Currency Systems International, Inc.

Mark A Carrion

Charles L Bradford

Anthony G Orchard

James Lacy Vanderpool

Irving George Pennini

A method and apparatus automatically process currency documents. A stack of loose bank documents are placed on a feeder having a feeder arm which pushes the documents toward a continuous vacuum belt. The feeder arm is controlled by a lever arm connected to a potentiometer. The vacuum belt pulls documents from the stack, and moves the documents past a vacuum separator head and to a transport conveyor. The vacuum belt and the vacuum separator head are connected to the same vacuum supply. The transport conveyor moves the documents through inspection and sorting stations, and to various stacking units which stack the documents on platens. A strapping tape is curved to bend in a direction transverse to its length, and then a terminal end portion of the strapping tape is pushed through connected channels to direct the terminal end portion around three sides of a stack of the documents. A retaining arm clamps the terminal end portion of the strapping tape and the documents against the platen, and then the platen is rotated approximately 90 degrees to dispose an inward length of the strapping tape around a fourth side of the documents and alongside the terminal end portion of the strapping tape, looping the strapping tape completely around the stack of documents. A weld head extends, presses against the strapping tape and the documents, and fuses together the inward length and terminal end portion of the strapping tape. The document bundle is then dropped into a discharge bin.

Currency strapping machine

A cassette (20) for a currency handling system includes a door (28) that can be opened to expose the entire front surface of the cassette. An end door (30) is operable to be opened to allow currency that is disposed within the interior of the cassette (20) to be urged outward. The cassette (20) has a locking mechanism disposed in an end (72), which locking mechanism prevents the door from opening until the cassette (20) is disposed in a docking station. Once in the docking station, a paddle (56) is urged downward into the cassette (20) to urge the notes outward therefrom. These notes are moved into a buffer region (58) and then the cassette (20) can be removed to allow another cassette (20) to be disposed therein. This allows a continuous feeding operation. The cassette (20) can then be disposed in a second collection docking station to collect the output of the sorter (41). In this docking station, a paddle (68) is reciprocated downward into the cassette (20) with the collected notes.

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Plano, TX, United States of America

Mark A Carrion