GB2227975A - Recording output from selective printers - Google Patents

Abstract

The printed document produced by a selective printer is recorded (e.g. on microfilm) before the document is ejected from the apparatus. As described, a computer with keyboard and V.D.U. and the printer/recorder of the invention is adapted to generate and print text, and to record the so produced text from the paper with a camera 15. <IMAGE>

Description

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION ti "Improvements in or relating to a paper-handling unity THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a paper-handling unit unit and, in particular, relates to a paper-handling unit intended to provide, as its output, a printed document.

The present invention relates to an apparatus which has been developed primarily with one market in view, but it is envisaged that the invention may find other applications. However, for the simplicity of explanation, the present invention will be described with reference to the presently proposed market for the invention, although it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not to be considered to be restricted or limited in any way.

At the present point in time when a person initially obtains insurance to enable them to drive a motor vehicle, such as a motor car or motor cycle, they normally approach an Insurance Company or an Insurance Broker, fill in a form, termed a "Proposal", and pay a premium, and the person is then provided with a "Cover Note". This document effectively confirms that insurance exists, thus enabling the person to drive the motor vehicle without being in breach of the law. If the person pays for the "Cover Note" by cheque, and the cheque is not honoured, the Insurance Company issue an other document cancelling the Cover Note.However, if the person with the Cover Note is asked, by a Police Officer, to provide evidence that insurance cover exists, the person can produce the Cover Note, which normally has a duration of 31 or 62 days, and not produce the document which cancels the Cover Note. Thus, even though no valid insurance exists, nevertheless the person can satisfy an enquiry made by a Police Officer.

It is thought that it may be appropriate to produce Cover Notes in such a way that the validity of a Cover Note can be checked easily by a Police Officer.

The present invention seeks to provide an apparatus which enables this to be done.

According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a paper-handling unit, said paper-handling unit comprising means adapted to receive a sheet of paper, a printer adapted to print on the sheet of paper, means adapted to capture and store a visual image of the printed paper and means to eject the printed paper from the paper-handling unit.

According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a paper-handling unit, said unit comprising means to input data to be printed, to the unit, means adapted to receive a sheet of paper, a printer adapted to print on the sheet of paper, means adapted to capture and store a visual image of the printed paper and means to eject the printed paper from the paper-handling unit.

Preferably the means adapted to receive the paper are adapted to retain the paper at a first station adjacent the printer to enable the printer to print thereon and advantageously the means to capture the visual image is located adjacent a second station, a paper-feed being provided to transport paper from the first station to the second station.

The paper-handling unit may be in combination with a visual display unit.

Preferably the means to output data comprise means to transfer data, through a telecommunication link, to a remote computer.

Advantageously the means to input data to the unit comprises a keyboard. Thus in one embodiment a keyboard is provided, information to be printed being at least partly supplied through the keyboard. Additionally the means to input data to the unit may comprise a data input port adapted to be connected to a personal computer or the like.

Advantageously the printer and the means to capture and store a visual image are within a secure housing.

Advantageously the unit includes an encoder adapted to encode information to be printed by the printer.

Advantageously the unit comprises a plurality of counters, each counter being adapted to be activated in response to a predetermined signal, each document printed by the printer including a number derived from a respective one of the counters.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be more readily understood, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus in accordance with the invention, FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, and FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic view of the paper path for a sheet of paper passing through the apparatus of Figure 1.

Referring initially to Figure 1 an apparatus in accordance with the present invention comprises a keyboard 1 which is associated with a central processing unit 2, which in turn is associated with a memory 3 and an encoder 4. The central processing unit 2, the memory 3 and the encoder 4 may be contained within the housing of the keyboard 1. The arrangement is associated with a data input port 5 and a data output port 6, which again may be present on the housing of the keyboard 1. The keyboard is connected to a visual display unit 7 which may be cathode ray tube device, or which may be a liquid crystal display device.

