Patent Application
20130154185
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for stacking items of media in a container. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to the storage of currency notes and/or cheques in a stacking bin of an automated teller machine (ATM).
Media depositories are used to receive media items from a customer. One common type of media depository is a sheet media depository for receiving items of media in sheet form. For example, such items of media can be currency notes, cheques, tickets, giros or the like.
Sheet media depositories are used in automated teller machines (ATMs) and other self-service terminals. Other such self-service terminals are vending machines, change machines or the like. The sheet media depositories are used to identify, validate and store or return deposited sheets.
Some sheet depositories are capable of receiving a bunch of sheets in a loading area and then picking individual sheets from the bunch so that each sheet can then be identified and validated individually prior to storage of the validated sheet within a depository or returned to a customer. These depositories are sometimes referred to as bunch sheet depositories. Bunch sheet depositories may transport the bunch from a loading area to a picking area or the picking area may be adjacent to the loading area.
Bunches of items of media such as currency notes and/or cheques are thus deposited by a user and, subsequent to a user agreement step and item verification step, these items are stored semi-permanently within a self-service terminal until security staff or bank staff come to empty the storage unit. The storage unit is sometimes referred to as a stacking bin.
Prior known stacking bins in such self-service terminals include a rotating drum with an opposed claw which co-operate to locate items of media entering one-by-one onto an upper surface of a platform which acts as a movable floor of the stacking bin. However, there are a number of problems associated with such prior known stacking bin systems. Notably, the capacity for items is limited. Also, as the items of media are stacked on the platform, the documents fall one on top of each other in a haphazard manner. In particular, when the items include tears or ripples or curls or folds dead air pockets can appear in a document stack. This causes problems for users subsequently attending to removal of stored items when an access door is opened. Prior known storage container solutions also are relatively heavy and expensive to manufacture.
As an alternative to the stacking wheel approach noted above, and which as described leads to an uncompressed stack of items of media being created, another option which has been suggested is to provide a scissor arm plunger device in the stacking bin. This maintains a constant compression on the document stack when employed but cannot stack a continuous flow of documents. Instead, for each item of media which is introduced, the input cycle must be stopped whilst a scissor arm plunger is driven into the stack to create a compressive effect. Due to this, the plunger mechanism causes a bottleneck in the through-put of the system which thus does not permit a continuous flow.
It is an aim of the present invention to at least partly mitigate the above-mentioned problems.
It is an aim of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide a container region such as a region in a stacking bin and method for stacking items of media in such a region which is able to store items one-by-one bin whilst maintaining a compression on the items at all times.
It is an aim of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide an incremental drive stacking mechanism which uses a dual stacking wheel configuration and which has a continually biased platform to automatically and continually provide a compressive force on stacked items.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for stacking items of media in a container region, comprising:
Aptly, said support platform element and said driven roller element provide a constant pinch force on items of media in a stack of items of media arranged at the stack position.
Aptly, the apparatus further includes a spring element that constantly biases the platform element towards the roller element.
Aptly, the apparatus includes a drive shaft element to rotate each rotatable element, a Geneva crank pin element driven responsive to rotation of the drive shaft, and a Geneva wheel element driven by the crank pin, wherein said roller element is driven responsive to revolution of the Geneva wheel element.
Aptly, the Geneva wheel element is arranged to rotate as a leading edge of an incoming item of media reaches a pinch position between the platform element and the roller element.
Aptly, if the incoming item of media is a first item of media, the pinch position is located between an outer surface of the roller element and an opposed roller supported on the platform element, and if the incoming item of media is a non-first item of media, the pinch position is located between an outer surface of the roller element and an upper surface of an uppermost stacked item of media.
Aptly, rotation of the Geneva wheel element is arranged to cease as a leading edge of an incoming item of media moves laterally to a desired stack edge region.
Aptly, the Geneva wheel element comprises a major spur gear element comprising a plurality of major teeth elements and the apparatus further includes a drive wheel comprising a minor spur gear element comprising a plurality of minor teeth elements meshed with the major teeth elements, and a drive belt connecting the drive wheel to the roller element.
Aptly, a gear ration between the major spur gear element and the minor spur gear element is selected so that a rotation speed of the roller elements substantially matches a tangential speed of an item of media rotating with the rotatable element.
Aptly, the Geneva wheel element comprises a locking member that rotates with the Geneva wheel element and comprises plurality of locking abutment surfaces and the Geneva crank pin element is supported by a disc member that is driven by rotation of the drive shaft element, the disc member having a generally circular peripheral riding edge surface that rides against an opposed locking abutment surface wherein the riding edge of the disc member comprises at least one inset region which releases the locking member as the disc member rotates.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automated teller machine (ATM) comprising at least one rotatable element, each having an outer surface and an opposed claw element for releasably clamping an item of media to the outer surface of the rotatable element for rotation therewith;
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of stacking items of media in a container region, comprising the steps of:
Aptly, the method further comprises the steps of compressing the items of media by providing a constant pinch force between outer items of media in a stack of items of media by constantly biasing the platform towards the roller element via a spring element.
Aptly, the method further comprises stacking a continuous flow of incoming items of media one-by-one whilst constantly compressing an accumulating stack of items.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a product which comprises a computer program comprising program instructions for:
Certain embodiments of the present invention provide the advantage that items of media stored in a region of a container are continually compressed. This expunges air pockets from between documents. This helps maximise storage capacity as well as prevent overflow of documentation as a user opens a storage door to remove the deposited items.
Certain embodiments of the present invention provide the advantage that large bunches of items of media such as currency notes and/or cheques or the like may be processed in a continuous system and stored accordingly.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
In the drawings like reference numerals refer to like parts.
The ATM 100 includes different modules for enabling transactions to be executed and recorded by the ATM 100. These ATM modules include customer transaction modules and service personnel modules. The ATM modules include an ATM controller 101, a customer display 102, a card reader/writer module 103, an encrypting keypad module 104, a receipt printer module 105, a cash dispenser module 106, a journal printer module 107 for creating a record of every transaction executed by the ATM, a connection module 108, an operator panel module 109 for use by a service operator (such as a field engineer, a replenisher (of currency, of printed paper or the like), or the like).
Certain customer transaction modules (such as the ATM controller 101) are also used by the service personnel for implementing management functions. However, some of the modules are referred to herein as service personnel modules (such as the journal printer module 107 and the operator panel module 109) because they are never used by ATM customers.
The depository is shown in more detail in
The depository 150 includes a plurality of transport units only some of which are described herein. An upper sheet transport section 205 is located above the bunch loader and adjacent to the picker 207. A lower sheet transport section 206 is located beneath the bunch loader 204 and near the bunch deposit slot 202.
The bunch loader 204 is used to transport deposited bank notes from the bunch deposit slot 202 to the pick unit 207.
There are two different routes that can be taken by an item of media that is inserted into the depository 150. A first route is shown by arrow A and involves the sheet item being picked from the bunch of sheets 203, transported to the picker unit 207, moved past the validator 208 to be identified and validated, placed in the escrow 209 and from the escrow 209 transported into the storage compartment 210.
The second optional route is shown by the arrow B and involves the sheet item being picked from the bunch of sheets 203, transported to the picker unit 207, moved past the validator 208 to be identified and validated, placed in the escrow 209 and from the escrow 209 returned to the customer via a rebunching unit 220 and via the loading unit 204 and lower transport section 206.
As will be understood by those skilled in the art, whether a sheet item is stored (that is to say, follows the route shown by arrow A) or returned to a customer (that is to say, follows a path shown by arrow B) depends on a number of factors, such as whether the sheet is recognised, whether a sheet is validated and/or whether a customer cancels or confirms a transaction or the like.
A stacking wheel 310 is provided which rotates about an axis of rotation 311. An opposed claw 312 pivots about a respective pivot point 313 so that the claw 312 may be driven against an outer surface 314 of the stacking wheel or withdrawn out of engagement. In the open mode of operation, items of media may be introduced between the claw and the outer surface of the stacking wheel to accept or release items therefrom. In a closed mode of operation the claw is closed against the outer surface thus securing an item of media therebetween. In such a closed mode of operation items of media such as currency notes or cheques are effectively clamped to the rotatable stacking wheel and thus move as the stacking wheel rotates. Items of media are introduced into the storage container region 306 via a slot 315 or other such opening in the container.
Also shown in
Aptly, the incremental drive roller is situated on a one-way clutch that helps prevent ejecting documents out of the stack if the mechanism is driven backwards (which might happen during an integrity testing mode of operation to ensure the various components are orientated properly).
As shown in
As illustrated in
Eventually, the drive pin 520 (which extends into the page in
In use the platform is constantly urged upwards by a biasing element such as a spring or motor or scissor action element or the like. When no items of media are stored in the container, then an upper surface of the platform is constantly urged against an outer surface of the incremental roller 507 at a pinch point location 550. As items of media are input one-by-one at the inlet opening, these are clamped to a stacking wheel which then rotates a partial revolution towards a position in which the claw is towards the bottom of the container region. At this moment in time the claw is timed to open to release an item of media. The rotation is timed, together with manufacture and design of the Geneva wheel system, so that at this point in time the incremental roller turns to duly locate the incoming item of media towards the side wall 303 shown in
Certain embodiments of the present invention thus provide a higher capacity than prior known stacking mechanisms. Also, certain embodiments of the present invention prevent document avalanches on opening a stacking bin door. Certain embodiments of the present invention are mechanically timed from a stacking wheel shaft. As a stacking wheel shaft rotates to rotate one or more stacking wheels to add a document to a stack, a Geneva wheel operates an incremental drive. This drive activates as a leading edge of a document reaches a pinch point creating a pinch point created by the incremental drive roller and the document stack. When the incremental drive roller turns the incoming document is driven into the stack, stopping before the document actually reaches an end wall which would otherwise cause crumpling. This allows a continuous flow of documents into the stack, whilst maintaining compression on the stack throughout operation.
Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a mechanical timing mechanism using a five-stage Geneva wheel and a belt and gear system to achieve a desired gear reduction so as to match a tangential speed of incoming documents at the incremental drive roller. Also, an anti-rotation feature may optionally be included to help ensure that the mechanism never loses timing.
Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a high capacity of documents in stacking bins relative to prior known devices. This is achieved by compressing the stack. This also has a stabilising effect so that the stack does not buckle or topple when an access door is opened. Cost and mass are also much reduced relative to prior known devices since the motor, gear box and clutch used to control the platform in prior known devices are not required.
Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the words “comprise” and “contain” and variations of them mean “including but not limited to” and they are not intended to (and do not) exclude other moieties, additives, components, integers or steps. Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the singular encompasses the plural unless the context otherwise requires. In particular, where the indefinite article is used, the specification is to be understood as contemplating plurality as well as singularity, unless the context requires otherwise.
Features, integers, characteristics or groups described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment or example of the invention are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example described herein unless incompatible therewith. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of the features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. The invention is not restricted to any details of any foregoing embodiments. The invention extends to any novel one, or novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.
The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.
