Patent Publication Number: US-7708192-B2

Title: Bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus and method of controlling the same

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus, which handles, for example, a bill or bills. 
   Conventionally, a bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus is mounted in an automated transaction machine used in financial institutions, and the like. The bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus comprises a cash slot for allowing a user to deposit/withdraw a bill or bills, a bill discriminator for discrimination of a bill, and a bill conveyance path, which passes the bill discriminator and conveys a bill or bills. Also, the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus comprises a combination of respective units, such as a temporary stocker for temporarily storing a deposited bill or bills, a deposit box for storing a deposited bill or bills, a withdrawal box, from which a bill or bills for withdrawal are fed, a recycle box for storing and feeding a bill or bills for deposits and withdrawals, a reject box for storing a bill or bills, which are not to be stored in the deposit box and the recycle box, and a bill or bills, which are not to be withdrawn, out of a bill or bills fed from the withdrawal box, and a load/collect box for feeding a bill or bills being supplied to the recycle box and storing a bill or bills collected from the recycle box. 
   Along with the popularization of automatic transaction machines, there is heightened a need of making such bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus small in size, inexpensive, and convenient in use while ensuring conventional functions and performances. 
   Also, along with increase in handling foreign bills in the country and in needs for bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus in the foreign countries, there are demanded for bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus capable of handling not only Japanese yen bills but also foreign bills. 
   Also, there are demanded bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus highly adapted to general purpose and capable of meeting various needs such as kinds of bills as handled, an arrangement of a cash slot related to an operation by a user, front and rear surface operations related to an operation by a person in charge, etc. 
   Various constructions have been proposed for, in particular, the cash slot of a bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus, which involves the above-mentioned needs. 
   For example, there is proposed a bill processing machine, in which a cash slot is arranged on a vertical surface on the front thereof and a storage unit is arranged so that a bill or bills are charged/discharged horizontally from the cash slot (see JP-A-10-181928). The storage unit of the bill processing machine is in the form of a drum capable of rotation and rotates to predetermined positions according to a feeding operation of a charged bill or bills and a stacking operation of a discharged bill or bills. Thereby, a cash slot (bill slot) in a horizontal direction is realized. 
   Also, there is proposed a bill processing device, in which a cash slot is arranged on a horizontal surface on the front of the device and a storage unit is arranged so that a bill or bills are charged/discharged vertically from the cash slot (see JP-A-9-208134). The storage unit of the bill processing device is constructed to enable rotation and rotates to predetermined positions in a feeding operation of a charged bill or bills and a stacking operation of a discharged bill or bills. Thereby, a cash slot (bill slot) in a vertical direction is realized. 
   Also, there is proposed a bill handling device, in which a bill storage unit in a cash slot is constructed to be capable of rotate, thus enabling accommodating to a money deposit position being either a substantially horizontal position or a substantially vertical position (see JP-A-2000-331214). Thereby, the bill handling device can be mounted on either an housing, in which a cash slot (bill slot) is arranged on a substantially vertical surface, or an housing, in which a cash slot is arranged on a substantially horizontal surface. 
   On the other hand, since these types of devices operate all day in an unmanned state in an automatic machine corner of a financial institution, a high reliability is demanded of cash depositing/withdrawing transaction by a user. For example, in a deposit transaction, a user charges a bill or bills, which are folded or torn, into a cash slot, in some cases. When fed into the device, such bill or bills are sometimes skewed much or torn to cause jam generated on a bill conveyance path according to a state of conveyance. 
   Further, with a device, which can also handle foreign bills, kinds of bills are not only increased as compared with Japanese yen bills but also bills are frequently and greatly different in size in longitudinal and transverse directions according to kinds of bills. Therefore, there is a possibility that a large number of bills charged into a cash slot are aligned very randomly. Also, in terms of situations of bill circulation in respective countries, some foreign bills are sometimes in a worse state than that of Japanese yen bills with respect to degree of fold and tear. 
   With the cash slot, which affords depositing/withdrawing of a bill or bills horizontally, as in the JP-A-10-181928 described above, however, ends of bills cannot be aligned due to gravity when bills are charged. Therefore, bills in an unevenly aligned state are frequently taken into the device, which sometimes causes jam in conveyance, and thus reduction in bill jam at the time of feeding presents an important problem. 
   Also, the cash slot, through which a bill or bills are permitted to be charged in a vertical direction, as in JP-A-9-208134 includes many portions positioned in dead spaces as seen from a user. Therefore, in some cases, a bill or bills, such foreign bill or bills, which are small in size, are left in the cash slot, so that a subsequent transaction is made impossible. In such case, handling of the device cannot help but be reserved, so that prevention of leaving a bill or bills is an important problem. 
   Also, with a pocket type cash slot, through which a bill or bills are permitted to be charged, as in JP-A-2000-331214, it is necessary for a user to enter a hand into the cash slot, in which a drive unit is present. Therefore, there is caused a problem that a user is psychologically afraid to insert a hand, and so it is an important task to make a user interface at the cash slot friendly to a user. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention has been thought of in view of the problems described above and has its object to provide a bill depositing/withdrawing device, in which it is possible to change a posture of a bill storage section at the time of money depositing/withdrawing and at the time of feeding and stacking and a user does not feel a fear when charging a bill or bills, or the like, and a method of controlling the bill depositing/withdrawing device, thus improving a user&#39;s degree of satisfaction. 
   A bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus having a cash slot to deposit a bill or bills and to withdraw a bill or bills according to the invention, comprises a bill storage section provided inwardly of the cash slot in the apparatus to store a bill or bills; and posture changing means that changes the bill storage section to a depositing/withdrawing posture in which a bill or bills are deposited and withdrawn by a user through the cash slot, and to a feeding/stacking posture in which a bill or bills are fed into and stacked in the apparatus, and wherein a bill or bills stored in the bill storage section are caused to project toward a user when the depositing/withdrawing posture is assumed. 
   Also, a method of controlling a bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus having a cash slot to deposit a bill or bills and to withdraw a bill or bills according to the invention, comprises the steps of in a deposit processing: permitting bill charging into a bill storage section in a depositing/withdrawing posture in which a bill or bills project outside the apparatus from the cash slot; moving the bill or bills inside the apparatus to take in the same; changing a posture of the bill storage section to a feeding/stacking posture in which the taken bill or bills are fed into and stacked in the apparatus; and feeding the bill or bills into the apparatus from the bill storage section in the feeding/stacking posture, and the steps of in a withdrawal processing: stacking a bill or bills present in the apparatus in the bill storage section in the feeding/stacking posture; changing a posture of the bill storage section from the feeding/stacking posture to the depositing/withdrawing posture; and having a bill or bills projecting outside the apparatus from the cash slot to permit the bill or bills to be taken out. 
   According to the invention, it is possible to provide a bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus, which can change a posture of a bill storage section at the time of depositing/withdrawing and at the time of feeding/stacking and prevents a user from feeling a fear when charging a bill or bills, and a method of controlling the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus, thus enabling improving a user&#39;s degree of satisfaction. 
   Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an appearance of an automated transaction machine; 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating control relationship in the automated transaction machine; 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating control relationship in a bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus; 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic view of construction of a bill conveyance path; 
       FIG. 5  is a side view of a cash slot mechanism at the time of feeding/stacking; 
       FIG. 6  is a side view of the cash slot mechanism at the time of depositing/withdrawing; 
       FIG. 7  is a side view of the cash slot mechanism at the time of depositing; 
       FIG. 8  is a side view of the cash slot mechanism at the time of feeding; 
       FIG. 9  is a side view of the cash slot mechanism at the time of stacking; 
       FIG. 10  is a side view of the cash slot mechanism at the time of discharging; 
       FIG. 11  is a side view of the cash slot mechanism at the time of discharging; 
       FIG. 12  is a side view showing the cash slot mechanism at the time of discharging; 
       FIG. 13  is a side view of the cash slot mechanism at the time of recovery of a bill or bills as left; 
       FIG. 14  is a plan view of a front plate of the cash slot mechanism; 
       FIG. 15  is a flowchart at the time of selection of transaction; 
       FIG. 16  is a flowchart of deposit transaction; 
       FIG. 17  is a flowchart of withdrawal transaction; 
       FIG. 18  is a flowchart of recovery of a bill or bills as left; 
       FIG. 19  is a side view of a cash slot mechanism according to another embodiment of the invention; and 
       FIG. 20  is a side view of a cash slot mechanism according to another embodiment. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   An embodiment of the invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the drawings. 
     FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an appearance of an automated transaction machine  101 . 
   The automated transaction machine  101  comprises a housing  101   b . A customer operating unit  105  is provided in an upper portion of the housing  101   b  and a card/detailed slip processing mechanism  102  is provided on the left. The customer operating unit  105  displays and inputs contents of transaction. The card/detailed slip processing mechanism  102  is communicated with a card slot  102   a  provided on an upper, front plate  101   a  to process a transaction card of a customer to print a detailed slip of transaction to discharge the same. 
   The upper, front plate  101   a  of the automated transaction machine  101 A is provided with a cash slot (bill slot)  21 . A bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  for processing bills is provided in the automated transaction machine  101 . 
   A bill storage section disposed below the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  is enclosed by a cashbox housing  106 , which is separate from the housing  101   b  and formed from an iron sheet having a thickness of several tens mm. While the housing  101   b  is also of a rigid housing structure, the cashbox housing  106  is further rigid in structure to increase security. The automated transaction machine  101  can process such transaction as depositing/withdrawing, transfer, etc. by a user with cards, bills, and detailed slips as media. 
     FIG. 2  is a control block diagram showing control relationship in the automated transaction machine  101 . 
   The card/detailed slip processing mechanism  102 , the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1 , and the customer operating unit  105 , which are accommodated in the automated transaction machine  101 , are connected to a body control unit  107  via a bus  107   a  to perform necessary actions under the control of the body control unit  107 . The body control unit  107  is also connected to an interface unit  107   b , an operator operating unit  107   c , and an external storage device  107   d  as well as the elements described above via the bus  107   a  to give and take data as required, details of which are omitted because of not being directly related to a feature of the invention. In addition, the reference numeral  101   a  shown in  FIG. 2  denotes an electric power source, which supplies electric power to the respective mechanisms and constituents described above. 
     FIG. 3  is a control block diagram showing control relationship mainly in the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1 . 
   A control unit  35  provided in the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  is connected to the body control unit  107  of the machine through the bus  107   a , and controls the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  in accordance with a command from the body control unit  107  and detection of a state of the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1 , and transmits a state of the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  to the body control unit  107  at need. The control unit is connected to drive motors, electromagnetic solenoids, and sensors for respective units (a cash slot mechanism  20  as a bill storage section, a bill discriminator  30 , a temporary stocker  40 , a bill conveyance path  50 , a deposit box  60 , a retract box  61 , a non-genuine bill storing box  62 , a reject box  63 , a withdrawal box  70 , a recycle box  80 , a load/collect box  81 ), and drives and controls actuators according to a transaction while monitoring a state thereof by means of sensors. 
     FIG. 4  is a view of the construction of the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1 . 
   The bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  comprises the cash slot mechanism  20 , through which a user put-in/takes-out a bill or bills, the bill discriminator  30  for discrimination of a bill, the temporary stocker  40  for temporarily storing a bill or bills as put-in until the transaction is approved, one deposit box  60  for storing a bill or bills, for which transaction is approved, one retract box  61  for recovery of a bill or bills left by a user at the time of deposit and/or at the time of withdrawal, one non-genuine bill storing box  62  for storing a bill or bills as discriminated to be non-genuine, one reject box  63  for storing a bill or bills, which are inappropriate for withdrawal, one withdrawal box  70  for storing a bill or bills for withdrawal, two recycle boxes  80  serving as deposit and withdrawal, the load/collect box  81  for storing a bill or bills supplied to the recycle boxes  80  and a bill or bills recovered from the recycle boxes, the bill conveyance path  50 , through which a bill or bills are conveyed via the bill discriminator  30  to the cash slot mechanism  20 , the temporary stocker  40 , the deposit box  60 , the retract box  61 , the non-genuine bill storing box  62 , the reject box  63 , the withdrawal box  70 , the recycle boxes  80  and the load/collect box  81 , and a control unit (not shown). 
   Also, the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  is composed of an upper conveyance mechanism  1   a , which comprises the cash slot mechanism  20 , the bill discriminator  30 , the temporary stocker  40 , the retract box  61 , the non-genuine bill storing box  62 , the load/collect box  81  and the bill conveyance path  50 , and a lower conveyance mechanism  1   b , which comprises the deposit box  60 , the reject box  63 , the withdrawal box  70 , the recycle boxes  80 , and a conveyance path  90  arranged on upper surfaces of the respective storage boxes to enable opening and closing. Further, the lower conveyance mechanism  1   b  is mounted in the cashbox housing  106 , which is formed from an iron sheet having a thickness of about 50 mm, and a conveyance path between the upper conveyance mechanism  1   a  and the lower conveyance mechanism  1   b  is interconnected by connecting conveyance paths  501   h ,  501   i.    
   The connecting conveyance path  501   h  is provided in a position to be connected to a conveyance path  501   g  of the upper conveyance mechanism  1   a  on the upper surface of the cashbox housing  106 , which encloses the lower conveyance mechanism  1   b , and the connecting conveyance path  501   i  is provided in a position to be connected to a conveyance path  901   a  of the lower conveyance mechanism  1   b , and the connecting conveyance path  501   h  and the connecting conveyance path  501   i  are provided in a position to be connected to each other. A slit formed on the upper surface iron sheet of the cashbox housing  106  has a length for passage of a bill and a width corresponding to a width of rollers mounted so as to interpose a bill conveyed to the slit to discharge the same. In case of adopting a construction, in which the lower conveyance mechanism  1   b  is not enclosed by the cashbox housing  106 , the slit is not necessarily needed provided that the upper conveyance mechanism  1   a  is placed directly on the lower conveyance mechanism  1   b . While drive sources (motors) for the conveyance paths may be provided separately for the conveyance path of the upper conveyance mechanism  1   a  and for the conveyance path of the lower conveyance mechanism  1   b , a single drive source may be used to transmit a driving force with gears provided among the conveyance paths  501   g - 501   h - 501   i - 901   a.    
   Also, the bill conveyance path  50  passes through the bill discriminator  30  in dual directions to connect the cash slot mechanism  20 , the temporary stocker  40 , the deposit box  60 , the retract box  61 , the non-genuine bill storing box  62 , the reject box  63 , the withdrawal box  70 , the recycle boxes  80  and the load/collect box  81  via the conveyance paths indicated by arrows  501   a  to  501   q  and  901   a  to  901   e . One-direction arrows out of the respective arrows denote one-direction bill conveyance paths, through which a bill or bills are conveyed in directions of associated arrows, and dual-direction arrows denote dual-direction conveyance paths, through which a bill or bills are switched over to either of associated dual directions every action of transaction. 
   The bill conveyance path  50  is driven by drive motors (not shown) to switch a direction of rotation of an associated motor every action of transaction. Further, switchover gates  502 ,  503 ,  504 ,  505 ,  506 ,  507  and five switchover gates  902  are provided at branch points of the bill conveyance path  50  to switch bill conveyance directions as indicated by characters a, b every action of transaction. 
   The bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  constructed in the manner described above permits actions of deposit and withdrawal by a user, load/collect actions by a person in charge, and an action of automatic recovery of a bill or bills left by a user. 
   In an operation of deposit, the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  separates bills put into the cash slot mechanism  20  one by one, and a kind of and truth or falsehood of a bill is discriminated in the bill discriminator  30 . When discrimination is enabled, the switchover gate  503  is switched over to a position  503   a  and a bill is once stored in the temporary stocker  40 . When discrimination is not enabled in the bill discriminator  30  and when inclination is abnormal and an interval between bills is abnormal, an associated bill is not taken as a bill, deposit of which is rejected, into the temporary stocker  40  but is stored in the cash slot mechanism  20  with the switchover gate  503  switched over to another position  503   b  and returned to a user. 
   When transaction is settled, the bill or bills stored in the temporary stocker  40  are forwarded in a reverse order to that at the time of storage and caused to pass the bill discriminator  30  to be stored in an appointed storage box in a state, in which the switchover gate  502  is switched over to a direction indicated by  502   b  and the switchover gate  903  for one of the deposit box  60 , the recycle boxes  80  and the reject box  63  is switched over to a direction indicated by  903   b , thus terminating an action of deposit. 
   At the time of withdrawal transaction, the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  discharges a predetermined number of bills from respective ones of the withdrawal boxes  70  and the recycle boxes  80  every kind of bill and causes the bill discriminator  30  to discriminate a kind of each bill to branch the bills at the switchover gate  503  to store the same in the cash slot mechanism  20  to pay the same to a user. At the time of the withdrawal, it is possible to bring about a state, in which a bill or bills project toward a user from the upper, front plate  101   a  of the automated transaction machine  101  as described later. 
   Also, the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  enables loading and collecting actions between the load/collect box  81  and the recycle boxes  80  via the bill discriminator  30 . The loading action is one, in which a bill or bills being desired to be set every kind are not individually set in the recycle boxes  80  but are set in a lump in the load/collect box  81  by a person in charge and automatically stored in the recycle boxes  80  within the apparatus. The recovering action is one, in which a person in charge does not individually draw out a bill or bills from the respective recycle boxes when the recycle boxes  80  become full, or the like but a predetermined number of bills are automatically collected and stored in the load/collect box  81  from the recycle boxes  80 . The collecting action is one, in which a bill or bills are moved in a reverse route to that in the loading action and so details thereof are omitted. 
   Also, in the case where a user leaves a bill or bills in the cash slot mechanism  20  at the time of deposit transaction and/or at the time of withdrawal transaction, the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  enables automatically collecting the bill or bills as left. The left bill collecting action is one, in which a bill or bills left in the cash slot mechanism  20  are stored in a lump in the retract box  61 . 
   Subsequently, the construction of the cash slot mechanism  20 , which constitutes a main part of the invention, will be described with reference to a configuration of the cash slot mechanism  20  shown in  FIGS. 5 to 14 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 5 , the cash slot mechanism  20  is provided inside the cash slot  21  on the upper, front plate  101   a  provided obliquely on an upper portion of the automated transaction machine  101 . The cash slot  21  is provided with an opening  20   a . The cash slot mechanism  20  is constructed so that a user can charge or take a bill or bills through the opening  20   a  in a depositing/withdrawing direction  202 . A housing shutter  201  is provided on the opening  20   a  to slide in an opening and closing direction  217  perpendicular to the depositing/withdrawing direction  202  to provide for opening and closing. 
   In addition, the housing shutter  201  serves to prevent rain, dust, foreign matters, etc. from entering the machine but is dispensed with in the case where the machine is mounted indoor to be hard to be subjected to environmental influences. Also, when the machine is mounted in a location, which is considerably liable to be subjected to external, environmental influences, a double shutter structure will do, in which shutters are provided respectively on the housing  101   b  of the automated transaction machine  101  and the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 5 , with the cash slot mechanism  20 , a front plate  204  arranged toward a user to constitute the front of the automated transaction machine  101  when being in the feeding/stacking posture (the posture, in which bills  210  in a storage space A are inclined at around 75°±10° to the horizontal), a rear plate (moving plate)  205  arranged on an opposite side to the user, and an intermediate plate  203  arranged between the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  are arranged in parallel to one another, and a bill hopper  216  is provided to constitute a bottom plate perpendicular to these plates. A space surrounded by these plates forms the storage space A for bills  210 . The front plate  204 , the rear plate  205  and the intermediate plate  203  are controlled by a drive motor (not shown) in moving in a mutually approaching direction and in a mutually distant direction (referred below to as direction of interposing movement). Also, a length of the front plate  204  from a base thereof (a side, on which the front plate abuts against the bill hopper  216 ) to a tip end thereof and a length of the rear plate  205  from a base thereof (a side, on which the rear plate abuts against the bill hopper  216 ) to a tip end thereof are substantially the same as each other, and a length of the intermediate plate  203  from a base thereof (a side, on which the intermediate plate abuts against the bill hopper  216 ) to a tip end thereof is half the former length. In addition, a length of the intermediate plate  203  is not limited to this but may be set to an appropriate length. 
