EP2015259A1

EP2015259A1 - Banknote handling apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP2015259A1
Application number: EP07252781A
Authority: EP
Inventors: designation of the inventor has not yet been filed The
Original assignee: MEI Inc
Current assignee: Crane Payment Innovations Inc
Priority date: 2007-07-12
Filing date: 2007-07-12
Publication date: 2009-01-14

Abstract

An apparatus is presented in which a first exterior bezel, having a rearwards facing extension, is adapted to join with an interior bezel having a corresponding recess formed in the surface thereof for receiving the rearwards facing extension of the exterior bezel, in order to better seal the external surfaces of a vending machine and to provide better alignment between the internal components thereof.

Description

Field of the Invention:

This invention relates to banknote handling apparatuses, such as vending machines.

Background to the Invention:

Typically, vending machines are arranged so that the money receiving apparatus is contained inside the casing of the machine for security reasons. Typically, the money receiving, validating, and dispensing system (if money is given out) are provided as a self-contained unit, using input and/or output slots which are arranged on a bezel. The bezel fits through an opening in the casing of the machine so that a user can enter money but can not access the operational parts of the machine, shielded as they are behind the bezel. The alignment between the slots in the bezel and the input/dispensing mechanisms behind the bezel needs to be very precise in order to avoid money jamming as it passes through the system. The input slots mustn't be too large or there is the risk that received banknotes will not be correctly aligned and an increased vulnerability to the insertion of foreign objects.
Because the bezel passes through a hole in the outer casing of the vending machine, there is a risk that water will penetrate into the interior of the vending machine. This might spoil the product being dispensed from the vending machine whether it be food, drink, or money. It might also have a deleterious effect on the input/dispensing mechanisms or on the electronics and control system. In addition, in some machines, when the money acceptance systems are being serviced they are drawn away from the hole in the front of the casing that they usually pass through so that they can be accessed securely from the rear. However, an unscrupulous person may be able to reach through this hole to gain access to the products within the vending machine, which in the case of a money dispensing machine might be stored banknotes or change.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a better bezel arrangement that addresses the problems set out above and in particular provides better sealing of the vending machine whilst providing accurate alignment of the input and/or dispensing components.

Summary of the Invention:

Aspects of the present invention are set out in the accompanying claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the attached figures in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a banknote acceptor according to the prior art;
Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a vending machine according to a first embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 3 shows a further perspective view of the vending machine according to the first embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 4 shows a further perspective view of the vending machine according to the first embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 5 is a front view of a bezel of the vending machine shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4;
Fig. 6 is a rear view of the bezel of the vending machine shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4;
Fig. 7 is a front perspective view of part of the vending machine shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4;
Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of a vending machine according to a second embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 9 shows a further perspective view of the vending machine according to the second embodiment of the invention; and
Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a component of the vending machine shown in Figures 8 and 9.

Description of the Embodiments:

Typically, prior art payment vending machine systems have been arranged so that the payment acceptance mechanism is located inside a secure housing of the vending machine. The part of the payment acceptance mechanism that is accessed by the public to input payment is usually arranged to protrude through an individual opening in the housing. Alternatively, in some arrangements, the entire payment acceptance mechanism can be mounted to a surface of the vending machine. Figure 1, for example, is a perspective view of a prior art banknote acceptor for use in a multiple payment vending machine system. Typically a bezel 1 is connected to a banknote validator 3, a banknote stacker 5, a coin validator 7 and a card reader 9. These units are located behind the bezel 1 and in mating contact with the rear side thereof. The face of the bezel 1 is designed and sized to fit through an industry standard size opening in a front panel of a vending machine. However, such an arrangement is unsuitable for larger payment acceptors, such as those that include substantial currency storage facilities.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 show perspective views of a banknote handling apparatus constituting a vending machine according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention. The vending machine comprises a cabinet type enclosure 13 that houses internal components. The enclosure 13, in this embodiment, is a metal-framed rectangular box structure having panels 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d (further panel 15e is not shown in these views for clarity reasons) serving to close and seal the sides of the enclosure 13. The panel 15d covering the front of the enclosure 13 is secured to the frame on one side by a hinging mechanism 17 to form a door that can be opened to gain access inside the enclosure 13. An exterior bezel 19 is attached to, and protrudes from, the exterior surface 21 of this door 15d. The exterior bezel 19 covers an opening 23 through the door 15d into the interior of the enclosure 13.
Figure 5 shows a front view of the exterior bezel 19, which in this preferred embodiment is constructed from metal. The exterior bezel 19 is formed into a hollow rectangular form comprising a front plate 25 having side flanges 27a, 27b, 27c, 27d which extend backwards from the front plate 25 thus forming a hollow region behind the front plate 25 which is open at the rear. The front plate 25 of the exterior bezel 19 is convex from top to bottom so that the side flanges 27b and 27d are thicker in the middle than at their ends. The hollow region formed behind the front plate 25 thus also has a concave profile when viewed from side 27b or 27d. Two slots 29 and 31 are formed in the front plate 25 of the exterior bezel 19 and extend into channels 33 and 35 that pass through the front plate 25 of the exterior bezel 19 and extend towards the rear of the exterior bezel 19 away from the front plate 25. These slots 29 and 31 and associated channels, 33 and 35 respectively, are rectangular and in this preferred embodiment have a width dimension corresponding to the width of a banknote.
Figure 6 illustrates a rear view of the exterior bezel 19, showing in more detail the rear of the front plate 25. Structural webs 37 may be formed on the rear of the front plate 25, from hereon known as the rear surface 39, radiating from the centre of the rear surface 39 and extending in their height direction towards the rear of the exterior bezel 19, in order to provide structural stiffness to the hollow shape of the exterior bezel 19. The channels 33 and 35, extending from the slots 29 and 31 in the front plate 25 of the exterior bezel 25, can be seen in more detail extending to the rear of the exterior bezel 19 in this view. Castellations 34 are formed in the end surface of channel 33 furthest from the front plate 25.
At points around the interior of the side flanges 27a, 27b, 27c, 27d, screw mounting points 41a...41h are provided. These typically take the form of cylindrical extensions projecting toward the rear of the exterior bezel 19 that extend rearwards to the same extent as the side flanges 27a, 27b, 27c, 27d. Thus the ends of the side flanges 27a, 27b, 27c, 27d and the tops of the cylindrical extensions are level. The cylinders have a central internal thread enabling retaining screws to be screwed into them. In this embodiment, two screw mounting posts 41a...41h are shown per side flange 27a, 27b, 27c, 27d, arranged so that the central gap between the two screw mounting posts 41a...41h is greater than the distance between each screw mounting post 41a...41h and the corner of the exterior bezel 19 nearest to that screw mounting post 41a...41h. The skilled person will understand that any other arrangement of screw mounting posts could be used.
A central projection 43 is located in the centre of the rear surface 39 and projects towards the rear of the exterior bezel 19. This central projection 43 is of a frusto-conical shape, having a greater diameter where it joins the rear surface 39 and a smallest diameter at the end farthest from the rear surface 39.
As mentioned above, the exterior bezel 19 is attached to, and protrudes from, the exterior surface 21 of the door 15d of the enclosure 13. Retaining screws pass through the material of the door 15d and screw into the respective screw mounting posts 41a...41h in order to secure the exterior bezel 19 to the exterior surface 21 of the door 15d. It will be understood however that some other method of attaching the exterior bezel 19 to the door 15d could be used, such as glue for example, in which case the exterior bezel 19 would not require screw mounting posts. The exterior bezel 19 covers an opening 23 in the door 15d, the opening having an area similar to that covered by the exterior bezel 19 but being slightly smaller to allow the retaining screws to pass through the material of the door 15d. Once the retaining screws are tightened, a seal is formed between the rear edges of the side flanges 27a, 27b, 27c, 27d, of the exterior bezel 19 and the exterior surface 21 of the door 15d sufficient to stop the ingress of water, or other fluids, around the edges of the exterior bezel 19 and into the interior of the enclosure 13.
Returning to Figures 2, 3 and 4, the enclosure 13 contains, internally, a banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43 and a banknote stacking and storage unit 45, located below and connected to the banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43. The banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43 can accept single banknotes and can dispense either single banknotes or bundles of banknotes. Connected to, and sealing the front of the banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43, is an alignment structure (shown in greater detail in Figure 7) hereinafter referred to as an interior bezel 47. Taken together, the interior bezel 47, banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43, and the banknote stacking and storage unit 45, form a self-contained acceptor unit 49 capable of accepting, sorting and storing, and dispensing banknotes.
Two support wheels 51 (only one shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4), located on opposite sides of the sides of the banknote stacking and storage unit 45 and fixed thereto, rest on two support arms 53, where each support arm 53 extends horizontally from the rear of the enclosure 13 towards the front of the enclosure 13 on opposite sides of the banknote stacking and storage unit 45 (only one support arm 53 is shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4). The banknote stacking and storage unit 45 (and interior bezel 47 and banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43 since they are rigidly attached to the banknote stacking and storage unit 45) is supported between the two support arms 53 by the support wheels 51 which rest on the arms 53. A compression spring 52 is attached at one of its ends to the rear of the self-contained acceptor unit 49 and, at its other end, to the rear panel 15a of the enclosure (compression spring 52 is not shown in Figures 2 and 3).
Each support arm 53 is fixed to the rear panel of the enclosure by a hinge 55 that allows the support arm 53 to rotate about the hinge 55 in a plane parallel to the side panels 15c and 15e of the enclosure 13 so that, in effect, the tips of the support arms 53 are able to move up or down. Each support wheel 51 is able to roll to and fro along the top surface of its respective support arm 53 in a direction parallel to the side panels 15c and 15e of the enclosure 13 i.e. towards the front and back of the enclosure 13. The gap between the two support arms 53 is slightly wider than the width of the banknote stacking and storage unit 45 so that the banknote stacking and storage unit 45 is able to move from side to side between the support arms 53. The travel of the side-to-side movement of the banknote stacking and storage unit 45 is such that the support wheels 51 are not able to fall off of the top surface of the support arms 53. By means of the arrangement just described, the position of the self-contained acceptor unit 49 is adjustable by a small amount in the mutually orthogonal X, Y, and Z directions.
The interior bezel 47 is preferably made of plastics material. The interior bezel 47 is similar to the exterior bezel 19, having a front plate 57 and side flanges 59a, 59b, 59c, 59d, extending rearwards therefrom. The height and width dimensions of the interior bezel 47 are slightly smaller than the height and width dimensions of the opening 23 in the door 15d of the enclosure 13 such that the interior bezel 47 can pass through the opening 23 and into the hollow region formed at the rear of the exterior bezel 19. The front plate 57 of the interior bezel 47 has a convex profile that corresponds to the concave rear surface 39 of the exterior bezel 19.
As shown in Figure 7, a central recess 65 is located in the centre of the front plate 57 of the interior bezel 47 and extends towards the rear of the interior bezel 47. This central recess 65 is of a frusto-conical shape, having a greatest diameter at the front plate 57 of the interior bezel 47 and a smallest diameter at the end recessed furthest into the front plate 57. The shape of the central recess 65 in the front plate 57 of the interior bezel 47 corresponds to the shape of the central projection 43 on the rear surface 39 of the exterior bezel 19.
The interior bezel 47 has a single banknote entry/exit channel 61, and a banknote bundle exitway 63, both comprising rectangular openings that pass through the interior bezel 47 from the front plate 57. Located directly behind the single banknote entry/exit channel 61 is the internal mechanism within the banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43 that receives and dispenses single banknotes through the single banknote entry/exit channel 61. Located directly behind the banknote bundle exitway 63 is the internal dispensing mechanism within the banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43 that dispenses bundles of banknotes through the banknote bundle exitway 63.
The interior bezel 47 provides a means for aligning the internal mechanisms of the banknote receiving, validating, sorting, and dispensing unit 43 with channels 33 and 35 of the exterior bezel. The interior bezel 47 guides single banknotes received via channel 33 to the banknote receiving, validating, sorting, and dispensing unit 43 via single banknote entry/exit channel 61, and guides single banknotes dispensed from the banknote receiving, validating, sorting, and dispensing unit 43 to channel 33 via single banknote entry/exit channel 61. The interior bezel 47 also guides bundles of banknotes out of the banknote receiving, validating, sorting, and dispensing unit 43 into channel 35 via its banknote bundle exitway 63. It seals the banknote receiving, validating, sorting, and dispensing unit 43 against the ingress of dust and other contaminants and also provides mounting points for sensors used for detecting the presence of banknotes.
In operation, as the door 15d of the vending machine enclosure 13 closes, the protruding front plate 57 of the interior bezel 47 which is attached to the front of the banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43, passes through the opening 23 in the door 15d covered by the exterior bezel 19 and into the hollow region at the rear of the exterior bezel 19.
Bezels incorporating banknote sensors and the like need to be reasonably deep in order to accommodate the sensor electronics. In prior art systems in which the entire bezel passes through an opening in the vending machine housing, the bezel had to be mounted a sufficient distance from the hinge point of the door through which it will pass in order to avoid the closing door impinging on the protruding front of the bezel as it moves in an arcuate direction. Since the interior bezel 47 of the present invention is now only required to protrude a short distance through the opening 23 in door 15d into the hollow recess at the rear of the exterior bezel 19, the exterior bezel 19, opening 23, and interior bezel 47 can be mounted closer to the hinge point of the door 15d while avoiding the impingement of the closing door on the protruding interior bezel 47. Thus door 15d can be narrower than in prior art systems which makes it more compact and more secure against attempts to lever it open. Placement of the self-contained acceptor unit 49 closer to the hinge point of door 15d makes the overall apparatus more secure.
The rear surface 39 of the exterior bezel 19 travels towards the front plate 57 of the interior bezel 47 and, as the door 15d continues to shut, the central projection 43 at the rear of the exterior bezel 19 enters into the correspondingly shaped central recess 65 in the front plate 57 of the interior bezel 47. The shape of the central projection 43 and corresponding recess 65 is such that the central projection 43 is properly and fully seated in the recess 65 only when the door 15d is in the fully closed position. When the central projection 43 and corresponding recess 65 are fully mated, the castellated end surface of channel 33 through the exterior bezel 19 is in close proximity with the correspondingly castellated end surface of the single banknote entry/exit channel 61 of the interior bezel 47 such that the castellations interleave and the openings are in alignment. Also, when the central projection 43 and corresponding recess 65 are fully mated, the end surface of the channel 35 through the exterior bezel 19 is in close proximity with the end surface of the banknote bundle exitway 63 of the interior bezel 47 such that their openings are in alignment.
Due to the arrangement and frusto-conical shape of the central projection 43 and recess 65, as the door 15d of the enclosure 13 closes, the portion of the central projection 43 having the smallest diameter enters into the part of the recess 65 having the widest diameter which allows for the fact that the central projection 43 and recess 65 may be substantially misaligned. The central projection 43 follows a rigid path in space since it is part of the exterior bezel 19 that is rigidly secured to the door 15d of the enclosure which, since it is hinged, is constrained to move in an arc. If the central projection 43 and recess 65 are initially misaligned as the door 15d begins to close, the central recess 65 will be pushed into alignment by the central projection 43 as they mate until the recess 65 is perfectly located with respect to the projection 43. Since the interior bezel 47 is a rigid part of the self-contained acceptor unit 49, the movement of the central recess 65 to accommodate the realigning force transmitted by the central projection 43 actually results in the entire self-contained acceptor unit 49 moving in the X, Y, and Z directions as permitted by the "floating" support arrangement provided by the support wheels 51 and hinged support arms 53. The compression spring 52 mounted between the rear of the self-contained acceptor unit 49 and the rear panel 15a of the enclosure is used to provide a biasing force acting to push the self-contained acceptor unit 49, and more specifically the interior bezel 47, into mating contact with the exterior bezel 19. The compression spring limits the travel of the self-contained acceptor unit 49 in the rearwards Z direction as the central projection 43 enters into and mates with the central recess 65 thus ensuring that the tip of the central projection 43, when fully mated, is always in contact with the base of the central recess 65.
Thus the slot 29 and associated channel 33 in the exterior bezel 19 are very accurately aligned with the single banknote entry/exit channel 61 of the interior bezel 47. This ensures that banknotes do not become jammed as they pass through the channel 33 and into the single banknote entry/exit channel 61 for entry to the banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43 or as they pass from the banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43, via the single banknote entry/exit channel 61, into channel 33 of the exterior bezel 19. The castellations at the rear of channel 33 and at the front of channel 61 help to guide banknotes as they travel in either direction between the single banknote entry/exitway 61 and the channel 33, thus helping to prevent jamming. Also, slot 31 and associated channel 35 are very accurately aligned with the banknote bundle exitway 63 of the interior bezel 47. This ensures that bundles of banknotes do not become jammed as they pass from the banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43, via banknote bundle exitway 63, into channel 35 of the exterior bezel 19. In addition, by separating the banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43 from the exterior bezel 19 by way of the interior bezel 47, any shocks imposed on the exterior bezel 19, as a result of vandalism for example, are not transmitted to the banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43. The banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43 is typically an expensive unit in comparison to the exterior or interior bezels and this separation thus serves to protect it from damage.
