Abstract:
An automated teller machine includes a stack of currency notes and dispenser for dispensing notes from the stack to authorized users. A marker bill is inserted at a predetermined position in the stack of currency notes to indicate a predetermined quantity of notes remaining within the stack.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to replenishment arrangements for automated teller machines (ATMs). 
     In conventional ATMS, stacks of currency notes are stored in one or more currency cassettes and on receipt of a valid cash withdrawal request from a customer, notes are extracted from the cassettes and transported to a cash dispenser slot in a user console. An ATM is generally capable of dispensing notes of several different denominations and separate cassettes are normally provided for notes of each particular denomination. 
     It is desirable that when the number of currency notes remaining within a particular cassette in the ATM reaches a predetermined critical low level (i.e. a level which may not be sufficient to guarantee that a typical customer cash withdrawal request can be successfully fulfilled using the notes remaining in that particular cassette), indication is provided. Such an indication is typically provided by a sensor comprising a permanent magnet associated with a pusher assembly which is arranged to urge notes towards an exit end of the cassette from which they are extracted. When the pusher assembly reaches a position in the proximity of the exit end, a reed switch mounted within the ATM is activated by the permanent magnet to indicate that the number of notes within the cassette has reached a predetermined low level. The reed switch is commonly positioned so that a low level indication will be given when approximately 75 to 100 notes remain within the cassette. The cassette will then typically be replaced by a new full cassette. 
     In recent years, free standing ATMs have been installed in bars and shops for the convenience of customers. Often, these machines are loaded with currency notes by the bar landlord or shopkeeper, and for the sake of security it may be desirable to load into and keep in such machines only a relatively small number of notes, i.e. close to or even below the number at which a low level is indicated. Conventional low level sensors may therefore be of little assistance in maintaining such small quantities of notes in an ATM. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object to provide a flexible means for indicating a low quantity of currency notes remaining in an ATM which is suitable for machines in any installation. 
     According to the invention, there is provided an ATM comprising a stack of currency notes and means for dispensing notes from the stack to authorized users, characterized by a marker bill inserted at a predetermined position in the stack of currency notes to indicate a predetermined quantity of notes remaining within the stack when dispensed from the stack. 
     By use of a marker bill, the person who loads the ATM with currency notes can insert the bill at the position in the stack of notes which corresponds to the quantity of notes remaining at which a low level is desired to be indicated. When all the notes in the stack in front of the marker bill have been dispensed, the marker bill itself will be dispensed next. The marker bill removes the need for a conventional indication means, which can reduce the cost of manufacture of the ATM. 
     Suitably, the marker bill may be in the form of a voucher to prompt the user to present it to the person responsible for loading the machine in order to retrieve its face value, thereby providing an alert to the low level of currency in the machine. Alternatively, the means for dispensing notes from the stack may comprise means for detecting the presence of the marker bill and means for indicating the predetermined quantity of currency notes remaining in the stack upon detection of the marker bill. By providing a means for indicating the predetermined quantity of currency notes remaining in the stack, the person responsible for loading the machine need not be reliant on the user presenting a marker bill for an indication that the level of currency in the machine is low. The means for indicating the predetermined quantity of currency notes remaining in the stack could also activate a switch to close the ATM and prevent further currency withdrawals from taking place to avoid a situation in which a user&#39;s request might not otherwise be fulfilled due to a shortage of currency. 
     Preferably, the ATM further comprises a purge bin and means for automatically transferring the marker bill from the stack to the purge bin upon detection of the marker bill. In this way, the low level indication can be fully automated with no user interaction, the marker bill being retained within the machine while the user receives the currency requested in the normal way. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of indicating the quantity of currency notes remaining within an automated teller machine comprising a stack of currency notes and means for dispensing notes from the stack to authorized users, the method comprising the step of inserting a marker bill at a predetermined position in the stack of currency notes. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an ATM embodying the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram representation of the ATM of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the main operating parts of a cash dispenser of the ATM of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of an open currency cassette for use in the ATM of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the front of an ATM  10  is provided with a user panel  12  including a card reader slot  14  for insertion of a user&#39;s identification card, a key pad  16 , a cash dispenser slot  18  through which currency is delivered to a user, a display screen  20  and a receipt printer slot  22  through which a receipt for a transaction is delivered to the user at the end of a transaction. In a typical ATM transaction, a user inserts his or her card into the card reader slot  14  and data encoded on the card is read. Instructions are then displayed on the screen  20 . The user is requested to enter a personal identification number (PIN) on the key pad  16  which is verified, usually at a central location remote from the ATM  10 . If the PIN is determined to be correct against information read from the inserted card, a menu of the various facilities available to the user is then displayed on the screen  20 . If a cash withdrawal facility is selected, the user is requested to enter the sum required on the key pad  16  or by means of additional keys  24  provided at the side of the screen  20 . 
     The card reader, cash dispenser and receipt printer modules associated with the respective slots  14 ,  18  and  22  in the user panel  12  are designated by the same reference numerals in FIG.  2 . As shown in FIG. 2, the ATM  10  includes a controller unit  30  which communicates with components of the user panel  12  and with various other operating mechanisms of the ATM  10 . The controller unit  30  includes a processor unit  32 , and a memory unit  34  connected via a bus line  36  to the processor unit  32 . The processor unit  32  receives input signals from the card reader  14  and the user panel key pad  16 , and provides output signals to various mechanisms of the cash dispenser  18 , to display  20  of the user panel  12 , and to the user panel receipt printer  22 . It should be understood that the processor unit  32  controls the amount of cash dispensed by the cash dispenser  18 , the information displayed on the display  20  and the information printed by the printer  22 . 
     The various mechanisms within the cash dispenser  18  controlled by the processor unit  32  are additionally illustrated in FIG.  3  and include a note opacity detector  58  for detecting the presence of marker bills of low opacity, vacuum operated picker devices  44  for picking notes from currency cassettes  40 , a transport mechanism  45  for transporting notes picked from one or more of the cassettes  40 , and a purge bin actuator  56  for a purge bin  60 . The processor unit  32  may include a microcomputer, and the memory unit  34  may be a non-volatile RAM. 
     With reference to FIG. 4, a stack of bank notes  38  is held in the cassette  40  within the ATM  10 . The cassette comprises a box  41  having a removable lid  42  to enable refilling of the cassette with currency when a low level indication is provided to the person responsible for loading the machine. The currency notes rest in the box  41  between a plate  49  and the end wall  51  of the box. The plate  49  is urged towards the end wall  51  by a spring  47 . The lid  42  has a slot  43  close to the end wall  51  of the box  41  through which the ATM removes notes from the cassette  40  in response to a cash withdrawal request initiated by a user. 
     When the cassette  40  has been filled with a stack of currency notes  38 , a marker bill  39  of low opacity is placed at a predetermined position towards the back of the stack of notes within the cassette  40  (the marker bill  39  is shown being inserted into the stack  38  in FIG.  4 ). The lid  42  is then secured to the front of the cassette  40  and the cassette is loaded into the ATM. 
     Referring now to FIG. 3, when a cash withdrawal function is requested, the picker device  44  serves to extract notes from the cassette  40  via slot  43 . The transport mechanism  45  is associated with three feed paths  46 ,  48  and  91  linked by a diverter  56  and serves to transfer notes from one location to another within the ATM  10 . The diverter  56  is not normally actuated and the normal note dispensing path is from the cassette  40  via paths  46  and  48  to the dispenser slot  18 . The diverter  56  is controlled by the controller unit  30  to pivot into a second position depending on information received from the note opacity detector  58 . 
     Hence, in normal operation, each user currency request causes the transport mechanism  45  to transfer notes picked from the cassette  40  along a first unidirectional feed path  46 , through the opacity detector  58  and past the diverter  56  to the second unidirectional feed path  48  for delivery to the customer. The stack of notes within the cassette  40  thereby diminishes with each such transaction, and the position of the marker bill  39  moves closer to the front of the stack  38  until the marker bill itself is picked from the cassette during one such transaction and is transferred along the feed path  46 . As the marker bill  39  passes through the opacity detector  58 , a signal is sent to the controller unit  30  indicating the presence of the marker bill on the feed path  46 . The controller unit  30  then commands the diverter  56  to pivot into its second position, and the marker bill is transferred to the third unidirectional feed path  91  and into the purge bin  60 . At the same time as it commands the diverter to pivot into its second position, the controller unit  30  actuates a low cassette level indication to alert the person responsible for loading the machine of its status. The cash dispenser  18  then resumes processing of the current transaction to fulfill the user&#39;s request. 
     Instead of using a marker bill of low opacity, some other form of marking could be provided on the marker bill and a detector for such marking could be installed along the feed path  46  instead of or as well as the opacity detector  58 . 
     Alternatively, a marker bill could be used which would be dispensed to a user rather than transferred to a purge bin. For example, the marker bill could be in the form of a voucher which could be exchanged for goods or services within the premises in which the ATM is installed. In this way, the user would be prompted to present the marker bill to the landlord, shopkeeper or another person responsible for loading the machine in order to retrieve its face value, and in the process the person responsible for loading the machine would be alerted to the low level of currency in the machine. In this case, the opacity detector  58 , diverter  56 , feed path  91  and purge bin  60  would all be unnecessary, and an ATM manufactured accordingly without such components would be cheaper to produce. 
     The invention is described herein with reference to FIGS. 1 to  4  by way of example only. It will be clear that the invention extends to further modifications not described. For example, several cassettes each holding a stack of notes of different denominations and each having a marker bill placed at a predetermined position in each stack could be employed within the ATM.