OPTICAL SENSOR DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SPECTRAL ANALYSIS

Abstract: An optical detection device for validating bank rates has several input apertures, an imaging device (12), a diffraction grating (15.1, 15.2, 15.3) associated with each input aperture (11.1, 11.2, 11.3) and a detection array (17). The diffraction grating (15.1, 15.2, 15.3) is rotated at angle of e.g.45 degrees relative to the orientation of the linear detection array (17). This arrangement enables the spectra of multiple points to be measured simultaneously. The angle of rotation, the pitch of the apertures (11.1, 11.2, 11.3) and a pitch of the diffraction grating (15.1, 15.2, 15,3) are selected in such a way that the spectra of sad multiple points are contiguously mapped onto the detection array (17) has a single linear array of color sensitive detection pixels. The acxis of the linear array is offset with respect to an optical axis (7) of the optical detection device.

Description: readily reduced in size and hence the known construction is not suited for integrated technical solutions. Summary of the Invention It is an object of the invention to provide an optical sensor device based on spectral analysis. In particular it is an object to provide a device that can be applied to multiple points (and even single point) detection in a mechanically integrated space-economic construction. In accordance with the present invention, an optical detection device in particular for spectroscopic measurements comprises at least one input aperture, an imaging device, at least one diffraction grating associated with the at least one input aperture and a linear detection array, and is characterized in that the grating lines of the diffraction grating extend at an acute angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the linear detection array. By the fact that the angle of inclination is more than 0° and less than 90° there is a component of the direction of the spatial spectral dispersion which is parallel to the detection line, while at the same time it is possible to have arranged the spectra of several points side by side substantially without an overlap of the diffraction patterns. It is therefore possible to simultaneously analyze the spectra of a multiplicity of points on a detection line. Such a sensor device is particularly well suited for bank note validation. However, there are many other fields of application e.g. clinical in vivo analysis, safety equipment, monitoring of industrial manufacturing, sorting of objects etc. In some of the applications, optical fibre or Iightguide linkage between the object and the optical detection device may be used to enable remote spectroscopic measurement. According to a preferred embodiment there are several slit -type input apertures and corresponding diffraction gratings arranged along the direction of the detection line. Each slit-type aperture defines a "point" for which the spectrum is measured. (A point may have any appropriate size, e.g. several square millimeter.) The spectra of all points are determined in parallel. For the validation of bank notes the line of detection is a straight line transverse to the direction in which the bank notes are fed. In addition, the length of the detection line corresponds to the full width of the transport path. This means that the bank note passing the sensor array device can be completely scanned. It is to be mentioned that it is not compulsory to have slit-type input apertures. Circular, oval, rectangular or square forms are acceptable too. It is also possible to choose a detection line that is not straight . The input to the spectral sensor may be provided by a fiber bundle that brings any geometric distribution of "points" on one row. The sensor device may even comprise several lines of detection and as a consequence several linear detection arrays There are several parameters that can be varied to get the desired device geometry: The angle of inclination, the pitch of the apertures and the frequency (or the pitch) of the diffraction grating. According to a particularly preferred embodiment these parameters are chosen in such a way that spectra of the "points" are contiguously mapped on the detection array. If only a part of the spectra is to be analysed, only said part has to be mapped contiguously. The angle of inclination is preferably 45° Values close to 45° have similar advantages. It is possible to reach a spectral resolution of typically