US3214096A

US3214096A - Paper currency counter

Info

Publication number: US3214096A
Application number: US289348A
Authority: US
Inventors: Arnold R Buchholz; George V Johnson; Krause Arnold
Original assignee: Brandt Automatic Cashier Co
Current assignee: Brandt Automatic Cashier Co
Priority date: 1963-06-20
Filing date: 1963-06-20
Publication date: 1965-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 1982-10-26
Also published as: DE1294721B; GB1006170A

Description

, 1965 A. R. BUCHHOLZ ETAL PAPER CURRENCY COUNTER Filed June '20, 1965 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 5:! III! l l r I I um 00 5 HN PuHM UO NBJ E .K RV DED L L O O N N RER AGA ATTORNEY Oct. 26, 1965 l A. R. BUCHHOLZ ETAL PAPER CURRENCY COUNTER Filed June 20, 1963 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS ARNOLDR.BUCHHOLZ GEORGEV-JOHNSON ARNOLD KRAUSE t%mzum ATTORNEY 1965 A. R. BUCHHOLZ ETAL 3,214,096

PAPER CURRENCY COUNTER Filed June 20. 1963 8 Sheets-Sheet s I "wi INVENTORS ARNOLD R.BUCHHOLZ GEORGE V- JOHNSON ARNOLD KRAUSE %mza%m ATTORNEY Oct. 26, 1965 A. R. BUCHHOLZ ETAL 3,214,096

I PAPER CURRENCY COUNTER 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June ATTORNEY Filed JuneEO, 1963 1965 A. R. BUCHHOLZ ETAL 3,214,096

PAPER CURRENCY COUNTER 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEY 0 1965 A. R. BUCHHOLZ ETAL 3,214,096

PAPER CURRENCY COUNTER Filed June 20, 1963 I 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 v p /0 E 52 54 52 53 52 J2 P 5a 57 I o o: @2 I I {I ""f/w n 5 ATTORNEY Oct. 26', 1965 A. R. BUCHHOLZ ETAL 3,214,096

PAPER CURRENCY COUNTER Filed June 20, 1963 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTORS ARNOLD RBUCHHOLZ GEORGE V. JOHNSON ARNOLD KRAUSE ATTORNEY Oct. 26, 1965 BUCHHOLZ ETAL PAPER CURRENCY COUNTER Filed June 20, 1965 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 5/ 127 3 /4/ v m /32 m x517 6 na 03 INVENTORS ATTORNEY ARNOLD RBUCHHOLZ GEORGE. V. JOHNSON ARNOLD KRAUSE United States Patent 3,214,096 PAPER CURRENCY CQUNTER Arnold R. Buchholz, Watertown, George V. Johnson, Oconomowoc, and Arnold Krause, Watertown, Wis., assignors to Brandt Automatic Cashier Company, Watertown, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed June 20, 1963, Ser. No. 289,348 9 Claims. (Cl. 235-98) This invention relates to paper currency counting machines, and particularly to a paper currency counter having a central counting section, a compartment for receiving bills as a stack, and a delivery compartment for receiving counted bills, with means for removing bills singly from the stack, feeding the bills through the counting section, and conveying counted bills into the delivery compartment without danger of mutilation of bills and with assurance that each bill conveyed to the delivery compartment will be counted, together with selectable predetermined count means responsive to the passage of bills through the counting section and adapted to halt the flow of bills to the counting section upon the completion of the selected predetermined count.

Paper currency counting equipment is designed to replace the time consuming manual tasks of counting a quantity of bills, of subdividing a quantity of bills into batches each containing a preselected number of bills, and of verifying the count of a strap of bills. Accuracy is, of course, a primary requirement of operation of paper currency counters. Each bill deposited in the paper currency counter must be counted and discharged or otherwise accounted for. The failure to count even a single bill could be costly, especially when bills of the higher denominations are being counted.

The currency counter of this invention includes means to insure that a totally accurate count of bills is achieved. In the counter of this invention, bills are removed individually from a stack of bills deposited in a receiving compartment and are fed to a counting section in which the passage of each bill is sensed to thereby eifect register of the count. Provision is made to insure that each bill will be individually counted and if two or more bills stick together as they are conveyed through the counting section such multiple bills will be rejected and will not enter into the count of bills which are fed to a delivery compartment. Provision is also made to prevent bills from jamming in the paper currency counter which, in addition to possibly mutilating the bills, could result in an inaccurate count.

The paper currency counter of this invention further includes predetermined count means which includes a selector switch by which an operator can dial the quantity of billswhich it is desired to count. Such preselected quantities may include multiples of five or ten bills plus multiples of one hundred bills. Once the operator has selected the quantity of bills to be counted and has placed a stack of bills in the receiving compartment, the currency counter will count the preselected quantity of bills and then automatically halt the flow of bills to the counting section at the end of the predetermined count. Stop page of the flow of bills is accomplished not by the inefiicient method of braking or deenergizing the source of motive power of the currency counter, but rather by disengaging the stack of bills in the receiving compartment from feed means which remove the bills singly from the stack and deliver the bills to the counting section. Then, the same preselected quantity of bills may be counted upon the actuation of an operator controlled switch to result in ease of repetition of .a predetermined count. Alternately, a new predetermined count may be selected and the predetermined count means will automatically reset to zero count before the new count proceeds.

3,214,996 Patented Oct. ,26, 1965 Provision is also made to prevent the counting of a new batch of bills until a previously counted batch has been removed from the delivery compartment thereby preventing operator error from destroying the integrity of the separate batches of bills.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a paper currency counter in which each bill conveyed through the counter to a delivery compartment is counted and each bill deposited in the currency counter is either counted or otherwise accounted for.

It is another object of this invention to provide a paper currency counter which is free from jamming of bills and the attendant mutilation of bills and inaccurate counting.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a paper currency counter which includes predetermined count means which will automatically count bills into batches of preselected quantities and which will halt the flow of bills through the paper currency counter upon the completion of each predetermined count.

It is also an object of this invention to provide such a paper currency counter in which the count of predetermined batch of bills cannot proceed until a previously counted batch is removed from the delivery compartment.

It is still another object of this invention to provide such a paper currency counter in which the predetermined count means automatically recycles to zero count before the count of each new batch of bills.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a paper currency counter in which conveying of separated bills through a counting section is accomplished by driven rollers which cooperate with opposing recesses in a runway whereby considerable wear of the rollers can be tolerated and absolute concentricity of the rollers is un-' necessary.

The foregoing and other objects of this invention will appear in the description to follow. In the description,

reference is made to the accompanying drawings which.

form a part hereof and in which there is shown by way of illustration a specific form in which this invention may be practiced. This form will be described in detail to-enable.

ment described may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true scope of the present-invention. tion is not to be taken in a limiting sense and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.

I In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of the currency counter of this invention, 1

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the currency counter with side plates removed for clarity,

' FIG. 3 is a rear elevation view of the currency counter as it appears in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a front view in elevation of the currency counter as it appears in FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal view in vertical section of the currency counter taken in the plane of the line 5-5 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 6 is a transverse view in vertical section taken in the plane of the line 6-6 of FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view in vertical section taken in the plane of the line 7-7 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 8 is an enlarged transverse view in vertical section taken in the plane of the line 8-8 of FIG. 5,

FIG. 9 is an enlarged transverse view in vertical section taken in the plane of the line 99 of FIG. 5,

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view in vertical section taken in the plane of the line 1010 of FIG. 9, and

Consequently, the following detailed descrip-- FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view of the electric circuit including predetermined count means of the currency counter of this invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and specifically to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, the paper currency counter includes a receiving compartment disposed at the left end of the machine as viewed in FIG. 1 and defined generally by spaced front and rear frames and 11, each of which rises vertically from a base 12, and a feed runway 13. The feed runway 13 is anchored at its outer end to transversely extending bent portions 14 of the front and

rear frames

10 and 11 and is cantilevered inwardly and supported adjacent its inward end on a pair of support rods 15 that are received in axial bores formed in a pair of standards 16 secured to the base 12. Each of the support rods 15 rest upon a coiled compression spring 17 which urges the runway 13 upwardly at its inner end. As will be described hereafter, provision is made for moving the inner end of the feed runway 13 downwardly against the action of the springs 17 to assist in halting the feed of currency through the apparatus.

The receiving compartment is adapted to receive bills arranged in stacked form, as illustrated schematically in FIGS. 2-5, with the bills resting at their lower edges on the feed runway 13 and against an upright feed stop plate 18. The currency is held upright against the feed stop plate 18 by a bill follower 19 supported at each side by a linkage and spring biased toward the feed stop plate 18. Specifically, the linkage for each side of the bill follower 19 includes a pair of links 20 each pivotally supported at one end on a

respective frame

10 or 11 and a three-legged link 21 having two of its legs pivotally supported upon the free ends of the links 20 and which pivotally supports the bill follower 19 on its third leg. The bill follower 19 has a longitudinally extending ear 22 on each side which mounts a pivot screw 23 that extends through an opening in the third leg of the link 21. A coiled spring 24 is secured at one end to each pivot screw 23 and the free ends of the springs 24 bear against the underside of the cars 22 to urge the bill follower 19 to an upright position, but the rotation of the bill follower 19 is limited by the engagement of lugs on a pair of brackets 25 mounted on the pivot screws 23 and which lugs are adapted to engage both the ears 22 of the bill follower 19 and the third leg of the links 21. Coiled springs 26 are each secured to a pivot screw 27 providing the pivotal connection between one of the links 20 and the threelegged link 21, and the free end of each spring 26 bears against the respective link 20 to urge the bill follower 19 longitudinally inwardly against the stack of currency. The linkage for each side of the bill follower 19 maintains the pivot screws 23 at approximately the same level regardless of the thickness of the stack of currency and thereby an effective hold on the currency is always maintained.

The currency counter includes means to remove the endmost one of the stack of bills in the receiving compartment and feed the bills singly to a counting section. Removal of the endmost bill is accomplished by driven upper and

lower feed rollers

28 and 29 which are mounted on

shafts

30 and 31, respectively, journaled in the front and

rear frames

10 and 11. The feed stop plate 18 is provided with suitable upper and lower cutouts 32 through which the peripheries of the upper and

lower feed rollers

28 and 29 may project to engage the endmost of the bills in the stack. When the elements are in bill feeding position, the

feed rollers

28 and 29, which are driven counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 5, will cause the endmost one of the stack of bills to be moved downwardly to a nip defined between the bottom feed rollers 29 and a downwardly arcuate bent end 33 of the feed runway 13. Since the normal position of the feed runway 13 is controlled by the support rods 15, a bill will be engaged between the lower feed rollers 29 and the runway 13 and will be 4;- moved longitudinally into a counting section hereinafter described.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 6 and 7, the feed stop plate 18 is mounted centrally on a transverse rod 34 that extends at either end through longitudinally elongated slots 35 in the front and

rear frames

10 and 11. The ends of the rod 34 which project outwardly of the

frames

10 and 11 each pivotally support a stop lever 36 which is mounted at its other end on a through rod 37 which is journaled in the

frames

10 and 11. One end of the through rod 37 mounts one end of a solenoid lever 38 which is connected to the plunger of a feed stop solenoid 39. Guide rods 40 are supported by the feed stop rod 34 at each projecting end thereof and are slidably received within openings in guide brackets 41 mounted on the front and

rear frames

10 and 11. A coiled tension spring 42 is connected between a bracket 41 and the solenoid lever 38 to urge the plunger end of the solenoid lever upwardly. Runway trip yokes 43 are secured to the through rod 37 for rotation therewith and each yoke 43 bears against a nut 44 threaded on a stud 45 secured to the underside of the feed runway 13 (see FIG. 7).

When the feed stop solenoid 39 is denergized, the spring 42 will hold up the plunger end of the solenoid lever 38 thereby permitting the feed stop plate 18 to assume a feed position under the pressure of the spring biased bill follower 19. In such feed position of the feed stop plate 18, the

feed rollers

28 and 29 will project through the cutouts 32 in the feed stop plate 18 to engage the endmost one of the stack of bills. Furthermore, the position of the through rod 37 will be such as to release the yokes 43 from engagement with the nuts 44 and the spring biased runway 13 will be in its upper position in which the arcuate end 33 thereof will engage the lower feed rollers 29.

When the feed stop solenoid 39 is energized, the resulting movement in the solenoid lever 38 will rotate the through rod 37 and thereby cause the stop levers 36 to move the feed stop rod 34 longitudinally to the left as viewed in FIG. 7 and the feed stop plate 18 will then be moved longitudinally to a stop position in which it moves the stack of bills away from the

feed rollers

28 and 29 thereby preventing the feed rollers from engaging the bills. Stoppage in the feed is further insured by movement of the arcuate end 33 of the feed runway 13 away from the lower feed rollers 29. That is, when the through rod 37 is rotated by energization of the feed stop solenoid 39, theyokes 43 will engage the nuts 44 thereby pulling the feed runway 13 downwardly at its arcuate end 33 and eliminating the nip between the lower feed rollers 29 and the feed runway 13.

A bill withdrawn from the receiving compartment by the

feed rollers

28 and 29 is fed to a counting section defined by the

frames

10 and 11 and a central runway 46. The bill first encounters and is engaged by a plurality of conveyor rollers 47 mounted upon a driven shaft 48 journaled in the

frames

10 and 11. Centrally mounted on the shaft 48 is an upper doubles roller 49 which cooperates with a lower doubles roller 50 that extends through an opening 51 in the central runway 46. The central runway 46 is also provided with an arcuate depression 52 at the location of each of the conveyor rollers 47 which have their outer peripheries located at or near the normal upper plane surface of the central runway 46. Thus, a bill engaged between the conveyor rollers 47 and the central runway 46 will be forced into the depressions 52 and will thereby be held taut between the contact of each conveyor roller 47 with the bill. This action is shown in FIG. 8 in which a bill B is illustrated being fed beneath the conveyor rollers 47. By this construction, the bill is. fed uniformly through the conveyor rollers 47 and the possibility of transverse misalignment and bunching or folding of the bill is greatly reduced. Furthermore, the bill is held taut across the opening 51 in the center run way 46 so that its thickness is accurately presented to the

doubles rollers

49 and 50. Additionally, since the rollers 47 do not depend upon the flat surface of a runway to feed bills through the counting section, considerable wear on the periphery of the rollers 47 can be tolerated before requiring replacement and it is not necessary for the rollers to be perfectly concentric about the shaft 48.

The lower doubles roller 50 is supported on a lever arm 53 mounted at its other end on a shaft 54. A transverse plate 55 is mounted between the frames and 11 and supports a member 56 having a pair of upright bent portions through which the shaft 54 is journaled. The shaft 54 projects outwardly through the front frame 10 and mounts one end of a downwardly extending switch arm 57. The arm 57 carries a first counting switch 58 and a doubles switch 59 on opposite sides thereof adjacent the bottom of the arm 57. Each

switch

58 and 59 is of the type having a button actuator 60 which is adapted to be depressed by respective actuating screws 61 threaded in a transverse leg of a generally U-shaped bracket 62 that is secured to an end of the transverse plate 55. The bracket 62 also mounts limiting screws 63 which may be adjusted to restrict the total motion of the arm 57 by engagement with the arm 57.

The diameter of the upper doubles roller 49 is less than that of the conveyor rollers 47 and the periphery of the doubles roller 49 lies above the plane of the upper surface of the center runway 46. The lower doubles roller 50 extends through the opening 51 with its periphery above the plane of the upper surface of the center runway 46 and spaced slightly from the upper roller 49. The limiting screws 63 are adjusted to maintain a clearance between the upper and

lower doubles rollers

49 and 50 that is less than the thickness of a bill B being counted. The respective actuating screws 61 of the first counting switch 58 and the doubles switch 59 are properly adjusted so that the passage of a single bill between the

doubles rollers

49 and 50 will depress the lower roller 50 and thereby swing the switch arm 57 a sufficient distance to depress the button actuator of the first counting switch 58 and the passage of more than one bill through

rollers

49 and 50 will swing the switch arm 57 further to depress the button actuator of the doubles switch 59. The button actuators 60 are spring loaded and normally bias the lower doubles roller 50 upward into position to be engaged by the passage of a bill. Theupper and

lower doubles rollers

49 and 50, therefore, cooperate to initially count the bills passing therethrough and further to determine the presence of more than one bill.

As will be explained in greater detail hereafter, closure of the doubles switch 59 energizes a doubles solenoid 64 which has its plunger operating on the free end of an ejector arm 65. The ejector arm 65 is mounted on the end ofa rod 66 journaled in the side frames 10 and 11 and which mounts an arcuate ejector plate 67 that lies in an opening 68 in the central runway 46. Ejector feed rollers 69 are mounted on a shaft 70 above the ejector plate 67, and the central runway 46 includes notch extensions of the opening 68 in which the ejector rollers 69 operate to achieve similar results as with the use of the depressions 52 (see FIGS. 9 and 10).

With the doubles solenoid 64 deenergized, the plunger connected end of the ejector arm 65 is spring biased upwardly, as viewed in FIG. 4, thereby positioning the ejector plate 67 in its down position against the central runway 46, as shown in FIG. 5. In this position, the ejector plate 67 acts as a part of the central runway 46 and the driven ejector rollers 69 will merely convey the bill to the next stage of the currency counter. However, whenqthe doubles switch 59 is closed thereby energizing the doubles solenoid 64, the ejector arm 65 will be rotated thereby rotating the rod 66 and moving the ejector plate 67 to an up position in which bills will be diverted to a chute 71.

The chute 71 is a generally box-like structure which is removably mounted on the

frames

10 and 11 by pins 72 engaged in slots 73 in the end walls of the chute 71. The chute 71 has a front wall with a downwardly extending arcuate portion 74 provided with a plurality of openings 75 which receive the periphery of the ejector rollers 69. As shown in FIG. 10, when the ejector plate 67 is in its up position, the bills B will be carried by the ejector rollers 69 upwardly against the arcuate portion 74 of the chute 71 to deposit the bills in the chute 71. The chute 71 is provided with an opening for the removal of accumulated bills.

A single bill, which will pass the doubles ejecting stage without incident, is next fed to an elevating structure which carries the bill upwardly and deposits it in a delivery compartment. Specifically, the elevating structure includes a lower driven shaft 76 which is journaled in the

frames

10 and 11 and which mounts a pair of lower elevating pulleys 77 each adjacent an end of the shaft 76 and a bill count roller 78 having two pulley portions is mounted on the shaft 76 centrally thereof. Idler elevating pulleys 79 are mounted on an idler shaft 80 which is journaled at each end in brackets 81 which form eX- tensions of the front and

rear frames

10 and 11. An upper driven shaft 83 is journaled at its ends in

frames

10 and 11 below the idler shaft 80 and mounts a plurality of upper pulleys 84. A plurality of endless belts 82 are engaged about the lower and idler elevating rollers 77 and 79 and the bill count rollers 78 and about the upper pulleys 84 to carry bills upwardly from an arcuate extension of the center runway 46, and the belts 82 are maintained vertically at the level of the delivery compartment (see FIG. 5)

Bills are carried upwardly by the belts 82 to the delivery compartment which is defined by the front and

rear frames

10 and 11 and a discharge runway 85 disposed therebetween. The bills are assisted upwardly and moved longitudinally away from the belts 82 by a'plurality of spoked wheels 86 mounted on a driven shaft 87 journaled in the

frames

10 and 11. The spokes of the wheels 86 project through slots in the end of the discharge runway 85 and engage the bottom edge of the bills to move them upwardly and outwardly. A bill follower 88 retains the stack of discharged bills and is mounted to be biased towards the elevating structure by mountings which are identical to that for the bill follower 19. In addition, however, a stack follower micro switch 89 is mounted on the front frame 10 and has a switch arm 90 which is adapted to be engaged by a bracket 91 mounted on the link 21 adjacent the front frame 10. The micro switch 89 is closed when the stack follower 88 is in its inwardmost position to receive discharged bills.

A second count switch 92 is mounted on a switch arm 93 that depends from a shaft 94 supported by brackets secured to the frames 10 and 111 The shaft 94 further mounts a lever arm 95 that supports a second count roller 96. The second count roller 96 projects through an opening in the center runway 46 to cooperate with the bill count roller 78. A bracket 97 having a pair of outwardly bent portions is mounted on the frame 10 and supports a switch actuating screw 98 and a pair of limiting screws 99. Adjustment of the

screws

98 and 99 is such as to actuate'the second count switch 92 when a bill passes between the second count roller 96 and the bill count roller 78. Again, the button actuator of the switch 92 biases the roller 96 in an up position.

The presence of bills in the delivery compartment is determined by a discharge clear micro switch 100 which is actuated by a lever arm 101 pivotally supported adjacent one end and having a finger 102 which projects through a suitable opening in the discharge runway 85 and which is engaged by bills on the runway 85 to depress and close the switch 100. a

The driven shafts of the currency feed are powered by an electric mot-or 183 supported on the base 12 and having its output shaft 184 projecting through an opening in the rear frame 11; A belt drive connects the output shaft 184 and the shaft 87 which mounts the spoked wheels 86. The remaining driven shafts are driven from such shaft 87 by intermeshing gearing, and the gearing is arranged to accomplish successive reduction in speed as the power is transmitted from the delivery end to the receiving end of the apparatus. As shown in FIG. 3, intermeshing gearing on the shaft 87 and the shaft 76 which mounts the lower elevating pulleys 77 drives the shaft 76 at the same speed as the shaft 87. The shaft 70 which mounts the ejector feed rollers 69 is driven from the shaft 76 by intermeshing idler gearing which accomplishes a first reduction in speed, the shaft 48 which mounts the conveyor rollers 47 is driven from the shaft 70 by intermeshing idler gearing which accomplishes a second reduction in speed, and the shaft 31 which mounts the lower feed rollers 29 is driven from the shaft 48 through intermeshing idler gearing which accomplishes a third reduction in speed. Furthermore, the shaft 30 which mounts the upper feed rollers 28 is driven from the shaft 31 by interrneshing idler gearing which accomplishes still a further reduction in speed.

Viewing the various speeds from the currency receiving end of the apparatus, it will be seen that the lower feed rollers 29 are driven at a faster speed than the upper feed rollers 28. This insures the ejection of the endmost bill under the lower feed rollers 29 since the upper feed rollers 28 cannot cause the bill to be jammed into the lower feed rollers 29 and the upper feed rollers 28 act to retard the succeeding bill until the endmost bill has cleared the lower rollers 29. Since the conveyor rollers 47 are driven at a faster speed than the lower feed rollers 29 and the ejector rollers 69 are driven at a still greater speed, each successive roller tends to pull the bill from the preceding roller and the possibility of a bill jamming in the feed is eliminated. This is also true of the elevating rollers since they operate at a speed which is greater than the ejector rollers 69. Furthermore, since the bills are accelerated as they move through the counting section thereby assuring that bills will not overlap and further insuring that the bills will be spaced sufficiently to permit the switches to return to their normal positions between each actuation by a passing bill.

The peripheral portions of the upper and

lower feed rollers

28 and 29, the conveyor rollers 47 and the ejector rollers 69 are formed of a material having a high coefficient of friction and excellent resistance to abrasion and polyurethane has been found to exhibit excellent results. The upper and

lower feed rollers

28 and 29 are provided with transverse slots in the peripheral portions and these slots permit the freeing of the trailing edge of the bill by the next succeeding roller earlier than with smooth rollers whereby the spacing between bills passing through the counting section will be insured.

As will be later described, the count of the bills passing the second count roller 96 will be registered on a total counter 103 mounted on a front cover of the currency counter. In addition to counting the currency fed there through, the currency counter also includes provision for automatically counting batches of bills of a predetermined quantity, which quantity may be selected as desired. That is, the count may be selected by the operator by positioning a count selector switch 104 also located on the front cover, and the embodiment illustrated is adapted for predetermined counting in batches of 5, 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 100, 200 and 300 bills or for continuous counting. The count within each preselected batch is registered on a batch counter 105. Push button ON and OFF switches 106 and 107, respectively, are provided together with a push button CLEAR switch 108 which is adapted to clear the total counter 103. A start count switch bar 109 is also mounted on the front cover.

The electrical circuit incorporating the predetermined count mechanism as well as other controls for the apparatus is illustrated in FIG. 11. The components are, unless otherwise indicated, located between the front cover and the front frame 10. Referring to FIG. 11, power is supplied from an AC. source across a pair of input conductors 110 and 111. The normally closed OFF switch 106 and the first stage of a normally open two stage ON switch 107 are connected in series with the motor 183 across the input conductors 110 and 111 whereby closing of the normally open ON switch 107 will energize the motor 183. The coil of a first relay 112 is also connected across the input conductors 110 and 111 so that closing of the ON switch 107 will energize the first relay 112.

A conductor 113 leads from the open side of the input conductor 110 to the anode of a first rectifier 114, and the cathode of the rectifier 114 is connected to a conductor 115. A pair of capacitors 116 are connected in parallel across the input conductor 111 and the conductor whereby a filtered DC. current will be supplied to the circuit. That is, the remaining circuit elements to be described are all supplied with DC. current and only the motor 183 and the first relay 112 are operated on AC. current.

The first relay 112 has a normally open relay switch 117 which is connected in parallel across the first stage of the normally open ON switch 107 whereby closing of the switch 107 to energize the firs-t relay 112 will then close the relay switch 117 and maintain a circuit to the rectifier 114 after the ON switch 107 returns to its normally open state.

A conductor 118 is connected to the conductor 115 to receive DC). current and leads to one side of the normally open second count switch 92 referred to previously. When closed, the second count switch 92 connects the DC. source to the total counter 103 and to the batch counter 105 which are both also connected to the input conductor 111. A conductor 119 connects the normally open first count switch 58 to the conductor 118, and when the first count switch 5 8 is closed it connects the conductor 119 to the doubles switch 59. The doubles switch 59 has a normal position in which it connects the DC. source to a conductor 120 and an alternate position, when actuated, in which it connects the DC. source to the doubles solenoid 64, when the first count switch 58 is closed.

The push button CLEAR switch 108 has two normally open stages the first of which, when closed, connects the conductor 115 to a conductor 121 that is connected to one side of the feed stop solenoid 39. The other side of the feed stop solenoid 39 is connected to the input conductor 111. The second normally open stage of the CLEA-R switch 108, when closed, connects the conductor 115 to one side of a reset coil 122 for the total counter 103, and the other side of the reset .coil 122 is connected to the input conductor 111. A conductor 181 connects the conductor 121 to one side of the normally open second stage of the ON switch 107 and the other side thereof is connected to the conductor 115 by a conductor 182.

The start count switch 109 is also provided with two stages and a normally closed stage of the start count switch 109 connects the conductor 115 to a conductor 123 that leads to one side of the coil of a second relay 124. The second side of the coil of the second relay 124 is connected by a conductor 125 to the normally closed discharge CLEAR microswitch 100 that in turn connects to the stack follower switch 89. With the switch 100 closed, closure of the stack follower switch 89 completes the circuit for energizing the coil of the second relay 124. The second relay 124 has a first relay switch 126 connected in parallel across the normally closed stage of the start count switch .109 to establish a hold-in circuit for the second relay 124.

A third relay 127 has its coil connected on one side to the input conductor 111 and is connected on its other side through a resistor 128 and .a conductor 129 to one side of the normally open first stage of the start count switch 109. The opposite side of the first stage of the switch 109 is connected to a normally open second relay switch 130 ing, as shown in FIG. 11.

9 of the second relay 124. A capacitor 131 is connected in parallel across .the third relay 127. The second side of the second relay switch 130 of the second relay 124 is connected to a conductor 132, and a first relay switch 133 of the third relay 127 is also connected to the conductor 132. A reset coil 134 for the batch counter 105 is connected on one side to the input conductor 111 and on the other side by a conductor 135 to the conductor 129. A conductor 136 also leads from the conductor 135 to the other side of the relay switch 133 of the third relay 127.

A fourth relay 137 has its coil connected on one side to the input conductor 111 and is connected on its other side through a normally closed relay switch 138 of the third relay 127 to one pole of a two position relay switch 139 of the fourth relay 137. In its normal position, the relay switch 139 connects a red light 140 across the conductors 115 and 111 and in its actuated position the relay switch 139 connects the coil of the fourth relay 137 across the conductors 115 and 111 when the relay switch 138 of the third relay 127 is in its normal closed position. A conductor 141 is connected between the relay switches 138 and 139 to the conductor 121 which leads to the feed stop solenoid 39.

