Devices for dispensing paper currency are known. For example, automatic teller machines (ATM's) are widely used for automated bank transactions. In order to provide for withdrawal of funds, automatic teller machines employ paper currency dispensers. Since an ATM customer may desire to withdraw an amount ranging from as little as 5 dollars to as much as 500 dollars, the currency dispenser must be provided with supplies of several currency denominations. Such a dispenser requires a high degree of complexity and security in order to ensure that the supply is secure and that the currency is accurately dispensed. The currency dispensers in ATM's are known to cost as much as $10,000 to produce, but that cost is not an overwhelming factor in ATM applications, since an entire ATM may cost several tens of thousands of dollars.
Many vending machines must now accept one dollar bills because of the higher prices of rended products and the public's resistance to higher denomination coins. A vending machine does not ordinarily accept larger denominations of currency, since the machine would then be required to return a relatively large amount of change in coin. Hence, a customer with a higher-denomination bill must first obtain one dollar bills in order to use such a machine. The inability of most vending machines to make change in paper currency deters the use of such machines and results in substantial lost sales.
The process of providing one dollar bills to customers who use higher denominations can be automated, but providing automated paper currency changing machines has heretofore been hampered by the high cost of accurate and secure bill dispensing machines. In contrast to conventional ATM's, the cost of a paper currency changing machine must be kept as low as possible since such a machine does not itself generate revenue. Hence, it would be desirable to provide a simple low-cost apparatus for dispensing a single denomination of paper currency.
In addition to changing currency, a low-cost apparatus for dispensing a single denomination of bill could find wide applicability. For example, such an apparatus could be used in a "scaled down" ATM for dispensing small amounts of a single denomination of bill. Such an ATM would have reduced complexity and security requirements. Additionally, such an apparatus, if provided in a compact form, could be incorporated into ordinary vending machines for the purpose of providing change in the form of paper currency. Such an apparatus would be desirable for use in vending machines which dispense items costing several dollars or more, so that the vending machines would not be required to dispense excessive coin in change for purchases made therefrom.