Patent Application
20070078560
The present invention relates generally to the field of document processing systems and, more particularly, to systems and methods for processing currency and identification cards in a document processing device.
In a document processing environment it is highly desirable to achieve efficient means of processing documents. In general, higher efficiency in the processing of documents translates, in general, into lower business costs. Many businesses, such as banks, casinos, and retail stores, need to process groups of documents on a daily basis.
It is typical in a currency processing operation for one or several employees to prepare stacks of documents which are then passed along to operators of a document processing device, such as a sorting device. For example, in a casino currency processing environment, an employee removes stacks of currency from a number of gaming machines, each stack being from a different gaming machine, and then brings the stacks of currency to a sorting device operator. Using the document processing device, the operator processes each stack of currency, one at a time, stopping between each stack to manually feed the next stack of documents. Furthermore, for accounting purposes it is relevant to know the source of each stack of documents, i.e., the identity of the gaming machine from which each stack of currency was removed. Thus, the operator of the document processing device must manually enter the source of each particular stack of documents.
This manual entry is slow, costly, and prone to error. Processing each stack of documents manually can be very demanding on a human operator and can provide poor and inconsistent results. Because the method relies upon human intervention, the rate at which documents can be processed during a particular day can vary unpredictably. In addition, the chance of human error is extremely high. Furthermore, the employment of two or more persons for retrieving and processing the stacks of documents increases the cost associated with the processing of the stacks of documents.
Thus, there is a need for a document processing device that processes stacks of documents with minimal human intervention so as to expedite the accurate processing of documents, lower costs, and decrease the chance of human error. The present invention is directed to satisfying this and other needs.
A document processing device for multiple batch processing, comprising an input receptacle adapted to hold at least two batches of documents; an output receptacle adapted to receive the documents after the documents have been evaluated; and a transport mechanism adapted to transport the documents, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the output receptacle. An evaluation unit evaluates the documents, wherein the transport mechanism transports the documents past the evaluation unit. Memory is coupled to the evaluation unit and is adapted to store batch document information for each of the two batches based on evaluating the documents. The memory is also adapted to store source identification information for each of the two batches. The processing device also includes structure for entering into memory the source identification information for each of the two batches. In some embodiments, the source identification information is entered before any documents are evaluated by the evaluation unit. In some embodiments, one or more batches are evaluated before the source identification is entered into memory. For embodiments, the information is entered during multiple batch processing. The processing device also includes a controller comprising programming for matching, on a sequential basis, the source identification information for each of the two batches with batch document information for each of the two batches.
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to represent each embodiment, or every aspect, of the present invention. Additional features and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description, figures, and claims set forth below.
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 functional block diagram of a document processing device according to one embodiment of the invention;
b is a functional block diagram of an evaluation region of a document processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
c is a functional block diagram of an evaluation region of a document processing device according to another embodiment of the present invention;
d is a top view of a transport path of a document processing device showing a sequence of exemplary documents to be processed;
a is a perspective view of an evaluation region according to one embodiment of the document processing device of the present invention;
a-1 is a perspective view of an evaluation region according to another embodiment of the document processing device of the present invention;
b is a side view of an evaluation region according to one embodiment of the document processing device of the present invention;
b-1 is a side view of an evaluation region according to another embodiment of the document processing device of the present invention;
a is a perspective view of a compact document processing device having dual output receptacles according to one embodiment of the present invention;
b is a side cross-sectional view of the device shown in
a is a perspective view of a funds processing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention;
b is a side view of the funds processing machine of
a is a flowchart of a method for operating a document processing device according to any embodiment of the present invention in which the document processing device is adapted to process documents bearing more than one barcode;
a is a flowchart of a method of multiple batch processing according to another embodiment of the invention;
b is a continuation of the flowchart shown in
a is a flowchart of a method of multiple batch processing according to another embodiment of the invention;
b is a continuation of the flowchart shown in
a is a flowchart of a method of multiple batch processing according to yet a further embodiment of the present invention;
b is a continuation of the flowchart shown in
a is a functional block diagram of a document processing device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The document processing device 100 generally includes an input receptacle 102, an evaluation region 104, a transport mechanism 106, and an output receptacle 108. As explained below, in alternate embodiments, the device 100 includes more than one output receptacle 108. The output receptacle 108 may also be variously referred to as a reject or offsort pocket or receptacle. Disposed along the transport path 106 is a currency detector 110 and a media detector 112 as functionally illustrated in
In the illustrated embodiment, the device 100 optionally includes a communications port 118 which is coupled to the controller 114. The controller 114 may comprise one or more processors which are adapted to control specific components in the device 100 and to process information associated with specific components in the device 100, the control unit 116, or the communications port 118. The communications port 118 may optionally be a serial port, a parallel port, a USB port, a wireless port adapted for wireless communication with a remote device, or any other suitable I/O port. In an alternate embodiment, the device 100 does not include the communications port 118. The controller 114 may further comprise memory, such as random access memory or any other suitable memory.
Although the currency detector 110 is shown to be disposed on one side of the transport path 106, it is understood that the currency detector 110 may instead be disposed on the opposite side of the transport path 106 only or on both sides of the transport path 106. In the same manner, the media detector 112 may be disposed on the opposite side of the transport path 106 only or on both sides of the transport path 106. These alternate embodiments are described in more detail in connection with
In the illustrated embodiment of
As used herein, a U.S. currency bill refers to U.S. legal tender, such as a $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, or $100 note, and a foreign currency bill refers to any bank note issued by a non-U.S. governmental agency as legal tender, such as a Euro, Japanese Yen, or British Pound note. A “currency bill” can be either a U.S. or foreign currency bill. The terms “currency note” and “bank note,” are synonymous with the term “currency bill.”
The term “substitute currency media” refers to redeemable documents. A redeemable document is a document that can be (a) redeemed for cash or (b) exchanged for goods or services or (c) both. Examples of substitute currency media include without limitation: casino cashout tickets (also variously called cashout vouchers or coupons) such as “EZ Pay” tickets issued by International Gaming Technology or “Quicket” tickets issued by Casino Data Systems or CashFree slot-machine tickets issued by Slot-Tickets.com; casino script, which is regularly issued by casinos in pre-set denominations such as $5 casino script, $20 casino script, for example; promotional media such as Disney Dollars or Toys'R Us “Geoffrey Dollars” or McDonald's Gift Certificates are also issued in pre-set denominations (e.g., a $1 Disney Dollar). While some types of “substitute currency media” are regularly issued in pre-set denominations such as the above-mentioned Disney Dollars, other types of “substitute currency media” include manufacturer or retailer coupons, gift certificates, gift cards, or food stamps.
Substitute currency media may include a single barcode or more than one barcode, and these types of substitute currency media are referred to herein as “barcoded tickets.” Examples of barcoded tickets 135, 136 include casino cashout tickets such as “EZ Pay” Tickets and “Quicket” cashout tickets and CashFree™ slot-machine tickets, barcoded retailer coupons, barcoded gift certificates, or any other promotional media that includes a barcode. The singular form of “substitute currency media” is referred to as “substitute currency medium” or “medium” for short.
As used herein, a “document” includes a currency bill or a substitute currency medium. Likewise, the term “documents” includes currency bills and/or substitute currency media.
The term “substitute funds” includes casino script, paper tokens, and barcoded tickets. The term substitute currency media encompasses substitute funds, such that the term substitute finds defines a subset of documents encompassed by the term substitute currency media.
As is known, the dimensions of a U.S. currency bill are about 2.5 inches×6 inches (6.5 cm×15.5 cm). All U.S. currency bills have the same dimensions, but in many foreign countries, the dimensions from one denomination to another varies. In addition, certain types of substitute currency media such as “EZ Pay” tickets have approximately the same dimensions of U.S. currency, however, it is understood that the dimensions of substitute currency media may vary from type to type. The device 100 of the present invention according to any embodiment described herein is adapted to process documents having the same dimension or documents having varied dimensions.
Still referring to
In the specific case of substitute currency media, the variables may also relate to what distinguishing characteristics of the substitute currency media are being examined, such as any combination of the following without limitation: a barcode, a magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) pattern, characters readable by optical character recognition (OCR), including information printed according to the OCR-A and OCR-B fonts, a magnetic pattern, an optical variable device (OVD) pattern such as a hologram, a magnetic or electrically conductive thread, conductive ink, magnetic ink, an electrically conductive polymer, perforations, a coded watermark, or other encoded information. The detection of these distinguishing characteristics may be carried out by the media detector 112, which, in alternate embodiments, may employ a variety of detection means including, but not limited to, any combination of the following: a barcode reader, an optical scan head, a magnetic sensor, a thread sensor, an infrared sensor, an ultraviolet/fluorescent light scan head, an image scanner, or an imaging camera. These detection means and a host of others are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,795, entitled “Multi-Pocket Currency Discriminator,” previously incorporated by reference, and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/965,428, entitled “A Document Processing System Using Full Image Scanning,” filed on Sep. 27, 2001, also previously incorporated by reference, and may be modified in accordance with the present invention to detect distinguishing characteristics associated with substitute currency media or to capture an electronic image of one or both sides of a medium.
Some environments, such as a casino environment, may desire to retain copies of processed substitute currency media for record-keeping or other purposes, such as compliance with gaming regulations. In such environments, the media detector 112 includes an imaging camera which captures an electronic image of one or both sides of a passing substitute currency medium and/or a currency bill. The electronic image may be analyzed by software for a barcode pattern, and the barcode pattern may be decoded by software. The use of software to analyze and decode the barcode pattern eliminates the need to include a barcode reader in the media detector 112. After processing, the processed substitute currency medium can be discarded, and the electronic image is stored on one or more storage media, such as hard drives, CD-ROMs, or DVDs, for example. Accordingly, this embodiment eliminates the need for large physical storage space to house the processed substitute currency media. Moreover, the substitute currency media may also be electronically indexed or cross-referenced, simplifying future retrieval and archiving.
In other embodiments, instead of or in addition to an imaging camera, an image scanner is employed to scan one or both sides of a substitute currency medium or currency bill and save the captured images to a storage media under software control.
b shows a functional block diagram of a portion of an evaluation region 104 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The evaluation region 104 generally includes a currency detector 110, a media detector 112, and a controller 114. The evaluation region 104 may optionally include a second currency detector 122a and/or a second media detector 124a which may be disposed on the opposite side of a transport mechanism 106 as shown in
In one embodiment, the barcode reader 128 is an MS-911 barcode reader manufactured by Microscan. In alternate embodiments, other barcode readers may be employed, such as, for example, the LM 520, LazerData 8000, LazerData 9000E, or LD12000 barcode readers manufactured by PSC, Inc., the MS-880, MS-7100 or MS-7180 barcode readers manufactured by Microscan, the Maxiscan 2100 or Maxiscan 3300 barcode readers manufactured by Intermec, or an LED barcode reader manufactured by Welch Allyn. It is understood that the present invention is not limited to any particular barcode reader. The selection of a particular barcode reader depends on a number of factors, including size constraints in the evaluation region 104 of the document processing device, the particular barcode symbology to be scanned, and the desired scan rate. For example, the LazerData 9000E, manufactured by PSC, Inc., has scan rates ranging from 500 scans per second to 2000 scans per second, and is adapted to scan a linear barcode. The dimensions of the LazerData 9000E are approximately 3.84″ (D)×2.52″ (L)×2.52″ (W), or 97.5 mm (D)×64 mm (L)×64 mm (W). The MS-911 barcode reader has dimensions of approximately 3″ (H)×2.13″ (W)×1.63″ D), or 75 mm (H)×53.5 mm (W)×41 mm (D), and has a scan rate of up to 2000 scans per minute.
In alternate embodiments, the barcode reader 128 is adapted to scan less than 500 barcodes per minute, at least 500 barcodes per minute, 800 barcodes per minute, 1000 barcodes per minute, 1200 barcodes per minute, and 1500 barcodes per minute.
In the illustrated embodiment shown in
Still referring to
Still referring to
Barcodes are well known in the art, and there are numerous barcode symbologies, such as, for example, Codabar, Code 3 of 9, Interleaved 2 of 5, UPC, EAN 8, EAN 13, Postnet, Planet Code, Aztec Code, Code 11, Code 16K, Code 49, Code 93, Code 128, Data Matrix, MaxiCode, 3D or bumpy barcode, to name just a few. These and other barcode symbologies encode characters such as numbers, letters, and/or punctuation. Barcodes can be linear, like the UPC code, 2-D like the MaxiCode, or 3-D like the bumpy barcode. Barcodes are typically black and white, but they may also be in color. In the illustrated embodiment of
Still referring to
As explained previously, the currency detector 110 may comprise one or more sensors disposed at various locations along the transport mechanism 106. In the alternative embodiment in which the barcode reader 128 is integrated into the currency detector 110, the barcode reader 128 may be positioned among the plurality of sensors at any location within the currency detector 110 and along the transport mechanism 106. Furthermore, as emphasized previously, the currency detector 110 may be disposed on either side or both sides of the transport mechanism 106.
If the barcode reader 128 does not identify a barcode on the currency bill 134, the barcode reader 128 provides a “no read” electrical signal to the controller 114 indicating that no barcode was read or identified in that scan. As used herein, a substitute currency medium having an unreadable or non-existent barcode may be considered an “invalid” substitute currency medium. In the illustrated embodiment of
In the direction of arrow A shown in
In one embodiment, once the barcode reader 128 scans a valid barcode on the barcoded ticket 136, the controller 114 instructs the currency detector 110 to ignore the barcoded ticket 136. In an alternate embodiment, the controller 114 instructs the currency detector 110 to evaluate the barcoded ticket 136. In this alternate embodiment, if the controller 110 receives a signal from the media detector 124 that it has read a valid barcode and a signal from the currency detector 110 that it has detected an authentic currency, then the controller 114 provides an error signal to the operator alerting the operator that an unacceptable document has been detected. As used herein, the terms “operator,” “user,” and “customer” are interchangeable.
As stated above, the controller 114 may include a memory (not shown). In one embodiment, the memory includes master authenticating information. The master authenticating information includes information about authenticating characteristics of a currency bill, such as size, thickness, color, magnetism, reflectivity, absorbability, transmissivity, electrical conductivity, serial number, and so forth. The memory may also include master denomination information. The master denomination information includes information about denomination characteristics of a currency bill. Examples of such characteristics are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,592, previously incorporated by reference. In another embodiment, the memory includes media information, which includes information about the substitute currency media. This information may include, in alternate embodiments, any combination of the following: an amount of money associated with a medium, a ticket number of a casino cashout ticket, the characters encoded on a barcode on a barcoded medium, self-checkout station identification information, casino gaming machine information, information about the identity of the person redeeming the redeemable document, or the time a medium was dispensed, for example. In this embodiment, the media information may be periodically updated in the memory via a computer network coupled to the document processing device 100, such as described in connection with
As explained above, the printer 120 may optionally be coupled to the device 100. When the device 100 is coupled to the printer 120, the printer 120 may print reports containing information about the documents processed by the device 100, such as the reports described in connection with
c shows an evaluation region 104 which is adapted to process currency bills and substitute currency media bearing more than one barcode. A barcoded ticket 135 includes a first barcode pattern 137 and a second barcode pattern 139 disposed on a surface of the barcoded ticket 135 in the same orientation. Note that the first barcode pattern 137 and the second barcode pattern 139 could be disposed on opposite surfaces of the barcoded ticket 135 or in different orientations. For example, one or both of the first and second barcode patterns 137, 139 could be disposed in a vertical orientation instead of a horizontal orientation as shown.
In a preferred embodiment, the first barcode pattern 137 and the second barcode pattern 139 are encoded according to the same barcode symbology, though they may also be encoded according to different barcode symbologies, including any combination of the barcode symbologies mentioned above. Many commercially available barcode readers are capable of discerning among several different barcode symbologies, so the use of different barcode symbologies on a barcoded ticket would not necessarily call for multiple barcode readers. However, if multiple barcode readers are required, additional readers may be disposed in the media detector 112. An optional second barcode reader 129 is shown in the media detector 112 to scan for barcode patterns on passing documents. Like the barcode reader 128, the optional second barcode reader 129 includes a light source 141 for illuminating the barcode pattern. Barcode readers adapted to detect barcodes such as a bumpy barcode include an additional or alternate detection structure as is known in the art.
As explained in connection with
In embodiments having only one media detector disposed on one side of the transport mechanism 106, the substitute currency media would have to be faced such that the barcode(s) could be detected by the barcode reader 128. This facing may be accomplished manually by the operator before depositing the documents into the document processing device. Alternately, a document facing mechanism coupled to the transport mechanism 106 may be employed to rotate a document 180° so that the face position of the document is reversed. Further details of a document facing mechanism which may be utilized for this purpose are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,334, entitled “Document Facing Method and Apparatus,” which issued on Jun. 13, 2000, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the document facing mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,334 can be positioned downstream or upstream of the evaluation region 104. In the case where the document facing mechanism is positioned upstream of the evaluation region 104, a suitable detector, such as a barcode reader (not shown), may be disposed upstream of the document facing mechanism to detect the orientation of a substitute currency medium before it is evaluated by the evaluation region 104.
In the case where the document facing mechanism is positioned downstream of the evaluation region 104, the documents are transported past the evaluation region 104 and those documents which are not properly faced are then rotated by the document facing mechanism. Next, the properly faced document is fed back to the evaluation region 104 either along the same transport path or along a different transport path for processing. This embodiment avoids the scenario where an operator must reprocess wrong-way facing documents.
According to some embodiments, the controller 114 shown in
d depicts an exemplary set of documents that might be presented on a portion of the transport mechanism 106. The documents are transported in the direction of arrow A, and, in one embodiment, the first document to be transported is a batch identification card 150 or header card bearing a barcode pattern 152. Except where distinction is warranted, the term header card is used interchangeably for both header card, which precedes a batch, and trailer card, which follows a batch. The barcode pattern 152 disposed on the batch identification card 150 encodes a set of characters that is associated with the machine from which the documents that follow originated. For example, in a casino environment, there might be numerous slot machines, video-poker machines, and redemption machines which need to be emptied periodically and reconciled with the casino's accounting system. To identify from which machine a given batch of documents originated, a batch identification card is placed in the bill validator box of the machine. A number is encoded in the form of a barcode pattern 152 and imprinted or embedded on the batch identification card 150. The card 150 is then placed in the bill validator box such that when the contents of the box is emptied and placed into an input receptacle of a document processing device, the card 150 will be the first document processed by the document processing device. For the sake of example, the barcode pattern 152 encodes the number 00123, which represents slot machine number 123.
The next documents to be processed are the currency bills and substitute currency media contained in the bill validator boxes of the machine identified by the batch identification card 150. For illustrative purposes only, a few currency bills and substitute currency media are shown in
The presence of the barcoded ticket 156 on the transport mechanism 106 means that a casino patron received the barcoded ticket 156, perhaps as part of a casino's promotion to entice the casino patron to play a game or perhaps because the patron won $100 at a gaming machine. Then, the casino patron exchanged the barcoded ticket 156 either for $100 cash or for game credits at a gaming machine. Thus, barcoded ticket 156 has been redeemed, and needs to be processed so that it can be reconciled with the casino's accounting system.
The next documents transported by the transport mechanism 106 are a second barcoded ticket 162, a twenty-dollar bill 164, and a five-dollar bill 166. Additional documents (not shown) will be transported by the transport mechanism 106 until there are no more documents in the input receptacle to be processed. If another batch identification card is detected, all subsequent documents (until another batch identification card is detected) will be associated with the batch identification card. In an alternate embodiment, batch identification cards are not used.
Although the documents shown in
The document processing device 100 shown and described in connection with
The document processing device 100 shown and described in connection with
Document Processing Device Having Multiple Output Receptacles
As discussed above, according to some embodiments, the evaluation region 104 shown and described in connection with
In the illustrated embodiment, interposed in the transport mechanism 206, intermediate the evaluation region 204 and the lower output receptacles 208c-208h, is a document facing mechanism designated generally by reference numeral 203. The document facing mechanism 203 is capable of rotating a document (i.e., a currency bill or substitute currency medium) 180° so that the face position of the document is reversed. That is, if a U.S. currency bill, for example, is initially presented with the surface bearing a portrait of a president facing down, it may be directed to the document facing mechanism 203, whereupon it will be rotated 180° so that the surface with the portrait faces up. The leading edge of the document remains constant while the document is being rotated 180° by the document facing mechanism 203. The decision may be taken to send a document to the document facing mechanism 203 when the selected mode of operation or other operator instructions call for maintaining a given face position of documents as they are processed by the device 200. For example, it may be desirable in certain circumstances for all of the currency bills ultimately delivered to the lower output receptacles 208c-208h to have the currency bill surface bearing the portrait of the president facing up. In such embodiments of the device 200, the evaluation region 204 is capable of determining the face position of a bill, such that a bill not having the desired face position can first be directed to the document facing mechanism 203 before being delivered to the appropriate output receptacle 208. Further details of a document facing mechanism which may be utilized for this purpose are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,334, entitled “Document Facing Method and Apparatus,” which issued on Jun. 13, 2000, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and may be employed in conjunction with the present invention such as the device illustrated in
The document processing device 200 in
The operator can control the operation of the device 200 through the control unit 216. By selecting various user-defined modes through the control unit 216, such as via an input device such as a keyboard 219, or a switch, button, or touch screen (not shown), the operator can direct currency bills and substitute media into specific output receptacles, such as output receptacles 208a-208h. Note that fewer or more output receptacles may be employed in alternate embodiments. In still other embodiments, the user can select pre-programmed modes or create new user-defined modes based on the particular requirements of the application. For example, the operator may select a user-defined mode which instructs the device 200 to sort currency bills by denomination; accordingly, the evaluation region 204 would denominate the bills and direct one dollar bills into the first lower output receptacle 208c, five dollar bills into the second lower output receptacle 108d, ten dollar bills into the third lower output receptacle 208e, twenty dollar bills into the forth lower output receptacle 208f, fifty dollar bills into the fifth lower output receptacle 208g, and one-hundred dollar bills into the sixth lower output receptacle 208h. The operator may also instruct the device 200 to deliver those bills whose denomination was not determined, i.e., no call bills, to the first upper output receptacle 208a. In such an embodiment, the upper output receptacle 208a would function as a reject pocket. In an alternative embodiment, the operator may instruct the device 200 to also evaluate the authenticity of each currency bill. In such an embodiment, authentic bills would be directed to the appropriate lower output receptacles 208c-208h. Those bills that were determined not to be authentic, i.e., suspect bills, would be delivered to the second upper output receptacle 208b. A multitude of user defined modes are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,795, previously incorporated by reference, which may be employed in conjunction with the present invention such as the device illustrated in
It should be noted that the control unit 216 provides the operator with a broad range of flexibility in selecting which output receptacles receive which documents. For example, the operator may instruct the device 200 to sort the currency bills by denomination and to deliver authentic currency bills according to their denomination into selected ones of the output receptacles 208c-208h. The operator may further instruct the device 200 to deliver no call bills and suspect bills into output receptacle 208a, and to deliver substitute currency media into output receptacle 208b. In addition, the device 200 may be unable to evaluate a particular document because, for example, it is damaged or excessively worn. The operator may instruct the device 200 to deliver any substitute currency media that cannot be evaluated to the output receptacle 108a. Alternatively, additional output receptacles (not shown) may be employed to receive any combination of no call bills, suspect bills, valid substitute currency media, or invalid substitute currency media. The delivery of such documents may occur without suspension of operation of the device 200, or with suspension of the operation of the device 200, as explained next.
