Patent Publication Number: US-6983881-B2

Title: Banknote receiver for ticket vendor

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a banknote receiving system for use in a ticket vending machine, money exchange machine, or the like and, more particularly to such a banknote receiver, which effectively prohibits people from pulling back inserted banknote. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
     FIG. 5  illustrates a prior art banknote receiver for use in a ticket vending machine, money exchange machine, or the like. According to this design, the banknote receiver comprises a housing C with a banknote insertion slot C 1 , a transmission mechanism E installed in the housing C and adapted to transfer inserted banknote away from the banknote insertion slot C 1  to a banknote passage C 2  and then a banknote storage cabinet (not shown), and a circuit board D installed in the housing C and adapted to detect the authenticity of inserted banknote. The housing C comprises a toothed safety plate F provided at the banknote passage C 2  and adapted to prohibit backward movement of inserted banknote. This design of banknote receiver is still not satisfactory in function. If inserted banknote is pulled backwards with a metal string or an external body, inserted banknote will be torn or damaged by the toothed safety plate. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention has been accomplished to provide a banknote receiver, which eliminates the aforesaid problem. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a banknote receiver, which effectively prohibits people from pulling inserted banknote backwards without causing damage to inserted banknote. It is another object of the present invention to provide a banknote receiver, which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture. According to one aspect of the present invention, the banknote receiver comprises a housing with a banknote insertion slot, a detector unit formed of an upper base and a lower base and mounted in the housing and adapted to scan the authenticity of banknote inserted into the banknote insertion slot, the detector unit defining an angled passage between the upper base and the lower base for guiding inserted banknote away from the banknote insertion slot to the banknote storage cabinet, and a banknote storage cabinet adapted to receive verified banknote, the banknote storage cabinet having a spring member suspending in the banknote inlet thereof and adapted to prohibit reverse movement of received banknote. According to another aspect of the present invention, the banknote storage cabinet has an elongated locating hole extended along the top side of the banknote inlet and adapted to accommodate the burglarproof spring member. The user can easily replace the burglarproof spring member when desired. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the burglarproof spring member can be made of resilient metal, plastics, or any of a variety of elastic materials. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a banknote storage cabinet for use in a banknote receiver according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a banknote receiver constructed according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is an assembly view of the banknote receiver according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the banknote receiver according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 4A  is an enlarged view of a part of  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 4B  is similar to  FIG. 4A  but showing the burglarproof hook turned to the active position and the pawls of the burglarproof spring member returned to their former shape. 
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view of a banknote receiver constructed according to the prior art. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIGS. from 1 through 4 , a banknote receiver in accordance with the present invention is shown comprised of a housing  1 , a banknote storage cabinet  2 , and a detector unit  3 . The housing  1  is adapted to accommodating the banknote storage cabinet  2  and the detector unit  3 , having a face panel  11  provided at the front side. The face panel  11  has an insertion slot  111  for entry of banknote. The detector unit  3  detects the authenticity of banknote inserted into the insertion slot  111 . A conveyer  4  and a banknote impression mechanism  5  are provided inside the housing  1 . The conveyer  4  comprises conveying belts  41 , wheel holders  42  provided in between the conveying belts  41 , and idle wheels  421  respectively pivoted to the wheel holders  42 . The conveyer  4  transfers inserted banknote from an angled passage  30  to the banknote storage cabinet  2 . The banknote impression mechanism  5  holds down transferred banknote for smooth delivery. 
   The detector unit  3  is comprised of an upper base  31  and a lower base  32 . The upper base  31  comprises two spring hooks  311  provided at the rear ends of the two opposite lateral sides thereof and respectively hooked in respective hook holes  121  in the two side panels  12  of the lower chamber  10  of the housing  1 . After installation in the housing  1 , the upper base  31  and the lower base  32  define the aforesaid angled passage  30  for the passing of inserted banknote. The lower base  32  comprises a pivoted burglarproof hook  321  and a sensor  322  respectively disposed adjacent to the angled passage  30 . The burglarproof hook  321  is controlled to stop banknote from reverse movement. The banknote storage cabinet  2  is fastened to the housing  1  remote from the face panel  11 , having an elongated banknote inlet  21 , an elongated locating hole  22  extended along the elongated banknote inlet  21 , and a burglarproof spring member  23  mounted in the locating hole  22  and adapted to prohibit reverse movement of received banknote. The burglarproof spring member  23  comprises an elongated base  231  fastened to the locating hole  22 , and curved pawls  232  suspended from the elongated base  231  and projecting into the angled passage  30  between the upper base  31  and the lower base  32  to let banknote pass in one direction to the inside of the elongated banknote inlet  21 . Because the burglarproof spring member  23  is mounted in the locating hole  22  outside the banknote storage cabinet  2 , the user can easily replace the burglarproof spring member  23  when desired. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 4 ,  4 A and  4 B, the detector unit  3  is mounted in the lower chamber  10  of the housing  1 . When the upper base  31  and the lower base  32  aligned in the lower chamber  10  of the housing  1 , the detector unit  3  scans the authenticity of banknote inserted into the insertion slot  111 . When the authenticity of inserted banknote verified, inserted banknote is delivered through the angled passage  30  to the banknote inlet  21  of the banknote storage cabinet  20  to force the curved pawls  232  of the burglarproof spring member  23  backwards, and therefore the curved pawls  232  are deformed to let banknote pass. When banknote passed into the banknote inlet  21  of the banknote storage cabinet  20 , the curved pawls  232  immediately return to their former shape to prohibit reverse movement of received banknote. Therefore, any body trying to pull back inserted banknote with a cord member, tape or metal string cannot succeed. 
   Further, because the passage  30  is a substantially L-shaped passage, the banknote transferring surface and the insertion slot  111  are not on the same plane. This special feature effectively achieves the desired burglarproof function. Further, the burglarproof spring member  23  can be made of metal, plastics, or any of a variety of suitable elastic materials. Because the component parts of the banknote receiver are simple, the manufacturing cost of the banknote receiver is low and, the assembly process of the banknote receiver is simple. 
   A prototype of banknote receiver has been constructed with the features of the annexed drawings of  FIGS. 1˜4 . The banknote receiver functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier. 
   Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.