Patent Publication Number: US-8978864-B2

Title: Currency processing device, method and system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of prior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/036,686, filed Jan. 14, 2005, which is a continuation-in-part of prior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/903,745, filed Jul. 30, 2004, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/492,104, filed on Aug. 1, 2003, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/580,662, filed on Jun. 17, 2004, all of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to currency bill processing. Specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus for currency bill denominating, authenticating, imaging and/or sorting. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A variety of techniques and apparatus have been used in automated or semi-automated currency handling systems. Many of these systems have been very large—too large for the operator to be close to the input receptacle, operating panel, and output receptacles while remaining in one position. Therefore, a need exists for a system that is more compact so that the operator can be in close proximity to the input receptacle, output receptacle, and operating panel while remaining in one position. 
     Previous attempts to solve this problem have focused on stacking output receptacles in one of two ways; vertically stacking output receptacles relative to the input receptacle, or horizontally stacking output receptacles relative to the input receptacle. The problem these machines faced is that after a few output receptacles are arranged in a vertical manner, the system is too tall for the operator to use while sitting down. The systems arranging the output receptacles horizontally became too wide to use while seated or standing in one position. 
     Additionally, the existing systems for sorting currency have been expensive. Accordingly, there is a need for a currency sorter which is more affordable. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In some embodiments, a compact multi-pocket sorter for receiving a stack of currency bills and rapidly evaluating all the bills in the stack is provided. The device has an input receptacle for receiving a stack of bills to be evaluated and a number of output receptacles for receiving the bills after the bills have been evaluated. A transport mechanism transports bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path to one of the output receptacles. A discriminating unit evaluates the bills, determining certain information concerning the bills. In some embodiments, at least one output receptacle is located to the left of the input receptacle and at least one output receptacle is located to the right of the input receptacle. Arranging the output receptacles on both the right and left of the input receptacle allows the output receptacles to be located in closer proximity to the input receptacle. 
     In some embodiments, a compact multi-pocket sorter for receiving a stack of currency bills and rapidly evaluating all the bills in the stack is provided. The device has an input receptacle for receiving a stack of bills to be evaluated and a number of output receptacles for receiving the bills after the bills have been evaluated. A transport mechanism transports bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle along a transport path to one of the output receptacles. A discriminating unit evaluates the bills, determining certain information concerning the bills. In some embodiments, at least one output receptacle is located to the left or right side of the input receptacle. The transport mechanism is adapted to transport bills from the input receptacle to the output receptacle located to the left or right side of the input receptacle in a manner such that the leading edge of a bill is maintained throughout the transportation of the bill. 
     The present invention relates, in general, to document processing devices. In some embodiments, a currency processing device for receiving and evaluating a stack of currency bills is provided. The currency processing device comprises an input receptacle for receiving a stack of bills to be evaluated, a plurality of output receptacles for receiving bills after the bills have been evaluated laterally offset from said input receptacle, an imager for capturing an image of each bill, the captured image being used for at least one of authenticating, counting, and determining the denomination of the bills, a first bill rotating mechanism for rotating the currency bills around an axis passing through the leading and trailing edges of the currency bills and orthogonal to the those edges, and a second bill rotating mechanism for rotating the currency bills around an axis passing through the leading and trailing edges of the currency bills and orthogonal to those edges so that the leading edge of a currency bill is aligned with said output receptacles. 
     In some embodiments, a method of processing currency bills is provided. In some embodiments, the method comprises moving currency bills from a stack of bills placed in an input receptacle to a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from said input receptacle, capturing an image of at least one surface of the currency bills, creating a control signal based on the captured image of the currency bills, rotating the bills 90° around an axis extending orthogonally through the leading and trailing edges of the bills, and moving the rotated bills laterally toward one of said plurality of output receptacles based on the control signal. 
     The above summary describes some exemplary embodiments and is not intended to and does not describe all embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1   a  is a perspective view of a multi-pocket currency sorter device having eight output receptacles according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1   b  illustrates the sorter of  FIG. 1   a  with some dimensional indications. 
         FIG. 1   c  is a generalized block diagram of a multi-pocket sorter. 
         FIG. 1   d  is a block diagram of a device having an imager. 
         FIG. 1   e  illustrates a configuration of a portion of a device having an imager according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1   f  is a perspective view illustrating a multi-pocket currency sorter having an imager according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1   g  is a block diagram of various components of a sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2   a  illustrates an example of a bill which may be processed according to some embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2   b  is a top view of an input receptacle and a laterally offset output receptacle according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a portion of a transport mechanism according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 4   a  is a perspective view of the currency bill flow sequence within the compact multi-pocket device of  FIG. 1   a  according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 4   b  is a perspective view of the currency bill flow sequence within the compact multi-pocket device of  FIG. 1   a  illustrating an exemplary location of one or more sensors of a discriminating unit. 
         FIG. 5   a  illustrates one embodiment of a bill rotating mechanism. 
         FIG. 5   b  is a side view of one embodiment of horizontal transport mechanisms. 
         FIG. 5   c  is a frontal, downward looking perspective view of a portion of transport mechanism according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 5   d  is a front view of a portion of one embodiment of a transport mechanism. 
         FIG. 5   e  is a top view of a portion of one embodiment of a transport mechanism. 
         FIG. 5   f  is a side view of a portion of one embodiment of a transport mechanism. 
         FIG. 6   a  is a top view of an input hopper showing a two-edge alignment of bills. 
         FIG. 6   b  is a top view of an input hopper showing a one-edge alignment of bills. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the currency sorter of  FIG. 1   a  but with the covers removed and some internal components omitted. 
         FIG. 8   a  is a perspective view of a ten output pocket currency sorter according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 8   b  is a front view of the sorter of  FIG. 8   a.    
         FIG. 8   c  is a side view of the sorter of  FIG. 8   a.    
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an eight output pocket currency sorter according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 10   a  is a front view of a six pocket sorter according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 10   b  is a front view of a six pocket sorter according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 11   a  is a front view of a ten pocket sorter according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 11   b  is a front view of a ten pocket sorter according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 12   a  is a perspective view of a nine pocket currency sorter according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 12   b  is a front view of the sorter of  FIG. 12   a.    
         FIG. 12   c  is a right side view of the sorter of  FIG. 12   a.    
         FIG. 12   d  is a top view of the sorter of  FIG. 12   a.    
         FIG. 13   a  is a perspective view of a currency bill flow sequence within the sorter of  FIG. 12  according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 13   b  is a rear view of a currency bill flow sequence within the sorter of  FIG. 12  according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 13   c  is a side view of a currency bill flow sequence within the sorter of  FIG. 12  according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 13   d  is a perspective view of a currency bill flow sequence within the sorter of  FIG. 12  through the optional bill facing mechanism according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 14   a  is a perspective view of a currency evaluating unit adapted to be coupled to modular output receptacle units. 
         FIG. 14   b  is a perspective view of a modular output receptacle unit. 
         FIG. 15   a  is a perspective view of an operator sitting in front of one embodiment of a sorter according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 15   b  is a front view of the sorter of  FIG. 15   a.    
         FIG. 15   c  is a side view of the sorter of  FIG. 15   a.    
         FIG. 16  is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of a ten pocket sorter. 
         FIG. 17  is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of a thirteen pocket sorter. 
         FIG. 18  is a schematic representation of one embodiment of a networked sorting system. 
         FIG. 19  illustrates a process of redistributing currency among bank branches and a main vault according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 20   a  is a perspective view of the currency bill flow sequence of an embodiment through a sorter wherein the leading edge of a bill changes. 
         FIG. 20   b  is a perspective view of the currency bill flow sequence of an embodiment through a sorter wherein the leading edge of a bill changes illustrating an exemplary location of an imager. 
         FIG. 21  is a perspective view of a multi-pocket currency sorter device having four output receptacles according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 22  is a perspective view of the sorter of  FIG. 21  in with the sorter opened for servicing. 
         FIG. 23   a  is a perspective view of the discriminating unit of the sorter of  FIG. 21  in a closed position. 
         FIG. 23   b  is a perspective view of the discriminating unit of the sorter of  FIG. 21  in an open position, 
         FIG. 24  is an alternate perspective view of the sorter of  FIG. 21  opened for servicing. 
         FIG. 25  is a front view of a portion of the transporting mechanism of  FIG. 21 . 
         FIG. 26  is a front view of a multi-pocket currency sorter device having eight output receptacles according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 27  is a side view of the sorter of  FIG. 26 . 
         FIG. 28  is a perspective view of a second stacking unit. 
         FIG. 29  is a three-dimensional coordinate system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1   a  is a perspective view of one embodiment of a multi-pocket currency sorter or processing device  100 . The device  100  has an input hopper or receptacle  102  adapted to receive a stack of currency bills to be processed. In some embodiments, the input hopper has a capacity of approximately 700 to approximately 800 currency bills. The device  100  also comprises a number of output receptacles or pockets which are laterally offset from the input hopper  102 . As depicted in  FIG. 1   a , the shown embodiment comprises four output receptacles  116   a - 116   d  to the left of the input hopper  102  and four output receptacles  118   a - 118   d  to the right of the input hopper. The device may also comprise an operator or user interface  104  adapted to receive information from and/or provide information to an operator or user. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1   a , the interface  104  is in the form of a touchscreen. A controller coupled to the control panel causes the device to operate in a number of modes in response to the operational instructions from the user received via the user interface  104 . 
     The device also comprises a transport mechanism adapted to transport bills, one at a time, from the input hopper  102  to one or more of the output receptacles  116 ,  118  based on one or more criteria. The device comprises one or more sensors which can be employed to count, denominate, authenticate, image, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, analyze and/or image the bills. The results of the above process or processes may be used to determine to which output receptacle  116 , 118  a bill is to be directed. In general, the one or more sensors which are employed to count, denominate, authenticate, image, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, analyze and/or image the bills in conjunction with one or more processors associated with these sensors may be referred to as a discriminating unit and the location or locations of the sensors along a transport path may be referred to an examination region or regions. In some embodiments, all these sensors may be located in close proximity so as to define a single examination or evaluation region while in other embodiments the sensors may be located in different regions along the transport path so that several examination regions exist. 
     For example, the device  100  may be adapted to determine the denomination of the bills placed into the input hopper and then sort the bills into the various output receptacles based on their denomination, e.g., $1 bills may be routed to pocket  116   a , $2 bills to pocket  116   b , $5 bills to pocket  116   c , $10 bills to pocket  116   d , $20 bills to pocket  118   a , $50 bills to pocket  118   b , and $100 bills to pocket  118   c . In some embodiments, pocket  118   d  may be used as a reject pocket and used to receive bills or documents which cannot be denominated as having one of the above seven U.S. denominations, bills suspected to be counterfeit (suspect bills), and/or bills or documents meeting or failing to meet some other criterion. 
     According to some embodiments currency bills are placed in the input receptacle  102  with their wide edges generally parallel to the front of the machine, that is parallel to the X-axis as indicated in  FIG. 1   a . The currency bills are fed from the input receptacle, one by one, inward wide-edge leading into the device  100 . 
       FIG. 1   b  illustrates the sorter  100  of  FIG. 1   a  with some dimensional indications. According to one embodiment of the multi-pocket sorter  100  is compact having a height (H 1 ) of about 27 inches (about 68.6 cm), width (W 1 ) of about 44 inches (about 111.8 cm), and a depth (D 1 ) of about 25.5 inches (about 64.8 cm) and weighs approximately 250 lbs. (about 113.4 kg). A central section  120  has a width (W 1M ) of about 14 inches (35.6 cm). A left section  126  has a width (W 1L ) of about 15 inches (about 38.1 cm). A right section  128  has a width (W 1R ) of about 15 inches (about 38.1 cm). Thus according to some embodiments an eight output receptacle sorter is provided which has a footprint (width×depth) of less than about 1122 in 2  (about 7.8 ft 2 ) (about 7250 cm 2 ) and a volume of less than about 30,300 in 3  (about 17.5 ft 3 ) (about ½ m 3 ). 
       FIG. 1   c  is a generalized block diagram of a device  100   a  such as device  100 . Bills are transported from an input receptacle  102   a  past one or more sensor of a discriminating unit  106  and to one of a plurality of output receptacles  117 . The device  100   a  may have any of a variety configurations. In general, the device  100   a  may be configured as described in connection with  FIGS. 1-17  and  20 . Along these lines, the device  100   a  may be the device of any of  FIGS. 1   a ,  1   b ,  1   f ,  8   a - 12   d ,  14   a - 15   c , and  20 . 
       FIG. 2   a  illustrates an example of a bill  200  that may be processed according to some embodiments of the present invention. The bill is rectangular and has four edges, two wide edges  200   a  and  200   c  and two narrow edges  200   b  and  200   d . In the example illustrated in  FIG. 2   a , the bill  200  is transported in direction A. In such embodiment, the bill is transported such that one of the wide edges, namely  200   a , is the leading edge. According to some embodiments, as described in more detail below, the device transports a bill from the input hopper to one of the laterally offset output receptacles while maintaining the same edge of the bill as leading throughout the transportation process. 
     Turning to  FIG. 2   b , an input hopper  202  and a laterally offset output receptacle  208  of a currency processing device  100  ( FIG. 1   a ) are illustrated. The lower-most dashed line in  FIG. 2   b  represents a front edge  250  of the currency processing device  100 . According to one embodiment of the present invention, the input hopper  202  functionally depicts the input hopper  102  and the laterally offset output receptacle  208  functionally depicts one of the output receptacles  116   a - d  and  118   a - d  of  FIGS. 1   a,b.    
     A bill  200  is shown as having been placed in the input hopper  202 . The input hopper  202  is generally rectangular in shape having a wide rear side  202   a  that is parallel to a wide front side  202   c  and a narrow right side  202   b  that is parallel to a narrow left side  202   d . The front side  202   c  is the side from which bills are inserted into the input hopper  202  by an operator (i.e., the front side  202   c  is closest to the operator inserting bills into the input hopper  202 ). The bill  200  also has a rectangular shape having two wide sides  200   a  and  200   c  and two narrow sides  200   b  and  200   d . Similar to the input hopper  202 , the output receptacle  208  is generally rectangular in shape having a wide rear side  208   a  that is parallel to a wide front side  208   c  and a narrow right side  208   b  that is parallel to a narrow left side  208   b.    
     Bills are fed from the rear side  202   a  of the input hopper  202  in the direction indicated by arrow A 2  such that the leading edge  200   a  of the bill(s)  200  is the wide edge  200   a  of the bill. The bills  200  are transported from the input hopper  200  and delivered to the output receptacle  208  by a transport mechanism, which is described in detail below in connection with  FIGS. 4-5   f  according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment illustrated, bills are fed into the output receptacle  208  from the rear side  208   a  of the output receptacle  208  as indicated by arrow B 2 . In some embodiments, the front side  202   c  of the input hopper  202  is parallel to the front side  250  of the currency processing device  100 . In some embodiments, the front side  208   c  of the output receptacle  208  (the side from which bills are removed by an operator) is parallel to the front side  250  of the currency processing device  100 . In the illustrated embodiment, both the front side  202   c  of the input hopper  202  and the front side  208   c  of the output receptacle  208  are parallel to the front side  250  of the currency processing device  100 —similar to the arrangement depicted in  FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b.    
     The output receptacle  208  has been described as being “laterally offset.” The term “laterally offset” describes the physical location of an output receptacle  208  relative to the input hopper  202  using the initial direction of bill travel (A 2  in  FIG. 2   b ) as a frame of reference according to one embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 2   b , the output receptacle  208  is laterally offset from the side wall  202   a  of the input hopper  202  because the output receptacle  208  is disposed to the right of the side wall  202   b  of the input hopper  208  as defined by the direction A 2  from which bills are removed or fed from the input hopper. As illustrated in  FIG. 2   b , given that bills are fed from the input hopper  202  through the rear side  202   a  in direction A 2 , the left side of the input hopper  202   d  defines a plane L I  and the right side of input hopper  202   b  defines a right plane R I . The area between planes L I  and R I  defines the lateral position of the input hopper. An output receptacle  208  that is not disposed between planes L I  and R I  is laterally offset from the input hopper  202 —laterally offset to the right in  FIG. 2   b . Accordingly, output receptacle  208  is laterally offset from input hopper  202  because it does not lie within the space defined by planes L I  and R I  according to one embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, output receptacle  208  is positioned entirely to the right of the right plane R I . 
     While  FIG. 2   b  shows that the centers C I  and C O  of the input hopper  200  and output receptacle  208 , respectively, are substantially linearly aligned along a line normal to the center-plane CP I  of the input hopper  208 , such linear alignment is not required for the output receptacle  208  to be laterally offset with respect to the input receptacle. (The center-plane CP I  defines a vertical plane that passes through the center of the input hopper  202  and is parallel to the direction of bill travel A 2  out of the input hopper  202 .) Thus, if  FIG. 2   b  were modified to shift the output receptacle  208  toward the top of the page, the output receptacle  208  remains laterally offset from the input hopper  202  in this modified  FIG. 2   b . Turning briefly to  FIG. 1   a  as an example, the centers of each of the output receptacles  116   a - b  and  118   a - d  are laterally offset to the left (output receptacle  116   a - d ) or to the right (output receptacle  118   a - d ) of the input hopper  102  relative to the direction of the initial bill transport out of the input hopper  102 . 
     In other embodiments of the present invention, the center C O  of the output receptacle  208  may be laterally offset to the right or to the left of the center C I  of the input hopper  202 . In  FIG. 2   b , the center C O  of the output receptacle  208  is laterally offset from the center C I  of the input hopper  202  in a direction normal to the direction of bill travel A 2  out of the input hopper  202 . However, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the centers C I , C O  may be laterally offset but the left side  208   d  or the right side  208   b  of the output receptacle may fall within the area between planes L I  and R I  of the input receptacle  208 . In such embodiments, the center C O  of the output receptacle  208  would be laterally offset from the center C I  of the input receptacle, but the output receptacle  208  would not be laterally offset from a side  202   b,d  of the input hopper  208  because a portion of the output receptacle  208  (e.g., the left edge  208   d  or the right edge  208   b ) lies in the area between planes L I  and R I  of the input hopper  202 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a portion of a transport mechanism  300  that may be employed, for example, in connection with device  100  of  FIG. 1   a . In this embodiment, there is a central-vertical-currency-bill-rotating mechanism  310  which receives currency bills from the centrally-located-input-receptacle section  102 . Bills from the input hopper enter the portion of the transport mechanism illustrated in  FIG. 3  at the top  310   a  of central-rotating mechanism  310  and are transported downward to the bottom  310   b  of the central-rotating mechanism. As will be discussed in connection with  FIG. 5   a , the bills are rotated during this downward movement through central-rotating mechanism  310 . From the bottom  310   b  of central rotating mechanism  310 , the bills are then transported either to the left along a left-horizontal-transporting mechanism  320  or right along a right-horizontal-transporting mechanism  330 . 
