JP2006151632A - Paper sheet accumulation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper sheet accumulation device, capable of quickly accumulating a plurality of long slips being continuously fed to an accumulation part. <P>SOLUTION: This device is provided with the accumulation part to accumulate the long slips being fed, a carrying belt to get in contact with the upper surface side of the log slips being fed to the accumulation part to carry them toward the feed direction depth side, a fan 65 to provide negative pressure to the long slips being carried by the carrying belt to be sucked by the carrying belt, and a shutter mechanism 88 to shield between the long slips sucked by the carrying belt and the fan 65 to release the negative pressure from the long slips. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper sheet stacking apparatus used in, for example, an optical character reader or an optical image reader.

  The optical character reader includes a hopper for loading paper sheets, and the paper sheets are taken out one by one from the hopper and conveyed to a reading unit in the apparatus main body. Then, after the reading information of the paper sheets is read by the reading unit, the paper sheets are conveyed to the stacking unit and stacked.

  By the way, this optical character reader may read information on a credit form or the like (paper sheets). The credit form is a base application with an attached material such as a copy of ID. Therefore, a credit form having a length exceeding a certain length may be folded and stored.

  When reading a so-called long form with a number of attached materials such as ID copies, the description items fed from the hopper are read with the entire form stretched. Then, the long form from which the description items are read is accumulated in a long dedicated accumulation unit different from the normal size form.

In the long dedicated stacking unit, the long form that is fed is sucked onto the belt by creating negative pressure with a fan. Then, the fan is stopped or reversely rotated to release the negative pressure, and the long form adsorbed on the belt is dropped onto the stacking unit (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-269115 A

  However, in the conventional paper sheet stacking apparatus, even if a stop or reverse rotation command is given to the fan, there is a time lag until the fan actually stops or reversely rotates, and the fed long form starts dropping. It took quite a while. Therefore, there has been a problem that when a plurality of long forms are successively carried in, the form accumulation process is delayed.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet stacking apparatus capable of quickly stacking a plurality of long forms fed continuously in a stacking unit. Is to provide.

  In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the paper sheet stacking apparatus of the present invention is configured as follows.

(1) A stacking unit that stacks the fed paper sheets, a transport unit that contacts the upper surface side of the paper sheets fed into the stacking unit and transports the paper sheets toward the back side in the transport direction, and the transport A negative pressure applying means for applying a negative pressure to the paper sheet conveyed by the means and adsorbing the negative pressure to the conveying means; and a block between the paper sheet adsorbed by the conveying means and the negative pressure applying means. Shutter means for releasing the negative pressure on the paper sheet.

(2) In the paper sheet stacking apparatus described in (1), after the negative pressure on the paper sheet is released by the shutter unit, the paper sheet is peeled off from the transport unit and forced to the stacking unit. The paper sheet to be dropped is further provided with means for peeling.

(3) In the paper sheet stacking apparatus described in (2), after the paper sheets are dropped on the stacking unit by the paper sheet peeling means, A holding means for holding the end portion is further provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to quickly accumulate a plurality of long forms fed continuously in the accumulation unit.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, the configuration of the paper sheet processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an internal configuration of a paper sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a reading apparatus 1 according to the embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this paper sheet processing apparatus is constituted by an optical reading device 1 and a sorter device 2, and the reading device 1 has a device main body 3, and one side of the device main body 3. A hopper table 4 is provided on the upper side. On the hopper table 4, various forms of credit forms 6 are placed in a standing state. This form 6 is placed in an inclined state so that its upper end side is inclined rearward.

  On the hopper table 4, a guide body 5 that supports the form 6 is provided so as to be slidable along the delivery direction of the form 6. A first feeder section 7 for sending the form 6 into the apparatus main body 3 is provided on the sending side of the form 6 of the hopper table 4.

  The first feeder unit 7 includes a pickup roller 8, a delivery roller 9, and a separation roller 10, and constitutes a first paper feeding unit 11 together with the hopper table 4. The hopper table 4 is provided with a detection switch 60 for determining the presence or absence of the form 6.

  A main transport path 12 for transporting the form 6 sent out from the first feeder section 7 is provided on the upper side in the apparatus main body 3. In the main conveyance path 12, a large number of conveyance roller pairs 13 and detection sensors 14 are arranged in the conveyance direction of the form 6.

  In addition, a manual sheet feeding unit 17 for manually feeding forms that cannot be continuously fed is provided on the upper surface of the apparatus body 3. The manual paper feed unit 17 includes an inclined hopper 21 on which the manually fed form 6 is placed and a guide path 18 that guides the placed form 6 toward the main transport path 12. The inclined hopper 21 is provided with a detection switch 20 for determining the presence or absence of the form 6 to be manually fed. A paper feed roller pair 19 is provided in the guide path 18.

  A reading unit 22 that optically reads information recorded in the form 6 is provided on the downstream side in the form conveyance direction of the junction between the guide path 18 and the main conveyance path 12. The reading unit 22 is reflected by a pair of illumination lamps 23 and 24 that irradiate the form 6 with light, and first and second reflection mirrors 26 and 27 that guide light reflected from the form 6 in a predetermined direction. It is constituted by a light receiving sensor 28 that receives light and reads information. A numbering 29 for recording a number on the form 6 is provided on the downstream side of the reading unit 22 in the form conveyance direction.

  The terminal end side of the main transport path 12 in the form transport direction is bent approximately 90 degrees downward along the inner surface of the apparatus body 3 and connected to the transport path 31 of the sorter apparatus 2.

  The first and second branch conveyance paths 33 and 34 are connected to a portion bent about 90 degrees below the main conveyance path 12, and the form 6 is connected to the first and second branches in the vicinity of the connection portion. First and second branch gates 36 and 37 for selectively guiding the transport paths 33 and 34 are provided.

  The first branch transport path 33 is provided horizontally along the main transport path 12, and a plurality of transport roller pairs 40 and detection sensors 41 are provided in the first branch transport path 33 in the transport direction of the form 6. It is arranged. A stacking device 43 for stacking, for example, A3 size forms is provided below the first branch conveyance path 33. The stacking device 43 includes a plurality of stacking units 43 a to 43 c that are arranged along the first branch transport path 33 at a predetermined interval.

  The first branch conveyance path 33 and the plurality of stacking units 43a to 43c are connected to each other through guide paths 44a to 44c, respectively. Branch gates 45a and 45b are provided in the vicinity of the connecting portion between the first branch conveyance path 33 and the guide paths 44a and 44b, and the forms 6 are selectively stacked by the rotation of the branch gates 45a and 45b. It is designed to be collected by the guide.

  The second branch conveyance path 34 extends obliquely downward, and is connected to the long stacking device 51. A plurality of transport roller pairs 47 and detection sensors 48 are arranged in the second branch transport path 34 in the transport direction of the form 6. The long stacking device 51 is provided horizontally on the lower side of the stacking units 43a to 43c. The stacking device 51 is an important point of the present invention, and will be described in detail later.

  On the other hand, the sorter device 2 is provided adjacent to the other side surface of the reading device 1. The sorter device 2 includes a plurality of trays 53 arranged in the vertical direction, and for example, A4 size forms 6 are sorted and stored in these trays 53. As described above, the sorter device 2 has the transport path 31 connected to the end portion of the main transport path 12 of the reading apparatus 1, and the transport path 31 is constituted by the horizontal transport path 31a and the vertical transport path 31b. . In the horizontal conveyance path 31a and the vertical conveyance path 31b, a plurality of conveyance roller pairs 55 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the conveyance direction of the form 6. The vertical conveyance path 31b and the plurality of stages of trays 53 are connected via a plurality of branch guide paths 57.

  Next, the processing operation of the form 6 by the paper sheet processing apparatus having the above configuration will be described.

  First, a large number of forms 6 are placed on the hopper table 4 in a standing state, and the first feeder unit 7 is operated. As a result, the pickup roller 8, the delivery roller 9, and the separation roller 10 are rotated, and the forms 6 are separated one by one and sent out to the main conveyance path 12. The form 6 is nipped and conveyed along the main conveyance path 12 by the rotation of the conveyance roller pairs 13. Then, the size of the form 6 is detected by the detection sensor 14 during the conveyance, and after this detection, the information is optically read by the reading unit 22. After this reading, the form 6 is further conveyed and sent to the numbering 29 where the number is recorded.

  When the size of the form 6 on which the number is recorded is, for example, an A4 size, it is transported along the main transport path 12 and then sent to the transport path 31 of the sorter apparatus 2. The form 6 sent to the transport path 31 is transported along the horizontal transport path 31a, then transported upward along the vertical transport path 31b, and a plurality of trays 53 through a plurality of branch guide paths 57. … Is divided and collected on the top.

  Further, when the size of the form 6 is, for example, A3 size, it is sent to the first branch transport path 33 by the operation of the first branch gate 36 without being sent to the sorter device 2, and each of the stackers 43. Accumulated in the accumulators 43a to 43c.

  Furthermore, when the size of the form 6 is long, it is sent to the second branch conveyance path 34 by the operation of the second branch gate 37 and is stacked on the long stacking device 51. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the long form 6 is a result of attaching an attached material 101 such as a copy of an identification card to a paper sheet 100 such as a credit application form. The length in the direction exceeds the length of the A3 size paper. Hereinafter, this long form 6 will be referred to as a long form 6a.

  Next, the configuration of the long stacking device 51 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the long stacking device 51 according to the embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the long stacking device 51 includes a stacking unit 61, and transport mechanisms 62 a and 62 b are disposed in the upper surface opening of the stacking unit 61. The transport mechanisms 62a and 62b are configured by a transport belt 64 (transport means) being spanned between a plurality of rollers 63. The two conveyor belts 64 are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval with respect to the width direction.

  4 is an enlarged view showing the configuration of the transport mechanisms 62a and 62b according to the embodiment, FIG. 5 is a bottom view showing the configuration of the transport mechanisms 62a and 62b according to the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the fan 65 according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the configuration of the transport mechanisms 62a and 62b.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, each of the transport mechanisms 62 a and 62 b includes six fans 65 (negative pressure applying means) for applying a negative pressure to the long form 6 a and a shutter for blocking the wind of the fans 65. A mechanism 88 (shutter means) and a tapping mechanism 87 (paper sheet peeling means) for forcibly dropping the long form 6a adsorbed and held on the transport belt 64 are provided.

  Six fans 65 are arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals in the conveyance direction, three for each conveyance belt 64. When the fan 65 is rotated, a negative pressure is generated at the lower side thereof, so that the long form 6a can be sucked and held on the lower surface of the transport belt 64. These fans 65 are selectively used according to the required negative pressure level.

  In this embodiment, the conveyor belt 64 is arranged so as to cover the center of the fan 65. However, since the propeller of the fan 65 is sufficiently larger than the width of the conveyor belt 64, the lower side of the conveyor belt 64 A desired negative pressure can be generated in the portion.

  The shutter mechanism 88 is disposed between the lower surface of the fan 65 and the conveyor belt 64, and a gap is formed between the lower surface of the fan 65 and the conveyor belt 64. The plane size of the shutter mechanism 88 is determined so as to completely cover all the fans 65.

  The knock-down mechanism 87 is disposed between the two transport belts 64 along the transport direction, and the lower surface portion thereof is exposed from the rectangular openings 86 formed in the plates 88 a and 88 b of the shutter mechanism 88. ing.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the shutter mechanism 88 and the knocking mechanism 87 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the configuration of the shutter mechanism 88 according to the embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a side view showing the configuration of the shutter mechanism 88 according to the embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the shutter mechanism 88 includes two plates 88a and 88b having air holes 89a and 89b through which the air of the fan 65 passes. Of these plates 88a and 88b, one plate 88b is connected to a solenoid actuator 90. By sliding one plate 88b in the direction of the arrow by this solenoid actuator 90, the passage of the wind can be blocked. It has become. Thus, when the shutter mechanism 88 is operated, the suction holding by the fan 65 of the long form 6a is released.

  FIG. 10 is a front view showing the configuration of the knocking mechanism 87 according to the embodiment, and FIG. 11 is a side view showing the configuration of the knocking mechanism 87 according to the embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the knocking mechanism 87 includes four connecting members 92 formed in a strip shape (only two are shown) and one peeling formed in a U-shaped cross section. It is comprised from the member 93. FIG. One end of each connecting member 92 is rotatably connected to a mounting member 91 in the reading apparatus 1, and four corners of the peeling member 93 are rotatably supported on the other end of each connecting member 92.

  A motor 95 is provided on the attachment member 91 via a bracket 94. The drive shaft 95a of the motor 95 is fixed to one connecting member 92, and by driving the motor 95, the knocking mechanism 87 can be moved as indicated by an arrow.

  As a result, the peeling member 93 of the knocking mechanism 87 is normally stored on the upper side of the stacking unit 61, and the peeling member 93 of the knocking mechanism 87 is protruded downward from the conveyor belt 64 as necessary. The length form 6a can be forcibly dropped onto the stacking unit 61.

  A dotted line A in FIG. 10 shows a state in which the knocking-down mechanism 87 is stored on the upper side of the stacking unit 61, and a dotted line B shows a state in which the knocking-down mechanism 87 protrudes below the conveying belt 64. Yes.

  On the carry-out side of the transport mechanism 62b, a guide guide 67 that guides the leading end side of the long form 6a obliquely downward and a holding part that presses and holds the leading end of the long form 6a that is guided along the guide guide 67. A member 69 (holding means) is provided.

  In addition, an inlet sensor 70 that detects the fed long form 6a is provided on the entrance side of the stacking unit 61, and a back side sensor that detects the tip of the long form 6a on the back side of the stacking unit 61. 71 is provided.

  FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a drive mechanism of the holding member 69.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the holding member 69 has a plurality of holding arms 72 arranged in the width direction of the long form 6 a. These holding arms 72 are formed of a high friction material and are attached to a shaft 73. An arm drive motor 75 is connected to one end of the shaft 73. A detection plate 77 is attached to the shaft 73, and the detection plate 77 is detected by an arm position detection sensor 78 provided in the vicinity of the shaft 73.

  The holding arm 72 is rotated 90 degrees in the forward and reverse directions by driving of the arm drive motor 75 to be in a horizontal state or a standing state, and by pressing the tip of the long form 6a, the holding arm 72 is in a standing state. As a result, the pressing and holding of the tip of the long form 6a is released.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a drive control system for the transport belt 64, the fan 65, the shutter mechanism 88, the knocking mechanism 87, and the holding arm 72 according to the embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the inlet sensor 70, the back sensor 71, and the arm position detection sensor 78 of the stacking unit 61 are connected to the control device 81 via a signal transmission circuit. A belt drive motor 82, an arm drive motor 75, a shutter drive motor 84, a knocking drive motor 85, and a fan drive motor 83 are connected to the control device 81 via a control circuit.

  When the form detection signal from the entrance sensor 70 is transmitted to the control device 81, the belt driving motor 82 is driven and the transport belt 64 travels so as to transport the long form 6a toward the back side of the stacking unit 61. At the same time, the fan drive motor 83 is driven to rotate the fan 65.

  Further, when a form detection signal is transmitted from the back sensor 71 to the control device 81, the shutter drive motor 84 is driven to release the negative pressure from the long form 6a and the tapping drive motor 85 is driven. Then, the form is dropped by the operation of the knocking mechanism 87. Immediately after this, the arm drive motor 75 is driven, and the back end of the long form 6 a is pressed and held on the bottom surface of the stacking unit 61 by the rotation of the holding member 69.

  Next, a stacking operation of the long form 6a by the stacking apparatus 51 having the above-described configuration will be described.

  After the long form 6a is transported along the main transport path 12, it is transported along the second branch transport path 34 and sent to the long stacking unit 61. The long form 6a is detected by the entrance sensor 70, and on the basis of this detection, the conveyor belt 64 is driven and the fan 65 is rotated. As a result, wind is blown upward in the stacking unit 61 as indicated by an arrow, and the long form 6 a is sucked upward by the negative pressure generated on the lower side of the fan 65, so that the lower surface portion of the transport belt 64. To be adsorbed. The long form 6 a is transported toward the back side of the stacking unit 61 by the travel of the transport belt 64. When the leading end of the long form 6a reaches the back side of the stacking unit 61, the air holes 89a and 89b of the plates 88a and 88b are closed by the shutter mechanism 88, and the suction holding by the fan 65 is stopped. Then, the long form 6 a is peeled off from the conveying belt 64 by the knocking mechanism 87 and is forcibly dropped and collected in the stacking unit 61. When the long form 6a starts dropping, the holding arm 72 and the knocking mechanism 87 are immediately retracted upward, and the shutter mechanism 88 is opened to start the accumulation of the next long form 6a.

  That is, according to the paper sheet stacking apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the long form 6a is stacked, the shutter mechanism 88 is operated to release the negative pressure applied to the long form 6a. For this reason, it is not necessary to stop or reversely rotate the fan 65 each time the long form 6a is sent in, so that it is possible to reduce the time required for the accumulation operation of the long forms 6a. Thereby, even when a plurality of long forms 6a are continuously carried in, it is possible to smoothly perform the stacking operation.

  Moreover, when the shutter mechanism 88 is operated, the negative pressure is instantaneously released and the long form 6a starts to fall. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time from when the stacking device 51 accepts the long form 6a until it can accept the next long form 6a. Thereby, even when a plurality of long forms 6a are continuously carried in, it is possible to smoothly perform the stacking operation.

  Further, the long form 6 a sent to the stacking device 51 is knocked down and forcibly dropped and stacked on the stacking unit 61 by the mechanism 87. For this reason, since the long forms 6a that are continuously carried in can be reliably collected one by one, the accumulation order of the long forms 6a is not shifted and jamming does not occur. It becomes.

  In addition, even if the long form 6a is attracted to the transport belt 64 by static electricity, it can be reliably peeled off from the transport belt 64 by operating the knocking mechanism 87. This also enables good and stable accumulation. Thus, the integration time can be further shortened.

  Further, the rear end portion of the long form 6 a dropped on the stacking unit 61 is held by the holding member 69. As a result, since the rear end of the long form 6a is aligned, a plurality of long forms 6a can be neatly stacked and accumulated.

  In the present embodiment, the credit form 6 is used as an accumulation target. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if it is relatively long in the transport direction, it may be a medical receipt or the like. There may be.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the spirit of the invention in the stage of implementation. Further, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component covering different embodiment.

Schematic which shows the internal structure of the paper sheet processing apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the reader which concerns on the same embodiment. Schematic which shows the structure of the integration device for elongate which concerns on the embodiment. The enlarged view which shows the structure of the conveyance mechanism which concerns on the same embodiment. The bottom view which shows the structure of the conveyance mechanism which concerns on the same embodiment. The side view which shows the structure of the conveyance mechanism which concerns on the same embodiment. The perspective view which shows the structure of the fan which concerns on the same embodiment. The top view which shows the structure of the shutter mechanism which concerns on the same embodiment. The side view which shows the structure of the shutter mechanism which concerns on the same embodiment. The front view which shows the structure of the knocking-down mechanism which concerns on the same embodiment. The side view which shows the structure of the knocking-down mechanism which concerns on the same embodiment. The perspective view which shows the drive mechanism of the holding member which concerns on the same embodiment. The block diagram which shows the drive control system of the conveyance belt, fan, shutter mechanism, knocking-down mechanism, and holding arm concerning the embodiment. The top view of the elongate form which concerns on the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  6a ... long form (paper sheets), 61 ... stacking unit, 64 ... conveyor belt (conveying means), 65 ... fan (negative pressure applying means), 69 ... holding member (holding means), 87 ... tapping mechanism ( Paper sheet peeling means), 88... Shutter mechanism (shutter means).

Claims (3)

An accumulating unit for accumulating incoming paper sheets;
Conveying means for contacting the upper surface side of the sheets fed into the stacking unit and conveying the sheet toward the back side in the feeding direction;
A negative pressure applying means for applying a negative pressure to the paper sheet conveyed by the conveying means and adsorbing it to the conveying means;
Shutter means for releasing the negative pressure on the paper sheets by blocking between the paper sheets adsorbed by the conveying means and the negative pressure applying means;
A paper sheet stacking apparatus comprising:   And further comprising paper sheet peeling means for peeling the paper sheets from the conveying means and forcibly dropping them onto the stacking unit after releasing the negative pressure on the paper sheets by the shutter means. The paper sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1.   The paper sheet further includes holding means for holding an end portion of the paper sheet in the feeding direction after the paper sheet is dropped onto the stacking unit by the paper sheet peeling means. Item 3. A paper sheet stacking apparatus according to Item 2.

Images