Rotating bill acceptor
First Claim
1. A currency accepting machine comprising:
- a machine housing having an external surface accessible to users of the currency accepting machine; and
a bill acceptor rotatably mounted to said machine housing, said bill acceptor includinga bill validator for receiving cash from machine users, anda cash collection region for storing cash inserted by the machine users,wherein the bill acceptor has at least (i) a bill insertion position in which the bill validator is accessible through the machine housing external surface while the cash collection region is blocked from access by the external surface, and (ii) a cash removal position, rotationally separated from the bill insertion position, in which the cash collection region is accessible through the machine housing external surface while the bill validator is blocked from access by the external surface.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A rotating bill acceptor mounted inside a currency accepting machine is disclosed herein. The bill acceptor includes a bill validator which accepts (or rejects) cash inserted by users of the machine and a secure cash box which stores the bills out of the machine users'"'"' reach. The entire bill acceptor is pivotally mounted on a bracket in the machine interior. During normal operation, the bill acceptor is positioned such that its bill validator portion extends through an opening in a locked door on the machine'"'"'s housing. Thus, the bill validator is available to accept cash while the cash box is protected within the machine interior. When it becomes necessary to remove the cash collected by the bill acceptor, a collection worker unlocks the door on the machine'"'"'s housing, thereby accessing a mechanism which allows the bill acceptor to rotate out of its normal position and into a position in which the cash box is accessible through the unlocked door. The collection worker may then replace the full cash box with an empty cash box.
244 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A currency accepting machine comprising:
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a machine housing having an external surface accessible to users of the currency accepting machine; and a bill acceptor rotatably mounted to said machine housing, said bill acceptor including a bill validator for receiving cash from machine users, and a cash collection region for storing cash inserted by the machine users, wherein the bill acceptor has at least (i) a bill insertion position in which the bill validator is accessible through the machine housing external surface while the cash collection region is blocked from access by the external surface, and (ii) a cash removal position, rotationally separated from the bill insertion position, in which the cash collection region is accessible through the machine housing external surface while the bill validator is blocked from access by the external surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of accessing a cash collection region of a bill acceptor rotatably mounted in a currency accepting machine having an external surface, the method comprising the following steps:
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rotating the bill acceptor from a bill insertion position in which a bill validator is accessible through the machine housing external surface while the cash collection region is blocked from access by the external surface, to a cash removal position in which the cash collection region is accessible through the machine housing external surface while the bill validator is blocked from access by the external surface; and accessing the cash collection region. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A currency accepting machine comprising:
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a machine housing defining a machine interior and at least one machine exterior surface, the machine housing having a slant top surface which slants upward toward the rear of the housing; a bill acceptor access door on the slant top surface, the access door having an opening for allowing cash insertion, and having a lock to prevent unauthorized opening; a rotatable bill acceptor provided in the machine interior, the bill acceptor including a bill validator for validating bills inserted in the machine by users, and a cash box with a lock; and a rotation mechanism mounted to the machine interior and engaging said rotatable bill acceptor, such that the bill acceptor can rotate between at least (i) a bill insertion position in which the bill validator is accessible through the opening in the bill acceptor access door while the cash collection region is blocked from access by the external surface, and (ii) a cash removal position, rotationally separated from the bill insertion position, in which the cash box is accessible through the machine housing external surface while the bill validator is blocked from access by the external surface. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification