JPH0444989B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention is applicable to automatic deposit/withdrawal transaction devices under the control of financial institutions, banknotes built in automatic vending machines installed in retail stores, etc. The present invention relates to a discrimination device, and particularly to a self-diagnosis function of the device.

(Prior Art) A banknote discriminating device is a device that automatically determines the denomination and authenticity of banknotes. The authenticity of banknotes is determined by scanning the banknotes with multiple sensors, reading the optical and magnetic patterns on the banknotes, and comparing these read patterns with preset patterns of genuine banknotes. .

Optical sensors are used to read the optical patterns on banknotes. The optical sensor consists of a light emitting element and a light receiving element. In order to read the optical pattern of a banknote using such an optical sensor and compare it with the pattern of a genuine banknote, the photoelectric output level of the optical sensor must reach a predetermined value. However, the photoelectric output level of the optical sensor fluctuates due to aging, dirt, and other influences. If this photoelectric output level fluctuates from around a predetermined value to below it, it is difficult to accurately determine authenticity, and the authenticity discrimination rate of banknotes decreases in accordance with fluctuations in the photoelectric output level. The same can be said of magnetic sensors that read magnetic patterns on banknotes.

Therefore, it is necessary to take measures against malfunctions of the device due to aging, dirt, etc. of the optical sensor or magnetic sensor. However, with this type of device, since the device is used by customers such as financial institutions, it is difficult to grasp the condition of the device, and therefore it is difficult to determine whether maintenance is necessary. In view of this current situation, the conventional self-diagnosis function of the device assumes that all banknotes inserted into the device are genuine, and only when a certain number of consecutive bills (for example, 15) cannot be determined as genuine, the device automatically diagnoses the bill. The status of the device was known by marking it as abnormal.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional banknote discriminating device described above has the following problems.

(b) In the self-diagnosis function of the banknote discriminating device described above,
An abnormality in the device is notified only when the genuine bill discrimination rate drops to such an extent that the device cannot be operated.
In other words, this self-diagnosis function is a post-processing process in which maintenance personnel only become aware of the abnormality when it occurs in the equipment and perform maintenance.
This is not an essential solution for banknote discriminating devices that require a certain degree of operation rate.

(b) The decline in the genuine note discrimination rate will gradually progress if the cause is dirt or aging of the optical sensor or magnetic sensor, so it will be difficult to replace the genuine note with a counterfeit one before it becomes unusable. This process goes through the process of identifying a counterfeit bill as a genuine one, or vice versa. Therefore, during such a transitional stage, you will not notice that the equipment is malfunctioning unless you receive a complaint from the customer, and if you receive such a complaint, you will have to stop the equipment from operating. rate will decrease.

(c) Furthermore, in the early stages of a device malfunction, there is a high probability that even if the device is diagnosed, it will be determined to be a genuine bill, making it unclear whether the device is truly malfunctioning or not.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and provides a banknote discriminating device that allows the status of the device to be grasped at all times, thereby enabling accurate countermeasures to be taken before the device malfunctions without reducing the operating rate of the device. The purpose is to provide

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention reads banknote information necessary for determining authenticity from banknotes using a plurality of sensors, and compares the read banknote information with predetermined reference information. The present invention relates to a banknote discriminating device that discriminates banknotes.

The present invention provides such a bill discriminating device, which includes a counting means, a storage means, and a display means for maintenance. When the determination result regarding the authenticity of the banknote matches the designated determination result designated in advance, the counting means counts the number of times the determination result of the sensor has been detected for each sensor that has detected the banknote information that is a factor in the determination result. Count. The storage means stores the number of detections for each sensor counted by the counting means for each sensor. The maintenance display means directly displays the number of detections read out for each sensor from the storage means, or displays the ratio of the number of detections to the number of banknotes processed, which is calculated from the number of detections read out for each sensor from the storage means and the number of banknotes processed. This indicates that maintenance is required.

Furthermore, the present invention may be configured by providing the following maintenance display means in place of the above-mentioned maintenance display means. This maintenance display means displays the number of detections read out for each sensor from the storage means, or the ratio of the number of detections to the number of banknotes processed, which is calculated based on the number of detections read out for each sensor from the storage means and the number of banknotes processed, and the number of detections read out for each sensor from the storage means. The sensor status is compared with a predetermined standard value and the status of the sensor is displayed according to the comparison result, thereby indicating that maintenance is required.

(Operation) The banknotes inserted into the device are subjected to a determination process regarding the authenticity of the banknotes. Here, it is assumed that a predetermined determination result that is determined to be a counterfeit bill is set. When the bill is determined to be a counterfeit by the above-mentioned discriminating device, the determination result matches the predetermined determination result, so the counting means uses a countermeasure for each sensor that detects the bill information that led to the determination of the bill as a counterfeit. , the number of detections of the discrimination result of this sensor is counted. For example, if the reason why the banknote is determined to be a counterfeit banknote is due to the magnetic pattern of the banknote, this magnetic pattern is detected by a sensor and counted by 1. In this way, when the counting means determines that the bill is a counterfeit bill, it counts 1 for each detection sensor for bill information that is a factor. The count value for each sensor, that is, the number of detections, is stored in the storage means for each sensor. Here, when it is necessary to know the state of the sensor, the display means reads out and displays the number of detections of the banknote information stored in the storage means that caused the banknote information to be determined to be a counterfeit banknote of the desired sensor, or Alternatively, the number of read detections is displayed as a percentage of the number of banknotes processed by the device. Therefore, maintenance personnel can grasp the state of this sensor by knowing the number of times of detection displayed or the percentage of bills determined to be counterfeit.

Further, another display means of the present invention operates as follows. When the number of detections of the desired sensor read out from the storage means is known, the number of detections or the ratio to the number of banknotes processed is compared with a standard value predetermined for each sensor. For example, regarding the number of detections, this standard value indicates that if the number of sensor detections reaches standard value A, it will require maintenance in the near future, and if it reaches standard value B, the device will immediately stop operating. This is an instruction to perform maintenance. Standard values for percentages are also set in the same way. Then, the display means displays a display according to the comparison result.
For example, when the number of detections is greater than or equal to the standard value A and less than or equal to the standard value B, the display means displays that this sensor will require maintenance in the near future.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the arrangement of various sensors used in this embodiment.

In FIG. 2, one end of the conveying plate 1 of the bill discriminating device according to this embodiment is connected to a bill insertion slot, and the inserted bill 2 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow. The passage sensors 3 and 4 output signals for measuring the length of the banknote 2 in the longitudinal and lateral directions. Magnetic sensors 5 and 6 read the magnetic pattern of banknote 2. The optical sensor 7 is formed by a pair of optical sensors 7 ₁ , 7 ₂ , . . . , 7 m each including a light emitting element and a light receiving element arranged in a line in the longitudinal direction of the banknote 2 . Optical sensor 7 reads the optical pattern of banknote 2.

In FIG. 1, the outputs of pass sensors 3 and 4 are connected to the inputs of pass sensor circuit 10. In FIG. The passage sensor circuit 10 processes the output signals of the passage sensors 3 and 4, and outputs the processing result to the authenticity determination circuit 11. The outputs of the optical sensors 7 ₁ to 7 m are connected to the input of the optical sensor circuit 9 . The optical sensor circuit 9 processes the output signals of the optical sensors 7 ₁ to 7 m and outputs the processing results to the authenticity determination circuit 11 . The outputs of the magnetic sensors 5 and 6 are connected to the input of a magnetic sensor circuit 8. The magnetic sensor circuit 8 processes the output signals of the magnetic sensors 5 and 6, and outputs the processing results to the authenticity determination circuit 11. The authenticity determination circuit 11 includes a magnetic sensor circuit 8 and an optical sensor circuit 9.
and the respective output signals of the passage sensor circuit 10 are inputted to obtain the longitudinal and lateral lengths, optical patterns, and magnetic patterns of the banknote 2, and these are compared with preset reference information for each banknote. and performs a truth/false judgment. As a result of the authenticity determination, if the bill is determined to be genuine, the authenticity determination circuit 11 outputs an output signal to the signal line 12a. On the other hand, it was determined that the ticket was a counterfeit ticket (hereinafter referred to as
(referred to as “reject”), the authenticity judgment circuit 1
1 is a passage sensor 3 and 4, a magnetic sensor 5 and 6
In addition, a signal corresponding to the sensor that outputs the signal that caused the reject out of the optical sensors 7 ₁ , 7 ₂ , . . . 7m is output to the reject factor sensor counting circuit 13 via the signal line 12b. For example, if the cause of the reject is in the output signals of the magnetic sensors 5 and 6, the authenticity determination circuit 11 outputs signals corresponding to the magnetic sensors 5 and 6, respectively. The authenticity determination circuit 11 further outputs a signal on the signal line 12b every time one banknote is processed. The reject factor sensor counting circuit 13 counts the signals corresponding to the sensors output from the authenticity determination circuit 11 for each sensor, and outputs the signals to the storage circuit 14. Memory circuit 1
4 is the count value (counter value) of each sensor output from the reject factor sensor counting circuit 13,
Store according to the storage format shown in the figure. For example, when the reject factor sensor counting circuit 13 outputs the count values corresponding to the magnetic sensors 5 and 6, these count values are stored in the storage areas corresponding to addresses 3 and 4 of the storage circuit 14, respectively. Further, the memory circuit 14 stores the number of processed banknotes output from the counting circuit 13. The display circuit 15 has a data signal 16a and an address signal line 16b.
and is connected to the memory circuit 14 by a read signal line 16c. Further, a rotary switch 17 is connected to the display device 15. The rotary switch 17 specifies the address of the memory circuit 14 having the memory format shown in FIG.
Output to. Furthermore, the display circuit 15 includes a switch 1.
8 and 19 are connected. When the switch 18 is turned on, the rotary switch 17 reads out the memory contents corresponding to the specified address, and displays it on the display device 20.
The action shown in is executed. Also, switch 1
When 9 is turned on, an operation to clear all the count values stored in the memory circuit 14 is executed.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, in FIG. 2, each time one banknote 2 travels on the conveyance path 1, the passage sensors 3 and 4, the magnetic sensors 5 and 6, and the optical sensors ₇₁ to 7m read banknote information regarding the banknote, and each It is supplied to the authenticity determination circuit 11 via the corresponding passage sensor circuit 10, optical sensor circuit 9, and magnetic sensor circuit 8. The authenticity determination circuit 11 compares the received banknote information, that is, the length in the longitudinal and lateral directions, the magnetic pattern, and the optical pattern, with the reference information of the corresponding banknote, and determines the authenticity of the banknote. When it is determined that the banknote is a genuine note, the authenticity determination circuit 1
1 outputs a signal to the signal line 12a. On the other hand, if the bill is determined to be a counterfeit, the authenticity determination circuit 11 identifies the sensor that outputs the signal that caused the bill to be determined to be a counterfeit, and outputs a signal to the signal line 12b in association with the identified sensor. . For example, magnetic sensors 5 and 6
If the detected magnetic pattern does not match the magnetic pattern reference information and is determined to be a counterfeit note,
Signals corresponding to the magnetic sensors 5 and 6 are output to the signal line 12b. The signals thus sent onto the signal line 12b are counted by the reject factor sensor counting circuit 13 for each corresponding sensor. Then, the counted value is stored in the storage area of the storage circuit 14 specified by the address corresponding to the counted sensor. The above operation is performed every time one banknote is scanned.

Next, when diagnosing the state of each sensor, first the memory circuit 14 corresponding to the sensor to be diagnosed is
Specify the address using the rotary switch 17. For example, when diagnosing the magnetic sensor 5, address 3 is designated with the rotary switch 17 (see FIG. 3). Next, switch 18 is turned on.
Then, the display circuit 15 turns on the read signal line 16c and supplies the address specified by the rotary switch 17 to the address signal line 16b. Correspondingly, the number of detections stored in the storage area corresponding to the designated address is read from the storage circuit 14 and supplied to the display circuit 15. for example,
When address 3 is designated, the number of times the bill was rejected (determined to be a counterfeit bill) due to the signal from the magnetic sensor 5 is read out and supplied to the display circuit 15 . The display circuit 15 supplies the number of detections received from the memory circuit 14 to the display device 20. and,
The display device 20 displays the number of detections. At this time,
A signal corresponding to the sensor shown in FIG. 3 (No. 3 in the case of magnetic sensor 5) is also displayed at the same time. Thereafter, other sensors can be diagnosed in the same manner. By knowing the displayed number of detections, maintenance personnel can know the status of each sensor and can determine whether maintenance is necessary.

Here, instead of displaying the number of detections for each sensor, the ratio of the number of detections to the number of banknotes processed,
In other words, it can be displayed as a reject rate (counterfeit bill determination rate). This display is performed, for example, by turning on a changeover switch (not shown) connected to the display circuit 15. When the switch 18 is turned on while this changeover switch is on, the display circuit 15 reads out the number of detections stored in the storage area corresponding to the address specified by the rotary switch 17, and also reads out the number of detections stored in the storage area corresponding to address 0. Reads the number of banknotes processed to date stored in the . Then, the display circuit 15 calculates a reject rate by dividing the number of detections by the number of banknotes processed, and outputs the result to the display device 20. The display device 20 displays the reject rate together with the sensor number.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The structural feature of this embodiment is that, in addition to the components of the first embodiment described above, light emitting diodes 21 and 22 are provided, and a corresponding control function is provided in the display circuit 15. The display circuit 15 stores a standard value of the number of detections (number of rejects) corresponding to each sensor. For example, two levels of this standard value are prepared. The first standard value is such that when the number of detections of the corresponding sensor reaches this value, the operation of the device is immediately stopped as a device alarm (alarm function). The second standard value is used to notify that maintenance will be necessary in the near future when the number of detections of the corresponding sensor reaches this value (pre-alarm function). The light emitting diode 21 emits light when the device stops operating and requires immediate maintenance. The light emitting diode 22 also emits light when maintenance is required in the near future.

Next, the operation will be explained. Rotary switch 17
The operation until the number of detections is read out from the memory circuit 14 according to the address specified in is the first operation described above.
Since this is the same as the embodiment, the explanation here will be omitted. The display circuit compares the number of detections read according to the specified address with the first and second standard values of the corresponding sensor. When the number of detections exceeds the first and second standard values, the display circuit 15 causes the light emitting diodes 21 and 22 to emit light. Simultaneously with this operation, the display circuit 15 causes the display device 20 to display the number of the sensor currently being handled and the number of detections thereof. Further, when the number of detections does not reach the first standard value but exceeds the second standard value, the display circuit 15 causes only the light emitting diode 22 to emit light, and controls the display device 20 in the same manner. Furthermore,
When the number of detections does not reach either the first or second standard value, the display circuit 15 displays the display device 20.
Control only the same way. Therefore, maintenance personnel can immediately know the status of the sensor by checking whether or not the light emitting diodes 21 and 22 are emitting light.

Here, the reject rate described in the first embodiment may be used instead of the number of detections. in this case,
The display circuit 15 stores the reject rate for each sensor as first and second standard values. That is, when the display circuit 15 calculates the reject rate of the designated sensor as described above, it compares this with the first and second standard values. Then, the light emitting diodes 21 and 22 are controlled according to the comparison result.

The second embodiment of the present invention has been described above. still,
In the second embodiment, instead of omitting the display device 20, the same number of light emitting diodes 21 and 22 as the number of sensors may be provided so as to correspond to the respective sensors. Further, in the first and second embodiments, the number of times of detection when a bill is determined to be a reject is used, but the same effect may be obtained by using the number of times of detection when a bill is determined to be a genuine bill instead.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(b) Since the status of each sensor can be grasped individually when necessary, necessary actions can be taken before a failure occurs. Therefore, the operating rate of the device can be improved.

(b) Since the status of each sensor can be ascertained individually, sensors that require maintenance can be immediately identified. Therefore, maintainability is improved.

(c) Since the state of each sensor is known by counting the designated discrimination results (for example, reject), necessary measures can be accurately determined.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
This figure is a plan view showing the arrangement of sensors used in this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the memory format of the memory circuit used in this embodiment. 3, 4... Passage sensor, 5, 6... Magnetic sensor,
7, _{7 1} , 7 ₂ ,...7m... Optical sensor, 8... Magnetic sensor circuit, 9... Optical sensor circuit, 10... Passage sensor circuit, 11... Authenticity determination circuit, 13... Reject factor sensor counting circuit, 14... Memory Circuit, 15... Display circuit, 17... Rotary switch, 18, 19...
Switch, 20... Display device, 21, 22... Light emitting diode.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Banknote discrimination in which banknote information necessary for determining authenticity is read from banknotes using a plurality of sensors, and banknote discrimination is performed by comparing the read banknote information with predetermined reference information. In the device, when the discrimination result regarding the authenticity of the banknote matches the specified discrimination result specified in advance, the number of detections of the discrimination result of the sensor is counted for each sensor that detected the banknote information that was the cause of the discrimination result. a counting means for storing the number of detections for each sensor counted by the counting means for each sensor; and a storage means for directly displaying the number of detections read for each sensor from the storage means or reading for each sensor from the storage means. A bill discriminating device comprising: a maintenance display means for displaying the need for maintenance by displaying a ratio of the number of detections to the number of bills processed, which is calculated based on the number of detections and the number of bills processed. . 2. In a banknote discriminating device that uses multiple sensors to read banknote information necessary for determining the authenticity of a banknote and compares the read banknote information with predetermined reference information to determine the authenticity of the banknote. a counting means for counting the number of times the discrimination result of the sensor is detected for each sensor that detects banknote information that is a factor in the discrimination result when the discrimination result regarding fake matches the specified discrimination result specified in advance; a storage means for storing the number of detections for each sensor counted by the means for each sensor; a number of detections read for each sensor from the storage means;
Alternatively, the ratio of the number of detections to the number of banknotes processed, which is calculated based on the number of detections read out for each sensor from the storage means and the number of banknotes processed, is compared with a standard value predetermined for each sensor, and according to the result of the comparison, A bill discriminating device comprising: maintenance display means for indicating that maintenance is required by displaying the state of the sensor.