Abstract:
The invention relates to a device for depositing notes, which comprises a plurality of storage compartments for depositing the notes, means for transporting the notes to the storage compartments and for the organized deposit of the same on stacks disposed in the storage compartments. The inventive device comprises one or more parallel revolving belts on which fingers are successively disposed in the longitudinal direction which cooperate with the belts to give receiving pockets for the notes. Every storage compartment is associated with a respective stripping element interposed between the storage compartment and the belts. For depositing a note in the storage compartment the belts and/or the corresponding stripping element can be adjusted relative each other in such a manner that the stripping element projects into the path of a note that is displaced by means of the belt.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is entitled to the benefit of and incorporates by reference essential subject matter disclosed in International Application No. PCT/DE02/02894 filed on Aug. 7, 2002 and German Patent Application No. 101 47 134.3 filed on Sep. 25, 2001. 
   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates to a device for depositing notes, the device comprises a plurality of storage compartments for depositing the notes and means for conveying the notes to the storage compartments and for the organized depositing of the same on stacks situated in the storage compartments. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Devices of this type are known, for example, from customer terminals for depositing banknotes or checks, such as are provided by credit institutions. It is extremely advantageous for the operator of such customer terminals if the deposited notes are automatically distributed according to sort to the different storage compartments where they are deposited in organized stacks. Organized and sorted depositing is required in particular if the deposited notes are to be further processed mechanically, for example are to be counted or paid out again. In addition, depositing on stacks affords the advantage that the deposited notes require less space than notes dumped in an uncontrolled manner, and the storage compartments can therefore be kept smaller and do not have to be emptied as often. 
   A stacking device for notes is disclosed in DE 197 57 421 A1. Said device comprises a rotatable stacking wheel having a multiplicity of fingers whose one end is fastened to the circumference of the stacking wheel and between which a receiving pocket for notes is formed in each case. Depending on the angular position of the stacking wheel, this receiving pocket is open or closed. Thus, in an angular region with an open receiving pocket, notes can be introduced into the stacking wheel, can be moved by the stacking wheel through an angular region with a closed receiving pocket, and finally, in a further angular region with an open receiving pocket, can be deposited on a stack. 
   A stacking wheel of this type deposits all of the notes which have been introduced on the same stack. For the device of the type mentioned at the beginning, an associated stacking wheel would be required for each storage compartment and, in addition, a transporting mechanism having switches or the like, with which the deposited note is supplied to the corresponding stacking wheel. Such a construction would be complicated, expensive and would also require a lot of space. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention is based on the object of specifying a device of the type mentioned at the beginning, the device bringing about the specific transportation to one of several storage compartments available for selection and the organized depositing on stacks in a simple, cost-effective and space-saving manner. 
   This object is achieved with a device of the type mentioned at the beginning by the fact that it has one or more parallel, revolving belts on which fingers are arranged successively in the longitudinal direction of the belts, said fingers cooperating with the belts to form receiving pockets for the notes, that each storage compartment is assigned a stripping element which is arranged in each case between the storage compartment and belt, and that to deposit a note in a selected storage compartment belts and/or the corresponding stripping element can be adjusted relative to one another in such a manner that the stripping element projects into the path of a note moved by the belt. The note which is moved in a receiving pocket by the belt is guided by the stripping element into the box and, in a manner described in greater detail below, comes to a standstill in front of a stack situated in the storage compartment. 
   In the case of the device according to the invention, notes can therefore be transported by a single belt or by a set of parallel, revolving belts to any desired number of storage compartments where they are deposited in an organized manner in each case on a stack with the aid of a stripping element. 
   The stripping element can preferably be a stripping plate which has a number of slots corresponding to the number of belts, through which the belts can pass when the stripping element projects into the path of a note moved by the belts. 
   The fingers are preferably attached at one end to the respective belt in such a manner that, when the belt is stretched out, they bear against the latter and cooperate with it to form a closed receiving pocket, but when the belt is appropriately curved, they protrude from the latter and cooperate with it to form an open receiving pocket. In this respect, a belt of this type is similar to the stacking wheel which has been mentioned, and, in particular, notes can be introduced into its receiving pockets in a manner known per se. 
   In one preferred embodiment, the belt which has been mentioned is a toothed belt. 
   The storage compartments preferably abut against the stripping element with a side which is open or is to be opened and are provided in such a manner that the notes can stand upright in them in a stack which extends until immediately in front of the stripping element. 
   For each storage compartment, there is preferably a switchable deflecting device for deflecting the belt in the direction of the storage compartment in such a manner that the stripping element projects into the path of a note which is moved in a receiving pocket by the belt. In this case, the belt is preferably deflected in such a manner that the fingers forming the receiving pocket push the stack of notes situated in the storage compartment into the storage compartment, and a note situated in the receiving pocket is guided by the stripping element into the storage compartment, adheres to the floor of the storage compartment and comes to a standstill in front of the stack. 
   Furthermore, the deflecting device is preferably designed and arranged in such a manner that the receiving pocket is opened as it passes the stripping element by virtue of the curvature of the belt caused when the latter is deflected. The note is thereby released and can be slowed down in a gentle manner. 
   In one preferred embodiment, the deflecting device has a number of deflection rollers corresponding to the number of belts, said deflection rollers being arranged opposite the stripping element on the other side of the belt and being adjustable for deflection in the direction of the stripping element. 
   In a further preferred embodiment, the deflecting device contains guide elements with the aid of which sliding elements fastened to the belt can be guided in order to deflect the belt. In one particularly advantageous variant, the guide elements are formed by the longitudinal edges of the slots in the respective stripping plate, and as sliding elements at that end of each finger which is fixed on the belt two sliding blocks are attached on opposite sides of the finger, and on their respective side which faces away from the finger a receptacle for the longitudinal edge is formed in such a manner that the sliding blocks can be guided in a sliding manner along the longitudinal edges. A deflecting device of this type is particularly simple in construction. 
   In a further preferred embodiment, the stripping plate can be adjusted in the direction of the belts until it projects into the path of a note moved by the belt. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further advantages and features of the solution according to the invention emerge from the following description which explains the invention with reference to an exemplary embodiment in conjunction with the attached drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  shows the device according to the invention in a simplified illustration in side view, 
       FIG. 2   a  shows a perspective drawing of a note in a receiving pocket formed by two parallel belts and two fingers injection molded on them, 
       FIG. 2   b  shows a fastening device for separately produced fingers on the belt, 
       FIG. 3  shows a side view of a storage box with an associated stripping element and deflecting device during the depositing of a note, 
       FIG. 4   a  shows a perspective drawing of a finger, belt and sliding block, 
       FIG. 4   b  shows a perspective drawing of the stripping plate and floor of a storage box, 
       FIGS. 4   c ,  4   d  show two consecutive snapshots of a detail of the device according to the invention during the depositing of a note, in which the belts are deflected with the aid of guide and sliding elements, 
       FIGS. 5   a ,  5   b  show two consecutive snapshots of a detail of the device according to the invention during the depositing of a note with the aid of an adjustable stripping plate. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1  shows a device  10  according to the invention for depositing notes, in which a deposited note  12  can be deposited in an organized manner in one of a number of available storage compartments  14 . The storage compartments  14  are designed as removable storage boxes which are arranged vertically one above another and in which notes which have already been deposited stand upright in stacks  16 . 
   The device according to the invention contains two mutually parallel, revolving toothed belts  18  which are situated one above the other in the perspective of  FIG. 1 , so that only one of them can be seen. The revolving pair of belts  18  is clamped between an upper gearwheel  20  and a lower gearwheel  22 . In this case, the pair of belts  18  is guided with its outside at the same distance past all of the storage boxes  14 . The upper gearwheel  20  or lower gearwheel  22  is driven by a motor  24  and rotates in this case in the direction indicated by the arrow  26 . 
   A multiplicity of fingers  28  are arranged successively in the longitudinal direction of the belts on the outsides of the belts  18 . The fingers  28  are attached to the belts  18  in such a manner that, when the belts are stretched out, they bear against the latter and cooperate with them to form a closed receiving pocket for notes. A closed received pocket of this type is illustrated in  FIG. 2   a.    
   In  FIG. 2   a , the fingers are made of the same material as the belt and are injection molded onto it. The belt and fingers therefore form a single part. As an alternative, the fingers, however, can be fastened at one end to the belt in a pivotable manner via a mandrel  50  and can be clamped by the shaping of the mounts  52  for the mandrel or a spring (not shown) in such a manner that, when the belt is stretched out, they bear against it. 
   However, when the belt is appropriately curved in the region of the finger, the latter protrudes from the belt and cooperates with it to form an open receiving pocket. Two such open receiving pockets  30  can be seen in  FIG. 1  at the point at which the pair of belts  18  is deflected by the gearwheels  20  and  22  and is thereby curved. A deposited note  12  can be placed into one such open receiving pocket  30  in a manner known per se, for example, by the note  12 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , being shot into the open receiving pocket  30  with the aid of known transporting belts  32 . After the belt section forming the receiving pocket has passed the upper gearwheel  20 , the receiving pocket closes and the note is reliably transported in the closed receiving pocket to the storage compartment provided. 
   In  FIG. 1 , the storage boxes  14  are open on their side which faces the belts. A stripping element  34  which is arranged between the pair of belts  18  and storage box  14  is attached to each storage box  14 . Furthermore, each storage box  14  is assigned a deflecting device  36  which is situated opposite the stripping element  34  on the other side of the pair of belts  18 . The stripping element  34  and deflecting device  36  serve for the organized depositing of the notes in the associated storage compartment  14 , and their operation will be explained in greater detail below. 
   The device according to the invention is accordingly constructed in such a manner that a single pair of belts guides the deposited note  12  in a closed receiving pocket past all of the available storage compartments  14 , and the note is removed from the receiving pocket at the selected storage compartment with the aid of the stripping element  34  and the deflecting device  36  and is deposited in an organized manner in the storage compartment  14 . This construction is space-saving and simple in comparison with a conventional construction in which there is an individual transporting path to each storage compartment. 
   With reference to  FIG. 3 , the manner in which the device according to the invention is able to remove the note  12  from a receiving pocket and deposit it in an organized manner on the stack  16  in the storage box  14  selected for the note  12  will be explained.  FIG. 3  shows this storage box  14  and the associated switchable deflecting device  36 , with a pair of deflection rollers  37 , which is adjusted in the direction of the stripping element  34  with the aid of an adjusting device  35  and in the process deflects the pair of belts  18 . This corresponds to the activated state of the deflecting device. The adjusting device  35  can be operated by a stepping motor or lifting magnet (neither shown). The plane in which the stretched-out belt  18  is situated if the deflecting device is not activated is indicated in  FIG. 3  by the dashed line. 
   The stripping element  34  is designed here as a stripping plate having two parallel slots  19  (not visible in the view of  FIG. 3 ) through the pair of belts  18  and pair of deflection rollers  37  pass when the deflection which is shown has taken place. A stripping plate  34  with slots  19  is shown in  FIG. 4   b.    
   The deflection of the pair of belts  18  in the region of the storage box  14  has two consequences. Firstly, it causes the stripping plate  34  to project into the path of the note  12  moved by the belt, so that said note is guided by the stripping plate  34  into the storage box  14 . Secondly, the pair of belts is curved by the deflection in such a manner that the fingers  28  forming the receiving pocket protrude from the pair of belts  18  and thereby press the stack  16  into the storage box  14  and at the same time release the carried-along note  12 . The released note  12  adheres to the floor  15  of the storage box  14  and comes to stand in front of the stack  16  of upright notes. 
   The mechanism described causes the stack  16  to grow to the left in  FIG. 3 . A wall  38  bounding the stack  16  on the left therefore has to be successively displaced to the left to the same extent as notes are deposited in the storage compartment. Use is made for this purpose of an adjusting mechanism  40  which can be designed, for example, as a screw which is rotated by a stepping motor (not shown) and in the process displaces the left side wall  38  to the left. 
   In an alternative embodiment, the pair of belts  18  is deflected by sliding elements  60  which are attached to the fingers  28  being guided in a sliding manner along guide elements  21 . In the following exemplary embodiment, the sliding elements  60  are sliding blocks, two of which are assigned to each finger, and the guide elements  21  are formed by the longitudinal edges of the slots  19  of the stripping plate  34 . (see  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b ). 
   As can be seen in  FIG. 4   a , the sliding blocks  60  are fastened on opposite sides of the finger  18  with the aid of the extended mandrel  50  of  FIG. 2   b , which is introduced for this purpose into a hole  62  in the sliding block  60 . The sliding block has, on its side facing away from the finger, a receptacle  64  for the longitudinal edge  21 . To deflect the belt  18 , the two longitudinal edges  21  of a slot  19  are introduced into the respective receptacles  64  of two sliding blocks  60  belonging to a finger  28 , and the sliding blocks slide along the longitudinal edges  21 . In this case, the deflection of the belt is governed by the shape of the stripping plate  34 . 
   In order to introduce the longitudinal edges  21  into the receptacles  64 , it is possible, for example, for the belt  18  to be deflected to such an extent that the sliding blocks  60  just come into contact with the upper edge of the stripping plate  34 . Such a situation is shown in  FIG. 4   c . As in  FIG. 3 , the pair of belts  18  may be deflected for this purpose by a pair of deflection rollers  37  adjusted in the direction of the stripping plate  34 , but this deflection is initially much smaller than the deflection in  FIG. 3 . The longitudinal edges  21  are inserted here in the receptacles  64  of the sliding blocks  60 , and the latter slides along the longitudinal edges  21 . 
   The effect achieved by the sliding blocks  60  following the longitudinal edges  21  is that the pair of belts  18  is then deflected to a similar extent as in  FIG. 3 , in which case, as there, the fingers  28  protrude from the belt  18 , so that a receiving pocket with the note  12  contained in it opens and the stack  16  of notes situated in the storage box  14  is pressed into the storage box by the protruding finger ( FIG. 4   d ). The depositing of the note takes place in the manner described in conjunction with  FIG. 3 . 
   Directly above the floor  15  of the storage box  14  the slots  19  merge into wider sections  23 . On reaching the wide section  23 , the sliding blocks  60  leave the guide formed by the longitudinal edges  21 , so that the belts  18  resume the stretched-out position. 
   A deflecting device having guide and sliding elements has the advantage that a small adjustment of the belt  18  and/or stripping plate  34  is sufficient in order to bring guide and sliding elements into engagement with one another and therefore to initiate the deflection. Use can therefore be made of relatively small adjusting devices  35 , which cause lower costs and require less space. In addition, the deflection can be optimized in respect of a reliable, organized depositing of the note  12  by the shaping of the stripping plate  34 . 
     FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b  show a further embodiment in which a stripping plate  34 ′ can be pivoted about an axis  42  in the direction of the pair of belts  18  until it projects into the path of a note moved by the belts. This situation is shown in  FIG. 5   a , in which the pair of belts  18  is not deflected. The stripping plate  34 ′ likewise has two parallel slots through which the pair of belts  18  in  FIG. 5   a  passes whereas the note  12  adheres to the stripping plate  34 ′. As a result, the note  12  is removed from the receiving pocket. The stripping plate  34 ′ can then be pivoted about the axis  42  in the direction of the stack  16 , as a result of which the note  12  which has been removed is placed onto the stack  16  ( FIG. 5   b ). 
   In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b , the adjustable stripping plate  34 ′ renders a deflecting device superfluous. However, a construction is also possible in which a pivotable stripping plate and a deflecting device are used in combination. 
   In particular, a pivotable stripping plate  34 ′ can advantageously be combined with a deflecting device having guide and sliding elements. Instead of, as in  FIG. 4   c , moving the belts  18  toward the stripping plate  34 , a pivotable stripping plate  34 ′ may, for example, be adjusted to such an extent in the direction of the pair of belts  18  that the sliding blocks  60  make contact with the upper edge of the stripping plate  34 ′ and in the process the longitudinal edges of their slots  19  are introduced into the receptacles  64  of the sliding blocks.