Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2060434
APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING BILLS OR THE LIKE FROM BEING
PULLED OUT
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for
preventing a bill or the like sheet from being pulled out
from a bill processing machine such as an automatic
vending machine and a money exchanger. In this
speGification and the claims, the term "bill~'refers to
paper money or slmllar sheet materlal of v~lue.
The Prior Art
Generally, such a money processing machine is
provided with a bill or paper money discriminating unit
and a bill accumulating unit. The discriminating unit
15 discriminates an inserted genuine bill from a counterfeit
one, and the bill accumulating unit accumulates only
genuine bills accepted in a bill accumulating box. Bills
are conveyed by means of conveyor belts or llke devlce~
from an inlet slot along a bill passage to the bill
20 accumulating box. During this transportation, it is
judged by the bill discriminating unit whether or not the
bill inserted is genuine or counterfeit. Conventionally,
a shutter plate is provided to block the bill passage for
the purpose of preventing a genuine bill, which has passed
25 the discriminating unit, from being drawn back to the bill
inlet slot by an illegal act.
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However, in the bill processing machine according to
the conventional apparatus, the shutter plate may be
manually retreated by inserting an elongated thin plastic
plate into the bill passage through the bill inlet slot.
5 Thus, there is a problem in that when a bill with a tape
bonded to the trailing end thereof is inserted and
accepted as a genuine bill in the apparatus, the shutter
plate is retreated in such a manner, and then the bill is
liable to be drawn back by pulling the tape.
10 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention
to provide an apparatus for preventing bllls from belng
pulled out, in which the bills which have been received in
the bill accumulating box are prevented from being pulled
15 out by inserting a thin plate, such ~3 a pla8tlc plate, from
a bill inlet slot along a bill passage.
To accomplish this and other objects, the present
invention provides an apparatus for preventing a bill from
being pulled out, in which a bill inserted from a bill
20 inlet is judged as to whether or not it is genuine, and
only a genuine bill is passed into a bill accumulating box
through a bill passage, the apparatus comprises pull out
preventing means, arranged in the bill passage, for
preventing a bill from being pulled out from the bill
25 accumulating box, the pull out preventing means including:
pull out preventing levers each including a pawl; hang
preventing means including a tongue for preventing a bill
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from hanging from the bill accumulating box into the bill
passage; supporting means for pivotally supporting the
pull out preventing levers and the hang preventing means,
the pawl of each pull out preventing lever being arranged
5 to traverse the bill passage to block a bill, received in
the bill accumulating box from returning to the bill
inlet; first biasing means for spring biasing the pull out
preventing levers toward the bill passage to block a bill,
received in the bill accumulating box from returning to
10 the bill inlet while allowing the pull out preventing
levers to turn by a bill which passes through the bill
passage for entering the bill accumulating box; and second
biasing means for spring biasing the hang preventing means
to prevent a bill, received in the bill accumulating box,
15 by means of the tongue from hanging from the bill
accumulating box, while allowing the tongue to turn by a
bill which passes through the bill passage for entering
the bill accumulating box.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIG.l is a vertical sectional view of a bill
processing apparatus according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the pull
out preventing unit in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is front view, reduced in scale, of the pull
out preventing unit of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the pull out preventing unit
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of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V
in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the bill hang
5 preventing lever of FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmental vertical sectional
view of the bill processing apparatus of FIG. l, in which
a bill with a tape is inserted;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmental vertical sectional
10 view of the bill processing apparatus of FIG. l,
illustrating a state just after the bill with the tape was
received in the bill accumulating box;
FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmental vertical sectional
view of the bill processing apparatus of FIG. 1, in which
15 a plastic plate is inserted;
FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmental vertical sectional
view of the bill processing apparatus of FIG. l, in which
the bill is being drawn back;
FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a control system of the
20 apparatus of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating bill pull out
preventing operation of the apparatus of FIG. l.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. l is a vertical section of a bill processing
25 system to which the present invention is applied. The
bill processing system includes a housing 1, which has a
bill insertion slot 2 formed through the front wall
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thereof. A bill is allowed to be inserted into the bill
insertion slot 2 when a cover 3 is swung upwards. Within
the housing 1 there are provided a horizontal bill passage
4 and a vertical bill passage 5 which communicates to the
5 horizontal bill passage 4 in an L shape. The horizontal
bill passage 4 is formed to communicate to the bill
insertion slot 2. As means for discriminating counterfeit
bills from genuine bills, a magnetic head 6 is arranged on
the upper side of the horizontal bill passage 4. A head
10 pinch roller 7 is arranged to oppositely face the magnetic
head 6. Pulleys 8 and 9 are disposed upstream and
downstream of the pinch roller 7, respectively. An
endless belt 10 extends in a parallel fashion between and
around the pulleys 8 and 9. The belt 10 is moved by
15 movement of an endless belt 15 which extends around a
driven pulley 14 since the pulley 9 is in contact with the
belt 15. A pinch roller 11 presses the pulley 8 through
the belt 10.
On one side or front side of the vertical bill
20 passage 5, there are provided a pair of drive pulleys 12
and 12 at a horizontal distance although only one drive
pulley 12 is shown. The drive pulleys 12 and 12 are
rotated by the conveying motor 51. A pair of driven
pulleys 14 and 14 are arranged at a lower portion of the
25 housing 1 to correspond to the drive pulleys 12 and 12,
respectively, and thereby two pairs of drive pulleys 12
and driven pulleys 14 are provided. An accumulating belt
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15 extends in a parallel manner between and around each
pair of the drive pulley 12 and the driven pulley 14.
Adjacent to the accumulating belt 15 there is provided a
bill stacker unit 16, which includes a pushing plate 17, a
5 pair of links 19 and 20, and an eccentric cam 21. The
pushing plate 17 is adapted to push backwardly a bill B
which has been conveyed along the vertical bill passage 5
to a stacking position. Each of the links 19 and 20 is
pivotally attached at its one end to the front surface of
10 the pushing plate 17, and is slidably mounted at the other
end to a fixed shaft 18A, 18B which passes through a slot
l9A, 20A form through the link. The eccentric cam 21 is
mounted on an output shaft of a stack motor unit 55 to
rotate around a rotation center O. The pushing plate 17
15 is spring biased toward the bill stacker unit 16 by a pair
of coil springs 22 and 22. On the other side of the
vertical bill passage 5, there is provided an accumulating
box 23 which accumulates in it bills B urged toward it by
the bill stacker unit 16. A compressing plate 24 is
20 arranged within the accumulating box 23 and is urged
forwardly or to the left in FIG. 1 by a spring bar 25.
In the connected area between the horizontal bill
passage 4 and the vertical bill passage 5 there is
provided a shutter plate 26, which is pivotally mounted to
25 the housing 1 through a pivot 26B. The shutter plate 26
is spring biased in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
1, and normally closes or blocks the vertical bill passage
- 2060434
5 at its distal end 26A as shown. Thus, the shutter plate
26 is rotated in the clockwise direction by a bill B,
which is being transported to the accumulating box 23 in a
bill receiving direction, so that the shutter plate 26 is
5 automatically retracted away from vertical bill passage S.
This causes a shutter switch 53 (FIGS. 7-10) to be turned
on. On the other hand, the shutter plate 26 serves as a
stopper to a bill B which is moving in the opposite
direction or toward the bill inlet slot 2.
The accumulating box 23 is provided with a bottom
plate 27. A pull out preventing unit 28 is arranged below
the bottom plate 27. The pull out preventing unit 28
includes, as shown in FIG. 2, an upwardly opening
channel-shaped bracket 29, a pull out preventing lever 30,
15 a bill hang preventing lever 31, and a pivotal shaft 32
which pivotally connects the pull out preventing lever
30 and the bill hang preventing lever 31 to the bracket
29. The bracket 29 includes a pair of attaching flanges
29a and 29a, a pair of opposing side bearing plates 29b
20 and 29b, and a bottom plate 29c which integrally
interconnects the side bearing plates 29b and 29b. The
bottom plate 29c is provided in each of opposite end
portions of the front edge thereof with an engaging slot
29d.
The pull out preventing lever 30 has a pair of pawls
33 and 33 which are integrally connected through a
connecting plate 35. Each of the pawls 33 and 33 extends
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diagonally upwards to define a hook groove 34 in the upper
edge thereof. The pull out preventing lever 30 is
arranged so that the pawls 33 and 33 extend away from the
bill insertion slot 2. The connecting plate 35 has an
5 inverted-L shaped spring engaging portion 36 integrally
formed at the upper flange thereof with the left pawl 33
in FIG. 2. A first spring 37 is fitted around a pivotal
shaft 32, and one end thereof engages with the spring
engaging portion 36 whereas the other end is inserted into
10 a spring holding hole 38. The pull out preventing lever
30 is spring biased the first spring 37 in the clockwise
direction in FIG. 5 or in the direction to project the tip
33a of each pawl 33 forwardly. The tip 33a of each pawl
33 is placed at the maximum projection position when the
15 pawl 33 is brought into engagement with the edge of the
corresponding engaging groove 29d of the bottom plate 29c
of the bracket 29.
As clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the bill hang
preventing lever 31 is provided with a channel-shaped
20 pivotally supported portion which includes a pair of
bearing eye portions 31a and 31b and an interconnecting
plate 31c interconnecting the bearing eye portions 31a and
31b. The pivotal shaft 32 passes through the bearing eye
portions 31a and 31b. The interconnecting portion 31c has
25 a tongue 39 integrally and vertically formed with a
portion thereof close to the spring engaging portion 36 of
the pull out preventing lever 30. The tongue 39
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effectively prevents lower edges of bills received in the
accumulating box 23 from suspending into the vertical bill
passage 5. A second spring 40 is wound around the pivotal
shaft 32, and one end thereof is inserted into a spring
5 holding hole 41 formed through the bottom plate 29c of the
bracket 29 whereas the other end is engaged with the rear
edge of the interconnecting plate 31c. The bill hang
preventing lever 31 is spring biased by the second spring
40 to direct the tongue 39 normally upwardly. The eye
10 portion 31b is provided with a stopper 42 which holds the
tongue 39 in the vertical position in FIG. 2 by abutting
against the edge of the engaging groove 29d remote from
the tongue 39.
Further as shown in FIG. 1, inlet sensors 41R and 41L
15 are arranged just behind the bill insertion slot 2 to
detect a bill inserted. The reference numeral 44
designates a stacker switch which detects whether or not
the accumulating box 23 is set in position.
The bill pull out preventing apparatus is provided
20 with a control unit 50 (FIG. 11), which includes a
conventional central processing unit (CPU) and a read only
memory (ROM) with a control program stored in it.
Now, referring to FIG. 12, the routine of preventing
bills from being pulled out will be illustrated.
Firstly, when the stacker switch 44 is on (step Sl)
and the shutter switch 53 is off (step S2) after the power
is turned on, according to the program of the ROM the CPU
2060434
instructs the stack motor unit 55 to be energized (step
S3). The CPU is placed in a standby state after the
eccentric cam 21 made two revolutions (steps S4 and S5).
When in the step S4 the eccentric cam 21 does not makes
5 two revolutions, it is presumed that the accumulating box
23 is full up. Thus, necessary steps, such as bill
receipt prohibition, are executed. In the step S4 it is
judged whether or not the accumulating box 23 is full up
of bills when the power is turned on. Although it is
10 possible to push and accumulate bills in the accumulating
box 23 by one revolution of the eccentric cam 21, in this
embodiment the eccentric cam 21 make~ two revolutions to
positively place bills in the accumulating box 23. These
revolutions are detected by a signal from the stack motor
15 unit 55. When the shutter switch 53 is on in the step S2,
it is liable that a bill is still left in the bill passage
within the discriminating unit. In this event, the CPU
controls so that the conveying motor 51 is reversed (step
S25) to return the remaining bill to the bill insertion
20 slot 2. When the bill is completely placed back to the
bill insertion slot 2, the inlet sensors 41R and 41L send
signals to the CPU, and then the CPU stops reversing of
the motors (step S30), and thus the CPU returns to the
step S3. When the bill is not returned, the check of the
25 step S26 is repeated for about 3 seconds (steps S26 and
S27). After lapse of 3 seconds, the reversing of the
conveying motors is stopped (step S28). After the
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stopping of the motors, the CPU judges whether or not
there is a jam of a bill or bills (step S29). This
judgement is repeated until the jam is removed, and when
the jam is removed, the CPU returns to the step S3.
When in the standby state, the shutter switch 53 is
not on (step S6), the CPU goes to the step S7, where it is
judged based on signals sent from the inlet sensors 41R
and 41L whether or not the inlet sensors 41R and 41L are
tuned on. When a bill B is inserted into the bill
10 insertion slot 2, the inlet sensors 41R and 41L detect
this and turn on, and then the conveying motors 51 is
energized to introduce the inserted bill B into the bill
passages 4 and 5 by the belts 10 and 15 (step S8).
When the shutter switch 53 is turned on in the step
15 S6, it is presumed that an illegal action was taken, and
the CPU enters a routine 1 and goes to the step S21. In
the step S21, the CPU energizes the stack motor 55 to
rotate the eccentric cam 21 to the top dead center and
thereby the pushing plate 17 is raised to the top dead
20 center position. When the shutter switch 53 is still on,
the pushing plate 17 is kept urging the accumulated bills
of the accumulating box 23 in the top dead center state
against the compressing plate 24 which is spring biased to
the left in FIG. 1 by the spring bar 25.
When the illegal action is stopped, the shutter plate
26 causes the shutter switch 53 to be turned off, and thus
the CPU goes from the step S22 to the step S23. After
- 2060434
about three seconds, in the step S24 the CPU energizes
stack motor 55 to rotate the eccentric cam 21 so as to
return the pushing plate 17 to the standby state with the
eccentric cam 21 placed at the bottom dead center (FIG.
5 1). Thus, the CPU returns to the standby state in the
step 5 of the routine 3.
The illegal action may be conducted by the following
procedures: a genuine bill having a tape attached to its
one end is inserted to the bill processing machine; the
10 bill is stacked in the accumulating box 23 in the routine
of steps S7 to S17; and then it is tried to draw back the
bill by pulling the tape. More specifically, to retract
the shutter plate 26 from the bill passage, a thin plastic
plate or the like plate is inserted through the bill inlet
15 slot 2 to push the shutter plate (the shutter switch 53 is
turned on). In this state, it is tried to draw back the
bill by pulling the tape.
According to the present invention, after the step
S5, the CPU receives a signal representing that the
20 shutter switch 53 is on or off, and when the shutter
switch 53 is on, the CPU executes procedures of steps S20
to S24. The stacked genuine bill with the tape is urged
by the pushing plate 17 to the top dead center position
due to the rotation of the eccentric cam 21, and hence it
25 is not possible to draw back the bill.
Returning to illustration of the normal route after
the conveying motors are energized in the step S8, it is
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13
detected by the magnetic head 6 whether or not the bill is
magnetized when the leading end of the bill reaches the
magnetic head 6. When the bill is magnetized, according
to a signal from the magnetic head 6 the CPU judges for
5 the first stage that the bill is genuine (step S9), and
then the bill is transported further to reach the shutter
switch 53. The bill turns and keeps the shutter switch 53
on, during which the CPU judges whether or not the bill
has a magnetic pattern of the genuine bill (step S10).
10 When in this step an affirmative result is obtained, the
bill is transported to and stopped at the stack position
(steps S12 and S13) after the bill passes the shutter
plate 26 causing the shutter switch 53 to be turned off.
When in the step S10 it is judged ~that.the bill is
15 not genuine, the conveying motors are reversed to return
the bill to the bill insertion slot 2 as in the steps S25
to S30 (steps S31 to S36).
On the other hand, after the conveying motors are
stopped in the step S13, the CPU energizes the stack motor
20 unit 55 to rotate the eccentric cam 21, and thereby the
bill is stacked (step S14). When the eccentric cam 21
makes two revolutions after the stack operation (steps S15
and S16), the CPU outputs a genuine bill signal (step
S17), and returns to the standby state. In the case where
25 in the step S16 it is detected that the eccentric cam 21
did not make two revolutions, the CPU judges that the
accumulating box 23 is full up, and takes necessary steps
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20375-705
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14
such as prohibition of receiving of bills.
When in the step S9 the magnetic head 6 outputs a
signal representing that the bill is not magnetized, it is
likely that a nonmagnetic plastic plate or the like is
5 inserted into the bill passage for illegally pulling out a
blll. Furthermore, when the shutter switch 53 is turned
on, that is, when the shutter switch 53 is turned on by a
nonmagnetic insert (step Sl9), the CPU stops the conveying
motors (step S20). Subsequently, the CPU energizes the
10 stack motor unit 55 to rotate the eccentric cam 21,
thereby urging the pushing plate 17 to the top dead center
position toward the accumulating box 23 (step S21).
Until the shutter switch 53 is turned off, this state
is held (step S22). When the shutter switch 53 is turned
15 off, that is, when the insert is drawn out, a negative
result is obtained in the step S22, and then after about 3
seconds (step S23), in the step S24 the CPU controls the
stack motor 55 to rotate the eccentric cam to return the
pushing plate 17 to the normal standby position (as shown
20 in FIG. 1).
There is a possibility that when the accumulation box
23 is full of bills, a thin plastic plate or the like is
illegally inserted from the bill insertion slot 2 into the
bill passage 4. For example, the accumulating box 23 may
25 become full up when a genuine bill having a tape attached
to it is inserted. In this event, to pull out the bill
the bill passage may be released by retracting the distal
20375-705
-- 206043~
end 26A of the shutter plate 26 with the inserted thin
plate. This causes the shutter switch 53 to turn on, and
the CPU goes to the step S21, and then as already
described the stack motor unit 55 is energized to rotate
5 the eccentric cam 21, and thereby the pushing plate 17 is
pushed into the accumulating box 23, and is held in this
position. When the shutter switch 53 is off in the step
S37, on the basis of a signal sent from the stacker switch
44 the CPU makes a judgement as to whether or not the
10 stacker switch 44 is on or off (step S38). When the
stacker switch 44 is off, the accumulating box 23 is
removed and the bills stacked in it are taken out. Then,
the accumulating box 23 is set in position again. After
receipt of a signal representing that the stacker switch
15 is on (step S39), the CPU returns to the standby state
(step S5).
Referring to FIGS. 7 to 10, it will be described how
the bill pull out preventing apparatus prevents pulling
out of a bill by an illegal action such that a genuine
20 bill B with a tape T attached to its trailing end is
accepted and then it is tried to draw back the bill.
In FIG. 7, the genuine bill B with the tape T is
inserted into the bill passage 4 through the bill inlet
slot 2 as in the usual case, and the magnetic head 6 sends
25 a signal representing the bill B is genuine.
Subsequently, the bill B is conveyed in the bill passage
4, pushing the projecting end 26A of the shutter plate 26
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outside the bill passage 4, and then the bill B pushes the
pull out preventing levers 30 to retract against the
spring force of the coil spring 37, and is thus introduced
into the bill passage 5 (FIG. 7). When the bill B reaches
5 to the stack position where it faces the pushing plate 17,
the conveying of the bill B is stopped, and the eccentric
cam 21 makes two revolutions, so that the pushing plate 17
makes two reciprocal movements. During the backward
movement of the pushing plate 17, the pushing plate 17
10 turns the bill hang preventing lever 31 against the coil
spring 40 by the lower end thereof in the counterclockwise
direction as shown in FIG. 5. In this state, the pushing
plate 17 pushes the bill B into the accumulating box 23
against the compressing plate 24 (FIG. 8~. Although the
15 pushing plate 17 may make a single reciprocal movement by
a revolution of the eccentric cam 21, it is preferable to
make the pushing plate two reciprocal movements as in this
embodiment to positively accumulate bills.
In the case where as shown in FIG. 9 it is tried to
20 pull out the bill B by moving the projecting end 26A of
the shutter plate 26 away from the bill passage with a
plastic plate 43 which has been inserted through the bill
lnlet slot 2, the lower end of the bill B is brought into
engagement with the hook grooves 34 of the pull out
25 preventing lever 30, and thereby pulling out of the bill B
is prevented.
In the case where an illegal user inserts the plastic
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plate 43 further and tries to draw out the bill B by
retracting the pawls 33 of the pull out preventing lever
30 with the plastic plate 44, the bill B is hooked at the
lower edge thereof by the tongue 39. The bills B are thus
5 prevented from being pulled out by the tape T. When the
illegal user tries to draw out the tape T by force, the
tape T is cut by the V-shaped edge 39a of the tongue 39.
Should the bill B pass over the tongue 39 by pulling the
tape T, the bill B is hooked by the hooking grooves 34 of
10 the pull out preventing lever 30.