   Further, as shown in  FIG. 5 , a separation mechanism composed of a feed roller  206  and a gate roller  207 , which serve as bill feeding means, is arranged below the storage space A toward a user. Therefore, a bill  210  charged into the storage space A is fed into the apparatus owing to a rotary action of the feed roller  206 , and the gate roller  207 , which does not rotate in a direction of discharge, prevents two bills from being fed at a time. Thus, the bills  210  in the cash slot mechanism  20  are fed in a direction indicated by an arrow  208  to merge into a main bill conveyance path  501  ( FIG. 4 ) via a deposit unit conveyance path  251   a  to be taken into the apparatus. In addition, the feed roller  206  comprises a plurality of rollers having a considerably smaller width than that of the front plate  204  and arranged so as to partially project into the storage space A from slits of the front plate  204 , which are provided in a comb-shaped manner. 
   Also, a cash slot mechanism rotating motor  222  serving as posture changing means rotates the cash slot mechanism  20  to a position, in which respective tip ends of the rear plate  205  and the front plate  204  approach upper and lower ends of the opening  20   a , with a center of rotation of the feed roller  206  as a point of rotation as shown in  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  shows a state, in which the depositing/withdrawing posture (the posture, in which the bills  210  in the storage space A are inclined at around 25°±10° to the horizontal) is assumed upon rotation, and in this state, the opening  20   a  and the storage space A are communicated to each other. Accordingly, it is possible to discharge a bill or bills in the storage space A to a user and to allow a user to charge a bill or bills into the storage space A. Here, bills are inclined at around 25°±10° to the horizontal in the depositing/withdrawing posture whereby bills are heightened in visibility for a user and bills as charged are heightened in quality of alignment. 
   A bill discharge mechanism discharges a bill or bills to a user. The bill discharge mechanism comprises a bundle conveyance mechanism (clamping means), which conveys bills in a bundle, and a pressure applying mechanism, which applies pressure to bills appropriately according to the number of bills. 
   The bundle conveyance mechanism comprises upper rollers  291  and lower rollers  292 , which serve as drive rollers, and a drive unit (not shown). The upper rollers  291  are arranged in a manner to overlap the rear plate  205 , slidingly move independently of the rear plate  205  relative to the cash slot mechanism  20  in the same direction as a clamping movement direction of the rear plate  205 , and rotate in any position, to which the upper rollers slidingly moved. The lower rollers  292  are arranged in a manner to overlap the front plate  204 , are fixed to the cash slot mechanism  20  and rotate at there. 
   The pressure applying mechanism comprises the upper rollers  291  and the lower rollers  292 , which constitute the bundle conveyance mechanism, the front plate  204 , the rear plate  205 , and a drive unit (not shown). 
   When a bill or bills are to be discharged to a user, the drive unit (not shown) of the pressure applying mechanism moves the upper rollers  291  in the clamping movement direction to shift the same to a position, in which the upper rollers push down a surface of a bill, that is, a position indicated by  291   a  in  FIG. 6 . Thereby, the upper rollers  291  and the lower rollers  292  opposed to the upper rollers  291  clamps bills to apply pressure to the same appropriately according to the number of bills. In a state, in which pressure is applied on the bills in this manner, the upper rollers  291  and the lower rollers  292  are rotated by the drive unit (not shown) of the bundle conveyance mechanism to convey bills in bundle toward a user. At this time, bills are fed so that tip ends of a bundle of the bills project toward a user beyond the upper, front plate  101   a.    
   That is, the cash slot mechanism  20  permits a user to operate at a rotating angle of the depositing/withdrawing posture shown in  FIG. 6 , and discharges bills in the storage space A into the apparatus in the feeding/stacking posture shown in  FIG. 7  and performs operation to stack bills in the storage space A from within the apparatus. An explanation will be given according to transaction of deposit, withdrawal, and retract with reference to  FIGS. 7 to 13 . 
   At the time of deposit transaction, when a user charges a bill or bills as shown in  FIG. 7 , the housing shutter  201  is moved to a position  201   a  in a direction of an arrow  217   a  to provide for full opening so that bills  210  are charged between the front plate  204  and the intermediate plate  203  (the intermediate plate  203  is close to the rear plate  205 ), which are supported in the bill hopper  216 . At this time, the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  are caused to project toward a user beyond the upper, front plate  101   a  and moved to positions indicated by  204   b  and  205   b  in the drawing in a direction of projection in parallel to a depositing/withdrawing direction  202 . 
   In addition, a support plate  209  serving as a stopper is preferably provided around an intermediate position between a bottom of the bill hopper  216  and tip ends of the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205 . The support plate  209  can bear end surfaces of bills as charged. Preferably, the support plate  209  is structured to slidingly move as indicated by  209   a  in  FIG. 7  in the clamping movement direction or to slidingly move in the depositing/withdrawing direction  202  (see  FIG. 5 ). 
   Thereby, it is possible to bear end surfaces of bills when bills are charged and to retreat the support plate  209  on other occasions. In particular, the support plate  209  bears end surfaces of bills when the bills are charged whereby a user does not need to insert a hand to within the apparatus but can charge bills outside the apparatus. 
   Also, with a construction, in which sliding movement is made in the depositing/withdrawing direction  202 , the support plate  209  can push out bills in the depositing/withdrawing direction  202  when the bills are to be fed. Preferably, the support plate  209  is mounted not to the cash slot mechanism  20  but to the housing of the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1 , or a non-moving part except the cash slot mechanism  20  of the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1 . Thereby, it is possible to make use of the support plate  209  independently of the rotating action of the cash slot mechanism  20 , thus enabling making the apparatus simple in construction. 
   When bills are charged as shown in  FIG. 7 , the rear plate  205 , the intermediate plate  203  and the upper rollers  291  are moved to positions  205   a ,  203   a ,  291   a  shown in the drawing, in which they abut against a surface of bills, in the clamping direction indicated by an arrow  218   a  to clamp the bills, and the support plate  209  is moved to a position  209   a  shown in the drawing and outside the cash slot mechanism to rotate the upper rollers  291  and the lower rollers  292 , respectively, in directions (opposite directions to directions of projection) of taking-in indicated by  219   a ,  219   b . Also, the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  are slidingly moved in the directions of taking-in to be stored in the apparatus. 
   In addition, a charging detection sensor  224  ( FIG. 7 ) may be provided in the vicinity of the support plate  209  in the storage space A so that operation, in which the rear plate  205 , the intermediate plate  203  and the upper rollers  291  are moved in the clamping direction, is performed after the charging detection sensor  224  detects charging of a bill or bills. In this case, since the clamping operation can be performed after it is confirmed that a bill or bills are surely charged to a position of the support plate  209 , it is possible to prevent jam in conveyance from being caused due to incomplete charging and the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  from becoming down correspondingly. 
   Also, when clamping a bill or bills, pulse counts of motors (excess charging detection means) for moving the rear plate  205 , the intermediate plate  203 , the upper rollers  291 , etc. may be acquired and when the pulse counts are less than a reference value, bills may be determined to be packed excessively and an error message may be displayed on the customer operating unit  105  to provide for returning bills. Thereby, it is possible to prevent jam in conveyance from being caused due to excessive packing of bills. 
   Subsequently, as shown in  FIG. 8 , at the time of feeding operation of the charged bill or bills, the housing shutter  201  is moved in a direction of an arrow  217   b  to provide for closing. Here, an inlet sensor  223  (see  FIG. 13 ) functioning as a hand detection sensor for detecting a user&#39;s hand may be provided so that the housing shutter  201  is closed after it is confirmed that a user separates a hand from the bill or bills. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the housing shutter  201  from being closed in a state, in which a user&#39;s hand is present. Also, in order to urge a user to separate a hand from a bill or bills, an operation, in which the bundle conveyance mechanism takes in a bill or bills a little in a direction of retreat to stop, may be repeated after the rear plate  205 , the intermediate plate  203  and the upper rollers  291  are moved in the clamping direction to clamp a bill or bills, whereby a bill or bills are intermittently taken in. At this time, the bundle conveyance mechanism functions as an intermittent moving means. Thereby, a user enables use in a psychological sense of security without being given a fear that a bill or bills are suddenly taken in and a hand carrying the bill or bills is pulled into the apparatus. 
   After the cash slot mechanism  20  is turned and moved at an angle of the feeding/stacking posture shown in  FIG. 8 , the intermediate plate  203  is moved toward the feed roller  206  to push a bill or bills to turn the front plate  204   a  a little so that a base side of the front plate  204   a  is moved toward the feed roller  206 . Also, the lower rollers  292  are moved so that the lower rollers  292  are positioned as a whole on a side over the surface of the front plate  204  as viewed from a bill or bills. Thereby, the intermediate plate  203   a  can push a bill or bills toward the feed roller  206 , the rotating action of the feed roller  206  feeds the bill or bills, and the gate roller  207 , which does not rotate in the feeding direction, prevents two bills from being fed at a time. Thus, a bill  210  in the cash slot mechanism  20  is fed in the direction indicated by an arrow  208  to merge into the bill conveyance path  50  to be taken into the apparatus. 
   Also, the rear plate  205  is retreated to the position  205   a  and a bill or bills, which the bill discriminator  30  cannot discriminate at the time of deposit operation, and a bill or bills, of which deposit is rejected due to inclination and an abnormal interval between bills, are conveyed from within the apparatus to be collected between the rear plate  205   a  and the intermediate plate  203   a . The bill or bills, of which deposit is rejected, are clamped between the rear plate  205  and the front plate  204  in the same manner as at the time of charging, the cash slot mechanism  20  is turned to the depositing/withdrawing posture, and the upper rollers  291  and the lower rollers  292 , respectively, shown in  FIG. 7  are rotated in reverse directions to directions of the arrows  219   a ,  219   b  to return the bill or bills in a bundle to a user. At this time, the rear plate  205  and the front plate  204  may be pushed outside the upper, front plate  101   a  through the cash slot  21  in the same manner as a bill or bills. As shown in a plan view of  FIG. 14 , the front plate  204  is formed centrally of a tip end thereof with a recess  199  as viewed from above, the recess  199  enabling a user to grasp a bill or bills directly. Also, the rear plate  205  and the front plate  204  clamp a returning bill or bills from above and under whereby a user is liable to pull out the bill or bills. 
   As shown in  FIG. 9 , at the time of money withdrawal transaction, a bill or bills being paid are conveyed in a direction of an arrow  501   l  (see  FIGS. 4 and 9 ) to pass between guides (not shown) while being exerted by a force of frictional resistance and stacked in a space between the intermediate plate  203   a  and the rear plate  205   a.    
   Subsequently, as shown in  FIG. 10 , a drive unit (not shown) moves the intermediate plate  203  and the rear plate  205 , respectively, to the positions  203   a ,  205   a  shown in  FIG. 9  to cause the intermediate plate  203   a , the front plate  204 , and the rear plate  205   a  to clamp a bill or bills stored in the cash slot mechanism  20 . After the bill or bills are clamped, the cash slot mechanism  20  is turned and moved to the money depositing/withdrawing posture as shown in  FIG. 11 . 
   After the cash slot mechanism  20  is turned, the drive unit (not shown) of the pressure applying mechanism moves the upper rollers  291  to a position, in which a bill or bills are pushed down, that is, the position  291   a  shown in  FIG. 12  to cause the lower rollers  292  and the upper rollers  291   a  to clamp the bill or bills. In addition, the upper rollers  291  may be moved to clamp a bill or bills before the cash slot mechanism is turned and moved. 
   After the bill or bills are clamped, the housing shutter  201  is moved in the direction of the arrow  217   a  as shown in  FIG. 12  to open the shutter. After the shutter is opened, the drive unit (not shown) of the bundle conveyance mechanism rotates the upper rollers  291   a  and the lower rollers  292  to discharge the bill or bills to a user through the cash slot  21 . At this time, the bill or bills are conveyed to a position, in which the bill or bills project toward a user from the upper, front plate  101   a.    
   Also, the rear plate  205  and the front plate  204  are moved toward a user from the upper, front plate  101   a , that is, to the positions  204   b ,  205   b  shown in  FIG. 12  through the cash slot  21 . Thereby, a user can take out a bill or bills easily without looking into the cash slot  21 . 
   Also, after the rear plate  205  and the front plate  204  are caused to project, the support plate  209  supports an end of a bill or ends of bills inside the apparatus as shown in  FIG. 7 . Thereby, a bill or bills are prevented from being erroneously pushed deep into the storage space A. Also, since a user cannot pull out a bill or bills while the bill or bills are pushed by the rear plate  205  and the front plate  204 , the support plate  209  supports the bill or bills and then the rear plate  205  is moved upward to release the push. While the rollers are not moved but remain in the position of clamping, excitation of the drive unit (not shown) is cancelled. Thereby, a bill or bills are clamped with an appropriate force whereby a user is made liable to pull out the bill or bills. 
   Further, after the inlet sensor  223  functioning as a pulling-out detection sensor detects that a user has pulled out the bill or bills, the rear plate  205  is moved to the position  205   a  to enlarge a space in the cash slot mechanism  20  to facilitate visual confirmation by a user even if conveyance in a bundle is not successfully made and a bill or bills, conveyance of which fails, remain in the cash slot. 
   In addition, a discharge position, to which a bill or bills are fed, may be fixed irrespective of sizes of a bill or bills as fed, or may be regulated according to a length or lengths of a bill or bills measured by a sensor, which is provided in the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus to measure a length of a bill. Also, the discharge position may be regulated according to results of discrimination by the bill discriminator  30  at the time of money withdrawal. 
   If a user leaves a bill or bills at the time of money deposit or at the time of money withdrawal, the bill or bills as left are automatically recovered. At the time of recovery of a left bill or bills, in the case where a left bill or bills remain on the inlet sensor  223  as shown in  FIG. 13 , the upper rollers  291  are moved from the position  291   a  to a position on a bill surface  291   b  to clamp the bill or bills between it and the lower rollers  292 , and the upper rollers  291  and the lower rollers  292  are rotated in reverse directions to directions at the time of discharge to store the bill or bills in the cash slot mechanism  20 . After it is confirmed that any bill does not remain on the inlet sensor  223 , the housing shutter  201  is moved in the direction of the arrow  217   b  and the shutter is closed. Also, a sensor (not shown) in the cash slot mechanism can readily detect a bill or bills possibly remaining on other parts. 
   After the housing shutter  201  is closed, the cash slot mechanism  20  is turned and moved from a position for the money depositing/withdrawing posture shown in  FIG. 11  to a position for the feeding/stacking posture shown in  FIG. 13 . After the cash slot mechanism is turned and moved, a bill is fed by the rotating action of the feed roller  206  in the same manner as at the time of money deposit transaction and the gate roller  207 , which does not rotate in the direction of discharge, prevents two bills from being fed at a time. Thus, a bill or bills  210  in the cash slot mechanism  20  are fed in the direction of the arrow  208  to merge into the bill conveyance path  50  to be taken into the apparatus to be stored in the retract box  61 . 
   Subsequently, details of operation of the cash slot mechanism  20  in the money depositing/withdrawing transaction and in recovery of a bill or bills as left in the automated transaction machine will be described in order according to control flowcharts in  FIGS. 15 to 18 . 
     FIG. 15  shows a flowchart when a user begins transaction and selects transaction. 
   The automated transaction machine  101  permits the customer operating unit  105  to display contents of transaction by way of guidance display (STEP S 101 ). 
   When a user selects transaction (STEP S 102 ), the automated transaction machine  101  carries out a money deposit transaction when a money deposit transaction is selected (STEP S 103 ) and carries out a money withdrawal transaction when a money withdrawal transaction is selected (STEP S 104 ). 
     FIG. 16  shows a flowchart for the money deposit transaction and  FIG. 17  shows a flowchart for the money withdrawal transaction. Processing in thick frames in  FIGS. 16 and 17  are ones accompanied by moving action of the cash slot mechanism  20 .  FIG. 18  shows a flowchart for recovering or retracting a bill or bills as left. 
   As shown in  FIG. 16 , the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  for carrying out money deposit transaction displays guidance to show a limit of the number of received bills, etc. on the customer operating unit  105  (STEP S 1 ). Subsequently, after the cash slot mechanism  20  is moved to the money depositing/withdrawing posture as shown in  FIG. 6 , a shutter opening processing is performed to open the housing shutter  201  (STEP S 2 ), and a money deposit preparing processing is performed to cause the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  to project toward a user through the opening  20   a  from the upper, front plate  101   a  (STEP S 3 ) as shown in  FIG. 7 . The procedure is standby until a bill or bills being received are set in the cash slot mechanism  20  (STEP S 4 ). 
   When a bill or bills are charged into the cash slot mechanism  20 , the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  are taken inside the opening  20   a  (STEP S 5 ) and the housing shutter  201  is closed in the shutter closing processing (STEP S 6 ). 
   In a received money counting processing, in which a bill or bills as received are counted, the cash slot mechanism  20  is moved to the feeding/stacking posture shown in  FIG. 8  to perform actions of feeding and separating a bill or bills as received (STEP S 7 ). 
   In the STEP S 7 , a bill or bills charged into the cash slot mechanism  20  are separated one by one and conveyed to the bill discriminator  30  to be subjected to discrimination of truth or falsehood of a bill, and a bill or bills, which are discriminated in the bill discriminator  30  to afford deposit, are once stored in the temporary stocker  40 . 
   At this time, except a normal action, in which a bill or bills as received are all discriminated to afford deposit and are once stored in the temporary stocker  40 , there are a case where discrimination is not possible in the bill discriminator  30  or inclination and an abnormal interval between bills causes rejection of deposit, and a bill or bills, deposit of which is rejected, are stored in the cash slot mechanism  20 , and a case where detection of an abnormal bill or bills in separation of a bill or bills as received leads to abnormal stoppage in the course of counting of a bill or bills as received while a bill or bills as received are left in the cash slot mechanism  20 . 
   When abnormal stoppage is caused in the course of counting of a bill or bills as received, presence of rejection of money deposit is discriminated and when rejection of money deposit is present (STEP S 14 : Y), a guidance is displayed (STEP S 19 ) and a bill or bills, deposit of which is rejected, and an abnormal bill or bills are returned from the cash slot mechanism  20  (STEP S 20 ). At this time, the cash slot mechanism  20  is changed to the money depositing/withdrawing posture from the feeding/stacking posture under a state, in which a bill or bills, deposit of which is rejected, and an abnormal bill or bills are stored in the storage space A of the cash slot mechanism  20 . 
   When rejection of money deposit is absent in the STEP S 14  (STEP S 14 : N), a guidance is displayed (STEP S 17 ) and an abnormal bill or bills are returned from the cash slot mechanism  20  (STEP S 18 ). At this time, the cash slot mechanism  20  is changed to the money depositing/withdrawing posture from the feeding/stacking posture under a state, in which an abnormal bill or bills are stored in the storage space A of the cash slot mechanism  20 . 
   In the case where abnormal stoppage is not caused in the course of counting of a bill or bills as received in the STEP S 8  (STEP S 8 : N) and rejection of money deposit is present (STEP S 9 : Y), a guidance is displayed (STEP S 15 ) and a bill or bills, deposit of which is rejected, are returned from the cash slot mechanism  20  (STEP S 16 ). At this time, the cash slot mechanism  20  is changed to the money depositing/withdrawing posture from the feeding/stacking posture under a state, in which a bill or bills, deposit of which is rejected, are stored in the storage space A of the cash slot mechanism  20 . 
   In this manner, after the cash slot mechanism  20  is changed to the money depositing/withdrawing posture, the housing shutter  201  is opened in the shutter opening processing (STEP S 21 ), the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  are caused to project toward a user through the opening  20   a  from the upper, front plate  101   a  (STEP S 22 ), and it is confirmed that a bill or bills are pulled out (STEP S 23 ). 
   After it is confirmed that a bill or bills are pulled out (STEP S 23 : Y), the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  takes the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  into the apparatus (STEP S 24 ) and performs the shutter closing processing (STEP S 25 ) to return a bill or bills, deposit of which is rejected, to a user. 
   After a bill or bills, deposit of which is rejected, and the like are returned, the procedure returns to a guidance processing in STEP S 1  in case of accepting the received money counting processing again (STEP S 26 : Y), and the procedure proceeds to the guidance processing in STEP S 10  in case of not accepting the received money counting processing (STEP S 26 : N). 
   In the case where pulling-out is not detected in the STEP S 23  (STEP S 23 : N) and a predetermined period of time elapses (STEP S 27 : Y), it is determined that a bill or bills are left and a retracting processing is performed in order to continue a subsequent transaction (STEP S 28 ). 
   In the case where an abnormal stoppage is not caused in the course of received money counting in the received money counting processing in STEP S 7  (STEP S 8 : N) and rejection of money deposit is not generated (STEP S 9 : N), a guidance for the number of bills counted in the received money counting processing in STEP S 7  is displayed on the customer operating unit  105  (STEP S 10 ). When a user confirms (depress a confirmation button) an amount of money as received (STEP S 11 : Y), center communication is performed (STEP S 12 ) and a money deposit transaction is settled to perform a received money storage processing (STEP S 13 ), thus terminating the money deposit transaction. In the received money storage processing (STEP S 13 ), the bill discriminator  30  again discriminates information of a kind of a bill for a bill or bills in the temporary stocker  40  and a processing is performed to store the bill or bills in either of the money deposit box  60  and the recycle boxes  80 . 
   In the case where a user does not confirm acknowledgement of an amount of money as received (STEP S 11 : N) but selects cancellation of money deposit (STEP S 29 : Y), a cancellation return processing, in which a bill or bills in the temporary stocker  40  are stored in the cash slot mechanism  20 , is performed (STEP S 30 ). Thereafter, the shutter opening processing is performed (STEP S 21 ) and the bill discharge processing is performed projecting the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  toward a user through the opening  20   a  from the upper, front plate  101   a  (STEP S 32 ). When it is confirmed that a bill or bills are pulled out (STEP S 33 : Y), the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  are taken into the apparatus (STEP S 34 ) and the shutter closing processing is performed (STEP S 35 ) to complete returning a bill or bills as received to a user. 
   In the case where recharging is permitted (STEP S 36 : Y), the procedure returns to the guidance processing in STEP S 1 , and in the case where recharging is not permitted (STEP S 36 : N), the money deposit transaction is terminated. 
   In the case where a user does not pull out a bill or bills for a predetermined period of time or longer in the STEP S 33  (STEP S 37 : Y), it is determined that a bill or bills are left and the retract processing (STEP S 38 ) is performed in order to continue a subsequent transaction. 
     FIG. 17  is a flowchart illustrating a money withdrawal transaction processing. The bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1 , which carries out a money withdrawal transaction, instructs a user to input a password, an amount of money being paid, etc. by way of guidance display (STEP S 51 ) and receives, through center communication, instructions to carry out a transaction of contents as input (STEP S 52 ), thus starting the money withdrawal processing (STEP S 53 ). In the money withdrawal processing, a kind of a bill for a bill or bills fed a predetermined number by a predetermined number from the money withdrawal boxes  70  and the recycle boxes  80  is discriminated every kind of bill by the bill discriminator  30  and the bill or bills are stored in a bundle in the storage space A, which assumes the feeding/stacking posture ( FIG. 9 ). Under a state, in which a bill or bills as paid are stored in the storage space A, the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  changes the cash slot mechanism  20  to the money depositing/withdrawing posture from the feeding/stacking posture ( FIGS. 10 and 11 ). 
   The bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  performs the shutter opening processing (STEP S 54 ) and has the bundle conveyance mechanism feed a bill or bills to a user (STEP S 55 ) as shown in  FIG. 12 . At this time, the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  are caused to project toward a user through the opening  20   a  from the upper, front plate  101   a  and excitation of driving means (for example, a solenoid) is made OFF to facilitate pulling out a bill or bills. 
   When pulling out a bill or bills is detected (STEP S 56 : Y), the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  takes the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  into the upper, front plate  101   a  (STEP S 57 ) and performs the shutter closing processing (STEP S 58 ). 
   In the case where a user does not pull out a bill or bills for a predetermined period of time or longer (STEP S 56 : N, STEP S 59 : Y), it is determined that a bill or bills are left and the retract processing (STEP S 60 ) described with reference to  FIG. 18  is performed in order to store the left bill or bills in a bundle in the retract box  61  and continue a subsequent transaction. 
     FIG. 18  is a flowchart illustrating the retract processing. 
   In the case where a user does not pull out a bill or bills for a predetermined period of time or longer in returning a bill or bills, deposit of which is rejected, canceling and returning, leaving a bill or bills being paid, or the like, it is determined that a bill or bills are left and the retract processing is performed in order to continue a subsequent transaction. 
   Here, when it is detected that a bill or bills are left, the front plate  204  is vibrated and moved a little. 
   Since a bill or bills as left move a little due to the vibration of the front plate  204 , detection by the sensor can be made sure. Thereby, an erroneous detection is prevented, in which a bill or bills are not detected by the sensor although a bill or bills are left. 
