US3787664A

US3787664A - Currency count verifier

Info

Publication number: US3787664A
Application number: US00248557A
Authority: US
Inventors: G Johnson; C Bergman
Original assignee: Brandt Inc
Current assignee: Brandt Inc
Priority date: 1972-04-28
Filing date: 1972-04-28
Publication date: 1974-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 1991-01-22

Abstract

A machine for verifying the quantity of bills in a stack of bills of the same denomination has a receiving compartment in which the stack of bills to be counted is placed. The bills are removed one at a time from the receiving compartment and are passed through a counting section and elevated up to a discharge compartment. The bills are counted by the actuation of a count switch as they pass through the counting section with the count recorded visually on a counter. The machine is set in operation by the depression of a start switch which will function to carry out the count of the stack of bills only if a stack switch is closed indicating that one or more bills are present in the receiving compartment. The movement of the last bill of the stack out of the receiving compartment will open the stack switch but the circuit to operate the machine will remain energized for a sufficient time to permit the last bill of the stack to be transported to the discharge compartment. Overlapping, folded or double bills which would provide a false count are sensed in the counting section and a warning light alerts the operator to the fact that doubled bills have been counted. The operator must then depress a reset button before the machine can again be operated.

Description

United States Patent [191 Johnson et al.

1 CURRENCY COUNT VERIFIER [75] Inventors: George V. Johnson, Oconomowoc;

Charles T. Bergman, Watertown, both of Wis.

[73] Assignee: Brandt, Inc., Watertown, Wis.

[22] Filed: Apr. 28, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 248,557

Primary Examiner-Maynard R. Wilbur Assistant ExaminerR0bert F. Gnuse Attorney, Agent, or FirmThomas W. Ehrmann [57] ABSTRACT A machine for verifying the quantity of bills in a stack Jan. 22, 1974 of bills of the same denomination has a receiving compartment in which the stack of bills to be counted is placed. The bills are removed one at a time from the receiving compartment and are passed through a counting section and elevated up to a discharge compartment. The bills are counted by the actuation of a count switch as they pass through the counting section with the count recorded visually on a counter. The machine is set in operation by the depression of a start switch which will function to carry out the count of the stack of bills only if astack switch is closed indicating that one or more bills are present in the receiving compartment. The movement of the last bill of the stack out of the receiving compartment will open the stack switch but the circuit to operate the machine will remain energized for a sufficient time to permit the last bill of the stack to be transported to the discharge compartment. Overlapping, folded or double bills which would provide a false count are sensed in the counting section and a warning light alerts the operator to the fact that doubled bills have been counted. The operator must then depress a reset button before the machine can again be operated.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENIEI] JAN 2 2 IBM SHEEI 1 BF 3 CURRENCY COUNT VERIFIER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to paper currency handling equipment, and particularly to apparatus for verifying the count of a stack of currency.

Paper currency counters have been proposed and are in use in which bills ar removed singly from a stack and pass through a counting section in which the bills are individually counted and in which any bills which overlap such that a proper count would be impossible are ejected from the counting section and not made a part of the actual count of bills. Examples of such equipment are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,805,825 issued Sept. 10, 1957 to Julius Jorgensen et al and U.S. Pat. No. 3,214,096 issued Oct. 26, 1965 to Arnold R. Buchholz et al. Such currency counting equipment finds particular application in subdividing a quantity of bills into batches each containing a pre-selected number of bills, although they may also be used to verify the count of a strap of bills.

Bills are commonly deposited in financial institutions in straps which have been counted by the depositor and it becomes necessary for the finicial institution to check the accuracy of the count of the bills in the strap. As a manual task, this is both time consuming and subject to the usual human errors. While the aforementioned currency counters may be used for the verification of the count of a strap of bills, such use does not fully take advantage of the versatility of such equipment and the investment which the equipment represents since they are more suitably used for the more complex function of subdividing quantities of bills into batches of predetermined numbers.

Accordingly, what is needed by financial institutions to replace the manual verification of straps of bills is a simple economical apparatus designed specifically for that purpose and incorporating features which are particularly adapted for that purpose. The currency count verifier of this invention meets the requirements of the apparatus designed for the function of verifying the count of the strap of bills.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprises a currency count verifier having a receiving compartment, a counting section, and a discharge compartment, with power driven conveying means for removing bills singly from the receiving section and passing them through a counting section, in which the passage of each bill is sensed so that the count may be registered, and into the discharge compartment, and in which the conveying means is operable only when one or more bills are in place within the receiving compartment.

