GB2198122A

GB2198122A - Sheet store loading apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2198122A
Application number: GB08628665A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Robert Burge
Original assignee: De la Rue Systems Ltd
Current assignee: De la Rue Systems Ltd
Priority date: 1986-12-01
Filing date: 1986-12-01
Publication date: 1988-06-08
Also published as: GB8628665D0

Abstract

The loading system has two transport belts (3, 4) between which a sheet or stack of sheets (10) can be supported, and is movable relative to a sheet store (9) alongside an opening in the sheet store, causing the belts (3, 4) to feed out a sheet or sheets (10) supported between them into the sheet store opening. <IMAGE>

Description

SHEET STORE LOADING APPARATUS The invention relates to sheet store loading apparatus, particularly for use in loading banknotes into cassette stores.

There are many existing systems for loading sheets such as banknotes, vouchers, tickets and the like into sheet stores. However, particularly in the case of flimsy sheets, problems of misfeeding occur requiring partial or complete disassembly of the loading system to enable the mix feed to be overcome. This is particularly undesirable in the case of banknotes since it enables access to be obtained to a partially loaded cassette.

In accordance with the present invention, sheet store loading apparatus comprises a loading system positioned adjacent a sheet store support, the loading system having at least one sheet transport device on which a sheet or stack of sheets can be supported, the loading system and the sheet store support being relatively movable between first and second positions such that during the relative movement the sheet transport device traverses alongside an opening in a sheet store held in the sheet store support in use, whereby relative movement between the loading system and the sheet store support from the first position to the second position causes the transport device to feed out a sheet or sheets supported thereon into the sheet store opening.

This apparatus deals with the problems mentioned above by feeding sheets from the loading system at the same time as causing the loading system to traverse the sheet store opening. In this way, sheets are carefully laid down into the store and thus the risk of misfeeds due to bending of the sheets is reduced.

In some examples, a single sheet transport device may be provided. Typically, such a single transport device would be provided by a guide member having one or more apertures coupled with an evacuation system so that sheets were held on the guide member by suction.

Preferably, however, the loading system comprises a pair of sheet transport devices, the devices defining opposed, movable sheet guides between which a sheet or stack of sheets can be held. This arrangement is particularly advantageous since it enables complete control over the sheets to be maintained during the loading operation. In particular the sheet guides do not move relatively to the sheets.

Relative movement between the loading system and the sheet store support may be detected in a number of ways and this detection used to control operation of the or each transport device. Conveniently, however, the or each sheet transport device comprises a roller driven by a belt connected to part of the apparatus fixed relatively to the sheet store support whereby relative movement between the loading system and the sheet store support causes the belt to drive the roller in the feed direction. With this arrangement, a mechanical connection exists between the loading system and the sheet store support such that movement of the loading system relatively to the sheet store support automatically causes movement of the or each transport device.

Conveniently, the or each belt is entrained around the outer periphery of the corresponding roller of the loading sytem so as to engage sheets in use. The advantage of this arrangement is that when the sheet store loading the apparatus is associated with other sheet feeding apparatus, the belts may form part of the sheet feeding apparatus which feeds sheets to the loading system.

In some arrangements, relative movement between the loading system and the sheet store support between the second and first positions may also be accompanied by the feeding of a sheet into the store. Preferably, however, the apparatus further comprises separation means to prevent interference between sheets in a store held in the sheet store support in use and the loading system during relative movement between the loading system and the store support from the second position to the first position. This is particularly convenient where the store includes a spring loaded member which urges sheets in the store towards the opening.

The apparatus according to the invention may further comprise a sheet escrow system operable to feed sheets from an escrow position to the loading system. An escrow system is a mechanism for collecting sequentially received documents in a predetermined or random quantity, for subsequent movement of the documents as a stack or bundle.

In one particularly convenient arrangement, part of the escrow system is provided by the loading system.

This may most conveniently be achieved when the or each transport device includes a belt engaging sheets in use.

The sheet store loading apparatus according to the invention is particularly useful as part of sheet feeding apparatus which further comprises a sheet stack support on which a stack of sheets is positioned in use; and sheet transport means, the sheet transport means and the sheet stack support being relatively movable between first and second positions, whereby when the sheet transport means and the sheet stack support are in the first position, sheets may be stacked onto the sheet stack support, and when the sheet transport means and the sheet stack support are in the second position, sheets on the sheet stack support are engaged by the sheet transport means which is operable thereafter to convey the stack of sheets to the sheet store loading apparatus.

