Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CURRENCY HANDLING SYSTEM HAVING
MULTIPLE OUTPUT RECEPTACLES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of currency handling
systems
and, more particularly, to a mufti-pocket currency handling system for
discriminating,
authenticating, and/or counting currency bills.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A variety of techniques and apparatuses have been used to satisfy the
requirements of
automated currency handling machines. As businesses and banks grow, these
businesses are
experiencing a greater volume of paper currency. These businesses are
continually requiring
not only that their currency be processed more quickly but, also, processed
with more options
to in a less expensive manner. At the upper end of sophistication in this area
of technology are
machines that are capable of rapidly identifying, discriminating, and counting
multiple currency
denominations and then delivering the sorted currency bills into a multitude
of output
compartments. Many of these high end machines are extremely large and
expensive such that
they are commonly found only in large institutions. These machines are not
readily available to
businesses which have monetary and space budgets, but still have the need to
process large
volumes of currency. Other high end currency handling machines require their
own climate
controlled environment which may place even greater strains on businesses
having monetary
and space budgets.
Currency handling machines typically employ magnetic sensing or optical
sensing for
2o denominating and authenticating currency bills. The results of these
processes determines to
which output compartment a particular bill is delivered to in a currency
handling device having
multiple output receptacles. For example, ten dollar denominations may be
delivered to one
output compartment and twenty dollar denominations to another, while bills
which fail the
authentication test are delivered to a third,output compartment.
Unfortunately, many prior art
devices only have one output compartment which can be appropriately called a
reject pocket.
Accordingly, in those cases, the reject pocket may have to accommodate those
bills which fail
a denomination test or authentication test. As a result, different types of
"reject" bills axe
stacked upon one another in the same output compartment leaving the operator
unknowing as
to which of those bills failed which tests.
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Many prior art large volume currency handling devices which positively
transport the
currency bills through the device are susceptible to becoming jammed. And many
of these
machines are difficult to un jam because the operator must physically remove
the bill from the
device. If necessary, the operator can often manipulate a hand-crank to
manually jog the
device to remove the bills. Then, the operator must manually turn the hand
crank to flush out
all the bills from within the system before the batch can be reprocessed.
Further compounding
the problem in a jam situation is that many prior art devices are not equipped
to detect the
presence of a jam. In such a situation, the device continues to operate until
the bills pile up and
the jam is so severe that the device is forced to physically halt. This
situation can cause
to physical damage to both the machine and the bills.
Often, a bill jam ruins the integrity of the count and/or valuation of the
currency bills
requiring that the entire batch, including those bill already processed into
holding and/or
storage areas, be reprocessed. Bills need to be reprocessed because prior art
devices do not
maintain several running totals of bills as bills pass various points within
the device.
Removing bills from the holding areas and/or storage areas is a time consuming
process. For
example, a prior device may only count the bills as they are transported
through an
evaluation region of the currency handing machine. Bills exiting the
evaluation region are
included in the totals regardless ofwhether they are involved in bill jams or
are
successfully transported to an output receptacle. Therefore, when a bill jam
occurs those
2o bills involved in the bill jam as well as those bills already transported
to the storage areas
and/or storage areas have to be reprocessed.
Weight is another draw-back of prior art high-volume currency handling
machines. In
part, the weight of these machines is due to the heavy machinery used. For
example, some
machines contain large cast iron rails on which apparatuses ride to push
currency bills down
into the storage compartments. Unfortunately, the increased weight of these
machines often
translates into increased costs associated with the machine.
Another disadvantage to some prior art currency handling devices is the manner
of
feeding bills into the device. Many prior art devices only have one advance
mechanism so the
operator of the device can only process one stack of bills at a time before
reloading the
3o machine. Alternatively, the operator can attempt to,simultaneously
manipulate the stack of
bills currently being processed, a new stack of bills, and the feeder
mechanism.
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Typically, in the handling of bulk currency, after the currency bills have
been
analyzed, denominated, authenticated, counted and/or otherwise processed, the
currency
bills are strapped. Bill strapping is a process whereby a stack of a specific
number of bills
of a single denomination are secured with a paper strap. For example, one
dollar bills are
segregated into stacks of one-hundred $1 bills and then bound with a paper
strap.
Strapping facilitates the handling of currency by allowing the strapped stacks
of bills to be
counted rather than the individual currency bills. Traditionally, U.S.
currency bills are
strapped in one-hundred bill stacks.
The task of bill strapping can increase the amount of time required to process
a
1o given batch of currency. Some currency handing machines are able to
segregate currency
bills into individual denominations, then the operator must manually count the
bills into
smaller batches for strapping purposes. In other situations, a currency
handling device
may suspend operation after a predetermined number of bills of a given
denomination
have been delivered to an output receptacle at which time the operator can
remove those
bills from the output receptacle and bind the bills with a paper strap.
However, this
manner of strapping can increase the time required to process a batch of
currency bills.
Higher end currency processing machines are capable of strapping bills.
However, there
is an increased cost associated with these higher end machines.
During the lifetime of prior art currency handling devices it is likely that
individual
2o key components of the devices, including components specific to the output
receptacles,
will degrade and eventually fail. The failure of an individual components
specific to an
output receptacle can render that output receptacle inoperable. The
inoperability of one
of the output receptacles of prior art currency handling devices can render
the entire
device inoperable regardless of whether the remaining output receptacles are
otherwise
properly functioning. Component failures resulting in the inoperability of the
entire device
can have a devastating effect on the cash handling operations of users of
these devices.
The inventors of the present invention have found that currency handling
devices play a
vital role in the overall operation of a cash vault, including cash vaults at
bank or casinos.
The inventors estimate that over 90% (ninety percent) of the cash handled
within a cash
3o vault is processed by a currency handling device. Therefore, the failure of
a currency
handling device can have a disastrous effect on the operation of a cash vault
or other
operations relying on the performance of the currency handling device.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a
multiple output receptacle currency handling device for receiving a stack of
currency bills
and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack. One aspect of the present
invention is
s directed to an apparatus for transferring items from a first compartment to
a second
compartment. The apparatus comprises a plunger assembly having a paddle, an
arm, a gate,
and a lever. The arm is hingedly connected to the plunger assembly. The gate
is disposed ,
between the first compartment and the second compartment, and has an open
position and a
closed position. The lever extends from the gate, and is in a first position
when the gate is in
1o the closed position and in a second position when the gate is in the open
position. The gate
moves from the closed position to the open position when the paddle moves
against the gate
or documents stacked upon the gate while descending from the first compartment
to the
second compartment. The arm moves the lever from the second position to the
first position
to move the gate from the open position to the closed position when the paddle
ascends from
15 the second compartment to above the first compartment.
According to one embodiment ofthe present invention, there is provided a
multiple output receptacle currency handling device for receiving a stack of
currency bills
and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack. One aspect ofthe present
invention is
directed to an apparatus for rotating a bill approximately 180°. The
apparatus comprises a
2o first and a second belt. The first belt has a bill transport portion, a
return portion, a first
end, and a second end. The second end of first belt being twisted
approximately 180° in
relation to the first end of the first belt. The second belt has a bill
transport portion, a
return portion, a first end, and second end. The bill transport portion of the
first belt is
disposed adjacent to the bill transport portion of the second belt. The second
end of
25 second belt is twisted approximately 180° in relation to the first
end of the second belt. A
bill transport path is defined by the bill transport portions of the first and
the second belts.
The bill transport path has an inlet and an outlet. The outlet of the bill
transport path is
twisted approximately 180° in relation to the inlet. A plurality of
guides are disposed
adjacent to the bill facing path for supporting the outer portions of the bill
which extend
30 beyond a width of the first and the second belts as the bill is being
transported along the
transport path.
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According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a
method
and device for identifying small stacks of currency bills within a larger
stack of currency
bills using a currency evaluation device. A batch of currency bills to be
processed are
received in an input receptacle and are transported from the input receptacle,
one at a
time, past an evaluating unit to at least one output receptacle. The
evaluating unit
determines information concerning each of the bills including the face
orientation of each
of the bills. Next it is determined whether the face orientation of each of
the bills matches
a target face orientation. If the face orientation of a bill matches the
target orientation,
the face orientation of that bill is maintained. If the face orientation of a
bill fails to match
to the target orientation, the face orientation of that bill is reversed with
a bill facing
mechanism. . Each of the bills are then stacked in the output receptacle.
After a
predetermined number of bills having a common face orientation are stacked in
the output
receptacle, the target face orientation is redefined. The bills continue to be
processed in
this manner until each of the bills are transported from the input receptacle.
is According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a
method and
apparatus for handling bill jams within a currency processing device is
provided. The device
includes a transport mechanism adapted to transport bills along a transport
path, one at a
time, from the input receptacle past an evaluation unit into a plurality of
output
receptacles. At least one of the output receptacles includes a holding area
and a storage
20 area. A plurality of bill passage sensors are sequentially disposed along
the transport path
that are adapted to detect the passage of a bill as each bill is transported
past each sensor.
An encoder is adapted to produce an encoder count for each incremental
movement of the
transport mechanism. A controller counts the total number of bills transported
into each of
the holding areas and the total number of bills moved from a holding area to a
corresponding
25 storage area after a predetermined number of bills have been transported
into the holding area.
The controller tracks the movement of each of the bills along the transport
path into each of
the holding areas with the plurality of bill passage sensors. The presence of
a bill jam is
detected when a bill is not transported past one of the plurality of bill
passage sensors within a
requisite number of encoder counts. The operation of the transport mechanism
is suspended
3o upon detection of a bill jam. The bills from each of the holding areas are
moved to the
corresponding storage areas upon suspension of the operation of the transport
mechanism.
Remaining bills are then flushed from the transport path after moving the
bills from each of the
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holding areas to the corresponding holding areas upon suspension of the
operation of the
transport mechanism.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a
currency
handling device for rapidly processing a plurality of currency bills comprises
an input
receptacle adapted to receive the currency bills to be processed, a plurality
of output
receptacles adapted to receive the bills after the bills have been processed,
a transport
mechanism adapted to transport the bills, one at a time, along a transport
path from the
input receptacle to the plurality of output receptacles, an evaluating unit
that is adapted to
determine information concerning the bills, and a controller. The evaluation
unit includes at
to least one sensor positioned along the transport path between the input
receptacle and the
plurality of output receptacles. The controller is adapted to operate the
currency handling
device according to a mode of operation wherein the mode of operation
designates the output
receptacle to which each of the bills are transported based on the determined
information
concerning the bill. The controller is adapted to disable at least one of the
plurality of output
receptacles. The controller is adapted to cause the transport mechanism to
direct bills directed
to the disabled one of the plurality of output receptacles pursuant to the
mode of operation to
an alternative output receptacle.
