Aligning station for aligning a document-of-value stack

Abstract

The invention relates to an aligning station (2) for aligning documents of value (21) in a document-of-value stack (14), to an apparatus (1) which is intended for aligning the document-of-value stack (14) and comprises the aligning station (2), and to a method for aligning a document-of-value stack (14). The aligning station (2) comprises a base (3), on which a document-of-value stack (14) containing documents of value (21) in the form of sheets can be set down such that the documents of value (21) rest on the base (3) by way of first edges (15), also comprises two mutually opposite side walls (4, 4Z), further comprises a transverse wall (5), which runs perpendicularly in relation to the base (3) such that the transverse wall (5) faces second edges (16) of the documents of value (21), wherein the first edges (15) and second edges (16) are perpendicular in relation to one another, moreover comprises a transverse side (6), which is located opposite the transverse wall (5), runs parallel to the transverse wall (5) and is at least partially open, and additionally comprises an open upper side (13), which is located opposite the base (3), wherein the upper side (13) and the transverse side (6) are designed to be open such that the document-of-value stack (14) can be gripped by a gripper optionally through the transverse side (6) or through the upper side (13) of the aligning station.

Description

[0001] Alignment station for aligning a stack of valuable documents

[0002] The invention relates to an alignment station for aligning a stack of value documents, a device for aligning a stack of value documents comprising the alignment station and a method for aligning a stack of value documents.

[0003] The stack of valuable documents to be aligned is removed from an output compartment of a valuable document processing device by a feed gripper after the device has checked the valuable documents in the respective stack. The feed gripper then places this valuable document stack into an alignment station so that the valuable document edges can be aligned with each other. The alignment of the valuable document edges is performed to improve the stack quality for further processing, e.g., during subsequent banding or during subsequent placement in a valuable document container, from which the valuable document stack is automatically removed and separated again if necessary.

[0004] The valuable documents stacked in the valuable document stack can be, for example, banknotes or securities.

[0005] In a known alignment station, which has a base and four side walls and is open at its top, a stack of valuable documents to be aligned can be inserted into the alignment station from above using a feed gripper. To align the stack of valuable documents, two opposing movable walls can then be simultaneously moved one or more times toward the inserted stack of valuable documents to align the positions of the transverse edges of the valuable documents in the stack of valuable documents. The aligned stack of valuable documents can then be removed upwards again using a removal gripper and transported to the next station.

[0006] A problem with the known alignment station is that the removal of an aligned stack of valuable documents and the feeding of another stack of valuable documents to be aligned must be carried out with sufficient time intervals. This is because the feed gripper can only begin bringing the next stack of valuable documents to the alignment station once the removal gripper has been moved away with the removed stack.

[0007] It is an object of the invention to provide an improved alignment station to enable the alignment of several stacks of value documents one after the other in the alignment station with greater throughput.

[0008] This object is achieved by an alignment station for aligning a stack of valuable documents, a device for aligning a stack of valuable documents comprising the alignment station, and a method for aligning a stack of valuable documents according to the independent claims. Further developments and refinements thereof are specified in the subclaims.

[0009] According to a first aspect of the invention, an alignment station is provided for aligning sheet-shaped value documents in a stack of value documents. The sheet-shaped value documents can be, for example, banknotes. The alignment station comprises a base for depositing a stack of value documents containing sheet-shaped value documents, such that the value documents rest on the base with first edges. A single value document has, for example, rectangular top and bottom surfaces and four edges, two of the edges (longitudinal edges) being longer than the other two edges (transverse edges). A plurality of value documents is stacked such that the top / bottom surface of one value document touches the bottom / top surface of an adjacent value document. In this context, an edge does not refer to a line, but rather to a thin side surface of the value document. The aforementioned first edges of the value documents can be longitudinal edges.

[0010] The alignment station further comprises two opposing side walls that run perpendicular to the floor, such that they face the surfaces of the valuable documents of the valuable document stack placed on the floor. The two side walls thus face the top and bottom surfaces of the two outermost valuable documents of the valuable document stack.

[0011] The alignment station further comprises a transverse wall which also runs perpendicular to the floor and also perpendicular to the side walls, such that the transverse wall faces second edges of the value documents (different from the first edges), wherein the first and second edges are perpendicular to one another. The second edges can be transverse edges of the value documents. The alignment station further comprises a transverse side opposite the transverse wall, which runs parallel to the transverse wall and is at least partially open. The transverse side thus also runs perpendicular to both the side walls and the floor. The transverse side is partially open, i.e. has a wall with at least one opening or a low wall (in particular lower than the transverse wall), or is completely open, i.e. has no wall.

[0012] The alignment station further comprises an open top surface opposite the base. The top surface is perpendicular to both the side walls and the cross wall. A receiving space of the alignment station for depositing and aligning the stack of valuable documents is designed with the top surface, the base, the side walls, the cross wall, and the cross side.

[0013] In this application, the term "perpendicular" also includes angles that are not exactly 90°, but are approximately 90°.

[0014] The stack of valuable documents is fed to the alignment station by a feed gripper and, after alignment in the alignment station, removed from the alignment station by a removal gripper. The removal gripper and the feed gripper can be of different designs, but may also be identical.

[0015] The top side and the transverse side of the alignment station are designed to be open in such a way that the stack of valuable documents (located in the alignment station) can be gripped by a gripper (positioned substantially outside the alignment station), in particular by a feed gripper or by a removal gripper, (from outside the alignment station) either through the transverse side or through the top side of the alignment station. The gripper fingers of the gripper, in particular of the feed gripper or the removal gripper, reach into the alignment station from outside the alignment station in order to grip the stack of valuable documents located in the alignment station. When gripping through the transverse side and when gripping through the top side, the gripper or the feed gripper and the removal gripper grip the stack of valuable documents preferably over different edges of the valuable documents.

[0016] The gripper, e.g., the removal gripper and / or the feed gripper, has two gripping elements that can be moved toward each other, each with one or more gripping fingers. A stack of valuable documents located between the gripping fingers of the two gripping elements can be clamped and thus gripped by the opposing gripping fingers.

[0017] In particular, the top and the transverse side of the alignment station are designed to be open in such a way that

[0018] - that the stack of valuable documents can be fed to the alignment station by the feed gripper (positioned substantially outside the alignment station), which grips the stack of valuable documents through the transverse side / top side of the alignment station when feeding the stack of valuable documents, at the time of release of the stack of valuable documents, and

[0019] - that the stack of valuable documents can be removed from the alignment station by the removal gripper (positioned essentially outside the alignment station), which grips the stack of valuable documents through the top / cross side of the alignment station (i.e. through the respective other side of the alignment station than the feed gripper) when removing the stack of valuable documents, at the time of grasping the stack of valuable documents.

[0020] The alignment station according to the invention ensures that the alignment station can be operated by two grippers from two sides: from the open top and from the at least partially open transverse side. This allows a feed gripper, which feeds the next stack of valuable documents to be aligned to the alignment station, to approach the alignment station from a different side than a removal gripper, which has removed a previously aligned stack of valuable documents from the alignment station, moves away from the alignment station. This has the advantage that the feed gripper, during its movement toward the alignment station, and the removal gripper, during its movement away from the alignment station, do not interfere with each other, i.e., the two grippers do not get in each other's way.

[0021] In particular, the alignment station according to the invention makes it possible for a feed gripper to approach the alignment station while the removal gripper, after removing a stack of valuable documents from the alignment station, is already moving away from the alignment station with the removed stack of valuable documents. This means that there is no need to wait until the end of the removal process (until the removal gripper has moved far enough away from the alignment station), but rather the approach of the feed gripper or even the insertion of the next stack of valuable documents can begin during the removal process. Despite the use of two grippers for feeding and removing the stack of valuable documents, the time interval between the two processes can be significantly reduced, thus increasing the throughput of the alignment station.

[0022] The alignment of the stack of valuable documents in the alignment station can be achieved by the design of the alignment station, e.g. by sloping its floor and / or by movable side walls and / or by at least one device present at the alignment station for generating an air flow and / or by a vibration device.

[0023] For this purpose, the floor of the alignment station is preferably designed to be inclined in the direction of the transverse wall or transverse side, i.e. the transverse wall is lower than the transverse side or the further transverse wall of the transverse side is lower than the transverse wall. The floor of the alignment station is therefore designed to be inclined in such a way that a downward force acts on a stack of valuable documents placed on the floor, pulling the valuable documents perpendicular to their transverse edges or along their longitudinal edges in the direction of the lower transverse wall or in the direction of the lower further transverse wall and leading to a movement of the valuable document stack in this direction or, in conjunction with further measures (e.g. vibration and / or air flow), can lead to this.

[0024] The floor of the alignment station is preferably inclined in the direction of the transverse wall or transverse side such that the angle between the floor of the alignment station and the horizontal is more than 0°, but less than 30°, particularly preferably less than 25°. This ensures that the stack of valuable documents rests with the majority of its weight on the long edges of the valuable documents and only a smaller part of its weight rests on the transverse edges of the valuable documents. In the case of heavily used (e.g., limp) valuable documents, it has been found that such stacks of valuable documents do not remain securely upright on their transverse edges at larger angles to the horizontal, but can buckle - for example at creases that usually run parallel to the transverse edges - i.e. the stack of valuable documents can lose its straight stack shape. A stack of valuable documents buckled in this way can then no longer be automatically aligned and gripped.The moderate inclination of less than 30° or less than 25° ensures that the alignment in the alignment station works even with heavily used valuable documents and that the aligned stack of valuable documents can then be gripped automatically.

[0025] In one embodiment, the transverse side is completely open and the base is slanted so that the stack of valuable documents can be moved or slide toward the transverse wall by gravity. For this purpose, the base is slanted toward the transverse wall. The slanted position of the base ensures that the stack of valuable documents moves toward the transverse wall by gravity, aligning the edges of the valuable documents with it.

[0026] In another embodiment, the transverse side is only partially open and the base is slanted so that the stack of valuable documents can be moved or slide towards the transverse side by gravity. A (low) additional transverse wall is provided on the transverse side, which can hold the stack of valuable documents. For this purpose, the base is slanted towards the transverse side or towards the additional transverse wall. Due to the inclined position of the base, the stack of valuable documents is moved towards the additional transverse wall by gravity, in order to align the edges of the valuable documents with it.

[0027] In some embodiments, the base—in addition to or alternatively to the aforementioned inclination—is slanted such that one side wall is lower than the other. This means that the base is slanted toward one side wall, so that one side wall is lower than the other. As a result, the stack of valuable documents rests against the lower side wall during alignment and is thus slightly compressed—especially in the case of a bulging stack of valuable documents. This facilitates the automatic removal of the stack of valuable documents using a gripper.

[0028] The floor can also be horizontal, with the transverse side being completely open or only partially open.

[0029] In one embodiment, the transverse side is only partially open and comprises the above-mentioned further transverse wall on the transverse side, and the alignment station is designed to press the stack of valuable documents, e.g. by means of the transverse wall towards the transverse side, against the further transverse wall and / or - conversely - to press it against the transverse wall by means of the further transverse wall. The transverse wall and / or the further transverse wall thus exert a force on the stack of valuable documents, e.g. on the transverse edges of the valuable documents, in order to press the stack of valuable documents against the opposite further transverse wall on the transverse side or against the opposite transverse wall. For this purpose, the transverse wall and / or the further transverse wall are designed to be movable along the floor in the direction parallel to the side walls.Preferably, the height of the further transverse wall is less than 4 cm, so that only a lower part of the transverse edges of the valuable documents is held and the upper part of the transverse edges of the valuable documents remains accessible for gripping by the removal gripper or feed gripper.

[0030] The alignment station can also have at least one device for moving the stack of valuable documents deposited on the floor along the floor, which device exerts a force on the deposited stack of valuable documents to move it along the floor. The stack of valuable documents can be moved along the floor in a direction parallel to the side walls or along the floor in a direction parallel to the transverse wall.

[0031] Preferably, the alignment station comprises at least one device for generating an air flow directed from outside the alignment station into the alignment station and / or a device for generating a vibration of the alignment station, in particular of the floor of the alignment station, which acts on the stack of valuable documents in order to align it or to assist its alignment in the alignment station, in particular its gravity-induced movement towards the further transverse wall or towards the transverse wall.

[0032] The device for generating the air flow can direct an air flow from above or from below, through recesses in the floor, into the alignment station onto the stack of valuable documents placed on the floor, for example in order to loosen the stack of valuable documents and thus assist the alignment. Preferably, the alignment station is provided with a sensor, for example a light barrier, which is designed to detect the presence of a stack of valuable documents in the alignment station and to send a signal to the device for generating the air flow, which causes the device to temporarily switch on the air flow when a stack of valuable documents is present in the alignment station. For example, the device for generating the air flow is designed to switch the air flow, which was switched on due to the sensor signal, off again after a certain period of time, preferably before the stack of valuable documents is removed.

[0033] Preferably, the device for generating the air flow directs the air flow from above or from below along the valuable document surfaces onto the valuable document stack placed on the floor.

[0034] Alternatively or additionally, a device for generating an air flow can be provided, which directs the air flow from the side into the alignment station onto the stack of valuable documents, in particular onto the surface, i.e. top or bottom surface, of the valuable documents, in order to move the stack of valuable documents along the floor in a direction parallel to the transverse wall. A first of the side walls can have at least one opening for this purpose or can be shorter than the other side wall so that the device can direct the air flow from outside the alignment station through the opening or past the first side wall into the alignment station, onto the stack of valuable documents placed on the floor. The first side wall is preferably also shorter than the stack of valuable documents to be aligned in the alignment station and the other side wall is longer than the stack of valuable documents to be aligned in the alignment station.

[0035] Alignment can be supported alternatively or additionally by vibration of the floor of the alignment station, e.g. in the case of inclined floor and alignment by gravity.

[0036] The alignment station has a receiving space in which it receives the stack of valuable documents to be aligned in order to align it.

[0037] In some embodiments, the alignment station further comprises at least one funnel element that adjoins an upper end of the side wall and / or the transverse wall, optionally at a short distance from the side wall / transverse wall. The at least one funnel element is oriented at an angle (e.g., between 20° and 70°) to the respective side wall or transverse wall, outwardly with respect to the receiving space, and extends upwards over the receiving space or in a direction away from the floor in order to expand the receiving area of ​​the alignment station. The funnel element facilitates the insertion of the stack of valuable documents to be aligned, particularly when the outermost valuable documents protrude from the stack.

[0038] The alignment station preferably comprises at least two of the funnel elements, each of which adjoins one of the side walls, possibly at a short distance from the side wall. The two funnel elements are located opposite each other. This offers the advantage that, when the stack of valuable documents is inserted from above using the feed gripper, valuable documents located at the end of the stack of valuable documents that protrude from the stack of valuable documents to be inserted are guided through the funnel elements on both sides into the alignment station.

[0039] In some embodiments, there is a gap between the funnel element and the adjacent side wall or transverse wall. The funnel element can be connected to the side wall or transverse wall at at least one point and otherwise spaced from it. Preferably, however, the funnel element is completely connected to the side wall or transverse wall. That is, the funnel element is connected to the side wall or transverse wall at every point.

[0040] In some embodiments, the base has at least one recess that runs transversely, e.g., perpendicularly, to the side walls. The recess is arranged in the base such that an air flow generated by the aforementioned device for generating an air flow (from below or from above) can pass through the recess to loosen it. The air flow acts on the edges of the valuable documents with which the valuable documents rest on the base and flows upwards or downwards along the top and bottom surfaces of the valuable documents.

[0041] This loosens the valuable documents, allowing their adjacent surfaces to move more easily relative to each other. This allows the valuable documents to be better aligned along their edges, e.g., transverse edges. The base preferably has a plurality of such recesses.

[0042] Preferably, the device for generating the air flow is arranged below the alignment station and is designed to direct the air flow through the recess from below onto the stack of valuable documents placed on the floor to assist in its alignment. This keeps the space above the alignment station free for the movement of the feed and removal gripper.

[0043] Preferably, the recess is a slot that runs transversely (e.g., perpendicularly) to the side walls. On the one hand, the airflow through the slot acts on the stack of valuable documents, and on the other hand, the transverse or vertical orientation of the slot prevents the valuable documents from falling through. Alternatively, the base can also have a grid, the spaces between which form the recesses through which the airflow passes.

[0044] In some embodiments, a first of the side walls has at least one opening or is shorter than the other (second) side wall. Through this opening(s) or past the first side wall, an air stream can be directed from outside the alignment station into the alignment station, onto the stack of valuable documents, i.e., onto the top and bottom surfaces of the valuable documents, which presses the stack of valuable documents against the other (second) side wall. The stack is thereby compressed (at least locally). This allows the removal gripper to grip the stack of valuable documents located in the alignment station more reliably in order to remove it from the alignment station.

[0045] The two opposite side walls can be designed in the manner of a rake, each having a plurality of openings parallel to one another and directed perpendicular to the floor, which are designed so that the at least one gripping finger of the removal gripper can penetrate through them from the outside in order to grip and remove the stack of valuable documents located in the alignment station.

[0046] In some embodiments, the side wall has a meandering cross-sectional profile so that the at least one gripping finger of the removal gripper or feed gripper can dip into the side wall when approaching the valuable document stack from above, i.e., when inserting the valuable document stack into the alignment station from above or removing the valuable document stack from the alignment station from above. For this purpose, at least one of the side walls has a meandering cross-sectional profile that corresponds to the shape of the gripping fingers of the removal gripper or feed gripper. Preferably, both side walls each have such a meandering cross-sectional profile so that both gripping elements of the gripper can dip into the respective side wall.

[0047] In a preferred embodiment, the position of at least one side wall of the alignment station is adjustable such that the distance between the two side walls can be changed automatically.

[0048] According to a further aspect of the invention, a device for aligning a stack of valuable documents is provided. The device comprises the alignment station described above, a feed gripper that feeds the valuable document stack to be aligned to the alignment station, and a removal gripper—present in addition to the feed gripper—that removes the aligned valuable document stack from the alignment station. It also includes at least one control device configured to control the feed gripper and the removal gripper such that the feed gripper feeds the valuable document stack to be aligned to the alignment station, and the removal gripper removes the aligned valuable document stack from the alignment station after it has been aligned in the alignment station.

[0049] Furthermore, the control device can also control devices used for stack alignment, e.g. a movement of the transverse wall to be carried out for stack alignment in the direction of the additional transverse wall, if present, and / or the device for generating the air flow and / or the device for generating the vibration.

[0050] The device may also comprise at least one sensor (e.g. light barrier) which detects the presence and, if applicable, the position or length of a stack of value documents to be aligned in the alignment station.

[0051] The control device then controls the aforementioned devices, if necessary, depending on the presence and / or position of the value document stack. For example, it only performs alignment if a value document stack is present and only completes it if its position or length has changed or corresponds to that of an aligned value document stack.

[0052] In order to reliably and automatically remove even stacks of value documents of smaller thickness from the alignment station, the device can be configured to automatically change the distance between the side walls of the alignment station. In this case, the distance between the two side walls is reduced before the respective stack of value documents is removed from the alignment station. For this purpose, the control device can be configured to

[0053] - to control the alignment station in such a way that the distance between the side walls, starting from an initial distance between the two side walls which they have from each other when inserting the respective stack of valuable documents, is automatically reduced to a target distance which is smaller than the initial distance after inserting the respective stack of valuable documents into the alignment station (e.g. by means of an actuator of the alignment station which can move the respective side wall), and

[0054] - to control the removal gripper in such a way that, when the two side walls have reached the target distance, the removal gripper automatically removes the stack of valuable documents contained in the alignment station from the alignment station, and

[0055] - to control the alignment station in such a way that after the respective stack of valuable documents has been removed from the alignment station, the distance between the two side walls is automatically increased again (e.g. by means of the actuator), e.g. to the initial distance.

[0056] By reducing the distance between the two side walls prior to removal, a stack of valuable documents to be aligned, which is significantly thinner than the initial distance between the two side walls and may become slanted during alignment, is straightened again and, if necessary, compressed, particularly by the force of one / both side walls pressing against one / both end surfaces of the valuable document stack. Reducing the distance between the two side walls prior to removal is particularly advantageous for bulky valuable documents.

[0057] When the target distance is reached, the stack of valuable documents inserted into the alignment station can be clamped by the side walls or not. In the event that the stack of valuable documents to be removed is clamped by the side walls located at the target distance, the control device can control the alignment station in such a way that the distance between the two side walls is increased slightly again to a removal distance for removal, e.g. by 0.5 cm to 1 cm, in order to facilitate removal of the stack of valuable documents using the removal gripper (so that the stack of valuable documents does not have to be removed against the clamping force). The removal distance lies between the target distance and the initial distance. Preferably, the initial distance is greater than 5 cm and / or the target distance is at least 1.5 cm less than the initial distance.

[0058] The target distance can be a fixed distance or can be automatically selected by the control device depending on the number of value documents in the stack. If the stack is clamped by the side walls during the distance reduction, it can occur during the clamping process at a certain counterforce of the stack, at which point the movement of the two side walls toward each other is automatically stopped. The counterforce of the stack can be determined by the actuator used to reduce the distance or by a sensor.

[0059] In particular, the feed gripper and the removal gripper are designed to grip the same stack of valuable documents via different edges of the valuable documents that are perpendicular to one another, e.g. the transverse edges and the longitudinal edges of the valuable documents of the valuable document stack.

[0060] For example, the feed gripper is designed to grip the (same) stack of valuable documents via the transverse edges of the valuable documents (gripping fingers of the feed gripper perpendicular to the transverse edges), and the removal gripper is designed to grip the stack of valuable documents via the longitudinal edges of the valuable documents (gripping fingers of the removal gripper perpendicular to the longitudinal edges). Or, the feed gripper is designed to grip the stack of valuable documents via the longitudinal edges of the valuable documents (gripping fingers of the feed gripper perpendicular to the longitudinal edges), and the removal gripper is designed to grip the stack of valuable documents via the transverse edges of the valuable documents (gripping fingers of the removal gripper perpendicular to the transverse edges).

[0061] In one embodiment, the at least one control device is designed to

[0062] - to control the feed gripper when feeding the value document stack to be aligned to the alignment station in such a way that it grips the value document stack when feeding it to the alignment station, at the time of release of the value document stack (from outside the alignment station), through the transverse side of the alignment station, and

[0063] - to control the removal gripper when removing the aligned stack of valuable documents from the alignment station in such a way that it grips the stack of valuable documents through the top side of the alignment station when removing it from the alignment station, at the time the stack of valuable documents is detected (from outside the alignment station).

[0064] When feeding to the alignment station, the feed gripper is positioned at the transverse side of the alignment station (essentially outside the alignment station) at the time of release of the value document stack, and when removing from the alignment station, the removal gripper is positioned at the top of the alignment station at the time of grasping the value document stack. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one control device can be designed to

[0065] - to control the feed gripper when feeding the stack of value documents to be aligned to the alignment station in such a way that it grips the stack of value documents when feeding it to the alignment station, at the time of release (from outside the alignment station), through the top of the alignment station, and

[0066] - to control the removal gripper when removing the aligned stack of valuable documents from the alignment station in such a way that it grips the stack of valuable documents through the transverse side of the alignment station when removing it from the alignment station, at the time of capture (from outside the alignment station).

[0067] When feeding to the alignment station, the feed gripper is positioned at the top of the alignment station at the time the stack of valuable documents is released, and when removing the stack of valuable documents from the alignment station, the removal gripper is positioned at the transverse side of the alignment station (essentially outside the alignment station) at the time the stack of valuable documents is grasped.

[0068] In particular, the control device can be designed to control the removal gripper and the feed gripper such that, while the removal gripper, after removing a stack of valuable documents from the alignment station, is moving away from the alignment station, the feed gripper is already approaching the alignment station in order to feed the next stack of valuable documents to be aligned to the alignment station. This makes it possible to achieve a particularly high throughput when aligning several stacks of valuable documents one after the other. For example, the feed gripper can already begin moving towards the alignment station or feeding a (next) stack of valuable documents to be aligned by the feed gripper, while the removal gripper, after removing a (previous) stack of valuable documents, is moved away from the alignment station with the removed, aligned stack of valuable documents.

[0069] The feed gripper and the removal gripper are preferably of different designs. The feed gripper and the removal gripper can in particular have different widths of the gripping elements or a different number of gripping fingers. Preferably, the one of the two grippers which grips the stack of valuable documents over the long edges of the valuable documents or through the top side into the alignment station, in particular the feed gripper or the removal gripper, has a greater width or more gripping fingers on its gripping elements than the other of the two grippers, in particular than the removal gripper or the feed gripper. Particularly preferred are the one of the two grippers which grips the stack of valuable documents over the long edges of the valuable documents or through the top side into the alignment station, in particular the feed gripper orRemoval gripper: Both gripping elements are equipped with at least two, preferably at least three, gripping fingers. This ensures particularly secure gripping of the stack of valuable documents along its long edge.

[0070] Preferably, the feed gripper and the removal gripper are designed such that the feed gripper and the removal gripper grip the stack of valuable documents via different edges of the valuable documents, ie they access the stack of valuable documents from different edge sides of the valuable documents.

[0071] In particular, the feed gripper can grip the stack of valuable documents via the transverse edges when the feed gripper reaches into the alignment station via the transverse side, and the removal gripper can grip the stack of valuable documents via the longitudinal edges when the removal gripper reaches into the alignment station via the top side. The gripping elements of the feed gripper then preferably have a smaller width or fewer gripping fingers on their gripping elements than the removal gripper.

[0072] Alternatively, the feed gripper can grip the stack of valuable documents via the long edges of the valuable documents when the feed gripper reaches through the top side into the alignment station. The removal gripper can grip the stack of valuable documents via the transverse edges of the valuable documents when the removal gripper reaches through the transverse side into the alignment station. The gripping elements of the feed gripper are then preferably wider or have more gripping fingers than the gripping elements of the removal gripper.

[0073] For example, the at least one control device is designed to control the feed gripper and the removal gripper such that the feed gripper is inserted into the alignment station at least partially through the top side (only through the top side or diagonally through the cross and top sides) when feeding the stack of valuable documents to be aligned, wherein the removal gripper is moved out of the alignment station, e.g. through the top side or through the cross side, when removing the aligned stack of valuable documents. This is because inserting the stack at least partially through the top side is more reliable than inserting it through the cross side in the case of valuable documents protruding from the stack. It is particularly reliable if funnel elements are present on the side edges of the alignment station, which guide protruding valuable documents into the alignment station when the stack is fed.The feed gripper can be designed to grip the stack of valuable documents via its longitudinal edges (gripping fingers perpendicular to the longitudinal edges) or via its transverse edges (gripping fingers perpendicular to the transverse edges).

[0074] Alternatively or additionally (e.g. if the value documents do not protrude or only protrude slightly from the stack), the at least one control device can also be designed to control the feed gripper and the removal gripper in such a way that the feed gripper is introduced into the alignment station through the transverse side when the value document stack to be aligned is fed in, wherein the removal gripper is moved out of the alignment station through the top side when the aligned value document stack is removed.

[0075] In order to achieve a particularly short time interval between removing a previous stack of valuable documents and feeding a next stack of valuable documents, the stack of valuable documents can be fed through or via the top side by means of the feed gripper and removed through or via the transverse side by means of the removal gripper or - conversely - fed through or via the transverse side by means of the feed gripper and removed through or via the top side by means of the removal gripper.Accordingly, the control device can be designed to control the removal gripper and the feed gripper such that while the removal gripper removes a (previous) aligned stack of valuable documents from the alignment station through the (open) top side or through the (open) transverse side, the feed gripper already feeds a (next) stack of valuable documents to be aligned to the alignment station through the (open) transverse side or through the (open) top side, i.e. through the other side of the alignment station.

[0076] In some embodiments, the feed gripper has at least one blown air nozzle. The blown air nozzle is designed such that a blown air stream can act through it on the surfaces, i.e. top and / or bottom surfaces, of the outermost valuable documents of the valuable document stack gripped by the feed gripper in order to straighten protruding outermost valuable documents of the valuable document stack. The outermost valuable documents of the valuable document stack are the two valuable documents that are respectively located on the top and bottom of the valuable document stack or have the most contact surfaces with the feed gripper. A blowing device is provided to generate the blown air stream through the blown air nozzle, wherein the blowing direction of the blown air nozzles is oriented parallel to the first edges, e.g. longitudinal edges, of the valuable documents or slightly obliquely inwards onto the top or bottom surfaces of the valuable documents.

