US6843418B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System and method for processing currency bills and documents bearing barcodes in a document processing device
Assignee: Cummins Allison Corp
•
Filing: 2002-07-23
•
Granted: 2005-01-18
•
Expires: 2022-07-23
Abstract
Abstract A document processing device having an evaluation region disposed along a transport path between an input and output receptacle capable of processing both currency bills and barcoded media having at least two barcodes. One of the barcodes encodes a ticket number and another barcode encodes a payout amount associated with that ticket number. The evaluation region includes detectors for detecting predetermined characteristics of currency bills and a barcode reader for scanning the barcodes printed on the barcoded media. A controller coupled to the evaluation region controls the operation of the document processing device and receives input from and provides information to a user via a control unit In some embodiments, the document processing device may have any number of output receptacles, and the control unit allows the user to specify which output receptacle receives which type of document An optional coin sorter may be coupled to the document processing device to allow document and coin processing The document processing device may be coupled to a network to communicate information to devices linked to the network.
Inventors
- 👤 William J. Jones
- 👤 Robert J. Klein
- 👤 Curtis W. Hallowell
- 👤 Charles P. Jenrick
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 12:26
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07D; G07D11/00; G07D11/009; G07D11/0096; G07D11/50; G07D7/00; G07D7/004; G07D7/0043; G07F; G07F17/00; G07F17/32; G07F17/3244; G07F17/3246; G07F17/3248; G07F7/00; G07F7/04; G07G; G07G1/00; G07G1/0036; G07G1/0045
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 77
Claim 1
Independent Claim
192 words
A document processing device, comprising an input receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media, at least one of the substitute currency media having at least a first barcode pattern and a second barcode pattern disposed thereon; at least one output receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media after the currency bills and substitute currency media have been evaluated; a transport mechanism adapted to transport the currency bills and substitute currency media, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the at least one output receptacle along a transport path; an evaluation unit comprising at least one currency detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the at least one currency detector being capable of evaluating currency bills, and a first media detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the first media detector being capable of detecting the first barcode pattern and the second barcode pattern, and a controller coupled to the evaluation unit, the controller being adapted to control the operation of the transport mechanism and the operation of the evaluation unit.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
192 words
A document processing device, comprising an input receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media, at least one of the substitute currency media having at least a first barcode pattern and a second barcode pattern disposed thereon; at least one output receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media after the currency bills and substitute currency media have been evaluated; a transport mechanism adapted to transport the currency bills and substitute currency media, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the at least one output receptacle along a transport path; an evaluation unit comprising at least one currency detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the at least one currency detector being capable of evaluating currency bills, and a first media detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the first media detector being capable of detecting the first barcode pattern and the second barcode pattern, and a controller coupled to the evaluation unit, the controller being adapted to control the operation of the transport mechanism and the operation of the evaluation unit.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the first barcode pattern and the second barcode pattern are on the same surface of the at least one of the substitute currency media.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
32 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the first barcode pattern and the second barcode pattern are on opposite surfaces of the at least one of the substitute currency media.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the first barcode pattern represents identification information.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document processing device of claim 4 , wherein the identification information is a ticket number.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the second barcode pattern represents a value.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document processing device of claim 6 , wherein the value is an amount of currency.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the first barcode pattern and the second barcode pattern are encoded according to the same barcode symbology.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the first barcode pattern is encoded according to a first barcode symbology and the second barcode pattern is encoded according to a second barcode symbology.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the media detector includes a barcode reader.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
24 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the media detector includes at least a first barcode reader and a second barcode reader.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
The document processing device of claim 11 , wherein the first barcode reader and the second barcode reader are disposed on the same side of the transport path.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
27 words
The document processing device of claim 11 , wherein the first barcode reader and the second barcode reader are disposed on opposite sides of the transport path.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
32 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the currency bills and substitute currency media are transported along the transport path at a rate of at least 1000 documents per minute.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
32 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the currency bills and substitute currency media are transported along the transport path at a rate of at least 1200 documents per minute.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
32 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the currency bills and substitute currency media are transported along the transport path at a rate of at least 1600 documents per minute.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
