Conveyors: fluid current – Carrier – Having side opening
Patent
1990-11-16
1992-03-03
Focarino, Margaret A.
Conveyors: fluid current
Carrier
Having side opening
406184, 406111, 406112, B65G 5106, B65G 5126, B65G 5134
Patent
active
050927140
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
Security for both cash and staff has always been of major concern to banks, building societies, and other cash handling businesses (e.g. post offices) in which cash is dispensed and received by cashiers. Past attempts to reduce the level of risk inherent in such cash handling operations have included, inter alia, the introduction of security screens or grilles and teller assist units at counter positions, but even these have proved to be of only limited deterrent to the determined and ruthless criminal.
Now, with the increasing level of competition currently taking place within the financial services industry, the marketing of such services is becoming much more customer oriented. In particular, there is an accelerating trend towards "open plan" branches, personal counselling and dealing across a desk in place of the traditional counter serivce, and a move towards giving over as much space as possible to the customer. These trends increase the security problem even further.
Cashiers operating at a desk station generally have a teller assist unit, which is a unit containing a stock of cash in a locked housing and providing the facility for the withdrawal of cash in required amounts in response to a request entered by the cashier. Such units may also be known as automatic teller safes or by some other name, but hereinafter they will be referred to as teller assist units, or TAU's for short. TAU's are similar in operation to the automatic cash dispensers which many banks and building societies provide for out-of-hours withdrawals, but as stand-alone units located at desk or other cashier points, they have disadvantages in that they remain vulnearable to particularly determined criminals, and their stocks of cash cannot be recirculated during business hours.
With the aim of overcoming these disadvantages it has been proposed to remove the TAU's from the cashier area to a remote and separate secure area, which may be time-locked, and to link each cashier station to its TAU by means of a pneumatic cash transfer system comprising an air tube in which a canister is moved back and forth in response to air pressure differentials created between the opposite ends of the tube to carry cash from the TAU to the cashier station and, if desired, from the cashier station to a deposit box also located in the secure area.
Air tube conveyor systems have been known for many years as a means of transporting a wide range of items (documents, valuables, samples, spare parts etc.) between different locations within a building, or even between adjoining buildings, and with suitable electronic controls it is considered that such a system is ideal for the above purpose. Air tube conveyor systems are capable of operating over any distance and in virtually any building, whether it is new or existing, and routes can be concealed above ceilings or below floors depending on the constructional constraints of the building concerned.
The above proposal using a pneumatic cash transfer system should serve to produce a much safer environment in banks, building societies, etc., where cashier/customer transactions take place. The system is such that no cash need be held at the cashier station (with the possible exception of a small float of loose coins), yet precise amounts of cash can be called up quickly as required from a secure area, and deposits can be sent back. Thus, at any time the only cash at risk will be the coin float and that which is being handled in the course of the current transaction. Furthermore, depending on the user's normal operating procedures, a full stock of cash will be available for immediate recycling at all times, and if recharging of any TAU becomes necessary this can be carried out in total security.
The present invention relates to such a pneumatic cash handling system for linking a cashier station to a remote TAU in a secure area, and is particularly concerned with a canister for carrying bank notes in such a system.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a canister for carrying bank notes
REFERENCES:
patent: 797044 (1905-08-01), Burl
patent: 1613471 (1927-01-01), Maclaren
patent: 1826833 (1931-10-01), Shannehan
Porter Alexander D. D.
Rosenthal Avi
Focarino Margaret A.
Kannofsky James M.
Tripmatic Limited
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