JP2003303359A - Paper sheet sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper sheet separator that can reliably separate a plurality of tickets inserted together in a superposed state. <P>SOLUTION: The paper sheet separator comprises a separation roller pair 12a having a feed roller R1 and a separation roller R2 oppositely spaced with a given gap in between, and for passing tickets in a superposed state between the rollers R1 and R2 to separate them sheet by sheet, a drive mechanism 15 for adjusting the gap between the pair of rollers R1 and R2, pre-separation detectors 104 and post-separation detectors 105 for measuring a passing time of the tickets passing the separation roller pair 12a, and a controller 16 for pressing the pair of rollers R1 and R2 on each other and rotatively sliding them to cleanse them via the drive mechanism 15 when the detectors 104 and 105 find the passing time of the tickets to be a given time or longer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper sheet separating apparatus used in, for example, an automatic ticket gate supporting a plurality of sheets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, as the number of users of automatic ticket gates has increased, automatic ticket gates for a plurality of sheets have been put into practical use. There are a wide variety of people who use automatic ticket gates. For example, some passengers use it for commuting, traveling, or for the first time using an automatic ticket gate. Furthermore, some passengers do not know the automatic ticket gate.

Therefore, various types of automatic ticket gates for a plurality of sheets may be inserted. For example, a commuter pass,
Edmonson tickets, cards, etc. may be inserted in layers, and foreign objects such as telephone cards, credit cards, receipts, gums, coins, etc. may be inserted between them.

[0004] In the automatic ticket gate, even if a foreign matter is thrown in, it tries to separate it by the separating roller, so that the friction coefficient of the surface of the separating roller is lowered. When the friction coefficient of the separation roller decreases, the inserted bills may not be properly separated, and a plurality of bills may be conveyed to the conveyance section behind the separation roller while being overlapped (double feeding).

In this case, the belt may be broken, the parts may be deformed, and the normally usable tickets may also be jammed. In addition, the effect of double feeding is not limited to this, and if the commuter pass and SF card are double fed,
If the card is below, it is expected that a punch will be punched on the commuter pass.

Therefore, recently, when the automatic ticket gate is turned on and when the separation lid is opened and closed, the separation roller is cleansed to maintain the friction coefficient of the separation roller at a predetermined level. I have to.

[0007]

However, in the conventional cleansing timing, the inserted bills can be satisfactorily separated immediately after the cleansing, but the separation roller is not ready until the next cleansing. The friction coefficient is lowered, and problems such as jamming of a ticket and punching of a commuter ticket occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet separating apparatus capable of surely separating a plurality of paper sheets that are collectively put in a stacked state. To do.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pair of rollers facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween.
By passing the superposed sheets between the pair of rollers, the separating means separates the sheets one by one, the gap adjusting means for adjusting the gap amount between the pair of rollers, and the separating means. Measuring means for measuring the passage time of the paper sheet, and the gap adjusting means presses the pair of rollers based on the fact that the passage time of the paper sheet has been measured by the measuring means for a predetermined time or more. And a control means for cleansing by sliding and rotating.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pair of rollers which are spaced apart and opposed to each other with a predetermined gap, and paper sheets in an overlapping state are passed between the pair of rollers.
Separation means for separating one by one, gap adjusting means for adjusting the gap amount between the pair of rollers, temperature measuring means for measuring the ambient temperature of the separating means, and temperature based on the temperature measured by the temperature measuring means And a control means for cleansing by pressing and sliding the pair of rollers by the gap adjusting means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pair of rollers which are spaced apart from each other and face each other with a predetermined gap therebetween, and by passing the superposed sheets between the pair of rollers,
Separation means for separating the sheets one by one, gap adjustment means for adjusting the gap amount between the pair of rollers, and control means for cleansing by slidingly rotating the pair of rollers under pressure contact with the gap adjustment means. Be equipped with
The gap adjusting means includes a pulse motor, and a first pulse amount is applied to the pulse motor to establish a first state in which a predetermined gap amount is formed between the pair of rollers, and a second pulse is applied to the pulse motor. In the second state in which the pair of rollers are brought into pressure contact with each other by giving a quantity, and when the first state is changed to the second state, the first state is set.
Pulse amount-the pulse amount is given in a direction to reduce the gap by the second pulse amount, and when the second state is changed to the first state, the first pulse amount-the second pulse amount A pulse amount is given in the direction of increasing the gap by the amount.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably separate a plurality of paper sheets that are collectively put in the stacked state.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 2 show an automatic ticket gate 2 to which the paper sheet sorting apparatus of the present invention is applied. The automatic ticket gates 2 are usually installed as a set of two at a ticket gate of a station or the like, and a passage for a passerby is formed between them.

The main body 2a of the automatic ticket gate 2 has a regular ticket as a paper sheet, a commuter ticket, and a stored fair card (S) when entering the station premises or when leaving the station premises.
F card), number of tickets, entrance ticket, designated ticket, limited express ticket, etc. (hereinafter referred to as tickets) 3, the opening 3
Each of the outlets 4 is provided for ejecting the tickets received in. A shutter (not shown) for blocking the insertion of tickets is provided near the slot 3, and a shutter (not shown) for blocking the insertion of tickets is provided near the outlet 4.

Guide display portions 5a and 5b for providing guidance to passersby, station staff, etc. are provided in front of the inlet 3 and in front of the outlet 4 on the main body 2a.

Doors 6 that can be opened and closed to control the passage of passersby are provided at both ends of the side surface of the main body 2a on the aisle side, and the opening and closing of the doors is controlled based on the result of the pass / fail judgment. ing.

On the upper part of the main body 2a, a frame-shaped pole portion (frame body) 7 for defining a passage for passersby is provided upright. Human detectors 8 as a plurality of optical sensors for detecting passage of a passerby are provided on side surfaces of the pole portion 7 and the main body 1a on the side of each passage. In addition,
In the case of FIG. 1, the light receiver is provided, and the light emitter is provided on the opposite side.

Further, on the pole section 7, there is provided a status display section 9 for displaying the operation status of the ticket gate (child ticket insertion, invalid ticket insertion, unused ticket insertion, device abnormality, etc.). There is.

Next, the internal structure of the automatic ticket gate 2 will be described with reference to FIG. That is, a transport path 11 for transporting the tickets received from the slot 3 to the slot 4 (in the direction of arrow a) is formed between the slot 3 and the slot 4.

A separation unit 12, an alignment unit 13, and a magnetic information reading unit 14 are provided in this order from the inlet 3 to the outlet 4 on the transport path of the transport path 11.

The separating unit 12 receives the bills inserted into the insertion port 3 all at once and separates them one by one to carry them out to the aligning unit 13.

The separating section 12 has a separating roller pair 12a as a separating means. The pair of separation rollers 12a are provided so as to face each other with the conveyance path 11 in between and to be movable in the contact and separation directions.
Consists of. A drive device (not shown) is connected to the feed roller R1 and the separation roller R2, and the rollers R1 and R2 can be rotationally driven by operating the drive device.

A drive mechanism 15 as a gap adjusting means is connected to the separating roller R2. The drive mechanism 15 is driven by the pulse motor 15a, whereby the separation roller R2 is moved in the direction in which it comes in contact with and separates from the feed roller R1.

The pulse motor 15a rotates the drive shaft by an angle proportional to the number of input pulses, and by controlling the number of pulses input to the pulse motor 15a, the feed roller R1 and A gap having a desired distance can be formed between the separation roller R2 and the separation roller R2.

A control device 16 as control means is connected to the drive device (not shown) and the pulse motor 15a. By operating the control device 16, the rotation directions of the feed roller R1 and the separation roller R2 are changed. The rotation speed and the number of pulses input to the pulse motor 15a can be controlled. The control device 1
6 reference time T _b and the reference temperature difference t _a which will be described later, is set to.

The outer peripheral surfaces of the separation roller R2 and the feed roller R1 are covered with a flexible member 17 such as resin. Therefore, the drive mechanism 15 causes the separation roller R2
And the feed roller R1 and the distance between their axes is
It can be set smaller than the sum of the radius dimensions of 1 and R2. That is, in the respective rollers R1 and R2, the flexible member 17 is crushed inward in the radial direction at the mutual contact portions.

The aligning unit 13 aligns the sheets fed from the separating roller pair 12a one by one by a pair of conveyor belts (not shown) and sends them to the magnetic information reading unit 14. The magnetic information reading unit 14 is composed of a pair of magnetic heads (not shown) provided across the transport path 11,
The encoded magnetic information recorded in the magnetic recording layer of tickets passing between the magnetic heads is read.

The separating portion 12 and the aligning portion 13 are provided with an input port 3
A pair of insertion detectors 101 (only one pair is shown) for detecting insertion of tickets from the insertion slot 3 in order from the side and along the conveyance path 11, and three for detecting the thickness of the conveyed tickets. A thickness detector 102 (only one is shown), four pairs of bill detectors 103 (only two pairs are shown) for detecting the presence or absence of conveyed tickets, and a conveyance immediately before the separation roller pair 12a is detected. 2 pairs of pre-separation detectors 104 (only one pair is shown) as ticket measuring means, and 2 pairs of post-separation detectors 10 as ticket measuring means for detecting the conveyance to the position immediately after the separation roller pair 12a.
5 (only one pair is shown), four pairs of separation completion detectors 106 (only two pairs are shown) for detecting the completion of separation of the conveyed tickets are provided.

The thickness detectors 102 are arranged side by side in a direction intersecting the transport direction. In addition, the thickness detector 10
It suffices that at least one 2 is provided, and it is sufficient if the state of 5 mm at the center of the transport path 11 can be detected. In addition, the magnetic information reading unit 14 is provided with two pairs of pre-reading detectors 107 (only one pair is shown) for detecting the conveyance of tickets to the front of the magnetic head on the conveyance path 11 in front of the magnetic head. Has been.

The input detector 101 and the thickness detector 10
2. The control device 16 is connected to the ticket existence detector 103, the pre-separation detector 104, the post-separation detector 105, the separation completion detector 106, and the pre-reading detector 107, and based on the detection result of each detector. Processing is performed.

Next, the operation of using the automatic ticket gate 2 having the above-mentioned structure will be described.

When this automatic ticket gate 2 is used, a plurality of tickets are piled up into the automatic ticket gate 2 as a preparation for use, and these tickets pass through the pre-separation detector 104 before the separation roller. The time required for the tickets initially separated by the pair 12a to pass through the detector 105 after separation, that is, the test measurement time _Ta is measured.

[0033] Once determined the test measurement time T _a, on the basis of the test and measurement time T _a, the rollers R
A reference time T _b, which is a reference when determining the friction coefficient of R1 and R2, is set. By the way, the operation of separating the tickets varies depending on the type of the inserted tickets. Therefore, the tolerance of 30% of the test measurement time T _a, the value 1.3 times the test measurement time set in the control unit 16 as the reference time T _b. This completes the preparation for use.
The measurement of the test and measurement time T _a is the be performed on the maintenance program is not performed in the normal course of business. Further, the rollers R1 and R2 used at this time are in a state of being cleansed and having a friction coefficient sufficient for the operation of separating the notes.

When the preparation for use is completed, the automatic ticket gate 2
Will start commercial operation such as ticket processing. When processing the ticket gate,
Tickets inserted into the insertion slot 3 are conveyed in the direction of arrow a along the conveyance path 11 as shown in FIG. When a plurality of inserted tickets are used, these tickets are detected by the pre-separation detector 10
The time from the passage of No. 4 to the passage of the first separated ticket among these tickets after passing through the detector 105 is measured.

When the measurement time T _k is longer than the reference time T _b as shown in the following [Equation 1], a predetermined pulse amount is given to the pulse motor 15a, and the separation roller R
2 is pressed against the feed roller R1 side until the collapse amount becomes 0.2 mm, and each roller R1 and R2 is set to a predetermined speed, in this embodiment, the feed roller R1 is 500 mm / sec and the separation roller R2 is 750 mm / sec. s
The normal rotation is driven at a speed of ec to bring the outer peripheral surfaces into sliding contact with each other.

As a result, dirt adhered to the outer peripheral surfaces of the rollers R1 and R2 is scraped off, and the rollers R1 and R2 are removed.
The coefficient of friction of will return to a predetermined level. When the outer peripheral surfaces of the rollers R1 and R2 are cleansed, a pulse amount in the opposite direction to the above is applied to the pulse motor 15a to move the separation roller R2 upward so that the distance from the feed roller R1 is 0.3 mm. The gap is formed and the ticket processing is performed again.

At this time, since the friction coefficient of each of the rollers R1 and R2 is maintained at a predetermined level by cleansing, a plurality of inserted bills can be reliably separated one by one. Further, at the time of cleansing, by closing the insertion port 3 with a shutter, it is possible to prevent the insertion of tickets and prevent the insertion of tickets during cleansing to cause malfunctions and the like.

On the other hand, the measurement time T_kSatisfies [Equation 1]
If not done, that is, the measurement time T_kIs the above group
Quasi time T_bIf the length is shorter, the separating roller pair 12a is
Is determined to have a sufficient coefficient of friction for
The roller pair 12a continues the separating operation. Formula 1 ... T_k> 1.3 × T_a= T_b In this way, the reference time T_bSet the measurement time T
_kAnd this reference time T _bCleanse the comparison result with
Is used as a trigger. That is, the decrease in the friction coefficient
Directly detects the delay of the separating operation of the separating roller pair 12a.
However, as a trigger for cleansing each roller R1 and R2
ing. Therefore, there is a need for cleansing
Cleansing can be done with the sword. Therefore,
The friction coefficient of the separation roller pair 12a is always at a predetermined level.
Because it is maintained, you can be sure that you will not have to buy multiple tickets.
Can be separated into two.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a temperature sensor 21 serving as a temperature measuring means is provided in the vicinity of the separation roller pair 12a, and the temperature around the separation roller pair 12a is detected by the temperature sensor 21, thereby separating the separation roller R2 and the feed roller R1.
The change in the friction coefficient of is detected.

The temperature sensor 21 is composed of the separation roller pair 12
The ambient temperature of a is set to a predetermined time interval, which is 1 in this embodiment.
Measure at minute intervals. This measured temperature t _k is the following [Formula 2].
As shown in, a predetermined temperature with respect to the measured temperature t _g detected during the last cleansing, 18 ° C. in this embodiment.
When there is the above-mentioned rise or fall, the separation roller R2 and the feed roller 1 are brought into sliding contact with each other and cleansing is performed, as in the first embodiment.

That is, the most recent cleansing is g in FIG.
If it is performed at the timing indicated by, the next cleansing is performed at the timing indicated by k. When the separation roller R2 and the feed roller R1 are cleansed, the measured temperature t _k measured at that time is replaced with t _g , which is used as a comparison reference thereafter.

On the other hand, when the measured temperature t _k does not satisfy [Equation 2], that is, the difference between the measured temperature t _k and the measured temperature t _g measured during the last cleansing is 18
If the temperature is within the range of ° C, it is determined that the separation roller pair 12a has a sufficient friction coefficient for separating the sheets, as in the first embodiment, and the separation roller pair 12a continues the separation operation. Note that t ₁ is a temperature measured during cleansing performed when the power of the automatic ticket gate 2 is turned on. Formula 2 ... | t _k −t _g |> 18 ° C. Thus, the separation roller pair 12 is operated during the operation of the automatic ticket gate 2.
By measuring the temperature around a, each roller R1, R2
The change in the friction coefficient is detected, and this change in temperature is the trigger for cleansing. That is, even if the friction coefficients of the rollers R1 and R2 decrease as the temperature rises, cleansing is performed to compensate for the decrease caused by the temperature rise.

Therefore, even if the temperature around the separation roller pair 12a is large or suddenly changed, the friction coefficient of the separation roller pair 12a is maintained at a predetermined level. You can surely separate them one by one.

By the way, in the automatic ticket gate for plural sheets, the processing time varies depending on the number of inserted sheets. For example, it takes 0.6 seconds for one commuter pass, 1.8 seconds for two commuter tickets and two cards, and 2.1 seconds for two cards and two cards Excerpts from automatic ticket gate product specifications).

Further, the time during which the separation roller pair 12a is stagnant is 0.2 seconds for one sheet of paper and 0.
It is 3 seconds to 0.4 seconds. Therefore, when the separation roller pair 12a has no bills, it is 0.4 seconds when there is one sheet,
In the case of two sheets, it lasts from 1.4 seconds to 1.7 seconds. A method for performing cleansing by utilizing the time when there is no ticket on the separation roller pair 12a is proposed.

In the case of inserting one sheet, cleansing is not performed because the time is as short as 0.4 seconds. Further, since the separating operation is not performed in the case of inserting one sheet, there is no problem even if the friction coefficient of the separating roller R2 is low.

When cleansing is performed, it is assumed that two or more sheets are thrown in. With 2 cards thrown in, cleansing must be completed in at least 1.4 seconds. Current cleansing takes 14 seconds, so this has to be shortened.

The current cleansing method is as follows: (1) Gaff adjustment is performed so that the crushed amount of the rubber rollers R1 and R2 is 0.2 mm (gap adjustment takes 4 seconds). (2) The separation roller R2 is normally rotated at 750 mm / s, and the feed roller R2 is operated at 500 mm / s for 10 seconds (cleansing). (3) After the cleansing is completed, the gap is adjusted again to make a 0.3 mm gap. In gear adjustment, it takes time to measure the amount of rubber collapse. However, since the gear adjustment is always performed once when the power is turned on, the crushed amount of rubber has already been measured. The gap is the pulse motor 15a.
Is used, the structure is such that a fixed amount of gap increases each time one pulse is applied.

That is, in order to perform cleansing during operation, the gap of (3) is instantly changed to the gap of (1) for cleansing, and the gap of (1) is instantly changed to the gap of (3). Need to bring back.

For that purpose, the number of pulses given to the pulse motor 15a at the time of each gap adjustment is measured, and when the gap is changed, the measured value is used so that the gap can be changed quickly.

Gap adjustment methods (3) to (1)
In the case of the state (1), the amount of pulse given is (3) (pulse amount (first pulse amount))-(1) amount of pulse (second pulse amount) is given in the reverse direction by the amount of pulse given (gap). Smaller).

When changing from (1) to (3), the applied pulse amount = (3) pulse amount (first pulse amount)-
The pulse amount (second pulse amount) in (1) is applied in the positive direction by the given pulse amount (the gap is increased). By this operation, the gait adjustment can be performed in 0.2 seconds. Since the shortest time given is 1.4 seconds, it takes 0.2 seconds to adjust the gears, so the cleansing time is 1 second. A cleansing operation (the separation roller R2 is normally rotated at 750 mm / s and the feed roller R1 is operated at 500 mm / s for 1 second) is performed in 1 second.

The method of instantly changing the gap state is used during the cleansing operation in the above-described first and second embodiments. In the first embodiment, the time for which the bills pass through the separation roller pair 12a is measured for cleansing. However, after the cleansing, a plurality of bills are inserted and the cleansing is performed again according to the passing time. become.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to surely separate a plurality of bills that are collectively inserted in a stacked state.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an automatic ticket gate according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an internal configuration of an automatic ticket gate.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by M in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the timing of cleansing each roller unit according to the second embodiment of the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

12a ... Separation roller pair (separation means), 15 ... Drive mechanism (gap adjusting means), 15a ... Pulse motor, 16 ...
Control device (control means), 21 ... Temperature sensor (temperature measuring means), 104 ... Pre-separation detector (measurement means), 105 ... Post-separation detector (measurement means), R2 ... Separation roller, R1 ... Feed roller.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A separation means having a pair of rollers facing each other with a predetermined gap and separated from each other, and separating the sheets one by one by passing the superposed sheets between the pair of rollers, Gap adjusting means for adjusting the gap amount between the pair of rollers, measuring means for measuring the transit time of the paper sheets passing through the separating means, and the transit time of the paper sheets for a predetermined time or more by this measuring means. And a control unit configured to cleanse by pressing and slidingly rotating the pair of rollers by the gap adjusting unit based on the fact that the gap has been measured. 2. The paper sheet according to claim 1, wherein the measuring means is provided with detection sensors for detecting paper sheets on the upstream side and the downstream side of the separating means in the paper sheet conveying direction. Separation device. 3. Separation means having a pair of rollers spaced apart and opposed to each other with a predetermined gap, and separating the sheets one by one by passing the superposed sheets between the pair of rollers, Gap adjusting means for adjusting the gap amount between the pair of rollers, temperature measuring means for measuring the ambient temperature of the separating means, and the gap adjusting means for adjusting the gap between the pair of rollers based on the temperature measured by the temperature measuring means. A paper sheet separating apparatus comprising: a control unit that cleanses the roller by pressing it and slidingly rotating the roller. 4. The paper sheet according to claim 3, wherein the control means cleanses the separating means when the measured temperature rises or falls by a predetermined temperature from the measured temperature measured at the last cleansing time. Separation device. 5. Separation means having a pair of rollers spaced apart and opposed to each other with a predetermined gap, and separating the sheets one by one by passing the superposed sheets between the pair of rollers, A gap adjusting means for adjusting a gap amount between the pair of rollers; and a control means for cleansing by pressing and sliding the pair of rollers by the gap adjusting means to cleanse the pair of rollers. A first state in which a predetermined gap amount is formed between the pair of rollers by providing a first pulse amount to the pulse motor, and a second pulse amount is provided to the pulse motor; In the second state in which the pair of rollers are brought into pressure contact with each other, in the case of changing from the first state to the second state, it is the first pulse amount−the second pulse amount. When the pulse amount is given in the direction of decreasing the gap and when the second state is changed to the first state, the pulse amount is increased in the direction of increasing the gap by the first pulse amount-the second pulse amount. A paper sheet separating device characterized by giving.