Method and apparatus for currency discrimination and counting
First Claim
1. A currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
- an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations, the currency bills having a wide dimension and a narrow dimension;
a transport mechanism positioned to transport the bills, one at a time, in a transport direction from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 800 bills per minute with the narrow dimension of the bills parallel to the transport direction;
a denomination discriminating unit for determining the denominations of and totaling the bills, the discriminating unit including a detector positioned along the transport path;
a single denominated bill output receptacle positioned to receive bills whose denomination have been determined and totaled by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations;
a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and
a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills whose denomination cannot be determined to the separate stacker bin.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Reexaminations
Accused Products
Abstract
A currency evaluation device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly evaluating all the bills in the stack comprises an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations to be evaluated. According to one embodiment, a transport mechanism transports the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 800 bills per minute. A denomination discriminating unit which includes a detector positioned along the transport path evaluates the bills. The device comprises a single denominated bill output receptacle positioned to receive bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of denominations. A separate stacker bin is provided and a diverter positioned along the transport path routes bills whose denomination cannot be determined to the separate stacker bin.
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Citations
124 Claims
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1. A currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations, the currency bills having a wide dimension and a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism positioned to transport the bills, one at a time, in a transport direction from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 800 bills per minute with the narrow dimension of the bills parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit for determining the denominations of and totaling the bills, the discriminating unit including a detector positioned along the transport path; a single denominated bill output receptacle positioned to receive bills whose denomination have been determined and totaled by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills whose denomination cannot be determined to the separate stacker bin. - View Dependent Claims (101, 102, 103)
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2. A currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations, the currency bills having a wide dimension and a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism positioned to transport the bills, one at a time, in a transport direction from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 800 bills per minute with the narrow dimension of the bills parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit for determining the denominations of the bills, the discriminating unit including a detector positioned along the transport path; a single denominated bill output receptacle positioned to receive bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations, the device being adapted to total the denominations of bills received in the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills which are denominated by the denomination discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to the denominated bill output receptacle and bills whose denomination cannot be determined to the separate stacker bin.
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3. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of U.S. bills of a plurality of denominations, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism comprising a transport drive motor and transport rollers, the transport mechanism being positioned to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport bills at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and comprising a processor, the detector generating a characteristic information output signal in response to characteristic information detected from passing bills, the characteristic information output signal being electrically coupled to the processor, the processor receiving the characteristic information output signal and generating a denomination signal in response thereto, the discriminating unit being adapted to denominate bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute; a single denominated bill output receptacle adapted to receive bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations, the device being adapted to total the denominations of bills received in the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; a separate stacker bin adapted to receive bills that the device is not able to denominate, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills which are denominated by the denomination discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle and bills which are not denominated by the denomination discriminating unit to the separate stacker bin.
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4. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of U.S. bills of a plurality of denominations, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism comprising a transport drive motor and transport rollers, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport bills at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute, the discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path, wherein the detector is positioned to receive light from passing bills and the detector is adapted to generate a received light characteristic information output signal in response to detected characteristic information, the received light characteristic information output signal being electrically coupled to a processor, the processor receiving the received light characteristic information output signal and generating a denomination signal in response thereto; a single denominated bill output receptacle positioned to receive bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; a separate stacker bin adapted to receive bills that the device is not capable of denominating, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills which are denominated by the denomination discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle and bills whose denomination cannot be determined to the separate stacker bin. - View Dependent Claims (104, 105, 106)
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5. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of U.S. bills of a plurality of denominations, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism positioned to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being positioned to transport bills at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute, the discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path, wherein the detector is positioned to receive light reflected off passing bills and the detector is adapted to generate a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response to detected characteristic information, the reflected light characteristic information output signal being electrically coupled to a processor, the processor receiving the reflected light characteristic information output signal and generating a denomination signal in response thereto; a single denominated bill output receptacle positioned to receive bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations, the device being adapted to total the denominations of bills received in the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; a separate stacker bin adapted to receive bills that the device is not capable of denominating, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills which are denominated by the denomination discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle and bills whose denomination are not determined by the denomination discriminating unit to the separate stacker bin.
