WO2024194661A1

WO2024194661A1 - Disinfecting apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2024194661A1
Application number: PCT/HU2023/000008
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zsuzsa NÉMETH; János Németh
Original assignee: Nemeth Zsuzsa; Nemeth Janos
Priority date: 2023-03-23
Filing date: 2023-03-23
Publication date: 2024-09-26

Abstract

The invention relates to a disinfecting apparatus particularly for disinfecting banknotes and coins. The disinfecting apparatus according to the invention is characterised by comprising a casing (2) having inlet openings (3, 4) for receiving the banknotes and coins, an outlet opening (5, 6) for dispensing the disinfected banknotes and coins, an openable cover, and a ventilation opening (35), a banknote intake unit (7) disposed in the banknote inlet opening (3) inside the casing (2), a banknote transport unit (8), UV-C lamps (9) adapted for performing disinfection, and a dispenser unit (10) adapted for transporting the disinfected banknotes into the banknote outlet opening (5), a coin unit (11) that is adapted for conveying the coins to be disinfected to the dispenser unit, is disposed parallel to the banknote transport unit (7) and is connected to the coin inlet opening of the casing (2), UV-C lamps (6) and an ozone generator (12) that are disposed in parallel above each other in the coin unit (11), the apparatus further comprising a power supply unit (28) adapted to supply power to the banknote intake unit (7), the banknote transport unit (8), the dispenser unit (10), and the coin unit (10), and also comprising a motor (29), a control unit (31), and additional components.

Description

DISINFECTING APPARATUS

Technical field

The invention relates to a disinfecting apparatus particularly for disinfecting banknotes and coins.

Background art

Purchasing goods is an essential part of everyday life, and cash (i.e., banknotes or coins) is often used for payments.

Although card purchases have become dominant in recent years, cash transactions still have a considerable share of everyday payments.

Banknotes and coins are handled by many people, so they may carry a large number of pathogens.

This poses problems particularly in time of a pandemic.

Therefore, cash is usually “quarantined” and/or disinfected in banks, applying a special procedure after which the disinfected banknotes and coins are “left to rest” for 14 days.

However, this is not possible during the daily handling of cash.

Disclosure of invention

The objective of the present invention is to provide a disinfecting apparatus that can be applied during the daily handling of cash at any sales location for disinfecting banknotes and coins utilised for payment.

The disinfecting apparatus according to the invention is based on the recognition that disinfection can be performed inside an enclosed unit, by individually disinfecting the inserted coins and banknotes (even simultaneously).

The inventive objective is realised by providing a disinfecting apparatus that is characterised by comprising a casing having inlet openings for receiving the banknotes and coins, an outlet opening for dispensing the disinfected banknotes and coins, an openable cover, and a ventilation opening, a banknote intake unit disposed in the banknote inlet opening inside the casing, a banknote transport unit, UV-C lamps adapted for performing disinfection, and a dispenser unit adapted for transporting the disinfected banknotes into the banknote outlet opening, a coin unit that is adapted for conveying the coins to be disinfected to the dispenser unit, is disposed parallel to the banknote transport unit and is connected to the coin inlet opening of the casing, UV-C lamps and an ozone generator that are disposed in parallel above each other in the coin unit, the apparatus further comprising a power supply unit adapted to supply power to the banknote intake unit, the banknote transport unit, the dispenser unit, and the coin unit, and also comprising a motor, a control unit, and additional components.

In a preferred embodiment of the disinfecting apparatus according to the invention the banknote intake unit comprises support rollers and intake rollers, and further comprises a guiding plate that partially encloses the transport roller and the intake roller and is tangentially connected to the transport roller; and the banknote transport unit connected to the banknote intake unit consists of a roller-driven transport belt that is adapted for passing the banknote to be disinfected through the banknote dispenser unit and the transport unit, and UV-C lamps that are affixed to the openable cover of the casing above the transport belt and are also disposed under the transport belt.

Another preferred embodiment of the disinfecting apparatus according to the invention further consists of two transport belts, running on rollers, arranged in the coin unit parallel to each other under the coin inlet opening of the casing, guiding wheels that are adapted for driving the transport belt and are disposed at the end of said belt lying further from the coin inlet opening, a guiding plate that is disposed between the guiding wheels and is adapted for conveying the coins arriving from the upper transport belt to the bottom transport belt, UV-C lamps arranged above the transport belts, and a slide connected to the coin outlet opening of the dispenser unit.

The banknote outlet opening of the dispenser unit of the disinfecting apparatus according to the invention is provided with guiding plates, the power supply unit, the motor, and the motor controllers are disposed behind the banknote intake unit, and the UV-C lamps are lamps that are also able to generate ozone.

An expedient embodiment of the disinfecting apparatus according to the invention has the following additional components: sensors, heat sensors and a fan that are in operative connection with the control unit and are adapted for controlling the operation of the banknote intake unit, the banknote transport unit, the dispenser unit, and the coin unit, the apparatus further comprising a door lock locking the casing cover.

Brief description of drawings

A preferred embodiment of the disinfecting apparatus according to the invention is described in detail referring to the accompanying drawings, where

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the disinfecting apparatus according to the invention, with an open dispenser,

Fig. 2 shows, without its casing, the disinfecting apparatus shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 shows a side elevation view of the disinfecting apparatus shown in Fig. 1 without its casing,

Fig. 4 shows a rear view of the banknote intake unit of the disinfecting apparatus shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the coin disinfecting unit of the disinfecting apparatus according to Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the units of the disinfecting apparatus according to Fig. 1 adapted for dispensing disinfected banknotes and coins,

Fig. 7 shows the apparatus of Fig. 1 in an open state, and

Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of the ozone plate of the apparatus of Fig. 1.

Best mode of carrying out the invention

A perspective view of the disinfecting apparatus 1 according to the invention - encompassed by a casing 2 - is shown in Fig. 1. The disinfecting apparatus 1 comprises a banknote inlet opening 3, a coin inlet opening 4, and a banknote outlet opening 5 and coin outlet opening 6 being disposed on the front panel of the disinfecting apparatus 1.

The disinfecting apparatus 1 according to the invention essentially consists of a banknote intake unit 7 comprising the banknote inlet opening 3, a banknote transport unit 8 connected to the banknote intake unit 7, UV-C lamps 9 that are adapted for performing disinfection and are disposed under and above the banknote transport unit 8, a dispenser unit 10 connected to the banknote transport unit 8, a coin transport unit 11 that is disposed under the coin inlet opening 4 parallel to the banknote intake unit 7 and the banknote transport unit 8, and is connected to the dispenser unit 10, UV-C lamps 9 disposed above and under the coin transport unit 11, and an ozone generator 12 disposed between the banknote transport unit 8 and the coin transport unit 11 in front of the dispenser unit (see Fig. 2).

In the following, the configuration and operation of the components of the disinfecting apparatus according to the invention will be described.

In Fig. 3, the disinfecting apparatus 1 is illustrated in a side elevation view clearly showing the manner in which the banknotes inserted in the banknote inlet opening 3 of the disinfecting apparatus 1 are taken up by the banknote intake unit 7. The banknote intake unit 7 comprises two support rollers 13, 14, two intake rollers 15, 16, a transport roller 17, and a guiding plate 18 that partially encompasses the bottom intake roller 15 and is tangentially connected to the transport roller 17.

The banknote transport unit 8 connected with the banknote intake unit 7 essentially consists of a transport belt 20 that is adapted to transport through the banknote transport unit 8 the banknotes arriving from the banknote intake unit 7, and is adapted to move between rollers 19, components (not shown here) that enable the movement of the rollers 19 and the transport belt 20, and UV-C lamps 9 disposed above and under the transport belt 20.

Fig. 4 illustrates in rear view the banknote intake unit 7 as a completed assembly.

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the coin transport unit 11 of the disinfecting apparatus 1.

The coin transport unit 11 is disposed beside the banknote transport unit 8 that consists of two transport belts 21 that are arranged in parallel above each other and are adapted for passing the coins arriving from the coin inlet opening 4 of the disinfecting apparatus 1 through the coin transport unit 11, a guide plate 24 disposed between transport wheels 22 and 23 disposed at the end of the transport belts 21 lying further from the coin inlet opening 4, a slide 25 that is connected to the coin outlet opening 6 of the dispenser unit 10 under the bottom transport belt 21 , and UV-C lamps 9 disposed above the transport belts 21.

Fig. 6 shows the dispenser unit 10 that comprises a banknote outlet opening 5 adapted for dispensing the banknotes arriving from the banknote transport unit 8, and a coin outlet opening 6 adapted for dispensing the disinfected coins arriving from the coin transport unit 11, with the banknote outlet opening 5 further comprising a guide member 25 adapted for aiding the removal of the banknotes.

Fig. 7 illustrates the disinfecting apparatus 1 in an open state.

