This invention relates to automated banking machines. Specifically this invention relates to an automated banking machine that enables currency bills, notes or other documents deposited by one customer to be identified and stored in the machine, and later selectively dispensed to another customer.
Automated banking machines are known in the prior art. A popular type of automated banking machine is an automated teller machine (ATM). Other types of automated banking machines are used to count and dispense cash. These machines are often used by tellers or customer service representatives in banking and other transaction environments.
ATM machines commonly in use accept deposits from customers and process the deposits using devices which are separate from the devices which dispense currency and other items to customers. Most common ATM depositories require customers to place their deposits in an envelope. The envelope is accepted into the machine for storage. Although the customer indicates the value of the contents of the envelope, the customer""s account is often not credited for the amount of deposit until the envelope is removed from the ATM by bank personnel and the contents verified.
Other ATM machines have the capability of receiving checks and other negotiable instruments. Such machines may include a device such as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,467. Devices of this type can be used to cancel and produce electronic images of checks which are deposited into an ATM machine. The cancelled checks are stored in the machine for later removal by bank personnel.
Currency notes, travelers checks and other documents and sheet materials that are commonly dispensed by ATMs, are generally housed in the machine in removable canisters. Sheets are dispensed from the canisters and delivered by the machine to customers. Periodically these canisters must be removed from the machine and the supply of sheets therein replenished. This is a labor intensive activity. To replace the canisters the secure portion of the ATM must be opened. The canisters in the machine must be removed and new canisters, which include a new supply of sheets, placed in the machine. Alternatively the canisters in the machine may be opened, money or other sheets added, and then replaced. After the canisters are replaced the secure portion of the machine must be closed.
The replacement or resupply of canisters often requires transporting filled canisters to the machine and returning partially depleted canisters to a remote location. While efforts have been made in the design of canisters to minimize opportunities for pilferage, there is always some risk. Therefore such activities are normally carried out by armed couriers. More than one person is often assigned to any task where there is access to the cash or other valuables in the machine. Because numerous individuals may be involved in loading replacement canisters, transporting replacement canisters to ATM machines, replacing the canisters, returning the removed canisters and auditing the contents of returned canisters, it is often difficult to identify the cause of any losses.
The need to periodically replace currency canisters is an inconvenience because the ATM must be shut down. Customers are not able to use the ATM while the supply of currency is being replenished, and lost opportunities to conduct transactions and customer dissatisfaction may result. Customers will also be disappointed if replenishment operations are not performed frequently enough and the machine runs out of currency or other documents.
Other types of automated banking machines, such as those that dispense cash to customer service representatives, have the same drawbacks as ATM machines. Periodic replenishment of the currency or other valuable documents that are dispensed by the machine must be done to keep the machine in operation. While such machines speed the cash dispensing service to the customer, there is a significant cost associated with segregating, preparing and transporting the currency before it is placed within the machine.
Other banking machines have been developed for identifying and counting currency. Such machines may be used in banking and vending environments. Machines which count currency generally require that the currency be pre-oriented a particular way to obtain proper identification. This is time consuming for the person operating the machine. Many currency counting machines also tend to reject valid notes due to natural deterioration which occurs in U.S. currency. The speed associated with such currency counting and accepting machines is also less than desirable in many cases.
Automated banking machines which are capable of receiving currency, identifying the particular type and denomination of currency, storing the currency and later dispensing it to a customer have been used in countries outside the United States. Such recycling machines are feasible in countries such as Japan where currency notes include special features which facilitate their identification by machines. However, such recycling machines have not generally been feasible with U.S. currency notes which generally do not include special features that facilitate identification by machine. U.S. currency notes also are subject to a wide range of conditions such as wear, soiling and bleaching which do not render a note unfit for use, but which render it very difficult for a machine to properly identify.
The currency recycling type banking machines that have been developed also generally suffer from slow operating speeds. This is particularly true when the machines are used to process a large number of notes. Often such machines require that the notes be oriented in a particular way and considerable time is associated with the rejection of notes due to improper orientation. The handling of the sheets to facilitate identification and storage is also a time consuming process. Once a sheet has been initially identified as proper and stored in the machine, there is generally no check to be sure that the original determination of the type and character of the note was correct. As a result, a customer may receive a misidentified note. This can reduce customer satisfaction.