between 8 and 64 spectral components for each point . Depending on the requirements of the particular application of the spectrometer lower or higher spectral resolutions may be implemented. For a given detection array (which is characterized by the size and distance of the sensor pixels) there is a trade-off between spatial and spectral resolution. The higher the spectral resolution, the lower the spatial resolution and vice versa. The detection array may be a single linear array of light sensitive detection pixels (integrated on a semiconductor chip e.g. in silicon or germanium/indium compounds) . Preferably the linear array (i.e. the line of the detection sensors) is laterally offset with respect to an optical axis of the spectrometer. The optical axis is defined by the imaging device. Generally speaking, the input aperture and the diffraction grating are aligned with respect to the optical axis and the optical axis has a direction that is preferably perpendicular to the surface of the object to be analyzed. The offset is such that the detection array covers the first order diffractions of all "points" to be analyzed simultaneously. Depending on the intensity directed to the different diffraction orders, it may also be possible to detect the spectral components of higher order diffractions. It is an advantage if the diffraction grating is a transmission grating that has a preferential direction. A blaze grating e.g. concentrates the diffraction energy in the first order diffraction. Generally speaking, it is preferred to maximize power diffraction into an order intercepted by the linear detection array. The invention is not limited to such gratings but transmission gratings are preferred to reflection gratings. The imaging device is e.g. a lens array that allows imaging a continuous strip-like detection area. It is well known that GRIN lens arrays (GRIN = graded index) known as Selfoc Lens Arrays (SLA) exhibit the desired behavior. However, depending on the purposes and needs of the selected field of application the spectrometer may be implemented with other imaging elements. For scanning objects with a fine surface structure it is often required to have some antialiasing means to LO LO t t H 1 I- 1 cn O cn o LΠ o < CD CQ 3 SD rr H- SD 0 tr CD 0 H- SD Ω 0 Ω 0 3 SD 3 SD M a SD H- SD CD SD CD 3 J CD tr TJ rr CD X tr H- H 1 3 0 H. 0 tr CD 0 H- 3 H- CD 3 P. CD < CD • 0 CD SD 3 CD TJ tr rt et • I— 1 SD 3 3 (_ι. SD H- rt 3 3 ti rt 1— ' TJ < 3 0 H- CQ 3 Ω CQ SD c CD rt CD CD CD 3 Ω CD ii CD 3 SD CD CD CD rr CD CD 0 3 SD O H- σ • CQ rr c rr < 3 H- ti CD 3 Ω . 3 ^ CD n CQ Ω CQ CQ SD — tr Ω Ω 3 rt 3 0 P. 1— ■ tr ti ti rr H- H- ► A Ω n p. s rt H- N 3 CD rt s H- <! 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CQ rt 0 CD 3 0 rt tr ii rr 3 rr tr CD 0 3 et 0 α Ω SD Hi H- rt CD 3 CD Hi tr CD SD 3 H- 3 ii SD SD CD 3 rt 3 H- SD H- tr a Ω P- CD SD CD 3 SD 0 " — ' 3 ti SD rt I— 1 tr SD CD CD CQ rt CQ 1 SD 3 rt 3 3 rt CQ ^ 3 • 3 CD tr 1— ' tr 0 CD 3 tr H- 3 »i H- CD CO tr CD o CD CD 3 0 CD 3 - H- 0 CD tr > ti CQ Hi 3 3 • 0 3 Hi The illumination can be combined from different light sources. The illuminator may comprise a plurality of sources and an imaging device for imaging the light of the sources to the stripe-like area. A row of discrete or incandescent light sources may be focussed to a line by means of a cylinder lens. The imaging device and the sensor array are preferably integrated in a common housing of low cross section (similar to the Contact Image Sensor, CIS, known in the art) . It may be possible to integrate more elements of the invention into an application specific module in order to reach a compact and modular technical construction. The invention is preferably used for validating bank notes. Such device comprises typically a bank note transport path for sequentially feeding bank notes and an optical detection device arranged beneath the transport path and comprising an input aperture, an imaging device, a diffraction grating associated with the input aperture and a detection array. According to the invention the diffraction grating is rotated relative to the orientation of the linear detection array. The transport is effected by driven transport rolls and mechanical guide elements that force the bank note along a predetermined path passing by the optical detection device. The optical detection device of the invention has a very small cross-section and can therefore be easily integrated in any type of validation