Patent Application
20090243181
The present invention generally relates to the processing of stacks of sheets of securities, in particular banknotes, into bundles and packs of bundles.
Methods and apparatuses for processing sheets of securities, especially banknotes, into bundles and packs are already known in the art.
As a matter of customary practice, the sheets are processed starting from stacks of hundred sheets, and these stacks are cut along rows and columns between the printed security papers to produce individual bundles of hundred security papers each. Prior to processing of the sheets, the security papers are numbered in such a manner that each bundle contains hundred security papers numbered in sequence. The bundles are banded and further processed to produce packs of, usually, ten bundles, i.e. packs comprising thousand security papers.
Numbering of the security papers is often carried out using mechanical numbering devices that are only adapted to perform incremental or decremental numbering (i.e. the number vary by one increment from one numbering iteration to the next). This implies that the numbering sequence is different for each bundle location in the stack of sheets and that the bundle with the numbering sequence that directly follows that of a given bundle will be derived from the same bundle location in the subsequent stack of sheets. Thus, in order to assemble packs of ten bundles each, one has to process ten successive stacks of sheets and collect all the bundles of a given bundle location within one and a same pocket or magazine. For sheets with M columns and N rows of security prints, one thus needs a so-called bundle collating system with M×N magazines having a storage capacity of ten bundles each.
Depending on the number of security papers on each sheet and on the sheet layout, bundle collating can be simplified to some extent. This is for instance possible when the number of security papers on each sheet is a multiple of ten as disclosed in European patent application No. EP 0 598 679. With this solution, a plurality of bundles with consecutive numbering sequence are located within a same stack of sheets, for instance in each column. Nevertheless, with this solution, one still derives several groups of bundles with different numbering sequences from each stack of sheets, and a collating system is therefore still required. In any case, this solution is not applicable to cases where sheets comprise a number of security prints that is not a multiple of ten.
Non-collating solutions which do not require a collating system are known in the art. With such non-collating solutions, numbering of the sheets has to be carried out in a specific manner that depends on the sheet layout, especially the number of security prints per sheet. This particular numbering principle is disclosed in International application No. WO 2004/016433. With such a numbering principle, all bundles derived from a given stack of sheets correspond to one consecutive numbering sequence, i.e. a stack of sheets with M×N security prints yields M×N bundles numbered in sequence, that is M×N×100 security papers numbered in sequence. The above numbering scheme enabling non-collating processing of stacks of sheets requires specific numbering devices which are usually more expensive than mechanical numbering devices.
Depending on the number of security papers on each sheet and on the sheet layout, mechanical numbering devices can be envisaged to carry out numbering according to the numbering scheme of WO 2004/016433. This is again possible when the number of security papers on each sheet is a multiple of ten (or of twenty-five). One such solution is disclosed in International application No. WO 2005/018945. Another alternate solution is disclosed in European patent application No. EP 1 731 324 in the name of the present Applicant. As before, such solutions are not applicable to cases where sheets comprise a number of security prints that is not a multiple of ten or of twenty-five.
Bundle collating systems are therefore required. Various solutions are known in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,621 discloses an apparatus for processing sheets of security prints into bundles and packs comprising a rotary-drum bundle collating system. This bundle collating system comprises two rotating drums each provided with as many magazines as there are security prints on the sheets (i.e. M×N magazines). One drum at a time collects bundles to form packs of bundles in the magazines. When in operation, the drum is rotated with a mean circumferential speed matching that of the conveying means bringing the bundles, so that each bundle of a same stack of sheets is fed successively to a different one of the drum magazines. Once the magazines are filled up with the required number of bundles (i.e. following the processing of ten successive stacks of sheets), the following bundles are fed to the other drum. While the other drum is in operation, the magazines of the first drum are emptied one after the other and the packs are fed to a packaging station. Similar rotary-drum collating systems are further described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,944, U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,707, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,557, and European patent application No. EP 1 607 355.
Another solution is disclosed in European patent application No. EP 0 656 309. This document discloses an apparatus for processing sheets of security prints into bundles and packs comprising a distributor with a rectilinear conveying stage on which all the bundles of a given stack of sheets are transported one behind the other up to predetermined positions above M×N magazines. The conveying stage is provided with a movable bottom which is designed to be opened once the bundles have been appropriately positioned above the magazines to thereby enable the bundles to fall in the magazines. The movable bottom is then closed and a subsequent series of bundles is fed onto the conveying stage, the process being repeated until the magazine are completely filled with bundles. Once the magazines are full, these are emptied by pushing the thus formed packs to the side out of the magazines onto a transport stage running next to the magazines. Other similar distributors with rectilinear conveying stage are also known from British patent application No. GB 2 262 729 and International application No. WO 01/49464.
A problem with the above bundle collating systems resides in the fact that they are dependent on the number of security prints on the sheets and on the sheet layout. Indeed, if the sheets to be processed are changed to sheets with a different number of security prints, the number of magazines has to be changed and the size thereof must be adapted as the size of the bundles changes as well.
In addition, the known collating systems occupy a substantial footprint which gives rise to difficulties when the available space for installation of the finishing equipment is limited.
There is therefore a need for an improved bundle collating system and method.
An aim of the present invention is thus to provide an improved method and system for processing stacks of sheets of securities into bundles and packs.
More precisely, an aim of the present invention is to provide such a method and system which enable collating of bundles in a more efficient manner and which can be implemented for varying sheet layouts without this requiring major changes to the way the bundles are collated.
Another aim of the invention is to provide such a method and system which can easily be adapted and adjusted to the sheet layouts, and especially to the number of prints per sheet and the size thereof.
Still another aim of the invention is to provide such a method and system which enables reduction of the footprint of the bundle collating system and therefore footprint of the sheet processing system as a whole.
These aims are achieved thanks to the method defined in claim 1 and the bundle collating system defined in claim 12. Also claimed is a sheet processing system for carrying out the method and which comprises the bundle collating system.
Advantages embodiments of the invention form the subject-matter of the dependent claims.
The features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly from reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention which are presented solely by way of non-restrictive examples and illustrated by the attached drawings in which:
a and 8b are two perspective views illustrating a moveable wall mechanism used in a storage area of the storage shelf of
a and 9b are two perspective views illustrating a moveable wall mechanism used in a temporary unloading area of the storage shelf of
a to 11d are perspective views of a same format-adjustable bundle spacing mechanism for creating clearings between bundles shown in four different configurations;
a to 12d are schematic side views of the bundle spacing mechanism of
a to 13c are perspective views of a same format-adjustable bundle rotating mechanism for selectively rotating bundles by 180 shown in three different configurations;
a to 14c are schematic side views of the bundle rotating mechanism of
Within the scope of the present invention, and for the sake of clarity, the term “columns” should be understood as referring to the parallel arrangement of security prints one next to the other along the length of the sheets, while the term “rows” should be understood as referring to the parallel arrangement of security prints one next to the other along the width of the sheets. Strictly speaking, the terms “columns” and “rows” are however interchangeable.
As is typical in the art, the sheet dimensions may for instance be as much as 820 mm in length per 700 mm in width (i.e. 820×700 mm). With such sheet dimensions, six (M=6) columns per ten (N=10) rows of security prints with dimensions of 130×65 mm might for instance be provided on the sheets. With sheet dimensions of 740×680 mm, four (M=4) columns per seven (N=7) rows of security prints with dimensions of 180×90 mm might for instance be provided on the sheets. For small sheet dimensions, e.g. of 420×400 mm, four (M=4) columns per six (N=6) rows of security prints with dimensions of 100×60 mm might for instance be provided on the sheets. The above examples are of course given for the purpose of illustration only.
It will be appreciated that the bundle collating system described in connection with the preferred embodiment of the invention is designed to process sheets having dimensions as high as 820×700 mm, with a maximum security print size of 180×90 mm, a maximum number of columns of security prints of six (MMAX=6) and a maximum number of rows of security prints of ten (NMAX=10). Further, as is usual in the art, the sheets are processed in stacks of hundred sheets each, yielding individual bundles of hundred securities, which bundles are then assembled in packs of ten (K=10) bundles, i.e. a thousand securities (so-called “thousands packs”). The typical height of a bundle of hundred securities is of the order of 15 mm, yielding therefore a height for a thousands pack of the order of 150 mm. The above numerical examples are again not to be considered as limiting. The bundle collating system may easily be adapted in order to process sheets and/or securities of greater dimensions, a greater number of columns and/or rows of security prints, and/or a greater bundle and/or pack height without departing from the scope of the invention.
