Banknote dispensing device

A banknote dispensing device including a storage section for storing one or more banknotes, a discharging unit driven by a first motor for discharging banknotes one-by-one at a first speed, and a transporting unit driven by a second motor for receiving the discharged banknotes from the discharging unit and transporting the discharged banknotes at a second speed where the second speed is faster than the first speed, the one-way clutch permitting the discharged banknote to be continuously drawn at the second speed without damaging the discharged banknote. The banknote dispensing device includes one or more sensors connected to a control unit, the control unit determining whether the transported banknote is transported properly and turning off the motors in an error condition.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on an application number 2002-247804 filed in Japan, dated Aug. 27, 2002.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to a banknote dispensing device. More particularly, the present invention is related to a banknote dispensing device which transports a banknote faster than the discharge speed from an internal banknote supply storing section without damaging the banknote.

2. Description of Related Art

Previously, when a banknote was discharged or let off from a banknote supply storing section at one speed and then taken up by a transporting unit at a higher speed, the banknote would be damaged due to the difference in speeds. Usually, the damage to the banknote occurs because the drive mechanisms, such as feed rollers, that contact the banknote in both the banknote supply storing section and the banknote transporting unit are simultaneously engaged with the banknote while driving the banknote at different speeds. This difference in speeds may apply a shearing force to the banknote thereby damaging the banknote.

One attempt to address this problem has been to provide a drive mechanism with a projection on the periphery of the drive mechanism. This projection is used to positively engage a banknote and move it in the direction of the transport unit feed rollers. However, the drive mechanism with the projection must not have contact with the banknote at the point the banknote engages with the transport unit feed rollers since the projection would cause significant damage to the banknote.

Instead, the drive mechanism with the projection only engages the banknote for a portion of the travel, and allows the banknote to continue for a period of time before engaging with the transport unit feed roller. This period of time where the banknote is not positively engaged, with either the drive mechanism with a projection or the feed rollers of the transport unit, allows the banknote to travel freely and may allow the banknote to stall or become misaligned.

In an attempt to reduce the time the banknote is not positively driven, another device including a drive mechanism with a clutch was used. The clutch mechanism determines when the drive mechanism is driving the banknote and can be declutched, or disengaged, from driving prior to the moment the banknote arrives at the transporting feed rollers.

This method requires a very precise control of the declutching so as to avoid any time when the banknote is both driven simultaneously by the drive mechanism of the banknote supply storing section and being pulled by the feed rollers of the banknote transport unit. If the declutching occurs too late, the banknote may be damaged as discussed above. If the declutching occurs too early, the banknote may stall or become misaligned causing jamming or other malfunction.

Finally, a compromise method was used that allows a limited freedom to advance the banknote as it is discharged by a banknote supply storing section and then pulled at a higher speed by a transport unit such as that described in the Japanese laid open patent 6-92491. In this case, a drive shaft with a radial projection drives a feed roller in one direction of rotation. The projection is within a cavity region within the feed roller so that the feed roller may be advanced in the direction of rotation a limited amount, causing the projection to loose contact with the driven edge. This allows a limited amount of rotational freedom where the disengagement of the projection with the feed roller allows the banknote to be advanced. This method suffers from the obvious limitation that the feed roller only allows a limited amount of advancement of only ¼ turn in the cited reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a novel banknote dispensing device utilizing a one-way clutch for transferring a banknote from a banknote supply storage section at one speed to a banknote transporting unit at a second, higher speed while avoiding damage to the banknote due to this difference in speed in the transfer.

The banknote dispensing device includes a banknote supply storing section for storing banknotes, a banknote discharging unit for discharging the banknotes at a first speed, a banknote transporting unit for transporting the discharged banknote at a second, higher speed, a package dispensing member to output the discharged banknotes, and a control unit for receiving signals from and controlling the actions of the dispensing device.

The banknotes are discharged from the banknote supply storing section by the banknote discharge unit using a feed roller driven by a one-way clutch at a first predetermined speed. The discharged banknote is received by the banknote transporting device that pulls the discharged banknote at a second predetermined speed which is faster than the first speed. When the banknote is pulled at the second, faster speed, the one-way clutch driving the feed roller in the discharge unit automatically allows the banknote to be continuously pulled at the faster speed without damaging the banknote.

The dispensing device includes four sensors and two motors. The first sensor detects the banknote as it is received by the transporting device. The second sensor detects the presence of the banknote at the rejected banknote discharge point from the dispensing device. The third sensor detects the presence of the banknote at the normal banknote discharge point. The fourth sensor detects accumulated banknotes protruding from the dispensing slot. The first motor drives the discharging unit while the second motor drives the transporting unit.

