Device for working sheet-like material

• US 7,152,744 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2001
• Issued: 12/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Giesecke & Devrient (Giesecke & Devrient GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Giesecke & Devrient GmbH
• Inventors: Löffler, Lukas, Kunz, Hans-Wolfgang, Schmidt, Alfred, Schinzel-Reiner, Gerhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Mackey, Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kohner, Matthew J.
• Application Number:
  US10/297,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20040225407A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,017 Days
• Field of Search: 209/534, 194/206, 194/207, 902/7
• US Class Current: 209/534
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 11/40 Device architecture, e.g. modular construction
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/00 Testing specially adapted to determine the identity or genuineness of valuable papers or for segregating those which are unacceptable, e.g. banknotes that are alien to a currency

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing sheet material, in particular bank notes, papers of value and the like.

In the inventive apparatus, an automatic return of sheet material to a second or, generally speaking, further check is provided, which obtains relief for an operator of the apparatus. The relief results from a reduction of the rate of indeterminable cases or the total sheet material to be manually reworked, since any disturbances or faulty operating conditions existing at the time of a first or, generally speaking, prior check of sheet material normally no longer exist, or exist in a changed form, at the time of a second or, generally speaking, further check of the sheet material. The correct check and assignment of the sheet material is thus possible in the second or, generally speaking, further check.

Claims

1. In an apparatus for processing sheet material, having:

a singling device for singling a stack of sheets;

a transport system for transporting the singled sheet material;

a checking device disposed along the transport system for checking the singled sheet material, and

at least two deposit devices for depositing sheet material in dependence on the result of the checking device;

the improvement comprising;

a transport device arranged to deliver sheet material that cannot be clearly checked and/or is recognized as faulty by the checking device to at least one recheck path where a recheck is performed using a further sheet material processing apparatus, and

the further sheet material processing apparatus includes a further transport system, a further checking device disposed along the further transport system, and at least two further deposit devices.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a bin is disposed between the transport device and the singling device for receiving sheet material that cannot be clearly checked and/or is recognized as faulty by the checking device, the transport device arranged to transfer sheet material collected in the bin to the further sheet material processing apparatus.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the bin comprises one of the deposit devices.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport device contains a reversing device arranged to reverse sheet material that cannot be clearly checked and/or is recognized as faulty by the checking device.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transport device is arranged to deliver sheet material that cannot be clearly checked and/or is recognized as faulty by the checking device to a further singling device of the further sheet material processing apparatus.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the further checking device is arranged to check features of the sheet material being processed that are also checked by the checking device.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the further checking device is arranged to check features of said sheet material that differ from the features checked by the checking device.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein sheet material processed in the apparatus includes a long and short side, and said transport system transports said sheet material for processing in the direction of its long side whereas sheet material is transported for processing by said further transport system in the further sheet material processing apparatus in the direction of its short side, or vice versa.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transport system and said further transport system are arranged so that sheet material is transported in the apparatus at a higher speed than in the further sheet material processing apparatus, or vice versa.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the checking device includes a storing device for data of the check of sheet material, and further wherein the further checking device is arranged to determine further data of the check of sheet material and to evaluate the further data with data of the check of sheet material stored in the checking device, at least some of the data of the check of sheet material stored in the checking device relating to sheet material previously not clearly checked and/or recognized as faulty.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the further checking device is arranged to determine accounting data for sheet material stored in the further deposit devices and transfers said data to the checking device, and the checking device includes a device to store accounting data for sheet material placed in the deposit devices and is arranged so as to supplement and/or change the stored accounting data with the accounting data of the further checking device.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the further checking device is arranged to perform a static check of sheet material, for which purpose the further checking device is operable to stop the further transport device if sheet material to be checked is located in the area of the further checking device and/or only briefly illuminates the sheet material.

16. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the checking device is arranged to ascertain whether only one piece of sheet material at a time is checked or whether a plurality of pieces of sheet material are connected and transported by the transport system through the checking device.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, including a reversing device in the transport device, and wherein upon the checking device ascertaining that precisely two pieces of sheet material are connected, said checking device is arranged to actuate said reversing drive so as to thereby reverse the two connected pieces of sheet material.

18. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the further sheet material processing apparatus includes a shredder, and a device for supplying sheet material recognized as authentic by the further checking device to the shredder.

19. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a marking apparatus is disposed after the checking device and/or the further checking device.

13. In an apparatus for processing sheet material, having

a singling device for singling a stack of sheets,

a transport system for transporting the singled sheet material,

a checking device disposed along the transport system for checking the singled sheet material, and

at least two deposit devices for depositing sheet material in dependence on the result of the checking device,

a transport device arranged to deliver sheet material that cannot be clearly checked and/or is recognized as faulty by the checking device to at least one recheck path where a recheck is performed by a further checking device of a further sheet material processing apparatus;

wherein the further checking device is located along a further transport system and arranged to transfer data of the check of sheet material for evaluation to an external checking device.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the external checking device has a device that enables evaluation of the data of the check by an operator.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the external checking device and the apparatus are located in different places, and the external checking device receives the data of the check from the apparatus via a data connection.