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6. A U.S. currency denominating device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations to be processed, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism comprising a transport drive motor and transport rollers, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport bills at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute, the bills the discriminating unit is adapted to denominate having images associated therewith corresponding to the plurality of denominations that the discriminating unit is adapted to denominate, the discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path, the detector being adapted to scan passing bills and generate image signals, the discriminating unit determining the denomination of bills based on the image signals; a single denominated bill output receptacle for receiving bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; a separate stacker bin adapted to receive bills whose denomination have not been determined by the discriminating unit, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills which are denominated by the denomination discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle and bills whose denomination have not been determined by the discriminating unit to the separate stacker bin.
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7. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism adapted to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport bills at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations by scanning images associated with each of the bills, the discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor, the discriminating unit counting and determining the denomination of bills; a single denominated bill output receptacle for receiving bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations, the device being adapted to total the denominations of bills received in the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; a separate stacker bin adapted to receive bills that the device is not capable of denominating, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills which are denominated by the denomination discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle and bills whose denomination cannot be determined to the separate stacker bin.
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8. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism positioned to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport bills at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a memory having stored therein master data associated with denominations of bills which the device is capable of denominating; a denomination discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute, the discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor, wherein the detector is positioned to receive light reflected off passing bills and the detector is adapted to generate a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response to detected characteristic information, the reflected light characteristic information output signal being electrically coupled to a processor, the processor receiving the reflected light characteristic information output signal and generating data based on the output signal, the processor determining the denomination of a bill by comparing generated data associated with the bill to master data stored in the memory; a single denominated bill output receptacle adapted to receive bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations, the device being adapted to total the denominations of bills received in the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; a separate stacker bin adapted to receive bills whose denomination have not been determined by the discriminating unit, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle and bills whose denomination have not been determined by the discriminating unit to the separate stacker bin. - View Dependent Claims (107, 108, 109)
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9. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations to be processed, the currency bills having a wide dimension and a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism positioned to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit for evaluating determining the denominations of the bills, the discriminating unit including a detector positioned along the transport path; a single denominated bill output receptacle adapted to receive bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations, the device being adapted to total the denominations of bills received in the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills whose denomination have not been determined by the discriminating unit to the separate stacker bin. - View Dependent Claims (110, 111, 112)
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10. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations, the currency bills having a wide dimension and a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism positioned to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit for determining the denominations of the bills, the discriminating unit including a detector positioned along the transport path; a single denominated bill output receptacle; a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations and to route bills whose denomination have not been determined by the discriminating unit to the separate stacker bin.
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11. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of U.S. bills of a plurality of denominations, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism adapted to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport bills at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and comprising a processor, the detector generating a characteristic information output signal in response to characteristic information detected from passing bills, the characteristic information output signal being electrically coupled to the processor, the processor receiving the characteristic information output signal and generating a denomination signal in response thereto, the discriminating unit being adapted to denominate bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute; a single denominated bill output receptacle; a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of denominations and bills whose denomination have not been determined by the discriminating unit to the separate stacker bin, the device being adapted to total the denominations of bills received in the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations. - View Dependent Claims (113, 114, 115)
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12. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of U.S. bills of a plurality of denominations, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism adapted to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport bills at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, the discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path, wherein the detector is positioned to receive light from passing bills and the detector is adapted to generate a received light characteristic information output signal in response to detected characteristic information, the received light characteristic information output signal being electrically coupled to a processor, the processor receiving the received light characteristic information output signal and generating a denomination signal in response thereto; a single denominated bill output receptacle positioned to receive bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit; a separate stacker bin adapted to receive bills that the device is not capable of denominating, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter positioned along the transport path to route bills which are denominated by the denomination discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle and bills whose denomination cannot be determined to the separate stacker bin.
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13. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of U.S. bills of a plurality of denominations, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism comprising a transport drive motor and transport rollers, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport bills at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, the discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path, wherein the detector is positioned to receive light reflected off passing bills and the detector is adapted to generate a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response to detected characteristic information, the reflected light characteristic information output signal being electrically coupled to a processor, the processor receiving the reflected light characteristic information output signal and generating a denomination signal in response thereto; a single denominated bill output receptacle for receiving bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit including bills of a plurality of denominations, the device being adapted to total the denominations of bills received in the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; a separate stacker bin adapted to receive bills whose denomination are not determined by the denomination discriminating unit, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter adapted to route bills which are denominated by the denomination discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle and bills whose denomination are not determined by the denomination discriminating unit to the separate stacker bin. - View Dependent Claims (116, 117, 118)
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14. A U.S. currency denominating device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations to be processed, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism positioned to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport bills at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, the bills the discriminating unit is adapted to denominate having images associated therewith corresponding to the plurality of denominations that the discriminating unit is adapted to denominate, the discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path, the detector being adapted to scan passing bills and generate image signals, the discriminating unit determining the denomination of bills based on the image signals; a single denominated bill output receptacle adapted to receive bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit; a separate stacker bin adapted to receive bills whose denomination have not been determined by the discriminating unit, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter adapted to route bills which have been denominated by the denomination discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of denominations and bills which have not been denominated by the denomination discriminating unit to the separate stacker bin, the device being adapted to total the denominations of bills received in the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations.
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15. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations to be processed, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism comprising a transport drive motor and transport rollers, the transport mechanism being positioned to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport bills at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a denomination discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of denominations by scanning images associated with each of the bills at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, the discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor; a single denominated bill output receptacle for receiving bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit; a separate stacker bin adapted to receive bills that the device is not capable of denominating, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter adapted to route bills which are denominated by the denomination discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of denominations and bills whose denomination cannot be determined to the separate stacker bin, the device being adapted to total the denominations of bills received in the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations. - View Dependent Claims (119, 120, 121)
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16. A U.S. currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills of a plurality of denominations, the bills having a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism positioned to transport the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport bills at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a memory having stored therein master data associated with denominations of bills which the device is capable of denominating; a denomination discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, the discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor, wherein the detector is positioned to receive light reflected off passing bills and the detector is adapted to generate a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response to detected characteristic information, the reflected light characteristic information output signal being electrically coupled to a processor, the processor receiving the reflected light characteristic information output signal and generating data based on the output signal, the processor using generated data associated with a bill and master data stored in the memory to determine the denomination of a bill; a single denominated bill output receptacle for receiving bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit; a separate stacker bin adapted to receive bills whose denomination have not been determined by the discriminating unit, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle; and a diverter adapted to route bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit to the denominated bill output receptacle and bills whose denomination have not been determined by the discriminating unit to the separate stacker bin. - View Dependent Claims (122, 123, 124)
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17. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and flagging a bill when the denomination of the bill is not determined by the discriminating unit by diverting a bill whose denomination is not determined to a separate stacker bin.
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18. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and flagging a bill when the denomination of the bill is not determined by the discriminating unit by diverting a bill whose denomination is not determined to a separate stacker bin.
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19. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and diverting a bill whose denomination is not determined by the discriminating unit to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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20. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined by the discriminating unit to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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21. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor;
the act of determining the denomination of bills comprising the additional acts of;the detector generating a characteristic information output signal in response to characteristic information detected from passing bills, and the processor receiving the characteristic information output signal and generating a denomination signal in response thereto; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined by the discriminating unit to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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22. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute, the act of determining the denomination of bills comprising the additional acts of; receiving light from passing bills, generating a received light characteristic information output signal in response to receiving light from passing bills, and generating a denomination signal based on the output signal; delivering bills whose denomination are determined including bills of a plurality of denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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23. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute, the act of determining the denomination of bills comprising the additional acts of; a detector receiving light reflected off passing bills and generating a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response thereto, and a processor receiving the reflected light characteristic information output signal and generating a denomination signal in response thereto; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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24. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute, the bills having images associated therewith corresponding to the plurality of denominations, the act of determining the denomination of bills comprising the additional acts of; a detector scanning passing bills and generating image signals, and determining the denomination of bills based on the image signals; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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25. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations by scanning images associated with each of the bills at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute; delivering bills whose denomination has been determined including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills whose denomination has not been determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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26. A method of processing U.S. currency using a currency processing device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be processed in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute in a transport direction with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport direction using a transport mechanism comprising a transport drive motor and transport rollers; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor, wherein the act of determining the denomination comprises the additional acts of; the detector detecting characteristic information from the bills, the detector generating a characteristic information output signal in response to detected characteristic information, the processor receiving the characteristic information output signal, the processor generating data from the received output signal, and the processor comparing the generated data to master data stored in a memory of the device, the memory having stored therein master data associated with denominations of bills which the device is capable of denominating; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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27. A method of processing U.S. currency using a currency processing device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be processed in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute in a transport direction with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute, wherein the act of determining the denomination comprises the additional acts of; illuminating passing bills with light, detecting light reflected off passing bills, generating a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response to detected light, generating data based on the output signal, and comparing the generated data to master data stored in a memory, the memory having stored therein master data associated with denominations of bills which the device is capable of denominating; delivering bills whose denomination have been determined including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and diverting bills whose denomination were not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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28. A method of processing U.S. currency using a currency processing device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be processed in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute in a transport direction with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute, wherein the act of determining the denomination comprises the additional acts of; illuminating passing bills with light, detecting light reflected off passing bills, generating a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response to detected light, generating characteristic information for a bill based on the output signal, and generating a signal indicative of the denomination of a bill when generated characteristic information associated with the bill satisfactorily corresponds with master information stored in a memory; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills that have not been denominated to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (74, 75, 76)
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29. A method of processing U.S. currency using a currency processing device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be processed in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute in a transport direction with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute, wherein the act of determining the denomination comprises the additional acts of; illuminating passing bills with light, detecting light reflected off passing bills, generating a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response to detected light, generating characteristic information for a bill based on the output signal, and generating a signal indicative of the denomination of a bill when generated characteristic information associated with the bill satisfies predetermined criteria; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills that have not been denominated to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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30. A method of processing U.S. currency using a currency processing device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be processed in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension and a wide dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute in a transport direction with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate in excess of 800 bills per minute, the act of determining the denomination of bills comprising; illuminating bills being transported with at least one rectangular strip of light, the rectangular strip of light being elongated in a direction transverse to the direction of bill movement, detecting light reflected from the rectangular strip of light striking the bills, and comparing information obtained from the detected reflected light with master denominating information stored in memory of the device; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 77, 78, 79)
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35. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and flagging a bill when the denomination of the bill is not determined by the discriminating unit by diverting a bill whose denomination is not determined to a separate stacker bin.
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36. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and flagging a bill when the denomination of the bill is not determined by the discriminating unit by diverting a bill whose denomination is not determined to a separate stacker bin.
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37. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting a bill whose denomination is not determined by the discriminating unit to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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38. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined by the discriminating unit to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (80, 81, 82)
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39. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor;
the act of determining the denomination of bills comprising the additional acts of;the detector generating a characteristic information output signal in response to characteristic information detected from passing bills, and the processor receiving the characteristic information output signal and generating a denomination signal in response thereto; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined by the discriminating unit to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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40. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, the act of determining the denomination of bills comprising the additional acts of; receiving light from passing bills, generating a received light characteristic information output signal in response to receiving light from passing bills, and generating a denomination signal based on the output signal; delivering bills whose denomination are determined including bills of a plurality of denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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41. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, the act of determining the denomination of bills comprising the additional acts of; a detector receiving light reflected off passing bills and generating a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response thereto, and a processor receiving the reflected light characteristic information output signal and generating a denomination signal in response thereto; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (83, 84, 85)
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42. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, the bills having images associated therewith corresponding to the plurality of denominations, the act of determining the denomination of bills comprising the additional acts of; a detector scanning passing bills and generating image signals, and determining the denomination of bills based on the image signals; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (86, 87, 88)
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43. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations by scanning images associated with each of the bills at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute; delivering bills whose denomination has been determined including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills whose denomination has not been determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (89, 90, 91)
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44. A method of processing U.S. currency using a currency processing device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be processed in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute in a transport direction with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport direction using a transport mechanism comprising a transport drive motor and transport rollers; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor, wherein the act of determining the denomination comprises the additional acts of; the detector detecting characteristic information from the bills, the detector generating a characteristic information output signal in response to detected characteristic information, the processor receiving the characteristic information output signal, the processor generating data from the received output signal, and the processor comparing the generated data to master data stored in a memory of the device, the memory having stored therein master data associated with denominations of bills which the device is capable of denominating; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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45. A method of processing U.S. currency using a currency processing device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be processed in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute in a transport direction with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, wherein the act of determining the denomination comprises the additional acts of; illuminating passing bills with light, detecting light reflected off passing bills, generating a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response to detected light, generating data based on the output signal, and comparing the generated data to master data stored in a memory, the memory having stored therein master data associated with denominations of bills which the device is capable of denominating; delivering bills whose denomination have been determined including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and diverting bills whose denomination were not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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46. A method of processing U.S. currency using a currency processing device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be processed in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute in a transport direction with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, wherein the act of determining the denomination comprises the additional acts of; illuminating passing bills with light, detecting light reflected off passing bills, generating a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response to detected light, generating characteristic information for a bill based on the output signal, and generating a signal indicative of the denomination of a bill when generated characteristic information associated with the bill satisfactorily corresponds with master information stored in a memory; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills that have not been denominated to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (92, 93, 94)
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47. A method of processing U.S. currency using a currency processing device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute in a transport direction with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, wherein the act of determining the denomination comprises the additional acts of; illuminating passing bills with light, detecting light reflected off passing bills, generating a reflected light characteristic information output signal in response to detected light, generating characteristic information for a bill based on the output signal, and generating a signal indicative of the denomination of a bill when generated characteristic information associated with the bill satisfies predetermined criteria; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills that have not been denominated to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (95, 96, 97)
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48. A method of processing U.S. currency using a currency processing device comprising:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension and a wide dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute in a transport direction with the narrow dimension of the bills being parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute, the act of determining the denomination of bills comprising; illuminating bills being transported with at least one rectangular strip of light, the rectangular strip of light being elongated in a direction transverse to the direction of bill movement, detecting light reflected from the rectangular strip of light striking the bills, and comparing information obtained from the detected reflected light with master denominating information stored in memory of the device; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations; and diverting bills whose denomination are not determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the denominated bill output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 98, 99, 100)
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53. A currency processing device for receiving a stack of U.S. currency bills and rapidly processing all the bills in the stack, the device comprising:
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an input receptacle that is open to receive a stack of U.S. currency bills to be processed, the currency bills having a wide dimension and a narrow dimension; a transport mechanism for transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least 800 bills per minute, in a transport direction with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; a discriminating unit for denominating the bills, the discriminating unit including a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor; a single denominated bill output receptacle positioned to receive bills whose denomination have been determined by the discriminating unit; a flagging device comprising the processor and an encoder linked to the transport mechanism, the encoder producing tracking signals in response to the physical movement of the bills, the processor generating a no call signal when the denomination of a bill is not determined by the processor; and a separate stacker bin and wherein the flagging device causes bills whose denomination cannot be determined to be diverted to the separate stacker bin, wherein the separate stacker bin is separate from the denominated bill output receptacle.
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54. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency processing device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path in a transport direction at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of denominations to at least one output receptacle of the device; and flagging a bill when the denomination of the bill is not determined by the discriminating unit, wherein flagging comprises diverting bills whose denomination cannot be determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the at least one output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (55)
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56. A method of processing U.S. currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of U.S. bills having a plurality of denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device, the bills having a narrow dimension; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute in a transport direction with their narrow dimension parallel to the transport direction; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor; delivering bills that have been denominated including bills of a plurality of denominations to at least one output receptacle of the device; and flagging a bill when the denomination of the bill is not determined by the discriminating unit, the flagging comprising the processor generating a no call signal when the denomination of a bill is not determined, wherein flagging comprises diverting bills whose denomination cannot be determined to a separate stacker bin, the stacker bin being separate from the at least one output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (57)
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58. A method of processing currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of bills having a plurality of U.S. denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 800 bills per minute using a transport mechanism comprising a transport drive motor and transport rollers; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 800 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor;
wherein the act of determining the denomination comprises the acts of;the detector detecting characteristic image information from the bills; the detector generating a characteristic image information output signal in response to detected characteristic information, the characteristic image information output signal being electrically coupled to the processor; the processor receiving the characteristic image information output signal; and the processor generating a denomination signal in response thereto; delivering bills that have been denominated to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; and diverting a bill whose denomination is not determined to a stacker bin separate from the denominated bill output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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66. A method of processing currency using a U.S. currency denominating device comprising the acts of:
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receiving a stack of bills having a plurality of U.S. denominations to be denominated in an input receptacle of the device; transporting the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute using a transport mechanism comprising a transport drive motor and transport rollers; determining the denomination of bills including bills of a plurality of U.S. denominations at a rate of at least about 1000 bills per minute using a discriminating unit comprising a detector positioned along the transport path and a processor;
wherein the act of determining the denomination comprises the acts of;the detector detecting characteristic image information from the bills; the detector generating a characteristic image information output signal in response to detected characteristic information, the characteristic image information output signal being electrically coupled to the processor; the processor receiving the characteristic image information output signal; and the processor generating a denomination signal in response thereto; delivering bills that have been denominated to a single denominated bill output receptacle of the device; totaling the denominations of bills delivered to the single denominated bill output receptacle; and diverting a bill whose denomination is not determined to a stacker bin separate from the denominated bill output receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
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Specification