JPH07129806A - Method and device for sorting coin - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method and device which speedily and correctly perform genuine/false coin sorting operation without using a CPU having, specially, a high function. CONSTITUTION:On the basis of one of discrimination contents of respective discriminating means, plural estimation areas 1-4 which never overlap one another are set according to the values to decide which of the estimation areas an output of one of the discriminating means belongs to, and also decide which of closed function areas on multidimensional coordinates having discrimination contents for sorting by plural kinds of discrimination contents on respective axes each of the outputs of the discriminating means is in. Consequently, the sorting method sorts genuine and false coins and the sorting device sorts the genuine and false coins according to the output of the sorting means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for electronically selecting the authenticity of coins.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, German Patent Application Publication No. 264
6025 and European Patent Application Publication No. 036
Japanese Patent No. 7921 discloses a technique in which the characteristics of coins are taken in two-dimensional or three-dimensional coordinates and whether or not they belong to a predetermined area on these coordinates is used for true / false selection.

If there is only one type of coin to be sorted, such a genuine / counterfeit sorting device can easily and accurately perform true / false sorting.

[0004]

On the other hand, in recent years, vending machines have come to handle at least two types of coins due to the diversification of products to be sold and the increase in the amount of money, and especially 6 to 8 in foreign countries. It is not uncommon to handle different types of coins.

When handling various denominations in this way,
A predetermined area on the coordinates is set for each denomination and sorting is performed. For this reason, the contents of the selection become complicated and the selection takes a considerable time.

For example, US Pat. No. 5,078,252 is known as a prior art for handling various types of coins, and in the embodiment, four types of coins are handled. Then, in this device, the inserted test coin is tested in the test section to take out a measurement value representing the characteristics of the coin, and the true / false selection of the coin is performed based on this measurement value, and the mechanics based on the selection result are mechanically determined. The sorting means is configured to guide the coin to the true coin passage or the return passage.

[0007] In this apparatus, in order to correctly measure the coins to be tested and then guide them to the true coin passage or the false coin passage, it is necessary to select the authenticity of the coins to be examined within, for example, 20 milliseconds. This is because, after this time, the coins selected as genuine coins may be guided to the return passage.

Although it is necessary to use a high-performance CPU in order to shorten the sorting time, there is a price limit.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus capable of quickly and accurately selecting coins for authenticity without using a CPU having a specially high function. .

[0010]

To achieve the above object, in the present invention, a plurality of types of identification means are arranged along a predetermined path through which a plurality of types of coins to be sorted pass according to claim 1. In the method of true / false selection of coins passing through the predetermined route, for each of the identification contents by the identification means, a plurality of estimation regions that do not overlap each other are set according to the magnitude of the value, and the identification means The output of each of the plurality of estimated regions is selected, each output of the identification means, for each of the plurality of types of identification content, a closed function in a multidimensional coordinate having the identification content for selection as each axis. A method for selecting coins, wherein true and false coins are selected by selecting whether or not they belong to a region, and in the method according to claim 1, which is described in claim 2. Function, method of sorting coins is a circle or circular shape similar function, according to claim 3, claim 1
The closed function in the described method is a method of selecting coins that is a sphere or a sphere-like shape function. Then, in the device for selecting the authenticity of coins passing through the predetermined route, the estimation area setting means for setting a plurality of estimation areas that do not overlap each other according to the magnitude of the value of each of the identification contents by the identification means. And a selection means for selecting which output of the identification means belongs to which of the plurality of estimated regions, and a multidimensional coordinate having the identification content for each of the plurality of types of identification content as axes. A function area setting means for setting a closed function area, and a selection means for selecting whether or not each output of the identification means belongs to the closed function area. Sorting device of a coin, characterized in that selecting the authenticity coin by the output of the sorting unit, according to claim 5
The closed function in the device according to claim 4 described in claim 4 is a coin sorting device which is a circle or a circle-like shape function, and the closed function in the device according to claim 4 described in claim 6 is
An apparatus for selecting coins having a sphere or a sphere-like shape function is provided.

Here, the coin includes a token (coin substitute), metal, bill, card and the like.

[0012]

According to the method of the first aspect, a plurality of estimation regions are set in advance in order to distinguish the type of coin, and the sorting operation is performed based on the estimation regions. A coin passing through a predetermined path is identified by a plurality of identifying means provided for each characteristic to be identified, and at least one of the outputs is identified to which of a plurality of estimated regions belongs, thereby selecting the type of coin. Then, the authenticity of the coin is selected depending on whether or not the output from each identification means belongs to the closed function area in the multidimensional coordinate with the identification content set for each type of coin as each axis.

According to the method of claim 2, a circle or an ellipse in a two-dimensional coordinate, or a circle-like shape in the two-dimensional coordinate is used as the closed function area, and it is determined whether or not the coin under test belongs to this closed function area. Select coins.

According to the method of claim 3, whether or not the coin to be tested belongs to the closed function area by using a sphere in three-dimensional coordinates or a sphere-like shape such as an ellipse in cross section as the closed function area. The coins are selected depending on whether they are used or not.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the coin type is selected by selecting the output obtained from the coin to be inspected by the identifying means by using the plurality of estimated areas set by the area setting means for each type of coin to be inspected. Then, the truth selection operation is performed. In the true / false selection, it is selected whether or not the output of the coin to be detected detected by the identifying means belongs to the closed function area by using the closed function area in the multidimensional coordinates for each coin type set by the setting means. It is done by operation.

According to the apparatus of the fifth aspect, a circle or an ellipse in two-dimensional coordinates, or a circle-like shape in the two-dimensional coordinate is used as the closed function area, and it is determined whether or not the coin under test belongs to this closed function area. Select coins.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a sphere in three-dimensional coordinates or a sphere-like shape such as an ellipse or an ellipse in the cross section is used as the closed function area, and whether or not the coin under test belongs to this closed function area. The coins are selected depending on whether they are used or not.

[0018]

According to the method of the first aspect, since the coin types are discriminated by using a plurality of estimation areas in advance before performing the true / false selection, it is possible to achieve the object without repeating the function calculation for the true / false selection. It is only necessary to narrow down to the type and to perform once, and the sorting process can be performed quickly. Since the operation of distinguishing the coin type is performed by simply comparing the magnitudes of the values, it is not necessary to perform a calculation that requires a long time, and high-speed processing can be performed. Moreover, the number of function calculations for selecting the true / false of the coin can be determined according to the ability of the CPU to be used.

According to the method of the second aspect, a circle or an ellipse in a two-dimensional coordinate, or a circle-like shape in a two-dimensional coordinate is used as the closed function area, and it is determined whether or not the coin under test belongs to this closed function area. Since the coins are sorted, the sorting can be performed in a short time with a relatively simple calculation.

According to the method of claim 3, whether or not the coin to be tested belongs to the closed function region by using a sphere in three-dimensional coordinates or a sphere-like shape such as an ellipse or an oval in the three-dimensional coordinates as the closed function region. Since the coins are sorted depending on whether or not the calculation time is somewhat longer, more precise sorting can be performed.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the type of coin is discriminated in advance by using the plurality of estimation areas by the area setting means before performing the true / false selection, so that the function calculation for the true / false selection is not repeated. It is possible to provide a device that performs the selection processing quickly without using an expensive CPU, by narrowing down to the desired type and performing only once. And the operation of distinguishing the type of coin is performed by simply comparing the magnitudes of the values, so there is no need to perform a calculation that requires a long time,
High speed processing is possible. Moreover, the number of function calculations for selecting the true / false of the coin can be determined according to the ability of the CPU to be used.

According to the apparatus of the fifth aspect, a circle or an ellipse in a two-dimensional coordinate, or a circular similar shape such as an ellipse is used as the closed function area, and it is determined whether or not the coin under test belongs to this closed function area. Since coins are selected, the calculation contents are relatively simple, and the CPU to be used need only be at a relatively low cost. .

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a sphere in three-dimensional coordinates or a sphere-like shape such as an ellipse or an ellipse in the cross section is used as the closed function area, and whether or not the coin under test belongs to this closed function area. Since coins are sorted by the above, it is possible to provide a device with high sorting accuracy although the calculation content is somewhat complicated.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a characteristic diagram showing the operation contents of the method of the present invention. In this figure, the X-axis and the Y-axis correspond to any one of the material of the coin, the outer diameter of the coin, the thickness of the coin, etc. which can be used for true / false selection of coins.

Then, these factors are set to the X-axis and Y-axis.
When assigned to an axis, as shown in the figure, the first coin has the largest value in the Y-axis direction as indicated by the reference numeral 1, and the second to fourth coins are indicated by the reference numerals 2-4. It is assumed that each has a value in the Y-axis direction that gradually decreases. In addition, the value in the X-axis direction is the smallest for the second coin, the second largest for the first coin, and then the third and fourth coins.

In this case, looking at the values in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, the values in the X-axis direction are such that the first, third and fourth coins partially overlap each other, but in the Y-axis direction. The values have no overlap. Therefore, the types of the first to fourth coins can be selected by using the values in the Y-axis direction.

Therefore, the values in the Y-axis direction are divided into four areas (0-a, ab, bc, c-) from the first estimation area to which the first coin belongs to the fourth estimation area to which the fourth coin belongs. The value P in the Y-axis direction detected by the identification means from the coin under test
The type of coin is selected by looking at which estimated area y belongs to.

More specifically, the value Py in the Y-axis direction from the identifying means is sequentially compared with the threshold values a, b, c, d of the above four areas, and becomes larger than a certain threshold value and smaller than the next threshold value. Then, the value Py belongs to the second estimation region.

In the illustrated case, the second coin belongs to the second estimated area (bc). As a result, the inserted coin is the second
It can be selected that the type corresponds to the estimated region. Then, this selection can be realized by using a simple comparison circuit because it only selects whether or not the detected value belongs to any of the areas.

This selection can be similarly performed on the value in the X-axis direction, and can be applied to the value in the Z-axis direction (not shown) if three-dimensional coordinates are assumed. Further, although somewhat complicated, it is also possible to select a plurality of axes, for example, if the coordinates shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of a coin sorting device to which the present invention is applied. A coin M is received from a coin slot 12 provided on one side of the upper end of the main body 11. The coin M drops along the rail 13. Coin sensor 1 on the way down the rail 13
4 and 15 detect the electromagnetic properties. A true / false coin distribution piece 16 is provided at the right end of the rail 13, and guides the true coin and the false coin to a true coin and a false coin passage (not shown) according to the operation of the distribution solenoid 17.

Then, the true coins are sent to the denomination-type passages A, B, C and D shown by the one-dot chain line in the figure. This denomination allocation is
The sorting piece 18 is performed by operating the sorting solenoid 19. The coins reaching the passages A and B are sorted by operating the sorting piece 18. Then, in each passage, sorting is performed by a sorting mechanism provided in the passage, and the sorting mechanism drops into the passages A, B, C, and D. Further, the coins that have fallen into the fake coin passage are ejected out of the machine through an ejection port (not shown).

FIG. 3 shows a circuit to be combined with the coin sorting device shown in FIG. In the circuit of FIG. 3, the CPU drives the excitation drive circuit 22 through the frequency divider circuit 21.
To the exciting coils 14a and 15a of the sensors 14 and 15 to supply an exciting current. The electromagnetic field generated by this excitation is detected by the detection coils 14b and 15b. The electromagnetic field to be detected differs depending on whether or not a coin has passed between the exciting coil and the detection coil and what coin has passed.

The electromagnetic fields detected by the detection coils 14b and 15b are given to the integration circuits 25 and 26 via the amplification detection circuits 23 and 24, and the peak signal is converted into the A / D conversion circuit 2
Digitally converted by 7 and given to the CPU.

The CPU carries out the sorting operation of the given signal according to the procedure pre-programmed in the ROM 30, and operates the solenoid 17 and the sorting piece 16 via the drive circuits 28 and 29 as necessary to operate the counterfeit money. Then, the denomination is sorted by the solenoid 19 and the sorting piece 18.

The terminal P connected to the CPU is for connecting to an external circuit, and there are five terminals in this example.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The operation of the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

When the power is turned on, initial settings are made in step S1. Then, after the error check in step S2, the sorting accuracy data is read in step S3 according to the program in the CPU.

Next, in step S4, it is confirmed whether or not a switch (not shown) such as a reed switch which is turned on by approaching a magnet is turned on. If it is not turned on, the true / false selection process from step S10 is performed.

First, the denomination sort accuracy selection process is performed as follows. This processing determines the sorting accuracy, for example, the diameter of the circle in FIG. 1, according to the number of inserted coins. Therefore, in step S5, confirm the coin insertion,
If a coin has been inserted, a denomination type process is performed in step S6. The details are shown as a routine in FIG. 5, and the denomination type process is performed in steps S61 to S68.

In step S61, it is determined whether or not the inserted coin is 10 yen, and if so, step S6.
The number of 10-yen coins is counted by 5 and stored in a register in the CPU. If not 10 yen coin, step S6
It is determined by 2 whether the coin is a 50-yen coin, and if so, a process similar to that of step S65 is performed by step S66. The determination as to whether it is 100 yen in step S63 and the determination as to whether it is 500 yen in step S64 are similarly performed. As a result, the number of coins of each coin type is counted and stored.

After this processing, returning to the main flow of FIG. 4, it is checked again in step S7 whether or not the reed switch is off. If it is off, the sorting accuracy selection processing in step S8 starts.

The operation from step S5 to step S7 determines the denomination for which the sorting accuracy is to be changed. This is performed by bringing a magnet close to the reed switch and inserting coins to insert a required number of coins of denominations whose sorting accuracy is to be changed. In the case of a 10-yen coin, the diameter of the circle in FIG. 1 becomes smaller and the selection criterion becomes stricter when two coins are inserted than when one coin is inserted. The diameter of the circle will be further reduced by inserting 3 sheets.

When the number of coins required to change the precision of the denomination for which the sorting precision is to be changed is completed, the magnet is moved away from the reed switch and the process proceeds from step S7 to step S8.

The operation contents of step S8 are the same as those of step S7.
As shown in 1 to step S99, the operation is in accordance with the number of coins inserted for each denomination. That is, step S71
Then, it is judged whether or not the selection accuracy of 10 yen is changed, and if so, the number of coins inserted is stored in a register (not shown) from step S72 to step S77 to step S99.

For the 50-yen coin, step S78
Through step S84, through steps S86 through S91 for 100 yen, and 500
The circle is stored in step S99 through steps S92 to S98.

Upon completion of this storage, it is determined in step S9 whether or not there is a data change. If there is a change, the process returns to step S2, an error check is performed, and then the sorting accuracy data is read in step S3.

Then, in step S4, it is confirmed whether the reed switch is on or off.
The process for selecting the precision by denomination from 5 onward is repeated, but if it is off, the process goes to the true / false selection process from step S10.

In step S10, the coin sensor 14,
The standby voltage obtained from 15 is measured. This measurement is
It is used for selecting whether or not the preset threshold value is exceeded by the process of determining whether or not a coin is inserted in step S11. Here, after executing step S10, the program executes the determination process of step S11 to determine whether to insert a coin.

In the determination processing in step S11, if the measured value of the standby voltage does not exceed the preset threshold value, the process returns to step S2, but if it exceeds, the peak voltage measurement in step S12 is performed.

In the peak voltage measurement, the inserted coins are measured by the coin sensors 14 and 15, respectively, and the obtained values are integrated through the amplification and detection circuits 23 and 24 into the integration circuits 25 and 2.
6, the peak value is obtained, digitally converted by the A / D conversion circuit 27, and temporarily stored in the CPU.

The inference processing in step S13 is performed using the measured peak voltage. This inference process is
This is done by determining which of the estimated regions described with reference to FIG. 1 the measured peak voltage belongs to. As a result, it is estimated which denomination the inserted test coin is.

Therefore, an arithmetic process is performed as a basis of the true / false selection for the denomination. That is, each voltage obtained from a plurality of coin sensors is applied to a multidimensional coordinate having a plurality of identification contents as axes, and calculation is performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that Px and Py are obtained from the coin sensor, assuming that sorting is performed using two-dimensional coordinates of the X axis and the Y axis.

The calculation in this case is the circle equation R2 = (Px-Xb) 2+ (Py-Yb) 2.

Further, if it is a three-dimensional coordinate to which the Z axis is added, a sphere equation is obtained.

Using the calculation result in step S14,
In step S15, it is selected whether or not the calculation result belongs to the closed function area in the multidimensional coordinates. In the case of two-dimensional coordinates, the closed function area has a circle-like shape such as a circle, an ellipse, or an ellipse, and in the case of three-dimensional coordinates, the sphere or cross section has a circle-like shape such as an ellipse or an ellipse. Then, it is determined whether the calculation result is inside or outside of these circles or spheres.
If it is inside, it is a genuine coin, and if it is outside, it is a false coin. If it is a true coin, the true coin process is performed in step S16, and if it is a false coin, the process returns to step S2.

In this way, coin selection is performed with the accuracy set by the number of coins inserted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a characteristic diagram showing operation contents of a method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the structure of a coin sorting device to which the present invention is applied.

3 is a circuit diagram showing a circuit combined with the coin sorting device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

5 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a money type process in the flowchart of FIG.

6 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of selection accuracy selection processing in the flowchart of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-4 Closed function area 5-8 Estimated area 11 Main body 12 Coin slot 13 Rail 14 Coin sensor 15 Coin sensor 16 True / false coin distribution piece 17 Distribution solenoid 18 Distribution piece 19 Distribution solenoid 21 Dividing circuit 22 Excitation drive circuit 23 Amplification Detection circuit 24 Amplification detection circuit 25 Integration circuit 26 Integration circuit 27 A / D conversion circuit 28 Drive circuit 29 Drive circuit 30 ROM

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method of arranging a plurality of types of identification means along a predetermined path through which a plurality of types of coins to be sorted pass and performing true / false selection of coins passing through the predetermined path, each of the identification means comprising: For any of the identification content, set a plurality of estimation regions that do not overlap with each other according to the magnitude of the value, and select which of the plurality of estimation regions the output of any of the identification means belongs to, each of the identification means A true / false coin is selected by selecting whether or not the output belongs to a closed function area in a multi-dimensional coordinate having the identification content for each of the plurality of types of identification content as each axis. How to select coins. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the closed function is a circle or a circle-like shape function. 3. The coin selection method according to claim 1, wherein the closed function is a sphere or a sphere-like shape function. 4. An apparatus for arranging a plurality of types of identification means along a predetermined path through which a plurality of types of coins to be sorted pass, and performing genuine / counterfeit sorting of coins passing through the predetermined path. For any of the identification contents, an estimation region setting means for setting a plurality of estimation regions that do not overlap each other according to the magnitude of the value, and an output of any of the identification means is selected to belong to any of these plurality of estimation regions. Selecting means, function area setting means for setting a closed function area in a multi-dimensional coordinate having the identification content for each of the plurality of types of identification content as axes, and each output of the identification means is the closed function A coin sorting device comprising a sorting means for sorting whether or not it belongs to a region, and sorting true and false coins by the output of this sorting means. 5. The coin sorting device according to claim 4, wherein the closed function is a circle or a circle-like shape function. 6. The coin sorting device according to claim 4, wherein the closed function is a sphere or a sphere-like shape function.