JPS61168086A - Automatic paper money processor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an automatic banknote processing device that automatically performs deposit processing and withdrawal processing of banknotes, or only deposit processing or withdrawal processing.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, cash deposit and withdrawal machines (hereinafter referred to as ATMs) that automatically perform all processing related to deposits and withdrawals such as deposits and payments through customer operations have become popular at branches of financial institutions such as banks. In automatic banknote processing equipment used as a banknote, the banknotes inputted from the deposit/withdrawal port are verified one by one, and the banknotes that are determined to be normal are accepted.
A function to return banknotes that are not identified as normal to the customer,
The disbursed banknotes fed from the storage box in the device are checked for abnormalities such as double feeding or mixing of different types of banknotes, and are accumulated in a predetermined stacking section to collect a predetermined number of banknotes without detecting any abnormality. is accumulated in the stacking section, the bill is dispensed, and if an abnormality is detected, the bill is discharged into a reject storage box together with the bills accumulated so far, and the dispensing operation is repeated. is required.

By the way, in such an automatic banknote processing device, the banknotes for withdrawal of each denomination to handle payment processing are replenished into the storage box of the device at the beginning of business hours of the financial institution, and the remaining banknotes in the storage box at the end of the business day. It is necessary to collect the banknotes that are in the bank, but if the process of replenishing and collecting these banknotes is performed for each denomination by attaching and detaching the storage box, it will take a lot of effort and time.

In order to deal with these drawbacks, an automatic banknote processing apparatus has been proposed, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-33757.

This automatic banknote processing device is equipped with a bulk storage box that stores banknotes of various denominations all at once, and at the start of work, this bulk storage box is attached to a predetermined part of the device and the banknotes of each denomination stored therein are attached to a designated part of the device. After dispensing banknotes and identifying the denominations, they are sorted by denomination and stored in the corresponding storage boxes, and at the end of the work day, banknotes are fed out from the storage boxes for each denomination and collected in the bulk storage box. According to this, staff at financial institutions can replenish and collect banknotes without expending effort or time before the start of work or after the end of the workday when it does not interfere with customer transactions. It becomes possible.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, with the above-mentioned conventional automatic banknote processing device, if each storage box runs out of banknotes or becomes full during business hours, it is necessary to temporarily stop transactions in the device and replenish or collect banknotes. As a result, there was a problem in that even though the equipment itself had no malfunctions or other problems, its operation had to be interrupted, causing inconvenience to customers.

In addition, there is a banknote handling device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-119497, in which a cassette containing a large amount of banknotes for replenishment (1) is attached to the banknote replenishment port, and most of the equipment can be operated. In addition, when the storage boxes for each denomination become full and it becomes necessary to collect banknotes, a reject port is provided separately from the cassette. However, in this way, two cassettes are used, and it is necessary to provide a supply port and a reject port for each cassette, which makes the device larger, more complicated, and difficult to operate. There was also the problem of bad sex.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and it is possible to replenish and collect insufficient banknotes without interrupting the operation of the device during business hours, thereby preventing inconvenience to customers. It is an object of the present invention to realize an automatic banknote processing device that is easy to operate, has good operability, and does not become large or complicated.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the purpose, the present invention provides an attendant replenishment and collection section on the back of the device housing, which allows an attendant of a financial institution to input and collect banknotes at will; Utilizing the idle time of the ring opening device from the end of banknote handling to the start of banknote handling for the next transaction, banknotes were replenished from the staff supply and collection section to the storage boxes for each denomination, or the banknotes were stored for each denomination. It is equipped with a means for collecting banknotes from the box to the staff supply and collection section.

[Effect]

According to the above-mentioned means, it is possible to arbitrarily replenish and collect banknotes from the staff replenishment and collection section, and since replenishment and collection are performed using the idle time of the device, the operation of the device is not required when replenishing and collecting banknotes. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily perform replenishment and collection at a single staff supply and collection section.

〔Example〕

Examples will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing the internal structure of an embodiment of a circulating automatic banknote processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of an ATM using this automatic banknote processing apparatus.

First, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a housing of the apparatus, and components 2 to 12 are provided on the upper front side of the housing.

In other words, 2 is the passbook insertion/return slot where you insert and return your savings passbook, and behind it is a passbook entry machine.
When a passbook issued by a financial institution to a customer is inserted through this passbook insertion/return slot 2 during a transaction, the details of the transaction are recorded in the passbook, and when the transaction is completed, the passbook is returned to the customer through the passbook insertion/return slot 2. It is supposed to be done.

3 is a card insertion/return slot; a card league is provided at the back of the card insertion/return slot 3; when a card issued by a financial institution to a customer is inserted through the card insertion/return slot 3, the card is The written data is read by a card reader.

Reference numeral 4a denotes an interphone, which is used when a staff call key 4b provided below is pressed to have a conversation such as consultation with the staff.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a transaction status display section, in which transaction details currently specified, such as "withdrawal,""passbookentry,""deposit," etc., are selectively displayed.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a status display section for displaying the status of the device, whether it is being handled or discontinued.

Reference numeral 7 denotes an operation guidance display section using a CRT display, which sequentially displays operation procedures, and the customer can operate each key described below according to the procedure displayed on this operation guidance display section.

8 is a transaction selection key, and this transaction selection key 8 allows you to specify a deposit transaction such as a deposit or a payment transaction;
is a numeric keypad, and this numeric keypad 9 is used to input numbers such as a password and payment amount.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a confirmation key that is pressed when the user agrees to continue the transaction without canceling the deposit transaction, and 11 is a cancel key that is pressed when the transaction is canceled.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a deposit/withdrawal port, through which customers can insert deposited banknotes during deposit transactions such as deposits, return bills that have been inserted and are determined to be abnormal, and pay bills during withdrawal transactions such as payments; Further, it is a place where banknotes are returned when the cancel key 11 is pressed after the customer inserts banknotes during a deposit transaction. Incidentally, this deposit/withdrawal port 12 also functions as a discharge port for receipts on which transaction details are printed by a slip issuing section (not shown) provided in the housing 1.

In an ATM with such a configuration, after first specifying a transaction by pressing the transaction selection key 8, the card is inserted into the card insertion/return slot 2, and the PIN number is entered using the numeric keypad 9, thereby allowing the customer to interact with the card. is checked. Note that this check is not necessarily necessary if the transaction is a deposit.

When performing a deposit transaction, when deposited banknotes are inserted into the deposit/withdrawal port 12 by the customer, the banknotes are taken into the device one by one, and the banknotes are checked to see if they are normal or not, and to determine the denomination. As a result, banknotes that are judged to be abnormal, such as poorly read banknotes or counterfeit banknotes, are returned to the deposit/withdrawal port 12 and returned to the customer.

The amount of banknotes and the quantity of each denomination that are determined to be normal are displayed on the operation guidance display section 7, and when the customer confirms all of these and presses the confirmation key 10i, the transaction is completed and the card is inserted into the card insertion return slot 2. At the same time, a receipt on which details of the deposit transaction are printed is released to the deposit/withdrawal port 12 and handed to the customer.

Further, if the customer presses the cancellation key 11 during the deposit transaction, the transaction is canceled and the banknotes inserted by the customer are returned to the deposit/withdrawal port 12 in full.

On the other hand, in the case of a withdrawal transaction, when the customer presses the numeric keypad 9 to input the payment amount and desired denomination, the amount and denomination are displayed on the operation guidance display section 7, and the customer confirms this. When the confirmation key 10 is pressed, the transaction is completed, and the withdrawal banknotes and the receipt with the withdrawal details printed are transferred to the deposit/withdrawal slot 12.
The card is sent to the customer and paid, and the card is returned from the card insertion return slot 3.

Next, a circulating automatic banknote processing apparatus according to the present invention having the above-mentioned ATM structure will be described.

In FIG. 1, 13 is a shutter of the deposit/withdrawal port 12, and 14 is a rotating section disposed inside the shutter 13. This rotating section 14 is provided with a pair of guide plates 15m and 15b.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a separating and feeding section disposed directly below the rotating section 14, which separates banknotes that are input in bulk from the deposit/withdrawal port 12 one by one using a suction drum 1T and feeds them to the next process. ing.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a banknote discriminating unit that performs discrimination to determine whether or not the banknotes sent from the separation and feeding unit 16 is normal, discrimination of the denomination of the first banknote, and discrimination of the presence or absence of overlapped bills; A width adjustment means 19 for adjusting the width of the banknotes is provided in the banknote discriminating section 18, which is disposed below the banknotes.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a front-back reversing unit for selectively reversing the front and back of the banknote in the traveling direction based on the pattern of the banknote recognized in the banknote validating unit 18, and is provided below the banknote validating unit 1B. , bills that need to be reversed are sent to the transport path 22 through the non-reversing path 21m, and banknotes that need to be reversed are sent to the transport path 22 after being reversed in the reversing path 21b. It has become.

23 is a surface different from the surface on which the deposit/withdrawal port 12 of the housing 1 is provided;
For example, in the staff supply and collection section provided on the back side of the housing 1,
An impeller 24m and a suction drum 25a assembled in a predetermined relationship with the impeller 2ta are installed in the device to face the staff supply and collection section 23, and collect banknotes conveyed through the conveyance path 22. The rotation of the impeller 24a allows the banknotes to be collected and collected in the staff supply and collection section 23, and the bills stacked in the staff supply and collection section 23 can be separated and fed one by one by the suction drum 25a.

26 is a storage box for 10000 yen bills, 27 is a storage box for 1000 yen bills, and 28 is a storage box for 5000 yen bills, and these can be attached to and removed from the housing 1 while storing bills therein. The impellers 24 are mounted in a predetermined order below the staff supply and recovery section 23, and the impellers 24 are mounted in a predetermined order.
b and suction drum 25b1 impeller 24C and suction drum 25
C1, an impeller 24d, and a suction drum 25d are provided, respectively.

In addition, these impellers 24a to 24d and the suction drum 25a
-25d is a banknote stacking mechanism for stacking banknotes in the attendant storage section 23 and each of the storage boxes 26-28, as well as a drive source and a driving force transmission means (not shown), and a banknote stacking mechanism for stacking banknotes in the clerk storage section 23 and each storage box 26-28; It constitutes a banknote feeding mechanism that separates and feeds the banknotes.

Each of the storage boxes 26 to 28 has a safe structure, and is formed to a size that matches the size of the banknotes to be stored. Banknotes can be dispensed in a regular manner according to set running standards.

On the other hand, since the staff supply and collection section 23 deposits and withdraws money in a mixed manner for each denomination, it has a size that can accommodate the maximum size of 10,000 yen banknotes. The same size is applied to the separation feeding section 16 sent from the deposit/withdrawal port 12, and the bills dispensed from this separation feeding section 16 and the staff supply/collection section 23 match their running standards. Therefore, the paper money is conveyed with regularity on a predetermined reference running surface by width-adjusting it by a width-adjusting means 19 provided in the banknote validating section 18.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a storage box for storing or receiving banknotes that are determined to be abnormal during denomination discrimination or double feeding detection at the time of withdrawal, and is formed in a safe structure and is arranged above the staff supply and collection section 23. It can be attached to and detached from the housing 1 at will.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a stacking unit for stacking banknotes to be dispensed, which is disposed immediately after the rotating unit 14 and has means for feeding the stacked banknotes to the rotating unit 14 all at once.

31a to 31g are switching blades that are swung by the power of a solenoid (not shown), respectively, and are arranged at predetermined positions along the conveyance path 22 connecting the above-mentioned parts, so as to switch the conveyance direction of banknotes as appropriate. There is.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a conveyance path for sending receipts issued from a slip issuing unit, which is a separate mechanism, to the stacking unit 30. In the case of withdrawal, the receipt is placed on top of the withdrawn banknotes and sent to the deposit/withdrawal slot together with the withdrawal banknotes. 12 to the customer, and in the case of deposit, only a receipt is released from the deposit/withdrawal port 12.

FIGS. 3(1) to (ff) are operation process diagrams for explaining the operations of storing banknotes for deposit into a storage box, separating and feeding banknotes from the storage box, and canceling a transaction. The structure and function of the storage box, impeller, and suction drum will be specifically explained with reference to this figure.

