Abstract:
An apparatus and method for stacking sheets on a stationary stack is disclosed comprising conveying a sheet to a roller and rolling the sheet onto the stack of sheets. The roller is preferably moved across the stack of sheets by a carriage while the sheet is being rolled onto the stack.

Description:
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/235,190, filed on Apr. 29, 1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,015, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/732,034, filed on Jul. 18, 1991, abandoned. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a sheet stacking apparatus which is suitable, for example, for automatic service machines in which a plurality of banknotes are received as payment for the furnishing of a service and may only be accepted after the service has been furnished or, if that is not possible, returned to a user. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     German patent specification No. 2 619 620 describes an intermediate storage apparatus for the short-term storage of sheets of paper. The sheets of paper which have already been put into intermediate storage are held fast in a bundle between transportation belts and are pushed to and fro as a pack, for the purposes of deposit of a further sheet thereon. Such operation subjects the sheets to a mechanical loading. 
     In an apparatus in accordance with European patent application EP 251 833, a single sheet may be put into intermediate storage in a pocket, while a further sheet may already be accommodated in the pocket before the first sheet is entirely removed from the pocket. 
     Swiss patent application No. 02 566/90-1, filed on Aug. 6, 1990, and its corresponding U.S. Ser. No. 07/732,045 entitled &#34;Apparatus for Stacking Sheets&#34; by Andre Gerlier, which was filed on Jul. 18, 1991 and issued on Aug. 18, 1992, bearing U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,149 (both of which are incorporated herein as if printed in full below), describe an apparatus for stacking sheets in which a carriage is displaceable over at least one stack alters the geometry of transportation belts by means of guide rollers in order to deposit the sheet on the stack without the transportation belts or the sheet to be deposited sliding on the previous top sheet of the stack. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An apparatus for stacking sheets on a stationary stack is disclosed comprising rolling means for rolling a sheet onto the stationary stack and conveying means for conveying the sheet to the rolling means. The rolling means preferably comprises a carriage which moves across the stack while the sheet is rolled onto the stack. 
     An apparatus for stacking sheets on a stationary stack is also disclosed comprising a first roller and a conveyor wherein the conveyor conveys a sheet to the first roller, which rolls the sheet onto the stack. 
     A method for stacking sheets in a stationary stack is also disclosed comprising conveying a sheet to a first roller and rolling the sheet onto the stationary stack. The sheet is preferably rolled onto the stack by a carriage which moves across the stack 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows an automatic service machine. 
     FIG. 2 shows an intermediate storage arrangement. 
     FIG. 3 shows an entry to a feed system. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 identifies an automatic service machine (referred to for the sake of brevity as the automatic machine 1) while reference number 2 identifies a sheet which is pushed through a receiving slot 3 in the automatic machine 1 into a conveyor system 4. The automatic machine 1 further includes a sensor 5 and a control device 6 which is connected thereto, a feed system 7, and a transportation system 8 with two outputs, one of which communicates with a box 9 while the other output communicates with a return dish 10. The feed system 7 and the transportation system 8 form the intermediate storage apparatus. The conveyor system 4 is designed to transport the sheets 2 from the receiving slot 3 of the automatic machine past the sensor 5 to an entry 11 of the feed system 7. 
     The control device 6 produces commands for the intermediate storage apparatus, with the commands being associated with an acceptance cycle or a transportation cycle. The acceptance cycle comprises two rest conditions and acceptance operations or idle travels. The intermediate storage apparatus goes from one rest condition into the other by means of the acceptance operation or the idle travel. During the acceptance cycle the intermediate storage apparatus waits in the rest condition until the sheet 2 which is supplied to it by means of the conveyor system 4 during the acceptance operation reaches the entry 11. As soon as the acceptance cycle is concluded, the control device 6 changes into the transportation cycle, in which case the sheets 2 which are collected in the intermediate storage apparatus during the acceptance cycle are transported through one of the two outputs into the box 9 or into the return dish 10 respectively. 
     The box 9 may also be replaced by other devices (not shown here) which are suitable for processing of the sheets 2 collected in the intermediate storage apparatus. 
