JPH08138107A - Detection part for coin surface state in coin identification device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To precisely and speedily detect an suggedness pattern which a coin has. CONSTITUTION: The detection port for coin surface state is provided with a coin rotation part 4, a sensor part 5 detecting ruggedness on the detection line of the coin (c), a conuting part 7 which A/D-converts N-pieces of detection signal samples obtained for every prescribed angle during one rotation of the coin (c), a detection data storage part 8 holding the data, a reference data storage part 10 holding data on the obverse/ back of the coin, a comparison part 9 which shifts the order of respective values on N-pieces of detection data one by one at every detection time, divides the respective values by the values of N-pieces of reference data on the obverse/back of the coin and obtains the values of the quotients of respective N-groups at the obverse/back, a judgement part 12 judging that the coin (c) is true when the rate P of the number of the values of the quotients in a limited value against the total number N of data is more than a rate Q in one of the groups among the obtained values of the quotients of the N-groups, and judging the coin to be not trun when the P the number of the values of the quotients of the respective N-groups are not more than the Q, and a control part 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention detects a characteristic portion such as an uneven pattern on the surface of a coin, compares it with that of a genuine coin, and judges whether or not a certain degree of similarity is recognized. The present invention relates to a surface state detection unit of a coin in a coin identification device that determines whether or not the identification target coin is a genuine coin.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of technique, the unevenness of the surface of the coin is measured by measuring the electrostatic capacitance between two electrodes or the electrostatic capacitance between the electrode and the coin when a coin is present. Other,
Detects the change in the index that causes the capacitance value to be determined,
There is a technology for discriminating between genuine coins and non-genuine coins.

One of such prior arts comprises an electrode having a predetermined large area facing the surface of a coin and a needle-shaped electrode having an extremely small area facing the coin. A coin discriminating apparatus provided with a detection circuit configured to cause a change in electrostatic capacitance between electrodes and detecting irregularities on the surface of a coin or jagged edges of a coin based on the change in electrostatic capacitance (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53-82397). issue)
There is.

Other such prior art techniques include:
In a device for discriminating the thickness of coins, each of which is composed of a sensor electrode and a guard ring electrode for preventing diffusion of lines of electric force generated from the sensor electrode, and is arranged so as to face a coin passage in a coin passage. A pair of electrodes, an oscillation circuit that outputs an oscillation signal of a predetermined frequency, a resonance circuit that resonates with the oscillation signal of this oscillation circuit and applies the resonance output to each sensor electrode of the pair of electrodes, and the passage of coins. A coin discriminating apparatus provided with a detection circuit for comparing the output signal voltage of the resonance circuit with a predetermined reference voltage at a certain time to detect whether or not the thickness of the coin is within a predetermined range (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. HEI-1)
-298489) and the like.

Of the above conventional techniques, the former allows a coin to pass through a position facing an electrode having a predetermined large area and a needle-shaped electrode having an extremely small area, and electrostatic charges generated between the electrodes at this time. It is to judge whether the coin has unevenness in the thickness direction and whether the peripheral edge is notched from the change of the capacity, and it can only perform a very rough discriminating action. Even coins having completely different modes give very similar changes in capacitance as a whole, and there is a problem that the ratio of misidentifying many non-genuine coins as genuine coins is too large.

Of the above-mentioned prior art, the latter is also the same,
A coin is passed between a pair of sensor electrodes, and it is intended to determine the presence or absence of an uneven pattern on the coin based on the change in capacitance that occurs at this time. It is not possible to determine if they are arranged. Therefore, similar to the former conventional technique, there is a problem that the ratio of misidentifying many non-genuine coins as genuine coins is too large.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the problems of the prior art as described above, and detects the presence or absence of irregularities such as the irregular pattern of coins, simply detecting the presence of irregularities that are likely to occur in coins. It is another object of the present invention to provide a coin surface state detection unit in a coin discriminating apparatus capable of detecting the array state in detail.

Further, in order to detect the arrangement state of coins such as uneven patterns in detail, it is necessary to always keep the facing state of the coin and the detecting section constant, but it is extremely difficult to do so, and the detecting section is very difficult. It is possible to repeat the detection while rotating the coins inserted in the direction of the coin, and compare it with the reference data of the comparison target, and find the rotation angle position that obtained it, but this is also done quickly. Have difficulty. Further, whether the surface of the coin facing the detection unit is the front side or the back side is determined almost by chance, and it is extremely difficult to make it face either direction.

However, the present invention solves the above problems and obtains data on a detection line on one side of a coin by simply rotating the coin once, and holds the data in advance as a reference for front and back sides. Make a quick and accurate comparison with the data,
Determine whether the detected data is front or back data, and also determine the rotation angle position of each data at the time of detection, check the degree of mutual agreement between the detected data and the reference data, and speedily and The problem to be solved is to accurately determine the authenticity of the coin to be identified.

[0010]

The gist of the structure of the present invention is to provide a coin rotating part for rotating the received coin to be identified by 360 degrees with its center as the center of rotation and its peripheral edge as the outer circumference. , One or more sensor units arranged facing each other on at least one surface of the coin to be rotated that is rotated by the coin rotating unit, the sensor unit detecting unevenness along a detection line on the coin surface; and the coin rotating unit. Of the coin to be identified in 360 degrees, the detection signal output of the sensor section, which is output during the rotation of 360 degrees, is sampled for each rotation angle of 360 / N degrees, and the counting section for counting each sample and the counting section A detection data storage unit that holds the counted N pieces of detection data in the order of sampling, and each N that is standard detection data on the detection line at the same position on the front and back of the genuine coin.
A reference data storage unit for holding each of the reference data in a predetermined detection order, N detection data sequentially read from the detection data storage unit, and N coins on the front and back of each coin sequentially read from the reference data storage unit. For each piece of reference data, a comparison unit that compares the detection data and the reference data on the front and back of the coins in a reading order that correspond to each other, a comparison result storage unit that holds the data of the comparison result of the comparison unit, and The determination unit that evaluates the data of the comparison result read from the comparison result storage unit and determines whether the data of the comparison result is in the range when the coin to be identified is a true coin, and the determination unit A determination criterion storage unit that is read and retains a determination criterion for evaluating the data of the comparison result based on it, and the identification target coin,
When the coin is fed into the coin rotation unit and rotated by 360 degrees by this, the counting unit samples the detection signal output output from the sensor unit at every rotation angle of 360 / N degrees during the rotation, And each sample is counted respectively, and the obtained N pieces of detection data are held in the detection data storage unit in the order of sampling, and thereafter, with respect to the detection data group consisting of N pieces of data held in the detection data storage unit, The detection data group is repeatedly read until the judgment evaluation in the judgment unit described later becomes “in range” or the number of times of reading becomes N times,
Assuming that the N pieces of detection data of the detection data group are arranged in a ring shape from the first reading to the Nth reading, the detection data group at the beginning of the reading is It is assumed that the order is moved backward one by one, and the detected data is read in the predetermined order from the reference data storage section in the reading order in the comparison section for each reading. The comparison result data is stored in the comparison result storage unit, and the comparison result data stored in the comparison result storage unit is used as the determination reference read from the determination reference storage unit. Based on the evaluation section,
The data of the comparison result is caused to perform an evaluation determination operation for determining whether or not the identification target coin is within the range of the genuine coin, and if the determination evaluation is “in the range”, it is as it is. A signal indicating that the coin is a genuine coin is output, and the coin identification process is terminated. If not, the operation subsequent to the subsequent read operation of the detection data group from the detection data storage unit is continued, and the Nth read operation is performed. The judgment evaluation based on the subsequent comparison result is “in the range” of the case where the coin to be identified is a genuine coin.
If it is not, the detected data group consisting of N pieces of data held in the detected data storage section is then judged to be “in range” in the judgment evaluation in the judgment section described later. Or the number of times of reading is N, the reading is repeated, and the read order of the detected data group is such that the N detected data of the detected data group are ring-shaped from the first read to the Nth read. It is assumed that the detection data at the beginning of the reading is sequentially shifted backward one by one in each reading, and the reading is performed in the reading order in the comparing section for each reading. The data is compared with the reference data on the back side of the coins in the corresponding order read out from the reference data storage unit in a predetermined order, and the comparison result data is stored in the comparison result storage unit. Further, the comparison result data held in the comparison result storage unit is evaluated by the judgment unit based on the judgment standard read from the judgment standard storage unit, and the comparison result data indicates that the identification target coin is a genuine coin. If it is within the range, a signal indicating that it is a genuine coin is output as it is, and the coin identification process is performed. If not, the operation subsequent to the subsequent read operation of the detection data group from the detection data storage unit is continued, and the determination evaluation based on the comparison result performed after the N-th read is the identification target. If the coin is not an “in-range” when it is a genuine coin, the relevant identification target coin outputs a signal indicating that the coin is a non-genuine coin. And a control unit, in a surface condition detecting unit of in the coin in the coin identifying apparatus constituted, whereby it is possible to solve the above problems.

The coin rotating unit receives the identification target coin that has been inserted from the coin insertion slot and has moved through the passage, and the coin is placed at a predetermined interval between the reference surface on the opposite side and the sensor unit. Any structure can be freely adopted as long as it can be held face-to-face and then rotated 360 degrees at a constant rotation speed.

As described above, the sensor unit detects unevenness along the arc-shaped detection line of the facing surface of the coin when the coin to be identified is rotated by 360 degrees. Any structure can be adopted as long as it can meet the requirements. For example, a photosensor unit in which a light emitting element that irradiates a detection target with light and a light receiving element that receives the reflected light from the detection target and that produces an output corresponding to the amount of light are incorporated into a package, It is possible to employ a photosensor unit or the like having a portion that produces an output in proportion to the distance between the light receiving element and the light emitting element and the detection target in the output curve of 1.

When this photosensor unit is used, the distance between the photosensor unit and the reference surface of the coin to be identified facing the photosensor unit is in a range in which the output of the light receiving element is proportional to the distance to the detection object. If the distance is set to the inside distance, it is possible to detect the distance of the coin to be identified from the relevant surface depending on the magnitude of the output of the light receiving element. In this way, when the distance between the facing surface of the identification target coin is detected, if the distance between the photosensor unit and the reference surface of the facing surface of the identification target coin is fixed, the surface of the identification target coin This means that the depth or height of the unevenness from the reference surface is detected.

In addition, the above-mentioned sensor section is also provided on the surface facing the coin along the arc-shaped detection line concentric with the center of the coin when the coin to be identified is rotated by 360 degrees. It should be set so as to detect unevenness. How large the diameter of the detection line is,
It goes without saying that the coins to be identified should be determined in correspondence with the position where the features of the coin to be identified are most likely to appear.

By the way, the photo sensor unit is
As the light emitting element and the light receiving element, there are some that use those that emit or receive visible light, but those that use the one that emits or receives near infrared rays are the stains or other color changes of the coins to be identified. It is convenient because it is less affected by.

As described above, the counting unit, when the coin to be identified is fed to the coin rotating unit and rotated by 360 ° by this, if 360 / N °, for example, N is 360, This is means for obtaining detection data by sampling the detection signal output output from the sensor unit at every constant rotation angle of 2 degrees when N of 180 degrees is 1 degree and counting each sample. Since the detection signal output of the sensor unit is usually obtained as an analog signal output, the counting unit can be configured as an A / D converter for A / D converting an analog sample obtained by sampling the analog signal output.

For the detection data storage unit, for example, it is appropriate to use a RAM that can access data at high speed and read / write freely, and the sensor unit can detect only along a single arc-shaped detection line. In the case of staying, needless to say, it is sufficient to have a storage capacity capable of holding at least that much data in the order of detection. Of course, it is unknown which of the front and back faces the sensor section side for the coin to be identified, but when only one is detected, one of the detection data along the arc-shaped detection line of the same diameter on the front and back is detected in the order of detection. A storage capacity that can be held is sufficient. When the sensor unit performs detection along a double or more arc-shaped detection line,
Needless to say, it is necessary to have a capacity capable of holding the data of each detection line, and it is appropriate to divide the area for each data of each sensor unit and hold it in the order of detection.

It is appropriate that the reference data storage section is constituted by using a ROM having a high read speed. The reference data held in this is the data detected by using the same sensor unit for genuine coins, and only such data is prepared for single or double detection lines of the sensor unit. is there. In any case, the front and back of the genuine coin and the double coin are divided into regions and held in the order of detection. The reference data should be detected at an angular interval of 360 / N degrees starting from a certain portion in the detection line on the surface of the genuine coin, and held in that order. This is the same for each reference data obtained by each sensor unit even when two or more sensor units are configured.

