JPH0747430B2 - Document storage device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document storage device, and more particularly to a document storage device that can securely store a document transported by a document transport device in a stacker.

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, document storage devices are used in a wide range of fields for handling documents. For example, in an automatic teller machine or a money changer used in a bank, inserted banknotes are automatically transported to a banknote storage device and stored therein. Further, in an automatic vending machine that sells products such as drinking water, cigarettes, and tickets, the banknotes taken into the automatic vending machine at the time of selling the products are orderly stacked in the banknote storage device. Further, a punched card used in an electronic computer or the like is stored in a predetermined card storage portion after being processed by an optical automatic reading device. In this way, documents such as banknotes and cards are conveyed so that they are all neatly stored in the stacker having the box-shaped case provided in the document storage device.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the above document storage device, particularly the banknote storage device, has a drawback in that banknotes cannot be stored orderly in a stacker case. For example, in JP-A-60-77287, a pair of channel members are fixedly arranged so as to face each of the pair of conveyor belts, and a driven roller pressed by the conveyor belt is rotatably attached to the channel member. A vertical banknote device having a structure and carrying a banknote while sandwiching the banknote between a conveyor belt and a driven roller is disclosed. In this structure,
When storing the banknotes in the stacking box, the banknotes between the conveyor belt and the driven roller are pressed into the stacking box by the pressing plate, but when pressed by the pressing plate, both edges of the banknote are separated from the driven roller, For this reason, the bills are not reliably held, and are easily dropped. Therefore, if the banknotes are not stored neatly in the stacking box and the banknotes are not completely stored during the storing operation, all the banknotes transported thereafter are jammed, that is, clogged or bent and are completely stored. May not be done. This is because in the conventional document storage device, when the pressing plate is pressed, the banknote is supported only by the elastic force of the banknote itself generated when the banknote is deformed and the frictional force between the pressing plate and the edge of the channel member. This is because weak banknotes, that is, banknotes having a weak elastic force, fall downward due to gravity or are caught by a part of the apparatus and are pressed by the stacking box inner pressing plate in an inconsistent state. Therefore, the conventional document storage device cannot securely store the document in the case.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a document storage device that can securely store documents in a case.

Means for Solving Problems A document storage device of the present invention has a document transport device and a stacker for stacking and storing documents transported by the document transport device, and the document transport device transports documents. A stacker having a pair of belts and a pulley for driving the belts, the stacker being arranged adjacent to and parallel to each of the belts, and being movable in a direction away from each other; Between the pair of belts, a spring that presses the pair of rollers toward each other, a case that stores the document, a spring device that applies elasticity to the document stored in the case toward the entrance of the case, And a pressing device having a pressing plate that is moved between an extruding position for pressing the document conveyed by the belt into the case and a retracted position retracted from the belt. The spacing between the contact lines between the pair of belts and the pair of rollers is narrower than the width of the document, the width of the pressing plate is smaller than the width of the document and the spacing between the pair of belts, and the width of the pair of rollers is smaller. When the document is pressed into the case by the pushing device and is larger than the gap, the pair of rollers are configured to move in a direction in which they are separated from each other.

When the document is pressed into the case by the pushing device, both edges of the document are gripped by the pair of rollers moving in the direction away from each other and both edges of the pressing plate of the pushing device,
Documents are stored in the case.

Example Hereinafter, the first example of the present invention implemented in a bill validator will be described.
The drawings through FIG. 7 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the document storage device 30 of the present invention is attached to the vertical bill validator 10 having the bill insertion slot 11. Although a pair of pulleys 12 are provided in the bill validator 10, in FIG. 2, only the right pulley not shown in FIG. 1 is shown, and the left pulley is not shown. The illustrated state is the same for the pulleys, belts, etc. described later. The pair of drive pulleys 12 are rotatably attached adjacent to the bill insertion slot 11 and are connected to a drive device (not shown) to be driven and rotated. Two pairs of guide pulleys 13 and 14 are provided above the drive pulley 12 and spaced apart from each other.
The centers of the drive shafts 15, 16 and 17 of 2, 13, and 14 are arranged in a straight line. A belt 19 that vertically conveys a document is wound around the pulleys 12 to 14 along a substantially L-shaped conveying passage 27. The banknote inspection position 25 for the banknotes inserted into the banknote insertion slot 11
A plurality of idlers 20 are attached adjacent to the belt 19 in order to prevent the belt 19 from falling off the pulleys 12 to 14 while being transported to the storage preparation position 26.

A bill inspection device 22 is provided so as to face the drive pulley 12 and the guide pulley 13. The banknote inspection device 22 has a sensor such as a magnetic sensor 23 or an optical sensor, and determines the magnetic or optical characteristics of the banknote by a known means.

A document storage device 30 is attached between the guide pulleys 13 and 14. The document storage device 30 is a document transport device having the pulleys 12 to 14 and the belt 19 which form a vertical passage for bills.
31 and a stacker 32 for accommodating the banknotes conveyed by the document conveying device 31 in a stack. Stacker 32 has belt 19
A pair of rollers 33 that are arranged adjacent to and parallel to each other and that are movable in a direction away from each other;
The springs 34 that press the bills toward each other, a case 36 that stores bills, and a bill that is stored in the case 36.
A spring device 38 that applies an elastic force toward the entrance 45 of the 36, and a pushing position that pushes the banknotes that are arranged between the pair of belts 19 and conveyed by the belt 19 into the case 36 and a retracted position that is retracted from the belt 19. Pushing device having a pushing plate 37 that moves between
Composed of 39 and.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pair of rollers 33 is a pair of belts.
Each of the rollers 33 has a central axis substantially arranged on the plane formed by the center of each of the nineteen, and each of the rollers 33 has a circular cross section and is arranged parallel to the banknote transport direction. The roller 33 is provided with both ends of the intermediate portion 43 having a circular cross-section having a large diameter and in contact with the bills conveyed by the belt 19 and having a diameter smaller than the intermediate portion 43, and the frame of the case 36. It has an end portion 44 protruding from the long hole 41 of the fixing bracket 40 fixed to 60 (FIG. 3). Each end of roller 33
44 is rotatably fitted in a long hole 41 formed in the fixed bracket 40. A tension coil spring 34 for pressing the pair of rollers 33 toward each other is attached to an end portion 44 of the roller 33, and an intermediate portion 43 of the roller 33 is brought into contact with the belt 19 by the spring 34 with a weak elastic force. The distance between the contact lines between the pair of belts 19 and the pair of rollers 33 is narrower than the width of the bill, and the pressing plate 37
Is smaller than the width of the bill and the distance between the pair of belts 19 and larger than the entrance distance l formed by the pair of rollers 33.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pushing device 39 includes a pair of links 52 and 53, one ends of which are attached to the pressing plate 37 by shafts 50 and 51, respectively.
And a long hole 54 drilled approximately halfway between each of the links 52 and 53.
A shaft 55 fitted in the long hole 54, a U-shaped connecting member 56 attached to both ends of the shaft 55, the shaft 55 and the connecting member 56.
Between the cam 57 and a driving means (not shown) such as a motor for rotating the cam 57, and long holes 58 and 59 formed at the other ends of the links 52 and 53, and bill discrimination. The shafts 61 and 62 fixed to the frame 60 of the device 10 and the tension coil spring 63 attached to the links 52 and 53 and applying the elastic force to the links 52 and 53 so as to move the pressing plate 37 to the pushing position 64. Have. The cam 57 is disposed between the shaft 55 and the connecting member 56 and presses the shaft 55 when moving the pressing plate 37 to the pushing position,
When returning to the retracted position, the connecting member 56 is pressed in the opposite direction.
The links 52 and 53 are elastically applied by the spring 63, but the pressing plate 37 does not move to the push-out position unless the cam 57 is actuated.

As shown in FIG. 3, the spring device 38 that applies elasticity to the bill stored in the case 36 toward the entrance 45 of the case 36 is slidably arranged in the case 36 and has a size slightly larger than that of the bill. The bill support plate 66 and a leaf spring 67 which is fitted in a hole 65 (FIG. 2) formed horizontally at substantially the center of the side wall 35 of the case 36 and curved so as to come into contact with the bill support plate 66 at the center. And a coil spring attached between both ends of the leaf spring 67 and the frame 60 and pulling both ends of the leaf spring 67 toward the inlet 45 side.
With 68.

