FR2703665A1 - Pneumatic conveyor for transporting money - Google Patents

Abstract

Pneumatic conveyor (1) for transporting solid objects. The conveyor (1) uses a pneumatic transportation line (3) arranged between at least two stationary receptacles (4) for receiving solid objects which can be sucked along pneumatically and are supplied under gravity from at least one terminal for collecting the said objects, a buffer volume (5) and at least one machine for counting the money (14) characterised in that it includes a movable container (9) mounted so as to slide on a rolling path (10) so as to be able to move under the receptacles (4), the said container (9) is connected to the line (3) by means of a flexible hose (11) and each stationary receptacle (4) is equipped with a trap door (hatch) (12) which can be manoeuvred remotely using a control means (13). Application to conveying coins originating from automatic collection terminals arranged, for example, at motorway toll booths, car parks, hypermarkets, and for all similar objects which can be sucked along pneumatically.

Description

 The present invention relates to a pneumatic conveyor for transporting solid and aspirable objects such as coins.

 The conveyor uses a suction tube placed between at least two fixed tanks for receiving and storing solid objects, supplied directly by gravity or by another means of transferring solid objects, from at least one collection terminal and s applies to the storage and handling of coin receipts at highway toll stations, casino gambling halls, car parks and any other place where a large quantity of coins is to be stored and counted.

 The known means for storing money include cassettes each containing a small quantity of coins so that they can be easily handled; these cassettes are placed on trolleys then transported and emptied individually in the counting machines.

 This solution requires a lot of handling staff, unpleasant work and does not adapt well to the security and confidentiality constraints linked to counting operations.

 Another known solution involves grouping all the receipts in a large vat, then transporting them by conveyor belt to a coin counter.

 This device, in addition to the use of heavy and bulky equipment, has the drawback of blocking the entire counting process during the failure of a single element (carpet, motor, bearing).

 In addition, it does not allow easy detection of the source of any loss of revenue due to the grouping into a single tank.

 Other documents also propose pneumatic or non-pneumatic conveyors for transporting coins.

 Document FR-A-2.637.103 relates to an automatic toll collector for a toll road which is characterized in that it comprises a box inserted into the body of the toll collector to receive coins thrown into a reception entrance coins, a series of identification number holes formed in a lower surface of the box in the direction of introduction of the box, a proximity detector intended to identify the number placed in the part coming opposite the bottom of the body of the toll collector body to detect the presence of holes in the identification number.

 This document proposes as innovation only a collection terminal containing, within it, a safe.

 The document FR-A-2.645.669 relates to a system for emptying, into a collecting container, of a coin receiving apparatus which relates to an apparatus comprising a box comprising at its lower end a drainage opening provided with 'a hatch, said collecting container comprising at its upper end a collecting head comprising a fixing member making it possible to introduce it into additional means for fixing said device under said box, characterized in that the collecting head is provided with a coded identifier member identifying the collecting container, said apparatus comprising a reader, suitable for said member, and connected to an electronic decoding, processing and control circuit providing, if the coded identifier member is recognized as valid, an unlocking order for said hatch.

 The document FR-A-2,669,138 relates to a device which comprises a receptacle which is fixed under the apparatus which has an opening closed by a sliding bottom. The receptacle also has an opening equipped with a sliding hatch. The sliding bottom of the device is locked in the closed position by a locking means moved by a safety lock by means of a safety key secured to the receptacle, the key being able to be inserted into the lock only when the receptacle is fixed under the appliance. The receptacle comprises means making it possible to keep the sliding hatch open and means cooperating with said key so that the introduction of the key into said lock irreversibly causes the beginning of closing of the sliding hatch, the end of the closure occurring during the withdrawal of the key from the lock.

 These last two documents relate only to the field of setting up a receptacle under a collection terminal, which should be emptied.

 The three documents of the state of the art which have just been described, all require the manual intervention of personnel with enhanced security.

Finally, the document FR-A-2,639,336 of the applicant relates to a pneumatic conveyor for small suction parts, which comprises
- a buffer box located below the normal parts recovery point, said buffer box has the function of releasing the parts by gravity at random,
- a safe that acts as a flow regulator,
- a suction tube which connects the flow regulator box to a set of separation boxes,
- a set of separation boxes which acts as an airlock to separate the aspirable objects from the vacuum circuit,
- mobile boxes for receiving, storing and handling vacuum objects.

 According to the latter document, there is, between each collection terminal and the two reception boxes, a pneumatic conveyor per collection terminal.

 A characteristic of the invention is constituted by a receptacle of conical shape, moving on a rail under the hatches for emptying the tanks, and connected, by means of partially flexible piping, to a pneumatic transport tube up to a counting machine.

 This receptacle is positioned, at the request of the cashier or the staff in charge of counting money, under the tank to be emptied.

 The pneumatic transport system chosen has the particularity of being of variable flow at the outlet so as not to saturate the counting machine and thus risk an overflow of money.

 Only one operator is required to empty and count the tanks.

 To this end, the invention provides a pneumatic conveyor for the transport of solid aspirable objects, such as coins, of the type using a pneumatic transport line disposed between at least two fixed tanks for receiving and storing solid objects. aspirable, fed directly by gravity or by another means of transferring said aspirable solid objects, from at least one collection terminal, a buffer volume where an airlock maintains the vacuum created by a suction turbine while releasing the solid objects, and at least one coin counting machine characterized in that it comprises a movable receptacle mounted to slide on a raceway such as a rail, so as to be able to move under the fixed receiving and storage tanks, said receptacle is connected to the pneumatic conveying line by means of a flexible hose, and each fixed tank is equipped with a hatch which can be operated manually or distance by means of control.

 The pneumatic transport line is connected to a counting machine or any other means of processing money.

 The movable receptacle slides on the rail by means of guide rollers, its movement is ensured by means of a drive belt connected to an indexed gearmotor.

 The flexible hose is made of an abrasion resistant material.

 The means of displacement of the mobile receptacle is controlled by the person in charge of the conveyor which places said mobile receptacle under the hatch of the fixed tank to be emptied.

 An electronic control-command device ensures the management of the conveyor and the opening action of the hatches when the receptacle is automatically positioned under the fixed tank to be emptied which is selected.

 The capacity of a fixed tank corresponds to at least one day of recipes.

 The airlock consists of a rotary valve with variable speed so as to control the flow rate of the supply of aspirable solid objects to the counting machine.

 The bottom of the fixed tank is inclined to allow the complete emptying of solid objects as soon as the hatch is opened; the receptacle is conical and provided inside with inclined fingers so as to allow a dispersion of said solid objects for a better supply of the flexible pipe.

 Each collection point, or other means of transferring solid aspirable objects, alternately supplies two fixed tanks, the capacity of each of which corresponds to at least one day of revenue.

 The attached drawings are given as indicative and non-limiting examples. They represent a preferred embodiment according to the invention. They will allow the invention to be easily understood.

 Figure 1 shows an overview of the pneumatic conveyor according to the invention.

 2 shows a sectional view along A-A of Figure 1 at a fixed receiving and storage tank whose hatch is closed.

 3 shows a sectional view along BB of Figure 1 at a fixed receiving and storage tank and the underlying movable receptacle, the tank and said receptacle cooperating together, so that the hatch of said tank is open.

 Finally, Figure 4 shows a longitudinal sectional view along C-C of Figure 1, at the buffer volume and the airlock.

 The pneumatic conveyor 1 is used for the transport of solid aspirable objects 2, such as, for example, coins from highway toll stations, casino gambling halls, parking boxes or the like.

 Said conveyor 1 uses numerous mechanical and / or electronic elements mounted in series according to the route that the coins 2 will have to perform.

 The first element, which is not referenced here, is formed by a toll station with regard to tolls and parking lots, a slot machine with regard to casinos, or the like.

 The arrows F1 show that the parts 2 fall, by simple gravity, into the next underlying element, that is to say a fixed receiving and storage tank 4.

 It should be noted that several assemblies each formed by a collection terminal or a slot machine and by a tank 4 are mounted in parallel with each other.

 The following element is characteristic, it is the mobile receiver 9 which offers the possibility of moving, along a raceway 10 formed by a rail, longitudinally under the tanks 4, according to the arrows F2 or F3 in FIG. 1 .

 The movement of the receptacle 9 relative to the rail 10 is due to a belt 16, driven by an indexed gear motor 17 at the level of the rail 10 and guide rollers 15 at the level of said movable receptacle 9.

 As seen in FIG. 3, the rollers 15 roll in the two lower and upper grooves of the rail 10.

 Thus, the movable receptacle 9 can be moved from a fixed tank 4 emptied to a fixed tank 4 to be emptied.

 Said receptacle 9 cooperates with the flexible pipe 11 which allows the displacement of the receptacle 9.

 In FIG. 1, said flexible pipe 11 is extended in the form of a pneumatic conveying line 3.

 The pipe 11 and the transport line are formed from a hermetic material, so that the pneumatic effect creates an ideal suction of the coins 2, and from an abrasion-resistant material, to avoid any deterioration due to the transfer of said coins 2.

 According to FIG. 4, the parts 2, coming from the pneumatic conveying line 3 according to arrow F4, end up in the buffer volume 5.

 The depression is created by the suction turbine 7 in FIG. 1, it is shown diagrammatically by the arrow F5.

 The vacuum being less than gravity in the buffer volume 5, the parts 2 fall to the level of the airlock 6, which is formed by a rotary lock 19, the speed of rotation of which is a function of the flow of parts 2 which the we want to obtain at the level of an underlying counting machine 14.

 The counting machine 14 cooperates with receiving bags 8.

 All these elements form the basic structure of the pneumatic conveyor 1, however the general operation of said conveyor 1 requires certain adjustments.

 Thus, each fixed tank 4 has at its bottom an opening which is, depending on the presence or not of the movable conveyor 1, closed by an emptying hatch 12 actuated by a control means 13 such as a jack.

 If the mobile conveyor 1 is absent, the hatch 12 is closed so that the parts 2 remain inside the fixed tank 4, this is what is shown in FIG. 2.

 If the mobile conveyor 1 is present, as in FIG. 3, the hatch 12 is then opened and the parts 2 are then evacuated towards the receptacle 9.

 The movement of the mobile receptacle 9 is controlled by the person in charge of the conveyor 1, who can place said mobile receptacle 9 under the hatch 12 of the tank 4, which he has decided to empty.

 This control can be manual or automatic, that is to say performed remotely.

 The distance between the place of automatic ordering and the place of reception of the parts, can be a few meters, a few hundred meters, so that the working conditions of the personnel are improved.

 The management of the conveyor 1 is the result of a control-command device 18.

 This management concerns the selection of the tanks 4 to be emptied, the movement of the receptacle 9, the opening of the hatch 12, the creation of the vacuum by the suction turbine 7 and the speed of rotation of the rotary lock 19.

 The receptacle 9, as shown in FIG. 3, has internally inclined fingers 20 which make it possible to break the mass of coins 2 which come from the tank 4 during emptying.

 Each fixed tank 4 has a volume making it possible to contain at least one day of recipes.

 According to one embodiment of the invention, a collection terminal corresponds to two tanks 4 so that when one of the tanks 4 is full or its programmed filling time has ended, the other tank 4 receives at its turn 2 coins, and vice versa.

 The tanks 4 have an inclined bottom which facilitates emptying thereof, when the doors 12 are open; in the same way, the receptacle 9 is conical in its lower part, which avoids rebounds of the parts 2.

 The operation of the pneumatic conveyor 1 is simple.

 The collection terminals, not referenced here, supply the fixed receiving and storage tanks 4 located in protected premises.

 The metering room can be located on a different level and away from the tank room.

 From this room, the cashier selects, on the display screen of the system management computer 18, the tank 4 to be emptied.

 The conical receptacle 9 is positioned automatically under the selected tank 4 and the hatch 12 begins to open, releasing the parts 2 in the pneumatic conveying line 11 and 3.

 It is understood that these operations can be carried out manually if this is the choice of the cashier or if some system failure requires it.

 By the action of the conveying suction, the parts 2 arrive in the buffer volume 5 where the airlock 6 maintains the vacuum while releasing the parts 2.

 This airlock 6 consists of the rotary lock 19 at variable speed.

 The cashier acts on the speed of lock 19 to follow the counting flow of the counting machine 14.

 The tank 4 being empty and the pieces 2 counted, the cashier can select another tank 4.

 The emptying hatch 12 closes and the conical receptacle 9 is positioned in front of the new tank 4 selected and a new emptying cycle can begin.

 In order not to disturb the counting by the arrival of new coins 2, the cashier can either stop during the emptying, the collection terminal, or have a second tank 4 per collection terminal, which fills while the first is counted.

 No handling of the cashier is necessary during the transfer.

 Any attempt to cut the pneumatic conveying line 3 immediately causes the aspiration and therefore the supply of the parts 2 to stop.

REFERENCES 1. Pneumatic conveyor 2. Solid vacuum objects or coins 3. Pneumatic conveying line 4. Fixed receiving and storage tanks 5. Buffer volume 6. Airlock 7. Suction turbine 8. Receiving bags 9. Receptacle mobile 10. Track or rail 11. Flexible hose 12. Tank emptying hatch 13. Hatch or cylinder control means 14. Counting machine 15. Movable receptacle guide rollers 16. Drive belt 17. Indexed gearmotor 18. Control-command device 19. Rotary valve 20. Inclined internal fingers of the movable receptacle
F1. Direction of solid objects that can be sucked in from collection points, slot machines, or other
F2, F3. Moving the movable receptacle under the fixed tanks
F4. Arrival of solid aspirable objects, coming from the pneumatic conveying line, in the buffer volume.

F5. Depression

Claims (10)

 1. Pneumatic conveyor (1) for transporting solid aspirable objects (2), such as coins of the type using a pneumatic transport line (3) disposed between at least two fixed receiving and storage tanks (4 ) solid aspirable objects (2), fed directly by gravity or by another means of transferring said solid aspirable objects (2), from at least one collection terminal, a buffer volume (5) where an airlock (6) maintains the vacuum created by a suction turbine (7) while releasing solid objects (2), and at least one coin counting machine (14) characterized by the fact  that it includes  - a mobile receptacle (9) slidably mounted on a raceway (10) such as a rail, so as to be able to move under the fixed receiving and storage tanks (4),  said receptacle (9) is connected to the pneumatic conveying line (3) by means of a flexible pipe (11), and  - Each fixed tank (4) is equipped with a hatch (12) which can be operated manually or remotely by a control means (13).  2. Conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that  that the pneumatic conveying line (3) is connected to a counting machine (14) or any other means of processing money.  3. Conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that  the movable receptacle (9) slides on the rail (10) by means of guide rollers (15), its movement is ensured by means of a drive belt (16) connected to an indexed gearmotor (17) .  4. Conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that  that the flexible pipe (11) is made of an abrasion resistant material.  5. Conveyor according to any one of claims 1 or 3, characterized in that  that the means for moving the mobile receptacle (9) is controlled by the person in charge of the conveyor (1) which places said mobile receptacle (9) under the hatch (12) of the fixed tank (4) to be emptied.  6. Conveyor according to claim 5, characterized in that  that an electronic control-command device (18) manages the conveyor (1) and the action of opening the doors (12) when the receptacle (9) is positioned automatically under the fixed tank (4) to be emptied which is selected.  7. Conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that  that the capacity of a fixed tank (4) corresponds to at least one day of receipts.  8. Conveyor according to claim 2, characterized in that  that the airlock (6) consists of a rotary valve (19) at variable speed so as to control the flow rate of the supply of suckable solid objects (2) to the counting machine (14).  9. Conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that  the bottom of the fixed tank (4) is inclined to allow the complete emptying of solid objects (2) as soon as the hatch (12) is open, and  that the receptacle (9) is conical and provided inside with inclined fingers (20) so as to allow a dispersion of said solid objects (2) for a better supply of the flexible hose (11).  10. Conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that  that each collection terminal, or other means of transferring aspirable solid objects (2), alternately supplies two fixed tanks (4), the capacity of each of which corresponds to at least one day of revenue.