JP2003341884A - Document processor and document processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a document processor and a document processing method for easily correcting inclination of a document or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The inclined state of a document or the like on a transport path is optically detected, and driving motors A, B (431, 433) are independently controlled according to the information on the inclination showing that the document is inclined to the right or to the left, thereby individually regulating the rotating speeds of two transport belts such as upper transport belts 305, 307. As a result, the inclination of the transported document can be corrected to put the document in the normal state. <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 document processing apparatus and a document processing method for transporting various documents, forms, etc. along a transport path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Due to the nature of its business, large-scale hospitals, transporters, etc. generate a large amount of documents, slips, forms, etc., and a document processing device is used to efficiently process those forms. ing. In this type of apparatus, the transport mechanism (feeder mechanism) is important because it is necessary to reliably process a wide variety of forms and the like in a short time.

[0003]

However, the feeder mechanism of the conventional document processing apparatus conveys a document or the like by rotating the conveying drive roller at a single rotation speed.
Therefore, there is a problem in that even if a document or the like to be conveyed is inclined during the conveyance, it cannot be corrected.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a document processing apparatus and a document processing method capable of easily correcting even if a document or the like is tilted during transportation. Is to provide.

[0005]

As one means for achieving the above object and solving the above-mentioned problems, for example, the following structure is provided. That is, a document processing apparatus capable of transporting a document supplied from an upstream side to a downstream side, and first drive means for transporting a document in the downstream direction of a transport path, and rotational driving of the first transport means. A first driving means; a second conveying means for conveying a document in the downstream direction of the conveying path;
Second driving means for rotationally driving the conveying means, detecting means for detecting the inclination of the document in the conveying path, and rotation of the first driving means and the second driving means according to the direction of the inclination. And a control means for individually controlling the speed,
The first transport means and the second transport means are arranged in parallel, and can be rotationally driven at different rotational speeds by the first drive means and the second drive means.

For example, the control means makes the rotation speed of the first drive means faster than the rotation speed of the second drive means or the second drive according to the inclination direction of the document. By making the rotation speed of the means faster than the rotation speed of the first drive means, the conveyance speed of the document can be adjusted, and the inclination of the document can be corrected.

For example, when the document has no inclination, the control means synchronizes the conveyance speed of the first conveyance means with the conveyance speed of the second conveyance means.

Further, for example, the control means controls the rotational speed of the first drive means and the rotational speed of the second drive means to be the same speed when the document has no inclination. Is characterized by.

For example, an upper roller and a lower roller for sandwiching the conveyed document are further provided, and the upper roller and the lower roller are separated from each other on the basis of the rotational speed difference between the upper roller and the lower roller accompanying the conveyance. It is characterized in that the presence or absence of double conveyance of the document passing therethrough is determined.

Further, as another means for achieving the above object and solving the above-mentioned problems, for example, the following configuration is provided. That is, a document processing method in a document processing apparatus having a first transport means and a second transport means arranged in parallel for transporting a document supplied from an upstream side to a downstream side, wherein the document in the transport path is provided. Of the first transport means and the second transport means for individually rotating the first transport means and the second transport means in accordance with the direction of the tilt, respectively. The means can be rotationally driven at different rotational speeds.

For example, depending on the direction of inclination of the document, the rotational driving speed for the first conveying means is made faster than the rotational driving speed for the second conveying means, or the rotating speed for the second conveying means is increased. It is characterized in that the driving speed of the document is adjusted by making the driving speed faster than the rotational driving speed for the first conveying means, so that the inclination of the document can be corrected.

Further, for example, when the document has no inclination, the rotational driving speed for the first conveying means and the rotational driving speed for the second conveying means are set to the same speed.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1
FIG. 1 is an external view showing an overall configuration of a document processing device according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, this document processing apparatus includes a feeder device 10, an inclination discriminating device 20-1 / an image reading device 20-2 (hereinafter, also collectively referred to as a reading device 20), a discriminating device 60, Stacker device 3
It consists of zero. The feeder device 10 is a device for separating and transporting placed documents, forms, and the like. For example, the feeder device 10 has not only a single-sheet form but also various thicknesses, and the binding method is also indefinite. The forms are separated for each spelling and are conveyed to the reading device 20.

The inclination discriminating device 20-1 is located on the upstream side of the image reading device 20-2, and immediately feeds back the inclination information value of the form here to a central control unit described later. Then, based on the determination information, the drive motors A and B, which will be described later, are also controlled (see FIGS. 4 and 5) to correct the inclination of the following form and restore the normal feed without inclination. .

The image reading device 20-2 reads the image information of the entire surface of the form conveyed from the feeder device 10 and performs a predetermined image analysis process. That is, the image reading device 20-2 electronically captures the image information of the front surface or the back surface of the form or the like conveyed from the feeder device 10 as an image by the imaging device (image reader) 50 and writes it in a predetermined area of the form or the like. The described content is extracted by analyzing the image such as the written characters. Then, the stacker device 30 is controlled according to the result of loading.

The discriminating device 60 is located on the downstream side of the reading device 20, and discriminates the kind of the form sent from the reading device 20, the overlapping state of the form, and the like. Further, the stacker device 30 arranged in the latter stage of the discriminating device 60 functions as a document storage unit for placing the conveyed forms and the like in the pocket according to the instruction from the reading device 20.

A plurality of light emitting elements are embedded in a row in the conveying surface of the discriminating device 60 so as to be orthogonal to the conveying direction. The light receiving element is arranged at the position where Then, the light emitted from the light emitting elements arranged in a row in the vertical upper direction through the holes provided on the transport surface is detected by the light receiving element. Here, the state of the form passing between the light emitting element and the light receiving element is determined based on the detection result of light by the light receiving element.

The document processing apparatus is further operated by an operator for inputting various operation information, displaying the operation state of the apparatus, or visually displaying an image read by the image reader 50. The monitor unit 40 functions as a display unit, a display unit, and the like.

The specific contents of the document image reading process, the form type determining method, and the document storing process are not directly related to the invention of the present application. Is omitted.

Next, the feeder mechanism of the feeder device in the document processing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 2 shows a feeder mechanism of the feeder device 10,
In particular, the structure of its characteristic components is shown. The feeder mechanism shown in the figure has a hopper unit 201 that separates documents with various thicknesses and documents with different binding methods for each binding.
And a transport path 202 for transporting each separated document to the reading device 20.

The hopper section 201 is provided with a picker section 103 and a conveyor belt section 101. Some conveyor belt sections not only convey documents but also move the paddle section 102 to move the hopper section 201. Documents placed on the picker unit 1
It has a function of transporting to 03.

Among the belts constituting the conveyor belt unit 101, two belts arranged on the front side of the apparatus (on which the operator stands) are tooth-shaped slits (the moving direction of the belt) arranged at regular intervals on the surface thereof. Has a structure in which projections and grooves running in a direction perpendicular to are continuous at regular intervals). A part of the bottom of the paddle part 102 is engaged with this groove, and the conveyor belt part 10
According to the movement of the groove portion caused by the movement of 1, the paddle portion 10
2 itself also moves to the picker unit 103 side. Therefore, documents (or forms) placed in front of the paddle unit 102
A control for driving the conveyor belt unit 101 is performed almost in synchronism with the decrease of a bundle (not shown) of the conveyors due to the conveyance.

In order to operate the above-mentioned conveyor belt 101, the picker unit 103 detects the position of the picker roller 131 by the thickness of the document located below the picker roller (pickup roller) 131 as shown in FIG. The sensor unit 104 is provided. Further, in order to align the front edges of the documents stacked on the feeder device 10, a document guide unit 107 that runs in parallel with the front is provided on the front side of the conveyor belt unit 101.

On the other hand, a feeder section 130 as a document separating / feeding mechanism is arranged on the conveying path 202. As will be described later, the feeder unit 130 (FIG. 2 is in a state in which it is covered with a safety cover) separates documents and forms by two transport belts that rotate in opposite directions while contacting each other. Carry.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway view showing the detailed structure of the feeder section 130. As shown in FIG.
30 is a form 50 sent from the picker section described above.
In order to drive 0 to the downstream side, two sets of belt transport mechanisms 301 and 303 arranged in parallel with each other and a double feed detection mechanism 350 located on the downstream side of the belt transport mechanisms 301 and 303 are provided. The double feed detection mechanism 350 is for detecting double conveyance (simultaneous conveyance) of a form or the like, and is composed of drive wheels 351 and 353 and driven wheels 352 and 354 that rotate while contacting the drive wheels 351 and 353. Become.

Of the belt transport mechanisms 301 and 303, the belt transport mechanism 301 includes a drive roller 311 driven by a transport motor (drive motor A described later) and a drive roller 3.
13, an upper conveyance belt 305 that is wound between rollers 312 that are coaxial with each other but that rotates freely, and that is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow a in the drawing in accordance with the rotation of the drive roller 311;
It is located below the upper conveyor belt 305 and is in the opposite direction (in the direction of arrow b in the figure) while making surface contact with the upper conveyor belt 305 or keeping a slight gap.
To the reverse belt 32 which is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown)
1 (also called separator belt or reversing belt)
Consists of.

Similarly, the belt transport mechanism 303 is wound between a drive roller 313 driven by a drive motor B, which will be described later, and a roller 314 which is coaxial with the above-mentioned drive roller 311 but which is freely rotatable. In accordance with the rotation of 313, similarly to the above-described upper conveyor belt 305, the upper conveyor belt 307, which is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow, is located below the upper conveyor belt 307 and is in surface contact with the upper conveyor belt 307 (or slightly). A reverse belt 323 that is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown) in a direction opposite to the upper transport belt 307.

When the upper conveyor belts 305 and 307 are rotationally driven, when a document or the like is sent to the feeder unit 130 through the lower part of the picker roller (pickup roller) 131, the uppermost document is transferred. The upper conveying belts 305 and 307 convey the sheet to the feeder unit 130 side. On the other hand, the reverse belts 321 and 323 are provided on the lower documents, which are not at the top, and the upper conveyor belts 305 and 30.
Since it is rotating at a low speed in the direction opposite to 7,
A force to send back in the direction opposite to 30 works. As a result, only the uppermost document is taken in toward the feeder unit 130 (downstream direction).

The horizontal position of the contact surface between the upper conveyor belts 305 and 307 and the reverse belts 321 and 323 is the position of the conveyor surface of the form or the like in the feeder device 10 or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, the belt transport mechanism 30
Since drive motors A and B, which are provided independently of each other, are connected to the drive rollers 311 and 313 of 1,303, respectively, the belt transport mechanisms 301 and 303 also operate independently of each other. That is, these belt transport mechanisms 30
1, 303 are drive motors A,
By changing the drive speed of B, it is possible to rotate documents at different speeds and convey documents and the like.

On the other hand, drive wheels (drive wheels) 351 and 35
The drive motor C drives both wheels to rotate at the same time while rotating in synchronization with the drive motors A and B. Therefore, the driven wheels 352 and 354 are also connected to the drive wheels 351 and 35.
When the driving wheels 351 and 353 are in contact with each other, they receive rotational driving force from the drive wheels 351 and 353 and rotate at the same speed as them. A clutch mechanism 361 is connected to the shafts of the follower wheels 352 and 354 via a joint 370 for connection.

The clutch mechanism portion 361 functions as a so-called one-way clutch (one-way clutch), and the driven wheel 3
It receives the rotational torque of 52,354 and rotates in a certain direction,
The drive wheels 351 and 353 and the slave wheels 352 and 354 operate according to the "slip" state (difference in rotational speed) between them.

Therefore, the drive wheels 351 and 353 and the slave wheel 35 are in a normal state where the conveyed documents are not overlapped with each other, or when two or more documents are overlapped with each other for some reason.
The operation in the case of passing between 2 and 354 will be described.

When the drive wheels 351 and 353 rotate at a constant speed in a normal state in which the forms do not overlap, the rotational force of the drive wheels 351 and 353 is directly applied to the driven wheels 352 and 35.
4 is transmitted. Therefore, the driven wheels 352 and 354 also rotate at the same speed as the drive wheels 351 and 353.

In this case, since the driven wheels 352 and 354 are rotating at a constant speed set in advance, the clutch mechanism portion 361 as the one-way clutch is
The driven wheels 352, 3 receive the torque generated by the rotation of 2, 354.
The motor rotates with no load (free rotation) with respect to 54. Therefore, in the normal state, the above-mentioned “slip” does not occur between the drive wheels 351 and 353 and the slave wheels 352 and 354.

However, when the forms are fed in an overlapping state, the form that is in direct contact with the drive wheels 351 and 353 has a conveying force from the drive wheels 351 and 353 to the downstream side (direction of the reading device 20). Is added, but the drive wheels 351 and 353 are added to the form below the topmost form.
The carrying force of does not work directly.

Therefore, the driven wheels 352 and 354 rotate at a speed different from that of the drive wheels 351 and 353, and a difference (sliding) occurs in the rotational speed of both wheels. More specifically, because the slippage of the rotating torque of the slave wheels 352 and 354 exceeds a certain level, the rotation speed of the slave wheels becomes slower than that of the drive wheels (the rotation of the slave wheels stops in some cases). Then, the clutch mechanism 361 functions as a one-way clutch, and functions to apply a constant load to the driven wheels 352 and 354.

As described above, the slave wheels 352 and 354, to which a certain load is applied by the clutch mechanism 361, act to reduce the conveying speed of the lower form of the overlapping forms. To do. As a result, only the uppermost form is carried to the downstream side by the drive wheels 351 and 353 in such a manner as to precede the lower form, and the lower form is sent to the downstream side with a slight delay.

Therefore, in the double feed detection mechanism 350, the driven wheels 352 and 354 and the drive wheels 351 and 35 as described above are used.
The rotational speeds of Nos. 3 and 3 are monitored, and if there is a speed difference between them, it is detected that the form is being conveyed in the double feeding state.

The feeder section 130 of the feeder apparatus according to the present embodiment is operated by the clutch mechanism section 361 which rotates via the joint 370 according to the "slip" state. That is, in the feeder device, the clutch mechanism unit 361 performs an appropriate operation during double conveyance of documents (simultaneous conveyance of two or more documents).

Next, the inclination correction processing of the form etc. in the feeder device according to the present embodiment will be explained. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main part of the feeder device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 schematically shows a conveyance state of forms and the like in the feeder section of the feeder device according to the present embodiment. Further, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure in the feeder device, particularly a procedure of the inclination correction process.

The central control unit 401 shown in FIG.
It is a main control unit consisting of a microprocessor and controls the entire feeder device. Further, the memory 402 stores a control program and the like required by the main control unit 401.

As will be described later, the central control unit 401 receives the tilt information about the conveyed form and the like, and based on this, the drive motor A (431) and the drive motor B (43).
3) is controlled. At that time, according to the inclination of the form or the like, the upper conveyance belt 305 constituting the belt conveyance mechanism is driven by the drive motor A (431), and the upper conveyance belt 307 is individually driven by the drive motor B (433). Further, the central control unit 401 controls the drive motor C (435) in synchronization with the drive motors A and B, and drives (drive) wheels 351 and 3
Rotate 53. Accordingly, the slave wheels 352, 354
The clutch mechanism unit 361 connected to operates in accordance with the above-mentioned conditions.

Here, it is assumed that the form on the conveying surface of the device (inclination determining device 20-1) located on the downstream side of the feeder device is inclined with respect to the conveying direction. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the form 500 passing between the light emitting element and the light receiving element arranged on the conveying surface does not evenly cover these optical elements (sensors) a to e ( That is, it is partially covered).

Among these optical elements, only the elements (for example, a and b) located on the far side of the conveying surface are covered with the form 501, and it is detected that the form is inclined due to the light blocking state. If you do, the form to be transported is "right tilt"
The central controller 401 is notified of the value of the time difference of each sensor as inclination information.
Similarly, elements on the front side of the transport surface (eg, d, e)
If only the form is covered with the form 502, it is determined that the form is “inclined to the left”.

Therefore, when the above-mentioned tilt information is sent to the feeder device (“YES” in step S1 of FIG. 6), the central control unit 401 of the feeder device controls the drive motors A and B based on the information. To do. For example, if the tilt information indicates that the form tends to tilt to the right, step S
Since the determination in 2 is YES, asynchronous drive control of the belt transport mechanisms 301 and 303 is performed in step S5.

Specifically, when the form or the like is sent from the picker unit while being inclined to the right (the form 50 shown in FIG. 5A).
0b), the central control unit 401 controls the drive motors A and B independently to control the rotation speed N1 of the upper conveyor belt 305 constituting the belt conveyor mechanism 301.
The rotation speed N2 of the upper transport belt 307 of No. 03 (N1> N2). As a result, the form 50 that was inclined to the right
The position of 0b is corrected (tilt corrected) on the form 500a in the normal state.

The correction for the left tilt is performed in the same manner as above. That is, when the tilt information sent to the feeder device means left tilt, step S3 in FIG.
In step S7, the rotation speed N2 of the upper conveyor belt 307 is controlled to be higher than the rotation speed N1 of the upper conveyor belt 305 (N1 <N2). Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The form 500c that is inclined to the left is subjected to the inclination correction and returns to the form 500a in the normal state.

If the feeder device does not receive any tilt information, it is determined that the conveyed document is not tilted, and in step S10, the drive motors A and B are driven synchronously. Take control. That is, the upper conveyor belts 305 and 307 are controlled to rotate at the same speed (N1 = N2).

The double feed detecting section 380 is connected to the clutch mechanism section 361 and the rotational speeds of the drive wheels 351 and 353 which are rotated by receiving the drive of the drive motor C (435) synchronized with the drive motors A and B. Drive wheel 35 when
The rotational speeds of the driven wheels 352 and 354 that rotate in contact with 1,353 are monitored and the speed difference between them is observed (step S
15). Then, when a speed difference occurs, the double feed detection unit 38
0 notifies the central control unit 401 that the form is in the multi-feed state (step S17).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the inclination state of the form or the like on the conveying path is detected, and the drive motor is independently controlled according to whether the inclination state is the right inclination or the left inclination. By adjusting the rotation speeds of the two conveyor belts individually, it is possible to perform tilt correction by returning the tilted form to the normal position. Thereby, for example, it is possible to eliminate the adverse effect caused by the inclination of the form on the process of reading the image information on the surface of the form or the image analysis process.

Further, by providing the one-way clutch mechanism composed of the drive wheel and the slave wheel, it is possible to ensure proper operation of the feeder device even when the documents and the like are overlapped and conveyed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the feeder device 10 is provided with a stop switch that activates the operation stop mechanism of the document processing device, and in addition to displaying an error message on the monitor 40, the operator operates the stop switch to operate the device. May be stopped.

In particular, the clutch mechanism section may be provided with means for notifying double conveyance of a form or the like, and the operation stopping mechanism of the document processing apparatus may be caused to function based on the notification.

Further, when a detecting means (sensor) for a form or the like is arranged on the feeder device or the like to detect the interval between the conveyed forms, for example, when the interval between the forms becomes narrower than a certain width. Further, by suppressing the rotation speed of the conveyor belt and adjusting the interval between them, it is possible to alleviate the congestion of the form or the like on the conveyor path and to perform the synchronous adjustment with the reading speed of the image information in the reading device 20.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to easily perform the inclination correction of returning the inclined form to the normal position on the conveyance path.

Further, according to the present invention, an appropriate feeding operation can be guaranteed even when the forms and the like are overlapped and conveyed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing an overall configuration of a document processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure of a feeder mechanism of the apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a feeder unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a feeder device according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a conveyance state of forms and the like in a feeder section of the feeder device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of tilt correction processing in the feeder device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a tilted state of a form on a conveyance surface.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Feeder device 20 reader 20-1 Tilt discriminating device 20-2 Image reader 30 Stacker device 40 Monitor 50 Imaging device (image reader) 101 Conveyor belt section 102 Paddle part 103 Picker part 130 feeder section 131 picker roller 201 Hopper section 202 transport path 301,303 Belt transport mechanism 305,307 Upper conveyor belt 321 and 323 reverse belt 350 Double feed detection mechanism 351 and 353 drive wheels 352,354 follower wheel 361 Clutch mechanism section 380 Double feed detector 401 Central control unit 500,500a, 500b, 500c forms

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Masayasu Sawabe             1-8-1 Shimo-Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo Arcota             8th floor Banktech Japan Stock Association             In-house F term (reference) 3F048 AA01 AB03 BA05 BA13 BA20                       BA21 BB02 BB05 BB10 CC03                       CC06 CC11 CC12 DA06 DB06                       DC12 EB22 EB23 EB24 EB29                       EB35                 3F102 AA01 AB03 BA02 BA03 BB02                       BB09 CA03 CB06 CB07 EA10                       EC08 FA04 FA09

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A document processing apparatus capable of transporting a document supplied from an upstream side to a downstream side, the first transporting means transporting a document in a downstream direction of a transport path, and the first transporting means. First driving means for rotationally driving, second transporting means for transporting a document in the downstream direction of the transport path, second driving means for rotationally driving the second transporting means, and Detection means for detecting the inclination of the document; the first driving means and the second drive means depending on the direction of the inclination.
Control means for individually controlling the rotation speed of the drive means of the above, the first transfer means and the second transfer means are arranged in parallel, and differ depending on the first drive means and the second drive means. A document processing device characterized in that it can be rotationally driven at a rotational speed. 2. The control means sets the rotation speed of the first drive means to be faster than the rotation speed of the second drive means or the second drive according to the inclination direction of the document. The inclination of the document can be corrected by adjusting the conveying speed of the document by making the rotation speed of the device faster than the rotation speed of the first driving device.
Document processing device described. 3. The control means controls the rotational speed of the first drive means and the rotational speed of the second drive means to be the same speed when the document has no inclination. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1. 4. The detection means is composed of at least two optical elements arranged in a line in a direction substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the document, and the document is determined based on a light blocking state of each of the optical elements. The document processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the inclination of the document is detected. 5. An upper roller and a lower roller for sandwiching the conveyed document are provided, and the upper roller and the lower roller are separated from each other on the basis of a rotational speed difference between the upper roller and the lower roller accompanying the conveyance. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presence or absence of double conveyance of the passing document is determined. 6. A document processing method in a document processing apparatus having a first transport means and a second transport means arranged in parallel for transporting a document supplied from an upstream side to a downstream side, the transport path comprising: The step of detecting the inclination of the document in the above, and the step of individually rotating and driving the first conveying means and the second conveying means according to the direction of the inclination. 2. A document processing method, wherein the two conveying means can be rotationally driven at different rotational speeds. 7. The first according to the tilt direction of the document.
The rotational driving speed for the second conveying means is faster than the rotational driving speed for the second conveying means, or
7. The rotational speed of the document is adjusted to be higher than the rotational speed of the first carrier, so that the document can be adjusted in speed and the inclination of the document can be corrected. Document processing method described in 6. 8. The document according to claim 6, wherein when the document has no inclination, the rotational drive speed for the first transporting unit and the rotational drive speed for the second transporting unit are the same. Processing method.