Here, as a representative example, the case of the storage box 26 for ten thousand yen banknotes, the corresponding impeller 24b, and the suction drum 25b will be explained.

As shown in the figure, a bill receiver 33 is arranged in the storage box 26 so as to be movable in the direction of the arrow, and a front bill holder 34 and a rear bill holder 35 are arranged on the opening side so as to face each other vertically. The paper front pressers 34 and 35 are movable in the direction of the arrow A, and are configured to rotate vertically to open and close. When the bill holder 34 and the front bill holder 34
A drive means (not shown) consisting of gears and a power source is connected to the rear bill presser 35.

On the other hand, above and below the impeller 24b provided in the housing 1 and the suction drum 25b combined with the impeller 24b, there is a deposit conveyance path 36 consisting of an endless belt and a pulley around which the belt is wound. One end of the dispensing conveyance path 37 is arranged, and the other ends of both conveyance paths 36 and 37 are branched 2 and merge into the conveyance path 22 shown in FIG.

Here, the impeller 24b is pivotally supported so that it can move to a predetermined position when depositing and withdrawing money, and rotates in the direction of arrow B during depositing.
A stopper 38 is disposed between the impeller 4b and the storage box 26, and the stopper 38 is connected to the impeller 24b via a link or the like so as to move in conjunction with the movement of the impeller 24b.

In addition, the suction drum 25b is fixed at the position shown in the figure, and rotates in the direction of arrow C when dispensing money.
The banknotes 39 inside can be sucked up and separated and fed one by one.

In this configuration, as shown in FIG. 3(1), when depositing money, the front bill presser 34 and the rear bill presser 35 are closed so as to press down the bills 39 that have already been regularly stored in the storage box 26. Both paper front pressers 34°35 and impeller 24Jl
A predetermined space is secured at the opening of the shoe storage box 26 between the two.

This space is set to a size that can accommodate the maximum number of deposited banknotes allowed for one transaction, for example, IOO bills. This is because it becomes impossible to regularly line up banknotes that have a tendency to bend or otherwise bend. Consideration has been made so that deposited banknotes can be stored within the minimum space necessary for the tab.

Note that it is desirable that the size of the space be controlled by the number of deposited banknotes to be stored.

Further, at this time, the stopper 38 is located at the lower part of the opening.

Therefore, when deposited banknotes are conveyed by the deposit conveyance path 36, the deposited banknotes crowd inside the blades of the impeller 24b rotating in the direction of arrow B, and are conveyed by the rotation of the impeller 24b to the stopper. 38 and the stopper 3
8 and are housed in a regular array.

That is, the deposited banknotes are stored in the opening with the front banknote presser 34 and the rear banknote presser 35 separated from the banknotes 39 already stored in the storage box 26, and this storage is temporary.

When a transaction is established here, the front bill holder 34 and the rear bill holder 35 are rotated vertically and opened, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3 (1), the front bill holder 34 and the rear bill holder 35 move toward the impeller 24b, close, and then retreat toward the bill receiver 33, so that the deposited bills are stored in the storage box. 26 and are held in alignment with the banknotes 39 between the banknote receiver 33 and both paper front pressers 34 and 35.

Also, at this time, in order to prepare for withdrawal as the next step,
The impeller 24b is retracted to the dispensing position shown in FIG. Often, the stopper 38 is simultaneously operated and retracted to the position shown in the figure.In this embodiment, in order to shorten the transaction time, the stopper 38 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
The position shown in is positioned as the home position of the impeller 24b and the suction drum 25b.

Next, in the case of withdrawal, the bill receptacle 33. The bill 39 is integrated with the front bill presser 34 and the rear bill presser 35 on the suction drum 25b.
They stop at the position where the most advanced banknote 39 comes into contact with the suction drum 2.5b. This operation connects a detection element such as a microswitch (not shown) to the suction drum 25b.
The suction drum 25b of the banknote 39 is provided near the surface of the banknote 39.
When this detection element detects contact with the bill receiver 33
This is realized by controlling the movement of both paper front pressers 33 and 34 to be stopped.

When the movement of the banknotes 39 etc. is stopped in this way, the front banknote presser 34 rotates downward and opens as shown in FIG. 3(V), where the suction drum 25b sucks the banknotes 39 and Rotate in the direction of arrow C.

This suction drum 25b has suction holes at one location on the outer peripheral surface, and the banknotes 39 that are in contact with the outer peripheral surface are removed by applying negative pressure to the suction holes using a vacuum pump or the like (not shown).
Only one bill 39 can be suctioned and held, and by returning the suction hole to atmospheric pressure at a predetermined position during rotation, the suctioned and held banknote 39 can be discharged to the dispensing conveyance path 37.

Therefore, the banknotes 39 in the storage box 26 are suctioned and separated one by one by the suction drum 25b in order from the most advanced one, and are fed to the dispensing conveyance path 3T. In other words, the suction drum 25b
Each rotation, one banknote 39 is sucked and separated from the storage box 26 and sent to the transport path 22 by the dispensing transport path 3T.

By the way, when the customer presses the cancellation key 12 when the deposited banknotes are temporarily stored in the opening of the storage box 26 during the above-mentioned deposit, the state shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. and stopper 38''fr: If the banknotes are evacuated to the home position and the suction drum 25b is driven in the same manner as in the case of dispensing money described above, the deposited banknotes can be returned to the customer.

As mentioned above, the structure of storing banknotes in a storage box and sending out banknotes from the storage box using an impeller and a suction drum is explained in detail in Japanese Patent Application No. 112885/1985. There is.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining the function of the staff replenishment and collection unit 23 in FIG.

As already mentioned, the staff supply and recovery section 23 is, for example, in the case 1.
As shown in FIG. 4, the banknotes collected by the impeller 24a and accumulated between the banknote receiver 40 and the banknote receiver 40 can be directly grabbed from the outside with a child. There is.

