This Nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application Nos. 75823/2002 and 78865/2002 filed in Korea on Dec. 2, 2002, and Dec. 11, 2002, respectively, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a media dispenser and, more particularly, to a media sensing method of a (small) media dispenser capable of discriminating various media and accurately discriminating whether a media is normal.
2. Description of the Background Art
Currently, as information communication technologies are developed, a cash dispenser can perform diverse foreign currency processing work as well as a banking work such as money deposit or money withdrawal.
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In order to forwardly rotate or reversely rotate the convey belt, there is provided a drive motor 10 for rotating a drive roller 20. And in order to selectively convey a bill to the second convey path 50 or the retrieval path 60 from the first convey path 40, there is provided a gate unnumbered which is operated by solenoid.
At the front surface of the discharge roller 30, there are provided a sensor 71 for sensing a discharged bill, a sensor 72 for sensing a bill being conveyed on the first convey path 40, a sensor 73 for sensing a bill conveyed on the second convey path 50, a sensor 74 for sensing a bill being retrieved due to a bill-overlap occurrence on the retrieval path 60, and a control board 80 for checking whether each sensor is normal and controlling driving of each part when a bill discharge command is received by a client's request.
A bill sensing method of the media dispenser constructed as described above will now be explained.
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The media dispenser performs a media discrimination with various bill thickness ranges (0.06˜0.17 mm) of many countries. That is, since a bill thicker than 0.20 mm does not exist, measurement and discrimination of the bill are performed only in the case of the thickness of below 0.20 mm. Therefore, the conventional media dispenser can not be applied to various multi-media each having a certain range.
In addition, in the conventional art, a normal bill and an abnormal bill are discriminated by comparing a fixed range value for width and thickness of a bill and a range value measured by the sensor.
However, the measured actual width and thickness values of a bill may vary depending on a deflection occurring when setting a sensor and an environment condition. For example, there may occur a mechanical error in the RVDT sensor which measures the thickness of a bill. In addition, due to the specific characteristics of the bill, the measure thickness value can be higher at a low temperature and low moisture compared to a room temperature, and conversely, it is lower at a high temperature and high moisture due to the opposite phenomenon. The conventional art fails to solve these problems.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a media sensing method of a media dispenser capable of discriminating various media and accurately discriminating whether a media is normal by using the least sensors.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a media sensing method of a media dispenser capable of accurately determining width and thickness of a media through an RVDT sensor and a feed sensor.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a media sensing method of a media dispenser capable of determining various kinds of media.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a media sensing method of a media dispenser including: setting an initial reference range for width and thickness of a media; comparing the initial reference range and a reference range of a currently discharged media; and variably setting a new initial reference range on the basis of the comparison value.
To achieve the above objects, there is also provided a media sensing method of a media dispenser including: setting an initial reference range for width and thickness of a media; obtaining an average value of thickness and width of bills accumulatively stored by discharging sample media and setting a reference range; comparing the reference range for the thickness and width of the sample media and the initial reference range, and variably setting the initial reference range; and respectively comparing the variably-set reference range and a reference range of a currently discharged media according to a media withdrawal request, and determining whether the media is normal or not.
To achieve the above objects, there is also provided a media sensing method of a media dispenser including: setting a multi-media discharge mode; setting an initial reference range by shifting a reference value of an RVDT sensor as much as a predetermined value; receiving a multi-media and detecting a voltage according to the thickness of the multi-media; comparing a voltage value according to the thickness of the initial reference range and a voltage value according to the thickness of the currently discharged multi-media; and rejecting the currently discharged multi-media if the detected voltage value of the currently discharged multi-media is greater than the initial reference range voltage value, and discharging the multi-media if the detected voltage value of the currently discharged multi-media is smaller than or the same as the initial reference range voltage value.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In the drawings:
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
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The drive motor is a DC motor, and preferably, it uses a BLDC (Brushless DC) motor. The feed sensor 800 is an optical sensor consisting of a light emitting unit for radiating light and a light receiving unit disposed at a certain space from the light emitting unit and sensing light radiated from the light emitting unit.
The operation of the media dispenser constructed as described above will now be explained.
