Patent ID: 7600626
Filing Date: 2009-10-13
Classification: B65B,B65H,G07D

Abstract:
1. A currency processing and strapping device for strapping a stack of currency bills, each bill having a respective denomination, the device comprising: an input receptacle adapted to receive bills to be strapped; an evaluating unit comprising one or more detectors adapted to retrieve information from a passing bill which is used to denominate the passing bill; a plurality of output receptacles adapted to receive the bills processed by the evaluating unit, each one of the plurality of output receptacles having a stack limit which determines how many bills will form a complete stack of bills; a transport mechanism defining a transport path between the input receptacle, past the evaluating unit, and the plurality of output receptacles, the transport mechanism being adapted to transport each bill individually along the transport path, the transport mechanism being adapted to sort the bills into the plurality of output receptacles based on the denomination of the bills as determined from the information obtained from the one or more detectors so that an individual one of the output receptacles contains bills having the same denomination; one or more strapping units for strapping stacks of bills, each strapping unit being adapted to receive stacks of bills from more than one of the plurality of output receptacles, the stacks of bills being strapped after being placed in a strapping position; and a stack moving mechanism adapted to move a stack of bills selected for strapping from any of the plurality of output receptacles to the one or more strapping units; wherein the stack moving mechanism is a conveyor belt mechanism, comprising: a plurality of stack carrying structures for transporting the stacks to the strapping unit; and a conveyor belt adapted to support and move the carrying structures from loading positions to a strapping position, the conveyor belt being positioned proximate the output receptacles and the strapping unit.