U.S. patent application number 09/924534 was filed with the patent office on 2003-02-13 for document feed out service.
This patent application is currently assigned to De La Rue Cash Systems AB. Invention is credited to Andersson, Jorgen, Nordin, Anders.
Application Number | 20030030210 09/924534 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25450334 |
Filed Date | 2003-02-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030030210 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Nordin, Anders ; et
al. |
February 13, 2003 |
Document feed out service
Abstract
A document delivery device comprises a carriage (2) which is
movable along a path system comprising a first path (10) which
extends between a document receiving station for the carriage and a
document delivery station for the carriage, and a second path (20)
which is connected to the first path and defines an end position
(22) for dumping of documents from the carriage. On each side the
carriage has wheels (42) which are received in and run in guide
tracks (43) on opposite sides of the path. The device also
comprises a document holder (3) which is carried by the carriage
(2), and means (91, 92) for displacing the document holder (3) in
relation to the carriage at the document delivery station. The
carriage carries a magnet (70, 71), and the device comprises one or
more hall-element(s) in the movement path for the magnet, for
detection of the position of the magnet (70, 71) along the
path.
Inventors: |
Nordin, Anders; (Flen,
SE) ; Andersson, Jorgen; (Valla, SE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OLIFF & BERRIDGE, PLC
P.O. BOX 19928
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22320
US
|
Assignee: |
De La Rue Cash Systems AB
Flen
SE
642 82
|
Family ID: |
25450334 |
Appl. No.: |
09/924534 |
Filed: |
August 9, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/300 ;
271/302 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 2405/121 20130101;
B65H 2701/1912 20130101; B65H 2511/20 20130101; B65H 2408/13
20130101; B65H 5/04 20130101; B65H 2511/20 20130101; B65H 2553/22
20130101; B65H 2220/03 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
271/300 ;
271/302 |
International
Class: |
B65H 005/00; B65H
039/10 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A document feed out device comprising a carriage which is
movable along a path system comprising a first path which extends
between a document receiving station for the carriage and a
document delivery station for the carriage, and a second path which
is connected to the first path and defines an end position for
dumping of documents from the carriage, said carriage having on
each side wheels which are received in and run along guide tracks
on opposite sides of the path, a document holder which is carried
by the carriage and means for displacing the document holder in
relation to the carriage at the document delivery station, wherein
the document holder carries a magnet, and wherein the device
comprises one or more hall-element(s) along the movement path of
the magnet, for detection of the position of the magnet(s) along
the path.
2. A device according to claim 1, wherein a hall-element at the
document receiving station is located in order to sense that the
magnet of the document holder has attained a position in which the
holder has been driven forward in relation to the carriage, to a
forward end position, in a direction toward the adjacent document
delivery station, while the carriage is located in a forward end
position at the document delivery station.
3. A device according to claim 1, wherein a magnet is stationarily
mounted on the carriage in order to be detected by a
hall-element.
4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the magnet which is
stationarily mounted on the carriage, and the magnet which is
supported by the holder, are positioned to be detected by one and
the same hall-element.
5. A device according to claim 1, wherein the path system of the
device comprises a third path which connects to the first path and
extends to a second document delivery station which is separate
from the first mentioned document delivery station, one or more
hall-element(s) being arranged in the vicinity of the second
document delivery station in order to sense the position for one or
more magnets which are carried by the carriage.
Description
[0001] The invention refers to a device of the kind certified in
the preamble of claim 1.
[0002] A device of the inventive kind serves to receive documents
in a receiving station and to deliver the documents to a remote
delivery station by means of a document holder which is carried by
a carriage which can be driven between said positions and which
usually also can be driven to a dumping station. In a conventional
manner, control devices can be provided between the receiving
station and the delivery station, in order to sense that the
documents are in prescribed condition, or whether the delivery
shall be discontinued.
[0003] The carriage has wheels which usually are positioned
laterally and which run along guide tracks in the device. These
guide tracks form a path system for the carriage. The path system
comprises a first path, the ends of which defines the document
receiving station and the document delivery station, respectively,
and can also comprise a further path, one end of which adjoins to
the first path between the ends thereof, and the other end of which
defines a dumping station.
[0004] Moreover, the path system can comprise a third path, one end
of which connects to the first path between the ends thereof, and
the other end of which defines a second document delivery station,
at a distance from the first mentioned document delivery
station.
[0005] Drive means are provided for driving the carriage to said
stations. When the carriage is in the document delivery station,
the document holder can be displaceable along the carriage in the
running direction thereof, into a document delivery position in
which a customer can grasp the documents from the holder in its
forward end position.
[0006] A device of the indicated type is usually used in order to
deliver an ordered number of bills of chosen denominations from a
safety compartment into a delivery slot of a teller machine, but
the device can of course also find use in similar corresponding
circumstances. For the sake of simplicity, the device can in one
embodiment be an equipment for delivery of ordered bills to a
customer in a teller machine.
[0007] In order to survey and control the velocity and acceleration
of the carriage and also to monitor that the carriage arrives at
the correct end positions in the path system, optical sensors have
been used in a prior art device known from the practice. These
optical sensors typically comprise a light emitter such as an LED
which illuminates a phototransistor, which upon illumination gives
off a first signal and which gives off another signal when the
light from the LED no longer can be detected. The carriage can then
carry screening elements which screen off the transistor when the
carriage is located in a corresponding position along the path for
example in an end position. In said prior art device which is known
from the practise, a carriage wheel is for practical reasons used
as a screening off element.
[0008] A problem at the prior art device is that the carriage must
be guided in the axial direction of the wheel, at least at the end
positions of the carriage in the path system, so that the carriage
wheel correctly screens off the optical path between light emitter
and its sensor. In view of necessary tolerances, which in turn
partly are due to the necessary transport velocities for the
carriage, it was, in practice, necessary to give the carriage and
thereby the wheels thereof a certain ability to move in the axial
direction of the wheels, but this ability to move was incompatible
with the requirement of a screening function for the carriage
wheel, and therefore the wheel paths had to be completed with the
guides in order to provide an accurate axial positioning of the
carriage in the axial direction at the region of the end positions
of the carriage.
[0009] A further problem in connection with the prior art device is
that the environment of the device is such that dust and dirt have
adhered on the active surfaces of the optical sensors and disturb
the optical path so that malfunction can occur. The dirt and the
dust are often formed by fibres and fibre particles which are
released from the documents (the bills) in connection to handling
and transport in the device.
[0010] An object of the invention is therefore to provide a device
by which at least some of the above problems are completely or
partly set aside. The object is attained by a device according to
the appended independent claim.
[0011] Embodiments of the inventive device are stated in the
appended independent claims.
[0012] Basically the invention recides in that the device is
provided with hall-effect devices for sensing the end positions of
the carriage in the path system, and for possible sensing of the
carriage in other positions along the path system. The carriage can
then be provided with one or more magnets, for example permanent
magnets, and the transport device can be provided with hall-effect
elements at those positions where it is desirable to be able to
sense a magnet, that is the carriage, and the position thereof. The
sensors can of course be connected to a monitoring computer which
controls the control means for the carriage so that the velocity
and acceleration of the carriage can be adapted in order to
optimise the movement pattern of the carriage, in view of transport
safety, wear and minimised transport time.
[0013] By using hall-elements, a reduced position sensitivity in
the wheel axial direction of the carriage is attained, so that it
is possible to dispense with the guiding in the axial direction of
the wheels which otherwise is required at devices with optical
sensors.
[0014] Moreover, the hall-element device has a hysteresis
corresponding to that for optical sensors previously used in the
device, so that the hall-element sensors can replace the previously
used optical sensors without requiring that the device otherwise
has to be modified in any essential extent, and also the control
and monitor program which controls the device on the basis of
information from the optical sensors can then be maintained with
very little modification. Furthermore the hall-element sensors
provide a positioning which is comparable to that provided by the
optical sensors.
[0015] The carriage supports one or more magnets. When the carriage
has a document holder which is displaceable along the carriage, the
document holder can carry the magnet, or a magnet, for positional
detection of the document holder, for example in the position where
the holder receives documents, or a position where the holder is
given to a forward end position in relation to the carriage, in the
document delivery position of the carriage.
[0016] In the following, the invention will be described in the
form of an example, with reference to the appended drawing.
[0017] FIG. 1 shows schematically a side view of a devise according
to the invention.
[0018] FIG. 2 shows a section taken along line II-II in FIG. 1
through a carriage, as the carriage is located in a document
delivery station.
[0019] FIG. 3 schematically shows a partially sectioned side view
of a carriage with a document holder, taken along line III-III in
FIG. 2.
[0020] FIG. 4 shows, in a side view corresponding to FIG. 3, a lock
mechanism for the displaceable document holder of the carriage.
[0021] FIG. 1 shows a device 1 comprising a carriage 2 which
carries a document holder 3. The carriage is movable along a first
path 10, one end 11 of which defines the document receiving station
of the carriage, and the other end 12 of which defines a document
delivery station. A second path 20 connects with one end thereof to
the first path 10 and defines with the other end 22 thereof a
dumping station for the carriage and the documents thereof, for
example in the case that the document delivered by the carriage to
the feed out position is not picked up from that position, so that
the carriage and the document holder must be emptied before they
can carry out a new document delivery.
[0022] Furthermore, the device can comprise a third path, one end
of which connects to the first path 10 between the ends thereof and
the other end of which defines a second document delivery station
32. At the junctions of the paths, controllable switches 81, 82 can
be provided. The device 1 can be considered to comprise an
enclosure in which the paths 10, 20 30 are located, and a
collection pocket 50 which is arranged to receive documents which
have been dumped at the station 22.
[0023] As can be seen in FIG. 4, the carriage 2 comprises a
document holder 3 which is displaceable in the longitudinal
direction of the carriage 2 between a withdrawn position and a
forward position 3' which is shown by broken lines, in which the
holder 3' has been driven forwardly in the running direction of the
carriage toward a document delivery location. The document holder
13 is provided with through-going apertures in which documents 5
are exposed. An optical recognition device 2 comprising for example
a light emitter 61 and a light sensor 62, senses the presence of
documents 5 in the holder 3 when the holder 3 has been moved
forwardly from the carriage as located in the end position thereof,
and can thus sense whether the documents 5 are removed from the
holder 3 in the delivery station 12.
[0024] FIG. 2 shows that the carriage 2 has wheels 42 which are
received in and runs in pairs of tracks which define the paths 10,
20, 30. The position of the carriage along any of the paths can be
sensed by a previously known structure, thereby that an element,
for example a wheel 42 which is carried by the carriage 2, screens
off an optical path between a light emitter and a light sensor. As
a correct function of the lights sensor requires that the wheel 42
and thereby the carriage 2 has a well defined position in the axial
direction of the wheels 42, while the carriage 2 in practice must
have a certain play in the axial direction of the wheels in the
respective path, it is in the prior art embodiment necessary that
lateral guides are provided for the wheels, in order that the
optical sensor shall be able to provide reliable signals. Dust and
other dirt which occur within the devise 1 adhere to and can easily
disturb the optical sensor of the prior art device.
[0025] As can be seen from FIG. 3, the carriage 2 comprises a
document holder 3 which is displaceable within the longitudinal
direction of the carriage between a withdrawn position which is
shown with full lines, and a forward position 3' in which the
holder 3 has been driven to a forward end position in relation to
the carriage in the running direction of the carriage, toward a
document delivery station. The document holder 3 is provided with
through going openings (not shown) in which the document 5 held by
the holder are exposed. An optical sensing device 61, 62 which as
an example consists of a light emitter 61 and a light sensor 62
senses the presence of documents 5 in the holder 3 when the holder
3 has been moved forwardly to its forward end position in relation
to the carriage 2, when the carriage is in its forward end
position.
