WO2014207633A1

WO2014207633A1 - Cash casettes

Info

Publication number: WO2014207633A1
Application number: PCT/IB2014/062470
Authority: WO
Inventors: Phillip DE JAGER
Original assignee: Bytes Technology Group South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
Priority date: 2013-06-27
Filing date: 2014-06-20
Publication date: 2014-12-31
Also published as: AP2015008908A0

Abstract

A cash cassette(100) includes a cash container (50) dimensioned to receive a plurality of rectangular banknotes arranged in a pack (62) or stack face-to-face with one longitudinal edge of each banknote positioned against or facing a wall of the container (50). A lid (10) is provided to close the cash container (50), the lid (10) and the cash container (50) being displaceable relative to each other to provide access to an interior of the cash container (50) and the lid (10) being opposed to said wall of the cash container (50) when the cash container (50) is closed. At least one hollow elongate glass dye stain fluid container (16) is mounted to the lid (10), the glass dye stain fluid container (16) being configured to break in the event of an explosion in the immediate vicinity of the cash cassette (100) to release dye stain into the interior of the cash container (50) and the glass dye stain fluid container (16) being dimensioned to press with glass-to-banknote contact against longitudinal side edges of banknotes in the cash container (50) where said longitudinal side edges are opposite the longitudinal side edges of the banknotes positioned against said wall of the cash container (50).

Description

CASH CASETTES

THIS INVENTION relates to cash cassettes. In particular, the invention relates to a cash cassette, to a lid for a cash cassette, to an ATM and to a method of modifying a cash cassette.

Cash cassettes (also known as currency cassettes) are used in automatic teller machines (ATM's) and the like to store valuable media such as banknotes or vouchers or tickets or the like. For ease of reference, in this specification the term "banknote", also sometimes spelled "bank note" is intended to include currency but also other valuable media which is banknote-like, i.e. typically in the form of a rectangular sheet, or dispensed from an ATM or similar dispensing machine in the same fashion as banknotes are dispensed.

ATM's often dispense banknotes to users in an unattended environment and an ATM thus typically includes a safe with a door designed to safeguard banknotes held by the ATM. The banknotes are usually stored in a currency cassette or cash cassette, which has many advantages, such as the opportunity to arrange banknotes neatly and in a specific order, easy and quick replenishment of banknotes in an ATM by simply replacing an empty cash cassette with a full cash cassette, and ease of transport of the cash. The cash cassettes of an ATM are usually inserted into a cash dispenser protected by the safe of an ATM. Unfortunately, criminals have realised that by feeding an explosive material (whether a solid material, a liquid or a gas) through a cash dispensing slot of an ATM, it is possible to cause an explosion inside the safe of an ATM, with the resultant instant increase in pressure blowing off the door of the safe, providing access to the cash cassette or cash cassettes housed within the safe. To avoid theft of currency cassettes or cash cassettes, or the cash contained by such cassettes, sophisticated fluid spray systems (dye stain systems) have been designed for staining banknotes in the event that the system detects an attempted tampering with the cash cassette or the safe of an ATM. These sophisticated systems rely on sensors to detect when the door of the safe is forced open, when an attempt is made to drill through a wall of the safe, explosions, tilting of the safe, cutting of electric power to the ATM, and the like. If a sensor is activated, a spoiling agent or dye is sprayed over the contents of a cash cassette to stain the contents (typically banknotes). As will be appreciated, when anyone attempts to use these stained banknotes in a transaction, it is evident that the banknotes may have been obtained illegitimately from an ATM or the like fitted with a dye stain system.

These sophisticated dye stain systems have a number of drawbacks, including costs, accidental activation due to faulty sensors, faulty alarm systems, faulty electronics and the like, a dependency on electrical power or battery back-up systems (with the battery back-up systems often not even providing power to the dye stain system, or with thieves sometimes merely cutting power to the ATM and then waiting for the back-up battery to run down before blowing open the safe of the ATM, thus preventing the dye stain system from being activated), limited dye stain reservoir volumes (e.g. 500ml per ATM, with the ATM possibly holding a number, e.g. up to five, cash cassettes), a requirement for frequent servicing (e.g. every 6 months) and extended ATM downtime to install the dye stain system.