[0077] Preferably, the control device is designed to control the feed gripper such that, upon insertion of the valuable document stack gripped on the short valuable document side into the alignment station, it retracts the valuable document stack (starting from a position above and behind the alignment station) in a backward movement through the top side of the alignment station diagonally downwards into the alignment station. This ensures that a valuable document stack that fans out on the short side opposite the gripping area of ​​the feed gripper does not fan out any further upon insertion into the alignment station. The backward movement of the feed gripper upon insertion of the valuable document stack into the alignment station points diagonally downwards into the alignment station in a direction away from the fanned-out side of the valuable document stack.

[0078] In some embodiments, the feed gripper and / or the removal gripper has two gripping elements that can be moved towards one another, each having at least one gripping finger that runs parallel to the side walls. When the feed gripper grips through the top side into the alignment station, the at least one gripping finger of the feed gripper runs parallel to the side walls and preferably perpendicular to the floor. For this purpose, the feed gripper can have two gripping fingers that run parallel to one another. When the removal gripper grips through the transverse side into the alignment station, the at least one gripping finger of the removal gripper runs parallel to the side walls and preferably also parallel to the floor. The removal gripper can have two gripping fingers that run parallel to one another.When the removal gripper reaches through the top side into the alignment station, the at least one gripping finger of the removal gripper runs parallel to the side walls and preferably perpendicular to the floor. When the feed gripper reaches through the transverse side into the alignment station, the at least one gripping finger of the feed gripper runs parallel to the side walls and preferably also parallel to the floor. Preferably, the feed gripper or the removal gripper is designed such that at least one of the gripping fingers can be immersed in at least one of the side walls when the feed gripper or the removal gripper moves into or out of the alignment station.For this purpose, at least one of the side walls has a meander-shaped cross-sectional profile or a cross-sectional profile provided with several openings parallel to one another and directed perpendicular to the base, which corresponds to the shape of the gripper fingers of the feed gripper, so that the gripper fingers can dip into the side wall (in the case of the meander-shaped profile) or dip through it (in the case of the profile with openings). Preferably, both side walls each have such a cross-sectional profile so that the gripper fingers can dip into the two side walls or dip through them. This also applies if the removal gripper is moved into the alignment station from above, e.g. if the stack of valuable documents is removed through or over the top.

[0079] According to a further aspect of the invention, a method for aligning a stack of valuable documents is provided. The method comprises the following steps: feeding the valuable document stack to the alignment station by means of the feed gripper, e.g., from a first side of an alignment station; aligning the valuable document stack by means of the alignment station; and removing the valuable document stack from the alignment station by means of the removal gripper, e.g., from a second side of the alignment station that is different from the first side. During removal, the removal gripper and the feed gripper during feeding the valuable document stack preferably grip the valuable document stack via different edges of the valuable documents that are perpendicular to one another.In particular, one of the two grippers (removal gripper and feed gripper) grips the stack of valuable documents via the transverse edges and the other of the two grippers (removal gripper and feed gripper) grips the stack of valuable documents via the longitudinal edges.

[0080] In one embodiment, the feed gripper, when feeding to the alignment station, at the time of releasing the value document stack, grips the value document stack via the transverse edges, in particular through the transverse side of the alignment station, and the removal gripper, when removing from the alignment station, at the time of grasping the value document stack, grips the value document stack via the longitudinal edges, in particular through the top side of the alignment station.

[0081] In another embodiment, the feed gripper, when feeding to the alignment station, at the time of releasing the value document stack, grips the value document stack via the longitudinal edges of the value documents, in particular through the top side of the alignment station, and the removal gripper, when removing the value document stack from the alignment station, at the time of grasping the value document stack, grips the value document stack via the transverse edges, in particular through the transverse side of the alignment station.

[0082] For example, if the feed gripper has fed the stack of valuable documents to be aligned from the first side of the alignment station into the alignment station, the removal gripper can remove the aligned stack of valuable documents from the second side of the alignment station. The first side can correspond to the top side of the alignment station and the second side to the transverse side of the alignment station, or the first side can correspond to the transverse side of the alignment station and the second side to the top side of the alignment station.

[0083] The stack of valuable documents to be aligned is removed by means of the feed gripper, for example from an output compartment of a valuable document processing device, which has previously checked the valuable documents of the valuable document stack and stacked them in the output compartment, and is fed directly to the alignment station for alignment.

[0084] After alignment, the removal gripper removes the aligned stack of valuable documents from the alignment station and places it, for example, in a receiving section of a valuable document container (usually comprising several receiving sections for valuable document stacks), in which it is stored (usually temporarily), and / or feeds it to a banding device which provides the aligned stack of valuable documents with a banderol.

[0085] Preferably, the alignment of the valuable documents is achieved by tilting the base of the alignment station or is supported by tilting the base. This means that the base forms an angle greater than zero degrees with the horizontal. Then, one edge of the base, e.g., the one on the transverse wall or the one on any additional transverse wall present, is lower than the other edge of the base. In this tilted position, the stack of valuable documents is moved by gravity to the transverse wall or the additional transverse wall in order to align the second edges, e.g., transverse edges, of the valuable documents with the transverse wall or the additional transverse wall. If necessary, the alignment is supported by vibration. For this purpose, a vibration of the alignment station is generated, whereby the second edges, e.g., the transverse edges, of the valuable documents slide more easily against the transverse wall in order to perform the alignment. The duration of the vibration can be automatic or manual, e.g.for an operator of the alignment station, adjustable.

[0086] In some embodiments, alignment is achieved by pressing a wall of the alignment station against the stack of valuable documents. The transverse wall pushes the stack of valuable documents to be aligned toward the transverse side, wherein the transverse side is provided with the further transverse wall, which forms a stop for the stack of valuable documents pushed by the transverse wall. The second edges, e.g., the transverse edges, of the valuable documents are thus pressed against the wall provided on the transverse side to perform the alignment.

[0087] Embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. They show:

[0088] Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an alignment station according to a first embodiment and a stack of value documents;

[0089] Fig. 2 is a plan view of the alignment station from Fig. 1;

[0090] Fig. 3 (a) - (e) show the alignment process according to a first embodiment using the alignment station of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows a schematic perspective view of an alignment station according to a second embodiment;

[0091] Fig. 5 (a) - (e) the alignment process according to a second embodiment, e.g. by means of the alignment station of Fig. 4;

[0092] Fig. 6 (a) - (e) the alignment process according to a third embodiment, e.g. by means of the alignment station of Fig. 4;

[0093] Fig. 7 shows a device for aligning a stack of valuable documents comprising the alignment station of Fig. 1; and

[0094] Fig. 8 is a schematic perspective view of the alignment station in Fig. 1 with a meandering side wall.

[0095] Fig. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an alignment station according to a first embodiment and a stack of valuable documents to be aligned. In the first embodiment, an alignment station 2 is positioned at an angle to a horizontal base 11 by means of supports 12 in order to align the floor 3 of the alignment station at an angle.

[0096] The alignment station 2 has, in addition to the base 3, two side walls 4 and 4', a transverse wall 5, a top side 13, and a transverse side 6. The base 3 is designed for depositing the longitudinal edges 15 of the valuable documents 21 of a valuable document stack 14. The top side 13 is completely open and runs parallel to the base 3. The two side walls 4 and 4' lie opposite one another and run parallel to one another and perpendicular to the base 3. The transverse wall 5 also runs perpendicular to the base 3. The transverse side 6 lies opposite and parallel to the transverse wall 5. A further transverse wall 10 is arranged on the transverse side 6, wherein the transverse wall 10 runs parallel to the transverse wall 5 and is lower than the transverse wall 5.

[0097] The floor 3 is inclined in the direction of the transverse side 6 or in the direction of the further transverse wall 10 in such a way that the angle a between the floor 3 and the horizontal is more than 0° and less than 30°.

[0098] The upper side 13 and the transverse side 6 are designed to be open in such a way that the value document stack 14 can be gripped by a gripper, in particular by a feed gripper and / or by a removal gripper, optionally through the transverse side 6 or through the upper side 13 of the alignment station 2.

[0099] The stack of valuable documents 14 to be aligned can be fed to the alignment station 2, for example, through or over the transverse side 6, namely above the transverse wall 10, and the aligned stack of valuable documents 14 is later removed from the alignment station 2 through or over the top side 13. Conversely, the stack of valuable documents 14 to be aligned can be fed through or over the top side 13, and the aligned stack of valuable documents 14 can be removed through or over the transverse side 6. Instead of feeding or removing via the transverse side 6, this can also take place via the top side 13 or diagonally to both.

[0100] The base 3 comprises a plurality of slots 8 through which an air flow, which is provided by a device 24 for generating the air flow, is directed from below through the slots 8 in the base 3 onto the stack of valuable documents placed on the base in the alignment station, thereby acting on the longitudinal edges 15 of the valuable documents 21 and rising upwards along the surfaces 22 of the valuable documents 21 in order to loosen the valuable documents 21.

[0101] The side wall 4 has an opening 9 through which a sensor, e.g. a light barrier, can monitor the interior of the alignment station for the presence of a stack of valuable documents and, if applicable, its position.

[0102] If necessary, an air stream can also be directed through the opening 9 from the side onto the surface 22 of the valuable documents 21 in order to press the valuable document stack 14 against the opposite side wall 4'.

[0103] The side walls 4 and 4' each have a funnel element 7 and 7'. The transverse wall 5 also has another funnel element 7".

[0104] However, the alignment station can also be realized without inclination or without the slots or air flow or without the opening 9 or without a funnel element.

[0105] Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the alignment station in Fig. 1. Viewed from above, one can see the base 3 with the plurality of slots 8, the completely open top 13, the two opposite side walls 4 and 4', the two opposite transverse walls 5 and 10, wherein the two transverse walls 5 and 10 have different heights, and the three funnel elements 7, 7' and 7", which are each connected to the side walls 4, 4' and the transverse wall 5. The connection does not have to be continuous, but can also be interrupted. Fig. 3 (a) - (e) shows the alignment process according to a first embodiment, e.g., by means of the alignment station from Fig. 1.

[0106] In Fig. 3(a), the stack of valuable documents 14 is gripped by a feed gripper 17, wherein a gripping finger 18 of the feed gripper 17 runs parallel to the longitudinal edges 15 of the valuable documents 21. The stack of valuable documents 14 is introduced through or over the transverse side 6, i.e., over the transverse wall 10, into the alignment station 2, wherein the transverse edges 16 of the valuable documents 21 are introduced first. The feed gripper has two gripping elements movable toward one another, each with only one gripping finger.

[0107] In Fig. 3(b), the stack of value documents 14 is placed on the base 3, wherein the longitudinal edges 15 of the value documents 21 come into contact with the base 3 of the alignment station 2.

[0108] In Fig. 3(c), the feed gripper 17 releases the valuable document stack 14. The valuable document stack 14 then slides against the transverse wall 10 due to its gravity, causing the transverse edges 16 of the valuable documents 21 to align with one another. While the feed gripper 17 is moved out of the alignment station 2 through the transverse side 6, the removal gripper 19 is already moving over or through the top side 13 into the alignment station 2. In this exemplary embodiment, the removal gripper 19 has two gripping elements that can be moved towards one another, each having a plurality of gripping fingers 20. In Fig. 3(d), the removal gripper 19 grips the aligned valuable document stack 14, with the gripping fingers 20 of the removal gripper 19 running parallel to the transverse edges 16 of the valuable documents 21. Fig. 8 shows exemplary details of the gripper fingers 20 of the removal gripper 19.

[0109] In Fig. 3(e), the aligned stack of valuable documents 14 is removed upwards from the alignment station 2 by means of the removal gripper 19.

[0110] Fig. 4 shows a schematic perspective view of an alignment station according to a second embodiment. The alignment station 2 according to the second embodiment differs from the alignment station according to the first embodiment in Fig. 1 in that the transverse side 6 is completely open and the floor 6 is inclined toward the transverse wall 5. In the second embodiment, no further transverse wall is arranged on the transverse side 6.

[0111] In order to be able to automatically remove stacks of valuable documents of smaller thickness from the alignment station more reliably, the distance between the two opposite side walls 4, 4' from one another is automatically reduced. For this automatic distance reduction, the position of both or just one of the two side walls 4, 4' perpendicular to the stacking direction of the valuable document stack to be aligned can be reduced by means of an actuator 26, e.g. by means of a pneumatic slider attached to the side wall 4 or 4'. During the automatic distance reduction, starting from a (relatively large) initial distance that the two side walls 4, 4' have from one another when the respective valuable document stack 14 is inserted (e.g. that in Fig. 4), after the respective valuable document stack has been inserted into the alignment station, the distance between the two side walls 4, 4' is automatically reduced by means of the actuator 26 to a target distance that is smaller than the initial distance.The output distance is chosen to be relatively large in order to be able to insert and align even thick stacks of valuable documents into the alignment station.

[0112] When the target distance is reached, the stack of valuable documents contained in the alignment station is automatically removed by the removal gripper. The distance between the two side walls 4, 4' is then automatically increased to the initial distance or another distance. The initial distance, and if necessary also the target distance, can be adjusted, for example, using adjusting screws.

[0113] In order to apply an air stream from the side to the stack of valuable documents present in the alignment station, one of the side walls 4 or 4' can be shorter than the other and an air stream can be directed past the shorter of the two side walls 4 or 4' onto the stack of valuable documents present in the alignment station in order to press the stack of valuable documents 14 against the opposite side wall 4' or 4. If necessary, a sensor, e.g. a light barrier, can also be attached to the shorter of the two side walls 4 or 4' to monitor the interior of the alignment station for the presence of a stack of valuable documents and, if applicable, its position.

[0114] Fig. 5 (a) - (e) shows the alignment process according to a second embodiment, e.g. by means of the alignment station of Fig. 4.

[0115] In Fig. 5(a), the stack of valuable documents 14 is gripped by the feed gripper 17, with the respective gripper finger 18 running parallel to the longitudinal edges 15 of the valuable documents 21. The stack of valuable documents 14 is introduced into the alignment station 2 via or through the transverse side 6, which is completely open, or through the top side 6, or, as shown, in an oblique direction. The bottom 3 is inclined toward the transverse wall 5 such that the angle α between the bottom 3 and the horizontal is more than 0° and less than 30°.

[0116] In Fig. 5(b), the stack of value documents 14 is placed on the base 3, wherein the longitudinal edges 15 of the value documents 21 come into contact with the base 3 of the alignment station 2.

[0117] In Fig. 5(c), the feed gripper 17 has released the stack of valuable documents 14, and the stack of valuable documents 14 has moved toward the transverse wall 5 due to its gravity, causing the transverse edges 16 of the valuable documents 21 to align with one another. While or shortly after the feed gripper 17 has moved out of the alignment station 2, the removal gripper 19 is already moving over or through the upper side 13 into the alignment station 2, with the removal gripper 19 again having a plurality of gripping fingers 20.

[0118] In Fig. 5(d), the removal gripper 19 grips the aligned stack of valuable documents 14, with the gripping fingers 20 of the removal gripper 19 running parallel to the transverse edges 16 of the valuable documents 21. Fig. 8 shows exemplary details of the gripping fingers 20 of the removal gripper 19.

[0119] In Fig. 5(e), the aligned stack of valuable documents 14 is removed from the alignment station 2 by means of the removal gripper 19 via or through the top side 13. In both embodiments in Figs. 3 and 5, the feed gripper 17 can grip the stack of valuable documents 14 through the transverse side 6 of the alignment station 2 at the time of feeding or insertion. Since the feed gripper 17 is positioned on the transverse side 6, the removal gripper 19 can already approach the alignment station from above in order to insert the stack of valuable documents 14 into the alignment station 2 from above without the two grippers obstructing each other. The removal gripper 19 is then positioned on the top side 13 of the alignment station to remove the stack of valuable documents and grips the stack of valuable documents through the top side 13 at the time of removal or detection.

[0120] Fig. 6 shows a sequence of alignment according to a third embodiment, e.g. by means of the alignment station in Fig. 4.

[0121] In Fig. 6(a), the stack of valuable documents 14 is gripped by a gripper 19 for feeding, wherein the two gripping elements of the gripper 19, which can be moved toward one another, each have a plurality of gripping fingers 20 that run parallel to the transverse edges 16 of the valuable documents 21. The stack of valuable documents 14 is inserted into the alignment station 2 through or over the top side 13, which is completely open, wherein the longitudinal edges 15 of the valuable documents 21 are inserted first.

[0122] In Fig. 6(b), the stack of valuable documents 14 is placed on the base 3, wherein the longitudinal edges 15 of the valuable documents 21 are in contact with the base 3 of the alignment station 2. The gripper 19 then releases the stack of valuable documents 14 for feeding. The stack of valuable documents 14 then moves towards the transverse wall 5 due to its gravity in order to align the transverse edges 16 of the valuable documents 21. While or shortly after the gripper 19 is moved out of the alignment station 2 over or through the top side 13, the gripper 17 is moved into the alignment station 2 over or through the transverse side 6 or the top side 13 for removal, wherein the two gripping elements of the gripper 17, which can be moved towards one another, each have a gripping finger 18 for removal, which runs parallel to the longitudinal edges 15 of the valuable documents 21.

[0123] In Fig. 6(c), the value document stack 14 is gripped by the two gripping fingers 18 and moved in the direction of the transverse side 6 or diagonally upwards in order to remove it.

[0124] In Fig. 6(d), during or shortly after the aligned value document stack 14 is removed from the alignment station 2 via or through the transverse side 6 by the gripper 17, a next value document stack 14' to be aligned can be moved by the gripper 19 towards the top side 13 of the alignment station 2 in order to insert it.

[0125] In Fig. 6(e), after the aligned value document stack 14 has been removed from the alignment station 2 by the gripper 17, the next value document stack 14' to be aligned is fed through or over the top side 13 by the gripper 19 to the alignment station 2.

[0126] If the gripper 17 is not moved upwards for removal but sideways through the transverse side 6, the gripper 19 can already move through or over the top side 13 to feed the next stack of valuable documents 14' when the previous stack of valuable documents 14 has just been removed, without the two grippers getting in each other's way. Fig. 7 shows a device for aligning a stack of valuable documents, comprising the alignment station from Fig. 1. The device 1 comprises a feed gripper 17, a removal gripper 19, the alignment station 2 according to the first embodiment in Fig. 1, and a control device 25 for controlling the two grippers. Alternatively, each of the two grippers 17, 19 can have its own control device. If necessary, the control device 25 can also be used to control the alignment station, e.g. its movable side walls or the above-mentioned further alignment devices.However, this can also be done by a separate control device. The feed gripper 17 can insert a stack 14 of valuable documents to be aligned through the top side 13 and / or through the transverse side 6 into the alignment station 2. After alignment, the removal gripper 19 can remove the aligned stack 14 of valuable documents through the top side 13 from the alignment station 2, or vice versa. Alternatively, the device 1 can also comprise the alignment station 2 of one of the other figures.

[0127] In the case of used valuable documents, when the valuable document stack 14 is inserted into the alignment station 2 by means of the feed gripper 17, the valuable document stack 14 gripped on the short side of the valuable document may fan out on the short side 27 opposite the gripping area of ​​the feed gripper, see Fig. 7 top right. To ensure that the valuable documents fanned out in this way do not fan out further or bend when inserted into the alignment station, the movement of the feed gripper 17 when inserting the valuable document stack 14 into the alignment station 2 can be carried out such that the feed gripper pulls the valuable document stack 14 in a backward movement, i.e. in a direction away from the fanned side 27 of the valuable document stack 14, starting from a position above and behind the alignment station 2, diagonally downwards into the alignment station (see arrow P).Retraction prevents further fanning out and ensures that the stack of valuable documents 14 is correctly inserted. This is further supported by the funnel elements (7, 7', 7").

[0128] Fig. 8 shows a schematic perspective view of the alignment station in Fig. 1 with a meander-shaped side wall.

[0129] The side wall 4 has a meandering cross-sectional profile 23. This cross-sectional profile 23 is formed by a plurality of spaced-apart recesses. These recesses face the outside of the alignment station 2. The respective recesses can accommodate the respective gripping fingers 20 of the gripper 19, so that the gripping fingers 20 can each penetrate into the recess. The other side wall 4' can also have a meandering cross-sectional profile 23, so that the gripper 19 can penetrate with its two gripping elements into each of the side walls 4 and 4', each gripping element having a plurality of gripping fingers 20.

Claims

Patent claims 1. An alignment station (2) for aligning sheet-shaped value documents (21) in a value document stack (14), comprising: - a base (3) for depositing a stack of valuable documents (14) containing sheet-shaped valuable documents (21), such that the valuable documents (21) rest on the base (3) with first edges (15), - two opposing side walls (4, 4') which extend perpendicular to the base (3) in such a way that they face surfaces (22) of the valuable documents (21) of the valuable document stack (14) placed on the base (3), - a transverse wall (5) which runs perpendicular to the base (3) such that the transverse wall (5) faces second edges (16) of the value documents (21), the first (15) and second edges (16) being perpendicular to one another, - a transverse side (6) opposite the transverse wall (5), which runs parallel to the transverse wall (5) and is at least partially open, and - an open upper side (13) opposite the base (3), characterized in that the upper side (13) and the transverse side (6) are designed to be open in such a way that the stack of valuable documents (14) can be gripped by a gripper either through the transverse side (6) or through the upper side (13) of the alignment station.

2. Alignment station (2) according to claim 1, wherein the transverse side (6) is completely open or only partially open, in particular comprising a further transverse wall (10) whose height is preferably less than 4 cm.

3. Alignment station (2) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the transverse side (6) is only partially open, in particular comprises a further transverse wall (10) whose height is preferably less than 4 cm, and wherein the alignment station is designed to press the value document stack (14) by means of the transverse wall (5) along the bottom in a direction parallel to the side walls against the further transverse wall (10) and / or by means of the further transverse wall (10) against the transverse wall (5) in order to align it.

4. Alignment station (2) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the floor (3) of the alignment station (2) is formed obliquely in the direction of the transverse wall (5) or in the direction of the transverse side (6), in particular is formed obliquely in such a way that the angle (a) between the floor (3) and the horizontal is preferably more than 0°, but less than 30°, particularly preferably less than 25°.

5. Alignment station (2) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a device (24) which is designed to generate an air flow and to direct it from outside the alignment station into the alignment station onto a stack of valuable documents (14) placed on the floor (3) in order to assist in aligning the stack of valuable documents (14), wherein the device is designed in particular to direct the air flow from below / from above / from the side into the alignment station onto the stack of valuable documents.

6. Alignment station (2) according to claim 5, wherein the device (24) for generating the air flow is designed to direct the air flow from above or from below, through recesses (8) in the floor, into the alignment station onto the stack of valuable documents in order to direct the air flow onto the stack of valuable documents, in particular along the valuable document surfaces.

7. Alignment station (2) according to one of claims 5 to 6, wherein the device is designed to direct the air flow from the side into the alignment station onto the stack of value documents and wherein a first of the side walls (4, 4') has at least one opening (9) or is designed to be shorter than the other side wall (4 Z , 4) so ​​that the device can direct the air flow from outside the alignment station through the opening (9) or past the first side wall (4, 4') into the alignment station, onto the stack of valuable documents placed on the floor (3).

8. Alignment station (2) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a device which is designed to generate a vibration of the alignment station, in particular of the floor of the alignment station, and to act on the stack of valuable documents (14) in order to support the alignment of the stack of valuable documents (14) deposited on the floor (3), in particular its movement due to gravity towards the further transverse wall (10) or towards the transverse wall (5).

9. Alignment station (2) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising at least one funnel element (7, 7', 7") which adjoins an upper end of the side wall (4, 4') or transverse wall (5) and is oriented at an angle to the respective side wall or transverse wall, preferably at least two of the funnel elements, each adjoining one of the side walls and lying opposite one another.

10. A device (1) for aligning a stack of valuable documents (14), comprising: - an alignment station (2) according to one of the preceding claims, - a feed gripper (17, 19) which is arranged to feed the stack of value documents (14) to be aligned to the alignment station (2), - a removal gripper (17, 19) which is arranged to remove the aligned stack of valuable documents (14) from the alignment station (2), - at least one control device (25) which is designed to control the feed gripper and the removal gripper such that the feed gripper feeds the value document stack (14) to be aligned to the alignment station (2) and the removal gripper (17, 19) removes the aligned value document stack (14) from the alignment station (2) after its alignment in the alignment station, wherein the feed gripper (17, 19) and the removal gripper (17, 19) are designed in particular to grip the same value document stack (14) via different edges (15, 16) of the value documents (21) which are perpendicular to one another.

11. Device according to claim 10, wherein - the feed gripper is designed to grip the stack of value documents via the transverse edges of the value documents and the removal gripper is designed to grip the stack of value documents via the longitudinal edges of the value documents, and - the at least one control device is designed to control the feed gripper when feeding the value document stack to be aligned to the alignment station in such a way that it grips the value document stack (14) when feeding the value document stack to the alignment station, at the time of releasing the stack of valuable documents, reaches through the transverse side (6) of the alignment station, and to control the removal gripper when removing the aligned stack of valuable documents from the alignment station, at the time of detecting the stack of valuable documents, in such a way that it grips the stack of valuable documents (14) through the top side (13) of the alignment station when removing it from the alignment station.

12. Device according to claim 10, wherein - the feed gripper is designed to grip the stack of value documents via the longitudinal edges of the value documents and the removal gripper is designed to grip the stack of value documents via the transverse edges of the value documents, and - the at least one control device is designed to control the feed gripper when feeding the value document stack to be aligned to the alignment station, at the time of releasing the value document stack, in such a way that it grips the value document stack (14) through the top side (13) of the alignment station when feeding it to the alignment station, and to control the removal gripper when removing the aligned value document stack from the alignment station, at the time of detecting the value document stack, in such a way that it grips the value document stack (14) through the transverse side (6) of the alignment station when removing it from the alignment station.

13. Device (1) according to one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the position of at least one side wall (4, 4') of the alignment station is adjustable such that the distance between the two side walls can be changed automatically, and the control device is designed to - to control the alignment station in such a way that the distance between the side walls (4, 4') of the alignment station, starting from an initial distance between the two side walls which they have from each other when inserting the respective stack of valuable documents, is automatically reduced to a target distance which is smaller than the initial distance after inserting the respective stack of valuable documents into the alignment station, and - to control the removal gripper in such a way that, when the two side walls have reached the target distance, the removal gripper removes the stack of valuable documents contained in the alignment station from the alignment station, and - to control the alignment station in such a way that after the stack of valuable documents has been removed from the alignment station, the distance between the two side walls is automatically increased again.

14. Device (1) according to one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the control device is designed to control the removal gripper and the feed gripper such that while the removal gripper moves away from the alignment station after removing a stack of value documents from the alignment station, the feed gripper is already approaching the alignment station in order to feed the next stack of value documents to be aligned to the alignment station (2).

15. Device (1) according to one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the feed gripper (17, 19) has at least one blowing air nozzle which is designed such that a blowing air stream can act through it on the surfaces of the outermost value documents of the value document stack gripped by the feed gripper in order to straighten protruding outermost value documents of the value document stack just gripped.

16. Device (1) according to one of claims 10 to 15, wherein the control device is designed to control the feed gripper such that, when a value document stack gripped on the short value document side is inserted into the alignment station, it retracts the value document stack in a backward movement through the top side of the alignment station diagonally downwards into the alignment station.

17. A method for aligning a stack of value documents (14) by means of a device according to one of claims 10 to 16, comprising the following steps: - feeding the value document stack (14) by means of the feed gripper (17, 19) to the alignment station, in particular from a first side (6, 13) of the alignment station (2), - aligning the stack of valuable documents (14) by means of the alignment station (2); and - removing the value document stack (14) from the alignment station by means of the removal gripper (17, 19), in particular from a second side (6, 13) of the alignment station (2) which is different from the first side (6, 13), wherein the removal gripper (17, 19) when removing the value document stack (14) and the feed gripper when feeding the value document stack (14) grip the value document stack via different edges (15, 16) of the value documents which are perpendicular to one another.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the value document stack is removed from an output compartment of a value document processing device by means of the feed gripper before being fed to the alignment station, and, after being aligned and removed from the alignment station, the The removal gripper places the aligned stack of valuable documents into a receiving section of a valuable document container and / or feeds it to a banding device which applies a band to the aligned stack of valuable documents.

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