Angled currency processing system
First Claim
1. A currency document processing system for processing a stack of currency documents including currency bills, each bill having a respective denomination, the system comprising:
- a currency handling device having an input receptacle configured to receive currency documents including bills to be processed, an evaluating unit comprising one or more detectors configured to retrieve information from a passing bill which is used to denominate the passing bill, a plurality of output receptacles configured to receive at least some of the bills processed by the evaluating unit, and a transport mechanism defining a transport path between the input receptacle, past the evaluating unit, and the plurality of output receptacles, the transport mechanism being configured to transport each bill individually along the transport path, the currency handling device being configured to route bills into the plurality of output receptacles or to transport bills out of the handling device based on the denomination of the bills as determined from the information obtained from the one or more detectors so that an individual one of the output receptacles contains bills having the same denomination;
a first currency document receiving unit configured to receive at least some bills processed by the evaluating unit, the first currency document receiving unit having a flat top lying in a first generally horizontal plane; and
a first angular transport unit, the angular transport unit configured to receive bills from the currency handling device and transport bills individually to the first currency document receiving unit, the angular transport unit having a transport mechanism configured to rotate bills from approximately forty five degrees (45°
) to approximately one hundred thirty-five degrees (135°
) about a vertical axis as the bills are transported individually through the angular transport unit, the first angular transport unit having a flat top lying in the first generally horizontal plane.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An angled arrangement of a currency document handling device and a second unit and an angle arrangement of two currency document handling devices, components of the same, and methods of coupling and using the same. For example, a currency document processing system for processing currency documents including currency bills comprises a currency handling device, a first currency document receiving unit, and a first angular transport unit. The first currency document receiving unit is adapted to receive at least some bills processed by the currency handling device. The first angular transport unit is adapted to receive bills from the currency handling device and transport bills to the first currency document receiving unit. The angular transport unit is adapted to be coupled between the currency handling device and the first currency document receiving unit such that the currency handling device and the first currency document receiving units are angled relative to each other such as by ninety degrees (90°).
340 Citations
135 Claims
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1. A currency document processing system for processing a stack of currency documents including currency bills, each bill having a respective denomination, the system comprising:
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a currency handling device having an input receptacle configured to receive currency documents including bills to be processed, an evaluating unit comprising one or more detectors configured to retrieve information from a passing bill which is used to denominate the passing bill, a plurality of output receptacles configured to receive at least some of the bills processed by the evaluating unit, and a transport mechanism defining a transport path between the input receptacle, past the evaluating unit, and the plurality of output receptacles, the transport mechanism being configured to transport each bill individually along the transport path, the currency handling device being configured to route bills into the plurality of output receptacles or to transport bills out of the handling device based on the denomination of the bills as determined from the information obtained from the one or more detectors so that an individual one of the output receptacles contains bills having the same denomination; a first currency document receiving unit configured to receive at least some bills processed by the evaluating unit, the first currency document receiving unit having a flat top lying in a first generally horizontal plane; and a first angular transport unit, the angular transport unit configured to receive bills from the currency handling device and transport bills individually to the first currency document receiving unit, the angular transport unit having a transport mechanism configured to rotate bills from approximately forty five degrees (45°
) to approximately one hundred thirty-five degrees (135°
) about a vertical axis as the bills are transported individually through the angular transport unit, the first angular transport unit having a flat top lying in the first generally horizontal plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An angular transport unit for use with a U.S. currency processing system, the angular transport unit comprising:
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an input port; an output port; a first transport section configured to receive U.S. currency bills traveling one at a time in a first direction along a first axis from the input port; a second transport section configured to rotate the bills approximately 90°
about the first axis as the bills move in the first direction, the second transport section comprising at least one guide configured to support a U.S. currency bill as the bill rotates about the first axis;a third transport section configured to rotate the bills from approximately 45°
to approximately 135°
about a second axis generally normal to the first axis causing the bills to move in a second direction along a third axis;a fourth transport section configured to rotate the bills approximately 90°
about the third axis as the bills move in the second direction;a fifth transport section configured to transport the bills in the second direction to the output port; and a cabinet having a top lying in a first generally horizontal plane, wherein the transport sections reside in the cabinet. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A modular U.S. currency bill connecting unit comprising:
