EP3486881A1

EP3486881A1 - Banknote stacking system for low speed acceptors

Info

Publication number: EP3486881A1
Application number: EP17382787.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jose Manuel Salamero Murillo; Eduardo Salamero Murillo
Original assignee: Grupo Sallen Tech SL
Current assignee: Grupo Sallen Tech SL
Priority date: 2017-11-21
Filing date: 2017-11-21
Publication date: 2019-05-22

Abstract

The invention relates to a banknote stacking system for low speed banknote acceptors which can be applied to any type of conventional banknote acceptor, the system being based on a frame arranged between the banknote outlet of the acceptor and the banknote collection bag which comprises conveyance and guide means for the accepted banknotes and a container for provisionally stacking accepted banknotes, the first objective of which is to provisionally stack the accepted banknotes and the second objective of which is to ensure that the banknotes, provisionally stacked according to a predetermined number, fall due to gravity into the collection bag to subsequently be collected, in such a way that the successive "packs" of stacked banknotes remain very organized as they fall into the collection bag due to gravity.

Description

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a banknote stacking system for low speed banknote acceptors which can be applied to any type of conventional banknote acceptor, the first objective of which is to provisionally stack the accepted banknotes without communication between the stack and the acceptor and the second objective of which is to ensure that the banknotes, provisionally stacked according to a predetermined number, fall due to gravity into the collection bag to subsequently be collected, in such a way that the successive "packs" of stacked banknotes remain very organized as they fall into the collection bag due to gravity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Nowadays it is very common to make payments with banknotes in vending machines, parking meters, etc., since they have low speed banknote acceptors installed, wherein the user deposits the banknotes one by one, or to make payments in automatic systems that operate at low to medium speed and are continuously fed.
In the majority of these systems there are three possibilities for storing banknotes inside the machine that has the banknote acceptor. These are:

A plastic cassette wherein the banknotes are automatically stacked.
A proprietary stacking system, wherein the banknotes are stacked by the associated banknote acceptor.
A "free fall" bag wherein the banknotes are stored but not stacked.

These three cases imply a series of limitations that will be discussed in detail below.

In the case of plastic cassettes, the limitations are:
- ✔ The cassettes have multiple uses and, therefore, over time they become damaged, resulting in high costs for the client since the cassette has a medium to high price range.
- ✔ If the Cash in Transit (CIT) company is in charge of collecting this money, it implies that there is a high volume of cassettes and, furthermore, that the guard has access to the money stored in the cassette.
- ✔ There are logistics that need to be carried out by the CIT company in order to attach the cassettes, etc.
  - In the case of the proprietary stacking system, the main limitation is that the system will only be able to be used in the banknote acceptor for which it was designed and, therefore, the replacement bags are usually quite expensive, and, furthermore, it has a limit as to how many banknotes can be stored inside the same. The existing capacity is low and the price for each bag is high.
    Likewise, said bags will only function in the acceptor for which they have been designed, since there may be a management system for that bag which has direct communication with the banknote acceptor by means of its own protocol.
  - The "free fall" bag which uses heat-sealing. This system is the most commonly used system in banknote acceptors since it has a low cost with regard to the bag and the capacity of banknotes is configurable and, as such, systems that accept more than1,500 banknotes are possible.

The drawback of these systems is the time needed in the CIT facilities to order and count these banknotes, since the estimated time for ordering and counting 2,000 banknotes is approximately 20 minutes, while with a stacking system the time needed to order and count 2,000 banknotes is reduced to less than 2 minutes.
Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that low speed banknote acceptors often have a system using wheels that feeds the banknote, which is transported into the acceptor, an area where there is a series of sensors that identify and authenticate the banknote.
Normally, in identifying and authenticating banknotes, a time for analysis is necessary, greater than 1 second, in which the banknote must be pre-accepted, and in which it will be stopped for a time while waiting for the result of the identification and authentication process, returning the banknote to the user if the same is not recognized, or completing the feeding of the banknote into the device in which the banknote has been recognized.
It is also important to note that this process of returning banknotes that have not been accepted is done by having the wheels that accept the banknote spin in the opposite direction, given that there is only one route for the insertion and removal of banknotes, and, therefore, the banknote cannot be manipulated until the moment the acceptor completes the verification of the banknote and proceeds with the final acceptance.
It worth mentioning that proprietary systems normally have communication between the receiving module and the stacking mode, but in the device object of the present invention there is no communication whatsoever between the receiving module and the stacking mode.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present specification describes a banknote stacking system for low speed acceptors based on a frame arranged between the banknote outlet of the acceptor and the banknote collection bag, which comprises:

✔ conveyance and guide means for the banknotes accepted by the acceptor, and;
✔ a container for the provisional stacking of the accepted banknotes, such that conveyance and guide means for the banknotes accepted by the acceptor comprise:
- ∘ a first shaft provided with a pair of rubber wheels or similar;
- ∘ a second shaft provided with a first rubber wheel or similar in a centered position with respect to the pair of rubber wheels or similar of the first shaft;
- ∘ a third rotation shaft provided with a second rubber wheel or similar in a centered position with respect to the pair of rubber wheels or similar of the first shaft, the third shaft of which is positioned downstream from the first and second shafts;
- ∘ a first motor for transmitting motion to the first shaft and a gear train for transmitting the motion of the first shaft to the second and third shafts;
- ∘ a first pair of control sensors on the conveyance and guide section of the banknotes between the second and third shaft,

Furthermore, the container for provisionally stacking the banknotes to which the accepted banknotes are guided comprises:

∘ a base defined by two halves associated with respective arms, the ends of which are free and extended in a circular form with a toothed outer surface that centrally engage together,
∘ a second motor for the rotational actuation of one of the arms associated with one half of the base, and;
∘ a second pair of sensors, each one on a half of the base.

The first pair of sensors is arranged on the guide section of the banknotes between the second and third shafts, controlling and counting the banknotes as they pass through, and is associated with the general control system of the stacking and ordering system to activate the second motor and collapse the two halves of the base of the container after a predetermined number of banknotes have passed through.
By means of this first pair of sensors, in addition to controlling and counting banknotes as they pass through, they also control possible jams and provide a timely warning.
By means of the second pair of present sensors, one on each half, on both halves of the base of the container, it is ensured that after the container has been emptied there are no banknotes remaining in the same.
To complete the description provided below, and for the purpose of helping to make the characteristics of the invention more readily understandable, the present specification is accompanied by a set of figures which by way of illustration and not limitation represent the most characteristic details of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows a plan view of the banknote stacking system, in which one is able to see the conveyance means of the banknotes from the moment they are released from the acceptor until they are in the stacking container, the base of which is defined by two halves, as well as a pair of control sensors.
Figure 2 shows a front view of the banknote stacking system, in which one is able to see the conveyance means of the banknotes from the moment they are released from the acceptor until they are in the stacking container, as well as the means for transmitting motion, transmitted by a first motor to the different shafts, components of the same.
Figure 3 shows a front view of the banknote stacking system, according to the previous view, yet eliminating the first motor, facilitating the observation of the conveyance means of the banknotes from the moment they are released from the acceptor until they are in the stacking container and the control sensors, as well as the means for transmitting motion, transmitted by a first motor to the different shafts, components of the same.
Figure 4 shows a front view of the banknote stacking system, in which one can essentially see the shafts relative to the conveyance means, with the respective rubber wheels or similar thereof.
Figure 5 shows a view in cross section according to a central longitudinal axis of the banknote stacking system of figure 1, in which one can observe the shafts relative to the conveyance means, as well as one of the collapsible arms of the base of the container.
Figure 6 shows a first perspective view of the structure of the container and the conveyance means for the banknotes which lead to the stacking container, in which one can see how the base of the container appears closed.
Figure 7 shows a second perspective view of the structure of the container and the conveyance means for the banknotes which lead to the stacking container and in which one can likewise see the second motor which actuates the two halves that make up the base of the container.
Figure 8 shows a third view of the structure of the container, in which the means for collapsing the two halves of the base of the container can be seen, defined by a second motor that acts on a first arm and which, associated with a second arm, simultaneously acting on the two halves of the base.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In light of the aforementioned figures and in accordance with the numbering system used, we can see how the banknote stacking system for low speed acceptors is based on a frame 1 that is placed between the outlet for banknotes accepted by the acceptor and the definitive collection bag for the banknotes, and therefore the frame comprises conveyance means 2 for the banknotes that are identified and authenticated as real by the acceptor and a container 3 to which the banknotes are guided to be provisionally stacked, according to a predetermined number, and to subsequently pass to the definitive collection bag arranged under the same.
Thus, the objective is that, instead of the banknotes passing directly from the outlet of the acceptor to the definitive collection bag one by one, falling due to gravity in a very unorganized way, they are provisionally stacked in the container 3, defined in the frame 2, forming "packs" with a predetermined number of banknotes such that, when falling together due to gravity, said "packs" remain very orderly, facilitating and drastically reducing the time of the subsequent counting thereof.
On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that in order to identify and authenticate the banknotes, it is necessary that there be a time for analysis, approximately greater than one second, wherein the banknotes are pre-accepted and stopped during the identification and authentication process, such that the banknotes that are not accepted are returned to the user and those that are accepted are sent to the definitive collection bag.
In the case that the banknote has not been accepted, in order to return the banknote to the user, the banknote accepting mechanism of the acceptor acts in the opposite direction to that of the insertion of the banknotes into the same, given that there is only one route for the insertion and removal of banknotes, and therefore the banknote cannot be manipulated until the moment the acceptor completes the verification of the banknote and proceeds with the final acceptance.
It is also worth mentioning that proprietary systems normally have communication between the receiving module and the stacking module, but with the system object of the invention there is no communication with the banknote receiving module, making it valid for all types of acceptors, since it is completely independent.
Thus, by means of the present invention, the banknote stacking system only receives and transports the banknotes once they have been accepted by the acceptor, and that is when the system object of the invention begins to function.
This way, when the banknotes have already been accepted by the acceptor, the system object of the invention will act, depositing the banknotes into the provisional container of the frame, creating a pack of banknotes (by default, 40, although another amount may be chosen) that will be deposited in a definitive, plastic, low-cost collection bag, once the pack of 40 banknotes (or any other number) has been created.
Therefore, the system is based on a frame 1 arranged between the banknote outlet of the acceptor and the banknote collection bag which comprises guide means 2 for the banknotes accepted by the acceptor and a container 3 for the provisional stacking of the accepted banknotes, such that the guide means of the banknotes accepted by the acceptor are defined by a first motor 4 and a set of three shafts 5, 6 and 7, with a pair of rubber wheels or similar and a first and second rubber wheel or similar 8, 9 and 10 for traction, respectively, in contact with the banknotes, with the corresponding transmission of motion, and, in this way the shaft of the first motor 4, by a belt transmission 11, transmits motion to a first shaft 5 and, from the same, through a gear train 12, transmits motion to the second shaft 6 and to the third shaft 7.
In order to convey and guide the banknotes accepted by the acceptor, the first wheel 9 of the second shaft 6, as well as the second wheel 10 of the third shaft 7, are centered with respect to the pair of rubber wheels 8 or similar for traction of the first shaft 5, meaning they do not directly interact with each other and the banknotes are pulled due to the slight deformation thereof, such that the banknotes use the collaboration of a sheet 20 for perfectly guiding them, as shown in figure 5 of the designs.
Thus, while a banknote is waiting to be accepted or rejected, the first wheel 9 of the second shaft 6 and the pair of wheels 8 of the first shaft 5 are in contact with the banknote but do not pull it, thus the banknote will be under the control of the banknote acceptor, allowing it to be returned if necessary.
The moment the banknote acceptor identifies, validates and accepts the banknote, the transport system thereof expels it, this being the moment in which the first wheel 9 of the second shaft 6 and the pair of wheels 8 of the first shaft 5 have enough traction to pull the banknote and continues to guide it through on the sheet 20 and the traction that results between the second wheel 10 of the third shaft 7 and the pair of wheels 8 of the first shaft 5 pulls and guides the banknote to the container 3. Therefore, as was previously stated, the pull of the banknotes is produced by the deformation of the same by the difference between the rubber wheels or similar of the different shafts for traction.
Thus, starting with the position of a banknote during the identification and authentication thereof by the acceptor, the process is the following: the shafts 5, 6 and 7 for conveying the banknote are in continuous motion by the action of the first motor 3 and transmit motion through the belt 11 to the first shaft 5 which has the rubber wheels 8 and from this first shaft 5 to the second shaft 6 to the third shaft 7 through the gear train 12, such that the banknote is between the first wheel 9 of the second shaft 6 and the pair of wheels 8 of the first shaft 5 without being pulled until it is released by the acceptor, this is such because the first wheel 9 and the pair of wheels 8 for traction slide over the banknote without pulling it, since they do not exert enough traction to do so.
As was previously indicated, the first shaft 5 has a pair of wheels 8 for traction, between which the first wheel 9 for traction of the second shaft 6 and the second wheel for traction 10 of the third shaft 7 are arranged.
Likewise, the two conveyance and guide means 2 for the banknotes comprise a first pair of control sensors 13 on the section for conveying and guiding the banknotes between the second shaft 6 and the third shaft 7, by which the number of banknotes being stacked on the stacking tray 3 are counted and, furthermore, the correct functioning thereof is controlled by sending an error signal if a banknote remains stuck, etc.
On the other hand, the container 3 for the provisional stacking of the accepted banknotes comprises a base defined by two halves 14, associated by one of the ends thereof to respective bodies 15 that on the free ends thereof have a curved and toothed extension 16 that engage with one another, one of the bodies 15 being actuated by a second motor 17.
The two halves 14 that make up the base of the container 3 are rotational with respect to the corresponding longitudinal lateral shafts 19 of the base of the frame.
Likewise, a second pair of sensors 18, one on each half 14 of the base, ensure that after the base is opened and the "pack" of banknotes falls into the container there is not a single banknote left behind, and if in fact there is, they communicate the error and halt the system.
In reference to the figures, one can see how in figure 1 the frame 1 has been represented in its entirety with the casing for closure, partially protecting the different mechanisms associated, and in the same one can see the conveyance and guide means 2 associated with the first motor 4 and the transmission means based on the belt 11 and the gear train 12 (not shown), as well as the base of the container in a closed position with the pair of second sensors 18.
Figure 2 shows the first motor 4 and the belt 11 for transmitting motion to the first shaft 5, as well as the gear train for transmitting motion from the first shaft 5 to the second shaft 6 and to the third shaft 7.
Figures 3 and 4 show the rubber wheels or similar 8, 9 and 10 associated, respectively, with shafts 5, 6 and 7, as well as the means for transmitting motion from the first motor 4 to the first shaft 5 through the belt 11 and the gear train 12 for transmitting motion from said first shaft 5 to the second shaft 6 and to the third shaft 7.
Figure 5 shows a longitudinal cross section of the frame 1, in which one is able to see the conveyance and guide means for the banknotes through the shafts 5, 6 and 7, the arrangement of the first pair of sensors 13 between the second shaft 6 and the third shaft 7, as well as the stacking container and one of the arms 15 associated with a half 14 of the base of the container, the arm 15 of which has a circular, toothed extension 16 that engages with a similar circular, toothed extension 16, with the object of having simultaneous actuation.
Figure 6 shows the structure of the container 3 associated with the conveyance and guide means of the accepted banknotes with the means for the transmission of motion based on the first motor 4 which, through a belt 11, transmits motion to the first shaft 5 and from which by means of a gear train 12 transmits motion to the second shaft 6 and to the third shaft 7.
Figure 7 shows a similar view to that of the preceding figure from the opposite side, in which the gear train 12 can be seen, as well as the second actuating motor 17 for one of the arms 15 which, in its rocking pulls the other arm which is engaged with the same.
Lastly, figure 8 shows a perspective view of the structure of the container centered in the arms 15 with the circular, toothed extension 16 thereof, the second motor 17 having been actuated and the two halves 14, which make up the base of the container, being open after having rotated with respect to the corresponding four shafts 19. Likewise, the way of transmitting motion from the second motor 17 to the arm 15 associated with the same based on a pinion/toothed transmission arm, the same able to be the equivalent to a direct action of the motor/shaft on the arm, can be observed.

Claims

A banknote stacking system for low speed acceptors characterized in that the system is based on a frame (1) arranged between the banknote outlet of the acceptor and the banknote collection bag, which comprises:
✔ conveyance and guide means (2) for the banknotes accepted by the acceptor; and,

✔ a container (3) for the provisional stacking of the accepted banknotes,
such that the conveyance and guide means (2) for the banknotes accepted by the acceptor comprise:
∘ a first shaft (5) provided with a pair of rubber wheels (8) or similar;

∘ a second shaft (6) provided with a first rubber wheel (9) or similar in a centered position with respect to the pair of rubber wheels (8) or similar of the first shaft (5);

∘ a third rotation shaft (7) provided with a second rubber wheel (10) or similar in a centered position with respect to the pair of rubber wheels (8) or similar of the first shaft (5), positioned downstream from the first and second shafts;

∘ a first motor (4) for transmitting motion to the first shaft (5) and a gear train (12) for transmitting the motion of the first shaft (5) to the second and third shafts; and,

∘ a first pair of control sensors (13) in the section for conveying and guiding the banknotes between the second shaft (6) and the third shaft (7),
such that the banknote acceptor maintains the banknotes fixed during the examination thereof, with the banknotes partially arranged between the wheels (8-9) of the first and second shaft (5-6) that slide with respect to the banknote and remain in position, and once the banknote is released by the acceptor, it is pulled by the aforementioned wheels (8-9) of the first and second shaft (5-6), as well as by the third wheel (10) of the third shaft (7) in collaboration with the pair of wheels (8) of the first shaft (5),
since the container (3) for the provisional stacking of the accepted banknotes to which they are conveyed comprises:
∘ a base defined by two halves (14) associated with respective arms (15), the free ends of which are extended in a circular toothed section (16) that centrally engage with each other,

∘ a second motor (17) for the rotational actuation of one of the arms (15), and;

∘ a second pair of sensors (18), one on each half of the base (14).
The banknote stacking system for low speed acceptors according to claim 1, characterized in that the first pair of sensors (13) arranged in the conveyance and guide section of the banknotes between the second and third shafts (6-7) control the banknotes as they pass through and are associated with the general control system of the stacking and ordering system to activate the second motor (17) after a predetermined number of banknotes have passed through.
The banknote stacking system for low speed acceptors according to claim 2, characterized in that the first pair of sensors (13) count the banknotes as they pass through and control possible jams in order to send the necessary notification.
The banknote stacking system for low speed acceptors according to claim 1, characterized in that the second pair of sensors (18) on both halves of the base (14) of the container (3) ensure that after the base is opened and the "packs" of banknotes fall, there is not a single banknote left inside the container.