Medium stacking method of medium storage unit

Abstract

Provided is a method of stacking media in a media storage unit, the method which includes: receiving information about a length of a medium from a discrimination unit; determining whether the length of the medium received from the discrimination unit exceeds a reference value; when the length of the medium exceeds the reference value, spacing an upper surface of the medium loaded in a medium accumulation space on a push plate and a gap roller provided on a front plate located on an upper side of the push plate from each other by a set distance; and rotating a stack sheet to strike a rear end of the medium entering the media accumulation space, to allow the medium to be accumulated on the push plate by passing through a lower end of the gap roller.

Description

BACKGROUND1. Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a method of stacking media in a media storage unit, and more specifically, to a method of stacking media in a media storage unit for improving media stack misalignment in the media storage unit.2. Discussion of Related Art

[0002] Generally, an automated teller machine is equipped with a media storage unit in which media, such as checks and banknotes, are stored for processing.

[0003] FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional media storage unit (RTRJC) 100 in which a retract cassette (RTC) 100a in which uncollected bills are stored is provided at an upper side, and a reject cassette (RJC) 100b in which abnormal bill media are stored is provided at a lower side.

[0004] The conventional media storage unit 100 is provided with a media stacking apparatus including a stack entry section A provided with a plurality of rollers 111, 112, and 113 connected to a conveyance path P and sandwiching and transporting medium, a front plate 140 provided at an upper side of a media accumulation space S to guide a medium having passed through the stack entry section A into the media accumulation space S, a push plate 150 provided at a lower side of the front plate 140 and moving up and down while supporting the medium introduced into the media accumulation space S, and a stack sheet 120 striking a rear end of the medium that has entered the stack entry section A to guide the medium into the medium accumulation space S on the push plate 150.

[0005] The front plate 140 has a gap roller 141 formed on a lower side thereof and configured to press media loaded on the push plate 150 downward toward the push plate 150 to prevent the loaded media from bulging upward due to an anti-counterfeiting motion strip and the like printed on the loaded media. However, as the gap roller 141 is provided, the media stacked in the media accumulation space S receive a load due to friction with the gap roller 141.

[0006] The stack sheet 120 provided in the stack entry section A includes only three stack sheets 120 due to the limitation on the number of stack sheets due to the limit of the allowable load caused by interference with the gap roller 141, and the stack sheet 120 is formed to be long to move and stack relatively short media among the stacked media up to a position at which the media pass through the gap roller 141.

[0007] When the length of the stacked medium is long, the stacked medium needs to be pushed with a great force because the medium is subject to a load from a point at which the medium moves through the gap roller 141. However, the stack sheet 120 formed to be long as described above may, during rotation, rotate while curved to the opposite side of the rotation direction due to the weak rigidity, and have insufficient force to push the medium, thus resulting in stack misalignment in which the media M may not be accumulated in an aligned state in the media accumulation space S.

[0008] The related art of a media storage unit of an automated teller machine is disclosed in Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1628481.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention is directed to providing a method of stacking media in a media storage unit that may prevent jams in the media storage unit and improve media stack misalignment.

[0010] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of stacking media in a media storage unit, the method comprising: receiving information about a length of a medium from a discrimination unit; determining whether the length of the medium received from the discrimination unit exceeds a reference value; when the length of the medium exceeds the reference value, spacing an upper surface of the medium loaded in a medium accumulation space on a push plate and a gap roller provided on a front plate located on an upper side of the push plate from each other at an interval of a set distance; and rotating a stack sheet to strike a rear end of the medium entering the media accumulation space, to allow the medium to be accumulated on the push plate by passing through a lower end of the gap roller.

[0011] When the length of the medium exceeds the reference value, moving the push plate downward by the set distance.

[0012] When the length of the medium exceeds the reference value, moving the front plate upward by the set distance.

[0013] When the length of the medium exceeds the reference value, driving a solenoid connected to the front plate to pull the front plate upward by the set distance to move the front plate upward.

[0014] When the length of the medium does not exceed the reference value, detecting whether the front plate is in an upwardly moved position using a front plate detection sensor; moving the push plate downward by the set distance when the front plate is detected to be in the upwardly moved position; and rotating the stack sheet to strike the rear end of the medium entering the media accumulation space, to allow the medium to be accumulated on the push plate by passing through a lower end of the gap roller.

[0015] When the length of the medium does not exceed the reference value, detecting whether the front plate is in an upwardly moved position using a front plate detection sensor; and rotating the stack sheet to strike the rear end of the medium entering the media accumulation space when the front plate is detected not to be in the upwardly moved position, to allow the medium to be accumulated on the push plate by passing through a lower end of the gap roller.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by describing exemplary embodiments thereof in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a media stacking apparatus of a conventional media storage unit; FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing a method of stacking media in a media storage unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a control block diagram illustrating a method of stacking media in a media storage unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of stacking media in a media storage unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a diagram for describing a method of stacking media in a media storage unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a control block diagram illustrating a method of stacking media in a media storage unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of stacking media in a media storage unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Description of Reference Numerals]

[0017] 100: media storage unit (RTRJC) 100a: retract cassette (RTC) 100b: reject cassette (RJC) 111: first roller 112: second roller 113: third roller 120,120-1,120-2,120-3: stack sheets 130: return guide 140: front plate 141: gap roller 150: push plate 160: front plate detection sensor 170: push plate driving unit 180: solenoid 200: discrimination unit 300: control unit P: return path A: stack entry section M: media S: media accumulation space G: interval DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, the configuration and operations of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] A media storage unit 100 according to the present invention includes, as the same components as those of the media storage unit 100 described with reference to FIG. 1, a stack entry section A provided with a plurality of rollers 111, 112, and 113 connected to a conveyance path P and sandwiching and transporting media, a front plate 140 provided on an upper side of a media accumulation space S to guide a medium having passed through the stack entry section A into the media accumulation space S, a push plate 150 provided on a lower side of the front plate 140 and moving up and down while supporting the medium introduced into the media accumulation space S, and a stack sheet 120 striking a rear end of the medium that has entered the stack entry section A to guide the medium into the medium accumulation space S on the push plate 150

[0020] The front plate 140 has a gap roller 141 formed on a lower side thereof and configured to press media loaded on the push plate 150 downward toward the push plate 150 to prevent the loaded media from bulging upward due to an anti-counterfeiting motion strip and the like that are printed on the loaded media.

[0021] When the number of the media M accumulated in the media accumulation space increases, the front plate 140 comes in contact with the accumulated media M and is lifted and moved upward, and a detected piece 142 protruding on an upper end of the front plate 140 is detected by a front plate detection sensor 160. In this case, the push plate 150 is moved downward by a set distance to secure a free space in which additional entering media may be accumulated.

[0022] However, as described in the related art, the stack sheet 120 provided at the stack entry section A is provided as only three stack sheets 120 due to the limitation on the number of stack sheets due to the limit of the allowable load caused by interference with the gap roller 141, and the stack sheet 120 is formed to be long to move and stack relatively short media among the stacked media up to a position at which the media pass through the gap roller 141.

[0023] When the length of the stacked medium is long, the stacked medium needs to be pushed with a great force because the medium is subject to a load from a point at which the medium moves through the gap roller 141. However, the stack sheet 120 formed to be long as described above may, during rotation, rotate while curved to the opposite side of the rotation direction due to the weak rigidity, and may have insufficient force to push the medium, resulting in stack misalignment in which the media M may not be accumulated in an aligned state in the media accumulation space S.

[0024] Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the present invention to resolve the above issues will be described.

[0025] A method of stacking media in a media storage unit according to the present invention includes; when the length of a medium M entering the stack entry section A exceeds a reference value, spacing an upper surface of the medium M loaded in the medium accumulation space S on the push plate 150 and the gap roller 141 provided on the front plate 140 located on the upper side of the push plate 150 from each other at an interval G of a set distance, to reduce friction with the gap roller 141 and lower a load acting on the medium M, thereby allowing even a long medium M to be stably accumulated in the medium accumulation space S.

[0026] The length of the medium M may be obtained from information about the denomination and length of the medium M acquired from a discrimination unit 200 provided in an automated teller machine.

[0027] First, a method of stacking media in a media storage unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

[0028] In the embodiment, information acquired from the discrimination unit 200 and the front plate detection sensor 160 is transmitted to a control unit 300, and the control unit 300 controls a push plate driving unit 170 to lift and lower the push plate 150 based on the received information

[0029] The method of stacking media in the media storage unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes receiving length information of a medium M from the discrimination unit 200 (S11), determining whether the length of the medium M received from the discrimination unit 200 exceeds a reference value (S12), when the length of the medium M exceeds the reference value, spacing the upper surface of the medium M loaded in the medium accumulation space S on the push plate 150 and the gap roller 141 provided on the front plate 140 located on the upper side of the push plate 150 from each other at an interval G of a set distance (S13), and rotating the stack sheet 120 to strike a rear end of the medium M entering the media accumulation space S, to allow the medium M to be accumulated on the push plate 150 by passing through a lower end of the gap roller 141 (S14).

[0030] Meanwhile, the method may include, when a result of the determination in operation S12 is that the length of the medium M does not exceed the reference value, detecting whether the front plate 140 is in an upwardly moved position using the front plate detection sensor 160 (S15), moving the push plate 150 downward by the set distance when the front plate 140 is detected to be in the upwardly moved position (S13), and rotating the stack sheet 120 to strike the rear end of the medium M entering the media accumulation space S such that the media M is accumulated on the push plate 150 by passing through the lower end of the gap roller 141 (S14).

[0031] The method includes, when it is found as a result of the detection in operation S15 that the front plate 140 is not in the upwardly moved position, rotating the stack sheet 120 without movement of the push plate 150, to strike the rear end of the medium M entering the media accumulation space S such that the medium M is accumulated on the push plate 150 by passing through the lower end of the gap roller 141 (S14).

[0032] Next, a method of stacking media in the media storage unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

[0033] In the embodiment, information acquired from the discrimination unit 200 and the front plate detection sensor 160 is transmitted to the control unit 300, and the control unit 300 controls a solenoid 180 connected to the front plate 140 to lift and lower the front plate 140 based on the received information.

[0034] The method of stacking media in the media storage unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes receiving length information of a medium M from the discrimination unit 200 (S21), determining whether the length of the medium M received from the discrimination unit 200 exceeds a reference value (S22), when the length of the medium M exceeds the reference value, driving the solenoid 180 connected to the front plate 140 to pull the front plate 140 upward by a set distance to move the front plate 140 upward, thereby spacing an upper surface of the medium M loaded in the medium accumulation space S on the push plate 150 and the gap roller 141 provided on the front plate 140 located on an upper side of the push plate 150 from each other at an interval G of a set distance (S23) as shown in FIG. 5, and rotating the stack sheet 120 to strike a rear end of the medium M entering the media accumulation space S, such that the medium M is accumulated on the push plate 150 by passing through a lower end of the gap roller 141 (S24).

[0035] Meanwhile, the method may include, when it is found as a result of the determination in operation S22 that the length of the medium M does not exceed the reference value, detecting whether the front plate 140 is in an upwardly moved position using the front plate detection sensor 160 (S25), moving the push plate 150 downward by the set distance when the front plate 140 is detected to be in the upwardly moved position (S26); and rotating the stack sheet 120 to strike the rear end of the medium M entering the media accumulation space S such that the medium M is accumulated on the push plate 150 through the lower end of the gap roller 141 (S24).

[0036] The method includes, when it is found as a result of the detection in operation S25 that the front plate 140 is not in the upwardly moved position, rotating the stack sheet 120 without movement of the push plate 150, to strike the rear end of the medium M entering the media accumulation space S such that the medium M is accumulated on the push plate 150 by passing through the lower end of the gap roller 141 (S24).

[0037] With the method of stacking media in the media storage unit according to the present invention, when the length of a medium introduced into a media accumulation space exceeds a reference value, an upper surface of the medium loaded in the media accumulation space on a push plate and a gap roller provided on a front plate located on an upper side of the push plate are spaced from each other at an interval of a set distance, the load on the medium due to friction with the gap roller can be reduced, and jamming of the medium can be effectively prevented.

[0038] In addition, according to a control method of moving the push plate downward or moving the front plate upward regardless of a signal detected by a front plate detection sensor when the length of a medium introduced into the media accumulation space exceeds a reference value, stack misalignment of a long medium can be improved.

[0039] Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, variations, and additions are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention, and thus these various modifications, variations, and additions fall within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of stacking media in a media storage unit, the method comprising: receiving information about a length of a medium from a discrimination unit; determining whether the length of the medium received from the discrimination unit exceeds a reference value; when the length of the medium exceeds the reference value, spacing an upper surface of the medium loaded in a medium accumulation space on a push plate and a gap roller provided on a front plate located on an upper side of the push plate from each other at an interval of a set distance; and rotating a stack sheet to strike a rear end of the medium entering the media accumulation space, to allow the medium to be accumulated on the push plate by passing through a lower end of the gap roller.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when the length of the medium exceeds the reference value, moving the push plate downward by the set distance.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when the length of the medium exceeds the reference value, moving the front plate upward by the set distance.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising, when the length of the medium exceeds the reference value, driving a solenoid connected to the front plate to pull the front plate upward by the set distance to move the front plate upward.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when the length of the medium does not exceed the reference value, detecting whether the front plate is in an upwardly moved position using a front plate detection sensor; moving the push plate downward by the set distance when the front plate is detected to be in the upwardly moved position; and rotating the stack sheet to strike the rear end of the medium entering the media accumulation space, to allow the medium to be accumulated on the push plate by passing through a lower end of the gap roller.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when the length of the medium does not exceed the reference value, detecting whether the front plate is in an upwardly moved position using a front plate detection sensor; and rotating the stack sheet to strike the rear end of the medium entering the media accumulation space when the front plate is detected not to be in the upwardly moved position, to allow the medium to be accumulated on the push plate by passing through a lower end of the gap roller.

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