US3917260A

US3917260A - Bill stacking mechanism

Info

Publication number: US3917260A
Application number: US422266A
Authority: US
Inventors: Oliver G Okkonen; Lloyd D Herring
Original assignee: Rowe International Inc
Current assignee: Rowe International Inc
Priority date: 1973-12-06
Filing date: 1973-12-06
Publication date: 1975-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 1992-11-04
Also published as: CA1013311A; JPS5926980B2; JPS5092197A

Abstract

Apparatus for stacking bills received from a bill acceptor or the like in which corrugated rollers at the outlet of the acceptor deliver each bill lengthwise to an escrow chamber in front of a flat plate-like ram which is reciprocated in response to a signal from the acceptor to move the bill past retainer flanges on the mouth of a readily detachable cash box against the action of a foam spring in the box to stack the bills vertically within the receptacle.

Description

[ Nov. 4, 1975 United States Patent 1191 Okkonen et a1.

1 BILL STACKING MECHANISM 1,282,838 10/1918 Hudson1........................... [75] Inventors: Oliver G. Okkonen, Comstock Park; mig z 'ji Lloyd D. Herring, Jenison, both of 3:655:186 4/1972 Bayha Mich.

[73] Assignee: Rowe International, Inc., Whippany,

Primary Examiner-Evon C. Blunk Assistant ExaminerBruce H. Stoner, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Shenier & OConnor [22] Filed: Dec. 6, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for stacking bills received from a bill ac- 21 Appl. No.; 422,266

[52] US. 271/181; 194/4 E; 214/7;

ceptor or the like in which corrugated rollers at the outlet of the acceptor deliver each bill lengthwise to 271/188; 271/214 B65H 29/46; B65l-I 31/06 Field of Search 2 CL 27l/l81 180 214 215 an escrow chamber in front of a flat plate-like ram 271016 217 218 719 1 f whlch 1s reciprocated 111 response to a signal from the 7 6 6 i acceptor to move the b1ll past retalner flanges on the mouth of a readily detachable cash box against the ac- References Cited t1on of a foam sprlng 1n the box to stack the b1lls vert1- cally w1th1n the receptacle. UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,041,808 271/181 10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 1 of 3 US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet2 of3 3,917,260

NOE I: O6 J l. g r k L an 6 US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 3 of3 3,917,260

PIC-1,5

IZOVAC :2

\NC I38 BILL STACKING MECHANISM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are known in the prior art bill acceptors which accept bills and which produce a signal if the bill is genuine. These acceptors may form part of a changemaking mechanism or the signal may be used to establish a credit which can be used to purchase goods or services. One such bill acceptor is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,358, issued Dec. 23, 1969 to Donald E. Hooker, entitled Dollar Bill Collector.

While devices of the type described above operate satisfactorily in testing the genuineness of bills and in actuating change-makers or establishing credit, the problem exists of collecting and storing the bills which pass through the acceptor. It is obvious that an open storage space into which the bills drop in the manner of coins passing through coin responsive mechanisms is not satisfactory. It is desirable that the bills be stored in a stack and that they not be crumpled or otherwise disarranged.

We have invented apparatus for stacking bills received from a bill acceptor or the like. Our apparatus includes a cash box which is readily removable from the operating mechanism of the stacker. It has a large capacity. It is relatively simple in construction for the result achieved thereby.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One object of our invention is to provide apparatus for stacking bills received from a bill acceptor or the like.

Another object of our invention is to provide a bill stacking apparatus which has a readily removable cash box.

A further object of our invention is to provide a bill stacking apparatus which is relatively simple in construction.

Other and further objects of our invention will be apparent from the following description.

In general our invention contemplates the provision of apparatus for stacking bills received from a bill acceptor or the like in which corrugated rollers at the outlet of the acceptor deliver each bill lengthwise to a space in front of a ram which is reciprocated in response to a signal from the bill acceptor to carry the bill through the mouth of a cash box and behind retaining flanges thereon against the action of a foam cushion so that bills sequentially fed to the space in front of the ram are collected in the cash box in a stack. The cashbox of our assembly is readily removable from the operating mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of our bill stacking appara- FIG. 2 is a top plan view of our bill stacking appara- FIG. 3 is an end elevation of our bill stacking appara- FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the electrical control circuitry of our bill stacking apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, our bill stacking apparatus indicated generally by the reference character 10 includes a cash box indicated generally by the reference character 12 including

respective side plates

14 and 16 and a back plate 18 secured to

flanges

20 and 22 on the side plates by any suitable means such for example as by rivets 24. The base plate 26 of the cash box 12 is secured to

flanges

29 and 30 running along the bottom of the side plates by any suitable means such for example as by rivets 32. We provide the open front or mouth of the cash box 12 with a pair of inwardly directed

flanges

36 and 38 extending along the sides of the mouth to retain bills fed into the cash box in a manner to be described.

We form the upper edges of the

side walls

14 and 16 of the cash box with a pair of outwardly directed

hanger flanges

39 and 40 connected by any suitable means, such for example as by a rod 42. A pin 44 carried by the side plate 14, for example, is adapted to locate the cash box 12 on the remainder of the operating mechanism in a manner to be described. We position a spring in the form of a block of urethane foam 46 within the cash box 12 so as to urge bills in the box toward the

flanges

36 and 38.

The operating mechanism, indicated generally by the reference character 48, of our bill stacking apparatus includes a top plate 50 formed with

side flanges

52 and 54. We secure

respective guide blocks

56 and 58 to the top plate 50 adjacent to the

flanges

52 and 54 by any suitable means such as screws 60. The cash box 12 is adapted to be assembled on the operating mechanism 48 by sliding the

hanger flanges

39 and 40 along the

guide blocks

56 and 58. When the cash box is properly located as determined by the engagement of pin 44 with the operating mechanism 48, a U-shaped latch 61 pivotally supported on the

guide blocks

56 and 58 is moved downwardly over the back of the cash box 12. To facilitate this operation we may incline the back edges of

side plates

14 and 16 slightly inwardly at the tops thereof.

We form the operating mechanism back plate 62 with a flange 64 at the upper edge thereof adapted to be secured to the top plate 50 by any suitable means such for example as byscrews 66. We form a base plate 68 integrally with the back plate 62. Base plate 68 extends from the back plate 62 toward the cashbox 12. Preferably we provide a reinforcing member 70 extending between the base plate 68 and the top plate 50 and secured to the two members by any means such for example as by screws 72. We form the base plate 62 with

spaced extensions

74 and 76 which extend for some distance to the left of the base plate 62 as viewed in FIG. 1.

We mount a gearbox 78 on the base plate 62. A motor 80 having an output shaft 82 provides, the input to the gearbox 78 so that the output shaft 84 thereof rotates in response to energization of the motor 80. Shaft 84 carries a crank 86 having a pin 88 thereon which receives a bushing 90. We position the bushing 90 in a slot 92 formed in the base 94 of a ram carriage. We secure a flange 96 at the front of the base 94 to a ram 98 by any suitable means such for example as by welding or the like. It will be seen that the ram 98 has a platelike configuration which, as will be explained more fully hereinbelow, is adapted to engage a bill over a substantial area of the surface thereof. Preferably we connect a strut 100 between the ram 98 at a point below the flange and the carriage base 94 adjacent to the right end thereof as viewed in FIG. 1.

We mount respective pairs of

spaced pins

102 and 104 and 106 and 108 onthe sides of the carriage base 94. We provide base plate 62 with a flange 110 extending along one edge thereof and along the extension 74 of the base plate 62. A pair of

slots

112 and 114 in the flange 110 are adapted to receive pins 102 and 104. A second flange 116 extending along the other edge of the base plate 62 and along the extension 76 isformed with

slots

118 and 120 for receiving the

pins

106 and 108.

A pair of generally U-shaped vertically extending inwardly

opening guides

122 and 124 form an escrow chamber for the reception of bills in front of the

flanges

36 and 38. The bill acceptor or the like indicatedgenerally by the reference character 128, and a fragmentary portion of which is illustrated in FIG. 1, is provided with a pair of

corrugated outlet rolls

130 and 132, the corrugations of which interdigitate so as to vertically straighten and slightly crease a bill being fed from the acceptor to the space formed by

guides

122 and 124.

It is to be noted that the action of the corrugating rollers on a bill is such that even a relatively limp bill, after having passed between the rollers, will not tend to collapse to the bottom of the escrow chamber formed in part by

guides

122 and 124. Moreover, the dimensions of the chamber are such as to inhibit collapse of a bill.

The distance between the inboard edges of the lips or flanges 38 is somewhat less than the width of a bill being handled. The ram 98 is higher than a bill is long. The width of the ram, while permitting movement of the ram into the cash box between the

lips

36 and 38 is sufficiently great that the ram engages a bill over a major part of the area thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 4, in one form of electrical circuit which may be used to control our bill stacking mechanism, motor 80 is connected across

terminals

134 and 136 of a suitable source of voltage in series with a noise-suppression R-C circuit including aresistor 138 and a capacitor 140. The output of the bill acceptor or the like with which our assembly is used includes a terminal 142 which carries a potential of about 30 volts D.C., a ground terminal 144, and a terminal 146 at which a pulse appears when an acceptable bill has passed through the bill acceptor. A

voltage divider network

148 and 150 applies the pulse at terminal 146 to the base of a first transistor T-l having a collector resistor 152 and an emitter resistor 154. The resultant signal appearing on resistor 154 is applied to the base of a second transistor T-2 to energize a relay winding R adapted to close a pair of normally open switches R-1 and R-2. Preferably we connect a noise-suppressing diode 156 across the winding of relay R.

When winding R is energized switch R-l closes to complete a holding circuit for the winding R through a switch S-2 held in engagement with its normally open contact by a cam 160 on shaft 82 in the rest position of the apparatus. This holding circuit maintains winding R energized after the actuating pulse disappears. When switch R-2 closes, it energizes motor 80 so that shaft 82 begins to rotate. When'the shaft 82 begins its rotation, a cam 158, which holds a switch in engagement with its normally open contact in the rest position of the apparatus, permits the switch to move into engagement with its normally closed contact to complete a holding circuit for the motor. Shortly thereafter cam 160 permits switch 8-2 to move into engagement with its normally closed contact. This operation deenergizes the relay R so that switches R-1 and R-2 are opened. In addition the engagement of switch 8-2 with its normally closed contact grounds a terminal 162 which may be connected to the bill acceptor to lock out the acceptor so that" no more bills can be inserted therein. As shaft 82 completes a revolution,'

cams

158 and 160 again actuate switches S-1 and 5-2 and the circuit returns to the condition shown in FIG- 4.

In operation of our bill stacking apparatus, a bill pass ing through the bill acceptor128 emerges from between

rollers

130 and 132 in the direction of its length and enters the space between the

guides

122 and 124 in front of the ram 98. At the same time a pulse at terminal 146 indicating that an acceptable bill has passed through the bill acceptor causes motor to be energize'd for a single revolution. As the motor shaft 82 goes through a single revolution, crank 86 carrying pin 88 causes the carriage base 94 to reciprocate so that the ram 98 engages the bill andmoves it beyondthe

flanges

36 and 38 against the action of the cushion 46. This operation continues until the cash box 12 is full. For example, in one embodiment of our apparatus up to one thousand bills canbe stacked in the cashbox 112. When the cash box is full, the latch 61 can be raised to permit the full cash box 12 to be removed from the op-, erating assembly and a fresh cash box can be assembled in operative relationship thereto.

It will be seen that we have accomplished the objects of our invention. We have provided apparatus for stacking bills received'from a bill acceptor or the like.

Our apparatus is capable of handling old, new or wrinkled bills without jamming. We provide our assembly with a readily removable cash box. Our assembly is simple in construction for the results achieved thereby.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of our claims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details within the scope of our claims without departing from the spirit of our invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that our invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim 1. Apparatus for stacking elongated bills received from a bill acceptor or the like which delivers an acceptable bill in the direction of the greater longitudinal length thereof and which frees a bill upon delivery thereof, including in combination, a cash box having an elongated mouth, retaining lips extending along the longitudinal edges of said mouth, means forming a narrow elongated escrow chamber in front of said mouth and adapted to receive a freed bill with said bill supported on one of the shorter lateral edges thereof, means at the outlet of said acceptor for imparting to a bill being delivered from said acceptor to said escrow chamber longitudinal crease to inhibit movement of said bill from said position in said escrow chamber in which the bill is supported on said shorter lateral edge thereof after being freed, a flat ram elongated in the direction of elongation of said mouth, the dimension of said ram being such as to engage a bill overa major part of the area thereof, means mounting saidram for move ment from a home position at a side of said chamber remote from said mouth across said chamber and through said mouth past said retaining lips and back to said home position to carry a bill from said chamber into said cash box through said mouth and means responsive to operation of said acceptor for moving said ram.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 including means for manually detachably mounting said cash box on said ram mounting means with said mouth in operative relationship with said ram.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2 in which said cash box mounting means comprises interengageable means on said ram mounting means and on said cash box for mounting said cash box for movement from a position at which said mouth is remote from said space to a position at which said mouth is adjacent to said space, and a manually operated latch for locking said cash box in said adjacent position.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3 in which said interengageable means comprises sliding means.

5. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which the distance between the edges of said lips is less than the width of a bill.

6. Apparaus as in claim 1 in which said ram is generally rectangular in outline, the width of said ram being less than the width of a bill being handled, the length in response to the passage of an acceptable bill therethrough including in combination, a frame, means on said frame forming a vertically oriented bill escrow chamber having the general shape of a rectangular parallelopiped, said chamber having an open upper end for the reception of bills on end from said acceptor, one side of said chamber being formed with an opening permitting the discharge of bills from the chamber, a cash box formed with a generally rectangular mouth, respective inwardly directed lips running along opposite longitudinal edges of said mouth, the distance between the edges of said lips being less than the width of a bill being handled to retain bills in said cash box, means in said cash box for biasing bills therein toward said lips, means mounting said cash box on said frame with said mouth adjacent to said chamber discharge opening, a ram having a flat rectangular bill engaging surface, means mounting said ram on said frame for movement of said surface from a home position remote from said mouth through said chamber and through said mouth and back to said home position to carry a bill from said chamber into said cash box past said retaining flanges against the action of said biasing means, energizable drive means for said ram and means responsive to said signal for energizing said drive means, said cash box mounting means comprising interengageable means on said frame and on said cash box for mounting said cash box for movement from a position at which said mouth is remote from said discharge opening to a position at which said mouth is adjacent to said opening and a manually operable latch for holding said cash box in said adjacent position.

10. Apparatus as in claim 9 including corrugated rollers for feeding bills on end to said chamber.

Claims

1. Apparatus for stacking elongated bills received from a bill acceptor or the like which delivers an acceptable bill in the direction of the greater longitudinal length thereof and which frees a bill upon delivery thereof, including in combination, a cash box having an elongated mouth, retaining lips extending along the longitudinal edges of said mouth, means forming a narrow elongated escrow chamber in front of said mouth and adapted to receive a freed bill with said bill supported on one of the shorter lateral edges thereof, means at the outlet of said acceptor for imparting to a bill being delivered from said acceptor to said escrow chamber longitudinal crease to inhibit movement of said bill from said position in said escrow chamber in which the bill is supported on said shorter lateral edge thereof after being freed, a flat ram elongated in the direction of elongation of said mouth, the dimension of said ram being such as to engage a bill over a major part of the area thereof, means mounting said ram for movement from a home position at a side of said chamber remote from said mouth across said chamber and through said mouth past said retaining lips and back to said home position to carry a bill from said chamber into said cash box through said mouth and means responsive to operation of said acceptor for moving said ram.

6. Apparaus as in claim 1 in which said ram is generally rectangular in outline, the width of said ram being less than the width of a bill being handled, the length of the ram being greater than the length of a bill being handled.

7. Apparatus as in claim 1 including a block of resilient material in said cash box for urging bills in said box toward said lips.

8. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which said crease iMparting means includes corrugated delivery rollers for longitudinally straightening and slightly creasing a bill being delivered to said escrow chamber.

9. Apparatus for stacking bills received from a bill acceptor or the like adapted to produce an output signal in response to the passage of an acceptable bill therethrough including in combination, a frame, means on said frame forming a vertically oriented bill escrow chamber having the general shape of a rectangular parallelopiped, said chamber having an open upper end for the reception of bills on end from said acceptor, one side of said chamber being formed with an opening permitting the discharge of bills from the chamber, a cash box formed with a generally rectangular mouth, respective inwardly directed lips running along opposite longitudinal edges of said mouth, the distance between the edges of said lips being less than the width of a bill being handled to retain bills in said cash box, means in said cash box for biasing bills therein toward said lips, means mounting said cash box on said frame with said mouth adjacent to said chamber discharge opening, a ram having a flat rectangular bill engaging surface, means mounting said ram on said frame for movement of said surface from a home position remote from said mouth through said chamber and through said mouth and back to said home position to carry a bill from said chamber into said cash box past said retaining flanges against the action of said biasing means, energizable drive means for said ram and means responsive to said signal for energizing said drive means, said cash box mounting means comprising interengageable means on said frame and on said cash box for mounting said cash box for movement from a position at which said mouth is remote from said discharge opening to a position at which said mouth is adjacent to said opening and a manually operable latch for holding said cash box in said adjacent position.