Media Item Deformer for SST Storage Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Media items such as banknotes and cheques often become crumpled or folded during transport, leading to jamming, reduced storage capacity, and increased downtime in Self Service Terminals (SSTs) 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 short edge in a lateral direction and forming a partially curved or corrugated shape, ensuring it is aligned with the storage zone and preventing collisions with guide walls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If media items are transported through the SST, then they are transferred between locations, but they become crumpled or folded causing deviation from transport pathway
Solution Approach 1:
The media item deformer performs preliminary action by adjusting the shape of media items before they enter the storage zone. This prevents crumpled or folded items from deviating from the transport pathway and becoming trapped, thereby maintaining reliability while enabling continuous transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The media item deformer enables media items to self-correct their shape during transport. By providing a mechanism that automatically adjusts item shape without manual intervention, the system maintains pathway adherence and prevents jamming, resolving the contradiction between transport speed and reliability.
2Quantity of substance
If media items are stored in the storage zone, then storage capacity is utilized, but crumpled items reduce storage density and cause jamming
Solution Approach 1:
The deformer performs preliminary shape adjustment before items enter the storage zone, ensuring they are properly aligned and flattened. This preliminary action prevents reduction in storage density and eliminates jamming, thereby maintaining both storage capacity and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system converts the potentially harmful effect of media items becoming crumpled during transport into a beneficial pre-positioning action. The deformer uses the transport process itself to present items for shaping, transforming what would be a problem into a solution that maintains storage density.
3Speed
If media items deviate from transport pathway, then they may be trapped or jammed, but increasing transport speed exacerbates deviation
Solution Approach 1:
The media item deformer applies preliminary anti-action by correcting shape deviations before they result in harmful effects. By adjusting item shape proactively during transport, the system prevents trapping and jamming even when transport speed increases, thereby allowing faster operation without exacerbating deviation problems.
4Productivity
If media items are not shaped correctly, then storage density is reduced, but adding shaping mechanisms increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The media item deformer is integrated into the existing transport pathway, serving multiple functions: it shapes media items, maintains alignment, and prevents jamming. This multi-functionality achieves improved storage density without proportionally increasing device complexity, as the mechanism leverages existing structural elements.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and apparatus for storing media items at a storage zone are disclosed. The apparatus comprises 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.