An arrangement for feeding sheets from a bundle of sheets

Abstract: An arrangement for feeding sheets from a bundle of sheets includes a wheel which, in operation, is located at one end of the bundle and which functions to feed-out the outermost sheets of the bundle, and lifting means for lifting the bundle in a direction towards the wheel. The lifting means includes a post and a bundle-carrying plate which is movable up and down the post. The arrangement includes a spring element (13) which functions to lock the plate (12) to the post (11) in a rest state and has a free-end which is fitted to the post and defines with the longitudinal axis of the post an angle other than 90° and whose remaining end is attached to the plate (12) and movable perpendicular to the post. The arrangement also includes an actuator (14) which is fitted to the post (11) close to the spring element (13) and which is releasably attached mechanically to a drive means for moving the plate (12) relative to the post (11). As the actuator (14) is moved along the post (11), the actuator will act on the spring element (13) so as to release the plate and enable it to move along the post.

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an arrangement for feeding sheets from a bundle of sheets, and more particularly to an arrangement which includes a wheel, roller or belt which, in operation, is located at one end of the bundle and which functions to feed-out the outermost sheet of said bundle, and lifting means for lifting the bundle in a direction towards the wheel, roller or belt. The lifting means includes a post and a bundle-carrying plate which is movable up and down the post. BACKGROUND ART Arrangements of this kind are well known to the art, for instance from U.S. Patent Specification 4,252,251, and have been found to function satisfactorily in practice. Unfortunately, the construction includes many components where built-in tolerances therebetween must be maintained within narrow limits in order to guarantee effective functioning of the arrangement. This makes the lifting means of the arrangement expensive to produce. The object of the present invention is to reduce manufacturing costs, simplify installation and make the construction more robust, by integrating different components of the arrangement. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An inventive arrangement of the aforesaid kind includes: a spring element which locks the plate to the post in a rest state and the free-end of which is fitted to the post and defines an angle other than 90° with the longitudinal axis of the post, and the other end of which is attached to the plate and movable at right angles to the post; and an actuator which is fitted to the post close to the spring element and which is releasably fastened mechanically to a drive means for moving the plate relative to the post. The spring element and the actuator are dimensioned and arranged so that when the actuator is moved in a direction along the post, the actuator will cause the spring element to release its locking action on the plate to the post and therewith enable the plate to be moved along the post. These and other characteristic features of an inventive arrangement are set forth in the following Claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which Fig. 1 illustrates a cassette comprising a post, plate and spring element; and Figs. 2-4 illustrate different modifications of the spring element shown in Fig. 1. DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a cassette 10 which includes lifting means 11-12 which function to lift a bundle of banknotes in a direction (upwards) towards a wheel, roller or belt for feeding banknotes, or sheets, singly from the bundle at the upper end of the cassette. The lifting means includes a post 11, which extends completely through the cassette, and a bundle-carrying plate 12 which can move up and down the post 11. The arrangement also includes an actuator 14 which is fitted to the post 11 and releasably fastened mechanically to a drive means (at 141) for moving the plate 12 relative to the post 11. The drive means belongs to a cassette-embracing casing into which the cassette is inserted in conjunction with a banknote dispensing operation. The plate 12 is locked to the post 11 by means of a spring element 13 having two free-ends 131, 132. The free-ends of the spring element 13 are fitted onto the post 11 and each defines with the longitudinal axis of the post an angle other than 90° and slope or face away from one another, wherein an intermediate part 133 which mutually connects the two free-ends of the spring element is attached to the plate 12 and movable perpendicularly to the post 11. The actuator 14 has two legs 141, 142 and is fitted to the post 11 with the free-ends 131, 132 of the spring element located between the legs 141, 142. The leg 142 is drawn-out (to the right) to enable the plate 12 to be manoeuvered manually. The ends 131 and 132 of the spring element 13 must be squeezed together slightly when fitting the spring element 13 to the post 11. When the spring element is fitted in position on the post, the spring will lock the plate firmly to the post (possibly with a bundle of banknotes on the plate) against upward and downward movement, by virtue of the "jamming effect" caused by the ends of the spring element being positioned obliquely to the post. In this regard, the ends 131, 132 may be provided with openings or holes that are through-passed by the post 11 and which are dimensioned to allow the post to pass freely therethrough when the ends 131, 132 extend generally perpendicular to the post, and to engage the post when the ends 131, 132 are in the sloping positions shown in the drawings. The drive means provided in the casing may have, for instance, the form of a screw-threaded spindle which rotates about its longitudinal axis and engages in one end of the leg 141, which in this case may have the form of a nut. When the plate 12 is to be moved along the post, for instance downwards in order to load the cassette, the spindle is turned in the actuator leg 141 such as to cause this leg to move the end 131 of the spring element downwards and therewith decrease the obliqueness of its one end with the post axis, wherewith the jamming effect is temporarily nullified and the whole of the banknote-carrying plate 12 accompanies said downward movement. It will be noted that as the end 131 of the spring element is caused to move downwards, the intermediate part 133 of the spring element (i.e. the remaining end of the part 131) will be moved generally perpendicularly to the right in relation to the post 11. When moving the plate 12 in the opposite direction (upwards), the rack is turned in the other direction, so that the actuator leg 142 will cause the end 132 of the spring element 13 to move upwards, wherewith the jamming effect is nullified and the whole of the banknote-carrying plate will accompany said upward movement. An inventive dispensing arrangement can be constructed in many different ways within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed in the following main Claim. Fig. 2 illustrates a modification in which the spring element 13 has only one free-end 134, which is fitted onto the post 11, and in which the remaining end 135 of the spring element is slidably anchored in a groove in an attachment part 121 in the plate 12. This embodiment enables the plate to be moved upwards, by gripping the plate and pressing it upwards. When wishing to move the plate downwards, it is necessary to cause the actuator 14 to move downwards, either by engagement of the drive means in the end of the leg 141 outside the cassette, or by pulling on the extended end of the leg 142 (beneath the plate 12). The spring element 13 may be easier to mount in the case of this embodiment than in the case of the Fig. 1 embodiment. Fig. 3 illustrates a modification which is quite similar to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. The spring element 13 also has two free-ends 131, 132, although these ends face towards one another and each lies against a respective side of an actuator leg 143 which is common to both free-ends of the spring element. The intermediate part 133 connecting the two ends 131, 132 is anchored around two pins 122, 123 in the plate 12 and can be moved (pivoted) away from the post 11 when the actuator leg 143 acts on the end 131 (when moving the plate 12 upwards) or on the end 132 when moving the plate downwards. In other respects, the embodiment functions in the same way as described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 4 illustrates a modified embodiment in which the spring element 13 has two free-ends 131, 132 which face away from one another and in which the interconnecting part 133 is anchored in a plastic member 134 having a U-shaped groove for receiving the intermediate part 133. Provided centrally in the member 134 is an elongated hole for a screw mounted in the plate 12. This enables the member 134 and therewith the spring element 13 to move up and down the post 11 when the spring element 13 is acted upon by the actuator 14.

Claims: An arrangement for feeding sheets from a bundle of sheets, comprising a wheel, roller or belt located, in operation, at one end of the bundle and functioning to feed-out the outermost sheet of said bundle, and lifting means for lifting the bundle in a direction towards the wheel, roller or belt, said lifting means comprising a post and a bundle-carrying plate which can be moved up and down the post, characterized by a spring element (13) which locks the plate (12) to the post (11) in a rest position, wherein the free-end of the spring element is fitted on the post and defines an angle of other than 90° with the longitudinal axis of the post, and the remaining end of which is attached to the plate (12) for movement perpendicularly to the post; and by an actuator (14) which is fitted to the post (11) close to the spring element (13) and which is releasably attached mechanically to a drive means for movement of the plate (12) relative to the post (11), wherein the spring element (13) and the actuator (14) are so dimensioned and arranged that when displacing the actuator in a direction along the longitudinal axis of the post, the actuator actuates the spring element in a manner to release the plate on the post and therewith enable the plate to move along the post. An arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the spring element (13) has two free-ends (131, 132) which are fitted to the post (11) and each of which defines with the post an angle other than 90°, wherein said ends face towards one another and an intermediate part (133) connecting said free-ends together is attached to the plate and movable perpendicular to the post; and in that the actuator (14) has a part (143) which when the actuator is fitted to the post (11) is located between the ends (131, 132) of the spring element (13). An arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the spring element (13) has two free-ends which are fitted onto the post (11) and each of which defines with the post an angle other than 90°, wherein the ends of the spring element face away from each other, and wherein an intermediate part (133) connecting the two free-ends together is attached to the plate (12) and can move perpendicularly to the post (11); and in that the actuator has two legs (141, 142) which, when the actuator is fitted to the post (11), are located on respective sides of the free-ends (131, 132) of the spring element. An arrangement according to Claim 3, characterized in that one of the two legs (142) is drawn-out to facilitate manual manoeuvering of the plate (12).

Inventors: HESOUN PETER, HESOUN, PETER
Applicants: INTER INNOVATION AB, DE LA RUE INTER INNOVATION AKTIEBOLAG
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65H1
IPC codes: B65H1