According to some embodiments, the device 200 is configured so that when the evaluation region 204 is unable to identify certain criteria regarding a currency bill or substitute currency medium, the unidentified document is flagged and “presented” in one of the output receptacles 208a-208h, that is, the transport mechanism 206 is suspended or halted so that the unidentified document is located at a predetermined position within one of the output receptacles 208a-208h, such as being the last document transported to one of the output receptacles. In the case of currency bills, such criteria can include denominating information, authenticating information, information indicative of the currency bill's series, or other information the evaluation region 204 is attempting to obtain pursuant to a mode of operation. In the case of substitute currency media, such criteria may include, in addition to or exclusive of the criteria mentioned above, whether information, such as a valid barcode, is detected on the substitute currency media.
The user may determine in which output receptacle 208a-208h the flagged document is presented according to a selected mode of operation. For example, where the unidentified document is the last document transported to an output receptacle 208a-208h, it may be positioned within a stacker wheel or positioned at the top of the documents already within the output receptacle 208a-208h. While unidentified documents may be transported to any output receptacles 208a-208h, it may be more convenient for the operator to have unidentified documents transported to one of the upper output receptacles 208a,b, which are positioned such that the operator is able to easily see and/or inspect the document which has not been identified by the evaluation region 204. The operator may then either visually inspect the flagged document while it is resting on the top of the stack, or the operator may decide to remove the document from the output receptacle 208 in order to examine the flagged document more closely. In an alternative embodiment of the device 200, the control unit 216 may communicate to the user via the display/user-interface 217 information identifying which one of the output receptacles 108a-108h a flagged document is presented.
The device 200 may be adapted to continue operation automatically when a flagged document is removed from the upper output receptacle 208a,b or, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the device 200 may be adapted to suspend or halt operation and require input from the operator via the control unit 216. Upon examination of a flagged document by the operator, it may be found that the flagged document is genuine or valid even though it was not identified as such by the evaluation region 204 or the evaluation region 204 may have been unable to denominate the flagged document. However, because the document was not identified, the total value and/or denomination counters will not reflect its value. According to one embodiment, such an unidentified document is removed from the output receptacles 208 and reprocessed or set aside. According to another embodiment, the flagged documents may accumulate in the upper output receptacles 208a,b until the batch of documents currently being processed is completed or the output receptacle 208a,b is full and then reprocessed or set aside. In yet another embodiment, the control unit 216 of the device 200 includes denomination keys, such as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,697, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Upon inspection of a flagged currency bill, such as a no call bill, the operator may manually key in the denomination of the bill via a denomination key, and resume operation. In the case of a substitute currency media, the operator may manually enter into the device 200 via the control unit 216 information about the substitute currency media. Such information may include the barcode number when the substitute currency media is a barcoded ticket, the “denomination” of the substitute currency media, such as a $5 Disney Dollar, the value associated with the barcoded ticket, such as $100, and other identifying information.
According to other embodiments, when a document is flagged, the transport mechanism may be stopped before the flagged document is transported to one of the output receptacles. Such an embodiment is particularly suited for situations in which the operator need not examine the document being flagged; for example, the device 200 is instructed to first process United States currency and then British currency pursuant to a selected mode of operation where the device 200 processes United States $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 currency bills into the lower output receptacles 208c-208h, respectively. Upon detection of the first British pound note, the device 200 may halt operation allowing the operator to empty the lower output receptacles 208c-208h and to make any spatial adjustments necessary to accommodate the British currency. A multitude of modes of operation which may be employed in conjunction with the present invention are described in conjunction with bill flagging, presenting, and/or transport halting in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Document Processing,” which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
In the illustrated embodiment, with regard to the upper output receptacles 208a and 208b, the second upper output receptacle 208b is provided with a stacker wheel 227 for accumulating a number of documents, while the first upper output receptacle 208a is not provided with such a stacker wheel. Thus, when, pursuant to a preprogrammed mode of operation or a user-selected mode or other operator instructions, a document is to be fed to the first upper output receptacle 208a, there may be a further instruction to momentarily suspend operation of the device 200 for the operator to inspect and remove the document. On the other hand, it may be possible to allow a number of documents to accumulate in the first upper output receptacle 208a before operation is suspended or halted. Similarly, the second upper output receptacle 208b may be utilized initially as an additional one of the lower output receptacles 208c-208h. However, in the illustrated embodiment shown in
a and 4b illustrate the evaluation region 204 according to one embodiment of the device 200. The evaluation region 204 can be opened for service, access to sensors, to clear document jams, etc., as shown in
The direction of document travel through the evaluation region 204 is indicated by arrow A in
Additional details concerning the input receptacle 202, transport mechanism 206, and diverters 237 are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,000, entitled “Currency Handling System Having Multiple Output Receptacles,” issued on Jun. 4, 2002, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
a-1 and 4b-1 illustrate the evaluation region 204 according to another embodiment of the device 200. Similar to the previous embodiment, the evaluation region 204 can be opened for service, access to sensors, to clear document jams, etc., as shown in
The direction of document travel through the evaluation region 204 is indicated by arrow A in
Referring back to
A series of diverters 237a-237f, which are a part of the transport mechanism 206, direct the documents to one of the lower output receptacles 208c-208h. When the diverters 237 are in an upper position, the documents are directed to the adjacent lower output receptacle 208. When the diverters 237 are in a lower position, the documents proceed in the direction of the next diverter 237. Alternatively, the operator may instruct the device 200 to direct substitute currency media to one or more of the upper output receptacles 208a-208b such that only currency bills are presented to the diverters 237a-237f.
Additional details concerning the lower output receptacles 208c-208h, the escrow compartments 205, and the storage cassettes 207 are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,000, entitled “Currency Handling System Having Multiple Output Receptacles,” incorporated by reference above. It should be emphasized that the operator may also instruct the device 200 to direct substitute currency media to one or more of the lower output receptacles 208. In the illustrated embodiment, only currency bills are directed to the lower output receptacles 208, however, in alternative embodiments, substitute currency media could also be directed to one or more of the lower output receptacles 208.
In some embodiments, the device 200 is dimensioned to process a stack of different sized currencies at the same time. In other embodiments, the device 200 can also be dimensioned to process a stack of different sized currencies and substitute currency media at the same time. For example, one application may require the processing of United States dollars (2.5 inches×6 inches, 6.5 cm×15.5 cm) and French currency (as large as 7.17 inches×3.82 inches, 18.2 cm×9.7 cm). The application may simply require the segregation of the U.S. currency from the French currency wherein the device 200 delivers U.S. currency to the first lower output receptacle 208c and the French currency to the second output receptacle 208d. In still other embodiments, the device 200 processes a mixed stack of U.S. ten and twenty dollar bills and French one hundred and two hundred Franc notes wherein the currency documents are denominated, counted, and authenticated. In such embodiments, the U.S. ten and twenty dollar bills are delivered to the first 208c and second 208d lower output receptacles, respectively, and the French one hundred and two hundred Franc notes are delivered to the third 208e and fourth 208f lower output receptacle, respectively. In yet other embodiments, the device 200 denominates, counts, and authenticates six different types of currency wherein, for example, Canadian currency is delivered to the first lower output receptacle 208c, United States currency is delivered to the second output receptacle 208d, Japanese currency is delivered to the third lower output receptacle 208e, British currency is delivered to the fourth lower output receptacle 208f, French currency is delivered to the fifth lower output receptacle 208g, and German currency is delivered to the sixth lower output receptacle 208h. In still other embodiments, no call bills or other denominations of foreign currency, such as Mexican currency for example, may be directed to the second upper output receptacle 208b. In other embodiments, suspect bills are delivered to the first upper output receptacle 208a. In still other embodiments, U.S. currency and cashout tickets are delivered to different output receptacles. These embodiments represent just a few examples of the numerous combinations of U.S. currency bills, foreign currency bills, and substitute media that can be delivered to the output receptacles 208.
Additional details concerning the processing of foreign currency are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,259, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Discriminating and Counting Documents”; commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,103, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Authenticating and Discriminating Currency”; commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/626,324, entitled “Currency Handling System Employing an Infrared Authenticating System,” filed Jul. 26, 2000; and commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,461, entitled “Customizable International Note Counter,” each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In other alternative embodiments of the device 200, the user can vary the type of documents delivered to the output receptacles 208. For example, in one alternative embodiment an operator can direct, via the control unit 216 (shown in
In still other alternative embodiments, no call bills and bills that are stacked upon one another are directed to the second upper output receptacle 208b. In yet other alternative embodiments, the operator can direct that all documents failing an authentication test be delivered to the first upper output receptacle 208a. In still further embodiments, the operator instructs the device 200 to deliver no call bills, suspect bills, stacked bills, etc. to one of the lower output receptacles 208c-208h. In yet other alternative embodiments, the currency bills are directed to one or more of the lower output receptacles 208c-208h, no call bills and suspect bills are directed to the upper output receptacle 208a, and substitute currency media are directed to the upper output receptacle 208b. In still other embodiments, U.S. currency bills are directed to selected ones of the lower output receptacles 208, foreign currency bills are directed to other lower output receptacles 208, no call bills, suspect bills, and invalid substitute currency media (i.e., media which cannot be identified) are directed to the first upper output receptacle 208a, and valid substitute currency media are directed to the second upper output receptacle 208b. Alternatively, a third upper output receptacle (not shown) may receive invalid substitute currency media so as to keep all substitute currency media separate from currency bills.
In still other alternate embodiments, genuine U.S. currency bills and foreign currency bills and identified substitute currency are directed to selected ones of the lower output receptacles 208, unidentified substitute currency media are directed to the first upper output receptacle 208a, and no call currency bills and suspect currency bills are directed to the second upper output receptacle 208b. In short, the device 200 as illustrated having eight output receptacles 208a-208h provides a great deal of flexibility to the operator. And in other alternative embodiments of the currency handling device 200 with a fewer or greater number of output receptacles 208, numerous different combinations for processing documents are available. What output receptacle receives which type of document, whether a U.S. currency bill, a foreign currency bill, or a substitute currency medium, is entirely customizable by the operator.
In the illustrated embodiment shown in
The evaluation region 104 shown and described in connection with
The device 500 in
A pair of driven stacking wheels 527a and 527b are located in the output receptacle 508 and come into contact with the documents as the documents are transported into the output receptacle 508. The stacking wheels 527a and 527b are supported for rotational movement about respective shafts journalled on a rigid frame and driven by a motor (not shown). Flexible blades of the stacker wheels 527a and 527b deliver the documents onto a forward end of a stacker plate 652 shown in
According to one embodiment, the document scanning device 500 is compact, having a height (H1) of about 9½ to 10½ inches, width (W1) of about 10¾ to 11¾ inches, and a depth (D1) of about 12 to 16 inches.
Like the device 200 shown and described in connection with
a and 7b illustrate an exterior perspective view and a side cross-sectional view, respectively, of a compact, document processing device 700 having dual output receptacles. The process for carrying documents through the device 700 is the same as discussed above, except that the device 700 has first and second output receptacles, 708a, 708b, respectively. A diverter 760, shown in
b shows a pair of stacker wheels 727a, 727b for delivering documents to the first and second output receptacles 708a, 708b. However, in alternate embodiments, the device 700 includes the stacker wheel 727a only, the stacker wheel 727b only, or neither the stacker wheel 727a nor the stacker wheel 727b.