In the above configuration, when a bill is inserted into the bill insertion slot 11,
The insertion of bills is detected by a photo coupler (not shown),
The drive pulley 12 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 2 based on the detection signal. Therefore, the bills are belt 19 and idler 20.
It is conveyed to a banknote inspection position 25 adjacent to the banknote inspection device 22 through an L-shaped transfer passage 27 formed between and. Therefore,
The bill's optical or magnetic properties are inspected to determine the bill's authenticity. When the bill inspection device 22 determines that the bill is not a true bill, the drive pulley 12 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG.
Will be returned outside. When the banknote inspection device 22 determines that the banknote is a true banknote, the drive pulley 12 is further rotated clockwise, and the banknote is shown in FIG. It is transported to the banknote storage preparation position 26 shown and stopped at the banknote storage preparation position 26. In this case, when the banknote reaches the predetermined banknote storage preparation position 26 by the photocoupler (not shown), the photocoupler generates an electric signal, and the rotation of the drive pulley 12 is stopped by this electric signal.

Next, when the cam 57 rotates, the shaft 55 shown in FIG. 4 moves to the left side, and when the pushing device 38 pushes the bill into the case 36, as shown in FIG. The edge moves the pair of rollers 33 outward in the direction A away from each other.
In this case, since both edges of the bill 21 are sandwiched between the roller 33 and the belt 19, the bill is pushed out toward the entrance 45 side, so that the end portion 44 rotatably supported in the long hole 41. As a result, the roller 33 moves outward in the A direction while rotating.
Therefore, the bill 21 can be moved to the entrance 45 very smoothly.

When the cam 57 rotates, the moving distance of the pressing plate 37 is about twice the moving distance of the shaft 55 due to the link mechanism. When the pressing plate 37 further moves from the state shown in FIG. 6, the roller 33 and the pressing plate 37
The inside of the banknote 21 whose both edges are held between the edge 42 of 37,
It passes through the entrance 45 and comes into contact with the bill 24 previously stored in the case 36. In this case, immediately before the state shown in FIG. 7, both edges of the bill 21 are held between the roller 33 and both edges 42 of the pressing plate 37, and at the same time, the inside of the bill 21 is already stored in the case 36. Since the bills 21 come into contact with the bills at the same time, the bill 21 is not held in an unstable state in which it is held only by its elasticity.

When the cam 57 further rotates, the pressing plate 37 moves so as to press the banknotes 24 stored in the case 36 against the elasticity of the plate spring 67, and both edges of the pressing plate 37 separate from the roller 33, The state shown in Fig. 7 is obtained. In this state, the inside of the bill 21 conveyed by the belt 19 is at least the bill contained in the case 36.
After contacting 24, both edges of the bill 21 held between the roller 33 and the edge 42 of the pressing plate 37 are opened. Further, while the end portions 44 of the pair of rollers 33 slide in the elongated hole 41, the rollers 33 move inward in the direction B toward each other by the spring 34.

The cam 57 further rotates and the pressing plate 37 moves from the state shown in FIG.
When moved to the complete push-out position 64 shown in the figure, both edges of the banknote 21 return from the deformed state to the original state due to their elasticity, and the banknote becomes flat inside the case 36. After the pressing plate 37 reaches the complete push-out position, the rotation of the cam 57 presses the connecting member 56 to the opposite side. In this way, when the pressing plate 37 is moved to the retracted position, the bill 21 has both edges thereof at the entrance 45 of the case 36.
It is supported by the inner wall 46 adjacent to and is stored in an appropriate position in the case 36 as shown in FIG. The pressure plate 37 is again installed at the entrance 45.
And returns to the state shown in FIG. In this case, the pair of rollers 33
It will be appreciated that will again perform a spacing movement in the A direction and an approaching movement in the B direction. The pressing plate 37 stands by for the next bill to be conveyed to the bill storage preparation position 26 in the state shown in FIG. The leaf spring 67 of the spring device 37 constantly presses the bill 24 toward the entrance 45 and holds it at an appropriate position so that the bill 24 stored in the case 36 does not move.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the example of the bill discriminating device has been described, but it is obvious that the present invention can be applied to a storing device for storing documents other than bills. Further, the pair of rolls 33 can be fitted with the end portions 44 in the long holes 41 so that they only move toward and away from each other and do not rotate.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION In the banknote storage device of the present invention, when storing a document in a case, both edges of the document are gripped by a pair of rollers that move in a direction away from each other and both edges of a pressing plate of the pushing device. Therefore, it is possible to securely and orderly store the documents in the case. Further, it is possible to avoid the risk of damaging the document due to the friction between the document and the case during the moving movement of the rollers.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a document storage device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view thereof, FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a document pushing device used for the document storage device of the present invention. Side views, FIGS. 5 to 8 are operation state diagrams showing a state in which the pushing device moves from the pushing position to the pulling position, and FIG. 5 shows the bill in the bill storing preparation state and the pressing plate in the pulling position. FIG. 6 is a plan view in the case where both edges of the pressing plate press the rollers outward, and FIG. 7 is a plan view in which the pressing plate moves to the pushing position and presses the already stored bills. FIG. 8 shows a plan view when the pressing plate returns to the retracted position. 10 …… Vertical bill validator, 11 …… Bill slot, 12-14…
… Drive pulleys, 13, 14 …… Guide pulleys, 15 to 17 …… Drive shafts, 19 …… Belts, 20 …… idlers, 22 …… Banknote inspection devices, 23 …… Magnetic sensors, 30 …… Document storage devices, 31 ……
Document feeder, 32 …… Stacker, 33 …… Roller, 34 ……
Spring, 36 ... Case, 37 ... Pressing plate, 38 ... Spring device,
39 …… Pushing device, 40 …… Bracket, 41, 58, 59 ……
Long hole, 43 …… Middle part, 44 …… End part, 45 …… Inlet, 50, 5
1, 55, 61, 62 …… Shaft, 52, 53 …… Link, 54 …… Long hole, 56 …… Connecting member, 57 …… Cam, 60 …… Frame, 64
…… Extrusion position, 65 …… Hole, 66 …… Bill support plate, 67 ……
Leaf spring, 68 ... coil spring

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A document transporting device, and a stacker for stacking and storing documents transported by the document transporting device, wherein the document transporting device comprises a pair of belts for transporting the document and a pulley for driving the belt. And the stacker is arranged adjacent to and parallel to each of the belts, and presses the pair of rollers that are movable in directions away from each other and the pair of rollers in directions approaching each other. A spring, a case for storing documents, a spring device for applying elasticity to the documents stored in the case toward the entrance of the case, and a document arranged between the pair of belts and conveyed by the belts. A pushing device having a pushing plate that moves between a pushing position for pushing into the case and a pulling position where the belt is pulled in, and between the contact lines between the pair of belts and the pair of rollers. Is narrower than the width of the document, the width of the pressing plate is smaller than the width of the document and the distance between the pair of belts and larger than the distance between the pair of rollers, and the document is pressed into the case by the pushing device. At this time, the pair of rollers move in a direction away from each other. 2. The pair of rollers have a circular cross section and are arranged parallel to the document conveying direction, and each end of the rollers is rotatably fitted in an elongated hole formed in a fixing bracket. The document storage device according to claim (1). 3. The pair of rollers has a central axis substantially arranged on a plane formed by the centers of the pair of belts, and the rollers have a weak elastic force against the belt by the spring. The document brought into contact with and conveyed by the belt is held between the roller and the edge of the pressing plate at least until it comes into contact with the document accommodated in the case. Document storage device. 4. The document as claimed in claim 3, wherein the document held between the roller and the edge of the pressing plate simultaneously contacts the document previously stored in the case. Document storage device. 5. The roller has an intermediate portion which comes into contact with a document and has a large diameter, and which is provided at both ends of the intermediate portion and has a diameter smaller than the intermediate portion and protrudes from an elongated hole of the fixing bracket. The document storage device according to claim (2), wherein a spring having an end portion and pressing the pair of rollers in a direction of approaching each other is attached to an end portion of the roller. 6. The document storage device according to any one of claims (1) to (5), wherein the document is a banknote.