JP7516314B2 - Banknote Processing Device - Google Patents

Description

The embodiment relates to a banknote processing device.

A banknote processing device is known that is equipped with a shape sensor that is placed in front of a cutting unit that cuts banknotes and detects the shape of paper sheets entering the cutting unit, a memory unit that stores the shape detected by the shape sensor, and a detection means that retroactively detects the number of paper sheets that have entered the cutting unit based on the past shapes stored in the memory unit, thereby improving the accuracy of counting paper sheets.

JP 2015-95154 A

In a banknote processing device, the banknotes to be cut are counted both in the main system of the banknote processing device and in the cutting unit. If the banknote to be cut has a hole in it, is torn, has foreign matter attached to it, or is stuck and transport is delayed, the number of cut notes counted by the main system of the banknote processing device may not match the number of cut notes counted by the cutting unit. When the cut numbers do not match in this way, even if the manager checks the banknotes transported inside the cutting unit, the cause cannot be clarified because the banknotes have been cut in the cutting unit.

The embodiment aims to provide a banknote processing device that can clarify the cause of the discrepancy when the number of cuts between the main system and the cutter unit does not match.

A banknote processing device according to one embodiment includes a cutting unit that cuts banknotes, a transport path that transports the banknotes to the cutting unit, a first image reading unit that is provided above or below the transport path before the banknotes transported by the transport path enter the cutting unit and that obtains an image of the banknotes, an image storage unit that stores the image read by the first image reading unit, a light emitting unit that is provided within a range where the first image reading unit reads the image of the banknote, and an index setting storage unit that stores an index number setting according to a light emitting state of the light emitting unit. The image storage unit stores the images in association with the index numbers.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a cross section of the configuration of the banknote processing device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a positional relationship between a conveyor belt and light-emitting diodes according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a control configuration of a cutting unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an index setting storage unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an image storage unit according to the embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a cutting process according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of image data according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of image data according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a configuration of a banknote processing device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a control configuration of a cutting unit according to the embodiment.

The following describes the embodiments with reference to the drawings. Note that the disclosure is merely an example, and the invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiments. Modifications that a person skilled in the art can easily conceive are naturally included in the scope of the disclosure. To make the explanation clearer, the drawings may show the size, shape, etc. of each part as a schematic representation modified from the actual embodiment. In multiple drawings, corresponding elements may be given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations may be omitted.

First Embodiment
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a cross section of a configuration of a banknote processing device 100. As shown in FIG.
The banknote processing device 100 has a control unit 110, a transport path 120, an inspection unit 130, storage units 140A and 140B (these may be collectively referred to as storage unit 140), and a cutting unit 150. The control unit 110 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and controls the operation of the entire banknote processing device 100 including the transport path 120 and the inspection unit 130. The cutting unit 150 is configured as a unit that can be incorporated into the banknote processing device 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the conveying path 120 extends from the input port 101 through the inspection section 130 and further to the storage section 140, the cutting section 150, or the receiving port 102. The conveying path 120 includes rollers, belts, etc. (not shown).

When multiple bills P are loaded into the inlet 101, the control unit 110 takes in the inserted bills P one by one from the inlet 101, transports the bills P through the transport path 120, and obtains the inspection result of the bills P by the inspection unit 130 while transporting them. The inspection unit 130 obtains the serial number of the bill P based on information obtained from multiple sensors (optical sensors and magnetic sensors, as well as cameras, physical property detection means for detecting physical properties, and magnetic detection means) 131 in the inspection unit 130, and further determines the denomination of the bill P and performs fitness detection and authenticity detection of the bill P. The results of the inspection are stored in the control unit 110 in correspondence with the serial number. Note that bills P that are counterfeit as a result of the authenticity detection by the inspection unit 130, bills P whose transport state is deviated from the standard posture, etc. are discharged to a specified storage port 102. Banknotes P that are determined to be genuine by the inspection unit 130 are transported to the corresponding storage unit 140 (140A, 140B) for each type of banknote. Banknotes P that are determined to be unfit by the inspection unit 130 are transported to the cutter 150 and cut.

