JP2000251111A - Coin processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: The present invention provides a coin processing apparatus which has high coin discrimination accuracy and can reduce the amount of coins returned as rejected coins. The coin processing apparatus includes an image sensor for detecting a pattern on the surface of a coin, a diameter sensor for detecting an outer diameter of the coin, and a material sensor for detecting a material of the coin. have. The image sensor has a transparent plate 31 that is a part of the transport surface 6 that transports coins, is divided in a region outside the effective detection area of the transparent plate, and transports coins toward the transparent plate. Belt 5
The image of the coin moved on the transparent plate is detected from between a and the second conveyor belt 5b that further conveys the coin passing through the effective detection area. This prevents the conveyance belt from being reflected in the image of the coin detected by the image sensor and the boundary between the image and the belt cannot be identified, thereby improving the detection accuracy.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is mounted on an automatic teller machine at a financial institution such as a bank, for example.
The present invention relates to a circulation type coin processing device that automatically performs coin depositing and dispensing (coin receiving and paying out).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, financial institutions such as banks are provided with automatic teller machines for handling cash such as coins and bills. The automatic teller machine incorporates a circulation type coin processing device that automatically performs coin depositing and dispensing processing.

[0003] The coin processing device determines the authenticity and denomination of the deposited coin at the time of deposit and stores the coin in a denomination safe corresponding to each denomination, and at the time of withdrawal, the required denomination from the denomination safe. The coin is taken out, and after judging the authenticity and the denomination again, the coin is paid out.

This coin processing apparatus is provided with a forced transport means for forcibly transporting coins, and an inspection unit for determining the authenticity and denomination of coins transported to the forced transport means. I have.

The forcible conveying means includes a conveying surface through which the illuminating light provided by the inspection unit can be transmitted, and a conveying belt provided opposite to the conveying surface and conveying the coin while pressing the coin against the conveying surface.

The inspection unit includes an outer diameter sensor for detecting the outer diameter of the coin, a material sensor for specifying the material, and optically detecting a pattern on the coin surface from reflected light obtained by irradiating the coin surface with light. The authenticity and the denomination based on the result of comparing the detection result of the outer diameter and the material with the image data taken from the reflected light by the image sensor and the data of a genuine coin prepared in advance. . Before the image data captured from the image sensor is compared with genuine image data, only image data corresponding to a coin is separated by image processing called “detection cutout”.

[0007]

However, when the conveying belt of the forced conveying means becomes dirty or a metal piece or the like generated from coins adheres to the conveying belt, the conveying data is conveyed to the image data of the coin captured by the image sensor. If the image data of the area corresponding to the belt is included together, it is difficult to accurately separate the image data in the “detection cutout” step, and there is a problem that a large number of genuine coins are rejected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a coin processing apparatus which can improve the accuracy of coin identification without being affected by dirt on a conveyor belt.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made on the basis of the above-mentioned problems, and has a support member which can transmit light and movably supports a coin to be inspected. Illuminating means for irradiating light to the coin to be moved, so that the light from the illuminating means is not reflected near the outer diameter of the coin, having an area with a wider interval as compared to the outer diameter of the coin, Transport means for transporting coins to the support member and further transporting coins moved on the support member; light detecting means for taking in reflected light from the coin irradiated by the illumination means; Image processing means for processing the reflected light taken in by the means to extract the characteristic amount of the coin to be inspected, and comparing the characteristic amount extracted by the image processing means with reference value data prepared in advance to determine the coin value of the coin to be inspected. True and false A coin identifying device for identifying the denomination,
And a coin processing device characterized by having:

The transport means of the coin processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a first transport belt for transporting coins to a predetermined area on the support member, and a coin after being moved in the predetermined area on the support member. And a second transport belt for further transporting.

Further, the first and second transport belts of the transport means of the coin processing apparatus according to the present invention are provided in an area outside an effective detection area defined on a support member.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a coin processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of an automatic teller machine (ATM) 100 installed in a financial institution such as a bank.

On the front surface of the ATM 100, a passbook insertion unit 101 for inserting a passbook, a card insertion unit 102 for inserting a card, a bill receiving / dispensing port 103 used for accepting / dispensing bills, and accepting / dispensing coins. A coin deposit / withdrawal port 104 to be used and an operation / display unit (hereinafter, abbreviated as a touch panel) 105 for receiving an input operation by a user and displaying various guidances are provided.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a circulation type coin processing device mounted on the ATM 100 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the coin processing device comprises:
It has a tray 1 as a deposit and withdrawal port for receiving coins. At the time of deposit, coins of a plurality of denominations in a mixed state are inserted from the outside of the device through the tray 1, and at the time of withdrawal, various coins are discharged to the outside of the device through the tray 1. The coins of the mixed denominations are released.

An arbitrary number of coins in which a plurality of denominations are mixed in a mixed state by the user is received by the rotation of the tray 1.
Of the centrifugal disk structure provided vertically below.

The coins dropped on the upper feeding portion 2 are diffused and separated on the disk 2a by centrifugal force, and the coins are regulated by a height control guide (not shown) provided at the outlet of the disk 2a. Is fed out one by one from the exit.

At a position adjacent to the outlet of the disk 2a of the upper feeding section 2, there is provided a pickup roller 3 for feeding coins one by one and a conveying path 4 for forcibly conveying coins fed by the pickup roller 3.

The transport path 4 includes a plurality of (four) rollers 4a and 4b arranged at a predetermined interval, and first and second transport belts 5a and 5b stretched between 4C and 4d, respectively. , A transport surface 6 provided along each of the transport belts 5a and 5b.
The coins fed out from the outlet 2a of the upper feeding section 2 are sequentially conveyed while pressing the coins on the conveying surface 6 by a and 5b. The transport surface 6 has a transparent portion formed to transmit light from a light source 32 incorporated in the image sensor 30 described below with reference to FIG.

On one side of the transport path 4, that is, on the far side in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2, a transport reference plane formed substantially perpendicular to the transport surface 6 is formed as shown in FIG. ing. The pickup roller 3 is provided to be slightly inclined in the direction in which coins fed from the upper feeding section 2 are pressed against the transport reference surface. Therefore, the pickup roller 3
The coins fed out are transported with their transport positions aligned on the transport surface 6 by being pressed against the transport reference surface.

The coins taken out to the transport path 4 are transported one by one on the transport surface 6 one by one at a predetermined pitch according to the rotation speed ratio between the pickup roller 3 and the transport belts 5a and 5b of the transport path 4. Is done.

Since the coin feeding ability of the upper feeding section 2 is higher than that of the pickup roller 3, coins are connected almost continuously before the pickup roller 3. Here, while the following coin (outside diameter is Dia) is conveyed at the rotation speed of the pickup roller 3 and advances by its own diameter, the previously fed coin is driven at the conveyance speed of the downstream conveyance path 4. The coin transport pitch Xint is calculated as follows: Xint = (V2 · Dia) / V1 V1: Upstream drive speed (the speed of the pickup roller 3) V2: Downstream drive speed (the speed of the transport path 4) Become.

The transport path 4 forcibly transports coins fed from the upper feeding section 2 while pressing the coins onto the transport surface 6 by the transport belts 5a and 5b, and sends the coins to an inspection section 7 which is identification means provided downstream. send. The inspection unit 7 optically and magnetically identifies the characteristics (authentication, denomination, etc.) of the conveyed coin.

The coins passing through the inspection unit 7 are further transported downstream by the transport path 4 and sent to a sorting unit 8 provided downstream.

The sorting section 8 sorts coins conveyed by the conveying path 4 into denominations based on the identification result of the inspection section 7.
The sorting section 8 includes, for example, well-known opposed gates 9,..., 9 and sorts coins into denominations by selectively opening and closing arbitrary gates 9,.

The coins sorted by the sorting unit 8 are stored by denomination in denomination safes 10,..., 10 provided thereunder.

The coins identified as rejected coins by the inspection unit 7 are passed through the sorting unit 8 and are provided with a U-turn transport path 11 provided on the downstream side of the denomination safe 10,
Subsequently, it is returned to the tray 1 by the downstream transport path 12 provided.

An overflow box 13 for storing excess coins when the denomination safe 10 is full is provided between the inspection unit 7 and the sorting unit 8 on the transport path 4.
When the overflow box 13 becomes full, a safe 15 for collecting excess coins and the facing gate 1 are provided.
6 is further provided downstream of the sorting section 8. Note that coins to be replenished are supplied through the safe 15 even when replenishing coins from outside the apparatus.

