Apparatus for currency validation

Claim 1

In an apparatus for currency validation which includes a housing having an inlet; a belt-pulley arrangement mounted in said housing for forming a passageway for a bill inserted from the inlet and for transporting said bill along said passageway; sensor means electrically connected to a control unit of the bill validator for identifying authenticity of the bill passing through the passageway; and stopper means mounted in the housing for movement by operation of an actuator between a protective position protruded within the passageway and a release position retracted from said passageway; the improvement comprising at least one hook portion which provides a notch formed in the front side of said stopper means facing the inlet of the passageway, said stopper means being positioned between said sensor means and an outlet of the passageway; said stopper means being moved from the protective to release position by the actuator only when the bill validator identifies authenticity of the bill; and said notch being engageable with a thin tool inserted from the inlet into the passageway to prevent movement of the stopper means from the protective to the release position and operable to lock the stopper means in the protective position.