Apparatus for scanning bank cheques, with an improved cheque feed device

The present invention relates to a scanner apparatus for scanning bank cheques, with an improved cheque feed device.

As is known, apparatus for scanning cheques comprises a conveyor mechanism for conveying the cheques, one at a time, from an input receptacle to an output receptacle, passing in front of an image-scanner unit for scanning one or both faces of the cheque.

Currently, a user uses two different types of scanning apparatus for scanning bank cheques, a first type for scanning individual cheques which are introduced into the input receptacle one at a time, and a second type for scanning bundles of cheques. In this second type of apparatus, a bundle of cheques is introduced into an input receptacle between a feed plate and a motor-driven feed roller against which the feed plate is urged resiliently and which picks up one cheque at a time from the input receptacle and conveys it towards the interior of the apparatus. In order to introduce the bundle of cheques between the feed plate and the pick-up roller, it is necessary to move the plate manually away from the pick-up roller, acting against the force of a resilient element which urges the plate against the roller.

The object of the present invention is to provide a scanning apparatus which has a feed device that can control the feeding-in both of cheques that are introduced into the input receptacle individually or in small groups, and of bundles of stacked cheques.

This and other objects and advantages which will be explained further below are achieved according to the present invention by a scanner apparatus having the characteristics defined in the appended claims.

Some preferred but non-limiting embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the appended drawings, in which: <ul id="ul0001" list-style="none"><li>Figure 1 is a plan view of an apparatus for scanning cheques comprising a first embodiment of the feed device according to the present invention,</li><li>Figure 2 is a plan view showing the feed device of Figure 1 on an enlarged scale with a bundle of cheques to be scanned,</li><li>Figure 3 is a plan view of the feed device of Figure 2 with a single cheque to be scanned,</li><li>Figure 4 is a plan view of an apparatus for scanning cheques comprising a second embodiment of the feed device according to the invention,</li><li>Figure 5 is a plan view showing the feed device of Figure 4 on an enlarged scale with a bundle of cheques to be scanned,</li><li>Figure 6 is a plan view similar to Figure 5 with the feed device in an operative condition following that shown in Figure 5,</li><li>Figure 7 is a plan view of the feed device of Figures 4-6 with a single cheque to be scanned, and</li><li>Figure 8 is a plan view similar to Figure 7 with the feed device in an operative condition following that shown in Figure 7.</li></ul>

With reference initially to Figure 1, an apparatus for scanning cheques comprises a body 10 which forms an input receptacle 11 in which one or more cheques or a bundle of cheques to be scanned can be arranged vertically (by the procedures described below). Inside the body 10 there is a conveyor mechanism of <i>per</i> se known type for conveying the cheques, one at a time, from the input receptacle 11 to an output receptacle 12, following a substantially U-shaped path and passing in front of an image-scanner device 13 for scanning one or both faces of the cheque.

The constructional and functional characteristics of the conveyor mechanism and of the scanner device 13 (which may be of any known type) are not relevant <i>per</i> se for the purposes of an understanding of the invention and are therefore not described in detail herein. Extremely briefly, the cheques are picked up from the input receptacle 11 by a feed device described in detail below and comprising a feed roller 14 which cooperates with a feed plate 15. A photocell 16a, 16b detects the presence of a cheque in the input receptacle and activates two stepping electric motors 17, 18 which set two respective transmission belts 21, 22 in circulation by means of motor-driven rollers 19, 20; the belts 21, 22 cause one cheque at a time to move forwards, following a path which extends between a pair of image-scanner units 13a, 13b each provided with a respective CIS (compact image sensor) optical sensor in order to scan both faces (front and rear) of the cheque. An electronic control unit (not shown) supervises the operation of the apparatus as a whole and hence also the coordinated operation of all of the above-mentioned drive/actuator members and optical/electronic devices.

The feed device is shown in greater detail in Figure 2. The feed plate 15 is mounted on a parallelogram-type translation mechanism 23 housed in the lower portion of the casing. The translation mechanism 23 comprises a pair of parallel levers 24a, 24b which are articulated to the casing at first ends 25a, 25b and are articulated to one another at their opposite ends by a connecting bar (not shown). The lever 24a carries a pin 26 which is engaged for sliding in an arcuate slot 27 formed in the casing 10 or in an element fixed thereto. A biasing spring 28 urges the mechanism 23 with the feed plate 15 towards an opposed guide surface 29 disposed on the same side as the pick-up and feed roller 14, and thus brings about translation of the plate towards that roller.

The transmission belt 21 circulates around the motor-driven roller 19, a transmission roller 30 disposed further downstream (in the direction of movement of the cheques, indicated by the arrow B in Figure 2), and around the feed roller 14. The roller 14 is mounted on a lever 31 which is articulated to the body of the apparatus at 32 and is acted on by a biasing spring 33 which tends to bring the lever to the rest position shown in solid outline in Figure 1, in which the roller 14 is moved away from the feed plate 15 and from the input receptacle 11. A belt-tensioner device 34 associated with the belt 21 has an idle roller 35 mounted on a pivotable lever 36 which is acted on by a spring 37.

An important characteristic of the solution according to the present invention is that the feed plate 15 is prevented from coming into abutment with the fixed guide surface 29 so that, when the plate reaches its position closest to the surface 29, there is still a sufficient gap 40 between this surface and the plate 15 for the insertion of at least one cheque in the input receptacle, as shown in Figure 3. The travel of the plate 15 towards the guide surface 29 is in fact limited by the length of the arcuate slot 27 which has a stop surface 27a (constituted in this embodiment by an end of the slot itself) for the pin 26 which is secured to the plate 15.

The feed device according to the invention operates as follows.

In order to scan a bundle of cheques A (Figure 2), the bundle is inserted in the input receptacle 11 by moving the feed plate 15 manually away from the guide surface 29, against the action of the spring 28. When the plate 15 is released, it urges the cheques against the opposed guide surface 29. The photocell 16a, 16b, which is obscured by the cheques A, activates the first motor 17, by means of an electronic control unit ECU (not shown), in order to pick up a cheque and the second motor 18 in order to move the cheque through the apparatus. Once the first motor 17 is activated, it sets the motor-driven wheel 19 in rotation, which causes the transmission belt 21 to circulate in the direction indicated by the arrow C in Figure 2. The transmission belt 21 acts on the roller 14, pulling it into contact with the cheque disposed adjacent the guide surface 29, causing the lever 31 to pivot in the anticlockwise direction indicated by the double arrow D in Figure 2. The feed roller 14 moves from the position shown in solid outline in Figure 1 to the position 14' shown in broken outline and, as it rotates, picks up one or more cheques from the input receptacle and transfers them towards a pair of motor-driven separator rollers 38, 39. Since the separator roller 39 is contrarotatory relative to the roller 38, it separates the cheques, allowing only the cheque that is disposed farthest to the right (with reference to Figure 2) to move forwards and pushing the others backwards. The cheque is then transferred along a predetermined path inside the apparatus, is scanned and, finally, is deposited in an output receptacle 27 by the second feed belt 22, in known manner.

The cheques of the bundle that is deposited in the input receptacle are automatically transferred and scanned one at a time sequentially. As the receptacle 11 is gradually emptied, the plate 15 is moved progressively towards the right in order to keep the cheques in contact with the wheel 14. When the input receptacle is empty, the motor 17 is stopped and the biasing spring 33 causes the lever 31 to pivot clockwise, moving the roller 14 away from the receptacle 11. The movements of the belt tensioner 34 follow the pivoting movements of the lever 31; naturally, the spring 37 of the belt tensioner 34 is calibrated to compensate for the slackening of the belt caused by the anticlockwise pivoting of the lever 31 but should not appreciably impede its movements.

As will be appreciated, when the feed plate 15 is in its position closest to the surface 29, it is possible to insert a cheque in the gap 40 without the need to move the plate 15 manually. The scanner apparatus can therefore conveniently be used for the scanning both of individual cheques and of bundles of cheques.

With reference now to Figure 3, an operating sequence wholly similar to that described above is also performed when a single cheque A is deposited in the input receptacle in the gap 40 defined between the guide surface 29 and the plate 15 which is in the position in which it is extended farthest towards the surface 29. It will be noted that the width of the gap 40 actually allows even more than one cheque to be introduced without the need to move the plate 15 manually, according to the arrangement of the slot 27 relative to the surface 29.

The variant shown in Figures 4 to 8 differs from that described above with reference to Figures 1 to 3 in that the transmission belt 21 does not engage the feed roller 14 and that the position of this feed roller is controlled by an electromagnetic actuator 41. The belt 21 transmits the rotary movement of the motor-driven roller 19 to a transmission wheel 42. This wheel rotates the feed roller 14 by means of a further transmission belt 43., The activation and deactivation of the motor 17 is accompanied by simultaneous activation and deactivation of the electromagnetic actuator 41 which moves the roller 14 towards and away from the cheque-input receptacle by means of an extensible rod 44 acting on the lever 31 with the interposition of a spring 45.

The invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments described and illustrated herein which should be considered as examples of embodiments of the apparatus; rather, the invention may be modified with regard to the form and arrangement of parts and to details of construction and operation.