Automated document processing system and method

• US 8,125,624 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2005
• Issued: 02/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cummins-Allison Corporation (Crane Company)
• Original Assignee: Cummins-Allison Corporation (Crane Company)
• Inventors: Jones, John E., Jones, Paul A., Jones, William J., Mennie, Douglas U.
• Primary Examiner(s): Punnoose, Roy M
• Application Number:
  US11/048,296
• Publication Number:
  US 20050207634A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,583 Days
• Field of Search: 356/71
• US Class Current: 356/71
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/30 Tracking or tracing valuable papers or cassettes
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/50 Sorting or counting valuable papers
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 3/14 Apparatus driven under control of coin-sensing elements
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/12 Visible light, infrared or ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/20 Testing patterns thereon G07D7/004, G07D7/005 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/207 Surveillance aspects at ATMs

Abstract

A document processing system includes an input receptacle for receiving documents. A transport mechanism receives the documents from the input receptacle and transports the documents past an image scanner and a discrimination unit. An output receptacle receives the documents from the transport mechanism after being transported past the full image scanner and the discrimination unit. The image scanner operates to obtain images of the documents and further operates to obtain images of selected portions of the documents, and further can obtain information contained in the selected portions. The discrimination unit operates to determine document authenticity. A system controller directs the flow of documents over the transport mechanism.

Claims

1. A document processing device configured to process a stack of documents including currency bills and checks, the device comprising:

a transport system configured to convey documents including currency bills and checks along a transport path past an image scanner, the image scanner configured to obtain an image of each conveyed currency bill and check, the obtained images reproducible for electronic display;

one or more processing units configured to control communication of obtained images of conveyed checks to a communication port, to determine the denominations of the currency bills from the obtained images of the conveyed currency bills, and to extract a check account number and bank identification information from the obtained images of the conveyed checks.

2. The document processing device of claim 1, further comprising an input receptacle configured to receive the documents, wherein the transport system is configured to receive the documents from the input receptacle.

3. The document processing device of claim 2, wherein the checks and the currency bills are received in the input receptacle as two separate stacks of documents.

4. The document processing device of claim 2, further comprising a secure housing defining an outer insecure area and an inner secure area, wherein the input receptacle is at least partially located in the outer insecure area, and wherein the image scanner, transport system, and one or more of the processing units are located in the inner secure area such that a document after being conveyed is generally inaccessible to an operator of the document processing device.

5. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the currency bills and checks are conveyed, the images of the currency bills and checks are obtained, and the denominations of the conveyed bills are determined at a rate of at least 800 documents per minute.

6. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein currency bills and checks are conveyed, the images of the currency bills and checks are obtained, and the denominations of the conveyed bills are determined at a rate of at least 1,000 documents per minute.

7. The document processing device of claim 6, wherein the currency bills are U.S. currency bills.

8. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the checks and currency bills have a wide edge and a narrow edge, the transport system configured to convey the checks and currency bills with the wide edge generally perpendicular to the direction of conveyance along the transport path.

9. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the currency bills include currency bills of a plurality of denominations.

10. The document processing device of claim 1, further comprising one or more output receptacles configured to receive the documents from the transport system after the checks and currency bills pass the image scanner.

11. The document processing device of claim 10, further comprising at least two output receptacles, and a diverter for diverting checks to one output receptacle and currency bills to another output receptacle.

12. The document processing device of claim 10, further comprising a diverter for diverting no-call checks and no-call currency bills to one of a plurality of output receptacles.

13. The document processing device of claim 10, wherein at least one of the one or more output receptacles is configured to securely store at least a portion of the documents.

14. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the checks and the currency bills are commingled and received in the input receptacle as a single stack of documents.

15. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processing units are further configured to extract currency bill information from each currency bill image, the information including the serial number and denomination of each conveyed currency bill.

16. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processing units are further configured to extract a check amount and a check number from the images of each conveyed check.

17. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the obtained images are transmitted to an external memory via the communication port.

18. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the obtained images are transmitted to a network via the communication port.

19. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the determined denomination of each currency bill is transmitted to a network via the communication port.

20. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the determined denomination of each currency bill is transmitted to an external memory via the communication port.

21. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the image scanner is configured to obtain images of checks at a different resolution than obtained images of currency bills.

22. The document processing device of claim 1, further comprising an exterior housing;

the image scanner, transport system, and one or more processing units disposed within the housing; and

the device further comprising a touch-screen display coupled to the exterior housing, the touch-screen display being associated with at least one processing unit.

23. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processing units are configured to electronically tag the denomination of a conveyed currency bill to the associated currency bill image.

24. The document processing device of claim 1, further comprising a memory associated with the one or more processing units, the memory configured to store the images of the conveyed checks and currency bills, the memory further configured to store currency bill denominations determined from the currency bill images.

25. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the image scanner comprises a single scan head configured to image both conveyed checks and currency bills.

26. A method for processing a stack of currency bills and checks using a document processing device, the method comprising:

conveying currency bills and checks via a transport system along a transport path;

obtaining images of the conveyed currency bills and checks via an image scanner at least partially adjacent to the transport path;

extracting, via one or more processing units, a check account number and a bank number from the obtained images of the conveyed checks;

communicating obtained images of the conveyed checks to a communication port; and

determining, via the one or more processing units, denominations of the currency bills from the obtained images of the conveyed currency bills.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the currency bills and checks are conveyed, the images of the currency bills and checks are obtained, and the denominations of currency bills are determined at a rate of at least 800 documents per minute.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the currency bills and checks are conveyed, the images of the currency bills and checks are obtained, and the denominations of currency bills are determined at a rate of at least 1,000 documents per minute.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the currency bills are U.S. currency bills.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the currency bills and checks have a wide edge and a narrow edge, the currency bills and checks being conveyed with the wide edge generally perpendicular to the direction of conveyance along the transport path.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein the currency bills include currency bills of a plurality of denominations.

32. The method of claim 26, wherein the currency bills and checks are received in an input receptacle as two separate stacks.

33. The method of claim 26, wherein the currency bills and checks are commingled and received in an input receptacle as a single stack.

34. The method of claim 26, further comprising diverting checks to one output receptacle and currency bills to another output receptacle.

35. The method of claim 26, further comprising diverting no-call checks and no-call currency bills to one of a plurality of output receptacles.

36. The method of claim 26, further comprising extracting information from the obtained images of the currency bills, the information including the serial number and denomination of each conveyed currency bill.

37. The method of claim 26, wherein the obtained images are partial images of at least one surface of each currency bill and full images of at least one surface of each check.

38. The method of claim 26, further comprising extracting a check amount and a check number from the obtained images for each conveyed check.

39. The method of claim 26, further comprising transmitting the obtained images to an external memory via the communication port.

40. The method of claim 26, further comprising transmitting the obtained images to a network via the communication port.

41. The method of claim 26, wherein obtaining images occurs at different resolutions according to document type.

42. The method of claim 26, further comprising tagging the determined denomination of a conveyed currency bill with the associated currency bill image.

43. A document processing device configured to process checks and currency bills, the device comprising:

a transport system configured to convey checks and currency bills along a transport path;

an imaging unit including a sensor adjacent to the transport path, the imaging unit configured to generate image data reproducible as a visually readable image of at least a portion of each conveyed check and currency bill; and

one or more processing units configured to communicate the image data generated from the conveyed checks, to determine a denomination of each of the currency bills from the image data generated from the conveyed currency bills, and to extract a check account number and bank number of each check from the image data generated from the conveyed checks.

44. The document processing device of claim 43, further comprising an input receptacle configured to receive a stack of documents including the checks and currency bills, wherein the transport system is configured to receive the documents from the input receptacle.

45. The document processing device of claim 44, wherein the checks and currency bills are received in the input receptacle as two separate stacks of documents.

46. The document processing device of claim 44, wherein the checks and currency bills are received in the input receptacle as a single stack of commingled documents.

47. The document processing device of claim 44, further comprising a secure housing defining an outer insecure area and an inner secure area, wherein the input receptacle is at least partially located in the outer insecure area, and wherein the imaging unit, transport system, and one or more of the processing units are located in the inner secure area such that a document after being conveyed is generally inaccessible to an operator of the document processing device.

48. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the one or more processing units are configured to electronically tag the denomination of a conveyed currency bill to the associated currency bill image data.

49. The document processing device of claim 43, further comprising a memory associated with the one or more processing units, the memory configured to store the image data generated from the conveyed checks and currency bills, the memory further configured to store currency bill denominations determined from the currency bill image data.

50. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the imaging unit comprises a single imaging module configured to generate the image data for both the conveyed checks and currency bills.

51. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the transport system is configured to convey the received currency bills and checks along the transport path, the imaging unit is configured to generate the image data, and the one or more processing units are configured to determine the denominations of currency bills at a rate of at least 800 documents per minute.

52. The document processing device of claim 51, wherein the currency bills are U.S. currency bills.

53. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the transport system is configured to convey the received currency bills and checks along the transport path, the imaging unit is configured to generate the image data, and the one or more processing units are configured to determine the denominations of currency bills at a rate of at least 1,000 documents per minute.

54. The document processing device of claim 53, wherein the currency bills are U.S. currency bills.

55. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the checks and currency bills have a wide edge and a narrow edge, the transport system configured to convey the checks and currency bills with the wide edge generally perpendicular to the direction of conveyance along the transport path.

56. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the currency bills include currency bills of a plurality of denominations.

57. The document processing device of claim 43, further comprising one or more output receptacles configured to receive the checks and currency bills from the transport system after the checks and currency bills pass the sensor.

58. The document processing device of claim 57, further comprising a diverter for diverting checks to one output receptacle and currency bills to another output receptacle.

59. The document processing device of claim 57, further comprising a diverter for diverting no-call checks and no-call currency bills to one of a plurality of output receptacles.

60. The document processing device of claim 57, wherein at least one of the one or more output receptacles is configured to securely store at least a portion of the documents.

61. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the one or more processing units are further configured to extract currency bill information from the image data associated with currency bills, the information including serial numbers and denominations of conveyed currency bills.

62. The document processing device of claim 61, wherein the image data and extracted information from the checks and currency bills are transmitted to a network via a communication port.

63. The document processing device of claim 61, wherein the image data and extracted information from the checks and currency bills are transmitted to an external memory via a communication port.

64. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the image data generated for the checks and currency bills is reproducible as a visually readable full image of at least one surface of each conveyed check and each conveyed currency bill.

65. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the one or more processing units are further configured to extract a check amount and a check number for each check from the image data generated for each conveyed check.

66. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the image data is transmitted to an external memory via a communication port.

67. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the image data is transmitted to a network via a communication port.

68. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the image data and currency bill denominations are transmitted to a print device.

69. The document processing device of claim 43, wherein the imaging unit is configured to generate image data at varying resolutions.

70. The document processing device of claim 43, further comprising an exterior housing;

the imaging unit, transport system, and at least one processing unit disposed within the housing; and

the device further comprising a touch-screen display coupled to the exterior housing, the touch-screen display being associated with the at least one processing unit.

71. A method for processing checks and currency bills via a document processing device, the method comprising:

conveying the checks and currency bills via a transport system along a transport path;

generating image data via an imaging unit having a sensor adjacent to the transport path, the generated image data being reproducible as a visually readable image of at least a portion of each conveyed check and currency bill;

extracting, via one or more processing units, a check account number and a bank number from the image data generated from the conveyed checks;

communicating the image data generated from the conveyed checks; and

determining, via the one or more processing units, denominations of the currency bills from the image data generated from the conveyed currency bills.

72. The method of claim 71, wherein the currency bills and checks are conveyed, the image data is generated, and the denominations of currency bills are determined at a rate of at least 800 documents per minute.

73. The method of claim 72, wherein the currency bills are U.S. currency bills.

74. The method of claim 71, wherein the currency bills and checks are conveyed, the image data is generated, and the denominations of currency bills are determined at a rate of at least 1,000 documents per minute.

75. The method of claim 74, wherein the currency bills are U.S. currency bills.

76. The method of claim 71, wherein the checks and currency bills have a wide edge and a narrow edge, and wherein the conveying comprises conveying the checks and currency bills with the wide edge generally perpendicular to the direction of conveyance along the transport path.

77. The method of claim 71, wherein the determining comprises determining denominations of currency bills including a plurality of denominations.

78. The method of claim 71, wherein the checks and currency bills are received in an input receptacle as two separate stacks.

79. The method of claim 71, wherein the checks and currency bills are commingled and received in an input receptacle as a single stack.

80. The method of claim 71, further comprising diverting checks to one output receptacle and currency bills to another output receptacle.

81. The method of claim 71, further comprising diverting no-call checks and no-call currency bills to one of a plurality of output receptacles.

82. The method of claim 71, further comprising extracting currency bill information from the image data associated with currency bills, the information including the serial number and denomination of each of the conveyed currency bills.

83. The method of claim 71, wherein the image data generated for the checks and currency bills is reproducible as a visually readable full image of at least one surface of each conveyed check and each conveyed currency bill.

84. The method of claim 71, further comprising extracting a check amount and a check number from the image data generated for each conveyed check.

85. The method of claim 71, further comprising transmitting the image data to an external memory via a communication port.

86. The method of claim 71, further comprising transmitting the image data to a network via a communication port.

87. The method of claim 71, further comprising generating image data at varying resolutions.

88. The method of claim 71, further comprising tagging the denomination of a conveyed currency bill to associated currency bill image data.

89. A document processing device configured to process checks and currency bills, the device comprising:

a transport system configured to convey checks and currency bills along a transport path;

an imaging unit having a sensor adjacent to the transport path, the imaging unit configured to generate image data reproducible as a visually readable image of at least a portion of each conveyed check and currency bill; and

one or more processing units configured to control communication of the image data generated from the conveyed checks, determine the denomination of the currency bills from the image data generated from the conveyed currency bills, and extract a checking account number and bank number from the image data generated from each conveyed check,

wherein at a rate of at least 800 documents per minute the transport system is configured to convey the checks and currency bills, the imaging unit is configured to generate image data, and the one or more processing units are configured to determine the denominations of conveyed currency bills.

90. The document processing device of claim 89, wherein the imaging unit comprises a single imaging module configured to generate the image data for both the conveyed checks and currency bills.

91. The document processing device of claim 89, wherein the checks and currency bills are received in an input receptacle as a single stack of commingled documents.

92. The document processing device of claim 89, wherein the checks and currency bills have a wide edge and a narrow edge, the transport system configured to convey the checks and currency bills with the wide edge generally perpendicular to the direction of conveyance along the transport path.

93. The document processing device of claim 89, wherein the one or more processing units are further configured to extract currency bill information from the image data generated from the conveyed currency bills, the information including serial numbers of the conveyed currency bills.

94. The document processing device of claim 89, wherein the image data is transmitted to an external memory.

95. The document processing device of claim 89, wherein the image data is transmitted to a network.

96. The document processing device of claim 89, wherein the currency bills are conveyed along the transport path to an output receptacle configured to securely store at least a portion of the currency bills.

97. The document processing device of claim 89, further comprising:

an input receptacle configured to receive the checks and currency bills, the transport system being configured to receive the checks and currency bills from the input receptacle; and

a secure housing defining an outer insecure area and an inner secure area, the input receptacle being at least partially located in the outer insecure area, and the imaging unit, transport system, and one or more of the processing units being located in the inner secure area such that a check or a currency bill after being conveyed is generally inaccessible to an operator of the document processing device.

98. A method for processing checks and currency bills via a document processing device, the method comprising:

conveying checks and currency bills along a transport path;

generating image data via an imaging sensor adjacent to the transport path, the generated image data being reproducible as a visually readable image of at least a portion of each conveyed check and currency bill;

one or more processors configured to determine denominations of the currency bills from the image data generated from the conveyed currency bills and to extract a check account number and bank number from the generated image data for each conveyed check,

wherein at a rate of at least 800 documents per minute the received currency bills and checks are conveyed along the transport path, the image data is generated, and the denominations of conveyed currency bills are determined.

99. The method of claim 98, wherein the checks and currency bills have a wide edge and a narrow edge, the method further comprising conveying the checks and currency bills with the wide edge of each being generally perpendicular to the direction of conveyance along the transport path.

100. The method of claim 98, further comprising extracting currency bill information from the image data associated with each currency bill, the information including the serial number and denomination of each of the conveyed currency bills.

101. The method of claim 98, further comprising transmitting the image data to an external memory via a communication port.

102. The method of claim 98, further comprising transmitting the image data to a network via a communication port.