System and method for processing batches of documents
First Claim
1. A method of processing documents, comprising:
- receiving at least one stack of documents including a batch of documents and a separator card in an input receptacle of a document processing device, said input receptacle including a feeder assembly, said separator card having disposed on at least one side thereof an electrically conductive material, said separator card further including source identification information that associates said batch of documents with the source from which said batch of documents was retrieved;
transporting via a transport mechanism said batch of documents, one document at a time, past an evaluation unit, and said separator card past at least one sensor;
evaluating each document to obtain characteristic information associated with a document, and determining whether a particular document meets or fails at least one criterion; and
providing a signal indicative of the presence of electrically conductive material responsive to said separator card being transported past said at least one sensor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of processing documents by receiving at least a batch of documents and a separator card in an input receptacle of a document processing device. The separator card includes a conductive material disposed on one side, and a barcode indicative of the source of the batch of documents. The documents and separator card are transported via a transport mechanism past an evaluation unit and a field-effect sensor, respectively. The document processing device evaluates each document, determines whether the document meets or fails predetermined criteria, and detects the presence of the conductive material when a separator card is transported past the sensor. The source identification information from each separator card is entered into a memory of the document processing device after all the documents from the corresponding batch of documents have met the predetermined criteria. Feeder operation is paused between each batch long enough to verify that the previous batch closed successfully. Pausing feeder operation to address document anomalies before subsequent batches are processed promotes batch integrity and reduces operator confusion.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method of processing documents, comprising:
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receiving at least one stack of documents including a batch of documents and a separator card in an input receptacle of a document processing device, said input receptacle including a feeder assembly, said separator card having disposed on at least one side thereof an electrically conductive material, said separator card further including source identification information that associates said batch of documents with the source from which said batch of documents was retrieved;
transporting via a transport mechanism said batch of documents, one document at a time, past an evaluation unit, and said separator card past at least one sensor;
evaluating each document to obtain characteristic information associated with a document, and determining whether a particular document meets or fails at least one criterion; and
providing a signal indicative of the presence of electrically conductive material responsive to said separator card being transported past said at least one sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A document processing device, comprising:
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an input receptacle adapted to receive at least one stack of documents including a batch of documents and a separator card, said separator card bearing source identification information for identifying the source of the documents in said batch, said separator card further including at least one electrically conductive material;
at least one output receptacle adapted to receive at least a portion of said stack of documents after said portion of documents has been evaluated and determined to meet at least one criterion;
a transport mechanism adapted to transport said stack of documents, one at a time, from said input receptacle to said at least one output receptacle along a transport path;
an evaluation unit adapted to evaluate said documents to determine if each document in said stack of documents meets or fails said at least one criterion;
at least one sensor disposed along said transport path adapted to detect said at least one electrically conductive material;
a memory coupled to said evaluation unit that stores said source identification information and a batch total corresponding to the value of currency bills and substitute currency media in said stack of documents; and
a controller coupled to said evaluation unit and adapted to control operation of said transport mechanism, said evaluation unit, and said sensor. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification