The present invention relates to a motor-driven device for aligning and forwarding paper documents and the like, in particular bank cheques, for apparatus for processing such documents.
More specifically the invention relates to an aligning and forwarding device comprising:
Aligning and forwarding devices of this type are known, said devices comprising movement and control means which are relatively complex and costly and often require the use of two separate electric motors for operating the aligning gripping member and the forwarding gripping member.
One object of the present invention is to provide an aligning and forwarding device of the type specified above, the movement and control means of which have a structure which is relatively simple, not costly and operationally very reliable.
This object, together with other objects, is achieved according to the present invention by an aligning and forwarding device of the type specified above, characterized in that the aforementioned driving and control means comprise:
Conveniently, the aforementioned cam means have two essentially annular control profiles coaxial with each other.
Further characteristic features and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following detailed description provided purely by way of a non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
In the drawings 1 denotes overall a motor-driven device for aligning and forwarding documents according to the present invention.
In the exemplary embodiment shown, the device 1 comprises a support housing denoted overall by 2, including an essentially tray-shaped body 3, and an associated removable closing cover 4.
A pair of openings denoted by 3a and 3b, respectively, are formed in the bottom side of the tray-shaped body 3.
These openings 3a, 3b are positioned, during use, facing an area A for the introduction of one or more documents to be processed, such as the bank cheque BC which is partially shown in broken lines in
The area A for the introduction of the documents to be processed is bounded on one side by a lateral alignment wall D, which may form part of the aligning and forwarding device 1 or may be provided in the document processing apparatus (known per se) with which such an aligning and forwarding device is associated.
In
First and second gripping members, denoted by 5 and 6, are rotatably mounted in the support housing 2 of the aligning and forwarding device 1.
The gripping member 5 is intended to perform alignment of the documents BC, pushing them towards and against the wall D, and comprises for example a wheel 5a with a smooth periphery, provided on one side with a plurality of angularly spaced flexible petals 5b.
As can be seen in
The fork-shaped member 7 has a lug 7a having, attached thereto, one end of a recall spring 8, the other end of which is attached (in a manner not shown) to a retaining element in the support housing 2.
The gripping member 6 is intended to perform forwarding of the documents BC introduced into the introduction area A and aligned against the wall D and is essentially a roller wheel with a smooth periphery, mounted rotatably about an axis U-U, between the two arms or prongs of a further fork-shaped member 9. The latter is in turn mounted rotatably in the tray-shaped body 3 of the support housing 2, about an axis Z-Z, parallel to the axis U-U.
A recall spring, not visible in the drawings, is also associated with the rotatable gripping member 6.
The tray-shaped body 3 of the support housing 2 has, extending therein, a pin 9 (
In the exemplary embodiment shown, the cam member 11 has a peripheral annular actuating surface 11a which is coupled with the peripheral surface of a drive wheel 12 capable of being rotationally operated by an electric motor 13 fixed to the support housing 2.
The cam member 11 has a central hub 11b coupled with a corresponding central hub 10b of the cam member 10 so that said cam members 10 and 11 are rotationally locked together.
During operation, activation of the electric motor 13 causes, by means of the wheel 12, a rotation of the cam member 11 which in turn correspondingly rotationally drives the cam member 10.
In
The cam member 10 has a coaxial annular formation 16 which, on the side directed towards the rotatable gripping member 5, defines an essentially annular control profile, with two profile portions 16a and 16b situated at different levels along the direction of the axis X-X. These profile portions 16a and 16b are connected together by means of intermediate ramp or profile portions 16c, of which only one is visible in
The periphery of the wheel 5a of the gripping member 5, owing to the action of the recall spring 8, is kept in constant engagement with the profile 16 of the cam member 10.
Similarly, the cam member 11 has a coaxial annular formation 15 which, on the side directed downwards in
The peripheral surface of the rotating forwarding member 6 is kept in constant engagement with the profile 17 of the cam member 11.
The arrangement is such that activation of the electric motor 13 is capable of causing combined rotation of the cam members 10 and 11 which, with their respective control profiles 16 and 17, produce corresponding rotations of the associated gripping members 5 and 6 about the respective axes V-V and U-U as well as synchronized displacements of these gripping members 5, 6 in respective directions essentially parallel to the axis X-X, through the openings 3a and 3b, respectively, of the body or shell 3 of the support housing 2.
Operation of the motor 13 is therefore capable of causing not only rotation of the gripping members 5 and 6, but also displacement thereof through the openings 3a and 3b of the support housing, between a respective retracted position and a respective extracted position.
In fact, when the gripping members 5 and 6 act against the portions 16a and 17a of the associated control profiles 16 and 17 of the cam members, these gripping members are kept in the retracted condition by the associated recall springs.
When the gripping members 5 and 6 act against the portions 16b and 17b of the associated control profiles 16 and 17, they extend through and outside the openings 3a and 3b of the support housing, protruding into the zone A for introduction of the documents BC.
The relative synchronism of the displacements of the gripping members 5 and 6 through the respective openings 3a and 3b of the support housing depends on the relative angular position of the control profiles 16b and 17b of the associated cam members 10 and 11.
As persons skilled in the art will readily understand, the device according to the invention requires the use of a single rotary motor for performing both rotation and movement of the gripping members 5 and 6 through the respective openings or slits in the support housing.
Control of the movement of these gripping members 5 and 6 is performed by means of two cam members which are simple and inexpensive to produce and cooperate therewith in the manner of feelers.
Obviously, without affecting the principle of the invention, the embodiments and the constructional details may be significantly modified with respect to that described and illustrated purely by way of a non-limiting example, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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TO2012A0081 | Feb 2012 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2013/050819 | 1/31/2013 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2013/114310 | 8/8/2013 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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8348267 | Storey et al. | Jan 2013 | B2 |
8567775 | Banal et al. | Oct 2013 | B2 |
20060038340 | Schinzel-Reiner et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
20090295075 | Inoue | Dec 2009 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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102 36 028 | Feb 2004 | DE |
1 637 487 | Mar 2006 | EP |
Entry |
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International Search Report for PCT/IB2013/050819 dated Jun. 6, 2013. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20140367910 A1 | Dec 2014 | US |