Paper sheet processing device

Abstract

To provide a paper sheet processing device that can sense the presence or absence of small bands while ensuring performance of sensing the number of sub-bundles.SOLUTION: According to an embodiment, the paper sheet processing device includes: an illumination device having a first light source device that emits a first inspection light of a first wavelength from a first direction to an inspection surface of a paper sheet bundle obtained by stacking and binding by a large band a plurality of sub-bundles, each sub-bundle being obtained by binding a plurality of stacked paper sheets by a small band, and a second light source device that emits a second inspection light of a second wavelength different in wavelength from the first wavelength from a second direction different from the first direction to the inspection surface; an image pickup device that picks up an image of the inspection surface; and a controller including an image processing unit that extracts an image of the first wavelength and an image of the second wavelength from the image of the inspection surface and a determination unit that senses the number of the sub-bundles of the paper sheet bundle based on the image of the first wavelength and senses the number of the small bands based on the image of the second wavelength.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a paper sheet processing apparatus for inspecting the bound state of paper sheets.

Background Art

[0002] In a paper sheet processing apparatus, a bundling process is performed in which paper sheets are bundled in small bundles of 100 sheets each to form a bunch, and ten bunches are bundled with a large band to form a bundle. Further, in the paper sheet processing apparatus, a process of imaging a bundled bundle and analyzing the captured image to inspect the bundling state is performed. In the current paper sheet processing apparatus, the presence or absence of ten bunches is detected, but the bundling state of the small bands is not detected for all bunches. Therefore, there are cases where the presence or absence of the small bands and the number of small bands cannot be accurately recognized. When a small band comes off, it is necessary to conduct an appeal investigation, which requires a lot of time.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of embodiments of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet processing apparatus capable of detecting the presence or absence of small bands while ensuring the performance of bunch number detection.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] According to an embodiment, a paper sheet processing apparatus includes a lighting device having a first light source device that irradiates a first inspection surface of a bundle of paper sheets, which are bundled with a small band and stacked in a plurality of bundles, with first inspection light of a first wavelength from a first direction, and a second light source device that irradiates the inspection surface with second inspection light of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength from a second direction different from the first direction; an imaging device that images the inspection surface; an image processing unit that extracts an image of the first wavelength and an image of the second wavelength from an image of the inspection surface imaged by the imaging device; and a determination unit that detects the number of bundles of the paper sheets based on the image of the first wavelength and detects the number of small bands based on the image of the second wavelength, and a controller including the determination unit.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0006]

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BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0007] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an inspection device of a paper sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment will be described. It should be noted that the disclosure is merely an example, and for those skilled in the art, appropriate changes that maintain the gist of the invention and can be easily conceived are naturally included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, for the purpose of making the description clearer, the drawings may schematically represent the width, thickness, shape, etc. of each part compared to the actual aspect, but this is merely an example and does not limit the interpretation of the present invention. Also, in this specification and each drawing, the same reference numerals may be assigned to the same elements as those described above with respect to the already shown drawings, and detailed descriptions may be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

[0008] (Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a bundle inspection device according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a binding medium, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a bundle of paper sheets (a bundle of banknotes). First, the binding medium to be inspected by the binding inspection device will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, as an example of the binding medium, paper sheets, for example, a bundle 20 of banknotes P, is used. The bundle 20 is formed by, for example, bundling one hundred banknotes P stacked in the same orientation with a binding band (small band) B1, and a plurality of, for example, 10 bundles, are stacked. The bundles 21 are stacked such that the small bands B1 overlap. One large band B2 is wound around the 10 bundles 21 so as to overlap a part of the small band B1. The other large band B2 is wound around the 10 bundles 21 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the small band B1 and the one large band B2.

[0009] The stacking direction of the banknotes P and the bundles 21 is defined as the Y direction (which may be referred to as the first direction), and the direction orthogonal to the Y direction, that is, the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the small bands B1, is defined as the X direction (which may be referred to as the second direction). Also, among the banknote bundle 20, the surface on which a part of the 10 small bands B1 and the large band B2 is exposed is defined as the inspection surface S1 of the banknote bundle 20.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection device 10 is a device for inspecting the bound state of the banknote bundle 20. That is, the inspection device 10 detects the number of bundles, the number of small bands B1, etc. of the banknote bundle 20, and inspects whether they are aligned in a predetermined number and whether there is no omission.

[0011] The inspection device 10 includes a placement unit 30 on which the banknote bundle 20 is placed, an illumination device 42 that irradiates inspection light onto the inspection surface S1 of the banknote bundle 20 placed on the placement unit 30, an imaging device, for example, a camera 50 that images the inspection surface S1, and a controller 60. The placement unit 30 is composed of, for example, a belt conveyor 31. The belt conveyor 31 also serves as a conveyance unit that conveys the banknote bundle 20 in the X direction. In one example, the belt conveyor 31 extends substantially horizontally. The upper surface of the belt conveyor 31 forms a horizontal placement surface. The banknote bundle 20 is placed on the upper surface of the belt conveyor 31 with the inspection surface S1 facing upward and the X direction coinciding with the conveyance direction. Note that the placement unit 30 is not limited to a movable conveyor and may be a fixed placement table.

[0012] The lighting device 42 includes a first light source device 42a that irradiates the inspection surface S1 of the banknote bundle 20 with inspection light of a first wavelength, and a second light source device 42b that irradiates the inspection surface S1 with inspection light of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength. The first wavelength can be, for example, the wavelength of blue light (430 - 490 nm), and the second wavelength can be, for example, the wavelength of red light (640 - 770 nm). Note that the first wavelength and the second wavelength only need to be different from each other, and are not limited to blue and red inspection lights, and other wavelengths can be selected.

[0013] FIG. 5 is a plan view of an inspection device schematically showing a state in which inspection light is irradiated from the first light source device to the banknote bundle. As shown in the figure, the first light source device 42a is arranged on one end side of the banknote bundle 20 in the Y direction with respect to the banknote bundle 20, and is spaced above the banknote bundle 20. The first light source device 42a has a plurality of first light sources 44a arranged side by side in the X direction at a predetermined interval. The first light source device 42a faces the inspection surface S1 over the entire length of the width of the inspection surface S1 in the X direction. The optical axis of each first light source 44a is along the Y direction and is inclined at a predetermined angle, for example, 40 - 60°, with respect to the inspection surface S1. As the first light source 44a, an LED, a lamp, or the like can be used. The first light source device 42a can irradiate the entire inspection surface S1 with the first inspection light L1 of the first wavelength from the Y direction.

[0014] FIG. 6 is a plan view of an inspection device schematically showing a state in which inspection light is irradiated from the second light source device to the banknote bundle. As shown in the figure, the second light source device 42b is arranged on one end side of the banknote bundle 20 in the X direction with respect to the banknote bundle 20, and is spaced above the banknote bundle 20. The second light source device 42b has a plurality of second light sources 44b arranged side by side in the Y direction at a predetermined interval. The second light source device 42b faces the inspection surface S1 over the entire length of the width of the inspection surface S1 in the Y direction. The optical axis of each second light source 44b is along the X direction and is inclined at a predetermined angle θ (see FIG. 1) with respect to the inspection surface S1. The angle θ is set to, for example, 1 - 35°. As the second light source 44b, an LED, a lamp, or the like can be used. The second light source device 42b can irradiate the entire inspection surface S1 with the second inspection light L2 of the second wavelength from the X direction. In the present embodiment, the second light source device 42b is provided on the side closer to the large band B2 with respect to the inspection surface S1. Thereby, the second light source device 42b irradiates the second inspection light L2 from the side of the large band B2 toward the small band B1.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the camera 50 is disposed directly above the banknote bundle 20 and faces the inspection surface S1 of the banknote bundle 20. The camera 50 includes an image pickup device and a lens (not shown) and picks up a color image of the inspection surface S1.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the inspection apparatus. As shown in the figure, the controller 60 of the inspection apparatus 10 includes a camera 50, an illumination device 42, a driver 62 for driving the belt conveyor 31, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 64, a memory 66 for storing inspection data, and the like. A monitor 70 for displaying information such as inspection results is connected to the controller 60. The CPU 64 includes an image processing unit 64a that processes the image picked up by the camera 50, an arithmetic unit 64b that extracts feature amounts from the processed image, and a determination unit 64c that determines the bound state based on the feature amounts.

[0017] Next, the inspection operation of the inspection apparatus will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the inspection operation of the inspection apparatus 10, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the extraction operation of the projection image in the inspection operation. As a prerequisite for the inspection operation, the controller 60 drives the belt conveyor 31, conveys the banknote bundle 20 to a predetermined inspection position, and stops. At the inspection position, the inspection surface S1 of the banknote bundle 20 is located directly below the camera 50 in a state facing a predetermined direction.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 7, the controller 60 drives the lighting device 42 to irradiate the entire inspection surface S1 with the first inspection light L1 from the first light source device 42a along the Y direction, and at the same time, or with a slight time difference, irradiates the entire inspection surface S1 with the second inspection light L2 from the second light source device 42b along the X direction (ST1). As described above, the second inspection light L2 is irradiated on the inspection surface S1 from the side of the large band B2 toward the small band B1.

[0019] When the inspection surface S1 is irradiated with the first inspection light L1 along the stacking direction (Y direction) of the grips 21, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5, shadows are formed at the boundaries between two adjacent grips 21 in the stacking direction and at the boundaries between two adjacent small bands B1 in the stacking direction. Also, when the inspection surface S1 is irradiated with the second inspection light L2 from the side of the large band B2 toward the small band B1 along the X direction orthogonal to the stacking direction (Y direction) of the grips 21, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 6, shadows are formed at the boundaries or steps between each small band B1 and the side surface of the stacked banknote. At this time, the smaller the inclination angle θ of the optical axis of the second light source 44b is set, the clearer or wider the shadow formed at the boundary or step between the small band B1 and the side surface of the stacked banknote becomes.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 7, with the first inspection light L1 and the second inspection light L2 irradiating the inspection surface S1, the controller 60 images the inspection surface S1 with the camera 50 (ST2). The image processing unit 64a of the controller 60 generates a color image of the inspection surface S1 based on the imaging data sent from the camera 50. FIG. 9 shows an example of the color image of the inspection surface S1.

[0021] Subsequently, the image processing unit 64a extracts the image by the first inspection light L1 of the first wavelength from the color image and generates the first wavelength image shown in FIG. 10 (ST3). Also, the image processing unit 64a extracts the image by the second inspection light L2 of the second wavelength from the color image and generates the second wavelength image shown in FIG. 13 (ST4).

[0022] The arithmetic unit 64b of the controller 60 calculates and extracts the feature amount (shadow portion) in the X-axis (X direction) of the first wavelength image (ST5). FIG. 8 is a flowchart schematically showing the arithmetic processing operation of the feature amount. As shown in the figure, in the arithmetic processing, the arithmetic unit 64b filters the first wavelength image with a spatial filter, for example, a Sobel filter, to generate the first shadow image shown in FIG. 11 (STa). Subsequently, the arithmetic unit 64b projects the shadow in the X-axis (X direction) every 21 pitches onto the first shadow image to generate the first projection image shown in FIG. 12 (STb). Further, the arithmetic unit 64b extracts the feature amount (amount of shadow portion) in the X direction every 21 pitches based on the first projection image (STc).

[0023] As shown in FIG. 7, the determination unit 64c of the controller 60 detects the number of pitches of the 21 pitches based on the extracted feature amount in the X direction. Further, the determination unit 64c compares the detected number of pitches with a reference value to determine whether they match, that is, whether there is no missing pitch. The determination unit 64c stores the inspection result in the memory 66 (ST7).

[0024] As shown in FIG. 7, the arithmetic unit 64b of the controller 60 calculates and extracts the feature amount (shadow portion) in the Y-axis (Y direction) of the second wavelength image in parallel with or subsequent to the above-described arithmetic processing of the first wavelength image (ST8). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, in the arithmetic processing, the arithmetic unit 64b filters the second wavelength image with a spatial filter, for example, a Sobel filter, to generate the second shadow image shown in FIG. 14 (STa). Subsequently, the arithmetic unit 64b projects the shadow in the X-axis (X direction) every 21 pitches onto the second shadow image to generate the second projection image shown in FIG. 15 (STb). Further, the arithmetic unit 64b extracts the feature amount (amount of shadow portion) in the Y direction every 21 pitches based on the second projection image (STc).

[0025] As shown in FIG. 7, the determination unit 64c of the controller 60 detects the number of small bands B1 based on the extracted feature amount in the Y direction (ST9). Further, the determination unit 64c compares the detected number of small bands with a reference value to determine whether they match, that is, whether there is no missing small band. The determination unit 64c stores the inspection result in the memory 66 (ST7).

[0026] Based on the inspection results, the controller 60 determines that a stack of banknotes having a predetermined number of bundles and a predetermined number of strips is normal, and displays on a display device, for example, a monitor 70, the inspection result that the stack of banknotes 20 is normal. Further, based on the inspection results, when the controller 60 determines that the number of bundles or the number of strips of the stack of banknotes is missing, it displays the abnormality and the missing of the stack of banknotes on the monitor 70 to alert the operator.

[0027] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a second wavelength image of a stack of banknotes 20 with one strip B1 missing as a comparative example, and FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a second shadow image of the stack of banknotes 20. As shown in the figure, at the location where one strip B1 is missing, there is no step between the strip and the side surface of the banknote bundle, and no shadow caused by the step is generated. Therefore, also in the second shadow image shown in FIG. 17, the image is one without the shadow corresponding to one strip B1. The controller 60 of the inspection device 10 can easily detect the missing of the strip by detecting the number of strips based on the feature amount of the shadow in the second shadow image.

[0028] As described above, according to the inspection device according to the present embodiment, the first inspection light of the first wavelength and the second inspection light of the second wavelength different from the first inspection light are irradiated from different directions onto the inspection surface of the stack of banknotes serving as the subject, a color image of the inspection surface is captured by a camera, the color image is separated into an image of the first wavelength and an image of the second wavelength, the number of bundles of the stacked bundles is detected from the image of the first wavelength, and the number of strips is detected from the image of the second wavelength. Thus, an inspection device capable of detecting the number of strips without adding a special sensor or the like and while ensuring the performance of detecting the number of bundles is obtained.

[0029] Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, by setting the irradiation direction of the first inspection light in a direction suitable for detecting the number of bundles and setting the irradiation direction of the second inspection light in a direction suitable for detecting the number of strips, it is possible to clearly form the shadow necessary for detection. Thereby, it becomes possible to detect the number of bundles and the number of strips with higher accuracy. Further, according to the inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment, by acquiring a color image of the inspection surface in a state where the first inspection light and the second inspection light are simultaneously irradiated, the first wavelength image and the second wavelength image of the subject generated simultaneously at the same position are obtained. Based on this, hand count detection and small band count detection can be performed, and it is possible to improve the detection performance.

[0030] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and at the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied without departing from the gist thereof. Further, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined. For example, the shape, dimensions, material, etc. of each component in the inspection apparatus are not limited to the embodiments and can be changed as appropriate. The paper sheets are not limited to banknotes and can also be applied to other paper sheets such as securities.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0031] 10…Inspection apparatus, 20…Banknote bundle, 21…Hand, 30…Placement unit, 42…Illumination device, 42a…First light source device, 42b…Second light source device, 44a…First light source, 44b…Second light source, 50…Camera, 60…Controller, 64a…Image processing unit, 64b…Calculation unit, 64c…Determination unit, B1…Small band, B2…Large band

Claims

1. A first light source device that irradiates a first inspection light of a first wavelength from a first direction onto an inspection surface of a bundle of paper sheets that is formed by stacking a plurality of bundles each formed by binding a plurality of stacked sheets of paper with a small band and then stacking a plurality of such bundles and binding them with a large band; and a second light source device that irradiates a second inspection light of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength onto the inspection surface from a second direction different from the first direction. An illumination device having: An imaging device that images the inspection surface; An image processing unit that extracts an image of the first wavelength and an image of the second wavelength from an image of the inspection surface imaged by the imaging device, and a determination unit that detects the number of bundles of the paper sheets based on the image of the first wavelength and detects the number of small bands based on the image of the second wavelength. A controller including: A paper sheet processing apparatus comprising:

2. The inspection surface of the bundle of paper sheets is a surface on which the plurality of bundles and the plurality of small bands are present. The second light source device is arranged to irradiate the second inspection light along the second direction intersecting the stacking direction of the plurality of bundles onto the inspection surface. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The second light source device includes a plurality of second light sources arranged side by side in the stacking direction of the plurality of bundles, and the second light source device is arranged to irradiate the second inspection light onto the inspection surface from a direction inclined by 1 to 30 degrees with respect to the inspection surface. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The first light source device is arranged to irradiate the first inspection light along the first direction orthogonal to the stacking direction of the plurality of bundles onto the inspection surface. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3.

5. The second direction and the first direction are different from each other by 90°. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1.

6. The second direction is a direction from the large band toward the small band and orthogonal to the stacking direction of the plurality of bundles. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 5.

7. The apparatus further includes a display device that displays a determination result by the controller. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller displays, on the display device, an alarm for missing a bundle or a small band when the number of bundles or the number of small bands is less than a predetermined number.

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