System and method for processing value documents

Abstract

A system for processing value documents and a corresponding method, include an apparatus for processing value documents, a housing in which the apparatus is integrated and/or a support on which the apparatus is arranged, and a recording device provided in or on the housing and/or on the support for recording actions carried out by an operating person while operating the apparatus. The system and method provide a more reliable recording of the actions performed by the operating person and enables a more reliable later check of the operating process.

Claims

1. A system for processing value documents, comprising: an apparatus for processing value documents including checking, counting, sorting and/or destroying value documents; a housing in which the apparatus is integrated, and/or a support on which the apparatus is arranged; a recording device provided in or on the housing and/or on the support for recording actions carried out by an operating person in a working region while operating the apparatus; a reading device provided in or on the housing and/or on the support for capturing at least one information item from the working region, the at least one information item being for identifying the value documents intended for processing; and a control device which is configured for mutually associating the captured information item for identifying the value documents intended for processing and the image data obtained upon the recording of the actions carried out by the operating person, such that the captured information item and the image data are stored in a memory accordingly; wherein the recording device and the reading device are given in the form of a camera device, the camera device comprising a wide-angle, low focal length camera configured to capture the near range and the far range at the same depth of field; and wherein the working region is located before the housing and/or the support.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the actions carried out by the operating person while operating the apparatus comprise supplying value documents intended for processing in the apparatus and/or removing value documents after their processing in the apparatus.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the recording device is configured for recording still and/or moving images of the actions carried out by the operating person while operating the apparatus.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the reading device is configured for capturing an information item located on a container for identifying value documents located in the container and intended for processing.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the information item for identifying the value documents intended for processing is given in the form of a bar code.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the camera device is integrated in the housing and there is provided on the housing at least one transparent housing region through which the camera device can capture the actions carried out by the operating person and/or the information item for identifying the value documents intended for processing.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein a first housing region is so configured and/or arranged that the actions carried out by the operating person can be captured by the camera device therethrough.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the first and/or second housing region has an optical imaging element for imaging the actions carried out by the operating person or the information item for identifying the value documents onto the camera device.

9. The system according to claim 6, wherein a second housing region is so configured and/or arranged that the information item for identifying the value documents intended for processing can be captured by the camera device therethrough.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the first and/or second housing region has an optical imaging element for imaging the actions carried out by the operating person or the information item for identifying the value documents onto the camera device.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the support has at least one transparent placement area through which the actions carried out by the operating person can be recorded and/or the information item for identifying the value documents located on the placement area can be captured.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the recording and/or reading device is attached in the interior of the housing, and a user interface is transparent to the recording and/or reading device.

13. A method for processing value documents by which actions carried out by an operating person in a working region while operating an apparatus for processing value documents are recorded by a recording device, wherein the recording device is provided in or on a housing in which the apparatus is integrated, and/or on a support on which the apparatus is arranged; and by which at least one information item for identifying the value documents intended for processing is captured from the working region by a reading device, wherein the reading device is provided in or on a housing in which the apparatus is integrated, and/or on a support on which the apparatus is arranged; wherein the recording device and the reading device are given in the form of a camera device, the camera device comprising a wide-angle, low focal length camera configured to capture the near range and the far range at the same depth of field; wherein the captured information item for identifying the value documents intended for processing and the recording of the actions carried out by the operating person are mutually associated and stored in a memory by a control device; and wherein the working region is located before the housing and/or the support.

14. The system according to claim 7, wherein the first housing region has an optical imaging element for imaging the actions carried out by the operating person or the information item for identifying the value documents onto the camera device, the optical imaging element comprising a Fresnel lens forming a part of the housing.

15. A system for processing value documents, comprising: an apparatus for processing value documents including checking, counting, sorting and/or destroying value documents; a housing in which the apparatus is integrated, and/or a support on which the apparatus is arranged; a recording device provided in or on the housing and/or on the support for recording actions carried out by an operating person in a working region while operating the apparatus; a reading device provided in or on the housing and/or on the support for capturing at least one information item from the working region, the at least one information item being for identifying the value documents intended for processing; and a transparent placement area extending from the housing and/or the support and including a depression for receiving the value documents; wherein the recording device and the reading device are provided below the transparent placement area and capture the actions of the operator and the at least one information item there through; and wherein the working region is defined by the transparent placement area.

16. The system according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus for processing value documents comprises a sensor device provided within the housing for capturing physical properties of the value documents.

17. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an input pocket and an output pocket in or on the housing and/or on the support for inputting and outputting value documents to the apparatus for processing value documents, wherein the input pocket and the output pocket are located in the working region.

18. The system according to claim 1, wherein the recording device is configured to begin recording upon the capture of the at least one information item by the reading device.

19. The system according to claim 15, wherein the transparent placement area comprises an elongate support extending from the housing at an angle of 90.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantages, features and application possibilities of the present invention will result from the subsequent description in connection with the figures. There are shown:

(2) FIG. 1 an example of a schematic construction of a value-document processing system;

(3) FIG. 2 a first example of a value-document processing system in a front view;

(4) FIG. 3 the first example of a value-document processing system shown in FIG. 2, in a first operation phase;

(5) FIG. 4 the first example of a value-document processing system shown in FIG. 2, in a second operation phase;

(6) FIG. 5 a second example of a value-document processing system in a front view;

(7) FIG. 6 a third example of a value-document processing system in a front view;

(8) FIG. 7 the example of a value-document processing system shown in FIG. 6, in a side view; and

(9) FIG. 8 a fourth example of a value-document processing system in a side view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

(10) FIG. 1 shows an example of a schematic construction of a value-document processing system 1 having an input pocket 2 in which a stack of value documents, in particular bank notes 3, to be processed is supplied, and a singler 8 by which the respective lowermost bank note of the inputted stack is grasped and delivered to a transport device 10rendered only schematically in the chosen representationwhich conveys the bank note in the transport direction T to a sensor device 20.

(11) The sensor device 20 serves to capture physical properties of the bank notes, from which properties of the bank notes, such as printed image, denomination, authenticity and state, can then be derived. Depending on the bank-note properties to be established, the sensor device 20 contains different sensors, such as UV/VIS/IR optical remission and/or transmission sensors, luminescence sensors, ultrasonic sensors, conductivity sensors or magnetic sensors.

(12) The sensor signals generated by the sensor device 20 are relayed for evaluation to a control device 50 in which statements can be derived from the respective sensor signals about different properties of the respective bank note, such as denomination, authenticity, degree of soiling, wear, defects and the presence of foreign objects, such as adhesive tape. Depending on the established properties of the respective bank note, the transport device 10 as well as the gates 11 and 12 along the transport line are controlled by the control device 50 such that the bank note is fed to one of a plurality of output pockets 30 and 31 and placed therein. For example, bank notes that were recognized as authentic are placed in a first output pocket 30, while bank notes classified as false or suspect are placed in a second output pocket 31. The reference number 13 at the end of the represented transport line is intended to indicate that there can be provided further output pockets and/or other devices, for example for storing or destroying bank notes. If the check of a bank note yields for example that it does not meet certain fitness criteria with regard to soiling, wear, defects or the presence of foreign objects, it can be fed directly to a shredder for destruction.

(13) The value-document processing system 1 further has a user interface 40 by which data and/or information items on the bank-note processing and/or instructions to an operating person can be displayed, on the one hand, and data and/or control commands for controlling the bank-note processing can be inputted by an operating person, on the other hand.

(14) In special cases of application, such as upon the processing of deposits in banks, in security transport companies or in so-called cash centers, however, the value-document processing system 1 can preferably also be conceived so as to only check the bank notes of a bank-note stack inputted to the input pocket 2 for authenticity, establish their denomination and compute therefrom a total value of the inputted stack.

(15) A value-document processing system 1 especially suitable specifically for fast processing of deposits is represented by way of example in FIG. 2 in a front view. The components of the system that are explained in connection with FIG. 1 are accommodated in a housing 4, with the input pocket 2 and the output pocket 30 being so arranged in the front region of the housing 4 that they are readily accessible to an operating person for inputting bank notes, in particular in the form of stacks, to the input pocket 2 or removing them from the output pocket 30. The housing 4 can be arranged on a support 5, for example on a table surface, which is preferably mounted on vertically adjustable legs (not represented).

(16) On the housing 4 there is provided a recording device 60 by means of which an operating person's actions that are performed in the region before the housing 4 can be captured and corresponding image data thereby generated. The recording device 60 is preferably a camera for recording preferably moving images, in particular video sequences, of the respectively performed actions. Alternatively or additionally, however, it may also be advantageous in certain cases of application to record mainly or solely still images with the recording device 60. The image data respectively generated upon the capture of the operating person's actions are stored in a memory which can be provided for example in the control device 50 (see FIG. 1).

(17) The recording device 60 can be mounted for example in a depression provided on the housing 4 or else be attached directly to the outer wall of the housing 4. Alternatively, however, it is also possible to arrange the recording device 60 in the interior of the housing of the system 1 and connect it to the exterior of the housing 4 via an optic, for example one or more lenses and/or a light guide.

(18) Preferably, there is further provided on the housing 4 a reading device 61 which can capture additional information items, in particular on the identity of a bank-note stack intended for processing. These may preferably be information items that are encoded in the form of a bar code and/or stored in an electronic memory in the form of an RFID tag. The bar code or RFID tag is preferably located on a container in which the bank notes intended for processing are located.

(19) Such a container may be for example a so-called tamper-evident envelope or a safe bag. A tamper-evident envelope is a security envelope that guarantees besides protection from external influences in particular also protection from unauthorized access to the bank notes located in the envelope and makes tampering or attempted tampering recognizable. A safe bag differs from a tamper-evident envelope in particular in that a safe bag is reusable, while a tamper-evident envelope becomes useless upon opening and can hence only be employed once.

(20) Alternatively or additionally, however, it is also possible to provide the bar code or the RF-ID tag on a band surrounding the bank notes to be processed, or on a document supplied along with the bank notes, for example in the form of a card.

(21) With regard to the attachment of the reading device 61 on or in the housing 4 the above expositions in connection with the recording device 60 apply accordingly.

(22) In the support 5 there can preferably be provided a placement area 6, for example in the form of a depression, into which the operating person is to place the bank notes to be processed when supplying them, or in whose region an operating person is to handle the bank notes to be processed or that are already processed.

(23) FIG. 3 shows the example of the value-document processing system 1 shown in FIG. 2, in a first operation phase in which a container 7, in particular a safe bag, with bank notes 3 located therein has been placed by an operating person in the placement area 6 provided therefor, whereupon a bar code located on the container 7 is captured by means of the reading device 61 and the information items contained in the bar code for identifying the container 7 and/or the bank notes 3 located therein are stored in a memory. The field of view of the reading device 61 is indicated by dotted lines in the figure.

(24) As soon as the bar code located on the container 7 has been captured, the recording device 60 begins recording the actions performed by the operating person, in particular in the region of the placement area 6, which is illustrated by a field of view, indicated by dashed lines, of the recording device 60.

(25) The arrangement of the recording device 60 somewhat above the input pocket 2, which is shown in the represented example and particularly preferred, guarantees that both the region of the placement area 6 and the input pocket 2 lie in the field of view of the recording device 60 and thus all the operating person's relevant actions, from supplying the container 7 to placing the bank-note stack 3 in the input pocket 2, are reliably recorded, which will be explained more closely hereinafter.

(26) After insertion of the container 7 into the placement area 6, the operating person is to manually open the container 7 and empty its content, i.e. the bank notes 3 to be processed, on the placement area 6. This processing phase is represented in FIG. 4. In this phase, any coins or foreign bodies that are present can be manually sorted out by the operating person. Further, it is possible to configure the placement area 6 such that it is somewhat inclined relative to the horizontal and/or can perform jerking motions, so that the bank notes 3 located thereon are aligned parallel to one of their edges, in particular to a longitudinal edge. Depending on the arrangement, steepness and shaking direction of the placement area 6, the bank notes 3 can thereby be aligned flush left or flush right. During shaking, the operating person can if necessary perform other manual activities, such as emptying the output pocket 30 or banding the removed bank notes.

(27) The, preferably aligned, bank notes 3 are removed from the placement area 6 by the operating person and inserted into the input pocket 2, which is indicated by the arrow indicated in FIG. 4. This process is also recorded by the recording device 60. Preferably, the recording of the operating person's actions is ended as soon as the singler 8 (see FIG. 1) begins grasping individual bank notes from the bank-note stack 3 inputted in the input pocket 2 and feeding them to further processing in the system 1.

(28) Preferably, the image or video data generated by means of the recording device 60 upon the monitoring of the supplying of the bank-note stack 3 by the operating person, on the one hand, and the bar-code information items read by means of the reading device 61 for identifying the container 7 or the bank-note stack 3 located therein are mutually associated or mutually linked and stored in a memory through the control device 50 (see FIG. 1). If there is a need to reconstruct at a later time which actions the corresponding operating person has performed in connection with the processing of a bank-note stack 3 having a certain deposit ID, the corresponding image or video data can then be retrieved in a simple manner on the basis of the deposit ID associated therewith, and be analyzed.

(29) Alternatively or additionally to the hereinabove described association of the identity information item of a deposit with the image data obtained upon the operating of the system upon the processing of the deposit, the control device 50 of the system 1 can further be so configured that processing data that are generated during the processing of the inputted bank-note stack 3 by the system 1 are associated with the image or video data generated by means of the recording device 60 and/or with the identification information items obtained by means of the reading device 61. The processing data obtained during the processing of the bank-note stack 3 may be for example the date and/or time of the processing of the bank notes 3, the identity of the respective operating person, information items for identifying the processing system 1 and, not least, information items on certain properties of the respectively checked bank notes 3, such as serial number, denomination, printed image, authenticity or state. Due to the linkage of the processing data obtained upon processing with the image data or the identity information item of the deposit, a later plausibility check in particular of the working steps performed by the operating person can be carried out in case the value of the effected deposit deviates from the established value of the deposit.

(30) FIG. 5 shows a second example of a value-document processing system 1 in a front view. In this example the recording device 60 is so arranged in the region of the support 5, in particular of a table, that it can record the actions performed by the operating person while handling the inserted container 7 or the bank notes 3 located therein.

(31) Preferably, the recording device 60 is located in the edge region of the placement area 6, the latter being configured to be transparent, for example in the form of a glass shelf, so that the recording device 60 can record the operating person's actions through the transparent placement area 6. As indicated by the indicated dashed lines, the recording device 60 and/or the placement area 6 is so arranged or configured that the operating person's actions performed in the region of the placement area 6 as well as of the input pocket 2 and/or output pocket 30 lie in the field of view of the recording device 60.

(32) Alternatively or additionally, it is also possible to arrange the reading device 61 on the support 5 and/or in the region of the support 5 such that it can read information items, in particular bar codes, located on the inputted container 7 and/or the bank-note stack 3. As with the recording of image or video data by the recording device 60, the reading of the information items, in particular in the form of bar codes, located on the container 7 is effected through the transparent placement area 6 here, too. In the shown example, the reading device 61 is integrated in a support element 9 provided on the support 5, which element can be provided specifically for fastening the reading device 61 or else can be given in the form of a foot on which the support 5 is mounted. Otherwise, the expositions in connection with the examples shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 apply accordingly.

(33) FIG. 6 shows a third example of a value-document processing system 1 in a front view. In the represented example, the functionalities of the recording device 60 and reading device 61 (see FIGS. 2 to 5) are combined in a camera device 62. The camera device 62 therefore constitutes a common device by means of which both the actions carried out by an operating person while operating the system 1 can be recorded and additional information items, in particular in the form of a bar code, located on the container 7 and/or on the bank-note stack 3 can be read. A suitable camera device 62 is for example a camera with as wide-angled a field of view as possible, in particular with a camera optic of small focal length, for example a fish-eye objective. This wide-angle objective captures the near range for bar-code reading and the far range for recording the operating person's actions at the same depth of field (e.g. near point 60 mm, far point infinity). Further, the camera can have a CCD matrix and/or CMOS matrix which is particularly suited for reading bar codes located on the container 7. Preferably, not the whole image region, which might be distorted at the edge, is evaluated here, but preferably only a smaller region near the optical axis of the camera device 62. This is illustrated in FIG. 6 by the dotted lines proceeding from the camera device 62.

(34) Preferably, the actions performed by an operating person in connection with the handling of the container 7 or the bank notes 3 located therein are captured after capture of the bar code but in the total field of view of the camera device 62, and the thereby obtained image or video data are stored, for example in the form of a film or a consecutive series of images. The field of view of the camera device 62 is preferably so great here that if possible all the operating person's actions performed in the region of the support 5 can be captured. A corresponding field of view is indicated in FIG. 6 by dashed lines proceeding from the camera device 62.

(35) Preferably, the camera device 62 can be arranged in the lower region, in particular in a base region 4, of the housing 4 of the system 1. It can be arranged, as in the hereinabove described systems, on the base region 4 of the housing 4 itself or else within the housing 4. The relevant expositions in connection with the example shown in FIG. 2 apply here accordingly.

(36) FIG. 7 shows the example represented in FIG. 6 of a value-document processing system 1, in a side view. As indicated by the latter, the camera device 62 is integrated in the interior of the housing 4 at the level of the base region 4. The base region 4 of the housing 4 can preferably be configured as a window through which the camera device 62 can read information items located on the container 7 and/or the bank-note stack 3 and/or record the operating person's actions performed in the region of the support 5. The window can be formed for example by a transparent pane or else be designed open. Otherwise, the above expositions in connection with the examples shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 apply accordingly.

(37) FIG. 8 shows a fourth example of a value-document processing system 1 in a side view. In this example, the camera device 62 is arranged in the interior of the housing 4. Further, there is provided in the front region of the housing 4 a first housing region 41 which is so configured that the actions performed by an operating person in the region of the support 5 can be captured by the camera device 62 therethrough. Preferably, the first housing region 41 has an optical imaging element by means of which objects located in the region of the support 5 or the operating person's hands are imaged onto the camera device 62. For example, the optical imaging element can be embodied by a Fresnel lens which preferably forms a part of the housing 4, as indicated schematically in FIG. 8. Field of view and ray path upon the recording of images or video sequences of the actions performed by an operating person are indicated in the figure by dashed lines.

(38) Preferably, there is further provided a second housing region 42 through which the camera device 62 can capture additional information items, in particular in the form of bar codes, located on the container 7 and/or on the bank notes 3. The second housing region 42 is arranged here above the first housing region 41, so that bar codes located on the container 7 can be read in a comfortable manner while the container 7 is being placed by an operating person on the support 5 and thereby passes the field of view, which is indicated in the figure by dotted lines, of the camera device 62. Like the first housing region 41, the second housing region 42 can also have an optical imaging element by means of which the bar code located on the container 7 is imaged onto the camera device 62. Alternatively or additionally, however, it is also conceivable to furnish the camera device 62 with a camera objective which enables a reliable capture of the bar code located on the container 7 without the second housing region 42 needing to have imaging properties. In this case the second housing region 42 can merely have a transparent, for example dark-transparent, pane.

(39) If one or all of the recording and/or reading devices 60, 61, 62 are attached in the interior of the housing 4, it may also be provided that the user interface 40 is configured such that it is transparent to the recording and/or reading device 60, 61, 62, so that the recording and/or reading device 60, 61, 62 captures images through the user interface. For this purpose, there can be employed for example an indicator or display which is transparent or can be put in a transparent state, e.g. an OLED display.

(40) In addition to the recording device 60 or camera device 62 provided in the examples of FIGS. 2 to 6, it may be advantageous to provide a further recording device by means of which the operating person, in particular his actions, can be recorded from another perspective. This is illustrated with the help of FIG. 8 by way of example by a camera 63 which is arranged above the workplace defined by the housing 4 and/or the support 5 and is suitable for example for monitoring the operating person from an overhead perspective. The thereby obtained image or video data are stored like the image or video data obtained by means of the recording device 60 or camera device 62 and retrieved if necessary for a later check of the actions performed by the operating person.