EP0660277A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for the characterization and discrimination of legal tender bank notes and documents
Assignee: Azkoyen Industrial SA
•
Filing: 1994-11-21
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2014-11-21
Abstract
Abstract Method and apparatus for the characterization and discrimination of legal tender bank notes and documents, by means of colorimetric analysis of the surface of them by illumination of the documents and analysis of the colour by means of at least one red-green-blue colour sensor. The signals obtained are conditioned in analog terms via means (9) and (10) and subsequently digitalized, with the aim of allowing their processing by microprocessor (11) and subsequent comparison with representative standards for valid documents.
Inventors
- 👤 Jesus Echapare Ibarrola
- 👤 Angel Ormazabal Aramburu
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 13:03
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07D; G07D7/00; G07D7/06; G07D7/12; G01; G01N; G01N21/00; G01N21/17; G01N21/25; G01N21/27
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
148 words
- Method for the characterization and discrimination of legal tender bank notes and documents, consisting of the carriage of the document to be analysed along a path in which that document is illuminated and analysed by means of sensors for its colour, producing signals that are conditioned and subjected to analog-digital processing, characterized by the fact that the analysis of the colour is carried out by at least one red-green-blue colour sensor which directly provides information on the colour components of the light received from the document subjected to examination, with the aim of extracting the colorimetric characteristics of the document in terms of the level of each of the fundamental colours, red-green-blue; the signals obtained being conditioned by means of a microprocessor and subsequently compared with representative standards for valid documents with the aim of deciding on the acceptance or rejection of the document subjected to examination.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
148 words
- Method for the characterization and discrimination of legal tender bank notes and documents, consisting of the carriage of the document to be analysed along a path in which that document is illuminated and analysed by means of sensors for its colour, producing signals that are conditioned and subjected to analog-digital processing, characterized by the fact that the analysis of the colour is carried out by at least one red-green-blue colour sensor which directly provides information on the colour components of the light received from the document subjected to examination, with the aim of extracting the colorimetric characteristics of the document in terms of the level of each of the fundamental colours, red-green-blue; the signals obtained being conditioned by means of a microprocessor and subsequently compared with representative standards for valid documents with the aim of deciding on the acceptance or rejection of the document subjected to examination.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
- Method according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that illumination of the document is done by means of a light source covering the entire visible spectrum.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
- Method according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that illumination of the document is done by means of an ultraviolet light source.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
- Method according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that illumination of the document is done by means of an infrared light source.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
- Method according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that illumination of the document is done by means of one or more monochromatic light sources.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
36 words
- Method according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that illumination of the document is done by means of a row of two or more light emitter units, each of them of different wavelength.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
- Method according to patent claim 5, characterized by the fact that illumination of the document is done by means of a line of light emitters of identical emission spectrum.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
40 words
- Method according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that the measurement of the length of the document examined is done by means of the colour sensor or sensors in conjunction with the carriage system for that document.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
31 words
- Method according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that processing of the components of the colour is carried out in order to obtain repetition histograms of colour levels.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
40 words
- Method according to patent claim 9, characterized by the fact that processing of the histograms is carried out in order to obtain statistical parameters, such as arithmetic mean, standard deviation, upper limit, lower limit and points around the mean.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
43 words
- Method according to patent claim 10, characterized by the fact that the statistical parameters are used in the process of comparison with the corresponding parameters of the standard model or models for causing acceptance or rejection of the bank note being examined.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
- Method according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that processing of the colour components is carried out in order to obtain spatial dependency matrices of colour level.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
37 words
- Method according to patent claims 1 and 12, characterized by the fact that processing of the spatial dependency matrices for colour levels is carried out in order to obtain the parameters known as transitions and contrasts.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
45 words
- Method according to patent claim 13, characterized by the fact that the transitions and contrasts parameters are used in the process of comparison with the corresponding parameters of the standard model or models for causing acceptance or rejection of the bank note being examined.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
44 words
- Method according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that processing is carried out for conversion of the components of the colour in red-green-blue format into tone-saturation-luminance format for calculating the statistical parameters or transitions and contrasts parameters in this new format.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
30 words
- Method according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that the colour components are used for making a correlation with different masks designed for detecting invariant zonal properties.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
43 words
- Method according to patent claim 16, characterized by the fact that a comparison is made of the result of the correlation with representative values for valid documents, with the aim of causing the acceptance or rejection of the bank note being examined.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
46 words
- Method according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that the document is also subjected to the action of an optical system capable of producing the "Moiré" effect, the detection of which is used for acceptance or rejection of the bank note being examined.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
102 words
- Method for the characterization and discrimination of legal tender bank notes and documents, consisting of means of carriage for the bank notes or documents, devices for illuminating the obverse and reverse sides of the documents, sensors for measuring the colours and analog and digital devices for the conditioning and processing of the signals obtained, characterized by the fact that it includes at least one red-green-blue colour sensor capable by itself of providing information relating to the components of these three colours, whose sensor consists of a colour sensor, preferably a linear CCD sensor responding to the colours red, green and blue.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
102 words
- Method for the characterization and discrimination of legal tender bank notes and documents, consisting of means of carriage for the bank notes or documents, devices for illuminating the obverse and reverse sides of the documents, sensors for measuring the colours and analog and digital devices for the conditioning and processing of the signals obtained, characterized by the fact that it includes at least one red-green-blue colour sensor capable by itself of providing information relating to the components of these three colours, whose sensor consists of a colour sensor, preferably a linear CCD sensor responding to the colours red, green and blue.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
30 words
- Apparatus according to patent claim 19, characterized by the fact that the photosensitive device consists of sets of photodiode triads respectively responding to the colours red, green and blue.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
27 words
- Apparatus according to patent claims 19 and 20, characterized by the fact that one or more of the photodiodes in the set respond to infrared light.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
28 words
- Apparatus according to patent claim 19, characterized by the fact that it includes light diffusers between any of the light sources and the document to be examined.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
46 words
- Apparatus according to patent claims 19 and 21, characterized by the fact that it includes an optical system for focusing on the document in the direction perpendicular to the direction of advance, with the aim of measuring the width of the document during its travel.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
39 words
- Apparatus according to patent claims 19 and 21, characterized by the fact that it includes an optical system that focuses on one part of the document, allowing the fineness of characteristic details of that document to be detected.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
55 words
- Apparatus according to patent claim 19, characterized by the fact that it includes the circuitry for the digital processing which includes a microprocessor, and also incorporating peripheral circuits for carrying out control of the illumination systems, for control of the mechanical carriage system and for communication with external devices and auxiliary sensors and signalling.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.