AT520346B1 - Method and device for preconditioning pressed stacks of notes - Google Patents

Abstract

Method and device for preconditioning stacks of notes (2) for further processing in a counting and / or separating machine. If necessary, packaging elements with which the stack of notes (2) is held together and / or packed are removed and at least one unpacked stack of notes (2) is arranged in a stack holder (4). The stack holder (4) is positioned in the effective area of a nozzle arrangement (10) with a plurality of blowing nozzles (7), the blowing nozzles (7) being directed onto at least one side surface (5) of the stack of notes (2), which is transverse to a note plane (8) which runs parallel to the notes (9) contained in the note stack (2). The side surface (5) is blown with a working fluid via the injection nozzles (7), the notes (9) in the note stack (2) becoming detached from one another.

Description

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PRE-CONDITIONING PRESSED STACK OF NOTES The invention relates to a device for preconditioning stacks of notes for further processing in a counting and / or separating machine, the device having a housing in which a stack holder is in a position relative to a nozzle arrangement A plurality of blowing nozzles can be arranged, with at least one side surface of a unpacked stack of notes arranged in the stack holder running transversely to the note plane lying in the effective area of the nozzle arrangement.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for preconditioning stacks of notes for further processing in a counting and / or separating machine, which comprises the following steps: optionally removing packaging elements with which the stack of notes is possibly held together and / or packed, arranging of at least one unpacked stack of notes in a stack holder, positioning the stack holder in the effective area of a nozzle arrangement with a plurality of blowing nozzles, the blowing nozzles being directed onto at least one side surface of the stack of notes, the side surface running transversely to a note plane, and the note plane parallel to the notes contained in the note stack is defined, blowing the side surface over the injection nozzles with a working fluid, whereby the notes in the stack of notes detach from one another, and removing the preconditioned stack of notes from the stack holder.

“Preconditioning” is in particular a preparation of freshly printed, stacked and, if necessary, pressed and / or vacuum-packed notes in order to make them usable for processing by automatic separating machines, such as note media output devices, or to reduce the risk of errors in these separating machines , Often, freshly delivered stacks of sheets stick to one another, especially at their cut edges, since the stack as a whole was cut out from a large number of printed sheets using guillotine shears. But even between the flat sheet music, processing residues, printing inks, effect pigments, security reliefs, metal strips incorporated into the sheet material or the like can increase the tendency to stick.

Branches that handle cash-related transactions, for example bank branches and retail branches, are regularly, usually daily, provided with a precisely defined amount of fresh cash. Compared to the alternative approach, in which the branches only transmit the amount received to the bank and keep a certain amount of cash in the cash register, this offers numerous advantages in terms of security and relieves the employees.

The loading of the transport container with the precisely counted amount of cash is usually carried out centrally for a large number of branches for security reasons. Note media output devices are used that count banknotes and divide them in the desired quantities. These note media output devices are generally loaded with freshly printed banknotes that are supplied by the National Bank. After the printing, the delivered cash is cut by the National Bank using guillotine shears, pressed into packages and sealed in vacuum bags in order to minimize the required storage and transport space.

Since the banknotes are delivered in this state by the National Bank, they are difficult to separate from the note media output devices. The note media output devices require “fitness-tested” banknotes, that is to say banknotes which have already been detached from one another before being fed into the note media output devices and, if necessary, cleaned. The National Bank also offers fitness-tested banknotes of this type, but at significantly higher costs than with normally packaged banknotes.

To the banknotes once before feeding them into the note media output devices

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AT 520 346 B1 2020-02-15 Austrian patent office occasionally, conventional note counters are often used in practice. However, their mechanics are severely affected by the abrasion that especially the freshly printed banknotes produce. This problem has recently been exacerbated by the increasing use of special printing materials which are equipped with special security features, such as interference pigments or the like. These materials increase abrasion and make automated handling of banknotes difficult. This also applies to relief-like structures with which modern banknotes are equipped as a security feature. Current practice is unsatisfactory because music media output devices are often blocked due to incorrect or double-fed notes, which shortens the life of the music media output devices and their maintenance intervals and increases the working time for note allocation. A not inconsiderable proportion of the freshly delivered cash is made unusable by crumpling or tearing and must be returned to the central bank. As a result, significant amounts of additional cash are required to ensure full loading. This also leads to higher costs.

Such problems occur not only in connection with banknotes, but also with other notes that have to be divided mechanically into predefined quantities, for example vouchers or securities, etc.

US 5,295,309 discloses an aeration device for palletized sheet stacks in the paper industry. The stack of sheets, including the pallet, is clamped in a swiveling frame and swiveled by 90 degrees by means of conveyors and moved over a ventilation table, where it is blown by means of air nozzles to loosen the stack of paper.

US 4,070,767 discloses a device for conditioning sheet stacks in the paper industry, wherein the sheet stack is arranged in a swivel device, swiveled by 90 degrees and the sheets are aligned and aligned with one another by means of a ventilation and vibration unit.

[0012] DE 2729830 A1 discloses a method and a device for the automatic sorting of sheet material, in particular bank notes, combined in a plurality of banded packets with a predetermined number of sheets.

DE 19745301 A1 discloses a device for pre-loosening sheets of a palletized sheet stack in a printing press. A blowing element provided with blowing air outlet openings has one or more air outlet openings which extend over the height of the sheet stack.

The objective of the invention is, inter alia, to provide an apparatus and a method with which the supplied freshly printed and machine-compressed notes are preconditioned in order to facilitate counting and division into sheet music media output devices.

According to the invention this object is achieved by a device of the type mentioned, which is designed as a mobile device that can be carried by one person. Due to the possible minimization of moving components, this device can be designed as a mobile device, which may be provided with appropriate handles and is designed to be portable by one person.

The injection nozzles can be mounted in a fixed position relative to the housing, so that manual actuation of the nozzle arrangement is not necessary. No moving parts are required for the nozzle arrangement, which means that minimal maintenance can be achieved. The user only has to insert the stacks of notes to be conditioned into the stack holder, bring them into the intended position, and switch on the device.

In an advantageous manner, the housing can have an airtight partition arranged essentially parallel to the side surface of a stack of notes placed in the stack holder

AT 520 346 B1 2020-02-15 Austrian patent office, on which the injection nozzles of the nozzle arrangement are arranged. This allows the

Separate the effective area in the interior of the housing from the pneumatic unit, which is used to supply the working fluid to the nozzle arrangement, in a airtight and dustproof manner.

At least one injection nozzle can advantageously be aligned according to the invention at a fixed angle to the note plane on the side surface. This causes the edges of the notes to flow towards them at an angle, which makes them easier to separate.

In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of injection nozzles can be aligned at different fixed angles to the note plane on the side surface in order to accelerate and / or improve a detachment of the notes from one another.

In one embodiment according to the invention, the stack holder can be designed in the form of a vertical support, the note plane running essentially horizontally. This enables a slim, high design of the device.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the stack holder can be designed in the form of a drawer which can be inserted into the housing, the note plane preferably running essentially vertically. The nozzle arrangement can, for example, be arranged above the stack of notes, so that dust as well as production and printing residues which arise when the notes are preconditioned can fall down. The drawer can have openings or a grid structure or the like on the underside through which the residues fall out of the drawer. Optionally, a stack bracket designed as a vertical support can also be combined with a correspondingly dimensioned shop system.

In an advantageous manner, a suction device can also be provided for suctioning off the working fluid introduced into the housing, through which whirled up dust and residues detached from the stack of notes can be suctioned off and removed.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the housing can be substantially airtight and / or dustproof with inactive injection nozzles and inactive suction device, so that pollution of the environment by dust and fine dust is avoided. The housing can either be provided with a door for inserting the stack holder, or the stack holder itself closes the housing when it is inserted into its operating position, for example in the manner of a drawer.

The object of the invention is further achieved by a method of the type mentioned, in which the steps of arranging, positioning and blowing are carried out with the aid of a device according to the invention.

Compressed air can in particular be used as the working fluid, which is conducted via a pneumatic unit from a compressor or a pressure vessel to the injection nozzles of the nozzle arrangement. However, other gases can also be used as the working medium.

Advantageously, the axes of the injection nozzles can be aligned so that the working fluid will be injected in a direction that is oriented at an angle to the note plane. As a result, the individual notes in the stack are blown “obliquely” from their edge, which means that the individual notes can separate better, particularly at the edges cut by the guillotine shears.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, at least two injection nozzles can blow in the working fluid in directions which are oriented at different angles to the note plane. This can ensure that all notes reliably separate from each other at the edges.

In a further advantageous embodiment, several injection nozzles can blow in the working fluid in a defined sequence. This allows the notes to “flutter” in a targeted manner in order to reliably separate the notes from one another.

