Patent Grant
7232024
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to document processing. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for document discrimination, authentication, and/or sorting.
2. Background
A variety of techniques and apparatus have been used in automated currency handling systems. Traditionally, these currency handling systems utilized a complex series of belts, pulleys, wheels and rollers to guide a currency bill through a complicated pathway having many twists and turns to pass the currency bill through the discriminating and/or authenticating sensors and to deliver the bills to an assigned output receptacle. These complicated pathways have sometimes led to jams of the currency bills which are difficult to clear.
Therefore, a need exists for a transport mechanism that reduces currency jams and is more accessible when clearing currency jams.
There is also a need for a currency evaluation device that can distinguish bills based on a number of criteria and that is flexible in permitting the operator of the device to specify which criteria are to be used to distinguish bills and how bills meeting or failing to meet various criteria are to be handled. There is also a need for a currency evaluation device having an input/output means that is simply to operate, flexible, and customizable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for document transport which reduces currency jams and is more accessible when clearing currency jams. Briefly, according to one embodiment, a method and apparatus for transporting a currency bill to be evaluated by a discrimination and/or authentication apparatus is provided. A transport mechanism includes a pair of substantially smooth opposing plates. These plates are substantially free of surface features. The smooth plates comprise a transport plate and a follower plate and define a currency pathway there between. A plurality of transport rolls protrude through apertures in the transport plate so as to frictionally engage the bills and actively advance the bills through the currency pathway. Furthermore, the follower plate is preferably mounted on a hinged module so that it may rotate out and away from the transport plate to allow easy access to the currency pathway.
In one embodiment, a transport mechanism includes a transport plate which defines in a substantially planar transport path between an evaluating mechanism and a plurality of output receptacles. The transport mechanism may include a follower plate that is substantially smooth and without surface features. The follower plate is positioned substantially parallel and in spaced relation to the opposing transport plate so as to define a currency pathway there between.
According to another embodiment, a currency evaluation device 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 the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle to one of the output receptacles along a transport path. A discriminating unit evaluates the bills including determining certain information concerning the bills. A control panel includes a touch screen for displaying the information concerning the bills and for receiving operational instructions from a user. A controller coupled to the touch screen and the discriminating unit causes the discriminating unit to operate in a number of modes in response to the operational instructions from the user. In one embodiment, the evaluation device has exactly two output receptacles.
According to another embodiment, a currency evaluation device for receiving a stack of currency bills and rapidly evaluating all the bills in the stack is provided wherein the device flags bills meeting or failing to meet certain criteria. A bill may be flagged, for example, by presenting the bill in one of the output pockets (delivering the bill to one of the pockets and suspending the operation of the device) or by off-sorting the bill to a different output pocket and continuing to process other bills. According to one embodiment the currency evaluation device has two output receptacles for receiving bills after they have been evaluated.
According to another embodiment a currency evaluation device 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 evaluation device specifying into which output receptacle bills are to be delivered based on one or more criteria such as, e.g., a bill being a stranger.
According to another embodiment a currency evaluation device 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 the evaluation device specifying whether the evaluation device should suspend its operation based on the detection of a bill meeting or failing to meet one or more criteria such as, e.g., a bill being a no call bill.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which:
a is a perspective view of a multi-pocket document evaluation device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
b is another perspective view of a multi-pocket document evaluation device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
a is a sectional side view of a transport plate according to one embodiment of the present invention;
b is a front view of a first region of a transport plate according to one embodiment of the present invention;
c is a sectional side view of the first region of a transport plate depicted in
d is a front view of a second region of a transport plate according to one embodiment of the present invention;
e is a sectional side view of the second region of a transport plate depicted in
a is a sectional side view taken across a currency pathway depicting a bill passing below a first follower plate according to one embodiment of the present invention;
b is a sectional side view of a first follower plate according to one embodiment of the present invention;
c is a front view of the first follower plate depicted in
a is a sectional side view taken across a currency pathway depicting a bill passing below a second follower plate according to one embodiment of the present invention;
b is a sectional side view of a second follower plate according to one embodiment of the present invention;
c is a front view of the second follower plate depicted in
a is a side view depicting an evaluation device in an open position according to one embodiment of the present invention;
b is a side view depicting an evaluation device in an open position according to one embodiment of the present invention;
a is a front view of a transport plate according to one embodiment of the present invention;
b is a sectional side view of a transport plate according to one embodiment of the present invention;
a is a side view of an evaluation device having three output receptacles depicting various transport rolls in side elevation according to one embodiment of the present invention;
b is a side view of an evaluation device having four output receptacles depicting various transport rolls in side elevation according to one embodiment of the present invention;
c is a side view of an evaluation device having six output receptacles depicting various transport rolls in side elevation according to one embodiment of the present invention;
a is a sectional view of a scanhead according to one embodiment;
b is an end elevation of a upper support member which includes an upper scanhead and a sectional view of a lower support member mounted beneath a upper support member according to one embodiment;
The transport mechanism of the present invention may be used and incorporated in an apparatus which sorts, analyzes, transports, evaluates, authenticates, discriminates, counts or otherwise processes documents. In one embodiment, a transport mechanism of the present invention is incorporated in an evaluation apparatus for discriminating and/or authenticating currency bills. However, the transport mechanism of the present invention may be employed in conjunction with the processing of other documents such as, for example, stock certificates, bonds, postage stamps and food stamps.
a and 1b depict an exterior perspective view and
In
The input receptacle 12 for receiving a stack of bills to be processed is formed by downwardly sloping and converging walls 205 and 206 (see
From the input receptacle 12, the currency bills are moved in seriatim from the bottom of a stack of bills along a curved guideway 211 (shown in
Stacking of the bills in one embodiment is accomplished by a pair of driven stacking wheels 212a and 213a for the first or upper output receptacle 217a and by a pair of stacking wheels 212b and 213b for the second or bottom output receptacle 217b. The stacker wheels 212a,b and 213a,b are supported for rotational movement about respective shafts 215a,b journalled on a rigid frame and driven by a motor (not shown). Flexible blades of the stacker wheels 212a and 213a deliver the bills onto a forward end of a stacker plate 214a. Similarly, the flexible blades of the stacker wheels 212b and 213b deliver the bills onto a forward end of a stacker plate 214b.
A diverter 260 directs the bills to either the first or second output receptacle 217a, 217b. When the diverter is in a lower position, bills are directed to the first output receptacle 217a. When the diverter 260 is in an upper position, bills proceed in the direction of the second output receptacle 217b.
Referring to
Passive rolls 250, 251 are mounted on an underside of the transport plate 240 in such a manner as to be freewheeling about their respective axes 254 and 255 and biased into counter-rotating contact with their corresponding driven upper rolls 223 and 241. The passive rolls 250 and 251 preferably have high-friction rubber surfaces and are biased into contact with their respective driven upper rolls 223 and 241 by means of a pair of H-shaped leaf springs 252 and 253 (see
Referring back to
As best shown in
The transport plate 240 has a first substantially planar region 240a defining a first plane. The evaluation of bills is performed in the first substantially planar region 240a. The first substantially planar region 240a ends at a point 300. The transport plate 240 also has a second substantially planar region 240b defining a second plane. The second substantially planar region 240b begins at the point 300. The second substantially planar region extends up to a diverting flange 240d. In one embodiment, the first and second substantially planar regions 240a and 240b substantially define the entire region of the transport path from the evaluation mechanism to the plurality of output receptacles 217a,b.
In one embodiment, the second substantially planar region 240b does not deviate from the first substantially planar region 240a by more than about 90 degrees. In a second embodiment, the second region 240b does not deviate from the first region 240a by more than about 60 degrees. In a third embodiment, the second region 240b does not deviate from the first region 240a by more than about 45 degrees. In a fourth embodiment, the second region 240b does not deviate from the first region 240a by more than about 30 degrees. As depicted in
The transport plate 240 also has a third substantially planar region 240c defining a third plane. In one embodiment, the third substantially planar region 240c does not deviate by more than about 45 degrees from the first region 240a. In another embodiment, the third region 240c does not deviate by more than about 25 degrees from the first region 240a. As depicted in
The transport plate 240 has a plurality of apertures 25 therein. According to one embodiment, apertures 25 are present only where necessary to facilitate the functioning of passive rolls and driven rolls and a diverter 260. According to another embodiment, apertures 25 are present only where necessary to facilitate the functioning of passive and driven rolls, diverter 260, and various sensors such as scanheads, doubles detectors, and document location sensors. Apertures for sensors may covered with materials that do not interfere with the functioning of corresponding sensors while nonetheless facilitating the transport plate in appearing smooth and continuous to passing bills. For example, when optical sensors are being employed, corresponding apertures may contain lenses that are flush with the transport surface of the transport plate. Likewise, materials that do not interfere with the operation of magnetic sensors may be employed to cover any apertures created to facilitate their operation. Accordingly, such coverings essentially become part of the transport plate, effectively negating the existence of the corresponding apertures. Alternatively, the transport plate may be constructed from a material that does not interfere with the operation of such sensors so that no apertures need be created in the first place, e.g., a clear plastic transport plate permitting the functioning of optical sensors.
Apertures 25 in first region 240a of the transport plate 240 are shown in
Apertures 25a and 25b in a second region 240b of the transport plate 240 are shown in
According to one embodiment, the transport plate 240 has a unitary and integral construction. Such an embodiment is depicted in
The portion of the transport plate 240′ depicted in
In one embodiment, the second substantially planar region 240f does not deviate from the first substantially planar region 240e by more than about 90 degrees. In a second embodiment, the second region 240f does not deviate from the first region 240e by more than about 60 degrees. In a third embodiment, the second region 240f does not deviate from the first region 240e by more than about 45 degrees. In a fourth embodiment, the second region 240f does not deviate from the first region 240e by more than about 30 degrees. As depicted in
As with the transport plate 240, transport plate 240′ has a plurality of apertures 27 therein. According to one embodiment, apertures 27 are present only where necessary to facilitate the functioning of passive rolls and driven rolls and a diverter 260. According to another embodiment, apertures 27 are present only where necessary to facilitate the functioning of passive and driven rolls, diverter 260, and various sensors such as scanheads, doubles detectors, and document location sensors. Apertures for sensors may filled with materials that do not interfere with the functioning of corresponding sensors while nonetheless facilitating the transport plate in appearing smooth and continuous to passing bills. For example, when optical sensors are being employed, corresponding apertures may contain lenses that are flush with the transport surface of the transport plate.
Apertures 27 of the transport plate 240′ are shown in
a–8c and 9a–9c illustrate, respectively, first and second follower plates 262 and 278. As illustrated, these plates are substantially free from surface features and are substantially smooth like the transport plate 240. The follower plates 262 and 278 are positioned in spaced relation to transport plate 240 so as to define a currency pathway there between. The follower plates 262 and 278 and the transport plate such a 240 or 240′ contribute to defining a pathway that is free and unencumbered between the roll 251 and the output receptacles 217a and 217b for the bill. As illustrated, the follower plates 262 and 278 have apertures only where necessary for accommodation of passive rolls 268, 270, 284, and 286. The apertures 25c accommodating passive rolls 268 and 270 in the follower plate 262 are shown in
Referring specifically to
A diverter 260 is employed to direct the bill 20 to the appropriate output receptacle 217a or 217b. The bill 20 will encounter the diverter 260 after emerging from between the driven roll 266 and the passive roll 270. Diverter 260 includes a plurality of flanges mounted across the transport path on a shaft 274. Two solenoids 261a,b, one mounted on each end of the shaft 274 (see
When the diverter 260 is in the lower position, the ends of the flanges are positioned below the upper surface of the transport plate 240. Apertures 25b in transport plate 240 (see
When the diverter 260 is in the upper position (as shown in
Also illustrated in
a illustrates a bill 20 between the driven rolls 280 and 282 and their respective passive rolls 284 and 286. The passive rolls 284, 286 are biased by H-springs 288, 289 into passive counter-rotating contact with the driven rolls 280, 282, respectively, in a manner similar to that described above in connection with passive rolls 250, 251. Bills are then directed to the lower output receptacle 217b via the stacker wheels 212b and 213b. Also illustrated in
As shown in
Assembly 30 in one embodiment of the present invention also includes a pivoting mechanism or lever 33a adjacent to follower plate 262. When in its closed position, the lever 33a is biased upward by a spring (not shown) with a hub 33b fitting into a notch 42 which maintains the assembly 30 in its closed position and the follower plate 262 in spaced relation to transport plate 240e. To move assembly 30 into its open position, the lever 33a is moved downward so that hub 33b is not engaging notch 42. The assembly 30 may then be rotated away from the remainder of the document evaluation device. The lever 33a also assists in moving the assembly 30 away from the remainder of currency discriminator 40.
b is a side view depicting an evaluation device in an open position according to another embodiment of the present invention that is similar to that shown in
a–c depict multi-pocket document evaluation devices 10, such as a currency discriminators, according to other embodiments of the present invention.
The multi-pocket document evaluation devices 10 in
The multi-pocket document evaluation devices 10 move the currency bills in seriatim from the bottom of a stack of bills along the curved guideway 211 which receives bills moving downwardly and rearwardly and changes the direction of travel to a forward direction. An exit end of the curved guideway 211 directs the bills onto the transport plate 240 which carries the bills through an evaluation section and to one of the output receptacles 217. A plurality of diverters 260 direct the bills to the output receptacles 217. When a diverter 260 is in its lower position, bills are directed to the corresponding output receptacle 217. When a diverter 260 is in its upper position, bills proceed in the direction of the remaining output receptacles.
The multi-pocket document evaluation devices 10 of
The follower plate 262 works in conjunction with the upper portion of the transport plate 240 to guide a bill 20 from the passive roll 251 to a driven roll 264 and then to a driven roll 266. The passive rolls 268, 270 are biased by H-springs into counter-rotating contact with the corresponding driven rolls 264 and 266.
From the input receptacle 2210, the currency bills are moved in seriatim from the bottom of the stack along a curved guideway 2211 which receives bills moving downwardly and rearwardly and changes the direction of travel to a forward direction. The curvature of the guideway 2211 corresponds substantially to the curved periphery of the drive roll 2223 so as to form a narrow passageway for the bills along the rear side of the drive roll. The exit end of the guideway 2211 directs the bills onto a linear path where the bills are scanned. The bills are transported and stacked with the narrow dimension of the bills maintained parallel to the transport path and the direction of movement at all times.
Stacking of the bills is effected in each output receptacle by a pair of driven stacking wheels 2212a and 2213a in output receptacle 2217a and stacking wheels 2212b and 2213b in output receptacle 2217b. These wheels project upwardly through a pair of openings in respective stacker plates 2214a,b. The stacker wheels 2212a,b and 2213a,b are supported for rotational movement about respective shafts 2215a,b journalled on a rigid frame and driven by a motor. The flexible blades of the stacker wheels deliver the bills into a respective one of the output receptacles 2217a,b at the forward end of the respective stacker plates 2214a,b. During operation, a currency bill which is delivered to a respective stacker plate 2214a,b is picked up by the flexible blades and becomes lodged between a pair of adjacent blades which, in combination, define a curved enclosure which decelerates a bill entering therein and serves as a means for supporting and transferring the bill into a respective output receptacle 2217a,b as the stacker wheels 2212a,b and 2213a,b rotate. The mechanical configuration of the stacker wheels, as well as the manner in which they cooperate with the stacker plate, is conventional and, accordingly, is not described in detail herein.
The input region of the machine as shown in
The stripping wheels mounted on shaft 2221 feed each bill onto a drive roll 2223 mounted on a driven shaft 2224 supported across the side walls. The drive roll 2223 is the same as drive roll 223 (
At the lower end of the curved guideway 2211, the bill being transported by the drive roll 2223 engages a flat guide plate 2240. Currency bills are positively driven along the flat plate 2240 by means of a transport roll arrangement which includes the drive roll 2223 at one end of the plate and a smaller driven roll 2241 at the other end of the plate. Both the driver roll 2223 and the smaller roll 2241 include pairs of smooth raised cylindrical surfaces which hold the bill flat against the plate 2240. A pair of O rings 2244 and 2245 fit into grooves formed in both the roll 2241 and the roll 2223 to engage the bill continuously between the two rolls 2223 and 2241 to transport the bill while helping to hold the bill flat against the guide plate 2240.
The flat guide plate 2240 is provided with openings through which the raised surfaces of both the drive roll 2223 and the smaller driven roll 2241 are subjected to counter-rotating contact with corresponding pairs of passive transport rolls 2250 and 2251 having high-friction rubber surfaces. The passive rolls 2250, 2251 are mounted on the underside of the flat plate 2240 in such a manner as to be freewheeling about their axes 2254 and 2255 and biased into counter-rotating contact with the corresponding upper rolls 2223 and 2241. The passive rolls 2250 and 2251 are biased into contact with the driven rolls 2223 and 2241 by means of a pair of H-shaped leaf springs 2252 and 2253. Each of the four rolls 2250, 2251 is cradled between a pair of parallel arms of one of the H-shaped leaf springs 2252 and 2253.
The points of contact between the driven and passive transport rolls are preferably coplanar with the flat upper surface of the plate 2240 so that currency bills can be positively driven along the top surface of the plate in a flat manner. The distance between the axes of the two driven transport rolls, and the corresponding counter-rotating passive rolls, is selected to be just short of the length of the narrow dimension of the currency bills. Accordingly, the bills are firmly gripped under uniform pressure between the upper and lower transport rolls within the area of scanhead 2247, thereby minimizing the possibility of bill skew and enhancing the reliability of the overall scanning and recognition process. The positive guiding arrangement described above is advantageous in that uniform guiding pressure is maintained on the bills as they are transported through the scanhead area, and twisting or skewing of the bills is substantially reduced. This positive action is supplemented by the use of the H-springs 2252, 2253 for uniformly biasing the passive rollers into contact with the active rollers so that bill twisting or skew resulting from differential pressure applied to the bills along the transport path is avoided. The O-rings 2244, 2245 function as simple, yet extremely effective means for ensuring that the central portions of the bills are held flat.
Guide plate 2240 extends from the region of curved guideway 2211 to a region in the vicinity the diverter 2260. A guide plate 2262 in conjunction with the lower portion of the guide plate 2240 guide bills from between rolls 2241 and 2251 to driven roll 2264 and then to driven roll 2266. Passive rolls 2268, 2670 are biased by H-springs 2272,2273 into counter-rotating contact with rolls 2264 and 2266, respectively, in a manner similar to that described above in connection with rolls 2250, 2251. Bills emerge from between rolls 2266 and 2270 and are directed into diverter 2260. Diverter 2260 comprises a plurality of flanges mounted across the transport path on shaft 2274. Two solenoids, one mounted on each end of shaft 2274, cause the shaft and the attached diverter flanges to rotate into either a lower position or an upper position. The two solenoids drive the shaft 2274 in opposite directions and an appropriate one of the two solenoids is energized depending upon whether the diverter 2260 is to be moved from its lower position to its upper position or vice versa. The use of a separate solenoid for each rotational direction enhances the performance of the diverter by increasing the speed with which the position of the diverter may be changed.
When the diverter is in its lower position, bills are directed to the upper output receptacle 2217a via stacker wheels 2212a and 2213a. When the diverter is in its upper position, bills are directed between guide plates 2276 and 2278. Guide plates 2276 and 2278 guide bills from the diverter 2260 to driven roll 2280 and then to driven roll 2282. Passive rolls 2284, 2286 are biased by H-springs 2288,2289 into counter-rotating contact with rolls 2280 and 2282, respectively, in a manner similar to that described above in connection with rolls 2250, 2251. Bills are then directed to the lower output receptacle 2217b via stacker wheels 2212b and 2213b.
Evaluation Region
The characteristics of the evaluation region 247, 2247 may vary according to the particular application and needs of the user. The evaluation region can accommodate a number and variety of different types of sensors depending on a number of variables. These variables are related to whether the machine is authenticating, counting or discriminating and what distinguishing characteristics are being examined, e.g., size, color, magnetism, reflectivity, absorbability, transmissivity, electrical conductivity, etc.
The evaluation region 247, 2247 may employ a variety of detection means such as magnetic or optical sensors. For example, a variety of currency characteristics can be measured using magnetic sensing. These include detection of patterns of changes in magnetic flux (U.S. Pat. No. 3,280,974), patterns of vertical grid lines in the portrait area of bills (U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,629), the presence of a security thread (U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,607), total amount of magnetizable material of a bill (U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,458), patterns from sensing the strength of magnetic fields along a bill (U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,184), and other patterns and counts from scanning different portions of the bill such as the area in which the denomination is written out (U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,473). Additionally, a magnetoresistive sensor or a plurality of such sensors including an array of magnetoresistive sensors may be employed to detect, for example, magnetic flux. Examples of magnetoresistive sensors are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,119,025, 4,683,508, 4,413,296, 4,388,662, and 4,164,770. Another example of a magnetoresistive sensor that may be used is the Gradiometer available from NVE Nonvolatile Electronics, Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn. Additionally, other types of magnetic sensors may be employed for detecting magnetic flux such as Hall effect sensors and flux gates.
With regard to optical sensing, a variety of currency characteristics can be measured such as detection of density (U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,447), color (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,490,846; 3,496,370; 3,480,785), length and thickness (U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,651), the presence of a security thread (U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,607) and holes (U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,447), and other patterns of reflectance and transmission (U.S. Pat. No. 3,496,370; 3,679,314; 3,870,629; 4,179,685). Color detection techniques may employ color filters, colored lamps, and/or dichroic beamsplitters (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,841,358; 4,658,289; 4,716,456; 4,825,246, 4,992,860 and EP 325,364). The use of ultraviolet light is also a useful discrimination and authentication tool. An optical sensing system using ultraviolet light is described in the assignee's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/317,349, filed Oct. 4, 1994, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In addition to magnetic and optical sensing, other techniques of detecting characteristic information of currency include electrical conductivity sensing, capacitive sensing (U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,754 [watermark, security thread]; U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,899 [thickness]; U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,021 [dielectric properties]; U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,607 [security thread]), and mechanical sensing (U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,447 [limpness]; U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,651 [thickness]). Alternatively or additionally, sensors may be employed to detect bills or security threads printed or coated with thermochromatic materials (materials that change color with a change in temperature). Examples of threads incorporating thermochromatic materials are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,301 incorporated herein by reference.
