Document processing apparatus

Abstract: A disconnectable, remountable extension (14) for a document track (12) in a table-top, document processing machine (10) includes first and second fingers (36,38) which fit into first and second openings (32,34) in a coupling member (20) which is resiliently biased towards the document track (12). The extension (14) also has members (60,62;70,72) which cooperate with the document track (12) to keep the extension (14) aligned in a vertical direction relative to the document track (12). If the extension contacts an object when the machine (10) is moved on the table top, the extension (14) can uncouple from the document track (12) without damage to either the extension (14) or the document track (12). The extension (14) can then be remounted on the document track (12).

Description: This invention relates to document processing apparatus of the kind having a document track for receiving and delivering documents. It is desirable in some applications to implement a document processing machine as a compact table-top structure. One problem with a compact size document processing machine is that the correct positioning of the document for entry into the machine, and/or a convenient positioning of the document upon delivery from the machine may be difficult. Another problem is that table-top machines can easily get knocked by or knock against other objects, for example when the machine is moved around on the table top, causing physical damage to the machine. The document DE-A-3 509 738 discloses a table-top printer which has a first input guide for normal paper and a second input guide for thick, stiff paper. The second input guide co-operates with an extension member which assists in inserting items into the second input guide. The extension member is detachably attached to the printer housing by lugs which extend through apertures in the housing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a document processing machine which alleviates the aforementioned problems. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided document processing apparatus having a document track for receiving or delivering documents, including an extension member for said document track, and coupling means coupling said extension member to said document track, characterized in that said coupling means includes a coupling member and resilient means which resiliently biases said coupling member towards said document track said coupling member cooperating with connecting means provided on said extension member, and enabling said extension member to uncouple from said document track in response to said extension member being struck. It will be appreciated that a document processing machine according to the invention has the advantage of being readily implemented as a compact, table-top structure, with the document track extension facilitating the feeding and/or delivery of documents to and/or from the machine. Another advantage is that if the extension member is accidentally struck, it can uncouple from the document track without damage to either the extension member or the document processing machine. Furthermore, the uncoupled extension member can easily be remounted for recoupling to the document track. Still another advantage is that the extension member can be an optional feature for a user of the machine. Also, the extension member is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install initially and, as mentioned, is easy to re-install if knocked off its operative position on the document processing machine. One embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a general, isometric view of a table-top document processing machine to which a preferred embodiment of a first extension and a second extension made according to this invention may be detachably secured; Fig. 2 is a general isometric view of a portion of a document track shown in Fig. 1, with the view showing a coupling member secured thereto; Fig. 3 is a general isometric view, partially broken away, to show the first extension secured to the document track; Fig. 4 is a general isometric view of one form of the first extension, with the view taken from the general direction of arrow A of Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a general isometric view of a coupling member and also shows a modified form of the first extension. Fig. 1 is a view of a table-top machine 10 which has a document track 12 therein which is comprised of a first portion 12-1, a second portion 12-2, and a third portion 12-3. A first extension 14 is detachably secured to the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12. In the embodiment described, a document 16, like a check or deposit slip, for example, is to be manually inserted in the document track 12. The extension 14, which is detachably secured to the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12, facilitates the entry of the document 16 into the document track 12 by making it easy to align the document 16 with the track 12 and by providing a longer horizontal surface to direct the document 16 towards the bottom of the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12. The extension 14 is used for entering documents 16, and a second extension 18 is used for discharging these documents. While the machine 10 has a small size or "footprint", it is apparent from Fig. 1 that if the machine 10 is moved on a table top with the extensions 14 and 18 thereon and if the extensions hit another object on the table, it is conceivable that damage could occur to the extensions 14 or 18, the first and third portions 12-1 and 12-3 of the document track 12, or the internal parts of the machine 10 itself without the break away feature of this invention. While this invention is described relative to a table top machine, the principles of this invention may be extended to other document processing machines. Fig. 2 shows the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12 shown in Fig. 1. The first portion 12-1 has first and second side walls 12-1-1 and 12-1-2, respectively, and a bottom 12-1-3 to receive the document 16. The first portion 12-1 also has a coupling member 20 which is resiliently coupled to the first portion 12-1 by a resilient member, like a tension spring 22, shown in Fig. 3. One end of the tension spring 22 is secured to a projection 24 from the document track 12, and the remaining end thereof passes through an opening 23 of the first portion 12-1 and is secured to a loop 26 (Fig. 5) appearing on the inward side of the coupling member 20 or the side facing the document track 12. The inward side of the coupling member 20 has beveled sides 28 and 30 which mate with complementary recess 31 shown in general dashed outline in Fig. 2 on the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12 to enable the coupling member 20 to be positioned either way relative to the document track 12 and to be located thereby. The coupling member 20 is symmetrical so that it doesn't matter if it gets turned around either way a couple of times prior to being seated for use. The positioning is with regard to openings 32 and 34 (Figs. 2 and 5) which receive first and second fingers or connecting members 36 and 38 located on the first extension 14. In this regard, the coupling member 20 may be shifted 180 degrees from the position shown in Fig. 5 and still be in a position to receive the connecting members 36 and 38. The extension 14 has a front wall 40 and a rear wall 42 (Figs. 1 and 4) which are spaced apart in parallel relationship as shown. The front wall 40 is curved and lower in height than the rear wall 42 to facilitate positioning the document 16 therein. The first extension 14 also has ramp members 44 and 46 therein, as shown in Fig. 4, to direct the document 16 from the extension 14 to the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12. The first extension 14 also has flat walls 48 and 50 which abut against flat walls 17 and 19 of the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12 when the first extension 14 is attached thereto. There are also shallow shoulder areas 56 (Fig. 2) in the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12 against which lateral fingers 70 and 72 of a modification (designated as first extension 14-2 in Fig. 5) of the first extension 14 may be seated when it is attached to the first portion 12-1. The connecting members 36 and 38 on the first extension 14 have members 36-1 and 38-1 which rest in a complementary recess or a reveal 37 in housing of the machine 10. The connecting members 36 and 38 also have slight projections or bosses 58 thereon which help to align the first extension 14 with the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12. In effect, these bosses 58 tend to move the top of the first extension 14 towards the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12, as viewed in Fig. 1, so as to present a tight connection therebetween. The first extension 14 may also have two projections 60 and 62 (Fig. 4) which fit into mating recesses 64 and 66 shown in Fig. 2 to indicate to a customer that the first extension 14 is properly located relative to the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12. A feature of this invention is that it is easy to install on the machine 10 by a customer. To do so, the customer inserts the connecting members 36 and 38 of the extension 14 into the openings 32 and 34 in the coupling member 20 and moves the first extension downwardly until the members 36-1 and 38-1 rest in the reveal 37. A projection or mark 68 on the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12 may be used to indicate to the customer that the first extension 14 is moved downwardly far enough to be in proper position. If the machine 10 is moved across a counter on which it is used, and if the first extension 14 knocks against a solid object, the coupling member 20 will be pulled away from the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12 against the bias of the tension spring 22. Also the projections 60, 62 (Fig. 4) will disengage from the recesses 64, 66, permitting the extension 14 to disengage from the document track 12 without damage to the extension 14 or the document track 12. In the embodiment described, the first extension 14 and the document track 12 are made of a polycarbonate plastic such as Lexan which is a trademark of General Electric Company of Schenectady, New York. After breaking away, the extension 14 can be re-installed on the document track 12 as previously described. A modification of the first extension 14, designated as first extension 14-2 is shown in Fig. 5. First extension 14-2 is identical to first extension 14 except for certain points discussed herein; accordingly similar parts in Fig. 5 are given the same designations as those assigned to first extension 14 shown in Fig. 4, for example. The first extension 14-2 differs from the first extension 14 in that the extension 14-2 has lateral fingers 70 and 72 which perform the same function as the projections 60 and 62 shown in Fig. 4. The lateral fingers 70 and 72 abut against the outer sides of the walls 17 and 19 (Fig. 2) to align the first extension 14-2 vertically as viewed in Fig. 2, and if the first extension 14-2 is knocked against an object, the lateral fingers 70 and 72 will be pulled away from their associated shoulders 56 permitting the first extension 14-2 to "break away" from the first portion 12-1 of the document track 12 without damage to these elements. The second extension 18 shown in Fig. 1 is identical in construction to the first extensions 14 and 14-2 already described except that the second extension has curved walls 74 and 76 which are analogous to walls 40 and 42 of the first extension 14, for example. The walls 74 and 76 are curved so as to facilitate the delivery of the document 16 towards the front of the machine 10.

Claims: Document processing apparatus having a document track (12) for receiving or delivering documents (16), including an extension member (14,14-2,18) for said document track (12), and coupling means (20,22,24) coupling said extension member (14,14-2,18) to said document track (12), characterized in that said coupling means includes a coupling member (20) and resilient means (22) which resiliently biases said coupling member (20) towards said document track (12) said coupling member (20) cooperating with connecting means (36,38) provided on said extension member (14,14-2,18), and enabling said extension member (14,14-2,18) to uncouple from said document track (12) in response to said extension member (14,14-2,18) being struck. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said extension member (14,14-2,18) has first and second connecting members (36,38) and first and second aligning members (60,62;70,72) located thereon, in that said document track (12) has first and second cooperating areas (64,66;54,56) receiving said first and second aligning members (60,62;70,12), respectively; and in that said coupling member (20) has first and second openings (32,34) therein receiving said first and second connecting members (36,38). Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said first and second openings (32,34) in said coupling member (20) extend all the way through said coupling member (20). Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said document track (12) has a recess (31) therein and said coupling member (20) has a detent (28,30) thereon to engage said recess (31) to position said coupling member (20) relative to said document track (12). Apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that said document track (12) has first and second notches (64,66) therein to receive said first and second aligning members (60,62). Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said extension member (14,14-2) is shaped to direct said document (16) into said document track (12). Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said extension member (18) is curved to direct said document (16) to one side of said document track (12) upon delivery from said document track (12).

Inventors: BROUWER FREDERICK WILLIAM, HAMILTON ALISTAIR ROBERT, PHILLIPS ROBERT WILLIAM, BROUWER, FREDERICK WILLIAM, HAMILTON, ALISTAIR ROBERT, PHILLIPS, ROBERT WILLIAM
Applicants: NCR INT INC, NCR INTERNATIONAL INC.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: B41J13
IPC codes: B41J13, B41J29, G06K13, B65H11