US5909503A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for currency discriminator and authenticator
Assignee: Cummins Allison Corp
•
Filing: 1997-04-08
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Granted: 1999-06-01
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Expires: 2017-04-08
Abstract
Abstract A currency authenticator having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising a first characteristic detector. The first characteristic detector retrieves first characteristic information from a bill to be authenticated and generates an output signal. The currency authenticator further comprises a unit for selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings, a unit for storing reference information associated with each of the sensitivity settings, and a unit for comparing the output signal to the reference information associated with the one of the plurality of sensitivity settings selected by the unit for selecting. The unit for comparing indicates that the bill is counterfeit if the output signal does not satisfactorily compare with the reference information. The unit for storing reference information stores reference information for a plurality of denominations of bills. The unit for storing stores reference information associated with each of the sensitivity settings for each of the plurality of denominations.
Inventors
- 👤 Bradford T. Graves
- 👤 William J. Jones
- 👤 Douglas U. Mennie
- 👤 Frank M. Csulits
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 08:31
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65H; B65H3/00; B65H3/02; B65H3/06; B65H3/063; G; G06; G06Q; G06Q20/00; G06Q20/08; G06Q20/18; G07; G07D; G07D11/00; G07D11/50; G07D7/00; G07D7/04; G07D7/06; G07D7/12; G07D7/1205; G07D7/121; G07D7/128; G07D7/16; G07D7/162; G07D7/20; G07F; G07F19/00; G07F19/20; G07F7/00; G07F7/04; B65H2301/00; B65H2301/50; B65H2301/54; B65H2301/541; B65H2557/00; B65H2557/50; B65H2557/514; B65H2701/00; B65H2701/10; B65H2701/19; B65H2701/1912
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 41
Claim 1
Independent Claim
126 words
A currency authenticator having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: a first characteristic detector retrieving first characteristic information from a bill to be authenticated and generating a corresponding output signal; means for selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; means for storing reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings; and means for comparing said output signal to said reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said means for selecting; and means for indicating that said bill is counterfeit if said output signal does not satisfactorily compare with said reference information; wherein said means for storing reference information stores reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings for each of a plurality of denominations of bills.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
126 words
A currency authenticator having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: a first characteristic detector retrieving first characteristic information from a bill to be authenticated and generating a corresponding output signal; means for selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; means for storing reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings; and means for comparing said output signal to said reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said means for selecting; and means for indicating that said bill is counterfeit if said output signal does not satisfactorily compare with said reference information; wherein said means for storing reference information stores reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings for each of a plurality of denominations of bills.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
The currency authenticator of claim 1 wherein said reference information comprises a threshold value associated with each of said sensitivity settings for each of said plurality of denominations.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
70 words
The currency authenticator of claim 1 further comprising means for permitting an operator of the authenticator to assign a sensitivity setting to each of said plurality of denominations and means for the operator of the authenticator to indicate the denomination of the bill to be authenticated, wherein said means for selecting selects said one of said plurality of sensitivity settings to be the sensitivity setting assigned to the indicated denomination.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
64 words
The currency authenticator of claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of denominations has a sensitivity setting is assigned thereto and further comprising means for the operator of the authenticator to indicate the denomination of the bill to be authenticated, wherein said means for selecting selects said one of said plurality of sensitivity settings to be the sensitivity setting assigned to the indicated denomination.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
The currency authenticator of claim 1 wherein said plurality of sensitivity settings comprise a high sensitivity setting and a low sensitivity setting.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
71 words
The currency authenticator of claim 1 wherein said reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings comprise a threshold value associated with each of said sensitivity settings and wherein said means for comparing indicates that said bill is counterfeit if said output signal fails to satisfy a predetermined relationship relative to said threshold value associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said means for selecting.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
64 words
The currency authenticator of claim 6 wherein said plurality of sensitivity settings comprise a high sensitivity setting and a low sensitivity setting and wherein said means for storing stores a high reference value and a low reference value, said high reference value being closer to a value of an output signal expected to be generated from a genuine bill than said low reference value.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
34 words
The currency authenticator of claim 1 wherein said means for selecting one of said plurality of sensitivity settings permits the operator of said authenticator to select said one of said plurality of sensitivity settings.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
93 words
The currency authenticator of claim 1 further comprising means for determining the denomination of said bill to be authenticated and wherein said means for selecting one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selects said one of said plurality of sensitivity settings based on the determined denomination of said bill; wherein said means for selecting one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selects a lower sensitivity setting when said bill is determined to be of a lower denomination and a higher sensitivity setting when said bill is determined to be of a higher denomination.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
21 words
The currency authenticator of claim 1 further comprising means for assigning a sensitivity setting to each of a plurality of denominations.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
39 words
The currency authenticator of claim 10 wherein said means for assigning a sensitivity setting to each of said plurality of denominations permits an operator of the authenticator to assign a sensitivity setting to each of said plurality of denominations.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
20 words
The currency authenticator of claim 1 wherein each of a plurality of denominations has a sensitivity setting is assigned thereto.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
The currency authenticator of claim 1 further comprising means for determining the denomination of said bill to be authenticated and wherein said means for comparing compares the output signal to the reference information corresponding to the determined denomination and the selected sensitivity setting.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
46 words
The currency authenticator of claim 1 further comprising means for the operator to indicate the denomination of the bill to be authenticated and wherein said means for comparing compares the output signal to the reference information corresponding to the indicated denomination and the selected sensitivity setting.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
140 words
A currency authenticator having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: one or more detectors for retrieving a plurality of types of characteristic information from a bill to be authenticated and generating a respective output signal associated with each type of characteristic information; means for selecting, for each type of characteristic information, one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; means for storing, for each type of characteristic information, reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings; means for comparing, for each type of characteristic information, said respective output signal to corresponding reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said means for selecting for said type of characteristic information; and means for indicating that said bill is counterfeit if one or more of said output signals do not satisfactorily compare with said reference information.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
140 words
A currency authenticator having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: one or more detectors for retrieving a plurality of types of characteristic information from a bill to be authenticated and generating a respective output signal associated with each type of characteristic information; means for selecting, for each type of characteristic information, one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; means for storing, for each type of characteristic information, reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings; means for comparing, for each type of characteristic information, said respective output signal to corresponding reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said means for selecting for said type of characteristic information; and means for indicating that said bill is counterfeit if one or more of said output signals do not satisfactorily compare with said reference information.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The currency authenticator of claim 15 wherein said plurality of types of characteristic information comprise magnetic information, reflected ultraviolet light information, and fluorescent light information.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
138 words
A currency authenticator having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: a first characteristic detector retrieving first characteristic information from a bill to be authenticated and generating a corresponding output signal; means for determining the denomination of said bill to be authenticated; means for selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings, said means for selecting one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selecting said one of said plurality of sensitivity settings based on the determined denomination of said bill; means for storing reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings; means for comparing said output signal to said reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said means for selecting; and means for indicating that said bill is counterfeit if said output signal does not satisfactorily compare with said reference information.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
138 words
A currency authenticator having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: a first characteristic detector retrieving first characteristic information from a bill to be authenticated and generating a corresponding output signal; means for determining the denomination of said bill to be authenticated; means for selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings, said means for selecting one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selecting said one of said plurality of sensitivity settings based on the determined denomination of said bill; means for storing reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings; means for comparing said output signal to said reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said means for selecting; and means for indicating that said bill is counterfeit if said output signal does not satisfactorily compare with said reference information.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
118 words
A currency authenticator having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: a first characteristic detector retrieving first characteristic information from a bill to be authenticated and generating a corresponding output signal; means for selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; means for assigning at least one of said plurality of sensitivity settings to each of a plurality of denominations; means for storing reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings; means for comparing said output signal to said reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said means for selecting; and means for indicating that said bill is counterfeit if said output signal does not satisfactorily compare with said reference information.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
118 words
A currency authenticator having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: a first characteristic detector retrieving first characteristic information from a bill to be authenticated and generating a corresponding output signal; means for selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; means for assigning at least one of said plurality of sensitivity settings to each of a plurality of denominations; means for storing reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings; means for comparing said output signal to said reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said means for selecting; and means for indicating that said bill is counterfeit if said output signal does not satisfactorily compare with said reference information.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
85 words
The currency authenticator of claim 18 further comprising means for the operator of the authenticator to indicate the denomination of the bill to be authenticated and wherein said means for assigning a sensitivity setting to each of said plurality of denominations permits an operator of the authenticator to independently assign a sensitivity setting to each of said plurality of denominations and wherein said means for selecting selects said one of said plurality of sensitivity settings to be the sensitivity setting assigned to the indicated denomination.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
121 words
A currency handling device having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: a first characteristic detector retrieving first characteristic information from a bill and generating a corresponding output signal; means for selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; means for storing reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings, said means for storing reference information storing reference information for each of a plurality of denominations of bills for each of said plurality of sensitivity settings; and means for comparing said output signal to said reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said means for selecting; and means for producing an indication if said output signal does not satisfactorily compare with said reference information.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
121 words
A currency handling device having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: a first characteristic detector retrieving first characteristic information from a bill and generating a corresponding output signal; means for selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; means for storing reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings, said means for storing reference information storing reference information for each of a plurality of denominations of bills for each of said plurality of sensitivity settings; and means for comparing said output signal to said reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said means for selecting; and means for producing an indication if said output signal does not satisfactorily compare with said reference information.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
28 words
The currency device of claim 20 wherein said reference information comprises a threshold value associated with each of said sensitivity settings for each of said plurality of denominations.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
34 words
The currency device of claim 20 wherein said means for selecting one of said plurality of sensitivity settings permits the operator of said device to select said one of said plurality of sensitivity settings.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
50 words
The currency device of claim 20 wherein said means for selecting one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selects a lower sensitivity setting when said bill is determined to be of a lower denomination and a higher sensitivity setting when said bill is determined to be of a higher denomination.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
96 words
The currency device of claim 20 further comprising means for the operator of the device to indicate the denomination of the bill and means for assigning a sensitivity setting to each of a plurality of denominations and wherein said means for assigning a sensitivity setting to each of said plurality of denominations permits an operator of the device to independently assign a sensitivity setting to each of said plurality of denominations and wherein said means for selecting selects said one of said plurality of sensitivity settings to be the sensitivity setting assigned to the indicated denomination.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
61 words
The currency device of claim 20 wherein each of said plurality of denominations has a sensitivity setting is assigned thereto and further comprising means for the operator of the device to indicate the denomination of said bill, wherein said means for selecting selects said one of said plurality of sensitivity settings to be the sensitivity setting assigned to the indicated denomination.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
40 words
The currency device of claim 20 further comprising means for determining the denomination of the bill and wherein said means for comparing compares the output signal to the reference information corresponding to the determined denomination and the selected sensitivity setting.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
43 words
The currency device of claim 20 further comprising means for the operator to indicate the denomination of the bill and wherein said means for comparing compares the output signal to the reference information corresponding to the indicated denomination and the selected sensitivity setting.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
125 words
A method of authenticating a currency bill having an undetermined denomination using a currency authenticator, the method comprising the steps of: scanning a currency bill to determine a scanned authentication value associated with a selected authentication attribute of the currency bill; determining the denomination of the currency bill; selecting one of a plurality of authentication sensitivity levels associated with the selected authentication attribute; selecting a reference authentication value based on the determined denomination of the currency bill and the selected sensitivity level, each of the plurality of authentication sensitivity levels having a reference value associated with each of a plurality of denominations stored in a memory of the currency authenticator; and authenticating the currency bill by comparing the scanned value to the selected reference value.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
