Currency Cassette Capacity Monitoring And Reporting

Abstract

An indicator, such as an alarm or warning, is generated to indicate that a document storage cassette attached to a document handling device (e.g., a currency validator) has reached a particular capacity or is approaching its full capacity.

1 . A method of providing an indication of the status of a document storage cassette attached to a document acceptor that is coupled to a host machine, the method being performed by the document acceptor and comprising:
 monitoring the number of documents inserted into the cassette; and   generating an indicator in the vicinity of the document acceptor when the capacity of the document storage cassette reaches a specified level.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein generating an indicator includes generating a visual indicator. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein generating an indicator comprises causing a light source to be turned on. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the light source is a LED. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2  wherein generating an indicator includes causing a blinking rate of a light source to change in accordance with the capacity of the document storage cassette. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2  wherein generating an indicator includes causing a blinking rate of a light source to change in accordance with a predicted amount of time until the document storage cassette reaches full capacity. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein generating an indicator includes generating an audible sound. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein monitoring the number of documents in the cassette includes tracking the number of stack cycles that occur. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein monitoring the number of documents in the cassette includes monitoring a motor current associated with the cassette, and using the motor current to estimate the number of documents stored in the cassette. 
     
     
         10 . A method of providing an indication of the status of a document storage cassette attached to a document acceptor that is coupled to a host machine, the method being performed by the document acceptor and comprising:
 monitoring a number of documents in the cassette;   monitoring a feed-rate of documents being inserted into the cassette;   predicting when a capacity of the document storage cassette is expected to reach a specified level based on the feed-rate and the number of documents currently in the cassette; and   generating an indicator or causing a message to be sent when it is determined that the capacity of the document storage cassette is expected to reach the specified level within a specified amount of time.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein said estimating includes estimating when the capacity of the document storage cassette is expected to reach its full capacity. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  including generating an indicator in the vicinity of the document acceptor when the capacity of the document storage cassette reaches the specified level. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the indicator comprises a visual or audio indicator. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12  wherein generating an indicator includes causing a blinking rate of a light source to change in accordance with a predicted amount of time until the document storage cassette reaches full capacity. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the document acceptor is a currency validator. 
     
     
         16 . An apparatus comprising:
 a document acceptor; and   a document storage cassette attached to the document acceptor;   wherein the document acceptor is operable to:
 monitor the number of documents inserted into the cassette; and 
 generate a signal to provide an indicator in the vicinity of the document acceptor when the capacity of the document storage cassette reaches a specified level. 
   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein the document acceptor is operable to generate a signal to provide a visual indicator in the vicinity of the document acceptor when the capacity of the document storage cassette reaches a specified level. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 16  comprising a light source, wherein the document acceptor is operable to generate a signal to cause the light source to be turned on when the capacity of the document storage cassette reaches a specified level. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18  wherein the light source is a LED. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 18  wherein the document acceptor is operable to generate a signal to cause a blinking rate of the light source to change in accordance with the capacity of the document storage cassette. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 18  wherein the document acceptor is operable to generate a signal to cause a blinking rate of the light source to change in accordance with a predicted amount of time until the document storage cassette reaches full capacity. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein the document acceptor is operable to generate a signal to provide an audible sound when the capacity of the document storage cassette reaches a specified level. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein the document acceptor is operable to track the number of stack cycles that occur. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein the document acceptor is operable to monitor a motor current associated with the cassette, and to use the motor current to estimate the number of documents stored in the cassette. 
     
     
         25 . An apparatus comprising:
 a document acceptor; and   a document storage cassette attached to the document acceptor;   wherein the document acceptor is operable to:
 monitor a number of documents in the cassette; 
 monitor a feed-rate of documents being inserted into the cassette; 
 predict when a capacity of the document storage cassette is expected to reach a specified level based on the feed-rate and the number of documents currently in the cassette; and 
 generate a signal to provide an indicator or to cause a message to be sent when it is determined that the capacity of the document storage cassette is expected to reach the specified level within a specified amount of time. 
   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25  wherein the document acceptor is operable to estimate when the capacity of the document storage cassette is expected to reach its full capacity. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 25  wherein the document acceptor is operable to generate a signal to provide an indicator in the vicinity of the document acceptor when the capacity of the document storage cassette reaches the specified level. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 27  wherein the indicator comprises a visual or audio indicator. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 27  comprising a light source, wherein the document acceptor is operable to generate a signal to cause a blinking rate of the light source to change in accordance with a predicted amount of time until the document storage cassette reaches full capacity. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 25  wherein the document acceptor is a currency validator. 
     
     
         31 . A method of providing an indication of the status of a document storage cassette attached to a document acceptor that is coupled to a host machine, each step in the method being performed by at least one of the host machine or the document acceptor, the method comprising:
 monitoring a number of documents in the cassette;   monitoring a feed-rate of documents being inserted into the cassette;   predicting when a capacity of the document storage cassette is expected to reach a specified level based on the feed-rate and the number of documents currently in the cassette; and   generating an indicator or causing a message to be sent when it is determined that the capacity of the document storage cassette is expected to reach the specified level within a specified amount of time.   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31  wherein said estimating includes estimating when the capacity of the document storage cassette is expected to reach its full capacity. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 31  including generating an indicator in the vicinity of the document acceptor when the capacity of the document storage cassette reaches the specified level. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33  wherein the indicator comprises a visual or audio indicator. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 33  wherein generating an indicator includes causing a blinking rate of a light source to change in accordance with a predicted amount of time until the document storage cassette reaches full capacity. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 31  wherein the document acceptor is a currency validator. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the document acceptor is a currency validator. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the method further includes determining a validity and denomination of currency documents inserted into the currency validator and directing acceptable currency documents to the cassette. 
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 26  wherein the document acceptor is a currency validator. 
     
     
         40 . The apparatus of  claim 30  wherein the document acceptor is further operable to determine a validity and denomination of currency documents inserted into the currency validator and to direct acceptable currency documents to the document storage cassette. 
     
     
         41 . The apparatus of  claim 25  wherein the document acceptor is operable to re-determine the feed rate on a fixed periodic basis. 
     
     
         42 . The apparatus of  claim 25  wherein the document acceptor is operable to monitor the feed rate of documents based on a number of stack cycles that occurs during a specified period of time. 
     
     
         43 . The apparatus of  claim 25  wherein the document acceptor is operable to monitor a number of documents stored in the cassette based on values of motor current.