Patent ID: 8763779

Claim:
A bill processing apparatus comprising: a bill housing part which houses a bill; and a bill conveyance mechanism which conveys the bill to the bill housing part, wherein the bill housing part includes a receiving port which accepts the bill conveyed to the bill housing part by the bill conveyance mechanism, a pair of spaced-apart regulatory blocks having opposing surfaces that face each other across a space defined between the regulatory blocks, a presser plate which presses the bill, once it has been conveyed into the bill housing part from the receiving port, through the space between the pair of regulatory blocks, the presser plate being caused to reciprocate by means of a rack-and-pinion-driven presser plate drive mechanism, a conveyor member which contacts a surface of the bill as the bill is conveyed into the bill housing part from the receiving port and which conveyor member is driven along a housing-conveying-in direction, the conveyor member including a pair of belts disposed in opposing relation to respective ones of the regulatory blocks such that edge portions of the bill will be positioned between respective ones of the pair of belts and the pair of regulatory blocks once the bill has been conveyed into the bill housing part from the receiving port, and protrusions which are arranged on respective opposing surfaces of the pair of regulatory blocks and protruding toward respective ones of the pair of belts to push the edge portions of the conveyed-in bill toward the pair of belts, thereby facilitating contact between the edge portions of the conveyed-in bill and respective ones of the pair of belts.