WO2004077365A2

WO2004077365A2 - Improvements relating to the handling and dispensing of flexible sheets

Info

Publication number: WO2004077365A2
Application number: PCT/GB2004/000799
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Bellis; Alan Brookes
Original assignee: Innovative Technology Ltd
Priority date: 2003-02-28
Filing date: 2004-02-27
Publication date: 2004-09-10
Also published as: WO2004077365A3; GB0304690D0

Abstract

A banknote dispensing machine (10) is described which comprises a banknote validator (12), stacking means (16) arranged to stack a plurality of validated banknotes obtained from the banknote validator (12) and means (22) for dispensing individual banknotes from the stack to a user.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO THE H ANDI TNG AND DISPENSING OF FLEXIBLE SHEETS

Field of the Invention The present invention concerns improvements relating to flexible sheet handling and dispensing, and more particularly though not exclusively to a self-filling banknote dispenser. The present invention also extends to improved mechanisms and techniques for retrieving banknotes from a stack.

Background of the Invention

For convenience, banknotes will be used as an example of such sheets throughout this specification. The term banknote will also be used to encompass other items of money's worth that have detectable features requiring validation, such as tickets and vouchers.

Many countries in the world have only banknotes and no coins in proper circulation. This causes a problem operating amusement or gaming machines, where either money has to be paid to an attendant or banknotes changed to tokens or some other inconvenient means employed to run the machines.

Machines for dispensing banknotes such as Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) are known, as are machines for paying out banknotes (for a win or for change) from gaming or amusement machines. These machines are manually filled with banknotes to be dispensed by a person visiting the machine at regular intervals. Whilst some gaming or amusement machines can also accept banknotes, these banknotes are kept separate from the banknotes to be dispensed.

Banknote dispensing machines are also known which are automatically filled from the banknotes that are inserted by the customer. An example of such a machine is a banknote cache described in the Applicant's International Patent application no. PCT/GBOO/ 00266 published as WO 01/54075 A. A further example is manufactured by N.S.M. GmbH, of Bingen Germany. In these prior art machines the banknotes received from the users are validated and then individually cached ready for paying out as required. By definition, as each different banknote is cached individually, it is a relatively easy task to select different denominations and combinations of banknote to be dispensed.

A pure banknote dispensing apparatus such as an ATM can be used but the hopper containing the banknotes to be dispensed would have to be constantly replenished by hand. Not only is this time consuming but also the cost of maintenance of these machines is expensive.

The NSM dispenser and that described in the Applicant's abovementioned patent application takes banknotes through a validator and subsequently stores the banknotes individually into separate pockets. Separate pockets are used because there is a perceived problem of only allowing one banknote to be picked at any one time. Unfortunately, this severely restricts the number of banknotes that can be stored inside a machine due to space restrictions. Alternatively, if the banknote dispenser capacity is maximised, this leads to an impracticably large sized self-filling banknote dispenser.

To have sufficient banknotes available to pay any potential winnings on a gaming machine, hundreds or even a thousand banknotes need to be stored. It is also preferable to have several different denominations of banknote available in the machine to pay both large and small wins.

Accordingly, an aim of the present invention is to overcome or at least substantially reduce some of the above described problems.

Summary of the Present Invention

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a banknote dispensing machine comprising a banknote validator, stacking means arranged to stack a plurality of validated banknotes obtained from the banknote validator and means for dispensing individual banknotes from the stack to a user. By using a validated banknote stacker (having a plurality of validated banknotes stacked on top of each other) as a banknote cache for dispensing banknotes to users as required, it is possible to achieve significant benefits over the existing prior art devices. For example, the capacity to store banknotes ready for pay out is greatly enhanced by several orders of magnitude over the prior art. Also the size of the system handling the banknotes such as a vending machine, gaming machine or pay out machine is minimised as no separate cache for individual banknotes is required.

Preferably, the stacking means comprises a cassette as its use is one of the simplest ways of retaining a stack of banknotes. Advantageously by providing a plurality of cassettes in the stacker, a plurality of different denominations or currencies of banknote can be stored and readily differentiated for pay out purposes. Providing the plurality of cassettes as compartments in a carousel is preferred as it enables the most efficient use of space.

Advantageously, there is provided a controlling means which preferably includes a software program that controls movement of the cassettes to present a desired stack of validated banknotes in a cassette to the dispensing means and also to present a desired stack of validated banknotes in a cassette to a recently validated banknote for stacking the banknote in that cassette. This advantageously creates a single general banknote path, from entry at the validator to being dispensed, which can mimic multiple different banknote paths by virtue of the variable banknote caching in the moveable cassettes.

To insert banknotes into a cassette and to subsequently remove banknotes from the same cassette, the pick-up mechanism or the cassette has to move into position to pick the banknote and move out of position to allow for the cassettes to rotate or reposition. This is preferably achieved by the dispensing mechanism being located on a hingedly movable support arm.

In summary one problem of the prior art which is overcome by this aspect of the present invention is how to dispense different types of banknotes from a plurality of stacks of validated banknotes. The obvious and most reliable way is for the banknote dispensing mechanism to be repeated for each banknote stacking cassette in the machine because this is how an ATM works with different stacked denominations of banknotes. However, this is an expensive solution to this issue which also would increase the size of the overall mechanism. The inventors have appreciated that by rationalising the design to a single dispensing mechanism which engages with any of the multiple cassettes, the cost and size of the self-filling banknote machine can be reduced significantly.

The present invention also extends to a method of dispensing banknotes, the method comprising validating a banknote, stacking the validated banknote with a plurality of previously validated banknotes and dispensing an individual banknote from the plurality of stacked banknotes to a user.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a banknote dispensing apparatus comprising stacking means arranged to stack a plurality of validated banknotes into a plurality of different stacks and means for dispensing individual banknotes from each of the plurality of stacks to a user, the dispensing means comprising a dispensing mechanism which is arranged to be releasably engageable with each of the plurality of stacks to provide a single output path from the plurality of different stacks to a user.

The banknote dispensing apparatus preferably further comprises a banknote validator arranged to co-operate with the stacking means to validate and stack banknotes input into the dispensing machine and which is arranged to provide a single input path into the stacking means.

The stacking means preferably comprises a rotatable carousel of cassettes, each cassette being arranged to store a single stack of banknotes. It is also possible for the stacking means to comprise a movable array of cassettes but this is not as space efficient as the carousel format.

To permit the rotation of the carousel, the dispensing means preferably comprises a hingedly movable support arm and means for moving the arm between a first location operably engaging one of the stacks and a second location disengaging the previously engaged stack and permitting movement of the plurality of different stacks.

The present invention also extends to a method of dispensing banknotes, the method comprising: stacking a plurality of validated banknotes into a plurality of different stacks; and dispensing individual banknotes from each of the plurality of stacks to a user; wherein the dispensing step comprises moving the different stacks relative to a dispensing mechanism and releasably engaging the dispensing mechanism with a desired stack of the plurality of stacks to provide a single output path from the plurality of different stacks to a user.

As has been mentioned previously, a problem with the prior art dispensers are that some machines require the vendor to fill banknote pay out cassettes by hand whilst others which fill through the banknote validator itself, put the banknotes into individual pockets for easy pick-up when dispensing with a consequent limited pay out capacity. The present invention stacks banknotes in piles (stacks), into cassettes through the validator and dispenses banknotes by picking the top banknote from the stack of banknotes in a cassette i.e. the banknotes are not separated from each other, as in the prior art. Thus, in one broad aspect the present invention can be considered to be the use of the banknote stacker as a pay out cache for a dispensing machine.

To ensure that only one banknote is dispensed at a time from a stack of banknotes, the present invention also extends to a sheet dispensing apparatus comprising a first drive roller for engaging the end sheet of the stack and driving the same towards a pinch point, a second roller for dispensing the displaced driven end sheet from the apparatus, and a formation of frictional material provided adjacent the second roller wherein the strength of the frictional characteristic is greater than the strength of the frictional characteristic between two sheets but less than the strength of the frictional characteristic between a sheet and the second roller. This ensures that if two banknotes are pulled through at the same time and the second banknote gets to the pinch point first, the top banknote will be the only banknote dispensed as it slips over the second banknote because of the low frictional forces between the banknotes. The frictional material will hold the second banknote back until the top banknote has passed through the pinch point.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet dispensing apparatus for dispensing an end sheet from one end of a stack of sheets, the apparatus comprising a sensing wheel arranged to contact the one end of the stack, and control means being arranged, in response to a movement condition of the sensing wheel, to control one or more drive rollers to prevent a sheet adjacent the end sheet from being dispensed with the end sheet. This aspect of the present invention enables an adequate gap to be created between two notes being dispensed, such that conventional sensors can detect note separation and hence ensure that the correct number of notes are d spensed.

Preferably, the sensing wheel is positioned adjacent a sheet dispensing pinch point and the pinch point comprises an element having a frictional characteristic less than that of the one or more drive rollers but higher than that of a sheet surface.

Advantageously, the control means is arranged to reverse the direction of one of the rollers in response to the sensing wheel being stationary. This ensures that a second banknote is not dispensed with a first banknote if two banknotes have reached the pinch point at the same time.

The sheet dispensing apparatus also comprises an optical light sensing switch arranged to sense the trailing edge of the end sheet once it has been dispensed. Advantageously, the control means is arranged to stop driving the rollers once the trailing edge of the banknote to be dispensed has been sensed. This creates a significant spacing between two banknotes and prevents them being dispensed at the same time.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a self-filling banknote dispenser, including a validator, a carousel, and a cassette docking mechanism, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is another perspective of the self-filling banknote dispenser of Figure 1 showing an outer casing of the dispenser; Figure 3 is a plan sectional view of the self-filling banknote dispenser of Figure 1, illustrating the fact that the carousel can rotate without requiring any relative movement between the validator and the axis of the carousel;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the self-filling banknote dispenser of Figure 1, showing the cassette docking mechanism including a banknote dispensing mechanism in a position engaging a banknote cassette of the carousel of the self-filling banknote dispenser;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the self-filling banknote dispenser of Figure 1, showing the cassette docking mechanism including the banknote dispensing mechanism in a position disengaging a banknote cassette of the carousel of the self-filling banknote dispenser;

Figure 6 is a schematic sectional diagram of a prior art banknote dispensing mechanism before any movement of the driver rollers;

Figure 7 is a schematic sectional diagram of the prior art banknote dispensing mechanism of Figure 6 showing the problem of a second note dispensing after some movement of the driver rollers;

Figure 8 is a schematic sectional diagram of the banknote dispensing mechanism of Figures 1 to 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 9 is a schematic sectional diagram of an alternative banknote dispensing mechanism to that shown in Figure 8 according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 10 is a schematic sectional diagram of an alternative banknote dispensing mechanism to that shown in Figures 7 and 8 incorporating a sensing wheel according to third embodiment of the present invention; Figure 11 is a schematic sectional diagram of the banknote dispensing mechanism of Figure 10 showing a start position for feeding a first banknote from a stack of banknotes to dispense the same individually;

Figure 12 is a schematic sectional diagram of the banknote dispensing mechanism of Figure 10 showing a second position in feeding a first banknote from a stack of banknotes, where the first banknote reaches a pinch point;

Figure 13 is a schematic sectional diagram of the banknote dispensing mechanism of Figure 10 showing a third position in feeding a first banknote from a stack of banknotes, where a second banknote reaches stationary friction material;

Figure 14 is a schematic sectional diagram of the banknote dispensing mechanism of Figure 10 showing a fourth position in feeding a first banknote from a stack of banknotes, where the sensing wheel rests on the second banknote and is stationary;

Figure 15 is a schematic sectional diagram of the banknote dispensing mechanism of Figure 10 showing a fifth position in feeding a first banknote from a stack of banknotes, where the drive roller 1 is reversed to pull the second banknote away from the pinch point; and

Figure 16 is a schematic sectional diagram of the banknote dispensing mechanism of Figure 10 showing a sixth position in feeding a first banknote from a stack of banknotes, where the second banknote has been pulled back onto the stack and the first banknote has been dispensed.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

Referring firstly to Figures 1 to 5, a validated banknote dispenser 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a banknote validator 12, a rotating carousel 14 of banknote cassettes 16 for storing banknotes (not shown) together with a drive mechanism 18 for rotating the carousel 14 in accordance with electronic control software (not shown) provided in the validator 12, a cassette docking mechanism 20 including a banknote dispensing mechanism 22, and a cash tray 24 for collating and presenting all of the banknotes to be paid out to the user. In use, the validated banknote dispenser 10 stacks banknotes in piles into cassettes 16 from the validator 12 and dispenses validated banknotes through the cash tray 24 by picking the top banknote from a stack of banknotes in a cassette. An outer casing 26 (shown in Figure 2) is provided which encases the carousel 14 and the banknote dispensing mechanism 22 to prevent tampering during use. Openings 28 are provided in the outer casing 26 to provide manual access to the validated banknotes in the cassettes 16.

The banknote validator 12 receives banknotes, verifies them by checking their authenticity and condition and once validated passes them to one of the banknote cassettes 16 for stacking. The stacking mechanism (not shown) in the validator is described in the Applicant's corresponding International patent application WO 03/012747, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Briefly, the stacking mechanism comprises a plate mechanism which simply pushes the banknote when it has been moved to the correct position relative to the stack, onto the stack, through an opening that is slightly smaller than the banknote itself which prevents the banknote from being removed inadvertently.

The rotating carousel 14 has four cassettes 16 which have a depth and width suitable for storing banknotes of different denominations. Each cassette 16 can contain several hundreds of banknotes of the same or different denominations. When the carousel 14 is rotated, a different cassette 16 is presented to the validator 12 and dispensing mechanism 22. It is to be appreciated that the cassettes 16, could in alternative embodiments, be arranged in a linear array. In these cases, the required cassette would be slid in a sideways movement or moved to a place adjacent to the dispensing mechanism 22 in some other way obvious to someone learned in the art, to achieve the desired result. The use of a carousel 14, however, provides best use of space and greatest operational efficiency.

Relative movement along a vertical plane between the carousel 14 and the cassette docking mechanism 20 is required for the carousel 14 to be able to rotate without obstruction. To insert banknotes into a cassette 16 and to subsequently remove banknotes from the same cassette 16 requires rotating the carousel 14. The cassette docking mechanism 20 moves into position to pick a banknote from a cassette 16 and moves out of position to allow the carousel 14 to rotate or reposition to re-load banknotes from the validator 12. However, no relative movement between the validator 12 and the carousel 14 is required, as can be seen in Figure 3. The positional relationship between an axis of rotation of the carousel 14 and the validator 12 is fixed. The repositioning/rotation of the carousel 14 and the movement of the cassette docking mechanism 20 is controlled by the control software preferably provided in the control electronics of the validator 12 and driven by the drive mechanism 18.

The control software in the validator 12 is programmed with the denommation contents of each cassette 16 and sends a control signal to the drive mechanism 18, which includes a solenoid motor (not shown), to rotate the carousel 14 until the correct cassette 16 is adjacent to the dispensing mechanism 22. One or more banknotes are dispensed from the stacked banknotes in the cassette 16 and the carousel 14 can be rotated to pay out further banknotes.

If many of the same denomination banknote are to be used for paying out winnings, more than one cassette 16 can be programmed by the control software to contain the same denomination of banknote. Alternatively, several different denominations of banknote may be stored in one overflow cassette which will not be used for dispensing banknotes. In this case, the overflow cassette would only store banknotes which were already stored in another full cassette, or banknotes which the dispenser had no intention of dispensing such as the largest denomination banknotes in the case of providing change.

As has been mentioned above, the cassette docking mechanism 20 and the dispensing mechanism 22 are arranged to be moved between two limiting positions. Firstly, towards the carousel 14 to ensure contact between a banknote to be dispensed from a cassette 16 and the dispensing mechanism 22 (Figure 4) and secondly away from the carousel 14 to allow enough space for the carousel 14 to rotate to the next required position (Figure 5). In the present embodiment, the dispensing mechanism 22 is located on a hingedly movable support arm 30. This relative moving apart can also be achieved by imparting relative movement between the carousel 14 and the dispensing mechanism 22 by movement of the carousel 14, or by imparting relative movement between a cassette 16 and the dispensing mechanism 22 by movement of the whole cassette 16, for example.

The banknote dispensing mechanism 22 is arranged to be releasably engageable with each banknote stack and also incorporates special features to ensure that only a single banknote is picked up at a time, which will now be described with reference to Figures 6 to 16.

Conventionally, there is a problem in the art of how to pick a single banknote from the top or bottom of a pile of banknotes, reliably. Difficulties are caused by banknotes having a tendency to stick together, having static build-up, varying slightly in size and varying in condition etc., causing an attempt for the first banknote in the pile to result in the second or third banknote being driven out of the mechanism together with or instead of the first banknote. This is shown graphically in Figures 6 and 7, where rotation of a first drive roller 40, drives a first banknote 42 off a stack 44 of banknotes which results in a second underlying banknote 46 reaching a pinch point 48 on a sheet dispensing nip 49 before the first banknote 42. This results in the second banknote 46 being dispensed first. The cause of the second underlying banknote 46 reaching the pinch point 48 before the top banknote 42 may include uneven stacking of the banknotes or the top two banknotes sticking together.

The present inventors have realised that the solution to this problem lies in the appreciation of the relative frictional forces between the banknotes, and the relative frictional forces between the drive rollers and the banknotes. In view of this appreciation, this problem can be overcome by use of a sheet dispensing nip having an appropriate frictional property in conjunction with a conventional banknote dispensing mechanism.

The following implementations of this solution in the first and second embodiments rely on the relative frictional forces between the different items. The frictional force between any two banknotes can be described as low. The friction level between any banknote and both drive rollers is very high. The friction level between the stationary friction material and a banknote, or either of the drive rollers can be described as medium. In the first implementation as shown in Figure 8 and embodied in the self-filling banknote dispenser 10 of Figures 1 to 5, two drive rollers 40, 50 are provided which are driven simultaneously to rotate in an anticlockwise direction. There is also provided a frictional material 52 which functions as a sheet dispensing nip but has a relatively large sheet engaging surface area compared to a conventional sheet dispensing nip. Further, the frictional characteristic of the frictional material 52 is such that it imparts medium frictional forces between it and an adjacent banknote or a drive roller which is more than the frictional forces between two banknotes and less than that between a banknote and a drive roller. The frictional material 52 is effectively an elongate and curved sheet dispensing nip extending along at least one quartile of the surface of the second drive roller 50.

In operation, banknote(s) are driven to the pinch point 48 by the first drive roller 40. If the top banknote 42 gets to the pinch point 48 first, only this banknote 42 will be driven through as the second banknote 46 will be held back by the frictional material 52. This is due to the frictional forces between the a drive roller and a banknote being higher than that between two banknotes and between the frictional material 52 and a banknote.

If the second banknote 46 gets to the pinch point 48 first, both the top 42 and second banknote 46 will be driven in-between the frictional material 52 and the second drive roller 50 until the top banknote 42 touches the pinch point 48. Then, the top banknote 42 will be the only banknote to move as the top banknote 42 slips over the second banknote 46. The second drive roller 50 drives the top banknote 42 through whilst the frictional material 52 holds the second banknote 46 back until the top banknote 42 has passed through the pinch point 48.

The second embodiment, as shown in Figure 9, differs from the embodiment shown in Figure 8 in that instead of the curved stationary friction material formation 52, there is provided a bar 54 having high frictional surface properties. The bar 54 is stationary and is positioned such that the tip 56 of the bar provides the pinch point 48.

In use, the first drive roller 40 is driven alone for a fixed period of time which fully ensures that the top banknote 42 is driven to the pinch point 48. If the top banknote 42 reaches the pinch point 48 before the expiry of the fixed time period, the remaining time is taken up with the first drive roller 40 slipping over the top banknote 42. The top banknote 42 does not get significantly crumpled or creased at the pinch point 48 because the banknote 42 usually has sufficient rigidity to resist bending and also because the frictional force between the first drive roller 40 and the top banknote 42 is not sufficient to do this. With a very weak banknote, there may be some bending but this can be accommodated in the embodiment shown in Figure 9. The frictional force between the second drive roller 50 and the bar 54 is more than that between the first drive roller 40 and the banknote 42 which results in the first drive roller 40 slipping over the first banknote 42. If the second banknote 46 were pushed to the pinch point 48 before the top banknote 42, the second banknote 46 would be held and the remaining time would allow the first banknote 42 to slide over the second banknote 46 (i.e. the lowest frictional items) until it reached the stationary pinch point 48.

Once the fixed time period has expired, both drive rollers 40, 50 are rotated simultaneously causing only the top banknote 42 to be driven by the second drive roller 50, the second banknote 46 being held back by the bar 54.

The banknote dispensing mechanism 22 incorporates further special features to ensure that only a single banknote is dispensed at a time.

In conventional banknote dispensing systems, once a banknote is being driven through by the second drive roller, for example, the second banknote may already be in a position to be driven sequentially. This may not allow for an adequate gap between the first and second banknotes to sense (optically or otherwise) the separation and could cause two banknotes to be dispensed at one time.

A third embodiment of a part of the banknote dispensing mechanism 22 is shown in Figure 10 and differs from the previous embodiment only in that a sensing wheel 58 is provided adjacent the drive rollers 40, 50. The sensing wheel 58 is monitored electronically. The sensing wheel 58 is positioned to rest on the top banknote 42 preferably close to the pinch point 48. If the sensing wheel 58 is moving it can be assumed that the top (first) banknote 42 is proceeding through the mechanism 22. Once it stops moving it will be resting on the second (underlying) banknote 46. At this point the first drive roller 40 can be made to reverse thus pulling the second banknote 46 out of the pinch point 48 and ensuring that it is not dispensed with the first banknote 42.

A more detailed explanation of this embodiment is now provided with reference to Figures 11 to 16. Figure 11 shows an initial position where the sensing wheel 58 and both drive rollers 40, 50 are stationary. Here, as in the previous embodiments, the banknote dispensing mechanism 22 is in place against the banknotes stacked in a cassette 16 of the carousel 14. An exit beam transmitter 60 and receiver 62 are provided either side of the pinch point 48 for detecting when a banknote is being dispensed (broken exit beam) and when there is no banknote currently being dispensed (solid exit beam).

The first drive roller 40 then rotates anti-clockwise causing the sensing wheel 58 to rotate and banknote(s) are forced into the pinch point 48 as shown in Figure 12. The sensing wheel 58 then stops temporarily. Next, as shown in Figure 13, anticlockwise rotation of the second drive roller 50 begins, which drives the top banknote 42 through the pinch point 48. The sensing wheel 58 rotates with the movement of the top banknote 42.

As can be seen clearly in Figure 14, the sensing wheel 58 stops rotating once the top banknote 42 has passed under it as the second banknote 46 is stationary at that moment in time. Rotation of the first drive roller 40 is stopped as a consequence of sensing the stopping of rotation of the sensing wheel 58. This in itself may be sufficient to stop the second banknote 46 from being driven into the pinch point 48. However, in this embodiment, and in the step shown in Figure 15, the first drive roller 40 is made to rotate clockwise to pull back the next (second) banknote 46 out of the pinch point 48 and to create a significant spacing with respect to the first banknote 42 along the banknote dispensing path. This is a safer and more secure method than if the first drive roller 40 is simply not driven whilst the second driver roller 50 is driven to dispense the first banknote 42. Finally as shown in Figure 16, the first drive roller 40 is made to stop whilst the second drive roller 50 continues to dispense the first banknote 42 until the exit beam is intact and no longer broken by the presence of the first banknote 42.

Having described preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be appreciated that the embodiments in question are exemplary only, and that variations and modifications, such as those which will occur to those possessed of the appropriate knowledge and skills, may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. For example, the carousel has been described as having four cassettes, the size of the carousel could be adjusted so as to hold either more or less cassettes. It is also to be appreciated that the control software can be stored externally to the banknote dispenser for example in a host machine containing the banknote dispenser or in any other part of the banknote dispenser. Furthermore, two separate drive mechanisms can be provided for driving the carousel rotation and the cassette docking mechanism.

Claims

1. A banknote dispensing machine comprising a banknote validator, stacking means arranged to stack a plurality of validated banknotes obtained from the banknote validator and means for dispensing individual banknotes from the stack to a user.

2. A banknote dispensing machine according to Claim 1, wherein the stacking means comprises a cassette.

3. A banknote dispensing machine according to Claim 1 or 2, further comprising a plurality of stacking means each arranged to stack a plurality of validated banknotes.

4. A banknote dispensing machine according to Claim 3 as dependent from Claim 2, wherein the plurality of cassettes are provided as compartments in a carousel.

5. A banknote dispensing machine according to Claim 3 or 4, further comprising means for controlling movement of the plurality of stacking means to present a desired stack of validated banknotes to the dispensing means.

6. A banknote dispensing machine according to Claim 5, wherein the controlling means is arranged to control the movement of the plurality of stacking means to present a desired stack of validated banknotes to a recently validated banknote for stacking the banknote.

7. A banknote dispensing machine according to Claim 5 or 6, wherein the controlling means comprises a software program provided in the banknote validator.

8. A banknote dispensing machine according to any preceding claim, wherein the dispensing means comprises a single dispensing mechanism which is arranged to be releasably engageable with the stacking means or plurality of stacking means.

9. A banknote dispensing machine according to Claim 8, wherein the dispensing mechanism is located on a hingedly movable support arm.

10. A banknote dispensing machine according to any preceding claim, further comprising a casing for the validator, stacking means and dispensing means, the casing being arranged to provide manual access to validated banknotes in the cassette or plurality of cassettes.

11. A self-filling banknote dispenser comprising means arranged to individually dispense banknotes from a stack of banknotes received and validated by the dispenser.

12. A method of dispensing banknotes, the method comprising validating a banknote, stacking the validated banknote with a plurality of previously validated banknotes and dispensing an individual banknote from the plurality of stacked banknotes to a user.

13. A banknote dispensing apparatus comprising stacking means arranged to stack a plurality of validated banknotes into a plurality of different stacks and means for dispensing individual banknotes from each of the plurality of stacks to a user, the dispensing means comprising a dispensing mechanism which is arranged to be releasably engageable with each of the plurality of stacks to provide a single output path from the plurality of different stacks to a user.

14. A banknote dispensing apparatus according to Claim 13, further comprising a banknote validator arranged to co-operate with the stacking means to validate and stack banknotes input into the dispensing machine.

15. A banknote dispensing apparatus according to Claim 14, wherein the banknote validator is arranged to provide a single input path into the stacking means.

16. A banknote dispensing apparatus according to any of Claims 13 to 15, wherein the stacking means comprises a movable array of cassettes, each cassette being arranged to store a single stack of banknotes.

17. A banknote dispensing apparatus according to any of Claims 13 to 15, wherein the stacking means comprises a rotatable carousel of cassettes, each cassette being arranged to store a single stack of banknotes.

18. A banknote dispensing apparatus according to Claim 17 as dependent on Claim 14, wherein the positional relationship between an axis of rotation of the carousel and the banknote validator is fixed.

19. A banknote dispensing apparatus according to any of Claims 16 to 18, wherein the dispensing means comprises a hingedly movable support arm and means for moving the arm between a first location operably engaging one of the plurality of stacks and a second location disengaging the previously engaged stack and permitting movement of the plurality of different stacks.

20. A method of dispensing banknotes, the method comprising: stacking a plurality of validated banknotes into a plurality of different stacks; and dispensing individual banknotes from each of the plurality of stacks to a user; wherein the dispensing step comprises moving the different stacks relative to a dispensing mechanism and releasably engaging the dispensing mechanism with a desired stack of the plurality of stacks to provide a single output path from the plurality of different stacks to a user.

21. A sheet dispensing apparatus comprising a drive roller for engaging and driving an end sheet from a stack of sheets and an element forming part of a sheet dispensing nip with the drive roller, the frictional characteristic of the element preventing a sheet underneath the end sheet from being dispensed whilst the end sheet is being dispensed.