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to represent each
embodiment, or every aspect, of the present invention. Additional features and
benefits of
the present invention will become apparent from the detail description,
figures, and claim
set forth below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon
reading
the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which:
FIG. la is a perspective view of a document handling device according to one
embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 1b is a front view of a document handling device according to one
embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2a is a perspective view of an evaluation region according to one
3o embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 2b is a side view of an evaluation region according to one embodiment of
the
document handling device of the present invention;
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FIG. 3a is a perspective view of an input receptacle according to one
embodiment
of the document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 3b is another perspective view of an input receptacle according to one
embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 3c is a top view of an input receptacle according to one embodiment of
the
document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 3d is a side view of an input receptacle according to one embodiment of
the
document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a transportation mechanism
according
to to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of an escrow compartment, a plunger
assembly,
and a storage cassette according to one embodiment of the document handling
device of
the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a top view of an escrow compartment and plunger assembly according
to
15 one embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a front view of an escrow compartment and plunger assembly according
to one embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is another front view of an escrow compartment and plunger assembly
according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the present
invention;
2o FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an apparatus for transferring currency from
an
escrow compartment to a storage cassette according to one embodiment of the
document
handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a paddle according to one embodiment of the
document handling device of the present invention;
25 FIG. 11 is a rear perspective view of the escrow compartment, plunger
assembly,
and storage cassette according to one embodiment of the document handling
device of the
present invention;
FIG. 12 is a rear view of a plunger assembly wherein the gate is in the open
position according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the
present
30 invention;
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FIG. 13 is a rear view of a plunger assembly wherein the gate is in the closed
position according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the
present
invention;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a storage cassette according to one
embodiment
of the document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 15 is a rear view of a storage cassette according to one embodiment of
the
document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a storage cassette where the door is open
according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the present
invention;
FIG. 17a is a top view of a storage cassette sized to accommodate United
States
currency documents according to one embodiment of the document handling device
of the
present invention;
FIG. 17b is a rear view of a storage cassette sized to accommodate United
States
currency documents according to one embodiment of the document handling device
of the
present invention;
FIG. 18a is a top view of a storage cassette sized to accommodate large
documents according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the
present
invention;
FIG. 18b is a rear view of a storage cassette sized to accommodate large
documents according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the
present
invention;
FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a two belt bill facing mechanism according to
one
embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 20 is another perspective view of a two belt bill facing mechanism
according
to one embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 2I is a perspective view of a two belt bill facing mechanism without belt
guides or bill guides according to one embodiment of the document handling
device of the
present invention;
FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a two belt bill facing mechanism without belt
3o guides according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the
present
invention;
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FIG. 23 is a front view of a stack of currency bills stacked pursuant to a
strapping
mode of operation according to one embodiment of the document handling device
of the
present invention;
FIG. 24 is a flow charting illustrating the steps performed when operating
pursuant to a strapping mode of operation according to one embodiment of the
document
handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 25a is a front view of a stack of currency bills stacked pursuant to a
strapping mode of operation according to one embodiment ofthe document
handling
device of the present invention;
1o FIG. 25b is a front view of a stack of currency bills stacked pursuant to a
strapping mode of operation according to one embodiment of the document
handling
device of the present invention;
FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram according to one embodiment of the
document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 27 is a flow chart of the disable pockets routine according to one
embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;
FIG. 28 is a flow chart of the disable pockets routine according to an
alternative
embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention; and
FIGS. 29-31 are illustrative screens that are displayed on a user interface
pursuant
to the disable pockets routine according to one embodiment ofthe document
handling
device of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIGS. la and 1b, a mufti-pocket document processing device 100
such as a currency handling device according to one embodiment of the present
invention
is illustrated. Currency bills are fed, one by one, from a stack of currency
bills placed in
an input receptacle 102 into a transport mechanism 104. The transport
mechanism 104
guides currency bills to one of a plurality of output receptacles 106a-106h,
which may .
include upper output receptacles 106a, 106b, as well as lower output
receptacles 106c-
106h. Before reaching an output receptacle 106 the transport mechanism 104
guides the
3o bill through an evaluation region 108 where a bill can be, for example,
analyzed,
authenticated, denominated, counted, and/or otherwise processed. In
alternative
embodiments of the currency handling device 100 of the present invention, the
evaluation
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region 108 can determine bill orientation, bill size, or whether bills are
stacked upon one
another. The results of the above process or processes may be used to
determine to
which output receptacle 106 a bill is directed. The illustrated embodiment of
the
currency handling device has an overall width, W~, of approximately 4.52 feet
(1.38
5 meters), a height, Hl, of approximately 4.75 feet (1.45 meters), and a
depth, D1, of
approximately 1.67 feet (0.50 meters).
In one embodiment, documents such as currency bills are transported, scanned,
denominated, authenticated and/or otherwise processed at a rate equal to or
greater than
600 bills per minute. In another embodiment, documents such as currency bills
are
to transported, scanned, denominated, authenticated, and/or otherwise
processed at a rate
equal to or greater than 800 bills per minute. In another embodiment,
documents such as
currency bills are transported, scanned, denominated, authenticated and/or
otherwise
processed at a rate equal to or greater than 1000 bills per minute. In still
another
embodiment, documents such as currency bills are transported, scanned,
denominated,
authenticated, and/or otherwise processed at a rate equal to or greater than
1200 bills per
minute.
In the illustrated embodiment, interposed in the bill transport mechanism 104,
intermediate the bill evaluation region 108 and the lower output receptacles
106c-106h is
a bill facing mechanism designated generally by reference numeral 110. The
bill facing
2o mechanism is capable of rotating a bill 180° so that the face
position of the bill is reversed.
That is, if a IJ.S. bill, for example, is initially presented with the surface
bearing a portrait
of a president facing down, it may be directed to the facing mechanism 110,
whereupon it
will be rotated 180° so that the surface with the portrait faces up.
The leading edge of the
bill remains constant while the bill is being rotated 180° by the
facing mechanism 110.
The decision may be taken to send a bill to the facing mechanism 110 when the
selected
mode of operation or other operator instructions call for maintaining a given
face position
of bills as they are processed by the currency handling device 100. For
example, it may be
desirable in certain circumstances far all of the bills ultimately delivered
to the lower
output receptacles 106c-106h to have the bill surface bearing the portrait of
the president
3o facing up. In such embodiments of the currency handling device 100, the
bill evaluation
region 108 is capable of determining the face position of a bill, such that a
bill not having
the desired face position can first be directed to the facing mechanism 110
before being
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delivered to the appropriate output receptacle 106. Further details of a
facing mechanism
which may be utilized for this purpose are disclosed in U. S. Patent No.
6,074,334, entitled
"Document Facing Method and Apparatus", incorporated herein by reference in
its
entirety, which may be employed in conjunction with the present invention such
as the
S device illustrated in FIGS. la and 1b. Other alternative embodiments ofthe
currency
handling device 100 do not include the facing mechanism 110.
The currency handling device 100 in FIG. la may be controlled from a separate
controller or control unit 120 which has a display/user-interface 122, which
may
incorporate a touch panel display in one embodiment of the present invention,
which
to displays information, including "functional" keys when appropriate. The
display/user-
interface 122 may be a full graphics display. Alternatively, additional
physical keys or
buttons, such as a keyboard I24, may be employed. The control unit 120 may be
a self
contained desktop or laptop computer which communicates with the currency
handling
device 100 via a cable 125. The currency handling device 100 may have a
suitable
15 communications port (not shown) for this purpose. In embodiments in which
the control
unit 120 is a desktop computer wherein the display/user-interface 122 and the
desktop
computer are physically separable, the desktop computer may be stored within a
compartment 126 of the currency handling device 100. In other alternative
embodiments,
the control unit 120 is integrated into the currency handling device 100 so
the control unit
20 120 is contained within the device 100.
The operator can control the operation of the currency handling device 100
through the control unit 120. Through the control unit 120 the operator can
direct the
bills into specific output receptacles 106a-106h by selecting various user
defined modes.
In alternative embodiments, the user can select pre-programmed user defined
modes or
25 create new user defined modes based on the particular requirements of the
application.
For example, the operator may select a user defined mode which instructs the
currency
handling device 100 to sort bills by denomination; accordingly, the evaluation
region 108
would denominate the bills and direct one dollar bills into the first lower
output receptacle
106c, five dollar bills into the second lower output receptacle 106d, ten
dollar bills into
30 the third lower output receptacle 106e, twenty dollar bills into the forth
lower output
receptacle 106f, fifty dollar bills into the fifth lower output receptacle
106g, and one-
hundred dollar bills into the sixth lower output receptacle 106h. The operator
may also
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instruct the currency handling device 100 to deliver those bills whose
denomination was
not determined, no call bills, to the first upper output receptacle 106a. In
such an
embodiment, upper output receptacle 106a would function as a reject pocket. In
an
alternative embodiment, the operator may instruct the currency handling device
100 to
also evaluate the authenticity of each bill. In such an embodiment, authentic
bills would
be directed to the appropriate lower output receptacle 106c-106h. Those bills
that were
determined not to be authentic, suspect bills, would be delivered to the
second upper
output receptacle 106b. A multitude of user defined modes are disclosed by PCT
Publication No. WO 99/0951 I entitled "Multi-Pocket Currency Discriminator"
which was
to filed on August 21, 1997, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety,
which may be
employed in conjunction with the present invention such as the device
illustrated in FIGS.
1 a and 1 b.
According to one embodiment, the currency handling device 100 is designed so
that when the evaluation region 108 is unable to identify certain criteria
regarding a bill,
the unidentified note is flagged and "presented" in one of the output
receptacles I06a
106h, that is, the transport mechanism 104 is stopped so that the unidentified
bill is
located at a predetermined position within one of the output receptacles 106a-
106h, such
as being the last bill transported to one of the output receptacles. Such
criteria can
include denominating information, authenticating information, information
indicative of
2o the bill's series, or other information the evaluation region 108 is
attempting to obtain
pursuant to a mode of operation. Which output receptacles 106a-106h the
flagged bill is
presented in may be determined by the user according to a selected mode of
operation.
For example, where the unidentified bill is the last bill transported to an
output receptacle
106a-106h, it may be positioned within a stacker wheel or positioned at the
top of the
bills already within the output receptacle 106a-106h. While unidentified bills
may be
transported to any output receptacles 106a-106h, it may be more convenient for
the
operator to have unidentified bills transported to one of the upper output
receptacles
106a, b where the operator is able to easily see and/or inspect the bill which
has not been
identified by the evaluation region I08. The operator may then either visually
inspect the
flagged bill while it is resting on the top of the stack, or alternatively,
the operator may
decide to remove the bill from the output receptacle 106 in order to examine
the flagged
bill more closely. In an alternative embodiment of the currency handling
device 100, the
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device 100 may communicate to the user via the display/user-interface 122 in
which one
of the output receptacles 106x-106h a flagged bill is presented.
The currency handling device 100 may be designed to continue operation
automatically
when a flagged bill is removed from the upper output receptacle 106a, b or,
according to
one embodiment of the present invention, the device 100 may be designed to
suspend
operation and require input from the user via the control unit 120. Upon
examination of a
flagged bill by the operator, it may be found that the flagged bill is genuine
even though it
was not identified as so by the evaluation region 108 or the evaluation may
have been
unable to denominate the flagged bill. However, because the bill was not
identified, the
to total value and/or denomination counters will not reflect its value.
According to one
embodiment, such an unidentified bill is removed from the output receptacles
106 and
reprocessed or set aside. According to another embodiment, the flagged bills
may
accumulate in the upper output receptacles 106x, b until the batch of currency
bills
currently being processed is completed or the output receptacle 106x, b is
full and then
reprocessed or set aside.
According to another embodiment, when a bill is flagged, the transport
mechanism
may be stopped before the flagged bill is transported to one of the output
receptacles.
Such an embodiment is particularly suited for situations in which the operator
need not
examine the bill being flagged; for example, the currency handling device 100
is instructed
to first process United States currency and then British currency pursuant to
a selected
mode of operation where the currency handling device 100 processes United
States $1,
$5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 currency bills into the lower output receptacles
106c-106h,
respectively. Upon detection of the first British pound note, the currency
handling device
100 may halt operation allowing the operator to empty the lower output
receptacles 106c-
106h and to make any spatial adjustments necessary to accommodate the British
currency.
A multitude of modes of operation are described in conjunction with bill
flagging,
presenting, and/or transport halting in PCT WO 97/45810 entitled "Method and
Apparatus for Document Processing", incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety
above, which may be employed in conjunction with the present invention such as
the
3o device illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b.
In the illustrated embodiment; with regard to the upper output receptacles
106a,
106b, the second upper output receptacle 106b is provided with a stacker-wheel
127 for
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accumulating a number of bills, while the first upper output receptacle I06a
is not
provided with such a stacker wheel. Thus, when pursuant to a preprogrammed
mode of
operation or an operator selected mode or other operator instructions, a bill
is to be fed to
the first upper output receptacle 106a, there may be a further instruction to
momentarily
suspend operation of the currency handling device 100 for the operator to
inspect and
remove the bill. On the other hand, it may be possible to allow a small number
of bills to
accumulate in the first upper output receptacle 106a prior to suspending
operation.
Similarly, the second upper output receptacle 106b may be utilized initially
as an
additional one of the lower output receptacles 106c-106h. However, there is no
storage
to cassette associated with the second upper output receptacle 106b.
Therefore, when the
second upper output receptacle 106b is full, operation may be suspended to
remove the
bills at such time as yet further bills are directed to the second upper
output receptacle
106b in accordance with the selected mode of operation or other operator
instructions. In
an alternative embodiment of the currency handling device 100 both the first
and the
second upper output receptacles 106a, 106b are equipped with a stacker wheel.
