JP4629588B2 - Coin identification device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coin identification device, and in particular, is equipped with a coin identification sensor provided with a coin pressing means for pressing a coin against a conveyance path in order to prevent the rotation of coins generated during the coin conveyance by a single conveyance belt. The present invention relates to a coin identification device.

In order to identify a coin, an image of the coin is captured by an image sensor, and compared with an image (whole or part) stored in advance, the type of the coin is identified.
There are two types of sensors for capturing images, one is a method for capturing two-dimensional images using a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) sensor, and the other is used for scanners, copiers, fax machines, etc. A coin image is captured in a band shape using a line sensor of a type in which the sensors are arranged in a line, and the entire coin image is formed by arranging the band images (see Patent Document 1).
The former captures the entire image of the coin instantaneously at a time, so there is no effect even if the coin rotates during transport, but the latter captures the band image sequentially, so the coin rotates during scanning. As a result, the entire image synthesized by arranging the band images becomes distorted, and correct identification cannot be performed. As a result, the identification accuracy is reduced.

However, in the conventional coin discriminating apparatus, since the coin is transported by one transport belt, there is a problem that the coin easily rotates in the transport path.
Moreover, in order to keep the coin identification accuracy constant, it is necessary that the end face of the coin is always transported along the wall on one side (side-shift side) of the transport path. The side-shifting mechanism is provided in the side-by-side mechanism (see Patent Document 2). However, due to the structure of the coin discriminating device, if it is misaligned due to trash on the transport path (coin floats when riding on it), the coin is guided to the misalignment side in order to keep the coin identification accuracy constant. A separate means is required.
JP-A-7-167611 JP-A-7-334728

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and the present invention makes it difficult for a coin to rotate even if the coin is transported by a single transport belt. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coin discriminating device that can reliably collect coins, suppress floating of coins, and can acquire a stable coin image by providing a one-side guide member that guides to the one-sided side. And

The present invention relates to a coin identifying device, and the object of the present invention is to provide a transport path for transporting coins, a magnetic sensor provided in the vicinity of the transport path, and / or the transport path provided below the transport path. A coin identification device having a coin identification sensor having either a line sensor or an image sensor for reading an image of the coin from below, and a belt-shaped coin conveyance means passing through a substantially central portion in the width direction of the conveyance path. ,
A bristle formed by bundling thin pieces of flexible conductive plastic at a position near the entrance of the conveyance path of the coin identification sensor and on the opposite side of the center in the width direction of the conveyance path. This is achieved by a coin discriminating device provided with a brush-shaped side-by-side guide member.

The above-described object of the present invention, further, along said conveying direction of the coin conveyance path, the coin so that a pair of curved plate-shaped elastic member on both sides so as to sandwich the conveying means is convex below It is effectively achieved by the coin discriminating apparatus that suppresses the floating and rotation of the coin during conveyance by pressing the coin to be conveyed against the conveyance path from above .

