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(11) | EP 1 953 713 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Banknote store |
| (57) A banknote storage unit comprises a housing 4 for receiving banknotes, the housing
4 having a slot 16 for introducing banknotes into the housing 4. A plunger 6 is mounted
for reciprocating movement to push banknotes through the slot 16. A note carrier 10
inside the housing 4 receives the banknotes, the note carrier 10 being movable with
the plunger 6 for reciprocating movement with respect to the housing 4. The plunger
6 is arranged so as to permit movement of the plunger 6 with respect to the note carrier
10 after the note carrier 10 has reached a limit position within the housing 4, whereby
the plunger 6 may be retracted from the housing to the extent necessary for banknotes
to be placed below the plunger 6 for introduction into the housing 4 through the slot
16.
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[0001] The present invention relates to apparatus for receiving and storing banknotes or other sheetlike articles.
[0002] A variety of note storage boxes are known. However, many designs tend to damage the notes and do not provide adequate retention of the notes within the storage box.
[0003] The present invention seeks to at least mitigate some of the problems of prior art devices and as such provides a storage unit for banknotes or other sheetlike articles comprising:
a housing for receiving the articles, said housing having a slot for introducing said articles into the housing;
a plunger mounted for reciprocating movement with respect to the housing for pushing articles through the slot; and
a note carrier arranged inside said housing for receiving said articles, said note carrier being movable with said plunger for reciprocating movement with respect to said housing;
said plunger being coupled to the note carrier in such a way as to permit relative movement of the plunger with respect to said note carrier after said note carrier has reached a limit position within the housing during retraction of the plunger from the housing, whereby the plunger may be withdrawn from the housing to the extent necessary to allow articles to be placed below said plunger for introduction into the housing through said slot.
[0004] With such an arrangement, therefore, when the plunger is being pulled out of the housing, the note carrier can move within the housing until such time as it reaches a limit position, for example when the note carrier, or the notes on it, reaches the top of the housing. The plunger can then be pulled out further in order to allow further banknotes to be positioned over the slot and then pushed into the housing by the plunger.
[0005] Preferably biasing means is provided between the note carrier and the plunger so as to urge the note carrier and the plunger towards each other such that when the plunger retracts into the housing, notes positioned on the carrier will be held between the plunger and the carrier. This prevents notes from becoming loose within the housing which might interfere with operation of the device or lead to lost notes.
[0006] Preferably, therefore, a biasing spring is provided between the plunger and the note carrier. Most preferably a compression spring is provided between the plunger and the note carrier.
[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the plunger is provided with one or more rods extending into the housing, the note carrier being movably mounted with respect to the rod or rods. A compression spring may be mounted between a lower part of the or each rod and a lower surface of the note carrier. The spring may most conveniently be mounted between washers attached to the respective components. This mechanism not only allows for the plunger and note carrier to be biased towards each other, but also means that as the plunger is withdrawn from the housing, the note carrier is moved by the plunger through the compression spring until such time as the note carrier reaches its limit position. Thereafter, relative movement of the plunger and the note carrier is accommodated by virtue of further compression of the spring.
[0008] Preferably, the plunger is biased into the housing. This not only assists the return movement of the plunger but helps ensure that the plunger and note carrier are properly located within the housing at rest. This is particularly important where the plunger is arranged to move in a non-vertical, e.g. horizontal direction. The plunger biasing means preferably comprises a resilient biasing means, for example a spring, most preferably a tension spring. In an alternative embodiment, an elastic band or any other elastic member may be used instead of the tension spring.
[0009] In the arrangement described above, a tension spring may be mounted to the lower end of a rod. Preferably, the tension spring is connected between the lower end of the rod and a bottom portion of the housing.
[0010] In one embodiment, the tension spring is generally aligned with the rods. However, in a preferred embodiment, the location at which the tension spring is attached to the housing is offset from the lower end of the rod. Such an arrangement permits the height of the housing to be reduced, thus saving space. Preferably, the mounting location is offset laterally across the housing such that the spring extends across the housing at an angle.
[0011] In some embodiments of the invention, however, a spring may not be necessary and the plunger and carrier may return to the rest position under their own weight. An additional weight may also be provided for this purpose in some embodiments.
[0012] Preferably, the note carrier comprises a plate. The plate is preferably sized to cover substantially the entire cross-sectional area of the housing to avoid the possibility of notes slipping under the plate.
[0013] The plunger may conveniently comprise a plate or bar which can be pushed through the slot. A handle may be provided at the distal end of the plunger to facilitate its manipulation by a user.
[0015] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a banknote storage unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention with its internal mechanism shown in phantom;
Fig. 2 shows a cutaway perspective view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 shows a partial cutaway side view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 shows a banknote storage unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a banknote storage unit 2 in accordance with the present invention. The storage unit 2 comprises a housing 4, a plunger 6 and a note carrier plate 8. The plunger 6 comprises a handle 10 integrally moulded with a plate 12. The plunger 6 is mounted on the upper ends of two vertical rods 14 which extend into the housing 4. A slot 16 is provided in the top of the housing 4. The slot is dimensioned so as to receive the rods 8 and the plate 12 and to permit reciprocation of the plunger 6 (but not its handle 10) through the slot 16. The mouth of the slot is chamfered as shown in Figure 3 to facilitate introduction of the notes through the slot 16.
[0018] The mechanism comprises a note carrier 8 and two spring assemblies 18 (only one of which is shown in full) attached to each rod 14. Each spring assembly 18 comprises a compression spring 20, a tension spring 22 and two washers 24, 26. As can be seen from Fig. 3, the note carrier 8 comprises two holes 28 for loosely receiving the rods 14 such that the note carrier 8 can move along the lower portion of the rods 14. Movement of the note carrier 8 along the upper portion of the rods 14 is prevented by the plunger plate 12.
[0019] The compression spring 20 and the two washers 24 of each spring assembly 18 are slidably mounted over the lower portion of a respective rod 14. As can be seen from Fig. 2, each spring assembly 18 is arranged such that the note carrier 8 is received between the plunger plate 12 and a first washer 24, while the compression spring 20 is received between the first washer 24 and the second washer 26. As shown in the detailed section of Fig. 4, the lower end portion of each rod 14 has a rib 30 to locate the second washer 26.
[0020] Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, each rod 14 further comprises an eye 32 at its lower end for receiving the first end of the tension spring 22. The second end of the tension spring 22 is attached to the base of the housing 4 via an attachment boss 34 (Fig. 2). The attachment boss 34 may be formed integrally with the base portion of the housing 4 or may be formed separately and subsequently attached thereto.
[0022] Fig. 2 shows the storage unit 2 in an empty state, i.e. with no stored banknotes and in which the handle 10 rests atop the housing 4 under the action of the tension spring 22. In this state, the compression spring 20 biases the note carrier 8 such that it abuts the lower end of the plunger plate 12 (the plunger plate 12, the note carrier 8 and the first washer 24 are shown as spaced apart in Fig. 2 for purposes of illustration - the washer 24 will in fact abut the lower surface of the note carrier 8 and bias the latter into contact with the lower end of the plunger plate 12).
[0023] When a user wishes to deposit one or more notes into the storage unit 2, he or she pulls upwardly on the handle 10. This pulls the rods 14, the compression spring 20, the washers 24, 26 and the note carrier 8 upwardly together against the resistance of the tension spring 22.
[0024] As the user continues to withdraw the plunger 6, the note carrier 8 will contact the top of the housing 4. However, due to the compression spring 20, the user may continue to withdraw the plunger 8. The rods 14 continue to move upwardly and in doing so compress the compression spring 20 which accommodates the lost motion between the plunger 6 and the note carrier 8. The user continues to pull the handle 10 until the plunger 6 reaches the position shown in Fig. 1.
[0025] As can be seen from Fig. 1, withdrawal of the plunger plate 12 from the housing 4 gives rise to a gap G between the lower end of the plunger plate 12 and the slot 16. Notes to be stored can then be laid flat on the top of the housing 4 in the gap G with their central regions generally aligned with the slot 16.
[0026] The user then releases the plunger 6, or pushes it downwardly, to feed the notes into the housing 4. Initially, the rods 14 and the plunger plate 12 will slide relative to the note carrier 8 since the note carrier 8 will be maintained in contact with the top of the housing 4 by the compression spring 20. As the plunger plate 12 moves into the slot 16, the plate 12 folds the notes and draws the notes into the housing 4 through the slot 16 into contact with the note carrier 8. Once the plunger 6 and note carrier 8 engage in this way, they will move downwardly in unison until the storage unit 2 returns to the retracted state shown in Fig. 2. The downward motion of the plunger plate 12 and the note carrier 8 continues to withdraw the notes into the housing 4 until the ends of the notes enter the slot 16. Once the notes have been fully withdrawn into the housing 4, the notes will unfold and lie in a substantially flat state on the note carrier 8. The notes are retained against the note carrier 8 by the plunger plate 12 under the force of the compression spring 20.
[0027] To store additional notes in the storage unit 2, the user simply repeats the above procedure. It will be appreciated that as the user lifts the plunger 6, the plunger plate 12 retains any notes already stored on the note carrier 8 until the note carrier 8 reaches the top of the housing 4, at which point the notes will be held between the note carrier 8 and the top of the housing 4 while the plunger 6 is fully withdrawn. Once the plunger 6 is released, the top of the housing 4 retains the stored notes on the note carrier 8 until the plunger plate 12 brings the new notes to be stored into contact with the stored notes already contained within the housing 4. Any notes already stored within the housing 4 are therefore maintained in a substantially flat state on the note carrier 8 throughout the entire operation of the storage unit 2. Moreover, the compression spring 20 accommodates the varying thickness of notes stored on the note carrier as more notes are added to the storage unit 2.
[0028] Fig. 5 shows an alternative arrangement of the spring assemblies 18 in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 5, each tension spring 22 is connected to a rod 14 and an attachment boss 34 laterally offset from the rod 14. This "X" arrangement of the tension springs 22 permits the housing 4 to be reduced in height without the need for reducing the length of the tension springs 22. It will be appreciated that this advantage can also be realised with other arrangements of the tension springs 22, e.g. each attachment boss 34 could be longitudinally offset from the respective rod 14.
[0029] Appropriate means (not shown) for accessing and retrieving the stored notes is provided in the storage unit 2. For example, a simple hinged, lockable panel could be provided at a suitable location in the housing 4. The notes can be removed quite simply by lifting the plunger 6 while holding the note carrier 8 to release the stored notes.
[0030] The storage unit 2 is also preferably provided with means (not shown) for securing the storage unit 2. For example, the base portion of the housing 4 could comprise one or more brackets for attaching the storage unit 2 to a point of sale in a retail outlet. The skilled person would be able to select appropriate securing means depending on the location and the manner in which the storage unit 2 needs to be secured.
[0031] It will be appreciated that changes and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the springs 20, 22 could be substituted by other suitable resilient means, e.g. elastic bands. Alternatively, a weight attached to the bottom of each vertical rod 8 could be substituted for the tension springs 22 in order to retract the rods 14 into the housing 4 upon release of the plunger 6. Another alternative is to simply remove the tension springs 22 so as to form a manually operated storage unit. In the case of such a storage unit, the user simply needs to push on the handle in order to slide the rods 14 and the plunger 6 back into the housing 4.
[0032] In a further embodiment, it is also possible to replace the plunger plate 12 with a horizontal bar extending between the rods 14.
[0033] In addition, it should be appreciated that the orientation of the described embodiment is entirely arbitrary, and a storage unit according to the present invention can function in any orientation. Thus while shown as operating vertically, the unit could equally be used horizontally.
[0034] Finally, while the unit has been illustrated with a linearly reciprocating plunger, that is not essential the plunger could follow some other path, for example an arcuate path.
[0035] The storage unit is also suitable for storing sheet-like articles other than banknotes, and can be used with any sheet-like articles such as, for example, cheques, vouchers, receipts, credit card slips and ballot papers. The size of the storage unit is determined by the size of the sheet-like articles to be stored therein.
1. A storage unit for banknotes or other sheetlike articles comprising:
a housing for receiving the articles, said housing having a slot for introducing said articles into the housing;
a plunger mounted for reciprocating movement with respect to the housing for pushing articles through the slot; and
a note carrier arranged inside said housing for receiving said articles, said note carrier being movable with said plunger for reciprocating movement with respect to said housing;
said plunger being coupled to the note carrier in such a way as to permit relative movement of the plunger with respect to said note carrier after said note carrier has reached a limit position within the housing during retraction of the plunger from the housing, whereby the plunger may be withdrawn from the housing to the extent necessary to allow articles to be placed below said plunger for introduction into the housing through said slot.
2. A storage unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein biasing means is provided between the
note carrier and the plunger so as to urge the note carrier and the plunger towards
each other.
3. A storage unit as claimed in claim 2 wherein said biasing means comprises a compression
spring
4. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the plunger is provided with
one or more rods extending into the housing, said note carrier being movable relative
to the rod or rods.
5. A storage unit as claimed in claims 3 and 4 wherein said compression spring is mounted
between a lower part of the or each rod and a lower surface of the note carrier.
6. A storage unit as claimed in claim 5 wherein the compression spring is mounted between
washers attached to the respective components.
7. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the plunger is biased into
the housing.
8. A storage unit as claimed in claim 7. wherein the plunger biasing means comprises
a tension member.
9. A storage unit as claimed in claim 8 as dependent upon claim 4, 5 or 6 wherein said
tension member is attached to the lower end of a said rod.
10. A storage unit as claimed in claim 9 wherein said tension member is connected between
said lower end of said rod and a bottom portion of said housing.
11. A storage unit as claimed in claim 10 wherein said tension member is generally aligned
with said rod.
12. A storage unit as claimed in claim 10 wherein said bottom portion of said housing
is offset from the lower end of said rod.
13. A storage unit as claimed in any of claims 8 to 12 wherein said tension member comprises
an elastic band or a tension spring.
14. A storage unit as claimed in claim 7 wherein said plunger biasing means comprises
a weight.
15. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said note carrier comprises
a plate.
16. A storage unit as claimed in claim 15 wherein said plate is sized to cover substantially
the entire cross-sectional area of the housing.
17. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said plunger comprises a
plate.
18. A storage unit as claimed in any of claims 1 to 16 wherein said plunger comprises
a bar.
19. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said plunger comprises a
handle.
20. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said slot has a chamfered
mouth.