In the operation of current automated banking machines it is not uncommon for operators to add cash to currency canisters without counting the notes remaining in the canister. This is often done to save time particularly where the operator of the machine does not wish to transport the canisters to a remote location for reloading. ATMs may run for an extended period of time without an actual count of the number of notes in a canister. Often when an accounting is actually taken discrepancies are noted between the number of notes remaining in the canister and the number that would be expected to be present based on the amount of currency that the machine has dispensed. In these situations it is often difficult to determine if the cause of the problem is pilferage, a miscalculation of the amount inserted into the canister during one of the reloading procedures or errors in dispensing by the machine. Generally in these situations it is not possible to determine the cause of the discrepancy.
Currency canisters also may be configured to dispense different types of documents. Some types of documents may require for example variations in the biasing force which move the documents outward to engage the picker mechanism. Currently if a canister has been modified to accommodate a particular type of document the information must be visibly marked on the canister so that it is not used for other documents.
The document dispensing canisters also are required to undergo periodic maintenance. Such maintenance may involve replacing certain parts on the canister that tend to wear out as documents are picked. Generally maintenance is recommended after a certain number of cycles. However when canisters are moved between various machines there is no way of knowing exactly how many cycles a particular canister has experienced since preventive maintenance has been performed. As a result preventive maintenance may be conducted more frequently than necessary or may not be performed in a timely fashion. In either event unnecessary costs may result.
Canisters are also occasionally modified so as to improve their performance. Such modifications which are often referred to as upgrades may involve changing components which are not readily visible to a person who handles the canister. Currently the only way to indicate that a canister has been upgraded to an improved level is to physically mark the canister in a manner which is readily visible to an individual handling it. Canister upgrades may also result in changes in performance or operation of the canister. As a result the properties of an ATM machine in which a canister is installed may need to be modified to accommodate canister upgrades. If a population of canisters includes those with and without the upgrades complications may arise because certain ATM machines may not be suitable for accepting upgraded canisters while others may not be able to use canisters which have not been upgraded.
Thus there exists a need for a currency recycling automated banking machine that is more reliable, operates more quickly, and which can be used with U.S. and other currencies which have a wide range of properties. There further exists a need for an automated banking machine and system which includes self-auditing capabilities and which can be used to indicate when there is a discrepancy between an amount which is indicated as having been placed in a canister at a remote location and the amount which arrives at the machine. There further exists a need for an automated banking machine in which the canisters indicate to the machine the current configuration level of the canisters and which track the use of the canisters to provide an indication of when preventative maintenance is to be performed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a currency recycling automated banking machine.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a currency recycling automated banking machine that is reliable and that operates more rapidly.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a currency recycling automated banking machine that works with currency notes and other documents that have a wide variety of properties.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a currency recycling automated banking machine that is capable of unstacking and separating documents input in a stack.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated banking machine that orients documents relative to a sheet path while moving such documents at a high rate of speed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a currency recycling automated banking machine that can transport a plurality of documents in a sheet path concurrently and at a high rate of speed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a currency recycling automated banking machine that identifies documents and which returns unidentifiable documents to a customer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a currency recycling automated banking machine that enables a customer to deposit documents into the banking machine, and after the documents have been identified, to elect whether to deposit the documents or to have them returned.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a currency recycling automated banking machine that can identify deposited documents regardless of orientation.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a currency recycling automated banking machine that enables selectively storing deposited documents in storage areas in the machine.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a currency recycling automated banking machine that enables selectively storing deposited documents in removable canisters.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a currency recycling automated banking machine that enables recovery of documents stored in storage areas and dispensing the documents to customers.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated banking machine in which documents may concurrently be transported, oriented, stored in storage areas and dispensed from other storage areas within the machine.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated banking machine which has self-auditing capabilities.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated banking machine which includes removable currency canisters which have a programmable memory which indicates the type and number of documents stored in storage areas in the canister.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated banking machine system which determines if the number of documents stored in a currency canister loaded into the machine corresponds to the number of documents that were loaded into the canister at a remote location.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated banking machine which includes currency canisters which indicate a current configuration of components of the currency canisters.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated banking machine which includes currency canisters which track the level of use that the canisters have received.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system which identifies discrepancies between the amount of currency loaded into a canister and the amount of currency in the canister when it arrives at an automated banking machine.
Further objects of the present invention will be made apparent in the following Best Modes for Carrying Out the Invention and the appended claims.
The foregoing objects are accomplished in a preferred embodiment of the present invention by a currency recycling automated banking machine. The machine includes an input/output area in which a customer may insert documents that are to be deposited and from which a customer withdrawing documents may receive documents.
A customer deposits documents in a stack. The documents are moved from the input/output area into a central transport. In an unstack area documents are removed from the stack one by one and separated into a stream of single separate documents. The documents move along a document path in the central transport. The documents moving in the central transport are each deskewed to properly orient them relative to the direction of travel along the document path. The documents are further moved to align them into a proper centered relation in the document path.
Each document is then moved past a document type identifier device which operates to identify the type and/or denomination of each document. Identifiable documents are directed into an escrow area while unidentifiable documents are directed into a reject area of the input/output area of the machine.
A customer is informed of any unidentifiable documents through input and output devices on the machine. Any unidentifiable documents may then be delivered to the customer from the reject area. Alternatively, depending on the programming of the machine such rejected documents may be stored in the machine for later analysis.
Properly identified documents are initially held in the escrow area. The output devices on the machine indicate to the customer the type and/or value of the identifiable documents. The customer preferably is enabled to select whether to have such documents returned or to deposit such documents. If the customer elects to have the documents returned, the documents are passed out of the input/output area and the customer""s account is not credited for the value of the documents.
If the customer elects to deposit the documents the documents are again moved through the central transport in a stream of rapidly moving separated documents. The documents are again identified by the identification device. However, rather than being routed to the reject and escrow areas, the identified documents are now preferably routed by the control system of the machine to selected storage locations. The storage locations are locations in which documents of the particular types are stored in the machine. The storage areas in the machine of the preferred embodiment are areas in a plurality of removable canisters. The customer""s account is then credited for the value of the deposited documents.
The same customer who deposited documents or a subsequent customer wishing to make a withdrawal from the machine may receive documents that have been previously stored in the storage areas. Document dispensing mechanisms associated with the storage areas selectively remove documents from the storage areas and route them to the central transport of the machine. As the documents move through the central transport they pass the identification device. The type and denomination of each document being dispensed is verified. This assures that the initial identification of the documents made when they were deposited in the machine is correct. This third verification assures that a customer withdrawing documents from the machine is not given an improper document. The documents are removed from the storage areas concurrently so as to facilitate rapid operation of the machine and are controlled in movement through the remote transport segments and the central transport to assure that they move as a stream of separated documents as they pass the identification device.
The identified documents to be dispensed to the customer are moved by the central transport to an escrow area. From the escrow area they are presented to the customer. The customer""s account is then charged or debited for the documents that have been withdrawn.
The document canisters are removable from the machine by authorized personnel. When the canisters are removed from the machine they may be loaded with currency notes or other documents. The canisters may also undergo upgrades or preventative maintenance when removed from the machine. Each canister has thereon a programmable memory. The memory is programmed when the canister is outside the machine with information concerning the number and type of documents which are stored in each of its respective storage areas. The memory also includes information on the particular individual or entities responsible for loading documents in the storage areas. The information is preferably input to the memory onboard the canister using an input device and a fixture which operatively connects the input device and the canister.
The programmable memory onboard the canister may also receive information from the input device concerning upgrades made to the canister in the various storage areas thereof. The memory may also be provided with information as to when preventative maintenance is performed on various articles. Likewise if a storage area is configured for handling a document that has different properties from other documents this information may similarly be loaded into the onboard memory.
When the canister is placed inside the machine the memory in the canister is in operative connection with the control system of the machine. The machine preferably operates in response to receiving the canister to remove the documents in each of the storage areas and pass them through the central transport to the escrow area. Through this process the type and denomination of each document stored in the storage area is determined. The control system then compares this information to the information stored in the memory onboard the canister. If the information stored in the canister agrees with the information determined by the terminal the documents are returned to the storage location (or a different location in the machine) the control system operates to then move on to check the documents stored in the next storage location. This process proceeds until the contents of each newly inserted canister is checked.
If a discrepancy is noted between the onboard canister memory and what the terminal determines is located in a storage area a discrepancy signal is given by the ATM. This discrepancy signal is preferably transmitted to a remote location and informs the operator of the system that a discrepancy has occurred. In the preferred embodiment the information stored in the canister memory is often sufficient to determine which individuals loaded and handled the canister having the discrepancy. This enables any discrepancies to be accounted for immediately.
The information stored in the canister memory is also used by the control system to adjust the operation of the terminal to conform to the status information provided. For example if a particular storage area in a canister has been upgraded or otherwise changed in a manner that requires a different mode of operation the control system modifies the operation of the machine accordingly when dealing with that storage area.
As the automated banking machine operates the control system it communicates with the memory onboard the canister to update the information therein. For example as documents are added or removed from storage locations information representative thereof is stored in the memory. As the canister undergoes operating cycles data representative of the number of cycles which the various components have experienced is also recorded in the memory for purposes of calculating when preventative maintenance is due. These features enable the automated banking machine to operate more reliably and to minimize the risk of improper operation or loss of currency or other documents.