JP2000285278A - Method and device for bias motion detection of paper sheets and paper sheets counter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a technique which monitors carrying (bias motion) of paper sheets with a smaller number of sensors. SOLUTION: A light emitting element 101a and a light receiving element 101b of a bias motion sensor 101 are arranged at a prescribed interval in the direction crossing the carrying direction of paper money 301. Light emitted from the light emitting element 101a is caused to cross a carrying line plural times by two reflection members (reflection plates, prisms, or the like) 101c and is made incident on the light receiving element 101b. By this optical path, paper money 301 intercepts the light from the light emitting element 101a for a longer time according as the degree of bias is larger. This fact is used, and the time for which paper money 301 intercepts the light is counted to detect the bias motion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for detecting skew of a sheet (medium) conveyed along a conveyance path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An apparatus for carrying out some processing by transporting a paper sheet (medium) generally has a function of counting the number of processed paper sheets (a paper sheet counting machine). In particular, in an automated machine such as a cash dispenser (CD) or an automatic teller machine (ATM) that handles bills as paper sheets, it is an essential function for cash deposit / withdrawal management.

[0003] In the above-described apparatus, paper sheets are conveyed on a conveying path in a predetermined state. A change from that state (mostly skewed) causes jams and damage to paper sheets. If the paper sheet is a banknote, various kinds of securities, or the like, the influence of such an occurrence is enormous. For this reason, in particular, in automated equipment and the like, skew of banknotes (sheets) is detected, and countermeasures are taken. The countermeasure is that, when a skew of a bill is detected, the bill is conveyed (rejected) to a predetermined conveyance destination. Usually, the skew detection function is a part of the counting function (sheet counting machine) so that the counting of deposited and withdrawn bills can be performed accurately even if such measures are taken.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a banknote dispensing machine equipped with a conventional paper sheet counter. This FIG. 6, and further FIGS.
, A conventional skew detection method will be specifically described.

As shown in FIG. 6, the bill dispensing machine disposes the number of bills 601 designated by a user in a bill cassette 602.
And is conveyed sequentially from a pay-out port opened and closed by a pay-out port shutter 602a, and particularly discharged to a discharge tray (not shown).

The skew sensor 60 arranged on the transport path
3. The thickness sensor 604 and the gate sensor 605 are for removing the banknote 601 that is not conveyed in a normal state. The skew sensor 603 is a sensor for detecting skew of the bill 601, and the thickness sensor 604 is a sensor for detecting double feeding. Gate sensor 605
Is a sensor for detecting the timing at which the transfer destination of the bill 601 is switched by the switching claw 606. The banknote 601 detected by the skew sensor 603 and the thickness sensor 604 as abnormal, that is, skew or double feed, is driven by the switching claw 606 based on the timing at which the gate sensor 605 detects the banknote 601. It is guided to the bill cassette 602, and is returned into the bill cassette 602 from a reject opening opened and closed by a reject shutter 602b. Those sensors 603 and 604
The banknote 601 for which no abnormality is detected is discharged to the discharge tray. A count sensor 607 disposed near the external discharge port is for counting the number of bills 601 actually discharged.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the arrangement of a conventional skew sensor. The skew sensor 603 is an optical sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element. Conventionally, two optical sensors have been arranged facing each other so as to sandwich a transport path between these elements. As shown in FIG. 7, they are arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction crossing the transport direction indicated by the arrow in the figure. FIG. 7 shows only two light emitting elements 603a and 603b for convenience.

In the case where two skew sensors (optical sensors) 603 are arranged as described above, when the bill 601 is skewed and conveyed, the bill 601 is detected by the sensors 603.
There will be a difference in the timing of detecting 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, if the left side of the figure is skewed ahead, the sensor arranged on the left side detects the bill 601 earlier than that on the right side. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 8, a skew is detected by measuring (measuring) a difference in the timing of the detection. Fig. 8
Is a time change of the signal level of each sensor, and a high level means that the bill 601 is detected.

The skew detection is performed by calculating an actual skew amount from the time difference measured and determining whether the calculated value is within an allowable range. Assuming that the actual skew amount is s, the s is calculated by s = v · t. Here, v is the transport speed of the bill 601 and t is the time difference measured.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a conventional medium (sheets) detecting process. The controller of the above-described conventional sheet counting machine detects the bill (medium) 601 by the skew sensor 603 and the thickness sensor 604, and determines whether or not the bill 601 is normally conveyed based on the detection result. Is extracted and represented as a flow of a process for generating the information. With reference to FIG. 9, the overall operation flow of the conventional sheet counter will be described.

After the bill 601 is fed out from the bill cassette 602, it waits in step 11 for the bill (medium) 601 to be detected by the skew sensor 603. When one of the two skew sensors 603 detects the bill 601, the process proceeds to step 12, where the remaining skew sensors 603 detect the bill 6.
The time difference t until the detection of 01 is measured (measured), and the skew amount is calculated. The skew amount s is calculated by the above s = v · t.

After calculating the skew amount s, the skew sensor 603 determines the position of the bill (medium) 6 in step 13.
01 is confirmed to pass, and the length of the bill (medium) 601 is calculated using the time difference from the detection of the bill (medium) 601 in step 11 to the confirmation of the passage. The length L is calculated by L = v · T, where T is the time difference. After calculating the length, the process proceeds to step S14, and after measuring the thickness of the bill (medium) 601 being conveyed by the thickness sensor 604, a series of processes is ended. After the end of the series of processing, it is determined whether or not the conveyance is normally performed.

[0013]

As described above, the conventional paper sheet counting machine is provided with various sensors for determining whether or not the conveyance is normally performed. Two optical sensors are provided as skew sensors to detect whether the banknote 601 is skewed.

When arranging a sensor, it is necessary not only to secure a space for arranging the sensor but also to arrange a signal line. Therefore, there is a tendency that as the number of sensors increases, the size of the device and the cost increase. For this reason, it has been desired to reduce the number of sensors while avoiding problems caused by reducing the number of sensors.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of monitoring the conveyance (skew) of a sheet with a smaller number of sensors.

[0016]

The skew detection method for paper sheets according to the present invention is based on the premise that it is used to detect skew of paper sheets conveyed along a conveyance path. The light-emitting element and the light-receiving element are provided so that light emitted from the light-emitting element crosses the transport path a plurality of times and enters the light-receiving element, and sheets conveyed along the transport path block the light. The skew of the paper sheet conveyed along the conveyance path is detected based on the measured time.

It is desirable that the light emitted from the light emitting element crosses the transport path at different positions in the direction crossing the direction in which the paper sheet is transported. The skew detection device for paper sheets according to the present invention is based on the premise that skew of paper sheets conveyed along a conveyance path is detected, and light emitted from a light emitting element crosses the conveyance path a plurality of times, and a light receiving element. A sheet detecting means for detecting a sheet conveyed through the conveyance path using an optical sensor provided in a state where the sheet is incident on the sheet, and a time during which the sheet detecting means detects the sheet. The apparatus includes a timing unit that counts time, and a skew detection unit that detects skew of a sheet conveyed along the conveyance path based on the time measured by the timing unit.

In the above configuration, it is desirable that the light emitted from the light emitting element crosses the transport path at different positions in the direction intersecting the direction in which the paper sheet is transported.

The paper sheet counting machine of the present invention is based on the premise that the paper sheets conveyed on the conveyance path are counted, and the light emitted from the light emitting element crosses the conveyance path several times and enters the light receiving element. Using an optical sensor provided in the state, a sheet detecting means for detecting a sheet conveyed along the conveying path, and a timing for measuring a time during which the sheet detecting means detects the sheet. Means, and skew detection means for detecting skew of the paper sheet conveyed on the conveyance path based on the time measured by the timing means. The number of sheets transported on the road is counted.

In the above configuration, it is desirable that the light emitted from the light emitting element crosses the transport path at different positions in the cross direction of the direction in which the paper sheet is transported. The skew detecting means estimates the degree of skew of the sheet from the time measured by the clocking means, and determines the skew of the sheet based on whether the estimated degree of skew is within a predetermined allowable range. It is desirable to detect rows.

According to the present invention, the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element constituting the optical sensor are provided such that the light emitted from the light-emitting element crosses the transport path a plurality of times and is incident on the light-receiving element. It measures the time that it is blocking, and detects the skew of the paper sheet from the measured time.

By traversing the light emitted from the light emitting element a plurality of times on the transport path, the paper sheet is detected by a plurality of optical sensors. The time during which the sheets block light varies depending on the degree of skew. By using such a relationship to detect skew of a sheet with only one optical sensor, the number of required sensors is reduced. As a result of reducing the number of required sensors, the size and cost of the device can be more easily reduced.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a banknote dispensing machine equipped with a sheet counter according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bill dispensing machine includes a skew sensor 101 for detecting a skew of a bill fed from a bill cassette (not shown) and a thickness sensor for detecting the thickness of the bill. Thickness sensor 102, a switching claw 103 for switching the destination of the bill according to whether or not the transport is performed normally, and a count for counting the number of bills discharged to a discharge tray (not shown). A sensor 104, a transport motor 105 as a power source for transporting bills, and a gate magnet 1 for driving the switching claw 103.
06 is provided.

In the above-described bill dispensing machine, the skew sensor 101 and the thickness sensor 102 monitor whether bills (sheets) are conveyed in a normal state. The banknote for which the conveyance abnormality is detected by the sensors 101 and 102 is driven by the switching claw 103 by the gate magnet 106, guided to the banknote cassette, and stored therein.

FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of the bill dispensing machine. As shown in FIG. 2, a controller 201 that controls the entire device and a mechanical unit 202 that is controlled by the controller 201 are roughly classified. The mechanical unit 202 includes the components shown in FIG. Although not shown, the controller 201 is connected to, for example, an operation unit for the user to input various instructions, in addition to the mechanical unit 202. The controller 201 performs control according to the content of an instruction input via the operation unit.

Before describing the operation of each unit in the controller 201 shown in FIG. 2, the skew detection method according to the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of the skew sensor 101. FIG. 7A is a top view as viewed from a position separated in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the bill 301, and FIG. 7B is a side view.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, 1
One light-emitting element 101a and one light-receiving element 101b are used as the skew sensor 101, and they are arranged at predetermined intervals in a direction crossing the transport direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. The light emitted from the light emitting element 101a is made to cross the transport path a plurality of times by two reflecting members (reflecting plates or prisms) 101c and then incident on the light receiving element 101b.

The time during which the above-mentioned optical path is blocked by the bill 301 (light-shielding time) is measured. The transport speed of the bill 301 is known in advance. Therefore, by measuring the light-shielding time, the actual length of the bill 301 that has passed through the skew sensor 101 (the measured value of the bill length in FIG. 3A) can be obtained by calculation. Assuming that the conveying speed is v, the light blocking time is t, and the actual length of the bill is L, the L can be obtained by L = v · t.

The time during which the bill 301 blocks the optical path between the light emitting element 101a and the light receiving element 101b becomes longer as the degree of skew of the bill 301 increases. However, banknote 3
Since the length of 01 (the bill length in FIG. 3A) is known in advance, the relationship between the time and the amount of skew can be specified in advance. For the amount of skew, use that
As shown in FIG. 4, when the banknote 301 is not skewed, the time when the skew sensor 101 is expected to detect it, and the time when the skew sensor 101 actually detects the banknote 301 The amount of skew is calculated from the difference between

As described above, in the present embodiment, one optical sensor is used as the skew sensor 101 and the bill 30
1 is detected. While maintaining the skew detection accuracy, the number of optical sensors used for the detection is reduced as compared with the related art. Therefore, as compared with the related art, it is possible to more easily reduce the size of the device on which the paper sheet counter is mounted, and to further reduce the cost of the device.
As is apparent from this, the present invention can particularly contribute to miniaturization and cost reduction of the device.

The number of members for reflecting the light emitted from the light emitting element 101a is not limited to two. One or three or more may be used. The arrangement of the light emitting element 101a and the light receiving element 101b may be appropriately changed according to the number of the reflecting members.

Returning to FIG. 2, the operation of each unit for implementing the above-described skew detection will be described in detail. Here, for the sake of convenience, the operation will be described focusing on a period until the bill 301 is fed out of the bill cassette and conveyed to the discharge tray.

The main CPU 203 stores the R
By executing the program stored in the OM, the entire device is controlled as follows while using the RAM of the memory 204 for work.

The register file 205 includes a main CPU
It is a memory for exchanging data between the CPU 203 and the sub CPU 206 or for giving an instruction to the sub CPU 206. The main CPU 203 stores the register file 20
5, data and commands (instructions) to be sent to the sub CPU 206 are written to the sub CPU 206 as needed.
Performs reading of the written data.

The sub CPU 206 executes a program stored in the ROM of the memory 207,
While using the RAM of the memory 207 for work, control mainly relating to the sensor is performed. Here, the skew sensor 1
01 and the thickness sensor 102 will be described below.

For example, the thickness sensor 102 presses a movable roller (movable roller) against a fixed roller (fixed roller), and the bill 301 sandwiched between the rollers.
Is to detect the thickness. The thickness is determined by, for example, connecting a lever supporting a movable roller to a shaft, and detecting a rotation angle that changes according to the thickness of the bill 301 on the shaft by a rotation angle sensor. The thickness sensor output adjustment unit 211 adjusts the output level of the rotation angle sensor that detects the thickness. The signal of the rotation angle sensor whose output level has been adjusted is sent to the A / D converter 210.
Is converted into a digital value, and then written into the thickness sensor read register 208.

The sub CPU 206 reads the contents of the read register 208 at predetermined time intervals. In accordance with this, the A / D converter 210 sets the sub C
Sampling is performed prior to reading of the PU 206. Accordingly, sub CPU 206 acquires information indicating the thickness detected by thickness sensor 102 at each time interval, and writes the information to a predetermined area in register file 205.

The sensor control LSI 212 is a skew sensor 1 arranged as a component of the mechanical unit 202.
01, the count sensor 104, and other sensors. The control is performed in accordance with the contents and instructions written in the sensor read register 209 by the sub CPU 206. As a result, the drive of the light emission amount control circuit 213 starts and ends, and depending on the situation, the circuit 213
Adjusts the value of the voltage for driving the light emitting element of the optical sensor and the amplification factor of the light receiving signal output from the light receiving element of the optical sensor.

The sub CPU 206 reads the contents of the sensor read register 209 at predetermined time intervals. At the same time, the sensor control LSI 212 writes the detection results (signal levels of the light receiving elements) of the various sensors in the register 209 at the time intervals. As shown in FIG. 4, the skew sensor 101 writes binary information such as 1 if the bill 301 is detected, and 0 otherwise. Accordingly, the sub CPU 206 acquires information indicating the detection result of the bill 301 detected by the various optical sensors at each time interval, and writes the information in a predetermined area in the register file 205.