The count selector switch 104 has three levels each provided with a switch arm and a plurality of contacts, with the switch arms turning in unison. The arm of a first level 142 is connected by a conductor 143 to the cathode of a second rectifier 144 whose anode is connected to the conductor 120. The first level 142 is well as all additional levels of the count selector switch 104 has twelve contacts corresponding to each of the batch counts which may be selected including continuous count- The batch count contacts of the first level 142 are connected in series to each other and are totally connected by a conductor 145 to a wiper assembly 146 of a single level stepping switch. The stepping switch is of known construction and of the type in which the wiper assembly 146 sweeps a plurality of contacts, with the wiper assembly 146 advancing after energization of a stepping switch solenoid 147. The stepping switch solenoid 147 is connected on one side by a conductor 148 to the serially connected contacts of the first level 142 of the count selector switch 104 and the solenoid 147 connects on its other side to the input conductor 111. The stepping switch has ten fixed contacts corresponding to quantities of bills from one to ten. The contacts of the stepping switch corresponding to the fourth step of the wiper assembly 146 is connected by conductors 149 and 150 to the 5 and 25 contacts of a second level 151 of the count selector switch 104. With the exception of the 5 and 25 contacts of such second level 151, the contacts thereof are connected in series to each other and by a conductor 152 to the contact of the stepping switch corresponding to the ninth step of the wiper assembly 146. Such ninth contact of the stepping switch is also connected by a conductor 153 to one side of a solenoid 154 of a second stepping switch. The second side of the solenoid 154 is connected to the input conductor 111.

The second stepping switch has three levels each of which is swept by a wiper assembly and the wiper assemblies of the three levels include single arms that are 120 mechanically out of phase. Each level also includes ten fixed contacts again corresponding to quantities of bills counted in multiples of ten from one to ten. The switch arm of the second level 151 of the count selector switch 104 is connected to a conductor 155 which connects to the

wiper assemblies

156, 157 and 158 of a first level 159, a second level 160 and a third level 161, respectively, of the second stepping switch. The first contact of the first level 159 of the second stepping switch is connected to the contact 20 of a third level 162 of the count selector switch 104, the second contact is connected to the

contacts

25 and 30 of the third level 162, the third contact is connected to the contact of the third level 162, thefourth contact is connected to the contact of the third level 162, the fifth contact is cod nected to the 60 contact of the third level 162, and the ninth contact is connected to the contact of the third level 162. The

contacts

5 and 10 of the third level 162 of the count selector switch 104 are connected by a conductor 163 to the wiper assembly 156 of the first level 159 of the second stepping switch.

A conductor 164 connects the 200 contact of the third level 162 to the ninth contact of the second level of the second stepping switch and a conductor 166 connects the 300 contact of the third level 162 to the ninth contact of the third level 161 of the second stepping switch. The switch arm of the third level 162 of the count selector switch is connected by a conductor 170 to the anode of a third rectifier 171 whose cathode is connected to the junction of the

conductors

121 and 141.

As is known, each of the stepping switches includes a self-interrupter switch contact and off-normal switch contacts. The self-interrupter contact assembly 172 of the first stepping switch has its movable arm connected to the conductor 148 and its fixed arm connected by a conductor 173 to one of the pairs of fixed arms of the off-normal contact assemblies 174 of the first stepping switch. The movable arm of the. off-normal contact assembly 174 is connected by a conductor 175 to one side of a normally open relay switch 176 of the fourth relay 137, and the second side of the relay switch 176 is connected to the conductor 115. The second fixed contact of the offnormal contact assembly 174 is connected by a conductor 177 to the movable arm of an off-normal contact assembly 178 of the second stepping switch. One of the fixed contacts of the off-normal contact assembly 178 is connected to the conductor 132 and a second fixed contact is connected by a conductor 179 to the fixed contact of a self-interrupter contact assembly 180 of the second stepping switch. The movable arm of such contact assembly 180 is connected to the conductor 153.

The operation of the currency counter is as follows:

When the push button ON switch 106 is depressed, the motor 183 is energized through the first stage of the ON switch 107, and the motor 183 drives the rollers for the feed of bills through the currency-counter. However, as will appear, the feed of bills is not permitted until a further action by the operator is taken. Closing of the ON switch 106 also energizes the coil of the first relay 112 thereby closing its relay switch 117 to provide an alternate circuit for energization of the circuit including the motor 183 and the relay 112. Thus, the ON switch 106 can thereafter be released. At the same time the motor 183 and first relay 112 are energized, the feed stop solenoid 39 is energized by a circuit which is completed through the second stage of the ON button 106. When the feed stop solenoid 39 is energized, the feed stop plate 18 is moved towards the stack of bills and the feed runway 13 is moved away from the lower feed rollers 29 with the result that the upper and

lower feed rollers

28 and 29 cannot operate to remove the endmost bills from the stack. The closing of the second stage of the ON switch 106 will also complete a circuit for energization of the fourth relay 137. The completed circuit leads from the conductor 115 through the second stage of the ON switch 106, conductor 181, conductor 121, conductor 141, the normally closed relay switch 138 of the third relay 131, and the coil of the fourth relay 137 to the input conductor 111. Energization of the fourth relay 137 will move the relay switch 139 of such relay 137 to its alternate position to provide a path for continued energization of the coil of the fourth relay 137 after the ON switch 106 reopens.

The relay switch 176 of the fourth relay 137 is also closed to initiate recycling of both stepping switches to their initial positions. Specifically, a circuit is completed through the solenoid 147 of the first stepping switch to energize the same and such circuit leads from the conductor 115 through the now closed relay switch 176, con:

ductor 175, the movable arm of the off-normal contact assembly 174, conductor 173, the self-interrupter contact assembly 172, and the solenoid 147 to the input conductor 111. The solenoid 147 is energized and the energization thereof opens the self-interrupter contact assembly 172 to open the circuit to the solenoid 147 whereby the wiper assembly 146 will advance one step. As soon as the solenoid 147 has been deenergized the self-interrupter contact assembly 172 will return to its normal closed position and reenergize the solenoid 147.

Thus, the first stepping switch steps until it has positioned a wiper arm on the zero contact and at this time, as is known in the art, the olf-normal contact assembly 174 is shifted to its alternate position in which the circuit to the solenoid 147 is opened and a circuit is completed to the solenoid 154 of the second stepping switch. This latter circuit includes the off-normal contact assembly 174 of the first stepping switch, conductor 177, the olfnormal contact assembly 178 of the second stepping switch, and the self-interrupter contact assembly 180 of the second stepping switch.

The solenoid 154 of the second stepping switch is continuously energized and deenergized by the operation of its self-interrupter contact assembly 180 until the second stepping switch has recycled. The second stepping switch is modified to provide shifting of the off-normal contact assembly 178 after the wiper assemblies have moved through 360 rather than 120. When the wiper assemblies of the second stepping switch have concluded their stepping through 360, the olT-normal contact assembly 178 is shifted to the alternate position in which the conductor 132 is connected to the input conductor 115 through the relay switch 176 and the off-normal contact assemblies 174 and 178.

While the recycling of the stepping switches occurs, the coil of the second relay 124 is also energized providing two conditions are present. The circuit for energization of the coil of the second relay 124 leads from the conductor 115 through the normally closed second stage of the start count switch 109, conductor 123, the coil of the relay 124, conductor 125, and the

microswitches

100 and 89 to the input conductor 111. Only if there are no bills in the delivery compartment and only if the stack follower 88 is in position to receive discharged bills so that the

switches

100 and 89 are both closed will the second relay 124 be energized. Until the second relay 124 is energized, the feed stop solenoid 39 remains energized to prevent the flow of bills through a circuit that leads from the conductor 115 through the closed relay switch 139 of the fourth relay 137, conductor 141, conductor 121, and the solenoid 39 to the input conductor 111. To open the energizing circuit for the solenoid 39 and thereby permit bills to be fed through the currency counter, the fourth relay 137 must be deenergized to permit its relay switch 139 to return to its normal open position and this is accomplished by depressing the start count switch 109.

Assuming that the discharge stage is empty of bills and the stack follower 88 is in position to receive discharged bills, the second relay 124 will be energized and will thus close the normally open relay switch 126 thereof to provide a hold-in circuit for continued energization of the second relay 124 after the start count switch 109 has been depressed. The energization of the second relay 124 also closes the normally open relay switch 130 thereby -connecting the conductor 132 to one side of the normally open first stage of the start count switch 109. As previously explained, the conductor 132 is connected to the conductor 115 after the stepping switches have recycled.

Assume that the count selector switch 104 has been placed at the continuous count position. Under this circumstance the stepping switches are not employed in the operation of the currency counter. To begin the counting of bills, the start count switch 109 is depressed. The normally open first stage of the start count switch 109 is,

12 therefore, closed anda circuit is completed to energize the coil of the third relay 127. Such circuit leads from the conductor through the closed relay switch 176, the oif-norrnal contact assemblies 174 and 178, conductor 132, the closed relay switch of the second relay 124, the now closed first stage of the start count switch 109, conductor 129, the resistor 128, and the coil of the third relay 127 to the input conductor 111. The energization of the third relay 127 opens the normally closed relay switch 138 thereof thereby deenergizing the fourth relay 137 and opening the circuit to the feed stop solenoid 39 whereby the flow of bills to be counted may commence; Energization of the third relay 127 also closes the normally open relay switch 133 thereof to provide a hold-in circuit for the third relay 127 after the start count switch 109 is released. However, the third relay 127 will remain energized only a short time after deenergization of the fourth relay 137 since the deenergization of the fourth relay 137 opens the relay switch 176 thereby removing the circuit to the conductor 132 which is part of the energization circuit for the third relay 127. The capacitor 131 will retain the third relay 127 energized for a short time after the circuit thereto has been removed.

As each bill in the continuous count passes beneath the conveyor rollers 47, the first count switch 58 is closed. Should the doubles switch 59 be moved to its alternate position due to the presence of more than one bill between the

rollers

49 and 50, the doubles solenoid 64 will be energized through a circuit that leads from the conductor 115 and through

conductors

118 and 119, the first count switch 58, the doubles switch 59, and the coil of the solenoid 64 to the input conductor 111. The double bills will be rejected as previously explained. Non-rejected bills which pass the second count switch 92 will close the same thereby energizing the total and batch counters 103 and 105, respectively, to visually record the count.

When it is desired to stop the continuous count, the .CLEAR switch 108 is depressed and the first stage thereof completes a circuit to the feed stop solenoid 39 thereby energizing the same to stop the feed of bills, and the second stage of the CLEAR switch 108 energizes the reset :coil 122 for the total counter 103 to reset the same to zero count. The subsequent depression of the start count switch 109 for the next count will also have the effect of energizing the reset coil 134 for the batch counter 105 thereby resetting the batch counter 105 at zero count.

Assume now that it is desired to count the currency in batches of five bills. The count selector switch would be positioned at the 5 contact at each level and the operatlon of the apparatus is identical to that above described for a continuous count except that the closing of the first counter switch 58 will operate to effectuate the stepping switches. That is, as the first bill in the batch of five closes the first count switch 58, a circuit is completed to energize the solenoid 147 of the first stepping switch. This circuit leads from conductor 115 through

conductors

118 and 119, the closed first count switch 58, the doubles switch 59, conductor 120, the rectifier 144, conductor 143, the first stage 142 of the count selector switch 104, conductor 148, and the solenoid 147 of the first stepping switch to the input conductor 111. The opening of the first count switch 58 after the passage of the first bill in the batch of five will deenergize the coil 147 of the first stepping switch thereby advancing the wiper assembly 146 to contact with the first contact of its single level. This action continues through the count of the fourth bill in the batch of five.

Closing of the first count switch 58 by the fifth bill will agam energize the solenoid 147 of the first stepping switch and it will also complete a circuit through the second and

third levels

151 and 162 of the count selector switch 104 to energize the feed stop solenoid 39. This circuit includes the conductor connected to the serially connected contacts of the first level 142 of the count selector switch 104, the wiper assembly 146 which is in Contact with the fourth fixed contact thereof, conductor 149, the second level 151 of the count selector switch 104, conductor 163, the third level 162 of the count selector switch 104, conductor 170 including the rectifier 171, and conductor 121 to the feed stop solenoid 39. The feed stop solenoid 39 is, therefore, energized and the feed of bills is stopped. Thus, there will have been deposited in the delivery compartment of the currency counter a batch of five bills and the further count of batches of five may be accomplished only after the delivery compartment has been emptied and upon redepression of the start count switch 109.

For a preselected count of ten, the count selector switch 104 is positioned at the number contact in each level and the count proceeds as with the count of the batch of five bills described above. However, the feed stop solenoid 39 is not energized upon the count of the fifth bill since the second level 151 of the count selector switch is now at the number 10 position. The feed stop solenoid 29 will be energized to stop the feed of bills upon the count of the tenth bill by a circuit through the first count switch 58, the doubles switch 59, the first stage 142 of the count selector switch, conductor 145, the wiper assembly stepping switch requires three times the count to reach the same position.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the paper currency counter provides an extremely accurate count of bills deposited therein by assuring that each bill will be counted or otherwise accounted for and that only counted bills will be deposited in the delivery compartment. That is, the acceleration of the bills as they are conveyed through the currency counter to insure spacing of separated bills for accurate count and the ejecting of multiple bills while at the same time canceling the count of such bills results in a totally accurate count of discharged bills. Such accuracy, together with predetermined count means which will automatically halt th flow 146 of the first stepping switch which is in contact with the ninth fixed contact, conductor 152, the serially connected contacts of the second level 151, the second level 151 of the count selector switch 104, conductor 163, the third level 162 of the count selector switch 104, conductor 170 including the rectifier 171, and the conductor 121. The count of the tenth bill in a batch of ten will also energize the solenoid 154 of the second stepping switch through the conductor 153 but this will have no effect upon the operation since the count selector switch is positioned for a predetermined count of ten.

For the predetermined count of twenty bills, the operation is similar to the count of two batches of tens. That is, at the count of the tenth bill the solenoid 154 of the second stepper switch will be energized and then deenergized to advance the Wiper assembly 156 of the first level of the second stepping switch to the first contact. Then, when the twentieth bill is counted a circuit is completed to the feed stop solenoid 39 through the first level 142 of the count selector switch 104, the wiper assembly 146 of the first stepping switch, the second level 151 of the count selector switch 104, the wiper contact 156, and the third level 162 of the count selector switch which is in contact with the 20 contact. The counts of batches of thirty, forty, fifty and sixty bills are carried out substantially in the manner of the count of the predetermined batch of twenty. I

The operation of a preselected count of is as follows: The second stepping switch will be advanced upon the count of the tenth and twentieth bills to have the wiper 156 of the first level 159 thereof in contact with the fixed contact 2. The subsequent passage of the twenty-fifth bill will complete a circuit to energize the solenoid 39 thereby stopping the feed.

In the count of one hundred bills, the second stepping switch is advanced one position for each ten bills counted. Upon the passage-of the hundredth bill, the Wiper assembly 146 of the first stepping switch will be in contact with the fixed contact 9 thereof and the wiper assembly 156 of the second stepping switch will be in contact with the fixed contact 9 of the first level 159. A circuit is then completed through the first level 142 of the count selector switch, the wiper assembly 146, the serially connected contacts of the second level 151 of the count selector switch, the wiper assembly 156 of the second stepping switch, and the third level 162 of the count selector switch. The count of '200 and 300 is similar to the count for 100 except that the wiper assembly 157 of the second level 160 of the second stepping switch requires twice the count to reach engagement with the contact 9 thereof and the wiper assembly 158 of the third level 161 in the second of bills to the counting section upon the completion of the predetermined count, results in a novel paper currency counter which completely replaces tedious manual tasks.

We claim:

1. In a paper currency counter, the combination comprising: a counting section having means for feeding separated bills therethrough; a receiving compartment for receiving bills as a stack and comprised of spaced front and rear frames and a horizontal feed runway disposed between the side frames to support the stack of bills, said feed runway being hinged upon said frames at its outer end and having a discharge portion adjacent its inner end; feed rollers supported upon a driven shaft journaled in said frames and disposed above said discharge portion of said feed runway; an upright feed stop plate disposed between said frames and adapted to support the innermost end of the stack of bills, said plate being supported for limited longitudinal movement relative to said feed rollers between a feed position in which said feed rollers engage the endmost one of the stack of bills and a stop position in which the stack of bills is moved out of engagement with said feed rollers; a bill follower operable within said receiving compartment and biased towards said plate to retain the stack of bills therebetween; biasing means urging said discharge portion of said feed runway upwardly into engagement with said feed rollers to nip bills removed from the stack between the feed runway and said feed rollers for delivering said bills to said counting section; a delivery compartment for receiving bills from said counting section; means for conveying counted bills singly into said delivery compartment; and means for shifting said plate from said feed position to said stop position and for retracting said feed runway from engagement with said feed rollers to thereby halt the flow of bills to said counting section.

2. In a paper currency counter, the combination comprising: a counting section having means for feeding separated bills therethrough; switch means responsive to the passage of each separated bill through said counting section; a receiving compartment for receiving bills as a stack and comprised of spaced front and rear frames and a horizontal feed runway disposed between the side frames to support the stack of bills, said feed runway being hinged upon said frames at its outer end and having an arcuate discharge portion adjacent its inner end; feed rollers supported upon a driven shaft journaled in said frames and disposed above said arcuate discharge portion of said feed runway; an upright feed stop plate disposed between said frames and adapted to support the innermost end of the stack of bills, said plate having cutouts through which the peripheries of said feed rollers may project to engage the stack of bills, and being supported for limited longitudinal movement relative to said feed rollers between a feed position in which said feed rollers engage the endmost one of the stack of bills for removing bills singly from the stack and a stop position in which the stack of bills is moved out of engagement with said feed rollers; a bill follower operable within said receiving compartment and biased toward-s said plate to retain the stack of bills therebetween; biasing means urging said arcuate discharge portion of said feed runway upwardly into engagement with said feed rollers to nip bills removed from the stack between the feed runway and said feed rollers for delivering said bills to said counting section; a delivery compartment for receiving bills from said counting section; means for conveying counted bills singly into said delivery compartment; electromechanical means connected to said feed stop plate and said feed runway and adapted when energized to shift said plate from said feed position to said stop position and to retract said feed runway from engagement with said feed rollers; and predetermined count means responsive to said switch means and adapted to energize said electromechanical means at the end of a predetermined count to thereby halt the flow of bills to said counting section.

3. In a paper currency counter, the combination comprising: a base, spaced front and rear frames rising from said base; a central runway supported between said frames and defining a counting section therewith; a plurality of conveyor rollers mounted on successive driven shafts journaled in said frames, said conveyor rollers adapted to engage separated bills between said central runway and said conveyor rollers to convey separated bills through said counting section; switch means actuated by the passage of each separated bill conveyed through said counting section; a feed runway disposed between said frames at one end of said central runway to define a compartment for receiving bills as a stack, said feed runway having a discharge portion at its end adjacent said central runway and being hinged upon said frames at its other end; feed rollers supported upon a driven shaft journaled in said frames and disposed above said discharge portion of said feed runway; an upright feed stop plate dis posed between said frames and adapted to support the inner end of the stack of bills, said plate being supported for limited longitudinal movement relative to said feed rollers between a feed position in which said feed rollers engage the endmost one of the stack of bills for removing bills singly from the stack and a stop position in which the stack of bills is moved out of engagement with said feed rollers; a bill follower operable within said receiving compartment and biased towards said plate to retain the stack of bills therebetween; biasing means urging-said discharge portion of said feed runway upwardly into engagement with said feed rollers to nip bills removed from .the stack between the feed runway and said feed rollers for delivering the bills to said counting section; -a discharge runway disposed between said frames above the level of said central runway and defining a dispensing compartment with said frames; means for conveying and lifting counted bills singly into said delivery compartment, said means including upper and lower pulleys mounted on driven shafts journaled in said frames and endless belts engaged about said pulleys and coopearting with said central runway to remove bills therefrom; and means for shifting said plate from said feed position to said stop position and to retract said feed runway from engagement with said fee-d rollers to thereby halt the flow of bills to said counting section.

4. In a paper currency counter, the combination comprising: a base, spaced frontland rear frames rising from said base; a central runway supported between said frames and defining a counting section therewith; a plurality of conveyor rollers mounted on successive rotatable shafts journaled in said frames, said conveyor rollers adapted to engage separated bills between said central runway and said conveyor rollers to convey separated bills through said counting section; a feed runway disposed between said frames at one end of said central runway to define a receiving compartment for receiving bills as a stack, feed rollers supported upon rotatable shafts journaled in said frames above and in engagement with an inner end of said feed runway and engageable with the endmost bill of the stack of bills to remove bills singly from the stack and to deliver such bills to said central runway; a discharge runway disposed between said frames and defining a dispensing compartment with said frames; means for conveying bills singly into said delivery compartment; and means for driving said shafts mounting said feed rollers and said conveyor rollers at successively greater speeds whereby bills will be accelerated by successive rollers as the bills are removed from the stack and conveyed through the counting section.

5. In a paper currency counter, the combination comprising: a base, spaced front and rear frames rising from said base; a central runway supported between said frames and defining a counting section therewith; a plurality of conveyor rollers mounted on successive rotatable shafts journaled in said frames, said conveyor rollers adapted to engage separated bills between said central runway and said conveyor rollers to convey separated bills through said counting section; a fee-d runway disposed between said frames at one end of said central runway to define a receiving compartment for receiving bills as a stack; upper and lower feed rollers supported upon upper and lower rotatable shafts journaled in said frames and adapted to engage the endmost bill of the stack of bills to remove bills singly from the stack, said lower feed rollers engageable with said feed runway to deliver bills singly to said central runway; a discharge runway disposed between said frames above the level of said central run- Way and defining a delivery compartment with said frames; means for conveying and lifting counted bills singly into said delivery compartment, said means comprising upper and lower pulleys mounted on rotatable shafts journaled in said frames, and endless belts engaged about said pulleys and cooperative with said central runway toremove bills therefrom; sensing members projecting upwardly through said central runway and adapted to be depressed by each separated bill passing beneath said conveyor. rollers and said lower pulleys; counting switches actuated by each depression of said sensing members; and means driving the shafts mounting said feed rollers, said conveyor rollers and said pulleys at successively greater speeds whereby bills will be accelerated by successive rollers and endless belts as the bills are removed from the stack, conveyed through said counting section and discharged into said delivery section.

6. In a paper currency counter, the combination comprising: a counting section having means for feeding sepa rated bills therethrough; a compartment for receiving bills as a stack; feed means engageable with the bills of the stack for removing bills singly from the stack and delivering such bills to said counting section; feed stop means for moving the stack of bills within said receiving compartment out of engagement with said feed means; a delivery compartment for receiving bills from said counting section; means for conveying counted bills singly into said delivery compartment; counting switch means actuated by the passage of each separated bill removed from the stack and delivered to said counting section; electromechanical predetermined count means connected by a circuit to said counting switch means and responsive to the actuation of said counting switch means to register the count of bills and to actuate said feed stop means at the end of a predetermined count to thereby halt the flow of bills to said counting section; bill ejector means intermediate said counting section and adapted when actuated to divert bills from said counting section to prevent the conveyance of such bills to said delivery compartment; and switch means normally completing the circuit from said counting switch means to said predetermined count means and actuated by the passage of more than one bill at a single time through said counting section to interrupt said circuit and to actuate said bill ejector means.

7. In a paper currency counter, the combination comprising: a base, spaced front and rear frames rising from said base; a central runway supported between said frames and defining a counting section therewith; a plurality of conveyor rollers mounted on a pair of successive driven 17 shafts journaled in said frames, said conveyor rollers cooperating with said central runway to convey separated bills through said counting section; said central runway having a transverse opening beneath the conveyor rollers mounted on the second of said pair of driven shafts; an arcuate ejector plate pivotably supported beneath said central runway in said transverse opening therein and movable from a normal lowered position in which said ejector plate forms a part of said central runway to an upper position in which it cooperates with the conveyor rollers mounted on the second of said pair of driven shafts to divert bills upwardly away from said central runway; a counting switch actuatedby the passage of each separated bill beneath the conveyor rollers mounted on the first of said pair of driven shafts; a feed runway disposed between said frames at one end of said central runway to define a receiving compartment for receiving bills as a stack, said feed runway having a discharge portion at its end adjacent said central runway and being hinged upon said frames at its other end; feed rollers supported upon a driven shaft journaled in said frames and disposed above said discharge portion of said feed runway; an upright feed stop plate disposed between said frames and adapted to support the inner end of the stack of bills, said plate being supported for limited longitudinal movement relative to said feed rollers between a feed position in which said feed rollers engage the endmost one of the stack of bills for removing bills singly from the stack and a stop position in which the stack of bills is moved out of engagement with said feed rollers; biasing means urging said arcuate portion of said feed runway upwardly into engagement with said feed rollers to nip bills removed from the stack between the feed runway and said feed rollers for delivering said bills to said counting section; a discharge runway disposed between said frames above the level of said central runway and defining a delivery compartment with said frames; means for conveying and lifting counted bills singly into said delivery compartment; electromechanical feed stop means adapted When energized to shift said plate from said feed position to said stop position and to retract said feed runway from engagement with said feed rollers to thereby halt the flow of bills to said counting section; electromechanical ejector means adapted when energized to rotate said ejector plate from said lowered position to said upper diverting position; electromechanical predetermined count means connected by a circuit to said counting switch and responsive to the actuation of said counting switch to register the count of bills and to actuate said feed stop means at the end of a predetermined count to thereby halt the flow of bills to said counting section; and switch means normally completing the circuit from said counting switch to said predetermined count means and actuated by the passage of more than one bill at a single time beneath the conveyor rollers mounted on the first of said pair of driven shafts to interrupt said circuit and to actuate said ejector means.

8. In a paper currency counter, the combination comprising: a counting section having means for feeding separate bills therethrough; a receiving compartment for receiving bills as a stack and comprised of spaced side frames and a horizontal feed runway disposed between the side frames to support the stack of bills, said feed runway being hinged upon said frames at one end and having a discharge portion adjacent its other end; feed rollers supported upon a driven shaft journaled in said frames and disposed above said discharge portion of said feed runway, said feed rollers engageable with the endmost one of the stack of bills for removing bills singly from the stack; bias means urging said discharge portion of said feed runway upwardly into engagement with said feed rollers to nip the bills removed from the stack between said feed runway and said feed rollers for delivering bills to said counting section; a delivery compartment for receiving bills from said counting section; means for conveying counted bills singly into said delivery compartment; and means for retracting the feed runway from engagement with said feed roller to thereby halt the flow of bills to said counting section.

9. A paper currency counter in accordance with claim 8 together with switch means responsive to the passage of each separated bill through said counting section, and predetermined count means responsive to said switch means and adapted to actuate said means for retracting said feed runway at the end of the count of a predetermined number of bills.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,803,624 5/31 Lard 235-92 2,133,265 10/38 Wolff.

2,805,825 9/57 Jorgensen et a1 23592 2,930,527 3/60 Bloser 235-132 3,025,771 3/ 62 Uchida 23598.5 3,112,067 11/63 Ernestetal 235-132 LEO SMILOW, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A PAPER CURRENCY COUNTER, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: A COUNTING SECTION HAVING MEANS FOR FEEDING SEPARATED BILLS THERETHROUGH; A RECEIVING COMPARTMENT FOR RECEIVING BILLS AS A STACK AND COMPRISED OF SPACED FRONT AND REAR FRAMES AND A HORIZONTAL FEED RUNWAY DISPOSED BETWEEN THE SIDE FRAMES TO SUPPORT THE STACK OF BILLS, SAID FEED RUNWAY BEING HINGED UPON SAID FRAMES AT ITS OUTER END AND HAVING A DISCHARGE PORTION ADJACENT ITS INNER END; FEED ROLLERS SUPPORTED UPON A DRIVEN SHAFT JOURNALED IN SAID FRAMES AND DISPOSED ABOVE SAID DISCHARGE PORTION OF SAID FEED RUNWAY; AN UPRIGHT FEED STOP PLATE BEING SUPPORTED FOR TWEEN SAID FRAMES AND ADAPTED TO SUPPORT THE INNERMOST END OF THE STACK OF BILLS, SAID PLATE BEING SUPPORTED FOR LIMITED LINGITUDINAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID FEED ROLLERS BETWEEN A FEED POSITION IN WHICH SAID FEED ROLLERS ENGAGE THE ENDMOST ONE OF THE STACK OF BILLS AND A STOP POSITION IN WHICH THE STACK OF BILLS IS MOVED OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FEED ROLLERS; A BILL FOLLOWER OPERABLE WITHIN SAID RECEIVING COMPARTMENT AND BIASED TOWARDS SAID PLATE TO RETAIN THE STACK OF BILLS THEREBETWEEN; BIASING MEANS URGING SAID DISCHARGE PORTION OF SAID FEED RUNWAY UPWARDLY INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FEED ROLLERS TO NIP BILLS REMOVED FROM THE STACK BETWEEN THE FEED RUNWAY AND SAID FEED ROLLERS FOR DELIVERING SAID BILLS TO SAID COUNTING SECTION; A DELIVERY COMPARTMENT FOR RECEIVING BILLS FROM SAID COUNTING SECTION; MEANS FOR CONVEYING COUNTED BILLS SINGLY INTO SAID DELIVERY COMPARTMENT; AND MEANS FOR SHIFTING SAID PLATE FROM SAID FEED POSITION TO SAID STOP POSITION AND FOR RETRACTIONG SAID FEED POSITION TO SAID STOP POSIWITH SAID FEED ROLLERS TO THEREBY HALT THE FLOW OF BILLS TO SAID COUNTING SECTION.