By the way, it is almost impossible to expect that the coins to be discriminated to be thrown into the discriminating apparatus will be in the same facing state as when the reference data was obtained, at the time of facing the sensor section, simply by being thrown in. That is, when the inserted identification target coin is held by the coin rotating portion and starts to rotate, the rotation angle of the circumference is the same as the rotation angle of the circumference when the rotation starts when the reference data is obtained. It is very unlikely that the position of the coin facing the identification target coin at the time when the coin is inserted and starts to rotate coincides with the corresponding position when the reference data is obtained. There is almost nothing I can do. Also, regarding the front and back sides, it is unclear which side faces the sensor section.

Therefore, for example, the coin to be identified is faced to the sensor unit and then rotated (rotated) around its circumference so that the coin is detected along an arc-shaped detection line, and 360 is rotated during 360-degree rotation. The output of the sensor section is sampled at a constant angular interval of / N degrees, and the detected comparison data is compared with the reference data on the coin table side in order. Repeatedly, it is judged whether or not the comparison result is within the range that is recognized as a genuine coin at each rotation of the identification target coin, and the comparison result is "If it is within the range that is recognized as a genuine coin." Is reached, or the above process is repeated N times, and the process is terminated.

If it is concluded that the coin is a genuine coin, the process ends. If not, the detection comparison cycle of comparing the sampled detection data with the reference data on the back side of the coin in turn is performed. Repeat the detection start position by angular intervals of 360 / N degrees,
It is determined whether or not the comparison result is within the range that can be recognized as a genuine coin in each rotation of the identification target coin, and the comparison result is "within the range that can be recognized as a genuine coin". A conclusion is reached, or the above process is repeated N times without reaching that conclusion, and the process is terminated. If it is not possible to conclude that the coin is a genuine coin in this process, it means that the identification target coin is a non-genuine coin. Then, using the procedure described above, find the matching positional relationship between each sampling position on the detection line on the front and back of the genuine coin when the reference data was obtained and each sampling position on the detection line of the coin to be identified. However, it is also possible to adopt the concept of determining the authenticity of the coin to be identified.

However, this technique has a problem in that it is not easy to rotate the coin to be identified speedily with a simple mechanism. In the present invention, the coin is rotated only once to move along the arc-shaped detection line. N pieces of detection data are obtained, and these pieces of detection data are held in the detection data storage section in the same manner as those arranged in a closed arc shape. Each time the reading is performed N times, the leading detection data is sequentially set backward (or forward) one by one for each reading, and in that reading order, the reference data on the front and back of the coin is read in a predetermined order. By comparison, the same effect can be obtained speedily.

The comparison unit may be configured, for example, as a subtracter that subtracts the value of the detected data from the value of the reference data and outputs the value of the difference, or divides the value of the detected data by the value of the reference data. Then, any structure can be freely adopted as long as it can make an appropriate comparison, such as a divider for outputting the value of the quotient. Then, for the N pieces of detection data, the data strings of the values of differences, quotients, and the like, which are the output of the comparison result, are held in the comparison result storage unit in the comparison order (the same as the reading order) as described above. It As the comparison result storage unit, it is suitable to use a RAM having a high write / read speed.

In the above, not only the data of the characteristic portion is prepared as the reference data, but the data of the entire circumference along the arc-shaped detection line is prepared and obtained on the same detection line as these reference data. The detection data is compared by checking the order of comparison to see if there is a match.However, as reference data, only the data of the characteristic site is prepared, and the detection data has a certain tolerance. It goes without saying that it is possible to adopt a method of checking whether or not there is matching data in the range. Of course, the front and back of the coins to be inserted is unknown in any case, so it is necessary to prepare the data for the front and back.

Further, as described above, the judging section reads out the data of the comparison result held in the comparison result storing section, and the data of the comparison result indicates that the coin to be identified is a genuine coin. Whether or not it is within the range is evaluated and determined, and the determination result is input to the control unit.
If the content of the determination is "in the range of genuine coins", the determination unit receives the control of the control unit,
Output to that effect to the coin receiving section. When the determination content is "not within the range of genuine coins", the determination unit determines that the determination operation is the final determination operation for the comparison result of both reference data on the front and back of the coin. Only in the case of a certain 2 × N-th time, the control section controls it to output an output to that effect and to return the identification target coin.

Further, as described above, the judgment criterion storage unit is a storage means for holding the judgment criterion to be read by the judgment unit, and the judgment criterion is empirically determined corresponding to each judgment technique. It should be done.

For example, when the comparison unit is configured as a subtractor, it goes without saying that the obtained comparison result data is the difference data between the reference data and the detection data read in the corresponding order. . Therefore, in this case, N difference values can be obtained by one comparison for a group of detection data, but for example, the number of difference values that are larger than a certain value is less than a certain ratio. For example, it is determined to be a genuine coin, and if not, it is determined to be a non-genuine coin. As a criterion, for example, the above-mentioned fixed ratio is determined and held.

Further, for example, when the comparison unit is configured as a divider, the obtained data of the comparison result is the data of the quotient obtained by dividing the detection data read in the corresponding order with each reference data. Needless to say. Therefore, in this case, data of N quotients can be obtained by one comparison for a group of detection data.
If the number of data of the quotient having a value within a certain range with 1 as the center value occupies a certain ratio or more, it is determined as a genuine coin, and if not, it is determined as a non-authentic coin. In this case as well, the criterion is, for example, to determine and hold the above-mentioned fixed ratio.

Furthermore, the control unit, as described above,
It controls the operation from the counting unit to the determination unit.

[0030]

Since the present invention has the above-mentioned structure, it operates and acts as follows. First, the coin to be identified is
When the coin is inserted from the coin slot or the like and sent to the coin rotating part facing the sensor part, it is held by this and the distance to the sensor part is set to a predetermined interval, and then the coin to be identified is rotated 360 degrees. Is performed. The sensor unit detects irregularities on the surface of the detection line that faces the coin while the coin rotates through 360 degrees, and outputs the detection signal.

