Abstract:
A cashbox is provided with a movable latch that is driven by a banknote to a blocking position if an attempt to ‘phish’ a stacked banknote from the cashbox occurs. The latch arrangement is easily pivoted in one direction from a neutral position to a clear position during stacking of a banknote. If an attempt is made to ‘phish’ a stacked banknote, the banknote being “phished” causes rotation of the latch arrangement from the neutral position to a banknote inlet blocking position retaining the banknote in the cashbox.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to cashboxes of the type used in banknote validators and in particular relates to a cashbox having a latch arrangement that moves to a blocking position during an unauthorized attempt to extract a received banknote from the cashbox. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Banknote validators and cashboxes are subject to various attacks to fraudulently remove banknotes from the cashbox or the banknote validator during or after receipt of a banknote. 
         [0003]    A common approach is referred to as “phishing” where a length of string or tape is attached to the trailing edge of a banknote and extends out of the banknote validator. Once the banknote has been accepted and the customer has received the appropriate credit, the string or tape is used in an attempt to withdraw the received banknote from the equipment. Various arrangements have been provided in the banknote processing channel of the banknote validator for detecting of such substrates attached to the tail of a banknote as well as the provision within the banknote channel of a latch or various catch surfaces for preventing the unauthorized rearward withdrawal of an accepted banknote. If the string or substrate is detected the banknote can be rejected and returned to the customer. 
         [0004]    The provisions of latches or catch surfaces in the banknote processing channel and/or detection of an attachment to the tail of a banknote reduces the likelihood that the “phishing” attempt will be successful, however the banknote that has been partially displaced rearwardly may jam the banknote validator or cashbox. Reprocessing of the banknote to return it to the cashbox in a normally received state may be difficult and can be particularly problematic if the banknote is damaged or jammed in the equipment. The banknote validator has effectively defeated the phishing attempt, however the device may no longer be operative, requires service and business is lost. 
         [0005]    The present invention provides an effective latch arrangement for a cashbox that provides a cost effective early counter response to a phishing attempt. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Preferred embodiments of the invention as shown in the drawings wherein: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cashbox and the structure thereof adjacent the banknote inlet; 
           [0008]      FIGS. 2 through 4  are partial cross-sections of the cashbox showing the receipt of a banknote to the cashbox and the latch arrangement responsive to unauthorized withdrawal of a banknote from the cashbox; 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the cashbox providing details of a sensing arrangement associated with the banknote inlet of the cashbox; 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the stacker and latch arrangement inserted as an assembly into a cashbox; 
           [0011]      FIGS. 7 through 10  are sectional views taken along plane A-A with the pusher plate of the stacker in different positions during a stacking sequence; and 
           [0012]      FIGS. 11 and 12  show details of the pusher plate of the staking arrangement and the latch arrangement. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0013]    The cashbox  2  is typically a locked box that receives and stores banknotes within the cashbox until it properly opened. Banknotes, accepted by a banknote validator, are provided to the inlet  4  of the cashbox and are stacked within the cashbox using a stacker mechanism  5 . The cashbox can be made of metal or plastic or a combination of materials as is well known. 
         [0014]    A lightly biased latch arrangement  6  is associated with the banknote inlet  4 . The latch arrangement in its normal neutral position is shown in  FIG. 2  and is located to one side of the banknote receiving channel  12  allowing banknotes such as banknote  14  to freely pass through the banknote inlet  4  and overlap with a pusher plate  60 . Once the banknote  14  has been fully received into the cashbox  2 , the stacker mechanism  5  is operated (typically by a motor of the bill validator) and the pusher plate  60  forces the received banknote into the storage chamber  50 . The stacker mechanism is then retracted as shown in  FIG. 4  ready to receive a further banknote. 
         [0015]    The latch arrangement  6  rotates about the pivot axis  9  and includes a series of spaced teeth extending across the cashbox in the length of the latch arrangement. A light spring  8  is connected to arm  11  of the latch arrangement.  FIG. 2  shows the neutral position of the latch arrangement. Spring  8  exerts sufficient force to maintain the latch arrangement in this position when no other forces are present. 
         [0016]    When a banknote enters the cashbox  2 , the latch arrangement  6  is in the neutral position of  FIG. 2  and does not essentially alter the receipt of the banknote  14 . Once the banknote has been fully received, the pusher plate  60  forces the received banknote into the storage chamber  50 . 
         [0017]    The pusher plate  60 , during the stacking of a banknote, pivots the latch to the position of  FIG. 3 . The stacker plate is then returned to the initial position as shown in  FIG. 4 . It would be at this time that a person attempts to withdraw the received and accepted banknote  14  using the string or tape attachment  100 . If the attachment  100  is tape for example, pulling on this tape will cause the tape to engage the teeth  10  and force the teeth against the drive roller or driver rollers  220  and block the banknote inlet. The latch arrangement  6  can be designed to encourage breakage of the attachment  100 , however initially the attachment  100  will be displaced by the latch arrangement and engages the drive roller  220 . In some cases, the received and stacked banknote  14  will be partially pulled from the storage chamber, and engage the latch arrangement  6  causing it to move and engage the drive roller  220 . The spring bias of the latch arrangement is a light spring bias as the latch is designed to be generally passive to the normal operation of the cashbox and only enters the position of  FIG. 4  if a phishing attempt is made. 
         [0018]    A particular advantage of the latch arrangement  6  is that the latch arrangement is positioned outside of the normal banknote channel of the banknote validator and is provided on an inside wall of the cashbox adjacent the inlet. The latch arrangement is positioned to one side of the inlet and out of normal contact with the banknote receiving channel. The latch arrangement is located between the banknote channel  12  and the banknote storage chamber  50 . By positioning the latch arrangement between these structures, the latch arrangement does not directly contact the banknote during normal processing. It only contacts the banknote in the event the banknote is attempted to be withdrawn after it has been received and stored within a storage chamber of the cashbox. 
         [0019]    When the cashbox is removed from a banknote validator it may also be subject to an unauthorized or fraudulent attempt to withdraw banknotes. Although the banknote slot  4  is designed to make access to the cashbox difficult, it is an opening to the cashbox and specialized tools have been used to engage and remove a last received banknote. The latch arrangement  6  of the present cashbox continues to provide a deterrent with respect to a phishing attempt. The latch arrangement includes a series of spaced teeth disposed across the width of the cashbox providing gaps allowing thin string or threads to essentially pass between the storage chamber  50  and the banknote inlet. The latch arrangement  6  is projecting across the gap between the storage chamber  50  and the banknote inlet and is free to move to the locking position of  FIG. 4  when driven by a banknote attempted to being withdrawn. 
         [0020]    A string or attachment such as  14  shown in  FIGS. 2 to 4  may pass between one of the teeth, however the end of the banknote will engage the latch arrangement  6  and cause it to move to the blocking position of  FIG. 4  slightly increasing the tension in spring  8 . The bias force on the latch arrangement is very light and will move to the blocking position quite easily when the end of a banknote attempting to be removed strikes the latch arrangement. The force exerted by the user on the banknote causes the latch to pivot extending spring member  8 . The engagement of the banknote  14  with the latch arrangement  6  as shown in  FIG. 4  prevents any further withdrawal of the banknote. Typically the string  100  will separate from the banknote  14  or the string, thread or tape may break. 
         [0021]    It is preferred once, the string  100  has detached from a banknote that the latch arrangement  6  will return to the clear position as shown in  FIG. 2 . Basically; there is some clearance at the end of the banknote cassette which will accommodate the extent that the banknote  14  was displaced to that end of the cashbox. In this way, the cashbox  2  can continue to function and the latch arrangement will also ensure that the partially withdrawn banknote  14  does not jam the banknote receiving channel  12 . As more banknotes are received, the displaced end portion of the banknote subject to the phish attempt is deeper into the storage chamber and does not create a problem. 
         [0022]    This self-returning latch arrangement  6  that does not directly contact a banknote during normal processing thereof and has proven particularly effective as a cost effective deterrent structure having good reliability and durability. 
         [0023]    The pusher plate  60  when used to store a banknote in the storage chamber  50  engages the latch arrangement  6  causing it to pivot in a counterclockwise direction. The arm  15  with the teeth  10  are moved into a recess  71  of the wall allowing the pushing plate  60  to easily move the latch arrangement out of the way. As can be seen, a side wall  61  of the pusher plate maintains the latch arrangement in the recess  71  of the wall. 
         [0024]    As can be appreciated from a review of the latch arrangement  6 , the spring bias  8  causes the latch arrangement  6  to normally assume the neutral position of  FIG. 6 . Movement of the pusher plate  60  to stack a banknote, causes a counterclockwise rotation of the latch arrangement and a tensioning of the spring  8 . Return of the pusher plate to the position of  FIG. 2  causes the spring bias to return the latch arrangement to the neutral position. An attempt to withdraw the last received banknote by means of a phishing attempt pulling on an attachment  100  causes a clockwise rotation of the latch arrangement  6  as the arm  15  is extending across the exit path of the banknote. The end of the banknote strikes the arm  15  and causes it to pivot the latch arrangement to the blocked position of  FIG. 4 . 
         [0025]    A further embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 5  where a sensing arrangement  200  is positioned adjacent the latch arrangement  6  for detecting whether a banknote is fully received within the cashbox. Once the banknote is fully received in the cashbox, it is then possible to cycle the banknote to the stacking mechanism to displace the received banknote into the storage chamber  50 . The sensing arrangement includes a light transmitter  202  (typically art of the bill validator), a light passage  204  which transmits the light to the banknote channel  12  and a further light transmission path  206  passing the light to the opposite side of the cashbox. The light then passes to the light passage  208  and reaches the light receiver  210  (typically a component of the bill validator).  FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the cashbox taken along lines E-E of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0026]    This banknote sensing arrangement is used to produce a clear signal that the banknote has cleared through the banknote slot and overlies the pusher plate ready for cycling into the storage chamber. Basically, a banknote that is only partially received in the cashbox will interrupt the transmitted light and it is the act of moving the banknote to be fully received over the pusher plate that clears the banknote inlet allowing sensing arrangement  200  to produce a clear signal indicating that cycling can occur. 
         [0027]    This sensing arrangement provides a confirmation signal that the banknote has been appropriately received. If the banknote has not been fully received, i.e. a clear signal has not been produced, than the banknote validator can effectively cause a cycling of the banknote to attempt to move the banknote to a fully received position. 
         [0028]    In the embodiment of  FIG. 5  the light transmitter  202  and the light receiver  210  are associated with the banknote validator and are aligned with the passages  204  and  208  when the cashbox has been properly received in the validator. If a banknote has been properly received in the banknote channel  12 , the end of the banknote will be clear of the banknote slot allowing light to pass through the passage  204 ,  206  and  208 . The receipt of the light confirmed by the receiver  210 . In this way, the banknote validator receives a confirmation signal that the banknote has been fully received and that an end portion of the banknote is not projecting out of the cashbox. By providing both the light transmitter and the light receiver as part of a banknote validator, the cashbox remains a passive-type structure. The light transmitting conduits within the cashbox  2  provide a simple cost effective arrangement that provides additional information regarding whether the cashbox can be properly cycled for placing a received banknote into the storage chamber  50 . 
         [0029]    A banknote that is not fully received in the banknote channel  12  could cause jamming of the cashbox for example if a large portion of the banknote was not fully received. A partially received banknote still in engagement with rollers of the banknote validator often produces jamming, buckling and/or wrinkling of the banknote adjacent the inlet  4 . These potential problems are avoided by receiving a confirmation signal that the banknote has been properly received. If a banknote is not confirmed as properly received banknote, the banknote validator can return the banknote to the user or continue to process the banknote in a series of reversing steps until the banknote is fully received by the cashbox. 
         [0030]    It has been found that the cashbox with the latch arrangement and sensing arrangement provide additional security and reliability of the cashbox. 
         [0031]    The provision of the sensing arrangement for determining whether a banknote has been fully received provides additional information to the banknote validator for determining 
         [0032]    a) the condition of the banknote and thus information with respect to a possible jam condition that can be used to initiate steps to clear the problem condition; and 
         [0033]    b) furthermore this information may be helpful in determining that a problem requiring authorized personnel may have occurred. 
         [0034]    The sensor arrangement also provides information with respect to the position of the last received banknote. 
         [0035]    A desirable feature of the latch arrangement is the use of the spring bias to maintain the latch in a neutral position during initial receipt of a banknote. During receipt of a banknote into the cashbox, the latch arrangement is out of contact with the banknote. The latch arrangement is moved by the pusher plate during the movement to store the banknote in the storage chamber  50 . The latch arrangement returns to a neutral position when the pusher plate is returned to its initial position. The latch arrangement in its neutral position extends across the path that a banknote takes if a phishing attempt is made. Thus the latch is automatically in the position to stop unauthorized withdrawal of a banknote and moves to a blocking position during this unauthorized withdrawal attempt. If the last banknote is attempted to be withdrawn by a phishing type act, the latch arrangement swings from the neutral position and blocks the banknote inlet. 
         [0036]    With this arrangement, the latch arrangement remains out of contact with banknotes during the receipt thereof and only comes into contact with the banknotes in the event that a banknote is attempted to be withdrawn. This avoids problems associated with jamming of banknotes that can occur with anti-phishing structures which contact the banknote during the receipt thereof or displacement into the storage chamber. 
         [0037]    As can be appreciated, it is known for banknote validators to cause a received banknote to move back and forth prior to full receipt in a cashbox. Such back and forth movement may be necessary to clear a jam or to better position the banknote for receipt in a cashbox. 
         [0038]    Any latch arrangement which engages a banknote during the receipt thereof will interact with the banknote during this forward and reverse movement of the banknote and adds unnecessary additional potential issues. 
         [0039]    Additional details of the banknote latch are shown in  FIGS. 6 through 10 . There are some differences with respect to the structure of the earlier drawings and therefore a new numbering sequence has been used. The stacker  300  and the latch arrangement  306  are shown separately and are designed for insertion in a cashbox. The banknote inlet is generally shown as  304  that is about to receive a banknote  307 . The light sensing arrangement  200  is also illustrated. The latch arrangement  306  includes the spring bias  308  having one end attached to the attachment bracket  317  and an opposite end attached to the bias arm  311 . The latch arrangement includes projecting arm  315  that in a neutral position of the latch arrangement as shown in  FIG. 7  extends parallel to the receiving channel  312 . 
         [0040]    As was described with respect to the earlier figures, the latch arrangement  306  in a neutral position thereof as shown in  FIG. 7  allows the banknote  307  that is being received in the receiving channel  312  to freely pass into this channel. The banknote  307  is driven into the channel by drive roller  320  having a passive roller  321 . 
         [0041]    There may also be active rollers within the banknote receiving channel  312  as shown in the sectional views. In  FIG. 7  it can be seen that the spring bias latch  306  does not effect the normal receipt of a banknote in the banknote receiving channel  312 . 
         [0042]    In the sectional view of  FIG. 8  it can be seen that the stacker mechanism  300  has caused the pusher plate  306  to move across the banknote processing channel and through the open gap  365  (see  FIG. 6 ) to allow the banknote to be received within the storage chamber. Either side of this gap are stationary banknote retaining plates  367  and  369 . Basically a banknote is forced through the gap  365  to a position allowing the banknote to again assume a planar type configuration whereupon the withdrawal of the stacker plate back through the gap allows the banknote to be retained on the retainer plates  367  and  369 . 
         [0043]    It is preferred that the pusher plate  360  include gaps sized to allow one or more projecting arms  315  of the latch arrangement  306  to pass through the gap. This arrangement is shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 .  FIGS. 11  and  12  show two projecting arms  315  with one arm aligned for passage through recess  331  and the other arm  315  aligned for passage through recess  333 . Recesses  331  and  333  in the pusher plate allows the pusher plate to remain out of contact with the latch arrangement. A received banknote on the pusher plate may contact and pivot the latch out of the way. A stacked banknote during a phishing attempt strikes the arms  315  and pivots the latch arrangement to a blocking position closing the banknote slot. 
         [0044]    Each of the arms  315  are shaped as a projecting  2  prong fork with the gap between the prongs engaging a drive roller located at the banknote slot. The pusher plate  360  extends almost to the pivoting body of the latch arrangement defining an exit path for a banknote that assists in retaining the banknote. 
         [0045]    With this arrangement it is the action of the banknote  307  supported on the pusher plate  360  that causes the latch to be moved to the position shown in  FIG. 8 . Basically the projecting arm  315  due to engagement with the banknote being forced therepast by the pusher plate causes the arm to rotate the latch arrangement and extend the spring bias  308 . 
         [0046]    As shown in  FIG. 9 , the stacker  300  has caused the pusher plate  360  to move into the banknote storage chamber and the arm  315  of the latch has again returned to the neutral position as the spring  308  provides sufficient force to assume the neutral position. 
         [0047]      FIGS. 7 through 10  have shown the banknote  307  with a string type attachment  100  that may be present to attempt to phish the banknote  307  from the banknote cashbox. In  FIG. 10  a user attempting to phish the last banknote  307  from the cashbox and through an associated banknote validator has pulled on the string  100 . Initially the banknote  307  has had one end thereof pass through the gap  365  and the end  323  of the banknote has engaged the arm  315  and moved it to the blocking position of  FIG. 10 . Further pulling on the string  100  typically will result in breakage of the string  100  and/or separation of the string  100  from the end  323  of the banknote.  FIG. 10  also illustrates how the latch arrangement  306  has pivoted and the spring bias  308  has extended. 
         [0048]    It has been found that this arrangement provides a cost effective passive latch arrangement that is quite effective in stopping banknote being removed from the cashbox. It can also be seen that the partially withdrawn banknote  307  of  FIG. 10  has been partially blocked from the drive rollers  320 . With this arrangement recycling of the stacker light can effectively return this partially withdrawn banknote to the storage chamber. The bill might be slightly damaged however the device can continue to operate. 
         [0049]    It is desirable with stand alone validators to provide a system where such phishing attempts are not successful. Once it has been generally found that such a phishing attempt will be defeated the number attempts at this type of fraudulent withdrawal significantly decreases. It has been found that this latch arrangement is quite effective in preventing the unauthorized withdrawal of a banknote by phishing. 
         [0050]    Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that variations may be made thereto without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.