125 words
A method of authenticating a currency bill having an undetermined denomination using a currency authenticator, the method comprising the steps of: scanning a currency bill to determine a scanned authentication value associated with a selected authentication attribute of the currency bill; determining the denomination of the currency bill; selecting one of a plurality of authentication sensitivity levels associated with the selected authentication attribute; selecting a reference authentication value based on the determined denomination of the currency bill and the selected sensitivity level, each of the plurality of authentication sensitivity levels having a reference value associated with each of a plurality of denominations stored in a memory of the currency authenticator; and authenticating the currency bill by comparing the scanned value to the selected reference value.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
127 words
A method of authenticating a currency bill having an undetermined denomination using a currency authenticator, the method comprising the steps of: scanning a currency bill to determine a scanned authentication value associated with a selected authentication attribute of the currency bill; the operator indicating the denomination of the currency bill; selecting one of a plurality of authentication sensitivity levels associated with the selected authentication attribute; selecting a reference authentication value based on the indicated denomination of the currency bill and the selected sensitivity level, each of the plurality of authentication sensitivity levels having a reference value associated with each of a plurality of denominations stored in a memory of the currency authenticator; and authenticating the currency bill by comparing the scanned value to the selected reference value.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
127 words
A method of authenticating a currency bill having an undetermined denomination using a currency authenticator, the method comprising the steps of: scanning a currency bill to determine a scanned authentication value associated with a selected authentication attribute of the currency bill; the operator indicating the denomination of the currency bill; selecting one of a plurality of authentication sensitivity levels associated with the selected authentication attribute; selecting a reference authentication value based on the indicated denomination of the currency bill and the selected sensitivity level, each of the plurality of authentication sensitivity levels having a reference value associated with each of a plurality of denominations stored in a memory of the currency authenticator; and authenticating the currency bill by comparing the scanned value to the selected reference value.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 29 further comprising the step of the operator indicating the denomination of the bill and wherein the step of selecting one of the sensitivity settings comprises the authenticator selecting a sensitivity setting based on the denomination indicated by the operator.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of authenticating currency using a currency authenticator having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: retrieving first characteristic information from a bill to be authenticated using a first characteristic detector and generating an output signal; selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; comparing the output signal to reference information associated with the selected sensitivity setting, the reference information being stored in a memory of the authenticator, the memory storing reference information associated with each of the sensitivity settings for each of a plurality of denominations; and indicating that the bill is counterfeit if the output signal does not satisfactorily compare with the reference information.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of authenticating currency using a currency authenticator having a plurality of sensitivity settings comprising: retrieving first characteristic information from a bill to be authenticated using a first characteristic detector and generating an output signal; selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; comparing the output signal to reference information associated with the selected sensitivity setting, the reference information being stored in a memory of the authenticator, the memory storing reference information associated with each of the sensitivity settings for each of a plurality of denominations; and indicating that the bill is counterfeit if the output signal does not satisfactorily compare with the reference information.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
106 words
A currency handling method using a plurality of sensitivity settings, said method comprising the steps of: retrieving first characteristic information from a bill and generating a corresponding output signal; selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; storing reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings, including reference information for each of a plurality of denominations of bills for each of said plurality of sensitivity settings; comparing said output signal to said reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said selecting step; and producing an indication if said output signal does not satisfactorily compare with said reference information.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
106 words
A currency handling method using a plurality of sensitivity settings, said method comprising the steps of: retrieving first characteristic information from a bill and generating a corresponding output signal; selecting one of a plurality of sensitivity settings; storing reference information associated with each of said sensitivity settings, including reference information for each of a plurality of denominations of bills for each of said plurality of sensitivity settings; comparing said output signal to said reference information associated with the one of said plurality of sensitivity settings selected by said selecting step; and producing an indication if said output signal does not satisfactorily compare with said reference information.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-05-31 | 2002-11-30 | 2003-06-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-05-31 | 2006-11-30 | 2007-06-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-05-31 | 2010-11-30 | 2011-06-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |