Methods and systems for detecting coin fraud in coin-counting machines and other devices
First Claim
1. A method for detecting coin fraud in a coin-counting machine, the method comprising:
- defining a first coin criterion associated with acceptable coins of a selected denomination;
defining a second coin criterion at least partially associated with both acceptable and unacceptable coins of the selected denomination;
receiving multiple coins of the selected denomination from a user for counting;
discriminating a portion of the coins of the selected denomination received from the user;
counting a first number of the discriminated portion of coins that satisfy the first criterion;
counting a second number of the discriminated portion of coins that satisfy the second criterion; and
detecting coin fraud in the coin-counting machine based on the first and second numbers.
19 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for detecting coin fraud in coin-counting machines and other devices that count and/or sort coins and other objects. In one embodiment, the method includes discriminating multiple coins to determine a number of real coins and a number of faux coins. In one aspect of this embodiment, the faux coins can have one or more coin characteristics falling generally close to corresponding characteristics of the real coins. The method can further include determining a quotient based on the number of real coins and faux coins. If the determined quotient is greater than or equal to a selected threshold value, then the transaction can be identified as being possibly fraudulent. In the event of a possibly fraudulent transaction, the method can include controlling the transaction, for example, by returning any uncounted coins to a user, or by halting the transaction.
64 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A method for detecting coin fraud in a coin-counting machine, the method comprising:
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defining a first coin criterion associated with acceptable coins of a selected denomination; defining a second coin criterion at least partially associated with both acceptable and unacceptable coins of the selected denomination; receiving multiple coins of the selected denomination from a user for counting; discriminating a portion of the coins of the selected denomination received from the user; counting a first number of the discriminated portion of coins that satisfy the first criterion; counting a second number of the discriminated portion of coins that satisfy the second criterion; and detecting coin fraud in the coin-counting machine based on the first and second numbers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for controlling a transaction in a coin-counting machine, the method comprising:
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receiving multiple coins; discriminating at least a portion of the received coins; counting a first number of the discriminated portion of coins that fall within a first range of a coin characteristic, the first range being related to an acceptable coin type; counting a second number of the discriminated portion of coins that fall within a second range of the coin characteristic, the second range being related to an unacceptable coin type; and controlling the transaction based on the first and second numbers. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for controlling a transaction in a coin-counting machine, the method comprising:
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receiving multiple coins; discriminating at least a portion of the received coins; counting a number of the discriminated portion of coins having characteristics falling within at least one of a first range of a coin characteristic and a second range of the coin characteristic, the first range being at least partially related to an acceptable coin type and the second range being at least partially related to an unacceptable coin type; and controlling the transaction based on the number. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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23. A coin-counting apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving multiple coins in a transaction; means for discriminating at least a portion of the received coins; means for counting a number of the discriminated portion of coins having characteristics that fall within a range of a coin characteristic at least partially related to an unacceptable coin type; and means for controlling the transaction based on the number. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. A method for controlling a coin-counting machine, the method comprising:
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defining a preferred range associated with a measured characteristic for a selected coin denomination, wherein the preferred range has a lower threshold value and an upper threshold value; defining at least one questionable range associated with the measured characteristic for the selected coin denomination, wherein the questionable range is approximately adjacent to at least the lower or upper threshold values; and analyzing and disposing of a given coin by; (a) accepting the given coin and incrementing a first counting value if the coin falls outside of the preferred range but inside the questionable range; (b) rejecting the given coin if it fails outside of the preferred and questionable ranges; and (c) accepting the given coin and incrementing a second counting value different than the first counting value if the coin falls within the preferred range.
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27. A method for controlling a coin-counting machine, the method comprising:
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defining a preferred range associated with a measured characteristic for a selected coin denomination, wherein the preferred range has a lower threshold value and an upper threshold value; defining at least one questionable range associated with the measured characteristic for the selected coin denomination, wherein the questionable range is approximately adjacent to at least the lower or upper threshold values; and analyzing and disposing of a given coin by; (a) accepting the given coin and incrementing a counting value if the coin falls outside of the preferred range but inside the questionable range; (b) rejecting the given coin if it falls outside of the preferred and questionable ranges; (c) accepting the given coin if it falls within the preferred range, and (d) adjusting the questionable range or the preferred range after analyzing two or more coins during a given coin-counting transaction. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A method for controlling a coin-counting machine, the method comprising:
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defining a preferred range associated with a measured characteristic for a selected coin denomination, wherein the preferred range has a lower threshold value and an upper threshold value; defining at least one questionable range associated with the measured characteristic for the selected coin denomination, wherein the questionable range is approximately adjacent to at least the lower or upper threshold values; and analyzing and disposing of a given coin by; (a) accepting the given coin and incrementing a counting value if the coin falls outside of the preferred range but inside the questionable range; (b) rejecting the given coin if it falls outside of the preferred and questionable ranges; and (c) accepting the given coin if it lies within the preferred range, wherein the preferred range is N number of standard deviations from a mean value for the measured characteristic for a preferred coin of the selected coin denomination, and wherein the questionable range is at least between N and N+1 standard deviations from the mean value.
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30. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computer to detect coin fraud in a coin-counting machine, the coin fraud being detected by a method comprising:
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receiving multiple coins; discriminating at least a portion of the received coins; counting a first number of the discriminated portion of coins that fall within a first range of a coin characteristic, the first range being related to an acceptable coin type; counting a second number of the discriminated portion of coins that fall within a second range of the coin characteristic, the second range being related to an unacceptable coin type; and controlling the transaction based on the first and second numbers. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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33. An apparatus for counting coins, the apparatus comprising:
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a coin input region configured to receive multiple coins; a coin discriminator positioned to receive at least a portion of the multiple coins from the coin input region and discriminate the portion of coins, the coin discriminator configured to discriminate a coin characteristic having at least a first range and a second range, the first range being related to an acceptable coin type and the second range being related to an unacceptable coin type; a coin selector positioned to receive coins from the coin discriminator, the coin selector configured to count acceptable coins for retention within the apparatus and reject unacceptable coins; and a fraud detection component connected to the coin discriminator to receive information from the coin discriminator, the fraud detection component configured to count a first number of the portion of coins having coin characteristics that fall within the first range of the coin characteristic, the fraud detection component further configured to count a second number of the portion of coins having coin characteristics that fall within the second range of the coin characteristic, the fraud detection component still further configured to control the coin selector based on the first and second numbers. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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Specification