The main CPU 203 reads out the contents such as the detection result of the sensor written in the register file 205 by the sub CPU 206 at predetermined time intervals, for example, by using the hardware timer. In the content of the skew sensor 101, a change in the detection result is monitored, and the number of times the content is read out while the banknote 301 is being detected is counted, thereby measuring the time during that time. Based on the timing result,
It is determined whether or not the bill 301 is skewed, in other words, whether or not the amount of skew is within a predetermined allowable range, and the transport destination of the bill 301 is determined based on the determination result.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a medium (a paper bill) detection process. When a withdrawal is instructed by a user or the like, the main CPU 203 executes a program stored in the ROM of the memory 204, and various sensors 101, 1
2 is an excerpt of a process related to the detection of a medium performed by using “02.” The medium detection process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

Prior to the execution of the medium detection processing, the main CPU 203 sends the bill 30 by various sensors to the sub CPU 206 via the register file 205.
1 is detected. Thereby, register file 2
05, the sensors 101, 1
The detection results of various sensors including 02 are written at any time.

After the bill 301 is fed out from the bill cassette, the process waits in step 1 for the bill (medium) 301 to be detected by the skew sensor 101. Skew sensor 10
When 1 detects the bill 301, the sub CPU 206 writes 1 in the area for the skew sensor 101 in the register file 205. Therefore, when it is confirmed that the value of the area has been rewritten from 0 to 1, the process proceeds to step 2. At this time, counting of the number of times the value of the area is read is started.

In step 2, the register file 205
After confirming that the value of the area for the skew sensor 101 becomes 1 to 0, the banknote 301 detected by the skew sensor 101 is determined based on the number of times the content of the area has been read (corresponding to the light-shielding time). Calculate the length and skew amount. Without performing the calculation, the number of readouts and the corresponding bill 301
It is also possible to prepare a table in which the relationship between the length and the skew amount is prepared, and to calculate the length and the skew amount of the bill 301 by referring to the table.

After obtaining the length and skew amount of the bill 301,
In Step 3, the thickness of the bill (medium) 301 being conveyed by the thickness sensor 102 is measured. The detection result of the thickness of the bill 301 by the thickness sensor 102 is stored in the area for the thickness sensor 102 in the register file 205 by the sub CPU 206. The value of that area is
While the thickness sensor 102 is detecting the bill 301, it is different from other periods. The main CPU 203 holds, for example, only the maximum value (for example, the maximum value of the smoothed value) in the memory 204, and when the value returns to the normal value, determines that the bill 301 has passed the thickness sensor 102, The measurement is terminated. A series of processes is completed after the measurement is completed. After the series of processes is completed, the main CPU 203 determines whether or not the transport of the banknote 301 is normally performed.
1 is determined.

The main CPU 203 compares the skew amount obtained in step 2 with a constant prepared in advance, and if the skew amount is larger than the constant, in other words, the bill 301
If the skew is not within the allowable range, it is determined that skew has occurred, and the transport destination of the bill 301 is determined to the bill cassette. In other cases, it is determined that skewing has not occurred, and the transport destination is determined as the discharge tray. The bills 301 discharged to the discharge tray are detected by the count sensor 104, and the number of the bills 301 discharged to the discharge tray is counted. The counting is performed by monitoring the contents stored in the count sensor 104 area of the register file 205. The contents of the area are obtained by the sub CPU 206 reading and writing the detection result of the count sensor 104 written in the sensor read register 209 by the sensor control LSI 212.
While the counting based on the detection result of the count sensor 104 is being performed, the main CPU 203 repeatedly counts only the number of bills 301 discharged to the discharge tray by repeatedly executing the above-described medium detection processing.

In this embodiment, the skew sensor 10 is used.
1 calculates the amount of skew by measuring the time during which the banknote 301 is detected, and the measured time is the amount of skew (degree of skew) and the length of the banknote 301 (see FIG. 3A). (Measurement value of banknote length), the presence or absence of skew may be determined simply from the time measured without obtaining them.