Although not illustrated in the drawings, it should be noted that corresponding photodetectors (not shown) may be provided within the evaluation area in immediate opposition to corresponding light sources. These detectors detect the beam of coherent light directed downwardly onto the bill transport path from corresponding the light sources and generate an analog output which corresponds to the sensed light. Two-sided scanning may be used to permit bills to be fed into a currency discrimination system according to the present invention with either side face up. An example of a two-sided scanhead arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,406, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Another example of a two-sided scanhead arrangement is described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/450,505 referred to above and incorporated by reference in its entirety. Further, to accommodate scanning in areas other than the central portion of a bill, multiple scanheads may be laterally positioned next to each other. Examples of multiple scanhead arrangements are described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/287,882 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Some examples of scanheads are depicted in
The two support members 280 and 281 are mounted facing each other so that the lenses 282 and 283 of the two scanheads 18a, 18b define a narrow gap through which each bill is transported. The upper support member 280 includes a tapered entry guide 280a which guides an incoming bill into the gaps between the various pairs of opposed lenses.
The lower support member 281 is attached rigidly to the machine frame. The upper support member 280, however, is mounted for limited vertical movement when it is lifted manually by a handle 284, to facilitate the clearing of any paper jams that occur beneath the member 280. To allow for such vertical movement, the member 280 is slidably mounted on a pair of posts 285 and 286 on the machine frame, with a pair of springs 287 and 288 biasing the member 280 to its lowermost position.
Each of the two optical scanheads 18a and 18b housed in the support members 280, 281 includes a pair of light sources acting in combination to uniformly illuminate light strips of the desired dimension on opposite sides of a bill as it is transported across the plate 240.
Thus, the upper scanhead 18a includes a pair of LEDs 22a, directing light downwardly through an optical mask on top of the lens 282 onto a bill traversing the flat guide plate 240 beneath the scanhead. The LEDs 22a are angularly disposed relative to the vertical axis of the scanhead so that their respective light beams combine to illuminate the desired light strip defined by an aperture in the mask. The scanhead 18a also includes a photodetector 26a mounted directly over the center of the illuminated strip for sensing the light reflected off the strip. A lower scanhead 18b includes a pair of LEDs 22b, directing light upwardly through an optical mask on top of the lens 283 onto a bill traversing the flat guide plate 240 above the scanhead.
Turning now to
Signals from the authenticating and discriminating unit 406 are sent to a signal processor such as a central processor unit (“CPU”). The CPU records the results of the authenticating and discriminating tests in a memory. When the authenticating and discriminating unit 406 is able to confirm the genuineness and denomination of a bill, the value of the bill is added to a total value counter in memory that keeps track of the total value of the stack of bills that were inserted in the input receptacle 404 and scanned by the authenticating and discriminating unit 406. Additionally, depending on the mode of operation of the discriminator system 402, counters associated with one or more denominations may be maintained in the memory. For example, a $1 counter may be maintained to record how many $1 bills were scanned by the authenticating and discriminating unit 406. Likewise, a $5 counter may be maintained to record how many $5 bills were scanned, and so on. In an operating mode where individual denomination counters are maintained, the total value of the scanned bills may be determined without maintaining a separate total value counter. The total value of the scanned bills and/or the number of each individual denomination may be displayed on a display such as a monitor or LCD display.
A discriminating unit such as the authenticating and discriminating unit 406 may not be able to identify the denomination of one or more bills in the stack of bills loaded into the input receptacle 404. For example, if a bill is excessively worn or soiled or if the bill is torn a discriminating unit may not be able to identify the bill. Furthermore, some known discrimination methods do not have a high discrimination efficiency and thus are unable to identify bills which vary even somewhat from an “ideal” bill condition or which are even somewhat displaced by the transport mechanism relative to the scanning mechanism used to discriminate bills. Accordingly, such poorer performing discriminating units may yield a relatively large number of bills which are not identified. Alternatively, some discriminating units may be capable of identifying bills only when they are fed in a predetermined manner. For example, some discriminators may require a bill to be faced in a predetermined manner. Accordingly, when a bill is fed face down past a discriminating unit which can only identify bills fed face up, the discriminating unit can not identify the bill. Likewise, other discriminators require a specific edge of a bill to be fed first, for example, the top edge of a bill. Accordingly, bills which are not fed in the forward direction, that is, those that are fed in the reverse direction, are not identified by such a discriminating unit.
According to one embodiment, the discriminator system 402 is designed so that when the authenticating and discriminating unit is unable to identify a bill, the unidentified note is “presented” in one of the output receptacles, that is, the transport mechanism is stopped so that the unidentified bill is located at a predetermined position within one of the output receptacles, such as being the last bill transported to one of the output receptacles. For example, where the unidentified bill is the last bill transported to an output receptacle, it may be positioned within the stacker wheels or positioned at the top of or at the rear of the stack of bills resting on a stacker plate in the output receptacle 408. The output receptacles 408 are preferably positioned within the discriminator system 402 so that the operator may conveniently see the flagged bill and/or remove it for closer inspection. Accordingly, the operator is able to easily see the bill which has not been identified by the authenticating and discriminating unit 406. The operator may then either visually inspect the flagged bill while it is resting on the top of or at the rear of the stack, or alternatively, the operator may chose to remove the bill from the output receptacle in order to examine the flagged bill more closely.
According to another embodiment, when a bill is flagged, the transport mechanism may be stopped before the flagged bill is transported to one of the output receptacles. Such an embodiment is particularly suited for situations in which the operator need not examine the bill being flagged, such as upon the occurrence of a denomination change or separate series error described below. For example, upon the occurrence of a denomination change where all available output receptacles already have one or more bills in them, the machine may stop with the denomination change bill residing within the transport mechanism. The machine may then prompt the operator to remove all the bills from a given output receptacle. When the operator does so, the machine automatically resumes operation (or alternatively, the machine may resume operation after the selection of a continue key) and delivers the denomination change bill into the cleared output receptacles.
The discriminator system 402 may be designed to continue operation automatically when a flagged bill is removed from the output receptacle or, according to one embodiment of the present invention, may be designed to require a selection element to be depressed. Upon examination of a flagged bill by the operator, it may be found that the flagged bill is genuine even though it was not identified by the discriminating unit. However, because the bill was not identified, the total value and/or denomination counters in the memory will not reflect its value. According to one embodiment, such an unidentified bill is removed from the output stack and either re-fed through the discriminator or set aside. In the latter case, any genuine set aside bills are counted by hand.
In order to avoid problems associated with re-feeding bills, counting bills by hand, and adding together separate totals, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a number of selection elements associated with individual denominations are provided. These selection elements may be in the form of keys or buttons of a keypad. Other types of selection elements such as switches or displayed keys in a touch-screen environment may be employed. When an operator determines that a flagged bill is acceptable, the operator may simply depress the selection element associated with the denomination of the flagged bill and the corresponding denomination counter and/or the total value counter are appropriately incremented and the discriminator system 402 resumes operating again. In non-automatic restart discriminators, where an operator has removed a genuine flagged bill from the output receptacle for closer examination, the bill is first replaced into the output receptacle before a corresponding selection element is chosen.
An advantage of the above described procedure is that appropriate counters are incremented and the discriminator is restarted with the touch of a single key, greatly simplifying the operation of the discriminator system 402 while reducing the opportunities for human error. When an operator determines that a flagged bill is not acceptable, the operator may remove the unacceptable flagged bill from the output receptacle without replacement and depress a continuation key on the keypad. When the continuation key is selected, the denomination counters and the total value counter are not affected and the discriminator system 402 will resume operating again. In automatic restart discriminators, the removal of a bill from the output receptacle is treated as an indication that the bill is unacceptable and the discriminator automatically resumes operation without affecting the denomination counters and/or total value counters.
With respect to
In another embodiment according to
One embodiment that may be used for stopping the transport mechanism in response to the detection of an unidentified bill or a bill meeting some other criteria such as being a suspect bill, denomination change, etc., is described in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,196 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Basically, one or more sensors retrieve information from passing bills. This information is processed by a signal processor such as a CPU. The position of bills in the transport mechanism is monitored. This monitoring of bill positioned is accomplished via the use of an optical encoder as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,196. If the denomination of the bill is identified, the signal processor generates a signal indicative of the determined denomination. If the denomination of the bill is not determined, the signal processor generates a no call signal. If the signal processor determines the bill to be suspect, a suspect signal is generated or a particular type of suspect signal is generated indicative of the reason why the bill is believed to be suspect, e.g., failure of a magnetic test, failure of a UV test, etc. Additionally, error signals may be generated for other reasons including the detection of various minor errors such as a denomination change or stranger condition or the detection a major error such as doubles or chains. As a result of the generation of one or more of these error signals, the signal processor can be programmed to generate one or more signals that cause the transport mechanism to halt in a particular manner such as by sending appropriate signals to the motor driving the transport mechanism and/or to cause one or more diverters to direct bills toward an appropriate output receptacle such as by sending appropriate signals to the diverter driving mechanisms such as the solenoids described above. Positional information obtained from the encoder may be employed to stop a bill in a controlled manner and so that the bill is stopped in a predetermined position or identifiable location.
Turning now to
In one embodiment, where the authenticating and discriminating unit 406 determines that a bill is a fake, the flagged bill is routed to a specific one of the output receptacles. The operation of the discriminator may or may not then be suspended. When a bill is not determined to be fake but for some reason the authenticating and discriminating unit 406 is not able to identify the denomination of the bill, the no call bill may be transported to one of the output receptacles 408′, 408″.
In one embodiment, no call bills are transported to a specific one of the output receptacles 408′, 408″. In another embodiment, no call bills are not delivered to a special separate output receptacle. The operation of the discriminator may or may not then be suspended. For example, in a two output pocket discriminator, all bills may be transported to the same output receptacle regardless of whether they are determined to be suspect, no call, or properly identified. In this example, the operation of the discriminator may be suspended and an appropriate message displayed when a suspect or no call bill is encountered. Alternatively, suspect bills may be delivered to a specific one of the two output receptacles (i.e., a reject receptacle) and no calls and identified bills may be sent to the other output receptacle. In this example, the operation of the discriminator need not be suspended when a suspect bill is encountered but may be suspended when a no call bill is encountered. If the operation is suspended at the time the no call bill is detected and the operator determines that the no call bill is acceptable, the operator returns the bill to the output receptacle from which it was removed (if it was removed) and selects a selection element (not shown) corresponding to the denomination of the flagged bill. Appropriate counters (not shown) are incremented, the discriminator system 403 resumes operation. On the other hand, if the operator determines that the flagged bill is unacceptable, the operator removes the bill without replacement from the output receptacle and selects a continuation element (not shown). The discriminator system 403 resumes operation without incrementing the counters associated with the various denomination and/or the total value counters.
In another embodiment, no call bills are delivered to a specific output receptacle separate from the output receptacle receiving identified bills. The operation of the discriminator need not be suspended until all the bills placed in the input receptacle 404 have been processed. Alternatively, the operation of the discriminator need not be suspended when a no call is encountered but may be suspended when a suspect bill is detected so that the operator may remove any suspect bills from the discriminator. The value of any no call bills may then be added to the appropriate counters after the stack of bills has been processed through a reconciliation process. In an alternate embodiment, suspect and no call bills may be delivered to a specific one of the two output receptacles (i.e., a reject receptacle) and identified bills may be sent to the other output receptacle. Additionally, according to this embodiment, the operation of the discriminator may be suspended and an appropriate message displayed when a suspect or no call bill is encountered.
As described above in connection with
The system 403 may correspond, for example, to the discriminators described above having two output pockets such as those shown in
A bill may be flagged and the discriminator systems described above such as those in conjunction with
Minor Error Conditions
Minor errors are conditions which may or may not cause the machine to stop depending on the set-up, mode of operation, and error involved. Minors errors do not involve the review of more than one, if any, note. Minor errors do not disrupt running totals such as batch or sub-totals. According to one embodiment, the minor error conditions may be selectively activated or de-activated as desired by the user. For example, the machine may be programmed stop upon the occurrence of a “no call” document but not upon the occurrence of a “suspect document”. The minor error conditions are listed as follows:
1) No Call (NC)
2) Suspect Document (SD)
3) Denomination Change (DC)
4) Stranger (S)
5) Separate Series (SS)
6) Improper Size (SZ)
7) Unfit Document (UD)
8) Reverse-Faced (RF)
9) Reverse-Oriented (RO)
10) Strap Limit (SL)
11) Stacker Full (SF)
No Call
A “no call” condition occurs when the discriminating device is unable to identify or determine the denomination of a note, the unidentified note being termed a no call.
Suspect Document
A “Suspect Document” is a note that fails one or more authentication tests based on a variety of monitored parameters. A discriminating device may permit the operator to enable or disable the detection of Suspect Documents, by for example, enabling or disabling one or more the authentication tests.
Denomination Change
A “Denomination Change” condition occurs when a note is identified having a denomination other than prior bills or a target denomination while the machine is operating in one of the sort modes described below. For example, when a $100 bill is scanned in a stack of previously scanned $50 bills, the condition “Denomination Change” may occur under certain circumstances while the machine is operating in a sort mode.
Stranger
The “Stranger” condition occurs when a note is identified having a denomination other than prior bills or a target denomination while the machine is operating in one of the stranger modes described below. The stranger mode is generally used when it is expected that most bills in a stack are of the same denomination. The stranger condition will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter in connection with several stranger modes of operation.
Separate Series (SS)
A “Separate Series” condition occurs when a note is identified as having a different series than prior bills or a target series. For example, when a new-series $100 bill (i.e., a 1996-series $100 bill) is scanned in a stack of previously scanned old-series $100 bills, the condition “Separate Series” may occur. This function may be employed in conjunction with the modes described below where it is desired to discriminate of notes based on their series, e.g., to discriminate between a 1993-series $50 bills and 1950-series $50 bills or to discriminate between all pre-1996 series U.S. notes from all 1996 and later series U.S. notes.
Improper Size
An “Improper Size” condition occurs when a document has a size that does not correspond to the size of one of the genuine documents that the system is programmed to recognize. For example, if the machine is set to process U.S. bills, then all documents should have the same size and any document that is not the same size as genuine U.S. currency will cause an “improper size” condition to occur. Likewise, for foreign bills, any document having a size other than one of the sizes of genuine foreign currency will cause an “improper size” condition to occur.
Unfit Document
An “Unfit Document” condition occurs when a document fails one or more fitness tests. Such fitness tests may detect, for example, the degree to which a bill is soiled, torn, or otherwise damaged. Likewise, the limpness of a document may also be employed as a fitness test.
Reverse-Faced
An “Reverse-Faced” condition occurs when a machine is operating in a facing mode and a document having a face orientation other than a target face orientation is detected.
Reverse-Oriented
An “Reverse-Oriented” condition occurs when a machine is operating in a Forward/Reverse Orientation mode and a document having a forward/reverse orientation other than a target forward/reverse orientation is detected.
Strap Limit
The discrimination device may permit the setting of limits on the number of bills based on various conditions. For example, it may be desirable to gather $20 bills into stacks of fifty bills. Accordingly, if for example bills are being processed such that $20 bills and only $20 are being directed into the first output receptacle, the device may halt after fifty $20 bills have been delivered into the first pocket. The display may then indicate that a strap limit has been reached for the first output pocket. Various strap limits may be factory-preset or user-set. Alternatively, “Strap Limits” may be determined by combining the number of notes delivered to two or more of the output pockets.
Stacker Full
The “Stacker Full” condition occurs when either or both of the pockets are at or near capacity and are not to receive additional notes. For example, in an embodiment in which the pockets are designed to receive a maximum of 300 currency notes, the discriminating device may be programmed to halt after 300 notes have been delivered to either of the pockets. The “stacker full” condition thereby will occur upon delivery of the 300th note. Similarly, in an embodiment in which the pockets are designed to receive 600 currency notes, the “stacker full” condition will occur upon delivery of the 600th note.
Major Error Conditions
Major errors are conditions which typically will stop the machine and may require the operator to remove and re-process more than one note. According to one embodiment, major error conditions include Jam (J), Double (D) and Chain (C). The condition “Jam” occurs when one or more sensors detect that a jam is occurring when notes are being transported between the input receptacle and the output receptacles. The condition “Double” occurs when two or more notes are fed by the transport mechanism in a stacked manner. The condition “Chain” occurs when two or more notes are fed by the transport mechanism in an overlapping manner.
Operating Modes
The discrimination system may be selectively programmed to operate in any of several operating modes. In general, these operating modes may be categorized as “stranger modes”, “sort modes”, “mixed modes” and “count modes”. As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the operating mode categories generally include two or three specific operating modes. An operator may select an individual operating mode or combination of operating modes as desired.
A. Stranger Modes
In general, stranger modes are used to process a stack of notes expected to be of the same denomination, in which the operator desires to remove “stranger” notes, or notes not having the same denomination. For example, a stranger mode may be selected to process a stack of notes substantially comprised of $10 bills so that all non-$10 bills may be removed from the stack. In a stranger mode, the machine will process the stack and place the “target” $10 notes into a selected pocket (e.g., pocket 1). Upon encountering a stranger note (or upon encountering another selected error condition), the machine may “present” the flagged note into the same pocket as the target note (i.e., stop the machine after the flagged bill is delivered into an output pocket, e.g., pocket 1) to allow the operator to inspect the note, or the machine may be programmed to off-sort the flagged note into the other pocket (e.g., pocket 2). Upon off-sorting the stranger note into pocket 2, the machine may be designed to either stop (present the note into pocket 2) and allow the operator to inspect the note, or continue processing the remaining notes in the stack.
A display, such as a touch panel display (e.g.,
1. Stranger 1 (STR 1)
In “Stranger 1” mode, the discriminator will process a stack of notes and place notes having a target denomination into pocket 1. The target denomination may be selected automatically by the discriminator to be that of the first note in the stack, or the target denomination may be explicitly selected by the operator. Upon the occurrence of a “stranger” condition (i.e., upon encountering a note not having the target denomination), the system may either present the flagged note into pocket 1 or off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2. Depending upon the set-up selected, the machine may either present the off-sorted flagged bill or continue processing bills. Optionally, the system may be similarly programmed to either present or off-sort flagged notes upon the occurrence of the “no call”, “separate series”, or “suspect document” conditions (minor errors). Upon encountering either the “strap limit”, “stacker full”, “chain”, “double” or “jam” condition, the machine will stop, requiring the operator to undertake the appropriate corrective action before continuing such as removing bills from a full pocket or clearing a jam.
2. Stranger 2 (STR 2)
In “Stranger 2” mode, as in “Stranger 1” mode, the discriminator will process the stack and place notes having a target denomination into pocket 1. Upon encountering either the “strap limit” or “stacker full” condition, however, the machine will automatically begin delivering the target notes to pocket 2 provided that pocket is empty. Thereafter, upon encountering the “strap limit” or “stacker full” conditions again, the machine will automatically switch pockets and begin delivering bills into the other pocket if the other pocket has been cleared by the operator. If the other pocket has not been cleared, the machine will stop, requiring the operator remove the bills from either pocket 1 or pocket 2 before continuing. The display may indicate the aggregate value of the notes in the stack and/or the value or number of notes of each denomination in either pocket 1 or pocket 2.
Upon the occurrence of a minor error condition such as “stranger” (when the other pocket has not been cleared), no call, suspect document or separate series, the system may either present the flagged note into the current pocket or off-sort the flagged note into the other pocket and stop (i.e., present the flagged note in the other pocket). Alternatively, the system may be set to always present flagged notes into a given pocket (e.g., pocket 2) regardless of which pocket is the current pocket. Major errors will cause the machine to stop and the operator to take appropriate corrective action such as clearing a jam and/or re-processing a stack of notes.
3. Stranger Facing (STR F)
In “Stranger Facing” mode, the machine is designed to process a stack of notes faced in substantially the same direction, e.g., placed in the input hopper face up, and to detect any notes facing the opposite direction. The ability to detect and correct for reverse-faced notes is important as the Federal Reserve requires currency it receives to be faced in the same direction. Thus, in “Stranger Facing” mode, the discriminator will process a stack of notes and place notes faced in a target direction and having a target denomination into pocket 1. The target direction and denomination may be selected automatically by the discriminator to be that of the first note in the stack, or the target direction and/or denomination may be explicitly selected by the operator. Upon the occurrence of a “ranger” condition (i.e., upon encountering a note having a denomination other than the target denomination) or upon the occurrence of a “reverse-faced” condition (i.e., upon encountering an opposite-faced note of the target denomination), the machine will either present the flagged note into pocket 1 or pocket 2 or off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2 and continue processing notes. Minor errors such as “suspect document”, “no call”, or “separate series” may be handled as discussed above, such as by presenting a flagged bill into either pocket 1 or pocket 2 or off-sorting into pocket 2 and continuing to process bills. For example, target notes may be delivered to pocket 1 and all other notes (strangers, no calls, suspect, separate series, reverse-faced) may be delivered to pocket 2. These bills may be simply off-sorted to pocket 2 and the machine may continue to process successive notes. Alternatively, one or more of the above conditions may be presented into pocket 2 (e.g., no calls and suspects may cause the machine to halt and appropriate messages to be displayed while strangers and reverse-faced notes are simply off-sorted but not presented).
