EP2036843B1 - Paper sheet storage device and control method and control program for paper sheet storage device - Google Patents

Paper sheet storage device and control method and control program for paper sheet storage device Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP2036843B1
EP2036843B1 EP08010926.7A EP08010926A EP2036843B1 EP 2036843 B1 EP2036843 B1 EP 2036843B1 EP 08010926 A EP08010926 A EP 08010926A EP 2036843 B1 EP2036843 B1 EP 2036843B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
paper sheet
paper currency
sensor
transport
bill
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Not-in-force
Application number
EP08010926.7A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP2036843A2 (en
EP2036843A3 (en
Inventor
Hiroki Matsuse
Takeshi Kanagawa
Minoru Kadowaki
Riichi Kato
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Hitachi Omron Terminal Solutions Corp
Original Assignee
Hitachi Omron Terminal Solutions Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Hitachi Omron Terminal Solutions Corp filed Critical Hitachi Omron Terminal Solutions Corp
Publication of EP2036843A2 publication Critical patent/EP2036843A2/en
Publication of EP2036843A3 publication Critical patent/EP2036843A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP2036843B1 publication Critical patent/EP2036843B1/en
Not-in-force legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Images

Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G07CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07DHANDLING OF COINS OR VALUABLE PAPERS, e.g. TESTING, SORTING BY DENOMINATIONS, COUNTING, DISPENSING, CHANGING OR DEPOSITING
    • G07D9/00Counting coins; Handling of coins not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65HHANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H7/00Controlling article feeding, separating, pile-advancing, or associated apparatus, to take account of incorrect feeding, absence of articles, or presence of faulty articles
    • B65H7/18Modifying or stopping actuation of separators
    • GPHYSICS
    • G07CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07FCOIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F19/00Complete banking systems; Coded card-freed arrangements adapted for dispensing or receiving monies or the like and posting such transactions to existing accounts, e.g. automatic teller machines
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65HHANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2301/00Handling processes for sheets or webs
    • B65H2301/40Type of handling process
    • B65H2301/44Moving, forwarding, guiding material
    • B65H2301/445Moving, forwarding, guiding material stream of articles separated from each other
    • B65H2301/4452Regulating space between separated articles
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65HHANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2404/00Parts for transporting or guiding the handled material
    • B65H2404/20Belts
    • B65H2404/26Particular arrangement of belt, or belts
    • B65H2404/269Particular arrangement of belt, or belts other arrangements
    • B65H2404/2691Arrangement of successive belts forming a transport path
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65HHANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2511/00Dimensions; Position; Numbers; Identification; Occurrences
    • B65H2511/50Occurence
    • B65H2511/51Presence
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65HHANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2513/00Dynamic entities; Timing aspects
    • B65H2513/10Speed
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65HHANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2513/00Dynamic entities; Timing aspects
    • B65H2513/40Movement
    • B65H2513/41Direction of movement
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65HHANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2513/00Dynamic entities; Timing aspects
    • B65H2513/40Movement
    • B65H2513/41Direction of movement
    • B65H2513/412Direction of rotation of motor powering the handling device
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65HHANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2513/00Dynamic entities; Timing aspects
    • B65H2513/50Timing
    • B65H2513/51Sequence of process
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65HHANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2513/00Dynamic entities; Timing aspects
    • B65H2513/50Timing
    • B65H2513/512Starting; Stopping
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65HHANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2701/00Handled material; Storage means
    • B65H2701/10Handled articles or webs
    • B65H2701/19Specific article or web
    • B65H2701/1912Banknotes, bills and cheques or the like

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a currency bill deposit/withdrawal device such as an automated teller machine or cash dispensing machine.
  • Automated teller machines and cash dispensing machines handle bulk deposits and withdrawals of currency bills. If bills should overlap as they are conveyed through an automatic teller machine or cash dispensing machine, jamming may occur.
  • One known means for preventing this is a chain correction mechanism which varies the speed of transport depending on the spacing between individual bills detected by a sensor.
  • a chain correction mechanism which varies the speed of transport depending on the spacing between individual bills detected by a sensor.
  • paper currency transport speed cannot be faster than the speed of the transport unit, and thus under normal circumstances it will not be possible for a following bill is transported at high speed sufficient to overtake a leading bill.
  • a following bill it is possible for a following bill to overtake a leading one in the event that, for example, slipping has occurred between the leading bill and the transport unit. So in relation to speed adjustment in the same direction, there are instances in which the transport speed of the leading bill cannot be increased. Accordingly, in the prior art, it was difficult to prevent the occurrence of jamming caused when a slow leading bill is overlapped by a following bill.
  • JP 9 114 156 A discloses a paper sheet storage device with the features of the preamble of present claim 1.
  • An object of the present invention is to prevent or reduce jamming caused by overlapping paper currency bills.
  • the present invention in a first aspect provides a paper sheet storage device as defined in claim 1. According to this configuration, in the case a transport speed of a leading paper sheet will become slow, a following paper sheet will run to reverse. So a gap between the leading paper sheet and the following paper sheet becomes wide, and it is possible to prevent or reduce jamming caused by overlapping paper sheets.
  • the transport speed of the paper sheets can be determined easily.
  • delayed transport of paper sheets can be detected and jamming can be prevented before it occurs.
  • the present invention in a second aspect provides a method of controlling a paper sheet storage device as defined in claim 3. . According to this aspect, jamming caused by overlapping paper sheets can be prevented before it occurs.
  • the present invention in a third aspect provides a control program as defined in claim 4. According to this aspect, jamming caused by overlapping paper sheets can be prevented before it occurs.
  • FIG. 1 is an illustration depicting schematically the appearance of an ATM pertaining to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. 2 is an illustration depicting schematically the block configuration of the ATM pertaining to Embodiment 1.
  • the ATM 10 includes a main controller 100, a card/statement processor 110, a touch panel 120, an administrator operation unit 130, a network interface 140, and a paper currency handling unit 200, which are interconnected through an internal bus 150.
  • the main controller 100 controls the card/statement processor 110, the touch panel 120, the administrator operation unit 130, the network interface 140, and the paper currency handling unit 200.
  • the card/statement processor 110 includes a passbook printer 112 and a reader/writer 114.
  • the passbook printer 112 performs printing of transaction records or printing of passbook entries.
  • the reader/writer 114 performs reading of data from or writing of data to a card.
  • the touch panel 120 detects input from a customer.
  • customer input refers to an instruction to make a deposit or a withdrawal, for example.
  • the detected input is transmitted from the touch panel 120 to the main controller 100.
  • the touch panel 120 has both an input detection function and a display function; it both detects customer input and displays messages from the ATM 10 to the customer.
  • the administrator operation unit 130 detects operations performed by an administrator employee of the financial institution.
  • the network interface 140 connects the ATM 10 to a network 20.
  • the ATM 10 is connected to a host computer (not shown) via the network 20.
  • the paper currency handling unit 200 performs discrimination of paper currency bills which have been deposited to the ATM 10, and transmits the discrimination results to the main controller 100 as well as sorting the paper currency bills and placing them in an internal repository. Upon receiving an instruction from the main controller 100, the paper currency handling unit 200 will retrieve and dispense paper currency bills from the internal repository.
  • the paper currency handling unit 200 has both a paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 for accepting and dispensing paper currency, and a coin accepting/dispensing unit 252 for accepting and dispensing coins.
  • FIG. 3 is an illustration showing the control block of the paper currency handling unit 200.
  • FIG. 4 is an illustration depicting schematically the internal configuration of the paper currency handling unit 200.
  • the control block of the paper currency handling unit 200 includes a CPU 210 and a memory 220 which are interconnected by an internal bus 240.
  • the paper currency handling unit 200 is provided internally with a paper currency discriminating unit 260, a paper currency escrow repository 270, a counterfeit bill repository 272, a walk-away recovery repository 274, a paper currency recovery repository 276, recycling repositories 278a to 278e, paper currency transport devices 301 to 322, and switching gates 401 to 410.
  • the paper currency discriminating unit 260 scans the currency bills and acquires currency data for the purpose of discerning the genuineness and denomination of the currency bills. In the present embodiment, determination of genuineness and denomination of currency bills is carried out through execution by the CPU 210, discussed later, of a paper currency discrimination program 224, discussed later, and processing of the currency data acquired by the paper currency discriminating unit 260.
  • the paper currency escrow repository 270 provides temporary storage of genuine currency bills.
  • the counterfeit bill repository 272 stores any counterfeit bills.
  • the walk-away recovery repository 274 will store any currency bills that a customer has forgotten to retrieve when cash is dispensed or returned.
  • the paper currency recovery repository 276 stores currency bills which are genuine but damaged to the point of being unsuitable for recirculation.
  • the recycling repositories 278a through 278e store currency bills which are genuine and suitable for recirculation.
  • five recycling repositories 278a through 278e are provided in association with different denominations. It would be acceptable to provide two or more of recycling repositories 278a through 278e for a single denomination. Where recycling repositories 278a through 278e are not distinguished in this way, they will be denoted as recycling repositories 278.
  • the paper currency recovery repository 276 and the recycling repositories 278 are located within a safe 280.
  • the paper currency transport devices 301 to 322 are transport devices for transporting currency bills.
  • the paper currency transport devices 301 to 322 use belts or rollers for example to transport the currency bills.
  • the switching gates 401 to 410 are gates for switching the transport direction of currency bills.
  • the switching gates 401 to 410 have transport devices in three or four directions, and will shunt a paper currency bill transported from one of these directions into any of the remaining two or three directions.
  • the placement of the paper currency transport devices 301 to 322 and the switching gates 401 to 410 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 .
  • the paper currency transport device 301, the switching gate 401, the paper currency transport device 302, the switching gate 402, and the paper currency transport device 303 are situated between the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and the paper currency discriminating unit 260.
  • the paper currency transport device 304, the switching gate 403, and the paper currency transport device 305 are situated between the paper currency discriminating unit 260 and the paper currency escrow repository 270.
  • the paper currency transport device 306, the switching gate 404, and the paper currency transport device 307 are situated between the switching gate 403 and the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250.
  • the paper currency transport device 311 is situated between the switching gate 402 and the switching gate 404.
  • the paper currency transport device 308, the switching gate 405, and the paper currency transport device 309 are situated between the switching gate 403 and the counterfeit bill repository 272.
  • the paper currency transport device 310 is situated between the switching gate 405 and the walk-away recovery repository 274.
  • the paper currency transport device 312, the switching gate 406, the paper currency transport device 313, the switching gate 407, the paper currency transport device 314, the switching gate 408, the paper currency transport device 315, the switching gate 409, the paper currency transport device 316, the switching gate 410, and the paper currency transport device 317 are situated between the switching gate 401 and the paper currency recovery repository 276.
  • the paper currency transport devices 318 through 322 are situated respectively between the switching gates 406 through 410 and the recycling repositories 278a-e.
  • the CPU 210 controls the operation of the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, the paper currency discriminating unit 260, the paper currency escrow repository 270, the counterfeit bill repository 272, the walk-away recovery repository 274, the paper currency recovery repository 276, the recycling repositories 278, the paper currency transport devices 301 to 322, and the switching gates 401 to 410.
  • the memory 220 has stored in memory therein a paper currency feed control program 222, the paper currency discrimination program 224, a transport speed acquisition program 226, a paper currency arrival time prediction program 228, a paper currency transport control program 230, and a switching gate control program 232.
  • the paper currency feed control program 222 will perform control of feed of the currency bills by halting the feed of currency bills from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, the paper currency escrow repository 270, the recycling repositories 278, and so on.
  • the paper currency discrimination program 224 uses the currency bill data acquired from currency bills by the paper currency discriminating unit 260 to determine the genuineness and denomination of the currency bills.
  • the transport speed acquisition program 226 uses the point in time that a currency bill arrived at a sensor (discussed later), which has been recorded in the memory 220, and the distance between sensors, which is stored in memory 220, to determine the transport speed of the currency bill.
  • the paper currency arrival time prediction program 228 uses the time of arrival at a given sensor to predict the time of arrival at the next sensor. In general, when calculating the transport speed of a currency bill it will be necessary for the bill to pass sensors at two locations. However, if a currency bill fails to reach the next sensor within a prescribed time interval from the time at which it passed the first sensor, it can be detected that the currency bill transport speed has been slowed, even if the actual transport speed of the bill is not known.
  • the paper currency transport control program 230 controls operations of the paper currency transport device 301 through 322. For example, if slow transport speed is detected, it will control a prescribed paper currency transport device so as to reverse its direction of rotation.
  • the switching gate control program 232 controls the direction of shunting of transported paper currency in the switching gates 401 through 410.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting operation of an ATM 10 when making a deposit.
  • FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting operation of an ATM 10 when making a withdrawal.
  • typical operations during an ATM 10 deposit and withdrawal will be described; the paper currency transport control which is a particular feature of the present embodiment will be discussed later.
  • the main controller 100 When an instruction to initiate a deposit is made on the touch panel 120 by the user, the main controller 100 will open the door of the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and wait for currency bills to be placed in the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S100).
  • the CPU 210 Upon receiving an instruction from the main controller 100, the CPU 210 will switch the switching gates 401, 402 so that the currency bills are transported from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to the paper currency discriminating unit 260, and will then drive the paper currency transport devices 301 to 303 to feed the currency bills to the paper currency discriminating unit 260, acquire paper currency data from the paper currency discriminating unit 260, and determine the genuineness and denomination of the currency bills (Step S110).
  • the CPU 210 will record the denomination in the memory 220, switch the switching gate 403 so that the bill is transported to the paper currency escrow repository 270, and drive the paper currency transport devices 304, 305 to transport the bill to the paper currency escrow repository 270.
  • the CPU 210 will switch the switching gates 403, 405 so that the bill is transported to the counterfeit bill repository 272, and drive the paper currency transport devices 304, 308, and 309 to transport the bill to counterfeit bill repository 272 (Step S120).
  • the main controller 100 will then display on the touch panel 120 the total amount of the denominations of the deposited paper currency (Step S130), and will wait for an instruction from the user.
  • the main controller 100 will instruct the paper currency handling unit 200 to transport the currency bills to the paper currency recovery repository 276 and the recycling repositories 278 (Step S150).
  • the CPU 210 upon receiving an instruction from the main controller 100, the CPU 210 will switch the switching gate 403 so that the currency bills are transported to the paper currency discriminating unit 260, and drive the paper currency transport devices 305, 304 to transport the bills to the paper currency discriminating unit 260.
  • the CPU 210 will then acquire the currency bill data from the paper currency discriminating unit 260 and re-check the paper currency denominations. On the basis of the paper currency denominations the CPU 210 will determine whether to transport the bills to the paper currency recovery repository 276 or the recycling repositories 278a-e, and perform the appropriate switching of the switching gates 402, 401, and 406 through 410. The CPU 210 will then drive the paper currency transport devices 303, 302, and 312 through 322 to transport the bills to their determined transport destinations.
  • Step S140 the main controller 100 will instruct the paper currency handling unit 200 to transport the paper currency to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S160) and return the bills to the user.
  • the CPU 210 upon receiving an instruction from the main controller 100, the CPU 210 will switch the switching gates 403, 404 so that the currency bills are transported to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, and then drive the paper currency transport devices 305 through 307 to transport the bills to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250.
  • Step S200 When a withdrawal instruction is made on the touch panel 120 by the user (Step S200), the main controller 100 will detect this, and instruct the paper currency handling unit 200 to transport paper currency to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250.
  • the CPU 210 Upon receiving an instruction from the main controller 100, the CPU 210 will determine from which of the recycling repositories 278a-e to withdraw currency bills, and will switch the switching gates 406 through 410, 401, and 402 so that the bills are transported from the prescribed recycling repositories 278a-e to the paper currency discriminating portion unit. The CPU 210 will then drive the paper currency transport devices 318 to 322, 312 to 316, 302, and 303 to convey the bills to the paper currency discriminating unit 260, where their denominations will be determined (Step S210).
  • Step S220 the CPU 210 will switch the switching gates 403, 404 so that the bills are transported to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, drive the paper currency transport devices 304, 306, 307, and transport the bills to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S230). Once all of the bills for withdrawal have been transported to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit250, the CPU 210 will dispense the bills to the user.
  • Step S220 the CPU 210 will switch the switching gate 403 so that the bill is transported to the paper currency escrow repository 270, and drive the paper currency transport devices 304, 305 to transport the bill to the paper currency escrow repository 270.
  • the main controller 100 will now transport bills that were transported to the paper currency escrow repository 270 to the paper currency recovery repository 276 and the recycling repositories 278 (the recycling repositories 278a-e) (Step S240). This operation is identical to the operation of transporting bills from the paper currency escrow repository 270 to the paper currency recovery repository 276 and the recycling repositories 278 during a deposit, and will not be described.
  • FIG. 7 is an illustration showing in detail the path leading from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to the paper currency discriminating unit 260.
  • a paper currency transport path 350 is formed by the paper currency transport devices 301 to 303 between the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and the paper currency discriminating unit 260; and sensors 501 to 503 are positioned along the paper currency transport path 350.
  • the sensors 501 to 503 are respectively composed of light-emitting elements 501a to 503a, and photoreceptor elements 501b to 503b.
  • the sensors 501 to 503 are transmission type sensors in which the light-emitting elements 501a to 503a and the photoreceptor elements 501b to 503b are disposed to either side of the paper currency transport path 350; however, it would also be acceptable to use reflection type sensors in which the light-emitting elements 501a to 503a and the photoreceptor elements 501b to 503b are disposed to the same side of the paper currency transport path 350. Since the signals from the photoreceptor elements will change as currency bills block the light between the light-emitting elements and the photoreceptor elements, the CPU 210 will detect passage of bills by reading the values of the signals from the photoreceptor elements. In the present embodiment, three sensors have been provided between the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to the paper currency discriminating unit 260, but the number of sensors is not limited to three, and may be a different number.
  • FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting transport control of paper currency according to an illustrative example not embodying the invention.
  • currency bills When currency bills are deposited, they will be fed one at a time to the paper currency transport path 350 from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250.
  • the bills will then be transported by the paper currency transport device 301, and as they pass the location of the sensor 501 the value of the signal from the sensor 501 will change, whereby the CPU 210 will detect arrival of the bills at the sensor 501 (Step S300).
  • the CPU 210 will record the time t1 of arrival of a bill at the sensor 501 in the memory 220 (Step S305).
  • the bill will then be transported forward by the paper currency transport devices 301, 302.
  • the signal from the sensor 502 will change, whereby the CPU 210 will detect arrival of bills at the sensor 502 (Step S310).
  • the CPU 210 will record the time t2 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 502 in the memory 220 (Step S315).
  • the CPU 210 Since the distance between the sensor 501 and the sensor 502 has been pre-stored in the memory 220, the CPU 210 will be able to calculate the currency bill transport speed from the distance between the sensor 501 and the sensor 502, and the difference between the time t1 of arrival of a bill at the sensor 501 and the time t2 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 502 (Step S320).
  • Step S325 the CPU 210 will halt feed of the bill from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and rotate the paper currency transport device 301 backward in order to reverse the subsequently dispensed bill (hereinafter termed the "following bill”; in association therewith, the corresponding bill transported at slow speed at this time is termed the "leading bill.”) back into the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S330).
  • the currency bill will then be transported forward by the paper currency transport devices 302, 303.
  • the signal from the sensor 503 will change, and thus the CPU 210 can detect that the bill has reached the sensor 503 (Step S335).
  • the CPU 210 will record the time t3 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 503 in the memory 220 (Step S340).
  • the CPU 210 Since the distance between the sensor 502 and the sensor 503 has been pre-stored in the memory 220, the CPU 210 will be able to calculate the currency bill transport speed from the distance between the sensor 502 and the sensor 503, and the difference between the time t2 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 502 and the time t3 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 503 (Step S345). In the event that the calculated transport speed is smaller than a prescribed value (Step S350: Yes), the CPU 210 will halt feed of the bill from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and rotate the paper currency transport devices 301, 302 in backward in order to reverse the following bill back into the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S330).
  • the CPU 210 will calculate the transport speed of currency bills from the distance between two adjacent sensors and the difference in arrival times, and in the event it detects a bill moving at transport speed slower than a prescribed transport speed, it will rotate in reverse the paper currency transport devices situated between the bill traveling at slow speed and the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250.
  • the CPU 210 will for example issue an alert to financial institution service personnel to request repair of the ATM 10. If jamming occurs due to overlapping bills, depending on the condition of the jam, recovery may be difficult; according to the illustrative example, however, leading bills will be conveyed forward while following bills will be conveyed backward, thus avoiding jams caused by overlap. Accordingly, it will be easier for service personnel to repair the ATM 10.
  • Verification of transport speed will be carried out for all paper currency bills which are fed from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250. For example, if the CPU 210 has detected that the third bill (leading bill) which was fed is being transported at slow speed, it will perform control such that the paper currency transport device reached by the fourth bill (following bill), as well as the paper currency transport device lying towards the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 side of this device, now rotate in reverse.
  • the process of transporting bills from the recycling repositories 278 to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 during withdrawal is also analogous to the above. Specifically, if the CPU 210 detects slow transport speed from a sensor signal, it will halt the feed of the bills, and perform control to rotate in reverse the paper currency transport device which is situated towards the feed side from the bill which was detected to be transported at slow speed.
  • the CPU 210 detects a bill transported at slow speed, it will perform control to rotate in reverse the paper currency transport device which is situated towards the feed side from the detected bill, thereby preventing the leading bill and the following bill from overlapping and causing jamming.
  • FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting transport control of paper currency in the preferred embodiment.
  • the configuration is the same as the configuration described above, so the configuration will not be discussed.
  • the CPU 210 will then predict the time at which the bill will reach the sensor 502 (Step S410) and record this value to the memory 220 (Step S415).
  • the distance between the sensor 501 and the sensor 502 is a known value, and since the transport speed by the paper currency transport devices 301, 302 is also known, if the time t1 of arrival of a bill at the sensor 501 is known it will be a simple matter to predict the time of arrival t2a at the sensor 502.
  • the CPU 210 will then wait for the bill to reach the sensor 502 (Step S420). If before the bill reaches the sensor 502 (Step S420: No) the elapsed time has passed t2a (Step S425: Yes), the CPU 210 will detect that delayed transport of the bill has occurred (Step S430). The CPU 210 will then halt the feed of bills from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and reverse the following bills back into the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S435). Specifically, the CPU 210 will rotate the paper currency transport device 301 in reverse.
  • Step S420 If the CPU 210 detects that the bill has reached the sensor 502 (Step S420: Yes), it will record the time t2 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 502 in the memory 220 (Step S440). The CPU 201 will then predict the time at which the bill will reach the sensor 503 (Step S445), and record this value to the memory 220 (Step S450).
  • the distance between the sensor 502 and the sensor 503 is a known value, and since the transport speed by the paper currency transport devices 302, 303 is also known, if the time t2 of arrival of a bill at the sensor 502 is known it will be a simple matter to predict the time of arrival t3a at the sensor 503.
  • the CPU 210 will then wait for the bill to reach the sensor 503 (Step S455). If before the bill reaches the sensor 503 (Step S455: No) the elapsed time has passed t3a (Step S460: Yes), the CPU 210 will detect that delayed transport of the bill has occurred (Step S430). The CPU 210 will then halt the feed of bills from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and reverse the following bills back into the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S435). Specifically, the CPU 210 will rotate the paper currency transport devices 301, 302 in reverse.
  • Step S455 If the CPU 210 detects that the bill has reached the sensor 503 (Step S455: Yes), it will record the time t3 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 503 in the memory 220 (Step S465). The time t3 will be used to predict the time t4a of arrival of the bill at the next sensor. The subsequent process is a repeat of the above and will not be described.
  • the CPU 210 can detect delayed transport of currency bills even before a bill reaches the next sensor. Accordingly, it will be possible to prevent jamming caused by overlapping paper currency bills in the event that, for example, the transport speed of a bill slows markedly for some reason during transport, or where it ceases to move at all.
  • the CPU 210 will carry out control in such a way as to reverse the rotation of the paper currency transport devices so that the following bill will be conveyed in the reverse direction.
  • the CPU 210 may wait until a fed bill has reached the initial sensor 501 before feeding the next bill. This can prevent jamming caused by overlap of bills before reaching the initial sensor 501.
  • the CPU 210 may also feed and control the transport of bills in such a way that two or more bills will never be present between neighboring sensors. This can prevent jamming caused by overlapping bills.
  • sensors are positioned midway along the paper currency transport devices, but the sensors could instead be positioned between two neighboring paper currency transport devices. Since currency bill transport speed can be changed in before or after sensors, jamming caused by overlapping bills can be prevented.
  • the illustrative example and the preferred embodiment described three sensors positioned between the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and the paper currency discriminating unit 260; however, it would be possible for example to position multiple sensors on other paper currency transport paths, such as that between the paper currency discriminating unit 260 to the paper currency escrow repository 270, that between the paper currency escrow repository 270 and the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, or that between the paper currency escrow repository 270 and the paper currency recovery repository 276 or the recycling repositories 278.
  • a leading bill transported at slow speed will continue to be transported forward, but it would be possible for the leading bill to be returned to the feed source as well.
  • return may take place at a slower transport speed than normal.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
  • Finance (AREA)
  • Controlling Sheets Or Webs (AREA)
  • Financial Or Insurance-Related Operations Such As Payment And Settlement (AREA)
  • Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)

Description

    BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention
  • The present invention relates to a currency bill deposit/withdrawal device such as an automated teller machine or cash dispensing machine.
  • Description of the Related Art
  • Automated teller machines and cash dispensing machines handle bulk deposits and withdrawals of currency bills. If bills should overlap as they are conveyed through an automatic teller machine or cash dispensing machine, jamming may occur. One known means for preventing this is a chain correction mechanism which varies the speed of transport depending on the spacing between individual bills detected by a sensor. In this prior art, for paper currency bills which are being transported in succession, in the event that a following bill is transported at high speed such that it begins to overtake a leading bill, the following bill will be transported at slower speed; or in the event that a leading bill is slow and begins to be overtaken by a following bill, the leading bill will be transported at faster speed.
  • However, in the prior art discussed above, paper currency transport speed cannot be faster than the speed of the transport unit, and thus under normal circumstances it will not be possible for a following bill is transported at high speed sufficient to overtake a leading bill. On the other hand, it is possible for a following bill to overtake a leading one in the event that, for example, slipping has occurred between the leading bill and the transport unit. So in relation to speed adjustment in the same direction, there are instances in which the transport speed of the leading bill cannot be increased. Accordingly, in the prior art, it was difficult to prevent the occurrence of jamming caused when a slow leading bill is overlapped by a following bill.
  • JP 9 114 156 A discloses a paper sheet storage device with the features of the preamble of present claim 1.
  • SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • An object of the present invention is to prevent or reduce jamming caused by overlapping paper currency bills.
  • The present invention in a first aspect provides a paper sheet storage device as defined in claim 1. According to this configuration, in the case a transport speed of a leading paper sheet will become slow, a following paper sheet will run to reverse. So a gap between the leading paper sheet and the following paper sheet becomes wide, and it is possible to prevent or reduce jamming caused by overlapping paper sheets.
  • According to the configuration defined in claim 2, the transport speed of the paper sheets can be determined easily.
  • According to the present invention, delayed transport of paper sheets can be detected and jamming can be prevented before it occurs.
  • The present invention in a second aspect provides a method of controlling a paper sheet storage device as defined in claim 3. . According to this aspect, jamming caused by overlapping paper sheets can be prevented before it occurs.
  • The present invention in a third aspect provides a control program as defined in claim 4. According to this aspect, jamming caused by overlapping paper sheets can be prevented before it occurs.
  • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
    • FIG. 1 is an illustration depicting schematically the appearance of an ATM pertaining to Embodiment 1.
    • FIG. 2 is an illustration depicting schematically the block configuration of an ATM pertaining to Embodiment 1.
    • FIG. 3 is an illustration showing the control block of a paper currency handling unit 200.
    • FIG. 4 is an illustration depicting schematically the internal configuration of a paper currency handling unit 200.
    • FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting operation of an ATM 10 when making a deposit.
    • FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting operation of an ATM 10 when making a withdrawal.
    • FIG. 7 is an illustration showing in detail a path leading from a paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to a paper currency discriminating unit 260.
    • FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting transport control of paper currency according to an illustrative example.
    • FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting transport control of paper currency in a preferred embodiment.
    DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
  • The configuration of an automated teller machine (hereinafter "ATM") pertaining to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is an illustration depicting schematically the appearance of an ATM pertaining to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is an illustration depicting schematically the block configuration of the ATM pertaining to Embodiment 1. The ATM 10 includes a main controller 100, a card/statement processor 110, a touch panel 120, an administrator operation unit 130, a network interface 140, and a paper currency handling unit 200, which are interconnected through an internal bus 150.
  • The main controller 100 controls the card/statement processor 110, the touch panel 120, the administrator operation unit 130, the network interface 140, and the paper currency handling unit 200. The card/statement processor 110 includes a passbook printer 112 and a reader/writer 114. The passbook printer 112 performs printing of transaction records or printing of passbook entries. The reader/writer 114 performs reading of data from or writing of data to a card.
  • The touch panel 120 detects input from a customer. Here, "customer input" refers to an instruction to make a deposit or a withdrawal, for example. The detected input is transmitted from the touch panel 120 to the main controller 100. The touch panel 120 has both an input detection function and a display function; it both detects customer input and displays messages from the ATM 10 to the customer. The administrator operation unit 130 detects operations performed by an administrator employee of the financial institution. The network interface 140 connects the ATM 10 to a network 20. The ATM 10 is connected to a host computer (not shown) via the network 20.
  • The paper currency handling unit 200 performs discrimination of paper currency bills which have been deposited to the ATM 10, and transmits the discrimination results to the main controller 100 as well as sorting the paper currency bills and placing them in an internal repository. Upon receiving an instruction from the main controller 100, the paper currency handling unit 200 will retrieve and dispense paper currency bills from the internal repository. The paper currency handling unit 200 has both a paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 for accepting and dispensing paper currency, and a coin accepting/dispensing unit 252 for accepting and dispensing coins.
  • The paper currency handling unit 200 will be described making reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is an illustration showing the control block of the paper currency handling unit 200. FIG. 4 is an illustration depicting schematically the internal configuration of the paper currency handling unit 200.
  • The control block of the paper currency handling unit 200 includes a CPU 210 and a memory 220 which are interconnected by an internal bus 240. The paper currency handling unit 200 is provided internally with a paper currency discriminating unit 260, a paper currency escrow repository 270, a counterfeit bill repository 272, a walk-away recovery repository 274, a paper currency recovery repository 276, recycling repositories 278a to 278e, paper currency transport devices 301 to 322, and switching gates 401 to 410.
  • The paper currency discriminating unit 260 scans the currency bills and acquires currency data for the purpose of discerning the genuineness and denomination of the currency bills. In the present embodiment, determination of genuineness and denomination of currency bills is carried out through execution by the CPU 210, discussed later, of a paper currency discrimination program 224, discussed later, and processing of the currency data acquired by the paper currency discriminating unit 260. The paper currency escrow repository 270 provides temporary storage of genuine currency bills. The counterfeit bill repository 272 stores any counterfeit bills. The walk-away recovery repository 274 will store any currency bills that a customer has forgotten to retrieve when cash is dispensed or returned. The paper currency recovery repository 276 stores currency bills which are genuine but damaged to the point of being unsuitable for recirculation. The recycling repositories 278a through 278e store currency bills which are genuine and suitable for recirculation. In the present embodiment, five recycling repositories 278a through 278e are provided in association with different denominations. It would be acceptable to provide two or more of recycling repositories 278a through 278e for a single denomination. Where recycling repositories 278a through 278e are not distinguished in this way, they will be denoted as recycling repositories 278. For security purposes the paper currency recovery repository 276 and the recycling repositories 278 are located within a safe 280.
  • The paper currency transport devices 301 to 322 are transport devices for transporting currency bills. In the present embodiment, the paper currency transport devices 301 to 322 use belts or rollers for example to transport the currency bills. The switching gates 401 to 410 are gates for switching the transport direction of currency bills. The switching gates 401 to 410 have transport devices in three or four directions, and will shunt a paper currency bill transported from one of these directions into any of the remaining two or three directions.
  • The placement of the paper currency transport devices 301 to 322 and the switching gates 401 to 410 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The paper currency transport device 301, the switching gate 401, the paper currency transport device 302, the switching gate 402, and the paper currency transport device 303 are situated between the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and the paper currency discriminating unit 260. The paper currency transport device 304, the switching gate 403, and the paper currency transport device 305 are situated between the paper currency discriminating unit 260 and the paper currency escrow repository 270. The paper currency transport device 306, the switching gate 404, and the paper currency transport device 307 are situated between the switching gate 403 and the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250. The paper currency transport device 311 is situated between the switching gate 402 and the switching gate 404. The paper currency transport device 308, the switching gate 405, and the paper currency transport device 309 are situated between the switching gate 403 and the counterfeit bill repository 272. The paper currency transport device 310 is situated between the switching gate 405 and the walk-away recovery repository 274.
  • The paper currency transport device 312, the switching gate 406, the paper currency transport device 313, the switching gate 407, the paper currency transport device 314, the switching gate 408, the paper currency transport device 315, the switching gate 409, the paper currency transport device 316, the switching gate 410, and the paper currency transport device 317 are situated between the switching gate 401 and the paper currency recovery repository 276. The paper currency transport devices 318 through 322 are situated respectively between the switching gates 406 through 410 and the recycling repositories 278a-e.
  • The CPU 210 controls the operation of the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, the paper currency discriminating unit 260, the paper currency escrow repository 270, the counterfeit bill repository 272, the walk-away recovery repository 274, the paper currency recovery repository 276, the recycling repositories 278, the paper currency transport devices 301 to 322, and the switching gates 401 to 410. The memory 220 has stored in memory therein a paper currency feed control program 222, the paper currency discrimination program 224, a transport speed acquisition program 226, a paper currency arrival time prediction program 228, a paper currency transport control program 230, and a switching gate control program 232.
  • In the event that, for example, slowed transport speed of a currency bill has been detected, the paper currency feed control program 222 will perform control of feed of the currency bills by halting the feed of currency bills from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, the paper currency escrow repository 270, the recycling repositories 278, and so on. The paper currency discrimination program 224 uses the currency bill data acquired from currency bills by the paper currency discriminating unit 260 to determine the genuineness and denomination of the currency bills. The transport speed acquisition program 226 uses the point in time that a currency bill arrived at a sensor (discussed later), which has been recorded in the memory 220, and the distance between sensors, which is stored in memory 220, to determine the transport speed of the currency bill. The paper currency arrival time prediction program 228 uses the time of arrival at a given sensor to predict the time of arrival at the next sensor. In general, when calculating the transport speed of a currency bill it will be necessary for the bill to pass sensors at two locations. However, if a currency bill fails to reach the next sensor within a prescribed time interval from the time at which it passed the first sensor, it can be detected that the currency bill transport speed has been slowed, even if the actual transport speed of the bill is not known. The paper currency transport control program 230 controls operations of the paper currency transport device 301 through 322. For example, if slow transport speed is detected, it will control a prescribed paper currency transport device so as to reverse its direction of rotation. The switching gate control program 232 controls the direction of shunting of transported paper currency in the switching gates 401 through 410.
  • The operation of the ATM 10 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting operation of an ATM 10 when making a deposit. FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting operation of an ATM 10 when making a withdrawal. Here, typical operations during an ATM 10 deposit and withdrawal will be described; the paper currency transport control which is a particular feature of the present embodiment will be discussed later.
  • Deposit Operation
  • When an instruction to initiate a deposit is made on the touch panel 120 by the user, the main controller 100 will open the door of the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and wait for currency bills to be placed in the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S100). Upon receiving an instruction from the main controller 100, the CPU 210 will switch the switching gates 401, 402 so that the currency bills are transported from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to the paper currency discriminating unit 260, and will then drive the paper currency transport devices 301 to 303 to feed the currency bills to the paper currency discriminating unit 260, acquire paper currency data from the paper currency discriminating unit 260, and determine the genuineness and denomination of the currency bills (Step S110). In the event that a currency bill is found to be genuine, the CPU 210 will record the denomination in the memory 220, switch the switching gate 403 so that the bill is transported to the paper currency escrow repository 270, and drive the paper currency transport devices 304, 305 to transport the bill to the paper currency escrow repository 270. In the event that a currency bill is found to be counterfeit, the CPU 210 will switch the switching gates 403, 405 so that the bill is transported to the counterfeit bill repository 272, and drive the paper currency transport devices 304, 308, and 309 to transport the bill to counterfeit bill repository 272 (Step S120).
  • The main controller 100 will then display on the touch panel 120 the total amount of the denominations of the deposited paper currency (Step S130), and will wait for an instruction from the user. In the event that user input of an instruction to proceed with the deposit is detected (Step S140: Yes), the main controller 100 will instruct the paper currency handling unit 200 to transport the currency bills to the paper currency recovery repository 276 and the recycling repositories 278 (Step S150). Specifically, upon receiving an instruction from the main controller 100, the CPU 210 will switch the switching gate 403 so that the currency bills are transported to the paper currency discriminating unit 260, and drive the paper currency transport devices 305, 304 to transport the bills to the paper currency discriminating unit 260. The CPU 210 will then acquire the currency bill data from the paper currency discriminating unit 260 and re-check the paper currency denominations. On the basis of the paper currency denominations the CPU 210 will determine whether to transport the bills to the paper currency recovery repository 276 or the recycling repositories 278a-e, and perform the appropriate switching of the switching gates 402, 401, and 406 through 410. The CPU 210 will then drive the paper currency transport devices 303, 302, and 312 through 322 to transport the bills to their determined transport destinations.
  • In the event that user input of an instruction to cancel the deposit is detected (Step S140: No), the main controller 100 will instruct the paper currency handling unit 200 to transport the paper currency to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S160) and return the bills to the user. Specifically, upon receiving an instruction from the main controller 100, the CPU 210 will switch the switching gates 403, 404 so that the currency bills are transported to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, and then drive the paper currency transport devices 305 through 307 to transport the bills to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250.