Cash cassettes employing a dye stain system which does not suffer from the abovementioned drawbacks, or which addresses at least some of these drawbacks and which is suitable for use with ATM's vulnerable to theft of cash by means of an explosion, would be desirable.

WO 2014/022868, published on 6 February 2014, discloses a protective device which includes a sealed container which is made from a material which breaks under the effect of a shock wave to release a dye stain fluid or the like. A preferred material for use in making the container is high density polyethylene. It is however believed that such a container may be unsuitable over time for holding dye stain fluid in view of the aggressive nature of a typical dye stain fluid, and that the container of WO 2014/022868 is overly complicated in design, unnecessarily difficult to manufacture, holds less than a desired amount of dye stain fluid, is too difficult and time consuming to replace or service and to fit to a lid of a cash cassette, and may not break when required and may not be as effective when broken to stain banknotes as is desired, as a result of the presence of a bank note depressor body or bank note aligner body or guide rail body, whether integral with or separate from the container, between the container and the banknotes.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a cash cassette which includes

a cash container dimensioned to receive a plurality of rectangular banknotes arranged in a pack or stack face-to-face with one longitudinal edge of each banknote positioned against or facing a wall of the container;

a lid to close the cash container, the lid and the cash container being displaceable relative to each other to provide access to an interior of the cash container and the lid being opposed to said wall of the cash container when the cash container is closed; and

at least one hollow elongate glass dye stain fluid container mounted to the lid, the glass dye stain fluid container being configured to break in the event of an explosion in the immediate vicinity of the cash cassette to release dye stain into the interior of the cash container and the glass dye stain fluid container being dimensioned to press with glass-to-banknote contact against longitudinal side edges of banknotes in the cash container where said longitudinal side edges are opposite the longitudinal side edges of the banknotes positioned against said wall of the cash container.

In this specification, by "an explosion in the immediate vicinity of the cash cassette" is meant an explosion which generates a shock wave sufficient to break the glass dye stain fluid container when impacting the glass dye stain fluid container thereby to release dye stain fluid from the shattered or broken glass container into the interior of the cash container. Such as explosion would typically be caused by a person attempting to obtain access to a secured cash cassette, e.g. a cash cassette secured in a safe of an ATM. Typically, the explosion would thus be immediately adjacent the ATM, or inside the ATM. In other words, the explosion is likely to be within less than 1 (one) meter of the cash cassette.

In this specification, "dye stain" is intended to include any banknote spoiling agent, e.g. a visible dye, a glue, a noxious substance, a damaging chemical agent, a solvent and the like, which when applied to a banknote marks the banknote in some easily recognisable semi-permanent or permanent way and distinguishes the banknote from an unmarked, normal or standard banknote. In this specification, "glass-to-banknote contact" is intended to include direct contact between an uncoated glass surface of the glass dye stain container and a longitudinal edge of a banknote, as well as contact between a coated glass surface of the glass dye stain container and a longitudinal edge of a banknote, and contact between a glass surface of the glass dye stain container covered by a thin laminate or film or the like adhesively attached or otherwise bonded to the glass surface and a longitudinal edge of a banknote, where said glass surface is defined by a glass wall of the glass dye stain fluid container. "Glass-to-banknote contact" however does not include contact between a bank note depressor body (note guide) or bank note aligner body or guide rail body or the like located between the glass dye stain container and a longitudinal edge of a banknote, whether the bank note depressor body or bank note aligner body or guide rail body or the like is of glass or any other material.

The cash container is thus typically elongate and in conventional fashion shaped (e.g. rectangular cuboid) and dimensioned to receive a plurality, e.g. 1800, banknotes arranged as a pack or stack, with the pack or stack of banknotes in use typically extending in a substantially horizontal direction. In other words, the banknotes are typically in the form of a pack or stack which is placed on its side, so that the banknotes rest on their longitudinal side edges on a floor of the cash container, typically between side walls or between an adjustable side guide and a side wall of the cash container, with the side walls or a side wall and a side guide thus typically facing or touching the shorter side edges of the banknotes. The banknotes will thus typically occupy a space which is rectangular cuboid (rectangular parallelepiped) when the cash container is full, with the space shrinking along a longitudinal axis to become a cuboid with four equal faces and then shrinking further to become a rectangular cuboid again, but with a longitudinal axis of the rectangular cuboid space now being transverse to a longitudinal axis of the cash container, as cash is dispensed from one end (i.e. a pick area) of the cash container. The glass dye stain fluid container is thus dimensioned to fit between a body of the lid and the space occupied by the banknotes in the cash container such that the glass dye stain fluid container touches a boundary surface (i.e. an imaginary surface), which is typically in use in an ATM an upper boundary surface or upper face, of the space occupied by banknotes in the cash container. In this manner, the glass dye stain fluid container in use presses with direct glass-to banknote contact against longitudinal side edges of the banknotes in the stack or pack of banknotes in the cash container to function as a banknote depressor / note guide or banknote aligner or guide rail as well as a glass reservoir for dye stain fluid. Typically, the longitudinal side edges pressed against by the glass dye stain fluid container in use are upper longitudinal side edges of banknotes arranged on their longitudinal sides. The banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail prevents banknotes from moving upwards towards the lid during transport of the cash cassette and during dispensing of the bank notes from within a cash dispenser.

Typically, the glass dye stain fluid container has a length at least equal to the maximum length of said space occupied by banknotes in the cash container. As stated hereinbefore, the banknotes typically occupy a space which is rectangular cuboid (rectangular parallelepiped) when the cash container is full, and the glass dye stain fluid container thus typically has a length at least equal to the maximum length of said rectangular cuboid space.

The glass dye stain fluid container may be free of any activation mechanism to activate dispensing of dye stain fluid from the glass dye stain fluid container. Also the cash cassette may be free of any activation mechanism to activate dispensing of dye stain fluid from the glass dye stain fluid container. Typically, the glass dye stain fluid container and the cash container are elongate, with a longitudinal axis of the glass dye stain fluid container being closer to being parallel to a longitudinal axis of the cash container than being perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of the cash container. Preferably, the longitudinal axis of the glass dye stain fluid container is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cash container.

The glass dye stain fluid container may define or may include an inlet to charge the glass dye stain fluid container with a dye stain fluid, e.g. a liquid dye. The inlet may be closable by a removable closure member, e.g. a removable plug. The plug may be of a deformable material and may be inserted into the inlet of the glass dye stain fluid container. Advantageously from a cost perspective, the inlet may thus be a simple aperture in a wall of the glass dye stain fluid container, e.g. in an end wall of the glass dye stain fluid container, with the closure member being a plug inserted into the aperture.

In one embodiment of the invention, the plug is of a foam rubber, in particular a foam rubber of polyurethane. In another embodiment the plug is of styrene butadiene expanded closed cell rubber (SBR). The hollow glass dye stain fluid container may have an internal volume of at least about 180 ml, preferably at least about 190 ml, more preferably at least about 200 ml, most preferably at least about 250 ml, e.g. about 250 ml.

The glass dye stain fluid container may be cylindrical, and in particular non-circular cylindrical. The glass dye stain fluid container may be manufactured using glassblowing as glassforming technique.

The glass dye stain fluid container may be, or may generally resemble, a rectangular cuboid. At least some sides of the glass dye stain fluid container may be rounded.

The glass dye stain fluid container may have a length, a width taken perpendicular to a direction in which the length is taken and transverse to the cash container, and a thickness taken perpendicular to the length and width directions, such that the length is at least about 4 times the width, preferably at least about 5 times the width, more preferably at least about 6 times the width, e.g. about 6 times the width. Typically, the length is no more than about 8 times the width. These dimensions are all intended to be maximum dimensions in the event that any such dimension varies depending on the position at which the dimension is taken and are taken along the axes of a conventional three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.

Typically, the thickness of the glass dye stain fluid container is at least about 0.3 times the width, preferably at least about 0.4 times the width, more preferably at least about 0.45 times the width, e.g. about 0.5 times the width. Typically, the thickness is no more than the width. These dimensions are all intended to be maximum dimensions in the event that any such dimension varies depending on the position at which the dimension is taken.

The glass dye stain fluid container is thus of a glass material which is brittle to ensure that in the event of an explosion the glass dye stain fluid container shatters, releasing dye stain fluid from the entire length of the glass dye stain fluid container.

The glass dye stain fluid container may be of borosilicate glass. Instead, the glass dye fluid stain container may be of soda-lime pharmaceutical or container glass. Such glass is durable but also fragile enough to break under pressure caused by an explosion in the vicinity of the glass dye stain fluid container.

The glass dye stain fluid container may have a wall thickness between about 0.5mm and about 4mm, preferably between about 1 .5mm and about 3mm, more preferably between about 1 .8mm and about 2.5mm, e.g. about 2.0mm or 2.3mm. The cash cassette may include a mounting arrangement removably to mount the glass dye stain fluid container to the lid. The lid may include a lid body. Typically the lid body has a planar exterior face.

The mounting arrangement may include a clip attached to or defined by one of the glass dye stain fluid container and the lid body, and a cooperating clip receiving formation on or defined by the other of the lid body and the glass dye stain fluid container.

The mounting arrangement may include at least one cradle or shell to which the glass dye stain fluid container is attached. The cradle or shell may be of a synthetic plastics or polymeric material. The glass dye stain fluid container may be adhesively attached to the cradle or shell. The clip or clip receiving formation may be defined or may form part of the cradle or shell. The cash cassette preferably includes at least two of said glass dye stain fluid containers mounted to the lid or lid body. Typically, the glass dye stain fluid containers are transversely spaced and substantially parallel to each other and to a longitudinal axis of the cash container. Preferably, as indicated hereinbefore, the glass dye stain fluid container or glass dye stain fluid containers each extend over the entire maximum length of said space occupied by banknotes in the cash cassette, bearing in mind that the glass dye stain fluid container(s) must also function as a bank note depressor / note guide or aligner or guide rail.

The glass dye stain fluid containers preferably together overlie at least about 40%, more preferably at least about 45%, most preferably at least about 50% of a longitudinal side edge of a banknote arranged edge-on inside the cash container. In other words, at least about 40%, more preferably at least about 45%, most preferably at least about 50% of a longitudinal side edge of a banknote held inside the cash container will be obscured by the glass dye stain fluid containers when viewed in plan, with the glass dye stain fluid containers being arranged above the banknote typically with their longitudinal axes perpendicular to the upper longitudinal side edge of the banknote. The glass dye stain fluid container or glass dye stain fluid containers may be mounted to the lid or lid body to extend in a plane which is parallel to the planar exterior face. Typically, the cash container includes a banknote pusher to urge banknotes in the cash container towards a pick area, which is typically located at one end of the cash container. The banknote pusher may be biased towards said pick area.

The lid or lid body may be of a synthetic plastics or polymeric material, e.g. polycarbonate.

The cash container may be of a synthetic plastics or polymeric material, e.g. polycarbonate. The invention extends to a lid for a cash cassette, the lid including a lid body and at least one hollow glass dye stain fluid container mounted to the lid body, the glass dye stain fluid container being configured to break in the event of an explosion in the immediate vicinity of the lid to release dye stain and the glass dye stain fluid container being mounted such as, and being configured, to function as a banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail with glass-to-banknote contact.

Typically, the lid body and the glass dye stain fluid container are elongate, with a longitudinal axis of the glass dye stain fluid container being closer to being parallel to a longitudinal axis of the lid body than being perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of the lid body. Preferably, the longitudinal axis of the glass dye stain fluid container is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the lid body.

The glass dye stain fluid container preferably has a length of at least about 75%, more preferably at least 78%, most preferably at least about 80% of the length of the lid.

The lid or lid body may be as hereinbefore described. The glass dye stain fluid container may be as hereinbefore described.

The invention extends to an automatic or automated teller machine which includes a cash cassette as hereinbefore described.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of modifying a cash cassette, the method including

mounting a hollow glass dye stain fluid container to a lid or lid body of the cash cassette so that the glass dye stain fluid container functions with glass-to-banknote contact as a banknote depressor/note guide or aligner or guide rail for banknotes packed into a cash container of the cash cassette.

The method may include removing a banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail from the lid or lid body and replacing said banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail with said hollow glass dye stain fluid container. The glass dye stain fluid container replacing the banknote depressor/note guide then acts as a banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail with glass-to-banknote contact, in addition to functioning as a glass reservoir for dye stain fluid. Removing the banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail from the lid or lid body may include unclipping the banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail from the lid or lid body.

Replacing the banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail with said hollow glass dye stain fluid container may include clipping the hollow glass dye stain fluid container to the lid or lid body.

The glass dye stain fluid container may be prefilled with a liquid dye stain. The method may include removing components of a dye stain fluid spray system from the cash cassette. For example, the method may include permanently removing a spray bar or spray nozzles or one or more sensors from the cash cassette. The lid or lid body and the glass dye stain fluid container may be as hereinbefore described.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which

Figure 1 shows a partially sectioned plan view of an underside of a lid of a cash cassette in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 shows a section through the lid of Figure 1 , taken at ll-ll in Figure 1 ; Figure 3 shows a three-dimensional view of a glass dye stain fluid container of the lid of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 shows a three-dimensional view of a loaded cash cassette in accordance with the invention which has a lid in accordance with the invention in a partially open condition; and

Figure 5 shows a three-dimensional view of a partially open loaded conventional cash cassette, prior to being retrofitted with glass dye stain fluid containers according to the method of the invention.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, reference numeral 1 0 generally indicates a lid of a cash cassette for an automatic teller machine (ATM). The lid 10 includes a monolithic moulded polycarbonate lid body 1 2 with a ribbed underside 14 to which a pair of elongate borosilicate glass dye stain fluid containers 1 6 is mounted.

The lid body 1 2 is elongate and substantially rectangular and defines a skirt 1 8 of varying height which extends along two longitudinal side edges and along a front of the lid body 1 2, between the side edges. Three positioning tabs 20 are transversely spaced along a rear edge 22 of the lid body. The purpose of the positioning tabs 20 is to engage a cash container of an ATM cash cassette so that the lid 1 0 is hingedly mounted on top of the cash container to close the cash container. A catch formation 24 is positioned centrally along a front edge 26 of the lid body 12, projecting forwardly from the skirt 1 8. Each glass dye stain fluid container 16 is adhesively attached to a pair of cradles 28 of a synthetic plastics or polymeric material. The two cradles 28 are longitudinally spaced along the length of the glass dye stain fluid container 16 to which they are glued. Each cradle 28 is roughly 80mm long and 50mm wide and is slightly curved, as can be clearly seen in Figure 2 of the drawings. Typically, the curved sides of a cradle 28, clearly visible in Figure 2, do not extend over or cover more than about 60% of the thickness (T in Figure 3, or height as seen in Figure 2), of the glass dye stain fluid container 16 so as not to interfere with the banknote depressor or aligner function of the container 16.

Each cradle 28 defines a clip 30 with a pair of short resilient prongs 32. Each prong 32 has a small catch formation or hook formation 34 at a free end thereof.

In order removably to attach a glass dye stain fluid container 16 to the lid body 12, the clip 30 of each cradle 28 is inserted into a dedicated clip receiving formation 36 defined by ribs 38 on the underside 14 of the lid body 12. The glass dye stain fluid container 16 is then pushed slightly laterally towards a longitudinal centre line or centre axis 35 of the lid body 12 so that the prongs 32 of each clip 30 are caught between the underside 14 of the lid body 12 and a bridge piece 40 extending between ribs 28, with the catch formations 34 catching behind corners defined by two intersecting ribs 38. The installed glass dye stain fluid container 16 thus extends parallel to the longitudinal centre line 35 of the lid body 12, over more than 80% of the length of the lid body 12. In order to remove a glass dye stain fluid container 16 from the lid body

12, the prongs 32 of each clip 30 are pushed closer together and the glass dye stain fluid container 16 is pushed laterally away from the longitudinal centre line or centre axis 35 of the lid body 12, with a longitudinal edge of the glass dye stain fluid container 16 remote from the longitudinal centre line or centre axis 35 of the lid body 12 being lifted slightly thereby to pull the prongs 32 back from underneath the bridge piece 40 allowing the glass dye stain fluid container 16 to be removed from the lid body 12. Each glass dye stain fluid container 16 is in the form of an elongate blown borosilicate glass container. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the glass container has a length (L) of about 300mm, a width (W) of about 50mm and a thickness (T) of about 25mm, providing it with sufficient capacity to hold at least about 220ml of fluid. The glass container has a wall thickness of about 2.3mm and defines an aperture or inlet 42 which is circular and which has a diameter of about 5mm. The glass container is filled with a conventional water-based indelible liquid dye stain used to stain banknotes to indicate that the banknotes were obtained illegitimately. A small plug 44 (see Figure 1 ) of expanded closed cell styrene butadiene foam rubber is inserted into the aperture 42 sealingly to close the aperture 42. The plug 44 can easily be removed by tugging hard on it.

The lid 10 in use forms part of a cash cassette 100 as shown in Figure 4 of the drawings. The cash cassette 100 is suitable for use in at least some ATM's and includes a cash container 50 defined by a monolithic moulded polycarbonate container body 52. The container body 52 is rectangular cuboid and the lid 10 and the container body 52 are configured such that the lid 10 is hingedly connected to the container body 52 by means of the positioning tabs 20 and slots (not shown) in a rear wall of the container body 52, with the lid 10 thus being hingedly displaceable relative to the container body 52 as can be clearly seen in Figure 4 of the drawings. The cash container 50 includes a handle 54 hingedly attached to a front of the container body 52 and a latch 56 to engage the catch formation 24 of the lid 10 securely to fasten the lid 10 to the cash container 50. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the cash container 50 is entirely conventional.

Longitudinally extending guide formations 58 are provided along sides of the container body 52 to assist in inserting a cash cassette 100 into the safe of a dispenser of an automatic teller machine (ATM) (typically as one of a vertically extending stack of such cash cassettes 100). A rear end of the cash container 50 defines a pick area from which banknotes are picked by the dispenser of the automatic teller machine. The pick area typically includes a roller shutter or the like, is entirely conventional and is not discussed in any more detail. The cash container 50 includes a conventional bank note or pusher 60 which is typically biased towards the rear end or pick area of the cash container 50, i.e. in the direction of arrow 61 . As can be clearly seen in Figure 4 of the drawings, the cash container 50 is loaded in conventional fashion with a pack 62 of tightly packed banknotes. Typically, this is accomplished by loading bundles of known quantity of banknotes or bills one after the other into the cash container 50 until the cash container 50 holds the required amount of currency, in the forms of said pack 62. The banknotes are edge-on, resting on their longitudinal side edges on a floor 64 of the cash container 50, between a side wall 66 of the cash container 50 and, in the illustrated embodiment, an adjustable side guide 68, which is entirely conventional. The adjustable side guide 68 allows for the use of the cash container 50 with banknotes of different lengths, although as will be appreciated, at any one time, the banknotes inside the cash container 50 must all be of the same size.

In use, the banknote pusher 60 urges the pack 62 of banknotes towards the pick area of the cash container 50, from where the dispenser of the ATM picks one or more banknotes in succession and dispenses the cash to a bank client.

As can be seen in Figure 4 of the drawings, the glass dye stain fluid containers 16 attached to the lid body 12 are dimensioned to fit between the lid body 12 and the pack 62 of banknotes in the cash container 50 such that the glass dye stain fluid containers 16 press with glass-on-banknote contact against upper longitudinal side edges of the banknotes in the pack 62 when the lid 10 is in a closed condition. The glass dye stain fluid containers 16 thus act as banknote depressors or banknote aligners or guide rails in addition to functioning as brittle or shatterable reservoirs for dye stain fluid. When the cash cassette 100 is carried around by the handle 54 of the cash container 50 (i.e. in a vertical position, suspended from the handle 54) the glass dye stain fluid containers 16 prevent banknotes in the pack 62 from moving towards the lid 10. The dye stain fluid containers 16, being of a brittle material (glass), are thus configured to shatter in the event of an explosion in the immediate vicinity of the cash cassette 100. Shattering of a glass dye stain fluid container 16 in the event of an explosion or other severe shock releases dye stain fluid from the glass dye stain fluid container 16 over the entire length of each glass dye stain fluid container 16. There is thus a high probability that substantially all of the banknotes in the pack 62 of banknotes loaded into the cash container 50 will be stained by the dye stain, even when the cash cassette 100 is fully loaded with banknotes. Advantageously, the cash cassette 100, as illustrated, does not include a sophisticated electronic dye stain fluid spray system designed for staining banknotes in the event that the system detects an attempted tampering with the cash cassette 100 or with the safe of an ATM in which the cash cassette 100 has been loaded. In the event of an explosion, e.g. as a result of explosive material having been fed through a dispenser of an ATM into the safe of the ATM, the glass dye stain fluid containers 16 inside each cash caste 100 will however shatter, effectively staining the banknotes in the cash containers 50.

The cost of fitting out a cash cassette with the glass dye stain fluid containers 16, as illustrated, is about 25% of the cost of a conventional electronic dye stain fluid spray system. The cost effective cash cassette 100, as illustrated, is not subject to accidental activation of a dye stain fluid spray system as a result of false alarms, faulty sensors or the like and the dye stain system of the cash cassette 100, represented by the glass dye stain fluid containers 16, does not require electrical power to function. Advantageously, with each glass dye stain fluid container 16 containing a volume of about 220ml of dye stain fluid, there is ample dye stain available to stain all of the banknotes in the cash container 50 of a cash cassette 100, as illustrated, even when the cash container 50 is fully loaded with banknotes (typically about 1 ,800 banknotes).

Advantageously, the cash cassette 100 has to be serviced only about every 18 to 24 months to replace the dye stain in the glass dye stain fluid containers 16, compared to the typical 6-month service interval of a conventional electronic dye stain fluid spray system. As it is possible merely to remove the lid 10 from the cash container 50 of a cash cassette 100, servicing can be accomplished by merely changing the in- use lid 10 with a serviced lid 10, minimising any ATM downtime. The removed lid 10 can then be serviced without time pressure. Even the time required to service a lid is short as servicing merely requires removal, e.g. unclipping, of glass dye stain fluid containers and replacing them with glass dye stain fluid containers with fresh dye stain.

The invention also allows easy retrofitting of a conventional cash cassette 200, as shown in Figure 5, with glass dye stain fluid containers as hereinbefore described. Typically, such a conventional cash cassette 200 includes banknote depressors or aligners 202 attached to a lid body 204 by means of clip arrangements. The particular clip arrangement used may differ between various manufacturers of ATM or the like cash cassettes. Advantageously however, a similar clip arrangement or clip part to the clip arrangement or clip part being used on a particular manufacturer's cash cassette banknote depressors can be provided on the glass dye stain fluid container 16 (e.g. by making it part of a cradle 28 or other component which can easily be attached, e.g. glued, to the glass dye stain fluid container 16) so that, after the conventional banknote depressors or aligners 202 have been undipped from the lid body 204, the glass dye stain fluid containers 16 can simply be clipped to the lid body 204 with the glass dye stain fluid containers 16 then functioning as both glass reservoirs for dye stain fluid and as banknote depressors or aligners or guide rails for banknotes packed into the cash container of the cash cassette 200. Naturally, care must be taken in ensuring that the glass dye stain fluid containers 16 are positioned at an appropriate height above the floor of a cash container so that they function properly as banknote depressors for the banknotes that are to be packed into the cash container. This can however easily be accomplished by designing the clip arrangement with proper positioning or spacing of the glass dye stain fluid containers 16 in mind.