22. An apparatus according to Claim 21, wherein the element comprises an elongate curved nip with a relatively large sheet engaging surface area.

23. An apparatus according to Claim 21 or 22, further comprising an additional drive roller for engaging the end sheet of the stack and driving it into the nip.

24. An apparatus according to any of Claims 21 to 23, wherein the drive roller and the additional drive roller are arranged to be driven simultaneously.

25. An apparatus according to any of Claims 21 to 23, wherein the additional drive roller is arranged to be driven for a predetermined period of time prior to driving both drive rollers to enable the end sheet to reach the nip.

26. An apparatus according to any of Claims 21 to 23, wherein the strength of the frictional characteristic of the frictional material is greater than the strength of the frictional characteristic between two sheets but less than the strength of the frictional characteristic between a sheet and the drive roller.

27. A method of dispensing an end sheet from a stack of sheets, the method comprising engaging and driving an end sheet from a stack of sheets and preventing dispensing of a sheet adjacent the end sheet by providing an element forming part of a sheet dispensing nip with a frictional characteristic sufficient to prevent the adjacent sheet from being dispensed whilst the end sheet is being dispensed.

28. A sheet dispensing apparatus for dispensing a single sheet from one end of a stack of sheets, the apparatus comprising: a first drive roller for engaging the end sheet of the stack and driving the same towards a pinch point, a second roller for dispensing the displaced driven end sheet from the apparatus, and a formation of frictional material provided adjacent the second roller so as to define the pinch point with the second roller wherein the strength of the frictional characteristic of the frictional material is greater than the strength of the frictional characteristic between two sheets but less than the strength of the frictional characteristic between a sheet and the second roller.

29. A sheet dispensing apparatus for dispensing an end sheet from one end of a stack of sheets, the apparatus comprising a sensing wheel arranged to contact the one end of the stack, and control means being arranged, in response to a movement condition of the sensing wheel, to control one or more drive rollers to prevent a sheet adjacent the end sheet from being dispensed with the end sheet.

30. An apparatus according to Claim 29, wherein the sensing wheel is positioned adjacent a sheet dispensing pinch point.

31. An apparatus according to Claims 29 or 30, wherein the pinch point comprises an element having a frictional characteristic less than that of the one or more drive rollers but higher than that of a sheet surface.

32. An apparatus according to any of Claims 29 to 31, wherein the apparatus comprises a plurality of drive rollers and the control means is arranged to reverse the direction of one of the rollers in response to the movement condition of the sensing wheel.

33. An apparatus according to any of Claims 29 to 31, wherein the apparatus comprises a plurality of drive rollers and the control means is arranged to stop driving one of the rollers in response to the movement condition of the sensing wheel.

34. An apparatus according to any of Claims 29 to 33, wherein the movement condition is a stationary condition.

35. An apparatus according to any of Claims 29 to 34, further comprising an optical light sensing switch arranged to sense the trailing edge of the end sheet once it has been dispensed.

36. An apparatus according to Claim 35, wherein the control means is arranged to receive signals from the optical light switch and to control the movement of the drive rollers in response thereto.

37. An apparatus according to Claim 36, wherein the control means is arranged to stop driving the rollers once the trailing edge of the banknote to be dispensed has been sensed.

38. A sheet dispensing apparatus for dispensing a single sheet from one end of a stack of sheets, the apparatus comprising a sensing wheel positioned adjacent a sheet dispensing pinch point and in contact with the one end of the stack, and control means being arranged, in response to a movement condition of the sensing wheel, to control one or more drive rollers to prevent a sheet adjacent the end sheet from being dispensed with the end sheet.

39. A method of dispensing a single sheet from one end of a stack of sheets, the method comprising sensing a movement condition of a sensing wheel in contact with the one end of the stack, and controlling, in response to the sensing step, one or more drive rollers to prevent a sheet adjacent the end sheet from being dispensed with the end sheet.

40. A method of dispensing or a dispensing apparatus substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 5 and 8 to 16 of the accompanying drawings.

41. A banknote dispensing machine or a banknote dispensing apparatus substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 5 and 8 to 16 of the accompanying drawings.