Automated Currency Storage and Courier Dispatch System

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Solution Overview

Problem

Merchants face challenges in managing physical currency, including insufficient or excessive currency denominations, leading to disruptions, losses, and errors, due to the burden of maintaining appropriate cash reserves.

Innovation Solution

A system and process for physical currency management that includes a currency storage device integrated with a POS system, which automatically handles currency input, determines change, and requests courier pickup or delivery based on predefined rules, ensuring optimal currency denomination levels and transferring funds securely before releasing the currency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the merchant keeps more than a sufficient amount of physical currency on hand, then the merchant can provide change to customers without disruption, but there may be increased losses if the merchant experiences fire, theft, or other adverse events

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to provide changeVSAvoidloss from fire or theft

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a third-party courier service as an intermediary to collect and store currency. The courier acts as a mediator between the merchant and the currency storage function, allowing the merchant to maintain optimal currency levels while transferring custody of excess currency to a secure external party, thereby reducing exposure to fire and theft risks

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts the currency storage function from the merchant's premises by having a courier collect excess currency and transfer it to a secure external location. This separates the merchant's operational needs from the physical storage of large currency amounts, removing the harmful exposure to on-premises disasters while maintaining the ability to provide change during business hours

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Ease of operation

If the merchant does not maintain a sufficient count of various denominations of the physical currency, then the merchant reduces the burden of managing physical currency, but there may be instances in which the merchant cannot provide change to the customer

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveburden of managing physical currencyVSAvoidability to provide change

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements self-service through automated courier dispatch based on predefined rules. The merchant device automatically monitors currency levels and initiates courier pickup requests when thresholds are met, eliminating the need for manual tracking and management of currency denominations while ensuring adequate supplies are maintained through automated replenishment

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent establishes a feedback loop where the merchant device continuously monitors currency inventory levels and automatically triggers courier collection and replenishment actions when predefined thresholds are reached. This closed-loop system ensures currency levels are maintained within optimal ranges without requiring active merchant intervention, balancing ease of operation with reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Ease of operation

If the merchant manually manages physical currency, then the merchant has control over currency storage, but other difficulties in managing physical currency may result in errors, delay, and inconvenience

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontrol over currency storageVSAvoiderrors and delays

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual mechanical currency management with an automated electronic system. The merchant device automatically tracks currency inventory, calculates optimal levels, and triggers courier dispatch based on predefined rules, eliminating manual counting, tracking, and decision-making processes that cause errors and delays while maintaining control through programmable parameters

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

4Reliability

If the system requests courier pickup frequently, then the currency levels are maintained optimally, but there may be increased costs and disruptions from courier visits

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoptimal currency levelsVSAvoidcosts and disruptions from courier visits

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by establishing predefined currency level thresholds and automated dispatch rules in advance. When currency levels reach these pre-set thresholds, the system automatically initiates courier pickup requests, eliminating the need for frequent ad-hoc decisions and allowing couriers to be dispatched only when necessary, thereby optimizing currency levels while minimizing unnecessary visits and associated costs

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10423920B1Physical currency management

Publication Date: 2019.09.24 BLOCK INC

AI summary

A payment service system may operate to handle physical currency management for one or more merchants. The payment service system may assign a courier to pickup a currency storage compartment of a merchant. The payment service may then receive a notification related to the arrival of the courier at the location of the currency storage compartment and transfer funds to an account of the merchant. After transferring the funds, the payment service system may then request the merchant device to allow pickup of the currency storage compartment by the courier.