Patent ID: 7501659

Claim:
An optical detector for use in a bill validator for detecting a foreign object or a bill in a passageway formed in said bill validator to transport the bill through said passageway, said optical detector comprising a wiring board, an LED device mounted on said wiring board and disposed on one side of said passageway, a light reflector disposed on the other side of said passageway for receiving and reflecting light from said LED device and passing through said passageway, and a light detector mounted on said wiring board for receiving light reflected on said light reflector to produce an electric signal of the level corresponding to the amount of received light, said LED device comprising: a first lead terminal which has a support; a second lead terminal which has a joint area; an LED chip mounted on said support and electrically connected to said support and joint area; and a light-conductive plastic encapsulant for sealing said support, LED chip and joint area; said plastic encapsulant comprising an integrated cylindrical lens disposed opposite to said LED chip to irradiate light emitted from said LED chip out of said plastic encapsulant with a wider directivity angular range in a first irradiative direction than that in a second irradiative direction.