GB2258138A - Drawer for storage of cash - Google Patents

Abstract

A drawer 10 for the storage of cash, e.g. in combination with a cash register, comprises an exterior sleeve 12 having a drawer 14 slideably located therein and a cash register (not shown) located on the sleeve's upper surface. Connection of the drawer release mechanism and the cash register may be made by electrical or mechanical means. The drawer 14 includes a tray 20 carried on a pivot point 22 and having a plurality of compartments 28 provided between a peripheral wall 24 and radial walls 26. The pivot 22 is preferably angled towards the drawer's front edge so that weights, e.g. coins placed in the compartments will cause rotation of the wheel 20 towards the drawer's front edge. Thus contents placed in the drawer are accessible without full opening of the drawer permitting use thereof in restricted spaces. <IMAGE>

Description

DRAWER FOR STORING CASH This invention relates to an improved drawer for the storage of cash especially for use in combination with a cash register or similar device.

Cash registers or till machines often contain a drawer which is spring loaded and controlled by the till or cash register mechanism so as to be extendable to prevent access to cash etc contained in the drawer. The operation of the drawer is often controlled by keys on the cash register such that the drawer is only openable for the insertion or withdrawal of cash. Commonly the till or casn register mechanism maintains a record of any transactions such that the actual amount of money contained within a drawer can be calculated at any one time.

The drawers of such devices are usually compartmentalised such that coins and notes may be separated into groups of specific denominations, for example, all ten pence pieces together, all one pound coins together etc. As a consequence of this the drawer is invariably required to be much larger than would be the case if all coinage and all notes were stored together. This is due to each compartment being larger than the average size which would be normally required in order to be able to accommodate large numbers of one type of coin.

The size of the drawer leads directly to a further problem which is the space taken up when the drawer is extended from below the till mechanism. As the drawer is usually located so as to extend relatively outwardly towards the till operator and into the working space directly in front of the till, the size of the extended drawer reduces the amount of available working space. In circumstances where the working space adjacent to the till is also a common passage area the extension of the drawer may cause problems for people attempting to move past the till for one reason or another.

It would be an advantage therefore to provide a drawer for the storage of cash which permitted access to the contents of the drawer without occupying as much of the adjacent working space as presently required by existing drawer designs.

It is an object of the invention therefore to provide a drawer for the storage of cash which overcomes the disadvantages of previous designs and occupies a smaller working space when extended.

With this object in view the present invention provides a drawer for the storage of cash comprising a drawer arrangement enclosing a disc horizontally rotatable about a pivot fixed to the drawer's floor, the disc having a rim around its periphery to provide a tray-like configuration adapted for storing cash therein.

With such arrangements it will be appreciated that the drawer need not be open to its full extent in order to provide access to all cash stored in the traylike disc. Cash which is within that part of the drawer still covered can be accessed by rotation of the disc about its pivot point.

Preferably the tray-like disc is divided into compartments in order to facilitate the storing of cash in the form of coins or notes. Additionally the disc is advantageously arranged so as to be removable for "cashing up" etc.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pivot and the disc attached thereto are disposed such that the pivot is angled with respect to the drawer's floor and towards the front edge of the drawer. In this way the disc will be acted upon by weight placed within the tray-like rim. Where the tray-like disc is compartmentalised, compartments containing more coins will be rotated automatically towards the front edge of the drawer and thus be available for immediate access upon opening thereof.

The invention will be described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which the single figure is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

A preferred embodiment of a first aspect of the invention provides a drawer unit 10 comprising an exterior sleeve 12 and a drawer 14. The drawer 14 is formed of a floor part 16 surrounded by an upstanding peripheral wall 18.

It will be appreciated that in use the drawer unit 10 would support a till or cash register's mechanism on the sleeves upper surface. Such mechanisms are commonly known and, as their function is not relevant to the invention, a detailed description of these mechanisms will not be provided. In most till or cash register mechanisms the opening of the drawer is connected via linkage means (not shown) to the till or cash register unit such that operation of a key or button will cause the drawer to open under the action of a spring or similar device.

In known drawer constructions it will be usual for the interior of the drawer to be divided into a plurality of compartments each compartment being intended for the storage of a different denomination of coin. One problem with such an arrangement is that in order to obtain full use of the drawer volume, the drawer when opened must expose substantially all of its interior space. Any unexposed drawer volume is thus wasted and not usuable for the storage of coinage.

In order to overcome this defect the improved drawer according to the invention includes a disc or wheel 20 carried on a pivot point 22 which is located substantially centrally of the floor part 16 of the drawer 14. The disc or wheel 20 has a peripheral wall 24 and a plurality of radial dividing walls 26 so as to provide a plurality of compartments 28 in a carousellike manner. The pivot 22, in a preferred embodiment, is angled slightly towards the drawer's front edge. The wheel 20 attached thereto is also angled such that a weight placed in one compartment 28 of the wheel 20 will cause the wheel to rotate until that weight is at the lowest point of the wheel 20 which. will be adjacent the front edge of the drawer.In this way those compartments holding the largest weight of coinage will be automatically rotated towards the front of the drawer and be ready for immediate access when the drawer is opened.

In use when the drawer is opened the wheel 20 will present a number of compartments containing coins for immediate access by the user. If required coins are present in compartments not uncovered by the opened drawer the wheel 20 may be rotated so as to bring those compartments to the front of the drawer and hence permit access thereto. As has been previously stated those compartments 28 which contain the greatest weight of coinage will be automatically rotated by the action of gravity on the tilted pivot 22 to the front of the drawer thus presenting themselves to the user for removal of coins.

It will be understood that with such an arrangement complete access to all coin compartments in the drawer is possible without requiring full opening of the drawer. Thus opening of the drawer to half or only one-third of its complete length will provide sufficient access to all compartment for extraction of coinage therefrom. This feature is particularly advantageous where space adjacent to the drawer is limited and the drawer in the open position would extend into and effectively block an adjacent passageway, for example, in.the case of bars, small shops, etc. Furthermore, with a smaller open drawer area there is a reduced possibility for pilferage of contents by a third party reaching over a cash register or till unit as can occur with existing drawer assemblies.

The invention is not confined to the foregoing details and variations may be made thereto within the scope of the invention. For example the compartments 28 may be divided by a concentric circular wall so as to provide a plurality of separated compartments near to the pivot 22. The wheel 20 is preferably separably connected to the pivot 22 so that the wheel, and any cash therein, may be removed for counting, transfer to a bank etc. In order that the compartments may safely hold notes or cheques, spring loaded wire clips of known design may be provided in one or more of the compartments. Other striations may also be possible.

Claims (5)

1. A drawer for the storage of cash comprising a drawer arrangement enclosing a disc horizontally rotatable about a pivot fixed to the drawer's floor, the disc having a rim around its periphery to provide a tray-like configuration adapted for storing cash therein.

2. A drawer as claimed in claim 1 in which the disc is divided into compartments in order to facilitate the storing of cash in the form of coins or notes.

3. A drawer as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the disc is arranged so as to be removable.

4. A drawer as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein the pivot and the disc attached thereto are disposed such that the pivot is angled with respect to the drawer's floor and towards the front edge of the drawer.

5. A drawer for the storage of cash substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.