De La Rue Systems Ltd.

Roy E Winchester

Martin Lane

Simon George Calverley

Trevor J Conner

Christopher J Dixon

David R Worsley

Michel R Croset

Sheet feeding apparatus for example for use as a banknote counter comprises a stripper system having a pair of rollers; and a banknote detection system including two pairs of rollers defining respective nips into which single notes are fed by the stripper system. The relative deflection of the sheet detection system rollers due to the passage of a sheet through the nips is monitored in use. The stripper system rollers and the rollers of the sheet detection system are substantially coaxially mounted on a shaft and are driven by a common drive motor.

Sheet feeding apparatus and method

A method and apparatus for monitoring the passage of sheets past at least one sensing assembly (48,49). The sensing assembly (48,49) generates an output signal whose level varies in accordance with a characteristic of the sheets, for example the thickness of the sheets. The method comprises for the or each sensing assembly, presetting a first threshold (62) spaced by a predetermined amount from a datum output signal level (57) when no sheet is sensed, the predetermined amount being such that the first threshold (62) is not passed as a result of random noise variations in the output signal but is passed during the passage past the sensing means of all sheets which it is desired to monitor. The size of the output signal from the sensing means (48, 49) relative to the datum level is monitored when the output signal first passes the first threshold (62) corresponding to the passage of a first sheet. Single, double, and triple sheet thresholds (63, 64, 67) are generated from a monitored size and thereafter the output signal is monitored to sense when it passes one or more of the thresholds.

Method and apparatus for monitoring sheets for overlapping

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West Sussex, United Kingdom

Roy E Winchester