Patent Abstract:
A bill counter has two side panels, a bill-in part, a bill-out part, and a detector. The detector has a reflecting board, a lighting element, and an image capturing device. When the bill counter is in use, the lighting element flashes upon the passing of a bill. The reflecting board reflects the flash to uniformly illuminate the bill, and the image capturing device takes images at the same time. Because the image capturing device does not need to be located near the bill, even when the bill is moved slightly by shock, the images taken do not distort greatly, which prevents identification failure. Besides, the image capturing device eliminates the problem of image dragging, such that a mechanism of the bill counter can be simplified and a production cost is reduced.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is based upon and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 from Taiwan Patent Application No. 102221758 filed on Nov. 21, 2013, which is hereby specifically incorporated herein by this reference thereto. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a bill counter with a detector, especially to a bill counter with a detector that can detect counterfeit bill and identify the face value of the bill. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Arts 
         [0005]    A conventional bill counter has two side panels, a bill-in part, a detector, a bill-out part, a wheel assembly and a bill-stacking device. The side panels are mounted with an interval between each other. The bill-in part, the detector, the bill-out part, the wheel assembly, and the bill-stacking device are mounted between the side panels. The bill-in part, the detector, and the bill-out part are arranged in sequence from front to rear. The wheel assembly has multiple wheels arranged from front to rear with intervals between the wheels. The bill-stacking device is mounted in the bill-out part, and protrudes upward out of the bill-in part. 
         [0006]    When the bill counter is in use, bills to be detected are put on the bill-in part. Then the wheels rotate to push the bills backward. After the bills pass through the detector and the bill-out part in sequence, the bills are moved to the bill-stacking device and stacked up by the bill-stacking device. When any one of the bills is detected as counterfeit by the detector, the wheels stop rotating after the counterfeit bill is moved to the bill-stacking device, which is convenient for a user to pick up the counterfeit bill from the bill-stacking device. 
         [0007]    However, the conventional bill counter has the following shortcomings. 
         [0008]    First, the conventional detector has a contact image sensor (CIS), which takes image by multi-point scan to identify the face value of the bill and to detect that the bill is genuine or counterfeit. However, the CIS has to be located close to the bill in order to can take image from the bill. Thus, if the bill counter is shocked while the CIS is scanning, even if the bill is only moved slightly by shock, the image taken by the CIS still alters greatly because the CIS and the bill are too close, causing image distortion. Therefore, the user should keep the conventional bill counter from shock to the best possible extent when the bill counter is in use, otherwise the identification by the detector may fail. 
         [0009]    Second, the CIS is linear-scanning, such that the processing speed of the bill and the frequency of the scanning should be matched up accurately, so as to prevent the image from being dragged as well as image distortion. Therefore, the mechanism of the conventional bill counter requires high precision, which makes the manufacture cost high. 
         [0010]    To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a bill counter with a detector to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    The main objective of the present invention is to provide a bill counter with a detector that can detect counterfeit bill and identify the face value of the bill. 
         [0012]    The bill counter has two side panels, a bill-in part, a bill-out part, a detector, a wheel assembly, and at least one bill-stacking device. The bill-in part, the bill-out part, the detector, the wheel assembly, and the at least one bill-stacking device are mounted between the side panels. The detector is mounted between the bill-in part and the bill-out part, and has a circuit board, at least one reflecting board, a transparent board, at least one lighting element, an image capturing device, and a sensor device. The at least one reflecting board is mounted on a top surface of the circuit board, and each one of the at least one reflecting board has an inner surface being reflective. The at least one lighting element is electrically connected to the circuit board. The image capturing device is mounted on the circuit board. 
         [0013]    When the bill counter with a detector is in use, the at least one lighting element flashes upon the passing of a bill. The at least one reflecting board reflects the flash to uniformly illuminate the bill, and the image capturing device takes images from the bill at the same time. Because the image capturing device does not need to be located near the bill, even if the bill is moved slightly by shock, the images taken from the bill does not alter greatly, which prevents identification failure by slight shock. Besides, the image capturing device eliminates the problem of image dragging and distortion under shock, such that a mechanism of the bill counter can be simplified. The image capturing device is not as costly as the conventional CIS. Thus, the cost of the bill counter is lowered. 
         [0014]    Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a bill counter with a detector in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the bill counter with a detector in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a side view in partial section of the bill counter with a detector in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is another side view in partial section of a detector of the bill counter with a detector in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the detector of the bill counter with a detector in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is an operational view showing rotation of each wheel of the bill counter with a detector in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a bill counter with a detector in accordance with the present invention; and 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  is an operational view, showing the detector separated from the bill counter in  FIG. 7 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0023]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a bill counter with a detector in accordance with the present invention comprises two side panels  10 , a bill-in part  20 , a bill-out part  40 , a detector  30 , a wheel assembly, and at least one bill-stacking device  60 . In a preferred embodiment, the bill counter with a detector has two bill-stacking devices  60 . 
         [0024]    The side panels  10  are mounted with an interval between each other. 
         [0025]    The bill-in part  20  is mounted between the side panels  10 . 
         [0026]    The bill-out part  40  is mounted between the side panels  10 . The bill-in part  20  and the bill-out part  40  are each respectively adjacent to two sides of the side panels  10 . The bill-out part  40  has a blocking panel  41  mounted on an end of the bill-out part  40 . 
         [0027]    With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the detector  30  is mounted between the side panels  10 , is mounted between the bill-in part  20  and the bill-out part  40 , and has a circuit board  31 , at least one reflecting board  32 , a transparent board  33 , at least one lighting element  34 , an image capturing device  35 , and a sensor device  36 . In a preferred embodiment, the detector  30  has four reflecting boards  32  and four lighting elements  34 . 
         [0028]    A top surface of the circuit board  31  is a rough surface and is reflective. In a preferred embodiment, the circuit board  31  is rectangular. 
         [0029]    The image capturing device  35  is mounted on the circuit board  31 . In a preferred embodiment, the image capturing device  35  has a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor and a lens. 
         [0030]    The reflecting boards  32  are mounted on the top surface of the circuit board  31 , are connected to each other into a rectangle, and surround the image capturing device  35 . Each reflecting board  32  has an inner surface, and the inner surface is a rough surface and is reflective. 
         [0031]    The transparent board  33  is disposed above and covers the reflecting boards  32 , and is disposed above the image capturing device  35 . The transparent board  33 , the reflecting boards  32  and the circuit board  31  are connected to each other to form an enclosed space. 
         [0032]    The lighting elements  34  are mounted in the enclosed space, and are electrically connected to the circuit board  31 . A bottom side of each lighting element  34  abuts against the top surface of the circuit board  31 , a top side of each lighting element  34  abuts against the inner surface of a corresponding one of the reflecting boards  32 . Thus, the lighting elements  34  are arranged in a rectangle, and each reflecting element  34  illuminates inclinedly and upwardly toward an inside of the enclosed space and the inner surface of the corresponding reflecting board  32 . In a preferred embodiment, each lighting element  34  is an LED string light. 
         [0033]    The sensor device  36  is electrically connected to the circuit board  31 , and is disposed in back of the image capturing device  35 . In a preferred embodiment, the sensor device  36  is an infrared-rays sensor device, and has a first sensor element  361  and a second sensor element  362 . The first sensor element  361  is mounted on the circuit board  31 . The second sensor element  362  is disposed above the transparent board  33 . A position of the first sensor element  361  corresponds to a position of the second sensor element  362 . Preferably, the first sensor element  361  is an infrared projector, and the second sensor element  362  is an infrared receiver. When the sensor device  36  is in use, the second sensor element  362  keeps receiving an infrared light from the first sensor element  361 . When a bill passes through the sensor device  36 , the bill blocks the light receiving of the second sensor device  362 , thereby making the sensor device  36  transmit a signal to the circuit board  31 . However, a structure of the sensor device  36  is not limited to the embodiment mentioned above. 
         [0034]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3  and  5 , the wheel assembly is mounted between the side panels  10 , is disposed above the bill-in part  20 , the detector  30 , and the bill-out part  40 , and includes a first wheel  51 , an auxiliary wheel  54 , a second wheel  52 , and a third wheel  53 . 
         [0035]    The first wheel  51  is mounted between the side panels  10 , and is disposed above a boundary between the bill-in part  20  and the detector  30 . 
         [0036]    The auxiliary wheel  54  is mounted between the side panels  10 , and is disposed above the detector  30 . 
         [0037]    The second wheel  52  is mounted between the side panels  10 , and is disposed above a boundary between the detector  30  and the bill-out part  40 . The second sensor element  362  of the sensor device  36  is mounted between the auxiliary wheel  54  and the second wheel  52 . 
         [0038]    The third wheel  53  is mounted between the side panels  10 , is disposed above the bill-out part  40 , and is disposed in front of the second wheel  52 . 
         [0039]    In a preferred embodiment, the bill counter with a detector further has a motor  55 . The motor  55  is disposed below the bill-in part  20 , and drives the first wheel  51 , the auxiliary wheel  54 , the second wheel  52 , and the third wheel  53  via a belt  56 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . However, the driving structure to the wheel assembly is not limited to the embodiment mentioned above. 
         [0040]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , the bill-stacking devices  60  are mounted between the side panels  10 , are mounted in the bill-out part  40 , and protrude upward out of the bill-out part  40 . The bill-stacking devices  60  are disposed in front of the third wheel  53 , and are mounted with an interval between each other. 
         [0041]    With reference to  FIGS. 2 to 5 , when the bill counter with a detector is in use, bills are put on the bill-in part  20 . Then, the bills are moved backward to the bill-stacking devices  60  by the wheels  51 ,  54 ,  52 ,  53  in sequence. Finally, the bills are stacked up on the blocking panel  41  of the bill-out part  40  by the bill-stacking devices  60 . During movement of the bills as mentioned above, when the bills are moved to the transparent board  33  of the detector  30 , the bills actuate the sensor device  36  between the auxiliary wheel  54  and the second wheel  52 . The sensor device  36  transmits a signal to the circuit board  31 , and the circuit board  31  actuates the lighting element  34  and the image capturing device  35 . After the lighting element  34  is actuated, the lighting element  34  flashes immediately. The transparent board  33 , the reflecting boards  32 , and the circuit board  31  form the enclosed space, and the top surface of the circuit board  31  and the inner surface of the reflecting board  32  are rough and reflective, such that the flashes from the lighting elements  34 , which are inclined and upward toward the inner surface of the reflecting board  32 , form a “diffuse reflection”, thereby making the flashes uniformly illuminate the bill. At the same time, the image capturing device  35  takes images from the bills, and transmits the images to the circuit board to identify the face value of the bills and to detect that the bills are genuine or counterfeit. 
         [0042]    When the image capturing device  35  is taking images from the bill, because the image capturing device  35  does not need to be located near the bill and is mounted on the circuit board  31 , which is far from the bill, even if the bill is moved slightly by any force, a distance between the image capturing device  35  and the bill can effectively reduce the alteration of the image taken, which prevents identification failure under slight shock. Besides, a variation of the processing speed of the bill does not cause the image distortion, which further avoids the identification failure. In addition, when the image capturing device  35  is taking images, the “diffuse reflection” below the transparent board  33  also helps maintain stability of the image taking of the image capturing device  35 . Finally, the auxiliary wheel  54  above the detector  30  can effectively move the bill on the transparent board  33 , thereby preventing the bill from remaining on the transparent board  33  and being overlapped with the next bill. 
         [0043]    With reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , a second embodiment of the present invention is similar to the first embodiment as mentioned above. However, the detector  30 A is detachably mounted between the side panels  10 A, the bill-in part  20 A, and the bill-out part  40 A. One of the side panels  10 A has a through hole  11 A formed through the side panel  10 A and corresponding to the detector  30 A in shape. The detector  30 A is mounted transversely into and between the bill-in part  20 A and the bill-out part  40 A via the through hole  11 A, and then the detector  30 A is mounted securely to the side panels  10 A, the bill-in part  20 A, and/or the bill-out part  40 A by screwing. 
         [0044]    Thus, the second embodiment can modularize the detector  30 A. When the detector  30 A of the bill counter is broken, the user only needs to replace the detector  30 A instead of the whole bill counter. Accordingly, the manufacturers also can achieve the division of labor, for example, one of the manufacturers manufactures the detector  30 A, and another manufacturer purchases the manufactured detector  30 A and assembles the detector  30 A with other components into a bill counter with a detector. 
         [0045]    Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6