49 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the currency detector includes at least one of an optical scan head, a magnetic sensor, a size-detection sensor, a density sensor, a thread sensor, an infrared sensor, an ultraviolet scan head, a fluorescent scan head, and a full image scanner.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
28 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the substitute currency media includes at least one of casino script, casino cashout tickets, retailer coupons, and gift certificates.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
33 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one substitute currency media further includes a third barcode pattern, the media detector being capable of detecting the third barcode pattern.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
20 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one output receptacle is exactly one output receptacle.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
21 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one output receptacle is at least two output receptacles.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
21 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one output receptacle is at least eight output receptacles.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
41 words
The document processing device of claim 1 , wherein the currency bills and substitute currency media are transported one at a time and in any order from the input receptacle to the at least one output receptacle along a transport path.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
235 words
A document processing device, comprising: an input receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media, at least one of the substitute currency media including at least a first barcode pattern representative of a ticket number and a second barcode pattern representative of a value, at least one output receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media after the currency bills and substitute currency media have been evaluated, a transport mechanism adapted to transport the currency bills and substitute currency media, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the at least one output receptacle along a transport path; an evaluation unit comprising at least one currency detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the at least one currency detector being capable of evaluating currency bills, and a first media detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the first media detector being capable of detecting the first barcode pattern and the second barcode pattern; a controller coupled to the evaluation unit, the controller being adapted to control the operation of the transport mechanism and the operation of the evaluation unit, and a communications port coupled to the controller, the communications port being adapted to transmit at least one of the ticket number associated with the first barcode pattern and the value associated with the second barcode pattern.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
235 words
A document processing device, comprising: an input receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media, at least one of the substitute currency media including at least a first barcode pattern representative of a ticket number and a second barcode pattern representative of a value, at least one output receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media after the currency bills and substitute currency media have been evaluated, a transport mechanism adapted to transport the currency bills and substitute currency media, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the at least one output receptacle along a transport path; an evaluation unit comprising at least one currency detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the at least one currency detector being capable of evaluating currency bills, and a first media detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the first media detector being capable of detecting the first barcode pattern and the second barcode pattern; a controller coupled to the evaluation unit, the controller being adapted to control the operation of the transport mechanism and the operation of the evaluation unit, and a communications port coupled to the controller, the communications port being adapted to transmit at least one of the ticket number associated with the first barcode pattern and the value associated with the second barcode pattern.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
26 words
The document processing device of claim 24 , wherein the controller is further adapted to save the ticket number and the value to an export file.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
23 words
The document processing device of claim 25 , wherein the communications port is further adapted to transmit the export file to another system.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
243 words
An apparatus for processing both currency bills and substitute currency media, comprising: an input receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media, each of the substitute currency media including at least a first barcode pattern encoding a number and a second barcode pattern encoding a value associated with the number; at least one output receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media after the currency bills and substitute currency media have been evaluated; a transport mechanism adapted to transport the currency bills and substitute currency media, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the at least one output receptacle along a transport path, an evaluation unit comprising at least one detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the at least one detector being capable of evaluating currency bills and of decoding the number encoded in the first barcode pattern and the value encoded in the second barcode pattern on each of the substitute currency media, one of the substitute currency media on which a number and a value are decoded being termed a valid substitute currency medium, and a controller coupled to the evaluation unit, the controller being adapted to control the operation of the transport mechanism and the operation of the evaluation unit, the controller including a memory, the memory being adapted to store the number and the value of each valid substitute currency medium decoded by the detector.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
243 words
An apparatus for processing both currency bills and substitute currency media, comprising: an input receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media, each of the substitute currency media including at least a first barcode pattern encoding a number and a second barcode pattern encoding a value associated with the number; at least one output receptacle adapted to receive currency bills and substitute currency media after the currency bills and substitute currency media have been evaluated; a transport mechanism adapted to transport the currency bills and substitute currency media, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the at least one output receptacle along a transport path, an evaluation unit comprising at least one detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the at least one detector being capable of evaluating currency bills and of decoding the number encoded in the first barcode pattern and the value encoded in the second barcode pattern on each of the substitute currency media, one of the substitute currency media on which a number and a value are decoded being termed a valid substitute currency medium, and a controller coupled to the evaluation unit, the controller being adapted to control the operation of the transport mechanism and the operation of the evaluation unit, the controller including a memory, the memory being adapted to store the number and the value of each valid substitute currency medium decoded by the detector.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
19 words
The document processing device of claim 27 , wherein the at least one detector is a full image scanner.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
19 words
The document processing device of claim 27 , wherein the detector includes a currency detector and a barcode reader.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
19 words
The document processing device of claim 27 , wherein the detector includes a currency detector and a barcode reader.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
24 words
The document processing device of claim 27 , wherein the controller is adapted to save the contents of the memory to a storage medium.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document processing device of claim 31 , wherein the storage medium is a hard drive.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document processing device of claim 31 , wherein the storage medium is a network drive.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document processing device of claim 31 , wherein the storage medium is a floppy disk.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
37 words
The document processing device of claim 27 , further comprising a communications port coupled to the controller, the communications port being adapted to transmit at least a portion of the contents of the memory to another system.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
44 words
The document processing device of claim 27 , further comprising a communications port coupled to the controller, the communications port being adapted to transmit the number and the value of at least one valid substitute currency medium decoded by the decoder to another system.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document processing device of claim 27 , wherein the value is an amount of currency.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
99 words
An evaluation unit for evaluating currency bills and barcoded tickets in a document processing device, comprising: a first detector adapted to detect characteristic information of a currency bill, a second detector adapted to detect at least two barcode patterns on a barcoded ticket that is redeemable for cash; and a controller coupled to said second detector adapted to decode the at least two barcode patterns into a set of characters identifying a particular one of the barcoded tickets and a number representing an amount of currency, the particular one of the barcoded tickets being termed a valid barcoded ticket.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
99 words
An evaluation unit for evaluating currency bills and barcoded tickets in a document processing device, comprising: a first detector adapted to detect characteristic information of a currency bill, a second detector adapted to detect at least two barcode patterns on a barcoded ticket that is redeemable for cash; and a controller coupled to said second detector adapted to decode the at least two barcode patterns into a set of characters identifying a particular one of the barcoded tickets and a number representing an amount of currency, the particular one of the barcoded tickets being termed a valid barcoded ticket.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
18 words
The document processing device of claim 38 , wherein the set of characters is a barcoded ticket number.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
23 words
The document processing device of claim 38 , wherein the at least two barcode patterns are encoded according to the same barcode symbology.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
25 words
The document processing device of claim 40 , wherein the second detector includes a barcode reader adapted to decode the at least two barcode patterns.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
22 words
The document processing device of claim 38 , wherein the at least two barcode patterns are encoded according to different barcode symbologies.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
46 words
The document processing device of claim 42 , wherein the second detector includes a first barcode reader adapted to decode one of the at least two barcode patterns and a second barcode reader adapted to decode a second one of the at least two barcode patterns.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
29 words
The document processing device of claim 38 , wherein the characteristic information includes at least one of size, thickness, color, magnetism, reflectivity, absorbability, transmissivity, electrical conductivity, and serial number.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
30 words
The document processing device of claim 38 , wherein the characteristic information includes at least one of size, thickness, color, magnetism, reflectivity, to absorbability, transmissivity, electrical conductivity, and serial number.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
50 words
The document processing device of claim 38 , wherein the first detector includes at least one of an optical scan head, a magnetic sensor, a size-detection sensor, a density sensor, a thread sensor, an infrared sensor, an ultraviolet scan head, a fluorescent light scan head, and a full image scanner.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
233 words
A document processing device in a system having a plurality of machines adapted to accept documents, the plurality of machines being coupled to an accounting system, the document processing device comprising: an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of documents including currency bills and substitute currency media, each of the substitute currency media including at least a first barcode pattern encoding a number and a second barcode pattern encoding a value; at least one output receptacle adapted to receive the stack of documents after the currency bills and substitute currency media have been evaluated, a transport mechanism adapted to transport the currency bills and substitute currency media, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the at least one output receptacle along a transport path; an evaluation unit comprising at least one detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the at least one detector being capable of evaluating currency bills and of decoding the number encoded in the first barcode pattern and the value encoded in the second barcode pattern on each of the substitute currency media, and a controller coupled to the evaluation unit, the controller being adapted to control the operation of the transport mechanism and the operation of the evaluation unit, the controller further being adapted to store the number and the value of each substitute currency medium to a file.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
233 words
A document processing device in a system having a plurality of machines adapted to accept documents, the plurality of machines being coupled to an accounting system, the document processing device comprising: an input receptacle adapted to receive a stack of documents including currency bills and substitute currency media, each of the substitute currency media including at least a first barcode pattern encoding a number and a second barcode pattern encoding a value; at least one output receptacle adapted to receive the stack of documents after the currency bills and substitute currency media have been evaluated, a transport mechanism adapted to transport the currency bills and substitute currency media, one at a time, from the input receptacle to the at least one output receptacle along a transport path; an evaluation unit comprising at least one detector disposed along the transport path between the input receptacle and the output receptacle, the at least one detector being capable of evaluating currency bills and of decoding the number encoded in the first barcode pattern and the value encoded in the second barcode pattern on each of the substitute currency media, and a controller coupled to the evaluation unit, the controller being adapted to control the operation of the transport mechanism and the operation of the evaluation unit, the controller further being adapted to store the number and the value of each substitute currency medium to a file.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
37 words
The document processing device of claim 47 in combination with an accounting system, the accounting system being adapted to reconcile the number and the value of each substitute currency medium in the file with pre-processed document data.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
30 words
The document processing device of claim 47 , further comprising a communications port coupled to the controller, the communications port being adapted to transmit the file to the accounting system.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
18 words
The document processing device of claim 47 , wherein the file is stored on a removable storage media.
Claim 56
Independent Claim
125 words
A method of processing both currency bills and substitute currency media in a document processing device, the method comprising: receiving a stack of documents including currency bills and substitute currency media to be evaluated in an input receptacle of the device, transporting each of the documents, one document at a time, past a currency detector and past a media detector, scanning each document to obtain characteristic information associated with a currency bill, scanning each document to obtain characteristic information associated with a substitute currency medium, the characteristic information including a first barcode pattern and a second barcode pattern, determining whether each document meets or fails at least one criterion; and directing each document to at least one output receptacle based on the step of determining.
Claim 57
Independent Claim
125 words
A method of processing both currency bills and substitute currency media in a document processing device, the method comprising: receiving a stack of documents including currency bills and substitute currency media to be evaluated in an input receptacle of the device, transporting each of the documents, one document at a time, past a currency detector and past a media detector, scanning each document to obtain characteristic information associated with a currency bill, scanning each document to obtain characteristic information associated with a substitute currency medium, the characteristic information including a first barcode pattern and a second barcode pattern, determining whether each document meets or fails at least one criterion; and directing each document to at least one output receptacle based on the step of determining.
Claim 58
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 51 , further comprising: decoding the first barcode pattern into a ticket number, and decoding the second barcode pattern into an amount of currency.
Claim 59
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 51 , further comprising: storing the characteristic information associated with the currency bill in a storage medium, and storing the characteristic information associated with the substitute currency medium in a storage medium.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 51 , wherein the characteristic information associated with the currency bill is a ticket number and the characteristic information associated with the substitute currency medium is a value, the method further comprising transmitting the ticket number and the value to a system.
Claim 61
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 54 , wherein the system is an accounting system, the method further comprising reconciling the ticket numbers and the values obtained by the document processing device with ticket numbers and values stored in the accounting system.
Claim 62
Independent Claim
143 words
A method of processing documents, comprising: accepting a plurality of documents including substitute currency media into an input receptacle of a document processing device, each of the substitute currency media including more than one barcode pattern thereon; transporting each of the documents, one document at a time, past a detector; scanning each document via the detector for at least a first barcode pattern and a second barcode pattern, a document having a decodable first barcode pattern and a decodable second barcode pattern being termed a valid substitute currency medium, first decoding for each valid substitute currency medium the first barcode pattern into a first set of characters representing identification information; second decoding for each valid substitute currency medium the second barcode pattern into a second set of characters representing an amount of currency; and directing each document to at least one output receptacle.
