Abstract:
A self-service terminal (SST)  10  has a user interface ( 12,14 ), a bank note receiver ( 16 ) where a user may input bank notes, and a bank note validator ( 18 ) for checking the bank notes received from the user (the user&#39;s bank notes). The terminal ( 10 ) also has a cassette receiver ( 36 ) for holding a cassette ( 34 ) which is to be replenished with the user&#39;s bank notes. A loading mechanism ( 32 ) is used to replenish the cassette ( 34 ) with the validated user&#39;s bank notes. The loading mechanism ( 32 ) has a pivoting linkage arrangement so that as the bank notes are stacked in the cassette ( 34 ), part of the linkage remains parallel to the stack of bank notes. The SST ( 10 ) also has a cassette emptying mechanism ( 38 ) for emptying and reconciling partially-filled cassettes ( 39 ). A method of replenishing a cassette with bank notes and an SST system are also described.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a self-service terminal (SST), and particularly to an SST for replenishing and/or reconciling currency cassettes. 
     Currency cassettes are used as the currency source in Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). The resources required to replenish (refill with currency) and reconcile (check that the number of bank notes dispensed equals the number of bank notes which were originally in the cassette) these cassettes are a major cost to the owners of ATMs. Conventionally, currency cassettes are replenished at central points which serve an ATM network (which may include up to several hundred ATMs). 
     A currency cassette requires reconciling and replenishing when its supply of currency falls below a predetermined value. When this occurs, the partially filled (below the predetermined value) cassette is removed from an ATM and replaced with a full cassette; the partially filled cassette is then transported by a secure carrier to the central point for replenishing. 
     High costs are incurred because of the need for high security in transporting currency both to and from an ATM. A financial center may have a large amount of currency which has to be transported to the central point for replenishing an ATM, but that financial center may house the ATM which is to be replenished. Thus, in some cases, a cassette from an ATM and currency from a financial center in which the ATM is located are both transported under high security to a remote center which loads the transported currency into the transported cassette to provide a replenished cassette, and the replenished cassette is then transported back to the financial center under high security. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the invention to obviate or mitigate one or more of the above disadvantages. 
     According to the invention a self-service terminal comprises: a user interface; a media receiver for receiving valuable media items; a validator for checking the valuable media items received by the media receiver; characterized in that the terminal further comprises a cassette receiver for holding a cassette to be replenished; and a loading mechanism for replenishing the cassette with the validated valuable media items. 
     It will be appreciated that a cassette is replenished when it is filled with authentic media items, and is ready for loading into an SST without requiring any intermediate processing steps such as sorting the media items stored in the cassette. 
     By virtue of the invention a terminal is provided which may have similar dimensions to a conventional ATM, or which may be desktop in size. The terminal facilitates replenishing of a currency cassette by a user so that financial centers such as retail outlets and banks may use this type of terminal to replenish cassettes used in local ATMs and thereby minimize the transportation of currency. 
     The terminal may have a plurality of cassette receivers so that different types of media items can be stored. For example, one cassette may store one denomination of currency, and a second cassette may store a different denomination of currency. 
     Preferably, the validator checks the valuable media items by implementing one or more predetermined acceptance criterion. 
     Preferably, the validator includes media identification apparatus which may include measuring apparatus for measuring the dimensions of each media item to discriminate between different types of media items (for example different denominations of currency) and/or to verify that the media item is authentic (for example by comparing the measured dimensions of the media item with pre-stored dimensions for that media item). 
     Preferably, the validator includes counterfeit detection apparatus. Various types of counterfeit detection apparatus may be used depending on the type of media item to be dispensed and the security features used in that media item. 
     Preferably, the terminal further comprises a condition sorter for checking characteristics of each media item received. If a received media item does not fulfill a predetermined condition acceptance criterion then the media item may be rejected. The characteristics that may be checked include the porosity of the media item, and whether the media item is free from tears, cuts, folds, creases, or other such defects. 
     The terminal may further comprise a cassette reader mechanism for use with cassettes having an identifier which records, for example, the type of media item stored, the number of media items stored in a full cassette, and the number of media items stored in the cassette when it is removed from a terminal (if it is removed when it is partially full). The terminal may have a programmer for writing information to a cassette identifier. The terminal may be in communication with a network of SSTs, thereby enabling the terminal to communicate with another SST to determine the type of media items and the number of media items to be stored in the cassette. 
     Preferably, the cassette receiver is arranged to hold a cassette in an inclined position to facilitate loading of valuable media items into the cassette. 
     Preferably, the cassette receiver is operable to detect the presence of a cassette which has been loaded into it and to bring the loaded cassette to an inclined position to facilitate loading of media items into the cassette. The cassette receiver may also automatically remove the lid of the cassette. 
     Preferably, the loading mechanism has a media conveyor for delivering media items to a cassette, and a conveyor deflector configured so that when a media item is present the media item co-operates with the conveyor deflector to displace at least part of the conveyor from a first (non-deflected) position to a second (deflected) position in which stacking of the media item in the cassette is facilitated by allowing the media item to be stacked to pass between the top of the media items stack and the raised part of the conveyor. 
     Preferably, the media conveyor has a pivoting linkage arrangement whereby a pivoting portion of the linkage may move in an arcuate path between the top and the bottom of the cassette; whereas, a parallel portion of the linkage maintains an orientation parallel to the orientation in which a media item is to be stacked. 
     The parallel portion of the linkage is located in the cassette and is aligned so that, in use, the orientation is parallel to and resting on the stack of media items in the cassette. 
     Preferably, the media conveyor has an arrangement of stretchable, endless conveyor belts, at least one (upper) belt extending from the pivoting portion of the linkage to the parallel portion of the linkage and being in contact with a surface onto which a media item is to be stacked. The surface onto which a media item is to be stacked will initially be a pusher plate in the cassette, but when one item of media is stacked on the pusher plate the surface will be the last media item stacked. 
     Preferably, the media conveyor is counterbalanced to provide only a small net downward force on the last media item stacked. 
     Preferably, the media deflector comprises a low-friction plate having at least one slot in a surface inclined with respect to the at least one upper conveyor belt, the plate being located below the at least one upper conveyor belt such that the at least one upper conveyor belt passes through the at least one slot. 
     The upper conveyor belt rests on the media stack and transports media items beneath it, therefore the loading mechanism automatically rises as a media item is stacked. As the upper conveyor is driven it acts to urge the media items stack against a back wall of the cassette because the belt rests on the media items stack. 
     Preferably, the terminal further comprises a cassette tray for receiving a cassette to be emptied, and an emptying mechanism for removing media items from a cassette inserted into the cassette tray. The emptying mechanism may be a conventional pick mechanism. 
     Preferably, the terminal is operable to count the number of media items removed from a cassette to be emptied whereby the contents of the cassette to be emptied can be reconciled. 
     Also according to the invention a method of replenishing a cassette with valuable media items in an SST is characterized by the steps of: retaining the cassette in a position for receiving media items; receiving media items to be used in replenishing the cassette; validating the received media items; and loading the validated media items into the cassette to replenish the cassette. 
     The step of validating the received media items includes checking characteristics of the received media items, so that the media items are rejected if they do not fulfill one or more predetermined acceptance criterion. 
     Further according to the invention a self-service terminal system comprises: a user interface; a media receiver for receiving valuable media items; and a validator for checking the valuable media items received by the media receiver; characterized in that the terminal retains a cassette in a position for being replenished with valuable media items; and replenishes the cassette with validated valuable media items using a loading mechanism which moves between a top and bottom of the cassette. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an SST according to one embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the process steps involved in receiving and loading notes in the terminal of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the cassette loading mechanism of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view of part of the mechanism of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of part of the mechanism of FIG. 3; and 
     FIGS. 6 a  to  6   e  show a media item at various stages of transportation in the mechanism of FIG.  3 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to FIG. 1, an SST  10  has a user interface (comprising a keyboard  12  and a display  14 ) and a media receiver  16  for receiving valuable media items in the form of bank notes which may be input individually or as a bunch. 
     The bank notes are transported individually from the receiver  16  to a validator  18  by a note conveyor  20 , which may be an arrangement of stretchable endless belts. 
     The validator  18  has a multiple note detect stage for detecting and rejecting multiple notes and for allowing single notes to pass to the examination stage in the validator  18 . In the validation stage, the validator  18  examines each single bank note to check that the note is authentic. A number of examination techniques are known, and various validator algorithms are available. For example, the validator  18  may measure the lateral dimensions of the note. The validator may also implement some counterfeit detection algorithm. 
     The validator  18  has a reject note output conveyor  22  for transporting notes which fail the multiple note detect stage and for transporting notes which fail the examination stage to a reject note dispenser  24 . The validator  18  also has a validated note conveyor  26  for transporting valid notes to a note condition sorter  28 . 
     The note condition sorter  28  examines each validated note to check that each note fulfills a predetermined condition acceptance criterion. For example, each note may require to be free from tears, or may require to have a certain predetermined porosity. The condition sorter  28  has a reject conveyor  30  for transporting notes failing the note condition examination to the reject note dispenser  24 . The condition sorter  28  also has a loading mechanism  32  for loading notes which pass the note condition examination into a cassette to be replenished  34 . 
     The cassette to be replenished  34  is retained in the SST  10  in an inclined position (at an angle of 60 degrees to the horizontal) by a cassette receiver  36 . The SST  10  also has a cassette tray  38  for receiving a cassette to be emptied  39 . An emptying mechanism  40  in the form of a conventional pick mechanism is used to remove bank notes from a cassette  39  inserted into the cassette tray  38  and transport these removed notes to the validator  18 . 
     A cassette reader mechanism  41  is located in the SST  10  for use with cassettes  34  having an identifier  35 . A cassette identifier  35  typically records the type of media items, the number of media items stored in the cassette  34  when full, and the number of media items stored in the cassette  34  when partially full (i.e. if it is removed from an ATM before it is completely empty). The cassette reader mechanism  41  includes a programmer for writing information to a cassette identifier  35 . 
     The SST  10  also has a processor  42  in the form of a microcomputer for controlling and operating the user interface ( 12  and  14 ), receiver  16 , validator  18 , reject note dispenser  24 , sorter  28 , loading mechanism  32 , conveyors  20 , 22 , 26 , 30 , cassette receiver  36 , and cassette reader mechanism  41 . The SST  10  has a communication link  50  for communicating with other SSTs in a network. The microcomputer  42  and communication link  50  are not shown connected to any of the blocks (e.g. blocks  16 , 18 , 28 , 36 ) in FIG. 1 because FIG. 1 illustrates the physical arrangement rather than the electrical interconnection of the SST  10 . 
     The operation of the SST  10  will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. An authorized operator places an empty cassette to be replenished  34  into the entrance of the cassette receiver  36 . The cassette receiver  36  automatically detects the cassette  34 , removes the lid of the cassette  34 , inclines the cassette  34  at an angle of approximately 60 degrees to the horizontal, and brings the loading mechanism  32  into engagement with the cassette  34 . 
     The cassette reader mechanism  41  reads information contained in the identifier  35  to determine the type of media items and the number of media items to be stored in the cassette  34 . The display  14  then informs a user about the type of media items required (in this embodiment the denomination of bank notes) and the number of media items needed to fill the cassette  34 . 
     A user may then initiate replenishing of the cassette  34  by inputting the required quantity and denomination of notes (step  60 ) to the receiver  16 . These notes are individually conveyed to the validator  18  by note conveyor  20 . The validator  18  individually examines each bank note to verify that the note is authentic (step  62 ). Notes which fail the validation are rejected (step  64 ) and transported by conveyor  22  to the reject bin  24 . Notes which pass the validation are transported by conveyor  26  to the note condition sorter  28  which examines (step  66 ) each validated note to check that it fulfills a predetermined acceptance criterion. 
     The notes which fail the condition sorter examination are rejected (step  64 ) and transported by conveyor  30  to the reject bin  24 . The notes which pass the condition sorter examination are loaded (step  68 ) into the cassette  34  by loading mechanism  32 . 
     If the cassette  34  is not full after all of the notes input by the user have been loaded, then the SST  10  notifies the user that the cassette  34  is not full and asks if the user intends inputting more notes (step  70 ). If the user inputs more notes then the procedure is repeated, otherwise the cassette  34  may be left in the terminal  10  until a later time when more notes are to be input or the cassette  34  may be removed (in some circumstances only a partially filled cassette  34  may be required). When the cassette  34  is full the cassette receiver  36  automatically replaces the lid and moves the cassette  34  to an exit position where it may be withdrawn by an authorized operator. 
     It is anticipated that in this embodiment the user of the SST  10  may be a person who has access to sufficient quantities of high quality bank notes suitable for dispensing from an ATM. 
     FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the cassette loading mechanism  32  of FIG.  1 . FIG. 3 shows loading mechanism  32  located in a central position and delivering a bank note  80 a to cassette  34  which is partly filled with notes  80  stacked on a pusher plate  81  latched back into the loading position. FIG. 3 shows in dotted lines the loading mechanism  32 ′ in an upper position (where the cassette  34  is full of notes  80 ) and the loading mechanism  32 ″ in a lower position (where the cassette  34  is empty). 
     The loading mechanism  32  comprises a media conveyor (having a pivoting portion  82  and a parallel portion  84 ) and a conveyor deflector  86 . 
     The pivoting portion  82  is pivotably mounted to twin axles  88 , 90  at each of its ends  92 , 94 . End  92  receives notes  80  from the condition sorter  28  (FIG.  1 ). 
     End  94  is pivotably coupled to the parallel portion  84 . One end  96  of the parallel portion  84  supports the twin axles  90 , and the opposite end  98  of the parallel portion  84  supports axle  100 , such that each of the axles  90 , 100  is free to rotate about its axis. 
     The media conveyor ( 82 , 84 ) has three upper belts  110  extending from end  92  to end  98  and spaced along axle  100  and the upper axle of twin axle  88 ; and three lower belts  112  extending from end  92  to end  94  and spaced along the lower axles of twin axles  88 , 90 . 
     End  98  rests on the stack of notes  80 . The upper and lower belts  110 , 112  move in the direction of arrow  102  and individual notes  80  are transported by belts  110 , 112  between twin axles  88  and between twin axles  90  and are delivered to the conveyor deflector  86 . 
     The conveyor deflector  86  is shown in more detail in FIGS. 4 and 5. For clarity, in FIG. 4 the lower belts  112  are not shown and the axles  88 , 90 , 100  are only shown as dotted lines. 
     None of the belts  110 , 112  is shown in FIG. 5, to aid clarity. The deflector  86  is in the form of a profiled plate having three slots  120  defined in the delivery end  122  (the part of the plate nearest the stack of notes  80 ). 
     The plate  86  is inclined relative to the belts  110  with the lowest part of the plate  86  being the receiving end  124  (the part of plate  86  nearest end  96 ) and the highest part of the plate  86  being the delivery end  122  so that each of the three upper belts  110  passes through a respective slot  120 , as shown in FIG.  4 . The length of the slots  120  is such that when no notes  80  are present on the plate  86  the upper belts  110  may pass through the slots  120  without being in contact with the plate  86  (i.e. the upper belts  110  are non-deflected) as shown by dotted line  126  in FIG.  3 . 
     The receiving end  124  of plate  86  is curved downwards to aid transportation of a note  80  from the pivoting portion  82  to the parallel portion  84 . The delivery end  122  is located a short distance (e.g. 5 mm) from the edge of the stack of notes  80  so that there is a gap between the delivery end  122  and the stack of notes  80 . 
     As a note  80   a  (FIG. 3) is transported over the plate  86  towards delivery end  122 , the note  80   a  begins to cover the slots  120  and thereby begins to displace (raise) the lower portions of the upper belts  110 . As the note  80   a  moves along the plate  86  and covers a larger amount of each slot  120  the displacement increases. Maximum displacement occurs when the note  80   a  covers delivery end  122 . Thus, note  80   a  and plate  86  co-operate to displace the lower portions of the upper belts  110 . 
     FIGS. 6 a  to  6   e  show note  80   a  at various stages of transportation between plate  86  and the stack of notes  80  which are located adjacent a rear wall  134  of the cassette  34 . When note  80   a  overhangs delivery end  122  (FIG. 6a) the front end ( 80   a ′) of note  80   a  begins to move out of contact with belts  110 . As note  80   a  is transported further towards the stack of notes, less of the note  80   a  is in contact with the belts  110 , as shown by FIGS. 6 b  and  6   c . However, before note  80   a  loses contact with belts  110  and plate  86 , the front end  80   a ′ of note  80   a  comes into contact with the stack of notes  80 , as shown in FIG. 6 d . When note  80   a  is transported beyond end  122 , belts  110  move back down the slots  120  to the non-displaced position (shown by dotted line  126 ). As the belts  110  move downwards they come into contact with note  80   a  and urge it towards the rear wall  134  of the cassette  34 , thereby neatly stacking note  80   a  on top of the stack of notes  80 . 
     The top note in the stack of notes  80  is constantly urged towards the rear wall  134  of the cassette  34  by the belts  110 . This ensures that the top note in the stack does not hinder delivery of other notes. The parallel portion  84  is counterbalanced to provide a light net downward force on the stack of notes  80 . The size of the light net downward force is chosen so that the movement of the belts  110  do not cause crumpling or deformation of the top note in the stack; but do provide some urging of the top note to the rear wall  134  of the cassette  34 . 
     Thus, the belts  110  and plate  86  ensure that a note  80   a  is delivered to the top of the stack of notes  80 . It will be appreciated that the above arrangement causes the parallel portion  84  to rise automatically as notes  80  are added to the stack because the added notes are inserted between the belts  110  and the stack of notes  80 . 
     Referring again to FIG. 3, when a cassette  34  is empty, the loading mechanism is in the position shown by dotted lines  32 ″, near the bottom  34   a  of the cassette  34 . As notes are delivered to the cassette  34  they are automatically stacked. During the stacking process the parallel portion  84  remains parallel to the topmost note in the stack of notes  80 . 
     Eventually, the cassette  34  is filled (as shown in FIG. 3 by dotted lines  32 ′ which are near to the top  34   b  of the cassette  34 ) and the processor  42  instructs the loading mechanism  32  to cease transporting notes  80  to the cassette  34 . The cassette  34  is filled when the number of notes  80  in the cassette  34  equals the number of notes the cassette  34  can store (the storage capacity as recorded in the identifier  35 ). The programmer in the cassette reader mechanism  41  then updates the identifier  35  so that the identifier  35  records the new number of notes  80  stored therein. 
     If the cassette  34  was partly filled with notes  80  when it was loaded into the SST  10 , then the identifier  35  stores that initial information (i.e. the number of notes  80  initially stored in the partly-filled cassette  34 ), and the processor  42  ensures that only the required number of notes  80  (the difference between the storage capacity and the initial number of notes) are transported to the cassette  34 . 
     As the pivoting portion  82  moves from the empty position  32 ″ to the full position  32 ′, end  94  follows an arcuate path. To compensate for this lateral movement of end  94  the cassette receiver  36  moves the cassette  34  laterally (as shown by arrows  130 ) to maintain a constant distance between end  94  and cassette  34 . 
     Referring again to FIG. 1, if a user has a partially filled cassette  39  which is to be emptied then the user inserts this cassette  39  into cassette tray  38 . The pick mechanism  40  detects the presence of the cassette  39 , removes bank notes from the cassette  39  one at a time, and transports these removed notes to the validator  18 . The microcomputer  42  counts the number of bank notes removed from the cassette  39  for reconciling the contents of the cassette  39  with the original (when full) contents of the cassette  39 . When the cassette  39  has been emptied it may be removed by a user. 
     Various modifications may be made to the above described embodiments within the scope of the invention. Valuable media other than bank notes may be used, such as share certificates, flight coupons, stamps, and such like. The SST may include note recognition so that the SST automatically identifies the type of note entered by the user. The conveyors (e.g.  20 , 22 , 30 ) may be implemented by rollers or by suction devices. The reject note dispenser  24  may only be accessible to an authorized operator, so that any rejected media item is not returned to the user. The cassette receiver may be just a guide frame so that the operator must manually remove the lid of the cassette and load the cassette into the guide frame; in such an embodiment the cassette  34  may remain motionless and the loading mechanism  32  may move to compensate for the lateral movement of the end of the mechanism  32  between the empty and full positions. An optical sensor may be used to detect when the cassette to be replenished is full of notes and to notify the loading mechanism to stop transporting notes to the cassette. The number of notes required for to fill a cassette to be replenished may be obtained from an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) network host via the communication link  50 . The identifier  35  may store information about which SST the cassette  34  is intended for. The terminal  10  may receive sufficient notes to fill more than one cassette  34 , so that some cassettes  34  may be filled automatically with no user intervention except to load and remove the cassettes  34 .