According to the coin discriminating apparatus according to the present invention, the coin to be conveyed can be pressed against the conveyance path from above by the surface, so that the rotation of the coin during conveyance can be suppressed.
In addition, by providing a side-by-side guide member made of a flexible elastic body, it becomes possible to always transport coins in a side-by-side state and to suppress the floating of coins. Images can be acquired.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a coin identifying device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a coin identifying device 1 according to the present invention, and a magnetic sensor (not shown) and a line sensor (not shown here) are provided below a conveyance path 3 through which coins 2 are conveyed. And a conveyor belt 5 serving as a conveying means for conveying the coin 2 while moving the coin 2 on the conveying path. The conveyor belt 5 is provided with a belt pin 6, and the belt pin 6 moves together as the conveyor belt 5 moves in the direction of the arrow, and conveyance is performed by pushing the coin 2. In FIG. 1, the conveyor belt 5 is written in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, but is actually a continuous ring shape, and a plurality of belt pins 6 are also provided at predetermined intervals (for details, see Patent Document 1 above). (See FIG. 9). The conveyor belt may be a flat belt or a round belt.
Reference numeral 7 denotes a plate-like elastic member that is curved in a U shape so as to protrude downward, and is provided in a pair substantially parallel to the conveyance direction of the conveyance path (in the figure, one side is behind the conveyance belt). It is provided to suppress the rotation of coins during transport by pressing the transported coins 2 against the transport path at two locations from above.
In FIG. 1, both ends of the elastic member 7 appear to float in the air, but actually, the elastic member 7 is slidably held by a holding member as described later.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the arrangement of the elastic member 7, and is obtained by removing the conveyor belt 5 from FIG. 1. The elastic member 7 suppresses the rotation of the coin during conveyance by pressing the coin 2 at two locations from above. A line sensor 8 is provided below the conveyance path 3.
FIG. 2A shows the place where the coin 2 has just entered the conveyance path 3 and has not yet been “pressed” by the elastic member 7. This is because the image has not yet been read by the line sensor 8 and is not affected even if rotated.
FIG. 2B shows that the coin 2 is being image-read by the line sensor 8, and the coin 2 is being pressed by the pair of elastic members 7.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 2, for explaining how the elastic member 7 is deformed and presses the coin 2 as the coin 2 moves.
In FIG. 3A, both ends of the elastic member 7 are slidably held by holding members 9. The state immediately before the coin 2 enters under the elastic member 7 is shown. FIG. 3B shows a state in which the coin 2 enters below the elastic member 7 to push up the elastic member 7, and as a reaction, the coin 2 is pressed against the transport path 3 by the elastic member 7. Also, the elastic member 7 itself slides left and right in the holding groove of the holding member 9 due to elastic deformation. In this state, the line sensor captures an image of the coin 2. FIG. 3C shows a state where the elastic member 7 has returned to its original state due to elastic deformation as the coin 2 moves.
In the above description, both ends of the elastic member 7 are slidably held, but one side may be fixed and the other may be slidably held.
As the elastic member 7, it is important that the friction between the elastic member 7 and the coin is small as well as the property as an elastic body. A suitable material for this is the trade name Polyslider (registered trademark) tape. This is a product in which graphite particles are homogeneously dispersed in the composition taking advantage of the excellent properties of nylon, and the graphite particles in a floating state are made by pressure drawing so that a flat graphite layer is formed on the surface of the tape. It is a patent product of the company Asahi Polyslider.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of another embodiment of the coin identification device 1 according to the present invention. The difference from the embodiment of FIG. 1 is the vicinity of the entrance of the conveyance path 3 of the coin identification sensor, This is the point that a biasing guide member 10 made of a conductive flexible elastic body is provided at a position closer to the counter-shifting side than the center in the width direction of the transport path. The purpose of providing the one-side guide member 10 is to first bring the coin 2 to the one-side side of the transport path 3 so that the transported coin 2 always passes through the same route when moving in the transport path. Second, elimination of instability due to floating of coins during transport due to the gap between the coin 2 and the belly of the transport belt 5, and third, use of a conductive material for static electricity generated during transport To escape by doing. In FIG. 4, the conveyor belt 5 is omitted for convenience. Further, the side-by-side guide member 10 is not fixed to the transport path 3 but is actually fixed to an upper case (not shown), and a slight gap (between the side-by-side guide member 10 and the transport path 3 ( Smaller than the thickness of the coin).
Note that a two-dimensional image sensor may be provided instead of the line sensor on the transport downstream side of the one-way guide member 10, or a magnetic sensor may be provided.

  FIG. 5 is a plan view of the coin identification device of FIG. 4 as viewed from above. A place where the coin 2 is guided to the side by the side guide member 10 when entering the transport path 3 is shown. In addition, it is desirable that the distance between the side-by-side guide member 10 and the side-by-side wall is smaller than the diameter of the smallest coin to be identified and larger than half the diameter of the largest coin to be identified.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a mechanism by which the coins 2 are brought closer to the side by the side guide member 10.
The left side of FIG. 6 (A) is a state where the coin 2 conveyed by the conveyor belt 5 is not yet moved to the side-shift side before touching the side-shift guide member 10 or after being moved by a mechanism not shown. It is a figure which shows the state used as the deviation. The diagram on the right side of FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a YY cross section in the diagram on the left side. According to this figure, it can be seen that when the conveyor belt 5 moves to the right, the coin 2 is pushed to the right by the belt pin 6 and moves on the conveyor path 3. At this time, due to a gap between the antinode (lower side) of the conveyor belt 5 and the coin 2, the coin 2 may float from the conveyor path and become loose due to dust on the conveyor path.
Moreover, although it is the positional relationship of the one side guide member 10 and the elastic member 7, before the coin 2 passes under the one side guide member 10, it needs to contact with the elastic member 7 and be pressed down by the elastic force. Therefore, it is desirable that the distance d between the side guide member 10 and the point where the coin comes into contact with the elastic member 7 is not more than the diameter of the smallest coin among the coins to be identified.
The left side of FIG. 6 (B) is a view showing a state in which the coin 2 conveyed by the conveying belt 5 is guided to the side-by-side side by the side-by-side guide member 10. When the conveyor belt 5 further moves to the right side from this state, the coin 2 pushed by the belt pin 6 receives a force in the side-shifting direction by the one-side guide member 10 and is further pressed from above. That is, the state shifts to the state shown in FIG.
FIG 6 (C) is a diagram showing a state of being pressed from above by the guide member 10 coin 2 is biased, in particular, as can be seen from the right side of FIG, pressed against the conveying path by the guide member 10 coin 2 is biased As a result, the transport path and the coin 2 are transported in close contact with each other, and are stabilized. As can be seen from the figure, the one-way guide member 10 presses the coin 2 from above, and therefore needs to be a flexible elastic body. Furthermore, a conductive material may be used to discharge static electricity by grounding it.
As an example of the one-way guide member 10, one in which thin bristles of conductive plastic are bundled into a bristle brush shape is preferable. This is because conductivity can be ensured as well as flexibility.
If the coins are effectively pressed from above by increasing the width of the elastic member 7 or the like, it is not necessary to provide a pair of elastic members 7 and only one location may be provided.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the coin identification device which concerns on this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating arrangement | positioning of an elastic member, and removes a conveyance belt from FIG. It is XX sectional drawing in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of another embodiment of the coin identification device which concerns on this invention. It is a top view when the coin identification device of FIG. 4 is seen from the top. It is a figure for demonstrating the mechanism in which a coin is brought near by the side-justification guide member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Coin identification apparatus 2 Coin 3 Conveying path 4 Coin identification sensor 5 Conveying belt 6 Belt pin 7 Elastic member 8 Line sensor 9 Holding member 10 Eccentric guide member

Claims (2)

A conveyance path through which coins are conveyed, a magnetic sensor provided in the vicinity of the conveyance path, and / or a line sensor or an image sensor that is provided below the conveyance path and reads an image of the coin from below the conveyance path. A coin identification sensor having one of the following:
A belt-shaped coin transport means that passes through a substantially central portion in the width direction of the transport path;
In the coin identification device having
A bristle formed by bundling thin pieces of flexible conductive plastic at a position near the entrance of the conveyance path of the coin identification sensor and on the opposite side of the center in the width direction of the conveyance path. A coin discriminating apparatus provided with a brush-like one-side guide member.   Furthermore, a pair of curved plate-like elastic members are provided so as to protrude downward on both sides of the coin conveying means so as to sandwich the coin conveying means along the coin conveying direction of the conveying path, and the coins to be conveyed are The coin identifying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coin is prevented from rotating during conveyance by being pressed against the conveyance path from above.

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