EP3053150B1 - Method and system for processing value documents - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method and a system for processing documents of value.

Before they are processed with a value document processing device, value documents are usually prepared for the pending processing. During the preparation of the value documents, in particular data or information relating to the payment are recorded and made available for processing by the value document processing machine. The data can include information about the payer, an account number, the amount and the value of the value documents forming the deposit, a unique transaction number, etc. In addition, the prepared documents of value are placed in containers which allow the documents of value to be automatically fed to the document of value processing device. To feed the value documents to the value document processing apparatus, containers are used, for example, which are open on one side and into which one or more value document stacks of loose value documents are inserted, which are in the respective container on their longitudinal edges.

The value documents can belong to different deposits, which are each assigned to a specific person, an account, a billing unit, etc. The documents of value of the deposits are usually bank notes, but can also include checks, vouchers or other documents of value.

In order to enable uninterrupted processing by the value document processing device, the deposits are separated from one another by header cards or separator cards which are inserted between different deposits. From the value document processing device these header cards or separator cards are recognized and thus the beginning of a new deposit. The header cards contain information on the deposit following the respective header card. This information is read by the value document processing device so that it can assign which value documents belong to which deposit. If more than one container is required for an extensive payment, the sequence in which these containers are fed to the value-document processing device must be observed.

Furthermore, value document containers are known which have several compartments, in each of which a stack of value documents can be inserted. So far, however, each value document stack, which is inserted in its own compartment, i.e. separated from the other value document stacks, in the container, forms its own deposit and is also billed separately from the other value document stacks of the container. A separate accounting is therefore carried out for each value document stack. The reject post-processing is also carried out separately for each value document stack. The reject documents of value which the value document processing device has sorted out from the relevant stack of documents of value are subjected to a manual or automatic review. Only after the reject post-processing has been completed does the value-document processing device begin processing the next value-document stack.

From the US2012 / 0175217 A1 a value-document container with several compartments is known, into which several value-document stacks of one or more deposits are inserted. The boundary between different deposits can be shown with the help of separator cards that are inserted between the different deposits. Within the container, a large deposit can be split into several compartments. When the value documents are placed in such a container, an operator can record information about which of the compartments of a container contain one or more deposits.

Based on this, it is an object of the present invention to accelerate the automatic processing of the documents of value, in particular to counteract subsequent manual summaries of the accounts that are carried out for partial stacks of the same deposit.

This object is achieved by the features of the independent claims. The dependent claims contain advantageous developments of the invention.

1. a) Einlegen von Wertdokumenten verschiedener Einzahlungen in einen oder mehrere Behälter, wobei an jeder Grenze zwischen den Wertdokumenten zweier verschiedener Einzahlungen ein Trennelement in den jeweiligen Behälter eingebracht wird,
2. b) Transportieren der Behälter, in die die Wertdokumente der verschiedenen Einzahlungen eingelegt wurden, zu der Wertdokumentbearbeitungsvorrichtung,
3. c) Transportieren der Wertdokumente der verschiedenen Einzahlungen aus den Behältern in ein Eingabefach der Wertdokumentbearbeitungsvorrichtung, wobei die Wertdokumente stapelweise, entlang einer bestimmten Entnahmerichtung des jeweiligen Behälters, aus dem jeweiligen Behälter entnommen und in das Eingabefach der Wertdokumentbearbeitungsvorrichtung eingelegt werden,
4. d) Prüfen der Wertdokumente der verschiedenen Einzahlungen durch die Wertdokumentbearbeitungsvorrichtung, wobei die Wertdokumente stapelweise gezählt werden, um eine stapelbezogene Wertdokumentanzahl in Abhängigkeit der jeweiligen Wertdokumentart zu ermitteln. Dabei wird für jede Wertdokumentart, die in dem jeweiligen Stapel vorhanden ist, die jeweilige Wertdokumentanzahl ermittelt. Im Fall von Banknoten können als Wertdokumentart z.B. die Denomination und/oder die Währung und/oder die Emission der Banknoten unterschieden werden.
5. e) Automatisches Abrechnen der verschiedenen Einzahlungen, die durch die Wertdokumentbearbeitungsvorrichtung geprüft wurden, durch eine Abrechnungseinrichtung.

The following steps are carried out for processing documents of value of different deposits with the aid of a document processing apparatus of value:

1. a) inserting documents of value of different deposits into one or more containers, a separating element being introduced into the respective container at each boundary between the documents of value of two different deposits,
2. b) Transporting the containers into which the value documents of the various deposits have been inserted to the value document processing device,
3. c) Transporting the documents of value of the various deposits from the containers into an input compartment of the document processing device, the documents of value being removed from the respective container in stacks along a specific removal direction of the respective container and placed in the input compartment of the document processing device,
4. d) Checking the value documents of the various deposits by the value document processing device, the value documents being counted in stacks in order to determine a stack-related number of value documents as a function of the respective value document type. The respective number of documents of value is determined for each type of value document that is present in the respective stack. In the case of banknotes, a distinction can be made between the denomination and / or the currency and / or the issue of the banknotes, for example, as the type of value document.
5. e) Automatic billing of the various deposits that were checked by the value document processing device by a billing device.

When the value documents are inserted, a start position and possibly also an end position of the respective payment are determined for each payment and the start position and possibly the end position of the respective payment are transmitted to the billing device. The documents of value of the payment under consideration are assigned to the payment under consideration on the basis of the determined starting position and possibly the end position, with no header cards being used for the allocation of the documents of value to the payment under consideration.

In order to achieve a high packing density of the documents of value in the containers, it is desirable for the documents of value of the various deposits to be inserted into several containers in such a way that the containers are filled as completely as possible with documents of value. These value documents are to be automatically removed from the containers, inserted into the value document processing device and checked by it. In the case of different deposits in the same container, an error-free assignment of the checked documents of value to the different deposits is made possible. Reliable and error-free billing of the documents of value of different deposits is made possible in particular if, when the documents of value are inserted into at least one deposit considered, the documents of value of the deposit considered are divided into at least two partial stacks which are inserted into the same or different containers.

In order to achieve a joint billing of these partial stacks, according to the invention, when the value documents are inserted into the container or containers, a starting position and possibly also an end position of the respective deposit is determined for each deposit. The start position and possibly the end position is determined, for example, at a preparation station at which the documents of value are prepared for automatic processing, and to the accounting device which carries out the automatic billing. The accounting device can be present in the value document processing device itself or in an input module of the value document processing device or in an IT system connected to the value document processing device.

In the following, a deposit is considered which, when the value documents are inserted, is divided into at least two partial stacks which are inserted into the same or different containers. If the value-document processing device checks the sub-stacks of the deposit under consideration, which were placed in the same or different containers, immediately one after the other, then the value documents of the at least two sub-stacks are billed together, taking into account the start position determined during insertion and, if applicable, the end position of the deposit under consideration .

In particular, the at least two partial stacks of the deposit under consideration are billed jointly by the fact that from the stack-related number of documents of value, which was determined when counting in stacks for the at least two partial stacks, depending on the respective type of value document, taking into account the start position and, if applicable, the end position of the deposit in question determined during insertion , a resulting number of documents of value is determined for each type of document of value present in the deposit under consideration. For example, for each type of value document of the deposit under consideration, the number of stacks of value documents of the individual sub-stacks determined during the check is added up in order to determine the resulting number of documents of value of the deposit under consideration for the respective type of value document. The at least two partial stacks of the deposit under consideration are then billed jointly on the basis of the resulting number of documents of value of each type of document of value.

The documents of value of the deposit considered become the deposit considered based on the determined starting position and possibly the end position assigned. No header cards are required or used for the assignment of the value documents to the deposit under consideration.

If the value-document processing device is already aware of the start position and possibly the end position of the considered deposit when checking the value documents (e.g. because it was transmitted from the preparation station to the value-document processing device), the value-document processing device can immediately use the stack-related number of value documents for the considered deposit to calculate the resulting number of value documents depending on the Determine the type of value document. Otherwise, the value document processing device can transmit the stack-related number of documents of value to the billing device for each type of value document, which then determines the resulting number of documents for each type of value document based on the start position and possibly the end position of the deposit under consideration.

The value-document stacks of different deposits checked by the value-document processing device can therefore be automatically assigned to the correct deposit. A subsequent, manual assignment of the respective stacks of documents of value to the respective deposits is not necessary. The invention achieves a deposit-related assignment of the value document stacks, which makes it possible to distribute the deposit under consideration as desired over a plurality of containers, the processing sequence of which can be selected as desired by the value document processing device. The considered deposit can - even after the end of the preparation of the value documents at the preparation station, ie subsequently - be divided into several value document stacks as required by separating elements (of the second type), for example by one (for automatic removal by a gripper) to be too large To divide value-document stacks in a container into two or more partial stacks.

In particular, the containers each have a predetermined container beginning and a predetermined container end. The value documents are removed from the container in such a way that - viewed along the removal direction - first the value documents at the beginning of the container and finally the value documents at the end of the container are inserted into the input compartment of the value document processing device.

In one embodiment, both the start position and the end position of the various deposits are determined for each deposit. In this case, the stacks of value documents can be correctly assigned to the deposit under consideration on the basis of the start and end position of the deposit under consideration. The start / end positions of other payments are not required for this.

In another embodiment, only the start positions (and no end positions) of the various deposits are determined. For the correct assignment of the stacks of value documents to the deposit in question, the start position of the (subsequent) deposit is then also required whose documents of value are contained in the relevant container (s) after those of the deposits in question, ie the beginning of which also marks the end of the deposit in question . In this case, the starting position of those (subsequent) deposits whose value documents are contained in the relevant container (s) after those of the considered deposit are used for the correct assignment of the stacks of value documents to the deposit in question. That means in In this case, the starting positions of one or more other payments are also taken into account for correct allocation.

The start position / end position of a deposit is the information about in which the value document container and behind which separating element position along the removal direction of this value document container the respective deposit begins / ends. For each of the deposits, a start position and possibly the end position of the respective deposit at a point in time before the checking and counting of the value documents of the respective deposit is transmitted to the billing device and possibly also to the value document processing device. The start position / end position of the respective deposit comprises that separating element position behind / in front of which (viewed along the removal direction of the container) the first / last value documents of the respective deposit are located in the respective container.

The start position and possibly the end position can be transmitted, for example, via a data carrier of the value document container or via a communication line that exists between the preparation station and the accounting device and possibly the value document processing device. In the case of the transmission of the start / end position via a communication line, the start position / end position also includes an identification of the respective container into which the first / last value documents of the respective deposit were placed. If the start position and possibly the end position from the preparation station was only transmitted to the billing device of a surrounding IT system, but not to the value document processing device, the value document processing device can, if necessary, send a request to the IT system for information about the starting positions and, if applicable, the end positions of the payments.

In the case of a division of the considered deposit into a first and a second container - the first value-document container, which is filled with the first partial stack of the considered deposit, is assigned the start position (but not the end position) of the considered deposit, and the second value-document container, the is filled with the second partial stack, assigned to the end position of the deposit under consideration (but not the start position). The number and type of checked documents of value of the deposit under consideration determined by the value document processing device is assigned to the payment under consideration on the basis of the (previously determined) start position and possibly the end position.

For each of the deposits, the resulting number of value documents of each value document type present in the respective deposit is determined, for example a numerical value for the respective value document type. During the settlement, a total value of the value documents of the deposit is determined therefrom. For automatic accounting of the various deposits that have been processed by the value document processing device, the respective deposit is automatically accounted for on the basis of the resulting number of documents of value of each existing type of document of value. In the event that the value documents of a deposit have been divided into at least two partial stacks that have been placed in the same or different containers, the accounting device is designed to carry out the accounting of this deposit in such a way that it uses the at least two partial stacks of the value documents of this deposit the number of documents of value determined for this payment of each type of value document is billed jointly.

Reject documents of value which were rejected when the documents of value were checked are sorted out by the document of value processing device into a reject compartment of the document of value processing device. The rejected documents of value of different partial stacks which belong to the same deposit and which were placed in the same value document container or in different containers are sorted out in the same reject compartment. These reject documents of value of the same deposit are preferably post-processed jointly in one work step, in particular at a point in time before the automatic accounting of the deposit in question.

After the processing of the value documents of a considered deposit, as soon as value documents of another deposit are to be checked by the value document processing device, the value document processing device automatically switches to an operating mode for reject post-processing of the reject value documents of the considered deposit. The switchover to the reject operating mode takes place in particular at a point in time before value documents of another payment are inserted into the input compartment. If a large number of reject documents of value occur, additional reject processing can also be carried out in between, i.e. before the check of the deposit under consideration has ended. The automatic accounting of the deposit under consideration is only carried out when the post-processing of the reject documents of value of the deposit under consideration has been completed.

When the value documents of the deposit under consideration are divided into at least two partial stacks when they are inserted, which are inserted in the same or in different containers, and the value document processing device checks the partial stacks of this deposit immediately one after the other, the reject documents of value of these partial stacks are sorted out into the same reject compartment. Before the value-document processing device checks value documents of a different deposit than the deposit in question, it automatically switches to an operating mode for reject post-processing of the reject documents of value of the deposit in question, in which the rejected value documents of the at least two partial stacks of the deposit in question are jointly post-processed.

