MXPA96005378A - Ba ticket management appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a bill handling apparatus that includes validator means for validating a bill inserted in the apparatus, stacker means for storing a bill in response to an exit from the validator means when the bill is considered genuine by the validator means, and a frame for supporting the stacker means, the validator means includes conveyor means for transporting the note along a passage, and sensor means positioned adjacent to the passage, the improvement comprising: coupling provided between the validator means and the frame to detachably support the validator means in the frame in the alignment condition of the passage of the validator means with a passage of the stacker means; connector means comprising a male plug and a female plug, one of which is attached to a rear end of the validator means for electrical connection to the sensor of validator, and the other is attached to a front end of the frame, and power transmission means comprising a drive gear rotatably supported on the frame, and a gear wheel rotatably mounted on the validator means and arranged in the same plane as the drive gear; attaching the validator means to the frame through the connector means, causes the driven sprocket of the validator means to automatically engage the drive gear of the frame, and simultaneously to automatically engage the plug The male and female connector of the connector means are connected to each other, whereby the conveyor means of the validator means can be driven by a motor provided outside the validator means and in the frame, and also sensor means in the means The validator can transmit its output to the control means of the validator provided outside the means of lidator and in the frame through the connect

Description

BANK TICKET MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT FIELD OF THE I NVENTION This invention relates to a ticket handling apparatus such as a vending machine or an automatic changer, in particular, to the improvement in the bill handling apparatus wherein a bill validator is attached to a frame of the apparatus and easily removed from it for exchange. /, ..

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A prior art bill handling apparatus includes a bill validator for validating a bill and a stacker for storing bills considered valid by the bill validator. For example, the Japanese Utility Model Description No. 58-15,117568 published on August 1, 1983 describes a validator of 7 bill with which a stacker is incorporated to form a shorter ticket passage in order to manufacture the apparatus of a small size. Also, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-101567 published on February 13, 1991 shows an apparatus of ticket comprising a cover; a validator placed inside the cover to validate a ticket; a stacker to accumulate bills considered genuine by the validator; a L-shaped passage formed through the validator and the stacker; and a pusher to force a ticket into the passage within the stacker. In this reference of the prior art, the stacker is rotatably fixed to the cover to reduce the depth of the cover for a small size apparatus. The bill handling apparatus provided in the prior art for validating a bill is a validator that is firmly and unmistakably secured to a stacker so that the bill handling apparatus by itself must be exchanged when a different type of bill validator must be validated. banknotes or when the validator has decomposed. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a bill handling apparatus that includes a validator easily and interchangeably attached thereto.

DESCRI PTION OF THE I NVENTION The bill handling apparatus of the present invention comprises validator means which are provided with sensor means for validating a bill inserted into the apparatus; stacker means for storing a bill in response to an exit from the validator means when the bill is considered genuine by the validator means; a frame for supporting the stacker means; coupling means for releasably supporting the validator means for aligning a passage of the validator means with a passage of the stacker means, the coupling means being provided between the validator means and the frame; and connector means for electrically connecting the sensor means in the validator means with validator control means in the frame. The coupling means includes guide means provided in one of the frame and the validator; the pins provided in the other of the frame and the validator in relation coupled to the guide means; a retaining lever rotatably provided in the frame; a splice formed in the validator for coupling with the retainer lever; and a spring for elastically urging the detent lever toward the splice to maintain the coupling between the retainer lever and the splice. A slider is provided in the frame for releasing the validator from the frame for decoupling the validator retainer lever. The coupling means includes guiding means provided in the frame; and pins provided in the validator in relation coupled to the guide means. The bill handling apparatus may also comprise power transmission means for urgently connecting the drive means in the frame with the conveyor means in the validator. The energy transmission means comprise a driving gear of the drive means rotatably driven in the frame; and a driven gear of the conveying means rotatably mounted on the validator for engagement with the driving gear so that the driving and driving gears are in the same plane, when the validator is connected to the stacker by the coupling means in the condition in that the passages of the validator and the stacker are aligned with each other. The connecting means comprise a validator sensor plug in the validator means and a receptacle in the frame, the plug and the receptacle are in the same plane so that the plug can be inserted in the receptacle. When the validator means is connected to the stacker means by the coupling means in the condition in which the passages of the validator means and the means of The stacker are aligned with each other, the sensor means are electrically connected to the validator control means placed in the frame through the connecting means, and the conveyor means in the validator means are powerfully connected to the drive means. in the frame through the energy transmitting means. The foregoing as well as other objects of the present invention will become apparent during the course of the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 20 Figure 1 is a sectional view of a bill handling apparatus according to the present invention. Figure 2 is an elevation view of the apparatus. Figure 3 is a front view of the apparatus.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of the circuits used in the apparatus. Figure 5 is a sectional view of the apparatus from which the validator means have been removed. Figure 6 is a partial sectional view indicating a detent lever of the coupling means that is coupled to the validator means. Figure 7 is a partial view of the detent lever decoupled from the validator means. Figure 8 is a sectional view of the apparatus with the stacker means within which a bill is forced.

BEST FORMS OF THE MODALITY OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, an embodiment in accordance with the present invention will be described below with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. As shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the bill handling apparatus 1 according to the present invention comprises validator means 2 for validating a bill inserted inside the apparatus 1; stacker means 3 for storing a bill in response to an exit from the validator means 2 when the bill is considered genuine by the validator means 2; a frame 4 for supporting the stacker means 3; coupling means 10 for releasably supporting the validator means 2. The validator means 2 comprises conveyor means 20 for providing passage 21 and sensor means 22 positioned adjacent passage 21 and validator control means 8 positioned in frame 4 as shown in figure 4. The 5 conveyor means 20 comprise a driven gear 23; a pulley 24 driven urgently with the driven gear 23; at least one band wound around the pulleys 24, 25; and rollers 27, 28 rotatably mounted on the validator means 2 opposite the pulleys 24, 25 respectively. sensor means 22 includes a magnetic sensor 22a for detecting magnetic characteristics from the ferrous ink on a banknote and, an optical sensor 22b for detecting optical characteristics of a banknote from a beam of light reflected on a banknote surface or permeate to through the ticket. Placed adjacent to a input 2a of the validator means 2 is an optical sensor not / "*" shown detecting the insertion of a banknote 5 inside the entrance 2a to produce a trigger signal for the activation of the conveyor means 20. As shown in figure 3, the coupling means 10 are provided between the validator means 2 and the frame 4 to removably support the validator means 2 on the frame 4 so that the passages 21 of the validator means 2 are maintained in aligned condition with an entrance 31a of the passage 31 of the stacker means 31. The coupling means 10 include guide means 13 provided in the frame 4 and a pair of pins 12 provided in the validator means 2 in coupled relation to a pair of guide slots 11 formed on opposite sides of the guide means 13. As illustrated in Figure 7, the coupling means 10 comprise the catch lever 49 rotatably provided in the frame 4 by arrow 51; a splice 46 formed in the validator means 2 for engagement with the retainer lever 49; and a spring 47 for elastically urging the retainer lever 49 toward the splice 46 to maintain the coupling between the retainer lever and the splice 46. A slider 48 is slidably provided in the frame 4 to release the engagement of the catch lever 49 with the splice 46 of the validator means 2. The stacker means 3 is operated to store a bill 5 in response to an exit of the validator 2 means that have determined that the ticket is genuine. Stacker means 3 - they comprise an impeller 32 forcibly pushing into a storage chamber the bill 5 which is transported along the passage 31. The impeller 32 has a drive plate 33 in contact with the bill 5; two pairs of support links 34, 35 rotatably connected to the drive plate 33 by the pins 34a, 35a; and a pressure link 36 an end of which is rotatably connected by a pin 36a with approximately central portions of the support links 34, 35. The other end of the pressure link 36 is rotatably connected to a disk link 37 by a pin 37a so that the pressure link 36 can reciprocate in the direction perpendicular to the passage 31 during rotation of the disk 37. An electric motor 41 is placed in the frame 4 to operate the drive means 6 driving the conveying means (not shown) in the stacker means 3 for moving the bill 5 along the passage 31 in the frame 4, although the detailed drawing is omitted. The drive means 6 comprise a pinion 42 mounted on an output shaft of the motor 41, a first gear 43 engaged with the pinion 42, a second gear 44 secured to the first gear 43, and a drive gear 45 in coupled relation with the second gear 44 and a driven gear 23. Drive gear 45 and driven gear 23 provide power transmission means that driveably connect the drive means 6 in the frame 4 with the conveyor means 20 in the validator means 2. The gear The impeller 45 is rotatably mounted on the validator means 2. As shown in Figure 4, provided between the validator means 2 and the frame 4 are the connector means 60 comprising a plug 61 provided in the validator means 2 and a receptacle 62 in the frame 4 so that the plug 61 can be inserted into the receptacle 62 to electrically connect the detector means 22 to the validation means r 2 with the validator control means 8 in the frame 4. When the means *., of the validator 2 are connected to the stacker means 3 by the coupling means 10, the passages 21, 31 of the validator means 2 and the stacker means 3 are retained in an aligned condition with respect to each other. Simultaneously, the gear impeller 45 of the drive means 6 in the frame 4 and the driven gear 23 of the conveyor means 20 in the validator means 2 are aligned with each other in the same plane. As well . The plug 61 of the validator means 2 and the receptacle 62 in the frame 4 are placed in the same plane. As understood from Figure 4, the validator control means 8 comprises discriminating means 8a connected to the receptacle 62 and, drive control means 8b connected to the discriminating means 8a for receiving control signals from the discriminating means 8a. As well , the drive control means 8b are connected with a conveyor drive circuit 63 and a stacker drive circuit 64 for supplying drive signals. In addition, the drive control means 8b is connected to an encoder 65 for recognition of the moved position of the bill 5, a base position detector 66 for detecting a retracted position of the drive plate 33 and other sensors 67 so that the drive control means 8b can receive signals from the encoder 65 and the sensors 66, 67 When the validator means 2 is connected to the stacker means 3 by the coupling means 10 in the condition that the passages 21, 31 of the validator means 2 and of the stacker means 3 are in aligned condition with each other, the sensor means 22 of the sensor validator 22 in the validator means 2 can be automatly and electrly connected to the validator control means 8 through the connector means 60 and, the conveyor means 20 in the validator means 2 can be connected to the drive means 6 in the frame 4 through the drive gear 45 of the drive means 6 in the frame 4 and the driven gear 23 of the conveyor means transmit drive energy from the drive means to the conveyor means 20. To change the means of validator 20 by others, the slider 48 is manually pushed towards the catch lever 49 so that the catch lever 49 is rotated about the arrow 51 c The spring force 47 of the spring 47 is released to release the coupling of the catch lever 49 from the splice 46 of the validator means. At this time, when the validator means 2 is driven forward, the pins 12 move along the guide slots 11 of the coupling means 10 to finally remove the validator means 2 outwardly from the frame 4 for exchange. When other validator means are attached in place of the frame, the pins 12 are received within the guide slots 11 and the validator means 2 is moved inwardly and along the guide slots 11 while the slider is driven. manually When the validator means 2 is driven along the guide slots 11 to a sufficient depth, the manual force is removed from the slider 48. When a bill 5 is inserted into the entrance 2a of the validator means 2, the insert The bill is detected by the operation of the opt sensor mentioned above which produces an output. The validator control means 8 receives the output from the opt sensor and activates the motor 41 to drive the drive means 6. Consequently, the pinion 42, the first and second gears 43, 44, the drive gear 45 and the driven gear 23 are rotated in turn to drive the conveyor means 20 so that the bill 5 is transported within the validator means 2. The validator control means 8 receives the detection signals from the validator sensors 22, and determines whether ticket 5 is genuine or not. When the validator control means 8 has determined that the bill 5 is not genuine, they drive the engine 41 in the reverse direction to return the bill 5 to the entrance 2a. When the validator control means 8 has determined that the bill is genuine, they continue to produce the drive signal to the motor 41 in the forward direction so that the conveyor means 20 are activated to move the bill 5 through the passages 21 and 31 below the drive plate 33 of the impeller 32. At this stage the disk link 37 is rotated and the pressure link 46 is forcibly moved downward so that the support links 34, 35 are rotated from the retracted position of Fig. 1 to the extended position of Fig. 8 for storing bills in the storage chamber 50 in the accumulated condition. The embodiment of the present invention produces the following effects: (1) The validator means 2 can be easily exchanged. (2) Validator 2 without motor means can be manufactured light weight and small size for ease of handling and maintenance. (3) Other types of tickets can be validated by changing the validator 2 means by others. The Read Only Memory (ROM) can be changed to alter the data processing for ticket discrimination. (4) The individual motor 41 is available to drive the conveyor means 20 of the validator means 2 and the stacker means 3 to manufacture the small-ticket and low-cost ticket handling apparatus 1. The forms of the present invention may be varied in view of current demands without limitation of the above embodiment. For example, the conveyor means 20 and the disk link 37 can be driven by the individual motor 41 in the different rotational direction. The pins 12 may be provided in the frame 4, while the guide means 13 may be provided in the validator means 2 for receiving the pins 12.

