Patent Grant
7726457
The present invention relates to currency bill processing. Specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus for currency bill denominating, authenticating, imaging and/or sorting.
A variety of techniques and apparatus have been used in automated or semi-automated currency handling systems. Many of these systems have been very large-too large for the operator to be close to the input receptacle, operating panel, and output receptacles while remaining in one position. Therefore, a need exists for a system that is more compact so that the operator can be in close proximity to the input receptacle, output receptacle, and operating panel while remaining in one position.
Previous attempts to solve this problem have focused on stacking output receptacles in one of two ways; vertically stacking output receptacles relative to the input receptacle, or horizontally stacking output receptacles relative to the input receptacle. The problem these machines faced is that after a few output receptacles are arranged in a vertical manner, the system is too tall for the operator to use while sitting down. The systems arranging the output receptacles horizontally became too wide to use while seated or standing in one position.
Additionally, the existing systems for sorting currency have been expensive. Accordingly, there is a need for a currency sorter which is more affordable.
In some embodiments, a compact multi-pocket sorter for receiving a stack of currency bills and rapidly evaluating all the bills in the stack is provided. The device has an input receptacle for receiving a stack of bills to be evaluated and a number of output receptacles for receiving the bills after the bills have been evaluated. A transport mechanism transports bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path to one of the output receptacles. A discriminating unit evaluates the bills, determining certain information concerning the bills. In some embodiments, at least one output receptacle is located to the left of the input receptacle and at least one output receptacle is located to the right of the input receptacle. Arranging the output receptacles on both the right and left of the input receptacle allows the output receptacles to be located in closer proximity to the input receptacle.
In some embodiments, a compact multi-pocket sorter for receiving a stack of currency bills and rapidly evaluating all the bills in the stack is provided. The device has an input receptacle for receiving a stack of bills to be evaluated and a number of output receptacles for receiving the bills after the bills have been evaluated. A transport mechanism transports bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path to one of the output receptacles. A discriminating unit evaluates the bills, determining certain information concerning the bills. In some embodiments, at least one output receptacle is located to the left or right side of the input receptacle. The transport mechanism is adapted to transport bills from the input receptacle to the output receptacle located to the left or right side of the input receptacle in a manner such that the leading edge of a bill is maintained throughout the transportation of the bill.
The present invention relates, in general, to document processing devices. In some embodiments, a currency processing device for receiving and evaluating a stack of currency bills is provided. The currency processing device comprises an input receptacle for receiving a stack of bills to be evaluated, a plurality of output receptacles for receiving bills after the bills have been evaluated laterally offset from said input receptacle, an imager for capturing an image of each bill, the captured image being used for at least one of authenticating, counting, and determining the denomination of the bills, a first bill rotating mechanism for rotating the currency bills around an axis passing through the leading and trailing edges of the currency bills and orthogonal to the those edges, and a second bill rotating mechanism for rotating the currency bills around an axis passing through the leading and trailing edges of the currency bills and orthogonal to those edges so that the leading edge of a currency bill is aligned with said output receptacles.
In some embodiments, a method of processing currency bills is provided. In some embodiments, the method comprises moving currency bills from a stack of bills placed in an input receptacle to a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from said input receptacle, capturing an image of at least one surface of the currency bills, creating a control signal based on the captured image of the currency bills, rotating the bills 90° around an axis extending orthogonally through the leading and trailing edges of the bills, and moving the rotated bills laterally toward one of said plurality of output receptacles based on the control signal.
The above summary describes some exemplary embodiments and is not intended to and does not describe all embodiments.
a is a perspective view of a multi-pocket currency sorter device having eight output receptacles according to one embodiment of the present invention.
b illustrates the sorter of
c is a generalized block diagram of a multi-pocket sorter.
d is a block diagram of a device having an imager.
e illustrates a configuration of a portion of a device having an imager according to an embodiment of the present invention.
f is a perspective view illustrating a multi-pocket currency sorter having an imager according to one embodiment of the present invention.
g is a block diagram of various components of a sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
a illustrates an example of a bill which may be processed according to some embodiments of the present invention.
b is a top view of an input receptacle and a laterally offset output receptacle according to one embodiment of the present invention.
a is a perspective view of the currency bill flow sequence within the compact multi-pocket device of
b is a perspective view of the currency bill flow sequence within the compact multi-pocket device of
a illustrates one embodiment of a bill rotating mechanism.
b is a side view of one embodiment of horizontal transport mechanisms.
c is a frontal, downward looking perspective view of a portion of transport mechanism according to one embodiment.
d is a front view of a portion of one embodiment of a transport mechanism.
e is a top view of a portion of one embodiment of a transport mechanism.
f is a side view of a portion of one embodiment of a transport mechanism.
a is a top view of an input hopper showing a two-edge alignment of bills.
b is a top view of an input hopper showing a one-edge alignment of bills.
a is a perspective view of a ten output pocket currency sorter according to one embodiment.
b is a front view of the sorter of
c is a side view of the sorter of
a is a front view of a six pocket sorter according to one embodiment.
b is a front view of a six pocket sorter according to one embodiment.
a is a front view of a ten pocket sorter according to one embodiment.
b is a front view of a ten pocket sorter according to one embodiment.
a is a perspective view of a nine pocket currency sorter according to one embodiment.
b is a front view of the sorter of
c is a right side view of the sorter of
d is a top view of the sorter of
a is a perspective view of a currency bill flow sequence within the sorter of
b is a rear view of a currency bill flow sequence within the sorter of
c is a side view of a currency bill flow sequence within the sorter of
d is a perspective view of a currency bill flow sequence within the sorter of
a is a perspective view of a currency evaluating unit adapted to be coupled to modular output receptacle units.
b is a perspective view of a modular output receptacle unit.
a is a perspective view of an operator sitting in front of one embodiment of a sorter according to the present invention.
b is a front view of the sorter of
c is a side view of the sorter of
a is a perspective view of the currency bill flow sequence of an embodiment through a sorter wherein the leading edge of a bill changes.
b is a perspective view of the currency bill flow sequence of an embodiment through a sorter wherein the leading edge of a bill changes illustrating an exemplary location of an imager.
a is a perspective view of one embodiment of a multi-pocket currency sorter or processing device 100. The device 100 has an input hopper or receptacle 102 adapted to receive a stack of currency bills to be processed. In some embodiments, the input hopper has a capacity of approximately 700 to approximately 800 currency bills. The device 100 also comprises a number of output receptacles or pockets which are laterally offset from the input hopper 102. As depicted in
The device also comprises a transport mechanism adapted to transport bills, one at a time, from the input hopper 102 to one or more of the output receptacles 116, 118 based on one or more criteria. The device comprises one or more sensors which can be employed to count, denominate, authenticate, image, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, analyze and/or image the bills. The results of the above process or processes may be used to determine to which output receptacle 116,118 a bill is to be directed. In general, the one or more sensors which are employed to count, denominate, authenticate, image, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, analyze and/or image the bills in conjunction with one or more processors associated with these sensors may be referred to as a discriminating unit and the location or locations of the sensors along a transport path may be referred to an examination region or regions. In some embodiments, all these sensors may be located in close proximity so as to define a single examination or evaluation region while in other embodiments the sensors may be located in different regions along the transport path so that several examination regions exist.
For example, the device 100 may be adapted to determine the denomination of the bills placed into the input hopper and then sort the bills into the various output receptacles based on their denomination, e.g., $1 bills may be routed to pocket 116a, $2 bills to pocket 116b, $5 bills to pocket 116c, $10 bills to pocket 116d, $20 bills to pocket 118a, $50 bills to pocket 118b, and $100 bills to pocket 118c. In some embodiments, pocket 118d may be used as a reject pocket and used to receive bills or documents which cannot be denominated as having one of the above seven U.S. denominations, bills suspected to be counterfeit (suspect bills), and/or bills or documents meeting or failing to meet some other criterion.
According to some embodiments currency bills are placed in the input receptacle 102 with their wide edges generally parallel to the front of the machine, that is parallel to the X-axis as indicated in
b illustrates the sorter 100 of
c is a generalized block diagram of a device 100a such as device 100. Bills are transported from an input receptacle 102a past one or more sensor of a discriminating unit 106 and to one of a plurality of output receptacles 117. The device 100a may have any of a variety configurations. In general, the device 100a may be configured as described in connection with
a illustrates an example of a bill 200 that may be processed according to some embodiments of the present invention. The bill is rectangular and has four edges, two wide edges 200a and 200c and two narrow edges 200b and 200d. In the example illustrated in
Turning to
A bill 200 is shown as having been placed in the input hopper 202. The input hopper 202 is generally rectangular in shape having a wide rear side 202a that is parallel to a wide front side 202c and a narrow right side 202b that is parallel to a narrow left side 202d. The front side 202c is the side from which bills are inserted into the input hopper 202 by an operator (i.e., the front side 202c is closest to the operator inserting bills into the input hopper 202). The bill 200 also has a rectangular shape having two wide sides 200a and 200c and two narrow sides 200b and 200d. Similar to the input hopper 202, the output receptacle 208 is generally rectangular in shape having a wide rear side 208a that is parallel to a wide front side 208c and a narrow right side 208b that is parallel to a narrow left side 208b.
Bills are fed from the rear side 202a of the input hopper 202 in the direction indicated by arrow A2 such that the leading edge 200a of the bill(s) 200 is the wide edge 200a of the bill. The bills 200 are transported from the input hopper 200 and delivered to the output receptacle 208 by a transport mechanism, which is described in detail below in connection with
The output receptacle 208 has been described as being “laterally offset.” The term “laterally offset” describes the physical location of an output receptacle 208 relative to the input hopper 202 using the initial direction of bill travel (A2 in
While
In other embodiments of the present invention, the center CO of the output receptacle 208 may be laterally offset to the right or to the left of the center CI of the input hopper 202. In
Bills exiting the left end of the left-horizontal-transport mechanism 320 enter a left-vertical-currency-bill-rotating mechanism 340 at the bottom 340b and then are transported upward toward the top 340a of the vertical-rotating mechanism 340. The bills are rotated during this upward movement through the left-rotating mechanism 340.
In a similar fashion, bills exiting the right end of the right-horizontal-transport mechanism 330 enter a right-vertical-currency-bill-rotating mechanism 350 at the bottom 350b and then are transported upward toward the top 350a of the vertical-rotating mechanism 340. The bills are rotated during this upward movement through the left-rotating mechanism 340.
The left-horizontal-transport mechanism 320 and the left-vertical-currency-bill-rotating mechanism 340 make up a left section 360L of the transport mechanism 300. The right-horizontal-transport bed 330 and the right-vertical-currency-bill-rotating mechanism 350 make up right section 360R of the transport mechanism 300.
Turning now to
A currency bill then moves from location I to location II along the upward path indicated by locations 402a-402d. The movement of the center of a bill moving from location 402a to 402b to 402c and to 402d can be specified with its changes along the Z-axis (vertical as viewed in
According to some embodiments, the evaluation region or regions are located between locations I and II. For example,
The leading edge 200a of a bill moves upward and backward (i.e., into the page) from location I to location II until it is turned in a downward direction at location II disposed at the top 310a of the vertical-rotating mechanism 310. A currency bill is then fed downward from location II to location III. As a currency bill is fed downward, it is rotated about a line parallel to the Z-axis while following the path indicated by locations 402f-402h as shown. That is, the leading edge 200a is rotated from being parallel to the X-axis to not being parallel to the X-axis. In the embodiment illustrated in
When a currency bill reaches the lower limit of travel, indicated by location III, the rotation is complete and the leading edge 200a of the bill is now parallel to the Y-axis. The currency bill may be diverted in the X-direction either to the left toward location 404 or to the right toward location 407 by diverting the leading edge 200a of the bill about a line parallel to the Y-axis.
According to some embodiments, a bill diverted to the left travels horizontally from location III toward location IV. The movement of the center of a bill 400 moving between locations III and IV can be specified with its change along the X-axis (their being no changes in the Z-axis in this example given that the transport direction is horizontal—see e.g., the embodiment of
At the end of the horizontal path, the currency bill is diverted upwards at location IV to vertical path 410. During the upward feed (between locations IV and V) a currency bill is rotated as shown at 406a and 406b until the wide leading edge 200a of the currency bill is again parallel to the X-axis. More specifically, as a currency bill is fed upward, it is rotated about a line parallel to the Z-axis while following path 410. That is, the leading edge 200a is rotated from being parallel to the Y-axis to not being parallel to the Y-axis. In the embodiment illustrated in
At the top of the upward travel, indicated by location V, the leading edge 200a of a currency bill is diverted about a line parallel to the X-axis. As illustrated in
Returning to location III and with respect to a bill diverted to the right toward location 407, the transportation is similar to that described above with respect to a bill diverted to the left at location III. According to some embodiments, a bill diverted to the right travels horizontally from location III toward location VII. The movement of the center of a bill moving between locations III and IV can be specified with its change along the X-axis (their being no changes in the Z-axis in this example given that the transport direction is horizontal). During this portion of the transport mechanism, the location of the center of the bill does not change with respect to the Y-axis (front to back). Due to the direction of motion of the center of a bill between locations III and VII and the leading edge 200a being parallel to the Y-axis, the direction of the bill movement of the center of the bill can be altered by diverting the leading edge 200a of the bill about a line parallel to the Y-axis. Such diversion of the leading edge 200a about a line parallel to the Y-axis can change the direction of motion of the bill as defined by the X and Z axes (left/right and up/down), but does not change the direction of the bill with respect to the Y-axis (front/back). Throughout the movement of the bill from location III to location VII, the leading edge 200a of the bill remains parallel to the Y-axis.
At the end of the horizontal path, the currency bill 400 is diverted upwards at location VII to vertical path 412. During the upward feed (between locations VII and VIII) a currency bill is rotated as shown at 408a and 408b until the wide leading edge 200a of the currency bill is again parallel to the X-axis as shown at location 406b. More specifically, as a currency bill is fed upward, it is rotated about a line parallel to the Z-axis while following path 412. That is, the leading edge 200a is rotated from being parallel to the Y-axis to not being parallel to the Y-axis. In the embodiment illustrated in
At the upper-most point of the right side, indicated by location VIII, the leading edge 200a of a currency bill is diverted about a line parallel to the X-axis. As illustrated in
As is apparent from the above discussion and
One example of a bill rotating mechanism 510 that may be used as the bill rotating mechanism 312 of
Starting from the inlet end 510a of the mechanism 510, the first belt 512 is disposed about a first roller 522 and the second belt 514 is disposed about a second roller 526. The first roller 522 is disposed adjacent to the second roller 526. Each roller 522, 526 is connected to and rotates about a respective shaft 527. In the embodiment illustrated in
At the outlet end 510b of the rotating mechanism 510, a second end of the first belt 512 is disposed about a third roller 524 and a second end of the second belt 514 is disposed about a fourth roller 528. The third roller 524 is disposed adjacent to the fourth roller 528. Each roller 524, 528 is connected to and rotates about a respective shaft 529. In the embodiment illustrated in
As described above, the second or bottom end of the first and the second belts 512, 514 are twisted approximately 90° with respect to a first or upper end of the first and the second belts 512, 514.
According to some embodiments, the adjacent surfaces of belts 512, 514 are in contact with each other where no bill is located therebetween. The complementary rotation of the belts 512, 514 (here the adjacent surfaces both moving in a downward direction as viewed in
In the illustrated embodiment, a currency bill 200 is transported through the rotating mechanism 510 with the long or wide edge 200a of the currency bill 200 leading. The width of the bill 200 is greater than the width of the first and the second belts 512, 514 causing a significant portion of the currency bill 200 to overhang each edge of the belts 512, 514. Because of the high processing rate at which the currency bill handling devices described herein can operate (e.g., 800 to 1600 bills per minute), a significant angular velocity is imparted to a currency bill directed through the rotating mechanism 510b. For example, some embodiments of the currency handling devices described herein are operated at speeds in excess of 1200 currency bills per minute. The differences in air pressures acting on the front and the back surfaces areas of the currency bill 200 as the bill is twisted or rotated can cause the bill 200 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 currency bill stiffness is degraded due to wear resulting from heavy usage. Additionally, currency bills are often folded in a variety of manners which may cause a currency bill to be biased in a certain direction such that the currency bill will not lie flat under its own weight.
According to some embodiments, it is preferable for the currency bill 200 to be transported through the rotating mechanism 510 (and the currency handling device 100) in a substantially flat manner. If the bill 200 is not substantially flat when traveling, either into the bill rotating mechanism 510 at inlet end 510a or out of the rotating mechanism 510 at outlet end 510b, there is a possibility that the bill may become skewed or jammed.
According to some embodiments, the currency bill rotating mechanism 510 also comprises two guides 532, 534 disposed along the transport path 516. In some embodiments the guides 532 and 534 may be made of a rigid material. The guides 532, 534 provide support to portions of the currency bill 200 that overhang the belts 512, 514. These guides 532, 534 aid in preventing a bill from folding during its transport through the rotating mechanism 510. These guides can also aid in maintaining a bill in a substantially flat manner during its transport through the rotating mechanism 510.
