Patent ID: 8714335
Filing Date: 2014-05-06
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 configured to receive currency bills to be sorted; one or more detectors configured to retrieve information from a passing bill; at least one unstrapped bill storage receptacle configured to receive unstrapped bills; a strapping unit configured to strap stacks of bills; a plurality of strapped bill storage receptacles configured to receive strapped stacks of bills; a transport mechanism configured to transport bills individually past the one or more detectors, the transport mechanism being configured to sort the bills into the at least one unstrapped bill storage receptacle and into the strapping unit, the transport mechanism being configured to transport a first set of the bills from the one or more detectors into the strapping unit and to transport a second set of the bills from the one or more detectors to the at least one unstrapped bill storage receptacle; and a processor programmed to determine whether the bills transported past the one or more detectors meet at least one predetermined criterion based on the information retrieved by the one or more detectors, the processor being further programmed to subsequently cause the transport mechanism to sort the bills meeting the at least one predetermined criterion into the strapping unit and to sort the bills failing to meet the at least one predetermined criterion into the at least one unstrapped bill storage receptacle; wherein, when the bills meeting the at least one predetermined criterion are sorted into the strapping unit and strapped by the strapping unit, the processor causes the strapped stacks of bills to be deposited into a first one of the strapped bill storage receptacles until a predetermined number of strapped stacks of bills have been deposited into the first one of the strapped bill storage receptacles, the first one of the strapped bill storage receptacles being designated as being full after the predetermined number of strapped stacks of bills have been deposited therein, the processor being programmed to cause strapped stacks of bills to be deposited into a second one of the strapped bill storage receptacles after the first one of the strapped bill storage receptacles becomes full and until the second one of the strapped bill storage receptacles has received a predetermined number of strapped stacks of bills and has thereby become full, the processor being further programmed to monitor whether a full strapped bill storage receptacle has been emptied, the processor being further programmed to cause strapped stacks of bills to be deposited, in an alternating manner, into the first strapped bill storage receptacle and the second strapped bill storage receptacle after one of the first and second strapped bill storage receptacles becomes full provided the other one of the first and second strapped bill storage receptacles is not full, thereby permitting the strapping unit to operate continuously provided a full strapped bill storage receptacle becomes empty prior to the other strapped bill storage receptacle also becoming full.