EP0243440B1

EP0243440B1 - An apparatus with cassette for valuable documents

Info

Publication number: EP0243440B1
Application number: EP86906495A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gösta Edin; Hans Krook; Leif Lundblad; Hans Swegen
Original assignee: Inter Innovation AB
Current assignee: Talaris Sweden AB
Priority date: 1985-10-28
Filing date: 1986-10-24
Publication date: 1991-04-10
Anticipated expiration: 2006-10-24
Also published as: EP0243440A1; SE449935B; WO1987002808A1; SE8505074D0; SE8505074L

Abstract

An apparatus with cassette for valuable documents and comprising a chamber provided with a support plate (21) displaceably arranged in the chamber. The cassette is arranged for the automatic infeed of documents into the chamber, and the support plate is arranged to co-act with a feed spindle (23) extending along the cassette for automatic displacement of the plate in a given direction in accordance with the number of documents fed into the chamber. The invention is characterized by a compacting device for detecting the actual level of the documents in the cassette and a drive motor (25) in driving connection with said spindle (23), said compacting device being arranged to produce a control signal to the motor (25) in dependence on the level detected.

Description

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus with cassette intended for valuable documents and comprising a chamber which is defined by walls, a bottom and a cover and a valuable document support plate displaceably arranged in the chamber, said cassette being constructed for automatic infeed of valuable documents into said chamber, and the displaceable plate being arranged to co-act with a feed spindle that extends along the cassette for automatic displacement of the plate in a given direction in accordance with the number of valuable documents fed into the chamber and provided with a separate compacting device and with means for detecting the horizontal level of the stack of valuable documents to produce a control signal to a motor driving said feed spindle in dependence on the level detected.

Background prior art

A device of the above-mentioned type is disclosed in DE-C2-3 237 821. The known device utilizes the platform together with a friction surface as a compression device. The compression is, however, in practice negligible while the main effect is to bring the stack of documents into contact with a suction drum.
US-A-4 230 312 discloses a sorter assembly provided with a horizontally movable, vertical plate co-operating with a flexible member so as to hold a bundle of documents therebetween. Devices of this kind arranged to support the documents on edge are not suitable for cassettes requiring infeed and outfeed of the documents in flat condition.
Cassettes for safe-keeping of valuable documents, such as banknotes, cheques, etc are known to the art, for example from US-A-4 283 097 which teaches a lockable cassette which is provided with a cover or lid and which is encased in a casing. The cassette is locked and closed when located outside the casing, but when inserted into the casing is unlocked and opened, by mechanical or electrical activation of a catch, in accordance with a pre-set programme. US-A-4 252 251 teaches a similar cassette provided with a lifting device for lifting a bundle of banknotes located in the cassette, in dependence on the distance between the banknotes fed sequentially from the cassette.
Cassettes that are constructed in accordance with the aforecited Patent Specifications are intended for automatically dispensing banknotes, or other valuable documents. Cassettes for depositing valuable documents are also known. For example US-A-4 045 017 teaches a cassette having a lockable cover or lid and banknote infeed means, in which when a banknote is fed to the cassette chamber any banknotes which may already be present therein are moved away from the close vicinity of the infeed means and subsequent to feeding in the banknote are again caused to fill said chamber, thereby placing said banknote together with the remaining banknotes in the cassette.

Summary of the Invention

Hitherto, cassettes have been purposely constructed with a view to whether the cassette is to be used for automatic dispensing or automatic depositing of valuable documents, such as banknotes, to and from customer facilities, cashier facilities, etc. This limits the usefulness of the cassettes to some extent, since normally an empty dispenser cassette must first be filled manually with banknotes before it can again be put to use, or conversely a full depositing cassette must first be emptied. The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus with cassette so constructed that a full cassette from an infeed or depositing apparatus intended for use by the general public can be immediately inserted into a dispensing apparatus, intended for the general public or for a cashier, or into a sorting apparatus, without requiring any intermediate handling of the contents, and that an empty cassette taken from a dispenser can be used in a depositing or infeed apparatus.
An apparatus with cassette of this kind will save time (it is no longer necessary to re-fill or empty a cassette) and also increases security, since it eliminates the need of removing and inserting banknotes manually.
Thus, the same chamber in the cassette is used either to accommodate banknotes which are to be dispensed in response to an order by an authorized user, or to receive banknotes which are fed thereinto in the form of deposits. The chamber has arranged therein a displaceable plate which serves to support valuable documents in the cassette and which is arranged to be displaced in a given direction (e.g. downwards) when documents are fed into the cassette, in dependence on the number of valuable documents inserted, and to be displaced in the opposite direction (upwards) when valuable documents are dispensed from the cassette, in dependence on the number of valuable documents dispensed.
An apparatus with cassette constructed in accordance with the invention has the characteristic features set forth in the following claims.

