Method and apparatus for currency validation
First Claim
1. A method for determining the authenticity and denomination of paper currency, said currency having a plurality of distinct areas each containing currency identifying characteristics, said method comprising the steps of:
- scanning one of said areas with an electrical signal generating sensor and thereby generating a sequence of electrical signals in response to the currency identifying characteristics detected by the sensor in the area scanned,measuring the intervals between the generated signals,classifying each of the measured intervals into one of a plurality of sets, the classification of each of the measured intervals being dependent upon the length of that interval, anddetermining the difference between the number of intervals in one of said sets and the number of intervals in another of said sets.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved currency validator having an electrical signal generating sensor for scanning an area of a bank note and generating a sequence of electrical signals in response to the currency identifying characteristics detected by the sensor in the area scanned is described. Circuitry is provided for measuring the intervals between the generated signals, classifying each of the measured intervals into one of a plurality of sets and determining the difference between the number of intervals in one of said sets and the number of intervals in another of said sets. By comparing the above difference with a constant, information concerning the validity or denomination of the bank note is obtained. Additional circuitry is described for normalizing measured intervals and set bounds to take into effect variations in the speed of transport of banknotes which are to be discriminated.
250 Citations
52 Claims
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1. A method for determining the authenticity and denomination of paper currency, said currency having a plurality of distinct areas each containing currency identifying characteristics, said method comprising the steps of:
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scanning one of said areas with an electrical signal generating sensor and thereby generating a sequence of electrical signals in response to the currency identifying characteristics detected by the sensor in the area scanned, measuring the intervals between the generated signals, classifying each of the measured intervals into one of a plurality of sets, the classification of each of the measured intervals being dependent upon the length of that interval, and determining the difference between the number of intervals in one of said sets and the number of intervals in another of said sets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 49, 50)
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11. A method for determining the authenticity and denomination of paper currency, said currency having a plurality of distinct areas each containing currency identifying characteristics, said method comprising the steps of:
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scanning each of a plurality of said areas with an electrical signal generating sensor and thereby generating a sequence of electrical signals in response to the currency identifying characteristics detected by the sensor with respect to each such area scanned, measuring the intervals between the generated signals with respect to at least one such scanned area, classifying each of the measured intervals in a sequence into one of a plurality of sets, the classification of each of the measured intervals being dependent upon the length of that interval, and with respect to the intervals of a sequence, determining the difference between the number of intervals in one of said sets and the number of intervals in another of said sets.
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12. A method for determining the authenticity and denomination of paper currency, said currency having a plurality of distinct areas each containing currency identifying characteristics, said method comprising the steps of:
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scanning one of said areas with an electrical signal generating sensor and thereby generating a sequence of electrical signals in response to the currency identifying characteristics detected by the sensor in the area scanned, measuring the intervals between the generated signals, calculating a first quantity comprising the aggregate value of all measured intervals in the sequence having a value greater than a predetermined value, calculating a second quantity comprising the measured interval between the first and last signals in said sequence of signals, determining the ratio between said first quantity and said second quantity, and comparing said ratio with a standard ratio for acceptable bills. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. A method for determining the authenticity and denomination of a U.S. bill, said bill having a portrait area containing a background of grid lines, said method comprising the steps of:
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scanning said portrait area with a signal generating sensor and thereby generating a sequence of signals in response to the grid lines detected by said sensor, measuring the intervals between said generated signals, classifying at least some of said measured intervals into a plurality of sets having predefined bounds, the classification of each interval being dependent upon the length of that interval, calculating a value corresponding to the difference between the number of intervals in the set into which the largest number of intervals have been classified and the number of intervals in one or more of said other sets, and rejecting said bill as inauthentic or of improper denomination if said calculated value is less than a predefined difference value. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method for determining the authenticity and denomination of paper currency, said currency having a plurality of distinct nonblank areas each containing currency identifying characteristics, said method comprising the steps of:
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scanning one of said areas with an electrical signal generating sensor and thereby generating a sequence of electrical signals in response to the currency identifying characteristics detected by the sensor in the area scanned, measuring the interval between the first and last signals of the sequence, storing an interval constant representative of the interval for a known acceptable denomination of paper currency, and computing a normalization constant by computing the ratio of the measured interval and the interval constant. - View Dependent Claims (37)
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38. A method for determining the authenticity and denomination of a U.S. bill, said bill having a portrait area containing a background of grid lines, said method comprising the steps of:
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scanning said portrait area with a signal generating sensor and thereby generating a sequence of signals in response to the grid lines detected by said sensor, measuring the portrait area width by determining the interval between the initial signal and the final signal for the portrait area, storing a portrait area width constant indicative of the known width of the portrait area of a genuine U.S. bill, and computing a normalization constant equal to the ratio of the measured portrait area width and the portrait area width constant.
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39. An improved currency validation apparatus for determining the authenticity and denomination of paper currency having a plurality of areas containing currency identifying characteristics, said apparatus comprising:
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an electrical signal generating sensor means for scanning at least one of said areas of said currency and for generating a sequence of signals in response to the currency identifying characteristics detected by the sensor in the area scanned, means for measuring the intervals between the generated signals, means for classifying at least some of the measured intervals into one of a plurality of sets, the classification of each of said measured intervals being dependent on the length of that interval, and means for obtaining information indicative of the authenticity and denomination of said currency based on the contents of these sets. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 51, 52)
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45. A method for determining the authenticity and denomination of paper currency, said currency having a plurality of distinct areas each containing currency identifying characteristics, said method comprising the steps of:
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scanning one of said areas with a first electrical signal generating sensor and thereby generating a sequence of electrical signals in response to the currency identifying characteristics detected by the sensor in the area scanned, measuring the intervals between the generated signals, classifying at least some of the measured intervals into an appropriate one of a plurality of sets, the classification of each of the measured intervals being dependent upon the length of that interval, and determining the authenticity and denomination of said currency based upon the classifications of measured intervals in the plurality of sets. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48)
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Specification