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a free-standing, modular cabinet configured to rest on a floor surface and configured to be coupled to a first U.S. currency bill unit and a second U.S. currency bill unit such that when coupled to the first and second units, the connecting unit and the first and second units are configured in a generally L-shaped manner; an input port configured to receive U.S. currency bills from the first currency bill unit when the first currency bill unit is coupled to the cabinet; an output port configured to permit U.S. currency bills to be transported to the second currency bill unit when the second currency bill unit is coupled to the cabinet; and a transport mechanism configured to receive U.S. currency bills from the input port and transport them serially to the output port. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A modular U.S. currency bill connecting unit comprising:
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a cabinet configured to be coupled to a first currency bill unit and a second currency bill unit such that when coupled to the first and second currency bill units, the first currency bill unit and the second bill unit are oriented at approximately ninety (90°
) degrees from each other;an input port configured to receive U.S. currency bills from the first currency bill unit when the first currency bill unit is coupled to the cabinet; an output port configured to permit U.S. currency bills to be transported to the second currency bill unit when the second currency bill unit is coupled to the cabinet; and a transport mechanism configured to receive U.S. currency bills from the input port and transport them serially to the output port; wherein the cabinet has a top lying in a first generally horizontal plane. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61)
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62. A currency document processing system comprising:
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a currency handling device having one or more detectors adapted to retrieve information from a passing currency document which is used to make a judgment about the passing currency document, the one or more detectors being configured to retrieve information from a passing currency document which is a currency bill which is used to determine the denomination of the passing currency bill, a plurality of output receptacles adapted to receive at least some of the currency documents, and a transport mechanism defining one or more transport paths from an input receptacle and past the one or more detectors, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport each currency document individually along the one or more transport paths, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport at least some of the currency documents into the plurality of output receptacles or out of the currency handling device through an exit port; and two or more currency document receiving units; each currency document receiving unit having a transport mechanism adapted to transport currency documents individually along one or more transport paths, each currency document receiving unit adapted to receive at least some currency documents processed by the currency handling device and transport the received currency documents along the one or more transport paths of the currency document receiving unit, each currency document receiving unit having a front; wherein the currency handling device and the two or more currency document receiving units are configured in a generally U-shaped manner, an area defined within the U-shape of the system providing an area for a human operator of the system to reside. - View Dependent Claims (63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90)
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91. A currency document processing system comprising:
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a currency handling device having one or more detectors adapted to retrieve information from a passing currency document which is used to make a judgment about the passing currency document, the one or more detectors being configured to retrieve information from a passing currency document which is a currency bill which is used to determine the denomination of the passing currency bill, a plurality of output receptacles adapted to receive at least some of the currency documents, and a transport mechanism defining one or more transport paths from an input receptacle and past the one or more detectors, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport each currency document individually along the one or more transport paths, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport at least some of the currency documents into the plurality of output receptacles or out of the currency handling device through an exit port; and one or more currency document receiving units; each currency document receiving unit having a transport mechanism adapted to transport currency documents individually along one or more transport paths, each currency document receiving unit adapted to receive at least some currency documents processed by the currency handling device and transport the received currency documents along the one or more transport paths of the currency document receiving unit, each currency document receiving unit having a front; wherein the distance between the input receptacle of the currency handling device and a portion of the front of a first one of the currency document receiving units is about 5⅓
feet. - View Dependent Claims (92, 93, 94, 95, 96)
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97. A currency document processing system comprising:
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a currency handling device having one or more detectors adapted to retrieve information from a passing currency document which is used to make a judgment about the passing currency document, the one or more detectors being configured to retrieve information from a passing currency document which is a currency bill which is used to determine the denomination of the passing currency bill, a plurality of output receptacles adapted to receive at least some of the currency documents, and a transport mechanism defining one or more transport paths from an input receptacle and past the one or more detectors, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport each currency document individually along the one or more transport paths, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport at least some of the currency documents into the plurality of output receptacles or out of the currency handling device through the exit port; and two or more currency document receiving units; each currency document receiving unit having a transport mechanism adapted to transport currency documents individually along one or more transport paths, each currency document receiving unit adapted to receive at least some currency documents processed by the currency handling device and transport the received currency documents along the one or more transport paths of the currency document receiving unit, each currency document receiving unit having a front; wherein the distance between the input receptacle of the currency handling device and a portion of the front of a first one of the currency document receiving units is about 5 feet. - View Dependent Claims (98)
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99. A currency document processing system for processing a stack of currency documents including currency bills, each bill having a respective denomination, the system comprising:
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a currency handling device having an input receptacle configured to receive currency documents including bills to be processed, an evaluating unit comprising one or more detectors configured to retrieve information from a passing bill which is used to denominate the passing bill, a plurality of output receptacles configured to receive at least some of the bills processed by the evaluating unit, and a transport mechanism configured to individually transport currency documents from the input receptacle, past the evaluating unit, and to the plurality of output receptacles or out of the handling device, the transport mechanism being configured to transport each currency document individually along one or more transport paths, the currency handling device being configured to route bills into the plurality of output receptacles or to transport bills out of the handling device based on the denomination of the bills as determined from the information obtained from the one or more detectors so that an individual one of the output receptacles contains bills having the same denomination, the currency handling device comprising a free-standing cabinet configured to rest on a floor surface, the currency handling device cabinet housing the transport mechanism and the output receptacles of the currency handling device; a first currency document receiving unit configured to receive at least some bills processed by the evaluating unit, the first currency document receiving unit comprising a free-standing cabinet configured to rest on a floor surface; and a first angular transport unit, the angular transport unit configured to receive bills from the currency handling device and transport bills individually to the first currency document receiving unit, the angular transport unit having a transport mechanism configured to rotate bills from approximately forty five degrees (45°
) to approximately one hundred thirty-five degrees (135°
) about a vertical axis as the bills are transported individually through the angular transport unit, the first angular transport unit comprising a free-standing cabinet configured to rest on a floor surface, the first angular transport unit cabinet housing the transport mechanism of the first angular transport unit. - View Dependent Claims (100, 101, 102, 103)
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104. A currency document processing system for processing a stack of currency documents including currency bills, each bill having a respective denomination, the system comprising:
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a currency handling device having an input receptacle configured to receive currency documents including bills to be processed, one or more detectors configured to retrieve information from a passing bill which is used to denominate the passing bill, a plurality of output receptacles configured to receive at least some of the bills processed by the currency handling device, and a transport mechanism having one or more transport paths extending from the input receptacle, past the one or more detectors, and to the plurality of output receptacles and to an exit port, the transport mechanism being configured to transport each bill individually along the one or more transport paths, the currency handling device being configured to route bills into the plurality of output receptacles or to transport bills out of the handling device through the exit port based on the denomination of the bills as determined from the information obtained from the one or more detectors so that an individual one of the output receptacles contains bills having the same denomination; a first currency document receiving unit configured to receive at least some bills processed by the evaluating unit; and a first angular transport unit, the angular transport unit configured to receive bills from the currency handling device and transport bills individually to the first currency document receiving unit, the angular transport unit having a transport mechanism configured to rotate bills about at least one horizontal axis and rotate bills from approximately forty five degrees (45°
) to approximately one hundred thirty-five degrees (135°
) about a vertical axis as the bills are transported individually through the angular transport unit. - View Dependent Claims (105, 106, 107, 108, 109)
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110. A currency document processing system for processing a stack of currency documents including currency bills, each bill having a respective denomination, the system comprising:
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a currency handling device having an input receptacle configured to receive currency documents including bills to be processed, one or more detectors configured to retrieve information from a passing bill which is used to denominate the passing bill, a plurality of output receptacles configured to receive at least some of the bills processed by the currency handling device, and a transport mechanism having one or more transport paths extending from the input receptacle, past the one or more detectors, and to the plurality of output receptacles and to an exit port, the transport mechanism being configured to transport each bill individually along the one or more transport paths, the currency handling device being configured to route bills into the plurality of output receptacles or to transport bills out of the handling device through the exit port based on the denomination of the bills as determined from the information obtained from the one or more detectors so that an individual one of the output receptacles contains bills having the same denomination; a first currency document receiving unit configured to receive at least some bills processed by the evaluating unit; and a first angular transport unit, the angular transport unit configured to receive bills from the currency handling device and transport bills individually to the first currency document receiving unit, the angular transport unit having a transport mechanism configured to rotate bills from approximately forty five degrees (45°
) to approximately one hundred thirty-five degrees (135°
) about a vertical axis as the bills are transported individually through the angular transport unit;wherein the transport mechanisms of the currency handling device and first angular transport unit are configured to transport bills in a manner such that a leading edge of a bill does not change as each bill is transported out of the currency handling device and through the first angular transport unit.
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111. A currency document processing system for processing a stack of currency documents including currency bills, each bill having a respective denomination, the system comprising:
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a currency handling device having an input receptacle configured to receive currency documents including bills to be processed, one or more detectors configured to retrieve information from a passing bill which is used to denominate the passing bill, a plurality of output receptacles configured to receive at least some of the bills processed by the currency handling device, and a transport mechanism having one or more transport paths extending from the input receptacle, past the one or more detectors, and to the plurality of output receptacles and to an exit port, the transport mechanism being configured to transport each bill individually along the one or more transport paths, the currency handling device being configured to route bills into the plurality of output receptacles or to transport bills out of the handling device through the exit port based on the denomination of the bills as determined from the information obtained from the one or more detectors so that an individual one of the output receptacles contains bills having the same denomination, wherein the currency handling device resides in a currency handling device cabinet, the currency handling device cabinet having a front side; a first currency document receiving unit configured to receive at least some bills processed by the evaluating unit, wherein the first currency document receiving unit resides in a first currency document receiving unit cabinet, the first currency document receiving unit cabinet having a front side and a depth d; and a first angular transport unit, the angular transport unit configured to receive bills from the currency handling device and transport bills individually to the first currency document receiving unit, the angular transport unit having a transport mechanism configured to rotate bills from approximately forty five degrees (45°
) to approximately one hundred thirty-five degrees (135°
) about a vertical axis as the bills are transported individually through the angular transport unit;wherein a portion of the front side of the currency handling device is spaced apart from a portion of the front side of the first currency document receiving unit by approximately no more than d;
wherein the front side of the currency handling device and the front side of the first currency document receiving unit are adjacent to an area in which a human operator of the system occupies when operating the system. - View Dependent Claims (112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127)
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128. A currency document processing system for processing a stack of currency documents including currency bills, each bill having a respective denomination, the system comprising:
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a currency handling device having an input receptacle configured to receive currency documents including bills to be processed, one or more detectors configured to retrieve information from a passing bill which is used to denominate the passing bill, a plurality of output receptacles configured to receive at least some of the bills processed by the currency handling device, and a transport mechanism having one or more transport paths extending from the input receptacle, past the one or more detectors, and to the plurality of output receptacles and to an exit port, the transport mechanism being configured to transport each bill individually along the one or more transport paths, the currency handling device being configured to route bills into the plurality of output receptacles or to transport bills out of the handling device through the exit port based on the denomination of the bills as determined from the information obtained from the one or more detectors so that an individual one of the output receptacles contains bills having the same denomination; a first currency document receiving unit configured to receive at least some bills processed by the evaluating unit, the first currency document receiving unit having a flat top lying in a first generally horizontal plane, the flat top of the first currency document receiving unit having a width w adjacent to a front of the first currency document receiving unit and a depth d, the front of the first currency document receiving unit being adjacent to an area in which an operator of the system occupies during normal operation of the system; and a first angular transport unit, the angular transport unit configured to receive bills from the currency handling device and transport bills individually to the first currency document receiving unit, the angular transport unit having a transport mechanism configured to rotate bills from approximately forty five degrees (45°
) to approximately one hundred thirty-five degrees (135°
) about a vertical axis as the bills are transported individually through the angular transport unit, the first angular transport unit having a flat top lying in the first generally horizontal plane;wherein the flat top of the first angular transport unit and the flat top of the first currency document receiving unit collectively define a contiguous surface having a depth of at least d. - View Dependent Claims (129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135)
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Specification