US6654486B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Automated document processing system
Assignee: Cummins Allison Corp
•
Filing: 2002-01-23
•
Granted: 2003-11-25
•
Expires: 2022-01-23
Abstract
Abstract A document processing system comprises an input receptacle for receiving documents. A transport mechanism receives the documents from the input receptacle and transports the documents past a full image scanner and a discrimination unit. An output receptacle receives the documents from the transport mechanism after being transported past the full image scanner and the discrimination unit. The full image scanner includes means for obtaining a full video image of said documents, means for obtaining a image of a selected area of said documents, and means for obtaining information contained in said selected area of said document. The discrimination unit includes means for determining the authenticity of said document. A system controller directs the flows of documents over the transport mechanism.
Inventors
- 👤 John E. Jones
- 👤 Paul A. Jones
- 👤 William J. Jones
- 👤 Douglas U. Mennie
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 08:21
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07D; G07D7/00; G07D7/06; G07D7/12; G06; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/10; G06Q20/00; G06Q20/04; G06Q20/042; G06Q20/0425; G06Q20/08; G06Q20/10; G06Q20/105; G06Q20/108; G06Q20/1085; G06Q20/18; G06Q20/20; G06Q40/00; G06Q40/02; G06T; G06T1/00; G06V; G06V30/00; G06V30/10; G06V30/12; G06V30/127; G06V30/26; G06V30/262; G06V30/274; G07D11/00; G07D11/50; G07D7/1205; G07D7/20; G07F; G07F19/00; G07F19/20; G07F19/202; G07F19/207; G07F7/00; G07F7/04; G07D7/04
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 38
Claim 1
Independent Claim
179 words
A document evaluation device for receiving a stack of documents and rapidly evaluating all the documents in the stack, the device comprising: an input receptacle for receiving a stack of documents to be evaluated, genuine ones of the documents each having one of a plurality of images thereon, the plurality of images defining a plurality of document types; a single output receptacle for receiving the documents after the documents have been evaluated; an image scanner for evaluating the documents, the image scanner including a detector for obtaining an image of each document; a transport mechanism for transporting the documents, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the output receptacle along a transport path and past the image scanner at a rate in excess of 800 documents per minute, the image scanner being capable of distinguishing among the plurality of document types by processing each document image, the image scanner counting and determining the document type of the documents; and means for flagging a document when the type of the document is not determined by the image scanner.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
179 words
A document evaluation device for receiving a stack of documents and rapidly evaluating all the documents in the stack, the device comprising: an input receptacle for receiving a stack of documents to be evaluated, genuine ones of the documents each having one of a plurality of images thereon, the plurality of images defining a plurality of document types; a single output receptacle for receiving the documents after the documents have been evaluated; an image scanner for evaluating the documents, the image scanner including a detector for obtaining an image of each document; a transport mechanism for transporting the documents, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the output receptacle along a transport path and past the image scanner at a rate in excess of 800 documents per minute, the image scanner being capable of distinguishing among the plurality of document types by processing each document image, the image scanner counting and determining the document type of the documents; and means for flagging a document when the type of the document is not determined by the image scanner.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
The document evaluation device of claim 1 , wherein the documents are a combination of two or more of bank notes, checks, checking deposit slips, saving deposit slips, and withdrawal slips.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The document evaluation device of claim 1 , further comprising a communications panel adapted to communicate operational instructions to a user.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The document evaluation device of claim 1 , wherein the documents have wide and narrow dimensions and the documents are transported with their narrow dimension parallel to the direction of transport.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
The document evaluation device of claim 1 , wherein the documents have wide and narrow dimensions and the documents are transported with their wide dimension parallel to the direction of transport.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
37 words
The document evaluation device of claim 1 , further including a discrimination unit, the discrimination unit including an authenticator adapted to automatically determine the authenticity of the documents, the transport mechanism moving documents past the discrimination unit.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
18 words
The document evaluation device of claim 1 , wherein the documents are financial institution documents and bank notes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
The document evaluation device of claim 7 , wherein the financial institution documents are checks and deposit slips.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document evaluation device of claim 7 , wherein the financial institution documents are transfer slips.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The document evaluation device of claim 1 , wherein the documents have first and second surfaces and the documents are scanned on first and second surfaces.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
The document evaluation device of claim 1 , wherein the means for flagging flags documents meeting or failing to meet predetermined criteria.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
47 words
The document evaluation device of claim 1 , wherein the means for flagging documents flags a document by suspending the operation of the system, the system being halted so that the flagged document is located at a predetermined position within the system when the transport mechanism stops.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The document evaluation device of claim 1 , further comprising a stacking wheel comprising flexible blades positioned to restack documents in the output receptacle.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
184 words
A document evaluation device for receiving a stack of documents and rapidly evaluating all the documents in the stack, the device comprising: an input receptacle for receiving a stack of documents to be evaluated, genuine ones of the documents each having one of a plurality of images thereon, the plurality of images defining a plurality of document types; a single output receptacle for receiving the documents after the documents have been evaluated; an image scanner for evaluating the documents, the image scanner including a detector for obtaining an image of each document; a transport mechanism for transporting the documents, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the output receptacle along a transport path and past the image scanner, the image scanner being capable of distinguishing among the plurality of document types by processing each document image, the image scanner counting and determining the document type of the documents; means for flagging a document when the type of the document is not determined by the image scanner; and an interface adapted to send the images of the documents to an outside accounting system.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
184 words
A document evaluation device for receiving a stack of documents and rapidly evaluating all the documents in the stack, the device comprising: an input receptacle for receiving a stack of documents to be evaluated, genuine ones of the documents each having one of a plurality of images thereon, the plurality of images defining a plurality of document types; a single output receptacle for receiving the documents after the documents have been evaluated; an image scanner for evaluating the documents, the image scanner including a detector for obtaining an image of each document; a transport mechanism for transporting the documents, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the output receptacle along a transport path and past the image scanner, the image scanner being capable of distinguishing among the plurality of document types by processing each document image, the image scanner counting and determining the document type of the documents; means for flagging a document when the type of the document is not determined by the image scanner; and an interface adapted to send the images of the documents to an outside accounting system.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
17 words
The document evaluation device of claim 14 , wherein the outside accounting system is a deposit system.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
17 words
The document evaluation device of claim 14 , wherein the outside accounting system is a payment system.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
32 words
The document evaluation device of claim 14 , wherein the transport mechanism is adapted to transport the document past the image scanner at a rate of at least 800 documents per minute.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
157 words
A document evaluation method for receiving a stack of documents and rapidly evaluating all the documents in the stack, the device comprising: receiving a stack of documents to be evaluated at an input receptacle, genuine ones of the documents each having one of a plurality of images thereon, the plurality of images defining a plurality of document types; receiving the documents after the documents have been evaluated at a single output receptacle; image scanning the documents with an image scanner to obtain an image of each document; transporting the documents, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the output receptacle along a transport path for image scanning at a rate in excess of 800 documents per minute; distinguishing among the plurality of document types by processing each document image; counting and determining the document type of the documents; and flagging a document when the type of the document is not determined by the image scanner.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
157 words
A document evaluation method for receiving a stack of documents and rapidly evaluating all the documents in the stack, the device comprising: receiving a stack of documents to be evaluated at an input receptacle, genuine ones of the documents each having one of a plurality of images thereon, the plurality of images defining a plurality of document types; receiving the documents after the documents have been evaluated at a single output receptacle; image scanning the documents with an image scanner to obtain an image of each document; transporting the documents, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the output receptacle along a transport path for image scanning at a rate in excess of 800 documents per minute; distinguishing among the plurality of document types by processing each document image; counting and determining the document type of the documents; and flagging a document when the type of the document is not determined by the image scanner.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
31 words
The document evaluation method of claim 15 , wherein the documents are a combination of two or more of bank notes, checks, checking deposit slips, saving deposit slips, and withdrawal slips.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
The document evaluation method of claim 18 , further comprising communicating operational instructions from the controller to a user.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
35 words
The document evaluation method of claim 18 , wherein the documents have wide and narrow dimensions and the step of transporting includes conveying the documents with their narrow dimension parallel to the direction of transport.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
35 words
The document evaluation method of claim 18 , wherein the documents have wide and narrow dimensions and the step of transporting includes conveying the documents with their wide dimension parallel to the direction of transport.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
27 words
The document evaluation method of claim 18 , further including discriminating the documents to automatically determine their authenticity, the step of transporting moving the documents for discriminating.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
18 words
The document evaluation method of claim 18 , wherein the documents are financial institution documents and bank notes.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
18 words
The document evaluation method of claim 24 , wherein the financial institution documents are checks and deposit slips.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document evaluation method of claim 24 , wherein the financial institution documents are transfer slips.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
32 words
The document evaluation method of claim 18 , wherein the documents have first and second surfaces and the step of image scanning includes scanning the document on their first and second surfaces.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
23 words
The document evaluation method of claim 18 , wherein the step of flagging includes flagging documents meeting or failing to meet predetermined criteria.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
34 words
The document evaluation method of claim 28 , wherein the step of flagging includes flagging a document by suspending transport such that the flagged document is located at a predetermined position when transport stops.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document evaluation method of claim 18 , further comprising restacking documents in the output receptacle.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
151 words
A document evaluation method for receiving a stack of documents and rapidly evaluating all the documents in the stack, comprising: receiving a stack of documents to be evaluated at an input receptacle, genuine ones of the documents each having one of a plurality of images thereon, the plurality of images defining a plurality of document types; receiving the documents after the documents have been evaluated at a single output receptacle; image scanning the documents to obtain an image of each document; transporting the documents, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the output receptacle along a transport path for image scanning; distinguishing among the plurality of document types by processing each document image; counting and determining the document type of the documents; flagging a document when the type of the document is not determined by image scanning; and sending the images of the documents to an outside accounting system.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
151 words
A document evaluation method for receiving a stack of documents and rapidly evaluating all the documents in the stack, comprising: receiving a stack of documents to be evaluated at an input receptacle, genuine ones of the documents each having one of a plurality of images thereon, the plurality of images defining a plurality of document types; receiving the documents after the documents have been evaluated at a single output receptacle; image scanning the documents to obtain an image of each document; transporting the documents, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the output receptacle along a transport path for image scanning; distinguishing among the plurality of document types by processing each document image; counting and determining the document type of the documents; flagging a document when the type of the document is not determined by image scanning; and sending the images of the documents to an outside accounting system.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
17 words
The document evaluation method of claim 31 , wherein the outside accounting system is a deposit system.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
17 words
The document evaluation method of claim 31 , wherein the outside accounting system is a payment system.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
30 words
The document evaluation method of claim 31 , wherein the step of transporting includes conveying the document for image scanning at a rate of at least 800 documents per minute.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-11-24 | 2007-05-26 | 2007-11-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-11-24 | 2011-05-26 | 2011-11-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-11-24 | 2015-05-26 | 2015-11-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |