Patent Publication Number: US-2011057383-A1

Title: Medium processing apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-208794, filed on Sep. 10, 2009, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD 
     Embodiments described herein relate generally to a medium processing apparatus, which can be applied to, for example, an automated teller machine (ATM) used for a bank. 
     BACKGROUND 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a type of medium processing apparatus includes a medium inlet  33  being provided at a front panel  32  of a main body  31 , and a printer unit  35  being mounted on a slide table  34  in a main body  31 . 
     When a medium, such as a passbook, is inserted through the medium inlet  33  of the front panel  32 , the medium is conveyed along a conveying path  36  of the printer unit  35  and is printed thereon with some information at a printing section  37 . Then, the printed passbook is reversely conveyed along the conveying path  36  to be discharged from the medium inlet  33  of the front panel  32 . 
     However, there may be mismatch in the height between the medium inlet  33  of the front panel  32  and the front end of the conveying path  36  of the printer unit  35 . Therefore, when the printer unit  35  is mounted, the front end of the conveying path  36  of printer unit  35  is required to be accurately positioned opposite the medium inlet  33  of front panel  32 . 
     In this respect, the conveying path  36  is divided into front and rear sections and a support axis  40  along which a front-side conveying path  36   a  is rotatably mounted and pivots, as indicated with an arrow in  FIG. 2 . Further, height-adjusting pins  41  are installed respectively on both sides of the front end of front-side conveying path  36   a . Furthermore, a pair of height-adjusting brackets  43  is arranged in the vicinity of the medium inlet  33  inside the front panel  32 . The pair of height-adjusting brackets  43  is installed with being oppositely spaced by the width of the medium inlet  33 . In the height adjusting brackets  43  are formed roughly V-shaped slit portions  43   a  for guiding the height-adjusting pins  41 . 
     When the front end of the conveying path  36  of the printer unit  35  is to be positioned with respect to the medium inlet  33  of the front panel  32 , the slide table  34  is forced to slide towards the front panel  32  as indicated by an arrow in  FIG. 2 . With this sliding movement, the height-adjusting pins  41  of the front-side conveying path  36   a  of the printer unit  35  are guided to be inserted into the slit portions  43   a  of the brackets  43 . This guiding of the front-side conveying path  93   a  allows the front-side conveying path  36   a  to pivot up and down around the support axis  40 , as indicated with an arrow in  FIG. 2 , so that the front end of the conveying path  36  is positioned to be opposite the medium inlet  33  of the front panel  32 . 
     However, in the configuration where the front end of the front-side conveying path  36   a  is positioned with respect to the medium inlet  33  of the front panel  32  by moving the front-side conveying path  36   a , a gap  45  may be formed between the front-side conveying path  36   a  and a conveying guide  44  of the back-side conveying path  36   b  as shown in  FIG. 3 , which may attribute to a conveying jam. 
     Further, depending on the type of ATMs whenever the printer unit  35  is mounted, there are differences in the height between the medium inlet  33  of the front panel  32  and the slide table  34 . In this case, the bending angle  46  may vary at a point where the front-side conveying path  36   a  and the back-side conveying path  36   b  are coupled. This makes it difficult to maintain the reliability of the printer unit  35 . 
     Furthermore, it is also contemplated that the front end of the conveying path  36  is positioned with respect to the medium inlet  33  of the front panel  32  by moving the entire body of the printer unit  35  upwards and downwards. 
     However, in this case, the height of the printer unit  35  must be adjusted up and down while making sure that it is level. Thus, the heavy weight of the printer unit  35  causes the workload of the operator to be undesirably increased. 
     In light of the above problems, there is a need for a medium processing apparatus which can reduce the conveying jam and also facilitate the adjustment of the height of the printer unit while maintaining the reliability. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side cross-sectional view illustrating the internal configuration of a medium processing apparatus according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a side cross-sectional view illustrating the internal configuration of a conventional medium processing apparatus. 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged view illustrating a section A in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     According to one embodiment, a medium processing apparatus includes a main body, a printer unit, a support unit, and a height-adjusting member. The main body includes a medium inlet on a front panel and a guider inside the front panel, the guider is located in the vicinity of the medium inlet. The printer unit is located in the main body and prints on a medium being conveyed along a conveying path, and then discharges the medium from a front end of the conveying path to the medium inlet of the front panel. The support unit movably supports the printer unit so that the front end of the conveying path is moved up and down. The height-adjusting member is located at a moving end of the printer unit and is guided by the guider of the front panel through a sliding movement of any one of the front panel and the printer unit, so that the printer unit is moved around a support member of the printer unit and the front end of the conveying path is positioned opposite the medium inlet of the front panel. 
     Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  shows an automated teller machine (“ATM”) as a medium processing apparatus according to one embodiment. 
     The ATM is an apparatus for processing a medium such as a passbook, or a detailed statement. A medium inlet  1   b  for receiving and discharging a medium may be installed in a front panel  1   a  of a main body  1 . A printer unit  1 A may be mounted inside the main body  1 . A fascia part  2  may be installed in the front end of printer unit  1 A for both uses as an inlet/outlet for a passbook and an outlet for a statement paper. The fascia part  2  may include the front end of a conveying path  6   a , which will be described later. 
     In the rear side of the printer unit  1 A, a paper loader  3  may be mounted to load a rolled thermal paper  4 . One end of the thermal paper  4  may be fed out from the paper loader  3  to be conveyed along the conveying path  6   a  by a thermal paper conveying unit  5 . Along the conveying path  6   a , a thermal printer  7  and a cuter (not shown) may be sequentially arranged in the direction of conveying the thermal paper  4 . 
     In the printer unit  1 A, a passbook conveying unit  10  for conveying a passbook may be also installed along a conveying path  6   b . The conveying path  6   b  may be connected to the conveying path  6   a  for the thermal paper  4 , so that the passbook conveying unit  10  also serves as a conveying unit for conveying the thermal paper  4  along the conveying path  6   b , which is discharged from the conveying path  6   a.    
     The passbook conveying unit  10  may include a plurality of pairs of conveying rollers  11   a  to  11   e , entering rollers  12 , and feeding rollers  15 , which are arranged to be spaced by a predetermined interval along the conveying path  6   b . A dot printer  9  having a dot head  9   a  as a serial head may be arranged in the conveying path  6   b  for a passbook, the conveying path communicating with the fascia part  2 . 
     In the above configuration, in case a passbook is to be printed on, the passbook may be inserted from the medium inlet  1   b  of the front panel  1   a  into the fascia part  2  of the printer unit  1 A. Upon inserting the passbook, the pair of entering rollers  12 , the pairs of conveying rollers  11   a  to  11   e , and the pair of feeding rollers  15  may be rotated forward. When the passbook is conveyed to reach a dot printing position by the rotation of the rollers, the dot head  9   a  may operate to print on the passbook. When the printing operation is completed, the pair of entering rollers  12 , the pair of feeding rollers  15 , and the pairs of conveying rollers  11   a  to  11   e  may be rotated in a reverse direction. With this reverse rotation, the passbook may be reversely conveyed to be discharged from the medium inlet  1   b  of the front panel  1   a  via the fascia part  2 . 
     In case a statement paper is to be printed, the thermal paper  4  may be conveyed by the rotation of a platen roller to be printed thereon information by heating of a thermal head. After printing, the thermal paper  4  may be delivered by a pair of thermal-side feeding rollers  14  and pass through a cuter. When the thermal paper  4  is fed a certain distance, the thermal paper  4  may be cut to have a certain size to form a statement paper. The statement paper may be reversely conveyed along the conveying path  6   b  by the reverse rotation of the pair of feeding rollers  15 , pairs of conveying rollers  11   a  to  11   e , and the pair of entering rollers  12 , and then may be discharged from the medium inlet  1   b  of the front panel  1   a  via the fascia part  2 . 
     However, there may be a mismatch in height between the medium inlet  1   b  of the front panel  1   a  and the front end of the conveying path  6   b  of the printer unit  1 A. Therefore, when the printer unit  1 A is mounted, the front end of the conveying path  6   b  of the printer unit  1 A is required to be positioned opposite the medium inlet  1   b  of the front panel  1   a  by adjusting the height of the front end of the conveying path  6   b.    
     In the following description, a mechanism to position the front end of the conveying path  6   b  of the printer unit  1 A with respect to the medium inlet  1   b  of the front panel  1   a  will be described. 
     The printer unit  1 A may be mounted on a slide table  22  with a support base  21  interposed therebetween. A support member including support axes  23  may be installed on both sides of the lower portion of the printer unit  1 A, i.e. on the left and the right sides approximately at the center of the printer unit  1 A. The support axes  23  may allow the printer unit  1 A to be pivotably supported by the support base  21 . The printer unit  1 A may be entirely movable upward and downward along the support axes  23  in the direction as indicate by an arrow in  FIG. 1 . A pair of adjusting pins  24 , which may function as a height-adjusting member, may be provided on both sides of the front end of the printer unit  1 A. 
     Meanwhile, a pair of brackets  25  may be located in the vicinity of the medium inlet  1   b  inside the front panel  1   a . The pair of brackets  25  as a guider may be installed while being oppositely spaced by the width of the medium inlet  1   b . The brackets  25  have roughly V-shaped slit portions  25   a , into which the adjusting pins  24  on both sides of the front end of the printer unit  1 A are inserted. 
     In another embodiment, the front end of the conveying path  6   b  of the printer unit  1 A is positioned with respect to the medium inlet  1   b  of the front panel  1   a.    
     In this embodiment, the slide table  22  may be forced to slide towards the front panel  1  in the direction as indicated by an arrow. With this sliding movement, the adjusting pins  24  of the front end of the printer unit  1 A may be inserted and guided into the slit portions  25   a  of the adjusting brackets  25  of the front panel  1   a . This may allow the printer unit  1 A to move its front end upward and downward along the support axes  23 , so that the fascia part  2  of the front end of the conveying path  6   b  is positioned opposite the medium inlet  1   b  of the front panel  1   a . After the positioning is completed as described above, the printer unit  1 A may be fixed to the support base  21  by fixing screws  27   a  and  27   b , thereby completing the operation of mounting the printer unit. 
     As set forth above, according to some embodiments, the fascia part  2  may be moved upward and downward to be positioned opposite the medium inlet  1   b  of the front panel  1   a  by moving the entire body of the printer unit  1 A. Therefore, the occurrence of a conveying jam can be prevented without dividing the conveying path as configured in the conventional apparatus. 
     Further, since the conveying path of the printer unit  1 A does not need to be bent when the printer unit  1 A is mounted in an ATM, it is possible to maintain reliability. 
     Furthermore, since pivoting points of the printer unit  1 A are located at the approximate longitudinal center on the right and the left sides of the printer unit  1 A, the printer unit  1 A can be easily pivoted even with a small amount of force irrespective of the weight of the printer unit  1 A. 
     While the above embodiments describe that the fascia part  2  of the printer unit  1 A is positioned opposite the medium inlet  1   b  of the front panel  1   a  by moving the slide table  22 , the positioning may be performed by moving the front panel  1   a  while the slide table  22  is fixed. 
     While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and modifications in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.