A second embodiment will now be described, with reference to Figures 8, 9 and 10. Where the components are identical to those of the first embodiment, similar numbering has been used.
The apparatus of the second embodiment is substantially similar to the apparatus of the first embodiment but differs in the arrangement of the vending machine enclosure 13 and the means for providing movement of the banknote receiving, validating, sorting and dispensing unit 43, and the banknote stacking and storage unit 45. The enclosure 13 is arranged in a similar manner to that described in the first embodiment but in this embodiment, the front panel 15d of the enclosure 13 is not hinged but is fixed rigidly to the frame of the enclosure 13. The exterior bezel 19 is still mounted on the front panel 15d in a similar manner to the first embodiment. The rear panel 15a of the enclosure 13 is hinged on one side to form a door that allows access to the self-contained money sorting unit 49 from the rear.
In this second embodiment, the banknote stacking and storage unit 45 does not have support wheels and there are no hinged support arms fixed to the rear of the enclosure 13. Rather, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, the banknote stacking and storage unit 45 is attached to a support plate 67. The arrangement by which the support plate 67 is attached to the banknote stacking and storage unit 45 and the enclosure 13 is shown in greater detail in Figure 10. The attachment between the support plate 67 and the banknote stacking and storage unit 45 is by means of six rollers 69a...69f that are held in a rigid arrangement with respect to the banknote stacking and storage unit 45 by a supporting framework 71 fixed thereto. Four of the rollers 69a...69d are arranged above the upper surface of the support plate 67 whilst the remaining two rollers 69e, 69f, are arranged below the lower surface of the support plate 67. The framework 71 supporting the rollers 69a...69f holds the two opposed sets of rollers apart by a small distance in order to introduce a clearance gap between the upper rollers 69a...69d and lower rollers 69e and 69f. Either set of rollers is able to roll to and fro along the support plate 67 in a direction parallel to the side panels 15c and 15e of the enclosure 13 i.e. towards the front and rear of the enclosure 13. The rollers are also able to move from side-to-side a small distance in the Y direction. The position of the self-contained acceptor unit 49 is thus adjustable, by a small amount, in the mutually orthogonal X, Y, and Z directions as permitted by the "floating" support arrangement provided by the rollers. Once the self-contained acceptor unit 49 has been positionally adjusted by the mating of the exterior and interior bezels (in a similar manner to the method of the first embodiment) it is possible, depending on the size of the adjustment in the Z direction, that neither set of rollers may be in actual contact with the support plate 67.
Hinge means 73 is attached to the rear of the enclosure 13 frame by support brackets 77 so that the support platform 67 can rotate about the hinge 73. A gas strut 75 is attached to the underside of the support plate 67 away from the hinge 73. The other end of this gas strut 75 is rigidly attached to the front panel 15d of the enclosure. The gas strut 75 is arranged to provide a tension force when it is extended.
In operation, the rear door 15a of the enclosure 13 can be opened and the entire self-contained acceptor unit 49 can be rotated towards the rear of the enclosure 13, around the support plate hinge 73, until it is horizontal and protruding from the enclosure 13. This is necessary for maintenance purposes or to access the banknote stacking and storage unit 45, for example. As the support plate 67 rotates upwards and to the rear of the enclosure 13 around the hinge 73, the gas strut 75 extends which provides a tension force that acts to counterbalance the weight of the self-contained acceptor unit 49 once it passes the vertical. To close the vending machine enclosure 13, the self-contained acceptor unit 49 can be rotated towards the front of the enclosure 13, around the support plate hinge 73, until it is once more in the vertical position inside the enclosure 13 and the rear door 15a can be closed.
As the acceptor unit 49 is rotated back to the vertical, the exterior bezel 19 and the interior bezel 47 mate in exactly the same way as in the first embodiment; however, the alignment of the self-contained acceptor unit 49 occurs as a result of the movement of the self-contained acceptor unit 49 in relation to the support plate 67 in this embodiment.
A person skilled in the art will be aware that the invention is not restricted to the specific exemplified embodiment illustrated. Further developments are possible without departing from the disclosed inventive concept. For example, the central projection 43 and central recess 65 could instead be replaced by several smaller projections and recesses spatially arranged across the surface area of the exterior and interior bezels to perform the similar mating function. Alternatively, instead of the exterior bezel having a projection (or projections in the case above) and the interior bezel having the corresponding recess (or recesses in the case above), the exterior bezel could have a recess (or recesses) and the interior bezel could have the corresponding projection (or projections). The skilled person will understand that any shape of projection and recess could be used as long as the projection is able to be located accurately within the recess when they are fully mated.

