Sheet counting apparatus, sheet counting method and transaction apparatus

• US 20010035329A1
• Filed: 03/16/2001
• Published: 11/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Inventors: Fujii, Toru, Hamasaki, Toshiya, Toda, Kinya
• Granted Patent: US 6,782,986 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 194/206
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/237 for detecting transport malfunctions, e.g. jams or misfeeds
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/16 Testing the dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/17 Apparatus characterised by positioning means or by means responsive to positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/183 Detecting folds or doubles
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/185 Detecting holes or pores

Abstract

The bill counter has thickness detection units 31, 32, and 33 for detecting the thickness of a bill passing through a transport passage. The thickness detection units 31, 32, and 33 are separately placed on the transport passage Waveform outputs from the thickness detection units 31, 32, and 33, provided by detecting the thicknesses of predetermined parts of bill passing through the transport passage are compared with waveform data previously stored in a storage unit and the number of bills passing through the transport passage is determined.

Claims

1. A sheet counting apparatus for counting the number of sheets, comprising:

a plurality of thickness detection units, which are separately disposed on a transport passage of the sheets, for detecting thicknesses of the sheet passing through the transport passage; and

a control unit for determining the number of sheets passing through the transport passage on the basis of the detection outputs from said thickness detection units.

2. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein said thickness detection unit detects the thickness of the sheet as voltage value, and said control unit determines the number of sheets m on the basis of the following equation:

3. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein said plurality of thickness detection units detect respectively thicknesses of predetermined parts of the sheet passing through the transport passage.

4. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein said plurality of thickness detection units are separately disposed in a perpendicular direction of a transport direction of the sheets with predetermined intervals.

5. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 3

, wherein said thickness detection unit detects a center and both end parts of each passage sheet in a length direction thereof.

6. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein said control unit determines that the sheet is broken, skew or folded when the detection outputs are not the same.

7. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 1

, further comprising:

a storage unit for storing predetermined data,

wherein the control unit compares the detection outputs with the predetermined data, and determines the number of sheets passing through the transport passage on the basis of the detection outputs and the comparison result thereof.

8. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 1

, further comprising:

an image pickup unit for picking up an image of each sheet passing through the transport passage,

wherein said control unit determines the number of sheets passing through the transport passage on the basis of the detection outputs, and image pickup information from said image pickup unit.

9. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 8

, wherein said plurality off thickness detection units detect respectively thicknesses of predetermined parts of the sheet passing through the transport passage.

10. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 8

, wherein said plurality of thickness detection units are separately disposed in a perpendicular direction of a transport direction of the sheets with predetermined intervals.

11. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 9

, wherein said thickness detection unit detects a center and both end parts of each passage sheet in a length direction thereof.

12. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said control unit determines that the sheet is broken or folded on the basis of the image pickup information.

13. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 8

, wherein the image pickup information is length information in a sheet length direction.

14. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 1

, further comprising:

an output unit for outputting information that the number of sheets is undefined, when the number of passage sheets cannot be determined.

15. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 8

, further comprising:

an output unit for outputting information that the number of sheets is undefined, when the number of passage sheets cannot be determined.

16. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 14

, wherein said output unit outputs information that the number of sheets is undefined, when said control unit determined that the sheet is skew and an angle of skew of the sheet is larger than a predetermined value on the basis of the detection outputs.

17. The sheet counting apparatus as claimed in

claim 14

, wherein said output unit outputs information that the number of sheets is undefined, when said control unit determined that the sheet is single-folded and the single-told is larger than a predetermined value on the basis of the detection outputs.

18. A transaction apparatus comprising:

a paying-out processing section;

a collection processing section; and

a sheet counting apparatus including

a plurality of thickness detection units, which are separately disposed on a transport passage of the sheets, for detecting thicknesses of the sheet passing through the transport passage; and

a control unit for determining the number of sheets passing through the transport passage on the basis of the detection outputs from said thickness detection units.

19. A method of counting the number of sheets passing through a transport passage, said method comprising:

detecting thicknesses of predetermined parts of the sheet passing through the transport passage; and

determining the number of sheets passing through the transport passage on the basis of the detection outputs from said detecting step.

20. The method of counting the number of sheets according to

claim 19

, further comprising:

comparing the detection outputs with predetermined data,

wherein in said determining step, the number of sheets passing through the transport passage is determined on the basis of the detection outputs and the comparison result from said comparing step.

21. The method of counting the number of sheets according to

claim 19

, further comprising:

picking up an image of each sheet passing through the transport passage,

wherein in said determining step, the number of sheets passing through the transport passage is determined on the basis of the detection outputs, and image pickup information from said image pickup step.