Inertial flattening for note processing

摘要

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for maintaining surface smoothness of note as they pass through a high speed processing machine. A note fed into the processing machine is carried through the machine by a series of conveyor belts. The note is conveyed past a line scan camera that records the note as it crosses a gap while passing from a first conveyor belt to a second conveyor belt that is approximately orthogonal to the first conveyor belt. A curved note guide directs the path of the note, helping it make the 90 degree turn as it crosses the gap between the conveyor belts. The inertia of the note causes it to remain flush against the surface of the curved guide, allowing the line scan camera to record each line of the surface of the note with equal resolution.