   The bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  takes the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  into the apparatus whereby a bill or bills, which are fed but not pulled out, are stored in the cash slot mechanism  20  (STEP S 61 ). When taking-in of a bill or bills is completed (STEP S 62 : Y), the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  performs the shutter closing processing (STEP S 63 ). After the shutter closing processing, the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  changes the posture of the cash slot mechanism  20  to the feeding/stacking posture (STEP S 64 ) to discharge a bill or bills from the cash slot mechanism  20  to store the same in the retract box  61 . 
   According to the embodiment described above, when a bill or bills are charged, a user can perform an operation of money deposit without feeling a fear in inserting a hand into the cash slot  21  having a drive unit. That is, since it suffices to charge a bill or bills between the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205 , which project toward a user from the cash slot  21 , a user&#39;s psychological sense is not a sense of inserting a hand into the apparatus but a sense of charging a bill or bills into a slot outside the apparatus. Therefore, a user can perform an operation of charging a bill or bills feeling psychologically at rest without a psychological feeling of fear. 
   Also, a user making use of a wheelchair does not need inserting a hand deep into the cash slot but suffices to charge a bill or bills between the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205 , which project, so that a distance to a position of money deposit becomes small, thus enabling an improvement in operability. 
   Also, in case of foreign bills, which are considerably different in size every kind of bill, bills are unevenly aligned in some cases when they are charged in a laid posture, the invention enables a change of posture to the feeding/stacking posture to turn and move a bill or bills, which are charged in a laid posture into the cash slot mechanism  20  in a money depositing/withdrawing posture, thus enabling the bill or bills to be changed to an upright posture. Thereby, uneven alignment of ends of bills is corrected owing to the effect of gravity, thus enabling decreasing an abnormality in conveyance, such as jam of bills, etc. Besides, a simple construction can be realized at low cost by making use of gravity in correction of uneven alignment. 
   Also, when a bill or bills are to be fed, it is possible to clamp the bill or bills to discharge the same in a bundle to a user. At this time, the bill or bills are pushed out toward a user from the front of the housing  101   b . Thereby, in that operation, in which a user receives a bill or bills, there is produced the same effect as at the time of charging that a psychological feeling of fear is absent and even a user making use of a wheelchair can receive a bill or bills easily. 
   Also, since a bill or bills are clamped between the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  at the time of bill discharge, a bill or bills are not scattered even in the case where the apparatus is mounted outdoor and a strong wind blows, thus enabling surely delivering a bill or bills to a user. 
   Also, since the front plate  204  supports a bottom of a bill or bottoms of bills at the time of bill discharge, the front plate  204  serves as a saucer to make a user liable to receive a bill or bills. 
   Also, even if conveyance in a bundle is not successful and a bill or bills, conveyance of which fails, remain in the cash slot  21 , the rear plate  205  as a push plate, which constitutes the cash slot mechanism  20 , is moved to enlarge an interior of the cash slot mechanism  20  to make the storage space A easy to see, thus making a user liable to make visual confirmation to enable preventing a bill or bills from being left. 
   Also, in the case where a bill or bills as left are present, the sensor in the cash slot  21  can readily detect the bill or bills as left, which can be retracted intact by the bundle conveyance mechanism. Thereby, it is possible for the apparatus to continue a subsequent transaction without becoming down. 
   In this manner, the bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus  1  described above can realize a bill depositing/withdrawing apparatus, in which jam in conveyance and leaving a bill or bills are decreased and which has a user friendly money depositing/withdrawing interface and is high in reliability. 
   In addition, according to another embodiment, an inner shutter  301  as an opening and closing shutter may be provided on the cash slot mechanism  20  as in a configuration of the cash slot mechanism  20  shown in  FIGS. 19 and 20 . The inner shutter  301  has a length from the tip end of the front plate  204  to the tip end of the rear plate  205 , and slidingly moves in parallel to the housing shutter  201  from a position, in which the opening of the storage space A is covered as shown in  FIG. 19 , to a position, in which the opening of the storage space A is opened as shown in  FIG. 20 . Also, the inner shutter  301  is mounted to the cash slot mechanism  20  to turn and move with the cash slot mechanism  20  when the cash slot mechanism  20  turns and moves changing in posture between the money depositing/withdrawing posture and the feeding/stacking posture. The inner shutter  301  is structured to make an opening and closing action simultaneously with an opening and closing action of the housing shutter  201 . 
   Thereby, when the cash slot mechanism  20  is changed in posture for the money deposit processing and the money withdrawal processing, the inner shutter  301  is put in a closed state, thus enabling preventing a centrifugal force in turning at the time of change in posture from causing a bill or bills  210  to spring from the storage space A and from unbalancing bills, which are unevenly set about the opening, to make the same scatter in the apparatus. 
   Also, when the inner shutter  301  is not closed after a bill or bills are charged in the money deposit processing, it is preferable to open the inner shutter  301  and the housing shutter  201  to return a bill or bills  210 . At this time, preferably, the customer operating unit  105  or the like invites a user to align and recharge a bill or bills. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the money deposit processing from being carried out in a state, in which the inner shutter  301  is not fully closed. 
   Also, a stopper  302  shown in  FIGS. 19 and 20  may be provided on the cash slot mechanism  20  in place of the support plate  209  (see  FIG. 7 ). Preferably, the stopper  302  is mounted to the cash slot mechanism  20  to function as a bottom plate in the innermost of the storage space A and to slidingly move toward this side (tip ends of the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205 ) from the innermost of the storage space A (bases of the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205 ). Preferably, the stopper slidingly moves interlocking with the front plate  204  and the rear plate  205  over the same distance as that of the latter. 
   Thereby, it is possible to surely push a bill or bills  210  toward a user when the bill or bills  210  are to be fed in the money deposit processing, so that a user can take out the bill or bills  210  easily. Also, when charging of a bill or bills is permitted in the money deposit processing, the stopper  302  can prevent a bill or bills  210  from entering the innermost of the storage space A, so that a user enables use psychologically at rest without the need of inserting a hand into the apparatus. 
   Also, a structure may be employed that when the inner shutter  301  is not closed at the time of bill charging, the closing action of the inner shutter  301  is retried performing an action, in which the inner shutter  301  is caused to swingably act to knock off a bill or bills inside and the stopper  302  and the front plate  204  are moved to vibrate a bill or bills to make the same slide inside. Thereby, it is possible to restrict times of urging recharging in a state, in which the inner shutter  301  is not fully closed. 
   The invention is not limited to the construction of the embodiment described above but many embodiments are obtainable. 
   It should be further understood by those skilled in the art that although the foregoing description has been made on embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited thereto and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.