According to another embodiment, notes having the target denomination and face orientation are delivered to one pocket (e.g., pocket 1) and notes having the target denomination but not the target face orientation are delivered to the other pocket (e.g., pocket 2). Only notes not having the target denomination are treated as stranger notes and may be handled by being presented into one of the pockets. Likewise, minor errors such as “suspect document”, “no call”, or “separate series” may be handled by presenting a flagged bill into either pocket 1 or pocket 2.
“Stacker full” or “strap limit” conditions may be handled by stopping and waiting for the operator to clear one or both pockets. The “strap limit” may be set up on a pocket by pocket basis or based on the combined contents of pockets 1 and 2. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
4. Stranger Orientation (STR O)
In “Stranger Orientation” mode, the machine is designed to process a stack of notes faced in substantially the same forward/reverse orientation, e.g., in a predetermined forward or reverse orientation direction. The forward direction may be defined as the feed direction whereby the top edge of a note is fed first and conversely for the reverse direction. The ability to detect and correct for reverse-oriented notes is important as the U.S. Federal Reserve may soon require currency it receives to be oriented in the same forward/reverse direction. Thus, in “Stranger Orientation” mode, the discriminator will process a stack of notes and place notes having a target forward/reverse orientation and having a target denomination into pocket 1. The target orientation and denomination may be selected automatically by the discriminator to be that of the first note in the stack, or the target direction and/or denomination may be explicitly selected by the operator. Upon the occurrence of a “stranger” condition (i.e., upon encountering a note having a denomination other than the target denomination) or a “reverse-oriented” condition (i.e., upon encountering an opposite-oriented note of the target denomination), the machine will either present the flagged note into pocket 1 or pocket 2 or off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2 and continue processing notes. Minor errors such as “suspect document”, “no call”, or “separate series” may be handled as discussed above, such as by presenting a flagged bill into either pocket 1 or pocket 2 or off-sorting into pocket 2 and continuing to process bills. For example, target notes may be delivered to pocket 1 and all other notes (strangers, no calls, suspect, separate series, reverse-oriented) may be delivered to pocket 2. These bills may be simply off-sorted to pocket 2 and the machine may continue to process successive notes. Alternatively, one or more of the above conditions may be presented into pocket 2 (e.g., no calls and suspects may cause the machine to halt and appropriate messages to be displayed while strangers and reverse-oriented notes are simply off-sorted but not presented).
According to another embodiment, notes having the target denomination and orientation are delivered to one pocket (e.g., pocket 1) and notes having the target denomination but not the target orientation are delivered to the other pocket (e.g., pocket 2). Only notes not having the target denomination are treated as stranger notes and may be handled by being presented into one of the pockets. Likewise, minor errors such as “suspect document”, “no call”, or “separate series” may be handled by presenting a flagged bill into either pocket 1 or pocket 2.
“Stacker full” or “strap limit” conditions may be handled by stopping and waiting for the operator to clear one or both pockets. The “strap limit” may be set up on a pocket by pocket basis or based on the combined contents of pockets 1 and 2. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
B. Sort Modes
Generally speaking, sort modes are designed to accommodate a pre-sorted stack of notes having a “rainbow” configuration, e.g., wherein the stack of notes includes two or more groups of notes, each group having a different denomination but each note within a given group having the same denomination. For example, the stack of notes may be pre-sorted to include a group of $1 bills at the beginning of the stack, followed by a group of $5 bills, followed by a group of $10 bills, etc. Sort modes permit a user to separate such a “rainbow” stack of notes into separate stacks according to denomination. Alternatively, sort modes may be used to sort a mixed stack of notes, e.g., not pre-sorted, into separate stacks according to denomination.
For example, in a sort mode, the machine may process a stack of notes and deposit a first group of “target” notes (e.g. $1 bills) into a selected pocket. Upon encountering a “denomination change” condition (or upon encountering another selected flagging condition), the machine may “present” the flagged note into the same pocket as the target note and stop to allow the operator to inspect the note, or the machine may be programmed to off-sort the flagged note into the other pocket. Upon off-sorting the denomination change note or other flagged note into pocket 2, the machine may be designed to either stop and allow the operator to inspect the note or to continue processing the remaining notes in the stack.
As described in relation to stranger modes above, the discrimination system may include a display to indicate the number or aggregate value of notes of each respective denomination and/or the number or aggregate value of notes in the stack. The machine may include the following sort modes as described below: sort 1, sort 2, sort 3, sort facing and sort orientation.
1. Sort 1 (SRT 1)
In “Sort 1” mode, the discriminator is designed to process a stack of notes and place notes having a first target denomination (e.g., target denomination 1) into pocket 1 and a second target denomination (e.g., target denomination 2) into pocket 2. The target denominations may be selected by the operator prior to sorting through a stack, or may be selected automatically by the discriminator, e.g., the first encountered denomination being designated target denomination 1 and the second encountered denomination being designated target denomination 2.
Where target denominations are set by the operator, bills of target denomination 1 are delivered into pocket 1 and bills of target denomination 2 are delivered to pocket 2. Bills having a denomination other than target denomination 1 or 2 are flagged. The flagged bills are presented into either pocket 1 or pocket 2.
For example, in one embodiment, the discriminator automatically designates the first target denomination (target note 1) to be that of the first note in the stack, then proceeds to deliver target note 1 to pocket 1. Upon encountering a “denomination change” condition, the discriminator flags the note, designates the flagged note as the second target denomination (target note 2) and delivers target notes 2 to pocket 2. Thereafter, upon encountering another “denomination change” condition, if the appropriate pocket has been cleared by the operator, the machine will proceed to deliver the third denomination of bills into pocket 1, the fourth denomination of bills into pocket 2, and so on. If the appropriate pocket has not been cleared, the machine will stop upon a “denomination change” condition, requiring the operator remove the bills from the appropriate pocket before continuing.
Upon encountering other minor errors such as “no call”, “suspect document”, and “separate series”, the machine will stop, presenting the flagged bills into one of the pockets.
“Stacker full” or “strap limit” conditions may be handled by stopping and waiting for the operator to clear one or both pockets. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
For example, in an embodiment in which the discriminator automatically selects the target denominations, if the first note in the stack is a $1 bill, the machine will designate target note 1 as a $1 bill and deliver $1 bills into pocket 1 until encountering the first non-$1 bill. The first non-$1 bill, which for example may be a $5 bill, is then designated as target note 2 and is delivered to pocket 2. Then, if and when the discriminator encounters a bill having a third denomination, which for example may be a $10 bill, the machine will either direct any subsequent $10 bills into pocket 1, or will stop if necessary to allow the operator to clear pocket 1. The machine may be designed to automatically resume operation delivering subsequent $10 bills into pocket 1 when the operator removes all the bills present in pocket 1. Assuming that pocket 1 is clear, the machine will then deliver $10 bills into pocket 1 until encountering the next series of bills, and so on until the entire stack has been processed.
2. Sort 2 (SRT 2)
In “Sort 2” mode, the discriminator will process a stack of notes and place notes having a target denomination into pocket 1. The target denomination may be selected automatically by the discriminator to be that of the first note in the stack, or the target denomination may be selected by the operator. Upon the occurrence of the “denomination change” condition (e.g., upon encountering a note not having the target denomination), the system will “present” the flagged note into pocket 1 and stop to allow the operator to inspect the note. Alternatively, the system may be programmed to present “denomination change” notes in pocket 2.
Upon encountering other minor errors such as “no call”, “suspect document”, and “separate series”, the machine will stop, presenting the flagged bills into one of the pockets. Alternatively, one or more of these conditions may cause flagged bills to be off-sorted into pocket 2 without causing the system to stop. The system may permit the operator to select how these bills are to be handled via a set-up option.
“Stacker full” or “strap limit” conditions may be handled by stopping and waiting for the operator to clear one or both pockets. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
For example, in an embodiment in which the discriminator automatically selects the target denominations, if the first note in the stack is a $1 bill, the machine will designate $1 as the target note and will deliver $1 bills into pocket 1 until encountering the first non-$1 bill. The first non-$1 bill, which may for example be a $5 bill, will then be “presented” into pocket 1. The operator may then remove all $1 bills from pocket 1 and then select an appropriate continuation key. If the first note in the remainder of the stack is also a $5 bill, the machine will designate $5 as the new target note and will proceed to deliver $5 bills into pocket 1 until encountering the first non-$5 bill, and so on until the entire stack has been processed. If the first note in the remainder of the stack is not a $5 bill, then a denomination change error will occur and the machine will present the non-$5 bill into pocket 1, and so on. According to another embodiment, after a denomination change note is presented into pocket 1, the machine restarts automatically when the operator removes all the bills in pocket 1. The operator may then separate the bills by denomination (e.g., place all $1 bills into one stack and the last $5 bill into its own stack).
3. Sort 3 (SRT 3)
In “Sort 3” mode, the discriminator will process a stack of notes and place notes having a target denomination into pocket 1, as in the Sort 2 mode. However, upon the occurrence of the “denomination change” condition, the system will off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2 rather than present the flagged note into pocket 1. The system may or may not be designed to stop after encountering non-target notes, i.e., “denomination change” notes.
According to one embodiment notes having a target denomination (target 1) are delivered to pocket 1. Upon encountering a first denomination change, the denomination of the first non-target 1 note is designated as a target 2 denomination (target 2). Target 2 notes and then off-sorted into pocket 2 without causing the machine to stop. The machine continues to process notes, delivering target 1 notes to pocket 1 and target 2 notes to pocket 2, until the first note having a denomination other than target 1 denomination or target 2 denomination is encountered. At this point this third denomination note is designated as the “new” target 2 denomination and is directed toward pocket 2. According to one embodiment this third denomination note is delivered to pocket 2 and the machine is stopped with the display indicating a denomination change in pocket 2. The operator can then take the appropriate action such as removing all notes in pocket 2 (e.g., in an automatic restart configured set up) or remove all bills other than the third denomination bill and press a continuation key. The machine will then continue processing notes, continuing to deliver original target 1 notes to pocket 1 and delivering “new” target 2 notes to pocket 2, until encountering a bill having a denomination other than target 1 or the present target 2. At this point, a denomination change occurs as described above and a new target 2 denomination is designated.
According to another embodiment, when a new target 2 note is encountered, the transport mechanism stops before the new target 2 note is delivered into the second output receptacle and a denomination change in pocket 2 message is displayed. In this manner, when the machine stops, all the bills in pocket 2 have the same denomination. The operator may then remove all the bills in pocket 2 and set them aside. Depending on the set up, the machine may either resume operation automatically or resume upon the selection of a continuation key. When the machine resumes, the new target note 2 is delivered into the now empty pocket 2 and the machine continues processing bills until encountering a “new” target note 2 denomination.
Upon encountering other minor errors such as “no call”, “suspect document”, and “separate series”, the machine will stop, presenting the flagged bills into one of the pockets. “Stacker full” or “strap limit” conditions may be handled by stopping and waiting for the operator to clear one or both pockets. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
For example, in an embodiment in which the discriminator automatically selects the target denominations, if the first note in the stack is a $1 bill, the machine will designate $1 as the target note and will deliver $1 bills into pocket I until encountering the first non-$1 bill. The first non-$1 bill, which may for example be a $5 bill, will then be off-sorted into pocket 2. According to one embodiment, the machine then continues to process notes, delivering $1 bills into pocket 1 and $5 bills into pocket 2, until encountering the next denomination change (i.e., a bill other than a $1 or a $5). Thereafter, upon encountering the next denomination change, such as a $10 bill, the $10 bills are designated as the new target 2 denomination and the system halts so that pocket 2 may be cleared. When the system resumes operation, the machine continues to process notes, delivering $1 bills into pocket 1 and $10 bills into pocket 2, until encountering the next denomination change (i.e., a bill other than a $1 or a $10), and so on.
4. Sort 4 (SRT 4)
In “Sort 4” mode, the discriminator will process a stack of notes and place notes having a target denomination into pocket 1. All other notes are delivered to pocket 2. Thus, upon the occurrence of the “denomination change” condition, the system will off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2. The system then continues processing any remaining bills without stopping. According to one embodiment, only notes having the target denomination (pocket 1) are counted while all non-target notes are simply delivered to pocket 2 without being counted.
Upon encountering other minor errors such as “no call”, “suspect document”, and “separate series”, the machine may be programmed to stop, presenting the flagged bills into one of the pockets such as pocket 2. Alternatively, the machine may be programmed to effectively ignore one or more of the minor errors such as “no call”, “suspect document”, and “separate series” and to simply off-sort such bills to pocket 2 and continue processing any remaining bills. For example, the system may be set-up to simply off-sort into pocket 2 and continue processing bills upon encountering a “no call” or “separate series” note while stopping and presenting any “suspect documents” into pocket 2. Thus in this example, the machine will quickly process an entire stack of bills, separating bills of a target denomination from all other notes in the stack. Apart from major errors and “stacker full” or “strap limit” conditions, the machine would only stop if a suspect document is encountered.
“Stacker full” or “strap limit” conditions may be handled by stopping and waiting for the operator to clear one or both pockets. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
5. Sort Facing (SRT F)
“Sort Facing” mode is substantially similar to “Stranger Facing” mode, the primary difference being the configuration of the stack of notes prior to processing. In “Sort Facing” mode, the stack of notes is generally pre-sorted into one or more groups of notes, each group being faced in a different direction, but each note within a given group facing the same direction and having the same denomination as other notes in that group, whereas in “Stranger Facing” mode, each note in the stack is expected to be faced in the same direction and have the same denomination. Thus, in “Sort Facing” mode, the discriminator will process the stack and place notes of a target denomination faced in a target direction into pocket 1. Upon encountering a target denomination but reverse-faced note (i.e., a reverse-faced condition), the machine will either present the flagged note into pocket 1 or off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2. When the reverse-faced target note is off-sorted to pocket 2, the machine may either present this note into pocket 2 or continue processing notes. The system may permit the operator to select how these bills are to be handled via a set-up option (e.g., present into pocket 1, present into pocket 2, or off-sort into pocket 2 and continue).
Upon encountering other minor errors such as “no call”, “suspect document”, and “separate series”, the machine will stop, presenting the flagged bills into one of the pockets. “Stacker full” or “strap limit” conditions may be handled by stopping and waiting for the operator to clear one or both pockets. The “strap limit” may be set up on a pocket by pocket basis or based on the combined contents of pockets 1 and 2. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
6. Sort Orientation (SRT O)
“Sort Orientation” mode is substantially similar to “Stranger Orientation” mode, the primary difference being the configuration of the stack of notes prior to processing. In “Sort Orientation” mode, the stack of notes is pre-sorted into one or more groups of notes, each group being oriented in a different direction, but each note within a given group having the same denomination and being oriented the same as other notes in that group. The discriminator will process the stack and place notes having the target denomination and being oriented in a target direction into pocket 1. Upon encountering a target denomination but reverse-oriented note (i.e., a reverse-oriented condition), the machine will either present the flagged note into pocket 1 or off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2. When the reverse-oriented target note is off-sorted to pocket 2, the machine may either present this note into pocket 2 or continue processing notes. The system may permit the operator to select how these bills are to be handled via a set-up option (e.g., present into pocket 1, present into pocket 2, or off-sort into pocket 2 and continue).
Upon encountering other minor errors such as “no call”, “suspect document”, and “separate series”, the machine will stop, presenting the flagged bills into one of the pockets. “Stacker full” or “strap limit” conditions may be handled by stopping and waiting for the operator to clear one or both pockets. The “strap limit” may be set up on a pocket by pocket basis or based on the combined contents of pockets 1 and 2. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
7. Sort Series (SRT S)
In “Sort Series” mode, the discriminator will process a stack of notes and place notes of a target series or group of series into pocket 1. Upon the occurrence of the “separate series” condition (e.g., upon encountering a note not having the target series), the system will off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2. The system may be programmed to stop or not to stop after encountering non-target notes, i.e., “separate series” notes. Alternatively, upon the occurrence of the “separate series” condition, the system may “present” the flagged note into pocket 1 and stop to allow the operator to inspect the note.
a. Update Pocket 2 Target—Denomination and Series
For example, in an embodiment in which the discriminator automatically selects the target series and denomination, if the first note in the stack is a 1996-series $100 bill, the machine will designate 1996-series $100 bills as the target note and will deliver 1996-series $100 bills into pocket 1 until encountering the first non-1996-series $100 bill. The first non-1996-series $100 bill, which may, for example be a 1995-series $5 bill, will then be off-sorted into pocket 2. According to one embodiment, the machine then continues to process notes, delivering 1996-series $100 bills into pocket 1 and 1995-series $5 bills into pocket 2, until encountering the next separate series condition (i. e., a bill other than a 1996-series $100 or a 1995-series $5). Thereafter, upon encountering the next separate series condition, such as a 1995-series $10 bill, the 1995-series $10 bills are designated as the new target 2 series and the system halts so that pocket 2 may be cleared. When the system resumes operation, the machine continues to process notes, delivering 1996-series $100 bills into pocket 1 and 1995-series $10 bills into pocket 2, until encountering the next separate series condition (i.e., a bill other than a 1996-series $100 or a 1995-series $10), and so on.
b. Update Target 1—Denomination and Series
According to another embodiment in which target notes are defined in terms of series and denomination and in which the discriminator automatically selects the target series and denomination, if the first note in the stack is a 1996-series $100 bill, the machine will designate 1996-series $100 as the target series and denomination and will deliver 1996-series $100 bills into pocket 1 until encountering the first non-1996-series $100 bill. The first non-1996-series $100 bill, which may for example be a 1995-series $5 bill, will then be “presented” into pocket 1. The operator may then remove all 1996-series $100 bills from pocket 1 and then select an appropriate continuation key. The machine will then designate 1995-series $5 as the new target note and will proceed to deliver 1995-series $5 bills into pocket 1 until encountering the first non-1995-series $5 bill, and so on until the entire stack has been processed. If a note in the remainder of the stack is not a 1995-series $5 bill, then a separate series error will occur and the machine will present the non-1995-series $5 bill into pocket 1, and so on. According to another embodiment, after a separate series note is presented into pocket 1, the machine restarts automatically when the operator removes all the bills from pocket 1. The operator may then separate the bills by denomination and series (e.g., place all 1996-series $100 bills into one stack and the last 1995-series $5 bill into its own stack). Minor errors such as “no calls” and “suspect documents” may be presented in pocket 2 or off-sorted into pocket 2 with the machine continuing to process bills.
c. Update Pocket 2 Target—Series
According to another embodiment, target notes are defined only by series or group of series regardless of denomination. According to one embodiment, notes having a target series (target 1) are delivered to pocket 1. Upon encountering a first separate series condition, the series of the first non-target 1 note is designated as a target 2 series (target 2). Target 2 notes are then off-sorted into pocket 2 without causing the machine to stop. The machine continues to process notes, delivering target 1 notes to pocket 1 and target 2 notes to pocket 2, until the first note having a series other than target 1 series or target 2 series is encountered. At this point this third series note is designated as the “new” target 2 series and is directed toward pocket 2. According to one embodiment this third series note is delivered to pocket 2 and the machine is stopped with the display indicating a series change in pocket 2. The operator can then take the appropriate action such as removing all notes in pocket 2 (e.g., in an automatic restart configured set up) or remove all bills other than the third series bill and press a continuation key. The machine will then continue processing notes, continuing to deliver original target 1 notes to pocket 1 and delivering “new” target 2 notes to pocket 2, until encountering a bill having a series other than target 1 or the current target 2. At this point, a separate series condition occurs as described above and a new target 2 series is designated.
According to another embodiment, when a new target 2 note is encountered, the transport mechanism stops before the new target 2 note is delivered into the second output receptacle and a series change in pocket 2 message is displayed. In this manner, when the machine stops, all the bills in pocket 2 have the same series. The operator may then remove all the bills in pocket 2 and set them aside. Depending on the set up, the machine may either resume operation automatically or resume upon the selection of a continuation key. When the machine resumes, the new target note 2 is delivered into the now empty pocket 2 and the machine continues processing bills until encountering a “new” target note 2 series.
Upon encountering other minor errors such as “no call” and “suspect document”, the machine will stop, presenting the flagged bills into one of the pockets. “Stacker full” or “strap limit” conditions may be handled by stopping and waiting for the operator to clear one or both pockets. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
For example, in an embodiment in which the discriminator automatically selects the target series, if the first note in the stack is a 1996-series $100 bill, the machine will designate 1996-series bills as the target series and will deliver all 1996-series bills into pocket 1 until encountering the first non-1996-series bill. The first non-1996-series bill, which may for example be a 1995-series $5 bill, will then be off-sorted into pocket 2. According to one embodiment, the machine then continues to process notes, delivering 1996-series bills into pocket 1 and 1995-series bills into pocket 2, until encountering the next separate series condition (i.e., a bill other than a 1996-series or a 1995-series note). Thereafter, upon encountering the next separate series condition, such as a 1993-series $20 bill, 1993-series bills are designated as the new target 2 series and the system halts so that pocket 2 may be cleared. The machine then continues to operate in a similar manner as described in the paragraph entitled “Update Pocket 2 Target—Denomination and Series.”
d. Update Target 1—Series
According to another embodiment in which target notes are defined only by series or group of series regardless of denomination and in which the discriminator automatically selects the target series and denomination, if the first note in the stack is a 1996-series $100 bill, the machine will designate 1996-series as the target series and will deliver all 1996-series bills into pocket 1 until encountering the first non-1996-series bill. The first non-1996-series bill, which may for example be a 1995-series $5 bill, will then be “presented” into pocket 1. The machine then continues to operate in a similar manner as described in the above paragraph entitled “Update Target 1—Denomination and Series” designating 1995-series notes as the new target series. Minor errors such as “no calls” and “suspect documents” may be presented in pocket 2 or off-sorted into pocket 2 with the machine continuing to process bills.