The central processing unit 2 is also associated with a plurality of counters 8 and is connected to a paper-handling device 9.

The paper-handling device 9 comprises a tray or input slot 10 upon which a sheet of paper to be processed by the device may be placed. The arrangement is such that part of the sheet of paper is engaged by a paper feed arrangement 11 adapted, in operation, to move the paper to a station adjacent a printer 12. A further paper-feed arrangement 13 is then adapted to transfer the paper to a station adjacent a micro-filmer 14. A further paper-feed 15 is adapted to transport paper from the station adjacent the micro-filmer 14 to an output tray 16.

With reference to Figure 3 it can be seen that the input tray 10 has a pair of rollers 16 located to engage one edge of a sheet of paper placed on the tray 10, the roller 16 comprising the initial paper-feed. The path of the sheet of paper through the apparatus as illustrated in Figure 3 is shown as a dotted line 17. It will be understood that when the sheet of paper is located adjacent the printer, the opposed edges of the sheet of paper may be engaged both by the rollers 16 and by a further pair of rollers 18. An appropriate guide 19 is provided so that when the rollers 18 are subsequently activated, the leading edge of the sheet of paper may pass the guide 19 and engage further rollers 20 and additional rollers 21.The sheet of paper is then adjacent a micro-filmer 15, although it is to be understood that any appropriate and acceptable device may be used instead of the micro-filmer 15 to record an image of the paper as printed by the printer.

A further guide 22 may then guide the leading edge of the paper past further rollers 23,24,25 to the output tray 16. The rollers of each pair are biassed towards each other to grasp the paper.

It is to be appreciated that Figure 3 is very schematic and serves merely to illustrate that a sheet of paper may, in use of the device, be taken into the device by the paper-feed mechanism, may be printed on by the printer 12, may be then taken by the paper-feed mechanism to a station adjacent the micro-filmer 15, at which an image of the paper is recorded, and the paper may subsequently be transported to the output tray 16.

There are, of course, many ways in which the same object could be achieved.

It is to be observed, from Figure 1, that the printer 12 and the micro-filmer 15 are contained within the housing of the paper-handling unit 9. Access to the interior of the paper-handling unit is through a door 26 which is secured by means of a lock 27.

It is envisaged that an appratus in accodance with the invention may be utilised by an Insurance Company, or an Insurance Broker when a Cover Note for an Insurance Policy for a motor vehicle is to be produced.

For the purposes of the present explanation it is assumed that the apparatus is installed in the office of an Insurance Broker. An Insurance Broker typically deals in Insurance Policies issued by several Insurance Companies, and the machine, as will now be described, is adapted for such use. However, it will be readily apparent that the machine may be used, without modification, by a single Insurance Company.

When the illustrated machine is to be utilised, initially the machine is activated. The visual display unit 7 will then present a display having specific areas in which specific information must be inserted, by means of the keyboard. The information requested will include the identity of the Insurance Company on which the Cover Note is to be issued, together with further appropriate information such as the name and address of the person seeking cover, the Registration Number, make and type of the vehicle, the duration of the Cover Note, the reason why the Cover Note is being issued (i.e. new cover, renewal of expired Policy, change of vehicle, etc.) and whether -the Cover Note has been fully paid for. Thus the information provided, by means of the keyboard 1, is equivalent to all the information included in a formal proposal for insurance cover.

When all the appropriate information has been entered on to the computer, it is possible to print a Cover Note. The Cover Note to be printed may be selected from a pre-printed pad of blank Cover Notes, and may initially be partially completed by hand and may then be located on the paper input tray 10. The paper handling apparatus 9 is then activated, under the control of the central processing unit 2. The paper-feed 11 moves the paper to a station adjacent the printer 12. The printer then prints information on the Cover Note, including on the Cover Note such information as is required. The completed Cover Note will include the identity of the Company under which the Cover Note is issued, together with the Cover Note number. The Cover Note number must be unique.It is envisaged that the Cover Note number will include one or more digits representative of the location at which the Cover Note is issued and will also include one or more digits representative of the Company under which the Cover Note is issued. Finally, the Cover Note will include a series of digitis representing a number, so that sequential Cover Notes issued by the machine under each different Company may each comprise a sequential series of numbers. It is thus envisaged that when a Cover Note is issued on any particular Company, a respective counter 8 will be advanced by one count, and the number in the counter will then be included in the number to be printed on the Cover Note.