Typically, the glass dye stain fluid containers 16 are prefilled with dye stain fluid before they are attached to the lid 204 of a cash cassette being retrofitted with the glass dye stain fluid containers 16. If desired or necessary, any existing dye stain fluid spray system may be removed from the lid body 204 prior to attaching the glass dye stain fluid containers 16 hereinbefore described to the lid body 204.

The dye glass dye stain fluid container 16, as illustrated, is of simple construction and design, easy to manufacture by a skilled glass blower, resistant to chemical attack, has a large volume, easy to service to replace dye stain fluid and easy to fit to or remove from a lid of a cash cassette, and not hampered in its dye stain function when shattered during an explosion as a result of the presence of a bank note depressor or aligner or guide rail or the like.

Claims

1 . A cash cassette which includes

2. The cash cassette as claimed in claim 1 , in which the glass dye stain fluid container and the cash container are elongate, with a longitudinal axis of the glass dye stain fluid container being closer to being parallel to a longitudinal axis of the cash container than being perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of the cash container, and in which the glass dye stain fluid container defines or includes an inlet to charge the glass dye stain fluid container with a dye stain fluid, the inlet being closable by a removable closure member.

3. The cash cassette as claimed in claim 2, in which the closure member is a removable plug of a deformable material inserted into the inlet of the glass dye stain fluid container.

4. The cash cassette as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, in which the glass dye stain fluid container is, or resembles, a rectangular cuboid, with at least some sides of the glass dye stain fluid container being rounded.

5. The cash container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, in which the glass dye stain fluid container has a length, a width taken perpendicular to a direction in which the length is taken and transverse to the cash container, and a thickness taken perpendicular to the length and width directions, such that the length is at least about four times the width and the thickness is at least about 0.3 times the width.

6. The cash container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, in which the glass dye stain fluid container is of borosilicate glass.

7. The cash container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, which includes a mounting arrangement removably to mount the glass dye stain fluid container to the lid, and in which the lid includes a lid body, the mounting arrangement including a clip attached to or defined by one of the glass dye stain fluid container and the lid body, and a cooperating clip receiving formation on or defined by the other of the lid body and the glass dye stain fluid container, the clip and clip receiving formation thus allowing the glass dye stain fluid container readily to be undipped from the lid body.

8. The cash container as claimed in claim 7, in which the mounting arrangement includes at least one cradle or shell to which the glass dye stain fluid container is attached, the clip or clip receiving formation being defined or forming part of the cradle or shell.

9. A lid for a cash cassette, the lid including a lid body and at least one hollow glass dye stain fluid container mounted to the lid body, the glass dye stain fluid container being configured to break in the event of an explosion in the immediate vicinity of the lid to release dye stain and the glass dye stain fluid container being mounted such as, and being configured, to function as a banknote depressor or aligner with glass-to-banknote contact.

1 0. The lid for a cash cassette as claimed in claim 9, in which the lid body and the glass dye stain fluid container are elongate, with a longitudinal axis of the glass dye stain fluid container being closer to being parallel to a longitudinal axis of the lid body than being perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of the lid body, and in which the glass dye stain fluid container has a length of at least about 75% of the length of the lid.

1 1 . An automatic or automated teller machine which includes a cash cassette as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8.

1 2. A method of modifying a cash cassette, the method including mounting a hollow glass dye stain fluid container to a lid or lid body of the cash cassette so that the glass dye stain fluid container functions with glass-to-banknote contact as a banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail for banknotes packed into a cash container of the cash cassette.

1 3. The method as claimed in claim 12, which includes removing a banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail from the lid or lid body and replacing said banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail with said hollow glass dye stain fluid container so that the glass dye stain fluid container replacing the banknote depressor then acts as a banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail with glass-to-banknote contact, in addition to functioning as a glass reservoir for dye stain fluid.

14. The method as claimed in claim 1 3, in which removing the banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail from the lid or lid body includes unclipping the banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail from the lid or lid body and in which replacing the banknote depressor or aligner or guide rail with said hollow glass dye stain fluid container includes clipping the hollow glass dye stain fluid container to the lid or lid body.

1 5. The method as claimed in any of claims 1 2 to 14, which includes removing components of a dye stain fluid spray system from the cash cassette.