PAPER SHEET RECOGNITION APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20090183967A1
• Filed: 03/31/2009
• Published: 07/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Glory Limited
• Original Assignee: Glory Limited
• Inventors: Hamasaki, Hiroki
• Granted Patent: US 8,371,429 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 194/320
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/50 Sorting or counting valuable papers
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/202 Depositing operations within ATMs depositing in general G07D11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/203 Dispensing operations within ATMs dispensing in general G07D11/00

Abstract

A paper sheet recognition apparatus includes a sensor that measures feature amounts of a paper sheet; a recognition unit that recognizes whether the paper sheet is genuine or counterfeit, and fit or unfit, based on the feature amount; a memory unit that stores therein a plurality of pieces of different category classification pattern information prepared for each category for classifying the paper sheets into a plurality of categories, which is obtained by combining the feature amounts; and a category determining unit that determines a category of the recognized paper sheet using a recognition result in the recognition unit and the category classification pattern information.

Claims

1. A paper sheet recognition apparatus comprising:

a sensor that measures feature amounts of a paper sheet;

a recognition unit that recognizes whether the paper sheet is genuine or counterfeit, and fit or unfit, based on the feature amount;

a memory unit that stores therein a plurality of pieces of different category classification pattern information prepared for each category for classifying the paper sheets into a plurality of categories, which is obtained by combining the feature amounts; and

a category determining unit that determines a category of the recognized paper sheet using a recognition result in the recognition unit and the category classification pattern information.

2. The paper sheet recognition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feature amounts includes:

a first feature amount indicating a shape of the paper sheet;

a second feature amount indicating a quantity and wavelength of light transmitted through or reflected by the paper sheet as an optical feature amount to be measured optically; and

a third feature amount indicating a magnetic content included in the paper sheet as a magnetic feature amount to be measured magnetically.

3. The paper sheet recognition apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first feature amount indicates an amount of a corner folding or a missing part of the paper sheet.

4. The paper sheet recognition apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second feature amount indicates an attenuation of infrared ray transmitted through or reflected by the paper sheet.

5. The paper sheet recognition apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the third feature amount indicates a magnetic content included in a serial-number printed portion, a portrait portion, and an amount-printed portion of the paper sheet.

6. The paper sheet recognition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the paper sheet is a bill, and

the category determining unit classifies the bills into:

a first category corresponding to a genuine and fit bill;

a second category corresponding to a genuine and unfit bill;

a third category corresponding to a suspect bill that cannot be clearly determined as a genuine bill;

a fourth category corresponding to a counterfeit bill, which is clearly different from the genuine bill and suspected as the counterfeit bill; and

a fifth category corresponding to a unrecognizable bill that is not a bill or cannot be recognized as a bill.

7. The paper sheet recognition apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a receiving unit that receives a bill;

a returning unit that returns the received bill;

a storage unit that stores therein the received bill, and

a distributing unit that distributes the bill classified as the fifth category by the category determining unit to the returning unit and the bill classified as any of the first to fourth categories to the storage unit.

8. The paper sheet recognition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory unit stores therein the category classification pattern information different for each country, and

the paper sheet recognition apparatus further comprises a category-classification-pattern specifying unit that specifies the category classification pattern information different for each country.

9. The paper sheet recognition apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the category-classification-pattern specifying unit is an electronic terminal electrically connected to the apparatus itself.

10. The paper sheet recognition apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the category-classification-pattern specifying unit is an information input unit provided in the apparatus itself.

11. A paper sheet recognition method comprising:

measuring feature amounts of a paper sheet;

recognizing whether the paper sheet is genuine or counterfeit, and fit or unfit, based on the feature amount; and

determining a category of the recognized paper sheet using a recognition result in the recognizing and a plurality of pieces of different category classification pattern information prepared for each category for classifying the paper sheets into a plurality of categories, which is obtained by combining the feature amounts.

12. The paper sheet recognition method according to claim 11, wherein the feature amounts includes:

a first feature amount indicating a shape of the paper sheet;

a second feature amount indicating a quantity and wavelength of light transmitted through or reflected by the paper sheet as an optical feature amount to be measured optically; and

a third feature amount indicating a magnetic content included in the paper sheet as a magnetic feature amount to be measured magnetically.

13. The paper sheet recognition method according to claim 12, wherein the first feature amount indicates an amount of a corner folding or a missing part of the paper sheet.

14. The paper sheet recognition method according to claim 12, wherein the second feature amount indicates an attenuation of infrared ray transmitted through or reflected by the paper sheet.

15. The paper sheet recognition method according to claim 12, wherein the third feature amount indicates a magnetic content included in a serial-number printed portion, a portrait portion, and an amount-printed portion of the paper sheet.

16. The paper sheet recognition method according to claim 11, wherein

the paper sheet is a bill, and

in the determining, the bills is classified into:

a first category corresponding to a genuine and fit bill;

a second category corresponding to a genuine and unfit bill;

a third category corresponding to a suspect bill that cannot be clearly determined as a genuine bill;

a fourth category corresponding to a counterfeit bill, which is clearly different from the genuine bill and suspected as the counterfeit bill; and

a fifth category corresponding to an unrecognizable bill that is not a bill or cannot be recognized as a bill.

17. A bill processing apparatus comprising:

a sensor that measures a plurality of feature amounts of a bill;

a recognition unit that recognizes denomination of the bill based on the feature amount;

a memory unit that stores therein a plurality of pieces of category classification pattern information for classifying the bills into a plurality of categories, which is obtained by combining the feature amounts; and

a category determining unit that determines a category of the bill using the category classification pattern information based on the feature amounts.