Claims

Banknote handling apparatus operable to accept, store, and dispense banknotes comprising:
a housing;

a bezel, mounted on an exterior surface of said housing, comprising at least one slot for permitting entry and/or dispensing of banknotes;

a banknote acceptor, located in the housing, for accepting, storing, and dispensing banknotes; and

an alignment structure mounted on said banknote acceptor, having at least one channel for receiving banknotes inserted into said banknote acceptor and dispensing banknotes from said banknote acceptor;
characterised in that said bezel has a first interface that is adapted to engage with a corresponding second interface of said alignment structure, the interfaces being arranged such that inter-engagement thereof causes relative lateral movement between the bezel and the banknote acceptor so that the slot of the bezel aligns with the channel of the alignment structure.
The banknote handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein said banknote acceptor is supported in the housing by means of a support operable to allow movement of said banknote acceptor relative to said housing as the interfaces engage.
The banknote handling apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein said exterior surface of said housing is a door movable relative to said banknote acceptor, and wherein said first interface is brought into engagement with said second interface by closing said door.
The banknote handling apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein biasing means is arranged to inhibit movement of the banknote acceptor away from the bezel.
The banknote handling apparatus of any one of claims 1 or 2, arranged such that said banknote acceptor can be removed from said housing by withdrawing the banknote acceptor in a direction away from the exterior surface.
The banknote handling apparatus of claim 5 wherein said second interface disengages with said first interface as said banknote acceptor is removed from said housing, and wherein said second interface engages with said first interface as said banknote acceptor is inserted into said housing.
The banknote handling apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein said bezel is fabricated from metal.
The banknote handling apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the bezel has a first slot for receiving individual banknotes and a second slot for dispensing a bundle of banknotes.
The banknote handling apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first slot is also arranged for dispensing individual banknotes.
The banknote handling apparatus of claim 9, wherein said first slot has an end with castellations which, when the interfaces are engaged, interleave with castellations of an end of said channel.
The banknote handling apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein said alignment structure is fabricated from a plastics material.
The banknote handling apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein one of said interfaces comprises a frusto-conical projection and wherein the other interface comprises a correspondingly shaped frusto-conical recess.
The banknote handling apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein said banknote acceptor comprises a banknote receiving, validating and dispensing unit and a separate banknote storage unit.
A combination of a bezel and a banknote acceptor suitable for a banknote handling apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim.