EP0005630A1

EP0005630A1 - Sheet-stacking apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP0005630A1
Application number: EP79300856A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Charles Hambleton Saffery
Original assignee: Chubb Electronics Ltd
Current assignee: Chubb Electronics Ltd
Priority date: 1978-05-18
Filing date: 1979-05-17
Publication date: 1979-11-28

Abstract

Stacking apparatus for stacking banknotes or other sheets includes a single slotted-wheel (14) that is rotated to receive sheets (N) fed successively thereto. The sheets are retained in slots (13) of the wheel (14) so as to be carried round with the wheel (14) into abutment with stripper means (16) which dislodges the sheets from the slots (13) so that they stack one upon the other (S). The stripper means has abutments on both sides of the single wheel (14), and may be a plate (16) which is slotted to extend up on both sides of the, wheel to provide said abutments and which also provides an abutment against which the stripped sheets fall in register upon one another in orderly stack (S). The wheel (14) may be a plastics moulding with the slots defined by individual curved-tines (19) moulded as one with the remainder of the wheel, and may be mounted centrally of the sheet-feed path.

Description

This invention relates to sheet-stacking apparatus of the kind in which slotted wheel-means is rotated to receive sheets fed successively thereto, said sheets being retained in slots of the wheel means to be carried round with the wheel means, and in which stripper means extends into the path of said sheets carried with the wheel means for dislodging the sheets from the slots so that they stack one upon the other.
Sheet-stacking apparatus of this specified kind is used for stacking banknotes in banknote dispensing equipment utilized in banks for assisting the human teller or cashier in delivering cash to customers. Such apparatus is also used in automated teller machines where banknotes are to be dispensed to customers directly in dependence upon data keyed or otherwise inserted into the machine. In both applications banknotes are fed in rapid succession to the sheet-stacking apparatus which assembles them into an appropriate stack ready for delivery to the customer by the human teller or cashier or by a machine-operated delivery mechanism. The banknotes are drawn off from one or more reserve stacks of notes and are fed one at a time to the stacking apparatus in the appropriate number for the transaction in hand. Notes of only one denomination or of a plurality of different denominations may be held in reserve for dispensing, but whether in any transaction only one denomination of note is involved or there is to be a mix of denominations, the stacking apparatus is required to assemble the notes orderly and neatly in register with one another.
Known forms of banknote stacking apparatus involve two or more slotted discs or wheels spaced apart and mounted on a common shaft which is rotated at a speed related to the rate of feed of the notes from the reserve. The notes are drawn off flat from the reserve and fed laterally, that is to say with one of the longitudinal edges of the note leading and the other trailing, to the slotted wheels. The shaft carrying the stacker wheels is mounted to extend transversely of the path of note-feed and is rotated to trail the slot- openings of each wheel in the direction of rotation and to present these openings to that path in turn. The slots of each wheel are aligned with the slots respectively of each other wheel on the rotating shaft so that the leading edge of each note fed to the wheels enter corresponding slots of the two or more wheels. The notes are driven at speed to enter deeply into the wheel slots and lodge there with each held at two or more spaced positions along its length to be carried round with the rotating wheels.
The wheel slots, which are usually defined by tines attached individually to or moulded integrally with the wheel-hub, are generally of a spiral or other arcuate configuration so as to arrest and retain the entered notes firmly as the wheels rotate. Rotation of the wheels brings each retained note in turn into abutment with parts of a stripper plate or stripper bars that serve to dislodge the notes from the wheel slots and stack them upon one another.
The known forms of stacking apparatus function satisfactorily where new banknotes are involved, but cannot be relied upon to provide orderly stacking of used notes. In particular it has been found that where notes are creased, and especially where the corners of the note are turned-up or folded-over, the appropriate register of note upon note in a stack can be seriously prejudiced.
Misalignment in stacking is undesirable because of the untidy appearance that results, but more importantly because it can seriously impair mechanical delivery of the note stack from the stacking apparatus.
It is one object of the present invention to provide sheet-stacking apparatus of the said specified kind that overcomes to a significant extent the misalignment problem of the known forms of apparatus. In this respect it has been found, and this is the basis of the present invention, that the misalignment problem can be largely overcome'by using a single stacker wheel, rather than the two or more used in the previously-known forms of stacking apparatus, with abutments of the stripper means on either side of the wheel for dislodging the sheets from the wheel.
Investigation of the misalignment problem encountered with used banknotes has revealed that where two or more stacker wheels are involved as in the known apparatus, a note may be more tightly held by one of the wheels than by the other or others, so that there is more resistance to the dislodgement or stripping of this note from that one wheel. As the wheels rotate to bring the note into abutment with the stripper means it is retained frictionally by this one wheel at one position along the note-length, longer than by the other wheel or wheels. The note accordingly pivots against the stripper means so that when it is eventually freed from the wheel it is in general out of square with the stripper means and will join the stack with this misalignment. The use of a single wheel has been found to overcome this problem to a very significant extent. With the single wheel the note is retained frictionally at one point only so that the pivotting experienced with the two or more wheels can be eliminated.
The fact that each note or other sheet is retained with the rotating, single wheel of the invention, at one position only along its length may suggest that the: alignment of the sheets as they are fed to the wheel cannot be maintained; more especially the sheets may pivot with respect to the wheel as the wheel rotates. But it has been found even with used banknotes that if this does happen abutment with the stripper means to either side of the wheel is effective to turn the notes back into alignment before they are freed from the wheel. Moreover if the slots in the wheel are, as preferred, of an arcuate configuration, the rigidity of each sheet is enhanced by the curvature which is imposed on it across its width while entered in the respective slot of the wheel, and this tends to reduce the likelihood that the initial orientation with which the sheet is fed to the wheel, will change as the wheel.rotates round to be dislodged by the stripper means.
Banknote dispensing equipment including stacking apparatus in accordance with the present invention, will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the dispensing equipment; and
Figures 2 are plan and side views respectively and³ of a stacker unit forming part of the dispensing equipment of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, the dispensing equipment incorporates four cassettes 1 to 4 for storing reserves of banknotes of four different denominations in separate stacks. The cassettes 1 to 4 are provided within individual supply units 5 to 8 respectively that are coupled together in series and are actuable from an electronic control unit 9. Actuation of any one of the units 5 to 8 from the unit 9 is effective to draw off the top note from the reserve stack of the respective cassette 1 to 4 and to feed it to a stacker unit 10. In this respect each unit 5 to 8 has a feeder mechanism 11 that includes a continuously-rotating belt for feeding notes onwards towards the unit 10 from its own respective cassette 1 to 4 or from the mechanism 11 of the preceeding note-supply unit of the series-coupled units 5 to 8. The units 5 to 8 are actuated by the unit 9 to draw off notes in the required numbers and denominations and to feed these in rapid succession via the mechanisms 11 to driven rollers 12 at the entrance to the stacker unit 10.
Referring now more especially to Figures 2 and 3, each note - such as illustrated by note N - is fed into the stacker unit 10 laterally and, is driven from the rollers 12 into a respective slot 13 of the single rotating stacker wheel 14 of the unit 10. The wheel 14 is located centrally of the note-feed path being mounted on a shaft 15 located below that path so that the notes enter directly into the arcuate wheel-slots 13; the shaft 15 may be rotated by an individual electric motor or from the same drive source as the feeders 11. Each note lodged in the wheel 14 is carried forwardly and downwardly with the rotating wheel 14 and by this is brought into abutment with a stripper plate 16.
The plate 16 extends upwardly towards the shaft 15 on either side of the wheel 14 (being slotted to allow the wheel to pass through) to provide abutments on both sides for dislodging the successive notes from their slots 13. Each note is dislodged with its leading longitudinal edge square against the plate 16, and falls away from the wheel 14 to form an orderly stack S with_' the earlier-dispensed notes. The stack is formed on a belt or other device 17 of a delivery unit 18 (Figure 1) with the notes all in register with one another against the plate 16. When the dispensing of notes has been completed the control unit 9 actuates the unit 18 to deliver the stacked notes together as one from the device 17, in their neat and orderly pile, to the cashier or customer, whichever is appropriate to the application of the equipment.
The slots 13 are defined in the wheel 14 by arcuate tines 19 that are moulded in plastics as one with the hub of the wheel (the tines may alternatively be provided as individual elements secured separately to a wheel core). Each tine 19 has a width (corresponding to wheel thickness) of 4 millimetres, so each note is held by the wheel 14 at one position over a very small part of its length. However, the curvature imposed by the curved tines 19 across the widths of the notes entered in the slots 13, provides a degree of rigidity and resilience which reduces the likelihood of any change in orientation of the notes from that with which they are fed into the wheel 14 from the rollers 12. Accordingly they will normally abut the plate 16 squarely so as to be stripped cleanly from the wheel 14 to fall into an orderly stack in register with one another against the plate 16 on the device 17. If any note engaged in the wheel 14 should be, or become, displaced from the regular alignment, then the leading edge of the note to one side or the other of the wheel 14 will abut the plate 16 first, and as the wheel 14 continues to rotate will pivot the note backwardly on that side until abutment on the other side is made. The note will then have been appropriately re-aligned and so be ready to be stripped squarely from the wheel 14 by the plate 16 for stacking in proper register with the other notes against the plate 16.
The mounting of the wheel 14 centrally of the stacking unit 10 is not essential, but it has been found that this is the optimum location, especially where notes of different denominations are fed to the unit. It is in any case preferable to locate the wheel 14 well away from those regions, notably the ends, of the notes most likely to be turned up or over, or torn.
Although the present invention has been described above in the context of the dispensing and delivery of banknotes, it is clearly not limited to such application and is applicable to the stacking of cheques and other sheet items.

Claims

1. Sheet-stacking apparatus in which slotted wheel-means is rotated to receive sheets fed successively thereto, said sheets being retained in slots of the wheel means to be carried round with the wheel means, and in which stripper means extends into the path of said sheets carried with the wheel means for dislodging the sheets from the slots so that they stack one upon the other, characterised in that the said wheel means has only a single slotted-wheel for receiving the sheets fed to the wheel means, and the stripper means has abutments on both sides of the single wheel for dislodging the sheets therefrom in orderly stack.

2. Stacking apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the slots of the wheel are arcuate.

3. Stacking apparatus according.to Claim 2 wherein the slots of the wheel are defined by arcuate tines carried by a hub of the wheel, the tines being moulded in plastics as one with the hub.

4. Stacking apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein said stripping means is a plate that is slotted to extend inwardly of the wheel on both sides thereof.

5. Stacking apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the single wheel is mounted centrally of the sheet-feed path.