In addition to the components described above, the disinfecting apparatus 1 also comprises additional units adapted for assisting the operation of the disinfecting apparatus. The most important additional components, i.e., the UV-C lamp holders 26 adapted for retaining the UV-C lamps 9 mentioned above, are affixed to the fold-up cover of the disinfecting apparatus 1.

It should be noted here that the openability of the disinfecting apparatus 1 is of key importance: on the one hand, in the event of the failure of certain structural components it allows for their easy replacement, and on the other hand, banknote “jams” can also be easily repaired.

In addition to the UV-C lamps, ozone lamps are also installed to improve disinfection.

A preferred embodiment of the applied ozone lamp is illustrated in Fig. 8, showing that the ozone lamps are preferably installed in pairs; the position of the lamps installed in the apparatus can be seen in Fig. 7.

For the operation of the disinfecting apparatus 1 it is provided with a power supply unit

28 disposed behind the banknote inlet opening 3 of the apparatus that supplies power to motors

29 driving the banknote intake unit 7, the banknote transport unit 8 and the coin unit 11, with motor controllers 30 and a control unit 31. Additional sensors known per se adapted for monitoring the operation of the components of the apparatus are also installed.

Heat generated in the disinfecting apparatus 1 during the operation of the UV-C lamps 9 and ozone lamps 27, and other units of the disinfecting apparatus 1 is removed with the help of fans 32 installed in the disinfecting apparatus 1.

A door lock 33 adapted for locking the cover of the disinfecting apparatus 1 is included for ensuring the secure operation of the disinfecting apparatus 1. The control panel of the disinfecting apparatus 1 is disposed on the top portion of the cover.

In the following, the operation of the disinfecting apparatus 1 is described, addressing separately the disinfection process of banknotes and coins.

Banknote disinfection is essentially performed in the banknote transport unit 8.

The banknotes to be disinfected are placed in the banknote inlet opening 3 of the disinfecting apparatus 1 (see Fig. 1). It is noted here that multiple banknotes can be inserted simultaneously. After coin insertion, the door lock 33 of the apparatus is latched.

The banknotes inserted in the banknote inlet opening 3 enter the banknote intake unit 7 and, passing through the support rollers 13, 14 and intake rollers 15, 16 made of rubber, are separated from each other, and are transferred one by one towards the banknote transport unit 8. The unimpeded movement of the banknotes is facilitated by the guiding plate 18 disposed between the intake roller 15 and the transport roller 17. With the help of the transport roller 17, the banknotes are transferred one by one onto the transport belt 20 driven by the rollers 19 (see Fig. 3).

The transport belt 20 is passed between the UV-C lamps 9, providing that the banknotes travelling between the UV-C lamps 9 at a velocity of maximum 10 m/s are subjected to a radiation dose of at least 1000 J/m², which provides a sufficient degree of disinfection. Disinfection is rendered more effective by the ozone lamps 27 that are disposed downstream of the UV-C lamps 9.

The disinfected banknotes conveyed to the dispenser unit 10 can be removed therefrom through the banknote outlet opening 5.

After the last banknote has left the disinfecting apparatus 1 the process is completed and the latching of the door lock 33 is removed.

The process of disinfecting coins is the following:

Coin disinfection is carried out in the coin unit 10 of the disinfecting apparatus 1.

The coins to be disinfected are inserted in the coin inlet opening 4 of the coin unit 10 of the disinfecting apparatus 1 (see Fig. 5). The inserted coins are detected by a sensor which starts the coin unit 10, and the transport belt 21 is also started. The coins inserted in the coin inlet opening 4 are placed on the upper transport belt 21; the transport belt 21 conveys the coins toward the transport wheel 23, while the UV-C lamps disposed above the transport belt 21 disinfect the upward facing portion of the coins. The guiding plate disposed between the transport wheels 22, 23 connected to the transport belt 21 flips over the coins and conveys them onto the bottom transport belt 21, with the UV-C lamps 9 disposed above the belt carrying out disinfection of the other face of the coins. The scattered light of the UV-C lamps 9 provides sufficient radiation for disinfecting the coins. Disinfection is also aided by the ozone lamps.

The coins are conveyed by the transport belt 21 to a coin outlet opening 6 of the dispenser unit 10 and, through the coin outlet opening 6, are released to the outside.

Based on the signal received from a sensor disposed in the coin outlet opening 6, the control unit stops the disinfecting apparatus 1 and if necessary - i.e., triggered by the signal of the temperature sensor of the disinfecting apparatus 1 - it starts the fans 32.

In case the inserted banknote should get jammed before disinfection, the process is immediately halted by the control unit, and, by opening the cover of the disinfecting apparatus 1 (see Fig. 7), the jammed banknote can be removed.

An advantage of the disinfecting apparatus according to the invention is that it is suited for simultaneously disinfecting banknotes and coins.

The disinfecting apparatus can be applied - particularly in time of a pandemic - for preventing pathogens carried by banknotes and coins from being transmitted.

Claims

1. Disinfecting apparatus particularly for disinfecting banknotes and coins, characterised in that it comprises a casing (2) having inlet openings (3, 4) for receiving the banknotes and coins, an outlet opening (5, 6) for dispensing the disinfected banknotes and coins, an openable cover, and a ventilation opening (35), a banknote intake unit (7) disposed in the banknote inlet opening (3) inside the casing (2), a banknote transport unit (8), UV-C lamps (9) adapted for performing disinfection, and a dispenser unit (10) adapted for transporting the disinfected banknotes into the outlet opening (5), a coin unit (11) that is adapted for conveying the coins to be disinfected to the dispenser unit, is disposed parallel to the banknote transport unit (7) and is connected to the coin inlet opening of the casing (2), UV-C lamps (9) and an ozone generator (12) that are disposed in parallel above each other in the coin unit (11), the apparatus further comprising a power supply unit (28) adapted to supply power to the banknote intake unit (7), the banknote transport unit (8), the banknote dispenser unit (10), and the coin unit (11), and also comprising a motor (29), a control unit (31), and additional components.

2. The disinfecting apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the banknote intake unit (7) comprises support rollers (13, 14) and intake rollers (15, 16), and further comprises a guiding plate (18) that partially encloses the transport roller (17) and the intake roller (15) and is tangentially connected to the transport roller (17).

3. The disinfecting apparatus according to Claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the banknote transport unit (8) connected to the banknote intake unit (7) consists of a roller (19)- driven transport belt (20) that is adapted for passing the banknote to be disinfected through the banknote dispenser unit (10) and the banknote transport unit (8), and UV-C lamps (9) that are affixed to the openable cover of the casing (2) above the transport belt (20) and are also disposed under the transport belt (20).

4. The disinfecting apparatus according to any one of Claims 1-3, characterised in that it further consists of two transport belts (21), running on rollers, arranged in the coin unit (11) parallel to each other under the coin inlet opening (4) of the casing (2), guiding wheels (22, 23) that are adapted for driving the transport belt (21) and are disposed at the end of said belt lying farther from the coin inlet opening (4), a guiding plate that is disposed between the guiding wheels (22, 23) and is adapted for conveying the coins arriving from the upper transport belt (21) to the bottom transport belt (21), UV-C lamps (9) arranged above the transport belts (21), and a slide (25) connected to the coin outlet opening (6) of the dispenser unit (10).

5. The disinfecting apparatus according to any one of Claims 1-4, characterised in that the banknote outlet opening (5) of the dispenser unit (10) has guiding plates (25).

6. The disinfecting apparatus according to any one of Claims 1-5, characterised in that the power supply unit (28), the motor (29), and the motor controllers are disposed behind the banknote intake unit (7).

7. The disinfecting apparatus according to any one of Claims 1-6, characterised in that the UV-C lamps (9) are lamps that are also able to generate ozone.

8. The disinfecting apparatus according to any one of Claims 1-7, characterised in that it comprises the following additional components: sensors, heat sensors and a fan (32) that are in operative connection with the control unit (31) and are adapted for controlling the operation of the banknote intake unit (7), the banknote transport unit (8), the dispenser unit (10), and the coin unit (11).

9. The disinfecting apparatus according to any one of Claims 1-8, characterised in that it further comprises a door lock (33) locking the casing (2) cover.

728090/DO

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

1 disinfecting apparatus

2 casing

3 banknote inlet opening

4 coin inlet opening

5 banknote outlet opening

6 coin outlet opening

7 banknote intake unit

8 banknote transport unit

9 UV-C lamps

10 dispenser unit

11 coin unit

12 ozone generator

13 support roller

14 intake roller

15 intake roller

16 transport roller

17 transport roller

18 guiding plate

19 roller 0 transport belt 1 transport belt 2 transport wheel 3 transport wheel 4 guide member 5 guide member 6 UV-C lamp holder 7 ozone lamp 8 power supply unit 9 motor 0 motor controllers control unit fan door lock ventilation opening