Claim 63
Independent Claim
143 words
A method of processing documents, comprising: accepting a plurality of documents including substitute currency media into an input receptacle of a document processing device, each of the substitute currency media including more than one barcode pattern thereon; transporting each of the documents, one document at a time, past a detector; scanning each document via the detector for at least a first barcode pattern and a second barcode pattern, a document having a decodable first barcode pattern and a decodable second barcode pattern being termed a valid substitute currency medium, first decoding for each valid substitute currency medium the first barcode pattern into a first set of characters representing identification information; second decoding for each valid substitute currency medium the second barcode pattern into a second set of characters representing an amount of currency; and directing each document to at least one output receptacle.
Claim 64
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 56 , wherein the steps of first decoding and second decoding are both carried out by a barcode reader.
Claim 65
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method of claim 56 , wherein the step of first decoding is carried out by a first barcode reader and the step of second decoding is carried out by a second barcode reader, the first barcode reader being adapted to decode a barcode symbology different from that of the second barcode reader.
Claim 66
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 56 , further comprising adding the amount of currency to a running total and storing the running total after a last one of the plurality of documents has been processed.
Claim 67
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 56 , wherein the identification information includes a ticket number, the method further comprising storing the ticket number of each valid substitute currency medium in a file and providing the file to a ticket tracking system.
Claim 68
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 60 , wherein the providing is carried out over a network.
Claim 69
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 56 , wherein the providing is carried out via a floppy disk.
Claim 70
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 56 , wherein the identification information includes a ticket number, the method further comprising storing the ticket number and the amount of currency of each valid substitute currency medium in a file and providing the file to an accounting system.
Claim 71
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 56 , wherein the plurality of documents include currency bills.
Claim 72
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 56 , wherein the plurality of documents include a batch identification card bearing encoded information identifying the document processing device.
Claim 73
Independent Claim
139 words
A method of processing documents, comprising the steps of generating pre-processed document data indicative of characteristic information of currency bills and substitute currency media received and dispensed by a document accepting device, the substitute currency media having a first barcode pattern encoding a number and a second barcode pattern encoding a value, processing the currency bills and substitute currency media in a document processing device; first decoding, in the document processing device, the first barcode pattern on each substitute currency media into the number, second decoding, in the document processing device, the second barcode pattern on each substitute currency media into the value; providing the number and the value of each substitute currency media to an accounting system; and reconciling in the accounting system the number and the value of each substitute currency media with the pre-processed document data.
Claim 74
Independent Claim
139 words
A method of processing documents, comprising the steps of generating pre-processed document data indicative of characteristic information of currency bills and substitute currency media received and dispensed by a document accepting device, the substitute currency media having a first barcode pattern encoding a number and a second barcode pattern encoding a value, processing the currency bills and substitute currency media in a document processing device; first decoding, in the document processing device, the first barcode pattern on each substitute currency media into the number, second decoding, in the document processing device, the second barcode pattern on each substitute currency media into the value; providing the number and the value of each substitute currency media to an accounting system; and reconciling in the accounting system the number and the value of each substitute currency media with the pre-processed document data.
Claim 75
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 66 , wherein the providing is carried out by storing the number and the value of each substitute currency media to a file and transmitting the file to the accounting system.
Claim 76
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 66 , wherein the providing is carried out by storing the number and the value of each substitute currency media to a removable storage medium and providing the removable storage medium to the accounting system.
Claim 77
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 66 , further comprising: providing the number of each substitute currency media from the accounting system to a media tracking system; and retrieving a value from the media tracking system corresponding to the number.
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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) | 2008-01-18 | 2008-07-19 | 2009-01-18 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2012-01-18 | 2012-07-19 | 2013-01-18 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2016-01-18 | 2016-07-19 | 2017-01-18 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |