Bill handling machine

• US 7,520,375 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2003
• Issued: 04/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Matsuura, Kunihisa, Ina, Toshihiko, Kadowaki, Minoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Mackey; Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): BEAUCHAINE, MARK J
• Application Number:
  US10/743,305
• Publication Number:
  US 20040182678A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,946 Days
• Field of Search: 194/350, 194/206, 194215-217, 194/302, 209/534, 235/379
• US Class Current: 194/350
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/20 Controlling or monitoring the operation of devices; Data handling
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/36 Auditing of activities

Abstract

The banknote handling device of the invention notifies both a customer and a clerk at a financial institution of the occurrence of a counterfeit problem in the course of a transaction. When banknotes received from a customer include any counterfeit banknote, the banknote handling device collects the counterfeit banknotes to be not returnable to the customer. This desirably forbids circulation of the counterfeit banknotes. The occurrence of the counterfeit problem is described in a transaction statement on conclusion of the transaction. The transaction statement includes a transaction date/time, customer information, transaction details, a message, and financial institution information. The transaction details show the total amount of money received from the customer, the amount of money accepted for the transaction, that is, the amount of banknotes excluding the counterfeits, and the breakdown of the banknotes accepted for the transaction. The message suggests the customer a step to be taken. This arrangement conveniently and efficiently helps the customer and the clerk take prompt action on the counterfeit problem.

Claims

1. A banknote handling device that handles banknotes, said banknote handling device comprising:

a money-in module that receives banknotes from a customer;

a counterfeit collection box that stores counterfeit banknotes;

a discrimination module that carries out counterfeit detection and determines each banknote as counterfeit or as genuine;

a counterfeit processing module that stores each banknote determined as counterfeit into said counterfeit collection box, based on a result of the counterfeit detection by said discrimination module, and prohibits the stored counterfeit banknote from being returned to the customer; and

a notification module that notifies the customer of predetermined kind of information indicative of a total amount of money received from the customer and an amount of money settled as a transaction, regardless of the result of the counterfeit detection by said discrimination module, wherein;

the total amount of money includes an amount of money in counterfeit notes if existing in the banknotes received from the customer and

the predetermined kind of information notified by said notification module includes information for specifying an amount of money in banknotes determined as counterfeit by said discrimination module, out of the total amount of money received from the customer.

2. A banknote handling device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the information notified by said notification module includes information for specifying the type and number of the banknotes determined as counterfeit by said discrimination module.

3. A banknote handling device in accordance with claim 1, said banknote handling device further comprising:

an output module that outputs a form describing the information.

4. A banknote handling device that handles banknotes, said banknote handling device comprising:

a money-in module that receives banknotes from a customer;

a counterfeit collection box that stores counterfeit banknotes;

a discrimination module that carries out counterfeit detection and determines each banknote as counterfeit or as genuine;

a counterfeit processing module that stores each banknote determined as counterfeit into said counterfeit collection box, based on a result of the counterfeit detection by said discrimination module, and prohibits the stored counterfeit banknote from being returned to the customer;

a notification module that notifies the customer of predetermined kind of information indicative of a total amount of money received from the customer and an amount of money settled as a transaction, regardless of the result of the counterfeit detection by said discrimination module;

a temporary storage box that temporarily keeps the banknotes received through said money-in module;

a storage box that stores genuine banknotes; and

a control module that temporarily keeps the received banknotes in said temporary storage box and, in response to a deposit instruction from the customer, conveys banknotes determined as genuine, among the banknotes temporarily kept in said temporary storage box, to said storage box for storage while storing any banknote determined as counterfeit in said counterfeit collection box, said control module, in response to a cancellation instruction from the customer, returning banknotes determined as genuine, among the banknotes temporarily kept in said temporary storage box, to said money-in module while storing any banknote determined as counterfeit in said counterfeit collection box, wherein;

the total amount of money includes an amount of money in counterfeit notes if existing in the banknotes received from the customer, and

the predetermined kind of information notified by said notification module includes information for specifying an amount of money in banknotes determined as counterfeit by said discrimination module, out of the total amount of money received from the customer.

5. A banknote handling device that handles banknotes, said banknote handling device comprising:

a money-in module that receives banknotes from a customer;

a counterfeit collection box that stores counterfeit banknotes;

a discrimination module that carries out counterfeit detection and determines each banknote as counterfeit or as genuine;

a counterfeit processing module that stores each banknote determined as counterfeit into said counterfeit collection box, based on a result of the counterfeit detection by said discrimination module, and prohibits the stored counterfeit banknote from being returned to the customer;

a notification module that notifies the customer of predetermined kind of information indicative of a total amount of money received from the customer and an amount of money settled as a transaction, regardless of the result of the counterfeit detection by said discrimination module; and

a management module that maps each banknote determined as counterfeit and stored in said counterfeit collection box to customer information on the customer who has paid in the banknote,

wherein the total amount of money includes an amount of money in counterfeit notes if existing in the banknotes received from the customer.

6. A banknote handling device that handles banknotes, said banknote handling device comprising:

a money-in module that receives banknotes from a customer;

a counterfeit collection box that stores counterfeit banknotes;

a discrimination module that carries out counterfeit detection and determines each banknote as counterfeit or as genuine;

a counterfeit processing module that stores each banknote determined as counterfeit into said counterfeit collection box, based on a result of the counterfeit detection by said discrimination module, and prohibits the stored counterfeit banknote from being returned to the customer;

a notification module that notifies the customer of predetermined kind of information indicative of a total amount of money received from the customer and an amount of money settled as a transaction, regardless of the result of the counterfeit detection by said discrimination module; and

a control module that, when the banknotes received from the customer include any counterfeit banknote, stores all the banknotes including both genuine and counterfeit banknotes in said counterfeit collection box in such a manner that a bundle of banknotes received from each customer is parted from bundles of banknotes received from other customers by partition sheets,

wherein the total amount of money includes an amount of money in counterfeit notes if existing in the banknotes received from the customer.

7. A banknote handling device in accordance with claim 6, said banknote handling device further comprising:

a stacker that keeps the partition sheets; and

a management module that manages customer information on each customer who has paid in any counterfeit banknote, mapped to the corresponding bundle of banknotes parted by the partition sheets.