     The sensor 5 is designed to sense features of the sheet 2 which is transported therepast. For example, it may recognize authenticity features by an optical procedure or it may detect magnetic areas of an image which is printed with magnetic ink. Sensor signals generated by the sensor 5 are processed in the control device 6. 
     Sheets 2 can be successively fed to the conveyor system 4 through the receiving slot 3 until the acceptance cycle is concluded. The conveyor system 4 transports the sheet 2 through the entry 11 into the feed system 7 which deposits sheets sheet-by-sheet on a stack 12 which is being formed, in the transportation system 8, the stack 12 not being moved when the freshly supplied sheet 2 is deposited thereon. 
     If, for example, the sheets 2 are banknotes, the automatic machine 1 may request a predetermined amount for a service and receives banknotes until the control device 6 has established by means of the sensor 5 that the predetermined amount has been reached. The user may also transmit to the automatic machine 1 the amount to be introduced or indicate the end of the acceptance cycle, by way of a keyboard 13 which is disposed at the front side of the automatic machine 1 and which is connected to the control device 6. 
     The control device 6 is connected to a storage device 14 which provides for intermediate storage, for each sheet 2 in the stack 12, of the test results such as, for example, value, authenticity, etc. When the acceptance operation is concluded, the control device 6 checks the content of the storage device 14, to ascertain whether all sheets 2 in the stack 12 comply with the predetermined requirements. If that is the case, the control device 6 decides to collect the stack 12, in which case the transportation device 8 conveys the stack 12 into the box 9, while if that is not the case, the stack 12 is rejected and passed to the return dish 10. The control device 6 can also immediately break off the acceptance cycle and cause the stack 12 to be conveyed into the return dish 10 if the control device 6 has classified the sheet 2 as being one which does not comply with the requirements, or if the user terminates the acceptance cycle by way of the keyboard 13. 
     FIG. 2 shows by way of example an intermediate storage apparatus. One of the parallel sectional planes 15 through the intermediate storage apparatus which is in the rest condition has been selected as the plane of the drawing. The feed system 7 (FIG. 1) is formed by an endless belt 16 and a feed belt 17 while the transportation system 8 (FIG. 1) includes the endless belt 16 and an endless transportation belt 18. As shown in broken lines, guides and sections of the endless belt 16 lie outside the sectional plane 15 in order not to hinder sheet transportation. The endless belt 16 and the feed belt 17 are disposed above a stack plane 19, 19&#39; which is normal to the sectional plane 15, while the transportation belt 18 is disposed beneath the stack plane 19, 19&#39;. 
     At least in the plane 19, 19&#39; parts of the two belts 16 and 18 are guided in parallel relationship and enclose the plane 19, 19&#39;. The stack 12 is clamped between stacking sections of the endless belt 16 which define the stack plane 19, 19&#39; and a closer section, which is parallel thereto, of the transportation belt 18, wherein the stack 12 urges the section of the transportation belt 18 away from the stack plane 19, 19&#39;. The sheet 2 which is deposited on the stack 12 at the beginning of the acceptance operation lies directly on the transportation belt 18. 
     The endless transportation belt 18 is tensioned by a drive roller 20 and a guide roller 21 so that the one section of the transportation belt 18 and the stacking section of the endless belt 16 form a transportation path for the stack 12, which is parallel to the stack plane 19, 19&#39; and which is delimited by the two rollers 20 and 21. The transportation path for the stack 12 leads into the box 9 on one side and into the return dish 10 on the other side. 
     It is advantageous for further support rollers 22 and 22, to be arranged at least in the region of the stack 12, to support the stack 12 and the transportation belt 18 on the parallel section and to stabilize the stack 12. The shafts of the rollers 20 through 22 are arranged in mutually parallel relationship and in a frame 23. 
     The frame 23 is displaceable normal to the stack plane 19, 19&#39;, by overcoming a counteracting force which is produced for example by springs, so that advantageously a large number of sheets 2 can be deposited on the stack 12 and the intermediate storage apparatus has a large storage capacity which depends only on the configuration of the frame 23 or the spring travel thereof. The counteracting force compresses the stack 12 and ensures that it is securely held in place in the transportation path for the stack 12 between the endless belt 16 and the transportation belt 18. 
     The drive roller 20 has a roller motor 24 which is connected to the control device 6 by way of a line and which is powered by the control device. The roller motor 24 can be arranged on the frame 23. The control device 6 may drive the roller motor 24 or the transportation belt is in a predetermined direction of travel. The roller motor 24 locks the transportation belt 18 during the acceptance cycle. 
     Arranged parallel to the stack plane 19, 19&#39; and to the sectional plane 15 on the side of the endless belt 16 is a rail 25 for a carriage 28 which is displaceable on the rail 25 between two limit positions 26 and 27. The limit positions 26 and 27 lie outside the region of the stack 12, with the first limit position 26 being closer to the return dish 10. The carriage 28 carries three guide rollers 29 through 31 in juxtaposed relationship in the sectional plane 15. The two outer guide rollers 29 and 31 touch with their periphery on the one hand the stack plane 19, 19&#39; and on the other hand a feed plane 32 which is parallel thereto, both the planes 19, 19&#39; and 32 intersecting the sectional plane 15. The first outer guide roller 29 is closer to the return dish 10 than the second guide roller 31. 
     From the point of view of the return dish 10, the endless belt 16 extends in the stack plane 19, 19&#39; between a roller 33 and the first outer guide roller 29, and between the second guide roller 31 and a drive roller 34, thereby forming the two stacking sections of the endless belt 16. The roller 33 and the drive roller 34 are so spaced that the rail 25 with the two limit positions 26, 27 extends therebetween. Above the stack plane 19, 19&#39;, the endless belt 16 is guided by means of direction-changing rollers 35, 36 outside the sectional plane 15 from the drive roller 34 to the roller 33. 
     By way of example, disposed over the stack 12 and above the feed plane 32 at the same spacing are a first entry roller 37 and a second entry roller 38, wherein the first entry roller 37 is closer to the return dish 10 in the sectional plane 15. Somewhat further away from the feed plane 32, a switching roller 39 is mounted between the two entry rollers 37 and 38. 
     The first outer guide roller 29 lifts the endless belt 16 away from the stack plane 19, 19&#39; and deflects it in the sectional plane 15 around 180° into the feed plane 32. From the first outer guide roller 29 to the first entry roller 37, the endless belt 16 contacts the feed belt 17 and thus over that section forms a first conveyor path 40 for the sheet 2. The first entry roller 37 separates the two belts 16 and 17. The endless belt 16 is guided to the second entry roller 38 by means of further direction-changing rollers 41, 42 outside the sectional planes 15. At the switching roller 39 the feed belt 17 is deflected through 180° around same relative to the feed plane 32 and again bears against the endless belt 16 at the second entry roller 38. The two belts 16, 17 are then jointly guided to the second outer guide roller 31 and form a second conveyor path 43 for the sheet 2. In the sectional planes 15 the second outer guide roller 31 deflects the endless belt 16 out of the feed plane 32 through 180° into the stack plane 19, 19&#39;. The length of the two conveyor paths 40 and 43 depends on the position of the carriage 28 on the rail 25. 
     Between the two outer guide rollers 29 and 31, the central guide roller 30 presses the feed belt 17 down on to the stack plane 19, 19&#39;, except for a predetermined small spacing, while the feed belt 17 lies against the endless belt 16 which is passed around the outer guide rollers 29 and 31. A deflector plate 28, which is secured to the carriage 28 beneath the central guide roller 30 prevents the feed belt 17 coming into contact with the stack 12. 
     In order to save space, the two conveyor paths 40 and 43 may be guided with an alternating direction of transportation movement in the sectional plane 15 by means of at least one deflector roller 44 and by means of at least one deflector roller 45, over which the belts 16 and 17 jointly pass from the feed plane 32 to the entry rollers 37 and 38. 
     The rollers are cylinders which are freely rotatable about their axes and which are suited to the belts 16 through 18. The axes of the rollers 20 through 22, the guide rollers 29 through 31, the entry rollers 37 and 38, the switching roller 39 and the deflector rollers 44 and 45 are arranged normal to the sectional planes 15. The shafts of the guide rollers 29 through 31, which are carried by the carriage 28, are displaceable in parallel relationship to the above-mentioned, fixedly disposed axes. The axes of the roller 33, the drive roller 34 and the direction-changing rollers 35, 36, 41 and 42 may be inclined relative to the sectional plane 15, as is governed by the way in which the endless belt 16 is guided outside the sectional planes 15. 
     The drive roller 34 has a drive 46 which is connected to the control device 7 by way of a line and which is powered by the control device. The control device 6 may drive the drive 46 or the endless belt 16 in a predetermined direction of travel. During the acceptance cycle the drive roller 34 is locked by means of the drive 46 and the endless belt 16 is held fast at the location of the drive roller 34. 
     Instead of the roller motor 24, the drive 46, besides the drive roller 34, may simultaneously also drive the drive roller 20, in which case the drive roller 34 and the drive roller 20 are of the same periphery and rotate in opposite relationship. In another example without a roller motor 24, the endless belt 16 may transmit its movement directly or by way of the stack 12 to the transportation belt 18. All the constructions have the feature in common that the transportation system 7 is locked in the acceptance cycle. 
     The drive for the feed belt 17 is by means of a conveyor motor 47 which acts on one of the rollers 37, 38, 42, 44 or 45, for example, the deflector roller 45 which is connected to the control device 6 by way of a line and which is powered by the control device. During the acceptance cycle the control device 6 can drive the conveyor motor 47 or the feed belt 17 in a predetermined direction of movement, in which case the carriage 28 is moved on the rail 25 as the endless belt 16 is held fast at the drive roller 34. If the deflector roller 45 rotates in the clockwise direction, the carriage 28 travels to the first limit position 26 while if it rotates in the counterclockwise direction, the carriage 28 moves towards the second limit position 27. During the transportation cycle the deflector roller 45 is freely rotatable and the feed belt 17 is driven by means of the endless belt 16 bearing thereagainst. The supply of power to the conveyor motor 47 is switched off as soon as the carriage 28 reaches one of the limit positions 26, 27. The term idle travel is used to denote a travel movement of the carriage 28 during which no sheet 2 is deposited on the stack 12. 
     The conveyor system 4 (see FIG. 1) extends through the entry 11 and forks in a switching arrangement 48 into the two conveyor paths 40 and 41. The switching arrangement 48 includes the switching roller 39, two endless belts 49 and 49&#39; which pass around rollers, and a mechanical deflector 50. The plane of the conveyor system 4 is aligned radially with the axis of the switching roller 39, while the belts 49, 49&#39; which form a part of the conveyor system 4, extending symmetrically from that plane, bear snugly from both sides against the periphery of the switching roller 39 and lie against the feed belt 17 over the switching roller 39. With the feed belt 17, the belts 49 and 49&#39; form the beginning of the respective conveyor paths 40, 43. A switching drive 51 which is connected to the control device 6 can determine the position of the deflector 50 and thus the path for the sheet 2 through the switching arrangement 48 or the feed system 7, the switching arrangement 48 advantageously being controlled in such a way as to avoid idle travel movements on the part of the carriage 28 and thus wasting time. 
     Shortly before arriving at one of the two limit positions 26, 27 the carriage 28 may switch over the deflector 50 in a purely mechanical fashion. That advantageously simplifies the control device 6. In its movement to the first limit position 26, the carriage 28 switches over the path through the switching arrangement 48 into the first conveyor path 40. When the carriage 28 reaches the second limit position 27, the deflector 50 guides the sheet 2 to the second conveyor path 43. Therefore, the carriage 28 always waits at the end of the respective shorter conveyor path 40 or 43 until the sheet 2 is conveyed through the entry 11. 
     In the drawing, sections of the belts are interrupted for reasons concerned with illustration of the components, giving the impression of an asymmetrical arrangement. If the carriage 28 is disposed precisely between the two limit positions 26 and 27, the axis of the central guide roller 30 defines a plane which is normal to the stack plane 19, 19&#39; and which includes the axis of the switching roller 39. The belts 16 through 18 and the stack 12 are preferably disposed symmetrically relative to that plane. 
     The belts 49, 49&#39; and each of the belts 16 through 18 may be formed from a plurality of parallel conveyor belts. Preferably the endless belt 16 comprises strings of round cross-section, which bear securely against the belts 17 and 18 which are of rectangular cross-section. It is advantageously possible for the transportation belt 18 to be a single wide belt which is suited to the dimensions of the sheets 2, so that the stack 12 is better supported. For the sake of clarity of the drawing, the drawings do not show tensioning rollers or other tensioning devices which hold the conveyor belts taut. 
     Detectors 52, 53 and 54 such as light barrier arrangements which are connected to the control device 6 are arranged to detect the presence of the sheets 2. Arranged at the entry 11 above the conveyor device 4 is the first detector 52 which recognizes the presence of the sheet 2 at the entry 11 and supplies the control device 6 with a starting signal for the feed system 7. The detectors 53 and 54 are installed at the two ends of the transportation path for the stack 12 and generate an end signal which terminates the transportation cycle in the control device 6. The end signal is supplied to the control device 6 either by the second detector 53 as soon as the stack 12 has passed into the box 9 or the third detector 54 if the stack 12 is transported into the return dish 10. A line 55, 55&#39; of which part is shown connects the detector 54 to the control device 6. 
     Instead of the detectors 53 and 54, the control device 6 may simply switch on the drive means 24 and 46 by way of a time switch (not shown herein) and drive the transportation system 8 until a point on the transportation belt 18 has moved from the drive roller 20 to the roller 21. At the end of the predetermined period of time, the transportation system 8 is locked again and the end signal is triggered off. 
     In the acceptance cycle the intermediate storage apparatus waits until the sheet 2 triggers off the start signal in the first detector 52. During that time the carriage 28 has moved into one of the two limit positions 26, 27 and the switching arrangement 48 is pointing into the shorter conveyor path 40 or 43. In the drawing the carriage 28 is waiting in the first limit position 26. 
     The sheet 2 is pushed through the entry 11 into the switching arrangement 48 by the conveyor system 4 and, as that happens, it triggers off the start signal. The control device 6 locks the transportation system 8 and switches on the conveyor motor 47. The deflector roller 45 rotates in the counter-clockwise direction and the carriage 28 moves away from the limit position 26. The deflector 50 and the belt 49 guide the sheet 2 into the conveyor path 40. 
     In the conveyor path 40, the sheet 2 is conveyed at double the speed of the carriage 28 and catches up with the carriage 28 as soon as the axis of the central guide roller 30 passes into the space above the stack 12. The sheet 2 follows the endless belt 16 which is tensioned over the first outer guide roller 29, and is rolled off through 180, into the stack plane 19, 19&#39; by means of a tongue portion of the deflector plate 28, so that the leading edge of the sheet 2 is deposited just flush on the predetermined location on the stack 12 or on the transportation belt 18 and the sheet 2 is rolled off advantageously without sliding on the stack 2 or the transportation belt 18, so that there are no shearing forces in the stack 12. The position of the front and rear faces of the sheet 2 are interchanged in the stacking operation. When the sheet 2 has been completely rolled off on the stack 12, after a brief travel the carriage 28 reaches the limit position 27 and switches off the conveyor motor 47. 
     The feed system 7 is now ready to accept a further sheet 2 by way of the conveyor path 43 and to roll it off on to the stack 12 around the second outer guide roller 31 while the carriage 28 travels into the first limit position 26. 
     The sheets 2 do not necessarily all have to be of the same size but may be in the form of banknotes from a predetermined set of nominal values. The sheets 2 are oriented in a predetermined fashion relative to the belts 16 through 18 by the conveyor system 4. 
     When the acceptance cycle is concluded and the carriage has moved into one of the limit positions 26, 27, the control device 6 decides whether the stack 12 has to be transported into the box 9 or into the return dish 10, and it switches on the roller motor 24 and the drive 46 in the corresponding direction of movement. They drive the drive roller 20 and the drive roller 34 in opposite directions, the endless belt 16 and the transportation belt 18 moving at the same speed so that the stack 12 does not fall apart. If, for example, the drive roller 20 rotates in the clockwise direction and the drive roller 34 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, the stack 12 then moves to the box 9. 
     As soon as the stack 12 has left the transportation belt 18, the frame 23 is pushed towards the stack plane 19, 19&#39; and the one section of the transportation belt 18 again contacts the stacking sections of the endless belt 16. The intermediate storage apparatus returns again to the acceptance cycle. 
     The intermediate storage apparatus has the advantage that the sheets 2 are stacked to form the stack 12 on the transportation belt 18 of the locked transportation system 8, the stack 12 is only moved for the purposes of transportation into the box 9 or into the return dish 10 and the sheets 2 are treated carefully, and the mass of the increasing stack 12 does not influence the acceptance cadence so that the sheets 2 can be fed to the intermediate storage apparatus, at a uniformly high speed. 
     If, as is usual in relation to banknotes, the sheets 2 have different features on their two sides, then the control device 6 can determine which side of the sheet 2 is towards the sensor 5, on the basis of the sensor signal. The control device 6 advantageously puts the deflector 50 into a position which is determined by the sensor signal, by means of the switching drive 51, so that the switching arrangement 48 passes the sheet 2 into the predetermined conveyor path 40 or 43 respectively so that the sheet 2 is deposited in a predetermined position on the stack 12. In the illustrated example the side of the sheet 2 which is towards the sensor 5 is deposited on the stack 12 directed towards the transportation belt 18 if the first conveyor path 40 has been used. If the sheet 2 passes through the second conveyor path 43, the side which is towards the sensor 5 faces on the stack 12 towards the stack plane 19, 19&#39;. 
     An embodiment as shown in FIG. 3 has only a single conveyor path 40 which is used and which begins immediately downstream o# the entry 11 and which is entirely extended, for example, as far as the first guide roller 29. The acceptance cadence of this construction is less than that of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 as the sheets 2 can be rolled off on to the stack 12 only during the movement of the carriage 28 away from the first limit position 26. Each acceptance operation therefore involves an idle travel movement on the part of the carriage 28 as, before acceptance of the next sheet 2, the carriage 28 must return to the first limit position 26 before the intermediate storage apparatus is again ready to receive a further sheet 2. That intermediate storage apparatus has the advantage of being of a simple and inexpensive structure. 
     In FIG. 3 the carriage 28 is Just in the middle on the rail 25 above the stack 12, the drawing illustrating only the half of the intermediate storage apparatus which is towards the entry 11. The endless belt 16 is passed in the stack plane 19, 19&#39; (FIG. 2) around the roller 33, outside the sectional planes 15, to the drive roller 34 (FIG. 2). The part of the endless belt 16 which passes towards the entry 11 in the feed plane 32 (FIG. 2) passes around the first entry roller 37, goes outside the sectional planes 15 to the second entry roller 38 and comes back into the feed plane 32. The parts of the endless belt 16 shown in broken lines pass outside the sectional planes 15, for example, between the stack plane 19, 19&#39; and the feed plane 32. The feed belt 17 is tensioned by the deflector roller 44, the deflector roller 45 (FIG. 2) and the central guide roller 30 (FIG. 2). 
     The axes of the first entry roller 37 and the deflector roller 44 form, normal to the stack plane 19, 19&#39;, an entry plane which defines the conveyor path 40. The axis of the roller 33 is arranged, for example, in the above-mentioned entry plane between the stack plane 19, 19&#39; and the feed plane 32 while the spacing of the roller 21 relative to that plane is determined by the position of the return dish 10. 
     Further ideas relating to the configuration of the intermediate money storage assembly may be found in U.S. Ser. No. 07/732,044, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,149, and is expressly incorporated herein. 
     Having described a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiment and that various changes and modifications thereof may be effected by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.