The encoder 4 may, if so desired, be utilised at this stage to produce, in code, further information, or a repeat of the information that has been printed on the Cover Note "In Clear" in order to make it more difficult to forge Cover Notes. It is to be appreciated that if information is produced in a coded fashion, it is only persons having access to the code who can produce a "forged-" Cover Note which resembles an original Cover Note.

The printed Cover Note is then moved, by the paper-feed 13, to a station adjacent a micro-filmer 14.

A visual image of the printed document is then recorded by the micro-filmer. The complete Cover Note is then moved by the paper-feed 15, to the output tray 16.

Since the Cover Note has been recorded visually, by means of the micro-filmer, if the Cover Note is subsequently altered or amended in any way, it would, should such action prove necessary, be possible to compare the Cover Note with the micro-film record of the Cover Note as originally produced, thus enabling any alterations or modifications to the Cover Note to be readily ascertained.

It is envisaged that, in addition to printing a Cover Note, the apparatus, as described, may also print a "Insurance Certificate" for display upon the motor vehicle. It is envisaged that the "Insurance Certificate" will contain some information "In Clear" such as the Registration Number of the vehicle, and the name of the Company providing the Insurance, but will also include a significant amount of coded information, prepared by the encoder II. The "Insurance Certificate may carry, either "In Clear" or in coded form information such as the Cover Note number, whether full payment has been made for the insurance cover, the expiry date of the insurance provided, the make and type of the car insured, and even the name of the insured driver, and whether any other persons are insured to drive.The "Insurance Certificate" will be prepared by inserting an appropriate blank sheet of paper into the input tray 10, and again activating the paper handling apparatus 9 so that the appropriate Certificate is printed, and then recorded by means of the micro-filmer.

The central processing unit 2 is provided with a data output port 6. It is envisaged that data will pass through the data output port to a central computer, through a modem and a normal communications link, either in real time, or whenever the central processing unit 2 is interrogated by the remote computer. Of course, alternative ways may be utilised of transferring data from the central processing unit to the remote computer, for example by recording the data in some way, either by printing, or on magnetic tape or on floppy disc or on some other recording medium, but it is presently envisaged that it will be preferable for the information to be transferred directly, by a telecommunications link, to the remote computer. The remote computer thus has a full record of all Cover Notes issued.The remote computer can pass information concerning Cover Notes issued directly to the relevant Insurance Companies, so that the records of each Insurance Company as to the insurance cover that has been issued may be fully up-to-date.

At this stage it is to be appreciated that if a Police Officer observes a motor vehicle with a "Insurance Certificate" displayed upon it, the Police Officer may, via his own local station, obtain access to the computer, and by reading across some of the coded numbers, may obtain confirmation that the displayed "Insurance Certificate" is effective or is not effective.

Since the "Insurance Certificate" contains a large amount of information in code, it will be difficult for a "forgery" of such a disc to be produced which will withstand more than a cursory inspection.

It is to be noted that since a micro-film record of all documents issued by the paper-handling device 9 is obtained, it will be impossible for an Insurance Broker to produce invalid documents, even if tempted so to do. The micro-film is retained safely within the paper-handling unit 9 and access to the micro-film can only be obtained through the door 26, which is locked by means of a lock 27. An Official representing the Insurance Companies will, from time-to-time, visit each Insurance Broker, to remove the exposed micro-film, and to install a new reel of micro-film. Thus security is guaranteed, since if a "Insurance Certificate" is tampered with after it is has been issued, evidence confirming the tampering will be available.

It is to be appreciated that, at the present point in time, many Insurance Brokers utilise a computerised arrangement to obtain quotes for insurance cover from different Companies. In utilising the existing apparatus the Insurance Brokers utilise a personal computer or the like, and introduce, into that personal computer, a number of relevant items of information.

Some of the items of information introduced into the personal computer will be the same as the items of information that need to be introduced to the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1, when it is utilised. Thus it is envisaged that it may be preferable to provide a data input port 5 which can, for example, be connected to such a personal computer. Then, when the personal computer has been utilised to obtain a quote, and it is desired to issue a Cover Note, by entering appropriate command signals in the personal computer and on the keyboard 1, all the relevant information can be transferred directly from the personal computer 1 to the apparatus shown in Figure 1, consequently minimising the amount of keyboard work necessary to operate the device as shown in Figure 1 in the manner described.

It is again to be emphasised that whilst the present invention has been described with reference specifically to the issuing of documentation relating to the insurance of motor vehicles, it is envisaged that the apparatus may have other applications, where information is to be entered on to a formal Certificate or the like, which Certificate is to comprise prima facie evidence and where information concerning the Certificate or the like is to be transferred to a central computing arrangement.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to one specific embodiment it is to be appreciated that many modifications may be effected without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, for example, whilst a micro-filmer has been described, it is to be appreciated that other methods of recording a visual image may be utilised, such as a video camera and recorder, or any other equivalent device which can capture a visual image of the paper that has been printed by the printer, and can record that image in an acceptable form for re-production at a later date if necessary.

Claims (16)

CLAIMS:

1. A paper-handling unit, said paper-handling unit comprising means adapted to receive a sheet of paper, a printer adapted to print on the sheet of paper, means adapted to capture and store a visual image of the printed paper and means to eject the printed paper from the paper-handling unit.

2. A paper-handling unit according to Claim 1 wherein the means adapted to receive the paper are adapted to retain the paper at a first station adjacent the printer to enable the printer to print thereon and wherein the means to capture said visual image is located adjacent a second station, a paper-feed being provided to transport paper from the first station to the second station.

3. A paper-handling unit according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein a keyboard is provided, information to be printed being at least partly supplied through said keyboard.

4. A paper-handling unit according to any one of the preceding Claims in combination with a visual display unit.

5. A paper-handling unit, wherein the means to capture and store the visual image comprise a micro-filming device.

6. A paper-handling unit, said unit comprising means to input data to be printed, to the unit, means adapted to receive a sheet of paper, a printer adapted to print on the sheet of paper, means adapted to capture and store a visual image of the printed paper and means to eject the printed paper from the paperhandling unit.

7. A paper-handling unit according to Claim 5 wherein the means adapted to receive the paper are adapted to retain the paper at a first station adjacent the printer to enable the printer to print thereon and wherein the means to capture the visual image is located adjacent a second station, a paper-feed being provided to transport paper from the first station to the second station.

8. A paper-handling unit according to Claim 5 or 6 wherein the means to capture and store the visual image comprise a micro-filming device.

9. A unit according to Claim 6, 7 or 8 wherein the means to output data comprise means to transfer data, through a telecommunication link, to a remote computer.

10. A unit according to any one of Claims 6 to 9 wherein the means to input data to the unit comprises a keyboard.

11. A unit according to any one of Claims 6 to 10 wherein the means to input data to the unit comprises a data input port adapted to be connected to a personal computer or the like.

12. A unit according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the printer and the means to capture and store a visual image is within a secure housing.

13. A unit according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the unit includes an encoder adapted to encode information to be printed by the printer.

14. A unit according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein unit comprises a plurality of counters1 each counter being adapted to be activated in response to a predetermined signal, each document printed by the printer including a number derived from a respective one of said counters.

15. A unit substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

16. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.