If a deposit is divided into at least two partial stacks with the aid of at least one separating element (separating element of the second type), the at least two partial stacks of the deposit under consideration can be settled together. When checking the documents of value, rejected documents of value of all partial stacks which are placed in the same document container in succession and which belong to the same deposit are sorted out into the same reject compartment. And these reject documents of value are post-processed together before the automatic settlement of the deposit in question. The value document processing device does not automatically switch between the processing of the at least two partial stacks of the same deposit into an operating mode for reject post-processing of the respective reject value documents of the respective partial stack, but rather the reject value documents of all partial stacks of the considered deposit that are placed in the same value document container post-processed together in a post-processing step. This reject post-processing can be carried out as soon as the last value documents of the respective container have been checked, or, if the next container also begins with the same deposit, also at a later point in time.

The documents of value of the deposit under consideration are distributed, for example, to at least two containers into which only documents of value of the payment under consideration, but no documents of value of other payments, are inserted. The deposit under consideration then comprises at least one first partial stack in a first container and at least one second partial stack in a second container. The accounting of the partial stacks of the deposit under consideration placed in the first and second container can then be carried out jointly in any case, regardless of the sequence in which the value documents of the first container and the second container are inserted into the input compartment of the value document processing device.

The documents of value of the deposit under consideration can also be distributed over at least two containers in such a way that the documents of value of this deposit form a first partial stack which - viewed along the removal direction of the container - is inserted at the end of the first container, and form a second partial stack which - viewed along the removal direction of the container - is inserted at the beginning of a second container. The beginning and end of the respective container are viewed along the specific removal direction of the respective container. If, however, one or both containers also contain documents of value from one or more other deposits (e.g. documents of value from another deposit can also be inserted at the beginning of the first container), then the accounting of the partial stacks of the deposit in question placed in the first and second container is dependent on the invention the sequence in which the documents of value of the first and second containers of the document of value processing device are inserted into the input compartment of the document of value processing device, either jointly or separately from one another. The following cases can occur:
If the order is such that the value documents of the second partial stack (from the second container) are inserted into the input compartment of the value document processing device immediately after those of the first partial stack (from the first container), then the value documents of the second partial stack from the second container are in a joint billing together with the documents of value of the first partial stack from the first container. This joint billing can - in addition to the first and second partial stacks - include one or more further partial stacks of the same deposit that have been placed in one or more further containers whose value documents were placed before the value documents of the first or after the value documents of the second container. Between the processing of the documents of value of the first and second container, no separate accounting of the documents of value of the deposit under consideration is carried out in relation to the first partial stack and the document of value processing device does not switch to an operating mode for reject processing of the first partial stack.

If the sequence is such that between the value documents of the first and second partial stacks, value documents of another deposit from a next container are inserted into the input compartment (neither the value documents of the second container nor of another container at the beginning of which contains value documents of the deposit under consideration ), then between the processing of the documents of value of the first and the next container, an accounting of the deposit under consideration with respect to the first partial stack from the first container is carried out, and at a later point in time a separate accounting of the deposit under consideration with respect to the second partial stack is carried out the second container. The separate accounts of the two sub-stacks of the considered Payments can be merged manually or automatically at a later point in time in order to carry out a final settlement of the payment in question.

If the sequence is such that the value documents of the second partial stack are inserted into the input compartment of the value document processing device before those of the first partial stack, then after the processing of the second partial stack, an accounting of the deposit under consideration is carried out in relation to the second partial stack from the second container, and at a later point in time, the payment under consideration is settled in relation to the first sub-batch, which is separate from the settlement in relation to the second sub-batch. The separate accounts of the two partial stacks of the deposit under consideration can be merged manually or automatically at a later point in time in order to carry out a final account of the payment under consideration.

The deposit under consideration can - in addition to the first and second sub-stack - comprise at least one further sub-stack which is contained in a further container in which only the value documents of the further sub-stack, but no further value documents of other deposits, are contained. If the sequence is then such that the documents of value from the at least one further container are inserted into the input compartment of the value document processing device immediately after the first partial stack and the documents of value of the second partial stack are inserted into the input compartment of the document processing device immediately after the documents of value of the at least one further container then the documents of value of the first partial stack from the first container and the documents of value of the second partial stack of the second container and the value documents of the at least one further sub-stack from the at least one further container, billed together in a joint billing.

With the previous separation of the various deposits by header cards, it is problematic to automatically process deposits with a very large amount of documents of value. If, for example, the number of documents of value is so large that there is no space for the deposit in a container, the remaining partial stack of the documents of value of the deposit in question must be placed in a further container. When the value documents are fed to the value document processing device, the value documents of these containers must then be inserted in the correct sequence so that the value documents of the further container are assigned to the correct deposit.

The method according to the invention, on the other hand, allows more flexible processing of the containers in any order and thus a more robust process of automatic value document processing. Since the order in which the sub-stacks placed in different containers are fed to the device can be selected flexibly, the invention avoids such processing errors, which were previously caused by an incorrect container order. In addition, if they are supplied in the "correct" sequence (so that all value documents of the same deposit are placed in the value-document processing device immediately one after the other), an increased processing throughput is achieved since, if they are supplied in the correct sequence, joint accounting and joint reject processing of the Partial batch of the same deposit can be made. If the containers are fed in in a different sequence, however, error-free accounting is still guaranteed.

Different types of separators can be used. For example, when the documents of value of the various deposits are placed in the one or more containers, a separating element of the first type is introduced into the respective container at each boundary between stacks of documents of value of two different deposits. In the case of a deposit whose value document stack extends over more than a maximum stack length along the removal direction in the respective container, the value document stack of this deposit can be divided into at least two partial stacks with the aid of at least one separating element of the second type.

The separating elements of the first type and the separating elements of the second type can have different colors and / or be designed differently mechanically. For example, the separating elements of the first type are automatically fixed in the container when they are introduced into the respective container such that the separating elements of the first type do not fall out of the container when the container is turned over so that its open side faces downwards. For this purpose, the separating elements of the first type have, for example, a corresponding latching mechanism that prevents the separating element from falling out of the container. The separating elements of the second type, on the other hand, are mechanically designed so that they fall out of the container when the container is turned over so that its open side faces downwards.

The value documents can be inserted with the aid of a gripper, which removes one value document stack / partial stack after the other from the respective container and inserts it into an input compartment of the value document processing device. The gripper can be part of an input module of the device or part of a self-propelled transport vehicle which transports the containers to the value document processing device transported. The value-document processing device can be communicated from the outside, for example by the gripper control of the gripper, at what point in time the latter has placed all sub-stacks of the payment in question in the input compartment of the value-document processing device.

The invention also relates to a system for processing documents of value of different deposits, which includes, for example, one or more preparation stations at which documents of value of different deposits are prepared and placed in one or more containers. A separating element (of the first type) is introduced into the respective container at each boundary between the documents of value of two different deposits. The system also includes at least one value-document processing device to which the containers in which the value documents of the various deposits have been placed are transported and which checks the value documents of the various deposits and determines the number of value documents of each type of value document present in the considered deposit. The system also includes a transport device by which the value documents of the various deposits are transported from the containers into an input compartment of the value document processing device, the value documents being removed in stacks (e.g. with the help of a gripper) from the respective container and placed in the input compartment of the value document processing device.

The system also includes an accounting device for automatically accounting for the various deposits that have been processed by the value-document processing device. The billing device is designed to do so in the case when the value document processing device receives the partial stacks of the deposit under consideration, which have been placed in the same or in different containers, immediately one after the other checks whether the documents of value of the at least two partial stacks are to be settled together, taking into account the start position determined during insertion and, if applicable, the end position of the deposit under consideration. The accounting device is designed to, in the case when the value documents of a deposit have been divided into at least two partial stacks, which have been placed in the same or different containers, for each value document type from the stack-related value document number of the partial stacks, based on the start position and possibly the end position of the considered deposit, to determine the resulting number of documents of value of the considered deposit and to settle the at least two partial stacks of this deposit together in this way. The respective deposit is automatically billed on the basis of the resulting number of documents of value of the respective type of value document that was determined for the respective deposit.

According to the invention, the billing device is designed to bill a partial stack placed in a first container and a partial stack placed in a second container of a deposit under consideration depending on the order in which the value documents of the first container and the second container are placed in the input compartment of the value document processing device to be carried out either jointly or separately from one another, wherein the first and / or second container can also contain documents of value from one or more other deposits, with a separating element being introduced into the respective container at each boundary between the documents of value of two different deposits in a container. And according to the invention, the accounting device is designed to check the value documents of the at least two partial stacks, taking into account the start position determined during the insertion, in the case when the value document processing device checks the at least two partial stacks of the deposit under consideration, which are inserted in the different containers possibly the final position of the deposit under consideration, to be settled together

Furthermore, the system comprises a device which is designed to record the start position and possibly the end position of each deposit. This device can be a reading device that reads the starting position and possibly the end position from the data carrier of the container. The device can, however, also have an interface on the preparation station, on the input module or be on the value document processing device, which is designed for the input of the start position and possibly the end position by an operator, and possibly for the transmission of the start position and possibly the end position to the accounting device, e.g. to an IT system connected to it or to the value document processing device.

• eine individuelle Kennung der Einzahlung, zu der der jeweilige Teilstapel gehört,
• eine Information zur Identität des Einzahlers,
• die Beginnposition und ggf. auch die Endposition des jeweiligen Teilstapels,
• ggf. eine Information zu dem/ den Aufbewahrungsort/ en der weiteren Teilstapel der Einzahlung, zu der die jeweilige Teileinzahlung gehört oder auch eine Information zur Anzahl der Teilstapel, die die Einzahlung enthält, zu der der jeweilige Teilstapel gehört,
• ggf. eine Information zum Sollwert des Teilstapels.

At the preparation station, payment information is recorded for each partial stack that is placed in one or more containers, which is specific to the respective partial stack. For each partial stack that is placed in a container, the respective container that contains the partial stack is assigned, for example, the following payment information:

• an individual ID of the deposit to which the respective sub-batch belongs,
• information about the identity of the payer,
• the start position and possibly also the end position of the respective partial stack,
• if necessary, information on the storage location (s) of the further sub-batches of the deposit to which the respective sub-batch belongs or information about the number of sub-batches that the deposit contains to which the respective sub-batch belongs,
• if necessary, information on the nominal value of the partial stack.

Each partial batch can be assigned status information on the processing status of the partial batch, which is adjusted in the course of its processing, e.g. status = unprocessed, status = prepared, status = processed, status = billed, ...

The deposit information on the partial stacks placed in the container is assigned to each container. In one embodiment, the deposit information is assigned to the respective container which contains the partial stack by writing the deposit information to a data carrier of the respective container. In another exemplary embodiment, the payment information is assigned to the respective container in that the payment information is linked to the respective container identification (for example via a communication line) and is transmitted to the billing device.

Figur 1a

einen Wertdokumentbehälter mit mehreren Trennelementen und einen Greifer zur Entnahme von Wertdokumenten aus dem Behälter,

Figur 1b

das Entnehmen der Wertdokumente aus einem Wertdokumentbehälter durch ein Eingabemodul, das an eine Vorrichtung zur Bearbeitung von Wertdokumenten angeschlossen ist,

Figur 2

Beispiele für die im Datenträger der Behälter gespeicherten Einzahlungsdaten,

Figur 3

den möglichen Informationsfluss (Fig. 3a) und Beispiele für die übermittelten Einzahlungsdaten und Prüfergebnisse (Fig. 3b),

Figur 4

einen Vorbereitungsplatz, eine Abrechnungseinrichtung und eine Wertdokumentbearbeitungsvorrichtung, zu der die Wertdokumente mit einem selbstfahrenden Transportfahrzeug transportiert werden,

Figur 5

die Abrechnung der Einzahlungen in Abhängigkeit der Reihenfolge, mit der die Behälter bearbeitet werden.

The invention is explained below by way of example with reference to the following figures. Show it:

Figure 1a

a value document container with several separating elements and a gripper for removing value documents from the container,

Figure 1b

the removal of the value documents from a value document container through an input module which is connected to a device for processing value documents,

Figure 2

Examples of the deposit data stored in the container's data carrier,

Figure 3

the possible flow of information ( Fig. 3a ) and examples of the transferred payment data and test results ( Figure 3b ),

Figure 4

a preparation station, a billing device and a value document processing device to which the value documents are transported with a self-propelled transport vehicle,

Figure 5

the settlement of the deposits depending on the order in which the containers are processed.

Figure 1a shows a container 100 for receiving documents of value, in which the documents of value 1 are placed standing on their longitudinal edges. The documents of value in the container 100 are divided into four stacks of documents of value by three separating elements TE1 and TE2. The left separating element TE1 forms the boundary between the value-document stack of a deposit D3, which is inserted in the left container section, and a deposit D4, which is formed by the two middle value-document stacks. The separating element TE2 divides the deposit D4 into two sub-stacks. The right separating element TE1 forms the boundary between the deposit D4 and the Stack of documents of value of the deposit D5, which is inserted in the right container section.

The separating elements TE1 and TE2 can be variably positioned along the container in order to be able to adapt the size of the storage areas to differently sized stacks of documents of value. For this purpose, the separating elements TE1, TE2 can be inserted at different points of the container 100, at which the container wall has corresponding slots. To remove the documents of value, a gripper 9 is used, which is lowered into the container 100 in order to remove the respective stack of documents of value from a storage area. The container 100 has an identification ID1 by means of which the container can be uniquely identified. This identification ID1 is made recognizable e.g. by a barcode.

The container 100 optionally has a data carrier 102, for example an NFC chip, in which information about the documents of value 1 contained in the container is stored. This information can be read wirelessly from the NFC chip with the aid of a corresponding reader.

This information includes, for example, information about the container type, about the payer of the respective value document stack and possibly about the number or the nominal value of the value documents of the respective value document stack. The start and end positions of the deposits, which are formed by the separating elements TE1, can also be stored in the data carrier 102. Optionally, the position of the separating element TE2, which does not form a start or end position of a deposit, can also be stored in the data carrier. This information can have been stored in the data carrier 102, for example when the container is filled with documents of value, for example when the container is filled mechanically, or when it is filled manually Filling of the container, for example by the person who pays the value documents, or at the preparation station 50 of a device 60 for processing documents of value, cf. Figure 3a .

Figure 2 shows the information stored in the data carrier 102 using the example of three containers ID1, ID2, ID3, in which documents of value seven different deposits D1-D7 are contained. The value document stacks contained in the container ID1 are already closed at the top Figure 1a has been described. The two deposits D1 and D2 are contained in the container ID3 and are separated from one another by means of a separating element of the first type TE1 at the position 7 of the container ID3. The deposit D1 is divided into three value document stacks, which are separated by two separating elements of the second type TE2 at positions 2 and 4. And the deposit D2 is divided into three value-document stacks, which are separated by two separating elements of the second type TE2 at positions 9 and 12. In the container ID2 there are stacks of documents of value for the three deposits D5, D6 and D7. These three deposits are separated from one another by means of a separating element of the first type TE1 at position 7 and at position 10 of the container ID2. The deposit D5 is divided into two value document stacks by a separating element of the second type TE2 at position 4. The deposit D6 consists only of a stack of documents of value that is located between positions 7 and 10. The deposit D7 was divided into two value document stacks, which are separated by a separating element of the second type TE2 at position 14. In addition to the start and end of the stack of value documents in question, the payer of the stack of value documents and the nominal value of the respective stack of value documents specified by the payer are also specified. This nominal value or the total value of the respective deposit is used when the deposit is settled in the accounting facility Z, checked on the basis of the test results of the value document processing device 60.

In Figure 1b a device 60 for processing documents of value is shown, to the input side of which an input module 10 is connected. The input module 10 is designed for inputting documents of value, eg banknotes, into an input compartment 61 of the device 60 and for this purpose has a gripper 9 which removes the documents of value in stacks from a container 100 and places them in an input compartment 61 of the device. The value documents 1 entered into the input compartment are then separated by the device 60, transported, checked, possibly sorted and stored in one or more output compartments of the device 60. The device 60 can be operated by an operator via an operator interface 66. The input module 10 can be designed to accommodate a plurality of value document containers 100 and form a type of buffer memory for the containers 100. For example, the input module 10 has a transport device which transports containers 100 filled with documents of value into the detection area of the gripper 9 and transports the emptied containers out of the detection area of the gripper 9 again after the documents of value have been removed by the gripper 9. The input module can also have a user interface 6.

The container 100 can be inserted manually or automatically into a container receptacle 17 of the input module 10. The container receptacle 17 can be equipped with a reading device 4 to read the identification (eg ID1) of the container 100 and / or to read information about the start and end position of the deposits in the container 100 from the data carrier 102 of the container. If necessary, the separating element position of the separating element TE2, which is not the start and end position of a deposit is to be read from the data carrier 102. Alternatively, however, this can also be detected in the input module 10.

In the case of the ID1 container, the reading device 4 transmits the read start and end positions of the deposits D3, D4 and D5, and possibly the separating element position of the separating element TE2, to a gripper control 8 of the gripper 9, which controls the movement of the gripper 9. The gripper control 8 has, for example, a data carrier 5 in which the information linked to the identification ID1 of the container 100 can be stored, as well as, if necessary, corresponding information for further containers with further identifications. The gripper control 8 controls the gripper in such a way that it successively removes the stack of documents of value inserted between two of the separating elements TE1, TE2 from the container 100 and places it in the input compartment 61 of the device. Thus, the individual stacks of documents of value are automatically removed from the container 100 along the removal direction x, cf. Figure 1b . The gripper control 8 can regularly inform the value document processing device 60, in particular its control 62, via the interface 13 which stacks of value documents the gripper 9 has already inserted from the container 100 into the input compartment 61 and which have not yet, ie which are still at the respective point in time are in the container 100.

The positions of the separating elements TE1, TE2 can be determined in the input module 10 with the aid of sensors of the input module 10, for example at a point in time before the gripper removes the documents of value from the container. In Figure 1b For this purpose, a plurality of mechanical sensors 2 are shown by way of example, which are arranged at specific positions along the longitudinal direction of the container receptacle 17. The mechanical sensors 2 have swivel fingers which, together around an axis A are pivotable in order to check whether a separating element TE1 or TE2 is actually present at the respective position of the container 100 or not. If the respective swivel finger experiences mechanical resistance when swiveling, it is held back by the separating element TE1, TE2 and cannot follow the deflection of the remaining swivel fingers about axis A. The respective sensor 2 detects the individual deflection of the respective swivel finger, for example by means of an inductive switch, a light barrier or the like. The individual sensors 2 are connected to a sensor control S (connection not shown), which then provides the corresponding information about the separating element positions of the The container 100 is transmitted to the gripper control 8. Instead of the mechanical sensors 2, it is also possible to use electrical, acoustic, optical, magnetic or other sensors which, for example, are arranged in an analogous manner along the longitudinal direction of the container receptacle 17. Alternatively, the input module 10 can also have an image sensor (not shown), which takes an image of the next container to be processed, determines the positions of the separating elements by means of image processing and transmits this information to the gripper control 8. The separating element positions can either be determined individually for the respective container or the respective container is assigned on the basis of its ID to one of several predetermined container types, the separating element positions of which are known in advance.

The device 60 can either carry out the accounting of the payments itself (accounting device Z in the device 60) or transmit the information entered to a central accounting device Z, which is provided by an IT system connected to the device 60 and which also handles the accounting for can perform several value document processing devices.

Furthermore, the determined positions of the separating elements can be checked before the gripper 9 begins to remove the documents of value 1. For example, the distance between two adjacent separating elements is checked to determine whether the gripper 9 can safely remove the stack of documents of value lying between them. If the value document stack is too large for the gripper, the operator can be prompted to insert an additional separating element TE2 and thus to divide the excessively large value document stack into two smaller stacks, which the gripper 9 can then remove.

In addition or as an alternative to storage in the data carrier 102 of the container, the information about the start and end position of the deposits of the container 100 and further containers with further deposits can also be transmitted directly to the billing device Z, however. If the accounting device Z is arranged outside the device 60, it usually carries out the accounting for several value-document processing devices.

Figure 3a shows the possible flow of information about the start and end positions of the deposits for an embodiment in which the start and end positions of the deposits are determined spatially remote from the input module 10 and the value document processing device 60. The spatially distant position is, for example, a preparation station 50 which is equipped with an operator interface 47, for example a preparation station accordingly Figure 4 , or a payer's office. At the preparation station 50, the respective start and end position of the deposit is determined by an operator and assigned to the identification of the respective deposit and entered into the operator interface 47 linked to the container identification ID of the respective container.

At one or more such preparation stations 50, the containers 100 are prepared by an operator 51 for the automatic removal of the documents of value, cf. Fig. 3a and Fig. 4 . The preparation includes, for example, checking the containers if the containers arrive at the preparation stations already loaded with documents of value. However, the containers can also be filled with documents of value 1 only at the preparation stations 50. The separating elements TE1, which limit the deposits, are also introduced into the container by the operator 51. The preparation by the respective operator 51 can also include the determination of the start and end position of the deposits, in particular the determination of the positions of the separating elements TE1. The operator 51 inputs the separating element position of the separating elements TE1 at the operator interface 47 of the preparation station 50, cf. Fig. 4 . In this case, digital information is generated about the start and end position of the deposits for the respective container and this is linked to a container identification ID of the respective container. With the aid of the link, the associated information about the start and end position of the inpayments of the respective container can be determined during the later removal of the value document, based on the container identification ID.

Figure 4 shows an embodiment in which a driverless transport vehicle 1000 picks up the containers 100 filled with documents of value from a preparation station 50 and brings them to a document processing device 60 of value. The central accounting device Z is provided by a server of the IT system, which is connected to the value document processing devices 60 and the driverless transport vehicles 1000 via wireless communication lines that exist between the communication interfaces 7 and via the information about the processed documents of value are exchanged. The central billing device Z can also be designed to control several transport vehicles. From it, the driverless transport vehicles receive via their communication interface 7, for example, orders to pick up documents of value from one of the preparation stations 50 and to transport them to one of the document processing devices 60 of value.

The digital information generated at the spatially distant position about the start and end positions of the deposits of the respective container linked to the container identification ID are then sent to the central billing device Z via data connections 15. For the container ID1, for example, the in Figure 3b The information shown on the left is sent to the central billing facility Z. The correct information about the start and end position of the deposits is then assigned to the respective container with the aid of the container identification ID and the position of the respective value document stack in the respective container. For example, the container identification ID1 of the container 100 is read in by a reading device of the value document processing device 60 or of the input module 10. The documents of value that the gripper has removed in stacks from the respective container between the respective separating elements TE1, TE2 are checked in stacks by the device 60. Each checked stack receives as identification the container identification and the position of the respective stack in the respective container. The device 60 assigns its stack-related test results to each individual stack of value documents, for example the stack-related number of documents of value for each type of value document contained in the respective stack and / or the total value of the respective stack of value documents. The stack-related test results obtained for the stacks of documents of value from the container ID1 are shown in FIG Figure 3b shown on the right. These Stack-related test results are sent from the device 60 to the central accounting facility Z. The central billing device Z then assigns the stack-related test results to the respective deposits, the start and end positions of which it has received from the operator 51 at the preparation station 50.

The central billing device Z then bills the documents of value for the various payments. The total value of the deposited value documents is determined for each deposit. In the example of the Figure 3b the check results of the stack that was contained between positions 0 and 4 in container ID1 are assigned to deposit D3. According to the batch-related test results, the deposit D3 was € 30,000. The check results of the stack that was inserted between positions 4 and 8 and, in addition, of the stack that was inserted between positions 8 and 12 are added to the deposit D4. € 40,000 will be credited to the person making the D4 deposit. Since the payment D5 does not include an end position (the remainder of the payment D5 is in a different container), the payment D5 is not yet finally settled by the clearing device; instead, the payment D5 initially only receives the € 50,000 from container ID1 (at position 12-16). Only when all the value-document stacks of the deposit D5 have been checked is the settlement of the deposit D5 completed.

In Figure 5 it is shown how the settlement of the deposits is carried out as a function of the sequence in which the documents of value of the various containers are inserted into the input compartment of the device 60. The documents of value from the containers ID1, ID2 (and possibly ID4, ID5) are inserted one after the other into and from the device checked, with the time axis from left to right in Figure 5 runs. The removal direction x within the container also runs from left to right.

In the example of the Figure 5a the documents of value from the container ID1 and then those from the container ID2 are processed first. The deposits D3 and D6 each comprise only one value document stack, the deposits D4 and D7 each comprise two partial stacks (cf. Fig. 2 ). The two partial stacks of the deposit D4 are processed immediately one after the other and are therefore also billed together, as are the two partial stacks of the deposit D7. The deposit D5 comprises a partial stack D5i at the end of the container ID1 and two partial stacks D5 ₂ at the beginning of the container ID2. The sequence in which the value documents of these containers are fed to the value document processing device 60 is such that the value documents of the container ID2 are fed to the value document processing device immediately after those of the container ID1. The value documents of the partial stack D5 _{2 of} the deposit D5 that were contained in the container ID2 are therefore accounted for in a joint account A5 together with the value documents of the partial stack D5 _{1 of} the deposit D5 that was contained in the container ID1.

The reject documents of value which the value document processing device 60 rejects during the check are automatically sorted out into a reject compartment 69 and then either manually reprocessed or checked again by the value document processing device 60, cf. Fig. 4 . The reject post-processing of the respective deposit is preferably carried out before the value documents of the next deposit are processed by the value-document processing device 60. After each of the deposits D3, D4, D6 and D7 there is a reject post-processing R3 or R4 or R6 or R7 of the reject value documents of the respective deposit are carried out. For the sub-stacks D5i and D5 _{2 of} the payment D5, not only the accounting but also the reject post-processing is combined. Therefore, only one reject post-processing R5 is carried out - across all containers - for the payment D5.