  • Withdrawal Operation
  • When a withdrawal instruction is made on the touch panel 120 by the user (Step S200), the main controller 100 will detect this, and instruct the paper currency handling unit 200 to transport paper currency to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250.
  • Upon receiving an instruction from the main controller 100, the CPU 210 will determine from which of the recycling repositories 278a-e to withdraw currency bills, and will switch the switching gates 406 through 410, 401, and 402 so that the bills are transported from the prescribed recycling repositories 278a-e to the paper currency discriminating portion unit. The CPU 210 will then drive the paper currency transport devices 318 to 322, 312 to 316, 302, and 303 to convey the bills to the paper currency discriminating unit 260, where their denominations will be determined (Step S210). In the event that the currency bill denominations were correct (Step S220: Yes), the CPU 210 will switch the switching gates 403, 404 so that the bills are transported to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, drive the paper currency transport devices 304, 306, 307, and transport the bills to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S230). Once all of the bills for withdrawal have been transported to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit250, the CPU 210 will dispense the bills to the user. In the event that a currency bill denomination is not correct (Step S220: No), the CPU 210 will switch the switching gate 403 so that the bill is transported to the paper currency escrow repository 270, and drive the paper currency transport devices 304, 305 to transport the bill to the paper currency escrow repository 270. Once the cash dispensing operation to the user has been completed, the main controller 100 will now transport bills that were transported to the paper currency escrow repository 270 to the paper currency recovery repository 276 and the recycling repositories 278 (the recycling repositories 278a-e) (Step S240). This operation is identical to the operation of transporting bills from the paper currency escrow repository 270 to the paper currency recovery repository 276 and the recycling repositories 278 during a deposit, and will not be described.
  • The sensors will now be described, taking the example of the path from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to the paper currency discriminating unit 260. FIG. 7 is an illustration showing in detail the path leading from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to the paper currency discriminating unit 260. In the present embodiment, a paper currency transport path 350 is formed by the paper currency transport devices 301 to 303 between the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and the paper currency discriminating unit 260; and sensors 501 to 503 are positioned along the paper currency transport path 350. The sensors 501 to 503 are respectively composed of light-emitting elements 501a to 503a, and photoreceptor elements 501b to 503b. In the present embodiment, the sensors 501 to 503 are transmission type sensors in which the light-emitting elements 501a to 503a and the photoreceptor elements 501b to 503b are disposed to either side of the paper currency transport path 350; however, it would also be acceptable to use reflection type sensors in which the light-emitting elements 501a to 503a and the photoreceptor elements 501b to 503b are disposed to the same side of the paper currency transport path 350. Since the signals from the photoreceptor elements will change as currency bills block the light between the light-emitting elements and the photoreceptor elements, the CPU 210 will detect passage of bills by reading the values of the signals from the photoreceptor elements. In the present embodiment, three sensors have been provided between the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to the paper currency discriminating unit 260, but the number of sensors is not limited to three, and may be a different number.
  • Control of paper currency transport during deposit operations will now be described in more detail, taking the example of the path from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to the paper currency discriminating unit 260. FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting transport control of paper currency according to an illustrative example not embodying the invention. When currency bills are deposited, they will be fed one at a time to the paper currency transport path 350 from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250. The bills will then be transported by the paper currency transport device 301, and as they pass the location of the sensor 501 the value of the signal from the sensor 501 will change, whereby the CPU 210 will detect arrival of the bills at the sensor 501 (Step S300). The CPU 210 will record the time t1 of arrival of a bill at the sensor 501 in the memory 220 (Step S305). The bill will then be transported forward by the paper currency transport devices 301, 302. When a bill reaches the location of the sensor 502, the signal from the sensor 502 will change, whereby the CPU 210 will detect arrival of bills at the sensor 502 (Step S310). The CPU 210 will record the time t2 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 502 in the memory 220 (Step S315).
  • Since the distance between the sensor 501 and the sensor 502 has been pre-stored in the memory 220, the CPU 210 will be able to calculate the currency bill transport speed from the distance between the sensor 501 and the sensor 502, and the difference between the time t1 of arrival of a bill at the sensor 501 and the time t2 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 502 (Step S320). In the event that the calculated transport speed is smaller than a prescribed value (Step S325: Yes), the CPU 210 will halt feed of the bill from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and rotate the paper currency transport device 301 backward in order to reverse the subsequently dispensed bill (hereinafter termed the "following bill"; in association therewith, the corresponding bill transported at slow speed at this time is termed the "leading bill.") back into the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S330).
  • The currency bill will then be transported forward by the paper currency transport devices 302, 303. When a bill reaches the location of the sensor 503, the signal from the sensor 503 will change, and thus the CPU 210 can detect that the bill has reached the sensor 503 (Step S335). The CPU 210 will record the time t3 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 503 in the memory 220 (Step S340).
  • Since the distance between the sensor 502 and the sensor 503 has been pre-stored in the memory 220, the CPU 210 will be able to calculate the currency bill transport speed from the distance between the sensor 502 and the sensor 503, and the difference between the time t2 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 502 and the time t3 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 503 (Step S345). In the event that the calculated transport speed is smaller than a prescribed value (Step S350: Yes), the CPU 210 will halt feed of the bill from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and rotate the paper currency transport devices 301, 302 in backward in order to reverse the following bill back into the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S330).
  • In the preceding description, only control on the path leading up to the paper currency discriminating unit 260 was described; however, control on the path between the paper currency discriminating unit 260 and the paper currency escrow repository 270 would be carried out analogously. The CPU 210 will calculate the transport speed of currency bills from the distance between two adjacent sensors and the difference in arrival times, and in the event it detects a bill moving at transport speed slower than a prescribed transport speed, it will rotate in reverse the paper currency transport devices situated between the bill traveling at slow speed and the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250.
  • Through this control, following bills will be returned to and stored in the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, while transport of the leading bill will continue uninterrupted. In the event that the leading bill is stored at its storage destination, for example, in the paper currency escrow repository 270, the CPU 210 will again dispense bills from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, rotating the paper currency transport devices in the normal direction. The reason is that since the leading is in storage, there is no risk of overlap. It is not necessary that all of the following bills be returned to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 at this time. Subsequent operation will proceed analogously to the operation described above. In the event that the leading bill fails to be stored in the paper currency escrow repository 270 within a prescribed time period, the CPU 210 will for example issue an alert to financial institution service personnel to request repair of the ATM 10. If jamming occurs due to overlapping bills, depending on the condition of the jam, recovery may be difficult; according to the illustrative example, however, leading bills will be conveyed forward while following bills will be conveyed backward, thus avoiding jams caused by overlap. Accordingly, it will be easier for service personnel to repair the ATM 10.
  • Verification of transport speed will be carried out for all paper currency bills which are fed from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250. For example, if the CPU 210 has detected that the third bill (leading bill) which was fed is being transported at slow speed, it will perform control such that the paper currency transport device reached by the fourth bill (following bill), as well as the paper currency transport device lying towards the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 side of this device, now rotate in reverse.
  • In the preceding discussion, transport of bills from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to the paper currency escrow repository 270 during deposit was described taking the example of the path from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to the paper currency discriminating unit 260; however, the process would be similar in the case of transport of bills from the paper currency escrow repository 270 to the paper currency recovery repository 276 or to the recycling repositories 278 for the purpose of storage, or of transport of bills from the paper currency escrow repository 270 to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 for the purpose of returning cash. Since description of these identical processes would be redundant they will not be described here. The process of transporting bills from the recycling repositories 278 to the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 during withdrawal is also analogous to the above. Specifically, if the CPU 210 detects slow transport speed from a sensor signal, it will halt the feed of the bills, and perform control to rotate in reverse the paper currency transport device which is situated towards the feed side from the bill which was detected to be transported at slow speed.
  • According to the illustrative example above, if the CPU 210 detects a bill transported at slow speed, it will perform control to rotate in reverse the paper currency transport device which is situated towards the feed side from the detected bill, thereby preventing the leading bill and the following bill from overlapping and causing jamming.
  • Preferred embodiment
  • A preferred embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting transport control of paper currency in the preferred embodiment. The configuration is the same as the configuration described above, so the configuration will not be discussed.
  • Currency bills are fed one at time from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 to the paper currency transport path 350. The bills will then be transported by the paper currency transport device 301. As a bill passes the location of the sensor 501, the value of the signal from the sensor 501 will change, whereby the CPU 210 will detect the arrival of the bill at the sensor 501 (Step S400). The CPU 210 will record the time t1 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 501 in the memory 220 (Step S405).
  • The CPU 210 will then predict the time at which the bill will reach the sensor 502 (Step S410) and record this value to the memory 220 (Step S415). The distance between the sensor 501 and the sensor 502 is a known value, and since the transport speed by the paper currency transport devices 301, 302 is also known, if the time t1 of arrival of a bill at the sensor 501 is known it will be a simple matter to predict the time of arrival t2a at the sensor 502.
  • The CPU 210 will then wait for the bill to reach the sensor 502 (Step S420). If before the bill reaches the sensor 502 (Step S420: No) the elapsed time has passed t2a (Step S425: Yes), the CPU 210 will detect that delayed transport of the bill has occurred (Step S430). The CPU 210 will then halt the feed of bills from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and reverse the following bills back into the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S435). Specifically, the CPU 210 will rotate the paper currency transport device 301 in reverse.
  • If the CPU 210 detects that the bill has reached the sensor 502 (Step S420: Yes), it will record the time t2 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 502 in the memory 220 (Step S440). The CPU 201 will then predict the time at which the bill will reach the sensor 503 (Step S445), and record this value to the memory 220 (Step S450). The distance between the sensor 502 and the sensor 503 is a known value, and since the transport speed by the paper currency transport devices 302, 303 is also known, if the time t2 of arrival of a bill at the sensor 502 is known it will be a simple matter to predict the time of arrival t3a at the sensor 503.
  • The CPU 210 will then wait for the bill to reach the sensor 503 (Step S455). If before the bill reaches the sensor 503 (Step S455: No) the elapsed time has passed t3a (Step S460: Yes), the CPU 210 will detect that delayed transport of the bill has occurred (Step S430). The CPU 210 will then halt the feed of bills from the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and reverse the following bills back into the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 (Step S435). Specifically, the CPU 210 will rotate the paper currency transport devices 301, 302 in reverse.
  • If the CPU 210 detects that the bill has reached the sensor 503 (Step S455: Yes), it will record the time t3 of arrival of the bill at the sensor 503 in the memory 220 (Step S465). The time t3 will be used to predict the time t4a of arrival of the bill at the next sensor. The subsequent process is a repeat of the above and will not be described.
  • According to the preferred embodiment, the CPU 210 can detect delayed transport of currency bills even before a bill reaches the next sensor. Accordingly, it will be possible to prevent jamming caused by overlapping paper currency bills in the event that, for example, the transport speed of a bill slows markedly for some reason during transport, or where it ceases to move at all.
  • In the preceding embodiment, if transport delay of a leading bill is detected, the CPU 210 will carry out control in such a way as to reverse the rotation of the paper currency transport devices so that the following bill will be conveyed in the reverse direction. However, it would also be possible, for example, to slow down the rotation speed of the paper currency transport devices so that the transport speed of the following bill becomes slower than the transport speed of the leading bill.
  • In the preceding description, there was no particular discussion of the spacing between currency bills as they are fed, but the CPU 210 may wait until a fed bill has reached the initial sensor 501 before feeding the next bill. This can prevent jamming caused by overlap of bills before reaching the initial sensor 501. The CPU 210 may also feed and control the transport of bills in such a way that two or more bills will never be present between neighboring sensors. This can prevent jamming caused by overlapping bills.
  • In the embodiment, sensors are positioned midway along the paper currency transport devices, but the sensors could instead be positioned between two neighboring paper currency transport devices. Since currency bill transport speed can be changed in before or after sensors, jamming caused by overlapping bills can be prevented.
  • With regard to sensors, the illustrative example and the preferred embodiment described three sensors positioned between the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250 and the paper currency discriminating unit 260; however, it would be possible for example to position multiple sensors on other paper currency transport paths, such as that between the paper currency discriminating unit 260 to the paper currency escrow repository 270, that between the paper currency escrow repository 270 and the paper currency accepting/dispensing unit 250, or that between the paper currency escrow repository 270 and the paper currency recovery repository 276 or the recycling repositories 278.
  • In the embodiment, a leading bill transported at slow speed will continue to be transported forward, but it would be possible for the leading bill to be returned to the feed source as well. When returning bills to the feed source, return may take place at a slower transport speed than normal.
  • While the invention has been shown herein based on certain preferred embodiments, the embodiments of the invention set forth herein are intended to facilitate understanding of the invention and should not be construed as limiting of the invention in any way. The intention is to cover all modifications and improvements falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (4)

  1. A paper sheet storage device comprising:
    a paper sheet transport unit having a transport path (350) for paper sheets;
    a paper sheet feeder (301-303) for feeding paper sheets onto the transport path (350);
    a plurality of sensors (501-503), disposed on the transport path (350), for detecting passage of a leading paper sheet, the plurality of the sensors (501-503) including first and second sensors that are disposed adjacently with each other; and
    a controller (210) for controlling the paper sheet transport unit and the paper sheet feeder (301-303),
    characterised by an arrival time predicting unit (228) for predicting, from a point in time (t1; t2) that the leading paper sheet passes the first sensor (501; 502), an arrival time (t2a; t3a) of the leading paper sheet at the second sensor (502; 503),
    wherein in the event that the leading paper sheet fails to arrive at the second sensor (502; 503) within a predetermined time interval starting from the predicted arrival time (t2a; t3a), the controller (210) is adapted to cause the paper sheet feeder (301-303) to halt the feed of following paper sheets, and operate in reverse a portion of the paper sheet transport unit, that is situated closer to the paper sheet feeder (301-303) than the first sensor (501; 502), while the leading paper sheet is continued to be transported forward.
  2. The paper sheet storage device according to claim 1, further comprising:
    a transport speed acquiring unit (226) for acquiring the speed of motion of a paper sheet based on a gap between first and second sensors, and a difference between the point in time (t1; t2) that the leading paper sheet passes the first sensor (501; 502) and another point in time (t2; t3) that the leading paper sheet passes the second sensor (502; 503).
  3. A method of controlling a paper sheet storage device comprising the steps of:
    feeding paper sheets from a paper sheet feeder (301-303);
    using a paper sheet transport unit to transport paper sheets;
    using a plurality of sensors (501-503) including first and second sensors that are disposed adjacently with each other to detect passage of a leading paper sheet;
    predicting, from a point in time (t1; t2) that the leading paper sheet passes the first sensor (501; 502), an arrival time (t2a; t3a) of the leading paper sheet at the second sensor (502; 503); and
    in the event that the leading paper sheet fails to arrive at the second sensor (502; 503) within a predetermined time interval starting from the predicted arrival time (t2a; t3a), causing the paper sheet feeder (301-303) to halt the feed of following paper sheets, and operating in reverse a portion of the paper sheet transport unit, that is situated closer to the paper sheet feeder (301-303) than the first sensor (501; 502), while the leading paper sheet is continued to be transported forward.
  4. A computer program, stored on a computer readable medium, for controlling a paper sheet storage device to carry out the method of claim 3 when being run by a computer.
EP08010926.7A 2007-09-12 2008-06-16 Paper sheet storage device and control method and control program for paper sheet storage device Not-in-force EP2036843B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2007236327A JP2009067513A (en) 2007-09-12 2007-09-12 Paper sheet storage device, and method and program for controlling the same

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2036843A2 EP2036843A2 (en) 2009-03-18
EP2036843A3 EP2036843A3 (en) 2011-08-31
EP2036843B1 true EP2036843B1 (en) 2014-06-25

Family

ID=40129693

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP08010926.7A Not-in-force EP2036843B1 (en) 2007-09-12 2008-06-16 Paper sheet storage device and control method and control program for paper sheet storage device

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US20090066017A1 (en)
EP (1) EP2036843B1 (en)
JP (1) JP2009067513A (en)
KR (1) KR101025246B1 (en)
CN (1) CN101388122B (en)
TW (2) TWI434232B (en)

Families Citing this family (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102008061530A1 (en) * 2008-12-10 2010-06-17 Wincor Nixdorf International Gmbh Method for filling at least one thin-walled transport container with at least one valuable item and device for storing at least one valuable item
BRPI1103612A2 (en) * 2011-07-20 2013-02-26 Tecnologia Bancaria Sa device and method for multi-application atm
EP2771188B1 (en) * 2011-10-24 2017-05-31 Bobst Mex Sa Setup method and arrangement for a printing machine
US8366105B1 (en) * 2011-12-27 2013-02-05 Xerox Corporation Motion quality by automatic velocity match between upstream and downstream transports
TWM448108U (en) * 2012-09-12 2013-03-01 Celestica Int Inc Circuit-board height adjusting and shock-absorbing structure and server having the circuit-board height adjusting and shock-absorbing structure
CN104058279B (en) * 2013-03-18 2016-10-05 株式会社东芝 Bill handling device
JP2014206438A (en) * 2013-04-12 2014-10-30 株式会社東芝 Detection device for fluorescence and afterglow, and paper sheet processing unit
CN104021613A (en) * 2014-04-30 2014-09-03 昆山古鳌电子机械有限公司 Banknote storage device capable of discriminating serial number of banknote
CN109071136B (en) * 2016-04-26 2020-04-03 富士通先端科技株式会社 Paper sheet processing apparatus and paper sheet processing method
CN106157466B (en) * 2016-07-25 2018-10-19 深圳怡化电脑股份有限公司 Bank note method for detecting residue and device
TWI602157B (en) * 2016-08-08 2017-10-11 鴻發國際科技股份有限公司 Convey path switching module and paper sheet handling apparatus
CN108961528B (en) * 2017-05-27 2021-04-13 山东新北洋信息技术股份有限公司 Coin separating device and separating method
TWI622961B (en) * 2017-06-27 2018-05-01 鴻發國際科技股份有限公司 Convey path switching module, paper sheet handling module and paper sheet handling apparatus
CN110288763B (en) * 2018-03-13 2021-05-07 山东新北洋信息技术股份有限公司 Paper money error-removing method and cash recycling processing equipment

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5667215A (en) * 1994-09-16 1997-09-16 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Paper conveying device
JP2000255842A (en) * 1999-03-09 2000-09-19 Ricoh Co Ltd Feeding paper control for image forming device and feeding paper controller

Family Cites Families (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS63306138A (en) * 1987-06-08 1988-12-14 Nec Corp Chain correcting mechanism
US5112038A (en) * 1991-07-01 1992-05-12 Eastman Kodak Company Feedback control for receiver member in-track registration in an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus or the like
JP3248972B2 (en) * 1993-04-07 2002-01-21 沖電気工業株式会社 Banknote deposit / withdrawal device
JP2995538B2 (en) * 1995-06-22 1999-12-27 沖電気工業株式会社 Paper handling equipment
JPH09114156A (en) * 1995-10-19 1997-05-02 Ricoh Co Ltd Image forming device
JP3540526B2 (en) * 1996-11-27 2004-07-07 株式会社東芝 Sheet processing apparatus, sheet cutting apparatus, and sheet processing method
US6644660B2 (en) * 2001-10-26 2003-11-11 Pitney Bowes Inc. Dynamic pitch correction for an output inserter subsystem
US6554275B1 (en) * 2001-12-04 2003-04-29 Unisys Corporation Method and system for document overlap/gap error detection and correction
US7308853B2 (en) * 2003-03-11 2007-12-18 Tohoku Ricoh Co., Ltd. Bulk paper feeding device with intermediate conveyor for image forming device
JP4366122B2 (en) * 2003-06-24 2009-11-18 日立オムロンターミナルソリューションズ株式会社 Paper sheet transport device
JP4184904B2 (en) * 2003-09-03 2008-11-19 株式会社東芝 Paper sheet separating and conveying device
JP4634073B2 (en) * 2004-06-29 2011-02-16 マミヤ・オーピー株式会社 Paper sheet identification device and identification method
JP4469671B2 (en) * 2004-07-09 2010-05-26 株式会社東芝 Paper sheet take-out device
JP4643296B2 (en) * 2005-02-08 2011-03-02 日立オムロンターミナルソリューションズ株式会社 Bill discrimination device
GB2429767B (en) * 2005-09-06 2010-05-12 Int Currency Tech Banknote output control device that prevents supply of stacked banknotes
JP2007153560A (en) * 2005-12-06 2007-06-21 Fuji Xerox Co Ltd Sheet feeder and image forming device

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5667215A (en) * 1994-09-16 1997-09-16 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Paper conveying device
JP2000255842A (en) * 1999-03-09 2000-09-19 Ricoh Co Ltd Feeding paper control for image forming device and feeding paper controller

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
TWI365426B (en) 2012-06-01
TW200912807A (en) 2009-03-16
JP2009067513A (en) 2009-04-02
KR20090027563A (en) 2009-03-17
EP2036843A2 (en) 2009-03-18
EP2036843A3 (en) 2011-08-31
CN101388122B (en) 2013-03-20
US20090066017A1 (en) 2009-03-12
TW201246132A (en) 2012-11-16
TWI434232B (en) 2014-04-11
CN101388122A (en) 2009-03-18
KR101025246B1 (en) 2011-03-29

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
EP2036843B1 (en) Paper sheet storage device and control method and control program for paper sheet storage device
US7357303B2 (en) Bill handling apparatus
US7950655B2 (en) Apparatus and method for controlling various kinds of paper media with skew sensing
EP2503519B1 (en) Money handling apparatus
JP5547702B2 (en) Bill front / back alignment apparatus and bill front / back alignment method
JP2995538B2 (en) Paper handling equipment
WO2015019696A1 (en) Paper sheet handling device
AU2023266292A1 (en) Banknote deposit-withdrawal system and architecture
JP3212673B2 (en) Banknote jam recovery method and recovery device
JPH01256435A (en) Cash automatic handling device
JP2006315801A (en) Paper sheet carrying device
JP2019109644A (en) Automated machine monitoring apparatus
KR20100080189A (en) Aligning method for paper money separated from temporary stacker of atm
JP3626289B2 (en) Money handling equipment
US11847878B2 (en) Banknote handling apparatus, banknote storage method, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium
KR102109030B1 (en) Automated teller machine comprising single belt system
KR101203762B1 (en) Bill handling apparatus and bill handling method
JP2006184991A (en) Cash automatic transaction device
JP2008305309A (en) Conveying device and money processor
JPH11265472A (en) Automatic teller machine
KR20240083519A (en) Operation method of bill transfer gates of ATM
KR20090096819A (en) Media deposit apparatus and method for controlliing the same
JP2019175079A (en) Coin processing machine
KR20090008756A (en) Method for controlling the rotation of stack wheel in atm
JP2001048416A (en) Coin processing device

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A2

Designated state(s): AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MT NL NO PL PT RO SE SI SK TR

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Extension state: AL BA MK RS

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20100331

PUAL Search report despatched

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009013

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A3

Designated state(s): AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MT NL NO PL PT RO SE SI SK TR

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Extension state: AL BA MK RS

RIC1 Information provided on ipc code assigned before grant

Ipc: B65H 7/18 20060101AFI20110725BHEP

AKX Designation fees paid

Designated state(s): AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MT NL NO PL PT RO SE SI SK TR

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 20120613

GRAP Despatch of communication of intention to grant a patent

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNIGR1

INTG Intention to grant announced

Effective date: 20140103

GRAS Grant fee paid

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNIGR3

GRAA (expected) grant

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009210

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: B1

Designated state(s): AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MT NL NO PL PT RO SE SI SK TR

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: GB

Ref legal event code: FG4D

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: CH

Ref legal event code: EP

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: AT

Ref legal event code: REF

Ref document number: 674527

Country of ref document: AT

Kind code of ref document: T

Effective date: 20140715

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: IE

Ref legal event code: FG4D

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R096

Ref document number: 602008032934

Country of ref document: DE

Effective date: 20140814

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: NO

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140925

Ref country code: FI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: GR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140926

Ref country code: CY

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: LT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: AT

Ref legal event code: MK05

Ref document number: 674527

Country of ref document: AT

Kind code of ref document: T

Effective date: 20140625

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: NL

Ref legal event code: VDEP

Effective date: 20140625

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: LT

Ref legal event code: MG4D

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: HR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: LV

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: SE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: RO

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: ES

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: SK

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: PT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20141027

Ref country code: EE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: CZ

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: NL

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: PL

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: AT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: IS

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20141025

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R097

Ref document number: 602008032934

Country of ref document: DE

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DK

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

Ref country code: IT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

PLBE No opposition filed within time limit

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009261

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: NO OPPOSITION FILED WITHIN TIME LIMIT

26N No opposition filed

Effective date: 20150326

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: BE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: SI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: MC

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: CH

Ref legal event code: PL

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: LU

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20150616

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: IE

Ref legal event code: MM4A

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: FR

Ref legal event code: ST

Effective date: 20160229

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: IE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20150616

Ref country code: LI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20150630

Ref country code: CH

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20150630

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: FR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20150630

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: MT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: HU

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT; INVALID AB INITIO

Effective date: 20080616

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: BG

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20150630

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DE

Payment date: 20170613

Year of fee payment: 10

Ref country code: GB

Payment date: 20170614

Year of fee payment: 10

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: TR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20140625

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R119

Ref document number: 602008032934

Country of ref document: DE

GBPC Gb: european patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 20180616

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20190101

Ref country code: GB

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20180616