As illustrated in
The arrangement and operation of stations A to E is as such known in the art, especially from U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,902 (see also U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,707, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,557).
At feeding station A, the supplied stacks 1 of sheets are typically counted by means of counting devices A.1 and aligned before being transported to the first cutting station B. Optionally, additional cutting stations might be provided to cut the margins of the sheets as is known in the art.
First cutting station B is typically provided with a known cutting device B.1 to cut each stack 1 of sheets along the rows of security prints, i.e. parallel to the length of the sheets, thereby producing a plurality of successive bundle strips 2 corresponding in number to the number of rows of security prints on the processed sheets. In the illustrated example, and for the purpose of explanation only, each sheet carries thirty-five security prints arranged in five (M=5) columns and seven (N=7) rows, the size of the sheets being of the order of the above-mentioned maximum sheet size of 820×700 mm. This means that each stack 1 of sheets is cut into seven successive bundle strips 2 at the first cutting station B, each bundle strip 2 encompassing five bundles 3 still connected to each other and that will ultimately be separated at the second cutting station E.
Banding station C is provided with a plurality of known banding devices C.1 which are distributed perpendicularly to the length of the bundle strips 2 to provide a plurality of surrounding bands at the various bundle positions of each bundle strip 2. Such banding devices C.1 are for instance known from International application No. WO 2005/085070 in the name of the present Applicant. In the illustrated example, five such banding devices C.1 are distributed along the length of the bundle strips 2 so as to provide five surrounding bands around the bundle strips 2 at each one of the five bundle positions.
Collecting station D acts as a sort of buffer enabling all the bundle strips 2 of one and a same stack 1 of sheets to be regrouped prior to being fed to the second cutting station E. Means known in the art are thus provided to transport each bundle strip 2 coming from the output of the banding station C to a regrouping area and, once the stack-like formation 2* corresponding to the original stack 1 of sheets has been reconstituted, to transport the whole group of bundle strips 2 to a feeding area in front of the second cutting station E.
Second cutting station E is similar to first cutting station B and is likewise provided with a cutting device E.1. This cutting device E.1 is however oriented in such a manner that the cutting operation is performed along the columns of security prints, i.e. parallel to the width of the sheets. In the illustrated example, seven individual bundles 3 are thus produced after each cutting operation at the second cutting station E. At the output of the second cutting station E, five successive groups of seven bundles 3 each (hereinafter referred to as “bundle groups” and designated by reference numeral 3*) are thus produced and are fed to the subsequent bundle collating station F.
The bundle collating station F is equipped with a bundle collating system, designated globally by reference numeral 10, that will be described hereinafter in greater detail. The purpose thereof is to process the successive bundle groups 3* coming out of the second cutting station E so as to collect and assemble the bundles 3 in the appropriate sequence and form the bundle packs 4. In the context of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the sheets are numbered in such a way that an uninterrupted numbering sequence is present in the superposition of bundles 3 coming from the same locations in successive stacks of sheets. In other words, all the bundles 3 derived from one stack 1 of sheets belong to distinct numbering sequences which have to be processed in as many bundle packs 4. In the illustrated example with thirty-five security prints per sheet, this means that the bundle collating system will process the bundles 3 in series of thirty-five distinct bundle packs 4.
Once collated in the appropriate sequence, the various bundle packs 4 are transferred to the final processing station G which may for instance comprise, as is usual in the art, a banding device G.1 for providing a surrounding band around each bundle pack 4, a plurality of counting devices G.2 for checking that the appropriate number of securities is present in each pack 4 (namely a thousand securities) and a shrink-wrapping device G.3 for wrapping the bundle packs 4 in a plastic packing (reference 5 in
As illustrated in
The storage capacity of each storage area 11 is selected so as to be sufficient for storing and piling the successive bundle groups 3* coming out of the second cutting station E into the desired bundle packs 4. More precisely, the width of each storage area 11 should be sufficient to receive the bundle groups 3* derived for each column of security prints (and will therefore be determined by the maximum width of the sheets to be processed), while the depth of each storage area 11 should be sufficient to receive bundles of the maximum length (which depth is thus determined by the maximum length of the securities to be derived from the sheets). The height of each storage area 11, on the other hand, should be sufficient to receive the desired number (K) of bundles 3 per pack 4, usually ten (which height is thus determined by the thickness of the securities and the resulting height of the bundles and bundle packs). In that respect, it will be appreciated that
Preferably, as this will be described hereinafter, the depth of each storage area 11 is made adjustable through the provision of a movable rear wall 102 that is adjusted as a function of the format of the securities to be processed from the sheets (i.e. as a function of the length of the securities).
The various bundle groups 3* coming column after column out of the second cutting station E are transported to the desired storage area 11 by means of a loading lift system 20 with a movable carrier 25 which will be described in greater detail hereinafter. Prior to being fed to the loading lift system 20, the successive bundle groups 3* coming out of the cutting device E.1 are preferably fed in succession to a bundle spacing station 30 where the bundles 3 of each bundle group 3* are spaced apart so as to create clearings between the bundles 3, and a bundle rotating station 40 where half of the bundles 3 are rotated by 180° (both stations 30 and 40 will be described hereinafter). Optionally, means might be provided between the bundle rotating station 40 and the loading lift system 20 in order to push back the bundles 3 against each other after rotation, this enabling reduction of the storage width required to store the bundles 3 in the storage areas 11. In an alternate embodiment, the functions of both stations 30 and 40 could be fulfilled by one and a single station.
Still according to the preferred embodiment, once packs 4 of ten (K=10) bundles 3 have been assembled in a storage area 11, all these packs 4 are unloaded to a temporary unloading area 12. In the illustrated embodiment, six such temporary unloading areas 12 are provided next to the storage areas 11. Advantageously, each storage shelf 101 extends transversely to the loading direction of the bundle groups 3* and a pusher device 105 is provided on the side of each storage area 11 in order to push the assembled bundle packs 4 from the storage areas 11 to the temporary unloading areas 12. In the Figures, complete sets of N assembled bundle packs 4 which are transferred to the temporary unloading areas 12 are designated by reference 4*.
Once unloaded in the temporary unloading areas 12, the complete sets 4* of assembled bundle packs 4 are unloaded one by one to be fed to the final processing station G. This is performed thanks to an unloading lift system 50 with a movable carrier 55 which can be brought next to any selected one of the temporary unloading areas 12 and by simultaneously pushing a complete set 4* of assembled bundle packs 4 out of the selected temporary unloading area 12 onto the movable carrier 55. The movable carrier 55 is then moved in front of an output station 60 where the movable carrier 55 is emptied. These packs 4 are then isolated one by one at the output station 60 to be fed to the banding device G.1 of the final processing station G.
The rear wall 102 at the back of the storage area 11 is designed as a movable wall which can be displaced along guiding rails 103 under the action of an actuator 104, such as a motor. This enables adjustment of the depth of the storage area 11 to the format of the processed securities, namely to the length of the securities.
Each temporary unloading area 12 is similarly provided with a movable rear wall 112 that can be displaced along guiding rails 113 under the action of an actuator 114 (such as a motor) in order to adjust the depth of the temporary unloading area 12 to the length of the securities. This other rear wall 112 is provided with an extension 112a that sits in the way of the complete set 4* of bundle packs 4 to provide a determined rest position in the temporary unloading area 12 for each set 4* following their displacement under the action of the pusher 105. The movable rear wall 112 however fulfils a further purpose, namely acting as a pusher for emptying the temporary unloading area 12. For this purpose, the guiding rails 113 and actuator 114 are designed in such a way that the rear wall 112 can be moved up to the edge of the storage shelf 101.
As illustrated in
One will now turn to
a and 12b are schematic views corresponding respectively to
c and 12d are schematic views corresponding respectively to
a to 13c are views showing a bundle rotating mechanism 400 for rotating the bundles at the bundle rotating station 40. This bundle rotating mechanism 400 is somewhat similar to the bundle spacing mechanism 300 described hereinabove. Indeed it also comprises a plurality of carrier plates 401 (again ten in the illustrated example) that are mounted on a common articulated unit 402 guided onto a pair of guiding rails 403 so as to move transversely to the transporting direction of the bundles 3. A first actuator 404 is provided which cooperates with the articulated unit 402 through a spacing device 405 to again cause widening or retraction thereof, thereby enabling adjustment of the spacing between the carrier plates 401. A second actuator 406 likewise enables adjustment of a reference position of the whole bundle rotating mechanism 400 along the guiding rails 403. As far as the adjustment of the position of the carrier plates 401 to the sheet layout is concerned, the actuation principle of the bundle rotating mechanism 400 is similar to the previously-described bundle spacing mechanism 300 and will not therefore be described again.
In contrast to the bundle spacing mechanism 300, the bundle rotating mechanism 400 is provided with a plurality of additional carrier plates 411 that are coupled to a corresponding plurality of lifting and rotating cylinders 412. These additional carrier plates 411 and lifting and rotating cylinders 412 are mounted on the articulated unit 402 so as to follow the movement of the carrier plates 401. The lifting and rotating cylinders 412 are designed in such a way as to selectively lift any desired one of the additional carrier plates 411 and rotate this latter by 180° as this will be explained hereinafter in reference to
The principle of rotating the bundles by 180° is as such known in the art and aims at somewhat compensating for the negative effects resulting of a varying thickness of the securities (for instance due to the application of OVD foils or patches on the surface of the securities). Indeed, by alternately rotating one bundle out of two within a same pack, one prevents such varying thickness to have a negative effect on the overall assembly of the bundles within a pack and ensures a more or less constant pack height. Within the scope of the present invention, this is achieved by alternately rotating by 180° one out of two bundles 3 within a given bundle group 3*. Prior to rotation of the bundles 3, the bundle rotating mechanism 400 takes the configuration illustrated in
One will now turn to
The movable carrier 25 can be displaced vertically along the supporting frame 21 in the manner of a conventional lift system. In addition, part of the carrier 25 is adapted to move horizontally towards the interior of the desired storage area 11 in order to deliver the transported bundle group 3* in the storage area 11 as this will be explained hereinafter. It will be appreciated that
A toothed rack 254 (one being visible in
The carrier 25 is further provided with a movable stopper 260 that is secured, at both ends, to the supporting members 251 so that it remains horizontally fixed and does not move horizontally with the carrier plate 250. This movable stopper 260 can take two positions, a lower position (a shown in
Let us now turn to
The unloading lift system 50 of
Unloading of a complete set 4* of assembled bundle packs 4 from the storage device 100 to the carrier 55 of the unloading lift system 50 is performed by first lifting the carrier 55 in front of the desired temporary unloading area 12 of the storage device 100 and actuating the corresponding movable wall 112 (as described hereinabove) so that the complete set 4* of assembled bundle packs 4 is pushed out of the unloading area 12 onto the carrier 55. The carrier 55 is then brought in front of the output station 60 where the pusher 552 is activated so as to unload the complete set 4* of assembled bundle packs 4 to the output station 60.
As already mentioned, in the output station 60, the assembled bundle packs are isolated one by one by an appropriate mechanism 61 (schematically illustrated in
It will be understood that various modifications and/or improvements obvious to the person skilled in the art can be made to the embodiments described hereinabove without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the annexed claims.
In particular, while it was mentioned that, within the scope of the preferred embodiment of the invention, the maximum number of columns of security prints per sheet would be six and the maximum number of rows of security prints per sheet would be ten, these limits shall be considered as being purely illustrative of the current practice. The same is true regarding the sheet dimensions.
Similarly, while the preferred embodiment shows fixed storage areas, other embodiments of the invention might provide for movable storage areas. For instance, the storage device might be designed as a paternoster system with endless conveying means for positioning any desired one of the storage areas in front of the processed bundle groups for loading thereof. With such an embodiment, a loading lift system would not be necessary any more, this being however made at the costs of an increase in complexity of the storage device.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06117273.0 | Jul 2006 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2007/052580 | 7/3/2007 | WO | 00 | 1/7/2009 |