When a predetermined number of coins are not stored in the denomination-type safe 10, an arbitrary type of coin is replenished from the safe 15 to the denomination-type safe 10 in preparation for a dispensing process. That is,
A coin corresponding to a designated amount is sent from the safe 15 to a lower payout unit 17 provided below the denomination safe 10 by a coin dispensing unit 19 including a reciprocating picker or the like (not shown) provided below the safe 15. Is done. In addition, the lower feeding part 17
Has a centrifugal disk structure substantially similar to that of the upper feeding section 2 described above.

The coins sent to the lower feeding section 17 are conveyed to the upper feeding section 2 by a sandwich type vertical conveyor 18 composed of, for example, a flat belt.

Hereinafter, the coins conveyed to the upper feeding section 2 are:
By the same steps as the deposit processing described above, the sheet is conveyed on the conveyance path 4, and the authenticity and denomination are identified in the inspection unit 7,
It is sorted by the sorting unit 8 and stored in a predetermined cash-type safe 10.

Next, a dispensing processing system for dispensing coins will be described.

When an instruction is made to withdraw an arbitrary amount, first,
A coin dispensing unit 1 including a reciprocating picker (not shown) provided at the lower part of each denomination safe 10,...
, 19, a designated number of coins are thrown out from the respective denomination safes 10,.

The coins delivered to the lower feeding section 17 are conveyed to the upper feeding section 2 by a sandwich type vertical conveyor 18 constituted by, for example, a flat belt.

Hereinafter, the coins conveyed to the upper feeding section 2 are:
By the same process as the payment processing described above, the paper is conveyed on the conveyance path 4, the authenticity and the denomination are identified in the inspection unit 7, and the type and quantity are confirmed. Is done. The coins transported to the most downstream of the transport path 4 are guided to the downstream transport path 12 by the U-turn transport path 11 and guided to the tray 1 by the downstream transport path 12. If coins deposited in the tray 1 remain, the coins conveyed toward the tray 1 by the downstream transport path 12 are temporarily held by the facing gate 20a and the temporary holding unit 20. Then, until the tray 1 becomes empty, the transmission to the tray 1 is suspended.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the inspection unit 7. 3A is a plan view of the inspection unit 7 as viewed from above the transport surface 6, and FIG. 3B is a view of the inspection unit 7 from the upstream side in the direction in which the coin C is transported (arrow a). FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view of the inspection unit 7 viewed from the front side.

The inspection section 7 is provided with a material sensor 6 for magnetically detecting the material of the coin C along the direction in which the coin C is conveyed.
0, a diameter sensor 40 for optically detecting the outer diameter of the coin C, and an image sensor 30 for optically detecting a pattern on the surface of the coin C.

The sensors 30, 40, and 60 are integrally held by the base member 7a, and can be simultaneously attached to and detached from the transport path 4. The material sensor 60 and the diameter sensor 40 have opening portions 40a and 60a, respectively, for facilitating the work when the transport belts 5a and 5b are attached and detached.

Hereinafter, each of the image sensor 30, the diameter sensor 40, and the material sensor 60 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image sensor 30
Is located approximately at the center of the transport surface 6 of the transport path 4,
And a transparent plate 31 made of sapphire glass or the like provided integrally therewith, and detects a pattern on the surface of the coin C when the coin C is transported on the transparent plate 31 by the transport belts 5a and 5b. . The transport belts 5a and 5b are irradiated with light from a light source 32 shown below at predetermined positions of the transparent plate 31, that is, as described in detail later with reference to FIG. An interval wider than the outer diameter of the coin provided with the largest outer diameter of the coin C (effective detection area, which is generally defined as 30 mm in consideration of the 500 yen coin currently circulating in the market at present). It is divided into two parts on a transparent plate so that it can be provided. Further, for example, a well-known toothed belt is used for the transport belts 5a and 5b. However, by using a round belt having a circular or elliptical cross section, the amount and frequency of metal powder adhesion can be reduced.

Below the transparent plate 31, a light source for illuminating the surface of the coin C conveyed on the transparent plate 31 by irradiating light obliquely to the lower surface (the surface not in contact with the coin) of the transparent plate 31 Light emitting diode (LED) array 32, coin C
A CCD area sensor 33, which is a photoelectric conversion element that receives light reflected from the surface of the device and converts the light into an electric signal, and a printed wiring board 34 to which the area sensor 33 is attached are provided.

By arranging the LED array 32 obliquely with respect to the transparent plate 31, it is possible to emphasize the density of the unevenness of the surface of the coin C conveyed on the transparent plate 31, and to use a binary signal based on the detected signal. It is possible to increase the maximum accuracy of obtaining the converted signal.

The area sensor 33 is, for example, a CCD area sensor having 200,000 to 300,000 pixels. When the coin C comes to a predetermined position, the LED array 32 is turned on instantaneously to thereby image the surface of the coin C. (Pattern) is read and transferred to the memory as image data.

Next, the pattern detection processing of the coin C by the image sensor 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The output signal output from the area sensor 33 is converted into a digital signal by an image processing circuit (not shown), and is converted as image data of the coin C into an image RA (not shown).
M or the like (STP1, FIG. 10).

When the image data of the coin C is stored in the image RAM, it is not shown in the drawing by the CPU 91 of the second inspection unit 90 of the inspection unit control system described later with reference to FIG. The image area of the coin C is specified from the image data stored in the image RAM (STP2,
(FIG. 10). In the inspection process, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4B, metal powder or the like adhering to a single conveyor belt 5 may be included in image data captured by the area sensor 33. May be reduced.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
By separating the conveyor belts 5a and 5b at intervals (effective detection area (diameter of about 30 mm)) wider than the outer diameter of the coin having the largest outer diameter of the various coins C circulating in the market. In addition, the influence of the metal powder or the like on the area where the area sensor 33 captures the image data is eliminated. Therefore, the accuracy of the inspection is improved. In addition,
The coin C moved on the area where the conveyor belts 5a and 5b are divided, that is, the coin C moved on the transparent plate 31, is moved by the conveyor belt 5b (the belt on the side of the pickup roller 3) due to inertia generated by the conveyor belt 5a. Since the belt reaches the position where it can be transported again, it is not necessary to consider the influence on the transport performance due to the division of the transport belt.

Next, the image data of the specified image area is binarized by a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) 94 (see FIG. 9), and the feature amount of the image is extracted (STP3, FIG. 10).

The extracted features are stored in the ROM 9 in advance.
1 is collated and compared with the determination reference data prepared in 1 to determine the authenticity and type of the coin C (STP4, FIG.
0).

Generally, since the coin C is circular, image data capturing the moment when the coin C is positioned on the transparent plate 31 is in a state of being rotated in an arbitrary direction. Therefore, it is difficult to specify the direction of the coin C. For this reason, a feature amount irrelevant to the rotation of the coin C is defined, a feature amount is extracted, the extracted feature amount is compared with reference value data prepared in advance, and the similarity is obtained to determine the similarity. Can be improved.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A, the area specified by the inspection is divided into ring-shaped areas having a predetermined width, for example, an interval of about 1 mm. , And the density integrated value (high-level integrated value) is obtained. From the relationship (distribution) of the density integrated value in each ring area, the distribution data (reference value) of each genuine coin stored in advance is stored. The degree of similarity with the reference distribution pattern as data) is obtained, and when the degree of similarity Rk is equal to or more than a predetermined value (for example, about 0.9), it is determined that the coin is a genuine coin and the denomination is determined.

It should be noted that the similarity Rk is, for example, the density distribution of the density distribution data (reference value data) of a genuine coin as A [i],
The density distribution of the density distribution data of the coin to be inspected (data obtained by the inspection) is represented by B [i], and the following equation

(Equation 1) Can be obtained by

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view illustrating the diameter sensor 40. FIG. 5 is a diagram in which the coin C is cut in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the coin C is conveyed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the diameter sensor 40 is
It has a transparent plate 41 made of transparent and strong sapphire glass. The transparent plate 41 is disposed in the same plane as the transparent plate 31 so as to form the transport surface 6 of the inspection unit 7, similarly to the transparent plate 31 of the image sensor 30 described above with reference to FIGS. ing. The transparent plate 41 extends to the transport path 4 located inside the material sensor 60 (see FIG. 3).

The diameter sensor 40 has an LED (light emitting diode) array 42 (light source) extending in the width direction (a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the coin C is conveyed) above the transparent plate 41, and an LED array 42 attached thereto. An optical slit 44 for guiding the light from the printed wiring board 43 and the LED array 42 to the transparent plate 41, and an optical slit 45 provided below the transparent plate 41, and collects light passing through the optical slit 45. It has a lens 46 that emits light, a CCD line sensor 47 that photoelectrically converts light condensed by the lens 46, a printed wiring board 48, and the like. Note that a well-known rod lens array or the like is used as the lens 46.

At both ends in the width direction of the transparent plate 41, guide members 51 and 52 for guiding the coin C conveyed on the conveying path 4 and forming an effective detection area are provided. In particular, the inner side surface of the guide member 51 is used as a transport reference surface that defines a position where the coin C is transported.

Hereinafter, the detection of the outer diameter of the coin C by the diameter sensor 40 will be briefly described.

The transparent plate 41 is moved by the transport belts 5a and 5b.
When the coin C is transported upward, the light emitted from the LED array 42 is blocked by the coin C. At this time, coin C
Is detected by the line sensor 47. The outer diameter of the coin C is determined by comparing the maximum value of the sensor output with a diameter determination table (not shown) prepared in advance in the ROM. Also, by measuring the length from the effective area defined by the guide member 51 to the shadow end of the coin, the transport position of the coin C, that is, the distance from the guide member 51 to the end of the coin C (width shift amount). Can also be detected.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the outer diameter and the width of the coin C correspond to the CCD output signal (FIG. 6A) corresponding to one scan of the line sensor 47, as shown in FIG.
The area that becomes the shadow of the coin C is High, and the other area is Low.

Subsequently, a reference clock corresponding to one pixel (FIG. 6B) and an effective pixel area signal in which only the effective detection area corresponding to the area between the guide members 51 and 52 becomes High (FIG. 6C) ) Is prepared in advance, and the effective clock (FIG. 6D) corresponding to the length of the light-shielded area by the coin C is obtained by taking the logical product of the reference clock, the effective pixel area signal, and the CCD output signal. Can be. The diameter of the coin C can be measured by counting the number of effective clocks by a counter 95 described later and obtaining the maximum value.

The passing position clock (FIG. 6) obtained by counting the reference clock from the guide member 51 (at the beginning of the effective pixel area) to the end of the shadow area by the coin C (at the beginning of the CCD output signal) by the counter 95. By determining the minimum value of (e)), the width of the coin C can be measured.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the material sensor 60.

As shown in FIG. 7, the material sensor 60
Are wide primary cores 61, 1 extending in the width direction of the transport path below the transparent plate 41 extending from the diameter sensor 40.
A primary coil 62 for excitation wound around a secondary core 61,
A first secondary coil 63 wrapped around the primary coil 62 and receiving electromagnetic induction from the primary coil 62, a wide secondary 2 extending above the transparent plate 41 along the width direction of the conveyance path;
A secondary coil 64 is provided around the secondary core 64 and the secondary core 64 and receives electromagnetic induction from the primary coil 62. The primary coil 62 has a sine wave oscillator 66
Is excited by a sine wave signal generated by

The outputs from the first and second secondary coils 63 and 65 are respectively amplified to a predetermined level by an amplifier circuit 67, and then the DC component is cut by a DC component cut circuit 68 comprising a capacitor or the like. Wave rectification circuit 6
9 is full-wave rectified and LPF (low-pass filter) 70
To make it DC.

Each of the DC-converted outputs is the first 2
The rectified output V21 of the secondary coil 63 and the rectified output V22 of the second secondary coil 65 are supplied to the arithmetic circuit 71.

The operation circuit 71 calculates the output signal V based on the rectified outputs V21 and V22 according to the following equation.
out is calculated. Where AMP1, AMP2 and A
MP3 is a constant. Vout = AMP1 × (AMP2 × V21−AMP3 × V2
2) After the output signal Vout is amplified to a predetermined level by the amplifier circuit 72, it is converted to a digital signal at a predetermined timing by the A / D converter 73, and
0 is output as an output signal.

The maximum value (peak) of this output signal is shown in FIG.
Is compared with the material determination data shown in FIG.
The material of the coin C passing through 0 is determined. Note that, as an example, the output of the material sensor 60 has a gentle mountain shape because it is the integral value of the magnetic flux, and the peak value can be easily detected.

