)

(57) [Claims] 1. A banknote identification device having an optical sensor section for detecting characteristics of a banknote, and a discriminating section connected to the optical sensor section and discriminating a banknote based on a signal from the optical sensor section. The sensor unit has a plurality of light sources provided along the bill transport passage and a light receiving element provided along the bill transport passage, and the plurality of light sources are provided between the plurality of light sources and the bill transport passage. The banknote identification device including a first light guide member having a substantially funnel shape that collects light emitted from the light source and emits the light to the banknote transport passage side. 2. The bill validator according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of light sources have different emission wavelengths. 3. The bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a surface-mounted light emitting diode mounted on the first printed board is used as the light source. 4. A plurality of first light guides arranged in a direction perpendicular to the bill conveyance direction along a bill conveyance path, and a plurality of light sources arranged corresponding to each of the first light guides. A separating means for blocking light leakage between the plurality of first light guides, and a second light guide provided between the light receiving element and the bill transport passage. The banknote identification device according to claim 1, wherein the banknote identification device has a substantially funnel shape that opens toward the banknote transport passage facing the plurality of first light guides and focuses on the light receiving element. 5. The surface mount type photodiode mounted on the second printed wiring board as the light receiving element.
The described bill validator. 6. The bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of light sources are arranged in the bill conveying direction. 7. The bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first light guide or the second light guide is a substantially funnel-shaped molded part filled with a transparent substance. 8. The bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first light guide body or the second light guide body has a substantially funnel shape, and an inner surface thereof is formed of plastic that reflects light. 9. The first light guide body or the second light guide body,
The banknote identification device according to claim 7, which is integrally formed in the mounting frame. 10. The banknote identification according to claim 9, wherein a plurality of first light guides are arranged in a direction perpendicular to a banknote transport direction, and the plurality of first light guides are connected by a common mounting frame portion. apparatus. 11. The bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a mounting claw and a positioning guide rib are integrally provided on a wall surface of the bill transport passage, and the height of the guide rib is lower than the height of the mounting frame portion. 12. The end surface of the first light guide member facing the plurality of light sources is a refraction surface inclined with respect to incident light.
The described bill validator. 13. The bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the refracting surface is a protrusion having a substantially cylindrical surface shape. 14. The bill discriminating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an end face of the first light guide body on the side in contact with the bill conveying passage is formed into a shape in which minute concave and convex surfaces which are mirror-finished are continuous. 15. The bill according to claim 4, wherein the first light receiving element is arranged on the same side as the light source with respect to the bill conveying passage, and the second light receiving element is arranged on the opposite side of the light source with the bill passage interposed therebetween. Identification device. 16. An optical sensor unit for detecting characteristics of a bill,
In a bill validator that is connected to this optical sensor unit and has a discriminating unit that discriminates a bill based on a signal from the optical sensor unit, the optical sensor unit includes a plurality of light sources provided along a bill transport passage. And a light receiving element provided along the banknote transport passage, and a second light guide body is provided between the light receiving element and the banknote transport passage. While opening toward the passage,
A bill identifying device having a substantially funnel shape that focuses toward the light receiving element.