Banknote processing
On request of their customers they pay them out over the bank counter or cash dispensers (i.e., automated teller machines, ATM) and put them into circulation.
The Deutsche Bundesbank (DBB) even accepts unsorted banknotes as "multi-denomination deposit" for a moderate fee independent from the amount of the payment.
[1] This attractive offering supports a high quality of the cash in circulation and the reliable and early detection of counterfeit money all over Germany.
First prototypes were developed by Toshiba in Japan, by Crosfield Business Machines under the guidance of John Crosfield in the United Kingdom, by Società di Fisica Applicata (SFA) in Italy, and by Gesellschaft für Automation und Organisation (GAO), a subcompany of Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), in Germany under the guidance of Helmut Gröttrup.
As variant BPS 2000 OBIS it became a world-wide standard for the final quality inspection of single notes in banknote printing works.
High-speed machines additionally use compressed air and suction, grip the banknotes at the short edge (long-edge transport) and bring them within milliseconds to a speed of up to 11 m/s (approx.
A special challenge is the singling of banknotes with poor quality, e.g., due to limpness, soiling, mechanical defects, glued by adhesive tape or chewing gum, often distorted by long storage, or high moisture.
The currency detectors specialized for high-speed processing check each single banknote for the following features: Optical and other physical measuring systems are used to detect these characteristics.
In general stackers with spiral slots are used to receive the banknotes, decelerate them on shortest distance (<200 mm) and stack them.
Depending on the degree of automation the stacking may comprise the following steps: The destruction of unfit or recalled banknotes is a responsibility of the central bank.
This work process is executed under very high security provisions to preclude manipulation of authenticity detection and counting.
[28] One of the first comprehensive patent applications was filed by the Italian Societá di Fisica Applicata (SFA) on May 31, 1972, as "Automatic Used Banknote Selecting Machine".
It described an apparatus for the detection of counterfeits (by watermark, fluorescence and intaglio printing), the measuring of the wearing by comparison with a sample banknote, and the reading of the serial number.
In the 1990s, the US company Cummins Allison Corp. installed a comprehensive patent protection for tabletop machines, especially for the combination of short-edge transport with a processing speed of more than 800 banknotes per minute.
In 2003 it filed infringement lawsuits against Japanese Glory[30] and Korean Shinwoo[31] for compensation of the damage and fine with severals tens of million US dollar.
Therefore manufacturers from China and Russia[32] have tried to enter the market of high-speed machines by copied technology, but with little success due to issues of product quality.
