Arrangement for handling banknotes and/or other documents

An arrangement for handling banknotes and/or other documents, said arrangement comprising:

• a magazine (13) containing a plurality of magazine pockets (18), each one of said pockets being arranged to receive only one banknote or other document therein and having, at one end thereof, a combined infeed and outfeed opening (26) through which a banknote or other document can be fed into or fed out from said pocket (18), and each one of said pockets being provided with holding means (27) for releasably holding, within said pocket, a banknote or other document fed into said pocket (18);
• controllable driving means (16, 17) for the magazine (13), by means of which a selectable magazine pocket (18) can be placed with said opening (26) in front of a selected one of an infeed station (14) and an outfeed station (15) located adjacent to said magazine (13);
• first feeding means (33) provided at the infeed station (14) for controllably feeding a banknote or other document from a pocket (18) placed in front of the infeed station (14);
• second feeding means (36) provided at the outfeed station (15) for controllably feeding a banknote or other document from a pocket (18) placed in front of the outfeed station (15);
• first cam means (32) provided at the infeed station (14);
• and
• second cam means (32) provided at the outfeed station (15), wherein:
• said holding means of each said magazine pocket (18) comprise at least one pair of resiliently flexible clamping means having clamping portions (27′) located at or near said opening (26) and movable relative to each other between, on the one hand, clamping positions in which said clamping portions are arranged to bear resiliently against mutually opposite sides of a banknote or other document fed into said pocket (18), and, on the other hand, release positions in which said clamping portions permit an unobstructed infeed of a banknote or other document into said pocket (18) by said first feeding means (33), or an unobstructed outfeed of a banknote or other document from said pocket (18) by said second feeding means (36);
• and
• said clamping portions (27′) of a magazine pocket (18) placed in front of one of the stations (14, 15) are capable of being brought to engage a respective one of said cam means and to move from the clamping position to the release position through a limited relative displacement of said pocket (18) and the respective one of said cam means (32) in a direction towards each other.