Patent Grant
10287121
This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-036515 filed on Feb. 28, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a sheet handling apparatus that handles a sheet such as a banknote, and a sheet handling method implemented by the sheet handling apparatus.
Various types of sheet handling apparatuses that handle a sheet, for example a paper sheet such as a banknote, are currently in use. Specifically, a paper sheet handling apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-174134 (JP2012-174134A) includes a drum as a storing and feeding unit that stores therein paper sheets and feeds the stored paper sheets one by one. One end of a belt-shaped winding member that winds on the drum a plurality of paper sheets one by one is connected to an outer peripheral surface of the drum. In such a storing and feeding unit, the paper sheets are stored when the winding member is wound on the drum along with the paper sheets, and the stored paper sheets are fed when the winding member is unwound from the drum. In the paper sheet handling apparatus disclosed in JP2012-174134A, when a money deposition process of the paper sheets is performed, the paper sheets inserted from an inserting unit to the inside of a housing from the outside thereof are stored in the storing and feeding unit. In contrast, when a money dispensing process of the paper sheets is performed, the paper sheets fed from the storing and feeding unit are discharged from an ejecting unit to the outside of the housing from the inside thereof. Moreover, in the paper sheet handling apparatus disclosed in JP2012-174134A, a pouch bag, in which the paper sheets are stored, is detachably attached to a device body. When a collection process of the paper sheet is performed, a pouch bag is attached to the device body and the paper sheets fed from the storing and feeding unit are sent to the pouch bag. In this manner, the paper sheets stored in the pouch bag can be collected along with the pouch bag.
In the conventional paper sheet handling apparatus disclosed in JP2012-174134A, because the paper sheets are stored in the storing and feeding unit when the winding member is wound on the drum along with the paper sheets, the paper sheet is stored in a curled state in the storing and feeding unit. Therefore, a curl habit of the paper sheet remains even after the paper sheet is fed from the storing and feeding unit. In this case, when the paper sheets are stacked in a stacked manner in the pouch bag, a stacking failure may occur because of the curl habit of the paper sheets.
The present invention has been made in view of the above discussion. One object of the present invention is to provide a sheet handling apparatus and a sheet handling method capable of preventing problems occurring due to the curl of the sheet fed by the storing and feeding unit.
A sheet handling apparatus of the present invention is a sheet handling apparatus including: a storing and feeding unit in which a sheet is stored on a rotary member by winding the sheet on the rotary member and the sheet wound on the rotary member can be fed from the rotary member; a transport unit that transports the sheet fed from the storing and feeding unit; a curl correction mechanism arranged in the transport unit to correct a curl of the sheet transported by the transport unit; and a stacking unit connected to the transport unit and in which the sheet that has passed through the curl correction mechanism is stacked.
The sheet handling apparatus of the present invention may further include a control unit that adjusts a degree of correction of the curl of the sheet by the curl correction mechanism based on at least one of processing contents of the sheet by the sheet handling apparatus; a storing state of the sheet in the storing and feeding unit; and a feature of the sheet fed from the storing and feeding unit.
In the sheet handling apparatus of the present invention, the control unit may adjust the degree of correction of the curl of the sheet by the curl correction mechanism by changing a transport speed of the sheet in the transport unit.
Alternatively, the control unit may adjust the degree of correction of the curl of the sheet by the curl correction mechanism by changing a state of the curl correction mechanism.
In this case, the curl correction mechanism may include a curl correction member capable of contacting with and separating from the sheet transported by the transport unit, and the control unit may change the state of the curl correction mechanism by changing a position of the curl correction member.
Further, the curl correction member may be movable between an operating position at which the curl correction member is nearest to the sheet transported by the transport unit, and a retracted position at which the correction of the curl of the sheet transported by the transport unit is not performed, and the control unit may perform a control to perform the correction of the curl of the sheet and not to perform the correction of the curl of the sheet by moving the curl correction member to one of the operating position and the retracted position.
In the sheet handling apparatus of the present invention, the storing state of the sheet in the storing and feeding unit may include a state based on a distance from a rotation axis of the rotary member to the stored sheet.
In this case, the control unit may increase the degree of correction of the curl of the sheet by the curl correction mechanism when a distance from the rotation axis of the rotary member to the sheet stored in the storing and feeding unit is smaller than a predetermined threshold.
In the sheet handling apparatus of the present invention, the storing state of the sheet in the storing and feeding unit may include a state based on a time duration for which the sheet is stored in the storing and feeding unit.
In the sheet handling apparatus of the present invention, the feature of the sheet may include at least one factor among a denomination, a short edge length, a long edge length, a thickness, and material of the sheet.
In the sheet handling apparatus of the present invention, the stacking unit may be one of: a collecting unit in which can be stacked the sheet that should be collected; an ejecting unit that ejects the sheet outside of a housing from inside thereof; and an escrow unit for bundling in which the sheet that should be bundled by using a bundling medium is temporarily stacked.
In this case, when a collection process of the sheet is performed, the sheet fed to the transport unit from the storing and feeding unit may be sent to the collecting unit after passing the curl correction mechanism.
Further, the collecting unit may be one of a collection bag and a collecting cassette that can be detachably attached to a device body.
The sheet handling apparatus of the present invention may further include an inserting unit for inserting the sheet inside a housing from outside thereof, and the inserting unit may be connected to the transport unit, the sheet inserted from the inserting unit inside the housing from outside thereof may be sent to one of the storing and feeding unit and the stacking unit by the transport unit, and the curl correction mechanism may be arranged in the transport unit at a position between the storing and feeding unit and the stacking unit.
In this case, the sheet handling apparatus of the present invention may further include a control unit that adjusts a degree of correction of the curl of the sheet by the curl correction mechanism based on at least one of processing contents of the sheet by the sheet handling apparatus; a storing state of the sheet in the storing and feeding unit; and a feature of the sheet fed from the storing and feeding unit, and the control unit may adjust the degree of correction of the curl of the sheet by the curl correction mechanism, as the processing contents of the sheet by the sheet handling apparatus, so that the degree of correction of the curl of the sheet is set higher when transporting by the transport unit the sheet fed to the transport unit from the storing and feeding unit than the degree of correction of the curl of the sheet when transporting by the transport unit the sheet inserted from the inserting unit inside the housing.
A sheet handling method of the present invention is a sheet handling method including: feeding a sheet wound on a rotary member of a storing and feeding unit from the rotary member; transporting the sheet fed to a transport unit from the storing and feeding unit; correcting a curl of the sheet transported by the transport unit by using a curl correction mechanism; and stacking the sheet that has passed through the curl correction mechanism in a stacking unit.
In the sheet handling method of the present invention, a degree of correction of the curl of the sheet by the curl correction mechanism may be adjusted based on at least one of processing contents of the sheet; a storing state of the sheet in the storing and feeding unit, and a feature of the sheet fed from the storing and feeding unit.
Exemplary embodiments in which a banknote handling apparatus that handles a banknote is used as a sheet handling apparatus according to the present invention are explained below in detail. Moreover, in the present embodiment, a money handling machine that includes the banknote handling apparatus and a coin handling apparatus is also explained.
At first, a configuration of a money handling machine 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention is explained by referring to
As shown in
Subsequently, the configuration of the banknote handling apparatus 20 is explained by using
As shown in
The operation/display unit 29 displays various information such as storing states of the banknote and the coin in the money handling machine 1. Moreover, the operator can input data by using the operation/display unit 29. The operation/display unit 29 is constituted by, for example, a touch screen-type display, and the like. Note that, the operation/display unit 29 is arranged in one of the banknote handling apparatus 20 and the coin handling apparatus 90; however, the operation/display unit 29 is shared by both of them to display the information.
As shown in
As shown in
In an alternative configuration, the information that the denomination is associated with the material, the position and the width of the polymer film, and the like of the banknote can be previously stored in a later-explained memory 52. This allows the control unit 50 to determine the material, the position and the width of the polymer film, and the like of the banknote based on the denomination of the banknote recognized by the recognition unit 24.
As shown in
A plurality of the storing and feeding units 25 is arranged in the housing 20a. Each of the storing and feeding units 25 is connected to the transport unit 23. Each of the storing and feeding units 25 stores therein a banknote according to a denomination of the banknote. More particularly, based on the recognition result obtained in the recognition unit 24, the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from the inserting unit 21 is sent by the transport unit 23 to one of the storing and feeding units 25 according to the denomination of the banknote. It is allowable to store a banknote of a foreign currency and the like that is not assigned to any of the storing and feeding units 25 in one of the storing and feeding units 25. Moreover, it is allowable to store an overflow banknote, which is a banknote that cannot be stored in the storing and feeding unit 25 because this storing and feeding unit 25 to which is assigned banknotes of a certain denomination is full, in another storing and feeding unit 25. In the storing and feeding unit 25 in which the foreign currency banknotes and the overflow banknotes are stored, the banknotes will be stored in a state in which the denominations and the like are mixed.
Each of the storing and feeding units 25 can feed the banknotes stored in the storing and feeding unit 25 one by one to the transport unit 23. Specifically, each of the storing and feeding unit 25 includes a substantially cylindrical drum 25a (that is, a rotary member) adapted to rotate around a rotation axis 25c. One end of a belt-shaped winding member 25b that winds on the drum a plurality of banknotes one by one is connected to an outer peripheral surface of the drum 25a. The banknotes are stored when the winding member 25b is wound on the drum 25a along with the banknotes, and the stored banknotes are fed from the drum 25a when the winding member 25b is unwound from the drum 25a. That is, the banknotes are stored in a curled state in each of the storing and feeding units 25. Therefore, the banknote fed from each of the storing and feeding units 25 to the transport unit 23 has a curl habit. More particularly, when the transport unit 23 is adapted to transport the banknotes in a direction that is parallel to the long side of the banknotes, the banknotes are stored in the storing and feeding unit 25 such that the long side of the banknote substantially coincides with a circumferential direction of the drum 25a. Therefore, the banknote fed from the storing and feeding unit 25 to the transport unit 23 has a curl habit along the long side of the banknote (see
In the banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment, a banknote storing mechanism 32 (see
The banknote of a denomination that is not assigned to any of the storing and feeding unit 25, and an overflow banknote that cannot be stored in the storing and feeding unit 25 corresponding to the denomination of this banknote because the storing and feeding unit 25 is full are also stored in the banknote collection bag 34. By taking the banknote collection bag 34 out of the banknote storing mechanism 32, the banknotes stored in the banknote collection bag 34 can be collected from the banknote handling apparatus 20. A configuration of the banknote storing mechanism 32 will be explained in detail later.
In the banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment, a curl correction mechanism 70 that corrects the curl of the banknote transported by the transport unit 23 is arranged in the transport unit 23 near the banknote storing mechanism 32. As shown in
More particularly, the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from the storing and feeding unit 25 has the curl habit (that is, the curl habit along a transport direction (long side) of the banknote) as shown in
The curl correction mechanism 70 includes a movement mechanism 75 (see
It is allowable to adopt a configuration in which a position in the up-down direction in
In the banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment, a degree of correction of the curl of the banknote by the curl correction mechanism 70 can be adjusted by adjusting a transport speed of the banknote transported by the transport unit 23. More particularly, when the transport speed of the banknote by the transport unit 23 is slow, the banknote transported on the transport unit 23 takes a longer time to pass through the curl correction mechanism 70. In other words, by setting the transport speed of the banknote by the transport unit 23 slow, the correction of the curl of the banknote by the curl correction mechanism 70 can be performed for a longer time. Thus, by setting the transport speed of the banknote by the transport unit 23 slow, the degree of correction of the curl of the banknote by the curl correction mechanism 70 can be increased.
Subsequently, a detailed configuration of the banknote storing mechanism 32 in the banknote handling apparatus 20 is explained by using
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Moreover, as shown in
As shown in
In the banknote storing mechanism 32, an image capturing unit 60, such as a camera, for capturing an image of an inner wall part of the banknote collection bag 34 is arranged near the opening of the banknote collection bag 34 held by the holding members 36. Moreover, a mark 34c (see
In the banknote storing mechanism 32, an operation when the banknote sent to the banknote storing mechanism 32 by the transport unit 23 is stored in the banknote collection bag 34 held by the pair of holding members 36 is explained in detail below.
The banknote sent to the banknote storing mechanism 32 by the transport unit 23 is sent by the banknote feeding unit 48 on the pair of left and right escrow units 44 and is stacked on those escrow units 44. When a predetermined number of the banknotes are stacked on the escrow units 44, each of the escrow units 44 rotates below (that is, in the direction of the curved arrow shown in
When the banknote is stored in the banknote collection bag 34 held by the holding members 36, an image of the mark 34c arranged on the inner wall part of the banknote collection bag 34 is always captured by the image capturing unit 60. When the banknotes of the predetermined quantity are stored in the banknote collection bag 34, the mark 34c is blocked by the banknotes stored in the banknote collection bag 34 and does not appear in the image captured by the image capturing unit 60. When this happens, the control unit 50 determines that the banknote collection bag 34 is full or nearly full. Thus, because a top surface of the banknotes stored in the banknote collection bag 34 can be detected based on the image captured by the image capturing unit 60, as explained below, when the left holding member 36 moves towards the right holding member 36 and an opening of the banknote collection bag 34 is heat sealed by heating members 38, it is possible to prevent that the banknotes stored in the banknote collection bag 34 are pinched by the holding members 36, and a not-sealed portion occurs in the opening of the banknote collection bag 34. Note that, it is allowable to adopt a configuration in which the control unit 50 determines that the banknote collection bag 34 is full or nearly full based on the pushing operation of the escrow units 44 by the pushing plate 46. More particularly, when the banknote collection bag 34 is full or nearly full, the banknotes stored in the banknote collection bag 34 will exist inside a movement area (see the curved arrows in
When it is determined that the banknote collection bag 34 is full or nearly full, the banknote collection bag 34 is taken out of the banknote storing mechanism 32. However, before the banknote collection bag 34 is taken out of the banknote storing mechanism 32, the pushing lever 39 is moved by the pushing lever driving unit 39a toward the right direction in
The banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment includes the control unit 50 that controls various structural components of the banknote handling apparatus 20. More particularly, as shown in
Information about the recognition result and the detection result of the banknote obtained in the recognition unit 24 is stored in the memory 52. A handling history of the money deposition process and the like of the banknotes in the banknote handling apparatus 20, and the information about the inventory amounts and the like of the banknotes stored in each of the banknote collection bags 34 are stored in the memory 52. Moreover, identification information (ID) of each of the banknote collection bags 34 and identification information of the banknotes stored in each of the banknote collection bags 34 are stored in the memory 52 in an associated manner. Moreover, information about a diameter of the drum 25a of each of the storing and feeding units 25 and information about a thickness of the winding member 25b and information about a set value of the winding strength of the winding member 25b are stored in the memory 52. Moreover, for all the banknotes stored in each of the storing and feeding units 25, the order of storing and the date and the time of storing each of the banknotes in each of the storing and feeding units 25 are stored in the memory 52 in an associated manner.
The printing unit 54 prints on a receipt and the like the handling history of the money deposition process and the like of the banknotes in the banknote handling apparatus 20, and the information about the inventory amounts and the like of the banknotes stored in each of the banknote collection bags 34. The control unit 50 can transmit to and receive from an external device (specifically, for example, a host terminal) arranged separately from the banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment a signal via the communication interface unit 56. Specifically, the control unit 50 can transmit to the external device arranged separately from the banknote handling apparatus 20 the information stored in the memory 52 via the communication interface unit 56. For example, when a guard of a secure transportation company and the like collects the banknotes together with the banknote collection bag 34, information about the collected banknotes is transmitted to a computer of the secure transportation company and the like via the communication interface unit 56.
An operation in each of the money deposition process, the money dispensing process, and a collection process performed in the banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment are explained in detail below. The money deposition process is a process in which, after having recognized by the recognition unit 24 a denomination and the like of the banknotes inserted in the housing 20a from the inserting unit 21 of the banknote handling apparatus 20, the banknote is stored, for example, in one of the storing and feeding units 25 according to the denomination of the banknote. The money dispensing process is a process in which the banknote fed from the storing and feeding unit 25 is ejected in the ejecting unit 22 that is accessible from the outside of the housing 20a. The collection process is a process in which the banknote inserted in the housing 20a from the inserting unit 21 or the banknote fed from the storing and feeding unit 25 is sent to the banknote collection bag 34.
A role in the collection process of the curl correction mechanism 70 that corrects the curl of the banknote in the banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment is explained below. As explained below, the curl correction mechanism 70 corrects the curl of the banknote based on the strength of the curl habit of the banknote that passes through the curl correction mechanism 70. As a pre-stage for this purpose, at first, a factor that determines the strength of the curl habit of the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 will be explained. The factor that determines the strength of the curl habit of the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25, for example, can arise from a storing state of the banknote, or can arise from material, dimension, and the like of the features of the banknote.
The factors that determine the strength of the curl habit of the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 and arise from the storing state of the banknote are explained below. As explained above, the banknotes are stored in each of the storing and feeding units 25 by winding the banknotes one by one with the winding member 25b on the outer peripheral surface of the substantially cylindrical drum 25a. Therefore, a distance to the banknote, which has been wound on the drum 25a by the winding member 25b, from a center of the drum 25a (specifically, the rotation axis 25c) when seen from a side of the drum 25a (that is, when seen from the direction that is orthogonal to the paper surface of
In this manner, the strength of the curl habit of the banknote wound on the drum 25a by the winding member 25b changes based on the distance from the rotation axis 25c of the drum 25a when seen from the side of the drum 25a to the banknote wound by the winding member 25b on the drum 25a. Therefore, if the drums 25a having different diameters are used in different storing and feeding units 25, the strength of the curl habit of the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 will be different depending on the diameter of the drum 25a of each of the storing and feeding units 25. That is, if the drum 25a having a relatively small diameter is used, because the average value of the distance between the rotation axis 25c of the drum 25a and the banknote wound by the winding member 25b on the drum 25a is small, the curvature of the banknote wound by the winding member 25b on the drum 25a will be relatively large. Therefore, the banknote will be stored in a state in which it will have a strong curl. Therefore, the banknote wound by the winding member 25b on the drum 25a having the relatively small diameter will have a strong curl habit on the average. On the other hand, if the drum 25a having a relatively large diameter is used, because the average value of the distance between the rotation axis 25c of the drum 25a and the banknote wound by the winding member 25b on the drum 25a is large, the curvature of the banknote wound by the winding member 25b on the drum 25a will be relatively small. Therefore, the banknote will be stored in a state in which it will have a relatively weak curl. Therefore, the banknote wound by the winding member 25b on the drum 25a having the relatively large diameter will have a weak curl habit on the average.
Moreover, even if the configuration of each of the storing and feeding units 25 (specifically, the diameter of the drums 25a and the like), the features of the banknote detected by the recognition unit 24 from the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 (specifically, dimensions, material, printing states, and the like of the banknotes), and the conditions in which the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 was stored in the storing and feeding unit 25 (specifically, the distance from the rotation axis 25c of the drum 25a, time for which the banknote was stored, and the like) are almost the same, if the winding strengths of the winding members 25b are different, the stronger the winding strength of the winding member 25b, the stronger the curl habit of the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25.
Moreover, even if the configuration and setting of each of the storing and feeding units 25 (specifically, the diameter of the drums 25a, a set value of the winding strength of the winding members 25b, and the like) are almost the same, and the information that is detected by the recognition unit 24 from the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 is also almost the same, the banknote stored for a relatively long time in the storing and feeding unit 25 will have a strong curl habit compared with the banknote stored for a relatively short time in the storing and feeding unit 25.
The factors that determine the strength of the curl habit of the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 and arise from the material, dimensions, and the like of the features of the banknote are explained below. More particularly, the material of the banknote may include polymer or the material of the banknote may be polymer itself. The banknote made from the polymer and the banknote including the polymer is hard to get the curl habit compared with the banknote made only from paper. However, if the banknote gets the curl habit because it was stored in the curled state and the like, a stronger external force is necessary to correct the curl habit of such a banknote compared with the banknote made of only paper. That is, the banknote made from the polymer and the banknote including the polymer will have a strong curl habit compared with the banknote made of only paper. Because the banknote made from the polymer and the banknote including the polymer have such a property, the curl habit of the banknote made from the polymer and the banknote including the polymer stored in each of the storing and feeding units 25 for a relatively short time will be weaker compared with the banknote made only from paper. On the other hand, the curl habit of the banknote made from the polymer and the banknote including the polymer stored in each of the storing and feeding units 25 for a relatively long time will be stronger compared with the banknote made only from paper. Moreover, a metal wire may be embedded in the banknote to prevent a fraudulent activity (for example, forgery of the banknote and the like). The curl habit of such a banknote will be stronger compared with the banknote made only from paper. Moreover, regardless of the material and the like of the banknote, the strength of the curl habit of the banknote varies depending on material and quantity of the ink used for printing the banknote (for example, the greater the quantity of ink used for printing, the stronger the curl habit of the banknote).
In the banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment, a degree of the correction of the curl applied by the curl correction mechanism 70 is adjusted based on a long edge length of the banknote (that is, the length of the banknote in the transport direction of the banknote) stored in each of the storing and feeding units 25. As explained above, the banknotes are stored in each of the storing and feeding units 25 such that the long side (that is, the transport direction) of the banknote substantially coincides with the circumferential direction of the drum 25a. Therefore, the banknote having a long long edge length is stored in a strongly curled state in each of the storing and feeding units 25 compared with the banknote having a short long edge length. Thus, the banknote having the long long edge length gets a strong curl habit.
Note that, the transport unit 23 may be adapted to transport the banknote along the short side of the banknote. In this case, the banknotes are stored in each of the storing and feeding units 25 such that the short side of the banknote substantially coincides with the circumferential direction of the drum 25a. Also, the banknote stored in each of the storing and feeding units 25 will have the curl habit along the short side of the banknote. Moreover, the banknote having a long short edge length is stored in a strongly curled state in each of the storing and feeding units 25 compared with the banknote having a short short edge length. Thus, the banknote having the long short edge length gets a strong curl habit.
A role in the collection process of the curl correction mechanism 70 in the banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment is explained below. More particularly, as explained above, the collection process of the banknote is a process in which the banknotes inserted from the inserting unit 21 to the inside of the housing 20a of the banknote handling apparatus 20 or the banknotes fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 are stored in a stacked manner in the banknote collection bag 34 by the banknote storing mechanism 32. Three types of banknotes can be considered as the banknotes that should be collected in the collection process in the banknote handling apparatus 20. The first type of banknotes is the banknotes fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25. The second type of banknotes is the banknotes manually inserted by the operator from the banknote receiving unit 21a. The third type of banknotes is the banknotes fed to the transport unit 23 from the banknote storing cassette 21c.
As explained above, the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 gets a curl habit of a different strength depending on the storing state, dimension, material and the like of the features of the banknote, the diameter of the drum 25a, the winding strength of the winding member 25b, and the like. In the banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment, information and the like about the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 is stored in the memory 52. Moreover, the control unit 50 controls the transport speed of the banknote in the curl correction mechanism 70 and the transport unit 23 based on the information stored in the memory 52. Accordingly, after correcting the curl of the banknote, fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25, at an appropriate strength by the curl correction mechanism 70, the banknote can be sent to the banknote storing mechanism 32.
More particularly, when correcting the curl of the banknote that has a relatively weak curl habit (for example, the banknote that was stored at a position whose distance from the rotation axis 25c of the drum 25a is longer than a predetermined threshold) by using the curl correction mechanism 70, the curl of the banknote is corrected by setting the transport speed of the banknote in the transport unit 23 to a first predetermined speed that is lower than the transport speed of the banknote in the money deposition process and the like, and positioning the upper rollers 74 of the curl correction mechanism 70 at the operating position. Accordingly, it is possible to suitably correct the curl of the banknote according to processing contents. Therefore, any disadvantage (for example, a stacking failure occurs in the stacking unit when a too strong habit is applied to the banknote by the lower rollers 72 and the upper rollers 74, and the like) that may occur due to excessive correction of the curl of the banknote by the curl correction mechanism 70 can be prevented. If the strength of the curl habit of the banknote fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 is correctable even without reducing the transport speed of the banknote in the transport unit 23, the curl of the banknote can be corrected by using the curl correction mechanism 70 without reducing the transport speed of the banknote.
On the other hand, when correcting the curl of the banknote that has a relatively strong curl habit (for example, the banknote that was stored at a position whose distance from the rotation axis 25c of the drum 25a is shorter than the predetermined threshold) by using the curl correction mechanism 70, the curl of the banknote is corrected by, for example, setting the transport speed of the banknote in the transport unit 23 to a second predetermined speed that is lower than the first predetermined speed, and positioning the upper rollers 74 of the curl correction mechanism 70 at the operating position. Accordingly, it is possible to suitably correct the curl habit of the banknote that has a relatively strong curl habit. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a stacking failure of the banknotes stacked in the banknote storing mechanism 32 due to insufficient correction of curl of the banknote by the curl correction mechanism 70.
The banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment is not limited to a case in which only one threshold of the distance of the banknote stored in the storing and feeding unit 25 from the rotation axis 25c of the drum 25a can be set. More than one such thresholds can be set. Specifically, the distance between the rotation axis 25c of the drum 25a and the banknote stored last (that is, the banknote that is stored at a position most away from the rotation axis 25c of the drum 25a) when the banknotes are stored up to an upper limit in each of the storing and feeding units 25 is divided into a plurality of sections, and the curl of the banknote stored in a given section among those sections can be corrected by using a predetermined strength specific to the given section. Note that, whether a banknote fed from each of the storing and feeding units 25 was stored at a position whose distance from the rotation axis 25c of the drum 25a is smaller than the predetermined threshold can be determined based on the information stored in the memory 52.
The collection process of the banknotes manually inserted by the operator in the housing 20a from the banknote receiving unit 21a is explained below. In this case, generally, such inserted banknotes are directly sent to the banknote storing mechanism 32 without correcting the curl of the banknote by the curl correction mechanism 70. Because, generally, the banknotes manually inserted by the operator in the housing 20a do not have a curl habit to an extent that will cause the stacking failure when stacked in the banknote storing mechanism 32. Accordingly, such banknotes can be transported at a higher speed in comparison with a case in which the curl of the banknote is to be corrected by the curl correction mechanism 70. Therefore, the handling efficiency of the banknotes can be improved.
The collection process of the banknotes fed from the banknote storing cassette 21c is explained below. The banknotes fed from the banknote storing cassette 21c can include banknotes that have the curl habit and the banknotes that do not have the curl habit. Therefore, when performing the collection process of the banknotes fed from the banknote storing cassette 21c, whether to correct the curl of the banknotes by using the curl correction mechanism 70 can be selected by using, for example, the operation/display unit 29 and the like. Accordingly, the banknotes that are fed from the banknote storing cassette 21c and do not have the curl habit can be transported at a higher speed. Therefore, the handling efficiency of the banknotes can be improved. Note that, it is not limited to perform the selection regarding whether to correct the curl habit of the banknote by the curl correction mechanism 70 only when performing the collection process of the banknotes fed from the banknote storing cassette 21c. That is, whether to correct the curl habit of the banknote by the curl correction mechanism 70 can be selected when performing the collection process of the banknote fed from each of the storing and feeding units 25, or when performing the collection process of the banknote manually inserted by the operator. Moreover, in all the collection processes, that is, when performing the collection process of the banknote fed from the banknote storing cassette 21c, when performing the collection process of the banknote fed from each of the storing and feeding units 25, and when performing the collection process of the banknote manually inserted by the operator, it is allowable to configure so that whether to correct the curl of the banknotes by the curl correction mechanism 70 can be set at a time by using the operation/display unit 29 and the like.
Thus, in the banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment, the curl of the banknotes fed to the transport unit 23 from each of the storing and feeding units 25 can be corrected by the curl correction mechanism 70 based on the storing state of the banknotes in each of the storing and feeding units 25 and the information and the like of the features and the like of the banknotes detected by the recognition unit 24.
As other example of the banknote handling apparatus according to the present embodiment, instead of arranging the curl correction mechanism 70 near (see
In the banknote handling apparatuses 20p and 20q of the examples shown in
In the banknote handling apparatuses 20, 20p, and 20q according to the present embodiment, the degree of the correction of the curl of the banknotes by the curl correction mechanism 70 is set higher when transporting by the transport unit 23 the banknotes fed from each of the storing and feeding units 25 than when transporting by the transport unit 23 the banknotes inserted in the housing 20a from the inserting unit 21. Accordingly, the banknotes can be transported through the curl correction mechanism 70 at a high speed compared with a case in which the curl of all the banknotes is corrected by substantially the same degree by using the curl correction mechanism 70. Therefore, the handling efficiency of the banknotes can be improved.
A still another example of the banknote handling apparatus according to the present embodiment is shown in
Note that, the configuration of the banknote handling apparatus according to the present embodiment is not limited to the embodiment mentioned above and can be changed as desired in various manner.
For example, in the banknote handling apparatuses 20, 20p, 20q, and 20r according to the present embodiment, as the curl correction mechanism, instead of the curl correction mechanism 70 including the lower rollers 72, the upper rollers 74, and the like, a curl correction mechanism having different configuration can be used. For example, a curl correction mechanism that uses heat can be used. Specifically, the curl of the banknote can be corrected by making a hot member, such as an iron, touch the banknote transported by the transport unit 23. Alternatively, the curl of the banknote can be corrected by blowing hot wind and the like toward the banknote from a wind blower arranged at a position separated from the transport unit 23.
It is not limited that the lower rollers 72 arranged on the axis 71 and the upper rollers 74 arranged on the axis 73 in the curl correction mechanism 70 are respectively provided in a pair. For example, even if three or more lower rollers and three or more upper rollers are provided, the curl of the banknotes can be corrected by using the curl correction mechanism.
A still another example of the banknote handling apparatus according to the present embodiment is shown in
As seen from
A cassette mounting unit 140 is arranged in the lower unit 103, and the cassette mounting unit 140 is connected to the transport unit 112. This cassette mounting unit 140 is used to collect the banknotes stored in the storing and feeding units 120. More specifically, a banknote collecting cassette 142 for storing the banknotes in a stacked manner is detachably attached in the cassette mounting unit 140. The banknote sent from each of the storing and feeding units 120 to the cassette mounting unit 140 via the transport unit 112 is stored in the banknote collecting cassette 142.
In the transport unit 112 near the cassette mounting unit 140 is arranged a curl correction mechanism 170. The curl correction mechanism 170 has substantially the same configuration as the curl correction mechanism 70. More particularly, in the banknote handling apparatus according to the example shown in
When the drums 122a and 126a rotate counterclockwise when seen from a direction that is orthogonal to the paper surface of
In the banknote handling apparatus 100 according to the example shown in
For example, in a state in which at least one banknote is stored in any of the banknote storing mechanism 122, 124, 126 of the storing and feeding units 120, first, the banknote that is stored by the winding members being wound on a certain drum (for example, the drum 122a of the first storing and feeding unit 120 from the top) is sent to the cassette mounting unit 140, and the banknote is stacked in the banknote collecting cassette 142. This banknote fed from the first storing and feeding unit 120 from the top has the curl habit; however, because all the banknotes fed from the first storing and feeding unit 120 from the top will have the curl habit in the same direction, a stacking failure is less likely to occur in the banknote collecting cassette 142.
Subsequently, the banknote that is stored by the winding members being wound on another drum (for example, the drum 122a of the fourth storing and feeding unit 120 from the top) and that has a curl habit in a certain direction is fed to the transport unit 112. The banknote fed to the transport unit 112 is stored on the drum 122a of the first storing and feeding unit 120 from the top by winding the winding members along with the banknote on this drum. Accordingly, the banknote that had the curl habit in the certain direction can be stored in the first storing and feeding unit 120 from the top in a state in which the banknote has a curl in an opposite direction of the curl habit. More specifically, when seen from the direction that is orthogonal to the paper surface of
The banknote stored in the banknote storing mechanism 126 of the second storing and feeding unit 120 from the top and the banknote stored in the banknote storing mechanism 126 of the third storing and feeding unit 120 from the top are sent to the banknote storing mechanism 122 of the first storing and feeding unit 120 from the top. Thus, the banknote is sent to the cassette mounting unit 140 after the curl habit of the banknote stored in each of the banknote storing mechanism 126 is corrected.
On the other hand, to correct the curl habit of the banknote stored in the banknote storing mechanism 124 of the second storing and feeding unit 120 from the top and the curl habit of the banknote stored in the banknote storing mechanism 124 of the third storing and feeding unit 120 from the top, the banknote stored in each of the banknote storing mechanism 124 is sent to the banknote storing mechanism 126 once, and then the banknote is sent from the banknote storing mechanism 126 to the banknote storing mechanism 122. Thus, the curl habit of the banknote stored in the banknote storing mechanism 124 can be corrected by using the banknote storing mechanism 122. Thereafter, the curl habit corrected banknote is sent to the cassette mounting unit 140 from the banknote storing mechanism 122. Thus, even if the banknote handling apparatus according to the example shown in
Note that, it may not be always necessary to correct the curl habit of the banknote with the above method of using the banknote storing mechanism 122 of the first storing and feeding unit 120 from the top. For example, when starting the collection process of the banknote, among the banknote storing mechanism 122, 124, 126, all the banknote stored in the banknote storing mechanism with the least number of banknotes is sent to the cassette mounting unit 140. Then, the banknote stored in the other banknote storing mechanism 122, 124, 126 is sent to the banknote storing mechanism that has become empty thereby correcting the curl habit of the banknote stored the other banknote storing mechanism 122, 124, 126. Moreover, when starting the collection process of the banknote, if an empty banknote storing mechanism is available among the banknote storing mechanism 122, 124, 126, the curl habit of the banknote stored the other banknote storing mechanism 122, 124, 126 can be corrected by using this empty banknote storing mechanism. Note that, when using the banknote handling apparatus 100 in this manner, because it is possible to reduce the number of banknotes having the curl habit to be sent to the cassette mounting unit 140 as much as possible, it is possible to suppress that a stacking failure of the banknote occurs in the banknote collecting cassette 142 mounted in the cassette mounting unit 140.
As another mode of use of the banknote handling apparatus 100 according to the example shown in
In the banknote handling apparatus according to the example shown in
A still another example of the banknote handling apparatus according to the present embodiment is shown in
A plurality of storing and feeding units 228 is arranged in the housing 212. Each of the storing and feeding units 228 is connected to the transport unit 224. Each of the storing and feeding units 228 stores therein the banknote, inserted in the housing 212 from the inserting unit 220 and that is recognized by the recognition unit 226, according to a denomination of the banknote. More particularly, the banknote is sent by the transport unit 224 to one of the storing and feeding units 228 according to the denomination of the banknote based on a recognition result obtained in the recognition unit 226. Each of the storing and feeding units 228 can feed the banknotes stored therein one by one to the transport unit 224. Each of the storing and feeding units 228 is a storing and feeding unit that winds banknotes by using a pair of belt-shaped winding members in a state in which the banknotes are sandwiched one by one between the winding members.
As seen in
The banknote storing cassette 21c can be also mounted in the cassette mounting unit 240. Therefore, exchange of the banknotes is possible between the banknote handling apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment and the banknote handling apparatus 210 shown in
A curl correction mechanism 270 having substantially the same configuration as the curl correction mechanism 70 is arranged near the cassette mounting unit 240 in the transport unit 224. More particularly, in the banknote handling apparatus 210 according to the example shown in
Note that, when feeding the banknote from the banknote storing cassette 21c or the banknote collecting cassette 244 mounted in the cassette mounting unit 240, the degree of correction of the curl of the banknote by the curl correction mechanism 270 can be changed depending on the strength of the curl habit of the banknote fed from these cassettes. More particularly, for example, it is more likely that the curl habit of the banknote fed from the banknote storing cassette 21c is stronger than the curl habit of the banknote fed from the banknote collecting cassette 244. Therefore, by setting the degree of correction of the curl by the curl correction mechanism 270 of the banknote fed from the banknote storing cassette 21c relatively stronger, and setting the degree of correction of the curl of the banknote fed from the banknote collecting cassette 244 relatively weaker, the curl of the banknote can be corrected with an appropriate strength.
In the banknote handling apparatuses 20, 20p, 20q, and 20r according to the present embodiment and the banknote handling apparatuses 100 and 210 according to the other examples, the curl correction mechanism 70, 170, 270, and the like can be omitted, or the curl correction mechanism 70, 170, 270, and the like can be provided, but a part of the transport unit can be diverted and this part can be bent. In this configuration, the curl habit of the banknote can be corrected by transporting the banknote through the bent part. Specifically, this function can be realized, as shown in
In the banknote handling apparatuses 20, 20p, 20q, and 20r according to the present embodiment and the banknote handling apparatuses 100 and 210 according to the other examples, it is allowable to provide a reversing mechanism that reverses the face side up/back side up of the banknote. In this configuration, after the banknote fed from a certain storing and feeding unit and having the curl habit in a certain direction is reversed by using the reversing mechanism, the banknote can be stored in the storing and feeding unit again. Accordingly, the banknote that has the curl habit in a certain direction can be stored in a state in which the banknote has a curl in the opposite direction of the certain direction, and the curl of the banknote can be corrected.
Note that, the sheet handling apparatus according to the present invention can be used to handle a sheet (for example, a check, a gift certificate, and the like) other than the banknote. In this case, by correcting the curl of the sheet fed from the storing and feeding unit by using the curl correction mechanism, occurrence of a stacking failure of the sheet in the stacking unit can be suppressed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-036515 | Feb 2017 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5202737 | Hollar | Apr 1993 | A |
| 7494122 | Spinetti | Feb 2009 | B2 |
| 20120004087 | Tharayil et al. | Jan 2012 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2 865 626 | Apr 2015 | EP |
| 2012-174134 | Sep 2012 | JP |
| 2013209215 | Oct 2013 | JP |
| WO-2010032303 | Mar 2010 | WO |
| Entry |
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| European Search Report (Application No. 18158936.7) (6 pages—dates Jul. 24, 2018). |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180244483 A1 | Aug 2018 | US |
