Registers – Coded record sensors – Feed mechanisms
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-10
2003-11-04
Lee, Diane I. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Coded record sensors
Feed mechanisms
C235S379000, C271S003140
Reexamination Certificate
active
06641047
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a bank-note processing device used for e.g. a vending machine, a money changing machine, a pachinko ball dispenser and a metal token dispenser.
BACKGROUND ART
In a main unit of dispensers handling bank-notes (including coupons), a bank-note processing device for judging the genuineness of an inserted bank-note and for storing only bank-notes regarded as genuine is normally equipped.
FIG. 20
is a conceptual cross-sectional side view of a major portion of a conventional bank-note processing device
1
.
This bank-note processing device
1
comprises a main body
2
, and a stacker
37
which is disposed on the rear face
2
a
of the main body
2
.
In the main body
2
, an L-shaped bank-note transfer passage
4
connected to a bank-note slot
3
, bank-note transporting means
11
for guiding a bank-note inserted from the bank-note slit
3
to the bank-note transfer passage
4
, shutter means
18
for opening/closing the bank-note transfer passage
4
, bank-note identification means
19
comprised of a magnetic head which judges the genuineness of the bank-note transported by the bank-note transporting means
11
after which the bank-note is passed through the shutter means
18
, bank-note shifting means
20
for shifting the bank-notes judged as genuine by the bank-note identification means
19
to the stacker
37
side one by one, and a bank-note reverse-flowing preventive lever
30
for preventing the bank-notes stored in the stacker
37
by the bank-note shifting means
20
sticking out into the bank-note transfer passage
4
, are disposed.
The L-shaped bank-note transfer passage
4
is comprised of a horizontal portion
4
a
which further comprises top and bottom chutes
5
and
6
, and a vertical portion
4
b
which further comprises chutes
7
and
8
, where the entire bottom chute
6
area of the horizontal portion
4
a
and upstream of the bottom chute
8
of the vertical portion
4
b
are integrated by a roughly L-shaped box
9
, as disclosed in the description of Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 10-141350 which the present applicant proposed in the past. The box
9
is removably attached to the main body
2
in the arrow A direction as the dash and dotted lines in
FIG. 21
show, via the slide support means, which is not illustrated, formed on both side faces of the box
9
and on both sides of the inner surface of the main body
2
, which is for example, guide grooves and guide protrusions to be guided into the guide grooves.
FIG. 21
is a conceptual plan view of a major portion depicting the operation of the conventional bank-note processing device, where the identical parts as
FIG. 20
are denoted by the same numerals.
The bank-note transporting means
11
is comprised of a looped bank-note transporting belt
12
, which is stretched along the horizontal portion
4
a
and the vertical portion
4
b
of the bank-note transfer passage
4
, and belt driving means
17
, which is further comprised of pulleys
13
,
14
,
15
and
16
for driving and rotating the bank-note transporting belt
12
, as shown in FIG.
20
.
The bank-note shifting means
20
is disposed on both sides of the main body
2
shown in
FIG. 20
in the longitudinal direction, and is comprised of a pair of bank-note guide drums
21
which are supported so as to rotate in one direction with the top and bottom ends as shafts, as disclosed in the description of Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 5-276592, which the present applicant proposed in the past. On the cylindrical surface of the bank-note guide drum
21
, a slit
22
for inserting the edge of a bank-note in the width direction is formed along the bank-note transfer passage
4
, and this slit
22
is positioned to match the bank-note transfer passage
4
at the initial position, as shown in
FIG. 22
, which is a conceptual cross-sectional view of a major portion of the bank-note processing device. For details on the bank-note shifting means
20
, refer to the description in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 5-276592.
The bank-note reverse-flowing preventive lever
30
is disposed between the pair of bank-note guide drums
21
, and is comprised of an L-shaped lever
25
which is rotatably supported with the shaft
26
as a center, and the lever
25
further comprises a long shaft
25
a
which is set to be a length shorter than the outer diameter
21
a
of the bank-note guide drums
21
, and a short shaft
25
b
connected to urging means
28
, which is further comprised of a spring
27
supported by a spring support section
31
disposed on the main body
2
.
In the case of the long shaft
25
a
, the front end area
25
c
can freely come out of the hole
29
formed in the main body
2
toward the bank-note guide drum
21
, and force is always exerted on the front end
25
e
toward the bank-note transfer passage
4
side by the urging means
28
. For the short shaft
25
b
, a stop
32
, for controlling the lever not to rotate for more than a predetermined angle toward the bank-note transfer passage
4
side, is formed at the front end
25
d.
According to such a bank-note processing device
1
, when a bank-note
101
(
FIG. 22
) is inserted into the bank-note slot
3
, as shown in
FIG. 20
, the presence of the bank-note
101
is detected by the bank-note detection sensor, and the inserted bank-note
101
is horizontally transported to the right direction in the drawing along the horizontal portion
4
a
of the bank-note transfer passage
4
by the transporting force of the bank-note transporting belt
12
which rotates counterclockwise, that is normal rotation, based on the detection signal. At the same time, the shutter means
18
(
FIG. 20
) is driven, by which the shutter is moved to the left direction in the drawing and the vertical portion
4
b
of the bank-note transfer passage
4
is opened.
When the inserted bank-note
101
is horizontally transported to the right direction in the drawing along the horizontal portion
4
a
of the bank-note transfer passage
4
by the normal rotation of the bank-note transporting belt
12
, and is then transported upward at roughly a 90 degree angle along the vertical portion
4
b
of the bank-note transfer passage
4
, the genuineness of the inserted bank-note
101
is judged by the bank-note identification means
19
disposed at the vertical portion
4
b
of the bank-note transfer passage
4
.
If the bank-note identification means
19
judges the inserted bank-note
101
as counterfeit, the bank-note transporting belt
12
rotates in reverse (clockwise rotation), so as to return the inserted bank-note
101
through the bank-note slot
3
.
If the bank-note identification means
19
judges the inserted bank-note
101
as genuine, the bank-note transporting belt
12
continues normal rotation based on the detection signal, so as to transport the inserted bank-note
101
downstream of the bank-note transfer passage
4
.
When the front end
101
a
of the inserted bank-note
101
is inserted into the bottom ends
22
a
of the slits
22
of the bank-note guide drums
21
, the inserted bank-note
101
is caught between the edge of the slits of the bank-note guide drums
21
and the bank-note transporting belt
12
(FIG.
20
), therefore the inserted bank-note
101
is transported to the arrow B direction in
FIG. 22
along the slits
22
by the transporting force of the bank-note transporting belt
12
.
When a sensor, not illustrated, detects that the bottom end
101
b
of the bank-note
101
has reached a predetermined position in the slits
22
of the bank-note guide drums
21
, as shown in
FIG. 23
where the identical parts as
FIG. 22
are denoted by the same numerals, normal rotation of the bank-note transporting belt
12
(
FIG. 20
) stops and the bank-note guide drums
21
rotate in directions opposite from each other at a same phase, by which the bank-note
101
inserted in the slits
22
parallel shifts to the stacker
37
side, as the arrow C in
FIG. 23
shows.
When the bank-note
101
parallel shifts to the stacker
37
side by the rotation of the
Hatamachi Tadashi
Ito Yukio
Kodama Yasuyuki
Yamagishi Noboru
Kabushiki Kaisha Nippon Conlux
Lee Diane I.
Welsh & Katz Ltd.
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