In this way, when the unevenness on the detection line of the coin to be identified is detected and the detection signal is output, the detection signal output is sampled for each rotation angle of 360 / N degrees of the coin, Each sample is sequentially input to the counting section and counted. In this way, the obtained N pieces of detection data are input in the counting section, that is, in the counting completion order,
In the detected data storage unit, for example, the addresses 0 to N-1 are held.

After that, for each reference data on the front and back of the coin to be compared, the detection data group consisting of N pieces of data held in the detection data storage section is
The reading is repeated until the judgment evaluation in the judgment unit described later becomes “in range” or the number of times of reading reaches N times. When the judgment evaluation is “in range”, the judgment unit outputs a signal indicating that the coin to be identified is genuine, and “in range”
The number of read times of the detection data group is N
If it is the end of the comparison of both the reference data on the front and back of the reference data storage unit that is the comparison target, it is determined that the coin to be identified is a non-genuine coin. If not, the process proceeds to the operation of determining the result of comparison with the remaining reference data on either the front or back side.

By the way, the order of reading the detected data group from the detected data storage unit is N from the first reading.
It is assumed that N pieces of detection data of the detection data group are arranged in a ring shape until the second reading, and the order of the detection data at the beginning of reading is set backward (or forward) one by one at each successive reading. I will. In addition, in each reading, the comparison unit compares the detection data in the reading order with the reference data in the corresponding order read from the reference data storage unit in a predetermined order, and outputs the comparison result data. Is held in the comparison result storage section. The reference data from the reference data storage unit to be read is preferably the reference data which is the data on the front side of the genuine coin for the first N times and the reference data which is the data on the back side of the genuine coin for the next N times. Is.

Further, the comparison result data held in the comparison result storage unit is evaluated by the judgment unit based on the judgment standard read from the judgment standard storage unit, and the comparison result data is
When the coin to be identified is an authentic coin, an evaluation determination operation is performed to determine whether the coin is “in range”, and as described above, if the determination evaluation is “in range”, The determination unit outputs a signal indicating that the identification target coin is a genuine coin, and stops the subsequent read operation of the detection data group from the detection data storage unit. If not, the operation subsequent to the read operation of the subsequent detection data group from the detection data storage unit is continued, and the judgment evaluation based on the comparison result performed subsequent to the Nth read operation indicates that the identification target coin is authentic. If it is a coin that is "not within the range" of it, it is identified when it is the end of the comparison of both the reference data on the front and back sides of the reference data storage unit to be compared. A signal indicating that the target coin is non-genuine is output from the determination unit, and if not, the operation of determining the result of comparison with the remaining reference data on either the front or back side is performed. Then, the same determination operation as that already performed is performed, and similarly,
If the result of the determination operation is that, a signal indicating that the coin is a true coin is output, and the determination is based on the comparison result based on the comparison result performed again after the N-th reading without the determination. When the target coin is a genuine coin and is "not within the range" of that coin, the determination unit outputs a signal indicating that the identification target coin is a non-genuine coin.

Therefore, in the present invention, the comparison of the N detected data obtained with the N reference data is performed only once by rotating the coin to be identified, and the maximum number of data per one side of the coin is determined. The comparison is performed a number of times, and the comparison order is set such that the former is moved backward (or forward) one by one for each comparison, thereby enabling speedy comparison. Even if the result of comparison between the detection data and the reference data on either the front or back side of the coin is "not within the range" of the allowable ratio for genuine coins, Since the same comparison and determination operation as that for the reference data may be performed, the identification result can be obtained quickly.

[0036]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coin c to be identified
Holding rings 1 and 1 for holding the coins from both sides and a coin c
The coin rotating unit 4 is configured by using the roller members 2 and 2 that come into contact with the peripheral end of the roller member 2 on both lower sides and the electric motor 3 that rotationally drives the roller members 2 and 2 as basic components.

The holding rings 1 and 1 are constructed so that they can move back and forth, as shown by arrows a and a in FIG. 1, and when a coin c is inserted between them, they both hold the coin c. It is designed to advance so that it can be positioned while being pinched. Further, these retaining rings 1, 1 are provided with the roller members 2, 2
It can be rotated together with the coin c. As shown by arrows b and b in FIG. 2, the roller members 2 and 2 are configured to be movable inward and outward, and when the coin c is dropped downward, the roller members 2 and 2 are outwardly moved. Other than that, it is arranged so as to contact the peripheral end of the inserted coin c at the positions shown in FIG. The roller members 2 and 2 are connected to the electric motor 3 either directly or via gears (not shown), so that they can be rotationally driven.

In the electric motor 3, a coin c is inserted,
After being held by the holding rings 1 and 1 and detected to be positioned, the roller members 2 and 2 are rotationally driven to rotate the coin c by 360 degrees. The coin c and the holding rings 1 and 1 are rotated by the roller members 2 and 2 which are in contact with the peripheral ends thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a predetermined detection line of the coin c is located at a position facing the coin c held and positioned by the holding rings 1 and 1 of the coin rotating portion 4 at a predetermined interval. The sensor unit 5 is formed at a position corresponding to d. The sensor unit 5 includes a near infrared light emitting element 5a and a light receiving element 5b.
Also, the reflection type photo sensor unit is composed of the necessary lenses and produces an output proportional to the distance from the reflection position of the coin c.

In the sensor section 5, however, the light emitting element 5
The near-infrared light emitted by a is applied to the detection line d of the coin c through the lens, and the reflected light from the detection line d enters the light receiving element 5b through the lens. Light receiving element 5
In b, an output proportional to the amount of received light is generated, and this becomes the detection signal output of this sensor unit 5. The amount of received light is
The light emitting element 5a, the light receiving element 5b, and the detection line d of the coin c
The variation of the distance from the reflection position of the irradiated near-infrared ray in the above, and the unevenness of the position on the detection line d of the coin c depending on the value of the received light amount and the value of the detection signal output determined based on this value. Can be detected.

The light receiving element 5b of the sensor section 5 is connected to the counting section 7 via the switch section 6. The switch unit 6 outputs the detection signal output of the sensor unit 5 to the coin c to be identified.
Sampled at every rotation of 360 / N degrees, and the samples are sequentially input to the counting unit 7. In this example, N is set to 360, so 36
Sampling is performed 0 times, and since 360/360 degrees are used, sampling is performed for each rotation of 1 degree. Then, the switch unit 6 is momentarily switched on every 1 degree of the rotation angle of the coin c, and the detection signal output of the sensor unit 5 at that time is input to the counting unit 7.
Here, the counting unit 7 is configured as an A / D converter that A / D-converts the light-receiving output photoelectrically converted by the light-receiving element 5b.

