RU2308088C2 - Method for setting modes of operation and information input into a machine for sorting banknotes - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: automated methods for processing large amounts of banknotes, possible use in machines for sorting banknotes.

SUBSTANCE: in accordance to the method, banknote stacks and information cards are fed into banknote sorting machine, cards and banknotes are identified, resulting images are processed by means of pre-installed computer program, while setting of operation modes of sorting machine and input of additional data for analysis is performed automatically in real time by reading information from cards accompanying the banknotes by means of scanning devices, while information on the card is provided in form of printed form or handwritten text, resulting images of banknotes and cards are processed by means of program for optical recognition of symbols.

EFFECT: provision of automated method for setting operation modes of sorting machine and for inputting information into machine, and also reduction of stress on operator during operation due to abolished manual input of data and switching of modes by operator.

Description

The invention relates to automated methods for processing large volumes of cash tickets and is intended for use in cash ticket sorting machines. It makes it possible to automate the process of switching operating modes when the next pack of cash tickets arrives at the sorting machine.

To date, in almost all known banknote sorting machines, both the change of operating modes and the input of additional information upon receipt of a new bundle of banknotes are carried out manually by entering data by the operator. The operator makes the appropriate settings for the operation of the machine, depending on the purpose of processing this pack. For example, the operator must separate in the first bundle of banknotes banknotes suitable for use at an ATM, then in the second bundle separate banknotes suitable for working with clients, after which he must calculate the number of banknotes of each denomination in the third bundle and at the same time sort the banknotes at face value. Improper setting of operating modes can lead to the execution of another task, and this can entail significant time costs. At the same time, if the operator must change the operating modes several times during the day, then, of course, the probability of incorrect setting of the operating modes increases. The main reason is that the operator has to process a lot of banknotes per shift. The speed of this work depends significantly on the processing speed of the bundles (i.e., putting the bundle of banknotes in the feeder and removing the bundle from the machine). Since the processing of bundles of banknotes (especially small ones) by the sorting machine is much faster than changing the operating mode by the operator, it is clear that in the case of manual input, the shift operator processes much less banknotes than he can handle if he does not need to be distracted by setting modes processing bundles of banknotes.

The closest analogue of the invention is the technical solution according to patent No. 2133396 [1], which describes a method for semi-continuous processing of banknotes having at least some attributes of denomination and authentication using a banknote processing machine, which includes the following steps: a) separation of at least one bundle of banknotes, at least one dividing card encoded with information about the account, before processing the bundle of banknotes; b) the identification of this bundle of banknotes with information encoded on a separation card; c) feeding a stack of banknotes and a separation card to the banknote processing machine; and d) processing the separation banknote and banknotes using these steps. To identify a separation card used to distinguish and track a bundle of banknotes in a batch of banknotes supplied to a banknote-processing machine, a known technical solution employs a method that includes the following steps: a) identification of account information for a bundle of banknotes on a separation card through at least one detector that detects at least one card characteristic; and c) distinguishing between a separation card and banknotes based on detected characteristics.

The disadvantage of the closest analogue seems to us that the method described in [1] requires the installation of at least one additional sensor in the sorting machine to determine whether the processed object is a banknote or a card. Moreover, this sensor can turn out to be a rather complicated device, since it may happen that the dividing cards that will be used in the processing process turn out to be of a different nature (for example, they can have magnetic strips, can be in the form of simple printing forms, etc. etc.). It is also clear that the installation of excess equipment, in addition to increasing the dimensions of the product, significantly increases the cost and reliability requirements of the sorting machine. This is especially easy to notice if you consider the main example of the invention from [1]. This refers to the production of cards with magnetic stripes and the installation of an additional detector in a sorting machine. When passing through this detector, it is checked whether this object is a banknote or a card. As you can easily see, using a card with magnetic stripes and a barcode is far from economical in all areas of their application (if only because of the relatively high cost of their manufacture and high requirements for the equipment serving them). In addition, as noted above, installing a sensor in a sorting machine will significantly complicate its internal structure and will require additional material costs.

It is also obvious that with this method of processing information in certain cases, the work of the operator serving the sorting machine can be significantly more complicated. For in order to receive information from the card he will need some additional equipment. This can significantly affect the processing time of large batches of banknotes in the event of an emergency situation (for example, incorrect feeding of banknotes, etc.), which could be quickly eliminated with the direct intervention of the operator.

The objective of the invention is to develop an automated method for setting operating modes of a sorting machine and entering information into the machine. The technical result consists in the fact that the operating modes of the sorting machine are automatically set, while for the separation of banknotes from separation cards, no additional detectors are required, which reduces the load on the operator during operation, as manual data entry and switching modes by the operator are practically eliminated .

The specified problem is solved as follows.

A method for setting operation modes and inputting information into a banknote sorting machine is proposed, which consists in feeding bundles of banknotes and cards with information into a banknote sorting machine, identifying cards and banknotes, processing the images using a pre-installed computer program, characterized in that the operation modes of the sorting machine and the input of additional data for analysis are carried out automatically in real time by reading information from the banknotes submitted cards using scanning devices, while the information on the card is presented in the form of a printed form or handwritten text, the received images of banknotes and cards are processed using an optical character recognition program.

The bundles of banknotes that need to be processed are transferred with special cards (printed forms, handwritten text, etc.), which indicate information on operating modes and other information according to which this bundle should be processed, as well as the process of entering some important additional information about a given bundle (for example, information about the organization from which this bundle of banknotes came, for banks it may be information about the purpose of this payment, information about the numbers of the party’s banknotes, information about the cashier who handed over this batch, information on the denominations of the party's banknotes, etc.).

Then packs of banknotes with their corresponding cards are stacked in order and served in a sorting machine BARS [2]. Naturally, the cards have the size necessary for the possibility of their submission to the transport system of the sorting machine. When passing through a transport system, the image of a card or banknote is scanned and transmitted to a computer. Then the image of the card is processed using the optical character recognition program pre-installed on the computer.

In order to distinguish cards from banknotes, a special distinguishing feature is applied to each card. One of the possible options is as follows - part of the card header contains the keyword (s) of the card's purpose. The absence of a distinguishing feature means that the object that passed under the scanner is not a card.

Words or special characters printed on cards contain information about operating modes and additional data that must be used to process this bundle of banknotes. After image processing by the OPC program, the operation modes of the sorting machine are switched, the values of which are stored until the next card is detected. Thus, after processing each card, the operating modes of the sorting machine and the composition of the additional information that must be analyzed change.

The inventive method is implemented in the BARS machine [2], and it does not require the installation of any additional detectors and sensors to implement separate processing of cards and banknotes.

Information sources

1. Patent of the Russian Federation RU 2163396.

2. Patent of the Russian Federation RU 2158443.

Claims (1)

The method of setting the operating modes and entering information into the banknote sorting machine, which consists in transporting and supplying bundles of banknotes and corresponding cards through the transport system of the sorting machine, wherein the cards differ from the banknotes in a corresponding sign and data intended to according to them, process this bundle in a sorting machine, and to enter additional information about the bundle of banknotes, these data are presented in the form of a printed form or handwritten text, identifying they dig cards and packs of banknotes, read the specified data from the supplied cards and banknotes using scanning devices, process the images of banknotes and cards obtained after scanning, using the optical character recognition program, and, according to the image processing results, switch the operation modes of the sorting machine and enter additional data about this pack, changing the composition of additional information.