     Bills exiting the left end of the left-horizontal-transport mechanism  320  enter a left-vertical-currency-bill-rotating mechanism  340  at the bottom  340   b  and then are transported upward toward the top  340   a  of the vertical-rotating mechanism  340 . The bills are rotated during this upward movement through the left-rotating mechanism  340 . 
     In a similar fashion, bills exiting the right end of the right-horizontal-transport mechanism  330  enter a right-vertical-currency-bill-rotating mechanism  350  at the bottom  350   b  and then are transported upward toward the top  350   a  of the vertical-rotating mechanism  340 . The bills are rotated during this upward movement through the left-rotating mechanism  340 . 
     The left-horizontal-transport mechanism  320  and the left-vertical-currency-bill-rotating mechanism  340  make up a left section  360 L of the transport mechanism  300 . The right-horizontal-transport bed  330  and the right-vertical-currency-bill-rotating mechanism  350  make up right section  360 R of the transport mechanism  300 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 4   a , a perspective view of the currency bill flow sequence within the compact-multi-pocket device  100  of  FIG. 1   a  is depicted without the complication of the transport mechanism  300  according to one embodiment of the present invention. Depicted in  FIG. 4   a  is the flow of currency bills in three planes without changing the wide-leading-edge orientation or the transport speed of the currency bill. The currency bills are fed, one by one, from a stack of currency bills  400  residing in the input hopper  102  at location I with the wide leading edge  200   a  parallel to the X-axis as shown in  FIG. 4   a . As placed in the input receptacle, the leading edge  200   a  is parallel to the X-axis. The bills  400  are depicted as having the back right (as viewed in  FIG. 4   a ) corners removed so that the movement of the bills from location I to location VI or IX can be more easily tracked. 
     A currency bill then moves from location I to location II along the upward path indicated by locations  402   a - 402   d . The movement of the center of a bill moving from location  402   a  to  402   b  to  402   c  and to  402   d  can be specified with its changes along the Z-axis (vertical as viewed in  FIG. 4   a ) and the Y-axis (depth or front-to-back as viewed in  FIG. 4   a ). During this portion of the transport, the location of the center of the bill  400  does not change in the X-axis (left-right as viewed in  FIG. 4   a ). Due to the direction of motion of the center of a bill  400  between locations I and II, the direction of the bill movement of the center of the bill  400  can be altered by diverting the leading edge  200   a  of the bill about a line parallel to the X-axis. Such diversion of the leading edge  200   a  about a line parallel to the X-axis can change the direction of motion of the bill as defined by the Y-axis and the Z-axis (front/back and up/down) but does not change the direction of the bill with respect to the X-axis (left/right). Throughout the movement of the bill from location I to location II the leading edge  200   a  of a bill remains parallel to the X-axis. 
     According to some embodiments, the evaluation region or regions are located between locations I and II. For example,  FIG. 4   b  illustrates an exemplary location of one or more sensors of a discriminating unit  106 . In other embodiments, some or all of the sensors of the discriminating unit are located in different areas along the transport path. 
     The leading edge  200   a  of a bill moves upward and backward (i.e., into the page) from location I to location II until it is turned in a downward direction at location II disposed at the top  310   a  of the vertical-rotating mechanism  310 . A currency bill is then fed downward from location II to location III. As a currency bill is fed downward, it is rotated about a line parallel to the Z-axis while following the path indicated by locations  402   f - 402   h  as shown. That is, the leading edge  200   a  is rotated from being parallel to the X-axis to not being parallel to the X-axis. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4   a , the leading edge  200   a  is rotated about 90° from being parallel to the X-axis to being parallel to the Y-axis. By rotating the leading edge  200   a  from being along a line parallel to the X-axis to a line which is not parallel to the X-axis, the direction of the movement of the center of the bill  400  may now be altered in the X-axis by diverting the leading edge of the bill about a line parallel to the leading edge of the bill. 
     When a currency bill reaches the lower limit of travel, indicated by location III, the rotation is complete and the leading edge  200   a  of the bill is now parallel to the Y-axis. The currency bill may be diverted in the X-direction either to the left toward location  404  or to the right toward location  407  by diverting the leading edge  200   a  of the bill about a line parallel to the Y-axis. 
     According to some embodiments, a bill diverted to the left travels horizontally from location III toward location IV. The movement of the center of a bill  400  moving between locations III and IV can be specified with its change along the X-axis (their being no changes in the Z-axis in this example given that the transport direction is horizontal—see e.g., the embodiment of  FIG. 5   b ). During this portion of the bill transport, the location of the center of the bill  400  does not change in the Y-axis (front to back). Due to the direction of motion of the center of a bill between locations III and IV and the leading edge  200   a  being parallel to the Y-axis, the direction of the bill movement of the center of the bill can be altered by diverting the leading edge  200   a  of the bill about a line parallel to the Y-axis. Such diversion of the leading edge  200   a  about a line parallel to the Y-axis can change the direction of motion of the bill as defined by the X and Z axes (left/right and up/down), but does not change the direction of the bill with respect to the Y-axis (front/back). Throughout the movement of the bill from location III to location IV the leading edge  200   a  of the bill remains parallel to the Y-axis. According to other embodiments, such as seen in  FIGS. 3 and 5   c , the transport path between locations II and III and/or locations III and VII is not completely flat but contains some vertical component. 
     At the end of the horizontal path, the currency bill is diverted upwards at location IV to vertical path  410 . During the upward feed (between locations IV and V) a currency bill is rotated as shown at  406   a  and  406   b  until the wide leading edge  200   a  of the currency bill is again parallel to the X-axis. More specifically, as a currency bill is fed upward, it is rotated about a line parallel to the Z-axis while following path  410 . That is, the leading edge  200   a  is rotated from being parallel to the Y-axis to not being parallel to the Y-axis. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4   a , the leading edge  200   a  is rotated 90 degrees from being parallel to the Y-axis to being parallel to the X-axis. By rotating the leading edge  200   a  from being along a line parallel to the Y-axis to a line which is not parallel to the Y-axis, the direction of the movement of the center of the bill may now be altered in the Y-axis by diverting the leading edge of the bill about a line parallel to the leading edge of the bill. 
     At the top of the upward travel, indicated by location V, the leading edge  200   a  of a currency bill is diverted about a line parallel to the X-axis. As illustrated in  FIG. 4   a , the direction of motion is altered from an upward direction to a direction downward and forward as shown at  406   c  and  406   d . The bill is directed to one of the left side output receptacles  116   a - 116   d  ( FIG. 1 ) as indicated by locations  416   a - 416   d , respectively. 
     Returning to location III and with respect to a bill diverted to the right toward location  407 , the transportation is similar to that described above with respect to a bill diverted to the left at location III. According to some embodiments, a bill diverted to the right travels horizontally from location III toward location VII. The movement of the center of a bill moving between locations III and IV can be specified with its change along the X-axis (their being no changes in the Z-axis in this example given that the transport direction is horizontal). During this portion of the transport mechanism, the location of the center of the bill does not change with respect to the Y-axis (front to back). Due to the direction of motion of the center of a bill between locations III and VII and the leading edge  200   a  being parallel to the Y-axis, the direction of the bill movement of the center of the bill can be altered by diverting the leading edge  200   a  of the bill about a line parallel to the Y-axis. Such diversion of the leading edge  200   a  about a line parallel to the Y-axis can change the direction of motion of the bill as defined by the X and Z axes (left/right and up/down), but does not change the direction of the bill with respect to the Y-axis (front/back). Throughout the movement of the bill from location III to location VII, the leading edge  200   a  of the bill remains parallel to the Y-axis. 
     At the end of the horizontal path, the currency bill  400  is diverted upwards at location VII to vertical path  412 . During the upward feed (between locations VII and VIII) a currency bill is rotated as shown at  408   a  and  408   b  until the wide leading edge  200   a  of the currency bill is again parallel to the X-axis as shown at location  406   b . More specifically, as a currency bill is fed upward, it is rotated about a line parallel to the Z-axis while following path  412 . That is, the leading edge  200   a  is rotated from being parallel to the Y-axis to not being parallel to the Y-axis. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4   a , the leading edge  200   a  is rotated 90° from being parallel to the Y-axis to being parallel to the X-axis. By rotating the leading edge  200   a  from being along a line parallel to the Y-axis to a line which is not parallel to the Y-axis, the direction of the movement of the center of the bill  400  may now be altered in the Y-axis by diverting the leading edge  200   a  of the bill about a line parallel to the leading edge of the bill  400 . 
     At the upper-most point of the right side, indicated by location VIII, the leading edge  200   a  of a currency bill is diverted about a line parallel to the X-axis. As illustrated in  FIG. 4   a , the direction of motion is altered from an upward direction to a downward and forward direction (out of the page) as shown at  408   c  and  408   d . The bill is directed to one of the right side output receptacles  118   a - 118   d  ( FIG. 1 ) as indicated by locations  418   a - 418   d , respectively. 
     As is apparent from the above discussion and  FIG. 4   a , the above procedure permits a bill to be moved laterally with respect to its feed direction without changing the leading edge of the bill. For example, a bill can be moved from location  402   e  (location II) to the laterally offset location  408   c  (location VIII) without changing the leading edge from edge  200   a . Furthermore, the above procedure permits a bill  400  to be moved to a laterally offset position with respect to a feed direction while maintaining the transport speed of the bill constant. For example, a bill  400  can be moved from traveling along a direction from I and II to traveling along a laterally offset direction such as VIII-IX without having to stop the transportation of the bill  400 , for example, at location II and moving it sideways to location VIII (making edge  200   b  the leading edge). Thus according to some embodiments bills can be fed from an input receptacle and stacked in a laterally offset output receptacle while maintaining the same feeding and stacking orientation of the bills, i.e., wide edge leading. 
     One example of a bill rotating mechanism  510  that may be used as the bill rotating mechanism  312  of  FIG. 3 , will now be described with reference to  FIG. 5   a . As illustrated in  FIG. 5   a , the bill rotating mechanism  510  may be in the form of a two-belt currency bill rotating mechanism comprising a first belt  512  and a second belt  514 . Each of the first and the second belts  512 ,  514  forms a continuous loop. The belts  512 ,  514  are disposed adjacent to each other such that the opposing surfaces of each belt  512 ,  514  form a currency bill transport path  516  therebetween. The bill rotating mechanism  510  has an inlet end  510   a  and an outlet end  510   b . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5   a , the inlet end  510   a  is a top end and the outlet end  510   b  is a bottom end, although any orientation is possible. 
     Starting from the inlet end  510   a  of the mechanism  510 , the first belt  512  is disposed about a first roller  522  and the second belt  514  is disposed about a second roller  526 . The first roller  522  is disposed adjacent to the second roller  526 . Each roller  522 ,  526  is connected to and rotates about a respective shaft  527 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5   a , shafts  527  and rollers  522 ,  526  are oriented parallel to the X-axis. 
     At the outlet end  510   b  of the rotating mechanism  510 , a second end of the first belt  512  is disposed about a third roller  524  and a second end of the second belt  514  is disposed about a fourth roller  528 . The third roller  524  is disposed adjacent to the fourth roller  528 . Each roller  524 ,  528  is connected to and rotates about a respective shaft  529 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5   a , shafts  529  and rollers  524 , 528  are oriented parallel to the Y-axis. Accordingly, the orientation of the outlet end  510   b  is rotated approximately 90° with respect to the inlet end  510   a  of the rotating mechanism. In some embodiments the degree of rotation may be between 0-90° such as, for example, 45°. 
     As described above, the second or bottom end of the first and the second belts  512 ,  514  are twisted approximately 90° with respect to a first or upper end of the first and the second belts  512 ,  514 . 
     According to some embodiments, the adjacent surfaces of belts  512 ,  514  are in contact with each other where no bill is located therebetween. The complementary rotation of the belts  512 ,  514  (here the adjacent surfaces both moving in a downward direction as viewed in  FIG. 5   a ) moves bills therebetween along the transport part  516  (here in a downward direction). In some embodiments, when a currency bill  200  is inserted between the inwardly rotating belts  512 ,  514  the currency bill is transported between the belts  512 ,  514  by contact friction. According to some embodiments, the belts  512 ,  514  form the only active mechanisms for driving bills along the transport path  516  from the inlet end  510   a  to the outlet end  510   b  of the bill rotating mechanism  510 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, a currency bill  200  is transported through the rotating mechanism  510  with the long or wide edge  200   a  of the currency bill  200  leading. The width of the bill  200  is greater than the width of the first and the second belts  512 ,  514  causing a significant portion of the currency bill  200  to overhang each edge of the belts  512 ,  514 . Because of the high processing rate at which the currency bill handling devices described herein can operate (e.g., 800 to 1600 bills per minute), a significant angular velocity is imparted to a currency bill directed through the rotating mechanism  510   b . For example, some embodiments of the currency handling devices described herein are operated at speeds in excess of 1200 currency bills per minute. The differences in air pressures acting on the front and the back surfaces areas of the currency bill  200  as the bill is twisted or rotated can cause the bill  200  to fold or be forced such that the bill is no longer being transported in a substantially flat manner. This situation can occur more readily when the currency bill stiffness is degraded due to wear resulting from heavy usage. Additionally, currency bills are often folded in a variety of manners which may cause a currency bill to be biased in a certain direction such that the currency bill will not lie flat under its own weight. 
     According to some embodiments, it is preferable for the currency bill  200  to be transported through the rotating mechanism  510  (and the currency handling device  100 ) in a substantially flat manner. If the bill  200  is not substantially flat when traveling, either into the bill rotating mechanism  510  at inlet end  510   a  or out of the rotating mechanism  510  at outlet end  510   b , there is a possibility that the bill may become skewed or jammed. 
     According to some embodiments, the currency bill rotating mechanism  510  also comprises two guides  532 ,  534  disposed along the transport path  516 . In some embodiments the guides  532  and  534  may be made of a rigid material. The guides  532 ,  534  provide support to portions of the currency bill  200  that overhang the belts  512 ,  514 . These guides  532 ,  534  aid in preventing a bill from folding during its transport through the rotating mechanism  510 . These guides can also aid in maintaining a bill in a substantially flat manner during its transport through the rotating mechanism  510 . 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5   a , the movement of the currency bill  200  is depicted in the downward direction through the rotating mechanism  510 . In alternative embodiments or usage of a rotating mechanism  510  within the currency bill transport mechanism  300 , the direction of currency bill movement may be in an upward direction (e.g., rotating mechanisms  340  and  350  of  FIG. 3 ) or in any other direction. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5   b , a side view of one embodiment of the horizontal left and right transport mechanisms  520 ,  530  is illustrated. Each horizontal transport mechanism comprises an upper belt unit  546  and a lower belt unit  556 . A perspective view of alternative left and right transport mechanisms  320 ,  330  is shown in  FIG. 5   c . Each upper belt unit  546  comprises two shafts  544 ,  545  which are journalled in frames rigidly attached to an internal frame  601  ( FIG. 5   c ). In  FIG. 5   c , the frames are only partially shown for clarity. According to some embodiments, there are three equally spaced continuous loop belts  580   a - c  which are looped around rollers  548   a - d  and  549   a - d  on the respective shafts  544  and  545 . In some embodiments, such as shown in  FIG. 5   c , there are four equally spaced continuous loop belts  580   a - d  which are looped around rollers  548   a - d  and  549   a - d  on the respective shafts  544  and  545 . Each lower belt unit  556  comprises a journalled shaft  552  which has equally spaced grooves to accept three continuous belts  590   a - c  (or four belts  590   a - d ). Each lower belt unit  556  also comprises rollers  551   a - c  and  555   a - c  (or  551   a - d  and  555   a - d ) disposed on journalled shafts  550  and  554 , respectively. The continuous belts  590  are looped around the rollers  551  and  555  and in the grooves of the shaft  552 . 
     The upper belt unit  546  and the lower belt unit  556  are disposed so that the opposing surfaces of each belt  580   a - c  (or  580   a - d ) of the upper unit  546  and  590   a - c  (or  590   a - d ) of the lower unit  556  come in contact with each other and form a currency bill transport path  558  therebetween. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5   b , the currency bills are transported horizontally between the belt assemblies  546  and  556  with their wide edges leading. The flow of the currency bills in the left-horizontal-transport mechanism  520  is from right to left as indicated by the arrow A 1  and the flow of the currency bills in the right-horizontal-transport-mechanism  530  is from left to right also as indicated by arrow A 2 . 
     Although  FIG. 5   b  depicts a space between the upper  546  and lower  556  units of the horizontal transport mechanisms  520  and  530  for clarity. According to some embodiments, the respective belts  580  and  590  are in frictional contact with each other. The frictional coupling between the belts  580  and  590  of the upper and lower units  546 ,  556  of the horizontal transport mechanism  520  and  530  (forming transport paths  558 ) and between the belts  512  and  514  of the rotating mechanisms (forming the transport path  516 ) of  FIG. 5   a  transfer mechanical energy to currency bills being transported and according to some embodiments may also mechanically transfer drive energy through the apparatus. 
     Although  FIGS. 5   a - 5   f  depict the transport mechanism comprising a system of belts, the transports systems can be comprised of a system of plates and rollers or vacuum belts or other types of transport systems. For example, the bills may be transported between two plates wherein driven rollers extend through apertures in one of the plates (e.g., a lower plate) and passive rollers extend through apertures in the other plate (e.g., an upper plate) that are in counter-rotating contact to drive a bill along a transport path defined by the two plates. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 5   c - 5   f , one embodiment of the transport mechanism  300  for transporting bills from the input receptacle ( FIG. 1   a ) to an output receptacle  116   a - d  and  118   a - d  is illustrated and will be described.  FIG. 5   c  is a frontal, downward looking perspective view of a portion of transport mechanism  300 .  FIG. 5   d  is a front view,  FIG. 5   e  is a top view, and  FIG. 5   f  is a side view of a portion of one embodiment of transport mechanism  300 . Currency bills enter the portion of the transport mechanism  300  at the top of the middle rotating mechanism  310  as depicted above in  FIG. 3 . The leading edge of the currency bills, oriented parallel to the X-axis, are then fed downward by the rotating mechanism  310  where at the bottom, the leading edge of the currency bills are oriented parallel to the Y-axis. As the currency bills exit the bottom of the rotating mechanism  310  they encounter a diverter device  561 . In the embodiment depicted, the diverter  561  includes a plurality of flanges mounted across the transport path between the rollers  549  of the left and right transport mechanisms  320  and  330  and aligned to the transport paths  558  of each transport mechanism  320  and  330 . Note, the left and right transport mechanisms  320 ,  330  vary slightly from the embodiments of the horizontal transport mechanism  520 ,  530  of  FIG. 5   d  in that the transport mechanisms  320 ,  330  comprise additional rollers  584  rotationally mounted on shaft  582 . As a result of the positioning of roller  584 , the transport paths  558  are no longer horizontal but contain some upward and downward direction. Referring to  FIG. 5   d , as a bill exits the rotating mechanism  310  and is directed to the right toward rotating mechanism  350 , the bill first travels slightly upward and to the right until it reaches the location of roller  584  and then it travels slightly downward and to the right until it reaches roller  548 . 
     There are sensors throughout the transport mechanism  300  which track the flow of the currency bills. In response to sorting criterion or criteria, a controller may generate a control signal causing the diverter  561  to divert a particular bill to either the left or right transport path. The control signal may be generated, at least on part, on data derived from one or more sensors which are employed to count, denominate, authenticate, determine fitness, image, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze and/or image a particular bill. A currency bill diverted to the left transport mechanism  520  is depicted by bill  564  in  FIG. 5   b . The sensor tracking information is also used to direct a particular currency bill to the appropriate destination output receptacle pocket. 
     The currency bills are transported along the transport path  558  of the selected transport mechanism  320 / 520  or  330 / 530  as shown by, for example, bill  560  in  FIG. 5   b . The placement of the rollers  548  and  551  are such that the currency bill changes direction from a generally horizontal path to a vertical path where the lower rollers  524 ,  528  ( FIG. 5   a ) of the respective rotating mechanisms  340 ,  350  make contact with the leading edge of the currency bill to transport the currency bill upwards as shown by bill  562  in  FIG. 5   b . The currency bills are then transported upwards and are re-oriented so that their leading edges  200   a  are parallel to the X-axis and then are directed downward toward output receptacles  116 ,  118  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     According to some embodiments, the portion of the transport mechanism  300  depicted in  FIG. 5   c  may be driven by a single motor  508 , which imparts its energy through the frictional coupling of the belts and rollers of the mechanism. According to such embodiments, the motor  508  and all of the components of the transport mechanism  300 , including the vertical rotating mechanisms  310 ,  340 ,  350  and the left and right transport mechanisms  320 , 330 , are in frictional contact through the belts and rollers. Thus, a substantially constant speed is maintained for the transport of the currency bills throughout the transport mechanism  300 . Due to the high transport rate several currency bills may be located at spaced intervals throughout the transport mechanism  300 . 
     The input path (the path from location I to location II shown in  FIG. 4   a ) includes the input receptacle  102 , which in the embodiment depicted in  FIGS. 1   a,b  is located in the center of the multi-pocket currency device  100 . According to some embodiments, the currency bills are stacked wide leading edge forward in the input receptacle  102 . The bills are fed upwards at an angle to the top where they are diverted by a curved diverter plate at location II ( FIG. 4   a ) so that the wide leading edge is directed between rollers of the rotating mechanism  310 . 
     According to some embodiments, one or more sensors which can be employed to count, denominate, authenticate, determine fitness, image, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills may be disposed between locations I and II. Examples of a variety of such sensors (e.g., magnetic sensors, thread sensors, ultraviolet/fluorescent sensors, image sensors, etc.) are described or referred to in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,687,963; 6,311,819; 6,278,795 B1; 6,256,407; 6,363,164; and 6,661,910; as well as in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/379,365, which was filed Mar. 4, 2003 and entitled “Currency Processing System with Fitness Detection” and Ser. No. 10/684,027, which was filed Oct. 10, 2003 and entitled “Multi-Wavelength Currency Authentication System and Method”—all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Fitness detection/evaluation may include the evaluation of a bill&#39;s limpness and/or the detection of the presence of soil, tape, holes, tears, missing corners, and/or graffiti. 
     Additionally or alternatively, the device may contain one or more imagers or image sensors adapted to retrieve the image of all or a portion or portions of one or both surfaces of passing currency bills. These image sensors may be co-located or remote from the other sensors described above. In other embodiments, the image sensors  108  may replace one or more of the various additional sensors. 
     Sensors which generate data which are used to count, denominate, authenticate, determine fitness and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills, whether they are image sensors or non-image sensors, will collectively be referred to as bill or document characteristic sensors. The discriminating unit comprises one or more characteristic sensors. 
     According to some embodiments, data from the image sensors may be stored internally and/or externally to the device  100  such that the image of all or a portion of currency bills and/or other documents which have been imaged by the device  100  may be reproduced. For example, in some embodiments, where a bill has been imaged, a detailed image of the bill may be reproduced, for example, on a computer monitor and/or printed. According to some embodiments the image is of such quality as to be human readable, e.g., the image is similar in quality to that generated by a photocopier or facsimile machine. 
       FIG. 1   d  is a block diagram of a device  100   b  such as device  100  or  100   a  having an imager  106   a . Bills are transported from an input receptacle  102  past the imager  106   a  and to one of a plurality of output receptacles  117 . The device  100   a  may have any of a variety configurations. For example,  FIG. 1   e  illustrates a configuration of a device  100   b  having an imager  106   a  according to an embodiment of the present invention. In general, the device  100   b  may be configured as described in connection with  FIGS. 1-17  and  20 . Along these lines, the device  100   b  may be the device of any of  FIGS. 1   a ,  1   b ,  1   f ,  8   a - 12   d ,  14   a - 15   c , and  20 . 
     The imager  106   a  may include one or more image sensors as discussed above. For example, the imager  106   a  may include one or more image sensors for recording images of the currency bills as they are passed through the transport mechanism. According to some embodiments, the imager  106   a  captures, via an imaging camera and/or scanner, an electronic image of all or part of one or both sides of a passing currency bill. The imager  106   a  may provide either raw image data or an image file to a controller or processor. Processing of the raw image data may be performed by the controller or at another location. 
     The electronic image may be analyzed by software for an indicia, such as a serial number, watermark, etc., to determine the validity, denomination, etc. of the currency bill. Once the validity, denomination, etc. is determined from the image, a control signal may be sent to various portions of the device  100 , such as diverters, for routing the currency bill to the appropriate output receptacle. After processing, the electronic image may be stored on one or more storage media, such as hard drives, CD-ROMs, or DVDs, for example all of which may be co-located with the device  100 , remote from the device  100 , or pluggable/portable. Moreover, the image of a currency bill or other document may also be electronically indexed or cross-referenced, simplifying future image retrieval and archiving. 
     Once the image is captured, data may be extracted from the image and appended to the image file to aid in retrieval or searching of image files as noted above. In other embodiments, data such as transaction data, location data, time stamp data, employee ID data, currency bill serial numbers, etc. may be appended to the image file for indexing and searching purposes. In addition, the extracted data or additional data may be maintained separate from the image file and used by other portions of systems utilized in conjunction with the document processing device  100 . 
     According to some embodiments, data derived from the imager  106   a  is used to denominate, authenticate, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, data derived from the imager  106   a  is used, in conjunction with data derived from other sensors, to denominate, authenticate, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills. In some embodiments, the imager  106   a  is used to simply obtain images of passing documents, e.g., for storage and/or subsequent retrieval purposes, while other sensors obtain the data used to denominate, authenticate, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills. In some embodiments, the imager  106   a  is used to both obtain images of passing documents, e.g., for storage and/or subsequent retrieval purposes, and also to denominate, authenticate, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills, alone or in conjunction with data derived from other sensors. 
       FIG. 1   e  illustrates a detailed view of an imager  106   a  in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. As noted above, the imager  106   a  may include one or more sensors  108  for capturing images of the currency bill. In the depicted embodiment, the imager  106   a  includes an upper image sensor  108   a  for capturing an image of all or part of the upper side of a currency bill and a lower image sensor  108   b  for capturing an image of all or part of the lower side of a currency bill. Additional or fewer image sensors  108  may be incorporated as desired. The image sensors  108  may be optical scanheads that may, for example, line or contact image scan an optical characteristic of the currency bill to identify the denomination. Associated with each image sensor  108  is an imaging sensor printed circuit board (PCB)  110 . In the depicted embodiment an upper imaging sensor PCB  110   a  is associated with the upper image sensor  108   a  and a lower imaging sensor PCB  110   b  is associated with the lower image sensor  108   b , although other arrangements are possible. 
       FIG. 1   f  is a perspective view illustrating of a multi-pocket currency sorter  100   b  having an imager  106   a  according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 1   g  illustrates a block diagram of various components of the device  100   a . The imager  106   a , as noted above, may include one or more upper and/or lower image sensors  108 . In addition, the imager  106   a  may include various additional sensors  112  that may also be located along an upper, lower, or both sides of the transport path between locations I and II as noted in more detail with reference to  FIG. 4 . The image sensors  108  and optional additional sensors  112  transmit information (e.g., a captured image, fitness data, denomination data, etc.) to a controller  113 . The controller  113  may communicate the received data or images to the user interface  104 , an optional printer  114 , and/or a storage medium  115 . The storage medium  115  may also store information allowing the controller  113  to evaluate the captured image. For example, the controller  113  may receive the captured image, retrieve data from the storage medium  115 , and evaluate the denomination, fitness, etc. of the bill. The controller  113  may also direct the diverters (not shown) to pass the currency bill to a particular output receptacle based on the captured image and/or other data. The controller  113  may direct various portions of the device  100  based on control signals received from any one or more of the image sensors  108  and the additional sensors  112 . 
     According to some embodiments, the currency bills inserted into an input hopper only need to be aligned along the wide edge of the currency bill for the compact multi-pocket device  100  to function correctly. According to other embodiments, the input hopper has adjustable side walls that remain centered with the center of the input hopper as the walls are adjusted so that bills placed therein are aligned with the center of the input hopper. In such an embodiment, each bill within a stack of bills placed in the input hopper does not need to be precisely aligned with the center of the input hopper. The transport mechanism will tolerate—be able to handle—some left/right shifting of the bills. Likewise, in some embodiments wherein bills are aligned with a left or right wall of the input hopper, precise aliment is not necessary as the transport mechanism will tolerate some shifting of the bills. 
     In some sorters, an operator is required to align two edges of bills placed into an input hopper  602  along two edges of the bills such as edges  200   a  and  200   b  shown in  FIG. 6   a . Referring to  FIG. 6   a , in some devices, in order to get the required two-edge alignment of bills, the operator may need to tap or push the stack of bills against a back  602   a  and a side  602   b  of the hopper  602 . However, according to some embodiments of the present invention, bills need only be generally aligned along one edge such as the rear or leading edge  200   a . Referring to  FIG. 6   b , an operator need only push or tap the bills against rear edge  602   a  of the input hopper. Of course, in both the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b  the stack of bills must be laterally positioned within the side walls  602   b  and  602   c  of the input hopper; however, in the embodiment of  FIG. 6   a , the bills must be pushed against or generally aligned with one of the side walls and the rear wall whereas in  FIG. 6   b  the lateral positioning of the bills is allowed to shift left and right within the tolerances of the width of the input hopper (the distance between side walls  602   b  and  602   c ). According to some embodiments, a tolerance of four-tenths of an inch ( 4/10″) is provided, that is, the width of the input hopper is dimensioned to be 4/10 inch wider than the width of the widest bill to be accommodated within the hopper. One embodiment of an input receptacle is described and illustrated in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,963, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Discriminating and Counting Documents” which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     According to some embodiments, the input hopper is adapted to accept bills with their wide edge parallel to the front of the machine. Such an arrangement does not require the operator holding a stack of bills about the middle of the bills with the palm of the hand extending over a wide edge of the bills to have to twist his or her wrist to insert the stack of bills into the hopper as would be the case if the input hopper required bills to inserted such that a narrow edge of the bills was parallel to the front of the machine. 
     According to other embodiments, the input hopper is adapted to accept bills with their narrow edge parallel to the front of the machine—see, e.g.,  FIG. 20  and the accompanying discussion below. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the currency device  100  of  FIG. 1   a  but with the covers removed and some internal components omitted. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the front and side covers of the sorter  100  open in a clam shell fashion, hinged along the top of the enclosure for easy front access to the internal mechanism for maintenance and clearing jams. Thus, an operator simply upwardly rotates the front cover or either side cover to access the internal components of the currency sorter. 
       FIG. 8   a  is a perspective view,  FIG. 8   b  is a front view, and  FIG. 8   c  is a side view of one embodiment of a ten output pocket currency sorter  800  with its covers removed. The sorter  800  is similar to the device  100  of  FIG. 1   a  and likewise has four left output receptacles  816   a - 816   d  and four right output receptacles  818   a - 818   d . Sorter  800  additionally comprises two center output receptacles  817   a  and  817   b . Such an embodiment can be referred to as a 4-2-4 arrangement (4 left, 2 center, and 4 right output receptacles). In a similar fashion, device  100  of  FIG. 1   a  can be referred to as a 4-0-4 arrangement (4 left, 0 center, and 4 right output receptacles). According to some embodiments, the ten output receptacle sorter  800  has a width W 8  of about 34 inches (86 cm), a depth D 8  of about 25 inches (64 cm) and a height H 8  of about 22 inches (56 cm). According to some embodiments the sorter  800  weighs less than 250 pounds. (less than about 113 kg). Thus according to some embodiments a ten output receptacle sorter is provided which has a footprint (width×depth) of less than about 850 in 2  (6 ft 2 ) (about 5500 cm 2 ) and a volume of less than about 18,700 in 3  (11 ft 3 ) (about 0.3 m 3 ). 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of one embodiment of an eight output pocket currency sorter  900  with its covers removed. The sorter  900  is similar to the sorters  100  of  FIGS. 1   a  and  800  of  FIGS. 8   a - 8   c  but has three left output receptacles  916   a - 916   c  and three right output receptacles  918   a - 918   c  and two center output receptacles  917   a  and  917   b —a 3-2-3 arrangement. According to some embodiments, the eight output receptacle sorter  900  has a width W 8  of about 34 inches (86 cm), a depth D 8  of about 25 inches (64 cm) and a height H 8  of about 22 inches (56 cm). According to some embodiments the sorter  800  weighs less than 250 pounds (less than about 113 kg). Thus according to some embodiments a ten output receptacle sorter is provided which has a footprint (width×depth) of less than about 850 in 2  (6 ft 2 ) (about 5500 cm 2 ) and a volume of less than about 18,700 in 3  (11 ft 3 ) (about 0.3 m 3 ). 
     Although not illustrated, other embodiments are also contemplated within the present invention. For example, starting with the ten pocket embodiment of  FIGS. 8   a - 8   c , the number of left output receptacles can be varied between zero and four, the number of center output receptacles can be varied between zero and two, and the number of right output receptacles can be varied between zero and four. 
     Where the number of left or right output receptacles is zero, the width, footprint, and volume of the overall device can be correspondingly reduced. For example, where no left output pockets are provided, the width W 1L  shown in  FIG. 1   b  is avoided making the width of the overall device about 29 inches (about 73.7 cm), while the depth remains at about 25 inches (64 cm) and the height remains at about 22 inches (56 cm). Thus according to some embodiments an up to six output receptacle sorter (e.g., 0 left, 2 center, and 4 right output pockets—a 0-2-4 configuration) can be provided which has a footprint of less than about 739.5 in 2  (about 5.1 ft 2 ) (about 4771 cm 2 ) and a volume of less than about 19,967 in 3  (about 11.6 ft 3 ) (about 0.327 m 3 ). According to some embodiments the sorter  800  weighs less than 250 pounds (less than about 113 kg). Accordingly, in such embodiments, the input hopper is not located in the center column but may instead be located in a column at one end of the sorter. For example,  FIG. 10   a  illustrates a front view of a six pocket sorter  1000  having two pockets above the input hopper and four pockets in a column to the left of the input pocket (4-2 arrangement). Likewise,  FIG. 10   b  illustrates a front view of a six pocket sorter  1002  having two pockets above the input hopper and four pockets in a column to the right of the input pocket—a 2-4 arrangement. As mentioned above such embodiments may have a width W 10  of about 29 inches (about 73.7 cm). 
     In other embodiments, two or more columns of pockets are provided to the left and/or right of the input hopper. For example,  FIG. 11   a  illustrates a front view of a ten pocket sorter  1100  having two pockets above the input hopper and two columns of four pockets to the left of the input pocket—a 4-4-2 arrangement. Likewise,  FIG. 11   b  illustrates a front view of a ten pocket sorter  1102  having two pockets above the input hopper and two columns of four pockets to the right of the input pocket (2-4-4 arrangement). According to some embodiments, such sorters  1100 ,  1102  may have a width W 11  of about 44 in (about 111.7 cm), while the depth remains at about 25.5 in (about 64 cm) and the height remains at about 27 in (56 cm). Thus according to some embodiments an up to ten output receptacle sorter can be provided which has a footprint of less than about 1122 in 2  (about 7.8 ft 2 ) (about 7240 cm 2 ) and a volume of less than about 30,300 in 3  (about 17.5 ft 3 ) (about 0.496 m 3 ). 
     Furthermore, more than four output receptacles may be included in a column of pockets. For example, by increasing the height of the sorter, five left and/or right and three center pockets may be included increasing the total number of pockets up to thirteen (5-3-5 arrangement). Likewise, six left and/or right pockets and four center pockets may be provided and thereby increase the total number of pockets up to sixteen (6-4-6 arrangement). Additional details of columns having from two to six pockets are provided in to in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,311,819 and 6,278,795 B1; each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. More output receptacles per column are also contemplated such as, for example, columns containing seven or eight output receptacles. 
     Additionally, not all or any of the output receptacles need to be on the same side of the sorter as the input hopper.  FIG. 12   a  is a perspective view of a currency sorter  1200  having an input hopper  1202  and two columns  1206 ,  1210  of four output receptacles to the left of the input hopper  1202 . Additionally, a ninth output receptacle  1220  is positioned on the right side of the sorter  1200 .  FIG. 12   b  is a front view,  FIG. 12   c  is a right side view, and  FIG. 12   d  is a top view of the sorter  1200 . As can be seen, sorter  1200  illustrates an embodiment in which not all output receptacles are located on the front of the sorter  1200 . According to some embodiments, sorter  1200  may have a width W 12  of 34 inches (86 cm), a depth D 12  of about 22 inches (56 cm) and a height H 12  of about 30 inches (about 76.2 cm). Thus according to some embodiments an up to nine output receptacle sorter can be provided which has a footprint of less than about 748 in 2  (about 5.2 ft 2 ) (about 4826 cm 2 ) and a volume of less than about 22,440 in 3  (about 13 ft 3 ) (0.368 m 3 ). In  FIG. 12   c , one exemplary location of one or more sensors of a discriminating unit  106  is shown. According to some embodiments the discriminating unit  106  comprises an imager  106   a . According to some embodiments, the discriminating unit does not comprise an imager  106   a.    
       FIG. 13   a  is a perspective view,  FIG. 13   b  is a rear view, and  FIG. 13   c  is a side view depicting the path and orientation of currency bills according to the embodiment of  FIG. 12 . In  FIG. 13   d , one exemplary location of one or more sensors of a discriminating unit  106  is shown. According to some embodiments the discriminating unit  106  comprises an imager  106   a . According to some embodiments, the discriminating unit does not comprise an imager  106   a.    
     Referring primarily to  FIG. 13   a , a bill is feed from the input hopper at location  1302  generally backward to location  1304  and then directed upward at  1306 . At locations  1304 ,  1306  the leading edge of a bill is generally parallel to the X-axis. While traveling upward, the bill is rotated as can be seen at location  1308  by a rotating mechanism. The rotating mechanism re-orients the leading edge of a bill from being generally parallel to the X-axis (location  1306 ) to being generally parallel to the Y-axis (location  1310 ). In some embodiments, the rotating mechanism re-orients the leading edge of a bill by 90°. 
     Having been re-oriented to have its leading edge be parallel to the Y-axis, the bill may be diverted left or right in the x-direction. As illustrated in  FIG. 13   a , a bill is diverted to be left at location  1312  (location I) toward location  1314 . Although not illustrated in  FIG. 13   a  for the purposes of clarity, as can be seen in  FIG. 13   b , a bill can also be diverted to the right (as seen from the front of the sorter) at location I and directed to location  1360 , that is into pocket  1220 . (Note that  FIG. 13   b  is a rear view of the sorter  1200 .) According to some embodiments, a moveable diverter directs bills at location I to either the left or to the right. The diverter may be controlled by a controller or processor that moves the diverter so as to direct a bill toward a desired output receptacle. 
     Returning to  FIG. 13   a , a bill moves from location  1314  to location II where it may be either diverted downward as shown by location  1316  or directed to the left to location  1334 . A bill directed downward at location II is run through another rotating mechanism which re-orients a bill from having its leading edge being parallel to the Y-axis (location  1318 ) to having its leading edge being parallel to the X-axis (location  1322 ). A bill is then direction forward and then into one of the pockets in column  1206  as indicated by locations  1326 - 1332 . Note in this arrangement, the first receptacle a bill comes to in column  1206  is the bottom pocket and the last receptacle along the transport path is the top pocket in column  1206 . 
     If a bill is to be routed to one of the output receptacles in column  1210  it would not be directed downward at location II but rather would be directed to location  1334  and then downward at location  1336 . A rotating mechanism then re-orients the leading edge of the bill from being parallel to the Y-axis (location  1338 ) to being parallel to the X-axis (location  1342 ). A bill is then routed to one of the output receptacles in column  1210  in the same manner as described in conjunction with column  1206 . 
       FIG. 13   d  illustrates the movement of a currency bill through an optional bill facing mechanism  1250  ( FIGS. 12   a - c ). The bill facing mechanism is used to rotate the orientation of a bill approximately 180°. For example, if a U.S. bill is initially presented (placed in the input hopper  1202 ) with the surface bearing a portrait of a president facing down, it may be directed to the bill facing mechanism  1250 , whereupon it will be rotated 180° so that the bill surface with the portrait faces up when delivered to an output receptacle in the second column  1210 . While other arrangements are contemplated, in the embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 12   a  and  13   d , the bills that are feed into the bill facing mechanism  1250  are routed to one of the output receptacles in the second column  1210 . The decision may be taken to send a bill to the facing mechanism  1250  when the selected mode of operation or other operator instructions call for maintaining a given face orientation of bills as they are processed by the currency processing device  1200 . For example, it may be desirable in certain circumstances for all of the bills ultimately delivered to the output receptacles to have the same face orientation. In such embodiments of the currency handling device  1200 , the device is capable of determining the face orientation of a bill, such that a bill not having the desired face orientation can first be directed to the bill facing mechanism  1250  before being delivered to the appropriate lower output receptacle. Face orientation may be determined using one or more of the bill characteristic sensors. In some embodiments, an imager is used to determine face orientation. In some embodiments, non-image sensor are used to determine face orientation. 
     According to one embodiment the bill facing mechanism  1250  comprises a part of twisted endless belts as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,303 (“Two Belt Bill Facing Mechanism”), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Referring to both  FIGS. 12 and 13   d , a bill&#39;s orientation is determine by one or more bill characteristic sensors of the currency device  1200 . Pursuant to some modes of operation, a bill may be directed to the bill facing mechanism  1250  at location II in  FIG. 13   d —the bill is labeled with reference number  1381  at this position. Bills enter the facing mechanism  1250  at an inlet  1250   a  (see  FIG. 12   a ). Once within the facing mechanism  1250 , the orientation of the bill is rotated 180° while its leading edge remains constant. In  FIG. 13   d , the bill is shown being rotated 180° through bill positions  1381 - 1385  while the leading edge of the bill remains constant as the bill moves through the bill facing mechanism  1250 . At the output  1250   b  of the bill facing mechanism (see  FIG. 12   a ), the bill is directed towards the second column  1210  of output receptacles. 
     While the bill facing mechanism  1250  has been shown and described as a facing mechanism consisting of a pair of belts for rotating the orientation of the bills, other types of facing mechanisms may be used in alternative embodiments of the currency processing device of the present invention. For example, the document facing mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,334 (“Document Facing Method and Apparatus”), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, may be implemented in connection with alternative embodiments of the present invention. 
       FIG. 14   a  is a perspective view of a currency evaluating unit  1400  adapted to be coupled to one or more modular output receptacle units  1470 .  FIG. 14   b  is a perspective view of a modular output receptacle unit or output receptacle module  1470 . The modular-ready currency evaluating unit  1400  comprises an input receptacle  1402  adapted to receive a stack of bills to be processed. As discussed above, the currency evaluating unit  1400  comprises one or more bill characteristic sensors which can be employed to count, denominate, authenticate, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the bills. In the illustrated embodiment, the evaluating unit  1400  contains no output receptacles. However, in other embodiments, the currency evaluating unit  1400  may comprise one or more output receptacles such as the two output receptacles  817   a  and  817   b  illustrated in  FIG. 8   a . The modular-ready currency evaluating unit  1400  also comprises one or more currency delivery ports  1401 . For example, one delivery port  1401  can be seen on the right side of the evaluating unit  1400 . In some embodiments, the evaluating unit  1400  has delivery ports  1401  on both left and right sides, only the right side, or only the left side. 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 14   b , the modular output receptacle unit  1470  has a delivery port  1471  on both its left and right side. The delivery ports  1471  of modular output receptacle unit  1470  are adapted to mate with the delivery ports  1401  of the currency evaluating unit  1400  and/or the delivery ports  1471  of additional modular output receptacles. In other embodiments, modular output receptacle units have delivery ports on only a single side. In the illustrated embodiment, the output receptacle unit  1470  has four output receptacles  1472 - 1475 . In other embodiments, the number of output receptacles varies from one output receptacle to more than one output receptacle. For example, the output receptacle unit may have three output receptacles such as illustrated by output receptacles  918   a - 918   c  of  FIG. 9 . 
     The currency evaluating unit  1400  is adapted to be coupled to one or more modular output receptacle units  1470  and thereby deliver bills to the output receptacles contained in the modular output receptacle unit(s). For example, if modular output receptacle unit  1470  were coupled to the right side of currency evaluating unit  1400 , port  1401  would mate with a port  1471  on the left side of unit  1470  so as to permit bills to be transported from the evaluating unit  1401  to unit  1470 . Units  1400  and  1470  may also comprise mating structural couplings to facilitate a strong physical coupling between the units. Units  1400  and  1470  may also comprise means for electrically coupling the two units so as to at least provide a means for the evaluating unit  1400  to send control signals to the output receptacle unit  1470  to indicate to which output receptacle within the output receptacle unit  1470  a particular bill is to be directed. One example of such an electronic coupling means is illustrated as jack  1409  which may be adapted to mate with a jack  1479  of an output receptacle unit  1470 . As illustrated in  FIGS. 14   a  and  14   b , jacks  1409  and  1479  are both illustrated on the right side of the respective units  1400  and  1470 , it being understood the such jacks may be located on either or both sides. Likewise, in some embodiments, the electrical coupling may be accomplished via the delivery ports  1401  and  1471 . The electrical coupling may permit one-way or two way communication between the two units  1400  and  1470 . For example, encoder and/or bills tracking information may be supplied from an output receptacle unit  1470  to the evaluating unit  1400 . In some embodiments, the electrical coupling also comprises power coupling so that the currency evaluation unit  1400  may be connected to a power supply (e.g., a wall receptacle) and then supply any needed power to any output receptacles units  1470  coupled thereto—thereby eliminating the need to separately couple the output receptacle unit(s) to a power supply. 
     In some embodiments, additional modular output receptacle units may be added as needed. For example, two, three, or more output receptacle units  1470  may be coupled in series to either the left or the right of a currency evaluating unit  1400 . Likewise, a series of one or more modular output receptacle units  1470  may be added to both sides of a currency evaluating unit  1400 . Likewise, in some embodiments, delivery ports are included in the previously described embodiments (e.g., those described in connection with  FIGS. 1-13 ) to permit modular output receptacles to be coupled thereto. For example, a base currency evaluating and sorting unit may be in the form illustrated in  FIG. 10   a  or  10   b  which may be adapted to be coupled with one or more modular output receptacle units. Furthermore, the modular output receptacle units may comprise more than one column of receptacles within a modular unit such as a modular unit comprising two columns of four output receptacles. 
     While in the illustrated examples discussed above, the input receptacle is shown as residing in the bottom of the sorter, in some embodiments the input receptacle is positioned near of the top of the sorter. Furthermore, such embodiments may include one, two, or more output receptacles below in the input receptacle. In other embodiments, the input receptacle may be positioned in a vertically middle part of the sorter with or without one or more output receptacles positioned above and/or below the input receptacle. 
     In a similar vein, the location of one or more user interfaces of a sorter may be varied. For example, a user interface may be positioned in a column above or below the input receptacle or above or below and one or more output receptacles. A user interface may be positioned in a column above both the input receptacle and one or more output receptacles or below both the input receptacle and one or more output receptacles. A user interface may be positioned in a column and have an input hopper above the user interface and zero, one or more output receptacles below the user interface or a user interface may be positioned in a column and have an input hopper below the user interface and zero, one or more output receptacles above the user interface. A user interface may be positioned in a column having one or more output receptacles but not the input receptacle. Furthermore, a user interface may be positioned on top of or on the side of a sorter or be separate from and electrically coupled to the sorter, e.g., a separate keyboard or touchscreen. 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, sorters may comprise an operator or user interface adapted to receive information from and/or provide information to an operator or user. According to some embodiments, such as illustrated in  FIG. 1   a , the interface includes a touch screen. The touch screen may display appropriate “functional” keys when appropriate. Alternatively or additionally physical keys, switches or buttons may be employed. Some embodiments of user interfaces are described and illustrated in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     According to some embodiments, by means of an interface the operator can select an operational mode of a compact multi-pocket sorter including, but not limited to sorting, denominating, authenticating, fitness evaluating, counting and/or combinations of operations. For example, the operator, via the interface may assign a denomination (or other bill criterion/criteria including rejected or unrecognized notes) to each output receptacle pocket and/or change the output receptacle assignment for a denomination (or other bill criterion/criteria). Alternatively or additionally, the operator may select a dynamic mode assignment for assigning denominations (or other criterion/criteria) to output receptacles as described in more detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,977, which was filed on Feb. 8, 2002 and published as U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003-0015395A1 entitled “Multiple Pocket Currency Processing Device and Method,” incorporated herein by reference by its entirety. 
     The interface may act as a routing interface and/or flagging control interface as described in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. For example, via the interface, the operator may select an operation mode wherein the operation of the sorter will be suspended based on certain conditions, for example, the detection of a counterfeit bill or a bill in a damaged condition. According to some embodiments, during operation a bill may be flagged, for example, by presenting the bill in one of the output receptacles (delivering the bill to one of the receptacles and suspending operation of the device) or by off-sorting the bill to a different output pocket and continuing to process other bills. 
     According to some embodiments, a compact multi-pocket sorter has a routing interface. The routing interface has a data retrieval device such as a touch screen that receives information from a user of the device specifying into which output receptacle bills are to be delivered based on one or more criteria. 
     According to another embodiment, a compact multi-pocket sorter has a flagging control interface. The flagging control interface has a data retrieval device such as a touch screen that receives information from a user of a multi-pocket sorter of the present invention specifying if operation should be suspended based on detection of a bill meeting, or failing to meet, one or more criteria. Furthermore, where the operation is to be suspended upon detecting a bill to be flagged (e.g., a suspect), the sorter may stop with the flagged bill residing within the transport mechanism (before reaching a pocket), being the last bill delivered to an output receptacle, or being at some other location such as being two or three bills down in an output receptacle. The sorter could provide an appropriate notification to the operator and the operator could evaluate the flagged bill and take appropriate additional action (e.g., hit a denomination key, remove the bill and hit continue)—see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,697. Routing and flagging control interfaces are described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     Thus, according to some embodiments, the operation of the sorter is configurable by the customer. For example, the customer can define to which pocket various types of bills are to be directed and whether the operation of the device should stop or not and if the device is programmed to stop, where the bill which is to be flagged should be located when the machine stops—see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819. Specific designations of operating modes can be defined by the user and stored in a memory of the sorter so as to permit subsequent and repeated recall. For example, a customer may define one mode of operation and name it “American Bank Mode 1” and define a second mode of operation and name it “ATM sorting mode.” The customer could then easily switch between these modes and any factory-defined modes thereby facilitating efficient use of the sorter—see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819. 
     According to some embodiments, a sorter may be configurable such that an operator may designate any pocket as a reject pocket. According to some embodiments, a sorter may be configurable such that an operator may designate any pocket for any purpose, e.g., any pocket may be assigned to receive $1 bills, $1 fit bills, $1 face-up bills, $1 face-up fit bills, $1 forward oriented bills, etc.—see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819. Such configurations or assignments may be changed at will according to some embodiments. For example, at the beginning of the day, $1 bills may be assigned to Pocket  1  only. Later in the day, Pocket  1  may be assigned to face-up $1 bills and Pocket  2  assigned to face-down $1 bills. Still later in the day, Pocket  1  may be assigned to received $100 bills. Such configurations could be programmed as user-defined modes as discussed above. According to some embodiments, an operator is able to switch between a plurality of user-defined modes via a single keystroke or via a single selection element—see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,697, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     For embodiments employing stopping (e.g., presenting flagged bills as the last bill in an output receptacle), a given output pocket may be used for two purposes, e.g., receiving $100 bills (not stopping) and flagged suspect bills (stopping). Similarly, there are not very many $2 bills in circulation. Thus in some applications, it may not be desirable to dedicate an entire output pocket to receive $2 bills. Instead, according to some embodiments, a sorter may be programmed to route $2 bills to a pocket assigned to a different denomination, such as $100 bills. When a $100 bill is delivered to that pocket, the machine may continue to process remaining bills in the stack as normal. However, when a $2 bill is detected, the sorter may be programmed to deliver the $2 bill to the $100 bill pocket and suspend operation such that the $2 bill is the last bill delivered to the $100 bill pocket. The sorter may signal the operator that a $2 bill has been delivered to the $100 bill pocket and the operator may then remove the $2 bill and restart the operation of the sorter. 
     According to some embodiments, suspect bills are “presented” in a first pocket of the sorter, that is, the suspect bill is delivered to the first pocket and the transport mechanism is stopped so that the suspect bill is located at a predetermined position within the first pocket, such as being the last bill transported to one of the output receptacles. No calls (bills whose denomination could not be determined with sufficient certainty) are presented in a second pocket. 
     According to some embodiments, a sorter may be used for facing. For example, in an eight pocket sorter, four denominations may be faced in one pass. A face up and a face down pocket could be assigned to each of four denominations, e.g., Pocket  1 : face-up $1 bills; Pocket  2 : face-down $1 bills; Pocket  3 : face-up $5 bills; Pocket  4 : face-down $5 bills; Pocket  5 : face-up $10 bills; Pocket  6 : face-down $10 bills; Pocket  7 : face-up $20 bills; and Pocket  8 : face-down $20 bills. 
     According to some embodiments, more than one denomination can be assigned to a single pocket, e.g., $1, $10, and $50 bills could all be assigned to Pocket  1 —see, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,977 filed Feb. 8, 2002 and published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0015395A1. 
     The sorter may also permit network connectivity for the purpose of printing reports or otherwise sharing the results of the currency bill processing operations externally to the sorter. 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, such as that illustrated in  FIGS. 1   a  and  8 - 12 , the input receptacle is positioned in close proximity to a number of output receptacles. For example, with respect to the embodiments wherein the input receptacle in positioned between two columns of output receptacles such as those embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 1  (4-0-4 arrangement),  8  (4-2-4 arrangement), and  9  (3-2-3 arrangement), an operator sitting or standing in front of the input receptacle can easily reach the input receptacle and up to ten output receptacles without having to move. For example, as described above the width of some of the embodiments described above is less than 3 feet and the height is less than 2 feet. Accordingly someone sitting in front of a device resting on a counter or table can easily reach the input receptacle and the numerous output receptacles. 
       FIG. 15   a  illustrates an operator  1510  sitting in front of a sorter  1500  such as sorter  800  of  FIG. 8  which is resting on a table  1504 . As can be seen, the operator can easily reach the input receptacle  1502  and all the output receptacles  1506   a - j  without having to get up from his seat  1512 . Likewise the user interface  1504  is easily seen and reachable by the operator  1510 . Such embodiments are especially beneficial in permitting a single person to efficiently and effectively operate the sorter. Accordingly, according to some embodiments, a very ergonomic currency sorter device is provided. 
     In some embodiments, the sorter is positioned so that an operator stands in front of the sorter. In some such embodiments, the input hopper, the output receptacles, and user interface are positioned in close proximity to each other and the position at which the operator will stand. According to some of such embodiments, the operator can easily reach the input receptacle and all the output receptacles and see and reach the user interface without having to move. Such embodiments are especially beneficial in permitting a single person to efficiently and effectively operate the sorter. 
     According to some embodiments, an ergonomic sorter is provided wherein all output receptacles are positioned at or above the level of the input hopper. Such embodiments permit an operator to position herself in front of the sorter at a level at which she may comfortably reach the input receptacle. According to such embodiments, because all output receptacles are positioned at or above the level of the input hopper, the operator need not bend over to remove the contents of an output receptacle which is positioned below the level of the input hopper. In some embodiments, some output receptacles are positioned slightly below the input hopper but at a height which can still be comfortably reached by the operator. For example, one or more output receptacles may be positioned one to two inches below the level of the input hopper. 
     According to some embodiments, the input hopper is positioned near the bottom of the sorter so that it is close to the level of the counter or table upon which the sorter rests. 
     According to some embodiments, one or more output receptacles residing in the same column or lateral position as the input receptacle, e.g., above or below the input receptacle, are used as reject receptacles. For example, with reference to  FIG. 8  according to some embodiments output receptacle  817   a  and/or  817   b  is used as a reject receptacle to collect damaged or unfit bills (e.g., bills having missing corners, folds, tears, holes, and/or bills failing one or more fitness tests such as bills which are too limp and/or bills which too soiled, bills having tape thereon or other foreign objects). By routing damaged or unfit bills to an output receptacle which may be reached without having to be transported through a routing mechanism, the chance of such bills becoming snagged, torn, jammed, or skewed in or by the routing mechanism is avoided. Similarly routing damaged or unfit bills to the output receptacles located most upstream along the transport path minimizes the opportunity for such bills to become snagged, torn, jammed, or skewed in the transport mechanism. 
       FIGS. 15   b  and  15   c  illustrate the dimensions of a currency sorter  1550  having a 4-4-0 arrangement having a first column  1552  of output receptacles  1552   a - d , a second column  1554  of output receptacles  1554   a - d , an input receptacles  1555 , and a touch-screen-operator interface  1556 . Referring first to  FIG. 15   b , the distance W 15L  between the horizontal center of the first column  1552  and the horizontal center of the second column  1554  is about 15 in (about 38 cm). The distance W 15R  between the horizontal center of the second column  1554  and the horizontal center of the operator interface  1556  is about 13 in (about 33 cm). Thus, an operator seated at about the horizontal center of the second column  1554  of output receptacles  1554   a - d  has to reach about 15 inches (about 38 cm) to the operator&#39;s left to reach the first column  1552  of output receptacles  1552   a - d  and about 13 in (about 33 cm) to the operator&#39;s left to reach the operator interface  1556 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 15   b , the center of the operator interface  1556  is disposed about a distance H 15     —     OI  from a surface  1560  upon which the sorter  1550  rests of about 15.5 in (about 42 cm). The input receptacles  1555  is disposed a distance H 15     —     IR  of about 5.8 in (about 14.7 cm) from the surface  1560 . The upper-most output receptacles  1552   a , 1554   a  are disposed a distance H 15     —     1  of about 20.8 in (about 52.8 cm) from the surface  1560 . The second-upper-most output receptacles  1552   b , 1554   b  are disposed a distance H 15     —     2  of about 15.8 in (about 40 cm) from the surface  1560 . The third-upper-most output receptacles  1552   c , 1554   c  are disposed a distance H 15     —     3  of about 10.8 in (about 27.4 cm) from the surface  1560 . And the lower-most output receptacles  1552   d , 1554   d  are disposed a distance H 15     —     4  of about 5.8 in (about 14.7 cm) from the surface  1560 . 
     According to some embodiments including the various embodiments described above including those described in connection with  FIGS. 1-15 , currency bills are transported and processed (e.g., denominated, authenticated, and/or fitness evaluated) at high rates of speed such as between 800 and 1600 bills per minute. In some embodiments, currency bills are transported and processed at a rate equal to or greater than 600 bills per minute. In other embodiments currency bills are transported and processed at a rate equal to or greater than 800 bills per minute. In some embodiments, currency bills are transported and processed at a rate equal to or greater than 1000 currency bills per minute. In some embodiments, currency bills are transported and processed at a rate equal to or greater than 1200 currency bills per minute. In some embodiments, currency bills are transported and processed at a rate equal to or greater than 1400 currency bills per minute. In some embodiments, currency bills are transported and processed at a rate equal to or greater than 1600 currency bills per minute. 
     According to some embodiments, the above transport speeds are maintained constant throughout the transport path. In some embodiments, the above transport speeds are maintained nearly constant (+/−5%) throughout the transport path. 
     According to some embodiments, the spacing between notes along a substantial portion of the transport path does not change. For example, according to some embodiments, the spacing between notes along the transport path does not change between, e.g., the location of the discriminating or bill chararectistic sensors (e.g., denominating sensors, fitness sensors, authentication sensors, image sensors) and the point where the bills are directed to a particular output pocket. According to some embodiments, the spacing between adjacent notes along the transport path being directed to the same output receptacle does not change between a point just after the bills are removed from the input hopper and the point where the bills are directed to the particular output pocket 
     Conversely, according to some prior currency processing machines, bills are slowed down or stopped along the transport path, e.g., at the location of one or more discriminating sensors or to change the direction of transport of the bills. Accordingly in such prior devices the transport speed is not constant because the bills are stopped along the transport path. Likewise, bill separation varies along the transport path. For example, as a bill is being slowed down, an upstream bill which is not being slowed down is gaining on the bill being slowed down and hence the separation between the bills does not remain constant. 
     According to various embodiments of the present invention, the direction of bills is able to be varied in three dimensions without slowing down the speed at which the bills are transported and without stopping the transport of the bills. According to various embodiments of the present invention, the direction of bills is able to be varied in three dimensions while maintaining a constant or nearly constant surface transport speed of the bills and while maintaining a constant or nearly constant separation between adjacent bills. 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, bills are able to be transported from an input hopper to a laterally offset output receptacle while maintaining a single leading edge of the bill throughout the transportation process. For example, according to some embodiments bills are able to be transported from an input hopper to a laterally offset output receptacle while maintaining a wide edge of the bill leading throughout the transportation process. 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, bills are able to be both removed from an input hopper (i.e., transported from) and deposited into a laterally offset output receptacle with a single leading edge of the bill, such as a wide edge of the bill. According to some embodiments of the present invention, bills are able to be removed from an input hopper and deposited into a laterally offset output receptacle without having two perpendicular edges of a bill (i.e., both a narrow edge and a wide edge) be leading edges during the process of moving bills from the input hopper to a laterally offset output receptacle. 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, bills placed into an input hopper with a given orientation (e.g., wide edge parallel to the front of the sorter and/or the front of the input hopper) and having edges of the bills in the input hopper perpendicular to the front of the input hopper (e.g., the narrow edges of the bills) are able to be moved to an output receptacle laterally offset to the left or the right of the input hopper without transporting the bills such that an edge of a bill which was perpendicular to the front of the input hopper serves as a leading edge. 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, sorters comprise a rectangular input receptacle having a front side having an opening to permit an operator to insert a stack of bills in the input receptacle and having a left side and a right side relative to the front side. The sorter has at least one output receptacle positioned to the left of the left side of the input receptacle and/or at least one output receptacle positioned to the right of the right side of the input receptacle. Rectangular bills are inserted into the input receptacle with two opposing edges parallel to the left and right sides of the input receptacle. According to some such embodiments, a bill is transported from the input receptacle to a laterally offset output receptacle without either of the two opposing edges of a bill which were parallel to the left and right sides of the input receptacle serving as a leading edge during the transportation of the bill from the input receptacle to the output receptacle. 
     According to some embodiments a reduction in size (height, width, depth, footprint, or volume) of the machine having a large number of output receptacles is obtained by utilizing three dimensions of transport. For example, for the same number of pockets, the overall height of a device may be reduced according to the principles of some embodiments of the present invention as all the output pockets need not reside in the same column as the input hopper and/or other output receptacles. 
     In a similar manner, the distance between the input hopper and the output receptacles can be reduced according to the principles of some embodiments of the present invention. For example, in prior sorters which accommodated additional output receptacles by adding such additional output receptacles in series with existing output receptacles, each additional output receptacle would be located farther away from the input receptacle than the existing output receptacles. Accordingly, the distance between the input receptacle and the farthest output receptacle tended to increase in a linear fashion with the addition of each additional output receptacle. The increase in distance between the input hopper and the farthest output receptacle made it difficult for a single operator to operate such sorters as such an operator would have to move during the operation of the machine among positions in front of the input hopper and various output receptacles. 
     However, according to some embodiments of the present invention, additional output receptacles can be added without increasing the distance between the input receptacle and the farthest output receptacle or without increasing such distance at the linear rate of some prior art devices. For example, a six output receptacle sorter in a 4-2 arrangement comprising four left column output receptacles and two output receptacles in the same column or lateral position as the input hopper (see e.g.,  FIG. 10   a ) can be increased to contain as many as four more additional output receptacles by the addition of a column of output receptacles positioned to the right of the column containing the input receptacle without any increase in the distance between the input hopper and the farthest output receptacle (see, e.g., the ten output receptacle 4-2-4 arrangement of  FIG. 8 ). 
     Furthermore, where an additional column or module of pockets is to be added to a sorter farther away from the input hopper, such as, for example, when moving from the six pocket sorter of  FIG. 10   b  to the ten pocket sorter of  FIG. 11   b , while the distance between the farthest output receptacle and the input hopper increases, the increase is not limited to a linear rate per additional pocket. Rather, for about the same increase in distance between the input hopper and the farthest output receptacle, an entire column of pockets can be added. In the example, of moving from the six pocket sorter of  FIG. 10   b  to the ten pocket sorter of  FIG. 11   b , up to four additional pockets can be added for about the same increase in distance. 
     According to some embodiments, some of the principles of the present invention permit a reduction in manpower required to operate a currency sorter. As discussed above, the input and output receptacles may be positioned so that a single operator can reach, fill, and empty them. Accordingly, the need to have separate personnel to load the input hopper and one or more personnel to empty output receptacles is reduced. 
     According to some embodiments, some of the principles of the present invention permit a reduction in cost of a machine having a large number of output receptacles. 
     The reduction in cost, operator personnel and/or size of the machines contributes to making many output receptacle sorters (e.g., sorters having four, six, eight, ten, or more output receptacles) available at more locations. For example, some of the principles of the present invention will permit banks to provide the sorting act, which may currently be available only a bank&#39;s central vault which has a large sorter, to the bank&#39;s branch locations. 
     For example, in the context of U.S. currency, there are currently seven denominations in circulation ($1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills). Furthermore, the quantity of circulating $2 is limited and hence only a substantial quantity of six denominations are in circulation. Accordingly, many large sorters in the central vaults of U.S. banks have only six output pockets dedicated to the six most common denominations of circulating U.S. notes, namely, a $1 pocket, a $5 pocket, a $10 pocket, a $20 pocket, a $50 pocket, and a $100 pocket. Such machines may have an additional reject pocket as well. 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, banks will be able to perform a per denomination sorting act, which may currently be able to be performed only at a bank&#39;s central vault which has a large sorter, to the bank&#39;s branch locations by placing in the branches sorters according to the present invention having six or more output receptacles. According to some embodiments of the present invention, six of the six or more output receptacles may be dedicated to specific denominations of circulating bills, e.g., a dedicated $1 pocket, a dedicated $5 pocket, a dedicated $10 pocket, a dedicated $20 pocket, a dedicated $50 pocket, and a dedicated $100 pocket. According to some embodiments of the present invention, sorters having six or more output receptacles may be configurable by selection of an operating mode so that in a particular operating mode, six of the six or more output receptacles become dedicated to specific denominations of circulating bills, e.g., a dedicated $1 pocket, a dedicated $5 pocket, a dedicated $10 pocket, a dedicated $20 pocket, a dedicated $50 pocket, and a dedicated $100 pocket. In other operating modes, the pockets may be re-assigned based on other criterion or criteria—see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,977, filed Feb. 8, 2002, and published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0015395A1, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
     For embodiments which incorporate fitness detection (see e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/379,365, referred to above), sorting based on fitness may also be moved from a central location to distributed locations such as at bank branches. For embodiments which incorporate fitness detection and denomination determination, sorting based on fitness and denomination may also be moved from a central location to distributed locations such as at bank branches. For example, according to some embodiments of the present invention, sorters having six or more output receptacles may be factory dedicated or user configurable by selection of an operating mode so that six of the six or more output receptacles become dedicated to specific denominations of fit circulating bills, e.g., a fit $1 pocket, a fit $5 pocket, a fit $10 pocket, a fit $20 pocket, a fit $50 pocket, and a fit $100 pocket. The use of such machines permits such sorting action to be moved from being performed solely in a centralized location such as a bank&#39;s central vault to distributed locations such as bank branches. 
     In similar manner, according to some embodiments, currency authentication is additionally or alternatively incorporated into sorters thereby by providing sorters capable of sorting based on authenticity, fitness, and/or denomination. For embodiments which incorporate fitness detection, and which authenticate and denominate bills, sorting based on fitness, authenticity, and denomination may also be moved from a central location to distributed locations such as at bank branches. For example, according to some embodiments of the present invention, sorters having six or more output receptacles may be factory dedicated or user configurable by selection of an operating mode so that six of the six or more output receptacles become dedicated to specific denominations of authenticated, fit circulating bills, e.g., a genuine, fit $1 pocket; a genuine, fit $5 pocket; a genuine, fit $10 pocket; a genuine, fit $20 pocket; a genuine, fit $50 pocket; and a genuine, fit $100 pocket. The use of such machines permits such a sorting act to be moved from being performed solely in a centralized location such as a bank&#39;s central vault to distributed locations such as bank branches. 
     Currently, in the operation of businesses handling large volumes of cash such as banks and other financial institutions, large volumes of currency are transported between remote locations such as bank branches and a main location such as a bank&#39;s central or main vault. Using the example of a bank having a main vault and several bank branch locations, an example of the daily operation of such a bank will be described. Typically, each bank branch attempts to keep a target inventory of currency on hand at the bank branch for use in servicing its customers and any ATMs (automatic teller machines) for which the bank branch is responsible. Additionally, each bank branch has target inventories for each denomination of currency bills. During the day, money including currency bills is provided to customers (e.g., via tellers or ATMs) thereby reducing the amount of money held by the bank branch. Additionally, during the day, customers deposit money including currency bills at the bank branch (e.g., via tellers, ATMs, or deposit drop boxes). Typically at the end of business each day, a bank branch will determine how much cash it has paid out including how much of each denomination of currency bills it has paid out (or how much of each denomination it has left in its vault at the end of the day). The bank branch then orders the money it needs to replenish its inventories from the bank&#39;s main vault and/or sends any excess currency to the main vault. 
     For example, a bank branch may target inventories of $20,000 of $100 bills, $10,000 of $50 bills, $40,000 of $20 bills, $10,000 of $10 bills, $5,000 of $5 bills, $100 of $2 bills, and $10,000 of $1 bills and desire to have these levels of currency each morning when the branch opens. At the end of the day, if the branch has only $5,000 of $100 bills, $5,000 of $50 bills, $20,000 of $20 bills, $10,000 of $10 bills, $5,000 of $5 bills, $100 of $2 bills, and $1,000 of $1 bills on hand (excluding any money it has received during the day), the bank will order $15,000 of $100 bills, $5,000 of $50 bills, $20,000 of $20 bills, no $10 bills, no $5 bills, no $2 bills, and $9,000 of $1 bills from its main vault. During the night or in the morning, an armored car picks up the money from the main vault and delivers it to the branch so that the branch may replenish its inventory to the desired levels. 
     As for the money coming into a bank branch each day, all or much of such currency would be sent to the main vault at the end of each day for sorting. Accordingly, each night an armored car takes money from each branch to the main vault. The transportation of currency is dangerous and hence expensive armored car services must be employed. 
     According to some embodiments, the method of operating a bank system is provided wherein a bank branch uses an on-site multiple pocket sorter to process currency received at a branch. According to some embodiments, the sorter is used to separate the bills received by denomination. According to some embodiments, the sorter is alternatively or additionally used to separate bills received by fitness (e.g., separate bills between fit and unfit bills or separate bills as to being ATM fit, fit, or unfit). Bills which are found to be unfit are collected to returned to the main vault for their eventual return to the Federal Reserve. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, unfit bills are returned by a branch directly to the Federal Reserve. According to some embodiments, the sorter also sorts fit bills between ATM quality and non-ATM quality. Typically, ATMs require bills to be dispensed therefrom to be of a very high quality or fitness, e.g., very stiff without folds, tears, wrinkles, or holes, low soil levels, etc. Fit non-ATM quality bills may be used by the bank to provide to its customers by means other than ATMs such as by tellers. 
     According to some embodiments, a method of operating a bank branch is provided wherein a bank branch uses an on-site multiple pocket sorter to sort currency received at a branch between fit and unfit bills and/or among ATM fit, fit, and unfit bills. The branch may then use the bills determined to be fit to replenish its on-site currency bill inventories and thereby eliminate or reduce its need or the frequency it needs to order currency bills from the bank&#39;s main vault. Likewise, where ATM fitness sorting is performed, the branch may then use the bills determined to be ATM fit to replenish the bill inventories of the ATMs for which the branch is responsible and thereby eliminate or reduce its need or the frequency it needs to order ATM fit currency bills from the bank&#39;s main vault. For example, using the above processes, a branch may be able to reduce the frequency with which it orders currency bills from the bank&#39;s main vault from daily to every other day, to every few days, to once a week, etc. 
     Building on the above example, according to some embodiments where a branch would otherwise need to order $15,000 of $100 bills, $5,000 of $50 bills, $20,000 of $20 bills, and $9,000 of $1 bills from its main vault, some or all of this need may be eliminated by using an on-site currency sorter and the resulting sorted currency to replenish the bank branch&#39;s inventory. For example, assume during the day the branch took in $17,000 in $100, $5,000 in $50 bills, $18,000 in $20 bills, and $10,000 in $1 bills. During the day or at the end of the day, bills received at the bank branch from its customers may be processed by the on-site currency sorter. In such a case, the branch would have an excess of $2000 of $100 notes, a shortfall of $2000 of $20 bills, and an excess of $1,000 of $1 bills. Assuming all the bills are fit, these deviations in inventory may fall within an acceptable range thus eliminating the need to either send currency to or order currency from the main vault on the given day. Accordingly, the costs associated with two armored car deliveries would be avoided. 
     In the above example, if the $17,000 in $100 processed by the sorter comprised $16,000 of fit $100 bills and $1,000 of unfit $100 bills, the inventory of fit $100 bills would exceed the target inventory of $20,000 of fit $100 bills by $1,000 ($5,000 remaining from initial inventory+$16,000 in received fit $100 bills=$21,000). The excess $1,000 of fit $100 notes may also fall within an acceptable range. As for the $1,000 of unfit $100 bills, these bills would need to be returned to the bank&#39;s main vault or to directly to the Federal Reserve. However, due their small volume, the branch may decide to keep these bills at the branch until some future time when it is determined that a delivery from the branch to the main vault is needed, e.g., when on hand volumes of different denominations of bills moves out of an acceptable range from target levels which may occur a day or more later. Alternatively, when things run smoothly, perhaps a branch could reduce the number of armored deliveries from being daily to once a week. 
     Further in conjunction with the above example, the branch&#39;s $40,000 $20 bill target level may be composed of a $25,000 target of fit $20 bills and a $15,000 ATM quality $20 bill target. For embodiments of sorters which also comprise ATM fitness level sorting, bills may also be sorted as being unfit, fit, or ATM fit. If the ATMs serviced by the branch dispense only one or a few denominations, then the ATM fitness sorting would have to be conducted only for such denominations, e.g., $20 bills. If during the day, the branch dispensed $10,000 of fit and $10,000 of ATM fit $20 bills, it would have a need for $10,000 of fit and $10,000 of ATM fit $20 bills to replenish its inventories to their target levels. If the $18,000 of received $20 bills comprised $10,000 of ATM fit and $8,000 of fit $20 bills, the branch&#39;s $20 ATM fit level would exactly equal its target levels and thus the branch would not need to order any ATM quality $20 bills from its main vault. The branch, however, would be $2,000 short of its $20 fit target level. If this deviation is within the tolerance range of the branch, no $20 fit bills would have to be ordered from its main vault. If this deviation was not within the acceptable tolerance range then additional fit $20 bills could be ordered from the bank&#39;s main vault. 
     One configuration that may be employed in the branch in the above examples could be the ten pocket sorter illustrated in  FIG. 8 . An exemplary operating configuration of such a sorter having a 4-2-4 configuration is illustrated schematically in  FIG. 16 . As shown in  FIG. 16  left column or module output receptacles  1616   a - d  could be programmed to receive $1, $2, $5, and $10 fit bills, respectively, and right column or module output receptacles  1618   a - d  could be programmed to receive $20 fit, $20 ATM fit, $50 fit, and $100 fit bills, respectively. Center pocket  1617   a  could be programmed to accept denominated and genuine but unfit bills and pocket  1617   b  could be used as a reject pocket receiving, e.g., suspect bills, no calls, etc. Bills to be processed by the sorter are inserted into input receptacle or hopper  1602 . Such an embodiment may be useful where ATMs dispense $20 bills, and hence there is a need for ATM quality $20 bills. 
     Another exemplary configuration is depicted in  FIG. 17  for a thirteen pocket sorter in a 1-4-4-4 configuration. Bills to be processed by the sorter are inserted into input receptacle or hopper  1702 . Reject bills are routed to pocket  1717 . In this configuration, each of six denominations has both a fit and an unfit pocket associated therewith. In this embodiment, the sorter could be programmed to send $2 bills to, for example, the reject pocket  1717  (with or without stopping). Pockets  1716   a - d  are assigned to $1 fit, $1 unfit, $5 fit, and $5 unfit bills, respectively. Pockets  1718   a - d  are assigned to $10 fit, $10 unfit, $20 fit, and $20 unfit bills, respectively. Pockets  1720   a - d  are assigned to $50 fit, $50 unfit, $100 fit, and $100 unfit bills, respectively. 
     Another advantage from a branch having such a sorter on its premises is that the inventory levels of bills and the breakdown of those inventories e.g., by denomination, fit, ATM fit, and unfit, counterfeit, etc. may be counted and/or determined automatically by the sorter. The sorter may be coupled to a printer to provide reports on the branch&#39;s inventory levels and/or or the breakdown of types of currency bills received over a given time period (such as each day). In some embodiments, the sorter may additionally or alternatively be coupled or networked to a computer or computer system and provide such information to the computer or computer system. Such a process eliminates the need for a human (e.g., bank teller or branch manager) to manually count the types of such currency and/or enter such information into the branch&#39;s computer system. 
     According to some embodiments, sorters may be used to strap down loose currency by denomination. For example, when larger retail customers such as grocery stores or other retailers deposit large volumes of currency, an operator using a sorter at the branch could run the deposit through the sorter and sort the bills by denomination, e.g., $1 bills into Pocket  1 , $5 into Pocket  2 , $10 into Pocket  3 , etc. Furthermore, strap limits could be set for each pocket or denomination, e.g., 100 bills per denomination. Then as a strap limit is reached, the operator could remove the bills and place an appropriate strap around the set of bills, e.g., a set of 100 $20 bills may be physically bound with a strap labeled “$20” and/or “$2000” and/or having an appropriate color, e.g., blue. Then the branch&#39;s inventory could more readily be kept via straps of currency rather than as loose currency. This procedure would facilitate the branch&#39;s ability to keep track of its inventory as it easier and faster to manually count straps of currency rather than manually count loose currency. 
     Additionally, maintaining inventories of straps of currency also facilitates the bank&#39;s ability to provide currency to its customers especially its large retail customers who typically order straps of currency from the bank branch. When its customers order straps of currency, the orders can be quickly and easily filled as the sorter has enabled the bank to maintain inventories of strapped currency in advance of receiving the orders. Currently, bank branches often have to order such inventories of strapped currency from a downtown location and pay an armored car service to transport the strapped currency. 
     According to some embodiments wherein the sorter is used to facilitate a branch&#39;s ability to maintain its inventory in straps, at the end of the day because the inventory is broken down and strapped, the head teller for a branch can more easily and quickly determine if there is any excess inventory of any denomination to sell to the main vault. Likewise, this method enables the branch to more quickly and easily determine if the branch is short of a given denomination and then order the appropriate denominations and volumes of currency from the bank&#39;s main vault. By reducing the amount of currency that it transported to and from the branch (and the main vault) to just the volume of excess and/or shortage of currency, the volume of currency being transported is reduced thereby reducing the transportation and handling costs. 
     According to some embodiments, sorters in a plurality of bank branches are networked with a bank&#39;s computer system. For example, the sorters may be networked over a bank&#39;s internal network or over the Internet. In some embodiments, the networking is accomplished by coupling the sorter or sorters in a bank branch to a computer within the bank branch wherein that computer is networked with a bank computer system. According to some embodiments, information about the bills processed by each sorter connected to the network is automatically transmitted to the bank&#39;s computer system and may be provided to a home office. Alternatively, a branch teller at a branch may enter information about the branch&#39;s inventories into the computer system (which operation may be facilitated where the sorter is used to help the branch maintain strapped currency inventories) and this information could be maintained at a home office. 
     The home office can then maintain inventory information for each of a plurality of branches and use this information to send orders to branches and/or armored car services directing currency bills to be sent to and from the bank&#39;s main vault and/or among the branches. According to some embodiments, the networked system may automatically generate such orders. According to some embodiments, the information may be used to accomplish cash settlement over the network including in some examples over the Internet. For example, cash settlement software running on the computer system may use the information provided by the sorters and/or regarding the various inventories of currency (e.g., per denomination) at each branch to accomplish cash settlement. For example, at the end of each day the cash settlement software may generate any necessary instructions concerning the transfer of money among the branches and the main vault. Such systems would also enable the home office to know what excess currency to expect to be sent by each branch and/or received at the main vault and vice versa. 
     In some embodiments, ATMs are also connected to the network and they provide information to the central office concerning how much money has been dispensed, their need for currency replenishment, and/or how full their deposit bins are. Software running on the system can then also generate any necessary instructions concerning the transfer of money among the branches and ATMs and the main vault. 
     An example of a networked sorting system is illustrated in  FIG. 18 . The system comprises a plurality of currency sorters  1800  residing in a plurality of bank branches  1801   a - f . The sorters  1800  are networked to the bank&#39;s computer network and thereby are connected to a computer  1810  in a central office  1850  of the bank. In some embodiments the sorters  1800  are coupled directly to the banking network such as the sorter in Branch  6  ( 1801   f ). Alternatively, in some embodiments the sorters are coupled to the banking network via a computer residing in a bank branch such as computer  1810  residing in Branch  3  ( 1801   c ). The banking network may comprise any of the many known topologies. Thus, according to some embodiments, no central office  1850  may be present and the acts otherwise performed by the central office may be performed elsewhere or in a distributed manner. The networked sorting system may also comprise an connection to the bank&#39;s main vault  1803  and/or a connection to one or more armored car service companies  1805 . 
       FIG. 19  illustrates a process of redistributing currency among the bank branches and main vault according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated example, the networked sorting system determines that Branch  1  ( 1801   a ) has $5,000 in excess $1 bills and $10,000 in excess $20 bills. Of the $10,000 in excess in $20 bills, $4,000 are of ATM fit quality. The system also determines that Branch  2  ( 1801   b ), which may be physically close to Branch  1  has a shortage of $1 and $20 bills. More specifically, the system determines that Branch  2  needs $5,000 in $1 bills and $9,000 in $20 bills including $4,000 in ATM quality $20 bills. Using this information, the system, such as via a processor within the system, determines that $5,000 in $1 bills, $4,000 in ATM fit $20 bills, and $5,500 in $20 bills should be transferred from Branch  1  to Branch  2  and sends instructions to that effect to Branches  1  and  2  and to the armored car service. Such a transfer leaves Branch  1  with an excess of $500 of $20 bills and Branch  2  with a shortfall of $500 of $20 bills but in the present embodiment the system determines that such discrepancies are within the inventory tolerance levels of Branches  1  and  2  and thus no additional currency transfer is required. In some embodiments, the system makes the required currency transfer decisions and/or generates the appropriate instructions to Branches  1  and  2  and the armored car service automatically (such as via the network or other means such as automatically generated faxes). Because Branches  1  and  2  are in close proximity the cost of transporting the currency between Branches  1  and  2  may be less expensive than if currency had to be routed between the branches and the main vault. 
     Furthermore, the system may determine that Branch  3  has an excess of $90,000 ($50,000 in $100 bills and $40,000 in $20 bills) and direct Branch  3  to return this money to the main vault and direct an armored car service to pick up this money from Branch  3  and delivery it to the main vault. Similarly, the system may determine that Branch  6  has an excess of $20,000 in $1 bills and a shortfall of $60,000 in $20 bills (including a shortfall of $20,000 in ATM quality $20 bills). The system then directs Branch  6  to send $20,000 in $1 bills to the main vault and instructs the main vault to send $60,000 in $20 bills consisting of at least $20,000 in ATM quality $20 bills to Branch  6 . In some embodiments, the system may also contact an armored car service to make this transfer. As discussed above, in some embodiments, the system makes the required currency transfer decisions and/or generates the appropriate instructions to the branch, the main vault and/or the armored car service automatically. 
     According to some embodiments, a sorter could be used to keep track of branch currency inventory and provide such information to the bank&#39;s home office. For example, at the beginning of the day, a branch employee such as the head teller could enter the inventory on hand at the branch into a sorter according to some embodiments of the present invention and the sorter could store that information in a memory contained in the sorter. Then when loose money is received throughout the day, the sorter would automatically update its inventory. For example, before running incoming currency through the sorter, an incoming button or selection element could be selected by the operator to inform the sorter that the bills to be processed are incoming bills and that the data about such bills should be added to the branch&#39;s inventory totals. According to some embodiments, information about the source of the incoming currency could also to entered into the sorter and stored therein, e.g., “Betty&#39;s Retail Store No. 6”, or “Account 123”. Additionally, when strapped currency is received, the user interface could permit information about the number of straps of each denomination which has been received to be entered into the sorter and the sorter could update the inventories based on such information. 
     In a similar fashion, when currency is to be sold or disbursed such as to a commercial account (e.g., a local gas station), an outgoing button or selection element could be selected by the operator to inform the sorter that the bills to be processed are outgoing bills and that the data about such bills should be subtracted from the branch&#39;s inventory totals. Information about where the money is going could also be entered into the sorter. Likewise, when strapped currency is disbursed, the user interface could permit information about the number of straps of each denomination which is outgoing to be entered into the sorter and the sorter could update the inventories based on such information. Accordingly, the sorter could keep a running total of the branch&#39;s inventories and periodically send this information to the bank&#39;s home office. For example, such data could be sent to the home office at night. A networked system could keep a running total of the inventories of each branch and the main vault. According to some embodiments, software on the networked computer system monitors inventory levels at the branches and the main vault and determines when an inventory level for one or more denominations falls below an associated minimum level and re-orders currency as required to replenish inventories at associated branches. 
     According to some embodiments, inventory levels of a branch are maintained on a computer system and one or more sorters according to the present inventions are networked to that computer system. Alternatively or additionally, other currency processing machines such as those discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,687,963; 6,311,819; and 6,278,795 as well as in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,977 filed Feb. 8, 2002 (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0015395A1) and/or note counters are networked to the computer system. Additionally, ATMs for the branch may also be coupled to the computer network. As described above, the currency bills processed by such machines can be added to or subtracted from the branch&#39;s inventory levels being maintained by the computer system. For example, a deposit from a commercial account received at the branch&#39;s night deposit box could be processed by a compact multi-pocket sorter as described above (e.g., the device of  FIG. 1   a ), and the breakdown of received bills could be sent to the computer system where the inventory levels may be correspondingly increased. Likewise, using a single or dual-pocket currency denominating device at a teller window, a teller could run bills received from a walk up customer through such devices and the information determined by those machines (e.g., the breakdown by denomination) could be sent to the computer system and the inventory levels updated. In similar manner, a teller could run bills to be disbursed to a customer through a networked currency processing machine (e.g., a one or two pocket currency denominating device or a note counter) and the information determined by those machines (e.g., the breakdown by denomination) could be sent to the computer system and the inventory levels updated, in this case reduced accordingly. Similarly, networked ATMs could provide, for example, information about the amount of currency which is dispensed and/or the remaining inventory in the ATMs. Furthermore, the branch&#39;s computer system could be part of a bank computer network including other branches, the main vault, and remote ATMs so data from all these sources could be shared and monitored. 
     The above principles are applicable to environments other than bank branches. For example, retail stores having a sorter according some embodiments of the present invention may be able to track and maintain their inventories of currency bills and reduce the need for the transportation of currency as well. For example, instead of shipping money received from customers to its bank and ordering replacement money needed for its operation from its bank, using a sorter according to some embodiments of the present invention, an operator located at the store could sort the received money and easily extract the bills needed for the store&#39;s operation. Accordingly, only excess money would need to be sent to the store&#39;s bank and the need to order currency from the bank may be reduced or eliminated. For example, as described in more detail in some of the other patents and applications incorporated by reference above, see, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,977 filed Feb. 8, 2002 and published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0015395A1, the sorters according to some embodiments of the present invention may be configurable to permit the operator to set strap limits per denomination. 
     For example, a store&#39;s daily inventory needs for currency bills may be as indicated in Table 1 below. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Denomination/Type 
                 Amount 
                 Number 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                 $1 
                 $5,000 
                 5,000 
               
               
                 $5 
                 $2,000 
                 400 
               
               
                 $10 
                 $2,000 
                 200 
               
               
                 $20 
                 $1,000 
                 50 
               
               
                 $20 ATM Fit 
                 $2,000 
                 100 
               
               
                 $50 
                 $1,000 
                 20 
               
               
                 $100 
                 $0 
                 0 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Accordingly, the operator of the store&#39;s sorter may be able to set the strap limits for these denominations as follows: 5,000 for $1, 400 for $5 bills, 200 for $10 bills, 50 for non-ATM fit $20 bills, 100 for ATM fit $20 bills (to service, e.g., an ATM located in the store), and 20 for $50 bills. Alternatively, strap limits maybe set in dollars rather than units. Then during operation of a sorter so configured, the sorter would provide an indication to the operator, e.g., via a sound and/or a visual indication such as via a user interface, that a given strap limit has been reached. Thus while totaling up a batch of money (e.g., all the money received during a day), with the sorter&#39;s help, the operator could easily set aside the desired amounts of each denomination and then bundle any additional money for delivery to the store&#39;s bank. 
     In the above example, where a strap limit exceeded a pocket limit (i.e., the maximum number of bills which may be accommodated in a given pocket, e.g.,  200  or  400 ), then when a pocket limit was reached before a strap limit for the denomination associated with the full pocket, the user interface could notify the operator to remove the bills from the full pocket and set them aside for retention by the store. As additional pocket limits or the strap limit for that denomination are reached, the user interface could direct the operator to add such currency to that previously set aside. 
     An exemplary configuration for a sorter designed to handle the sorting in the above example may comprise a sorter having seven or more output receptacles with a first pocket being assigned to receive $1 bills, a second pocket being assigned to received $5 bills, a third pocket being assigned to received $10 bills, a fourth pocket being assigned to received non-ATM quality $20 bills, a fifth pocket being assigned to received ATM quality $20 bills, a six pocket being assigned to received $50 bills, and a seventh pocket being assigned to received $100 bills. Such a machine may have one or more reject pockets as well and/or rejects may be handled by delivering a reject bill to one of the seven dedicated pockets and suspending the operation of the machine. An appropriate indication such as via a message display via the user interface may also be provided to the operator (e.g., “Suspect bill in Pocket  7 —Remove and Press Continue”). For sorters having more pockets, additional pockets may be assigned to high volume or high strap limit denominations, e.g., $1 bills in the above example. 
     Sorters according to embodiments of the present invention may also be employed at central vaults of banks or other locations which currently use large, expensive sorters. Currently most commercial vaults are set up with two stations for currency processing. At the first station, there is usually a one or two output receptacle currency denominating device. At the first station, a teller accepts currency associated with deposits, for example, the deposits of large retail customers. For each deposit, the teller processes the mixed denominations of currency and verifies the total deposit amount. The currency is then placed, mixed, into a tray and the teller verifies the next deposit. From time to time, the teller sells the full trays to the second station. At the second station, the currency is sorted down by denomination on large expensive multi-pocket currency denominating machines that range anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million or more. These large expensive sorters have pockets dedicated to individual denominations, e.g., a dedicated $1 pocket, a dedicated $5 pocket, a dedicated $10 pocket, a dedicated $20 pocket, a dedicated $50 pocket, and a dedicated $100 pocket. 
     According to some embodiments, a method comprises performing the acts of the first and second stations on a compact multi-pocket currency sorter according to the present invention. For example, using one of the sorters described above, e.g., see  FIGS. 1-15 , a teller could verify the amount of individual deposits and sort down the deposit by denomination at the same time. 
       FIG. 20   a  illustrates an embodiment wherein bills are fed through the transport mechanism of a sorter wherein the leading edge changes. The input hopper is adapted to accept a stack of bills  2000  with their narrow edge parallel to the front of the machine. Bills are then fed from the input hopper as indicated by location I to location III with a narrow edge  200   b  leading. According to some embodiments evaluating or bill characteristic sensors are positioned along the transport path between locations I and III. At location III, a bill is stopped momentarily and then feed either to the right toward position  2004  or to the left toward position  2007 . After a bill is stopped at locations III, it is fed either to the right toward position  2004  or to the left toward position  2007  with a wide edge leading—wide edge  200   a  for bills fed to the left toward position  2004  and wide edge  200   c  for bills fed toward position  2007 . The transportation then proceeds as described above in connection with  FIG. 4   a , e.g., proceeding through a rotating mechanism to re-orient the bills so that a wide edge of the bills is parallel to the front of the sorter and feeding the bills wide edge leading into one of the output receptacles. In some alternative embodiments, output receptacles are located only to one side of the input hopper so that from position III bills would be fed only to the right or only to the left. As with the above embodiments, the number of output receptacles in a given column may be one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, or more and more than one column may be coupled together, see, e.g.,  FIGS. 11   a  and  11   b . The column containing the input hopper and the columns containing output receptacles may be of modular construction as described above in connection with  FIGS. 14   a  and  14   b . Other than the orientation of the input hopper, various embodiments of the initial narrow edge feed sorters would have the outside appearance of the various sorters described above. 
       FIG. 20   b  illustrates an alternate embodiment wherein bills are fed through the transport mechanism of a sorter wherein the leading edge changes.  FIG. 20   b  illustrates an exemplary location of an imager  106   a  in the sorter. The input hopper is adapted to accept a stack of bills  2000  with their narrow edge parallel to the front of the machine. Bills are then fed from the input hopper as indicated by location I to location III with a narrow edge  200   b  leading. According to some embodiments image sensors such as imager  106   a , are positioned along the transport path between locations I and III. At location III, a bill is stopped momentarily and then feed either to the right toward position  2004  or to the left toward position  2007 . After a bill is stopped at locations III, it is fed either to the right toward position  2004  or to the left toward position  2007  with a wide edge leading—wide edge  200   a  for bills fed to the left toward position  2004  and wide edge  200   c  for bills fed toward position  2007 . The transportation then proceeds as described above in connection with  FIG. 4   a , e.g., proceeding through a rotating mechanism to re-orient the bills so that a wide edge of the bills is parallel to the front of the sorter and feeding the bills wide edge leading into one of the output receptacles. In some alternative embodiments, output receptacles are located only to one side of the input hopper so that from position III bills would be fed only to the right or only to the left. As with the above embodiments, the number of output receptacles in a given column may be one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, or more and more than one column may be coupled together, see, e.g.,  FIGS. 11   a  and  11   b . The column containing the input hopper and the columns containing output receptacles may be of modular construction as described above in connection with  FIGS. 14   a  and  14   b . Other than the orientation of the input hopper, various embodiments of the initial narrow edge feed sorters would have the outside appearance of the various sorters described above. 
     Although described in the context of U.S. bills, other embodiments of the present invention process Euros, British pounds, Canadian dollars, Japanese Yen, or some combination of U.S. bills, Euros, pounds, Yen, and/or Canadian dollars. The principles of the present invention are applicable to currency bills of other countries as well. 
     In some embodiments of the current invention, four output receptacles are located to the left of the input receptacle, and four output receptacles are located to the right of the input receptacle. One set of four output receptacles is arranged vertically on the left side of the input receptacle and a second set of four output receptacles is arranged vertically on the right side of the input receptacle so that there is only one width of output receptacle on each side of the input receptacle. This allows a machine to have eight output receptacles, while its width is not significantly greater than the width of the input receptacle and two output receptacles. The height of this machine is not significantly greater than that of a machine with four vertically stacked output receptacles. 
     According to other embodiments of the current invention, three output receptacles, in a vertical stack, are located to the left side of the input receptacle, and three output receptacles, in a vertical stack, are located to the right side of the input receptacle. This allows a machine to have six output receptacles and not be significantly wider than the width of the input receptacle and two output receptacles. The height of this embodiment is not significantly greater than that of a machine with three vertically stacked output receptacles. 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, the device comprises a housing that is used to hold a control panel, an input receptacle and an output receptacle bay, which accepts modules, of one, two, three or four output receptacles to one side of an input receptacle. A transport mechanism and any sensors used to denominate, authenticate, and determine the fitness of the bills and to control the flow of the currency bills reside within the housing. 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention, the device contains a housing that is used to hold a control panel, an input receptacle, two symmetric module bays for output receptacle modules, one to the right and one to the left of the input receptacle and control panel, a transport mechanism, and any sensors used to denominate, authenticate, and determine the fitness of the bills. The transport mechanism is designed so that the bills can be transported through either the left or right module bay of the housing where the output receptacle modules may contain one or more output receptacles. 
     The modular unit of output receptacles in some embodiments contain four output receptacles and is located on only one side of the input receptacle. According to other embodiments, the modular output unit contains three output receptacles and is located on only one side of the input receptacle. In further embodiments the modular output unit may have two output receptacles. In yet further embodiments the modular output unit may have only one receptacle. 
     According to other embodiments, the device contains one modular output unit having three output receptacles, and one modular unit having four output receptacles. One of these modular units will be located to the left of the input receptacle, and the other modular unit will be located to the right of the input receptacle, depending on how the modules are installed. 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises an input receptacle, an evaluation unit and a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle. 
     According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises an input receptacle, an evaluation unit, a transport path that transports currency bills in three-dimensions, and a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle. 
     According to a further embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises a transport mechanism adapted to transport currency bills in three-dimensions. 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of bills to be processed, a discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of the bills, a first modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, a second modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, and a transport mechanism for transporting bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle to one of the output receptacles. 
     According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of bills to be processed, a discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of the bills, a first modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, a second modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, wherein the first and second modular columns of output receptacles are both laterally offset in the same direction from the input receptacle, and a transport mechanism for transporting bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle to one of the output receptacles. 
     According to yet a further embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device comprises an input receptacle positioned to receive a stack of bills to be processed, a discriminating unit adapted to determine the denomination of the bills, a first modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, a second modular column of output receptacles having a plurality of output receptacles laterally offset from the input receptacle, wherein the first and second modular columns of output receptacles are laterally offset in opposite directions of each other from the input receptacle, and a transport mechanism for transporting bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle to one of the output receptacles. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 21 , a perspective view of another embodiment of a multi-pocket currency sorter or processor  2100  is shown. The device  2100  features a housing  2101  for supporting the various components comprising the device  2100 . The device  2100  has an input hopper or receptacle  2102  adapted to receive a stack of currency bills to be processed. In some embodiments the input receptacle  2102  has a capacity of approximately 700 to approximately 800 currency bills. The input receptacle  2102  is adapted to receive bills as previously described in relation to  FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b . The device  2100  also comprises a stacking unit  2116  holding a plurality of output receptacles, such as output receptacles  2116   a - 2116   d  that are laterally offset from the input hopper  2102 . The bills are transported to the stacking unit  2116  by a transport mechanism  2500  ( FIG. 25 ) that includes at least two bill-rotating-mechanisms such that a bill placed in the input receptacle  2102  with a portrait side facing generally in the direction of the z-axis, and having a portrait plane generally parallel to the portrait side of the bill, such that the portrait plane will be generally parallel to the xy-plane while the bill is in the input hopper  2102 . The processor  2100  transports the bill through a discriminating unit  2106  and the portrait plane of the bills remains generally parallel to the xy-plane. After passing through the discriminating unit  2106  the bills are rotated about the x-axis approximately 90° such that the portrait plane is generally parallel to the xz-plane and generally normal to the yz-plane. The bill will be rotated approximately 90° by a first bill-rotating-mechanism such that the portrait plane rotates from being generally normal to the yz-plane, to being generally normal to the xz-plane and generally parallel to the yz-plane, so that the bill may be displaced along the x-axis. The bill is rotated approximately 90° about the y-axis prior to being displaced along the x-axis, such that the portrait plane of the bill is generally parallel to the xy-plane. After being displaced abiut the x-axis, the bill is the rotated approximately 90° about the y-axis such that the portrait plane is generally parallel to the yz-plane. A second bill-rotating-mechanism will rotate the bill such that the bill with the portrait plane generally parallel to the yz-plane, generally normal to the xz-plane, is rotated approximately 90° to being generally parallel to the xz-plane, generally normal to the yz-plane, so that the bill may be displaced along the y-axis. As shown in  FIG. 21 , the four output receptacles  2116   a - 2116   d  are shown to the left of the input hopper  2102 . The stacking unit  2116  is hingedly connected to the housing  2101  via at least one hinge  2117 , allowing a user to swing the stacking unit  2116  away from the housing ( FIG. 22 ). The currency processor  2100  may also comprise an operator or user interface  2104  adapted to receive information from and/or to provide information to an operator or user. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 21 , the interface  2104  is in the form of a touch screen. A controller coupled to the control panel and the discriminating unit  2106  causes the sorter  2100  to operate in a number of modes in response to the operational instructions from the user received via the user interface  2104 . 
     According to one embodiment, the discriminating unit  2106  comprises an imager and other sensors or detectors to count, denominate, authenticate, determine fitness, and/or otherwise discriminate, evaluate, and/or analyze the currency bills. Examples of a variety of such sensors (e.g., magnetic sensors, thread sensors, ultraviolet/fluorescent sensors, image sensors, etc.) are described or referred to in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,687,963; 6,311,819; 6,278,795 B1; 6,256,407; 6,363,164; and 6,661,910; as well as in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/379,365, which was filed Mar. 4, 2003 and entitled “Currency Processing System with Fitness Detection” and Ser. No. 10/684,027, which was filed Oct. 10, 2003 and entitled “Multi-Wavelength Currency Authentication System and Method”—all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Fitness detection/evaluation may include the evaluation of a bill&#39;s limpness and/or the detection of the presence of soil, tape, holes, tears, missing corners, and/or graffiti. The at least one imager, detector, or sensor generates at least one output signal used to determine the denomination of the bills. 
     For example, the device  2100  may be adapted to determine the denomination of the bills placed into the input hopper and then sort the bills into the various output receptacles  2116   a - d  based on their denomination, e.g., $1 bills may be routed to pocket  2116   a , $5 bills and $10 bills to pocket  2116   b , $20 bills, $50 bills, and $100 bills to pocket  2116   c . In some embodiments, pocket  2116   d  may be used as a reject pocket and may be used to receive bills or documents which cannot be denominated as having one of the above seven U.S. denominations, bills suspected to be counterfeit (suspect bills), and/or bills or documents meeting or failing to meet some other criterion. 
     Additionally, the device  2100  may comprise a modular output region  2118  that allows the expansion of the number of output receptacles of the processing device to include additional output receptacles similar to the output receptacles  2116   a - 2116   d  shown in  FIG. 21 , such as described in connection with  FIGS. 25-27 . 
     According to one embodiment the device  2100  is compact, having a width W 21  of about 29 inches (about 74 cm), a height H 21  of about 29 inches (about 74 cm), and a depth D 21  of about 26 inches (about 66 cm). Thus, according to some embodiments, a sorter is provided that has a footprint (width×depth) of less than about 754 in. 2  (about 4864 cm 2 ) and a volume of less than about 21,866 in. 3  (about 358492 cm 3 ). 
     According to other embodiments the currency processor has a width of about 30 inches (76 cm), a height of about 30 inches (76 cm), and a depth of about 30 inches (76 cm). Thus, according to some embodiments a sorter is provided that has a footprint of less than about 900 in. 2  (5800 cm 2 ) and a volume of less than about 27,000 in. 3  (440,000 cm 3 ). 
     Turning now to  FIG. 22 , the device  2100  is shown with the stacking unit  2116  swung away from the front of the housing  2101 . Additionally, a sildably mounted unit  2160  comprising the discriminating unit  2106 , the user interface  2104 , and the input receptacle  2102  slidably mounted to tracks  2300  ( FIG. 23 ) have been slidably moved forward along the y-axis (the negative y direction). As shown in  FIG. 22  a user may access the interior of the device  2100  with ease. The ease of access to the interior of the device allows a user to more easily resolve minor errors, such as a bill that does not feed properly, and allows for easier service and updating of the device  2100 . 
       FIG. 23   a  and  FIG. 23   b  depict the slidably mounted unit  2160  comprising the discriminating unit  2106 , the user interface  2104 , and the input receptacle  2102  after it has been slidably moved along tracks  2300  along the y-axis in the negative y direction.  FIG. 23   a  depicts the discriminating unit  2106  in a closed position, while  FIG. 23   b  depicts the discriminating unit  2106  in an open position. The discriminating unit  2106  may need to be opened when a bill has not fed properly, or if the discriminating unit  2106  needs to be serviced. Discriminating unit  2106  features a moveable arm  2302  having an engagement region  2302   a  and a release region  2302   b . The moveable arm  2302  is adapted to fit within a support bracket  2304  running the width of the discriminating unit  2106 . The moveable arm  2302  is adapted to interact with a flange  2306  to lock the discriminating unit  2106  in an open position (as shown in  FIG. 23 ). The flange  2306  has a cutout region  2306   a . Specifically, the engagement region  2302   a  of the movable arm  2302  is adapted to fit within the cutout region  2306   a  of the flange  2306  to hold the discriminating unit in the open position as depicted in  FIG. 23   b . As the discriminating unit is opened, the moveable arm  2302  slides past the flange  2306  until the engagement region  2302   a  of the moveable arm  2302  slides into the cutout region  2306   a  of the flange  2306 . In order to close the discriminating unit once it is locked in the open position, a user pulls on the release region  2302   b  of the moveable arm  2302 . Pulling on the release region  2302   b  causes the engagement region  2302   a  of the moveable arm  2302  to withdraw from the cutout region  2306   a  of the flange  2306 . Once the moveable arm  2302  and the flange  2306  are no longer engaged, the discriminating unit may be closed. According to some embodiments, a biasing spring  2308  acts on the moveable arm  2302  to cause the arm  2302  to move towards the cutout region  2306   a  of the flange  2306 . The biasing spring  2308  improves the likelihood that the engagement region  2302   a  of the moveable arm  2302  slides into the cutout region  2306   a  of the flange  2306 . The use of the moveable arm  2302  and the flange  2306  makes it easier for the user to open and close the discriminating unit  2106 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 24 , the processing device  2100  is shown with the stacking unit  2116  swung away from the housing  2100 . As can be seen, the stacking unit  2116  features an output receptacles transport region  2400 . The output receptacles transport region  2400  comprises a first flat plate  2402 , a second flat plate  2404 , a first plurality of rollers  2406 , a second plurality of rollers  2408 , and a plurality of diverters  2410 . A bill that has been transported through the device  2100  enters the output receptacles transport region  2400  and is positioned between the first flat plate  2402 , the second flat plate  2404 , as well as the first plurality of rollers  2406  and the second plurality of rollers. As the bill is transported up the output receptacles transport region (generally in the positive z-direction) it is diverted to the proper output receptacle  2116   a - 2116   d  ( FIG. 21 ) by one of the plurality of diverters  2410 . Using the first flat plate  2402  and the second flat plate  2404  allows a user to more easily clear a jam in the output receptacles transport region. As shown in  FIG. 24  the first flat plate  2402  is swung away from the second flat plate  2404 . Swinging the flat plates  2402 ,  2404  away from each other causes any bills located between the flat plates  2402 ,  2404  to be freed, as the force on the bills applied by the flat plates  2402 ,  2404  and the plurality of rollers  2406 ,  2408  is removed. For example, if a bill jam was to occur in the output receptacles transport region  2400 , a user would swing the flat plates  2402 ,  2404  away from each other, and the bills would simply fall to a table or other surface the device  2100  is resting on. 
       FIG. 25  depicts a portion of a transport mechanism  2500  of the processing device  2100 . For ease of viewing the transport mechanism  2500 , the input receptacle, stacking unit, and slidably mounted unit are not depicted in  FIG. 25 . The transport mechanism  2500  is held within the housing  2101  of the device  2100 . In this embodiment there is shown a right-vertical-currency-bill-rotating-mechanism  2510  that receives currency bills that have passed from the input receptacle  2102  ( FIG. 21 ) through the discrimination unit  2106  ( FIG. 21 ). Bills enter the portion of the transport mechanism at the bottom of the right-rotating-mechanism  2510   a  and are transported towards the top  2510   b  of the right-rotating-mechanism  2510 . As previously described in relation to  FIG. 5   a , the bills are rotated during this upward movement through right-rotating-mechanism  2510 . As described in relation to  FIG. 21 , the right-rotating-mechanism  2510  rotates a bill entering the bottom of the right-rotating-mechanism  2510   a  with the portrait plane generally normal to the yz-plane and rotates the bill approximately 90° about the z-axis so that the portrait plane is generally normal to the xz-plane when the bill reaches the top  2510   b  of the right-rotating-mechanism  2510 . 
     From the top  2510   b  of the right-rotating-mechanism  2510 , the bills are transported upward and to the left along a first diagonal-transporting mechanism  2520  from the bottom  2520   a  of the first diagonal-transporting mechanism to the top  2520   b  of the first diagonal-transporting mechanism  2520 . 
     Bills exiting the first diagonal-transporting mechanism  2520  are diverted at a first diverter  2530  to either a second diagonal-transporting mechanism  2540  or a facing-transporting mechanism  2550 . Bills diverted through the facing transport mechanism pass through a bill facing mechanism  2551 , which is used to rotate the orientation of a bill approximately 180°. For example, if a U.S. bill is initially presented at the facing mechanism  2551  with the surface bearing a portrait of a president facing down, the bill will be rotated 180° as it passed through the facing mechanism  2551  so that the bill surface with the portrait faces up when exiting the bill facing mechanism  2551 . The decision may be made to send a bill to the facing mechanism  2551  when the selected mode of operation or other operator instructions call for maintaining a given face orientation of bills as they are processed by the currency processing device  2100 . For example, it may be desirable in certain circumstances for all of the bills ultimately delivered to the output receptacles to have the same face orientation. In such embodiments of the currency handling device  2100 , the device is capable of determining the face orientation of a bill, and directing a bill not having the desired face orientation to the bill facing mechanism  2551  before being delivered to the appropriate output receptacle. Face orientation may be determined using one or more of the bill characteristic sensors. In some embodiments, an imager is used to determine face orientation. In some embodiments, one or more non-image sensors are used to determine face orientation. 
     According to one embodiment the bill facing mechanism  2551  comprises a part of twisted endless belts as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,303 (“Two Belt Bill Facing Mechanism”), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Bills enter the facing-transporting-mechanism  2550  at an inlet  2550   a . Once within the facing-transporting-mechanism  2550 , the orientation of the bill is rotated 180° while its leading edge remains constant. At the output  2550   b  of the bill facing-transporting-mechanism, the bill is directed towards a fourth diagonal transporting mechanism  2570 . 
     While the bill facing mechanism  2551  has been shown and described as a facing mechanism consisting of a pair of belts for rotating the orientation of the bills, other types of facing mechanisms may be used in alternative embodiments of the currency processing device of the present invention. For example, the document facing mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,334 (“Document Facing Method and Apparatus”), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, may be implemented in connection with alternative embodiments of the present invention. 
     Bills diverted by the first diverter  2530  to the second diagonal-transporting mechanism  2540  are transported downward and to the left along the second diagonal-transporting mechanism  2540  from the top  2540   a  of the first diagonal-transporting mechanism to the bottom  2540   b  of the second diagonal-transporting mechanism  2540 . 
     From the bottom  2540   b  of the second diagonal-transporting mechanism  2540 , the bills are transported upward and to the left along a third diagonal-transporting mechanism  2560  from the bottom  2560   a  of the third diagonal-transporting mechanism to the top  2560   b  of the third diagonal-transporting mechanism  2560 . 
     Bills exiting the top  2560   b  of the third diagonal-transporting mechanism  2560  and bills exiting the output  2550   b  of the bill facing-transporting-mechanism  2550  are transported slightly downward and to the right along the fourth diagonal-transporting mechanism  2570  from the top  2570   a  of the fourth diagonal-transporting mechanism to the bottom  2570   b  of the fourth diagonal-transporting-mechanism  2570 . 
     Bills exiting the fourth diagonal-transporting-mechanism  2570  are diverted at a second diverter  2580  to either a fifth diagonal-transporting-mechanism  2590  or a modular-output-transporting-mechanism  2600 . Bills diverted to the modular-output-transporting-mechanism  2600  are sent to a modular output receptacle unit ( FIGS. 26 ,  27 ) attached to the left side of the housing  2101  that functions similarly to the output receptacles  2116  described in connection with  FIG. 21 . 
     Bills diverted by the second diverter  2580  to the fifth diagonal-transporting mechanism  2590  are transported downward and to the right along the fifth diagonal-transporting mechanism  2590  from the top  2590   a  of the fifth diagonal-transporting mechanism to the bottom  2590   b  of the fifth diagonal-transporting mechanism  2590 . 
     Bills exiting the bottom  2590   b  of the fifth-diagonal-transporting mechanism  2590  enter a left-vertical-currency-bill-rotating-mechanism  2610 . Bills enter the top of the left-rotating-mechanism  2610   a  and are transported towards the bottom  2610   b  of the left-rotating-mechanism  2610 . As previously described in relation to  FIG. 5   a , the bills are rotated during this downward movement through right rotating mechanism  2610 . As described in relation to  FIG. 21 , the left-rotating-mechanism  2610  rotates a bill entering the top of the left-rotating-mechanism  2610   a  with the portrait plane generally normal to the xz-plane and rotates the bill approximately 90° about the z-axis so that the portrait plane is generally normal to the yz-plane when the bill reaches the bottom  2610   b  of the left-rotating-mechanism  2610 . Bills exiting the bottom  2610   b  of the left-rotating-mechanism  2610  enter the output receptacles transport region  2400  previously described in relation to  FIG. 24 . 
     To simplify the description of the transport mechanism  2500 , it may be broken down into three transport paths. A first transport path, path I, comprises the right-rotating-mechanism  2510  and the first diagonal-transporting mechanism  2520 . A bill moving in the path I moves generally in the positive z-direction. A second transport path, path II, comprises the second-diagonal transporting mechanism  2540 , the facing-transporting mechanism  2550 , the third diagonal-transporting mechanism  2560 , and the fourth diagonal-transporting mechanism  2570 . A bill moving in path II moves generally along the x-axis, with the majority of the movement in the negative x-direction. A third transport path, path III, comprises the fifth diagonal-transporting-mechanism  2590  and the left-rotating-mechanism  2610 . A bill moving in path III moves generally along the z-axis in the negative z-direction. 
       FIG. 25  also depicts two USB ports  2620  used to service and update the device  2100  mounted to the inside of the housing  2101 . The USB ports  2620  are operatively connected to a processor used to control the operations of the device  2100 . The USB ports may be used to update software contained in the device  2100  and may be used to obtain information from the device if the device  2100  needs maintenance. Mounting the USB ports inside the housing  2101 , as opposed to mounting the ports  2620  on the back or the sides of the device  2100  allows the updating and servicing of the device  2100  without needing to move the device from its operating location, allowing the device  2100  to have a more permanent installation. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 26 , a front view of another embodiment of a multi-pocket currency sorter or processor  2700  is shown. The device  2700  features a housing  2701  for supporting the various components comprising the device  2700 . The device  2700  has an input hopper or receptacle  2702  adapted to receive a stack of currency bills to be processed. In some embodiments the input receptacle  2702  has a capacity of approximately 700 to approximately 800 currency bills. The input receptacle  2702  is adapted to receive bills as previously described in relation to  FIGS. 2   a , and  2   b . The device  2700  also comprises a first stacking unit  2716 , comprising output receptacles  2716   a - 2716   d  that are laterally offset from the input hopper  2702 . As shown in  FIG. 26 , the four output receptacles  2716   a - 2716   d  are shown to the left of the input hopper  2702 . The device  2700  also comprises a second stacking unit  2718 , comprising output receptacles  2718   a - 2718   d . The second stacking unit  2718  is located to the left of the first stacking unit  2716 . The bills are transported to the stacking units  2716 ,  2718  by a transport mechanism that includes at least three bill-rotating-mechanisms such that a bill placed in the input receptacle  2102  with a portrait side facing generally in the direction of the z-axis, and having a portrait plane generally parallel to the portrait side of the bill, will be rotated approximately 90° by a first bill-rotating-mechanism such that the portrait plane rotates from being generally normal to the yz-plane, to being generally normal to the xz-plane so that the bill may be displaced along the x-axis. The second bill-rotating-mechanism corresponds to the first stacking unit  2716 , and the third bill-rotating-mechanism corresponds to the second stacking unit  2718 . The second and third bill-rotating-mechanism will rotate the bill such that the bill with the portrait plane generally normal to the xz-plane is rotated approximately 90° to being generally normal to the yz-plane so that the bill may be displaced along the y-axis. 
     The currency processor  2700  may also comprise an operator or user interface  2704  and discriminating unit as described in connection with  FIG. 21 . 
     For example, the device  2700  may be adapted to determine the denomination of the bills placed into the input hopper and then sort the bills into the various output receptacles  2716   a - d ,  2718   a - d , based on their denomination, e.g., $1 bills may be routed to pocket  2716   a , $2 bills to pocket  2716   b , $5 bills to pocket  2716   c , $10 bills to pocket  2716   d , $20 bills to pocket  2718   a , $50 bills to pocket  2718   b , and $100 bills to pocket  2718   c . In some embodiments, pocket  2718   d  may be used as a reject pocket and used to receive bills or documents which cannot be denominated as having one of the above seven U.S. denominations, bills suspected to be counterfeit (suspect bills), and/or bills or documents meeting or failing to meet some other criterion. 
     According to one embodiment the device  2700  is compact, having a width W 26  of about 44 inches (about 112 cm), a height H 26  of about 29 inches (about 74 cm), and a depth D 26  ( FIG. 27 ) of about 30 inches (about 76 cm). Thus, according to some embodiments, a sorter is provided that a footprint (width×depth) of less than about 1320 in. 2  (about 8500 cm 2 ) and a volume of less than about 38,280 in. 3  (about 630,000 cm 3 ). 
     According to another embodiment the device is compact, having a width of about 50 inches (about 115 cm), a height of about 30 inches (about 77 cm), and a depth of about 30 inches (about 77 cm). Thus, according to some embodiments, a sorter is provided that a footprint (width×depth) of less than about 1350 in. 2  (about 8900 cm 2 ) and a volume of less than about 45,000 in. 3  (about 680,000 cm 3 ). 
     Turning now to  FIG. 28 , the second stacking unit  2718  is shown in greater detail. The second stacking unit  2718  comprises a stacking unit transport mechanism  2800 . Bills enter the second stacking unit transport mechanism  2718  via the modular output region  2118  ( FIG. 21 ) when used with the sorter  2100  of  FIG. 21 . Bills enter the second stacking unit along a horizontal transporting-mechanism  2802 . Bills move generally in the negative x-direction in the horizontal transporting-mechanism  2802 . Bills exiting the horizontal transporting-mechanism  2802  enter a second-stacking-unit-vertical-bill-rotating-mechanism  2804 . The second-stacking-unit-vertical-bill-rotating-mechanism  2804  rotates a bill entering the top of rotating mechanism  2804  with the portrait plane generally normal to the xz-plane and rotates the bill approximately 90° about the z-axis so that the portrait plane is generally normal to the yz-plane when the bill reaches the bottom of the second-stacking-unit-vertical-bill-rotating-mechanism  2804 . Bills exiting the second-stacking-unit-vertical-bill-rotating-mechanism  2804  enter an output receptacles transport region  2806  of the second stacking unit  2718 . The output receptacles transport region  2806  is generally identical to the output receptacles transport region  2400  described previously in relation to  FIG. 24 . 
     Turning next to  FIG. 29 , a three-dimensional coordinate system is shown as used in the description of the present invention. The three-dimensional coordinate system comprises a first axis, a second axis, and a third axis. The first axis is a y-axis. The first axis generally corresponds to a direction of depth. The second axis is a z-axis. The second axis generally corresponds to a direction of height. The third axis is an x-axis. The third axis generally corresponds to a direction of width. The three axes allow a first plane, a second plane, and a third plane to be formed. The first plane is formed by the first axis and the second axis. The first plane is a yz-plane. The first plane does not change dimensions along the third axis. The second plane is formed by the second axis and the third axis. The second plane is an xz-plane. The second plane does not change dimension along the first axis. The third plane is formed by the first axis and the third axis. The third plane is an xy-plane. The third plane does not change dimension along the second axis. 
     According to some embodiments, a compact multi-pocket sorter has a flagging control interface. The flagging control interface has a data retrieval device such as a touch screen that receives information from a user of a multi-pocket sorter of the present invention specifying if operation should be suspended based on detection of a bill meeting, or failing to meet, one or more criteria. Furthermore, where the operation is to be suspended upon detecting a bill to be flagged (e.g., a suspect), the sorter may stop with the flagged bill residing within the transport mechanism (before reaching a pocket), being the last bill delivered to an output receptacle, or being at some other location such as being two or three bills down in an output receptacle. The sorter could provide an appropriate notification to the operator and the operator could evaluate the flagged bill and take appropriate additional action (e.g., hit a denomination key, remove the bill and hit continue)—see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,697. Routing and flagging control interfaces are described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,819, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. It is contemplated that the flagging control interface may be included in the embodiments previously described. 
     According to some embodiments, sorters may be used to strap down loose currency by denomination. For example, when larger retail customers such as grocery stores or other retailers, casinos, or other industries that deposit large volumes of currency, an operator using a sorter at the branch could run the deposit through the sorter and sort the bills by denomination, e.g., $1 bills into Pocket  1 , $5 into Pocket  2 , $10 into Pocket  3 , etc. Furthermore, strap limits could be set for each pocket or denomination, e.g., 100 bills per denomination. Then as a strap limit is reached, the operator could remove the bills and place an appropriate strap around the set of bills, e.g., a set of 100 $20 bills may be physically bound with a strap labeled “$20” and/or “$2000” and/or having an appropriate color, e.g., blue. Then the branch&#39;s inventory could more readily be kept via straps of currency rather than as loose currency. This procedure would facilitate the branch&#39;s ability to keep track of its inventory as it is easier and faster to manually count straps of currency rather than manually count loose currency. It is contemplated that the sorters previously described may also be used to strap currency. 
     According to one embodiment, a user of a processing and sorting device may set the number of bills to be placed in a strap. For example, if a user wishes to create straps consisting of fifty (50) $1 bills, the user could utilize the user interface of the device to set a strap limit of fifty (50) $1 bills to one of the output receptacles. In the example described only a single output receptacle is being used to hold $1 bills, it is contemplated that additional output receptacles may be used to hold $1 bills and in such an embodiment the following description describes what occurs when the final output receptacle used to hold $1 bills is being filled, and the $1 bills have not been removed from any of the other output receptacles. The user would then activate the device and processing of a stack of currency placed in the input receptacle of the device would begin. The device would use the discriminating unit to evaluate the denomination of the bills and the controller would keep track of the count of each denomination. According to some embodiments, once the controller determines that fifty (50) $1 bills have passed through the discriminating unit the feeding of bills from the input receptacle halts, but the transportation of bills already within the device continues. The controller tracks the position of a 50 th  $1 bill (bill n) as it moves through the transport path. Once the 50 th  $1 bill (bill n) is placed in the appropriate output receptacle, the controller determines if a next bill after the 50 th  $1 bill (bill n+1) is also a $1 bill. If the next bill (bill n+1) is a $1 bill, the transport mechanism halts, ensuring that only fifty (50) $1 bills will be in the appropriate output receptacle. If the next bill, (bill n+1) is not a $1 bill, the next bill is transported to its appropriate output receptacle. This checking for $1 bills continues until a $1 bill after the 50 th  $1 bill (bill n+x, where x is equal to the number bills following bill n until another $1 bill is located) is located, or until all bills (bill n+i, where i is equal to the total number of bills after bill n in the transport mechanism) within the transport mechanism have been fed to an output receptacle. Thus, for the bills that are within the transport path (bill n+1 to bill n+i) when the 50 th  $1 bill (bill n) is placed in the appropriate output receptacle, the device determines if any of those bills (bill n+1 to bill n+i) are $1 bills, and if so, the entire transport mechanism will stop when the 51 st  $1 bill (bill n+x) is the next bill to be placed in an output receptacle. For example, if ten (10) bills (bill n+1 to bill n+10) are within the transport mechanism when the 50 th  $1 bill (bill n) is detected and the fourth bill (bill n+4) is a $1 bill, the device will deliver the first three bills following the 50 th  $1 bill (bill n+1 to bill n+3) to appropriate output receptacles, and then the transport mechanism will halt. Once the fifty (50) $1 bills are removed from the output receptacle for strapping, the transport mechanism resumes operation, and continues transporting the bills already within the transport mechanism, and also transporting additional bills from the input receptacle. This way, the correct number of bills to be strapped will be placed in the appropriate output receptacle, and the restart of the processing device. 
     Alternate Embodiments 
     AA. A three-dimensional currency processing device lying in a space defined by three perpendicular axes, namely, a first axis, a second axis, and a third axis, comprising: 
     an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of bills to be processed, the input receptacle holding the stack of bills such that individual bills lie in a plane generally normal to a plane defined by the first and the second of said axes, the plane defined by the first and second axes being plane  1 ; 
     at least one an output receptacle adapted to receive and stack bills after said bills have been processed, the output receptacle holding the stacked bills such that individual bills lie in a plane generally normal to the plane  1 , the output receptacle being displaced laterally from the input receptacle along the third axis, a second plane being defined by the second and third axes; and 
     a transport mechanism adapted to move bills from the input receptacle to the output receptacle such that when a bill is being moved along the third axes it lies in a plane generally normal to the second plane. 
     BB. A three-dimensional currency processing device lying in a space defined by three perpendicular axes, namely, a first axis, a second axis, and a third axis, the first axis running in a front/back direction, the second axis being a vertical axis, and the third axis running in a left/right direction comprising: 
     an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of bills to be processed, the input receptacle holding the stack of bills such that individual bills lie in a plane generally normal to a plane defined by the first and the second of said axes, the plane defined by the first and second axes being a plane  1 ; 
     at least one an output receptacle adapted to receive and stack bills after said bills have been processed, the output receptacle holding the stacked bills such that individual bills lie in a plane generally normal to the plane  1 , the output receptacle being displaced laterally from the input receptacle along the third axis, a second plane being defined by the second and third axes; and 
     a transport mechanism adapted to move bills from the input receptacle to the output receptacle such that when a bill is being moved along the third axes it lies in a plane generally normal to the second plane. 
     CC. A three-dimensional currency processing device lying in a space defined by three perpendicular axes, namely, a first axis, a second axis, and a third axis, comprising: 
     an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of bills to be processed, the input receptacle holding the stack of bills such that individual bills lie in a plane generally normal to a plane defined by a first and a second of said axes, the plane defined by the first and second axes being a plane  1 , a second plane being defined by the second and third axes; 
     at least one an output receptacle adapted to receive and stack bills after the bills have been processed, the output receptacle holding the stacked bills such that individual bills lie in a plane generally normal to the plane  1 , the output receptacle being displaced laterally from the input receptacle along the third axis; and 
     a transport mechanism adapted to receive bills from the input receptacle and rotate the bills about a line parallel to the direction of movement of the bills such that the bills change from lying in a plane generally normal to the plane  1  to a plane generally normal to the plane  2 ; wherein 
     the transport mechanism being adapted to move the bills along a direction having a component along the third axis while the bills are generally normal to the plane  2 ; 
     the transport mechanism being adapted to rotate the bills about a line parallel to the direction of movement of the bills such that the bills change from lying in a plane generally normal to the plane  2  to a plane generally normal to the plane  1 ; and 
     the transport mechanism being adapted to then transport the bills lying in a plane normal to plane  1  into the at least one output receptacle. 
     DD. A currency processing device having an input receptacle and at least one output receptacle, the at least one output receptacle being laterally displaced from the input receptacle along a first axis, the first axis defining a left and a right direction, the device having a transport mechanism adapted to move bills in a forward direction from the input receptacle to the laterally displaced output receptacle, the forward direction of motion of each bill being changed only by rotating the leading edge of the bill about a line perpendicular to the forward direction of motion of the bill. 
     EE. A three-dimensional currency processing device lying in a space defined by three perpendicular axes, namely, a first axis, a second axis, and a third axis, comprising: 
     an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of bills to be processed, the input receptacle holding the stack of bills such that individual bills lie in a plane generally normal to a plane defined by the first and the second of said axes, the plane defined by the first and second axes being plane  1 ; 
     at least one an output receptacle adapted to receive and stack bills after said bills have been processed, the output receptacle holding the stacked bills such that individual bills lie in a plane generally normal to a plane  1 , the output receptacle being displaced laterally from the input receptacle along the third axis, a second plane being defined by the second and third axes; and 
     a transport mechanism adapted to move bills from the input receptacle to the output receptacle such that when a bill is being moved along the third axes it lies in a plane generally normal to the second plane; 
     wherein a bill orientation is changed from being generally normal to the first plane to being generally normal to the second plane by rotating the bill only about a line generally parallel to the direction of motion of the bill. 
     FF. A currency processing device having an input receptacle and at least one output receptacle, the at least one output receptacle being laterally displaced from the input receptacle along a first axis, the first axis defining a left and a right direction, the space in which the device resides being defined by the first axis and two additional mutually perpendicular axes including a second vertical axis, the first left/right axis and the second vertical axis defining a first plane, the device having a transport mechanism adapted to move bills from the input receptacle to the laterally displaced output receptacle such that whenever the bill is moving in a direction having a lateral component, the bill is maintained in a plane generally normal to the first plane. 
     GG. A currency processing device having an input receptacle and at least one output receptacle, the output receptacle being laterally displaced from the input receptacle along a first axis, the first axis defining a left and a right direction, the input receptacle being adapted to receive a stack of bills to be processed, each bill being rectangular and having a long dimension and a narrow dimension and two long edges and two narrow edges, the device having a transport mechanism adapted to move bills in a forward direction such that one of the long and narrow dimensions of each bill is generally perpendicular to the forward direction and the other of the long and narrow dimensions is generally parallel to the forward direction of each bill, the forward direction defining a leading edge of the bill, the transport mechanism moving the bills from the input receptacle to the laterally displaced output receptacle while maintaining the same leading edge of a bill, the direction of motion of the leading edge of each bill being changed only by rotating the leading edge of the bill about a line generally perpendicular to the leading edge of the bill and the orientation of a bill being changed only by rotating the bill about a line generally parallel to the forward direction of motion of the bill. 
     HH. A currency processing device having an input receptacle and at least one output receptacle, the output receptacle being laterally displaced from the input receptacle along a first axis, the first axis defining a left and a right direction, the space in which the device resides being defined by the first axis and two additional mutually perpendicular axes, the device having a transport mechanism adapted to move bills from the input receptacle to the laterally displaced output receptacle by rotating the bills only about lines generally parallel to one of the three axes. 
     While particular embodiments and applications of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction and compositions disclosed herein and that various modifications, changes, and variations may be apparent from the foregoing descriptions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.