Media management

• US 9,311,674 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2013
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Angus, Robin, Law, Neil, Monaghan, Andrew, Kaempfer, Willy
• Primary Examiner(s): GUDORF, LAURA A
• Application Number:
  US13/897,744
• Publication Number:
  US 20140339301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,058 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/379, 235/380, 235/385, 705/35, 705/39, 705/43, 705/28
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/12 Containers for valuable papers
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/22 Means for sensing or detection
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/24 Managing the stock of valuable papers
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/30 Tracking or tracing valuable papers or cassettes
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/34 Monitoring the contents of devices, e.g. the number of stored valuable papers
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/209 Monitoring, auditing or diagnose of functioning of ATMs

Abstract

A method of managing transfer of cash, or other valuable media, is described. The method comprises: providing, to a first location, details of cash (or other media) to be loaded into a machine-readable cash container; associating the cash details with a unique identifier associated with the cash container; and storing the associated unique identifier and cash details. The method includes, at a subsequent time, receiving, from a second location to which the cash container has been transported, a request including the unique identifier read from the cash container; accessing the stored cash details using the unique identifier; and providing the stored cash details to the second location.

Claims

1. A method of managing transfer of cash, the method comprising:

providing, to a first location, details of cash to be loaded into a machine-readable cash container;

associating the cash details with a unique identifier for the cash container and identifying with the cash details, details of cash delivery that include a destination at which the cash is to be delivered, a name of a person, a company that will deliver the cash, a vehicle registration used to deliver the cash, and a time at which the cash is to be delivered;

storing the associated unique identifier and cash details;

receiving, from a second location to which the cash container has been transported, a request including the unique identifier read from the cash container using a Near Field Communication (NFC) reader where the unique identifier is communicated from the cash container using an NFC tag, and the NFC reader is incorporated into a smart phone, wherein receiving further includes receiving the request from a client application executing on a handheld device in response to a moving the cash to the second location, and the client application configured to accept user selection of commands for counting the cash, removing some of the cash, adding new cash, moving the cash, and supplying specific identifiers for specific cash containers, wherein the commands are communicated from the handheld device to a cash management service executing on a cash management server and when a communication link is missing between the client application and the cash management service, the commands are cached and immediately transferred to the cash management server when the communication link becomes available;

accessing the stored cash details using the unique identifier; and

providing the stored cash details to the second location.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the further step of receiving, from the first location, further details of cash loaded into a machine-readable cash container.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of providing the unique identifier to the first location includes the step of identifying a unique identifier that is located at the first location.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first location is registered as one of a plurality of predefined types of location.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the details of cash loaded into a machine-readable cash container include at least one of the following:

(i) details about the cash;

(ii) details of the cash loading; and

(iii) details of a cash order to be fulfilled.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein details about the cash include at least one of the following:

the total amount of cash loaded, the amount of each denomination loaded, the number of items of each denomination, and the serial number of each banknote.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein details of the cash loading include at least one of the following:

a location where the cash was loaded and the names of the people who loaded the cash.

8. A method according to claim 5, wherein details of a cash order to be fulfilled include at least one of:

a cash order serial number, a transaction number, and an indication of whether the cash order has been fulfilled.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the machine-readable cash container comprises:

a currency cassette.

10. A method of operating a handheld device to reconcile a cash order received at a cash delivery location, the method comprising:

reading, using a client application executing on the handheld device, a unique identifier on a received cash container, wherein the handheld device is a Near Field Communication (NFC) reader that reads an NFC tag of the cash container to obtain the unique identifier, and wherein the handheld device is a smart phone;

sending, by the client application, a request for details of cash loaded into the received cash container based on the read unique identifier;

receiving the requested details by the client application and identifying with the requested details, details of cash delivery that include a destination at which the cash is to be delivered, a name of a person, a company that will deliver the cash, a vehicle registration used to deliver the cash, and a time at which the cash is to be delivered; and

sending, by the client application from the handheld device, a cash receipt confirmation message confirming that an amount of cash in the received cash container matches the requested details, the client application configured to accept user selection of commands for counting the cash, removing some of the cash, adding new cash, moving the cash, and supplying specific identifiers for specific cash containers, wherein the commands are communicated from the handheld device to a cash management service executing on a cash management server immediately when a communication link is available and when the communication link is missing or unavailable between the client application and the cash management service, the commands are cached and immediately transferred to the cash management server when the communication link becomes available.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the method includes the further step of sending a cash receipt confirmation message confirming that an amount, of cash in the received cash container matches the requested details.

12. A method of managing transfer of valuable media, the method comprising:

providing electronic notification of a valuable media transfer, the notification including details of a machine-readable valuable media container having a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag for wireless communication with a NFC reader that is incorporated into a smart phone and identifying with the details, details of cash delivery that include a destination at which the cash is to be delivered, a name of a person, a company that will deliver the cash, a vehicle registration used to deliver the cash, and a time at which the cash is to be delivered;

associating the valuable media transfer with a unique identifier associated with the valuable media container; and

updating the valuable media transfer as complete in response to an electronic completion notification, where the electronic completion notification includes the unique identifier associated with the valuable media container, wherein updating the valuable media transfer as complete in response to an electronic completion notification further comprises receiving the electronic completion notification from an authorized application executing on the registered handheld device, the authorized application configured to accept user selection of commands for counting the cash, removing some of the cash, adding new cash, moving the cash, and supplying specific identifiers for specific cash containers, wherein the commands are communicated from the handheld device to a cash management service executing on a cash management server and when a communication link is missing between the client application and the cash management service, the commands are cached and immediately transferred to the cash management server when the communication link becomes available.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the electronic completion notification also includes confirmation of completion from at least two different authorized users.

14. A method according to claim 12, wherein the method includes the further steps of:

storing the associated unique identifier and details of the valuable media transfer.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the method includes the further step of:

receiving a request including the unique identifier read from the valuable media container prior to the step of updating the valuable media transfer as complete.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the method includes the further steps of:

accessing the stored valuable media transfer details using the unique identifier in response to receipt of a request including the unique identifier; and

providing the stored valuable media transfer details.

17. A method according to claim 12, wherein providing electronic notification of a valuable media transfer includes sending the electronic notification to a cash-in-transit location.