System and Method for Processing Bank Notes

• US 20150052057A2
• Filed: 11/27/2012
• Published: 02/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Giesecke & Devrient (Giesecke & Devrient GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Giesecke & Devrient GmbH
• Inventors: PIETSCHKER, Andrej
• Granted Patent: US 9,990,794 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/45
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/28 Setting of parameters; Software updates

Abstract

A system for processing bank notes and a corresponding method comprises at least one bank-note processing machine having a central control device on which only those software modules are implemented that are necessary for the standard operation of the bank-note processing machine for counting, checking and/or sorting bank notes. At least one application server is connected to the bank-note processing machine via an external communication network and has implemented thereon at least one further software module which is executed on the application server and provides an application which provides at least one function going beyond the standard operation of the bank-note processing machine. The application provided on the application server involves a configuration application, a serial-number application, a reporting application and/or a servicing application.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A system for processing value documents, comprising:

at least one bank-note processing machine having a central control device on which there are implemented software modules necessary for the standard operation of the bank-note processing machine; and

an application server which is connected to the bank-note processing machine via a communication network and on which there is implemented at least one further software module which is executed on the application server and provides to the bank-note processing machine an application which provides at least one function going beyond the standard operation of the bank-note processing machine.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the central control device of the bank-note processing machine is an industrial PC or a corresponding mainboard on which a PC operating system is installed.

13. The system according to claim 11, wherein the bank-note processing machine comprises at least one checking device which captures raw data and/or measuring data of the bank notes processed with the bank-note processing machine, wherein the software module implemented on the application server provides an application which is arranged for processing the raw data and/or measuring data captured by the checking device of the bank-note processing machine.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the application server has stored therein for each type of bank-note processing machine, configuration data which can be employed by the bank-note processing machine in connection with a bank note'"'"'s raw data and/or measuring data for rating or classifying a bank note, and wherein a configuration application is executed on the application server, so that the application server is arranged for adapting the configuration data stored therein for each type of bank-note processing machine on the basis of the raw data and/or measuring data, in order to make the adapted configuration data available to bank-note processing machines of the corresponding type.

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein the raw data and/or measuring data provided by the checking device of the bank-note processing machine comprise serial-number data of the bank notes processed by the bank-note processing machine, wherein the application server is arranged, due to a serial-number application executed thereon, for storing in a serial-number archive the serial-number data provided by a bank-note processing machine, and supervising the flow of bank notes between the bank-note processing machines that are in communication with the application server, using the serial-number data provided by a bank-note processing machine as well as using the serial-number archive.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the application server, due to the serial-number application executed thereon, is arranged for extracting a bank'"'"'s serial number note from a bank note'"'"'s image data which are part of the raw data and/or measuring data provided by the bank-note processing machine.

17. The system according to claim 13, wherein a reporting application is executed on the application server, so that the latter is arranged for accordingly editing the raw data and/or measuring data provided by a bank-note processing machine and creating therefrom a report in a definable form.

18. The system according to claim 13, wherein a servicing application is executed on the application server, so that the latter is arranged for determining and supervising the need for servicing of a bank-note processing machine on the basis of the raw data and/or measuring data provided by the bank-note processing machine.

19. The system according to claim 11, wherein the bank-note processing machine and/or the application server has stored thereon electronic keys by means of which the transfer of data between the bank-note processing machine and the application server can be encrypted and/or an authentication process can be carried out between the bank-note processing machine and the application server, wherein the authentication process is preferably a mutual challenge-response authentication.

20. A method for processing value documents wherein the method comprises the following steps:

executing software modules on a bank-note processing machine which are required for the standard operation of the bank-note processing machine; and

executing at least one further software module on an application server which can communicate with the bank-note processing machine via a communication network, wherein the at least one further software module provides an application which provides at least one function going beyond the standard operation of the bank-note processing machine.