The invention further resides in such a currency counter in which the operation of the conveying means is automatically halted after the last bill in the stack has been counted and moved into the discharge compartment.

The invention also resides in a currency count verifier with means for detecting the passage of overlapping, folded or double bills through the counting section to alert the operator to a miscount of bills and to prevent the subsequent operation of the conveyor means without prior action on the part of the operator acknowledging his awareness that overlapped, folded or double bills are present.

The invention may also reside in a currency count .verifier in which the discharge compartment is open to BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of the currency count verifier of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view in vertical elevation of the verifier with the outer cover removed and with parts broken away for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a view in vertical section of the currency count verifier taken in a plane generally between the side frames of the verifier but with a portion of the right side plate shown;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the rollers and belts for transportng bills through the verifier;

FIG. 5 is a view in vertical section taken in the plane of the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical control circuit for the verifier.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 3, the verifier includes a receiving compartment designated generally by the numeral 10. The receiving compartment is located at the lower front of the machine and is defined by a pair of space side frames 11 and 12 and a feed runway 13 extendingbetween the side frames 11 and 12. The side frames 11 and 12 rise vertically from a base' 14. An L-shaped bracket 15 is connected below the front end of the feed runway 13. A pair of spaced runway adjustment assemblies 16 join the bracket 15 to an upstanding bracket 17 mounted to the base 14 and function in a manner described hereafter to permit adjustment of the position of the bracket 15 relative to the bracket 17 against the urging of compression springs 18. The feed runway 13 has a forward depending arcuate portion adapted to cooperate with a lower bank of feed rollers 19 mounted on a driven shaft 20 joumaled in the side frames 11 and 12. The arcuate portion of the feed runway 13 is biased upwardly against the lower feed rollers 19 by a spring 21 the force of which may be adjusted by an adjusting screw 22. The proper contact between the arcuate portion of the feed runway 13 and the lower rollers 19 is achieved by adjusting the screw 22 and the assemblies 16.

Upper feed rollers 23 mounted on a driven shaft 24 are disposed above and slightly forward of the lower feed rollers 19 and together with the lower feed rollers 19 are adapted to engage the endrnost one of a stack of bills placed on edge in the receiving compartment and urged towards engagement with the

feed rollers

19 and 23 by a bill follower 25.

The bill follower includes a horizontal plate portion 26 adapted to ride over the feed runway 13 and an inclined upright plate portion 27 joined to the horizontal plate portion 26. A handle 28 is provided centrally of the bill follower 25 and the bill follower 25 is connected by links 29 to the side frames 11 and 12. Torsion springs 30 urge the links 29 to a forward position to urge the bill follower 25 against the

feed rollers

19 and 23.

A baffle plate 31 is mounted between the side frames 11 and 12' and has suitable cutouts so that the peripheries of the upper and

lower feed rollers

23 and 19 can extend through the baffle plate 31 and contact the endmost one of a stack of bills. The baffle plate 31 also has a central cutout which accommodates a switch actuator 32 pivoted on a bracket 33 which also mounts a normally open, spring loaded stack sensing switch 34. The switch actuator 32, under the urgings of the switch 34, normally projects through and beyond the baffle plate 31 into a recess provided therefor in the bill follower 25 (see FIG. 3). When one or more bills are disposed on the feed runway 13 between the bill follower 25 and the

feed rollers

19 and 23, the switch actuator 32 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3 to actuate the stack sensing switch 34.

The shafts 20and 24 mounting the

feed rollers

19 and 23 are driven by an electric motor 35 in a known manner through a suitable arrangment of belts, pulleys and gearing so that the lower feed rollers 19 are driven at a greater speed than the upper feed roller 23. The result is that the bills are accelerated by the lower feed rollers 19 to have a preceeding bill clear the upper feed rollers 23 before the succeeding bill is engaged by the upper feed rollers. The bills, after being removed from the stack, are transported by the lower feed rollers 19 to a counting section defined by a central runway 36 extending between the side frames 11 and 12.

Within the counting section is a driven shaft 37 which mounts a series of spaced conveyor rollers 38 and pulleys 39. The pulleys 39 engage endless belts 40 which are also engaged about upper pulleys 41 mounted on a shaft 42 disposed above the end of the central runway 36. The conveyor rollers 38 and lower pulleys 39 are spaced from the lower feed rollers 19 a distance which is less than the width of a bill so that a bill which is moved onto the central runway 36 will be engaged between the conveyor rollers 38 and belts 40 and the runway 36 before leaving e lower feed rollers 19. A deflector plate 43 is spaced above and parallels the runway 36 between the lower feed rollers 19 and the conveyor rollers 38 and pulleys 39 to strip bills from the lower feed rollers 19 and direct all bills to the conveyor rollers 38 and belts 40.

The conveyor rollers 38 both convey the bills over the central runway 36 and maintain the bills taut in a lengthwise direction as they pass beneath the shaft 37. The belts 40 both convey the bills beneath the shaft 37 and elevate the bills to a discharge compartment, identified generally by the numeral 44. The belts 40 are deflected as they pass over the upper end of the central runway 36 so as to pinch the bills between the belts 40 and the runway 36. The discharge compartment 44 is defined by a discharge runway 45 also disposed between the side frames ll and 12. The discharge runway 45 includes a discharge bill follower 46 having an inclined upright position 47 connected by ears 48 to pivots 49 on the side frames 11 and 12, and the bill follower 46 is urged to the receiving position shown in FIG. 3 by tension springs 50.

A series of spoked wheels 51 are mounted on a driven shaft 52 and extend through cutouts in the discharge runway 45 to engage the bottom edge of each bill as it is carried upward by the endless belts 40. The spoked wheels 51 move the bottom edge of each bill onto the discharge runway 45 out of the way of a succeeding bill being carried upwardly by the endless belts 40. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bills in the discharge compartment project above the top surface of the machine cover 53 and the corners of the bills are unob scured, so that the denomination of each successive bill is displayed as the bill is added to the stack of bills in the discharge compartment.

As the bills pass beneath the shaft 37 the bills are counted and any overlapping or doubled bills are detected. Specifically, a counting switch actuator 54 projects through an opening 55 in the central runway 36 between a pair of the conveyor rollers 38 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The switch actuator 54 is biased to the position where it will project between the conveyor rollers 38 so that the passage of each bill conveyed by the rollers 38 will move the switch actuator 54 and close a normally open counting switch 56. A doubles roller 57 is mounted centrally on the shaft 37 and cooperates, through an opening in the central runway 36, with a pair of spaced double detector fingers 58. The fingers 58 are attached to each side of a lever arm 59 which is keyed to a rotatable stub shaft 60 which also mounts an elongated lever arm 61. The elongated lever arm 61 is disposed to the outside of the side plate 11 and is urged by a tension spring 62 to seat against an adjustable set screw 63. A button actuated doubles switch 64 is mounted on the end of the elongated lever arm 61. The button actuator of the doubles switch 64 is adapted to engage the end of a switch set screw to hold the button actuator depressed so long as the lever arm 61 is seated against the set screw 63. By adjustment of the

set screws

63 and 65, the normal spacing between the doubles detector fingers 58 and the doubles roller 57 is set for the thickness of a single bill. Then, when more than one bill thickness passes between the doubles roller 57 and one or both of the doubles detector fingers 58, the fingers 58 will be depressed to pivot the lever arm 59 and to also pivot the elongated lever arm 61 to disengage the button actuator of the doubles switch 64 from the switch set screw 65 to thereby actuate the doubles switch 64. It sometimes happens that a bill in a strap will be folded in half along its width. If such a bill passes through the verifier on the side'of counting section which includes the counting switch actuator 54, the folded bill will be counted. However, if the folded bill passes through the other side of the counting section, it will not engage the counting switch actuator 54 and will not be counted. Accordingly, provision is made to detect the presence of the folded bills and this is accomplished by the doubles detector mechanism. The fingers 58 are each spaced from a respective side frame 11 or 12 a distance less than one half of the length of a bill. Then, when such a folded bill passes through the counting section, it will be engaged by one or the other of the fingers 58 and will be sensed as a double bill'.

The shaft 37 is driven by the motor 35 through a series of pulleys and belts, and the shaft 42 may be driven through the endless-belts 40 and may in turn drive the shaft 52 through meshing gearing, all in a manner which is known in the art of currency counting.

A control panel 66 is hinged to the side frames 11 and 12 by arcuate ears 67 which are pinned at their free ends to the side frames 11 and 12. The control panel 66 mounts a manually resettable counter 68, a double s warning light 69 and a doubles reset pushbutton switch 70. A start switch bar 71 is mounted above the surface of the cover 53 and is adapted, when depressed, to actuate a spring loaded start switch 72.

Referring to the circuit diagram of FIG. 6, the motor 35 is connected across a source 73 of alternating current, with a capacitor 74 connected in parallel with the motor 35. A circuit to energize the motor 35 may be completed by depressing the start switch bar 71 to close the start switch 72. However, the motor 35 will not be held actuated upon release of the start switch bar 71 unless the stack sensing switch 34 is closed indicating the presence of one or more bills in the receiving compartment 10. If the stack sensing switch 34 is closed, as soon as the start switch 72 is closed, a circuit will be completed to the coil 75 of a first relay having a normally open relay contact 76 in parallel with the start switch 72. Thus, the mementary closing of the start switch 72 will energize the relay coil 75 to close the relay contact 76 to complete a holding circuit to the motor 35.

Thus, with bills in the receiving compartment 10, upon depressing the start switch bar 71, the motor 35 will be energized to drive the

feed rollers

19 and 23, the conveyor rollers 38 and

pulleys

39 and 41, and the spoked wheel 51 to remove bills singly from the stack and transport them through the counting section and into the elevated discharge section. As each bill passes through the counting section past the counting switch actuator 54, the counting switch 56 is closed to complete a circuit across the source and through the,

counter'68 so that the count of the bill is visually recorded on the counter 68.

it is necessary to maintain the motor 35 energized until the last bill in the stack has beenconveyed into the discharge compartment 44. Since the stack switch 34 will open as soon-as the last bill leaves the receiving compartment and the circuit to the motor 35 would be opened, a time delay circuit is provided to maintain the motor 35 energized for a sufficient length of time to insure that the last bill will be fed through the counting section and into the discharge compartment 44. Such circuit includes a capacitor 77 connected in parallel across the first relay coil 75 through a resistor 78 and a diode 79. The capacitor 77 is charged while the stack switch 34 is closed and the motor 35 energized. When the stack switch 34 opens, the capacitor 77 will discharge through a pair of parallel resistors 80 to continue to energize the first relay coil 75 and thereby maintain the holding circuit for the motor 35. When the capacitor 77 has discharged to the point that it can no longer energize the first relay coil 75, the relay contact 76 will open thereby interrupting the circuit to the motor 35 and the machine will come to a halt. By this time the last bill will have cleared the machine and have been fed into the discharge compartment 44.

Should it develop that bills are conveyed past the counting switch without the proper space between the bills such that they overlap, or if a bill is folded, or if two bills stick together and are conveyed as one, an erroneous count would be recorded. This overlapping,

folded or double condition will be sensed by the doubles detector fingers 58 and will result in the doubles switch 64 being closed. The doubles switch 64 is connected across the source 73 of current at a point in advance of the start switch 72. Closing of the double switch 64 will energize a relay coil 81 of a second relay having a normally open relay contact 82 in parallel with the doubles detector switch 64 and a normally closed relay contact 83 in series with the start switch 72. Closing of the doubles switch 64 will thus provide a holding circuit through the relay contact 82 to maintain the second relay coil 81 energized and will also open the circuit involving the start switch 72. The doubles warning light 69 will light on the control panel to alert the operator to the fact that doubles have passed through the verifier and that the recorded count is in error. Upon the completion of that erroneous count, it is not possible for the operator to count another stack of bills because of the now open relay contact 83 unless the operator first acknowledges his awareness of the presence of doubles in the previous count. Thus, it is necessary for the operator to depress the reset pushbutton switch which will open the circuit to the second relay coil 81, extinguish the warning light 69, and permit the subsequent counting of the stack by returning the normally closed relay contact 83 to its normal position in which a circuit can again be compeleted to energize the motor 35.

The efficient operation of the currency verifier depends initially on the ability of the

feed rollers

19 and 23 to remove bills one at a time from the stack in the receiving compartment, and this in turn depends tp a large extent upon the proper adjustment of the arcuate portion of the feed runway 13 relative to the lower feed rollers 19. The runway adjustment assemblies 16 permit proper adjustment to be made in the initial setup of the machine and also facilitate later adjustments which may be required because of wear.

The assemblies 16 each include a shoulder nut 84 which extends through an opening in the bracket 15 and is threaded about a screw 85 which extends from the upstanding bracket 17. The shoulder of the nut 84 bears against the bracket 15 and the head of the screw 85 bears against the bracket 17 so that turning each nut 84 upon its respective screw 85 will alter the distance between the

brackets

15 and 17 and will therefore change the horizontal spacing between each end of the arcuate portion of the feed runway 13 and the lower feed rollers 19. Once the desired adjustment has been made, the nut 84 is locked on the screw 85 by means of a set screw 86 threaded through the center of the nut 84 and bearing against the end of the screw 85.'

Dial indicators are provided to facilitate subsequent readjustment. Specifically, a dial plate 87 is secured to the face of each nut 84 by a pair of headed screws 88. The dial plate 87 may be rotated on the nut face by loosening the screws 88. The dial plate 87 contains in dicia in the form of an arrow head 89 and radial lines 90 spaced at forty-five degree increments. Once the assemblies 16 have been initially adjusted for the proper spacing of each side of the feed runway 13 relative to the lower feed rollers 19, the screws 88 are loosened and the dial plate 87 is turned to align the arrow head 89 with a horizontal benchmark 91 on the front surface of the bracket 15. The screws 88 are then tightened to subsequent adjustments are needed they can be carried out systematically by turning the nut 84 a precise eighth turn at a time. If an adjustment in a given direction makes the quality of the bill flow worse, the person making the adjustment can return to the starting point by realigning the arrow head 89 with the benchmark 91 in preparation for the next adjustment. Only after the successful readjustment has been made will the dial plate 87 be rotated independently of the nut 84 to again align the arrow head 89 with the benchmark 91.

To summarize the operation of the currency verifier, the operator would first manually reset the coutner 68 to zero and then load a stack of bills into the receiving compartment 10. The operator momentarily depresses the start switch bar 71 and the verifier will then operate to remove the bills singly from the stack and feeds them through the machine into the discharge compartment 44. The operator watches as each bill is added to the stack in the discharge compartment to insure that the bills are all of the same denomination. The count of bills is recorded on the counter 68 and the verifier stops automatically after the last bill has been moved to the discharge compartment. The operator notes the recorded count and checks it against the supposed quantity of bills in the stack.

if overlapping, folded or double bills are counted, the

warning light 69 will light and the operator will be unable to count a subsequent stack until he depresses the doubles reset switch 70.

The doubles reset switch 70 may also be employed to stop the operation of the verifier in case of malfunction since it will open all circuits to the motor 35. Malfunction might occur when worn or torn bills become jammed in the rollers or belts. Access to the currency conveying mechanism is obtained by opening the hinged control panel 66 and the operator can then physically remove any jammed bills.

We claim:

1. A currency count verifier comprising:

a receiving compartment for receiving a stack of bills to be counted;

a counting section;

a discharge compartment;

conveying means for removing bills singly from the stack in said receiving compartment and passing said bills through said counting section and into said discharge compartment;

counting means responsive to the passage of each bill through said counting section to register the count 'of bills;

an electric motor for driving said conveying means;

an energizing circuit for connecting said motor to a source of current, and including a start switch which when actuated closes the circuit to energize said motor, and a holding circuit to maintain the energizing circuit closed after said start switch is deactuated;

a stack switch in said holding circuit which while actuated completes said holding circuit for said motor; v

a switch actuator projecting into said receiving compartment and adapted to be engaged and shifted by a bill disposed in said receiving compartment to actuate said stack switch;

and time delay means for said motor to maintain said motor energized afther the opening of said holding circuit by the deactuation of said stack switch for a time sufficient to have the last bill of the stack pass through said counting section and into said discharge compartment. 2. A currency count verifier in accordance with claim 1 wheren said holding circuit includes a first relay having a normally open contact connected in parallel with said start switch and a relay coil connected in parallel with said motor across said source, said relay coil being connected to said source to close said contact when said stack switch and said start switch are both actuated.

3. A currency count verifier in accordance with claim 2 wherein said time delay means includes a capacitor connected in parallel with said first relay coil and adapted to be charged while said first relay coil is connected to said source through said stack switch and adapted to discharge to maintain said relay coil energized when said stack switch is deactuated.

4. A currency count verifier in accordance with claim 1 together with doubles switch means responsive to the passage of the thickness of more than one bill at a time through said counting section; said doubles switch means being operable upon said energizing circuit to prevent the'subsequent completion of said circuit to energize said motor after said doubles switch means has been actuated by the passage of the thickness of more than one bill at the same time; I and operator controlled means for resetting said energizing circuit to permit completion of said circuit. 5. A currency count verifier in accordance with claim 4 wherein said counting section includes a runway over which bills are conveyed, and said doubles switch means includes an upper roller disposed above said runway at an opening therein, a pair of shiftably mounted detector fingers disposed below said runway and each normally spaced from said upper roller by a distance equal to the thicknss of a single bill and adapted to be shifted as more than one bill thickness passes between said upper roller and said fingers, each of said fingers being spaced from a respective side of said runway by a distance less than one-half of the length of a bill, a doubles switch actuated by the shifting of said fingers, and a second relay having a coil connected across said source when said doubles switch is actuated and having a first relay contact adapted to maintain the circuit from said source to said second relay coil after said doubles switch is deactuated, and a second relay contact in said energizing circuit which when actuated by the energization of said second relay coil prevents the completion of said energizing circuit to energize said motor.

6. A currency count verifier in accordance with claim 5 together with electrically actuable visual warning means energized by the actuation of said doubles swithc to alert the operator to an improper count of bills; and wherein said resetting means opens the circuit to said second relay coil and deenergizes said warning means.

7. A currency count verifier comprising: a receiving compartment for receiving a stack of bills to be counted; a counting section; a discharge compartment; conveying means for removing bills singly from the stack in said receiving compartment and passing delay means for thereafter maintaining said motor energized until said last bill has been passed into said discharge compartment;

said switch means being operable upon said circuit to prevent the subsequent energization of said motor after said switch means has been actuated by the passage of the thickness of more than one bill at a time;

and operator controlled means for resetting said circuit to permit subsequent energization of said motor.

Claims

1. A currency count verifier comprising: a receiving compartment for receiving a stack of bills to be counted; a counting section; a discharge compartment; conveying means for removing bills singly from the stack in said receiving compartment and passing said bills through said counting section and into said discharge compartment; counting means responsive to the passage of each bill through said counting section to register the count of bills; an electric motor for driving said conveying means; an energizing circuit for connecting said motor to a source of current, and including a start switch which when actuated closes the circuit to energize said motor, and a holding circuit to maintain the energizing circuit closed after said start switch is deactuated; a stack switch in said holding circuit which while actuated completes said holding circuit for said motor; a switch actuator projecting into said receiving compartment and adapted to be engaged and shifted by a bill disposed in said receiving compartment to actuate said stack switch; and time delay means for said motor to maintain said motor energized afther the opening of said holding circuit by the deactuation of said stack switch for a time sufficient to have the last bill of the stack pass through said counting section and into said discharge compartment.

2. A currency count verifier in accordance with claim 1 wheren said holding circuit includes a first relay having a normally open contact connected in parallel with said start switch and a relay coil connected in parallel with said motor across said source, said relay coil being connected to said source to close said contact when said stack switch and said start switch are both actuated.

4. A currency count verifier in accordance with claim 1 together with doubles switch means responsive to the passage of the thickness of more than one bill at a time through said counting section; said doubles switch means being operable upon said energizing circuit to prevent the subsequent completion of said circuit to energize said motor after said doubles switch means has been actuated by the passage of the thickness of more than one bill at the same time; and operator controlled means for resetting said energizing circuit to permit completion of said circuit.

5. A currency count verifier in accordance with claim 4 wherein said counting section includes a runway over which bills are conveyed, and said doubles switch means includes an upper roller disposed above said runway at an opening therein, a pair of shiftably mounted detector fingers disposed below said runway and each normally spaced from said upper roller by a distance equal to the thicknss of a single bill and adapted to be shifted as more than one bill thickness passes between said upper roller and said fingers, each of said fingers being spaced from a respective side of said runway by a distance less than one-half of the length of a bill, a doubles switch actuated by the shifting of said fingers, and a second relay having a coil connected across said source when said doubles switch is actuated and having a first relay contact adapted to maintain the circuit from said source to said second relay coil after said doubles switch is deactuated, and a second relay contact in said energizing circuit which when actuated by the energization of said second relay coil preveNts the completion of said energizing circuit to energize said motor.

7. A currency count verifier comprising: a receiving compartment for receiving a stack of bills to be counted; a counting section; a discharge compartment; conveying means for removing bills singly from the stack in said receiving compartment and passing said bills through said counting section and into said discharge compartment; counting means in said counting section and responsive to the passage of each space bill through said counting section to register the count of bills; switch means responsive to the passage of the thickness of more than one bill at a time past said counting means; an electric motor for driving said conveying means; an energizing circuit for connecting said motor to a source of current until the last bill of a stack is removed from said receiving compartment and time delay means for thereafter maintaining said motor energized until said last bill has been passed into said discharge compartment; said switch means being operable upon said circuit to prevent the subsequent energization of said motor after said switch means has been actuated by the passage of the thickness of more than one bill at a time; and operator controlled means for resetting said circuit to permit subsequent energization of said motor.