Cash handling facility management

• US 7,965,184 B1
• Filed: 10/31/2008
• Issued: 06/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Original Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Inventors: Waggoner, Mark, Webster, Wallace, Nichols, Michelle, Mon, Felix, Atwood, Todd, Heddleson, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Trieu; Van T.
• Application Number:
  US12/262,502
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/571, 340/568.1, 340/568.7, 340/505, 340/10.1, 340/10.3, 235/375, 235/379, 235/384, 705/65, 709/999.01
• US Class Current: 340/568.7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1481 with optical detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2402 Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS], i.e. systems using tags for detecting removal of a tagged item from a secure area, e.g. tags for detecting shoplifting mechanical aspects of the tags, e.g. related to locking E05B73/0017; RFID readers G06K7/00; RFID tags G06K19/00; access control systems G07C9/00; anti-theft control in point of sale systems G07G3/003; security seals G09F3/03

Abstract

Cash handling facilities, such as cash vaults, receive and process large quantities of cash. The cash handling facility may have a plurality of custody points at which the amount of cash being processed is verified, counted, stored, or otherwise processed. Cash handling personnel that are handling the cash may be verified, detected, or otherwise documented as handling the cash. Automatic identification techniques may be implemented to track the cash and cash handling personnel at various custody points within the cash handling facility. A centralized tracking system may use the information obtained at each of the custody points to track, count, and verify the cash while it is located within the cash handling facility.

Claims

1. A method of handling cash within a cash handling facility, comprising the steps of:

identifying a first custody point and a second custody point within the cash handling facility;

automatically identifying an item located at the first custody point;

while the item is physically present at the first custody point, determining a first quantity of cash that is associated with the item;

transferring the item from the first custody point to the second custody point;

automatically identifying the item at the second custody point;

while the item is physically present at the second custody point, determining a second quantity of cash that is associated with the item;

verifying that the first quantity of cash is the same as the second quantity of cash.

2. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of transferring the item from the second custody point to a third custody point.

3. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the step of transferring the item is performed by a cash handling facility personnel.

4. The method recited in claim 3, wherein a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag is attached to the cash handling facility personnel and the cash handling facility personnel is automatically identified at least one of the first custody point and the second custody point.

5. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the step of automatically identifying the item comprises identifying the item based on an identifier transmitted by a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag attached to the item.

6. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the item is a cash bag.

7. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the item is a cash strap.

8. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the custody point is within a cash handling facility.

9. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the custody point is at least one of a cash tray, a smart table, a smart cart, a cash strap, an armored carrier, and a cash handling personnel.

10. A cash handling facility management system, comprising:

a plurality of custody points including at least a first custody point and a second custody point;

at least one cash containing device that is transferred from the first custody point to the second custody point;

an automatic identification system having;

a plurality of scanners including at least a first scanner positioned at the first custody point and a second scanner positioned at the second custody point; and

a plurality of tags including at least a first tag attached to the at least one cash containing device;

wherein the first scanner detects a presence of the cash containing device when the cash containing device is located at the first custody point and the second scanner detects the presence of the cash containing device when the cash containing device is located at the second custody point;

a memory for storing;

tracking information related to the first scanner'"'"'s detection that the at least one cash containing device is present at the first custody point and/or the second scanner'"'"'s detection that the at least one cash containing device is present at the second custody point;

information related to an amount of cash associated with the cash containing device at the first custody point;

information related to the amount of cash associated with the cash containing device at the second custody point; and

a processor configured to determine when the information related to the amount of cash associated with the cash containing device at the first custody point is equal to the information related to the amount of cash associated with the cash containing device at the second custody point.

11. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the first custody point is a receiving area and the second custody point is a man trap.

12. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the first custody point is a man trap and the second custody point is a smart cart.

13. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the automatic identification system is a radio-frequency identification system (RFID), the plurality of readers are RFID scanners, and the plurality of tags are RFID tags.

14. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the cash containing device is a deposit bag containing a plurality of cash bags, wherein the first tag is attached to the deposit bag and a second tag is attached to at least one of the cash bags.

15. A method of transferring custody of cash within a cash handling facility, comprising the steps of:

identifying an cash containing device;

attaching a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag to the cash containing device, wherein the RFID tag contains information describing an amount of cash contained in the cash containing device and a unique identifier associated with the cash containing device;

receiving the cash containing device at a receiving point of a cash handling facility having an RFID scanner;

transmitting a signal from the RFID tag to the RFID scanner, that the signal including information about the cash and the unique identifier;

transferring the cash containing device from the receiving point to a first custody point within the cash handling facility;

counting the cash associated with the cash containing device at the first custody point;

comparing the amount of cash that is counted at the receiving point with the amount of cash that is counted at the first custody point; and

if the amount of cash counted at the receiving point equals the amount of cash counted at the first custody point, transferring the cash containing device from the first custody point to a second custody point.

16. The method recited in claim 15, wherein the cash containing device is a deposit bag containing at least one of a cash bag and a cash strap containing at least one of physical cash and negotiable instruments.

17. The method recited in claim 15, wherein the information about the cash includes an amount of physical cash that is contained in the cash containing device.

18. The method recited in claim 17, wherein the step of transferring the cash containing device from a first custody point to a second custody point is performed by a cash handling personnel having an RFID tag attached thereon, wherein the physical location of the cash handling personnel is tracked by the detected of the RFID tag by at least one of the RFID scanners.

19. A method of handling cash at a cash handling facility, comprising the steps of:

receiving, at a central tracking system, identification of a first custody point;

receiving, at the central tracking system, identification of a cash containing device located at the first custody point;

determining an a first amount of cash contained with the cash containing device at the first custody point;

receiving, at the central tracking system, identification of a second custody point

transferring the cash containing device to from the first custody point to the second custody point;

receiving, at the central tracking system, identification of the cash containing device located at the second custody point;

determining a second amount of cash contained within the cash containing device located at the second custody point; and

verifying that the first amount of cash and the second amount of cash are the same.

20. The method recited in claim 19, wherein the step of receiving identification at the first custody point and the second custody point is performed by an RFID system.