Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02228702 2000-03-20
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APPARATUS FOR USE AT A WALL OF AN ATM
This invention relates to an apparatus for use at an ATM for providing
a container which can in one arrangement be used for dispensing envelopes or
similar objects for use at the ATM.
It is well known that customers using an ATM often have to deposit
documents into the ATM machine and in order that these are properly identified
for
later sorting, the document must be enclosed within an envelope which is fed
into
the ATM machine by the customer. The ATM machine therefore generally include a
supply of such envelopes for use by the customers as required.
In some cases the supply of envelopes is merely provided as a stack
of the envelopes at a suitable location on a horizontal counter top available
at the
ATM.
In other cases the horizontal counter top includes a recess into which
the envelopes are located in vertically stacked arrangement so that the upper
ends
of the envelopes are available for grasping by the customer. These
arrangements
are generally untidy and lead to a wastage of envelopes since they can become
strewn around the area and spoiled either accidentally by the customers or by
activities of children and the like.
Other similar containers are also provided at the ATM location for
related end uses.
It is one object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which
is particularly designed and arranged for dispensing envelopes or similar
objects at a
wall in an ATM.
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According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an
apparatus for dispensing flat envelopes which are rectangular in plan for use
at a
wall having an opening therein comprising:
a cover plate arranged to be fixedly mounted on the wall at the opening
so as to cover the opening, the cover plate having:
a central plate portion arranged for covering the opening and flange
portions surrounding the opening and engaging the wall around the opening;
a front face arranged for facing forwardly of the wall for presentation to
a user;
and an opposite rear face;
and a rectangular container arranged for containing the envelopes
having:
two first side walls which are parallel and spaced by a width of the
envelopes and two second side walls at right angles to the first side walls
and
spaced by a length of the envelopes to receive and contain the envelopes
arranged
in a stack, an open front end and a rear end;
a movable end wall in front of the rear end and generally transverse to
the side walls for engaging a rear end of the stack;
and a spring between the rear end and the end wall biasing the end
wall along the container for pushing the stack toward the open front end of
the
container to present a front one of the envelopes in turn from a front end of
the
stack;
the cover plate having an opening in the central plate portion at which
one end of the front envelope is exposed for withdrawal of the front envelope
through the opening, the opening extending in a direction along the length of
the
envelope from a first edge at one of the second side walls to a second edge
partly
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along the container and the opening extending in a direction across the width
of the
envelope from one of the first side walls to the other of the first side
walls;
the cover plate and the container having cooperating mounting
elements for mounting the container behind the rear face of the central plate
portion
of the cover plate and for allowing removal of the container rearwardly of the
cover
plate for refilling of the container with envelopes.
Preferably the spring is arranged so as to provide a greater force on
the movable end wall of the container at an end of the end wall at the opening
than
at an end of the end wall opposite to the opening.
Preferably there is provided an abutment plate inclined relative to the
open end of the container and the cover plate in a direction away from the
opening
in the cover plate and into the container for contacting the front envelope
and
holding the front envelope inclined to the cover plate with said one end of
the front
envelope presented into the opening.
Preferably the cover plate includes a raised lip along the second side
of the opening, the lip being inclined from a position spaced from the second
edge of
the opening forwardly and toward the second edge of the opening so as to
present
the second edge of the opening forwardly of the cover plate to allow the edge
of the
front envelope to be presented in the opening forwardly of the cover plate.
Preferably there is provided a container cover plate mounted on the
container for holding the stack within the container, the container cover
plate being
shaped to leave one part of the open front end at one of the first side walls
open to
expose the front envelope of the stack at said one part.
Preferably the container cover plate is pivotally attached to the
container allowing the container cover plate to be opened for insertion of
further
envelopes into the stack by pushing down on the movable end wall.
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Preferably the container cover plate is pivotal relative to the container
at an end thereof opposite the opening.
Preferably the container cover plate includes a pair of side members
each extending along a respective one of the second sides of the container and
each including fastening means for engaging the first cover plate to the
container.
According to a second aspect of the invention, the apparatus for
dispensing flat envelopes which are rectangular in plan for use at a wall
having an
opening therein comprises:
a cover plate arranged to be fixedly mounted on the wall at the opening
so as to cover the opening, the cover plate having:
a central plate portion arranged for covering the opening and flange
portions surrounding the opening and engaging the wall around the opening;
a front face arranged for facing forwardly of the wall for presentation to
a user;
and an opposite rear face;
and a rectangular container arranged for containing the envelopes
having:
two first side walls which are parallel and spaced by a width of the
envelopes and two second side walls at right angles to the first side walls
and
spaced by a length of the envelopes to receive and contain the envelopes
arranged
in a stack, an open front end and a rear end;
a movable end wall in front of the rear end and generally transverse to
the side walls for engaging a rear end of the stack;
and a spring between the rear end and the end wall biasing the end
wall along the container for pushing the stack toward the open front end of
the
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container to present a front one of the envelopes in turn from a front end of
the
stack;
the cover plate having an opening in the central plate portion at which
one end of the front envelope is exposed for withdrawal of the front envelope
5 through the opening, the opening extending in a direction along the length
of the
envelope from a first edge at one of the second side walls to a second edge
partly
along the container and the opening extending in a direction across the width
of the
envelope from one of the first side walls to the other of the first side
walls;
the cover plate having mounting elements thereon for mounting the
container behind the rear face of the central plate portion of the cover plate
and for
allowing removal of the container rearwardly of the cover plate for refilling
of the
container with envelopes;
wherein the container attaches to the cover plate by a hanger member
at one of the first side walls which engages over an abutment of the cover
plate to
be suspended therefrom and a snap fastening engagement at the opposed one of
the first side walls which engages into a receptacle attached to the cover
plate to
hold the container releasably attached to the cover plate.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus
including a container which is arranged for mounting at a wall in an ATM
location
which provides an attractive appearance.
According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided an
apparatus for use at an ATM having a wall having an opening comprising:
a cover plate arranged to be fixedly mounted on the wall at the opening
so as to cover the opening, the cover plate having:
a central plate portion arranged for covering the opening and flange
portions surrounding the opening and engaging the wall around the opening;
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a front face arranged for facing forwardly of the wall for presentation to
a user;
and an opposite rear face;
and a rectangular container having:
two first side walls which are parallel and spaced and two second side
walls at right angles to the first side walls and spaced, an open front end
and a rear
end;
the cover plate having a slot shaped opening in the central plate
portion;
the cover plate having mounting elements thereon for mounting the
container behind the rear face of the central plate portion of the cover plate
and for
allowing removal of the container rearwardly of the cover plate;
wherein the container attaches to the cover plate by a hanger member
at one of the first side walls which engages over an abutment of the cover
plate to
be suspended therefrom and a snap fastening engagement at the opposed one of
the first side walls which engages into a receptacle attached to the cover
plate to
hold the container releasably attached to the cover plate.
Preferably the cover plate includes a projecting wall at said opposed
one of the first side walls which projecting wall extends generally at right
angles to
the cover plate and includes an opening defining said receptacle and wherein
the
snap fastening engagement of the container includes a spring blade attached to
and
inclined outwardly from said opposed one of the first side walls for engaging
a catch
portion of the spring blade into said opening in the projecting wall.
Preferably the cover plate includes a projecting wall at said one of the
first side walls which projecting wall extends generally at right angles to
the cover
plate and includes an opening defining said abutment and the hanger member of
the
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container includes a flange attached to and extending outwardly from an end of
said
one of the first side walls at said open mouth for engaging of the flange into
the
opening in the projecting wall.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is an exploded view of an apparatus according to the present
invention
Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the apparatus of
Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view similar to that of Figure 2
showing a modified arrangement.
Figure 4 is a transverse cross sectional view of the apparatus of Figure
3.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in the different figures.
The apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a container portion
10, a first container cover 11 and a second upper cover member 12. In the
embodiments shown, the upper cover member defines a horizontal cover plate
mounted in a horizontal counter but it will be appreciated that the same
construction
can be mounted in a vertical or inclined support wall as a front cover with
the
container being concealed behind the wall as a cartridge supply of the
envelopes.
The container portion comprises a generally rectangular container
having two parallel first side walls 13 and 14, and two parallel second side
walls 15
and 16. The side walls are vertical and arranged at right angles and
dimensioned so
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as to receive the envelopes in a vertical stack one on top of the other as
best shown
in Figure 2. The envelopes when inserted in the container are thus confined by
the
container walls to the vertical stack as shown. The container further includes
a rear
wall 17 closing the bottom of the side walls.
The container further includes a movable wall 18 which can slide
upwardly and downwardly within the container relative to the rear wall 17. The
movable wall 18 includes a horizontal upper surface 18A and depending sides
18B.
A spring arrangement is located between the movable wall 18 and the rear wall
17
so as to bias the movable wall 18 upwardly so as to take up a position
anywhere
between the rear wall and the open mouth of the container with sufficient
spring bias
to push the stack of envelopes upwards against its own weight so that the
stack has
an upward force pushing it up against the container cover regardless of the
number
of envelopes in the stack.
The spring 20 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is of the type comprising a
plurality of spring steel strips which are distorted so as to provide a
necessary spring
action. The strips are cut from a single spring sheet so as to form preferably
three
strips connected at a centre section so as to maintain an integral spring
structure.
Two of the strips indicated at 20A and 20B extend to the end of the container
adjacent to the side wall 13 and only a single one extends to the end of the
container
with the side wall 14. Thus there is an increase in the spring bias at the end
adjacent the side wall 13 than there is at the other end so as to tend to push
the
forward end of the movable wall 18 upwardly with a greater force than that at
the
rear end.
In the embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4, the spring is provided by
a pair of coil springs, one 20C arranged adjacent the wall 13 and the other
20D
arranged adjacent the opposite side wall 14. Again, the spring 20C is of
greater
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force than the spring 20D. both springs are attached to the movable wall 18 by
a
fastener 20E and to the rear wall 17 by engagement under tabs 20F.
In the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, the container includes a pair of
side strips 21 and 22 each extending along a respective side wall at the top
edge of
the side wall with a portion of each strip extending outwardly beyond the
front wall
13 to form a hook portion 21A, 22A with a recess 23 in the underside for
engaging
over a rod type hanger of the upper cover 12 as discussed hereinafter.
The container cover 11 comprises a pair of side strips 24 and 25 each
of which ties along the outside surface a respective one of the second side
walls 15
and 16 and is pivotally connected to the respective second side wall at the
end
adjacent the first side wall 14 by transverse pins 26. Each of the side strips
24,25
can thus lift by pivotal movement about a horizontal axis defined by the pin
26 so
that the forward end of the cover plate 11 raises upward to allow access to
the
interior of the container for insertion of further envelopes to supplement or
replace
the stack. At the forward end of each of the side strips 24 and 25 is provided
a snap
fastener 27 which co-operates with a snap fastening element 28 on the
respective
side strip 21, 22 or the side wall 15, 16 so as to snap fasten the side strip
to an
overlying relationship and thus hold the container cover downwardly onto the
top of
the container.
In Figures 1 and 2, the container cover further includes a generally box
shaped section 29 located between the sides 24 and 25. The box shaped section
includes an upper cover surface 30 at a bottom inclined wall 31. The box
shaped
section further includes a vertical rear wall 32. Thus the box shaped section
is
generally triangular in cross section as shown in Figure 2 and converges to a
forward apex 33 which is either sharp as shown in Figure 2 or can be defined
by a
short vertical wall 33A as shown in Figure 1. The apex 33 is spaced rearwardly
from
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the forward end of the side strips 24 and 25 so as to leave an opening 34
between
the apex 33 and the front wall 13.
The inclined bottom surface 31 thus presses down against the top of
the stack of envelopes so as to hold the stack downwardly and thus form an
incline
5 in the stack. As the stack is substantially incompressible, this presses
also at the
bottom of the stack onto the movable wall 18 so that the wall 18 lies
generally
parallel to the incline surface 31. In Figure 1, the stack has been removed
and the
cover lifted upwardly so that the movable wall is moved to the top of the
container.
However as soon as the cover is moved to the closed position shown in Figure
2,
10 the movable wall 18 will be compressed downwardly either by direct
engagement
with the bottom surface 31 or through the force applied by the stack of
envelopes.
The second front cover 12 comprises a separate element for mounting
in a counter top or support wall 40. The cover 12 comprises a generally flat
upper
plate 41 which lies over a hole or opening 42 in the countertop 40 and defines
a
surrounding lip 43 which engages onto the edge of the countertop surrounding
the
opening 42. The cover further includes a depending receptacle 44 which is
defined
into a rectangular shape by side walls 44A, 44B, 44C and 44D and is welded to
the
underside of the plate 41 at a position so as to engage the edge of the
opening 42.
The side walls 44A to D are fastened to the edge of the opening by screws 45.
At the side wall 14, the flange 44B extends further downwardly to form
a depending wall 46 which extends across the full width of the container and
includes an opening 47 at a position spaced downwardly from the underside of
the
front plate 41. The side wall 14 of the container includes a spring steel snap
closure
48 with a button 49 which projects into the opening 47 as a snap fastening
engagement which can be released by compressing the button 49. In Figures 3
and
4, the spring strip 48 is of increased length so as to extend to the rear wall
17. Also
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the button 49 has a sharp corner engaging the edge of the opening 47 to
provide
sufficient hold on the container to prevent it slipping out under its own
weight and
such that the strip 48 must be compressed to push the button out of the
opening
before the contained can be released.
In Figures 1 and 2, the inside of the receptacle 44 at the sides adjacent
the side wall 13 carries a pair of hanger rods 50 and 51 over which the hooks
23
engage. Thus the container is mounted in place under the counter top supported
on
the upper cover by firstly hooking the hooks 23 over the pins 50 and 51 and
then
pivoting the other end part of the container upwardly until the snap fastening
element
engages into the opening 47. Removal is effected in the reverse operation so
that
the rear is firstly pulled downwardly thus releasing the container to be
pivoted and
moved slightly rearwardly to release the hooks 23 from the pins 50 and 51.
The second cover further an opening 54 generally aligned with the
opening 34 so that the top of the stack which is pushed through the opening 34
by
the bottom plate and its co-operation with the inclined surface 31 also pushes
the
same stack portion through the opening 54. To improve the presentation of the
top
of the stack of envelopes, the opening 54 includes a mouth 55 in the form of
an
inclined plate or lip which has a front edge 56 and is inclined downwardly and
rearwardly to a line 57 at which it joins the top wall 41. Triangular sides 58
close the
sides of the mouth. In this way the top few envelopes are presented upwardly
under
the under surface of the wall 55 of the mouth which is at the same angle and
aligned
with the wall 31.
In this way one or more envelopes is presented which can be taken by
the user and the envelopes are provided in an attractive stack while
discouraging
waste or misuse of the envelopes since they are presented in effect one at a
time or
a few at a time.
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In the arrangement of Figure 3 and 4, there are some minor
modifications beyond those described hereinbefore. In this embodiment, the
hanger
by which the side wall 13 is attached to the wall 44A of the receptacle of the
cover
plate is formed by a top flange 13A of the side wall 13 which is turned at
right angles
to the side wall with an edge lip which is turned back down along the side
wall 13 to
form in effect a hook shape of the flange 13A. A slot is arranged in the wall
44A of
the receptacle directly adjacent the plate 41 so that in a first movement the
flange is
pushed upwardly inside the wall 44A until the flange 13A engages into the slot
indicated at 44E. The upper part of the container in the orientation shown in
Figure
3 is then pivoted about an axis defined between the flange 13A and the slot
44E until
the end of the side wall 14 engages into the receptacle for the snap fastening
of the
button 49 into the opening 47. To assist in guiding the container into the
receptacle,
the walls 44C and 44D of the receptacle have depending guide lugs 44F which
extend out beyond the edge 44G of the wall.
Also in the embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4, the box section 29
is omitted so that the cover 11 forms a simple flat sheet with an edge 11A
adjacent
the opening 54 and an opposed edge 11 B spaced inwardly of the pin 26. The
edge
11A is outside of the opening 54 so that the part of the container which is
exposed
beyond the end of the cover 11 as indicated at 11 C is larger than the opening
54.
Preferably the edge 11A is arranged at or just beyond the junction of the lip
55 with
the wall 41 so as to allow the envelopes to extend outwardly through the
opening as
guided by the lip 55 so that the edge of the envelope lying along the side
walls 13 is
presented forwardly of the plate 41.
In similar other embodiments (not shown) an inclined plate similar to
the plate 31 but of reduced angle of inclination can be provided in the
embodiment of
Figures 3 and 4.
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The movable plate 18 carries a pair of tabs 18C projecting outwardly
from the depending side walls 18B and engaging into respective ones of a pair
of
slots 15A in the side walls 15 and 16. The slots extend along the extent of
movement of a moveable member from a position closely adjacent the rear wall
17
to a position adjacent to but spaced downwardly from the open mouth. The tabs
can
be highlighted by coloured marking so that an operator can readily see the
location
of the removal plate within the container to see whether the container
requires
refilling without withdrawing the container from its position in the
receptacle.
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein
above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made
within the spirit and scope of the claims without departing from such spirit
and
scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying
specification shall
be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