In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a paper sheet counting machine mounted on a banknote dispensing machine. It is not limited to the one mounted on the device to be handled. The present invention can be widely applied to a paper sheet counter mounted on an apparatus for handling paper sheets other than bills. In addition, a device for handling paper sheets may be mounted as a function (skew detection device) for simply detecting skew of paper sheets, instead of performing counting.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention, the light emitting element and the light receiving element constituting the optical sensor are provided in such a manner that the light emitted from the light emitting element crosses the transport path several times and enters the light receiving element. The time when the sheet blocks the light is measured, and the skew of the sheet is detected from the measured time.
For this reason, the number of sensors can be reduced as compared with the related art. This makes it easier to reduce the size and cost of the device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a banknote dispensing machine equipped with a paper sheet counter according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of a bill dispensing machine equipped with a paper sheet counter according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of a skew sensor according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a skew amount calculation method according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a medium (banknote) detection process in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a banknote dispensing machine equipped with a conventional sheet counter.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of a conventional skew sensor.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a conventional skew amount calculation method.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a conventional medium (sheets) detection process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 Skew sensor 101a Light emitting element 101b Light receiving element 101c Reflecting member 201 Controller 202 Mechanical unit 203 Main CPU 204, 207 Memory 205 Register file 206 Sub CPU 209 Sensor read register 212 Sensor control LSI 213 Light emission amount control circuit 301 Banknotes (sheets and the like) )

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiyuki Takano 1776 Yanoguchi, Inagi-shi, Tokyo Inside Fujitsu Kiden Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toyoharu Kitagami 1776 Yanoguchi, Inagi-shi, Tokyo ) 2F065 AA37 BB01 BB15 CC00 CC02 DD00 DD02 FF02 FF33 GG12 HH04 HH15 JJ01 LL12 LL46 MM03 QQ23 TT03 3E040 AA01 BA01 BA07 DA08 FG08 FG15

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method for detecting skew of a sheet conveyed along a conveying path, comprising: a light emitting element and a light receiving element constituting an optical sensor, wherein light emitted from the light emitting element is conveyed by the light transmitting element. A plurality of times, the path is provided so as to be incident on the light receiving element across the light path, the time when the papers conveyed in the conveyance path are blocking the light is measured, and based on the measured time, the conveyance path is determined. Detecting a skew of the paper sheet that has been conveyed. 2. The light emitted from the light emitting element crosses the transport path at a different position in a direction intersecting the direction in which the paper sheet is transported. Paper sheet skew detection method. 3. An apparatus for detecting a skew of a sheet conveyed along a conveyance path, wherein the light emitted from a light emitting element crosses the conveyance path a plurality of times and is incident on a light receiving element. Using an optical sensor, a sheet detecting means for detecting a sheet conveyed on the conveying path, and a timing means for measuring a time during which the sheet detecting means is detecting the sheet. Skew detection means for detecting skew of the paper sheet conveyed on the conveyance path based on the time measured by the clocking means, and skew detection of the paper sheet characterized by comprising: apparatus. 4. The light emitted from the light emitting element crosses the transport path at a different position in a direction intersecting the direction in which the paper sheet is transported. 3. The skew detecting device for paper sheets according to 3. 5. An optical sensor for counting paper sheets conveyed along a conveyance path, wherein an optical sensor is provided in a state where light emitted from a light emitting element crosses the conveyance path a plurality of times and enters a light receiving element. A sheet detecting means for detecting a sheet conveyed through the conveying path, a time measuring means for measuring a time during which the sheet detecting means is detecting the sheet, and the time measuring. Skew detection means for detecting skew of paper sheets conveyed along the conveyance path, based on the time measured by the means, and the conveyance path according to a detection result of the skew detection means. A sheet counting machine for counting the number of sheets conveyed. 6. The light emitted from the light emitting element crosses the transport path at different positions in a direction crossing the direction in which the paper sheet is transported. 5. The paper sheet counting machine according to 5. 7. The skew detecting means estimates the degree of skew of the sheet from the time measured by the timing means, and determines whether the estimated degree of skew is within a predetermined allowable range. The paper sheet counter according to claim 5, wherein the skew of the paper sheet is detected.