Abstract:
A banknote stacking and sorting module comprises a banknote clamping and conveying sub-module, which comprises a clamping mechanism and a vertical reciprocating mechanism thereof. Clamping mechanism comprises bearing plate, support, cam, clamping rod and clamping spring. Cam is rotatably mounted on support. Clamping rod comprises clamping end, transmission end and hinged part between clamping end and transmission end. Hinged part of clamping rod is hinged on support. Cam engages with transmission end of clamping rod and can drive clamping rod in rotation around second rotary shaft between released position and clamped position. One end of clamping spring is fixed on support and the other end is connected to clamping end of clamping rod so as to provide to clamping rod an elastic force for clamping banknotes.

Description:
The present application is the national phase of International Application No. PCT/CN2012/083578, filed on Oct. 26, 2012, which claims the benefit of priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201110424787.0 titled “SORTING-BUNDLING INTEGRATED APPARATUS AND BANKNOTE STACKING AND TIDYING MODULE THEREOF”, filed with the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 16, 2011, which applications are hereby incorporated by reference to the maximum extent allowable by law. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present application relates to a financial apparatus and a mechanism for pressing a stack of sheet media thereof, and particularly to a sorting-bundling integrated apparatus and a banknote stacking and tidying module thereof. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     With the development and progress of science and technology, in some companies that need to handle large amounts of cash, previous backward manual procedures, such as counting, hundred separating, bundling and packaging, have been gradually replaced by various types of advanced automatic processing systems. Existing sorting-bundling integrated apparatuses may achieve the above actions such as counting, hundred separating and bundling. Before bundling the hundred-separated banknotes, the apparatus must press tightly the banknotes which are stacked tidily and then convey the pressed banknotes to a bundling module for being bundled. 
     For a conventional mechanism for pressing a stack of sheet media, normally, a linear pressing mechanism is installed along the thickness direction of sheet media. Such a linear pressing mechanism mostly takes up much space in arrangement and cannot be hidden into other functional sub-modules completely, and if being provided in an area where various functional modules act together, such a linear pressing mechanism may affect the operation of other functional modules, thus it is difficult to implement. 
     Therefore, it is necessary to provide a sheet medium pressing mechanism which saves space in arrangement. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present application is to provide a banknote stacking and tidying module which saves space in arrangement and does not affect the operating of other functional modules, and a sorting-bundling integrated apparatus having the banknote stacking and tidying module. 
     The banknote stacking and tidying module includes a banknote tidying sub-module, a banknote stacking sub-module and a banknote pressing and conveying sub-module, wherein the banknote pressing and conveying sub-module includes a pressing mechanism, a pressing mechanism vertical reciprocating movement unit and a banknote horizontal conveying carriage. The pressing mechanism includes a receiving plate, a bracket fixed on the receiving plate, a cam, a pressing rod and a pressing spring, wherein the cam is rotatably mounted on the bracket by means of a first rotating shaft, the pressing rod includes a pressing end, a driving end and an articulating portion between the pressing end and the driving end, the articulating portion of the pressing rod is articulated on the bracket by means of a second rotating shaft, the cam is cooperated with the driving end of the pressing rod to drive the pressing rod to rotate about the second rotating shaft between a release position and a pressing position, one end of the pressing spring is fixed on the bracket, and the other end of the pressing spring is connected to the pressing end of the pressing rod for applying an elastic force to the pressing rod to press banknotes tightly. The pressing mechanism vertical reciprocating movement unit includes a slider and a guide bar, wherein the slider is disposed around the guide bar such as to move upwardly and downwardly along the guide bar, the receiving plate is fixedly connected with the slider such as to move upwardly and downwardly along the guide bar together with the slider. The banknote horizontal conveying carriage includes a receiving surface and a banknote pressing arm, and is adapted to receive and clamp the banknotes stacked and pressed and to convey the banknotes to a banknote bundling module horizontally. 
     Preferably, the cam the cam has a discontinuity outline including, in sequence, a first arc, an involute tangent to the first arc, a second arc tangent to the involute, and a third arc. The centre of the base circle of the involute is the axle center of the first rotating shaft, and the center of the third arc coincides with the center of the base circle of the involute. Since the center of the third arc coincides with the center of the base circle of the involute, the pressing rod can stay at the release position when the pressing rod reaches a release position, i.e. when a motor driving the pressing rod stops running. 
     Preferably, a rolling wheel is provided at the driving end of the pressing rod and is in contact with the cam. 
     Preferably, the pressing spring is a torsion spring disposed around the second rotating shaft, with one end of the torsion spring abutting against the bracket and the other end of the torsion spring abutting against the pressing end of the pressing rod. 
     Preferably, a portion of the pressing end of the pressing rod for pressing the banknotes is a small flat plate, and the bottom of the flat plate is concaved slightly for bonding a material with a greater frictional coefficient than that of the pressing rod. In this way, the frictional force between the pressing rod and the banknotes may be increased, and thus the banknotes can be pressed more effectively without loosening or shifting. 
     Preferably, a travel constraint groove is provided in the bracket, and the driving end of the pressing rod is provided with a boss projecting into the travel constraint groove. The pressing rod is limited at the release position or the pressing position by a corresponding end of the travel constraint groove. 
     Preferably, the banknote pressing and conveying sub-module further includes a sensor including a sensing baffle and a sensor body. The sensor body is an optical “U”-shaped sensor or a thru-beam sensor and is fixedly connected to the bracket or the receiving plate. The sensing baffle is fixedly connected to the driving end of the pressing rod and moves as the pressing rod rotates, so as to block an optical path of the sensor body selectively. 
     Preferably, the horizontal conveying carriage is located under the receiving plate. The receiving plate has at least one gap at a position corresponding to that of the at least one banknote pressing arm of the banknote horizontal conveying carriage. When the receiving plate moves downwardly to a lowest position along the guide bar with the slider, the at least one banknote pressing arm passes through the at least one gap such that the receiving plate is aligned with the receiving surface of the banknote horizontal conveying carriage. 
     Preferably, the pressing mechanism further includes a motor mounted on the bracket, a driving gear cluster, a belt pulley and a driving belt. One end of the driving belt is disposed around the belt pulley, and the other end of the driving belt is disposed around the first rotating shaft. The power of the motor is transmitted to the cam via the driving gear cluster, the belt pulley and the driving belt in sequence. 
     The present application further provides a sorting-bundling integrated apparatus having any one of the banknote stacking and tidying modules described above. The apparatus further includes a banknote picking and separating module, a banknote identification module, a banknote conveying module and a banknote bundling module. 
     Since the cam is adopted to press the banknotes via the pressing rod after the cam rotates by a certain angle, there is no need for providing a linear pressing mechanism in the direction of the thickness of the stacked banknotes, thereby saving the space and reducing the volume of the equipment. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a module structural schematic view of a sorting-bundling integrated apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present application; 
         FIG. 2  is a structural schematic view of a banknote stacking and tidying module in the sorting-bundling integrated apparatus in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a structural schematic view of a pressing mechanism and a pressing mechanism vertical reciprocating movement unit in a banknote pressing and conveying sub-module in  FIG. 2 , with a pressing rod being in a pressing position; 
         FIG. 4  is a structural schematic view of the pressing mechanism, with the pressing rod in a release position; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective structural schematic view of the pressing mechanism; 
         FIG. 6  is another perspective structural schematic view of the pressing mechanism in  FIG. 5 , with a driving part of a cam being mainly shown; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic view of a peripheral outline of the cam; 
         FIGS. 8   a - 8   d  are a schematic view of a process in which banknotes are stacked, tidied, pressed and conveyed to the banknote bundling module by the banknote tidying and conveying module; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective structural schematic view showing the cooperation between a banknote horizontal conveying carriage and the banknote pressing mechanism; and 
         FIG. 10  is a structural schematic view of a bracket provided with a travel constraint groove. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to further illustrate the present application, the specific embodiments of the present application will be introduced in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  shows a traveling path of banknotes  10  and various parts of a sorting-bundling integrated apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present application. The sorting-bundling integrated apparatus includes a banknote picking and separating module  1 , a banknote identification module  2 , a banknote conveying module  3 , a banknote stacking and tidying module  4  and a banknote bundling module  5 . Main functions of the various functional modules are as follows: the banknote picking and separating module  1  picks up one by one from a stack of banknotes  10  to be sorted, separates the banknotes from each other, and then conveys the separated banknotes into the sorting-bundling integrated apparatus; the banknote identification module  2  identifies the banknotes conveyed one by one in denomination, orientation, authenticity and the like, and estimates the thickness of the banknotes; the banknote conveying module  3  performs judgment upon other properties of the banknotes such as width, obliquity and spacing, conveys the counterfeit banknotes and those banknotes with unqualified properties into a withdraw area according to the results given by the banknote identification module  2 , and conveys the genuine banknotes and the banknotes with qualified properties into respective banknote stacking areas according to banknote type, denomination, or new or used characteristics; the banknote stacking and tidying module  4  stacks and tidies the conveyed banknotes  10  firstly, and then presses tightly 100 pieces of the banknotes  10  stacked tidily and conveys the pressed banknotes into a bundling area; the banknote bundling module  5  bundles the banknotes  10  with a bundling tape, and then conveys the bundled banknotes to an outlet. 
     The banknote stacking and tidying module  4 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , includes: a banknote tidying sub-module  41  for defining and tidying banknotes along the directions of both the length and the width of the banknotes  10  in a banknote stacking process; a banknote stacking sub-module  42  for stacking banknotes entered into the banknote stacking area through a convey passage; and a banknote pressing and conveying sub-module  43  for pressing the banknotes and conveying the pressed banknotes downwardly and vertically after the banknotes have been stacked and tidied. 
     The banknote pressing and conveying sub-module  43  will be described in detail hereinafter. In conjunction with  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  9 , the banknote pressing and conveying sub-module  43  includes a pressing mechanism, a pressing mechanism vertical reciprocating movement unit and a banknote horizontal conveying carriage  51 . The pressing mechanism includes an ‘L’-shaped receiving plate  431 , a bracket  432  fixed on the receiving plate  431 , a cam  433 , a pressing rod  434  and a pressing spring  436 . The cam  433  is rotatably mounted on the bracket  432  by means of a first rotating shaft  4331 . The pressing rod  434  includes a pressing end  4342 , a driving end  4343  and an articulating portion  4345  between the pressing end  4342  and the driving end  4343 , and the articulating portion  4345  of the pressing rod  434  is articulated on the bracket  432  by means of a second rotating shaft  4341 . The cam  433  is cooperated with the driving end  4343  of the pressing rod  434  and may drive the pressing rod  434  to rotate about the second rotating shaft  4341  between a release position and a pressing position. Specifically, in the present embodiment, a rolling wheel  435  is provided at the driving end  4343  of the pressing rod  434  and the rolling wheel  435  is in contact with the cam  433 , wherein the rolling wheel  435  is driven to rotate by the rotation of the cam  433  and then drives the pressing rod  434  to rotate. One end of the pressing spring  436  is fixed on the bracket  432 , and the other end is connected to the pressing end  4342  of the pressing rod  434  for applying an elastic force to the pressing rod  434  so as to press the banknotes tightly. The pressing mechanism vertical reciprocating movement unit includes a slider  4313  and a guide bar  4314 . The slider  4313  is disposed around the guide bar  4314  such as to move upwardly and downwardly along the guide bar  4314 . The receiving plate  431  is fixedly connected with the slider  4313  and may move upwardly and downwardly along the guide bar  4314  with the slider  4313 . The banknote horizontal conveying carriage  51  includes a receiving surface  512  and a banknote pressing arm  511 , and functions to receive and clamp the banknotes stacked and pressed and then convey the banknotes to the banknote bundling module horizontally. Specifically, the horizontal conveying carriage  51  is located underneath the receiving plate  431 . The receiving plate  431  is provided with at least one gap  4315  at a position corresponding to that of the banknote pressing arm  511  of the banknote horizontal conveying carriage  51 . When the receiving plate  431  moves downwardly to a banknote conveying position along the guide bar  4314  with the slider  4313 , the banknote pressing arm  511  passes through the gap  4315  and the receiving plate  431  is aligned with the receiving surface  511  of the banknote horizontal conveying carriage  51 , thus receiving and clamping the banknotes  10  smoothly. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the pressing mechanism further includes a sensor assembly and a cam driving assembly. The cam driving assembly includes a motor  430  mounted on the bracket  432 , a driving gear cluster  4310 , a belt pulley  4311  and a driving belt  4312 . One end of the driving belt  4312  is disposed around the belt pulley  4311 , and the other end is disposed around the first rotating shaft  4331 . The power of the motor  430  is transmitted to the cam  433  via the driving gear cluster  4310 , the belt pulley  4311  and the driving belt  4312  in sequence. Certainly, such arrangement in the present embodiment is purposed to allow enough space for parts of the banknote stacking sub-module  42 . In practical application, the power of the motor  430  may also be transmitted directly to the cam  433  by the gear transmission or the synchronous belt transmission. 
     The sensor assembly includes a sensing baffle  437  and a sensor body  438 . The sensor body  438  may be an optical “U”-shaped sensor or a thru-beam sensor, and may be fixedly connected to the bracket  432  or the receiving plate  431 . In the present embodiment, the sensor body  438  is fixedly mounted to the receiving plate  431 . The sensing baffle  437  is fixedly connected to the driving end  4342  of the pressing rod  434  such as to move as the pressing rod  434  rotates, thereby blocking the optical path of the sensor body  438  selectively. That is, in the present embodiment, the sensor is utilized to assist in controlling the rotation or non-rotation of the motor, so as to switch the pressing rod  434  between a release position and a pressing position. In the present embodiment, when the pressing rod  434  is located at the pressing position, the sensing baffle  437  doesn&#39;t block the optical path of the sensor body  438 ; and as the pressing rod  434  rotates to the release position, the sensing baffle  437  rotates to a position at which the sensing baffle  437  blocks the optical path of the sensor body  438 , and the motor  430  is controlled to stop. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , in the present embodiment, the cam  433  has a discontinuity outline which includes in sequence a first arc “a”, an involute “b” tangent to the first arc “a”, a second arc “c” tangent to the involute “b”, and a third arc “d”, wherein there is an abrupt transition between the third arc “d” and the first arc “a”. The cam  433  is cooperated with the driving end  4342  of the pressing rod  434 . In the present embodiment, the cam  433  is in contact with a rolling wheel  435  arranged on the driving end  4342 , i.e. in the operating process, the rolling wheel  435  rotates along the outline of the cam  433 . The motor  430  controls the cam  433  to rotate clockwise. When the first arc “a” of the cam comes into contact with the rolling wheel  435 , i.e. when the cam comes into contact with the rolling wheel  435  at the smallest radius of the cam, the pressing rod  434  is in a pressing position. As the cam  433  keeps on rotating clockwise, the radius of the outline of the cam  433  at which the cam  433  is in contact with the rolling wheel  435  becomes larger and larger, and thus a driving force is provided to the rolling wheel to cause the rolling wheel  435  to rotate anticlockwise, i.e. to drive the pressing rod  434  to rotate anticlockwise. Specifically, the pressing end  4342  of the pressing rod  434  cocks upwardly, and the pressing rod  434  reaches the release position gradually. When the pressing rod  434  reaches the stable release position, the third arc “d” of the cam  433  comes into contact with the rolling wheel  435 , i.e. the cam  433  comes into contact with the rolling wheel  435  at the maximum radius of the outline of the cam  433 . At this point, as mentioned above, the sensing baffle  437  rotates to a position at which the sensing baffle  437  blocks the optical path of the sensor body  438 , and the motor  430  stops running, so that the pressing rod  434  stays at the release position to wait for the banknote stacking sub-module  42  and the banknote tidying sub-module  41  to tidy and stack the banknotes. After 100 pieces of banknotes are tidied and stacked, the motor  310  is controlled to continue to rotate clockwise, and the cam  433  continues to rotate clockwise as well. As a result, the portion of the cam  433  in contact with the rolling wheel  435  is switched from the third arc “d” to the first arc “a”, and the pressing rod  434  returns to the pressing position under the action of the pressing spring  436 , allowing the pressing rod  434  to press the banknotes. After the action of pressing the banknotes is finished, the cam  433  continues to rotate clockwise, and the rolling wheel  435  is driven to rotate anticlockwise, so that the pressing rod  434  rotates to the release position again. As such, the pressing mechanism operates repeatedly. 
     It has to be noted that the centre of the base circle of the involute “b” is the axle center of the first rotating shaft  4331 , and the center of the third arc “d” coincides with the center of the base circle of the involute “b”. Thus, the pressing rod  434  reaches the release position, i.e. when the motor  430  driving the pressing rod  434  stops running, the pressing rod  434  may stay at the release position. 
     Certainly, optionally, as shown in  FIG. 10 , a travel constraint groove  4321  may be provided on the bracket  432 , and the driving end of the pressing rod  434  is provided with a boss projecting into the travel constraint groove  4321 . Thus, when the pressing rod  434  rotates about the second rotating shaft  4341 , its rotation travel is constrained within the scope defined by the travel constraint groove  4321 , that is to say, the pressing rod  434  is fixed at the release position or the pressing position by respective ends of the travel constraint groove  4321 , without excessive rotation about the second shaft  4341 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , preferably, the portion  4346  of the pressing end  4342  of the pressing rod  434  for pressing banknotes is a small flat plate, and the bottom of the small flat plate is concaved slightly for bonding a material such as EVA foam with a greater frictional coefficient than that of the pressing rod, so as to increase the frictional force between the pressing rod  434  and the banknotes  10 , thus pressing the banknotes better without loosening or shifting. 
     Further, in the present embodiment, the pressing spring  436  is a torsion spring which is disposed around the second rotating shaft  4341 , with one end of the torsion spring  436  abutting against the bracket  432  and the other end abutting against the pressing end  4342  of the pressing rod  434 . However, the present application is not limited to adopt the torsion spring, and springs in other forms may also be applicable so long as a pressing force can be provided to the pressing end  4342  of the pressing rod  434 . 
     Hereinafter, an operating process of the banknote stacking and tidying module will be described in conjunction with  FIGS. 8   a  to  8   d.    
     As shown in  FIG. 8   a , the cam  433  in the banknote pressing and conveying sub-module  43  rotates clockwise to drive the pressing rod  434  to reach an upper limit position, i.e. the release position, and the pressing rod  434  may be hidden in the banknote stacking sub-module  42 . Then, the banknotes can be conveyed into the banknote stacking sub-module  42  and are stacked therein, and at the same time, the banknotes are tidied by the banknote tidying sub-module  41  in directions of the length and the width of the banknotes. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8   b , after the stacking and the tidying of the banknotes is finished, the cam  433  in the banknote pressing and conveying sub-module  43  rotates clockwise, and, cooperating with the action of the pressing spring  436 , drives the pressing rod  434  to turn into the lower limit position, i.e. the pressing position, to press the banknotes. It is ready for conveying the banknotes downwardly. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8   c , the banknote pressing and conveying sub-module  43  moves linearly and downwardly to the banknote conveying carriage  51 , such that the receiving plate  431  is aligned with the receiving surface  511  of the banknote horizontal conveying carriage  51 . At this moment, the pressing rod  434  still presses the banknotes, while the banknote pressing arm  511  of the banknote conveying carriage  51  is in a release state. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8   d , the banknote pressing arm  511  of the banknote conveying carriage  51  rotates clockwise to press the banknotes  10 , and the cam  433  rotates clockwise to drive the pressing rod  434  back to the release position. Subsequently, the banknote conveying carriage  51  carries the banknotes and moves horizontally rightwards into a bundling area, and after the banknote conveying carriage  51  enters into the bundling area, the banknote pressing and conveying sub-module  43  moves upwardly to return to the banknote stacking position described above. Till then, the handover of the banknotes is finished. 
     The banknote pressing and conveying sub-module  43  of the banknote stacking and tidying module  4  adopts the cam  433  to press the banknotes via the pressing rod  434  after the cam  433  rotates by a certain angle, without providing a linear pressing mechanism in the direction of the thickness of the stacked banknotes, thereby saving the space and reducing the volume of the equipment. 
     The sorting-bundling integrated apparatus adopting the banknote stacking and tidying module  4  has the advantage of a reduced volume, and has the extremely effective banknote pressing mechanism. 
     The above description is only preferred embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that, the above preferred embodiments are not intended to limit the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is defined by claims of the present application. For the person skilled in the art, many modifications and improvements may be made to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, and these modifications and improvements are also deemed to fall into the protection scope of the present application.