apparatuses. Generally speaking, the optical sensor device is based on the a method for the spectral analysis of an area of detection of an object, comprising the steps of: a) limiting the area of detection by at least one input aperture, b) imposing a diffraction effect on the light limited by the at least one input aperture, c) detecting a first and/or higher order diffraction effect by means of a linear detection array d) imposing a rotation relative to the orientation of the linear detection array on the diffraction effect. The invention is now described in more detail in connection with a preferred embodiment with reference to Fig. 1 which is a schematic perspective view of a spectrometer. Fig. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention. The spectrometer of this type may be used in a bank note processing device (see e.g. EP 0 645 742 B) . Such devices usually have a transport mechanism for feeding the bank notes 1 in a sequence and at an elevated transport speed from a bank note input to a bank note output. The orientation of the bank note 1 during the transport may be transverse to the direction of the feed path 2. The spectrometer, which is combined with a data analyzing device (e.g. a microprocessor, a digital signal processor or a computer) to enable validating the bank note, preferably covers the full width of the feed path so that the bank note can be scanned completely when passing by the sensor device. The decision on whether the bank note is valid or not may of course not only be based on a spectral analysis but also on additional detections such as a capacity detection. Such additional detection schemes are well known in the art. An illuminator comprises a plurality of light sources 3.1, 3.2 and a cylinder lens 4 to illuminate a long and narrow detection line 5. The cylinder lens 4 is parallel to the detection line 5. The light sources 3.1, 3.2 may be incandescent elements that are arranged on a straight line 6 at an appropriate distance from each other to ensure that the intensity of illumination along the line 5 is more or less constant and sufficiently high for the detection. The light reflected by the surface of the bank note 1 in the direction of the optical axis 7 is focussed by the cylinder lens 8 onto a mask 9. The mask 9 is in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis 7 and extends in a direction parallel to the detection line 5. A plurality of slit-type apertures 11 .1, 11.2, 11 .3 are arranged along the axis 10 of the mask. Each aperture 11.1, 11.2, 11 .3 defines an area or "point". on the detection line 5 that is spectrally analyzed. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the apertures 11.1,11.2, 11.3 have a length in the range of 1 mm to 2mm (e.g. s = 1.4 mm) and a width in the range of 1/10 to 3/l0mm (e.g. of w = 0.2 mm). The apertures 11.1, 11.2, 11.3 all have the same orientation, they are rotated at an angle with respect to the axis 10 of the mask. The slits are therefore neither parallel nor orthogonal to the axis 10. The most preferred angle is = 45°. The apertures 11.1, 11.2, 11.3 may have a pitch in the range of 1 mm to 5 mm depending on the object to be analyzed and on the desired spectral resolution. There are obviously several parameters that may be adapted and that have to be considered when defining the pitch of the apertures. Behind (in Fig. 1: "above") the mask 9 there is an imaging device 12, e.g. a selfoc lens array (S LA), that projects an image of the mask 9 into the plane 13 of the optical sensor. It is preferred that the imaging device 12 does not generate inverted images. However, inverted images may be tolerated as well when anti aliasing means are present. A diffraction grating arrangement 14 is interposed between the plane 13 of the optical sensor and the imaging device 12. As shown in the present example the diffraction grating arrangement 14 comprises a plurality of transmission gratings 15.1, 15.2, 15.3. Each transmission grating 15.1, 15.2, 15.3 is associated with an aperture 11.1,11.2,11.3. The transmission gratings 15.1, 15.2, 15.3 have an orientation that is rotated with respect to the axis of the diffraction grating arrangement 14 at the same angle as the apertures 11.1, 11.2, 11 .3 are with respect to the axis 10. This angle is preferably 45°. The transmission grating 15.1 and the associated aperture 11 .1 are on the same optical axis. The transmission gratings 15.1, 15.2, 15.3 may form a contiguous, stripe-like area or a series of separated rectangular areas. Each rectangular area may or may not be rotated with respect to the axis 16. It is sufficient if the light of the apertures 11 .1, 11.2, 11.3 is more or less completely captured by the diffraction effect and if the grating structure itself is rotated at the desired angle . The line 5, the cylinder lens 8, the axis 10 of the mask, the imaging device 12 and the transmission gratings 15.1, 1 5.2, 15.3 all are in parallel and are additionally aligned on the optical axis 7. The sensor array 17 however is displaced laterally with respect to the optical axis 7 in such a way that the first order diffractions 18.1, 18.2, 18.3 of the transmission gratings 15.1, 15.2, 15.3 can be detected. (The zero order diffractions which are projected more or less along the optical axis 7 onto the plane 13 are not shown in Fig. 1. Additionally, it is to be noted that while there are symmetrical first order diffractions on the "positive" and the "negative" side of the zero order diffractions, Fig. 1 only shows the "positive" first order diffractions 18.1, 1 8.2, 18.3.) Because the orientation or lines of the diffraction grating is rotated at an angle of 45°, the first order diffractions 18.1, 1 8.2, 1 8.3, each of which basically covers an elongate rectangular area in the plane 13, are rotated at the same angle with respect to the line of detection. In addition, they are abutting to each other and form a contiguous area having a "stepped" shape. The sensor array 17 is placed in such a way that it is completely within the contiguous "stepped" area. According to Fig. 1 it is parallel to the line of detection but shifted by a certain distance from the optical axis 7. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the sensor array 17 intersects the first order diffractions asymmetrically. This leads to a selection of the detected wave lengths. In fact, each first order diffraction 18.1, 18.2, 18.3 contains the full spectral information in the pattern. It is therefore most preferred to have the sensor array 17 intersect the first order diffractions 18.1, 18.2, 18.3 starting from the position of the longest wave length within the range of the sensor and ending e.g. close to the outer end of the pattern depending on the shortest wave length that may be detected by the sensor. The extension of the first order diffractions 18.1, 18.2, 18.3 depend on the pitch of the grating. Good results have been accomplished with a pitch corresponding to 300 to 600 lines per millimeter, (e.g. d=0.0017 mm). In order to have sufficient light in the first order diffraction, a blaze grating is used which concentrates the light power in a preferred and predetermined diffraction order. The sensor array 17 has a single array of pixels which capture different spectral components of the diffracted light depending on the position of the pixel and the geometric design of the grating. According to a preferred embodiment the sensor array 17 and the optical components are built into a rod-like housing to get a construction comparable to a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) module. CIS modules are readily available on the market and used for scanning documents in fax machines and in counterfeit currency detection devices (see e.g. US 5,607,040, EP 0 935 223). They include an array of optical and photosensitive means for detecting the pattern of a printed document e.g. in the visible range. The digital signal generated by the sensor array 17 is processed in any desired way by a computer or e.g. a DSP or ASIC (see e.g. EP 0 947 964 A). 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It is conceivable that the angle changes from one aperture/grating pair to another aperture/grating pair. The apertures don't have to be slits. They may also have the shape of circles or squares. However, a shape with an extended length is preferred. Even though it is preferred that all apertures have the same size, shape and orientation, it is not out of the scope of the invention to have varying sizes, shapes and orientation. Also the distance between neighboring apertures can vary. The invention is not limited to one linear detection array. Using two arrays (e.g. side by side) may improve the detection and even the resolution (depending on the angle of rotation and the geometry of the sensor array) . In summary the invention provides a spectral detection device that can be implemented in a compact way. It has a wide field of application beyond currency validation.

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CD H- H O Hi 3 O Ω CD SD 0 3 Ω SD Ω Ω TJ CQ CD Ω SD α 3 P. CD 3 Hi 3 SD 0 rt H 3 tr I— ' ^ CD CD tr tr 0 CD ii ti rt LΠ TJ H- SD Hi H CQ CD I— 1 Hi CD ti CD CD SD CD SD SD CD 3 rt SD ii tr . H- 3 Hl CD 0 SD SD ti Hi Ω SD rt H- TJ O H- P- . ^ 3 H- SD CD 3 rt Hi rt H ti Ω SD 0 P CD rt ^ O SD 3 0 CD Hi TJ 3 3 H- H ti 3 ^ - ii ti rt rt Hi CD CD H- Hi 3 -0 H- Ω H- CD 3 cn CD rr SD SD 0 SD H- H- rt rt 0 ,~ ^ rt LO — 3 rt rt rt to SD CQ . CO ,~ ^ tr TJ Ω 3 • ; 0 3 Ω CD 3 I- 1 Ω H- • rt CD tr Ω - CO « l- 1 LΠ SD CD rt CD " 3 CQ Ω ^J I- 1 SD CQ P CD tr- 3 SD *" o rt ii H- SD rt H- TJ SD I— 1 ϋ ti H" to rt 0 H- H- tr H- H- rt H- H- I— ' SD H- 0 CD ti l- 1 . ^ rt 3 3 3 3 SD 3 0 tr X tr 3 ^ ti 3 Hi P SD LΠ • tr i TJ rt CQ O 3 CD SD CD ^ . H CD CD 3 0 I— 1 CD CD t - rt SD CQ 7. Optical detection device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the imaging device (12) is a lens array, in particular a GRIN lens array. 8. Optical detection device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that an optical anti-aliasing means (8) , preferably a cylinder lens, is arranged in front of the input aperture (1 1.1, 11 .2, 11 .3) to provide anti-aliasing in at least one direction, preferably the direction parallel to the detection array (17) . 9. Optical detection device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by illumination means (3.1, 3.2, 4) arranged to provide a stripe-like illuminated area (5) on an object to be analyzed. 10. Optical detection device according to claim 9, characterized in that the illumination means (3.1, .32, 4) has a continuous broad band spectrum in the visible and/or the infrared range. 11. Optical detection device according to one of ciaims 9 to 10, characterized in that the illumination means comprises a multiplicity of sources (3.1, 3.2) and an imaging device (4) , preferably a cylinder lens, for projecting the light of the sources (3.1, 3.2) to a stripe-like illumination area. 12. Optical detection device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a fiber bundle maps areas of the object on the input apertures (1 1.1, 11.2, 11.3). 13. Device for validating bank notes comprising; a) a bank note transport path for sequentially feeding bank notes and b) an optical detection device according to any of the preceding claims. 14. Method for the spectral analysis of an area of detection of an object, comprising the steps of: a) limiting the area of detection by at least one input aperture, b) imposing a diffraction effect on the light limited by the at least one input aperture, c) detecting a first and/or higher order diffraction effect by means of a linear detection array characterized in that d) a rotation relative to the orientation of the linear detection array (17) is imposed on the diffraction effect 15. Method according to claim 14, characterized by a) limiting the area of detection by b) associating a diffraction grating (15.1, 15.2, 15.3) to each of the apertures (11.1, 11.2, 11.3) and c) selecting an angle of rotation, a pitch of the apertures (11.1, 11.2, 11.3) and a pitch of the diffraction grating (15.1, 15.2, 15.3) in such a way that the spectra of multiple points in the area of detection are contiguously mapped onto the detection array (17) , enabling the spectra of multiple points to be measured simultaneously.

Inventors: HAZEL MICHAEL STUART, JONES ROBERT, KLOCK HANSJOERG, HAZEL, MICHAEL, STUART, JONES, ROBERT, KLOCK, HANSJOERG
Applicants: CAMBRIDGE CONSULTANS LTD, HAZEL MICHAEL STUART, JONES ROBERT, KLOCK HANSJOERG, CAMBRIDGE CONSULTANS LIMITED, HAZEL, MICHAEL, STUART, JONES, ROBERT, KLOCK, HANSJOERG
Application year: 2001
Main classification: G07D7
IPC codes: G01J3, G07D7