- * ... Another motor other than the motor 41 may be provided in the validator means 2 for driving the conveyor means 20 by the electrical energy supplied to them via the connector means 60 from the power source. A part of the validator control means 8 can be placed in the validator means 2 not in the frame 4. As mentioned hitherto, the present invention comprises validator means that can be easily removed from the ticket handling apparatus to replace them with others for ease of maintenance and inspection of validator means. In addition, the ticket handling apparatus can easily respond to validate other types of tickets or change the model or to accommodate the modified design specification.

Claims (13)

1 . In a bill handling apparatus that includes validator means that are provided with sensor means for validating a bill inserted into the apparatus; stacker means for storing a bill in response to an exit from the validator means when the bill is considered genuine by the validator means; and a frame for supporting the stacker means, the improvement comprising: coupling means for removably supporting the validator means for aligning a passage of the validator means with a passage of the stacker means, said coupling means being provided between the validator means and the frame; connector means for electrically connecting the sensor means in said validator means with the validator control means in said frame. A bill handling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the coupling means includes guiding means provided in one of the frame and the validator; and pins provided in the other of the frame and the validator in relation coupled to the guide means. 3. A bill handling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the coupling means includes a rotatable detent lever provided in said frame; a splice formed in the validator for coupling with the retainer lever; and a spring for elastically urging the detent lever toward the splice to maintain the coupling between the retainer lever and the splice. A bill handling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein a slider is provided in the frame for releasing the validator from the frame by decoupling the catch lever from the validator. 5. A bill handling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the coupling means includes guide means provided in the frame; and pins provided in the validator in relation coupled to the guide means. 6. In a bill handling apparatus that includes validator means that are provided with sensor means for validating a bill inserted into the apparatus; stacker means for storing a bill in response to an exit from the validator means when the bill is considered genuine by the validator means; and a frame for supporting the stacker means, the improvement comprising: coupling means for removably supporting the validator means for aligning a passage of the validator means with a passage of the stacker means, said coupling means being provided between the validator means and the frame; power transmitting means for impulsively connecting the driving means in said frame with conveyor means in said validator; and connector means for electrically connecting the sensor means in said validator means with the validator control means in said frame. A bill handling apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein wherein the coupling means includes guide means provided in one of the frame and the validator; and pins provided in the other of the frame and the validator in relation coupled to the guide means. 8. A bill handling apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the coupling means includes a rotatably retained lever provided in said frame; a splice formed in the validator for coupling with the retainer lever; and a spring for elastically urging the detent lever toward the splice to maintain the coupling between the retainer lever and the splice. A bill handling apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein a slider is provided in the frame for releasing the validator from the frame by decoupling the catch lever from the validator. A bill handling apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the coupling means includes '-' * guide means provided in the frame; and pins provided in the validator in relation coupled to the guide means. 11. A bill handling apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the energy transmitting means 5 comprise a rotatably driven drive gear supported on the frame; and a rotatably driven gear mounted on the validator for engagement with the drive gear. 1

2. A bill handling apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the connector means comprises a 10 plug and a receptacle into which the plug is inserted. 1

3. A bill handling apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the energy transmitting means comprises a drive gear of the drive means and in the frame and a driven engagement of the conveyor means in 15 said validator, said driving and driving gears are located in the same plane, when the validator means are connected to the stacker means by the coupling means in the condition in which the passages of the validator means and the means of the stacker are aligned with each other, 20 connector means comprise a validator sensor plug in the validator means and a receptacle in said frame, the plug and the receptacle are in the same plane. SUMMARY A banknote handling apparatus (1) comprises a discrimination device (2), which has a discrimination sensor (22) for discriminating the loaded bank note (5) from the counterfeit, a stacking device (3) for storing banknotes (5) that are considered genuine, on the basis of an output from the discriminating device (2), a frame (4) supporting the stacking device (3), a connecting device (10) provided between the frame (4) and the discrimination device (2) to detachably support the discrimination device (2) on the frame (4) with a conveyor passage (21) of the discrimination device (2) aligned with a conveyor passage (31). ) of the stacking device (3) and, a connector (60) for electrically connecting the discrimination sensor (22) in the discrimination device (2) to a discrimination control device (8) provided in the frame (4). When the discriminating device (2) is connected to the stacking device (3) by the connecting device (10) with the conveyor passages (21, 31) of the discriminating device (2) and of the stacking device (3) being aligned between yes, the discrimination sensor (22) is automatically and electrically connected via the connector (60) to the discrimination control device (8) provided in the frame (4) and, a conveyor device (20) provided in the discrimination device (2) is powerfully connected automatically to a drive device (6) provided in the frame (4) by means of the power connection means.