In such
an embodiment both the upper output receptacles 106a, b may also function as
the lower
output receptacle 106c-106h allowing a number of bills to be stacked therein.
FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate the evaluation region 108 according to one
embodiment
of the currency handling system 100. The evaluation region can be opened for
service,
2o access to sensors, clear bill jams, etc. as shown in FIG. 2a. The
characteristics of the
evaluation region 108 may vary according to the particular application and
needs of the
user. The evaluation region 108 can accommodate a number and variety of
different
types of sensors depending on a number of variables. These variables are
related to
whether the machine is authenticating, counting, or discriminating
denominations and
what distinguishing characteristics are being examined, e.g. size, thickness,
color,
magnetism, reflectivity, absorbability, transmissivity, electrical
conductivity, etc. The
evaluation region 108 may employ a variety of detection means including, but
not limited
to, a size detection and density sensor 408, a lower 410 and an upper 412
optical scan
head, a single or multitude of magnetic sensors 414, a thread sensor 416, and
an
3o ultraviolet/fluorescent light scan head 418. These detection means and a
host of others
are disclosed in PCT W099/09511 entitled "Mufti-Pocket Currency
Discriminator,"
incorporated by reference above.
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The direction of bill travel through the evaluation region 108 is indicated by
arrow
A. The bills are positively driven along a transport plate 400 through the
evaluation
region 108 by means of a transport roll arrangement comprising both driven
rollers 402
and passive rollers 404. The rollers 402 are driven by a motor (not shown) via
a belt 401.
Passive rollers 404 are mounted in such a manner as to be freewheeling about
their
respective axis and biased into counter-rotating contact with the
corresponding driven
rollers 402. The driven and passive rollers 402, 404 are mounted so that they
are
substantially coplanar with the transport plate 400. The transport roll
arrangement also
includes compressible rollers 406 to aid in maintaining the bills flat against
the transport
to plate 400. Maintaining the bill flat against the transport plate 400 so
that the bill lies flat
when transported past the sensors enhances the overall reliability of the
evaluation
processes. A similar transport arrangement is disclosed in commonly-owned
United
States Patent No. 5,687,963 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Discriminating
and
Counting Documents," which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 a-3 d; the input receptacle 102 of the currency
handling
device 100 is illustrated. A feeder mechanism such as a pair of stripping
wheels 140 aid in
feeding the bills in seriatim to the transport mechanism 104 which first
carries the bills
through the evaluation region 108. According to one embodiment, the input
receptacle
102 includes at least one spring-loaded feeder paddle 142a which is pivotally
mounted,
permitting it to be pivoted upward and drawn back to the rear of a stack of
bills placed in
the input receptacle 102 so as to bias the bills towards the evaluation region
108 via the
pair of stripping wheels 140. The paddle 142a is coupled to an advance
mechanism 144
to urge the paddle 142a towards the stripping wheels 140. In the illustrated
embodiment,
motion is imparted to the advance mechanism via a spring 145. In other
alternative
embodiments, the advance mechanism 144 is motor driven. The advance mechanism
144
is slidably mounted to a shaft 146. The advance mechanism 144 also constrains
the
paddle 142a to a linear path. The advance mechanism 144 may contain a liner
bearing
(not shown) allowing the paddle 142a to easily slide along the shaft 146. In
the
embodiment illustrated, the paddle 142a may also contain channels 148 to aid
in
constraining the paddle 142a to a linear path along a pair of tracks 150. The
paddle 142a
may additionally include a roller 152 to facilitate the movement of the paddle
142a.
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In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3a-3d, a second paddle 142b is provided
such that a second stack of bills 147 may be placed in the input receptacle
102 behind a
first group of bills 149, while the first group of bills 149 is being fed into
the currency
handling device 100. Thus, the two feeder paddles 142a and 142b may be
alternated
during processing in order to permit multiple stacks of currency bills to be
loaded into the
input receptacle 102. In such an embodiment, the operator would retract paddle
142a and
place a stack of bills into the input receptacle. Once inside the input
receptacle, the
operator would place the paddle 142a against the stack of bills so that the
paddle 142a
biases the stack of bills towards the pair of stripper wheels 140. The
operator could then
to load a second stack of bills into the input receptacle 102 by retracting
the second paddle
142b and placing a stack of bills in the input receptacle between the paddles
142a and
142b. The second paddle I42b urges the second stack of bills up against the
backside of
the first paddle 142a. The operator can then upwardly rotate the first paddle
142a thus
combining the two stacks. The first paddle 142a is then retracted to the rear
of the input
receptacle and the process can be repeated. The two paddle input receptacle
allows the
operator to more easily continuously feed stacks of bills to the currency
handling device
100. In devices not having two feeder paddles, the operator is forced to
awkwardly
manipulate the two stacks of bills and the advance mechanism. Alternatively,
the operator
may wait for the stack of bills to be processed out of the input receptacle to
add another
stack; however, waiting to reload until each stack is processed adds to the
total time to
process a given amount of currency.
Referring to FIG. 4, a portion ofthe transport mechanism I04 and diverters
130a-
130d are illustrated. A substantial portion of the transport path of the
currency handling
device 100 positively grips the bills during transport from the pair of
stripping wheels 140
through the point where bills are delivered to upper output receptacle 106a or
are
delivered to the stacker wheels 202 of output receptacles 106b-106h. The
positive grip
transport path of the currency handling device 100 is less costly and weighs
less than the
vacuum transport arrangements of prior currency processing devices.
The transport mechanism 104 is electronically geared causing all sections to
move
3o synchronously from the evaluation region 108 through the point where the
bills are
delivered to the output receptacles 106. Multiple small motors are used to
drive the
transport mechanism 104. Using multiple small, less costly motors is more
efficient and
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less costly than a single large motor. Further, less space is consumed
enabling the
currency handling device 100 to be more compact. Electronically gearing the
transport
mechanism 104 enables a single encoder to monitor bill transportation within
the currency
handling system 100. The encoder is linked to the bill transport mechanism 104
and
provides input to a processor to determine the timing of the operations of the
currency
handling device 100. In this manner, the processor is able to monitor the
precise location
of the bills as they are transported through the currency handling device 100.
This
process is termed "flow control." Input from additional sensors 119 located
along the
transport mechanism 104 of the currency handling device 100 enables the
processor to
to continually update the position of a bill within the device 100 to
accommodate for bill
slippage. When a bill leaves the evaluation region 108 the processor expects
the bill to
arrive at the diverter 130a corresponding to the first lower output receptacle
106c after a
precise number of encoder counts. Specifically, the processor expects the bill
to flow past
each sensor 119 positioned along the transport mechanism 104 at a precise
number of
encoder counts. If the bill slips during transport but passes a sensor 119
later within an
acceptable number of encoder counts the processor updates or "re-queues" the
new bill
position. The processor calculates a new figure for the time the bill is
expected to pass
the next sensor 119 and arrive at the first diverter 130a. The processor
activates a the
one of the diverters 130a-f to direct the bill into the appropriate
corresponding lower
output receptacle 106c-106h when the sensor 119 immediately preceding the
diverter 130
detects the passage of the bill to be directed into the appropriate lower
output receptacle
106c-h.
The currency handling device 100 also uses flow control to detect jams within
the
transport mechanism 104 of the device 100. When a bill does not reach a sensor
119
within in the calculated number of encoder counts plus the maximum number of
counts
allowable for slippage, the processor suspends operation of the device 100 and
informs
the operator via the display/user-interface 122 that a jam has occurred. The
processor
also notifies the operator via the displayluser-interface 122 of the location
of the jam by
indicating the last sensor 119 that the bill passed and generally the
approximate location
of the jam in the system. If the operator cannot easily remove the bill
without damage,
the operator can then electronically jog the transport path in the forward or
reverse
direction via the control unit 120 so that the jammed bill is dislodged and
the operator can
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easily remove the bill from the transport path. The operator can then flush
the system
causing the transport mechanism 104 to deliver all of the bills currently
within the
transport path of the currency handling device 100 to one of the output
receptacles 106.
In an alternative embodiment, the user of the currency handling device 100
would have
the option when flushing the system to first have the bills already within the
escrow
regions 116a-116f to be delivered to the respective lower storage cassettes
106c-106h so
that those bills may be included in the aggregate value data for the bills
being processed.
The bills remaining in the transport path 104 would then be delivered to a
predetermined
escrow region 116 where those bills could be removed and reprocessed by
placing those
to bills in the input receptacle 102.
Utilizing flow control to detect jams is more desirable than prior art
currency
evaluation machines which do not detect a jam until a sensor is actually
physically
blocked. The latter method of jam detection permits bills to pile up while
waiting for a
sensor to become blocked. Bill pile-up is problematic because it may
physically halt the
machine before the jam is detected and may cause physical damage to the bills
and the
machine. In order to remedy a jam in a prior art machine, the operator must
first
manually physically dislodge the jammed bills. The operator must then manually
turn a
hand crank which advances the transport path until all bills within the
transport path are
removed. Moreover, because the prior art devices permit multiple bills to pile
up before a
2o jam is detected, the integrity of the process is often ruined. In such a
case, the entire
stack of bills must be reprocessed.
Referring back to FIG. la, the illustrated embodiment of the currency handling
device 100 includes a total of six lower output receptacles 106c-106h. More
specifically,
each of the lower output receptacles 106c-106h includes a first portion
designated as an
escrow compartment 116a-116f and a second portion designated as a storage
cassette
118a-118f. Typically, bills are initially directed to the escrow compartments
116, and
thereafter at specified times or upon the occurrence of specified events,
which may be
selected or programmed by an operator, bills are then fed to the storage
cassettes 118.
The storage cassettes are removable and replaceable, such that stacks of bills
totaling a
predetermined number of bills or a predetermined monetary value may be
accumulated in
a given storage cassette 118, whereupon the cassette may be removed and
replaced with
an empty storage cassette. In the illustrated embodiment, the number of lower
output
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receptacles 106c-106h including escrow compartments 116 and storage cassettes
118 are
six in number. In alternative embodiments, the currency handling device 100
may contain
more or less than six lower output receptacles including escrow compartments
and
storage cassettes 118. In other alternative embodiments, modular lower output
receptacles 106 can be implemented to add many more lower output receptacles
to the
currency handling system 100. Each modular unit may comprise two lower output
receptacles. In other alternative embodiments, several modular units may be
added at one
time to the currency handling device 100.
A series of diverters 130a-130f, which are a part of the transportation
mechanism
l0 104, direct the bills to one of the lower output receptacles 106c-106h.
When the diverters
130 are, in an upper position, the bills are directed to the adjacent lower
output receptacle
106. When the diverters 130 are in a lower position, the bills proceed in the
direction of
the next diverter 130.
The vertical arrangement of the lower output receptacles 106c-106h is
illustrated
in FTG. 5. The escrow compartment 116 is positioned above the storage cassette
118. In
addition to the escrow compartment 116 and the storage cassette 118, each of
the lower
output receptacles 106c-106h contains a plunger assembly 300. The plunger
assembly
300 is shown during its decent towards the storage cassette 118.
Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, one of the escrow compartments 116 of the
lower output receptacles 106c-106h is shown. The escrow compartment 116
contains a
stacker wheel 202 to receive the bills 204 from the diverter 130. The stacker
wheel 202
stacks the bills 204 within the escrow compartment walls 206, 208 on top of a
gate 210
disposed between the escrow compartment 116 and the storage cassette 118. In
an
alternative embodiment, the escrow compartment 116 contains a pair of guides
to aid in
aligning the bills substantially directly on top of one another. The gate 210
is made up of
two shutters: a first shutter 211 and a second shutter 212. The shutters 21 l,
212 are
hingedly connected enabling the shutters 211, 212 to rotate downward
approximately
ninety degrees to move the gate from a first position (closed position)
wherein the
shutters 211, 212 are substantially co-planer to a second position (open
position) wherein
3o the shutters 211, 212 are substantially parallel. Below the gate 210 is the
storage cassette
118 (not shown in FIGS. 6 and 7).
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FIG. 8 illustrates the positioning of the paddle 302 when transferring a stack
of
bills from the escrow compartment 116 to the storage cassette 118. When the
paddle
descends upon the stack ofbills 204 it causes shutters 211, 212 to quickly
rotate in the
directions referred to by arrows B and C, respectively; thus, "snapping" open
the gate
5 210. The quick rotation of the shutters 21 I, 212 insures that the bills
fall into the storage
cassette 118 in a substantially stacked position. According to one embodiment,
the
paddle is programmed to descend after a predetermined number of bills 204 are
stacked
upon the gate 210. According to other embodiments, the operator can instruct
the paddle
302 via the control unit 120 to descend upon the bills 204 stacked upon the
gate 210.
l0 Referring now to FIG. 9, the plunger assembly 300 for selectively
transferring the
bills 204 from an escrow compartment I 16 to a corresponding storage cassette
118 and
the gate 210 are illustrated in more detail. One such plunger assembly 300 is
provided for
each of the six lower output receptacles 106c-106h of the currency handling
device 100.
The plunger assembly 300 comprises a paddle 302, a base 304, and two side arms
306,
15 308. Each of the shutters 21 l, 212 comprising the gate 210 extend inwardly
from
corresponding parallel bars 214, 215. The bars 214, 215 are mounted for
pivoting the
shutters between the closed position and the open position. Levers 216, 217
are coupled
to the parallel bars 214, 215, respectively, to control the rotation of the
bars 214, 2I5 and
hence of the shutters 2I l, 212. Extension springs 218, 219 (shown in FIG. 8)
tend to
2o maintain the position of the levers 216, 217 both in the closed and open
positions. The
shutters 211, 212 have an integral tongue 213a and groove 213b arrangement
which
prevents any bills which are stacked upon the gate 210 from slipping between
the shutters
211, 212.
The base 304 travels along a vertical shaft 3I 1 with which it is slidably
engaged.
The base 304 may include linear bearings (not shown) to facilitate its
movement along the
vertical shaft 311. The plunger assembly 300 may also include a vertical
guiding member
312 (see FIG. 11) with which the base 304 is also slidably engaged. The
vertical guiding
member 3 I2 maintains the alignment of the plunger assembly 300 by preventing
the
plunger assembly 300 from twisting laterally about the vertical shaft 311 when
the paddle
302 forces the bills 204 stacked in the escrow area 116 down into a storage
cassette 118.
Referring also to FIG. 10, the paddle 302 extends laterally from the base 304.
The
paddle 302 is secured to a support 314 extending from the base 304. A pair of
side arms
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306, 308 are hingedly connected to the base. Each of the side arms 306, 308
protrude
from the sides of the base 304. Rollers 316, 318 are attached to the side arms
306, 308,
respectively, and are free rolling. Springs 313a, 313b are attached to the
side arms 306,
308, respectively, to bias the side arms 306, 308 outward from the base 304.
In the
illustrated embodiment, the spring 3I3a, 313b are compression springs.
The paddle 302 contains a first pair of slots 324 to allow the paddle to clear
the
stacker wheel 202 when descending into and ascending out of the cassette 118.
The first
pair of slots 324 also enables the paddle 302 to clear the first pair of
retaining tabs 350
within the storage cassette (see FIG. 14). Similarly, paddle 302 contains a
second pair of
to slots 326 to enable the paddle 302 to clear the second pair of retaining
tabs 350 within the
storage cassette I 18 (see FIG. 14).
Referring now to FIG. 11, which illustrates a rear view of one of the lower
output
receptacles 106c-106h, the plunger 300 is bidirectionally driven by way of a
belt 328
coupled to an electric motor 330. A clamp 332 engages the belt 328 into a
channel 334 in
the base 304 of the plunger assembly 300. In the embodiment illustrated in
FIG. I I, two
plunger assemblies 300 are driven by a single electric motor 330. In one
embodiment of
the currency handling device, the belt 328 is a timing belt. In other
alternative
embodiments, each plunger assembly 300 can be driven by a single electric
motor 330. In
still other alternative embodiments, there can be any combination of motors
330 to
2o plunger assemblies 300.
FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate the interaction between the side arms 306, 308 and
the
levers 216, 217 when the paddle assembly 300 is descending towards and
ascending away
from the storage cassette 118, respectively. Initially, before descending
towards the
cassette, the shutters are in a first (closed) position. In the illustrated
embodiment, it is
the force imparted by the paddle 302 which opens the gate 210 when the paddle
descends
towards the storage cassette 118. When the paddle is ascending away from the
storage
cassette 119, it is the rollers 3I6, 318 coupled to the side arms 306, 308
which engage the
levers 216, 217 that close the gate 210. The levers 2I6, 217 shown in FIG. 12
are
positioned in the open position. When descending towards the storage cassette
118, the
3o rollers 316, 318 contact the levers 216, 217 and roll around the levers
216, 217 leaving
the shutters in the open position. The side arms 306, 308 are hinged in a
manner which
allows the side arms 306, 308 to rotate inward towards the base 304 as the
rollers 316,
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318 engage the levers 216, 217. FIG. 13 illustrates the levers in the second
position
wherein the gate 210 is closed. When the paddle ascends out of the storage
cassette, the
side arms 306, 308 are biased away from the base 304. The rollers 316, 318
engage the
levers 216, 217 causing the levers to rotate upward to the first position thus
closing the
gate.
FIGS. 14, 15, and 16 illustrate the components of the storage cassettes 118.
The bills 204 are stored within the cassette housing 348 which has a base 349.
Each
storage cassette 118 contains two pairs of retaining tabs 350 positioned
adjacent to the
interior walls 351, 352 of the storage cassette. The lower surface 354 of each
tab 350 is
to substantially planar. The tabs 350 are hingedly connected to the storage
cassette 118
enabling the tabs 350 to downwardly rotate from a horizontal position,
substantially
perpendicular with the side interior walls 351, 352 of the cassette 118, to a
vertical
position, substantially parallel to the interior walls 351, 352 of the
cassette 118. The tabs
350 are coupled to springs (not shown) to maintain the tabs in the horizontal
position.
The storage cassette 118 contains a slidable platform 356 which is biased
upward.
During operation of the currency handling system 100, the platform 356
receives stacks of
bills from the escrow compartment 116.' The floor 356 is attached to a base
358 which is
slidably mounted to a vertical support member 360. The base 358 is spring-
loaded so that
it is biased upward and in turn biases the platform 356 upward. The storage
cassettes 118
2o are designed to be interchangeable so that once full, a storage cassette
can be easily
removed from the currency handling device Z 00 and replaced with an empty
storage
cassette 118. In the illustrated embodiment, the storage cassette 118 is
equipped with a
handle 3 57 in order to expedite removal and/or replacement of the storage
cassettes 118.
Also in the illustrated embodiment, the storage cassette 118 has a door 359
which enables
an operator to remove bills from the storage cassette 118
The storage cassettes 118 are dimensioned to accommodate documents of varying
sizes. In the illustrated embodiment, the storage cassettes 118 has a height,
H2, of
approximately 15.38 inches (39 cm), a depth, D2, of approximately 9 inches
(22.9 cm),
and a width, W2, of approximately 5.66 inches (14.4 cm). The storage cassette
illustrated
3o in FIG. 15 has stand-offs 362 to set interior wall 352 of~a fixed distance
from in the
interior wall 353 of the cassette housing 348. The interior walls 351, 352 aid
in aligning
the bills in a stack within the storage cassettes. The embodiment of the
storage cassette
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illustrate in FIG. 15 is sized to accommodate United States currency
documents. To
properly accommodate United States currency documents, the interior width of
the
storage cassette, W3, is approximately 2.88 inches. FIGS. 17a and 17b also
illustrate an
embodiment ofthe storage cassette 118 sized to accommodate U.S. currency
documents
which have a width of approximately 2.5 inches (approximately 6.5 cm) and a
length of
approximately 6 inches (approximately 15.5 cm). In alternative embodiments,
the length
of the stand-offs 362 can be varied to accommodate documents of varying sizes.
For
example, the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 18a and 18b has an interior width,
W3 of
approximately 4.12 inches (104.6 cm) and is sized to accommodate the largest
l0 international currency, the French 500 Franc note, which has width of
approximately 3.82
inches (9.7 cm) and a length of approximately 7.17 inches. (18.2 cm). In order
to
accommodate large documents and increase the interior width, W3, of the
storage cassette
118, the lengths of stand-offs 362, illustrated in FIG. 16b, are shortened.
Beginning with FIG. 7, the operation of one of the lower output receptacles
106c-
106h will be described. Pursuant to a mode of operation, the bills 204 are
directed by one
of the diverters 130 into the escrow compartment 116 of the lower output
receptacle.
The stacker wheel 202 within escrow compartment 116 receives the bills 204
from the
diverter 130. The stacker wheel 202 stacks the bills 204 on top of the gate
210. Pursuant
to a preprogrammed mode of operation, once a predetermined number of bills 204
are
2o stacked in the escrow compartment 116, the control unit 120 instructs the
currency
handling device 100 to suspend processing currency bills and the paddle 302
then
descends from its home position above the escrow compartment 116 to transfer
the bills
204 into the storage cassette 118. Once the bills 204 have been deposited in
the storage
cassette 118 the currency handling device resumes operation until an escrow
compartment
is full or all the bills within the input receptacle 102 have been processed.
Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9 the plunger assembly 300 downwardly travels
placing the paddle 302 onto of the stack of bills 204. Upon making contact
with the bills
204 the paddle 302 continues to travel downward. As the paddle 302 continues
its
descent, the paddle 302 forces the gate 210 to snap open. The paddle 302
imparts a force
to the bills 204 that is transferred to the to the shutters 211, 212 causing
the shutters 211,
212 to rotate from the closed position to the open position. The rotation of
the shutters
21 l, 212 is indicated by the arrows B and C, respectively. Once the paddle
302 imparts
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the amount of force necessary to rotate levers 216, 217, the extension springs
218, 219
quickly rotate the shutters 2I 1, 212 downward, thus "snapping" the gate 210
open. The
downward rotation of the shutters 21 l, 212 causes each of the corresponding
parallel bars
214, 215 to pivot which in turn rotates the levers 216, 217. The extension
springs 218,
219 maintain the shutters 21 l, 212 in the open position allowing the paddle
302 to
descend into the storage cassette 118. The hingedly connected side arms 306,
308 retract
as the rollers 316, 318 to roll around the levers 216, 217 while the plunger
assembly 300
is traveling downward into the cassette 118.
Referring now to FIG. 15, once the gate 210 is opened, the bills 204 fall a
short
to distance onto the platform 356 of the storage cassette 118 or onto a stack
of bills 204
already deposited on the platform 356: The paddle 302 continues its downward
motion
towards the storage cassette 118 to ensure that the bills 204 are transferred
to the cassette
118. Initially, some bills 204 may be spaced apart from the platform 356 or
the other bills
204 within the storage cassette by retaining tabs 350. As the plunger assembly
300
continues to descend downward into the cassette, the paddle 302 continues to
urge the
stack of bills 204 downward causing the retaining tabs 350 to rotate downward.
The bills
204 are pushed past retaining tabs 350 and onto the platform 356.
Once the plunger assembly 300 has descended into the cassette 118 a distance
sufficient for the paddle 302 to clear the retaining tabs 350 allowing the
retaining tabs 350
2o to rotate upward, the plunger assembly initiates its ascent out of the
storage cassette 118.
The platform 356 urges the bills 204 upward against the underside of the
paddle 302. The
paddle 302 is equipped with two pairs of slots 324, 326 (FIG. 9) to enable the
paddle to
clear the pairs of retaining tabs 350. When the paddle 302 ascends past the
pairs of
retaining tabs 350 the bills 204 are pressed against the lower surfaces 354 of
the pairs of
retaining tabs 350 by the platform 356.
Refernng now to FIG. 13, when the plunger assembly 300 is traveling upward out
of the cassette 118, the rollers 316, 318 on the side arms 306, 308 engage the
respective
levers 216, 217 and move the respective levers 216, 217 from the second (open)
position
to the first (closed) position to move the gate 210 from the open position to
the closed
3o position as the paddle 302 ascends into the escrow compartment 116 after
depositing the
bills 204 in the storage cassette 118. The paddle 302 is mounted on the base
304 above
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the rollers 316, 318 on the side arms 306, 308 so that the paddle 302 clears
the gate 210
before the gate 210 is moved to the closed position.
In alternative embodiments of the currency handling device 100, the output
receptacles 106 can be sized to accommodate documents of varying sizes such as
various
5 international currencies, stock certificates, postage stamps, store coupons,
etc.
Specifically, to accommodate documents of different widths, the width of the
escrow
compartment 116, the gate 210, and the storage cassette 118 would need to be
increased
or decreased as appropriate. The document evaluation device 100 is sized to
accommodate storage cassettes 118 and gates 210 of different widths. The
entire
l0 transport mechanism 104 of the currency handling device 100 is dimensioned
to
accommodate the largest currency bills internationally. Accordingly, the
document
handling device 100 can be used to process the currency or documents of
varying sizes.
In various alternative embodiments, the currency handling device 100 is
dimensioned to process a stack of different sized currencies at the same time.
For
15 example, one application may require the processing of United States
dollars (2.5 inches x
6 inches, 6.5 cm x 15.5 cm) and French currency (as large as 7.17 inches x
3.82 inches,
18.2 cm x 9.7 cm). The application may simply require the segregation of the
U. S.
currency from the French currency wherein the currency handling device 100
delivers
U. S. currency to the first lower output receptacle 106c and the French
currency to the
20 second output receptacle 106d. In another alternative embodiment, the
currency handling
device 100 processes a mixed stack of U. S. ten and twenty dollar bills and
French one
hundred and two hundred Franc notes wherein the currency documents are
denominated,
counted, and authenticated. In that alternative embodiment, the U. S. ten and
twenty
dollar bills are delivered to the first 106c and second 106d Iower output
receptacles,
25 respectively, and the French one hundred and two hundred Franc notes are
delivered to
the third 106e and fourth 106f lower output receptacle, respectively. In other
alternative
embodiments, the currency handling device 100 denominates, counts, and
authenticates
six different types of currency wherein, for example, Canadian currency is
delivered to the
first lower output receptacle 106c, United States currency is delivered to the
second
output receptacle 106d, Japanese currency is delivered to the third lower
output
receptacle 106e, British currency is delivered to the fourth Iower output
receptacle 106f,
French currency is delivered to the fifth lower output receptacle 106g, and
German
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currency is delivered to the sixth lower output receptacle I06h. In another
embodiment,
no call bills or other denominations of currency, such as Mexican currency for
example,
may be directed to the second upper output receptacle 106b. In another
embodiment,
suspect bills are delivered to the first upper output receptacle 106a.
In other alternative embodiments of the currency handling device 100, the user
can
vary the type of documents delivered to the output receptacles 106. For
example, in one
alternative embodiment an operator can direct, via the control unit 120, that
a stack of
one, five, ten, twenty, fifty, and one-hundred United States dollar bills be
denominated,
counted, authenticated, and directed into lower output receptacles 106c-106h,
to respectively. In still another alternative embodiment, the currency
handling device 100 is
also instructed to deliver other bills, such as a United States two dollar
bill or currency
documents from other countries that have been mixed into the stack of bills,
to the second
upper output receptacle 106b. In still another alternative embodiment, the
currency
handling device 100 is also instructed -to count the number and aggregate
value of all the
I5 currency bills processed and the number and aggravate value of each
individual
denomination of currency bills processed. These values can be communicated to
the user
via the display/user-interface 122 ofthe currency handling device 100. In
still another
alternative embodiment, no call bills and bills that are stacked upon one
another are
directed to the second upper output receptacle 106b. In still another
alternative
20 embodiment; the operator can direct that all documents failing an
authentication test be
delivered to the first upper output receptacle 106a. In another alternative
embodiment,
the operator instructs the currency handling device 100 to deliver no call
bills, suspect
bills, stacked bills, etc. to one of the lower output receptacles 106c-106h.
The currency
handling device 100 which has eight output receptacles 106a-106h provides a
great deal
25 of flexibility to the user. And in other alternative embodiments of the
currency handling
device 100, numerous different combinations for processing documents are
available.
According to one embodiment, the various operations of the currency handling
device 100 are controlled by processors disposed on a number of printed
circuit boards
("PCBs") such as ten PCBs located throughout the device 100. In one embodiment
of the
30 present invention, the processors are Motorola processors, model number
86HC16,
manufactured by Motorola, Inc. of Schaumburg, Illinois. Each of the processors
are
linked to a central controller via a general purpose communications controller
disposed on
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each PCB. In one embodiment of the present invention the communications
controller is
an ARCNET communications controller, model COM20020, manufactured by Standard
Microsystems Corporation of Hauppauge, New York. The communications controller
enables the central controller to quickly and efficiently communicate with the
various
components linked to the PCBs.
According to one embodiment, two PCBs, a "motor board" and a "sensor board,"
are associated with each pair of lower output receptacles 106c-106h. The first
two lower
output receptacles 106c, d, the second two lower output receptacles 106e, f,
and the last
two lower output receptacles 1068, h are paired together. Each of the lower
output
l0 receptacles 106 contain sensors which-track the movement of the bills into
the lower
output receptacles 106c-106h, detect whether each storage cassette 118a-118e
is
positioned within the currency handling device 100, detect whether the doors
359 of the
storage cassettes 118 are opened or closed, and whether the cassettes 118 are
full. These
aforementioned sensors associated with each pair of the lower output
receptacles are tied
into a sensor board which is linked to the central controller. The operation
of the plunger
assembly 300, the stacker wheels 202, the portion of transportation mechanism
104
disposed above the lower output receptacles 116c-116h, and the diverters 130
are
controlled by processors disposed on the motor board associated with each pair
of lower
output receptacle's 106c-106h. Those sensors 130 which track the movement of
bills
2o along the transportation mechanism 104 that are disposed directly above the
lower output
receptacles 106c-106h are also tied into the respective motor boards.
One of the four remaining PCBs is associated with the operation of the one or
two
stacker wheels 127 associated with the upper output receptacles 106a, b, the
stripping
wheels 140, the primary drive motor of the evaluation region 108, a diverter
which direct
bills to the two upper output receptacles 106a, b, and the diverter which then
directs bills
between the two upper output receptacles 106a, b. The remaining three PCBs are
associated with the operation of the transport mechanism 104 and a diverter
which directs
bills from the transport path to the bill facing mechanism 110. The plurality
of sensors
130 disposed along the transport mechanism 104, used to track the movement of
bills
3o along the transport mechanism 104, also tied into these three remaining
PCBs.
Referring now to FIGS. 19-22, a two belt bill facing mechanism 400 is
illustrated.
The two belt bill facing mechanism 400 is an alternative embodiment of the
bill facing
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mechanism 110 referred to in FIGS. 1a and 1b and in the above related
discussion. The
two belt bill facing mechanism 400 can be used in conjunction with the
currency handling
device 100 shown in FIGS. la and 1b to rotate the face orientation of a bill
401
approximately 180°. For example, if a U.S. bill, for example, is
initially presented with
the surface bearing a portrait of a president facing down, it may be directed
to the two
belt bill facing mechanism 400, whereupon it will be rotated 180° so
that the bill surface
with the portrait faces up. The decision may be taken to send a bill 401 to
the facing
mechanism 400 when the selected mode of operation or other operator
instructions call
for maintaining a given face orientation of bills as they are processed by the
currency
l0 handling device 100. For example, it may be desirable in certain
circumstances for all of
the bills ultimately delivered to the lower output receptacles 106c-106h to
have the same
face orientation. In such embodiments of the currency handling device 100, the
bill
evaluation region 108 is capable of determining the face orientation of a
bill, such that a
bill not having the desired face orientation can frst be directed to the two
belt bill facing
mechanism 400 before being delivered to the appropriate lower output
receptacle 106c-
106h.
The two belt bill facing mechanism 400 ("facing mechanism") includes a first
belt
402 and a second belt 404. Each of the first and the second belts 402,404
forms a
continuous loop. The belts 402,404 are disposed adjacent to each other such
that the
opposing surfaces of each belt 402,404 forms a bill facing transport path 406.
The belts
402, 404 are twisted together so that an inlet 408 of the transport path 406
is rotated
approximately 180° with respect to an outlet 410 of the transport path
406.
The first and second belts 402, 404 are each wrapped around two rollers. The
first belt 402 is positioned around a first roller 412 disposed adjacent the
inlet 408 and a
second roller 414 disposed adjacent the outlet 410. The second belt 404 is
positioned
around a third roller 416 disposed adjacent the inlet 408 and a fourth roller
418 disposed
adjacent the outlet 410. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the first and second
rollers 412,414,
associated with the first belt, are positioned such that the first roller 412
is the "top" roller
at the inlet 408 and the second roller 414 is the "bottom" roller at the
outlet 410. The
3o third and forth rollers 416,418, associated with the second belt, are
positioned such that
the third roller 416 is the "bottom" roller at the inlet 408 and the forth
roller 418 is the
"top" roller at the outlet 410. This arrangement allows the for the "twisted"
bill facing
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mechanism transport path 406. Starting from the inlet 408, a first end 402a of
the first
belt 402 is placed around the first roller 412 which is disposed above the
third roller 416
around which a first end 404a of the second belt 404 is placed. Viewing FIG.
19 from
right to left, the first and the second belts 402,404 are together twisted
180° out of the
page. The second end 404b of the second belt 404 is now disposed above the
second end
402b of the first belt 402. The second end 404b of the second belt 404 is
positioned
around the forth roller 418 and the second end 402b of the first belt 402 is
positioned
around the third roller 414. Between the inlet 408 and the outlet 410, that is
between the
rollers, there is no structure supporting the portions of the first or the
second belts
l0 402,404 which define the bill transport path 406. The rollers are connected
to shafts 419
about which the rollers rotates. In one embodiment of the two belt bill facing
mechanism,
the rollers 414,418 are driven rollers and the rollers 412,416 are passive
rollers. In such
an embodiment, a motor (not shown) is coupled to the shafts 419 associated
with driven
rollers 414,418.
Two belt guides 420 (FIGS. 19 and 20) are used to guide the portion of the
belts
not defining the transport path 406 or the return portion 422 of the belts
away from the
transport path. The return portion 422 of the belts 402,404 is drawn away from
the
transport path 406 to insure that the return portion 422 does not contact a
bill 401
traveling along the transport path 406 causing the bill 401 to become skewed
relative to
20. the transport path 406. Each belt guide 420 is attached to a structure 424
which is fixed
to the currency handling device 100. In FIGS. 19 and 20, only the first belt
guide 420 is
clearly illustrated. In the illustrated embodiment, each belt guide 420
includes one vertical
roller and two horizontal rollers 426. The vertical roller associated with the
second belt
guide 420 is labeled with reference number 427. The interior of each belt
402,404 travels
against the vertical roller. Any vertical movement of the return portion 422
of the belt is
constrained by the two horizontal rollers 426 along which the edges 428,429 of
the belts
402,404 travel. In an alternative embodiment, the belt guide 420 only contains
one
horizontal roller 426 to limit the vertical movement of the return portions of
the belts.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 20, the two belt bill facing mechanism
3o contains belt end guides 440. The belt end guides 440 are used to maintain
the position of
belts 402,404 on rollers 412, 416. The belt guides limit any horizontal
movement of the
belts 402, 404 at their first ends 402a, 404b. In another embodiment of the
two, belt bill
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facing mechanism two more belt end guides are used to limit any horizontal of
the belts
402,404 at the second ends 402b, 404b. The belt end guides 440 consists of a
structure
442 and two rollers 444. Because the belt guides 420 pull the return portion
422 away
from the transport path 406, the belt guide rollers 444 maintain the belt ends
on the rollers
5 412, 414, 416, 418 and prohibit any movement of the belts 402,404 off of the
rollers 412,
414, 416, 418.
The bill facing mechanism 400 also contains four guides 431,432,433, 434
disposed along the bill transport path 406. Each of these guides are also
fixed to the
structures 424. The guides 431-434 are made out of a rigid material. A bill is
1o transported through the bill facing mechanism (as well as the through the
transport
.' mechanism 104 of currency handling device 100) with the leading edge of the
bill being
the long or wide edge of the bill 401. The width of the bill 401 is greater
than the width
of the first and the second belts 402,404 causing a significant portion of the
bill 401 to
overhang each edge of the belts 402,404. The function of the guides is to
provide support
15 to those portions of the bill 401 which overhang the belts 402,404. Because
of the high
processing rate at Which the currency handling device 100 operates, a
significant angular
velocity is imparted to a bill directed through the facing mechanism. In
alternative
embodiments of the currency handling device 100, bills are processed at speeds
in excess
of 1200 bills per minute. The differences in air pressures acting on the front
and the back
2o surfaces areas of the bill 401 can cause the bill 401 to fold.or be forced
such that the bill is
no longer being transported in a substantially flat manner. This situation can
occur more
readily.when the bill stiffness is degraded due to bill wear resulting from
heavy usage.
Additionally, bills are often folded in a variety of manners which may cause a
bill to be
biased in a certain direction such that the bill will not lie flat under its
own weight. It is
25 preferable for the bill 401 to be transported through the bill facing
mechanism 400 (and
the currency handling device 100) in a substantially flat manner. If the bill
401 is not
substantially flat when traveling from the outlet 410 of the bill facing
mechanism 400 back
into the bill transport mechanism 104 there is a possibility that the bill may
become
skewed at the interface between the outlet 410 and the transport mechanism 104
because
Y
3o the transport mechanism 104 may not "catch" the entire leading edge of the
bill.
In operation, a bill 401, shown in position E, enters the inlet 408 of the
bill facing
mechanism 400 and is transported along the bill facing transport path 406 in a
direction
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31
from right to left indicated by arrow D. The bill 401 adjacent to the outlet
410 is shown
in position F which is a 180° rotation from position E. Referring to
the bill 401 in
position E, the bill 401 has narrow edges 450,451 and surfaces 452, 453. The
first and
second belts 402,404, a portion of which define the transport path 406, are
twisted
causing the bill 401 to rotate in manner such that the (near) edge 450 of the
bill 401 drops
into the page and the (far) edge 451 of the bill 401 rotates up and out of the
page. As the
bill 401 travels through the bill transport path 406, the surface 452 towards
the (near)
edge 450 of the bill 401 is guided by the first guide 431. The surface 453
towards the
(far) edge 451 ofthe bill 40T is supported by the second guide 432. The guides
431,432
to support their respective surfaces of the bill 401 until the bill 401 is
substantially in a
vertical position. As the bill continues to travel towards the outlet 410 the
edge 451 (now
at the top of the page) continues to rotate out of the page while the edge 450
(now at the
bottom of the page) rotates into the page. Continuing, the surface 453 towards
the edge
451 is being guided by the guide 433. The surface 452 towards edge 450 is
being guided
by the guide 434. When the bill arrives at the outlet 410, the orientation of
the bill has
been rotated 180°. The bill then merges into the transport mechanism
104 of the currency
handling device 104.
In another alternative embodiment, the currency handling device 100 operates
in a
strapping mode wherein pursuant to a user's input or selection of a
preprogrammed mode
of operation, currency bills are stacked in a manner so that smaller of stacks
of bills within
a larger stack of bills are readily identifiable. Typically, in the handling
of bulk currency,
after the currency bills have been analyzed, denominated, authenticated,
counted, and/or
otherwise processed, the currency bills are strapped. Bill strapping is a
process whereby a
stack of a specific number of bills of a single denomination are secured
together such as
with a paper strap. For example, one dollar bills are segregated into stacks
of one-
hundred one dollar bills and then bound with a paper strap. Strapping
facilitates the
handling of bulk currency allowing the strapped stacks of bills to be counted
rather than
the individual currency bills.
When operating pursuant to a strapping mode, the currency handling device 100
3o stacks currency bills in the lower output receptacles 106c-106h in a manner
so that
smaller batches of currency bills are readily identifiable such as by
alternating the face
orientation of the smaller batches of bills within the stack. Put another way,
as illustrated
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32
in FIG. 23, every other smaller stack 550 of bills comprising the larger stack
552 of bills is
either orientated with the surface of the bill bearing the portrait of the
president face-up or
face-down. This arrangement allows a user of the currency handling device 100
to
quickly segregate the smaller stacks 550 from the larger stack 552 of bills
for strapping
purposes after the user removes the larger stack 552 of bills from the storage
cassette
118a-f associated with a corresponding lower output receptacle 106c-h. For
example, a
user desiring to "strap" U.S. $20 bills would instruct the currency handling
device
accordingly, so that the face-orientation of every batch of one-hundred $20
bills would
alternate.
to ~ A bill turnover mechanism, such as for example, either the two belt bill
facing
mechanism 400, illustrated in FIGS. 19-22, or the bill facing mechanism 110,
referred to
in FIGS. la and 1b, can be incorporated into the currency handing device 100
to vary the
face orientation of the bills pursuant to a strapping mode so that the
individual currency
bills within each smaller stack 550 of currency bills has a common face
orientation.
Alternatively, in other embodiments of the present invention, other turnover
mechanisms
can be used.
The total number of bills per smaller stack 550 of currency bills is referred
to as a
"limit." The "limit" is a predetermined number which is either defined by the
user of the
currency handling system 100 or is defined by a mode of operation. In one
embodiment,
2o the user defines via the user interface 122 that the limit is, for example,
fifty currency bills.
Accordingly, the face orientation of every fifty currency bills is alternated.
In another
alternative embodiment, a user selects via the user interface 122 a "$20
strapping mode"
wherein, for example, the limit is predefined at one hundred $20 bills. While
any number
of bills can be included in a strap of currency bills, U.S. currency bills are
traditionally
strapped in one-hundred bill stacks.
Referring also to FIG. 24, the steps performed in a strapping mode of
operation
will be described in detail. For purposes of this example, the stack of bills
consists of U. S.
$20 bills arranged in both face orientations. Initially at steps 502, 504, and
506, the limit
is defined, the bill count is set to zero, and the target orientation is
defined, respectively.
3o The target face orientation is the face orientation in which the first
smaller stack of bills
are to have when stacked in a particular output receptacle 106c-106h such as
output
receptacle 106f. The target orientation, either face-up or face-down, can be
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33
predetermined pursuant to a mode of operation or be input by a user at step
506. In an
alternative embodiment of the currency handling device 100, the target
orientation can be
defined as the orientation of the first currency bill transported though the
evaluation
region 108 or the first currency bill of a given denomination transported
though the
evaluation region 108. The initial target orientation dictates the orientation
of the first
smaller currency bill stack 550 stacked on the platform 356 of a particular
storage
cassette 118a-f. Accordingly, the initial target orientation of the strapping
mode which
resulted in the stack of currency bills illustrated in FIG. 23 was face-up.
Upon the commencement of the operation of the currency handling device 100,
to the bills are transported one at a time through the evaluation region 108
to one of the
output receptacles 106c-h. At step 508, while being transported through the
evaluation
region 108, the face orientation of each of the bills is determined. The face
orientation of
the bill currently being evaluated is compared to the target orientation at S
I0. If the
orientation of the currency bill currently being evaluated matches the target
orientation,
the face orientation of the bill is maintained at step 512 and the bill is
transported to a
particular one of the output receptacles 106c-h at step 514. If the
orientation of the
currency bill currently being evaluated fails to match the target orientation,
the bill is first
transported to the bill facing mechanism 400 at step 516, where the face
orientation of the
bill is reversed as the bill is rotated 180°. The properly faced bill
is then transported to
2o and stacked in a particular one of the output receptacles 106c-h at step
514. As each bill
is transported to the output receptacle 106c-106h, at step 516, a bill counter
increases by
one until the number of bills transported to the particular output receptacle
106c-h having
a common face orientation is equivalent to the strap limit. The strap limit is
compared to
the bill count at step 518. When the bill count is equivalent to the strap
limit, the target
face orientation is redefined to be the other of the two face orientations -
face-up or face-
down - at step 520. The bill count is then reset to zero at step 522. The
currency
evaluation device continues to operate in this manner until the entire batch
of currency
bills is processed.
The foregoing is one example of the steps performed in processing currency
bills
3o with the currency handling device 100 pursuant to a stacking mode of
operation. In
alternative embodiments, the sequence in which the steps are performed can be
rearranged
in a variety of other orders or combined. For example, in an alternative
embodiment, the
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steps Define The Limit 502, Set Bill Count To Zero 504, and Define The Target
Orientation 506 can be combined in a preprogrammed strapping mode of operation
which
the user simply selects from the user interface 122. For example, a "$50
strapping" mode
of operation may be selected by the user, via the user interface 122, wherein
the limit is
predefined at one-hundred bills, the bill count is set to zero, and the
initial target
orientation is defined as face-down.
In alternative embodiments of the present invention, the currency bills can be
processed into the lower output receptacles 106c-h in a variety of manners.
For example,
in one embodiment, bills are processed into the escrow region 116 until the
escrow region
116 is fizll. At that time, the plunger assembly 300 transfers the bills from
the escrow
region 116 to the corresponding storage cassette I 18. The currency handling
device I00
operates in this manner until all of the bills have been processed into the
storage
cassettes) 118. If, after all of the bills have been processed, a smaller
stack of bills has
been delivered to a storage cassette 118 containing a number of bills which is
less than the
strap linnit, the currency handling device 100 can notify the user via the
user interface 122.
In still another alternative embodiment, after a number of bills equivalent to
the strap limit
are processed into the escrow region 116, the plunger assembly 300 transfers
the bills to
the storage cassette 300. In this embodiment of a strapping mode of operation,
all of the
smaller stacks of bills in the storage cassette comprise a number of bills
equivalent to the
2o strap limit. A stack of bill comprising a number of currency bill less then
the limit remains
in the escrow region until either the stack is removed by the operator of the
currency
handling device 100 or until the stack is supplemented with bills from an
additional batch
of currency processed by the currency handling device.
After the entire batch of currency bills is processed into the lower output
receptacles 106c-h pursuant to a strapping mode of operation, a user of the
currency
handing device 100 removes the stacks of bills from each storage cassette 118a-
f
associated with corresponding lower output receptacles I06c-h. Because the
smaller
stacks of bills within each of the larger stacks of bills removed from the
storage cassettes
118a-f are arranged with alternating face orientations, the user can quickly
segregate the
smaller stacks from the larger stacks and bind each of the smaller stacks with
a strap.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, larger stacks of bills
comprising smaller stacks of bills having alternative face orientations, such
as illustrated in
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FIG. 23, can be formed in the lower output receptacles 106c-h without using
the bill
facing mechanism. In such an embodiment, face-up bills are transported to a
"target"
lower output receptacle and face-down bills are transported to another target
lower
output receptacle until the limit is reached in both lower output receptacles.
The target
5 receptacles 106 are then switched and the process is repeated. For example,
bills of a
given denomination having a face-up orientation are routed to the first lower
output
receptacle 106c and bills of the same denomination having a face-down
orientation are
routed to the second lower output receptacle 106d. Face-up and face-down bills
continue
to be processed into the first and second lower output receptacles 106c, d,
respectively,
to until a number of bills equivalent to the limit have been processed into
the first and second
lower output receptacles 106c, d. At that time; the face-up bills are then
routed to the
second lower output receptacle 106d and the face-down bills are routed to the
first lower
output receptacle 106c. Bills continue to be processed in this manner until
the limit is
again reached in both the first and second lower output receptacles 106c, d at
which time
15 the target lower output receptacles 106 of the face-up and face-down bills
are again
switched. The process continues as described until the entire batch of
currency is
processed and each of the lower output receptacles 106c, d contain larger
stacks of bills
comprising smaller stacks having alternating face orientations. Obviously, the
limit will be
reached in one of the two lower output receptacles 106c, d before the other of
the two
2o lower output receptacles 106c, d. Accordingly, the excess bills are off
sorted or,
alternatively, a similar method is perform in the adjacent lower output
receptacles 106e, f.
For example, when the limit is first reached with respect to face-up bills
directed to the
first lower output receptacle 106c, those face-up bills are then routed to the
third lower
output receptacle 106e while face-down bills continue to be directed to the
second lower
25 output receptacles 106d. Should the limit be reached in the third lower
output receptacle
106e before the second lower output receptacle 1064, the face-up bills can
then be
directed to the next lower output receptacle 106f. When the limit in the
second output
receptacle 106d is eventually reached, the target lower output receptacles
106c, d of the
face-up and face-down bills can be switched as described. While the above
example was
30 discussed in conjunction with the processing of only one denomination of
currency bills,
in other alternative embodiments more than one denomination of currency bills
can be
processed in a similar manner.
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36
In still other alternative embodiments of the present invention, smaller
stacks of
bills can be distinguished, for strapping purposes, from larger stacks of
bills processed
into lower output receptacles in a variety of other manners without
alternating the face
orientation of consecutive smaller stacks of bills. In one alternative
embodiment, dividers
such as sheets of paper are injected into the flow of currency bills so that
the sheets of
paper are disposed between each of the smaller stacks of currency bills. These
"separation sheets" may be any one of a variety of colors that are readily
distinguishable
from the currency bills being processed such as, for example, fluorescent
orange, pink,
yellow, red, etc. Sheets which are readily distinguishable from the currency
bills being
to processed will facilitate the user's identification and segregation of the
smaller stacks of
currency bills within the larger stack. In other embodiments, a marking on the
"separation.
sheets" denoting the quantity of bills, the denomination of the bills, and/or
the value of
each smaller stack of bills may provide information to the user of the
currency handling
device 100.
In still another alternative embodiment, rather than reversing the face
orientation
of the bills to distinguish the smaller stacks of currency bills, each of the
smaller stacks
554 are slightly offset from the previous smaller stack as illustrated in FIG.
25a. In such
an embodiment, each consecutive smaller stack 554 of bills comprising the
larger 556
stack may be offset so that the larger stack 556 of bills appear "stepped" in
shape.
2o Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 25b, each smaller stack of bills 558
are off set to the
left and to the right of a center C of the platform 356 of the storage
cassette 118 in which
the bills are stacked so that the side of the larger stack of bills 560 appear
corrugated in
shape.
Many of the aforementioned modes of operation can be combined with a strapping
mode in a multitude of alternative embodiments of the present invention. For
example, in
an alternative embodiment of the present invention, several denominations of
U. S.
currency bills may be processed pursuant to a strapping mode of operation. In
such an
embodiment U.S. $l, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills are processed pursuant
to a
strapping mode of operation into the lower output receptacles 106c-106h,
respectively -
3o while alternating the face orientation of every set of one-hundred bills
within each of the
output receptacles. Accordingly, in such an embodiment, the currency handling
device
must denominate each of the currency bills being processed. Continuing with
the current
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37
example, when a non-U.S. $l, $5, $10, $20, $50, or $100 bill is detected, such
as a
Canadian $1 bill or a U.S. $2 bill, that bill is off sorted to one ofthe upper
output
receptacles 106a, b. Further, the currency handling device 100 can also
authenticate each
of the currency bills being processing pursuant to a strapping mode of
operation. Non-
authentic bills can be routed to upper output receptacles 106a, b as well.
Alternatively,
non-authentic bills can be routed to upper output receptacle 106a and non-U.S.
$1, $5,
$10, $20, $50, or $100 bills or no call bills are routed to upper output
receptacles 106b.
In other alternative embodiments, the currency handling device 100 is capable
of
denominating, authenticating, and facing for strapping purposes batches of
bills containing
to several different international currencies. For example, in one embodiment
of the present
invention, a user may desire to segregate, denominate, authenticate, and stack
for
strapping purposes U.S. $20, $50, $1.00 bills and Canadian $20, $50, $100
bills. The
U.S. $20, $50, $100 dollar bills maybe directed to the first three lower
output receptacles
106c-a and the Canadian $20, $50, $100 bills may be directed to the second
three lower
output receptacles 106f h. Accordingly, the currency handling device must
denominate
each of the currency bills before directing the bills to a lower output
receptacle 106c-h.
Non-U.S. $20, $50, $100 bills and non-Canadian $20, $50, $100 are directed to
one of
the upper output receptacles 106a, b such as the second upper output
receptacle 106b.
The bills may also be authenticated. Authentic U.S. $20, $50, $100 bills and
Canadian
$20, $50, $100 are directed to the appropriate lower output receptacles 106c-
h. Those
bills which are not authenticated, suspect bills, can be routed to the first
upper output
receptacle 106a. Further, non-U.S. $20, $50, $100 suspect bills and non-
Canadian $20,
$50, $100 suspect bills can also be directed to the first upper output
receptacle 106a.
Additionally, in other alternative embodiments of the present invention,
modular output
receptacles can be added so that, for example, U.S. $5 and $10 bills are
processed in the
same manner along side the U.S. $20, $50, $100 bills and Canadian $20, $50,
$100 bills.
As is apparent from the foregoing discussion, a strapping mode of operation
can
be combined with other modes of operation to instruct the currency handling
device to
operate in a multitude of different variations.
3o As discussed above, the currency handling system utilizes flow control to
track the
movement of each individual bill through the currency handling device 100 as
well as to
detect the occurrence of bill jams within the currency handling device 100.
Utilizing flow
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control not only allows the device 100 to more quickly detect bill jams, but
also enables
the device 100 to implement a bill jam reconciliation procedure which results
in a
significant time savings over the prior art. During normal operation, a
processor in
conjunction with the plurality of sensors 119 disposed along the transport
mechanism 104
tracks each of the currency bills transported through the currency handling
device 100
from the evaluation region 108 to the escrow regions 116. Accordingly, the
processor
monitors the number of bills that have, for example, advanced from the input
receptacle
10~ through the evaluation unit 108, the number of bills stacked in each of
the escrow
regions 116a-f, and the number of bills moved into the storage cassettes 118a-
f. The
device 100 maintains separate counts of the number of bills delivered into
each escrow
region 116 and each of the storage cassettes 118. As bills are moved from an
escrow
region I 16 to a corresponding storage cassette 118 the total number of bills
being moved
is added to the total number of bills in the storage cassette 118.
Upon the detection of a bill jam occurring in the transport mechanism 104, the
processor has maintained an accurate count of the number of bills which have
already
been transported into each escrow region 116. The iritegiity of the bill count
is
maintained because the flow control routine rapidly determines the presence of
a bill jam
withinthe transport mechanism 104. Again, as discussed above, if a bill does
not pass the
next sensor 119 within a predetermined number of encoder counts, the operation
of the
2o transportation mechanism 104 is suspended and the user is alerted of the
error. Because .
the transporting of bills is suspended almost immediately upon failure of a
bill to pass a
sensor 119 within a specific timeframe (e.g. number of encoder counts) thus
preventing
the pile-up of bills, the processor "knows" the specific location of each of
the bills within
the device 100 because the operation of the device is suspended before bills
are allowed
to pile up.
Because of the almost immediate suspension of the transporting of bills, the
integrity of the counts of the bills in the escrow regions 116 and the storage
cassettes 118
are maintained. Before the system is flushed, the bills within each of the
escrow regions
116 are downwardly transported from the escrow regions 116 to the
corresponding
storage cassettes 118. If the bill jam occurs in one of the escrow regions
116, bills
located in other escrow regions I 16 where the bill jam has not occurred are
transported to
the respective storage cassettes 118.
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In one embodiment of the currency evaluation device 10, the user is notified
via
the user interface 122 of the occurrence of a bill jam and the suspension of
the
transporting of bills. The user is prompted as to whether the bills in the
escrow regions
116 should be moved to the storage cassettes 118. In other embodiments of the
currency
handling device, those bills already in the escrow regions are automatically
moved to the
storage cassettes upon detection of a bill jam. The user is directed, via the
user interface
122, to the proximate location of the bill jam in the transport mechanism 104.
If
necessary, the user can electronically jog the transport mechanism 104, as
described
above, to facilitate the manual removal of the bill jam. After clearing the
bill jam and
l0 causing those bill already transported into the escrow regions 116 to be
moved into the
corresponding storage cassettes 118, the user is prompted to flush the bills
currently
within the transport mechanism 104. Flushing the bills causes those bills
still remaining in
the transport mechanism 104 to be transported to one of the escrow regions
116. After
the remaining bills are flushed from the transport mechanism 116, the operator
can
remove the flushed bills from the escrow region 116 for reprocessing.
Referring now to FIG. 26, the operation of the bill jam reconciliation process
will
be described in connection with the illustrated fixnctional block diagram of
the currency
handling device 100. Pursuant to the user's selected mode of operation,
currency bills are
transported from the input receptacle 102 though the evaluation region 108 to
one of the
2o plurality of output receptacles 106a-h. According to some modes of
operation, some of
the currency bills all also transported through the bill facing mechanism 110
in those
embodiments of the currency handling device 100 which implementing a bill
facing
mechanism 110. As each of the bills are transported thorough the currency
handling
device 100 by the transport mechanism 104, a processor, in connection with
'the plurality
of bill passage sensors 119, tracks the movement of each of the bills from the
evaluation
region 106 to each of the escrow regions 116a-f pursuant to the flow control
process
discussed above. As bills are delivered into each of the escrow regions 116a-
f, a escrow
region bill counter 203 ("ER Count" in FIG. 26) assigned to each escrow region
116
maintains a count of the number of bills transported into each escrow region
116. After a
3o predetermined number of bills have been transported into an escrow region
116, the
operation of the transport mechanism is temporarily suspended while the bills
are moved
from the escrow region 116 to the corresponding storage cassette 118. A
storage
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cassette counter 205 ("SC Count" in FIG. 26) corresponding to each storage
cassette
118, maintains a count of the total number of bills moved into a storage
cassette. Upon
moving bills from the escrow region 116 to the corresponding storage cassette
118, the
escrow region count is added to the storage cassette count. After the adding
the escrow
5 region count and the storage cassette count, the escrow region counter 203
is reset to
zero and the operation of the transport mechanism is resumed.
Upon detection of the occurrence of a bill jam, the operation of the transport
mechanism 104 is suspended. At the time of the occurrence of a bill jam, each
of the
escrow regions have as many as two hundred fifty bills or as little as zero
bill transported
to therein. A count of the specific number of bills in each of the escrow
regions 116a-f is
maintained by each of the escrow region counters 203a-f . In response to user
input, the
bills within the escrow regions 116 are moved from the escrow regions 116 to
the storage
cassettes 118 and the escrow bill count 203 is added to the storage cassette
bill count
205. The operator of the currency handling device 100 can then clear the bill
jam and
15 flush the remaining bill from the transport mechanism 104 as discussed
above. If the bill
jam has occurred in one of the escrow regions 116, the bills in the remaining
escrow
regions 116 not having bill jams detected therein are moved to the
corresponding storage
cassettes 118. Those bill already transported into the escrow region 116
having the bill
jam detected therein are reprocessed along with the bills flushed from the
transport
20 mechanism 104.
The ability of the currency handling device 100 to transport those bill
already
processed into the escrow regions 116 and into the storage cassettes 118 while
maintaining the integrity of the bill counts 203, 205 with respect to each
output receptacle
106c-h is a significant improvement resulting in appreciable time savings over
prior art
25 devices. In prior art devices, upon the occurrence of a bill jam, the
operator would have
to' clear the bill jam and manually turn a hand crank to move the remaining
bills from the
transport path into the escrowing regions. Prior art devices do not maintain
separate
running totals as bills pass various points within the device. For example, a
prior device
may only count the bills as they are transported through an evaluation region
of the
3o currency handing machine. Bills exiting the evaluation region are included
in the totals
regardless of whether they are involved in bill jams or are successfully
transported to an
output receptacle. Therefore, when a bill jam occurs, those bills involved in
the bill jam as
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41
well as those bills already transported to the output receptacles have to be
reprocessed.
Other prior art devices having both holding areas and storage areas only
maintain a count
of the number of bill in the storage areas, but not a count of the number of
bills in the
holding areas.
Reprocessing all of the bills already transported into the holding areas is a
time
consuming process as the number of bills to be re-processed can be voluminous.
In the
present device for example, each of the escrow regions 116 can accommodate
approximately 250 bills. Six escrow regions presents the possibility of having
to
reprocess up to 1500 bills upon the occurrence of a bill jam. The problem is
further
to exasperated when modular lower output receptacles 106 are added. For
example, the
addition of eight modular lower output receptacles 106 brings the total number
of lower
output receptacles 106 to fourteen, thus up to 3500 bills would have to be
reprocessed.
The inei~ciencies associated with this procedure arise from the loss of
productivity while
the device 100 is stopped and the time required to remove the stacks of bills
from the
15 escrow regions 116 as well as the time required to re-process the bills
pulled from the
escrow regions 116.
