JPH08161574A - Coin identification device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent a forged coin from illegally being used by the coin discriminating device which discriminates whether or not a coin is genuine and its kind by detecting the thickness of the outer peripheral part of the coin and discriminating the forged coin whose thickness is different from that of a genuine coin. CONSTITUTION: The device is equipped with a 1st thickness sensor 17 and a 2nd thickness sensor 5, and the thickness of the outer peripheral part of the coin is detected by an out peripheral part thickness detecting means 23, a center part thickness detecting means 24, and a difference calculating means 27. This constitution discriminates the forged coil which is similar in thickness to a genuine coin at the center part, but different at the outer peripheral part and prevents it from illegally being used.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coin discriminating device for electrically discriminating the authenticity and type of coins.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, vending machines have become widespread, and coin discriminating devices used therein are required to have high discrimination performance.

Conventionally, a coin discriminating apparatus of this type is inserted by a coin slot, a coin passage connected to the coin slot, an identification sensor arranged on a side wall of the coin passage, and an output of the identification sensor. Detecting means for detecting the characteristics of the coin, a memory circuit for pre-storing the data as the reference of the authenticity of the coin and the type of coin, and a comparison for comparing the output of the detecting means with the reference data of the memory circuit. It was provided with a circuit and a judgment circuit for judging the authenticity and type of coins based on the comparison result of this comparison circuit. The identification sensor and the detection means include a material, a thickness, an output of the outer diameter sensor and a means for detecting the maximum change amount of the output of each sensor, and the output of each sensor when the inserted coin passes The material, the thickness, and the outer diameter of the coin were detected by the maximum change amount to identify the coin.

[0004]

However, in the conventional structure, what is detected as the thickness is the thickness of the central portion of the coin. This is because the magnetic field generated by the sensor has a spread and the value when the average thickness in the magnetic field becomes maximum is detected. This value did not necessarily match the physical maximum thickness, and was close to the thickness of the central portion.

For this reason, false coins such as similar foreign coins having the same material and outer diameter as the true coin but having a central portion with a close thickness may be illegally used.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a coin discriminating device capable of preventing such illegal use of counterfeit coins.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, the detection means of the coin discriminating apparatus of the present invention uses two thickness sensors and determines the thickness of the outer peripheral portion of the coin from the composite output waveform of these sensors. The detection means for detecting is provided.

[0008]

With this structure, since the thickness of the outer peripheral portion of the coin can be detected by the detecting means, a false coin having a thickness close to that of the true coin but different in thickness of the outer peripheral portion can be discriminated to be illegal. It becomes possible to prevent use.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the outline of the coin discriminating apparatus according to the present invention. A coin slot 2 is provided at the top of the coin discriminating apparatus main body 1, and a coin passage 3 is connected downward from the slot 2. A first thickness / material combination sensor 4, a second thickness sensor 5, and an outer diameter sensor 6 are arranged on the side wall of the coin passage 3. The centers of the second thickness sensor 5 and the outer diameter sensor 6 are arranged on the same vertical line with respect to the coin passage 3. The coin passage 3 is connected to a coin outlet 7 located at the bottom of the coin identifying device body 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view in the vicinity of the first combined thickness / material sensor 4, and for the sake of explanation, a second thickness sensor 5 and an outer diameter sensor 6 are provided.
The part related to is omitted. The coin passage 3 in which the coin 8 rolls is composed of a substrate 9 forming one side wall and a substrate 10 forming the other side wall. Ferrite E-shaped cores 11 and 12 are attached to the substrate 9 and the substrate 10, respectively, so as to face each other. The E-shaped cores 11 and 12 have a length smaller than the outer diameter of the largest coin 8 to be discriminated, and the center of the coin 8 having the largest outer diameter passes near the center of the E-shaped cores 11 and 12. It is placed in the position. The first thickness / material dual-use sensor 4 is composed of an E-shaped core 11 and two coils 13 and 14 wound inside the E-shaped core 11, and two coils 15 and 16 wound inside the E-shaped core 12. Has been done.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit. The first thickness sensor 17 includes E-shaped cores 11 and 12 arranged to face the coin passage 3 and these E-shaped cores 1.
The coils 13 and 15 are wound inside the coils 1 and 12, and the coils 13 and 15 are connected in series and in reverse phase so that the mutual inductance becomes negative. Second thickness sensor 5
With the same configuration, the coils wound around the opposing cores are connected in series and in reverse phase. Furthermore, the first thickness sensor 17
The coils 13 and 15 and the coil of the second thickness sensor 5 are connected in series to form a first oscillation circuit 19.

The material sensor 18 has the same structure as the first thickness sensor 17, but the coils 14 and 16 wound around the opposing E-shaped cores 11 and 12 are connected in series and in phase so that the mutual inductance becomes positive. Has been done. In this embodiment, the first
The thickness sensor 17 and the material sensor 18 of the E-shaped core 11,
12 also serves as the first thickness / material dual-purpose sensor 4 in FIGS. 2 and 3. The outer diameter sensor 6 has the same configuration as that of the material sensor 18, and the coils wound around the opposing cores are connected in series and in phase. Furthermore, the material sensor 1
The coils 14 and 16 of 8 and the coil of the outer diameter sensor 6 are connected in series to form a second oscillation circuit 20.

The outputs of the oscillator circuits 19 and 20 are connected to the half-wave rectifier circuits 21 and 22, respectively. The output of the first half-wave rectifier circuit 21 enters the outer peripheral thickness detecting means 23 and the central thickness detecting means 24. The output of the second half-wave rectifier circuit 22 enters the outer peripheral thickness detecting means 23, the central thickness detecting means 24, the material detecting means 25, and the outer diameter detecting means 26. The output of the thickness detecting means 23 at the outer peripheral portion and the output of the thickness detecting means 24 at the central portion are respectively connected to the difference calculating means 27. The outputs of the detection means 23 to 27 are input to one inputs of the comparison circuits 28 to 32, respectively. The storage circuit 33 is connected to the other inputs of the comparison circuits 28 to 32.
The output of is connected. The outputs of the comparison circuits 28 to 32 enter the determination circuit 34, and the determination circuit 34 outputs the determination signal 35.

The operation of the coin discriminating apparatus constructed as above will be described below. When the coin 8 inserted from the coin insertion slot 2 approaches the sensors 4 to 6, the coil 13
The impedances of 16 to 16 change, and the oscillation levels of the oscillation circuits 19 and 20 change accordingly. This amount of change is
The thickness sensors 17 and 5 are formed so as to differ mainly depending on the thickness of the coin 8, the material sensor 18 mainly depending on the material of the coin 8, and the outer diameter sensor 6 mainly depending on the outer diameter of the coin 8. The half-wave rectifier circuits 21 and 22 respectively convert the oscillating waveforms of the oscillating circuits 19 and 20 from a sine wave into a signal indicating an oscillating level.

Next, the operation of each of the detecting means 23 to 26 will be described with reference to FIG.
And FIG. 5 will be described. FIG. 4 shows the output waveform 40 of the second half-wave rectifying circuit 22 when passing coins, and FIG. 5 shows the output waveforms 50 and 60 of the first half-wave rectifying circuit 21. In each case, the vertical axis is the amount of change in the oscillation level and the horizontal axis is the time. The solid line in FIG. 5 is a waveform 50 of a Japanese 500-yen coin, and the broken line is a waveform 60 of a similar foreign coin whose material and outer diameter are approximately the same as those of a 500-yen coin and the thickness of the central portion is similar. The part where the output of the first half-wave rectifier circuit 21 is different between the 500 yen coin and the foreign coin is the coin 8
The outer peripheral portion of the coin coincides with the timing of passing near the thickness sensors 5 and 17, and the output at this time is considered to indicate the thickness of the outer peripheral portion of the coin 8. The present invention is intended to detect the thickness of the outer peripheral portion of the coin 8 by the output of the first half-wave rectifying circuit 21 at this time. The second half-wave rectifier circuit 22
The output waveform 40 of the 500-yen coin and the foreign coin have substantially the same waveform as shown in FIG.

The material detecting means 25 detects the maximum change amount of the oscillation level while the coin 8 passes through the material sensor 18, that is, the first maximum value of the waveform 40. The outer diameter detection means 26 is
The maximum change amount of the oscillation level while the coin 8 passes through the outer diameter sensor 6, that is, the third maximum value of the waveform 40 is detected. The thickness detecting means 23 of the outer peripheral portion is the thickness sensor 1 having two coins 8.
The maximum change amount of the oscillation level is detected at the position where both 7 and 5 are applied. In the present embodiment, the position where the outer peripheral portion of the coin 8 is applied to the first thickness sensor 17 is used, and the time when the waveform 40 of the second half-wave rectifying circuit 22 takes the second minimum value to prevent erroneous detection. Immediately after 410, the maximum value of the waveform 50 of the 500 yen coin and the waveform 60 of the foreign coin of the second half-wave rectification circuit 22 is detected, and the thickness 51 of the outer peripheral portion of the 500 yen coin and the outer peripheral portion of the foreign coin are detected. A thickness of 61 is obtained. Central thickness detecting means 24
Detects the amount of change in the oscillation level when the coin 8 passes through the center of either of the thickness sensors 17 and 5. In this embodiment, the time 420 at which the output of the second half-wave rectifier circuit 22 takes the third maximum is used to set the timing at which the coin 8 passes through the center of the second thickness sensor 5. At this time 420, the output of the first half-wave rectifier circuit 21 is detected,
The thickness 52 of the central portion of the 500-yen coin and the thickness 62 of the central portion of the foreign coin are obtained. In order to more accurately obtain the time 420 when the output of the second half-wave rectifier circuit 22 takes the third maximum,
The value obtained by adding the constant value 43 to the second minimum value 41 is the threshold value 4
2, and an intermediate time between the time 421 that exceeds the threshold 42 and the time 422 that falls below this threshold 42 is the time 4 at which the third maximum is obtained.
20.

Each of the detecting means 23 to 26 outputs the detected value to the corresponding comparing circuit 28 to 31, respectively. The difference calculating means 27 calculates the difference between the output of the outer peripheral thickness detecting means 23 and the output of the central portion thickness detecting means 24, and the difference 53 between the outer peripheral portion and the central portion thickness of the 500-yen coin. The difference 63 in thickness between the outer peripheral portion and the central portion of the foreign coin is output to the comparison circuit 32.
The storage circuit 33 stores a reference value for each type of true coin. In the comparison circuits 28-32, the respective detection means 23-
The input from 27 is compared with the reference of the memory circuit 33, and if they match within the allowable range, a signal indicating the type of the true coin is output, and if they do not match the reference value of any type, it is a false coin. A signal indicating that is output. The determination circuit 34 outputs a signal indicating the type of true coin only when the signals from the comparison circuits 28 to 32 all indicate the same type of true coin, and otherwise determines a signal indicating false coin as the determination signal 35. Output as.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the coin 8 is provided with the thickness detecting means 23 on the outer peripheral portion thereof.
Since it is possible to detect the outer peripheral thicknesses 51 and 61, it is possible to identify false coins that have the same thickness as the true coin and the central part but different outer peripheral thicknesses to prevent unauthorized use. Become. Further, since the thickness detecting means 24 at the central portion of the coin 8 and the means 27 for calculating the difference are provided, it is possible to detect the difference 53, 63 in the thickness between the outer peripheral portion and the central portion of the coin 8. Therefore, the difference between the thickness of the central portion and the outer peripheral portion is not sufficient for the true coin, but the difference between the thickness of the outer peripheral portion and the central portion is 5
It is also possible to identify different fake coins 3, 63.

According to the experiment, the distance between the two thickness sensors 17 and 5 is 24.5 mm, which is the most accurate, measured in parallel with the coin passage for a Japanese 500 yen coin (outer diameter 26.5 mm). 24 to 25 mm (coin outer diameter 90 to 95
%), Good results were obtained. Further, the height is better so that the center of the coin passes near the center of the sensor, and the height is 8 to 18.5 mm when measured from the bottom of the coin passage.
Accuracy can be maintained in the range of (30 to 70% of the outer diameter of coins).

It was effective to arrange the cores constituting the thickness sensors 17 and 5 so that the longitudinal direction is parallel to the coin passing direction. Also, for 500-yen coins, the smaller the core length, the better the accuracy.
Good results were obtained in the range below (65% or less of the outer diameter of the coin). Also, the width is the best at 5.5 mm and is 4 to 8 m.
Accuracy can be maintained in the range of m (15 to 30% of the outer diameter of coins).

In this embodiment, two thickness sensors 17,
Although the example provided with 5 has been shown, even one thickness sensor has coins 8
By using the output when the outer peripheral portion of the coin passes through the vicinity, it is possible to detect the thickness of the outer peripheral portion of the coin 8 without being limited to the method of the present embodiment.

Further, in this embodiment, two thickness sensors 1 are used.
Although the 7 and 5 coils are connected in series to form one oscillation circuit 19, the coils of each sensor may form different oscillation circuits. In this case, after performing half-wave rectification, the combined waveforms 50 and 60 having the same oscillation level as in this embodiment can be obtained by means of calculating the sum. With such a configuration, it is also possible to detect the thickness of the central portion of the coin at the center time of the output waveform of one thickness sensor. For example, it may be detected at an intermediate time between the time when the output of the thickness sensor exceeds the predetermined threshold value and the time when it falls below the predetermined threshold value.

If the material sensor 18 is provided as in this embodiment, it is possible to detect the thickness of the central portion of the coin at the center time of the two maximum times of the output of this sensor.

Further, in the present embodiment, the example in which the change in the oscillation level when the coin passes is used for identification is shown. However, if the change in the impedance of the coil caused by the coin is used, the change in the inductance, the frequency, the phase or the like is used. You can also

The first thickness sensor 17 and the material sensor 18 are also used because the material sensor 18 measures the thickness of the central portion of the coin.
This is to ensure the accuracy in the case where the timing is detected. At the same time, downsizing and cost reduction are possible, but different sensors may be used.

[0027]

As described above, the coin discriminating apparatus of the present invention is
Since a means for detecting the thickness of the outer peripheral portion of the coin is provided, the thickness of the outer peripheral portion of the coin can be detected. It is possible to identify and prevent unauthorized use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a coin identifying device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the vicinity of the first combined thickness / material sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an output waveform diagram of a second half-wave rectifier circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an output waveform diagram of the first half-wave rectifier circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 coin input port 3 coin passage 4 first thickness / material dual-purpose sensor 5 second thickness sensor 6 outer diameter sensor 8 coin 11 E-shaped core 12 E-shaped core 13 coil 14 coil 15 coil 16 coil 17 first thickness sensor 18 Material Sensor 19 First Oscillation Circuit 20 Second Oscillation Circuit 21 First Half-Wave Rectifier Circuit 22 Second Half-Wave Rectifier Circuit 23 Peripheral Thickness Detecting Means 24 Central Thickness Detecting Means 25 Material Detecting Means 26 Outer diameter detection means 27 Difference calculation means 28 Comparison circuit 29 Comparison circuit 30 Comparison circuit 31 Comparison circuit 32 Comparison circuit 33 Storage circuit 34 Judgment circuit 35 Judgment signal 40 Output waveform of second half-wave rectification circuit 41 Second minimum value 42 Threshold value 43 Constant value 50 Output waveform of first half-wave rectifier circuit (500 yen coin) 51 Thickness of outer peripheral part (500 yen coin) 52 Thickness of central part (500 yen coin) 53 Difference in thickness between outer peripheral part and central part (500 yen coin) 60 Output waveform of first half-wave rectifier circuit (foreign coin) 61 External thickness (foreign coin) 62 Central part Thickness (foreign coins) 63 Difference in thickness between outer and central portions (foreign coins) 410 Time when the second minimum is taken 420 Time when the third maximum is taken 421 Time exceeding the threshold 422 Threshold Time of fall

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A coin insertion slot, a coin passage connected to the insertion slot, an identification sensor arranged on a side wall of the coin passage, and a thickness of an outer peripheral portion of the coin inserted by the output of the identification sensor. Detection means for detecting, and a storage circuit for storing in advance data that is a reference for authenticity and type of coins,
The detection means is provided with a comparison circuit for comparing the output of the detection means and the reference data of the storage circuit, and a determination circuit for determining whether the coin is true or false and the type based on the comparison result of the comparison circuit. A coin discriminating apparatus which uses a thickness sensor and detects the thickness of the outer peripheral portion of a coin from a composite output waveform of these sensors. 2. The thickness sensor according to claim 1, wherein two coiled cores are arranged so as to face the coin passage, and these coils are connected in series and in reverse phase so that the mutual inductance becomes negative. Coin identification device. 3. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the two thickness sensors is measured in parallel with the coin passage so as to be 90% to 95% of the outer diameter of the coin to be discriminated. 4. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heights of the two thickness sensors are measured from the bottom surface of the coin passage to be 30% or more and 70% or less of the outer diameter of the coin to be discriminated. 5. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a coil is wound around an E-shaped core to form a thickness sensor. 6. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the length of the core is 65% or less of the outer diameter of the coin to be discriminated. 7. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the width of the core is set to 15% or more and 30% or less of the outer diameter of the coin to be discriminated. 8. The coin identifying device according to claim 5, wherein the opening of the core faces the coin passage, and the sensor is arranged such that the longitudinal direction thereof is parallel to the passing direction of the coin. 9. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein coils constituting two sensors are connected in series and are connected to one oscillation circuit. 10. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for connecting an oscillation circuit to each of the coils forming the two sensors and calculating a sum of output waveforms of these oscillation circuits. 11. A means for detecting the thickness of the central portion of the coin,
The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for calculating a difference in thickness between the outer peripheral portion and the central portion. 12. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the thickness of the central portion of the coin is detected at the time of the center of the output waveform of the thickness sensor. 13. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising another sensor, wherein the thickness of the central portion of the coin is detected by timing the output of this sensor. 14. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising an outer diameter sensor, wherein the thickness of the central portion of the coin is detected at the time when the output of the sensor becomes maximum. 15. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a material sensor for detecting the thickness of the central portion of the coin at the center time of the two maximum times of the outputs of the sensor. 16. The coin discriminating apparatus according to claim 15, wherein one of the thickness sensor and the material sensor is also used as one sensor.