Recess and protrusion surface detecting device for an object and for coin identification

• US 6,288,538 B1
• Filed: 12/03/1998
• Issued: 09/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sankyo Seiki Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Nidec Corporation), University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (State of New Jersey)
• Original Assignee: Sankyo Seiki Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Nidec Corporation)
• Inventors: Yokozawa, Mitsuo, Aruga, Fusayoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Strecker, Gerard R.
• Application Number:
  US09/204,732
• Time in Patent Office: 1,013 Days
• Field of Search: 324/207.17, 324/207.26, 324/226-232, 324/234, 324/235, 324/239, 324/241, 324/242, 324/243, 324/262, 731/59, 194/317, 194/318, 194/320, 194/328, 194/329, 235/449, 235/450, 209/567, 209/570, 335/010.3, 335/51, 335/52
• US Class Current: 324/232
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 7/34 for measuring roughness or irregularity of surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 5/005 Testing the surface pattern, e.g. relief

Abstract

A surface profile detecting device comprises a plurality of bar-like cores disposed in a line with predetermined intervals in a predetermined disposing direction. Each core has tip ends that are arranged on a single plane and which face a surface of an object to be measured having recesses and protrusions in a magnetic field such that they are relatively movable in a direction orthogonal to said disposing direction. The detecting device also includes detecting arrangement provided in each of the bar-like cores for detecting changes in magnetic flux generated due to the uneven profile of the object to be measured. An A/D converting device is provided for A/D converting the output of the detecting arrangement with a predetermined timing. A memory is also provided for storing the output from the AND converting device. The uneven profile of the object to be measured in a predetermined range is detected from the data stored in the memory.

Claims

1. A surface profile detecting device comprising:

a plurality of bar-like cores disposed in a line with predetermined intervals in a predetermined disposing direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of an object to be measured, each having bar-like core tip ends that are arranged on a single plane and which directly face a surface of said object to be measured having an uneven profile comprising recesses and protrusions which are affected by a magnetic field generated by a plurality of adjacent supporting cores wherein supporting core tip ends are disposed in the same direction as the bar-like core tip ends; and

wherein said supporting cores are wound around with an exciting coil for creating said magnetic field wherein said supporting core tip ends directly face the surface of said object and said supporting cores are integrally formed with said bar-like cores wherein said supporting core tip ends and said bar-like core tip ends of each integrally formed supporting core and bar-like core are only arranged in the direction of the relative movement of said object; and

a plurality of signal detection circuits, each signal detection circuit connected with a magenetic detector wherein each of said signal detection circuits is connected to an A/D converter;

said magnetic detector provided with each of said bar-like cores for detecting changes in magnetic flux generated due to said uneven profile of said object to be measured;

said A/D converter for A/D converting an output of each of said signal detection circuits with a predetermined timing; and

a memory for storing an output from said A/D converter, said uneven profile of said object to be measured in a predetermined range being detected from the data stored in said memory.

2. The surface profile detecting device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the width of a tip end of said bar-like core in said relative movement direction is set smaller than the width of said uneven profile of said object to be measured, which is an object to be detected, and wherein said magnetic detector is a detecting coil wound around said bar-like core.

3. The surface profile detecting device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the width of a tip end of said bar-like core in said relative movement direction is set smaller than the width of said uneven profile of said object to be measured, which is an object to be detected, and wherein said magnetic detector is a magnetoresistance element mounted to said bar-like core.

4. The surface profile detecting device as set forth in claim 2 wherein a plurality of said bar-like cores disposed in a line with intervals are arranged in multiple rows in said relative movement direction, and wherein each bar-like core in the back row of said relative movement direction is arranged in the position between adjacent bar-like cores in the front row.

5. The surface profile detecting device as set forth in claim 3 wherein a plurality of said bar-like cores disposed in a line with intervals are arranged in multiple rows in said relative movement direction, and wherein each bar-like core in the back row of said relative movement direction is arranged in the position between adjacent bar-like cores in the front row.

6. The surface profile detecting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said supporting cores comprise supporting cores being arranged at both sides of each of said bar-like cores in said relative movement direction, having the same width as said bar-like core and being integrally formed with said bar-like cores.

7. The surface profile detecting device as set forth in claim 6 wherein said bar-like cores and said supporting cores are integrally formed from a single magnetic block, and said object to be measured is made of metallic or magnetic material.

8. The surface profile detecting device as set forth in claim 6 wherein an exciting coil is wound around each of said bar-like cores or said supporting cores, to which a high frequency signal is applied.

9. The surface profile detecting device as set forth in claim 8 wherein said object to be measured is a coin, and the width of said tip end of said bar-like core in said relative movement direction is at most 2 mm.

10. A coin-identifying device comprising:

a plurality of bar-like cores disposed in a line with predetermined intervals in a predetermined disposing direction orthogonal to a direction of movement of a coin to be identified, each having bar-like core tip ends which directly face a surface of said coin to be identified having recesses and protrusions in a magnetic field and being arranged on a single plane;

wherein said recesses and protrusions are affected by said magnetic field which is generated by a plurality of adjacent supporting cores wherein supporting core tip ends are disposed in the same direction as the bar-like core tip ends; and

wherein said supporting cores are wound around with an exciting coil for creating said magnetic field wherein said supporting core tip ends directly face the surface of said object and said supporting cores are integrally formed with said bar-like cores wherein said supporting core tip ends and said bar-like core tip ends of each integrally formed supporting core and bar-like core are only arranged in the direction of the relative movement of said coin; and

a magnetic detector provided in each of said bar-like cores for detecting changes in magnetic flux generated due to an uneven profile of said coin to be identified, said uneven profile of said coin to be identified in a predetermined range being detected from an output of said magnetic detector wherein said magnetic detector faces said coin.

11. The coin-identifying device as set forth in claim 10 wherein the width of said tip end of said bar-like core is set smaller than the width of a recess portion or protrusion portion of said coin to be measured and wherein said magnetic detector is a detecting coil wound around said bar-like core.

12. The coin-identifying device as set forth in claim 10 wherein the width of said tip end of said bar-like core is set smaller than the width of a recess portion or protrusion portion of said object to be measured, which is an object to be detected, and wherein said magnetic detector is a magnetoresistance element mounted to said bar-like core.

13. The coin-identifying device as set forth in claim 11 wherein a plurality of said bar-like cores disposed in a line with intervals are arranged in multiple rows, and wherein said uneven profile is detected by said magnetic detector in a predetermined range defined by said predetermined disposing direction and said arrangement direction of said multiple rows.

14. The coin-identifying device as set forth in claim 12 wherein a plurality of said bar-like cores disposed in a line with intervals are arranged in multiple rows, and wherein said uneven profile is detected by said magnetic detector in a predetermined range defined by said predetermined disposing direction and said arrangement direction of said multiple rows.

15. The coin-identifying device as set forth in claim 13 wherein said predetermined range created by arranging a plurality of said bar-like cores, which are disposed in a line with intervals, in multiple rows is set larger than the dimension of said coin to be measured.

16. The coin-identifying device as set forth in claim 14 wherein said predetermined range created by arranging a plurality of said bar-like cores, which are disposed in a line with intervals, in multiple rows is set larger than the dimension of said coin to be measured.

17. The surface profile detecting device as set forth in claim 10 further comprising supporting cores for creating a magnetic flux path, said supporting cores being arranged at both sides of each of said bar-like cores, having the same width as said bar-like core, and being integrally formed with said bar-like cores.

18. The surface profile detecting device as set forth in claim 17 wherein an exciting coil is wound around each of said bar-like cores or said supporting cores, to which a high frequency signal is applied.