According to another embodiment, target series are defined by series or group of series without regard to denomination. Moreover, factory default or user defined series categories may be defined. For example, a “new series” group may be defined to include all bills having a series of 1996 or later. This group may include for example, 1996-series $100s and 1997-series $50s and $20s). An “old-series” group may be defined as all other bills. Alternatively, a “series 1” group may be defined to include, for example, all 1996-series and later $100s, all 1997-series and later $50s and $20s, and all $1s, $2, $5, and $10 regardless of series). Likewise, an accompanying “series 2” group may be defined to include all pre-1996-series $100s and all pre-1997-series $50s and $20s. Using series 1 or series 2 in one of the above described series mode embodiments will permit the separation of all “old” series $100s, $50s, and $20s from all other bills. Such an embodiment facilitates in the culling of all bills that are to be removed from circulation. As additional “new” series bill enter circulation (e.g., a 1999-series $10 bill), the definitions of series 1 and series 2 may then be modified so that all bills that are to be removed from circulation may be easily culled from all other bills.
For example, a series group (Series A) may be defined as all bills having a series of 1995 or later. According to one embodiment, Series A is designated as the target series and all Series A notes are delivered to pocket 1 and all non-Series A bills are off-sorted to pocket 2. The machine may or may not be programmed to halt when a non-Series A note is encountered. Where the machine is not programmed to halt, a stack of bills may be quickly processed and separated into a group consisting of all 1995 and later series notes (pocket 1) and all pre-1995 series notes (pocket 2).
C. Mixed Modes
Generally speaking, mixed modes are designed to accommodate a stack of notes having a “mixed” configuration, e.g., including two or more denominations of notes in no particular order, where the operator desires to determine the number or aggregate value of notes of each respective denomination and/or the number or aggregate value of notes in the stack. Mixed modes “Mix 1”, “Mix 2”, “Mixed Facing” and “Mixed Orientation”, each of which will be described below. As with stranger and sort modes, the discrimination system may include a display to indicate the number or aggregate value of notes of each respective denomination and/or the number or aggregate value of notes in the stack.
1. Mixed 1 (Mix 1)
In “Mix 1” mode, the discriminator will process the stack of mixed notes and will generally place the notes into pocket 1. However, upon the occurrence of the “no call” or “suspect document” condition, the discriminator will flag the note and either present the flagged note into pocket 1 or off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2. The system may permit the operator to select how these bills are to be handled via a set-up option (e.g., present into pocket 1, present into pocket 2, or off-sort into pocket 2 and continue).
A “Stacker full” condition may be handled by stopping and waiting for the operator to clear the full pocket. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
2. Mixed 2 (Mix 2)
In “Mix 2” mode, as in “Mix 1” mode, the discriminator will process the stack and begin placing notes into pocket 1 until encountering a “no call” or “suspect document” condition, in which case the discriminator will flag the note and present the flagged note into either pocket 1 or pocket 2. The system may permit the operator to select how these bills are to be handled via a set-up option (e.g., present into pocket 1 or present into pocket 2).
Upon encountering the “stacker full” condition, however, the machine will not stop, as in “Mix 1” mode, but instead will automatically begin delivering the notes to pocket 2.
Thereafter, upon encountering the “stacker full” condition in pocket 2, the machine will again switch pockets and begin delivering bills into pocket 1 if pocket 1 has been cleared by the operator. If pocket 1 has not been cleared and the “stacker full” condition thereby exists in both pockets 1 and 2, the machine will stop, requiring the operator to remove the bills from either pocket 1 or pocket 2 before continuing.
Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
3. Mixed Facing (Mix F)
In “Mixed Facing” mode, the discriminator will process a stack of mixed notes and place notes faced in a target direction into pocket 1. Upon encountering a reverse-faced note, the machine will either present the reversed-faced note into pocket 1 or off-sort the reverse-faced note into pocket 2. The system may permit the operator to select how these bills are to be handled via a set-up option (e.g., present into pocket 1, present into pocket 2, off-sort into pocket 2 and continue).
Upon encountering a “no call” or “suspect document” condition, the discriminator will flag the note and either present the flagged note into pocket 1 or off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2. The system may permit the operator to select how these bills are to be handled via a set-up option (e.g., present into pocket 1, present into pocket 2, off-sort into pocket 2 and continue). Where reverse-faced notes are being off-sorted into pocket 2 without causing the machine to halt, no calls and suspect documents should be presented into either pocket 1 or pocket 2.
The machine will stop, requiring the operator to remove the bills from the appropriate pocket before continuing, upon encountering a “stacker full” condition. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see, e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
4. Mixed Orientation (Mix O)
In “Mixed Orientation” mode, the discriminator will process a stack of mixed notes and place notes oriented in a target direction into pocket 1. Upon encountering a reverse-oriented note, the machine will either present the flagged note into pocket 1 or off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2. The system may permit the operator to select how these bills are to be handled via a set-up option (e.g., present into pocket 1, present into pocket 2, off-sort into pocket 2 and continue).
Upon encountering a “no call” or “suspect document” condition, the discriminator will flag the note and either present the flagged note into pocket 1 or off-sort the flagged note into pocket 2. The system may permit the operator to select how these bills are to be handled via a set-up option (e.g., present into pocket 1, present into pocket 2, off-sort into pocket 2 and continue). Where reverse-oriented notes are being off-sorted into pocket 2 without causing the machine to halt, no calls and suspect documents should be presented into either pocket 1 or pocket 2.
The machine will stop, requiring the operator to remove the bills from the appropriate pocket before continuing, upon encountering the “stacker full” condition. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
D. Count Mode (CNT)
“Count Mode” is designed to accommodate a stack of notes in any configuration, where the operator desires to determine the number or total value of notes in a stack. The discriminator will process the stack, placing notes into pocket 1 until encountering a “stacker full” or “strap limit” condition, in which case the discriminator will automatically begin to place the notes into pocket 2. Thereafter, upon encountering the “stacker full” or “strap limit” condition in pocket 2, the machine will again switch pockets and begin delivering bills into pocket 1 if pocket 1 has been cleared by the operator. If pocket 1 has not been cleared and the “stacker full” or “strap limit” condition thereby exists in both pockets 1 and 2, the machine will stop, requiring the operator to remove the bills from either pocket 1 or pocket 2 before continuing. Count mode may operate in either a unit mode or a value mode. In the unit mode, notes are simply counted and the total number of notes is communicated. In the value mode, the values of notes are totaled and the total value is communicated. Likewise, strap limits may be defined in terms of a unit or piece count (e.g., 100 notes) or in terms of a total value (e.g., $200 notes in notes).
The machine will also stop, requiring the operator to remove the bills from the appropriate pocket, upon encountering a “suspect document” condition. Major errors are handled as discussed above (see, e.g., discussion of the stranger 2 mode).
Each of the above operating modes is designed to be selectively activated, either individually or in combination, by an operator. In one embodiment of the present invention, the operating modes may be activated through a control panel.
According to another embodiment, a touch screen is employed to display selection elements for selection by the operator as well as to display various messages to the operator including status and error conditions. Additionally, the touch screen input/output device may be employed to provide on-line help information to the operator, for example, to explain an operation feature or how to handle a given error condition. An example of a touch screen is illustrated in
The touch screen 560 may be an X-Y matrix touch screen forming a matrix of touch responsive points. The touch screen 560 includes two closely spaced but normally separated layers of optical grade polyester film each having a set of parallel transparent conductors. The sets of conductors in the two spaced polyester sheets are oriented at right angles to each other so when superimposed they form a grid. Along the outside edge of each polyester layer is a bus which interconnects the conductors supported on that layer. In this manner, electrical signals from the conductors are transmitted to the controller. When pressure from a finger or stylus is applied to the upper polyester layer, the set of conductors mounted to the upper layer is deflected downward into contact with the set of conductors mounted to the lower polyester layer. The contact between these sets of conductors acts as a mechanical closure of a switch element to complete an electrical circuit which is detected by the controller through the respective buses at the edges of the two polyester layers, thereby providing a means for detecting the X and Y coordinates of the switch closure. A matrix touch screen 560 of the above type is commercially available from Dynapro Thin Film Products, Inc. of Milwaukee, Wis.
As illustrated in
Although the touch screen 560 uses an X-Y matrix of optically transparent switches to detect the location of a touch, alternative types of touch screens may be substituted for the touch screen 560. These alternative touch screens use such well-known techniques as crossed beams of infrared light, acoustic surface waves, capacitance sensing, and resistive membranes to detect the location of a touch. The structure and operation of the alternative touch screens are described and illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,317,140, 5,297,030, 5,231,381, 5,198,976, 5,184,115, 5,105,186, 4,931,782, 4,928,094, 4,851,616, 4,811,004, 4,806,709, and 4,782,328, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
As described briefly above, one of the functions of the touch screen display is to display selection elements which may be selected by touching the portion of the screen associated with the selection element. The touch screen thereby serves in one respect as a “keyboard”, wherein the selection elements displayed on the screen represent “keys” that are activated by touching the associated area of the screen. Alternatively, it will be appreciated that a conventional keyboard may be used instead of or in addition to the touch screen keyboard to facilitate selection of various selection elements. At any rate, in embodiments using a touch screen, the touch screen display may display not only selection elements or “keys”, but also may display messages to the operator including status and error conditions of the discrimination system. Preferably, the configuration of the touch screen display is programmably changeable between several configurations, so that at any given time the touch screen will display only those “keys” or status and error conditions that are appropriate with respect to the present status of the discrimination system. For example, the touch screen may display a series of “menus” or “sub-menus”, each menu being associated with a particular mode of operation or status of the discrimination system and thereby including only those keys or display conditions appropriate to the particular mode or status of the discrimination system. The menu-driven approach is designed to simplify the “keyboard” for operators and reduce training times accordingly. The touch screen display may be programmed via computer software including set-up software, operation software and diagnostic software.
Set-Up Information
The set-up software is designed to enable the operator to customize various operating parameters and engage or disengage various features of the discrimination system. The operating parameters may include, for example, default settings, stopping conditions, off-sort modes, pocket settings, denomination keys, stranger records or communications port settings. For example, a set-up mode may permit the user to identify which pocket is to receive no calls, suspect documents, mis-faced and mis-oriented documents, strangers, denomination changes, doubles, and chains or other bills or documents causing other types of minor or major errors. This information may be retrieved from the user via a routing interface having a data retrieval device such as a touch-screen. Alternatively, the data retrieval device may be some other kind of input or input/output device such as a keypad, buttons, or switches. Likewise, the set-up mode may permit the user to define which pockets are to receive which kinds of documents and whether the system should stop upon the occurrence of various events, e.g., various minor errors. Information concerning whether the system should stop upon the occurrence of one or more of the above conditions may be retrieved from the user via a flagging control interface having a flagging data retrieval device such as a touch-screen. Alternatively, the flagging data retrieval device may be some other kind of input or input/output device such as a keypad, buttons, or switches. The flagging control interface may be combined with the routing interface. Likewise the same touch-screen or input device may be used both to retrieve data concerning to which pockets various bills are to be directed as well as whether the system should stop upon the occurrence of one or more events such as the occurrence of one or more types of minor errors. The features of the discrimination system which may be engaged or disengaged in the set-up mode include operating modes, operating keys, sub-batching, suspect document authentication tests, stranger records, separate series discrimination, and/or audio alarms.
As described generally above, in a touch screen embodiment, the above-described operating features may be activated by touching selection elements or “keys” in respective “menus” associated with the operating features. Thus, in the set-up mode, the discrimination system may include the following:
(1) a key or keys which allows the customization of user-default settings or the selection of a factory default setting;
(2) a key which engages or disengages sub-batching;
(3) a key or keys which engage or disengage the operating modes, e.g., STR 1, STR 2, STR F, STR O, SRT 1, SRT 2, SRT 3, SRT F, SRT O, Mix 1, Mix 2, MIX F, MIX O and Count;
(4) a key or key which engages or disengages the operating keys “Verify” (permits the machine to process bills without affecting existing totals), “Unit” (toggles between unit and value modes), “SD”, “Density”, “Add” (toggles between maintaining running totals and clearing running totals when the input hopper and both output pockets are cleared) or “Mode”;
(5) a key or keys which engages or disengages the audio alarms for the various error conditions, e.g., Jam (J), Doubles (D), Chain (C), Stranger (S), Denomination Change (DC), No Call (NC), Suspect Document (SD), Separate Series (SS), Strap Limit (SL), or Stacker Full (SF);
(6) a key or keys which sets the use of denomination keys for the minor errors of no call (NC) and suspect document (SD);
(7) a key or keys which sets a stranger record (i.e., sets whether the system should “record” or reflect in the appropriate counters the denomination/value of stranger notes);
(8) a key for enabling or disabling the SD minor error condition;
(9) a key for enabling or disabling the SS minor error condition;
(10) a key or keys for setting the configuration of communication ports;
(11) a key or keys for setting pockets for target notes, either manually or automatically;
(12) a key or keys for enabling or disabling the “off-sort” function or customizing stopping conditions related to the off-sort function (e.g., present into pocket 1, present into pocket 2, off-sort and continue); and
(13) a key or keys for engaging or disengaging the “Face” and “Right” keys (the “Right” key is a forward/reverse orientation key).
When engaged in the set-up mode, pressing the “Face” key gives the user the ability to quick-face a stack of bills. The machine will deliver face-up bills to pocket 1 and face-down bills to pocket 2. Similarly, pressing the “Right” key gives the user the ability to quick-right a stack of bills. The machine will deliver “readable” bills, e.g., wherein the words of the bill are right-side-up, to pocket 1 and non-readable bills, e.g., wherein the words of the bill are upside-down, to pocket 2. Accordingly, the “Right” key causes bills having a forward orientation to be delivered to one pocket while causing bills having a reverse orientation to be delivered to the other pocket.
Operation Screens
The operating software is designed to provide the operator with a series of menus or screens, each screen generally being associated with one or more modes of operation, e.g., STR 1, STR 2, etc. As described above, in a touch screen embodiment, each of the screens include selection elements or “keys” which the operator may touch to activate appropriate functions related to the operating mode or status of the discriminator. The screens are further designed to display messages to the operator related to the operating modes such as, for example, batch or sub-batch totals and status or error conditions. Preferably, the touch screen at any given time will display only those “keys” or status and error conditions that are associated with the present status of the discrimination machine.
From the screen shown in
From the screen shown in
From the menu screen (
From the menu screen (
A highlighted cursor (1000), indicated by hatching in
From the menu screen (
In one embodiment of the present invention, the display may be used to indicate recovery procedures upon the occurrence of an error condition that has stopped the machine. Error conditions can include for example, jam, double, chain, stacker full, strap limit, denomination change, and stranger. Preferably, the recovery procedures are displayed in the form of text indicating both the error condition that has occurred and detailed instructions for the operator to follow to recover from the error condition and resume operation of the machine. For example, a jam can be identified by its location in the machine such as in pocket 1, pocket 2, infeed area, etc. Likewise, a display associated with a “strap limit” error condition is shown in
A further example of a recovery screen is shown in
In another embodiment of the present invention, the display may be used to enable the operator to enter data such as, for example, user identification, date, customized labels, check amounts, coin amounts, or manual bill counts. In a touch screen environment, this may be accomplished through data entry software providing a series of menus or screens, each including selection elements or “keys” which the operator may touch to activate appropriate functions related to one or more data entry modes. These features may be engaged in the set-up program described above, or they may be requested on demand. If used on demand, the “keys” should be displayed upon the beginning of processing a batch of notes.
Pressing the MEDIA key (1403) will result in the screen shown in
In one embodiment of the present invention, the discrimination machine is equipped with a series of communications ports to provide one-way or two-way communications link(s) between the discrimination machine and remote operators and/or other machines. This communications link may be established, for example, between another currency discrimination machine, a coin sorting machine, a cash settlement system, currency dispensers, or a remote “host” device, such as a computer, for issuing control commands and/or receiving information from the discrimination machine.
In embodiments using a “host” device, the following commands may be issued from the host, to which the discrimination machine will respond operationally:
(1) a “START” command for starting operation of the machine;
(2) a “REQUEST INFORMATION” command wherein the host may request information from the machine, such as sub-batch, batch, or day totals;
(3) a “MODE SELECTION” command wherein the host may remotely select the mode of operation for the machine;
(4) an “ADD SELECTION” command;
(5) an “SD” selection command wherein the host may remotely set sensitivity thresholds for the machine;
(6) a “STRAP SETTINGS” command;
(7) a “CLEARING” command;
(8) a “DENSITY SETTING” command;
(9) a “POCKET SELECTION” command; and
(10) an “ENDING BATCH” command.
In return, in embodiments using a “host” device, it is contemplated that the discrimination machine may send the following information to the host:
(1) a message or messages indicating the occurrence of minor error condition(s) “NO CALL”, “SUSPECT DOCUMENT”, “DENOMINATION CHANGE”, “STRAP LIMIT”, “STRANGER”, “STACKER FULL” or “SEPARATE SERIES”;
(2) a message or messages indicating the occurrence of major error conditions “JAM”, “DOUBLE” or “CHAIN”; and
(3) maintenance messages indicating maintenance requirements or status of the machine, such as whether the machine requires cleaning or adjustment.
Many types of financial transaction features may be incorporated into the above described machines so that they can act as a cash settlement machine. The details of such cash settlement systems are described in more detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/467,585, filed on Jun. 6, 1995 for a “Cash Settlement Machine” incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
While many of the above embodiments have been described in conjunction with U.S. currency, systems according to the present invention may alternatively or additionally process currency of other countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Canada, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia. Likewise, the above systems may support the processing of multiple types of documents including, for example, checks, deposit slips, header documents, etc.
Additionally, the systems described above may contain fitness sensors such as density sensors, reflectance sensors, magnetic sensors, correlation, UV and soil sensors, tear detectors, etc. Also the systems may utilize flash memory as mentioned above and E2 proms for reliable storage of data and set ups.
Additionally, the systems described above may contain unique customization features such as user-defined keys, user-defined print outs, user-defined modes of operation, user-defined document distribution parameters, user-defined set-ups. The customization features may be controlled or changed through simple input though an interface device such as a keyboard or touch screen.
User Customization
As described above and as to be further described below, according to embodiments of the present invention, the system permits the user or operator to customize the operation of the machine in a number of ways. For example, in the above described modes of operation, the user may be permitted to designate into which pocket certain bills are delivered and whether the machine should stop, e.g., deliver any no calls into pocket 2 and stop the machine after each no call is delivered to pocket 2. Additional examples of how the user may customize a system according to the present invention are described in connection with
Turning to
With respect to forward/reverse orientation, the operator may choose either “OFF”, “1st BILL”, “FORWARD”, “REVERSE”, or “US”. With respect to series selection, the operator may choose either “OFF”, “1st BILL”, “US”, or scroll through any defined series groups such as those described above, e.g., in connection with the Sort Series modes. These series groups may include factory-defined series groups and user-defined groups. Additionally, the operator may be given the option to simply designate a given series or range of series, e.g., “1996+” for all bills of a 1996 or later series or “1990–1996” for all bills having a series from 1990 to 1996.
In box C2,R5, the operator may designate whether the parameters defining Target 1 should be updated upon the occurrence of a relevant condition such as a denomination change, stranger, or separate series condition. The updating may be permitted, for example, for all activated parameters defining a target denomination (e.g., denomination and face orientation in the example of
In the Stranger Facing modes, the operator is not permitted to designate a second set of target parameters and accordingly this section (C2,R6–C3,R10) of the display is dimmed.
Boxes C2,R11–C2,R19 permit the operator to designate how certain minor error conditions are to be handled, i.e., by presenting the flagged bill in pocket 1 (P1), presenting the flagged bill in pocket 2 (P2), or delivering the flagged bill to pocket 2 and continuing to process any remaining bills (CONT-2).
Additionally, for strangers, denomination changes, and separate series, the operator is also given the option of having the transport mechanism stopped with the flagged bill being maintained within the transport mechanism (ST), i.e., before the flagged bill is delivered into a pocket. Positional information obtained from an encoder may be employed to stop a bill in a controlled manner and so that the bill is stopped in a predetermined position or identifiable location. For example, the transport mechanism may be stopped such that a flagged minor error bill is located after a diverter and before a next diverter or output receptacle such as between diverter 260 and output receptacle 217b such as being adjacent to plate 278 of
As illustrated in
Boxes C2,R20–C2,R23 permit the operator to set how stacker fill, strap limit, chain, and double error conditions are handled. As illustrated in
Turning to
Turning to
Information concerning user-defined modes is stored in a memory such as an E2 PROM so that it can be recalled in the future such as on days subsequent to the day that it is original defined. This information is stored in such a manner that it is not lost after the power switch of the currency discriminator is turned off as in a nonvolatile memory. The definition of particular user-defined mode will remain unchanged until it is re-defined by a user of the currency discriminator. In this manner a user may define a mode of operation that is particularly adapted to the needs of the user and repeatedly recall that mode of operation whenever the user desires to operate the machine in that mode. For example, the operate could desire to process a stack of currency bills using one of the factory default modes such as the Mixed 1 mode of operation and then process of second stack of bills using an user-defined mode. In such a case, the operator would first select the factory mode desired such as Mixed 1, process the first stack of bills, then select the desired user-defined mode, and process the second stack of bills. The definitions of the factory-defined or default modes may also be stored in an E2 PROM.
Turning to
Turning to
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/542,487, filed Apr. 3, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,130, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Document Processing,” which has been allowed and is incorporated by reference in its entirety; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/542,487 is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/864,423, filed May 28, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819, which claims benefit of U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/018,563, filed May 29, 1996 and U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/034,954, filed Jan. 16, 1997 and U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/038,340, filed Feb. 27, 1997.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20050241909 A1 | Nov 2005 | US |
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| 60018563 | May 1996 | US | |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | 09542487 | Apr 2000 | US |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | 08864423 | May 1997 | US |
| Child | 09542487 | US |