In order that the invention may be better understood, two embodiments of cash acceptors incorporating banknote store loading apparatus according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures lA-1D illustrate schematically the operation of the sheet store loading apparatus; Figure 2 is a schematic side view of part of a first embodiment of a cash acceptor; and, Figure 3 is a schematic side view of part of a second embodiment of a cash acceptor.

The principle of operation of the sheet store loading apparatus is illustrated in Figure 1. The sheet store loading apparatus comprises a pair of rollers 1, 2 about which is entrained an endless belt 3. Only part of the belt 3 is shown in Figure 1 with the remainder of the belt passing around one or more other rollers (not shown). A second belt 4 extends alongside the belt 3 to define a transport path 5 for carrying a stack of banknotes to a loading position 6. The belt 4 is entrained around a number of rollers one of which 7 is shown. A guide 8 is schematically illustrated and is positioned as shown in Figure 1A. A banknote cassette 9 is positioned beneath the apparatus and has an upwardly opening inlet slot (not shown).

The rollers 1, 2, 7 are mounted on a carriage (not shown) which is movable relatively to the remainder of the apparatus and relatively to the cassette 9 in a direction parallel with the inlet slot of the cassette.

At least one of the rollers around which the belts 3, 4 are entrained is mounted to a housing part of the apparatus separate from the carriage and fixed relatively to the cassette 9.

In operation, a stack of banknotes is fed by rotating the rollers 1, 2, 7 and hence the belts 3, 4 along the feed path 5 to the loading position 6. At this position, rotation of the rollers is stopped.

The carriage is then moved to the right, as seen in the drawings which causes the rollers 1, 2, 7 to roll along the belts 3, 4 respectively since these belts are held stationary due to their being entrained around other rollers fixed to the housing part of the apparatus. This movement of the carriage effectively moves the belt 3 away from the stack of banknotes 10 while the roller 7 rolls over the top of the stack 10. This is shown in Figure 1B. Continued movement of the carriage, as shown in Figure 1C, causes more of the stack of banknotes 10 to be laid down into the cassette 9 with the belt 3 continuing to be retracted while the roller 7 rolls over more of the stack. During this movement, the guide 8 prevents any curled banknotes from folding.

Finally, as shown in Figure 1D, the full stack of banknotes 10 is laid down into the cassettte 9 and the carriage is at its rightmost position. The carriage is then retracted back to the position shown in Figure 1A to enable a further sheet stack to be loaded into the cassette 9.

The cassette 9 includes a spring loaded plate 11 (Figure 1D) against which the stack of banknotes 10 is pushed. Typically, there will be at least one laterally extending flange on the cassette 9 which overlaps the plate member 11 so that the stack of sheets 10 is sandwiched between the plate member 11 and the flange.

It will be appreciated that a high degree of security is ensured and the generation of misfeeds and jams is significantly reduced due to the manner in which sheets are laid down. In particular, it should be noted that the belts 3, 4 do not move relatively to the stack 10 as the stack is loaded into the cassette 9.

In this specification, a "stack of sheets" may comprise one or more sheets.

An example of a cash acceptor incorporating a cassette loading system similar to that shown in Figure 1 is partially illustrated in Figure 2. The cash acceptor has a stacking station 12 of conventional form including a stacker wheel 13 rotatably mounted to the apparatus and having a series of radially extending tines 14.

Banknotes are fed to the stacking wheel 13 from a cash accepting position (not shown). The stacking wheel 13 rotates and cooperates with a stripper plate (not shown) to deposit the banknotes in a stack 15 on a stacking plate 16. Adjacent the stacking position 12 is positioned a slidable carriage (not shown) on which are mounted a number of rollers 17-24, and 27. A belt 25 is entrained around the rollers 17, 18 while a belt 26 is entrained around the rollers 19,20 and the roller 27.

A belt 28 is entrained around rollers 21, 22 and is fixed at 29 to the housing part of the apparatus. In a similar way a belt 30 is entrained around rollers 23, 24 and fixed at 31 to the housing. A guide 8 (similar to that of Figure 1) is mounted to the carriage.

A further belt 32 is entrained about rollers 33, 34 which are rotatably mounted to the housing part of the apparatus.

A banknote cassette 35 is positioned in the support 35' and includes a pressure plate 36 urged in an upwards direction by a compression spring 37.

It should be understood that the belts 28, 30 are aligned with each other and are laterally offset from the belts 26, 32 respectively.

In operation, a stack of sheets 15 is formed at the stacking position 12. The carriage is then moved to the right, as seen in Figure 2, which due to ramp members (not shown) mounted to the housing part of the apparatus causes the rollers 18, 19 to move apart during the rightward movement so that they are positioned on either side of the stack 15.

In one arrangement, where a single belt 25 and a single belt 26 are provided, the plate 16 may be formed in two laterally spaced parts with the belts 25, 26 engaging the stack 15 between the two plate parts.

Alternatively, if a pair of belts 25 and a pair of belts 26 are provided laterally offset from each other, these could be positioned on either side of a single plate 16 having a dimension smaller than the width of the stack 15. Once the stack 15 has been engaged, the carriage is moved to the left to carry the stack of banknotes 15 between the belts 25, 26 to the position shown at 15'.

At this point, the rollers 19, 34 are rotated in the direction shown by the arrows to cause the stack of banknotes to be moved from position 15' to the loading position 15". Upon detection of the arrival of the stack at this position rotation of the rollers 19, 34 and hence the belts 26, 32 is stopped. Operation of the apparatus will typically be under the control of a suitably programmed microcomputer.

The stack of banknotes at the loading position 15" are then laid down into the cassette 35 in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 1. Thus, the carriage is once again moved to the right causing the roller 23 to ride over the stack at the loading position while the rollers 20, 21 (and the roller 19) retract away from the loading position allowing the stack to be gradually laid down into the cassette. After the initial movement, the upper sheet in the cassette will be engaged by a portion of the belt 30 to provide close control over the sheets in the cassette.

Once the stack has been laid down into the cassette 35, the carriage is caused to return to its original position (shown in Figure 2) and to avoid a risk of jamming, the belt 28 gradually extends across the opening into the cassette 35 as the belt 30 is retracted.

It will be appreciated that this movement of the carriage to load a stack of sheets into the cassette 35 can be used at the same time to pick up a new stack of sheets at the stacking position 12 as previously described. In this way, a relatively rapid action for the loading system is achieved.

A second example of a cash acceptor incorporating a cassette loading device similar to that shown in Figure 1 is illustrated in Figure 3. This comprises a housing (not shown) to which are rotatably mounted a number of rollers 38-41. A belt 42 is entrained around the rollers 38, 39 while a belt 43 is entrained around the rollers 40, 41. The belts 42, 43 define an inlet feed path 44 in alignment with an inlet aperture 45 extending through a wall of the housing (not shown). The feed path 44 is associated with a banknote validator of conventional form. The feed path 44 communicates via a pivoted diverter 46 with a feed path 47 defined between a pair of belts 48, 49. The belt 48 is entrained around a roller coaxial with the roller 40 and rollers 50, 51 rotatably mounted to the housing. The belt 48 is also entrained around a roller 52 rotatably mounted to a carriage (not shown) slidably mounted to the housing. The belt 49 is entrained around rollers 53-55 rotatably mounted to the housing and rollers 56-58 rotatably mounted to the carriage. An escrow store 59 is positioned upstream of the feed path 47 and is defined by the belt 49 and a belt 60. The belt 60 is entrained around a roller (not shown) coaxial with the roller 39 and rollers 61, 62 rotatably mounted to the housing.

The carriage is slidably mounted to the housing and is supported at one end by a guide rod 63 fixed to the carriage and slidably received in a sleeve 64 fixed to the housing. At the other end, the carriage has a sleeve 65 which slidably receives the guide rod 66 fixed to the housing and a second, internally screw-threaded sleeve 67 mounted to the carriage and which receives a lead screw 68. The lead screw 68 is connected to a motor 69 mounted to the housing for rotating the lead screw. A guide 70 similar to the diverter 8 of Figure 1 is provided on the carriage.

A cassette support 71 supports a banknote cassette 72 similar to the cassette 35 of Figure 2.

A guard belt 73 extends around a pulley 74 rotatably mounted to the carriage and coaxial with the pulley 56 and is fixed to the housing at 75. The guard belt 73 also extends around a pulley 76 rotatably mounted to the carriage and is fixed to the carriage at 77.

A sensor 78 is positioned to detect the arrival of a stack of banknotes at the cassette loading position 79.

The output signals from the sensor 78 are coupled with a controlling microcomputer (not shown) which is also connected to control the motor 69.

In operation, banknotes are fed singly through the entry slot 45 into the feed path 44 where they are validated. After validation, the banknotes are guided by the diverter 46 and upon movement of the belts 42, 43 into the feed path 47. The belts 48, 49 are then driven to convey the banknote back to the escrow position 59 past the diverter 46. If the banknote has been found to be invalid, the belts 60, 49 are rotated to dispense the banknote from a reject aperture 80. If the banknote is accepted, it is held at the escrow position 59. If a further banknote is to be received, this is then fed through the aperture 45 and validated as before.As this banknote is fed out from the feed path 44 past the diverter 46, the belt 60 is also activated to feed the previously accepted banknote from the escrow position past the diverter 46 so that the new banknote is stacked onto the banknote from the escrow position. This process can then be repeated until all the banknotes have been stacked at the escrow position.

Thereafter, the stack of banknotes is fed by movement of the belts 60, 48, 49 to pass the stack to the loading position 79. The arrival of the leading edge of the stack at the loading position is detected by the detector 78 upon which determination the microcomputer stops movement of the feed belts.

At this point, the motor 69 is actuated to turn the lead screw 68 which draws the carriage in an upwards direction as indicated by an arrow 81. This movement of the carriage is accompanied by movement of the rollers 52, 56, 58, 67, and 74 causing the stack of banknotes at the loading position to be gradually laid down into the cassette 72 as in Figure 1. In addition, during this movement, the belt 73 is gradually retracted from its position in which it covers the opening into the cassette 72. It should be appreciated that during this movement, the belt 48 will be forced by the roller 52 into engagement with the top most sheet of the stack in the cassette so that at all times the top most sheet is engaged by one or both of the belts 73, 48.

Once the new stack has been loaded into the cassette 72, the lead screw 68 is driven in a reverse direction causing the carriage to return to the position shown in Figure 3.

Claims

1. Sheet store loading apparatus comprising a loading system positioned adjacent a sheet store support, the loading system having at least one sheet transport device on which a sheet or stack of sheets can be supported, the loading system and the sheet store support being relatively movable between first and second positions such that during the relative movement the sheet transport device traverses alongside an opening in a sheet store held in the sheet store support in use, whereby relative movement between the loading system and the sheet store support from the first position to the second position causes the transport device to feed out a sheet or sheets supported thereon into the sheet store opening.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the loading system comprises a pair of sheet transport devices, the devices defining opposed, movable sheet guides between which a sheet or stack of sheets can be held.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the or each sheet transport device comprises a roller driven by a belt connected to part of the apparatus fixed relatively to the sheet store support whereby relative movement between the loading system and the sheet store support causes the belt to drive the roller in the feed direction.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the or each belt is entrained around a roller rotatably mounted to part of the apparatus fixed relatively to the sheet store support.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the or each belt is entrained around the outer periphery of the corresponding roller of the loading sytem so as to engage sheets in use.

6. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising separation means to prevent interference between sheets in a store held in the sheet store support in use and the loading system during relative movement between the loading system and the store support from the second position to the first position.

7. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a sheet escrow system operable to feed sheets from the escrow position to the loading system.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein part of the escrow system is provided by the loading system.

9. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the loading system is mounted on a carriage movably mounted relatively to the sheet store support.

10. Sheet store loading apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the examples shown in the accompanying drawings.

11. Sheet feeding apparatus comprising sheet store loading apparatus according to any of the preceding claims; a sheet stack support on which a stack of sheets is positioned in use; and sheet transport means, the sheet transport means and the sheet stack support being relatively movable between first and second positions, whereby when the sheet transport means and the sheet stack support are in the first position, sheets may be stacked onto the sheet stack support, and when the sheet transport means and the sheet stack support are in the second position, sheets on the sheet stack support are engaged by the sheet transport means which is operable thereafter to convey the stack of sheets to the sheet store loading apparatus.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the sheet transport means is fixed relatively to the sheet loading system for movement therewith.