TELLER-ASSISTED CURRENCY DISPENSER SYSTEM

• US 3,876,864 A
• Filed: 12/11/1973
• Issued: 04/08/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Donald E. Kinker, Philip C. Dolsen, Robert W. Clark
• Original Assignee: Donald E. Kinker, Philip C. Dolsen, Robert W. Clark
• Inventors: Clark, Robert W., Dolsen, Philip C., Kinker, Donald E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cook, Daryl W.
• Application Number:
  US05/423,691
• Time in Patent Office: 483 Days
• Field of Search: 235/61.7B,61.7R,61.6R 340/149A,149R,324A
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/201 Accessories of ATMs

Abstract

An automatic banking system which offers personal teller assistance to a bank customer who may be having difficulty in using an automatic banking unit at a remote customer station to carry out any one of a number of banking services offered by a complete automatic banking system, such as depositing, making payments of various types, transferring funds between accounts, or withdrawing cash. Normally, the customer uses such system by following instructions which are given on a video display component of the remote unit after the customer has presented coded card means for verification and authorization at the remote unit. The customer then makes keyboard entry at the remote unit of data necessary to perform the desired banking transaction. A customer who may not understand or properly follow the instructions may request assistance of a teller-assist operator at a distant bank station. Through audio and video communication between the bank and customer stations, the teller-assist operator assists the customer, through step-by-step personal guidance, to follow the required procedure. That is, the tellerassist operator carries out the instructions and enters the necessary data into a bank station keyboard operatively connected in the system with the customer keyboard. The bank station teller-assist unit or console also has a video display component on which the same instructions appear that normally appear at the customer unit video display component. These instructions may appear simultaneously at the bank and customer video display components, or a video picture of the teller-assist operator carrying out the transaction for the customer, may be displayed to the customer on the video display component at the remote customer banking unit.

Claims

1. In an integrated automatic banking system, the combination of a remote currency dispensing unit adapted to be actuated by customer insertion of a coded-card, and a separate teller-assist unit adapted to be served by a teller-assist operator;

the remote and teller-assist units each having data entry keyboard and video display components respectively operatively connected with each other;

means for assistance-request-signaling from the remote to the teller-assist unit;

a video camera at the teller-assist unit operatively connected with the remote video display component;

audio communication means connecting the remote and teller-assist units;

means operative at the teller-assist unit to connect with the remote keyboard, the teller-assist keyboard, to supply data entered in the teller-assist keyboard to the remote unit;

said last-mentioned means also being operative to display component, at the teller-assist video display component; and

means operative at the teller-assist unit selectively display at the remote video display component either the normally displayed use-directions, or the output of the video camera.

2. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 1, means operative at the teller-assist unit to display at the remote video display component a message that assistance is available.

3. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 1, means operative at the teller-assist unit to disconnect operative connection between the remote and teller-assist units.

4. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 1, a plurality of remote units each similarly operatively connected with the teller-assist unit;

and means at the teller-assist unit selectively to operably connect the teller-assist keyboard with that one of the plurality of remote units which has requested assistance.

5. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 4, in which the signaling means includes lighted switch means at the teller-assist unit, one for each remote unit;

and in which the lighted switch means when actuated by a teller-assist operator, operatively connects the teller-assist keyboard component with the remote unit that has requested assistance.

6. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 5 in which signaling means actuation of any lighted switch means energizes an audible signal at the teller-assist unit.

7. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 1 in which the remote currency dispensing unit is equipped to carry out in addition to currency dispensing, at least one of the following banking transactions:

depositing, making payments of various types, and transferring funds between accounts.

8. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 1, in which the coded card contains customer name indicia;

in which the remote unit reads from the coded card the customer'"'"''"'"'s name and displays the name normally at the remote unit video display component; and

in which the customer'"'"''"'"'s name also is displayed at the teller-assist unit video display component.

9. In an automatic banking system of a type in which a coded card-actuated remote customer banking unit includes a manual entry keyboard, an instruction display component, and facilities for performing at least one of the following banking operations:

depositing, dispensing cash, transferring funds from one account to another, and making various kinds of payments;

the combination of a video display component constituting the remote unit display component;

a teller-assist unit having a manual entry keyboard and a video display component operatively connected with a respective remote unit keyboard and video display components;

video camera means at the teller-assist unit operatively connected with the remote video display component;

audio means communicating between the remote and teller-assist units;

signal means connected between the remote and teller-assist units including signal actuating means at the remote unit for signaling to the teller-assist unit a request for assistance; and

means selectively operative at the teller-assist unit to simultaneously display the same information at the remote and teller-assist video display components, or to display at the teller-assist video display component the message normally displayed at the remote unit video display component, while displaying the output of the video camera means at the remote unit video display component;

whereby a teller-assist operator may enter data into the teller-assist keyboard to carry out a banking transaction at the remote unit as directed by instructions visible at the teller-assist video display component in accordance with information received from a customer at the remote unit through said audio means.

10. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 9, means operative at the teller-assist unit to display at the remote video display component a message that assistance is available.

11. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 9, means operative at the teller-assist unit to disconnect operative connection between the remote and teller-assist units.

12. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 9, a plurality of remote units each similarly operatively connected with the teller-assist unit;

and means at the teller-assist unit selectively to operably connect the teller-assist keyboard with that one of the plurality of remote units which has requested assistance.

13. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 9, in which the coded card contains customer name indicia;

a construction in which the remote unit reads from the coded card the customer'"'"''"'"'s name and displays the name normally at the remote video display component, and in which the customer'"'"''"'"'s name also is displayed at the teller-assist unit video display component.

14. In an automatic banking system which includes at least one coded-card-actuated remote customer banking unit of a type having keyboard data input means and display means for instructing a customer how to carry out a banking transaction;

the combination of video display means constituting the remote unit display means;

a teller-assist mean unit at a main bank location having keyboard data input means and video display means;

the teller-assist keyboard and video display means and the remote keyboard and video display means respectively being operatively connected;

video camera means at the teller-assist unit adapted to be beamed on a teller-assist operator and said camera means being operatively connected with the remote video display means;

audio means communicating between the remote and teller-assist units;

signal means connected between the remote and teller-assist units operative at the remote unit audibly and visually to signal at the teller-assist unit a request for assistance; and

means operative at the teller-assist unit to integrate the teller-assist keyboard means operatively in the system with the remote keyboard means, and to integrate substitutionally, the teller-assist video display means operatively in the system for the remote video display means, so that a teller-assist operator may enter data in the teller-assist keyboard means to follow instructions displayed at the teller-assist video display means to carry out a banking transaction according to information supplied by a customer through the audio means.

15. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 14, the construction in which the means operative to integrate the teller-assist and remote keyboard and video display means, also energizes the audio means communication between the remote and teller-assist units.

16. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 14, means operative at the teller-assist unit to display at the remote video display means a measage that assistance is available.

17. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 14, means operative at the teller-assist unit to disconnect operative connection between the remote and teller-assist units.

18. In an automatic banking system as set forth in claim 14, a plurality of remote units each similarly operatively connected with the teller-assist unit;

and means at the teller-assist unit selectively operable to connect the teller-assist keyboard means with that one of the plurality of remote units which has requested assistance.

19. In an automatic banking system which includes a card-actuated unattended customer banking unit located separately from a customer'"'"''"'"'s bank, and in which the unattended banking unit is of a type having manual entry keyboard means and display means for instructing the customer how to carry out a banking transaction;

the combination of video display means constituting the unattended unit display means;

a teller-assist unit at the customer'"'"''"'"'s bank having manual entry keyboard means and video display means;

the teller-assist keyboard and video display means being operatively connected respectively with the unattended unit keyboard and video display means;

the teller-assist unit having video camera means adapted to be beamed on a teller-assist unit operator and said camera means being operatively connected with the unattended unit video display means;

audio communication means operatively connecting the unattended and teller-assist units;

signal means connected between the unattended and teller-assist units operative at the unattended unit to signal a request for assistance at the teller-assist unit; and

means operative at the teller-assist unit to supply teller-assist keyboard means output to the unattended unit in place of unattended unit keyboard means output, and to supply the unattended video display means input to the teller-assist video display means;

whereby an operator at the teller-assist unit whose assistance has been requested may actuate the unattended unit keyboard means as instructed by instructions displayed at the teller-assist video display means to carry out a banking transaction in accordance with information supplied by the customer through the audio communication means.