HK1122889A - Machine and method for self-service cash redemption and cash recycling - Google Patents

Description

Apparatus and method for self-service cash redemption and cash recycling

This application claims priority from united states provisional application number 60/717,452, filed on 15/9/2005, and is a continuation-in-part application of united states patent application number 10/821,004, filed on 6/4/2004, and a continuation-in-part application of united states patent application number 11/005,251, filed on 6/12/2004.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a self-service cash redemption apparatus and method in which large batches of unsorted coins are fed into the apparatus and processed for collection while being presented to the user as a voucher (voucher) or a form of credit, such as a credit on a card.

Background

The invention relates to a system and a method, in which a large number of unsorted coins (more than the number spent in vending machines (shopping) due to shopping) are deposited (depositing in) in the device. The coins are sorted and counted to determine their total value, and a receipt of the total value or percentage of the total value is issued to the user. An example of such a device is disclosed in U.S. patent application publication No. US2006/0144670, filed on 6.12.2004, application No. 11/005,251, and published on 6.7.2006, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

Such devices provide services to customers and can provide commissions (commission) for the initiating organization (networking organization). Due to the adoption of state and local sales taxes, goods have been priced in a manner that has made it easier for people to accumulate large amounts of coins. People often store these coins in their homes. There are very few recipients, other than banks, who receive large amounts of coin change from customers and people are reluctant to carry large amounts of change in their pockets or purses. In recent years, a voucher dispenser has emerged in grocery stores that provides a voucher to a customer for the purchase of food or other merchandise in the store, or for the redemption of cash to the customer. A portion of the transaction amount is left as a commission, typically in a proportion of less than 10%. Examples of equipment for performing the above transactions are shown and described in U.S. patent nos. 6,736,251, 6,494,776, 6,484,863 and the earlier related patents cited herein.

In the retail industry, there is a need to collate the collected coins and present the sorted coins to a cashier (cashier) for use at a customer checkout station (checkout station). Many merchants now use armored vehicles to carry large quantities of coins and to receive packaged coins for supply to cash register terminals. Such services increase the management costs of the retail business. Change can also be sorted in back room operation, but this again requires additional labor and equipment.

Here, in the patent application of the present assignee (the present applicant), US patent application No. 11/005,251 filed on 6.12.2004 and US2004/0231956 published on 6.7.2006 propose a recycling apparatus and method of a large number of coins to sort and count a batch of unsorted coins and then dispense the coins into, for example, a cashbox (cash drawer).

This type of device is best suited for business employees who use the device in areas where customers are not allowed to be near.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention seeks to take advantage of both devices in a completely new device and method for use in the banking and retail industries. In this regard, the term "banking" as used herein should be understood to broadly include financial industries such as banking, savings (savings) and/or loan, credit unions, and even government post offices.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for receiving a batch of unsorted coins from a bank or retail customer and dispensing a receipt or a form of credit to the bank or retail customer, wherein the coins are stored in large coin storage containers to be recycled to commercial employees for use at a checkout counter or check-out location.

The present invention also provides an input function for depositing cash into the device when required by an employee. The cash inlet and the cash dispensing opening are both disposed at a position opposite to a front side of the device facing a bank customer or a retail customer, and may be further disposed behind a partition (partition) that separates the front side from a rear side of the device.

The invention is particularly directed to a coin redemption and dispensing machine for receiving coins from a retail or banking customer and providing a receipt or letter of credit to the retail or banking customer, and for dispensing coins in a sorted condition into one or more removable receptacles for supply to employees of the retail or banking industry.

The apparatus comprises: a housing; a first access area in the front side of the housing for receiving a plurality of unsorted coins loaded into the device by a retail or banking customer; output means for providing a customer with a letter of credit of at least a percentage of said unsorted coins deposited into the apparatus; a dispensing area formed at a rear side of the housing for accommodating one or more movable receptacles into which the coins are dispensed in a sorted state; a coin handling mechanism for handling coins deposited into the device via the first inlet area to enable said coins to be dispensed by a dispensing area on the rear side of the device in accordance with a denomination (condensation); and a controller electrically connected to the coin handling mechanism for calculating a first total of the amount of coins received via the first entrance area, the controller being electrically connected to the coin handling mechanism for tracking a second total of coins dispensed to the employee.

The invention also relates to a method of receiving coins from a customer for issuing a letter of credit and for issuing coins to an employee for use in a cash transaction, the method comprising: depositing a batch of unsorted coins of a plurality of denominations into the apparatus via a first entrance area on a front side of the apparatus; processing coins deposited into the device so that they can be dispensed via a dispensing area in the rear side of the device according to denomination; totaling the amount of coins received via the first access area and initiating output of a letter of credit or receipt for a banking or retail customer; and aggregating the amounts of coins dispensed via the dispensing area in the rear side of the device and then associating the amounts with employees who have identified the amounts.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein by reference, and which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention. Such embodiments are to be understood as examples, and other embodiments are also contemplated which may be defined by the claims consistent with the detailed description herein.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the internal components of the apparatus of the present invention, with portions of the housing and partition shown in phantom (phantom);

FIG. 2 is a front view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the inner assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the electronic control portion of the apparatus of FIGS. 1-4; and

fig. 6 is an alternative embodiment of the mechanism shown in fig. 1 and 4.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a device 10 in which a housing (bin) 11 is displayed in virtual image to illustrate the internal mechanism. The front of the apparatus 10 is shown in fig. 2. The device 10 is housed in a casing 11, the casing 11 having a front face 12, the front face 12 being mainly constituted by a moulded plastic part, and the front face 12 being assembled as part of a door assembly located at the front side of the device 10. The door assembly is secured in the closed position by a lock 13 (fig. 2). The front face 12 has an opening 14, the opening 14 being for viewing a screen 15 of a visual display (visual display). Below the screen 15 are two buttons 16 for the user to enter selections for the items displayed on the screen 15. Further, a card reader/writer may be installed to read a customer's identification card and record money on the card. To the right of the display is an advertising display 17, and below the advertising display 17 is a printer outlet 18 for receiving receipts, vouchers or other printable material printed from a printer mounted inside the housing 11. Directly below the printer outlet 18 is a cash redemption inlet area 19 with an inlet mechanism 20, which inlet mechanism 20 may be a disc that can be lifted to allow coins to slide into the device 10, or may be a feed mechanism as described and illustrated in U.S. patent application publication No. US2006/0144670, on 6.2006.

Referring to fig. 3, the upper portion of the front face 12 is removed, and the internal mechanism includes a printer 55, the printer 55 operating under the control of a Personal Computer (PC) 51. Also visible inside the housing 11 are a service keypad 52, a controller 53 and a power supply 54. The controller 53 is also connected to I/O devices such as counting sensors on the sorting mechanism 21 and other devices as will be described herein. The printer 55 may print out a voucher or receipt representing the value and quantity of coins fed into the coin processing assembly 21 and counted by the controller 53 via sensing devices on the sorting mechanism 21. The user may present the voucher or receipt upon payment for the goods, or may exchange the voucher or receipt for cash in the form of paper currency and small changes of less than one dollar, if allowed. Alternatively, the recording may also be performed automatically on a financial account (financial account) on a central computer using a built-in card reading device, either stand-alone or communicating through a network interface. The card reader may be used in place of the printer 55 or in conjunction with the printer 55.

Referring again to fig. 1 and 2, the coin inlet mechanism 20 is capable of receiving a batch of unsorted coins of mixed denomination for feeding into a coin sorter 21 (fig. 1). This batch is greater in number than coins normally inserted into the vending machine, such as for shopping. The batch of coins may be continuously fed while the device is operating so that the device is capable of handling coins from approximately a few dollars to approximately two hundred dollars.

With this device 10, it is possible to receive, sort and count a large number of unsorted coins (more than is spent in the vending machine for shopping) and determine its total value. The user is issued a voucher associated with the amount of total value via the printer output 18 in figure 1.

