CA2231131A1 - Card dispensing cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

A card dispensing cassette includes a housing in which cards are stacked. A dispense outlet is provided in the housing through which cards are laterally dispensed from the cassette. A card retainer, cooperating with the dispense outlet, is slidably mounted to the cassette for substantially lateral movement between a closed position in which cards cannot be dispensed and an open position in which cards can be dispensed. The card retainer has a retaining lip which engages any cards protruding through the dispense outlet when the card retainer moves to its closed position so as to return those cards into the cassette.

Description

, CARD DISPENSINC CASSET'I'E

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Ti:lis invention relates to a card dispensillg cassette for thin cards such 5 as magnetic cards, telephone car,ds or IC cards. This invention also relates to card disp,ellsing equipmellt wllicll is suitable for vending machines to sell cards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

C,ard dispensillg equipment for card vending machines is disclosed in tl~e specificatioll of Japanese 'Utility Model Application 63-60147 (whicll corlesl)ol~(Js lo Jap.ll~ese U~ y l~odel l'llblication 7-26276 al~ù Ul~ile~l Slales Patel~t No. 4,993,587).
As shown ill Figule 71 this card dispensil1g equipment comprises a card store 50 I'or llolding a card stack 3 alld defined by side plates 1,2, a SUppOlt 5 plate 4 for supportillg this card stack 3 from the lower pOltiOn, and a feed rollel- 5 On a drive axle 6 whicl1 is provided under the support plate 4 and pl-otl-udes thro-lgll a window 38.
A further pair of rollel-s 7 on an axle 11 are provided between the feed rollel S alld a dispense outlet.
1C) The feed rollers 7 feed out to the dispense outlet 40 tlle card which was fed frolll the bottom of the stack 3 by positive rotation of tbe feed rollel 5.
Above Ille feed rollels 7, a reverse roller 8 on an axle 1~ is provi(led to be drivell in the opposite direction to the card feed direction.
Ful-ther, this revelse roller 8 defines a gap with the rollers 7 which 15 allows only one card to pass on beillg fed out by a projecting portiol1 37 of the feed roller 5. When the gap is filled with the card, the feed roller 5 is reversed.
rl'he reverse roller 8 is driven in conjunction with axle 6, i. e. f or the same duration as the period f OI dispensing a card. Its job is to push any car(ls above the card being dispensed back into the stack, thus preventing a "double ~0 dispense".
'l he cards are fed to a discharge roller 9 on an axle 13 cooperaling with all allxilialy roller l0 on an axle l4. Tlle rollers are driven by a drive ll)otor CA 02231131 1998-04-06 .

15 ln~ g a dlive sllafl 16 coupled to pulleys 17,19,20,21,22 all(l 2~1 by belts 1~,23 A weigllt 39 holcls llle cards dowll an~l a detector switcll 4~ is plovide(J
Collventiollal cassettes as described above are relatively insecule an(l, in palticulial-, when a cassette is reIlloved from dispensillg equipment, thel-e is 5 a risk tllat one or more eards may protrllde througll the dispense outlet and coulcl thel,efore be aceessed by unalltllorized persolls SUMMAI~Y AND OE~JECTS OI~ TI--IE INVENTION
It is a primaly objeet of the presellt invention to provide a card 10 disl)ellsillg eassette eomprises a hollsillg in whieh eards are staeked in use; a dispellse c)lltlet in the hollsillg thlougl- which eards are laterally dispensed from tlle casselte; and a card retaillel-, cooperating with the dispense outlet, slidably mollllte(l to the cassette for substantially lateral movement between a closed pOSitiOII in whicll cards callnot l)e dispensed and an open position in wllich 15 cards can be dispensed, the eard retainer having a retaining lip whieh engages any eards protnlding througl- the dispense outlet when the eard retainer moves to its elosed position so as to returIl those eards into the eassette With this new eassette, a earcl retainer is provided which prevents cards from beillg dispensed from the cassette when in its elosed position and which, 2() wl~en mc)ved frolll its open position to its closed position, wili engage any eards protrlldilng throllgl- the dispense outlet so as to return them into the cassette I his enaL~les a mllcl~ Inore secule operation to be aehieved, partieularly when a cassette is mounted to and removed fiom dispensing equipll-ellt. Thlls, the equiplllel],t can be arlanged to move tl-e card retainer to ils closed position befole the cassette can be removed from the dispensing equiplllent. This plevents ,cards from being removed when the cassette is not attaclled to the 5 dispensing equipment.
In some cases, the card retainer will simply slide in a general orthogonal directioll relative to tlle stacking direction but convellielltly the cassette furtllel conlpl ises gui(le means for causing the card retainer to tip durillg its movelllellt towards the open position so as to reduce interference between the 10 lip and the path of cards being dispensed. This simplifies the construction of dispensirlg equipment for removing cards from the cassette. The guide means is most c:onvenielltly provided by one or more pairs of cooperating pins and slots.
In one embodimellt~ the card retainer is moved manually by means of 15 a halldle coupled to the card re,tainer and extending through a slot in a wall of the housing.
In an alternative, preferred embodiment, the cassette further comprises a gear assembly for coupling the card retailler to a drive shaft whicll is connected in use to an actuator. This allows the card retainer to be .0 autonlal:ically moved, for example where the actuator is provided by part of dispensing equipment.
(~ards could be pushed out of tlle cassette in any conventional way but in ll~e preferled arl~llgelnèlll, tlle cal(J retaillel includes a window througl hicll carcls in the stack can be engaged l)y a feed member.
In order to provide additional seculity, preferably the cassette further compl-ises a first latcll member movable between a locked pOSitiOII in which it engages and locks the card retainel in its closed position and a released pOSitiOII in whic}l the card retainer can be moved to its open position. This avoids unautllolized access l)eillg obtailled to cards in the cassette whell thecasselte is not attaclled to dispensillg apl)aratlls. Conveniently, tlle first latch Inellll)el is primed in its released pOSi~iOn to return to the locked position once 1CI tlle card retainer has been moved to its open position whereby the card retailler is automatically locked by tbe first latch member when the card retainer returns to its closed position. This means that there is much less chance of the card retainer being inadvertelltly or fiaudulently opened when it has moved back to its closed pOSitiOII. Preferably, the first latch member can only l~e ulllocked from withill the housing so as to provide additional security.
The inventioll also relates to card dispensing apparatus comprising a card dispellsillg cassette according to the invelltion; and a dispenser to whichthe cassette can be moullted, the dispenser being adapted to feed cards from the cassette tbrollgll the dispense outlet to an output position.
Tlle various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out witll particulari~y in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better ullderstandillg of the invelltioll, its operalillg , a(lvallt~ges alld specil'ic ol)jecls att~ I)y its uses, referellce is m?.de to the ~ccolnpa~ g drawings an~ ,descl iptive matter in wllicll preferred el~bodiments of tlle inventioll are illustlated BRIEF DESCRII'TION OF THE DRAWINGS
5 In the drawings Figule 1 is a perspective view fron1 l)elow and from the rear of a first example of a cassette;
Figllle 2 is an enlal-ged frollt view of part of the cassette shown in Figul-e l;
~0 Figure 3 is a furthel enlarged, side view of the card retainer mechanism of the cassette shown in Figures 1 and 2;
Figure 4 is an exploded view of some of tl-e components shown in Figure 3;
Figure S is a perspective view fiom one side, above and the front showing the cassette mounted on dispensing apparatus;
Figure 6 is a perspective view from the front, the other side and below the cassette Witll the card retainer in its open position;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of a known card dispensing apparatus and cassette;
20 Figures 8A-8C illustrate different stages in operation of the card retainer mechanism;

l~igul-e 9 is al~ exl~lod~d vi~w o~ a secon(J exanlple of a cassette ~Iccor(lillg ~o ~l~e invelllioll;
Figures 10A-IOC are perspective views from below, the front al~d one side; a perspective view frolll above, the rear and the other side; and a perspective view frolll a~ove, the front and the one side respectively of tlle c assette ShOWII ill Figure 9;
Figure 11 is a perspective view of a dispellser for use witll tlle casselte shown in Figules 9 and 10;
Figure 12 is a view of the cassette shown in Figures 9 and 10 mounted to the dispenser sllown ill Figure 11;
Figule 13 is a partial rear view of the cassette shown in Figures 9 and 10 wi~ll the rear plate removed;
Figures 14, 15 and 16A are views of different stages of deployment of the card retainer and associated latch mechanism;
~5 Figure 16E~ is a perspective vie~ from above, the front and one side of part of the cassette when in the collfiguration shown in Figure 16A;

and, Figule 17 is an enlarged perspective view from l)elow of part of the cassette in Figure 9 with some parts omitted for clarity.

DESC]RIPTION OI~ THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

lRef,erring to the drawings, and in particulal to Figul-es 1 to 6 and 8, . .

lhose palt; which are sinlilal- to p alts in Figure 7 have been given the salllerefel-ellce nlllnel-als for convellience .
I~igllres 1 to 6 and 8 illustlate a cassette 51 having a pair of side plales 52 a frollt plate 55 secured between the side plates 52 so that the side plates plotl-llde sliglltly beyolld the front plate a rear plate (not showll) a top plate 53 alld a bottolll plate 4 The frollt plate or panel 55 can be opened and closedto allow access into a cal-d store 50. A dispense outlet 59 is fornled between the bottonl plate 4 and the lower end of the front panel 55. A window 3~
(Figure 4) is provided in the bottom plate 4 to allow access to tlle lowerlllostcard in a stack contained in the cassette by a feed roller 5.
Slots 56 one of whicll is shown in Figures 1 and 5 are formed in upper ends of side flallges 55A of the frollt panel 55 an axle 57 connected betwee[l the sicle phates 52 extendillg into the slots to enable the front panel 55 to Inove up alld down alld to rotate.
The panel 55 is locked in position by means of a lock asselnbly 60 provided witll first and second lock/key arrangements 61 62. A lower part 55A of the frollt panel 55 (Figllle 2) extends witllin the lock assembly 60 slidably and is locked in its closed pOSitiOll by a projection 63 forming part of tlle lock/key arrangemellt 61.
Rotation of the second lock/key arrangen~ent 62 causes a projec~ion 64 to extend throllgll a slit in the left hand side wall 52 (Figures 1 and 5) to lock the cassette to the dispensillg equiplnellt.

.

Of coul-se, Ille keys of eacll key/lock arlallgelllellt 61, 62 call l)e removed once they have been turl-led to theil- locked pOSitiOII.
Cooperating with the dispense outlet 59 is a card retainer 71 having an E shape as can be seen most easily in Figure 4. Each arm 72 of the card 5 retaillel- 59 is bent upwaldly at its tip, each tip being aligned with a respective notcll 55B iat the lower edge of the front panel lower part 55A.
A pail of ~)illS 73 ex~nd froll-l Ihe rigllt halld end of the card retaillel 71 while a lever axle 74 exten(ls from the left hand end. The pins 73 protrude thlollgll a g-lide slot 65 in the rigllt halld side plate 52 (Figure 6) while the 1 0 lever axle 74 protl-udes througll a slot 66 in the left hand side plate 52 (Figure 1).
The mechallism for operating tlle card retainer 71 is mounted in a secure cover 75 attached to the inside of the left hand side wall 52. The actuatillg mechallism includes a laterally extending plate 77 fixed to a mountillg plate 41 below the bottom plate 4. A pin 83 extends through the molllltillg plate 41 towards the real- of the plate 77. The card retainer 71 is InOlll~ted Ol] the plOjeCtillg pOltiOII of the lever axle 74 wlficll extends througll a slide plate 78. A link plate 69 is pivotally mounted to a rearwardly extending projection ~,1 of the card retainer 71 by means of a pin 82. A pin 79 for :20 guiding sliding movement of the link plate 69 is fixed to the rear of the link plate 69. The pin 79 is slidably received in a slot 80 formed in the left hand side plate 52 and in a moulltillg bracket attached to the plate 77.

Al~ exlellsioll Splillg 8~ exlell~s belween tlle pin 74 and tlle pin 83 so as to ulge ~ e car~ retailler 71 into its closeù position SbOWII ill Figure 1. A
pin 85 extends throllgll an aperture in the left side plate 52, througll an aligned aperture in a further bracket attached to the plate 77 and into a slot 86 of a 5 V-shaped latch body 76. 'rhe latch body 76 is slidably and rotatably moullted on the pin 85.
A V-sllaped spring 87 has one arm in contact with the cover body 75 an(l tlle otl:ler aln~ in contact with a part 88 of the latch body 76.
In ordel- to prepal-e tbe cassette, a manager will unlock the lock/key arl-allgemellt 61 and draw up the fiont panel 55 and will insert a long bar 100 (Figule 3) Ihrough the dispense outlet 59. The tip of the bar 100 is contacted agaillst an operating part 91 of the latch body 76 through a small window 89 in the bottom plate 4 and a small window 90 in the card retainer 71. When the bar 100 is pushed down and forward against the action of the spring 87, 1 5 tlle latch body 76 will move a distance correspollding to the length of tlle slot 86 to the rigllt as seen in Figure 3. Whell tlle bar 100 is then removed, a pl-ojectioll 92 on the latch body 76 is contacted and caught by an angled extension of the plate 77 (see chaill lines in Figure 3 and also Figure 8B) and at this time a furtller projectioll 94 of the latch body 76 projects from the plate 20 77.
Following relnoval of the bar 100, the front panel 55 is lowered and the key of the arl-allgelllent 61 is rotated to lock the panel 55 with the projection G3. Arler-tllis, tl~e key is r~ ove(3. I'lle cassette is then placed on c~
Llispellsillg appalalus 30 of a vendillg maclline as seen in Figure 5.
The dispensing apparatus 30 comprises right and left side plates 1,2 sepal ~ted by a top plate 40. Whell the cassette is mounted onto the 5 clispellsing apparatus, the lever ~xle 74 and the larger of the pins 73 are inselted respectively in L-shaped lloles 9S formed in each of the side plates 1, 2 al~d extendillg over a feed roller axis ll. At the same time, the pin 79 is inselted into a small L shaped hole 96 which is formed near tlle rear edge of the left side plate 2. This can be seen in Figure S. After this, the lever axle 74 is pulled towards the feed roller axis 11 against the force of the spring 84 following which the key 62 is rotated so tllat the projection 64 protrudes thl-ollgll the slot 58. This movement causes a lock plate g7 slidably mounted to an upward extension of the side plate 2 to be pushed downwardly against the force of a spring 98. As a result, the lever arm 74 is locked against movemellt under the resilience of tlle splillg 84 by a lower projection of the lock plate 97. Thus, the cassette is locked onto the card dispensing apparatus 30 of the l.~endillg macllille. After this, the operator removes tbe second key 62. It shollld be noted in passing that the key/lock arrangement 62 could be mo~ ted l:o the dispensing apparatus 3~.
Figure 6 illustrates the conditioIl of tlle cassette 51 before the second key 62 has been removed. (Tlle dispensing apparatus is omitted in Figure 6.) It will be seen from Figure 6 and also Figure 8C tllat movement of the lever alu~ 7~1 dl~ws folwald Ille cald retaillel 71 It ~vill also be uoted tllat tlle Cclld retail~el 711las l~een nloved dowllwal-dly ;llld tllis is caused by movelllent of the snlallel of tlle pillS 73 ill the sloL 65 wllicll has a corresponding downwald extensioIl near the front edge of tl~e slide plate 3 As a result, the thl-ee tips 5 72 of the cald retailler 71 do not interfere with cards 3 being fed out of the dispense outlet.
In more detail, wheIl the card retainer 7l is drawn out towards the left side as can be seen in Figure 8, against the action of the spring 84, the projectioll 94 Oll the latch body 76 is moved towards the left by tlle underside of the cardl retainer 71. Thus, the latch body 76 with the oval hole 86 is moved towards the left in Figure 8 against the resilience of the spring 87 As a result, the projecl;ion 92 disengages from the extension 93 and, due to the force of tlle Splillg 87, passes beyond the plate 77 Further, a stop flange 67 wllicll is forlned in front of the plate 77 regulates movement of the latch body 76 l 5 depending on the spring 87 When the cassette 61 is removed from the card dispensing apparatus 30, the operator first inserts the second key 62 into its lock and rotates the projection 64 to its unlocked position (Figure 2) As a result, the spring 98 acts and the lock plate 97 rises so that the lever arm 74 becomes fiee and the 20 spring 84 then acts to move the lever arm to the position sllowll in Figure 5 Accordillgly, the operatol- can thell remove the cassette 51 from the card dispensilll, apparatus 30 in an upwald directioll At -Lllis ~ e, the seculily mecllallisln withill the hollsillg 75 relullls lo its original condition. That is, it takes up the condition sllowll in solid lines in Figure 3. As can be seen in Figure 8A, the card retainer 71 is moved to the right llnder the influence of the spring 84. Then, under the action of the spring 87, the projectioll 92 culs hlto the notch 99 of tlle rear projectioll 81 of the card retainel so that it is impossible to draw the retainer 71 out again In other worcls, tl~e condition showll in Figures 1 and 2 has been reached.
In order to take cards out from the cassette 51, the first key 61 is insel-ted into its lock and the projection 63 rotated to its unlocked position.
1C Accordilly,ly, because the front pallel 55 can be moved vertically, the cards 3 can be ta}cen out from the inside of the cassette 51. It should be noted that while the cassette 51 is locked by the first key 61 which is removed by a manager or the like, the card retainer 71 is sometimes drawn out on malfullcti~:~ll of the dispensel 74 In this case, as shown in Figure SC, the projectiorl 94 is moved and the projection 92 slides beyond the extensioll 93, and lllen a sprillg 84 acts to lellllll the card retailler 71 to its original position.
Thlls, as sllown in Figure 8A, tl-e spring 87 acts and the projection 92 cuts into the notch 99 and the card retainer 71 is not drawn out. This prevents spills of cards from the cassette 51.
2Cl It should also be noted that when the card retainer 71 returns to its closed position as shown in Figure 8B, any cards 3 protruding through the dispense oullet will be returned into lhe stack.

In .,ome cases, the seculily mecllallism lloused within the llousing 75 could be olnitted and reliance placed simply on tbe use of the lwo locks 61,62.
The cassette 51 may be made transparent or opaque from a resin formed product or the like. In some cases, the cassette could be disposable allowing the locks 61,62 to be omitted.
Although Figure 7 illustrates the use of a weight 39 to urge the stack of calds against tlle bottom })late 4 and also to assist gravity, other means for acllieving lllis urging could be provided such as a spring. This would also allow tlle cassette to be laid hol-izolltally.
A second embodilllellt of the inventioll will now be described with reference to Figures 9 to 16. This is the preferred embodiment and it based closely on the first embodilnent but with certain modifications, particularly inthe locking mechanism. As can be seen in ~igures 9 and 10, the cassette comprises a pair of side plates 1()0, 101 secured at their upper end by a plate 102 and a~t their lower end by a base plate 103 on which cards to be dispensed are stacked in use. The cassette has a front plate 104 pivoted at its upper end between the plates 100, 101 and lockably secured at its lower end via a lock mechallism 105. The lock mechanism 105 has a pawl 105A which, in the locking pOSitiOIl, engages betweell a pair of rods 105B secured between the 2C) side plates 100,101 (see Figure 14).
A rear plate 106 is pivoted at its top between the side plates 100,101 and is also locked at its lower end to the base plate 103 via a locking - ~ CA 02231131 1998-04-06 n~cl~ isln l07 havil~g a pawl 108 which locates ill a lockillg apert-lie 109 of lIe l)lale 103 (see l~igure 9) Slidlably moul~ted beneath the base plate 103 is a latch plate 110 having a cal-d retailler 111 secured to it at its front end The card retainer 111 has apair of uF,wardly extending lips 112 which, as can be seen in Figure 10C, extend across a dispense outlet 113 located between the base of the front plate 104 al~d tllle upper surface of the base plate 103 The card retainer 111 has a pail of latelally extending, small pins 114 and a large rod 98 wllicll engage inresr~e~live slots I lS of a pair of small subsidialy side plates 116 located on the imlel- surfaces of respective side walls 100,101 of the cassette~ Each slot 115 I-as a horizontally extending portion 115A which comn1unicates with a downwaràly extending portion 115B TI1US, as the latch plate 110 and card retailler 111 are pushed folward, the pins 114 will be moved along the slots 1 IS Ulltil finally they move downwardly in the portions 115B so as to move the card retaiiner 111 downwardly, about the rod 98, out of alignment with the dispense outlet 113 (see Figure 16) A pair of springs 230 are attached on opposite sides of the latch plate 110 and are anchored to the side plates 100, 101 respectively to urge the latch plate towards its retracted position A pail of small racks 117 are secured beneatll the latch plate 110 and 20~ engage respective pinions 118 fixed to an axle 119 which extends between tlle plates 11~5 The end of the axle 11g protruding through the plate 116 attached to the sicle plate 101 supports a gear 99 1ll order to plevellt tlle cald retailler 111 from being moved lo its open posilioll wllell a cassette is not in use, a lock-out latch nlechanislll 120 is provicled located t)ehind a cover 221 (Figure lOA) As can be seen in l~igure 14, for example, Ihe lock-out Inechallislll 120 comprises a U-shaped latch melllber 121 having an actuator portion 122, the latch member 121 havillg an elongate slot 123 via whicll it is mounted by a bolt 124 for sliding movement to the side plate 100 The latch member 121 is urged towards its locking pOSitiOII ShOWII ill Figure 14 by an extensioll spring 126 Hence, as can be seenin Figure 14, the latch member 121 is urged upwardly and in its locking position, as shown, will engage behilld a flange 110A in the latch plate 110 As can be seen in Figure 10B, access to the actuator 122 is normally prevented by the locked rear plate 106 When the plate 106 is unlocked and moved, tlle actuator 122 becomes visible as can be seen in Figure 13.
In order to load the cassette, one or botb of the frollt and back plates 104,106 is unlocked and moved away from the rest of the cassette so that cards can be inselted so as to rest on the base 103. The front and rear plates are thell locked and the cassette can then be fieely transported while the contents remain secure. When the cassette is to be mounted on a dispenser, the rear plate 106 is unlocked and the operator pushes the actuator 122 dowllwardsand towards the front as can be seen in Figure 15 This causes the latch member 121 to be slid towards the front due to the presence of the slot 123, thus withdrawing a projection 121B of the latch member from engagement with the flallge 110A, wllile a pin 121A on the lalcll nlelllbel 121 engages the un(lelside of the depellding latch plate tab 130 and lodges against a laterally extelldillgpill 125. In the pOSitiOII ShOWII ill Figllle 15, the latch menlber 121 is retaille(3 ulldel splillg tension agaillst tlle latch plate tab 130 and the pin 125 and tlle mecllallis[n is primed. Sul)seqllelltly, when the card retainer 111 is moved ~olward as shown in Figure 16, against the return force of the springs 230, the latch mernber 121 will retul-ll to its origillal locked position as shown in Figure 14 so tllat when the card retainel 111 is returned to its closed position, the plojectio]l 121B of the latch n~elllbel 121 will automatically reengage and lockthe card retainer 111 in pOSitiOII.
Figure 11 illustrates a dispenser to which the cassette shown in Figures 9 and 10 call be located. As in the previous example, the dispenser has a pair of side plates 140, 141 seculed in a spaced apart configuration by a number of spacels. A feed roller 142 fixed to an axle 143 is provided in alignmellt witll a furtlle3- feed roller 144 and separation rollers 145 which are rotated in reverse lelative to the roller 144 as in the previous example.
As can be seen in Figure 12, when the cassette is mounted olltO the dispenser, the axle 119 where it protrudes beyond the side plate 101 locates in a slot 146 ill the side plate 141 of the dispenser. Prior to mounting the 2~0 cassette on the dispenser, the l~ver arm 147, attached to a shaft 143 canying a gear 148, is moved in an anti-clockwise direction, as seen in l~igure 11, agaillst the bias of a spring 230 conllected between the lever arm 147 al~d a pin 231 After lhe cassette is in pOSitiOIl, tlle lever arlll 147 is moved clockwise so tllat the teeth on the gear 14~ engage and rotate the gear 99 in an anti-clockwise direction (Figure 12) thus moving the card retainer 111 to its open or dispense position shown in Figure 16 At the same time, this movement of 5 the lever arm 147 will effectively lock the cassette onto the dispenser by engagement between the gears 99, 148 In order to remove the cassette, it is necessaly to move the lever arm 147 back to tlle position shown in Figure 12 whicll will autonlatically cause the card retainer 111 to be retracted thus drawillg ;any protruding cards back illtO the cassette through the dispense 10 outlet 113 Tlle lever arm 147 is rotatable on its support to enable it to take up a holizontal position as showll in chaill lines in Figure 12 PIior to operating the lever arm 147, it is necessaly to prime the latch mechallism and this can be done either before the cassette is mounted Oll the 15 dispenser or aftelwards Following the priming action, however, the rear plate 106 is locked in its closed pOSitiOll To avoid inadvertent movement of the card retainer 111 if it is already in its primed position before being located on the dispenser, a ring shaped latch member 200 is provided slidably mounted to the side plate 101 The 2() latch member 200 includes a phl 202 A tension spring 207 extends from the pin 202 lo a ~lrther pin 201 connected to the side plate 101 so that tl-e latch member 200 is urged in a downward direction This movement is limited by ~ ~ CA 02231131 1998-04-06 a stol) ~)hlte 203 atlaclled to the latch member 200. A laterally inwai-dly ex~elldillg pin 204 is provided at the upper end of tlle latcll menll)er 200 and whell the latcll plate 110 is in its retracted position (Figure 17), the pin 204 engages in a recess 205 defined at the rear of the latch plate 110 (Figure 9).
5 ln this condition, as seen in Figule 17, even though the latch member 121 has been released, the latch plate 110 cannot be moved.
Thelatclllllelllber200isleleased whentlle cassette is moullted 011 the dispensel. The dispensel- includes a dagger pin 210 (Figllre 11) at its rear whicll passes tllrollgll an i~pertllle 211in tlle base of the cassette alld engages a laterally extending flange 212 of the latch member 200. This pushes the latch lllernber 200 upwards against the spring action thus disengaging the pin 204 from the recess 205 and allowing the plate 110 to move folwardly. When the cassette is removed from the dispenser, the dagger pin will be extracted from the aperture 211 and the latch member 200 will return to the pOsiti 1G, shown in Figure 17.
It is possible that an attempt might be made to gain access to the cassette after the actuator 122 has been unlocked but before the cassette is lnollnted on the clispensel. Such an attempt will initially be frustrated by tlle presellce ofthe latch membel-200. Iftbe latch member 200 is released by 2() insertillg an elongate member into the hole 211, the card retainer 111 could be pulle(l folward but as SOOII as it was released, the springs 230 would pull it back to its closed or retracted position and the latch member 121 would aulol~ tically reengage alld i~ would be impossible to place the cassette on the dispensel witllollt repeatillg tlle ulllocking operation of the latch member 121.
Tllis provides talllper evidence.
As in the previous example, the dispenser will be connected to 5 appropriate control equipment for respondillg to an operator request to dispense one or Inore cards, thlls causing appropriate rotation of the feed rollers.
~ l~e fealures described in specification, drawings, abstract, and claims, can be used individually and in arbitraly combinations for practicillg the 10 present invelltioll.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the inve[ltioll~ it will be ulldelstood that the invention may be embodied othelwise without departing from such principles.

2n

Claims (20)

1. A card dispensing cassette comprising:
a housing in which cards are stacked in use;
a dispense outlet in the housing through which cards are laterally dispensed from the cassette; and a card retainer, cooperating with the dispense outlet, slidably mounted to the cassette for substantially lateral movement between a closed position in which cards cannot be dispensed and an open position in which cards can be dispensed, the card retainer having a retaining lip which engages any cards protruding through the dispense outlet when the card retainer moves to its closed position so as to return those cards into the cassette.

2. A cassette according to claim 1, further comprising:
guide means for causing the card retainer to tip during its movement towards the open position so as to reduce interference between the lip and the path of cards being dispensed.

3. A cassette according to claim 2, wherein:
the guide means comprises a cooperating pin and slot.

4. A cassette according to claim 3, wherein:

the pin extends laterally from the card retainer and the slot is provided in the wall of the housing

5. A cassette according to claim 1, further comprising;
a handle coupled to the card retainer and extending through a slot in a wall of the housing to enable the card retainer to be moved.

6. A cassette according to claim 1, further comprising:
a gear assembly for coupling the card retainer to a drive shaft which is connected in use to an actuator.

7. A cassette according to claim 6, wherein;
the gear assembly comprises a rack and pinion.

8. A cassette according to claim 6, wherein the drive shaft carries a gear for engaging with a gear of the actuator.

9. A cassette according to claim 1, wherein:
the card retainer includes a window through which cards in the stack can be engaged by a feed member.

10. A cassette according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first latch member movable between a locked position in which the first latch member engages and locks the card retainer in its closed position and a released position in which the card retainer can be moved to its open position.

11. A cassette according to claim 10, wherein:
the first latch member is primed in its released position to return to the locked position once the card retainer has been moved to its open position whereby the card retainer is automatically locked by the first latch member when the card retainer returns to its closed position.

12. A cassette according to claim 10, wherein:
the first latch member can only be unlocked from within the housing.

13. A cassette according to claim 1, wherein:
the housing has a cover which is locked to the remainder of the housing.

14. A cassette according to claim 1, further comprising:
a second latch member which locks the card retainer in its closed position and is releasable by a user to allow the card retainer to be moved to its open position.

15 A cassette according to claim 1, further comprising:
a lock member which can be moved to a locking position in which it engages a dispenser to lock the cassette to the dispenser.

16. Card dispensing apparatus comprising:
a card dispensing cassette including a housing in which cards are stacked in use, a dispense outlet in the housing through which cards are laterally dispensed from the cassette, and a card retainer, cooperating with the dispense outlet, slidably mounted to the cassette for substantially lateral movement between a closed position in which cards cannot be dispensed and an open position in which cards can be dispensed, the card retainer having a retaining lip which engages any cards protruding through the dispense outlet when the card retainer moves to its closed position so as to return those cards into the cassette;
a dispenser to which the cassette can be mounted, the dispenser being adapted to feed cards from the cassette through the dispense outlet to an output position.

17. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein;
the cassette includes a gear assembly for coupling the card retainer to a drive shaft which is connected in use to an actuator, and the drive shaft carries a gear for engaging with a gear of the actuator;

the dispenser includes a card retainer actuator which has a gear which engages the gear on the drive shaft when the cassette is located in position on the dispenser.

18. Apparatus according to claim 17, wherein:
operation of the actuator both locks the cassette to the dispenser and moves the card retainer to its open position.

19. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein:
the cassette includes a second latch member which locks the card retainer in its closed position and is releasable by a user to allow the card retainer to be moved to its open position;
the dispenser further includes a release member which releases the second latch member when the cassette is mounted on the dispenser.

20. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein:
the release member comprises a pin.