Media Item Deformer for Crumple Prevention and Storage Alignment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Media items such as banknotes and cheques can become crumpled or folded during transport, leading to jamming, reduced storage capacity, and malfunction in self-service terminals, due to deviation from the transport pathway.

Innovation Solution

A media item deformer is used to adjust the shape of the media item, reducing its lateral extent by moving one edge towards the center, and guiding it into a storage zone to prevent jamming and ensure neat stacking.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If media items are transported through the device, then media items can be transferred between locations, but media items become crumpled or folded leading to jamming and malfunction

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedia transfer capabilityVSAvoidmedia item integrity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The deforming member applies preliminary action by deforming the media item before it enters the storage zone, proactively preventing potential collisions with guide walls and ensuring smooth integration into the storage area without jamming

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The deforming member changes the physical parameters of the media item by deforming it to reduce its lateral extent, transforming the media item's dimensions to accommodate the storage zone geometry and avoid collisions with guide walls

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Quantity of substance

If media items are stored in the storage zone, then storage capacity is utilized, but crumpled or folded media items reduce storage efficiency and cause jamming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage capacityVSAvoidstorage efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The deforming member performs preliminary deformation of media items before they enter the storage zone, ensuring they are properly shaped for efficient stacking and storage, thereby maximizing storage capacity and preventing future jamming issues

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

By changing the lateral dimensions of media items through deformation, the system optimizes the packing density and arrangement of media items in the storage zone, improving overall storage efficiency and capacity utilization

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Manufacturing precision

If the media item deformer adjusts the shape of media items, then alignment and storage efficiency improve, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedia item alignmentVSAvoidapparatus structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The deforming member acts as an intermediary element between the transport pathway and the storage zone, mediating the transition of media items by deforming them to match the storage zone geometry, thereby simplifying the overall system architecture while achieving precise alignment

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The deforming member applies localized deformation only to the specific portions of media items that require adjustment, rather than affecting the entire media item uniformly, thus achieving precise alignment with minimal structural complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS20250304398A1Apparatus and method for media manipulation

Publication Date: 2025.10.02 NCR ATLEOS CORP

AI summary

In a method and apparatus for storing media items at a storage zone, the apparatus has a storage zone for storing media items, a port region proximate to the storage zone for receiving at least one media item, and at least one media item deformer for deforming each media item that is transported along a transport pathway portion.