Apparatus for packaging sheet material

Abstract

An apparatus is arranged for packaging sheet material, in particular banknotes, vouchers, checks, separation cards, etc., with a packaging device, packaging material dispensed from a roll for packaging the sheet material, and a control device controlling the apparatus. A monitoring device is provided for the packaging material, and the control device evaluates a signal of the monitoring device during the packaging of sheet material, in order to derive therefrom whether packaging material is present on the roll.

Claims

1. An apparatus for packaging sheet material with a packaging device for packaging the sheet material using packaging material dispensed from a roll, the apparatus comprising: a control device arranged to control the apparatus, the control device including a monitoring device, wherein: the monitoring device is formed by a rotary encoder, a signal of the monitoring device is evaluated by the control device during the packaging of the sheet material, the control device deriving therefrom whether the packaging material is present on the roll, the signal of the monitoring device is a rotation of the roll, the control device ascertains a rotational speed of the roll from the signal of the rotary encoder, and the control device ascertains how much of the packaging material is present on the roll from the ascertained rotational speed of the roll.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control device ascertains a number of revolutions of the roll per packaging process from the signal of the rotary encoder.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control device ascertains how much of the packaging material is present on the roll from the ascertained number of revolutions of the roll per packaging process.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material for packaging is moved by a drive and a slider and is thereby enclosed by the packaging material, and the control device evaluates the signal of the monitoring device while the drive is active.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material for packaging is moved by a drive and a slider with a linear encoder and is thereby enclosed by the packaging material, and the control device evaluates the signal of the monitoring device while the linear encoder supplies a signal of a movement of the slider.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus has a display device controlled by the control device.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display device, in a manner controlled by the control device, outputs a warning if no packaging material is present any more on the roll.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display device, in a manner controlled by the control device, outputs a warning if only a small amount of the packaging material is still present on the roll.

9. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display device outputs an acoustic warning.

10. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display device outputs an optical warning.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus packages the sheet material by means of a band.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus packages the sheet material by means of a foil.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control device ascertains a change in a rotational speed of the roll from the rotation of the roll, which is the signal of the monitoring device.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the control device ascertains how much of the packaging material is present on the roll from the ascertained change in the rotational speed of the roll.

15. An apparatus for packaging sheet material with a packaging device for packaging the sheet material using packaging material dispensed from a roll, the apparatus comprising: a control device arranged to control the apparatus, the control device including a monitoring device, wherein: the monitoring device is formed by a rotary encoder, a signal of the monitoring device is evaluated by the control device during the packaging of the sheet material, the control device deriving therefrom whether the packaging material is present on the roll, the signal of the monitoring device is a rotation of the roll, and the control device ascertains a number of revolutions of the roll per packaging process from the signal of the rotary encoder.

16. An apparatus for packaging sheet material with a packaging device for packaging the sheet material using packaging material dispensed from a roll, the apparatus comprising: a control device arranged to control the apparatus, the control device including a monitoring device, wherein: the monitoring device is formed by a rotary encoder, a signal of the monitoring device is evaluated by the control device during the packaging of the sheet material, the control device deriving therefrom whether the packaging material is present on the roll, the signal of the monitoring device is a rotation of the roll, and the control device ascertains a change in a rotational speed of the roll from the rotation of the roll, which is the signal of the monitoring device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The figures are described as follows:

(2) FIGS. 1a-c shown an embodiment of an apparatus for packaging sheet material and the packaging of a stack of sheet material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

(3) FIGS. 1a-c shows an embodiment of an apparatus for packaging sheet material. As explained at the outset, the term packaging is to be employed for any banding, packaging or other complete or partial enveloping or wrapping of sheet material, as long as a consumable material, for example paper, foil, plastic foil, in particular shrink foil, or foil-type packaging material composed of different materials, is employed for this packaging.

(4) The apparatus has a deposit means 11 on which a stack of sheet material BN provided for packaging is disposed (FIG. 1a). The deposit means 11 can be formed, for example, by the output pocket of a banknote processing machine mentioned at the outset. In this case, the banknotes sorted into the output pocket by the banknote processing machine in accordance with certain criteria form the sheet material BN.

(5) For packaging, the sheet material BN is pushed by means of a slider 20 having a drive 21 controlled by the control device 40, said slider being in an initial position, into a channel which can be formed, for example, by guiding plates 10 (FIG. 1b). When the sheet material BN is pushed into the channel, the sheet material BN is wrapped by a packaging material 30 which is unwound from a roll 31 mounted on an axle 32. The unwinding of the packaging material 30 can be affected by means of a drive driving the axle 32. It can also be provided, however, that the unwinding of the packaging material 30 is caused by the wrapping of the sheet material BN with the packaging material 30, i.e. by pushing the sheet material BN into the channel formed by the guiding plates 10 by means of the drive 21 and the slider 20. For this purpose, the drive 21 can be configured in particular as an electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic linear drive.

(6) After the slider 20 was returned to its initial position by the drive 21, the packaging material 30 is sealed by a sealing unit 50, 51, in a manner controlled by the control device 40, so that the sheet material BN is permanently enclosed by the packaging material 30 (FIG. 1c). For this purpose, the sealing unit 50, 51 can have a clamping location 52 at which the packaging material 30 is clamped at the start of the packaging process. The sealing unit 50, 51 can be formed, for example, by a movable unit 50 and a stationary unit 51, wherein one unit or both units can be heated. By means of the heat produced in the unit or the units of the sealing unit 50, 51, a temperature-activatable adhesive can be activated in the packaging material 30, in order to seal the packaging material. After the sealing of the packaging material 30 by the sealing unit 50, 51, the packaging material 30 is severed in the direction of the packaged sheet material BN, so that the packaged sheet material BN can be removed. For subsequent packaging processes the packaging material 30 continues to be clamped at the clamping location 52. After removal of the packaged sheet material BN, the sealing unit 50, 51, in a manner controlled by the control device 40, is guided back to the position represented in FIG. 1a, so that further sheet material can be packaged.

(7) During the above-described packaging of the sheet material BN with the packaging material 30, the control device 40 monitors whether packaging material 30 is unwound from the roll 31. For this purpose, a monitoring device 33, for example a rotary encoder, is arranged at the roll 31 or the axle 32. The rotary encoder 33 can be, for example, an electrical, magnetic, mechanic or optical rotary encoder, or any other structure that is suitable to detect the rotation of the roll 31.

(8) When the control device 40 ascertains during the packaging by evaluating the signal of the rotary encoder 33 that the roll 31 rotates, the packaging material 30 necessary for the packaging is present on the roll 31, so that the packaging of the sheet material BN can be carried out.

(9) When the control device 40 ascertains during the packaging by evaluating the signal of the rotary encoder 33 that the roll 31 does not rotate, the packaging material 30 necessary for the packaging is not present on the roll 31, so that the packaging of the sheet material BN cannot be carried out.

(10) In this case, it can be provided that the control device 40 terminates the packaging process, i.e. in particular stops the drive 21 of the slider 20 and possibly guides the slider 20 back to its initial position by means of the drive 21.

(11) However, it can also be provided, for example, by corresponding constructive configuration of the apparatus for packaging sheet material, that the packaging material 30 is sufficient for an initiated packaging process, even if the packaging material 30 has been unwound completely from the roll 31. For this purpose, for example, the distance between the roll 31 and the channel formed by the guiding plates 10 can be dimensioned such that the packaging material 30 still present there is sufficient to be able to complete the started packaging process.

(12) Additionally, it can be provided that, upon recognizing the absence of packaging material 30 on the roll 31, the control device 40 produces an indication for an operator and displays this indication by means of a display device 41. The indication and the display device 41 can be configured acoustically and/or optically. For example, a signal tone can be sounded, or a plain-text display can be represented, for example “Please insert new roll of packaging material.”

(13) For ascertaining the presence of packaging material 30 on the roll 31 by evaluating the signals of the rotary encoder 33 it can be provided that the control device 40 evaluates the signals of the rotary encoder 33 simultaneously while the control device 40 drives the drive 21 of the slider 20 for packaging the sheet material BN. Likewise, it is possible that the slider 20 has a longitudinal encoder 22, which produces a signal during the movement of the slider 20 by the drive 21. The control device 40 then evaluates, when a signal of the lateral encoder 22 is given, whether the rotary encoder 33 also supplies a signal from which the rotation of the roll 32 can be derived.

(14) In a further embodiment of the apparatus for packaging sheet material it is provided to recognize already at an early stage that the packaging material 30 will be used up shortly. For this purpose, the known formal parameters of the apparatus for the packaging of sheet material are evaluated by the control device 40, which allow drawing a conclusion as to the amount of packaging material 30 still present. Among these formal parameters, there are, inter alia, the speed at which the sheet material BN to be packaged is moved by the drive 21 and the slider, the size of the stack of the sheet material BN to be packaged, the diameters of a new (full) and of an empty roll 31 of packaging material.

(15) To ascertain an amount of packaging material 30 still present, the control device 40 evaluates the rotational speed at which the roll 31 is rotating when the packaging material 30 is unwound from the roll 31 during the packaging of sheet material BN, and/or how many revolutions of the roll 31 are necessary per packaging process. The background to this is that a new (full) roll 31 has a known, larger diameter at the start, i.e. when packaging material 30 has not yet been unwound therefrom, than after a number of packaging processes. In line with an increasing number of packaging processes, the diameter 31 decreases further, so that for each new packaging process a higher number of revolutions of the roll 31 is necessary, and/or a higher rotational speed of the roll 31 results, than in the case of a new (full) roll 31 or in the case of preceding packaging processes. Accordingly, by evaluating the signal of the rotary encoder 33, the control device 40 can ascertain from the rotational speed, in particular the change in rotational speed from packaging process to packaging process and/or the number of revolutions of the roll 31 per packaging process, how much packaging material 30 is still present on the roll 31. Since the diameter of an empty roll 31, i.e. without packaging material, is also known and along therewith the formal parameters predetermined for the rotation of the roll 31 with respect to rotational speed and number of revolutions of the roll 31 per packaging process, the control device 40 can ascertain on the basis of the rotational speed and/or the revolutions per packaging process ascertained in each case how much packaging material 30 is still present on the roll 31 in each case.

(16) Thus, the control device 40 can produce an indication already before the packaging material 30 has been used up completely and can signal to an operator by means of the display device 41 that a new roll of packaging material needs to be inserted as soon as possible.