The dispensing device includes a control unit that interprets the signals from the sensors to determine whether the banknote has been discharged and transported properly. The control unit outputs signals to activate the motors and the package dispensing member. When an error condition is detected, the motors are stopped.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In reference toFIG. 1, the present invention provides a novel banknote dispensing device1utilizing a one-way clutch24for transferring a banknote from a banknote supply storing section13at one speed to a banknote transporting unit5at a second, higher speed while avoiding damage to the banknote due to the difference in speed in the transfer.

In this specification, a banknote may be paper currency, a certificate, a bill, a note, or any similar thin, flexible article of a substantially rectangular shape that may be stored, manipulated, and dispensed as herein described.

The banknote dispensing device includes a banknote supply storing section13for storing banknotes, a banknote discharging unit4for discharging the banknotes at a first speed, a banknote transporting unit5for transporting the discharged banknote at a second, higher speed, a package dispensing member6to outputting the discharged banknotes, and a control unit7for receiving signals from and controlling the actions of the dispensing device.

The banknote discharge unit4includes a first motor20driving a driving shaft23. The driving shaft in turn drives a one-way clutch24that drives a feed roller22. The control unit7enables the first motor20to drive the feed roller22in order to discharge banknotes from the banknote supply storing section13.

The feed roller22has a peripheral edge adjacent to the banknote supply storing section13that contacts one of the stored banknotes14in the banknote supply storing section. The feed roller22discharges a stored banknote14to the banknote transporting unit5at a first predetermined speed that depends on the rotation speed of the feed roller22driven by the one-way clutch24which is driven by a driving shaft23.

The discharged banknote is pulled into the transporting unit5at a second speed, which is faster than the first speed. When the banknote is pulled at the second, faster speed, feed roller22is still in contact with the banknote and the one-way clutch24driving the feed roller22automatically allows the banknote to be continuously pulled at the faster speed while avoiding excessive strain on the banknote at this transition.

The transporting unit5includes a first transporting unit36for receiving the discharged banknote and moving the banknote through an initial portion of the transporting unit5, a second transporting unit38for receiving the discharged banknote from the first transporting unit36and moving the banknote through an intermediate portion of the transporting unit, a diverting unit39for diverting a defective banknote to a rejected banknote storing section12, a third transporting unit41for receiving the discharged banknote from the second transporting unit38and moving the banknote through a final portion of the transporting unit, and three sensors (47,48,49) that are used to determine if the banknote has been transported successfully through the transporting unit5.

The path from the first transporting unit36through the second transporting unit38to the third transporting unit41is considered a first path, and is the normal path a discharged banknote will take if the banknote is not defective and the banknote transporting unit5does not jam or otherwise fail to properly transport the discharged banknote. This first path may also be called the normal banknote discharge path since the banknote will normally be discharged to the package dispensing tray51which is a temporary storing section prior to dispensing one or more accumulated banknotes to the dispensing slot50.

The path from the first transporting unit36through the second transporting unit38and to the diverting unit39is considered a second path, and is the path a discharged banknote will take if the banknote is defective. This second path may also be called the rejected banknote storage path since the rejected banknote will be stored in the rejected banknote storing section12.

The four sensors (47,48,49,52) may be of various designs such as a transmitting photoelectric sensor, a reflecting photoelectric sensor, or mechanical sensor to detect the presence of a banknote between the emitter/receiver pair in order to determine the presence and length of the banknote given the known transport speeds of the moving elements. More sophisticated sensors may be employed to detect properties other than the length of the banknote. These properties may indicate the particular denomination, composition of the banknote, or some other distinguishing feature that the control unit7may use in order to determine whether the banknote is suitable for dispensing.

The four sensors (47,48,49,52) each output a signal. The term signal may reflect either a particular electrical property such as a voltage or impedance level, or it may reflect a time-sequence of a particular electrical property such as a voltage or impedance waveform.

The first sensor47detects the presence of the banknote as it is received by the first transporting unit36of the banknote transporting unit5. The second sensor48detects the presence of a diverted banknote prior to entering the rejected banknote storing section12. The third sensor49detects the presence of the banknote as it is emitted from the transporting unit5at the normal discharge point. The control unit7receives signals from the sensors and compares the received signals to determine whether the banknote was discharged, transported, and dispensed properly.

The diverting unit39is used to route a selected banknote to a rejected banknote storing section12by interposing a deflecting element into the path of the banknote after it is received by the banknote transporting unit5. A banknote may be rejected if it is detected to be defective or inappropriate by the control unit7after interpreting the signal from the first sensor47.

Most commonly, a banknote would be found to be defective if the signal from the sensor47indicated the banknote was the wrong size, either too long or too short. Such a banknote would not be dispensed, and would instead be stored in the rejected banknote storing section12.

The package dispensing unit55receives a predetermined number of discharged banknotes from the third transporting unit41prior to dispensing the banknotes to the user. The package dispensing unit55includes the package dispensing member6, the package dispensing tray51, the banknote sensor52and the dispensing slot50. The package dispensing member6is a sliding member with a pushing block53for contacting the accumulated banknotes and sliding them towards the dispensing slot50.

The predetermined number of discharged banknotes may be any permissible number determined by the control unit7. For example, the predetermined number of discharged banknotes can be four in order to accommodate change from a five dollar bill, or can be nine in order to accommodate change from a ten dollar bill. The local banknotes used, the parameters of the control unit operation, and the predetermined number of discharged banknotes may vary.

Once the predetermined number of banknotes are accumulated in the package dispensing tray51, the package dispensing member6is used to dispense the accumulated discharged banknotes to the user. The package dispensing member6is activated by the control unit7. As the activated dispensing member6slides towards the dispensing slot50, the pushing block53on the package dispensing member moves the assembled banknotes past the banknote sensor52to the dispensing slot50, so that a portion of the dispensed the accumulated banknotes extend beyond the dispensing slot50. The portion of the dispensed banknotes extending beyond the dispensing slot50may be grasped by a user so that the dispensed banknotes may be removed from the banknote dispensing unit1. After this, the dispensing unit6slides in the opposite direction to return to its original position at the end of the package dispensing tray51and opposite to the dispensing slot50.

In reference toFIG. 1, the banknote dispensing unit1includes a box-like chassis2. The box-like chassis2has a cavity that is adapted to receive a banknote safe8into a banknote safe attaching section3. The banknote safe attaching section3has a substantially trapezoidal shape to accommodate the banknote safe8which includes the banknote supply storing section13for retaining stored banknotes14at an angle inclined to horizontal. The banknote safe8comprises a removable storage unit that is ruggedly constructed for increased durability and to resist tampering.

The stored banknotes14are held at an inclined angle in the banknote supply storing section13to accommodate larger banknotes in a shorter longitudinal length of the banknote dispensing device1, and to facilitate the discharge of banknotes by the assistance of gravity as the banknotes are discharged in a slightly downward direction. The shorter longitudinal length allows the dispensing device1to occupy a more compact space while dispensing larger banknotes.

Inside of banknote safe8is a banknote supply storing section13for retaining stored banknotes14prior to dispensing and a rejected banknote storing section12for retaining banknotes that have been rejected during dispensing. The banknote supply storing section13is separated from the rejected banknote storing section12by the separating plate9.

Pusher15is arranged underneath the stored banknotes14and is biased by a spring16to apply pressure to the stored banknotes14in order to maintain the stored banknotes14in a position against the feed roller22which extends through the opening17.

When a stored banknote14is discharged from the banknote supply storing section13by the feed roller22, the discharged banknote slides in a slightly downward direction and through exit18where the separating unit19ensures discharged banknotes are separated one-by-one to prevent the discharge of more than one banknote at a time.

Banknotes are discharged from the banknote supply storing section13at a first speed determined by the rotation speed of the feed roller22. Once the discharged banknote passes separating unit19, the discharged banknote passes the first sensor47and is received by first transporting unit36in the banknote transporting unit5. The first sensor47outputs a signal to the control unit7indicating the beginning, end, and duration of time the banknote is detected by the first sensor47based on the transport speed of the banknote in the first transporting unit36.

Given the known parameters of the transport speed of the discharge unit4, the discharge speed of the first transporting unit36, and the expected length of the banknote, the control unit7can determine if the banknote is defective and should be retained in the rejected banknote storing section12rather than dispensed from the banknote dispensing unit1.

The first transporting unit36includes a second motor43for driving a first roller42and a guiding unit37for driving a discharged banknote through the initial portion of the banknote transporting unit5. The U-shaped guiding unit37and the first roller42have companion pressure rollers56,58and60arranged at their periphery to form a passageway for the discharged banknote between the first roller42and the pressure rollers. Similarly, the guiding unit37has companion pressure rollers to form a passageway for the discharged banknote. The discharged banknote is driven by the first roller42at a substantially higher speed than the feed roller22.

To prevent damage to the discharged banknote, the feed roller22is driven by a one-way clutch attached to the driving shaft23so that even though the discharged banknote is driven at a first speed by the feed roller22, the discharged banknote may be continuously pulled at a second, higher speed by the first roller42. The one-way clutch24allows the banknote to be continuously pulled at the higher speed, and does not limit the length of the banknote that may be pulled at a higher speed.

In reference toFIG. 2, feed roller22is a friction roller which is cylindrical in shape and is fixed at the outer surface of the outer race25of the one-way clutch24. Alternatively, the feed rollers and companion rollers may be cylindrical segments arranged oppositely, to reduce cost while maintaining positive contact with the banknote. In one embodiment, the feed roller22comprises a material with a high coefficient of friction as well as durability and high wear resistance. Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) is an example of a suitable material for the feed roller22.

The one-way clutch24includes an outer race25and an inner race27where the inner race27is fixed to a driving shaft23. On the interior region of the outer race25are a number of holding grooves33. Each holding groove33comprises a locking wall35, a releasing wall34, and a retainer wall54.

Each holding groove33is U-shaped and contains a retainer32, a spring31, and a ball29that are arranged so that the retainer32is adjacent to the retainer wall54, the ball29is adjacent to the locking wall35, and the spring31is interposed between the retainer32and the ball29in order to bias the ball29against the locking wall35.

As shown inFIG. 2, the locking wall35is a narrowing of the holding groove33in a dimension radial to the driving shaft23so that when the ball29is placed against the holding groove33, the inner race27is driving the outer race25in a clockwise direction. This describes how the driving shaft23is driving the outer race25in the direction of rotation.

As shown inFIG. 3, when the outer race25is driven faster than the driving shaft23, such as when the first roller42is pulling a banknote, the ball29is forced in the direction of the retainer32compressing the spring31and allowing the outer race to slide over the inner race27to permit the outer race25to rotate faster in the direction of rotation than the inner race27. This describes how the outer race25may be pulled faster than the rotation speed of the driving shaft23to prevent damage to a banknote.

Referring again toFIG. 1, the second transporting unit38includes a second roller44, a diverting unit39, a second sensor48, and a drawing unit21. The second transporting unit38receives the discharged banknote from the first transporting unit36and passes the discharged banknote through an intermediate portion of the banknote transporting unit5.

If a banknote is detected as being defective, it is rejected before being dispensed from the dispensing device1. A rejected banknote is deflected by the diverting unit39and stored in the rejected banknote storing section12which is located below the separating plate9. The diverted banknote passes through the second transporting unit, around the second roller44, is deflected by the diverting unit39and then pulled between rollers in the drawing unit21to enter the rejected banknote storing section12. The rejected banknotes are thereby stored in a lower portion of the safe8to permit later examination and possible removal from circulation. The second sensor48detects the presence of the discharged banknote on the way to the rejected banknote storing section12.

If the discharged banknote is not determined to be defective, the third transporting unit41receives the discharged banknote from the second transporting unit38and passes the discharged banknote through the final portion of the banknote transporting unit5. The third transporting unit41includes a third roller46, a third sensor49, and companion rollers for the third roller46.

The second roller44and the third roller46are driven by a belt45that is driven by a friction roller placed against the first roller42. This provides synchronization of the rollers and ensures the rollers are driven at the same speed. The synchronization and driving method is not limited to only a belt as other means such as gears may also be used.

In reference toFIG. 4, the first sensor signal402shows receiving a banknote into the first transporting unit36and discharging the banknote from the third transporting unit41into the package dispensing tray51. This indicates the banknote transporting unit5has successfully transported the discharged banknote. The time delay412depends on the transporting speed through the first transporting unit36, the second transporting unit38, and the third transporting unit41.

The time delay may be measured from the falling edge408of the first sensor signal402to the falling edge410of the third sensor signal406. Similarly, the time delay may be measured from the difference between the rising edges (not labeled) of each of the sensor signals, but the falling edge measurement is more reliable since it is more clear that the detected banknote has cleared the particular sensor.

In reference toFIG. 5, the banknote was determined to be defective and was successfully diverted to the rejected banknote storing section. The first sensor signal402detected the presence of a banknote as it was received by the first transporting unit36. However, given the parameters of the known rotation speed of the feed roller22and the first roller42in the first transporting unit36, together with the expected length of the banknote, the duration of the first sensor signal402may have been shorter or longer than expected.

The duration506of the first sensor signal detecting the discharged banknote is measured as the time difference from the rising edge502to the falling edge504. Since the discharged banknote is determined to be defective, it is diverted to the rejected banknote storing section12by the second transporting unit38.

In reference toFIG. 6, a discharged banknote has been received by the first transporting unit36, but the banknote was not successfully discharged into either the rejected banknote storing section12or successfully discharged into the package dispensing tray51. This indicates an error condition like a jamming of the banknote in the banknote transporting unit5or the failure of one or more sensors. The control unit7detects this condition and stops motors20and43.

The control unit7receives and processes signals from the sensors and determines the control of the first motor20, the second motor43, and the movement of the package dispensing member6. The control unit7can include a microprocessor with appropriate interface circuits under the control of a microprogram, or can include discrete electronic components used to perform the controlling function.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just-described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the amended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.