The device 700 includes an evaluation region 704, such as the evaluation region 104 shown and described in connection with
According to one embodiment the device 700 is compact having a height (H2) of about 17½ inches, width (W2) of about 13½ inches, and a depth (D2) of about 15 inches. According to another embodiment, the device 700 has dimensions of: a height (H2) of about 18 inches; a width (W2) of about 13¾ inches; and a depth (D2) of about 16 inches. The device 700 may be rested upon a tabletop, countertop, desk, or the like.
Like the embodiments described above in connection with a device having multiple output receptacles, the device 700 may be instructed by an operator via a control unit 716, which may include a touch panel display or other suitable interface, to direct certain documents to one or the other of the first and second output receptacles 708a, 708b. These modes may be pre-programmed or operator-defined. For example, according to one embodiment, genuine currency bills and valid substitute currency media are directed to the first output receptacle 708a, whereas non-genuine currency bills and invalid substitute currency media are directed to the second output receptacle 708b. According to another embodiment, genuine currency bills are directed to the first output receptacle 708a, valid substitute currency media are directed to the second output receptacle 708b, and the device 700 is programmed to halt or suspend operation when a non-genuine currency bill or invalid substitute currency medium is detected by the evaluation region of the device 700. In one embodiment, the control unit 716 may include denomination keys, such as explained above. The control unit 716 may also be adapted to permit the operator to manually enter information about a flagged substitute currency medium, such as the information described above in connection with
In other embodiments, the evaluation region 104 shown and described in connection with
An operator places a stack of documents into the document processing device 800 for processing, and places a plurality of coins and/or tokens into the coin sorting device 8000 for sorting and counting. The document processing device 800 processes the stack of documents, and the controller 814 in the document processing device 800 stores information representative of the documents being processed, such as the denomination of the currency bills, the value of the substitute currency media, the number of non-genuine currency bills, the number of invalid substitute currency media, and so forth. The coin sorting device 8000 sorts and counts the coins or tokens, and the controller 8014 in the coin sorting device 8000 stores information representative of the coins or tokens being sorted and counted, such as the value and denomination of the coins (penny, dime, nickel, etc.), the number and kind of tokens, and so forth.
In some embodiments, the stored information in the coin sorting device 8000 is transmitted to the controller 814 of the document processing device 800. The document processing device 800 organizes and presents the combined information to the operator via a display, such as a monitor or touch screen. In other embodiments, the stored information in the document processing device 800 is transmitted to the controller 8014 of the coin sorting device 8000, which organizes and presents the information combined from both devices to the operator via a display, such as a monitor or touch screen.
Referring now to
The coin sorter system 9000 includes a control panel 9016. In the illustrated embodiment, the control panel 9016 includes a display 9076 for displaying information about the coin sorter system 9000 and a plurality of keys 9078 for allowing the operator to enter information to the coin sorter system 9000. In some alternate embodiments, the control panel 9016 includes a touch screen.
Additional details concerning the coin sorter system 9000 are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,418, entitled “High Speed Coin Sorter Having a Reduced Size,” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,395, entitled “High Speed Coin Sorter Having a Reduced Size,” each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In one embodiment, the coin sorter system 9000 shown in
In some embodiments, the evaluation region 104 of
Referring now to
The funds processing machine 1000 includes a coin receptacle 1044 which receives coins of a single denomination or of mixed denominations from a user. Additionally, an input receptacle 1002 is included within the funds processing machine 1000. The input receptacle 1002 is illustrated in its open position in
The funds processing machine 1000 includes a dispenser 1008a and a dispensed coin receptacle 1046 for dispensing to the user the desired amount of funds in both bank notes and coins. A return slot 1008b may also be included within the funds processing machine 1000 to return currency bills or substitute currency media to the user which cannot be authenticated or otherwise processed. Coins which cannot be authenticated may be returned to the user via the dispensed coin receptacle 1046. The funds processing machine 1000 further includes a document dispenser 1020 for providing a user with a receipt of the transaction that he or she has performed.
In its simplest form, the funds processing machine 1000 receives funds (currency, coins, substitute currency media) via the coin input receptacle 1044 and the input receptacle 1002, and after these deposited funds have been authenticated and counted, the funds processing machine 1000 returns to the user an amount equal to the deposited funds but in a different variation of bank notes and coins. For example, the user of the funds processing machine 1000 may input $102.99 in various small bank notes and pennies and in turn receive a $100 bank note, two $1 bank notes, three quarters, two dimes, and four pennies. Alternatively, the funds processing machine 1000 may simply return a receipt of the transaction or a barcoded ticket through the document dispenser 1020 which the user can redeem for funds by an attendant of the funds processing machine 1000. Alternatively, the funds processing machine 1000 can credit a user's account.
The funds processing machine 1000 may also include a media reader slot 1042 into which the user inserts his or her identification card so that the funds processing machine 1000 can identify the user. The touch screen 1016 typically provides the user with a menu of options which prompts the user to carry out a series of actions for identifying the user by displaying certain commands and requesting that the user depress touch keys on the touch screen 1016 (e.g., a user PIN). The funds processing machine 1000 includes a card media reader device which is capable of reading from or writing to one or more types of card media. This media may include various types of memory storage technology such as magnetic storage, solid state memory devices, and optical devices.
b illustrates the funds processing machine 1000 in a side view illustrating the various modules. The document processing module 1004 receives documents from the input receptacle 1002 for processing. The inward movement of the input receptacle 1002 positions a stack of documents at the feed station of the document scanning and counting device which automatically feeds, counts, scans, authenticates, and sorts the documents, one at a time at a high rate of speed (e.g., at least 350 documents per minute). In place of or in addition to the input receptacle 1002, the funds processing machine 1000 may include a single document receptacle which receives and processes one document at a time. The documents that are recognized by the document processing module 1004 are delivered to a storage area such as a currency canister (not shown). When a document cannot be recognized by the document processing module 1004, it is returned to the customer through the return slot 1008b. Exemplary machines which scan, sort, count, and authenticate currency bills as required by the bank note processing module are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,295,196, 5,870,487 and 5,875,259, each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
In place of or in addition to the input receptacle 1002, the funds processing machine 1000 may include an input receptacle slot which receives and processes one document at a time. Such an input receptacle slot would be placed at the front of the funds processing machine 1000.
Additional details of the funds processing machine 1000 are disclosed in commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,537, entitled “Currency Processing Machine with Multiple Internal Coin Receptacles,” which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
In accordance with the present invention, the document processing module 1004 of the funds processing machine 1000 shown in
The funds processing machine 1000 also includes a coin processing module 1048. The coin processing module 1048 sorts, counts and authenticates the mixed coins which are deposited in the coin input receptacle 1044 which leads directly into the coin processing module 1048. The coins are sorted in the coin processing module 1048 in a variety of ways but the preferred method is a sorting based on the diameter of the coins. When a non-authenticated coin is determined by the coin processing module 1048, it is directed through a coin reject tube 1054 towards the dispensed coin receptacle 1046. Thus, the user who has entered such a non-authenticated coin can retrieve the coin by accessing the dispensed coin receptacle 1046. Coin sorting and authenticating devices which can perform the function of the coin processing module 1048 are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,299,977, 5,453,047, 5,507,379, 5,542,880, 5,865,673 and 5,997,395, previously incorporated by reference. Alternatively, other coins sorters such as a rail sorter can be used to perform the function of the coin processing module 1048.
The funds processing machine 1000 further includes a document dispensing module 1040 which is connected via transport mechanism 1006 to the dispenser 1008a that is accessible by the user. The document dispensing module 1040 typically dispenses loose bills in response to a request of the user for such bank notes. Also, the document dispensing module 1040 may be configured to dispense strapped notes into the dispenser 1008a if that is desired. In one embodiment of the present invention, the user may select the denomination of the loose or strapped bills dispensed to the user. As noted above, the document dispensing module 1040 is modified in one embodiment to dispense both currency bills and substitute currency media. For example, in one embodiment, the document dispensing module 1040 may return to the user invalid substitute currency media. In addition, as mentioned above, the document dispensing module 1040 may dispense a barcoded ticket which the customer may redeem for funds.
The funds processing machine 1000 also includes a coin dispensing module 1050 which dispenses loose coins to the user via the dispensed coin receptacle 1046. The coin dispensing module 1050 is connected to the dispensed coin receptacle 1046 via a coin tube 1056. Thus, the user of the funds processing machine 1000 has the ability to select the desired coin denominations that he or she will receive in response to a transaction.
The coins which have been sorted into their denomination by the coin processing module 1048 are sent to coin tubes 1058 which correspond to each specific denomination. The coin tubes 1058 lead to a coin receptacle station 1052 for each of the denominations that are to be sorted and authenticated by the coin processing module 1048.
The funds processing machine 1000 includes a controller 1014 which is coupled to each module 1004, 1040, 1048, 1050 and 1052 within the funds processing machine 1000 and controls the interaction between each module. For example, the controller 1014 may review the input totals from the funds processing modules 1004 and 1048 and direct an appropriate funds output via the funds dispensing modules 1040 and 1050. The controller 1014 also directs the operation of the coin receptacle stations 1052 as described below. While not shown, the controller 1014 may also be coupled to a media reader associated with the media reader slot 1042 and also to a printer at the document dispenser 1020, if these devices are present in the funds processing machine 1000. The printer, for example, may print a barcoded ticket representative of the amount of funds deposited by the customer, or the printer may print a receipt of the transaction.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, any of the foregoing systems may be communicatively coupled to a computer network, such as a casino gaming machine network or a retailer network. Examples of such embodiments will be discussed next.
In one embodiment, the computer network 1192 is a casino gaming machine network and includes a database for storing information about barcoded tickets that have been dispensed by the casino's gaming machines. When a barcoded ticket is dispensed, the ticket number is stored in a database along with the payout amount. A barcode, such as barcode 138 shown in
Alternatively, the barcode numbers associated with barcoded tickets identified by the document processing device 1100 are stored in the document processing device 1100. These numbers are periodically provided to the casino gaming machine network 1192. The casino machine gaming network 1192 may include a casino accounting system. The numbers are matched up with the payout amounts stored in a database associated with the casino machine gaming network 1192, and the payout amounts may then be reconciled in the casino accounting system.
In another embodiment, the casino gaming machine network 1192 is a retailer network that includes a retailer database for storing information about promotional media. For example, a retailer customer may deposit both currency bills and substitute currency media such as store coupons or gift certificates into a self-checkout station at the point of sale. The documents deposited at the self-checkout stations are deposited into a document processing device 1100. Documents from cash register tills may also be deposited into a document processing device 1100. The document processing device 1100 rapidly processes the documents, and identifies the barcode numbers from the barcoded media. These barcode numbers are then transmitted to the retailer network which determines the values associated with the barcode numbers (such as fifty cents off, or a $50 gift certificate) by querying the retailer database. These values are then reconciled in the retailer's accounting system. Optionally, these values may be transmitted back to the document processing device 1100 for display to the customer.
Turning now to
In some embodiments, the input receptacle is adapted to receive a stack of documents. In other embodiments, the input receptacle is adapted to receive one document at a time. The deposited documents are transported, one at a time, along a transport mechanism in the document processing device. In step 1202, a first document is transported past a media detector. In some embodiments, the media detector comprises a barcode reader adapted to scan for barcodes on a document. In step 1204, the media detector provides a signal representative of whether a valid substitute currency medium was detected. For example, if the barcode reader provides a “good read” signal in response to scanning the first document, the first document is a valid medium. However, if the barcode provides a “no read” signal, the first document is not a valid medium. If the first document is a valid medium, the first document is transported to an output receptacle (step 1206). Which output receptacle receives the first document depends on which output receptacle has been specified according to a preprogrammed or operator-defined mode. If there is only one output receptacle on the document processing device, then the first document is transported to that output receptacle.
Note that between steps 1204 and 1206, in some embodiments, the first document may be first transported to a bill facing mechanism before being transported to an output receptacle. According to some of such embodiments, the document processing device is adapted to determine which orientation the first document is facing, and if the first document is facing the wrong orientation, it can be transported to a bill facing mechanism. Alternatively, the desired face orientation can be predetermined either by the manufacturer or the operator. In other embodiments, the first document is not transported to a bill facing mechanism.
If a valid medium is not detected at step 1204, the document is transported past a currency detector at step 1208. If the currency detector detects an authentic currency bill (step 1210), the first document is transported to a pre-selected or operator-defined output receptacle at step 1212. The document processing device can also determine the denomination of the currency bill, and transport the first document to the appropriate output receptacle according to operator-specified instructions or preprogrammed instructions. In some embodiments, a genuine currency bill may optionally be transported to a document facing mechanism, such as the document facing mechanism 203 shown in
In other embodiments, steps 1208 and 1202 are reversed, such that a document is first transported past a currency detector and then past a media detector. In still other embodiments, steps 1202 and 1208 (or steps 1208 and 1202) are performed before steps 1204 and 1210 (or steps 1210 and 1204). In other words, in these other embodiments, the documents are transported past the media and currency detectors (in any order), and then the document processing device determines whether the document is a valid medium or authentic currency bill. Note that in the embodiments in which the document processing device has only a single output receptacle, steps 1206 and 1212 are identical because both valid media and authentic currency are transported to the same output receptacle.
At step 1214, the document processing device determines whether it is instructed to halt on detecting an unacceptable document, i.e., a document that is neither valid media nor authentic currency, such as a blank piece of paper. These instructions may be operator-specified or preprogrammed. In some embodiments, the document processing device is adapted to determine whether an unacceptable document is an invalid medium or a non-genuine currency bill, and can receive separate instructions on handling each. If the device is instructed to halt on detecting an unacceptable document, the operation of the device is halted or suspended at step 1216 to permit inspection and/or removal of the unacceptable document. At step 1218, operation of the device is restarted once the unacceptable document has been inspected and/or removed from the document processing device, and operation continues at either steps 1200 or 1222 depending on pre-programmed or operator-specified instructions. In some embodiments, the operator may, upon inspection, determine a bill's denomination. In such embodiments, the operator may manually enter the denomination of a currency bill, such a via a denomination key, deposit the bill into an output receptacle, and resume operation. In another embodiment, the operator may, upon inspection, determine information about the unacceptable substitute currency medium, such as the information described above.
Returning to step 1214, if the document processing device is instructed to offsort unacceptable documents, the unacceptable document is transported to the offsort receptacle at step 1220. The particular offsort receptacle which is to receive unacceptable documents may be operator-specified or preprogrammed. In embodiments in which the device is adapted to discriminate between invalid media and non-genuine currency bills, the unacceptable document may be routed to one of two offsort receptacles depending on what kind of unacceptable document was detected. This routing decision may be made under the control of operator-specified or preprogrammed instructions.
If there are no further documents to be processed at step 1222, the device may optionally display information associated with the processed documents at step 1224. This information may include any combination of the following according to one or more different embodiments: the total amount of authentic currency bills processed (e.g., $15,567); a breakdown of the denominations of currency bills processed (e.g., 140 $1 bills, 147 $5 bills, 268 $10 bills, and so on); the total number of valid media detected (e.g., 156 pieces of valid media processed); barcode information detected from barcoded media (e.g., barcode number 12345678); the total number of flagged currency bills processed (e.g., 5 flagged bills, where 3 bills are no call bills, 1 bill is a suspect bill, and 1 bill is both suspect and no call); the total number of invalid media detected (e.g., 16 pieces of invalid media processed); the total amount of media detected (e.g., $10,000 in media processed); the total number of unidentified documents—i.e., documents which were neither determined to be a currency bill nor a valid substitute currency medium, such as a blank piece of paper for example—detected (e.g., 27 pieces of unidentified documents processed); why a particular currency bill was not authenticated (e.g., 4 bills failed magnetic strip test, 2 bills failed ultraviolet test); the total number of documents processed (e.g., 11,253 documents processed); the number of batch identification cards processed (e.g., 4 batch identification cards processed); identification information of the gaming machine from which a batch of currency bills and substitute currency media originated based on information encoded on a batch identification card (e.g., batch identification card number 12345 which identifies gaming machine number 42); and other suitable information.
At step 1226, the device may optionally generate a report based on some or all of the information displayed at step 1224. This report may be formatted and displayed to the operator, and/or it may be printed, and/or it may be transmitted to a network computer for storage or further manipulation.
Note that in the embodiments described in connection with
Turning now to
At step 1312, the device determines whether any more documents remain to be processed. If there are, operation continues at step 1302 until there are no further documents to be processed. If no further documents are to be processed, the device retrieves the values associated with the stored barcode numbers from a computer network at step 1314. Alternatively, after each instance in which the device detects a barcode number, the device may retrieve the value associated with the barcode number from the computer network. The computer network may be a casino gaming machine network or a retailer network, for example. In a casino gaming environment, the barcode numbers may be associated with barcoded cashout tickets. In the retailer environment, the barcode numbers may be associated with store coupons, gift certificates, or other barcoded promotional media. In the casino gaming environment, one or more databases may be linked to provide information about the player who redeemed the ticket, when the ticket was dispensed, when the ticket was redeemed, and so forth, based on the barcode number from a cashout ticket. In the retailer environment, one or more databases may be linked to provide information about the product associated with the promotion, manufacturer data, and customer information based on data associated with customer loyalty cards, for example. This information and the other information described in connection with
Additional details concerning the operation of a document processing device according to the present invention may be found in connection with the description of
a illustrates a method of processing documents including currency bills and substitute currency media bearing more than one barcode pattern in a document processing device according to any embodiment described in connection with
In the specific case where the substitute currency media are barcoded tickets, a valid substitute currency medium is detected when a media detector successfully decodes the barcode patterns imprinted on the barcoded ticket into sets of meaningful characters. In a specific embodiment, one set of meaningful characters is a ticket number, and another set of meaningful characters is a value or amount of currency. Thus, a value of $12BB, for example, would not be a meaningful set of characters and the document would be flagged as an invalid substitute currency medium and processed as such at step 1334. Similarly, the ticket numbers may have to conform to a set of predetermined rules, such as being a six-digit number followed by an alphabet letter. Thus, a ticket number of 1234567 would not be a meaningful set of characters, and a document bearing that ticket number would be flagged and processed as an invalid substitute currency medium.
At step 1334, operation of the document processing device may be halted or suspended, or the invalid substitute currency medium may be directed to a reject output pocket, for example. If a valid substitute currency medium is detected, the first barcode pattern is decoded into a ticket number at step 1328. The second barcode pattern is decoded into a value at step 1330, and the ticket number and the value are stored to a file at step 1332.
At step 1336, the document processing device determines whether there are any more documents to be processed. If so, processing continues at step 1322. If there are no further documents to be processed, the document processing device transmits the ticket numbers and values generated at either or both of steps 1326 and 1332 to an accounting system for reconciliation at step 1338. Alternately, the document processing device can copy the file to a storage medium such as a floppy disk. The machine operator may then present the floppy disk to the accounting system for reconciliation. At step 1340, an optional report may be generated containing a summary of the processed documents.
Referring back to
As described above, an operator may select via the control unit 116 any one of a multitude of preprogrammed or user-defined modes, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,795, entitled “Multi-Pocket Currency Discriminator,” in U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,705, entitled “Method of Creating Identifiable Smaller Stacks of Currency Bills Within a Larger Stack of Currency Bills,” and in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/688,538, entitled “Currency Handling System Having Multiple Output Receptacles,” which was filed on Oct. 16, 2000, previously incorporated by reference. The operator may select these and other modes via an interface such as the control unit 116 shown in
A casino environment includes a first gaming machine 1502, a second gaming machine 1504, and an nth gaming machine 1506 arranged about a casino floor. Casino patrons play games of chance on the gaming machines 1502, 1504, 1506 during which currency bills and substitute currency media are received and dispensed. At certain predetermined times, such as daily, hourly, every six hours, and so forth, or upon the occurrence of certain events, such as a full condition reported by a bill validator box, a casino operator empties the bill validator boxes which contain stacks of documents 1518, 1520, 1522 from the gaming machines 1502, 1504, 1506, respectively. The stacks of documents 1518, 1520, 1522 are brought into a soft-count room in a secure area of the casino for processing. One or more of the stacks of documents retrieved from the gaming machines are deposited into an input receptacle of a document processing device within the soft-count room. In
The document processing devices 1508, 1510 may be any document processing device shown and described above such as those described in connection with
In some embodiments where the substitute currency media include a barcode pattern encoding a ticket number, the ticket numbers of the valid substitute currency media processed in the document processing devices 1508, 1510 are stored in a file in a storage medium such as the storage medium 119 shown in
The gaming machines 1502, 1504, 1506 are communicatively coupled to the network 1512. In one embodiment, the information encoded on the batch identification cards placed in the gaming machines is maintained in the accounting system 1514, which information includes the identity of the gaming machine in which the batch identification card is placed. The batch identification cards may be generated by a portable device carried by casino operators who empty the bill validator boxes from the gaming machines. When a bill validator box is emptied, the portable device dispenses a batch identification card bearing a barcode pattern representative of the name or number of the gaming machine into which the card is placed. After the bill validator box fills up with currency bills and substitute currency media, the batch identification card, the currency bills, and the substitute currency media are placed into a document processing device for processing. The barcode on the batch identification card is decoded and stored in a file along with information about the currency bills and substitute currency media processed by the document processing device.
The casino operator removes the stack of documents 1616 and places them into the input receptacle of a document processing device 1650. The document processing device 1650 may be any document processing device shown and described in connection with
If the document under consideration includes one or more barcode patterns, the barcode patterns on the ticket are scanned by the barcode reader(s) 1620 and decoded into characters. For example, the barcode pattern on a batch identification card would be decoded into a batch identification number 1622, which is a number associated with the gaming machine 1602. A first barcode pattern of a multi-barcoded ticket would be decoded into a ticket number 1624. A second barcode pattern would be decoded into a value 1626 representing the currency amount for which the barcoded ticket was redeemed. The values of the authentic currency bills processed, the batch identification number 1622, the ticket numbers 1624, and the values 1626 form the processed document data 1630. The processed document data 1630 is stored in a file on a floppy disk, a hard drive, a network drive, or any other suitable storage medium.
After the documents are processed, they are directed to one or more output receptacles at step 1628. The processed document data 1630 is provided to the network 1604. In an alternate embodiment, the processed document data 1630 may be provided to the accounting system 1606 or the ticket tracking system 1608. When the processed document data 1630 includes ticket numbers and values, the processed document data 1630 can be provided either via the network 1604 or directly to the accounting system 1606 for reconciliation.
The gaming machine 1602 is also coupled to the network 1604. The gaming machine 1602 produces preprocessed document data 1632 during operation. The preprocessed document data 1632 includes information about the currency bills inserted into the bill validator or acceptor in the gaming machine 1602 and information about the barcoded tickets redeemed at the gaming machine 1602. The preprocessed document data 1632 is provided via the network 1604 to the accounting system 1606 or the ticket tracking system 1608. After the processed document data 1630 is received in the accounting system 1606, the two sets of data are compared for discrepancies.
The ticket tracking system 1608 keeps track of the tickets dispensed and the tickets redeemed, and prevents redemption of the same ticket number more than once. For example, when a casino patron redeems a barcoded ticket at the gaming machine 1602, the ticket number may be flagged by the ticket tracking system 1608 as redeemed. Thus, for example, if the casino patron attempted to redeem a photocopy of the barcoded ticket he just redeemed, the ticket tracking system 1608 would inform the gaming machine 1602 not to award any credits or dispense any currency bills for that ticket.
In some embodiments, the bill validator in the gaming machine 1602 is adapted to detect only the ticket number from a barcoded ticket, even if the value is also encoded on the ticket. In such embodiments, when the barcoded ticket is redeemed in the bill validator of the gaming machine 1602, the gaming machine 1602 transmits the ticket number to the ticket tracking system 1608. The ticket tracking system 1608 looks up the ticket number in a database 1634, and the database 1634 returns the value associated with that ticket number. The ticket tracking system 1608 then credits the gaming machine 1602 with the value retrieved from the ticket database unless the ticket database 1608 indicates that the ticket has already been redeemed.
In other embodiments, the casino patron redeems a ticket at a redemption machine (not shown) by inserting the ticket into the device which validates the ticket and dispenses currency bills and/or coins commensurate with the value of the ticket. In such embodiments, the redemption machine is coupled to the ticket tracking system which keeps track of the tickets in the same manner as described above.
As explained in connection with
As indicated above, there are occasions where a bank or a casino have a large number of small batches. In other words, each batch, or sub-batch, might consist of as few as 0 notes (e.g., some casinos will process empty batches for completeness purposes) to maybe 100, 200, 300, or more notes. But the capacity of a typical input receptacle, also referred to as a hopper or feeder area, is much larger.
In one embodiment, the Source ID, which is captured from the source identification card, can be compared to a database (or any information library). The comparison can be used, for example, to validate the Source ID. The database can reside on the processing device or can be remotely accessible.
At step 1714, batch i is loaded into the processing device with a corresponding separator card. At step 1716, batch n is loaded into the processing device with a separator card. Batches 1 through n may be loaded at one time, if the input receptacle has enough capacity, or in groups of batches. At step 1718 multiple-batch processing is begun. If all of the batches could not be loaded, the remaining batches can be loaded as device capacity permits.
Continuing with the above example concerning ten gaming machines, assume ten batches can be loaded into the feeding area, or hopper, of the processing device. A barcode gun can be used to capture the Source ID from the header card for the first batch of currency and then the batch of currency is placed in the feeding area. Next, the barcode gun can be used to capture the Source ID from the header card for the second batch, and then the second batch is placed in the feeding area. Next, the header card for the third batch can be barcode gunned (scanned), and the third batch placed in the input receptacle. This process continues until all ten batches are placed in the feeding area. Then, the start key of the processing device is pressed and the processing device begins to run to process the currency.
At step 1720, documents are transported, in seriatim, through the processing device. The device determines, at step 1722, whether or not a document is a separator card. If the document is a separator card, which in some embodiments is a barcode card, the card does not have to be read by the processing device as the card passes through the processing device. The card does not have to be read because the data on the card has already been captured by, for example, barcode gunning (scanning) the header card before loading the corresponding batch.
At step 1724, after determining the document is a separator card, the card is sent to a reject receptacle, such as the upper output receptacle 208a of
At step 1728, where the document is not a separator card, the document is processed for characteristic information to, for example, determine a denomination. At step 1730, the memory is updated with information based on processing the document. And at step 1732, the loop is continued until there is not another document, and then multiple-batch processing ends, at step 1734.
At step 1830, multiple-batch processing is begun. And as discussed in relation to
If the document is not a reject, then at step 1842, the processing machine processes the document to obtain characteristic information. At step 1844, memory is updated based on the information obtained from processing the document at step 1842. For example, the count of documents processed for the batch, or the current multiple-batch run, is incremented. Similarly, the total value for the batch may be adjusted based on the document.
If, at step 1846, there is another document to process, then the processing device determines, at step 1834, if the document is a barcode card. If there is not another document, then at step 1848, the processing device queries the operator as to whether or not there are any rejects, e.g., non-machine-readable documents to key in manually. If there are rejects to key in, then at step 1850, the operator can manually key in the rejects associated with the then current batch. If there are no rejects to key in, then at step 1852 the document information in memory for the batch is matched with the batch barcode information for that batch on a sequential basis due to the batches being processed in a sequence consistent with that in which the barcode information was entered.
At step 1854, the processing device determines if there are any more active batches. If there are more active batches then the device, at step 1848 cues the operator as to whether or not there are any rejects to key in. The rejects for the batches are keyed into the processing device in a sequence consistent with the sequence in which the batches were processed. If there are no more active batches, then at step 1856, multiple-batch processing is ended.
Rather than feeding the stacks of documents directly into the input receptacle of the machine, a stack of currency can be removed from a slot machine and placed into a cartridge or cassette with a retractable front gate and a unique number. The header card from the slot machine is scanned or inputted manually and placed either in the front or in back of the stack of currency. The cartridge includes a pressure assembly to keep forward pressure on the documents as they are fed into the feeding mechanism of a document processing machine. This process is repeated for other slot machines until the cartridge is full. The cartridge is placed into the feeding mechanism and its unique number is entered manually or automatically into the machine. During processing, when a header card is present, the machine does not interpret the information encoded on the card. The header cards of each batch are sent to a reject pocket along with any rejected currency identified in the respective batch. The cartridge loading station terminal could be networked to the customer's host computer system whereby the transaction numbers could be downloaded to cross-check the validity of the entered number and provide the currency processing employees with a list of missing or duplicate entries.
Each document is then transported one at a time through the document processing device. If, at step 1920, a document is determined to be a separator card, then the device, at step 1922, sends the card to reject. In methods in which the separator card is used as a header card, the processing device then, at step 1924, sets a flag indicating a separator card has been reached so that information from processing documents between this separator card and the next separator card will be associated with bar code information corresponding to this separator card. The barcode information in memory is associated with the information from document processing on a sequential basis. For example, the barcode information entered from the ith barcode will be associated with the information obtained for processing documents of the ith batch of documents. The barcode information entries in memory can, for example, be stepped through on a first-entered-first-batch basis or a last-entered-first-batch basis. In methods in which the separator card is used as a header card, the documents following the ith header card belong to the ith batch of documents. In methods in which the separator card is used as a trailer card, then the information from processing documents between the previous separator card and the current separator card are associated with the current separator card. Then the current separator card, the ith separator card, is associated with the ith barcode information in memory, on a sequential basis.
If at step 1920 the document is not a separator card, then at step 1930, if the document is a reject, e.g., not readable or not genuine, then the document is, at step 1932 sent to reject. If the document is not a reject, then, at step 1940, the document is processed to, for example, determine its denomination. Memory is updated at step 1942. For example, the number of documents processed and the total denomination for a particular batch may be determined and stored in memory. That information is matched to, for example, the proper source ID in memory by stepping through source IDs in memory, by, for example, taking one step for each batch processed.
If, at step 1950, there is another document to be processed, then the process continues again, at step 1920. Multiple-batch processing ends at step 1960, if there is not another document to process.
At step 2014, the barcode card for batch 2 is scanned. Batch 2 is then, at step 2016, loaded into the device without corresponding barcode such that a paddle separates batch 1 and batch 2. This general routine continues until at step 2018, multiple-batch processing is begun.
With reference to the ith batch, at step 2020, the document processing device transports documents from batch i, one at a time, through the device. Each document of batch i is, at step 2022, processed to assess document characteristics. And then, at step 2024, the processing device automatically advances the paddle separating batch i from batch i+1. At step 2026, a separator is sent from a printer to reject to separate rejects of batch i from rejects of batch i+1. Then at step 2028 documents from batch i+1 are transported, one at a time, through the processing device. And at step 2030, batch i+1 documents are processed.
The separator is not required to be ejected from the printer to the reject receptacle, e.g., output receptacle 208c or 208a, prior to beginning to transport documents from batch i+1 through the device. The controller controls sequencing such that documents from i+1 that are rejected do not enter the reject until after the separator ejected from the printer enters the reject. This general process continues until, at step 2032, multiple-batch processing is complete.
As an alternative to the paddle method, another embodiment uses a sequence of input receptacles, each of which contains one batch to be sorted. The batches include header cards with either barcodes to be scanned or data to be entered manually using a keyboard. The receptacles are configured in-line, or in a “lazy susan” configuration. The receptacles approach the feeder sequentially, and when the first receptacle is empty, the second receptacle move to the feeder. This process continues until all input receptacles are empty. To differentiate the source of the bills in the reject receptacle, in an embodiment, a printer is coupled to the device and prints a card that is placed in the reject receptacle at the start of each batch processed. The information printed on the card informs the user as to which bills in the reject receptacle correspond to which batch sorted.
If, at step 2116, a document is determined to be a header card, then at step 2118, the card is sent to reject. At step 2120 a flag is set or pointer is moved in memory to indicate a separation between batches has been reached. If at step 2116 the document card is not a header card, then at step 2130, the document is processed to assess characteristic information. At step 2140 the memory is updated to reflect information from processing that document.
If at step 2150 there is another document to process, then processing continues again at step 2116. After all the documents have been processed, then at step 2160 information from each of the header cards, which have been collected in reject, e.g. output receptacle 208a or 205c, are entered into memory on a sequential basis. Then, at step 2170 document information in memory for each batch is matched with header information that has been entered for each batch on a sequential basis. To simplify the matching process, the information from the header cards, e.g. source ID, should be entered into memory in an order consistent with the order in which the batches were processed. As an alternative to matching document information in memory after all of the header card information has been entered, document information for each batch can be matched with information as the information from each card is entered from a header card that has been collected in reject.
In one method the operator enters all the rejected currency for a given batch, without the processing device prompting the operator each time for additional rejected currency from that batch. After the rejected currency for the given batch is entered, the operator notifies the processing device that all rejected currency for the given batch has been entered.
If there is no additional rejected currency for batch n, then at step 2238 the operator enters header card information for batch n from header card n collected in reject. At step 2240, document information in memory for batch n is matched to information from header card n.
This general process of entering rejected currency and header card information continues for each batch. For example at step 2242 rejected currency for batch i is keyed in. At step 2244 document information in memory corresponding to batch i is updated with the keyed in information. At step 2246, header card information for batch i is entered. And then at step 2248 document information for batch i is matched to header card information from header card i. This process continues until the header card information for batch 1 is entered, at step 2250. At step 2260, document information for batch 1 is then matched with information obtained from header card I that was collected in reject.
After the nth batch is placed in the input receptacle 202, multiple-batch processing is started. Transport mechanism 206 guides each document, one at a time, through the valuation region 204. Paddle 2308 automatically advances as documents are transported through the processing device 2300. After the last document from batch 1 is processed, printer 2310 ejects a separator to reject output receptacle 208a. Where output receptacle 208c is also used as a reject receptacle, printer 2312 can send a separator to escrow portion 205a through slot 2314. A controller controls the sequencing of the transport mechanism and printers 2310 and 2312 to provide a separator in reject 208a and escrow portion 205a in order to separate rejected documents from sequential batches.
In one embodiment, when paddle 2308 gets to the front of input receptacle 202, where the documents are being stripped into the transport mechanism 206, the paddle 2308 remains idle until the entire batch has been cleared through the machine, or the machine is timed out, for example. The paddle then automatically removes itself from the transport path by, for example, folding flush with the feed mechanism and allowing the feed mechanism to continue to advance.
Where Source ID information has already been entered into memory via, for example, barcode gun 2302, printers 2310 and 2312 can print the source identification information on the separator card by, for example, known ink jet, thermal, laser, dot matrix, or stamping methods.
In some embodiments it is desirable to separate two or more categories of reject documents into two or more reject receptacles. In a method in which a separator card is processed with the documents of the batch, the separator card can be sent to one reject, such as 208a, and printer 2312 can eject a separator card into another reject, such as 205a.
In other embodiments, a document processing device, such as shown in
Some casino gaming commissions may begin requiring that casino tickets be marked with the word VOID after they are collected in the back room. By incorporating a printing or marking device in the document processing device, the word VOID can be printed or marked on a casino ticket that has been processed.
The printing or marking device may also be used in connection with any of the methods described in connection with
Any of the embodiments described in connection with
In an embodiment, the separator cards described immediately above may be sequentially numbered, such as, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., using a printing or marking device, and the sequence number is matched using software with a corresponding Source ID.
Referring now to
At step 2700, a stack of documents is deposited into an input receptacle of a document processing device. The stack of documents may include a combination of currency bills and substitute currency media, or it may include currency bills only or substitute currency media only. Sources of the stack of documents include a storage facility, a gaming machine, or a coupon machine, for example.
At step 2710, an operator inputs document information for verifying a specific document. The document information includes a document-identifier that is characteristic of the specific document which is sought. For example, a document-identifier can be a barcode, a serial number, a color or black-and-white pattern, a magnetic strip, or any other identifying characteristic that could distinguish one document from another document. In other embodiments, the document-identifier can be a combination of characteristics, such as, for example, a barcode and a color pattern. In a specific embodiment, the document-identifier is a ticket number. The operator inputs one or more document-identifiers by using an input device such as a control unit, which in alternate embodiments can be a control unit as described above in connection with
At step 2720, the document processing device searches the deposited stack of documents for the document bearing the document information which was inputted at step 2710. The documents are transported, one document at a time, past a detector, from the input receptacle to one or more of a plurality of output receptacles. The documents are transported via a transport mechanism along a transport path, and the transport mechanism can be any transport mechanism, such as any of the transport mechanisms described above in connection with
In one embodiment of the present invention, the control unit includes a visual indicator for indicating when a specific document has been found. For example, the visual indicator can be a plurality of lights, such as light-emitting diodes or display elements on a video display, which change from one color to a different color when a corresponding specific document has been found, e.g., the light changes from gray to green. The visual indicator may include a light or a display element on a video display that changes colors for each of the inputted document-identifiers. In an alternate embodiment, there is a single light or display element for all of the inputted document-identifiers. In still another embodiment, the light does not change colors, rather, it only turns on or off when a specific document has been found. It should be understood that the visual indicator may be any other indicator that provides the operator with a visual notification that a specific document has been found.
The present invention contemplates that the operator may input one document-identifier at a time or more than one, such as up to ten, document-identifiers at a time. Each time a document corresponding to the document-identifier under consideration is located, that document can be routed to any operator-specified or pre-programmed output receptacle.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit includes an audio indicator for audibly indicating when a specific document has been found. For example, the audio indicator can be a single beep sound, a series of beep sounds, a continuous sound, a pre-recorded message (e.g., “Your document has been found”), or any other sound patterns. Alternatively, the audio indicator may be used in connection with the visual indicator for providing both a visual and an audio indication that a specific document has been found.
At step 2730, after making a determination that a document-identifier matches the specific document-identifier inputted by the operator, the document processing device directs the specific document to a designated output receptacle. In one embodiment, the document processing device stops after the specific document is directed to the output receptacle. The operator may remove the specific document and then instruct the document processing device to proceed in making additional identifications. Alternatively, the document processing device automatically restarts after the specific document has been removed from the output receptacle. As described above in connection with
In one embodiment, the limit of an output receptacle is 2,000 documents. If all the output receptacles are full, then the operator should clear at least one document from at least one output receptacle before the document processing device can continue processing the documents from the stack of documents. Alternatively, the operator can clear output receptacles on-the-fly without stopping of the document processing device. If a feed error (e.g., no calls, chains, doubles, skew errors, and suspects) or a jam occurs, it should be handled as described above in connection with
In another embodiment, the document processing device includes storage cassettes as described above in connection with
The searching stops when all the specific tickets have been found or when all of the documents in the input receptacle have been processed. In one embodiment, the searching stops after all the specific tickets have been found. The operator must remove the unprocessed documents from the input receptacle and combine them with the processed documents from the output receptacle(s). This embodiment can be used with a document processing device having a single output receptacle. The output receptacle receives the processed documents, and when a specific ticket is found, operation stops to permit removal of the ticket for inspection. The ticket can then be returned to the output receptacle, and the processing may continue or the two stacks from the input and output receptacles can be combined.
In another embodiment, all the tickets from the stack of documents received in the input receptacle are processed even if all the specific tickets are found before the last ticket from the stack of documents is processed. An advantage of this approach is that the operator does not have to combine the tickets from the input receptacle and the tickets from the output receptacle in order to recreate the original stack of documents.
In still another embodiment, when the last specific ticket is found, the operation pauses to give the operator an option of continuing to process the remaining documents or to halt operation and manually recreate the original stack of documents. For example, if the last ticket to be searched is found within the first few documents in the stack of documents, it may be faster to halt operation and manually recreate the original stack of documents, rather than allowing processing to continue through all of the remaining documents in the stack. On the other hand, if the last ticket to be searched is found towards the end of the stack of documents, the operator may wish to continue processing the remaining documents rather than manually combining the remaining documents with the processed documents.
As described above, a visual and/or audio indicator notifies the operator that a ticket has been found, and the operator can easily remove the ticket from the designated output receptacle for inspection. In another embodiment, the visual and/or audio indicator may notify the operator that a duplicate ticket having the same ticket number as a previously found ticket (e.g., a potentially counterfeit ticket), has been found. Duplicate tickets can be sent to the same output receptacle as the previously found ticket, or they can be sent to a different output receptacle. For example, if the previously found ticket is sent to a first off-sort pocket, then the duplicate tickets can be sent to a second off-sort pocket.
Referring now to
At step 2810, a cassette having a stack of casino tickets, which can be retrieved, for example, from a storage facility, is deposited into an input receptacle of the document processing device. Each of the casino tickets bears an encoded and/or unencoded ticket number for identification purposes. The operator, at step 2820, uses the numeric keypad or other suitable input device to enter up to ten ticket numbers that require verification. The entered ticket numbers are stored in the memory of the document processing device.
After all the ticket number have been entered, the operator presses the start button or otherwise initiates operation of the document processing device. At step 2830, a first ticket from the stack of tickets is processed by the document processing device. A detector in the document processing device scans the ticket number of the first ticket and, at step 2840, a determination is made whether there is a match between the scanned ticket number and any one of the entered ticket numbers. If a determination is made that a match does not exist between any one of the entered ticket numbers and the first ticket number, then, at step 2850, the first ticket is directed to a first output receptacle. If a determination is made that a match exists between any one of the entered ticket numbers and the first ticket number, then, at step 2860, the first ticket is sent to a first off-sort output receptacle and the indicator associated with the found ticket number notifies the operator that the specific ticket has been found. At step 2870 a determination is made whether all the tickets corresponding to the entered ticket numbers have been found. If tickets remain to be found, then the document processing device, at step 2880, processes the next ticket in the input receptacle. The next ticket undergoes a similar process as the first ticket, repeating steps 2840 through 2870, and the process ends when all the specific tickets have been found.
Referring now to
At step 2910, a first stack of documents is processed, one document at a time, by a document processing device. The document processing device can be any document processing device, such as any of the document processing devices described in connection with
At step 2920, the document processing device assigns a stack-identifier to the first stack of documents. Like a document-identifier, which identifies a particular document, a stack-identifier identifies a particular stack of documents. More specifically, a stack-identifier may be anything that identifies a particular stack of documents, e.g., any combination of one or more numbers, a date, or a barcode pattern. The number may be a reference number uniquely identifying a stack of documents or it may refer to the number of documents in the cassette containing the stack of documents.
In one embodiment, the stack-identifier is printed on a card, such as a batch identification card or header card as described above. In another embodiment, the stack-identifier is printed on a receipt after processing a stack of documents, which is placed at the head or at the back of a stack of documents. Alternately, the stack-identifier is printed on a sticker that may be affixed to the container or bag containing the stack of documents.
At step 2930, the document processing device correlates each document-identifier in the first stack of documents with the stack-identifier assigned to the first stack of documents. In one embodiment, the correlation is carried out by generating a list or table that associates each document-identifier with the corresponding stack-identifier. This list is stored in a memory of the document processing device.
At step 2940, a determination is made whether additional stacks of documents require processing. If so, then at step 2950, a next stack of documents is processed as described above in connection with steps 2920-2940. If additional stacks of documents do not require processing, then at step 2960, the operator inputs a specific document-identifier for verifying a specific document, wherein the specific document is the document corresponding to the specific document-identifier. The inputting of the specific document-identifier may be carried out in the manner described above in connection with
At step 2970, the document processing device determines the specific stack-identifier which corresponds to the inputted document-identifier. In one embodiment, the determination is made by software that executes instructions stored in memory for searching and retrieving the specific stack-identifier from a memory of the document processing device. The stack-identifier is displayed to the operator on a video display or may be printed on a receipt so that the operator can bring the receipt to the storage facility to retrieve the stack of documents corresponding to the stack-identifier.
At step 2980, a determination is made whether there are additional document-identifiers for which stack-identifiers need to be identified. If there are additional document-identifiers that need to be referenced, steps 2960 through 2980 are repeated. If there are no additional document-identifiers that require verification, then the process ends. Note that the operator may enter several document-identifiers at a time before the document processing device searches for the correlating stack-identifiers.
The document processing device displays to the operator which stack of documents corresponds to each inputted document-identifier. Alternately, the document processing device prints a receipt that shows the inputted document-identifier(s) along with the corresponding stack-identifier(s). The operator may bring this receipt to the storage facility to retrieve the proper stack(s) of documents to be searched.
Referring now to
At step 3030, as the document processing device processes the tickets, they are separated into stacks of up to 2,000 tickets. When a storage cassette is full, i.e., contains 2,000 tickets, subsequent tickets are automatically redirected to another non-full storage cassette. At step 3040, a stack-identifier, is assigned to each stack of tickets. A receipt may be optionally printed that shows the date on which the stack was created, the number of documents in the cassette, and the reference number corresponding to the cassette or stack of tickets. Then, at step 3050, a reference table is made that correlates each ticket to its corresponding stack of tickets, and the reference table is saved in a memory of the document processing device.
At step 3060, an operator uses a touchscreen or other suitable input device to enter a ticket number, which corresponds to a ticket that requires verification. For example, the document processing device may present to the operator a “Ticket Search” command and a data field for entering the specific ticket number for which the corresponding stack needs to be located. At step 3070, the document processing device determines which stack of tickets corresponds to the inputted ticket number and notifies the operator. At step 3080, the document processing device determines whether all the ticket number have been verified. In the current example, there was only one ticket number inputted and, therefore, the process is finished. If there are more ticket numbers to be processed, then the document processing device repeats steps 3060-3080. After locating the specific stack corresponding to the specific ticket number, the operator either manually searches the specific stack or uses the method described above in connection with
As previously described, there are occasions where a bank or a casino have a large number of small batches. In other words, each batch, or sub-batch, might consist of as few as zero notes (e.g., some casinos will process empty batches for completeness purposes) to maybe 100, 200, 300, or more notes. But the capacity of a typical input receptacle, also referred to as a hopper or feeder area, may be much larger.