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AT 520 346 B1 2020-02-15 Austrian Patent Office [0029] The working fluid can advantageously be drawn off from a housing which encloses the effective area of the nozzle arrangement and the stack holder. This enables a closed system for the working fluid to be created, in which dust and pressure residues whirled up by the injection nozzles are sucked off and pollution of the environment is avoided. The subject invention is explained in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7, which show exemplary, schematic and non-limiting advantageous embodiments of the invention. 1 shows a schematic representation of a stack of notes, a schematic representation of a stack of notes arranged next to a nozzle arrangement to explain the method according to the invention, a schematic representation of the essential elements of a device according to the invention according to a first embodiment, a schematic representation of a device according to the invention according to a second embodiment, a sectional view of the device according to the invention of Figure 4 along plane VV in Fig. 4.

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the device according to the invention of FIG. 4 along plane VI-VI in FIG. 5 and a sectional view of the device according to the invention of FIG. 4 along plane VII-VI in FIG. 5.

shows a stack of notes 2, which consists of a plurality of stacked and flat [0032] Fig. 3 [0033] Fig. 4 [0034] Fig. 5 of [0035] Fig. 6 of [0036] Fig. 7 of [0037] Fig. 1 lying notes 9, for example freshly printed banknotes, exists. The position of the notes 9 defines parallel note planes 8 in each case. The cut edges of the notes 9 lying against one another form the side surfaces 5, 5 ′ of the note stack 2, which are aligned normally with the note planes 8. The two opposite long edges of the notes 9 form two opposite larger side surfaces 5 of the stack of notes 2 and the short edges form two opposite smaller side surfaces 5 'of the stack of notes 2. The stack of notes 2 shown schematically in FIG. 1 can be taken from several packages, for example from individual packages Bundles of notes exist that are stacked on top of each other.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a nozzle arrangement 10 which can be used according to the invention for preconditioning the stack of notes 2. The nozzle arrangement 10 consists of a plurality of injection nozzles 7, each of which has a defined orientation. For example, the injection nozzles can be arranged on or in a partition on which the injection nozzles 7 can be mounted in a simple manner by means of corresponding (threaded) bores. 7 shows six injection nozzles 7a-7f, which can be acted upon selectively or together with a working medium, preferably compressed air, via a pneumatic unit 12 (not shown in FIG. 2), so that the working medium flows out of the blowing nozzles 7.

The mouths of the injection nozzles 7 and their outflow direction define an effective area in which a stack of notes 2 (which is shown in broken lines in FIG. 2) can be arranged. The position of the stack of notes 2 in the effective area of the blowing nozzles can be determined, for example, by means of a stack holder 4 described below and not shown in FIG. 2 for the sake of clarity.

The orientations of the blowing nozzles 7a-7f are each oriented at an angle with respect to the note plane 8, so that each blowing nozzle 7 directs the outflowing working medium from obliquely below or from obliquely above to the notes 9 of the stack of notes. The notes 9 of the stack of notes 2 are pressed apart and briefly separated, the stack of notes 2 itself being held in shape by the stack holder 4. The angles between the note plane 8 and the orientation of the blowing nozzles 7 (meaning the minimum angle between the axis of the respective blowing nozzle 7 and the note plane 8) can for example

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AT 520 346 B1 2020-02-15 Austrian patent office range between approximately 10 ° and approximately 50 °, although this is only a preferred range of values. Optimal values can be determined in connection with the note product to be separated and the other parameters of the respective device by a person skilled in the art, having knowledge of the teachings disclosed herein, through routine work and experiments.

Fig. 3 shows a practical implementation of the arrangement shown in Fig. 2 according to a first embodiment in a schematic representation. The plurality of injection nozzles 7a-7f are each angularly aligned either upwards or downwards (and possibly also laterally) and are supplied with the working medium via the pneumatic unit 12. The working medium can be provided, for example, via a compressor (compressed air) and / or a pressurized storage container (compressed air or another gas).

The stack of notes 2 is arranged in a stack holder 4, which holds the stack of notes 2 in a position defined in relation to the nozzle arrangement 10, which is in the effective range of the blowing nozzles 7. The stack holder 4 consists of a base plate, on the sides of which wire brackets are mounted, each of which supports one side surface of the stack. If necessary, the wire bow can also be closed at the top, or it can be loaded with a weight 15 at the top that holds the stack of notes together while the blowing nozzles 7 are activated. In order to make it easier to insert the stack of notes 2 into the stack holder 4, individual, several or all of the wire hangers can be removed, moved or pivoted, e.g. can be swung out sideways.

The injection nozzles 7 are incorporated into a partition 6 or mounted thereon, the partition 6 being part of a housing 3 which encloses the effective area and is shown only schematically in FIG. 3 as a broken line. The interior of the housing 3 can be vented via a suction device 11, wherein the suction device 11 can also have a filter unit for extracted solids in order to prevent such substances, for example residues of printing inks or other production residues, from being released into the environment.

The suction device 11 and the pneumatic unit 12 can each be connected to a control unit via which the blowing and suctioning of the working medium can be controlled and coordinated with one another. The injection nozzles 7 can, for example, all be activated together, the flow rate (or the amount) of the injected working fluid can be constant or variable over time. For example, the flow rate can be varied in a wave-like sequence. The individual injection nozzles 7a-7f can optionally also be activated in a defined sequence via the pneumatic unit 12, for example a first subgroup of the injection nozzles, e.g. the upper two blowing nozzles 7a and 7d, are activated in order to condition the upper part of the note stack 2, then (additional, changing or partially overlapping) a further subgroup of the blowing nozzles, e.g. the two middle injection nozzles 7e and 7b, are activated, and finally another subgroup of the injection nozzles, e.g. the lower injection nozzles 7c and 7f, are activated, etc. If necessary, the sequence can be repeated cyclically and / or more complex sequences can be defined, the flow rate also being able to be varied individually if this is conducive to the preconditioning of the notes 9. The performance of the suction device 11 can be adapted to the respective performance of the pneumatic unit 12 (or to the respective amount of the blown-in working fluid) in order to avoid the occurrence of overpressure or underpressure in the housing 3 or to control it in a targeted manner.

2 and 3 show a nozzle arrangement 10 which is integrated in a single partition 6 (which can optionally be part of the housing 3). However, it is also possible to arrange blowing nozzles 7 of the nozzle arrangement 10 on another side of the stack holder 4, so that the stack of notes 2 can be blown and preconditioned with working medium from several sides (simultaneously and / or alternately).

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AT 520 346 B1 2020-02-15 Austrian Patent Office [0046] FIGS. 4 to 7 show a further embodiment of the device according to the invention, in which a stack of notes 2 is preconditioned in a horizontal arrangement.

4 shows the device 1 for conditioning a stack of notes 2 in a diagrammatic representation. A stack holder 4 in the form of a drawer can be inserted into a housing 3 with essentially rectangular side surfaces. A pneumatic unit 12 and a suction device 11 are attached to the outside of the housing (however, they can also be integrated in the housing). 5-7 show the device 1 of FIG. 4 in several sectional views, from which the arrangement of the internal components can be seen.

To support the end faces of the stack of notes 2, the stack holder 4 preferably has displaceably or adjustably arranged support elements 13. If necessary, fixed or displaceable support elements can also be provided on the smaller side surfaces 5 ′ of the stack of notes 2. By means of the adjustable support elements 13, the stack holder 4 can be adapted to notes with different dimensions and to different amounts of notes.

The stack holder 4 can be pulled out in the manner of a drawer from the housing 3 in order to insert a stack of notes 2 to be conditioned and / or to remove a preconditioned stack of notes 2. Corresponding guide and bearing elements, which can be used for the drawer-like guidance of the stack holder 4, are generally known and are therefore not shown in the figures for reasons of clarity.

In the housing 3, a partition 6 is arranged above the stack holder 4, in which in turn a nozzle arrangement 10 with a plurality of injection nozzles 7a-7d is introduced. The blowing nozzles 7 are aligned with an effective range defined by the position of the note stack 2 in the inserted stack holder 4. As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the axes of the injection nozzles 7a-7d are oriented at an angle to the note plane 8 (that is to say approximately the cutting plane of FIG. 7 or a plane parallel to it), so that this is done by the individual injection nozzles 7 injected working medium strikes the upper, larger side surface 5 of the stack of notes 2 at an angle. As a result, the notes 9 of the stack of notes 2 are detached from one another at the edges, the working medium also being able to flow through between the detached notes 9, so that loose printed matter and dust remaining from the manufacturing process between the notes 9 are blown out of the stack of notes 2. For this purpose, the stack holder 4 is designed to be air-permeable on its underside, for example as a perforated plate, as a grid or the like. Due to the oblique impact of the working medium on the upper side surface 5, a “fluttering” of the individual notes 9 is generated, so that the entire stack of notes 2 is preconditioned by the brief separation of the notes 9 thereby caused.

The working medium is sucked off by a suction device 11 with a pump, wherein filters can in turn be used to prevent contamination of the environment with dust and fine dust. The suction device 11 can have a suction element 14 (or several suction elements 14) which extends into the area below the stack holder and which facilitate the suctioning in of working medium and dust. For this purpose, corresponding deflection elements (not shown) can also be provided to influence the flow in the housing.

To improve preconditioning, the injection nozzles 7 can be operated via the pneumatic unit 12 in the same control or blowing patterns as were described above in connection with FIG. 3. It is also possible to arrange additional injection nozzles 7 at other positions aligned with the effective area in order to improve the preconditioning if necessary. The pneumatic unit 12 and the suction unit 11 can be regulated via a common control unit (not shown) and, if necessary, coordinated with one another.

The drawer-shaped stack holder 4 can separate the area in the housing below the partition 6 in an upper and a lower flow area, so that essentially

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AT 520 346 B1 2020-02-15 Austrian patent office the entire working medium blown in by the blowing nozzles 7 flows through the stack of notes 2. This improves the desired preconditioning.

REFERENCE NUMBERS:

Device 1

Note stack 2

Housing 3

Stack bracket 4

Side surface 5

Partition 6

Injection nozzles 7

Grade 8

Notes 9 Nozzle arrangement 10

Suction device 11

Pneumatic unit 12

Support element 13

Suction element 14

Weight 15

Claims (14)

1. Device (1) for preconditioning stacks of notes (2) for further processing in a counting and / or separating machine, the device (1) having a housing (3) in which a stack holder (4) is in a relative position A nozzle arrangement (10) with a plurality of blowing nozzles (7) can be arranged, at least one side surface (5) of a unzipped stack of notes (2) arranged in the stack holder (4) extending transversely to the note plane (8) being located in the effective area of the nozzle arrangement (10). characterized in that the device (1) is designed as a mobile device which can be carried by one person. 2. Device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the injection nozzles (7) are fixedly mounted in a position relative to the housing (3). 3. Device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the housing (3) has an airtight partition (6) arranged essentially parallel to the side surface (5) of a stack of notes (2) inserted into the stack holder (4) the injection nozzles (7) of the nozzle arrangement (10) are arranged. 4. Device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least one injection nozzle (7) is aligned at a fixed angle to the note plane (8) on the side surface (5). 5. The device (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that a plurality of injection nozzles (7) are aligned at different fixed angles to the note plane (8) on the side surface (5). 6. The device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the stack holder (4) is designed in the form of a vertical support, the note plane (8) running essentially horizontally. 7. Device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the stack holder (4) is designed in the form of a drawer which can be pushed into the housing (3), the note plane (8) in particular running essentially vertically. 8. Device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a suction device (11) is provided for suctioning the working fluid introduced into the housing (3). 9. The device (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the housing (3) with inactive injection nozzles and inactive suction device (11) is essentially airtight and / or dustproof. 10. A method for preconditioning stacks of notes (2) for further processing in a counting and / or separating machine, the method comprising the following steps: - if necessary, removing packaging elements with which the stack of notes (2) is possibly held together and / or packed, - arranging at least one unpacked stack of notes (2) in a stack holder (4), - Positioning the stack holder (4) in the effective area of a nozzle arrangement (10) with a plurality of blowing nozzles (7), the blowing nozzles (7) being directed onto at least one side surface (5) of the stack of notes (2), the side surface (5) transverse to one Note level (8) runs and the note level (8) is defined parallel to the notes (9) contained in the note stack (2), - Blowing the side surface (5) via the blowing nozzles (7) with a working fluid, the notes (9) in the note stack (2) detaching from one another, and - removing the preconditioned stack of notes (2) from the stack holder (4), 8.13 AT 520 346 B1 2020-02-15 Austrian patent office, characterized in that the steps of arranging, positioning and blowing are carried out using a mobile device (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 9. 11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the injection nozzles (7) blow in the working fluid in a direction which is oriented at an angle to the plane of the note (8). 12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that at least two injection nozzles (7) blow in the working fluid in directions which are aligned at different angles to the note plane (8). 13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that a plurality of injection nozzles (7) blow in the working fluid in a defined sequence. 14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the working fluid is sucked out of a housing (3) which surrounds the effective area of the nozzle arrangement (10) and the stack holder (4).