Patent Publication Number: US-9845211-B1

Title: Media separation apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a media separation apparatus, and more particularly, to a media separation apparatus which includes a pickup roller configured to sequentially pick up and transfer loaded media, a feed roller configured to feed the picked-up and transferred media toward a transfer path, and a media separator disposed at a position facing the feed roller, including a plurality of separation rollers and a separation belt wound around a part of the circumference of each of the separation rollers, and configured to separate a following medium from a leading medium through friction of the separation belts, the following medium being in close contact with the leading medium fed by the feed roller and transferred at the same time as the leading medium, wherein the feed roller has a guide groove formed at the center of the outer circumferential surface thereof, and a separation roller disposed at the entrance into which the picked-up and transferred media are introduced, among the plurality of separation rollers included in the media separator, has a media separation piece formed at the center of the outer circumferential surface thereof so as to protrude from the outer circumferential surface such that the end portion of the media separation piece partially overlaps the circumferential end portion of the feed roller, wherein when a bundle of two or more media overlapping each other are introduced between the feed roller and the media separator, the media separation piece blocks introduction of a following medium which is in close contact with the rear surface of a leading medium, and effectively prevents the media from being separated as a bundle of two or more media during a media separation process through the feed roller and the media separator, thereby increasing the media separation efficiency. 
     2. Related Art 
     ATM (Automated Teller Machine) refers to an automation device which assists a basic financial service such as deposit or withdrawal without a bank teller, regardless of place and time, and enables a customer to withdraw or deposit a bill or check using a medium such as card or bankbook. 
     When a financial transaction of a customer is a deposit transaction, the ATM receives bills or checks through a deposit/withdrawal unit, separates and transfers the bills or checks one by one, and stores the transferred bills or checks in a temporary storage unit. Then, when the financial transaction is settled, the ATM transfers and loads the bills or checks into a media cassette. Furthermore, when a financial transaction of a customer is a withdrawal transaction, the ATM separates and transfers the bills or checks loaded in the media cassette one by one, and discharges the bills or checks through the deposit/withdrawal unit. 
     At this time, the deposit/withdrawal unit, the temporary storage unit and the media cassette in which media (bills or checks) are loaded, in the ATM, include a media separation apparatus which separates the loaded media (bills or checks) one by one and transfers the separated media. 
     The media separation apparatus includes a pickup roller, a feed roller and a separation roller. The pickup roller is pressed against the stored media and picks up a medium. The feed roller feeds the medium picked up by the pickup roller along a media feeding direction. The separation roller faces the feed roller with a medium interposed therebetween, and separates another medium which is in close contact with the rear surface of the medium fed by the feed roller and transferred at the same time as the medium. 
     Recently, various types of enhanced media separation apparatuses have been developed in order to increase media separation efficiency. The present applicant has filed an application for a media separation apparatus having a media separation structure using a belt, as an example of the media separation apparatuses. 
       FIGS. 1A and 1B  are diagrams illustrating a conventional media separation apparatus for ATM. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1A , the conventional media separation apparatus includes a pickup roller  20 , a feed roller  30  and a media separator  40 . The pickup roller  20  is pressed against loaded media  10  and picks up a medium  10 . The feed roller  30  feeds the medium  10  picked up by the pickup roller  20  along a media feeding direction. The media separator  40  is disposed under the feed roller  30 , and includes a pair of separation rollers  41  and  42  and a separation belt  43  wound around the pair of separation rollers  41  and  42 . The media separator  40  separates a following medium  11  from a leading medium  11  transferred by the pickup roller  20  and the feed roller  30  through friction of the separation belt  43 , the following medium  11  being in close contact with the leading medium  11  and transferred at the same time as the leading medium  11 . 
     In such a structure, the pickup roller  20  sequentially picks up the loaded media  10 , the feed roller  30  feeds the medium  11  picked up by the pickup roller  20 , and the media separator  40  separates the following medium  12  through the friction of the separation belt  43  which is stopped or rotated in the opposite direction of the pickup roller  20 , the following medium  12  being in close contact with the bottom surface of the leading medium  11  fed by the feed roller  30  and transferred at the same time as the leading medium  11 . In this way, the conventional media separation apparatus separates and transfers the media one by one. 
     However, the conventional media separation apparatus has the following problem. When a bundle of three or more media  11  to  13  overlapping each other is simultaneously introduced between the feed roller  30  and the separation belt  43  as illustrated in  FIG. 1B , the separation belt  43  separates only the medium  13  which is positioned at the lowermost and contacted with the separation belt  43 , among the bundle of overlapping media  11  to  13 . As a result, two or more media  11  and  12  may be transferred through the transfer path, thereby causing a transfer error such as jam in the transfer path. 
     SUMMARY 
     Various embodiments are directed to a media separation apparatus which includes a pickup roller configured to sequentially pick up and transfer loaded media, a feed roller configured to feed the picked-up and transferred media toward a transfer path, and a media separator disposed at a position facing the feed roller, including a plurality of separation rollers and a separation belt wound around a part of the circumference of each of the separation rollers, and configured to separate a following medium from a leading medium through friction of the separation belts, the following medium being in close contact with the leading medium fed by the feed roller and transferred at the same time as the leading medium, wherein the feed roller has a guide groove formed at the center of the outer circumferential surface thereof, and a separation roller disposed at the entrance into which the picked-up and transferred media are introduced, among the plurality of separation rollers included in the media separator, has a media separation piece formed at the center of the outer circumferential surface thereof so as to protrude from the outer circumferential surface such that the end portion of the media separation piece partially overlaps the circumferential end portion of the feed roller, wherein when a bundle of two or more media overlapping each other are introduced between the feed roller and the media separator, the media separation piece blocks introduction of a following medium which is in close contact with the rear surface of a leading medium, and effectively prevents the media from being separated as a bundle of two or more media during a media separation process through the feed roller and the media separator, thereby increasing the media separation efficiency. 
     In an embodiment, there is provided a media separation apparatus which separates loaded media one by one and transfers the separated media toward a transfer path. The media separation apparatus may include: a pickup roller disposed at one side of the loaded media, and configured to sequentially pick up and transfer the loaded media; a feed roller disposed separately from the pickup roller in a media feeding direction, and configured to feed the media picked up and transferred by the pickup roller toward the transfer path; and a media separator disposed at a position facing the feed roller, having a plurality of separation rollers and a separation belt wound around a part of the circumference of each of the separation rollers, and configured to separate a following medium from a leading medium through friction of the separation belt, the following medium being in close contact with the leading medium fed by the feed roller and transferred at the same time as the leading medium. The feed roller may have a guide groove formed at the center of the outer circumferential surface thereof, and a separation roller disposed at an entrance into which the picked-up and transferred medium is introduced, among the plurality of separation rollers, may have a media separation piece which protrudes from the center of the outer circumferential surface of the separation roller such that the protruding end portion thereof is inserted into the guide groove of the feed roller. While the medium picked up and transferred by the pickup roller is introduced between the feed roller and the media separator, the media separation piece may block the introduction of the following medium contacted with the rear surface of the leading medium. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  are diagrams illustrating a conventional media separation apparatus. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view illustrating a schematic configuration of a media separation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram an overlap structure between a feed roller and a first separation roller of a media separator, which are arranged to face each other, according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 4 through 7  are diagrams illustrating an operation process of the media separation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereafter, exemplary embodiments will be described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The disclosure may, however, should not be constructed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. 
     A media separation apparatus included in an ATM is installed in a deposit/withdrawal unit that receives media (bills or checks) inserted by a customer, a temporary storage unit that temporarily stores the deposited media until a transaction is settled, or a media cassette that stores media for transaction, and configured to separate the stored media one by one. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view illustrating the schematic configuration of a media separation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an overlap structure between a feed roller and a first separation roller of a media separator, which are arranged to face each other, according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the media separation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a pickup roller  110 , a feed roller  120  and a media separator  130 . The pickup roller  110  is disposed at one side of loaded media  10 , and sequentially picks up and transfers the loaded media  10 . The feed roller  120  is disposed separately from the pickup roller  110  in a media feeding direction, and feeds a medium  10  picked up by the pickup roller  110  toward a transfer path. The media separator  130  is disposed at a position facing the feed roller  120 , includes a plurality of separation rollers  131  and  132  and a separation belt  133  wound around a part of each of the separation rollers  131  and  132 , and separates a following medium  12  from a leading medium  11  fed by the feed roller  120  through friction of the separation belt  133 , the following medium  12  being in close contact with the leading media  11  and transferred at the same time as the leading medium  11 . The feed roller  120  has a guide groove  124  formed at the center of the outer circumferential surface thereof, and the separation roller  131  disposed at a media entrance between the plurality of separation rollers  131  and  132  of the media separator  130  has a media separation piece  135  protruding from the center of the outer circumferential surface thereof. The protruding end of the media separation piece  135  is inserted into the guide groove  124  of the feed roller  120 . 
     That is, the media separation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present includes the pickup roller that sequentially picks up and transfers loaded media, the feed roller that feeds the picked-up and transferred media toward the transfer path, and the media separator that is disposed at a position facing the feed roller, includes the plurality of separation rollers and the separation belt wound around a part of each of the separation rollers, and separates a following medium from a leading medium feed by the feed roller through the friction of the separation belt, the following medium being in contact with the leading medium and transferred at the same time as the leading medium. The feed roller has the guide groove formed at the center of the outer circumferential surface thereof, and the separation roller disposed at the media entrance into which the medium fed by the feed roller is introduced, among the plurality of separation rollers included in the media separator, has the media separation piece formed at the center of the outer circumferential surface thereof so as to protrude to the outside of the outer circumferential surface. The circumferential end of the feed roller partially overlaps the end of the media separation piece. Thus, when a bundle of two or more media overlapping each other is introduced between the feed roller and the media separator, the media separation apparatus blocks the introduction of the following medium through the media separation piece, the following medium being in close contact with the rear surface of the leading medium and transferred at the same time as the leading medium. Therefore, the media separation apparatus can effectively prevent media from being separated as a bundle of two or more media during the media separation process by the feed roller and the media separator, thereby increasing the media separation efficiency. 
     Hereafter, referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the configuration of the media separation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. 
     The pickup roller  110  is disposed at one side of the loaded media  10 , sequentially picks up the loaded media  10  from the top, and transfers the picked-up media toward the feed roller  120 . 
     The pickup roller  110  has a pickup member  111  protruding from a part of the outer circumferential surface of the roller body so as to come in contact with the media  10 . When the pickup roller  110  is rotated in the media feeding direction, the pickup member  111  formed on a part of the outer circumferential surface of the roller body in the pickup roller  110  sequentially picks up the loaded media  10  from the top and transfers the picked-up media  10  toward the feed roller  120 , while rotating along the circumference of the roller body. 
     That is, the pickup member  111  protruding from the pickup roller  110  is formed on a part of the outer circumferential surface of the roller body, in order to pick up one of the loaded media  10  and transfer the picked-up medium  10  toward the feed roller  120  whenever the pickup roller  110  takes a round. Since the circumference of the pickup roller  110  corresponds to the length of the loaded media  10 , the pickup member  111  of the pickup roller  110  can pick up one of the loaded media  10  at each round and transfers the picked-up media  10 . 
     The feed roller  120  is disposed separately from the pickup roller  110  in the media feeding direction, and feeds the medium  10  picked up and transferred by the pickup roller  110  toward the transfer path. 
     At this time, the feed roller  120  has the same diameter as the pickup roller  110 , includes a friction member  121  formed on a part of the outer circumferential surface of the roller body so as to come in contact with the medium  10 , and rotates in phase with the pickup roller  110 . 
     Thus, when the feed roller  120  is rotated, the friction member  121  formed on a part of the outer circumferential surface of the roller body in the feed roller  120  feeds the medium  10  picked up and transferred by the pickup roller  110  toward the transfer path, while being rotated along the circumference of the roller body. 
     The feed roller  120  has the guide groove  125  formed at the center of the outer circumference thereof. 
     At this time, the media separation piece  135  formed on the separation roller  131  of the media separator  130  is inserted into the guide groove  125  so as to overlap the feed roller  120 . The guide groove  125  will be described later in detail when the media separator  130  is described. 
     The media separator  130  faces the feed roller  120 , includes the plurality of separation rollers  131  and  132  and the separation belt  133  wound around each of the separation roller  131  and  132 , and separates a following medium  12  through friction of the separation belt  133 , the following medium  12  being in close contact with a leading medium  11  transferred by the feed roller  120  and transferred at the same time as the leading medium  11 . 
     More specifically, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the first separation roller  131  is disposed at a position facing the feed roller  120  in a vertical direction, the second separation roller  132  is disposed separately from the first separation roller  131  toward the transfer path, and the separation belt  133  is wound around each of the first and second separation rollers  131  and  132 , and separates the following medium  12  from the leading medium  11 , the following medium  12  being in close contact with the leading medium  11  transferred by the feed roller  120  and transferred at the same time as the leading medium  11 . 
     At this time, the separation belt  133  may include a pair of separation belts  133  wound around both sides of the circumference of each of the first and second separation rollers  131  and  132 . The pair of separation belts  133  face both outer circumferential surfaces of the feed roller  120 , respectively, with the guide groove  125  of the feed roller  120  interposed therebetween. 
     The first and second separation rollers  131  and  132  of the media separator  130  may stand still or rotate in the opposite direction of the media feeding direction. When the first and second separation rollers  131  and  132  are rotated in the opposite direction of the media feeding direction, the separation belts  133  wound around the first and second separation rollers  131  and  132  are rotated in the opposite direction of the media feeding direction along the first and second separation rollers  131  and  132 . 
     In such a configuration, the separation belt  133  of the media separator  130  is rotated in the opposite direction of the media feeding direction, and disposed in such a manner that the surface of the separation belt  133  faces one of the outer circumferential surfaces of the feed roller  120 . Thus, while a medium  10  picked up and transferred by the pickup roller  110  is introduced between the feed roller  120  and the separation belts  133 , a following medium  12  may be in close contact with the rear surface of the medium  10  fed by the feed roller  120  through the frictional force between the media  10  and  12 , and transferred at the same time as the medium  10 . In this case, the following medium  12  contacted with the rear surface of the medium  11  fed by the feed roller  120  is separated through the friction of the separation belts  133  which are rotated in the opposite direction of the media feeding direction. In this way, the media  10  are separated one by one and then transferred toward the transfer path. 
     At this time, the friction coefficient of the friction member  121  formed on the feed roller  120  is set to a larger value than the friction coefficient of the separation belt  133 . Thus, the medium  10  transferred by the friction member  121  of the feed roller  120  may be passed between the feed roller  120  and the separation belt  133  while overcoming the friction with the separation belt  133 . On the other hand, the following medium  12  which is in close contact with the rear surface of the leading medium  11  fed by the feed roller  120  and transferred at the same time as the learning medium  11  can be separated from the leading medium  11  by the friction with the separation belt  133 . 
     The first separation roller  131  disposed at the entrance into which the medium  10  picked up by the media separator  130  is introduced includes the media separation piece  135  for preventing simultaneous introduction of a bundle of media  11  to  13  overlapping each other. 
     The media separation piece  135  is formed around the center of the outer circumferential surface of the first separation roller  131  while having a predetermined thickness, and protrudes from the outer circumferential surface of the first separation roller  131 . Furthermore, the media separation piece  135  is partially inserted into the guide groove  125  of the feed roller  120  facing the first separation roller  131  and partially overlaps the circumferential end portion of the feed roller  120 . Thus, when a bundle of several media  11  to  13  attached to each other by the frictional force among the media is introduced while the medium  11  picked up and transferred by the pickup roller  110  is introduced between the feed roller  120  and the media separator  130 , the media separation piece  135  blocks the introduction of the following media  12  and  13  which are in close contact with the rear surface of the leading medium  11  and introduced at the same time as the leading medium  11 , such that only the leading medium  11  is introduced between the feed roller  120  and the media separator  130 . 
     The media separation piece  135  may be made of urethane rubber. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the media separation piece  135  is formed on the first separation roller  131  disposed at the entrance into which the picked-up medium  10  is introduced. Specifically, the media separation piece  135  is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the roller body of the first separation roller  131  between the pair of separation belts  133  along the center of the circumferential surface, while protruding from the outer circumferential surface, and disposed in the guide groove  125  of the feed roller  120  of which the protruding ends face each other, such that the end portion of the media separation piece  135  partially overlaps the circumferential end of the feed roller  120 . 
     At this time, the overlap structure in which the end portion of the media separation piece  135  is inserted and disposed in the guide groove  125  can effectively prevent media  10  from being simultaneously introduced while overlapping each other, because the media  10  including various types of bills and checks have a thickness of 0.07 mm to 0.2 mm. The media separation piece may have a thickness T of 0.5 mm to 2 mm, the width W of the guide groove into which the media separation piece is inserted may be set to 1.5 to 2.5 times of the thickness T of the media separation piece, and the overlap portion between the end portion of the media separation piece and the circumferential end portion of the feed roller may have a length of 0.05 mm to 0.4 mm. 
     In the present embodiment, the thickness T of the media separation piece may be set to 1 mm, the width W of the guide groove into which the media separation piece is inserted may be set to 2 mm, the depth D of the guide groove may be set to 1.5 mm, and the length L of the overlap portion between the end portion of the media separation piece and the circumferential end portion of the feed roller may be set to 0.2 mm. In the overlap structure, among the media  11  to  13  which are introduced while overlapping each other, the following media  12  and  13  which are in close contact with the rear surface of the leading medium  11  and introduced at the same time as the leading medium  11  can be effectively prevented from being introduced between the feed roller  120  and the media separator  130 . 
     That is, when three media  11  to  13  overlapping each other are introduced between the feed roller  120  and the first separation roller  131  as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the media separation piece  135  formed with the overlap structure blocks the introduction of two media  12  and  13  contacted with the rear surface of the media  11  transferred by the pickup roller  110  among the three media  11  to  13 , while passing one medium  11  picked up and transferred by the pickup roller  110 . 
     As such, the media separation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the media separation piece  135  which is formed at the center of the outer circumferential surface of the first separation roller  131  disposed at the entrance into which media are introduced, and partially overlaps the circumferential end portion of the feed roller  120 . When a bundle of two or more media  11  to  13  overlapping each other is introduced between the feed roller  120  and the media separator  130 , the media separation piece  135  blocks the introduction of the following media  12  and  13  which are in close contact with the rear surface of the leading medium  11  and introduced at the same time as the leading medium  11 , thereby preventing the media from being separated as a bundle of two or more media during the media separation process by the feed roller  120  and the media separator  130 . 
     During the above-described transfer process, although two media  11  and  12  among the three media  11  to  13  overlapping each other are simultaneously passed through the media separation piece  135  and introduced between the feed roller  120  and the media separator  130 , the following medium  12  contacted with the rear surface of the leading medium  11  can be separated through the separation belts  133  of the media separator  130 . In this way, the media  10  can be separated one by one and transferred toward the transfer path. 
     The media separation apparatus having the above-described configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention may be installed in a deposit/withdrawal unit that stores media (bills or checks) inserted by a customer, a temporary storage unit that temporarily stores the deposited media until a transaction is settled, or a media cassette that stores media for transaction, in the ATM, and serve to separate the stored media one by one and transfer the separated media toward the transfer path. 
     Hereafter, the operation process of the media separation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. 
       FIGS. 4 to 7  are diagrams illustrating the operation process of the media separation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the pickup roller  110  is rotated to sequentially pick up the loaded media  10  from the top through the pickup member  111  formed at a part of the outer circumferential surface of the roller body, and transfers the picked-up media  10  between the feed roller  120  and the media separator  130 , in order to separate the loaded media  10  one by one and transfer the separated media  10  toward the transfer path. 
     At this time, when media  12  and  13  are in close contact with the rear surface of the medium  11  picked-up and transferred by the pickup roller  110  due to the frictional force among the media  11  to  13  such that the three media  11  to  13  overlapping each other are introduced between the feed roller  120  and the first separation roller  131 , the media separation piece  135  formed on the first separation roller  131  blocks a part of the introduced media  11  to  13 . That is, the media separation piece  135  blocks two media  12  and  13  contacted with the rear surface of the medium  11  picked up and transferred by the pickup roller  110 , while passing the medium  11  picked up and transferred by the pickup roller  110  among the three media  11  to  13 . 
     Then, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , when the medium  11  picked up and transferred by the rotations of the pickup roller  110  and the feed roller  120  is completely passed through the media separation piece  135 , the leading medium  12  between the media  12  and  13  having been blocked by the media separation piece  135  is picked up by the pickup roller  110  and transferred between the feed roller  120  and the media separator  130 . As the above-described process is repeated, the loaded media  10  may be transferred one by one between the feed roller  120  and the media separator  130 . 
     As such, the media separation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention can effectively prevent two or more media from being transferred between the feed roller and the media separator, through the media separation piece which partially overlaps the circumferential end portion of the feed roller. 
     During the above-described transfer process, although two media  11  and  12  among the three overlapping media  11  to  13  are simultaneously passed through the media separation piece  135  and introduced between the feed roller  120  and the media separator  130  as illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the following medium  12  contacted with the rear surface of the leading medium  11  can be separated through the separation belts  133  of the media separator  130 , which are rotated in the opposite direction of the media feeding direction, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . At this time, the case in which a bundle of three or more media is passed through the media separation piece hardly occurs, considering the characteristic of the overlap structure. In this way, the media  10  can be separated one by one and transferred toward the transfer path. 
     As described above, the media separation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the feed roller having the guide groove formed at the center of the outer circumferential surface thereof, and the media separation piece which is formed at the center of the outer circumferential surface of the separation roller disposed at the media entrance among the plurality of separation rollers included in the media separator and protrudes from the outer circumferential surface of the separation roller, such that the end portion of the media separation piece partially overlaps the circumferential end portion of the feed roller. Thus, when a bundle of two or more media is introduced between the feed roller and the media separator while a medium picked up and transferred by the pickup roller is introduced between the feed roller and the media separator, the media separation piece blocks the introduction of the following medium which is in close contact with the rear surface of the leading medium and introduced at the same time as the leading medium. Thus, the media separation apparatus can effectively prevent the media from being separated as a bundle of two or more media during the media separation process by the feed roller and the media separator, thereby increasing the media separation efficiency. 
     While various embodiments have been described above, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the embodiments described are by way of example only. Accordingly, the disclosure described herein should not be limited based on the described embodiments.