JP2005132593A - Sheet material information detection device and sheet material handling device having the sheet material information detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the dispersion of detection accuracy in a sheet material information detection device capable of acquiring information on a sheet material and a sheet material handling device having the sheet material information detection device. <P>SOLUTION: This sheet material information detection device comprises a sheet material carrying means carrying the sheet material along a sheet material carrying route, an external force applying means applying external force to the carried sheet material, an external force receiving member receiving the external force applied by the external force applying means from the rear side of the sheet material, and an external force detection means detecting the external force applied by the external force applying means. The device acquires the information on the sheet material based on the detected results of the external force detection means. The surface of the external force receiving member which comes into contact with the sheet material is formed in a curved surface so that the clearance thereof from the external force applying means is wider on the upstream side in the sheet material carrying direction and narrower toward the downstream side in the sheet material carrying direction. Since a recording paper P is brought into contact with the external force receiving member 4, the dispersion of the detection accuracy resulting from the position displacement of the recording paper P can be reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet material information detection apparatus capable of acquiring information related to a sheet material, and a sheet material processing apparatus including the sheet material information detection apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, attention has been focused on a sheet material information detection apparatus that acquires information on a sheet material and identifies the type of the sheet material.

  For example, it is a sheet material information detection device mounted on an image forming apparatus, which emits light to a recording medium from a light source arranged along the recording medium path, and uses a sensor to detect the radiation intensity from the surface of the recording medium. There has been proposed one that detects and discriminates the type of recording medium (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-301805

  However, the recording medium path is often curved due to the demand for downsizing of the image forming apparatus, and the conveyance speed of the recording medium is increased. For this reason, the sheet material such as a recording medium is conveyed while fluttering, and the angle with respect to the light source and the sensor is not constant, and there is a problem that information detection accuracy varies.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet material information detection apparatus with good and uniform information detection accuracy.

  It is another object of the present invention to provide a sheet material processing apparatus including a sheet material information detection apparatus with good and uniform information detection accuracy.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and includes a sheet material conveying unit that conveys a sheet material along a sheet material conveying path, and an external force applying unit that applies an external force to the conveyed sheet material. An external force receiving member that receives the external force applied by the external force applying means from the back side of the sheet material, and an external force detecting means that detects the external force applied by the external force applying means, and the detection of the external force detecting means A sheet material information detection device that acquires information on a sheet material based on a result,
The surface in contact with the sheet material in the external force receiving member is configured by a curved surface such that the gap between the external force applying means is wide on the upstream side in the sheet material conveyance direction and narrows toward the downstream side in the sheet material conveyance direction. It is characterized by being.

  In addition, the present invention includes a sheet material comprising the above-described sheet material information detection device, and a sheet material processing unit that processes the sheet material in consideration of the detection result of the sheet material information detection device. The present invention relates to a processing apparatus.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when an external force is detected by the external force detection means, the sheet material is held at an appropriate position by the external force receiving member, and the flutter is reduced. Therefore, the information detection accuracy is good and uniform.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(1) Schematic Description of Sheet Material Information Detection Device A sheet material information detection device according to the present invention is a sheet material conveyance means for conveying a sheet material P along a sheet material conveyance path A as shown in FIGS. 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, an external force applying means 2 for applying an external force to the conveyed sheet material P, and an external force applied by the external force applying means 2 arranged so as to sandwich the sheet material P. The external force receiving members 4 and 14 received from the back side of the material P and the external force detection means 3 for detecting the external force applied to the sheet material P are provided, and the sheet material P is based on the detection result of the external force detection means 3. Is configured to obtain information about.

  In this specification, the sheet material means a recording medium (for example, plain paper, glossy paper, coated paper, recycled paper, OHP, etc.) or a manuscript. “Information about sheet material” means the type of sheet material, density of sheet material, thickness of sheet material, unevenness of sheet material, state change of sheet material, printing status, presence of double feed , And the remaining number. The state change of the sheet material includes changes due to moisture absorption and drying, elastic deformation and plastic deformation due to mechanical force (elongation, bending, crushing, breaking, bending, etc.), tension applied to the sheet material, Changes in physical properties due to compressive force, vibration, missing sheet material components such as fibers and coating materials, adhesion of foreign materials to the sheet material, adhesion status of ink, toner, coating material, etc., and other required for sheet material processing equipment All information that is said to be included.