First, in a media discriminating method of the media dispenser in accordance with the present invention, a reference range for determining normal media and abnormal media is not fixed but varied in a setting process. That is, an initial reference range is set, and then the initial reference range is compared with currently discharge media. Accordingly to the comparison result, the initial reference range is varied and applied when media is discharged.
Therefore, the media dispenser of the present invention can accurately discriminate normal media and abnormal media regardless of a deflection among sensors or various environmental conditions, compared to the conventional art.
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Thereafter, sensors are checked as to whether they are normal according to a media discharge command of a user, and each state of a drive motor 500 and a solenoid 200 is checked (ST100 and ST120). If the solenoid 200 senses that there is a residual media on the moving path, it outputs a sense signal to the control board 100 and the control board 100 outputs a control signal for retrieving the residual media to the drive motor 500. Then, the reject sensor 500 senses and counts the retrieved media, and when the media retrieving operation is completed, the reject sensor outputs a control signal for performing a media withdrawing operation to the control board 100.
Subsequently, the clutch 500 for transferring a driving force to a convey roller connected to the cassette is driven to discharge the media from the media-stored cassette, and accordingly, the media is discharged from the cassette (ST130 and ST140).
The media dispenser includes a feed sensor 800 and an RVDT sensor 700 at the convey path through which media is discharged, in order to sense media being discharged from the cassette.
Discrimination of whether media is normal or not through the feed sensor 800 and the RVDT sensor 700 is as follows.
To begin with, when media discharged from the cassette is moving on the convey path, skewing of media is first discriminated by the RVDT sensor 700 before the feed sensor 800 recognizes it (ST150) That is, skewing of the media is determined according to a sequential order of sensing of the RVDT sensor 700 and the feed sensor 800.
Thereafter, the clutch cuts off the discharged media by interrupting the driving power transferred to the convey roller connected to the cassette (ST160).
Discrimination of the width of the media is made by measuring ON/OFF time of the feed sensor 800 that the media passes along the convey path (ST170). Namely, when media discharged from the cassette passes the convey path where the feed sensor 800 is installed, light radiated from the light emitting unit is cut off by the media, which is sensed by the light receiving unit. The light receiving unit outputs a corresponding sense signal to the control board. For example, a voltage value of the light receiving unit of the feed sensor 800 is continuously maintained at 0V and then converted into +5 after the media passes. Accordingly, the time at which the voltage value is converted from +5V to 0V can be measured.
Discrimination of the thickness of the media can be made by measuring the thickness through the RVDT sensor 700 (ST180). At this time, the control board 100 senses the thickness of media by comparing a sense signal for a media thickness value applied from the RVDT sensor 700 and a sense signal for a pre-set media thickness value. For example, if the value applied from the RVDT sensor 700 is greater than the pre-set value, it is determined that two or more overlapped media are being conveyed. Accordingly, the control board 100 operates the solenoid 200 to output a control signal for retrieving the media. Meanwhile, besides the case that the media is a bill, the same method can be applied to multi-media having a certain thickness such as a ticket.
As for discrimination of a distance between media, the distance between media that are consecutively discharge is measured by measuring the distance between the first media and the next media by using the feed sensor 800 (ST190).
If an abnormal media is sensed during the discriminating process, the control board 100 outputs a control signal for turning on the solenoid 200 and retrieves the media to the retrieval box (ST200). At this time, the reject sensor 400 senses and counts the retrieved media, and outputs a sense signal to the control board 100. Accordingly, the control board 100 determines that the media retrieval operation has been completed, and outputs a control signal for performing the normal media withdrawing operation again.
Finally, a media discharge mode and a multi-media discharge mode are discriminated through a dip switch in order to discharge the media or the multi-media outwardly, or a media discharge command signal and a multi-media discharge command signal are discriminated in order to discharge the media or the multi-media outwardly according to a corresponding command signal. For example, a cassette for supplying a bill when media is the bill, and a cassette for supplying multi-media when media is the multi-media are respectively provided in order to individually discharge the bill and the multi-media, or the bill and the multi-media can be supplied through one cassette.
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First, when the system is turned on by a user, a series of initial operations are performed to initialize the RVDT sensor 700 and the feed sensor 800 (ST210), and initial reference ranges for the width and the thickness of the media are temporarily set (ST220).
Thereafter, the solenoid and the drive motor are operated to discharge the sample media. The discharged sample media is retrieved into the cassette (ST230). At this time, reference ranges for the thickness and the width of the sample media being currently discharged are set by the RVDT sensor 700 and the feed sensor 800, and the set reference range values are stored through an application of the controller or EEPROM (ST240). For example, 20 sample media are discharged to obtain each average value of the accumulatively stored thickness and width of the media, thereby setting a reference range (ST250 and ST260).
Thereafter, the reference ranges for the thickness and width of the sample media obtained through the above process and the initial reference ranges which have been temporarily set are compared to variably set an initial reference range (ST270).
Thereafter, the variably set reference ranges (or signal levels) and the reference ranges (or signal levels) of media being currently discharged are compared according to an actual media-withdrawal request of a system operator or a client to judge whether the media is normal (ST280). For example, in discriminating the thickness of media, if the thickness comes within the reference range signal level, it is discriminated that one media has been normally discharged, and thus, the currently discharged media is normally discharged.
If, however, the thickness of media goes beyond the reference range signal level, it is discriminated that one or more media is abnormally discharged, and thus, a series of operations are performed to retrieve the currently discharged media to the internal retrieval box (ST290).
Finally, in discharging media, detect signals measured respectively by the RVDT sensor 700 and the feed sensor 800 are accumulatively stored, an average value of the measured values of the accumulatively stored detect signals is calculated, and a corresponding reference range is set to newly update the previously variably set reference range signal level.
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In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for measuring various foreign bills and various media (multi-media) each having a certain thickness such as a ticket will now be described.
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First, after the RVDT sensor 700 and the feed sensor 800 are initialized, a multi-media discharge mode is set for discriminating the thickness of a multi-media (ST210).
Next, an initial reference range of the RVDT sensor is set by shifting an initial reference range as much as a predetermined value, for measuring the thickness of the multi-media (ST220).
In discharging the multi-media from the cassette, a voltage according to the thickness of the currently discharged multi-media is detected (ST230 and ST240).
And then, the voltage according to the thickness of the multi-media is compensated as much as the predetermined value shifted in the initialization (ST250) in order to precisely measure the actual thickness of the multi-media (ST260). Then, the voltage value according to the thickness of the initial reference range and the voltage value according to the thickness of the currently discharged multi-media (ST270).
Upon comparison, if the detect voltage value of the currently discharged multi-media is greater than the initial reference range voltage value, it is determined that multi-media overlap has occurred and the currently discharged multi-media is rejected (ST280 and ST290). If, however, the detect voltage value of the currently discharged multi-media is smaller than or the same as the initial reference range voltage value, it is determined that the multi-media has a normal thickness and discharging of the multi-media is performed (ST300).
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Thereafter, in receiving the multi-media through the cassette, a voltage according to the thickness of the multimedia is detected and compared with the reference value. At this time, assuming that one step difference of the digital potentiometer is about 0.5V, since four steps have been shifted at the initial stage, the actual thickness value is a value obtained by compensating about 2.0V. Accordingly, whether media is normal or abnormal can be determined by measuring the thickness of various media each having a certain thickness such as the ticket.
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As so far described, the media sensing method of a media dispenser in accordance with the present invention has the following advantages.
That is, for example, first, the skew, the length, the thickness of media and a distance between successively discharged media can be discriminated by using the RVDT sensor 70 and the feed sensor 80. Thus, discharged media can be discriminated by using the least sensors. Accordingly, thanks to the simplification of the circuit construction by using the least sensors, a cost reduction can be accomplished in manufacturing the media dispenser.
Second, whether the thickness and width of media can be accurately discriminated by variably setting a reference range signal level for discriminating the normalness of the thickness and width of media discharged through the cassette by accumulatively calculating the plurality of actually measured detect values. Thus, an error due to various environmental conditions or a deflection taking place when setting a sensor can be effectively prevented.
Third, when multi-media is discharged, multi-media overlap can be accurately discriminated and the thickness of discharged multi-media can be precisely measured by shifting a reference value of the RVDT sensor of the media dispenser and comparing it with a voltage according to the thickness of the multi-media.
As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2002-0075823 | Dec 2002 | KR | national |
10-2002-0078865 | Dec 2002 | KR | national |
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