Abstract:
A cash recycling machine ( 11 ) is connected in a network with a computer ( 10 ) and other recycling equipment ( 12 ), the cash recycling machine ( 11 ) having an input device ( 18 ) for receiving cash, a sorter ( 31 ) for sorting the cash into a plurality of hopper assemblies ( 26–29 ), a controller ( 21 ) responsive to inputs from a user in a first operating cycle of the machine to cause the hopper assemblies ( 26–29 ) to dispense an amount of sorted cash to a cash drawer and to store the amount of dispensed cash in memory in association with a user account number, the controller ( 21 ) being responsive to input of a batch of cash and the user account number in a second cycle to count the cash received, and to compare the amount of cash received with the amount of cash dispensed to determine a net amount of cash associated with the user. The controller ( 21 ) has the ability to track transactions of employees through the work shift for reconciliation at the end of the work shift and to report results to a central accounting computer.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The present invention relates to cash handling systems, and more particularly to desktop cash handling equipment for tracking and reconciling cash for multiple cashiers or multiple cash handling employees over a work shift. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART 
   Cash settlement for retail establishments is often handled in a back room or other service area, where cashiers or other employees load and empty cash register drawers and count and record amounts of cash taken and returned by the cashiers. The comparison of cash taken with cash returned is often referred to in banking as “cash settlement.” This can also be referred to as balancing or reconciliation. Cash settlement in back rooms of retail establishments has often required separate calculations and record-keeping. While some cash settlement systems have been provided for banks in which personal computers have been connected to cash handling machines, there has not been a convenient and compact machine available for retail establishments. 
   In recent years, advances have been made in cash handling equipment by making the equipment smaller so that it can be used on a desktop while retaining many of the functions of larger machines typically used in banks. 
   Geib et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2001/0034203 published Oct. 25, 2001, shows a small coin sorter for filling a coin tray with coins counted by the machine. This allows a cashier to empty a till (also referred to herein as a cash drawer) into the sorter and have the amount counted. It is also possible to empty a batch of coins into the machine for counting as they are deposited in the till. 
   Various types of cash recycling machines have been known including ATM machines and large cash handling machines for gaming operations. ATM machines have generally been limited to dispensing change, cash withdrawals in the form of bills, or pre-rolled rolls of coin. The large cash handling machines for gaming establishments sort the change into bins, which must then be emptied. Change dispensers and small point-of-sale (POS) recyclers have also been known for dispensing change in multiple denominations to a retail customer via a single device such as a change cup, for example, where the denominations are mixed together. 
   There remains a need for a compact, bulk cash recycling machine to track cash receiving and dispensing operations for multiple employees over a work shift and to reconcile the amounts received with the amounts originally dispensed—by employee—and record the difference. The machine should have the ability to sort cash by denomination, store cash by denomination and dispense multiple denominations simultaneously, while keeping the denominations separate from each other. This is so that the cashiers will receive batches of cash in a sorted condition. The device should have networking capability with other automated cash handling equipment, for handling notes as well as coins, and with central accounting computers for reporting accounting totals. Such networking capability could utilize wires or be wireless. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention provides a cash recycling machine for dispensing batches of coins and/or notes representing a cashier&#39;s operating batch or a till&#39;s worth of coins and/or notes, which is less than the entire batch of coins and notes held by the machine, but is greater than an amount of change that would be dispensed to a retail customer. 
   The machine has the ability to track transactions for multiple employees through the work shift and reconcile accounts for multiple employees at the end of the work shift (“perform cash settlement”). The machine may take the form of a coin dispenser or a note dispenser, with programming and configuration capabilities being provided by a separate device, such as a personal computer. 
   In contrast to point-of-sale coin recyclers and change dispensers, the bulk cash recycling machine of the present invention dispenses to employees rather than to retail customers. The machine sorts cash by denomination, stores cash by denomination and dispenses multiple denominations simultaneously, while keeping the denominations separate from each other. Thus, the cashiers or employees receive batches of cash in a sorted condition. In addition, the machine may have a specialized port for receiving a cash drawer or till for receiving multiple denominations simultaneously. 
   The cash recycling and settlement machine of the present invention can include a card reader or a touch screen to receive employee ID information, which grants access to the machine and allows tracking of employee accounts during the work shift. The machine can handle cash and accounting for many employees. The cash recycling and settlement machine of the present invention may perform a cash receiving operation and a cash dispensing operation over a common task-sharing time period. 
   The machine can provide monitoring, accounting and cash settlement functions. The cash handling machine can be connected to other machines and computers via network communications which can utilize wires or be wireless. 
   Other objects and advantages of the invention, besides those discussed above, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the description of the preferred embodiments which follows. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which illustrate examples of the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cash recycling machine of the present invention connected in a network with a personal computer and a note recycling machine; 
       FIG. 2  is a detail view of a cash recycling machine seen in  FIG. 1  having a control panel with a keypad and display; 
       FIG. 3  is a detail view of a cash recycling machine seen in  FIG. 1 , showing a card reader input device instead of the keypad/display; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view the cash recycling machine seen in  FIG. 1 , showing the opening of a front door of the housing; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the cash recycling machine seen in  FIG. 1 , showing a cash till being inserted into an opening in the housing; 
       FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of the cash recycling machine of  FIGS. 1 ,  3 ,  4  and  5 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a functional block diagram of the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram of data stored in a memory in the machine of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 9  is a block diagram of the initial dispense operation for dispensing cash to a till of an employee at the start of a work shift; and 
       FIG. 10  is a block diagram of a cash input operation from an employee during, or at the end of, a work shift. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1  shows a networked cash management system with automatic cash handling equipment in accordance with the present invention. The system comprises a system control unit  10 , which may be a personal computer, and a plurality of cash handling devices  11 ,  12 , which communicate with the system control unit  10  through a wired network  13 . The cash handling devices  11 ,  12  include a desktop coin recycling machine  11  and a note recycling machine  12 . The note recycling machine  12  shown is the TCR Twin Safe™ note recycling machine offered commercially by the assignee of the present invention. This is a floor standing unit. It will accept notes at eight notes per second and will dispense notes at up eight notes per second. 
   The coin recycling machine  11  has a housing  15  with a front door  16  and an open slot  17  for receiving a cash drawer  25  (as seen in  FIG. 5 ). A machine input hopper  18  is provided for receiving batches of coins. A card reader  19  with a display is mounted on the top  14  of the housing in front of the hopper  18 . A removable chute  20  is tucked under the top panel  14  of the housing  15  above the front door  16 . 
   The note recycling machine  12  also has a housing  40  including a front door  41  for access to a cash drawer assembly hidden in the interior of the machine. A top cover  42  has two slots  43 ,  44 , one for receiving notes and one for dispensing notes. Both the coin recycler  11  and the note recycler  12  are connected to a personal computer  10  by wires  13  for network communication of data. 
   Referring next to  FIG. 2 , the note recycler  11  is controlled through a built-in controller  21  ( FIG. 7 ) having a keypad  22  and a display or touch screen  23  ( FIG. 2 ) and circuitry (not shown). Additional programming and data storage capabilities can be provided, however, by communicating with the coin recycler from the laptop computer  10 . As seen in  FIG. 3 , it is advantageous and convenient to provide a card reader  19  for scanning ID cards  24  of the employees to allow access and operation of the coin recycler. It would also be possible to employ a system of passwords and ID numbers which would be entered using the keypad  22  of  FIG. 2 . 
   Referring next to  FIGS. 4 ,  6  and  7 , the coin recycler includes at least four modular coin hopper assemblies  26 ,  27 ,  28  and  29 . As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , these might be provided for coins of four respective denominations, in the U.S. for example, one-cent coins, five-cent coins, ten-cent coins and twenty-five-cent coins. Additional hopper assemblies  30  ( FIG. 7 ) can be provided for half-dollar coins and dollar coins. The machine  11  will also handle coin sets of other countries. Each hopper assembly, such as assembly  26 , includes a receptacle  26   a  with at least one coin exit port  26   b , a hopper supporting frame  26   c  and a coin counter/sensor  26   d  ( FIG. 7 ). Hopper assemblies as shown in Uchida et al., U.S. Re. Pat. No. 37,662 are suitable for this purpose. The hopper assemblies are accessible through a pivotable door  16  on the front of the housing  15  as seen in  FIG. 4 . 
   Referring again to  FIG. 6 , there is a first removable coin chute  20 , which in this instance has four channels  20   a – 20   d  for directing the coins from a coin sorter  31  to the four respective receptacles  26   a – 29   a . This chute  20  has an integral cylindrical half section  32  for fitting around a tapering cylindrical post  33  depending from the top portion  14  of the housing  15 . Also seen in  FIG. 6  is a second removable coin chute  34  for directing coins in channels from the exits of the respective hopper assemblies  26   a – 29   a  to compartments  25   a – 25   d  in the cash drawer  25 . The cash drawer  25  also has compartments  25   e – 25   h  for bills or notes. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 7 , a block diagram of the system (less the note recycler) illustrates the hopper assemblies  26 – 30  which are connected for sensing and control to a controller  21  in the coin recycling machine  11 . This controller  21  will control the coin sorter  31 , control the dispensing of coins from hopper assemblies  26 – 30 , control network communications and input and output of date through the keyboard, display and card reader (human interface). In addition, the controller  21  stores data and generates reports through suitable I/O devices such as a printer  36 . Such a controller  21  would include a CPU, a program memory for storing a control program, data memory and suitable I/O circuitry, including network interface circuitry such as Ethernet interface circuitry  37 , RS-232 interface circuitry  13  and/or Bluetooth™ RF interface circuitry for wireless communication. The controller  21  can also be used to maintain database information related to completed transactions, malfunctions and system errors, machine usage, and other data. The controller  21  receives commands from the personal computer  10 , the keypad  22  or the card reader  19  which determines the function of the machine (e.g., accept coin through the sorter, dispense coin out of the hoppers, get data from control). 
     FIG. 8  shows the type of data that is stored in the controller and available to the personal computer  10  or other computer through the network  13 . The first block  50  represents storage for an amount of coin run through the coin sorter (coin in). The second block  51  represents storage for an initial amount and operating level of coin of a denomination in each respective hopper assembly  26 – 29 . The next block  52  represents storage for an amount of coin received of a denomination in each respective hopper assembly  26 – 29 . The next block  53  represents storage for an amount of coinage dispensed to a cash drawer as shown in  FIG. 5 . The next block  54  represents a report of all transactions for each employee for each work shift. The last block  55  represents a cash settlement or reconciliation showing the differences between cash dispensed to each employee versus cash input from each employee. The results represented by the last two blocks  54 ,  55  can be transmitted to a central accounting computer through a suitable network. 
   Referring next to  FIG. 9 , a cash input operation to the coin recycling machine begins as represented by start block  60  in  FIG. 9 . The blocks in the flow chart correspond to groups of one or more program instructions which can be executed by the controller to carry out the described operations. On start-up, the coin hopper assemblies  26 – 29  will require a starting balance of coin to satisfy initial dispensing commands. Bulk coin is fed into the machine hopper  18 . It is then sorted into the individual coin denomination receptacles  26 – 29 . The machine controller  21  stores the value of the coinage denominations which are available for dispensing into empty cash drawers  25 . 
   When a cashier reports for work, he or she needs to fill his or her cash drawer or till to start the day. The machine is waiting in a loop for a dispense command as represented by decision block  61  in  FIG. 9 . A dispense command represented by the “Yes” result from decision block  61  is received from a remote device or from the keypad  22  or card reader  19  and coin is dispensed into the till. Pennies, dimes, nickels and quarters are dispensed into compartments  25   a – 25   d  in the cash drawer or till  25 . From the cashier&#39;s sign-on through the keypad  22  or card reader  19 , a known amount of coin will be assigned to the employee account as represented by process blocks  62 ,  63 . 
   As represented by decision block  64 , a check is then made to see if there is a minimum amount of coin in the hopper assemblies. If the answer is “NO,” a “LOW COIN” message is displayed on the display  23  or sent to a remote device as represented by process block  65 . Since most retail stations are net consumers of coin, the hopper assemblies  26 – 29  may run low of coin and require more. The low coin message informs the attending employee that the machine needs more coin of at least one and maybe more denominations. 
   If the answer from executing decision block  64  in  FIG. 9  is “YES,” signifying sufficient supply of coins, then hopper assembly motors (not shown) are started and the sensor/counters  26   d – 29   d  on the assemblies  26 – 29  are used to count the amount of coin that is dispensed, as represented by blocks  65 – 69 . When the amount to be dispensed equals zero, the controller  21  turns off the motors and the routine returns to the wait loop at the start as represented by connector  70 . 
   If, during the work shift, an employee needs more coinage, the cashier can sign on the machine  11  and request more coinage of all or of individual denominations. The coinage is then charged to the employee&#39;s account. 
   If one or more of the coin hoppers are getting too full, a message will be transmitted to the display or controlling device. This message will indicate that at least one of the hoppers assemblies  26 – 29  is full. The operator should then enter a command to dispense a number of coins in that hopper to reach a normal operating level. 
   At the end of the employee&#39;s shift, the employee will sign on through the control panel  14  and initiates a “BALANCE” or “RECONCILE” operation. Referring to  FIG. 10 , when the employee returns cash during a work shift, the cash is deposited in the hopper, the employee inputs an ID or account number with the keypad or by using the card reader, and the machine is started to sort the coins and store them in the hoppers as represented by the “YES” result from decision block  72 . Otherwise the machine is in a wait loop back to the start block  71  as represented by the “NO” result from decision block  72 . The sorter then sorts the coins and stores coins of respective denominations in the respective hopper assemblies  26 – 30 . The amount deposited is counted by sensors (not shown) on the coin sorter as the coins are sorted. These amounts will be added to the amounts already stored in the hopper assemblies  26 – 29 . The deposited amount is stored in the controller memory along with the user account number as represented by process block  74 . All of this information can also be sent as data to a local computer  10  or to a central accounting computer via the network  13 . 
   Next, a subroutine comprising blocks  75 – 82  is executed to check the level of the coin hoppers. If there is too much coinage in one or more hoppers, a message is sent to the display. Also, the hopper motors are started to discharge excess coinage as represented by blocks  77 – 81 . The machine then returns to the start block  71  as represented by connector block  82 , to await the next batch of coins received from a user. 
   The coin recycling machine  10  can also be connected to a note recycler  11  and can send dispense commands to dispense notes and receive data representing amounts of notes deposited in the note recycler  11 . This allows the tracking of both coins and notes for various employees. The controller  21  of the present invention can also be provided in a note recycler for tracking notes dispensed to an employee and notes received from an employee, using a card reader and note denomination receptacles as described for the coin recycling machine. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other modifications might be made to these embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which are defined by the following claims.