Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H5/00—Feeding articles separated from piles; Feeding articles to machines
  • B65H5/28—Feeding articles stored in rolled or folded bands
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H29/00—Delivering or advancing articles from machines; Advancing articles to or into piles
  • B65H29/006—Winding articles into rolls
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
  • B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
  • B65H2301/41—Winding, unwinding
  • B65H2301/419—Winding, unwinding from or to storage, i.e. the storage integrating winding or unwinding means
  • B65H2301/4191—Winding, unwinding from or to storage, i.e. the storage integrating winding or unwinding means for handling articles of limited length, e.g. AO format, arranged at intervals from each other
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
  • B65H2701/10—Handled articles or webs
  • B65H2701/19—Specific article or web
  • B65H2701/1912—Banknotes, bills and cheques or the like

Definitions

• This invention relates to a document storage system that stores sheet documents between adjacent windings of a band wound onto a storage roller.
• Such types of document storage systems are well known, particularly for storage of documents of value such as banknotes. They typically comprise a band roller and a document storage roller, to each of which are attached the opposite ends of a band.
• the band roller stores the band that is not currently in use, and the band is transferred, by rotating the two rollers, from the band roller onto the document storage roller when it is desired to store a banknote.
• the banknote to be stored is supplied to the band near to where it is wound onto the document storage roller such that the banknote is entrapped between adjacent windings of the band on the document storage roller.
• the scraper is a blade-like element that is urged into contact with the band on the document storage roller and engages the leading edge of documents as they are released to ensure that they peel off the band and into a document transport system for onward conveyance.
• a document storage device for storing sheet documents, the device comprising a band, which can be wound onto a document storage roller such that sheet documents can be stored between adjacent windings of the band on the document storage roller and which can be unwound from the document storage roller thereby dispensing the stored documents, and a scraper assembly rotatable about a pivot and comprising a scraper and an end stop, each for contacting the band on the document storage roller, the scraper assembly being urged by a first biassing element such that the end stop maintains contact with the band on the document storage roller at a point distal from the pivot relative to the point of contact of the scraper with the band on the document storage roller.
• the biassing element is normally a helical spring. By reducing the amount of rotation around the pivot, the force exerted by this spring is more or less constant and is more predictable and controllable. This helps reduce damage caused by continuous bouncing of the end stop against the document storage roller as high peak forces caused by large radial motion of the end stop are less likely to be encountered. In the past, it has been found that the band can become damaged or even suffer movement along the axis of the document storage roller as a result of these peak forces.
• the scraper assembly can approach the document storage roller more closely.
• the documents are typically dispensed from the document storage roller at a point between the points of contact of the scraper and the end stop with the band on the document storage roller.
• the band is also withdrawn from the document storage roller at the document dispensing point, and of course, lies adjacent the document between the document and the end stop.
• the end stop is a roller.
• it may be a bearing roller, a ball race or a needle roller, and it may be made from a suitable metal, such as steel, or from a suitable plastic material, such as nylon.
• the end stop may simply be a non-rotating follower.
• the document storage device normally further comprises a band roller upon which the band may be wound.
• the band can be selectively wound between the band roller and the document storage roller so as to store and dispense documents from the document storage roller.
• the band is entrained around one or more rollers mounted on the scraper assembly.
• the documents are typically conveyed to the document storage roller via a document transport system.
• the document transport system may comprises a belt drive for delivering the documents to and from the band.
• the document transport system preferably comprises a diverter for diverting documents either into the document transport system or into an alternative document path.
• the scraper assembly normally comprises a support to which the scraper is pivotally mounted.
• the scraper is preferably urged by a second biassing element towards the document storage roller.
• the scraper may be formed from a resilient material.
• the document storage roller and the band roller are driven by independent motors.
• Figure 1 shows the document storage device when the document storage roller is empty
• Figure 2 shows the document storage device when the document storage roller is full.
• Figures 1 and 2 show a document storage device, typically for banknotes.
• the device is shown in a state where no documents have been stored, and in Figure 2, the device is shown full to capacity.
• the device often known as a roll storage module, comprises a band roller 1 and a document storage roller 2, with a band 3 extending between them.
• the band 3 is entrained about rubber roller 4, roller 5 and drive roller 6 on its path between band roller 1 and document storage roller 2.
• the band roller 1 and the document storage roller 2 are each driven by respective independently controlled motors, only one of which is shown at 7.
• the band 3 is transferred from the band roller 1 to the document storage roller 2, as shown in Figure 2.
• the band 3 is transferred from the document storage roller 2 to the band roller 1 , as shown in Figure 1.
• the rubber roller 4, roller 5 and drive roller 6 are driven by the band 3.
• Rubber roller 4 is fitted with a sensor 11 which detects the length of band 3 that has been transferred (and, by derivation, the speed of transfer of band 3).
• This sensor 11 typically comprises a disc (not shown) with slots provided around its circumference. Light emitted by a light emitting diode (not shown) is interrupted and transmitted intermittently as the disc rotates with the rubber roller 4. The transmitted light is detected by a detector (not shown) and this produces a pulsed output from sensor 11. By knowing the linear distance of travel of band 3 that corresponds to each pulse, it is possible to monitor the distance travelled by the band by counting the pulses. The speed of travel of the band 3 can be determined by measuring the time between pulses.
• Drive roller 6 is connected to a gear (not shown) that meshes with gear 8. In turn, this meshes with a gear (not shown) connected to transport roller 9.
• gear (not shown) connected to transport roller 9.
• the transport roller 9 is caused to rotate.
• This drives the transport belt 10, which is entrained about transport roller 9 and another roller (not shown) at its upper end.
• the transport belt 10 forms a pinch at its upper and lower ends with rollers 12a and 12b respectively.
• Rollers 13, diverter roller 14 and rollers 16 form part of an external transport system. They cooperate with corresponding rollers or belts that are not shown to convey documents along a transport path defined between the rollers 13, diverter roller 14 and rollers 16 and the corresponding rollers or belts.
• a diverter 17 is provided which can be moved into a diverting position to cause a document to be diverted from this transport path. If the diverter 17 is in the diverting position then a document, after being conveyed past rollers 13, is forced by the diverter 17 into the pinch between diverter roller 14 (which is driven by the external transport system) and pinch roller 15. Otherwise, the document is conveyed onwards to rollers 16. Diverted documents are picked up by the pinch between transport belt 10 and roller 12a.
• a document sensor system 18 is provided adjacent the transport belt 10. This can detect the passage of a document. Hence, it can be used to confirm that a diverted document has been safely conveyed to the document storage roller 2, or to detect a jam, for example, if diverted document is not detected within a predetermined period of time after it has been diverted from the external transport system.
• the sensor system 18 works by detection of reflected or transmitted light.
• the roller 5, drive roller 6, transport roller 9, transport belt 10 and rollers 12a and 12b are all mounted on a rotatable scraper assembly. Also mounted on this scraper assembly are a scraper 19 (made from a suitable plastic such as polyamide- 66, which may be reinforced with glass fibres) and a bearing roller 20. The entire assembly is free to rotate around a pivot 21.
• the scraper 19 is pivotally mounted on the scraper assembly at pivot 23. It is independently biassed towards the document storage roller 2 by way of a second helical spring 24, extending between pivot 21 and a hook 25 on the scraper 19.
• the diverter 17 When a document being conveyed along the external transport is to be stored, the diverter 17 is moved to the diverting position to cause the document to be diverted into the pinch between diverter roller 14 and pinch roller 15.
• the motors 7 driving the band roller 1 and document storage roller 2 are driven in the storage direction so that the band 3 is transferred from the band roller 1 via the rubber roller 4, roller 5 and drive roller 6 to the document storage roller 2.
• the motors 7 are driven in the dispensing direction, opposite to the storage direction.
• the band 3 is transferred back from the document storage roller 2 to the band roller 1. This has the effect of releasing notes from between the adjacent windings of the band 3 on document storage roller 2 as the outermost winding is removed from the document storage roller
• the diameter of document storage roller 2 diminishes again, whilst that of band roller 1 is augmented as it withdraws the band 3.
• the helical spring 22 acts to rotate the scraper assembly towards the document storage roller 2 as its diameter diminishes, limited by the bearing roller 20. Since the bearing roller 20 is relatively far away from the pivot 21 compared with the scraper 19, the movement of the scraper 19 caused by angular rotation around pivot 21 as a result of radial motion imparted to bearing roller 20 as the document storage roller 2 dispenses documents is minimised. This helps scraper 19 to maintain contact with the band so that it can reliably engage the leading edge of documents being dispensed.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Discharge By Other Means (AREA)
• Folding Of Thin Sheet-Like Materials, Special Discharging Devices, And Others (AREA)
• Delivering By Means Of Belts And Rollers (AREA)
• Pile Receivers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=35840752

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (3)

Family Cites Families (24)

• 2005
  • 2005-12-20 GB GBGB0525870.2A patent/GB0525870D0/en not_active Ceased
• 2006
  • 2006-11-16 CN CN2006800118492A patent/CN101155742B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2006-11-16 WO PCT/GB2006/004268 patent/WO2007071897A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2006-11-16 EP EP06808558A patent/EP1963218A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2006-11-16 US US11/884,657 patent/US20080149660A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2006-11-16 JP JP2008527519A patent/JP2009504544A/ja active Pending

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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