Abstract:
A securable banknote carrier comprising an enclosure of flexible material attached to an articulated bi-fold frame delimiting a banknote aperture, wherein the frame comprises a pair of hingedly coupled opposing jaw members, and wherein the frame is configured such that when moving from a banknote aperture open position to a banknote aperture closed position the opposing jaw members rotate inwardly towards one another from a position in which the jaw members are substantially coplanar to a position m which the members are substantial adjacent and parallel to each other.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority of Great Britain Application No. 1317013.9, filed Sep. 25, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to securable containers for valuable items. In particular, the present invention relates to secure cash-in-transit bags for the transportation of banknotes and currency. 
     2. Description Of Related Art 
     Many conventional cash-in-transit bags are known, for example EP-B-1,966,069 discloses a secure cash-in-transit bag for installation in a lockable cassette that is removably fitted to a banknote validator. The cash-in-transit bag comprises an aperture plate to which an expandable bag is attached, and banknotes are pushed through an aperture opening in the aperture plate by operation of a stacker assembly pusher plate. 
     The bag disclosed in EP-B-1,966,069 contains a subassembly that is attached, via elastic members, to both the aperture plate and an inelastic strap member. Successive banknotes are inserted into the bag causing the subassembly to move away from the aperture plate into the cavity of the bag. During operation, a portion of the strap member including an aperture section is aligned with the aperture of the aperture plate allowing banknotes to be inserted. Removal of the cash-in-transit bag from the cassette can only be achieved once the strap member has been pulled to an extended locking position where the aperture of the aperture plate is closed by a sealing portion of the strap member. At this juncture, the only way to access the contents of the bag is by cutting it open or by tampering with the now sealed aperture. 
     Another conventional tamper-evident cash-in-transit bag is described in GB-B-2,455,558. Here, a plastic bag spans and is attached to a frame. The frame includes lateral channels for slidably receiving a cover plate. The cover plate includes a toothed tongue that meshes with corresponding projections in the frame to form an irreversible lock. The cover plate includes an additional locking part that traps a portion of the bag when the cover plate is in the locked position, and it also includes frangible parts that break easily under pressure. 
     A problem arises with conventional cash-in-transit bags in that closure of the bags requires separate activation of a subassembly member or locking device. The prior art discussed above involves a complex construction of numerous parts with a commensurately high manufacturing cost. Furthermore, the more complex a device is the higher likelihood there is of malfunction or failure. 
     The present invention attempts to address some or all of the problems associated with the prior art. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a securable banknote carrier as defined in claim  1 . 
     Advantageously, the opposing jaw members are coupled together via a pair of live coaxial hinges which jointly bias the jaw members to rotate towards one another about this common axis. This bias is only slight and is overridden when the banknote carrier is secured in place within a banknote cassette. 
     Preferably, the articulated bi-fold frame includes locking means for irreversibly locking the opposing jaw members together in the banknote aperture closed position. The locking means comprises at least one male barb means disposed on one of the pair of opposing jaw members and at least one corresponding female engaging means disposed on the other jaw member and adapted to receive the at least one male barb means. Advantageously, once mated, the male barb means and the female engaging means cannot be disengaged without destruction or rupture of one of the male barb means or the female engaging means. Consequentially, the locking means cannot be opened without it being evidenced by broken male and/or female means. 
     Each of the jaw members preferably includes a skirt portion projecting orthogonally from an underside surface, to which the enclosure of flexible material is attached by sonic welding, heat welding, or by the application of an adhesive. The enclosure of flexible material comprises a foldable or compressible bag fabricated from low density polyethylene, linear low density polypropylene or polybutene-1. 
     Preferably, the articulated bi-fold frame is fabricated from polypropylene or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, and the frame may include identifying indicia such as a barcode or the like. Alternatively, or in addition, the frame can include a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag. 
     Advantageously, the presence of a barcode or an RFID tag or other such device enables a proximal sensor or reader to continually monitor for the presence of a securable banknote carrier. Alternatively or in addition, the presence of a securable banknote carrier can be monitored by an optical sensor. 
     Preferably, the articulated bi-fold frame includes longitudinal axial lugs for engagement with corresponding mounting brackets on a banknote cassette, and each of the pair of opposing jaw members includes a laterally disposed channel on the underside surface for engagement with a respective one of a corresponding pair of banknote cassette gate members. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a banknote cassette as defined in claim  9 . 
     The banknote cassette is adapted to removably include a securable banknote carrier as previously defined, and in operation the resiliently biased stacker plate of the banknote cassette is urged against expansion of the enclosure of flexible material. 
     Preferably, the banknote cassette includes one or more mounting brackets positioned proximal to the aperture for receiving the securable banknote carrier. The cassette further includes a mounting bracket releasing mechanism configured to reciprocate the mounting bracket between an open and a closed position. 
     According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a banknote handling apparatus as defined in claim  11 . 
     Preferably, each of the pair of banknote cassette gate members is resiliently biased in a substantially closed position, and they are interconnected such that each of the pair of banknote cassette gate members is configured to open and close in unison with the other. 
     Advantageously, insertion of the banknote cassette containing a banknote carrier into the apparatus urges the pair of banknote cassette gate members away from the advancing cassette into a substantially open position, and wherein upon retraction of the banknote cassette said banknote cassette gate members initially resile to cooperatively engage with the laterally disposed channels of the bi-fold frame opposing jaw members and, upon further retraction of the banknote cassette, continue to resile to a closed position simultaneously folding the bi-fold frame into a banknote aperture closed position such that opposing jaw members interlock via action of the locking means. 
     Preferably, the stacker mechanism comprises a motor driven banknote transport and a pusher plate device, and the pusher plate device includes a plate member connected to a scissor arrangement configured to move said plate member in a reciprocating manner. 
     The banknote receiving and bagging apparatus may include a banknote validator from which banknotes are received, and the stacker mechanism is preferably powered and driven by the banknote validator. 
     An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows an elevation view of a secure banknote carrier of the present invention when in a fully extended condition; 
         FIG. 2  shows the secure banknote carrier of  FIG. 1  in a collapsed condition; 
         FIGS. 3A to 3C  show elevation views of the frame of the banknote carrier in various operational stages; 
         FIG. 3D  is an underside plan view of the banknote carrier frame; 
         FIGS. 4A to 4C  show sectional plan views of a banknote cassette of the present invention at various stages of insertion within a cassette docking station; 
         FIG. 5  is an isometric projection of a banknote cassette of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  shows a sectional plan view of the cassette docking station including a banknote cassette; 
         FIG. 7  is a partial sectional side elevation view of a secure banknote carrier receiving a banknote from a pusher plate arrangement; 
         FIGS. 8A to 8C  show sectional plan views of a banknote cassette of the present invention at various stages of retraction from the cassette docking station; 
         FIGS. 9A and 9B  show partial sectional projections of two stages of a banknote cassette retraction from a cassette docking station; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective underside view of a cassette docking station of the present invention; and 
         FIGS. 11A and 11B  show perspective views of a banknote validation and bagging system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , a securable banknote carrier  1  comprises an enclosure of flexible material  2  attached to an articulated bi-fold frame  3 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the enclosure of flexible material  2  is preferably a foldable and/or compressible bag  4  which can expand and extend away from the articulated bi-fold frame  3  as the contents held within increases. Typically, the contents of the bag  4  will be paper currency banknotes. However, it is envisaged that the bag  4  is suitable for receiving and storing any other type of valuable document, for example coupons, vouchers or barcoded tickets. 
     The bag  4  may be fabricated from paper, cloth, fabric or a plastics material, and in a preferred embodiment the bag  4  is made from low density polyethylene, linear low density polypropylene or polybutene-1. For clarity, and to assist in describing the articulated bi-fold frame  3 , the bag  4  is not shown in  FIGS. 3A to 3C . 
     Although not shown in the Figures, the bag  4  may include a plurality of perforations or holes that allow an ink or dye to permeate into the body of the bag in the event of a security alert triggering the dispersal of an ink or dye in the vicinity of the bag such that the bag&#39;s contents become coated with the ink or dye. In an alternative embodiment, the bag is made from an ink-permeable cloth, fabric or mesh. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3D , and  FIG. 5 , the articulated bi-fold frame  3  comprises a pair of opposing jaw members  10  interconnected by two live hinges  12  positioned at opposite ends of the longitudinal axis of the articulated bi-fold frame  3 . Each live hinge  12  is a flexure bearing formed from a thin section of the articulated bi-fold frame  3  between each of the jaw members  10 . 
     The articulated bi-fold frame  3  is fabricated from polypropylene or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, although it is envisaged that any suitable plastics material may be employed. 
     Each jaw member  10  includes a pair of opposing axial lugs  30  positioned adjacent to the live hinges  12 , and each axial lug  30  is configured to be releasably received by corresponding banknote cassette mounting brackets  52 ,  53  (see  FIG. 5 ). The mounting brackets  52 ,  53  are disposed opposite one another at coaxial longitudinal positions adjacent to an opening in a banknote cassette  60 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3A to 3D , each of the jaw members  10  of the articulated bi-fold frame  3  include a skirt portion  22  projecting orthogonally downwards away from the underside  24  of the frame  3 . Each skirt portion  22  forms a three-sided C-shaped protuberance surrounding a banknote aperture  8  and to which the bag  4  is attached. Attachment of the bag  4  to the skirt portion  22  is secured by sonic welding, heat welding, the application of an adhesive, or any other such suitable method known in the art for securing a bag  4  to such a protuberance. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3D , the underside of the articulated bi-fold frame  3  includes a pair of parallel engagement channels  11  formed by three collinear channel guide members  13 . Each channel guide member  13  comprises a substantially L-shaped projection including an arcuate shoulder facing inwardly towards the skirt portion  22 . 
       FIGS. 3A to 3C  illustrate various stages of a closing operation of the articulated bi-fold frame  3 . In  FIG. 3A  the articulated bi-fold frame  3  is in a fully open position. In  FIG. 3B  the articulated bi-fold frame  3  is a partially closed position, and in  FIG. 3 c    the articulated bi-fold frame  3  is shown in a fully closed position. 
     The articulated bi-fold frame  3  includes locking means  16  comprising a plurality of male barb means  18  arranged collinearly in a longitudinally direction along a peripheral portion of the right-hand side jaw member  10  (as viewed in  FIG. 5 ). The frame  3  also includes a plurality of female engaging means  20  arranged on the opposite left-hand side jaw member  10  (not shown in  FIG. 5 ) arranged to irreversibly mate and interlock with the corresponding plurality of male barb means  18 . 
     Each of the male barb means  18  comprises an arrowhead projection and an adjacent shield projection. The arrowhead projections protrude outwardly from the upper surface of the right-hand side jaw member  10  (see  FIG. 5 ). The female engaging means  20  comprises a T-shaped opening communicating with an inverted frustum-shaped recess. The T-shaped opening includes an upper lip for abutment with backwardly facing barb portions of the arrowhead projections. The shield projections provide a cover for a lateral opening in each of the recesses (not shown) such that when the articulated bi-fold frame  3  is in a closed position (see  FIG. 3C ) the arrowheads locked within the recesses cannot be directly tampered with. 
     Alternatively, in embodiments in which the recesses do not include a lateral opening, the male barb means are not required to include shield projections. 
     In the fully closed position shown in  FIG. 3C , the locking means  16  is fully engaged and separation of the opposing jaw members  10  is no longer possible without rupturing the arrowhead projections and/or the inverted frustum-shaped recesses. In this way, once locked, the articulated bi-fold frame  3  advantageously includes a clear tamper-evident element providing a security feature of the securable banknote carrier of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a banknote cassette  60  comprises an outer casing  63  and a handle  61  mounted on a front wall  64  of the casing  63 . A side wall of the casing  63  has been removed from the banknote cassette  60  shown in  FIG. 5  to expose spring  65  which biases a stacker plate  66  (not shown) in a direction rearward from the front wall  64  towards a rear opening of the banknote cassette  60 . The rear opening is covered in  FIG. 5  by the articulated bi-fold frame  3 . 
     The banknote cassette  60  includes a pair of opposing mounting brackets  52 ,  53  which are centrally positioned above and below the rear opening of the banknote cassette  60 . The mounting brackets  52 ,  53  are adapted to receive the axial lugs  30  of the articulated bi-fold frame  3 . The upper mounting bracket  52  is a spring-loaded clasp arrangement operated via mounting bracket release mechanism  54 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5, 9A and 9B , the articulated bi-fold frame  3  includes an identifying indicia mount  28 . In preferred embodiment of the present invention a barcode or other such security indicia is printed on or affixed to the mount  28 . In this way, each securable banknote carrier  1  is uniquely identifiable by scanning and reading the attached barcode. Alternatively, the securable banknote carrier  1  can be identified by an RFID tag attached to the articulated bi-fold frame  3 . In either case the presence of a securable banknote carrier  1  within the banknote cassette  60  can be monitored by continual reading or polling of the barcode or RFID tag respectively. Such monitoring can be achieved by the inclusion of a suitable reader or sensor disposed in the banknote cassette  60  proximal to the inserted position of the bi-fold frame  3 . In other embodiments the presence of the carrier is monitored by an optical sensor arrangement. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , a cassette docking station  70  comprises an articulated reciprocating carriage  71  housed within an underside compartment of the cassette docking station  70 . The articulated reciprocating carriage  71  includes lever arms  75  connected to respective gate rotation shafts  83 , and each lever arm  75  includes a lever arm slot  87  and a lever arm pivot point  88 . 
     The articulated reciprocating carriage  71  also includes a carriage slot  84  and a pair of springs  79  interconnecting the carriage  71  with an outer section of the cassette docking station  70 . An upper guide pin  85  and a lower guide pin  86  pass through the carriage slot  84  and are affixed to a wall of the underside compartment of the cassette docking station  70 . Reciprocating movement of the carriage  71  is trammelled by the relative positions of the upper and lower guide pins  85 ,  86 , and lateral movement of the carriage is limited by the width of the carriage slot which is in sliding abutment with upper portions of the guide pins. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 9A and 9B , each resiliently biased gate member  72  includes three individual gate arms  72 ′ which extend laterally through window sections in opposing outer walls of the cassette docking station  70 . Each gate arm  72 ′ is pivotally attached to a gate rotation shaft  83  running along the exterior periphery of the cassette docking station  70  in a direction parallel with the longitudinal axis (see  FIG. 10 ). 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , when the cassette docking station  70  is arranged to receive the banknote cassette  60 , the gate members  72  are biased in a forward position with the lower guide pin  86  constraining further forward movement of the gate members  72 . Insertion of a banknote cassette  60  into the cassette docking station  70  causes the gate members  72  to be pushed backwards and inwardly against the action of the springs  79  to an extent that is limited by the position of the upper guide pin  85 . 
     Installation of a securable banknote carrier  1  within a banknote cassette  60  is achieved by a user activating the mounting bracket release mechanism  54  to open the spring-loaded clasp arrangement, inserting one of the pairs of axial lugs  30  into the lower mounting bracket  53 , positioning the other pair of axial lugs  30  within the open upper mounting bracket  52 , and locking the upper mounting bracket  52  by releasing the mounting bracket release mechanism  54 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 4A to 4C , a banknote cassette  60  containing an empty securable banknote carrier  1  is inserted into a cassette docking station  70  to form a banknote handling apparatus  50 . As the banknote cassette  60  is inserted into the cassette docking station  70  an end of the cassette including the articulated bi-fold frame  3  engages with a pair of resiliently biased gate members  72 . As the banknote cassette  60  is inserted further into the cassette docking station  70  the resiliently biased gate members swing away from the advancing banknote cassette  60  until they reach the position shown in  FIG. 4C . At this point the banknote cassette  60  is fully inserted within the cassette docking station  70 , and the ends of each of the resiliently biased gate members proximal to the articulated bi-fold frame  3  are positioned adjacent to a respective engagement channel  11  disposed on an under surface of the articulated bi-fold frame  3 . It should be noted that the top cover of both the banknote cassette  60  and the cassette docking station  70  have been removed from  FIGS. 4A to 4C  to reveal the respective positions of the articulated bi-fold frame  3 , the engagement channels  11 , and the spring  65 . It should also be noted that the foldable/compressible bag  4  is not shown in  FIGS. 4A to 5 . 
     Once fully inserted within the cassette docking station  70 , the banknote cassette  60  is then in a position to receive banknotes from, for example, an associated banknote validator (see  FIGS. 11A and 11B ). The fully inserted position will typically be verified and monitored by a suitable optical sensor arrangement known in the art. 
     With reference to  FIG. 6 , banknotes are successively inserted and stored within the foldable/compressible bag  4  to form a banknote stack  68 . Individual authenticated banknotes are received  73 ′ from the banknote validator  90  (see  FIG. 11B ) and directed into the input path  73  of a stacker mechanism  69 . As successive banknotes are added to the banknote stack  68 , the bag  4  extends away from the articulated bi-fold frame  3  against the biasing pressure exerted via a spring  65  and a stacker plate  66 . In this way, the banknote stack  68  increases in a controlled manner, and a uniform ‘stacked’ orientation is maintained. 
     As shown in the partial side elevation view of  FIG. 7 , the stacker mechanism  69  comprises a pusher plate arrangement  76  that includes a scissors mechanism  77  operably connected to a plate member  78 . In operation, a banknote is transported  81  by a banknote transport drive  74  to a stacking position  80 . Operation of the scissors mechanism  77  in a direction indicated by arrow  77 ′ in turn pushes the banknote from position  80  through a banknote aperture  8  in the articulated bi-fold frame  3  to position  82  at the top of the banknote stack  68  within the bag  4 . 
     Removal of a banknote cassette  60  from a cassette docking station  70  will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 8A to 9B . 
     Although not shown in the Figures, it should be noted that in operation the banknote cassette  60  is secured within the cassette docking station  70  via a locking mechanism that can only be unlocked by an authorised user. 
     From the position shown in  FIG. 4C , a user withdraws the banknote cassette  60  from the cassette docking station  70  by pulling on the handle  61 . As the banknote cassette  60  is retracted from the docking station  70  radially outer ends of the resiliently biased gate members  72  engage with the engagement channels  11  of the articulated bi-fold frame  3 . 
     As the banknote cassette  60  is further retracted from the cassette docking station  70 , the gate members  72  resile inwardly whilst in continuous engagement with the engagement channels  11  such that jaw members  10  of the articulated bi-fold frame  3  are rotated towards one another as shown in  FIGS. 8A and 9A . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 8B and 9B , further retraction of the banknote cassette  60  from the cassette docking station  70  brings the pair of jaw members  10  into a fully closed position such that the locking means  16  is fully and irreversibly engaged through the interlocking of male barb means  18  and female engaging means  20 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8C , in a final stage of a retraction operation, radially outer ends of the resiliently biased gate members  72  disengage from the engagement channels  11  thereby releasing the articulated bi-fold frame  3  from connection with the cassette docking station  70 . From this position it is possible for an authorised user to fully remove the banknote cassette  60  from the cassette docking station  70  and subsequently release and remove the now secured banknote carrier  1  from the banknote cassette  60 . 
     Although not shown in the Figures, the banknote handling apparatus  50  includes a plurality of sensors for monitoring the operation of the apparatus. Typically, the sensors will be optical sensors disposed proximal to the resiliently biased gate members  72  to provide signals indicative of when the gate members are in a fully open position ( FIG. 4C ) and a fully closed position ( FIG. 8C ). In addition, sensors are included within the stacker mechanism  69  to provide signals indicative of the banknote position  80  and the position of the plate member  78  (see  FIG. 7 ). Furthermore, and as noted above, barcode readers and/or RFID tag sensors can also be deployed where appropriate to identify and monitor the presence of a securable banknote carrier within the banknote cassette. 
     Sensors are also disposed within the banknote cassette  60  to provide a dynamic indication of the position of the pusher plate  66 , and the cassette docking station  70  includes a barcode scanner for reading the barcode affixed to the identifying indicia mount  28 . Advantageously, the sensors monitoring the pusher plate position also provide an indication of when the securable banknote carrier  1  is full. 
       FIGS. 11A and 11B  show a banknote validation and bagging system  100  incorporating the banknote handling apparatus  50  of the present invention. 
     The banknote validation and bagging system  100  includes a banknote validator  90  having a banknote insertion slot  91  for receiving banknotes. Received and verified banknotes are transported  73 ′ to the banknote handling apparatus  50  to be stored within a securable banknote carrier  1  (not shown) held within the banknote cassette  60 . In  FIG. 11A  the banknote cassette  60  is shown in a partially withdrawn position, and in  FIG. 11B  the banknote cassette  60  is shown in a fully received position within the cassette docking station  70 .