CA1163717A - Point of sale terminal having prompting display and automatic money handling - Google Patents

Abstract

POINT OF SALE SYSTEM HAVING PROMPTING DISPLAY
AND AUTOMATIC MONEY HANDLING

ABSTRACT
A data processing terminal usable as a point-of-sale device which has a computing system, bill handling system, coin handling system or a computing system and a prompting system or bill and coin handling systems, prompting systems and computing systems which are contained in a housing having as many bill viewing windows as there are bill input channels for enabling the operator to visually verify the denomination and genuineness of bill transported to the viewing window by the bill handler for that channel under the control of the computing system in which rejected bills are returned to the operator;
visual verification of the bills requires that they be held stationary under the viewing window until the operator decides whether to accept or reject them;
the bill viewed by the operator is the bill which is accepted or rejected and if rejected is the exact bill returned.

Description

`~ I 63717 This invention relates to a point of sale system for receiving information relating to sales transactions and for accepting money and dispensing change for each sales transaction without re~uiring an operator to touch any money.
In the past, there have been provided pilfer-proof automatic cash registers into which either an attendant or a customer deposits money paid for a sales transaction and from which money is dispensed as change. Such cash registers are arranged to eliminate the need for a cash drawer, and are automatically cont~olled to accept money into a cache and dispense change due from the cache.

1. ~ ' '3~

`i ~637~7 Previous automatlc cash registers have number Or disadvantag~3. Some lack the cap-ability o~ quickly and ea~ily calculating the amount due, receiv~ng bills o~ di~erent denom-ination~ in payment Or the amount due, paying out bills o~ di~erent denominations a~ ¢hange, and providing userul audit ln~ormation. Some cash register3 do not provide rail-sa~e reatures ~or i~olstirg one sale~ transaction ~rom another or ror preventing tampering with the sy~tem.
Other cash registers conta~n comple~ and expen~
sive subsystems having optical mean~ ror veriry-ing the genuineness o~ bill~ paid by the cu~tomer, Many Automatic cash re6isters have controls which are complicated or cumbersome ~or the ~ustomer to use and there~ore are not suitable ror use in high volume sales transaction~.
Many business establishments 3ell a number o~
hieh volume items a~ well as a number Or low volume items. Previous keyboard operated auto-matic cash registers lack ~impliried keyboard . ~

~ l 6371 7 controls with which the operator can actuate key~ ~or qu$ckly and easily calculating the amount o~ a sales transaction involYing both high Yolume and low volume items.
me present invention provides an automa-tic cash reg~ster wh~ch overcomes all o~ the di~advantages described above.

S~ARY OF THE INVENTION
Accord~ng to one aspect Or the in~ention, a point o~ sale terminal has one or more com-puters which ha~e ~nput/output devices. In a pre~erred embodiment, the inventive device has at least one programmable microprocessor, a read-only memory ~toring programs, constants, ~nd the like, and a random access memory~ In a prererred embodiment, ~ keyboard has item keys which an attendant can actuate to cau~e item-identirication data to be entered into the computer. Prerer~bly a plurality Or total keys are provided 80 that each attendant work-~ng on a shi~t can be allocated a personal 1 1 637~7 ,'i total ke~. Actuation Or any totnl key marks the end Or a sequence Or entrie~ Or item-ident~ricRtion dnt~ and arms a money handling ~YiC~-~i Electro-mechanical mone~ handling sppara-, t tu9 i8 provided including a plurality Or elec-~ trically controlled and powered device~ ror ; receiving, dispen~ine and storing bill9 and ~, , coin~. The bill handling device ha~ an open-," ing through which the bill~ enter and exit, ~ ,~
a drive mechanism and ~ensing devices ad~acent tho opening. A controller device is coupled to the keyboard and to the drive mechanism.
The computer hQs in~ormation retrieval capa-bility and arithmetic capability. The control-ler device controls the receipt and dispen~ing o~ bills and coins a~ chango and i~ itselr controlled by the computer.
According to another aspect Or the inven-tion~ the bill handling mechanism ha~ a window 'a - S

t i ~ ~3717 for displaying a bill for visually testing its genuineness and denomination. A key actuated by the operator causes a bill to be dispensed to enable the rejection of any tendered bill failing such testing.
According to a further aspect of the inven-tion, a point of sale terminal has a plurality of money belt devices. Each money belt device has an associated viewing window and accept and reject keys on the keyboard. One embodiment of the invention has four money belt devices; one for $1 bills, one for $5 bills, one $10 and $20 bills and change and one for special coupons such as gift certificates, promotional certificates and the like. Each money belt device can accept or re-ject bills under the control of a computing device and the keyboard actuated by an operator. Only the $1 and $5 money belts can dispense bills as change. Each belt has associated with it two or three sensors for detecting the presence and location of a bill. The control device i 1 637 1 7 operates 90 that only one money belt device at a time c~n accept or dispen~e ~1119. A signal-ling device i8 located near each money belt device to indicste which money belt has ~ bill tendered to it.
Another important aspect Or the present invention relates to the utilization o~ a prompting device with the point-or ~ale ter-m~nal. The prompting device ha~ an embodiment which has grsphic material displayed throu~h a Yiewing window located on t~e keyboard. The di~play mechanism include~ electro-mechanical rolls. Cathode ray tube and rilm displays may also be u~ed. 'me prompting display shows items rOr sale arranged by category with all ~ece~sary coding i~ormation to enable an opera-tor to ~ctuate the ~eyboard and complete the sale Or a particular item. A number o~ category key~ are placed on the keyboard adjacent the keyboard w~ich corre~pond to the categorie3 shown by the display.

i 163717 Another aspect of the invention relates to the keyboard for use with the point-of-sale terminal which has item keys, category keys, function keys and a numeric pad. The function keys include accept and reject keys placed near the money belt viewing windows. With this combination of keys all items for sale at the terminal can be shown by the prompting display and the most frequently ordered items can be shown pictorially by the item keys.
These functions can be accomplished for several hundred items with a keyboard having less than 20 item and category keys and without the need to teach the operators a complex routine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention~
Figures 2 and 3 show elevations of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 taken along the lines 2-2 and 3-3 respectively.

~ I 63717 ~igure 4 i~ a ~ectionnl view showing a money handling mechsnism forming a pHrt Or the present invention.
~ iBure ~ iS A block di~gram show~n~ the baslc oreanlzation Or one ~mbodiment Or the present invention.

i 163717 Figures 6 and 7 show two views of a coin handling mechanism which forms a portion of the present invention.
Figures 8 and 9 show two views of a prompt-ing display forming a portion of the present invention.
Figure 10 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 11 is a block diagram showing a multiplexer which forms part of the control mechanism used in the present invention.
Figures 12-23 show details of the elec-trical circuitry shown in the blocks in Figure 11 used in one embodiment of the present invention~
Figure 24 shows a flow chart showing various phases of a sales transaction using one embodiment of the prompting device forming a part of the present invention.
Figure 25 shows a block diagram showing the novel steps used in connection with the ; ~ 8b -`~ ~ 637~7 inventive method of using the automatic money handling device forming part of the present invention.
Figure 26 and 27 show two further embodi-ments of prompting displays.

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`~ 1 637 17 .. . .. _ . _ . .. . . . .. .. .. _ . _._ ... . .
,~ . DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Introduct~on Tho present invention proridos 8 point o~
~ale terminal ror avtomatlc~lly calculating a payment due ror a asles transAction and ror receivine money tendered in payment and ~or dispensing change. Tho system include~ a data processing sub~ystem comprisine at lHast ono computer, a momory which may includo a read-only memory (ROM) and a random-acce~
memory (RAM)S a keybosrd; and a customer-red money storage and pay-out device. The i keyboard include~ a group Or item-represonting keys, prererably rOr thoso items having the highest volume o~ sales, The terminal ;

.

: i ~6~717 , :
al80 include~ a promptins di~play ror prompt-ing the operator to key in ltem-identific~tion data. A computer receives such item-identi-rlcation data, retrieves rrom the memory price data ~or each keyed 1tem, and c~lculate~
the total price o~ the transaction. Ths money handling device has Q plurality Or su~tomer-~ed bill belts ror receiving, storing ~nd di~-pensing bills o~ different denominations, as well as ror receiving check~, coupons, ~nd the like. The money handl~ng device includes a coin receiver, ~torer, sorter snd dispenser.
Tho bill and coin devices operato under ¢ontrol Or one or more computers to receive money and to dl~p~nse ¢hange. A digital display ~sub~tem operating under control o~ a computer dlspl~ys th~ ~mount Or sale ~n~ ~h- ~o~t t ~
dered, ~ ~ prlnter provldes a printout o~ ~les d~ta ~nd data identi~y~ng tho attendant re~ponsible for ea¢h transaction.

Figures 1 and 3 illustrate housing 10 having an interior for containing electro-mechanical and electronic apparatus. An upper portion of the housing has an exterior face 11 with a keyboard 14 on one side 13 of the housing. The keyboard shown in Figure 2 is described in detail in a separate section.
The upper portion on a customer side 15 of the housing has an exterior face 17 for access to a series of four side-by-side cus-tomer-fed bill belt devices. Each bill belt device is a separate electro-mechanical device subject to common control. In a separate sec-tion there is a detailed description of an individual bill belt. Each bill belt communi-cates with a corresponding one of four money trays 16 projecting outwardly from the customer side 15 of the housing 10. Each bill belt device has an inlet/outlet channel at the junction between the tray and the housing. Bills dispensed as change or rejected are received in the money trays 16.

.~

~ 3 637 1 7 Four side-by-side windows 20 are provided on a top portion of the housing for viewing from both the attendant side 13 and the cus-tomer side 15 of the housing. Each bill belt is aligned with one of the windows 20 so that a bill sandwiched between the bill belts can be viewed by an operator.
The customer side 15 of the housing 10 includes digital displays 22 and 24. Display 22 shows the total amount of each sales trans-action and display 24 shows the amount tendered by the customer. A coin slot 26 and a coin recepta~le 28 are located on the customer side 15 of the housing 10.
There are on the keyboard: a group of Total keys by which each operator can enter data that the computer recognizes as both transaction data and employee-identification data; and a group of Accept and Reject keys by which an operator can control the bill belts.

i ~ 63717 A feature of the present invention is that the attendant need not remember the price of any item ordered by a customer. Figure 5 shows in block diagram form the steps taken during the use of the present invention which steps are themselves believed to be novel and which are described in detail in the following paragraphs. Having received the customer's order, the attendant simply actuates the appropriate keys, either item keys or category and number keys as prompted by the prompting display to key in item-identification data. In response, the data processor retrieves from memory the corresponding price data, and displays it on 22. After all the ordered items have been entered, the operator actuates the proper Total key to con-clude the order phase of the sales transaction.
The next phase of the sales transaction involves the calculation and display of payment-due data.
In as much as the data entered by the Total key provides employee-identification the computer can update an activity record stored in the memory.
Such an activity record is particularly useful to evaluate performance of employees.

~ 13 ~
r ~ 3 ~371 7 A~ter the payment-due ha~ been calculQted~, the computer arm~ the money belts either directly or throu6h another computer or con-troller. An attempted deposit o~ money by a customer pr~or to such ar~in~ will pro~e ~ruitless. Prior to ar~in~, any coin deposited in the coin ~lot 2c drops down a chute to coin receptacle 28 ~ol return to the customer.
Deposit Or a b~ll into the l~armed bill belts will leave tha bill in the tray 16. This ~eature minimizes the possibility o~ disputes~
since it i8 a eimple matter to demonstrate that money cannot b~ rod ~nto the unarmed money receptacles.
Once armed the terminal enter~ a pay-in mode. Now, ~hen the customer drop~ a coin into co~n slot 26 it ~ill be sortsd and stored on the basis o~ denomonation. Each blll tendered i~ transported to the window 20 ~or`
viewinE. I~ the custo~er tenders an unaccep-table bill, the attendant can cause it to be returned to the customer by actuating the `~ ~63717 appropriate reject key 84, 88, 98, 104. I~ the visual teat is passed, the attendant actuates an Accept key. The computer is responsive to succes-sive actuations of the Accept keys after a bill is sensed to accumulate and display a running total of the amount of money accepted.

~ ~. .? ~

i 1 fi37:~ 7 The computer determines whether any change is due to the customer. If no change is due to the customer, the data processor disarms the money handling apparatus. If change is due, the system enters a change-dispensing mode during which either or both coins and bills are dispensed. In either case a printer produces a record of the transaction.
Figure 25 shows in block diagram form the inventive method of use of one embodiment of the present terminal.
Block 1 shows that the operator obtains from the terminal the total of a sale. The customer then inserts a bill into an input channel which causes a light signal to indicate which bill channel is in use. The money handler brings the bill to a viewing window. The operator observes the signal light and then looks to the proper viewing window to observe the bill that had been put into the device. After observation, the operator, as shown in block 4, actuates either an accept or a reject key. The above steps are repeated until the total cash received is equal to or greater than the amount of the sale.
Blocks 3 1/2 and 4.5 show the steps used by the operator if either a special bill or coupon is used or if coins are put into the device.
Keyboard The keyboard illustrated in FIG.2 includes a group of individual item-representing keys 32, or Best Seller keys. In the illustrated embodiment there are twelve Best Seller keys 32 B

`i 1 B3717 in the group. Each Best Seller key preferably has a corresponding pictorial representation, (illustrated in phantom lines at 34 on each key) of the item associated with that particular key, together with a separate label 36 printed on each key describing the item associated with that particular key. The labels 36 relating to the items identified by the twelve Best Seller keys are indicated in the drawings as Item 1 through Item 12 for simplicity.
The keyboard 14 also includes a prompting dis-play 38 for di`splaying product category and corre-ponding item-listing information for the less fre-quently sold items and for the Best Seller items the prompting dïsplay provi`des data for prompting the attendant to actuate certain keys on the keyboard to ~ 16a -,~....

i 1 fi37l7 identify to the data processor corresponding less-frequently sold items being sold at the point of sale.
In the illustrated embodiment, a series of eight mutually spaced apart Category keys 40 are positioned a]Longside a window 42 which covers the prompting display and through which the prompting display can be viewed.
Each category key has a corresponding label 41 for identifying a category of information to which the key corresponds. The prompting display includes a movable roll 44. An electro-mechanical drive apparatus is provided for moving the roll 44. Each category and its related list of items is printed on the roll. A
selected portion of the roll can be moved to the window 42 for display when the attendant actuates a particular Category key 40. For example, in the embodiment shown a category heading 46 entitled "CATEGORY 5" displays a listing of corresponding individual items 48, depicted as"ITEM A" through "ITEM Q". When the attendant manually actuates the category key 40 labeled "CATEGORY 5" the roll 44 is moved until the listing for CATEGORY 5 is displayed in the window 42.
The roll shows a separate item-identifying code 50 unique to each item listed in the prompting display. In the illustrated embodiment the prompting indicia for each item is a two-digit number displayed on the roll next to the item.

,1~

~ t63717 A group of numeric keys 54, hereafter collec-tively called a numeric pad, are positioned on the keyboard next to the prompting display 38. The numeric pad preferably comprises ten individual keys labeled 0 through 9, respectively, with an eleventh key 56 labeled "TAX", for identifying taxable items.
The numeric pad can be used to identify to the data processor items selected from the prompting display.
To identify each item selected from the prompting display, first a category key is actuated and then two of the numeric keys are actuated in an order which supplies to the data processor a three-digit number for identifying the selected item. For ex-ample, to indicate ITEM J in CATEGORY 5 first the CATEGORY 5 key is actuated and then the numeric keys are actuated in the sequence 3,2 for supplying a cor-responding three-digit number (5,3,2) to the data processor for identifying ITEM J.
The prompting display roll preferably contains a listing of all available items for sale. Owing to this preferred feature, "redundancy" is provided in that items represented on the Best Seller keys 32 are also represented on the roll.
By way of example, in the course of the order-entry phase of a sales transaction involving the sale of one or more best seller items and one or more less frequently sold items, separate item representing keys i 3 637 ~7 32 are actuated to indicate purchase of each bestseller item. The prompting display is actuated to display information relating to each item not represented on the Best Seller keys, and in a sequence prompted by the prompting display, the numeric keys 54 are actuated to indicate a separate multi-digit code for each less frequently sold item displayed on the prompting display. Data processor subsystem includes a look-up table for retrieving a pre-loaded price for each item identified in the order-entry phase of the sales transaction. The Tax button 56 is actuated after each taxable item is indicated and the data processing subsystem calculates the tax on each taxable item.
An arithmetic unit in the data processor sums the individual prices of each identified item, as well as the tax on each item, so as to calculate the total price of the sale transaction.
The keyboard includes Total keys 62. In the illustrated embodiment, there are eight Total keys having indicia 64 suitably the letters A through H. In response to the actuation of any one of the Total keys during a sales transaction, the computer calculates the payment due.
Above the group of numeric keys there is a first Special-Item key 57. This key is used to enter into the data pro-cessor information .~

~ l 63717 concerning the sale of special items not otherwise identifiable by the item-representing keys 32 or the category information in the prompting display 38. The data processor can be programmed so that when the Special-Item key 57 is actuated, followed by entry of the sale amount, in cents, on the numeric keys 54, the sale can be recorded, along with its identification as a special item by selection of the next keyboard entry.
If this is the last or only sale entry, then actuation of a corresponding Total key 62 can record the sale.
A second Special-Item key 58 above the group numeric keys can be used to enter the sale of gift cou-pons. The data processor can be programmed so that when the second Special-Item key is actuated, followed by entry of the sale amount on the numeric keys, 54, the sale is recorded and identified in a manner similar to the first Special-Item key described above.
A Clear key 59 is located above the group of numeric keys 54. The Clear key is used for clearing the last entry made.
A Sign-In key 66 and a Sign-Out key 68 are located on the keyboard above the Total keys 62. The Sign-In key is manually actuated by each attendant to indicate when he or she is starting a work shift and to assign a separ-ate attendant identification code to each attendant. An attendant starting a work shift can depress the Sign-In key, enter his or her three-digit attendant number on the numeric pad 54, and depress his or her assigned Total ~ l 63717 key 62 for indicating his or her code for that particularwork shift. Once a particular Total key is assigned to an attendant by the sign-in procedure/ that particular Total key is unavailable for being assigned to another attendant until the Sign-out key is actuated to release use of the key for an attendant working a subsequent work shift.
The Sign-Out key 68 is manually actuated to cause the data processor to record the times when the attendants end their respective work shifts, as well as for releasin~ the Total key code assigned to each attendant ending a work shift. Attendants ending their work shift sign out by actuating the Sign-Out key, entering their employee number on the numeric keys 54, and en-tering their assigned code on one of the Total keys 62.
A Void key 70 is provided on the keyboard above the Sign-In and Sign-Out keys. The Void key is used to clear from the data processor all data entered from the start of a given sales transaction. The Void key becomes inoperative after arming of the bill caches.
Above each bill belt opening is a label 72 indi-cating the type of paper currency or money equivalent to be in-serted into the opening of each bill belt: 10. One dollar bills for a first bill belt 74; five dollar bills for a second bill belt 76; either $10 or $20, checks or other bills for a third bill belt 78; and other bills, checks, coupons etc, for a fourth bill belt 80. The fourth bill belt is adapted for receipt of promotional item.

.~

~ l 63717 Each group of Accept/Reject keys as shown in Figure 2 includes one or more keys labeled according to the type of bill, coupon, aheck, etc., to be received by a corresponding bill belt. A first group of Accept/Reject keys associated with the first bill cache 74 includes a One Dollar Accept key 82 and a One Dollar Reject key 84.
The second group of Accept/Reject keys comprises a Five Dollar Accept key 86 and Reject key 88.
A third group of Accept/Reject keys includes a Ten Dollar Accept key 90, a Twenty Dollar Accept key 92, a Check Accept key 94, `~ 163717 an Other Dollar Accept key 96, and a reject key 98 for rejecting any of the bills in the third bill belt.
Above a fourth group of Accept~Reject keys, there is a special function key 100 labeled "SS" for entering acceptance of special transactions not covered elsewhere on the keyboard. The fourth group comprises a set of four keys 102 for indicating ac-ceptance of four different types of coupons or similar store promotion certificates. A
Reject key 104 enters rejection of any coupon certificate or the like tendered into the fourth bill cache.
Operation of the Accept/Reject keys is understood best by the following example.
After having entered data relating to all items involved in a single order, the attendant depresses his or her assigned Total key 62 to calculate and display the amount of sale, i.e., the payment due. Pay-ment is made by the customer by inserting coins into the coin slot 26 and/or bills, - 22a -~" ,,i checks, coupons or the like into appropriate open-ings 18. Upon tendering of a bill to any opening 18 a light identifying the active bill belt cues the attendant to look to the proper window 20. The attendant then visually inspects the tendered bill.
Upon verification, the attendant depresses the ap-propriate One, Five, Ten, Twenty key. Actuation of any of these keys indicates the amount of pay-ment made against the total sale amount.
When payment of an amount equal to or greater than the amount of sale is detected by the data processor, the required amount of change, if any is automatically calculated and dispensed by the coin, the one dollar and five dollar bill devices as required. No change is given from other than the one or five dollar bill belts and the coin changer. Recording of receipts and disbursements by denomination, along with the store-opening amounts, enable the system to maintain an accurate account of all bills and coins throughout the busi-ness day.

-22b-i 1 637~7 Customer submittal of checks or other bill denominations (two dollars, fifty dollars, etc.) is verified by the attendant examining the dollar or check amount through the corr-esponding window 20. If the tendered bill or check is acceptable, the attendant then enters the amount of the bill or check, using the numeric keys 54. Subsequent actuation of either the Check key or the Other dollar key 96 identifies the type and amount of payment to the data processor.
Actuation of the "SS" keys 100 provides a means to record and identify special trans-actions, such as discounts, give-aways, no charge sales, etc. Under these conditions the bill belts are not activated. Actuation of the SS key, preceded by entering the amount on the keys 54 enters an amount to be deducted from the total sale and re-corded as expense.
The coupon keys 102 labeled Coupon 1 through Coupon 4 can be used to identify different types of promotional sales. Actuation of these keys can cause the data processor to accept the value previously .. . .

~, i 1 63717 entered on the numeric keys 54, to identify the sale as resulting from a store promotion and to enter in memory the cash value of the promotion to be used later on cash reconciliation.
The keyboard includes a first digital display 106 for displaying the amount of sale of each sales transaction, and a second digital display 108 for displaying the cumulative amount tendered in payment of each sales transaction. Display 106 can be used to momentarily display the price of each item sold and the tax on such item sold. The keyboard also includes a first LED 110 for being activated when display 106 relates to the price of a particular item being sold; a second LED
112 for indicating the tax on either the amount previously displayed or the total tax; and a third LED 114 to be activated when display 106 indicates the total amount of the sales transaction, including tax.
On the customer side 15 of the housing 10, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the digital displays 22 and 24 provide the same displays as the amount of Sale display 106 and the Amount il63717 Tondored display 108~ re~pectively. SimilArly~
LED displar~ 116, and 120 on tlle customer side 15 of the housing are activated along with corres~ond-ine activatlon of the LED'~ 110, 112, un~ 114 for corre~on~ine item, tax an~ total information, re-~pectlvely.
In a ~peclfic embodlment, ln whlch the key-board 14 io adapted for u~e ln a point of ~ale ter-mlnal ~n~olving the ~ale Or ~ce cream produces~ all keys on the ~eyboard are a ~lattouch type ~hlch can be ~lped clean with A damp cloth and which ~A~O no openlng~ through whlch liquld~ can reach the swltch-lng mechanism~. Swltches are mechanical~ rather than capacitl~e~ ln order to mlnlm~ze accidental ac~i~a-tion.

~11 Handl~n~
The construction o~ each blll belt de~lce 1~
. ~hown in FI~. 4. Each bill belt de~ice lnclude~ a ..
housine 122 containing a first and ~econd ~upply ull.storln~ reels 124~ 126 spaced apart ~rom each other~ ~
nnd a take-up or ~torngo reel 128, A lower ontrance roller 130 i~ located l~medlat01y lnslde the hou~lng 122 beloY tho opunlng 18 nnd nn upy~r on~rnnco rollor .- .
~ .
. .~S

`i J 63717 132 is located immediately inside the housing 122 above the opening 18 and above the lower entrance roller 132. The two entrance rollers are rotatable about corresponding axes of rotation which are paral-lel to one another and perpendicular to the path of travel of a bill inserted into the opening of the bill cache.
A first transparent money belt 134 is secured at one end to the first supply reel 124 and is secured at its opposite end to the storage reel 128. The first belt has a ~portion extending upwardly away from the first supply reel, around the lower entrance roller, and then along a straight path away from the entrance rollers and around a first guide roller 136 on a side of the housing opposite the entrance roller.
Such portion of the first belt then extends from the first guide roller down to the storage reel 128. A
second transparent money belt 138 has a portion ex-tending upwardly from the second supply reel 126 into engagement with a second guide roller 139 adjacent the first guide roller 136 and then around a third guide roller 140 above the second guide roller. Such portion of the second belt then extends along a straight path near the top of the housing toward the entrance to the bill cache and is wrapped around , ~, , .~, ~, ~ l 637 17 the upper entrance roller 132 and is then reversed to travel in a superposed relation above the portion of the first web which extends in a stright path across the top of the housing. The superposed path of the first and second belts is illustrated at 142 in FIG. 4 and is referred to below as the viewing path or viewing position. The first and second belts both extend around the first guide roller 136 in their superposed relation and both belts then extend down to the storage reel 128, in the superposed relation, for attachment to the storage reel. The first and second belts are wound in unison around the storage reel when the storage reel is rotated in the direction of the arrow at 144 shown in FIG. 4.
Thus,the first and second belts converge at the entrance rollers which, in turn, apply a slight amount of pressure against one another so that the two belts are pressed slightly into contact with one another as they converge inside the opening 18 to the housing 122. The belts then pass in a super-posed relation along the straight viewing path 142 across the upper portion of the housing from the opening 18. The two belts are held in contact with one another along the straight viewing path 142 as `~ l 63717 they pass around the first guide roller 136 to the storage reel 128.
First and second gear wheels 152, 154 are rigidly affixed to the first and second supply reels 124, 126. The two gear wheels are the same diameter, and have gear teeth of identical size and spacing.
A third gear wheel 156 is rigidly affixed to the storage reel. The third gear wheel has approxi-mately twice the area of either the first or the second gear wheel, and has gear teeth of the same size and spacing as the first and second gear wheels.
A first supply reel drive motor 158 is mounted in the housing 122 adjacent the first gear wheel 152.
A first driven gear wheel 160 on the output shaft of the first supply reel drive motor engages the first gear wheel. The first driven gear wheel is substan-tially smaller in diameter than the diameter of the first gear wheel. Similarly, a second supply reel drive motor 162 is mounted in the housing adjacent the second gear wheel 154, and a second driven gear wheel 164 identical to gear 160 on the output shaft of the second supply reel drive motor engages the second gear wheel.

i 3637i7 A take-up reel drive motor 166 is mounted in the housing 122 adjacent the third gear wheel 156, and a third driven gear 168 on the output shaft of the take-up reel drive motor engages the third gear wheel.
A servo mechanism is provided for the bill belts which has a controller.

A computer issues a number of commands to the controller. The computer commands may be in software, firmware or hardware or any combination of them.
When the bill belt is operated in a pay-in mode, its take-up reel drive motor 166 is energized by the servo to rotate the third gear wheel 156 clockwise in the storing direction (with reference to FIG.4) which, in turn rotates the storage reel 128 in the clockwise direction illustrated by the àrrow 144 in FIG.4.
At the same time, the first and second belts unwind from their respective supply reels and travel together, in their superposed relation, along the viewing path 142 away from the entrance rollers and toward the first guide xoller 136. Preferably, tension is maintained by applying a relatively low level of energization to the supply reel drive motors 158 and 162 which are electrically connected in series. The bill is drawn into the open-ing 18 and between the first and second belts by the , ,,,,,i i ~ 63717 action of the belts traveling over the entrance rollers and into the housing along the viewing path 142 to a window 20 in the point of sale housing 10. The window 20 is illustrated in phantom in FIG. 4. The drive motors are de-energized, under control of a computer, to position the bill below the window, for viewing by the operator.
As bills continue to be drawn into the housing they become sandwiched between the belts wrapped arcund the storage reel 128.
When the bill belt is operated in a pay-out mode, its series-connected supply r~el drive motors are energized by the servo to turn their respective gear wheels in a counter-clockwise direction in a unstoring direction (with reference to Fig.4) which, in turn, rotates the supply reels in a counterclockwise direction, as illustrated by the arrows at 172 in Fig. 4. The unstoring direction is the dispensing direction~ In the pay-out mode, billsare dispensed.
Preferably, tension is maintained by ~plying a relatively low level of energization to the take-up reel drive motor 166. This travel of the belts causes each bill sandwiched between them to be payed out through the opening 18.

; l 63717 In the illustrated embodiment, the bill belt sensors include outer optical detectors 174,175 outside the entrance rollers 130, 132 and inner optical detectors 176,177 inside the housing adjacent the entrance rollers. The outer sensors can be a first infra-red (IR) sensor 174 located in front of the entrance rollers above the opening 18 and a cooperating IR
emitter 175 embedded in the money tray 16 in front of the entrance rollers and below the first IR sensor 174. The emitters 175 and 177 are electrically connected in a gate-controlled series circuit path.
The outer optical sensors are located as close to the outside of the entrance rollers as possible. It is desirable that the inner optical sensors also be l~acated fairly close to the inside of the entrance rollers, although they can be spaced inwardly from the entrance rollers no more than the length of a bill being tendered into the bill cache.

.

i ~ 63717 In a bill belt, each of the two emitter and sensor combinations provides for detecting when a bill is present between them.
Each sensor senses all the IR radiation transmitted to it from the corresponding emitter when no bill is present between them, and the sensor produces an output signal having a first value proportional to the sensed transmitted IR radiation for indicating that no bill is present. When a tendered bill is present between the sensor and detector, a certain amount of IR radiation is transmitted through the bill, but most transmitted IR radiation is blocked. The sensor produces an output signal having a second value proportional to the reduced amount of sensed transmitted IR radiation for indicating that a bill is present. This capability of the sensors can be used to detect bills that are too light absortive, e.g. double bills, or bills that are too light transmissive, e.g. certain counterfeit bills.

.~ ,. ..
,.~i.,'i ; ~ 63~17 IR-type emitters and sensors are used so that the bill cache controls are insensitive to stray ambient light, i.e., light in the vis-ible spectrum.
The outer optical sensors 174, 175 are used as part of a device to count bills dis-pensed as change. During operation in the pay-out mode, each bill dispensed to the opening 18 is detected by the outer optical sensing device. The bill belts can be control-led to dispense each bill entirely past the entrance rollers and past the first sensing device and into the money tray 16; and the outer sensing means can detect when each bill has been dispensed from the opening to provide data to a counter for counting each bill so dispensed~
Alternatively, the bill belts can be controlled in the pay-out mode to feed a bill halfway through the opening so that the bill remains between the entrance rollers blocking-the outer sensor until the bill is taken from the opening by the customer. The outer sensor , ~ .

`i l 63717 can detect when ~ bill present between the entrance rollers ~s taXen by ~ customer and can produce data red to a counter for countin~
each b~ll taken by the customer. The bill belts can bo controlled ~ 3~-i ~ 63717 in the pay-out mode to feed only the last bill paid as change halfway through the opening 18. The computer disarms the bill belts after the last bill is payed out as change, and remains so until a subsequent arming command from a Total key.
The inner optical sensors 176, 177 can detect whether or not a bill that is tendered into the opening is actually drawn into the housing. The pay-in cycle is activated when the outer optical sensors 174, 175 indicate that a bill is in the opening. If the tendered bill is not detected by the inner optical sensors 176, 177 within the 0.5 second time period, counted by the computer a command is issued for halting the belts. This res-tricts the forward travel of the belts when they are "teased", thus valuable storage space is saved.
Either the outer or the inner sensing device also can be used to detect the thickness of a tendered bill in order to validate a pay-in transaction. Each IR sensor can indicate the opacity of a tendered bill between " , .

~ 1 637 1 7 the emitter and the sensor. A valid bill has a predetermined opacity. If more than one bill is between the emitter and sensor, or if the thickness of the tendered bill is not the required thickness, or if the tendered bill is otherwise not genuine, the light transmissivity detected by the optical sensor either c:an be too high or too low, compared to a required range of opacity for a genuine bill.
Third optical sensors are provided by an infra-red sensor 178 and emitter 179 positioned to the rear of the bill viewing path 142 immediately in front of the first guide roller 136, These sensing devices c~n be optionally used to detect the leading edge of a bill drawn into the bill cache for generating data to be fed to the data processor to issue a command for stopping the pay-in feed operation.

Coin Cache FIGS. 6 and 7 show a coin receiver dispenser and storing device 200 located in the interior of the housing 10. The coin changer includes a coin sorter and a coin B

i 3 63717 dispenser. Coins deposited into the singlecoin slot 26, shown as 126 in Figure 6, on the front of the housing 10 travel through a first coin guide 202 for funneling the coins, one at a time, into the top of a second coin guide 204 having a sloping internal track 206 for guiding each coin to a coin sorter 208.

,~

i ~ 637 17 Separate optical sensors, or mechanical or electrical switches at the coin sorting openings in the coin sorter can detect when a particular coin passes into each opening of the sorter for issuing signals to the computer indicating the denominations of coins received. The computer, in turn, can provide for calculating the payment received.
For example, a first optical sensor 250 is located adjacent the dime-sorting opening 232, a second optical sensor 252 is located adjacent the penny-sorting opening 234, a third optical sensor 254 is located adjacent the nickel-sorting opening 236, and a fourth optical sensor 256 is disposed adjacent the quarter-sorting opening 238. The optical signal emitted and sensed by each sensor is blocked when a coin either passes through the opening or bypasses the opening where each sensor is located.
The change dispenser is conventional in structure and operation, and an example of a `~ 1 63717 coin dispenser which can be used for the pur-pose of the present invention is Model 2941 Change Dispenser manufactured by SCI Systems, Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama. Coins dispensed as change by the coin dispenser generate data for the computer to provide a running total of coins available in each column dispenser.
The data processing system also provides for detecting when a coin overflow condition is imminent. When a coin overflow condition is imminent in a given column, the solenoid 252 is energized to pivot the coin diverter 258 in the position shown in phantom lines in figure 6 for funneling any further coins that column into a coin reservoir 266. After the coin diverter has diverted the coin to the coin reservoir, the solenoid is de-energized to return the coin diverter to its normal position, under the action of the coil spring 264. Coins of a particular denomination are ,~

~ ~63717 runneled into the coin reservoir only w~len nn overrlow condition ~or that particular denomin-ation 18 ~ensed. Ir coins are removed ~rom a coin column ln the coin dispenser, appropriate dota related to the ~mount o~ coins removed is ~uppllod to the data processor.

PromPtin~ DiBPl8~
The construction Or one ombodiment o~ the prompting di~play 38 is understood best by re~orring to ~lgures ~ and 9. Tho prompting dlsplay i~ contalned in a housing 570 shaped generally ~9 an elongated rectangular box havlng ~ hollow lnterlor. ~he prompting dis-play housing i~ mounted lnslde the point or b~lo housing 10 below tho wlndow l~2 in tho koy-bo~rd 14. The prompting dl~plsy housing has ~n opon top, and tho portion o~ the roll 44 whlch 1~ di~pl~yod bolou tho wlndo~ in tho ke~board o~tend~ ~rom ono ond o~ the prompt-ing diJplsy hou~ing to tho othor end acro~
the top of the hou~ing to tho o~her ond o~ tho hsusl~B-t~

`3 ~63717 The prompting display housing containsfirst and second rollers 572 and 574 mounted near opposite ends of the housing 570 on bearing members. Each roller has a radial slot 576 for releasably securing ends of the roll 44.
A roll tensioner 578, located at one end of the housing adjacent the first roller, has rollers 580 and 582 and a guide roller 584 is located at the other end of the housing.
The upper edges of the tensioner upper roller 582 and the guide roller 584 define a generally horizontal plane of travel, or viewing path, of the roll across the top of the housing.
Information displayed on the viewing path of the scroll can be viewed through the window 42 in the keyboard. An elongated generally rectangular-shaped plate 585 covers the open top of the prompting display housing below the viewing path of the roll. The plate has opposite ends closely spaced upwardly from the upper roller 582 and the guide roller 584. The plate 585, closely spaced below the viewing path, holds the roll level and protects the ",,~;

i l 63717 roll rrom contsct with other parts o~ the prompting display. l`he tensioner 578 ~8 sd~ustable.
The rirst nnd second rollers 572, 574 are powered by drive motors 586, 58~ with gears 590, 592, 594, 596, 58~, 600 to drive the roll in eithor direction.
~ ho length Or the entire roll 44 i9 greater than the length Or tho viewing portion.
As previously de~¢ribedJ separato categories Or ftom~ ~or sale ca~ be d~played along the Iength o~ the roll. For oach oategorg a list-ing o~ ~ep~rate items are placed on tho roll, and a (numeric) code 18 a~sooiated with each itom ror use,in ldent~ying that item. Each c~tegory Or ~tem lnrormation can be considered a separate page Or inrormation, and the pages Or inrormation are displsyed at separate areas spaced along the length Or the roll a~ a graphic di~play. The roll i8 ¢ontained on a .

`i 163717 magazine which can be loaded into the prompting display housing in a manner similar to a player piano scroll.
Separate longitudinally spaced optically readable indexing marks 602 are placed on the roll between adjacent pages. Preferably, each indexing mark is printed on the roll near one edge of the scroll in a space between adjacent pages on the side of the roll having the printed information. The indexing marks are detected by an optical emmitter 604 and sensor 606 located in the housing. The optical detectors are used to control a position servo system for positioning the roll so that any selected page of information can be moved to and stopped in the viewing position for display. Logic and control electronics used in the servo system are physically contained on a printed circuit board 608 contained within the lower interior of the prompting display housing.

~ 43 -,~.~,, ,;

~ 363717 The roll i8 moved to the s31ected page by actuating a cor~esponding Category key 40 on the keyboard. Thi~ supplies dAta to ~ ont~l ~t~
tb- ~roApt-r which provides ~or i~suin~
a comm~nd to either the rorward drivo ~otor 586 or to th- roverso drive motor 588 to movo tho ~croll ln the proper diroction ~or dlspla~inB
tho dos~rod pago~ ~ho optlcal sensor 606 supplies data to a countor in the ?~ t each timo a separate page passes the ~onsor.
The counter counts the requlred number o~ pages until the selected page reache~ tho ~iewing po~itlon~ at whi¢h time a command is is~ued ror Jtopping the drive motor. The comput-r mem-ory can ~tore data relating to the page pro-~ent~in tho viewlng position to issue the ne~t command to the drive motor ror dri~inB the roll in the proper direction t ~ u6~ t~ ~w4~-r ~- ~ .
Onco the solectod pago has been reached, lo o~ the ~eloctsd item or ltom~ on tho pago , .

~ l ~)3717 can be entered by the numeric keys 54 using the two-digit number associated with the selected items as shown in the graphic display. The combination of page number (category) and item number ~three digits~
is sufficient data to record and process sale information.
Actual prices are determined by means of look-up tables used by the computer. In the embodiment shown, the page number is one digit and the item number is two digits.
Figures 26 and 27 show two othex embodiments of the present invention in which different forms of prompting display is used. In Figure 26, elements which are similar to those shown in Figure 10 have like numbers preceded by a "1" or a "10" to yield a four digit number.
For example keyboards 1014 and 14 in Figures 26 and 10 respectively are similar structurally and functionally.
Figure 26 shows that the display can be a CRT 1038 instead of the roll 38 shown in Figures 10 and 2. In such an embodiment the data which must be stored to prompt the operator could be stored in the central processor or in a RAM or ROM or any other convenient storage device.
Figure 27 shows still another embodiment of a prompting display similar to those shown in Figures 10 and 26.
Similar elements to those in Figure 26 have like four digit numbers preceded by a "2", i.e., elements 1366 and 2366 perform a like function, are structurally similar i 163717 and both are similar in structure and function to element 366 in Figure 10. In Figure 27, the prompting display is a device to display information stored on microfilm. Thus, in the Figure 27 embodiment of the present invention, microfilm would perform the function of the information storage roll 44 shown in Figures 8 and 9.
Figure 24 shows in block diagram form the novel steps which an operator takes in using the prompting device which forms a part of the present inVentiGn. When a customer orders an item, the operator either finds the item on the best seller keys or as shown in block 1 of Figure 24, reads the category list or, as shown in block

2, selects and strikes the correct category key. Next, as shown in block 3, the operator reads the list of category items displayed. Then, as shown in block 4, the operator strikes the prompted keys to sell the ordered item. The Figure 24 drawing shows that the operator would then go back through the sequence for the next ordered item or strike an item key or strike a total key.

- 45a -`3 1 63717 Organization of Electronic Hardware With reference to FIG. 10, there will now be gener-ally described the ove~all organization of the electronic hardware contained in housing 10.
The Computer comprises a data processor 350 and a memory, preferably including a RAM 352 and a ROM 354.
It is preferable to split the memory into a random access portion and a read-only portion so that software and system constants can be stored in the read-o~ly memory portion and thereby prevent temporary loss thereof in the event of a power failure o~ the like. Suitable capacity for RAM 352 is 16K bytes (each byte being 8 bits). Suit-able capacity for ROM 354 is 24K bytes.
In the illustrated embodiment of the present inven-tion, data processor 350, RAM 352, and ROM 354 and a bat-tery backed RAM. These products are commercially manufac-tured by Motorola and othersunder the designations MC6800 Microprocessing Unit, MCM 4027 Random Access Memory, and Intel Read-Only Memory, (2708 EPROM) respectively.
Motorola has published a series of manuals describing the construction and operation of, and various uses for, the MC6800 Microprocessing Unit and various companion products including the MCM 4027 Random Access Memory, an MC 6820 Peripheral Interface Adapter (PIA), the MCM 6830 i 1 637 1 7 Read-Only Memory, and an MC6850 Asynchronous communica-tion Interface Adapter (ACIA). These manuals include an M68C0 EXORciser User's Guide, an M6800 Microprocessor Pro-gramming Manual, an ~6800 Microprocessor Applications Man-ual, and various M6800 Microprocessor Family of Parts data sheets.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above-described specific products are exemplary of various commercially available products suitable for use in the point of sale system. The MC6800 microprocessor in-corporates particular structure for performing certain func-tions such as input/output functions that are performed by different structures in other commercially available systems which are suitable for use with the present invention.
A unibus is depicted in FIG. 10 as bus 356 coupling data processor 350 to RAM 352, ROM 354, a PIA 358, a PIA
360, an ACIA 362, a controller 364, a controller 366, and a multiplexer and control electronics 368. Each PIA is fully described in the above-identified Motorola manuals. Sim-ilarly, the ACIA is fully described therein. PIA 358 pro-vides an interface between data processor 350 and a control-ler 370 for the keyboard and the displays, and PIA 360 pro-,r,' . ' vides an interface for the print~ ~7~~and a modem 374.
Modem 374 is coupled to ~AA 377 so that data stored in RAM 352 can be transmitted via a telephone line to a central data processing system. Multiplexer 368 is a specially designed interfacing device.
Multiplexer With reference to FIG. 11, multiplexer 368 is con-nected to bus 356 to receive addresses and commands from data processor 350 and to feed status data back to data processor 350. The address bus portion of bus 356 com-prises 16 wires (not individually shown). More than 64K
separate addresses can be instantaneously defined by the parallel-by-bit signals carried by the address bus, each address is symbolized by a four place hexidecimal number.
For example, in the specifically described embodiment, the address of multiplexer 368 has been arbitrarily chosen as the four place hexidecimal number 80El. Numbers ex-pressed in hexidecimal form are indicated by the letter H
or a "$" preceding the number.
The addresses apply to bus 356 by data processor 350 are in accordance with a positive logic format subject to three-state control (TSC). That is, each of the 16 address bus wires is connected to the output of one of 16 three-state buffer circuits within data processor 350.

i 3 63717 Whenever data processor 350 applies an address to the address bus, it simultaneously controls the value of an R/W signal to designate whether a read or write operation is involved.
Multiplexer 368 has circuitry for strobing data trans-fers, herein referred to as strobing circuitry 380 with positive logic format.
A suitable arrangement of digital circuits which is used in the illustrated embodiment for producing the above-mentioned strobing signals is shown in detail in FIG. 12.
A NOR gate 381 (such as one-half of type 74LS260) receives five input signals and produces an output signal that is high (at or near +Vl) only when each of its five input signals is low (at or near ground). A NAND gate 383, (such as type 74LS30) receives eight input signals and produces an output signal that is low only when each of its eight input signals is high. The above-mentioned in-put signals includes signals identified as BAI through BA7, (which are the eight least significant bits of the address carried by the address bus), and an I/O signal produced by decoding circuitry. The I/O signal equalsl when the eight most significant bits of the address define the number H80.

-~J

With gates 381 and 383 being connected as shown, the output signal produced by gate 383 is low whenever the address H80El is carried by the address bus.
NOR gate 385 (1/4 of type 74LS02) received two input signals and its output is the CSTB signal-which in when high the computer issues a command to multi-plexer 368.
The R/W signal is inverted by an inverter 386 whose output signal is applied as one of two input signals to a NOR gate 387. The other input signal for NOR gate 387 is received from NAND gate 383. The output signal produced by NOR gate 389 is inverted by an inverter 388 to produce the ~ signal. Owing to the foregoing arrangement, the RDSTS signal equals O whenever data processor 350 addresses multiplexer 368 for a read operation to read status data.
With reference again to FIG. 11, multiplexer 368 has command receiving circuitry 390 that is strobed by the CSTB signal. A suitable arrangement of digital circuitry which is used in the illustrated embodiment for receiving commands is shown in detail in FIG. 15. Each command issued by data processor 350 to multiplexer 368 is carried by a portion of bus 356. The data bus portion comprises eight bi-~ ~ 6371 7 directional lines for carrying signals identified as BDO
through ~7 respectively. Of these, the signals BDO
through BD4 are involved in defining the commands issued to multiplexer 368.
Table 1 below gives the coding for the commands issued to multiplexer 368.

; l 63717 T ~I~

nD~ sn.? I3n1 ~n.~
.; ~ X Il H ~olect bolt 74 (~1) as sc~nncd one ~ l L 9eloct belt 76 (~5) as sc~ntle-~ one X ~ ~ L H solect belt 78 (S10/2Q) as ~c~nnccl one ~ X X L L seloct belt 80 (coupon) ~9 sc.~ ned ono X Il H X X stop ~ 1~ L X X ~orward X L ~ X ~ reverse X L L ~ X unload L :C ,. X ~ arm H X X X X disarm Con~land receiving circ~itry 300 includes flve invert~rY
391-1 t1~rou~ 391~5 for ln~ertln~ the ~l~e l~arallel 61~al8 derininG t1~e co~ nnds i~ue~ to nultiplexer 368. The si~al produced by ~n~orter 391-5 is applied to the D input Or a D-type rlip flop 392(ono quarter Or 74LS74). An in~erter 391-6 responsive to the CSTB signal has its output connected to the cloclc input o~ flip flop 392. Accordingly~ when dnta procesaor 350 issue5 an nrming co~nand to multiplexer 368~ fllp flop 392 18 trigeered into ita ~et ~tAte~ and when data procossor lssues a disnrmlng con~and to multiplexer 368~ ~llp flop 392 is triegere~ lnto it8 rssot atate. ~lip ~lop 392 can a~so be cleared by t1~e B-~ESET si~al carried by bus 356.

, _ 5 ~ _ `i 163717 An AND gate 393 is responsive to the out-put signal produced by flip flop 392 and to a PRST signal. Gate 393 is normally high and is low only for a brief interval such as approximately 100 milliseconds following initial application of power to the electronic hardware. The signal produced by AND gate 393 is the ENBA signal which is a mode control signal.
The ENBA signal is applied to the clear input of a register 394 (type 74LS175) com-prising four D-type flip flops (not individually shown). So long as the ENBA signal equals O, thereby defining the disabled mode, each of the flip flops in register 394 is held in the reset state. With the ENBA signal equaling 1, register 394 is responsive to triggering by the CSTB signal, with each such trigger causing the register to be loaded with a command issued by data processor 350 for controlling a selected one of the bill caches 74, 76, 78, and 80.

i ~63717 Command receiving circuitry 390 further includes a copy/latch register 395 (type 7475) comprising four latch circuits (not individually shown). Copy/latch register 395 receives a BSY
signal which equals O only during intervals of time during which an electrical energization pulse is being applied to cause the scanned one of the bill belts to be driven. With the BSY signal equaling O, copy/latch register 395 exhibits memory. During the intervals in which the BSY signal equals 1, each of the four latch circuits in copy/latch register 395 copies the output signal of a corresponding one of the four flip flops in register 394.
With reference again to figure 11, multi-plexer 368 includes a belt (cache) select decoder 400 for decoding the bill belt identifying portion of each command issued to multiplexer 368. A
suitable arrangement of digital circuitry which is used in the illustrated embodiment for effecting such decoding is shown in detail in figure 17. An AND gate 401 receives the CLO.

.~
. . . ~

~ ~ 63717 and ~Ll signals and produces an output signal that is applied to an AND gate 402. The ENBA
signal is also applied to AND gate 402. The output signal produced by AND gate 402 is applied to three inverters 403, 404, and 405.
Inverters 403 and 404 produce output signals SL~ and ST~, respectively. Inverter 405 has its output resistively connected to the base electrodes of power transistors 406 and 407.
When power transistor 406 is switched on, it connects a source of power +V2, suitably +12 volts unregulated, to one terminal SMV~ of the series-connected supply reel drive motors in bill cache 74. At the same time that tran-sistor 406 is switched on, power transistor 407 is switched on to connect the source of power to one terminal TMV~ of the take-up drive motor in bill cache 74.
During intervals in which the disabled mode is being defined by the ENBA signal, copy/latch register 395 (figure 15) identifies bill belt 74. Inasmuch as AND gate 402 is responsive to the ENBA signal, however, neither power transistor 406 nor power transistor 407 is switched on in the disabled mode.

:: - 55 -`~ ~ 63717 Decoder 400 further includes three decod-ing arrangements that are structurally identi-cal to each other and are substantially similar to the above-described decoding arrangement concerning bill belt 74. The only difference in structure arises because there is no need for the decoding arrangements for bill belts 76, 78, and 80 to respond to the ENBA signal.
Inasmuch as these three decoding arrangements are structurally identical to each other, only one of them is described. An AND gate 410 receives the CL~ and CLI signals and produces an out-put signal that is applied to inverters 411, 412, and 413. Inverters 411 and 412 produce output signals SL3 and ST3 respectively.
Inverter 413 has its output resistively con-nected to the base electrodes of power tran-sistors 414 and 415 that control the switching of power to the supply and take-up drive motors in bill cache 80 in the same manner as power transistors 406 and 407 do so for bill belt 74.

i I B3717 ix Or the gates shown in ~i6ure 16 ~which shows the decoder 402) are involved in detect-inB whether the existlng command equalR the nsxt command. The~e are exclu~ive-OR gate~ 4~1 422, 423, and 424 and AND gatos ~25 and 426.
In circumstances in which tho axisting commAnd equals the ne~t command, the output signals producod by AND gates 425 and 426 each equals O, two Or the control sienals produc~d by deooder 420, namely, ~R~ signal produced by a NAND gate 428, e ch oqua~
Tho ~ s~,,nal 18 lnvolved in control-ling a high-3p~ed dump oporation by which a store owner ~r msna8er emptios a bill belt. As a securit~ moasuro, housing 10 ~a~ a koy-controlled lock (not ~hown) used ror ¢ontrolling Q R~ signal. An inverter 429 reco~os the ~ ignal ~nd produco~ an out-put ~lgnal thst l~ ~ppliod to an AND 8ate 430.
OHlng to the connection a~ ~ho~n betwe~n ~ND
gate 430 and NAND gato 427, the ~ ignsl oannot equa? O unleJs tho R~ oquals O.
.

~ 5 q -`I 163717 When the storage reel has reached its maximum diameter or the supply reels have reached their maximum diameter, NAND gate 431 receives an RLSC signal produced by circuitry to be described with reference to figure 19.
Lxclusive-OR gate 424 and AND gate 437 receive the CQENO signal produced by the circuitry described above with reference to figure 15. In circumstances in which the existing command calls for a bill belt to unload at a time while the RLSC signal equals 0.
In such circumstances, AND gates 432, 433, and 434, which are connected in tandem as shown between NAND
gate 431 and NAND gate 427, cause the UNLD signal to equal 1. Under the same conditions NAND gate 435 receives a FLSC signal also produced by the circuitry shown in figure 19, and receives the output signal produced by an AND yate 436. Consider now circumstances in which the existing command calls for a bill belt to move forward at a time while the FLSC signal equals 1. In such circumstances, i ~637:l7 the C~EN1 and the C~EN~ ~ignals each equals 1, whereby the output ~ignsl produced by AND cate 436 also equals 1. Owine to the connectlon 89 shown Or the tPndem gates between AND gate 436 and NAND ~ate 428, the ~ ignal equRl~ 1 in these circumstance~.
A ~uitable arrangement o~ ~uch bu~er circuits 450 used in the illu~trated embodiment is ehown in detail in rigure 19. As shown, two D-type rlip flops 451 and 452 are included ln these bu~rer circults. When the supply reels Or the scanned bill belts hAve reached ma~imum dismeter, ito reYerse limit switch csus~s an ~W signàl to equsl O. This signsl i8 coupled through sn RC del~y circuit to the cle~r input Or rlip rlop 45t. Accordingly, ~while the supply reels are st maximum d~Qmeter~
~lip rlop 451 is in it8 reset state causing an RLSC 3ignal to equal t and an ~F~ signal to equal 0. The rlip rlOp i8 tri8gered into its set state when a command issues to multip~e~er 368, thereby causing the CSTB signal to derine Q positiYe pulse, st a tlme while the RLSW
signal equ818 1 thereb~ cau8ing the CSTB si6nRl ~ S~~

~ 1 6371 7 to d~ine a po~itive pulse~ at a time while the ~L-SW signal equals 1 thereby indic~ting that tho supply reel~ nre not at maximum diamotor.
S~milarly, when tha take-up reel oP the scanned bill belt has res¢hod maximum diameter, it~ ~orward limit switch causo~ an ~ signQl to oqual 0. This si~nal i8 couplod through an RC dolay circuit to tho clear input Or Plip rlOp 452. Accordingly, whilo the take-up reel 18 at ma~imum diam~ter, Plip Plop 452 i9 in its reset ~tQte, causing the FLSC signal to equal 1 and the ~S~ signal to oqual 0. Flip rlop 452 i~ triggered into lts Set 3tate when a command i98U~9 ~0 multlplo~er 368, thereby b~u31ng tho CS~B signal to doPino a positive pulso~ at a t~me ~hil~ tho F~ lgnal equals -~ 1 thereby indi¢ating that tho supply reels sre not ~t ms~imum diametcr. Tho abovo-do~crlbed ~our output J~gnals oP bu~or circuit~ 450 ~ro di~trlbutcd to ¢ontrol ~gn~l dc¢odor 420, to OR ~unct~on circu~try 455 (riguro~ 11 and 13), and to ststu~ byto bu~ror ¢ircultry 460 C ~ .

`i 1 6371 7 ~rlgure3 11 ~nd 20).
A suitable arrangemsnt Or such sensor bur-rers used it . illustrRted. The principal ~unction Or the circuitry o~ ~igure 18 relate~
to 3ensor bu~ering, the circuitry al90 prOV~de9 ~or producing the ~S~ signal uhich i 9 u~ed to inltialize the states Or varlous bistable cir-cuit~ incident to the turning on Or power. In thi~ oonnection, the sensor burrer 465 Or f~gure ~ lnoludes a compar~tor cir¢uit 466 (type 6M339) w~o~e output signal is the ~R~ signal. ~he invorting input Or comparator oircuit 466 i~
connocted to a node 467 o~ a resistor divider no~work comprising re.l~tors 468 snd 469 and potentiomet~r 470. The non-~nverting input Or bomparator circuit 466 i9 connected to a posi-tive ~eedbac~ arranKement o~ resistors 471 and 472. When power is turned on, the voltage 10vel at node 467 o~ the res1stor d~vlder net-work rapidly ohanges to it~ steady state value.
On the other hand~ a delsy eircuit comprising a resistor 473 and a capscitor 474 supplies B

i l 63717 relQtiVely 810wly changing voltage to resistor 472. For approximately the ~irst 100 milli-Jecond~ a~ter power i8 applied, the voltage at node 467 e~ceeds the voltage applied to re~i~tor .
472 wlth the result thQt the F~~ signal oquals 0 ror this brior lnterYal. At the end o~ this b~ie~ inter~al, ~hich ends ~8 soon a~ the volt-aBe to re~istor 472 oxceeds the voltage at node 467, thc Fh~ ~ignal chsnees to the ~ value.
The posltlve feedback arrangemont causes the pu18c de~ined by the PRST signal to ha~e sharp rise and rall time~.
Identlcal comparator c~rcults 475 and 476 are likewise conne¢ted to po~itive ~eedback Arrangements ~or cau~ing the output si6nal~
they produce, identlried a8 DET A, snd DE~ B, to have sharp rise and ~all time~. The non-invertlng lnput~ o~ comparator olrcults 475 and 476 sre couplod ~y roslstorJ Or their posltlve ~eedback arrangements to the node ~67.
m e ln~ortlng lnput o~ oompsrator circuit 475 6 ~ ^

`~ 1 637~7 is resist~vely coupled to the ter~inal iAenti-~ied as DET A-. It will be rccalled ~rom ~he I description Or the outer IR ~en~ors, set ~orth .J ~n the section directed to the construction o~
1. a bill cache, that the smi~ter olectrode~ Q~
i the ~our emitter electrode~ ar~ com~only con-nècted to this terminal.
i While any one Or the four signals SL0 through ~1~ (rigure 17) equal~ 0, the sienal applied to this terminal normally is more posi-tive than the steady state voltase at node 1~67.
Ir a bill is present in the scanned bill belt between its IR emitter 175 and its sensor 17 this ~ignal becomes less positive, with the result that the output signal DET A becomes e~ual to 1. In like manner, the invertin~ .
input Or comparator circuit 476 i~ resistively coupled to receive a signal applied to the DET a-terminQl. Thi8 signal i~ controlle~ by the inner IR sen~or Or the scanned bill belt to be normally more positivo thar. the steady ~tate voltage at node 467. Ir a bill 19 present in the scanned bill belt, between it~ IR emitter 177 and ~t~ sensor 176, this si~nal beco~e~ .

i l 637 1 7 le~ posit1v~ u1th tho re~ult that the output signal DET B becomes equal to 1. Another co~-parator circuit 477 has a single posltiv~ ~eed-back resistor and ha~ it3 non-inverting input connected to the tap Or potentiometer 470.
The inverting input o~ comparator circuit 477 i8 resistively coupled to the DET B- t~rminal.
Owing to this arrangement, whenever the ~nner sensor Or the s¢anned bill cache detects a double bill, the DET D ~ignal becomes equal to 1.
~ he logic ¢ircuitry 455 cooperates with othor circuitry doscribed bolow ~lth reroronce to ~lgur~ 14 to genar~to an intorrupt request ~uppliod to data processor 350. The DET A
~ignal 18 1,nverted by an invorter 480 whoso ~output signal i9 appl~ed to a delay circuit generally identiried at 481. ~he output signal o~ delay circuit 4.8t i~ lnverted by in~erter 482.
One input o~ exclu~ive OR gate 483 i8 directly connected to the output signal o~ inverter 42, and the other input i8 coupled through delay circuit l~84 ~o recoive the ~sme signal. Thus, "

, _ GY
, ~163717 whenever the DET A sienal ch~nges ~rom O to 1 - or ch~nges rrom 1 to 0, the output si~nal pro-~ duced by gate 483 i8 positive.
a NOR 8~te 485 re~ponds to each po~itive pulne to ¢ause it~ output ~ignal, (SET I~T) to a nogative pU180~ Whenever the leadin~ odgo or trailin~ edgo Or ~ bill passos the outer sensor o~ tho ~canned bill belts, the ~ET INT
sien~l will change ~.om its normal 1 to a tem-porary O and then return to it3 normal 1.
An arraneem~nt struc'turally ~dentical to the roregoin~ psr~orms the same runction with . respect to th~ ~nner sen~or. Whenever a chan~e rom either a 1 to a O or ~rom a O to a 1 occur~ ln.the DET B signQl, a nsgative goin~
~, ~ pulsc i~ de~ined in the SET IN~ sign~l. A
j BSY si~nQl, produced by ¢lrcuitry to be de-scr~be~ with re~erenco to rigure 22, i~
applied to an invertor 486 ~hose output i9 ¢ouplod through a dir~erentiatin8 circuit ~onerally ldentiriod at 487 to NOR eats ~B5.
Wh~never the BSY signal changos rrom 1 to 0, .
B nogati~0 going pulse l~ derined ln the r' 8ignal -~ ~5~
~.~

i l63717 ~he remainin~ circuitry shown in rigure 13 provides separa~e signal ~low paths, each o~
which is ~tructurally identical to the sign~l rlow path described above with rererence to the BSY ~lgnal~ 80 that tho SET IN~ ~ienal is re-sponsivo to the ~F and the ~ signals in the same manner that 18 responsive to the BSY
signal.
Circuitr~ 49O recoives sever~l input ~ignsls, including tho a~ signal produced by OR runction circuitry ~55, and applies two output sien~ls idontiried as T~ and ~ to two Or the wires o~ tbe bus 356.
,.~
l~l In rigure 14 a D-type ~lip ~lop 491 ha~
a direc~ set in~ut that re¢ei~es the SET INT
signal 80 that ea¢h ti~e a neg~tive going pulse is derined in the gET TN~ signal, ~lip Mop .s . 491 is placed into its set state. A NAND
gate 492 receives the output si6nal o~ p

3 ~lop 491 and ~n ~ ~ign81 produced by invertsr 493. The input o~ inv0rtor 493 i8 connected to one Or tho wiro~ o~ bus 356 to recelve sn IRQ INT a ~ign81. Nor~lly, tho l~tter ~ignal ~ ~C ~

' equals 0 it equals 1 only when data proces~or 350 acknowl~dges an interrupt reque~t and sseks to ascertain the identity o~ the peripheral that generated the ~nterrupt reque~t. A D-type rlip rlOp 494 has Q d~rect ~et input that re-ceives tho signal produced by NAND gate 492.
Thus, M ip ~}op 494 i9 placed into it~ ~et state each time 8 neg~tive going pulse i8 de~ined in the ~g~r9r ~gnal. An inverter 495 produ¢es the ~ signal which, while it equals 0, indicates that an interrupt request i8 pend-ing. When data procossor 350 acknowledges the lnterrupt request by causing 8 po~itive going pul~e to bo derined in the IRQ INT A signal, an inverter 496 enables a three-state gate 497 to ~rive one o~ the wires Or the data bus por-tion Or bus 356. While 80 enabled, three-state gate 497 causes the ~5 signal to equal O which ~erve~ to inrorm data proces~or 350 that ~t i8 multlple%er 368 that i8 generating the lntorrupt reque~t.

c ~ _ i ~ 63717 One Or the wires o~ bu~ 3~6 c~rrles a ~E~ signal produoed by data proGe~sor 350.
Normally, thi~ signsl equals 1. Flip ~lop 494 has a dlrect clear input ror pl~cing rlip rlOp 494 into it~ re~et ~tate each time the ~r~E3eF signal equ~ls O. Flip M op 494 i8 normally tri8gered into its reset ~tate by the trailing edBe Or the positi~e pulse derined in the T~ signal when data prooes30r 350 ~e~ks to a~¢ertain the identity Or the ~ourco Or the interrupt request.
Arter data pro¢essor 350 has acknowledged an i~torrupt r~uost and ascert~ined thQt it i~ multiplexer 368 that i8 the ~ource Or the interrupt request, data proces~or 350 e~ecute~
a~read cyclo operatlon during ~hi¢h ~tatus data i8 entered ~nto data processor 350. In this conne¢tion, co~sidor rigure 20. It ~ill be --.
re¢alled rrom the description Or r~gure 12 that the ~5~ siBnal equals 0 ~hile data processor ~50 cau3es the R/~ Jignal to equal 1 and slmultaneously addressos multiple~er 36~.
, `i ~ 63717 The ~DSTS signal i9 applied to two inverter~
500 and 501 each o~ wh~ch contro~s a group Or rour three-qtate ~ates. The rormat Or each statu~ byte applied to the data bu~ portion o~
' bu~ 356 is e~ident rrom ~igure 20.
Th8 remainlng circuitry included within 1- multiplexer 368 provides a time-shared eervo j subsy~tem ror .the bill caches. Thi8 ~ub~y~tem i includes, as ~enerally shown in figure 11, ervo rate select circuitry 505, tach ~elect circultry 510, and sw~ming junction select c~-rcuitry 515.
vj A suitable arran~emert Or tach select circuitry 510 used in the lllustrated embodiment i~ shown in detail in rigure 21. It will be ~, recalled from the description o~ risure 4 that each bill belt ~nclude3 a tachometer. In fleure 21~ the si~nals produced by the rour identic.~l tachometers are identiried ss tach ~ (the one in bill belt 74)~ tach 1 (the one in bill belt 76), tach 2 (the one in bill belt 78), and tach 3 (the one in bill belt 80).

~ G~-~j ,,,i.,~, .
., ~ ~ 6371 7 l~en the ex~st~n~ command ldentiria~ bill belt 74, the ST~ sl~n~l equ~ls ~. An ~et 5t6 recei~es the ~ slgn~l at its 8Qte electrode ~nd iq 9W~ tched on ~h~le the ~ 8~ En~l equ~l~
O. Tho ~ource and dr~in electrode~ of ~et 516 are connected in a ~9rie9 circuit path between tach O and the ~nverting input o~ An analog operational amplifier 517 who~e output 1~ iden-tir~ed as AF~t ~AFB i3 an acronym ~or Analo~
Faedback). As shownJ ~ conventional servo compen~ation network 518 i~ provided to control the gain provided by amplirier 5~7. An invert-in~ unity eain circuit comprisine oper~tional amplirier 519 re~pond3 to th~ AFB1 si6n~l to produce an AFB2 signal which i9 180 degrees out Or phase ~rom the AFB1 signQl.
Th~ee other rot-s~itched s~rie~ circuit path~, esch identic~l in structure to the above-d~scrlbed~serie~ clrcuit path ~or tach ~ aro pro~ided ~or ~electivoly coup~ing the t~ch 1 throu6h tach 3 ~ignals to ampli~ler 517.
_ 70 , : , ~ ~37~7 These three series circuit paths are controlled by the STl signal, the ST2, and the ST3 signal, respectively.
Servo Rate Select Circuit 505 shown in figure 22 is controlled by signals UNLD and RUN, and produces an analog signal AIR (an accronym for Analog Input Rate). The time-shared servo controls the angular velocity of a bill cache drive motor in accordance with a magnitude of the AIR signal.
For the high speed dump operation, it is de-sirable that angular velocity be relatively high; a lower angular velocity is more desirable in connection with either of the pay-in or pay-out modes of the bill caches.
The UNLD signal equals O while the se-curity key switch is actuated and the existing command is an unload command. An FET 521 receives the UNLD signal at its gate electrode and is switched on while the UNLD signal equals 0. The source and drain electrodes of FET
521 are connected in a series circuit path between +Vl and the inverting input of an i l 63717 operational ~mplirier 522. me eain Or ampli-rler 522 i~ controll~d by a conventional reed-bsck oircuit eenerally indicated at ~23. Thfl output signAl produced b~ ampli~ier 522 i~ .
~ppliod to ~n lntegrator gonorall~ indlcated at 524. Sultably~ tho RC elmo oonstant Or lntogrator 524 1~ betwoen a hal~ a ~e~ond and one second. Th~ output signal produood b~
into8rator 524 19 applied to ~n i~ert~ng, unlty galn amplirier generall~ indlcat0d at 525 uho~e output signal i8 the ~IR si~nal. The AIR
~ignal i8 applied al~o to one end o~ a ~eedback resistor 526, the other end o~ ~hich i~ con~
nected to the in~orting input o~ ampli~ier 522.
The ~ W,~ignal equsl~ 0 ~hile thc e~isting c~mmand iB either a Forward command or a Roverse (normal spaod) oommand. An FE~ 527 reoelres the ~ signal at its 8sto elootrode and ha~
lt~ souroe ~nd draln oloctroa-s conneot-d ln a 8erle8 clrcuit p~th botwoon a po~ontlometor ~2~ and tho l~r-rtin~ lnput o~ umpllrlor ~22.
, ~
~ - 7,2-i 1 ~3~1 7 FE~ 527 ~8 switched on only whlle the ~ffN ~ignal equals O.
While neither the ~R nor the ~5 signals equals O, the AIR ~ignal has a steady stste value Or 0. When a com~and i9 decoded to cause the ~ si~nal to change to 0, FET 527 ~witches on, the magnltude Or the AIR ~ignal lncroa~s positi~oly to dorlno 8 r~mp ror an lnterval ~ho~e duratlon 1~ ri~od b~ tho time oonstant Or int~grator 524. At tho ond Or that interYal, the lnput to into6rator 524'~111 be null. O~ing to tho ~e~ory pro~idod by lnt-grator 5Z4, how-evor, th0 ~IR ~gn~l wlll havo Q po~lt~e ~aluo yroportionRl to th- o-tt~n~ Or pot0ntlo-motor 52a. In a 8imllar munnor, when d~ta p~ooe~sor 350 ls~ue~ a ~top command thQt 1~
decoded to cau~- the ~R ~lgnal to chan8e b~ok to 1, the AIR ~lgnal wlll de~ino a de~o-nding ramp to it~ ~teady ~tato valuo o~ O volt-.
The 4ame klnd Or loading ~nd tr~lllng ramp 18 de~lned in re-pon~e to ~ cyele Or tho sign~l, th9 only dlrforonce ~rom the ~oregoir~
rosidine ln the magnltudo o~ tho AIR lgnal.
~ 73~

.... .

The output sign~l produ¢ed by lnverter 524 i8 al30 ~pplied to a circult gonerally lndic~ted at 529 that i9 subs~antially the 9RmO in con-struction ~nd oper~tior. as tha cirouit~ de~cribed above with re~eronce ~ igure 18. Circuit 529 produces the B~ signal and an inverter 530 respon~ive th~retc produces the ~ signal.
The BSY and ~3Y ~ignals provide statu~ inrorma-tion as to whe~her the time ~hAred ~ervo i8 onergizing a drive motor.
A suitable ~rrangement b~ ~umming Junction ~eloct olrcuitry 515 uoed in tho illustrQted embodiment i8 ~hown ln detail in flguro 23.
Durlng a pay-in ~odo Or oporst~on~ the tl~o ~hared oorvo,is usod to control tho ~n~log veloc-i~y Or tho ta~e-up rool drivo ~otsr in the Jcanned ono o~ th- bill c~ch~a. ~t the 8~m-time, an opon-loop~ relati~ely low-lov01 energization o~ tho ~uppl~ rool drl~o motor o~
tho ~oloetod bill caohe oocur~ (in the oppo~ito dirootlon ~o ~ to ~aintsin wob ton~ion.
power trsnslstor 535 oooper~to~ with ~our Or ~' $he powor trQn~istor~ 8hown ln ~igur- 23 - 7~ -i ~63717 to energ~ze the take-up reel drive motor in the selected bill cache. A power transistor 536 cooperates with the remaining four o~ tha power tran~istors shown ~n ~igure 23 to ener-gizo the supply rosl drive motors in the sel~cted b~ll cache.
While the e~sting ¢ommand i~ 8 FOr~Brd CQmmand~ power translstor 535 operatos a8 part Or the timo shared ser~o wh~re~ power tr~nsistor 536 operates on sn open-loop basi~.
On the hand~ while the e~lst~ng command i~
either a Rover~e or an Unload command, power tranol~tor ~36 operatea ~ part Or the time sharod ser~o wher0as powor tran3i~tor 535 operates o~ sn opon loop b - ~ Whllo powor tranoletor ~35 oporato~ a~
part o~ ths tim- ~har~d -r~o~ tho oummlng ~unctlon ~or th- tim- ~har-d ~or~o l- ~In~
summing ~un~tion 537. Betw~-n~In~u~ng iuno-tion ~3~ ~nd tho ba~ otrod- o~ pow-r trun-s~tor 535 th-r- lo an a~pl~rlor g-norall~
~nd~o~tod at ~3B. Wh~l~ po~or tran~tor 536 operates ~ part o~ tho ~imo ~har0d ~er~o~ tho ~ 163717 summing ~unction ~or the time shared ser~o i9 ~Out~ summing ~unction 539. Between Out sum-ming ~unction ~39 and the base electode o~
power transistor 536 thsre 18 an ampli~ier generall~ indicatod ~t 540.

- 7~-i ~63717 The present invention has been shown and described in conjunction with a microprocessor providing software control for the bill belt mechanism and a part of the prompting display mechanism. Naturally, the bill belt mechanism can be controlled by hardware circuits. ~t the time of filing of this application, the inventors do not know which of the two modes of practicing the inVentiQn are to be preferred. It is the inventor's guess that in volume production of a complete system that "software"
control would be employed, most likely using software specifically created for the project which is different from what is shown in this application although function-ally similar. The hardware implementation shown was one created for a potential field trial. Most likely a practical large scale production run would employ functionally similar but structurally different circuit boards.

~7~

i ~637~7 Accordingly, the inventors recognize that those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates understand that there are many variations possible in the structures shown and described in this application. These structures are shown as illustrations only and not in limitations of the inventive concepts described herein.
Those skilled in the art should recognize that the present invention has a number of functional advantages over prior art devices. It is theft proof to an unusual degree. It is difficult to carry off the premises. The operator cannot be forced to empty the contents. The inventive Terminal will only give change to bills over the amount of the sale. The Terminal will only accept the bill necessary to equal or exceed the amount of the sale. An operator must make decisions about the denomination and genuineness of bills but cannot touch the bills. In food operations this function may eliminate the need for an extra employee. In an operations the inability of the employees to have access to cash is an important anti-theft feature. Both the management and the employees of the firm employing a Terminal incorporating in it the inventive features shown herein gain security, safety and accuracy.

'3:~ ~8

Claims (46)

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

1. In a data processing terminal for use as a point of sale device having computing means with an electrical bus for interconnecting electrically and controlling the operation of bill handling means, coin handling means, prompting means for assisting operator behaviour the combination comprising: a housing means having a plurality of viewing windows for enabling an operator to visually verify the denomination and genuiness of a bill transported by said bill handling means; said bill handling means having a plurality of input channels;
channel indicating members associated with each input channel and under the control of said computing means for indicating which of said input channels has received a bill.

2. In a data processing terminal for use as a point of sale device having computing means with an electrical bus for interconnecting electrically and controlling the operation of bill handling means, coin handling means, prompting means for assisting operator behavior the combination comprising; a housing means having a viewing window for enabling an operator to visually verify the denomination and genuiness of a bill trans-ported by said bill handling means to said viewing win-dow; said prompting means comprises a display device showing all of the items offered for sale at the terminal organized into at least two categories;
a keyboard means having a number of category generating keys for controlling the display of said categories.

3. The device claimed in claim 2 including further a plurality of bill accepting input channels for receiving and dispensing bills; said channels connected to said bill handling means; said bill handling means having a plurality of electrically powered and electroni-cally controlled bill transporting members wherein all of said transporting members can receive bills but less than all of said transporting members can dispense bills.

4. The device claimed in claim 3 wherein at least two bill sensing members are disposed adjacent said bill transporting members; the first of said bill sensing members placed near to said input channel and the second of said bill sensing members placed about one bill length from said input channel along each of said transporting members; said computing means having the means to compute time from when the first bill sensing member detects the presence of a bill; said computing means controlling the operation of said bill transport-ing members such that said transporting members are activated when a bill is sensed by the first detector member and deactivated by said computing means if no bill is sensed by said second detector member within a predetermined time interval.

5. The device claimed in claim 4 wherein said view-ing window has a length and a width greater than of a bill and said viewing window is placed in the top of the housing means.

6. The device claimed in claim 5 wherein said key-board means has manually operable accept and reject means for accepting or rejecting a bill observed through said viewing window.

7. The device claimed in claim 6 wherein said com-puting means control said bill transporting members to be operable only one-at-a-time in both the receiving and dispensing directions.

8. The device claimed in claim 2 wherein said key-board has additional key members for functional con-trol of the terminal and a set of number keys O through 9.

9. The device claimed in claim 8 wherein said key members for functional control comprise a plurality of total keys one each for a specified operator; an accept and reject key means; and a plurality of item identifying keys for use in selling the most frequently ordered items.

10. The device claimed in claim 2 wherein the prompting means comprises a strip of graphic material having sale items listed there on a plurality of rotatable support means for holding said strip; a controllable moving means for rotating the support means; a second viewing window in the housing through which the strip is displayed; and said controllable moving means is operative to cause said strip of graphic material to be moved past said second viewing window.

11. The device claimed in claim 2 wherein said prompting means comprises a cathode ray tube member.

12. The device claimed in claim 2 wherein said prompting means comprises an optical display means having a film strip and an illumination means.

13. In a data processing terminal for use as a point of sale device having computer means with an electrical bus for interconnecting the computer means to the bill handling means, coin handling means, wherein said bill and coin handling means operate under the control of said computer means; and a housing means the combination comprising:
said bill handling means having at least one electrically powered and electronically controlled bill transporting member and at least one bill accepting input channel;
said channel connected to said bill handling means; at least two bill sensing members are disposed adjacent said bill transporting member; the first of said bill sensing members placed near to said input channel and the second of said bill sensing members placed about one bill length from said input channel along said transporting member;
said computing means having means to compute the time when the first bill sensing member detects the presence of a bill; said computing means controlling the operation of said bill transporting member such that said transporting member is activated when a bill is sensed by said first detector member and deactivated by said computing means if no bill is sensed by said second detector member within a predetermined time interval.

14. The device claimed in claim 13 wherein said bill handling means has at least two pair of transparent money belt members and a viewing window means; each of said money belts members is supported on a plurality of electrically powered and controlled reel members; said viewing window means has a plurality of viewing stations, one for each pair of transparent money belt members.

15. The device claimed in claim 14 wherein all of said transparent money belt members can receive bills but less than all of said transparent money belt members can dispense bills.

16. The device claimed in claim 15 wherein each of said viewing stations has a physical size greater than the length and width of a bill.

17. The device claimed in claim 16 wherein said computing means controls said bill transporting members for receiving and dispensing bills only one-at-a-time.

18. The device claimed in claim 17 including further a keyboard means having accept and reject key members which are manually operable; said accept and reject key members are operative to control the direction of operation of the bill transporting members.

19. The device claimed in claim 13 including further a third bill sensing member placed near said bill transporting member for generating a signal to be fed to said computing means for causing the computing means to issue a command to stop the actuation of said bill transporting member.

20. In a data processing terminal for use as a point of sale device by an operator for selling merchandise to the public the combination comprising: a cabinet means having front, back, top surface members; a bill slot formed in the front member of the housing; a viewing window formed in the top member of the cabinet, said window having a physical size larger than a bill; keyboard means connected to the housing means, said keyboard means having number keys, function keys, category indicating keys; a computing means contained within the housing; a plurality of transparent bill belt means contained within the housing means for transporting a bill from the bill slot to the viewing window; a plurality of controllable and rotatable unstoring reel means and a controllable and rotatable storing reel means for supporting and controlling the direction of motion of each of the transparent bill belt means; at least three bill detector means associated with each of said transparent bill belt means; the first of said bill detector means disposed adjacent the bill slot; a second bill detector means placed adjacent the transparent bill belt means, about one bill length from the bill slot; the third bill detector means placed along the transparent bill belt means downstream the second detector means and the viewing window; electronic circuit means interconnecting said three bill detector means to said coupling means and to the controllable and rotatable storing and unstoring reel means; said computing means having a memory means to store a set of instructions to control the operation of the terminal; said computing means operative under the set of instructions to bring a tendered bill to the viewing window from one of said bill belt means; manual actuation of a function key controls the acceptance or rejection of a bill; acceptance of a bill causes the bill to remain confined by the transparent bill belt means, rejection of the bill causes the bill to be transported by the bill belt means back to the bill slot.

21. The device claimed in claim 20 wherein said computing means and said set of instructions are operative to calculate the amount of change due and control the bill belt means to dispense the correct change.

22. The device claimed in claim 21 wherein said first bill detector means is operative to sense the presence of the trailing edge of a bill leaving the bill belt means and said first detector means controls the operation of the bill belt means by said detection such that no other bill can be placed within the housing while the presence of the trailing edge of a bill is sensed by the first detecting means.

23. The device claimed in claim 21 wherein said first bill detector means is operative to detect the leading edge of a bill in the bill slot and cause the actuation of the appropriate bill belt means and the inactivity of the remaining bill belt means.

24. The device claimed in claim 21 including further a coin receiving and dispensing means operatively connected to said computing means.

25. The device claimed in claim 24 including further;
a prompting display means interconnected to said computing means for showing the operator substantially all of the items for sale at the terminal.

26. The device claimed in claim 25 including further a second viewing window formed in the housing for the operator to observe the prompting display means.

27. The device claimed in claim 26 wherein said category keys are disposed adjacent said second viewing window.

28. The device claimed in claim 24 wherein said prompting display has a strip member with graphic information contained thereon and divided into at least two categories.

29. The device claimed in claim 24 including further:
a number of item indicating key members for a part of said keyboard means; a prompting display means under the control of the actuation of said category indicating keys;
said prompting display for showing substantially all of the items for sale at the terminal divided into a plurality of categories; the display showing the items individually along with the necessary codes to guide the operator to enter the codes to complete the sale of the items; and, said computing means memory means storing therein the necessary instructions for enabling the terminal to complete the sale of the item indicated by the operator actuating the codes shown by the prompting display.

30. The device claimed in claim 29 including further:
at least one sale display means under the control of the computing means for showing the amount of the sale, the amount of money received and the amount of change due.

31. The device claimed in claim 30 including further a printer means for showing the items sold, the amount of money received and the amount of change dispensed.

32. The device claimed in claim 29 including further:
communication means for connecting said data processing terminal to another computing device.

33. The device claimed in claim 32 wherein said communication means comprises a telephone auto dialing means and a packet switch network.

34. The device claimed in claim 33 including further a plurality of external condition sensors connected to said computing means.

35. The device claimed in claim 29 including further: a plurality of bearing members contained within the housing;
the prompting display means having a strip of material supported on the bearing members; a second viewing window member in the housing means for seeing a portion of the display strip supported by the bearing members; controllable propelling means for moving the strip relative to the bearing members; said controllable propelling means operable by actuating the keyboard means.

36. The device claimed in claim 35 wherein said strip of material has position control indicia thereon; and fourth sensing means are contained within the housing means for detecting said position control indicia.

37. The device claimed in claim 36 including further:
connecting means for interconnecting said fourth sensing means to said computer means; the computer means memory having instructions for controlling the operation of the strip of material in response to the indicia sensed by the fourth detecting means.

38. The device claimed in claim 20 wherein said function keys include an accept key and a reject key for each bill belt means.

39. The device claimed in claim 38 wherein said accept key and said reject key are placed adjacent the viewing window.

40. The device claimed in claim 20 wherein said keyboard can be actuated to drive the bill belt means in the dispensing direction continuously at high speed until all of the bills stored in said bill belt means are dispensed.

41. In a data processing terminal, a combination for adapting the terminal for use in the course of a point of sale transaction in which no money either tendered by or received by a customer is touched by an operator, the combination comprising: a housing means having a viewing window; and bill handling means within said housing means for transporting each bill tendered by the customer to the viewing window to enable the operator to visually verify the denomination and genuiness of such tendered bill; prompt-ing means for selectively showing all of the items offered for sale organized into a plurality of categories, and keyboard means including a plurality of category selecting keys for controlling the prompting means to show a list of each item in a manually selected category.

42. In a data processing terminal for use as a point of sale device having computing means, bill handling means under the control of computing means, coin handling means, prompting means for assisting operator behavior the combination comprising a housing means having a viewing window for enabling an operator to visually verify the denomination and genuineness of a bill transported by said bill handling means to said viewing window.

43. The device claimed in claim 42 wherein said prompting means comprises a display device showing all of the items offered for sale at the terminal organized into at least two categories; a keyboard means having a number of category generating keys for controlling the display of said categories.

44. The device claimed in claim 42 including further a plurality of bill accepting input channels for receiving and dispensing bills; said channels connected to said bill handling means; said bill handling means having a plurality of electrically powered and electronically controlled bill transporting members wherein all of said transporting members can receive bills but less than all of said transporting members can dispense bills.

45. In a data processing terminal for use as a point of sale device having computer means, bill handling means under the control of computing means, coin handling means and a housing means the combination comprising: a viewing means located in the housing means; said bill handling means having at least one pair of transparent money belt members for confining bills therebetween; said transparent money belt members supported on a plurality of electrically powered and controlled reel members; an input-output means for receiving and dispensing bills; said transparent belt members conveying said bills from the input-output means to the viewing window means for observation; and, means for controlling said transparent belt members for properly conveying a bill to the viewing window means.

46. The device claimed in claim 45 wherein said bill handling means has at least two pair of transparent money belt members;
each of said money belt members is supported on a plurality of electrically powered and controlled reel members; said viewing window means has a plurality of viewing stations, one for each pair of transparent money belt members.