JP2006282323A - Stacker device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stacker device capable of preventing a stacking failure by horizontally holding the top surface of the paper sheets stacked on a stack table even in the case of stacking a paper sheet formed with steps in the surface thereof such as a RFID paper sheet. <P>SOLUTION: This stacker device has the stack table13 to be loaded with the RFID paper sheets 70 having an IC chip and an antenna, a driving section 14 for moving the stack table upward and downward, and a paper sheet detecting sensor 15 for detecting the top surface of the RFID paper sheets 70 stacked on the stack table 13. The stack table is lowered on the basis of a detecting signal output from the paper sheet detecting sensor 15. The stack table 13 to be loaded with the RFID paper sheets 70 is structured to be tilted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a stacker apparatus for stacking sheets discharged from an external device, and more particularly to a stacker apparatus for stacking sheets discharged on a stack table that can move up and down.

  In a stacker that stacks paper discharged from a printer as an external device in order on a stack table that can be moved up and down, keep the fall distance of the paper from the paper carry-out port within a certain range. In order to stack in order, the stack table is lowered according to the load.

  The stack table lowering control according to the stacking amount is performed by using a paper detection sensor that detects the uppermost surface of the paper stacked on the stack table. The paper closes the paper detection sensor, and the top of the stacked paper is detected. When the upper surface is detected, the stack table is lowered, the paper detection sensor is released from the paper, and when the uppermost surface of the stacked paper is no longer detected, the lowering of the stack table is stopped. Thereby, the fall distance of the sheet from the sheet discharge port is kept within a certain range, and the sheets can be stacked in order (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

By the way, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, an RFID sheet having an inlet 75 in which an IC chip 72 and an antenna 73 are formed on a support film 74 on an upper layer of a support substrate 71 and a print substrate 76 on an upper layer of the inlet 75. 70 is known.
In addition, a printer that prints on the surface of such an RFID sheet and writes information on an IC chip in a non-contact manner is known (for example, see Patent Document 2).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-6344 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-2026

However, in the RFID paper 70, the thickness of the IC chip 72 is thicker than other layers, and a step S occurs between the surface without the IC chip and the surface with the IC chip (see FIG. 8B). When loaded on the stack table of the stacker device, the uppermost surface of the RFID sheet 70 is inclined. That is, even if the stack table is lowered by a certain distance, the fall distance from the paper discharge port to the uppermost surface of the RFID paper 70 differs depending on the dropping point, so that the RFID paper 70 newly ejected from the printer hits the uppermost surface. If contact is made, the balance is lost, and there is a risk of causing a stack failure such as the RFID paper 70 being inverted or tilted.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and the object of the present invention is to keep the uppermost surface of the paper stacked on the stack table horizontal, even if the paper has a step on the surface, and to stack the paper. An object of the present invention is to provide a stacker device capable of preventing defects.

The stacker device according to the present invention has a stack table on which sheets having a step on the surface are stacked, and the stack table can be tilted.
Further, based on a drive unit that moves the stack table up and down, a sheet detection sensor that detects the uppermost surface of the sheet stacked on the stack table, and a detection signal output from the sheet detection sensor. And a control unit for lowering the stack table by a predetermined distance, and sheets can be sequentially stacked above the stack table.
The stack table has a stacking plate for stacking the sheets and a holding plate for holding both ends of the stacking plate. The holding plate has a tilting shaft, a long hole, and a fixing member provided in the long hole. And
The stack table can also be tilted along the fixed member with the tilt axis as the center.
The paper may be an RFID paper having an IC chip and an antenna.

When stacking paper with a step on the surface, the top surface of the paper can be kept horizontal by tilting the stack table according to the paper step, and the paper fall distance can be kept constant. It is possible to prevent stack defects such as inversion or slanting.
In addition, in a stacker device that stacks sequentially above the stack table, the stack table can be tilted according to the level difference of the sheets, so that the uppermost surface of the sheets stacked on the stack table can be leveled, and stack defects are prevented. Can be prevented.
In particular, when RFID sheets having a step due to the thickness of the IC chip are stacked, the uppermost surface of the RFID sheets stacked on the stack table can be leveled, and stack defects can be prevented.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a stacker device according to the present invention and a printer as an external device, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of the stacker device shown in FIG. In addition, the same structure as the structure mentioned above attaches | subjects the same code | symbol, and abbreviate | omits the description.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the stacker device 1 according to the present embodiment is placed on the upper surface of the printer stand 3 together with the printer device 2 that prints on a long band-like RFID sheet 70 and carries it out from the front surface. The RFID paper 70 discharged from the front side is cut to a predetermined length, and the RFID papers 70 are stacked in the discharge order. Reference numeral 4 shown in FIG. 1 denotes a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel provided in the printer apparatus 2.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the stacker apparatus 1 includes a cutter 11 that cuts an RFID sheet 70 discharged mainly from the front surface of the printer apparatus 2 to a predetermined length, a pair of discharge rollers 12 that discharge the RFID sheet 70, and an RFID A stack table 13 for stacking sheets 70, a drive unit 14 for driving the stack table 13 in the vertical direction, a sheet detection sensor 15 for detecting the uppermost surface of the RFID sheets 70 stacked on the stack table 13, and a full stack state The table detection sensor 6 for detecting the stack table 13, the cartridge 16 for collecting the RFID paper 70 loaded on the stack table 13, and the control unit 17 are provided.

  The cutter 11 has a fixed blade and a movable blade that is driven in the direction of the fixed blade by a cutter driving motor (not shown), and cuts the long strip-like RFID paper 70 into a predetermined length.

The pair of discharge rollers 12 sandwich and convey the RFID paper 70 cut by the cutter 11 and discharge the RFID paper 70 from the paper discharge port 10 to the stack table 13 side.

As shown in the enlarged perspective view of the stack table in FIG. 3, the stack table 13 includes a stacking plate 21 on which the RFID sheets 70 are stacked, and holding plates 22 that hold both side ends of the stacking plate 21. It is attached to 20 via an attachment portion 23.
The holding plate 22 has a mounting shaft 23, a tilting shaft 26 that fixes the holding plate 22, a long hole 24, and a rod-like shape provided from the long hole 24 of one holding plate 22 to the long hole 24 of the other holding plate 22. The fixing member 27 is provided. The fixing member 27 can fix and release the holding plate 22 with respect to the mounting portion 23, and can tilt the stack table 13 along the long hole 24 by releasing the fixing.
The attachment portion 23 is provided with a hole for fixing the fixing member 27, one side is attached to the stack table 13, and the other side is fixed to the timing belt 20.

  In FIG. 2, the drive unit 14 includes a drive pulley 18 connected to a table drive motor (not shown), a driven pulley 19, and a timing belt 20 spanned between the drive pulley 18 and the driven pulley 19. The stack table 13 is attached via the attachment portion 23. The driving pulley 18 and the timing belt 20 are driven by the driving of the table driving motor so that the stack table 13 can be moved up and down.

  For example, a reflection type optical sensor in which a light emitting element and a light receiving element are combined is used as the paper detection sensor 15, and when the uppermost surface of the RFID paper 70 loaded on the stack table 13 blocks the paper detection sensor 15, a detection signal is detected. Is output.

As the table detection sensor 6, for example, a reflection type optical sensor in which a light emitting element and a light receiving element are combined is used, and a detection signal is output when the stack table 13 closes the table detection sensor 6. The table detection sensor 6 is provided at a position where the stack table 13 can be detected when the RFID sheet 70 having the maximum stacking capacity is stacked on the stack table 13, and the detection signal of the table detection sensor 6 is detected. It can be recognized from the output that the RFID sheet 70 is in a full stack state.

As shown in the schematic perspective view of the cartridge 16 and the stack table 13 in FIG. 4, the cartridge 16 mainly includes a bottom plate 30 on which the RFID paper 70 is placed, and a front plate 31 and a side plate in the vertical direction from the edge of the bottom plate 30, respectively. 32, 32 and rear plates 34, 34 are provided.
The bottom plate 30 is cut out in a shape that does not restrict the vertical movement of the stack table 13, and is loaded on the stack table 13 when the stack table 13 loaded with the RFID paper 70 passes from above to below the bottom plate 30. The RFID paper 70 can be placed on the bottom plate 30. The front plate 31 has an inclined gripping portion 35 that regulates the downstream side (front side) in the conveyance direction of the RFID paper 70 to be loaded and serves as a handle when the cartridge 16 is inclined to the front side.
The side plates 32, 32 have a collection grip portion 36 that regulates the right and left direction (left and right side surfaces) orthogonal to the transport direction of the RFID paper 70 to be stacked and serves as a handle when lifting and collecting the cartridge 16.
The rear plates 34, 34 regulate a part on the upstream side (rear surface side) in the transport direction of the RFID paper 70 to be loaded.

The control unit 17 drives a cutter driving motor (not shown) based on the timing signal from the printer device 2, and cuts the long strip-shaped RFID paper 70 carried out from the front surface of the printer device 2 by the cutter 11 into a predetermined length. At the same time, a table driving motor (not shown) is driven based on the detection signal input from the paper detection sensor 15 to lower the stack table 13 by a certain amount, and the RFID paper 70 is loaded. In addition, based on the detection signal input from the table detection sensor 6, the display unit 4 is displayed as being in a full stack state.

Next, a method for collecting the loaded RFID paper 70 will be described based on a schematic side view of the collection mechanism of the cartridge 16 shown in FIG.

The collection mechanism 40 has a cartridge mounting table 41 on which the cartridge 16 is placed and a cartridge receiving table 42 that contacts the front plate 31 side of the cartridge 16 and is integrally formed.
The cartridge mounting table 41 is notched in the same shape as the bottom plate 30 of the cartridge 16 so as not to restrict the vertical movement of the stack table 13, and engages with a movable hole 43 provided in the casing of the stacker device 1. A locking pin 44 is provided.
The cartridge pedestal 42 is provided with a shaft 45 that pivotally supports the cartridge pedestal 42 so that the locking pin 44 moves in the movable hole 43 around the shaft 45, and the collection mechanism 40 is moved into the cartridge. 16 inclines in a direction away from the stacker device 1. By holding the collection grip portion 36 of the cartridge 16 in this inclined state and lifting it in the direction of the arrow, the cartridge 16 and the RFID paper 70 loaded on the cartridge 16 can be collected.

Next, the stacking operation of the RFID sheets 70 in the stacker apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the stacker apparatus according to the present invention.
When the power of the stacker device 1 is turned on, the table drive motor is activated, the drive pulley 18 and the timing belt 20 are driven, the stack table 13 is raised from the lowest position (origin position), and stops at the initial position (step) S1). The initial position of the stack table 13 is an appropriate position for stacking the first RFID paper 70 discharged from the printer apparatus 2, and a slight distance after the paper detection sensor 15 detects the stack table 13. It is a position that has been lowered only.

The control unit 17 monitors the input of the timing signal from the printer device 2 (step S2). When the timing signal is input from the printer device 2, the control unit 17 drives the cutter driving motor based on the timing signal input from the printer device 2, and the RFID carried out from the front surface of the printer device 2 by the cutter 11. The paper 70 is cut into a predetermined length (step S3). The timing signal is a signal for instructing the timing of cutting the RFID paper 70 by the cutter 11. For example, the timing signal is input when the printer device 2 detects a timing mark printed on the RFID paper 70. The

The RFID paper 70 cut by the cutter 11 is discharged onto the stack table 13 by the pair of discharge rollers 12 (step S4).

The control unit 17 monitors the input of the detection signal from the paper detection sensor 15 (step S5), and proceeds to step S2 when the detection signal is not input, and the RFID papers 70 are sequentially stacked on the stack table 13.

In step S5, when the sheet detection sensor 15 detects the uppermost surface of the RFID sheet 70 stacked on the stack table 13 and a detection signal is input, the table drive motor is activated, the drive pulley 18 and the timing are detected. The belt 20 is driven and the stack table 13 is lowered by a predetermined distance (step S6).

  The control unit 17 monitors the input of the detection signal from the table detection sensor 6 (step S7), and proceeds to step S2 when no detection signal is input, and the RFID sheets 70 are stacked on the stack table 13 one after another. .

In step S7, when the table detection sensor 6 detects the stack table 13 and a detection signal is input to the control unit 17, it is confirmed that the RFID sheet 70 loaded on the stack table 13 has reached the maximum load amount. A message indicating the full stack state shown is displayed on the display unit 4 (step S8).

In the full stack state, the controller 17 drives a table drive motor (not shown) to lower the stack table 13 to the lowest position (step S9). At this time, when the stack table 13 passes from the upper side to the lower side of the bottom plate 30, the RFID paper 70 is transferred from the stack table 13 onto the bottom plate 30 of the cartridge 16, and the RFID paper 70 loaded on the cartridge 16 is Then, the cartridge 16 is recovered together with the recovery method described above (step S10).

In the stacker apparatus having the above configuration and operation, a method for preventing a stack failure due to the step S of the RFID paper 70 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing a state in which a plurality of RFID sheets 70 are stacked on the stack table 13, FIG. 7A shows a state where the stack table 13 is not tilted, and FIG. FIG. 7C shows a state in which the stack table is tilted with the upstream side in the transport direction below the slope, with the downstream side in the direction being below the slope.
FIG. 7A shows a case where the RFID paper 70 in which the IC chip 72 exists is stacked on the downstream side (front side) of the RFID paper 70 in the transport direction, and the step S ( (See FIG. 8). That is, even if the stack table 13 is lowered by a predetermined distance by the detection signal of the paper detection sensor 15, the drop distance from the paper discharge port to the uppermost surface of the RFID paper 70 differs depending on the drop point. In FIG. 7A, the drop distance is long on the upstream side (rear side) in the transport direction on the stack table 13, and the drop distance is short on the downstream side (front side) in the transport direction. Since the uppermost surface of the RFID paper 70 is inclined as described above, the newly discharged RFID paper 70 is pushed back by the inclined uppermost surface, and the RFID paper 70 is discharged from the discharge port 10 as shown in FIG. It catches in the vicinity of and causes an oblique stack.

As a countermeasure, the fixing by the fixing member 27 is released, and the downstream side (front side) in the transport direction where the step of the IC chip 72 of the RFID paper 70 is located is the lower side of the slope as shown in FIG. The stack table 13 is tilted along the fixing member 27 around the tilting shaft 26, and is fixed by the fixing member 27 in this tilted state. By making the uppermost surface of the RFID paper 70 horizontal due to the inclination of the stack table 13, the fall distance from the paper discharge port to the uppermost surface of the RFID paper 70 becomes uniform, and oblique stacking can be prevented. .
Similarly, when the IC chip 72 exists on the upstream side (rear side) in the conveyance direction of the RFID paper 70, the fixation by the fixing member 27 is released, and the IC of the RFID paper 70 is shown in FIG. 7C. The stack table 13 is inclined along the fixing member 27 around the tilting shaft 26 so that the upstream side (rear side) in the conveying direction where the step of the chip 72 is located is below the inclined surface, and the fixing member is inclined in this inclined state. 27 can also be fixed. By making the uppermost surface of the RFID sheet 70 horizontal due to the inclination of the stack table 13, the fall distance from the sheet discharge port to the uppermost surface of the RFID sheet 70 becomes uniform, and oblique stacking can be prevented.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a sheet in which a step S is generated between the surface without the IC chip 72 and the surface with the IC chip 72 like the RFID sheet 70 is stacked on the stack table 13, By tilting the stack table 13, the top surface of the loaded RFID paper 70 can be made horizontal, the falling distance from the paper discharge port 10 to the top surface of the RFID paper 70 becomes uniform, and stack failures such as slant stacks can be prevented. Can be prevented.

In the present invention, the stack table 13 can be tilted to the upstream side and the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the RFID paper 70, but it can also be tilted in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the RFID paper 70.

1 is a perspective view of a printer incorporating a stacker device according to the present invention. The schematic side view which shows the structure of the stacker apparatus shown in FIG. The perspective view of the stack table of a stacker device. The schematic perspective view which shows the positional relationship of a cartridge and a stack table. The schematic side view of the collection | recovery mechanism of a cartridge. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a stacking operation of the stacker device. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing a state in which a plurality of RFID sheets are stacked on a stack table. The top view and sectional drawing of RFID paper.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Stacker apparatus 2 Printer apparatus 3 Printer stand 4 Display part 6 Table detection sensor 10 Discharge port 11 Cutter 12 Discharge roller 13 Stack table 14 Drive part 15 Paper detection sensor 16 Cartridge 17 Control part 18 Drive pulley 19 Driven pulley 20 Timing belt 21 Loading plate 22 Holding plate 23 Mounting portion 24 Long hole 26 Tilt shaft 27 Fixing member 30 Bottom plate 31 Front plate 32 Side plate 34 Rear plate 35 Inclined gripping portion 36 Recovery gripping portion 40 Recovery mechanism 41 Cartridge mounting base 42 Cartridge receiving base 43 Movable Hole 44 Engagement pin 45 Shaft 70 RFID paper 71 Support base material 72 IC chip 73 Antenna 74 Support film 75 Inlet 76 Print base material

Claims (4)

A stacker device comprising a stack table on which sheets having a step on the surface are stacked, the stack table being tiltable. And a drive unit for moving the stack table up and down;
A paper detection sensor for detecting the uppermost surface of the paper stacked on the stack table;
A control unit for lowering the stack table by a predetermined distance based on a detection signal output from the paper detection sensor;
The stacker device according to claim 1, wherein sheets are sequentially stacked above the stack table. The stack table has a loading plate for loading the paper, and a holding plate for holding both ends of the loading plate,
The holding plate is provided with a tilting shaft, a long hole, and a fixing member in the long hole.
3. The stacker device according to claim 1, wherein the stack table is tilted along the fixing member and the long hole about the tilting axis. 4. 4. The stacker device according to claim 1, wherein the paper is an RFID paper having an IC chip and an antenna.

Images