As is well known, the magnitude of the output is the amount of eddy current generated on the surface of the coin with respect to the alternating magnetic field, and the amount of eddy current is determined based on the conductivity of the material used for the coin.
Copper alloy with low conductivity (50 yen, 100 yen, 500 yen
An aluminum coin (1 yen) is small and has high conductivity.
Yen) and bronze coins (10 yen). That is, aluminum (1 yen)> bronze (10 yen)> brass (5 yen)>
The determination data in the order of white copper (others) is obtained.

The image sensor 3 in the inspection unit 7
0, the arrangement order of the diameter sensor 40 and the material sensor 60 can be arbitrarily set. In addition, the inspection unit 7 comprehensively determines the detection results of the sensors 30, 40, and 60, and identifies the denomination, authenticity, and the like of the coin. Since the coin detection performance of the image sensor 30 is higher than that of the other sensors 40 or 60, the detection result of the image sensor 30 is determined with priority over the detection results of the diameter sensor 40 and the material sensor 60. If the detection result of the image sensor 30 becomes unstable due to the stain on the transparent plate 31 or the stain on the transport belts 5a and 5b, the type of the coin is identified by the remaining sensor output.

FIG. 9 shows the image sensor 30 of the inspection unit 7,
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control system that controls a diameter sensor 40 and a material sensor 60.

As shown in FIG. 9, the control system of the inspection unit 7 includes a first inspection unit 80 (diameter sensor 40 and material sensor 6).
0) and the second inspection unit 90 (image sensor 30).

The first inspection unit 80 includes a first inspection unit CPU 81 for controlling each unit according to a control program, a ROM 82 storing initial data, a control program, and the like.
RAM 83 for temporarily holding various data, diameter sensor 4
It comprises a counter unit (TCU) 84 for counting clocks output from 0, and a serial interface (SCU) 85 for transferring signals and data to and from the second inspection unit 90. An output signal from the material sensor 60 is input to the CPU 81 via the A / D converter 73 described with reference to FIG.

The second inspection section 90 includes a second inspection section CPU 91 for controlling each section according to the control program, a ROM 92 storing initial data and a control program, and the like.
It has a RAM 93 for temporarily storing various data and a DSP 94 for processing image data at high speed.

That is, as described above with reference to FIG. 4, the output signal output from the area sensor 33 is converted into a digital signal by an image processing circuit (not shown), When the image data of the coin C is stored in a memory such as a RAM, and the image data of the coin C is stored in the image RAM, the CPU 91 of the second inspection unit 90 performs a detection cutout process (detection cutout) from the image data stored in the image RAM (not shown). The image area of the coin C is specified, and then the image data of the specified image area is binarized by the DSP 94, and the feature amount of the image is extracted.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, in the coin processing apparatus of the present invention, since the transport belt for transporting coins is not reflected on the effective detection area of the transparent plate through which the coins pass, the coin is taken in. It is possible to prevent the feature amount from being incorrectly extracted in the signal extraction processing when extracting the feature amount of the coin pattern from the image data.

Accordingly, the amount of coins to be inspected which are suspended (rejected) due to an identification error is reduced, and the processing speed is improved.

[0079]

As described above, the coin processing apparatus according to the present invention uses a conveyor belt for conveying coins to the image sensor when the coins are identified by detecting the feature of the coin pattern by the image sensor. Since it is arranged only in the area outside the effective detection area of the sensor, it is possible to prevent the accuracy of the image data captured by the image sensor from being reduced due to the reflection of the conveyor belt.

As a result, the accuracy of coin identification can be improved. Further, the amount of coins once returned as rejected coins is reduced.

Accordingly, the coin inspection processing capability (inspection speed) is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an automatic cash transaction apparatus in which a coin processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is incorporated.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a coin processing device incorporated in the automatic teller machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an inspection unit incorporated in the coin processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for identifying coins by the image sensor of the inspection unit shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a diameter sensor of the inspection unit shown in FIG. 3;

