JP2000118805A - Paper sheet positioning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sufficiently position even a curled document by providing an interval adjusting mechanism that can change the interval of a tilting rotator of a tilting transporting means, keeping a substantially parallel state. SOLUTION: Rotating links 111 are a pair of links with same length and can rotate around constraint points A, B. Both ends of a long link 114 can rotate on movable points C, D. Because a quadrangle ABCD transforms to a parallelogram, only a belt interval S can be changed keeping a substantially parallel state between a transportation surface 103a of a tilting transporting belt and a transportation surface 104a of a tilting guide belt. When a link driving motor 117 rotates the rotating links 111 in the (a) or (b) directions responsive to the thickness of a document 1, clearance between the transportation surface 104a of the tilting guide belt and the document 1, a frictional force between the document 1 and the tilting transporting belt 103 can be secured by adequately pressing the curled document, a suitable pressing force to a standard belt can be provided, and positioning to the curled document can be performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper sheet aligning apparatus such as a letter sorter for sorting letters such as mails according to destination.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a letter sorter used for sorting fixed postal letters such as postcards and envelopes, for example, when a letter is separated by being inclined with respect to the conveying direction, a character string of an address becomes oblique. However, the process for address recognition becomes complicated. Furthermore, the sorting information often cannot be obtained, and the sorting rate decreases. Therefore, it is important to eliminate the inclination and deviation of the letter and to align the one side serving as the reference of the letter to convey the letter. Therefore, in such a letter sorter, it is necessary to adjust the posture of the letter.

As an example of a positioning apparatus, there is a method of adjusting a posture of a letter by making the letter follow a plane serving as a reference for positioning. In this method, the letter cannot be strongly pinched because the letter is aligned with the reference plane. Therefore, for example, in the case of a positioning device that conveys a letter by rotating bodies arranged on both sides of the letter face,
The distance between the opposed rotating members is equal to or greater than the thickness of the thickest letter handled by the letter sorting machine.

However, photographic postcards, which have become widespread in recent years, are apt to curl due to changes in humidity or the like because the front and back materials are different. Such a curled letter may not be aligned with a positioning device that does not pinch the letter because a sufficient pressing force against the reference plane is not obtained. In addition, they may fly out of the positioning device due to air resistance during transportation. Therefore, it is conceivable to change the interval between the opposing rotating members according to the thickness of the letter.

[0005] Such an example is disclosed in JP-A-52-69159. The positioning mechanism disclosed in the publication has two opposing guides, and a plurality of rollers on the guides, which are rotated in the conveying direction while being inclined, so that the interval between the opposing rollers can be made variable. , The letter is pinched by the roller with an appropriate pinching force by the force of the spring.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a letter sorter,
The installation area can be reduced when the letter is conveyed substantially horizontally, rather than when the letter is conveyed substantially vertically. Therefore, it is desired that the letter is conveyed substantially horizontally also in the positioning device.
Therefore, if the positioning device is configured to convey letters in a substantially horizontal manner, the rollers may hit one another when the distance between the opposing rollers changes depending on the thickness of the letters. If the roller collides with the roller at a position distant from the center of gravity of the letter, a force for rotating the letter is generated, and sufficient alignment cannot be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a positioning apparatus which conveys a letter substantially horizontally and which can sufficiently align a curled letter.

[0008]

A sheet is conveyed along a conveyance path through which the sheet is conveyed, and is disposed along a conveyance reference plane substantially parallel to the conveyance direction of the conveyance path and substantially perpendicular to the sheet. A reference belt and at least a pair of skew rotators disposed on both sides of the plane of the sheet, the skew rotators are arranged so as to be closer to the reference belt toward the downstream of the conveyance, and are opposed to each other. Skew conveying means capable of adjusting the interval between the skew rotators to be adjusted, and the skew conveying means presses the sheets against the reference belt to reduce the inclination or displacement of the sheets with respect to the conveying direction. In the paper sheet aligning apparatus to be corrected, the paper sheet aligning apparatus is provided with an interval adjusting mechanism capable of changing the interval between the skew rotating bodies of the skew conveying means while remaining substantially parallel. It is.

The interval adjusting mechanism in the paper sheet positioning apparatus is based on one side, and the opposite side is a long link,
A rotating link having a pair of rotating links of equal length and fixed to the base so as to be rotatable, wherein the base, the long link, and the pair of rotating links form one side of a parallelogram; A fixed pulley disposed on the rotating shaft, a movable pulley disposed on a constraint shaft between the long link and the rotating link, and a belt wrapped around the fixed pulley and the movable pulley. By arranging the belt so as to be substantially parallel to the surface, even if the rotary link rotates, the side of the belt corresponding to the long link keeps substantially parallel to the paper sheet transport surface.

[0010] Such a paper sheet positioning apparatus includes a thickness measuring means for measuring the thickness of the paper sheet and a rotating link driving means for driving the rotating link, and the thickness measured by the thickness measuring means. Based on this, the rotating link is driven by the rotating link driving means, and the interval between the skew rotating bodies is changed.

[0011] Alternatively, there is provided a rotating link driving means for driving the rotating link, and an instruction means for changing the interval between the skew rotating bodies in accordance with the thickness of the paper sheet. The rotation link may be moved to change the interval between the skew rotating bodies. When the distance between the skew rotators is changed as described above, a thick letter cannot be conveyed if the distance between the skew rotators is reduced by the instruction unit. Therefore, a thickness measuring means for measuring the thickness of the paper sheet and an interval measuring means for measuring the interval between the skew rotating bodies are provided, and the thickness of the paper sheet measured by the thickness measuring means is measured by the interval measurement. When the interval is thicker than the interval measured by the means, it is desirable that the sheet is not introduced into the sheet aligning apparatus.

Further, the rotary link is provided with a spring for constantly applying a force so as to reduce the interval between the skew rotating members, and the rotating link is rotated by the paper sheet to be brought into contact with the belt, thereby rotating the skew rotary body. The body spacing may be changed.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a letter sorter as an example to which a sheet positioning apparatus according to the present invention is applied. An example of paper sheets handled by the apparatus of this embodiment is a fixed postal letter such as a postcard or an envelope.

The letter sorter 50 shown in FIG. 1 reads sort information such as an address and a bar code written on the letter 1, and performs a letter processing based on the sort information.

First, the components of the letter sorter 50 will be described.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a hopper for transporting the letter 1 in a state of a block in which the letter 1 is stacked in the thickness direction in an upright position. For example, it is composed of a belt and a fork supporting the letter 1. Letter 1
Is placed against a fork on a belt and transported by a fork and a belt operating in synchronization with the fork.

Reference numeral 3 denotes separation means for sequentially separating the letters 1 one by one. For example, it comprises a separation belt having a plurality of holes and a blower for sucking air from the holes of the separation belt. When air is sucked from the hole of the separation belt, the letter 1 near the separation belt is attracted to the separation belt. The letter 1 is separated one by one by moving the separation belt on which the letter 1 is attracted.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a conveying means for conveying the letter 1.
For example, a letter 1 composed of belts arranged opposite to each other
And transport it.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a thickness measuring means for measuring the thickness of the letter 1. For example, the thicker the letter, the greater the deformation of the belt of the conveying means 4, so the amount of deformation of the belt is measured to determine the thickness of the letter 1. By holding it with a belt,
Curled letters can also be measured by extending their bends. Further, when the measured thickness is equal to or larger than the predetermined thickness, it is determined that the letter having a thickness inappropriate for handling by the letter sorter 50.

6 is a first sorting means, and 7 is a first sorting means.
This is the reject integration means. The sorting means 6 changes the transport direction of the letter 1 by, for example, driving a lever provided in the middle of the transport means 4 with a solenoid and causing the letter 1 to follow the lever. As an example, the letter 1 determined to have a thickness equal to or greater than the predetermined thickness by the thickness measuring means 5 is guided to the first reject accumulating means 7 by switching the transport direction by the first sorting means 6.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a first alignment mechanism for correcting the posture of the letter 1, and reference numeral 9 denotes reading means for reading the address information of the letter 1. The positioning mechanism 8 will be described later in detail. The reading means 9 uses a CCD camera or the like,
The image of the letter on which the address information is described is taken in, and the address information is analyzed using characters, bar codes, and the like. When reading the address, if the letter 1 is separated from the reference plane or conveyed at an angle, a portion where the character string of the address cannot be read may occur,
Since the character string of the address is oblique, it becomes difficult for the reading means 9 to read characters. For this reason, the sorting information often cannot be obtained, and the sorting rate decreases. Therefore,
First alignment mechanism 8 arranged upstream of reading means 9
By adjusting the posture of the letter 1, the reading accuracy is improved.

Numeral 10 denotes a double feed detecting means, for example, in which the conveying speed of the facing belt is set to a different speed, the overlapped letters are shifted, and the change in the length is measured.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a second distribution unit, and 12 denotes a second reject integration unit. As an example, the letter 1 determined to be abnormal by the double feed detecting means 10 is switched by the second sorting means 11 to change the transport direction.
It is led to the second reject accumulation means 12.

Numeral 13 denotes a second alignment mechanism, and numeral 14 denotes a bar code printing means for printing a bar code when no bar code is printed on the letter 1. If the letter 1 conveyed to the barcode printing means 14 is separated from the conveyance reference plane or is inclined, the barcode will protrude from the letter 1 or be printed with an inclination during barcode printing.
If the barcode is not printed properly, it will be difficult to correctly read the sorting information during the later sorting operation, and the sorting rate will decrease. Therefore, the second alignment mechanism 13 is located upstream of the barcode printing means 14, and prints a barcode after adjusting the posture of the letter 1.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a bar code confirming means for confirming that the bar code has been printed normally. Reference numeral 16 denotes third distribution means for distributing the letter 1 to each stage, and 17 denotes accumulating means for accumulating the letter 1.

Reference numeral 18 denotes an instruction means for informing an operator of the operation state of the letter sorter 50. For example, it is an LED display, a three-color signal light, a sound generator, or the like. 19 is an operation panel for the operator to operate the letter sorter 50. For example, it is possible to instruct the start and end of the division of the letter and refer to the division information.

Next, an example of a process of sorting the letter 1 by the letter sorter 50 will be described.

First, the letters 1 placed on the hopper 2 are separated one by one by the separating means 3 and conveyed by the conveying means 4. The thickness measuring means 5 determines a letter which cannot be processed by the letter sorter 50.

When it is determined that the letter 1 is unsuitable for mechanical processing, the first sorting means 6 is switched, and the letter 1 is led to the first reject accumulating means 7. In this way, the letter 1 that is inappropriate for machine processing is not classified.

When it is determined by the double feed detecting means 10 that two or more letters 1 overlap, the second sorting means 11 is switched to sort the letters 1 into the second reject accumulating means 12. I do.

When the letter 1 is determined to be normal, the reading means 9 reads the address of the letter 1. If no barcode is printed on the letter 1, the barcode printing means 14 prints the barcode on the letter 1. Therefore,
The posture of the letter 1 is adjusted by the second alignment mechanism 13, and the sorting information is converted into a barcode by the barcode printing means 14 and printed. Thereafter, when the letter is sorted by the letter sorter 50, the letter is read and sorted. Recognition of a barcode is faster and more reliable than that of character recognition, so that the processing performance can be improved.

Thereafter, the transport direction is switched by the third sorting means 16 or the like, and the letter 1 is guided to the stacking means 17 corresponding to the sorting information.

Thus, the sorting process performed on letter 1 is completed. In the sorting process, the alignment mechanisms 8 and 13 for aligning the letter 1 with the transport reference plane are necessary for address recognition and barcode printing as described above. Since the positioning mechanisms 8 and 13 have the same configuration, the positioning mechanism 8 will be described below.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show an example of the positioning mechanism 8. Hereinafter, the positioning mechanism 8 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 will be described.

The reference belt 102 is disposed along a transport reference surface 101 serving as a reference for alignment. The skew transport belt 103 is arranged so as to approach the reference belt 102 as it goes downstream in the transport direction.

The skew guide belt 104 is substantially parallel to the skew conveyance belt 103, and is arranged so as to approach the reference belt 102 as it goes downstream in the conveyance direction.
Is disposed on the opposite side of the skew conveying belt 103.

The intake fan 106 is connected to the skewed conveying belt 10.
3, and sucks the letter 1 together with air from a suction hole 105 formed in the skew conveying belt 103.

Next, an example of a process of positioning the letter 1 by the positioning mechanism 8 will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the letter 1 is conveyed in the direction of A by the conveying means 4 and is introduced into the alignment mechanism 8. In the alignment mechanism 8, the letter 1 a is transported by the skew transport belt 103. Since the skew conveyance belt 103 is skewed toward the reference belt 102 as it goes downstream, the letter 1 is conveyed in the direction B and approaches the reference belt 102.

The letter 1b in contact with the reference belt 102 rotates in the direction of C around the vertex in contact with the reference belt 102 while being conveyed. In this manner, one side of the letter and the reference belt 102 approach in parallel as in the letter 1c, and the attitude of the letter can be adjusted.

However, if the letter 1 is strongly sandwiched between the skew conveying belt 103 and the skew guide belt 104 at this time, the letter 1 cannot slide on the skew conveying belt 103 and It is pushed more than necessary and bends. In particular, when the letter 1 is an envelope and the contents are offset to the opposite side of the reference belt, the end face of the letter 1 is easily bent and cannot follow the reference belt 102. Therefore, it is necessary to apply an appropriate force to the letter 1 from the skew conveyance belt 103 and the skew guide belt 104.

Therefore, for example, the skew conveying belt 103
The distance between the skew guide belt 104 and the skew guide belt 104 is set to be equal to or greater than the thickness of the thickest letter handled by the booklet sorter 50. Further, by suctioning air from the suction hole 105 by the fan 106, the letter 1 is attracted to the skewed conveying belt 103, and an appropriate pressing force for aligning the letter 1 is obtained.
However, in the alignment mechanism of such a form, for example, in a curled letter or the like, the letter 1 is not sucked by the skew transport belt 103 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the pressing force cannot be obtained and the alignment is not sufficiently performed. Further, the letter 1 receives the air resistance, changes its traveling direction, and sometimes jumps out.

It is also conceivable to change the distance between the skew conveying belt 103 and the skew guide belt 104 in accordance with the thickness of the letter. At this time, the skew guide belt 10
By rotating one end of the shaft 4, the skew conveying belt 103 is rotated.
When the distance between the skew guide belt 104 and the skew guide belt 104 is changed, the skew guide belt 104 hits one side of the letter 1 and the letter 1 rotates, and the alignment performance is deteriorated. For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the skew guide belt 104 contacts the letter 1 on the side far from the reference belt 102 with respect to the center of gravity of the letter 1,
Letter 1 rotates in the direction of G. 7 and 8
When the skew guide belt 104 contacts the letter 1 on the side closer to the reference belt 102 with respect to the center of gravity of the letter
Letter 1 rotates in the direction of the letter H.

Therefore, an interval adjusting mechanism capable of changing the interval between the skew transport belt 103 and the skew guide belt 104 while keeping the interval parallel is provided. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the mechanism according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The rotating link 111 is at least a pair of links having the same length, and is arranged on the base 115 so that it can rotate only around the constraint points A and B. Fixed pulley 1
Reference numeral 12 is arranged at the constraint points A and B. Movable pulley 113
Are arranged on movable points C and D on the opposite side of the constraint points A and B of the rotating link 111.

The long link 114 has movable points C,
It is arranged so that it can rotate on D. The skew guide belt 104 is hung on a fixed pulley 112 and a movable pulley 113.

The link drive motor 117 is connected to the rotary link 1
11 is driven. Link drive motor 1
Reference numeral 17 has means for detecting a rotation angle such as an encoder.

Here, when the distance between the constraint points A and B is equal to the distance between the movable points C and D, the rectangular ABCD becomes a substantially parallelogram because the rotating links 111 have the same length. Therefore, the skew guide belt 104 also becomes a substantially parallelogram. Further, when the skew guide belt conveyance surface 104a is arranged substantially parallel to the skew conveyance belt conveyance surface 103a, the skew guide belt conveyance surface 104a and the skew conveyance belt conveyance surface 103a are always kept substantially parallel.

Therefore, when at least one of the rotary links 111 is rotated in the direction of two or e by the link drive motor 117, the skew conveying belt conveying surface 103a and the skew guide belt conveying surface 104a are kept substantially parallel. Only the belt interval S can be changed while the belt is kept.

The rotating link 111 and the long link 114
In addition, since the length of the base 115 does not change, the skew guide belt 104 hung along each link can also change the belt interval S without stretching or loosening.

Next, a series of operations for changing the belt interval S will be described with reference to FIG. First, the thickness of the letter 1 is measured by the thickness measuring means 5. The measured thickness is converted into an operation angle of the rotating link 111 which becomes a belt interval S corresponding to the measured thickness by an operation angle conversion procedure 116. The link drive motor 117 rotates at least one of the rotation links 111 in the direction of d or e by the converted operation angle. If the measurement is a thick letter, the rotation link 111 is rotated in the direction of E to widen the belt interval S. If it is measured as a thin letter, the rotation link 1
11 is rotated in the direction of d to reduce the belt interval S.

In this manner, the gap between the skew guide belt conveying surface 104a and the letter 1 is reduced, and the letter does not jump out even in a curled letter. Also, by appropriately pressing the curl letter, the contact area between the letter 1 and the skew conveyance belt 103 increases, and the rigidity of the letter 1 increases the pressing force on the skew conveyance belt 103. The frictional force with the belt 103 also increases, and an appropriate pressing force on the reference belt 102 can be obtained. As described above, alignment can be performed on a curl letter.

In the above embodiment, the belt interval S is changed according to the thickness measured by the thickness measuring means. However, the following method is also available.

When the thickness of the letters to be processed is substantially the same, the operator instructs the letter type such as the thickness of the letter from the operation panel 19. Next, the link drive motor 117
At least one of 111 is driven to rotate in the direction of d or e determined by the designated letter type, and the belt interval S is changed.

For example, in New Year's Day, the number of curl letters is increasing due to the spread of photographic postcards, and most of the letters are almost uniform in thickness. Therefore, the New Year mode is prepared, and the operator operates the operation panel 19 when processing the New Year postcard.
Select New Year mode from. In the New Year mode, the link drive motor 117 rotates the rotary link 111 in the direction of d to prepare the curl letter by narrowing the belt interval S. When the New Year mode is cancelled, the rotating link 111 is rotated in the direction of E by the link driving motor 117 to widen the belt interval S to prepare for a thick letter.

In the above-described two embodiments, the belt interval S is changed by the link drive motor 117, but may be changed by the link switching lever 118 as shown in FIG. The link switching lever 118 is fixed to the rotating link 111.

Here, a thick letter cannot be conveyed when the belt interval S is set to a thin letter. Therefore, a sensor for measuring the belt interval S is provided. And
When the thickness of the letter measured by the thickness measuring means 5 is larger than the belt interval S, it is desirable that the letter is guided to the reject accumulating means 7 by the sorting means 6 so as not to be carried into the positioning mechanism 8. .

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, a structure in which the rotating link 111 is supported by a link spring 119 may be employed. The link spring 119 includes the base 115 and the rotating link 11.
1 are connected, and a force for rotating the rotating link 111 in the direction of d is applied.

Here, when a thick letter is carried into the alignment mechanism 8, the thick letter tries to push up the skew guide belt transport surface 104a. When this force exceeds the force of the link spring 119, the rotating link 111 rotates in the direction of E, and the belt interval S increases. When a thin letter is carried into the alignment mechanism 8, the rotation of the rotating link 11 by the force of the link spring 119 is performed.
1 remains pressed down, and the belt interval S is reduced.

Although the letter 1 is held, by adjusting the link spring 119 connected to the rotating link 111,
The force with which the skew conveying belt 103 and the skew guide belt 104 sandwich the letter 1 can be adjusted. Therefore, the letter 1 can be given an appropriate pressing force against the reference belt 102, and the letter can be aligned.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to align the curled paper without jumping out. Thereby, it is possible to contribute to improvement of the processing capacity of a device for transporting paper sheets, such as a letter sorter of a postal letter.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a letter sorter to which a paper sheet aligning device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a conventional alignment mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of a conventional alignment mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of curling letter positioning by a conventional positioning mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the alignment mechanism when the skew belt abuts on the side far from the reference belt with respect to the center of gravity of the letter, as viewed from the traveling direction of the alignment mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the alignment mechanism of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of the alignment mechanism when the skew belt abuts on the side closer to the reference belt with respect to the center of gravity of the letter, as viewed from the traveling direction of the alignment mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the alignment mechanism of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a positioning mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a positioning mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a positioning mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of an alignment mechanism according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a positioning mechanism according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Letter, 2 ... Hopper, 3 ... Separation means, 4 ... Transport means,
5: thickness measuring means, 6: first sorting means, 7: first
8: first alignment mechanism, 9: reading means, 10: double feed detection means, 11: second sorting means, 12: second reject integration means, 13: second alignment Mechanism, 14: bar code printing means, 15: bar code checking means, 16: third sorting means, 17: stacking means, 18: instruction means, 19: operation panel, 50: letter sorter, 101: transport reference plane , 102 ... Reference belt, 103
... skew conveyance belt, 103a ... skew conveyance belt conveyance surface,
104: skew guide belt, 104a: skew guide belt conveyance surface, 105: suction hole, 106: fan, 111: rotating link, 112: fixed pulley, 113: movable pulley,
Reference numeral 114: long link, 115: base, 116: operation angle conversion procedure, 117: link drive motor, 118: link switching lever, 119: link spring, S: interval between the skew transport belt and the skew guide belt, a ... transport Letter movement from the means 4 to the positioning mechanism 8, b ... letter movement in the positioning mechanism 8, c ... letter movement in the positioning mechanism 8 (after contact with the reference plane), d ... belt interval Movement of the link when narrowing S, E. Movement of the link when widening the belt interval S, F. Movement of the link that changes the belt interval by rotation, G. When the skew belt is farther than the reference plane of the center of gravity of the letter. The direction of rotation of the letter when touched, and the direction of rotation of the letter when the skew belt abuts on the side of the center of gravity near the reference plane.

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazushi Yoshida 502 Kandachi-cho, Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki F-term in Machinery Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. F-term (reference) AA17 AB02 BA01 BB04 EA13 FA03

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A reference belt provided in the middle of a transport path through which paper sheets are transported, and disposed along a transport reference plane substantially parallel to the transport direction of the transport path and substantially perpendicular to the paper sheets. And, disposed on both sides of the plane of the paper sheet, comprises at least a pair of skew rotators, the skew rotators are arranged to be inclined to approach the reference belt as downstream of the conveyance, Skew conveying means capable of adjusting the interval between the opposing skew rotating bodies, and the skew conveying means presses the paper sheets against the reference belt, whereby the paper sheets in the conveyance direction are In the paper sheet aligning device that corrects the inclination and the positional deviation of the paper, the distance between the skew rotators of the skew conveying means to which the paper is conveyed can be changed while being substantially parallel. Paper sheets characterized by having a mechanism Place device.