Abstract:
Banknotes are placed for transportation purposes in cassettes comprising a container and a hinged lid, made secure by applying a seal composed of two parts that can be coupled non-releasably and are provided with latch elements appearing as curved teeth positioned to locate in the holes of lugs associated with the container and with the lid. The seals, loaded into a magazine with the two parts spread, are fed and applied to the cassettes by a unit comprising a clamp assembly with retaining pins designed to pick up the seals from an outlet of the magazine and transfer them to a gripper head presenting a pair of arms by which the two parts are taken up and restrained; the arms are mounted to respective pivots on the gripper head so that when the head is made to assume a final operating position adjacent to the lugs on the cassette, the arms can be rotated toward one another, causing the two parts of the seal to couple together with the curved teeth engaging the holes of the lugs, securing the cassette.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a unit for feeding and applying seals to security cassettes for banknotes.  
           [0002]    In particular, the invention finds application to advantage in machines by which banknotes are put into relative security cassettes, the art field to which explicit reference is made in the following specification albeit implying no limitation in general scope.  
           [0003]    It is well known that banks need to move notable amounts of paper money around on a daily basis, whether central banks by which new banknotes are issued, or trading banks through which the notes are circulated. To this end, banknotes are first sorted into groups and then put into bags or into security cassettes, as mentioned above, for the purposes of handling and transport.  
           [0004]    The cassettes are conventional in embodiment, consisting in a container and a lid hinged to the container, of which the lid can be secured in the closed position by a removable fastening mechanism that comprises a catch element associated with a portion of the lid, and a latch and clamp element operating in conjunction with a portion of the container.  
           [0005]    To ensure that the cassettes can be transported without the risk of their being broken open and to render them tamper-proof, the fastening mechanism incorporates two slots, which, when the mechanism is placed in the operating condition to close the cassette, will accommodate two lugs projecting respectively from the lid and from the container, affording respective through holes positioned to receive the teeth of a seal.  
           [0006]    The seal comprises two parts designed to couple together non-releasably, hinged one to another and maneuverable thus from a condition in which the seal is open to a closed condition in which the teeth are inserted into the through holes of the lugs, integral respectively with the lid and with the container, thereby securing the cassette.  
           [0007]    In prior art practice the steps of positioning and applying the seal are entirely manual, and this tends to slow down the operating cycle of machines by which the banknotes are put into the cassettes.  
           [0008]    The object of the present invention is to provide a unit for feeding and applying seals to security cassettes containing banknotes such as will render the operation of sealing the cassettes completely automatic.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The stated object is realized in a unit according to the present invention for feeding and applying seals to security cassettes for banknotes, wherein the cassette comprises a container and a lid, the seal is composed of at least two parts affording respective latch means designed to engage relative receiving means afforded both by the container and by the lid, and the parts of the seal are designed to couple together non-releasably and maneuverable from an open condition to a closed condition in which the cassette is secured through the agency of the latch means. The unit disclosed comprises feed means by which the seals are handled in the open condition, means by which the selfsame seals are gripped and positioned alongside the receiving means in an operating position, and means by which the two parts of the seal are coupled together in such a way as to produce the closed condition.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 shows a unit for feeding and applying seals to security cassettes for banknotes, embodied in accordance with the present invention, viewed schematically in perspective and in part as a block diagram, with certain parts omitted for clarity;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 shows the unit of FIG. 1 in a schematic plan view;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 shows the unit of FIG. 1 in the course of a different operating step;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIGS. 4 and 5 show a detail of FIG. 1 in two different operating steps, viewed schematically in a front elevation from the standpoint denoted A in FIG. 1, with certain parts omitted and others in section;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 shows the unit of FIG. 1 in a schematic side elevation from the standpoint denoted B;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 shows the unit of FIG. 1 in a schematic front elevation from the standpoint denoted C;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIGS. 8 and 9 are views taken from the same standpoint as in FIG. 7, showing the front of a cassette with the relative seal in two different operating positions;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIGS. 10 and 11 show the seal in perspective;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 12 shows a cassette furnished with the respective seal, viewed in perspective. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]    Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and  3  of the drawings,  1  denotes a unit, in its entirety, for feeding and applying seals  2  to security cassettes  3  containing banknotes.  