6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for detecting the outer diameter of a coin using the diameter sensor shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a material sensor and a control circuit of the inspection unit shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a graph showing material determination reference data in the material sensor shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a control system of the inspection unit shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the identification method shown in FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Receiving tray, 2 ... Upper feeding part, 3 ... Pickup roller, 4 ... Conveying path, 5a ... Conveying belt, 5b ... Conveying belt (pickup roller side), 6 ...・ Conveyance surface 7 ・ ・ ・ Inspection unit 8 ・ ・ ・ Sorting unit 9 ・ ・ ・ Gate 10 ・ ・ ・ Safe by denomination, 11 ・ ・ ・ U-turn transport path 12 ・ ・ ・ Downstream transport path 13 ... overflow box, 15 ... safe, 17 ... lower feeding section, 18 ... vertical conveyor, 20 ... temporary storage section, 20a ... gate, 30 ... image sensor, 31 ... ..Transparent plate, 32: LED array (light source), 33: CCD area sensor, 40: Diameter sensor, 41: Transparent plate, 42: LED array, 46: Collection Optical lens, 47 ... Rheinsen , 60 ... material sensor, 62 ... primary coil, 63 ... secondary coil, 66 ... sine wave oscillator, 73 ... A / D converter, 80 ... first inspection unit , 84 ... counter unit, 90 ... second inspection unit, 94 ... DSP.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A supporting member which is permeable to light and movably supports a coin to be inspected, an illuminating means for irradiating light to a coin moved on the supporting member, and an illuminating means. The light from the light source is not reflected near the outer diameter of the coin, and has an area having a wider interval than the outer diameter of the coin, while conveying the coin to the support member and moving on the support member. Transporting means for further transporting the coins obtained, light detecting means for capturing reflected light from the coin illuminated by the illuminating means, and processing the reflected light captured by the light detecting means to obtain a characteristic amount of the coin to be inspected. Image processing means for extracting, and a coin identification device for comparing the feature amount extracted by the image processing means with reference value data prepared in advance to identify the authenticity and denomination of the coin to be inspected. And hard Processing apparatus. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transporting means transports coins to a predetermined area on the support member, and further transports the coins after being moved in the predetermined area on the support member. The coin processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a second conveyor belt that performs the operation. 3. The coin processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said first and second transport belts of said transport means are provided in an area outside an effective detection area defined on said support member. apparatus. 4. A coin processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said first and second conveyor belts have a circular or substantially elliptical cross section. 5. The coin processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said effective detection area is defined as a circle having a diameter of 30 mm. 6. The feature quantity is obtained by dividing an image of a pattern peculiar to a coin obtained when a coin to be inspected crosses the effective detection area into ring-shaped areas at intervals of about 1 mm. The coin processing device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the image data is binarized by a predetermined threshold to obtain an integrated value of the density. 7. A coin processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said support member, said illuminating means and said light detecting means are integrally formed. 8. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an outer diameter discriminating means for detecting an outer diameter of a coin, in addition to said first discriminating means comprising said support member, said illuminating means and said light detecting means. 8. The coin processing device according to any one of items 7 to 7. 9. A system according to claim 1, further comprising: material identification means for detecting a material of a coin, in addition to said first identification means comprising said support member, said illumination means and said light detection means. A coin processing device according to any one of the preceding claims. 10. An outer diameter discriminating means for detecting an outer diameter of a coin and a material discriminating means for detecting a material of the coin, in addition to the first discriminating means comprising the support member, the illuminating means and the light detecting means. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
8. The coin processing device according to any one of items 7 to 7. 11. The coin processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said outer diameter discriminating means and said material discriminating means are integrally formed. 12. A light-transmitting transparent material,
A support member that movably supports the coin, illumination means for passing light through the support member to the coin moved on the support member, and light from the illumination means having an outer diameter of the coin. As it is not reflected in the vicinity, it has an area with a wide interval as compared to the maximum outer diameter of a coin that can be an inspection target, and while conveying the coin to the support member, the coin passing over the support member is further Conveying means for conveying, light detecting means for taking in reflected light from the coin irradiated by the illuminating means, and image processing for processing the reflected light taken in by the light detecting means to extract a characteristic amount of the coin to be inspected Means, a coin discriminating device for identifying the authenticity and denomination of the coin to be inspected by comparing the characteristic amount extracted by the image processing means with reference value data prepared in advance, and an outer diameter for detecting the outer diameter of the coin Another means, a material identification means for detecting a material of the coin, and if the identification results obtained by the coin identification device, the outer diameter identification means, and the material identification means do not match, the coin identification device And a coin identification device that identifies the authenticity and denomination of the coin to be inspected based on the identification result of the coin. 13. The coin processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said support member, said illuminating means and said light detecting means are formed integrally.