[0026] FIG. 3 shows that the device has a wall 18 at each document
delivery station. The wall 8 has an aperture through which the
holder 3 can be extended. Outside the forward end of the extended
holder 3' there is a further wall 19 which has an opening through
which the documents 5 which are carried by the holder 3, project so
that the customer can grip them.
[0027] FIG. 3 shows that the holder 3 is carried by a sled 4 which
is displaceably received in a slide track in the carriage 2. The
slide track is formed by an elongated slot 90 through a respective
side plate 28 of the carriage 2. The sled comprises a pair of
runners 45 each of which is received in a corresponding slot 90.
The sled 4 carries a through-going shaft 46 which in turn carries a
gear 48 which meshes with a toothrack 19 that delimits one of the
longitudinal edges of the slot 90. A drive motor (not shown) is
carried by the sledge 4 and is arranged to drive the shaft 48 to
rotation in a chosen direction and thereby drive the sled 4. Hereby
the sled 4 is displaceable between the ends 92, 93 of the slot.
[0028] FIG. 4 shows that the carriage 2 has a locking device which
holds the sled 4 and thereby the holder 3 in the retracted end
position thereof, until the carriage 2 hits the wall 18 in the
document delivery position.
[0029] The locking device comprises a two-armed lever 50 which is
pivotally journalled on the carriage 2 around an axis 67 in the
vicinity of the forward end of the carriage. The lever 50 comprises
a first arm 43, which forms with the wall 18 an acute angle so that
the other arm 54 of the lever 50 can be lifted from the locking
position when the arm 53 is swung upon engagement with the wall 18.
The free end of the arm 54 comprises a head 55 having a locking
surface which engages the forward edge of the sled (runner) 45. The
arm 54 has a protrusion 56 which is received by a spring 57 which
urges the arm 54 (the locking device) toward the locking position
thereof.
[0030] When the head 55 of the arm 54 is swung away, against the
action of spring 57, the sled 4 is permitted to pass the head 55
under the influence of the drive motor so that the sled 4 will take
the end position shown with broken lines in FIG. 4, in which the
sled engages the end 93 of the slot.
[0031] The shaft 46 carries the rear wheel pair of the carriage. In
its forward portion, the carriage has a shaft 47 which carries the
forward wheel pair 42 of the carriage. FIGS. 2 and 3 reveal that
the magnets 70 of the carriage pass in the vicinity of a stationary
hall-element 72 when the carriage 2 moves toward its end position.
The hall-element 72 can then give off a signal which can be used to
control the displacement movement of the carriage, for example. The
hall-element 72 also senses the magnet 71 of the sled 4, when the
sled 4 has taken a correct advanced position in relation to the
carriage 2.
[0032] With reference to FIG. 4 it can be seen that the sled 4 is
moving back to its start position under the influence of its drive
motor, and then the sloping cam surface 59 of the head 55 will lift
the arm 54 as it is affected by the passing runner 45. As soon as
the runner 45 has passed the head 55, the head is returned by the
spring 57 to a locking position in which the head, in its locking
position 58 locks the sled 4 in its retracted position.
[0033] In the station 11, the magnet 70 can again be sensed by a
hall-element which confirms that the carriage 2 has arrived in to a
correct position. A further hall-element can then sense the
position of the sled 4 (the magnet 71) in a chosen position for the
sled 4 in relation to the carriage 2.
[0034] The document holder 3 can have a grip function in order to
firmly grip the documents when the holder is withdrawn to the
carriage 2 and permit release of the documents 5 as the holder is
ejected.
* * * * *