Monitoring system for automated teller machine and monitoring apparatus for automated teller machine

• US 20040050927A1
• Filed: 07/14/2003
• Published: 03/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yamauchi, Toshiyuki, Kinoshita, Yoshiko, Nozaki, Shuuichi
• Granted Patent: US 6,918,536 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A monitoring apparatus for an automated teller machine (ATM), a call center, and a monitoring system. Even when a call center installed in an area is not in its service hours, the system can cope with an inquiry from a user in real time and realize a smooth 24-hour service. The system includes the ATM, the call center for monitoring and controlling the state of the automated teller machine at a remote place, and the monitoring apparatus for sequentially registering run information received from the ATM, service information and operator information received from various locations in the world. When receiving an inquiry from a user, the monitoring apparatus refers to information previously held in a storage within the monitoring apparatus, transmits the inquiry to the call center in service, and also transmits machine information and operation information of the monitoring apparatus from the monitoring apparatus to the call center.

Claims

1. A monitoring apparatus for an automated teller machine, comprising:

a first call center for operating said automated teller machine via a line;

a second call center installed in an area which has a time different from an area where said first call center is installed; and

a monitoring apparatus for receiving run information or operation information of said automated teller machine, selecting one of said first and second call centers, and transmitting the received run or operation information to the selected call center.

2. The monitoring system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said monitoring apparatus includes:

a storage for storing service hours of said first and second call centers and use languages and machine knowledge levels of operators of said first and second call centers; and

a controller for searching said storage on the basis of a use language of a user, a machine number of said automated teller machine and an inquiry type received from the automated teller machine, and selecting the call center when the searching time is in service hours stored in said storage, the use language received from the automated teller machine coincides with the use language of the operator stored in said storage, and the machine number and an inquiry type correspond to machine knowledge level of the operator stored in said storage.

3. The monitoring system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said monitoring apparatus includes:

counting means for counting up access frequencies to the operators of said first and second call centers from said monitoring apparatus for each operator and storing the access frequencies therein; and

control means for not transmitting the run information and operator information to the operator having an access frequency stored in said counting means arrived at a predetermined value and for resetting an count frequency stored in said counting means when the access frequencies of a plurality of operators reach a predetermined-value.

4. The monitoring system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first call center transmits service information including service hours to said monitoring apparatus when the first call center started or ended its service, said second call center transmits service information including service hours to a monitoring apparatus different from said monitoring apparatus when the second call center started or ended its service, and said monitoring apparatus transmits the received service information of the first call center to said different monitoring apparatus.

5. A monitoring apparatus for an automated teller machine connected to an automated teller machine which performs predetermined transacting operation by selectively entering information according to an instruction on a guidance display screen via a line and also connected to a plurality of call centers which accepts a consultation relating to the automated teller machine for monitoring said automated teller machine, comprising:

first storage means for storing service information of said call centers and operator information relating to operators of the call centers for each call center;

second storage means for storing run information of said automated teller machine received from said automated teller machine and operation information of a user thereof;

control means for searching for service information and operator information stored in said first storage means in response to a request from said automated teller machine to select the call centers; and

communication means for transmitting the run information and operation information stored in said second storage means to the call center selected by said control means.

6. The monitoring apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said automated teller machine includes:

a display for displaying a guidance on its display screen to a user and guiding various transactions;

a touch panel for entering data according to the guidance appearing on the display screen;

a money input/output part for processing paper money or coins deposited or discharged;

a card part for reading or writing a magnetic card inserted; and

a bankbook part for reading or writing a magnetic stripe of an inserted bankbook and printing transaction contents on the bankbook.

7. The monitoring apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said plurality of call centers are installed in areas having a time difference therebetween, and each of the call centers include:

display means for displaying run information and operation information transmitted by said respective communication means thereon; and

input means for inputting an operational instruction to said monitoring apparatus.

8. The monitoring apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said first storage means stores information about a country where the call center is located and information indicative of whether or not the call center is in service hours as service information of the call center as well as the use language, machine knowledge level and access frequency for each operator as the operator information.

9. The monitoring apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said first storage means stores at least information indicative of whether or not the call center is in service hours and the use language for each operator as said operator information, said selection of the call centers by said control means is carried out on the basis of the fact that there is present information indicating that a call center is in service hours in said first storage means and there is present an operator having a use language which coincides with the use language of the user received from said automated teller machine therein.

10. The monitoring apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said first storage means stores at least a use language and a machine knowledge level for each operator as said operator information, said selection of the call centers by said control means is carried out on the basis of the fact that the use language of the user received from said automated teller machine coincides with the use language of an operator stored in said first storage means and that said machine knowledge level stored in said first storage means for the operator corresponds to the run information stored in said second storage means.

11. The monitoring apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said second storage mans stores at least deposit and withdrawal perations of the automated teller machine, types of handled bills, the number of handled bills and abnormal information of the automated teller machine for each time zone as the run information, and also stores at least user'"'"'s depression on the automated teller machine, medium inserting and accepting operation as the operation information.

12. The monitoring apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein, when receiving an operational inquiry of the user from said automated teller machine, said control means stores the received inquiry information in said second storage means, and said communication means transmits the inquiry information stored in said second storage means to the call center selected by said control means.

13. The monitoring apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said first storage means stores fault information received from said automated teller machine, said control means judges whether or not the fault information is stored in said second storage means when receiving a fault declaration from said automated teller machine, and said control means transmits the fault information of said second storage means together with the fault declaration to the call center selected by said control means when determining that the fault information is stored.

14. A monitoring apparatus connected to a plurality of call centers via a line for monitoring an automated teller machine, comprising:

a storage for storing machine information of said automated teller machine, machine knowledge levels of operators of the call centers, use languages of the operators of the call centers, and service information of the call centers; and

a controller, in response to the inquiry information or fault declaration information received from said automated teller machine, for selecting one of said plurality of call centers to which the inquiry information or fault declaration information is to be transmitted on the basis of said machine information, said machine knowledge levels, said use languages and said service information stored in said storage.

15. The monitoring apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein said machine information includes a machine number of the automated teller machine, a record of deposit and withdrawal of the automated teller machine, type information of bill deposited and withdraw, and a record of insertion or discharge of a medium into or from the automated teller machine.

16. The monitoring apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein said inquiry information includes a machine number of the transmitted automated teller machine, user'"'"'s use language, an inquiry type, installation location of the transmitted automated teller machine, a transmitted time, and an inquiry contents, and said controller searches for one of the operators whose use language included in said inquiry information coincides with the use language of the operator stored in said storage and who has the machine knowledge level corresponding to said machine number and inquiry type included in said inquiry information.

17. The monitoring apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein, when receiving said fault declaration information from said automated teller machine, said controller previously receives the fault information including a fault occurrence location in the automated teller machine and a handled medium in the automated teller machine and judges whether or not the information is stored in said storage.