Currency handling system having multiple output receptacles

Abstract

A method and apparatus for loading a plurality of stacks of currency bills into a currency handling device employing an input receptacle having a first paddle and a second paddle, each paddle being configured to urge one or more stacks of bills towards a front end of the receptacle wherein the relative position of the first and second paddles can be alternated as to which paddle is closer to the front end of the receptacle.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of currency handling systems and, more particularly, to a multi-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 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 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 are stacked upon one another in the same output compartment leaving the operator unknowing as to which of those bills failed which tests.

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 jammed bill or bills from the device. If necessary, the operator can sometimes 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 bill jam situation is that many prior art devices are not equipped to detect the presence of a bill jam. In such a situation, the device continues to operate until the bills pile up and the bill jam is so severe that the device is physically forced to halt. This situation can cause 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 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 well as those bills already transported to the storage areas and/or storage areas have to be reprocessed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

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 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 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 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 holding areas to the corresponding storage areas upon suspension of the operation of the transport mechanism.

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. 1 a is a perspective view of a document handling device according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1 b is a front view of a document handling device according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 a is a perspective view of an evaluation region according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 b is a side view of an evaluation region according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 a is a perspective view of an input receptacle according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 b is another perspective view of an input receptacle according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 c is a top view of an input receptacle according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 d 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 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 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;

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;

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 invention;

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. 17 a 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. 17 b 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. 18 a 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. 18 b 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; and

FIG. 19 is a functional block diagram according to one embodiment of the document handling device of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1a and 1b, a multi-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 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 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, W₁, of approximately 4.52 feet (1.38 meters), a height, H₁, 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 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 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 1500 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 mechanism is capable of rotating a bill 180° so that the face position of the bill is reversed. That is, 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 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 for all of the bills ultimately delivered to the lower output receptacles 106c-106h to have the bill surface bearing the portrait of the president 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 delivered to the appropriate output receptacle 106. Further details of a facing mechanism which may be utilized for this purpose are disclosed in commonly-owned, U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,334, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, which may be employed in conjunction with the present invention such as the device illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b. Alternatively, the facing mechanism disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,303, entitled “Two Belt Bill Facing Mechanism” which was filed on Feb. 11, 2000, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, may be employed in conjunction with the present invention such as the device illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b. Other alternative embodiments of the currency handling device 100 do not include the facing mechanism 110.

The currency handling device 100 in FIG. 1a 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 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 124, 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 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 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 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 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 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 U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,795, entitled “Multi-Pocket Currency Discriminator” which was filed on Aug. 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. 1a and 1b.

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 106a-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 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 108. 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 device 100 may communicate to the user via the display/user-interface 122 in which one of the output receptacles 106a-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 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 106a,b until the batch of currency bills currently being processed is completed or the output receptacle 106a,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 commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,795, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Document Processing” which was filed on May 28, 1997, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety above, which may be employed in conjunction with the present invention such as the 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 accumulating a number of bills, while the first upper output receptacle 106a 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 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-b 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; however, in the illustrated embodiment, there are no storage cassettes associated with the upper output receptacles 106a-b.

FIGS. 2 a 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, 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, absorbabilty, 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 ultraviolet/fluorescent light scan head 418. These detection means and a host of others are disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,795, entitled “Multi-Pocket Currency Discriminator,” incorporated by reference above.

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 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 U.S. Pat. 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. 3a-3d, 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.

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 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 142b 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 of the transport mechanism 104 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 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 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 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 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 bill 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 bill jam has occurred. The processor also notifies the operator via the display/user-interface 122 of the location of the bill jam by indicating the last sensor 119 that the bill passed and generally the approximate location of the bill 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 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 bills in the input receptacle 102.

Utilizing flow control to detect bill jams is more desirable than prior art currency evaluation machines which do not detect a bill jam until a sensor is actually physically blocked. The latter method of bill 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 bill jam is detected and may cause physical damage to the bills and the machine. In order to remedy a bill 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 bill 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. 1a, 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 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 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 FIG. 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 211, 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 the shutters 211, 212 are substantially parallel. Below the gate 210 is the storage cassette 118 (not shown in FIGS. 6 and 7).

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 of bills 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 210. The quick rotation of the shutters 211, 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.

Referring now to FIG. 9, the plunger assembly 300 for selectively transferring the bills 204 from an escrow compartment 116 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, 308. Each of the shutters 211, 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, 215 and hence of the shutters 211, 212. Extension springs 218, 219 (shown in FIG. 8) tend to 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 311 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 312 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 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 313a, 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 slots 326 to enable the paddle 302 to clear the second pair of retaining tabs 350 within the storage cassette 118 (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. 11, 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 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 316, 318 coupled to the side arms 306, 308 which engage the levers 216, 217 that close the gate 210. The levers 216, 217 shown in FIG. 12 are positioned in the open position. When descending towards the storage cassette 118, the 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, 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 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 are designed to be interchangeable so that once full, a storage cassette can be easily removed from the currency handling device 100 and replaced with an empty storage cassette 118. In the illustrated embodiment, the storage cassette 118 is equipped with a handle 357 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 in FIG. 15 has stand-offs 362 to set interior wall 352 off 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 illustrated 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 of the 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 FIGS. 18a and 18b has an interior width, W₃ of approximately 4.12 inches (104.6 cm) and is sized to accommodate the largest 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 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 211, 212 is indicated by the arrows B and C, respectively. Once the paddle 302 imparts the amount of force necessary to rotate levers 216, 217, the extension springs 218, 219 quickly rotate the shutters 211, 212 downward, thus “snapping” the gate 210 open. The downward rotation of the shutters 211, 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 211, 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 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 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.

Referring 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 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 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 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 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 example, one application may require the processing of United States dollars (2.5 inches×6 inches, 6.5 cm×15.5 cm) and French currency (as large as 7.17 inches×3.82 inches, 18.2 cm×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 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 lower output receptacles, 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 lower output receptacle 106f, French currency is delivered to the fifth lower output receptacle 106g, and German currency is delivered to the sixth lower output receptacle 106h. 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, 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 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 of the 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 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 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 present invention, the processors are Motorola processors, model number 86HC16, manufactured by Motorola, Inc. of Schaumburg, Ill. Each of the processors are linked to a central controller via a general purpose communications controller disposed on 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, N.Y. 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 106g,h are paired together. Each of the lower output 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 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 along the transport mechanism 104, also tied into these three remaining PCBs.

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 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 102 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 116 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 integrity of the bill count is maintained because the flow control routine rapidly determines the presence of a bill jam within the 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 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 116 where the bill jam has not occurred are transported to the respective storage cassettes 118.

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 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. 19, the operation of the bill jam reconciliation process will be described in connection with the illustrated functional 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 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 202 (“ER Count” in FIG. 19) assigned to each escrow region 116 maintains a count of the number of bills transported into each escrow region 116. After a 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 cassette counter 204 (“SC Count” in FIG. 19) 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 region count and the storage cassette count, the escrow region counter 202 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 bills transported 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 202a-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 202 is added to the storage cassette bill count 204. The operator of the currency handling device 100 can then clear the bill jam and 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 mechanism 104.

The ability of the currency handling device 100 to transport those bills already processed into the escrow regions 116 and into the storage cassettes 118 while maintaining the integrity of the bill counts 202,204 with respect to each output receptacle 106c-h is a significant improvement resulting in appreciable time savings over prior art 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 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 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 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 inefficiencies 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 escrow regions 116 as well as the time required to re-process the bills pulled from the escrow regions 116.

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.

Claims

1. A method for loading a plurality of stacks of currency bills into a currency handling device, the currency handling device having an input receptacle configured to receive a plurality of stacks of currency bills, the input receptacle having a front end and a back end, bills being feed into the device from the front end of the receptacle, the input receptacle having a first paddle and a second paddle each being configured to urge the plurality of stacks of bills towards the front end of the input receptacle, the method comprising the acts of: retracting the first paddle towards the back end of the receptacle;placing a first stack of currency bills in the input receptacle between the first paddle and the front end of the input receptacle;releasing the first paddle, the first paddle urging the first stack of bills towards the front end of the receptacle;retracting the second paddle from a position in front of the first paddle towards the back end of the receptacle and behind the first paddle;placing a second stack of currency bills in the input receptacle between the first paddle and the second paddle;releasing the second paddle, the second paddle urging the second stack of bills towards the front end of the receptacle and into the back of the first paddle;removing the first paddle from being in between the first and the second stack of bills thereby forming a combined stack; andthe second paddle urging the combined stack of currency bills towards the front end of the receptacle.

2. A method for loading a plurality of stacks of currency bills into a currency handling device, the currency handling device having an input receptacle being configured to receive a plurality of stacks of currency bills, the input receptacle having a front end and a back end, bills being feed into the device from the front end of the input receptacle, the input receptacle having a first paddle and a second paddle each being configured to urge the stacked bills towards the front end of the input receptacle, the method comprising the acts of: retracting the first and the second paddle towards the back end of the receptacle;placing a first stack of currency bills in the input receptacle between the first paddle and the front end of the input receptacle;releasing the first and the second paddle so that the first paddle presses up against the first stack of bills and the second paddle presses against the first paddle;the first paddle urging the first stack of bills towards the front end of the receptacle;retracting the second paddle towards the back end of the receptacle;placing a second stack of currency bills in the input receptacle between the first paddle and the second paddle;positioning the second paddle against the second stack of bills so that the second stack of bills presses against the first paddle;the second paddle urging the second stack of bills towards the front end of the receptacle and into the first paddle;removing the first paddle from being in between the first and second stacks of bills so that the first and the second stacks of bills form a combined stack;the second paddle urging the combined stack of bills towards the front end of the receptacle; positioning the first paddle behind the second paddle.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the acts of: retracting the first paddle towards the back end of the receptacle;placing a third stack of bills in the input receptacle between the first paddle and the second paddle;positioning the first paddle against the third stack of bills so that the third stack of bills presses against the second paddle.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising the act of: removing the second paddle from being in between the second and third stacks of bills so to form a second combined stack;the first paddle urging the second combined stack of bills towards the front end of the receptacle.

5. An apparatus for feeding a plurality of stacked currency bills into a currency handling device, the apparatus comprising: an input receptacle configured to receive a plurality of stacked currency bills, the receptacle having a first and a second side, a front end and a back end;a feeder mechanism positioned near the front end of the receptacle, the feeder mechanism being configured to transfer the bills, one at a time, from the receptacle to the currency handling device;a first rigid member disposed along the first side;a second rigid member disposed along the second side;a first paddle coupled to the first rigid member, the first paddle being configured to contact a first plurality of stacked bills;a second paddle coupled to the second rigid member, the second paddle being configured to contact a second plurality of stacked bills;a first resilient member coupled to the first paddle, the first resilient member being configured to bias the first paddle towards the feeder mechanism at the front end of the input receptacle; anda second resilient member coupled to the second paddle, the second resilient member being configured to bias the second paddle towards the front end of the input receptacle.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein: the first paddle is pivotally and slidably engaged to the first rigid member; andthe second paddle is pivotally and slidably engaged to the second rigid member.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein: the first paddle is coupled to the first rigid member in a manner such that the first paddle may move toward the front end and toward the back end of the input receptacle:the second paddle is coupled to the second rigid member in a manner such that the second paddle may move toward the front end and toward the back end of the input receptacle; andthe first and second paddles are coupled to the respective first and second rigid members such that the positions of the first and second paddles may be varied with respect to which paddle is closer to the front end of the input receptacle such that the first paddle may be moved from being located in between to the front end of the input receptacle and the second paddle and being located between the second paddle and the back end of the input receptacle and such that the second paddle may be moved from being located between the first paddle and the back end of the input receptacle and being located in between to the front end of the input receptacle and the first paddle.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein: the first paddle is coupled to the first rigid member in a manner such that the first paddle may move toward the front end and toward the back end of the input receptacle:the second paddle is coupled to the second rigid member in a manner such that the second paddle may move toward the front end and toward the back end of the input receptacle; andthe first and second paddles are coupled to the respective first and second rigid members such that the positions of the first and second paddles may be varied with respect to which paddle is closer to the front end of the input receptacle such that the first paddle may be moved from being located in between to the front end of the input receptacle and the second paddle and being located between the second paddle and the back end of the input receptacle and such that the second paddle may be moved from being located between the first paddle and the back end of the input receptacle and being located in between to the front end of the input receptacle and the first paddle.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising a handle attached to the first paddle and a handle attached to the second paddle.

10. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising: at least one track disposed in a floor of the receptacle, the track having a width;at least one channel disposed in a bottom surface of the first paddle, the width of the channel being slightly larger than the width of the track, the channel being configured to fit around the track, the channel being configured to slide along the track; andat least one channel disposed in a bottom surface of the second paddle, the width of the channel being slightly larger than the width of the track, the channel being configured to fit around the track, the channel being configured to slide along the track.

11. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the first paddle is coupled to a first advance mechanism and wherein the second paddle is coupled to a second advance mechanism.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first and second advance mechanisms each comprise a tubular portion having an opening extending from a first end to a second end; wherein the first rigid member extends through the opening in the first advance mechanism;wherein the first advance mechanism is pivotally and slidably engaged to the first rigid member;wherein the second rigid member extends through the opening in the second advance mechanism; andwherein the second advance mechanism is pivotally and slidably engaged to the second rigid member.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first resilient member is a spring coupled to the first advance mechanism and wherein the second resilient member is a spring coupled to the second advance mechanism.

14. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the first paddle has a bottom surface, the apparatus further comprising a roller attached to the first paddle, the roller extending slightly beyond the bottom surface of the of the first paddle, the roller being configured to roll along the floor of the receptacle as the first paddle urges the plurality of stacked bills towards the feeder mechanism and wherein the second paddle has a bottom surface, the apparatus further comprising a roller attached to the second paddle, the roller extending slightly beyond the bottom surface of the of the second paddle, the roller being configured to roll along the floor of the receptacle as the second paddle urges the plurality of stacked bills towards the feeder mechanism.

15. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the feeder mechanism comprises at least one stripping wheel.

16. A method for loading a plurality of stacks of currency bills into a currency handling device, the currency handling device having an input receptacle configured to receive a plurality of stacks of currency bills, the input receptacle having a front end and a back end, the input receptacle having a feeder mechanism near the front end of the input receptacle, the feeder mechanism being configured to transfer the bills, one at a time, from the receptacle into the currency handling device, the input receptacle having a first paddle and a second paddle each being configured to urge stacked bills towards the feeder mechanism, the method comprising the acts of: retracting the first paddle towards the back end of the receptacle;placing a first stack of currency bills in the input receptacle between the first paddle and the feeder mechanism;releasing the first paddle so that the first paddle presses up against the first stack of bills, the first paddle urging the first stack of bills towards the front end of the receptacle;retracting the second paddle towards the back end of the receptacle;placing a second stack of currency bills in the input receptacle between the first paddle and the second paddle;positioning the second paddle against the second stack of bills so that the second stack of bills presses against the first paddle;the second paddle urging the second stack of bills towards the front end of the receptacle and into the first paddle;upwardly pivoting the first paddle out of the input receptacle so that the first and the second stacks of bills form a combined stack;the second paddle urging the combined stack of currency bills towards the front end of the receptacle;retracting the first paddle towards the back end of the receptacle;downwardly pivoting the first paddle into the input receptacle; andpositioning the first paddle behind the second paddle.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the feeder mechanism comprises at least one stripping wheel.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the receptacle has a floor, and the first and the second paddle each have at least one channel disposed therein configured to slide along a corresponding track disposed in the floor of the receptacle.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the first and the second paddle each have a handle attached thereto.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the input receptacle has a floor, and wherein the first and the second paddle each have a roller attached thereto, the roller being configured to roll along a floor of the receptacle.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein the input receptacle further includes a first spring coupled to the first paddle and a second spring coupled to the second paddle, the first and second springs each being configured to urge the first and second paddles, respectively, towards the feeder mechanism.

22. The method of claim 16 wherein the first paddle is coupled to a first advance mechanism and wherein the first advance mechanism is pivotally and slidably engaged to a first rigid member positioned adjacent to a first side of the input receptacle and extending from a position near the front end of the input receptacle to a position near the back end of the input receptacle and wherein the act of retracting the first paddle towards the back end of the receptacle comprises sliding the first advance mechanism along the first rigid member towards the back end of the receptacle.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the second paddle is coupled to a second advance mechanism and wherein the second advance mechanism is pivotally and slidably engaged to a second rigid member positioned adjacent to a second, opposing side of the input receptacle and extending from a position near the front end of the input receptacle to a position near the back end of the input receptacle and wherein the act of retracting the second paddle towards the back end of the receptacle comprises sliding the second advance mechanism along the second rigid member towards the back end of the receptacle.