Document processor with transport buffer

Apparatus for processing financial documents having a monetary amount indicated on each of said documents, said apparatus comprising:

• means for entering data corresponding to the monetary amount on each of said documents;
• inscribing means for placing data on the individual documents which represents the monetary amount entered for the document;
• storage means for holding a document group containing a plurality of said individual documents after their monetary amount data has been entered;
• p1 calculation means for processing the entered data to balance the monetary amounts in the document group;
• and
• means for automatically and individually transporting the held documents in the storage means to the inscribing means only after the document group has been balanced, thereby inscribing amount data on the individual documents only after the document group has been balanced.

A deposit ticket and check balancing and inscribing system, said system comprising:

• a computer terminal including a keyboard, display device, memory, processor unit, and a balancing program;
• a document transport system for transporting the ticket and checks through at least part of the balancing and inscribing system;
• means for capturing an image of each individual check and storing said images in said memory;
• means for displaying the captured images on said display device;
• means for acquiring data corresponding to the monetary amount indicated on the checks;
• means for storing all of the checks corresponding to the deposit ticket together as a group and in the same sequence as the images of the checks were previously captured;
• means for inscribing monetary amount data on the checks after they are removed from the storing means;
• and
• means for individually removing the checks from the storing means on a first-in first-out basis for delivery to the inscribing means;
• said removing means being automatically activated only after the balancing program has successfully balanced the checks with the deposit ticket, thereby inscribing the checks only after their amounts have been balanced with the deposit ticket.

A method of processing financial documents which have monetary amounts displayed thereon, said method including the steps of:

• individually routing the documents through a data entry station;
• entering data corresponding to a monetary amount displayed on the documents;
• holding the documents, as a group, in a storage area after the data for the group has been entered;
• balancing the entered data for the document group;
• automatically moving the documents, individually, from the storage area to an inscribing station after the data for the document group has been balanced according to a predetermined criteria;
• and
• inscribing monetary amount data on the individual documents at the inscribing station.