Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-16
2001-07-03
Frech, Karl D. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
C235S442000, C271S902000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253996
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a medium handling apparatus for issuing a ticket of the type used to identify a person entitled to board a plane, ship or train. More particularly, it relates to a medium handling apparatus having a hopper assembly which includes a hopper for accommodating therein a continuous elongated ticket sheet folded along lines of perforations.
Referring to
FIG. 7
, there is shown a prior art medium handling apparatus
100
having first and second hoppers
110
a
and
110
b.
Each of these hoppers accommodates therein a continuous medium which may for example be a continuous elongated ticket sheet
200
consisting of a plurality of tickets
210
connected to each other by lines of perforations
220
(FIG.
8
). Ticket sheet
200
is folded along the lines of perforations
220
and stored in hoppers
110
a
and
110
b
. The ticket sheet
200
stored in hopper
110
a
is drawn out of this hopper and, guided by feed guide
120
a
, inserted between feed rollers
130
a
. The ticket sheet
200
stored in hopper
110
b
is drawn out of this hopper and, guided by feed guide
120
b
, inserted between feed rollers
130
b.
When the apparatus
100
issues a ticket
210
, a ticket sheet
200
is conveyed from a selected one of the hoppers
110
a
or
110
b
to a cutting roller
150
by either feed rollers
130
a
or
130
b
depending upon whether hopper
110
a
or
110
b
has been selected. The cutting roller
150
cuts the perforation
220
of the ticket sheet
200
after the leading edge of the ticket sheet is detected by either sensor
140
a
or
140
b
, again depending upon whether hopper
110
a
or
110
b
has been selected, thereby separating the leading ticket from the ticket sheet
200
.
The separated ticket
210
is then conveyed to a magnetic processing unit
160
by feed rollers
130
c
and data describing the ticket, which was previously stored in a magnetic stripe (not shown) of the ticket sheet
200
, is read out by a magnetic reading head
161
of the magnetic processing unit
160
. Next, data relating to the type of ticket to be issued is written into the magnetic stripe by a magnetic writing head
162
and the ticket
210
is convoyed to a printing unit
170
. Additional information is printed on the ticket
210
by a thermal head
171
of the printing part
170
and the ticket
210
discharged to a stacker
180
.
FIG. 8
illustrates an example of a prior art hopper assembly consisting of a hopper
110
a
, a feed guide
120
a
and feed rollers
130
a
for use in the medium handling apparatus of FIG.
7
. The hopper assembly consisting of hopper
110
a,
feed guide
120
a
and feed rollers
130
a
has arbitrarily been selected for description although the hopper assembly consisting of hopper
130
b,
feed guide
120
b
and feed rollers
130
b
could have been used in this example.
In use, the top and one side of the hopper
110
a
are opened by an operator and a ticket sheet
200
placed in the hopper. The leading edge of the ticket sheet is fed by the operator over the feed guide
120
a
and between feed rollers
130
a.
When instructions to issue a ticket
210
are input to the apparatus
100
, the leading edge of the ticket sheet
200
is conveyed toward the cutting roller
150
by the feed rollers
130
a.
Another example of a prior art hopper is shown in
FIG. 9
, again with reference to hopper
110
a
although the following description would also apply to hopper
110
b
. This type of hopper is used when there is a limited amount of space above the hopper due to a need to minimize the size of the apparatus
100
. In this embodiment, a cover
111
having a position restraint portion
112
is provided over the hopper
110
a
The position restraint portion
112
slopes upward toward a feed opening
113
and functions to restrain the ticket sheet
200
from floating out of the hopper
110
a
. In use, one of the four sides of the hopper
110
a
is opened by the operator and the ticket sheet
200
installed in the hopper from the opened side.
In the initial operation of the hopper assembly of
FIG. 9
, the leading edge of the ticket sheet is fed over the feed guide
120
a
and between feed rollers
130
a
in the direction of the arrow A. When the leading edge of the ticket sheet
200
reaches the sensor
140
a,
the sensor generates a signal which causes the feed rollers
130
a
to continue to rotate for a predetermined period of time resulting in the leading edge of the ticket sheet reaching the point B downstream from the sensor
140
a
Rotation of the feed rollers
130
a
is then stopped. Next, the feed rollers
130
a
are driven in reverse for another predetermined period of time which conveys the leading edge of the ticket sheet
200
from the location B through the distance L to a location C between the feed rollers
130
a
and the sensor
140
a.
A similar arrangement is used in the prior art hopper assembly shown in
FIG. 8
although it is not shown in FIG.
8
.
The described feed arrangement is necessary regardless of whether the prior art hopper of
FIG. 8
or
FIG. 9
is used because the apparatus
100
shown in
FIG. 7
selects one of the two hoppers
110
a
and
110
b
according to the kind of ticket selected. Therefore, when the hopper from which the ticket sheet is taken is switched to the other hopper, the leading edge of the ticket sheet
200
located at the cutting roller
150
after the ticket
210
has been issued must be returned to the location C between the feed rollers and the sensor. When instructions to issue a ticket
210
are input to the apparatus
100
, the leading edge of the ticket sheet
200
is conveyed toward the cutting roller
150
by the feed rollers
130
a.
A problem encountered with the prior art apparatus, whether the hopper of
FIG. 8
or
FIG. 9
is used, is that a feed jam may occur if folded tickets
210
of ticket sheet
200
are drawn out of the hopper when they are clinging to each other by the properties of the ink used for printing the tickets and/or by the presence of static electricity.
Another problem, which is peculiar to the prior art hopper of
FIG. 9
, is that when the ticket sheet
200
is conveyed in the reverse direction, that is, in the direction opposed to the direction of arrow A, the ticket sheet
200
collides with the position restraint portion
112
of the cover
111
and is pressed hard against it. As a result, the ticket sheet
200
is sometimes improperly cut along a line of perforations
220
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to prevent a feed jam by providing an apparatus wherein the folded tickets of the ticket sheets do not cling together.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus wherein stress is not applied to the perforations in the ticket sheet when the ticket sheet is conveyed in the reverse direction.
The present invention is a medium handling apparatus for conveying a continuous elongated ticket sheet formed of a plurality of tickets extending along a length of the ticket sheet. Each of the tickets has a given width extending transverse to the length of the ticket sheet and is connected to a continuous ticket by a line of perforations. The apparatus includes a hopper accommodating the ticket sheet folded along the lines of perforations separating the tickets, feed rollers for conveying the ticket sheet, a feed guide interposed between the hopper and the feed rollers, and a load member attached to the feed guide facing a surface of the ticket sheet. The load member introduces a frictional resistance between the ticket sheet and the feed guide as the ticket sheet is conveyed in a first direction to the feed rollers.
In another embodiment of the invention, a sensor spaced in the first direction from the feed rollers is provided. The sensor detects the position of the leading edge of the ticket sheet and drives the feed rollers in either the first direction or a second direction opposite the first direction. A cover assembly is attached to an upper portion of the hopper for producin
Hiratuka Shuuiti
Ishii Ryuji
Sone Sadao
Frank Robert J.
Frech Karl D.
OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
Venable
Yven J.
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