Method of counting currency

• US 20050258235A1
• Filed: 01/25/2005
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia, Lapstun, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 7,677,445 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0185 Product, service or business identity fraud
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/004 using digital security elements, e.g. information coded on a magnetic thread or strip
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/20 Manipulating the length of blocks of bits, e.g. padding or block truncation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A method of counting currency documents including a plurality of coded data portions thereon. Each coded data portion is indicative of an identity of the currency document and the method includes, sensing at least one coded data portion for each currency document using a sensing device. This is used to generate indicating data, which is transferred to a computer system, to allow the computer system to determine the identity for each currency document. The identity is then used to determine a value for each currency document, allowing the documents to be counted.

Claims

1. A method of counting currency documents, each currency document having disposed thereon or therein coded data including a plurality of coded data portions, each coded data portion being at least partially indicative of an identity of the currency document, the method including, in a sensing device:

sensing at least one coded data portion for each currency document;

generating, using the sensed coded data portion, indicating data at least partially indicative of the identity of each currency document; and

,

transferring the indicating data to a computer system, the computer system being responsive to the indicating data to;

determine, using the indicating data, a determined identity for each currency document;

determine, using each determined identity, a value for each currency document; and

,

count the currency documents using the determined values.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the indicating data is further indicative of at least one of:

a signature;

a time the sensing device scanned the currency document;

currency document attributes; and

,

a location of the sensing device when the currency document was sensed.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method includes transmitting the indicating data to the computer system at least one of:

after the sensing device scans;

each currency document; and

,

a predetermined number of currency documents; and

, periodically.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sensing device includes an indicator, where the method includes causing the indicator to provide at least one of:

an indication related to the success of sensing the at least one coded data portions;

a count indicative of the number of sensed currency documents;

the value of the sensed currency document; and

,

an incremental value of the sensed currency documents.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sensing device stores data indicative of at least one of an identity of the sensing device and an identity of a user, and wherein method includes the sensing device generating the indicating data using the stored data.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein each coded data portion is further indicative of at least part of a signature, the signature being a digital signature of at least part of the identity, and wherein the method includes:

determining, from the indicating data, a determined identity and at least one determined signature part; and

,

authenticating the security document using the determined identity and the at least one determined signature part.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the signature is a digital signature of at least part of the identity and at least part of predetermined padding, the padding being at least one of:

a predetermined number; and

,

a random number.

8. A method according to claim 6, wherein the entire signature is encoded within a plurality of coded data portions and wherein the method includes the sensing device sensing a number of coded data portions to thereby determine the entire signature.

9. A method according to claim 6, wherein the coded data includes a plurality of layouts, each layout defining the position of a plurality of first symbols encoding the identity, and a plurality of second symbols defining at least part of the signature.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the coded data is at least one of:

substantially invisible to an unaided human.

printed on the surface using at least one of;

an invisible ink; and

,

an infrared-absorptive ink;

provided substantially coincident with visible human-readable information.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least one coded data portion encodes the entire signature.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the entire signature is formed from a plurality of signature parts, and wherein each coded data portion encodes a respective signature part.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the coded data portions encode at least one of:

a location of the respective coded data portion;

a position of the respective coded data portion on the surface;

a size of the coded data portions;

a size of a signature;

an identity of a signature part; and

,

units of indicated locations.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein the coded data includes at least one of:

redundant data;

data allowing error correction;

Reed-Solomon data; and

,

Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) data.

15. A method according to claim 6, wherein the digital signature includes at least one of:

a random number associated with the identity;

a keyed hash of at least the identity;

a keyed hash of at least the identity produced using a private key, and verifiable using a corresponding public key;

cipher-text produced by encrypting at least the identity;

cipher-text produced by encrypting at least the identity and a random number;

cipher-text produced using a private key, and verifiable using a corresponding public key; and

,

cipher-text produced using RSA encryption.

16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the security document is at least one of:

a currency note;

a check;

a credit or debit card;

a redeemable ticket, voucher, or coupon;

a lottery ticket or instant win ticket; and

,

an identity card or document, such as a driver'"'"'s license or passport.

17. A method according to claim 1, wherein the identity is indicative of at least one of:

a currency note attribute including at least one of;

currency;

issue country;

denomination;

note side;

printing works; and

serial number;

a check attribute including at least one of;

currency;

issuing institution;

account number;

serial number;

expiry date;

check value; and

limit;

a card attribute including at least one of;

card type;

issuing institution;

account number;

issue date;

expiry date; and

limit.

18. A method according to claim 1, wherein the coded data is arranged in accordance with at least one layout having n-fold rotational symmetry, where n is at least two, the layout including n identical sub-layouts rotated 1/n revolutions apart about a centre of rotation, at least one sub-layout including rotation-indicating data that distinguishes that sub-layout from each other sub-layout.

19. A method according to claim 1, wherein the coded data is arranged in accordance with at least one layout having n-fold rotational symmetry, where n is at least two, the layout encoding orientation-indicating data comprising a sequence of an integer multiple m of n symbols, where m is one or more, each encoded symbol being distributed at n locations about a centre of rotational symmetry of the layout such that decoding the symbols at each of the n orientations of the layout produces n representations of the orientation-indicating data, each representation comprising a different cyclic shift of the orientation-indicating data and being indicative of the degree of rotation of the layout.

20. A method of counting currency documents, each currency document having disposed thereon or therein coded data including a plurality of coded data portions, each coded data portion being at least partially indicative of an identity of the currency document, the method including, in a computer system:

receiving indicating data from a sensing device, the sensing device adapted to sense at least one coded data portion for each currency document, and generate, using the sensed coded data portion, the indicating data at least partially indicative of the identity of each currency document;

determining, using the indicating data, a determined identity for each currency document;

determining, using each determined identity, a value for each currency document; and

,

counting the currency documents using the determined values.