In the embodiment illustrated in
Referring now to
The upper belt unit 546 and the lower belt unit 556 are disposed so that the opposing surfaces of each belt 580a-c (or 580a-d) of the upper unit 546 and 590a-c (or 590a-d) of the lower unit 556 come in contact with each other and form a currency bill transport path 558 therebetween. In the embodiment illustrated in
Although
Although
Referring now to
There are sensors throughout the transport mechanism 300 which track the flow of the currency bills. In response to sorting criterion or criteria, a controller may generate a control signal causing the diverter 561 to divert a particular bill to either the left or right transport path. The control signal may be generated, at least on part, on data derived from one or more sensors which are employed to count, denominate, authenticate, determine fitness, image, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze and/or image a particular bill. A currency bill diverted to the left transport mechanism 520 is depicted by bill 564 in
The currency bills are transported along the transport path 558 of the selected transport mechanism 320/520 or 330/530 as shown by, for example, bill 560 in
According to some embodiments, the portion of the transport mechanism 300 depicted in
The input path (the path from location I to location II shown in
According to some embodiments, one or more sensors which can be employed to count, denominate, authenticate, determine fitness, image, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills may be disposed between locations I and II. Examples of a variety of such sensors (e.g., magnetic sensors, thread sensors, ultraviolet/fluorescent sensors, image sensors, etc.) are described or referred to in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,687,963; 6,311,819; 6,278,795 B1; 6,256,407; 6,363,164; and 6,661,910; as well as in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/379,365, which was filed Mar. 4, 2003 and entitled “Currency Processing System with Fitness Detection” and Ser. No. 10/684,027, which was filed Oct. 10, 2003 and entitled “Multi-Wavelength Currency Authentication System and Method”—all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Fitness detection/evaluation may include the evaluation of a bill's limpness and/or the detection of the presence of soil, tape, holes, tears, missing corners, and/or graffiti.
Additionally or alternatively, the device may contain one or more imagers or image sensors adapted to retrieve the image of all or a portion or portions of one or both surfaces of passing currency bills. These image sensors may be co-located or remote from the other sensors described above. In other embodiments, the image sensors 108 may replace one or more of the various additional sensors.
Sensors which generate data which are used to count, denominate, authenticate, determine fitness and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills, whether they are image sensors or non-image sensors, will collectively be referred to as bill or document characteristic sensors. The discriminating unit comprises one or more characteristic sensors.
According to some embodiments, data from the image sensors may be stored internally and/or externally to the device 100 such that the image of all or a portion of currency bills and/or other documents which have been imaged by the device 100 may be reproduced. For example, in some embodiments, where a bill has been imaged, a detailed image of the bill may be reproduced, for example, on a computer monitor and/or printed. According to some embodiments the image is of such quality as to be human readable, e.g., the image is similar in quality to that generated by a photocopier or facsimile machine.
d is a block diagram of a device 100b such as device 100 or 100a having an imager 106a. Bills are transported from an input receptacle 102 past the imager 106a and to one of a plurality of output receptacles 117. The device 100a may have any of a variety configurations. For example,
The imager 106a may include one or more image sensors as discussed above. For example, the imager 106a may include one or more image sensors for recording images of the currency bills as they are passed through the transport mechanism. According to some embodiments, the imager 106a captures, via an imaging camera and/or scanner, an electronic image of all or part of one or both sides of a passing currency bill. The imager 106a may provide either raw image data or an image file to a controller or processor. Processing of the raw image data may be performed by the controller or at another location.
The electronic image may be analyzed by software for an indicia, such as a serial number, watermark, etc., to determine the validity, denomination, etc. of the currency bill. Once the validity, denomination, etc. is determined from the image, a control signal may be sent to various portions of the device 100, such as diverters, for routing the currency bill to the appropriate output receptacle. After processing, the electronic image may be stored on one or more storage media, such as hard drives, CD-ROMs, or DVDs, for example all of which may be co-located with the device 100, remote from the device 100, or pluggable/portable. Moreover, the image of a currency bill or other document may also be electronically indexed or cross-referenced, simplifying future image retrieval and archiving.
Once the image is captured, data may be extracted from the image and appended to the image file to aid in retrieval or searching of image files as noted above. In other embodiments, data such as transaction data, location data, time stamp data, employee ID data, currency bill serial numbers, etc. may be appended to the image file for indexing and searching purposes. In addition, the extracted data or additional data may be maintained separate from the image file and used by other portions of systems utilized in conjunction with the document processing device 100.
According to some embodiments, data derived from the imager 106a is used to denominate, authenticate, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, data derived from the imager 106a is used, in conjunction with data derived from other sensors, to denominate, authenticate, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills. In some embodiments, the imager 106a is used to simply obtain images of passing documents, e.g., for storage and/or subsequent retrieval purposes, while other sensors obtain the data used to denominate, authenticate, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills. In some embodiments, the imager 106a is used to both obtain images of passing documents, e.g., for storage and/or subsequent retrieval purposes, and also to denominate; authenticate, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills, alone or in conjunction with data derived from other sensors.
e illustrates a detailed view of an imager 106a in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. As noted above, the imager 106a may include one or more sensors 108 for capturing images of the currency bill. In the depicted embodiment, the imager 106a includes an upper image sensor 108a for capturing an image of all or part of the upper side of a currency bill and a lower image sensor 108b for capturing an image of all or part of the lower side of a currency bill. Additional or fewer image sensors 108 may be incorporated as desired. The image sensors 108 may be optical scanheads that may, for example, line or contact image scan an optical characteristic of the currency bill to identify the denomination. Associated with each image sensor 108 is an imaging sensor printed circuit board (PCB) 110. In the depicted embodiment an upper imaging sensor PCB 110a is associated with the upper image sensor 108a and a lower imaging sensor PCB 110b is associated with the lower image sensor 108b, although other arrangements are possible.
f is a perspective view illustrating of a multi-pocket currency sorter 100b having an imager 106a according to one embodiment of the present invention.
g illustrates a block diagram of various components of the device 100a. The imager 106a, as noted above, may include one or more upper and/or lower image sensors 108. In addition, the imager 106a may include various additional sensors 112 that may also be located along an upper, lower, or both sides of the transport path between locations I and II as noted in more detail with reference to
According to some embodiments, the currency bills inserted into an input hopper only need to be aligned along the wide edge of the currency bill for the compact multi-pocket device 100 to function correctly. According to other embodiments, the input hopper has adjustable side walls that remain centered with the center of the input hopper as the walls are adjusted so that bills placed therein are aligned with the center of the input hopper. In such an embodiment, each bill within a stack of bills placed in the input hopper does not need to be precisely aligned with the center of the input hopper. The transport mechanism will tolerate—be able to handle—some left/right shifting of the bills. Likewise, in some embodiments wherein bills are aligned with a left or right wall of the input hopper, precise aliment is not necessary as the transport mechanism will tolerate some shifting of the bills.
In some sorters, an operator is required to align two edges of bills placed into an input hopper 602 along two edges of the bills such as edges 200a and 200b shown in
According to some embodiments, the input hopper is adapted to accept bills with their wide edge parallel to the front of the machine. Such an arrangement does not require the operator holding a stack of bills about the middle of the bills with the palm of the hand extending over a wide edge of the bills to have to twist his or her wrist to insert the stack of bills into the hopper as would be the case if the input hopper required bills to inserted such that a narrow edge of the bills was parallel to the front of the machine.
According to other embodiments, the input hopper is adapted to accept bills with their narrow edge parallel to the front of the machine—see, e.g.,
a is a perspective view,
Although not illustrated, other embodiments are also contemplated within the present invention. For example, starting with the ten pocket embodiment of
Where the number of left or right output receptacles is zero, the width, footprint, and volume of the overall device can be correspondingly reduced. For example, where no left output pockets are provided, the width W1L shown in
In other embodiments, two or more columns of pockets are provided to the left and/or right of the input hopper. For example,
Furthermore, more than four output receptacles may be included in a column of pockets. For example, by increasing the height of the sorter, five left and/or right and three center pockets may be included increasing the total number of pockets up to thirteen (5-3-5 arrangement). Likewise, six left and/or right pockets and four center pockets may be provided and thereby increase the total number of pockets up to sixteen (6-4-6 arrangement). Additional details of columns having from two to six pockets are provided in to in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,311,819 and 6,278,795 B1; each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. More output receptacles per column are also contemplated such as, for example, columns containing seven or eight output receptacles.
Additionally, not all or any of the output receptacles need to be on the same side of the sorter as the input hopper.
a is a perspective view,
Referring primarily to
Having been re-oriented to have its leading edge be parallel to the Y-axis, the bill may be diverted left or right in the x-direction. As illustrated in
Returning to
If a bill is to be routed to one of the output receptacles in column 1210 it would not be directed downward at location II but rather would be directed to location 1334 and then downward at location 1336. A rotating mechanism then re-orients the leading edge of the bill from being parallel to the Y-axis (location 1338) to being parallel to the X-axis (location 1342). A bill is then routed to one of the output receptacles in column 1210 in the same manner as described in conjunction with column 1206.
d illustrates the movement of a currency bill through an optional bill facing mechanism 1250 (
According to one embodiment the bill facing mechanism 1250 comprises a part of twisted endless belts as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,303 (“Two Belt Bill Facing Mechanism”), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Referring to both
While the bill facing mechanism 1250 has been shown and described as a facing mechanism consisting of a pair of belts for rotating the orientation of the bills, other types of facing mechanisms may be used in alternative embodiments of the currency processing device of the present invention. For example, the document facing mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,334 (“Document Facing Method and Apparatus”), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, may be implemented in connection with alternative embodiments of the present invention.
a is a perspective view of a currency evaluating unit 1400 adapted to be coupled to one or more modular output receptacle units 1470.
In the embodiment illustrated in
The currency evaluating unit 1400 is adapted to be coupled to one or more modular output receptacle units 1470 and thereby deliver bills to the output receptacles contained in the modular output receptacle unit(s). For example, if modular output receptacle unit 1470 were coupled to the right side of currency evaluating unit 1400, port 1401 would mate with a port 1471 on the left side of unit 1470 so as to permit bills to be transported from the evaluating unit 1401 to unit 1470. Units 1400 and 1470 may also comprise mating structural couplings to facilitate a strong physical coupling between the units. Units 1400 and 1470 may also comprise means for electrically coupling the two units so as to at least provide a means for the evaluating unit 1400 to send control signals to the output receptacle unit 1470 to indicate to which output receptacle within the output receptacle unit 1470 a particular bill is to be directed. One example of such an electronic coupling means is illustrated as jack 1409 which may be adapted to mate with a jack 1479 of an output receptacle unit 1470. As illustrated in
In some embodiments, additional modular output receptacle units may be added as needed. For example, two, three, or more output receptacle units 1470 may be coupled in series to either the left or the right of a currency evaluating unit 1400. Likewise, a series of one or more modular output receptacle units 1470 may be added to both sides of a currency evaluating unit 1400. Likewise, in some embodiments, delivery ports are included in the previously described embodiments (e.g., those described in connection with
While in the illustrated examples discussed above, the input receptacle is shown as residing in the bottom of the sorter, in some embodiments the input receptacle is positioned near of the top of the sorter. Furthermore, such embodiments may include one, two, or more output receptacles below in the input receptacle. In other embodiments, the input receptacle may be positioned in a vertically middle part of the sorter with or without one or more output receptacles positioned above and/or below the input receptacle.
In a similar vein, the location of one or more user interfaces of a sorter may be varied. For example, a user interface may be positioned in a column above or below the input receptacle or above or below and one or more output receptacles. A user interface may be positioned in a column above both the input receptacle and one or more output receptacles or below both the input receptacle and one or more output receptacles. A user interface may be positioned in a column and have an input hopper above the user interface and zero, one or more output receptacles below the user interface or a user interface may be positioned in a column and have an input hopper below the user interface and zero, one or more output receptacles above the user interface. A user interface may be positioned in a column having one or more output receptacles but not the input receptacle. Furthermore, a user interface may be positioned on top of or on the side of a sorter or be separate from and electrically coupled to the sorter, e.g., a separate keyboard or touchscreen.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, sorters may comprise an operator or user interface adapted to receive information from and/or provide information to an operator or user. According to some embodiments, such as illustrated in
According to some embodiments, by means of an interface the operator can select an operational mode of a compact multi-pocket sorter including, but not limited to sorting, denominating, authenticating, fitness evaluating, counting and/or combinations of operations. For example, the operator, via the interface may assign a denomination (or other bill criterion/criteria including rejected or unrecognized notes) to each output receptacle pocket and/or change the output receptacle assignment for a denomination (or other bill criterion/criteria). Alternatively or additionally, the operator may select a dynamic mode assignment for assigning denominations (or other criterion/criteria) to output receptacles as described in more detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,977, which was filed on Feb. 8, 2002 and published as U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003-0015395A1 entitled “Multiple Pocket Currency Processing Device and Method,” incorporated herein by reference by its entirety.
The interface may act as a routing interface and/or flagging control interface as described in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. For example, via the interface, the operator may select an operation mode wherein the operation of the sorter will be suspended based on certain conditions, for example, the detection of a counterfeit bill or a bill in a damaged condition. According to some embodiments, during operation a bill may be flagged, for example, by presenting the bill in one of the output receptacles (delivering the bill to one of the receptacles and suspending operation of the device) or by off-sorting the bill to a different output pocket and continuing to process other bills.
According to some embodiments, a compact multi-pocket sorter has a routing interface. The routing interface has a data retrieval device such as a touch screen that receives information from a user of the device specifying into which output receptacle bills are to be delivered based on one or more criteria.
According to another embodiment, a compact multi-pocket sorter has a flagging control interface. The flagging control interface has a data retrieval device such as a touch screen that receives information from a user of a multi-pocket sorter of the present invention specifying if operation should be suspended based on detection of a bill meeting, or failing to meet, one or more criteria. Furthermore, where the operation is to be suspended upon detecting a bill to be flagged (e.g., a suspect), the sorter may stop with the flagged bill residing within the transport mechanism (before reaching a pocket), being the last bill delivered to an output receptacle, or being at some other location such as being two or three bills down in an output receptacle. The sorter could provide an appropriate notification to the operator and the operator could evaluate the flagged bill and take appropriate additional action (e.g., hit a denomination key, remove the bill and hit continue)—see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,697. Routing and flagging control interfaces are described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Thus, according to some embodiments, the operation of the sorter is configurable by the customer. For example, the customer can define to which pocket various types of bills are to be directed and whether the operation of the device should stop or not and if the device is programmed to stop, where the bill which is to be flagged should be located when the machine stops—see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819. Specific designations of operating modes can be defined by the user and stored in a memory of the sorter so as to permit subsequent and repeated recall. For example, a customer may define one mode of operation and name it “American Bank Mode 1” and define a second mode of operation and name it “ATM sorting mode.” The customer could then easily switch between these modes and any factory-defined modes thereby facilitating efficient use of the sorter—see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819.
According to some embodiments, a sorter may be configurable such that an operator may designate any pocket as a reject pocket. According to some embodiments, a sorter may be configurable such that an operator may designate any pocket for any purpose, e.g., any pocket may be assigned to receive $1 bills, $1 fit bills, $1 face-up bills, $1 face-up fit bills, $1 forward oriented bills, etc.—see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819. Such configurations or assignments may be changed at will according to some embodiments. For example, at the beginning of the day, $1 bills may be assigned to Pocket 1 only. Later in the day, Pocket 1 may be assigned to face-up $1 bills and Pocket 2 assigned to face-down $1 bills. Still later in the day, Pocket 1 may be assigned to received $100 bills. Such configurations could be programmed as user-defined modes as discussed above. According to some embodiments, an operator is able to switch between a plurality of user-defined modes via a single keystroke or via a single selection element—see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,697, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
For embodiments employing stopping (e.g., presenting flagged bills as the last bill in an output receptacle), a given output pocket may be used for two purposes, e.g., receiving $100 bills (not stopping) and flagged suspect bills (stopping). Similarly, there are not very many $2 bills in circulation. Thus in some applications, it may not be desirable to dedicate an entire output pocket to receive $2 bills. Instead, according to some embodiments, a sorter may be programmed to route $2 bills to a pocket assigned to a different denomination, such as $100 bills. When a $100 bill is delivered to that pocket, the machine may continue to process remaining bills in the stack as normal. However, when a $2 bill is detected, the sorter may be programmed to deliver the $2 bill to the $100 bill pocket and suspend operation such that the $2 bill is the last bill delivered to the $100 bill pocket. The sorter may signal the operator that a $2 bill has been delivered to the $100 bill pocket and the operator may then remove the $2 bill and restart the operation of the sorter.
According to some embodiments, suspect bills are “presented” in a first pocket of the sorter, that is, the suspect bill is delivered to the first pocket and the transport mechanism is stopped so that the suspect bill is located at a predetermined position within the first pocket, such as being the last bill transported to one of the output receptacles. No calls (bills whose denomination could not be determined with sufficient certainty) are presented in a second pocket.
According to some embodiments, a sorter may be used for facing. For example, in an eight pocket sorter, four denominations may be faced in one pass. A face up and a face down pocket could be assigned to each of four denominations, e.g., Pocket 1: face-up $1 bills; Pocket 2: face-down $1 bills; Pocket 3: face-up $5 bills; Pocket 4: face-down $5 bills; Pocket 5: face-up $10 bills; Pocket 6: face-down $10 bills; Pocket 7: face-up $20 bills; and Pocket 8: face-down $20 bills.
According to some embodiments, more than one denomination can be assigned to a single pocket, e.g., $1, $10, and $50 bills could all be assigned to Pocket 1—see, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,977 filed Feb. 8, 2002 and published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0015395A1.
The sorter may also permit network connectivity for the purpose of printing reports or otherwise sharing the results of the currency bill processing operations externally to the sorter.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, such as that illustrated in
a illustrates an operator 1510 sitting in front of a sorter 1500 such as sorter 800 of
In some embodiments, the sorter is positioned so that an operator stands in front of the sorter. In some such embodiments, the input hopper, the output receptacles, and user interface are positioned in close proximity to each other and the position at which the operator will stand. According to some of such embodiments, the operator can easily reach the input receptacle and all the output receptacles and see and reach the user interface without having to move. Such embodiments are especially beneficial in permitting a single person to efficiently and effectively operate the sorter.
According to some embodiments, an ergonomic sorter is provided wherein all output receptacles are positioned at or above the level of the input hopper. Such embodiments permit an operator to position herself in front of the sorter at a level at which she may comfortably reach the input receptacle. According to such embodiments, because all output receptacles are positioned at or above the level of the input hopper, the operator need not bend over to remove the contents of an output receptacle which is positioned below the level of the input hopper. In some embodiments, some output receptacles are positioned slightly below the input hopper but at a height which can still be comfortably reached by the operator. For example, one or more output receptacles may be positioned one to two inches below the level of the input hopper.
According to some embodiments, the input hopper is positioned near the bottom of the sorter so that it is close to the level of the counter or table upon which the sorter rests.
According to some embodiments, one or more output receptacles residing in the same column or lateral position as the input receptacle, e.g., above or below the input receptacle, are used as reject receptacles. For example, with reference to
b and 15c illustrate the dimensions of a currency sorter 1550 having a 4-4-0 arrangement having a first column 1552 of output receptacles 1552a-d, a second column 1554 of output receptacles 1554a-d, an input receptacles 1555, and a touch-screen-operator interface 1556. Referring first to
Referring to
According to some embodiments including the various embodiments described above including those described in connection with
According to some embodiments, the above transport speeds are maintained constant throughout the transport path. In some embodiments, the above transport speeds are maintained nearly constant (+/−5%) throughout the transport path.
According to some embodiments, the spacing between notes along a substantial portion of the transport path does not change. For example, according to some embodiments, the spacing between notes along the transport path does not change between, e.g., the location of the discriminating or bill characteristic sensors (e.g., denominating sensors, fitness sensors, authentication sensors, image sensors) and the point where the bills are directed to a particular output pocket. According to some embodiments, the spacing between adjacent notes along the transport path being directed to the same output receptacle does not change between a point just after the bills are removed from the input hopper and the point where the bills are directed to the particular output pocket
Conversely, according to some prior currency processing machines, bills are slowed down or stopped along the transport path, e.g., at the location of one or more discriminating sensors or to change the direction of transport of the bills. Accordingly in such prior devices the transport speed is not constant because the bills are stopped along the transport path. Likewise, bill separation varies along the transport path. For example, as a bill is being slowed down, an upstream bill which is not being slowed down is gaining on the bill being slowed down and hence the separation between the bills does not remain constant.
According to various embodiments of the present invention, the direction of bills is able to be varied in three dimensions without slowing down the speed at which the bills are transported and without stopping the transport of the bills. According to various embodiments of the present invention, the direction of bills is able to be varied in three dimensions while maintaining a constant or nearly constant surface transport speed of the bills and while maintaining a constant or nearly constant separation between adjacent bills.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, bills are able to be transported from an input hopper to a laterally offset output receptacle while maintaining a single leading edge of the bill throughout the transportation process. For example, according to some embodiments bills are able to be transported from an input hopper to a laterally offset output receptacle while maintaining a wide edge of the bill leading throughout the transportation process.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, bills are able to be both removed from an input hopper (i.e., transported from) and deposited into a laterally offset output receptacle with a single leading edge of the bill, such as a wide edge of the bill. According to some embodiments of the present invention, bills are able to be removed from an input hopper and deposited into a laterally offset output receptacle without having two perpendicular edges of a bill (i.e., both a narrow edge and a wide edge) be leading edges during the process of moving bills from the input hopper to a laterally offset output receptacle.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, bills placed into an input hopper with a given orientation (e.g., wide edge parallel to the front of the sorter and/or the front of the input hopper) and having edges of the bills in the input hopper perpendicular to the front of the input hopper (e.g., the narrow edges of the bills) are able to be moved to an output receptacle laterally offset to the left or the right of the input hopper without transporting the bills such that an edge of a bill which was perpendicular to the front of the input hopper serves as a leading edge.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, sorters comprise a rectangular input receptacle having a front side having an opening to permit an operator to insert a stack of bills in the input receptacle and having a left side and a right side relative to the front side. The sorter has at least one output receptacle positioned to the left of the left side of the input receptacle and/or at least one output receptacle positioned to the right of the right side of the input receptacle. Rectangular bills are inserted into the input receptacle with two opposing edges parallel to the left and right sides of the input receptacle. According to some such embodiments, a bill is transported from the input receptacle to a laterally offset output receptacle without either of the two opposing edges of a bill which were parallel to the left and right sides of the input receptacle serving as a leading edge during the transportation of the bill from the input receptacle to the output receptacle.
According to some embodiments a reduction in size (height, width, depth, footprint, or volume) of the machine having a large number of output receptacles is obtained by utilizing three dimensions of transport. For example, for the same number of pockets, the overall height of a device may be reduced according to the principles of some embodiments of the present invention as all the output pockets need not reside in the same column as the input hopper and/or other output receptacles.
In a similar manner, the distance between the input hopper and the output receptacles can be reduced according to the principles of some embodiments of the present invention. For example, in prior sorters which accommodated additional output receptacles by adding such additional output receptacles in series with existing output receptacles, each additional output receptacle would be located farther away from the input receptacle than the existing output receptacles. Accordingly, the distance between the input receptacle and the farthest output receptacle tended to increase in a linear fashion with the addition of each additional output receptacle. The increase in distance between the input hopper and the farthest output receptacle made it difficult for a single operator to operate such sorters as such an operator would have to move during the operation of the machine among positions in front of the input hopper and various output receptacles.
However, according to some embodiments of the present invention, additional output receptacles can be added without increasing the distance between the input receptacle and the farthest output receptacle or without increasing such distance at the linear rate of some prior art devices. For example, a six output receptacle sorter in a 4-2 arrangement comprising four left column output receptacles and two output receptacles in the same column or lateral position as the input hopper (see e.g.,
Furthermore, where an additional column or module of pockets is to be added to a sorter farther away from the input hopper, such as, for example, when moving from the six pocket sorter of
According to some embodiments, some of the principles of the present invention permit a reduction in manpower required to operate a currency sorter. As discussed above, the input and output receptacles may be positioned so that a single operator can reach, fill, and empty them. Accordingly, the need to have separate personnel to load the input hopper and one or more personnel to empty output receptacles is reduced.
According to some embodiments, some of the principles of the present invention permit a reduction in cost of a machine having a large number of output receptacles.
The reduction in cost, operator personnel and/or size of the machines contributes to making many output receptacle sorters (e.g., sorters having four, six, eight, ten, or more output receptacles) available at more locations. For example, some of the principles of the present invention will permit banks to provide the sorting act, which may currently be available only a bank's central vault which has a large sorter, to the bank's branch locations.
For example, in the context of U.S. currency, there are currently seven denominations in circulation ($1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills). Furthermore, the quantity of circulating $2 is limited and hence only a substantial quantity of six denominations are in circulation. Accordingly, many large sorters in the central vaults of U.S. banks have only six output pockets dedicated to the six most common denominations of circulating U.S. notes, namely, a $1 pocket, a $5 pocket, a $10 pocket, a $20 pocket, a $50 pocket, and a $100 pocket. Such machines may have an additional reject pocket as well.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, banks will be able to perform a per denomination sorting act, which may currently be able to be performed only at a bank's central vault which has a large sorter, to the bank's branch locations by placing in the branches sorters according to the present invention having six or more output receptacles. According to some embodiments of the present invention, six of the six or more output receptacles may be dedicated to specific denominations of circulating bills, e.g., a dedicated $1 pocket, a dedicated $5 pocket, a dedicated $10 pocket, a dedicated $20 pocket, a dedicated $50 pocket, and a dedicated $100 pocket. According to some embodiments of the present invention, sorters having six or more output receptacles may be configurable by selection of an operating mode so that in a particular operating mode, six of the six or more output receptacles become dedicated to specific denominations of circulating bills, e.g., a dedicated $1 pocket, a dedicated $5 pocket, a dedicated $10 pocket, a dedicated $20 pocket, a dedicated $50 pocket, and a dedicated $100 pocket. In other operating modes, the pockets may be re-assigned based on other criterion or criteria—see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,977, filed Feb. 8, 2002, and published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0015395A1, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
For embodiments which incorporate fitness detection (see e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/379,365, referred to above), sorting based on fitness may also be moved from a central location to distributed locations such as at bank branches. For embodiments which incorporate fitness detection and denomination determination, sorting based on fitness and denomination may also be moved from a central location to distributed locations such as at bank branches. For example, according to some embodiments of the present invention, sorters having six or more output receptacles may be factory dedicated or user configurable by selection of an operating mode so that six of the six or more output receptacles become dedicated to specific denominations of fit circulating bills, e.g., a fit $1 pocket, a fit $5 pocket, a fit $10 pocket, a fit $20 pocket, a fit $50 pocket, and a fit $100 pocket. The use of such machines permits such sorting action to be moved from being performed solely in a centralized location such as a bank's central vault to distributed locations such as bank branches.
In similar manner, according to some embodiments, currency authentication is additionally or alternatively incorporated into sorters thereby by providing sorters capable of sorting based on authenticity, fitness, and/or denomination. For embodiments which incorporate fitness detection, and which authenticate and denominate bills, sorting based on fitness, authenticity, and denomination may also be moved from a central location to distributed locations such as at bank branches. For example, according to some embodiments of the present invention, sorters having six or more output receptacles may be factory dedicated or user configurable by selection of an operating mode so that six of the six or more output receptacles become dedicated to specific denominations of authenticated, fit circulating bills, e.g., a genuine, fit $1 pocket; a genuine, fit $5 pocket; a genuine, fit $10 pocket; a genuine, fit $20 pocket; a genuine, fit $50 pocket; and a genuine, fit $100 pocket. The use of such machines permits such a sorting act to be moved from being performed solely in a centralized location such as a bank's central vault to distributed locations such as bank branches.
Currently, in the operation of businesses handling large volumes of cash such as banks and other financial institutions, large volumes of currency are transported between remote locations such as bank branches and a main location such as a bank's central or main vault. Using the example of a bank having a main vault and several bank branch locations, an example of the daily operation of such a bank will be described. Typically, each bank branch attempts to keep a target inventory of currency on hand at the bank branch for use in servicing its customers and any ATMs (automatic teller machines) for which the bank branch is responsible. Additionally, each bank branch has target inventories for each denomination of currency bills. During the day, money including currency bills is provided to customers (e.g., via tellers or ATMs) thereby reducing the amount of money held by the bank branch. Additionally, during the day, customers deposit money including currency bills at the bank branch (e.g., via tellers, ATMs, or deposit drop boxes). Typically at the end of business each day, a bank branch will determine how much cash it has paid out including how much of each denomination of currency bills it has paid out (or how much of each denomination it has left in its vault at the end of the day). The bank branch then orders the money it needs to replenish its inventories from the bank's main vault and/or sends any excess currency to the main vault.
For example, a bank branch may target inventories of $20,000 of $100 bills, $10,000 of $50 bills, $40,000 of $20 bills, $10,000 of $10 bills, $5,000 of $5 bills, $100 of $2 bills, and $10,000 of $1 bills and desire to have these levels of currency each morning when the branch opens. At the end of the day, if the branch has only $5,000 of $100 bills, $5,000 of $50 bills, $20,000 of $20 bills, $10,000 of $10 bills, $5,000 of $5 bills, $100 of $2 bills, and $1,000 of $1 bills on hand (excluding any money it has received during the day), the bank will order $15,000 of $100 bills, $5,000 of $50 bills, $20,000 of $20 bills, no $10 bills, no $5 bills, no $2 bills, and $9,000 of $1 bills from its main vault. During the night or in the morning, an armored car picks up the money from the main vault and delivers it to the branch so that the branch may replenish its inventory to the desired levels.
As for the money coming into a bank branch each day, all or much of such currency would be sent to the main vault at the end of each day for sorting. Accordingly, each night an armored car takes money from each branch to the main vault. The transportation of currency is dangerous and hence expensive armored car services must be employed.
According to some embodiments, the method of operating a bank system is provided wherein a bank branch uses an on-site multiple pocket sorter to process currency received at a branch. According to some embodiments, the sorter is used to separate the bills received by denomination. According to some embodiments, the sorter is alternatively or additionally used to separate bills received by fitness (e.g., separate bills between fit and unfit bills or separate bills as to being ATM fit, fit, or unfit). Bills which are found to be unfit are collected to returned to the main vault for their eventual return to the Federal Reserve. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, unfit bills are returned by a branch directly to the Federal Reserve. According to some embodiments, the sorter also sorts fit bills between ATM quality and non-ATM quality. Typically, ATMs require bills to be dispensed therefrom to be of a very high quality or fitness, e.g., very stiff without folds, tears, wrinkles, or holes, low soil levels, etc. Fit non-ATM quality bills may be used by the bank to provide to its customers by means other than ATMs such as by tellers.
According to some embodiments, a method of operating a bank branch is provided wherein a bank branch uses an on-site multiple pocket sorter to sort currency received at a branch between fit and unfit bills and/or among ATM fit, fit, and unfit bills. The branch may then use the bills determined to be fit to replenish its on-site currency bill inventories and thereby eliminate or reduce its need or the frequency it needs to order currency bills from the bank's main vault. Likewise, where ATM fitness sorting is performed, the branch may then use the bills determined to be ATM fit to replenish the bill inventories of the ATMs for which the branch is responsible and thereby eliminate or reduce its need or the frequency it needs to order ATM fit currency bills from the bank's main vault. For example, using the above processes, a branch may be able to reduce the frequency with which it orders currency bills from the bank's main vault from daily to every other day, to every few days, to once a week, etc.
Building on the above example, according to some embodiments where a branch would otherwise need to order $15,000 of $100 bills, $5,000 of $50 bills, $20,000 of $20 bills, and $9,000 of $1 bills from its main vault, some or all of this need may be eliminated by using an on-site currency sorter and the resulting sorted currency to replenish the bank branch's inventory. For example, assume during the day the branch took in $17,000 in $100, $5,000 in $50 bills, $18,000 in $20 bills, and $10,000 in $1 bills. During the day or at the end of the day, bills received at the bank branch from its customers may be processed by the on-site currency sorter. In such a case, the branch would have an excess of $2000 of $100 notes, a shortfall of $2000 of $20 bills, and an excess of $1,000 of $1 bills. Assuming all the bills are fit, these deviations in inventory may fall within an acceptable range thus eliminating the need to either send currency to or order currency from the main vault on the given day. Accordingly, the costs associated with two armored car deliveries would be avoided.
In the above example, if the $17,000 in $100 processed by the sorter comprised $16,000 of fit $100 bills and $1,000 of unfit $100 bills, the inventory of fit $100 bills would exceed the target inventory of $20,000 of fit $100 bills by $1,000 ($5,000 remaining from initial inventory+$16,000 in received fit $100 bills=$21,000). The excess $1,000 of fit $100 notes may also fall within an acceptable range. As for the $1,000 of unfit $100 bills, these bills would need to be returned to the bank's main vault or to directly to the Federal Reserve. However, due their small volume, the branch may decide to keep these bills at the branch until some future time when it is determined that a delivery from the branch to the main vault is needed, e.g., when on hand volumes of different denominations of bills moves out of an acceptable range from target levels which may occur a day or more later. Alternatively, when things run smoothly, perhaps a branch could reduce the number of armored deliveries from being daily to once a week.
Further in conjunction with the above example, the branch's $40,000 $20 bill target level may be composed of a $25,000 target of fit $20 bills and a $15,000 ATM quality $20 bill target. For embodiments of sorters which also comprise ATM fitness level sorting, bills may also be sorted as being unfit, fit, or ATM fit. If the ATMs serviced by the branch dispense only one or a few denominations, then the ATM fitness sorting would have to be conducted only for such denominations, e.g., $20 bills. If during the day, the branch dispensed $10,000 of fit and $10,000 of ATM fit $20 bills, it would have a need for $10,000 of fit and $10,000 of ATM fit $20 bills to replenish its inventories to their target levels. If the $18,000 of received $20 bills comprised $10,000 of ATM fit and $8,000 of fit $20 bills, the branch's $20 ATM fit level would exactly equal its target levels and thus the branch would not need to order any ATM quality $20 bills from its main vault. The branch, however, would be $2,000 short of its $20 fit target level. If this deviation is within the tolerance range of the branch, no $20 fit bills would have to be ordered from its main vault. If this deviation was not within the acceptable tolerance range then additional fit $20 bills could be ordered from the bank's main vault.
One configuration that may be employed in the branch in the above examples could be the ten pocket sorter illustrated in
Another exemplary configuration is depicted in
Another advantage from a branch having such a sorter on its premises is that the inventory levels of bills and the breakdown of those inventories e.g., by denomination, fit, ATM fit, and unfit, counterfeit, etc. may be counted and/or determined automatically by the sorter. The sorter may be coupled to a printer to provide reports on the branch's inventory levels and/or or the breakdown of types of currency bills received over a given time period (such as each day). In some embodiments, the sorter may additionally or alternatively be coupled or networked to a computer or computer system and provide such information to the computer or computer system. Such a process eliminates the need for a human (e.g., bank teller or branch manager) to manually count the types of such currency and/or enter such information into the branch's computer system.
According to some embodiments, sorters may be used to strap down loose currency by denomination. For example, when larger retail customers such as grocery stores or other retailers deposit large volumes of currency, an operator using a sorter at the branch could run the deposit through the sorter and sort the bills by denomination, e.g., $1 bills into Pocket 1, $5 into Pocket 2, $10 into Pocket 3, etc. Furthermore, strap limits could be set for each pocket or denomination, e.g., 100 bills per denomination. Then as a strap limit is reached, the operator could remove the bills and place an appropriate strap around the set of bills, e.g., a set of 100 $20 bills may be physically bound with a strap labeled “$20” and/or “$2000” and/or having an appropriate color, e.g., blue. Then the branch's inventory could more readily be kept via straps of currency rather than as loose currency. This procedure would facilitate the branch's ability to keep track of its inventory as it easier and faster to manually count straps of currency rather than manually count loose currency.
Additionally, maintaining inventories of straps of currency also facilitates the bank's ability to provide currency to its customers especially its large retail customers who typically order straps of currency from the bank branch. When its customers order straps of currency, the orders can be quickly and easily filled as the sorter has enabled the bank to maintain inventories of strapped currency in advance of receiving the orders. Currently, bank branches often have to order such inventories of strapped currency from a downtown location and pay an armored car service to transport the strapped currency.
According to some embodiments wherein the sorter is used to facilitate a branch's ability to maintain its inventory in straps, at the end of the day because the inventory is broken down and strapped, the head teller for a branch can more easily and quickly determine if there is any excess inventory of any denomination to sell to the main vault. Likewise, this method enables the branch to more quickly and easily determine if the branch is short of a given denomination and then order the appropriate denominations and volumes of currency from the bank's main vault. By reducing the amount of currency that it transported to and from the branch (and the main vault) to just the volume of excess and/or shortage of currency, the volume of currency being transported is reduced thereby reducing the transportation and handling costs.
According to some embodiments, sorters in a plurality of bank branches are networked with a bank's computer system. For example, the sorters may be networked over a bank's internal network or over the Internet. In some embodiments, the networking is accomplished by coupling the sorter or sorters in a bank branch to a computer within the bank branch wherein that computer is networked with a bank computer system. According to some embodiments, information about the bills processed by each sorter connected to the network is automatically transmitted to the bank's computer system and may be provided to a home office. Alternatively, a branch teller at a branch may enter information about the branch's inventories into the computer system (which operation may be facilitated where the sorter is used to help the branch maintain strapped currency inventories) and this information could be maintained at a home office.
The home office can then maintain inventory information for each of a plurality of branches and use this information to send orders to branches and/or armored car services directing currency bills to be sent to and from the bank's main vault and/or among the branches. According to some embodiments, the networked system may automatically generate such orders. According to some embodiments, the information may be used to accomplish cash settlement over the network including in some examples over the Internet. For example, cash settlement software running on the computer system may use the information provided by the sorters and/or regarding the various inventories of currency (e.g., per denomination) at each branch to accomplish cash settlement. For example, at the end of each day the cash settlement software may generate any necessary instructions concerning the transfer of money among the branches and the main vault. Such systems would also enable the home office to know what excess currency to expect to be sent by each branch and/or received at the main vault and vice versa.
In some embodiments, ATMs are also connected to the network and they provide information to the central office concerning how much money has been dispensed, their need for currency replenishment, and/or how full their deposit bins are. Software running on the system can then also generate any necessary instructions concerning the transfer of money among the branches and ATMs and the main vault.
An example of a networked sorting system is illustrated in
Furthermore, the system may determine that Branch 3 has an excess of $90,000 ($50,000 in $100 bills and $40,000 in $20 bills) and direct Branch 3 to return this money to the main vault and direct an armored car service to pick up this money from Branch 3 and delivery it to the main vault. Similarly, the system may determine that Branch 6 has an excess of $20,000 in $1 bills and a shortfall of $60,000 in $20 bills (including a shortfall of $20,000 in ATM quality $20 bills). The system then directs Branch 6 to send $20,000 in $1 bills to the main vault and instructs the main vault to send $60,000 in $20 bills consisting of at least $20,000 in ATM quality $20 bills to Branch 6. In some embodiments, the system may also contact an armored car service to make this transfer. As discussed above, in some embodiments, the system makes the required currency transfer decisions and/or generates the appropriate instructions to the branch, the main vault and/or the armored car service automatically.
According to some embodiments, a sorter could be used to keep track of branch currency inventory and provide such information to the bank's home office. For example, at the beginning of the day, a branch employee such as the head teller could enter the inventory on hand at the branch into a sorter according to some embodiments of the present invention and the sorter could store that information in a memory contained in the sorter. Then when loose money is received throughout the day, the sorter would automatically update its inventory. For example, before running incoming currency through the sorter, an incoming button or selection element could be selected by the operator to inform the sorter that the bills to be processed are incoming bills and that the data about such bills should be added to the branch's inventory totals. According to some embodiments, information about the source of the incoming currency could also to entered into the sorter and stored therein, e.g., “Betty's Retail Store No. 6”, or “Account 123”. Additionally, when strapped currency is received, the user interface could permit information about the number of straps of each denomination which has been received to be entered into the sorter and the sorter could update the inventories based on such information.
In a similar fashion, when currency is to be sold or disbursed such as to a commercial account (e.g., a local gas station), an outgoing button or selection element could be selected by the operator to inform the sorter that the bills to be processed are outgoing bills and that the data about such bills should be subtracted from the branch's inventory totals. Information about where the money is going could also be entered into the sorter. Likewise, when strapped currency is disbursed, the user interface could permit information about the number of straps of each denomination which is outgoing to be entered into the sorter and the sorter could update the inventories based on such information. Accordingly, the sorter could keep a running total of the branch's inventories and periodically send this information to the bank's home office. For example, such data could be sent to the home office at night. A networked system could keep a running total of the inventories of each branch and the main vault. According to some embodiments, software on the networked computer system monitors inventory levels at the branches and the main vault and determines when an inventory level for one or more denominations falls below an associated minimum level and re-orders currency as required to replenish inventories at associated branches.
According to some embodiments, inventory levels of a branch are maintained on a computer system and one or more sorters according to the present inventions are networked to that computer system. Alternatively or additionally, other currency processing machines such as those discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,687,963; 6,311,819; and 6,278,795 as well as in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,977 filed Feb. 8, 2002 (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0015395A1) and/or note counters are networked to the computer system. Additionally, ATMs for the branch may also be coupled to the computer network. As described above, the currency bills processed by such machines can be added to or subtracted from the branch's inventory levels being maintained by the computer system. For example, a deposit from a commercial account received at the branch's night deposit box could be processed by a compact multi-pocket sorter as described above (e.g., the device of
The above principles are applicable to environments other than bank branches. For example, retail stores having a sorter according some embodiments of the present invention may be able to track and maintain their inventories of currency bills and reduce the need for the transportation of currency as well. For example, instead of shipping money received from customers to its bank and ordering replacement money needed for its operation from its bank, using a sorter according to some embodiments of the present invention, an operator located at the store could sort the received money and easily extract the bills needed for the store's operation. Accordingly, only excess money would need to be sent to the store's bank and the need to order currency from the bank may be reduced or eliminated. For example, as described in more detail in some of the other patents and applications incorporated by reference above, see, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,977 filed Feb. 8, 2002 and published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0015395A1, the sorters according to some embodiments of the present invention may be configurable to permit the operator to set strap limits per denomination.
For example, a store's daily inventory needs for currency bills may be as indicated in Table 1 below.
Accordingly, the operator of the store's sorter may be able to set the strap limits for these denominations as follows: 5,000 for $1, 400 for $5 bills, 200 for $10 bills, 50 for non-ATM fit $20 bills, 100 for ATM fit $20 bills (to service, e.g., an ATM located in the store), and 20 for $50 bills. Alternatively, strap limits maybe set in dollars rather than units. Then during operation of a sorter so configured, the sorter would provide an indication to the operator, e.g., via a sound and/or a visual indication such as via a user interface, that a given strap limit has been reached. Thus while totaling up a batch of money (e.g., all the money received during a day), with the sorter's help, the operator could easily set aside the desired amounts of each denomination and then bundle any additional money for delivery to the store's bank.
In the above example, where a strap limit exceeded a pocket limit (i.e., the maximum number of bills which may be accommodated in a given pocket, e.g., 200 or 400), then when a pocket limit was reached before a strap limit for the denomination associated with the full pocket, the user interface could notify the operator to remove the bills from the full pocket and set them aside for retention by the store. As additional pocket limits or the strap limit for that denomination are reached, the user interface could direct the operator to add such currency to that previously set aside.
An exemplary configuration for a sorter designed to handle the sorting in the above example may comprise a sorter having seven or more output receptacles with a first pocket being assigned to receive $1 bills, a second pocket being assigned to received $5 bills, a third pocket being assigned to received $10 bills, a fourth pocket being assigned to received non-ATM quality $20 bills, a fifth pocket being assigned to received ATM quality $20 bills, a six pocket being assigned to received $50 bills, and a seventh pocket being assigned to received $100 bills. Such a machine may have one or more reject pockets as well and/or rejects may be handled by delivering a reject bill to one of the seven dedicated pockets and suspending the operation of the machine. An appropriate indication such as via a message display via the user interface may also be provided to the operator (e.g., “Suspect bill in Pocket 7—Remove and Press Continue”). For sorters having more pockets, additional pockets may be assigned to high volume or high strap limit denominations, e.g., $1 bills in the above example.
Sorters according to embodiments of the present invention may also be employed at central vaults of banks or other locations which currently use large, expensive sorters. Currently most commercial vaults are set up with two stations for currency processing. At the first station, there is usually a one or two output receptacle currency denominating device. At the first station, a teller accepts currency associated with deposits, for example, the deposits of large retail customers. For each deposit, the teller processes the mixed denominations of currency and verifies the total deposit amount. The currency is then placed, mixed, into a tray and the teller verifies the next deposit. From time to time, the teller sells the full trays to the second station. At the second station, the currency is sorted down by denomination on large expensive multi-pocket currency denominating machines that range anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million or more. These large expensive sorters have pockets dedicated to individual denominations, e.g., a dedicated $1 pocket, a dedicated $5 pocket, a dedicated $10 pocket, a dedicated $20 pocket, a dedicated $50 pocket, and a dedicated $100 pocket.
According to some embodiments, a method comprises performing the acts of the first and second stations on a compact multi-pocket currency sorter according to the present invention. For example, using one of the sorters described above, e.g., see
a illustrates an embodiment wherein bills are fed through the transport mechanism of a sorter wherein the leading edge changes. The input hopper is adapted to accept a stack of bills 2000 with their narrow edge parallel to the front of the machine. Bills are then fed from the input hopper as indicated by location I to location III with a narrow edge 200b leading. According to some embodiments evaluating or bill characteristic sensors are positioned along the transport path between locations I and III. At location III, a bill is stopped momentarily and then feed either to the right toward position 2004 or to the left toward position 2007. After a bill is stopped at locations III, it is fed either to the right toward position 2004 or to the left toward position 2007 with a wide edge leading—wide edge 200a for bills fed to the left toward position 2004 and wide edge 200c for bills fed toward position 2007. The transportation then proceeds as described above in connection with
b illustrates an alternate embodiment wherein bills are fed through the transport mechanism of a sorter wherein the leading edge changes.
Although described in the context of U.S. bills, other embodiments of the present invention process Euros, British pounds, Canadian dollars, Japanese Yen, or some combination of U.S. bills, Euros, pounds, Yen, and/or Canadian dollars. The principles of the present invention are applicable to currency bills of other countries as well.
In some embodiments of the current invention, four output receptacles are located to the left of the input receptacle, and four output receptacles are located to the right of the input receptacle. One set of four output receptacles is arranged vertically on the left side of the input receptacle and a second set of four output receptacles is arranged vertically on the right side of the input receptacle so that there is only one width of output receptacle on each side of the input receptacle. This allows a machine to have eight output receptacles, while its width is not significantly greater than the width of the input receptacle and two output receptacles. The height of this machine is not significantly greater than that of a machine with four vertically stacked output receptacles.
According to other embodiments of the current invention, three output receptacles, in a vertical stack, are located to the left side of the input receptacle, and three output receptacles, in a vertical stack, are located to the right side of the input receptacle. This allows a machine to have six output receptacles and not be significantly wider than the width of the input receptacle and two output receptacles. The height of this embodiment is not significantly greater than that of a machine with three vertically stacked output receptacles.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, the device comprises a housing that is used to hold a control panel, an input receptacle and an output receptacle bay, which accepts modules, of one, two, three or four output receptacles to one side of an input receptacle. A transport mechanism and any sensors used to denominate, authenticate, and determine the fitness of the bills and to control the flow of the currency bills reside within the housing.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the device contains a housing that is used to hold a control panel, an input receptacle, two symmetric module bays for output receptacle modules, one to the right and one to the left of the input receptacle and control panel, a transport mechanism, and any sensors used to denominate, authenticate, and determine the fitness of the bills. The transport mechanism is designed so that the bills can be transported through either the left or right module bay of the housing where the output receptacle modules may contain one or more output receptacles.
The modular unit of output receptacles in some embodiments contain four output receptacles and is located on only one side of the input receptacle. According to other embodiments, the modular output unit contains three output receptacles and is located on only one side of the input receptacle. In further embodiments the modular output unit may have two output receptacles. In yet further embodiments the modular output unit may have only one receptacle.
According to other embodiments, the device contains one modular output unit having three output receptacles, and one modular unit having four output receptacles. One of these modular units will be located to the left of the input receptacle, and the other modular unit will be located to the right of the input receptacle, depending on how the modules are installed.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises an input receptacle, an evaluation unit and a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises an input receptacle, an evaluation unit, a transport path that transports currency bills in three-dimensions, and a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises a transport mechanism adapted to transport currency bills in three-dimensions.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of bills to be processed, a discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of the bills, a first modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, a second modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, and a transport mechanism for transporting bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle to one of the output receptacles.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of bills to be processed, a discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of the bills, a first modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, a second modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, wherein the first and second modular columns of output receptacles are both laterally offset in the same direction from the input receptacle, and a transport mechanism for transporting bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle to one of the output receptacles.
According to yet a further embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of bills to be processed, a discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of the bills, a first modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, a second modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, wherein the first and second modular columns of output receptacles are laterally offset in opposite directions of each other from the input receptacle, and a transport mechanism for transporting bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle to one of the output receptacles.
While particular embodiments and applications of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction and compositions disclosed herein and that various modifications, changes, and variations may be apparent from the foregoing descriptions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
The present application claims priority to copending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/492,104, entitled “Currency Processing Device, Method And System” which was filed on Aug. 1, 2003 and copending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/580,662, entitled “Method And System For A Document Processing Device Utilizing Imaging” which was filed on Jun. 17, 2004, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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