That is, the staff supply and collection section 23 is exposed in four parts of the housing 1, or is configured such that the housing 1 is provided with a door that can be easily opened and closed, and the banknotes can be grabbed by opening this door. Even if new bills for collection are sent during the banknote collection operation, the collection operation can be carried out without interrupting the operation of the device by storing them using the impeller 24m.

On the other hand, when replenishing banknotes, after retracting the impeller 24at to the home position as in the case of the impeller 24b described above, various denominations are mixed between the suction drum 25a and the banknote receiver 40. Bills for replenishment are inserted all at once, and then the suction drum 25a''f.

The machine is rotated to separate and feed banknotes one by one.

Here, the banknotes for replenishment are transferred between the suction drum 25m and the banknote receiver 4.
During the work of inserting banknotes between banknotes and banknotes, when banknotes for collection are conveyed, if the impeller 24& advances from the home position and performs the entire stacking operation, it will be dangerous for the staff.

Therefore, in this embodiment, an access cover (not shown) is provided in the staff supply and recovery section 23, and when the staff performs work, the opening operation of this access cover is detected by the detection means, and while the detection means is operating, the access cover is not shown. When banknotes are transported through the transport path 22, the collected banknotes are stored in the reject storage box 29, thereby avoiding danger to the staff member.

Next, the operation of the automatic banknote processing apparatus according to the present invention having the above-described configuration and functions will be explained in full order for each transaction.

(1) Deposit transaction First, in the case of a deposit transaction such as a deposit or savings, the customer presses the transaction selection key 8 on the front of the device shown in Figure 2 to select the deposit transaction, and then uses the card or passbook that he or she brought, or both. Passbook insertion return slot 2. Insert the card into the card insertion/return slot 3.

The device reads the magnetic stripe information of the inserted card or passbook, communicates online with a central device (not shown), and when the validity of the transaction is confirmed, the jack 13 of the deposit/withdrawal port 12 shown in FIG. 1 is opened. Then, the device waits for the customer to insert banknotes.

Here, when a customer inserts banknotes into the deposit/withdrawal port 12, the inserted banknotes pass through the guide plate 15a of the rotating section 14.
y 15 b and held there, and after the rotating part 14 rotates a certain angle, it is discharged to the separating and feeding part 16. During this time, the shutter 13 is closed. - In the separating and feeding section 16, the bills are separated into 91 sheets by the suction drum 17 and sent to the bill validating section 18, where the above-mentioned discrimination is performed one by one one by one.

In order to align the patterns of the banknotes that are determined to be normal through this discrimination, those with the patterns facing forward are sent to the non-reversing path 20a of the front/back reversing section 20, while those with the designs facing the opposite direction are sent to the non-reversing path 20a by switching the switching blade 31a. Sent to the reversing passage 21b,
The direction of movement is reversed, that is, the front and back sides are reversed.

In this way, the banknotes that are determined to be normal are sent to the conveyance path 22 with the pattern direction 2 aligned, and are sorted by the switching blades 31e to 31g according to their respective denominations to the respective storage boxes 26 to 31g.
2B, and impellers 24b to 2 to each opening.
4d, it is temporarily stored as described above. Ten thousand yen bills are stored in the opening of the storage box 26, thousand yen bills are stored in the opening of the storage box 27, and five thousand yen bills are stored in the opening of the storage box 28.

On the other hand, after the banknotes that are judged as not being normal by the banknote identification section 1B pass through the non-inversion passage 21a of the front and back reversal section 20,
The guide plates 15a and 15b of the rotating section 14 are sent to the stacking section 30 via the conveyance path 22 and are waiting in a horizontal state in advance.
taken in between. After this rotating part 14 has rotated by a certain angle, the shell 13 is opened again and the banknotes are returned to the customer through the deposit/withdrawal port 12.

Here, the customer decides whether to insert the returned banknotes into the deposit/withdrawal slot 12 again or to deposit only the amount confirmed by the discrimination and displayed on the operation instruction display section T, and then performs the operation described above. Confirm key 10 according to the display on instruction display section 7
t- is pressed, or the returned banknote is reinserted and the above-mentioned process is repeated, and then the confirmation key 10 is pressed.

When the confirmation key 10 is pressed, the bill receivers provided in each of the storage boxes 26 to 28 and both front and rear paper pressers operate in the same manner as explained in FIG. 3, and the paper money is temporarily stored as described above. Bills are stored in storage boxes 26 to 28, respectively.

Note that if the customer does not press the confirmation key 10t but presses the cancel key 11, the banknotes temporarily stored in the openings of the storage boxes 26 to 2B are transferred to the suction drums 25b to 25.
d, and is separated and fed by the accumulating section 30 and the rotating section 14.
The money is then returned to the customer through the deposit/withdrawal port 12.

After these processes, when the customer chooses to complete the transaction, a control unit (not shown) communicates with the center device, processes the deposit, prints the entry on the passbook, and inserts the passbook and card into the passbook insertion/return slot 2 and the card. Each item is returned to the customer through the insertion/return port 3.

(2) Withdrawal transaction - When the customer specifies the payment and the number of denominations and two denominations using the numeric keypad 9 shown in Figure i2, the bills are transferred to the storage box 26 by the suction drums 25b to 2Sd in the same manner as explained in Figure 3. ~2
The sheets are sequentially separated and fed one by one starting from 8, and sent out to the conveyance path 22.

The banknotes for withdrawal sent to the conveyance path 22 are transferred to the conveyance path 22.
A simple optical identification means using a detection element (not shown) installed in the holder, such as a combination of a light emitting diode and a light receiving transistor, detects the size, amount of transmitted light, etc., and can easily identify the denomination, presence or absence of double conveyance, etc. A check or discrimination is made. After confirming that a predetermined number of banknotes of a predetermined denomination have been sent out, they are temporarily stacked in the stacking section 30 and sent to the rotating section 14 along with the receipts sent from the slip issuing section through the conveyance path 32. Payment is made to the customer from the withdrawal port 12.

Note that when double feeding or abnormal banknotes are detected in the conveyance path 22, these banknotes are guided to and stored in the reject storage box 29 by the operation of the switching blade 31c.

When the banknotes are paid to the customer, the shutter 13 is closed, and the bankbook and card after printing are returned to the customer, and the withdrawal transaction is completed.

(3) Replenishment and collection of banknotes If the above-mentioned deposit and withdrawal operations are possible, the function of the device is satisfied, but for example, if deposits are made continuously, each of the storage boxes 26 to 28 It may become full.

In this embodiment, in such a case, a near-full is detected in each of the storage boxes 26 to 28 by a detection element (not shown), and based on this detection signal, the deposited banknotes are transferred to the staff supply and collection section 23.
It is now being transferred to.

In other words, the full storage box 26, 27 or 2B
In response to this, the banknotes are automatically separated and fed, and in response to this, the transported banknotes are stacked in the staff supply and collection section 23', and at the same time, this state is displayed on an external monitor board (not shown), etc. will be displayed to notify the staff. Thereby, the staff member collects banknotes from the staff supply and collection section 23 as necessary.

On the other hand, if withdrawal transactions occur frequently, the banknotes in the storage boxes 26 to 28 will run out. In this case, the near end is detected by the detection element, and this is notified to the staff by the external monitor panel or the like. Thereby, the clerk prepares the banknotes of the deficient denomination and supplies them to the clerk supply and collection section 23.

As explained in FIG. 4, the bills are separated and fed one by one from the staff supply and collection section 23 by the suction drum 25m, and then passed through the bill discriminating section 181 and the front/back reversing section 20 under the guidance of the switching blade 31b. After the species has been identified and turned over, the corresponding storage section 26, 27 or 2
It is stored in 8.

These banknote replenishment and collection operations by these staff members are controlled so that they can access them even when the ATM is in normal transaction mode, as will be described later.
This can be done easily without causing inconvenience to customers.

(4) Processing at the start and end of work At ATMs, at the start and end of work in the morning and evening,
Replenishment of banknotes into 28 2 Collection and rejection storage box 2
Banknotes are collected from 8 onwards.

Here, the replenishment of banknotes into the storage boxes 26 to 28 or the collection of banknotes can be carried out by removing the storage boxes 26 to 28 from the device housing, or by using the staff supply and collection section 23.
In other words, in the case of replenishment, the staff supply and collection section 23. The banknotes of each denomination are supplied at once to the storage boxes 26 to 28, and then the banknotes are fed and stored in the storage boxes 26 to 28 according to the above-described predetermined procedure, and in the case of collection, the banknotes in each of the storage boxes 26 to 2B are There is a method of accumulating all the banknotes in the staff supply and collection section 23 and then collecting the banknotes at once from the staff supply and collection section 23, which may be selected as appropriate.

In other words, for example, an official without inspection authority may store banknotes.

When collecting bills, as in the former case, the device is accessed through the storage boxes 26 to 28, and when a staff member with inspection authority performs the collection, as in the latter case, the staff member replenishes and collects banknotes at the staff supply and collection section 23. If you do this, you will be able to process your work more quickly.

Next, the operation of the ATM by the automatic banknote processing apparatus of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 to 14.

Figure 5 is a flowchart of the basic processing procedure, Figure 6 is a flowchart of the deposit processing procedure for deposits, etc., Figure 7 is a flowchart of the re-identification processing procedure, and Figure 8 is a flowchart of the return processing procedure. , FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure for withdrawal processing such as payment, FIG. 1
Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure for dispensing 1,000 yen banknotes;
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of replenishment processing,
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of collection processing.

In addition, the explanation of each step (hereinafter expressed as sl, s2, etc.) described below is as shown in each flowchart.
Corresponds to ~8167.

``Basic processing of ATM operation (FIG. 5)'' In financial institutions such as banks, each process is performed according to the flow shown in FIG. 5 from the start to the end of ATM operation.

81: 1. As mentioned above, before operating the ATM, the staff replenishes banknotes to the supply and collection section and stores them in each storage box, or stores the banknotes directly in each storage box, etc.
The necessary preparations for trading will be made, and if everything is normal, trading will begin.

S2: It is determined whether or not there is a deposit (deposit) by the customer. If there is, the process moves to S3, and if there is not, the process moves to S4.

S3: The processes shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, which will be described later, are performed.

S4: It is determined whether or not there is a withdrawal to the customer. If there is, the process moves to S5; if not, the process moves to S6.

S5: The processes shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, which will be described later, are performed.

S62 The time until the start of handling banknotes for the next customer, such as the idle time of the device such as the time required for bankbook entry, card extraction, and insertion of the next customer's card (as described later, the time required for the machine to start handling banknotes for the next customer) It is determined whether the robot is retracted to the home position), and if so, the process moves to S7; otherwise, the process moves to Sll.

S7: It is determined whether the near-end in each storage box was detected during the idle time of the device, and whether there was a replenishment request such as a replenishment instruction when replenishment was interrupted. Go to 88, and if there is none, go to 89.

S8: The replenishment process shown in FIG. 13, which will be described later, is performed.

S9: It is determined whether a near full was detected in each storage box during the idle time of the device, and whether there was a collection request such as a collection instruction when collection was interrupted, and if there was, 8
10, and if there is none, proceed to Sll.

810: The collection process shown in FIG. 14, which will be described later, is performed.

At 81, it is determined whether or not the transaction has ended, and if so, the process moves to 812; otherwise, if the transaction continues, steps 82, 84, and 86 are repeated. It is done.

S12: The transaction ends at the end of the business.

S13: The process shown in FIG. 14, which will be described later, is performed, the banknotes in each storage box are collected, and the operation of the ATM is stopped.

"Deposit processing (FIG. 6)" 814: The impellers corresponding to the staff supply and collection unit and each storage box move to the above-mentioned positions where they can be accumulated and stored.

815: A deposit instruction is given by the customer by pressing a deposit key, etc., and the shutter of the deposit/withdrawal port opens.

816: Banknotes are inserted into the deposit/withdrawal slot by the customer.

S17: It is detected whether or not the banknotes have been inserted normally and whether or not the banknotes have been inserted. If so, the process moves to 818, and if not, the banknotes are inserted again.

818: The shutter of the deposit/withdrawal port is closed.

819: The inserted bill is conveyed to the separation and feeding section by the rotating section.

S20: The bills are separated one by one by the suction drum of the separating and feeding section and fed to the bill validating section.

S21: Validation processing is performed by the bill validator.

This banknote discrimination section checks the bills that are sent one by one. (a) Photo pattern discrimination using transmitted light (b)
) Identification of photo patterns using reflected light (c)
Identification of magnetic patterns using a magnetic head (d) Detection of double feed using transmitted light (,) Detection of double feed based on thickness measurement by mechanical means (f) Using signals from intermittent light beams Distinguishing the length of banknotes (g) Detecting diagonal feeding using signals from intermittent light beams (h) Proximity feeding using signals from intermittent light beams,
In other words, it has a function such as detecting abnormal proximity of bills that are sent sequentially, and this is hereinafter referred to as first-class discrimination.

S22: In the discrimination process, it is determined whether the denomination of the banknote can be identified through the first-class discrimination and whether the banknote is normal or not, and normal banknotes are passed through a front-back reversal section. After 823 processing, abnormal banknotes are processed at 82
Processing No. 4 is performed.

Note that each time a banknote is determined to be normal, the amount is added and displayed on the operation guidance display section.

S23: The banknotes that are determined to be normal are sorted into denominations as described above, and are temporarily stored in the opening of each storage box or accumulated in the staff supply and collection section.

S24: Banknotes that are determined to be abnormal are stacked in the stacking section.

S25: The presence or absence of banknotes in the separation and feeding section is detected,
If there are any, steps 820 to 824 are repeated, and when all the bills in the separating and feeding section are exhausted and the processing of steps 820 to S24 is completed, the process moves to the next step 826.

826: The presence or absence of banknotes in the stacking unit, in other words, it is checked whether there are abnormal banknotes among the banknotes inserted by the customer and the banknotes are stacked in the stacking unit. If there are no banknotes, the process goes to 828. If there is, automatically 8
Move to 27.

S27: The re-identification process in FIG.
.

828: The customer confirms the amount displayed on the operation guidance display section.

S29: If the customer presses a confirmation key or the like to issue an instruction to deposit deposits, etc., the process goes to 830, and if the cancel key is pressed, the process goes to 831.

830: The banknotes that were stored in the openings of each storage box as described above are stored in each storage box.

831: The return process shown in FIG. 8, which will be described later, is performed.

[Re-discrimination process (FIG. 7)] S32: The banknotes stacked in the stacking section are conveyed to the separation and feeding section by the rotating section.

833-838: Similar to 820-826 above, the banknotes are separated and fed one by one again, and after first-class recognition is performed in the recognition section, the banknotes that are recognized as normal are placed in the opening of each storage box. banknotes or banknotes determined to be abnormal are stacked in a stacking unit. Then, the presence or absence of banknotes in the separating and feeding section is detected again, and if there is, 833 to 37
! The process is repeated in step 839, and if there is none, the process moves to step 839.

S39: It is detected whether or not there are banknotes in the stacking section, that is, whether there are banknotes to be returned to the customer.
40, and if there is none, it ends, that is, the 6th step mentioned above.
The process moves to 828 in the figure.

S40: Banknotes in the stacking section are taken in between the guide plates of the rotating section and conveyed to the deposit/withdrawal port.

841: The shutter of the deposit/withdrawal port opens, and the banknotes between the guide plates of the rotating part are returned to the customer.

S42: It is determined whether or not the customer has completed taking out banknotes, and if completion is confirmed, the process moves to 843.

S432: The shutter of the deposit/withdrawal port is closed, and the process from 828 onward in FIG. 6 is performed on the bill that is determined to be normal.

"Return Process (FIG. 8)" When the customer requests the return of the inserted banknote at 829 in FIG. 6, the return process is performed through the following steps.

S44: Each impeller retreats to the home position, and the staff supply and collection unit and the bill receivers of each storage box move to perform operations such as bringing the bill into contact with the suction drum, so that the bill can be separated and fed. Set to state.

S45: The presence or absence of banknotes temporarily stored in the staff supply and collection section is detected, and if there is, the process goes to S46, and if there is no banknote, the process goes to 847.

846: The staff supply and collection section separates and feeds 91 banknotes and stacks them in the stacking section.

S47: It is detected whether or not there is a 10,000 yen bill in the opening of the storage box for 10,000 yen bills, and if there is, the process moves to 848, and if not, the process moves to 849.

S48: The ten thousand yen banknotes temporarily stored in the opening are separated and fed one by one and stacked in the stacking section.

S492 It is detected whether or not there is a Tenshi Yen bill in the opening of the storage box for Tenshi Yen bills.

S50: The tenshi yen banknotes temporarily stored in the opening are separated and fed one by one and stacked in the stacking section.

S51: It is detected whether or not there is a thousand yen bill in the opening of the storage box for thousand yen bills, and if there is, the process moves to 852, and if there is not, the process moves to 853.

S52: The thousand yen banknotes temporarily stored in the opening are separated and fed one by one and stacked in the stacking section.

S53: The banknotes in the stacking section are taken in between the guide plates of the rotating section and conveyed to the deposit/withdrawal port.

S542 The shutter of the deposit/withdrawal port opens and the banknotes between the guide plates of the rotating part are returned to the customer.

S55: It is determined whether or not the customer has completed taking out banknotes, and if completion is confirmed, the process moves to 856.

8562 The shutter of the deposit/withdrawal port is closed and the banknote return process is completed.

"Payment processing (Figure 9)" S57: Each impeller retreats to the home position, and the bill receivers of each storage box move to bring the bill into contact with the corresponding suction drum. , the banknotes in each storage box can be separated and fed.

S58: It is determined whether or not there is a 10,000 yen bill in the denomination desired by the customer. If there is, the process goes to 859; otherwise, the process goes to 860.

S59: The process of dispensing ten thousand yen banknotes in FIG. 10, which will be described later, is performed.

S60: It is determined whether Tenshi yen banknotes are available in the denomination desired by the customer. If yes, go to 861, otherwise go to 862.
Move to.

S61: Tenzi yen banknote withdrawal processing shown in FIG. 11, which will be described later, is performed.

S62: It is determined whether a 1,000 yen bill is available in the denomination desired by the customer. If there is, the process goes to 863; otherwise, the process goes to 864.

S63: The 1,000 yen bill withdrawal process shown in FIG. 12, which will be described later, is performed.

S64: The banknotes accumulated in the stacking section through the above-mentioned processes are taken between the guide plates of the rotating section and conveyed to the deposit/withdrawal port.

S652: The shutter of the deposit/withdrawal port opens, and the banknotes taken in between the guide plates are paid to the customer.

866: It is determined whether or not the customer has completed taking out banknotes, and if completion is confirmed, the process moves to 867.

867 2. The shutter of the deposit/withdrawal port is closed and the withdrawal transaction is completed.

10,000 yen banknote dispensing process (FIG. 10) S68: The 10,000 yen banknote is separated and fed from the storage box by the suction drum.

S69: The banknotes are discriminated by a simple discrimination means (not shown) installed at a position where banknotes of each denomination pass.

This simple discrimination means checks the bills sent one by one, and performs the functions (b) and (d) to (h) of the above-mentioned first-class discrimination, that is, (b) detects reflected light. Identification of photo patterns used (d) Detection of double feed using transmitted light (,) Detection of double feed based on thickness measurement by mechanical means (f) Diagonal detection using signals from intermittent light beams Feed detection (h) Proximity feed using signals from intermittent light beams,
It has functions such as detecting abnormal proximity of banknotes that are sent sequentially, and this is hereinafter referred to as second-class identification.

S70: The discrimination unit discriminates whether the banknote is normal or not. A normal banknote undergoes the process 871, and an abnormal banknote undergoes the process 872.

871 2 The banknotes that are determined to be normal are transported to the stacking section and stacked.

S72: The banknotes that are determined to be abnormal are stored in the reject storage box.

S73: It is counted whether the desired number of 10,000 yen bills have been accumulated or not. If they have been accumulated, the process moves to 860 in FIG. The operations from 1 to 3 are repeated to complete the withdrawal of the 10,000 yen bill.

"Egg yen banknote withdrawal process (FIG. 11)" From 874 to S79, the egg yen banknote withdrawal process is performed in the same procedure as the ten thousand yen banknote.

"Thousand yen bill withdrawal process (FIG. 12)" From 880 to S85, the thousand yen bill withdrawal process is performed in the same procedure as the ten thousand yen bill.

"Banknote Replenishment Process (FIG. 13)" S86: The impeller etc. corresponding to each storage box moves to a position where banknotes can be stored.

S87: The impeller of the attendant supply and collection unit retreats to the home position, and the banknotes stored in the staff supply and collection unit become ready to be separated and fed by the suction drum. In other words, the banknotes in each storage box are pressed against the respective suction drums.

888: Bills are separated and fed one by one from the staff supply and collection section by the suction drum.

S89: The banknote validation unit performs first-class validation of the banknotes from the staff supply and collection unit.

S90: The front and back sides of the banknotes are discriminated by the banknote discrimination, and the banknotes that are recognized as the back side are sent to 891, and the banknotes that are recognized as the front side are sent to 891.
Move to 92.

891: The bill identified as the back is 894,895°8
After the discrimination in step 96, the paper is sent to a front-back reversing section and is reversed.

S92: It is determined whether or not the banknote is an egg yen bill. If so, the process goes to 893; otherwise, the process goes to S94.

8932 A banknote identified as Tenshi Yen is temporarily stored in the opening of a storage box for Tenshi Yen banknotes.

S94: It is determined whether or not it is a 2,000 yen bill. If so, the process goes to 895; otherwise, the process goes to 896.

S95: The banknotes identified as 1,000 yen are temporarily stored in the opening of the storage box for 1,000 yen banknotes.

S96: It is determined whether or not it is a 10,000 yen bill. If so, the process goes to 897; otherwise, the process goes to 898.

S9.720,000 yen banknotes are temporarily stored in the opening of the storage box for 10,000 yen banknotes.

898: The staff separation supply department ran out of supply notes.
Alternatively, it is determined whether or not separation and feeding of a predetermined number of banknotes has been completed. If the separation and feeding of a predetermined number of banknotes has not been completed, the process proceeds to 899, and if it has been completed, the process proceeds to 5100.

S99: The presence or absence of a transaction selection key being pressed by the customer, which will be described later, is detected, and if so, the banknote replenishment process is interrupted.
The process moves to 100, and if there is none, the operation from 888 is repeated.

8100: The banknotes temporarily stored in the openings of each storage box are stored in the respective storage boxes, and the replenishment process ends.

"Banknote Collection Process (FIG. 14)" In the present invention, banknotes are collected in two cases: all banknotes in each storage box are collected, and only a predetermined number of banknotes are collected.

s t o , i: First, the impellers and the like corresponding to each storage box are retracted to the home position, and the banknotes stored in each storage box are in a state where they can be separated and fed by the suction drum. In other words, the banknotes in each storage box are pressed against the corresponding suction drums.

8102: The impeller of the staff supply and collection section moves to a position where banknotes can be stored.

8103: It is determined whether or not to collect the 10,000 yen banknote,
If the item is to be collected, the process goes to 5104; otherwise, the process goes to 5107.

8104: Bills are separated and fed one by one from the storage box for ten thousand yen bills.

8105: Banknotes fed from the storage box for 10,000 yen banknotes are accumulated in the staff supply section.

8106: It is determined whether or not the collection of ten thousand yen banknotes has been completed. If it has been completed, the process proceeds to 5107; if it has not been completed, the operations from 8104 are repeated until the process is completed.

81072 It is determined whether or not to collect the egg yen banknote,
If the bill is to be collected, the same process as in the case of a ten thousand yen bill is performed at 8108 to 8110t, and then the process goes to 5ill; if not, the process goes directly to 5ill.

8111: It is determined whether or not to collect the 1,000 yen bill,
If the banknote is to be collected, the same process as in the case of a ten thousand yen banknote is performed from 8112 to 8114, and the collection process is completed; otherwise, the collection process is ended.

8112 to 8114: During collection of banknotes of each denomination, if a transaction selection key is pressed by the customer as described later, the collection is interrupted, and if the transaction selection key is not pressed, collection is continued.

In the automatic banknote processing according to the present invention, when the customer presses the transaction selection key and instructs deposit or withdrawal, each storage box, impeller, suction drum, etc. can be separated and fed or stored as described above. When the deposit or withdrawal process is completed, the machine returns to the home position as explained in FIG. 3.

This home position does not mean that the device is idle, and during this idle time, banknotes are replenished and collected from the staff supply and collection section.

Additionally, if the customer presses the transaction selection key while replenishing or collecting banknotes, the replenishment or collection process will be temporarily interrupted and the process will immediately proceed to the deposit or withdrawal process, and the deposit or withdrawal process will end. When idle time is reached, the replenishment or collection process is restarted and continues until the transaction selection key is pressed again or the replenishment or collection is completed.

In other words, the staff replenishment and collection section 23' of the automatic banknote processing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 can be used to supply and collect banknotes at any time by the staff without any problem in operating as an ATM.

As described above, one embodiment of the automatic banknote processing apparatus according to the present invention has been described.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the case where it is applied to M, the present invention is not limited thereto. A deposit or withdrawal port for inserting or dispensing various types of banknotes all at once, a banknote discrimination section for determining whether the banknotes are normal or not, and the denomination of the banknotes, etc., and storing banknotes for each denomination. A staff member is placed on the back side of the housing of a deposit machine or withdrawal machine that is equipped with multiple storage boxes and a means for storing banknotes in each storage box or a means for separating and feeding banknotes one by one from each storage box. By providing the replenishment and collection unit together with the banknote stacking mechanism and the banknote feeding mechanism, it is possible to replenish or collect banknotes regardless of the customer's transaction status.

In addition, in the above-mentioned implementation series, three storage boxes for storing banknotes are provided so that banknotes of three denominations can be deposited and withdrawn, respectively, but this configuration is not limited, and for example, 10,000 yen banknotes 1 It is also effective for simple type dispensing machines that only handle types and are provided with one storage box.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned implementation sequence, the near-end or near-full state of banknotes in the storage box of each denomination is notified by the display on the monitor panel, etc., and the staff member who recognizes this informs the staff of the banknote replenishment and collection section of the banknote supply or collection unit. Although we are trying to do this, it is also possible to configure it as follows.

For example, banknotes may be automatically supplied or collected by providing a banknote transfer means such as a belt conveyor or a linear car between a centrally managed cash safe located at a distance and the staff supply and collection section.

If the machine automatically replenishes and collects banknotes in this way, the amount of banknotes stored and prepared in each storage box in advance would be reduced, and the banknotes would be stored all at once in the central cash management safe. Banknotes stored in the bank can be efficiently rotated and used in a plurality of ATMs, and funds can be managed efficiently without any special human intervention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention provides an attendant replenishment and collection section on the back of the device housing, etc., which allows an attendant to arbitrarily input and collect banknotes, and the banknotes supplied to this attendant replenishment and collection section are delivered to customers. While a customer's cash withdrawal transaction is being performed, the information is retained in the staff supply and collection department, and the time from the end of processing for the cash of the customer's cash withdrawal transaction to the start of processing for the next customer's cash, e.g. Bankbook entry, card extraction,
When the next customer operates a key, inserts a card, inserts a passbook, etc., the banknotes are sent and stored from the staff supply and collection section to the desired storage box by denomination during the idle time of the device that does not directly handle banknotes,
Also, when collecting banknotes from the storage box, the idle time of the device is used to transfer the banknotes to the staff supply and collection section in the same way as when replenishing the banknotes.

Therefore, it is possible to replenish and collect banknotes without stopping the operation of the machine, and there is an advantage that there is no inconvenience to customers. Since it is possible to perform two replenishment and recovery operations, it is also possible to quickly perform start-up and tightening processes of the apparatus.

In addition, since banknotes are replenished and collected at one staff supply and collection section, it is easy to operate and does not require the device to be bulky or complicated.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing the internal structure of an embodiment of the automatic banknote processing device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the external appearance when the automatic banknote processing device of FIG. 1 is configured as an ATM. Figure 3 is an operation process diagram for explaining the operation of storing banknotes in the storage box in Figure 1, separating and feeding banknotes from the storage box, and canceling the transaction, and Figure 4 is the operation process diagram shown in Figure 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the basic processing procedure of the banknote automatic processing device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of deposit processing, and FIG. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of revalidation processing, Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of return processing, Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of withdrawal processing, and Figure 1O is a flowchart showing the procedure of withdrawal processing of 10,000 yen banknotes. Flowchart, 1st
Figure 1 is a flowchart showing the procedure for dispensing 1,000 yen banknotes, Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the procedure for dispensing 1,000 yen banknotes, Figure 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure for banknote replenishment processing, and Figure 14 is a flowchart for banknote collection. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of processing. 1... Housing 2... Passbook insertion/return slot 3... Card insertion/return slot 1... Operation guide display section 8... Transaction selection key 9... Numeric keypad 10... Confirmation key 1
1...Cancellation key 12...Deposit/withdrawal port 13...Shutter 14...Rotating part 16...Separation feeding part 1
T...Suction drum 1B...Banknote discrimination section 2G...
Front/back reversal section 22... Conveyance path 23... Attendant supply and collection section 24a-24d...- Impeller 25a-25d.
...Suction drum 26-28...Storage box 29...
Reject storage box 30... Accumulation section 33... Bill holder 34... Front bill holder 35... Rear bill holder 40... Bill holder is patent applicant Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. agent patent attorney Kim Takashi Kura @2riA

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Either or both of a deposit port or a withdrawal port, a storage box that stores either or both of deposited banknotes or withdrawn banknotes, and a method for identifying the authenticity, denomination, etc. of banknotes. In an automatic banknote processing device that is equipped with a validation section and performs one or both of the following operations: depositing banknotes deposited by a customer and dispensing banknotes paid to the customer, the automatic banknote processing device includes a banknote stacking mechanism and a banknote mechanism. An automatic banknote processing device, characterized in that a collection unit is provided on a surface different from the deposit port or the withdrawal port, and is arranged so that an attendant can take out or load banknotes from the outside.