The counting unit 7 is connected to the detection data storage unit 8 and stores the former output in the latter. The detection data storage unit 8 is connected to the comparison unit 9, and the value of the detection data held by the former is used as the reference data storage unit 10 connected to the comparison unit 9.
Can be compared with the values of the reference data in the storage areas a and b. As described above, the reference data storage unit 10 has two storage areas a and b for separately storing the data on the same detection line on the front and back sides of the genuine coin, and the former detects the front side of the genuine coin. The reference data on the line and the reference data on the detection line on the back side are held in the latter.

In this example, the comparison unit 9 is configured as a divider, and in the reading order, the detected data value is first divided by the reference data value in the storage area a, and the obtained quotient value is obtained. ,
The comparison result storage unit 11 is sequentially held at addresses 0 to N-1, and, as will be described later, when necessary, the detection data value is divided by the reference data value in the storage area b in the reading order. Then, the obtained quotient values are sequentially connected to the comparison result storage unit 11 so as to be held in addresses 0 to N-1 of the comparison result storage unit 11 in sequence. Further, the comparison result storage unit 11 is connected so as to output the value of the held quotient to the determination unit 12.

The judgment unit 12 is the comparison result storage unit 1
The value of the quotient of addresses 0 to N-1 held by 1 is sequentially read,
Data that is within the permissible value ± R with 1 being the center value in the total number of data of quotient values is determined by judging whether the value of each quotient is within the permissible value ± R with 1 being the center value A ratio P of the number is calculated, and on the other hand, a ratio Q, which is a judgment criterion, is read from the judgment criterion storage unit 13 connected to the judgment unit 12, and it is judged whether or not the ratio P is equal to or higher than the ratio Q of the standard. Is.

This determination is first made on the result of comparison between the reference data and the detected data in the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10. The result of the determination is that the ratio P is not equal to or greater than the ratio Q of the reference. If so, the comparison result of the reference data and the detection data in the storage area b of the reference data storage unit 10 is then performed.

Further, each of the above-mentioned elements, that is, the not-shown detection means, coin rotating section 4, switch section 6, counting section 7, detection data storage section 8, comparison section 9, reference data storage section 10,
Comparison result storage unit 11, determination unit 12, and determination reference storage unit 1
3 is controlled by the control unit 14 as described later.

Each component of this embodiment has the above-described configuration, and will be described in detail below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

In the coin rotating portion 4, the detection means (not shown) detects whether or not the coin c is fed into the coin rotating part 4 (step S1), and the coin c to be identified.
Is input from a coin insertion slot or the like and is sent to the coin rotating unit 4 through a passage, this is detected and 0 is substituted into the variable A by the control unit 14 (step S2), and then the coin is inserted. The holding rings 1 and 1 of the rotating portion 4 move inward relative to each other to position the coin c (step S).
3).

Next, the electric motor 3 starts operating to rotate the roller members 2 and 2 to rotate the coin c (step S4). Whether or not the coin c has been rotated 360 / N degrees is detected by a rotation angle detection means (not shown) (step S5). If the rotation angle of the coin c has not reached 360 / N degrees, further When rotation is continued (step S4) and it is detected that the rotation angle is 360 / N degrees, the detection signal output of the sensor unit 5 is sampled (step S6). As described above, since the constant N is set to 360 in this example, the detection signal output of the sensor unit 5 is sampled every 1 degree of the rotation angle of the coin c. Further, as described above, the sensor section 5 detects the unevenness on the detection line of the coin c.

The sample of the detection signal output by the sampling is input to the counting section 7, where it is A / D converted (step S7), and the value of the obtained detection data is the address A of the detection data storage section 8, that is, At this point, the value of the variable A is 0, so it is stored in the address 0 (step S8).

Next, in the control unit 14, 1 is added to the variable A (step S9), and the variable A is a constant N (= 36).
0), that is, whether the number of detection signals output from the sensor unit 5 matches the total number of samples (step S10). If not, step S4 to The operation of step S10 is repeated. Then, when the coin c continues to rotate 360 / N degrees, the detection signal output of the sensor unit 5 is sampled, the sample is A / D converted by the counting unit 7, and the value of the obtained detection data is stored in the detection data storage. Since the value of the address A of the part 8, that is, the value of A is 1 at this time, it is stored in the address 1. In this way, the process of steps S4 to S10 is repeated until the variable A matches the constant N (= 360), and the coin c completes the rotation of 360 degrees, during which the angle of 360 / N degrees (= 1 degree). The detection signal output of the sensor unit 5 is sampled N (= 360) times at every interval, is A / D converted, and is stored from the address 0 to the address N-1 (= 359) of the detection data storage unit 8. The Rukoto.

Thus, in the N-th process (the value of the variable A is N-1 in this process), as described above, step S8 is performed.
In the process, the detection data is stored in the address N-1 of the detection data storage unit 8, and the process proceeds to step S9 where the control unit 14 adds 1 to the variable A and the value becomes N. Then, it is judged whether or not the variable A matches the constant N (step S10). As described above, since the value of the variable A is N at this point, the above iterative process is completed. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S11.

Next, the control section 14 first substitutes 0 into the variable D (step S11), and subsequently judges whether or not the value of the variable D is 0 (step S12). D
When the value of is 0, the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10 is selected (step S13), and the reference data is read from a predetermined address of this storage area a in step S18 described later. If the value of the variable D is not 0, the storage area b of the reference data storage unit 10 is selected (step S14). Since the value of the variable D is 0 at this point, the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10
Will be selected.

In the control unit 14, thereafter, 0 is assigned to the variable C (step S15), and the value of the variable C is set to the variable A,
That is, since the value of the variable C is 0 at this point, 0 is substituted and 0 is substituted for the variable B (step S16).

After that, since the value of the variable A is 0 in the detected data storage unit 8, that is, the value of the variable A is 0 at this time, the value of the detected data at address 0 is read into the comparison unit 9 (step S).
17). Further, since the value of the variable B is 0 at the address B of the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10, that is, at this time,
The value of the reference data at address 0 is read into the comparison section 9 (step S18). Next, in the comparison unit 9, the value of the detection data at address 0 in the detection data storage unit 8 is divided by the value of the reference data at address 0 in the read storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10 (step S19). Thus, the value of the quotient obtained by the comparison unit 9 is stored in the address B of the comparison result storage unit 11, that is, since the value of the variable B is 0 at this time, it is stored in the address 0 (step S20).

Next, in the control unit 14, variable A and variable B
Is incremented by 1 (step S21), and then it is determined whether the value of the variable A matches the constant N (= 360) (step S22). At this point in time, the value of the variable A is 1, so of course they do not match, so the process proceeds to the next step S24. However, if the value of the variable A matches the value of the constant N, 0 is substituted for the variable A (step S23), and after that, the process proceeds to the next step S24. In the next step S24, it is determined whether or not the value of the variable B matches the constant N (= 360).
At this point in time, the value of the variable B is 1, and the steps S17 to S24 are repeated.

After each actual operation, step S21
Since 1 is added to the variables A and B, the read address of the storage area a of the detection data storage unit 8 and the reference data storage unit 10 advances every time, and when this is repeated N times, all data The division of the value of and the storage of the value of the quotient obtained thereby in the comparison result storage unit 11 are completed. Thus, in the process of the last round, step S2
At 1, the variables A and B are each incremented by 1, and the respective values become N. In a succeeding step S22, it is determined whether or not the value of the variable A matches N, and at this time,
Since A matches N = N, 0 is assigned to the variable A (step S23, this process has no special meaning at this point), and then it is determined whether the value of the variable B matches N. A determination is made (step S24), and at this point B = N, and since they match, the process proceeds to the next step S25.

Thus, in the stage where the value of the variable C is 0, the above steps S17 to S24 are repeated N times, and the same address is sequentially detected by the value of the reference data of addresses 0 to N-1 of the storage area a. This is a group of division processes in which data values are divided and the obtained quotient values are sequentially stored in addresses 0 to N-1 of the comparison result storage unit 11.

After that, the quotient values held at addresses 0 to N-1 of the comparison result storage unit 11 are sequentially read into the judgment unit 12, and each quotient value is allowed to have a center value of 1. It is determined whether or not the value is within the range of ± R, and the ratio P of the number of values of the quotient within the allowable value ± R centered at 1 to the total number of data is calculated (step S25). The allowable value ± R with the center value of 1 should be determined empirically, but it seems that the value of R should be about 0.3.

Next, the ratio Q, which is the judgment criterion, is read from the judgment criterion storage unit 13 into the judgment unit 12 (step S
26), the judging unit 12 judges whether or not the ratio P is equal to or higher than the ratio Q which is a criterion (step S2).
7) If the ratio P is equal to or higher than the ratio Q, the determination unit 12 outputs that the coin c to be identified is authentic (step S28). On the other hand, if it is below the threshold, the control unit 14 adds 1 to the variable C (step S
29) Then, it is determined whether the value of the variable C matches the constant N (= 360) (step S30). At this point in time, the value of the variable C is 1 because 1 is added to the variable C that was 0 in step S29, and the process returns to step S16 and the subsequent steps are repeated. Needless to say, when step S28 is executed, the process of identifying the coin c ends and the process returns to step S1.

In step S16, the value of the variable C in the variable A, that is, the value of the variable C is 1 at this point,
1 is assigned and 0 is assigned to the variable B. Therefore, in the process from the next step S17 to step S20, the value of the detection data at the address "1" in the detection data storage unit 8 is changed to "0" in the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10 in the comparison unit 9. The value of the quotient obtained by dividing by the value of the reference data of the address is stored in the address 0 of the comparison result storage unit 11. In the next step S21, 1 is added to each of the variables A and B, and their values become 2 and 1, respectively. Since the variable A is not N (= 360) in step S22, the process proceeds to step S24, and the variable B is not N (= 360), and the process of steps S17 to S20 is repeated. In this process, variable A is 2 and variable B is 1.
Therefore, the data of the second address is read from the detected data storage unit 8, the data of the first address is read from the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10, and the division is performed in the same manner as described above. The obtained value of the quotient is stored in the address B of the comparison result storage unit 11, that is, the address 1.

Thereafter, the variables A and B are calculated in step S21.
Is incremented by 1 and the process from step S17 to step S24 is repeated until the variable B matches the constant N (= 360). That is, the data in the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10 is always read in the order from address 0 to address N−1, whereas the detected data storage unit 8
The first read address is set to the rear by the value of the variable C, and the data is read sequentially from the set address. The data from the address 0 to the address of the value of the variable C at the beginning is continuously read from the address 0 at the beginning after the reading of the address N-1 is completed. In step S21, 1 is added to the variable A as well as the variable B, and when the value reaches N, the process branches to step S23 in the determination process of step S22.
Here, the process of returning 0 to the variable A and returning to step S24 is the process of returning the read address to the first address 0.

In this way, in the stage where the value of the variable C is 1, the process of repeating the above steps S17 to S20 N times is performed for the reference data of addresses 0 to N-1 read from the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10. It is a group of division processes in which the values of the detection data, which are respectively located behind the first address, are sequentially divided by the values, and are sequentially stored in addresses 0 to N−1 of the comparison result storage unit 11, and the variable C is 2 to Each process of repeating Step S17 to Step S20 performed in each stage of N-1 N times is the value of the reference data at addresses 0 to N-1 read from the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10, respectively. The values of the respective detection data read from the addresses which are sequentially behind by 2 to N-1 are divided, and the obtained quotient value of each group is 0 to N-1 of the comparison result storage unit 11. Save in each It is a division process of unity.

As described above, the division process for each set is performed for each value of the variable C. As described above, the value of the variable C is initially substituted with 0 in step S15, and thereafter, When it is not determined by the evaluation determination operation in the determination unit 12 that the identification target coin c is a genuine coin, 1 is added in the following step S29, and as described above, the variable C of the variable C is changed in step S30. It is determined whether or not the value matches N, and if they do not match, the process returns to step S16 as described above, and the division process of the set of stages of the value of the variable C is performed.

After the division process of each set, the evaluation determination process in the determination unit 12 is performed on the group of quotient values stored in the process. This is the process of steps S25 to S27 as described above. In this process, the value of the variable C is a group of quotient values obtained in the division process of each set of each stage of 0 to N-1, that is, the reference data read from the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10. Value group of the quotient obtained by dividing the value of the detection data of the same address read from the detection data storage unit 8 by 1, the value group of the quotient obtained by dividing the value of the detection data of the back address of the address, 2 Value group of quotient obtained by dividing the value of detection data behind the address,
Further, regarding the quotient value group corresponding to the detection data behind each address obtained by dividing the value of the detection data behind the third address to the N-1th address, each of the quotient values of each group is sequentially increased by 1. Check whether the value is within the tolerance value ± R as the center, and calculate the ratio P of the number of quotient values within the tolerance value ± R to the total number of data (total number of quotients) N. Then, this is compared with the rate Q which is the criterion, and if the result that the rate P is the rate Q or more is obtained in any of the quotient value groups, the coin to be identified is the quotient value group. When the judgment of is completed,
It is determined that the coin is a genuine coin, and an output to that effect is output (step S28).

As described above, when the ratio P is not equal to or higher than the ratio Q, 1 is added to the variable C in the control unit 14 (step S29), and it is then determined whether or not the variable C matches the constant N. Is determined (step S30), and in this case,
If 1 is added in step S29 and the value of the variable C is N, the process proceeds to step S31 and it is determined whether the value of the variable D is 0 or not. At this point, the value of the variable D is 0 because 0 is still substituted in step S11.
Is maintained, the process proceeds to the next step S32, and 1 is substituted into the variable D. Then, the process returns to step 12, and it is judged whether or not the value of the variable D is 0. It Since the value of the variable D is 1 at this point, the process proceeds to step S14, and the storage area b of the reference data storage unit 10 is selected. Then, the process of steps S15 to S30 is repeated.

That is, when the value of the variable D is 0,
In the process from step S15 to step S30 described above, at each stage from 0 to N-1 of the variable C, first, the value of the reference data at addresses 0 to N-1 in the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10 is set. The division of the value of the detection data at addresses 0 to N-1 of the detection data storage unit 8 by the step 1 is performed for each stage by dividing the latter address by one address, and the division process is performed. Then, the evaluation judgment process for judging whether or not the ratio P of the number of quotients of the values within the range of the allowable value is equal to or larger than the ratio Q which is the judgment standard for a group of quotients in each stage in all stages. Respectively,
In any one of the quotients determined in order, when the ratio P is equal to or higher than the ratio Q which is the determination reference, the coin c to be identified is output as the true coin and is identified. The process ends. Then, in any one of the quotients, if the ratio P is not judged to be equal to or higher than the ratio Q which is the criterion, 1 is substituted into the variable D, and the step of setting the value of the variable D to 1 is started. is there.

When the value of the variable D is 1, the reference data in the storage area b is replaced with the reference data in the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10 in the above steps S15 to S30. In the point used, and in the evaluation judgment process, if the ratio P is not judged to be equal to or higher than the ratio Q, which is the judgment criterion, in any one group of quotients,
The only difference is that the coin c to be discriminated is output as non-genuine coin and the discrimination process ends, and there is no other difference from the stage where the value of the variable D is 0.
Further detailed description will be omitted.

Next, only the general flow in the latter half of the stage where the value of the variable D is 1 is as follows. That is, in the latter half of this stage, in any stage from 0 to N-1 of the value of the variable C, the percentage P, which is the criterion, is the percentage P.
If it is determined that the above is true (step S27), the determination unit 12 outputs that the coin c is a true coin (step S28), the identification process ends, and the process returns to step S1. However, it is not determined that the ratio P is greater than or equal to the ratio Q, which is the determination reference, and step S29 is performed.
When the value of the variable C reaches the value of the constant N through the process of, the judgment to that effect is made (step S
30), the process proceeds to the next step S31 and the value of the variable D is 0.
Is determined. At this point,
Since the value of the variable D is 1, there is a mismatch and the determination unit 12
As a result, the identification target coin c is output to the effect that it is a non-genuine coin (step S33), the identification process ends, and the process returns to step S1.

Now, the overall operation of the coin surface state detecting section of the coin discriminating apparatus will be reviewed and summarized. First, the coin c to be identified is
The coin rotating part 4 is rotated while being held by the holding rings 1 and 1, and during the rotation of 360 degrees, an angular interval of 360 / N degrees, in this case N is 360, so at an angular interval of 1 degree, The detection signal output of the sensor unit 5 that detects the unevenness on the detection line d is sampled. Then, a total of 360 detection signal samples are sequentially input to the counting unit 7 within one rotation of the coin c, and A / D converted therein,
The N (that is, 360) pieces of obtained detection data are sequentially stored in the detection data storage unit 8.

In the above description, it is unclear whether the coin c is facing the sensor unit 5 when the coin c is held by the coin rotating unit 4, and when the coin c is facing the sensor unit 5. It is also unknown from which angular position of the detection line d the sampling of the detection signal output by the sensor unit 5 is started. Therefore, it is unknown whether the detection data stored in the detection data storage unit 8 is the detection data on the front side detection line d or the back side of the coin c, and the angular position on the detection line d starts. It is completely unknown whether it is the detected data.

Therefore, in the comparison unit 9, first, the reference data on the front side is read from the storage area a of the reference data storage unit 10 and compared with the detection data in the detection data storage unit 8. The comparison is performed in the comparison unit 9 in the form of the division described above. The comparison is performed for each reference data and each detection data, but since the correspondence is unknown as described above, a group of data at each time is compared N times, one by one. , The results obtained by comparing the data of one group each time, that is, the quotient of each group are sequentially stored in the next comparison result storage unit 11, which is read and evaluated by the determination unit 12.

The judging section 12 checks each of the values of the group of quotients to see if they are within ± R with 1 as the center, and finds the group of quotients whose number is within The ratio P in the total number N is calculated, and it is determined whether or not the ratio P is equal to or higher than the ratio Q which is the judgment reference read from the judgment reference storage unit 13. Since the correspondence between the individual detection data when obtained and the individual reference data is the same, and the detection data is the same as the reference data obtained from genuine coins within the allowable range, The identification target coin c outputs a signal indicating that it is a genuine coin, and the identification process is terminated.

The result of the division of the data of one group each time performed by the comparison unit 9 is sequentially determined by the determination unit 12 as described above.
If the judgment result that the coin is a genuine coin is obtained while repeating the judgment in step N and repeating the process N times, the fact is output and the discrimination process is ended. Also N
If there is no determination result that the coin is a genuine coin even after repeating the times, it is determined that the detection data may be the detection line d on the back side of the coin c, not on the front side, and the reference data storage unit The reference data (data for the detection line d on the back surface side) of the storage area b of 10 is read out, and the same process as that performed with the reference data on the front surface side described above is performed. Then, in the process, the result of the division between the data of each group performed by the comparison unit 9 is sequentially judged by the judgment unit 12, and the judgment result which is recognized as a genuine coin is obtained while repeating this N times. For example, if the result is output, the discrimination process is terminated, and if the result is not recognized as a genuine coin even if it is repeated N times, this time, the coin c to be identified is a non-genuine coin. It outputs and ends the identification process.

[0075]

As described above, according to the present invention, not only the outline of the unevenness on the surface of the coin can be detected as in the prior art, but also the arrangement state thereof can be detected in detail. .

Further, in the present invention, in order to obtain the detection data of the coin along the detection line concentric with the center thereof,
Only one rotation, and then without repeated rotation, check the correspondence between the detection data and the reference data, which is the data on the detection line of the genuine coin, and the degree of coincidence,
In addition, the authenticity of the coin can be judged by the degree of coincidence. In addition, whether the detection line on the front side or the back side of the coin to be identified is detected can be confirmed by sequentially examining the obtained data, and this can also be accurately determined without moving the mechanism. It can be done quickly and quickly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a coin surface state detection unit in a coin identification device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic front view showing a coin rotating unit and a sensor unit holding coins in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of a first half of a coin surface state detecting section in the coin discriminating apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an intermediate operation of a coin surface state detecting section in the coin discriminating apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the latter half of the coin surface state detection unit in the coin discriminating apparatus of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Holding ring 2 Roller member 3 Electric motor 4 Coin rotating part 5 Sensor part 5a Light emitting element 5b Light receiving element 6 Switch part 7 Counting part 8 Detection data storage part 9 Comparison part 10 Reference data storage part 11 Comparison result storage part 12 Judgment part 13 Judgment criteria storage unit 14 Control unit c Coin

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A coin rotating unit that rotates a received identification target coin by 360 degrees with its center as a rotation center and a peripheral end as a rotation outer periphery, and at least one surface of the identification target coin rotated by the coin rotation unit. One or more sensor units arranged in a face-to-face relationship with each other, the sensor unit detecting unevenness along a detection line on the surface of the coin, and output during 360-degree rotation of the coin to be identified by the coin rotating unit. The detection signal output of the sensor unit
A counting unit that samples each rotation angle of N degrees and counts each sample, a detection data storage unit that holds the N detection data counted by the counting unit in the order of sampling, and the same position on the front and back of the genuine coin. Standard data on the detection line, each of which holds N reference data in a predetermined detection order, N detection data sequentially read from the detection data storage, and the reference data. A comparison unit that compares the detection data and the reference data on the front and back sides of the coins corresponding to each other with respect to each N reference data on the front and back sides of the coins that are sequentially read from the storage unit, and a comparison between the comparison units. The comparison result storage unit holding the result data and the comparison result data read from the comparison result storage unit are evaluated, and the comparison result data is identified as the identification pair. A determination unit that determines whether or not the coin is in the range of genuine coins, and a determination that is read by the determination unit and that holds a determination standard for evaluating the data of the comparison result based on the determination unit. When the reference storage unit and the identification target coins are fed into the coin rotation unit and rotated 360 degrees by the coin rotation unit, during the rotation, 3
For each rotation angle of 60 / N degrees, the counting unit is made to sample the detection signal output outputted from the sensor unit, and each sample is counted respectively, and the obtained N pieces of detection data are detected in the sampling order. The detection data group is held in the storage unit, and then, with respect to the detection data group consisting of N pieces of data held in the detection data storage unit, the detection data group is judged to be “within the range” in the judgment evaluation. Or the number of times of reading reaches N times, the reading is repeated, and the reading order of the detected data group is such that N pieces of detected data of the detected data group are ringed from the first reading to the Nth reading. It is assumed that the detection data at the beginning of the reading is sequentially shifted backward one by one, assuming that they are arranged in a line. In the comparison section, in the order of reading, the detected data is compared with the reference data on the coin table side in the corresponding order read out from the reference data storage section in a predetermined order,
The comparison result data is held in the comparison result storage unit, and the comparison result data held in the comparison result storage unit is evaluated by the judgment unit based on the judgment standard read from the judgment standard storage unit. If the judgment evaluation is "within range", it is used as it is as genuine coins. While outputting a signal to that effect, the coin identification process is terminated, and if not, the operation subsequent to the subsequent read operation of the detection data group from the detection data storage unit is continued,
When the judgment evaluation based on the comparison result performed subsequent to the N-th reading is not "inside the range" of the coin to be identified when the coin is a genuine coin, then the detected data storage unit is again provided. Of the detection data group consisting of N pieces of data held by
The reading is repeated until the judgment evaluation in the judgment unit described later becomes “in the range” or the number of times of reading becomes N times, and the read order of the detected data group is set to 1
Assuming that the N pieces of detection data of the detection data group are arranged in a ring shape from the reading of the first time to the reading of the Nth time, the order of the detection data at the beginning of the reading is shifted backward one by one for each successive reading. At each reading, the comparison unit compares the detected data in the reading order with the reference data on the back side of the coins in the corresponding order read from the reference data storage unit in a predetermined order. ,
The comparison result data is held in the comparison result storage unit, and the comparison result data held in the comparison result storage unit is evaluated by the judgment unit based on the judgment standard read from the judgment standard storage unit. If the judgment evaluation is "within range", it is used as it is as genuine coins. While outputting a signal to that effect, the coin identification process is terminated, and if not, the operation subsequent to the subsequent read operation of the detection data group from the detection data storage unit is continued,
When the judgment evaluation based on the comparison result performed after the N-th reading is not “in the range” of the genuine coin as the discriminating target coin, the discriminating target coin is A control unit that outputs a signal indicating that the coin is a non-genuine coin, and a surface state detection unit of the coin in the coin identification device configured by.