Bank note processing apparatus and bank note processing method

A banknote processing apparatus comprising:

• an insert port into which plural sheets of rectangular shaped bank notes having the front/back and top/bottom extending along the longitudinal direction in a lump;
• a setting portion which sets a banding position of bank notes at a position one-sided to one of the longitudinal directions of bank notes by kind;
• a take-out portion which takes out the bank notes inserted into the insert port by one by one with the top or bottom laid ahead;
• a conveying path which conveys the bank notes taken out of the take-out portion with the top or bottom laid ahead;
• a detector which detects information relative to the front/back and top/bottom of the bank notes being conveyed on the conveying path;
• a front/back reversing portion which selectively reverses the front/back of the bank notes being conveyed on the conveying path based on the result of detection by the detector and the set contents by the setting portion;
• first and second stackers which stack the bank notes of which front/back are selectively reversed in the front/back reversing portion;
• a sorting portion which sorts the bank notes being conveyed on the conveying path to either the first or second stackers based on the result of detection by the detector and the set contents of the setting portion;
• first and second banding portions which band the bank notes stacked in the first and second stackers at the same position one-sided to one of the longitudinal directions of the notes;
• and
• a controller which controls the front/back reversing portion and the sorting portion so as to stack bank notes in the state of the front/back and top/bottom uniformly arranged and the front laid upward in one of the first and second stackers;
• and
• stack bank notes in the state of the front/back and top/back uniformly arranged and the back laid upward in the another stacker.

A bank note processing method comprising:

• inserting plural sheets of rectangular shaped bank notes having the front/back and top/bottom extending along the longitudinal direction of them in a lump;
• taking out the inserted bank notes with the top or bottom laid ahead one by one;
• conveying the taken-out bank notes on a prescribed conveying path with the top or bottom laid ahead;
• detecting information relative to the front/back and top/bottom of the bank notes being conveyed;
• selectively reversing the front/back of the bank notes being conveyed on the conveying path based on the detected result;
• sorting the front/back reversed bank notes for either the first or second stacker based on the detected result;
• banding the bank notes stacked in the first and second stackers for every prescribed number of sheets at the same position one-sided to one of the longitudinal directions of the notes;
• and
• controlling the front/back and top/bottom reversing step and the sorting step so as to stack bank notes in the state of the front/back and top/bottom uniformly arranged and the front laid upward in one of the first and second stackers and bank notes in the state of the front/back and top/bottom uniformly arranged and the back laid upward in the other first and second stackers.

A bank note processing method comprising:

• inserting plural sheets of rectangular shaped bank notes having the front/back and top/bottom extending along the longitudinal direction of them in a lump;
• taking out the inserted bank notes with the top or bottom laid ahead one by one;
• conveying the taken-out bank notes on a prescribed conveying path with the top or bottom laid ahead;
• detecting information relative to kind, front/back and top/bottom of the bank notes being conveyed;
• selectively reversing the front/back of the bank notes being conveyed on the conveying path based on the detected result;
• sorting bank notes in specific kind out of the bank notes of which front/back were reversed for either the first and second stackers based on the detected result;
• stacking the bank notes detected to be other than the bank notes in specific kind in the detecting step by kind;
• banding the bank notes stacked in the first and second stackers for every prescribed number of sheets at the same position one-sided to one of the longitudinal directions of the notes;
• and
• controlling the front/back and top/bottom reversing step and the sorting step so as to stack bank notes of specific kind in the state of the front/back and top/bottom uniformly arranged and the front turned upward in the first stacker or the second stacker and bank notes in the state of the front/back and top/bottom uniformly arranged and the back turned upward in the other stacker.