APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ARRANGING DOCUMENTS OF VALUE

Abstract

What is described is an apparatus for arranging value documents, having a work surface, on which value documents to be arranged can be placed, and a trough in or in front of the work surface, which trough is configured such that value documents picked up or pushed from the work surface can be brought into said trough in order to mutually align them therein.

Claims

1.-8. (canceled)

9. An apparatus for arranging value documents with a work surface on which value documents to be arranged can be placed, and a trough in or in front of the work surface which is configured such that value documents picked up or pushed from the work surface can be brought into said trough, in order to mutually align them therein.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the trough has mutually opposing wall sections extending in the longitudinal direction of the trough, which extend substantially parallel to each other.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the trough has wall sections extending in the longitudinal direction of the trough, which are inclined with respect to the work surface at an angle of between 15 and 45.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the trough, preferably at one end, has an opening, wherein preferably at the opening a transport device is arranged for transporting coins which have entered through the opening and/or a coin receiving device or a receptacle for a coin receiving device is arranged such that coins dropping through the opening can drop into a coin receiving device received therein, and preferably at least the bottom of the trough is inclined downwardly in the longitudinal direction of the trough, so that the opening is disposed at the lower end.

13. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the work surface is inclined in the direction of the trough, so that value documents lying on the work surface at least partially slide into the trough or can be pushed into the trough when lying on the work surface.

14. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the work surface is structured, preferably ribbed or nubby, such that a user can grip with his fingertips below the value documents and pick these up more easily.

15. The apparatus according to claim 9, which has a device by means of which the trough can be vibrated.

16. A method for arranging value documents, preferably forming a stack of the value documents, wherein the value documents are brought onto a work surface of an apparatus according to claim 9, the value documents are moved from the work surface into the trough and the value documents are mutually aligned in the trough.

Description

[0019] The invention will hereinafter be explained further by way of example with reference to the drawings. There are shown:

[0020] FIG. 1 a perspective schematic view of a first embodiment of an apparatus for arranging value documents,

[0021] FIG. 2 a sectional view through a plate of the apparatus in FIG. 1 in the region of a trough,

[0022] FIG. 3 a view corresponding to FIG. 1, in which value documents are shown while being arranged,

[0023] FIG. 4 a view corresponding to FIG. 2, in which value documents standing in the trough are shown,

[0024] FIG. 5 a perspective schematic view of a second example of an apparatus for arranging value documents with a coin container,

[0025] FIG. 6 a perspective view of a profile rail, which serves as the trough in the apparatus in FIG. 5,

[0026] FIG. 7 a schematic plan view of the profile rail in FIG. 6, and

[0027] FIG. 8 a schematic perspective view of a profile rail, which serves as the trough in the apparatus in FIG. 5, and a vibration device coupled thereto.

[0028] In FIG. 1, an apparatus for arranging value documents 10 comprises a table 12 having on a support frame 14 a table top 16 which has a work surface 18 on which value documents to be arranged can be placed.

[0029] The work surface 18 or its surface is structured such that a user can grip below the value documents with his fingertips and can pick these up more easily. In this example, the work surface 18 is nubby and therefore has nubs 19.

[0030] In the work surface 18 a trough 20 is configured such that value documents 10 picked up or pushed from the work surface 18 can be brought into said trough in order to mutually align them therein and to arrange them to form stacks preferably.

[0031] The trough 20 is formed by a profile rail 22, in the example an aluminum profile, which is inserted in an elongated rectangular recess 24 in the table top 16 (see FIG. 2). The length of the profile rail 22 in the direction L and that of the recess can be between 30 cm and 90 cm, in the example it amounts to about 60 cm.

[0032] The profile rail 22 is embedded in the table top 16 such that its upper edge is flush with the work surface 18 or the surface of the table top 16. In this embodiment example, the profile rail 22 and thus the trough 20 is configured symmetrically; in FIG. 2 a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction L is illustrated.

[0033] The profile rail 22 and thus the trough 20 has on mutually opposing sides respectively two mutually adjoining wall sections 26 and 28 or 26 and 28, which extend in the longitudinal direction L of the trough.

[0034] The wall sections 26 and 26 adjoin the bottom 30 and extend substantially parallel to each other. The spacing b of the wall sections 26 and 26, and thus the width of the trough in their region above the bottom 30 amounts to between 20 mm and 40 mm, in the example 35 mm. The height c of the wall sections 26 and 26 is in the range between 30 and 50 mm, in this example it amounts to 45 mm.

[0035] Further, the trough 20 is configured such that its width (transversely to the longitudinal direction) increases upwardly. More exactly, the profile rail 22 and thus the trough 20 has wall sections 28 and 28 extending in the longitudinal direction L of the trough 20, each of which adjoining the wall sections 26 and 26 extending parallel to each other, and being inclined with respect to the work surface 18 at an angle x between 15 and 45. In the example the angle amounts to about 20.

[0036] The width a of the profile rail 22 and thus the width of the trough 20 in the region of the opening or at the level of the work surface 18 can be between 100 mm and 120 mm, in the example it amounts to 110 mm.

[0037] For arranging value documents 10, these are put by hand into the trough 20, where they stand on their edges or corners, but are not aligned parallel to each other (see. FIGS. 3 and 4). In particular, the trough 20 prevents a tipping over of the value documents 10 with the substantially parallel wall sections 26 and 26, between which the value documents 10 stand. Thus, these are held at least approximately upright. Using both hands, the value documents standing in the trough 20 can now be moved against each other for example by rotating or pushing, and can be mutually aligned, wherein the bottom 30 of the trough 20 serves as support. When the value documents 10 are aligned parallel to each other for example with their longitudinal edges and stand on the bottom 30 of the trough 20 with these edges, they can be pushed together by moving the hands parallel to the longitudinal direction L of the trough 20 to form a stack. This stack can then be removed.

[0038] A second embodiment example in FIG. 5 differs from the first embodiment example in that, firstly, the work surface 32 is not structured but is flat, which can facilitate the shifting of value documents on the work surface.

[0039] On the other hand, the embodiment example differs from the first embodiment example in that the trough 20, more exactly the bottom 30, is inclined downwardly in the longitudinal direction L of the trough 20, so that coins can slide therein to the lower end.

[0040] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a profile rail 34, which is used instead of the profile rail 22 in the first embodiment example, and forms the trough 20. The bottom 30 is inclined with respect to the upper edges 31 of the profile rail, the wall sections 26 and 26 extending parallel to each other have a trapezoidal shape with variable height. The wall sections 28 and 28 are unchanged.

[0041] Further, the trough 20 has an opening 38 at its lower end through which the coins 40 can pass. At the opening 38 a transport device in the form of a hose 44 is arranged which leads to a coin receiving device, in the example a coin collection container 42, said hose being connected to the opening 38 and leading to the coin collection container 42 or its coin accepting opening. The coin collection container 42 is held on a receptacle 46 for the coin collection container. The opening 38, transport means, coin collection container 42 and receptacle 44 are configured and arranged such that coins 40 dropping through the opening 38 can enter the coin collection container 42 by means of the transport device, for example by sliding.

[0042] A third embodiment example differs from the first embodiment example in that the table top 16 and thus the work surface 18 is inclined in the direction of the trough 20, so that value documents 10 lying on the work surface 18 at least partially slide into the trough 20 or can be pushed into the trough when lying on the work surface.

[0043] A fourth embodiment example differs from the second embodiment example in that the apparatus comprises a vibration device, by means of which the trough 20 can be vibrated. Thereby an alignment of the value documents is simplified and in the favorable case effected at least largely automatically. FIG. 8 shows by way of example and in simplified manner a trough 20, which is coupled to a vibration device 50. The trough 20 or profile rail 34 does not differ from the trough in the previous example, but is embedded in the table top 16 such that an upward and downward movement is possible with its less deep end, on the right in FIG. 8, while the opposite end rests at least approximately. At the right end the vibration device 50 is held on the table top 16 and 50 has a drive 52 with a drive element 53, in the example a drive disk. The drive 52 is mechanically coupled to the trough 20 via a coupling element 54, in the example a rod, which is eccentrically but pivotally coupled to the drive element 53 and to the trough 20 via a hinge or hinged thereto. By the drive 52, in the example by the motor-driven rotation of the drive element 53, the coupling element 54 is moved, which thus generates a vibrating movement of the trough 20. By the arrangement on the one end, on the right in FIG. 8, a tilting movement of the trough 20 about the other end is produced, so that a vibrating movement is produced, which transfers vertical and horizontal movement components to banknotes therein. These are then conveyed to the other end, on the left in FIG. 8. Other embodiment examples differ from the described one in that the trough 20 is mounted so as to be rotatable about an axis transversal to the longitudinal direction of the trough 20 by means of a hinge at the end which is further away from the connection to the coupling element 54. Of course, other, possibly more elaborate mountings of the trough 20 and vibration devices are possible. The trough can also be configured like in the first embodiment.

[0044] A fifth embodiment example differs from the second embodiment example in that the coin receiving device is not the coin receiving container 42, but said container is replaced by a coin sorting device, at whose coin feed the transport device 44, in the example the hose, ends.