(2) Operation of Sheet Material Information Detection Device The operation of the sheet material information detection device according to the present invention is as shown in FIG. That is,
When the sheet material P is conveyed to a position where it contacts the external force receiving members 4 and 14 (S1),
An external force is applied to the sheet material P by the external force applying means 2 (S2),
An external force is detected and output by the external force detection means 3 (S3, S4).

(3) Sheet material identification method By the way, to obtain information on sheet material,
-Even if a person determines based on the signal detected by the external force detection means 3,
-Sheet material information acquisition means (see reference numeral 5 in Fig. 3) is provided, and information on the sheet material is automatically acquired based on the detection result of the external force detection means 3,
Good (details will be described later).

(4) Detailed description of external force receiving member, external force applying means, external force detecting means, sheet material information acquiring means (4-1) External force receiving member, (4-2) External force applying means, (4-3) External force detection Means and (4-4) Sheet material information acquisition means will be described.

(4-1) External force receiving member The sheet material P is conveyed between the external force applying means 2 and the external force receiving members 4 and 14, but the surface of the external force receiving members 4 and 14 (the sheet) The surface facing the material P is hereinafter referred to as a “sheet material sliding surface.” The surface indicated by reference numeral 14a in FIG. 1 and the surface indicated by reference numeral 4a in FIG. gap between the (direction of the interval illustrated in FIG. 1 by reference numeral y, that is, the gap in the thickness direction of the sheet material P conveyed) it is wide at the upstream x ₁ of the sheet material conveying direction x (reference numeral y _1), It is composed of narrows (reference y ₂₎ such curved toward the downstream side of the sheet material conveyance direction x. Then, the gap (see reference numeral y ₃₎ of the part (particularly a central part) x ₃ to the external force applying means 2 is disposed is set so that the most narrowed, the size of the gap y ₃ is the thickness of the sheet material P The sheet material P is configured to come into contact with the external force receiving members 4 and 14 when an external force is applied. Note that the downstream side x ₄ may be widened again (see symbol y ₄ ).

  In the case where the sheet material conveying direction is not reversed, the curved surface structure may be provided on one side of the external force receiving material 14 in the x direction. However, in the case where the sheet receiving direction is reversed, the external force receiving material 14 is provided. It is preferable to provide the curved structure on both sides in the x direction. When the sheet material conveyance direction is reversed, for example, the sheet material is formed after the first image formation in the conveyance path of the image forming apparatus having functions such as double-sided copying and color copying for performing image formation a plurality of times on one sheet material. And the like.

The external force receiving member 14 shown in FIG. 1 has a semicircular cross-sectional shape (the curvature radius r is set equal on the upstream side and the downstream side in the sheet material conveyance direction), but as indicated by reference numeral 24 in FIG. Even in a saddle shape (that is, the curvature radius r ₂₁ on the upstream side in the sheet material conveyance direction and the curvature radius r ₂₃ on the downstream side in the sheet material conveyance direction are reduced, and the curvature radius r ₂₂ on the midstream side in the sheet material conveyance direction is increased). 7, and the shape shown by reference numeral 34 in FIG. 7 (that is, the curvature radius r ₃₃ on the downstream side in the sheet material conveyance direction <the curvature radius r ₃₁ on the upstream side in the sheet material conveyance direction) Radius of curvature r ₃₂ ). Furthermore, the external force receiving member may be a sphere or a hemisphere. It should be noted that the external force receiving members 4,... May also be used as a transport roller, but considering that noise such as driving by a motor is likely to be carried, it is better to use separate members. When the external force receiving member is shaped as indicated by reference numeral 34 in FIG. 7, even when the external force applying means (external force applying member) receives a frictional force from the sheet material being conveyed and is displaced downstream, the stable external force Application and signal output are possible.

When the sheet material sliding surface in the external force receiving member is shaped as described above,
-Vibration occurs when the sheet material (uneven structure on the contact surface of the sheet material) contacts the surface of the external force receiving member, and the external force detection means 3 detects the vibration,
・ Detects pressure information when the uneven structure of the contact surface of the sheet material is deformed,
Thus, it is possible to efficiently detect and output the surface information of the contact surface of the sheet material.

  In particular, in the case of a sheet material having different surface structures on the front surface and the back surface, information on the back surface contacting the external force receiving member 4 is detected until the external force is applied by the external force applying means 2, and the surface after the external force is applied Can be obtained and information on both sides can be obtained. In addition, when the sheet material detection means is arranged on both sides of the sheet material, information on each surface can be acquired independently. This is effective for the type determination and front / back determination of paper sheets (typically coated paper, some bond paper, printed matter, etc.) having different characteristics on the front and back sides.

  Since the external force is applied to the sheet material in a state where the sheet material P is supported by the external force receiving members 4,..., The magnitude of the external force applied to the sheet material can always be constant and the detection accuracy of the sheet material is improved. be able to.

  By the way, when the external force receiving member is formed in an arc shape (semicircular shape) as indicated by reference numeral 14 in FIG. 1, it is appropriately designed in a shape that efficiently acquires the surface information of the sheet material. When the material is a paper sheet, the arc radius r is preferably 0.5 mm ≦ r ≦ 100 mm. By adopting such a shape, for example, a systematic structure of about 1 μm to 0.1 mm by fibers, which is often found in bond paper, and a very flat surface structure often seen in coated paper (for example, Ra Of 0.5 μm or less), and even higher resolution information can be obtained.

  The external force receiving members 4,... Are configured to come into contact with the sheet material P as described above at least when an external force is applied by the external force applying means 2. Specifically, the external force receiving members 4,. The receiving members 4 are projected in the sheet material conveyance path (that is, provided so as to project between the sheet conveyance guides of the sheet material conveyance path). By doing in this way, more stable control is possible with a small mechanism. The amount of protrusion of the external force receiving members 4,... Into the sheet material conveying path is 1/10 or more of the width of the conveying path (the width of the conveying path in the portion where the external force receiving members 4,. A range of 1/2 or less is preferable.

The external force receiving members 4,.
・ Even if the protruding amount is fixed within the above range,
・ Even if it is configured to adjust its protruding amount (contact pressure),
-Even if it is configured to be movable so that it can be retracted to avoid interference with the sheet material P when no external force is applied,
good. If the external force receiving members 4,... Are configured to be movable, it is possible to reduce deterioration due to occurrence of troubles such as unnecessary paper jams and wear of the external force receiving members 4,.

  An interval holding mechanism 35 with the sheet material may be provided so that contact with the sheet material does not occur when no external force is applied. An example in which such an interval holding mechanism 35 is provided is shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 9, a member having a groove is used as the interval holding mechanism 35, and the external force receiving member 4 is installed so that the contact surface with the sheet material comes to a position retracted by a predetermined interval from the edge of the groove. ing. In such an example, the sheet material receives an external force from the external force applying means 2 and bends and deforms for the held interval to come into contact with the external force receiving member 14. In such an example, the output information reflects the characteristic of sheet material deflection, and information on a wider variety of sheet materials can be detected. Specifically, it is the bending rigidity, thickness information of the sheet material having a large dependency on the bending rigidity, and the like. Although not shown, it is stable to apply an external force while the sheet material is pressed against the interval holding mechanism by, for example, providing a force by a conveying roller or separately providing a sheet material displacing means (such as 7 in FIG. 4). This is preferable.

  As a preferred embodiment, it is possible to incorporate the external force receiving material 4 or the interval holding mechanism 35 into the conveyance roller itself protruding in the sheet material conveyance path, and FIG. 10 shows such an example. In the example shown in FIG. 10, the external force receiving member 4 is provided as one side of a pair of rollers, is a cylindrical member concentric with the rollers, and the outer diameter is made smaller than the rollers to support the sheet material. It was set as the structure which provides a predetermined space | interval from the surface of a roller. Of course, it is also possible to appropriately control the interval by appropriately selecting the outer diameter of the external force receiving member 4 and the roller.

  Further, it is also preferable to provide a shock absorbing mechanism such as a mechanism (including a roller) that rotates and displaces in the conveying direction of the sheet material, a position adjusting mechanism, and a damper.

  By the way, it is preferable that the external force receiving members 4,. Specifically, a material having a low coefficient of friction or a material rich in wear resistance may be used, or the material surface may be mirror-finished. As a result, it is possible to reduce the change over time in the amount of displacement of the sheet material and maintain good detection accuracy of the sheet material information. In particular, when the material surface is mirror-finished, the influence of vibration on the detection signal can be reduced.

  In order to stabilize the contact state, the external force receiving material is pressed against the conveyed sheet material. Or it can also be set as the structure which gives the displacement of the direction which presses down a sheet | seat material with respect to an external force receiving material separately by a sheet | seat material displacement means.

(4-2) External force application means The external force application means 2 described above is
Even with an external force application member (see reference numeral 20 in FIG. 3) that applies an external force to the sheet material based on contact with the sheet material,
・ Even if it is configured to blow air or other gas,
good. The external force application member 20 is preferably driven by a drive source (see reference numeral 21 in FIG. 3). Examples of the external force used in the present invention include electromagnetism, heat, radiation, and mechanical force. As a drive source,
-The external force application member 20 is held above the sheet material P, and the member 20 can be appropriately dropped on the sheet material P,
A device that drives the external force application member 20 by mechanical or electromagnetic energy (for example, mechanical means such as a spring, electromagnetic means such as a solenoid or a voice coil),
Can be mentioned. Note that the drive source indicated by reference numeral 21 in FIG. 3 and the like utilizes the spring force of the spring 210.

For example, an impact force may be applied to the sheet material P by the external force application member 20 described above.
A method of causing the external force applying member 20 to collide with the sheet material P from a distant position,
A method of applying an impact force from the external force application member 20 to the sheet material P while the external force application member 20 is in contact with the sheet material P can be mentioned. That is, the external force application by the external force application member 20 is performed in a state where the member 20 is in contact with the sheet material P.
-Even when the external force application member 20 is brought into contact with the sheet material P only when an external force is applied,
-Even if the external force application member 20 is already in contact with the sheet material P before applying external force,
good. In the former case, and when the external force application means and the external force detection means are located opposite to each other via the sheet material, the distance between the application means and the external force detection means changes when the external force is applied (short). Will be). Further, when a force is applied to the sheet material by the external force application means, depending on the degree of the force, etc., the sheet material may be slightly deformed (can be indented, etc.), so the external force is applied to the edge of the sheet material. You may apply to.

  In addition, you may make it apply a vibration to the sheet | seat material P instead of an impact force by making the external force application member 20 of the vibrated state contact the sheet | seat material P. FIG.

By the way, the application of external force as described above is
・ Even if it is done while transporting the sheet material P,
-Even if the sheet material P that has been conveyed is stopped,
good. When an external force is applied to the sheet material P being conveyed, it is also easy to detect the surface state of the surface of the sheet material (external force application means side). When an external force is applied to the sheet material P in a stopped state, the external force detection means 2 can reduce a noise component accompanying the movement of the sheet material. Such a conveyance state is appropriately designed and controlled according to necessary information.

In addition, the external force includes a plurality of types such as electromagnetic force and heat force as described above.
・ Even if only one type of external force is used,
・ Even if multiple types of external force are used,
good. And when using one kind of external force,
・ Even if information of sheet material is acquired by applying external force only once,
・ Even if the information of the sheet material is acquired by applying external force multiple times,
good. When external force is applied multiple times (that is, when one type of external force is applied multiple times, or when multiple types of external force are applied at different timings), since multiple data are obtained, identification accuracy is also improved. Get higher. When the external force is applied a plurality of times in this way, it is preferable to apply the next external force after the vibration of the sheet material due to the applied external force is sufficiently damped or after a predetermined value or less.

(4-3) External force detection means On the other hand, the external force detection means 3 described above can be configured to include an inorganic material or an organic material having piezoelectric characteristics, for example, PZT (lead zirconate titanate), PLZT, BaTiO ₃ , PMN- An inorganic material such as PT (Pb (Mg1 / 3Nb2 / 3) O ₃ —PbTiO ₃ ) or an organic piezoelectric material may be used. When a piezoelectric element is used, the external force is detected as a voltage signal. The external force detection means here includes a case where the detection element itself is directly exposed or covered.

The position where the external force detecting means 3 is disposed may be anywhere as long as the external force can be detected. For example,
-Even if the external force detection means is provided at a position facing the external force application means 2 across the sheet material P,
-Even if an external force detection means is provided on the external force application means 2 side,
good. 1, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show the former example (that is, an example in which the external force detecting means 3 is disposed at a position facing the external force applying means 2 with the sheet material P interposed therebetween). Since the illustrated external force detecting means 3 supports the external force receiving members 4 and 14, the external force received by these members 4 and 14 is detected. In such an arrangement, the absorption of the sheet material with respect to the applied external force can be efficiently detected. Moreover, as the latter example (that is, an example in which an external force detecting means is provided on the external force applying means 2 side),
-An elastic member (not shown) such as a leaf spring is attached to the external force applying means to detect vibration or position change of the elastic member when the external force is applied,
・ External force application means itself equipped with external force detection means,
Can be mentioned. With such an arrangement, the repulsion of the sheet material against the applied external force can be detected efficiently. It should be noted that the external force detecting means may be arranged on both the side facing the external force applying means 2 across the sheet material P and the external force applying means 2 side. Further, when the external force detecting means is mounted on the external force applying means, a change (for example, resonance frequency, deformation, etc.) of the external force applying means itself may be detected when contacting the sheet material. Furthermore, it also includes detecting reverberation remaining after the external force applied is stopped, its attenuation characteristics, and the like.

  The external force detection means may be a one-dimensional array or a two-dimensional array. In the latter case, the external force detection means has a sensor unit having a length equal to or longer than the width of the sheet material (for example, recording medium). If so, the width of the sheet material can also be detected. Of course, the width of the recording medium can be detected by a plurality of sensor units.

(4-4) Sheet Material Information Acquisition Unit By the way, in order to automatically acquire “information on sheet material”, the sheet material information acquisition unit 5 may be used as described above. Then, the sheet material information acquisition means 5 extracts voltage, period, frequency component, differential value, integral value, attenuation, etc. as feature quantities from the waveform in the signal detected by the external force detection means 3. "Information about" should be output. Further, the sheet material information acquisition unit 5 compares these feature amounts with a table in which a sheet material signal is recorded in advance, and determines information such as a sheet material type, model number, state change, printing state, and multifeed. May be output as When the signal of the sheet material varies depending on the environmental conditions, the conveyance state, etc., it is preferable to prepare a plurality of tables corresponding to each and make a determination based on the tables. Furthermore, another means (for example, an input of an artificially set paper model number or a signal from a separately provided sensor) may be determined together with the sheet material.

  For example, signal processing such as subtracting an output signal when the sheet material is not conveyed may be performed on the detected signal. The processing circuit that performs the signal processing includes a first signal when the external force detection unit receives the external force when the sheet material is not sandwiched, and the external force when the sheet material is sandwiched. Signal processing can be performed using the second signal received by the sensor unit.

(4-5) Others Further, the sheet material P conveyed in the sheet material conveyance path is disposed upstream of the portion where the external force receiving members 4,... A sheet material displacing means (refer to reference numeral 7 on the lower side shown in FIG. 4) that displaces to an appropriate position (that is, controls the conveyance path of the sheet material) is disposed, so that the sheet material is stable to the external force receiving member You may make it contact.

The sheet material displacement means 7 is preferably provided with a sheet material sensor for detecting the state and position of the sheet material P (interaction between the sheet material displacement means and the sheet material). Here, "the state and position of the sheet material P (interaction between the sheet material displacement means and the sheet material)"
・ Contact condition between sheet material displacement means and sheet material,
・ The tip position of the sheet material,
・ The passing condition of the sheet material
・ The pressure applied to the sheet material displacement means from the sheet material,
・ Means deformation of sheet material. Examples of the sheet material sensor include a mechanical sensor and an optical sensor that detect contact and deformation, a pressure sensor that detects pressure, and an acceleration sensor that detects vibration. Such a sheet material sensor may be directly joined to the sheet material displacing means, or may be installed in the vicinity of the sheet material displacing means, and can be appropriately designed according to the sensor to be used.

  By feeding back the signal from the sheet material sensor, the amount of displacement of the sheet material displacing means can be optimized, and sheet information can be detected with higher accuracy. Further, by detecting the interaction between the sheet material displacing means and the sheet material (pressure from the sheet material, deformation of the sheet material, etc.), the sheet material can be used in combination with the signal by the external force application of the present invention. You can get more information.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 6, the sheet material processing apparatus according to the present invention processes the sheet material P in consideration of the sheet material information detection apparatus (see reference numeral B) and the detection result of the sheet material information detection apparatus. And a sheet material processing unit C to be performed.

Here, as the sheet material processing unit C,
・ Image forming part that forms images,
・ The scanner unit that reads images,
• Other devices can be listed. Examples of the sheet material processing apparatus include a copying machine, a printer, and a FAX.

  Reference numeral 12 denotes an external force applying means, but the structure shown in FIG.

  Further, a symbol D in FIG. 6 indicates a narrowed portion formed by expanding the sheet conveyance guide. The guide may have the function of the external force receiving member by forming such a narrowed portion.

  Then, based on the detection result of the sheet material information detection apparatus B, the CPU changes the print mode (for example, adjustment of image forming conditions, adjustment of conveyance conditions such as adjustment of pressing force to rollers used for conveyance, stop of printing, recording) It is preferable to stop the conveyance of the medium and generate a warning signal. Here, as the CPU, a CPU provided inside or outside the sheet material processing apparatus may be used. However, when a CPU provided inside is used, data from the outside is used. Transmission and reception of signals can be omitted.

  Next, the effect of this embodiment will be described.

  Even if the sheet material P is conveyed while fluttering in the sheet material conveying path A by the sheet material conveying means 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, when the external force is detected by the external force detecting means 3, the external force receiving member 4 is used. ,... Holds the sheet material P in an appropriate position, and the flutter is reduced. Therefore, the information detection accuracy is good and uniform.

  In this example, a paper type detection device (sheet material information detection device) having the structure shown in FIG. 3 was produced and mounted on an electrophotographic device (sheet material processing device).

  In this apparatus, a sheet material conveyance path A is formed by a pair of conveyance guides 10a and 10b, and a conveyance roller (sheet material conveyance means) 1a for conveying recording paper (sheet material) P is formed on the sheet material conveyance path A. , 1b, 1c, 1d. A cutout portion is provided in a part of one of the conveyance guides 10a, and the bracket 8 is disposed so as to cover the portion. The detection sensor (external force detection means) 3 and the external force receiving member 4 are illustrated in the bracket 8. It was attached as follows. The external force receiving member 4 has a substantially semi-cylindrical shape as shown in the figure, and a semi-cylindrical portion having a curvature radius of 1 mm (as indicated by reference numeral 14 in FIG. The shape of the semi-cylindrical portion was subjected to external force. Further, although the external force receiving member 4 shown in FIG. 3 is protruded into the conveying path, the protruding amount is 1/4 of the width of the conveying path A (the width at the portion where the external force receiving member is disposed). What kind of recording paper (paper or OHP sheet) is made to contact the external force receiving member.

The detection sensor 3 has a structure in which PZT (lead zirconate titanate), which is a piezoelectric body, is sandwiched between silver electrodes. The size of the piezoelectric body was 5 mm in length, 3 mm in width, and 0.3 mm in thickness. In addition, although a rubber material is used for the buffer material 9, the propagation of mechanical vibration from the transport guide 10 a to the detection sensor 3 is reduced by arranging the buffer material 9 between the transport guide 10 a and the detection sensor 3. And detection accuracy can be increased. By the way, in FIG. 3, the bracket 8 is fixed to the conveyance guide 10a, but of course it is not limited to this, and if appropriate rigidity and fixing accuracy can be obtained,
・ Attach to the bracket 211 on the conveyance guide 10b side,
-These brackets 8, 211 are integrated and attached to the conveyance guide 10b,
・ Attach it to parts other than the transport guides 10a, 10b (for example, a housing or a frame)
You may do it.

  On the other hand, an external force applying means 2 for applying an external force to the recording paper P is disposed at a position facing the external force receiving member 4. That is, a cut-out portion is provided in the right conveyance guide 10b, and the bracket 211 is disposed in this portion. A substantially cylindrical guide member 215 is attached to the bracket 211, and a rod 217 is disposed inside the guide member 215 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and pressed to the tip of the rod 218 (recording paper side tip). A member (external force applying member) 20 was attached. A rod-shaped stopper member 214 is provided on the rod 218, and a coil spring 210 is contracted between the stopper member 214 and the guide member 215. On the other hand, a motor 213 is attached to the bracket 211 described above, and a cam 212 is attached to the output shaft thereof so that the cam 212 can interfere with a protrusion 217 attached to the end of the rod 218. Reference numeral 216 denotes a pressure release hole for reducing damping caused by air in the guide member.

The pressing member 20 described above collides against the recording paper P at a predetermined speed by the coil spring 210 and the cam 212 and applies an external force. The magnitude of the external force at that time is, for example, if the pressing member 20 is in an unconstrained state,
The mass m of the pressing member 20 and the collision speed υ
Although it is determined by the interaction between the pressing member 20, the recording paper P, and the external force receiving material, as an example, if it is a normal paper sheet type determination, 0.1 gm / s. To 10 gm / s. A range of the degree is preferably used. In addition, the external force is applied by a plurality of, preferably different external force values, for each signal output. By doing so, the information on the recording paper can be detected with higher accuracy.

In this embodiment, the cam 212 is of a two-stage type with different steps, and two different external forces can be applied by one rotation by the motor 213. That means
The larger cam 212 interferes with the protrusion 217 to move the pressing member 20 to the right, and the pressing member 20 is applied to the recording paper P by the spring force of the coil spring 210 at the moment when the locking of the cam 212 is released. The smaller cam 212 interferes with the protrusion 217 and moves the pressing member 20 to the right, and the pressing member 20 is moved to the recording paper by the spring force of the coil spring 210 at the moment when the locking of the cam 212 is released. Collide with P. In this case, since the contraction distance of the coil spring 210 is different between the larger cam 212 and the smaller cam 212, the external force applied to the recording paper P is different.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

Now, when the recording paper P is transported by the transport rollers 1c and 1d to the place where the external force receiving member 4 is disposed, the recording paper P slides on the surface of the external force receiving member 4, but the pressing member 20 Moves toward the recording paper P and applies an external force to the paper. The external force at that time is transmitted to the detection sensor 3 via the external force receiving member 4, and a signal as shown in FIG. 5 is output. This signal is obtained when plain paper (Fuji Xerox ST (GAAA 1896)) is detected.
The peak voltage value, the interval between peaks, the attenuation between peaks, and the frequency analysis of this waveform can extract information such as surface irregularities, friction, and thickness distribution of the recording paper P. In addition, before and after the external force is applied in this manner, the recording paper P slides on the surface of the external force receiving member 4, and the detection sensor 3 detects a signal accompanying the sliding, so the signal at that time is displayed. It can also be used for sheet material discrimination.

  Note that it is also possible to read the signal of the detection sensor 3 in a state where the recording paper P is not conveyed, and perform paper type detection in consideration of the signal in the initial state.

  Next, the effect of the present embodiment will be described.

  The recording paper P is transported while being deformed due to various factors (stress from the roller, curve of the transport path, buffering with the transport guide, environmental change such as heat) in the transport path. The external force detection is performed in a state where the recording paper P is in contact with the external force receiving member 4. Therefore, deformation and fluttering of the recording paper P during the conveyance can be reduced, and detection accuracy can be made good and uniform.

  In this example, a paper type detection device (sheet material information detection device) having the structure shown in FIG. 4 was produced and mounted on an electrophotographic device (sheet material processing device). That is, a resin roller (sheet material) is placed on the side of the conveyance guide 10b so as to face the ends (the upstream end and the downstream end in the sheet conveyance direction) of the external force receiving member 4 with the recording sheet P interposed therebetween. Displacement means) 7 and 7 are arranged. As a result, the recording paper P must pass through the narrow width portion between the external force receiving member 4 and the resin roller 7, and the recording paper P comes into contact with the external force receiving member 4. These resin rollers 7 and 7 are configured so as to rotate when the recording paper P has been conveyed and come into contact with the recording paper P so as not to hinder the conveyance of the paper P. The resin rollers 7 are provided with a moving mechanism (not shown) that moves backward from the recording paper P while it is not necessary to apply external force. Other configurations were the same as those in Example 1.

  Thus, the detection accuracy could be improved by further stabilizing the contact direction (angle) of the recording paper P with respect to the pressing member 20 and the external force receiving member 4 as compared with the first embodiment.

Sectional drawing which shows an example of the structure of the sheet material information detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. The flowchart figure for demonstrating the effect | action of the sheet material information detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. Sectional drawing which shows an example of the structure of the sheet material information detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. Sectional drawing which shows an example of the structure of the sheet material information detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. The wave form diagram which shows an example of the detection signal of an external force detection means. The schematic diagram which shows an example of the structure of the sheet material processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. Sectional drawing which shows an example of the structure of the sheet material information detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. The external appearance perspective view which shows an example of the structure of an external force receiving member. Sectional drawing which shows an example of the structure of the sheet material information detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. Sectional drawing which shows an example of the structure of the sheet material information detection apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1a, 1b, 1c, 1d Conveying roller (sheet material conveying means)
2 External force application means 3 External force detection means 4 External force receiving member 5 Sheet material information acquisition means 7 Resin roller (sheet material displacement means)
9 Buffer material 12 External force applying means 14 External force receiving member 20 Pressing member (external force applying member)
24 External force receiving member 34 External force receiving member 35 Interval holding mechanism A Sheet material conveyance path B Paper type detection device (sheet material information detection device)
C Sheet material processing section P Recording paper (sheet material)

Claims (11)

Sheet material conveying means for conveying the sheet material along the sheet material conveying path, external force applying means for applying external force to the conveyed sheet material, and external force applied by the external force applying means from the back side of the sheet material A sheet material information detection apparatus comprising an external force receiving member for receiving and an external force detection means for detecting an external force applied by the external force application means, and acquiring information on the sheet material based on a detection result of the external force detection means. There,
The surface in contact with the sheet material in the external force receiving member is configured by a curved surface such that the gap between the external force applying means is wide on the upstream side in the sheet material conveyance direction and narrows toward the downstream side in the sheet material conveyance direction. Being
A sheet material information detection apparatus characterized by that. A radius of curvature of the curved surface is in a range of 0.5 mm to 100 mm;
The sheet material information detection apparatus according to claim 1. Sheet material information acquisition means for acquiring sheet material information based on the detection result of the external force detection means;
The sheet material information detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material information detection apparatus is provided. Providing a sheet material displacement means for controlling a conveyance path of the sheet material, and bringing the sheet material into contact with the external force receiving member;
The sheet material information detection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sheet material information detection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is provided. The external force receiving member is provided in the sheet material conveyance path,
The sheet material information detection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sheet material information detection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is provided. The external force receiving member protrudes in the sheet material conveyance path so as to contact the sheet material,
The sheet material information detection apparatus according to claim 5. The amount of protrusion of the external force receiving member into the sheet material conveyance path is 1/10 or more and 1/2 or less of the width of the conveyance path.
The sheet material information detection apparatus according to claim 6. The external force detection means supports the external force receiving member and detects an external force received by the external force receiving member;
The sheet material information detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material information detection apparatus is a sheet material information detection apparatus. The external force detection means is attached to the external force application means side and detects external force via the external force application means;
The sheet material information detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material information detection apparatus is a sheet material information detection apparatus. Provided with an interval holding mechanism for holding an interval between the external force receiving material and the sheet material,
The sheet material information detection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the sheet material information detection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is provided. A sheet material information detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, and a sheet material processing unit that performs processing of the sheet material in consideration of a detection result of the sheet material information detection device. A sheet material processing apparatus.

Images