In the example of the Figure 5b the order is reversed, so that first the value documents from the container ID2 and then those from the container ID1 are processed by the value document processing device 60. Since value documents of the inpayments D6, D7, D3 and D4 are also processed between the partial stacks of the inpayment D5, two separate settlements A5 ₁ and A5 _{2 are} carried out in this case for the inpayment D5. For the separate accounting, a virtual start position of the deposit D5 at position 0 of the container ID2 and a virtual end position of the deposit D5 at position 16 of the container ID1 are assumed. The reject post-processing is also carried out separately for the stacks of value documents of the deposit D5 located in the various containers, ie _{reject post-processing (R5 1 ) is carried out both for the sub-stacks D5 2 of} the deposit D5 from the container ID2 and for the sub-stack D5 _{1 of} the deposit D5 from the container ID1 (R5 ₂ ). The separate accounts of the two sub-stacks of the deposit D5 under consideration are merged at a later point in time in order to carry out a final accounting of the entire deposit D5.

In the example of the Figure 5c becomes - in contrast to, for example, from Figure 5a - Processed another container ID5 between the container ID1 and ID2, in which documents of value of a further payment D8 are contained. In this case, the deposit D5 of the container ID1 and for the sub-stack D5 _{2 of} the deposit D5 of the container ID2, separate accounts A5 ₁ and A5 _{2 are} carried out and also two separate reject post-processing operations R5 ₁ and R5 ₂ . In this case, too, a virtual end position of the deposit D5 at position 16 of the container ID1 and a virtual start position of the deposit D5 at position 0 of the container ID2 are assumed for the separate accounting. The separate accounts of the two sub-stacks of the deposit D5 under consideration are merged at a later point in time in order to carry out a final accounting of the entire deposit D5.

In the example of the Figure 5d In contrast to the previous examples, the payment D5 also comprises documents of value D5 ₃ in a further container ID4 in which there are only documents of value from the payment D5, but no documents of value from another payment. The value documents D5 ₃ from the container ID4 are processed by the value document processing device 60 between those from the container ID1 and from the container ID2. Since in this case all sub-stacks of the payment D5 are processed immediately one after the other, the sub-stacks of the payment D5 of all three containers ID1, ID4 and ID2 are settled in a common account A5 and a common reject post-processing R5 is also carried out for all sub-stacks of the payment D5.

Claims (13)

1. A method for processing value documents of different deposits using a value-document processing apparatus (60), having the steps of:

   a) inserting value documents of different deposits (D1-D8) into one or more containers (ID1-ID5), while placing a separating element (TE1) into the respective container at each boundary between the value documents of two different deposits in a container,

   b) transporting the containers into which the value documents of the different deposits were inserted to the value-document processing apparatus (60),

   c) transporting the value documents of the different deposits from the containers into an input pocket (61) of the value-document processing apparatus, while removing the value documents from the respective container, along a removal direction, and inserting them into the input pocket (61) of the value-document processing apparatus stack by stack,

   d) checking the value documents of the different deposits by the value-document processing apparatus, while counting the value documents stack by stack to establish a stack-based value-document number in dependence on the respective value-document type,

   e) automatic accounting of the various deposits, which were checked by the value-document processing apparatus, by an accounting device (Z), wherein

   - upon insertion of the value documents, a beginning position and, where applicable, also an end position of the respective deposit is established for each deposit (D1-D8), and the beginning position and, where applicable, the end position of the respective deposit are transmitted to the accounting device (Z), and

   - the value documents of the contemplated deposit are associated with the contemplated deposit on the basis of the established beginning position and, where applicable, end position, wherein no header cards are employed for the association of the value documents with the contemplated deposit, characterized in

   - that upon insertion of the value documents, for at least one contemplated deposit (D4/D5) the value documents of the contemplated deposit are divided into at least two sub-stacks that are inserted into different containers (ID1, ID2), wherein the value documents of the contemplated deposit (D5) are distributed over at least two containers such that the value documents of the contemplated deposit (D5) form a first sub-stack (D5₁) that is inserted at the end of a first container (ID1), and form a second sub-stack (D5₂) that is inserted at the start of a second container (ID2), with the first and/or second container also containing value documents of one or more other deposits, and

   - that the accounting device (Z) carries out the accounting of the sub-stacks (D5₁, D5₂) of the contemplated deposit (D5) that are inserted into the first and second containers either jointly or separately from each other in dependence on the order in which the value documents of the first container (ID1) and of the second container (ID2) are inserted into the input pocket of the value-document processing apparatus, wherein in the case when the value-document processing apparatus checks in immediate succession the at least two sub-stacks of the contemplated deposit that were inserted in the different containers, then the value documents of the at least two sub-stacks are brought to account jointly, with consideration of the contemplated deposit's beginning position and, where applicable, end position established upon insertion.
2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that upon bringing to account the contemplated deposit (D4/D5) the at least two sub-stacks of the contemplated deposit (D4/D5) are brought to account jointly by establishing from the stack-based value-document number that was established upon the stack-by-stack counting for the at least two sub-stacks in dependence on the respective value-document type, with consideration of the contemplated deposit's beginning position and, where applicable, end position established upon insertion, a resultant value-document number for each value-document type present in the contemplated deposit (D4/D5).
3. The method according to either of the preceding claims, characterized in

   - that the value-document processing apparatus checks in immediate succession the sub-stacks of the contemplated deposit (D4/D5) that were inserted in different containers, and

   - that the value-document processing apparatus sorts out reject value documents that were rejected upon checking of the value documents into a reject pocket (69) of the value-document processing apparatus, with the sorted-out reject value documents of the sub-stacks that belong to the contemplated deposit (D4/D5) being sorted out into the same reject pocket, and

   - that before the value-document processing apparatus checks value documents of another deposit (D5/D6) it switches automatically to an operating mode (R4/R5) for rejects post-processing of the reject value documents of the contemplated deposit (D4/D5), in which mode the sorted-out reject value documents of the at least two sub-stacks of the contemplated deposit (D4/D5) are post-processed jointly.
4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in

   - that the value documents of the second container are inserted into the input pocket (61) of the value-document processing device (60) immediately after the value documents of the first container, and

   - that the value-document processing apparatus sorts out the reject value documents of the first (D5₁) and second sub-stacks (D5₂) that belong to the contemplated deposit (D5) into the same reject pocket, and said reject value documents are post-processed jointly.
5. The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, upon insertion of the value documents of the different deposits, for at least one deposit (D4) the value documents of said deposit are divided into at least two sub-stacks in a container using at least one separating element (TE2), and that, upon bringing to account the respective deposit, the at least two sub-stacks of said deposit (D4) are brought to account jointly.
6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the value-document processing apparatus sorts out reject value documents rejected upon checking of the value documents into a reject pocket, with the sorted-out reject value documents of all sub-stacks that belong to the same deposit (D4) and were inserted into the same value-document container (ID1) and were inserted into the input pocket (61) of the value-document processing apparatus in immediate succession, being sorted out into the same reject pocket (69), and that said reject value documents are post-processed jointly.
7. The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, upon insertion of the value documents of the different deposits into the one or more containers, a first-type separating element (TE1) is placed into the respective container at each boundary between value-document stacks of two different deposits, and that in the case of a deposit whose value-document stack extends over more than a maximum stack length along the removal direction in the respective container the value-document stack of said deposit is divided into at least two sub-stacks using at least one second-type separating element (TE2).
8. The method according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that if the order in which the value documents of the first and second containers (ID1, ID2) are processed is such that the value documents of the second sub-stack (D5₂) are inserted into the input pocket of the value-document processing apparatus (60) immediately after the value documents of the first sub-stack (D5₁), then the value documents of the second sub-stack (D5₂) from the second container (ID2) are brought to account in a joint accounting (A5) with the value documents of the first sub-stack (D5₁) from the first container (ID1).
9. The method according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in

   - that the contemplated deposit (D5) contains, in addition to the first sub-stack (D5₁) and second sub-stack (D5₂), at least one further sub-stack (D5₃) which is contained in a further container (ID4) in which only the value documents of the contemplated deposit but no value documents of other deposits are contained, and

   - if the order in which the first, second and further containers (ID1, ID2, ID4) are processed is such that the value documents of the further container (ID4) are inserted into the input pocket of the value-document processing apparatus immediately after those of the first container (ID1), and the value documents of the second container (ID2) are inserted into the input pocket of the value-document processing apparatus immediately after the value documents of the further container (ID4), then the value documents of the first sub-stack (D5₁) from the first container (ID1) and the value documents of the second sub-stack (D5₂) from the second container (ID2) and the value documents of the further sub-stack (D5₃) from the further container (ID4) are brought to account together in a joint accounting.
10. The method according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that if the order in which the value documents of the first and second containers (ID1, ID2) are processed is such that between the value documents of the first sub-stack (D5₁) and those of the second sub-stack (D5₂) value documents of another deposit (D8) from a next container (ID5) are inserted into the input pocket, then an accounting of the contemplated deposit (D5) with regard to the first sub-stack (D5₁) from the first container (ID1) is carried out between the processing of the first (D5₁) and second (D5₂) sub-stacks, and at a later time an accounting of the contemplated deposit (D5) with regard to the second sub-stack (D5₂) is carried out, being carried out separately from the accounting with regard to the first sub-stack (D5₁), and that the mutually separate accountings of the two sub-stacks of the contemplated deposit are merged at a later time in order to carry out a final accounting of the contemplated deposit.
11. The method according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that if the order in which the value documents of the first and second containers (ID1, ID2) are processed is such that the value documents of the second sub-stack (D5₂) are inserted into the input pocket of the value-document processing apparatus before the value documents of the first sub-stack (D5₁), then an accounting of the contemplated deposit (D5) with regard to the second sub-stack (D5₂) is carried out immediately after the processing of the value documents of the second sub-stack (D5₂), and at a later time an accounting, separate therefrom, of the contemplated deposit (D5) with regard to the first sub-stack (D5₁) is carried out, and that the mutually separate accountings of the two sub-stacks of the contemplated deposit are merged at a later time in order to carry out a final accounting of the contemplated deposit.
12. A system for processing value documents of different deposits, comprising:

    - one or more containers (ID1-ID5) for receiving value documents of different deposits inserted in the containers, wherein a separating element (TE1) is placed in the respective container at each boundary between the value documents of two different deposits,

    - at least one value-document processing apparatus (60) which is adapted to check the value documents of the different deposits transported in the containers to the value-document processing apparatus and to count them stack by stack in order to establish a value document number in dependence on the value document type, and

    - a transport device (1000, 9) which is adapted to remove the value documents of the different deposits inserted in the containers from the respective container along a removal direction stack by stack and to insert them into an input pocket (61) of the value-document processing apparatus, and

    - an accounting device (Z) for automatically bringing to account the different deposits that were checked by the value-document processing apparatus, and

    - a device (4, 6, 47, 66) which is configured to record a respective deposit's beginning position and, where applicable, end position for each deposit (D1-D8) established upon insertion of the value documents, on the basis of which the value documents can be associated with the respective deposit without using header cards, and which is configured to transmit the beginning position and, where applicable, end position of the respective deposit to the accounting device (Z), characterized by

    - at least two different containers (ID1, ID2) among which the value documents of a contemplated deposit (D5) are distributed such that the value documents of the contemplated deposit (D5) form a first sub-stack (D5₁) which is inserted at the end of a first container and a second sub-stack (D5₂) inserted at the beginning of a second container (ID2), so that the value documents of the contemplated deposit are divided into at least two sub-stacks, wherein the first and/or second containers also contain value documents of one or more other deposits,
    and characterized in

    - that the accounting device (Z) is configured to carry out the accounting of the sub-stacks (D5₁, D5₂) of the contemplated deposit (D5) that are inserted into the first and second containers either jointly or separately from each other in dependence on the order in which the value documents of the first container (ID1) and of the second container (ID2) are inserted into the input pocket of the value-document processing apparatus, and

    - that the accounting device (Z) is configured such that, in the case when the value-document processing apparatus checks the at least two sub-stacks of the contemplated deposit that were inserted in the different containers (ID1, ID2), in immediate succession it brings to account the value documents of the at least two sub-stacks jointly, with consideration of the contemplated deposit's beginning position and, where applicable, end position established upon insertion.
13. The system according to claim 12, characterized in that the accounting device (Z) is configured for establishing from the stack-based value-document number that was established upon the stack-by-stack counting for the at least two sub-stacks in dependence on the respective value-document type, with consideration of the contemplated deposit's beginning position and, where applicable, end position established upon insertion, a resultant value-document number for each value-document type present in the contemplated deposit (D4/D5), in order to bring to account the at least two sub-stacks of the contemplated deposit (D4/D5) jointly.

Images