TECHNICAL BULLETIN - FEBRUARY 2009 INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY LTD

For more information please contact support@innovative-technology.co.uk

BV100 MDB module fitting

1. Remove the rear cover by unscrewing 2 x T20 screws as indicated

2. Connect MDB interface connector to the main BV100 PCB

3. Break off and discard cable blanking tab from the rear cover
 4. Replace cover and secure in place with 2 x T20 screws

Note: When connecting to a MDB Host machine, only use the white MDB connectors.
Connecting the host machine directly to the 16 way connector will result in damage to the
BV100.

NV4 to NV10 upgrade

As the NV4 has been obsolete for approaching 5 years, you may want to consider upgrading to
an NV10 for increased technology and security benefits. Conversion is simple with various
different kits available depending on your bezel and host machine requirements. Conversion
from existing NV2 units to NV10 is also simple. Please see the diagrams below on page 3.
Conversion kits NV4 – NV10, NV2 – NV10
The Use of Optical Design in Cash Handling Systems

As banknote security systems designed by banknote manufactures get more

complex, the need for quality optical design in cash handling systems becomes ever
more important. Perhaps the most important area of a cash handling system is the
interaction of the validation sensors with the security features present on a banknote.
The challenge for the manufacturers of such cash handling systems is to optimise the
amount of security features that are interrogated, whilst minimising the cost to their
customers.

In order to achieve this harmony of banknote sensing and price, the sensor engineers
working on such problems have a number of options at their disposal. One of the
most efficient ways of improving the sensing capability of optical sensors is to ensure
optimal optical design. The physics of how light travels through different media is the
underlying science behind good optical design. Understanding transmission,
scattering, reflection, refraction etc. is essential in optimising optical sensors. For
example, by using different lenses, light from an L.E.D. can be made to spread out
uniformly over a large area, or focused tightly onto a small spot. Equally, by using the
appropriate receiving lens, light from a dispersed area can be focused onto a small
photodiode, as can light from a small spot.

When designing our cash handling systems, we use

the underlying physics to ensure the optical design is
optimal. In addition to the basic science, we also use
powerful software to investigate how light travels
through our optical systems. This software gives the
user the ability to model how the light interacts with
its surrounding, and ensure that any optical system
behaves as it should. The versatility of this system
means that it is excellent for designing basic optical
systems such as sensor light-guides, and also more
complex systems such as banknote security sensors,
imaging systems and projection. Figure 1 shows an
example of how the software helps in the design of
simple systems, such as optical light-guides. Here
the emitting and receiving devices (LED and
photodiode) are mounted on a main PCB say, and
the item to be sensed is in some other location. In
Figure 1 - Example of a this example the light is guided through a right-
3D model of an optical angled bend in two different ways, and the
light-guide. emerging amount and distribution of light is
modelled. The emitting and receiving devices can be
modelled in detail, as well as the light.

With complex optical systems, it is often easier to model them in 2D before moving
onto a 3D model. Figure 2 shows a 2D model of a projection system.
 Figure 2 -2D model of a projection system *

In this model we utilise the ability to import standard optical components into our
model, such as reflectors, lens arrays and bulb geometry. These standard objects are
then arranged to the designer’s specification in order to achieve the optimal optical
system. Moving on from 2D designs, complex 3D designs can then be constructed,
see figure 3.

Figure 3 -3D model of a digital data projector *

This 3D model is a virtual prototype of a digital data projector, containing illumination

optics, beam splitters, fold mirrors and projection optics. In addition to the ray tracing
ability, the spectral properties of the light can also be modelled and investigated, in
order to achieve the correct chromaticity.

The above examples show how good optical design can ensure better quality optical
systems, and these principles are directly transferable to cash handling equipment.
This systematic and analytic approach to how our optical systems interact with the
security information on banknotes, and other forms of currency means our products
can be of the highest quality, combining a high acceptance of real currency, with high
counterfeit rejection, all at the best price for our customers.