CN105809240B - Paper counting device - Google Patents

Abstract

The paper sheet counting apparatus of the present invention includes: a counting part for counting and identifying the paper; a stacking unit that stacks the sheets counted by the counting unit; a rotary guide member for accumulating the paper sheets counted by the counting section in the accumulating section; a shutter for closing the opening of the accumulation section; a shutter drive unit that drives the shutter; a control unit for controlling the shutter drive unit; a placing section for placing the sheets to be counted by the counting section; a first paper detection component for detecting whether paper is placed in the placing part; a reject unit configured to accept the sheet conveyed from the counting unit and identified as a rejected sheet by the counting unit; and a second paper detection component for detecting whether paper is accumulated in the reject part, wherein even if the first paper detection component detects that no paper is in the placing part, the control part controls the shutter driving part to enable the shutter to continuously close the opening of the accumulation part when the second paper detection component detects that paper is in the reject part.

Description

Paper counting device

The application is a divisional application of an invention patent application with the application date of 2009, 02/19, and the application number of 200980158798.X, and the utility model name of the utility model is "paper counting device".

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a paper sheet counting apparatus for counting paper sheets such as banknotes and checks.

Background

Conventionally, various types of paper counting apparatuses have been used for counting paper such as banknotes and checks. For example, in a banknote counter disclosed in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2600100 (JP2600100Y2), a plurality of banknotes are stacked in a stacked state in a placement section (hopper), the lowest banknotes are fed out one by one and fed between a pair of gate members by a feeding roller (feed roller) or the like provided at the bottom of the placement section, the banknotes are separated into individual banknotes and fed out to the lower side through a passage, and the banknotes are fed between two blades of an impeller provided in the middle. Then, the banknotes received between the two blades are reversed by the rotation of the impeller and are stroked down onto the stacking unit, and the banknotes are arranged in the stacking unit in an aligned state. In the banknote counter disclosed in utility model registration No. 2600100, the sensor counts the number of banknotes that pass by the banknote until the banknote reaches the impeller.

Further, in japanese patent No. 3537697 (JP3537697B) and japanese patent No. 3741893 (JP3741893B), there are disclosed banknote finishers that recognize banknotes and classify the banknotes based on the recognition result. In such a banknote sorting machine, a plurality of stacking units (stackers) are provided, and banknotes sorted by denomination are conveyed to each stacking unit. Further, a shutter is provided in each accumulation section, the shutter selectively closing an opening of the accumulation section, the accumulation section being inaccessible to an operator.

Disclosure of Invention

However, in the conventional banknote counter disclosed in, for example, japanese patent application laid-open No. 2600100, since the banknotes are stacked upside down from the rear to the front by the rotation of the impeller, there is a problem that dust staying in the transport path or dust adhering to the banknotes is blown to the operator. Further, in the banknote counter, there is a problem that sound inside the device leaks to the outside during operation, and noise is annoying.

Further, as described above, patent nos. 3537697 and 3741893 disclose banknote collating machines each having a shutter provided in a stacking unit. However, in these banknote sorting machines, an opening is provided above the stacking unit, and a shutter that opens and closes the opening provided above the stacking unit is not provided for dust prevention. More specifically, the shutter provided in the stacking unit is a portion in which the banknotes stacked in the stacking unit can be removed in the open state and the banknotes stacked in the stacking unit cannot be removed at all in the closed state, and the shutter only functions as a so-called lock (lock) of the stacking unit.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a paper counting device that can prevent dust in a casing or paper from being blown out to an operator and can prevent sound inside the device from leaking to the outside during operation.

The paper sheet counting apparatus of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a counting unit for counting the sheets; an accumulation section that accumulates the sheets counted by the counting section and has an opening provided in a front surface thereof; a rotary guide member provided in the stacking portion, the rotary guide member stacking the sheets counted by the counting portion in the stacking portion; a shutter for closing an opening provided in front of the accumulation section; a shutter driving unit configured to drive the shutter so as to open and close an opening provided in front of the accumulation unit; and a control unit for controlling the shutter drive unit.

According to such a sheet counting device, the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit can be opened and closed by the shutter by controlling the shutter driving unit by the control unit. Therefore, the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit can be selectively closed by the shutter, and when the shutter closes the opening, it is possible to prevent dust in the casing of the sheet counting device or the sheets from being blown out to the operator. Further, the shutter closes the opening in the front face of the stacking unit, thereby preventing sound inside the device from leaking to the outside when the sheet counting device is operated.

Preferably, in the paper sheet counting apparatus according to the present invention, the rotary guide member is constituted by an impeller having a plurality of blades which rotate about a shaft extending substantially in a horizontal direction and which extend from an outer peripheral surface in an outer side opposite to the rotation direction, the impeller being configured to connect the paper sheets counted by the counting section between the blades and to convey the paper sheets connected between the blades to the stacking section.

Preferably, in the sheet counting device of the present invention, the control section controls the shutter drive section such that the shutter closes the opening provided in front of the accumulating section before counting of the sheets is started by the counting section.

Alternatively, the control unit may control the shutter driving unit to start driving of the shutter so as to close the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit and to close the opening while counting the sheets, at the same time as the counting unit starts counting the sheets.

More preferably, the above paper sheet counting apparatus further comprises: a placing section that places the sheets to be counted by the counting section, and conveys the sheets placed in the placing section to the counting section one by one; and a first paper detection member for detecting whether or not paper is set in the setting unit, wherein the control unit controls the shutter drive unit so that the shutter is retracted from an opening provided in front of the stacking unit and opens the opening when the first paper detection member detects that all of the paper set in the setting unit has been conveyed to the counting unit and no paper is present in the setting unit.

In this case, it is more preferable that the control unit is configured such that a time from when the first paper detection member detects that there is no paper in the placement unit to when the shutter drive unit is controlled to start retracting the shutter from the opening can be changed by setting.

Further, more preferably, the counting section further performs recognition of a sheet, and the sheet counting apparatus further includes: a reject portion to which the sheet identified as a rejected sheet by the counting portion is conveyed from the counting portion; and a second paper detection member that detects whether or not paper is stacked in the reject unit, wherein the control unit continues to cause the shutter to close the opening provided in the front of the stacking unit when the second paper detection member detects that paper is present in the reject unit even if the first paper detection member detects that no paper is present in the stacking unit.

Further, it is preferable that the control unit selectively performs a batch processing mode in which the counting unit counts the number of sheets for each batch number instructed by the control unit, and that the control unit continues to cause the shutter to close the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit when the number of sheets conveyed to the stacking unit does not reach the batch number even when the absence of sheets in the stacking unit is detected by the first sheet detection means when the sheets are processed in the batch processing mode.

In the paper sheet counting apparatus according to the present invention, the control unit selectively performs a batch processing mode in which the counting unit counts the number of paper sheets for each batch number instructed by the control unit, and the control unit, when processing the paper sheets in the batch processing mode, retracts the shutter from the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit and opens the opening when the batch number instructed by the control unit is smaller than a predetermined number of paper sheets.

Preferably, in the sheet counting device of the present invention, further comprising: a placing section that places the sheets to be counted by the counting section, and conveys the sheets placed in the placing section to the counting section one by one; and a third paper detection means provided between the placement portion and the stacking portion and detecting paper conveyed from the placement portion to the stacking portion when the paper passes through, the control portion selectively performing a batch processing mode in which the counting portion counts the paper for each batch number instructed by the control portion, the control portion controlling the shutter control portion such that the shutter closes the opening provided in front of the stacking portion before counting of the paper is started by the counting portion when the control portion performs processing of the paper in the batch processing mode when the batch number instructed by the control portion is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of sheets set in advance, the control portion controlling the shutter driver when the third paper detection means detects a first batch number of paper, thereby, the shutter is retreated from the opening provided in the front of the accumulation section to open the opening.

In this case, it is more preferable that the control unit is configured to change a time from when the third paper detection member detects the first batch of paper sheets to when the shutter drive unit is controlled to start retracting the shutter from the opening by setting.

More preferably, in the sheet counting device of the present invention, further comprising: a placing section that places the sheets to be counted by the counting section, and conveys the sheets placed in the placing section to the counting section one by one; and a third paper detection member that is provided between the placement portion and the stacking portion and detects paper conveyed from the placement portion to the stacking portion when the paper passes, wherein the control portion controls the shutter control portion so that the shutter closes an opening provided in front of the stacking portion before counting of the paper is started by the counting portion, and the control portion controls the shutter driver so that the shutter retracts from the opening provided in front of the stacking portion and opens the opening when the stacking portion becomes full of paper when the third paper detection member detects the paper conveyed to the stacking portion.

In this case, it is more preferable that the control unit is configured to be capable of changing, by setting, a time from when the third paper detection member detects that the stacking unit is full of paper when the third paper detection member conveys the paper to when the shutter drive unit is controlled to start retracting the shutter from the opening.

Further, it is preferable that the third paper detection means is provided at a position where a time from detection of the paper by the third paper detection means to conveyance to the stacking portion and a time required for the shutter to move from a position where the opening provided in front of the stacking portion is closed to a position where the opening is opened are substantially coincident with each other.

Preferably, in the sheet counting device according to the present invention, the control unit selectively performs any one of an operation mode of a shutter operation mode in which the shutter driver is controlled and the opening provided in the front face of the stacking unit is opened and closed by the shutter, and a non-shutter operation mode in which the opening provided in the front face of the stacking unit is not opened and closed by the shutter without performing control of the shutter driving unit.

Preferably, in the paper sheet counting apparatus according to the present invention, the shutter is manually retracted from an opening provided in a front surface of the stacking unit even when the counting unit counts the number of paper sheets.

Preferably, in the sheet counting device of the present invention, the shutter is formed of a transparent member.

In the sheet counting device according to the present invention, the shutter preferably swings about a shaft between a closed position that closes the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit and an open position that is retracted from the opening to open the opening and is located below the rotary guide member.

In the sheet counting device according to the present invention, it is preferable that an elastic member is provided in the shutter, a cam (cam) that engages with the shutter is provided in the shutter drive unit, and the shutter is urged by a contraction force of the elastic member toward a closed position at which an opening provided in front of the accumulation unit is closed, and is driven toward an opening position at which the opening is opened by being retracted from the opening by the cam provided in the shutter drive unit.

Alternatively, a gear and a torque limiter may be provided between the shutter and the shutter drive unit, and the drive force from the shutter drive unit may be transmitted to the shutter via the gear and the torque limiter, and the torque limiter may cut off the drive force from the shutter drive unit to the shutter when a force larger than a predetermined set torque set in advance is applied to the torque limiter.

The paper sheet counting apparatus of the present invention includes: a counting part for counting and identifying the paper; a stacking section configured to stack the sheets counted by the counting section and having an opening; a rotary guide member provided in the stacking unit, for stacking the paper sheets counted by the counting unit in the stacking unit; a shutter for closing an opening of the accumulation section; a shutter driving unit configured to drive the shutter so as to open and close the opening of the accumulation unit; a control unit that controls the shutter drive unit; a placing section for placing the sheets to be counted by the counting section, and for conveying the sheets placed in the placing section one by one to the counting section; a first sheet detecting unit that detects whether or not a sheet is set in the setting unit; a reject unit configured to accept the sheet that is conveyed from the counting unit and recognized as a rejected sheet by the counting unit; and a second paper detection member that detects whether or not paper is accumulated in the reject portion, wherein the control section controls the shutter drive section so that the shutter continues to close the opening of the accumulation portion even when the first paper detection member detects that no paper is present in the placement portion but the second paper detection member detects that paper is present in the reject portion.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of a sheet counting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing a state in which a shutter closes an opening provided in a front surface of a stacking unit.

Fig. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a state in which the shutter is retracted from the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit and the opening is opened in the sheet counting device shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a configuration diagram showing details of the shutter, the shutter support portion supporting the shutter, the shutter drive portion, and the like in the sheet counting device shown in fig. 1 and the like, and is a diagram showing a state when the shutter closes the opening provided in the front of the stacking portion.

Fig. 4 is a configuration diagram showing details of the shutter, the shutter supporting portion for supporting the shutter, the shutter driving portion, and the like in the sheet counting device shown in fig. 1 and the like, and is a diagram showing a state when the shutter is retracted from an opening provided in the front surface of the stacking portion and opens the opening.

Fig. 5 is a control block diagram of the sheet counting device shown in fig. 1 and the like.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of a series of operations of the sheet counting device shown in fig. 1 and the like.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a series of operations of the sheet counting device shown in fig. 1 and the like.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of a series of operations of the sheet counting device shown in fig. 1 and the like.

Fig. 9 is a side view showing the configuration of a shutter, a shutter supporting portion supporting the shutter, a shutter driving portion, a plurality of gears, a torque limiter, and the like in a sheet counting device according to a modification of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the shutter shown in fig. 9, a shutter supporting portion supporting the shutter, a shutter driving portion, a plurality of gears, a torque limiter, and the like, viewed from above.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, fig. 1 to 8 are diagrams showing the paper sheet counting device of the present embodiment. Fig. 1 and 2 are schematic configuration diagrams showing an internal configuration of a sheet counting device according to the present embodiment, and fig. 3 and 4 are configuration diagrams showing details of a shutter, a shutter supporting portion supporting the shutter, a shutter driving portion, and the like in the sheet counting device shown in fig. 1 and the like. Fig. 5 is a control block diagram of the sheet counting device shown in fig. 1 and the like, and fig. 6 to 8 are flowcharts of a series of operations of the sheet counting device shown in fig. 1 and the like. The paper counting device of the present embodiment counts paper such as banknotes and checks.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the sheet counting device 10 includes: a housing 12; a placing section 14 for placing a plurality of sheets P to be counted in a stacked state; a feeding unit 16 for feeding out the bottommost sheet P of the stacked sheets P placed on the placing unit 14 into the casing 12 one by one; and a conveying section 22 for conveying the sheets P fed out to the inside of the casing 12 by the feeding-out section 16 one by one. In the case 12, the right side in fig. 1 and 2 is a front side, and the left side is a back side. Further, in the conveying section 22, a recognition and counting section 24 is provided, and the recognition and counting section 24 recognizes and counts the sheets P fed out from the placing section 14 into the casing 12. The recognition counting unit 24 is constituted by, for example, a line sensor.

The roll-out unit 16 includes: a pusher roller (kisker roller)16a abutting against a surface of the lowermost one of the plurality of sheets P placed in the stacked state on the placing section 14; and a feed roller (feed roller)16b that is disposed downstream of the push roller 16a in the paper feeding direction and feeds out the paper P kicked by the push roller 16a into the casing 12. Further, a gate roller (reverse roller)16 c is provided opposite to the feeding roller 16b, and a gate portion is formed between the feeding roller 16b and the gate roller 16 c. The paper P kicked by the pusher roller 16a is fed out through the gate portion to the conveying portion 22 in the casing 12 one by one.

Further, the transport unit 22 branches into two transport paths at a position downstream of the recognition and counting unit 24, one transport path being connected to the accumulating unit 26, and the other transport path being connected to the rejecting unit 30. Here, in the stacking portion 26, the paper P recognized as normal paper by the recognition and counting portion 24 is conveyed from the conveying portion 22. An opening is provided in a front surface (a right surface in fig. 1 and 2) of the stacking unit 26, and the operator can take out the paper P stacked in the stacking unit 26 through the opening.

In the reject portion 30, the sheets identified as the abnormal sheets by the recognition and counting portion 24 and the sheets not identified by the recognition and counting portion 24 are conveyed from the conveying portion 22 as the rejected sheets P'. An opening is also provided in front of the reject portion 30, and the operator can take out the rejected paper P' accumulated in the reject portion 30 through the opening.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, a branching member 32 is provided in a portion of the conveying portion 22 that branches into two conveying paths, and the paper conveyed from the upstream side of the branching member 32 is selectively conveyed to one of the two branched conveying paths by the branching member 32.

The impeller 28 is provided at a position on the back side of the casing 12 (a position on the left side in fig. 1 and 2) in the accumulating portion 26. The impeller 28 rotates clockwise in fig. 1 or the like (in the direction of the arrow in fig. 1 and 2) about an axis perpendicular to the paper surface of fig. 1 or the like and substantially along the horizontal direction. The rotation operation of the impeller 28 is performed by an impeller driving unit 29 (not shown in fig. 1 and 2) to be described later. The impeller 28 is provided with a plurality of blades 28a, and the blades 28a extend from the outer peripheral surface along the outer side opposite to the rotation direction (counterclockwise direction in fig. 1 and the like). As shown in fig. 1 and the like, these blades 28a are provided at equal intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the impeller 28.

During the operation of the paper counting apparatus 10, the paddle 28 is always rotated clockwise in fig. 1 and the like by the paddle drive unit 29, and the paper P is fed from the feeding unit 22 to the paddle 28 one by one. Then, the paddle 28 connects the paper P fed from the conveying section 22 between two blades 28a, and conveys the paper P connected between the blades 28a to the accumulating section 26. Thereby, the paper P is conveyed from the paddle 28 to the stacking unit 26 one by one, and a plurality of paper P are stacked in the stacking unit 26.

In the sheet counting device 10 of the present embodiment, a shutter 40 for closing an opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit 26 is provided, and the opening in the front surface of the stacking unit 26 is selectively closed by the shutter 40. The shutter 40 is moved by a shutter drive unit 50 (not shown in fig. 1 and 2) composed of, for example, a motor, which will be described later, between a closed position shown in fig. 1 in which the shutter 40 closes the front opening of the accumulation unit 26 and an open position shown in fig. 2 in which the shutter 40 is retracted from the front opening of the accumulation unit 26 to open the opening. That is, when the shutter 40 is located at the closed position as shown in fig. 1, the shutter 40 closes the opening at the front of the stacking portion 26, so that the operator cannot access the paper P stacked in the stacking portion 26. On the other hand, when the shutter 40 is located at the opening position as shown in fig. 2, the shutter 40 is retracted from the opening at the front of the stacking unit 26 and the opening is opened, so that the operator can access the paper P stacked in the stacking unit 26.

The reason why such a shutter 40 is provided will be described below. In the paper sheet counting apparatus 10 in which the paddle wheel 28 is provided in the stacking unit 26, since the paper sheets P are stacked from the rear to the front (from the left side to the right side in fig. 1 and the like) by the rotation of the paddle wheel 28, there is a possibility that dust lingering in the stacking unit 26 and the like or dust attached to the paper sheets P may be blown to the operator side through the opening in the front of the stacking unit 26. However, when the opening in the front surface of the accumulation section 26 is closed by the shutter 40 as shown in fig. 1, the dust can be prevented from being blown out to the operator by the rotation of the impeller 28. Further, the shutter 40 closes the opening in the front face of the stacking unit 26, thereby preventing sound inside the apparatus from leaking to the outside when the sheet counting apparatus 10 is operated.

The shutter 40 may be made of a transparent member such as plastic. At this time, even when the shutter 40 is located at the closed position where the opening in the front face of the stacking unit 26 is closed as shown in fig. 1, the operator can visually confirm the stacking state of the paper P in the stacking unit 26 through the shutter 40 made of a transparent member.

Next, the driving of the shutter 40 by the shutter driving section 50 will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 and 4 are configuration diagrams showing details of the shutter 40, the shutter support portion 42 that supports the shutter 40, the shutter drive portion 50, and the like in the sheet counting device 10 shown in fig. 1 and the like. More specifically, fig. 3 is a diagram corresponding to the state shown in fig. 1, and shows a state in which the shutter 40 closes the opening provided in the front surface of the accumulation section 26. On the other hand, fig. 4 is a diagram corresponding to the state shown in fig. 2, and shows a state when the shutter 40 is retracted from the opening provided in the front surface of the accumulation section 26 and the opening is opened.

As shown in fig. 3 and the like, the shutter 40 is supported by a shutter support portion 42, and a substantially rectangular plate-like member 44 is attached to the shutter support portion 42. A shaft 44a is provided at a central portion of the plate-like member 44, and the plate-like member 44 swings about the shaft 44 a. Therefore, the shutter 40 supported by the shutter support portion 42 also swings about the shaft 44 a. A circular connecting member (link) 44b is rotatably attached to the plate-like member 44 at an end of the plate-like member 44 opposite to the shutter 40.

On the other hand, an elastic member, specifically, an end 46b of a spring 46, for example, is attached to an end of the plate-like member 44 opposite to the end where the connecting member 44b is provided. An end 46a of the spring 46 opposite to the end 46b on which the plate-like member 44 is provided is fixed to the inner surface of the housing 12. That is, in fig. 3 and the like, the position of one end 46a of the spring 46 is fixed, and the plate-like member 44 swings about the shaft 44a, so that the position of the other end 46b of the spring 46 attached to the end of the plate-like member 44 changes. The shutter 40 is constantly biased from the open position shown in fig. 4 to the closed position shown in fig. 3 by the contracting force of the spring 46.

Further, a cam member 52 is provided so as to abut against the outer peripheral surface of a rotatable circular connecting member 44b provided in the plate-like member 44. In addition, a rotary shaft 51 is attached to the cam member 52 at a position offset from the center thereof, and the rotary shaft 51 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction (arrow direction) of fig. 3 and the like by a shutter drive unit 50 formed of, for example, a motor. Thereby, the cam member 52 also rotates counterclockwise (arrow direction) in fig. 3 or the like about the rotation shaft 51. As a result, when the cam member 52 rotates about the rotation shaft 51, the connecting member 44b abutting against the edge portion of the cam member 52 is pressed in the upward direction (arrow direction) of fig. 3 from the state shown in fig. 3, and the plate-like member 44 rotates clockwise about the shaft 44 a. As a result, the shutter support portion 42 attached to the plate-like member 44 also rotates clockwise about the shaft 44a from the state shown in fig. 3, and the shutter support portion 42 moves from the position shown in fig. 3 to the position shown in fig. 4. Thereby, the shutter 40 moves from the closed position shown in fig. 1 to the open position shown in fig. 2. At this time, the spring 46 is expanded from the state shown in fig. 3 to the state shown in fig. 4.

On the other hand, when the cam member 52 rotates further counterclockwise (in the direction of the arrow) in fig. 4 about the rotation shaft 51 from the state shown in fig. 4, the circular connecting member 44b provided in the plate-like member 44 is not further pressed upward in fig. 4 by the cam member 52, and the plate-like member 44 rotates counterclockwise in fig. 4 about the shaft 44a from the state shown in fig. 4 by the contracting force of the spring 46. Accordingly, the shutter support portion 42 attached to the plate-like member 44 also rotates counterclockwise about the shaft 44a from the state shown in fig. 4, and the shutter support portion 42 returns from the position shown in fig. 4 to the position shown in fig. 3. Thereby, the shutter 40 returns from the open position shown in fig. 2 to the closed position shown in fig. 1. At this time, the spring 46 contracts from the state shown in fig. 4 to the state shown in fig. 3.

Thus, the shutter 40 is swung around the shaft 44a by the shutter drive unit 50 between a closed position (see fig. 1 and 3) at which the opening on the front surface of the accumulation unit 26 is closed and an open position (see fig. 2 and 4) at which the opening is opened by being retracted from the opening. As shown in fig. 2 and the like, the opening position is located below impeller 28. Accordingly, when the shutter 40 is positioned at the opening position, dust generated from the impeller 28 and the like can be received, and dust can be prevented from accumulating on the inner bottom surface of the housing 12.

The time required for the shutter 40 to move from the closed position shown in fig. 1 to the open position shown in fig. 2 and the time required for the shutter 40 to move from the open position shown in fig. 2 to the closed position shown in fig. 1 are, for example, 0.5 second.

Further, since the shutter 40 is biased from the open position shown in fig. 4 to the closed position shown in fig. 3 by the contracting force of the spring 46, the shutter 40 can be manually moved downward from the closed position shown in fig. 3 against the contracting force of the spring 46. Thus, even when the shutter 40 is located at the closed position shown in fig. 3 and the recognition and counting unit 24 counts the number of the sheets P, the shutter 40 can be manually retracted from the opening in the front surface of the stacking unit 26, and the sheets P can be taken out from the stacking unit 26.

Further, the spring 46 is provided in the shutter 40, the cam member 52 that engages with the connecting member 44b of the plate-like member 44 is provided in the shutter driving portion 50, and the shutter 40 is biased toward the closed position (fig. 3) that closes the front opening of the accumulating portion 26 by the contracting force of the spring 46, and is driven toward the open position (fig. 4) that opens the opening by being retracted from the front opening of the accumulating portion 26 by the cam member 52 provided in the shutter driving portion 50. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an accident in which the fingers of the operator are caught by the shutter 40 and injured while the shutter 40 moves from the opening position shown in fig. 2 to the closing position shown in fig. 1. This is because the force that urges the shutter 40 toward the closed position is the contracting force of the spring 46, not the driving force of the shutter driving portion 50.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, a shutter-off detection sensor 54a and a shutter-on detection sensor 54b are provided at respective fixed positions in the vicinity of the cam member 52. The shutter close detection sensor 54a and the shutter open detection sensor 54b are each constituted by an optical sensor. Further, a detection member 53 detected by a shutter-off detection sensor 54a and a shutter-on detection sensor 54b is provided on a side surface of the cam member 52. Here, as shown in fig. 3, when the shutter-off detection sensor 54a detects the detection member 53, it is detected that the shutter 40 is located at the closed position. On the other hand, when the cam member 52 rotates counterclockwise about the rotation shaft 51 from the state shown in fig. 3 to the state shown in fig. 4, the shutter-open detection sensor 54b detects the detection target member 53. This detects that the shutter 40 is located at the open position.

Further, as shown in fig. 1 and the like, various sensors are provided in the sheet counting device 10. Specifically, in the placing section 14, a placing-section remaining detection sensor (first sheet detecting means) 60 for detecting whether or not the sheet P remains in the placing section 14 is provided. Further, in the reject section 30, a reject section paper detection sensor (second paper detection member) 62 for detecting whether or not there is a rejected paper P' in the reject section 30 is provided. Further, a paper passage detection sensor (third paper detection member) 64 is provided in the transport section 22 on the upstream side of the recognition and counting section 24, and when the paper P is transported in the transport section 22 and passes through the paper passage detection sensor 64, the paper passage detection sensor 64 detects that the paper P has passed. In fig. 1 and 2, the paper passage detection sensor 64 is provided upstream of the recognition and counting unit 24 in the conveying unit 22, but the paper passage detection sensor 64 may be provided downstream of the recognition and counting unit 24.

The location where the sheet-passing detection sensor 64 is disposed will be described more specifically. The paper passage detection sensor 64 is provided in the transport section 22 at a position where the time from the detection of the paper P by the paper passage detection sensor 64 to the transport to the stacking section 26 and the time (specifically, for example, 0.5 seconds) required for the shutter 40 to move from the closed position (see fig. 1) where the opening in the front face of the stacking section 26 is closed to the open position (see fig. 2) where the opening is opened are approximately equal to each other. By providing the paper passage detection sensor 64 at such a position in the transport section 22, if the paper passage detection sensor 64 detects a paper P that reaches the stacking section 26 at substantially the same timing as the timing at which the shutter 40 reaches the open position shown in fig. 2, the operator can immediately take out the paper P from the stacking section 26, assuming that the shutter 40 starts to open from the closed position shown in fig. 1.

Further, a branching timing sensor 66 is provided on the upstream side of the branching member 32 in the transport section 22. The branching member 32 moves the paper P to either a position where the paper P is conveyed to the stacking unit 26 or a position where the paper P is conveyed to the reject unit 30 at a timing when the paper P is detected by the branching timing sensor 66 (in fig. 1 and 2, the branching member 32 is located at a position where the paper P is conveyed to the stacking unit 26). Thus, the paper P conveyed by the conveying unit 22 and detected by the diversion timing sensor 66 is selectively conveyed to one of the two conveyance paths by the diversion member 32.

Further, at a downstream end portion of the conveying portion 22 on the side of the stacking portion 26, a stacking portion paper detection sensor 68 is provided. The stacking unit paper detection sensor 68 detects the paper P when the paper P is conveyed from the conveying unit 22 to the paddle 28. The number of sheets P conveyed to the stacking unit 26 can be counted by the stacking unit sheet detection sensor 68.

Further, as shown in fig. 5 and the like, in the sheet counting device 10, a control section 70 for controlling each structural element of the sheet counting device 10 is provided. More specifically, the control unit 70 is connected to the feeding unit 16, the transfer unit 22, the recognition and counting unit 24, the impeller drive unit 29 for driving the impeller 28, the branching member 32, and the shutter drive unit 50 for driving the shutter 40, respectively. The recognition and counting result of the paper P by the recognition and counting unit 24 is transmitted to the control unit 70, and the control unit 70 transmits a command signal to the feeding unit 16, the conveying unit 22, the impeller driving unit 29, the branching member 32, the shutter driving unit 50, and the like to control these components. The control unit 70 is connected to the left-on-placement-unit detection sensor 60, the rejected-unit-sheet detection sensor 62, the sheet-passage detection sensor 64, the branching timing sensor 66, and the stacking-unit-sheet detection sensor 68, respectively, and conveys the detection results from these sensors, respectively.

Further, a shutter-off detection sensor 54a and a shutter-on detection sensor 54b are connected to the control unit 70, and information that the shutter 40 is located at the closed position shown in fig. 3 or the open position shown in fig. 4 is transmitted from the shutter-off detection sensor 54a and the shutter-on detection sensor 54 b. Further, the control unit 70 is connected to a display unit 72 and an operation unit 74, respectively. The display unit 72 and the operation unit 74 are provided on the front surface of the casing 12, respectively, and the display unit 72 displays the processing status of the sheets P in the sheet counting device 10, more specifically, information such as the number of sheets P counted by the recognition and counting unit 24. The operator can send various commands to the control unit 70 through the operation unit 74.

Next, the operation of the paper sheet counting apparatus 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts of fig. 6 to 8. The control unit 70 controls the respective elements of the sheet counting device 10 to perform the following operations of the sheet counting device 10.

First, the operator places the sheets P to be counted in a stacked state on the placing section 14.

Here, the control unit 70 is provided with two modes, that is, a shutter operation mode and a non-shutter operation mode. The presence of the shutter operation mode is a mode in which the control unit 70 controls the shutter drive unit 50 and the shutter 40 opens and closes the opening in the front face of the accumulation unit 26. On the other hand, the non-shutter operation mode is a mode in which the control unit 70 does not control the shutter drive unit 50 and the shutter 40 does not open or close the front opening of the accumulating unit 26. Each time the sheet counting device 10 is operated, the operator selects one of the operation modes, i.e., the on/off operation mode and the non-on/off operation mode, via the operation unit 74.

When the operator selects the non-shutter operation mode through the operation unit 74, the shutter 40 counts the number of sheets P placed on the placing unit 14 while maintaining the state of the opening position shown in fig. 2, that is, the state of opening the front face of the stacking unit 26, and the counted sheets P are conveyed to the stacking unit 26.

On the other hand, when the operator selects the shutter operation mode through the operation unit 74, the operations shown in the flowcharts of fig. 6 to 8 are performed. In the initial state, the shutter 40 is retracted from the opening in the front face of the accumulation section 26 (i.e., located at the opening position shown in fig. 2), and the opening in the front face of the accumulation section 26 is opened (step 1 in fig. 6).

Here, the control section 70 selectively performs a batch processing mode in which the recognition and counting section 24 counts the number of sheets P for each batch number instructed by the control section 70 through the operation section 74. Then, as shown in step 2 of fig. 6, the operator selects whether or not to perform the batch processing mode through the operation unit 74. When the operator selects the batch processing mode, the operation shown in the flowcharts of fig. 7 and 8 described later is performed. The operation of the sheet counting apparatus 10 in the batch mode will be described later. On the other hand, when the batch processing non-execution mode is selected, the following counting of the sheets P is performed along the flowchart of fig. 6.

Before starting the counting of the sheets P by the recognition and counting unit 24, the control unit 70 controls the shutter drive unit 50 to cause the shutter 40 to close the front opening of the stacking unit 26 (step 3 in fig. 6). More specifically, the shutter drive section 50 rotates the rotary shaft 51 counterclockwise (arrow direction) in fig. 4 from the state shown in fig. 4. Thus, the circular connecting member 44b provided in the plate-like member 44 is not further pressed in the upward direction in fig. 4 by the cam member 52, and the plate-like member 44 is rotated counterclockwise in fig. 4 about the shaft 44a from the state shown in fig. 4 by the contracting force of the spring 46. Then, the shutter support portion 42 attached to the plate-like member 44 is also rotated counterclockwise about the shaft 44a from the state shown in fig. 4, and the shutter support portion 42 is moved from the position shown in fig. 4 to the position shown in fig. 3. Thereby, the shutter 40 moves from the opening position shown in fig. 2 to the closing position shown in fig. 1, and the shutter 40 closes the front opening of the accumulation section 26.

Here, the timing at which the shutter 40 closes the front opening of the stacking unit 26 is the timing before the counting of the paper P by the recognition and counting unit 24 is started, that is, the timing before the counting of the paper P is started or substantially the same timing as the start of the counting of the paper P. Here, if the opening in the front face of the stacking unit 26 is closed at substantially the same timing as the start of counting of the sheets P by the shutter 40, the processing time of the entire sheet P in the sheet counting device 10 can be shortened.

Further, the control unit 70 may control the shutter drive unit 50 to start driving the shutter 40 so as to close the opening in the front of the stacking unit 26 while recognizing that the counting unit 24 starts counting the sheets P, and may close the opening in the front of the stacking unit 26 while counting the sheets P. At this time, since the opening in the front face of the stacking unit 26 is closed while the number of sheets P is counted, the processing time of the entire sheet P in the sheet counting apparatus 10 can be further shortened as compared with the case where the number of sheets P is counted after the opening in the front face of the stacking unit 26 is closed.

Thereafter, the sheets P placed in the stacked state in the placing section 14 are sequentially fed out one by the feeding-out section 16 to the conveying section 22 in the casing 12 from the sheet P located at the lowermost layer, and conveyed by the conveying section 22. At this time, the recognition and counting of the sheets P are performed by the recognition and counting unit 24. Here, the paper P identified as normal paper by the identification and counting section 24 is conveyed to the stacking section 26 by the branching member 32. More specifically, the paper P is conveyed from the conveying portion 22 to the paddle 28 one by one, the paddle 28 connects the paper P conveyed from the conveying portion 22 between two vanes 28a, and conveys the paper P connected between the vanes 28a to the accumulating portion 26. Thus, the paper P can be aligned in the stacking unit 26 by the impeller 28. In addition, since the opening of the front face of the stacking portion 26 is closed by the shutter 40, the operator cannot take out the paper P stacked in the stacking portion 26 at this timing.

On the other hand, the paper sheets identified as the paper sheets not being normal by the identification and counting section 24 and the paper sheets not identified by the identification and counting section 24 are conveyed as the reject paper sheets P' to the reject section 30 by the branching member 32. Since the opening is provided in front of the reject portion 30, the operator can take out the rejected paper P' accumulated in the reject portion 30 through the opening.

Further, the maximum number of rejected paper P ' stored in the reject unit 30 is set in advance, and when the number of rejected paper P ' conveyed to the reject unit 30 reaches the preset maximum number of rejected paper P while the paper counting device 10 counts the paper P (step 4 in fig. 6), that is, when the reject unit 30 is full of rejected paper P ', this is displayed on the display unit 72, and the paper counting process by the paper counting device 10 is temporarily stopped. Thereafter, when the operator takes out the rejected paper P 'from the reject unit 30 (step 5 in fig. 6), sets the rejected paper P' on the placing unit 14 again, and the operator restarts counting the paper P by the operation unit 74 (step 6 in fig. 6), the counting process of the paper P by the paper counting device 10 is restarted. In addition, instead of the operator restarting the counting of the sheets P through the operation unit 74, the counting process of the sheets P in the sheet counting apparatus 10 may be automatically restarted by placing the rejected sheets P' taken out from the rejection unit 30 on the placing unit 14.

Further, the maximum number of sheets P stored in the stacking unit 26 is set in advance, and when the number of sheets P conveyed to the stacking unit 26 reaches the preset maximum number of sheets P stored in the stacking unit 26 while the sheet counting device 10 counts the sheets P (step 7 in fig. 6), that is, when the stacking unit 26 is full of sheets P, the display unit 72 displays this fact, and the counting process of the sheets P by the sheet counting device 10 is temporarily stopped. Then, the control unit 70 controls the shutter drive unit 50 to move the shutter 40 from the closed position shown in fig. 1 to the open position shown in fig. 2, and the front opening of the accumulation unit 26 is opened (step 8 in fig. 6). Thereafter, when the operator takes out the paper P stacked in the stacking unit 26 through the opening in the front surface of the stacking unit 26 (step 9 in fig. 6) and the operator restarts counting the paper P by the operation unit 74 (step 10 in fig. 6), the paper P counting process by the paper counting apparatus 10 is restarted. Instead of restarting the counting of the sheets P by the operator through the operation unit 74, the counting process of the sheets P in the sheet counting apparatus 10 may be automatically restarted by taking out the sheets P from the stacking unit 26. Here, the control section 70 controls the shutter drive section 50 to cause the shutter 40 to close the front opening of the stacking section 26 before starting recounting of the sheets P in the recognition and counting section 24 (step 3 in fig. 6).

The counting process of the sheets P by the sheet counting device 10 is performed until there is no sheet P on the placing unit 14. The detection of whether or not the sheets P remain on the placing section 14 is performed by the placing-section-remaining detection sensor 60 (step 11 in fig. 6). Here, when the remaining sheet P in the placing section 14 is detected by the placing section remaining detection sensor 60, this is displayed on the display section 72. Then, the rejected sheet detecting sensor 62 detects whether or not the rejected sheet P' is present in the rejected section 30 (step 12 in fig. 6). When the rejected paper P' is detected in the rejected section 30 by the rejected section paper detection sensor 62, this is displayed on the display section 72. Thereafter, when the operator takes out the rejected paper P 'from the reject unit 30 (step 15 in fig. 6), sets the rejected paper P' on the placing unit 14 again, and the operator restarts counting the paper P by the operation unit 74 (step 16 in fig. 6), the counting process of the paper P by the paper counting device 10 is restarted. In addition, instead of the operator restarting the counting of the sheets P through the operation unit 74, the counting process of the sheets P in the sheet counting apparatus 10 may be automatically restarted by placing the rejected sheets P' taken out from the rejection unit 30 on the placing unit 14.

On the other hand, when the left-on-tray detection sensor 60 detects that there is no sheet P on the tray 14, and the paper-reject detection sensor 62 detects that there is no rejected sheet P' on the paper-reject unit 30, the counting process of the sheets P by the sheet counting device 10 is completed (step 13 in fig. 6). Thereafter, the control unit 70 controls the shutter drive unit 50 to move the shutter 40 from the closed position shown in fig. 1 to the open position shown in fig. 2, and the front opening of the accumulation unit 26 is opened (step 14 in fig. 6). Then, the operator takes out the paper P accumulated in the accumulation section 26 through the opening in the front of the accumulation section 26. Thus, the operation of the sheet counting device 10 is completed when the batch processing mode is not performed.

According to the operation of the paper sheet counting apparatus 10 shown in the flowchart of fig. 6, as shown in step 3 of fig. 6, the control section 70 controls the shutter drive section 50 to cause the shutter 40 to close the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking section 26 before the recognition and counting section 24 starts counting the paper sheets P. Accordingly, while the paper P is being counted by the recognition and counting unit 24, the front opening of the stacking unit 26 is closed by the shutter 40, and therefore, dust in the casing 12 of the paper counting device 10 or paper can be prevented from being blown out to the operator.

As shown in steps 11 and 13 of fig. 6, when the sheet remaining detection sensor 60 detects that all of the sheets P placed on the placing unit 14 have been conveyed to the recognition and counting unit 24 and that there are no sheets P on the placing unit 14, the control unit 70 controls the shutter drive unit 50 to retract the shutter 40 from the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit 26 and open the opening. In addition, the control section 70 may omit the operation of step 12 in fig. 6, that is, open the opening in the front surface of the stacking section 26 when the remaining sheet detecting sensor 60 detects that there is no sheet P on the placing section 14, regardless of whether or not the rejected sheets P' remain in the rejecting section 30. The control unit 70 may be changed by the setting of the operator on the operation unit 74, from the time when the control unit 50 starts to retract the shutter 40 from the opening in the front face of the stacking unit 26 after the detection of the absence of the sheet P in the stacking unit 14 by the stacking unit remaining detection sensor 60. In this case, the operator can select whether to prioritize dust prevention and sound prevention of the sheet counting apparatus 10 or to prioritize reduction of the processing time of the sheets P.

As shown in steps 11 and 12 of fig. 6, the control unit 70 continues to cause the shutter 40 to close the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit 26 when the rejected paper P' is detected in the rejected unit 30 by the rejected unit paper detection sensor 62, even if the absence of the paper P in the stacking unit 14 is detected by the stacking unit residual detection sensor 60. This is because, even if there is no sheet P in the placing section 14, if there is a rejected sheet P ' in the reject section 30, the operator needs to take out the rejected sheet P ' from the reject section 30, set the rejected sheet P ' in the placing section 14 again, and then restart the counting process of the sheets P in the sheet counting apparatus 10.

In the operation of the paper sheet counting apparatus 10 shown in the flowchart of fig. 6, the control section 70 may control the shutter drive section 50 to retract the shutter 40 from the opening in the front face of the stacking section 26 and open the opening when the paper sheet passage detection sensor 64 provided in the transport section 22 detects that the stacking section 26 is full of paper sheets P when transported to the stacking section 26, in relation to the operation of step 7 of fig. 6. In this case, the opening in the front of the stacking unit 26 can be opened more quickly than when the stacking unit 26 starts moving the shutter 40 when the number of sheets P conveyed to the stacking unit 26 reaches the preset maximum number of sheets to be stored, that is, when the stacking unit 26 is full of sheets P, and therefore, the entire processing time of the sheets P can be shortened. The control unit 70 may be changed by the setting of the operation unit 74 from the time when the paper passage detection sensor 64 detects that the stacking unit 26 is full of paper P when the paper is conveyed to the stacking unit 26 to the time when the shutter drive unit 50 is controlled to start the shutter 40 to retract from the opening in the front face of the stacking unit 26. In this case, the operator can select whether to prioritize dust prevention and sound prevention of the sheet counting apparatus 10 or to prioritize reduction of the processing time of the sheets P.

As described above, the paper passage detection sensor 64 is provided at a position where the time from the detection of the paper P by the paper passage detection sensor 64 to the conveyance to the stacking unit 26 and the time required for the shutter 40 to move from the position (see fig. 1) where the opening in the front surface of the stacking unit 26 is closed to the position (see fig. 2) where the opening is opened are substantially coincident with each other. Therefore, after the paper passage detection sensor 64 detects that the stacking unit 26 is full of paper P when the paper P is conveyed to the stacking unit 26, the opening of the stacking unit 26 is opened when the paper P actually reaches the stacking unit 26, and the operator can take out the bundle of paper P stacked in the stacking unit 26 at the moment when the paper P reaches the stacking unit 26.

Next, the operation of the sheet counting apparatus 10 when the operator selects the batch processing mode will be described with reference to the flowcharts of fig. 7 and 8.

First, the operator designates the number of batches through the operation unit 74. Here, the control unit 70 compares the batch number instructed to the control unit 70 by the operation unit 74 with a predetermined number of sheets (for example, 10 sheets) (step 21 in fig. 7). Here, when the number of batches instructed to the control unit 70 is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of batches set in advance, the operation shown in the flowchart of fig. 8 described later is performed. The operation of counting the number of sheets 10 in the batch mode will be described later. On the other hand, when the number of batch sheets instructed to the control unit 70 by the operation unit 74 is smaller than the predetermined number of sheets set in advance, the control unit 70 still causes the shutter 40 to be retracted from the opening in the front surface of the accumulating unit 26 and still opens the opening. Then, the counting of the sheets P is performed as follows.

The sheets P placed in the stacked state in the placing section 14 are sequentially fed out one by the feeding-out section 16 from the sheet P located at the lowermost layer to the conveying section 22 in the casing 12, and conveyed by the conveying section 22. At this time, the recognition and counting of the sheets P are performed by the recognition and counting unit 24. Here, the paper P identified as normal paper by the identification and counting section 24 is conveyed to the stacking section 26 by the branching member 32. At this time, the paper P can be aligned in the stacking unit 26 by the impeller 28.

On the other hand, the paper sheets identified as the paper sheets not being normal by the identification and counting section 24 and the paper sheets not identified by the identification and counting section 24 are conveyed as the reject paper sheets P' to the reject section 30 by the branching member 32. Since the opening is provided in front of the reject portion 30, the operator can take out the rejected paper P' accumulated in the reject portion 30 through the opening.

As described above, the maximum number of rejected paper P ' stored in the reject unit 30 is set in advance, and when the number of rejected paper P ' conveyed to the reject unit 30 reaches the preset maximum number of rejected paper P while the paper counting device 10 counts the paper P (step 22 in fig. 7), that is, when the reject unit 30 is full of rejected paper P ' (step 22 in fig. 7), this is displayed on the display unit 72, and the paper counting process by the paper counting device 10 is temporarily stopped. Thereafter, when the operator takes out the rejected paper P 'from the reject unit 30 (step 23 in fig. 7), sets the rejected paper P' on the placing unit 14 again, and the operator restarts counting the paper P by the operation unit 74 (step 24 in fig. 7), the counting process of the paper P by the paper counting apparatus 10 is restarted. In addition, instead of the operator restarting the counting of the sheets P through the operation unit 74, the counting process of the sheets P in the sheet counting apparatus 10 may be automatically restarted by placing the rejected sheets P' taken out from the rejection unit 30 on the placing unit 14.

Further, while the paper counting device 10 is performing the counting process of the paper P, when the number of the paper P conveyed to the stacking unit 26 reaches the batch number instructed to the control unit 70, that is, when the batch process is completed once (step 25 in fig. 7), the display unit 72 displays this fact and the paper counting device 10 ends the counting process of the paper P (step 26 in fig. 7). Here, since the front opening of the stacking portion 26 is maintained in an open state, the operator takes out the paper P stacked in the stacking portion 26 through the front opening of the stacking portion 26. This completes the operation of the sheet counting device 10 in the batch process. After that, when the operator restarts recounting the sheets P by the operation unit 74, the following batch process is performed along the flowchart shown in fig. 7.

On the other hand, when the number of sheets P conveyed to the stacking unit 26 does not reach the batch number instructed to the control unit 70, the presence of sheets P in the placing unit 14 is detected by the placing-unit remaining amount detection sensor 60 (step 27 in fig. 7), and this is displayed on the display unit 72. Then, the rejected sheet detecting sensor 62 detects whether or not the rejected sheet P' is present in the rejected section 30 (step 28 in fig. 7). When the rejected paper P' is detected in the rejected section 30 by the rejected section paper detection sensor 62, this is displayed on the display section 72. Thereafter, when the operator takes out the rejected paper P 'from the reject unit 30 (step 29 in fig. 7), sets the rejected paper P' on the placing unit 14 again, and the operator restarts the counting of the paper P by the operation unit 74 (step 30 in fig. 7), the counting process of the paper P by the paper counting apparatus 10 is restarted. In addition, instead of the operator restarting the counting of the sheets P through the operation unit 74, the counting process of the sheets P in the sheet counting apparatus 10 may be automatically restarted by placing the rejected sheets P' taken out from the rejection unit 30 on the placing unit 14.

On the other hand, when the rejected paper P' is detected by the rejected-section-paper detecting sensor 62 in the rejected section 30 in a state where the absence of the paper P in the placing section 14 is detected by the placing-section-remaining detecting sensor 60, the operator instructs the control section 70 to terminate the counting process of the paper P via the operating section 74 (step 31 in fig. 7), and the counting process of the paper P in the paper counting apparatus 10 is terminated (step 26 in fig. 7). Here, since the front opening of the stacking portion 26 is maintained in an open state, the operator takes out the paper P stacked in the stacking portion 26 through the front opening of the stacking portion 26.

When the rejected-portion-paper-sheet detecting sensor 62 detects that the rejected paper sheet P' is not present in the reject portion 30 in a state where the absence of the paper sheet P in the placing portion 14 is detected by the placing-portion-remaining detecting sensor 60, the operator places an additional paper sheet P on the placing portion 14 (step 32 in fig. 7), and the operator restarts counting the paper sheets P by the operation portion 74 (step 33 in fig. 7), the counting process of the paper sheets P by the paper-sheet counting apparatus 10 is restarted. Instead of restarting the counting of the sheets P by the operator through the operation unit 74, the counting process of the sheets P in the sheet counting apparatus 10 may be automatically restarted by placing an additional sheet P on the placing unit 14.

According to the operation of the paper counting apparatus 10 shown in the flowchart of fig. 7, as shown in step 21 of fig. 7, when the control unit 70 processes the paper P in the batch processing mode, if the number of batches instructed to the control unit 70 is smaller than the predetermined number of sheets set in advance, the control unit 70 sets the shutter 40 to retract from the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit 26 and opens the opening. This is because, when the number of batches instructed to the control unit 70 is small, the entire processing time of the paper P becomes long when the opening and closing of the shutter 40 is performed every batch processing, and therefore, the entire processing time of the paper P is shortened by opening the front opening of the stacking unit 26 all the time.

Next, the operation of the paper counting apparatus 10 in the case where the batch number instructed to the control unit 70 is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of sheets set in advance when the batch processing mode is selected by the operator will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 8.

First, before starting the counting of the sheets P by the recognition and counting unit 24, the control unit 70 controls the shutter drive unit 50 to cause the shutter 40 to close the front opening of the stacking unit 26 (step 41 in fig. 8). Then, the counting of the sheets P is performed as follows.

The sheets P placed in the stacked state in the placing section 14 are sequentially fed out one by the feeding-out section 16 from the sheet P located at the lowermost layer to the conveying section 22 in the casing 12, and conveyed by the conveying section 22. At this time, the recognition and counting of the sheets P are performed by the recognition and counting unit 24. Here, the paper P identified as normal paper by the identification and counting section 24 is conveyed to the stacking section 26 by the branching member 32. At this time, the paper P can be aligned in the stacking unit 26 by the impeller 28. In addition, since the opening of the front face of the stacking portion 26 is closed by the shutter 40, the operator cannot take out the paper P stacked in the stacking portion 26 at this timing.

On the other hand, the paper sheets identified as the paper sheets not being normal by the identification and counting section 24 and the paper sheets not identified by the identification and counting section 24 are conveyed as the reject paper sheets P' to the reject section 30 by the branching member 32. Since the opening is provided in front of the reject portion 30, the operator can take out the rejected paper P' accumulated in the reject portion 30 through the opening.

As described above, the maximum number of rejected paper P ' stored in the reject unit 30 is set in advance, and when the number of rejected paper P ' conveyed to the reject unit 30 reaches the preset maximum number of rejected paper P while the paper counting device 10 counts the paper P (step 42 in fig. 8), that is, when the reject unit 30 is full of rejected paper P ' (step 42), this is displayed on the display unit 72, and the paper counting process by the paper counting device 10 is temporarily stopped. Thereafter, when the operator takes out the rejected paper P 'from the reject unit 30 (step 43 in fig. 8), sets the rejected paper P' on the placing unit 14 again, and the operator restarts counting the paper P by the operation unit 74 (step 44 in fig. 8), the counting process of the paper P by the paper counting device 10 is restarted. In addition, instead of the operator restarting the counting of the sheets P through the operation unit 74, the counting process of the sheets P in the sheet counting apparatus 10 may be automatically restarted by placing the rejected sheets P' taken out from the rejection unit 30 on the placing unit 14.

Further, while the paper counting device 10 is performing the counting process of the paper P, when the number of the paper P conveyed to the stacking unit 26 reaches the batch number instructed to the control unit 70, that is, when the batch process is completed once (step 45 in fig. 8), the display unit 72 displays this fact and the paper counting device 10 ends the counting process of the paper P (step 46 in fig. 8). Thereafter, the control unit 70 controls the shutter drive unit 50 to move the shutter 40 from the closed position shown in fig. 1 to the open position shown in fig. 2, and the front opening of the accumulation unit 26 is opened (step 47 in fig. 8). Then, the operator takes out the paper P accumulated in the accumulation section 26 through the opening in the front face of the accumulation section 26. This completes the operation of the sheet counting device 10 in the batch process. After that, when the operator restarts counting the sheets P by the operation unit 74, the next batch process is performed along the flowchart shown in fig. 8.

On the other hand, when the number of sheets P conveyed to the stacking unit 26 does not reach the batch number instructed to the control unit 70, the presence of no sheet P in the placing unit 14 is detected by the placing-unit remaining amount detecting sensor 60 (step 48 in fig. 8), and this is displayed on the display unit 72. Then, the rejected sheet detecting sensor 62 detects whether or not the rejected sheet P' is present in the rejected section 30 (step 49 in fig. 8). When the rejected paper P' is detected in the rejected section 30 by the rejected section paper detection sensor 62, this is displayed on the display section 72. Thereafter, when the operator takes out the rejected paper P 'from the reject unit 30 (step 50 in fig. 8), sets the rejected paper P' on the placing unit 14 again, and the operator restarts counting the paper P by the operation unit 74 (step 51 in fig. 8), the counting process of the paper P by the paper counting apparatus 10 is restarted. In addition, instead of the operator restarting the counting of the sheets P through the operation unit 74, the counting process of the sheets P in the sheet counting apparatus 10 may be automatically restarted by placing the rejected sheets P' taken out from the rejection unit 30 on the placing unit 14.

On the other hand, when the rejected-section-sheet detecting sensor 62 detects that the rejected sheet P' is not present in the reject section 30 in a state where the left-on-sheet-detecting sensor 60 detects that the sheet P is not present in the mount section 14, the operator instructs the control section 70 to terminate the counting process of the sheets P via the operating section 74 (step 52 in fig. 8), and the counting process of the sheets P in the sheet counting apparatus 10 is terminated (step 46 in fig. 8). Thereafter, the control unit 70 controls the shutter drive unit 50 to move the shutter 40 from the closed position shown in fig. 1 to the open position shown in fig. 2, and to bring the front opening of the accumulation unit 26 into an open state (step 47 in fig. 8). Then, the operator takes out the paper P accumulated in the accumulation section 26 through the opening in the front of the accumulation section 26.

When the rejected-section-paper detecting sensor 62 detects that the rejected paper P' is not present in the reject section 30 in a state where the absence of the paper P in the placing section 14 is detected by the placing-section-remaining detecting sensor 60, the operator places an additional paper P on the placing section 14 (step 53 in fig. 8), and the operator restarts counting the paper P by the operation section 74 (step 54 in fig. 8), the counting process of the paper P by the paper counting apparatus 10 is restarted. Instead of restarting the counting of the sheets P by the operator through the operation unit 74, the counting process of the sheets P in the sheet counting apparatus 10 may be automatically restarted by placing an additional sheet P on the placing unit 14.

According to the operation of the sheet counting device 10 shown in the flowchart of fig. 8, as shown in steps 45 and 48 of fig. 8, when the control section 70 performs the processing of the sheets P in the batch processing mode, even if the presence of the sheets P in the placement section 14 is detected by the placement-section-remaining detection sensor 60, the shutter drive section 50 is controlled to cause the shutter 40 to continue to close the opening provided in the front face of the stacking section 26 when the number of sheets P counted by the recognition and counting section 24 has not reached the batch number. This is because, in this case, as shown in steps 53 and 54 of fig. 8, the operator needs to place the additional paper P on the placing section 14 and restart counting of the paper P by the operation section 74. By performing such an operation in the paper counting apparatus 10, even when the operation of the paper counting apparatus 10 is stopped in a state where the actual number of sheets of paper P conveyed to the stacking unit 26 is slightly lower than the number of batches instructed to the control unit 70, it is possible to prevent the operator from erroneously regarding that "the batch processing is properly performed and the number of sheets of paper P stacked in the stacking unit 26 is the number of batches" and erroneously taking out the paper P from the stacking unit 26.

In the operation of the sheet counting apparatus 10 shown in the flowchart of fig. 8, the control section 70 may control the shutter drive section 50 to retract the shutter 40 from the front opening of the stacking section 26 and open the opening when the sheet passage detection sensor 64 provided in the transport section 22 detects a first plurality of sheets P. In this case, the opening in the front surface of the stacking unit 26 can be opened more quickly than in the case where the movement of the shutter 40 is started after the completion of one batch process, that is, after the number of sheets P conveyed to the stacking unit 26 has reached the batch number is detected by the stacking unit sheet detection sensor 68, and therefore, the entire processing time of the sheets P can be shortened. In the control section 70, the time from when the paper passage detection sensor 64 detects a plurality of first sheets P to when the shutter drive section 50 is controlled to start retracting the shutter 40 from the opening in the front face of the stacking section 26 may be changed by the setting of the operation section 74. In this case, the operator can select whether to prioritize dust prevention and sound prevention of the sheet counting apparatus 10 or to prioritize reduction of the processing time of the sheets P.

As described above, the paper passage detection sensor 64 is provided at a position where the time from the detection of the paper P by the paper passage detection sensor 64 to the conveyance to the stacking unit 26 and the time required for the shutter 40 to move from the position (see fig. 1) where the front opening of the stacking unit 26 is closed to the position (see fig. 2) where the opening is opened are substantially coincident with each other. Therefore, when the paper P actually reaches the stacking unit 26 after the first plurality of sheets of paper P are detected by the paper passage detection sensor 64, the front opening of the stacking unit 26 is opened, and the operator can take out the bundle of paper P stacked in the stacking unit 26 at the moment when the first plurality of sheets of paper P reach the stacking unit 26.

As described above, according to the sheet counting device 10 of the present embodiment, the control of the shutter drive section 50 is performed by the control section 70, and the opening and closing of the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking section 26 is performed by the shutter 40. Therefore, the opening provided in the front surface of the stacking unit 26 can be selectively closed by the shutter 40, and when the shutter 40 closes the opening, dust in the casing 12 of the paper counting device 10 or paper can be prevented from being blown to the operator. In addition, the shutter 40 closes the opening at the front of the stacking unit 26, so that the sound inside the paper counting device 10 can be prevented from leaking to the outside,

the paper sheet counting device of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, the mechanism for driving the shutter of the sheet counting device is not limited to the configuration shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Fig. 9 and 10 show a configuration for driving the shutter of the sheet counting device in a modification of the present invention. Fig. 9 is a side view showing the configuration of a shutter, a shutter support portion for supporting the shutter, a shutter drive portion, a plurality of gears, a torque limiter, and the like in a sheet counting apparatus according to a modification of the present invention, and fig. 10 is a plan view showing the shutter, the shutter support portion for supporting the shutter, the shutter drive portion, the plurality of gears, the torque limiter, and the like shown in fig. 9, viewed from above. Fig. 9 shows a structure of the shutter and the like in a state where the shutter closes the opening provided in the front surface of the accumulation section.

In addition, in the mechanism for driving the shutter of the sheet counting device in the modification of the present invention as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the same reference numerals are given to elements having substantially the same structures as the respective structural elements of the sheet counting device shown in fig. 1 to 5.

As shown in fig. 9 and 10, the first gear 80 is attached to the shutter drive unit 50 configured by a motor, and the first gear 80 is rotated in both the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction in fig. 9 by the shutter drive unit 50. Further, in the vicinity of the first gear 80, a second gear 81 sufficiently larger than the first gear 80 is provided, and the first gear 80 and the second gear 81 mesh with each other. Thereby, a rotational force is transmitted from the first gear 80 to the second gear 81.

A third gear 82 that is sufficiently smaller than the second gear 81 is attached to a side surface of the second gear 81 (an upper surface of the second gear 81 in fig. 10). The rotation axes of the second gear 81 and the third gear 82 are located on the same straight line. Therefore, when the second gear 81 rotates, the third gear 82 also rotates in synchronization. Further, a fourth gear 83 which is sufficiently larger than the third gear 82 is provided in the vicinity of the third gear 82, and the third gear 82 and the fourth gear 83 mesh with each other. Thereby, the rotational force is transmitted from the third gear 82 to the fourth gear 83.

A fifth gear 85 that is sufficiently smaller than the fourth gear 83 is attached to the side of the fourth gear 83 via a matrix limiter 84. The rotation axes of the fourth gear 83 and the fifth gear 85 are located on the same straight line. Therefore, when the fourth gear 83 rotates, the fifth gear 85 also rotates in synchronization. When a rotational force larger than a predetermined set torque set in advance is applied to the torque limiter 84, the torque limiter 84 provided between the fourth gear 83 and the fifth gear 85 releases the connection between the fourth gear 83 and the fifth gear 85, and the fifth gear 85 is allowed to rotate freely with respect to the fourth gear 83.

In the vicinity of the fifth gear 85, a sixth gear 86 which is sufficiently larger than the fifth gear 85 is provided, and the fifth gear 85 and the sixth gear 86 mesh with each other. Thereby, the rotational force is transmitted from the fifth gear 85 to the sixth gear 86. The sixth gear 86 is attached to the shutter support portion 42 that supports the shutter 40. Therefore, the sixth gear 86 and the shutter support portion 42 rotate integrally about the shaft 86 a.

In the sixth gear 86, a first notch portion 86b and a second notch portion 86b are provided, respectively. Further, a shutter-off detection sensor 54a and a shutter-on detection sensor 54b are provided at respective fixed positions in the vicinity of the sixth gear 86. The shutter close detection sensor 54a and the shutter open detection sensor 54b are each constituted by an optical sensor. When the shutter 40 is located at the closed position, the position of the first notch portion 86b of the sixth gear 86 and the position of the shutter-off detection sensor 54a substantially coincide. Therefore, the shutter-off detection sensor 54a detects that the shutter 40 is located at the closed position by detecting the first cutout portion 86b of the sixth gear 86. When the shutter 40 is located at the opening position, the position of the second notch portion 86c of the sixth gear 86 and the position of the shutter opening detection sensor 54b substantially coincide with each other. Therefore, the shutter opening detection sensor 54b detects that the shutter 40 is located at the opening position by detecting the second notch portion 86c of the sixth gear 86.

Next, the operation of the mechanism for driving the shutter of the sheet counting device in the modification of the present invention as shown in fig. 9 and 10 will be described below.

When the shutter 40 is moved to the open position from the state in which the shutter 40 is located at the closed position as shown in fig. 9, the shutter driving portion 50 constituted by a motor rotates the first gear 80 clockwise in fig. 9. Thus, the driving force of the shutter driving unit 50 is transmitted to the sixth gear 86 via the first gear 80, the second gear 81, the third gear 82, the fourth gear 83, the torque limiter 84, and the fifth gear 85, and the sixth gear 86 rotates clockwise in fig. 9 about the shaft 86 a. Thereby, the shutter support portion 42 attached to the sixth gear 86 also rotates clockwise in fig. 9 about the shaft 86a, and the shutter 40 moves from the closed position shown in fig. 1 to the open position shown in fig. 2.

Next, when the shutter 40 is moved to the closed position from the state in which the shutter 40 is located at the open position, the shutter driving portion 50 constituted by the motor rotates the first gear 80 counterclockwise in fig. 9. Thus, the driving force of the shutter driving unit 50 is transmitted to the sixth gear 86 via the first gear 80, the second gear 81, the third gear 82, the fourth gear 83, the torque limiter 84, and the fifth gear 85, and the sixth gear 86 rotates counterclockwise in fig. 9 about the shaft 86 a. Thereby, the shutter support portion 42 attached to the sixth gear 86 also rotates counterclockwise in fig. 9 about the shaft 86a, and the shutter 40 moves from the open position shown in fig. 2 to the closed position shown in fig. 1.

Further, as described above, the torque limiter 84 is provided between the shutter support portion 42 for supporting the shutter 40 and the shutter drive portion 50. Therefore, when the operator manually moves the shutter 40 downward from the closed position shown in fig. 1, the force applied by the operator is larger than a predetermined set torque set in advance in the torque limiter 84, and the torque limiter 84 releases the connection between the fourth gear 83 and the fifth gear 85, so that the fifth gear 85 is allowed to rotate freely with respect to the fourth gear 83. Thus, since the torque limiter 84 cuts off the driving force from the shutter driving unit 50 to the shutter 40, even if the recognition and counting unit 24 counts the sheets P, the operator can take out the sheets P from the stacking unit 26 by manually moving the shutter 40 downward from the closed position shown in fig. 1.

Even if the operator's hand or the like enters the accumulating portion 26 while the shutter 40 moves from the open position shown in fig. 2 to the closed position shown in fig. 1, when the shutter 40 comes into contact with such an operator's hand or the like, the force applied to the torque limiter 84 is still larger than a predetermined set torque set in advance, and the torque limiter 84 releases the connection between the fourth gear 83 and the fifth gear 85, and allows the fifth gear 85 to rotate freely with respect to the fourth gear 83. Thus, since the torque limiter 84 cuts off the driving force from the shutter driving unit 50 to the shutter 40, it is possible to prevent the shutter 40 from being stopped when the shutter 40 comes into contact with the hand of the operator or the like, and the fingers of the operator or the like from being caught by the shutter 40 and injured.

Claims (10)

1. A sheet counting apparatus, characterized by comprising:

a counting part for counting and identifying the paper;

a stacking section configured to stack the sheets counted by the counting section and having an opening;

a rotary guide member provided in the stacking unit, for stacking the paper sheets counted by the counting unit in the stacking unit;

a shutter for closing an opening of the accumulation section;

a shutter driving unit configured to drive the shutter so as to open and close the opening of the accumulation unit;

a control unit that controls the shutter drive unit;

a placing section for placing the sheets to be counted by the counting section, and for conveying the sheets placed in the placing section one by one to the counting section;

a first sheet detecting unit that detects whether or not a sheet is set in the setting unit;

a reject unit configured to accept the sheet that is conveyed from the counting unit and recognized as a rejected sheet by the counting unit; and

a second paper detection member that detects whether paper is accumulated in the reject portion,

the control section is capable of selecting a first mode and a second mode, wherein,

in the first mode, when the first paper detection means detects that there is no paper in the set section and the second paper detection means detects that there is paper in the reject section, the control section controls the shutter drive section such that the shutter continues to close the opening of the stacking section, and when the second paper detection means detects that there is no paper in the reject section, the control section controls the shutter drive section such that the shutter automatically moves from the closed position to the open position with the opening of the stacking section open,

in the second mode, when the first paper detection means detects that there is no paper in the set section, the control section controls the shutter drive section so that the shutter moves from the closed position to the open position and the opening of the stacking section is open, even when the second paper detection means detects that there is paper in the reject section.

2. The sheet counting device according to claim 1,

in a case where the sheet conveyed to the reject portion is set again to the setting portion, the counting portion automatically restarts counting of the sheet.

3. The sheet counting device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first sheet number setting section capable of setting a maximum number of sheets to be stored in the stacking section,

when the number of sheets of paper conveyed to the stacking portion reaches the maximum number of sheets to be stored set by the first sheet number setting portion, the control portion controls the shutter driving portion such that the shutter moves from the closed position to the open position and the opening of the stacking portion is opened.

4. The sheet counting device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a third paper detecting section that detects whether paper is accumulated in the accumulating section,

the control unit controls the shutter drive unit to move the shutter from the open position to the closed position and to close the opening of the stacking unit when the third paper detection unit detects that there is no paper in the stacking unit after the number of sheets of paper in the stacking unit reaches the maximum number of sheets stored and the opening of the stacking unit is in the open state.

5. The sheet counting device according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising:

a display part for displaying the display position of the display part,

when the number of sheets conveyed to the stacking unit reaches the maximum number of sheets to be stored set by the first sheet number setting unit, the display unit displays the number.

6. The sheet counting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:

a second number-of-sheets setting section capable of setting a maximum number of sheets accommodated in the reject section,

when the number of sheets conveyed to the reject portion reaches the maximum number of sheets to be accommodated set by the second number-of-sheets setting portion, the control portion controls the shutter driving portion so that the opening of the accumulating portion is continuously closed by the shutter.

7. The sheet counting device according to claim 6, further comprising:

a display part for displaying the display position of the display part,

when the number of sheets conveyed to the reject portion reaches the maximum number of sheets set by the second number-of-sheets setting portion, the display portion displays the number.

8. The sheet counting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:

a display part for displaying the display position of the display part,

when the second paper detection member detects that there is a paper in the reject portion, the display portion displays the detection.

9. The sheet counting device according to claim 8,

the display section displays, when it is detected by the first sheet detecting member that there is no sheet in the set section, that.

10. The sheet counting device according to claim 1, comprising:

a paper passage detection sensor provided between the placing section and the accumulating section, detecting passage of the paper conveyed from the placing section to the accumulating section,

when the paper passage detection sensor detects a sheet of paper, the control unit controls the shutter drive unit so that the shutter is retracted from an opening provided in front of the stacking unit and opens the opening.

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