The device 10 described and illustrated herein is incorporated into such a self-service device by allowing coins to be recycled from a banking or retail customer (the public) to an employee's cashbox, such as cashbox 22 seen at loading location 35 in fig. 1. Note that to the extent there are not drawers, but disks, both are intended to be covered by the term "cashbox" as used herein. The device 10 is installed in a customer service counter or other area of a banking or retail establishment where the area 24 in the front of the device 10 is accessible by banking or retail establishment customers, but the area 25 in the rear of the device 10 does not allow customer access, but is only accessible by employees of the establishment or service personnel of a third party service facility. A wall 26 or other barrier, shown as a virtual image in figure 1, is located between the two regions 24, 25. The device 10 has a coin recycling inlet 23 at the rear for receiving batches of coins from the employee's cashbox 22. Since there is only one coin sorting and counting device in common, the customer-side feed mechanism must be suspended when the employee performs the coin input operation. A dispensing area is also provided in the housing 11 at the loading position 35. A keypad/card reader input and an optional touch screen input may be mounted proximate the cash recycling inlet 23. These means are included in the input and output means represented by block 80 in fig. 5. The keypad/card reader or other input device is capable of identifying the employee associated with each batch of coins received or deposited into the device 10 from the rear area 25.

To dispense coins, the device 10 has a plurality of dispensing hoppers (hoppers) 46 for counting the number of coins of each denomination as they are dispensed into the cashbox 22 through a plurality of spouts 50. Coins received in the device 10 are first directed to Bulk Coin Storage (BCS) receptacles 30, which receptacles 30 store coins according to denomination for supply to respective dispensing hoppers 46 when required. When any or all of the BCS receptacles reach their defined volume, the incoming coins are thereafter electromechanically (not shown) transferred into the overflow bin 60 as shown in fig. 1. Referring to fig. 4, the overflow cabinet 60 receives all of the denominations through diverter chutes 32. It is desirable that the overflow cabinet 60 be easily disassembled, transported into and out of the apparatus. As seen in fig. 4, the coin sorter 21 has a queuing disc 27, the queuing disc 27 being located within and below the opening of the cash redemption inlet area 19 and below the cash recycling inlet 23. The queuing disc 27 arranges the coins in a single file for transfer to the sorting discs by means of a coin driving disc 28, which disc 28 is arranged above the sorting discs of the sorter 21.

The coins are then moved by the drive plate 28 above the sorting plate whereby the coins are sorted by sorting holes (sortingalert) as shown and described in U.S. patent numbers 5,295,899 and 5,525,104 to Adams et al. In the present invention, as coins of various denominations fall through the sorting aperture, they are transported through a tubular chute 29 (fig. 4) into a mechanized Bulk Coin Storage (BCS) receptacle 30, described later. A feed chute 29 and a BCS receptacle 30 for one denomination of coin: one cent, five cents, ten cents and twenty-five cents. The first receptacle 30 contains one cent coins, while the other receptacles 30 contain five cent coins, ten cent coins, and twenty-five cent coins, respectively.

Although the number of BCS receptacles 30 in the present invention is four, a different number of BCS receptacles may be provided for additional ones of the American coin series, such as half or twice the volume for one cent. Different numbers of BCS receptacles may also be provided for euro coin trains, canadian coin trains or other coin trains used in other countries of the world.

As shown in fig. 4, each tubular chute 29 is fixed in position for access into the BCS receptacle 30. The diverter mechanism represented by block 81 in fig. 5 can be actuated to divert coins (divett) into a plurality of approximately vertical chutes 32, which chutes 32 feed coins into the overflow bin 60. The diverter mechanisms may be stepper motors and are connected to move or rotate the chutes 29 to align their outlet ends with the open inlets of the diverter chutes 32.

Coins are transferred from the bulk coin storage receptacles 30 to the dispensing hopper 46 through the exit chute 31, the chute 31 having a rectangular exit to the dispensing hopper 46. The dispensing funnel 46 contains a smaller volume of coins than the BCS receptacle 30. The dispensing hoppers are located directly in front of their respective BCS receptacles 30 and receive coins through an exit chute 31 (fig. 4). The coins received in the dispensing hopper 46 are in a pile rather than a pile in a cylindrical shape. The dispensing hopper 46 has a coin discharge mechanism (ejectomethanism) operated by a motor 47 (fig. 4) to discharge coins individually through a tubular discharge outlet 50 into the cashbox 22. The exit port 50 has a curved portion and a straight portion and can be rotated to adjust the position of the exit port above the cashbox 22. The cashbox 22 in this example has four note compartments (note compartments) 22a and four coin compartments 22 b. The coin dispensing hopper 46 also has a sensor for detecting each coin as it is dispensed. In this manner, a signal indicative of the number of coins dispensed from each dispensing hopper 46 may be sent to the controller.

Referring to fig. 1, the BCS receptacle 30 is a cabinet having an oval cross-section. The BCS receptacle 30 is sized to receive a stack of loose coins that are not stacked in a cylindrical shape. Coins flow into the BCS receptacle 30 from the top. The volume of each BCS receptacle 30 is approximately 10 times greater than the volume of the corresponding coin dispensing hopper 46. Each BCS receptacle 30 is many times wider than the individual coins stored therein.

Each BCS receptacle 30 has: a limit switch near the top of the container to sense the height of the coins in the container; and a limit switch on the bottom of the container to sense the piston at its lowest position. The piston is moved by a belt and motor 34. At the top of the receptacle 30, coins are pushed through an exit chute 31 by a skimmer (skimmer) mechanism driven by a motor 33. Additional details of this BCS receptacle 30 are described in U.S. patent application publication No. US2004/0231956, published on month 11 and 25 of 2004, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference for the purpose of describing the operation of a coin handling mechanism for recycling coins from input unsorted coins to output sorted coins while tracking the total amount input and the total amount output.

In the present application, only four dispensing hoppers 46 are shown for one cent, five cents, ten cents and twenty-five cents respectively, but for a euro coin series up to 8 dispensing containers of a denomination from one euro cent to two euros may be used. It is also possible to deposit or dispense coins of a single denomination using the device.

The device 10 in this embodiment is supplied with an initial amount of coins before the dispensing operation is commenced. The coins can then be used for a dispensing operation as well as a coin receiving operation in which the till (bill) or cashbox in the inlet 23 is empty. Dispensing of coins to the employee may be performed simultaneously with a self-service cash redemption operation by the customer at the front of the machine 10.

A coin exit sensor provided on the coin sorter 22 enables the controller to track the number of coins deposited into the device 10. A counting sensor on the dispensing funnel 46 allows the controller to track the number of coins of various denominations dispensed. By subtracting the second number from the first number for each denomination, the number of coins of various denominations in the device 10 can be determined. In addition, the number of receptions and dispatches from various employees may be tracked and coordinated.

Referring to fig. 3 and 5, the coin cycle operation of the device 10 is controlled by a controller 53. The controller 53 includes a power supply, a main processor control board, and a set of I/O (input/output) interface boards. The main processor control board includes: a microelectronic CPU for executing a suitable control program; a memory for permanent storage of a control program (non-volatile storage); and a RAM memory for temporarily storing data in operation. The main processor board is directly connected to sensors at the classification exits of the classifier 21 to sense and calculate the denominations classified by the classifier 21. The main processor board is also connected to a coin presence sensor with which the coin sorter is started and stopped.

The controller 53 will control the coin sorter 21, control the dispensing of coins from the hopper assembly 46, and controlKeypad/card reader or touch screen (human-machine interface). Such a controller 53 may also be used to maintain database information regarding completed transactions, faults and system errors, usage of equipment, and others. The controller 53 receives instructions from the personal computer 51 and communicates with the display and input/output devices 15, 16, 18 and 19 of the machine for the cash redemption portion and with the cash recycling portion of the machine (known as the electronic cash room)^TM(E-Cash room)^TM) And input/output devices 80, the input/output devices 80 including a keypad/card reader and a touch screen.

As shown in fig. 5, the main processor board in the controller 53 is connected to the fill/dispense controller 48 through an I/O (input/output) interface board. As explained further below, each I/O interface board includes logic circuitry or an I/O control CPU for shutting down the control circuitry via particular ones of the sensors on the I/O interface board. As further explained below, the signals and data of the other sensors communicate to and from the main controller CPU. Sensors such as upper and lower limit switches for sensing the travel limit of the piston are sensed and controlled by an I/O control logic circuit or CPU. Each I/O interface board is connected to a level sensor positioned at the level at which the coins are skimmed into the dispensing receptacle 46. The I/O interface board is connected to drive the BCS motor 34 in either rotational direction to raise and lower the piston in the BCS receptacle 30. The sensor also senses the height of the coins in the dispensing hoppers 46 via dispensing hopper coin height sensors in each hopper. The hopper motors for discharging coins from each dispensing hopper 46 will be connected through the I/O interface board but controlled by the main controller CPU. Thus, as coins are pushed out of each hopper 46, a dispensing hopper count sensor for detecting and counting the number of coins is also connected through the I/O interface board to communicate a count signal or at least a count total back to the main controller 53.

The supply (refill) dispensing funnel 46 is first filled with the BCS container 30. It is assumed here that there is an additional start-up sequence to place the initial amount of coins first in the BCS receptacle. When activated, the device 10 will require a certain amount of coin balance (balance) to satisfy the initial dispensing instructions. Bulk coins are fed into a sorter 21. The coins are then sorted into the BCS receptacles 30 and an initial amount of coins is transferred into the dispensing hopper 46. The device controller 53 stores the value of the denomination of coins that has been input into the device 10.

When the employee/cashier logs into the work, he or she needs to fill his or her cashbox 22 or till to begin the day's work. Instructions, such as "deposit" and "dispense," are input into the controller 80. The controller 80 can execute the commands in an overlapping (overlap) manner using a multitasking mode of operation.

If a cashbox fill command is received, coins are dispensed into compartment 22b of cashbox or till 22. A known amount of one, five, ten, twenty-five cents identified from an employee registration will be assigned (assign) to the employee. In this operation, the hopper motor 47 is activated and the aforementioned amounts of various denominations are dispensed simultaneously from the coin hopper 46 into the cashbox. The coins will be detected as they exit the hopper and the hopper motor 47 will be stopped when dispensing is complete.

If an employee needs more coins during a work shift, the employee may register with the device 10 and request more coins of all denominations or a single denomination. The coins would then be paid out to the employee's account.

At the end of the employee's handoff, the employee will sign and begin a "balance" or "reconcile" operation. When the employee returns coins during a shift, which are deposited into the cash cycle entry area 23, the employee enters an identification card number (ID) or account number via a card reader or keypad represented by block 80, thereby enabling the device 10 to sort and store the coins into the bulk coin storage receptacles 30. Otherwise, the device is in a wait loop. The sorter 21 then sorts the coins and stores the coins of different denominations in the respective BCS receptacles 30. When coins are sorted, the amount deposited is calculated by sensors on the coin sorter 21. When all coins have been sorted, a test is performed to see that, and when the result is positive, the sorter motor is stopped. The total amount is calculated and added to the amount already stored in the bulk coin storage container 30. The amount deposited is stored in the memory of the controller along with the user's account number. All information may also be transferred as data to the peripheral.

Fig. 6 shows a modification to the BCS container for the present invention. The apparatus comprises: an inlet hopper 19, a coin sorter 21 and other components of the coin recycling apparatus 10 described previously. This modification provides a heavy weight feed hopper 93 for bulk storage of coins instead of the BCS receptacle 30 with a lift table. The diverter 94 is used to direct coins into either the diverter tube 95 or the weight feed hopper 93. The feed hopper 93 has an exit control mechanism 96 to control the dispensing of coins down into the dispensing hopper 46. Each weight feed hopper 93 (4 in this example) has a capacity of about 10 times the capacity of the dispensing hopper 46, but does not have as much capacity as the motorized BCS container 30, which container 30 utilizes a motorized lift table to transport coins to the dispensing hopper 46.

The coin recycling apparatus 10 is also connectable to the banknote recycling machine 11 and is capable of sending dispensing instructions to dispense banknotes and receiving data indicative of the total amount of banknotes deposited into the banknote recycling machine 11. This allows coins and notes to be tracked for different employees. The controller 53 of the present invention can also be provided in a bill recycling machine to track bills dispensed to and received from employees using the card reader or bill denomination receptacles for coin recycling machines.

Thus, the present invention discloses a device 10 that is used by employees of a financial or retail establishment to make self-service cash deposits for obtaining vouchers and to perform cash recycling. In this manner, cash may be provided to the retail establishment without having to purchase packaged cash. This provides savings for commerce and provides convenience to customers and employees, but also provides the necessary security for cash handling operations.

Preferred embodiments and various details regarding the preferred embodiments are described herein. It is intended that the present invention not be limited to this detailed embodiment, but that the invention include other embodiments that may include modifications that are obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art, and that nevertheless do not depart from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (20)

1. A coin redemption and dispensing machine for receiving coins from a retail or banking customer and providing a receipt or letter of credit to the retail or banking customer, and for dispensing sorted coins into a removable container for supply to an employee of the retail or banking industry, the machine comprising:

a housing;

a first access area in the front side of the housing for receiving a batch of unsorted coins deposited into the device by said customer;

output means for providing said customer with a letter of credit of at least a percentage of unsorted coins deposited into the apparatus;

a dispensing area formed at a rear side of the housing for receiving a movable receptacle into which the sorted coins are deposited;

a coin handling mechanism for handling coins deposited into the apparatus through the first inlet region so that said coins can be dispensed through a dispensing region on the rear side of the apparatus in accordance with the denomination; and

a controller electrically connected to the coin handling mechanism for calculating a first total amount of the plurality of coins received through the first entrance area, the controller electrically connected to the coin handling apparatus and for tracking a second total amount of coins dispensed to the employee.

2. The redemption and dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein the removable container is a cashbox and the housing has a second access area at a rear side of the machine for receiving coins deposited from the employee-operated container.

3. The redemption and dispensing machine of claim 2, wherein the second inlet area is a cashbox receiving area adapted to receive a cashbox having a plurality of compartments; and

the coins are dispensed through the dispensing area into a plurality of compartments of the cashbox according to denomination.

4. The coin redemption and dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein the front side of the housing and the back side of the housing are separated by a divider to prevent retail or banking customers from accessing or viewing the back of the housing.

5. The coin redemption and dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein the controller is capable of aggregating coins loaded into the machine in an input operation and aggregating coins dispensed in an output operation during a time interval in which the input operation is performed.

6. The coin redemption and dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein the output device for providing the customer with the letter of credit is a printer.

7. The coin redemption and dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein the output device for providing the customer with a letter of credit is a card reader/writer.

8. The coin redemption and dispensing machine of claim 7, wherein an input device is provided at a rear side of the machine to allow an employee to input identification information into the machine, the identification information being associated with the number of coins dispensed through the dispensing area.

9. The coin redemption and dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein the output device for providing the customer with the letter of credit is a network interface in communication with a central computer.

10. The coin redemption and dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein the controller includes: a memory for storing a plurality of employee accounts with a cash balance table for each employee's received and dispensed coins.

11. The coin redemption and dispensing machine of claim 1, further comprising:

an input device electrically connected to the controller for transmitting the inputs of the plurality of employees to the controller; and is

The controller associates the input of multiple employees with a cash balance table of coins dispensed and received by each user.

12. The coin redemption and dispensing machine of claim 1, further comprising:

a personal computer electrically connected to the controller for transmitting the employee's inputs to the controller; and is

The personal computer associates the input from multiple users with a balance of cash balance for coins dispensed and received by each employee.

13. A method for receiving coins from a customer for dispensing a letter of credit and for dispensing coins to an employee for use in a cash transaction, the method comprising:

a customer deposits a batch of coins of a plurality of denominations into the apparatus through a first access area on a front side of the apparatus;

processing said coins deposited into the apparatus so that said coins can be dispensed to employees by denomination through a dispensing area in the rear side of the apparatus;

totaling the number of coins received through the first entrant region and initiating output of a letter of credit for the customer's deposit; and

the amount of coins dispensed through the dispensing area in the rear side of the device is tracked and associated with the employee who identified the amount.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising depositing batches of coins from a plurality of cashboxes through a second entrance area on the rear side of the device.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: the employee is provided with a letter of credit based on the number of coins deposited through the second access area on the rear side of the device.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising: the cash balance tables issued and received by each user are stored to a plurality of user accounts.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

reading identification information input by a plurality of employees; and

associating the identification information entered by the plurality of employees with the cash balance sheets dispensed and received by the respective employees.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the identification information entered by the employee is read in at the rear side of the device, and the method further comprises: identification information of the customer is read in from a position on the front side of the device to enable the customer to be provided with a letter of credit for the deposited coin.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the back side of the device is shielded from view by a customer approaching the front side of the device.

20. The coin redemption and dispensing machine of claim 13, wherein coins deposited into the machine by the customer may be aggregated while the coins are dispensed to the employee.