CA1126223A - Multiple bill detector for currency dispensers - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A detector mechanism and system for currency dispen-sers for automatic banking equipment which senses the presence of multiple or double bills, called "doubles", at any bill lo-cation in a series of bills intended to be fed one by one in a path of travel from a supply of bills to a place of delivery to a customer. The bill thickness of each bill is gauged con-tinuously while moving in the path of travel, and the thickness measurements are time averaged over substantially the entire length of the gauged portion of the bill. The averaged and normal bill thicknesses are compared to determine if the aver-aged thickness is greater than the normal thickness by a pre-determined amount. A greater thickness determination generates a signal of the presence of doubles, and the signal actuates means to reject the doubles while moving in the path of travel before delivery of the doubles to a customer.

Description

1 ~ 62 2 3 This is a division of Canadi.an ~pplica~ion Serial No. 307,409 filed July 14, 1978.
. BACKGROUND OF TI~E INV~NTXON

- Pi~ld e~ ~he Inven~ion ... _ . . . . .
The invention relates ~o a detection system and mech anism ~or a currency dispenser which senses the presence of multiple or double bills at any bill location in a seriès of bills ~in ~ed len~thwise in a pa~h ~f tr2~el, one at a time, fro~ a stacXed currer.cy supply to a customer access delivery receptacle of automatic banking eq~ipment.
More particularly, the invention ~elates to a sys~em and mechanism which g~uges the thic~ness of bills moving ill the pat~ o travel, and time averages the gauged ~easurements along substantially the entire length of ~he gau~ed portion of each bill to indicate averaged ~hickness and ~o generate a signal Indica~ing whether multiple or dGu~le bills, rather than a .

~$

llZ6223 1 single bill, are prescnt at any bill location in tlle series of moYing bills.
Also, the inven~ion rela~es to a detector and system in which the bill thickness gauging i5 performod mechanically to generate the sig-nal indicating the occurrence of multiple or double bills, herein called "doubles."

Description of the Prior Art A variety of means ha~e been used in the past or detecting characteristics of paper money or currency bills or other documents being conveyed from place to place in a line or pa~h of travel and ~ed in a series one by one along the path of traYel for coun~ing the bills or documents, for sensing an overlapped relationship of successive documents, or for sensing the presence at any bill location o~ doubles.
Sprin~-biased levers, roller switches, photoelectric sensors ~nd other similar de~ices ha~e ~een used for these pur-poses. Example~ o~ bill counters or dispensers are in ~nited States Pat~nt Nos. 3,077,983, 3,16~,644, 3,578,315, 3,760,158, 3,767,~0, 3,g37,453, 3,675,816 a~d 3,7~1,916. These prio~
d;evices substantially instantaneously generate a signal o *he .
0xistence of the condit~on boing sensed. In the casc of tho series o~ paper money bills being fed, the prior sinalin~ of doubles is tri~gered im~ediat~ly ~:heneYer the li~ht bezm of the photoelectric sensor is ~ttenuated to a dcgree ~reater than that representing the thic~ness of a single bill.
Such a si~nal may be triggered by the presonce of dirt or an inkspot or other dark areas on the ~ill, or by a folded or ~mall thic~enod arca o~ tho bill snywh~r~ along the b~ll zone boing seen by tho sensor, and without th~ ac~ual presence o doubles. In e~ect, where currency is hcing dispens~d, such

- 2 --1 prior detectors may be said to be too sensitive.
Since color, shades of color and variation in thick-ness of ~urrency thus may trigger such prior photoelectric detectors to produce a doubles sîgnal when dollbles actually are not present, problems have arisen which render prior doubles detector devices unsatisfactory for simple, ready, efficient or proper control snd handling in automatic banking equipment, for currencies of a number of countries where numerous bill colors for the same bill denomination are used, as well as for handling bills having variable opacity due to variable degrees of color or thickness.
- Similar problems also are involved in handling a mix-ture of new and old paper money bills in such banking equipment, since certain characteristics of old money may differ from ~hose of new ~oney, producing differen~ sensor signals for old as compared to new bills, with one or a given sensor adjustment.
Stated another way, prior doubles detection in cur-rency dispensers has involred looking at a bill a~ one point;
and if it appears thicker, the bill will be rejected as a doubles.
~ hus, there exists a need for a doubles detector and sys*em for currency dispensers which per~its both new and old bills jto be used and intermixed in the currency supply from which aurrency i5 dispensed; and also for a detector and system which is not affected by bill color, or changes in color or de~ree of color, or small bill areas of greater than normal bill thickness.
Further, there exists a need for a doubles detector and system for currency ~ispensers for automatic banking uni~s which eliminates the stated difficulties or undesirable char-acteristics encountered in the construction, operation or useof prior devices.

g2'Z3 1 SUMMARY OF THB INV~NTION

Objectives o~ the invention include pro~iding a cur-rency dispenser for automatic bankin~ equipment with detector mechanism which senses thc pre~ence of doubles at any bill lo^
cation.in a series of bills being moved and intended to be fed one by one in a path of traYel from a supply of bills to a customer access deli~ery receptacle by time av~raging the bill thickness of each bill cv0r substantially the entire length of portions of such bill continuously ~suged while moving in the path o travel; providing such doubles de~ector mechanism which utilizes a time-averaged bill ~hickness determination ~hat ex-ceeds normal bill average thickness by a predetermined amoun~
: to signal the presence of doubles and to reject such doubles before deliYery to a customer delivery receptacle; providing such doubles detector mechanism which readily and efficiently performs a doubles detectio~ operation on paper money bills fed one by one in a path of travel from a paper money bill supply which may include a random mixture of old and new paper money bills; providing such doubles detector mechanism which opera~es efficiently to detec~ and reject bills as doubles intended to be fed at spaced intervals one by one in a path of travel .tha~
accidentally are abutted end to end or edge to ed~e or are . .
slightly overlapped even though such bills are not in the usual doubles rclation of one bill on top of or stuck to another;
pro~iding such doubles detec~or mechanism which may be operated efficiently for ~he intended purpose whether th~ bills as fed in a path o travel a~e fed lengthwise one by one or crosswise one by one; providing such doubles dotector mechanism which may be associa~ed and operated in multiples of two or more detector units for disp~nsing two or more dcnominations of bills and in which the bills are fed one at a time from one dispenser unit ~1~6Z23 1 and then one at a time rom another dispenser unit to a common custo~er delivcry receptacle; providing such doubles detector mechanism which conveys the bills by driven roll conveyor means past the doubles d~tecting gauging station and then to revers-ible driven 1exible belt conveyor means which conveys tAe bills to the custo-er delivery receptacle, or which réjects the bills from the pa~h of travel when doubles are detected; providing ..., ~ .
such doubles detector mechanism in which thc flexible conveyor , . . .
belt means may also serve as conveyor means for material de- . ;
posited into the automatic ban~ing equipment; providing such ~. . . , . . ............................................... ~
doubles detector mechanism which may include either mechanical ! ~ :
or photosensitivc means for gauging continuously the thickness of each biil successively moved past the thickness gauging~sta-. . ., ~, tion; providing such doubles detector mechanism which may reli-ably and effectively gauge paper money bill thickness variàtions . " "
of from 1/17 to 1/7 of the normal bill thicXness; providing such :
doubles detector mechanism which may accept bills fed one by one from any desired type of stacked currency or paper money supply or container means for such currency supply; providing such doubles detec~or mechanism which may accept paper money bills ... , ............................................. ; ., , fed one by one from any type o~ currency supply by any desired type of picker mechanlsm which removes the bills one by one rom the supply and ~eeds the bills one by one to the doubles detec-" . i tor mechanism; providing such doubles detector mechanism which .. .
discharges doubles, when detected, from the belt conveyor meansto re~ected bill container means, which container means is removable from the currency dispenser, and preferably is locked during the act of removal; providing such doubles detector mech-anism which readily accepts currencies o~ various countries of ... . .
diffcring types of colors, thicknesses, etc., and performs the doubles detection operation regardless of. or unaffected by 6~Z3 such colors, shades of color and variat.ions in thickness sometimes present in such foreign currency to efectively detect the presence of doubles; providing a new doubles detector system incorporating the principles of and steps of operation set forth; and providing new doubles detector mechanism and system which achieve the stated objectives in a reliable, ef~ective, easily serviced, and secure manner, and which solve problems and satisfy needs that have existed in the field of currency dispensers for automatic banking equipment and systems.
The invention according to the parent application over-comes the problems of the prior art by providing a note dis-penser for automatic banking equipment comprising a note con-tainer or containing notes to be delivered to a delivery station, a doubles detector mechanism including means for.
generating a doubles-detected signal, and means for continu-ously moving notes successively along a path from the con-tainer, through the doubles detector mechanism and to the delivery station, the moving means comprising a picker . mechanism for removing notes one at a time from the contain-er, a conveyor roll assemblage for moving notes delivered by the picker mechanism successively through the doubles detector mechanism, a reversible note delivery and reject conveyo.~
separate from and for receiving notes from the conveyor roll assemblage, the reversible conveyor in one direction of movement delivering the notes to the delivery station and in its opposite direction of movement delivering detected doubles notes to a reject station, a generated doubles-detected signal actuating the reversible conveyor to establish the opposite direction of movement, and means for driving the picker mechanism, the conveyor roll assemblage and the reversible conveyor in coordination.

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llZ62Z3 Thus the il~vention disclosed herein relates to a new doubles detector mechanism for currency dispensers, which may be included in an automatic banking unit of the type in which currency in the form of paper money bills is delivered in requested amounts from a supply stack maintained under protective conditions in the banking unit from the supply to a customer access delivery receptacle, and in which the bills move one by one in a path of travel from the supply stack to the delivery receptacle normally at spaced inter-vals past the doubles detector mechanism. The doubles-detector mechanism includes in its most complete format, driven conveyor roll means receiving the bills delivered by picker mechanism which removes such bills from the supply stack one at a time; bill thickness gauging roll means in-cluding first and second spaced shafts, at least the first shaft preferably being rotatably driven and journaled on spaced support means and having a large diameter in cross section to provide shaft rigidity against bowing, the second shat preferably being mounted non-rotatably on spaced . support ~eans and having a small diameter in cross section to permit shat bowing flexibility, spaced pairs of opposed rolls mounted on the shafts, the rolls each including first and second rolls mounted on and rotatable with the firs?:
shaft, and third and fourth circular rolls mounted on the second shaft, the pg~ - 6A -~ 622 3 1 second shaft being slightly bowed to ~aintain the third and fourth rolls r~spectively in rolling contact with the first and second rolls, the circular third and fourth rolls preferably being~,bearings ~ournaled on tbe second shaft, the flexibility of the..,.s.econd shaft permitting the second shaft bow to increase . . ~ .
when a. .. bi 11 is conveyed in a path of movement by the dr~ven first . .
shaft,;~etween the contacting first and third and second.and .. . . . . . .... .
fourth,..~rol.ls thereby radially moving the third and fourth' rolls, , . ,-., . ~ .
respe',~tively, away from the first and second rolls a distance ,i.. . ~; - . .
equal.~j.to the thickness at the bite of the rolls of the bill . - ~-, ~ .,. ;, .
convey~d between the rolls, first and second switch moa'ns, ' respec~vely, operatively engaged with the third and fourth.rolls, one o~ the switch means being a counter switch and the oth'er ~ .
being a..doubles detecting switch; reversible driven flex~ibI,e belt,conveyor means including flat platen means having delivery and roje,ct ends and having a gate entry slo.t between its,ends at a location spaced above the gauging roll means; guide ;means includIng separable guide members extending from the ~auging roll m,,é.,~ns.,to said entry slot normally closing said slot,,the guide~ é~bers being separablo by movement of a bill along the guidé.moans between the guide members; an endless flexibIe:Selt above,",the platen trained around a pair of spaced belt support rolls,,.''.the. belt support rolls being located, respectively,.
at~a~ent the,delivery'and reject platen ends, reversible motor drivé,means operatively connected to at least one of the.bcl~
; drive.rolls; the belt having an active flight mova~le along the platen''-and having an outer bill-enga~ing surface ad~acent.the platen and an inner surface; back-up plate means engaging.the inner belt surface between the belt support rolls holding the

3,0 active,..,belt flight in bill-conveying contact against the platen to conver bills, that emerge from the guide means throu~h the ~.~Z6ZZ3 gate entry slot to a location beneath the active belt flight, in a normal forward path of movement toward the platen delivery - end to deliver the bills from the bite between the belt and ~; platen to a customer delivery receptacle; the belt when its drive is reversed conveying a bill located between the active belt flight and the platen in a reverse direction, from the forward : path of movement, across the gate entry slot to a bill reject .. container located adjacent the reject end of the platen; the -; doubles detecting switch means continuously gauging the thick-10 ness of each bill substantially throughout its length measured in the direction of travel as it is fed through the gauying roll means; circuitry connected with the doubles detecting switch , ., ` means operative to time average the gauge measurements made throughout the gauged length of each such bill to provide an . averaged measurement of bill thickness, and operative to compare s~ the averaged measurement with an arbitrarily selected predeter-"
.'~ mined value equal to or greater than normal bill average thick-¢; ness and to provide a doubles signal when such averaged measure-ment is greater than the arbitrary selected predetermined value, :
, 20 and also operative to reverse the belt conveyor drive upon the generation of said doubles signal.
; Of the above aspects the present invention may be seen as providing a doubles detector mechanism for a paper money ; dispensing system for automatic banking equipment comprising bill thickness gauging means through which bills are moved from a b~ll supply to a bill delivery station; the thickness gauging .. means including first and second gauging rolls between which 7i7 successive bills move, first and second shafts on which the first :- and second rolls are mounted respectively, the first shaft .30 having rigidity against bowing, the second shaft being flexible and being slightly bowed to maintain contact between the first and second rolls, the bowing of the second shaft being increased sd/~~ ~'J'~ 8-.

~1~6223 to a degree dependent upon the thickness of bills conveyed between the rolls, and switch means sensing the degree of bowing of the second shaft and adapted to be actuated to generate a doubles-detected signal upon movement of a doubles between the rolls.
sRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention - illustrative of the best modes in which applicants have contemplated applying . the principles - are set forth in the following description and shown in the drawings and are particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims.
; Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating certain components of automatic banking equipment provided with ,,~
, currency dispenser means equipped with the improved doubles . detector mechanism;

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.~ 1 Fi~. 2 ~s a diagrammatic view of certain o~ tlle parts shown in Pi~. 1 looking in tho direc~ion of the arrow~ 2-2, ~; Pig. l;
Fig. 3 is a somewhat diagram~atic p~rspectiv~ view of an automatic banking unit provided with currency dispenser means equipped with the new doubles detector mechanism; ;~
~ . Fig, 4 is a greatly enlarged fragmen~ary sectional `view of certain o~ the parts shown in Fig. 1 taken in section on the line 4-4, Fig. 2, illustrating the bill thickness gauging roll nleans and doubl~s detecting s~itch, with no paper mon~y bill.passing between the rolls of the gauging roll means;~ :
: .
Fig. 5 is a Yiew s~milar to Fig. 4 illustrat~ng the bill thickness gauging roll means actuated by the pass~ge of one bill be~ween the gauging roll~
"~ Fig. 6 is a view similar to Pigs. 4 and 5 showing a large~nt~mber of bills, one on top o~ another, accidentally fcd to the~gauging rolls; . :~
. Fig. 7 is a fragmcntary plan sectionsl view ~akèn on ~.
the line 7-7, Fig. 4j through ~he gauging roll axec~ illustrating the gauging rolls awaiting passage of bills between the ~olls;
::. Fig. 8 i~ a fragmentary view similnr to ~ig. 7 illus-i trating a single bill passing between one se~ of gaugin~ rolls~
and a;doubles conditlon of two bills passing between ano~her set of gauging rolls;
; P~g. 9 is a fragmentary clevation sectional vlew. look-ing in the direction of the arrows 9-9, Pig. 4;
.; . Pig. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line lO-10 P~g. 4 and 10-10, Pig. 9;
ig. ll is a plan sectional view, loo~ing in the dl-30 rection of the arrows 11-11, Fig. 4, of the con~eyor platen with the con~eyor belt removed and showin~ the guide members in closed position in the platen entry slot;

. g ;`` ` ~126ZZ3 .
Y., 1 Fig. 12 is a v~ew similar to Fig. 11 but showing the guide members in open pos~tion with a bill passing therebetweell;
Pig. 13 ls an exploded perspective view o~ the two guide members shown in Figs.. 11 and 12;
- . Fig. 14 is a fragmentary perspectivc view of the r~-jected bill container;
Pig. 15 is a YieW similar to Fig. 1, looking at the equipment from the other side;
~ , Fig. 16 is a view similar to Pig. 4 of a modified form of construction; and . ~ ~
Fi~s. 17 through 25 are schema~ic wiring diagrams for several doublec detection control circuits.
Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughou~ ~he ., drswings ", .
: DBSCRIPTION OF THE PREFE~ED EMBODIM~NTS
. . .. .
. In General . ; Pundn~ental characteri~ing conceptual ~eatures o~ the invention common to all embodimen~s of the new doubles detector and system include continuously or repea~edly sensing, measuring or gauging the thickness of each bill subs~a~tially throu~hout it~ length measured in the direction of travel as it i5 fed in a path o~ travel from a stack supply of bills to a place of delivery to a customer; time averaging the gauge messurements :. made throughout the gauged length of each such bill durlng thickness gauging to provide an integrated or averaged measur~-ment o~ bill thickness, then comparing such averaged measurement with the normal bill average thickness or with an arbitrarily selected value gr¢ater than normal bill average thickness, so that whon thc averaged meagurement is 8reater than the normal bill average ~hickness or selected va~ue, a signal is generated indcatin~ that a doubles is present rather than a single bill;

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~1~6223 1 and using such signal to rcject th~ doubles from the patl~ of travel be~ore the doubles reaches the place o delivery to cus tomer .

In eve~y embodiment, where two bills are abu~ted end to end o.r edge to edge or sre slightly overlapped when passin~
through.the gauging operatlon, tha tim0 averaging which extends over a grea~er length than the length or width of one ~ill pro-duces~a signal which rejects both bills, even ~hough such bills ars not in~the usual doubles relation of one bill on top o or stuck to another. 5uch abutted or o~erlapped bills, however, also are included when the term "doubles" is used herein.
: It has been indicated that gauge measurements of thi.ck-ness o each-bill are made continuously substanti~lly through-out the length o~ each ~ill, or lengthwise thereof. The use of the term "lengthwise" refers to the manner in which ~he a~erage thackness ls determined and not as re~uiring lengthwise feed of the bill. That is, the bills may be fed in a psth of travel with the bills extending crosswise of the direction of travel, and the continuous gauging OCCUTS across the bill.
Z0 ~. It is preferred to feed the bills lengthwise one by one rather than crosswisc one by one because crosswise feed ~n-creases the width of the banking unit. Thi~ banking unit width is inGreased more if two or more different denominations of bills nre d~pensed side by side from the supply stacks of such dl-ferent denomination bills. However, it is desirable to provide minim~m width banking units which thus faYors len~hwise bill feed.~
Normally, in prior systems for detecting doubles, 2p-- proximately a 10% portion of each end or edge of a bill in r~-lation to thc direction o~ ~ill travel i5 ignored in sensin~ t.lle bill thickness hecause used hills may haYe frayed ends or ed~es ~126Z~3 , 1 or little corn~r folds, etc., which present bill portions ~hat should not be ~aken as a basis o accurate thickness measuren~ents.
~-- For these reasons, among others, in accordance with the invention, the continuous thickness gauging occurs through-out at least 80% of the central portion of the bill measured in ~; *he direction of bill travel. Such 80~ measurement zone is com-prehended when referring to gaugin~ "subs~antially throughout the bill length measured in the direction of travel."
The various comments made are applicsble to each dis-penser line for each b;ll denomination. When bills of two ormore denominations are to be dispensed, there is a dispensing line, unit or mechanism for each bill denomination. In each line, the bills are fed one at a time. The separate lines pre-ferably are located side by side in the banking equipment to simplify the construction and operation of the equipment. Thus, certain of the dotector components are shared by all of the dispenser lines, such as sha~ts, drive means, etc.
A typical automatic banking unit for dispensing cur-rency in response to the presentation by a ban~ customer of ; 20 coded card means is diagrammatically illustrated at 1 in Fig. 3.
Such units may be energized when a customer presents or enters a codéd card into slot 2. The coded card is verified ~-o con-firm that it is an authorized card and that the user th~reof is the au~horized user through a card reader and other known de~ices ; contained in the unit 1 or electrically connected thereto.
After the card and customer verification has been car-ried out, keyboard entries may be made by the customer at 3 in accordance with instructions presented to the customer at in-struction pancl 4. The entr~es among othcr matters may indicate , the amount of currency that the customer de~ires to withdraw, or may indicate that the customer desires to make a deposit.

'. ' '. ' 2 6~ 23 1 A deposit may be rnade by entry of an en~elop~ con-taining the deposit in deposit slot 5. If currency is to b~
dispensed, it may be delivered from mecllanism within the unit 1 at the customer access bill delivery receptacle means 6. A
record of or receipt for the transaction may in some instances - be issued to the ~u~tomer through receipt slot 7. The card entry slot 2, the keyboard 3, the instruction panel which may be a TV screen 4, the depository slot 5, the bill deli~ery receptacle 6, and the receipt slot 7 all are preferably formed in or carried by the recessed facia pl~te means 8.
Cash dispenser and depository components a~e generally !~ diagrsmmatically illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and may include a container 9 for a supply of paper money in the ~orm of bills which may be a random collection of new and old bills in a stack ; protectively held in the container 9. Thc money supply con-tainer 9 may be o~ the typ~ of Sealed Tamper-Indica~ing Money ~ispensing Container For Automatic Banking Systems shown and described in the Graef et al Canadian:patent spplication Serial No. 295,090, filed January 17, 1978, or it may comprise any other desired receptacle construction f or containing a supply of stacked paper money ~ills.
Prequently, it is dcsired to provide for dispensing currency at automatic banking units in two denGminations such as ten and one dollar bills, or twenty and five dollar bills.
Accordingly, two paper money bill containers 9 and 9a are illus-tTated in Fig. 2 to satisfy such requirements. Containers 9 and 9a prcferably are located side by side as shown. However, it is contemplated that any desired number of containers for currency of diferent denominations, say one to three or four containers can bo present in an automatic ban~ing unit and located side by side as generally indicated by the two containers g and 9a.

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1 Frequently, it is desired to provide a depository com-ponent in sn automatic banking unit. The general location of such a depository component is indicated at 10 with which the deposit slot S o~ Fig. 3 communicates. The side by side arrange^
ment o the currency supply containers 9, 9a and o~ th0 deposi-: tory unit 10 has special cooporative advantages in accordance .~ with certain aspects of the invention described below.
~ ach bill supply container 9 or 9a has its own asso-ciated picker mechanism 11 or lla ~Fig~. 1 and 2). Again, any .. . .
de5ired picker mechanism for picking psper money bills one at a timc from a stacked supply and for feeding the same~ bill by bill, to other components of a banking system may be used.
The improved doubles detector mechanism operates auto- -matically to rej~ct doubles and a rejected bill container to receive th~ doubl~s that are rejected is indicated generally at ; 15 in Pig. 1, but is romoved ~or clarity from Fig. 2.

- First Embodiment , ~, . . .
. ~ The improved doubles detector mechanism i5 generally indicsted at 12 in Figs. 1 and ~ and g~nerally includes bill thickness gauging means generally indicated at 13 and reYersible drivén flexible belt conveyor means generally indicated ~t 14.
: In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. ~
, through 15, the bill thickness gauging means 13 has roll pairs ', and switch means or continuously gauging the thickness of bills passed between the rolls, well shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6.
The roll-gaugi~g means, as shown~ includes shats gen-- erally indicated at 16 and 17 mounted on side walls 18 and 19 of - the housings for picker mechanlsms 11 and lla.
Referrlng to Fig. 7, the shaft 16 is journaled at its ends in bearings 20 for rotation in synchronism with picker mechanism conv~yor roll shaft 21 also journaled in the picker , .
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~ 6'Z23 mechanism housing and located below gaugin~ roll shafts 16 and 17, The gauging sha~t 16 has a larga diameter in cross sec-tion to provide shat ri~idity against bowin~; while ~he gaug~-in8 shaft 17 has a small diameter in cross section to permit shaft . bowing flexibility. The shaft 17 is mounted non-rotatably in end supports 22 on,pic~er walls 18 and 19 and is also,sup- ~, ~,~. ported midway its ends on a ~upport member 23 ~or a purpose to , be described ~Fig. 8). , ~, ,, 10 , Shaft 16 has a pair of spaced rolls 24 and 25 ~hereon near to pic~er side wall 18 and has another pair of spaced rolls 26 and 27 near to picker side wall 19. A pair of spaced rolls 24a and 25a is mounted on the shaft por~ion 17a of shaft 17 which exSends between wall 18 and mid support 23. Another pair of spaced rolls 26a and 27a is ~ounted on the shaft portion 17b of shaft 17.
The rolls 24a, 25a, 26a and 27a preferably compri~e , antifriction bearings having circular outer contours and jour-,'- nalcd on the shaf~ portions 17a and 17b. The ~aring rolls 24a ,- 20 and 25a are normally in rolling coDtact with rolls 24 and 25, , re5pec,tivcly, and servc money supply 9 and picker 11. Similarly, ,, bearing rolls 26a and 27a are normally in rolling contact with the rolls 26 and 27, respectively, and serve money supply 9a and plcker lla.
: The pairs of spaced contacting rolls 24, 2S, 24a and 25a thus form ~wo pairs of gauging rolls between which a paper money ~ill from supply unit 9 may be conveyed, as shown at B
in Pigs. 5 and 8. Similarly, the pairs o gauging rolls 26, 27, 26a and 27a serve thc money supply ~a.
The fixed supports 22 and 23 for the thin shaft por-tion 17a are so located with respect to the axi~ of the shaft 16 that when the parts are assembled and the bearing ~auging ., . . .

~L;26~23 rolls 24a and 25a are in rolling cont~ct with the rolls 24 and 25, respectively, on shaft 16, the shaft 17a assumes a slight bow as shown in full lines in Fig. ~. The dot-dash lines in Fig. 7 adj acent the full 1~ nc illustration of the shaft por~ion 17a illustrate the theoreticsl outline of shaft portion 17a if theishaft were straight and not subjec~ed to the bowing pressure from the mounting illustrated and described.
The path o~ movement of bills ~hrough the doubles detector mechanism 12 from the picker mechanism 11 is generally defined by guide means which include separable guide members 28 and 29 preferably formed of molded plastic material imparting some flexibility to the guidc members. Guide member 28 has ears 30 and 31 at its ends which are secured by screws 32 to the picker side walls 18 snd 19 holding the member in a relatively fixed position.
- Rectangular ears 33 project downwardly from the lo~er ...
; portion of fixed guide member 28 (Pig. 13~ having rounded~
pockets 34 formed therein. Needle-like rollers 35 are rotatably mou~ted in the guidc member pockets 34 engaged ~ rubber drive rolls 36 carried by drive shaft 21. The drive shaft 21 acts as a conveyor feed shaft ~or the doubles detector mechanis~ to eed paper money bills B from the picker mechanism 11 to the gauging means 13 by i~parting driving engagement to the bills B through - the rubber drive rolls 36 pressing against the needle rollers 35, as shown for example, in Fig. S.
-; The other guide member 29 of the guide means is mounted on a shsft 37 carried by the picker housing and ha~ a : keyhole portion 38 which snaps over the shaft 21 ~o support the lower portion 39 of me~ber Z9 in fixed position. The upper portion 40 of men~ber 29 is ~lexibly mov~ble with respect to tbe lower por~ion 39 about the zone 41 which acts as a pivot point - or movement of th¢ upper guide membcr portion 40.
., ~Z6Z;Z3 Th~-re is a pair of r~bl30r ~riv~ ~r feed roll3 36 for - each bill ~e~d l ine, onC roll 36 opposite each needle roller :' ~5, and the ne~dl0 roll¢rs 35 are bi~sed ~gains~ rubber rolls 36 by the lea~ sprin.~s 42, the lower ends of which press the ~ollcrs 35 tow~rd rol~s 36.
:~ As sta~ed, ~he shafts 16 and 21 are driYen i~ Syll-chronis~ and rot~'ce in the dir~ct~on o~ the arrows qhown in Pigs. 4 and 5 so thst a b$11 B is conveyed in it~ path of travel between rolls 36 and X5 and b~tween the detector rclls 24 and 24~, or 25 ~nd 25a,etc., toward belt conveyol ~eans 14 between the guiae me~bers 28 and 2g. Dur~ng the conveyor feed ~ovemen~ o the bill B ~F~g. S) upw~rd b~tween the ~uide mem~ers, the bill sep~rates the upper ~ortion 40 e~ the ~ide member 29 fro~ 1;hc guide membor 2B, ~s shown. The 1exibility of the guide ~ember Z9 and pivoting of upper por~iotl 4a a~out pi~rot point 41 permits ~uch separation, a~ains~ the ~ery liht pull of a sprlng 43 connected wi~h the pic~;er housi~g and t;he ear 44 on the upper end o~ upper gui~e member portion 40.
The upper end o~ uppe~ por.'~ion 40 o~ guide member 2 20 has a serics o~ spaced ~lange-lilce or com~-liko teeth or pro-~octions 4S whic~ projcct toward and in'co spaced openings 46 formed in the uppcr end o guid~ mem~er 28, as SllOWn in Pi~. 4.
As the ~11 B is ed between t}-~ guide member~ Z~ and 29, ~he ~ill pass-3s bctw~t~n thc tee~h 45 ~nd t~e curlr~d portion of the ~uido memb0r 28 ~n which the op~nin~s 46 are ~orm~d, an~ upper - guido porSion 40 separates from ~emb~r 28, as shown in Fig~ 5.
The b~lt conveyor means 14 general~y includes ~lat ;. platen plate Me~ns 47 ~referably comprisin$ t~o plstes 4a and 49 wh~ch are split at S~ (Pig . 4) . Plate 49 ~ s carr:Led l~y ~h~
30 pick~r housin~ w~ilc pla1:e ~18 i~ ~,ounted on top o the housing, gener~lly indicntcd ~t 51, f~r the co~aponents illustr~te~d in F~gs. 1 and 2.

, j: 17 giZ2~

. 1 Tho pla~en meanc 47 is formed between its cnds with an entry slot gen~rally indica~ed ~t 52, ~t a locaticn spaced above ~h~ ~auging ~eans 13~ The ¢lot 52 preferably is formed a~ the location o the ~oint or split 5~ betwe~n plates 48 and 49. T~e slot S2 has a sawsooth or sp~ced tooth~ e contour to rece~ve the var~ous tee~h or projection~ 45 on gu~de ~mber 29 as well as si~ r tooth-like ormations 53 st the upper ex-tro~ity o~ guide me~ber 28.
. The interfittin~ t~eth 45 and 53 in the slots or open-ings 46 and 52 prosent ~ continuous ~op sur~ace for the platen moans 47 when the guide ~eans is closed as in Fig. 4, and ex-ccpt when guldo members 28 and 29 are sopa~t~d by the passa~e of a biil along its p~th of travel, as shown in Fig. 5.
Thc belt conveyor ~eans 14 also includes a generally rectangular bac~-up plate 54 ha~ing side flQng0s S5 extendi~g slong the top of the platen 47. Belt support rolls 56 are ~ourn-led botween and at tho onds of the back-up plate flang~
55. An ondloss flexible, preferably rubber, ~elt S7 ls trained around the support roll~ 56 and has an actlvs fligh~ which extends ~elow thé bacX-up plate 54 and~above the plat~n means 47.
The b~ck-up plate 54 with rolls 56 and belt 57 as-semblod th~reto co~prisff a box-like unit which rests- on the . platén mcans 47 but i~ aovable up and down with respect to the ,'~ pl~ten means for a ~urposo doscribed below. The pos~tion of this assombly during any such movement is indoxed by roll g-lides 58 mounted by bolt~ Sg on ~nd pro~ecting outwardly o the b~c~
up plate side flan~s SS. The roll guides S8 are received in i upwardly opening slots 60 formed ln upstanding wall portions 61 of the main housing 51 ~Pigs. 1 and 4).
Th-3 ~elt 57 has a reversible drive descrlbed below and it~ active ~light normally i5 pressed against the platen 47 ~y the back-up plate 54 of the belt as~e~ly. Thus, bllls 13 fed 1~
: - - . '' ' ~1262Z3 betwcen gul de m~mbers 7~ and 29 and through the ~ntry slot 57., are supported by the plat~n me~ns 47 and are conveyod or tr~ns-ported by ~he ~olt 57 normally in the direction shown by the arrow 62 in Fig. 4. The arrow 62 indicates the no~cmal flow direction of movemen~ o~ bills ~ ~n th~ir pa~h o travel fror~
tho ~uide me~bers 28 and 29 to the bîll delivery receptacle 6.
When th~ dir~ction of belt movement is rcversed, 8:3 indic~ted by thc arrow 63 (Pig. 4~, any bi~l supported on the pla~en ~eans 47 is convcyed by the belt 57 in the direction of 10 the arrow 63, i n response to the de~ectiorl o doubles by o~er -ation of the doubles detector ~echan~m describ0d belo~. Any bill B that is convcyed by the bel~ in the direct~on o thc arrow 63 i~ di~char~e~ ~rom thc ~el~ conveyor into ~ re~ ected bi}l conta ner 15 which ls removably supportcd by any suitable means on one of th~ walls l9a of t~c pic~er housing.
Thus, any bill ~ha~ emer~es ~om ~he guide means through the entry 5a.0t 52 ~l~ays moves ~o A loc~cion beneath the ac~v~ belt flight ~n ~ normal forward path o move~ent toward the platen delivery end 47a in the direction of the 20 arrow 62 durin~ normal orwa~d drive mo~eznent of th~ belt. Wh~n the direction of rQOVe3nent of the l~elt is reversed by the de-tection of doublos, any bill or bills E located betweon th~
ac~iYe belt flight and the platen 47 to the right of ~he entr~
slot 52 wlll ~o conveyed in a reverso direction rom the normal forward direc~ion o~ ~.oYement, across tho gAtC entry slot 52 which is clos~d, to the bill re~ct cont2iner 15 wh~ch i~ loc~ted adjacent the rejcct end 47b o~ the platon means 47.
The initial slight bow of ~he shat portions 17a an~
17b or maintaining tho beRrin~ gauging rolls 24a to 27a ~n con-tact with tho ~ick shaft roll~ 24 to 27 has b~en describe~shown in ~ig. 7. Th~ loft-hQn~ port~on of ~ shows tho norm~l bowing of shaft portion 17b by ~ov~ent of a singlo bill B

, .

I ~ ~2 6~ Z 3 1betwe~n the pairs of gauging rolls 26-27 a~d 26a-2?a; while ~he right-hand portion of F~g. 8 illu~trate~ ~he thin shaft po~tion 17a bowed fllr~her by two ~ill , or a doubles condition, passing between the pairs of g~ging rolls 24-25 and 24a-25a.
The double~ detector mechanism 12, in addition to the gauging rolls, al~o includes sw~tch means 64. One switch mean~
64 is associated with and actuated by ~ach opposed pair of gau~n~ rolls ~4-24aJ 25-25a, etc. Bach of *he switch ~ans ~ar - be a ~lug, bu*ton or roller displac~ment-type switcl~. A roller swi~ch is pr~~rable 8S illustra~ed. - ;~
. Each switc~ 64 lncludes a roller 65 maunt~d on a plug 66 movabl~ axially in a barrel 67 to actuat~ make and break con-Sacts contained in th~ switch housing 6~. The ~arrel 67 ~s lock~d by nuts 6g and 70 On a thin IQX~b1e plate partion 71 : of a U~shaped mounting plate 72. Plate 7Z ~s ~ounted by screws 73 on 8 mounting angle 74 carried by the pi~er housing. Pre-~erably, a rubber pad or ~asket 75 is interposed be~ween the plate 72 snd membor 74. T~e upper ends of th~ plate portions 71 arc clamped by a~justing screws 76 to the ~ountin~ anglo ~em-Z~ ber 74 against the prossure of rubber pad 77.
Thus, ad~us~ment o~ any screw 76 enables the rcls~ive po~ltion o any switch 64 w~th respect to l~s gaugi~ roller 24a to be accura~ely adjusted.
Mounting angle 74 provid~s the mounting or all four of the switch means 64. Th~ position o moun~ing an~le 74 with respect to the gau~ing roll ~aans ~ay ~e generally adjusted to and ~way from the ~auglng means 13 ~Pi~. 4) by ad~ustment o the position of thc bolts 78 and 79 in slots SO and 81 in the ~ounting angle 740 30Thc normal avcrage ~hickness o~ a bill ~ o Uni~ed States currency is O. 0035". The ~e~ree or ef~ec~iv~ accuracy of mechanical multiple bill swi~ch gauging is relato~ to the 622~

1 sen~itlvity of *he switch ~hat gau~cs bill thickness in exce~
of norr.lal thîcknes. The swltch ~ay ~lave a dif~rential travel range of fro~ 0.0002" to o.0005" ~ovement from it~ operatin~
poin~ to its reset point for ac~uation after movement fro~ its normal position. This di~fere~ltial tra~el ran~e provides ~or gauging vari~lon~ in bill thickn~ss o 1~7 of ~he thick-nes~ where the sul~ch has ~n 0. ao~s~ diff~renti~l travel char-acteristic, With a ~ore sen~itive switch haYing an 0.0002"
dierenti21 tra~el c~aracteris~lc, a ~hickness ~ariation o 1/17 of the normal bill th~cknes~ may be ~au~ed.
Accordingly, the mechanical bill thicXne g ~au~ing tech~ique concept of the in~ention provi~es an extrem~ly cr.i~i-cal con~rol for the detec~ion of doubles. Fur~her, where ~he switch i~ initially very sensi*ive with an 0.0002'~ diferer,tial travel characteristic, if this characteristic changes in use ~o a o,OoO5't differ~ntial tra~el value, th~ switch still will detect a bill thicknes~ variation o 1/7 o~ the norm~l b~ll thi~kness.
Purther, swi~ch means 64, particularly of ~he rolle~
switch-typo shown, may incorporate a larg~ de~ree of overtravel which wi.ll accom~odate an over~rav~l condition resul~in~ ~rGI~
the accid~ntal fecd throu$h th~ doubles dotec~or ~echanism o~
8 lar~e number of bills in one pack, such as te~ ~r more bills~
indicated a~ ~1 in Pig. 6, which might have becn stapled to$other. ~he ability to acco~modate such a condi~ion by switche~ having B large deg~ce o~ overtravel prcvents the doubles - detector ~echsnism fro~ being ~am~ed or damaged upon the ec-cidental occurrence of th~ condl~ion ~hown in ~ig. 6 wherein the bllls Bl will pass to the conYcyor a~d will be rejoc~ed as dou~le~.
An ind~idual swi~ch means 64 is ~ctuated one e~cil by `` . ~1262Z3 1 eac~ of ~he pairs of gau~lng roll~rs 24-24a, ~tc. As shown, thero are two switch means 64 for each bill den~mination dis-pense line. One of th~ switch means 64, for tho gauging roll pair 24- 24a may bo used ~o acco~plish a cou~ting function to count thc number of bills b~ing gauged. Th0 othcr switch ~eans of a pair o swiSch means for s&id dlspen~e line, for exa~ple, tho switch 64 ~or the pair o~ ~auging rolls 25-25a ~s the doubles detect~ng switch for that bill dispensin~ lino.
As proviously described, e~ch of tha switch means 64 is providcd with Yerj sonsitive a~justing m~ans and as one or more bills pass between the gauging rollers, the bow in ~h~
thin sha~t portion 11a or l7b ~s incroased, depe~di~g UpOIl the thicknes of thc psrticular bill or ~ills. The switch means 24 dotoc~ the ~ount of ~witch mo~e~ent ~ontinuously whic.h thus continuou~ly measura# the thickness of tho bills passing through the detector.
Whero tho ban~ing unit 1 is designed to supply bills of say two diferent denominations from separat~ suppl ies o dlfor~nt denomination bills as described, a s~parate or indi-vldual doublos detoctor mechanism must be provided ~or e~chdi~pen~ng line. Two such lines are illustratod in Figs.
and 8 and undos such circumstanaes ccmmon ~ha~ts and other common components may b~ used or the two line~ as shown to sorve the doubles detector mechanisms for each o~ the cu~r~ncy di~penser lin~s~
Tho bowed-sha~ concept of ~echanically roller ~au~irg ~11 thic~ness continuously r~quires th¢ thin ~haft 17 to have a separate shaft portion for each dispenscr l~ne, and this i5 accomplished by using onc shaft 17 for tha two lin~s and ~up-portin~ th~ shaft at its midpo~nS by tho mids~pport memb~r 23.
In accordanc~ wlth the inv~ntion, th~ banking unit lmay include a depo~itory section lU tPigS. 2 and lS) and the ^` ; 1126~23 .
1 b~lt can~yor S7 coop~ratin~ wi~ll the platen mcan~ 47 acts as a means of receivin~ ancl convcyin~ deposlted material entercd ln~o the UIlit ~hrough the deposit slot 5 ~ig. 3) which is ali~n~d with the platen delivery cnd 47a o~ the bel~ convoyor platen 47 ~ig. 15).
The pl~ten means 47 (Fig. 2) extends laterally oY~r the doubles detector ~echanis~s for both o~ the two dispellsc lines ~and AlSO across the top of the depository 10. From ~e pl~ten deliv~ry end 47a, the platen portion extendin~ o~er the ~eposi~ory 10 discharges through a wide slot ~2 having edges ~3 and ~h, the deposit~d material wh;ch drops a~ indica~ed at V
into the deposit compartment of depo~itory 10.
A printer mechanis~ of usual constr~ction and operation : may b~ moun~ed at 85 wlthin the d~pository 10 and below platen portion 47c to identify deposited material heing received. The .
dep~site~ ~aterial D is conveyed by the b~lt conveyor into the unit by r~verse ~o~emetlt of ~he belt which is initia~ed fQr a deposltin~ oper~tion by depository actuation means which the custo~er is directed to operat~.
-~ 20 ~ Th.is facet o~ the inventive-conc~pt materially si~pli~
fie5 She construction ~nd cost o~ m~nuacture of banking units which combine cash dispensing and deposi~ing, since th~ cssh dis-pensing conveying m¢ans ~ the belt 57 and related platen an~
other compunent~ are also used as the deposltory conveyor.
The proYision for up and down guided moYement o the conveyor belt as~embly (roll~r guides S8 and opcn slots 60) per~.its the conv~y~r bel~ 57 to raise ~nd accept thick deposit packa~es ~.
Th¢ rejection o doubles whcn detec~ed has been de-scri~e~, ~ccomplished by reversing the conveyor tra~el ~o con-3~ ~ey tho reiected doubl~s ~o th~ rejected blll cont~iner lS shown in Pig. 14. This container, ~s ~rev~ously stated, may be - -23- ~

~1~2622~

1 detachably connec~ed to t:h~ pick~r housing ad~ac0nt ~he reject en~ 47b of plnt~n means 47. Contain~r 15 is a fiv~-sided box-lik~ s~:ructur~ with an open Illouth 86 at ~he ~op adapted to receive rejected hills dlscharged fro3n the belt conv~yor means. Conta~ner 15 i~ r~.aovably mounted on the picker housin~
as ehown generally in ~ig5 . 1, 4 and 15. It preferably is pro-vided with a closure member 87 pi-ro~ally Illounted at 88 and controlled by lock means 89, the ~e~ or which is retained by - the picker mechanism and which mu~t be in locke~ condition be-foro the conta~ner 15 can be rcmoved froa~ the picker unit.
Such ~ey reten~lon protecti~c arrangemen~ for th0 re-~ected bill container 15 may bc siaail~r to that ~h~wn in sa~d ; Canadian patcnt applica~ion S~rial No. 295,090 and which may b~
use~ in connection with tha pla~ment and removal Qf sealed money supply c&nisters 9 and 9a in automatic banking unit 1.
In accordance with the concepts of the improved doubles ~etector mechanism, and its coordina~ion with other compone~ts of the ~anXing unit 1, the belt conveyor ~eans ~nd the doubl~s ,; detec~or mechanlsm m~y h~e a conamon dr~ve m~ans also common ~o ~,g the pic~er mechanisms associated with each currency dispenslang line. This drivo mechanism i5 shown di~rama~atic~lly in Fig. 15 and ma~ comprise a main drivo ~otor, not shown, haYing a drive shaft gO which operates various elements o~ the picker mecha~ m through a ~ear train inclu~in~ gears 91, 92, 93, 94, 94a, g5, ~6, 97, 98 and ~9. T~le g~ars 96 and 97 are ~ounte~ on the shaft ~1 for thc ru~ber driYe rolls 36. The gear 98 is mounted on ti~e th~ck ~uging Sh~ft 16. Tho ~ar 9~ is mounted on the rubber ; belt assembly on a stub shaft which a150 carries a belt drive pullcy 100 wh~ch i~ connected by a drive b~lt lnl with a pulley 30 102 mount~d on th~ belt suppor~ roll S6 at the re~ect end 47b of the belt conveyor.

6;~2~

1 Th6 ~ears 97, 98 and ~9 all haY~ th¢ saFe nurnber of tecth so that th~ shats on wllich they are moun~ed are SYJI^
chronized in ro.tati~e move~ent so that tho con~ey$ng eed i~pnrted to any bill ed to the f~ed roll 36 und en~s~in~
rollers 3S is uniform throughout th~ path o tr~vel of ~he bills to their ulti~ate des~ina~ion.
Por conYenie~ce in the con~crol and opera~ion o~ the : improved ban~ing unit 1, the s~aled ~on~y supply canist~rs ~
snd 9n preferAbly are of th~ type shown i~ said Canud~ p~te~t applica~ion Serial No. 295,09~. When they are installed in ; and re~o~ed rom thc banking u~it 1, ~he pieker ~echani~ms 11 ~nd lla ~ust be mo~ed out of th~ war. Tllis ~ay b~ ~cco~plished ' by plvot~lly ~ountin~ the ontire picker ~ecllanism housi~ on a : pi~ot:103. PiYO~ ovelnent of thc pic~r housi~, indica~d in dot-daxh lines ~n Pi~. 15, carries wi~h it the gearil~g ~1 t~rough g8, g~ar 98 bcin~ disengaged ro~ ar ~9 on the bolt conYoyor assembly. Th~ platcn portion 4~ which cl~ses ~he top of the picker housing nlso mov~s with the picker housing, ~hus 5cpar8ting the platen at the slot 52 and thc div~ing point $0.
I~l the foregoing description of ~he new doub~es dc-tector a~d syst~, a ban~in~ unit has ~en descri~ed which includes the tepository 1.0 and two currency dispen~er l~nes ~or di~pcnsin~ curroncy of two dif~orcnt deno~inations from ~oncy supply. c~nisters ~ and ga. It i8 t~ be undcrstood, however, that the opcration o~ ~hc new doublcs dctector ~chan?sm is no~
dependont upon tho presencc of a d~posit~ry in the ~anking unit or sf a plurality o~ lines ~or disp~nsing t~o ~enomlnæticn~ of bill~l since the doubles detector ~echanism incorporating ~he co~copt~ of tho ~nvention may be operated hy feedinz bllls from u s~ngl~ monoy supply c~nis~or 9 thr~ugh the medium of a pic~cr 11 and from tlle doubles dotector ~echanis~ 12 to b~lt conveyor means 14.

~26223 1 However, thc irnpTo~d doubles dc~octor mechanism und system has the si~ ic~mt a~van~age that a plurali~y of ~ill denomination ced lines and~or a de~ository unit, or both, ~ay be integrally incorporated ~hrou~h co~mon ~rives, e~c. with ~ e new doubles detector mecha~is~ and sys~em.
The thicknes~ of any bill or doubles may be gauged in several mannar~. Thus far, the mechanism described essentially has been a mechanical thick~es~ ~auging mechanism. ~lowever, physical charac~ristics of a.bill which may b~ us~ to ga~e its thickness ar¢ its opacity or its ~bility to at~enuate the transmission of light. A slightly ~odified for~ o~ pauging moans or the n~w double~ detector mecllanis~ and s~stcm in-volving ~he us~ of photos~nsitiv~ ~hickn~ss gau~ing i9 ShOWIl ill the second embodiment described below.

Second Emb~diment , . _ . .
The descrip~ion of the ~quipment illustrated in ;~ Pi~s. 1 throu~h 15 a~plies So th~ modified form of cor~struetion illustrated ~n Fig. 16 except th~t the gauging means 13 pro-Yided by the rolls 24, 2S, etc. ~nd ~witch means ~4 a~e omit~ed, ~0 the guidc members 28 and 2g are short~ned and th~ Bills B are fed ~ro~ rolls 35 and 36 directly between ~he guide mel~bers 28 ~nd 2g to enter the belt conveyor means 14.
A pho~o~en~or is p~o~ided between the gate entry slot 52 and the rolls 36 and 37, comprising a light source 104 and an electric eye 105. The sensor 104-105 acts as a thickness gaugin~ means which operates con~inuously ~o proYide signals 0c thickness and thicknoss changes at the output of tho photo-systcm detector 105. These si~nals ess~ntially ar~ the same as the si~n~ls ~roduced by the switch ~eans 64 in the first cmbodi~nt.
In other words~ the xignal3 produced mechanically by ~ ZG ~

~ 6Z23 deflection or th~ light beam si~nals produced by attenuation of the light beams act as bill thic~n~3.ss measur~ment sis~nals snd are processed through t~le electrollie system~ describe~l be~ow in ~he same manner to produce time averaging of the bill ~hick7l~.ss znd to generate dec~sion si~nals lndicating tlle presence or ~bsence of doubles.
Referring now to Fig~ . 17- 2S, several colltrol circuits - ~or detectin~ doubles in accordance with the invention are de-scribed below.
Fig. 17 shows a siD~plified block diagram of the basic doubles detector circuit. The signal V5 may be generated by a mechsnical gauge or detector, such as gauging means 13 ~Fig~
15) or by an optical system, suc~ as 104-105 ~Fig. 16), and is supplied to an averaging or integr~tor circuit 106. Integral:o 106 is any of several circuits as described in detail below, which ti~e aYera~es or inte~r tes t~e thickness measurements made s by ga~ging means 13 or photosyste~ 104-105. The terms "ti~e avorage" or "into~rate" are interpreted hereîn to ~ea~ averag~d or integr$ted with respect to tiao oYer subst~ntially the entire length of the gaugod portion o~ a bill ~. The terms "time av~
oragcd" or "lntegrated" al50 co~prehend Yariatio~ls of the inven-tion whereln $veraging or integrating is made as a func~ion of nother independent variable, ~uch as length or position.
The output of Vint of lntegrator 106 represents the a~cra~o measured thic~noss of the bill B over substa~tially th~
entire length o~ ~he gauged portion o~ the bill and is supplied to a comparator 1~7 which compares tho signal V~.nt (which ~s a function o VR and bill thiclcness) with a refercnce signal Vl~
gonerated ~y a refcrence circuit 108. The output si~nal V~ of 30 comparator 1û7 is re~ponsive to the result of the comparlson and ln~icates whether or not ~h~ bill B can be classified as a doubles .

- 21 ' .

~L~26223 r~e~rr~ng ~o 1~ig. 1~ integrator 1~6 comprices a ro-: sistor lO9a ~n scries ~ith diode 10~ connec~od to one input of comparatol 107, a predeter~nined rcference signal ~ein~ çup-pli~d ~o the remaining inpu~ ~y potentio~eter 110. Re~is~or llOa and capacitor llOb ar~ connected ~etween the c~thode of diode 109 and ~round. T~e unode of diode 10~ in turn i5 con-. nected to the outpu~ of the thicXne3s detector, prefe~a~ly the ~hic~ness gauging ~eans 13. It is to be understood, howeYer, that the circuits s~own ~n Pig. 18 may be used in combination 10 with any suitable thic~ness se~sor that ~en~rates a d~gi~al signal in respon~e ~o bill thicknes3, for ex~mple, a logic 1 signal in response to a doubles and a logic 0 si~nal ~n response to no doubles.
She detector or sensor si~nal Vs is suppli~d to capac-itor llOb tllrough the dîode lOg, the exponential value of the signal b~ing stored on thc capacitor. Discllar~e of capacitor llOb is blockcd by diode 109 ~nd by ~he high inpu* impeda~ce of co~para~or 107, di~ch~rg~ of the capaci tor bein~ prov~ ded only through the rcsistor llOa Bt a cont~olled rate. l'he outpu~ VO
Of co~parator 107 is rcsponsive to the mugnitude of voltage ~tored on capacitor llOb compased to the ~agnitude of Yolta~e.
pro~ided by reference potontiomcter 110. The magnitude of voltag¢ stored on capacitor llOb is a function of the a~erage measured thickness along the gauged portion of the bill, that i~, whon there is a doubles, a logic 1 sa~n~l ls gener~tsd by gaug~ng means 13, causing capaci~or llOb to char~s up toward the logic 1 voltage level, e.g. five volts. h~en no doubles is detected by the gau~in~ moans 13, the gauging means genorat¢s a log~c O signal, o.g. O volt~, permittln~ capacitor llOb to di~hargo at a eontrolled rate throu~h rosistor llOa. Thus, tho voltage stored on cap~citor llOb at any t~me is depel~dent ~1~6ZZ~

1 upon the duration of time that a doubles is detocted by gauging mcans 13 compared to a to~al det0ctirlg time, which is dcfincd in this embodiment as `'average."
The operation of the ~g. 18 circuit ~hown is de-scribcd in ~ore d~tail wi~h respect to Fi~. 19~-19c. Fi~ a shows typical dotec~or signals Ys~ g~nerated by gaug~ng means 13, as a funct~on o timc for two ~uccessive bills bein~ moYed through tho ~au~ing means. As shown, th~ output of ~auging m~ans 13 is st loglc 0 when no doubles i5 dctected and is at logic 1 when a doubles is detected. The ou~put of gauging means 13 or the first bill shows that the tllickness of only two relatively short portions of the b~ll is large enouh to cauge gau~lng m~ans 13 ~o indic~te a doubles. Th~se relati~ely ~hort thick portions of a bill are charact~ris~ic of transien~ thic~-nesses that mi$ht b~ c~used by dirt or cre~se~ assoc~ated wîth a sin~lo bill. The irst pu13~ charges c~pacitor llOb to a r~latively low voltagc because ~ho width of thc first pulse A
is small. The seco~d, wid~r pulse B charges cspacltor llOb by an incre~ntal voltage, but tho total vol~a~e stored on capacitor llOb ~s l~ss than a threshold Yoltage generat~d by potentiometer 110, ~ig. 17.
~hus, the ~Srst blll i~ rvcognized as bcing a single bill despite the existenco of th~ tr~nsient regions dcf ined ~y pulsos A and B. This in contrRst with prior ~rt systems wi'ch which we are aware~ whereln the occurrence o transien~ regions having magnitudes greater than a prcdeterminad magni~ude would tend to incorrectly identify the bill as a d3ubles. Fig. l~c shows that the output signal ~O is at lo~ic 0, indicating tha~
no doubles ha~ been detected.
On the other hand, as~uming that gauging means 13 now ~nerates pulses C, D and E havin~ the relative widths shown in ~ 2g .:

-` 1126ZZ3 1 F~. 19a, c~paci~or llOb ~ucces~ively ch~rr~s up to the ~olta~
level shown~ whic}l is gre~er than the ~agni~ude of the thresi~-old voltage shown in dotted llnes. This indicates tha~ the average thickness of the second ~ill is large enough to be clas-sified as a doubles, a logic 1 signal thereby being genersted by comparator 107, as shown i~ Pig. l~c.
It i~ apparent that successive incremen~al voltages gen~rated by gauging m~ans 13 durSng gauging o~ each bill ac-cu~ulate toward a maximum magnitude tG bo ~xsmined by comparator 107. The t~me constant of res~stor llOa is m~de large enough to pr~vent discllarge of the capacitor llOb be~w~n logi~ 1 si~-nals o pulses l~ithin a bill, ~ut small enough to permit ~he capacitor llOb to subst~ntially fully d~scharge ~etween ~ill5, as shown in Pi~. l9b.
~ ef errin~ now to Fig. 20, a~other em~od~ment o the doubles detector circuit i5 shown, wh~ein ~he ou~put of a thick-nes~ detector, such a~ the mechsnical ~uging means 13 or photo-system 104-105 is sampled ~t pred~t~rminc-l, short time inter~als.
The ~utput of the detector at th~ ~ampled interYals is classi~lea as a logic 1 or log~c 0, depending upon whoth¢r or no~ a dcubl~s i5 d¢tect0d at each samplo ~im~; and the to~al number of logic 1 signals tdoubles) co~pared to the total number of samples is counted to determtne whe~her the bill ~s ~o b~ classif~ed as a doubles.
The ou~put Vs ~ th~ detector is supplied to a con~en-tional signal sampling circuit 111, which samples tho detector outpuc at predetermined, e~ual, short ti~c durat~ons, as shown in Fi~. 21b, corresponding to poin~s dist~ibuted along the ~auged por~ion o~ th~ bill. Assuming that the ou~put of the thicXness detecto~, as shown in ~ig. 21a, is identical to th~
output as shown in Fig. l9a, pulses are gcner~t~d by the signal ~ 30 - :

~L12~ZZ~

1 sa~pler 111 colncidin~ with ~he detector signal Vs ~Fig. 21a~
at the sample times (21b~.
The pulses generated by signa} sa~pl0r 111~ as shown in Pig. 21c, are supplied to a p~lse counter 112 whicll CO-lntS
the n~mber of pulses generated by the sampler oYer the gauged por~ion of each bill. The output of pul~e counter 112 is moni-~ored by a digita} threshold circui~ 113 that generates a 5ig-nal VO indicative of a doubles only if the number of pulses counted by puls~ countor 11~ for oach bill meets or exceeds a predet~rmlned a~oun~,the count~r being resot aft~r each bill.
For example, assu~ing that the threshold count of digital thre~hold circuit 11~ is 7, no signal is generated ~y the threshold circuit durin~ gaug~ng of the irst bill since only ~iv~ pulses are counted, wllereas a signal is genera~ed during the second ~ill coinciding with the seven pulses gen~at~d by sampler 111 (sce Pig. 21d).
It ls apparent that ~he number o pulses that are counted by pulse counter 112 during gau~ing o e~ch bill is pro-portional to the average thicXnes~ of the bill throughout tl-e gauged portion thereof. Tllu~, the circu~t shown in Fig. 20 is rffsponsi~e to a~erage thickn~ss c~ the blll.
In practice, a bill re~ains ln contact with gauging means 13 ~or approxi~a~ely 180 milliseconds along i~s path of tra~cl, ~nd is sampled 40 time3. The nu~b~r o~ samples indi-cating a double may b~ 20, for exa~plc, before the ~ill being gauged is cl~ssified as ~ double~.
Referring to Fig. 22, another o~bodi~e~t o~ a doub~s detecto~ circui~, in accordance with tho lnvention is ~hown.
The c~rcuit o Pig. 22 ls ~sp~cially adapted for, but not limited to, use with an optlcal thickness detcctor of the ~ype referred to hereinabo~, as shown ln Fig. 23a, having an outpu~

- ~126Z~;~

1 characteristic of th~ type shown in ~ b. A bill B being gauged is mo~ed alon~ ies path of tra~el between light sour~e 104, which may be an incandesccnt lamp or L~D, ~or example, and an electric eye or photoccll 105. fixposur~ o~ bill ~ to de-te~tor lOS during move~ent of the bill is herein referr4d to as "scanning" o~ the ~ill.
Output voltage Ys of detector 105 is ~axilaum when there i5 no bill ~ between lamp 104 and detector 105. It is to bo u~derstood, howevor, that the op~ration of detector lOS
., 10 could be rever~ed.
~ ln the present case, as shown in Fig. 23b, the de--tector voltsge V5 drops to a first leve1 Vsl in respo~se ~o thc ~-~
trans~scivity of a single bill, and to a second, lower level YS2 in r0sponsc to the smaller transmisciYity of a doubles. ~ue ::
to the gain char~cteristi~ of a photodetector c~rcuit, howeYer, there is a relati~ely sMall differenco in Yol~age between block- I -age o li~ht by a single bill and blockage o ligh~ by a doubles.
Purthcrmore, the wave orms shown in Fig. 23b represent thc ideal case, whercin the bills ha~o constant transmis~i~ity along the entire gauged portion thcreof. In practice, transient tran-sitlons are made between the sing1~ bill, blocked detector voltago V5l, alld doubles bill, blocked detcctor ~ltn~e Vs2.`
In accordance with the circuit sllown in Fig. 22, as with the circu~ts shown in Figs. 18 and 20, a slngle bill or a doubles is classified in acco~dance with thc a~reraged th~ckness, or light trans~isciv~ty or opacity, of the bill alon~ the gau~e~
portion thereof. In principle, the circuit o~ Pig. 22, monitors the ambunt of li~ht recei~ed by photod~tector 105 ~n ord~r to detsrmine whether no bill i3 located or is pass~ng bc~ween la~p 104 and the dctector or at least ons bill ~ s passing there-botween. Wllen at io~t one bill is passing between lamp 104 and photod¢tcotor 105, the output of detector 105 is ~upplied to an , ,. , , ~ .

~26Z23 1 int~rator circuit. Since detec~or 105 generates a hi~hcr ma~nitude o voltage in response to a singl~ bill than it generates in response ~o a doubles blll, and ~ince the output of an inte~rntor in response to ~ const~nt or ~C vol~age is ra~.p hav~n~ a 510pe proportional ~o Yoltage ma~nitude, ~t is apparent ~hat tho slope of the ramp voltage, as generated by the in~egrator, is greater ~or a sin~le b~ll.
~ urthermore, i~ is apparen~ tha~ the mi~or transien~s or per~urbation~ would t~nd to b~ smoothed or averaged by ~h~
1~ integrator with only a ~mall change in slope being cffect~d.
That i~, the slope of th~ ramp generated by the in~grator is substantial~y unaffected by translent changes in opa~ueness or transmiscivity of the bill, ~ince such transiont characteristics aro "intcgrated ou~."
The presence of a sin~l~ bill or a doubles c~n ~hus ~e accurately determined by monitorin~ the output o th~ i~te-grator at a prede~rmined period o time to determlne whether thc outpu~ ~oltege is above or below ~ prede~ermlned magni~ude.
: For exa~ple, l the integra~or output Yoltsg~ is abovc a pre-~ Z0 ~dotermined magnitude at a predetermined ti~e, th¢ ~ill bein~
gauged is classiied as a single bill. Al~rnativ~ly, the out-put 0~ the intsgrator may be continuo~ly monitored, and th~
time measured at which th~ output reaclles a predetermlned mat,-nltude. If the predet~rmined magnitude is reach~d prior to a predetermined t~me, for example, tho bill would be cla sified as 8 single bill.
~ eferring now to ~ig. 22 in more dctail, the output of detector 105 ~ ~upplied to a buffer clrcu~t 112a to preY~nt loadir~g of ~he dotetor. The output of bu~fer 112a in turn is 30 connectod to the input of a first ~nalog switch 113a. Also connected to the output of buff~r 112a are a compara~or 114 an~
.

., ~2622~

1 a pe~; de~ctor identifi~d ~en~r~lly by the nu~eral llS. 'rhe output volta~ o bufer 112A is maximum wh~n thero is no bill b~tw~n lamp 104 and detec~or lOS as aorementioned. This con-dit~on is r~erred to h~rein as qu~escent. Th~ output voltage : of bu~er 112a drops ~o a lower level when there is at l¢ast ;;~ one bill betw~en th~ lamp 104 and detector 105 causing ligllt ~lockage.
Comp~rator 114 comp~res the volta~e genera~ed by buffer 112a with a r~erence voltag~ generated by po~en~io~e*~r 115a in order to de~erm~ne wheth~r or not at leas~ one bill is located ~etwe~n th~ la~p 104 alld detector lOi. Iqh~n thers is .~ at least one bill locat~d between t.he lamp 104 and detector 10~, the volta~e at the output of buffer 112a will be low~r in m~g~
tude than the roferenc~ voltage at 115a, wher~by a control sig-nal is generated by the col~parator 114. The control signal g~n~r~t~ by comparator 114 i.c supplied to control ter~lnal C
of switch 113a and contr~l terminal C~ of a ~ocond snalo~ swi~ch ~ 116. The con~rol si~nal ~upplied to the switch 11~ is in~er~cd : in an invertor circuit 117 so that switch~s 113a and 116 ar~
always in opposite states, that is: ~he firs~ sw~ch ls on ~nd the s~cond ~witch is oPf and vice v~rsa.
The output of the ~irs~ switch ll~a is supplied to a con~ent~onal integrator ci~cuit 118, corresponding to block 106 in Pig. 17, through a potontlometer 119. Potentiom~ter 119 control~ the gai~ o integr~tor 118, and i5 prcvided for the purpose o~ acco~modating bllls o~ differen~ denomina~ions or typosJ as explained more fully below. The outp~t o ~n~egr~tor 118 in turn is co~nected to one ~nput termin~l of comparator circuit ll9a, corresponding ~o block 107 in Pig. 17. The re-ma~nirlg input o~ co~parator ll9a ls connoctcd to ~ho outpu~ ofpeak detector circuit 115 which devolops a referellce volta~e . ' ~:lZ62;~3 l or co~parator 119 that is deriYed from th~ peak, or quiescent, voltage gencratcd by d~tector 105. ~he refeTence voltage for comparator ll~a ~s dcrived from the quiescent voltag~, or un-blocXed dctec~or voltage, 50 ~hat th~ referenc~ voltag~ i~
automatically co~pensa*ed for conditions ~nrelated to bill thickness, such as different or changin~ de~ector parame~ers, ' - dirt in tho optical system; etc.
Peak detector 115 which oo~responds to block 10~
in Fi~. 17 comp~isos a diode 121 connected to S~OTagO capaci-10 tor lZ2 and to inverter 123 through resistor 122a. T~e pur-poso of inverter 123 is to in~er~ the polaritr of the peak ur qui~scent voltage stored on capacitor 122 to be supplied to co~para~or ll9a for compari~on with th~ inte~rator 118 Yolta~e.
Integra~or 118 co~prises a conven-tional operational ampl~ier 124 ha~ing a cspacitor 125 in the feedback loop ~here-o~, in a conventional mannor. Switch 116 i~ connect~d across ~he capacitor 125 throu~h a ~m~ll resi~tor 126 so as ~o turn the integrator on and off at predete~mined times.
In operation, when a bill is located between the liæht ,' Z0 sourco 104 and detector lOS, switch 113a i~ ~urned on and switch 116 ig turned o~f by the output of compara~or 114. In this condition~ the inte~rator is en~bled snd a s~gnsl f~ow p~th is o~t~b~ished b~twoon bufer 112a and in~orator 118~ Th~ output of inte~rator 118 i3 thus a ramp having a slope proportional to the ma~n~tude of the detcctor signal V~, which in turn is a unction of ~nstantaneous bill thickness.
Flg. 24 illustrates the operation of integrator 118, ~herein ramp VA corresponds to l~ght transm~ted through a single blll and ha~ng a relatiY~ly largo slope, snd VB corres-pondx ~o thG r~sponse of detotor lOS to light transmitted : through a doubles~ and h~s a relatlYely smallor slope. The ~`

1 1~ 622 3 1 t~me ~t which ~ol~a~e oE the ramp VA intersect~ tho quicscent or reerence ~oltag~ V~ is Ts~ and ~l~e ti~l~ at whic1l ra~p Y~
inter~ects ~he reference volt~ge YQ is TD. Accordingly, a ; lon~er per~od of ~imo clapses before the output of integrator : 118 reachcs the reere~ce ~oltage V~ whcn th~rc is a doubles, than when ~here is a single blll located between lamp 104 and . dot~ctor 105.
The dot~ed line Vc repre~ents an actual output from intogrator 118 showing non-lin~arities associated with tran5-1~ ient chang~s in light ~ransmiscivity or opacity along t~
gauged portlon of a bill, and in~erC~ct reference voltage Y~
at t~m~ Tl. ~llis bill may be classified 8s a singls or a doubles, depending on the definitions, which depend upon a~er~ge : thickncss or opacity, applicd. It is thus apparent that the nu~ber of bills, that is, wh~hor th~re is a single bill or doubles, bctwe~n lamp 104 and de~ector 105 can ~e de~ermined by :
determinlng whether the ~agnitude of the ramp Yoltag¢ is above or below a prede,termined magni~ude at a pred~t~rr~insd tim~, as described above.
2n Por example, in Fig. 24, at time TT, the m~nitude o~
VC ~5 larger than the ma~n~tudc o reference roltage VQ, and th~ blll being gauged is classi~ied as a single bill. On ~he other hand, at th~ time TT, the ma~nitude of ramp VD is less than VQ, and the bill ~s classiied as a doubles.
Tho slope of the ramp $enerat~d by ~he integra~or 118 is controlled by potentiometer 119, so that the operat~on of the in~egrator can be ad~usted to b~ usable with ~ills of dif-f erent denominations or types while maintaining a constan~ timo at which the magnitude o~ the ramp is measured. In other words, the potcntiometer 119 controls the slope of all ramps generated by int~grator 118 whercby the circuit ~ay b~ cal~brated to be oper~tive wit~ any tyPe or denomination of bill.

~ 36 ,.

- ~ ~2 62 2 3 Fig. ~S shows another em~odiment o th~ doubles de-tector circuit and is similar to ~h~ circuit sllawn in Pig. 22 exc~pt ~h~t ~ constant, presolected reference ~roltage de~eloped by potentiometer 124n is s-tpplied to on~ input of com~ar~or llga rather thsn a rar~ablc reforellce. Changes in am~ien~ con-ditions unrelated to bill thickncss are co~pensatcd ~y au*omat-ically adjustin~ the intensity o~ lamp 104 using a la~p driver circui~ indicated generally ~y 127. The inpllt of driv~r cir-c~it 127 is connectéd to the output of bufer 112a so ~s to be - 10 rosponsl~e to the output of detector lOS. ~ri~er 127 corn-. . .
prise$ a peak detector circuit including diode 128, re~is~or 129 and c~pacitor 130, the output o which is supplied to ~
convcntional operational amplifi~r 131 through resistor 13Ga.
Opcrational amplifier 131 controls th~ base drive on lamp driver ~ransistor 132 ~on~ect~d in series with lamp 1~4 and sup~ly voltagc sourco Y. Current-liJnitlng resis~or 135 is co~ cted betwe~n amplifier 131 and tho transistor 132. Peed~aek is pro-vid¢d b~twoe~ e~itter resistor 134 an~ the input of op~rational a~pli1er 131 via resistor 136.
- ~ In operstion, tho voltage on capacitor lX~ tracks th~ :
volta~e ~, which ls the quiesccn~ or un~locked ~rol~age gener-ated by sensor lOS. Resistor 12g is a pull down resistor to part~ally discharge capa~tor 130 when there is a deor~se ln quiescent voltago VQ. The Yolta~ on capscltor 13C ~5 used to control bnse driv~ of lamp driver tr~nsistor 132 a~ a func~ioil of tho m~gnitudo of quiesc~nt ~olta~e Y~ through ~plifi~r 131.
The output of amplifier 131 is manually adjusted by poten~io-me~er 137 to provide rated curren~ through la~p 104. Therea~er, *hc current is automatlcally control}sd to ~alnta~n a con5t8nt V~ hy fe~dbnck ros~tor 136.
The ir.lproved doubles detector and system n~ay be used ln any of the ma~mers descri~ed for ~et~cting and rej~cting ~ 37 ~1;26ZZ3 doul~le~ in any o the usual ~nd known typical auto~tic ba~,ki~g units or ~;ys teras .
Any such known au~omatic bankin~ units which dispense pap~ oney bills equipped with the lmproved doub~os detector and sys~e3il may have ~he doubles de'cector loated ils thc pnth of t~a~rel o ~che ~ills being dispen~ed ahead o ~he location of tha cu~omer access receptacle ~or the bills dlspensed. ~)uriilg operation o~ such a ban~cin~ unit equ~pped with the 1m~rOYed d~u~les detector, wllcn a signal is gen~rated in~icatln3 the pres-10 ence o~ doub~e~, th~ ~ignal actt~ates cont~ e~ns ~or ~ ereYersirl~ motor ~or the banking unit currency disp~ns~r drive tc~ reverse tl~e direGtlon of belt movement of the detec~or con- :
~eyor so as to convoy the detected doublec contra eo ~:he normal d~rec~ion of bill tra~el in i~5 path of DloY~m~n~ ~nd ~co dis-char~,a ~he doubles into a ~jeeted ~ill cotltainer.
Such double.s detecting signals un~or the concept d~scribed result from looking at ~he whole bill, aver~gi~ th~
b~ll ch~rac~eristics, and ~a~ing a decision as to thz p~esence of single or mult~ple bills from the si~nals ~enerat~d in ; 20 rospect of ~hc av~rage characteristics of the whole hlll.
One of the adY~ntageous eatures o~ the impro~ed equipm~nt disclosed and d~scribed is the cooperatiYe arran~em~nt betwe~n th~ currency di~pensing and double~ detccting compone.lts, and tho depository component, which are interr~lat~d ~y ~IL~
singl~ reYersible belt con~eyor serYing both d~spensin~ and depositlng func*ions.
A urther dis~incti~c ~ture o~ tlle rever.sl~l~ b~lt ~nd ~l~t pla~en means which form the bill and deposited ~la-terial convcyor s the ~bility o~ th~ conveyor, beca.lse of its rover~l c~l~ract~ristic, to dischar~e bllls from t]le con~eyor in eith~r o two opposite directions ~ro~ a conveyor en~ry slot located intcrmodiat~ the corlv~yor ends, tllrou~h whlch ~L126223 510t ~he bill~ are fed one by one in their path o~ travel to the conYcyor.
Another featurc is the th~n shaft d~flection tl~ick-ness measuring concopt. As described, one shaft 17 with sl~aft por~ons 17a and 17~ ha~ring ~he midsuppor~ 23 may be used to providf~ ~hiclcness ~easurillg deflcction means, one for eaeh dis-pensin~ lin~. ~learly, ii~ d~3sired, th~ shaft p~rtions 17a and 17b ~ay b~ separate shats, cach support~d at its ends ~o pro-~id~ or tl~ d~1~c~cion gauging.
. Other unique eatu~3 relate to the constructio2~ zr.d operation o~ thc va~ious bill gauging and thiclcn~ss a~era~ng deviccs and procedur~s which accomplish dou~les detecti~n ~n a stream or s~ries o bills moving one by one and comp~ssed of a random arr~ng-3m~nt of old and new snoney.
Added ~o the la~ d~cribed features is the accuracy and sel~bility of the i1nprov~d doubles de~ec~clon opera~ion ree of inhe~nt probl~ms pr~viously encoun~ered with pr~o~ ~le~.~c~s and sys.,em~ when atte,mpting, to handle forei~n currency ha~-in~
many and vAriablc colors P.nd thicknesses.
Stî~l ~ùrther advant~g(3s acc~ue f~om the thickness avera~in~ concept which avoids di~icultie~ encoun~er~:d w.i~h prior single sa~;~pllng actu~tion o~ photo3ensitlve double~ ~t~ctors wh~ch ~ay read the ~ame dou~les indicat~n~ parao~et~r ~rom ~wo n~w 3up~impose(1 bllls a~ rom a s~ngl~ mucll used dir~y b~ll, thus r~joctirg the singl~ used dir~y l~ill5.
Accordingly, the presence of 3.oubles ~y be r~..iably and accurat~ly do~ected in single vr ~ult~plo denom:Ln~on bl 11 dispen~lng 1 ines, or in such arrangemen1:s co-lpled wi~ pository means t)y t:he now doubles dct~ctor raechanism and sys~.el:ls fer c~r-30 rencr d~pellsers that are incorpor~ced in ~u~omatic b~.n~units; and r~ndomly arrangod new an~ old ~ills may be han~lled 3g 1 ln such units as woll 8S p~per ~eney currency of v~rious countries rog~rdless o~ colors J shade~ o~ color snd varyin~
thickne~s of .~uch currencies; and thus t~le now concepts incor~
poratin~ the principles and procedures set ~orth, achieve the s~ated ob~ectiv0s and solve proble~s and sati5fy needs that 31ave exis~ed for a considerable til~e in the ~r~.
In tho foregoing description, certain ter~s have b~en used or bre~ity, ~learncs~ and un~erst~ndin~; but no unnec~s-sary l~mitations are to be i~plied beyond the requiremen~s o~
the prior art becaus~ such te~ms ar~ used for descrip~lve purposes ~nd are intended to be ~roadly construed.
~ oreo~r, the descriptiQn and illustration of ~e inventi~n is by Wfly of example, and the scopc o the in~ention is not li~i~ed to the exact dctails s}lown or descrîbed.
~ aving ~ow deacli~ed the features, discoveries, and principles o~ the invention, the manner ~n which the new doubles detecto~ i5 constructed and operated, and the ad~anta~eous, ~:
new and useful rcsul~s obtained; the new and useul structures, deviceJ~ components, elements, arrangements~ parts, eomb~na-tions, syste~.s, s~eps, operations, procedures, methods and rel~tionshlps aro set forth in the ~ppend~d claims.

., .

~'

Claims (8)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A doubles detector mechanism for a paper money dispensing system for automatic banking equipment com-prising bill thickness gauging means through which bills are moved from a bill supply to a bill delivery station;
said thickness gauging means including first and second gauging rolls between which successive bills move, first and second shafts on which said first and second rolls are mounted respectively, the first shaft having rigidity against bowing, the second shaft being flexible and being slightly bowed to maintain contact between the first and second rolls, the bowing of the second shaft being increas-ed to a degree dependent upon the thickness of bills con-veyed between said rolls, and switch means sensing the degree of bowing of the second shaft and adapted to be actuated to generate a doubles-detected signal upon movement of a doubles between the rolls.

2. A doubles detector mechanism as claimed in claim 1, in which said switch means engages said second roll and is adjustably mounted on the mechanism housing.

3. A doubles detector mechanism as claimed in claim 2, in which the switch means includes a roller engaging the second roll, and in which the roller is mounted on a plug movable axially in a barrel to actuate make and break con-tacts contained in a switch housing mounted on the mechanism housing.

4. A doubles detector mechanism as claimed in claim 1, in which first and second pairs of first and second gauging rolls are mounted in spaced relation on said first and second shafts respectively, each bill moved from the bill supply to the delivery station simultaneously moving between the first and second gauging rolls of both pairs, and in which the switch means sensing the degree of bowing and adapted to be actuated to generate a doubles-detected signal is responsive to movement of the second roll of one of the pairs and further switch means is provided to respond to movement of the second roll of the other pair and is adapted to be actuated to count the number of bills being gauged.

5. A doubles detector mechanism as claimed in claim 4, in which two sets of two pairs of gauging rolls are mounted on the first and second shafts respectively.

6. A doubles detector mechanism as claimed in claim 1, in which the first shaft is journalled at its ends in mechanism housing side walls and is rotatably driven in synchronism with means provided for moving bills from the bill supply to the bill delivery station and in which said first gauging rolls are fixed to said first shaft for rota-tion therewith, and said second shaft is non-rotatably mount-ed on said housing walls, said second gauging rolls each comprising an antifriction bearing having a circular outer contour journalled on said second shaft for rolling contact with its respective first gauging roll.

7. A doubles detector mechanism as claimed in claim 1, 4 or 6 in which the thickness gauging means is adapted to constantly measure the thickness of each bill substantially throughout a gauged length extending in the direction of travel as such bill moves in its path of travel past the thickness gauging means, and further comprising means for averaging thickness measurements made throughout the gauged length of such bill to provide an averaged bill thickness measurement; means for comparing such averaged measurement with a reference value greater than normal note average thick-ness; and means for generating a doubles-detected signal when the averaged measurement exceeds said reference value.

8. A note dispenser for automatic banking equipment comprising a doubles detector mechanism as claimed in claim 1, 4 or 6, a bill container for said bill supply and means for continuously moving bills successively along a path from said container, through said doubles detector mechanism and to said delivery station, said moving means comprising a picker mechanism for removing bills one at a time from said container, a conveyor roll assemblage formed by the said gauging rolls, a conveyor for receiving bills from the conveyor roll assemblage, and delivering them at the delivery station and means for driving the picker mechanism, the conveyor roll assemblage and the conveyor in co-ordination.