Description of the Drawings.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying, schematic drawings, in which

Figure 1 illustrates a cassette with an outer cover member, which is closed, and an inner cover member which presses against a bundle of banknotes;
Figure 2a illustrates the cassette when used as an infeed cassette, with the inner cover member raised, and incorporating a plate for supporting a bundle of banknotes;
Figure 2b is a side view of the cassette illustrated in Figure 2a, and shows a compacting device in a raised position, this compacting device forming part of an infeed or deposit apparatus in which the cassette is housed;
Figure 2c illustrates the arrangement of Figure 2b, but with the compacting device in a lowered position;
Figure 3a illustrates the cassette when used as a dispensing cassette, with the inner cover member only partially closed;
Figure 3b is a side view of the dispenser cassette, with the cassette located adjacent a feed means;
Figure 4 shows the cassette when inserted into a dispensing or outfeed apparatus.

Description of Preferred Embodiments.

The cassette illustrated in Figure 1 comprises a chamber which is defined by walls, a bottom, and a cover assembly, and in which there is arranged a displaceable plate which is intended to serve as a support for valuable documents, vide Figure 2a. By cover assembly is meant here an assembly which includes an outer cover member 11 and an inner cover member 12 (shown in broken lines) which in Figure 1 are both shown in a closed position, so that the outer cover member 11 effectively prevents the withdrawal of valuable documents from the cassette and the inner cover member 12 presses against a bundle 13 of valuable documents located in the cassette chamber, said documents being referred to hereinafter solely as banknotes.
The outer cover member is constructed in a manner which when the cassette is inserted into a dispensing or infeed (deposit) apparatus, enables the outer cover member to be first extended outwardly and then rotated downwards, into abutment with the front short side of the cassette so as to secrete a cassette handle (vide Figure 2a).
Figure 2a illustrates the cassette of Figure 1 when used as an infeed or deposit cassette, with the outer cover member 11 extended (lowered) and the inner cover member 12 raised. It will be understood that for the sake of clarity, no part of the outer cassette casing has been shown in the Figure, although the provision of such a casing is normally necessary in order for the cover members 11 and 12 to move to the aforesaid positions, by insertion into the cassette. The aforementioned displaceable plate is referenced 21 and is mounted on a rotatable feed spindle 23 with the aid of fastener means 22 (nuts) which form part of the casing, said spindle being turned by a motor 25, through gearing 24. Thus, when banknotes are fed into the cassette, the plate 21 is automatically displaced downwards in the cassette, through a distance which is commensurate with the number of banknotes deposited therein. A counter is provided for counting the number of banknotes deposited, these banknotes being fed sequentially into the cassette. When a pre-determined number of incoming banknotes has been counted, the motor 25 is energized to rotate the spindle 23 through a given number of turns, thereby to lower the plate 21, with the bundle 13 of banknotes resting thereon, to a corresponding extent. In this regard the plate can either be lowered substantially continuously, or more intermittently, in which latter case the plate is lowered through a greater distance (about 10 mm) subsequent to and correspondingly with the receipt of a large number of banknotes (e.g. one hundred).
Figure 2b shows the cassette, with the inner cover member 12 raised, together with the bundle 13 of banknotes, and also shows a separate compacting device 26 which forms part of the infeed or deposit apparatus and which is intended to compact together the banknotes previously fed into the cassette, and to sense the real level of the compacted banknotes in the cassette. The compacting device is arranged to execute first translatory movement and then to rotate anti-clockwise while bearing against the bundle of banknotes located in the cassette, vide Figure 2c, so as to pack down the banknotes forming said bundle, this procedure being initiated subsequent to feeding a pre-determined number of banknotes into the cassette, for example one hundred. Upon completion of this compacting cycle, the compacting device sends to the motor 25 a control signal instructing the motor to displace the plate 21, with the bundle of banknotes lying thereon, through a distance which is so adapted that the free level of the bundle 13 is brought to a pre-determined level, such as to enable further banknotes to be accommodated, in a number equal to the aforesaid pre-determined number, e.g. one hundred.
As will readily be understood, the programme for controlling the movement of the plate 13 can be modified to comply with the manner in which the infeed apparatus with cassette is expected to be used. A conceivable modification in this regard is one in which the compacting device 26 will only carry out the functional steps of a) packing together the deposited banknotes, b) sensing the real level of the free surface of the bundle and, c) if the sensed real level differs from a pre-determined level, send a controlled signal to the motor 25 for displacement of the plate 21, subsequent to the receipt of a given, larger number of banknotes, e.g. five hundred.
Figure 3a illustrates the cassette of Figure 1 when used as a dispenser cassette, with the outer cover member 11 extended/lowered and the inner cover member 12 in a partially closed position hereinafter referred to as the second position. The banknotes are dispensed from the cassette in the direction shown by the arrow, with the aid of a feed means 31, vide Figure 3b, which forms part of the dispensing or outfeed apparatus, and which comprises an endless belt 311 which can be brought into mechanical contact with the uppermost surface of the bundle, through an aperture 121 provided in the inner cover member 12, vide Figure 3a.
When the cassette is used as a cassette dispenser in banknote dispensing apparatus, the feed spindle 23 illustrated in Figure 2a is rotated in an opposite direction to that in which the spindle is rotated in the aforedescribed depositing or infeed embodiment, so that the plate 21, with the bundle 13 of banknotes resting thereon, is moved upwards at a rate commensurate with that at which the banknotes are dispensed.
Located in the transport path of banknotes in the dispensing apparatus is a sensor which detects, for example, the leading edge of the sequentially dispensed banknotes, and upon so doing produces control signals corresponding to the temporal or spatial distance between dispensed banknotes, these control signals being sent to the motor 25, which in response to said signals causes the plate 21, with the bundle of banknotes resting thereon, to be displaced through a distance such that the pressure exerted by the uppermost banknote of the bundle 13 against the belt 311 complies with a pre-determined value suitable for the dispensing process.
Figure 4 illustrates the cassette inserted in the dispensing apparatus (only partially illustrated). This illustration shows the stage at which a banknote 131 has just been dispensed from the distal, hidden opening of the cassette, through rotation of the apparatus feed means 31 in an anti-clockwise direction, and, subsequently to being turned through 180°, is about to be dispensed in the direction of the arrow, so as ultimately to leave the apparatus, via an internal transport path in said apparatus,at an outfeed opening, where the banknote is accessible to a customer, cashier etc.
Thus, the cassette can be used both as an infeed or deposit cassette and as a dispensing or outfeed cassette. In the former case, the cassette is inserted into a deposit or infeed apparatus, which presents an infeed opening to the customer etc. and which is provided with a transport path in a known manner,leading from the infeed opening to the cassette. In the latter case, the cassette is inserted into a dispensing apparatus, which is provided with an outfeed opening externally accessible to a customer, cashier, etc, and a transport path which leads from the cassette to the outfeed aperture.
In order for the novel cassette to be able to function in the manner intended, it is important that the cassette is sufficiently stable and robust to withstand the relatively harsh treatment to which it will probably be subjected, as a result of the progressively increased use to which such cassettes are put and as a result of transportation between various apparatus in various localities. To this end, the cassette is strengthened by means of steel rods which extend through holes provided in the cassette walls and which are screwed at one end into the bottom of the cassette and at the other end are fastened in an upper part corresponding to said bottom.
When the cassette is inserted into an apparatus or removed therefrom, both the inner cover member 12 and the plate 21 will be correspondingly acted upon by the apparatus in question.
When the cassette is inserted into a depositing apparatus, the relative movement between cassette and apparatus causes the inner cover member 12 to be rotated upwardly, by guide means (lifting mechanism) provided in said apparatus, to the position illustrated in Figure 2a, and the plate 21 to be released from its latched position by further guide means, so that the plate can be moved downwardly, in accordance with the pre-set programme, upon rotation of the feed spindle 23. When occupying its upwardly rotated position, the inner cover member 12 forms guide means for banknotes entering the cassette. When the cassette is inserted into a dispensing apparatus, the inner cover member 12 is released from the position illustrated in Figure 1 with pressure against the bundle of banknotes and is lifted slightly to the position illustrated in Figure 3a, in which position although constituting a restriction to upward movement of the bundle does not normally lie heavily thereagainst. The plate 21 is released from a latched position in the aforedescribed manner and can therewith be moved upwards in accordance with the pre-set programme at a rate commensurate with the dispensement of banknotes.
The chamber of the cassette can be dimensioned to accommodate banknotes of different length and breadth dimensions, with the aid of moveably arranged spacing means, e.g. loose plastic bars or corresponding elements which can be screwed to or snapped into suitable locations on/in the inner walls of the cassette, these locations being suited for a given type of banknote or for the largest banknote that can be expected when the cassette is intended to accommodate a mixture of mutually different denominations.
For example, the inner cover member may be arranged to co-act with a spring which automatically raises said cover member when the outer cover member 11 is drawn out and lowered to the position illustrated in Figure 2a, the extent to which the inner cover member 21 is moved being determined by guide or limit means provided in the apparatus into which the cassette is inserted. In this case, the outer member cover is provided with guide means which when the outer cover member is rotated upwards to a horizontal position acts upon the inner cover member so that said cover member is simultaneously rotated from a raised position (Figure 2a) to a lowered position (Figure 1). According to a further modification, the apparatus for dispensing banknotes or like valuable documents may be provided with an abutment member which, when inserting the cassette into the apparatus with the outer cover extended, engages a pin provided in the cassette and therewith causes the inner cover member to be rotated upwardly to a given extent. Apparatus intended for depositing valuable documents are provided with a linkage system which, when the cassette is inserted in the apparatus with the outer member extended, co-acts with the inner cover member to rotate said member anti-clockwise from the position illustrated in Figure 1 to the position illustrated in Figure 2a, and to rotate the cover member downwardly when the cassette is withdrawn from the apparatus.
A plate latching mechanism is provided for preventing the plate from moving downwards when the cassette is closed, and therewith locked. Valuable document infeed apparatus are provided with an arm which, when the cassette is inserted into the apparatus, act upon the latching mechanism in a manner to permit downward movement of the plate. When the cassette is withdrawn from the apparatus, such activation of the latching mechanism is prevented by the outer cover member.
The aforementioned counter and the memory for counting and storing the number of valuable documents and optionally the value of accommodated valuable documents preferably comprise electronic components on an electronic card, which also incorporates components for identifying the cassette, recording the number of withdrawal/deposit transactions, the times at which given operations take place, and optionally blocking of access to the content prior to/subsequent to a given time point.
In accordance with one advantageous embodiment of the compacting device 26, the device is provided with spring-operated sensing fingers which are displaced towards the free surface of the bundle 13 when sensing the level thereof. When the aforesaid level is too high the pressure against the fingers will be too high and the force of a built-in spring will be overcome, and a microswitch is closed. As a result impulses are sent to the motor 25 which cause the motor to rotate the feed spindle 23, so as to move the plate 21 downwards, and when the free surface of the bundle of banknotes is on the level intended, the pressure acting on the fingers searches a normal value, the spring overcomes the pressure of the fingers, thereby opening the microswitch so as to interrupt the supply to the motor 25.

Claims

1. An apparatus with cassette intended for valuable documents and comprising a chamber which is defined by walls, a bottom and a cover, and a valuable document support plate (21) displaceably arranged in the chamber, said cassette being constructed for the automatic infeed of valuable documents into said chamber, and the displaceable plate (21) being arranged to co-act with a feed spindle (23) that extends along the cassette, for automatic displacement of the plate in a given direction in accordance with the number of valuable documents fed into the chamber and provided with a separate compacting device (26) and with means for detecting the horizontal level of the stack of valuable documents to produce a control signal to a motor (25) driving said feed spindle (23) in dependence on the level detected, characterized in that said separate compacting device (26) is arranged to be moved to a position outside the cassette during the infeed of documents and to be moved to a packing position within the cassette after said infeed to compact the stack of documents deposited in the cassette.

2. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that the compacting device (26) is arranged, subsequent to a pre-determined number of valuable documents being fed into the cassette (e.g. one hundred), to be moved automatically into contact with valuable documents located in the cassette and to produce a signal for displacement of said moveable plate (21) with valuable documents resting thereon through a distance so adapted that the free level of the whole stack of the documents in the cassette is brought to a pre-determined level, such as to enable the cassette to accommodate further valuable documents in a number equal to the aforesaid pre-determined number of valuable documents.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 with the cassette constructed for automatic infeed of valuable documents into said chamber and automatic outfeed of valuable documents from said chamber, and with the displaceable plate (21) arranged for movement, when valuable documents are dispensed from the cassette, in a direction which is opposite to that moved by the plate when valuable papers are fed into the cassette, characterized in that the cover (12) is arranged to take a fully open position when valuable documents are fed into the cassette and therewith serves as valuable document guide means during the infeed of said valuable documents; and in that the displaceable plate (21) is arranged, when moved in said opposite direction, to be displaced through a distance dependent on the temporal or spatial distance between dispensed valuable documents, the cover (12) being arranged to take a partially closed position and therewith form a barrier against upward movement of the valuable documents in the cassette without abutting the documents during a dispensing operation.