         [0021]    As illustrated in FIG. 12, in particular, the single cassette  3  is substantially parallelepiped in appearance, with a predominating longitudinal axis A, and comprises a container  4 , also a lid  5  associated pivotably with the container  4  by way of a hinge  6  disposed transversely to the axis A and coinciding with a rear face  7  of the cassette  3 .  
         [0022]    The lid  5  can be locked in the position which closes the container  4  through the agency of a removable fastening mechanism  8  associated with a front face  9  of the cassette  3  opposite to the rear face  7 .  
         [0023]    The fastening mechanism  8 , which is of familiar embodiment and illustrated in FIGS. 3, 6,  8 ,  9  and  12 , consists essentially in a plate  10  by which the lid  5  is retained in its closed position on the container  4 , affording two slots  11  arranged in such a way that when the cassette  3  is closed and the plate  10  in the retaining position, they will accommodate two lugs  12  integral respectively with the lid  5  and with the container  4 . The portions of the lugs  12  that project from the plate  10  afford respective through holes  13  with axes  13   a  disposed transversely to the longitudinal axis A of the cassette.  
         [0024]    As illustrated to advantage in FIGS. 10 and 11, the single seal  2  comprises two parts  14  and  15  consisting in respective flat box elements  16  and  17  connected one to another by way of a hinge  18 .  
         [0025]    Each box element  16  and  17  is compassed by a pair of larger side walls extending transversely to the hinge  18 , denoted  19  and  19   a  in the case of the one part  14  and denoted  20  and  20   a  in the case of the other part  15 . In particular, the walls denoted  19  and  20  lie substantially within one common plane, and the walls denoted  19   a  and  20   a  lie substantially within another common plane.  
         [0026]    In addition, one box element  16  presents a first pair of smaller side walls disposed parallel to the hinge  18 , constituting the internal flank face  21  and the external flank face  22  of the respective part  14 , whilst the other box element  17  presents a second pair of smaller side walls disposed parallel to the hinge  18 , likewise constituting the internal flank face  23  and the external flank face  24  of the respective part  15 , the internal flank faces  21  and  23  being the two faces that are drawn together when the seal  2  is closed.  
         [0027]    One internal flank face  23  presents a hook  25  positioned to snap non-releasably into a socket  26  afforded by the other flank face  21  and thus render the seal  2  unopenable, that is to say, the seal can be opened only by being broken. In addition, the external flank faces  22  and  24  present respective curved teeth  27  positioned near the hinge  18 , shown to advantage in the perspective view of FIG. 11, constituting latch means  28  which at the moment of closing the seal  2  are inserted into the respective through holes  13  of the two lugs  12 , these in turn constituting receiving means for the latch means  28  associated with the seal  2 .  
         [0028]    The unit  1  comprises a magazine  29  in which the seals  2  are loaded, with a frame  30  of turret type embodiment aligned, as illustrated advantageously in FIG. 6, on a respective longitudinal axis  31  inclined at a predetermined angle from the vertical and affording two stacking channels  32  occupied by the seals  2 , diametrically opposed relative to the axis  31  of the frame as illustrated in FIG. 2.  
         [0029]    The magazine  29  is equipped with drive means  33 , at the base, by which the two stacking channels  32  are set in rotation about the longitudinal axis  31  and placed cyclically with the respective outlet  34  aligned on a station  35  from which the seals  2  are dispensed. Also operating at this same dispensing station  35  are means  36  by which to pick up and transfer the seals  2 , and these together with the magazine  29  constitute feed means denoted  37  in their entirety.  
         [0030]    Referring to FIGS. 2 and 6, the drive means  33  of the magazine  29  comprise a gear wheel  38  coaxial with the longitudinal axis  31  of the frame  30 , and a pinion  39  keyed to the shaft  40  of a motor  41  rigidly associated with the selfsame frame  30 .  
         [0031]    As discernible in particular from FIGS. 1, 2 and  3 , the pickup and transfer means  36  comprise a clamp assembly  42  consisting in first and second jaws  43  and  44  carried by a pedestal  45  and capable of movement one relative to another. In particular, the first jaw  43  is mounted transversely to the end of an arm  45   a  on which the second jaw  44  is carried slidably, capable of movement relative to the first jaw  43  back and forth as indicated by the arrows denoted F, brought about by respective drive means of conventional embodiment, not illustrated. The pedestal  45  is mounted to a slide  46  set in motion by respective pneumatic means also of conventional embodiment, denoted schematically by a block  47 , moving on a pair of ways  48  carried by a frame  77  of the unit  1  and aligned along a predetermined longitudinal path P parallel to the direction of the arrows F.  
         [0032]    Accordingly, the clamp assembly  42  is capable of movement along the aforementioned path P, carried by the slide  46 , between the dispensing station  35 , at which the seals  2  are taken up singly from the magazine  29  by the jaws  43  and  44 , and a station at which the seal  2  is released ultimately to gripping and positioning means denoted  49  in their entirety.  
         [0033]    As indicated in FIGS.  1  to  5 , the first jaw  43  presents two pins  50  and the second jaw  44  presents two pins  51 . Observing FIGS. 4 and 5 it will be seen that the pins  50  and  51  are slidable along respective axes  52  parallel to the axis  31  of the magazine, set in motion by conventional actuator means denoted  53  in FIGS. 4 and 5.  
         [0034]    The pins  50  and  51  are reciprocated through the agency of the relative actuator means  53  between a retracted position, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, disposed substantially flush with the face of the clamp assembly  42  in a plane lying at right angles to the axis  31  of the magazine  29 , and an extended position proud of the selfsame plane, illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and  4 .  
         [0035]    The gripping and positioning means  49  comprise a gripper head  54  which in turn comprises a pair of arms  55  mounted by way of two first ends associated with a drive mechanism, described in due course, to respective pivots  56  carried by the free end of the head  54  and rotatable about respective axes  57 . The free end of each arm  55 , opposite to the first end, affords a seat  58  serving to receive one of the two parts  14  and  15  of the seal  2 . The single seat  58  presents a U profile and is created by the free end of the arm  55  in combination with an angle element denoted  59 . The free end of the arm  55  is equipped with a respective actuator  60 , indicated by phantom lines in FIG. 5, of which the relative plunger  61  is designed to penetrate the seat  58  and operate in conjunction with the angle element  59 , engaging and pinning the walls  19  and  20  of the box elements  16  and  17  presented by the respective parts  14  and  15  of the single seal  2 .  
         [0036]    As discernible from FIGS.  3  to  7 , the gripper head  54  is mounted to the free end of an arm  62 , coupled by its remaining end to a shaft  63  which is carried in a sleeve  78  secured to the frame  77  and can thus be made to rock about an axis  64  extending parallel to the ways  48  of the slide  46 , through the agency of a cylinder  65  of which the rod is connected to a lever  66  coupled to the end of the shaft  63  remote from the arm  62 . As illustrated to advantage in FIG. 6, the gripper head  54  is made by the cylinder  65  to alternate between a receiving position coinciding with the release position of the clamp assembly  42 , as illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and  5 , in which the seals  2  are taken up, and a final operating position illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, in which the gripper head  54  lies adjacent and parallel to the front face  9  of a cassette  3  and the latch means  28  of the seal  2  are offered to the receiving means of the fastening mechanism.  
         [0037]    As illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and  5 , the two pins  50  of the first jaw  43  and the two pins  51  of the second jaw  44  constitute locating elements that can be disposed, at the dispensing station  35  of the magazine  29 , in such a way that when extended from the plane occupied by the face of the clamp assembly  42 , and as the jaws  43  and  44  are drawn together along the direction of the arrows F, they will engage the opposite flank faces  21  and  22  of the first part  14  and the opposite flank faces  23  and  24  of the second part  15  of the seal  2 . More exactly, the clamp assembly  42  and the pins  50  and  51  together constitute first means  67  of gripping the seals  2 .  
         [0038]    Observing FIGS. 1, 2,  4 ,  5  and  7  in particular, the gripper head  54 , which together with the pair of arms  55  constitutes second gripping means  68 , is equipped with respective drive means  69  that serve to operate the arms  55 , these in turn constituting means  70  by which the two parts  14  and  15  of the seal  2  are coupled and providing the aforementioned drive mechanism associated with the arms  55 .  
         [0039]    The drive means  69  comprise a pair of gears  71  keyed to the pivots  56  of the respective arms  55  and engaged in meshing contact one with the other. In particular, as shown in FIG. 2, each gear  71  presents a circular toothed portion  71   a  and a flat portion  71   b  to which the aforementioned first end of the relative arm  55  is fixed, the two toothed portions  71   a  being in constant mesh.  
         [0040]    As discernible from FIGS. 1, 3,  4  and  5 , the drive means  69  further comprise a toothed sector  72  keyed to one of the two pivots  56  and thus rigidly associated with the relative gear  71 . The sector  72  engages in meshing contact with a rack  73  connected to an actuator  74 , indicated in FIGS. 2 and 7, by which the selfsame rack  73  can be reciprocated in the direction of the arrow denoted F 1  between two limit positions: a first in which the arms  55  are spread as illustrated in FIG. 1, in readiness to receive the seal  2 , and a second in which the two parts  14  and  15  of the seal  2  are brought together. On assuming the final operating position in which the single seal  2  is applied, the gripper head  54  lies adjacent to and parallel with the front face  9  of a cassette  3 , as illustrated by phantom lines in FIG. 6 and by solid lines in FIG. 7.  
         [0041]    In operation, departing from the situation of FIG. 2 in which the outlet  34  of one of the two stacking channels  32  is aligned on the dispensing station  35 , the clamp assembly  42  is translated by the slide  46  along the path P up to the selfsame station  35 , with the first and second jaws  43  and  44  spread and the respective pins  50  and  51  in the retracted position, below the plane occupied by the active face of the jaws  43  and  44 , as illustrated in FIG. 1.  
         [0042]    In this way the jaws  43  and  44  take up a position effectively breasted in contact with the downwardly directed walls  19   a  and  20   a  of the seal  2  occupying the outlet  34  of the magazine  29 .  
         [0043]    At this juncture the two pairs of pins  50  and  51  will be shifted to the extended position by the relative actuator means  53 , which are connected to a source of compressed air indicated schematically by a block  75  in FIG. 1, whilst the two jaws  43  and  44  draw together in such a manner as to direct the pins  50  and  51  against both the external flank faces  22  and  24  and the internal flank faces  21  and  23  presented by each part  14  and  15  of the seal  2 , with the result that the seal remains clamped.  
         [0044]    The slide  46  is now traversed along the ways  48  by the relative pneumatic means  47 , following the predetermined path P, to the point of drawing into alignment with the gripper head  54  and gathering the ends of the two parts  14  and  15  of the seal  2  in the seats  58  afforded by the free ends of the two arms  55 , currently in the spread position and ready to receive as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Once in this position, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the pins  50  and  51  will be distanced from the seal  2  and the plungers  61  made to extend by the relative actuators  60 , which are connected to a source of compressed air denoted schematically by a block  76  in FIG. 1, thus clamping the two parts  14  and  15  of the seal  2  against the angle elements  59 .  
         [0045]    Thereupon, the clamp assembly  42  returns to the dispensing station  35  while the gripper head  54  is rotated about the axis  64  of the shaft  63  by the cylinder  65  in such a way as to direct the head  54  against the front face  9  of the cassette  3 , with the result that the seal  2 , still held by the two arms  55 , is positioned in contact with the plate  10  of the fastening mechanism  8 .  
         [0046]    The rack  73  is now caused by the actuator  74  to shift in the direction denoted F 1 , and the toothed sector  72  with which it engages in mesh induces the pivot  56  and the corresponding gear  71  to rotate in the direction denoted F 2 , or clockwise as observed in FIG. 7, causing the other meshing gear  71  to rotate in the opposite direction denoted F 3 . This causes the free ends of the two arms  55  to rotate toward one another, and as a result of the arms  55  thus drawing together, the two parts  14  and  15  of the seal  2  are caused to rotate about the hinge  18 , the two internal flank faces  21  and  23  are brought together, the hook  25  locates in the socket  26  and the curved teeth  27  will locate simultaneously in the respective through holes  13  of the lugs  12 , as illustrated sequentially in FIGS. 8 and 9.  
         [0047]    Following the application of the seal  2  to the cassette  3 , the plungers  61  retract, releasing the respective parts  14  and  15  of the seal  2 , the two arms  55  resume the spread position and the gripper head  54  is rotated back to the position distanced from the face  9  of the cassette  3 , at the end of the aforementioned path P, in readiness to receive a further seal  2  from the clamp assembly  42 .