At step 3104 the batches of documents are delivered, individually or collectively, to a processing location. At step 3106, the Source ID for batch 1 is entered in memory of the processing machine. The memory can be external to the processing machine, such as in a PC, or internal to the processing machine. The Source ID can be entered in any number of ways such as by barcode scanning with, for example, a barcode gun, or keyed in via a keyboard. At step 3108, the Source ID for the ith batch is entered in memory. The identification information for each batch is entered until at step 3110, the Source ID for batch n is entered in memory. At step 3112, batch 1 is loaded into the processing device with a separator card. The separator card may be the barcode card comprising the Source ID, or a blank card, or some other appropriate separation structure. Alternatively, the separator may be part of the processing device.
In one embodiment, the Source ID, which is captured from the source identification card, can be compared to a database (or any information library). The comparison can be used, for example, to validate the Source ID. The database can reside on the processing device or can be remotely accessible.
At step 3114, batch i is loaded into the processing device with a corresponding separator card. At step 3116, batch n is loaded into the processing device with a separator card. Batches 1 through n may be loaded at one time, if the input receptacle has enough capacity, or in groups of batches. At step 3118 multiple-batch processing is begun. If all of the batches could not be loaded, the remaining batches can be loaded as device capacity permits.
Continuing with the above example concerning ten gaming machines, assume ten batches can be loaded into the feeding area, or hopper, of the processing device. A barcode gun can be used to capture the Source ID from the header card for the first batch of currency and then the batch of currency is placed in the feeding area. Next, the barcode gun can be used to capture the Source ID from the header card for the second batch, and then the second batch is placed in the feeding area. Next, the header card for the third batch can be barcode gunned (scanned), and the third batch placed in the input receptacle. This process continues until all ten batches are placed in the feeding area. Then, the start key of the processing device is pressed and the processing device begins to run to process the currency.
At step 3120, documents are transported, in seriatim, through the processing device. The device determines, at step 3122, whether or not a document is a separator card. If the document is a separator card, which in some embodiments is a barcode card, the card does not have to be read by the processing device as the card passes through the processing device. The card does not have to be read because the data on the card has already been captured by, for example, barcode gunning (scanning) the header card before loading the corresponding batch. According to an alternate embodiment, the card would be read again to ensure it is the expected separator card.
At step 3124, after determining the document is a separator card, the processing device determines if the document preceding the separator card has reached an output receptacle. The document preceding the separator card may also be sent to an offsort receptacle or a reject receptacle, which are special types of output receptacles, if the device is unable to denominate the document, or if the document was another separator card. If the device determines that the preceding document has reached an output receptacle, the device transports the separator card to an output receptacle, such as an offsort receptacle which is a type of output receptacle (step 3128). If, however, the device determines that the preceding document has not yet reached an output receptacle, the device pauses the transport of the separator card (step 3126) and other documents upstream of the separator card in the transport mechanism, including documents that have not been fed out of the input receptacle. Once the device determines that the document preceding the separator card has reached an output receptacle (step 3124), the device transports the separator card (step 3128).
At step 3128, after determining the document is a separator card and the preceding document has been transported to an output receptacle, the separator card is sent to a reject receptacle, such as the upper output receptacle 208a of
At step 3132, where the document is not a separator card, the document is processed for characteristic information to, for example, determine the denomination of the document. At step 3134, the memory is updated with information based on processing the document. And at step 3136, the loop is continued until there is not another document, and then multiple-batch processing ends, at step 3138.
At step 3230, multiple-batch processing is begun. And as discussed in relation to
For example, if batch #1 is being processed by the currency processing device 200 described in connection with
Pausing the transport of the separator card of batch #1 is useful in case a document of batch #1 misfeeds and a jam of the processing device 200 occurs. Since the transport of the separator card of batch #1 and documents of batch #2 upstream of the separator card have been paused, the operator knows that only documents from batch #1 will be located within the transport mechanism 206 of the device 200 downstream of the evaluation region 204. Based on the operation of the device 200, if a jam occurs upstream of the escrow compartments 205a-205f, only the documents in the transport path 206 downstream of the evaluation region 204 need to be fed through the device 200 again. If however, the jam occurs at the escrow compartments 205a-205f, the entire contents of the escrow compartments 205a-205f as well as any documents in the transport path 206 downstream of the evaluation region 204 need to be fed through the device 200 again. Therefore, should a jam, or similar feed error, occur, the operator knows which documents must be fed through the device 200 again.
Knowing which documents must be refed makes it easier to clear the jam and reconcile the count as not all of the documents will have to be recounted, only the affected documents. This reduces the amount of time required to clear a jam, or other misfeeds, from the device compared to a device that does not pause the transport between batches.
If the document is not a barcode card, the processing device, at step 3242, processes the document to obtain characteristic information from the document. At step 3244, the device determines if the document is a reject, e.g., an unreadable document. If the document is a reject then, at step 3246, the processing device sends the document to a reject receptacle.
At step 3248, memory is updated based on the information obtained from processing the document at step 3242. For example, the count of documents processed for the batch, or the current multiple-batch run, is incremented. Similarly, the total value for the batch may be adjusted based on the document.
At step 3250, if there is another document to process, then the processing device determines, at step 3234, if the document is a barcode card. If there is not another document, then at step 3252, the processing device queries the operator as to whether or not there are any rejects, e.g., non-machine-readable documents to key in manually. If there are rejects to key in, then at step 3254, the operator can manually key in the rejects associated with the then current batch. For example, if three documents are located in the reject receptacle and the operator determines that the three documents are actually a valid $10 bill, a valid $1 bill, and a valid $20 bill, the operator would use the denomination keys of the control unit 216 of the device 200 previously described in connection with
At step 3258, the processing device determines if there are any more active batches. If there are more active batches then the device, at step 3252 cues the operator as to whether or not there are any rejects to key in. The rejects for the batches are keyed into the processing device in a sequence consistent with the sequence in which the batches were processed. For example, the rejected documents from batch i, which will be located between the separator card for batch i−1 and batch i when the separator card is a trailer card, would be keyed into the processing device following any rejected documents from batch i, and prior to any rejected documents from batch i+1. If there are no more active batches, then at step 3260, multiple-batch processing is ended.
Each document is then transported one at a time through the document processing device. If, at step 3320, a document is determined to be a separator card, then the device, at step 3322, determines if the preceding document has reached an output receptacle, an offsort receptacle, or a reject receptacle. If the preceding document has reached such a receptacle, the device, at step 3326, sends the separator card to a reject receptacle. If, however, the preceding document has not yet reached a receptacle, the transport of the separator card is paused (step 3324). In methods in which the separator card is used as a header card, the processing device then, at step 3328, sets a flag indicating a separator card has been reached so that information from processing documents between this separator card and the next separator card will be associated with bar code information corresponding to this separator card. The barcode information in memory is associated with the information from document processing on a sequential basis. For example, the barcode information entered from the ith barcode will be associated with the information obtained for processing documents of the ith batch of documents. The barcode information entries in memory can, for example, be stepped through on a first-entered-first-batch basis or a last-entered-first-batch basis. In methods in which the separator card is used as a header card, the documents following the i h header card belong to the ith batch of documents. In methods in which the separator card is used as a trailer card, then the information from processing documents between the previous separator card and the current separator card are associated with the current separator card. Then the current separator card, the ith separator card, is associated with the ith barcode information in memory, on a sequential basis.
If at step 3320 the document is not a separator card, then at step 3330 the document is processed to, for example, determine its denomination, or determine if the document is a reject. If the document is a reject at step 3340, e.g., not readable or not genuine, then the document is, at step 3342 sent to a reject receptacle. If the document is not a reject, then, at step 3342, memory is updated. For example, the number of documents processed and the total denomination for a particular batch may be determined and stored in the memory. That information is matched to, for example, the proper source ID in memory by stepping through source IDs in memory, by, for example, taking one step for each batch processed.
If, at step 3350, there is another document to be processed, then the process continues again, at step 3320. Multiple-batch processing ends at step 3360, if there is not another document to process.
At step 3414, the barcode card for batch 2 is scanned. Batch 2 is then, at step 3416, loaded into the device without the corresponding barcode card such that a paddle separates batch 1 and batch 2, as previously described in connection with
With reference to the ith batch, at step 3420, the document processing device transports documents from batch i, one at a time, through the device. Each document of batch i is, at step 3422, processed to assess document characteristics. And then, at step 3424, the processing device automatically advances the paddle separating batch i from batch i+1 once all of the documents from batch i have reached an output receptacle. At step 3426, a separator card is sent from a printer, as described in connection with
A separator card is not required to be ejected from the printer to the reject receptacle, e.g., output receptacle 208c or 208a (
As an alternative to the paddle method, another embodiment uses a sequence of input receptacles, each of which contains one batch to be sorted. The batches include header cards with either barcodes to be scanned or data to be entered manually using a keyboard. The receptacles are configured in-line, or in a “lazy susan” configuration. The receptacles approach the feeder sequentially, and when the first receptacle is empty, the first receptacle is moved away from the feeder and the second receptacle is moved to the feeder. This process continues until all input receptacles are empty. To differentiate the source of the bills in the reject receptacle, in some embodiments, a printer is coupled to the device and prints a card that is placed in the reject receptacle at the start of each batch processed. The information printed on the card informs the user as to which batch the bills in the reject receptacle correspond.
If, at step 3516, a document is determined to be a header card, then at step 3518, the device determines if the preceding document has reached an output receptacle. If the preceding document has reached the output receptacle, the header card, at step 3522, is sent to a reject receptacle. If the preceding document has not yet reached an output receptacle, the device, at step 3520, pauses the transport of the header card until the device determines that the preceding document has reached an output receptacle. At step 3524 a flag is set or pointer is moved in memory to indicate a separation between batches has been reached. If at step 3516 the document card is not a header card, then at step 3530, the document is processed to assess characteristic information. At step 3540 the memory is updated to reflect information from processing that document.
If at step 3550 there is another document to process, then processing continues again at step 3516. After all the documents have been processed, then at step 3560 information from each of the header cards, which have been collected in a reject receptacle, are entered into memory on a sequential basis. Then, at step 3570 document information in memory for each batch is matched with header information that has been entered for each batch on a sequential basis. To simplify the matching process, the information from the header cards, e.g. source ID, should be entered into memory in an order consistent with the order in which the batches were processed. As an alternative to matching document information in memory after all of the header card information has been entered, document information for each batch can be matched with information as the information from each card is entered from a header card that has been collected in reject.
Any of the embodiments described in connection with
In some embodiments, the separator cards described immediately above may be sequentially numbered, such as, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., using a printing or marking device, and the sequence number is matched using software with a corresponding Source ID.
An additional advantage of transporting one batch of documents at a time through the processing device, as opposed to continuous multi-batch currency processing, is that if a document jam or other malfunction occurs, only one batch of documents is affected. As there is only one batch of documents in the device, the operator does not have to determine which batch documents being fed through the device when a jam occurs belong to. For example, using the device described in conjunction with
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 continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/662,738, entitled “System And Method For Processing Currency And Identification Cards In A Document Processing Device,” which was filed on Sep. 15, 2003 Cross-reference is made to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/662,930 entitled “System and Method for Searching and Verifying Documents in a Document Processing Device,” which was filed on Sep. 15, 2003. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/662,930 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10941688 | Sep 2004 | US |
| Child | 11633171 | Dec 2006 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10662738 | Sep 2003 | US |
| Child | 10941688 | Sep 2004 | US |