A sensor S is provided on the conveying path 120 extending to the cutter 150. An image reading unit (first image reading unit) 160 is provided downstream of the sensor S and above the conveying path 120. The sensor S is a sensor consisting of a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and is provided to sandwich the conveying path 120, and detects the banknote P conveyed on the conveying path 120. Specifically, the sensor S outputs an ON signal when it does not detect the banknote P, and outputs an OFF signal when it detects the banknote P. In this embodiment, the image reading unit 120 is a reflective line sensor, and reads the image of the banknote P conveyed on the conveying path 120 one line at a time by receiving the reflected light of the light irradiated on the banknote P. In addition, a light emitting unit D is provided on the conveying path 120 (not shown in FIG. 1). The light emitting unit D will be described using FIG. 2. In addition, in this embodiment, the image reading unit 160 is described as being provided above the transport path 120, but it may also be provided below the transport path 120.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the positional relationship between the conveyor belt and the light-emitting unit D. As shown in FIG.
2, conveyor belts 121 and 122 are provided in parallel on conveyor path 120, and banknotes P are conveyed by these two conveyor belts 121 and 122 in the direction of the outline arrow. Light-emitting unit D is composed of four light-emitting diodes (LEDs), light-emitting diodes D1 to D4, and is arranged in a row perpendicular to the extension direction of conveyor belts 121 and 122. Dashed line W shows a schematic representation of the image reading range of image reading unit 160. In this embodiment, image reading unit 160 is a line sensor, and since light-emitting unit D is located within image reading range W, it is possible to simultaneously detect the light emission states of light-emitting diodes D1 to D4.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a control configuration of the cutting unit 150.
3, the cutting unit 150 has a control unit 151, connection units 152A to 152D, a conveying unit 153, a cutting blade unit 154, an image processing unit 156, and a memory unit 157. The memory unit 157 includes an index setting memory unit 157A and an image memory unit 157B. The control unit 151 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and controls the operations of the conveying unit 153, the cutting blade unit 154, and the image processing unit 156, as well as controls the storage of images in the image memory unit 157B.

The connection unit 152A is connected to the control unit 110 of the banknote processing device 100, and communicates with the control unit 110. The connection unit 152B is connected to the sensor S, and acquires the ON/OFF signal of the banknote P from the sensor S. The connection unit 152C is connected to the light-emitting unit D, and instructs the light-emitting diodes D1 to D4 included in the light-emitting unit D to turn on/off. The connection unit 152D is connected to the image reading unit 160, and transmits the image of the banknote P photographed by the image reading unit 160 to the image processing unit 156. These controls are executed under the control of the control unit 151.

The conveying unit 153 conveys the banknote P conveyed from the conveying path 120 to the cutting blade unit 154. The cutting blade unit 154 cuts the banknote P. The image processing unit 156 performs image processing on the image data sent from the image reading unit 160, and stores the image data of the banknote P to be cut in the memory unit 157. The memory unit 157 is, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive. The memory unit 157 includes an index setting memory unit 157A and an image memory unit 157B, and these index setting memory unit 157A and image memory unit 157B will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5, respectively.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the index setting storage unit 157A. The index number is a number that is assigned to identify the banknote P that is conveyed to the cutting unit 150 and cut. As shown in Figure 4, the index setting storage unit 157A associates the index number with the light-emitting states (ON/OFF) of the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) D1 to D4. For example, the index number "1" is associated with the light-emitting states of the light-emitting diodes D1 to D4 being all "OFF". Also, the index number "2" is associated with the light-emitting states of the light-emitting diodes D1 to D4 being "ON" for the LED D1 and "OFF" for the LEDs D2 to D4. In this way, the index numbers 1 to 16 are set based on the light-emitting states of the four light-emitting diodes D1 to D4. Note that the index number is not limited to 16, and the number of light-emitting diodes may be increased to allow even more index numbers to be set.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the image storage unit 157B. The image storage unit 157B stores image data of a banknote P to be cut by the cutting unit 150 just before it enters the cutting unit 150. As shown in Figure 5, the image data is stored in association with an index number.

Next, a series of processes will be described when the cutting unit 150 cuts the banknote P. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the cutting process executed by the control unit 151 when the cutting unit 150 cuts the banknote P.
6, the control unit 151 judges whether or not a banknote P is detected (ST101). More specifically, if the signal of the sensor S is an ON signal, it is judged that a banknote P is not detected, and if the signal is an OFF signal, it is judged that a banknote P is detected. If it is judged that a banknote P is not detected (ST101: NO), the process returns to step ST101.

When it is determined that a banknote P has been detected (ST101: YES), the control unit 151 illuminates the light-emitting diode corresponding to the index number (ST102). For example, the control unit 151 manages the index number by incrementing a counter in the memory within the control unit 151 each time the banknote P to be cut is detected by the sensor S. Then, the control unit 151 refers to the index setting storage unit 157A and illuminates the light-emitting diode corresponding to the index number. For example, if the banknote P to be cut has been detected for the fifth time, the index number will be 5, so the control unit 151 refers to the index setting storage unit 157A and illuminates the light-emitting diode (LED) D3.

Next, the control unit 151 starts acquiring the image signal output from the image reading unit 160 (ST103). In this embodiment, image reading starts at the same time as the detection of the banknote P. On the transport path 120, the position where image reading starts is a predetermined distance downstream from the position of the sensor S. Therefore, until the banknote P reaches the image reading position, an image signal of the light emitting unit D in the light emitting state is acquired, and then an image of the banknote P is acquired.

Next, the control unit 151 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (ST104). The predetermined time is, for example, the time from when the banknote P is detected by the sensor S until the banknote P passes the image reading position of the image reading unit 160. This time is determined by the conveying speed of the conveying unit 153, the distance from the sensor S to the image reading range W, and the length of the banknote P. If the control unit 151 determines that the predetermined time has not elapsed (ST104: NO), the process repeats the process of step ST104.

When it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed (ST104: YES), the control unit 151 ends image reading and turns off the light-emitting diode (ST105). As a result, an image signal of the light-emitting state of the light-emitting unit D is acquired along with the banknote P. Next, the control unit 151 stores the image data (ST106). More specifically, the control unit 151 transmits the acquired image signal to the image processing unit 156 to generate image data. This image data includes the light-emitting state of the light-emitting unit D, and an index number that matches this light-emitting state is acquired by referring to the index setting storage unit 157A, and is stored in the image storage unit 157B in association with the index number.

Next, the control unit 151 executes a cutting process for the banknote P (ST107). More specifically, the control unit 151 transports the banknote P transported from the transport path 120 to the cutting blade unit 154 by the transport unit 153, and cuts the banknote P by the cutting blade unit 154.

Next, the image data stored in the image storage unit 157B will be described below.
7, the light emitting state of the light emitting unit D is shown together with an image of the banknote P. The light emitting diodes D1 to D4 of the light emitting unit D are in an off state. Therefore, when referring to the setting of the index setting storage unit 157A, the index number of the banknote P is "1". Therefore, the image data is stored in the image storage unit 157B in association with the index number "1".

Similarly to FIG. 7, FIG. 8 also shows the light-emitting state of light-emitting element D along with an image of banknote P. Light-emitting diodes D2 to D4 of light-emitting element D are turned off, but light-emitting diode D1 is emitting light. Therefore, when referring to the settings in index setting storage unit 157A, the index number of the banknote P is "2". Therefore, the image data is stored in image storage unit 157B in association with index number "2".

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the number of cut banknotes P between the control unit (main system) 110 of the banknote processing device 100 and the cutting unit 150 does not match, the banknote processing device 100 is able to check the image data of the banknotes P just before they are cut by the cutting unit 150, which is stored in the image storage unit 157B, and can clarify the cause of the discrepancy. This can shorten the time it takes for the manager to identify the cause of the discrepancy and also makes it easier for users of the banknote processing device 100 to understand.

In addition, the light-emitting unit D is provided between the conveyor belts 121 and 122. This makes it possible to easily attach the light-emitting unit D to the banknote processing device 100.

Furthermore, the light-emitting element D is arranged in a row in the width direction of the transport path 120. Therefore, even if the image reading unit 160 is a line sensor, the four light-emitting diodes D1 to D4 of the light-emitting element D can be simultaneously captured at the image reading unit position.

Furthermore, the control unit 151 and the memory unit 157 are provided in the cutting unit 150. Therefore, by incorporating the cutting unit 150 into the banknote processing device 100, it is possible to easily incorporate the technology of this embodiment into an existing banknote processing device 100.

Second Embodiment
This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that two image reading units are provided on the transport path that transports the banknotes P to the cutting unit. Therefore, this configuration will be described in detail. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and detailed descriptions are omitted.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a cross section of the configuration of the banknote handling machine 100. As shown in FIG.
As shown in Fig. 9, in addition to the configuration described in Fig. 1, an image reading unit (second image reading unit) 170 is provided below (on the opposite side of) the conveying path 120 of the image reading unit 160. The image reading unit 160 is a reflective line sensor, while the image reading unit 170 is a transmissive line sensor. In this way, the banknote processing device 100 of this embodiment is provided with two image reading units with different image reading methods. Also, the light emitting unit D has four light emitting diodes that emit light downward (not shown) in addition to the four light emitting diodes D1 to D4 that emit light upward.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the control configuration of the cutting unit 150. In addition to the control configuration described in Figure 3, an image reading unit 170 has been added. The control by the control unit 151 to read an image using the image reading unit 170 is similar to the control to read an image using the image reading unit 160 described above, so the name will be omitted.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the banknote processing device 100 can store images of the front and back of the banknote P in the image storage unit 157B in association with an index number. Therefore, since it is possible to photograph the front and back of the banknote P, even if another banknote P is hidden behind a banknote P, the banknote processing device 100 allows the administrator to confirm such a state from the image.

The banknote processing device 100 can also store images with different characteristics read using different image reading methods by the two image reading units 160 and 170 in the image storage unit 157B in association with index numbers. By being able to check images with different characteristics, it is possible to deal with various patterns in which discrepancies in the number of cuts occur.

In addition, in this embodiment, the image reading unit 160 is a reflective type and the image reading unit 170 is a transmissive type image reading method, but this is not limited to this. Other reading methods may be used as long as the reading methods are different. Also, there may be three or more image reading units. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the image reading units 160 and 170 are described as line sensors, but this is not limited to this. Instead of line sensors, area sensors may be provided as the image reading units 160 and 170.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims.

100...banknote processing device, 110...control unit, 120...conveyance path, 130...inspection unit, 150...cutting unit, 151...control unit, 153...conveyance unit, 154...cutting blade unit, 156...image processing unit, 157A...index setting storage unit, 157B...image storage unit, 160, 170...image reading unit, D...light emitting unit, D1 to D4...light emitting diodes, S...sensor, P...banknote

Claims (8)

A cutting unit for cutting banknotes;
a conveyance path for conveying the banknotes to the cutting unit;
a first image reading unit that is provided above or below the conveyance path before the banknote conveyed by the conveyance path enters the cutter unit and captures an image of the banknote;
an image storage unit that stores the image read by the first image reading unit;
a light emitting unit provided within a range where the first image reading unit reads an image of the banknote;
an index setting storage unit that stores an index number setting corresponding to the light emitting state of the light emitting unit;
the image storage unit stores the image in association with the index number;
Banknote processing machine. the transport path is configured to transport the banknotes using a first belt and a second belt that support both ends of the banknotes,
The light emitting unit is a plurality of light emitting diodes provided between the first belt and the second belt.
The banknote processing device according to claim 1 . the first image reading unit includes a line sensor,
The plurality of light emitting diodes are arranged in a line in the width direction of the transport path.
The banknote processing device according to claim 2 . a control unit that controls operations of the cutting unit, the conveying path, and the first image reading unit, and controls storage of images in the image storage unit;
The control unit and the image storage unit are provided in the cutting unit.
The banknote processing device according to claim 1 . a second image reading unit provided on the opposite side of the transport path from the first image reading unit and configured to obtain an image of the banknote;
The banknote processing device according to claim 1 . The first image reading unit and the second image reading unit have different image reading methods.
The banknote processing device according to claim 5 . the first image reading unit includes a reflective line sensor,
the second image reading unit includes a transmission type line sensor;
The banknote processing device according to claim 6 . A cutting unit for cutting banknotes;
a conveyance path for conveying the banknotes to the cutting unit;
a first image reading unit that is provided above or below the conveyance path before the banknote conveyed by the conveyance path enters the cutter unit and captures an image of the banknote;
an image storage unit that stores the image read by the first image reading unit;
a control unit that controls operations of the cutting unit, the conveying path, and the first image reading unit, and controls storage of images in the image storage unit,
The control unit and the image storage unit are provided in the cutting unit.
Banknote processing machine.

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