Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same

• US 8,559,695 B1
• Filed: 03/05/2013
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cummins-Allison Corporation (Crane Company)
• Original Assignee: Cummins-Allison Corporation (Crane Company)
• Inventors: Csulits, Frank M., Jones, William J., Mennie, Douglas U., Anderson, Matthew L., Klein, Robert J., Jaeger, Ralf H., Badalamenti, David R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Johns, Andrew W
• Application Number:
  US13/786,290
• Time in Patent Office: 224 Days
• Field of Search: 382/135, 209/534, 209/583, 356/71
• US Class Current: 382/135
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/146 Aligning or centring of the image pick-up or image-field
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/148 Segmentation of character regions
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/0047 using checkcodes, e.g. coded numbers derived from serial number and denomination
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/04 Testing magnetic properties of the materials thereof, e.g. by detection of magnetic imprint G07D7/01 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/12 Visible light, infrared or ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/202 using pattern matching

Abstract

A first plurality of documents is received, transported, and imaged to produce image data. Identifying information is extracted from the image data for each of the first plurality of documents. The document processing device determines whether each of the first plurality of documents satisfies a flag criterion. In response to one of the first plurality of documents satisfying the flag criterion, a visually readable image of at least a portion of the flagged document is displayed using the image data associated with a flagged document and a find document element is displayed. An activation of the find document element is received and the flagged document is designated as a find document by storing the extracted identifying information associated with the find document in a find document queue.

Claims

1. A method of using a U.S. currency processing device in a find mode to detect one or more find bills, a U.S. currency bill having been designated as a find bill in response to a selectable find bill element having been selected, the method comprising:

receiving an input to cause the currency processing device to operate in a find mode;

receiving U.S. currency bills in an input receptacle of the currency processing device;

transporting the U.S. currency bills along a transport path in a serial fashion from the input receptacle, past an image scanner, to one or more output receptacles;

imaging each of the U.S. currency bills with the image scanner to produce image data, the image data associated with each U.S. currency bill being reproducible as a visually readable image of at least a portion of a respective U.S. currency bill;

extracting a serial number from the image data for each of the transported U.S. currency bills;

denominating each of the transported U.S. currency bills;

determining whether each of the transported U.S. currency bills is a find bill, a find bill having a serial number and a denomination stored in a find bill queue; and

detecting one or more find bills.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting the one or more find bills includes comparing the extracted serial number and the denomination associated with each of the transported U.S. currency bills with the serial numbers and the denominations stored in the find bill queue.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting includes detecting a plurality of find bills.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising automatically stopping the transporting of the U.S. currency bills such that a first one of the plurality of detected find bills is the last U.S. currency bill transported to the one or more output receptacles.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more output receptacles is exactly one output receptacle.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more output receptacles includes a first output receptacle and a second output receptacle, and wherein the transporting includes transporting each of the plurality of detected find bills to the second output receptacle and transporting each of the U.S. currency bills not determined to be a find bill to the first output receptacle.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each U.S. currency bill has a wide edge, and wherein the act of transporting comprises transporting each U.S. currency bill in a wide-edge leading manner.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the transporting comprises transporting the U.S. currency bills at a rate of at least about 800 U.S. currency bills per minute.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the U.S. currency processing device has a footprint of less than about 2 square feet.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the U.S. currency processing device has a weight of less than about 30 pounds.

11. A currency processing device having a plurality of modes of operation including a find mode of operation, comprising:

an interface configured to enable an operator to cause the device to selectively operate in the plurality of modes of operation;

an input receptacle configured to receive U.S. currency bills;

a transport mechanism configured to transport the U.S. currency bills along a transport path in a serial fashion from the input receptacle to one or more output receptacles;

an image scanner positioned adjacent to the transport path and configured to image each of the U.S. currency bills to produce image data, a visually readable image of at least a portion of each U.S. currency bill being reproducible using the image data associated with a respective U.S. currency bill;

a memory having stored therein a find bill queue, the find bill queue storing information associated with one or more find bills, each find bill having a serial number and a denomination stored in the find bill queue, a U.S. currency bill being designated as a find bill in response to a selectable find bill element being selected; and

a controller configured;

(i) to extract a serial number from the image data for each of the transported U.S. currency bills,

(ii) to denominate each of the transported U.S. currency bills,

(iii) when the device is operating in the find mode, to determine whether each of the transported U.S. currency bills is a find bill using the information stored in the find bill queue, and

(iv) to detect one or more find bills.

12. The currency processing device of claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to compare the extracted serial number and the denomination associated with each of the transported U.S. currency bills with the serial numbers and the denominations stored in the find bill queue.

13. The currency processing device of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to halt the transport mechanism in response to detecting a plurality of find bills such that a first one of the plurality of detected find bills is the last U.S. currency bill transported to the one or more output receptacles.

14. The currency processing device of claim 13, wherein the one or more output receptacles includes a first output receptacle and a second output receptacle, and wherein the controller is configured to cause the transport mechanism to transport each of the plurality of detected find bills to the second output receptacle and each of the U.S. currency bills that is not a detected find bill to the first output receptacle.

15. The currency processing device of claim 13, wherein the one or more output receptacles is exactly one output receptacle.

16. The currency processing device of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to automatically resume the transport mechanism in response to detecting that the first one of the plurality of detected find bills is removed from the exactly one output receptacle.

17. The currency processing device of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to resume the transport mechanism in response to detecting a selection of a continuation element.

18. The currency processing device of claim 11, wherein each U.S. currency bill has a wide edge, and wherein the transport mechanism is configured to transport each U.S. currency bill in a wide-edge leading manner.

19. The currency processing device of claim 18, wherein the transport mechanism is configured to transport the U.S. currency bills at a rate of at least about 800 U.S. currency bills per minute.

20. The currency processing device of claim 19, wherein the currency processing device has a footprint of less than about 2 square feet and a weight of less than about 30 pounds.