During the lifetime of prior art currency handling devices it is likely that
individual
key components of the devices, including components specific to the output
receptacles,
will degrade and eventually fail. The failure of an individual component
specific to an
20 output receptacle can render that output receptacle inoperable. The
inoperability of one
of.the output receptacles of prior art currency handling devices can render
the entire
device inoperable regardless of whether the remaining output receptacles are
otherwise
properly functioning. Component failures resulting in the inoperability of the
entire device
can have a devastating effect on the cash handling operations of users of
these devices.
25 The inventors of the present invention have found that currency handling
devices play a
vital role in the overall operation of a cash vault, including cash vaults at
banks or casinos.
The inventors estimate that over 90% (ninety percent) of the cash handled
within a cash
vault is processed by a currency handling device. Therefore, the failure of a
currency
handling device can have a disastrous effect on the operation of a cash vault
or other
30 operations relying on the performance of the currency handling device.
Like prior art currency handling devices, it is anticipated that over the
extended
lifetime of the currency handling device 100 components of the device 100,
including
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42
components specific to the output receptacles 106, will degrade and eventually
fail. Such
individual components include, for example, the motor 330 (FIG. I I), the belt
328 (FIG.
11), sensors such as the bill passage sensors 119, solenoids, switches that
indicate a
cassette 118 is properly inserted into an output receptacle 106, and other
electrical or
mechanical components of the output receptacles 106. However, the currency
processing
device 100 of the present invention implements a backup routine to remedy the
failure of
a components) of an output receptacle 106 which would otherwise render the
currency
handling device 100 inoperable. The inventors of the present invention use the
term
"disable pockets" to describe this backup routine which essentially disables
one or more
output receptacles 106 (also called a "pocket") in which component failures)
have
occurred.
Upon the failure of a component within one of the output receptacles, the user
of
the currency handling device 100 is informed of the error via the user
interface I 12. For
example, each of the lower output receptacles 106c-h contains a switch (not
shown) that
is tripped when a cassette 118 is properly inserted into the output receptacle
106. Under
normal circumstances, the control unit 120 detects the tripped switch upon
proper
insertion of a cassette 118 into the output receptacle 106 and the currency
handling device
100 operates as intended. When a cassette 118 is improperly inserted, the
control unit
120 does not detect the presence of a properly inserted cassette 118 and the
user is
2o prompted via the user interface 122. Upon a visual inspection or physical
manipulation of
the storage cassette 118, the operator can quickly determine whether the
cassette 118 is
properly inserted within the output receptacle 106. If the operator determines
the cassette
118 is properly inserted and the error signal indicating otherwise is itself
an error, the
operator can implement the disable pockets routine via the user interface 122.
The implementation of the disable pockets~routine will cause the control unit
120
to ignore the error conditions associated with the output receptacle I06
experiencing
component failure by essentially shutting down that output receptacle,
allowing the
currency handling device 100 to operate with one less lower output receptacle
106c-h.
For example, disabling the first Iower output receptacle 106c will cause the
currency
3o handling device 100 to operate as though the device 100 has five lower
output receptacles
- the second lower output receptacle 106d through the sixth lower output
receptacle
106h. Those bills normally directed to the first lower output receptacle 106c
are now,
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43
pursuant to the disable pockets routine, directed to another one of the output
receptacles
106 such as the first or second upper output receptacles 106a-b. In other
embodiments of
the device 100, more than one lower output receptacle 106c-h may be disabled.
For
example, disabling the first two lower output receptacles 106c-d will cause
the currency
handling device 100 to operate with four lower output receptacles - the third
lower
output receptacle 106e through the sixth lower output receptacle 106h.
According to one embodiment of the disable pockets routine, those bills which
would normally be directed to the inoperable output receptacles) are now
directed to the
output receptacle to which bills triggering error conditions (e.g., no call
bills) are directed
to pursuant to various modes of operation. The disable pockets routine is
designed to work
with existing modes of operation (or other user-defined modes of operation)
such as, for
example, those modes of operation incorporated by reference above from PCT WO
99/0951 l, which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Put
another way,
the disable pockets routine compliments the user-selected mode of operation by
directing
bills otherwise directed to the disabled output receptacle to an alternative
output
receptacle. .
In one embodiment of the disable pockets routine directs the bills otherwise
directed to the disabled output receptacle to an output receptacle 106 to
which bills
triggering error conditions are directed pursuant to the current mode of
operation of the
2o currency handling device 100. By way of example, one mode of operation may
direct bills
triggering a "no call" error condition to the second lower output receptacle
106b while
directing U. S. $1 bills to the first lower output receptacle 106c. Upon
disabling the first .
lower output receptacle 106c, $1 bills are automatically directed to the no
call output
receptacle 106b which is the second lower output receptacle. During operation
of the
device 100, both no call bills and identifiable $1 bills are directed to the
second lower
output receptacle 106b. The device 100 can suspend operation when a no call
bill is
delivered into the second upper output receptacle 106b giving the operator the
opportunity to remove the no call bills from the identifiable $1 bills.
Alternatively, all bills
triggering error conditions may be directed to the first upper output
receptacle 106a and
$1 bills are directed to the second lower output receptacle 106b. In other
alternative
embodiments, after one or more of the output receptacles 106 is disable, the
user is
prompted to select which of the remaining output receptacles 106 are to
replace the
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disabled output receptacle 106. The user may designate that U.S. $I bills be
directed to
the sixth lower output receptacle along with U. S. $5 bills for example. Many
of the
modes of operation direct no call bills to one of the upper output receptacles
106a, b.
However, in alternative embodiments of the present invention, bills triggering
error
conditions can be directed into any one of the plurality of output receptacles
106.
Referring now to FIG. 27, the operation of the currency handling device 100
pursuant to one embodiment of the disable pockets routine 600 will be
described. Before
implementing the disable pockets routine, the user of the currency handling
device 100
determines that it is necessary to disable of one or more of the output
receptacles 106 of
to the device 100. Upon deciding to process a batch of currency bills, the
user inputs or
selects (via the user interface 122) a mode of operation at step 602. An
illustrative screen
650 which may be displayed on the user interface 122 is illustrated in FIG.
29. The user
can select one of a plurality of buttons 652 corresponding to the desired mode
of
operation. This step 602 may also include assigning denominations and strap
limits to a
specific mode of operation by selecting buttons 672 as shown in the
illustrative screen 670
of FIG. 30. At step 604, the user instructs the device 100 to disable one of
the output
receptacles 106. This may include designating the specific output receptacles)
106 to be
enabled and which output receptacles) 106 to be disabled. An illustrative
screen 660
which may be displayed on the user interface 122 is illustrated in FIG. 31.
According to
the illustrative screen 660 ofFIG. 30buttons 661-664 have been selected thus
enabling
the first four lower output receptacles 106c-f while buttons 665-666 have not
been
selected thus disabling the fifth and sixth lower output receptacles 106g-h.
Alternatively,
the disable pockets routine automatically disables the inoperable output
receptacles) 106.
Thereafter, the operation of the currency handling device 100 commences. As
each bill is
transported though the evaluation region 108, information concerning each bill
is
determined at step 606. Such information can include denomination, currency
type, or
authenticity. Next, based on the determined information concerning the bill,
an output
receptacle 106 to which the device 100 normally transports that bill is
designated at step
608. The designated output receptacle 106 is determined pursuant to the
particular mode
of operation. For example, a particular mode of operation may designate the
first lower
output receptacle 106c for U.S. $1 bills and the second lower output
receptacle 106d for
$1 Canadian bills. The designated output receptacle (designated pursuant to
the mode of
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operation) is checked against the disabled output receptacle (disable pursuant
to the
disable pockets routine) at step 608. If the designated output receptacle I06
is not the
disabled output receptacle, the bill is directed to the designated output
receptacle 106 at
step 612. If the designated output receptacle is the disabled output
receptacle, the bill is
5 directed to the output receptacle designated for no call bills - typically,
one of the two
upper output receptacles 106a, b is designated for no calls.
Referring now to FIG. 28, the operation of the currency handling device
pursuant
to another embodiment of the disable pockets routine 620 will be described.
Again,
before implementing the disable pockets routine 620, the user of the currency
handling
l0 device 100 determines that it is necessary to disable of one or more of the
output
receptacles 106 of the device 100. Upon deciding to process a batch of
currency bills, the
user inputs or selects (via the user interface 122) a mode of operation at
step 622. At
step 624, the user instructs the device 100 to disable one or more of the
output
receptacles 106. According to alternative embodiments, steps 622 and 624, or
steps 602
15 and 604 with regard to FIG. 27, can be performed in the reverse order.
Again, step 624
may include designating the specific output receptacles) to be disabled.
Alternatively, the
disable pockets routine 620 at step 624 automatically disables the inoperable
output
receptacle(s). At step 626, the output receptacle designations pursuant to the
selected
mode of operation (e.g., U.S. $10 bills are directed to the third lower output
receptacle
20 106e) are updated to reflect the disabling of the output receptacle(s). For
exaW ple,
pursuant to one mode of operation, the third lower output receptacle I06e is
designated
to receive U.S. $10 bills and the second upper output receptacle 106b may be
designated
to receive no call bills. At step 626, the designation of the second upper
output
receptacle 106b is updated to include U.S. $10 bills. In one embodiment of the
disable
25 pockets routine 620, the disabled output receptacles are replaced with
those output
receptacles 106 assigned to bills triggering error conditions (e.g., no calls)
are directed
such as either of the two upper output receptacles 106a-b. Alternatively, step
626 may
include selecting the particular output receptacles) 106 to replace the
disabled output
receptacles. Thereafter, the operation of the output receptacles is commenced.
At step
30 628, information concerning each of the bills is determined such bill
denomination. The
determined information is used to designate to which output receptacle a
particular bill
will be directed at step 632. For example, bills determined to be U. S. $100
bills are
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46
directed to Lower output receptacles 106h. And at step 632, the device 100
directs the bill
to the designated output receptacle 106.
Pursuant to one mode of operation, an operator can direct, via the control
unit
120 at step 602, that a batch of bills be processed such that stacks of U. S.
$ I, $5, $ I0,
$20, $50, and $100 bills are denominated, counted, authenticated, and directed
into lower
output receptacles 106c-106h, respectively. Other bills such as U.S. $2 bills,
currency
bills from other countries that have been mixed into the batch of bills, and
non-identifiable
bills (e.g., no calls) are directed to the second upper output receptacle
106b. Lastly those
U.S. $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills determined to be non-authentic
(e.g., suspect
to documents) are directed to the first upper output receptacle 106a. The
above-described
mode of operation is simply one example of the manner in which the currency
handling
machine 100 processes currency bills. The currency handling device 100 having
eight
output receptacles 106a-I06h provides a great deal of flexibility to the user.
And in other
alternative embodiments of the currency handling device 100, numerous
different
combinations for processing documents are available. Upon a user implementing
the
disable pockets routine, an output pocket - the first lower output receptacle
106c, for
example - is disabled. Accordingly, during the processing of each of the bills
in the batch
are processed as described above except that U.S. $I bills are directed into
the second
upper output receptacle I06b along with those bill determined to be strangers.
2o As indicated above, in alternative embodiments of the disable pockets
routine, the
user can designate the output receptacle to which the bills normally directed
to one or
more disabled pocket are to be directed. In such an embodiment, upon selection
of the
disable pockets routine, the device 100 may prompt the user via the user
interface 122 to
specify the alternative output receptacles) 106 to which to direct bills
otherwise directed
to the disabled output receptacles) 106. For example, using the above-
described
scenario, both U.S. $1 and $5 bills may be directed to the second lower output
receptacle
1064 when the first Lower output receptacle I06c is disabled. Such an
embodiment may
be advantageous if the user anticipates a low volume of U.S. $1 and $5 bills.
The user
can vary the output receptacles) 106 to which bills otherwise directed to
disabled output
3o receptacles are directed in a manner best suited to the particular
application.
The disable pockets routine provides a temporary solution to remedy of the
inoperability of one of the output receptacles. The users of the currency
handling device
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47
100 can continue to process currency bills while awaiting the arrival of spare
parts and/or
waiting for repairs to take place.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative
forms,
specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings
and
herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not
intended to
limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary,
the intention is to
cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the
spirit and scope of
the invention as defined by the appended claims.
