JP2007070085A - Paper sheet positioning device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve correction processing efficiency without high-speed operation of a displacement correction part and a skew correction part. <P>SOLUTION: A paper sheet positioning device comprises: conveying belt pairs 49a to 49c conveying bills P along a conveying passage; an optical sensor array 70 measuring a displacement quantity on the conveying passage of the bills conveyed by the conveying belt pairs 49a to 49c and skew quantity; the two displacement correction parts correcting the displacement quantity measured by the optical sensor array 70 on halves; and the two skew correction parts 32b, 33b correcting the skew quantity measured by the optical sensor array 70 on halves. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper sheet positioning apparatus applied to, for example, a paper sheet processing apparatus that sorts and accumulates banknotes according to their denominations.

  Paper sheets such as banknotes, checks, gift certificates, or other securities are distributed as a key medium for socio-economic activities. In the process of distribution, these paper sheets are collected in large quantities at specific locations and arranged according to face value or type.

  In order to automate and save labor in this sorting work, what is called a paper sheet sorting and sorting device has been used. This paper sheet sorting and organizing apparatus batch-loads paper sheets in a rose state into the supply unit, takes out the paper sheets one by one from the input paper sheets, and discriminates each type by the discrimination unit Depending on the type, it is classified by type, or a bundle of 100 sheets is made.

  By the way, there are four orientations of paper sheets, top and bottom, and in many cases, this is a situation in which this is unorganized and must be concentrated in a specific part of distribution.

  The conventional apparatus has a reversing function for reversing the front and back during conveyance based on the discrimination result of the discriminating unit in order to align the front and back and stacking the front and back in the same pocket.

  On the other hand, paper sheets taken out from the supply unit, for example, banknotes and cash vouchers have different sizes depending on their face values. For this reason, when paper sheets of different sizes are set in the supply section at once, even if they are aligned by hand, the small ticket will be buried in the maximum size and may be misaligned or slanted left and right Increases nature.

  The paper sheets taken out in such a state are conveyed to the determination unit by the conveying belt pair. The discriminating unit reads various information from the surface of the paper sheet conveyed by the roller pair, performs a logical operation on the information, and compares it with the reference information. As a result, it is determined whether the paper sheet is dirty, damaged or not, the type (amount of money in the case of banknotes), and the top and bottom directions. Paper sheets with many misalignments and skews are rejected because they cannot be determined from various information.

  In the reversing unit, the front and back are reversed by reversing the left and right by 180 degrees with a velvet belt. In principle, this reversing mechanism rotates around the center point of the velvet belt, so that the paper sheets are laterally shifted (called a shift) before and after entering the velvet belt, causing accumulation and banding. It is difficult to perform lateral alignment when performing the operation.

  In order to solve these problems, it is necessary to have a positioning device that corrects the position of the taken-out paper sheet and corrects the skew before the paper sheet is conveyed to the determination unit. Yes.

  This positioning device includes, for example, a transmissive optical sensor array as a measuring instrument on the entrance side, and measures the positional deviation amount and skew amount of the paper sheets taken out from the supply unit by the optical sensor array.

And this positioning device is provided with a positional deviation correction mechanism for correcting the positional deviation amount of the paper sheet and a skew correction mechanism for correcting the skew amount on the base, and the measured positional deviation amount, The positional deviation correction mechanism and the skew correction mechanism are operated according to the skew amount to correct the positional deviation and the skew (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-87647 A

  However, conventionally, since only one positional deviation correction mechanism and one skew correction mechanism are provided, there is a disadvantage that the correction processing efficiency of paper sheets is poor.

  The correction processing efficiency can be improved by operating the positional deviation correction mechanism and the skew correction mechanism at a high speed, but the operation speed is determined by the driving force of the drive motor and the mass and moment of the movable part. In addition, there is a limit to speeding up at a practical cost, and further problems such as vibration after stopping and shortening of life occur due to high-speed operation.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above circumstances, and provides a paper sheet positioning apparatus capable of improving the correction processing efficiency without operating the misregistration correction means and the skew correction means at high speed. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a transport unit that transports a paper sheet along a transport path, and a positional deviation of the paper sheet transported by the transport unit on the transport path. A positional deviation amount measuring means for measuring the amount, and a plurality of positional deviation correcting means for correcting the positional deviation amount measured by the positional deviation amount measuring means in a predetermined number of times.

 According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transport unit that transports a paper sheet along a transport path, a skew amount measuring unit that measures a skew amount on the transport path of the paper sheet transported by the transport unit, A plurality of skew correction means for correcting the skew amount measured by the skew amount measurement means.

 According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a conveying unit that conveys a paper sheet along a conveying path, and a measuring unit that measures a positional deviation amount and a skew amount of the paper sheet conveyed by the conveying unit on the conveying path. And a plurality of misalignment correcting means for correcting the misregistration amount measured by the measuring means, and a plurality of skew correcting means for correcting the skew amount measured by the measuring means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the paper sheet misalignment and skew correction processing efficiency without operating the misalignment correction unit and the skew correction unit at high speed, reduce costs, and reduce vibration after stopping. This makes it possible to extend the service life.

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

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a banknote sorting and organizing apparatus as a paper sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an apparatus main body, and a supply unit 2 is provided at a substantially central portion of one side of the apparatus main body 1. A plurality of banknotes P as paper sheets are accommodated in the supply unit 2 in a standing state. The supply unit 2 is provided with a backup plate 4 that is urged by a spring 3, and the bills P are sent out by the backup plate 4. In the feeding direction of the bills P, a feeding roller 5 is provided as a feeding means. A rubber roller 55 and a roller 56 that is in contact with the rubber roller 55 are provided below the feeding roller 5. The roller 56 is urged by a spring material, and the banknote is clamped and conveyed by the roller 56.

  Further, a transmissive optical sensor array 70 is provided in the bill feeding direction as a measuring means for measuring the shift amount and skew amount of the bills taken out. The arrangement of the optical sensor array 70 will be described later.

  After the bills pass through the optical sensor array 70, the bills are fed into a clamp type conveying means 6 composed of belt pairs 49 a to 49 c and rollers 7. An attitude correction device (positioning device) 8 that automatically corrects the shift (positional deviation) and skew of the taken banknote P is provided in the transport means 6. As will be described in detail later, the posture correction device 8 includes a positional deviation correction mechanism 8a that corrects positional deviation and a skew correction mechanism 8b that corrects skew.

  In addition, although the part which passes the attitude | position correction apparatus 8 of the conveyance means 6 is also a belt pair, and the banknote P is restrained, the clamping force shall be weak and the attitude | position correction apparatus 8 correct | amends the attitude | position of a banknote. I try not to be a load when.

  A determination unit 9 is provided above the transport unit 6. The discriminating unit 9 reads various information from the surface of the banknote P conveyed by the roller pair 10, performs a logical operation on the information, and compares it with reference information. Thereby, the presence or absence of dirt, breakage, the type (money amount) of banknotes, and the top and bottom four directions are discriminated.

  A first branch portion 11 is provided above the determination portion 9, and the conveyance direction of the bills P is changed by the first branch portion 11 in the arrow a direction or the arrow b direction. That is, a banknote (for example, a banknote that is not picked up by two or more than a certain amount) is changed to an arrow a and guided to the reject box 12.

  On the other hand, when the determination unit 9 determines that the banknote is a genuine note and the front is up, the conveyance direction is changed in the direction of the arrow b. A second branch portion 13 is provided in the direction of arrow b. This 2nd branch part 13 branches the conveyance direction of the banknote P to the 1st and 2nd route | root.

  The first route is provided with a left-right reversing path 14 as a reversing means, and the left-right reversing path 14 is provided with a velvet belt 15 for reversing the banknote 180 degrees left and right. A normal conveyance belt 16 is provided on the second route, and the posture of the banknote is maintained as it is. The first and second routes merge at the junction 17, but the path lengths to the junction 17 are the same so that the interval after the merge does not shift.

  A third branching portion 18 is provided on the lower side of the merging portion 17, and the third branching portion 18 branches the banknote transport route into the third and fourth routes. The third route is a switchback path 19 where the rear end portion of the bill guided to the reversing box 20 is pressed against the reversing roller by the tapping wheel 21 and the top and bottom are reversed and conveyed. The fourth route is a simple conveyor belt 22 in which bills are conveyed while maintaining their posture.

  The third and fourth routes merge at the merge unit 23. The path lengths of the third and fourth routes up to the junction 23 are made equal so that the interval after the junction does not shift.

  A horizontal conveyance path 24 is provided behind the above reversing device, and the number of branching devices 25a to 25d, which is one less than the number of portions to be divided, is disposed in the horizontal conveyance path 24. Type-specific pocket portions 26a to 26d are disposed below the branching devices 25b to 25d. In the type-specific pocket portions 26a to 26d, paper sheets are stacked and accumulated in a horizontal state.

  Reference numeral 27 denotes a 100-sheet sealing device, which can stack 100 sheets and move paper sheets from the stacking section 28, which can be classified, to the band winding section 29 and make a bundle with the strap band 30.

  FIG. 2 is a front view showing the arrangement of the transmissive photosensor array 70, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view thereof.

  Of the first to third transport belt pairs 49a to 49c passing through the posture correction device 8 of the transport means 6, the first transport belt pair 49a is located on the transport center, and the second and third transport belts 49a to 49c. The belt pairs 49b and 49c are arranged symmetrically at a constant pitch with the first conveying belt pair 49a as the center.

  Rubber rollers 60, 60 are disposed on the bill introduction side of the first to third transport belt pairs 49a-49c, and rubber rollers 61, 61 biased by a spring (not shown) are in contact with the rubber rollers 60, 60. ing. Further, rubber rollers 62, 62 are disposed between the rollers 60, 60 and the first to third conveying belt pairs 49a-49c. The rubber rollers 62, 62 are urged by a spring (not shown). 63 are in contact with each other.

  An optical sensor array 70 is provided on the bill introduction side of the first to third transport belt pairs 49a to 49c. The optical sensor array 70 includes a light receiving sensor 64 and an LED 65. The light receiving sensor 64 and the LED 65 are attached to a base via a plate (not shown). The light receiving sensor 64 and the LED 65 are housed in a sealed case, and the conveyance surface side is a glass plate to prevent dust from entering. The optical sensor array 70 is disposed over the entire conveyance area excluding the first conveyance belt pair 49a.

  4 is a perspective view showing a misalignment correction mechanism 8a of the attitude correction device 8, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a skew correction mechanism 8b of the attitude correction device 8, and FIG. 6 is a misalignment correction mechanism 8a and a skew correction mechanism 8b. The drive mechanism is shown.

 The misalignment correction mechanism 8a and the skew correction mechanism 8b are arranged along the paper sheet conveyance direction. Since the misalignment correction mechanism 8a and the skew correction mechanism 8b are configured identically, the misalignment correction mechanism 8a will be described as a representative.

 The positional deviation correction mechanism 8a includes first and second deviation correction units (position deviation correction means) 32a and 33a. The first and second shift correction units 32 a and 33 a are configured identically and are attached to the base 31. Since the first and second shift correction units 32a and 33a are configured identically, the first correction unit 32a will be described as a representative.

  The first shift correction part 32a has an inverted gate-type frame (hereinafter referred to as a support frame) 34, a frame base part 34a that is longer than the width of the banknote, and a side plate part that is bent at both side parts of the frame base part 34a. 34b, 34b. Here, the support frame 34 of the first shift correction unit 32a may be referred to as a first shift correction arm 34A1, and the support frame 34 of the second shift correction unit 33a may be referred to as a second shift correction arm 34A2.

 The skew correction mechanism 8b includes first and second skew correction units (skew correction means) 32b and 33b configured similarly to the first and second shift correction units 32a and 33a (FIG. 5). ). The support frame 34 of the first skew correction unit 32b may be referred to as a first skew correction arm 34B1, and the support frame 34 of the second skew correction unit 33a may be referred to as a second skew correction arm 34B2.

  A drive shaft 35 is bridged between the side plate portions 34 b and 34 b of the support frame 34 via bearings 36 and 36, and a pair of rollers 37 and 37 are attached to the drive shaft 35. The peripheral surfaces of the pair of rollers 37, 37 are rubber portions to increase the frictional force. A pair of rubber rollers 38 and 38 are in contact with the upper side of the pair of rollers 37 and 37. The pair of rubber rollers 38 and 38 are attached to the shaft 40 via bearings 39. Both end portions of the shaft 40 are fitted into long holes 41 formed in the side plate portions 34 b and 34 b of the support frame 34 and are urged downward by springs 42. The roller pairs 37 and 37 and the rubber rollers 38 and 38 constitute a pair of correction rollers.

  The correction roller pairs 37 and 38 are provided between the first and second conveyance belt pairs 49a and 49b passing through the posture correction device 8 and between the first and third conveyance belt pairs 49a and 49c, respectively. The correction roller pairs 37 and 38 are arranged symmetrically about the first conveying belt pair 49.

  A bevel gear 50 is fixedly attached to the drive shaft 35, and a bevel gear 51 is engaged with the bevel gear 50. As shown in FIG. 6, the bevel gear 51 is fixed to the upper end portion of the shaft 44 as the first drive shaft. The shaft 44 is provided vertically, and the upper end portion thereof is opposed to the center portion of the drive shaft 35 of the roller 37. The shaft 44 is inserted into a cylindrical shaft 43 as a second drive shaft, and is rotatably held by upper and lower bearings 52 and 53. The lower bearing 53 is attached to a pulley 45 fixed to the cylindrical shaft 43. A pulley 84 is attached to the lower end of the shaft 44 via a one-way clutch 55a. A stepping motor 54 as a first driving means is connected to the pulley 84 via a belt 82 and a pulley 83.

  When the stepping motor 54 is driven to rotate, the shaft 44 is rotated via the pulley 83, the belt 82 and the pulley 84. By this rotation, the drive shaft 35 is rotated through the bevel gears 51 and 50, and the pair of correction rollers 37 and 38 is rotated. The bills are clamped and conveyed by the rotation of the pair of correction rollers 37 and 38.

  The clamping force of the correction roller pair 37, 38 of the posture correction unit 8 is set to be stronger than the clamping force of the conveyor belts 49a to 49c.

  On the other hand, the cylindrical shaft 43 is rotatably held by the housing 56 a via a bearing 57, and the center portion of the frame substrate portion 34 a of the support frame 34 is fixed to the upper end portion of the cylindrical shaft 43. A stepping motor 48 as a second driving means is connected to a pulley 45 fixed to the lower side of the cylindrical shaft 43 via a belt 46 and a pulley 47. The housing 56a is fixed to the base 31 via a plate 58. A sensor 59 is attached to the base 31, and a detected body 34 a that turns the sensor 59 on and off is attached to the support frame 34.

  When the stepping motor 48 is driven to rotate, the cylindrical shaft 43 is rotated via the pulley 47, the belt 46, and the pulley 45. By this rotation, the support frame 34 is rotated to change the direction of the pair of correction rollers 37 and 38. The rotation amount of the support frame 34 is controlled by detecting the detected body 34 a by the sensor 59.

  By the way, when the skew angle θ of the banknote P measured by the optical sensor array 70 is small, the operation amount (angle) of the skew correction arms 34B1 and 34B2 is small, so the operation amount of the stepping motor 48 is too small. In some cases, good results may not be obtained.

 For example, in the case of Stepping Motor 48, the minimum operation amount is one step. For this reason, the minimum amount of operation of the skew correction arms 34B1 and 34B2 is one step, and an angle smaller than this cannot be corrected.

 On the other hand, since the drive system that transmits power from the stepping motor 48 to the skew correction arms 34B1 and 34B2 is greatly decelerated, correction of a large angle cannot be completed within a predetermined time unless the stepping motor 48 is operated at a high speed.

 Furthermore, if the number of operation steps is very small, the acceleration of starting and stopping becomes very large, causing a problem that the stepping motor 48 is out of step and the operation is not stable.

  In order to avoid this, only one of the two skew correction arms 34B1 and 34B2 is operated when the skew amount is less than a certain value, or when the skew amount is small, it is 2 The skew correction arms 34B1 and 34B2 are operated at opposite angles, the skew angle is temporarily increased by the first skew correction arm 34B1, and then the skew is removed by the second skew correction arm 34B2.

 FIG. 7 shows the skew correction operation of the banknote P, and FIG. 8 shows its flowchart.

 The skew angle θ of the banknote P is measured by the optical sensor array 70, and based on the measured value, the skew angle θ is θ> 2a (a is the minimum angle that can be skew corrected), or a <θ ≦ 2a, or θ It is determined whether or not ≦ a (step ST1).

 If it is determined that θ> 2a, the first skew correction arm 34B1 is rotated by θ / 2 before the bill P reaches the first skew correction arm 34B1 (step ST2). Next, the first skew correction arm 34B1 is rotated by -θ / 2 while passing the banknote and returned straight to correct the skew angle by 1/2 (step ST3). Thereafter, before the banknote P reaches the second skew correction arm 34B2, the second skew correction arm 34B2 is rotated by θ / 2 (step ST4). Next, the second skew correction arm 34B2 is rotated by -θ / 2 while passing the banknote and returned straight to further correct the skew angle by 1/2 (step ST5). As a result, the banknote P is corrected to have no skew.

 If it is determined in step ST1 that the skew angle θ is a <θ ≦ 2a, the first skew correction arm 34B1 is moved to θ before the banknote P reaches the first skew correction arm 34B1. Rotate (step ST6). Next, the first skew correction arm 34B1 is rotated by -θ while passing the banknote and returned straight to correct the skew angle (step ST7). As a result, the banknote P is corrected to have no skew.

 Further, if it is determined in step ST1 that θ ≦ a, the first skew correction arm 34B2 is rotated by an angle (θ + a) before the banknote P reaches the first skew correction arm 34B1 ( Step ST8). Next, the first skew correction arm 34B2 is rotated-([theta] + a) while the bill is passing and returned straight (step ST9). As a result, the bill P is skewed by the angle a in the reverse direction. Thereafter, before the banknote P reaches the second skew correction arm 34B2, the second skew correction arm 34B2 is rotated by an angle a in the reverse direction (step ST10). Next, the skew angle is corrected by rotating the second skew correction arm 34B2 by rotating the angle a during the passage of the bill and returning it straight (step ST11). As a result, the banknote P is corrected to have no skew.

 FIG. 9 shows the correction operation of the misalignment correction mechanism 8a.

 When the positional deviation amount ΔS of the banknote taken out from the supply unit 2 and conveyed is measured by the optical sensor array 70, the first and second misalignment correction swing arms 34A1 and 34A2 are each before the banknote arrives. The bill is rotated to an angle that corrects 1/2 of the detected misregistration amount ΔS, and the bill moves toward the center by a half of ΔS while passing through the first and second misalignment correcting swing arms 34A1 and 34A2. Then, position correction for ΔS is performed.

 However, when the correction amount is small, only the first correction arm 34A1 is operated as in the skew correction described above, or an operation of once correcting a large amount and returning it is performed.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the two misalignment correction units 32a and 33a and the two skew correction units 32b and 33b are provided, and the two misregistration correction units 32a and 33a and two are included. The skew correction units 32b and 33b correct the amount of misalignment and the amount of skew of the bill P by half, so that the correction processing efficiency can be improved without operating at high speed.

The internal block diagram which shows the banknote processing apparatus which is one embodiment of this invention. The front view which shows the banknote detection part of the banknote processing apparatus of FIG. The bottom view which shows the banknote detection part of the banknote processing apparatus of FIG. The perspective view which shows the position shift correction mechanism of the banknote processing apparatus of FIG. The perspective view which shows the skew correction mechanism of the banknote processing apparatus of FIG. The figure which shows the drive mechanism of the position shift correction mechanism and skew correction mechanism of FIG.4 and FIG.5. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a correction operation of the skew correction mechanism of FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a correction operation of the skew correction mechanism of FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a correction operation of the positional deviation correction mechanism of FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

  P ... bills (paper sheets), 49a to 49c ... first to third conveying belt pairs (conveying means), 70 ... optical sensor array (measuring means), 32a, 33a ... misregistration correcting unit (misalignment correcting means) ), 32b, 33b... Skew correction section (skew correction means).

Claims (14)

Transport means for transporting paper sheets along the transport path;
A positional deviation amount measuring means for measuring a positional deviation amount of the paper sheet conveyed by the conveying means on the conveyance path;
A plurality of misregistration correcting means for correcting the misregistration amount measured by the misregistration amount measuring means in a predetermined number of times;
A paper sheet positioning apparatus comprising: 2. The paper sheet aligning device according to claim 1, wherein two misalignment correction units are provided, and each of the misregistration amounts measured by the misregistration amount measurement unit is corrected by half. When the positional deviation amount measured by the positional deviation amount measuring means is less than twice the minimum value that can be corrected by the positional deviation correction means, only the first positional deviation correction means determines the positional deviation amount. The paper sheet positioning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein correction is performed. When the positional deviation amount measured by the positional deviation amount measuring means is below the minimum value that can be corrected by the positional deviation correction means, the first positional deviation correction means can correct the positional deviation amount to the minimum amount that can be corrected. 3. The paper according to claim 1, wherein the misregistration amount obtained by adding the values is corrected, and then the second misregistration correction unit performs reverse correction for the minimum value that can be corrected. Leaf orientation device. Transport means for transporting paper sheets along the transport path;
A skew amount measuring means for measuring a skew amount on the transport path of the paper sheet transported by the transport means;
A plurality of skew correction means for correcting the skew amount measured by the skew amount measurement means;
A paper sheet positioning apparatus comprising: 6. The paper sheet positioning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein two skew correction means are provided and each ½ of the skew amount measured by the skew amount measuring means is corrected. When the skew amount measured by the skew amount measuring unit is less than twice the minimum value that can be corrected by the skew correcting unit, only the first skew correcting unit corrects the skew amount. The paper sheet positioning apparatus according to claim 5 or 6. When the skew amount measured by the skew amount measuring unit is less than the minimum value that can be corrected by the skew correcting unit, the first skew correcting unit adds the minimum value that can be corrected to the skew amount. 7. The paper sheet positioning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second skew correction means performs reverse correction for the minimum value that can be corrected. Conveying means for conveying paper sheets along the conveying path;
A measuring means for measuring a positional deviation amount of the paper sheet conveyed by the conveying means on the conveying path, and a skew amount;
A plurality of misalignment correcting means for correcting the misregistration amount measured by the measuring means; a plurality of skew correcting means for correcting the skew amount measured by the measuring means;
A paper sheet positioning apparatus comprising: 10. The paper according to claim 9, wherein two each of the misregistration correction means and the skew correction means are arranged to correct each of the misregistration amount or the skew amount measured by the measurement means. Leaf orientation device. When the positional deviation amount measured by the positional deviation amount measuring means is less than twice the minimum value that can be corrected by the positional deviation correction means, only the first positional deviation correction means determines the positional deviation amount. The paper sheet positioning device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein correction is performed. When the positional deviation amount measured by the positional deviation amount measuring means is below the minimum value that can be corrected by the positional deviation correction means, the first positional deviation correction means can correct the positional deviation amount to the minimum amount that can be corrected. 11. The paper according to claim 9, wherein the misregistration amount obtained by adding the values is corrected, and then the second misregistration correction unit performs reverse correction for the minimum value that can be corrected. Leaf orientation device. When the skew amount measured by the skew amount measuring unit is less than twice the minimum value that can be corrected by the skew correcting unit, only the first skew correcting unit corrects the skew amount. The paper sheet positioning apparatus according to claim 9 or 10. When the skew amount measured by the skew amount measuring unit is less than the minimum value that can be corrected by the skew correcting unit, the first skew correcting unit adds the minimum value that can be corrected to the skew amount. The paper sheet orientation device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the second skew correction means performs backward correction for the minimum value that can be corrected.

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