Abstract:
The present invention provides apparatus for stacking media items, comprising a base member for supporting a stack of media items, at least one first registration member extending generally upwardly with respect to the base member, and at least one further registration member extending generally upwardly with respect to the base member and spaced apart from the first registration member, wherein at least a one of the first and further registration members is selectively moveable towards or away from a remainder one of the first and further registration members in an input direction of the media items. A method of stacking media items is also provided.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to media item presenters and, in particular, but not exclusively, to stacking a number of media items into a bunch of media items. 
         [0002]    A media item presenter is used as part of a media item dispenser. A media item presenter is that part of the dispenser that presents media items to a customer. One common type of media item dispenser is a bunch sheet media dispenser, such as an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), for dispensing a bunch (or stack) of media items in sheet form to a customer, such as banknotes, tickets, coupons, vouchers, giros, or the like. 
         [0003]    A media item presenter is typically coupled to one or more media pick units of the dispenser. Each media pick unit picks individual media items from a media cassette (or a hopper) located inside the media dispenser, and transports the picked media items to the media item presenter for collating the media items into a bunch for presenting to a customer. If the customer does not remove the presented bunch of media items, the media item presenter withdraws the bunch and transports it to a purge bin for later processing by an authorized person. 
         [0004]    A common type of media item presenter is a banknote presenter of an ATM. As shown in  FIG. 1 , a conventional banknote presenter  100  includes a chassis  102 , a nose portion  104 , a banknote transport unit  106  for coupling to a pick unit (not shown) of a dispenser, a multi-compartment purge bin  108 , a carriage  110 , a cam block  112 , a registration device  114 , a track  116  and a control board  118 . The carriage  110  is selectively moveable along the track  116  between a loading position, where banknotes are loaded on to the carriage, and a presenting position, where banknotes are presented to a customer at the nose portion  104  of the presenter  100  which is aligned with a dispense slot of the dispenser (not shown). 
         [0005]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the carriage  110  includes a carriage body  202  and a carriage plate  204  pivotally coupled to the carriage body  202  by two pairs of link arms  206 ,  208 . The carriage plate  204  is selectively moveable by the cam block  112  of the presenter  100  between an open position (as depicted in  FIG. 2 ) for receiving banknotes from the pick unit of the dispenser and a closed position for clamping and transporting media items to the nose portion  104  for presenting to a customer. The carriage body and carriage plate each include a pair of spaced apart transport belts  210 ,  212  for gripping media items and for transporting media items along a predetermined transport path, such as towards a customer for presentation to the customer or along a return path and into the purge bin  108 . 
         [0006]      FIG. 3  illustrates a conventional registration device  114  which includes a support plate  302  pivotally mounted to the chassis  102  of the presenter  100  by a bracket  303 . A base portion  304  is slideably mounted to the support plate  302  to move in a parallel direction to a media item transport path, as indicated by arrow T. The base portion  304  includes a plurality of spaced apart and upwardly extending registration edge members  306  and a plurality of spaced apart and upwardly extending flight limiting fingers  308 . The base portion  304  also includes a plurality of spaced apart rib members  310  for supporting banknotes in a low friction manner allowing individual banknotes to slide towards the registration edge members  306  after contacting the flight limiting fingers  308 . 
         [0007]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , as the carriage plate  204  moves downwardly towards the carriage open position, the carriage plate  204  engages with the registration edge members  306  of the registration device  114  and forces the base portion  304  (and the integrally formed registration edge members  306  and flight limiting fingers  308 ) away from the carriage  110 . At the same time, the flight limiting fingers  308  and ribs  310  of the base portion  304  extend through the carriage plate  204 . In use, banknotes are sprayed over the registration edge members  306  and onto the carriage plate  204  (from left to right as viewed in  FIG. 4 ). The flight of the banknotes is limited by the flight limiting fingers  308  and the force of gravity urges each banknote to rest on the base portion  304  of the registration device  114 . As the base portion  304  of the registration device  114  is oriented in parallel with the oriented carriage plate  204 , the banknotes slide away from the flight limiting fingers  308  and abut against the registration edge members  306  to form a bunch of stacked banknotes. After a desired bunch of banknotes has been stacked, the carriage plate  204  moves to a closed position to clamp the bunch of banknotes between the carriage plate  204  and the carriage body  202  for transportation along the track  116  of the presenter  100 . 
         [0008]    However, the distance between the flight limiting fingers  308  and the registration edge members  306  of the registration device  114  is fixed. Thus, the registration device  114  is not suitable for stacking different types and/or sizes of media item, such as different currencies of bank notes, particularly banknotes having a short edge length (or banknote height) which is less than the fixed distance between the fingers  308  and registration edge members  306 . For example, the distance between the fingers  308  and registration edge members  306  of the conventional registration device  114  may be suitable for stacking Euro banknotes but when it is desirable to stack banknotes having a smaller height (short edge length) from a different country, the smaller bank notes are able to move between the fingers and the registration edge members as the stack is being created. This undesirably results in the stack becoming splayed and untidy which is not acceptable for presentation to a customer. In addition, badly splayed bunches of banknotes can cause jams and/or damage to the banknotes or ATM which undesirably places the ATM out of service. Furthermore, the space envelope available for the registration device of a media presenter is limited so it would be desirable to reduce the space envelope required by the registration device. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    It is an aim of the present invention to at least partly mitigate the above-mentioned problems. 
         [0010]    It is an aim of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for neatly and accurately stacking media items of different sizes. 
         [0011]    It is an aim of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for stacking media items which is reliable and consistent, whilst reducing the risk of purge jams and consequently less downtime of the media item presenter. 
         [0012]    It is an aim of certain embodiments of the present invention to reduce the space envelope within a media item presenter which is required by the registration device of the media item presenter. 
         [0013]    It is an aim of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide a registration device for a media item presenter which is universal for stacking differently sized media items, such as banknotes from different countries. 
         [0014]    According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for stacking media items, comprising:
       a base member for supporting a stack of media items;   at least one first registration member extending generally upwardly with respect to the base member; and   at least one further registration member extending generally upwardly with respect to the base member and spaced apart from the first registration member; wherein   at least a one of the first and further registration members is selectively moveable towards or away from a remainder one of the first and further registration members in an input direction of the media items.       
 
         [0019]    Aptly, the at least one of the first and further registration members is selectively translatable with respect to the remainder one of the first and further registration members. 
         [0020]    Aptly, the at least one of the first and further registration members is selectively pivotable with respect to the remainder one of the first and further registration members. 
         [0021]    Aptly, the apparatus further comprises a support member, wherein the base member is slideably coupled to the support member. 
         [0022]    Aptly, the first registration member is integral with the base member. 
         [0023]    Aptly, the further registration member is slideably coupled to the support plate to move towards or away from the first registration member. 
         [0024]    Aptly, the further registration member is pivotally mounted to a rack member by a pivot shaft and said rack member is slideably mounted to said support plate. 
         [0025]    Aptly, the further registration member is biased towards the first registration member by a first biasing element. 
         [0026]    Aptly, the support member is pivotally mounted to a support bracket and biased towards a generally horizontal position by a further biasing element. 
         [0027]    Aptly, the further registration member is selectively movable towards or away from the first registration member responsive to a position of the rack member relative to the first registration member. 
         [0028]    Aptly, the further registration member is moveable between a retracted position and a deployed position responsive to the position of the rack member relative to the first registration member. 
         [0029]    Aptly, a predetermined angle of the further registration member relative to the first registration member is substantially constant when the further registration member is in the deployed position. 
         [0030]    Aptly, the predetermined angle is substantially zero such that the further registration member is substantially parallel with the first registration member when in the deployed position. 
         [0031]    Aptly, the first registration member comprises a plurality of spaced apart first elongate members. 
         [0032]    Aptly, the further registration member comprises a plurality of spaced apart further elongate members. 
         [0033]    Aptly, the base member comprises a plurality of spaced apart fins upstanding from the base member to support a stack of media items. 
         [0034]    Aptly, the base member comprises a pair of spaced apart guide members in faced relationship, each guide member upwardly extending from a respective side region of the base member. 
         [0035]    According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a media item presenter comprising apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention. 
         [0036]    According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a Self-Service Terminal (SST) comprising a media item presenter in according to the second aspect of the present invention. 
         [0037]    According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of stacking media items, comprising:
       selectively moving at least a one of a first registration member and a further registration member towards or away from a remainder one of the first and further registration members; and   individually dispensing a plurality of media items on to a base member located between the first and further registration members, wherein each registration member extends generally upwardly with respect to the base member and the media items are dispensed in a direction from the first registration member to the further registration member.       
 
         [0040]    Aptly, the method further comprises:
       selectively translating the further registration member towards or away from the first registration member.       
 
         [0042]    Aptly, the method further comprises:
       selectively pivoting the further registration member towards or away from the first registration member.       
 
         [0044]    Aptly, the method further comprises:
       selectively moving the further registration member with respect to the first registration member responsive to a predetermined common dimension of the media items.       
 
         [0046]    Aptly, the method further comprises:
       selectively moving the further registration member with respect to the first registration member responsive to a position of a moveable rack member to which the further registration member is pivotally mounted.       
 
         [0048]    Aptly, the method further comprises:
       selectively moving a first registration member with respect to a further registration member responsive to a predetermined common dimension of a plurality of media items to be stacked; and   individually dispensing the plurality of media items towards the first registration member to be stacked between the first and further registration members.       
 
         [0051]    According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided a generally 
         [0052]    U-shaped media item stacking apparatus comprising:
       a base portion for supporting a stack of media items;   a first registration member generally upstanding with respect to a first edge region of said base portion; and   a further registration member generally upstanding with respect to a further edge region of said base portion; wherein   at least a one of the first and further registration members is selectively moveable with respect to a remainder one of the first and further registration members in an input direction of the media items.       
 
         [0057]    Certain embodiments of the present invention may provide the advantage of controlling the flight distance and rebound of media items being stacked. 
         [0058]    Certain embodiments of the present invention may provide the advantage of neatly and accurately stacking media items of different sizes. 
         [0059]    Certain embodiments of the present invention may provide the advantage of reducing the risk of jamming and in turn downtime of a media item presenter. 
         [0060]    Certain embodiments of the present invention may provide the advantage of reducing the space envelope required by a registration device within a media item presenter. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0061]    Embodiments of the present invention will now be described hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0062]      FIG. 1  illustrates a simplified schematic diagram of a conventional rear access media item presenter; 
           [0063]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of a conventional carriage of the media presenter of  FIG. 1  when the carriage is in an open position; 
           [0064]      FIG. 3  illustrates a side view of a conventional registration device for stacking media items on the carriage of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0065]      FIG. 4  illustrates the carriage in the open position and engaged with the registration device of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0066]      FIG. 5   a  illustrates a registration device according to an embodiment of the present invention with the flight limiting fingers in a first position; 
           [0067]      FIG. 5   b  illustrates the registration device of  FIG. 5   a  with the flight limiting fingers in a second position; 
           [0068]      FIG. 6   a  illustrates a side view of part of a media presenter according to certain embodiments of the present invention wherein the flight limiting fingers of the registration device of  FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b  are in a pivotally extended position relative to the registration edge members to allow sufficient clearance for the carriage to move along the track overhead; 
           [0069]      FIG. 6   b  illustrates the carriage plate of the carriage in an open position and the flight limiting fingers rotating towards the registration edge members as the carriage plate moves downwardly; 
           [0070]      FIG. 6   c  illustrates the flight limiting fingers in the first position and in a substantially parallel spatial relationship with the registration edge members; 
           [0071]      FIG. 6   d  illustrates the flight limiting fingers in the second position and in a substantially parallel spatial relationship with the registration edge members; and 
           [0072]      FIG. 7  illustrates a side view of the pivoting mechanism for rotating the flight limiting fingers in response to movement of the carriage plate. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0073]    In the drawings like reference numerals refer to like parts. 
         [0074]      FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b  illustrate a registration device  500  according to certain embodiments of the present invention. The registration device  500  includes a support plate  502  pivotally mounted to a bracket  503  fixed to the chassis (not shown) of the media item presenter. The support plate  502  is biased by a spring (not shown) substantially towards the horizontal plane. The support plate  502  includes a plurality of spaced apart channels to slideably support a base portion  504  having corresponding projections (not shown) on an underside thereof. A plurality of spaced apart registration edge members  506  are integrally formed with, and upwardly extend from, the base portion  504 . The base member  504  further includes a pair of spaced apart side members  508  which are substantially sheet-like and arranged in parallel with a transport path along which banknotes are sprayed onto the base portion  504  by a pick unit (not shown) of the presenter. The base member  504  also includes a plurality of spaced apart fins  509  upwardly extending from the base portion  504  to provide a low friction supporting surface for the banknotes. The fins  509  are sloped towards the registration edge members  506  to urge a lower long edge of each banknote towards the registration edge members  506 . At an opposite edge region of the support plate  502  to the registration edge members  506 , a pair of spaced apart posts  518  upwardly extend from corner regions of the support plate  502 . A spring  514  extends between each post  518  and a respective corner region of the base member  504  to bias the base member  504  and the registration edge member  506  towards the pivot axis of the bracket  503 . 
         [0075]    The registration device  500  further includes a rack member  510  that is slidably mounted to a rail  512  attached to the support plate  502 . A plurality of spaced apart elongate fingers  516  are mounted to the rack member  510 . A motor (not shown) mounted on the rack member  510  drives a gear engaged with a toothed rack of the rail  512  to selectively move the rack member  510  and the elongate fingers  516  towards or away from the registration edge members  506 . This allows the spacing between the registration edge members  506  and the elongate fingers  516  to be selectively changed responsive to a dimension of each banknote to be stacked. For example, for relatively tall banknotes, the elongate fingers  516  are moved away from the registration edge members  506  (as shown in  FIG. 5   a ) to accommodate the relatively tall banknotes to be neatly stacked. In contrast, where relatively short banknotes are to be stacked, the plurality of elongate fingers  516  are moved towards the registration edge members  506  (as shown in  FIG. 5   b ) responsive to the corresponding height of the relatively short banknotes to be stacked. In this way, the registration device  500  can be adjusted to efficiently and consistently create an aligned and tidy stack of banknotes for presenting to a customer irrespective of the height of banknotes to be stacked. The spacing between the elongate fingers  516  and registration edge members  506  can be adjusted from around 70 mm to around 90 mm. A scale  524  may be provided for setting a desired spacing between the registration edge members  506  and the elongate fingers  516 . A sensor  526  may determine the location of the elongate fingers  516  with respect to the registration edge members  506  and provide a feedback signal to the motor to automatically adjust the spacing between the registration members  506  and elongate fingers  516  accordingly. 
         [0076]    Whilst the registration edge members  506  and elongate fingers  516  limit movement of each banknote in a direction parallel to the transport path of the banknotes, the sheet-like side members  508  of the registration device limit movement of the banknotes being stacked in a direction perpendicular to the transport path of the banknotes. In a similar manner to the elongate fingers  516 , one or both of the side members  508  may be moveable with respect to the other side member to adjust the spacing between the side members  508  to accommodate for relatively thin or wide banknotes. 
         [0077]    Furthermore, each elongate finger  516  is pivotally mounted to the rack member  510  by at least one shaft  522  and is rotatable relative to the rack member  510 . The elongate fingers  516  are biased towards the registration edge members  506  by at least one spring  520  (as shown in  FIGS. 5   b  and  7 ). A further shaft  650  also connects each elongate finger  516  and at least one end of the shaft  650  follows a profiled member  652  such that the orientation of the elongate fingers  516  relative to the registration edge members  506  is automatically adjusted as the rack member is moved towards the registration edge members  506 , as described further below. Alternatively, a motor may selectively rotate the shaft  522  and elongate fingers  516  and a further sensor may be provided to determine a position of the elongate fingers  516  with respect to the registration edge members  506  and provide a corresponding feedback signal to the motor to automatically adjust the position of the elongate fingers  516  with respect to the registration edge members  506 . 
         [0078]    In use, as shown in  FIG. 6   a , the elongate fingers  516  are retracted back to allow the carriage  110  to pass overhead along its track  116  and for the carriage plate  204  to move downwardly towards the open position without clashing with the elongate fingers  516 . This allows the required space envelope for the carriage  110  and/or the registration device  500  to be reduced and in turn provides for a more compact banknote note presenter  100 . 
         [0079]    As shown in  FIG. 6   b , when the carriage plate  204  is moved downwardly towards the open position, the elongate fingers  516  extend through the carriage plate  204  and the carriage plate  204  engages the base member  504  of the registration device  500 . The support plate  502  and base member  504  are forced downwardly by the carriage plate  204  about the pivot axis of the bracket  503  such that the registration edge members  506  are lower than the elongate fingers  516 . As the carriage plate  204  continues to move downwardly to the open position, the registration edge members  506  (and the base member  504 ) are pushed away from the retracted elongate fingers  516  by the carriage plate  204  and against the spring force of the springs  514 . 
         [0080]    A motor (not shown) then drives the rack member  510  forward towards the registration edge members  506  and the shaft  650  follows the profile member  652  with the aid of spring  520  until the elongate fingers  516  are parallel to the registration edge members  506  and in a forward deployed position (as shown in  FIG. 6   c ). As shown in  FIG. 6   d , the rack member  510  is then driven further towards the registration edge members  506  into a predetermined position dependent on the height (short edge) of the banknotes to be stacked by increments of a stepper motor (not shown) and a further sensor (not shown) checks the position of the elongate fingers  516  relative to the registration edge members  506  and adjusts the position of the rack member  510  accordingly, if required. 
         [0081]    Individual banknotes are then sprayed onto the carriage plate  204  from right to left as viewed in  FIG. 6   d . The elongate fingers  516  limit the flight of the banknotes and urge the banknotes onto the fins  509  of the base member  504 . The force of gravity urges each individual banknote downwardly towards the registration edge members  506  such that a lower long edge of each banknote abuts the registration edge members  506 . The selective spacing of the elongate fingers  516  with respect to the registration edge members  506  ensures a bunch of banknotes having a common height dimension are neatly and consistently stacked without splaying or damage to the banknotes. The side members  508  also help to guide and align the banknotes in a lengthwise direction which is perpendicular to an input direction of the banknotes onto the carriage plate  204 . 
         [0082]    Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the words “comprise” and “contain” and variations of them mean “including but not limited to” and they are not intended to (and do not) exclude other moieties, additives, components, integers or steps. Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the singular encompasses the plural unless the context otherwise requires. In particular, where the indefinite article is used, the specification is to be understood as contemplating plurality as well as singularity, unless the context requires otherwise. 
         [0083]    Features, integers, characteristics or groups described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment or example of the invention are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example described herein unless incompatible therewith. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of the features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. The invention is not restricted to any details of any foregoing embodiments. The invention extends to any novel one, or novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed. 
         [0084]    The reader&#39;s attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.